Pinterest

So far I have completed these 2 PINTEREST projects. Here's what I have learned about Pinterest so far:

1. It is very addicting.

2. There are some really creative people in this world.

3. There will never be enough time to do all the things I like.

4. I really don't know what I wasted time on before Pinterest!

5. I wish this had been around when I get married (1997) and had my first child (2001).

Who is going to be the lucky person to get these snowman bag ties?!?

And I have made this delicious Santa party mix twice now. The Santa hats are Bugles dipped in those red melting disks by Wiltons. I haven't had a Bugle since 1994 and now I have consumed two bags of them. Which means I have eaten just a few (hundred) while making the Santa hats. So now I am addicted to Bugles too. Thanks a lot Pinterest!!

Merry Christmas From The Family

For the past 5 years, our tradition has been to sit in front of our fireplace and have Dean Nester take our family picture for our Christmas photo card. It is usually a lot of fun and we end up cracking ourselves up. This year we decided to buck the system for the following reasons:

*we got family pictures taken the end of October and they turned out really good!

*this is the last year that Megan will be in our Christmas card.

*we have a beast of a wood burning stove sitting in front of our fireplace. It keeps the house toasty warm, but is not the most eye-appealing design.

So without further ado, here is our family card photo. Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

20 days after his brother lost his tooth, Devin finally lost his first tooth. It is so funny that both boys let their dad tie dental floss around the loose tooth then yank it out. I'm sure their teeth will be falling out like dominoes now. Devin is so proud of his new smile!

And here is his abstract art Christmas tree. I asked him if they were studying Pablo Picasso in art class and he looked at me like I was crazy (I get that look a lot, trust me!). He was just in a hurry and didn't really care how it looked. I think it turned out pretty cool. It makes a great fridg picture!
And lastly, look what I got in the mail for Christmas today from myself! I have loved the Denver Broncos since 1997 when my now husband and I moved to Colorado. I became a bigger fan when they won back to back Super Bowls in 1998 and 1999. Then I became a huge fan obsessed when they drafted Tim Tebow! So I decided I needed a little Denver Broncos bling this year.

A Global Christmas

This week has been a little different for me. For some reason this month, I've just not been feeling the Christmas spirit. I drug out the decorations and put them up. I started buying a few presents here and there. And then I got a very random e-mail from my brother. He decided this Christmas to do something a little different. He has decided to partner with the organization Hello Somebody in hopes to help a young man in Rwanda go to school, receive a first class education and 2 meals per day. One way to raise money for these boys is to buy a $25.00 watch from the organization.

After I got his email, I read this blog post by one of my favorite speaker/writer gals who I have actually met in real life, Jen Hatmaker. Then I read it again and again. This is some life changing stuff she wrote. Wow! Next thing I know, I am looking for fair trade Christmas gifts. One of the sites I really liked is Trade as One where you change lives with everything you buy. So now I have some earrings from Noah's Ark International Exports on their way to Greenfield, Indiana! My oldest son is named Noah, so that is how I picked which store to buy from. There were so many cool jewelry items to choose from, but I couldn't buy everything.

One other things Jen Hatmaker suggested was giving money to your kids for Christmas to GIVE AWAY. They have to find a worthy cause or person to donate the money to, so this is something I am going to start this year with the 3 boys. I think I am going to give each child a dollar for each year old they are and then watch them enjoy blessing someone else.

So I am starting to feel a little better about Christmas and am looking forward to loving and encouraging my family during this season.

Christmastime is near

Sometime last Christmas season I found Edie's blog. She posted this about her family's holiday season.

This year, this is our Christmas journey.

Less decorating, more living.

Less shopping, more giving.

Less running, more being.

Enjoying all the little gifts along the way.

CHRISTmas is coming. I hope we don’t miss HIM.

After I read this I copied it to a post-it note on my computer's desktop. It has been there for a year. I wanted to remember it this Christmas season. I want this to be my motto. I don't want to get all caught up in the rushing around and focus on what really matters. Which can be kind of hard with 3 boys who want everything they see!

An Exciting Day!

This very excited little boy lost his first tooth last night. With a little help from dad and his dental floss lasso, the tooth (which had a tooth growing in behind it) finally came out.

This sad little boy has not lost his first tooth.....yet. He does have the identical tooth just a little bit loose, so hopefully he will get to take a toothless grin picture in the near future.
And of course my oldest son who is 10 told me I never got as excited about him losing teeth as I did last night. Seriously? How does he remember how I reacted when he lost his 1st tooth? Looks like I'm going to have to go over-the-top when his next tooth falls out!!

Vote for my story!!

TWIN POOP WAR!!!

One Sunday afternoon, I laid my precious twin 3 year old boys down for a nap. We were working on potty training, but weren't there yet. They were tired, and I was ready for them to sleep so I could get some housework done. I did get some housework done, but they apparently never went to sleep. I could hear them talking and laughing with each other, but then it got quiet, so I assumed they were sleeping. After what I deemed an appropriate amount of time for them to rest, I made my way upstairs to get them out of their beds.

As I started walking up the stairs, I noticed a distinct smell of poop in the air. I just thought maybe they both had pooped in their diapers and that's why they never went to sleep. Upon opening their bedroom door, I was overcome by the stench of poop. After the initial shock, I looked around and saw poop everywhere. Three year old twin boy poop. EVERYWHERE. It was in their hair, between their toes, smeared on their mattresses, all over the walls, the crib bars, sheets, and their clothing. Pretty much everywhere except their diapers. So after about a two and a half minute meltdown by myself, I quickly called for help (and bleach)! Needless to say, their room and everything in it received a good old fashioned bleaching. And for about 2 weeks, every time you walked by their room, you could smell bleach and a faint hint of poop.

Thankfully my boys are past the poop war stage! We haven't had another one since.

This story is posted on the Clorox Bleachable Moments contest page. To vote for my story click here. Wouldn't it be great if my boys helped me win a prize!

Name change

For those of you who pay attention to details, you will notice that I changed the web address of my blog. You can still type in my old blog address and be automatically directed to the new sight. Or you can type in the new address. Either way gets you here. And either way it's the same ol' blog.

I changed my address for 2 reasons:

1. I read somewhere that you should have a blog title that is easy for people to remember. I think mom3ways is easier to remember than dgpangburn. No one really knows who dgpangburn is (except for my mom, dad, siblings, and Indiana University....where I graduated from).

2. And these days, dgpangburn doesn't really describe me all that well. Mom 3 ways is definitely a better description. I always joke that I have became a mom every way possible. This makes me a little different than most moms, but I am okay with that. I have four great kids who I wouldn't trade for anything. And I am proud they all call me mom!

3 Boys + 3 Pumpkins

Here are my 3 boys with their pumpkin masterpieces. Moose was a little sad because his pumpkin wasn't scary enough, but he was still able to smile.

Devin's pumpkin was tall, skinny, and very heavy! He was excited to be able to hold it all by himself for the picture.
And here is Noah's pumpkin. He carved it all by himself this year from start to finish. What an exciting year for him. He is getting so independent...sometimes it scares me!

November

I cannot believe it is November 1st. What happened to June and July? I cannot remember what we did. It feels like this year has gone faster than any other year. I don't know if it is because my kids are getting older and more dependent, or if it's the fact that we are just busy. Either way I am not ready for this year to end yet. I need a little more time. I need five more minutes, then five more minutes (like what my kids beg for whenever we have to leave someplace fun).

One of the highlights of October was getting to meet Matthew West. I am now addicted to his newest CD The Story of Your Life! I went with a group of friends and volunteered at his concert. What a great night we had.

My oldest son Noah is growing!! Every week he gets taller and has to get rid of jeans that are now too short. For some reason he wanted me to post this picture of his muscles. Just so you know, I have never had muscles like this a day in my life. This is all his dad's genes! Yes, I married well. Haha!
And to end the month, I got to hang out with two of my favorite super heroes, Iron Man and Spider Man! What a lucky mom I am. Iron Man (Moose) is fully recovered from his femur fracture...hallelujah! He went to see his orthopedic surgeon over fall break and was told "can't even tell where your leg was ever broken"! And Spider Man (Devin) had to get his ear tubes replaced over fall break, but is fine. Actually he was fine an hour after the surgery. So next year (which will be here before we know it), we plan to make up the lack of fall break fun for the boys!

We need a pitcher!

~Noah's first year of baseball~

Last Sunday was the last game of fall baseball. We kept calling it Noah's career-ending game. He tried baseball in 2nd grade and really hated it. But this year, he decided to try baseball again. Like a lot of things we try, Noah started out really excited and tried really hard to get better. Then after 7 weeks, the enthusiasm died down, we skipped a practice, and drug ourselves to the final game.

So at the last game (hooray!), Noah decided he was going to try pitching. I was busy chatting with a few gals when Noah came over and told his dad the plan. So you can imagine my shock when I saw what was happening. What?!? My son has never pitched a baseball in his 10 years of life. The kids who do pitch in his league are really good. I told my husband this was not a good idea. I wanted to crawl under my collapsable chair for that inning. I wanted to walk out to the pitching mound and ask him what in the world he was thinking?

But I didn't. I sat there and watched him pitch to 4 players. I watched him through 16 balls in a row. No player was able to hit any of his pitches. He got 4 players on base in a row. I was starting to sweat bullets. Then the coach called time.

He went over and talked to Noah. Noah told him he must not be cut out to be a pitcher and was ready to go back to 3rd base. Where he spent the rest of the game. (which I was very thankful for!)

So Noah was brave enough to try something brand new. It didn't work out. But he was not afraid. He literally stepped up to the plate, and it is a lesson in courage that I hope I will not forget!

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

~Casting Crowns Voice of Truth

Fall

"I'm so glad I love in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill - several thrills?" ~Anne Shirley ~Anne of Green Gables

Last week I was talking to some gals at work and I was lamenting over the fact that my laundry has grown. As the weather gets colder, the shorts turn into jeans, the bare chests start wearing sweatshirts, bare feet must be covered with socks (lots and lots of socks), and very quickly the laundry piles turn into Colorado sized mountains! I realize anybody who lives in a place where there are 4 seasons goes through this. I am not being singled out by the evil laundry empire. But I can choose how I respond to this.

My friend at work turned to me and simply said, "I think there will always be something to complain about".

My response.....silence. Yes, for once I had nothing to say. No smart comeback, no witty reply. Because she spoke the truth. Yes! There will always be something to complain about. And mountains of laundry in the big scheme of things really isn't that big of a deal. So for today I am going to embrace my laundry. Be thankful for my working washing machine and dryer and for fall and the extra laundry it brings my way.

Just Another Day in Paradise

We have added another member to our beloved family. Meet Rufus, our new bearded dragon. He is Noah's new pet. So far everyone loves Rufus. It is very exciting every night when Rufus gets fed his nightly snack of live crickets. Rufus does not mess around when the crickets are tossed into his cage. Although the boys fight over whose turn it is to feed him, they enjoy seeing how quickly Rufus takes care of business. Bearded dragons have a life expectancy of 10 years, so Rufus may end up in a college frat house with Noah one day.

Here is the other new member of our family (I wish!). I got this giant, bigger than life poster of Tim Tebow from our local sporting goods store. The last time I was in there, I asked what they do with their window posters when they are done with them. The cashier said they usually end up in the trash. GASP! I could not let Tim Tebow end up in the trash! So I left them my name and number (thinking I would never hear back from them). Well, last week they called and said to come pick Tim (the poster, not the real Tim) up. So, now I have to decide where to hang this ginormous display.

If you have not read Tim Tebow's new book, I highly recommend it! You will not be disappointed. He is a great man with an even greater message. He would be an inspiration to any aspiring athlete you may know.

First Grade Times Two!

Every time I take a picture like this, I can think of only one thing. Senior year slide show. This is the kind of picture that you put in the slide show at the high school graduation open house. This is the kind of picture you want to remember when your kids are driving you crazy. This is the kind of picture you want to remember when your kids are taller than you and giving you sass. They grow up so fast. Don't blink. Enjoy them while they're little. You're gonna miss this. The days go slow, but the years go fast. All those mantras you keep repeating to yourself when the days aren't all that great!

So for now, I will enjoy having 2 first graders, even if that means two homework packets a week, two family projects a month, and two extra books to read each night. Because the years do really go fast!

Random Ramblings by Denise

So I've been going through old pictures on my computer and trying to decide how to organize my photos. I once was a scrapbooker. Back when I had time to work on scrapbooking. Now I'm doing good to get the kids fed, homework done, and laundry put up. I found this adorable picture of two very little boys and had to share. They grow up fast!

I have also been working on MOMSnext. We are starting this awesome ministry at our church this fall. Sadly I graduated from MOPS last spring, but this is a whole new exciting world for me. September 28th is when the fun begins!
Several weeks I posted about Dalton breaking his leg. Last week he went to the doctor, got re-xrayed, and all his restrictions were lifted. He can now walk, run, bike, jump, fight with his brothers, and climb on the counter to reach the candy. All of which he did the first day.
Have you seen the website PINTEREST? Oh. My. Word. I don't even know how to describe it. It's like a digital magazine with the search option. Are you looking for a yellow front door? They have pictures. Want to plan a barn wedding? They have pictures. I love pinterest!!
And lastly I did a little dance in the dairy section at Aldi last evening! Why? Pumpkin spice creamer is back!! And you know what that means? Candy corn, pumpkins, apple pickin', mums, sweatshirts, and Fall!! LOVE IT!!

My Family

I was playing around on a website the other day and made this. Have you seen these on the back of people's car windows? I think this would be hilarious to put on the back of my car. What do you think?!?

The boys have now been in school for 12 days. So far so good. They seem to be enjoying it and the days at home for me go really fast. I have high hopes of organizing, cleaning, scrapbooking, and decluttering. We will see how much I get done the next 168 days they are in school!

Tastes From My Home

We have a winner! thetribe (comment #8) has been picked by the random generator. I will get in touch with you for your address. Thanks to all who entered and hope you find these tasty chips at a store near you.

I am so excited to be entering The Tastes from Home with Frito-Lay recipe contest! We are big Frito-Lay fans at my house! And did you know Frito-Lay has a new delicious lineup of regional flavors made with all-natural ingredients? The Tomato & Basil chips are my absolute favorite! My husband loves the Tangy Carolina BBQ flavor. I would love to try the Honey Mustard or Balsamic Sweet Onion chips, but sadly have not seen them in our Midwest grocery stores. A bag of chips does not last long in our house!! It's amazing how fast little feet come running when they hear a chip bag being ripped open.

In honor of their new chip lineup, I am posting a recipe that is a favorite in my neck of the woods. This is an often requested item on our dinner menu for the week. I found this recipe from a blogger and adapted it to my family's tastes.

The Best Meatloaf Ever (according to my family)

2 lb. ground meat (thawed)

1 finely chopped onion

1 cup shredded cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

2 t. mustard

½ cup ketchup

2 eggs

2 cups bread crumbs

2 T. worchestire sauce

1 T. Parmesan cheese

½ t. Italian seasoning

Combine eggs, ketchup, mustard, breadcrumbs, garlic, cheeses, and spices in large bowl. Slowly add in meat and onion. This must be mixed very well, often I mix it by hand!

When thoroughly mixed, shape into a loaf. I use a 9x13 pan and make a flatter loaf so it cooks faster. Bake at 375 for 1 hour, check at this time, it may or may not need 15 more minutes (depending on your oven and the height of your loaf).

*This is great served with homemade mashed potatoes and green beans. My family’s favorite meal!!

Frito-lay is generously offering a variety pack of their regional flavors to give away to one of my lucky readers! To enter the contest, please tell me which flavor of chip you would like to try the most! Contest ends on August 23, 2011 at midnight.

*Frito-Lay provided me with the chips and this blog post is considered an entry form for their contest*

It all started with a pair of black shorts....

A few weeks ago while I was packing my oldest son for one of his many adventures (church camp, boy scout camp, vacation....really can't remember which one), he asked me to pack his new black shorts. (the shorts he's never worn) So I look for the black shorts in the 2 dresser drawers with shorts and cannot find them. I proceed to look through the rest of his 3 drawers, his closet, his brother's drawers (all 11 of them...drawers not brothers), my husband's underwear drawer, his sister's drawers (4 drawers, 1 sister), the pantry, every bag and backpack we own, behind the washer and dryer, our vehicles, and the barn. I. never. found. the. shorts.

Then my oldest son lost his retainers. Not the ones he's been wearing all summer, his old ones. I again look everywhere for them and never. find. the. retainers.

That same week my oldest son lost his dog (he ended up at the local animal shelter) and his bicycle (which we think was picked up on a hot night by someone walking by our house). It cost us $45 to get the dog back and $120 for a new bike.

While all this was going on, I decided to be funny and post this all on facebook. Now I really hardly ever do facebook status updates. I'm not one to tell my business to my facebook friends. But for some reason, I felt like venting and chose to complain about all the things we had lost.

And then the next week, my 6 year old fractured his femur, had emergency surgery, and is in a wheelchair for (at least) 4 weeks. Kind of makes a pair of black shorts, retainers, and a bicycle not all that important! So for the rest of the summer, I am not going to focus on the things we have lost and be more positive and grateful for what we do have!!

Summer Update

Three days ago our summer and all the things we had planned came to a screeching halt. Our six year old, who we call Moose fractured his femur. It happened on our trampoline with his 10 year old brother whom he was wrestling with. Now the femur is the strongest bone in your body, so to snap it in half takes a lot of force (like 850 pounds of force). The Emergency Room doctor we saw at first almost had me convinced that it wasn't really broken. But an hour later when they took the first xray and it popped up on their computer screen, I knew we were in for a long ride! Here are some of the highlights of the past couple of days:

*Moose got to ride in an ambulance to Riley Children's Hospital.

*They did emergency surgery only 6 hours after his injury!

*He has a plate and 8 screws holding his femur together.

*He does not have a cast, just an immobilizer.

*He cannot put weight on his leg for at least 4 weeks.

*He has done extremely well considering all he has gone through.

*He didn't eat a piece of candy for 2 whole days! (if you know Moose, you know that doesn't happen!!)

*He has a wheelchair to ride in. He is already learning to steer and turn.

*Right now he's only taking regular Tylenol for the pain and valium right before bed.

Now, if I was able to pick one of my sons to be unable to walk for 4 weeks, Moose would have been last. He is the most active of my children. He loves people and loves to go places. Yesterday I asked him if he needed a drink or food, and his answer was, "I just need friends". Talk about melting my heart! Today he woke up in a good mood, has worked on Legos for a little bit, now he and his brother are playing with Mario Kart on the DSi. If you prayed for us, a big THANK YOU. I think that is what is helping us get through each hour sometimes. I'm trying to enjoy this time at home (really it's too hot to do anything except stay inside) and hopefully Moose will continue doing so well!

Carolina Critters

We spent last week in South Carolina at Surfside Beach. The Plantation Resort to be exact. We had a great time at the various bodies of water around us (pools, lazy river, beach, aquirium, and even the pond). My boys (who love anything to do with water) had a blast catching animals. *Please note: no animals were harmed by my children and all were returned to their natural habitat*

Whose afraid of a jellyfish? Not Moose! But the ladies on the beach were screaming when he came near.

Checking out the horseshoe crabs at the Ripley's Aquarium.

A little crab that the boys dug up.

And of course, we invited the ducks in for a visit. They didn't make it in the door.

The boys loved catching the turtles in the pond right out our back door (I think they spent more time doing this than anything else, seriously!). They each bought a sturdy net and with a package of bologna, some leftover chicken, and some trail mix they were able to catch (and release) many many turtles!

Where did June go?!?

We've spent several days at the pool this month. My boys love love love to swim. The boy's hair is getting lighter and lighter every day!

Noah got a little more brave with his 4 wheeler this year. He threw caution to the wind and had lots of fun getting muddy!The next Tim Tebow? Maybe so. This boy has the upper body strength that amazes everyone!
And our last boy learned to ride on two wheels this month. Although he said he was going to have training wheels until he was ten, he decided to give it a try. No more training wheels for us!!

Strawberry Pie

It's been really really hot here in the Midwest. Unseasonably hot for June. We have spent every hot day at the pool since school got out. My kids are tired of the pool. already. It's going to be a long summer! So today my sister and I decide to take the kids to a u-pick strawberry farm in Indy. We had a great day making memories! The kids picked strawberries for about 2 minutes and 26 seconds, and then they went back to the van to play their DS games. So my sister, my parents, and I continue picking until our buckets are full. Here is Devin with his "Big Mamma" strawberry he found!

And here is Dalton and Audrey before they started picking. Audrey said it was "way too sunny" to open her eyes for a picture.
After we had all the fun we could handle at the strawberry farm, we head to a nearby park. We pull in and these two say they are just going to sit in the van and play their DSs. "Oh no you're not!" the moms bark in unison from the front seat. So they get out and play fight until we can't take it any more.
On the way back to my sister's house, she stops and gets 2 pie shells and some yummy Wick's pie glaze. Then we go home and pick stems off the berries, wash and dry them, then make 2 beautiful pies. We are so proud of our beauties. These are works of art. Later I load up my van and all of our stuff from the day (including my beautiful pie), and one of my sons (who will remain anonymous) steps on my pie! Oh. my. word. So much for my work of art!

The one in which my husband calls Kirk Cameron "Dude"!

I grew up watching Kirk Cameron on Growing Pains! I totally had a crush on Mike Seaver. I mean come on, what girl my age didn't? I had pictures of him from Teen Beat all over my bedroom walls. I dreamed of meeting him and him deciding I would be his girlfriend and we would live happily ever after! Okay, then I grew up and realized that would never happen.

Now Kirk Cameron is famous for a whole different reason. If you saw him in the movie Fireproof, you would know him as fireman Caleb Holt. Since then Kirk Cameron has become very passionate about saving marriages. We were able to join some friends of ours and go to Kirk's Love Worth Fighting For seminar. We were blessed by what he had to say, and I never thought I would get to actually to speak to him. We chose not to pay extra money for the meet & greet after he spoke.

So it's the end of the seminar, and my husband and I with our friends go out a back entrance. We parked in different locations, so our friends exit out a side door and head to the parking lot. My husband and I continue walking down the hallway (I'm a few steps behind him) and he starts talking to the guy in front of us (which if you know my husband, this is nothing new!). I am totally oblivious to what is going on and am reading the locker room signs. The guy asks him if he enjoyed the night. My husband tells him yes it was great and thanks. And then I realize he is talking to Kirk Cameron. And I start getting a little nervous. So at this point the conversation goes like this:

My husband: "Dude, could you do me a favor?"

Kirk Cameron: "sure, what?" (he is totally sincere)

My husband: "Could you say hello to my wife?"

Kirk Cameron: "sure". and he stops and says (to me!) "hello". And shakes my hand!! "Did you enjoy tonight?"

Me: I think I said something like "yes. thank you. we want you to come to Greenfield, Indiana"

Kirk Cameron: "Greenville, Indiana?"

My husband: "No Greenfield"

Then his publicity guy whisks him away into the crowd to go sign autographs for all the people who paid extra to meet him. Then I in my high pitched very excited voice scream, "how did that just happen?"!! So that is my Kirk Cameron story, and if he ever comes to Greenfield, Indiana, I will definitely pay extra so I can get a picture and autograph!!

gogo's crazy bones

If you have school aged children, maybe you've heard of this newest obsession. GOGO's CRAZY BONES are the new cool thing in our neighborhood. We were able to share with some friends of ours. Here are the boys with their favorite crazy bones.

It didn't take long for the boys to make their way through the bowl and then begin trading with each other and putting stickers in their books. There are a total of 80 to collect, so let the collecting begin!
And you can check out their very cool website and learn all about how to start your very own collection.