Birthday Swap Fun

I love blog swaps and I found a great one to participate in.

Shawn over at Seriously Shawn is hosting a birthday swap. It is a great way to meet other bloggers and receive a little prize in the mail from someone else. Click on her button to check it out!

I Gotta Get Out Of This Place

We are leaving town again today and I can't wait! My hubby has worked really long hours this week so I have hardly seen him. Luckily he comes home for supper, but the girls have a million things to tell him so I don't get a lot of conversation in. It is always wonderful to get him out of town and away from work. I know, he still has his phone, but at least I can look at him while he is talking on it.

I will be away from the computer until Monday, (which is really hard for me), but I have a great new book to review for my Girlfriends Get Real blog so I am going to sit by the lake and read.

I wanted to leave you with an easy, easy weekend meal (that is probably not good for you, but it is yummy). I apologize in advance for my food photography skills, I am still learning and experimenting.

Grilled Pizza is a favorite in our house, on the grill or even better on the campfire. And, it is super easy to make.

First, take out a loaf or two of frozen bread dough and let it rise to bread baking size. (1 load makes two adult pizzas and three little girl pizzas)

Shape your dough into pizza forms. (Mine are never pretty)

Brush Olive Oil on both sides of the dough. (Wow this picture looks like I used a lot of Olive Oil)


Grill on one side for about 3-5 minutes. We really watch them, you want to take them off of the grill when they start getting brown and crispy. (warning, they can get black fast and then you will have little ones that say I don't want to eat the black part)

Remove from the grill and top the grilled side with pizza sauce & alfredo sauce (from the jar), and all of your other fixings. This time we just used pepperoni and cheese. (I was trying to clean out my fridge without going to the store)


Grill for another 3 to 5 minutes until the bottom is crispy and brown.


Enjoy!

About

I am a stay-at-home mom of three girls living in a small town in South Dakota. I am currently working on two personal blogs. Thue Crue is my family blog. It is my goal as a mom to help my kids have an unforgettable childhood. Adventures of the Thue Crue is my family's adventures, the good the bad and the ugly. We love to explore, craft and let our imaginations run wild.

Girlfriends Get Real is a blog that focuses on my desire to share my thoughts on Faith. I am not perfect and this blog gives me an opportunity to share my story, my struggle and my journey. I love the Lord with all of my heart, all of my soul, all of my strength and all of my mind (Luke 10:27). I strive to grow in my relationship with Jesus Christ every day.

When I am not writing online I can be found: reading, scrapbooking, and spending time with my family. I am married to a wonderful man that helps me to dream big and finances all of our crazy adventures. He graciously lives in a house full of pink, ponytails and a lot of drama.

Taylor is our soon to be 9-year-old daughter. She loves to write and draw. She plays the piano and sings. Already she loves to be center stage.

Madelyn is our soon to be 7-year-old daughter. She is already way too high fashion for me. I don't have to persuade her to get ready in the morning. Soon, I am sure she will be the fashion director of this house. She will tell you already how horrible it is to be the middle child. (and I sympathize with her because I was a middle child, too)

Nadia is our soon to be 4-year-old daughter. She is the Queen of the Castle, just ask her. She starts everyday with chocolate milk and Dora the Explorer. She can be found cruising down the sidewalk on her training wheels shouting, "Look at me!"

My blogs are ever-changing because God isn't finished with me yet. It is my goal to share with my readers a glimpse into our lives as we try to honor Jesus Christ in everything we do. I want this to be a fun place for you to stop off to laugh with me, cry with me and watch me try to create a childhood that my children will never forget.

Sorry In Advance

Just wanted to let all of you following my blog that you will see a few posts from me today. I am working on adding a Navigation Bar to my site and the only way I know how is to post each of the pages I am trying to link to. I guess you won't have click on the links if I ever get them to work because you will have already received them. . .wish me luck all of this computer language is giving me a headache.

My Little CEO

Okay for those of you that read my Wordful Wednesday post yesterday. . .it gets even better. My oldest daughter has moved on to a formal presentation to get her own room in the basement. I think she will be a CEO someday.

She had a storyboard and speaking prompts. Where did she learn all of this stuff?


She even tried to compliment my "Sense of Style" and her dad's "Strong Man Abilities".


This is her calling her grandpa to come and put her new carpet in. She said he said, "sure" ("What do you think Grandpa?")


Later in the evening I saw all three girls headed upstairs with suitcases. She decided they should help her pack up her room??

Head over to Cheaper Than Therapy to join in A Thousand Word Thursday Fun.

Wordful Wednesday - Eight Year Olds To Do List

I know I shared a few photos with you on the MckLinky Blog hop, but I can never resist Wordful Wednesday over at 7 Clown Circus.



Last night my husband and I were outside making supper on the grill when our (way too smart for age 8) oldest daughter came outside with a notebook in hand. She stood in front of us and said, "Okay I have a list of things that need to get done around this house."

My husband and I just laughed, but she continued with her list. It had things on it that we needed to get done before she can move her room into the basement. And a few wish items like a dog?!


After every item she read to us she would say, "Not Checked". After the wish list items like a TV in her room she would say, "Definitely not checked."


She even had a drawing of how she would lay out her room when we finished her list of to-do's.


She went in the house and my husband and I were talking about one of the major items that she had forgotten on her list that would have to be done before anything else.

A few minutes later she came outside and said, "By the way, I forgot about this. . ."

Unbelievable, like I said before, way too smart for her own good. We got a good laugh out of it. Too bad, a lot of the things on her list really do need to be done. Except for the puppy and the TV, definitely will remain unchecked!

Favorite Kid Photo (from this week)

Another MckLinky Blog Hop is here and this week is Favorite Kid Photos. This was a hard one because I have taken over 800 pictures just this summer. I decided that I wasn't taking enough pictures and well, I maybe got a little carried away.

These first few pictures actually just happened tonight. Little one went to the pool with her sisters. She is wearing a swimsuit she hasn't had on all summer. She said, "Look Mom, I have stripes on my butt."


Her big sister got into the pool to catch her. Thanks honey, mommy didn't really want to get wet today!



My #2 said, "Take a picture of me mom!" and she plugged her nose and went under.


All tuckered out. Can you see the chocolate around Little One's mouth. She fell asleep eating chocolate chips.

Weekend in Review

Our girls arrived home safely from the Taylor Swift concert. They had so much fun and they even brought little one a t-shirt and me a guitar pick.

Saturday night we decided we needed to do the fire pit. It is a great place for us to all sit around without the distraction of the tv or computer and talk. Smores are always on the menu. We were trying to see who would see the first star of the night.



Even one of the wild little kittens had to check out the fire.


Sunday we spent all day (I mean 11:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night) at softball games. We love it that Daddy still loves to play, but it can make for a very long, hot, (sometimes) boring day. The girls were so good. We brought a cooler full of food and they brought a van full of entertainment.

Later in the day they found a hose and water so they cooled themselves off.


Can you believe I only gave them $.75 all day for the concession stand. I guess the cooler paid off.

Now we are starting another week. One week closer to the first day of school. We are going to start working on a fun project today. I can't wait to share the finished product.

Little one just walked into the house with four paint rollers?? That is not the kind of project I was thinking of. I better sign off for now.

Littlest Pet Shop Houses

Last Monday when we were camping, it rained and rained and rained.



Thank goodness we have a camper and not tents. My hubby and I sat under the awning and watched the rain. The girls entertained themselves inside. They had brought all of their LIttlest Pet Shops. They started to dig around to find accessories for their imaginative play.

They found plates that they transformed into houses for their pets. They had so much fun. What a great idea. The best part is they came up with it all by themselves.

Here are a few pictures of their fun.

Happy Friday

Okay so for all of my family and friends visiting my blog today. I am going to leave you with a few new pics of the girls. I wish that I lived down the street from some of you so you could see the girls everyday in their finest and not so finest (then I could leave them with you on the uglier days) :-)





I am still hopping around the blog world today meeting wonderful new blogging friends and checking out blogs that are a lot prettier than mine.

Today's BlogNerd link up is about advise for other bloggers. I am still learning here. The main thing I have learned from this blogging experience is reflected in my blogging name "Get Real Girl". I am slowly gaining a few followers, I would love to add more to both of my blogs. I am excited today to check out new blogs and get new ideas. There are a lot of great sites to download free background templates to make your blog "pretty". And there are also a lot of great bloggers that do custom designs. I hope to get a little custom work done here, when I kick-off some new ideas in the fall.

So if you are a blogger and you want to check out some cool blogs, go to BlogHop '09 or the BlogNerd Bash.

Blognerd Bash

O'kay, so I am pretty new the world of blogging and I am really still trying to figure it all out. So I decided the best way to do that is to visit as many blogs as I possibly can and learn from the experts.

One way to do this is to participate in blog hops. So starting today I am participating in BlogNerd Bash. A lot of bloggers will be in Chicago this weekend for Blogher. I won't. :-( This is my way of still meeting bloggers.

In September I am hoping to do a huge makeover on this site. I hope it will be fun for everyone so stay tuned.

Part of the Blognerd Bash is to tell a little about yourself, (deep breath), so, here goes.

My name is Amy. I am a SAHM of three girls, Taylor (8), Madelyn (6) and Nadia (3). Everyone is nearing their next birthday so we are starting to gear up for fall parties. I am married to a wonderful man who is my hero, (you can read about it here).

I was a working mom until my youngest was 6 months old. I have a degree in mass communications and have worked in the marketing, customer service and healthcare industries.

I love to write and read. I would love to have more time to craft, (hopefully when my children are a little older). As my youngest starts school I would like to begin freelance work as a writer. I love to sing and lead worship at my home church.

Most importantly, I am a follower of Jesus Christ. He is the most important part of my life. I am on a faith journey that has its ups and downs, but every night I go to sleep in peace, knowing that I believe in a big God that is always with me. I write about my faith journey on my other blog Girlfriends Get Real. In blog world I am the Get Real Girl. Because life isn't easy and way too many people try to pretend that it is. My writing is from my heart, no fluff, it is just me being real.

Visit Amanda to check out this Blog Hop!

And. . .there is another great Blogher at Home Blog Hop. Make sure you check in out here.

Behind the Green Door

I have a lot to get done today. I am overwhelmed with the messiness and disorganization in my house. It is funny how the kids know when I just have to be left alone to get everything back in working order. I was busy slaving away over my domestic tasks when I realized they were being way too quiet. I decided I better search for them.

I heard giggling from behind this green door.


They heard movement outside their clubhouse.


I think they are hiding from their crabby mom.

Wordful Wednesday - Follow the Trail

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photos but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about them. If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll.

I have so many wonderful pictures to share from our weekend away as a family. Here are a few of my favorites. It was an amazing weekend for all of us. It helped us all to remember how much fun we can have together and that we really do like each other.









Join the Wordful Wednesday fun at 7 Clown Circus!

Play Day

My kids ran me ragged yesterday. It was play day from the time they woke up until bedtime. I was exhausted and they are still sleeping. (That is unusual for little one).

I wanted to share a few pictures from the day. Nadia went from one thing to the next and then back again. It was a great day. Now I need to get my camper packed up for a nice long weekend away. (I should have done it yesterday, but we were having way too much fun).

Backyard Picnic (very simple sandwiches, strawberries and string cheese). We love backyard picnics. The conversation is always interesting and the food just tastes better outside.


Scrapbooking - I let them overtake the table with their supplies. I give them pictures and they create. I used to try to help, but I ended up telling them what to do. Now I just help little one with her "sticks". (what she calls scrapbook tape)


Rollerblading - Nadia really wants to rollerblade like her sisters. I am always a little nervous that she is going to kick me in the shin. (It has happened before and these little rollerblades hurt!)

Wordless Wednesday. . .Time for Bed

Everyone else was enjoying smores in the fire pit. Nadia decided that she was ready for bed. She built herself a little place to sleep on the sidewalk.

Cupcakes, Cotton Candy and the Circus

Our family is on a sugar high from a fun filled weekend. We are going to have to eat a lot of fruits and veggies this week to make up for it.

We left for Grandma's house on Thursday. The girls got in a lot of coloring, park playing and beach swimming.


They were tired when we headed back home.

Instead of getting everyone to bed early, we headed to the circus. It is only in town for two nights and the girls have Vacation Bible School tonight. Have you ever been to an outside 3-ring circus? It was great!



Last night when we finally got home, the girls had to give me my birthday presents. Grandma helped them make me books. Little one made me a journal that I can write in. My middle one made me a card.


My oldest decided to write me a story. It is amazing to see what they can do with blank paper, markers and big imaginations.


By the way, this morning the mama cat was keeping guard over the kittens she placed under our deck. She wasn't very happy that I was looking at her. (It is a little blurry because I took it through the screen).


Anybody need a kitten?


Don't forget to click here, to sign up for my Birthday Giveaway.

32 and counting

Today is my birthday, YEAH!! I am celebrating over at my other blog, Girlfriends Get Real. Head over to check out my giveaways in honor of my 32nd birthday. They are just a few things to let you know a little more about me and all the things that I love! Happy Birthday to me, but presents for you. What could be better?

To Grandmother's House We Go

For the second week in a row the girls and I loaded up the vehicle and hit the road to Grandma and Grandpa's house. It is my Birthday tomorrow so I am dropping off the kids for a weekend alone with my hubby. We are actually going to a softball tournament he is playing in, but it is still a weekend without the kids.

We had a great trip here. Little one slept the first half of the trip. I brought my hubby's pickup (which has wireless headphones and a DVD player) so it was a quiet drive.

This week I have been eating healthy (no chocolate). I walked into my parent's house and there sitting on the counter were Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese filling and homemade Chocolate Frosting. . . What do you do?

Scratch the healthy eating for the weekend and dig in. After all, she made them for me for my birthday. Plus, my dad is planning a feast for lunch today before I take off, so that scratches today. And of course I am going to eat whatever I want for my birthday. Oh well, I guess I will start over on Monday.

I asked my little one what we were going to do today at Grammy's. She said, "Go to the library and the beach and the park." I guess she wants to wear me down before I leave her.

By the way, we did catch a kitten yesterday from under the deck. It was so cute and I didn't want to put it back. I reluctantly did. When we get back on Sunday, the mama will probably have moved them since I touched one of them. If not, my sister said if we catch them we can bring them to her farm. I am not sure how we will get them to the farm without keeping one. . .

Check back tomorrow to see my first giveaway in honor of my birthday!

Tales from the Thue Crue Zoo

I have shared with you tales of birds and bunnies that live in our backyard. Well, yesterday my little ones made a new discovery. . .Kittens.

Our backyard deck seems to be a haven for animals. O'kay for two adults that are not huge animal people, I think God is laughing at us.

The girls were of course thrilled with their discovery. The cats however, were way too fast for them and now are shaking under the deck because of the shrill of little girl screams. I am finding that maybe inside of me their is a love for all things furry, and I am fighting it with all my might

Last night when the girls were preoccupied I snuck outside to check out our newest addition to the Thue Crue Backyard Zoo. Staring at me through the deck cracks were 5 kittens. These are not newborn kittens, they are probably the size they should be when you are giving them away. I wanted to hold one really bad. They are soooo cute.

I came back in the house and told my hubby there are 5 kittens, not three (that was the number the girls were guessing earlier). I told them how cute they are and how I really want to hold one. He rolled his eyes at me and said, "Do not start to feed them. Hopefully the mama cat will realize they have been found and will move them." (He is a farm kid that believes all animals belong on the farm).

My three year old went out to check on the kittens with me last night before bed. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said, "Mommy will you catch one for me so I can keep it?" She melted my heart right then.

I really wanted to post a picture of them peeking at me through the deck, but this morning the mama was keeping guard. She heard me coming and shooed them deeper under the deck to an area I cannot see. Maybe my hubby's wish will come true and she will move them now because they have been found.

Or maybe, later today we can grab a picture of them to post for all to see.

On another note, the flowers we planted for earth day (from seeds) are finally starting to bloom. Here is one pic for you. I am not a green thumb and I have never grown anything from a seed. I am so happy the girls are getting to see the flowers. Maybe next year we will try a few more.