Boyish Charm

Busy weekend

Saturday was slow going for us, but once we got into gear we had a blast. We headed to the lake to meet Christie and the gang. It was the first time that we were able to both bring our boats out together. Christie and I managed to get our old butts up on the tube and we had a blast. The entire time that Hughie was pulling us all Christie and I could do was laugh, we gave ourselves headaches from laughing so hard... Of course I am a bit sore today, but it was worth the fun.

Almost the whole gang...

 
Christie and I waiting for take off

Daniela being pulled... Don was SOOO easy on her!

 
Don got a chance to play too!

Tyler seems to be stuck like glue when he gets on a tube or anything else. No matter how hard Don tries (and he trieds hard) Tyler doesn't come off.... this time he did though, and that's only because Alex had fallen off and with his weight gone, the tube flipped and landed on top of Tyler in the water, otherwise, I'm sure he would have still been hanging on!

 
This is our "Redneck Yacht Club"

And today was our Annual Cathey Family Reunion in the teeny tiny town of Vici, Oklahoma! Most years Don is the Auctioneer and he sure does do a mighty fine job with it.

Mom R., Great Grandma, Aunt Debbie and Great Granddad

Rare photo of Don and I

On another note.... Things are getting pretty scary with this De Je Veux Hurricane heading straight for New Orleans. I was just watching the local news and they were talking about how they have taken the Lucent building (which has been empty for several years) and turned it into a place for the evacuees to take refuge. They are expecting between 400 and 975, but have put the word out that we will take more. We already have patients at our local hospitals and more arriving as I type this.
I just think it is crazy how it is happening again. At least things seem to be much more better prepared this time, but how can the New Orleans area handle such a tragedy so soon. Everyone pray! Even if you don't pray... it won't hurt you, Pray to someone! I don't know what I can do, but I feel compelled to volunteer in some way or another!

C.

I'm a crabby patty...

... Just wanted to be honest!
It's that monthly visit from my least favorite Aunt and apparently when I had my tubal done, she decided to make my life a living hell. She does a pretty good job of it too. I don't like people, I don't like my family and I don't like myself. When I had gone to the doc about how I felt once a month, they basically blamed it all on the fact that "Now that you are in your 30's, your life will suck"...
Did you know that 30's were ancient and your body started becoming decrepit at that time? Ughh. The only thing that the doc chose to do for me was put me on lexapro... HUH? I am ok the rest of the time... for the most part... why do I need that for just one week a month? And seriously, with a household of 9, do you really think I have time to remember to take a daily pill?

Well, this week was not quite as smooth as I had hoped. It's the second week of school (for me) and I had really hoped that I would be more in sync with my new schedule, but no. I'm sure my Aunt isn't helping matters any. School has been great though. I don't feel totally lost, I feel like I am getting it and I am really truly enjoying all of my classes. It's been pretty funny this week though, in my Women's History class we have been talking about feminism and working on a couple of pretty big assignment for it. What a topic to start while I am PMS'ing. And as I am hardcore pms'ing my fil wants to come over and start talking about my messy room and that it is my job, as the wife and mother, to keep the whole house clean, blah blah blah. He about got it!

Did I tell you all that I am taking American Federal Government this semester too? I am sure that my professor is LOVING this semester, what with the elections. We have so many discussions to post and projects to do regarding the election. I am actually rather glad that I am taking it now though. I am a horrible American.... Yes, I admit it... I have never ever ever voted! Don't run off and never speak to me again.. WAIT. I have been busy, I have had all these kids and my poor brain has been frazzled. BUT now I am older, more mature, understand the world a bit better, and I am going to vote this year... FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!! I am voting because that is my right as an American, I am voting because it is my right as a woman, and I am voting because I have professors offering extra credit! YES!!

I have been watching the Democratic Convention all week (the first political stuff I have watched in Lord only knows how long). I am really excited. I used to think I was Republican. 8 Years ago I like McCain. Now, I am thinking "not so much!!!". I am definitely going to watch the Republican convention and see what I think from there, but at this point, I think I have made my decision.

I also want to take this moment to say how proud I am to be a part of major history being made today. It's been a very long time and many thought it would never happen, but we finally have a black nominee running! WOW.

OK... that is probably enough of my rambling. So that you didn't make a total waste of checking out my blog, let me leave you with some of my way late vacation pics.

 
Those are my feetsies!

If this doesn't say "beach" I don't know what does!

That's my mama... she really really misses the beaches! If my dad would say 'yes', they would live on a beach and she would walk it EVERY day!

 
That's my 'lil bubba... he's looking for mermaids!

Beautiful to look at (and take rocks for my collection) but not so nice on the feet!

 
Did you know my mom lived on Welfare when she was a little girl? She sure did... Welfare Street in hmmm Cranston I believe. I was really confused during this part of the drive. We were on the outskirts of Cranston/Providence. Isn't it cute though. Mom just kept talking about how it used to be bigger! HA!

I was kind of 'steamered' out, but now that I look at this pic... I want more STEAMERS!

Ok, folks... Thats all for today.
We'll get more vaca pictures posted the next time I am to lazy to take any! :)

C.

Who knew alfredo was so easy?

After scouring the freezer and trying to decide what needed to be cooked for dinner... I decided on shrimp. I checked out a few recipes on Recipezaar and came up with my own version of....

Shrimp Linguine Alfredo

or Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

1 lb shrimp, deveined and tails off

2 1/2 Tablespoons of minced garlic

1/4 small onion, chopped

grated parmesan cheese

package of Linguine (any pasta can be used here really)

1 1/2 Tablespoon of EVOO

1 1/2 Tablespoon of butter

1 1/2 Cups of milk

2 teaspoons corn starch

small bunch of parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook pasta.
2. Whisk milk and corn starch together, set aside.
3. Over medium heat, heat EVOO and butter in large frying pan.
4. Add garlic and onion to EVOO mixture and cook for about 5 minutes until soft.
5. Add prepared shrimp and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes. Shrimp will continue cooking through the rest of the process.
6. Pour in milk mixture, stirring frequently as sauce thickens.
7. Add salt, pepper and chopped parsley to taste.
8. Sprinkle with parmesan.

ENJOY! Let me know what you think.... I seriously was amazed at how simple making my own alfredo was, not to mention how much lighter and better it tasted than the jarred sauce you can purchase at your local grocer.

Oh... and that yummy salad I made was simply... Hearts of Romaine, Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, Craisins, and Almond slivers.... mmmmmm

And as I leave you for the night... I'l throw in a few pictures of Don and Christian from Tyler's football practice the other night. Since, of course, I had that HORRID pictureless blog post! ;)

C.

Did someone say we live in a zoo?

Well if they haven't yet (with our 3 dogs, 4 cats, a gerbil, 6 kids and a foreign exchange student) then they will now.

I am sure most of you saw the sweet puppy pics that I posted about 11 days ago. It is absolutely amazing how much they have grown already. They are definitely eating well on mama Belle! If anyone is interested in buying ACA registered Mini Dachshunds several weeks down the road, then let me know!

As some of you know... We used to have birds... We've had a few love birds and cockatiels in our time! ;) I have missed them so! I have missed their singing and squawking that really seemed to liven up our home. Here and there I would take a look online for breeders to see what was available. Today, on a total whim, I took a looksie. I found a breeder right here in my own town, so of course, I called! He asked if we wanted to come take a look at what he had to offer! DUH! So no only do we have the earlier mentioned zoo.... plus 5 puppies... but we also have 2 birds to add to the mix.

The little guy on the left is a Cinnamon Pearl Pied Cockatiel.

The little guy on the right is a Cinnamon Pied Cockatiel (about 5%).

No... They don't have names yet, but I would love to get some name ideas. They are both boys. It is hard to tell from this photo (i'll take a better one in better light tomorrow) but they are both mostly a light yellow. The one on the left is yellow and grey.

So, I feel like giving away a RAK (random act of kindness). Post your bird name ideas by the end of the week (friday the 29th) and I will choose 2 random names for a RAK!

Can't wait to hear your ideas!

C.

School Ramblings and more...

It has sure been a busy week. School started Monday and so far... I have LOVED it all. I have Algebra on Mondays and Wednesdays and I have Women's History on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My WH class has been great. I can totally see why Don loved Ms. Yelle's classes so much. The first two day's of school was Raiderz Dayz. It's a day where local vendors and class groups have tables set up and are giving out information and goodies.. so after class I headed on over there, got my two free slices of pizza, pop and a yummy icee drink (like a parrot ice). Of course I had to scan all the tables to see what kind of free stuff I could get my hands on. Overall it has been great. I have a ton of schoolwork to get caught up on between my campus classes and my online classes, but it's all good!

Of course this was the first week that the kids had a full week of school. It has been wonderful. We are actually back on a schedule here! YAY!! Once the kids are off to school, the babies and I have breakfast (cereal for them, coffee for me) and then they watch some toons while I do whatever I need to do on the computer. Then we do chores, start dinner, have lunch and get a nap... Of course I have class at different times four of those days, but it works out pretty much the same. It has been fabulous. Hopefully once I get a bit more on a schedule with classes, I can spend more time doing some crafts and getting ready for Christmas. Kristin has some fabulous ideas posted on her Reclaiming the Home Blog... Check it out if you are looking for some crafty inspiration.

OH... I almost forgot to tell you about our oh so wonderful evening out with friends last night! Don and I like to have dinner with Christie and Hughie whenever we get the chance. It is pretty much a weekly Friday night ritual for them, but with us having smaller children, we don't have that luxury yet. So... Daniela agreed to watch the kiddos and we headed out. I had suggested going to maybe Chelino's in Bricktown and then walking the Canal, but Don suggested we just go a few extra blocks over to La Luna and then we could stroll Bricktown. Everyone was up for the idea, so we headed out. Dinner was yummy.... although our waiter seriously could have kept up on the salsa and queso...ughhh. We chose to park at Bass Pro (free parking) and of course had to go inside and check out the fishing, hunting and boating stuff (MEN), we walked over to the ballpark and from there we cruised all of Bricktown and part of downtown in a horse drawn carriage being pulled by Topsy and Queenie (Awwwwww). After that we decided we might as well take a ride on the Canal while we were there. We purchased our tickets and headed down the steps to the boat, which was entirely too crowded. As we were waiting, we spotted another boat and when we got closer we saw that it was the Cocktail Cruiser. We were all  about that one. It was great... same boats as the rest of the ones on the canal, but this one they had a 'bar', bartender and all the works set up on one end. It was a lot of fun... the driver was a blast, the bartender was a blast and for the most part the other people on the boat were fun. On the way back to the car, the ball game was over and they were doing their nightly fireworks. It was truly a great ending to a great night!

Of course.... my lens has been dropped off at the shop, my batteries are dead and I am not sure where the charger is, and my other camera.... the camera, the memory card and the battery is all mia.. separately!

So, no new photos to share right now! :(

OH... I do have a parenting issue I could sure use some feedback on. Jonathan (the 3 year old monsterangel) is a master at escaping out the front door. We have a chain... he's figured it out. We have purposely left the door noisy... he has figured out how to escape quietly. He is a true escape artist. He has had numerous time outs, spankings (yes... we spank), treats taken away, etc etc. I just don't know what to do anymore. I can't believe that we have not had the police or dhs on our doorsteps because of him yet. He likes to run around the house most of the time in his underwear, so of course, when he escapes, he is only wearing his underwear. I am sure that we look like fantastic parents.

Anyhow... Today, I was in the office leaned over the puppy box. He had been right behind me... I had NO idea he had left the room, let alone had he opened the front door. I realized that it was entirely to quiet in the house and went into immediate Jonathan hunting. He was no where to be found inside or out back. Don had already looked out front and didn't see him. He went back out to look again and when he got to the corner, the neighbors asked if he was looking for his kid.. (duh... and why on earth are the neighbors just gonna watch a 3 year old, in underwear wander with no adult? that's another story).. anyways, they pointed him around the corner from us at the little apartment complex in our neighborhood. He ended up finding him over there with one of our dogs, playing on their playground. He was in a ton of trouble, I assure you, but he just doesn't get it. I try to explain he can get hurt, it's dangerous... all that, but nothing is working. HOW can I effectively keep this child in the house? How can I get him to get the point?

I seriously will appreciate any suggestions or thoughts you might have!

Until the next time...

C.

Randomness

I didn't want to be a blog slacker, so I figured I had better get on here with a tiny update and some photos... Who doesn't love photos?

School starts tomorrow. I am taking 4 classes this semester... Women's History (on campus), Elementary Algebra (on campus), American Federal Government (online), and Intro to Sociology (online). I'm really excited for this semester for several reasons.... Jennifer and I are taking several classes together, so I will have a great study buddy! This is my first 16 week course, so I might actually have more family time and me time. My Women's History class is taught by Don's all time favorite professor, Michelle Yelle. He has spoken so very highly of her, so of course I have to go and see what all the hype is about! And I got the cutest book bag at JC Penney today! :)

Tyler is starting football this week for the MWC Falcons. He was really disappointed last year when all they had available at the school was flag football. This is a team that one of his friends from school is on and it is contact football... so we get to get the uniform, pads... the whole works! We'll see how his little body manages football!

Noah, Nicolas and Zachary all want to play soccer for MWC. I am gonna have to look into it a bit more and see what kind of schedule it is. If they can all manage to practice around the same time at the same location, that would be perfect. I know that Tyler can get a ride to practices with his buddy if need be. So, I'll be making a soccer info call tomorrow. I think we are going to have a very busy fall!

Mom and Dad are moving and downsizing... BONUS for me (and Liz, Matt... and Christie too) we have gotten all kinds of goodies for our homes! Our husbands haven't been all that ecstatic, but it's all good. The majority of the things I have swiped have been sentimental, things that have been handed down over the years! I'll get some photos of those things soon.... AFTER I get up the vacation photos that I got sidetracked away from.

The puppies are doing great. They have become quite vocal and let mama know when they need something! Belle has gotten more comfortable with leaving them to go hang out back for short periods of time throughout the day. She is really being a great mama. She is such a girl though, has to have her new living quarters exactly to her liking. Apparently Don and I don't know how to make her bed very well!

Christian is working on his terrible two's these days. And with that new haircut, he is showing us some new personality.

I guess that is all I have for the moment... Wish me luck at school this week! I think I can handle an hour and fifteen minutes a day with a bunch of youngun's ;)

Ciao for now!

Christina

Newness

So many fun and exciting things have been going on since I last blogged…

For example… Our new Foreign Exchange Student, Daniela from Brazil, arrived on Saturday.

This was the morning of back to school day (oh what a glorious day that was). Nicolas was hiding behind them not quite awake enough to enjoy a picture.

Speaking of back to school… Here are the annual BTS pictures of the morning and the kiddos with their new teachers.

Mrs. Long and Zachary (she was Nicolas' teacher last year, so she knows about these Manning Boys!)

Mrs. Leatherman and Nicolas. She's another that knows about these boys. She had Noah for a short time a couple of years ago. She is also the sister to Mrs. Anderson, the wonderful kindergarten teacher that many of my boys shared. She's a toughie… but underneath that exterior she has a HUGE heart!

Mrs. Ryan and Noah. She'll learn this year about those crazy kids of ours! Hope she's prepared!!

Mrs. Borm and Tyler. Another newbie to our family. OH, Tyler has reached a milestone this year. He is changing classes throughout the day. Getting ready for next year when he heads to Junior High (OH MY).

It really has been great to have some routine back. We are on day 3 of school and so far everyone is very pleased with their classes, their teachers and their classmates. We have to be careful though, Zachary has his neighbor friend, Cooper, in class with him and those two are either the best of friends or the worst of enemies… I had a talk with both of them that they need to concentrate on class and can hang out after school. Noah has the little girl from across the street in his class, but I'm not too worried about those two. This year we also have a new school principal, school counselor and gym teacher. Don and I have met all except for the gym teacher and they all seem like wonderful people. We'll see how they live up to it as the year goes by. They have some pretty large shoes to fill this year!

Soooo… Our baby graduated from Babyhood this week. (really, he did, he has a certificate that says so!)

Love those curls… awwww

He went to a real true barber too… awwww

He sat perfectly still the whole time… The barber even sent mom home with a lock of curls… awwww

Now it's time to enjoy that tootsie roll for being such a GOOD boy!

So, we have been waiting for Belle to have her puppies any day. Tuesday was her due date, but nada. So, just as we were starting to get ready to head out to church on Wednesday, she starts having them.

She was such a good mommy. She knew exactly what to do. Don had to help pull a couple of them out, one of the puppies was coming out backwards and Belle was having a really tough time pushing.

We headed off to church. Last night was the 'back to school bash' for the kiddos and Awana sign ups. Another cute milestone… All of my children are in Awana this year. Tyler is in 'Truth and Training', Noah, Nicolas and Zachary are in Sparks, Jonathan is in Cubbies and Christian is in Puggles. Is that not just too cute or what?

Daniela got soaked. Good thing Tyler's t-shirt fit her!

Daniela and Noah running away and laughing after Noah through a water football at one of the other mom's behind! Lol

I think Zachary was trying to do the PeeWee herman dance here!

When we got home, Belle had 2 more puppies. A total of 5 puppies and it looks like 4 of them are boys and 1 girl!

Aren't they just about the cutest little puppies ever?!?!

Mosaic Meme

Bored (ha… no, really) and thought I would do this cute little meme. Super simple… Answer the question and type your answer into flickr. Use the first photo that pops up for your mosaic.

 

 

The questions:

1. What is your first name? Christina
2. What is your favorite food? Seafood
3. What high school did you attend? Moore High School
4. What is your favorite color? Red
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Matthew McConnaughey and McDreamy
6. What is your favorite drink? Vanilla Frappuccinno with Caramel
7. What is your dream vacation? Italy
8. What is your favorite dessert? Apple pie and vanilla ice cream
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? A legacy
10. What do you most love in your life? My family
11. One word to describe you. Generous
12. Your flickr name. lilmama0

     

    Have fun… let me know if you do this so I can check your mosaic meme out too!

The Men in My Life…

We had a nice day today… Did our daily chores then decided to head up to Don's dad's house to let the kids play and feed him dinner. I also wanted to go see Captain. I have felt like we've neglected him this summer, but we just haven't gotten around to heading up there.

So the boys played in the horse trough (yes… we are redneck) and had a blast. Don and his dad tried to get some AC window units going in the house since his AC went out. The AC guy showed up to fix it… but looks like he has to wait a few days and shell out over 3k for a new unit… SUCK… especially with the 103+ weather we are having… OK, so back on subject. I cooked up some dinner… steak, mashed taters, corn, salad, pasta salad, some yummy sautéed mushrooms and so on... GOOD GRUB if you ask me. After dinner, we decided to take the kids to the Guthrie drive in to watch Disney's Wall-E. We had a great time, we were a little unprepared for the drive in, but it was still nice.

Possibly tomorrow, I will sit down with some more vacation updates, but until then… here are the men in my life!

Until next time…

Christina

William May

You will be missed more than you can ever imagine. Thank you for the time we were able to spend together before your passing.

We love you!!!