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All About Tanner

2010-12-03T14:42:00.001-06:00

My son, Tanner, brought home a sheet that he had filled out at the beginning of school. I thought that I would post this on my blog so that I could look back and remember on day. Of course I will save the best for last.

Just the Facts:

I am 10 years old and in the 4^th grade
My teacher is Mrs. Turner
The members of my family are Mom, Dad, and My sister
Some of my friends are Jake Spivey, Jarrett Wilkinson, and Riley Dothard

A Few of My Favorite Things:

Subject - Science
Food – Bar-b-q Ribs (his spelling)
Sport – baseball
Song – Dynomite (by Tiao Cruz)
Movie – Harry Potter

Awesome Activity:

Play video games

Best Book:

Beastquest Mountain Cyclops

Did you know?

I play different sports (baseball and football)

And know for my absolute favorite part……

My Hero

Billy the Exterminator

My Mini Autobiography

"Once I went to Washington D.C. I went to Abraham Lincoln memorial, Ford's theatre, Washington Monument, and some museums. I ate at McDonalds, bagel shoppe. That was the greatest vacation ever."

Turning Over a New Wreath part 1

2010-12-01T14:17:00.003-06:00

I decided last year, after 8 years with the same grapevine and red berry wreath, that I was going to try to create a unique wreath for my front door. I wanted it to be simple but make you think "Never seen that before". Of course, I didn't reinvent the wheel, I just took an idea and expanded on it, the plan for greatness.

I made a giant "K" for "Kughn" (pronounced "coon") out of foam board and garland. I attached different glass balls that matched my indoor decor, some bells, and some tiny battery operated lights. I couldn't have been happier with the way that it turned out.

The other great part about this particular wreath is that for some reason it scared my husband , Jonathan, every time he opened the front door. Added Bonus!

But then, after about a week the top two arms of the "K" began to fold inward. I tried to brace it with rulers hoping it would strengthen it, but it was no good. So, after Christmas, I tore it apart and am left again with the question "What beauty will adorn my front door this year?"

I have decided after much deliberation to try to create a square wreath using a picture frame. I am unsure of how I am going to accomplish this feat. I will meditate in my havens (Thrift Store and Hobby Lobby) and hope that I can reach the goal of the images in my head.

Part 2 of Turning over a New Wreath tomorrow...

Lifesaver

2010-11-30T13:26:00.003-06:00

Is anyone else a note maker? I am always making notes and lists for myself. I almost daily print out some recipe that just sounds so delicious or instructions for some craft that I can't wait to make. You are probably thinking, " She must have a lot of time on her hands".

The problem is that I do not have very much time at all, and I seldom get around to my grand aspirations. I also have a tendency to loose my lists, notes, recipes, and instructions before I ever get a chance to try it.

In September the clouds parted, the sun shone, the angles rejoiced and I found a website, www.evernote.com. This website has made my life so much easier.

It is basically an online notebook. It downloads the program onto your computer and syncs to the website. In it you can create notebooks and add notes and photos to your notebooks. You can check it from any computer or even your phone. They have different apps for the phones that offer more services.

The best part.... IT'S FREE!!!!!! Try it out and you will thank me for it!

Dixie Bell

2010-05-05T11:48:00.008-05:00

My beautiful Dixie Bell. She was given to us two years ago, on Mother's Day. She is as sweet as she is pretty.

Apparently the other male dogs that live within a two mile radius of our house have also noticed how beautiful she is. For the entire time that she is in heat we have a pack of dogs that live outside our home. There is a yellow lab, chocolate lab, black lab, and a golden retriever.

Her first litter of puppies was from Jackson, the golden retriever. We tried to keep her locked up the next time that she went into heat, but somehow she ended up pregnant again. She must also be a fertile as she is beautiful. This time they were from the black lab.

I was determined to keep her from getting pregnant the last time. I only let her out to use the restroom and I would stand at the door or watch through a window the whole time she was out there. Well, someone who will not be named, that lives in my house that I did not give birth to, let her out and forgot until 20 minutes later. When the unnamed remembered, it was too late. Love was already in progress with the black lab again. At least this time we were prepared for a litter of half breed puppies.

Well, last Monday I got a call from my kids when I was on my home from work that they couldn't find Dixie. I figured that she had gone off somewhere to have her puppies, which is odd because we have an invisible, underground electric fence. When I got home I walked around the house just to check and make sure that she was hiding somewhere. I walked past this hole that both of the dogs had been digging for a few months. It is right next to our septic tank and is more of a tunnel than a whole. Something caught my eye and I took a second look. All I could see was Dixie's back side.

She had gone down in the "tunnel" to have her puppies and got stuck. I ran to our neighbors house to borrow their shovel since ours disappeared and he came and helped me dig her out. It took us at least 20 minutes to get her out. She had one puppy in the "tunnel". We got her out, filled in the hole and I got her settled in the doghouse. She had her other puppy in there.

I still don't know how we only ended up with two puppies. She normally has between 9 and 11. But two is just fine with me. It will be easier to find homes for two.

New Hair Do

2010-05-05T11:18:00.007-05:00

This is my youngest child, my son, Tanner. This is my child that is vary particular about his appearance. Sometimes you might not know that by looking at what is wearing, but he has his own style. He is also very funny, sometimes unintentional. This child lives to look cool and make people laugh. Here he is all clean and ready for church.

And yes, that is my husband in the background. He likes to sneak into the background of pictures. It's an addiction. Anyway, here is what Tanner looks like when he gets back from riding the 4-wheeler with his dad.

A Kughn Family Weekend

2010-04-27T13:24:00.014-05:00

My brother-in-law and his wife have recently moved to Panama City, FL. Jeremy, my brother-in-law, just accepted the job of a minister at Palo Alto Church and they moved there from Orlando. A couple of weeks ago we decided to make a weekend trip to visit them and my precious nephew and niece.

They have been blessed to be able to stay in the lakehouse of one of the members of his church. It is such a lovely place. It is on a spring fed lake, which means that it is fresh water, clear water and cold water! It has it's own natural beach so we didn't have to go get in the crazyness of Panama City Beach.

Saturday morning started with Jonathan, Tanner, and Jeremy going fishing. They didn't have much luck but and a great time, and Tanner held a fish! This a situation that led us to many tears last summer as seen in the picture below.

My family always give me heck because I am not swimming, but if I was swimming look at the pictures that I wouldn't have...

I did decide to go on a canoe ride with the rest of the family. All girls in one canoe and boys in another. We got probably about 300 yards out and the boys canoe flipped. My sister-in-law, Taylor and I laughed until we were about the wet our pants. They worked and got Jeremy and Tanner back in the canoe. We picked up Conner, my nephew, and lost Taylor. She wanted to swim back with her Dad. Oh, but Jonathan could swim back. That wouldn't be stylish enough for him. Instead this is how he arrived back at the dock....

That is my husband, the man that I love. He makes me laugh more than anyone I have ever met and that is one of the reasons that I love him.

Doing the World a Dis-service

2010-03-26T14:09:00.009-05:00

I was thinking to myself the other day, "I live in the middle of so much culture that the rest of the world doesn't get to experience". I made a promise to myself that I would share some of these treasures with you.

I immediately knew what I was going to share first. This is a small beauty/barber shop in Anniston, AL. It is off the beaten path and some of you may have never seen it. Today I got the pictures for you. This was no easy feat. One side of the sign was fairly easy to get a photo of, but the other side, that was a different story. I had to pull into the cemetery across the street and walk as far as I could so that you could see the sign past the trees and the car parked in front of it. It was worth every minute of it.

My question is this. What about this sign would make anyone have faith that the people inside were capable of making me look beautiful? My husband refers to this as the "Alien Beauty Shop". Let me show you what I am talking about.

I know that you are thinking to yourselves, "Amanda, really, I think that you are over-reacting just a little bit". Looking past all the hair terms that I do not understand such as "Kinky Twist" and "Tree Braid" (who would want their hair to look like a tree?), these women are not bad. If I was driving up on this side of the sign I might (MIGHT) pull in if I needed one of these "services".

Please if you will follow me as we take a look at the other side of this very artistic business sign.

People, I am not over reacting. What is that on the right side of the sign. It appears to be an non gender specific alien with worms for hair and a poorly shaped beard!!! I had no idea that there was a market for alien barbers.

And lets don't for get the woman on the left side of the sign. Funny, it kind of looks like Joan Rivers. I guess if they make it look like they style the celebrities it might increase their business.

Now I feel better that I have shared that with the rest of the world. Share this with the ones you love.

The Gift of a Grandparent

2010-02-23T08:58:00.005-06:00

I have been so blessed to have a lot of Grandparents in my life. Between my parents and step-parents I had a total of 4 Grandmothers and 3 Grandfathers. This also brought on a wide variety of grandparent names. I had MaMaw and Papaw, Mama Lou and Daddy Bill, Na-Na, and Mop and Granddaddy. I am also an only child, with a step brother, which meant that I didn't have to share my time with my Grandparents. I enjoyed every moment with them, from the surprise trips to Chuck-E-Cheeze (which was known as ShowBiz Pizza back then) to just sitting with them and watching to news even though I had no idea what they were talking about. It was just special to be in there presence.

At Thirty years old, I still have two grandparents living. I have been thinking lately about the structure of the family and how God set up the gift of Grandparents. For the grandchild there is so much wisdom that can be gained. What better way to learn about life than from people that lived it. I would sit and listen for hours about farming, cooking, driving a milk truck, and life in general. I learned about overcoming struggles. Not the trivial struggles that we experience today such as only being able to afford a 1400 sq. ft. house, or buy a new car, or have an iPhone. My grandparents had real struggles.

From my Mama Lou and Daddy Bill I learned determination. My Daddy Bill fell out of barn silo and was told that he would never walk again. While my Mama Lou was out working the fields, since he couldn't walk, he would use the rocking chair to steady himself and taught himself to walk again. My Mama Lou was raised by a few different step mothers that made her do EVERYTHING while that sat around and went to town. She had to do all the housework, cooking, and was responsible for raising the children. She never complained about it, or used her horrible childhood as an excuse to act however she wanted. She just dealt with it moved on to have a meaningful life. She was such a blessing to so many people. I was robbed of years of learning from her. She died of breast cancer when I was 8 yrs. old. Even through the struggle of that horrible disease, she kept her bravery and grace. My grandfather lived to be 85. When my Mama Lou passed away, he learn to do all of house hold chores and became one of the best cooks I have ever known.

My MaMaw and PaPaw have taught be about true love. That kind that never fades away. My MaMaw and PaPaw were high school sweethearts. They married and had three children, my mother being the middle child. I have heard the stories about the small house they lived in that my grandfather had to make a shower in the corner of the kitchen. The stories about when he was drafted and was sent to Japan, luckily the war ended before his plane landed. The stories of the love that poured into pretty little dresses for my mother and my aunt to wear. In 1998 my PaPaw had a major heart attack and had to have eight stints put into his heart. He also got gangrene in his gallbladder and had to have it removed. He was sick for months and my MaMaw sat by him through it all, caring for him even when he didn't want to be cared for. During this time we began to notice some changes in my MaMaw. She was forgetting things, things that she would do everyday. This progressively got worse over the next 9 years. Through her battle with Alzheimer's my PaPaw cared for her in a way that only a loving husband can. They sat side by side. She wanted him with her all the time. She passed away one year ago last Sunday. This is what I will remember about them.

Lessons like these are priceless to me. I hope that I can pass these on to my children and to my own grandchildren one day. God knew what he has doing when he designed Grandparents.

Play Catch Up

2009-12-22T13:08:00.008-06:00

It feel like so much has happened since my last post, but really it is more like a lot of the same stuff over and over. I wake up, get the kids on the bus, go to work, usually stop at the store on the way home, get the kids ready for whatever practice that we have, worry about dinner, make sure that everyone has what they need for the next day and then collapse on the couch at 8:00 and Jonathan and I usually fall asleep trying to catch up on all of the TV that is on our DVR. This is the life of a mother. If you don't believe me, just ask any other mother and you will hear the same story.

But anyway, we stayed busy through the fall with football and cheerleading. I was fortunate enough for Taylor to be cheering for Tanner's team this year. I will not be so lucky for the next few years. I had the pleasure of coaching the cheer squad. I was so intimidated by the thought of 19 girls ages 9 to 11. I was intimidated at the thought of 19 mothers that probably knew more about what was going on than I did. But I was bless with wonderful girls and wonderful parents.

This has been a great school year for both Taylor and Tanner. They have both had straight A's for the whole year.

Taylor made the Jr. Beta club, which means that she had a 90 or higher average for the previous school year. Her school now has over half of its students in the Jr. Beta Club. We LOVE our school system. This is us at her induction ceremony.

Taylor also get escorted for homecoming by her "boyfriend". During this process I learned that "boyfriend" is a title only. They do not talk to each other and from the pictures you can tell that they NEVER touch each other. And that is the way that it should be.

She also had her first school dance this year. It is 5th and 6th grade only and the teachers make it fun and casual. She had so much fun. Her boyfriend couldn't go because he got sick. He was so worried about Taylor that he called his best friend and told him to tell her that he couldn't make it. I thought that was so sweet. Most guys wouldn't be thinking about anything other that how crappy they feel. Although I can't say that I was disappointed that he couldn't make it. It was just one less thing for me to worry about. This is her before she left to go to the dance.

Taylor also got 2nd place in the 4H photo contest for her school and 1st place in the cooking challenge. Since she got 1st place she will go on the County. She is also class president for 4H. She was so happy.

Tanner loves his teacher this year. She has him so excited about learning and reading. He made the school spelling bee this year. This for 3rd and 4th grade which is around 250 students. Each class does their own spelling bee and the top 25 go on to the school bee. Tanner came in 4th place and was the only 3rd grader left. He still cried and was disappointed that he didn't win. I worried about him being at school all day, so sad. When he got off the bus he said "This was the best day, coming in 4th in the spelling bee made me famous. Everybody knows who I am." Gotta love his humble attitude. I wish that I could post a picture from the spelling bee, but they are on our laptop and it crashed. So sad.

As for Jonathan, he is a happy camper. He shot his first buck on Sunday morning. This was a 11 year goal finally accomplished. Needless to say he feels on top of the world.

Well, back to my schedule. Time to go the store so I can worry about dinner.

Wegle Wegle War Eagle.....

2009-09-25T13:47:00.006-05:00

It was a beautiful afternoon on August 31. I had just dropped my son off at his football practice and was heading back home. For those of you who do not know, I live in Alabama. Keep that in mind as you read the story. While driving down the road I saw a large bird in the road in front of me. It was getting a bite off of something that was dead in the road. It started to fly up in the air as I got a little closer and I noticed that it was lighter around its head. I thought that it was an owl, which I have seen in that area. As I got right in front of it, it landed on a tree. I very surprised to see that it was a bald eagle. They are not indigenous to this area. I immediately called my husband and told him to get ready. I got home, grabbed my husband and my camera and head back to where I had seen it before. I was so sad to see that it was not there. Jonathan decided to turn down the road next to where I had seen it and there it sat. Just beautiful. It was such a rare treat that the local paper ran the picture that I took in the Sunday paper. My only fear now is that some Alabama bubba is going to hunt it down and have it mounted over his fireplace.

I told my husband that this must have been a sign of good things to come for my Auburn Tigers. The Saturday after I saw the eagle, we went to Auburn for the first game of the season where we chant "Wegle, wegle, War xxxx Eagle, kick 'em in the butt Big Blue". It must have worked because we won.

Just a side note of information. I do not typically have good luck with birds while I am driving. Once while driving home from a baseball game something flew into my windshield. I just thought that it was a chicken that had fallen off of a large truck up the road. The next morning we discovered a baby owl stuck in the luggage rack of our mini van. A few weeks later I was driving to a ball game and a mallard duck (you know the ones with the green heads) flew right into my windshield. For days you could see the streak where it slip up the windshield. It does not end there. About a year later I was leaving baseball practice ( do you see a theme in my life?) traveling down a major road. The sun was setting and I could see something strange in the road. It looked like a shadow, but as I got up on it I could see that it was a peacock!!! It was trying to run, but not doing a very good job of it. I couldn't dodge it because there was a car coming in the other direction. I just slowed down as much as I could and hit it. I felt sorry for the beautiful bird, but I couldn't help but chuckle as I look in my rear view mirror and see peacock feather flying out from behind my car. After all of that bad fortune with the birds I am just glad that I didn't kill the Eagle!

OH My Ears

2009-08-19T11:51:00.007-05:00

As many of you know we surprised the kids and got them tickets to go see "The Jonas Brothers". The concert was Sunday, August 16 and my ears are still ringing. There is no sound in the entire world quite like the sound of around 17,000 girls squealing for four hours. The screams began an hour before the concert when someone would text to the screen, "Scream if you think Nick is cute." They would scream so loudly that you would think that someone had spotted one of the Jo. Bros. The shrills continued for the next three hours through two opening acts and then ENTIRE time "The Jonas Brothers" sang. They really did put on a good show. I was entertained through the whole concert and was pleasantly surprised. It was worth all of the damage done to my ears just to watch my kids having the time of their lives. It took me back to the day when I went to see "New Kids on the Block". I still remember that concert like it was yesterday. Taylor is the same age I was when I went to that concert. That is what it is all about, creating memories!

Trying to Catch up

2009-07-28T11:26:00.009-05:00

I realize that I haven't posted anything in a long time. It is like scrap booking, you get too far behind that you get overwhelmed and then you just don't do anything. I thought that I would give you an overview of our very short summer.

For us baseball ended not long after school let out, but softball didn't end until June 20th. We had playoffs and a fundraiser tournament for Krymson Feazell. She is a middle school girl from our area that got Lyme's Disease. The doctors didn't catch in time and she as been very sick for a couple of years. We were able to raise a good bit of money to help the family out with medical expenses, although I'm sure it just a drop in the bucket.

June 5th was Tanner's birthday. He turned "9" and that is just crazy. He had a simple skateboard party at the house with just a few of his closest friends. This birthday was very enjoyable because we didn't end up with a lot of toys. He got money to buy a Nintendo DS, golf lessons (which he loves. He is such a sports nerd), and a deep sea fishing trip that we are taking this weekend with Daddy.

My summer fun ended on June 20th. I came home from the Krymson Feazell Tournament with a 102.7 fever and it lasted all weekend. I went to the Dr. on Monday and they gave me a shot and antibiotics. By that Wednesday I was still running a fever and went back to the Dr. and he said that it must be viral since the antibiotics weren't working. By Friday I was still running a fever and could barely move. Jonathan had enough and took me to the emergency room. They ran some test and said that it was bronchitis and gave me another shot and more antibiotics. The next week I felt better, but still not good. I felt good enough to to go to work and to watch the 4th of July fireworks. Monday I decided to work late and try to catch up from being out sick the week before. By the time I got home I felt like CRAP!!! I decided to take my temp and it was up the 103 when I went to bed. I thought that was weird since I was still on antibiotics. I didn't sleep at all that night. The next morning I got up and went to work. All I could do was lay my head on my desk. I also had Taylor with me because I was supposed to take her to the Dr. that afternoon. After a few hours of misery my boss sent me home. I decided to go on to the Dr. and just make sure that everything was okay. The nurses started jumping. They couldn't find my blood pressure and when they did find it, it was like 71/54. They did a chest x-ray and said that I had pneumonia. I spent the next 6 days in the hospital and the next week on bed rest. It was double pneumonia and they said that it was viral which is why the antibiotics didn't work. Anyone who knows me knows that I am never sick so this was a new experience for me. I am now feeling much better!!!

Now I am focused on getting everything done that I was hoping to do between baseball and football seasons. I have sewed curtains, finished a flower bed, cleaned out rooms and closets. Now I am pressed for time with school starting in two and a half weeks.

The kids have had a fun summer. They spend time with grandparents and friends while Jonathan and I are at work. They are both excited about starting school. Taylor is especially excited since she gets to go up to the middle school this year. She is so elated to get a locker! Taylor will be in the 5th grade and Tanner will be the 3rd grade. I am also looking forward to school and the comfort of a schedule.

End of School Year

2009-05-29T15:51:00.012-05:00

Well the school year is officially over. I have spent the last two mornings at award ceremonies for my children's accomplishments. Both Taylor and Tanner make all "A's" for the year. I am so proud of them and how hard they work. They received a metal for this honor. This is their Principal Mr. Dyer and Assistant Principal Mrs. Wilburn.

I could tell I was Tanner by his shoes. I would know his giant, dirty shoes anywhere. He is obsessed with Tony Hawk right now.

Here is Taylor with her teacher Ms. Barker, Tanner's teacher Ms. Rosier, and Tanner with his report card.

Introducing my Fifth Grader and my Third Grader. This is Taylor's last day in the elementary school and she is NOT sad about it. She can't wait to go to the middle school and get a locker!

Memorial Day Camping Trip

2009-05-29T14:15:00.013-05:00

We decided to go camping for Memorial Day weekend this year. We decided this long before the forecast for rain was out, but we thought we would go anyway. We were able to camp on some land that belongs to our friends dad. This land is used as a recreation place for company parties. It has a lake, paddle boats, putt putt, ball fields, and bathrooms. The best part, other than the bathrooms, was that we got to camp for free!!!! It did rain on and off until Saturday night, but that didn't stop the fun.

This is a picture of a friend of ours who didn't want to get out of his tent Saturday morning, but kept joining in on the conversation. My husband and another friend decided to pull up his tent stakes. It was alot funnier than the picture is, I promise. Here he is when he finally got out of the tent. With hair like that I would have stayed in there too.

My son found a love for fishing. He would even go to bed early just so he could get up early, and he did. He woke up at 5:30 on his own. The kids would fish whenever it wasn't raining and when it was raining they would go play putt putt since it was covered. Taylor caught 2 bass and was proud to hold them herself. Tanner caught 4 bass all about 1lb. except one that was about 3 1/2 lbs. He was so excited, but still won't hold one himself.

We also enjoyed the paddle boats. The kids enjoyed going out by themselves, with Dixie the dog of course. If anyone would ride out in the lake she would swim out and get in the back. She didn't want to be left out of anything.

We ended up coming back a day early because of all the rain and mud. It was a great trip and we can't wait to go back.

Taylor's First Game Ball!

2009-05-15T15:12:00.004-05:00

I was so proud of my daughter last night. She got her first game ball and she was so excited. The part that made me proud is that she got it for listening to the coaches and for her good attitude and character. These attributes are much more important than ball skills (although those are great too). She is growing up and maturing so quickly. I am proud of the Tween that she is becoming!

Mother's Day

2009-05-14T08:42:00.006-05:00

This Mother's Day was a different experience for me this year. My children are getting older and starting to do things for themselves. Of course their father had helped get them a card, but he had to work so the kids were left to be in charge of the day. While I was taking my bath the kids decided that they would fix me breakfast. Taylor made her toast, which Tanner says is the best toast in the world, and Tanner cooked me scrambled eggs. The best part was when I got up from the table and they cleaned up the mess! After breakfast we got dressed and went to my mothers house.

I wrote a post a couple of months ago about my grandmother that passed away. She was my mother's mother. I wanted to be with my mother more that ever this year, being her first Mother's Day since the passing of her mother. She had picked some beautiful flowers from her yard and wanted me to make an arrangement for her grave. My grandmother loved to look out of the large sliding glass doors in her den and admire all of the beautiful flowers that my granddad had planted especially the bright pink Mandavillia. My mom and I packed up the kids and the flowers and drove over to Gadsden. We had a wonderful lunch at Struts (great hot wings!) and went to see my uncle who is recovering from shoulder surgery while waiting for the rain to stop. As soon as the rain let up we went to the cemetery and got to work.

I started arranging the flowers and Mama started cleaning, which would have made my MaMaw so proud. Since it has still so wet we let the kids sit in the van until we finished. After we felt that everything was in tip top shape we all sat back for just a moment, a somber moment. When we were walking away I noticed that Tanner, my almost 9 yr. old son, paused for a second and then caught up with me. I turned back to take a last look and noticed that he had taken the penny out of his pocket and laid it on her foot stone. You can't really tell from this photo but he is a little bit of a perfectionist. The penny is laying perfectly in the center of the stone and it even lined up perfectly. It touched my heart that he had to make his own contribution. He didn't have much but it didn't matter. MaMaw would have been touched by this precious gift. She loved her great grand babies very much!

To end the day I returned home to a husband that was cooking me some ribs!!!! It was a great day spent with family the way that it should be!

My Ma-Maw

2009-05-01T12:23:00.007-05:00

In my earlier post about my grandmother I promised that I would post some pictures of her. I am now following up on that promise. Most of these pictures were taken by my grandfather who was taking some photography classes. He also did the hand tinting himself.

My Poor LuLu

2009-04-29T13:43:00.006-05:00

My morning last Thursday seemed like a normal day, until I backed out of the driveway and right over my sweet puppy LuLu. She yelped and yelped. Dixie, her mother, was running around like crazy trying to figure out how to fix it and I was crying. It seemed as if the only thing bothering her was her back leg. Jonathan told me to go on to work and he would take care of her. While I was on my way to work he called and told me that we was going to take her on the vet because she was starting to bleed out of her ears. He was just kidding, she was doing fine but this is the kind of sympathy that I live with on a daily basis. He did call the vets office and they said to watch her over night unless she seemed to be having any other problems. Friday morning I got up and took her to the vets office. The vet said that it was a broken femur. They kept her to run an x-ray and depending on the findings they would either put a splint on it of do surgery. Late Friday afternoon they called and said that they were going to have to do surgery. The bone had been broken lengthwise. They did the surgery on Monday afternoon and it was worse than they thought when they got inside. The surgery took 3&1/2 hours. They put pins in her bone to hold it together and stitched her up. We went and picked her up yesterday afternoon. She is doing great, but has to stay in her crate for 4 weeks. This poor dog will be spoiled for sure now! Anytime I look in those big brown eyes I feel so bad. Here are some pictures that Taylor took this morning. Her poor little leg looks like a chicken quarter.

I'm Slipping

2009-04-29T09:42:00.004-05:00

I have been so good to keep everyone updated since I started my blog, but I find myself slipping. Maybe it because I no longer have a life that would interest anyone else. Since my daughter is playing softball and my son is playing baseball I find myself sitting at a ballpark almost every night of the week. My husband keeps complaining because I haven't even been able to find time to go to the grocery store which means that I have nothing to cook for supper which equals a grumpy family. Last week, for example, was a Monday night game, Tuesday night practice, Wednesday night meeting with insurance agent, Thursday night game, Friday night family and friends cookout, and Saturday we had three games and were at ballparks from 8:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. I don't know how people with more kids do it. After the chaos of last week I decided that I was going to have to get more disciplined with groceries and housework or I was going to turn into a mad woman.

I was so proud of myself this week. On Monday, I left work at 3:00, went to a Dr.'s visit, ran to the grocery store, cooked supper, got both kids out the door for Tanner's practice (on the other side of town) at 5:00 where Taylor ate her dinner, and to Taylor's game in Jacksonville at 7:00 where the rest of us at dinner. I felt as though all of that deserved a little pat on the back. Everyone was like "Girl you have got it all figured out!" but they didn't see the giant pile of laundry that could eat a small child, or all of the crap that has found it's way to the outside of my house in the last week. I was quick to tell them "No, it was just a good day where everything worked out."

So, if you find yourself thinking, "What has happened to Amanda and Jonathan?", don't worry! We are just sitting at a ballpark somewhere cheering on one of our children. It's a crazy life but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

My Pitiful Dixie

2009-04-03T08:49:00.006-05:00

Our friends gave us a small dog bed to use with our new puppy LuLu. LuLu loved it and took all of her toys in it one at a time. When Dixie came in the house she decided that she needed that dog bed for herself even if only half of her body fits in it. Dixie slept in it all night and apparently enjoyed it because she was snoring very loudly.

April Fools Day

2009-04-02T12:12:00.009-05:00

The children had a surprise for their father when he went to work. While they were waiting on the bus they rolled Jonathan's minivan. I was so proud of them taking the initiative to do it on their own. Jonathan had no idea until he left to go to work. The outside was done with what was leftover from the inside so it isn't as good, but it was wet and stuck to the van.

Bass Pro Shop

2009-04-01T13:29:00.023-05:00

This weekend we went to a plant nursery and looked to see what we would like to plant in our yard. It was nice going with our children at the ages they are instead of babies like they were the last time. They were curious about all of the different plants and had their own opinions about what we should plant. They were so awesome that we decided that we would take them to the Bass Pro Shop as a surprise. Of course I had my camera and I now feel that I should share these photos with you.

This is the entrance after the long winding drive through the woods to get there. You can tell that they are trying to make it like a wildlife sanctuary. There was clover planted everywhere and streams and bridges. When you walked in the race cars were over your head. These are full sized race cars.

We had so much fun walking around and just acting goofy. The children both found things to buy with their money and things to dream about buying one day. I just walk around in amazement of the detail and money that goes into building one of these stores. It is free entertainment.

And of course I couldn't leave out the Ra-Kughn!

My Funny Tanner

2009-03-31T12:39:00.005-05:00

If you have spent time with my family you know that we love to laugh. God must have understood our love for laughter when he gave us Tanner. Both of our children are funny, but Tanner is known for his sayings. We call this "Classic Tanner". Here are just a few from this past week. My family loves to watch American Idol. This year there is a certain artist who is known to be gay. This is a confusing topic for Tanner right now. It is sad to me that he has to know what that is, but these days it cannot be kept quiet. Anyway, while this guy was singing his slow ballad and staring into the audience Tanner spoke up and said "I bet he is looking at that guy out there and thinking ' Mmmm, he looks like he taste good. I think I want to kiss him.'" I could not contain my laughter. Tanner thinks that guy who wants to marry a guy is crazy and that is just fine with me. On Sunday, we were enjoying the sunny afternoon when Tanner proudly announced to me and my friend Cassie that he could speak 2 words in Deaf! He proceed to show us how to say "great" in deaf and "awesome in deaf. As I said before this is "Classic Tanner" as is the outfit that he is wearing in this picture. He is "catching" this fish pillow.

Another Glimpse

2009-03-31T12:30:00.005-05:00

I got another one of God's glimpses on Sunday. We went and visited a church that is fairly new in the area. We have been there once before and thought that we would visit again. Taylor thought that she would go to regular worship instead of the Children's worship with her brother. A true sign of her maturity. I sat next to her as she sang praise songs from her heart and watched as she flipped through her bible trying to keep up with the Minister. It almost brought a tear to my eye as I realized that she is now in a search for her own faith. Not just what Jonathan and I tell her we believe or what she has heard from others, but what she finds for herself. Taylor has always had a spiritual understanding beyond her years and I cannot wait to see what amazing things she will do for God!

A whole new problem

2009-03-25T10:20:00.002-05:00

Wow, today my life has completely changed. As you all know I don't like my wife to buy anything and now today she has found a thrift store online.......I sure wish I had something I didn't need today,,,,, oh well,..maybe, problem solved.

A Whole New World

2009-03-20T13:12:00.001-05:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a true bargin shopper. I never pay full price for anything, except at Walmart. I am infamous for stopping at random thrift stores and coming up the different trinkets. My friend often teases me because I am so proud of my "discoveries" that I tell everyone how much I paid for it. I think that today my life my have changed forever. I discovered an online thrift store. Now I can dig for treasures from the comfort of my swivel chair behind my desk! I am off to see what I can find.

LuLu at Six Weeks

2009-03-19T09:43:00.002-05:00

Since we have officially added LuLu to our family I thought that I would start blogger her separately. I have been having so much fun taking pictures of her!

And Now Introducing....

2009-03-13T10:22:00.002-05:00

The newest addition to the Kughn clan is now officially named. After much deliberation her name is LuLu. Jonathan of course was set on something funny. The mother dog, which we were given at 2 years of age, is named Dixie. Jonathan thought that we should name the new puppy "Emancipation Proclamation". As funny as it is, it would get old after about twice of have to call her name. The joke was made that we should name her "Normas". This does sound funny when you call the dogs names together, but we would be the house that children would not be allowed to visit. So here are a few pictures of our "LuLu".

Little Glimpses

2009-03-06T12:22:00.002-06:00

I often say that God gives you little glimpses that you are doing a good job as a parent. I'm my 10 years of parenting I have had a few of these glimpses and I got another one yesterday.

Unbeknown to me my children's school was having a book fair this week. On Wednesday my son comes home with a tornado in a bottle. He was so excited to show me how it works. I asked him where he got it and he said that he had bought it at the book fair. Of course my next question was where did you get the money to buy it. He told me that he had taken his own money and had bought a book and the tornado. This was a delight in itself. He didn't come to me asking for money, he was acting mature and decided to use his own. I didn't really think anything about it until yesterday.

One of our neighbors was over visiting our puppies and was telling us that she had been working at the book fair. She was telling us how impressed with Tanner she was. She said that there was this little boy at the book fair that was really wanting this book. He had been stand there for 20 minutes starting at it I guess hoping that the price would magically drop. Tanner came up and paid for his things and found out that the boy needed a dollar to buy his book that he really wanted. So Tanner gave him a dollar. Not a dollar that he had taken from me or his dad, but his own dollar.

Tanner later told us that he gave away the book that he bought to another kids. I am so glad that he is such a giving child. And I am always thank for the little glimpses!

A Day With Mamaw

2009-02-26T11:39:00.002-06:00

Most children have memories of grandparents coming to visit and spoiling them rotten. I got the opportunity to not just spend a day or two with my Mamaw, but every day as my Mom went to work. A few days ago I was asked to think about my time with her and this is what I wanted to share.

MaMaw’s days started early. She would get up and fix breakfast for Papaw (Bacon, Eggs, and Toast) before he would start his milk route. She would clean up the dishes, go around the house and check that all appliances were “Off, Off, Off” and we would head off the Food World to buy groceries. If we were lucky we would get to see Papaw while he was there on his route. Usually somewhere in the middle of shopping I would announce that I needed to go potty. She understood the urgency of the situation after the time that I told her that I couldn’t hold it and I made a puddle under the shopping cart. Since I was such a good girl she would buy me a box of animal crackers and some Freshen-up gum. We would make it home just in time to catch “The Young and the Restless” and she just might get to see me dance like Nicki. Nicki was an exotic dancer on the show and when I was about three I told Mamaw that I could dance like Nicki. When Mamaw turned around I was taking off my shirt and dancing. You never think kids are paying attention until it bites you in the butt!

Next we would eat lunch while watching “By the Way” hoping that our phone would ring to let us know that we had won the jackpot. She would tell me that if she won the money she would buy me all the bubble gum that I wanted and I would tell her that if she wasn’t rich by the time that I grew up I would buy her a big blue house. The rest of the afternoon was filled with household chores like laundry (which I would talk to her through the vent while she was in the laundry room), snapping some of Mr. Widemann’s green beans, or sitting the floor playing Barbie’s. We would watch the rest of her soaps and some of my TV shows and she would fix me a snack bowl w/ goldfish cracker, marshmallows, raisins which she called nature’s candy, cheese, potato chips, and two Tollhouse soft batch chocolate chip cookies. She would start supper so that it would be ready for Papaw when he got home and drug me all over the floor since I was hanging on her leg like a monkey. She must have had legs of steel!

If my “I’m not budging” chant worked when my mom came to pick me up and I got to spend the night, we would watch the evening show “Dallas or Knots Landing”. After the show her and Papaw would sit up and work, although I still have no idea what they were doing. All I heard was “Check, Check, Check”. When it was time for bed she would sleep with me in the brass bed. She would snore all night which was somehow comforting to me. One time she stopped snoring for a minute and woke up to me right in her face. I said “Mamaw are you dead?” and she just laughed. The next morning would start the cycle all over again. If it was Saturday we would have to get up and out early for yard sales. We always had to beat Turley so he wouldn’t get all the good stuff. I never did put a face with Turley, but it always seemed so important to beat him there. When we would return she would work for the rest of the day cleaning everything that she had bought. Some of it was for her family and some of it was to sell at the flea market.

My Mamaw passed away Saturday, February 21, 2009. She had been battling Alzheimer’s for several years. She died while surrounded by her loving family including her husband of 62 years. What love and devotion he showed to her. I am so glad to have been blessed with quality time with my Mamaw and will thank God for the rest of my life for all the “days” that I got to spend with her.

I will post some precious photos in a day or two. They are on my other computer.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-17T08:36:00.002-06:00

Jonathan and I have to come to conclusion that we are tired of spending money on eating out. I mean 30 to 40 dollars and what do you have to show for it. You go on a date to spend time together and spend the time stuffing your face the food is going to get up and run away. Then when you make it make home all you feel like doing is putting on your stretchy pants and lay down like a walrus basking the sun. This Valentine's Day Jonathan surprised me and took me to Sips n' Strokes. For those of you who do not know what that it, you bring your beverage of choice and an instructor helps you step by step to paint your own masterpiece. Everyone who is there paints the same painting but they all turn out so different. The atmosphere is so laid back and fun. They turn up the music and everyone is singing, drinking, eating and painting. We had a blast and cannot wait to back.

Police Chase Update

2009-02-12T13:40:00.003-06:00

Jonathan talked to one of the officers involved in the chase this afternoon. The officer said that they were driving behind the Oxford Civic Center when the man just jumped in his car and took off. Witness say that there was another person inside the vehicle. They are unsure whether is was a woman or a young boy. They still have not found the man nor do they know what he was guilty of.

My Crime Solving Adventure

2009-02-12T09:32:00.002-06:00

This morning started like every other day. I got up, got ready, got the kids out the door, ate breakfast, and left for work. The way that I drive to work there is not a lot of traffic on the road. I noticed that there was a red car coming and made sure that I was over far enough since it is a narrow road. Before the car got to me it made a sharp right turn and started driving through the field and went behind some trees. I was thinking ( well actually saying out loud) to my self, "What is that idiot doing?" Then after the car got stop in a thick patch of trees two police cars came flying over the hill. I then realized that the car was being chased. I rolled down my window and tried to flag to the police to let them know where the car was, but they didn't see me or the burgundy Ford Taurus that was nestled between the trees. I pickup up my phone and called 911. For some reason when you call 911 in White Plains it puts you through to Cleburne County emergency. The woman put me through to Calhoun County and I told the woman what I had seen. Then this woman proceeded to call the Sheriff's department and then put me through to the Oxford police who were involved in the chase. Putting my CSI skill to use, I continued to drive by the field to make sure that the vehicle didn't leave. After I talked with the police officer I called Jonathan to share the exciting morning that I was having. He was a few miles behind me on the same road. He drove by and the cops had found the car and were surrounding it. The perpetrators (that is cop lingo for bad guys) had abandoned the vehicle at some point. I am still wondering what happened. I think that if you help solve a crime they should inform you of the outcome. That isn't a lot to ask for the service that I provided them!
Anyway Jonathan will see some of the officers at a service today and is going to try to find out what happened. As soon as I find something out I will be sure the inform you as I am sure that you are as anxious to find out as I am!

Irony

2009-02-10T09:29:00.002-06:00

For every occasion since we moved into our new house I have told Jonathan that all I want is Cabinets for my laundry room. The closet maid shelf that was there was not practical. Not only could you see everything that was stacked on the shelf, but it lacked to storage space that I needed. For Christmas, Santa left a Lowe's gift card in my stocking to go towards getting my cabinets even though Santa didn't think that was an appropriate gift. I was getting closer to my dreams of an organized laundry room. When I got home from work on Thursday Jonathan had surprised me and not only went and purchased the cabinets but hung them perfectly! I was so excited that I spent the rest of the evening reorganizing all of my cabinet and cleaning the kitchen and laundry room. Jonathan's statement was "If I had known that was all I had to do, I would have do it a long time ago." The next evening was when the irony set in. I put on a load of blankets for Dixie and our new puppies and water started pouring out in the floor. We had to moved the new family into the den and use every towel we had to clean up the mess. It never crossed out mind to get our shop vac until it was over. We took the washer apart and noticed that the screw that I had found in the bottom of the washer drum had ripped a hole through the outside drum. Now I not only had the few loads of laundry that needed to be done but I also had dog blankets, almost every towel that I own and lots of socks that I found underneath the washer and dryer when we pulled them out to wash them. What was so neat and organized the day before was now a complete disaster. On Saturday we purchased a used Washing machine from the Buy Sell Bulletin for $100.00. At this point as long as the laundry gets washed. I am finally catching up on the weekend disaster.

Dixie's Delivery

2009-02-05T11:38:00.002-06:00

When I got home yesterday around 3:30 Dixie ran in the house and went straight to the laundry room. This is where she sleeps at night but doesn’t usually go in there voluntarily. She got on her blanket and started spinning in circles and digging in it. I noticed that she kept shaking. I called Jonathan to tell him that I thought Dixie was in labor. While I was on the phone Tanner came in and told me that something didn’t look right. I went and checked and it was the nose of a puppy. By 4:30 we had two puppies. Dixie did a great job of cleaning them.

After about 30 minutes she had not delivered any more puppies so I decided to leave her alone for a little while and go help Jonathan fold laundry. It wasn’t ten minutes and she started bringing the puppies to me in the den and trying to jump up in the big chair. I had to go back in the laundry room and sit with her. As long as I was there petting her and talking to her she was fine.

Around 5:00 she started having more puppies. By 5:30 she had a total of 5. These deliveries went even smoother that the first ones. She didn’t seem distracted or bothered at all by all the people and children that were watching her. By the time the 5th one was delivered the others began to nurse. This all went very smoothly which was great since this is her first litter. When the children were getting ready for bed Taylor checked on Dixie and she was having another puppy. When we went to bed at around 10:00 there were 9 puppies.

At around 2:30 this morning we woke up to the phone ringing and of course it was a wrong number. I figured I would go check on Dixie while I was up and was surprised to find 11 puppies. This morning when I woke up I went to the laundry room to clean up the blankets and the floor. I started moving Dixie and the puppies and counting to make sure that there were not any more. I was sad to find one and gotten stuck under Dixie and died. I got her all moved around and a clean blanket. When I left they all seemed to be doing just fine. What a pretty bunch of puppies!

Just Life

2009-01-27T08:16:00.002-06:00

Why is it that even though I have been so busy I can't see straight, that I still have nothing to blog about. Maybe it is because I have just been doing the same things over, and over and over. Work, clean, cook, laundry, basketball practice, basketball games, more basketball and sleep. The glorious life of a mother, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

What an Ugly Sweater!

2009-01-02T08:24:00.002-06:00

This year instead of haveing a normal sit around and talk Christmas party our Lifeline group decided to have an ugly Christmas sweater party. We set some guidelines that we felt would make it more exciting. We drew names and you had to buy an ugly sweater for the person that you drew and you HAD to wear the sweater that was given to you. These sweaters could come from any store including thrift stores and elaboration was encouraged. Also, to up the ante a little bit, we had to go out to eat while "doning our gay apparell". We went to eat at Ono Grill in Anniston and had a blast! The peolple inside the resturant seemed to enjoy it as much as we did.

The Holiday Festivities

2009-01-02T08:08:00.002-06:00

Wow, so much has happened since my last blog,but I don't know how much you actually care to know about. I guess I will pick up on the 21st when we went to my Mom and Bob's house to celebrate christmas. We opened gifts and clebrated with a steak and baked potato (my favorite). Taylor got a sewing machine that she was very excited about and Tanner got a digital camera and digital picture frame thanks to KOHLS black Friday sales. Christmas Eve Jonathan's parents and grandparents came over for dinner and we did our Christmas from them. It looked like an explosion of Orange and Blue. We got stocked up on Auburn gear for the year (always a good thing). Christmas morning we woke up and got everything ready for the kids who aren't allowed to come out of their rooms until 7:00. We sat and waited for a few minutes and couldn't stand it anymore so we woke them up about 7:15. Watching my children open gifts is a different experience from when they were younger, but just as entertaining. They can read what things are so you don't have to explain everything. Each gift is carefully inspected and apreciated before moving on to the next. This was the year of the skateboard. Tanner took to his like a pro and Taylor is more "cautious". We had a big breakfast and just enjoyed being at home and visiting with our neighbors. Later that afternoon we went to visit with my grandparents for a couple of hours. My grandmother is in the late stages of alzimers and it is very difficult for her to get out of the house. She still seems to love music so my Mom took her guitar and we sang Christmas songs to her while she made her "Boo" bear dance to the music. Her favorite was always "Up on the housetop click, click, click".
The next round of festivities started on Sat. 27th with Jeremy, Jennifer and the kids coming in town. As most family get togethers there were ups and downs, but it was a great weekend. It was so good to get to spend time with my neice and nephew that I hardly ever get to see. They left on Wednesday morning and life got back to normal.
New Years Eve was somewhat tme since everyone is still recovering from illnesses. We sat around and played Guitar Hero world tour. Jonathan is completly addicted to the drums. I knew the addiction was getting serious when he stared "drumming" to the rhythm of the blinker in the car. This was a fabulous holiday for me, but I am ready for life to get back to normal.

'Tis the Season...

2008-12-19T08:59:00.002-06:00

It's not surprising that the week before Christmas is so hectic, but the reasons are anything but expected. Last Thursday we left town and went to Foley, AL to visit my Dad and Dianne for the Holidays. We were able to see several people that we have missed since we moved back to Anniston. We watched some Holiday movies, played some games, went to the Bass Pro Shop that Daddy was dying to show the kids, and of course opened presents. I got to fried pickles from Bob Baumhauers that I have been craving for a year and they were soooooo good. Sunday morning we were depressed to hear that Auburn had hired a new head coach and Jonathan was not feeling well. We made it home and everyone just vegged for the rest of the day. Jonathan went to the doctor Monday morning and had Streph and bronchitis. When I got home from work I had to go pick up medicine, go to the store and get Jonathan his soup, apple juice and banana pops, and get Taylor to her first basketball practice by 4:30. We got home, ate diner, went to the store to get Jonathan pizza, because that is what the sick boy wanted, and got the kids in bed.
At around 9:15 p.m. we received a phone call that a Taylor Bowers, a17 year old girl from our church, had been struck by a car and was killed. Taylor was the daughter of Andy and Tammy Newsome and the sister to Tristian, age 13, and Andy Reagan, age 11. Her Uncle Kenny Wright, the youth minister at our church, Aunt Jennifer and cousins Tripp, Spencer, McKenna, and Corbin are like an extended family to my children. God has been working on my my heart all week through this situation. My prayer is that Taylor's life will be a witness to those huring friends and family that she left behind. They need the peace that only God can provide.
Through all of this sorrow life must go on as usual; basketball practices, church, housework, and school. With the chaos of life and it being 70+ degrees outside, it just doesn't feel like Christmas this year. I am hoping that this weekend will be full of friends, family and new memories.

A Much Needed Vacation

2008-11-18T09:00:00.002-06:00

I know that it has been a couple of weeks, but as usual life has been busy. Life has been so busy that we decided that if we were going to get to enjoy a weekend without him getting called into work, we were going to have to get away. Jonathan found a neat little cabin at Little River Canyon right outside of Desoto State Park in Mentone, AL. We drove up on Friday night just bubbling with excitement. It was cold out side and the leaves were at their peak. The children were all bundled up in the back seat with their pillows and blankets, and jamming to The Jonas Brothers on the MP3 player. Once we got to Fort Payne the owner said that he would just meet us and we could follow him because we would never find it in the dark. It was about a 20 min. drive curving and going from paved roads, to gravel road, to dirt road. The cabin was so nice and cozy. It had a large fireplace, two king sized beds, a full kitchen, charcoal grill, and Jacuzzi tub! We unloaded the car and went back into town to get some groceries. We went to bed early since we were going to be dong so much walking the next day. Saturday morning I got up and Taylor and I cooked breakfast. We had bacon, link sausage, eggs and homemade blueberry pancakes. I felt as if they would have to roll me around the canyon after that meal. We headed out right on schedule but still not fast enough for Jonathan. We drove around from one scenic overlook, to another, to another. We stopped at one place that had huge boulders everywhere. Tanner talked some man into helping him get on top of the boulders and he had some much fun running from one to another one. Tanner was truly in his element.

The last overlook that we stopped at had a trail down into the bottom of the canyon. We hiked down this beautiful wide trail with benches about every 1/3 of the way down. The bottom was so beautiful. The kids found out that they could flip rocks over and lizards would run out. Jonathan and I, exhausted from the walk found some big rocks on the side of the river and enjoyed watching the kids. Tanner decided that now was the perfect time to pay his dad back for scaring him during Halloween. He tried to keep his cool as he carried a lizard over to his dad who is slightly afraid of them. Trying to keep a straight face he threw it on Jonathan who took it like a pro. Of course, Taylor follow behind deciding to follow in Tanner's footsteps. Tanner climbed on the rocks and decided to cross the river. He did eventually slid in, but only got his shoes wet. After some other hikers who look fairly serious walked up we thought it best to start the hike back up. I quickly realized why they put benches on the trail. It was to give people break so that they didn't have a heart attack. None of us were prepared for the hike. Finally we made it back to the parking area. We must have looked as rough as we felt because the guy who was walking towards the overlook asked us "You didn't just get back from the overlook did you?". We went into town to eat at Cracker Barrel, the perfect place to eat when you are in the mountains. When we finally got to the cabin that afternoon, Jonathan and I were ready for a nap and the kids were still fired up. Tanner was content to sit and watch Man vs. Wild and I thought this was the perfect time to show Taylor how to make friendship bracelets. The kept them both busy enough that we could take a nap. We got up, drove down to Desoto Falls for a few minutes. We stayed in for the rest of the night. Jonathan grilled us some pork chops and we had baked potatoes. We played Pass the Pigs and Jonathan rolled a double leaning jowler. I have only seen this once before. Then we played Skip-Bo and Tanner ran the table. I was glad to have him as my partner. We got up the next morning and went to Chattanooga to see my brother, sister-in-law and my precious nephew, Gray. We went to the Children's Discovery Museum which was really neat. It was nice to get to spend some time with them. Gray is so sweet. He never cried the whole day. He is just content to sit and look around. We made it home by bed time. It was a relaxing and much needed trip. Now when life is hectic I just look at my pictures of the beautiful trees and take a deep breath.

Our Halloween Adventures

2008-11-04T08:53:00.002-06:00

Halloween morning started off with a bang! Jonathan woke up and was still running a fever after two days and decided to go to the doctor. The children were running around getting ready for school, excited to be wearing their Tye-dyed Halloween shirts that they made themselves. I was fixing Taylor's hair and she started complaining that her throat was kind-of sore. I explained to her that since she sleeps with her fan on high and her mouth wide open, that the air will dry out her throat and make it sore. A few minutes later she said that her stomach was hurting, which I chalked up to the fact that she could remember the last time that she went to the bathroom. Then when she started saying that her eyes were getting blurry , being the compassionate mother that I am, I turned her around so that she couldn't see herself in the mirror anymore. Those of you with girls all understand that little girls see themselves in the mirror as an actress on the Big Screen. Then she started swaying in big circles saying that she could help it, and then hit the floor. I got her up and everything calmed back down, but she was running a fever. So now Taylor and Jonathan were both making a trip to the doctor on Halloween. Taylor did well at the doctor, having to take blood and getting a penicillin shot. Jonathan also had to give blood and get a shot, but did not do so well. When they took blood from him, he passed out. He said that he was out for a good 10 minutes. He would wake up enough to tell Taylor that he would be fine and then his eyes would roll back in his head and he would be out again. Taylor was hugging on the nurses, crying, and thinking that her daddy was dying. Taylor had strep and Jonathan had strep, a sinus infection, and an ear infection. They both got their shots and left. The good news was the doctor said that they should be fine to Trick or Treat which was good since we had about 30 people coming to our house for a bonfire. by party time Jonathan felt okay, but Taylor was still running a fever. She had to stay inside all night and cried almost the whole time. So Jonathan, being to fantastic father that he is, set up a mock Trick or Treat for the kids on Monday night. Tanner was Harry Potter and Taylor was Cindy Lou Who off of "The Grinch". We took them to the grandparents, great grandparents, and some of our best friends houses. It turned out to be a good night. Dad saved the day again!

Weekends

2008-10-27T11:43:00.002-05:00

At what point in our lives do weekends become more work than the work week. When I was young the weekend seem to last forever. I always felt so rested by Monday and ready to start my week. The weekends used to consist of going to ballgames, watching TV, hanging out with Friends, maybe going shopping, going to church, and the wonderful afternoon nap. Now the weekends are full of grocery shopping, house work, shuttling my children around town, staying up way too late, getting up way too early, still going to church, but also teaching Sunday School, children's church, and small group. I am now more exhausted on Monday than I am on Friday. I want to go back to the good 'ole days when I didn't need to accomplish anything on the weekend!

We're rich

2008-10-20T08:44:00.002-05:00

Amanda has been trying to get me to blog but haven't felt it until this week, so here I go. This past week started out like most other weeks, hating working and looking forward to being with our friends. Amanda told me that we had been invited to Troy and Amber's house to hang out with them and feeling the spirit of the fall brisk air, I suggested a bonfire and hotdog roast for the kids. Done!!! I was so excited, looking forward to that night was the highlight of the week but woke up Friday morning feeling depressed due to the rainy conditions. I had high hopes that the rain would stop, but at 3:30 it was still going strong. My day was crushed. I know it sounds stupid, but the things I look forward to the most are being outside and sitting around a campfire with my kids and friends. Now the fear of cancellations started to become a bigger reality. Who would want to go now. At 5:30 we started on our way to pick up the kids from my mom-in-laws (who is awesome) and then to Troy's house for the Debbie Downer party. As we pulled up to the house, Casey and Jessica's car was there and I was surprised to see that Ryan, Jennifer and Shane's cars were there as well. They didn't cancel! As we brought in our goodies, I opened the backdoor to a group of strangely dressed people yelling surprise. I was completely confused by this point and wondered why I wasn't invited to dress up. It was several seconds later that I heard someone say "Happy Birthday". Who's birthday is it I asked? It's your's. ???????I had completely forgotten about my birthday coming up and was floored that I had friends that would put so much time and effort into these parties. I can't begin to describe the outfits that were displayed for the 80's theme night but I do have photo's. We sat around and ate for a while until a special visitor came busting through the door, Troy the Rocker sporting a AC/DC outfit complete with mullet. Instead of a cake, there were two bowls of candy. Amber did fix me an individual halloween colored cake with sour candy stuck all over. Standing there holding this cake and wearing the ridiculous outfit that my wife had bought me to wear, ( oh yes, I had to dress up too) it was a nice realization of how rich my family is with friends this great. This was absolutely one of the best birthday presents I've ever had.

Blog 1...done

For better or for worse

2008-10-13T14:16:00.003-05:00

Saturday was a day filled with excitement and wonder. The smells of grass, crisp air and BBQ filled the air. As I sat in Auburn University right behind Stanford Hall, I watched thousands of people passing by in all shades of orange and blue. Children were running by with painted faces and ribbons and streamers hanging from thier hair. Footballs were flying through the air, loft by people of all sizes from small children whoses dads were teaching them the "art" to older men who feel missed their chance to be the Heismann Trophy winner. We walked around and went into different bookstores filled with excited consumers digging for just the right token to take home with them. The streets were filled with automobiles with window painted and flags flying high. We even saw a few automobiles that were painted orange and blue with tails and flags and anthems playing loudly over the speakers. As we entered the stadium you could sense the anticipation in the air. "War Eagle" cries were bellowing form all directions. As we climbed to what felt like the top of Everest, we sat and watched as the show began to take shape. The band entered, the eagle flew, the smoke came out of the tunnel, and the football was kicked off with a booming "Wwwaaarrrrrr Eagle, hey". We were not dissappointed in the first few minutes with a returned kick for the first touchdown. We sat in amazement at the array of people, men and women, boys and girls, young and old, drunk and sober! At the half we were still leading even though we only had 77 total offensive yards. But in true Auburn fashion, the second half took a turn for the worse. We couldn't do anything right. The stadium that was once filled with "Bodda getta, bodda getta" now was filled with boos, mostly directed at Chris Todd. As we came to the realization that we were not going to win this game, our attention turned to looting! We stayed behind gather left cups, fans, ponchos, popcorn tubs, and shakers. By the end we had a large orang trash bag full of goodies! We had to leave that stadium knowing that we were not the Auburn team that we had been in the past, but our heads were high because we now have enough cups to last us until we come next year and hopefully get to roll Toomers Corner. And all in all I rather be a Tiger at its worst than an Alabama fan at its best!

Hair

2008-10-10T07:53:00.002-05:00

Women, do you ever have those days that you start fixing your hair as usual and suddenly you hate it. I don't mean that you just don't like it I mean hate with the intensity of wanting to just shave it and start all over. These days are dangerous and usually cause you to do something drastic. This day for me was yesterday. I was getting ready to go to the dreaded fall festival. I haven't been able to go to the school yet this year and really wanted to look descent. I was having a hard time striking that balance of "She looks like she has it all together" and "Wow, a little overkill to be working in a concession stand." I was working on my hair and decided that I needed some bangs or something small just to get me by until I could get a hair cut. Surely a few bangs couldn't be that difficult. Well, I had been wearing my hair pulled back in a ponytail all day, so when I cut the bangs they stuck straight out! I tried wetting them, straighening them, curling them, and finally just tucked them under the rest of my hair. Running late now I gave up on what I was wearing and just threw on some clothes, threw on my "good" tennis shoes, and off it went. Needless to say I called my hairdresser as soon as I got in the car and got my hair cut at 6:15 last night. Now today I experienced a whole new frustration, trying t make my hair look like Angela made it look!

Fall Festival

2008-10-09T10:09:00.002-05:00

I cannot think of anything that I want to do less that work at the Fall Festival at the kids school tonight. And to top it all off, our class is in charge of the concession stand. I don't even know where the concession stand is going to be, so I am going to have walk around the whole school like an idiot looking for where I am supossed to be and then try to figure out what I am supposed to be doing. I hate nothing worse than going into a situation that I don't know what to expect. At least I am working it from 4:30 to 5:00 and most of the people will not be there yet.

Welcome to Kughn Watch

2008-10-08T09:57:00.002-05:00

I promise that your trip to this blog will not disappoint. There is always excitement in the Kughn family. We are known for our strange experiences and unbelievable stories. Last night was no exception. The children and I were working on some Halloween crafts and I was cooking dinner when Jonathan got home from work. I decide to venture out and try a new dish, Sesame chicken with brown rice pilaf and stir-fry. The rice was still kind-of crunchy so I thought that I would cover it with plastic wrap and pot it in the microwave to try to steam it. I took it out of the microwave and let it sit for a minute. When I pulled back the wrap steam poured out and burned my fingers on my right hand. I immediately put some cream on it, finished supper and we all sat down and ate. The chicken was good, but the dang rice was still crunchy. After we ate, Jonathan took the kids on a bike ride, an off road bike ride. There is a steep hill that he and Tanner had ridden down before and he couldn't wait to take Taylor, our thrill seeker. Jonathan came back a few minutes later with the welcome of "Get the peroxide". She had an accident going down a steep embankment and got all tangled up in her bike. Taylor walked in with scrapes on her forehead, nose, elbows, and a huge skinned knee. So much of the skin was gone that Taylor said that it looked like raw steak. Needless to say there were many screams when the peroxide did make an appearance. My favorite statement came from Tanner, of course. He said "Taylor, I'm sorry that you got hurt, but that was awesome!" The silver lining, she already had an appointment to get a haircut today to get some bangs, so the scrape on her forehead will be covered up.