Mighty Macen at Bat!

He was ready to make a home run!

Here he is at first! Dad was first base coach for this inning!

Macen at third base ready to take home!

Taking the field by storm

Here are the A's on the field.

Macen was busy checking out his itchy leg and missed the ball! (He takes after his mom on the field I'm afraid)

Here's a wide vies of the A's. We play at Oats Park across from Macen's school. The playground in the back is Macen's favorite!

My AH-HAH Moment

I am reading a book titled "Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn" by Kris Radish. (She also wrote my favorite book "The Elegant Gathering Of White Snows) Anyway, this book that I am reading is amazing. Yesterday, while sitting at Macen's OT appointment I read a paragraph that has not left my thoughts..so I thought I would share it with you:

"It is perhaps remarkable to remember the moment when you wake up. It is perhaps remarkable to be able to step outside of your mind and body and see your flaws and missteps and yearnings. It is remarkable to be able to put your finger on your own pulse and say that you suddenly understand that unhappiness is a choice and that everyone, even you, can change direction, or better yet, find direction at any moment in your life."

What a Hound!

Most of you who read this know about my dogs. For those of you who just started reading I'll fill you in a little bit. I have a 3 1/2 year old Jack Russell Terrier named Bear. He was quite the trouble maker when he was a puppy. This year my husband got a Red Bone Coon Hound. (His name is Scout..the dog, not my husband) Scout is a little over 5 months old right now. NEVER have I had so much trouble! I love this hound, but every day there is a new adventure with him. A few days ago I had washed my "under-garments" I placed them in my laundry basket and set off to take my son to school. I came home 1/2 hour later and couldn't find my bras (7) anywhere. I looked everywhere....then I noticed that Scout's paws were really dirty. I went out in the back yard to see what he had done..I looked in a freshly dug hole and there lay 2 of my bras. Not just covered in dirt, but rocks were laying on them to keep them from flying away. I then started checking out all of the holes in the back yard...I found the rest of my bras, a few pairs of Macen's underwear, a butter knife, a bread knife, a plastic plate, and several of Macen's bath toys. I punished Scout and thought I had learned my lesson about keeping things out of Scout's reach.

Two days ago I came home and found my butter container on the floor licked clean..Scout had stood up on his hind legs, looked on the kitchen counter and decided that he could reach all the way to the back of the counter. He swiped his paw, caught the butter dish and swept it on to the floor. Finding that he liked butter he decided to try everything else he could reach. Fish Food, cough drops, and a loaf of bread...When I got home, he was laying in the sun resting from his wonderful meal! Again, he was punished and I learned to make sure my counters were clear of ANYTHING he might want!

Yesterday, my husband put on his uniform for work, walked out the door and turned right around because he had forgotten his "cover' (That's a hat for all you non-military folk) We looked all over..He decided to check outside to see if there were any fresh dug holes..Sure enough..his cover and been laid to rest by our hound dog!

Never Take Your Husband to Wal-Mart

My friend Nan sent me this today..I blogged it because I see my future in it.(Anyone who knows my husband will agree)

After Mr. & Mrs. Fenton retired, Mrs. Fenton insisted her husband accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, Mr. Fenton was like most men--he found shopping boring & preferred to get in & get out. Equally unfortunately, Mrs. Fenton was like most women--she loved to browse.

One day Mrs. Fenton received the following letter from her local Wal-Mart.

Dear Mrs. Fenton,

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store.
We cannot tolerate this behavior and may be forced to ban the both of you.
Our complaints against Mr. Fenton are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.
2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, "Code 3 in House wares. Get on it right away."
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.
6. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping department & told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
7. September 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, "Why can't you people just leave me alone?"
8. October 4: Looked right into the security camera & used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
9. November 10: While handling guns in the Hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
10. December 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the "Mission Impossible" theme.
11. December 6: In the Auto department, he practiced his "Madonna look" by using different sizes of funnels.
12. December 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled "PICK ME! PICK ME!"
13. December 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed "OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!"
and last, but not least:
14. December 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, "Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!"

Regards, Wal-Mart

Husbands Create more Housework

Having a husband creates an extra seven hours of housework each week for women, according to a new study. For men, tying the knot saves an hour of weekly chores.

"It's a well-known pattern," said lead researcher Frank Stafford, an economist at University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. "Men tend to work more outside the home, while women take on more of the household labor."

He points out individual differences among households exist. But in general, marriage means more housework for women and less for men. "And the situation gets worse for women when they have children," Stafford said.

Overall, times are a' changing in the American home. In 1976, women busied themselves with 26 weekly hours of sweeping-and-dusting work, compared with 17 hours in 2005. Men are pitching in more, more than doubling their housework hours from six in 1976 to 13 in 2005.

Stafford analyzed time-diaries and questionnaires from a nationally representative sample of men and women over a 10-year period between 1996 and 2005. The federally-funded study showed that, compared with the single life, marriage meant more housework for both men and women.

"Marriage is no longer a man's path to less housework," Stafford said.

Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework, about 12 weekly hours, while married women in their 60s and 70s did the most - about 21 hours a week.

Men showed a somewhat different pattern, with older men picking up the broom more often than younger men. Single guys worked the hardest around the house, trumping all age groups of married men.

Having kids boosts house chores even further. With more than three kids, for instance, wives took on more of the extra work, clocking about 28 hours a week compared with husbands' 10 hours.

Weekly Update

Hi everyone! What a weekend we had! Last week was the 115 year anniversary for the Navy Chiefs! We celebrated it Tuesday with a cake, and then had a BBQ on Friday. We had so much fun. We all went to the chiefs club and partied. We had a potluck and Grant grilled up some steaks. It was sooooo tasty!
Macen and I got to the club and went our seperate ways. Macen played with the Dodge girls, and bugged the Flake girls.. (seriously, we need to get some more boys in the club for Macen to play with!) I found Pam and lost track of time. I got to bug Courtney's friend "Pedro"
(That's not his real name, but he looks just like Pedro from Napolean Dynomite. and Courtney, I'm serious about the "Vote For Pedro" shirts) Wendy Flake joined us and we laughed and laughed! It's nice to have adult friends! (Between Nan, Pam and Wendy I am finding it harder and harder to leave Fallon)
Saturday was family day. Grant slept in while Macen and I cleaned. Then we went on our weekly family walk. It was a perfect day and the dogs ran and ran! Macen and I played at the playground next to the dog park. It was fun. We got back home and the dogs passed out!
Nan and Geran came over Saturday night. It was great having them over. Nan has been working like a million hours a week, so I hadn't seen her in awhile!

Tonight, we went over to Pam's house! We had a real southern meal. Fried Chicken, greens, black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes, biscuits, noodles...seriously, there was so much food I'm going to be stuffed for a week...It made me homesick for Virginia though! A big thanks to Pam. It was honestly the best meal I've had forever!

Well, that's it for now. My week looks pretty easy for now, so check back for more updates! Thanks again for reading my blog! Don't forget to keep sending me ideas for my bucket list! Take care!

Dinner with the Forsch family

We went over to Pam's house for dinner tonight..Macen went to the park so we followed along! Here's Courtney and Macen!

Another one of Macen and Courtney!

Here's Pam and Courtney! Aren't they cute???

Macen, ice cream, and chocolate sauce

When Macen went to Idaho, Grandma Linda got him hooked on vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.. Now it's all he ever wants. As you can tell, he loves the chocolate..it's all over him!

Weekly Update

Hi all! I know..It's Tuesday. I'm a little late doing my update! I hope you all had a great weekend. We sure did! Poor Macen was sick all last week. He went to school on Monday with a cough. We went to T-ball that night and by the time we got home he had a sore throat, a nasty nose, and the cough was never-ending. He got up Tuesday with an earache. He stayed home from school, and I got him into the Doctor on Wednesday. He had the starting of an ear-infection so he he was home with me again. He didn't have school on Thursday or Friday because of Teacher-parent conferences. He was feeling so much better by Friday that he got to play outside. I swear, he didn't want to come in! Grant was at TopGun raceway almost all day on Saturday, so Macen and I went grocery shopping. It was nice to have him helping me. He loaded the bags in to the truck and helped me carry them all in the house! I know why we have kids now..CHEAP LABOR! Macen had to stay home from church on Sunday. We didn't want to risk him catching anything while he was on the verge of a full recovery. We took a family walk and had such a great day. By the time Monday rolled around Macen was ready to be away from me! He went to school and felt good all day. He kicked butt at T-ball last night, and has gone almost 24 hours without a cough or a runny nose! (knock on wood)
Pam Forsch lent me the new Jodi Picoult book "Change of Heart" last week and I can't put it down! If you get a chance..read it! Thanks Pam!!!
Okay: I have a job for all of you reading this. My 39th birthday is a little over a month away. That means in a little over a year I will be 40!! So, I am going to do my own bucket list. ( If you haven't seen the movie, a bucket list is a list you make of things you want to do before you "kick the bucket") I want to make a list of things that I will accomplish before I turn 40. So..here's what I need from all of you..come up with ideas for me. I have a few, but I need to be more daring..so if you have any ideas, comment on my blog, or you can email them to me at shancauf@yahoo.com. I'll gather them all together and I'll post my list by my birthday and we'll see how many I can get done in a year!
A private note to Tiffany: Nice blond moment...I wish we had a video of it!

That's it for now. Enjoy your week. Don't forget to take the poll!

Our Sunday Walk to the Dog Park

We took the dogs out to the dog park here in base housing. They chased the ball for a long time and were worn out. Here they are with daddy and Macen getting a drink.

Macen and his Scooter. We don't leave home without it!

My little man...He's getting soooo big!

The Dogs playing ball

Here's Scout trying to get the tennis ball from Grant. Bear, on the other hand knows that if he stays calm, Grant will throw the ball quicker.

Scout started to get a little annoyed....

He's big, but he's pretty!

Bluto gets Nerf bars

Here's Grant putting Nerf Bars on Bluto. I'm not sure why. They look good though.

I've Learned.....

I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.

I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I 've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned .... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned.... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned.... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

My Thanks to my Sister -in-law Sara for sending me this..A special thanks to Andy Rooney for writing it in the first place!

Freedom is never Free

My friend sent this to me the other day. I have seen these pictures many times, but for some reason I never really looked at them. I think today is the first time that I REALLY saw them. The men and women who are fighting are the bravest in the world. They fight for people that they don't know. I realized today how very grateful I am for my husband and for his brother's and sisters in the armed services.

No matter what your stance is on the war, you need to show them the love and respect that they deserve..Pray for the war to end, for no more lives to be lost, and for these men and women to come home soon.

What we should see

Freedom..

I think this is a picture that more people ought to see....

Makes you happy for your lumpy bed doesn't it?

There is kindness even in the worst of circumstances...

Now that's a workaholic

A baby and God

My friend Heather sent me this and it was so beautiful that I had to send it. This is to all the moms out there...especially mine!


A baby asked God, 'They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?'
God said, 'Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.'
The child further inquired, 'But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.'
God said, 'Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy.'
Again the child asked, 'And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?'
God said, 'Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.'
'And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?' God said, 'Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.
''Who will protect me?'
God said, 'Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.
''But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.'
God said, 'Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.'
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, 'God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.
'God said, 'You will simply call her, 'Mom.'

Happy Easter Everyone!

Here's the Caufield Family update...I bet you all look forward to it all week! It's been crazy! I was so glad it was over. It was spring break here in Fallon. Grant and Macen took off to Idaho on Wednesday, leaving me and the 2 dogs here. I thought I would love it, but by Thursday I was ready for them to be home..or the dogs to be gone! Friday night Nan and I went to a baby shower for Megan Creech. She's having a little girl! She about ready to pop. I am so excited for her. We had it over at Kim's house..We had sooooo much fun! Saturday was my Church's Easter Breakfast. (Nan and I have been planning it for months) It went off without a hitch, and if I do say so myself..IT WAS AWESOME! Poor Nan had been working at the Doctor's office all week and was going on about 3 hours of sleep! She worked so hard at the breakfast. She did the cooking while I got to be Julie Macoy, cruise director! We had a tasty breakfast. The kids got to color Easter Eggs, and I dressed up like Daisy Duck (the Eater Bunny was too busy) and took the kids on an Easter Egg hunt! Really, it was a wonderful way to celebrate. Grant and Macen returned home Saturday afternoon, and Macen couldn't stop telling me all about how much fun he had in Idaho. He chased a huge Jack Rabbit at the property, rode his scooter all around Grandview it sounds like, and threw rocks in the Snake river across from Grandma and Grandpa's place. He enjoyed Flying Pie pizza with Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Danyelle. He also had a great time just spending time with his Dad. It really is nice to have them home though!
On a special note..Happy Birthday John. You really are the best!

That's it for now. Happy Easter to all. I am truly blessed to have all of you in my life. Please take care this week. Enjoy the blog. Don't forget to take the poll!