How to Turn Your Kitchen into Pompeii Without Really Trying

Every morning our household goes through the ritual of preparing that highly aromatic drink that is coffee.  No matter how you brew it, it's what gets you going in the morning.  This morning my day started out in a totally different manner than I was expecting.
I dragged myself out of bed, eyes barely opened, and began to pulling together all that was required to make espresso in my stove top Italian brewer.  Water in the bottom, check; coffee in the holder, check; rubber seal to keep the two parts together, check; twist close and put on burner, check.  I set the contraption on the stove with the lid open to know when the water started to boil that way I could turn it down and just wait for the espresso.
The first trickles of liquid begin to ooze into the top, and I noticed it was kind of tar-like.  I thought to myself, why are there coffee grinds in this thing?  So I decided to turn off the stove and just let it cool down because it was ruined.
I turned my back and headed to the fridge when I heard a loud spewing sound and only when I felt hot splashes of liquid on my shoulder did I grasp what was happening.  The stupid thing had erupted all over the kitchen!  Never mind coffee on the stove it was all over the walls, kitchen blinds, fridge, floor, I half expected there to be some on the ceiling but I guess the microwave to most of that force.
When all was said and done, I took the demon possessed thing and was trying to figure out what had gone so horribly wrong.  One of the most important features of these brewers is a gasket that goes between the coffee and the top part, it keeps grinds out and the water at a slow trickle up to the top instead of the Yellowstone National Park Geyser that shot off in my kitchen this morning. 
If there is some comfort to this story it is the fact that the kids now have a quick volcano/geyser science experiment, although I would recommend protective gear!

The Son, The Father, and the T-Shirts (Chronicles of a Father's Day Present)

Father's day is fast approaching and since we celebrated it a day early at casa de Hall, I thought I would share with you our son's present for his father.
I took Mason to the store to pick out a gift for his dad with the intent of trying to subtly(HA! HA!) point out things that would make an excellent Father's Day gift from a hat to a t-shirt that said SUPER DAD! Well he liked the T-shirt idea with the exception that he wanted to pick it out all by himself. We've all been at this age where we've handed our dads those insanely ugly ties or the aftershave where you know the manufacturers were using essence of skunk, well my son's gift was no different.
Once the contents of the bag was emptied and the tissue paper had settled, there lay a white shirt with every Super Mario Brothers character imaginable printed on the front of the T-shirt for Steve and a small green shirt with Yoshi just right for a little boy. "See Dad, we can match!" Mason said.
So tomorrow after church Steve will be donning his extremely awesome Mario Brothers shirt as will Mason! (Hoping to post pics of this memorable event!)

Mom's Red Badge of Courage

Now I know by the title it seems as though something traumatic has happened but once you've read this post....it maybe easier to take a bullet.
It's been awhile since my last blog(minus the Father's Day one)...okay maybe well over a year? so this is what's happening in the Hall household. We have increased our brood to three so the kids range in ages from five, three and seven months, and if that's not enough to keep me busy, I've decided to go back to school!!!!
Okay, now pick your jaws up off the floor and just listen for a moment. I love staying home with the kids but I need something that is separate from the house to keep me sane, well now I have two since I've started blogging again, but this is mostly about my home life anyway so it only half counts. I love to learn in a classroom environment as evident from the two degrees I already have, but with the plan we have for our family the degrees I have really won't pay the bills so I'm going to enroll in the NURSING PROGRAM! YAY! Okay now here is where the CRAZY you're insane part comes in (no it wasn't the going back to school part) I plan on enrolling in the TWU WEEKEND program so Steve can work Monday through Friday 7am-5:30pm (might as well say 6pm because that's when he gets home) and on the weekends he keeps the kids while I go to school, and this insanity will take two years beginning the fall of 2012. As of right now I'm doing prerequisites that are required before I can enter into the program so I still have Anatomy and Physiology II and Microbiology to take this fall.
So as of right now things are looking very promising that I will get into the program and succeed I'm also fairly confident that there will be many adventures of Steve and the kids while I'm away at school that I'll be glad to share here, and don't worry about Steve, there are plenty of people on hand if help is needed....and that's my cue to stop because I have a little girl roaming around the house and not in bed because according to her "My eyes are up".