Merry Christmas

As I am sure you can imagine, the next few days will be pure and total chaos at our house. I will try to pop in and update you all before we run off to the hills after Christmas but no promises. ;)

Oh and happy 9th birthday to my 'baby' Becca on December 26th! Can you believe she is about to turn 9?! Where have the years gone?

Messy thoughts

Random thoughts:

Please excuse the mess as I am currently doing some website upgrades. Hopefully it will all be over soon. :)

Can you believe Christmas is really only days away???? I can't. I can't wait to open my present either. For the first year in like 10, I am getting a present from my husband and he is being really good about keeping it a secret. AND IT IS DRIVING ME NUTS! LOL He usually spills the beans just days after he gets me something.

The kids are done with school tomorrow and I cannot be more excited. Really!

I locked myself out of the house today. You know that sinking feeling you get when you lock the door and close it behind you when you suddenly realize the keys are not in your pocket? I walked the kids out the door and shut it. I stood on the porch and realized the keys were hanging inside the door on the hook. I COULD SEE THEM! But I couldn't reach them. Thank heavens I had grabbed the cell phone though. I called Billy immediately so he could hurry home. As I was talking to him, on a whim I decided to check the other doors. I tried the back door but nope it was locked tight. I tried the side door and almost fell over myself when I pushed and it actually opened. Thank God! I yelled in the phone. We could have froze to death waiting for Billy to get home in this -10F weather! I was still on the phone with Billy and I informed him we need to get an extra key just in case I ever do this again. Sheesh! Mommy-brain in action!

Candy canes+Christmas tree=kids hanging off branches of said tree to obtain cane-shaped candy!

"I want to be naked today." A quote from Mr. Bill who has suddenly realized being nakey is the way to go. He is currently streaking around the house in his birthday suit. Do I dare tell him 2 year olds are supposed to be dressed? Nope!

We get to go to the school today to decorate gingerbread houses with Megan. Will the fun never end????? LOL

I am outta here for the day! Have a great one folks. Each day truly is a gift and we should learn to enjoy it, even if it kills us.

A weeeee lesson

Last night Mr. Bill decided he was not wearing his pajamas. He proceeded to remove them shortly after I put them on him. Once they were off he also decided a diaper was unneccesary. He striped it off too and left it laying on the living room floor. After some time of running around the house butt-necked he realized he had to go potty. His dad put him on the toilet and then came back into the living room to watch t.v. After a few minutes of silence I called out to him to see if he was okay. The response: "I am just playing with my tail."

Yes, he calls 'it' a tail. I have yet to figure out a better word for it, as I find wee wee or pee pee much more offensive. Cassie actually called it a tail and well, it just sort of stuck. Anyhoo, so after 15 mintues or so of 'just playin' he finally gets off the potty but still won't put his clothes back on. Billy decides to show Mr. Bill exactly what his tail is supposed to be for. So the two guys in my life head off to the bathroom and all I hear is,

Dad: "See you take it out like this and then put it over the toilet like this"
Mr. Bill: "Like this?"
Dad: Yep, but you have to hold it.
Mr. Bill: "Hold my TAIL?!"
Dad: "Yep"
Mr. Bill: "Okay"
Dad: "Then you pee" *add peeing sound effect here*
Mr. Bill: "Wow! You did it Dad!"


I snuck into the doorway then to see what was going on. Mr. Bill was standing next to the toilet trying to get his tail up over the edge of the potty. He is just barely tall enough to do it. The lesson continued for a few more minutes. Then Mr. Bill wanted to try. He got up on the stool and stood high above the toilet and held his tail. He grunted and then looked at me, "I can't do it." Do you know how unbelievably hard it is to keep a straight face in a situation like this??? I knew if I laughed Mr. Bill would get embarrassed and that would be the end of the lesson so I sucked it up and said, "You might not have to pee right now. We can try again later." He seemed okay with that and got down and went and got his pajamas on.

Can I just mention how thankful I am that I am a girl? LOL I never had to "show" the girls how to pee. They just sat on the toilet and did it. No exposing my body to teach them anything. he he he God did know what he was doing when he made women. ;)

sh-sh-shivering

Why isn't my little weather pixie over in my sidebar not shivering and chattering her teeth like me? Can she not see that it is 3F right now in good ole Brandt!? Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Get-to-it

"If you don't get to it I am going to make your butt hurt!"

Did that really just escape my lips???? It is official, I have turned into my mother.

P.S. As I don't spank my kids, I have also accomplished another major parenting no-no. I gave a threat with no intention of following through, therefore the aforementioned "get-to-it" is not getting done. Blah!

Diaper tally

Okay, don't ask why but I was thinking

If I change, on average, 5 diapers a day (more at newborn stage, less in toddlerhood) until my kids are potty-trained (at roughly age 3) then I have bought and changed:

5475 diapers per kid (birth to three)

In 1995 I had one kid
In 1996 I had one kid
In 1997 I had two kids
In 1998 I had two kids
In 1999 I had three kids (not counting the foster kids)
In 2000 I had four kids
In 2001 I had four kids
In 2002 I had five kids

So by the time Mr. Bill potty-trains next year I will have bought and changed roughly

82,125

diapers!!!!!! YIKES YIKES!

Kisses

Me: Can I have a kiss?

Mr. Bill: (looking very thoughtful) Sure!

Me: *grabs him and kisses his cheek*

Mr. Bill: NOOOOOOOO! *runs off to the dining room*

Me: *looking very confused*

Mr. Bill: *comes back into the office and hands me a chocolate Hershey's kiss*

Me: LOL!

Winter-Christmas-Commandments

Welcome to winter in South Dakota! Holy moly! We are looking for high temps in the single digits for the remainder of this week. Is it an wonder bears hibernate? I may join them this winter. Wake me when the snow is gone and the temps are above 80F!

Christmas is coming! Are you all ready? I am for the most part ready. I just want to sit around on Christmas morning in our jammas opening presents and sipping hot chocolate. Only 5 days left. The kids have a gazillion things to get done this week before they get out of school for Christmas which means mom also has a gazillion and one things to get done.

Billy came home on Friday with a small gift for us all. Daktronics occassionally has internal auctions to get rid of some of their old furniture, computers, etc. They had an auction that ended on Friday which was mostly shelves, tables, filing cabinets, etc. He decided to bid on two tables. One is an older table used in an office and the other is a workbench from the manufacturing floor. He won the tables for 11.00 total. The first table became a perfect dining room table for us. It has old 70's wood laminate on it but it is in good condition and it actually fits all of us. For the first time in years we can all sit at the table at the same time and we have room for one extra person too! Wahoooo! The other table will be going in the basement after work today for a new workbench for Billy.

We had a major fall-out with one of our kids on Friday as well. I was still reeling from the pain on Saturday but have since dealt with it and moved on somewhat. She broke one of the ten commandements. It happened at school and the teacher told Billy when he went to have lunch with Becca that day. I made several calls to get some help from her therapist. I also found some comfort and help on TLP. My initial reaction was out of anger and thank heavens she was at school so I had some time to calm down and some time to make those phone calls and post that message so I could get some advice from people not in the thick of it. Billy was even more upset than I was. He really wants our kids to turn out well. I think we fixed the problem for now and hopefully for the future. It is so hard to tell.

Our kids had their Sunday School Christmas Program (trying saying that five times fast) on Sunday. They each had a line to say and had all memorized them. Becca blew the last part of one of hers but no one noticed but us. Megan got both of hers right and Marea talked so fast no one could understand her, but she said it. LOL It was fun to watch them perform in front of the church. They all were very proud of themselves. We had a potluck afterwards. I brought a plate of cookies. Next year though, I will bring a hotdish as those quickly ran out. By the time we got to the table there was only mushroom rice and a small piece of ham left. The kids filled up on cake, cookies, puddings, and the candy their teachers had given them for a Christmas gift.

Megan had her first offical sleepover on Friday. She left school with her friend and they partied all night. I sent a note with her to have her call me when she got to her friends house after school so I would know she made it okay. Finally at 7:45 she called. I asked her if she just found my note and she said "Yep, I forgot to call you until I saw it." LOL Well, at least she called. Better late than never. :) She made it through the night with no problems and called me at 9:oo a.m. and said she wanted to come home. I asked her if her friend's parents were bringing her home or if we needed to come get her. She said she didn't know as the mom was still in the shower. HUH? So after her mom got out she gave me a call. Apparently Megan had decided she was ready to come home while everyone was getting ready and she gave me a call on her own. LOL We finally worked it out and she was home shortly after 10. She seemed to have a good time at the sleepover or if she didn't she isn't going to tell me because she wants to be able to go again. :)

Have a great day everyone!

Golden Crap

I am following the golden rule....


I will be back when I have something nice to say.....

Lesson Learned

Twice today I have heard the distinct sound of ripping paper coming from the direction of the Christmas tree. Mr. Bill has decided if mom will let him open one present then he should be able to open them all. Lesson. Learned.

Overprotective Ramblings

Megan got a free skip day yesterday as she absolutely did not want to go to school. She spent the morning crying, screaming, and just throwing a fit. I figured one day every once in awhile is not going to hurt her and we needed some quality time together anyway. She spent the day playing and relaxing and her mood improved dramatically. She started out the day complaining because she never gets to go on a sleep over. I couldn't figure out what had brought this on. We told her she is too young and it makes us uncomfortable to have our kids at other people's houses. Well last night the kids had a practice at the church for their Christmas program. One of Megan's friends also goes to this church and her mom came and asked me if Megan would be able to come on Friday. I looked at her very confused. Apparently her daughter is having a birthday party on Friday and they had invited Megan to come. The only problem here is I never got any kind of written invitation. I just assumed Megan's friend had expressed a desire to have her come over when it was her birthday, I didn't realize they were actually inviting her. Is it just me or do you all expect some kind of written note from the parent?????? So we have decided to let Megan go. She thinks sleepovers are sooo wonderful and she is missing out so she is going. Never mind that her mom will be stressed until she gets home on Saturday.

We let our kids open a present last night after they got home from practice. I am such a sucker for watching them open presents. Plus I figure this way they actually get to enjoy a present instead of just ripping into the next one. We let them open a game we bought for all of them. They had a blast playing it until bedtime.

This morning Cassie was doing the fit throwing. Apparently someone has to be in a bad mood each morning. I think her problem is her allergies. She gets very very emotional and moody when her allergies kick in. Mr. Bill also has allergies and I noticed the last two or three days his nose has been running too. I put them both on their Zyrtec for the next week or so. Hopefully that will nip the allergies in the bud before they get bad. Before we got Cassie on Zyrtec she had a sinus infection one after the other. It was bad. Mr. Bill started doing the same thing last year so the doc suggested we try the Zyrtec first and wouldn't you know it worked like a charm. No more antibiotics here! Yipee!

I am sooooo ready for Christmas break and I can tell the kids are too. It is getting harder and harder to get them out of bed and moving in the morning. Not that they will sleep in over Christmas break but they don't have to go anywhere or do anything. I remember being in school and feeling that sense of relief that I had more than a Saturday and Sunday off from school. Plus we will be running off to the hills for my sister's wedding so we get to see a lot of family we don't usually see. My dad is also going to be there. I can't believe it has been 9 years since I have seen him. He came after Becca was born in 1995. I am anxious for the kids to meet Grandpa Gordon.

Yesterday I watched a movie on Lifetime. Usually I run the other way when they have movies on because they are always about domestic abuse, child abuse, or some other equally disturbing concept. This movie though was one of those feel good movies that make you happy to be alive and thankful for what you have. I think I could watch movies if they were all like that. :)

Well, I need to get moving today. The house is pretty much in order but I don't think Mr. Bill wants me to sit on the computer all day. :) TTFN!

Pink hair and spikes!

Is there anything a good 80's song can't fix? I think NOT! I am sooo in love with this Sirius Satellite Radio we can get on our Dish Network! They have a gazillion channels and each one is for a different type of music or talk. I love channel 908! It is non-stop 80's music! Remember Locomotion, Purple Rain, I Need A New Drug, Pour Some Sugar On Me, Rock On??? That is some gooooood music. It cures what is ailing you.

A new day..

I am okay, really I am.

I am sorry for dumping on all of you yesterday. I needed to get that off my chest and since I am not able to call my husband and I don't have any girlfriends/family/friends who want to hear about my husband's shortcomings I put it here for you all. I suppose I could have not posted it after I wrote it. But then you would all think the life of a SAHM is glamourous and full of bon-bons and soap opera's when obviously that is not the case.

Billy came home at 10:15 p.m. last night. I had not heard from him all day. He came in like all was fine, I guess maybe in his world it is. I told him I needed to talk to him. I told him how I felt and how I needed him to get back in the family or get out altogether because I couldn't take the yo-yo ride. He just nodded and listened. For the first time he seemed to agree with everything I said and did not get defensive and yell at me. Maybe for the first time in 11 years he realizes he does need to work on being a part of this family more.

So today I am hopeful and optimistic. I hope he really does want more than we have and is willing to work towards that. Now if I can just learn to keep my mouth shut as he starts helping around the house and being a dad! God help me keep my lips zipped!

One of those..

It is one of those days... The kind where I don't want to get out of bed, don't want to exercise, don't want to get the kids up and listen to them whine. The kind of day where if I had a choice I would pull the covers over my head and refuse to get up.

What brings on such a depressing day you ask? All you have to do is look to the man who put this ring on my finger. You see, he never gets out of bed before 8 a.m. (never mind that I have been up since 6). He gets up after I get the girls off to school and come home. He showers and dresses and basically dinks around until it is 9 a.m. and then he heads off to work. He works for 10-12 hours and then comes home after the kids are in bed and usually after I am too. Also part of what brought this on is over the weekend he said the guys at work get irritated because I call him at work so much. I usually call him once or twice a day, but when you figure he is NEVER home for me to talk to, how else am I supposed to keep up the ruse that we are married????

So yesterday I decided I have had enough of him livng scot free while I slave away. I woke him up at 6:30 and told him to hit the showers. He was dressed and out the door by 7:30 a.m.! Quite a feat for him. So I sent him an email (notice I didn't call him, I won't do that anymore) and said "See you at 5." I never got a response. Finally at 4:10 p.m. he calls to tell me he has an opener and the Rockies will be there the next morning to see it. So last night he didn't come home. He finally walked in the door at 2:30 a.m. He got up at 8 this morning and left for work. Do you see how this could have a slight impact on my mood? It is not like this is a rare thing either. This type of things goes on at least 4 out of 5 days in the week. I hate it.

I feel like maid service. I feel very unappreciated. I feel unloved. I feel like if we fell off the face of the earth, he wouldn't notice. The hardest part for me is letting go. I don't want my husband and I to become strangers passing through the door but that is exactly what is happening. I don't have the energy or the desire to fight it anymore and he is oblivious. When we first met and dated we spent all of our time together. I literally mean ALL. Where I was, he was. He loved me and was not afraid to show it. He told me he loved me and would sit and cuddle with me all day if we had nothing else to do. Now, I barely see him. It is like pulling teeth to get him to come home and even harder to get him to come home for one of the kid's school activities. I can't count on him when I need him because work comes first for him. It is so frustrating and infuriating all at the same time.

I have tried talking to him about this, don't think for one second I haven't. It just goes in one ear and out the other. He said, "I know you will be here when I come home so I don't worry about it." Well honey, what if one day we aren't? What if we die in a car accident? What if someone breaks into our house and kidnaps us? What if? Have you ever stopped to think that I may not be here? Work will always be there too. And you know what? They don't care if you are there. They don't love you. To them you are replaceable at the drop of a hat, or pink slip. One day you are going to look back and see that your kids are grown up and gone, your wife has a life of her own without you, and you have nothing left. I guess you will have work won't you?

I may be a strong person, but that doesn't mean I don't have a breaking point. I can only handle so much my dear and soon I will crumble. I watch you walk in and out of that door with no thought whatsoever of what you are walking away from. It breaks my heart to see you hurt the kids. Mr. Bill doesn't even know what a dad is, except he is a guy who goes to work everyday and never comes home. I grew up with a dad who was gone all the time. Work took him away from me and then divorce took him even farther. I wanted so much more for my kids. You always tell me, it is just for a few days and then things will go back to normal. I haven't seen "normal" in over 4 years. I stood tall and held firm for the entire month you were in Greece. I took care of five kids, a house, and myself the full 30 days. And you know what? You didn't even notice. You didn't say thank you, good job, or I appreciate you allowing me to travel half-way around the world while you stayed here and took care of my family. Not one lousy word.

I sat in the car this morning in the driveway wishing I didn't have to go inside. I didn't want to go in and find you sleeping in bed, as I do every morning. I didn't want to face the sink full of dishes that have been sitting there since Saturday because apparently I am the only one who can touch them, I didn't want to have to make breakfast, do laundry, clean the house, and the millions of other little things I do each day that go completely unoticed. I wanted to sit in the car and cry and bawl and scream and kick and fight. I am struggling to find joy in my days. It is so hard to be happy when I am alone. It is hard to be a good parent when I am alone. It is hard to find fun when I am alone.

I wanted a partner.
To have and to hold.
For better, for worse.
For richer, for poorer.
In sickness or in health.
To love and to cherish.

Jodi does Blogger

Jodi-ism's (def. -words and/or phrases you will hear escape Jodi's lips on a daily basis):

When your butt has been glued to the couch all weekend, it is not in your best interest to begin pointing out what you *think* I haven't been doing.

Don't tell me what you are going to do, just do it!

When the garbage overflowth from the can, you better runneth it to the curb.

Stand and Salute does not mean what you think it means!

Nicknames are for kids, not male body parts.

Do I look like maid service?

If I have to say it one more time-!

Don't start with me, you won't win!

Of course I have eyes in the back of my head, don't you?

CHOCOLATE, I NEED CHOCOLATE!

If I have to say it one more time-!!

On this day:

In 1564, William Shakespeare was born on April 23.


Steve's Word Of The Day: solecism

For Lil:

(I mean this in the most loving way. Pleaseeeee don't take it literally!)

11 Days till Christmas!

Glue anyone???

I am broken, yup, it is official. I have obviously done something to my arm/shoulder/neck area. I don't know what I did but for the last 6 months or so I have had this reaccuring pain in my neck, seriously. (And NO it is not my husband, although he is a close second to the real pain.)Anyway, when I took Cassie to the doc in October it was hurting then so I asked him about it. He messed with my arm somewhat. I said, "It works just fine, It just hurts when I use it." He said we would discuss it more in December when I come in for my appointment. The pain went away a couple of days after that. Well Thursday evening I went to take my shirt off and the act of raising my arm above my head made whatever is broken kick in again. I feel like someone is trying to rip my shoulder off my body and the pain radiates into my neck, chin, and back. It is horrible! I wish I could figure out what I do to cause it so I can never ever ever do it again!

Did I mention?

IT IS FRIDAY! Yahoooooooo!



Becca took birthday treats to school today. She decided to bring cotton candy from Walmart. They sell it in tubs for 1.00 each. I had Billy pick some up on the way home from work last night. He came home with 10 of them! Holy shmoly! We divided them up into baggies so 15 little kids can get their own personal bag of sugar-induced hysteria today. Becca was thrilled.

We did Cassie's gingerbread decorating last night. As we went to get into the car it began to rain. Rain and a temp of 30F just don't go together well. The roads were already slick from the fog we had that morning. The fog had turned into frost on every single thing in site, including the roads. We drove forward even though we highly suspected the event had been cancelled and they had forgotten to call us. We got to the school with 10 minutes to spare and found the lunchroom well lit and hopping with over-excited 3 and 4 year olds. The event was still on. It was still raining/misting when the exctiement ended at 8 p.m. We stopped to get gas and then headed home. We pulled into our driveway and were greeted by the christmas lights we have on display. Those timers are an awesome invention. We are still working on some of our decorations. We put those candles in our front porch windows and I am just waiting for Billy to get an outlet out there so we can plug them in.

After we layed down to go to bed last night I saw and heard a cop zing by with his lights flashing and sirens blaring. In Brandt, this is a big deal since there are no cops in this town, which means he/she had come from Clear Lake. I watched the cop turn on the highway that runs south of our house. It appears someone had slid in the ditch just 1/4 of a mile south of our house. I could see a lot of flashing lights but nothing else. By 11 p.m. we went to bed but the lights were still flashing. I hope whoever it was walked away from his/her car.

This morning I checked the local station hoping that school had been cancelled due to the slippery roads. No such luck! I exercised and got the girls up and in the shower. The last two days Cassie has been jumping out of bed and sneaking into the bathroom while I am waking up the other girls. She moved into her own room a couple of weeks ago and I think she is sleeping better because she is smiley and happy when she wakes up now. That is a big change from the little girl who cried from the time she woke up until the time she got to school. I think she has just been given her own room permanently! :)

As I was driving home (the roads weren't slippery at all) I heard on the news that the troops are bascially demanding they get armored vehicles in Iraq. Well, okay, my response is "WHY THE HELL HAVE THEY BEEN DRIVING AROUND IN UNARMORED VEHICLES FOR THE LAST 2 YEARS AND WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH OUR GOVERNMENT!" Really people! If you are going to send our precious men and boys off into that war then maybe you should send them with the best protection we can possibly make???? I think the government just had a "duh!" moment. Sheeeshhh!

Christmas Cookies

Tequila Cookies

1 cup of dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup of granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups of dried fruit, (dried cranberries or raisins )
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila (silver or gold, as desired)

Sample the Cuervo to check quality.

Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour another 4 oz. in a measuring cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer…Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar…Beat again. At this point it’s best to
make sure the Cuervo is still OK, try another 4 oz. …just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit, pick the frigging fruit off floor…

Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers
just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Check the Jose Cuervo.

Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don’t forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.

CHERRY MISTMAS

Credit where credit is due...

I got a wild hair yesterday and decided to log on to freecreditreport.com which is actually a free credit report with no strings attached via that new law that allows us one free report from each of the three bureaus every 12 months. Experian is the only one that is starting it now, the rest of them will allow South Dakotan's to get them as of March 1st.

So anyhoo, I decided to check our credit. I haven't seen a report for about two years. You get full access online so I opened Billy's first. Wowzer! He had 6 errors on his, mostly old closed accounts that were listed as still open and one credit card that has been listed as open since 1995 even though we cut up the card and closed the account in 1998! They have reported it every single month even though we haven't used it for some 6 years. OY!

Mine wasn't as bad but I still had two errors on mine. People aren't kidding when they say you need to check your credit regularly. I was amazed at how many errors I found. Now I need to get the errors fixed (which can also be done online) but the form online is not currently working so I have to wait. I called the 888 number and the lady said the form was down for system maintenence and to try again today. I just tried it and it still isn't working.

I got an early a.m. call today from the neighbor lady. She runs the sunday school at our local church. I enrolled my kids at the beginning of the school year and so far they have only missed two sundays but each time the lady calls to let me know they missed my kids. I wonder if they really missed them or if they just want to know where we were. LOL Anyway she informed me that the sunday school does gift baskets for the elderly (which is 99% of this town) and could I bring 2 dozen cookies to church on Sunday. Yea, sure, ya betcha! So I will be baking cookies tomorrow, since we have a school function tonight. She also asked if I would be willing to help out occasionally in Cassie's class since one of her teachers will be out as she just had a baby. Yea, sure, ya betcha! You know us SAHM's have nothing better to do than bake cookies and teach sunday school. Shall I run away screaming now or wait until the shock wears off and then run away screaming? This is sooooo not how I pictured my life. I love my kids but I don't want to become the baking, teaching, boring mom of the 50's. Blech!

My brother sent pictures of my newest niece so I will share one with you all. They are so cute and warm and cuddly when they are newborn. Aaaaahhhh....


Here is LaMya!

Cassie has her Christmas party this evening. She gets to invite her family and we all decorate gingerbread men. Should be lots and lots of fun. Sugar, 20 kids, and candy.... What more could a mom want????

Today I am going to get working on a quilt I have had in progress for over a year now. I got most of the pieces cut out and some are put together but that is all the farther I got. I saw some very soft and nice material at Walmart the other day that I would like to use for the back of the quilt so I need to get it done now. It is all pink and girly looking. I may even get it done in time for Becca's Birthday. :)

Steve's Word Of The Day: mackinaw

Shopping with my hands full

Sorry for the missing post yesterday, I got too busy and forgot to get in here. I had Girl Scouts yesterday after school so I ran (okay, drove) into Clear Lake and met the girls in the lunchroom. Mr. Bill would not lay down and take a nap before we left so naturally he fell asleep on the way into town. I laid him on my coat during our meeting and he slept till the end. On the drive home, I gave Billy a call to see if he wanted to do Godfather's Pizza for dinner. He was game so I continued the drive into Brookings. We had their delish buffet and then went to our local Walmart for some window shopping. All the kids were behaving rather terribly this time. I think it is time we hire a babysitter so we can go shopping sans kids! Bleah! We browsed for a good hour or so and left with just a few buckets of cotton candy. We got home around 9ish and the kids were sent off to bed. Billy and I (okay mostly Billy) hung the new candle lights in our front porch and then we hit the hay too.

While we were in Walmart yesterday I cannot tell you how many stares we got or people stopping us and saying "You sure have your hands full!" and my kids are not that bad folks. They get a little obnoxious but they don't scream and cry and make it known to the whole store that they are miserable. People just seemed shocked that we had five kids and all in the store at once. I am soooo sick of people telling me "You have your hands full!" You know what, I DON'T have my hands full, I have my heart full. I love my kids, even when they are tired of shopping and are kicking me in the leg while sitting in the cart. They are good kids who aim to please. They are loving and kind. Becca just reminded me while we were shopping that we still need to get a card off the angel tree so that someone who won't otherwise get a present, will get one, from US! My kids care about each other, they care about their parents and friends and teachers and people they don't even know. They are good kids. They bring me joy and happiness every day. They make the world a brighter place. I can't even imagine life without them anymore. So, while it may look like I have my hands full, I don't. I have a heart full, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Megan is mad at me again.

I have to stop taking that girl to Walmart. She informed me that I am mean once again because I was making her sit in the cart instead of walking. Never mind that the girl can't keep her hands to herself while walking. ;) I have learned not to let it get to me, but I also let her know it is NOT okay to say those kinds of things to me. Now if she wants to mouth it as I turn away, that is okay. LOL

We only have 17 days until Christmas. Are you all ready? I am done shopping for the kids but I still have some Santa stuff to get. I also need to do the entire extended family but since we aren't seeing them until after Christmas, I will tackle that later. I can't even believe it is December yet, much less almost Christmas! Eeeek!

I found out the other day that NaNoWriMo also does a National Novel Editing Month in March where everyone sits down and tackles the tough part of writing the novel, editing! I am not sure if I will be game for that one or not. I went to print out my novel too and found it is 62 pages in it's current state. If I set it up in book format it should be roughly double that amount. And since it is a kids book, the type is usually bigger so that will add even more pages. I can't believe I wrote such a long book! I also found another kids novel I started several years ago but never finished. I have several notebooks floating around my house that have the beginnings of stories but no ends. I may tackle the new one before NaNoWriMo 2005. It is called Squirly and is about a little boy who lives in the south quite a few decades ago. I am getting the writing itch already! LOL

Steve's Word Of The Day: superannuate

Well, I have kids to wrangle so I best get off this computer and into the living room. I hope you all have a great day and enjoy the weather! TTFN!

Dresses, parties, sleepovers, and life...

Wow! Where to begin?

Friday:
Billy came home so we could run to the school by 2 p.m. for the kids Christmas music concert. We got there in time to drop Cassie off in her class and find a seat. Each of the girls were in their new, freshly washed dresses. They looked great!

Becca and Megan in concert

Marea leaving the stage

Cassie in front


We listened to them sing and then we loaded the van to head to Huron. Kristina and Lance graciously agreed to watch our kids for us while we attended the annual Dak party. We got to Huron about 4:30 and changed into our formal attire. I donned my new black dress you see in my profile picture and Billy, a suit. We left around 5:00ish and we on the road. We had to stop and get gas in DeSmet (IT WAS ONLY 1.80 THERE!) While we were sitting in the car filling the tank, I adjusted my dress and the strap broke! Fortunately it just came unsewn. I usually keep a small sewing kit in the glove box but for whatever reason it was not there. Billy ran into the gas station and bought me one for 1.49. While he drove the rest of the way to Brookings, I sewed.

We arrived at 6:45 p.m. and everyone was eating. We found Billy's co-workers but there was no place to sit. Two of the guys were done eating and had to go run the video so we took their seats. We got a plate full of food and sat down to eat. I took two bites and was not impressed. The food was cold and not all that tasty so I didn't eat. Just as Billy sat down to eat the announcer said announced that if you had won a prize that you needed to get it now as the prize room would be closing in 5 minutes. Billy jumped up and ran off to the prize room, leaving me at a table full of people I didn't know. Talk about the longest 10 minutes in history! He came back and announced he had won a $50 gift card to Hy-Vee. Not a bad gift for a guy with 5 kids. :)

We finished eating and the program started. They gave out the 10-20-and 30 year service awards, some booster awards, and then did the drawings for the large employee prizes. Since Billy had won a little prize he was not eligible for a large one. Once they finished the mundane stuff they introduced the hypnotist. I can't remember her name but she was good. We sat and watched 25 or so people make complete asses of themselves for an hour. She had them dancing like britney spears, signing autographs as if they were ricky martin, and the other normal hyponitist stuff. I find it very hard to believe any of them were actually hypnotized but it made for a humorous hour nonetheless.

After the hypnotist left, the D.J. started the music. He played a couple of 80's songs that I enjoyed but no one was dancing. As we contemplated leaving, Billy's boss came over and persuaded us to join him at his table with the other bosses. A few of them talked to us and then they all decided it was time to head home. It was 11:00 p.m. Billy and I stood around for a little while to see if anyone was going to dance. It didn't appear so so we decided to head out too. We stopped at Hyvee in our fancy clothes and bought 3 dozen donuts and the new Elf movie Uncle Steve said I had to see. We drove to Huron praying to stay awake for the entire 1 hour drive. We arrived at Kristina's at midnight or so and she had waited up for us. My kids were all out cold on the living room floor. We talked for a little while and then headed off to bed. Mr. Bill woke up and crawled into bed with us.

Saturday:
We woke up at 8 or so and we showered and dressed and we spent the day playing at Kristina and Lance's. The girls had a blast playing with Chaya, Cameron and Cailey. We watched Elf (a really funny movie!), Spiderman 2 (also good), and a Star Wars movie I only saw parts of. By the time we got motivated to leave it was 9 p.m. They told us we could stay another night so we did.


Billy holding Channelle

The kids did a fashion show for us:

Our Fashion Show

Cameron and Cassie striking a pose

Cailey and Mr. Bill getting dressed up too!

Sunday:
The kids were up and ate em early this morning although the adults were all tired. Kristina and Lance made a trip to the ER with Channelle in the middle of the night. She had reflux, the doctor thinks, and it makes fluid back up into her throat and sometimes she can't breathe because of it. They spent an hour or so at the ER. Cailey realized they were gone shortly after they left and came downstairs crying. I grabbed her and tucked her into bed with us. She fell right back to sleep. After they got home (the doctors couldn't do anything for her) we all went to sleep.

Kristina and Channelle

I woke up at 9 am and everybody else was already awake. I showered and packed the kids up. We ate lunch around 12:00 and then everyone sat down and watched t.v.


Cheerleaders
At one I suggested we hit the road so Mr. Bill could nap on the way. It turned out that everyone needed a nap including Billy. I drove home and we arrived at almost 3. We spent the rest of our evening relaxing and playing the games the kids had gotten from Santa on Thursday. While we were playing Mr. Bill decided he needed to go potty on the toilet. He took off his pants and pulled down his own diaper (he has never done that before!) We put him on the toilet but he didn't go. I put his spidey underwear on him for the rest of the night. He peed twice in his underwear but he kept sitting on the toilet and trying to go. I guess we are on our way to having a potty-trained boy. I can't wait! By 8 p.m. we were all dragging tired so we went to bed.

Monday:
Well today is Monday which means it is laundry day. I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed today so it should be a good day. We finally got snow though. I awoke to roughly an inch on the ground this morning. It was a tad slippery as I drove the girls to school but all-in-all, not too bad. It is nice to see the brown dead grass covered in white.

Mr. Bill is still on his potty training kick this morning. We have been on the toilet twice. The only bad thing is I have to stand in there with him or he won't stay on the toilet. It wouldn't be so bad except he can sit there for a good 10-15 minutes. LOL

This week promises to be a full one with the kids holiday activities kicking into high gear. Can you believe it is only 19 days until Christmas. Where do the days go?

I better get the dog out of his kennel. He is whining because Billy forgot to let him out before he left for work. TTFN!

Steve's Word Of The Day: torpor

Dash!

Mr. Bill or Dash from the Incredibles????

Monster Man and Christmas Programs

Steve's Word Of The Day: klatch

Oh the torture! Last night on the way home from the Christmas party Mr. Bill screamed and screamed and screamed some more. We had gone to walmart to get the girls their christmas dresses after the party and he would not stop crying in the store so I took him to the van and waited for Billy and the girls. He cried the entire time we were in the van. We headed off for home and he cried the entire 30 minutes home. Why you ask? He didn't want to go shopping at walmart. It was as simple as that. Then we got home and I put him in bed which only caused more crying. He finally cried himself to sleep. I tried comforting him but each time any of us even looked at him he would scream like he had been shot and then go back to crying. It was a lovely night. This morning he is awake and happy like the monster that was is no more. What gives?????

Tonight is Billy's work Christmas party. We are driving our kids all the way to Huron before the event and we will be driving back there afterwards. We get a free dinner and hopefully Billy will win a prize this year. They also have a hypnotist and a band after the dinner. We usually skip that part though.

The girls have their Christmas program today so we got them all dolled up before school. They look pretty if I do say so myself. After I dropped them off at school I took Cassie down to her class to drop off her coat. When I got her back to the lunchroom the attendant there said the girls all came in and stood in front of her and took off their coats and showed her their new dresses. She said it was "her own mini fashion show" and "they were so cute." She also said they told her to watch for Cassie cause she had a new dress on too. How funny they are. I have redeemed myself in Megan's eyes somewhat today since I spent 70.00 on dresses for the girls. I am not mean when I buy her something new ya know!? Duh!


Becca and Megan in back, Marea and Cassie in front.

Is it really Thursday????

I blinked and this week is almost over. YIKES! Where did it go?

Tonight we have been invited to the annual Foster Parenting Christmas Party. We are going because they serve free pizza and Santa comes and brings each child a gift. My kids can't wait for school to be over today. :)

I am having headbutting issues with two of my children. These two particular children I predict, will cause me many many headaches in the years to come. Ironically, or not so ironically they are born in the same month just days apart. I am beginning to think those astrological signs aren't all hooey!

So anyway, the older of the two has decided I am mean and will tell me so. When she doesn't get what she wants from me she says, "You are mean!" The first time she did it I was shocked. I thought, "MY KIDS DON'T WORSHIP ME ANYMORE!?" After I thought about it for awhile I realized her intent and didn't take it so personally. Then we were at walmart a few days later looking at toys and I refuse to buy a stuffed cat for her. She sort of looked at me and sort of looked at her feet and stated, "I am going to go find a mom who will buy it for me." I almost laughed that was so funny. I sucked it up though and said, "That's enough!" At what point did I become the enemy?????? Huh??????

The younger headache I am having lately has decided that he will do whatever he wants when he wants and who-are-you-to-stop-me! I know it is partially an age thing but after two weeks of fighting to put on his coat, shoes, brush his hair, change his butt, etc. I am sick of it. I have literally stopped changing him. I put a clean diaper on after his bath (while I hold down both of his legs and stick the straps down with my teeth) and if he is a good mood upon awakening from his nap at 5 p.m. I will change him again. If not he waits until bedtime when I assume the painful task once more. I had hoped he would get sick of walking around in a 3 pound diaper all day and asked to be changed. I think I have met someone more stubborn than me. OY! Everyday I have to take him to the school at 11 a.m. to pick up Cassie and everyday it is a battle. He doesn't want his shoes on or his coat and he has taken to hiding behind the couch so I can't get him. Yesterday I left the shoes, stuffed him in his coat and pushed him in his car seat and buckled so fast you'd have thought I was in a contest. He rewarded me by screaming, oh yes SCREAMING, the entire 15 minutes it took to get there. The only reason he didn't scream all the way home was because I drive another child home and thank God behind his stubborness is a higher level of shyness. So today we went round two and I didn't even attempt the shoes. I stuffed him in his coat and in his car seat. And once again, all the way there he SCREAMED!

So you see I am slowly going insane. If it starts this young what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks am I going to do when they hit 13 or God-forbid 16!??????? I am in deep doo-doo.

My neighbor has finally begun the harvest of his corn crop this year. May I just vote for a late snow and late harvest every year. This year I had a total of like 6 of those ladybug/asian beetle monstrosities in my house. Last year I had the whole damn population of them holed up in every crack in my house. This year they stayed on the crops. Hallelujah! It is really odd though to be able to see farther than across the street now. I will miss the amber waves of grain. :)

Steve's Word Of The Day: stripling

Roasting Licorice and Burning Lights

A few random thoughts for you all....

Here is another silly name game you all might enjoy. What is your secret Christmas name?

Here are ours!
Mine is: Happy Horny-Fairy (Santa didn't know me very well did he? LOL)
Dh is: Tumbleflump Horny-Elf
Becca: Fuzzy Horny-Elf
Megan: Lucky Horny-Cracker
Marea: Fuzzy Horny-Cracker
Cassie: Cutie Horny-Helper
Mr. Bill: Frosty Horny-Cracker




I dropped the girls off at school this morning at 7:40 and Cassie and I did our usual waiting around for her teachers to show up for breakfast. Usually they get to the lunchroom at 7:50ish so I stay in the van with Cassie and we wait. Well today we had a package of licorice we bought last night on the ride home from seeing my new niece. The licorice, however, had been in the van all night and was quite frozen. Being the genius that I am I suggested she put her licorice up by the heater so it would warm it up. She thought I was silly and was quite surprised when she bit into it the second time that it was actually softer. LOL So Cassie and I sat and roasted licorice by the heat of my Venture Van until 7:50.



Hi, my name is Jodi, and I am an addict. I use at least 7-10 times a week, usually all on Monday but sometimes it happens on Wednesday's and Friday's too. I have been doing this for almost 4 years. My mom knows about my addiction and is very disappointed in me. Afterall, it can cause bladder infections, rashes of every sort and size, ear infections, and hearing problems if you aren't careful.

What she doesn't mention is that using also has its up-side. For example, did you know you can use it twice and it works almost as well the second time? Did you know it only costs $6.27!? Are you aware at how effective it is at keeping your kids clothes from getting stained?

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am addicted to fabric softener sheets. I feel I must admit this to you, my internet psychologist, because from the day I was born my mom literally beat into me how awful chemicals were. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY MAKE FABRIC SOFTENERS OUT OF!? GAS, GAS AND MORE GAS! She wouldn't allow us to use conditioner, never mind the fact that my hair looked like Einstein's 99% of my childhood. I wasn't allowed to go to people's houses if they used scented candles, perfume, or air freshners because they are evil things.

At first I started out with unscented Bounce sheets. They fulfilled my need but I wanted more. So I bought a box of scented Bounce and I was hooked. My clothes don't stick to my legs or each other, I am not hunting for that one sock that stuck to the inside of a towel in the dryer, I am not scrubbing stains out of my kids clothes (or worse, throwing the garment away), and I am happy because we all smell like ocean breeze bounce dryer sheets. And you know what else? None of my kids are sick, none of them have had ear infections or bladder infections, and aside from the occasional ignorant moments, my kids all have perfect hearing. AND they smell good too! So there! ;P




I was surfing through classmates.com today and went to an elementary school listing from when I lived in Alaska. In my fourth grade class I had a friend, who ironically was also named Jodi. She and I hit it off pretty quick and we spent a lot of time together in class and on the playground. She was a somewhat outspoken but normal kid. Well I found her on the classmates.com listing today and she had left a link to her page online so I went and checked it out. I didn't read it completely but I did search a lot of it and boy can I say I am surprised. She talked a lot about alcoholism (at the ripe ole' age of 30) and she came across very punk rocker, if you know what I mean. I wanted to email her and say hi but I didn't. We are worlds apart and I got nervous: What if she doesn't remember me? What if she doesn't like me? What if I bring back bad memories, etc. etc. I only lived in Alaska for two short years. I doubt she would even know who I am other than maybe remember we had the same name. Hmmmmmmmm.



I am sure by now most of you know I was/is/are/am mormon. My husband and I were visited by the missionaries one day in 2000. We had been thinking of getting into a church but couldn't really decide on one that 'fit'. We thought it was amazing timing that they should knock on our door. We invited them in and we talked. They came and gave us "lessons" for several weeks. We (or I) agreed to get baptized. Looking back I can see the red flags that should have been poking my eyes out but at the time I was all gung-ho. Billy, who had to be dragged kicking and screaming (okay not literally, but on the inside), also got baptized. We moved to Brookings shortly after joining the church and were welcomed with open arms. There are some wonderful people in that church and I wanted to stay involved just so I could be around them. Once we moved to Brandt, however, my husband took his chance and bailed. He is not one to stand up for himself or anything he believes in and for once he stood up and yelled, at me! I listened and decided it wouldn't do me any good to push so we stopped going. It has been almost 2 years since we stopped going and I can honestly say now it was a good thing. The deal with the mormon church is not their religion it is that they keep a lot of things mum to new converts (a word I absolutely despise!) They tell you when they think you should know. That is not how you should get into a religion. We were told about tithing after we were baptized. Apparently you cannot go to the highest level of heaven if you don't pay tithing here on earth. Well, Billy has a huge issue with tithing and honestly it bothers me too. So anyway, for all of you who are wondering, we are not a mormon family anymore. My kids are going to the local lutheran sunday school and occasionally we go to church there. If you want to read a much more hysterical view of mormonism check out dooce's website!



The Christmas season is upon us and apparently it hit my husband squarely on the head this year. In the past, I have decorated for Christmas. I, meaning me-myself-and-I! Yesterday we popped into Menards and had to check out their Christmas display. Well do you know we walked out of there with an outdoor timer for the outlet, a string of electric candles for the front porch and wrapping paper. Add that to the two reindeer and 6 lit trees plus the miles of rope lights on our house and you are talking WOW! Anyone within 6 feet of my house is in danger of getting burned. Who created this monster??????

Steve's Word Of The Day: woolgathering