Just One More!

I can't open the last one....I.am.too.worn.out!

Why my husband is sure something is wrong with me...

Today for Becca's birthday we went to the movies. We saw "Night at the Museum". While is was a fairly good movie, I was happy to be home. I have said it before and I say it now, I am NOT a movie person. It has to be really good and NOT predictible if I want to watch it.

So we get home from the movie and Billy sees that Superman Returns is on PPV. He orders it and sits down to watch it. I get up and go do laundry. As I come down the stairs he says, "You would rather do laundry than watch a movie?!"

Yup.

Definite Opinion

Mr. Bill has a definite preference when it comes to my hair. I usually have it down but when I pull it up he always stops and looks at me and then says, "I like your hair like that."

What a funny boy! :)

Happy 11th Birthday Becca!

My "baby" is over a decade old now. I cannot believe it. It just doesn't seem possible. She didn't pick the best day to be born that is for sure. She was due about three weeks from now in January but she decided she was done. And now I am dealing with a pre-teen who is just a few years short of becoming a full-fledged teenager. I am scared... ;)

Happy Birthday Becca!

I will return...

Be back after Christmas!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Too true!

Dear Tech Support:
Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance -- particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0, NBA 3.0, and Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Sincerely,
Desperate
__________________________________

Dear Desperate:
First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System.

Please enter the command: "http: I Thought You Loved Me.html" and try to download Tears 6.2 and don't forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources).

Also, do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.

You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance.We recommend Food 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck,
Tech Support

(I stole this from Vegas Princess! It was too funny true not to share.)

Commandos

Panties or not?

How interesting...

Sing

The little girl I babysit is not feeling well. She has a runny nose, cough, etc. So yesterday she was crabby. She wanted to be held and if I put her down she cried.

Mr. Bill was not amused. He kept telling me to pick her back up everytime I put her down. I explained to him that I cannot pour him some juice and hold her at the same time. It just isn't possible.

So when he asked me to get him a snack I said, "Okay but H is going to cry." He looked at me and you could see the light bulb go on over his head. He exclaimed, "I will sing to her while you are getting my snack!"

And he sang. Jingle Bells, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, and some other song from school. And you know what? She didn't scream. She danced and giggled and danced some more.

I need to get him on tape!

Blog freak out

Blogger is totally freaking out today. I have tried to comment on several of my usual reads and it keeps telling me it cannot log me in.

So if you don't have a comment from me... blame blogger! :(

Blessings

"Some time ago a mother punished her five year old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her mother the next morning and then said, "This is for you, Momma."

The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner.

"Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package?"

She had tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full."

The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her thoughtless anger.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed for all the years of her life.

Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems she would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and GOD. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold."

Just a little reminder to hold your kids close and look for the good qualities in them. You won't have more money tomorrow and life won't get any easier. Stop making excuses and start making memories with your kids.

Music to My Ears

After a month and a half of band Becca can play several songs. Here is just one of them. They will be having their first concert on the 15th. I can't believe these kids learn how to play so fast. Amazing!

***Edited to add: I don't know why she is sideways. Everything else I view the movie in she is upright. When I figure it out I will fix it.****

Christmas Baking

Today is my official Christmas baking day. Right now we are doing cookies. Yummy!

Here is the list for this year:
Banana Spice Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Andes Mint Chip Cookies
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Butterfinger Cookies

Next weekend we will do all the candies. I like to do the candy coated pretzels and this year I may attempt peanut brittle.

I also buy chocolate covered cherries and red and green coated pretzels. I put them all on trays for my neighbors, mailman, etc. That is if I can keep my family from eating them all. :)

What are your Christmas favorites?

Big Foot

I just bought my 10 year old daughter a pair of snow boots in Women's size 8!

That is a full half size bigger than my own shoes.

Hand over the duct tape! She is getting strapped to the floor!

Ponytail

I am irked with the kids gym teacher. The last week or so the kids have been coming home and complaining that the gym teacher keeps yelling at them because they need to put their hair up in a ponytail on days they have gym because apparently they cannot run with their hair down.

I think if it is that big of a deal then she needs to send home a note POLITELY explaining how she would appreciate it if the kids could wear their hair up on gym days. Yelling at my kids everyday is not okay with me.

We have started putting their hair up but should I say something to the teacher and/or principal. I think this could have been handled in a much better manner. What would you do?

Precious Gifts

Another blogging Mommy has just given birth to two beautiful boys. One of them is not doing as well as we would all like so if you have some extra time pop on over to her blog and let her know you are thinking of her. And say a few prayers for her and her precious gifts.

The Bolline Blog

Accent

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
North Central
Boston
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

This is too funny! I don't think I have an accent. Even though sometimes people make fun of the words I choose. Like pop for a carbonated beverage! LOL

No orange juice

Now I am really confused. I didn't give Mr. Bill ANY orange juice at all yesterday. I even stopped giving him the medicine strips thinking that might be the culprit to his allergies.

At about 4 p.m. he suddenly breaks out in hives. He wasn't eating or drinking anything. He was playing on noggin.com.

Then at 11:00 p.m. I wake to him squirming around (in my bed). I finally wake him enough for him to tell me that he is itchy. I turn on the light and sure enough he has hives everywhere again. More benadryl and we all went back to sleep. Obviously he wasn't eating or drinking anything at 11 p.m.

I haven't changed anything he uses (soap, laundry detergent, lotions, etc.) so what the heck is going on with his body?

I am confused.

Death

In the car on the way home today:

Mr. Bill: When I get big I will be a daddy.

Me: *nods*

MB: And then Daddy will be a grandpa. And you will be a grandma.

Me: *nods again*

MB: And then you will drink too much coffee and blow too much smoke and you will DIE!

Me: Really? Not all Grandma's drink coffee or smoke you know.

MB: But most do.

Me: Some do, some don't.

MB: Grandpa Steve doesn't smoke or drink coffee.

Me: *debating if I tell him the truth or let him figure it out on his own*

MB: You are still going to DIE! when you become a grandma.

Me: *nods*

*****edited to add: I don't drink coffee or smoke. But all his grandparents do. Thus his theory.****

Allergic

I bought orange juice with calcium on my last trip to the grocery store. What a good mommy I am making sure my kids get vitamin c and calcium in large amounts in their juice. They will grow up to be very healthy people with strong bones right?

Well, they all will except Mr. Bill. The first night I gave him a cup of juice and he was eating his kissables candy. Suddenly he had hives all over his face (even under his eyes) and they were quickly spreading down his body. He was itchy!

I gave him some benadryl and about 30 minutes later he was back to normal.

I determined it had to be the kissables since he has orange juice at school all the time.

Skip to yesterday after school. I give him another glass of orange juice. He drank the whole thing with no ill effects. Must have been the candy that caused the reaction.

A couple of hours later the girls get home from school and all get some juice. I give Mr. Bill some more too. One sip and he is suddenly rubbing his back on the couch much like a bear does on a tree. His face starts to break out in hives. I run for the benadryl again. 30 minutes later he is fine.

What the?

Kids

As I watched my kids line up to get on the bus this morning I realized we have a big family. It sounds dumb I know but I have never felt like we were a big family.

We frequently get comments when we are out like "You have your hands full." "Are they all yours?" "Wow" and my all time favorite was the little girl at a restaurant who stood on her chair and counted, out loud, each of us.

Still I have never felt like we were an overly large family.

But today as my kids walked to the bus I counted them myself as they got on the bus. I do have a lot of kids. And I am so proud of each and every one of them.

Becca is amazing us everyday. At 10 3/4 years old she is so compassionate and loving towards her siblings. She is responsible and so mature. At the same time she is growing up and dealing with all the preteen stuff. She handles it pretty well. She is in basketball and impressing us with her commitment to the team.

Megan is so stubborn and strong-willed. She keeps us laughing and loves to laugh herself. She tries so hard at everything she does. She is so shy too. Megan is quick to defend her siblings and makes sure everything is fair.

Marea is amazingly resilient. Given everything she has dealt with already in her life she continues to try and fight and push forward. She could have given up a long time ago. I want for her to know a mother's love and to truly accept it.

Cassie is my love bug. She is always climbing on my lap and snuggling. She is such a social bug too. She likes to play games and get everyone involved. She has a great sense of herself.

Mr. Bill is my little guy. I can't get over how much he is changing and growing. He has learned to write his first name since starting preschool. He loves going to school and spending time with his friends. He is so sensitive and it keeps me on my toes. He is independent but still is my baby. I don't mind at all. :)

I may have my hands full but my heart is overflowing.

Tongue Twisters

One of the otc medicines that have recently made entry into my home and kids are these new Triaminic Thin Strips.

Mr. Bill loves these. I bought the liquid and it had two sample strips on the side of the box. The first one I gave to him at 3 a.m. when he woke up coughing till he puked. He said they taste really good. That in itself is worth buying them. Those liquid grape cough medicines DO NOT taste like grape.

When I went to give him the second dose he said, "I get the tongue twister again?" I said yup!

Whoever thought getting a kid to take medicine could be so easy?

Winter is Officially Here

We have no snow yet but as far as I am concerned winter has arrived.

I made my first trip to the doctor yesterday for a sick kid.

We have used 3 boxes of kleenex in the last four days.

I have one prescription for pink eye, with refills in case someone else gets it.

I have 5 otc medicines being administered around the clock.

I spent an hour last night cleaning puke off the sheets and off the kids.

I spent another hour trying to coerce kids to take the 5 otc medicines.

Yup, winter is here.

The Biggest Loser

I watched The Biggest Loser last night on t.v. It was so inspiring. Can you imagine losing 12 pounds in a WEEK! Many of the participants did. But they also worked out 5 hours a day. Oy!

I watched one gal who started out in the 200's who is now in the 160's get eliminated. She was so upset because she had never been able to break the 160's and was afraid she was going to be "a fat girl" forever. It is so sad that we learn to call ourselves fat.

I never was concerned about my weight until I had four babies. Then stuff went south and so did my self-esteem. I empathsize with the gal on TBL. I hope for her that she is able to obtain her goal so she can see that she is not a fat girl and so that she appreciates herself for all her strenghts and weaknesses.

The show inspired me to put a little more effort into my exercise. Afterall, if they can workout that many hours a day I should be able to up my efforts some. I only do about 55 minutes a day so I decided to give it a little more. Today I ran for 20 minutes on the treadmill and then did my usual Denise Austin show. I felt soooo good when I was done! Of course now my behind is sore, but I will take it. :)

Bible Knowledge

I have read the bible. But I thought I would fail this miserably. I surprised myself by getting 6 out of 10! How did you do?

Bible Quiz

Frantic Woman

Ever have one of those days where you don't want to make dinner?

Umm, I have those everyday. I hate to cook. Part of that is because I don't plan ahead. I walk in the kitchen at about 6 p.m. when my stomach is already growling and start looking for something to make.

I finished a book called The Frantic Woman's Guide to Feeding Family and Friends (by Mary Jo Rulnick) the other day.

It is basically a list of menus, groceries, and staples that you need to have a planned meal on the table every night. Even holidays. It is broken down by season which I think is awesome since I don't usually want potato salad in the winter or chili in the summer. It has some really yummy recipes too.

It has great menus and it is a great premise but honestly I found it to be a bit overwhelming. There is a lot of cooking ahead (for the next night's meal) while you are cooking for the current dinner. One meal at a time is enough for me. You have to make stops to the grocery store in the middle of the week to get the fresh stuff you need. I shop once a month and that it is it. I don't like making extra trips to the store. I always come out with way more than I went in for. And I think if you missed a day or meal it could screw up the entire system. That in itself would make me quit and sit down and eat the ice cream saved for day 14.

I think if you are organized and don't mind cooking this would be a good book to follow. For me, I think I will use some of the recipes and then put it on the bookshelf.

We're Back!

Did you miss me?

We had planned to stay home for Thanksgiving this year. I had all the food and the fixin's. Then we got the call. Billy's grandma is sick, very sick. We decided to run out to the hills to see her. The upside was we got to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

His Grandma is hanging in there but is not expected to live beyond this week. She is unable to eat and hasn't had food for over 5 days now. It is all very sad. She is such a spunky lady. I have always admired her. We will most likely be making another visit to the hills this week for a funeral. So sad.

On the way home we hit about 3 hours of freezing rain. It created a traffic disaster. We saw five accidents and all of them involved at least three cars. We saw two mini-vans rolled over and a truck sitting on its side. I am glad we made it home safely.

Today is life back to normal. The kids are at school and I have a disaster of bags and clothes to clean and put away.

OMG! YOU WILL LAUGH!

Too funny! See it here!

Butt Crack

Our kids are all very skinny kids. Which is a good thing. Except when it comes to finding pants that fit.

Usually someone in the house is walking around looking like a plumber. I almost always say something like, "I see London..." or "Crack exposed" and the offender knows to pull up her pants.

Well this morning I put on a pair of 11/12 pants that are a tad too big for me. They tend to fall about my hips instead of my waist. As I was sitting on couch I reached down to pick up a ponytail holder and Becca, who is sitting next to me, says, "I see London. And they are red with lace on the top."

Thanks for the announcement dear. Obviously Mom needs some new pants.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my 30-something husband!

Clearance

I love when Target has things on clearance!

I had to go today to get Mr. Bill some more jeans. The poor child only has 4 pair to begin with and then yesterday he ripped a hole in one pair. I do not like doing his laundry every other day so I headed off to Target to get him some new ones. He wears a 4T in length but they HAVE to have the adjustable waist since the boy has no butt. He seriously wears a 24 month size for his waist. When I got to Target all the boys Cherokee jeans were on the clearance rack. What I paid 12.99 for two months ago I got today for 4.98. Woooohooooo!

He was also in need of tennis shoes since his feet have suddenly grown 2 inches. I found him a fire truck pair that he loves for 3.98!

There were lots of shirts in his size on clearance too but since I bought all of his last spring when they were 2 bucks each he doesn't need anymore shirts. (Oh and I grabbed 4 pair of size 5T jeans for next year too. They were 4.98 too!)

I love good deals. Clearance is my friend.

A Hiccup In The Road Of Life

Tonight at 7ish my hubby calls. He was on his way home from work and got a flat. He pulled over and jacked up the car to put the spare on. But for some reason the old tire won't come off. I pack the kids up (all in their jammies) to go help him.

I get to where he is, about 15 miles from home, and sure enough the tire will not come off. The lug nuts are off but the tire won't budge.

We decided to lock it up and come home. We will deal with the car tomorrow in daylight and hope whatever the problem is fixes itself.

Just a little hiccup in the road of life.

Tidbits

How about some random tidbits for today?

The kids don't have school today or tomorrow. The volleyball team is going to state today so they gave the whole school two days off.

I am way behind on NaNoWriMo but am hoping to get caught up this weekend. I am determined.

The remodel upstairs is going well. I will try to get pictures this weekend. We are almost done with sheetrock and are starting the mudding in both rooms. Our goal is the end of December to get both rooms done. Then we start the attic. With Becca playing basketball every Saturday, it is really cutting into our work time.

I haven't bought a single food item for our Thanksgiving dinner. Store, here I come.

We started a "Super Nanny" chore chart last week. I bought a magnetic white board and put each kids name and the days of the week. When they do their chore they get a star (magnet). At the end of the week if they have more than 3 stars they get a prize (dollar store loot). No one got all 7 magnets last week. Today we start fresh. So far it is working pretty well. Would it be approved by the Nanny if I added my husband's name to the chart? ;)

I am done Christmas shopping. Except Mr. Bill's stocking. I can't find anything stocking size he would like. Girls are so easy. Boys not so. Give me some suggestions please!

Thankful

I am so thankful to have a healthy and happy family.

Basketball

Becca has been in baskeball for several weeks now. They have had a game just about every Saturday for the last two months. She is good but never has been a starter until tonight. She started her first game! I am so proud!

She has been working really hard at practice and getting really good. I am so proud of her effort and her enthusiasm. Go Becca!

Gearing up

I am ready for Thanksgiving! I can't believe it will be here in just over a week but I am ready. I want the turkey and fruit salad and pumpkin pie. mmmmmm.

We are in the midst of the remodel right now. I am trying to get the mudding done on the sheetrock. I also have 30+ loads of laundry going right now. I hope to be done with it tonight. :)

I will be back!

Andrea Girl! What happened to your blog? It was gone and now has been replaced with some weird technical thing. Are you gone? Come back to us. :D

NaNoWriMo is On!

15, 436 words and counting! Not bad.

I was skimming the NaNoWriMo website and discovered that year two is always a stickler for participants. That would explain why I struggled so much last year. Something about living up to your expectations of the year before?

But this year is year three for me and I am working through the pain.I am trudging in my novel right now but the week two email came today and Chris of NaNoWriMo had this to say:

"It all adds up to the fabled Week Two Wall---a low-point of energy, enthusiasm,
and joie de novel that strikes most NaNoWriMo participants between days 7 and
14. This is when our inner editors, who largely turned a blind eye to our novel
flailings in Week One, return to see how things are going. And their assessments
are never kind.

The plot is draggy. The characters are boring. The dialogue
is pointless, and the prose has all the panache of something dashed off by a
distracted kindergartner.

If you're feeling any of these things---or find
yourself starting to feel them this week---know that nothing is wrong. In fact,
you're likely on track for a great NaNoWriMo. Just lower your head, pick up your
pace, and write straight into the maw of your misgivings. If you are thinking
about quitting, DO NOT DO IT IN WEEK TWO.

If you have to quit, do it in Week Three.

I'm serious."

Tagged

I was tagged by Jay:

A book that changed my life: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
One Book I read more than once: Are You There God, It's Me Margaret
One book I would want on a deserted island: Any reading material would be fine with me.
One book that made me cry: Little House On The Prairie.
One book I’d wish I’d written: Harry Potter.
One book I wish had never been written: Ummmm, ???.
One book I’m reading now: Find Me by Rosie O'Donnell
One book I have been meaning to read: Kinship

Smarty Pants!

I get up at 5:20 to exercise every morning.

Yesterday Megan got with me again, for the third day in a row.

Me:
"You know you wouldn't be so crabby after school if you would sleep until I come get you up at 6:40. Getting up early is making you crabby after you get home."

Megan:
"Maybe that is why you are so crabby."

Who told our secret?

Words Women Use:

FINE
This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and
you need to shut up.

FIVE MINUTES
If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. Five minutes is only
five minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the
game before helping around the house.


NOTHING
This is the calm before the storm. This means "something," and you
should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with 'Nothing' usually end
in "Fine".


GO AHEAD
This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it.


LOUD SIGH
This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often
misunderstood by men. A "Loud Sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why
she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing".


THAT'S OKAY
This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a
man. "That's Okay" means that she wants to think long and hard before
deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.


THANKS
A woman is thanking you. Do not question it or faint Just say you're
welcome.


WHATEVER
It's a woman's way of saying *!#@ YOU!



I use a few of those. How about you?

It is a beautiful day for

Voting!!! I just did.

If you haven't already, go vote! One voice can make the difference.

I promise I won't repeat this ever again.

Today Mr. Bill was getting dressed and chomping on his gum. He took off his shirt, took of his socks, took off his pants and all was fine. Then he took off his underwear and looked down in the process.

And the gum fell out of his mouth and landed on his "tail" (yes he still calls it that)

This is not the no-stick hubba bubba type of gum. Oh no, it is the cheap halloween candy gum. It sticks and sticks good.

Since I was in the kitchen and not watching him he attempted to get it off himself only to make matters worse. He yelled for me and I came to the rescue. I pulled off all the big pieces and then got the vegetable oil out and smeared it on. Then I managed to rub all the stringy little pieces off.

It took all I had not to laugh. He is so overly-sensitive emotionally that if I had he would never forgive me.

Taking Stock

Remember in January when I set some financial goals? These goals:
1. 500.00 in savings by the years end
2. Contribute to Billy's 401K
3. Begin to payoff our revolving debt (i.e. credit cards) Get at least ONE paid off by years end
4. Eat out NO MORE than one time per week as a family.

Yesterday I sat down and did the budget up to April of 2007. I took a look at my progress on my goals.

1. There is .10 in my savings. I need a savings account they don't let you take the money back out of. I just can't leave it there if I know it is there.
2. DONE! We started putting 2% in the 401K at the beginning of the year and just upped it to 6% in October when Billy got his raise. Checked the balance today and it is up to 5500.00. Not bad. Good thing we don't retire for a few years yet though.
3. Well I had two paid off at different times this year but right now they have a small balance on them again. Hopefully I can get them paid off before December. It is looking good right now.
4. Well I totally blew this one. I just hate to cook but I am working on it. Today I put some leftover meatball stew that I had frozen in the crockpot so we will have an instant dinner tonight. I am trying but fast food tastes ssoooooo good!

It isn't December yet. I will keep going and trying.

Saturday Morning

Today Becca has a basketball game but Cassie has a birthday party so we had to do the parent split this morning. Billy took Becca and Marea to the game (they won't be home until 4) and I have the other three kids who are happily playing on the dining room floor with their "Little Pet Shop" animals.

Twice in the last hour I jumped and realized I hadn't been keeping track of what Marea is doing and then I realized she isn't here and I don't have to. That is the way it is with her. I have to be her conscience and her brain because she doesn't make very good choices if left on her own. I am suddenly looking forward to the rest of the day. I can take a shower without having to worry about what she is doing. I can sit on the computer all day (if I want to) and not have to constantly be peeking over the top of it to see what she is doing.

NaNoWriMo is going pretty well. At least on my end anyway. I find I get in this zone as I am writing. It sucks up time pretty quickly but I enjoy it. I am up to 5300 words as of today so I am on track for my 50,000. I am still not sure about my story line. I don't know if the format is working or if the content is even interesting. I guess that would be part of the revisions but first I have to plunk out the 50K! :)

Have a great weekend everybody!
(Listening to Pandora Radio again. This thing is so awesome!)

Heart-Stopping Moment

After school today the kids all came in and got their homework out. Something smelled funny.

I ignored it as I have a super sensitive nose so I figured it was rub-off from someone on the bus. Megan came and sat by me so I could help her with her homework. Then the smell was really strong. I kept helping her but everytime she moved her hair I could smell something very strongly. Then I realized it smelled like marijuanna!

I was suddenly paralyzed with fear. How do I deal with this? She is only in 4th grade. She has some iffy friends but I never thought it would come to this. Maybe the friend's parents do pot and it just rubbed off? Oy.

I just sat there and tried to compose myself before I said anything. Megan turned to say something to my face at that moment and suddenly my overly sensitive nose caught my error.

"Have you been eating Green Apple gum or candy?" I stammered.

Megan nodded. She had green apple gum on the bus.

Thank heavens. Her breath smelled like stinky-feet-green-apple gum not pot.

I will be in need of pacemaker in about 3 years. Thank.You.Very.Much.

Vote Smart

I saw this link to this Vote Smart website on another blog. You can enter your zip code and it gives you information on all the elections pertinent to your area. Go do some research so you can vote smart and then GO VOTE on the 7th!

I did some research and was shocked at some of the things I found. It was worth the time.

T-O-Ting

We made it through trick-or-treating last night. We had a dead bride, a butterfly, a rock star, and The Thing from the fantastic four. Marea sat out the festivities as a punishment for some serious misbehavior last week. (This is the first time I have EVER taken away anything of this magnitude from her. I hope she "gets" it now.) Unfortunately we were so short on time after doing homework that I didn't get any pictures of the kids. By the time we got home the costumes and makeup were in shambles. Boo hoo. The kids did each get quite a stash of candy though.

Today is November 1st. The first day of NaNoWriMo. I will try to get my first entry up today. The goal is 1667 words per day to make 50K at the end of the month. You can keep up on my progress at Novel Idea. This year I am going for a young adult novel.

Happy Halloween!

I am going to be eating lots and lots of chocolate this week. Yummmy! Afterall, someone has to guard all that candy the kids will be leaving home alone while they are at school. Right?

The Christmas shopping went well. I spent just over 400 at Walmart and bought a small toystore. I only have 3 presents left to buy and of course the stocking stuffers. I will do that on Friday or Monday when I don't have any kids at home. The best part of my shopping day was getting to have breakfast with my husband. He came from work and spent about 30 minutes with me. I miss getting to spend as much time with him as we used to. I am looking forward to retirement for that very reason. :)

Hallelujah it is over!

I am done.

Saturday at 6 a.m. I was on my way down to Sioux Falls. At 10:30 I taught my first class at the Family History Conference. At 1:00 I taught the second one. By 2:20 I was headed out the door and rushing home to get ready for the Halloween Party I was in charge of. At 4:00 I arrived home, changed clothes, and headed for the community center. At 5:30 I left Billy still working on the haunted house. At 6:00 the party started. By 9:00 it was over. 60 sugar filled kids screamed and played themselves into a frenzy. By 9:20 I had the entire community center cleaned up and I was home staring at the mess the tornado had done to my house while I was gone.

It is over for another year. The classes went great. People were requesting me specifically. They actually called the director of the conference and asked which classes I would be teaching so they could attend them. That says a lot. Not that I am bragging....

The Halloween party was a hit but had too many out-of-control unsupervised kids there. Next year I am putting a "must be accompanied by an adult" on the posters. We are not babysitters. Oy!

Tomorrow I go Christmas shopping for all 5 kids. I am leaving at 6 a.m. and have to be at the preschool to pick up Mr. Bill at 11:30. If you see a blur whiz by you in Walmart, it is probably me. Happy Monday!

Love Thursday Friday...

One of my loves are my cats.

I currently have five full-time cats and one part-time cat. We have Mouse, Micki, Waddler, Ghost, and the newest kitten Sandy that live with us all the time.

Then we have Mittens who sort of lives here part-time. Mostly when he is hungry. He is a stray but likes to hang out with us. I know six cats are a bit much and if I were single I am sure I would be referred to as a "cat lady". But they are great creatures.
Waddler and Sandy both sleep in the doorway to my room. When the alarm goes off at 5:25 a.m. both of them immediately jump onto my bed. One starts circling my head and the other lays directly on top of me. If I don't pet Waddler right away he nibbles on any exposed flesh he can find. Sandy lays down on my neck and purrs like a mack truck. I have no fears of falling back asleep, trust me.

And the other cats keep me entertained while in the shower. Mouse, Micki, and Waddler all love to sit on the edge of the tub while I shower. One of them will frequently jump in the far end of the tub and lap up the water that has accumulated there.

Micki finds us and climbs up on our shoulder and rubs his head on our faces. It is his way of saying I love you. It is so cute to watch him and my husband rubbing noses in the mornings.

All five cats come running from every corner of the house when someone crinkles a plastic bag because their treats come in a similar sounding foil bag. There have been many times when we crinkle a bag just to get the cats to come running or to trick one into coming back in the house. Hey, I never said they were smart.

And the best part is at any given time I can pick up one of my kitties and they will love me and purr with happiness.

There is no better love.

***The pictures are of Waddler, Micki as a kitten, and Mouse as a kitten. I would post the rest but blogger is not cooperating.***

This is too cool!

Pandora Internet Radio!

You type in the name of a song you like and it pulls up other songs of the same style and then plays them, radio style. You do have to register to keep listening after about 4 songs but it is soooo worth it to me.

Music, my style, for free. What more could a girl want?

Ripping my hair out

Marea has issues. I have mentioned this before on my blog. It is all related to her RAD.

Yesterday we dealt with a reaccuring issue she has: stealing. Every single year since she started school she has stolen something from school. In preschool it was a sucker from another kid. In kindergarten she stole money from the teacher and from other students. Yesterday, in first grade, we emptied her backpack to find she has been stealing food and drinks out of her teacher's fridge. After an interrogation we finally got her to admit she took them from her teacher when she was supposed to be following the class to the bus after school. (Another part of RAD is lying.)

I took her to school and made her give the evidence to her teacher and apologize. She said what she had to say and her teacher did an awesome job expressing her disappointment and sadness over losing her trust in Marea. Did Marea care? No. Part of RAD is that they have no remorse and they can't see that there will be consequences for their behavior.

Marea came home totally and completely unremorseful for what she had done. She is actually being more naughty than she was before she got caught. I know most of you have no idea what RAD is or what it entails on the parenting end but let me just say it has to be the most difficult parenting situation you will ever be in. Typical parenting strategies do NOT work on these kids. You cannot discipline the way you would think you should. As the therapist tells me regularly, "You have to think outside the box."

I am frustrated, disappointed, angry, and just in general upset with Marea. She is obviously not getting the lessons we are trying to teach her. We can't trust her, even in our own house. I am finding it hard to "think outside the box" right now. I think Billy and I pretend like everything is going well with her to save ourselves from a nervous breakdown until something like this happens and we "discover" that we were totally wrong. She has been with us since she was 2 and I wonder if she will ever love us and heal from what has happened to her.

Right now her "punishment" is that she is on permanent time-in. That means wherever I go she goes and she has to ask to do anything and everything including blinking her eyes. You see time-out only gives these kids exactly what they were after, distance from you both emotionally and physically. So she does time-in's. She spends her life glued to me or her dad. When she starts showing some responsiblity I can let the leash out a little. We haven't had to do this for a good year or so. I thought she was making progress.

I just want to cry.

Slow Down!

Where has October gone too? The month is almost gone already!

Saturday is my annual Family History Conference where I teach. This year I teach two classes again. I need to finish getting my lesson prepared.

Then Saturday evening is our town's Kid's Halloween Party (which I am in charge of). I have most of that ready but I need to get in some set up time. Unfortunately there is a conference in the building the night before so I have to do all my setting up on Saturday. Just thinking about it makes me crazy.

And the kids have a gazillion activities going on for school that parents are ever so privileged to participate in this week.

Is it November yet?

It's Offical!

I have gone and thrown my hat in the ring again this year.

I have a book idea brewing that is getting me all excited.


Are you in?

Don't even mess with me!

This is so the kind of day I am having today. I couldn't have said it any better.

The Diary of Anne Frank

I went to the library and checked out some books the other day. Whilst perusing the autobiography section I noticed The Diary of Anne Frank. I have never read the book myself but have heard all of the stories about it. So I decided to check it out, literally.

I have read 3/4 of it and I must say it is not at all what I expected after hearing about this book for years. It is a diary of a 13 year old. The only difference is she talks of the war, the fighting, and the loneliness she feels after living in "The secret annex" for so long.

It is obvious life for her went downhill after the first year. The journal entries get long and boring and dull, just as I imagine her life must have been by then. It is making it very hard to get to the end of the book too.

I also checked out a book by Rosie O'Donnell. It was not at all what I was expecting. I love Rosie. I love that she is not afraid to speak what she feels and puts it all out there. Her book was a look into her soul. It was dark and sometimes downright scary. Interesting peek into her life.

The other two books I got are young adult books. My favorite type of reading. Coincidentally, it is also my favorite style to write in. And speaking of writing... NaNoWriMo starts on November 1st. Last year I failed miserably because I tried a style of writing that I struggled with too much. This year I don't even have a topic to write on so I don't know if I will be doing it again. I do like the challenge though. Have you any ideas for a small novel topic? Share them with me. Or do NaNoWriMo yourself!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my girl, Cassie. Today, she turns 7!

I know I always say where has the time gone, but it truly feels like it is flying by. I remember so well going into labor with Cassie. We had debated between naming her Cassidy or Cassandra with the distinct intention of calling her Cassie. Billy had been gone to Australia, getting ready for the Olympics and I was living at my moms waiting for our house to be finished. It was 3:30 in the morning when I woke up to regular pains. Nervous that the nearest hospital was an hour away I woke Billy and we left. After the usual rigmarole at the hospital Cassie was born at 3:30 p.m. She was so tiny (our smallest baby at 6lb 13oz) and so adorable.

Cassie is our most loving and cuddly child by far. She is always climbing into our laps and sneaking kisses. I wish for her to be happy and healthy. I love her more than any words could ever express.

Happy Birthday Cass!

Conversations in the Shower

This morning in the shower I showed Billy a new cleanser I have gotten a sample of. It is Biore's new pore refining cleanser.

He got right up in my face and said, "You don't have any pores!"

"Yes, I do too."

"I don't see anything."

"That is because you don't ever look at my face."

"Yes I do."

"Uh huh. (Pointing to my chest) You think my eyes have nipples."

"I like nipples."

"Oy!"

Pictures

Pictures of the drywall progress we made last weekend are up on my other blog.

One week later

Max is doing much better. Yesterday he was actually running about and wanting to play. The drain was driving him bonkers though.

He had a check-up visit to the vet this afternoon. The vet took the drain out. The bottom of the sore is still a little oozy so he flushed it with some penicillin but otherwise Max should be fine. We just have to take him back in another week to have the stitches removed.

If you don't, you should.

Have you been over to Cute Overload yet? If you haven't, you should go. You are missing out on great pictures like this:

Damn Talking Toys

Last night at 2 a.m. I suddenly hear a very cheery voice say, "I want to be your friend!"

I sit straight up in bed. Billy looks at me and says, "I tried to find the dumb thing before I came to bed." He rolls over and pulls the blanket back up and goes to sleep.

I lay back down and 2 seconds after my head hit the pillow I hear the cheery voice again, "I need a hug!"

I throw the blanket back, dumping the cat off onto the floor in the process, and stomp into Marea's room. Then, as if possessed, the cheery voice goes off over and over. "I like being your friend!" "Will you be my friend?" "I love you!"

I follow the sound, digging through the pile of stuffed animals on Marea's bed. I finally find the pink stuffed, overly happy thing crammed between the wall and the mattress. I rip open the velcro opening on its back and slide the switch to OFF.

Sleep, precious sleep.

The "S" word

The weatherman, he did utter the "s" word on the news this morning. I am not ready for this. Am I ready at the beginning of any winter? No. But the older I get the harder it seems to be for me to tolerate the cold. When I was a kid we would dig tunnels, sled, and basically roll around in the white fluffy stuff from sun-up to sun-down. One of my most fun memories was when we lived in Alaska. We lived nextdoor to a park with tennis courts. Each time it would snow the tennis courts would get filled. It was always deeper than the net height. We would open the tennis court door and push our way through the snow, digging tunnels and making secret houses. It was so much fun.

Now, I don't even like to put one itty bitty little toe in the snow. There I said it, S-N-O-W.

I have this theory that since I was born in July, a very warm summer month, that my body likes WARMTH! Evidence of this theory presents itself in my oldest daughter Becca. That child cannot get cold enough. She goes outside without a coat on, she hardly wears hats and gloves, and she sleeps without any blankets on. She still has a fan blowing on her at night even though it was a whopping 66F in here last night. She was born in December.

What month were you born and does my theory hold true for you?

Weekend Accomplished

We spent the entire weekend working on the upstairs bedrooms. We managed to get all the wiring in and fully functional. There are 5 outlets in each 8X9ft bedroom. We finished the insulation and got one room completely and entirely enrobed in sheetrock. The other one we didn't even get to. I will get pictures soon. I would do it today but the kids are off for "Native American Day" also known as Columbus Day. And after the last two weekends of us locking ourselves in the upstairs I think my kids could use some Mommy-time. :)

What did you do this weekend?

Petmergency

Max got outside today while Becca was going out. He usually goes out to potty and comes back in but if left outside he will run off to play with the neighbor dogs.

About a half an hour after Becca left I heard Max barking and realized he was outside so I asked Cassie to let him in. She ran outside and called him and he came in and laid down by the couch.

About 10 minutes later Marea gasps and yells, "MOM! Max is bleeding." I look down over the edge of the couch and see tissue, pink tissues. After taking off his collar and inspecting as best as I could I realized he ripped a huge flap of skin up and it was hanging loose. He wasn't whining or anything. He must have been in shock.

I immediately called the nearby vet and explained the situation. The assistant gave me the go ahead to bring him in right away. "Oh and we only take cash or check for small animal visits," she adds. I just said, "Okay!" and head out the door. I took the kids to the neighbors and ran Max in to the vet.

They gave him a shot to sedate him as he was not being too cooperative at that point. An hour later Max has 15 stitches holding down a large flap of neck skin and a drain because the underlying tissue was full of debris.

I have no idea what he did. He had a large piece of wood stuck in the tissues in his neck and a puncture wound in the center of the flap of skin. He must have got caught on something and tried to pull free thus causing more damage.

Poor Maxy boy!

Making progress

We spent the entire weekend working on the bedroom remodel. You can see the progress on my house blog, Big House on the Prairie.

The long awaited pics

Here is the kitten I found a few days ago. It has gained about a pound already I think.

Becca sneaking in for a snuggle. Once it stopped hissing at us and realized we were friendly, it really got cuddly.

Crockpot Love

I am in love.... with my crockpot.

I have recently begun making a lot of meals in it. I love that I start dinner in the morning (when I am at my best energy level anyway) and then just put it together after the kids get home and we eat.

The bad thing is I don't care much for most of the meals that come out of a crockpot. :) I have bought the frozen crockpot meals at Walmart and they are okay. I just tried Tee's chicken recipe the other day and the kids devoured it (so did my hubby). I thought it was good but I am not a big meat eater. Today I have started a pot roast. Something I haven't cooked in oh....15 years! I will have a small portion of roast since it is not my favorite food. I do like the cabbage that gets thrown in with the pot roast though. Yummy! My husband will be pleasantly surprised though. He loves meat and potato dishes.

So, what do you cook in your crockpot? Share your favorite recipes with me.

Technology

In this state of the art world full of computers, ipods, and cell phones we have inadvertently changed telephone etiquette.

No longer do you finish the thought you were expressing to the person on the other end of the call and say good-bye.

Oh, no. You simply start a sentence and then stare blankly at your phone as it beeps and says, "Powering off. Battery Low."

Then you are left with the dilemma to call back just to say goodbye or just assume the person knows your cell phone died and the conversation is now over.

You too?

Are you all having to wait for my blog to load?

It seems to take forever for it to load completely for me and I was wondering if you all are experiencing the same thing?

Megan

She is definitely my little Gemini.

(Geminians, like their sign, often seem to have two personalities, but they can see both sides of an argument! They are great communicators, and are adaptable and lively. Gemini rules the lungs, hands arms and shoulders, which means they can be good with their hands but are restless.)

As we were discussing what color she wanted her room painted she grinned at me.

"I had an idea."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"I want a dark side and a light side!"

"But what color?"

"I want a beachy sunrise scene on one side and a dark sky with moon and stars on the other."

Yep, that is a gemini for you. Complete opposites cohabitating in one room.

Just like the person.

Nooooooo!

When I was about 6 my mom got this idea. She decided that we needed to eat better foods and be healthier as a family. She cut out the usual "bad" foods: pop, chocolate, candy, etc. But she also cut out white flour, white sugar, anything premade or preboxed.

Basically we ate fruits, vegetables, meats, and anything made from honey, molasses, and whole wheat. It was okay until I started school. Then I saw that others ate white spaghetti noodles (How weird, I thought) and they ate real candy. Then came halloween. We were allowed to go trick-or-treating but then we would come home and my mom would trade us the 5 pounds of candy we worked so hard to collect for a small paper bag with 5 or 6 things from the health food store. We ate rice cakes with carob chips melted on it, we ate spinach noodles, pop never touched our lips.

Basically it was hell. By the time I was 12 my sisters and my brother and I started a rebellion. We would get money for our birthdays and such and we would sneak to the store and buy bags and bags of candy. We hid in our rooms and stuffed our mouths. About a year after the rebellion started my mom gave in. We were allowed to eat pretty much whatever we wanted.

The other day I got an email from a book company asking me to review some books here on my blog. The offer of free stuff always is good so I agreed. One of the books I agreed to review is called, "The Healthiest Kids On The Block" by William Sears and family.

I sat down with the book on Wednesday and began reading. For me it was a trip back in time. As I was reading his suggestions about what to feed your kids, I winced. Almost everything he said is what my mom did word for word. He says get rid of the junk and teach your kids early to appreciate "grow foods" as he calls them. Basically he said get rid of white flour foods, high fructose corn syrup foods, hydrogenated fats, and sugar. He recommended the lifestyle my mom had us on.

I had several issues with his ideas.
1. The cost.
He countered this with "aren't your kids worth it?"
Well absolutely they are! I would buy them liquid gold if I thought it would help them be smarter and grow up healthier. But with our budget it is either buy lots of cheap food or buy a little expensive food. So we eat crap for a month or good food for a week. I don't relish the idea of starving three weeks out of the month. I am sure my kids don't either.

2. The deprivation
Yeah, kids notice when everyone else is eating multi-colored fruit roll ups and their mom packed them a brown scab-looking lump of dried fruit. Trust me, they notice.
Dr. Sears counters this with, if we all stop buying these foods then there won't be any kids left out and it is not an issue.
Well, yeah, in about 50 years when all the parents on earth stop buying them.
I felt left out a lot as a kid. I never, and I mean NEVER, got candy. It wasn't like we got a candy bar now and then, we NEVER got one. I didn't know what candy tasted like until I was 12. It was so bad that one time I remember a friend of mine had those gummy cinnamon bears and she dropped one by me. I picked it up and everyone went "Ewwwww, your not going to eat that are you?" I instantly felt embarrassed because that is what I wanted to do. So I lied and said I collect bears and would take this home and add it to my collection. I did collect bears but not the candy kind. I savored every bite of that cinnamon bear on my walk home from school that night.
3. The practicality
I live in South Dakota where corn and cows walk outside my window. Tofu doesn't. Granted grocery stores are getting better at supplying us rednecks with foods other than meat and potatoes but then we get back into the cost issue. I can't afford a 5.00 block of tofu that will last one meal when I can buy a roast for 8.00 that will feed us for at least two meals, but usually three.
4. Picky eaters
My kids are not bad when it comes to eating, well except one. But overall I think we do eat pretty good. But it is going to be hard and costly to get them used to all of these new foods Dr. Sears wants them to start eating.

I do see Dr. Sears' point. Our kids and we, as the adults, need to eat better. We do. We all know that. We would be healthier, skinner, have glowing skin, have less health problems, and live longer. We know.

So today I went grocery shopping and decided to implement SOME of the new techniques I had learned in the book. I have been trying to make small changes for the last few years to get some healthier foods into our regular diet anyway so I figured a few more wouldn't be too bad. I also am trying Tee's method of shopping. I am buying foods specifically for certain meals so I know exactly what we are eating each night.

I had about 100.00 budgeted for the next two weeks worth of food. Usually this works well with food left over for the next week.

I bought whole wheat bread instead of white. (Although it is the Whole Wheat White bread by Sara Lee so it looks and feels white.) Try finding bread without hydrogenated fats in them or corn syrup, two things Dr. Sears said are "red light" foods. I couldn't.

I bought real fruit spread instead of jelly. I got half the ounces I usually get for twice the price.

I bought carrots, potatoes, broccoli, sugar peas, corn, and cabbage. Way more veges than I usually buy. These are fairly reasonably priced.

I bought pears, apples, and plums. I also got frozen blueberries (a "green-light" food) and mixed berries for smoothies and for flavoring yogurt.

I bought plain "healthy" yogurt that contained no corn syrup. It was actually almost a dollar cheaper than the other stuff but I had to buy the frozen fruit which was well over 5.00 a bag.

I bought breakfast cereals with at least 3 grams of protein and fiber, something Dr. Sears said is important for sugary cereals. I ended up with raisin bran and trix. I didn't have time to check out too many other cereals so I will have to save that for another day.

I also bought 1% milk. But that is always what I buy. I started that when we got married so that we weren't eating too high of fat foods.

I did buy a few "red light" foods though. I bought pancake syrup with is 100% corn syrup. Maple syrup that is 100% pure (what my mom used to make us eat) is really yummy but also really expensive.

I also bought my usual spaghetti sauce. It has corn syrup in it but I like it. So there!

At the checkout everything rang up to 134.00. Not too bad but I am worried that we won't make it through the whole two weeks. I have enough food for planned meals for about 10 days.

So what did I learn from this book? That while Dr. Sears and my mom had good intentions and only want the best for us, there has to be a balance. I don't want my kids to ever have to go through the torture I went through to be healthy. My oldest sister told me not too long ago that she still can't sit down with a bag of candy and eat just a few. She still gobbles up the whole bag. That to me is not worth it. And if I want a brownie once in awhile I shouldn't have to feel guilty.

Everytime you go to the grocery store try something new and make good choices 90% of the time. You will be healthier than you are now but won't feel like you are missing out on anything.

Ramblings

It is good to be back in the swing of things, exercise wise. I am sore today but not too bad. Nothing like after the softball games anyway.

We are beginning the planning stages for the town Halloween Party. We had so much fun last year with it that we are trying to make it bigger and better this year. If you have any fun carnival-type games that you think kids would enjoy, let me know!

Marea's doctor informed us today that he wants us to find a new doctor to prescribe her ADHD medicine. This is frustrating for so many reasons but mainly because our regular doctor knows very little to nothing about her problems and when I tried to discuss it with him at her last visit I had to spell out Reactive Attachment Disorder for him. Oy!

Cassie's 7th birthday is coming up. So hard to believe. She has a big party planned already, except she forgot to tell me the plan. :)

I have pictures of the baby kitten finally. I will try to get them posted tomorrow.

TTFN!

Feels soooo good!

Today I got up at 5:30 and hopped on the treadmill for 15 minutes and then joined Denise Austin on Lifetime t.v. for her Fit and Lite show.

I lurrrrrrve exercise.

I feel so good about myself and my body is back on the road to getting fit. I had been doing Denise Austin's shows (she has two on lifetime each morning) for the last three years but I stopped in April because it seemed to aggravate my shoulder pain. Well today it hurt again but I have gained 20 pounds since April so I will deal with the shoulder pain until I lose the weight or the PT will help me fix it soon. I need my jeans to fit again asap.

Thou shalt not...

It really bothers me when people use God's name in conversations with wild abandon or no thought at all.

You know the kind of people I am talking about,

"Oh my God!"
"Thank God!"
"Good God!"
"God forbid!"

It irritates me. It is the equivalent of using the f-word every other word or saying like way to much. And it is one of the ten commandments.

I am not overly religious but as I listen to people talk like this I get irritated. I want to say something but don't want to offend them. So I grit my teeth and nod when appropriate because really I have lost an interest in what they have to say after "Oh my God!"

I am addicted

Today as I was driving to pick up Mr. Bill from preschool I saw an orangish blur run into the ditch. Upon further thought, I figured it was a cat. I assumed it was a farm cat from a nearby farm and so I continued on. I didn't see it on the way home.

Then after lunch I ran into town to get some much needed cat food. On the way home I saw the blur again, only this time it was huddled near the weeds on the side of the road. I stopped the van and backed up. The kitten sat in the middle of the road and waited for me to back up. As I got out it ran over to me so I grabbed it and put it in the seat next to me. It meowed the rest of the way home.

When we got home I gave it some food. Now it is hiding under my kitchen cabinet. (I will try to get a picture if I can get it to come out ever.) It is probably only 6 weeks old or so. It is itty bitty and fluffy. I am determined to find its owner (if it has one) or find it a home as I have enough cats. At least that is what everyone else tells me.

All I want for Christmas this year...

is a reallllllly big stereo with reallllllly loud speakers....

to drown out all of the whining and complaining from my kids.

Why must the teachers send home 4 hours of homework? Really it has been 8 p.m. before Becca is finished with her homework this week and that doesn't include practicing her sax. She is only in 5th grade people! And she is not enjoying doing 4 hours of work believe me!

Pucker Up!

Wanna kiss?

Spring Cleaning in the Fall

I have been dumping the clutter in my house today. I started with my cabinet full of medicine yesterday.

Before:

After:

Now I am all ready for the winter cold, flu, and various other nasty bug season.

Some of the items were really really outdated!

The metamucil I have had since we got married but hey it is just fiber right? And I think it is still half-full. (1993)
There is Cassie's Exema cream from when she was 2. (2001)
The vaseline is from when Mr. Bill was born. I used it after he was circumsized. (2002)
There isa bottle of baby lotion in there from the same time frame. (2002)
There are fish tank medicines and other miscellaneous fish stuff. The fish tank has been down for over a year now. (2005)
Must have been time for a good cleaning. :)

Why I have been tiptoeing around the house all weekend...

The softball game. Or I should say gameSSSSS! We played three games. Yes, you read that right. THREE games. And I played catcher for all three. So I spent the day going

UP...


Down...
So basically I did squats for 4 hours. Owie!

I was up to bat a few times and managed to hit the ball and make it to first, second, and third base. I never made it home though as the batter or someone else got out and we switched sides.

Swing batter batter!


Oh and my husband did play a few minutes. Here he is running to first.
We did have a ton of fun so it was well worth it. I might even sign up next year.

This is sooo me!

Signs I need to hang in my house:

A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen and this kitchen is delirious.

No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

If we are what we eat, than I'm fast, cheap and easy.

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.

Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.

A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Help keep the kitchen clean - eat out.

Countless number of people have eaten in this kitchen and gone on to lead normal lives.

My next house will have no kitchen - just vending machines.

Failure

I am failing miserably.

When I got married and starting having kids, I was determined that my kids would grow up equal. The girls would do "boy chores" and the boys would do "girl chores". Everybody needs life-skills and they should not be gender specific.

In the last few years I have come to realize my kids are watching my husband, who does nothing at home, and are learning from his bad example. While I am saying, boys do help around the house, they see my husband doing the exact opposite.

This makes me mad and sad at the same time. I need to rethink my tactics.

I survived the softball game

I got to play catcher and also got up to bat several times. I made it to base everytime (without a walk) but now I am dying.

My whole body feels like it has been run over by a mack truck. My husband on the other hand was a bench warmer. (They had to play 4 girls and 4 boys. We only had 4 girls so we all played the entire time.)

I have pictures. I will post them soon.

Rip my heart out

Two things said to me today by my Billys.

Mr. Bill: "Mom I wish I didn't have to grow bigger and bigger so Daddy won't die."

My husband: "How does it feel?"
Me: "How does what feel?"
My husband: "Being so pretty."

Motherhood

Somebody said it takes about 6 weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby . . .
Somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "normal" is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct . . .
Somebody never took a 3-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring . . .
Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

Somebody said good mothers never raise their voices . . .
Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen window.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother . . .
Somebody never helped a 4th grader with his math.

Somebody said you can't love the 5th child as much as you love the first . . .
Somebody doesn't have 5 children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books. . .
Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery. . .
Somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the 1st day of kindergarten. Or on a plane headed for military boot camp.

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back . . .
Somebody never organized 7 giggling Brownies to sell cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married. . .
Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son- or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home . . .
Somebody never had grandchildren.

Never

I will never make a good working parent.

Today I had a parent training class for 8 hours at the school.

I got home at 4 p.m. just as the kids arrived home. I was exhausted and all I did was sit and think all day. By 4:30 I had a headache and I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I made Billy help with homework and I took a nap.

I will never be able to work full time and be a mother. How do you do it people!?

Shoot him now

My husband...

He needs shot...

He signed me up for a softball team at his work.

I have not EVER played softball except to help the girls practice.

I hope my team is prepared to lose.

Allie's Life

I found a new blog the other day when Allie commented on my blog.

When I popped in her blog and started reading I saw she had posted a picture of herself.

I told my husband to come look.

He says, "Gretchen Wilson has a blog now too huh?"

I had to laugh. She looks exactly like Gretchen Wilson to me too. But no, it is Allie of Allie's Life.

What do you think?

Beeeaaatch

Apparently I don't make a good first impression.

We spent the weekend with some family whom I haven't seen in likely 10 years.

When it was time to go I told my family in no uncertain terms that it was time. to. go.

I didn't think I was mean about it. I just didn't mess around because otherwise my husband can drag the leaving part out for hours, literally. And we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us.

When a family member called today she told me what they thought of me. It rhymed with witch.

And now tonight I was disciplining Becca who was having a tantrum over having to sort her dirty clothes. I could tell she was tired and that was the main source of her tantrum. I told her she would go to bed 30 minutes early for the rest of the week as a punishment for screaming at me and Megan. Billy, in no polite terms, let me know what he thought of me for passing on that punishment. I am hurt and angry all at the same time.

I guess it is time to take a look at myself. I knew I was heading into a person I didn't want to be but I had no idea it was that bad. I like who I am but I also know I can be overbearing and mean. When I have an agenda I don't like swaying from it and many times that comes across as being mean and unfriendly.

And I don't have much practice in being a nice person. The only people I see on a daily basis are my kids and my husband. I could really use a friend... :(

Always improving...

Five Years Ago...

Five years ago I was at home, having just sent my "baby" to kindergarten. I was cleaning up breakfast dishes when my husband called.

"Have you seen the news?"

"No, I haven't turned the t.v. on yet. Why?"

"Go turn on the news!"

I walked into the living room and switched on the t.v. just in time to see the plane fly into the first tower.

"What is this?!" I yell into the phone.

"In New York..." was all he could say.

For the next few hours I watched as the plane flew into the building over and over on the news. They re-played the horror over and over and over. Finally I had to shut it off.

If you had asked me where the U.S.A. would be five years later that morning, I never would have guessed this. We are still at war with a country, who in my opinion, was completely unrelated to what happened on 9-11. I couldn't make the connection between Sadam and 9-11 then, and I still can't today.

My heart hurts for the families of all those men who were sent to this war and never came home and for those soldiers who did come home but a changed person. And today and everyday my hearts and thoughts are with those family members who lost a loved one in the 9-11 attacks. May God watch over them and hold them tight while they grieve again today.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

This show is filming (and rebuilding) a house just 6 miles south of my house. So today we ventured out and went to see it.

First you have to drive to the Spectator's Parking Area. Below is the volunteer's lot which was next to the spectator lot. A bus comes and picks you up and takes you to the site. We were all contained behind gates but we were literally right across the driveway from the work and the house.

We got to see Michael as he was filming a section for the movie but other than him, we didn't see any celebrities. Michael did wave and the crowd of less than 100 cheered. Then he got back to filming.
Good thing my camera has zoom

We were there, really...

The volunteer and tradespeople area:

And the security at the site. There were a lot of people keeping things well under control. This guy kept us spectators behind the gates.
And a little video footage I took (and my first go with youtube). You can sort of see Michael up in the front door area. :

Fall foods

Homemade Caramel Apple Crisp and cool fall weather...

nothing goes together better.

Yummy!

PT and boredom

Ran to the PT again today to check my progress. After 2 weeks of stretches things are much better. I have a wider range of movement now that my muscles have relaxed somewhat. I still have some significant pain though so we are trying some small exercises to see if the muscles getting stronger will stop the pain.

I have found a couple of new blogs that are worth a read. I realized though after reading them that my blog, well, is lacking. I am not funny, most of the time. I am not insane, most of the time. I am not entertaining, most of the time. So 90% of the time my readers are bored speachless (thus the lack of commenting) and the other 10% they think I stole the content from someone else's blog?

I am trying to find a "feel" for my blog. Do I want to make it funny, serious, topical? I don't really know. I started my blog to keep in touch with my family, sort of a running commentary of our life. Even they do not comment, if they are in fact reading at all anymore. They keep asking me for my blog address over and over. I must be boring.

I am not leaving though. I like my blog and the creative outlet. And too many people have jumped ship lately. I hate when a blog I read ends. I will work on this some more...

What makes you come back to a blog over and over?

Word Verification gone bad

While trying to leave a comment on Deputy's Wife's blog this morning I was greeted with this word verification:
Perhaps they need to add a word verification filter eh?

The internet and I...

We lost our internet again! The repair guy finally showed up today. It took him three hours to get it figured out. The outage followed a storm just like the last time yet he is blaming it on our dish network receiver. Yea whatever...

It had just better stay put now or heads will roll!

How does my garden grow?

With baby carrots,
tomatoes,


corn,

and green bugs...

A Day at the Carnival

As Tee said, "The bills can wait..."

There was a small carnival in the grocery store parking lot so we took the kids. Although it was small, they sure had big prices. But the kids had a blast so it was worth every penny.