Stealing a Moment

I only have a few minutes as the kids are all playing in the living room with their Dad. I need a few minutes to decompress and let my brain think....relax.

The boys are still doing well. The oldest, D, is starting to give us some attitude. The latest was "You are not the boss of me!". If you know me at all you know that doesn't fly here. I AM the boss in this house and you WILL listen to me. And he does if we push hard enough. I think he is mostly testing his boundaries.

J is still doing fantastically. He has a definite preference for Becca (but his biological sister looks a lot like her). He napped today for 3 hours and then we woke him so he will sleep tonight. If it were just him up for adoption I would say yes in a heartbeat. Two is so much harder and D is older and has seen and experienced so much more.

I baked chocolate chip cookies today for a snack. Between our 7 kids and 2 neighbor kids, they were gone as fast as I pulled them out of the oven. My hubby was staring in the oven window like a small child, waiting for them to be done. I love him.

The biggest perk of having 2 more boys here is that I have fallen head over heels in love with my kids and husband again. I appreciate how easy and well behaved they are. Sometimes it is easy to see the negative. I am thankful for this time to focus on the positive.

Day two is almost over. And Billy goes back to work tomorrow. Please pray for me to have the strength to make it on my own.

Day One

Well we are finished with day one. The boys are both upstairs asleep. All of our kids are in bed too. And Billy and I are......relaxing.

The first day went well. The older boy, whom I will call D, is five. Considering all he has been through in his short little life he did incredibly well today. He said please and thank you and played very well with everyone else. Unless we weren't looking. Which worries me because that is exactly how Marea is. She listens and behaves as long as we are around. But if we turn our back she is right there to do something she knows she isn't supposed to.

And the younger boy, J, did well too. He is one. He seems to be a very happy-go-lucky boy. He seemed to favor Becca but would sit on my lap if I picked him up.

Both boys eat quite well if it is something they like (which according to D is ramen noodles, mac and cheese, and other such junk). I served tuna casserole for lunch and neither of them touched it. So for dinner I served fish sticks and mac and cheese which they both devoured.

I was (and am) incredibly peeved at the social worker and foster parents. They sent both boys with a handful of diapers. D wears one only at night but he is going to be here for 14 nights. Thus wouldn't we need 14 diapers? And J is one! He goes through about 8 diapers a day. Unfortunately he has really bad diarrhea right now. His bottom is really red and sore. I keep slathering on the diaper paste but he dirties a diaper almost as fast as I get a clean one on him. And he came with maybe 4 diapers. What were they thinking?! Maroooooons.

Our own kids did fairly well too. Becca tried to take on a little too much and be Mom and sister. I think by the end of the day she figured out she didn't want both roles as she holed up in her room with a book. I am glad as she doesn't need the stress. Megan seemed to enjoy having new kids to play with and spent a lot of time playing with D. Cassie didn't really seem to notice much that we had two extra kids. I think it hit Mr. Bill the hardest. He and D butted heads a couple of times and being that D is a little more world-wise he can be mean. Mr. Bill has such a sweet heart that he doesn't quite know what to do. He is learning as we go though. At one point I asked him how he liked having two boys around to play with and he shook his head and replied, "I don't. I liked being the only one."

Overall, today went well. But the first day usually does. I am cautiously optimistic for the next two weeks. We obviously won't be making any decisions right now.

Moving Rooms

To prepare for the boys arrival we moved our room downstairs into the office area and made our room their room.

But moving into the office left us with a lot of stuff and nowhere to put it. I have been telling Billy for months that we need some cabinets or some sort of storage device in the room. (There is no closet to speak of).

And so thinking I could inspire him, while he was moving stuff into the attic yesterday, I got online and looked up solutions for organizing the office. I found modern office furniture, traditional office furniture, and funky office furniture.

I like any look really so I showed them to Billy hoping he would catch the hint. But all he saw was the price tag and he said, "I can make that for half that price!"

Maybe, but I am pretty sure their delivery time is faster than his 2-5 year delivery time. Pretty sure.

Waiting

Billy left at 9:30 this morning to go pick up our two newest (possibly) family members. I am cleaning to keep myself busy but boy am I anxious.

Hopefully he will be home in an hour or so......

Family Pic

Here we all are at Billy's cousin's wedding on Saturday.




Thanks to Uncle Steve for the picture!

Drum Roll Please!

And the winners are....

Rebekah, Midwest Momma

Amy, In Pursuit Of Proverbs 31

Lori, Noggin Bits

Allie, Allie's Life

Emily, Life With The Snipes

Andi, Parenting 101

Marye, Home School Central

I used a very scientific method for chosing the winners. I wrote each name on a piece of paper and had Megan close her eyes and move her finger around in the air and then put it down on the paper. Whomever's name she landed on was a winner. Very scientifical!

So now those of you who won must email me your snail mail address so I can zip your book off to you. My email is toogirls2000@yahoo.com. I am probably going to regret saying this but along with your address include the TOP THREE books you would like to get IF you had a choice. I do not guarantee you will get your first, second, or even third choice. You will get whichever book I send you. However, they are all very good books. I have read them all and done reviews on my website for all but one of them (and that one is coming soon) so please do not be disappointed. They are all good books.

You must email me your address by Monday at noon or you will forfeit your prize and it will be awarded to one of the runners-up.

Weighty Issue

I am frustrated. Frustrated beyond all belief.

Today for my birthday, I went to buy some new clothes. The last time I went and bought some new clothes I just grabbed the size I wear and bought them. This went badly. I got home and took all the tags off, washed the clothes, and then went to wear them. Three of the shirts were tooooooo tight. Not because I bought the wrong size but because the style apparently is to be tight. Which is great if you are a size 2. I am not. And I have hips so the longer shirts got all bunched up and looked horrible.

So today I tried clothes on. And I no longer doubt any woman that says trying on clothes is by far worse than the chinese water torture treatment. I couldn't find a single shirt that looked good on me. Either all my boobs were exposed, they were too short, or they looked like my grandma's clothes.

Which really made me think on the way home. I have never had to worry about my weight until the last two years. Now, I worry about it a lot. I keep gaining no matter what I do. And so now I do nothing. Which obviously is not working for me either. And I am determined not to use pills, a diet patch, or liquid diets. Tempting as they may be.

I know I can get this under control through exercise and eating right. I know I can. Because I am NOT going to try clothes on again until they look better and clothes designers stop making clothes for teenagers but in larger sizes.

Contest

***UPDATE: This contest will end at 8 P.M. on July 27th (since I am so busy partying for my birthday). I will draw for the winners after 8 and post them shortly thereafter. So get all your friends to enter before time runs out! Hurry!***

Looking for the contest post?

I let it move on down so you all can read my other stuff. Because I am that cool.

Scroll down or jump to the Contest Post to enter.

Winners will be posted on Friday.

My Favorite Book

My most favorite book when I was growing up was "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

I still have the copy I was given as a child. Inside the front cover I wrote (in cursive) This book belongs to Jodi Forbord, age 11. In fact, I just dug the book out of a box I had stored it in this past year so Becca (who ironically is 11) could read the book herself. I don't think she enjoyed it as much as I did, she is more into mystery stories.

I remember sitting at my Aunt's lake curled up in a folding chair reading this book. I spent most of my days reading and re-reading this book.

My favorite part of the book is near the end when Sara's neighbor realizes she is living in the attic room and so he sneaks in and totally changes her room and sets out quite a spread of food for her breakfast.

I cried with Sara and Becky. I laughed with them. And I longed to be a part of their world.

Kaput!

We have three computers. Yes, we are spoiled. We have 2 desktops and one laptop. But since we bought the laptop a little over a year ago we have hardly touched the desktop computers. In fact, we are quite frequently fighting the kids for the laptop.

So we are contemplating buying another laptop to replace one of our desktops that is going kaput. (We think something is wrong with the motherboard because it does not run reliably.)

All three of our computers are Dell brand but we are open to other brands as well. I am curious as to what you all have and if you are happy with them. So share with me would you? What kind of computer do you have?

Big Changes

As of this week, things are a-changing again here at Organized Chaos.

I have come to conclusion, after 2 months of doing PPP, that I am not happy with the direction that my blog has taken. I wanted to make money, that part was great, but the loss of my blog has been bothering me almost since I started.

So the PPP posts are coming to an abrupt end. I may still do one or two here and there but it will not be on a regular basis. And my other ad free blog is coming down after this week.

So if you have been running the other way when coming to my blog, come on back.

Life at this blog is about to return to normal. And I am very happy about that.

If you only read one of my posts today, let it be this one.

The boys we are possibly going to adopt are coming to stay with us for 2 weeks starting Monday. It is a "test-run" for lack of a better term. We are going to see if they "fit" and if we (or I) can handle it.

I am not worried about the physical work; diapers, playing, running, cleaning, cooking. I am worried about the emotional work; teaching morals, values, ethics.

Please say a prayer for us that this will be a good 2 weeks. I need all the support I can get.

Ouch

When my sister and I were little we lived in a quaint little town. We lived in a trailer court. And from what I can remember it was a dirty place. By dirty I mean there was little grass, trees, etc. It was a lot of dirt, and when it rained, a lot of mud.

And there were a lot of ant hills. I remember quite well sticking sticks, toys, and other objects in the holes in the ant hills and watching fascinated as the ants scurried around and got quite angry at our poking and prodding.

It was all great fun until one day we were outside playing with a balloon. My sister was trying to blow it up and was standing on the edge of the road. As she blew harder and harder she took a step backwards and fell with a plop right on top of an ant hill. I don't think I knew what kind of ants they were but I remember my parents discussing fireant bites as we drove my sister to the hospital.

Once we got there the doctor determined she was only bit a few times and she would be fine. My Mom gave us a stern lecture about staying away from the ant hills. Not that we needed it. I think the whole ordeal scared us enough to keep us away for a very very long time.

One of the Few

When does your driver's license expire?

I know it happens on my birthday but I can never remember what year.

So as I was shopping tonight, I gave the clerk my debit card and she asked for my ID. So I handed it to her. She jotted down some info and handed them back to me. She commented, "You do realize that is about to expire?"

I shook my head and stuff my cards back into my wallet. All the while my head is spinning. Is my license really going to expire. That only leaves me two days to get it renewed. How did it sneak up on me so fast? Eeeeeeek.

After I got the bags put in the car I dug out my wallet and looked at my license. 2009!!!! What?! My license isn't even close to expired. I look at Billy who just shrugs his shoulders. Then I look at my debit card. 7/07 it reads.

Aha! No worries then. The company I am sure has my new card in the mail.

No fair messing with my mommy-brain checkout lady!

Vacay

Every year we plan a trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. That is where our family is from and there are so many beautiful places to see while we are there.

Last year we went out and saw Mt. Rushmore, hiked some hiking trails, ate some homemade taffy, visited some reptiles, watched the buffalo and praire dogs, and went for long scenic drives.
It was a ton of fun.

The only downside was we chose to stay with family. Not that our family is bad. They are in fact, great. But there are 7 of us. We can fill up a house pretty quickly on our own.

So this year we decided we would look into hotels and motels. What we found was that for 7 people the price was just insane. Almost all of the hotels refused to put us up in one room or even a suite.

Which left me wondering what on earth we would do when we went on our big family vacation to Disneyland/world. So now I am looking into Florida vacation rentals to see if those are a better option. My kids love hotels and all the amenities they offer. I am hoping we can find a rental with many of the same perks but one that can house 7 people.

Lake

Tonight after Billy got off work we headed to the lake. It is just too blasted hot here this week. We have been well above 90F all week. Our air conditioner is running non-stop and it is still 80F in the house.

We really need central air.

But to cool off we took the kids to the lake. They swam and played and had a good time.

And on the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen and got everyone some ice cream.

Here's hoping a cool down is on the way.

Say Cheese

If I had three wishes my very first wish would be to have a perfect smile. Without any dental work. Just POOF! and I would have a perfect smile with white and straight teeth.

But since genies don't exsist and I have to visit the dentist to get that perfect smile I have been checking out my options. I have expressed my dislike and fear of dentists quite regularly here but let me just say, going for a purely cosmetic reason is not likely to ever happen for me.

But if I could suck it up and go I would go. There are so many options to choose from.
* Zoom whitening
* Invisalign invisible braces
* Porcelain veneers
* Dental implants
* Bonding
* Porcelain crowns, onlays and inlays
* Recontouring

I would opt for Zoom Whitening first and foremost. Who hasn't heard of how great it is after watching Extreme Makeover? And Invisalign invisible braces could fix the slight crookedness my wisdom teeth created as they pushed my other teeth around.

And I think in the end I would even opt for some porcelain veneers too. Why not?

Of course in little ole' South Dakota, good cosmetic dentists are hard to find. I could always go to San Diego invisalign specialists at Complete Dental Health.

Halloween in July

It is that time of year again. Billy and I are in charge of the halloween party for our town.

And my Oriental Trading catalog came in the mail yesterday. They have so many cool halloween toys and treats that I found myself wishing we had a larger budget. :)

But we don't and so I must conserve. So I will have to skip the 6 foot tall skeleton and the glow in the dark necklaces.

But I am for sure getting some of the candy blood-in-a-bag.

Skin Care, Shmincare

When I was a teenager I had acne. Severe persistant painful acne.

And my Mom thought she could fix it all. She had me try an oatmeal fash wash, egg on my face (yeah, sure it will dry out the pimples Mom), and rubbing alcohol mixed with vinegar.

As you can imagine, these "do-it-yourself" products did nothing for the acne. But they sure wreaked havoc with my skin. I typically had very oily skin. But after one of my Mom's treatments I spent days with very oily and Sensitive Skin.

I am sure I was a pretty site.


Fortunately I grew up and went to see a dermatologist. He recommended the proper skincare procedures and products for people with acne. Of course Arouge Skincare Products were not around back then but it is now and I am so thankful for products that truly help improve my skin.

I was a very happy girl after the dermotologist. Not that the acne went away completely but I at least felt like I was doing something productive.

Summer Fights

When Billy and I were a young married couple we bought a small entertainment center at Walmart.

And while it is the put-it-together-yourself furniture, it has held up well over the years. And until recently we had no problems with it.

You see, when our kids were toddlers, they were short. Short enough that they could stand in front of the t.v. and everyone else could still see. Now however that our kids are bigger and even though they are sitting on the floor to watch t.v., they are too high and they block the t.v. for the people sitting behind them.

And this is creating a lot of yelling and fighting in my house this summer. I have threatened to put the kids in the corners if they don't learn to ask their siblings to move NICELY. Either that or I am ditching the couches and putting in theater seating.

School starts in less than 30 days.

Spoiler

Okay! I am not going to buy the book.

So, SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS IN HARRY POTTER! Pretty please?????? For my birthday? (Yes, I am milking this birthday thing.)

Just drop me an email or leave it in the comments. I wanna know who dies. But I don't want to buy the book just to read the last five pages.

Asset Management

I cannot imagine what it must have been like even ten years ago to operate your own business. You would have had to have an entire room just full of filing cabinets to store files about employees, products, orders, and billing.

Now, of course, we have computers. And so all those millions of papers are contained on one little hard drive. But what if you are on a business trip and need access to all of your stuff.

Never fear! The internet is here. And programs like Siterra which according to their website, "...delivers leading web-based software to plan, build, manage and grow high value operating sites, assets and real estate properties."

So entrepreneurs can enjoy Real Estate Asset Management.

What would we do without the internet?

Art Class

When your procrastinating husband volunteers to be an art teacher for the summer rec program, what he really meant was he will physically show up and direct the kids.

The highly organized, border-line OCD wife will work her fanny off every Tuesday when her husband calls an hour before his class and says he forgot to plan his lesson and would she do it for him, quickly?

And she is the same wife who will be required to make two trips into town to bring scissors, glue, and various other art supplies that said procrastinator husband forgot.

Don't snoop!

We have a "friend" (I use that term very loosely) who occasionally comes over and wants to get Billy to help him with some kind of hair-brained computer project that he is working on. More often than not it is a quick scheme he has thought up that he loses interest in shortly after her leaves our house. But.... my husband is always willing to help.

So the last time he came over he brought his laptop. And he wanted to network it with mine so they could work "together". Which totally made me nervous. I have seen the amount of things this guy "borrows" (lots of air quotes in this post) from work. And I had no doubt that given full access to my laptop, he would borrow my stuff as well.

I quietly mentioned my fears to my husband who said, "There is nothing I can do about it now other than password protect it. We will have to find something else for next time he comes over."

So of course after they were done I got on the net and did some searching. Did you know there are all kinds of Information Security Management programs available?

I know many of them are for business owners but I, for one, like that level of security too.

Why?

Why does coffee smell so good but taste so bad?

I got a free sample of Vanilla Biscotti coffee awhile back and decided to make the house smell good this morning by brewing it.

Not that I can drink it. By the time it was done brewing it smelled so good I thought, albeit stupidly, that maybe I was wrong the last time and it will taste good.

So I poured myself a cup.

And Blah! no amount of sugar and milk can cover that bitter nastiness.

So I will just enjoy the smell. It is mixing with my baking zucchini bread too. I am soooo hungry.

Contest Time!

***UPDATE: This contest will end at 8 P.M. on July 27th (since I am so busy partying for my birthday). I will draw for the winners after 8 and post them shortly thereafter. So get all your friends to enter before time runs out! Hurry!***

In honor of my birthday on Friday I am going to hold a contest all week. And this contest has prizes! :)

All you have to do to enter this contest is do a post about your favorite childhood book and include a link back to my blog (http://www.jodisorganizedchaos.com/) on your post. If you don't have a blog include your favorite book in your comment.

Why is it your favorite book? Where were you when you read it? Did you read it by yourself? How old were you? Have you read it since you were a child? Do you still own a copy?

Then leave me a link in the comments so I can find your entry. I will read each one.

I have 7 books to give away for prizes. That means there can be 7 winners!!!! I will name the winners on Friday.

The prizes are:

Hannah Keeley's Total Mom Makeover
Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter Sex Lives Of Wives by Holly H. Hollenbeck (My copy does not have this cover)

Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier

How to Speak Your Spouse's Language by H. Norman Wright

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand
I Like You by Amy Sedaris

I will tell you about my favorite childhood book this week too.

Pregnancy

Admittedly it has been awhile since I have been pregnant. But that doesn't lessen the memories. Watching my belly grow, puking till I thought it was not possible to puke anymore, food tasting so much better, little flutters and all out punches coming from inside my stomach, and the inability to even drink water without getting heartburn.

But there were some aspects about being pregnant that I don't look back longingly on. Most of those parts involved doctor bills. A typical pregnancy involves a visit to the doctor every month. That is if you aren't high risk or having other problems. And each of those visits costs money.

When we had our first two girls we were still in college. Paying for a pregnancy and birth during college is not easy. We made too much money for any kind of state or federal aid but we didn't make enough to cover all the costs they wanted from us. In the end we made financial arrangements and made payments. We joked about how our daughters were finally bought and paid for about the time they celebrated their 4th birthdays.

But for some families even making a small payment is just not an option. I am so thankful to learn that people are stepping up to fill this gap and help Mothers-to-be find affordable Maternity Health Insurance.

Their babies deserve the best health they can have regardless of how much money the Mother has.

Give it back to her!

One of my kid's has a friend, who I won't name, who has quite an attitude. And attitude of "I am better than you".

She often comes over and likes to rub in our faces what event or activity that she was involved in the day before. We often hear, "I got to swim at the new pool, we went to the new restaraunt, we got a new truck, my mom bought me 24 new shirts."

And I know that some of it is just plain jealousy. She comes from a financially stable family but they don't put their kids first. In fact their kids come last. So I try not to be too judgemental when she comes over with this attitude. And I explained to my kids how sometimes she probably feels left out because they have parents that love them and spend time with them. And they understand.

But today one of my kids gave it right back to this girl. She came over and was updating us on all the things we missed out on over the weekend but that she was priviledged enough to attend.

One of my children piped up, "Well have you been to the new pool in Brookings? Cause we just went there this weekend and it was FUN!"

I hid my grin and thought, "Give it back to her!"

Bad I know. I couldn't help it. At least I didn't say it out loud.

Be your own.....Author

When I was a kid, I wrote a lot. I like to write books. And one day I gave one to my Mom to read. And she was impressed.

She even went so far as to answer one of those "WRITE FOR CHILDREN" ads in the paper. Only what we discovered was they wanted to teach you to write and then maybe help you get a book published.

I was disappointed. Majorly disappointed.

So after I finished my first NaNoWriMo, I started looking online for a way to get a book published. One of the first sites I found was AuthorHouse. I have since been in contact with them about publishing my book. The price is a bit more than I can handle right now but once I get a paying gig I will be looking quite seriously for Book Publishers to work with.

Someday I want to be a published author. Someday.

Labels

When I switched over to the new blogger format (when was that anyway?) I thought, labels bah!, I don't need no stinkin' labels.

But then I started realizing it was much easier to find posts I was looking for. And it is a great way to keep my PPP posts organized.

So now my labels are expanding. And when I find myself finishing up a post I always stop to think what I should label it, if anything.

Today when I posted about painting Marea's room I thought I would type DONE as the label. Because that room is DONE. But for some unknown reason, I accidentally typed dumb.

I guess my new labels will be dumb or dumber. ;)

BP Facts

I must admit that I don't keep up with the oil industry other than to find out how much gas is going to cost me. Or when I hear on the news that the oil companies had a record profit year despite their complaints that oil is going up and thus they need to increase the price of gas. Then I listen and I get mad. Why do these big companies keep making tons of money and we keep forking over more and more of our hard-earned money? Frustrating.

But I know there are some companies that are working toward a better future in oil and gas.

BP is one that I have heard rumors about that is trying to make a difference. And I have seen it for myself. They were one of the first stations in our town to offer E85 for the flex fuel vehicles. But recently they were criticized for their refinery practices.

Here are some facts about BP. The BP Whiting Refinery to be exact.

Continuous improvement -For the benefit of the
environment, the Whiting Refinery voluntarily
reduced total suspended solids in its water
discharge by 40% in just the past four years.


Only treated water into Lake Michigan- What is
released from our refinery is treated water that
is more than 99.9% water — not sludge. All
sludge is treated separately, according to
state and federal requirements, and never
discharged into Lake Michigan.


Modern technology -We operate a modern
wastewater plant in Whiting today and plan
to invest about $150 million to enhance the
refinery’s wastewater treatment capability.

So while BP could be a slacker and do the minimum required by law they are going above and beyond that to provide us fuel but keeping our environment safe at the same time. They aren't afraid to take the money they are making and use it to improve fuel production and to keep us all safe.

One little step by one company can create waves in the industry.

His Baby

My husband got a wild hair up his butt this weekend and decided to paint Marea's room. We moved Mr. Bill and Megan into the larger room after we painted it Spiderman blue and put up a Spiderman border.

So Marea was moved into the bright yellow room we had just finished a few months ago for Mr. Bill. Only she didn't want yellow walls. She wanted purple. But I JUST painted this room and I was NOT going to do it again.

So Billy decided to give her purple flowers on the wall. And this is what she got. Large purple flowers on bright yellow walls. And an accent wall at the head of her bed that is purple with large yellow flowers. (We used contact paper to make the flowers)

I still have to do the second coat today but otherwise her room is done. And I am not painting it for at least a year. At LEAST!

The Zoo

There is no shortage of animals in my house. Currently we have five cats and one dog. With five kids running around one would assume that is plenty of creatures.

But no.

My kids are always on the lookout for new pets to acquire. Most recently we visited our local pet shop. There were baby mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, kitties, and puppies. Not to mention an entire room full of fish.

But we have done fish already. I have a 30 gallon tank sitting in the attic collecting dust rather than dead fish. I got tired of fishing out the dead fish and keeping the tank clean. 30 gallons of water is a lot of water to move around monthly.

So while we were wandering the pet store my kids spotted the lizards, newts, chameleons, and snakes. While I am standing in the corner going ewwwwwwwwww my kids are ooooohing and aaaaaahing. My oldest child, the genius that she is, says, "MOM we could buy one and put it in the aquarium!"

I gave her the look. And then knowing that just glaring at her wouldn't persuade her I said, "I have NO IDEA how to take care of reptiles!"

And being the genius that she is she pipes up again, "We could look on the internet!"

I gave her the look again and shooed them on to the cute puppies and kitties.

When we got home I sat down to check my email and my darling daughter reminded me that we could find out about reptiles on the internet. So to humor her I did a search and I am sure you can guess we found tons and tons of pages.

The internet can be a very valuable resource complete with Burmese python message boards and how-to pages for reptiles.

Now I just need a page that convinces kids that they DO NOT need another pet.

Support

My little guy at the parade. He was all dressed up and fascinated by the fire truck in front of us.

While I don't support Bush or what he is doing to the USA, I know we need to support our troops. They are giving up the most basic of freedoms to give us ours.

Please support our troops. They need us as much as we need them.

Help

It has been over a year ago now that I went through quite an ordeal with my Mom. I don't know how many of you remember but basically she had become addicted over the course of 2 years to a prescription drug. I don't know that she was fully aware of what was even happening to her.

One night she called me and told me that my Step-Dad was trying to kill her by poisoning her food. At that point I knew we had to do something. I called my sisters who lived in the same area as she did. They confirmed that yes things were that bad. So I called my StepDad the next day and asked him what he wanted us to do. He was so stressed and upset by the last 2 years that he really couldn't handle anymore. So I agreed to step in.

We had my Mom committed to a mental institution and then had to go through a court hearing to get her more permanent help. She got mad. Very very mad. I had to deal with a lot from her but in the end we got her the help she needed.

She is now home. She is off the prescription drugs that she became addicted too. But she never went through any kind of prescription drug addiction treatment. So I still worry. Will she make it without any support? I don't know. But I have hope. She is supporting herself and doing what she can. She has friends. She gets out of the house. Which is way more than she was doing a year ago.

I hope a year from now I have even better news. I don't think any of us could handle going through all of this again. I want her to be better and live a good life. But I can't do it for her.

80's Style

The other day the girls and I were walking through the shoe department. At some point since our last trip new shoes were added. And the girls were so excited.

They kept picking up the old canvas shoes that I remember wearing in the 80's. They come in every color imaginable but the black ones with hot pink laces are the best.

Mix these with the tights and skirts and the Air Jordan shoes and we are getting closer and closer to re-living the 80's. Of course I haven't seen anyone with big pink mohawks or hair bigger than Texas yet.

Swimming

For the first time we visited our local pool. It was completely remodeled last year and it went from a pool with two diving boards to a pool with three large slides with inner tubes, a straight slide, two diving boards and a huge water park for the smaller kids.

Since we usually go to the lake where their are fewer people and no lifeguards, I briefed the kids on the rules of the pool. No running, no dunking each other, no hanging on the ropes, etc.

And then their was something I wasn't prepared for. Every hour on the hour the life guards blow their whistles all at the same time and announce over the loud speaker that their is a mandatory 5 minute break for safety and everyone must exit the pool.

I must admit I don't get the concept of this 5 minute break. Unless they are checking for floating bodies? And it really upset the kids. They whined for the first five minute break. All five minutes. And the kids next to us threw all out kicking fits the entire five minutes. It was a great time.

Fortunately, after the first break the kids got it. They got out for five minutes and sat and waited and jumped back in as soon as it was over.

At the end of our pool experience, Billy persuaded me to take Becca down the slides. So I got brave and went. They were actually kind of fun except you had to wait for the lifeguard at the top to tell you when to go. And there was one at the bottom telling you to exit the pool immediately after getting out of the slide.

And if that wasn't fun enough, I agreed to go on the high dive with Becca and Megan. Becca went first. She climbed up like it was no big deal and jumped off. I followed her. I got up on the board and suddenly realized if I stopped walking I was NOT going to go off the end. And there was no way I was going to make a fool of myself in front of all those people. So I just kept walking and walked right off the end. Owie is all I can say. Owie.

I think I am more of a lake kind of gal. I don't mind the fish.

Diamonds

When we bought my first wedding ring, we looked at diamonds. And I wasn't impressed. The price was not right and they were just, well.... clear.

I was much more enamoured with the colored stones. And in the end I selected a pink stone. It is a very light pink but I loved it. And I still do.

But after 14 years of marriage, I must say diamonds are growing on me.

So in honor of our renewal ceremony/anniversary next year I am definitely going with a Diamond Ring. Hopefully three diamonds to represent our past, present, and future. The rings I have are already very special to me. But the new one represents so much more. The represent a commitment we made and have kept. They represent a love so strong that nothing has hindered it. They represent a team of two people willing to work together. They represent us.

How to type those D*mn Characters

Since I design a webpage for a genealogy website, I am frequently required to put that little copyright symbol at the bottom of each page. But there is no copyright symbol on the keyboard right? Wrong.

It is there. They just like to hide it. In fact there are a lot of extra characters on your keyboard that you may not know about. The trick is to holding down the alt key and typing in a series of numbers. But for most of them you have to use the number pad not the numbers running across the top of the keyboard. I learned this in the most frustrating manner. j

But in case you want to know, and for my future reference, to do the copyright symbol you hold down the alt key and type 0169. Walla! A pretty little c in a circle.

Cooking

As a part of my goal to get better at meal planning and cooking, I realized I need a new cookware set. Most of the pots and pans that I have are ones that my Mom had and gave to me after I got married. I have been married for 14 years and I have no idea how long my Mom owned them before she gave them to me.

And the other set I have were given to me by an elderly couple from our church. When I was pregnant with Billy she came over to see how I was doing. At the time I had severe morning sickness and hadn't been able to do much of anything but most especially the dishes as the smell made me run for the bathroom repeatedly.

And so she stayed to help me wash the dishes. And saw the condition of the pans. So the next time she came to visit she brought me some of hers since she had just gotten a new set.

So now when I go to cook, it is hard to get motivated when the only pots and pans I have are old and yucky. I think I am going to start budgeting in some new kitchen utensils. New is always motivating.

Of course a complete kitchen remodel would be even better. But I must be realistic....

Conference

Every year when I teach at the Family History Conference I get nervous. Not because I get stage fright but because I never quite know what the room setup is going to be. And since my lesson is totally dependent on me having access to the internet, I get very nervous.

I try every year to get information from someone in charge of the conference so I know what room I will be in and what the internet setup will be. Most of the time they don't know until the week before so I can't get too much information. That always makes me sweat the small details.

If the conference continues to grow I think it would be beneficial for them to use some high-tech materials to keep the conference running smoothly. NetSimplicity Enterprise Asset Management would be a good start. According to their website, "NETSIMPLICITY'S MEETING ROOM MANAGER is the easiest-to-use, most flexible and customizable room and resource scheduling solution available today. Manage everything in your meeting environment — rooms, catering, equipment and other resources and services — and schedule everywhere — from the Web, Microsoft Outlook® and even interactive LCD panels right at the conference room door."

Then I would know I didn't need to sweat the details.

Happy Weekend!

Have a great weekend everybody!

We are having a kids appreciation day here.

First it's the pool. Complete with waterslides.

Then it's ice cream and treats at the ice cream shoppe.

Then it's park time.

And then maybe dinner out.

And then bedtime.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Wish List

Our television is almost 10 years old. It still works, as long as you have the remote to turn it on and off. The button on the front was broken during one of our moves and has never worked right since.

And now that high definition and flat screens are coming in we have added one to our wish list. Our television is small but functional. We would love to have a bigger one that could be mounted on the wall.

We have walked through the shops and checked out our options. I have also spent a lot of time online checking out what is available. One website promises you can Save on thousands of electronics at Voltz.com. What a better way to snag a new t.v. and save money.

Of course at this point we are still looking and waiting to see what comes out in the next year or so. But soon we will join the rest of the world.

New Garden Pictures

We had a huge storm blow through here about a week ago. The corn in some of the fields is laying down flat. And several trees were ripped out by the roots.

Thankfully we only lost a few branches in our trees but my flowers didn't fare as well. All of blooms got blow away. I snapped some pictures so next year I can remember what is growing where.
I don't know what kind of wildflower these are but I like how dark and dramatic they are.

Back To School

A couple of years ago my Dad sent the kids each a bag of personalized pencils. They were each a different color so it was simple to pick out whose were whose. And I didn't have to write names on 50 pencils.

Unfortunately the pencils are all gone now. So I have been doing some online research to see where I can get some more personalized pencils for each of the kids. I found several websites that sell them. So I will be ordering some of those. But while I was searching I also found personalized pens. Since each of my older kids will also need pens in several different colors I will be ordering these too.

One less thing to write names on. Works for me!

Mt. Rushmore

When Billy and I got married in 1993 we were young and didn't have much money. So we planned a honeymoon that was close to home but would still be fun.

We headed to Keystone South Dakota. It is a big touristy type of place complete with shops, candy stores, old-fashioned pictures places, and activities for the whole family.

The first day we were there we went checked out the shops. We saw taffy being made in a window of a candy shop, we got an old-fashioned picture taken while we were dressed up as a cowboy and barmaid, and we each bought a watch.

Then we stopped in front of the western-style cafe. They had a machine that you could insert a penny and then turn the crank. A penny machine! The penny got fed through some metal plates that smashed it into an elongated coin and imprinted an image of Mt. Rushmore on it replacing Lincoln's face on the front.

14 years later we still have the pennies we made. They are in the box with our other wedding memorabilia. A box full of good memories.

Tee

I am entering a blog contest run by Tee at Spilt Milk.

Spilt Milk is a blog about many things, including, a meddling mother-in-law, her Latino husband, motherhood, raising boys, reviews of cool products, books, funny life observations, and her struggle with religion and self esteem.

The prize is a 3-pack of popular kid's computer games, and all I had to do to enter was to cut and paste this code onto my blog. I hope I win!

High Tech Learning

The school that my kids attend has recently added a distance learning center. It allows the students to take classes that are otherwise not available at our school. But it also allows the public to come in and take college level classes.

None of these classes would have been available though if our school didn't have access to the equipment needed to have a distance learning classroom. Thankfully they were able to purchase what they needed and now the students can use Video Conference to speak with the teacher who is not in the building but is available to the students.

Vertically Challenged

As we were walking around the store last night Becca turns to me and says, "Your getting shorter Mom!" I looked over at her and sure enough we are almost eye-to-eye. I giggled and nudged her. "Oh no I am not. I have always been this short."

She laughed and continued on all through the store.

I am 5'4-5'5 but I am the shortest in my family so I won't be in the least bit surprised if she passes me up. But can't she wait until she is 16 to do it? 11 is a bit young to be getting taller than your Mom.

Because I am the Mom and I make the rules, darn it!

Hair today, Gone tomorrow

They say that you need to look on your Mother's side of the family to see if your kids will be bald.

My Mother's dad, I never have met or seen. He died before I was born and no one seems to be able to produce a picture for me. So I don't know if my brother will be bald or not.

My kids on the other hand are safe. My Dad has a full lush head of hair. So Mr. Bill may be one of the first generations in the paternal branch to die without a shiny bald head.

My husband is also lucky as his Dad and all 4 of his uncles are bald. But his Mom's dad had a full head of hair.

But should that hairline start slipping a little too much for his comfort there is always the option of hair transplant Florida is home to Dr. Shapiro's Hair Institute.

I am just glad I am a girl with a head full of hair.

My Space

I finally joined the throes of people who signed up for myspace. I only joined because my sister started a page and in order to do anything on her site, I had to sign up for myspace. So I have a page, but it has a link to this page and almost nothing else.

I just feel too old for My Space. Too old and too normal.

So go and see it if you want: Jodi's MySpace Page

Veges

When I was 8, my Mom and Dad sent us to stay with my Aunt and Uncle for the summer. Which was great. They lived on acres and acres of land in Alaska. We could fish, swim, pick wild berries, and just run and play the day away.

But since she lived on so many acres way out in the middle of nowhere she grew a large garden. It kept her from having to make trips to town and gave her a stock of vegetables to eat over the winter. But someone had to be responsible for the care of the garden. And somehow that task was given to me and my siblings.

We spent lots of hours weeding and harvesting under the hot sun.

And then we would go in for dinner and there on the table would be the cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce we grew. As a kid, this is not a rewarding experience. I was not happy to see all the stuff I had harvested sitting there for my dinner. I didn't like to actually EAT the vegetables.

And unfortunately as I get older and older I still don't like many veggies. So I try to squeeze them in in ways that aren't hugely noticable. I buy Spaghetti sauce with veges in it. I put peas or carrots or corn in my casserole dishes. And I smother broccoli and cauliflower in cheese. This isn't always nutritious but it gets me a few more veggies per day. I tried the V8 juices so I could Drink My Daily Veggies but since tomatoes was #1 on my list of most disliked veggies, this did not work for me.

But now there is a new product out that allows you to mix your veggies into just about anything. It comes in a flake/powder form so you can put a scoop or two into a casserole or soup and no one would notice. Yet you still get the vitamins, minerals, and fiber that the veggies would provide. And the powder is all natural. There is no salt, spices, or msg added.

This would also be a great product for families. I have one incredibly picky eater (I know, Karma) and she doesn't touch hardly any vegetable. So for her this would be a way to ensure she is getting the needed nutrients without her even knowing it.

Go here to get a free sample (1.00 shipping).

Honey Bees and Bears

We live about a mile from a honey farmer. And about 15 miles from the largest honey producer in North America.

Which was news to me when it ran in our local paper. I knew we had a honey bee farmer down the road from us. It is hard to miss the piles and piles of pastel colored boxes he has sitting around his house.

But when I found out we had the largest honey producer in North America nearby I was shocked.

Although it would explain a lot. Like why there are always tons and tons of bees in our yard, especially in early spring. And why they have "Honey Days" in a small town near us.

But it doesn't explain why honey still costs 6 bucks for one little squeezy bear. The honey farm is only 10 miles from the grocery store for goodness sakes.

Write Nicer!

As a kid my teacher's were always on me about my handwriting. It was too big. I wrote nicely but it was tooooooo big. But it was not physically possible for me to write smaller. I just couldn't do it.

And when I got into middle school my social studies teacher had a handwriting contest. And the two girls who won both wrote in small ALL CAPITAL letters. So NOT FAIR after the gazillions of lectures from my 2nd grade teacher about using the correct method for writing.

Now as my kids are going through school and learning how to write I am relearning all the stuff I learned years ago. Becca is much like me and writes large. Megan is meticulous and writes nicely. Cassie and Marea are just barely in the learning stage but already I can see Cassie headed in Becca's direction and Marea in Megan's.

When Megan was in third grade her teacher sent home homework that had to be done in cursive. Only for the life of me I couldn't remember how to make a capital cursive F. So we did a search online. I wish then we had found this English teacher's website. She provides handwriting worksheets for students to use. That would have been so helpful to a Mom like me who can't remember the logistics of cursive. In addition to the worksheets, this teacher also offers the ability to make your own handwriting worksheets, examples of print and cursive handwriting, and traceable words, lists, sentences and paragraphs.

And it is all offered for free. Ya gotta love an English teacher who is that dedicated to student's learning.

Researching Recipes

I am trying to follow Chris's example and do better at meal planning. So today I spent a good portion of my day going through old magazines online and searching sites like allrecipes.com for new and interesting foods my family could try.

After several hours and hundreds of recipes the only thing I walked away with is one big headache. I found lots of recipes but there are so many with things I never buy and sometimes would never eat, that I wasn't very successful.

I am not giving up though. I will keep looking as I did find a couple of gems. If I can find 2 or 3 recipes each time I go searching, I should be able to add a new meal or two each month.

Not that the kid's appreciate my efforts but my taste buds sure do. I like variety and mac and cheese and spaghetti are not a big enough variety for me.

Baby Face

When I had Becca we took the lamaze classes. And I walked out of each class with 2 30 pound bags of stuff. Flyers, advertisements, samples, and other information to get me to buy some new fandangled baby item.

One of the things in the bag was a flyer for a baby bracelet. It was pink or blue beads with the baby's name in white beads. And because they were so little and so cute I ordered one. I can't remember the exact price I paid, but I know it was a lot because I was incredibly disappointed when it arrived and it was nothing more than a coin machine toy.

Thankfully baby items have come a long way since then. Now you can get high quality products to help you commemorate the birth of your baby. At http://www.babyfaces.com/ you can send them one of your favorite photographs and they will turn it into a silver or gold charm for a necklace or bracelet.

How awesome is that? No more keeping a picture of your kids in a locket, or wearing a gold charm around your neck for each kid. Now you can have their exact face as a necklace charm.

I would have spent a little more money for something that would last forever. And it comes in yellow gold, white gold, or silver. Much better than cheap plastic beads.

Outside Games

Billy bought one of those 15-in-1 games sets at Walmart the other day. And we got the net that came with it all set up two days ago.

The kids tried volleyball, badminton, ring toss, and some velcro ball game. The only one that has stuck (pardon the pun) is the badminton game.

Maybe because the little birdie floats instead of comes zinging at their heads. I am not sure. But I do know I have played more badminton in the last two days then I have in my lifetime.

And I am pretty darn good at serving.

Free books

A new website called Activists Guide sell books. But they also give away free books. You can download any of their books in a pdf form for free.

I think it is a great idea, but I don't know how many other authors will jump on the bandwagon. And lets face it, there aren't too many people who want to spend that kind of ink to print out a book to read. And sitting in front of the computer to read a book is not my idea of a relaxing time.

I think it is a good way for people to check out a book and see if they are interested though.

Things to do today

Life is crazy busy lately. I feel like I am going 40 miles an hour but not getting anywhere. Ever had that feeling?

So the list of things I need to accomplish:

Start back-to-school shopping this week. Yes, you read that right. I have the list. The supplies are pouring into Walmart at amazing speeds. It is time already to think about the kids going back to school, getting a year older, and life going back to a schedule. *sigh* But I am excited to see the kids oooh and aaah over all their shiny new pencils, pens, folders, and boxes of crayons.

Prepare my genealogy lesson. I will be teaching at the Family History Conference again this year. It will be my usual lesson on Genealogy Online for Beginners. I love to teach and really love to teach classes that I am enthusiastic about. I have to have the information done by August 1 even though the classes don't start until October.

Play with my kids. We get so wrapped up in chores, household duties, the t.v., the computer, and everything else lately that it seems we don't spend much time together. It is time to reintroduce game night. I think Thursday night's will be good since the kids will be done with school for the week on Thursday's and our date night is Friday.

Speaking of Date Night, there won't be one this week as our babysitter is out of town but next week (for my birthday) I think we are going to go climb a fake rock wall. I have always wanted to do it and I just found out about a place that has one. I hope it is a big big one!

And of course the millions of little things that need done everyday, like the dishes, laundry, sweeping, etc.

What is on your to-do list for today?

(((And look for a contest coming soon here on Organized Chaos. Can you handle the suspense?!)))

Marriage Made in Heaven

I thank God daily for pointing me to my soul mate when I was young. Billy and I were in high school in fact. We dated for three years before we got married. There was no doubt in my mind. And I had only dated 3 other guys so I wasn't speaking from experience.

But I have often thought about what would have happened if I hadn't met Billy right away. I would be forced to hang out in laundromats, bars, nightclubs, and other less-than-ideal places hoping to meet a guy. Of course there was always the option of a personal ad. It sounds like so much fun doesn't it?

And if I were still single today, I would have the advantage of online dating websites. And there are such a large variety of them. I figured they were all one-size-fits-all kind of sites. But no! There are sites for all kinds of different people. If I had to use one, I think I would start with fitness dating. If someone is disciplined enough to take care of their body, I would assume they have the potential for a good relationship.

Of course I am totally married and am renewing my vows in a year so I don't need a dating site but I will keep the fitness personals in mind next time someone complains to me that they can't find a date. (Because that happens to me sooooooo often *sarcasm*)

Boy O' Boy

Boys scare me.

No really, they do.

I have two in my house and the things they do just make me cringe.

Like when Billy gets home from work and Mr. Bill goes flying across the couch at him and lands with both feet right in his lap. (If he tried that with me he would be sitting in time-out forever while I tried to stop the throbbing pain.)

And when they start sword fighting and Billy gets Mr. Bill pinned down on the floor. And he licks his finger and sticks it in his ear. And Mr. Bill laughs great big belly laughs.

And the fascination with bugs, dead or alive. Or birds, dead or alive. Or worms, dead or alive.

It is clear to me that God made me a mother with a higher girl ratio for a reason. I need to learn boy-friendly parenting so I stop squealing and jumping out of my skin at every little thing he does.

What Happens When Blogs Take Over

It has been rumored for years that the internet is eventually going to take over the printed world. Who needs (or wants) magazines and newspapers when you have to wait for it to arrive in your local post office or mailbox when you can just log in to a computer site and get the latest information immediately? Right?

Well, I don't think that it will be too forthcoming as we still have an entire generation of computer phobic people. My Step-Dad, for one, has not touched a computer yet. And he most likely never will. He prefers the in person method of sharing information.

Of course, I am all over the internet like melted chocolate on a strawberry. I love it! And so I have begun using it for all my news needs. I rarely even watch our local news anymore because I have already seen or read it all on the net. In addition to the newspapers and magazines that are all over the net, there are now bloggers jumping in with both feet to share news.

There are the entertainment blogs like Perez Hilton that offer fluff and stuff. Or you can find the more serious ones like a Business Blog or a News Blog. At either link you will find Gaurav Bhola. According to the blog, "Gaurav Bhola writes for one of the most modern news blogs, GimmieTheScoop.com, where you can find a wide array of informative articles and blogs."

For now I read a mix of both. I read the paper and magazines but I spend most of my time online reading news as it comes quicker. When the printed materials succumb my Step-Dad will be in trouble. But I will be right there with laptop in hand waiting. ;)

It's Offical

This came in my email this morning: Click to enlarge.

Fat burners

Anyone who carries a few extra pounds has no doubt, at one time or another, fallen for one of the weight loss gimmicks out there. The ideas look so good in the ad. Unfortunately they don't always hold up at home.

I never had to think about my weight until recently and I have discovered that I don't like thinking about my weight. I don't like stressing about how much I do or don't weigh. I never owned a scale and never cared. And then I bought one. That was bad idea number one.

And now I sit and watch infomericals for all those gadgets that will help you lose those unwanted pounds. A new-fangled treadmill, and eliptical machine, a giant ball, a pair of weights, a sweatsuit? What they didn't work for you? Hmmmm.... me either. I bought a treadmill but quickly found it amazingly boring to run in the same place over and over.

And then there are the diet pills. Dexatrim, ionamin, Hoodia, Trim Spa. The list is extensive. And the commercials are never ending. I have never tried pills. But I have been tempted. Afterall, look at Anna Nicole Smith. She went from plump to thin in no time. But then I have my doubts. If a pill could cure obesity or even help manage weight, would there be any overweight people in the world? Probably not.

So I spend my time trying to focus on the postitive, learning to love my body the way it is, and getting off my duff as often as possible. That will do.

What gimmick have you tried? Did it work or fail miserably? Why?

A Birthday Wish

A very happy birthday wish goes out to two very special people in my life

My good friend Lori! Go on over and wish her a happy birthday.

And my sister Angie!

Vacation

This summer I feel like I need a vacation from our summer vacation. I miss the carefree days of childhood where summer vacation meant you could sleep until noon and had the entire day to yourself.

As an adult, summer vacation means maintaining some sort of schedule, cooking three meals for 7 people all day, playing referee to 5 kids, and listening to "I'm bored!" all day long, and packing and unpacking from trips to the lake.

All of this responsibility is making me look longingly at summer vacations online. Just look at these pictures Jody posted yesterday. So peaceful and relaxing.

And don't get me started on the quaint little cabins, beach houses, and Condo Hotels I have been drooling over online. The thoughts of sitting idly on a beach chair makes my head swim (pun intended).

I need a vacation from my vacation.

You Tube

Hi, My name is Jodi and I triple pink puffy heart You Tube...

And this week while I wasn't attending my support group or calling my mentor...

I showed my kids the endless possiblities on You Tube...

And they are now addicted like me...

Today, they found music videos on You Tube...

Hannah Montana, Britney Spears, Def Leppard, Sara Evans...

We are addicted and WE DON'T CARE!

Muhahahahahahahahahahaha!

Law Of Attraction

Time again for another book review. This one I loved. It is a self-help genre.

The concept of the book is that we all give off "vibes". Sometimes they are positive vibes and sometimes they are negative vibes. The author explains how to take those negative vibes and turn them into posititve vibes. I really appreciated the section where you learn to take negative statements like "I will never have enough money to pay my bills" into "I love that my ideal financial situation is obtainable".

I am sure you have all heard people say if you tell yourself something enough times it will come true. Sort of like saying, "I am a thin energetic person" when you aren't. The author of Law of Attraction says that simply saying it won't make it come true because while you are saying it out loud that little voice in your head is full of doubt. Which makes you emit negative vibes instead of positive vibes. And he also explains that what you give you get back. So if you are giving off negative vibes that is what you get.

I am a naturally optimistic and happy person so much of what he said already made perfect sense to me. But in the last few years I have noticed myself sliding down to match others negativity (something else the book talks about). I have already found myself using the author's suggestions to change how I think and feel about many things in my life.

There are so many other things I want to share with you about this book but I think it would be so much more powerful if you read it yourself. If you are struggling to feel happy or want to be happier, you need this book. I cannot tell you how much I loved it!

Landscaping

By far the best part of owning my own home is the ability to garden. I have a vegetable garden, flower beds, wildflowers, strawberries, and various other planting areas around our house.

I love going out and digging in the dirt and creating new and exciting looks with plants.

But I am having a tough time finding "accessories" for the gardens. I have checked out the various statues, knickknacks, and other garden paraphernalia at Walmart, Lowe's, and the local greenhouses. But they all seem, well, cheesy. I don't want a garden gnome, as cute as they are. It doesn't fit my tastes. And the butterflies and flowers and birds made out of plastic and glass are not my thing either. I want more natural looking accessories.

So Billy and I talked about getting some small furniture like a bench or chair. But wood does not hold up outside very well. So we did some searching on the net and found some teak outdoor furniture that would be perfect. Teak is supposed to be a good wood for weathering and it would turn that rough grey color over time so it wouldn't stand out in my gardens.

I haven't made any firm decisions yet. I will just have to keep looking. What accessories do you have in your gardens?

Crock Pot

For some reason cooking in a crock pot inspires me to make a full meal instead of those quick hurry-up type of meals. Maybe it is because the aroma wafting through my house all afternoon makes my tummy growl. ;)

This morning I stuck some ribs in the crockpot. I found a new recipe I wanted to try them with.

So for dinner tonight:

BBQ Country Pork Ribs
Rice Pilaf
Broccoli with Cheese
Strawberry Rhubarb pie

It smells sooooo good in my house right now.

*Snicker*

What do you do with one snickers bar and five kids?

You slip the candy bar in your pocket and then go outside to "check the mail".

Just don't let them smell the chocolate on your breath when you get back in.

Not that I have done this. I am just saying.

Shopping

I do a lot of online shopping. Because otherwise I have to drive 30 miles to the nearest town. And with the way gas prices are lately even 12 dollars in shipping in handling is cheaper than what it cost me to drive.

But clearance deals online don't usually match what I can find in store. So I surf the net always looking for good deals. Coupon codes have become my new best friend. And if I can't find one then I try to shop at the places that offer good deals all the time. Like right now Online Discount Mart is offering 10% your purchase, no matter how much it equals. It is good for the rest of the summer.

Those are my kind of deals.

Kid's Parade

We had a kid's parade in town this weekend.

The girls dressed up as Future Red-Hatters at the request of an older gal in our community. And Mr. Bill went as a soldier with a sign that said "Support our Troops" on his back.

See:

Budgeting for the Future

As Billy and I sat down and looked over our budget for July a few days ago, he commented on my new budgeting method. I have two columns for each pay day. One is "House Bills" and the other is "Bills to Pay Off". In other words, the first column is for bills that we potentially we have for a lifetime like electricity, t.v., etc. The other column is for bills we don't have to have but choose to have like credit cards, personal loans, etc. I also included student loans into this category. Although it could be 20 years before we have them paid off. Not that I am complaining, really.

If it weren't for those student loans neither Billy or I would have been able to go to college. After we graduated we used school loan consolidation to make our payments reasonable and possible. It was a pretty painless process. The employees where we have our student loans have always been so nice and extremely helpful when we have problems or questions.

And so now every month we shoot off a check to the company and check off one more payment on the 20 year list and give thanks that we were able to get the money we needed to go to college.

Ooopen Sesame!

I don't think I have ever laughed as hard as I did at a new blog I found the other day.

Tales of an Everyday SuperHero Post

Be warned though, don't be eating anything while reading this post. Go check it out!

Date Night

Friday night Billy and I got to go out again. It was such a blast.

As we got in the car to head out Billy said (with some trepidation), "Where are we going?"

Because if you remember, I threatened him with an all girly night after we had to see the Transformers on our last date.

But I didn't really mean it. Since being all girly really isn't my thing either. So we discussed our options as we drove to town.

Billy suggested we try golf. I mentioned how we lacked any golf equipment. Do they rent golf clubs and stuff if you go to a regular golf course? If you know enlighten me would you? We didn't know and since it was already 7 p.m. we decided we would look into it and try it another time.

But then I remembered there is a mini-golf course near the pool in town. So we decided to go there. It was 6 bucks a person for 18 mini holes. It is a really cool course too because there are waterfalls and all kinds of obstacles you have to get the ball around. At one hole when the ball goes in in drops down in the water and rolls down to the other half of the green. And another hole is uphill. The couple golfing ahead of us were at that hole and we were at the hole at the top of the hill. She shot the ball right in front of us and it rolled way off the grounds. We all got a laugh out of that.

I got one hole-in-one and ended up beating Billy by almost 30 points. Of course, I am not supposed to tell you that part. :)

House Blog

I have a couple of new posts up on The Big House On The Prairie.

One of them has pictures of Cassie's room that I promised to post ages ago.

And I redid the whole blog so it ties into this one and has a fresh look.

Go check it out and tell me what you think. Purrrrrty please.

Clear Vision

My mom has had bad vision for years. As long as I can remember she has had glasses and even with them she couldn't see well. Remember the glasses that were as thick as coke bottle bottoms? Yeah, she had those. And then they finally got contacts that would work for people with severe vision loss. And so she got to ditch the glasses.

And then a few years back someone got wise and invented a surgery that actually gives people back their vision. And so a year ago or so my Mom went in and had it done. And she can see so much clearer now. She was amazed at the clarity of things around her and mostly loves being able to see the clock in the middle of the night.

But she still needs glasses for reading. And while at the age of 56, that is not such a bad thing, she is unhappy that after the surgery she doesn't have perfect vision.

But leave it to the researchers to fix that problem too. Now they have monovision Lasik surgery to give people who need bifocals or reading glasses better vison too. And if the thought of surgery scares you they have developed a method to correct vision using contacts instead. And both have been approved by the FDA. You can read the press release about it here.

I imagine it won't be long before researchers find a way to halt vision loss even before it starts.

We all come in different shapes

The Shape Of A Mother

For the first time women can see that there are other women out there that have stretch marks, extra skin, and flab after having a baby. Even years after having a baby. We don't all snap back like a rubber band. In fact most of us don't. And we don't all look like the highly photoshop-ed models on the front of magazines.

I found this website a while back. This is not a sponsored post. I truly love this site. It allows readers to send in photos of their tummies (and other parts so be careful who is in the room while you are checking it out) after giving birth to a baby.

I was so relieved when I read the posts and saw the pictures on the site. Some were far better than what I look like and some were far worse. In a weird way it made me grateful for my own flab, or lack-there-of.

A shape of a mother is a beautiful thing. Thankfully there is a brave woman out there willing to help us all learn to love our bodies for what they have done and what they are.

Security

After we had our financial troubles way back in 1999, we knew it would be hard for us to get any kind of credit. Whether we were looking for a car loan, home loan, or just a credit card. Thankfully right away we didn't need any loans, nor would it have been a wise move since we were still learning how to manage money appropriately.

But eventually we needed a new car and then Billy needed a credit card to use on business trips. So I started checking out our options.

Our bank was very happy to help us with the car loan since we had a good history with them and showed we could pay our bills on time and regularly. But the credit card was a little more difficult. Afterall there is no collateral if we decided we couldn't pay the bill once we got one.

So we looked at Visa Secured Credit Cards . For those of you who don't know these credit cards are basically backed by the user providing cash as collateral. It stinks because you can fork over alot of money to use one. But if you are using it as a stepping stool to improve your credit, it can be great.

We did just that with ours. They gave us a small balance (400.00 if I remember right) but it was enough for Billy to use to rent a car and a motel room. Then we paid it off asap. Every month that we did that, we upped our credit rating.

It took baby steps but in the end it was worth it.

New Chore Chart

A few months back I bought a white board and made all these pretty magnets so we could start a new chore chart for the kids.

Afterall, with 5 of them, it seems really silly that I am doing all the cleaning in the house. So we got the chore chart up and everyone had a job. And it lasted for about a month. And I got bored with it and the kids started complaining more than usual.

So last week I decided there would be no rewards for doing chores anymore. No allowance, no toys, no prizes, NOTHING. We had a family meeting and I told them that because they were a part of the family they needed to contribute to the entire family's well-being. And I started a new chore chart.

Each night I write two chores down by each kid's name. And they have to do their chores after breakfast and showers. There is no t.v., no computer, no friends, NOTHING. Surprisingly, this is working better for us. The kids do their chores without complaints and do them quickly so they can play. If I have to tell them more than once to do a chore they get an extra chore to do. So far I have only had to add three extra chores to the list.

I do have great kids.

Of course we will reward them with a Kid's Appreciation Day soon. It has been awhile since we have had one.

Secretive

We own a Sega, Playstation, and Super Nintendo. All of which have seen many many hours of play. But there are some games that we just cannot beat no matter how hard we try. Before the internet you had to share secrets with friends or mess around with the game until you figure out some secret trick.

But now we have the internet and you can go to various websites that allow you to find cheat codes. Only some of these sites are not the "safest" places on the net. Sometimes you get spyware, or a virus, or they just collect your IP and use it.

Thankfully someone has created a site now that allows you to surf anonomously. http://www.thebestvpn.net. Now when my husband goes looking for codes and cheats we can hide. And hopefully avoid the crap that comes with the cheat codes.

Sax

The other night my kids discovered the Roseanne reruns on Nick. They had not seen it before but after one episode, they were all hooked.

And so the last few nights we have been watching the 4 Roseanne shows that run back-to-back. And Billy and I are astounded at the many many references, hints, and talking about sex that goes on in this show. Neither of us remember the show being sooooo not kid friendly.

We hypothesized that perhaps those innuendos had just gone over our heads when we watched as kids.

But last night as we were watching Roseanne says to Dan, "If we had just had sex like I wanted to none of this would have happened!" (Only you have to say it with Roseanne's accent so it came out sounding like sax.)

And that is when all doubt about the references going over our head flew out the window. Cassie turns to me and says, "What is sax?" I replied, "It isn't sax, its sex and it is something moms and dads do."

Defacing

I already mentioned I have a tattoo. And after giving birth to two kids, I decided I wanted to get my belly button pierced. It looks so sexy and cute and adorable. But after two kids, my tummy was far from flat and smooth. To be honest it was never really flat before kids but at least it didn't have a gazillion stretch marks.

And I let the idea slip for several years. I was too immersed in diapers, baby food, and fat rolls (both mine and the babies).

And now my kids are all growing up. There will be no more babies for me and my mind turns once again to getting my belly button pierced. But if you think a mommy tummy is flabby after two babies, you should see it after four.

And then I saw these:

These could make me ignore the flab and do it anyway. Afterall only my husband would see it anyway.

But then that is enough piercings for me. Earrings and belly button are fine. Because really Nipple Rings is taking it a bit too far don't you think?

White or yellow?

We (Billy and I) have been looking at rings. Engagement/Anniversary rings to be exact. It is fun to go to jewelry stores and tell the clerk we are looking for engagement and anniversary rings. They look at us like we have three heads. So then of course we have to go into the details about this being our second wedding.

So while we were looking yesterday, I seemed to gravitate towards the white gold and Billy towards the yellow gold. Both the rings I have now are Black Hills Gold (which is from the area we grew up in) and so are mostly yellow gold, pink, and green. I have a ring on my right hand that Billy gave me for our 1st anniversary. The new ring will replace this one.

So after a few hours of looking we started debating whether we should go yellow or white gold. Since I already have yellow gold can I mix white in? Which do you prefer? Why?

Help a girl pick her rings would ya? ;)

I do!

My husband re-proposed to me two days ago!

We are going to renew our vows next summer for our 15th wedding anniversary! I am so excited!

We are thinking of having a ceremony in the same park we married in the first time and have a wedding reception too.

Our first wedding was small and since we were both barely out of high school it wasn't everything I would have made it. But we were married and happy. That is what mattered.

Also my SIL's boyfriend at the time got shot in the head on the morning of our wedding so most of our guests spent the reception time in the hospital with my SIL. It made our reception rather small and it ended quickly.

The guy lived but not without issues. And we left on our honeymoon.

So this time we are planning a party. And it will be everything we hoped. I only have a year to get it all planned. Yikes!