Invitation

It seems like this time of year my calendar fills up quickly. Between school and kid activities we stay hopping.

December is definitely a busy month in our family. We have parties, sleepovers, communions, baptisms, and other family activities. Thankfully most of the people have sent invitations to their get-together in plenty of time so I can plan ahead. I am not a spur-of-the-moment type of gal. Especially now that I have 7 kids.

But in the middle of all of this we also have Becca's 12th birthday party to plan. She made the wise decision to be born the day after Christmas even though she wasn't due for 3 more weeks. So I was online searching for some tween style birthday invitations. While I was searching I found these really cute first communion invitations. I love looking at all the designs. When we were shopping for baby announcements I spent many hours just looking at the catalogs.

But I suppose I better get back to birthday stuff. Otherwise Becca will be having a party of one.

Thank Heavens

I did it...

My fingers are sore...

And my eyes cannot focus...

But I am done....

50 thousand words. One after another....

And ta-da! I have a story. A novel.

AND I WIN!

Laptop Lurve

My Christmas present should be arriving today. Cross your fingers for me would you since it was supposed to be here yesterday.

My hubby bought me a new laptop from Dell. So we can both have a laptop and sit and watch CSI at night. And yes I am opening it as soon as I can get the box in the door. Are we romantical or what? ;)

Dieting

Thankfully I grew up in a household where no one said diet. My mom just emphasized healthy eating and staying active.

And it worked well for me. I was at a very healthy weight all of my life.

But now as I have had four babies and have held on to a few extra pounds from each of those pregnancy's I struggle to maintain a normal healthy weight. And while I know I can get there through healthy eating and staying active sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't just be easier to try diet pills. We have all seen the commercials for products like hydroxycut, hoodia, and leptoprin. But how do we know if they work?

I turn to the internet and do some reasearch on each of them. The warnings and side effects read like a novel. Or they give you little to no information on the drugs. Neither is very reassuring.

And the more I think about ordering a pill, the more I think that if we truly had a diet pill that worked as they claim then there wouldn't be any overweight people on this earth. Because everyone would be taking it. Right?

It's Not You...

Can we just be friends?

It's not you, it's me...

Okay, I am not trying to break up with you. But I only have 2 days left to finish this crazy novel I started if I want to win. And I really really want to win!

So I am going to be a scarce blogger for the next two days. If you are looking for me I will be the red-eyed, sore-fingered lady hunched over the keyboard.

I only have to get 10,000 more words. I can do it!

A Fix

Over the last 14 years we have had many computers. Our first one was an apple with a whopping price tag of 4400.00. Later we bought new computers but switched to p.c.'s and lower price tags.

But no one prepared us for the amount of work a computer requires. After a year most of the specs a computer comes with are no longer good enough and everything requires an upgrade. And if that doesn't cost enough there are also the parts that break when you don't want them too. One of our computers lost its power supply. At the time Billy was working from home so it was vital that we find a power supply repair shop. What we discovered in our research was that it was cheaper for a normal pc to just replace the power supply box.

Thank goodness for technology. But I like cheap technology even better.

Depression

Depression runs in my family. Three of the 6 people in my immediate family have it. I have never struggled with depression of any kind and have struggled to understand it. I can usually pick myself up and move on and life is good.

But since we have taken in these two new boys I am finding I can't do that so easily. I feel like a bad mom daily, no hourly. I run the gammet of emotions everyday. Sometimes I am angry, ashamed, sad, happy, and proud. I can't seem to find a normal level for anything.

I do know taking in two kids is a huge adjustment. I have been through this before, although it was only one then. But I am not doing well this time.

My family and my parenting is going down the tubes either because I am pulling it there or because I am falling with it. It is much like the question, Which came first the chicken or the egg.

I am trying. Daily. To make it better. But I feel like I am failing. I just want us all to be happy. Happy and normal.

Please tell me what do you do when your family needs something fun and happy? I know with time it will get easier. Right now I need some immediate fix where I can see the kids smiling and laughing but I am so buried under the sadness and stress that I can't see a way out. Help!

Not Good

It is not good when your NaNoWriMo novel ends itself 15,000 words short of the 50,000 word goal.

I have never had this happen before.

I am going to have to go back in and write a serious amount of detail to get my word count up to where it needs to be.

Mourning

The weekend is over. What a bummer. We had a really good weekend.

Here are some random bits about our weekend:

~We didn't touch the attic. Not one little finger. Darn!

~We did spend most of the weekend playing with our kids and having a good time.

~My husband beat me at scrabble for the first time ever. Becca came in second.

~We took out rummikub that we bought 2 years ago for Christmas and had a blast playing it.

~We are no closer to any conclusion with our newest boys. Hopefully it will come in the next few months. It will involve a court date, that much we are sure of.

~I never did find my important papers. I just had to find a way to get new copies. I think the dog ate the old ones.

~I am 99% done Christmas shopping. I just need a few more gifts.

~I didn't touch my book all weekend. So that means another marathon writing day. Hopefully I will squeeze in some writing each day to get my numbers back up. Only 20,000 words left and I win NaNoWriMo this year.

~My dryer bit the dust over the weekend. So I now have a clothesline strung all over in the upstairs hallway. Hopefully we will be getting a new dryer in the next couple of days. I want to upgrade to the larger front loading ones instead of buying another regular one. But the price difference is quite large.

~Two of my kids appear to have pinkeye. Their eyes are all red but there is no oozing. Please don't let this be pinkeye. Please!

Pop Culture

With four girls in my house it should come as no surprise that they are madly in love with Hannah Montana. Really it shouldn't.

We have one daughter in particular, Megan, who really likes to watch the show and is a frequent visitor to youtube to find videos of Hannah Montana singing her favorite songs.

And then the other day while we were in the car the radio dj announces that Hannah will be visiting a town near us (about 5 hours away) and of course she "absolutely MUST go". So we came home and started checking out the Hannah Montana tickets. And well lets just say I fell out of my chair when I saw the prices. If you want your daughter to be on the floor in front of the stage you better be willing to spend well over a thousand bucks. Yes you read that right. Or hopefully I read the website wrong.

Needless to say, we won't be visiting her in concert anytime soon. Megan will just have to be happy with the videos on youtube.

Nada

We aren't getting anything done. Nothing, zip, nada.

And we are liking it. So far we have played scrabble with our kids, stuffed ourselves with turkey, watched movie after cheesy movie about Christmas, and just enjoyed ourselves.

Today we decorated the house for Christmas and no one got out of jammas until almost 2 p.m.

The attic is feeling neglected. Tomorrow is a new day. ;)

Educational Christmas

Every year I am looking for Christmas presents that don't end up in the bottom of the toy box. And every year I get some successes and some failures.

This year I have had the chance to try out some new educational toys to see if they were something our kids would like. The kind folks at Learning Resources sent me three toys to try.

The first one we opened was the Race Around The Clock Game. It is recommended for ages 8-11 which I must totally agree with. The younger kids couldn't play at all as the questions were too hard but the older kids played for quite awhile.

The second game is for the younger kids. It is called Jump N' Jam Jungle. This one was great for the littler kids. It has five games that you can choose from. And the best part is the kids can jump on the animals to answer. It is educational and gives the kids a chance to get up and move.

The biggest hit though was definitely the Gears! Gears! Gears! It is the same concept as legos but the gears lock together and they have a small motor that makes the gears turn. They also have lights that light up. The kids haven't put them down since we opened the box. This one is well worth the money.

So if you are looking for some fun and educational toys check out Learning Resources. They have some great stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I won't be around most likely for the entire weekend. We are celebrating Thanksgiving and we plan to get a lot of work done in the attic. Cross your fingers for us. We have a lot of work to do.

How Cute!

How cute would this home theater carpet be in a media room?

Not that we have a media room, yet. But what fun it would be to decorate one like a real movie theater. Billy has been dying to order one of those projector t.v.'s that take up an entire wall to watch it on. And the kids keep drooling over those popcorn machines. Wouldn't it be awesome to have one just like a real movie theater. Of course for as much as I "like" t.v. and movies I will just use the media room for napping in the nice comfy recliners we would put in there. Right? ;)

Happy Birthday Billy

Happy Birthday wishes to my husband today. He is 32 now. That is sooooooooooooooo old! ;)

What happens when...

You know you have a tween in the house when...

You leave a comment on a friend's blog and realize you just posted under your daughter's name. Because she has her own google account duh!

Online banking

Everywhere I turn lately I hear about these online banks. And they want my business. Really. They keep saying they do.

But for some reason online banks make me nervous. I think mostly because if something goes wrong there is no brick and mortar building to take my complaints to. Which shouldn't be a big deal because the bank I use now is over 400 miles away from me. I do all my banking online anyway. And there are times that I have needed to go to the bank but that obviously wasn't an option.

So I have been looking into WaMu for a checking account. It looks like a good deal. And since I do everything online now my lifestyle wouldn't have to change to have an account here.

But I am still nervous. No one said change was easy.

Lost

I have lost some very important papers. VERY important papers. Where the heck did I put them?

If you have seen them would you kindly let me know where.

Thank you!

Wishful Thinking

Last night Billy and I were watching Designed to Sell. If you haven't seen this show they go in and redo a few rooms to make a house sell quicker. All on a 2000.00 budget.

I used to love this show. Because I love to see the before and after pictures. Last night though I looked around my own house after the show and sighed. I told Billy that is it so depressing to watch those shows and then look at our own house. We have done so much to our house but it looks like we have just made it worse. We still have so much to do. And it frustrates me.

Billy responded by saying yes we do need to finish some things. We need crown molding, trim, paint, accessories, and bar stools. Yes bar stools. All the new hip houses have them. *sigh*

We are so behind the times and we aren't even done with our house yet.

I DID IT!

I did it. I wrote over 19,000 words in the last two days. I am now officially caught up. 30,002 words as of today.

And in my story I am in the process of deciding if I should kill a very important character or not. Decisions, decisions.

:)

On a roll

Today is my writing makeup day since I missed writing on my NaNoWriMo novel the entire week my sister was here. I was about 18,000 words behind as of this morning. I have managed to get 9000+ written today so I only need 9000 more before tonight is over. Then I can go back to 1667 words per day.

I think I can....I think I can...

Saturday Fun!

Today in the mail I received three free samples of products from Vat19. And several hours later the kids are still having fun with them. So I had to share!

We got a free sample of Color Flames Colored Candles , a Smencils Gourmet Scented Pencil , and Insta Snow Fake Snow Powder.

The biggest hit was by far the Insta Snow Fake Snow Powder. It was fun to watch it grow as we added it to the water. And then the kids started playing in it like playdough. It feels wet when you squish it but your hands stay dry. Lucky for all of you we video-taped us trying it out so you can see it too. Aren't we nice? ;)

The Smencils Gourmet Scented Pencil was a big hit too. Ours is popcorn scented so you can imagine it was a big hit here. We had to have a drawing to see who got to keep it. The coolest thing is these pencils are made from recycled rolled newspapers so you aren't hurting the environment. And they are guaranteed to be smelly for two years! I doubt ours will last that long. I will definitely be getting some of these for stocking stuffers.

The color flame colored candles were popular as well. Becca has confiscated them for her upcoming birthday. There were exactly enough in the package for her cake. :)

If you are looking for some fun things for your kids for Christmas that aren't toys that will end up in the toy box, these are a great idea. Megan has already put in a request for the snow and everyone wants the pencils. And I am happy because I know it is stuff that will get used rather than buried in a toy box. Of course if you are looking for some more practical products they have those too. Like this Electronics Charging Station for your collection of ipods, cell phones, and blackberries.

Me? I want more snow. The fake kind. It can be made with warm water and is much more fun to play with. :)

Vote Nay

My husband saw my blog post. Apparently he has started reading here for the first time in FOUR years. (Hi Honey!) But that is not the point of this post.

He saw the Undies post below and said we didn't need a pop-up blocker.

So sayeth him...

Kick It Up

After my shoulder really starting bothering me a few months back I stopped exercising. It didn't matter if I did aerobics, Tae Bo, Pilates, or even just running on my treadmill. Everything seemed to aggravate it.

I even spent a lot of time checking out new exercise equipment. I thought about getting a ball, heavier weights, an eliptical machine, and many other things. But in the end I know there isn't any new equipment that would make a difference.

So I went to the doctor and got a bunch of tests run. And they found out nothing. But suggested I try Aleve. And what a difference it has made. I still have pain but it is nothing like it was before. I can move much more fluidly.

So I am hopping back on the exercise wagon again. I like myself and feel better when I am exercising. I am not trying to lose weight or specifically any amount of weight. I just want to be fit. And since winter is here, or nearly here, the treadmill is my weapon of choice. Hopefully I will be successful and not aggravate my old lady injury again.

Wish me luck.

Undies

I need these. Do they come with virus protection? A pop-up blocker would be good too. Oh and spam protection... Is that expecting too much?

Rescue Me **UPDATED**

Okay, Thanksgiving is coming. And I am cooking it.

But I hate stuffing. I think it is the spices that go in the stuffing that I don't like the most. None of my kids nor my husband like stuffing either so I never make it.

So rescue me this year. Do any of you have a stuffing recipe that is a different recipe? I have heard of cornbread, raisins, and other odd ingredients being added.

I am looking for a recipe that doesn't involve thyme, sage, or any other "standard" stuffing spices.

Anybody have one?

**Updated!**
Look what I found on Allrecipes.com

Rice Stuffing with Apples, Herbs, and Bacon
Chestnut Stuffing
Wild Rice Stuffing for Turkey
Ibby's Pumpkin Mushroom Stuffing
Milk Cracker Stuffing
Vegetarian Stuffing
Cranberry Apple Raisin Stuffing
Bulgur Stuffing
Wild Mushroom Stuffing

Which should I try?

I am back

My sister has left. It is so quiet and sad here now.

But 7 kids will arrive in a few short hours and the chaos will return. Sad chaos as they remember Aunt Vonnie has gone home today.

The love her. More than anything in the world.

And I love that they love her.

Upgrade

When we started ripping out the upstairs of our house to make the new stairs to the attic/bedrooms we found a letter that had gotten hidden under the stairs. It was dated February of 1908.

It was from a heating contractor sending an estimate to the then owner of this house for a new heating system.

It was funny to me how he was bragging in the letter about the wonderful new insulation they would use, asbestos, to keep the heat in.

Of course now we all know that asbestos can cause malignant mesothelioma. Almost 100 years ago this stuff was new and wonderful. Now it is deadly. It is funny how things change so drastically isn't it?

It makes me wonder what we will find hazardous to our health another 100 years from now.

Insert Foot

Tonight while my sister was putting the dinner dishes in the dishwasher my husband looks over and says, "Why are you doing dishes? Don't you know they do themselves?"

My sister laughs and says, "Yea sure they do."

He responds, "They do. I go to work and come home and they are done. It is like magic."

If I am magic I want more powers than the ability to do dishes. Like the power to insert his foot in his mouth.

Need More

The other day I sat down and started purging. Purging all the junk off my computer. It is amazing what we have acquired on there over the last two years. There were lots of games that we never play and lots of files that were only used once and intended to be tossed but for some reason didn't walk themselves to the recycle bin.

So I started throwing stuff away with wild abandon. And then I went to the disk defragmenter so it could undo all the mess I had left behind. And you know what it told me? After all that tossing and sorting? We had 2% free on our hard drive! 2% people! That is just crazy!

I mentioned it to my husband who says "Yeah, we need more memory." Ummmm I would say. Too bad this IBM memory won't work on our computer. But they do have Dell memory too. And boy do we need a lot of it.

Good and Bad

We have recieved some very bad news here. News that may prevent us from keeping the boys we have just added to our family. While I obviously can't share this here let me just say it is not life-threatening or anything to that extent. Just rock your world news. Please pray that whatever should be will be.

And my sister is visiting for the next week (with her new baby!) so I don't know how much I will be on here. But most likely I will pop in a couple of times. If I don't see you before then, have a great weekend.

On Time

I mentioned before how I like to be early or on time for things. Well from an early age in order for this to happen I had to wear a watch. In fact the only gift Billy and I exchanged for our honeymoon were disney watches. Mine had Minnie Mouse and his had Goofy. Now that I think about it that should have tipped me off to what kind of person he was. LOL

But anyway, for the last 7 or 8 years I haven't had a job or school or anything that required me to know what time it was all day. I need to know what time it is about three times over the course of a day and so I don't get too worried about not having a watch. Afterall I have a cell phone with the time, my car has a clock in it, and every room in my house has one as well.

But as I was sitting in the doctor's office and get rather irritated thinking it had to have been at least an hour since my appointment was to start I realized I needed a watch. So I would know how late my doctor is and how irritated I really should be (and I am a very patient person).

So, of course I turned to the internet. While I found many pretty watches for women I also found a website with Ulysse Nardin watches. Maybe my husband needs one too. Although I doubt it would help anymore than the large clock I bought him for his desk so he could leave work on time. Yea, that didn't work.

NaNoWriMo Excerpt

“I wasn’t expecting you so early,” admits Trixie. Julie frowns, “I am sorry. Do you want me to come back later?” Trixie shakes her head, “No Tommy would never forgive me if I sent you home. And maybe I will have better luck if I hit some of these businesses earlier in the day.” Julie looks at Tommy, “I brought you something.” Tommy starts jumping up and down, “What? What did you bring me? Huh? Huh? Julie what did you bring me?” Julie giggles. Trixie rubs her forehead again wincing at the sound, “I am going to take a shower. You got this?” Julie nods her head and turns back to Tommy, “Guess which box it is in?” Tommy points to the top box. Julie opens the box flaps just enough to get her hand inside. “Big or small?” she asks him. Tommy’s eyes get larger, “Big!” Julie feels around in the box for the larger Barbie car. She pulls it out and hands it to Tommy. Tommy looks at the car, “A car! Really? For me? Wowwwwwwwww!” Julie giggles. Tommy sets the car on the floor and starts pushing it around the floor. “Vroom. Vroom. Eeeeeerrrrrrk!” he says over and over. Julie sits in a chair and watches Tommy drive the car up and over the back of the couch. Soon the other kids wake from the noise Tommy is making. Kirstin comes out first and smiles at Julie. “Hi,” says Julie. Kirstin watches Tommy. Tommy sees her watching him and looks at Julie, “Do you have anything for Kirstin too?” Julie nods, “Is Maya awake yet? I have something for both of you.” Kirstin slips back in the doorway and says something quietly. Julie can’t make out what she is saying. Kirstin sticks her head back out the door and then comes out holding Maya and Scott’s hands. Julie smiles at them, “Good morning everyone.” Scott sits down on the floor and Maya walks over to Tommy. She bends down to see the car he is playing with. Tommy grabs his car and hugs it to his chest, “Julie has something else for you guys.” He runs over to Julie’s box and opens the flaps. Kirstin runs over and peeks in. “That box is for Scott and Tommy,” Julie explains. The bottom box is for Kirstin and Maya. Tommy pulls the top box off and sets it on the floor next to the door. Kirstin opens the bottom box and peeks in. She shrieks suddenly and everyone in the room jumps. Maya runs over and pulls the box open. “Dollies!” she shrieks. Soon Kirstin and Maya are jumping up and down and yelling “Dollies! Dollies!” Julie giggles thinking today is like Christmas morning at her house. Tommy reaches in the other box and pulls out a soft squishy ball. He runs over to Scott and drops it in his lap. Scott looks at the ball and then picks it up. He throws it as hard as he can at the couch. It lands just a few inches away and rolls back towards Scott. He picks it up and throws it at the couch again. As it rolls back to him the bathroom door opens and Trixie steps out in the same blue suit that she had tried on yesterday. The older kids all pick up their toys and run over to show them to their mom. Trixie rubs her temples and smiles at the kids. Julie can tell Trixie still isn’t quite awake and ready to deal with the kids and the noise level she has created. “How about we get some breakfast while your mom finishes getting ready?” she asks the kids. Scott ignores her and continues to throw the ball at the couch. The other kids all nod eagerly and take their toys to the table with them. Julie opens the fridge and looks in. There is milk so she checks the cupboards for cereal. On the third shelf she finds a few boxes of cereal. She pulls them down and take them and the milk to the table. “Tommy can you and Kirstin get bowls and spoons please?” she asks. Trixie goes back in the bathroom and shuts the door. Tommy and Kirstin jump up and run to the cupboards. Tommy is tall enough to reach the bowls and Kirsting grabs the spoons. Soon the table is set and everyone is eating. Except Scott. He is still throwing his ball to the couch and waiting for it to roll back at him.

Julie walks over and crouches down next to Scott. “Scott, do you want to eat?” Scott shakes his head and throws the ball towards the couch again. He watches it roll back to him and he picks it up again. Julie watches him throw the ball again but this time she grabs it before it rolls back to Scott. Scott stands up and looks to see where the ball went. Julie takes his hand and guides him to the table, “Let’s eat Scott.” Scott looks at Tommy eating his bowl of cereal and nods. Julie picks him up and sets him on a chair. Scott looks in the bowl in front of him and grabs the cereal with his hands. He starts stuffing the food in by the handful. Julie picks up a spoon and hands it to him, “Can you use a spoon?” Scott doesn’t answer but continues to stuff the cereal in his mouth. Julie decides this is one battle she is not willing to fight today and allows Scott to eat this way. By this time the other three children have finished their bowls and are asking for more. Julie pours each of them another bowl of cereal and sits back down by Scott. His bowl is nearly empty too. As he reaches in for a handful of cereal he realizes it is almost gone. His lower lip begins to tremble and then he lets out a loud wail. Tommy covers his ears and shouts to Julie, “He needs more! Give him more! Hurry!” Julie pours more cereal into Scott’s bowl and as fast as the screaming started, it stops. Tommy uncovers his ears and resumes eating his own breakfast.

Trixie looks at herself in the mirror. This suit does look good on her. Despite the fact that she has lost a lot of weight of the last few months, she still has some curves. Trixie looked at her face up close. She looked quite a few years older than her 32 years. Life with a husband like Andy can do that to a person. Trixie tried for many years to hide the bruises and circles under her eyes with makeup. After awhile she gave up trying. She rubs her finger down the bridge of her nose, feeling the bump that grew the last time he broke her nose. The doctor who bandaged her up told her it would probably never go away. Unless she went to see a plastic surgeon that is. Not that Andy would have ever let her do that. He would have been angry enough to discover that she had seen a doctor at all. It is hard to believe it was only the day before that things were so good between them. He was packing to go on his business trip and she was sitting on the bed watching him. He was telling her what she could and couldn’t do while he was gone. Trixie was used to this and was only half listening to him. She was instead daydreaming about how she would spend the next three days doing all the things she wanted to do since she wouldn’t have to worry about Andy coming home at night. Or calling during the day. That had been her first mistake. She sat on the edge of the bed imagining baking cookies and eating them all before the kids got home from school. And sitting in her pajamas until noon instead of getting up at five in the morning to make breakfast for Andy. While she was daydreaming Andy had asked her a question. Unfortunately she was too wrapped up in her thoughts and hadn’t heard him. She was pulled out of her dream by the back of his hand hitting the side of her face. He had hit her so hard that she fell off the edge of the bed. She layed there knowing better than to get up until he told her too, holding her face in her hand. “You will be here when I call do you understand me!” he had blared at Trixie. Trixie nodded and watched him shut his suitcase and storm out of the room. She heard his footsteps as he stomped down the stairs and then silence as he set his suitcase down in the entryway. “Get down here woman!” Trixie scrambled to her feet and swayed as she waited for her body to regain its balance. She felt something wet on her lip and wiped it with the back of her hand. She looked down at her hand: blood. She grabbed a Kleenex from her dresser and held it to her nose. She held on tightly to the railing as she descended the stairs. He stood at the bottom waiting for her. She stopped at the bottom step and stared at him. “Well give me a hug. I will be gone for three days afterall.” Trixie stepped forward cautiously and put her arms around Andy. Andy kissed her on the top of the head and whispered, “Next time answer me and I wouldn’t have to do this.” Trixie nodded and stepped backwards. Andy picked up his suitcase and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Trixie shook her head and saw herself in the mirror again. “Focus Trixie. Focus,” she said aloud. Trixie ran the brush through her hair again and set it down on the edge of the sink. She opens the bathroom door and steps out to see all the kids sitting at the table eating and Julie sitting next to Scott watching him stuff his cereal by the handful. “Scott, use a spoon,” Trixie states. Julie looks up, “Ready to go?” Trixie nods, “Just about.” She walks to the fridge and grabs a yogurt and a spoon. She stands by the counter watching Julie help Scott now that he is using a spoon with his cereal. “Why is it that this 16 year old girl has it more together than I do?” Trixie wonders to herself. She finishes her yogurt in 4 bites and grabs her purse. “I don’t know when I will be back. If I get a job it may not be until late. If not it may be earlier,” she says to Julie. “No hurry,” Julie replies. “I don’t have anywhere else to be today.” Trixie smiles and kisses each of her kids. “Be good for Julie.” Tommy and Kirstin nod. Julie watches Trixie walk out the door. As the door shuts behind her it suddenly swings open again. There standing on the step is Lilly, Julie’s mom. She is carrying several bags and there are two of the older ladies from church standing behind her with boxes and bags too. Trixie squeezes past all of them and stands waiting. Lilly extends her hand, full of bag handles, “Hi. I am Lilly, Julie’s mom. She said you are new in town and could use a few things. The ladies and I assembled a few boxes and bags. I hope you don’t mind.” Trixie smiles and shakes her head, “I am just on my way out to find a job. Julie can show you where everything goes.” Trixie heads down the rest of the steps and the three ladies, heavy with packages, walk in and begin setting things down on the counters. Lilly smiles at the children at the table. Just then Trixie sticks her head in the doorway, “Oh by the way, I put a homemade diaper on Scott so it will need to be washed and dried before you can put it back on him. I only had enough towels for two diapers. The other one is in the bathroom.” “No problem,” Julie replies. Lilly opens a box and holds up a package of disposable diapers, “Good thing I brought these then!” Julie giggles. “Mom you are so awesome.” Lilly nods, “I agree wholeheartedly.”

Today

"Each morning the day lies like a fresh shirt on our bed; this incomparably fine, incomparably tightly woven tissue of pure prediction fits us perfectly. The happiness of the next twenty-four hours depends on our ability, on waking, to pick it up." Walter Benjamin

Today is better. If for no other reason than we are both ignoring the elephant standing in the middle of the living room. But sometimes ignorance is bliss. And it helps a marriage hold over the rough spots.

So today I am picking myself up and getting on with life. I don't like being unhappy. It is not who I am. So smile with me today as I share some good things going on in my life.

~I am making excellent progress on my NaNoWriMo novel. I know you all are probably sick of hearing about it but I can't help but get excited when I sit down to write and the novel just pours out. I am looking forward to writing some more today. I will get some of it posted for you all tonight. I forgot all about it last night. We had a homework marathon and I didn't get to sit until almost 8 p.m. Thank goodness for frozen pizzas.

~Jack is getting teeth. His eye teeth. And while this also can be a bad thing (because boy is he crabby!) it is a good thing too because now he can eat more foods that right now he doesn't chew up well enough.

~My kids are healthy. No one has puked in the last 48 hours.

~The Aleve I have been taking for my shoulder/rib pain is helping. Most days I forget that it hurts.

~Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming. I love celebrating with my family and not having to live on the school's time schedule.

So pick yourself up today and find some reasons to smile. Life is too short to be unhappy. Enjoy it!

Even the best laid plans...

Somedays it is better to not get out of bed.

Or maybe it is just better to keep your mouth shut. Or mine.

This morning a fight that started last night, regarding a certain woman whose children we have, continued.

And there was some yelling and much cursing. The kids were all hiding in the living room being very quiet.

I hate days like this. Thankfully they don't happen to often. But when they do they leave me feeling out of sorts all day.

*Hugs to my kids today. It will be fine. I promise.*

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Edited to add: 11,291 words done today! I will post an excerpt from my novel later today.

Word Update

8,667 as of last night! Last night was a good night. I sat down and the book just flowed. I like it when it does that.

I have also learned that I am the queen of run-on sentences. I am using Word this year to type my book in and it seems like every other sentence is underlined as a run-on. LOL

Owie

Hi my name is Jodi and I don't like ice cream.

I know, I feel like I should be in a support group or something. People look at me really weirdly when I say I don't like ice cream. But really I would rather not eat it.

I think part of the reason is that I have always had sensitive teeth. And everytime I go to the dentist they sort of pshaw me and tell me it is just because I have a lot of cavities. Well in April, if you remember, I went in and had my teeth fixed. All 15 cavities were filled at once.

So now I have no cavities. And I still have sensitive teeth.

The dentist gave me some $15 toothpaste that is supposed to make sensitive teeth better. I bought it and used it and saw no difference from the $2 sensitive toothpaste I usually buy. So after the tube was gone I switched back to my usual brand. It works well enough. I can usually eat cold foods and sweet stuff without wanting to rip all my teeth out. But occasionally the sensitivity is stronger than the toothpaste.


Well the other day I received a sample of Biotene, which claims to be different than the other sensitive toothpastes out there. So I gave it a try. First off Biotene is different from other toothpastes because it also contains enzymes that increase saliva production. Their theory is that sensitive teeth may be caused, in part, by a dry mouth. After using the toothpaste for a couple of days I could definitely tell the difference. They also claim that Biotene will solve the sensitivity, rather than just mask it. Since I have only a small sample tube I will have to test that theory when I buy a larger tube to try for a longer period of time.

I do know I wish I had tried Biotene before spending $15 at the dentist. I am sure I would have had better results by now and maybe I would even like ice cream. Maybe. ;)

All of us

Occupied

Need a way to get your kids to stop bugging you and saying, "I am bored!" ?

Try cleaning out a game shelf or junk drawer. Suddenly you will have all your kids interested and hauling off with all the stuff you are trying to organize.

I attempted our game drawers this morning and my kids are now all sitting at the table coloring and playing with stickers. So far we have had three art shows.

Of course the drawers are clean but that is mostly because the items are now in use all over the table. Oh well.

White Sandy Beaches

When I was a kid about 8 years old, I lived in Hawaii. We lived right across the street from the beach. We could walk over and swim to our hearts content. It was so much fun to play in the ocean.

I tell my kids stories about when I lived there and they get so excited. They all want to go there and see where I lived. I am sure everything has changed since I lived there. It used to be a small quaint town with dirt roads and small houses. Now everything is big and expensive.

While looking online for the small town I used to live in I found lots and lots of Hawaii bed and breakfast businesses. I remember the house down the street from ours was a large house. I wonder now if it has turned into a bed and breakfast or if they ripped it down completely to make room for a great big hotel. Since our house was right on the ocean I would not be surprised to find out that it is all gone. Except for in my memories.

NaNoWriMo Progress

5141 words as of this morning.

Woooohoooo! I have good feelings about this book.

How are the rest of you doing?

Un-medicated

Now that I am taking Aleve everyday for my shoulder/rib pain (that they don't know what is wrong with) I find when I do get a headache I can't take anything else for it.

So the other day when I thought my head would explode and the kids wouldn't stop I did a search online for a headache treatment that doesn't use medications. Most of the websites mentioned things like heat, naps, or a massage. Since heat was the only one I could use at the time I tried it. I layed down on the couch with a hot pack and rested while the kids ran around shrieking.

It worked long enough for my husband to get home and take over parenting duties.

He is my anti-headache treatment. What a good guy he is. :)

Tidbits

It is about time for a random blog right?

• Way back when I was applying for jobs I had to take a typing test. I went in and did it. And got 45wpm. Which is not bad. Nowadays most job openings I see require at least 40wpm. Since I spend quite a bit of time typing for my blog I figured my typing skills had to have improved over the last ten years. So I went in search of a typing test online. Afterall everything else is online right? I found typingtest.com and tried my luck. I got 52wpm! See all this blogging is good for something. You go try it and see what you get.
• Today is Friday. But for us it is Saturday. Remember my kids have a four day school week now so they are all home today. Which may or may not be a good thing today.
• Jack is a screamer. And he has no respect for others personal space. Which means while everyone else is trying to watch t.v. he is climbing all over them and if they say no he starts throwing a screaming fit. So last night I had Billy bring the portable crib downstairs and we put him in it. So he can see us all and watch t.v. but has to stay in his own space. Of course this does not make him happy but it makes everyone else happy.
• I joined NANOWRIMO again this year. I won't be doing my novel on a blog as I have in years past. Instead it will just be on my computer. Yesterday I sat down and got out 2683 words. Well on my way to 50,000. If you would like to read some of my novel I would be happy to email it to you. Just drop me a note.
• We absolutely cannot find a vehicle to fit all 9 of us. We are looking for a GMC Yukon extended version with a front bench seat (so it seats three instead of two). Which means we won't be going home for Thanksgiving or Christmas most likely. Blah.

Scholarship Contest

If you know a student who is about to graduate from high school or is already in college and could use some extra money to help with college tuition here is a great site to check out. The Gallery Collection, a company that creates business Christmas cards, is running a contest to win a 10,000 scholarship.

I know when I was in college, I would have loved the opportunity to win 10,000 to help with my tuition. And all it takes is a few minutes of your student's time and creativity.

Just go to their Christmas cards scholarship contest page to enter and win. It runs until January 15th.

Halloween

Halloween was a big success here. Unfortunately you can't see much of their costumes since they all had coats on already. But they got lots of candy and had lots of fun.

And today is back to school and life as usual. Of course there will be a lot of candy for an after school snack. :)

Understanding

I am reading a new book. Well new to me. I got a copy of "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. I am not reading it though because of all of the hype and controversy around it but because I want to understand better.

You see my SIL has been in several drug rehabs over the last 13 years and not one of them has worked so far. I get that drugs are addictive and have a strong hold on people. But I don't understand their thinking and what seems to me, a lack of common sense. Now that we have her kids she is interacting a lot with our family. At least a lot more than she ever has before. And I am struggling with that.

I am much more comfortable when we keep our distance. I don't like the world of drugs and alcohol and addiction. And I don't want to be pulled into it by someone else.

Right now my SIL has been out of her latest rehab stint for a few weeks. She claims to still be on the right path and is continuing her rehab through outpatient services. Mind you she was kicked out of the inpatient facility so I am not too sure about her honesty in this situation.

But I am hopeful. And I am trying to understand.