A New Year

There are a few of my favorite bloggers writing their years in review such as here, here and here. Since I have not been blogging that long (and even some of those posts are mediocre at best) I can not participate in that particular topic. I can offer a couple of resolutions that I am going to attempt. My first is to increase my patience. Parents know that it is very difficult to have patience when your 9 year old stands in front of you and bold face tells you that she did NOT put those frozen waffles under her pillow, knowing full well that she was the only possible one who could have and would have done this. My second is to try to be a better mother to my children. This would mean less time in front of my computer, especially when they are home (Hello, my name is ShortyMom and I am an internet addict). How about y'all? Does anyone else have any resolutions for this year?

An Extra Person

Darling Hubby has been home for the last week. Actually, as of tomorrow morning, he will have been home one solid week and doesn't have to leave again until Wednesday. It has kept us busy. We seem to run more when he's home. There's more things that need to be done, places that we need to go. Of course, there is extra laundry and dishes, and with us on the go, I never seem to catch up. I'm trying to stay afloat with the housework and spend time with him and he's trying to spend time with us while working on his "honey-do" list. He's replaced an electric outlet in "K"'s room that would no longer hold a cord. He put the kids to bed last night (without giving them the option of me to do it instead), put the dogs out one last time before bed, checked the doors, turned out the lights so that I could just go to bed. No last minute responsibility, just go. He's gone on a job quest for a local job and had his glasses prescription updated. Tomorrow, he cleans out his truck so that it's ready to leave again while I play catch up on the housework. I'll try to finish the laundry, wash the dishes and maybe get the tree down. If I'm really lucky, I'll get him up in the attic to put a few things away. It's crazy when he's here, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Keeping the Beliefs Alive

We've been busy this year, especially "T", with all of the things that kids believe in. Of course, Santa made his rounds this year, but the tooth fairy made quite a few appearances this year as well. As recently as last night, since "T" just lost his 6th tooth, his 5th tooth this year. She was nice enough to bring him a whole $1.50 for his tooth but looks like she was really busy last night. Not only did she bring him money, but she brought him a new permanent tooth to fill in the gap on the bottom, a tooth he lost a few months ago.


The kids enjoyed a wonderful Christmas! They were real excited to find that Santa had brought them a new trampoline and had the elves set it up. I later found out that one of the elves must have been smoking because there were cigarettes all over the backyard according to "T". Memaw and Papaw outdone themselves with a camera for "K", a toy guitar for "S" (supposed to teach you how to play), and walkie talkies for "T". Kiddos also got watches from mom and dad, a chalkboard each, as well as two webkins apiece. They were very happy overall and it was a very enjoyable day.

Christmas in Photos

Proud is Defined by the Parent(s)

Both "S" and "K" had basketball games today, and both of their teams got beat. "K" got the opportunity to shoot the ball again and subsequently missed her shot. "S" got to shoot the ball a couple of times during his game and made two points! Not only did he make his points, he fouled another player! He got aggressive! Anyone who knows my kids, especially "S", knows that he is not aggressive in anyway. He will not play football because he doesn't want to get hit. But today, while blocking another kid's shot, he didn't put his hands up correctly and really tried to block the shot. Makes his parents proud! We're now finished with basketball until after the new year. A week of no practices and games. Oh, what's a mother to do!

My Duo

I was very proud of the kiddos today! They did a wonderful job at their program! I'm putting up a couple videos, the first one being part of the solo's of "T"'s performance (saving you three minutes). He is the second soloist. I'm also putting up "K"'s dance that her and 13 other kids performed. It was a very cute routine! I didn't put up video of "S" for a couple of reasons. First reason was that he was too far away to record well since he didn't have a solo or dance routine and second because I've already put up video of his violin performance and now they've all had video time. They are now out of school for the next eleven days (Lord, help me). True to form, this morning's performance was packed, but not near as packed as this afternoon's performance. The school called me this afternoon saying that "T" was complaining of a stomachache but not running a fever. I got up there, just before his class was to sing and talked him into singing for his performance so that his music teacher didn't have to find a replacement for his solo. I figure it was a mixture of nerves and sinus's since he is now home and doing fine. We stuck around and enjoyed "S" and "K"'s second shows and I brought them home about 45 minutes early. Enjoy the videos!

Busy Day

The crew has a busy day today. Today is their last day of school for this year. They are having their Christmas party and exchanging gifts as well as eating all of the cookies, candy, cupcakes, chips, dip, and who knows what else they can get their hands on (according to "K").

They are also performing their Christmas music program today as well. Since they were dressed for the occasion, I took a quick picture before rushing them out the door for school. "K" will be receiving a red vest at school for her performance, as she is a "candy cane dancer" and the teacher is supplying the vest. I'm excited to see them perform today, because "T" has a solo and "K" is dancing. They are having two shows today, one this morning and one this afternoon to ease crowding of previous years and let me tell ya crowding is an understatement. The crew's school is one of three new schools in this county that was completed 3 or 4 years ago. They assumed that because it was an elementary school that the need for decent gym seating was not necessary. WRONG. For basketball games, you have a choice of three levels of bleachers to sit on. Granted they run the length of the gym, but considering the size of parents and add to those parents any siblings and grandparents and that leaves absolutely no room to move. They totally underestimated the number of parents that would come to support their children during performances. For last year's Christmas program, they brought out the bleachers to their full capacity, set up chairs in front of those bleachers and still had people standing on the sides. I was one of those people standing. I had just finished eating lunch with "S" and didn't get the opportunity to go to the gym early for a seat like I usually do. It was after the 2nd grade performed that I got the chance to sit down, after some of the parents of the younger children left to return to work. The kids in the school watches the entire program the day before (yesterday) so they are not in the gym for the parents show unless they're singing. Otherwise, parents wouldn't be able to fit in anywhere. They're hoping that having two shows will ease the problem, and I'm attending this morning show so we'll see how it goes.

This and That

This is what I awoke to this morning. Frost had covered everything within sight. We had a chance for snow this past weekend and unfortunately all we had was enough flurries to collect in the corner of my french doors for me to see it. Not even enough to call a dusting. This morning's frost looked more snowy than the snow did.

I love getting up and finding frost like this, simply because the kids are amazed by it. They get out in the yard and drag their feet through it, melting it so that they leave tracks behind them. They talk about how it looks like snow and how they want to play in it. "T" left tracks down the driveway as he took a shortcut through the yard to the bus.

I had errands to run this morning. I had to run Hubby to his truck on the north end of town so that he could get to sleep before his co-driver got to the truck to leave. I failed to notice how beautiful the frost was at that point. I guess I was still too groggy. Then I had to run to the town east of ours. At that point, looking at the fields with new grass or hay, I finally noticed how beautiful the frost was with the sun shining across it, sparkling like diamonds. On my way home I got to enjoy the rich color of that same grass, as the sun melted the frost and it added color to the bland winter surroundings. I enjoyed it so much that I actually missed my turn to come home and had almost made it to the next community before I realized it.

I also found myself disappointed this morning. The holidays always remind me that people can really show their rudeness during this time of year. This morning was no different. I found myself following a tractor this morning. Odd for December, but he was hauling a device that looked like it was filled with grain. That "trailer" he was hauling was so wide, that it covered 3/4 of the street when he was completely on it and had enormous floater tires on it. So I patiently followed, waiting to see where he went and hoping he turned off soon, because eventually I was going to tire of driving 10 miles an hour. At one point, we came up to up a bridge that he was going to have to almost block in order to get across. Up until he got to the bridge, he had been weaving in and out, avoiding mail boxes, so that the traffic could get past him. As he got to the bridge, there was no traffic there, but a couple of cars coming towards him with enough time to stop and wait for him to cross the bridge safely before coming across themselves. That would've made to much sense. After he had already made it onto the bridge, the first car made it to the bridge. Instead of stopping, she proceeded to slowly drive across. The gentleman driving the tractor had to completely stop in order to let the car pass to minimize the risk of sideswiping the car. Seeing the closeness of the car to the tractor was also not enough to stop a second car from pulling the same stunt. I guess she assumed that if the first car can make it, so can she. A little of patience could've saved everyone a little less worry.

This is the kids last week of school before the holidays. Their parties are on Thursday and they have Friday off. I wish I could say that this week will be an easy one, but it won't be. "K" and "S" both have ball practice tonight, and all 3 children have practice tomorrow. Thursday is the Christmas music program at the school, so I will be attending that as well. Friday has "T" with practice again. Another busy week before the quiet non-practice time starts with the holiday vacation. I hope your week isn't as busy as mine.

Glowing Christmas

I've mentioned in other posts that Hubby hails from southern Mississippi. His grandparents and a few aunts, uncles, cousins still live there. A couple of Christmas's ago, we had decided to make the 500 mile trip to spend Christmas with them. This would be the first Christmas we had spent down there in 5 years. It would be "T"'s first Christmas there, and Hubby's granddad's last Christmas with us.

To be prepared for the trip, I had wrapped all of the gifts from Santa and they were hidden in my room. The kids each had a gift from their daddy and me that we gave them before we left. I had taken the time to wrap them late because we had gotten them Gameboy Advances to play on the trip and I made sure they were charged and ready. Getting ready to leave that night (so the kids would sleep some on the way down), we loaded the kids in the car and Hubby and I brought out all of Santa's gifts and placed them under the tree. We didn't have the space in the car to take all of the gifts with us, not to mention bring those back plus the gifts they received from family, so we took a couple of gifts from Santa along and a few things for their stockings. We told the kids on Christmas morning that Santa had let us know that they had gifts under our tree here, waiting on them when they got back. One of those gifts under the tree that year was a glow-in-the-dark Doodle Bear for "K".

"K" had been talking about Doodle Bears since they had came out earlier that year. I hadn't realized the one that I picked up was glow-in-the-dark until we got ready to leave that night. Hubby turned out all the lights and this one package "glowed" under the tree. We turned the lights back on for me to discover which gift it was and for me to determine what was actually in it. That's when we realized the bear glowed. We laughed at how it was strong enough to glow through the wrapping paper, locked the doors behind us and started the 8 hour trip.

Now to today. "K" decided earlier in the year that she was too big for a night light now and slept better in total darkness. She has a light in there, but only for when friends sleep over. I put her to bed last night, turned on her fan, turned out her light, gave her kisses and went to leave the room and stopped. I spent a moment focusing on a light that shouldn't have been in there. That darn bear was glowing on the foot of her bed and realized that I never noticed it being there before I turned out the lights. Apparently the bear is still going strong, despite repeated washings. I left it there and said goodnight to "K".

My Little-Big Violinist

Please excuse the quality of this video as it was taken with a still camera and not a video camera. You may also hear "T" whispering beside me because he wanted to take a picture and you will definitely see his hand since he decided he had to put it up in front of my lens. All in all, I'm very proud of "S", he did a wonderful job! He is the head to the right of the conductor.

Science Fair Hoopla Meets Office Products

Today was the kids school first annual science fair and my oldest two had to participate. As in required to participate. Yes, I realize how lucky I am for this to be the first annual and if I'm really lucky it will be the only science fair we endure (unfortunately, the raving that went on at the awards ceremony hints at another fair next year). I hated science fairs growing up, because I never knew what kind of experiment to perform, which always lead to a mediocre experiment. Hubby was no help in the matter. He took the 0 grade rather than participate. Ummm, not going there.

I fought with "K" last week to work on her project. She opted to run outside and play with the neighbor instead. "S" worked on his, so most of his physical work was finished. He just needed to work on the display board. Last night I was helping "K" with her board by putting two-sided tape on the back of her work and giving it to her to place on construction paper when she realized she had never seen this tape before. She studied it, touched it and asked about it. She was amazed by it (really should've use it as a science experiment). She informed me that it was cool! I've already instilled the importance (and coolness) of office products into at least one of my children!

This afternoon was the awards ceremony, which neither kid placed, but were told about the BIG science fair at the local college. Daughter could care less but "S" really wants to go. I'm hoping he forgets about it before it actually arrives.

Only Us

I am a sucker for sappy, love stories. Ever After, Sleepless in Seattle, The Lake House are all a part of my DVD collection. A couple of weeks ago, Hubby and I were shopping at Circuit City and found You've Got Mail for $7. I bought it, seeing how you can't turn down a sappy love story at just $7. Since basketball season and the holidays are here, I haven't had a spare moment to even remove the plastic cover on the box, much less actually watch the movie, so it has sat on my desk. Until yesterday. Hubby picked it up yesterday and put it in the player for us to watch. Actually he watched, I listened as I helped two kids with science fair projects but that's a whole other blog. I love the dialog of this movie, the way they use their words just so to explain what they feel and are thinking. I only wish I could be that articulate. We reached the point of Tom Hanks saying he would give Meg Ryan a "bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils" in the fall, because to him fall and freshly sharpened pencils go together. So I asked Hubby "Would you give me a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils in the fall?" He looked at me.

"I would give you a bouquet of mechanical pencils."

"Would they be the cool ones with skulls on them and stuff like that?"

"Yeah."

"Ok."

I guess romance is unique for all.

Warmest Spot in the House

Found this when I went to put the next load of clothes in the dryer.

Keeping the Tooth Fairy in Business

He informed me this week, it had to come out, that it was bothering him. Then asked to call Uncle and Pepaw to come pull it. Dad came home this morning and out it came.

11 Years Ago Today

I can remember how nervous I was. Mostly because I hated being in front of a crowd. There wasn't that many guests but it was still too many. Daddy walked me down the aisle, where Hubby waited with one of his best friends and my brother, all in tuxes. My two closest friends were standing up for me in dark teal dresses. They carried a single white rose. I was excited, finally getting married, but ready for it to be over with. Three months of planning and decisions were too many. Too many dresses to choose from, too many flowers, too many cakes. We said our vows and lit the unity candle. Of course, it didn't go off completely trouble free. The person working the music forgot to start the track for us to move to light the unity candle. It finally clicked and the ceremony continued, but not without a laugh. The ceremony and reception were short. We cut the cake, threw the garter and bouquet, and went for pictures. So many pictures, my face was sore after we were finished. Many believed we wouldn't survive the first year together. Three kids and a few trials later, we made it to our eleventh anniversary and I wouldn't change a thing. Happy Anniversary, Baby! I love you!

Halfway There

Since becoming unemployed and sending the kids back to school, I've had this amazing free time on my hands. Free outside of grocery shopping, house cleaning, dishes, laundry, you get the picture. But I have been doing some crocheting. A few years ago, Mom had crocheted a blanket and somewhere down the line, it ended up with me. Unfortunately for the blanket, I washed it. One of the knots came out, in the middle of the blanket of course, and the only way to fix it would be to rework the entire blanket. It would be impossible for me to match her stitches and she wasn't sure she could even get it worked the same way. So over the last few weeks I have been unraveling this blanket and creating yarn balls, much to the amusement of the kitty. I decided to change the pattern of the blanket as well. Instead of making it alternating stripes, I decided to make it into alternating blocks. I've reached the halfway point tonight, as I finished my last block in the solid color.

Please excuse the fact that I had to cut off part of the photo in order to get the full effect. I have come to the conclusion, that my wonderful camera (which I love whole-heartedly, even though I would like a new, expensive, camera with exchangeable lenses and fancy buttons..ahem..) needs a new memory card. The one in it is two years old and a lot of the photos I have been taking, as of late, has left me with a nice, undeveloped look like you would find if a printed picture didn't come out. I am not happy.

You Know Those Days..

When all you want to do is climb back into bed, regardless of reason? Today was so one of those days. I didn't get to bed last night until after midnight. Then my dog, Sophie, spent a big part of the night being unhappy in her bed. So she kept me up. Until after 1:30. Then woke me at 3. And at 5. Of course, going right back to sleep wasn't an option so I didn't get a whole lot of sleep before the alarm went off at 6. I got the kids up, put them on the bus, showered, and drove DH to his truck so that he could leave today for his weekly run. I came home, checked my email and laid down on the couch about 8:30. Finally I slept. I slept for over 3 hours! Almost four actually, so can you imagine what it's going to be like tonight when I try to go to bed? Yeah, uh-huh, that's what I thought too, another sleepless night.

A little bit ago, I decided that I was going to run some rope lights up along the side of the driveway. These are the same rope lights that we usually hang on our house, but since I had to throw out the icicle lights we hang up there too, I figured why bother going through the trouble of hanging the rope lights this year. Then I walked outside, looked at the length of the driveway and the length of the house and came back in. There is not going to be near enough lights to do what I wanted so I didn't even start.

I put on a coat that I had forgotten DH had wore this weekend. A coat that I had just washed last week because it was ready for a wash. A coat that is his, so it shouldn't have surprised me that he had worn it (especially since I saw him in it), but I went to zip it up, and happened to take a deep breath. I could smell him. To make sure I wasn't losing my mind, I lifted the collar and breathed in deep. Yep, it's his cologne all over it. It makes me realize how much I miss him already and that the short 26 hours he was home was no where near long enough. Then I hurt more because our anniversary is Friday and he's going to miss it. Again. I know that supporting our family is much more important than a day on a calendar but it would've been nice for the year that it fell on a Friday, that he could've been home for us to enjoy a night out together, since those nights are few and far between.

Now I hear the call of the laundry on the couch, waiting to be folded and put away, the floors that need to be mopped and those that need to be vacuumed, and the rush of my hormones raging. It's best that he's going to be away.

Milestones

My youngest two have been busy reaching milestones today. "K" played her very first basketball game today. Not only did she play, but she got the ball a couple of times and even got to shoot!! She didn't hit the shot, but that's irrelevant. If you've ever gotten to play any bit of little league basketball, it's all about getting the opportunity to shoot. Usually there are a couple of better players on the teams that make up most of the points, so shooting is a huge deal!


"T" is not with us tonight. He went to his first real birthday party this afternoon and is at his first sleepover. Now, I'm in no way saying that he hasn't been invited to any birthday parties. Birthday parties in this day and age seem to be around every corner and technically he did go to the party for the son of his babysitter. But this is for a friend that he talks about all the time. Both "T" and this boy call each other their best friend. This is his first time for staying the night with someone other than memaw and I haven't heard from him once! My baby is growing up!


I have been thinking about whether or not "S" met any milestones today, not that he hasn't met enough already. I can't say that I've come up with anything yet, but I'm sure in a couple of days he'll find another one! He played his second game this season, his second season of playing, and unfortunately they lost. He was pretty bummed about the whole situation.


As for me, I've decided it's time for a change myself. I think that if you've reached a milestone in your life or know someone who has, you know that once they reach one they want a change. They need a change. And it doesn't have to be a drastic change. I've reached that milestone. It was intensified by the fact that I turned 30 this year. Alright, that statement isn't entirely correct. It was the fact that my hair has been, for the most part, almost the exact same style for the last twenty years. Yes, you read that right, 20! I've always had long, straight hair with no real style. Usually it just hung down my back unless it was in a ponytail, bun or braid and it usually is just above my waistband. I cut it in high school to my shoulders to let it grow out again. I cut it again while pregnant with "K" because I needed it to be easier. I let it grow out. Again. Then I decided I didn't need bangs any more and had it cut when "T" was about 18 months to blend in with the bangs. You guessed it. I let it grow some more. I cut about 12 inches off of it in 2005. I cut another 10 inches off of it in February but it's always the same thing. I don't actually get a style, just chop it off and layer the ends a bit. When I realized last night that a 9 year old "K"'s basketball team had the same hairstyle as mine, I knew I needed a change. I informed my husband of that complaint tonight. Any recommendations??

(Please excuse the exhausted, half aware look, I was up until 1am last night and was dreading the flash on the camera...)

McWoes

All kids know that fast food tastes better than Mom's cooking. I was no exception to that rule. I hated home-cooked hamburgers (still do) but yet I would gladly forgo eating at home and "suffer" with a burger from one of the fast food joints. My brother and I would irritate my parents to go to McDonald's until we were old enough to realize that there was better food out there. At that time, we didn't have a Burger King, Dairy Queen burned their food, and we weren't big fans of Hardees so McD's it was. We were also the ones who rarely got to go out to devour fast food, some months we might have gotten to go one time. I now realize that I can pay $25 to feed my family of five one meal from BK or I can go to the grocery and buy a minimum of three days worth of food.

Now that I am a parent, my kids have been deprived of certain joys. Not of fast food, we eat more than our fair share, but of being able to go to McD's. They are growing up on Wendy's and Burger King, partly because DH worked for the local McD's and he knows the stories. Knows them and saw them first hand. It's enough to make you not want to eat at any restaurant but that's a topic for another day. The kiddos have not been completely cut off of McD's, I do take them occasionally and of course they go some for field trips. But today brought a whole new low.

I had spoken to Mom earlier today, who said she was headed for Wal-Mart for a few things. That reminded me that I really needed a few things myself and a friend had alerted me that she saw Older Son's picture in the paper for something school related. So I picked up yesterday's paper before they were restocked with today's and went to Wal-Mart. When I was leaving I called Mom and she informed me she was meeting Daddy for lunch. At McD's. And that I was welcome to join them. I declined. I turned down free fast food to come home and eat leftover Thanksgiving dressing!! Now there are a lot of restaurants that are starting to use trans-fat free oils. McD's and KFC are just a couple of those restaurants. I understand the reasons they are making these changes and I know that the food still tastes like the same greasy food cooked with the fattening oil. The problem? The new trans-free oil and I don't like each other. I suffer physically, with pain worse than I ever had when I was in labor with all three kids, whenever I eat from these restaurants that use this type of oil. So I turned down free, greasy, fattening food in order to not suffer all afternoon. So this evening, instead of enjoying my suffer-free evening from not partaking of that wonderfully greasy food, I will be listening to three kids moan that they want to have Captain D's or Pizza Hut for supper while they eat their veggies. Isn't that cool or what?

Santa's Last Christmas?

They were all too shy or frightened to sit on Santa's lap. Will this be the last year we believe in Santa?

Baby's First Christmas

He's not quite sure what to think about the big new toy in the living room.

Logic

Living in this part of Kentucky has it's advantages. We don't have a lot of snow during the winter months and here the last couple of years all we've had is light snow. It will snow overnight and will be melted by that afternoon. To top it all off, the kids didn't miss school because of it. It always fell on a weekend or holiday break. Summer months leave us with heat but usually not the unbearable humidity that the southern states have. This summer was not a good one. We had a horrible heat streak through the end of July and first of August that had us in 100+ weather. Air conditioning units seemed to never stop running and people were covering windows to keep the heat out. Halloween was mild. The kids didn't have to worry about getting cold while trick or treating. Now Thanksgiving is two days away and today's highs were in the low 70's. Perfect for a certain daughter who had lunch and play time at the park today on a field trip. Tomorrow a cold front approaches, bringing rain and a chance of storms, leaving Thanksgiving will be truly Thanksgiving with highes only in the 40's. So knowing that tidbit they call a weather forecast, I did the only thing logical.

I washed my van.

I've been telling DH that the van needed a good washing before winter set in. Unfortunately when he's home, he doesn't have time to mess with it and I haven't had the energy. Today I had the drive to get it done. But I didn't just wash the outside of the van. I did windows. I wiped down the dash, doors, and cupholders. (Children do not need their own cup holders but that's a subject for another day). I even took carpet cleaner to a few of the spots that have been there since we bought it (and a few that have been acquired over the last few months). One can only imagine what the neighbors thought as I started vacuuming at 7:30 am. About how it was washed by 9:30 am with me in my jeans, flannel shirt and crocs. I can now say that my van is almost ready for winter.

Do I or Don't I?

Every week, "T" is responsible for a "spelling brochure." Basically, it is something his teacher made up with four or five different tasks he is supposed to work on throughout the week and return on Friday. Last night "S" and "K" both had basketball practice and I forgot to tell "T" to finish his brochure. I found it this morning after he had left for school with all sections finished except one. This brought me a dilemma. Do I take the unfinished homework to school and let him turn it in with 20 points off for not being finished or do I stay home with the homework and let him take it back on Monday? I have never taken unfinished homework to school before because I usually don't find it until AFTER they come home from school. If they forget something like a lunch box and I find it, I'll drive it over there and leave it at the office so that they'll have lunch. But this was something totally different than lunch. Lunch is a mad dash to get it thrown together before the bus runs. This was homework that he's had all week long to complete and place back in his folder and didn't. Is it really fair to the other kids if I drive his homework to him because he forgot it? Should I have sucked it up and taken it to him? I chose to not take it to him, because he's had all week long to work on it. Most days he chose to do one section at a time so that he could hurry up and be done with homework to do something else. Now this isn't like a horribly hard thing to do. On one section, he writes each word twice. Another section he has to write the words in alphabetical order. Yet another section has him copying two short sentences that will be on his test on Friday and the last section is usually about writing capitalizations and abbreviations correctly. He is given a basic form of a work and he is to write it correctly, such as mon is actually supposed to be Mon. I feel like if he wants to drag this out, he could do the two longer things, abc order and write each word twice on separate days and then finish out the rest on the same day since it is short. What do you think? Did I do the right thing?

Chicken Nugget Day

Anyone from my high school will tell you the best day to eat was on Wednesdays. That was chicken nugget day. Because the school had so many students we had three lunch periods. You never wanted to be on the third period because occasionally they would run out of nuggets. If you didn't have the split lunch (interrupted classes halfway through for lunch and return to your class after lunch) then you didn't bother stopping by a locker on your way to lunch. You hightailed it, books and all, to the lunch line to get a good spot, or you would probably end up searching for a place to sit. Nugget day was that monumental. All of these memories came flooding back to me today, as I got to participate at chicken nugget day at the elementary school level.

In elementary school, we didn't have a set day for nuggets. If it showed up on the menu, then you knew they were having them. The kids are attending a different elementary school than I attended, but still in the same county. This school has a set chicken nugget day. They also have a day, starting just after the beginning of the year, that each class gets to invite someone (parent, grandparent, etc) to eat with them. It is always on nugget day, unless closer to Thanksgiving or Christmas where you get turkey. Today was my day to eat with Younger Son. Maybe it was better when I was in high school, they have changed the type of nuggets, or it was never really that good in high school, but it was definitely not as I remembered them being. But Younger Son was beside himself. Mom got to come eat with him. I can't tell you the number of hugs I got, or back pats I received from him, all because I joined him for lunch. He talked almost nonstop, so much so that I thought he wasn't going to have time to finish his lunch before his teacher showed up to get them. He did finish his lunch and offer plenty more hugs before she got there. All in all it was a good day and I have become Mom of the Day because I ate with my son.

Different Cultures

By all means, I'm not the shortest mom, but at 5'1", I'm certainly not the tallest. DH is 6'1" and had family that was over 6'6". Imagine how much I worry when I look at my Older Son who, at 10 years old, is only 4 inches shorter than I am. The boy can almost look me eye to eye. I take pride in the fact that I wear Sketchers shoes, one because they are comfortable and stylish, and two because the ones I choose add an inch to my height. That bit of information brings me to my current topic.

Sports (yeah I know, confusing but I needed a topic change). DH hails from southern Mississippi and if you know anything about the south you know they are DIE HARD football. They live and breathe football. I am from Kentucky, so everything here is basketball. People here live for basketball season which is quickly approaching. My family was not one of those families who sat around the tv because there was a game on. I just happen to be lucky enough to know that emphasis is put on basketball (which I did play some), and that round orange ball here is almost godly.

Now Older Son has made the decision he does not want to play football, because he doesn't want to get hit (logically). So he played little league basketball last year and has signed up for it this year along with Daughter. Practices started about a week ago, and coaches are starting to set up their teams by teaching them skills and setting players to positions. Now these two children, born by their 5'1" mother, are both playing the position of CENTER on their teams. Both of them. How does this logically happen?? Yes, they have a tall dad but both of them?

Now I'm not completely naive. I am smart enough to realize that all of my children are going to be taller than I am. I think at age 7, Daughter was 10 pounds heavier and 2 1/2 inches taller than I was at her age. But how did I luck out to have two centers?

On a different note, all of you should have noticed that I have elected to not mention names of my family in my blog. I did this for safety reasons of course, but I am not sure how to refer to each of them. Most of my current readers already know my kids names, or have access to something that tells you who they are. I have requested that my husband give me a good nickname to refer to him by, but unfortunately he is still sickly, and is unable to come up with a good one for me. I'm looking for ideas as to what to call the kids other than Older Son, Younger Son and Daughter, because that just gets old. I have considered making a cheat sheet off to the side that says S is Older Son, K is Daughter and T is Younger Son but I don't know. Let me know what you think!

Holiday Cooking

Almost everyone knows that the holidays brings the joys of food. Not just any kind of food. The fattening kind. I made chicken and dressing last weekend just because I was craving dressing. I finally got the birthday cake out of my refrigerator and thought it was the perfect time to make cookies. The cookies that I have been putting off because I had two birthday cakes in my fridge and there was three bowls of halloween candy in my room. Cookies that I bought the ingredients for at the beginning of last month and have been itching to bake. Those cookies. Also known as peanut blossoms.

Now I had never had peanut blossoms until I had some Hershey Kisses one year and found the recipe on the back. I decided they sounded good and had to try them. I've been hooked ever since. They are best when eaten about five minutes after they come out of the oven. That gives the cookie time to cool off but the chocolate is soft and gooey. But the recipe amuses me. The first thing it tells you to do is unwrap 48 kisses. First of all, every person is going to make the cookies at a different size, simply because there is room for error there. No one is going to see 1" balls the same way I do. And because of that I only had 41 cookies. So what would I have done with the other 7 kisses? Eat them because they were open? Feed them to the kids? I mean all of us would be eating the cookies so we really didn't need to add to the junk by downing extra kisses. Throw them away? That would be a waste of perfectly good chocolate, a huge no-no in this household.

Second, why unwrap the kisses before you do anything else? You have 8-10 minutes of wait time before you need the kisses while the cookies bake in the oven. Do they expect you to stand there and watch the cookies swell up through the door of the oven while they bake? Well I hate to break it to the recipe department at Hershey's, but my oven doesn't have a viewing window so I have other things to do. That's when I open the first round of kisses. Sixteen of them to be exact, the same amount of cookies that are baking in the oven. By the time the last of my cookies came out of the oven, I had most of the cookie dishes washed, the last of the kisses unwrapped, and the supper dishes washed that I had yet to work on. Guess I didn't have to unwrap those kisses first after all. But they were still good.

Feeling Better

I must be feeling better today. I've actually accomplished things today and yesterday. Since yesterday afternoon, I've washed over 5 loads of clothes. Washed, folded, and most of them are put away. And I've cleaned bathrooms. Only someone who is feeling better would be brave enough to clean two bathrooms after two growing boys and one grown man right? I thought so.

That being said, right now I'm running on fumes. I made the mistake of drinking caffeine at supper last night and didn't sleep a wink. So I've been up since about 10:30am yesterday. My ramblings may be a little bit unclear and choppy for that reason.

I can breathe freely today. And even though I can still feel a little bit of sinus pressure, most of my voice is back (but I won't be singing any concert's anytime soon), and forgetting about the chest rattling cough, I feel better over all. Is that possible?

Unfortunately DH called me yesterday for one of our evening conversations and told me he had it. I told him I didn't want to give it to him! (He should've listened when I told him I didn't want to kiss him because my throat hurt!) And I know he knew I felt bad, when he got up Monday morning and got the kids ready for school and put them on the bus. And when he came to the car after talking to his former professor and I was asleep. In the car. And again when we came home and I took another hour and a half nap before the kids got off the bus. Now he's driving a truck with a nasty bug and I really don't envy him. I just hope he's sleeping soundly when he can. But I warned him I didn't want to give it to him...

Candy

I have no qualms about helping deplete the kids hard earned halloween candy. After all, it was ME who had to single-handedly keep them together, keep them from running out in front of cars, and get them into their costumes correctly. And I'm not one of these moms who hide the fact they raid the kids candy and do it while they're at school. I eat it with them. So imagine my surprise when Daughter came out from the bedroom with a Jolly Rancher for my approval (making sure it's actually candy, yeah uh huh, not at all trying to limit the actual intake of candy here). I don't mean one of the small, fat rectangle pieces. I mean one of the long, flat pieces. It was half the size of the jolly ranchers that we used to buy as kids. I did what any normal parent would do. I pouted. I haven't even gotten into the bowls far enough to notice this candy. So she tells me there's another one. I perk up some while she brings me one. Sour apple. I could feel the smoothness of the candy on my tongue and I hadn't even opened it yet. It's the type of candy I gave up when I had my braces so that I didn't have to explain to my parents and orthodontist that I had a piece get stuck to a bracket and broke it trying to get it off. The kind of candy that I never really picked up again after I did get them off. So I kept it. It's two days later and I'm still working on this beautiful thing from my childhood. This is the type of candy I will now have to keep my eye out for, so that I can enjoy the memories again.

Effects of Daylight Savings

Today has been one of those odd days all the way around. The kids were out of school because of election day. Technically they called it a mandatory teacher's day but it's always held on election day. It is also the day that the weather decided to turn off cold. Winter cold. So the kids have watched movies, played nintendo, and played outside for a short time. Granted I hated the fact that electronics dominated the most of their time today, but the way my head feels, they'll get over it. It's not like the whole day was shot. Daughter has worked on her cartwheel today and Younger Son mastered climbing a tree without a boost from his sister. About 5:45, Daughter decided she was going outside.

"I'm going outside to work on my cartwheels."

My response was, "No you're not."

"No, I 'm going outside to work on them."

"No, you're not."

"Why?"

"Because it's dark outside."

"No it's not."

So she opens the door and looks out. "Told ya so."

"The sky is still blue."

"Yeah. Dark blue." That's my child.

You Know...

You know you're sick when you step out the front door into glaring sunlight and your head screams for you to run for cover in the comfortable darkness of the house.

You know you're sick when each step you take with your socked feet down the driveway is like hammers pounding your head.

You know you're sick when you can hear Dayquil crying out to you. Or Robitussin. Or Sudafed.

You know you're sick when you look at the clock and cringe because the kids will be home soon and the only thing you've accomplished is a nice nap on the couch.

I can't wait to feel better.

Reverse Psychology

Years ago I was a psych major. No really. I was. Unfortunately, I was also just out of high school with a run of the mill restaurant job, and though I was in management, it still wasn't enough to pay car insurance, two car notes, tuition and books. So I dropped out after completing 18 hours. I decided this week to put my lessons to use.

Younger Son loves spaghetti. I can cook spaghetti for supper and he will clean his plate in ten minutes. Unfortunately, Older Son and Daughter have reached a point they don't like spaghetti. So they whine. And they want the sauce separate from the noodles, or not at all if they can get away with it. So when it came time to plan my meals for the week, I figured I would try shaped noodles instead of using plain vermicelli like I usually do. This time I bought rainbow rotini. It worked! Older Son declared his love for this type of spaghetti and had four noodles left. Daughter declared her love as well and cleaned her plate. Younger Son was skeptical at first, having had the same type of noodles at Memaw's house in a pasta salad. It took a lot of convincing that they were just plain noodles with food coloring. But after trying it, he also had four noodles left and I believe he started out with more than Older Son and Daughter.

Wish I had thought of it sooner...

Holiday Spirit?

It's with sadness that I announce that Wal-Mart has outdone themselves. Again. A couple of years ago I used to work for them, in the garden center. That year, Halloween took over the aisles of that area of the store, unlike this year where it just took over a couple of aisles by the bike rack, and a group of people who were recruited for Halloween's night shift came in. They then pull down whatever is left from Halloween or summer, whatever is left out there, and Christmas is placed on the shelves as quickly as possible. All of it may not be put up, but the majority of the Christmas merchandise they have received to that point is put on display. This year was no different in that aspect. As I walked by the garden center this morning, you couldn't help but notice all of the greens, reds and golds scattered throughout. But what was different was the huge Christmas tree they put up next to the entrance. I don't recall, in previous years, seeing the blowup displays being put up until closer to Thanksgiving.

This whole thing irritates me.

I love this time of year, as far as the holidays, but I hate the hectic lives that goes with it. I hate the fact that all I have as of yet for the kids are a couple of stocking stuffers. I hate the fact that tonight is their fall festival and basketball practices start full force next week, adding to the busy activities of the season. I can't bring myself to break out my Christmas clothing or even listen to a Christmas cd because I feel like I'm taking away from the effect of being focused on what I should be thankful for Thanksgiving (even though I should be focused on that every day). But not only did I see a Christmas tree at Wal-mart today, I saw an elderly lady with a Christmas sweater on, as well as heard them playing Christmas songs.

On November 2.

It's so not right on so many levels. How are we supposed to celebrate the birth of Christ if we are fueling the commercialism of the holiday? I'm not saying it shouldn't be celebrated with Santa the way we did when we were kids, but to see Christmas decorations up in stores before Halloween even ends kind of takes away from the Christmas magic.

And to hear that Santa will be arriving to the mall, November 17th, an ad we heard on Halloween, on the way tricking or treating. Daughter was excited, as any child would be. But then I have to wonder if this is my kids last year to believe in Santa, or has it already happened but they're afraid to ask. Are they naive enough to think that just because we say Santa is real, then it's true? Or are they smart enough to hide the fact they don't believe, because they're afraid they won't get Christmas gifts as in previous years?

On a marketing level, I understand why Christmas ads and decorations are set out earlier and earlier each year. Christmas is the biggest money maker that a retail store has each year. So sure, they're going to take advantage of that fact and make us feel guilty that we only have "x" days until Christmas.

On a personal level, no amount of marketing understanding can change the fact that I feel this is just so not right. That stores are manipulating a celebration used to honor Christ, and leaving out anything that remotely resembles a religious belief because they don't want to offend those who don't celebrate Christ but celebrate Christmas. Get over it. Christians have rights as well and that includes us being able receive a Merry Christmas instead of a Happy Holiday.

Sunburn

My mom and dad have been steady doing updates on their house since they bought it a few years ago. Because the house is located in the middle of a bad S-curve, they decided to take their driveway out of the curve and move directly in front of their garage instead the angle it had. They also decided it needed to be done in concrete. Lots and lots of concrete. Thirty-eight yards of concrete. And they needed help raking the last twenty-six yards that was delivered yesterday because they couldn't do it by themselves. So me, being the unemployed person that I am, was a prime choice, along with an uncle of mine. So I went over yesterday morning to help.

The first batch was delivered at around 9:30. The second at 11 and the last at noon. Unfortunately, the chute on the truck was not long enough to reach one of the areas to be poured, so we had to rake the concrete from the next area that the truck could not reach. Around one, we finally had all of this mess leveled out, and smooth. By two, it had been "brushed" and edged and was ready for drying. I came home to have 5 minutes of quiet before the kids got off the bus.

Eventually, I finally looked in a mirror to find I have a sunburn! In November! Now I burn all summer long if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing, that's nothing new to me, but I don't think I've ever had a burn this late in the year. Then I get up this morning, my freckles are considerable darker than they were yesterday, thank you very much, and I have muscles that ache in areas that I didn't know I had used muscles. My side, back and arms ache. And people say Stay-At-Home-Moms don't work.

Sickness Logic

This weekend was a long weekend. Daughter and Older Son's birthdays are today and tomorrow respectively. So to celebrate the occasions, it was Daughter's weekend to decide where we were going to eat. It also meant a trip to the next town. Now Younger Son has been fussy all weekend long, crying at the drop of a hat over nothing, and overall just wanting to misbehave. He got up this morning complaining about a sore throat and with a cough that made me cringe. So I drugged him with Triaminic and sent him to school. Fifteen minutes after school starts, my phone rings.

"Mrs. Mom?"

"Yes."

"Younger Son's in the bathroom. He's sick."

"I'm on my way."

So I went the 5 miles or so to pick him up. The boy I put on the bus this morning was not the same boy I picked up. Before the bus he looked fine. At the school, he looked sickly. Even his lips were blue (which is usually what happens when he gets sick like this). Do they have lights in there that just magnify sickness? Walking out to the car, I asked him, "Did your belly feel bad this morning?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

"You didn't tell me that this morning." He says nothing. So driving on the way home I got to thinking about the entire weekend. "Younger Son, have you felt bad all weekend?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

Crap. That means we've all been exposed to it, who knows how long he was carrying it before it hit. And you know how when someone in the house has something you feel like you're coming down with it? I really don't feel too good. My stomach is queasy and I'm hoping that it's sympathy sickness, since I've got to take Older Son to a halloween strings concert tonight.

And why is it that when kids get sick, they want to eat everything they really don't need. Younger Son didn't really eat any breakfast this morning, understandably, and finally ate a popcicle and a couple of crackers a little bit ago. But once he realized it was lunch time, he started looking for food. He wanted bologna. I told him I really didn't think he needed bologna. So he said hot dog. Same thing. I offered him chicken noodle soup and said a quiet thank you when he turned the grease down. So he finally picked out spaghettio's. Probably not the best choice but hey, he's eating. So I go back into the kitchen and tell him he left the refrigerator door open, alarms going off in the back of my mind. Why was the door open? What did he need in the fridge for spaghettios? He proudly says, "See what I did?" Then I realize, the meat tray is open and the hot dogs are gone. He put hot dogs in his spaghettios. After I told him he didn't need hot dogs.

Glad I'm not the one who ate them.

Meltdown

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. I love the sinister ideas that go behind it, the "evil" lurking around the corner, the cool nip in the air, changing of the leaves, carving pumpkins. And then I hate it. I hate the commercialism that surrounds it. Today I bought roughly $15 of candy so that the kids can take it to school next week and hand it out to their friends at their "fall party". It is called a fall party for two reasons. First is because it's fall...duh!! Second is so that the teachers don't have to worry about costumes and faculty don't have to worry about upsetting parents that don't like Halloween. Whatever.

This afternoon, I took the kids to Wal-Mart (what was I thinking!!) to get some Halloween treat bags to put their candy in. We walked down the candy aisle and Younger Son states he's looking for Crabby Patties. They weren't where they were before. So he eyes dum dum suckers. And proceeds to ask for them. My answer....NO!! He starts to pout. So I tell him they don't eat those when I buy them. He says something about the root beer ones. I tell him no, I'm not buying the suckers so that they can eat everything except the root beer and leave those behind. So they can go back to the bowl and look in it and turn their noses up at the root beer ones and drop it on the floor for the dog to eat. No. Tears start to fall. My answer is still no. I grab him by the hand and pull him down the candy aisle, still crying, and show him Crabby Patties. He pouts and says he doesn't want them, until I start to put them back. Immediately the tears dry up and he declares them all his. Then we make it through the rest of the store without any further incidences.

I hate Halloween.

Mrs. Weasley I'm Not

I mentioned in another post that we went to Evansville a couple of weeks back and got the kids halloween costumes. Older Son had to pick out a costume that would allow him freedom to play his violin, since he has a halloween concert coming up Monday, costume required. He decision was to be Harry Potter. Again. We got his robe and wand but still need to get his glasses. Of course, Wal-Mart does do not carry just HP glasses. So off to the next town we go to Halloween Express. There we hit the jackpot. Not only did they have his glasses but they also had the tie, scarf and the kit to create a HP scar. But ya know, I am not about to pay $20 for a tie, $20 for a scarf and another $15 for a make up kit when you know all the kids want is the sticker scar. DH has plenty of ties for the boy to choose from, and I can buy a cheap make up kit from wal-mart and create a scar but the scarf was something else. I've known how to crochet but I've never knitted, don't even own knitting needles. Now I'm not saying I wouldn't like to give it a try, I would. But at this point I was a little time crunched to be learning knitting techniques to get a scarf completed by Monday evening. So off to Wal-mart I went (again) and paid $4 for gold and maroon colored yarns. I finished the actual crocheting last night, washed it, and put the fringes on it today and to my surprise, my hand HURTS. Or actually my pinky finger and ring finger ache. This is one of those times I would love to have the powers to point at a pair of knitting needles and have a scarf created from my own thoughts. Instead I have this....

We'll see what he thinks soon...

Toss the Poodle

Older Son went to his first dance last night and then stayed with his friend. This left Daughter and Younger Son to fend for themselves today. Daughter went through the house first thing this morning and opened every window. So early it was almost cold by the time she was finished. At one point during the morning, Younger Son walked by her bedroom door as she was walking through the front yard and he hollered for her.

"Daughter!! You want to play toss the poodle?"

"What's toss the poodle?"

"You toss a poodle back and forth."

I think that last bit of information was a given. Duh immediately went through my mind when I heard him say it. So later I asked him, just where did he plan on getting this poodle.

"Oh, it was a car."

Sounds like a poodle to me.

100 Things About Me

I've been thinking about working on this for a while now and figured it was time to get it done. Here's my list:

1. I never thought I'd become a HUGE Harry Potter fan.
2. I played flute and piccolo in school.
3. I still watch ER even though I feel the show has lost it's groove.
4. I got married in 1996 at 19.
5. Many people thought it would fail, we are still going strong.
6. I have never smoked or did any kind of drug.
7. I am glad that I have two boys and not two girls, one girl is a handful.
8. I hate public speaking and am actually shy in most situations (except at home).
9. I have one "little" brother who is actually 9 inches taller than me.
10. I feel, at times, that I am a horrible mother.
11. I lived in Mississippi with my husband the first year we were married.
12. I love Diet Sundrop.
13. It cannot be found in any place that my husband's family lives.
14. I go through withdrawals when we visit his family.
15. I hate tomatoes and tomato soup but I like other food products that are made from tomatoes.
16. I hated fried okra until I got pregnant with Brady.
17. I love Halloween.
18. I have no fear of black cats since I used to have one.
19. I don't have any tattoos.
20. I had 3 sets of piercings in my ears. Two have grown up.
21. I type with my fingers on the correct keys.
22. I can type over 60 words per minute.
23. I used to wear beads in my hair, just because.
24. If I was younger, I'd still do it.
25. I love candles.
26. I hate my fingernails because they are square and look like they should be on a man's hand.
27. I don't like painting my nails because it draws attention to them and the paint peels the next day anyway.
28. My first and only concert that I attended was Kenny Chesney, Lila McCann and Yankee Grey. I was 21.
29. I hate that my husband drives a truck but grateful he has a job that supports us.
30. I was offered a scholarship to UT Martin based on my ACT scores.
31. I was .25 short of the required GPA in order to accept it.
32. I had a lot of friends growing up but I didn't have a "best friend" until we got a neighbor.
33. She was the maid of honor at my wedding and she was only 16.
34. She no longer speaks to me for unknown reasons.
35. My husband and I dated a short time in high school.
36. He tried to "break" me during a marching rehearsal the first day we met.
37. He couldn't.
38. My husband is hot natured and I am usually cold natured.
39. This causes problems when he wants to turn the thermostat down and I want it up.
40. He has learned to deal with it warmer and I have learned to deal with it colder.
41. I was a psych major the first time I entered college.
42. I had to change to a business major in order to receive funding to complete my degree.
43. I graduated from jr. college and turned 30 in the same year.
44. I lose and break sunglasses often so I buy cheap $5 glasses.
45. I had many people tell me at 25 that they thought I was 16.
46. My husband gets dirty looks when we go out on dates together.
47. I find this funny. He doesn't.
48. I hate driving in citites.
49. I read the last two Harry Potter books in 3 days.
50. I love mashed potatoes and gravy. With rolls.
51. I love to read but I'm not a big fan of poetry.
52. In high school I wanted to be a lawyer.
53. I changed my mind because I hated to stand in front of people and talk.
54. I still love to argue though.
55. I'm addicted to Sudoku puzzles.
56. They usually calm me.
57. I miss marching band.
58. I miss the thrill on being on the field.
59. I have only seen an ocean one time.
60. It was too cold to go in.
61. I have never been further west than Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.
62. I think I would love to travel internationally.
63. That scares me too.
64. I did not attend my ten year high school reunion.
65. I don't know if I'd attend the next one, if there is one.
66. I love music, but I have no rhythm.
67. I seldom drink coffee, even though I love it.
68. I hate politics. I think most politicians are liars.
69. I am a packrat. I hate throwing things away.
70. Caffeine does not help keep me awake during the day but will keep me up all night.
71. I usually beat Hubby in rummy when he plays me.
72. He stopped playing with me because of this.
73. I hate listening to people who come from the north try to pronounce names of places from the south.
74. I spent 3 1/2 weeks drawing and painting my bedroom in high school. I painted it with an artist's brush.
75. My parents paneled over my painting when I moved out.
76. I still have pictures of my patterns.
77. I started crocheting a blanket when Bryce was a teeny baby. I have taken it out more times than I can count. It's still not finished.
78. I don't understand football.
79. But I do have two favorite teams I root for.
80. My husband has two different favorite teams.
81. I don't like late night television. I find it stupid.
82. I can't sleep in socks unless my feet are cold.
83. If my feet are cold, I can't go to sleep until they warm up, which usually requires socks.
84. I love the music to Phantom of the Opera but I have never been able to sit down and watch any version all the way through.
85. I hate carrying purses but I do anyway.
86. I usually mow the yard during the week while Hubby is gone so that he has more time with us when he is home.
87. I hate websites that have so many ads that they take forever to load.
88. I eat french fries with honey mustard, sweet and sour or barbeque sauce.
89. I will only eat sweet and sour chicken and veggies from chinese restaurants.
90. Hubby and I aren't allergic to any medications but Brady and Belle are both allergic to different types of antibiotics.
91. I don't sleep well when Hubby isn't home but I won't take sleeping medication to help because I want to be alert if something happens.
92. My kids are one of the best things that I have.
93. I am amazed by siblings. I have seen siblings that aren't twins by birth but look so much alike. I can't believe that my kids are completely different, as are my brother and I.
94. I grow tomatoes even though I don't like them. I grow them because Belle does.
95. I grow squash as well. Brady cried when the plants died this year because he likes squash, too.
96. Even though I need the break, I sometimes find it hard to enjoy a night to myself.
97. I love a good, hot bubble bath. With candles.
98. I love Christmas, but hate the stress the holiday creates.
99. I miss my husband terribly when he's gone.
100. I talk to him more than once, every day.

Reading Fan?

In school, you would seldom catch me without my nose in one book or another. I'd finish my class work and grab a book. I stumbled across the V.C. Andrews series when in 7th grade after an 8th grader left their book in the window in a classroom. I picked it up and started reading on it and was hooked, even though I haven't read anything of hers in quite some time (or whomever writes under her name now). I was always reading Nancy Drew, Babysitters Club, Little House on the Prarie Series and had read Gone With the Wind more times than I can count by the time I hit high school. That being said, I never picked up on the classics much and have intended to try but with the kids I really haven't had the time to get much reading done until the last couple of months. While reading a blog tonight that has become one of my favorites, I found a "game" or a list of books that you identify as follows:

Bold those you've read.
Italicize books you have started but couldn't finish.
Add an asterisk* to those you have read more than once.
Underline those on your To Be Read list.

I hate my results on this and it's reinforced the feelings that there are so many more books that I want to read, just so that I can say I know what I've missed, that I hated it or loved it.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: A Novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madam Bovary
Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
A Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveller's Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault's Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver's Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela's Ashes
The God of Small Things
A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity's Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers

Now the only reason I had the opportunity to go through this list, is that I have gotten a long overdue night off. DH is still on the road, heading for Ohio, and Mom has taken the kids tonight. No one here tonight except for me, the cat and the dogs. Maybe I can get some sleep shortly...

An Eventful Weekend

Every year, Evansville, Indiana holds a "fall festival". Basically it's this huge fair with booths, food, and of course rides that covers many blocks down town. Both of my sisters-in-law live there so this year we made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Evansville and took the kids to the festival. While on the trip, I had to have music, of course, and my radio skills can rival that of a man with the remote tv remote control. If there is not a good song playing or the station is airing their many commercials, I station search. And search. And search. I find a good country station and "Red Neck Yacht Club" is just starting, so I have to stop. Before the song gets started good, DH turns down the radio and asks the kids, "What song is this?"

"This Sucks."

Now ya know I don't think I've ever come across a song by the title of "this sucks" and in all fairness he was not trying to say the song actually sucked. They all got a lesson that if they are not sucking through a straw or something to that effect, then this sucks had best not leave the mouths of any of them. But it was still funny.

Cranky

We are planning on an overnight trip tomorrow to see DH's sisters and step-dad. I have been washing laundry part of the day and most of the evening, partly so I can be sure we have clothes to wear and the other part is so that I don't have as much to do when we get home. Basically, there is always a load of laundry to be done in this house at any given time and I do my best to try to keep up. Each night during the week, DH and I talk, until his headset gives up because the batteries have died or I'm so tired I have to go to bed. Tonight was one of those nights his headset died while I was changing clothes over from the washer to the dryer.

"Get you some sleep, dear, so you're not cranky tomorrow."

"I don't get cranky because I'm tired."

"Get you some sleep, dear, so you're not cranky tomorrow."

"I only get cranky because the kids do something stupid that ticks me off because they know better than to pull the stunts they pull."

"Good night, dear."

In all fairness, I don't get cranky when I'm tired, I get weepy so plthhhhh. Oh, and we're not leaving until at least 10am so I have plenty of time to sleep in tomorrow morning so that the laundry piles can reproduce and call my name while we're gone. It's gonna be a long weekend.

Logic of Children

My kids are allowed to buy their lunches from the school two days a week (have you seen the prices since we were in school?!?!). Usually on the night before they are going to take their lunches, I will have the kids start getting them ready after supper. Getting them ready means putting their applesauce and a spoon in the box, putting their cookies in a baggie and putting them in the box, choosing their chips and putting them in the box...you get the picture. Last night, I managed to forget this whole process. Imagine my thoughts as I laid in bed last night at 11:30 and realized that I had to get up this morning and completely prepare 3 lunches since not one of them had chose to buy today. I was not happy. This morning, I get up, throw on a pair of jeans, let the dogs out, and went to wake the kids. I found Older Son, whom I did not see before turning on the light, in the hall headed towards the bathroom. The only thing I saw when I hit that light switch was a white ghost. Technically it was his t-shirt he had picked out but still gave me a heart attack. I went through the motions...what are you wearing today...what kind of chips do you want...what kind of sandwich do you want? I head off to the kitchen to start this crap while pushing the kids to hurry up and get dressed, the bus will be here in 20 minutes. By this time, Older Son is already dressed, having had a head start and is working on finding his socks. About halfway through lunches, I've seen Daughter dressed holding her shoes, told Older Son to brush his teeth, and went to check on Younger Son and found him dressed with one shoe on. No big deal, they were doing good this morning and better than most mornings. Until Daughter decided at the same time Younger Son finished getting dressed that she had to potty. She steps in the bathroom and shuts the door, later swearing that she had no idea that he was finished and about to brush his teeth, when not 10 seconds later he goes to open that door. She screams, "I've got my pants down!!!" loud enough the neighbors can hear it. I tell Younger Son to wait a minute and let her potty and then he can brush his teeth. No big deal right?? Wrong!! After 3 or 4 minutes of waiting, they are still arguing back and forth through the door, with Older Son joining in by this point, because he wants to blow his nose. So I go to the hallway, tell the boys to back off, and step in the bathroom to find Daughter holding her shorts halfway up, complaining she still has her pants down, that she has to potty and Younger Son wouldn't leave the door alone. In other words, when she could've and should've been finished pottying, she hadn't even started and the bus would be running in less than 5 minutes. I run her to my bathroom, her complaining the entire time and me telling her that she should've been finished by then, Younger Son needed to brush his teeth and the bus would be there in a minute and she'd best hurry if she was not going to miss it. The boys got in the bathroom, she broke down into tears since I'm the horrible mother that sent her to the bathroom with a toilet that didn't hold the kids toothbrushes. She came back out, boys were out of the bathroom, I threw her hair into a ponytail as she brushed her teeth. We didn't miss the bus, thank goodness, but my blood pressure was up. I dread the teens...

Two For One - Television Ads and A Twin

I normally don't post two blogs in one day, but I'm on a roll!!

I've made my post about kids not having the cartoons today that we got to watch. I really am not a fan of today's cartoons, since all they seem to do is use bodily functions and stupidity to make kids laugh. At least some of the cartoons that we watched growing up had a touch of a moral to the story. Anyway, not too long ago, I was listening to the tv during the "family hour (7-8pm)" while Older Son was watching (Younger Son was in bed and Daughter was in the shower) when he said something about the robot on tv. I turned around to see a woman dressed as a robot advertising for Heineken. I had two problems with this. First, it was another ad that attracts the attention of children. Older Son is almost 10 and he was mesmerized by this commercial. Second, after the meltdown the FCC had about the Janet Jackson incident, they were supposed to be cracking down on what was to be aired during the time that children would be watching. I'm still waiting for them to do this, since airing a beer commercial attracted by children is certainly NOT honoring this statement.

I believe I found my twin today. We bought a "new" van about six months ago and by new I mean new to me. Not long after getting it, I start noticing people waving at me - people I don't know. A couple of months back, my dad asked if I was at a certain area around a certain time. Nope, I was at home with the kids. He said he could've swore it was me. So this morning I had to run to Wal-Mart to get the kids some chips for their lunches as they took the last two bags this morning and I followed a van identical to mine to a parking spot. It was identical down to the color (except for it was a touring van) and this little mark - a mark that said stow-n-go (or something to that effect). I so want one of those marks on my van!! I would love to have stow and go seating but mine is before they thought of the idea. The lady driving had her hair pulled up into a ponytail, about the same length and color as mine and I figure she had to be roughly my height as she was sitting about as high in her van as I sit in mine. Now I know why I keep getting waves from people I don't know, just glad to be able to confirm it!

Things of the Past

Most of us have memories of the things we used to play with when we were children. My brother and I had an old cardboard tube, carpet had been on it, at my grandparents house that we would drag out every time we were there. This thing was made of real thick cardboard, so thick that he and I could sit it across the arms of two chairs and sit on it. It could hold us both at the same time at least until we were almost 10 anyway. We could roll marbles and cars down this thing, hang upside down on it and it would amuse us for hours. There were also plastic canvas "masterpieces" that Mom (and I found out recently Dad) had made for Bryan and me. One was a pencil holder, another was a van shaped bank. I borrowed (stole - I've had it the last few years) a book that had crochet stitches that Mom had bought years ago (so long ago the pages are yellowing) to find that it contained all of the masterpieces in it. Not only did it have the bank, a doll, a bear but it also had another book in it that had different magnet patterns. One afternoon, I came home from errands, Mom was babysitting here, and Younger Son had found the book. And he HAD to have one of those banks. I completed it a couple of days ago but of course Older Son and Daughter have to have one too. This means long strands of yarn over and over again. Then you have to keep in mind that I have a five month old kitten that absolutely loves string. And yarn. So much so that after I clipped a piece he grabbed it between his teeth and took off with it, needle still attached. I recovered the yarn, gave him a different one (his third now) and realize that I would finish faster without having to stop the cat from taking my string. But it wouldn't be as interesting if I wasn't competing to keep it and regardless of how long it takes me to complete them, the kids will still have the memories of the interesting things they had that no one else did.

Depriving Our Children

Sitting with the kids this afternoon found me watching the slow shows that are offered on PBS. Daughter mentions how most cartoons are all for adults. She means the ones that I refuse to let them watch. Bart Simpson, The Family Guy, King of the Hill, etc. So I told her, she would've loved being a kid on Saturday morning when I was growing up. We used to watch The Gummy Bears, Fraggle Rock, Smurfs, Loony Tunes, Muppet Babies and those were just the ones I could think of off the top of my head. Now on Saturday mornings they have the pleasure of watching news shows first thing in the morning (Weekend Today) before moving on to some "educational" cartoons and then to shows like The Suite Life of Zach and Cody. There have been so many "people" saying children don't need to waste their time watching cartoons and such. When you really think about it, we watched them growing up and chances are those same "people" that don't think our children should have that pleasure probably also watched them. I think we all turned out ok and I hate that my children don't have the pleasure of getting up on Saturday, fixing themselves a bowl of cereal or a pop-tart before sitting down in front of the tv to watch the gummy bears or smurfs teach them about being a good person. Granted, kids probably do watch entirely too much tv and mine are no different (working on that), but they also do a lot of homework during the week, more so than we did. Why shouldn't they have the same type of cartoons and Saturday mornings that we used to have?

Am I Speaking a Foreign Language?

Just trying to verify that this is really the English language that I am using here. Anyone who is around kids enough learn that there are times that no matter what you say, they act like you are speaking a completely different language. Tonight is one of those nights. "Take a shower" actually means "sit on your butt and don't stop what you're doing". "Time to come in" means to "stay outside and keep playing". "Turn off the gameboy and go to bed" means to "finish playing the level you're playing or wait until mom totally flips out". "Go to bed" also means to "take your time brushing your teeth, go potty, get a drink as slowly as you possibly can, and then come lay down in the floor so you can play with the dog until mom flips again". So please, if this is not the English language, someone please let me know so that I can learn how to speak their language.

Out of Routine

Today, Older Son had to take his "mad scientist" experiment to school so that he could perform it for the class. Since this required him to take a foam board to school, I drove them to school this morning and picked them up this afternoon. Now, the best I can remember when we were kids, if mom or dad was to pick us up, when the bell rang, we made a mad dash to the front of the school to search the cars for our car. Not anymore. Now, because of the school shootings and especially since the VT shootings at the beginning of the year, the kids school has beefed up security. Now, I'm no way saying this is a bad thing. On the contrary, I believe it is a hassle but warranted. I drop the kids off at school on occasion so I am familiar with this routine. I can either park my car and walk them in, which requires me to sign in at the door, or I can drop them off in the "car loop" which is basically a pull up, open the door and throw them at the school type situation. I chose to throw them at the school this morning, as Older Son was perfectly capable of carrying his board, I just didn't want it destroyed on the bus for 30 minutes. This afternoon, I left for the school early, just to be sure to be there on time. I got to the school at 2:17 and was still at least 20 cars back from the front of the line to pick up my kids. Eighteen minutes later, I spy Younger Son's teacher making a break for the parking lot. She was the first facutly member to head for the parking lot, and the buses haven't even left the school yet!! Exactly 20 minutes after pulling up to my parking spot, the buses leave and the cars start to move in the line so that I can pick up my kiddos. I waited twenty minutes so that Older Son didn't have to carry a big piece of foam on the bus. We make the trip home in no time, but had they rode the bus home, they would've been home sooner since I met the bus six houses past mine. The joys of school in today's age...

Stating the Obvious

Daughter came home from school today and sat down right away to read her story. At the end of the stories are usually five or six questions they have to verbally answer to ensure they actually paid attention to the story while they were reading it. She read the questions and answered them.

"Describe Mr. So and So. (I didn't actually catch his name..) He's a wise, old man.

"How do you know this? Ummmm..."

"Because the story said so," I whispered loudly from across the room.

"Moooommmm! You can't answer with that!!"

Well it was the obvious answer, wasn't it?

A Helper or a Hinderer?

I couldn't decide.

Is It Possible?

We got the night off last night...a night long over due. It's been so long since we had a date night, that I honestly cannot remember the last time we did something, just the two of us. So of course, we had a hard time deciding where to go with our precious night.

"We can go to the bookstore..."

"Without the kids?? You mean, I don't have to go sit in the kiddie section and read the kiddie books?? Is that LEGAL???"

We got to enjoy a quiet dinner, with any "but I don't want to go there". I got to sit on a bench in the bookstore and read all the People magazine I wanted. We even went to Petsmart and petted a couple of kitties (they didn't ask to be there...they need attention, too). We went out for ice cream (shhhhhhh...)...and even stopped to bowl a couple of games before coming home to call it a night. No arguing, no crying, no fussing, just us. Gonna have to do that again soon...

Love you, baby...

Who Needs Teeth

Youngest Son has lost his two top front teeth and two bottom front teeth which leaves him with nothing to bite off food and with a nice little lisp when he talks. He decided this morning that an apple was a good thing to have.

"Peel it but don't cut it."

"How do you expect to bite the apple without teeth?"

Biting motion made...then he thought about it. He ran for a plate.

"Cut it like a watermelon please."

That's what I thought...

Ladybird Tagged Me!

The rules are: once you have been tagged you can't be re-tagged. You have to write a blog with 10 weird, random things, facts, or habits about yourself. At the end of the blog, you chose 10 people to be tagged and list names. Don't forget to leave a comment on the 10 people's page that says, "you are tagged", and to read your latest blog.
10. I don't like my feet so much that I very, very rarely wear open toed shoes.

9. I don't drink alcoholic beverages. I've had two sips in my entire lifetime.

8. I hate dusting furniture. It's just going to come back in a couple of days anyway so why bother?

7. Turning 30 did not bother me as much as I thought it was going to.

6. The kids birthdays are odd. Older Son's birthday is Oct 30. Daughter's birthday is Oct 29. They are actually 364 days apart because they like one day being exactly one year apart. Younger Son's birthday is Sept 17, exactly 6 weeks before Daughter's so for those six weeks my kids seem to be a year apart. This year it will be 7, 8 and 9. Then I will have twins for a day when Daughter turns 9. There is no way I could've planned that (but I would've done it again because it's just cool!!).

5. I love fall, not only for the cooler weather and the changing leaves but also for the fall t.v. lineup.

4. I think finding these 10 things have taken me longer than any paper I wrote in high school or college.

3. I believe one day, someone will come up with laundry that washes itself (or that doesn't need washing) and I will be their biggest supporter (if during my lifetime).

2. I named my cat Zeus at 6 weeks old because we didn't think he'd make it through the night at 2 1/2 weeks. I also named him Zeus because Hercules was too long.

1. I am still trying to master the art of patience...I am failing miserably.
I am tagging DH and anyone else who finds the time or the interest to try this...it's not as easy as it looks.