Take a guess....

Can you guess the cup size????



Now, before I give you the answer,.... I do have a gripe. While shopping today, I was wandering around in the unmentionables,... thought how nice it would be to find a cute bra/panty set,... something girlie ya know? I found several cute things, however not in my size. I find this very annoying. I'll just say that I'm a 36A and I guess this is very uncommon or something. I found lots of 34A's,.... why not 36's??? I don't understand it at all. So, I came home skunked in that area. I guess I should resort to online shopping?? LOL Oh well. Better luck next time right???

I suppose I'll give you the answer now....... :o)









How cute is this??? :o) My Mom sent me this in an email sometime ago, and I thought all the mom's would appreciate it :o)

Good Grief

Last night we had quite the thunderstorm! It came blowing through at over 45mph, bringing heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Oh, and lets not forget the hail! It really was something that's for sure!

The power had flickered a few times, shut off a couple times to come back on again a second or so later. Finally it was calm and quiet.

The kids were already in bed, we were vegging out watching some tv, and went to bed around 11pm.

This morning, DH wakes me, saying how we forgot to reset the clocks, so the alarm obviously wasn't going to go off. I looked at my watch, it was already 6:30! Crap. I need to help him out of the house and get the kids up and going too. Gathered up his lunch and what not, and then woke the kids and got their cereal ready.

DH came out to get his stuff and go, and I saw the time. It wasn't 6:30, it was 5:30!!! OMG!!!! These poor kids. They'll be dead tired tonight huh? LOL I felt like an idiot. What I get for looking at the time before I was totally awake LOL I hate when that happens!!!

At least they're nearly ready for school, they will probably have a good 1/2 hr to just sit and watch some tv before leaving LOL Oh well. Gotta find the bright side in there somewhere right????

Squirrels.....

Does anyone know much about the critters??? I've been dinking around online looking for some sort of information, but nothing yet.

My questions are:


Do they mate for life??
Do they carry their young around like cats do kittens?

Why am I asking??? You're probably thinking a kids school report?? Nah. This morning, I'm driving up our street, I'm right at our yard, and I see something out of the corner of my eye.... it looked like a deformed squirrel.

Pulled into the drive and had to go investigate. I'm like that when it comes to nature and odd things like this. What was wrong with this squirrel?? Did it have 2 heads???? I saw it head across the street, and it was carrying another squirrel in it's mouth. It seemed too big to be a baby, but maybe I'm wrong??? I wondered, if it was a mate, and something happened to it, would it carry it away???? I wished I had had my camera to snap a couple of pictures, because it was really odd.

Okay, back to my squirrel search!!

***I have found a couple of interesting facts,.... the first being of a more serious note,.... I'm still not sure what/why that squirrel would be carrying another in it's mouth, so more updates are sure to come!***

A female squirrel will choose the strongest male during mating season, but is unlikely to breed with that male again. This is natures way of reducing inbreeding, and to preserve the species.

The squirrel's erratic path while crossing a street is an attempt to confuse the oncoming vehicle... thereby causing it to change direction. This is obliviously the squirrels biggest, and often last mistake.

A day late but.......

Where did the day go?????

That was the title of the post I attempted to post like 3xs yesterday. I swear Blogger sure can suck ass.

Anyhow, yesterday, ALL the kids were in school. Geoffery had been home Monday, as his teachers had meetings or something like that. So, I was home ALONE!! Ahhhh.... a quiet house.

Now, yesterdays initial post was rather amusing if I might say so myself,... sorry that it got lost in the Blogger shuffle. I will try and recap, but not so sure it will be as interesting or funny.

I had to return to Headstart at 9 for a meeting. To find out how Geoffery was doing and what all. He is doing great, he's at his age level and will be more than ready for Kindergarten this Fall. Yay!!! Sigh. My baby is growing up.

Once back home, (I had already read my favorite blogs, and under the power of suggestion from Ms Mac) I stripped my bed and got the sheets and all into the washer. Had a bit of a chat with the hubby, then determined I was, to put the entertainment unit together for our oldest son. The one he had was literally falling apart,.... so, I headed into his room. Sigh. It wasn't exactly clean. I looked at the old unit cluttered with junk. Bleh. I found his "20 Questions" toy, and thought I would try to trick it. It's a really cool toy,... you think of something, be it a book, coffee mug, lamp, whatever, and then it will ask you 20 questions (duh!) So, I thought first of a book,.... too easy,... then a lamp... easy again.... so fine,... this time I'm trying harder!! I thought of a rainbow. Wouldn't you know it, that stupid toy got it right????? tossed it aside and dug into the cleaning up and assembling.

I was moving along great,.... following the instructions, one piece at a time so to be sure and get it all done properly and efficiently. "Insert this here, put that there.... connect A to D...." Yup moving along fine. Then I was looking at it, and was trying to figure out why it didn't look like the diagram on the paper. So, it ended up being "remove A from D and figure out where E went and where the Hell do I put D??" Yup yup, I was becoming frustrated. I think I started this thing around noon or so,.... thinking I would be done by 1 to watch Days of Our Lives.... ha! It was around 2 when I finished. Sigh. At least it's done right???? It looks so much nicer too. The shelves are big enough that he can put 2 game systems on one shelf!! I like that a lot too. Much more organized and if he keeps it clean (yeah right!) it will really look like a small livingroom for him :o) I think that's pretty nice for a 13yr old kid. Impressed yet again with my knowledge of handling a drill and piecing things together without throwing anything or swearing too much, I stood back and admired my work.

I cleaned up the tools and mess, and had enough time to snarf down a sandwich and another short chat with the hubby :o) Then it was time to get the kids from school. Where did the day go???? What happened to my quiet time??? I totally missed out. That period of the day where you can just sit and enjoy the quiet. Then the kids are home, someone's always hollering about something, or whining at each other for something, it's trying to get dinner started and running someone to scouts,..... phew..... I was sure looking forward to 8pm bedtime for the kids by the time hubby was home and we'd eaten dinner. Just need that bit of quiet to unwind ya know???

Today has been much better,... I got the last of the laundry washed, some of it put away,.... goofed around online,..... chat with the hubby.... pretty relaxing. That's good too, as tomorrow is grocery day!!! Yay me!!!!

Lets hope Blogger lets this one through, or I will possibly scream.

Back to School...

The kids returned to school yesterday, minus Geoffery. He will return today. I dread it terribly. He SOO loves to just be home with all of his stuff and his mommy. Should be fun. NOT.

Had a decent Spring Break, although the weather was crap for most the time. Figures. Then this week its going to be super nice! Yesterday it was in the 70's. Just a beautiful day.

DH got all weird on me Sunday and we spent the morning shaving his head. He is totally bald..... and I helped? :o) LOL He just had to do it just once. I don't much like it, but I'm slowly getting used to it. 'Cept for times when I glance down the hall and see this flash of white go by,.... startled me one time last night. Poor head does need a good tan :o) I'm not sure if it's going to stay this way for long or not.

So, back to school, back to working on cleaning up the house and what not. I did get the laundry all caught up yesterday, but I still have mounds of it to put away. Since it's getting warmer, I am wondering if I should pull the cold weather stuff out of the drawers now, or give it a bit longer..... hmm..... never can tell with our weather.

Good Friday

Good Morning! I don't know what is up with Blogger, but my option to change the font color has poofed, and I can't get it back. Hmm.... so boring black for now.

Had a fairly busy day yesterday, running around getting groceries and Easter goodies for the kiddos. I always think back to Easter as a kid. My Mom was an awesome Easter Basket builder. She would find the neatest candies, or small toy type things to put in our baskets. It was always exciting to search for the basket Easter morning.

One morning, I was around 13. My brother is 7 yrs younger. He and I were searching through the house for our baskets. He found his, and I finally "gave up". My mind was turning,.... "Maybe Mom thinks I'm too old now???" I felt hurt, sad, and frustrated. I knew better than that! I knew Mom wouldn't do that to me. I would half look while I was busy getting ready for church. Mom and Dad finally got up, and Mom ooo'd and awww'd at my brothers basket of goodies (the Easter Bunny brought it of course!) and she turned to me and said "Where is yours at???" I don't know if it showed on my face or not, but I could feel my insides just LIGHT UP!! Full of excitement. Easter Bunny DID bring me one!!!!! Eventually I found it, I believe it was in the clothes hamper or in the shower, I don't recall which. But that is one of my most memorable Easters :o)

My Mother In Law kept the kids for me yesterday so I could not only get the groceries we needed, but the Easter stuff as well. I got home, unloaded the groceries and started putting baskets together. Something a lot of candy companies are doing now is putting a bag together with odds n ends in toys, with a few bags of candy. You just dump it into the basket of your choice. I really like that, it enables you to add more without tearing through the pre done basket.

I always try to recreate the Easters like I had with my kids. Do the Easter Basket hiding thing, later the Egg Hunt,.... as a kid we didn't go to church all the time, but when we did, it was the Finnish/Lutheran church in Berkeley. Half the sermon would be in Finnish, the other in English. My Grandma went to this church, so my Dad did as well.... all of us kids were baptized there. It was a small quaint church, no fuss no frills. My cousins and I would tease each other, giggle non stop to the point that Aunts and Uncles would glare (even during the Finnish part, which seemed only the old people understood anyhow) or they would put themselves between us. Once the sermons were done, we would all eat a big lunch. I remember most the women would be in the kitchen cooking up a storm. By the time the sermon was over, the back table would be covered in food. Those were some wonderful Easters.

The kids will attend church with my inlaws, they attend most every Sunday. It's not Finnish/Lutheran, so thankfully they can understand the whole sermon! They'll probably have a big lunch with their Grams and Pa, and come home for an Egg Hunt if the weather permits. It will be a very nice relaxing weekend!! I hope yours is the same!!! Happy Easter!!!

Kitten Update!

Our newest babies are 23 days old now,.... they're a lot more alert to the activity around the house and will even look up at you when you talk to them, with eyes big and full of curiosity. I took a few pictures of them this evening and wanted to share!!

They are all looking adventurous as their mommy leaves the box, they look like the might want to follow....... but do they dare????

Close up of the Skipper Look-a-Like..... too cute for words!!

And this is daddy Skipper playing fetch with Geoffery and I. We had him panting after awhile. Eventually I threw the ball to the kitchen and he just ran in there, flopped down and that was it. He'd had enough :o)
Okay, leaving you now with all this cute fluff n stuff!!!
Have a great evening!!

Is this my house?? Are these my kids??

Well, the Spring Break tradition has not changed. I can't think of a Spring Break where the weather was just perfect. We get rain and clouds and cold. I guess I can't complain, the kids DID get to play outside for awhile on Monday. Yesterday we weren't home long enough for them to consider being outside. Besides, it had rained most the morning. Last night brought more rain, and tornado threats,.... we were over at DH's aunts house ready to run for the shelter if anything looked severe. Thankfully nothing terrible brewed close to us.

Today, the ground is wet/muddy so NO going out today. However, the kids are being really REALLY good!! It makes me question, "are these my kids??" "am I in the right house???" I am just very happy that they're being so good together. Don't get me wrong, they're typical siblings, they fuss at each other over silly things. Geoffery, he's the boss of the house, orders them around. He was in Brian's room earlier, on Brian's computer. He ordered Brian "Out of my room!!" They ARE still kids after all :o) I did get a kick out of that though. I have to keep reminding myself that they're growing up. They're kinda growing out of that whiny bratty stage maybe??

We got up this morning. (I even got to crawl back into bed and woke just before 9am!! Wow!! I didn't know how to act.) After getting 3 of the kids some cereal, I vegged a bit with blogging, then set out to fold up and put away laundry. I barked orders to get chores done since the oldest was up. No one fussed,.... oldest did make a face,... "What??!! What??!!" I asked. "I just don't want to do chores" "yeah, well, chores don't go away just because it's Spring Break" I can't count how many times I have said that this week. That thankfully was the end of that. They all got in and did what few things I asked of them, and the 3 youngest took their turn on the computer, had lunches, youngest took his sorta nap.... more like a 2hr quiet rest in bed as he didn't ever sleep. He got up, they all got some chocolates and have been playing away, with the occassional break to pop into the livingroom/kitchen to see what I am up to.

I've gotten plenty done around the house while they played nicely with each other. I even thought to dust the ceiling fan!! Ick!! I'm sure glad I did. I knew it needed it, but dang,.... it was BAD!! Told DH that the cat was asleep on the floor under the fan,... when she gets up there will probably be a cat outline from the dust. I'm quite sure there was,.... and if it had been terribly noticeable, I'd of taken a picture to share with you all.

It's just about time for DH to be on his way home from work, and I've already got dinner cooking. Might watch a movie with the kids tonight. Whatever we do, it will be a quiet relaxing night I figure. Looking forward to the 3 day weekend with the hubby that's for sure!!

Dreaded grocery day tomorrow. Fun fun.

Phew!

Talk about a long ass day. With the Dr's apt at 10am I needed to try and leave by 9am to be there on time. We got out of the house at like 9:05. Not too bad. Took the girls to their Grams, but it seemed they had overslept this morning, and didn't hear us at the door. So, told them to pile in and buckle up and off we went. Got to the clinic right about 10:10. Not bad at all. Considering all the rain we had to go through, not that that is a problem, except for the people that freak over it. I was crawling through a 55mph speed limit doing 45 for a good 10mins!! Was about to drive me bonkers.

Got to the clinic, it had been so long since the oldest DS had been seen there (he's generally in GREAT health) that I had to update his paperwork. Yay me. We were there over an hour before the Dr actually came in and saw the boys. I was feeling VERY impatient. These rooms are a tad on the small side,... or maybe it's just that since 5 of us were in there, it felt smaller. Youngest DS was having a great time playing with the Dr's chair,... that little seat on wheels,... the girls teasing each other... the oldest teasing the youngest... oh yeah, it was a LONG LONG wait!! Anyhow, Dr finally made it in, (when they were all quiet and patient finally) oldest is having growing pains in his knees. I thought it was shin splints or something.... but it's right under the knee. More common in boys he said too,.... He's also got an infected toenail,.... ingrown toenail. Fun. Youngest DS got a clean bill of health, his icky cough is just from a cold. So, OTC meds will be fine for him. Good deal. They got their suckers and stickers and I paid our bill and got the heck out of there!!

From there,..... yup, you guessed it,... WalMart!! Had to get a few things, and we each got a donut treat for being so good during our long wait at the Drs. After a good time wandering around there,.... and I swear, even though one is inside the cart, I still feel like a train or something. Or picture Momma duck waddling around with her brood behind her. The kids were wonderfully good,.... that sure helped, but it still seems to take forever to get through an isle.

Left there,.... ate our donuts on the way to Supercuts,.... the dreaded haircut. Oldest DS wants his head shaved. *groan* I know I shouldn't care how he wants his hair. I know that as he gets older, there will be much worse. But dang,... I dont want my 13yr old kid looking like he just signed up for the Army or something. I told him to tell the girl what he wanted. He didn't get just what he wanted,.... lol.... he still has hair :o) I was pleased with the outcome. I've not asked him yet if he's really happy. It's SHORT so I'm sure he's fine with it. He's just not at that age where it matters yet.

Geoffery..... youngest DS. He from the first haircut he ever got, till recently, is terrified of haircuts. A couple of times, I had him on my lap and held him tight to get his haircut. He would scream horrible screams like we were cutting his ears off or something. It didn't matter if it were scissors or clippers, nothing mattered, he screamed bloody murder. I came out of the salon one time, with full intention of getting my hair trimmed,.... I was shaking so bad after holding him down like I was, that I totally forgot. So, when he gets beyond shaggy.... I muster up the energy and take him in. The last cut he got, he did GREAT!! I was so thrilled. Today was another day, and he is a moody kid. I didn't think it was going to go as well. He surprised me though :o) He got up in the seat, talked to her,.... she talked with him and used just scissors so he was comfortable with that. Once she was done with the scissors, I asked her to try with the clippers to clean him up.... he got freaked, but not so much that he was screaming. Now when she turned on the blowdryer, he about flew out of the chair!! She shut that off quick fast LOL Phew!!! He looks like a new boy :o) So, out we went from there, with new balloons for being so good..... and two handsome boys and two beautiful girls, we headed for home.

DH is bringing fried chicken home for dinner :o) I'm SOOOOO up for that!! No cooking!!! Guess I will see what I can get done around the house before he gets home with dinner!! I think it's time for some more Madonna, since we didn't get to finish listening to all of it last night :o)

CSI: Miami

The only thing good about that show??? Emily Procter. She played Ainsley on West Wing, I got really attached to her before they dumped her from the show. She was cute, quirky and fun. She's pretty smart and does well with CSI:Miami. I like to watch her there. Sadly, it's not enough to keep me wanting to watch. Last night was the last straw. I haven't been a religious watcher of CSI:Miami,... just every now and again when nothing else is on or whatever.

David Caruso has got to be the worst actor on Earth. Well, maybe that's a stretch, but WHY haven't they taken him off CSI??? Can't they see how badly he over acts??? It's almost like watching Mr Rogers do forensics or something,..... William Shatner does a better job acting than he does (I do like William Shatner btw). It was just horribly bad. DH hadn't really watched this show before,.... maybe kinda off and on when it was on in the past, but this time he really sat and watched. Or tried to. It was just that bad. I had already invested too much into the show at this point to channel it. I wanted to know who killed the kid. I can definitely say I won't return to CSI: Miami again, at least until they can get rid of Caruso.

So, today's plans. Take the boys to the Drs. and take them to get haircuts. The girls will kick back with their Grams and Pa for the day :o) They love that! Grams lets them raid the cupboards, bakes stuff with them, and lets them veg with cartoons all day long :o) Ahhhh the days of visiting Grandma.

Mush, Mush, Mush.....

Just feeling all mushy inside. You know that lovey dovey feeling where you feel like it's just going to spill over??? Yup, that's the feeling alright. I've had a decent day today. The kids all pitched in and helped clean here and there. Brian the oldest got the dishes all done up and wiped the counters down, a few other things too. The girls picked up and swept the floors.... that's pretty productive :o) Proud of them for their help and no fussing about it either. Wow huh??? I have been working on laundry off and on all day, inbetween that, chatting with my handsome hubby. I think I've said it before, but I do enjoy how we always can chat during the day while he's at work. That we find stuff to talk about is nice. So many couples would rather not bother I think.

Anyhow, I thought he was going to work some OT tonight, but just now he said he was on his way out of there :o) Regular time tonight!! Always makes me happy to know he's on the way home :o) So, off to start dinner and vacuum and do last minute clean up work to make it look as though I really was busy today right??? Then we can enjoy dinner and a relaxing evening together :o) Yup, I live for the evenings and weekends that we spend together! :o) I love you honey!! xoxo

Good Evening to you all!!

Listening to: MEGA Madonna :o) Since I ripped all my CD's to MP3's I can bring up a player, hit play and sing my heart out :o) Poor kids...... I can't sing for crap. I love Madonna,.... I love all her stuff and love to sing with her :o)

First Day of Spring Break...

And it's 7am and I can't sleep. This always happens. I was up at 4:30 this morning, I thought we had a new dog in the house, or maybe a seal?? Youngest DS was coughing. Raced to the room, worried about croup. Sat him up and he was quite groggy of course, he was breathing perfectly fine, and just wanted to lay down. I went and got some water for him, and got him to drink some. Sat with him awhile longer and finally went back to bed. DH had to be up and out of the house by 6:30. I always get up with him, make sure his stuff is ready for work and kiss him goodbye. Went to the bathroom and jumped back into bed. Seems my sinuses are going to be a pain in my rear today. As soon as I laid down, my head hurt and I couldn't breathe. After tossing and turning to get comfy, I said screw it. Got up, used my nasal spray and got a cup of coffee. Speaking of, the Uganda coffee was really good for those interested! DH and I had some this weekend, thank you again Deanna!! This coffee I fixed was ick. Ever heard of Gevalia?? I thought it smelled really good after it had brewed. Hazelnut flavor,.... bleh. Sorry honey,.... we'll just trash the rest of that stuff. I'll grind up more of the Uganda today :o)

The house nice and quiet,.... I can enjoy my favorite blogs, drink some icky coffee and just wake up before the brood is up right??? Sleeping is over rated anyhow right???? ha! Oh well. Barely after 7 and youngest DD is up now. Cartoons blaring. Yup, it's Spring Break.

Plans for the day, I want to get them all to pitch in and clean up the house really nice, so that we can have the rest of the week to not have to do so much. I think the weather is going to be good, so we should get some outside time. I know they'll enjoy that.

Happy Spring!!!

Why Day @ the Beach??

What is the one favorite place you like to go to relax, to get away from it all?? Whether it's a real getaway, or one you create in your mind. For me, it's always been the beach. I grew up going to the beach living in California. I have heard several stories about beach outings I went on with Mom and Dad, but have no real memories of them as I was so small.

One early memory I do recall, I was maybe 4yrs old. My Uncle lived within walking distance of a beach. I'm not really sure where at, other than Northern CA. We had left his apt, and we were all walking around. I had to go to the bathroom really bad, so Dad led me to this HUGE rock to go behind. Before I could swat down, I saw a crab. It was a big one. I let out a scream!! Dad came to my rescue, and reassured me, as the huge crab was quite dead. He held the old dead crab up for me to see. I think I brought that thing home with me.

The beach has always been a place of adventure. A place of solitude. A place to just be, and forget anything that was going wrong that day. With the gulls over head begging for food, the sounds of the water lapping against the shore, or crashing on the rocks. The sun beating down making the sand warm enough that you dig your toes deeper to find the cool wet sand.

I could sit for hours just listening and watching. I could walk for as many hours, investigating tide pools or looking for neat shells. All the while, reflecting on life. Remembering times as a kid, and thinking on the future.

I hope that one day, I can take my family to a nice beach, throw a frisbee around, dig for shells, poke through tide pools, and just sit and relax and watch nature at her best.

New Look....

Well, I think I am satisfied with the new look for now,... I might tinker with it still yet of course. It's pretty plain, and I worry that the font is too small. However if I increase the font size, it throws things off, so sorry if your eyes are going buggy on you and you're digging for that magnifying glass just to read my posts.

Thought I would recap on yesterday's Headstart party! It really was cute. Geoffery, again who HATES for me to leave him in the mornings,.... was more than happy to be there yesterday. I had prepared him the night before saying how they were going to have a party!! This really kept him excited and happy. So, when I dropped him off, he ran in, gave me hugs and kisses, and felt fine to know that I would be back after awhile. I sure love when he can be so happy about being there like that.

I returned home, visited with the hubby awhile,... then went and got cleaned up and junk to get ready to return to for the party. I got there right around 10:15 and by 10:30 we were out with the kids hunting eggs. Couldn't have asked for a better day for this either!!



The few parents that showed for the party, were the designated egg hiders.... it took us a good 10mins to hide them all, each kid brought 12 plastic eggs, and there were roughly 24 kids. Lots of eggs, and just 4 of us mom's hiding them..... well, when the kids all rushed out, it took about 2mins for the eggs to be found. Wow! Went really fast!! LOL

Back inside we went, the kids washed up and prepared for some lunch.



Of course Geoffery being the picky eater he is, isn't going to touch the chicken sandwich, he goes right for the cupcake!! He only eats the frosting. He ate a bag of Doritos, one of his favorites, a couple cookies, and we were ready to go home. Short and sweet, but he sure had a great time!

The kids are now out for Spring Break for the next week. No major plans, other than sleeping in, and hopefully letting them play outside if the weather will hold up for us.

Getting there....

Slowly but surely working on a different template for this blog. I'm not thrilled with it yet, but have more reading/learning and help getting to do :o) but it's a start. Haloscan seemed kinda weird, all the comments were there, and now they're not. No telling on that. Anyhow, have patience as I keep arranging and rearranging this template :o)

TGIF!!

I feel like it's been a fairly long week, don't know why,.... but I sure am glad it's Friday!!! Today is full of excitment for the kids. It's the last day of school before Spring Break!! They're having parties, or just a day to goof off in class, watch movies. That sort of thing.

Yesterday, that was report card day. I have to brag and say that we were thrilled over their grades this report card. All 3 kids brought grades up that were kinda low last report card. Sydney's (1st grade) report card couldn't have been any better except to have not missed 2 days for being sick LOL Jessica (4th grade) was all A's and 1 B, and Brian (8th grade) was 4 A's and 3 B's :o) Very happy indeed. They all work hard, and it really shows. DH brought them home some pizza last night, with a apple pizza desert treat. They enjoyed that. I'll probably bake some brownies as a nice desert for tonight. No, not JUST a brownie,.... gotta top it off with some vanilla icecream and hot fudge!! Mmmmm.... not a bad breakfast idea!!

Geoffery is just in preschool. Today he's having a fun Easter party. He's very excited, especially since Mommy will be there. Hunting Easter Eggs, lots of candy and fun and lunch and he'll then come home. Just a short day for him today. Sydney's having a party as well, I'm sure full of candy and fun activities. Not sure for Jessica, and I'm sure Brian will be goofing off in classes. One teacher, his band teacher, lets them take turns playing on the XBox. Brian just loves that. This teacher is just a big kid at heart. All the kids love him.

Anyhow, just some ramblings for the morning. I'm trying to find a freebie template to give my blog a new look (Cesca's fault! I really like her new look!!) So, will probably putter around with that some more today. I do have kind of an example,..... you can all look and tell me what you think.... it's just a test blog, as I'm trying to learn how to make it all work right. So, go here if you're interested. Although, it could change,... as I'm still looking. If you're wanting a new look, there are plenty of free templates at www.blogskins.com Go there, and go to browse, and you can see all the various templates available,.... they're especially great if you're familiar with the coding and such. I'm not. LOL

A great day to all!!!

Got your green on???

Happy St Patty's Day!!

You know, after all these years, I really don't know what is so special about the day. What is the purpose for St Patricks Day??? I'm not Irish, at least not that I am aware of,.... I am a mutt after all, so there could be a drop of Irish in me??? My brother's Birthday is today, but I don't think that makes me anymore Irish than I was before he was born.

I just find it kind of amusing,... ever since I can remember, I would wear something green in my pajamas before going to bed at night, for fear of being pinched in the morning by mom. Not that she'd pinch hard I don't think??? Mom would also have a pin or something special that was green on it for the school day. I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but all the holidays were special in our house. I still have one of the pins she gave me when I was in grade school. I pinned it on Sydney's shirt this morning. It reads "THINK GREEN" Each kid has had their turn wearing the pin. Kinda a family tradition,..... I suppose my Grandkids will wear it one day too???

The kids last night were careful to pick something for bed that had green in it,... the girls each had a bracelet that had some green, so they were safe, even my goofy 13yr old son wore a green shirt to bed,... for fear that one of us might pinch him. No one got pinched this morning,... so the kids sought out the cats. Poor critters.

So, to all you Irish and nonIrish peoples,... enjoy your green beer!!!!

Another productive day....

I am determined to clean this house, and clear out the clutter. Today I had decided I would clean the girls room. *shudder* I started right around 10am and didn't finish till just after 2pm. I did take a bit of a lunch break and chat with the hubby break, but that was it!! Having a tv in each room of the house is nice, I don't miss the talk shows or my soaps :o)

By 2pm I was pretty beat. I had started on one side of the room and worked my way around to the other side. I was amazed at the crap I found. These girls aren't just pack rats, they're slobby pack rats. Just when I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, I pulled the bottom drawer from the dresser all the way out, with a bit of struggle, due to the amount of crap under there as well. ARGH!!!! I wanted to scream.

I had tried everything with the girls,... bribery and such to get the room cleaned. Jessica for her Bday in October got a lava lamp. "If you clean that room really good, I can make a good spot to set it" They both liked this idea, anxious to see how the lamp looked and all. Well,.... 5 months later, they finally get to find out. Pathetic. I'm just relieved that it's all done. I like going and standing in the doorway and looking in and being able to breathe again. I would literally have to hold my breath when I went in there, for fear I would scream my lungs out about the horrid mess.

Yes, I can now relax.......for maybe a week????

Uneventful Day Today....

With a short trip to WalMart to have a bit of a wander, then I picked up some Burger King for the DH and I. This is always a nice treat, when he and I can do lunch together. It's raining right now, and nearly time to take Jess to Girl Scouts,.... not sure what's for dinner yet, probably something easy. Last night was really nice. I did another easy meal of BLT's for the kids and I and a big salad for DH. After we all finished eating, we settled in and watched a movie with the kids. Amusingly enough, DH's Aunt lives acrossed the street from us,.... she called in the middle of the movie, asking if we were hearing thunder. Well, come to find out, she was hearing the bass from our surround sound LOL Sheesh, I didn't realize it was THAT loud,.... didn't seem so inside the house :o) Was a nice evening though. Finished off with an episode of Charmed. I'm really enjoying that series. Very fun/cute.

I thought it had been awhile, and I would post another recipe. Truth be told, I much prefer baking over regular cooking. If I could bake dinners, I'd be all set..... but deserts are MUCH more fun!!! I had this recipe since Jr High,... it's one of my favorites to bake :o)

SNICKERDOODLES

1/2 C Butter (softened)
1/2 C Shortening
1 1/2 C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 3/4 C Self-rising flour
2 T Sugar
2t Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 F ( or 204 C )

Mix thouroughly butter, shortening, 1 1/2C sugar, and eggs. Blend in flour slowly. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Mix 2T sugar and 2t cinnamon and roll balls in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 mins or until set. Immediatly remove from baking sheet. Do not overbake.

I entered a cookie contest in WalMart some years ago,... I entered 2 different cookies,... this one took 3rd place :o) I'll post the first place cookie some other time. I hope you enjoy!!!

Very Cool!!

You might remember the "Secret Santa" sort of deal that I had posted about back in February?? The Great International Secret Blog Exchange that ViVi & Tracey hosted.

I was surprised with my pkg today!!

What you are seeing here is all from Uganda of all places!! Here are some facts about Uganda if you're interested.....
My "Secret Blogger" was Deanna. I want to thank her very much, as the items she sent are very unique to the country and very well thought out. I just love it all!!!
Now, for some info on the items, as per her letter enclosed :o)

1. Uganda coffee (the country's top export) ".... Hopefully still fresh smelling and delicious!" I will say that it smells WONDERFUL!!! And we will have to give it a try this weekend and I will let you know how yummy it is!!

2. Bracelet, made from horn.

3. Carving of Masai tribesmen

4. Change purse, woven from dried banana leaves

5. Uganda Waragi, the national booze! "It tastes a lot like gin, and is good mixed with the same things: tonic, sprite, lemonade, juice's etc...." Again, we will have to let you know what we think, I'm sure my hubby will like to try this one!!

Again, my biggest thanks!! Such a wonderful surprise and such a terrific assortment of goodies!!

Getting into gear...

What is with these kids of ours??? First Sydney, and now Geoffery. Last night he had a bit of a fever, complained of a headache and didn't want to eat. You know he doesn't feel well when he won't even drink his chocolate milk! So, I kept him home today, still had a low temp, but better to keep him home than to have the school call me later to come get him.

We got home from taking the other 3 to school, and Geoffery wanted some waffles. I figured he was pretty hungry since he hadn't eaten much at all yesterday. He ate maybe 1 of the 2 waffles I fixed him. He's now playing on the Game Cube. He's already cleaned out his toybox, leaving toys all over the livingroom floor. He asked to play with the markers, but I told him he needed to clean up the floor first,..... he started too, got distracted, and now is back playing the Game Cube. Sigh. See how sick he is?? :o) Yeah, he needs a major haircut. He just hates them so much, that it's really something I dread taking him to do. This big smile, that's his "cheese" face :o)

I'm trying to get busy around here. I've started a load of laundry, need to get the dishwasher running as I've got it all full. Have a load of laundry to fold up, but took a break and fixed myself something to eat.

So, now I'm going to try really hard and get going around this house and clean clean clean,.... next week starts Spring Break for the kids, and I really don't want to be doing major cleaning while they're home. I had high hopes of having the kids rooms all cleaned and organized before then. Time to kick it into high gear!!!

Bye bye warm weather.....

Despite the wind yesterday, it was really pretty out. I'm almost sorry I didn't take advantage of it. I enjoy the outdoors, but there's really gotta be a reason to be out there ya know?? So, I let yesterday slide by and did a few things inside instead.

Today, the temp is 41 (feels like 32) and I can surely say that I will NOT be outdoors doing anything at all. Unless of course DH and I do make a trip to get him a booster deal to help him quit smoking. He was having cravings last night, and I really hope that this booster helps him with that. Guess we'll see how it goes.


Kids are all up and ready for church,... just waiting for the Grandparents to arrive and pick them up. Morning has actually moved along smoothly. I am sometimes so amazed and pleased with these kids that it just melts my heart. Even over silly stuff. Sydney and Jess are 3yrs apart. When we buy things for them, it's usually the same thing, different colors.... Sydney likes to think she's as big/old as Jessica is. Now that they're both older, they do have a lot of the same likes/dislikes though.

Jessica came to me complaining that she couldn't find her belt. Both girls have several, but Jess is a tad bigger than Sydney so they can't share them. Jess was frustrated over this, the room is a mess,.... I was NOT going to attempt to go in there and look. I get mega frustrated and start throwing shit. I explained to her that if she would put them where they belong, this wouldn't happen. I also explained that I don't wear her belts, so I have no idea where they might be.

Sydney was fumbling getting her shoes on, I sent her down the hall to help Jess look, since Jess helps Sydney so much to find things. I was in the kitchen when I saw Sydney come out of the bathroom, saying "I'm sorry!! I'm wearing yours!! mine was in the bathroom!!" Now, that's the silly part.... but that's what touched my heart. She apologized to her sister for accidentally putting on her belt :o) *sigh* still makes me feel all mushy inside.

I want nothing more for these kids than to be extra close. I always wanted a sister growing up, and while I have a cousin that is about as close as I will ever get to one, it's still not the same, as we didn't grow up in the same house. Yeah, they both fight often, and usually over who gets to control the tv or over toys,.... they're bored when the other isn't around, especially Sydney. I just would like for them to be like best friends when they're in their 20's and beyond.

Another quiet weekend....

Today has been as quiet and relaxing as most our weekends are. I was up by 7am and worked on getting Sydney ready for her Brownie day outing. Drove her to where she needed to be by 8am, picked up DH and I some breakfast from Sonic...... ate.... and vegged. HARD. We watched "nothing" on tv. Really isn't much on on the weekends in the mornings it seems. At 9:30 I had to pick Jessica up from her sleep over Birthday party. I'm very glad she went, as she was one of two that showed up for the party. The Birthday girl is a really sweet, loving kid. She's heavy for her 10yrs of age, and has a speech problem, so I'm quite sure it makes things difficult for her in the friendship department. Jessica told me how much fun they had, they stayed up till 3am and at 1am they went to the kitchen and had a "midnight snack" of yet MORE chocolate icecream :o) I was happy that she had such a great time, and surprised that she managed to stay up as late as she did.

We got home and I vegged some more. We were actually watching TV Land(NickTV),.... they were showing the 2004 Awards for the old shows,..... Three's Company, Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith,... you know, all the classics. It was a lot of fun to watch, and sad sorta as well, to see how old these people are getting. What's worse, is we're getting older right along with them.
Ahh well.... I've never had a problem with getting older,... but I do have a problem with the fact that my kids are growing up on me.

When I got into the house after getting Jess home, I flopped down beside DH in my seat, and said "I know what I wanna do now!!" "Okay,... so long as it doesn't involve me, go do whatever you're gonna do" "You don't want to tell me that...." "sure sure, go do it, just leave me out of it" "HA! You don't want to tempt me!" He had no clue what I had on my mind. He still doesn't (as I type this out) My thoughts..... I was wanting a dog. Yeah, I know. 4 kids, 4 cats +3 kittens, and now a DOG??? I love animals,..... and a cute little lapdog would be great!!! Should've seen all the folks outside earlier with their dogs. Made me long to get one. Anyhow, I'd been to PetsMart sometime ago, and saw that they do the animal shelter deal between the hours of like 9am-1pm or something like that. I was all set to jump into the car and go see what they had!! I wonder what he'd of done???? I would've come home with a dog, and he'd of freaked out :o) It would've been hilarious. Well, after he got over the fact that I brought a dog home, and saw how truly cute it was right??? Anyhow, my mind wised up and said NO you can NOT bring a dog home...... you have to get rid of these kittens first!!!! :o)

And speaking of kittens,..... do they get colic???? One has been crying and crying most the afternoon.

I did finally get something done earlier,.... threw the dishes into the dishwasher.... that's when the Brownie leader called and said they were back, so I ran up and got Sydney. She jabbered on and on about what they did. She had a flag, it's like 2'x3' !! I don't know what I will do with it, other than leave it in its box... but it is a really nice flag, pretty cool. She also got to make a doll from a handkerchief,.... I told her how neat it was and cradled it like a baby,... to which she says "I don't like playing with that...." "Well, how come?? back in the olden days, this is a----" I was cut off with "I know I know.... but it's weird." End of story LOL I wonder if looping a string through a button and making it spin would impress her??? My Grandma made us kids those when we'd visit, and I could sit for hours messing with thing. But at least she had a great time, that's what was important.

I've been ripping CD's to mp3's to make a few discs for the truck,.... DH has gone to WalMart and then to this deal that his company is providing. DH has been a smoker for years, and some "new" thing is out. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but like pulses of electricity centered in the ear area?? and it's supposed to make it so that you don't want to smoke. He knows several that have tried this, and it's worked. So, we're crossing our fingers!!! My job now, is to go around the house and find any and all cigarette stuff and bag it and hide it all.

I did it!

I gave in and installed Haloscan commenting this morning. I was amazed at how easy it was to do, after my first two feeble attempts. I saw the Blogger Wizard install and went that route,.... ha! how simple is that???? So, comment away!!!

So, Sydney's in school today,.... hope she lasts the whole day, she seemed just fine this morning. Although, I know she'd rather stay home with me :o) She's such a sweetheart. It was tempting to keep her home, and take her shopping with me.

Well, good hair, good makeup... rare to get them both right in one day.... and of course the wind is blowing like mad. Oh well..... not that I need to look good for WalMart right??????

Does she look sick to you??

Last night Sydney came to me saying "I'm cold Mommy" "Well, go put one of your sweaters on" So, she does that. Awhile later, I was asking her how she felt, as she had been complaining about a headache. I had given her some tylenol already. She said she was freezing. Hmm.... I felt of her, and she did feel warm. Took her temp, it was about the 99 mark,... gave her some Advil. Before bed, checked her again,.... 101.2! Sigh. She has been home today. Her temp this morning was 99.7 and this afternoon, she's just fine. Off and on headache though,.... I know she doesn't feel at her very best, but she's sure enjoying being home....... does it show???

Last night....

As I was preparing dinner, (my mom's recipe for meatloaf) I always think back to when I was growing up. Mom was one to always make the holidays and other occassions special. For our Birthdays, she would plan nice parties and if our day fell in the middle of the week, she would do what we wanted for dinner. I always loved this!! My brother, who is 7yrs younger than I am would always want McDonalds. I think mom liked this as well, since it meant she wouldn't have to cook. When she would ask what I wanted, it was always MEATLOAF!! She makes the best meatloaf ever. I've gotten pretty good at it myself. Last nights turned out really well too. I even have some for a sandwich today!

I was really "with it" last night as far as getting dinner going. Everything was timed beautifully. That has always been the hardest part of cooking for me. My first marriage,... being young and stupid.... and I do mean both of us,... he gave me his list of things,... in the order in which he felt they fell for him in life,.... 1. Gaming 2. You 3. dont remember...... it was really silly, but I at the time didn't really care that his games took priority over me,.... what did it matter??? My list for him,... 1. I do NOT cook LOL Point blank. I hated it, I wasn't good at it,.. and I've never done it really. I wasn't about to start now!!!

Over the years we were married, and having had 2 kids, I found I could cook sorta. I could whip up a mean spaghetti!! Never could get the garlic bread right, (like moms!) but the spaghetti was always good and everything timed right LOL How could you not??? I learned to do other things, things that I was used to eating as a kid,... fried burgers, chops.... things I could easily throw into the oven..... but for the most part, I would rather mow the yard than be in the kitchen cooking. That's the God's honest truth too.

Now, my poor husband is stuck with a woman originally from California, that can't cook southern food. I really suck at it. I LOVE fried chicken,... omg I could eat it daily!! But I can't cook it for crap. Well, I can cook it crappily though!! I've attempted time and time again..... and think I've gotten it decent 2xs. Sad huh?? Ahh..... if you've read ms. mac's post today titled "I Just Can't Do That" I've got a one,.... I can't fix country gravy. Again, it's another that I've tried and tried to do, and think I got it right once..... I finally gave up..... so we have country gravy from a pkg now, thankfully my husband tolerates it, even though he does tease about it.

I will admit, over the 8 years we've been living together, I have gotten better. My timing is better,... and food is well,.... so far cooked through. That was a hard time I had with the fried chicken(and other meals as well),... looked great on the outside, but nice and pink on the inside. *sigh*

Anyhow, I had dinner all set,.... it looked great and smelled great too!! I was pulling the meatloaf out of the oven and throwing the desert cake in!! Damn I'm good!!

I think we're going to have salads for dinner tonight though :o) I can't cook TOO many full meals like that in a week, I wouldn't want anyone getting used to it right???

Kitty Update!!

Our newest members of the family are growing big and strong!! Last night I was looking them over and saw that Angel as I will call him, is starting to peek through his little kitty lids!!!

Took me forever to get that picture right,..... and boy was the mommy upset with me over it,.... she finally came to where I was sitting, and snatched him out of my lap and took him away. I thought it was too cute,... so I teased with her, and got another and put her on the floor,.... waited and snapped a few pics of her taking the kitten away....

Won't be much longer and we'll have 3 little fluff butts running around the house!!!! I can't wait!! Maybe we'll keep just ONE???? LOL

The Gates...

Similar to Christo's $20 million "The Gates" in Central Park in New York, we bring you "The Sommerville Gates" in the Massachusetts.

I just thought this was rather funny, and wanted to share. Pretty creative guy to do something silly like this. Someone else to remind me just how uncreative I can be...... sigh.

Idle hands.....

Littlest one is home today, some sort of teachers workday or something going on. He LOVES to be home, there's just so much here that he would rather do than be at preschool. Plus, Mommy is here!! We dropped the other 3 off at school this morning, and on the way home, about to turn toward our street, he wants to know where we're going, he isn't ready to go home,..... he lets out a fake cough or two, and says in his most pathetic 4yr old voice "I'm sick". "You are not sick Geoffery" He is quite sure that he is,... he needs to go to the Dr. Yes, this child is thrilled to visit the Dr. Go figure. I hardly ever go, and when I do, it's usually at the stern recommendation of my loving husband. DH on the other hand, won't see a Dr unless he feels like he's dying. So, where did this kid get his love for the Dr??? I am thankful he likes to go, he likes his Dr and he loves the office where they've got a huge fish tank in the waiting room,... a large wooden train track to play with..... the nurses who like to weigh and measure how much he's grown. He's totally into this "it's all about me" time I think. He loves attention. I really am hoping he's the next Robin Williams.

We get into the house, he demands waffles. He's already had a bowl of his "marshmallow" cereal, and told him that we didn't have any waffles. So, down the hall to pout he goes. *sigh* great morning already! I've quickly learned that while he loves to be home rather than school (he enjoys school, but hates when I leave him there) he gets bored really fast. We've gone from playing on the computer, to having poptarts, coloring on an extra large piece of paper with lots of markers, to some cuddle time, talking to Daddy on the phone time,... now he's drinking some kool aid and playing "cars" on the GameCube. He's nothing but a bundle of energy.

So, to try and keep up with him, I did pour myself a cup of coffee, filled with lots of sugar and milk. I've been doing a bit of nothing so far this morning. A little blogging, watching tv, and trying to entertain the little ratbag *giggle* (thank you again ms. mac) I'm not sure what I will end up doing today if I do anything.

It's raining out right now,.... they said we could see some snow, but of course the rain will melt it all anyhow. It's cold (38F/feels like 33F.... or 3C/feels like 1C) and staying in, still in my jammies,... vegging out is rather nice. I just wish that it was Friday and we were looking forward to the weekend ahead.

So, what's for dinner tonight??? We're going to have meatloaf,... mashed potatoes & gravy, I'll dump a can of asparagus into a dish and ta da!! Maybe there will be enough for sandwiches tomorrow even! For desert, I have a box of Betty Crocker Hot Fudge Cake to fix up.... all sounds good. I think I'd almost prefer the cake NOW than later. Such a junkie I am.

Well, I suppose I could do SOMETHING around the house,..... two days in a row actually doing some cleaning, I shouldn't get lazy now right???

Oh my son....

In your wee 4yrs of life, you have come to amuse me greatly. You also have a great way of tormenting me. You are a child that does not lack a sense of humor.

I'm sitting here, attempting to relax, can of Code Red sitting here, 80's music blaring.... the kitchen is pretty clean.... got the hallway vacuumed really well (with his "help" I might add) and I hear him whine and fuss and argue down the hall. *SIGH* I know he didn't get his nap at Headstart today. He hardly eats any of his lunch there, so he's probably hungry which will affect anyone's mood.

He storms in here, has a marker in hand..... asks for a piece of paper "pwease" I can't hardly say no now can I??? I fumble for the paper, and drop several discs to the floor in the process. This child of mine, this sweet boy that makes me laugh and cry.... lets out this devilish cackle of pure delight as I let out a moan because of the mess I have made. Heads to his little desk, dumps everything from the top of the desk to the floor, making yet another mess,.... Mommy again "Awww Geoffery no!" Geoffery replies with "Muahahahaha" *SIGH*

The worst part of all of this??? You still can't help but laugh at the kid.

There's always tomorrow

To mop the floor, clean the girls room the right way, finish up the laundry..... and anything else I didn't get done today.

I did get some junk done. Like I said before, there's always something that needs to be done around here. I spent so much time working on our sons room that everything else got pushed to the way side and it sure shows!! But I did stuff that I've been needing/meaning to do today.

How often do you clean your kitchen curtains?? Or for that matter wash the kitchen window. The one that is over your sink is the one I'm talking about. Well, I've washed the window several times, but the curtains,.... hmm..... I can't tell you how often I looked at them and said to myself "I need to take those down and wash them!" and then do laundry and forget all about them. Well, NOT today!! I didn't realize it, but they're actually green and WHITE. Wow!! Yeah, they were pretty dirty. Washed the window inside and out and even did the screen. I can really see through the window now!! Yay me!! Also did the backdoor windows, inside and out. Not bad at all.

From there, I went to a kitchen cupboard that had a nice flour mess in it. Pulled everything out and used the vacuum to get what I could, then took my bleach spray and wiped it all down. Nice!! Much better. I swept one part of the kitchen really good.... still have the counter tops to clean off though. Everything I did do, is all in preparation to mop the floor hopefully tomorrow!

I did enjoy some Days of our Lives time, some blog time, some hubby time, music, and kitty time too though :o) You know how that saying goes, "all work and no play......" I do take several breaks throughout my day cleaning house, probably too many breaks to be honest.

Now the kids are home from school, and the real fun begins. Trying to get the girls to clean up their room so I don't have as much to do there..... and putter in the kitchen cleaning here and there so that I don't have as much to do tomorrow as well. Slowly but surely, the house will be neat and organized,..... at least that's the goal. With 4 kids, we'll see how long that lasts!

What to do today....

My options are really endless.... there's always something to do in our house. So,... what do I REALLY feel like doing today???

• Laundry?
• Mop floors?
• Clean girls room(the right way)?
• Clean the cluttered kitchen?
• Go through the youngests toybox?
• ....dust????
• Sit and blog?
• Sit and visit with our new kitties???(yeah that would hurt my feelings!)

So many choices..... sigh. I will probably end up puttering around the house, picking up here and there,... and I had thought I would like to mop the kitchen floor. As exciting as that sounds I'm sure. Sad thing about doing that is,... last time I did the floor.... it was that evening that one of the kids spilled milk all over it. Never fails. It's almost like a guarantee if I mop.

I did spend time with the kitties a bit, their eyes are still closed, they should be opening sometime this week though. The black and white is a boy, one of the all black's is a boy and the other black a girl. They've really gotten fat! The girl is the smallest of the 3. As for names,... temporary of course, we're looking at Spike (black/white) Angel (black) and not too sure for the girl. I think Willow, for when she went through her bad witch phase. DH and I have resorted to rewatching the Angel series from the start. Really bummed me out when we were finished with the last season. It had a really sucky ending. My big hope is that maybe Joss will restart the show again, because it was left so wide open. When a show ends like that, it's like saying good bye to friends or something. BUT if you start from the beginning again, you don't have to say good bye right????? I do hope that Joss has something else in the works though, Buffy and Angel both were great shows, kinda sad not having something like them on tv now.

Guess I'm done rambling, going to go see what I can get done this morning. Thank God for XM radio on the 'puter!!

Greyhounds need you!

Panthergirl at The Dog's Breakfast is hosting a wonderful fundraiser for the Greyhound Rescue & Rehab volunteer group. Go to her blog today, and within the fundraiser post, make a comment and she will then donate $2.00 to GRR (up to 100 comments, and $1.00 per comment beyond that).

This is a great cause and a wonderful idea for a fundraiser. This money will help GRR provide a caring foster home and hopefully a loving family for a retired Greyhound race dog.

Productive weekend....

Another pretty nice weekend this weekend. Yesterday we slept in, the oldest was staying the night elsewhere, the girls were with their Grandparents, so it was just the youngest at home. I think I got up around 8:45 which is quite late for us. Vegged and watched some tv with the DH. He then made me a very happy woman..... and while I went to shower, he ran and got us some fast food breakfast, doesn't get much better than that!! Fed the youngest some lunch, put him down for his nap and I proceeded to get ready for a baby shower for a girl I have no idea who she is. It's a family thing, so I really felt obligated to attend. Was short and sweet and not very painful, so that was good. Spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching tv.

Today we sent the kids out the door to church with the Grandparents, got ourselves ready and headed to our favorite coffee place. Of course we made a quick stop off at WalMart and wandered around in the car stuff. Got some wax, towels and cleaner for DH's Firebird, and I got a new license plate frame and stickers for the back windows for the truck,... Dale Earnhardt Sr and Jr stuff :o) Got our coffees,... got my wedding ring inspected and headed for home.

Once we got here, we got out all the stuff for the Firebird and started in on it. Got it all waxed and buffed out nice. Cleaned out the inside really well too. Looks really nice :o) We did a great job. I put my stickers and frame on the truck,.. looks really sharp :o) Yup yup, we had a busy day. My shoulders/arms are rather sore from all the waxing. I guess that's a good kind of sore,... reminds me of how VERY out of shape I am.

Grams brought the 3 kids home from her house, and they played outside while the weather was so nice and we were so busy on the car. They have worn themselves out. Youngest has already had his "dinner" (always consists of a PB&J (or honey) sandwich, cheese puffs and banana) and was playing here in the livingroom,.... sat down on the couch and well, crashed out LOL Poor lil guy.

All in all though, a very productive weekend. Was good as the weather was just gorgeous. Of course, next weekend we'll make up for such productiveness and veg out really hard with the tv :o) Plus, Nascar will be in Vegas next weekend too :o) Tv worth watching!!

Just a few things.....

Please check out 3rd Times a Charm's answers to the 5 question interview I gave her and if you're at all interested in being interviewed, she'd happily do the honors!!

While going through Blog Explosion today, I won 50 free credits,... that was rather exciting LOL I'm easily amused,.... really I am!!

But, while going through BE, I came acrossed something I thought was unique.... an artist with a blog, is hosting a contest. Those of you with children under the age of 6, might consider doing this?? I think my DH and I will take a few pics this weekend and give it a go. The artist Rebecca has some pretty impressive pastel works.

Anyhow, I think that's all I've got at the moment.... just wanted to share. I have laundry to consider folding. Maybe I will eat something first.

Oh, btw..... XM radio kicks ass. Classic 80's all the way!!!!

Popcorn

And not just ANY popcorn, but FREE popcorn!! (well, s/h charges only) Thanks to Today Show for having this guy on this morning :o) I ordered my free popcorn!!!

I enjoy popcorn,... I like the "kettle corn" that sweet/salty taste. I love it when we watch movies with my can of Code Red beside me. It's just as good as being in the theater!! Well, better, because you can pause the movie to run to the bathroom!! Doesn't get better than that.

Do you remember Cracker Jacks??? When is the last time you opened a box?? Do you remember the cool prizes you'd get as a kid?? I got a tiny plastic set of race cars once.... you had to snap them apart, and snap in the wheels. Do you know what you get now days??? Those little tattoos. You lick your bodypart and then stick the tattoo on. Yay.

Almost depressing to think of how things used to be when you were a kid and see how they are now. Kinda makes me feel sorry for my kids. However, same frame of mind,.... my Uncle was very "techie" and always was up on the latest things going on, he had to have the latest model of whatever car, and show off the newest perk for that vehicle.... advancements like that excited him. He passed away when I was 17 and I often think, "...wow! what he'd think of the internet...." or landing on Mars, digital photography (I know he'd totally love that!) DVD's and MP3's.... so much he missed out on.

So, while it's cool that our kids are growing up in this new age of technology, it's sad that they'll never get that cool prize from a box of Cracker Jacks, or remember when you had to get up and channel the tv, or how as a kid you had more board games than video games.... I'm only 36 and I think, wow, I've seen a lot of changes and I do look forward to the years to come.

Confessions

I have a confession. I am so anti housework, that I would rather do anything.... like hanging blinds, or paint a bedroom or anything..... to get out of folding laundry, cleaning the kitchen or even cooking dinner. Sigh.

I swear I wasn't always this bad. I really took great pride in keeping a clean home. Not that we live in a pig sty of course, but it sure is cluttered. I hate clutter. One room at a time. I have to keep telling myself that, or I freak out and then go on strike.

Right now is our sons room. I will not stop till it's done. It got new paint, I'm working on the blinds. I forgot the measurements today when I went shopping, so I bought some wrong sizes. Figures. I needed 3 blinds. I got one size right. Sigh. I got all the groceries into the house, then had to run and pick the kids up from school.

Got home from that, and knowing I should put groceries away, I opted to hang the one set of blinds that did fit. I've gotten quite good at hanging them too I think. I'm always pleased with myself when I get something like that done. It's a mix of accomplishment and the fact that I'm working to make the house look better. Plus, it gets me out of putting groceries away.

Oh well.... I guess we all have those little things.... I get the stuff done, it might just take me longer is all. Just ask DH, he can tell you. The couch is again covered in laundry that I need to get folded..... but it's not going anywhere..... so yes, there is always tomorrow.... or the next day.... or the next........................... :o)

One of the black kittens, the black ones look alike right now.... 

Look, it looks just like Skipper! 

Our newest additions to the family 

Skipper taking a look at his new baby 

I'm a Grandma!!

Sorta :o) My Grandbabies are a tad on the furry side :o) But still!!! We have BABIES!!! Sheeba had been meowing at me early in the evening, she was wandering around, as if looking for a spot to lay down and start in on having them. I knew it was coming. I didn't know what I could really do for her really, but she was sure telling me it was time. She's such a good little mommy cat.

DH and I were kicked back, eating dinner and watching one of the last 3 episodes of Angel we have on DVD (*cry!*) when I could hear little mews. I muted the tv,.... and sure enough, she was between the recliners and the wall, right behind us. Barely a foot of room for her to move around in, yet she was crammed in there having kittens.

We ended up with 3. One little black one didn't make it. Was very sad. I could have sworn we saw 3 black and one black n white, but it was after 11pm and I was already tired, so maybe I miscounted??? This morning, there are just the 3 babies.

This morning, I hurried and moved them from the wall area, put them into a cut out box, I had put some soft towels down and gave Sheeba a nice new area for her and her little ones. I wanted to do all this before I got the kids up, so they wouldn't go bonkers. Figured Sheeba could use some rest. Well, Jess was in here brushing her hair, and Sheeba had moved or something and the kittens started crying LOUD. Jess was looking around, like WTF?? lol I finally told her "yes, we have kittens" She was VERY excited,.... leaned over the couch to take a look. Sydney was equally excited, but was terribly disappointed when I told her there were just 3. She wanted Sheeba to have 10!!

Anyhow, that was our excitment last night,.... I'm a proud Grandma :o) New kittens are almost as exciting as a new baby.... well, to me anyhow. I will tell you one thing, thinking about getting rid of them makes me sad too LOL I KNOW we don't NEED or really WANT 7 cats in the house,.... but they're SOOOO cute!!!

When I was little, I had a great cat. I can still remember the day that we got him too. I was 4 yrs old. We lived in a little apartment in Castro Valley where I grew up. Knock on the door, and a couple was standing there with this tiny black kitten in their arms. I remember standing there looking back at this big earred creature with amazement. I still remember that tiny thought in my head..... just the "awww" feeling going through me. A sort of anticipation almost. I don't remember really what was said, but mom told me later on that they were moving or something and he needed a home. Mom quickly took him in. I don't even think we were to have pets there, but that never mattered.

Mom named him Oscar. Oscar spent a good 2 weeks hiding under my bed. Mom would put his food dishes under the bed to try and coax him out. Oscar was my best friend for 12 years. I have a TON of Oscar stories. I miss that cat a lot. So, from the age of 4, I have always been a cat lover and owner.

I think I will have to keep updates on the new babies as they grow up and see how their personalities turn out. Maybe I can teach them to fetch like their daddy does before they go to their new homes :o)

Posting some pics right now using "Hello"... I think I'm lame, because I had wanted the pics within the post here,.... but obviously I need to learn how to use that stuff better. Anyhow, enjoy the pics!!! They're just too cute!!!!

Busy Bee Me

So, going to back track a tad. Sunday.... DH said "Lets put your XM stereo into the truck" Yay!! and I get to help :o) He thought it would be interesting/good for me to see how it was done,... plus you know the simple pleasure of getting to say "I did this...." I enjoy that. So, we headed out to the truck to poke around and see how it was going to be to pull the stock stereo out. He decided that a trip to WalMart was needed. Okay! Well, not wanting to slow things down, I just threw on a sweatshirt and brushed my teeth/hair and we were off.

*enter flashback music and effects*

When DH and I were dating, he would come visit me in TX. We stayed at a nice hotel there one time,.... we were getting ready to head back to my apt. the morning of checkout, and I just threw on my clothes, didn't mess with makeup or hair really.... figured why bother, we'll be back at the apt soon enough. Well, I forget how/why this came up, maybe because on the way towards the apt he decided we should stop and eat, and I might have said "EEK! I have no make up on!" He said something to the effect that he always makes sure to do whatever before leaving the house as you never know what you might do or who you might run into. For a long time I did remember this. Especially for when I'm out with him!! I would always primp even just a little just incase! I wouldn't be caught looking rough when I was out and about with him again! No sir!!

Well,... Sunday, it's just WalMart right??? No big. Just going inside for one thing.... one $4.00 thing. We pull up and park, and I look at him, and asked "Will you be embarrassed if I go in with you?" "of course not!..... but if you want to wait in the truck that's alright" (hmm... now that I think about it!! what did he REALLY mean??? LOL) "eh, I'll come in" Screw it right??? :o) I mean, it's just WalMart and do I look THAT bad???? (probably so, but I can put it out of my mind for awhile) We head towards the store, and guess what?? Yup, he runs into a guy from work. Aww now that figures. The guy was really sweet. He went on and on about how he sees the pictures on DH's desk and what a nice looking family, etc. HA! and there I am, hair a mess,... no make up, in grubby clothes. I swear,..... I just never learn!!! Oh well. It's still just WalMart right? :o)

Anyhow, we got the part that we needed to pull the stereo out, wandered around looking at stuff for his Firebird,... if you remember, we skipped a tool show a weekend ago, so as we wandered by the tool section, I pointed it out to him. He didn't understand at first, but was quick to head down the isle. SEE?? It REALLY IS the store,... it's not just me!!! We looked at tools,.... electric miter saws aren't cheap, did you know this??? I would like a "saws all" sometime too.... he wanted to get a set of pliers,.... found those.... plus a cool bag to throw it all into to store in the house. I found a couple screwdrivers,... you can never have too many of those I think. They're kinda like teaspoons,... with 4 kids, you use teaspoons!! So, we headed to checkout,... where our $4.00 item turned into $30.00 worth LOL I love WalMart!!

Got home, and started in on the stereo. Took a break for food, as it WAS his Birthday and his mom fixed a nice meal. Headed back home, and worked some more. I actually did help too :o) I'm not just another pretty face :o) LOL It was fun. I love when he and I can do stuff like that together. Ended up having to call his cousin though, to take my place, we were stuck with a spot and it was dark and the kids were home and needed supervison. They got the stereo finished up and we're all set. It sounds great too!! I can't wait to drive the truck now. Oh yeah,.... the Firebird has been in the shop since Thursday morning, hopefully we'll get it back tomorrow evening. So, DH is in the truck, while I borrow his mom's car. *sigh* LOL

Yesterday, I got in and painted our oldests room,..... looks so much better!!!! Covered up crayon marks, scratches in the wall,.... on of them said "Help Me" No joke. I probably should've taken a picture of that. I was amused sorta as I covered it up. I told him yesterday when I picked him up from school.... "If you wanna piss me off,... just start scratching and drawing on the walls again" I think I made my point???? That really was an all day thing,.... then I wanted to start putting his new desk together.... it really took me over an hour to just get the small little seat together. I'm pathetic with stuff like that, and it doesn't help when I've got kids in and out and bugging me either. I follow the directions, but yet can still put something together the wrong way, and have to undo it. I did it yesterday, and I did it today as I put the desk together. Which has taken me all day too. Of course I had several distractions throughout the day. Phone, tv,... food... that sort of thing :o)

BUT!! I did get stuff done. His room is looking tons better, just a few more things to get done, then I can start in on the girls room. I'm pleased with myself for sure. I do need to get off here and clean up the rest of the house. That's always a pain, spend all day doing one thing, and everything else goes to crap. The livingroom/hallway are a total wreck!! So, going to clean that up so I can start dinner.

Mmmm chocolate......

Found a bunch of quizzes on this site, thanks to ms. mac !! So, of course being the chocoholic that I am I had to take this quiz. I don't really care for white chocolate,.... I guess this is sorta accurate,... I don't know though LOL

So, what kind of chocolate are you??

You are White Chocolate You have a strong feminine side with a good bit of innocence thrown in. Whether your girlish ways are an act or not, men like to take care of you. You are an understated beauty, and your power is often underestimated! What Kind of Chocolate Are You? Take This Quiz :-) Find the Love of Your Life (and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

Just goes to show you......

You're never too old for some things.......

I couldn't believe this when I read it,.... would trip me out to open my Grandma's fridge and see frozen bags of pot. I would wonder to myself "Does she know what this is for??" "Is this what she's been putting in the spaghetti???" Anyhow, thought it was a funny read, and wanted to share.....

Grandmother faces marijuana charges

A day in the life of Sis.......

As interviewed by Andrea Knapp.........

I was making myself busy in our oldests room,... putting together part 2 of the desk set we got him. When I get a rap on the door..... *sigh* I really hate being interrupted when I'm in the middle of stuff.... especially putting things together. I do directions well, but I still tend to screw stuff up. Took me over an hour to put the little seat together last night!!

Made my way to the door, and some strange woman standing on the other side looked back at me with a smile. I took a second look and realized who it was!! ANDREA!! Wow!!!! What a great surprise!!!! GAH!! I have paint in my hair from yesterday's work, in the same stinky paint stained sweats from yesterday as well. I'm a wreck!!

Me: "Andrea! it's GREAT to see you!! Please, don't mind the messy house or the messy me, and the multiple cats huh?"

Andrea: "Bah not a problem at all.... you should see my house!" (you ever know people who say that, then you go to their house and it's like spotless,... but they still think it's a mess?? I really hate that!!)

Me: "So, what brings you to this part of the states???"

Andrea: "Well,... I was wanting to go down to Detroit, but I seem to have gotten lost....." (*giggle*) "Seriously, I wanted to interview you, enquiring minds want to know more about this person we call Sis...."

*making our way down the hall into the oldests room*

Me: "Ahh well.... there really isn't that much more to know, but I'm game! Can I get you a Code Red or a glass of kool aid while we chat? let me clear you a spot to sit on the futon here...."

Andrea: "Hmm.... umm..... I think I'll pass...... how about we just start with the questions???"

Me: "Sure sure, that's fine..... can you hand me that tiny little wrench thing please?"

Andrea: "What 4 words would your kids use to describe you? (honestly)."

Me: "hmm.... that's kinda tough, I know tired would be one word, Jessica once wrote on a paper for 2nd or 3rd grade about what I did while I was at home,.... and it was clean and sleep. My kids think I sleep the day away..... Sydney the youngest daughter thinks I'm funny sometimes,... the oldest Brian he feels that I can be strict but actually understands it's with good intentions.... I think? LOL and I would say they think I'm fairly smart.

Andrea: "That's pretty nice..... now for the next question.... What was your most embarrassing moment. "

Me: "ish... I embarrass easily, so it might be hard for me to pick just one...."

Andrea: "That's fine, we'll take 2 or 3 or 4 or however many you wanna share, we don't mind having you relive these things!"

Me: "I think I'll just go with one, but thanks for the kind words...... anyhow, before DH and I married, we spent a wonderful Valentine's weekend together. He got us a nice room in Memphis at the Peabody Hotel,.... they actually have ducks at the top of this hotel that they parade down into the hotel's fountain thing... it's really quite cute... anyhow, we were with another couple, had some drinks and went to another club. It's a piano bar type set up. A lot of fun. Two guys play a piano each.. they play with the crowd and stuff. Well, for an amount of money, they will get you on stage and you get to sing/perform along with them. I do not like being center of attention and my sweet DH paid them, got me on stage,... and they did "Joy to the World" with hand movements,..... the guy first stood behind me and used my arms/hands to sing the song, then I got behind him and had to go through the song again,..... he would make certain comments throughout, like "WHOA!! Don't touch me there!!!" stuff sorta like that,..... I wanted to die. I can laugh about it now, and would probably do better with it now..... after a few drinks maybe????

Andrea: "hahaha... hmm... that's all you got??? I'm kidding I'm kidding hehe,.... okay, question three..... If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be and why? "

Me: "Wow, what a great question,..... and a tough one to answer.... there are again a few things I wouldn't mind changing,.... I'd love to be a bit taller,.... 5ft 2.5inches sucks sometimes,.... I would love bigger boobs, partly because I'd like to wear anything and not worry about how it's going to hang on me and the other part because I think they'd be a lot of fun to play with, and would be a lot easier to find bras that fit! But in all seriousness, I think if I could really change something I would like to be more outgoing in all aspects of my life. Less inhibitions I guess you could say."

Andrea: "Very good..... now for question four..... Have you ever had a moment that you remember as completely changing the direction of your life? If so, what was it? "

Me: "Hmm.... this is a tough one,.... I'm really not sure I've had any life changing moments outside of having my kids, everyone knows that once you have a child, your life is changed forever.... I right away tried to be a better person and wanted to be a good mother... sorry, it's all I can think of at the moment..."

Andrea: "yeah, that's kinda weak,.... maybe you can come up with something later on and share it with us at another time..... so, now for our last question, tell me a joke I have never heard before..."

Me: "Well, I don't know what you've heard or not heard,... but I guess I could tell you the one that my mom taught my brother when he was like 4yrs old,.... "Why did the monkey fall out of the tree???"

Andrea: "I don't know.... why??"

Me: "Because he was dead."

Andrea: "Uhh... yeah.... that's pretty sad.... I guess that ends our interview..... thank you for your time!!"

Me: "No problem, thanks for stopping by,.... drive safely!!"


My thanks to Andrea for the clever interview, the help putting the little bookcase together, and for not saying anything horrible about my messy house!

Now, the first 5 people who comment with the words "interview me" within their comment, gets to be asked 5 interesting questions by me! Then you post your answers on your blog, and so on and so on....... hope you join in on the fun!!!