Monday, February 28, 2005

Is it just getting older? or lazier???

Once upon a time, there was this girl that could get housework done first thing in the morning. Yup, that used to be me. What happened??? Is it that I have more kids??? More clutter?? More years added to my body??? More distractions?? I just don't know. I do know that I miss that person. I was even trying to remember in the 8yrs I've been here,.... did I ever get in and clean house like that?? Hmm...... DH would be able to answer that LOL How sad. I've really been far too something for far too long......

So, today's goal is to get in and get the oldests room painted. When DH and I painted the room just after we moved here, we did a fast job of it, and well, I wasn't paying attention to the important things. Like using the correct paint for a childs room. We were using flat paint. BAD idea,..... we missed a few areas too,... the spaces between the built in bookcases.... small areas that you just dont "SEE" LOL Kinda like the dust and fingerprints throughout the house I suppose. Ceiling fans,.... I love them,..... but don't ever turn them off, or you'll really gross yourself out. That's the only time I think "Wow, I need to clean that thing..." LOL I really used to think that I was a good house keeper..... my views on that have changed over the years. I do what I HAVE to do,.... and I try and do more when I can. Some days I just feel like I can't keep up with it all. It used to be so bad that I would find myself feeling so frustrated, that I would end up in tears and be angry with myself. I've let that go. Why fight with myself??

Sigh. So, I guess I should get off my rear, and get into that bedroom and see what I can get done. I look forward to a freshly painted room, something that even he can be proud to keep clean and make it look nice. We've got a desk to put up for him as well. Trying to rearrange things to make it more of a "big boys" room, since he is 13 after all. Time to make it as such.

Maybe it is just old age, but I think I'm leaning more towards being lazy.

Sunday, February 27, 2005

Long Weekends....

It's been a pretty good weekend so far. Thankfully still have the rest of today of course. Having the DH home since Thursday always makes me feel spoiled. It always makes me dread Monday too.

I think the most strenous thing we did yesterday was get a shower. Although, I did fetch us some food from Sonic :o) If that counts for anything?? We lounged, watched tv, after our shower we both ended up laying on the bed and fell asleep. Rough life!!

Today, I want to wish my most handsome husband a very Happy Birthday! As soon as the 3 monsters are gone for church (oldest is staying the night with a cousin) I plan to whip him up some breakfast and hopefully he'll stay in bed long enough for me to take it to him there :o)

Nothing major planned today, DH's mom is fixing him his favorite fried chicken and fixings.... so we'll go over there later on for some good eats. Just going to enjoy the day together again! Nothing wrong with that huh?? :o)

Happy Birthday Honey!!! I love you bunches!!!! xoxoxo

Friday, February 25, 2005

Husband abuse.....

Last night, I gave DH a hug and a kiss goodbye, and wished him a fun evening. It was weird closing the door knowing he was going out with the guys and all. I still had no real desire to join them, but I already missed him and he wasn't even out of the driveway.

So, I set out and fixed the kids their dinners, and vegged out watching some tv. Once I had them all in bed at 8, I finished watching the last of The Apprentice, something we dont usually watch. Anymore, we've got 3 sets of DVD's to watch,.... Angel (last season boxed set) Charmed (first season) and Tru Callings (first season)... so once the kids are in bed, we watch those.

I bought Bridget Jones Diary yesterday while we were shopping, and eventually popped some popcorn, grabbed a soda (for dinner) and settled in to watch that. It was such a great movie. I'm very happy I picked it. Around 10pm the phone rang,.... it was my sweet DH. Calling to check in on me, and in my mind, he's also saying "I'm thinking about you..." as he tells me about his new friend who is a porn star LOL He sounded like he was having a pretty good time.

I finally gave in and went to bed around 11:30, took me forever to fall asleep, I never sleep well without DH at my side. About 1am he called they were on their way home, and he was jabbering on about the evening. Really sounded like after the call earlier in the night, that things definatly picked up there for them.

When he got home, he came straight to the bedroom gave me hugs and kisses, and proceeded to tell me more about the evening. His friend and cousin paid to have my poor husband abused. I'm not kidding either. He's had this happen before a long time ago, he'd told me about it. Basically they get him on stage, set him into a chair and do all sorts of things,... the worst being they use a belt and spank him. HARD. I'm sure he'll still have the welps from that when he gets up today. Ripped up his underwear,.... they no longer have a stretchy waist band LOL He told me he was pretty pissed about that. One girl brought the belt down acrossed his back,... I could see the outline of the belt where she'd hit him. The look he gave her for that, encouraged her to drop the belt and not swing it again. He felt quite sure that they enjoy that far too much. He had several lap dances,.... all in all, sounded like a fun time for them.

I for one, was just happy to have him back home :o) I'm very happy he had such a wonderful time, and I'm looking forward to us having a nice relaxing day today.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Feb. 24th A Nice Day....

Was a really good day today. DH was going to stay home from work, take some time to unwind, relax and get a few things done. I told oldest Brian to set his alarm clock for 6:30, he could get up and get the girls up and get cereal. I would get up at 7 and get the youngest up and ready to go. Well, our alarm ended up going off at 6:30, I laid there feeling sleepy.... didn't hear pitter patter of big kid feets, so I got up.... sure enough, he was crashed out. "BRIAN!" I love scaring them awake like that LOL I'm so mean. He sits up. "You were supposed to be up and getting breakfast for you guys, what happened???" "I set the alarm" sigh. Yeah, but he didn't put it in the "auto" setting. Oh well, I was up now. So was the youngest! Figures. I got him all ready to go,.... we got out of the house on time, all was well. What was really nice is that Geoffery ended up being fine when we got to school for him as well. I thought it was going to be a bad morning with him crying and hanging on me. Phew!! I got back home,... figured I'd get ready for our fun filled day of getting groceries. Not sure yet if DH was really gonna join me, either way, I'd be set to go, as he can usually be ready in a matter of minutes.

We left the house around 10, took his car for some repairs, found a nice new hair salon. We really liked the people in there, the one hairdresser was really sweet. She took a straightening iron to my hair for free,.... she just wanted me to see. I've recently had my hair chemically straightened as it's sooooo thick and coarse. I just love it!! But when she took the iron to it, it really did make a big difference. I think I need to invest in a good iron. I have a Vidal Sasoon, but eh,... doesn't do the job like the ever so famous "Chi" does. We left there with full intentions on returning from now on.

Then to the jewelry store. My new Valentine's Day ring should be in from being sized. I sure have missed it. It wasn't in :o( We wandered through the store some. Showed DH the ring I wanted to get him as he'd lost his wedding band sometime ago, we've just not replaced it. He liked it well enough.... 7 purty diamonds in it, I had wanted to get it for him on our 7th Anniversary, just couldn't make it happen right then. Anyhow,.... we hemmed and hawed a bit, and went ahead and put it on credit :o) It's silly probably, but I had SOOO wanted to get him this ring, that I was just as thrilled to do this as I was to get the wonderful presents he'd gotten me here in the last year. He works harder than I do, puts in some long hours,... he deserves sparkly things too!! :o) Of course it has to be resized!! So, gotta wait on it for a couple weeks. Sigh.

We got in and out of WalMart as by this time we were running behind.... was nearly time to get the kids from school!! Got him the new Tori Amos CD, picked up the movie Seven,... we've both seen it, but it's been so long. Look forward to watching that. Then got Bridget Jones Diary or whatever it's called for myself for this evening. Tonight is the DH's outing with the guys to the "tittybar"... he's already gone. I miss him. I hope that he has a lot of fun though :o) We figured it up the other night, it's been well over 6yrs since he's been last.

Kids are eating dinner right now,.... I'll fix something for myself in awhile. I did a more or less "fend for yourself" night. 2 wanted soup, one wanted a hotdog, and the other his usual PB&J or Honey sandwich.... easy enough. I might just have popcorn and a movie for dinner :o)

DH will be home tomorrow, we're hoping we can pick his car up and my ring dangit!! :o) Other than that, just enjoy the day together, and looking forward to the weekend coming up as well.

My plan for next week, is to get into the kids rooms and get them all cleaned up, and the oldest's room, needs a major paint job,.... so that's the plan. I might not be on here much because of that. I just feel like I'm letting things go, been too lazy for too long. Time to get on it ya know??? So, on that note,.... gonna go throw some laundry in and do a few other things.

Night!

Monday, February 21, 2005

When will you be pushing up daisies??

I'm quite sure this thing is lying,..... that's awfully young for me,.... I'm healthy,.... I don't smoke, I rarely drink, I'm not overweight...... sure I don't exercise and eat a lot of chocolate, but like THATS gonna kill me????


I am going to die at 77. When are you? Click here to find out!

I figured it out

The reason for having 4 kids,.... child labor!! While they can't keep their rooms very clean,.... and when I send them down to clean them, they end up playing... but at least they're fairly quiet and out of my hair right??? But I can make them pick up the toys and junk left in the livingroom, the oldest takes care of dishes and trash... doesn't get any better than that. Just wait till they're ALL old enough to rotate chores. We'll have one doing the yard, one doing the kitchen, one in the bathroom.... one dusting and vacuuming. Wow!! I can't wait!!!

I'm closly watching the time right now. Anytime after 5pm I can call and find out about jury duty. This will be my last week of it, but I am REALLY hoping I dont have to go tomorrow (or the rest of the week for that matter!) Weds Geoffery's Headstart class is to attend a small play in a nearby town. I bought a ticket to attend as well. I'm not going to hold my breath on the judge saying "oh sure honey, take tomorrow off to spend with your son, we'll have someone else fill your spot while you're gone...." Yeah right. So, I have 5pm on the nose..... lets see what I get.... bleh.... supposed to report tomorrow. I'll call again in the morning and maybe I'll get lucky and it will change??? sigh. Glad that this is the last week of this mess. Really makes me sorry I registered to vote let me tell ya.

Oh well,.... gonna see about whipping up some lasagna,.... first try at makin this, so hope it turns out good!!!

Easily Amused

So, here I sit. Still in my jammies. Or jimjams if that's what you might call them. Geoffery's home today due to President's Day. The older kids are in school. It's been a quiet morning. I swore I would get off my rear and get some stuff done around the house. Clean the kitchen, pick up the livingroom, work on some MORE laundry. Yet, here I sit. I've done a few things...... if you count fixing waffles for the boy and myself. Getting him cleaned up and dressed.... oh, cleaned out the catbox,... they were starting to give me the evil eye. I then proceeded to get all of Sydney's Girl Scout cookies bagged up for DH to take to work tomorrow and hand out. That's pretty good for what..... my 6hr day so far?? :o) Pretty sad. Geoffery's had lunch and is napping.

DH and I have been in chat. We tend to do that throughout the day when he's not busy. We always find stuff to jabber about. Today's topic. His outting planned for Thursday night. His Bday is coming up.... the 27th to be exact. A good friend of his is taking him and a couple others to the titty bar. I was also invited, but I don't know.... just makes me feel really uncomfortable. One of these days I WILL go with him, but not this trip. I want him to go and enjoy himself with the guys. I'm going to copy/paste the conversation here..... color coded even!!


Sis says: what time is he to pick you up??
Broken says: 6-6:30
Sis says: what time are you going to leave work??
Sis says:
5?
Broken says: at least
Sis says: hmm
Broken says: if not earlier
Sis says: was just wondering if you'd have time for a "pre-tittybar" blowjob
Broken says: lmao
Broken says: no
Sis says: or would it be better AFTER
Broken says: I dont even want one
Broken says: lol yeah
Sis says: *GASP*
Sis says: dont even want one?????
Broken says: not before I go hell no
Sis says: you wanna go and get all frustrated huh??
Broken says: half the fun is the sexual tension
Sis says: oh I see,... now I REALLY dont want you going
Sis says: sheesh
Broken says: lol
Sis says: :o)
Broken says: goofass..
Sis says: :o)
Broken says: it's all about wnating what you cant have
Sis says: I know
Broken says: if you get blown before you go, you wont even want any
Sis says: just had to tease you
Sis says: Yeah, was kinda my thought too
Broken says: lol
Sis says: LOL
(all names have been changed to protect the not so innocent)

So, there you have it. You're all my witnesses to the fact that he turned down a blowjob. If it weren't for the fact that he's going to the titty bar, I'd wanna take his temp LOL

I was just really amused by the whole conversation and wanted to share,... with DH's okay too I might add :o)

Curious,... what are the views of my fellow blogging gals as far as their men and titty bars??? Do they go??? do you care if they go??? have you been??? Gimmie the skinny!!


Priceless

Jack wakes up at home with a huge hangover after the night of his office Christmas party. He forces himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a single red rose!

Jack sits down and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed. Jack looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror, and notices a note on the table: "Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to go shopping-- Love you!"

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the table, eating. Jack asks, "Son... what happened last night?"

"Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You broke some furniture, puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door."

"So, why is everything in such perfect order, so clean, I have arose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me?"

His son replies, "Oh THAT!... Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, lady, I'm married!"

Broken furniture - $85.26
Hot Breakfast - $4.20
Red Rose bud - $3.00
Two Aspirins - $.38
Saying the right thing, at the right time................... "Priceless"

I just couldn't resist, I thought this was really cute :o)

Afternoon Delights

Yesterday was such a great day. House was soooo quiet. I snuck back into our room trying not to wake the hubby, but he was kinda awake anyhow. He asked what I was up to?? was I coming back to bed?? "Yup!" Told him I was coming back to snuggle. He told me he was getting up. Doh!!! We did snuggle for a little bit. Was just nice to lounge in bed again, even for only 20mins.

We got up, got our cold Starbucks. I warmed up my yummy danishes. Snuggled under a blanket and started flipping through the tv channels. DH was going to a tool show here in town. He even asked if I wanted to go. "Name brand tools at really cheap prices" As touched (and amused) as I was about this, I opted to stay home. I appreciate tools when I NEED them,.... and I can wander around WalMart and look at them every Thursday if I want to. Damn store. He and his cousin were to go, but apparently his cousin decided not to go, so we turned into vegetables on the couch for a good part of the day.

So, after some quality "adult" time, some food, a catnap, some Nascar.... we got the phonecall to pick up the kids. *sigh* Our quiet time was to be over. I ran down, got the kids, and boy is that culture shock LOL They were all very wound up, they had a fun day at church and a fun time with their Grandparents. They had stories to share and now toys/games to fight over. Yup, the kids were home!!! Had a quick dinner, wasn't long and the kids were having to get ready for bed and by 8 they were in bed. Phew!!!

We settled in, watched some of the SNL special that was on, then watched an episode of Angel. We just bought the last season on DVD. I'm going to be really bummed out when we're done with this series. No more counting down the months for the next season to come out. I guess we'll just have to rewatch them all again???

Was a nice finish to a wonderfully long quiet day though.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

Thank God for Sunday's

Literally!!

I got up right about 8am this morning. What was really sucky about that was yesterday, I was awake at like 6am and finally gave in and got up around 6:30. I really REALLY could've slept the day away today. However, it is Church day. I did most everything needed last night to ensure that the kids would attend today.

Drug myself out of bed, kissed the hubby who woke long enough to kiss me back. I doubt his sleep has been that restful, what with the youngest making so much noise this morning. I woke 2 of 4 kids, the 2 youngest were up and ready to start the day! Poured some cereal. Read blogs while they ate, then proceeded to get the girls hair done, Geoffery dressed and ready to go.

Once they were all set to go, I could relax. They could play a bit before leaving. I was feeling hungry. I love junk food. I have 2 danishes left and my yummy cold Starbucks frapuccino in the fridge. If I sit down to eat these danishes, I know someone will come in and want a bite.... so I refrain and wait the extra 1/2hr it's going to be before they all leave.

Do you have foods like this?? You don't want to share??? I used to be that way about Oreo's. But now I found a decent "knock off" brand that I feed the kids, and hubby and I get the REAL thing. Yes, Oreo's are my choice of cookie when it comes to store bought. I love them dunked in milk,... they've gotta get that soggy thing going on. Hmm.... doesn't sound like a bad breakfast either :o)

Anyhow, I finally got the kids shoved out the door,.... I turned cartoons off and wow,... I love the sound of silence. So, now my choices are to eat.... or go snuggle up with the honey and maybe catch another hour sleep???

G'night!!! ;o)

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Sleepy Saturday

I really love when we can have a weekend that is quiet. The phone hasn't even rang this morning and it's after 10! That's amazing for this house. It's usually family calling, and they usually call well before now. Maybe they went out of town without telling us?? Maybe they're enjoying a nice lazy Saturday too.

It's pretty chili outside, and we're to get some rain this evening. It's just the kind of day that you want to stay inside and veg out with the tv. Sadly, there isn't much on, so I've resorted to CNN. Maybe I've missed something this week that I really should know about??

Yesterday, I tried to alter my blog. I thought something more "beachlike" would be nice. I found a pretty nifty background and attempted to make it fit. With my knowledge on using/making templates, it was really much like a 3yr old trying to put a puzzle together and shoving the piece to make it fit. Needless to say I failed. I do really strive to know how to do things myself, and I was very determined.

Somehow, I really messed the blog up. I had only previewed my changes, never saved anything! But my posts poofed from the main body of the blog. You could click a link for a post, and it wouldn't appear. What did I DO??? Such a mess. I sent a plea for help to Andrea asking if she had any knowledge. Through her laughter at my demise she confessed that she did not have this capabilty.... she said she would fwd the message onto ms.mac. Well, when DH got home and we had finished dinner, he pulled out the laptop and took a look,.... so to my wonderful husband, thank you so much for your help yet again!! Just wanted you to know that I do appreciate it, even if it was something totally silly and simple. All he did was change the template and then change it back. Of course I lost my links and things, but I hardly cared, so long as I hadn't really lost the posts!!

So, the DH is snoozing away here on the couch beside me, the kids are down the hall playing quietly.... and the cats are lounging about, one looking out the window at all the birds he wishes he could chase. God knows he'd not catch one,... he's too fat and lazy to move that fast LOL

I'm considering attempting again at the nail thing,.... but for the most part, I'm going to stay under the warm blanket, watching "nothing" on tv, blog and enjoy a quiet grey Saturday.

Friday, February 18, 2005

100 things about me.....

I've read several of these, and found them very interesting, and fun to read. I thought I'd have a go at it. It turned out to be more difficult than I had originally thought, and then as I sat back and reread my things, I thought "damn, how boring!" LOL I probably revised a few things, and me and my lame memory.... I would think of things through the day, and forget what they were when I would go to add them. So, this is my final list,....

I was born and raised in the Bay Area, CA
I learned to fish when I was 4yrs old
I was terrified of water when I was little
I didn't learn to swim underwater until I was a Jr in HS
I love to fish
I love to swim
I have a younger brother (7yrs younger)
My first pet was a black cat named Oscar
I was in Girl Scouts all the way into Cadettes (Jr High School)
I wanted to be a jockey when I was little
I love chocolate
I enjoy cross stitching and crocheting
I graduated High School from Castro Valley Hgh in 1987
I was >this close<>LOVE chocolate
I lived in Texas for about a year
I filed for divorce while in Texas
I met my current husband online
My husband is my best friend
His old HS girlfriend was my bridesmaid
We will be married 8yrs this September
We have a daughter and a son
My kids are all 3yrs apart
I enjoy being a stay at home mom
I love electronic gadgets
I would like to swim with dolphins
I am a chocoholic
I like "foo foo" alcholic drinks (fruity drinks)
I hate jury duty
I love steamed artichokes with mayonaise
I love a loaded baked potato
I like McDonald's french fries
I love all animals
I've always wanted a horse
I never learned to ski (water or snow)
I was a councelor for 6th grade camp
I was in Jr High or High school at the time
The older I get, the less I remember
I really hate that too
I can fold my tongue to make a 3 leaf clover
I have 4 furry children (cats,... see pictures lol)
I enjoy online gaming
I want to take a photography class
I met my biological father when I was 24
I love ink pens
I have dozens on my desk from all over, and from various companies
I used to collect business cards
I used to collect shells
I used to have a really nice tan
I used to have really nice long natural nails
I wish I had a better green thumb
I can crack my big toes
I REALLY love chocolate
My soda of choice is Code Red
I love donuts, chocolate frosted especially!
I love to roller skate
I've not been roller skating in years
I know how to ice skate
I busted my lip open while doing so
It was on someone else's skate (she tripped me, we were doing a long train)
I had 6 wisdom teeth
I had 6 impacted wisdom teeth pulled
All my kids were induced on dates that were picked by me
My mom and I send various ladybugs back and forth to each other
I love television
I love movies
We have a huge DVD collection
I love dolphins
When I was little, I found a dead squirrel in our pool
I cried and cried, dad buried it down the road under a pine tree, really
When I was little, I had 2 white rabbits
One of them bit my little finger
I told my mom a pincher bug did it, I was afraid she would get rid of the rabbits so I lied
I suck at putting on eye make up
I dont have very good fashion sence
I feel sorry for my daughters for this (maybe they will teach me something??)
At scout camp, I carved Snoopy out of a bar of Ivory soap
I have visited Alcatraz, Angel and Catalina Islands (not on the same day)
I have watched the ships come in during "Fleet Week"
I lack organization skills, and our house is rather cluttered because of it
I really hate housework
I would love to learn sign language
I love 80's music
Of all the Disney characters, I love Tigger best
I love Wyland (artist)
I start a lot of projects and am very slow to finish them
I was in the earthquake during the World Series
I am pretty resourceful
I listen to top 40 on the radio
I still have my "Dress Up Snoopy" with several outfits & sleeping bag too!
I dont think I'm very creative or imaginative
I wear mostly jeans, tshirts and tennis shoes
Did I mention that I LOVE chocolate???

I did it!

Well, after my failed attempt to do my own acrylic nails last night,.... I really only just tested one nail. It was going really well, it is something I think I can master, but not on just one try. So, I might have to mess with it some more today. I could REALLY see the lump on my nail from the tip,.... and that just won't do. Ah well,... I'll get it sorted out!

After getting most of the acrylic and nail tip off my thumb, I thought "eh, lets see if the new pieces I got for the kitchen drain will work" We have a double sink, and on one side, a piece of pipe cracked. So, as lazy as we are, and as busy as we've been, it hadn't been fixed and we were just using the side that didn't leak. Finally I bought some stuff that I thought would work from WalMart,.... see, standing around in the plumbing/fixture areas again DO pay off!! I brought it home, and it sat on the kitchen floor by the sink for a good while. The other day, I was ready to attempt this. Had to make sure that DH knew first :o) Nothing worse than coming home from a long days work and finding that you have plumbing to do huh?? And we all know plumbing is NOT my forte. He said if I felt I could do it, to have at it....... well, the parts I got weren't all right. We were missing a small piece it seemed. Sigh. Do I get an A for effort????

Yesterday, I went back to the plumbing/fixture isle in WalMart and found a few things.... I bought 2 pieces of pipe,.... just to be sure I had the right thing, a new strainer, and hey look at this new fangled bathtub plug! Oh, and every good plumber has teflon tape right???

Later in the evening while dinner was cooking (battered fish sticks,... they were really good too btw! Mrs. Pauls if you're really interested) I started fiddling with the pieces I had brought home. It was actually going to work, only 2 of the pipes were too long. Crap. Well, the only saw thing I had around the house that I knew of, was a crappy saw I bought to trim some tree branches awhile back. I dug it up and it did the trick. Thankfully I cut JUST the right amount (rather than too much like I was afraid of doing) and everything pieced together perfectly and got it all good and tight. I was now ready to test the water!!!

I turned it on,.... let it run for a good while,... and YAY!!!! No leaks!!! I DID IT!!!!! I couldn't get ahold of DH who was on his way to a meeting, so I called my mom. Now when I think about it, it is rather funny. What better person to call to get the "good girls" than your mom??? LOL Anyhow, she was pleased with me LOL and even said "Your dad would be proud" which was something I had thought too, and nearly made me cry. Dad's been gone for 4 years now and when stuff like this comes up, he's the first person I think of. He was an awesome handyman.... when he wasn't being lazy LOL

I cleaned out the sink, scrubbed it down really good with cleanser and stood back and looked at my "new" double sink LOL It wasn't some huge thing to fix really,.... but I'm always impressed with myself when I do fix something and it doesn't go to crap, and DH gets to clean up the mess. So, yes...... I did it!!!

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Just another morning

Today is grocery day. Trust me, it's on my list of "most NOT favorite things to do".... While I don't totally HATE it, I hate the routine of trying to figure out what we're going to eat all week,... I get bored with food easy. I shop at one store which is strictly food,... most of it at a cheaper price.... Save A Lot is the name of the store if anyone's interested. Then I move onto Super WalMart. I'd prefer a Target, but we don't have one. Anyhow, at WalMart I get the name brand things that Save A Lot doesn't have. You know,... Miracle Whip, Code Red soda, Starbucks cold coffee's... stuff like that. Bad thing is,... the store seems to suck me in..... I can spend HOURS just wandering around that store. I can stand in the light bulb area for a good 20mins just looking at the fixtures and night lights and all that crap.

So, this morning, what with this stupid cold of mine, my goal is, lets get these kids moving and maybe I can get in and out of the bathroom before taking them to school and be all set to go when I get back home and I can leave for grocery shopping. It was a good plan.

Our youngest,... Geoffery.... the light of our lives.... the baby.... the last baby..... (I'm totally fixed). He is the most trying of the four. The first two were such good babies,... mellow kids.... lovey little things... smart... polite... all that stuff... the 3rd more reserved, quiet, total mommy's girl.. hated to be left somewhere if I had to go do something w/o her, very smart, was telling us the letters on her blocks by the time she was like 15mos old!! She could sing nursery songs at that age too, used to love taking her through WalMart with her singing, people would Ooo and Awww at her.... she was something else. Then we had Geoffery. While I was pregnant, I said to my DH (thanks Frally!) "I hope we have a REAL boy" (we had found out the sex while I was preggo) That's not to imply that the oldest is like a fake boy or something,.... he's a great kid. He always has been.... extremely smart too... but he's never been "rough and tumble". He's an emotional kid... like his mom..... poor kids... out of 4 of them, 3 of them have my temperment. Brian was so bad as a kid, he could make himself so upset that he would throw up. He's finally outgrown this,.... I think??

Anyhow.... that is just who he is. He would rather be inside playing video games or watching tv rather than outside throwing a football or playing basketball like most the boys in town. That's alright. When he was old enough to take up an instrument in school, he picked the flute! Ack!!! I worried that he'd be teased for this. He's the only boy that plays a flute in all 3 band groups. He's sitting first chair for the flutes now. This is a test taken by each instrument group... there are 3 or 4 flutist in his group. He really plays very well, and I know he can only get better. So, that's our oldest "unreal" boy LOL

Geoffery.... he's more active than all 3 put together, he can be stubborn, bossy, loud, demanding and well, just a real pain in the neck at times. But even when he's like any of that, he still can make you laugh and smile. When he orders his sisters to "Clean that mess up!!! NOW!!! Do you understand???" You can't help but giggle. Or when he isn't getting his way, he will come and tell us that Sydney or Jess or Brian "jabber jabber jabber" we say "umm... okay..." He marches back down the hall and tells whoever "Daddy wants you" Thinking that we will then tell this child, "let Geoffery do/play/have whatever he wants please" LOL He is smart. Not that it usually works, but the fact that he tries. He's in Headstart program here in town and as much as he likes it, he hates me to drop him off in the mornings. This morning he got up and had his "Dr. Seuss" DVD in his little hand.

He had wanted to watch it last night, but I didn't feel like fighting with the DVD player at that time. So, this morning I suggested he take it to school. He really liked this idea, made plans to ask his teacher if he could watch it. We hurried through getting ready to go.... and as we got close to having to leave, he was wandering around very upset. He lost the DVD. GAH!!!! I had all the kids looking, and he was getting more and more upset.... I went through every room in the house thinking he just set it somewhere and it would jump out at me.... no such luck. It was the missing kleenex box all over again!

Finally as I was about to say forget it, we gotta go or you'll be late.... Sydney found it under the kitchen table on his chair from breakfast. PHEW!! So, back to be excited he was. Ran out of the house and got into the truck to leave. My hope was that this would keep him happy even when I dropped him off. I really really hate the crying and clinging he does in the mornings. Makes me feel like a horrible mom. I was greatly pleased when he ran out of the truck up the walk to his school, screaming "OPEN THE DOOR PLEASE!!!" he couldn't wait to get inside and show his teacher his DVD. It did the trick :o) He was more than happy to be there this morning.

So, I get home, chat with the hubby awhile,... told him this sweet story.... we have many of them with Geoffery. He just really amuses us. I really think that he will be the next Robin Williams.... wouldn't that be great??? Anyhow... now it's after 9am and I still don't have my hair and make up done to go get groceries. So, I'm off to get ready!!

Crank it up!!

My Cousin gave me this link yesterday,.... she said I had sent it to her awhile back, sadly, as my memory fails, I don't remember sending it to her, much less remember this link LOL Pretty bad huh?? Anyhow, it amused me last night, and entertained the kids a bit too.

I do need to learn how to link things better,... would rather it said something like "Singing Horses" and that be the link. I'm still a noob though.... I'll hopefully figure it out eventually.

Anyhow, give it a go, it's rather cute!!

http://svt.se/hogafflahage/hogafflaHage_site/Kor/hestekor.swf

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Lost!

One box of kleenex, generic brand... blue box
Was last seen in the bedroom last night
Quite sure I removed it from the bedroom this morning.....

If found, please contact me


Too Old for Homework

I swear, from the time I get home with the kids, it's "mommy, mommy, mommy" and from ALL four of them at the SAME time. ARG!!!!! What makes it much worse is with a head cold I could swear I had 8 kids rattling around in my head.

The youngest thankfully actually took a nap at Headstart today. So he's much more mellow than usual. Phew!! Of all the things, that really does help.

The oldest likes to bug me with dumb things. I mean, they seem dumb to me,.... I try not to tell him I think so. He comes out just a bit ago and said "I've got weird bumps on my toes" "Okay" "Well, they itch" "So scratch them" "But then they hurt" "So don't scratch them?" LOL He's not big on common sence yet I suppose you could say. Plus, he's supposed to be studying.... and he will do ANYTHING within the hour of study time to get out of it, even if it's just something like itchy toes.

RIGHT AT THIS VERY SECOND... I've got one reading a story to me, and another in the kitchen singing me the "preposition flow".... and the youngest is hollering at me how to spell his name.... he thinks he's doing homework too.... I really think my ears are bleeding.

So, where was I???? oh, homework. The minute we get into the house, it's homework time. Jessica usually has ample work to do. She's in the 4th grade and I really think they load on the work. That or she just doesn't get enough done in class. She's a very smart girl, I know she knows the work, but has difficulty with math. So, math is always done first. She and her sister get to the kitchen table and start in on homework right away.

Sydney was out yesterday as I took her to the Drs. So, she had a few pages of make up work,.... I got to play teacher.... I think I could handle teaching for 1st grade. Everything was going along quite well, until we had to do the "timed subraction sheet" She wasn't sure if it was 2 or 3mins for the timer. So, we decided 2 mins. I called "TIME! Put your pencils down" LOL I so remember that growing up. Asked her to bring me her paper. She didn't want to. The poor emotional child (she so takes after me) was in tears bringing me her paper. Ugh. "What's the matter??" She claimed that her teachers timer was slower than my time. Well, not knowing if she does 2 or 3mins in class, that could be the case. She didn't get all the problems completed.... only missing 12 of I dont know how many. Personally, I think she did great. She completed far more than she missed. Plus, the ones she completed were all correct!!

I tried to explain this to her, but in her eyes she had failed, and her teacher would see that she failed and be upset with her. I told her that her teacher would NOT be upset with her. I really love this teacher, she's just the sweetest thing. Sydney insisted that she would be upset,.... so what more could I say???? "If she is upset with you, then you tell me, and I will have a talk with her." I think that fixed it all.

Things are quieting down, she's happily playing "tv games" with Geoffery the youngest,.... who managed to sneak a sucker off our cluttered bar in the kitchen,.... Jess is nearly done with homework, and Brian should be about done studying. Phew..... I think my ears will make it. Now if I can just muddle through folding up all the laundry, I'll have it made!

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Random Nothings

Kinda a long day today.... took our youngest girl Sydney to the Drs this morning. She was complaining of an ear ache. Ended up just being congestion hurting her head. Pretty much what I thought, but better to be safe than sorry. After the Dr's we ran a few errands, even got a chocolate donut and some chocolate milk Mmmm!!

I hope that everyone had a nice Valentine's Day. Mine was really nice. Although it did start Friday night when hubby got home with my surprises. I don't know who is worse, him or me. I love surprises, hate waiting for them, he loves to surprise me, and hates to make me wait LOL He let me open my presents right then :o) He does spoil me!! A gorgeous ring with earrings to match. I'll have to upload the picture LOL I'm very happy with them, and he was really worried I wouldn't be. Since I got my goodies, I gave him his. He was equally pleased.... made me very happy of course. Saturday was the wedding which was really nice, our little girl was just beautiful with her pretty dress and hair done. Sunday I fixed us a nice steak dinner as our Valentine's dinner, which turned out really well. Guess you could say we had a nice Valentine's Weekend :o)

Yesterday, I was surprised with 2 dozen roses,.... they're assorted colors, pink, yellow, orange.. very spring like, a beautiful bouquet. Photo is already uploaded so all can see!

Was a really good weekend, and now I wish for Friday to hurry along again. I really do live for the weekends LOL

I've been sitting here trying to go through the local college website, I really want to take a photography class. Hubby got me a super nice digital camera for Christmas, and I've yet to really begin to use it like it should be. I'm anxious for some nice weather where I can drag the kids out and torture them some more. I can only take so many pictures of them being silly in their rooms,...and I'm surprised the cats haven't gone into hiding for all the pictures I take of them LOL I did find that they have a 2 yr program for Radiology Technology,.... when I was pregnant the first time, I thought it would be really neat to do ultrasounds all day long, I still think it would be a neat job.

Anyhow, just blabbering here..... guess I should go switch the laundry around and consider starting dinner.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Happy Valentine's Day!

@}-------`----------`----------
I would like to take this time to wish all my new friends here in the "blogging" world a very Happy Valentine's Day!! I hope that whoever you share this day with is a special one. That you take the time to remember and remind each other just how much you mean to one another.
A special Happy Valentine's Day to my handsome hubby!! In the 8 years that we have known each other he has shown me more love and respect than I could have ever imagined from a marriage. I never realized that being married could be so wonderful, and so special.
We met online, in a chat room. I'm sure he remembers the name of the chat room, but I couldn't tell you. Something that has seemed to have decreased with the birth of 4 kids are my "memory cells" LOL We were in a chat program called Mirc. His nickname was Doc, mine was DoeEyes. We seemed to hit it off perfectly. I looked forward to getting up on the weekend mornings waiting for him to sign in so we could have our long chats. People are usually amazed that we met online. I always explain that meeting online has it's pro's. You meet someone, you go out for a movie and dinner.... you're not going to talk a whole lot, so you're not going to learn much about that perons. Online, all you have is chat. You talk and learn so much. That's what we had from the very start. I knew this man. I loved this man.
When we finally met in person, it was great. It was like picking up where we'd left off, only this
time, I could feel him, smell him... and boy did he smell terrific!! It is a night I won't ever forget. I will always remember him standing at the door, the first feel of wrapping my arms around him, and kissing him for the first time.
Since that first day, our friendship and our love has grown even stronger. When I moved here to be with him, we had our times of wonder. Will this relationship last?? Can we make it work?? I was ever so determined, more determined than I had ever been about anything in my life. I loved him heart and soul, and that has never changed.
I could go on and on, about how terrific our lives are. But I just wanted to share with everyone how this man that I married, is my best friend, he is a great father and a wonderful husband. We enjoy each others company, we enjoy a lot of the same things together. To the point that when we're apart, I feel lost without him.
Sweetheart, if you're reading this today, I just want to say thank you for all that you do for me, I want to thank you for hanging in there when things were looking rough, I want to thank you for being the father to our beautiful children, I thank you for being my best friend first and foremost, I want to thank you for always making me feel special, that I am number one in your life. All of these things, and many more I could list, I need to thank you for.
Honey, I love you, with all my heart and soul. I always have, and I always will.
XOXOXOXOX TO THE STARS AND BACK!!!

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Quiet Sunday Afternoon

Nothing major going on today. Think I've got a lovely head cold going on. Yay me. Hubby was a sweetie and ran to Sonic this morning and got us breakfast. Bacon/egg/cheese toaster sandwich and a Sunshine Smoothie for me :o) Mmm Mmm!!! Die Hard was on tv, so we vegged out, ate and watched the last of that.

He got himself a 93 Firebird last week, and barely a week ago he was putting his new stereo into his Jimmy..... so today he set out with his cousin to get the kit he needed to put the stereo into the Firebird now. Of course, I guess due to the date of the car, he couldn't find the kit. So, he's tearing the stereo out of the Jimmy and will have to wait till next weekend to get the correct kit to fit it into the Firebird. That sucks huh??

I've been dinking around with the pictures we got from the wedding yesterday. My sister in law told me about "Picasa 2" It's a free download that helps you to enhance/tune and add effects to your photos. I must say that I'm VERY impressed!!! I have a photo, where you couldn't see the groom, but after playing with it in this software, it totally fixed it.

So, those of you that might be new to digital photography or just want to try out another software, this is a must try. It's totally free!!!! Doesn't get any better than that huh??

http://www.picasa.com/index.php

That's my excitment for the day..... think I will go cat nap for awhile.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Stupid toothfairy!

Jessica the eldest daughter (10yrs) lost a tooth last night. We have a special little tooth box to put the tooth into,.... she put it under her pillow before bed. While watching some tv last night, asked the hubby "do you have a dollar??" "yup" and that's as far as it went.

Stupid toothfairy forgot to come last night. I really hate when that happens..... and I wasn't quick enough to correct the situation. I have in the past grabbed some cash and would pretend to fumble around in the bedding and go "ohhh here it is!!" I just stood there dumbly looking at her for a second, then said "awww honey, maybe she was really busy last night and forgot??" reassured her that we would try again this evening, not to worry! I just hate nothing more than disappointing a kid. Sigh. Do I suck or what?????

Shortly, I will be preparing to attend a wedding. It's my husband's younger cousin,... I guess 2nd cousin??? Our youngest daughter is a flower girl for the event. I can already see myself getting sappy and teary eyed. I don't know what it is anymore, but I can cry at the drop of a hat. I used to be really bad while pregnant, or just after the baby was born,.... now it just doesn't matter LOL Ahh well.... I'll have kleenex on hand :o) Will take some pics to share later too.

Hope your Saturday is a good one!!

Friday, February 11, 2005

Why Parents Go Grey

My Mom Emailed this to me today,... thought it was cute enough to share with all.....

The boss of a big company who needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers, dialed the employee's home number and was greeted with a child's whisper,

"Hello."

"Is your daddy home?" he asked.

"Yes," whispered the small voice.

"May I talk with him?"

The child whispered, "No."

Surprised, and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"

"Yes."

"May I talk with her?"

Again the small voice whispered, "No."

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anybody else there?"

"Yes," whispered the child, "a policeman."

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"

"No, he's busy," whispered the child.

"Busy doing what?"

"Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman," came the whispered answer.

Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the earpiece on the phone the boss then asked, "What is that noise?"

"A hello-copper," answered the whispering voice.

"What is going on there?" asked the boss, now alarmed.

In an awed whispering voice the child answered, "The search team just landed the hello-copper."

Alarmed, concerned and even more than just a little frustrated the boss asked, "What are they searching for?"

Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle, "Me."

I can only pray that our kids wouldn't be so creative.




TGIF!

Friday always makes me happy. Back when the hubby and I were dating, we lived for Friday's. He lived here in the Ohio valley area, and I was in Texas at the time. He would take those red eye flights to come see me and we'd spend a glorious weekend together. The best part was always waking up to the neighbors upstairs from where I was. They were Mexican and they loved their music LOL It would come blaring down on us..... but you know, we still think and talk about those days. I had fixed us a nice dinner once, had a good bottle of wine... I think that was his first introduction to White zinfandel wine. I love that stuff,... in moderation of course. Actually, I don't drink hardly at all anymore. Mostly because I'm such a light weight that one glass makes me sleepy LOL I need to work on that.

Today has been a pretty mellow day over all. I had planned to get a ton of housework done, and have the kids all help since they were home. Some sort of teacher workshop day. I'm sure they're REALLY working LOL Brian, the oldest he really pitched in and got a lot done, mostly because he wanted to play on his computer. Whatever works huh?? The girls did their Valentine cards while the monster boy took his "nap". He never did sleep.

We've got a wedding to attend tomorrow, so threw the girls into the tub to play and bathe,.... got the monster boy up and threw him in as well for a quick soak. Mostly just a putter day. I like days like that. But it sure has been a long day. It's always long when the kids are all here and the hubby isn't. Geoffery ("monster boy") said first thing this morning "where's daddy??" Guess he felt like it was Saturday and that he should be home with us too. I couldn't agree more.

In any event,... we're all getting ready as we've gotta be at the rehearsal tonight, Sydney (youngest daughter) is their flower girl tomorrow.

I am working on a "100 things about me" list,.... had hoped to post it today,... but maybe sometime this weekend I'll get it finished.

Have a great weekend!!!

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Did you feel that???

Afternoon all..... those of you that live anywhere near the Ohio Valley, surely felt the earthquake we had this morning. I was on the phone talking with the hubby. You know, that's something special too..... Probably end up making this longer than it needs but you know what?? Every day, I get home from taking the kids to school, I call him at work. We always have stuff to chat about, and if we don't really chat, we still have dead air between us, but we're "together".... I love that about us.

Anyhow,.... sitting there jabbering about nothing much, when "OH SHIT!!" I exclaim "What?? what is that?? is that an earthquake??" (he could hear the rattling noise) "Yeah!! oh SHIT!!" I said again. Wow!!!! This was too much. I grew up with these things,.... but this was the first I'd felt in this area since I've moved here nearly 8yrs ago. WOW!!!! That was too cool,.... I watched my cats wig out and run down the hall,... one didn't seem to know where to go and hide LOL That was rather amusing. We had an earthquake. Ended up registering at 4.1. Not huge, but it was a good strong one. House totally rattled. Hubby felt it at work, which is about ohhh 1/2hr from here, maybe 45mins.

What I thought was weird is that talking to that allergist doc, he wanted background info,... grew up in CA.... "ahhh earthquakes huh??" "oh yeah, love em... I'll take an earthquake over a tornado ANY day!!" "you know, they say we're due for one here, and if it happens,(if it were big enough of course) we'll be under water" (uh huh... they say that about CA too.... still waiting......) "yeah, well, I'll believe it when I see it"

I think I should call him, and curse him for cursing this earthquake upon us LOL Eh, it was a fun, short ride. I really do enjoy them. I was at home for the one during the World Series, that was incredible. Although, it did a lot of damage, and it was just eerie to look at the stores all toppled over with stuff, broken windows, power down for a good while...

The funniest part of the one back then was that my mom was on the phone, standing in the hallway talking to my brothers teacher. I heard the windows rattle first in the old house.... we lived on a busy street, so it could be a large truck,.... but when the rest of the house started rattling, we knew.... mom panicked... she dropped the phone on the floor, honestly not sure where she went LOL But I could hear "Mrs. Johnson???? Mrs. Johnson?????" coming from the phone LOL Still cracks me up to think about that. Goofy mom. She gave me the keys to her truck, and off I go to buy us a battery operated radio.... I don't think I ever got to buy one. No power, meant no registers were going to work, and a lot of shops were shut down due to damage. Really was wild.

After talking to the hubby this morning, my MIL called..... "did you feel that???" (She lives right down the street from us) I'm never quick enough usually, or I'd of said "uhh no, I didn't" LOL sheesh :o) We chat for a good while, she asked if I'd ever felt an earthquake before??? "umm.. I lived in CA" LOL I was quick enough that time huh?? But I was really thinking how could anyone live in CA and not feel one???? LOL Anyhow, I told her that I grew up with them, felt them often.

I guess that's one thing about tornados vs earthquakes. In the almost 8yrs I've lived here, I have seen 1 good tornado,... good as in it seemed fairly large, but didn't come close enough to doing any damage around our little town..... I saw like 3 more, but they never reached the ground... this was all this past year. Earthquakes on the other hand, in CA that is,.... happen quite regularly. I think the first one I remember as a kid, I was in 5th grade,.... I remember looking out the classroom window and saw the telephone poles and trees sway back and forth.... the earth seemed to move in a rolling way, almost like the ocean. That was the best earthquake I'd ever been in.

Yup, I'll still take an earthquake over a tornado any day!! I dont like waiting to see which way the tornado is going, or hiding in a cellar wondering if when you come out "will my house still be there??" No, I dont like that kind of anticipation. I learned fast that I don't do well with tornadoes either. I have a pic posted, of the tornado that was near here..... I really freaked. I was in and out of the house, I had dumped the kids in the aunts cellar, ran back home to grab a few things, (blankets/pillows to sit on etc) ran back to the cellar,... then back to the house, wanted to call my mom and say good bye.... just in case mind you!! Then back to the cellar.... then back to the house ( I was starting to relax and wanted pictures) grabbed the camera and got a couple of pics...... I didn't take the one that I posted, mine didn't turn out so great, by the time I had the camera, it was pretty much sucked back up into the sky LOL

Well, there is my adventure today..... the kids said they all freaked, my 10yr old, she said that the whole class screamed. She also said that after it was over, they were told to get under their desks LOL I guess they thought we'd have after shocks right away??? LOL I dont know.

Okie doke,.... I need to feed the little monsters, hubby is headed home after purchasing a new to him car.... I've also linked to his blog if you guys are interested :o) Psychotic Circus....

Enjoy the evening!!!!

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Spelling Bee

Spelling Bee this afternoon wasn't as painful as I had thought. I was more awake so that helped too. There were 24 kids,... 7th and 8th grade only. My son's in 8th. They do a warm up round, his first word was "sky"... he had 2 more words after that and then another word. I was quite sure she said "leashes" ??? but maybe it was "leeches" ??? Either way, he spelled it wrong,.... "leeshes" is what he said. DOH!! Ahh well. I think this was the last year for him to participate in the spelling bee. This was his 3rd year. I'm still very VERY proud of him. He really excells in all the things that he does, when he tries hard enough at it.

Now, what I thought was really sweet,... was when he returned to the seats off stage, he asked the teacher that gave him candy/pencil and award for participating, "can I go over and sit with my mom?" Awww..... sigh... such a mommy's boy huh?? :o) But still made me proud. The fact that my 13yr old son isn't embarrassed to be seen with his mom. That really makes me happy.... I hope that is something that never changes.

I picked up my youngest from Headstart this afternoon, and found that tomorrow is kindergarten registration. They will send all his paperwork over to the school, so I really shouldn't have to do anything at all. But boy this sure pains me. Our baby is going to start REAL school this Fall. Sigh. I asked the hubby if we could have another. I'm very much fixed, so this isn't possible,.... at least from MY body. He was more than happy to accomodate though LOL Said "I can always make one with someone else" Uh huh.. well, I'm sure I would have to twist his arm to do something like that huh?? :o) I do miss babies..... but I guess I will just have to wait MANY MANY years before I'm a Grandma. My goal is to go to school, take a photography class and I dont know, maybe actually do something in that field. For now, I'm just grateful that I can be home with my kids. I dont even want to think about a full time job until they're all full into school. Like when the baby is in 2nd grade maybe LOL Who knows what the future holds.......

Laundry day....

So dead tired this morning, maybe it's the meds or maybe it's just laziness, I don't know which. I finally peeled myself off the couch blogged a little bit, then thought I'd best get moving and do stuff, maybe that will wake me up. Head to the bathroom and start going through the hamper. Dang this thing gets full fast. Yeah, I know..... hello family of six!! But sheesh. As I'm pulling stuff out and separating it all, I find a few shirts a couple pants that I know the girls hadn't even worn!! ARG!! Well, once they've been buried under a ton of stinky clothes, I have no choice but to wash them anyhow. Sigh. I figure I've got about 3 full load to wash today, and that's really not THAT bad. I do have a spelling bee to attend around noon, I really think that's worse than laundry LOL But I love my son, and hope he does well this year. Last year, they gave him the word "their" "they're" or "there" Take your pick. He did, and was put out of the Bee. I thought that was REALLY bogus. But I'm not going to jump up in the middle of the thing and say "HEY!! You just fucked my kid over!!" So, I told him about it later, and found that he and a friend of his had discussed this, and the friend told the teacher what he thought, and she agreed. So, he got a "free" entry to the thing this year. He's a smart kid, so I am very anxious to see how he can REALLY do.

Off to do more laundry!! Enjoy the day!!

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Tis the Season.....

.... for allergies??? Well, really since I was about oh 19-20yrs old I have had this problem with sinus crud. When I was about 21 I actually went and saw a Dr and got the allergy tests done and all that fun stuff. Only to be told I had "allergic rhinitis" Huh???? The way he explained it was that anything could set it off, from drinking too much alcohol to going from a warm bed and putting my feet on a cold floor. I've had all that happen. When I drink, I can't breathe, and by morning I'm a real mess. I've gotten out of a hot shower into a cold room and bam! (sorry Emril) I'm sneezing my head off for the rest of the night/day.

Well, I guesstimated that it was at least 13yrs since I had this test, it was high time to see someone else about it. Well, that and I'm driving my poor husband up the wall with my sniffling, sneezing and occasional "snoring" (yeah right.... I don't snore!) The kids Dr recommended a Dr for me to see, this was sometime over the summer. I finally made the apt last week and saw him today.

Very nice guy, liked him right off. Told me a story of how when he had a job as a kid, they found this cockroach that was <--------------- this big -------------> and they took some fishing line and tied it around the thing, and walked it around the store. Yeah. Hmm..... this guy is treating my sinusitis???? The nurse told me that he had started out as a pediatrician..... was he demoted?? LOL Nahh this was all in fun.

I'm glad I went, but at the same time, I'm allergic to crap that I really wasn't ready for. For starters, "southern cockroaches" LOL Southern???? What's the difference between southern and western (where I grew up) other than their size I mean??? LOL I'm allergic to a specific tree pollen,.... forget what it was called,... "box something or other" then molds. Oh yay. Sigh.

He gave me samples of meds and wished me well. I of course have the option to call back and let him know what is or isn't working along the medication line. I took a pill earlier, I dont feel much of a difference, so we'll see how it goes.

At least I'm not allergic to the cats :o) Maybe it's the kids??? LOL

Monday, February 07, 2005

Rip! Rip! Rip!

Just amusing myself tonight,.... I am easily amused btw. For Christmas I really wanted to get the hubby a XM radio set up. Of course, I'm not nearly qualified to pick something out like this,.... there are so many things to look at/for etc,.... when I want something electronic, I just have to ask the hubby "which one do you think is best??" or really, without asking, he just says "get this one".... So, sadly, I didn't get him the XM radio set up like I had wanted, instead, we got our tax return money and I told him what I had wanted to do, and lets do this okay?? While at WalMart, I was on the phone with him, telling him what was available, he would surf the web and check on the product,... nothing seemed suitable there. Plus, the qualifications of the sales people there,... are um.... lacking.... So, we veto'd the whole deal there.

That weekend, he and his cousin took off to a stereo shop in our nearby larger city. He had called them and they had just what he wanted. Just like a man,.... forget that wandering around the store for an hour or more,.... get in and get out ya know?? LOL Well, on his way home, he called to tell me how much he spent,.... after choking, I asked "what?? did you buy speakers too???" "no, I bought you one too" LOL Sheesh.

You see, at WalMart, they had the nice car stereo that was XM ready.... played cd's, cdrw's, and mp3's too. He said that is what he wanted,... I was all set to buy it,.... and had referred to him as being a "butt head" LOL We love our music,.... and I've got mp3's galore on my machine,.... would be pretty cool to have them in the truck. Now, in all seriousness, I was just teasing him. I really wanted him to have what he wanted exactly. He LOVES his music. But he's just that way,... when we bought our new improved computer systems, we bought them together. We're very techie,..... I might not know how to use half the stuff we have, but I enjoy learning and playing with it all LOL Who am I kidding,.... he just loves to spoil me :o)

Anyhow, he told me if I didn't want it, he'd be more than happy to return it. Ha! no no, that's alright honey :o) LOL I'm very excited about having this new system. I look forward to when we get it put in,.... so I'm preparing. I'm ripping my cd's and putting them into mp3 format :o) Then I can have like 100 regular cd's put into what??? 5 discs for mp3's???? Well, anyhow, just wanted to share :o)

Out of the mouthes of babes....

Our house is small, our family is large,... it's comfy and cozy in a cluttered sort of way. It's home ya know??? We have 4 cats. I think I reason this in that there is a cat per kid,.... you know, one kid wants a kitty.... but you can't do for one w/o doing for all 4??? But of course, I'd be lying. My wonderful husband, after Merlin my sweet short haired persian of gosh,.... many years, turned up missing. You see, Merlin was a VERY skittish kitty, and was much more at home being outdoors. He was old, so I'm sure that he went somewhere to be alone when it was his time. He had never strayed off before, so that's the only thing I can figure.

I can't be sure of how long it was after that, a year maybe?? Hubby was online looking for kitties for me,... he sent me the link for the breeder w/ the picture of the kitty he thought I would love to have.... he was a long haired black persian, so sweet looking, and she was going to sell him cheap as he wasn't show quality. After a couple weekends of bad weather we were finally able to hook up with her to get our new baby. We were naming him Raven.

We didn't have Raven for even a month I dont think, before I realized something was very wrong with him. He was the loviest kitty.... but he became listless.... not eating much... I took him to the vet, and it was too late,... he tried to keep him alive with IV's and all, but he was just too weak. I was so crushed. I just couldn't believe it. Whatever he was sick with, it was hereditary the Vet felt. That made it much worse.

I guess it was later that year, when hubby found another breeder, her website was wonderful, and so were the cats. I talked with her, and we arranged to meet, and that's when we got Strider, he was just a little fluff of fur too :o) I need to add in a baby picture of him... just adoreable. She had plenty of other cats as well, all beautiful. She had a couple that were being retired or whatever..... we already had Strider picked out,.... in the past I had had a couple shaded silver persians and asked after her "young retiree" Surprise.... she had gotten pregnant too early and had complications and they had to take the babies early and Surprise had to be fixed, so she was no longer going to be shown or bred.... she needed to find her a good home,.... this breeder GAVE her to us. I've got a nice show picture of her as well I should post.... anyhow, that's the start of our cat family.

Now, something I must add is that before my husband met Merlin, he really REALLY didn't like cats. They were something you shot at with a pellet gun when they got on your vehicles and left the paw prints all over.... or something you taught your dog to chase when they came into your yard to kill birds..... but he grew fond of Merlin.

This past summer, for like 3 days this wee kitten was on our front step.... we all tried to ignore it,... you know, pretend it isn't there, and it will go away sort of thing??? Well, the kids would sit at the window noses pressed to the glass... "awww isn't it so cute????" "ohhh it wants to come inside" "ohhh it thinks I'm it's mommy".... sigh..... it broke my heart.... I would have drug it in faster than you can type blogger.com,.... however, I knew how my husband felt,... he wanted the thing to go away.

It was Saturday morning, the kids had been oooo'ing and awww'ing the kitten earlier, till hubby chased them off. We were puttering with watching tv, surfing the web and what not. When you hear this loud yeowling sound,... husband turns to me "is that that kitten?????" "dunno, maybe... probably a dog or something in the yard..." He went and opened the door, and it was a big orange tom tryin to pick on this lil baby kitty. Well, I must say I was very surprised when this little kitten tried to run inside the house, but even more surprised when he picked up the scrawny thing and took it to the food dishes in the kitchen. Like a little kid, I was giddy with excitement. Nothing is cuter next to your own newborn babies, than a new kitten or puppy I think :o) I'm a glutton. I love animals,... I'd have a zoo if we could afford it. Anyhow, later he asked me "what do you think?? should we keep it??" I answered him honestly "I'm the wrong person to ask" LOL "what?? you can't be honest with me???" (hmm... I thought I was??) Hey, to me,... one more cat is like one more kid, after you've had like 3 of em, what's the big deal anymore????? Cats are much easier than kids anyhow LOL I told him in all seriousness that one more cat to me, REALLY woudn't be a big deal. So, that is how our little black and white stray Skipper came to be with us. But no, we couldn't stop there right??????

Just before Christmas, I was headed out to pick the kids up from school and this cat was on the hood of the truck. Hmm... she's pretty..... but took off before I could get close to her. Eh, she'll go away. Well, she didn't. Hubby got home and I wondered what was taking him so long to come inside,.... went out and HE was loving all over her!!! HEY!!!! lol I wanted in on this action too. I teased and baby talked to this soft and purring kitty "would you like to come in kitty kitty???" I knew that hubby would love that LOL He bonked me for it :o) Well, later it was quite cold, it was pouring rain, I had to take a kid to scouts or something like that,.... and she was on the roof of the truck, huddled tight into herself. Sigh. I took her down, and put her on a chair under the carport,.... got back home and she was gone. When I went back to get kid,.... got home I saw her hiding under some boards that were against the carport,.... poor thing :o( I felt terrible for her. Told hubby and he said "well, if you feel that bad, bring it inside" Ha!! dont have to tell me twice!!! I dug her out of the boards and when she was inside, she acted like she owned the house :o) Now we think Skipper got her pregnant. I knew I needed to get him fixed, but it was one of those things you put off. You hear how their attitude changes and such... so I wasn't ready to kill off Skippers great personality, this is a cat that would talk to you, chase you around the house and all. Sheeba as we named the new stray, came into heat,... ack!! So, we did the separate the cat dance till I could get him into the vet. I wonder if we did a good job or not??? I guess we'll see by next month or so??? Anyhow.... my story has gotten way out of control here..... we've had yet ANOTHER stray (I think word has gotten out among the cat community) hanging around the house, crying and crying and crying..... and my daughter reminded me of something I had said months ago "You said if you could have a dozen cats, you would....." No, we haven't brought that cat in, and nor will we, I do have my limits honestly :o)

Something fun....

While blogging yesterday, I came acrossed a fun site http://mommy-matters.blogspot.com/ in a post, she refers people to visit http://dispatchesfromfrance.blogspot.com/ and consider signing up for The Great International Secret Blog Exchange! I thought this sounded pretty neat, and wanted to pass the info along for others to check out. You have until Feb 10th to sign up.

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Sifting sand......

Is this in any way similar to the sound of running water??? You know, when you were little and had to pee, and your mom is in the bathroom with you,... she would run the water to help you along??? After having my first baby, my recovery nurse kept giving me buckets of water saying I couldn't leave the recovery area until I had used the bathroom. Finally I needed to go, but struggled,.... she turned the water on for me LOL This didn't work when I was little, and it wasn't working then either.

Anyhow, after throwing in that load of laundry, I thought I'd clean the catbox. I try and do this daily what with having 4 cats. Sometimes I get all 4 lined up waiting for their turn to use the clean box when I'm done. Other times, they're more impatient and try and move in on me while I'm cleaning. This was one of those times, Skipper just had to go NOW. He's spoiled, so I didn't make him wait till I was done. LOL

Sorta quiet Sunday

Sunday is usually quiet day for the hubby and I as the kids join their grandparents and go to church and then do lunch after at their house. They weren't going to church today, so last night I thought, "hey, if anything I get to sleep in!" I usually crawl out of bed and rush around to get them all cleaned up and ready to go by 9:15am. So, we stayed up late, watching Tru Callings, we bought the first season on DVD last weekend while we were out for my birthday.

Well, at 6:30 I hear our youngest,.... he's up and playing and having a great time squealing or something. God only knows what he was doing, but he was in the livingroom, the cartoons are already on, and I kinda thought maybe the youngest daughter was up as well. Who knows. From then on, I just dozed off and on. I couldn't get comfortable, neighbors dogs would start barking off and on as well. Finally I gave into my bladder and just got up. Again, I say I am NOT a morning person. Especially when I get up and I have 3 mouths.... I mean kids that want to eat. I swear, did I give birth to baby birds?????? The 10yr old is quite capable of getting their cereal, and sometimes she does, but this morning I guess we were all feeling lazy. I sat down and thumbed through some blogs, and finally got them some food. I need that little bit of wake up time, even if the kids are being rowdy and cartoons are blaring in the background.

Our plans for this morning were really to shove the kids out the door for church, you see, we really REALLY enjoy Sundays.... I've even told my MIL how much we appreciate this quiet time. With 4 kids we don't get much in the way of quiet time! We always make sure to try and enjoy our Sundays. Whether its watching tv/movies, playing online (we enjoy Everquest, etc) or just enjoying each other ;o) We just enjoy the time without the kids.

This morning however, we made REAL plans, we were going to make the drive to our favorite coffee shop, Joe Mugs which resides inside a Books A Million..... ahh the smell of coffee AND books!! Does it get any better??? Grab a mocha latte and then drive into the hills where hubby's friend lives. I wanted to take the camera. Supposed to be really pretty in there, and deer running around, that sort of thing. I have a new camera I'm dying to get out and get some cool pics of STUFF. I think I've worn the kids/cats out already LOL

So, here I am..... enjoying a cold coffee,... Starbucks Frappuccino coffee flavored.... already ate what my youngest wouldn't eat in a cherry filled danish.... enjoying blogging and thinking I should really work on some laundry and cleaning up the kitchen. I'm home tomorrow, so I can always put that off and just blog the day away LOL Okay, yes, I probably will throw in at least a load of wash LOL

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Ahhh the weekend...

Crawled out of bed this morning, neighbors dogs were barking, I looked out the window and the neighbor is riding around on his mower,.... probably fixing it or something I would assume, but it wasn't even 8:30!! That's not such a great start to the morning for me. I hate getting up, I'm usually pretty grumpy first thing in the morning as it is. Then to add to the morning, oldest daughter has to cheer at a basketball game that starts at 9. So, here we go!!!!

The game went quickly, for 4th grade basketball it wasn't too painful, and the best part is, this should be the last game for the year now. Our team won too btw :o) By the time I got home, I was still feeling pretty sleepy. I vegged with the hubby with the tv on, considered a nap, but knew I needed to get the monsters some food soon, so opted to dink on here. Still piddling with this blog, and wanted it to look right. After my post yesterday, it was really all messed up.

Hubby is great with stuff like this, but hate to bug him all the time when I screw something up. He helped me line up my links the other day, "watching and learning" I saw where he made the changes, and actually with pure luck, found the spot eventually that straightened my mess out here :o) I like when I can do stuff like that.

I'm still not allowed to do the plumbing around the house though. I like to try and fix stuff myself. I think I get that from my mom, she had a cute little VW Bug back in the 70's and she would change out the fuel filter and other various things on that car. She loved tinkering with it. She was always tinkering with things around the house too. Dad was a Mr Fix-It when he would get to it LOL I learned a lot. I thought. I watched Dad change out washers and such in the bathroom, so I thought how hard can it be??? This was some time ago, but I was determined to fix our leaky faucet in the bathroom. Well, I changed stuff out and put it all back and the leak was well..... gushing? LOL Needless to say, I had to wait for Chris to get home and refix it LOL

I think I do okay with other things though. I can put stuff together from the box,.... and yes I do use the directions most times.

Anyhow, was just pleased with myself for getting this right, think I'll go dig up a cross stitch to work on.

Happy Weekend!!

Friday, February 04, 2005

Excitement Abounds!!

I thought before I went to bathe my cats, I would jabber a tad. And yes, our cats get bathed. Not as regularly as I would like to get it done, but I try to when the weather is decent so they won't be too chilled after it's all done. Anyhow, I was thinking of adding a recipe or two from time to time here. Recipes that I really enjoy, and maybe a story to go with it or something. So,... here's recipe #1. I got this from Food Network. You can do a search on sweet and sour pork, and pick the Alton Brown recipe, or you can click the link below. I love Alton Brown. When we had Food Network, we would watch it a LOT. Alton Brown is really a funny guy. If you get a chance, you should check his show out!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_19596,00.html


Sweet and Sour Pork

Ingredients
2/3 C soy sauce
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tb minced ginger
1/4 C flour, plus seasoned flour for dredging
1/4 C cornstarch
1 lb pork butt, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt and pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 C ketchup
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1 ounce honey
1 Tb vegetable oil
1/2 Tb sesame oil
1/3 C large diced Vidalia onion
1/3 C large diced celery
1/3 C carrots sliced 1/4-inch thick, on a bias
1/3 C large diced red bell pepper
1/3 C large diced green bell pepper
1 C fresh pineapple, cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions
In a large non-reactive bowl, combine soy, garlic, ginger, flour, and cornstarch. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Place the pork in the bowl and toss to cover. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Drain off any excess marinade and dredge the pork in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan heat 1-inch of oil to 350 degrees F. Fry the pork in batches, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Reserve on a warm plate.

In a separate bowl, combine the ketchup, sugar, vinegar, and honey. Whisk to blend.

In a small roasting pan heat the conola and sesame oils. Place the pork and vegetables into the pan and cover with the ketchup mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until the pork is tender.


As a kid, mom and dad would get take out from a local chinese food place. The only thing that I ever really enjoyed was the sweet and sour pork and chicken fried rice. Well, now I'm in a small town and honestly, I dont know that there are any asians around here much less a restaurant that is going to have take out sweet and sour pork! When I came acrossed this recipe, I thought why not give it a shot. OMG!!! It turned out soooooo good!!! The only thing that I have changed is that I use a pork tenderloin rather than pork butt. The tenderloin is such a great cut of meat, it really makes a difference I think. We eat so much, that I also have to double up on the sweet and sour mixture as well.

Okay, off to bathe the kitties!!!!!

If you happen to give this a try, let me know what you think!!!

ENJOY!!!!!!