Shhh...don't tell the kids I'm here...

I Got-

2010-11-15T22:03:00.000-06:00

A 'B' on my last test.

Only 15 more to go.

That is all.

:)

Could it be?!

2010-11-04T08:42:00.000-05:00

Has Autumn *finally* arrived here in Northwest Florida? I know Mother Nature has been teasing us for a few weeks now so I'm just hoping that this cool weather is here to stay.

The leaves are turning, the wind is blowing, the rain is coming in and hopefully we won't have anymore days of 85 degree weather. Who wants that in November?! I want it to feel like Fall. I want to be able to wear my hoodies and throw on those warm sweaters. I want to dig out those cute fuzzy socks that are stuffed at the back of my sock drawer.

Cotton sheets have been replaced by flannel sheets, summer quilts have been stored away to make room for warm, fluffy winter comforters. The tea, coffee and hot chocolate have been put at the forefront of the pantry. It's time for me to dust off the crockpot for some homemade chili, soup and pot roast.

I love this time of year.

This mornings beautiful sky on Twitpic

2010-11-02T19:49:00.000-05:00

This mornings beautiful sky on Twitpic

The Final Countdown

2010-09-29T09:51:00.000-05:00

To get all my school shite finished with Penn Foster. Blast! It's an 18 month course and well....yeah. I'm only on like course 5 out of like 15-20. I have until February something-or-other or I lose the almost 700 bucks I paid for the course- down the drain. And I will have no one to blame other than myself....and the kids...and him....and Facebook....and Neva....and Stacy....and the animals....and...and...and.....

I'm trying not to stress out b/c truth is, I work better & focus better under pressure but deep down inside- I'm flippin' the fuck out!!! I keep telling myself, "You can do this, you CAN do this." And after I read about 2 sentences I can't focus on the material anymore and re-read those 2 sentences 7x....only to say, "What?" *SIGH*

I even wrote on my weekly to-do list in my 'Mom Plan-It', "start new course book." And then on the following week I wrote, "Take test over course book." Have I followed this? NO. And really. Right now would be the PERFECT time to get my book out and finish the book I started last month but yet, here I sit. Thinking of what to update my followers with, the box of shredded mini-wheats on the counter, how I must get a load of whites washed today, that I forgot to light the pumpkin spice candle and how a smoke would be really good about now.

Maybe I need to take a course in focusing b/c it seems that I have a real problem with that simple task.

So Close...

2010-09-20T13:55:00.000-05:00

But yet still so far away. Things have not been going the way that I had planned. Can't anything ever just go my way once?!

*Shouting at the top of my lungs*
GIMME A BREAK HERE JEEZ!!!

I've been looking for and trying to find a job since mid/end of July. Can I say it's not easy at all?! Especially when your only experience is in having babies & raising babies. Totally sucks donkey balls.

I have applied at N.E.W., McDonalds, Ryan's, Hibbets, Applebees, the Post Office and WalMart, just to name a few. Still no luck in getting hired anywhere.

Somethings gotta give right?

So this morning, I got up and decided after giving the local nursing home (or Health & Rehabilitation Center as they are actually called) a 2 week break on me calling every Monday it was time for a call to check up on my application there to get into their CNA program.

Guess what I found out?! That my name was on the list for the next class and as soon as they knew when that was, they would start calling my references. YAY!!! Finally!!! I have been waiting for this since July, seriously. I'm really hoping that they will get a class scheduled soon, like, really really really soon. This way, things can get back on the track I had them on.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T09:25:00.000-05:00

Because of you

2010-08-24T11:41:00.001-05:00

I have been told recently by a certain someone that they didn't like the "new" me; the person I've changed into within the last couple of months. To this I laugh and say, "you made me this way."

I am who I am today because of you. YOU changed me for better AND for worse.

I am stronger now because of the shit you've put me through. I will not cry anymore because of the shit you've put me through. I will learn to stand on my own two feet because of the shit you've put me through. I will be a survivor because of the shit you've put me through.

And one day you will look back and think how badly you fucked up.

The old Stacy is gone and I kinda like the new one so you can suck it!

Blast from the past

2010-08-20T14:05:00.002-05:00

Ever wonder why good peeople from your past come back into your life when they do? When you need that change, that push to make the change, the courage & confidence to do it- they give it to you. Whether they know or understand what a big role they play in helping you do it, they are there.

Thank you.

Bah

2010-08-04T13:07:00.004-05:00

School starts manana and the kids are less than thrilled. All except for my little kindergartener who seems to be beside herself with excitement. I am less than thrilled because that means my last baby isn't really a baby anymore. Makes me sad. *SIGH*

Open House was last night and it seemed like we were at the school forever doing The Boy Wonders 7 classes. His locker is a POS, not happy about that with it being his first year using one. He's nervous about having to open it b/c the stupid thing kept getting stuck at the bottom. We were told that the lockers get stuck a lot, the combo locks don't work sometimes so someone with a key has to be found to unlock them. I think the school needs to put in new lockers for their students rather than the electronic school sign down the road from the school. But what do I know?!

So look for me tomorrow morning, I'll be the hot mess lingering outside the kindergarten rooms.

It's not fair!

2010-07-26T02:36:00.002-05:00

Summer is almost over here. In 10 days, the kids start back to school. Ugh. So not ready for this school year. Boo.

*Kicks, stomps & jumps up & down*

We don't wanna go back to school!!!!

So not fair that 2 counties away, they don't start back until Aug. 23rd. WHY does Okaloosa county think it's cool to torture kids & parents with starting early? They all suck.

So Soon

2010-07-17T00:23:00.003-05:00

Stacy & family will leave heading back to their home state later today and it seems like they just arrived yesterday. I will be sad to see them all go. They are all so wonderful and I'm very glad to be able to call her & her hubby my friends.

We have had so much fun with each other that I hate to see it all end. We've swam at their hotel pool a couple of times, went to the beach on Okaloosa Island and hung out at the house. It has been miserably hot outside so anything that involves water or air conditioning is a must! The kids have enjoyed each others company as well; playing video games together (w/o fighting & arguing I might add), the little ones running about playing whatever and just getting to know each other. Melted my heart when Miss O told me that Diva was her "best friend." Awwwww....

Hopefully we will see them next summer and hopefully things on my end will be better. Have a safe trip home guys! Love you all <3

Evanescence - Call Me When You're Sober

2010-07-10T17:29:00.000-05:00

3 DAYS

2010-07-10T14:23:00.002-05:00

Is all I have to wait until I get to meet my internet BFF & her family! The kids & I are sooooo excited- she & her family are sooooo excited!! YAY!!!!

We met on CafeMom before it grew to the size it is now. When there was only a mere 400 members and less idiots. We have chatted online & on the phone for 3 years now. We video chat, let the kids video chat and now it's for real :) They will arrive on the 13th and are staying at a hotel roughly 20-25 mins. from my house. Diva is excited b/c the hotel has a pool, LOL!

They couldn't have planned to come at a more perfect time for the kids & I. We definitely need this right now with everything going on. I think that's partly why they planned the trip for now. She is such a great friend to me; she supports me in what I do whether it be what she would do, she gives me advice when I need it and tells me when she thinks I'm in the wrong. She has been a shoulder to cry on for the past few weeks and always has comforting words to offer.

Even though this will be our first time meeting in person, I feel as if I have known her my entire life.

I'm not bitter-

2010-07-09T04:13:00.001-05:00

I'M MAD AS HELL.

Will things ever be 'normal?'

2010-07-08T20:54:00.005-05:00

I ask myself that many, many times. Along with WHY can't things just be 'normal,' WHY ME? & what did I do to deserve this again? Sadly, I never get the answers to these questions so here I am searching once again for them. My life has been thrown way too many curve balls and I just want slow pitch for a change.

I think in trying to find the answers to all my questions I'm learning things about myself. I'm learning my weaknesses & my strong points. Just when I think I can't cope any longer, I seem to find a new inner strength. That's not to say I'm not having weak moments. I have broken down and cried until my eyes burned, until I don't think I have any tears left, until I can't speak, until I'm dry heaving over the toilet. I will be glad when all this hurt subsides and my heart stops aching. I don't know that the kids ever will and that saddens me that I can't just kiss things & make them better.

Being strong in front of them is a must for me. I try very hard (although not always successful) to not have a breakdown in front of the kids. Their lives have been turned just as upside down & inside out as mine- if not moreso- and they are trying their best to cope with the goings-on. The last thing I feel they need is to see mommy in tears. Then they worry more and I don't want them to worry anymore than they are already, know what I mean?

Being around people that I know care about and love me & the kids so far has been some of the best medicine for us all. Those that don't trash talk the absent person in our lives, those that don't try to just talk about that person (we need distraction thankyou), those that help us to laugh & see the good in things helps me feel as if there is hope for us, that there is a light at the end of this tunnel, no matter how distant it may seem.

I went to a local nursing home late this afternoon to apply for their CNA class and jobs. The nursing home is roughly 12-15 mins. from my house so that is a bonus for me. It will save me on commute time, gas, as well as I will be close to the kids. I was hoping that the class would be starting like Monday but it's not scheduled to start for another 2 wks. Then the class takes 2 wks. to complete THEN I will be put straight on the 2PM-10PM shift. Would be fab for summertime seeing how the kids stay up all night and sleep most of the day BUT school is now just around the corner. This stresses me out. Who is going to watch my kids after school? Who will feed them dinner and help them with their homework? Who will tuck them in at night? *SIGH* It makes me tear up to think that I won't be home at night for a while to see my children off to bed.

This school year is an important one as well. The Boy Wonder starts Middle School and he is already nervous. The Little Diva starts kindergarten. My mind is going 100 MPH thinking how can I juggle everything and everyone as a newly single working mother of 4. This is all new to me, new to them and very, very...terrifying for us all.

How we will manage things...I'm sure we will learn through trial & error, through tears and laughter and something I've been doing my best to preach to them since things have "come out in the wash," TEAMWORK. That WE are all we have and WE must work together to make sure that WE survive & come out on top.

I'm going to close with a quote that I love and to me, says it all about my relationship with my babies:

"To the world you are one person, but to one person, you are the world."

And these are the Days of Our Lives

2010-06-27T19:08:00.003-05:00

It has taken me some 2 weeks to get over that nasty sinus infection I had. Still my voice isn't right and at times I still have a slight pressure in my face. In that 2 weeks, my life as I knew it, has become a soap opera...just without the cheesy music and without John Black talking as only he can while rotating his face in a complete circle whilst doing it. I could use John Black about right now for some humor.

Without going into detail (b/c it would take way too long to type out- if you're on my facebook you've got the my-life-falling- apart-via-status-updates) I will just say that everything in my life is very unsure at the moment. Everything. I feel as if I'm in this groundhog day sort of dream where shite just keeps repeating but yet changing all at the same time. It's very confusing, mind- numbing, stomach- churning and heart breaking and I'm watching it from a distance...like a train wreck...helpless as to what to do or where to turn. I don't know. Things are so up in the air at the moment that my head is spinning.

The House of Sick

2010-06-07T13:03:00.002-05:00

It's going around. The fever, sore throat and coughing. First Diva, then Boy Wonder and now yours truly. Diva hasn't been feeling quite herself since late Thursday night. Her fever is finally gone but now she has this horrible cough. The Boy Wonder woke up in the wee hours of the morning today, crying & croaking that his throat hurt so bad. He had a slight fever so it was off to bed for him for the day. Poor guy. Sick on his field trip day to Big Kuhanas. :(

Around 6 AM this morning, I woke up to a throbbing throat that hurt when I swallowed. Wonderful. A trip to Wal-Mart by 10 to pick up sore throat drops, more meds. for us & cleaner. Home now to clean the house from top to bottom and do my best to get all these damn germs out...that and clean before I get too sick to do anything and the house goes to shite!

Hoping I can keep Princess and Boo away from everyone so they won't get whatever we have.

No Go

2010-06-06T13:50:00.004-05:00

Today it's pouring outside; the house is dark and the kids are quiet. Such a nice day to relax and just lay on the sofa watching movies. As I type this, I've put in Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland.' Hopefully it won't be too distracting...which is both a good thing and a bad thing...I've 2 veggie egg rolls w/white duck sauce on a tray beside me as I'm propped nice and comfy in my soft bed.

It has rained everyday since I believe May 31st here in the Sunshine state. I feel as if I'm back in England :) I love the rain but I hate that it just makes the grass grow faster.

My plans for today was to take the kids to the beach in Destin before the oil spill hits us. However, Diva's fever didn't go away as we had hoped it would. Instead, it only got higher. It was a very sleepless night for the both of us. She tossed, turned, moaned and coughed all night long. I did the cold washcloth on her forehead, set the alarms for meds. times and worried about her fever all night long. When she finally got up around 11:30 AM (from falling asleep roughly at 9:30 PM) she still had a fever and told me she felt "bad." Soooo, no beach today. :(

Update

2010-03-24T00:02:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update for those of you that are keeping up. Sorry they've been so few and far between!

We now own a big truck and the husband is now employed through Great Wide running Wal Mart freight....I keep meaning to ask him if this means we get some sort of discount with them b/c that would be nice!! The suck part of all this is he is working in/out of Arkansas so we won't get to see him should he "pass through" because well, there's no "passing through" Florida from Arkansas. That is just one of the many suck things about him being in that God awful state but we won't get into that. (FYI: Ark. is hubby's home state, all his family is there & yes, we used to live there.)

Spring Break is approaching! YAY!! Can't wait for the kids to have no school for a week- makes me want summer to hurry up & get here. No plans at all other than to just chill at the casa and let the kids be kids.

I take that back about no plans over SB. My ONE plan is to get some of my schoolwork done. It's been a month yesterday that I've done anything for it so I need to get on the ball....I need someone to light a fire under me arse first b/c I have ZERO motivation.

The meds. I was given have not helped whatsoever. I understand the one will take 6-8 wks. to have an effect but yeah, I'm ready for something to happen. I hate feeling like shite all the time. I'm so over it already.

My brother ended up not going to Kuwait. He is instead, in Iraq. Not cool.

I have become addicted to Nature's Valley Chewy Trail Mix Fruit & Nut bars and have been going through a box every couple of days. What? They're healthy no?!

I guess that's it for now. Until next time!

Almost there!

2010-03-04T19:01:00.002-06:00

The loans on the big truck that my MIL and husband have been trying to get were approved and are almost completed. YAY! B has been hired by Great Wide and is now just waiting on the loans to get finalized so he can hand over the money on the truck and get the keys. When he starts his new job, it will be as an Owner/Operator and not just be another company driver :) Which means more money in our pockets which also means that we will be on our way to being financially stable- FINALLY.

Trip to the gym

2010-02-27T22:07:00.002-06:00

Finally went to the gym today with the husband. I have to say that it was actually fun :) Let me also say that I loathe the curl weight machine thing. (Sorry,don't know what it's actually called). I dreaded everytime I had to go do another set on it. And the husband knew it too ;)

Brent was like the weight trainer Nazi but he knows what I think are my "problem" areas and knows that I want to work them desperately so therefore he pushed me despite my complaining....I did only complain about that one machine though!

Hoping that this will not only provide me with a good workout but also get me outta the house as well as making me feel better...even if I can only go 2x a week.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Playing Catch Up

2010-02-24T12:12:00.004-06:00

Hello blogger friends and followers! Sorry I haven't been around, things on my end have been fairly busy. How are things going with you all?!

I'll do my best to give a rundown of exactly what's been happening for those that are interested.

My last post I mentioned my paranoia about what could possibly be wrong with me. And even though I did it in a joking manner I was completely serious. I knew that something was wrong with me, I've known this since for some time now. So I did finally take that first step and make an appt. with a doctor. The result? I'm seriously messed up. Ok....hopefully not messed up as in, beyond repair although that is how I feel at this point...at times. I have anxiety issues, which I did already know just not to the degree the doctor thinks, and some depression. I'm trying to look on the bright side of this (for those that know me personally, yes I do sometimes do that just not as often as I should), doesn't like 1.5 million people all over the world suffer from depression? So I'm not alone in this. Which doesn't make me feel like a complete failure of a human being.

We figured out why I go on cleaning binges constantly of the entire house, why I feel the need to rearrange the furniture every time you turn around, why I sometimes feel like my heart stops for even half a second and why I sometimes feel like my heart is beating in my ears. Anxiety/anxiety attacks.

Aside from the anxiety and depression I also have OCD. Yes people often joke about someone being OCD and all that but when you really have it, it's not that funny. Really. I have the type that my canned,boxed, all my groceries have to be a certain way, in a certain order; I stack things, including dirty dishes, in a specific order, and I don't like people putting things in the shopping trolley b/c they have to go in a certain way....same thing with the belt at the grocery. I get anxious when other people do this, the husband included. Then my anxiety turns to anger and I don't understand why people can't just let me stack my things the way I need to stack them check-out clerk!

Another OCD I suffer from is one that people don't talk much about. Maybe b/c it's Taboo....maybe b/c it's so personal...and for that reason, I am still not comfortable talking about it. Not even to my husband of almost 12 yrs. This OCD I have suffered with since I was 11 1/2. Very few of my nearest and dearest friends know b/c...well, for me, it's quite embarrassing.

So my doctor has promised to do his very best at helping me get better. *Sigh of relief* I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to being better. For myself and for my family. And if I have to do that with the aid of meds., which I've always been against taking, then so be it.

Now, moving onto other things!

I have gotten back into school, again. This time not with a University, yet anyway! That is in the works but I don't want to take on more than I can handle so right now I'm doing the Penn Foster College (Career School) route for Travel & Tourism to get my certification to be a Travel Agent. I'm excited b/c I love to travel (even though I know that's not a reason to want to do this) but to be able to help people plan these dream vacations, to help them reconnect with old friends & family or to just send them on their way for business excites me. I feel like this could be something that I will really enjoy doing and I can't wait until I get the chance!

Next up my husband (with the help of his mom) is trying to get a loan to purchase his (our) own big truck. This will benefit our family in many ways and I'm just trying to keep that in mind as we go through this long and very trying process.

What else?? Oh, my desktop has decided to get like 27 viruses in it and is shut down. Ugh. So as soon as we can, it will be taken to be fixed. I should have known- first the flat screen just stopped working and then the modem. Stupid thing. I am on via Brent's laptop that we got for him to take out on the road so we can see him through the web cam b/c we were only able to see him for 3 days @ a time every month (will be another plus to owning his own truck- HOME TIME!!).

And b/c he loves me so much he bought me a Dell Mini 10 laptop! YAY!! I've only been asking for one for like, EVER!! LOL!! Unfortunately, it's not scheduled to arrive until beginning of March. Humph.

You remember Twayla yeah? Little Diva's imaginary friend/stuffed Barbie cat? Well, she's back. She actually never left but just kind of quieted down...until the other day....when I found red color crayon drawings in the corner of the living room...then more in The Super Twins room, and 2 more places in The Boy Wonder's closet and bedroom. Who dunnit? Why Twayla of course. And just why did she do it? B/c she couldn't find any paper to make her pictures on. Hmmmm....Twayla was put in her pet kennel for the reminder of the day and Little Diva was made to wipe the walls with a damp washcloth. Yes I knew that wasn't going to get the crayon off the wall but I'm not handing the WD40 over to a 4 year old! While she wiped, she wailed and wailed and wiped. Pleading her case that she "didn't do it." Uh-huh. Afterwards she was made to sit in her Brat chair for time out (she has one of those foamy chairs that happens to have those hideous dolls on it).

I think that's about everything here! I'll stop by your blogs as soon as I can, promise :)

One of those people

2010-02-07T17:19:00.005-06:00

As I sat at my Grands house this afternoon listening to the stories told by my grandfather (b/c no one can tell 'em like he can) I flipped through the pages of an old issue of 'Health' magazine only stopping at catchy titles & only half reading them until I came across 2 articles that made me actually think. *SCOFF*

As I read the articles I had an uneasy feeling b/c I felt like I was reading about ME. Then I quickly realized 2 things: 1- I need to go see a doctor ASAP (and I loathe going to doctors) & 2- I have become one of those people. You know the people I'm talking about. The ones that think every illness applies to them. The ones that claim every ache and pain is due to this & that. The ones that take 36 pills 6x a day for everything they think they have. I happen to be related to a few of those people...shit has it rubbed off on me?? Is it something that happens as you age?? I mean, I'm only 29 for the 3rd year in a row so WTF?!?!

So now I'm kicking myself in the ass b/c I'm stressing to the max about the fact that I may or may not have basal cell carcinoma or possibly squamous cell carcinoma (certain types of skin cancer) and on top of all that I totally fit the bill to have ADD b/c I can't concentrate for shit and I seriously think I have early onset Alzheimer's b/c my forgetfulness is horrible...but no according to the June 2009 issue of 'Health' magazine it is more than likely due to having ADD. That also covers anxiety, depression & low self-esteem....which I'm pretty sure I have all 3 of those too. See?? I've become one of those people.

Why do I hear Jeff Foxworthy?!

Snap out of it already

2010-02-03T18:41:00.002-06:00

I am in somewhat of a funk. Like, a serious funk. And I don't know what I can do to crawl out of it. Get fresh air? Exercise? Shop? See a doctor? I keep waiting for it to go away on its own but after more than a month of it, I don't think it's going any where....and there's a part of me that kinda doesn't want it to go...but a big part that says "Shoo fly, don't bother me!"

By "funk" I'm talking about not wanting to do anything, not even caring to do anything, sleeping all the time, letting myself & my house go. I just have this overwhelming sense of I don't give a shit anymore....but yet I do....does that make any sense at all??

I've done the fresh air thing & a little bit of the shopping but really those just seemed to be like bandages...that's not the word I'm looking for but it'll do I guess. When I'm out and about all I can think about is how badly I want to be back at home in the bed, hid under the covers. I do feel tired the majority of the time, like I could just sleep for days....

*SIGH*

Loving...

2010-01-16T16:58:00.001-06:00

...a weekend when you have absolutely nothing to do and can just be completely lazy....

Carry On!

~ Support Our Troops ~

2010-01-04T18:46:00.008-06:00

My baby brother, my only brother, left today to head out to Kuwait for a 15 month tour. His name is W. Dewitt Sadler. He is a newlywed, a father to 3, stepfather to 2, brother to 3 sisters and uncle to 6. He is a soldier that is serving his country. He is a solider that is putting his life on the line to ensure the safety of others. Others that he doesn't know, will never meet and even those that would spit on him given the chance.

He is not a faceless name in the sea of our military. He, like every one of our military soldiers, belongs to a family. He is loved and we hope and pray for his safe return home to us.

This is a picture taken a few years ago when we were goofin' around (he'd be pissed if he knew I put this up) @ the Easter Egg hunt for all the kids...hey we had to find ways to occupy ourselves when the kids wanted to hunt & rehunt the eggs 7 million times!!

Being a Girl Scout leader, I thought trying to put together care packages for his unit would be a wonderful thing for the girls to do; a really great community service project. Of course I also thought that maybe it would help myself, my daughters, his daughter, and his new wife, Tiffany (my new SIL), feel as if we were helping in some small way. At the end of the tour, I'm planning a meet & greet between the girls and the soldiers so the girls can see, know & understand that they are people and not just soldiers. I'm really hoping that everyone can and will benefit from this C.S. Project in the end.

I have a plea to make to the Blogging World, to my followers and to my online friends. We are but a very small troop of 7 girls so I am going to ask that everyone get involved in this Operation Girl Scout Care Packages; not just for the soldiers but for my *girls.
*This will be the 2nd C.S.P. they have done and the first one, collection/drive for PAWS, was a flop that has had them very discouraged from trying to do another.*

I will post up an address for my brother's unit next month (they have 28 days in Tx. before they ship out) and a list of items that can be sent out for starters. I am also planning to start a Facebook group page so those of you that can and will help out can get all your info in one place. In addition to making a plea here, I will of course make one to the principal of the area school. However, as with anything else Girl Scout related, all school things come first with the school such as bake sales, Jr. class selling fruit, etc. And I understand that...to a point.

In closing I will say thank you ahead of time to those that will help the troop make this C.S.P. a success. Please message me here or e-mail me @ sometimestacy@gmail.com so I can get a head count of how many people we can get involved. I do understand that 15 months is a long time to be doing a project but a little here & there I'm sure will go a long way for our soldiers that are serving. :)

I would also like to take a moment to share my love to my family and friends that have served and/or continue to serve this great country we take for granted:

Roy Alford, Jr (grandfather)- Navy- Korean War
Ronnie Money (uncle)- Army- Vietnam
Robert Alford (uncle)- retired Army Green Beret- Vietnam
David Paplauskas (bio-dad)- retired Air Force- Gulf War
Robert Pagnini, Jr. (step-dad)- retired Air Force- War on Terror- Afghanistan, Uzbekistan
Michael Alford (cousin)- Army Ranger- War on Terror- Iraq
Michael Ellis (BIL)- Army- War on Terror- Iraq
Lawrence Siegel (BIL)- Army- War on Terror- Iraq
Gary D. Joy (FIL)- U.S. Marines- Vietnam (3 tours)
Gary Browning- retired Air Force
Dewitt Sadler (brother)- Army National Guard- War on Terror- Kuwait
Brandon Sadler (brother's cousin)- Army Green Beret- War on Terror- Iraq
Jeff Westbrook- Army National Guard
Jeremy Taylor- Army
Shane Honan- Army
Michael Lightfoot- Air Force
Tom Mudgett- Army

To those I've forgotten, I'm very sorry!!

Need a Laugh?!

2010-01-02T17:42:00.004-06:00

Because the only way to look is up

2010-01-01T13:33:00.004-06:00

That's how I'm feeling about the New Year right now. I'm hoping to keep this positive attitude, which might be hard because for anyone that knows me in real life, I tend to be a bit of a pessimist. Although in my defense, when it seems the only luck you have is bad because you can't catch a break for shit, one will tend to veer in that direction. So- only positive thinking, attitude, vibes for me in 2010! :)

Last night while everyone was welcoming in this new year, I was finally sitting down & getting our BK paperwork sorted & recorded. I thought that was an excellent way to start off the year by having this done b/c this one thing is holding us back in many, many ways. After it was all done, about 3 AM, I felt good about it. Like I had finally accomplished something. I know, small feat, but one nonetheless. I tried to continue finishing the recording of past due bills today by calling the places that I have no paperwork from (because they're soooo old) but of course places are closed for New Years Day. Bullocks! They threw my groove off....so I surfed TMZ for a bit instead...

Didn't find anything interesting...Marc Jacobs is covered in tats, Buzz from 'Home Alone' has packed on the pounds, Britney has went back to being a brunette, Tiger....still disappoints me, Sheen & his bimbo need to be locked in a padded room together- with alleged knife- and somehow Michael Lohan & Jon Gosselin are still making news. *BLECH*

Alrighty then! Do you make New Year's Resolutions? I used to but never stuck with them so I quit. I'm not going to make them this year either even though there are some things that I'd love to finally get done....but making them a resolution just adds pressure to make sure you get them done and who the hell needs more pressure?! More pressure creates more stress. More stress causes meltdowns. Meltdowns- aren't pretty.

So instead of making "resolutions" I'm going to make a to-do list. I seem to be able to function well with lists. I'm confident that I will have things crossed off my to-do list by 2011....hopefully sooner of course :)

Here's to the New Year, 2010, and all the POSITIVE things it will bring!!

Books Vs. Films

2009-12-31T14:06:00.004-06:00

In my last post I stated that I had not read the 'Twilight' saga for a reason. Some might think I'm absurd b/c the books are always better than the movie in that details are always left out of the films. While this is true, I feel that some films are much better than the books. *GASP*

Another thing, for me, is that if I am really anticipating the film, I don't want to ruin it by reading the book(s) b/c then the film might not be all that great to me...as great as I had hoped for.

Make sense?!

Hmmm.....I am a massive Harry Potter fan. MASS-IVE fan. I watched films 1-5 before I finally sat down and really began to read the books. (I had Part 1 for over a year and had started it but couldn't bring myself to read past the 5th chapter for fear it would ruin things for me.) Being such a big fan I felt that I just couldn't contain my curiosity any longer and read ALL the books in the course of 3 months. I admit I couldn't put them down; reading while cooking dinner, while taking a bubble bath, reading until I feel asleep with book in hand. THEY WERE GREAT! Way better than the movies could ever be. And that is where I feel I messed up, reading past the movies I had seen.

When we took the kids to see 'HP & The Half-Blood Prince' I felt cheated. I left the theatre feeling angry that soooo much was left out and things were all wrong (don't even get me started). I ranted about this halfway through the movies and all the way home to the point where B asked me to please shut up. I was utterly and completely disappointed with film 6 of the Harry Potter series. Yes, I obviously read what was left out of the other films, what was added, etc. but the fact that I had already seen the films and loved them before I read the books, didn't change my feelings on the movies. It, of course, made me wish they had put that bit in there and there but I still loved to watch those films. I don't feel the same way about the 6th. I feel that if I hadn't read the book and knew what was coming, I wouldn't hate it so much.

Another book vs. movie example is 'P.S. I Love You.' I thought it was a good movie, a chick flick I could swallow. (Being that there are very few of them that don't make me want to vomit in their overkill of mush) I loved the story of a woman losing her husband and having to learn to live (and love) again....his letters left for her after death was so romantic to me. So after seeing the film, I got the book. I hated it. I prefer the movie version of it ANY DAY. I felt like it was nothing but repetition the entire 50 some-odd chapters. I honestly didn't think I'd make it through the book it was so bloody boring. But determined to finish it, I trudged on to the very last page and a joy washed over as I was finally able to close the book- never to open it again.

All the talk of 'Twilight' came. I never turn down a vampire movie (who can?!). My love (it helps that B loves vampire flicks as well) for the walking dead has rubbed off on Boo. She reads everything she can get her hands on about vampires and Dracula. She is fascinated by it all...it doesn't help that sometimes she reminds me a bit of Wednesday Adams. While other kids are buying books at the book fair of unicorns and treehouses, she's grabbed 'The Encyclopedia Horrifica' and the creepiest Goosebumps she could find.

Back to what I was saying- I knew that I wanted to read the books but I also knew that I didn't want to ruin it for ME. So after seeing 'Twilight' 27x in a week and knowing there was another coming out, I got the first book in the saga. It laid on the dining room table for what seemed like forever. I wanted to read it but was afraid too. I didn't want it to ruin the movie that was currently in my top faves. So I waited.

B & I went to see 'New Moon' and it was after that that I said it was time to start reading. He asked me to please not read past the NM book b/c he didn't want it to ruin everything for the both of us.

So, 'Twilight' is finished (a day and half to read it....I had to pay attention the kids sometime). I will get 'New Moon' as soon as I can and I will do my very, very, very, very, very, very best to not read past that book. Hopefully it won't be that hard....I mean, the release for 'Eclipse' is just around the corner (June 30, 2010).

Who said these novels were only for teenage girls?!

Date Night

2009-12-30T20:31:00.003-06:00

On December 23rd, the husband came home from being on the road for 22 days.

In his absence, I missed him. You might be thinking, "uh, yeah," but it's been no secret that we haven't been getting along (as in talk of divorce) for well over a year....maybe closer to 2....so when I cried that he left, it honestly surprised me. It surprised me again when I'd catch myself thinking 'man I wish Brent was here.' Being out on the road and all by his lonesome, he did some searching of his own. We talked via cell phones continuously being 110% open & honest & vowed to change things not only with each other but also within ourselves in order to make things work for US (I mean, 11, almost 12 year together is a lot of time to just throw in the rubbish bin). Which leads me back to the title of this post.

Our date night was scheduled for December 26th. He wanted to surprise me in some of the things we'd be doing but I wanted to help in the planning of our night as well so we decided we'd mesh our ideas together to plan it....the last time we went out was over a year ago and it felt very rushed and that's what we didn't want this time. We both wanted to go outside of what we usually do when we get the chance to go out alone (dinner, movie then home) so we had started to throw ideas out there. Play pool (his idea), get tattoos (my idea) which he vetoed rather quickly, much quicker than I vetoed the pool....hmmmmm.....

So thanks very much to my SIL & her boyfriend (yes you read that correctly, lol), they drove an hour from their house to mine to watch all four of the kids and the animals so Brent & I could go enjoy our night out together.

It started around 3:30 PM and I think we made it home by 1 AM.

Here's the play-by-play:

As I was getting dressed Brent came in and asked me what earrings I was going to wear. I told him the white gold ones he had gotten me for Christmas. He asked me what was I going to wear in my second holes and I told him I had misplaced those studs. He whipped out of his pocket a box and opened it. Inside were tiny diamonds set in white gold. "Will these work?!" He asked. "No, not all," I told him shaking my head before exclaiming, "Um, YES!!" He made sure he told me they were real diamonds and I had better not "misplace" these. "Yes dear."

When we left the house we headed to C-View & took my sweet Grand her Christmas present of a DVD player w/some DVDs, which she loved and I loved that she loved it! Then we headed to Wal-Mart (what?! They have nice jewelry!!) to take my wedding set in that Brent had gotten me for Christmas. It needed to be sized down to a 4 if possible. (My previous 2000 $ engagement ring was stolen once upon a time but I won't name names of who we think, are 99.9% positive, did it). Then our date began!

His plan was to take me to Olive Garden for a late lunch but by the time we left Grands and got to Fort Walton Beach, it was already almost 5PM. So we drove to the different theatres to check times, Brent's idea. He knew I've been literally dying (it really was causing me physical pain) to see 'New Moon' so he wanted to take me to see it. (AHHHHHHH). After doing that we drove to The Island to see what we wanted to do.....scope out places to eat as well....and check the theatres out in Destin. (NOTE TO SELF: get smart phones like Neva & Jeff's). After we knew all the showings of New Moon and drove from basically one end of Destin to the other, we decided we were hungry and found a place called 'McGuire's Irish Pub' (my new fave place). He left the dinner selection to me but pleaded no more Red Lobster (my old fave place to eat). The place was fantastic, although I think our waitress, bless her, needed to retire. The food was delish, my drink was fab and Brent was proud that I went outside my comfort bubble for dinner :)

We left dinner full, happy and excited about what will we do next?! We had more time than what we had expected between dinner and the movie so we drove the strip heading back towards The Island. B needed to stop & grab some meds. from the gas station as he had a headache coming on and it was on the way to do this that he revealed his plan that couldn't happen because the weather had gotten windy and much colder than was expected.

Pushed back in the 3rd row of the truck was a duffle bag with throw, 2 travel mugs and one travel container with which to fill with hot chocolate and sip as we sat on the beach at night listening to the waves come in. How romantic is that?!

Thank you Mother Nature for ruining that!!

As we pulled out of the gas station, B asked me if I wanted to go get my nose pierced. I've been wanting it redone FOREVER seeing how I was 17 when I first had it done and the 'rents refused to allow it but being that I'm so stubborn I waited until they compromised with me on something else to take it out....and I've wanted it redone ever since. Anyway- I said I was game, then said no I had a full stomach, might puke, we should wait until the end of the night then said yeah go ahead then said No, I'll have to wait for summer to come b/c I sub first thing back from Winter Break and I'd have to take it out. So instead of that we went into the 'Body Exchange,' an adult store. TOTALLY OUTSIDE OF MY COMFORT BUBBLE, but I had promised I'd go in despite my utter embarrassment.

OH. MY. GOD. There was a section on the second floor that I felt seriously in fear of my life. Seriously. There was one of those dog masks things and whips and chains and horse looking bits and omg in this glass case there were....tools....like the kind you only see at your OB/GYNs office or in an OR. HOLY SHIT- people actually use those things...FOR PLEASURE?! Sick buggers....When I walked out of that little room, looking behind my shoulder the whole time, I was sooooo ready to go. COMPLETELY UNCOMFORTABLE. Although Brent keeps making jokes about how my jaw dropped when I saw that dog mask thing. Yeah, that'll be chasing me in my nightmares. *Shudders*

From there we headed back to FWB where I was finally able to see 'New Moon.' (Que 'Hallelujah' music). Isn't Edward just the most romantic book character bought to life EVER?! (Can you tell I'm totally Team Edward....ok so I'm Team Jacob when he takes his shirt off but that's it! *Snicker*) While watching I realized that even though I love Bella, Kristen Stewart's acting is starting to remind me of Neve Campbell's and I am so not a fan of her inability to act...you know how it seems that she gasps before, between and after every word?! Seeing that I haven't read the books yet (that's a different post) I couldn't believe how it ended! Thankfully I wasn't the only person that blurted out "WHAT?!" when the credits popped up.

We left the movie talking about it; what we liked, our favorite parts, what we think will happen (I'm so lucky that B is a fan- not the way I am of course- but he does like the movies) and we headed to the bowling alley (my idea)! I like bowling, he likes bowling, we hadn't been since I was pregnant with McKinnley, now 10, so we couldn't go wrong with this.

We bowled 3 games; laughed, kissed, hugged, joked around. *SIGH* It reminded me so much of when we were 19 and it felt so good.

After bowling, we decided that we should head home. It was now after midnight and we knew that Neva & Jeff still had an hour ride back to their house.

We had a perfect night. One where we were able to enjoy each other's company and focus only on each other. An uninterrupted night of just the two of us and it was lovely. I can't wait until the next one!! Hopefully we won't have to wait so long before it can happen again!!

Thanks babe for the fab night! I ♥ You!!!

WHEW!

2009-12-30T19:55:00.004-06:00

So the Holidays are finally over.

Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas but I hate, no, I LOATHE the stress of the Christmas season. Ya know, the whole getting that one toy that your kid has been wanting all year and only one store in 7 cities is carrying it and in limited quantities and then there's the stress of money during the holidays because unfortunately we don't get a break from paying bills like the kids get a break from school which by the way should totally be a new law that passes AND let's not forget the major stress factor that is known as family get-togethers or suck fests if you have my All- American dysfunctional family. Many of my extended family belong on Jerry Springer, I'm very sad to say.

And it's these very same people that twice, sometimes 3x a year, my and mine have to get together with. I spend those 3 some-odd hrs. worrying about what they're going to say that I will later have to try to explain to my older observant kids. What word will they use this time that will make my blood boil and who will be offending who with what this year.

Thankfully, this year, there were no blow-ups, no hurt feelings, no negativity. It was actually kinda nice not having to stress about people actually having conversations. Family was actually smiling and getting along. Genuine smiles spread across faces, laughter between people that only converse at these (dare I say) forced get-togethers. It felt....strange, odd, weird...but nice all at the same time. I didn't miss the attitudes, the tension, the...the shit that usually happens on Christmas day. And I could breathe as a result......I might not be so lucky next year!!

Tag! I'm It!

2009-12-06T23:45:00.004-06:00

Thanks to FeliciaE over @ Living Just Like Grandma for tagging me on this latest little Christmas diddy- sorry I'm late on getting to this :)

1.) Have you started your Christmas shopping?
~ Only just thanks to Black Friday

2.) Tell me about one of your special traditions.
~ Every year the kids get a new pair of Christmas pajamas just for that one special night.

3.) When do you put up your Tree?
~ Whenever I'm in the mood really. There is no set time frame of when it goes up or when it comes down.

4.) Are you a Black Friday shopper?
~ A dedicated one- this year I was sick at both ends if you know what I mean (all thanks to too much sugar) and I trooped through Wal-Mart and braved the crowds.

5.) Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home?
~ If we had the money I'd def. want to travel but we don't so we stay home.

6.) What is your funniest Christmas memory?
~ I'm drawing a blank. When I think of something I'll come back to this.

7.) What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time?
~ Either 'Home Alone' or 'The Santa Clause'

8.)Do you do your own Christmas Baking, what’s your favorite treat?
~ I bake for the kids X-Mas parties @ school- christmas cupcakes are always first on the list.

9.) Fake or Real Tree?
~ Although I'd love a real one I think I'd kill it before the big day arrived so we do fake every year.

10.) What day (as a Mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done?
~ The closer it gets to the 24th.

11.) Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?
~ HELL YES.

12.) What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas?
~ Watching Christmas movies curled up on the couch.

13.) What Christmas craft do you like the best?
~ Who the hell has time for crafts?!

14.) Christmas music: Yes or No, & if yes What is your favorite song?
~ Not until almost through the first week of December and I don't think I have a favorite.

15.) When do you plan to finish all your shopping?
~ As the money comes in.

We would love for any blogger to participate in this meme, even if you haven’t been tagged yet. Heather will go back and add your blog link to the list if you wanna play along.

Just simply copy and paste the questions into your blog, and then answer them.

Then tag 5 or more of your favorite blogs, and leave them a comment telling them they’ve been tagged. When you post your blog, please spread some Christmas cheer & leave a link back to JaelCustomDesigns.com and the blog that you were tagged by. That’s it! We’re looking forward to seeing everyone’s answers!

Tag! YOU'RE It!

1.) The Young and the Relentless
2.) My Army of Five
3.) The cream filling of my life
4.) Lady Shameless
5.) Maneuvering Motherhood

Freaky Friday

2009-12-04T10:43:00.007-06:00

*I think I just threw up in my mouth a little*

Yeah. Dude? I don't think it's going to work...Just sayin'...

Ew, ew, eeeewww!!

WTH was he really thinking??

**Blogger is giving me fits uploading pictures and adding text to them. Sorry!**

Cross our fingers...

2009-12-03T09:33:00.004-06:00

...and hope for the best.

That's what the hubs and I are doing right now with his new job. It doesn't sound or so far seem all that great and I honestly don't think he'll be there for very long but they were the only trucking company that offered him a job and after pretty much 2 months of no job, he (we) jumped on it.

The kids & I took him to Montgomery, Ala. late Sunday where the company had a Greyhound bus ticket waiting on him. (He was thrilled, let me tell you!) From there he would go to Nashville, Tn. to the Western Express trucking terminal, be put up in a hotel for their 2 day orientation and then be given a truck to be on his merry way. Sounds like it would go smoothly, but of course, it didn't.

We found out on the way to Montgomery that they only provide lunch and if he gets up at 5AM, he can grab a Continental breakfast. Let me just say that this company does not pay the drivers for going to orientation (as others do). They also don't pay safety, fuel and retention bonuses (as others do). BUT again, they offered him a job so I should just stop complaining- NOT. Anyhoo, the first day of orientation lasted from 6 AM to 9 PM. The last shuttle from the terminal to take people to eat was at 8 PM. Hmmmm, what are these guys supposed to eat? So hubs walked to the nearest food joint, a Waffle house, at 9:45. I stayed on the phone with him b/c I was worried about him getting mugged or something.

After his orientation was over, which hubs says was crap (but this is the 3rd company he's worked for in 3 yrs.- 2 layoffs due to gas prices- so really what more could they have to go over besides their company policies?) they scooted him outta the hotel to sit in the terminal lobby for hours on end waiting for another trucker to come pick him up to take him to his assigned truck-in Kentucky. He was the last guy from his "class" to not have a load out of there.

He arrived at his truck, which had been left by the previous driver (reason it was in Kentucky), at around 3:30 AM. The truck was dead so he had to call for someone to come jump it. He then received a message over the CallQuam that that will be a charge of $160. WTF?! Finally he gets that taken care of and now he is sitting. Waiting for a load back to Nashville so the truck can be serviced and cleaned. What a crock of shite.

So it looks as if he won't be getting any loads the rest of this week. We're hoping he gets some good ones next week b/c that's Christmas money....of course he found out at orientation that they run off of a star system and the guys with the highest stars get the loads offered to them first. A new guy obviously, has no stars.

Here we go with it. WWWWHHHHHEEEEEEEEE................

We've got a 'Drop Dead Fred'

2009-12-02T13:34:00.005-06:00

And he is in the form of the stuffed Barbie cat Twayla.

This has been going on with the Little Diva for over 2 months now. At first we thought it was cute and funny awww tee-hee, now we find it aggravating, I'm going to put Twayla in the wash machine and drowned her. Yep. That's what I told my 4 year old last night when I was at wits end with Twayla & her messes. Twayla breaking things, taking things that she shouldn't be touching, getting into things she ought not be into. Twayla does everything- good and bad. She has good ideas and she has horrible ones.

Twayla must accompany us everywhere we go. Sometimes Diva carries her in her arms and other times she is put into her toy pet kennel and Diva carries her that way. If we leave her, and Lord knows we've tried, we are informed that Twayla will cry b/c she will miss Diva and of course Diva cries massive alligator tears while informing us. However, if Diva wants to leave her to bring her Princess Poodle, which is a rare thing, she lets us know that Twayla is taking a nap and doesn't want to go to town. Did I tell you that happens maybe one in ten times?!

If another kid tries to touch Twayla....Hell hath no fury like a pissed off preschooler! That kid better run like the wind and sprout wings in the process!

I don't really know what to do about this. Should we take the cat from her? Should we just wait and see if she grows out of this phase as I'm sure she will.....We don't play along with her anymore in blaming Twayla for things. We let her know that she did it and it's not acceptable. Anyone had any experience in this department?

Reporting

2009-12-02T13:30:00.004-06:00

Originally written November 12, 2009.

Basketball Practice
Gene Clary Park
LH, Fl.

11 boys grades 3-5
4 dads
1 people watching mom

There is a dad here that has an extremely annoying laugh.
If I have to hear it one more bloody time, I'm going to hang myself with waxed dental floss.

That is all.

Librarian for a day

2009-12-02T12:51:00.003-06:00

This was originally written on November 11, 2009.

Do you ever notice when you try to think of something to write, whether smart, funny, etc. you mind goes ________ blank? What about when you actually feel like writing and yet not a single thought comes to mind. If you've ever had these moments then you know what I'm talking about. If you've never had moments such as these....shuddup! *WINK*

****PAUSE TO CHECK IN/OUT BOOKS & GO TO LUNCH****

So here I sit, all by my lonesome (the high school aide book-put-awayer doesn't count plus it sounds better for dramatic purposes *SNICKER*) pondering on what I should write about that would actually have a purpose....I feel like writing today & yet all that's coming to me is worrying if there's enough left-overs in the fridge to do our Thursday left-over night...

**TAPS FOOT FOR A WHILE**

Nope. Still nothing. *SIGH* I suppose I'll go wonder aimlessly about the library until something wonderful pops in me head.

TO BE CONTINUED.......

My wondering the library aimlessly is over! I found a book that, for reasons I can not remember, was one of my favorites throughout my early elementary years. The book? 'Make Way for Ducklings.' Written & illustrated by Robert McCloskey. As I sat at the front desk & began to read it, a flood of memories came back to me. Memories of sitting 'indian-style' in a class circle, of little girls playing with each others hair, of laying our heads on our jackets for storytime, of taking the pictures provided in the story and turning them into "real-life" happenings in my own little world.

After reading & reminiscing on that book, I wanted ti find a book that was a favorite even into my teen years. 'Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.' Written by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz. Who couldn't love this book?! Everyone has days like Alexander (except maybe Willy Wonka or Glinda the Witch of the North) so everyone can identify with and find humor in the story. (I actually used to own the book until I had 2 scribble & rip-happy toddlers in the house...) but alas, the book was checked out.

I did find however a copy of 'Twilight' that I checked out promptly b/c I am one of those people that lives under a rock and hasn't read the book yet BUT am totally in love with the movie version so I can't wait to read it!

***Other books that bring back memories:***

~ Miss Nelson's Class

~ Where the Red Fern Grows

~ Where the Wild Things are

~ Ramona Quimby book series

It's me again Blogger

2009-12-02T12:42:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's been basically an entire month since my last blog entry. My only reason/excuse behind this is life. Things here have been crazy busy, exhausting, stressful....I'm sorry to those that have been following me as I see that I've lost a couple of followers in my absence.

I have been writing in a notebook though when time has allowed for blog entries so I plan on posting those today as well as filling everyone in on the craziness at my house.

So hello again! I'm back :)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-04T07:50:00.001-06:00

Suck.

2009-11-03T15:08:00.008-06:00

Sorry I've been MIA for a while (I'm having deja vu, didn't I just do a post like this?!). I've been busy with work, scouts, home, helping with cheer practice (they were getting ready for competition) and now the frapping computer has decided to get a damn virus in it....Not to mention I can't for the life of me figure out why my playlist and videos aren't showing up...are they showing up for guys? All I'm getting is a little box with colored shapes in it. I tried posting a video & got the same thing. Any ideas??

So I've actually got a few minutes break from doing laundry and playing ponies (Diva picks all the good ones- NO FAIR!!) before the older 3 come in from afterschool tutoring to type out a quick little blog. I thought I'd share some pictures from Halloween weekend, as I'm sure everyone has done, and include a picture from the cheer competition as it took place Halloween day. I hope to be back to blogging regularly ASAP. I miss it so!

OK I was going to upload 5 pictures from Halloween night & 3 from that day @ competition but the uploader is having fits so this is it for now! The first is after the comp. was over (Hoboettes placed 2nd- WOOT! Very first comptetion as well :) Yes, I rocked a faux hawk painted blue. It was just a must for me to show my school spirit & support of my Princess & her squad members. The second is of all my heathens before we loaded up to hit houses. Boo had to be a red ninja "lord" as all the costumes she picked were either too small or too big :( but that was one of her picks (3rd actually) so she was cool with it.

Tomorrow is my BIG day!

2009-10-22T09:46:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow I go for my very first sub teaching job, in kindergarten. I'm nervous and excited! Nervous b/c I don't want to muck anything up and excited b/c well, who wouldn't be?! I somewhat know the kids already being that the class is Meme's & Diva & I are in there regularly to visit with her....I guess I'm more nervous that I'm actually going to a JOB!!

I went this morning and was given my instructions for the day; a few workbooks pages, movie time if they're good, lunch, finish movie time after and then nap (I will also have lunchroom duty). Meme was going to try to have the major work done by the time I take over at 10. I have already picked out one book from home that I know I'll be taking with me to do a sort of 'storytime' with them if they're good. It's titled, 'Chicken Fingers, Mac & Cheese, why do we always have to say please?' Not sure who the author is I'd have to get back with you on that one! I'm sure I could find a few more out of the kids hundreds of books to take and share.

Diva will be here at home with my SIL who kindly said she'd come stay with her for the day. The husband will be working at my Uncle's (no, no luck finding a job so he's doing things here & there to bring in some cash) & will pop in for lunch to check on everything...I'm assuming. LOL!

Thanks to my friend Cris, who happens to be a sub as well as my Girl Scout co-leader, she called me yesterday and gave me 5 of her upcoming sub jobs! WOOT! So next Tuesday & Wednesday I'm set to sub 1st grade. The other 3 dates are in November. Thank you Cris :)

So of course this means my installment of Freaky Friday is going to be put on hold until my work day is over...then of course I have to come home and get ready for Girl Scouts which should be fun- we're making foam ghosts by tracing our feet!

Anyhoo! Wish me luck on my first day back into the work force!! It's been a looooong time :)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-21T08:18:00.006-05:00

It's a Bird! It's a Plane!

2009-10-19T09:19:00.003-05:00

Nope, it's just me!

Holy shit it feels like I've been gone for ages!! How the hell has everyone been?! I know I had said on my last blog that I'd only be gone the weekend and here it like a week later....

So that weekend was a very busy one, but well worth it. Monday came and Diva wasn't feeling very well; fever, cough, restlessness. I had to go get my certification for sub teaching in our county that day so she was at home with Daddy all day. Tuesday in the wee AM hours I awoke to her body on fire next to mine. When I took her temp it read 103.8. OH MY GOD. I gave her some Motrin, woke the husband, told him I was taking her to the ER. Called my Mama & woke her up so she could go with me as I got dressed. Grabbed up Diva, a blanket & her favorite little cat and ran out the door. Thankfully we just live right down the road from Mom so as I started down the road, she was already walking towards my house. By the time we got to hospital, her temp was down to 100.7. *WHEW* 2 hours later, they said she had the croup (sp?), gave her 2 prescriptions and sent us home.

By mid-morning, I wasn't feeling very well and slept all day with Diva. By the evening, I was sick; cough, body aches, fever, restlessness. And so I spent the next 2 days on the couch. By Friday, I was feeling a little better, but not much. On Saturday I was able to get up and move around with ease. Today, I still sound funny with my runny/stuffy nose and sore throat, but I'm feeling almost 100% better! YAY!! However, I've got Boo & the Boy Wonder home from school today b/c they were throwing up yesterday evening. Ugh.

On top of all this sickness in my house, CTU has dismissed me from school b/c the Dept. of Education keeps dragging their ass with getting my loans in order. Lovely.

I will post some pictures and the video of Princess & the cheer squad @ The Hobo Festival when I finally get them downloaded on my computer.

A Hundred Apologies!

2009-10-10T00:19:00.004-05:00

I had totally planned to do my 3rd installment of 'Freaky Friday' (check my FB staus for the AM yesterday) but alas! There was not enough time in the day. I really despise those days. I honestly feel like all I have done from 6 AM on Friday until 12 AM this morn is run-run-run. Getting things ready for the Girl Scout meeting this evening did take up a lot of my time today, then there was getting 2 homework assignments in and wrangling and I seriously mean that, Little Diva from MeMe's class today. That in itself, was no easy task. My feet hurt, my back hurts, my neck hurts, I'm tired and I'm hungry but can't find anything I want to eat. I was 3 minutes (12:03:01 AM) late on turning in my second comment to a classmate on the Discussion Board and am really hoping the Professor doesn't mark off for it....typically they do. Suck.

This weekend will be a busy one so don't look for a post from me until sometime Monday! I have the 'Hobo Festival' (google it, lol) in the early morning b/c Princess is performing with her pee-wee cheer squad at 10. After that, it's off to bush hog, yes, I said "bush hog," my Aunt's overgrown pastures (think of me when you're in the air conditioning and I'm out on a tractor mowing down 40 acres in the Florida heat. Ugh.) Which means I'll more than likely be doing that all flippin' day. Can I just add that 8 outta 10x when I get on the tractor, Kenny Chesney's song pops in my head. Then on Sunday I have the Munson Festival with my Girl Scout troop. Another early morning activity. After that is wrapped up and I'm home by 2 PM, it's back out to the pasture with me to finish whatever I didn't finish on Saturday. Sounds like great fun, eh? Sounds like it's going to be a Turkey Helper dinner weekend. I'm sure The Boy Wonder will be thrilled by this as it's his least favorite food EVER!! LOL!!

So everyone- enjoy your weekends, have fun and be safe!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-07T08:47:00.005-05:00

And the winners are.....

2009-10-06T08:12:00.005-05:00

Once again, thanks to Alicia over at One Mum's Musings for selecting my blog for the 'One Lovely Blog' award!

The rules of the "One Lovely Blog Award" are accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. (I know it says '15' but I've only got 6 at the moment that are new to me!)

The Good Little Housewife
Desperately Seeking Sanity
The Young and the Relentless
Nanny Goats in Panties
The Rantings of a Drama Queens Mum
Domestic Spaz- putting the me back in Mommy

Stop by their blogs & leave 'em some love!!

BLUSHING

2009-10-05T19:13:00.003-05:00

So b/c I wasn't totally awake this morning, I didn't quite read, comprehend, understand, etc. the whole blog award thing I feel a wee bit pink...seems I had won it this morning! It took Alicia coming back here to tell me. Now I'm a shade of red...like a Perisan Red...thanks Alicia for filling my clueless arse in!!

I'll do my blog pickin' tomorrow when I'm bright-eyed & bushy tailed! For now, I'm going to enjoy my cuppa joe :)

(This is the last post from me today, I promise!!!)

Oh Happy Day!

2009-10-05T13:48:00.005-05:00

What a great Monday this is turning out to be!

Yes, I said that and no, I can’t believe those words came from my mouth.

What with my blog award nom. (yes I had to mention it again) & finally hearing from the county school board about a JOB all I need now is to have someone knock on my door and hand me a check for a million, hell a grand, ah who am I kidding? A hundred and my day will be complete!

If you’ve read my blogs, you’ll know that I’ve been waiting for a few months now to hear from the school board about my application I put in for subbing. For roughly a month I was given what I felt was the run-around then was told to just “keep checking the website for updates,” which I did so about every 3 days.

Then today it came- an e-mail from the school board stating that I am to attend the next orientation on Wednesday. *Happy Dance* It’s not the full orientation that you have to take it’s more of an informative one going from their e-mail. There I will make my appointment to get fingerprinted as well getting a date for the other orientation. And after all that is done, I will be a working mama, when needed of course...hmmm, will that still qualifiy me to use the term "working mother" when one is unsure of when she'll be working?! Then I can be one of those obnoxious moms that goes around telling everyone about how she raises her kids, goes to school AND works?! Oh & I so get to throw in being a Scout leader! *claps hands together* Oh goody! I can't wait!!!! *SNICKER*

Go me! Go me! It’s my birfday, not really! But go anyway! Go! Go! Go!

Well Slap Me Silly!

2009-10-05T08:37:00.006-05:00

I have been nominated for my very first blog award! How flippin' cool is that?!

My husband doesn't think it's cool, but I do so *Sticks Tongue Out In Hubands Direction*
He's not into the whole blogging thang, he thinks it's all a bit lame.....but then he dips snuff....enough said. (I love you honey, thanks for all your help on my math pre-tests yesterday *SMOOCHES*)

So back to my nomination! Alicia over at One Mum's Musings has put me in the running for this nifty little blog award called 'One Lovely Blog.' Isn't that nice?!

I'm not quite sure on how the "winner" is selected & I don't even care! I'm just thrilled that she picked my blog out of the thousands (being sorta-kinda new to blogging and all)!!

So Alicia, thank you for the nomination and good luck to the other nominees!

May the Force be with Me.

2009-10-04T13:37:00.003-05:00

My classes started today. My first Live Chat was at 10 AM, Business Math *SNORE*, but the teacher seems really easy going & even kinda funny. (Those are the best ones to get, they make it easier to come to them w/questions.) My next Live Chat for my 2nd class, Information & Technology starts @ 2:30. Judging from what the teacher posted up, she seems okay. I'll finish judging during & after the Live Chat though ;)

Don't ask about these damn classes b/c they have nothing to do with my long term goal in Elementary Education. The Uni I had planned on attending won't let me in for their BA program in said field until I have 60 hours completed. I'm at 34. Suck. So I thought I'd go back to CTU since I had previously attended there, get my hours & my AA in General Studies & then transfer over to UWF. Of course it won't go as smoothly as it sounds what with all the paperwork & loan transfers, etc., etc., etc.

Aside from all that ^, I registered with roughly a week left before their session was due to start so everything was very rushed. I was able to go in & change some of my later classes but the first 2 were set in stone. So here I go with classes I'm assuming are going to totally kick my arse.

HELP ME OBI WAN KENOBI, YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE.

The Entrance

2009-10-03T08:31:00.005-05:00

To Halloween Town

That is the first thing that my kids said when they saw this tree at the Lake. I thought it looked fab so I had to get a picture & now I'm sharing it with you all :)

Don't forget to check my 'After Thoughts' for other pictures from the lake.

Freaky Friday

2009-10-02T12:45:00.007-05:00

Finally a Friday that I can do my 'Freaky Friday' post! This ones not going to be so much "OHMYGOD" as it is "OHMYGAWD." But as I had said on the first FFP, these will be of strange, odd, gross & weird things and I'm totally adding photoshopped to the list b/c I found some good pics but totally PS.

Hope you went before we left...

Oh no she di'nt leave her house in that!

"My boyfriend's back and you're gonna be in trouble..."

WhoTH would think of something like this?? I mean, really.

A MUST watch!

2009-10-01T12:32:00.003-05:00

Too good to pass up!!

This is frappin' hilarious! I LOL everytime I watch this, never gets old!! ROTFLMAO!!!!!!

I've come to realize...

2009-09-30T21:47:00.005-05:00

Okay so this is just a little ditty that I did on Facebook b/c I was tagged & thought I'd share with you guys here.

1. I've come to realize that my chest...isn't as good as it once was (anyone know the Toby Keith song?!)

2. I've come to realize that my job...sucks sometimes. Yep, I said it.

3. I've come to realize that when I'm driving...I tend to block the noise of the kids out & rock out all by myself.

4. I've come to realize that I need....a vacation.

5. I've come to realize that I have lost...myself, long before I got married....did I really ever figure out *WHO* I was to start with??

6. I've come to realize that I hate it when...people call my house. Am I turning into a hermit or what??

7. I've come to realize that if I'm drunk...it's an extremely rare occasion seeing how it's only happened twice in my life.

8. I've come to realize that money...might not buy happiness but it sure can help! (Yeah I'm one of those people)

9. I've come to realize that certain people...suck.

10. I've come to realize that I'll always...be me. Take it or leave it.

11. I've come to realize that my siblings...might suck at times but when the shit hits the fan, they're standing there holding my hand.

12. I've come to realize that my mom...will never change & I still love her.

13. I've come to realize that my cell phone...is almost up with my 6 month contract, time to switch carriers.

14. I've come to realize that when I woke up this morning...that my student loan crap had to get taken care of today damn it!

15. I've come to realize that last night before I went to sleep...I don't really remember last night before I went to sleep, I've slept since then!!

16. I've come to realize that right now I am thinking...what the hell am I going to make for dinner b/c I didn't take anything out...

17. I've come to realize that my dad...which one are we talking about? I've got 2 of 'em.

18. I've come to realize that when I get on Facebook...it takes my stress awaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy (think song from 'Top Gun')

19. I've come to realize that today...went by quickly.

20. I've come to realize that tonight...will drag on forever (echo) EVER!!!

21. I've come to realize that tomorrow...will be a busy evening.

22. I've come to realize that I really want to...eat out tonight.

23. I've come to realize that the person who is most likely to repost this is...whom ever is bored.

24. I've come to realize that life...is like a box of chocolates- you never know what you're gonna get. Thank you Forrest Gump.

25. I've come to realize that this weekend...brings me one more weekend closer to seeing my BFF!

26. I've come to realize that marriage...is f@cking hard.

27. I've come to realize that my friends...are all in the computer. I heart my online friends!

28. I've come to realize that this year...didn't suck as bad as last year...yet.

29. I've come to realize that my ex is...I've only had one & that was so high school.

30. I've come to realize that maybe I should...stop stressing over things so much & learn to let go.

31. I've come to realize that I love...you man. It just felt right, LOL!!

32. I've come to realize that I don't understand...math. Actually, I've known that since like, grade school.

33. I've come to realize my past...I don't really have a past...

34. I've come to realize that parties...take too long to plan, cause too much stress & end too quickly.

35. I've come to realize that I'm totally terrified...of people tailgating. Sets me into a panic attack.

When Life Hands You Lemons-

2009-09-30T13:25:00.005-05:00

you just gotta suck 'em.

Plan & simple.

There's no "make lemonade" outta shitty situations. There's no candy coating smelly turds.

It is what it is.

There's simply, take it, deal with it & eventually things won't be so flippin' sour.

One of my favorite qoutes, "With the sweets there come the sour" is so true.

Just when I thought things were getting back on the right track; I enrolled back in school (sweet) which brings me one step closer to having my teaching degree (sweet), we were getting closer to being done with our BK (sweet) which brings us one step closer to owning our own home (in a yr. or so- sweet) & then my husband loses his job (SOUR). Motherfocker.

It seems that everytime things get going for us, the bottom always falls out somewhere. We seem to never be able to catch a damn break. *SIGH* It's always set back after set back after set back....It's hard to look on the bright side of things when there is no 'bright side.' Just doom & gloom.

I hate lemons.

Well that might explain it

2009-09-30T09:34:00.002-05:00

I have wondered why I haven't gotten any comments on my blog. I thought maybe people just found it extremely boring (and so what if they did?!) or maybe they are the readers that don't like to comment (see 'comment whore' blinkie) or maybe it's because they weren't able to leave comments....

A fellow blogging mama was nice enough to let me know over at CafeMom that, hey! Your comment link is broken!! Well hell. I honestly had no idea why so I went in, clicked something that had the word 'embedded' in it & Viola! My comment link works again!

So please, feel free to leave me a comment. I'm going to be catching up on my ever-so neglected blog today in between doing laundry.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-16T00:44:00.006-05:00

I. Am. A Slacker.

2009-09-14T08:25:00.003-05:00

I have put things off for long enough. Doing a bit here & a bit there just isn't going to cut it anymore! I'm getting down to the wire & have got to get this shit done NOW or risk being completely unprepared & unorganized. That just can't happen. NO WAY.

What am I talking about you might be wondering?

Well there's the mound of white clothes that have taken up residence on my loveseat since Thursday (mixed in with a few remaining items of the colored load I did before that), there's the once again growing mound of dirty laundry over there <- that has got to get done or else we'll all be lost in a sea of knickers & tee's, there's the dining room table that seems to be the catch-all for everyone (I loathe this). Can I just say I'm sick & flippin' tired of cleaning everyone else's shit off it?! There's the little basket of odds & ends that I do once every few wks. Yeah...I was supposed to empty that basket a month ago. Now all this (or most of it anyway) I've got a good excuse for. No, really. I do.

See last week I had somewhere I had to be everyday, except Monday & that was a Holiday so I took that day off! I had Girl Scout Nut Sale training Tues., Wed. I had Princess's uniform fitting for cheerleading, Thurs. I had a GS leader meeting, on Friday I had parent volunteer orientation at the school, Sat. I had to get my nails filled & bake, finally on Sun. I had to attend Princess's cheer bake sale & that evening go to a Slumber Party until after 9PM. So see? I couldn't have gotten very much done in the time that I was home those days b/c remember that Diva is up my butt the entire day (that's a good thing of course ;)

With all the above 'chores' listed that I have got to get done in my house so that I don't end up playing catch-up the rest of the year, I have something else that is in need of my attention (besides the husband- he'll get his turn damn it!)- my Girl Scout troop.

I am the leader for the only troop in my area. I have been at this for a little over a yr. now. While we are small & gaining & losing girls all the time, I still made a commitment. Not just to the organization. Not just to the girls in this area. I've made a commitment to my daughters who enjoy being a part of Girl Scouts. So now matter how frustrating it gets, how time consuming it is or how much shit I get from parents (they'll get what they give- I'm not paid to put up with their mouths), I will continue to do this FOR THEM. As I was saying, we have yet to have our first meeting and we have a sale coming up in a week. Why have we not meet yet? Well b/c I was trying to get all the flyers out & collected to get new girls in the troop before we have our first meeting. However, schools wanted to be a tad difficult this yr. & the flyers went out later than what I had planned. Anyhoo-

I have re-vamped the parent folders this year into binders with dividers & sections & handy-dandy info at their fingertips. (Sorry, too much Blues Clues) The problem with this is, I've only got 1 binder almost completed. These binders HAVE TO get finished! I can not show up to a registration meeting w/o ALL the binders! Of course I won't know exactly how many binders I'll need until Friday after I pick up all the flyers. With that said, I hit a little bump in the road concerning the green Girl Scout binders over the weekend. I went to WalMart to pick up a few more & what do you know?! They're sold out AND that color was only a promotional item for back-to-school. Shit. I wanted all the parents to have the same binder so I could say "please refer to your green parent binders..." I don't want to be standing there calling out every color of the rainbow.

A saleswoman said to just bring back the green ones & get a color that they have a lot of. No problem, why didn't I think of that? Oh, wait. B/c I'm really horrible at keeping up with receipts & not allowed to bring anything back to WalMart w/o a receipt for 6 months. Suck it WalMart.

Now I'm on a mission to find someone to take the green binders back to the store so I can get another damn color (I think I'll check into this color or something similar, whaddya think?!) & finally get these binders rolling! It would be nice to have 7 done by Friday.

Here's to hoping I get my shit together!!

Remembering....

2009-09-11T08:14:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-09T20:28:00.004-05:00

I'm Bossy!

2009-09-07T17:52:00.005-05:00

As you can see by the picture Diva is even a little sassy in her sleep. This is her usual mode when she's awake; hand on the hip & bossing orders to her older siblings. Hence why she is known as The Diva of the house!

Gulfarium Pictures Part 2

2009-09-06T11:19:00.001-05:00

Gulfarium Pictures Part 1

2009-09-05T11:16:00.006-05:00

Freaky Friday

2009-09-04T10:59:00.004-05:00

So every Friday I'm going to do my very best to post strange, unusual, spooky & downright disgusting pictures and/or facts that I find on the World Wide Web. B/c I'm weird like that, I thought it would make my Fridays more interesting. Enjoy!

This is one ride I'll pass on. Should something go wrong, you're plumeting straight to your death. No chance whatsoever of survival. FAIL!

Okay this is just weird. I've heard of touching your tongue to your nose but actually being able to put your nose in your mouth is just very odd to me.

I admit this is kinda cool. Apparently it's face paint...I'm just wondering what possessed the guy wearing it to do this and how long he actually wore it.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-02T08:55:00.005-05:00

The Never Ending Story

2009-08-31T08:19:00.005-05:00

That's what comes to mind when I think of having a clean house.

Laundry, dishes, vacuuming, laundry, dishes, vacuuming....over & over & over again. It's never ending. And it gets so mundane doing it everyday of every week of every month all year.

I can spend all day cleaning bathrooms, putting toys in their proper places, washing-drying-folding-hanging-putting away laundry, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, wiping and rearranging the house and yet by the time 9 PM rolls around & all is quiet in the house- it's a mess again. Which means come morning & the kids get off to school, it's time to start all over. *SIGH*

I can only do this so many times until I say "I NEED A BREAK" and throw my hands up. So I take a a few days off from my housewife duties, a week max, and before I know it I'm buried up to my eyeballs in laundry and the toy bins in the living room are filled to the brim b/c face it- when mom gets sick or goes on strike the house stops. It then takes me a good solid week of steady laundry to get caught up on it & roughly 2 full days of cleaning to get the house back in the order I like it. You'd think I'd learn not to take a break b/c of the hassle it is to get caught back up but no...I haven't. *SHAKES HEAD*

Don't get me wrong, I love that I'm able to be a SAHM. Many working moms would kill to be able to stay at home...okay maybe not kill per say but maim or seriously injure (hey women can be vicious!) I only wish I could wiggle my nose, nod my head or wave my magic wand to get my house spic & span. It would be so nice. Then I could totally have time to sit on my ass eating bon-bons watching cheesy soaps....know any good spells?!

By this posting don't assume that my kids don't have chores b/c they do. The Boy Wonder's chores are to keep his room tidy (incl. vacuuming & putting his laundry away), empty all trashes & take it out to the bin as well as feed & water all 7 animals. Princess & Boo's chores consist of cleaning their rooms, unloading the dishwasher, emptying toy bins in living room every wkend, taking all dirty laundry from bathroom hamper to the laundry area. Diva's chore is to pick up after herself like put her toys in the bins...but she's so much of a diva that well, her older siblings end up doing it for her.

YAY!

2009-08-28T09:31:00.002-05:00

Rant On!

2009-08-26T18:16:00.002-05:00

I have to get this off my chest people. If I don’t, I’m likely to land on the local news channels and that wouldn’t be good.

Why do parents allow their kids to run amok in stores?
Why do they continue to carry on lengthy conversations and act as though their toddlers/preschoolers aren’t terrorizing passersby?
Why do they do nothing but continue BSing when they witness with their two eyes their kids running into or in front of people?
Why, Why, WHY????

This is a pet peeve of mine, #18, and it really takes everything I’ve got to not go right up to the parent(s) and tell them to get their little demon seeds under control….or to put their little arses in a trolley myself. UGH.

This morning I made a trip to the little local dollar store to grab a few things to use whilst cleaning my truck. I no more than walked in the door and there stands a husband & wife (I’m ASSuming of course), a store clerk and running around like chickens with their heads cut off were two little monsters.

As I tried to make my way around them, they continued to run around me, laughing. WTH? The proud parents of these little pig droppings (love Ms. Hannigan) turned, smiled and went back to their lovely little convo about someone in their family on drugs. Yeah, that’s something I’d be talking about loudly in public AND in a tiny little town where everybody knows everybody that knows somebody that knows a relative of yours. FAIL.

I had a Twanda moment when those parents allowed their shrieking little devil spawns to follow me to the auto aisle. Never before have I ever wanted to tackle someone more. Never before had I ever wished I was already outside vacuuming my truck in the Florida heat.

I just don’t get it. When kids are taken out to a public place such as a store or a restaurant and misbehave they are no longer just the parents’ problem. They then become everyone’s problem b/c everyone is having to listen to them scream, kick, cry, run, yell, etc., etc., etc.

Parents: teach your kids how to behave in public or keep them at home.

Rant Over!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

2009-08-26T08:28:00.006-05:00

Are all the children in their beds?

2009-08-23T22:15:00.005-05:00

For now it ten o’clock….

School starts tomorrow for my three older kids. They went to bed with bit of excitement, a lot of nervousness & a sprinkle of fear.

I feel for them b/c I can remember having those same feelings when school resumed from summer holiday.

What will the kids in class be like?
Will I like my teacher?
Will this year be way harder than last year?
Will I have homework the first week of school?
What if I get a crap lunch?

Those thoughts that used to run through my head as a kid are now running through my children’s.

Reassure, reassure, reassure….and take them to the local grocer and let them pick out their choice for lunch to ensure that they don’t get a crap lunch!

I wish my kids all the luck in the world on their first day back at school tomorrow! (Even though I know they’ll do great!)

It Starts (cont.)

2009-08-20T20:58:00.003-05:00

Open house is over & done with.

The teacher mystery has been solved; the kids have gotten the teachers that I requested.

YAY!!

They, we, are looking forward to a great school year......but will still secretly long for summer back!!!!

It starts

2009-08-20T12:31:00.004-05:00

Tonight is the kids’ open house at school. We’re all nervous as to what teachers they will get this year. Just b/c you go and “request but not really request” doesn’t mean you’ll get the teachers that you didn’t really request….make sense? And of course the secretary won’t tell you which teacher your child has gotten- “You’ll find out at open house,” is the answer I received when trying to find out last week. *Blows Raspberry*

The girls are being more vocal and resistant (is that the word I’m looking for?) about not wanting school to start at the moment. (They had hopes it had burned down...I remember those days!) I think that’s due to them having a bit of a hard time last year. That’s all I’ll say on that matter. The Boy Wonder hasn’t really said too much other than he wished the summer holiday was longer. Don’t we all?! Oh and that he was nervous about going into the 5th grade. I assured him he’d do perfectly well.

Unfortunately, with the excitement that is open house at school and the kids getting to see all their friends again it also means that yes, the summer holiday has sadly come to an end.

So farewell to the lazy days of summer!
You will be missed immensely!
Until next time!!

Kiss me arse to the busy days of the school year!
You will try your best to defeat us with your loads of homework, state tests and stressed out weeks.
We will prevail no matter!!

Slithering along

2009-08-19T22:51:00.004-05:00

Contagious Laugh

2009-08-18T13:21:00.002-05:00

Here is video I took over the weekend of my nephew and his very funny little laugh. As the video plays you will see that Diva had to get her time in the limelight as was expected!

Little Cousins

2009-08-17T23:05:00.005-05:00

This picture was taken of the Little Diva and her cousin Bubby in June of this year at Lake Jackson. I love it. It's one of my favorites by far.

Diva is 3 1/2 months older than Bubby but you wouldn't know it. He looks after her when they're playing in a group of kids, lets her have her way when it's just the two of them playing and 9 times outta 10 always shares with her...something she should learn from him!

I hope, as they grow up and change, they will always remain the best of friends as they are now.

Got Elvis?

2009-08-14T11:43:00.005-05:00

The famous Elvis statue outside Stateline Mini Mall in Florala, Alabama. I think it's a bit ridiculous but I guess it gets the place noticed. I wonder how many people have tried to buy him?

The local Manison

2009-08-13T22:18:00.005-05:00

I'm a sucker for Victorian houses and Florala, Alabama has no shortage of them. It's typical that when the kids & I go into town we drive by all the old houses. Some are falling down, some are in the middle of restorations, some look as beautiful as I'm sure they did so many years ago.

Here is our #1 favorite: the old manison. It has been passed down from family member to family member. Currently a nephew owns it as the previous owners had no children to pass it down to.

Isn't it grand?!

Nature's Sense of Humor

2009-08-12T15:07:00.004-05:00

Located @ our local park, Lake Jackson in Florala, Alabama.

Because it's my birthday-

2009-08-10T21:28:00.004-05:00

2009-08-09T11:42:00.000-05:00

Fun on the Farm

2009-08-08T18:23:00.005-05:00

These are pictures I took while the niecey & nephew were visiting a few months back. They had a lot of fun going for a ride in the bucket of the tractor with their Great Grandpa, Papa.

What's the password?

2009-08-07T15:22:00.006-05:00

Here is the little Diva, age 4, giving the secret password for entrance into 'The He-Man Woman Haters Club.'
Gotta love The Little Rascals!

The Color Purple

2009-08-05T21:03:00.005-05:00

Earn extra dinero!

2009-08-04T17:25:00.002-05:00

I'm currently doing this InboxDollars thing and it's actually quite simple. It's free to sign up, completely legit & there's no spamming your inbox, which is quite nice. You can request a check when you reach $30 or shop online with your earnings. So what are you waiting for?! SIGN UP because everyone can use a little extra change in their pockets!

The Battle of Sugar Mountain

2009-08-01T21:03:00.005-05:00

Below is a picture I took while helping Boo with her science project, Which do ants prefer- sugar or cheese?

We placed sugar on a medium sized fire ant bed, cheese on a MASSIVE fire ant bed then decided to save time and place both sugar & cheese by a very small black ant bed. The first 2 beds were out in the middle of the pasture with a good distance between them. The little black ants hole in the ground was near the house. We didn't notice any other ant beds nearby.

Fast forward a bit---->>

Boo had to write down what she observed for roughly an hour so we were going back & forth between the 3 ant beds. When we got back to the little black ants, this is what we saw:

As you can clearly see, the fire ants are pretty strong little buggers. They are/were overtaking the much bigger black ants much to our surprise. We felt really bad that these little monsters were now invading the other colony so the project ended with us scattering the sugar & cheese (as much as we could) away from black ants.

And just in case you're wondering, which do ants prefer, they seem much like humans in that it just depends on the ants taste! The first bed could've cared less about a teaspoon of sugar being poured on their home. They hardly took notice of it. The second bed charged & covered the cheese within 30 minutes. The third seemed to go back & forth between the sugar & the cheese. :)

Beauty

2009-07-31T15:47:00.005-05:00

Sale Shopping

2009-07-29T12:03:00.003-05:00

I've been trying these last couple weeks to get the kids school clothes & shoes bought before the madness of the back-to-school sales really begin. That's when all the nutters come out. So far I'm really proud of my sale shopping. I still have a little bit left to get but I have confidence (lol) that I'll be able to find the fab sales that I've been finding. All it takes is a little patience in searching the stores & combing the racks.

Where did I find these great deals? Surprisingly JCPennys & Old Navy. Last year most of the kids shirts came from K-Mart b/c they were like $8.99 for graphic tees. No where could beat that. That was last year!

Right now, Old Navy has graphic tees for 6 bucks & Polo shirts for $7. So the Boy Wonder picked out his selection of tees, grabbed a couple of Polo's and were on our merry way. At Pennys I found the girls graphic tees for wait for it......wait......$3.59!! Regular price: $14.99. How's that for bargain shopping?! Pennys has a killer sale going on. The girls got 7 different styles of shirts from fun to dressed-up for $5.03, reg. price $19.99. There's more but I won't bore you with the details.

Both shopping trips together I spent $320.29 but saved $288.38 shopping sale items only. Getting a total of 1 pr. of Nikes, 2 prs. of New Balance, 1 pr. Sketchers, 1 pr. Arizona Jeans Co. flats, 1 backpack & 22 items of clothing. Those prices can't be beat by Wal-Mart.

Reflections

2009-07-29T00:40:00.005-05:00

No Justice

2009-07-27T15:05:00.006-05:00

So Michael Vick has been reinstated to the NFL.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090727/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_vick_reinstated

WHAT A CROCK OF SHITE.

Although my husband said he knew it would happen, I had hopes that it wouldn't.

However it seems the NFL harbors criminals so why wouldn't they let him back? They apparently like to give pats on the backs & fat paychecks to those that are a waste of space. Drunk drivers that kill & animal torturer slash murderer are way up there on the list of people that shouldn't be allowed to breathe.

I seriously hope that whatever team decides to sign Vick on gets so much shit thrown at them they let him go. I hope PETA gets dirty with this, as dirty and downright outrageous as they've never done before.

And if you read this and think BFD blah, blah, blah I want you to look up pictures of the dogs that were saved from Vick's dog fighting "kennel" & tell me what they did to deserve that. How about the ones that were drowned? Electrocuted?? Hung???

If you can look at those pictures and still think it's not a big deal what that piece of shit did/was a part of, then do the world a favor- go get a plastic bag, put it over your head, tie it really tight to ensure no air can get in and wait....

An artist in the making

2009-07-27T02:34:00.004-05:00

By: Boo J., age 9

A stranger wondered into our lives...

2009-07-25T08:58:00.005-05:00

And just as quickly as he entered, he was gone. This is 'Meaty.' This beautiful dog was at our house one day when we got home and here he stayed for about 2 weeks. Everyone on the farm took to 'Meaty' right away. And even though we knew we needed another pet like we needed a hole in the head, we were ready to keep him. Yes, he had a collar on but no tags so we knew he belonged to someone out there. The local PAWS was notified in case that someone was looking for him.

Meaty followed the kids around outside, accompanied Brent to round up horses & was even friendly to Chunky & Piper even though they weren't too keen w/him. He was such a friendly & loving dog. Took to his new name & came when he was called. His downfall, after a week, was when he started to follow my truck every time I'd try to leave.

The first time he went missing for a day I found him on the next road over at a friends house. I put him in the truck & bought him home. A few days later, Meaty disappeared...never to be seen again. I searched for a good week up & down the roads, near and far, in hopes that we'd find him; kids hanging out the windows calling his name. Even stopping to talk to people in their front yards about him, leaving my phone #.

It's been months now since Meaty's been gone, we still look for him on long roads home. We hope that he finally found his way back home.

**Help your local animal shelter by donating much needed items such as food, bowls, blankets, shampoos, etc. Contact the shelter in your area for a complete list.**

~"You can judge a nation's morality by the way they treat their animals." Ghandi

Night approachs

2009-07-25T08:44:00.004-05:00

I love the colors of the sky in this picture. Hate that the fence post is in it.

Tonight is the night

2009-07-22T13:13:00.008-05:00

Of the Solar Eclipse!

For more info go to: http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2009eclipse/

They're also offering a Live Web Cast from Shanghai.

The kids & I can't wait to see it. We love this sort of thing!

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary...

2009-07-21T19:40:00.011-05:00

How does your garden grow?

Seriously, spill it sister.

I'm envious of people with green thumbs...them & their picture perfect flower gardens make me sick. I long for the day I can keep a potted flower alive for more than 2 weeks- max.

Too much water, not enough sunlight. Not enough water, too much sunlight. *SIGH* It's really confusing for me. Therefore I'm trying my hand, er, thumb at growing elephant ears. These plants are no-fuss. They're not like those picky pesky prissy pretty flowers. (Try saying that 3x fast :)

So far so good. I haven't killed it yet...now if I can just get Brent to stop going over it with the weed-eater....

Guilt Sucks

2009-07-20T14:54:00.004-05:00

You know the guilt you get when you put that little extra something in the shopping trolley? How about when you're cramming that #3 (guilt) meal down your throat? Renting that movie you've been dying to see & even though it's not a 'dirty' one, it sure makes you feel like it.

Yep, that 5, 10, 20 (etc.) dollar extra of whatever, makes you feel like complete & udder shite. Shoppers guilt? No, I don't think so. This is the guilt associated with being a parent. That 5 bucks could buy a gallon & a half of milk on a rainy day. 10 & over could be spent on extra groceries, a pack of socks, a couple shirts or something your kid(s) would want & enjoy.

I suffer from this guilt...a lot. Probably every other trip to the local Wal-Mart. I always find myself putting things back on the way to the checkout line. Even worse is when I do it as the cashier is just fixing to scan it;"I don't need that nevermind," I blurt out.

There have been many times when I do my best to ignore the guilt of getting something that's not a necessity. Heaven forbid should I, the parent, need or enjoy a little pick-me-up in my life. Buying loo paper & fabric softener can only make you smile when your favorite brand goes on sale.

And so I fought this guilt last Friday when I decided I was buying new lamps for the living room. I fought the "parent guilt" as I decided not to get the beautiful $130 ones I've had my eye on for a month (that were on sale for $83 by the way). I fought it when I finally settled on a pair for 40 bucks a piece. I fought it when I put one back & said outloud, "I'll come back next week for that one." I fought it as I brought the damn thing in the house. Two days later, I was still feeling a bit of guilt for getting a lamp even though new lamps are in order. (Football in the house isn't ok just b/c it's a "soft one" & a smoking cord just isn't cool.)

Come this Friday when I go to get the matching lamp, I am determined to do it guilt free because damn it I deserve it!

2009-07-19T10:06:00.005-05:00

Lovin' my...

2009-07-18T15:39:00.006-05:00

New Covergirl Lip Stain. I went with the 'Flirty Nude' shade.

After seeing the advertisement for this the 100th time, I finally stepped outside my little makeup box & bought one. I really do like this product although I think the price is a bit much (almost 8 bucks). It goes on smoothly, not sticky, stays put and lasts a fair amount of time. My favorite thing though? It doesn't melt. And in the dog days of summer when all you can apply is a little lip color without it sliding off your face, that's the best thing ever!

Let's go to the movies!

2009-07-16T19:19:00.006-05:00

We're loading up and going to watch the newest Harry Potter flick tonight! WOOT!! We can NOT wait to go. I don't know who's more excited: me or the kids!

They're magically delicious!

2009-07-16T16:28:00.004-05:00

Mushrooms.

That's what my 4 yr. old calls marshmallows. Every morning for breakfast she requests "Mushroom cereal." I know she's referring to 'Lucky Charms' others don't.

My husband for example. The first time our little Diva in-training asked him for some "mushrooms" he looked puzzled.

"You want some mushrooms?" he asked.

"Yeah Daddy I yike mushrooms. Der yummy!" Diva tells him.

*Insert 30 second pause*

"Okay.........you really want mushrooms??" Clearly clueless.

"Yep."

"Stac...(now whispering so the Diva doesn't hear) What are "mushrooms"?"

"Marshmallows. She wants 'Lucky Charms.'"

And so Daddy fixed Diva her bowl of "mushrooms" and all was right with the world.

Knots & Butterflies

2009-07-16T15:03:00.004-05:00

I'm in the process of applying for a job. This will be my first 'real' job since I was pregnant with my twins, who are now 9. Mind you I did dabble in a bit of home daycare a yr. or so ago that lasted a bit...and I did get paid to do it. No, this will be my first job working around big people (I think they're called Adults) and having a boss in a very long time.

Admittedly, I'm very excited about this job. It's all I've thought about since May (okay I'm lying but you get my point) not to mention I'm nervous as all get out about if I'll be hired. That part is working my nerves over.

So wish me all the luck in the world, send me all the good vibes you can spare and pray to all that is Holy that come August I'll be a working woman.

Shhh...don't tell the kids I'm here...

I Got-

Could it be?!

This mornings beautiful sky on Twitpic

The Final Countdown

So Close...

Wordless Wednesday

Because of you

Blast from the past

Bah

It's not fair!

So Soon

Evanescence - Call Me When You're Sober

3 DAYS

I'm not bitter-

Will things ever be 'normal?'

And these are the Days of Our Lives

The House of Sick

No Go

Update

Almost there!

Trip to the gym

Playing Catch Up

One of those people

Snap out of it already

Loving...

~ Support Our Troops ~

Need a Laugh?!

Because the only way to look is up

Books Vs. Films

Date Night

WHEW!

Tag! I'm It!

Freaky Friday

Cross our fingers...

We've got a 'Drop Dead Fred'

Reporting

Librarian for a day

It's me again Blogger

Wordless Wednesday

Suck.

Tomorrow is my BIG day!

Wordless Wednesday

It's a Bird! It's a Plane!

A Hundred Apologies!

Wordless Wednesday

And the winners are.....

*BLUSHING*

Oh Happy Day!

Well Slap Me Silly!

May the Force be with Me.

The Entrance

Freaky Friday

A MUST watch!

I've come to realize...

When Life Hands You Lemons-

Well that might explain it

Wordless Wednesday

I. Am. A Slacker.

Remembering....

Wordless Wednesday

I'm Bossy!

Gulfarium Pictures Part 2

Gulfarium Pictures Part 1

Freaky Friday

Wordless Wednesday

The Never Ending Story

YAY!

Rant On!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Are all the children in their beds?

It Starts (cont.)

It starts

Slithering along

Contagious Laugh

Little Cousins

Got Elvis?

The local Manison

Nature's Sense of Humor

Because it's my birthday-

BLUSHING