Saturday, December 27, 2008

Scheduling

I feel like I'm not ever getting everything I need or want to get done, done. I've gotten very lax in my scheduling which has in turn had a bad effect on me and those around me. If I'm feeling rushed and frazzled then it wears off on the rest of the family. And it just puts me in a bad mood. Now I'm normally a pretty laid back type personality. But I'm anal at the same time. I want things to be a certain way and they have to be that way for me to be in my happy place.

I have gotten very lazy about scheduling things. I realize that and do intend to work on it. It just makes life so much easier in our busy house. So even though it stinks to high heaven, I have to start getting up earlier to get things going smoothly and calmly in the mornings. Because once the mornings are going smooth, then everything else tends to fall into place. I get started on my to do list earlier, and it's finished sooner. Which leaves me with more free time to do what I would like to do.

I've gotten away from letting my husband know that between this and this time each night I will walk. Instead if things are crazy I don't go, which puts me in a bad mood. So you see, a bit more scheduling and he knows and is fine with it, I now have my walking time scheduled and am good with that.

There are so many other areas that I've gotten lax with in scheduling. But simply by starting up on this one little thing it makes things so much easier for me. The thing is, it's hard sometimes. I know that, and just need to remember how much more I enjoy the peace that comes from scheduling rather than the craziness of unscheduled chaos. So I guess for me my anal type A personality just requires it, then I can enjoy my laid back attitude with my friends and family a bit more.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Wait, what's IT?

Since I'm on a roll this week about being mom of the year. I did after all let my oldest daughter get bit by spiders multiple times. I thought I'd share the latest casulaty report from our house. It was time for baths and Hubs had taken A. upstairs to get her ready (I love how he helps out like that) and I was left to clean up the rest of the dishes.

I hear what to me sounds like a slamming door. So much so that I automatically say stop slamming doors before you hurt someone. Then there is a lot of screaming. So as I head upstairs I ask Hubs what is going on. He replies she was running towards me and tripped and banged into the wall with her head and cracked it? Wait...what's it? Is it her head or is it the wall? Is there blood involved because if there is then I can pretty much count Hubs out on any help since he's not good around blood. No, her head isn't cracked he said, it's the wall. She cracked the wall with her head. Oh well then everything's okay, I think. You can patch a wall no problem. But I didn't want to deal with a cracked head.

Call me crazy but a cracked wall is so much easier to handle. But this does just prove to me that my youngest daughter is a very hard headed, stubborn and determinned little girl. And she wasn't going to let the wall get the best of her, no she was laughing and back to herself after a few minutes.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Is it Chicken Pox?

UPDATED TO ADD THAT OUR DR. SAID IT WAS NOT CHICKEN BITES BUT INDEED LOTS OF SPIDER BITES. I don't know whether to feel better or worse about that one. But she was out rolling around in the yard and in the shed the other day so there is really no telling how they got her. I'm just glad it's not chicken pox.


I am trying to find out if K. has been bitten by insects or may possibly have Chicken Pox. She's not run a fever but had 3 insect looking bites on her face yesterday. This morning it is now 5 but the old ones don't have the crusted over look to them. I just don't know of anybody that has actually had it these days since we now have the vacinne. So if you have any hints for how I can tell in the very early stages then let me know. If she has more spots tommorow then I am sure she has them. Until then, I guess I'm hannging out at home today.

Monday, December 15, 2008

I may have missed the boat

I'm late in getting the shopping done this year. I'm not sure why really. I know what we are going to get which is half the battle. But getting out and buying it has been the problem. So today I went to two stores to look for a present and they were out of them at both stores. Oops, I'm thinking I may have missed the boat on this. But then again, I'm really not that worried about it. If we are really supposed to have it for Christmas then I'll find one. If not, it will be bought eventually some day down the road. I'm really not that worried about it. There are lots of other things the kids would be excited and happy to have.

But in order to not miss the mailing packages deadline. Well, I still have to wrap presents first. And that's one huge process for me. My packages are likely to make it around Easter. No really, I won't let it wait that long...I hope.

I've also missed the deadline for me to send in money for the boys to have for their Christmas parties at school. Must remember to do that tomorrow no matter what. I just didn't have enough one dollar bills to do it today.

I'm a great mom, I know this really. You don't have to remind me. Okay, at least tell me that I'm not the only poor fool who is constantly late on doing things for the kids at school. Then at least I'll feel a bit better. Well until the next deadline comes and passes and I realize that darn it, I've missed the boat again.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

No No and in case you didn't hear it...NO

Can you guess what has been said in the Juice Box household at least a million time in the last 24 hours. That would be the answer...NO! What surprises me is that it is not my youngest three who are asking the question (well at least not yet) but my oldest Z. He in turn is spurring the others to ask over and over in turn getting the same NO response.

What could possibly cause me to have to say No so much. It's not really what you think, it's not about Christmas presents at all. NO it's much worse than that. They want me to give in and allow them to get another PUPPY!

NO NO NO NO...no no no no!!! I do not want another puppy. We already have one overgrown dog who thinks she's a puppy, that I have to have underfoot. But a friend has just gotten a sweet new baby puppy Chihuahua and so the begging has commenced. No matter how much I let him go over and visit this still unnamed puppy, I will not cave on this issue.

I already have a husband, two boys, two girls and an overgrown Boxer. I certainly don't need to add to my nest with a partridge in a pear tree. So the answer is most definetely NO. But secretly I will admit to enjoying holding the puppy myself, especially since I don't have to deal with any of the rest of the work that goes with her.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Where or where are my pictures?

Some of you may have noticed my lack of pictures lately. It's not because I'm not taking them. I am, lots of them. It's because Hubs garage computer (yes he has one in the garage) has gotten so old that it won't run the programs or equipment he needs anymore. So he has taken my Desktop out of the office and put it in the garage. (By the way if your spouse requires a computer in the garage please tell me so I won't feel so alone in this)

So until I can find the software for my camera and photoshop, I can't download my pictures. At least not until I get the Desktop back in the office. Hubs solution is easy, lets buy another computer and he can keep the Desktop in the garage. I don't want to buy another computer. I want to be normal and not have to have a computer in the garage. But I'm not normal and I'm still not able to download pictures or music just yet. I guess I better find that software quick and put it on the laptop. Then I will feel normal again.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Land of the Infected

I'm living in the land of the infected and contaminated right now. We are busy fighting germs on every level. So far we have three wounded with two of them well on the road to recovery. The last one is still waiting to see if a recovery is in order yet. Hopefully we will all be healthy again soon.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

How many days left

I am counting the days. Not for the reason you may think. I am counting days until school lets out for Christmas. I can hardly wait to have two weeks where I don't have to force my kids out of their warm beds. Then I won't have to hear complaints about how they are tired and don't want to go to school. Then I don't have to get out in the cold weather and drive the kids to school. I'm counting the days until I can enjoy my hot cup of coffee without interruptions. So yes I am as bad as the kids counting the days until Christmas, but it is for a different reason than thiers.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

They Finally Found It

I am very excited to say the birds finally found it. What is it? It's the bird feeder that's been hanging outside my kitchen window for over a month now. Filled to the brim with wild bird seed. And yet up until this week, not a single bird was willing to brave it and try it out first. But I guess that one lone little brave sparrow who first tried it out sent the message back to his friends. Now most days I can look out and find little birds eating from the feeder. So far, it's not been the big birds like Cardinals or Blue Jays but I'm sure they will make it eventually. In the mean time, I'm just excited that the birds showed up. But really do you ever know of anyone or anything that turns down free food?

Monday, November 24, 2008

Recovered and well

I've recovered from our big party this weekend. In fact I didn't even realize I posted about it here on my blog until I checked in today. How's that for embarrassing. Oh well. Hubs is off this week and we are preparing to get ready for our trip. But first things first, I'm off to have lunch with Hubs. Have to love vacation time.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

jWell Crud!

We had a Tech watching party at my house tonight, and Tech lost. That was the bad news. The good news is that we all had a lot of fun, and I have reaquainted myself with Capt, Morgan. I have thourourgly enjoyed him tonight. I hope I enjoy him in the morning....but not likely. But it was a fun party at my house anyways!!!!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Not ready

Holy Cow, it's the week before Thanksgiving and I'm not ready for the busyness that seems to come along with the holidays.

I've not got a shopping list ready for either the Thanksgiving dinner (which I'm not really responsible for this year) or for Christmas presents. I'm not ready to get out and go to all the different classroom parties and celebrations. I'm not ready to get out the decorations yet. I'm not ready to fuss for my youngest to leave the tree alone. I'm not ready to do any of the serious heavy baking the kids have come to love having. I'm not ready to deal with all the extra people in the stores (including the grocery store). I'm not ready to deal with all the extra excitement and energy the holidays bring out in the kids.

I'm just not ready. Does that make me a scrooge? I am ready for my kids to be home on breaks from school though. Even if there is more fighting, I miss having them around. But I'm just not ready for the rest of it yet.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Over the fence

Z. was a guest player for another select baseball team this weekend. They were in need of players who could hit the ball well for a tournament they entered. They happened to see him at batting practice last week and invited him to play. So Hubs said yes, even though I was glad to finally have a baseball free weekend. Then Hubs decided that I should get to take him on my own so I could watch him play on Saturday. The fact that it was below freezing and that we had to leave the house by 6 am just to get to FT Worth in time for his game wasn't the reason ( or so he claims ). So I went and froze along with all the other players and parents. They didn't do so bad the first game and won it. They fell apart the second game and got spanked big time.

But Sunday was a new day and a warmer day. So we all went down to watch him play. Z. was having a good game. He got up to bat and got on base each time. But at his last bat he hit a foul ball over the left field fence, but since it was obviously a foul he had to bat again. So at a 3-2 count, he was able to straighten it out a bit and knocked another one out over the fence again over left field. It went over the fence and landed in the grassy median of an four land road (very lucky it didn't hit a car). So he finished his run around the bases only to be greeted by all his teammates who did their best to carry him off the field. He was psyched. He was responsible for three of the four runs yesterday. So even though their team lost 5-4 it was a good game for him.

Nothing like a home run to bring the spirits of everyone up.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

More alike than I realized

Out of all my kids Hoss and A. are more alike than I realized. They both love being outside regardless of the weather. They both play with the dog more than any of the others. They both can't seem to stay away from water or puddles no matter how much they are told. They both have very selective hearing when they want to. They both have a stubborn streak you would never guess was there. They both challenge me more than the others did. They both have a hard time staying in their beds at night. And they both surprise me on a daily basis with what they can come up with. Yes, these two are more alike than I ever realized. It's not a bad thing, it's just funny how two little people so different in so many ways can be so alike in so many others.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Thankful

Things I am thankful for right now:

-friends
-family
-a clean house
-most of my kids are on the road to being healthy again
-the dog who isn't throwing up for now
-Diet Dr. Pepper

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Look Ma, NO HANDS!



For other WW participants click here.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Go Vote

The following is a non politically paid advertisement. It's free. How many things in life are free. Not many. So take it for what it's worth.


Go Vote today if you haven't already.

Put these last very long two years of campaigning behind me. And while your voting, vote the same way I did, just to make me happy. What is that you ask, how did I vote? I'm from Texas,you figure it out. You have a fifty fifty chance at getting it right.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Not that I'm a huge football fan or anything

But this weekend's game of Texas Tech playing UT was fun to watch. Since we had both Tech and Longhorn fans in our house it didn't matter to me who won. What did matter was all the fun we had watching it. If only I had managed to record the last 25 seconds for Z. he would have seen it all. But I didn't realize it had stopped recording so I didn't extend it. I just had to console him with the fact that he didn't want to see his beloved Longhorns in such a state. But he was still miffed.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Time has caught up with me

It hit me this morning, Halloween is tommorow. I knew it was coming and have somewhat prepared for it. I have no less than a million bags of candy. So much in fact that I could probably feed a third world nation for a month if it actually had any nutrional value to it. The kids all have their costumes and only one has decided to change her mind. But since she already has a princess costume in her closet it isn't that big a deal.

So how did time catch up to me? I just realized that I don't have a pumpkin for the kids to carve. I really am tired of the whole pumpkin carving thing. It's very overrated...and more importantly Messy. And it never fails that I or Hubs end up doing all the work since it's so gross. The kids love the end effect of a Jack O Lantern but don't like the work involved. So I guess tonight we will be making a Jack O Lantern. After all, I'm a sucker for getting my kids something as easy as that to make them happy. But I can honestly say that I'm really not all that excited about it. Except for the pumpkin seeds, I love roasted pumpkin seeds. But can't I just go buy a bag of those at the store and save myself all the work?

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I'm distracted

I'm very distracted from blogging lately. Lots been going on with studying and kids. But the main distraction is that I finally signed up with Facebook. I can't believe how late to the party I am. Lots of old friends out there,some even as crazy as me.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Weekend Update

Well since I've been bad at posting, I thought I'd bore you with some of our weekend.

1. Saturday was my birthday. I'm twenty five....again.

2. Saturday was the day that Z. had a baseball tournament that lasted ALL day long. I had the three youngest running around and filthy in no time. Not really all that much fun.

3. Hubs flew in from Finland late Saturday afternoon. He went straight to the baseball fields to become my knight in shining armour and save me from all these kids and baseball.

4. Hubs took me out for Mexican after the last baseball game and then we went home and ate birthday cake that K. made for me.

5. Mom and Dad gave me a beautiful, very big antique crucifix with a water font on it. It came from an antique store outside of Pairs (the real one, not the one in TX)

6. I love my crucifix because now all that teasing my Hubs about needing a water font by our front door can now be turned into reality. And this one is much nicer than a plain water font.

7. Z. wrote me the sweetest poem for my bithday. It was written the way only a 10 year old boy can do when he is trying to make his mom feel good when he realizes that he doesn't have a present for mom.

8. Sunday we had more baseball games. Then we were finally defeated and it was all over. So I made Hubs take me out to buy me a present. I'm sublte like that.

9. Of all the things he offered me, the only thing I wanted was a new bird feeder outside the kitchen window. So that's what I got. Now I can see all the Blue Jays fighting over the seed in the morning.

10. Then I talked my way into another birthday dinner since I really didn't feel like cooking.

11. I am so glad that Hubs is home. I missed him. And more importantly, he brought me my favorite chocolate ever.

So there you have it. Our weekend. Baseball, Birthday Cake, Crucifix with water fonts, Bird Feeders and dinner out. The weekend doesn't sound so bad after all.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Our first cold snap

We have had our first cold snap. And I am enjoying it. At least I was until it came time to get the kids out in it this morning. I had to really convince them that they couldn't just run out without jackets or sweaters. Then I had to get those same jackets and sweaters on them. Much grumbling was heard and it wasn't only the kids doing it. Tell me why it seems every fall my kids have seemed to have forgotten how to put on a long sleeve shirt or sweater? Please, I beg of you why do they forget such a simple task. And then once we get them all ready to go, we always have to stop for a bathroom break.

It is times like this that I am grateful that we live in Texas. I don't have to deal with the snowsuits and the mittens. It is times like this that I am grateful that when we did live in Finland and we did require snowsuits and mittens that I only had one child. I don't know if I would have the patience to deal with four kids and snowsuits these days.

But since it is Texas, I am grateful that this cold snap won't last long and my kids will soon be out of their long sleeves and sweaters. Probably by late afternoon, at which point I can only hope that they all make it home again with all those jackets.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

The Mother of All Days

Wow today was hard. Hubs had to be on a plane to Finland for a business trip by noon. Hoss had his last football game in one town at 11:45 where the girls would be with me. And Z. had a baseball tournament in a town about 45 minutes away that started at 11 and didn't end until 8:30. I was lucky enough that one of his team mates was able to get him to that tournament so that I only missed 1 and 1/2 of his 3 games he played.

But I made it through and so did the kids. Hoss kept his football record as a perfect score of 0 wins but had fun anyways. K. had one scrapped knee to show for this game and was quite upset about it. A. survived football okay.

Now for baseball, well that's another story. At some point before I got there Z. lost a tooth of his while he was at bat. And he was pretty upset that it never was found. He was so upset he hit a heck of a triple and brought in quite a few runs. By the time we got there to watch him he was on a roll. He had some great hits, some amazing slides where he was safe (and a scraped up arm also). But he was definitely on fire when he was the last pitcher of the game. He finished out the inning getting us 3 quick outs with his speed that they just couldn't hit. He plays on a 10U select team and they have been playing all fall in a league against 12U boys. They've lost a bunch but won a few here and there. But it was obvious today when they were playing against kids their own age that they have improved a lot.

So K, Hoss and A. got completely filthy at the baseball fields playing in the woods, dirt and with all those nasty horse apple thingies. (I wish I knew what they were really called) And Z. left alot of sweat, blood and body parts (teeth) on the field for all eternity. But he still made out pretty good. His coach gave him 3 bucks for his tooth which is more than the tooth fairy ever left him before. And on top of that they came in 1st place in their first ever tournament.

Now I am exhausted and ready to go to bed. And tomorrow for the first time in weeks we don't have a game on a Sunday afternoon. Can I tell you how excited I am for that?

Friday, October 17, 2008

In case your wondering

where the heck I have been the last few days. I've been here, just busy doing things that needed to get done. I now can claim to have three full boxes of clothes and 2 overstuffed lawn bags full of toys that I have deemed to just not need anymore. I would have gotten further but I have to be careful as to when I do this type of sorting. If anyone else is around besides my 2 year old then I am fighting a losing battle. But I know that when they are all back in school on Monday I will have at least another 2 bags of toys that they really don't need anymore. Pretty sad when you consider we moved 8 months ago and went through a lot of things then also.

But like I've said before I am working on having less. Well at least I was until I saw these cute little skeletons and ghosts on clearance for $6 at Micheal's. Somehow I seem to have forgotten about my less theory when I saw these. But I must say that they are pretty darn neat and the kids were excited to see them. So for every two steps forward I am taking one step back. Really it's kind of sad isn't it. I was thwarted by a bunch of skeletons well that and a bag of dark chocolate M&M's. I totally forgot about the less thing then to. My hips can attest to that one.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Fall planting time

It's that time again. Time to pull out those summer flowers that still look good. It's time to get the beds ready for your bulbs and winter flowers. It's time to redo your pots with some beautiful fall mums. So since it's that time, I have started doing it. I've got my summer flowers ripped up, weeded those same beds and am now ready to plant. I started yesterday by redoing some of my pots.

I found a huge and I do mean ginormous (yes I know it's not really a word) yellow mum yesterday. So I planted it in my largest pot I owned and placed it out in front of the garage area. Right where I would see it anytime I'm out front. So naturally I ask Hubs if he noticed it when he got home. Hubs responded in a daring sort of way yesterday. He replied "No, I didn't notice anything but that big yellow beacon calling me home". Smarty pants! He's lucky he's still standing. The thing is, I need his back to help me redo the mulch so he got away with it.

So this morning, the girls and I will plant the rest of the flowers in the bed. I will have way to much help I'm sure. But it will get done. Then we just have to wait for the mulch man (ie Hubs) to spread out the heavy stuff. After that, we will be set to go for a while longer. Well at least until I get back to the nursery again. I may just have to buy some really big shrubs so Hubs has to dig some really big holes. Paybacks buddy!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Photo Hunters



Since this weeks theme is lazy, I though I'd show a lazy moment of my oldest daughter. It was almost nap time and she was fighting it. We get lots of lazy moments like this in a house with four kids.



That's my take this week. For others go visit TNCHICK.COM

Thursday, October 9, 2008

We have so much

I am going to come right out and say it. Our family has been blessed. Very blessed. We have way to much. And because of this our children expect more and more it seems. And I have to say that I am guilty of this as well. It's all brought more to my attention lately because of the fact that we have had a recent birthday and report cards. It seems like they just expect that if they do good at school they will automatically get rewarded for it. You know how it is, they think they need to be rewarded for every little thing they do instead of just doing it.

I'm reminded of how little we had while we lived overseas. We had four plates, four sets of forks,spoons,etc. We had just enough bath towels for everyone to have their own. Z. had about five or six toys and that was about it. We had one TV and it only had one station we could understand. If I wanted on the computer than I had to go to the library. And we only had the clothes that would fit in our suitcases we took over there. And you know what? With as little "things" we had, we were very happy.

Now it seems like I am constantly tripping over things that we really don't need. Our closets are stuffed with clothes that don't fit but still they sit in there instead of being donated. And so now I'm left to wonder why it is my children are like this. Could it be because I have gotten to where I like having stuff around also.

This is obviously an area that I need to work on and am planning on starting today. I'm going to try and thin out alot of the things that we really don't need in order to be happy. I can't say that I will get rid of all those dishes I have but I am planning on having a lot less than what it currently there. That may mean that "gasp" I may have empty spots in our pantry because we really don't need five different kinds of chips. I just think that everyone in our family could benefit from a little less.

So wish me luck as I try and retrain the way that our family thinks about what we need and what we "truly" need. I'm sure it's going to be a long and bumpy journey.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Can you guess what he wants for Christmas?




For other WW participants click here.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

To my fellow y'all users

and those who wish they were. Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer has tried to explain the proper use of y'all. It's a fun post and defintety worth the time of reading some of her comments. Just click here and enjoy a good chuckle.

Is there anything worse?

Than running up the stairs only to find your oldest hanging his head over the top bunk of his bed and just throwing up continously? I think there is. It's discovery that while you weren't home for dinner your children obviously had ravioli. And now that big red mess is all over your carpet.

Can I just say that whoever invented the carpet cleaner and whatever that purple stuff my Hubs uses in the garage to clean anything and everything is my hero. I was sure I would have a big red stain to match my purple stain in my carpet. But I don't. And that's a good thing. Now if I can only get my oldest to feeling better.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Gone for a few days

Oh wait, you mean I have already been doing that? Oopps sorry. No really things are going to be off this week so I decided not to try and come up with blog posts while in the middle of it all. Hubs is on vacation this week so we will be doing a lot of things around the home together that require both of us to make decisions. (If I'm lucky it will involve paint and Shrubs being planted). We are also preparing for Hoss's birthday this week. So I will do the required classroom treats on his birthday. Add in the fact that I need to somehow finish up the classes I'm taking and restore the house before the parents come in and I feel a bit crazy thinking about it. The one good thing is that it is Monday and the laundry has essentially already been done. Thanks to my dear sweet Hubs.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

It Happened

I knew this day would come. But it didn't make it any easier for either Hubs or me. I still don't think the day would have come yesterday except for the fact that one of Z.'s friends came over after school. The boys were running in and out from the back yard with Hoss following behind them. On one of these scrambles up the stairs I hear my sweet five year old Hoss say "Hey wait for me. I want to hear where babies come from to".

At this point it was an all out scream by mom. Boys, come here now! My boys come down wondering what they did to get into trouble. And Z.'s friend has the sheepish look that says he already knows why they are in trouble. Z. says Mom he's just going to tell us about where babies come from. I say no he's not. We will talk to you about it tonight. And that was enough talk about it for the time being. They all agreed and went off to play video games where I could hear every word being said. And you better believe I was listening.

So later that night Hubs takes Z. aside and has the talk. He even tells Z. son this is known as "the talk". You are not to ever have "the talk" with anyone of your friends or your little brother. And proceeds to tell him what he wanted to know. After a few minutes they both come out and Z. runs off to finish his reading. Hubs however was not nearly as nonchalant about it. It went well he said. He understands, he asked questions and his curiosity seems to have been satisfied.

He now compares all females to chickens who lay eggs. Only we can't see the eggs after fertilization when they pass out of our system. He seems a little (okay a lot) disappointed by this fact. Now I must say that even though I was laughing I am a bit concerned. What exactly did Hubs tell Z. and how did all women become chickens. I don't think this is exactly what I was hoping for when they went in together to talk. But Hubs assures me that he explained everything and that he really does understand where babies come from.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Wordless Wednesday


My two girls are more alike than they realize.

For other WW participants click here.

Monday, September 22, 2008

The Last Cupcake

There it was sitting on the kitchen counter. The last cupcake of the bunch from last nights Cowboys game. Sitting there with it's little plastic football ring and very bright blue icing. And I am completely fine with the last cupcake sitting there. It wasn't really calling my name at all. That was until I realized the time. Because in about forty five minutes I am going to have all four of my kids home from school and starving for a snack. And that last lone little Dallas Cowboys cupcake was going to become the object of many affections. I could already here the fighting and arguing about who was going to get the cupcake. So as I seriously did a cupcake count as to who this cupcake really did belong to I made an executive mom decision.

I ate the last cupcake.

There my problem has now been solved. I won't have to listen to any fights over who will eat it. Now I will instead hear who ate the last cupcake. And that is much easier to overcome. Just blame Daddy. By the time he gets home they would have moved on to a new subject to argue over. And I would have thrown all the cupcake reminders in the trash. Now I just need to make sure I don't have any residual blue frosting hanging around my face. Yes, I know I'm such a good mom.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Photo Hunters



This week the theme is road. So what's more fun for my kids than a little bit of golf cart racing on those cart race tracks. Over the summer they got to enjoy a bit of stiff competition with one of their favorite uncles along with dad and cousins. And let me tell you that there was no mercy given for age. It was a lot of fun for everyone.


That's my take this week. For others go visit TNCHICK.COM

Monday, September 15, 2008

Scattered and randon things

Things have been a bit unsettled here lately. So it's been hard to post. It could be because A. has somehow managed to pop off all the keys on my laptop. Even though Hubs was able to get them back on, they aren't really working right anymore. Only about half of what I type actually makes it to the screen. And since I'm way to lazy to go into the office where the desk top is then I just haven't been on the computer much lately.

A. also managed to pull out all her shoes and throw them all over the stairs. She then tripped on them and rolled down the stairs banging up her nose a bit. I seriously doubt she learned her lesson though. She's a bit more hard headed than that.

Z. has had strep throat the past week. Somehow, we have avoided anyone else catching it. Even though I didn't take him to the dr until he had been sick for three days.

I'm ready to start planting some new shrubs in the backyard now that it's getting cooler. Hubs is not as excited about it as I am. He usually ends up doing a lot more digging than I do. And since we need to make some new beds, it's just going to be work.

And top off all this useless random information that no one really cares about. All I want lately is Mexican food. I eat it and that's what I want again at the next meal. What's up with that. Now I'm surethat you guys are all so glad you wasted your time reading this post. I promise to not be quite so boring next time. But when it's a mommy blog and nothing super blogable is going on then this is what you get.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Significance

Why is it that my dear sweet Hubs doesn't understand the significance of our very busy two year old when she is utterly quiet.

Shall I just say that now he does understand the significance of her quietness. It usually means that she is up to something. Something like pulling the sink stopper up and turning on the water in the boys bathroom and then leaving it on. It usually means that when mom gets back from her walk he is frantically trying to clean up the floor with towels before the water pools anymore and starts to leak through the ceiling.

Meanwhile mom is just glad it wasn't her this happened to.

Monday, September 8, 2008

My true feelings..

"An Ode to Laundry"

Laundry pile in my hall,

Why are you so freakin' tall.

I wash you weekly without fail,

Come next Monday your back, Oh Hell!




Updated to add that I posted this and then felt immediate guilt about actually posting something in it with a bad word. I don't normally do that but since I couldn't find anything else I liked as much (in the thirty seconds it took me to think of it) I decided to leave it. Come back next time for a G rated post again.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Not in the trophy mom club

I have long since known that I am not a trophy mom.

You know the ones I'm talking about. They look like they are completely dressed and ready to go to a great cocktail party at eight A.M. every morning. They usually have two kids (anymore than that and it tends to make it hard to remain a trophy mom) because one kid isn't enough to get you into the trophy mom club. And if there was a way for them to be gender specific they would try and have a boy and girl each. And well their kids are always dressed in clean name brand clothes. Did I mention that they are always clean? They never let their kids get dirty and usually have them enrolled in one or two activities each (but only if they can drop off their kids). They have perfectly manicured fingers and toes and their roots never show. They usually drive way to big SUV's or else sporty little cars like BMW's. And the trophy mom must always be a stay at home mom. It doesn't matter if her kids are both in school all day long. That is a requirement otherwise you have to forfeit your membership. And they usually have a Starbucks coffee(venti) in their hands.

So now that you know who I'm talking about you will completely understand how I'm not in the trophy mom club.

1. I have to many kids.
2. My kids are almost never in name brand clothes unless they were given to me by a friend as a hand me down.
3. My kids are always dirty, within seconds after a bath or getting dressed you would find something on them that would automatically disqualify me from the trophy mom club.
4. My van is now considered old and there is nothing sporty about it. However it does hold all my kids comfortably so that's a plus.
5. I am very seldom dressed and ready to go to a cocktail party at eight am. That's usually the time of day I'm driving my kids to school in my nightgown (And just for the record school starts here at eight so yes we are always running late in our house).
6. I can't really keep up with my nails so much. My roots however I never have to worry about. That's because I still have my original brown hair with lots of gray making an appearance these days.

No, I am definitely not in the trophy mom club. I am in the unnamed mom's club that has to many things going on to deal with all the requirements of the trophy mom club. I show up to school functions with an oily face that has long since lost track of any makeup. I may or may not be wearing clothes that have boogers on them courtesy of one of my children. I'm in the mom's club where as much as I would like to help out with my children's classrooms it's hard to do because I always have one or two in tow with me. And no, I can't guarantee that they will behave perfectly. So instead I send things to school or do things that don't require my actual presence. I pay dues in the PTA program but have yet to actually make it to a meeting. I don't get to serve as homeroom mom because of this.

I'm in the mom's club that lets her kids eat breakfast at school because it's easier some days. And in all honesty if it weren't for that my poor kids would probably get a cold breakfast most mornings. I love my kids, ALL of them. And yes, I do all know their names and the names of their teachers. I know when their lunch accounts are running low and need money. And although it may look otherwise some days, my kids do start out the day clean.

So please don't judge me by my appearance or by how many kids are getting out of my van in the drop off line in the morning. I already know it takes us longer to get unloaded but just for the record I am car pooling so technically they aren't all my kids you see. Just most of them belong to me.

One day, when my youngest goes off to school I may actually qualify to join the trophy mom club. And I may do it and run for office (because I'm convinced they have secret meetings and elected officials). I'll become the president of the trophy mom club and it will be all downhill from there. I'll show up to meetings in my nightgown and no makeup and take control. Before long the trophy club moms will all look like the rest of us moms out there just doing the best we can and the best we know how.

But just to fit in, I may have to go out and buy me venti Starbucks coffee.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Learning the Cheese

Some days I just have to laugh at how I hear myself in my children's voices. And how my children's voices can twist what I say into something completely different.

I was dusting off an old (and I do mean old) exercise video the other day. Let's just say it was fifteen years old. I didn't really think it would be as dated as it really was. I was wrong. I suffered through the first few minutes of it. And by suffered through it I don't mean the exercise portion. No I mean the belted workout clothes, the obvious use of a green screen with the instructor leaving no obvious shadow on the beach she was working out on, the music was awful and the exercise it self was just to much. There was lots of booty shaking and I kid you not...dancing with finger pointing. It was at this finger pointing, booty shaking moment that I decided I could take no more.

Now during all this "exercise" my girls were watching the strange lady on the screen. So when I stopped my oldest asked me why I was stopping. I replied that I couldn't do this one anymore because it was just to cheesy and a bad video. And went on to find one that was a DVD that wasn't so cheesy and didn't think anything more of it.

But it apparently made quite an impression my oldest because the second Hubs walked into the house she ran to tell him all about it. She informed him about the bad lady on the TV who was trying to teach her mommy the cheese and how mommy had to turn it off and do a good one instead.

If nothing else, I laughed so hard that the cheesy video did ultimately give me a workout.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Photo Hunters



This weeks theme is beautiful. And I'm sure I'm being very predictable with my choice of my four beautiful children. But when I stopped to think of all the beauty that I am surrounded by on a daily basis, well, there was just to much to choose from. So I'm taking the easy way out and posting this beautiful (but not so great) snapshot of my four children together. It's not often that I actually get all of them to sit still long enough for them to be in the same photo. That's beautiful in itself. But the really beautiful thing about my kids is that they remind me on a daily basis of how great life is.

So here is my cheesy beautiful post. And I can just hear the guy in the Budweiser commercial telling his friend, "That's beautiful man".


So there's my take on this weeks theme. For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Third Day

I'm a winner! It's the third day of school and I have already overslept. Z. woke me up at 7:20 saying mom it's time to go. Boy was he right. I hadn't fed my kids breakfast again (this really is becoming a problem of mine I think). And upon checking the lunch menu which I forgot to do realized that I needed to make both boys lunch's. So I hastily did that. Lots of love going into those lunch boxes today. So I was faced with the decision of breakfast at home or school. School won out since both boys wanted to eat there. At 7:30 I woke up A. and loaded the kids into the car. Back out into the bright sun and my eyes start to water so much that I barely miss turning into my neighbor (who looks like she didn't oversleep). Oops, must remember to apologize to her later. Pull up to the school at 7:35 with enough time for boys to eat breakfast and get to class by 8:00. The teacher helps to open the door in car drop off lane and starts talking to me but I can't see because of my watery eyes. So for all I know she was laughing at me driving my kids to school in my NIGHTGOWN! Yes, it's the third day of school and I'm definitely on a roll.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

The Last Canon ball of Summer



For other WW participants click here.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Routine Begins

It is the official first day of school today. Which means that our routine begins again. It's been chaotic here the last week to say the least so I'm very ready for some routine. Hoss started kindergarten this morning and Z. started fifth grade. Both boys were very excited although Hoss was obviously nervous about his first day. But I'm sure all will be fine.

Our morning started with me actually getting up and dressed before the sun actually came up. Something I haven't done in a LONG time and in case your wondering, yes it still stinks. Now Z. had discovered that they were serving one of his favorite breakfasts at school (I don't think they actually serve something he doesn't like) and was begging for me to let him eat breakfast pizza at school. Now normally I'm fine with this and send him on his way to school a bit early so he can eat. But since Hoss was starting his first day I needed (well okay wanted) to walk him to his class. But I couldn't take him that early to his class. So good mom that I am, I decide to feed Hoss at home and just drop Z off in carpool early enough to eat at school. Then I went off in search of the most coveted thing on earth on the first day of school, a parking space actually in the parking lot. But since I was only a half hour early for school there wasn't any to be found. So I had to park on the street.

So we park and are walking inside the school. And since I'm such a nurturing mom, I wave at Z. eating his cafeteria made breakfast and get Hoss to his class. Once we get Hoss settled I do go in search of Z. But he had already scarfed his food down and was long gone to his class where his friends were waiting.

So I decided to stop in at the Yahoo BooHoo breakfast being offered for kindergarten moms. (I'm definitely a yahoo mom) It's at this time we can write our kids a short note and eat some of the snacks they have. So we write our note for Hoss and my two girls consume no less than twenty donut holes between the two of them. Like I said I'm a first class mom who cares about the nutrition needs of all my children. And since up to this point I hadn't realized that I'd forgotten to feed my girls, there was no way I could have kept them away from the food.

All I can say is that tomorrow will be better. I will remember to feed all my children breakfast (and at this point I count the cafeteria ladies meals as my own) and I will drink my coffee before it gets cold. We will eventually get back into a routine.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Teaching an old dog new tricks

We are visiting grandparents for one last visit before school starts. So since we are here, Pappy decided to let me help him with his new toy. He has a new Ipod shuffle. So we have spent lots of hours teaching him how to navigate Itunes. He bought his first song and hasn't stopped there. Oh no, not Pappy. He decided he had to import some of his CD's to Itunes as well. So he went out and found his favorite CD which is guaranteed to clear the room of family, Piano by Candlelight, and he imported it to Itunes. Now hopeully he will just listen to that stuff with his headphones instead of torturing the rest of us.

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Next thing you know Pappy will be blogging.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Important Decisions

Hoss has been trying to make a few important decisions lately. We were talking in the car about what he wanted to do when he grows up. He has decided as of today that his chosen field lays in Nascar. He originally told me that he wants to be a race car driver like Jeff Gordan or Dale Jr. But after careful consideration he now claims to want to be in the pit crew. I couldn't figure out why he would change from a driver to the pit crew so asked him why he made his decision. His response showed he has put a lot of thought into this one.

"Mom, I decided to be in the pit crew because then I could go to the bathroom any time I wanted to. If your a driver than you have to hold it until after the race is over."

How could I possibly argue with logic like that?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Toothless Wonder

Hoss has a new nickname here lately. I'm sure you've figured out why. It started with one but before long they were both gone.



Monday, August 11, 2008

Child Labor....I'm all for it!!

I must admit to being all for a little bit of child labor in my home. My bunch is all old enough to help out around the house and I must admit to taking advantage of it. And if I'm honest here, I really don't do it all that often. But then when I do make them pick up and clean up I am left to wonder why I haven't done more of it.

Our regualar scheduled cleaning was postponed due to a broken toe accident our house cleaner had. Now instead of me just doing all the cleaning myself, I drafted the kids. Z. had to do the dusting (which I truly hate), Hoss and K. got to wipe down the bathrooms. And A. followed me around with a soapy wash cloth wiping down any spots on the walls she found. Most of them put there by her I may add. That left me to run the vacuum and mop the floors. We were able to get everything taken care of in around an hour. Not a bad time. Granted it wasn't up to it's normal clean standard, but it was clean. And the kids felt a bit more empathy for all the hard work that goes into keeping it clean. Well at least they felt that way for about five minutes then they forgot all about it again.

This morning I looked around and the house was looking a bit dingy again. So the kids were drafted again. Only instead of dusting, Z. had vacuum duty. Now the house is back in order again for at least another three days or less. So once again I am left to appreciate the joys of child labor.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Photo Hunters-Dark



This weeks theme is dark. So I had to go back through some old photos to come up with something. This picture was taken last winter when I took the kids to see Ice. We were in a very dark room surrounded by lots of ice sculptors and some twinkling lights.



So there's my take on this weeks theme. For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or

Friday, August 8, 2008

A new reason to love jello

I have heard of a new reason for us to love jello. This falls into the friend of a friend category if you know what I mean.

She was having some surgery done (she'd apparently lost a lot of weight). Anyways...her plastic surgeon has instructed her to eat jello at least once a day. Why? Well because the gelatin in jello is supposed to be great for our skin by making it a bit more elasticy (is that a word). So your skin will heal better after surgery. It also makes your skin look younger for the same gelatin reason. And if your hoping to avoid strech marks during pregnancy then he also suggests eating at least one serving a day. So whether it's regular jello or sugar free jello, it's supposed to be really good for the elasticity of your skin.

Now I am not sure how reliable this information is, but if it's going to give me a new reason to enjoy my jello then maybe I better not risk it.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Summer Beauty

Updated to add that this is a Mexican Hat flower. It was taken in the Lincoln National Forest in Ruidoso,NM.




For other WW click here or else you can click here .

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Sixty Five and 10,000

I'm trying to get back into shape. Who isn't really? But I've really made more of an effort here lately. I'm actually trying to watch what I eat and seem to be doing pretty good so far. I'm also back to my walking. I finally added it up, and in the last three and a half weeks I have walked sixty five miles. When I actually see it like that, I'm a bit surprised. I usually do a three mile walk in the evening after the kids go down so I've never added it up before. But suddenly sixty five seems like a pretty big number.

But just so you can see a glimpse of how my mind works, I am now trying to figure out when I will hit the 100 mile mark. The way I figure it, I should hit that hundred mile mark somewhere around the 19th of the month. Because we all know that 100 is bigger and better than 65. I don't know why numbers can make me obsess the way they do but they do. I do the same thing with trying to reach 10,000 steps in a day. In fact that's why I walk the route that I do. I calculated it out and by walking this path I am just about always guaranteed to hit that 10,000 step mark, unless I sit the entire rest of the day.

So now you see how crazy my mind gets when it comes to numbers. Kind of strange isn't it? I know this and probably should seek some kind of help or something. Maybe I can start my own support group...we could talk out our therapy while we are all out walking and trying to reach our 10,000 steps each day.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Which Select do you want?

Z. tried out for two select baseball teams this weekend. He was offered a position on both teams. So even though mom and dad had a favorite coach we really wanted him to play with we let Z. make the final decision. He is officially a Dragon now ( not the one we would have picked but that's okay). So this fall he will play his regular rec. league of baseball while doing the select baseball as well. Once next spring comes around, he will be to busy with select so he will only play on one team then. But he is excited about it and anxious to get back with some of his former teammates again. I swear that boy eats, sleeps and dreams baseball. And as such now we will all be doing the same.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Daddy's Got A Lawn Mower or Two

Since we moved into our new house, Hubs has been faced with an enormous yard he has to mow. We spent the first part of the summer just using the regular push mower we have had for a few years. But I felt really bad for Hubs, it would take him up to four hours to mow and edge and then clean up with the blower. By the time he was done, he would be absolutely wiped. Then the next week he would have to do it again.

So when Hubs started watching Craig's List for a riding mower I was all for it. And it didn't take long for him to find one at a reasonable price. Sure it wasn't a brand new one, but it seems to be doing a great job so far. But Hubs is a planner. And as such, he is already planning on the day when he may need replacement parts for his green mower which I have dubbed "Lawn Boy" (by the way don't ever Google that phrase or else your going to a bunch of X rated sites...not a good thing... so all you pervs that got here from Google this isn't that kind of site). I call it that since it has that name across the manual we got to go with it. But anyways, back to my point. Hubs is planning for the day when Lawn Boy will need replacement parts. So he has been back to Craig's List to watch and see if another Lawn Boy will appear. Well it hasn't.

What has appeared is another riding mower. A John Deere mower in need of a little work to tune up the engine. And a little bit of a paint job. But Hubs decided that for thirty five dollars, he had to have it for parts alone. So he brought it home and I'll be darned if the new mower didn't start up right away and work. Not a bad investment for thirty five dollars. So now Hubs has a new plan for this mower. And I'm a bit embarrassed to say it has nothing to do with mowing. It has a big engine on it and he and the boys are now going to start working on it. So that they can make it race. Yes I did say RACE! They want to join in the fun of Lawnmower Racing. I think my family has dropped deeper into the pits of being a redneck than I ever imagined. But both boys and Hubs have watched tons of You Tube videos on this stuff and want to give it a try.

So now Hubs is back to surfing Craig's List again in order to find parts for his Lawn Boy and his Speed Racer. I am afraid I don't see an end to this anytime soon. But at least now it only takes him an hour and a half to get the lawn mowed to his standard.

Friday, August 1, 2008

In other news...

It's been busy this week. Z. has been at a baseball camp all week long. With the heat index being anywhere from 105-109, well I just don't know how they can do it but they can. K. and Hoss were invited to attend VBS with a friend this week, so I thought why not. They have had alot of fun with that as well. They said that they liked it but liked the one from our church more. But they are super excited to go the water park tomorrow night for only a dollar with their friends VBS. Who knows maybe then it will come up to their standards.

So, it's been me and A. doing a lot of running around this week. We finally decided to replace the old swing set with a new one so we went and bought it. The kids have been patiently waiting for the weekend when dad can put it together. We bought a few school clothes but are waiting for the cooler weather to actually start before we buy pants and such.

Hoss started flag football this week and I have to say he is living up to his name. He is the second tallest on the team. He was so excited to be there that the heat and the drills didn't put him out at all. When all the other little boys started whining about the heat and running, he just asked me to poor more water over his head. But he is my child that I can not keep indoors. No matter the temperature he is happiest outside. I think it's paying off for him right now. The heat doesn't seem to be bothering him. His team is practicing three nights a week just to get them (and parents) used to the heat

Z. has decided he wants to do select baseball again, so tryouts are tomorrow morning. It should be fun. They aren't planning on to much traveling for this particular team which is why we chose them. And the costs are actually kept at a reasonable price. I'm sorry but we just can't afford to pay 1500 dollars just for the gear and uniforms some of these teams want you to pay. Not to mention all the out of state tournaments they have to pay to attend.

I'm also going to sign K. up for her dance class tonight. She keeps begging to go and they are finally enrolling. So once a week she'll have her chance to dance. So that just leaves A., who is happily not interested in doing anything just yet. I'm sure that will change in the next year so I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

So there you have all the latest on the Juice Box household. Lots of sports in the last few weeks of summer. Not to mention as much swimming we can squeeze in. Before we know it school will be starting so I'm trying to enjoy my kids while I can. Especially since they aren't driving me crazy yet.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Late Again

Is there anything more embarrassing than thinking that the baseball camp your son is in is over at 11:30 when it's really over at 11:00? If there is than please share. My poor Z. was the last kid picked up and was hanging out in the cool AC car of the coach. When I arrived at 11:15 to watch the last few minutes, I was surprised to see that everyone was long gone. Here I am thinking I am going to be fifteen minutes early when instead it turns out that I'm fifteen minutes late.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

A Walking Dog

This is Gigi. She's our Boxer and family pet. She's a pain in the neck.


I only agreed to getting Gigi for one reason and one reason only. I wanted a dog that I could walk with, especially after dark. Gigi however is about fifty pounds heavier than the average twenty pound dog that I can handle. She's just downright big. And she's always so darn excited to see you looking at her that she will wiggle her tail so hard her entire back half shakes. And if by some chance you actually say her name, then watch out, she's likely to jump up and give you one big slobbery dog kiss.

So after I agreed to getting Gigi (for walking purposes only) I had to wait for her to get big enough for me to take on walks. Then once she was big enough to take on walks, I had to wait until she was well trained enough for me to control her while out walking. Meanwhile, it seems like years have passed with me still not having a dog to walk with. Finally, she is ready for me to start walking with and things are going great. That is until a year and a half ago when she got attacked by a mean dog that jumped a six foot fence and went after her. Hubs did a good job of keeping the other dog away from her, but it did change her personality a bit on walks. She became very skittish and very much a scared dog. Not her fault at all. But not really what I had planned on when I signed on for this dog. I wanted a dog who would scare away anyone who got to close to me when we were out walking at night. Now it was her dragging me through the neighborhood trying to flee from things that spooked her.

Then we had a small accident while I was out walking the dog around Christmas. She got spooked by one of those inflatable Santa Claus decorations popping out of the chimney. Next thing I knew I was face down in the middle of the street missing a front tooth and pretty banged up. It truly was the Christmas where all I wanted was my two front teeth. And after that my walking personality changed a bit. I didn't want to walk after dark anymore but didn't feel like I was able to keep up with the dog the way she needed. So then you had me and the dog, both moping around the house because we weren't walking (and because I was missing my front tooth).

Finally, I got back into my walking routine but without the dog. I still missed walking without her but now it was me afraid to take her. And I felt so guilty for that. Especially when she stopped getting excited when she saw me put on my walking shoes since she knew she wasn't going anywhere. So guilt finally won out and I finally got my "cajones" back and started to take her out. Just short walks at first until she got used to being out again. And she's been doing great. She's still skittish but now I've retrained myself to hold the leash different so that if she does bolt, I'm not going with her. Small progress I know..but it is progress.

So now I have to deal with the dog getting all excited anytime she sees me in sneakers again. Even if I'm not going walking. But when I do take her out, I'm rewarded. By the time we get back home the walk and the heat have wore her out. And all she can do is lie there like she's gonna die for at least an hour or two.

At least then, I can finally get some peace from my pain in the neck Boxer. By the way, in case your wondering, Santa did get me two front teeth for Christmas that year. I was very excited.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Make a Wish and Blow



For other WW click here or else you can click here .

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

It's Hot

It's hot here in Dallas. What do you expect in July? Which makes me really miss our way to short trip to Ruidoso, NM and the mountains. Where it was much more cooler. So much cooler...sigh.



But maybe if I pray like the original Franciscan monks did at St. Joseph Mission, the weather will cool off a bit.



Or maybe I should take a lead from my kids and go wading around like they did in the small creek by our cabin. Then at least it would be cooler.



But if I can't do that, then maybe I will just stare at this picture of running water and imagine myself cooling down a bit. It's worth a shot isn't it? Or maybe staring at all this cool running water will have a different effect. Instead it may make me have to go to the bathroom...who knows. And that my friends is a small glimpse into my warped mind. I've turned a pretty picture of running water and somehow twisted it to bathroom talk. I'm sorry...really I am.

Monday, July 21, 2008

To Clip or Not

I've been going back and forth about clipping coupons. I'm sure we have all been there at some point or another. But this time it was brought on by my friend sending me to the grocery game. They tell you how to get all sorts of free stuff just by clipping coupons and being a savy shopper. And well I tend to be of the mind set of "if it's free, then it's for me". So I thought I would try it out. The only problem is that it is still a lot of stinkin' work just to save what looks like a few dollars here and there. I went to the grocery store today and well let's just say that I still have a headache. Was all that actually worth the five dollars in savings that I had. I honestly don't think any headache is worth this unless you start to enter into the thousands of dollars. But at least I can say that yes I did try it. And FYI, for the future if I'm using coupons, I think I'll just buy generic instead.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Photo Hunters- What is That?


This weeks theme is what is that? So I immediately thought of this picture that I took a few weeks back while we were on vacation up in the mountains. I still don't know what it is exactly, some kind of weed or wild flower. But it reminded me of some kind of alien plant that was about to explode or something. See, I have such a great imagination don't I? Either that, or I have watched way to many movies with talking singing plants in them. Anyways, if anyone can tell me what this is then feel free, otherwise I will just keep on thinking of it as the alien weed like thing.




So there's my take on this weeks theme. For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Random Bits and Pieces

We are finally done with our two weeks of swim lessons. The girls really enjoyed it and so did the boys. Although Z., didn't really need lessons, I was able to find a time that all four of my kids could be in the water at the same time. This way everyone had a chance to swim and enjoy themselves. Hoss and K. both learned lots and were able to both play on the big water slide and the diving board today at Fun Day. It was a huge leap of faith for K. to jump into 11 feet of water but she did it and was quite proud of herself. However she really had no desire to do it again after that. Once was definetely enough.

In other non interesting news, my kids finally figured out that when I say please don't play with the buttons on the car windows, I mean it. It's not just because it annoys me, which it does, but it can break the motor on the door, which it did. So until the new part comes into the dealership I get to enjoy having my window down in all this humidity. Makes me a bit cranky to get hot in the car but at least it's only temporary.

And, I don't know about your kids, but mine are always wanting snow cones. So I finally bought a small snow cone maker for us to have at home. The one I really wanted isn't available anymore unless I special order it. And I'm sorry but there is no way I'm spending a $100 for a snow cone machine for our house. But I did find an Icy Treats maker from Hamilton at Target. It only cost about $30 and it seems to be doing a great job keeping us all happy in the snow cone department. I figure with what we have already saved from the snow cones huts that it's already paid for itself. So if your kids are into cool treats like mine, then maybe you should consider this for them.

So now we are back to swimming in our own neighborhood pool with no major things scheduled for at least a few more weeks. It's finally feeling like it's slowing down a bit and I'm enjoying it.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Rise and Shine

It's summertime and so that means bedtimes are a little later than they would be during the school year. That would normally not mean anything to my children who for some reason love to wake up before seven on their own everyday. Even if I put them to bed at midnight they would wake up at seven. (It's times like these when I wonder if they are really mine). Then the next day I'm stuck with tired cranky kids.

But during the summer, something happens about mid July every year, and once again it's happening. My kids are sleeping in later. And by later I don't mean until ten or anything like that. No my kids are getting up at the much more tolerable hour of 8 a.m. and sometimes even 8:15 a.m. That means that mom aka "Grumpy" in the morning, gets to get that extra bit of sleep that makes me a happier and more well rounded person. Okay, not really on the well rounded part but it does make me happier and less grumpy. And it does mean that occasionally I get to have my first cup of coffee with any interruptions. I figure I have about another five weeks left before I have to get them back on the school year schedule. But for right now, I'm going to let them sleep in as late as they will and enjoy another small joy of summertime.

Saturday, July 12, 2008



This weeks theme for the Photo Hunt is support. So I decided to show something a bit different. This is a picture of me putting my feet up. Since my feet support me during the day, I like to rest them while I can. In the background you will see some of my children playing. My family supports me in ways other than my feet and are appreciated greatly for it. Even if these particular family members are the reason that I need to prop my tired feet up so often.


So there's my take on this weeks theme. For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or

Friday, July 11, 2008

I miss the desert

Most of the time, I am very happy living in the Dallas area. Until July and August hit along with all the humidity. Then I really begin to miss living in the desert. I grew up in El Paso, where there was never any humidity. No matter how hot the summer days were, you were always guaranteed relief in the evenings when the sun would go down. You could sit out on patios with friends or family and whatever beverage you chose and enjoy yourself. I also really miss the Mexican food from El Paso. It just isn't the same here in the Dallas area. And although I have found many great Mexican food restaurants (usually small family owned ones) it still is not quite the same.

But besides that, I miss the beauty of the desert. For those of you who have never lived in the desert you may not realize how pretty it really can be. You just have to look a bit harder to find it. And if your lucky enough to be in the desert after a rain shower then you will find lots of different colorful blooms on all the different cactus. I got to enjoy a bit of the desert scenery on the drive to New Mexico on our vacation. And since we had our kids in the car, we also made lots of pit stops. It was on one of these pit stops that I just had to grab my camera and take a picture.


Isn't it beautiful. But in case your still not sure what it is I was so excited about, here is a closer look at it. And FYI, I didn't do any editing on this picture. This is all Mother Nature at work here.


Quite a beautiful cactus don't you think? Or maybe your just thinking that I was stuck to long in the car with four children and had to many pit stops along the way. Either way your going to be right. And either way, this cactus really did make me miss living in the desert just a bit more. But then again maybe I'm wrong, maybe you have to have lived in the desert to actually find beauty in this picture.

Where are the lazy days of summer?

I don't know what it is like in other households but in the Juice Box household we are still searching for the lazy days of summer. It seems that there has just been one thing after another to keep us occupied this summer. Between VBS, baseball, vacations and now swim lessons we have not found our lazy days yet. We have yet to have more than a few scattered days here and there to just hang out and do nothing. I'm hoping that after swim lessons it gets a bit better since technically we only have about seven weeks left of summer. I really enjoy having the kids home (well at least most days I do) but the summer schedule seems to be just as hectic as the school year this fall. Hopefully the lazy days of summer will show it's face around here soon, I'm ready for them.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

My Princess



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Monday, July 7, 2008

Home Sweet Home

We are back from our vacation in the Mountains. I will post a few pictures later in the week. We saw lots of deer, a lone bear was seen by the trash,a restored mission, we visited Smokey the Bear and checked out one of Billy the Kid's great shootout locations. We also spent lots of time sitting and visiting with family and lots of eating. We didn't see any fireworks since the fire danger was to high but that's okay, the kids didn't even realize it until we got home. All in all we all had a great time and came home relaxed.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Gone Fishin'

Well not exactly gone fishin' but close enough. Be back next week.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Spring Season Results


All in all, I think my boys had a great spring baseball season. Hoss got second place in his tournament and Z. won first place in the city All Stars tournament. And mom and dad, well we enjoyed cheering them on the entire time.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Wild Animals at the Zoo

It's been a while since I've posted many pictures. It's partly because I haven't been as good about taking my camera out and about with me. And then when I do take it out and about, I'm having to keep up with my four monkeys. That can be challenging at best. But I do have a few days where I've taken some pictures and some of them have even been a bit fun.

You may remember me returning my monkeys to the cages they escaped from earlier in the month. While we were at the zoo I got some funny pictures here and there. It seems like anytime I went to snap a picture, the animal in question would decide that it was then that it had to relieve itself. So as a result I have tons of pictures of animals peeing it seems. No, I'm not going to post those ones so don't worry. I am going to share a picture of the rhino in the water.

About this time I was actually really jealous of him being able to get cool like that. It was way too hot for me.

K. wanted to see one thing only at the zoo that day. Pink Flamingos. If it's pink then it's for my girl. So we went off to find them for her. They were smart enough to be near or in the cool water also.

Are you noticing a theme here yet. Don't worry I'm about to break it here.

Then we went back past the orangutans. There was one in there that caught my eye since he had a plastic lid in his mouth and was playing with it. But then he got tired and decided to lay down next to the water and rest and cool off. It was then that I took his pictures only to have to stop. It's obvious at this point that I wasn't being very mature. I couldn't stop laughing about this guy and it seemed like it was only me who knew what was going on. Because none of the other people were watching him anymore and it's a good thing. Or maybe they were and they were just more mature than I am. Who knows. What was he doing? Well he was laying there in all his glory playing with himself. And he was very happy and content with how it was all going.


Then he got bored after about 30 seconds and went and cooled off in the water. And I was left standing there without anyone to share my immaturity with. Until I posted it here today. Sorry, I'm very ashamed of myself. I promise I won't laugh at this type of stuff again. I'm a grown up and I should have more control of myself. But sometimes it's just to hard. And this was one of those times.

But by now we were all dying of heat and since we couldn't go jump in the water we opted for over sized, over priced sno cones. And guess what, it worked. We all cooled off and it gave me a chance to grow up again. And now you guys are probably wishing I wouldn't have posted my pictures today. I promise next time to make them nicer pictures.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

I can't believe I talked to him, with this on my face.




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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Popcorn everywhere

There are some foods that no matter how careful you are, it gets everywhere. Popcorn is definitely one of those for us. The kids love it and will eat lots of it. I find it everywhere. The obvious places like under the couch cushions and the floors. The not so obvious places like in the diapers where it somehow ends up. I really don't want to wonder on that one to much though. Then when you add in the fact that popcorn is the most requested snack at baseball and movies I also seem to find it in the most unusual places in the car. We naturally have it all over the floor in the van along with the car seats and seat benches. But how does it end up in the driver side door pockets when I know it's not me that puts it there. And how does it end up in zipped up bat bag when the popcorn is purchased after the bag has been closed. Now since it seems like lately we have popcorn and baseball every night that means my van is a mess. Which means that the birds around the parking spots that I park at must love my children. My kids think that every bird out there loves popcorn as much as they do, and do their best to leave it for them. And if that means they brush out old stale popcorn out of the van for them, even better. It just means that there is less of it in my van. But I must say, that is some expensive bird seed that they are eating and I hope they enjoy it.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Happy Birthday K!

Your four today and oh so proud.
Your feel like a princess floating on clouds.
Your laugh is so sweet.
Your smile so big.
Happy Birthday K.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Shoes shoes shoes

How is it that I am the only person in our family that knows anything about shoes? No, I don't mean what style is all the rage now or what pair would look best with what outfit. No, what I mean is that I am the only person in our family who knows where to find the lost shoes that have disappeared around the house. Could it also be because I am also the only person who puts shoes in the closet where **gasp** they belong. I counted out the pairs of shoes that were in our living room alone the other day. Now of course we have six people in our family, but really having fourteen pairs of shoes strewn about one room is really to much. And don't even get me wondering where all the mismatched socks are. My children come straight to me these days when it's time to get their shoes on. My observations skills are such that I can usually tell them what room I last saw the missing shoes in. This is generally followed by the ignored comment of put your shoes in the closet and then you will know where they are. Funny thing is, Z. actually gets mad when the shoes are put in his closet because he can't find them. He will look all over the house and get all upset and never once consider looking in the closet. Am I sure this child belongs to me? No, I think he belongs to dad, whose shoes are also all over the house.

Last night a friend and her son went to watch a baseball game with us. it was late when we got home and the kids had taken their shoes off in the van. We had to look all over the van for her son's missing shoe and we located it. Then this morning I got a call from my friend "Have you seen my son's shoe?" I can't find it in the house and am wondering if he put the other one back in your van. I looked and still didn't find his shoe. But I know for a fact that this child does not belong to me so how come I'm getting calls about his shoes in a different house. But not to worry, because if he can't find his shoe I'm sure he can use on of my son's shoes which has been left over at his house. They might not match but by gosh there will be two shoes on those feet.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Isn't it Fun

Now that my kids are getting a bit bigger it's fun introducing them to some of my favorite movies and things to do. Most of them are the edited versions that are on TV but sometimes they get to watch the real DVD. Today I have both my boys begging to watch a favorite of mine from years ago. It's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, there is just enough fighting to keep them interested in it all. Of course I end up getting twenty questions but they soon quiet down and then I get to enjoy the movie also. The same thing happened earlier in the week when Forrest Gump was on TV. Before long both boys were into it and enjoying it. Then Hoss discovered we had it on DVD and asked if he could watch Forrest the Skunk again. But since it was late we didn't watch that one. Instead we sat down and had another of my favorites, ice cream cones. After that it was much easier to get them to bed. And the plus side of that was that I got to have one also. Yes, it can be fun sometimes.