Happy Birthday Hoss!

Hoss celebrated his fifth birthday yesterday. It's hard to believe that he is five already. He's quite proud to be five since that now means he is an entire hand of fingers. We just had the small family celebration yesterday but he enjoyed all the cupcakes he had at school along with the birthday cake he had at home. Meanwhile all the rest of the kids are completely on board with anyone having a birthday since it usually means two pieces of cake instead of the normal one they are allowed. (Since most the time all they do is lick the icing off anyway, it's a great way to get the cake out of the house). I guess I should just serve a spoonful of icing and call it cake, I really don't know if they would notice the difference or even care.

A Day at the Vet

I have finally won the battle. The battle I am talking about is getting our dog Gigi spayed. My poor husband has been begging to breed her since the day we got her. I always pleaded off saying that there was no way that I can handle having puppies along with the four kids. And then to deal with the kids heartbreak when the puppies would go to new homes. It just wasn't something that I wanted to do. So I have finally convinced him to go ahead and get it done. So I wasted no time at all and scheduled her appointment for the first available one.

So Gigi is at the vets today and we will pick her up tomorrow. I now no longer have to worry about her getting out of the yard while she is in heat. I don't have to deal with doggie diapers on top of the baby diapers and the male dogs in our neighborhood will hopefully stop howling around the times she was in heat. My poor husband is still a little sad but I think he'll manage just fine. After all he is now a responsible pet owner.

A Week out of Whack

It's going to be an out of whack week around here. My dear hubs is off this week. So just by the fact that he is here and we can do things means that my normal schedule is off. Add to it, that Hoss celebrates his 5th birthday on Wed. and that just adds to the unusual schedule. So since we have been out and about today, none of my usual things have gotten done. So now I'm off to play catch up.

Photo Hunters- Original

This weeks theme is original.

Since I'm trying to be original this week it was a little harder to come up with something. What I finally decided on was my husband's beer can collection. His collection is on proud display in the back shelf of our very dark closet.

Here are two JR Ewing (from the TV show Dallas) beer cans. They are filled with the original beer and still have the original pull tabs on them.
Here are some more original beer cans from his collection but most of these no longer have the original beer or pull tabs on them.


For other participants in this weeks Photo Hunt visit TNCHICK.com

Or Click this link PhotoHunt

Middle Name Meme

Nicole tagged me with this one.

So. The rules:
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players - You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3.At the end of your post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.


A- I think that I am a bit adventurous. I'm always willing to try something new at least once.

N- Sometimes people think that I am a bit to Nosy. I just really like hearing about all the things going on.

N- I hope my children think that I am nurturing. At least that's what I'm trying for most days.

E- My kids wake up at the crack of dawn, which makes me an early bird. Completely against my choice by the way. I'd much rather sleep in.

I am going to tag Kim and anyone else who wants to do this meme. (I know, I know I broke rule #3). Just let me know if you do it so I can check out your answers.

The Newest Who in Who-ville

Poor Gigi

Poor Gigi, She just can't do anything right with me. I now have a new way my Boxer annoys me. It's not the fact that she is huge and not really anything like the kind of dog that I really wanted (i.e. she isn't a toy). It's not the fact that the dog for whatever reason insists on drinking gallons of water at one time only to turn around and throw it all up just five minutes later. Sometimes even on me. Or that she will just sit there and whine at you until you play with her. It's not even the fact that the dog wakes me up by licking my face in the morning. Although these things really do annoy me.

No, the new reason for me to not like my dog is that she has now brought fleas into my home. It really isn't her fault, I do know this. I haven't been consistent on keeping her Advantix on her this summer. But when my neighbor told me about five days ago that they had just found fleas I knew it would be only a matter of days until they would invade our yard and thus get on our dog and then make their nasty ways into my house. So I did put the Advantix on Gigi and I have been watching and waiting. And sure enough, she didn't disappoint me. She has been scratching just a bit to much.

So I gave her a pretend belly scratch while I was really looking for fleas. She however didn't know this and thought she had won the belly rub lottery or something.

Once I found the first little booger, her poor belly scratching lottery ended. And outside she went while I figured out how to get rid of them.

I called the vet first and found out I can spend five dollars on a 24 hour pill that will kill all the fleas on her. Then I called the exterminator and they will come out and blast the outside and inside of the home. Meanwhile, Hoss just thought he would try and sweep the pesky fleas off of Gigi. But sadly it didn't help to do anything except get Gigi all excited to play.

So now that just leaves me to vacuum the furniture and shampoo the area rugs like a mad woman. And hopefully in the process my poor Gigi will feel better to. Because let's face it, she is living with those nasty things on her.

Where are they now

My husband and I were talking the other day about our college years. Neither of us had talked to our roommates recently and we were wondering how they were doing and what was going on in their lives. Well it was only a few days later that I got a call from my roommate Jennifer telling me that she was getting married. Naturally I was super excited for her. But then she went on to tell me that they were having a bridal shower only 45 minutes away and would I want to come. Now since I hadn't seen her in about eight years I jumped at the chance.

So the evening of the shower when we finally got a chance to sit down and start to visit we naturally went down memory lane. Here's a picture of Jenn and me. (I'm in the white shirt)


There were three of us there catching up that night. Me, Jennifer and Lanie who was her sister, but with us alot of times. It was at this time that we were laughing so hard my sides hurt and Jenn's poor fiance was just sitting there listening to some of the stories being told in disbelief. Because what one of us had forgotten the others were there to remind us of. I have to admit to completely forgetting all about the shutting down of three dorms worth of study halls during finals because of a shadow strip tease. But once they reminded me of this it all came back in an instant.

We then got to talking about how different our paths have taken us from where we used to be. Now I am a stay at home mom to four children. No one knowing me then would ever believe this of me now. Lanie is now a principal at a Catholic School here in Texas. Even her family is confused at times of how she ended up there. And Jennifer is working in at law firm and finally getting married and ready to start her family. So now here is a picture of where we are now. Here's me, Lanie and Jennifer and if you look closely you will still see some empty beer bottles and glasses of wine around us. I guess we haven't changed all that much after all.


As for Mike, her fiance, I bet he is wondering what other things we got up to in our good ol' college days.

Passing the Torch

My sweet friend Kim recently awarded me with the Nice Matters award. I've known Kim for a while now and I think she is a great lady also. She is always so strong in her beliefs and always faces new challenges head on. So now it is time for me to pass it on to someone else. Now I am faced with the same dilemma that my friend Nan had. It seems like everyone has already received this award. So she made a few changes to her button to make it look different.

So I am hoping that even if you have received this award in the past that you may still be excited to be told that I think your nice and yes it does still matter. So I would like to pass this on to two great women.

First I'll start with Lauren over at Baseballs and Bows. She is always so positive in her posts and all the comments that she leaves for everyone. She just seems to me like a super nice gal and I really enjoy her blog. So I hope this will brighten her day just a bit.

Second is my friend in "real" life Nicole over at 4andcounting. I guess I am a little biased because I know she truly is nice in person as well as on her blog. I consider her a true friend and I also hope this will make her smile a bit today.

So even if both you ladies have received this before I hope you will still enjoy getting it again.

Just for the Record

My pain in my neck for all eternity big brother emailed me the other day. And while that isn't really all that surprising since I do hear from him on a pretty regular basis, this email was different. This was not because my pain my my neck for all eternity brother actually spelled everything correctly for a change. No this was because my pain in the neck for all eternity brother had read my blog for the very first time. And although he was very kind in his words about how cool he thought the blog was, he had a few other comments about some of the content on it.

In particular, he had issue about my post where I was contemplating getting a maid service twice a month. For whatever reason he seems to think that my house was never spotless at anytime when I had only one child. And now that I have four, well let's just say I could hear him laughing from 750 miles away. That dumb ol' pain in my neck for all eternity brother of mine. Naturally, I had to correct my brother's incorrect assumption that my house was ever spotless after I had one child. So I set about thinking of how I could prove it to him. Then I realized I couldn't. My pain in my neck for all eternity brother of mine was... gulp...right.

Now since I am his pesky little sister I can't have this. So I went ahead and emailed him back that yes he was right my house probably wasn't so spotless when he came to visit me when I only had my oldest child Z. But then I had to point out that he never came to visit our house between the time that I had Hoss and K. So what does this mean exactly, well it means that for all he knows (and let's face it what big brother ever really knows more than a little sister) my house was spotless. He was never there to prove it otherwise. So there! How's that my pain in my neck for all eternity big brother. I have admitted to my few readers that yes my house wasn't spotless when I had only one child. But since you were never in my home until after K. was born that gives me at least two years of a pretty clean house if I do say so myself.

Yeeeessss, the pesky little sister wins again!!!

Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is paper. After a week of looking for paper all around me, I am surprised by how it's everywhere. From the piles of school work to the phone book.

But to my children nothing reminds them more of their Pappy then reading the newspaper. This is because when he goes to get the paper he always stops and buys donuts for them. This past weekend poor Pappy had to put the paper away to read for another time since he had way to much help "reading the paper" and drinking coffee.


The kids always get excited when they see the next type of paper come out to be used. The paper baking cups always mean there is something good on the way and they can hardly wait for them to come out of the oven. These cinnamon muffins were a huge hit and didn't last long.


For other participants take on this weeks theme visit TNCHICK.com

Or Click this link PhotoHunt

And the Battle Rages on...and other random things

We are still fighting the battle of germs in our home right now. With half of us on medicine hopefully we will soon be healthy again. But Hoss is home from school again today so no telling how long it will last.

Last night at football practice the 4-5 year old flag football coach finally crossed the line. He is a habitual jerk toward other parents and even the kids on other teams that are practicing close to him. But last night he kept on throwing football passes that no 4 year old could catch and in process hit several different parents, this was because it was to much for him to ask them to please move. One mom who isn't exactly the forgiving type said hit me again and I'll call the police. Which she did the next time he threw a football at her. Truly what a waste. The police came out and eventually everyone moved around so no one would be hit by footballs anymore. Just makes me wonder why we have such fine examples of good sportsmanship teaching our youngest players. Yes, I'm very frustrated by such immature actions on everyone's part.

My poor children don't know why mom has turned so mean on them lately. I have finally stopped buying so much of the "junk" that they love to eat. You would think that I am torturing them or something. The thought of eating anything not processed is freaking them out. On my part, I think I have finally watched one to many programs on what all these processed foods is doing to us. Whether this will last, I can't tell you. But, it has been alot of fun trying to explain to them why the new peanut butter has all this oil floating on top of it. It's all fine and good until I try to drink a diet coke only to have them run up to me saying no mommy that's poison. Some "poisons" are harder for mom to give up I guess.

So that's it for my randomness of this post and thanks for staying awake this long if you have. Hope you have a happy weekend.

Our first taste of Fall

We are experiencing one of our first tastes of fall in our household. Only this isn't in regards to the weather. We have our first fall illness. After only a brief week and a half in school, Hoss has come down with Strep Throat. I am valiantly fighting the battle of it spreading to the other members of the family. So far it appears that I may be winning the battle. But since we are a family of six, I would not be surprised for at least one other person to come down with it. At least now Hoss is no longer contagious and is feeling much better. I never used to be such a germophobic (is that really a word) but the thought of having everyone sick at the same time will turn me into one in an instant. As for me and my home, we all smell like Lysol. But as long as no one else gets sick than I will tolerate this medicinal smell throughout the house for as long as it takes. As for Hoss, he is milking it for as many popsicles as he can get.

Photo Hunters

This weeks photo hunt theme is plastic.

I saw all sorts of plastic at the homecoming parade they had this week for one of the local schools. I saw some cool and colorful plastic masks on along with lots of plastic flowers on some floats.



I also saw some very big inflatable plastic looking pink flamingos.



But by far my favorite shot of something plastic was when my youngest found a plastic tub and began playing with it.


I really don't know why we bother buying toys when it's the everyday normal stuff that keeps them so entertained.

For other participants pictures just visit TNCHICK.com or click this link

PhotoHunt

Grandparents Day

It is Grandparents Day at my son's school today. And by some very fortunate timing my parents were actually planning to visit. As a result they were lucky enough to go buy my son a special lunch and go meet him in his classroom for lunch. Z. was very excited about this and understandably so. My dad had been very sick over the summer and no one was sure he would even pull through, including the doctors. But here we are two months later and he is well enough to travel here for a visit and attend Grandparents Day.

Once they arrived at the school they were directed to the right room. And every child in my son's class had at least one grandparent by them except for one. He was a new boy to the area since he just moved here from Albuquerque and so didn't have any real close friends to sit with so off he went and sat down by himself. Now with a room full of grandparents doting on their grandchildren I am sure he felt left out and was wishing he had his own grandparents with him. But since there was a room full of grandparents you can bet that little boy didn't sit there on his own for long. I heard he had offers from around five sets of grandparents to join them which he happily did. Only a few minutes later he ditched the new "adoptive" grandparents in favor of his very own grandmother who was just late. So everyone was very happy at how the situation turned out.

But this gets me to thinking of all the children who can't have grandparents there on these days. My son has only had grandparents there twice, so many times he is the one left alone only to be "adopted" by someone else's grandparents. Some of his previous teacher's have invited their own retired parents to act as "adoptive" grandparents and then no one is left out. While I love the fact that Grandparents Day is being celebrated I know it has to be hard for some of the children who have lost their grandparents or who live to far from them to be able to attend. I guess in the future I will have to take it a bit more seriously for my children instead of just thinking they'll get over it. It just gives them one more special memory to have with their grandparents.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Sometimes it's just not easy being green. Just ask Kermit the frog, he'll tell you all about it. But really I have encountered a lot of green creatures this week and it's because of their bright colors that I spotted them right away.

This green thing is... I don't know a green leaf bug I guess. It appeared in our garage the other night and showed up quite well against the white background. It really needs to work on it's camouflaging skills I think. He seemed pretty freaked out to see me and my camera getting so close but when your this pretty shade what can you expect.




The other green thing that's crossed my path this week is this huge Slider turtle. At least that is what I was told it was. He had a pretty green shell (not as pretty as the green leaf bug, but don't tell him that). Unfortunately it looked like he had been run over by a lawn mower, but his shell was beginning to heal. The kids and I packed him into a box and released him back in the pond at the park.



The ungrateful thing didn't even give us a simple thanks for freeing him from the neighborhood kids attention. Nope not for him he just hissed and snapped at us. Some turtles are all about attitude I guess. I mean I completely understand it not being easy being green and all but if you were a bit nicer than maybe you'd feel better.

I guess it's a good thing the mean green turtle, who was having a bad day, didn't see the pretty green leaf bug. If he had, he just may have eaten him for dinner.

Marshmellows?

Sometimes even I am confused by what it is my kids are telling me. Let's see if you can figure this one out.

Hoss: Mom, come quick and see all the marshmellows we have growing in our backyard.

Me: Marshmellows?

Hoss: Yes, marshmellows. Come quick and see them. I squished them all over.

So what do I find when I get out to the backyard? Instead of a bunch of squished marshmellows I find a bunch of squished mushrooms. Marshmellows, mushrooms it's all the same thing isn't it.

In Rememberance

Stopping to Pick the Flowers

Some days are just meant to pick flowers. For A. this is obviously one of those days. She was just fascinated by the flowers that she has seen a hundred times already and decided that today was the day to examine them a bit more closely. She stood screaming at the door until I let her out. She starts off innocently enough just looking but before long the desire to touch is to much. You can just hear her thinking " I really must learn more about this little flower."



Soon she is touching and feeling and learning all she can about this little yellow flower. Her intense observation of the flower is obvious, she won't be distracted. Even the silly dog jumping all around isn't distracting her from her study of this flower. Maybe these study habits will carry on into her high school years and she will be a straight A student. I can hope right.



When she is finally done with her little flower study, she seemed quite happy to finally agree to come on back inside. Almost as if she is saying "There now, I have learned all I can from this little flower and it's time to move on."

Photo Hunters

PhotoHunt

I found a new thing to do with all these photos I have been taking. I am going to start posting pictures to go along with that weeks theme. It should be fun.

This weeks theme is Music:

I love the sound of Fall, it is music to my ears. And to me nothing says fall like football. So here are some pictures of my oldest son playing football.



Just imagine the sounds of the pads smashing against each other along with the whistle blowing. This is music to my ears.

Sad but true..

It's truly a sad thing to admit, but I really don't clean as much as I used to. This is simply because it's to hard to keep up with the house as well as spending the time I want to with my children. When I only had two children I had a spotless house. When my third child was born, my house first began to suffer. Now that I have four children I am lucky if I can keep up with my goal of a deep weekly cleaning. Sometimes it is almost two weeks before I can truly clean it the way it needs to be done and not just a quick spot cleaning. I've struggled with this since I truly hate having a dirty home. But I have four busy kids and a husband who just doesn't notice the mud on his shoes, anymore than the dog notices it on her paws. So when I finally get the house clean, in invariable gets messy again within an hour.

So I have finally decided to bite the bullet and see about getting estimates on having someone come in at least twice a month to clean. How sad is that, I am a stay at home mom who is getting quotes for a house cleaner? I would just rather spend my time with my children doing something else and my husband agrees. To add to the fact that if it does get messy again right away, I won't take it as a personal affront, since most times it won't be me doing the actual cleaning. I must confess that I grew up with a house cleaner so I never really appreciated all the work that goes into keeping the house clean, but I do now. But since I still have no one but me to clean then, I guess I will have to tackle my most despised chore of all...dusting...all on my own. Or I could continue on the path that I have been on and pretend the dust isn't there and go play with my son. Guess which one I choose? Yes, you guessed right, my furniture shall remain dusty for another day.

Forms and Artwork

I am filling out lots of forms today. They are from Hoss's Pre-K teacher. She wants to know all about my Hoss and what I expect from her this year. So naturally I am trying to figure out how to write about how special my son is and how wonderful I think he is. I am trying to fit all this information into a small space of about an inch in length. Which makes me wonder if that is intentionally done. Because if she gave us mom's more space to write about what our children our like, we would fill it up. We'd fill it up with all that is good about our children and conveniently forget to put any of the their faults which drive us so crazy. Because if we did that, then we would be putting a preconceived idea into their heads and then that would probably affect the way they treat our sweet babies. Isn't it better to pretend that our angels are always perfect until we get that first note home from the teacher saying they need to work on staying in their seats and not talking so much. Because let's face it, we mom's are hopeful that all that teaching we have been doing at home for the last four plus years will show itself in how they behave at school. So instead of writing in small illegible letters, I am using self control and not going on about every sweet aspect of my son, instead I am hoping she will discover some of these small treasures on her own and that they will brighten her day the way they do mine.

Now during this struggle with words, Hoss has been completing his first homework assignment of the year. To decorate a plain boy using any means possible so that it can be hung on the wall in the classroom. So armed with markers and glitter, Hoss has completed his first assignment. And I must say I am impressed, I didn't think it was possible for a single piece of paper to hold so much glue and glitter without falling apart. As to whether Mrs. Robyn will be able to make out the true intentions of my son's artwork, I can't say. All I know is that he is extremely proud of his glob of gluey glitter and I won't have any problems identifying his artwork once it's hanging up.

Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde

I have a bully in the house. I'm really quite surprised by this for some reason. The bully in question is Baby A. my seventeen month old. She baffles me. How did I get through the other three kids without a biter or a hair puller or a head banger. She truly throws some of the most spectacular tantrums I have ever seen. I am so bothered by her bullying tactics that at her last check up I even asked the doctor for suggestions. He put most of it down to her age but did say once she was eighteen months we could effectively start using time outs. Oh is it going to be a long month. Poor K has lost countless handfuls of hair and both boys have been bitten by her. She's even biting the dog for goodness sake. Yuck! She can turn a calm and quiet room upside down in no time and laugh at the results. She is the youngest of four and I really think for her she just wants to be a part of the action. Any action, and if there isn't any then she will just create some of her own.

But don't think she doesn't have her good qualities to. She is the best kiss giver of the bunch. She will immediately come back and give kisses to anyone hurt and pat them on the back. Whether she feels true remorse, I have no idea. She just copies whatever it is that I am doing Oh the joys of having a dual personality at seventeen months. I really am looking forward to this phase passing and soon. In the meantime, I have to give my older kids a huge award for being so patient with her during all the hair pulling and biting.

Just Testing It Out

Okay, some stories are just to good to keep to myself. So let me make your day a little bit better.

The other day my husband had to run to Lowe's to buy a new seal for our bathroom sink. He decided to take Hoss and K. with him to give me a little quiet time. After he found the seal he needed he was getting ready to leave and turned to get K. who had just been right next to him the entire time. Naturally she wasn't there so he looked down the aisle a little further and saw her. She was sitting as proud as can be on one of the toilet displays. Not only that, her shorts were down around her ankles. So he runs down to get her and gets her pants back up and thankfully notices that no one was around. And in case your wondering no she hadn't "gone potty" yet. Thinking that she must desperately need to go to the bathroom he asks her if she needs to go and what on earth was she doing on the toilet display? K. simply looks like him like he is dumber than dirt and says "Daddy, I was just testing it out". How can you argue with logic like that. And since dad is dad and not a mom, he left that store as fast as he possibly could before getting the rest of the things he needed.

Summer Soap Celebration

Nan over at Life is Like a Lunchbox is hosting a Summer Soap Celebration so head on over to check it all out.

Last days of summer

I've been MIA the last few days since I really wanted to spend a few more moments in the sun with my kids. So after a few days at the pool, hitting the batting cages, reading and just doing alot of fun family time the school year officially began today. Z. was very excited to be seeing his friends today and rode off with the neighbor boys on bikes a little earlier than was truly necessary. But that's okay, as long as he is excited about school than I am happy.

You would think that by our early start to the day I would have made it to my nine o'clock appointment on time. But that was not to happen (this is me after all). After getting the three remaining kids fed, dressed and buckled we started off already twenty minutes late. Toss in the Dallas traffic and the fact that I'd never been to this office before and you can tack on another twenty minutes. But not to be outdone, Hoss got carsick and so I was then stuck wondering where I can exit if his nausea actually gets the best of him. We finally arrived at my meeting (that sounds so official but it was really wasn't) and I am frazzled. Thank goodness that it was a for a study of scripture and Pope John Paul II encyclicals so it was well worth the struggles of getting there. So once again I am reminded of God's love for us. So no matter how frustrating my day may start off I can always redeem it by a few minutes spent in prayer and quiet reflection.

Now on to another topic altogether, I just finished reading an excellent book by Kim Edwards called "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". It's about a Dr. who delivers his own twins in the 1960's and discovers that one of them has Down Syndrome. He chooses to tell his wife that the baby died at birth and send her off to a home. However the nurse who was supposed to deliver the baby to the home can't do it and ends up raising her instead. This book just grabbed me and I had a hard time putting it down. It's not an easy topic but still well worth the heartache that it may cause you to feel at moments.

Conflicting emotions

My son Z. had this to say in the car this afternoon. It pretty much sums up my feelings as well as his.

Z- Hurry up school and begin. Slow down summer so I can still enjoy you.

When I asked him why he felt this way he just replied that he missed school and was ready to get back to it. Also, he was a bit bored and wanted to see his friends. But he isn't quite ready to give up all that summer means for him (i.e. swimming, hanging out with his neighborhood friends, staying up way to late, lots of extra video game time).

I am with him, I am ready for school to begin so I can get back into a routine of sorts but I'm really going to miss having him around all the time. He really is a neat kid and I have really enjoyed all the extra time I have with him during the summer. So it looks like we both have conflicting emotions, like so many other families this time of year.

I'm in love

I'm in love. (In a totally fictional sort of way) My husband is aware of this and is quite understanding about it. You see he can completely understand why. I totally love Jason Bourne. He rocks. (Jason that is, although my husband rocks to) If I had to be chased by super bad evil people who wouldn't hesitate to shoot me, then I want him to be my friend. He is after all the best at what he does and that's what I like. And contrary to what you may think, Matt Damon is just the pretty package that Jason comes in. Don't get me wrong, I love pretty packages and he is definitely one, but it is still Jason that I adore.

As you can tell, I'm still pretty excited days after seeing the new movie. If you get the chance to go see this movie in the theater then please do it. We went out for a night without kids and the place was packed. So packed that there were no seats left in the theater except for the very front row. And since we were out on a kid free date I celebrated by spilling my drink all over my husband. Apparently I can't handle a movie without at least one mess. But anyway the action was almost immediate and I loved the way they combined the info from the Bourne Supremacy to the new movie. And I really want Julia Stiles hair in this movie, I have completely given my self up to highlight envy. I wonder how much it would cost me to have hair like hers. But back to the movie, it was great and definitely left me wanting more. So unless your still confused, go see this movie as soon as you can. It is well worth the price of a ticket. Just don't get so excited about seeing Jason that you spill your drink on your partner. That may take away from the moment and then you will end up missing some of it.

Movies, Movies and more movies

As I mentioned the other day, I went crazy at the video store the other day. Both my husband and I love to watch movies. Since we still have young children we don't get to the movie theaters like we used to. Sadly we don't even get to the video rental store that often anymore. This is due to fact that the kids are up later than they used to be. We are at different activities in the evenings and by the time we get the kids to bed we are to tired to start a two hour movie. Our children are also not great at letting us watch a movie with them awake since they are entirely to noisy for us to hear anything else going on.

So back to the other day when I was at Blockbuster's, somehow I walked out of there with I think eight movies. At least half of them were for the kids so I don't count them. Even though I should since I watch them a million times it feels like. But that left four movies for us to watch after the kids went to bed. So here are my official movie reviews, for what they are worth. We both liked Music and Lyrics okay, it wasn't great and it was very predictable but just seeing Hugh Grant doing an eighties pop video and singing was riot. The Good Year with Russell Crowe was a sloooowwww movie. Again I thought it was okay and would probably watch it again if nothing else was on. My husband said he would watch it again without sticking a needle in his eye only if it was up against Under the Tuscan Sun (one of my favorites which he just doesn't understand). We both agreed that the best one so far was last's nights showing of The Devil Wears Prada. Glenn Close is great in this role and we both liked it alot. She is such a good "mean" character. Even though it dealt with fashion, and my husband is a fashionless kind of guy he still enjoyed it and would watch it again. That leaves us with one more movie Miss Congeniality 2, which is an old one but we still haven't seen it. I'll have to wait to watch this one this weekend so can't tell you what I think of it yet. But I have heard it's good so we will see.

But since we have been on a movie kick this week, we are going to top it off by going to see the new Bourne Ultimatum movie. We have the kids signed up for a Kids Fun night at a church. Then we will go see a current movie, in a real movie theater with stadium seating. We will have real movie popcorn with real greasy movie popcorn butter and drink lots of coke. I can hardly wait. I just love Matt Damon and his Jason Bourne character. And the fact that it's the second date in a week with just my husband and I is totally cool. Almost as cool as Matt Damon.

Random Things

It's been a crazy week so far, full of out of the ordinary things. We have had the pleasure of watching my neighbors two boys for a few days the last week or so. The oldest is my son Z.'s BFF (if boys at least admit to having a best friend forever). The younger son is closer to Hoss's age so they usually have a good time. Now this younger son was affectionately called BAM BAM as a baby and toddler. And although he is now six I think it is still provokes the appropriate reaction in regards to his behaviour. I'm surprised that my four children have not done or thought up what BAM BAM has been able to come up with in five short hours. But thankfully everything has been restored to order until his next visit, I can only hope that my supply of patience is restored as well. And my poor dog (never thought I'd ever actually utter that phrase) can go back to being a dog instead of being treated as a means of transportation. Granted she is as big as a horse but I don't think she likes being ridden like one.

We have also had two of our close neighbors move out of their houses. One I am sorry to see go but really didn't get a chance to say bye to properly. The other is more of my husband's buddy but is great friend to me and the kids as well. I know we will still be hearing from him and seeing him on a regular basis despite his moving out of state. He is actually renting his house to my neighbor's mom for a while so we at least already know one of the new neighbors.

Z. is in full football mode. He received his jersey yesterday and I must admit that seeing his name on the back of it is way cool. Must still be some of that old high school girl in me yet. I had a lot of friends and boy friends that were football players in my youth so it brought back lots of fun memories for me. When I asked my husband his thoughts on it, his response was "Never thought I would see my last name on a football jersey in a million years." Spoken like the true band geek that he was. How the two of us ever ended up together, I still wonder. I have repeatedly told him it was a good thing we never met in high school or I would never had dated you. He takes it good naturedly and just says he would never had dated me either. Anyways, Z. is loving it and that is all that matters. That and I get to go to football games again.

And to top of our out of the ordinary week, we have rented a lot of videos to watch. Which we never do since we never get to watch TV that much, and have been staying up way to late watching them. So that being said I am off to watch a new one.

Defending the Caveman

Have any of you seen this one man show called Defending the Caveman? It's been a hit running on Broadway for years. Anyway, my husband surprised me by getting tickets and arranging to go out with some friends. Totally surprised me. Normally I have to talk him into to doing these things so I was completely physched. As for the show itself, it goes into details about the difference between men and woman and how we communicate. It was amazing how accurate it was on so many different levels. But for us it was nothing but hysterical, we laughed for almost the entire two hours. I had heard of this show before but didn't really think much of it but if you ever get the chance to see it, then jump on it. Afterwards we went out to eat at a restaurant without any kids menu and ate our food while it was still hot. So for us it was a great afternoon of fun with friends and laughter. I just love it when we get grown up time alone or with our friends.

Look at me!

Hey mom...look at me! This is a phrase that I hear hundreds of times during the day. It may come in different variations of hey look what I did, look what I can do or just a simple hey check this out. But for all four of my kids it's a cry for some of my attention and validation for whatever new achievement they have accomplished. I hear this so many times in a day that some days I just really want to tell them that I am just to tired of looking at every little thing.

When we went to Six Flags last week I heard this exclaimed over and over again. But along with the normal cry for attention they were also begging me to "Take a picture". Something that I readily did as long as it didn't involve me actually being on a roller coaster ride with them.

Anyways here are a few of my favorite "Look at me moments".

Here is Hoss driving the bumper cars and feeling quite proud to have just knocked into somebody only to have the favor returned.


Not to be outdone, A. really enjoyed the carousal ride where she held on all by herself and laughed anytime she went up. All the kids enjoyed it since it was one of the few rides running during the rain storm at the time but A. really liked it the most.

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In between all the roller coasters he kept going on, Z. would humor the younger ones by going on some of the "easy" rides. He really is such a camera ham.


This one was a favorite of both K. and Hoss. I guess it takes a child to find the fun and enjoyment in being bounced around by a giant cowboy boot in a circle. But since it was close to a big roller coaster, they got to ride this a few times while Z. went on whatever scary ride he talked his dad into that day.


If I had to pick a favorite it would definitely be the old fashioned car drive. I really like being driven around by the kids for a change. But on this day I missed out on my ride and dad took it instead. He seemed to enjoy it just as much as I normally do and Hoss was nothing but sheer concentration when it came to him being a chauffeur.


It was just a fun day for everyone involved and we are already looking forward to the next time we go back.

Hot Summer Days

We have officially entered into what I truly consider the dog days of summer. The only time we really get outside to play is in the morning or late afternoon when it starts to cool down. Unless we are sitting by a pool we tend to be indoor during the heat of the day. But even though we are not out in the worst of it, the heat still slows down the kids a bit. At which point they beg me for their favorite cool down treat. Popsicles.

Depending on what kind of Popsicle they are having they can end up with any where from one big Popsicle or even three or four small ones just for the sake of keeping cool. It's really funny how they can all enter their own special zone while enjoying their Popsicle. And you better not talk to them or get them to participate in anything major during the consumption of said Popsicle because your just wasting your time.

Z. had a certain focus while enjoying his Popsicle. His main objective is to try and get it as pointy as possible without it breaking off. He is quite adept at making a shank out of a Popsicle that any inmate in any prison would be proud of.





Hoss is my true popsicle connoisseur. He will gladly turn down ice cream in favor of these any day. Times like this I really wonder if he is of my own flesh and blood since I adore ice cream. For him it's all about Popsicle's and the quiet serentity that they bring to him.



A. loves hers as well but I think it's because she is finally big girl enough to eat it on her own without mom having to help.




Which now leaves me to examine how K. slurps her Popsicle. I really don't know how much she enjoys it since she always seems to be in a catatonic state while she is eating them, but I have never known her to refuse one yet. So I guess she likes them, since they help her get to her happy place.



Now how do I enjoy my Popsicle your wondering. I like to do a little of all of the above depending on my mood. But whichever way I choose I am always the first one done so obviously I don't savor my Popsicle in the same manner as my children. Something I guess I should work on.

The Jesus One

Nicole at 4andcounting tagged me for the Jesus meme. I'm supposed to list 5 things I love about Jesus and then tag 5 people.

1. Jesus is loving. Regardless of all the bad or negative things we have done, He still loves us.

2. Jesus is compassionate. He never runs out of compassion and love for his children. Even towards the weakest and those considered unworthy by others, He always showed compassion to his children.

3. Jesus knows your heart. He knows what we are feeling in our most innermost thoughts. And He accepts us and loves us regardless.

4. Jesus was a teacher and example. He showed us how to live our daily lives in a way that would guarantee our entrance into His Kingdom. He did this by the way He lived his life and the words He left for us in scripture.

5. Jesus died for me (and you and you and you and so on). Seems obvious, but I know I don't think about it often enough. He died just for me. He died for each individual. 4andcounting actually came up with this answer, but I think it's definitely worth repeating.

Okay, I tag anyone who feels like doing this meme. Just play along and let me know so I can go read your comments.

42 inches

Did you know that 42 inches is the most important measurement that can be found for my children today. This is because yesterday we took our four children to Six Flags with some friends. And the height requirement for a lot of the scary roller coasters that I refuse to get on, is 42 inches. Now just because Hoss and K. were tall enough to go on the loop de loop Shockwave didn't mean that I wanted them to. But they soon realized that dad was the complete opposite and would let them go on any scary ride with him (and our friends). So for them it was run as fast as you can to the measuring sign, line up and then whoop for joy when they passed the height requirement. K. wasn't always tall enough to get onto all the rides but she was a good sport and stayed with me and Baby A. until everyone else was done.

The lines weren't even that bad but after we had a small thunderstorm move through it improved even more. By the time the park was back at full operation there weren't any people left. You could get on a ride and not even exit it to go again, you just sat there and waited to see if anyone else would come and if not away you went again. So by the end of our very long day I think there were only two big rides which my oldest son Z. wasn't able to ride. Which in a park that big is pretty cool. As for me, the sole person of the day who truly doesn't like roller coaster rides, I had a blast as well. I was able take the kids on some of the smaller rides and even Baby A. got to get on a few rides.

The extra bonus of this very long day, all my children were so worn out they slept past 9am. Something completely unheard of in our house.

Grandma town

We have obviously been out of town a lot lately. And this is just one of the funny things Hoss asked me about while we were at my parents driving in the car.

Hoss: Mom are we in grandma town?

Me: What are you talking about?

Hoss: Well mom look in all the cars the only people driving are grandma's.

Me: Looking all around at all the cars around us at the light and laughing since every car is being driven by a senior citizen. No Hoss, they have kids in Lubbock to we just can't see them driving.

Home Again..Hooray

I am home again. And to make it even better dad is home again also. The doctors still haven't fixed his heart yet but they wanted him to regain his strength first before they go any further. So my dad is now twenty pounds lighter after a twelve day stay at the hospital and much weaker. They have given him a walker and oxygen along with a lot of home health care. It really stinks to see how frail he looks but the simple fact is that many people don't make it back from the point where he was. Something the nurses and doctors kept reminding us about. So thank you for all the continued prayers they have worked miracles, and I am so thankful for all of them.

Progress

We are moving in the right direction. Dad is hopefully going to be weaned from the ventilator today. His pneumonia seems to be getting better as well. Once he is stable they can then go on to work on correcting the blockage in his heart. Thanks for your prayers. I will go back to my parents in a few days but would still appreciate any prayers you can give us for my family and the doctors that are treating him. I am just so thankful he is heading in the right direction now. God is truly with us at this time and is showing his love for us in so many ways.

Long week for the family

I've had a very long week. I won't go into alot of details but my dad was put into the hospital on Monday. Originally we thought he would be there about a week and a half while they stabilized his heart rate and then would probably be putting in stints. It hasn't been that easy though. He is still unstable and now on a breathing tube. I will be gone alot the next few weeks since we have now been told that he won't be leaving the hospital for at least three to four weeks. So if you will just keep my dad in your prayers and the rest of family I would really appreciate it.

Missing Socks

Why is it that I know I put two socks that match into the dryer but never have pair when it comes time to fold. It's a problem that is shared by millions of people worldwide. So why do I continue to hang onto these mateless socks for eternity in hopes that one day they will be reunited. All I end up with is one more pile of things that I eventually have to sort through and then toss.

It's not only socks that I am expected to find. For whatever reason my family thinks that I am the only person in the house that can find things. Granted this is due to the fact that I am anal and usually can find the missing item as long as I have seen it. I have my own little mental imaging game I do in my head until I can picture where I have seen the lost item.

But this weekend really was to much for me. I was expected to know what happened to two of my sons best Pokemon cards. Not only was I expected to know what happened to them but I had to know after he had a sleepover during which they had taken out the missing cards to play with. This really was to much for me and I really should have had more patience with my son since they are important to him. Add this to the fact that the same son had already gotten mad that I forget his goggles at his friends house where he was swimming and I didn't know where he had left his flip flops (over at another friends house). I decided that from now on he just has to learn how to keep up with his own things.

Will this keep the rest of the family coming to me to find their missing items. I sincerely doubt it. But I truly feel that he is old enough to keep up with his own things without blaming me if he can't find them. And who knows maybe it will give me just a few more minutes to search for those missing socks.

My John Deere Boy

Hoss loves him a tractor. (There did I say that country enough) What I mean is that Hoss really loves tractors. Of any kind, but he really loves the green John Deere ones the best. He will spend hours playing with cars and tractors.

Well when we went to Missouri we reminded him that his Uncle Bill had a tractor. Imagine his joy when he realized that he would get to ride on the tractor again. That was all he could talk about. And naturally the first morning we were there he was up with the cows. (Yes they do own cows as well) He then went off in search of Uncle Bill to "help" him. This was after he put on his green tractor shirt. He wanted to be sure and be dressed for the part. Now since I am a good mom, I stayed inside with all the rest of the sleeping children to keep an eye on them (at least that's the story I'm sticking with). But my husband went out to watch Hoss with his uncle. It was then that I heard the tractor start up. So off I ran to get the camera and get it to my husband so he could grab some pictures of Hoss in his blissful state. Hoss was driving the tractor around, with his Uncle only there in case he needed help.



Then they decided that some hay that was waiting to be moved needed to be moved just at that moment. So Hoss moved the hay into the barn. After all the hard work they decided to just drive around a bit and check things out.




I can honestly say that this was probably the best part of the entire trip for Hoss. Who cares about playing with cousins, visiting with grandma or going to a dumb ol' wedding. It's all about tractors for Hoss.

Swimmers Ear

My son Z. has swimmers ear. He is so heartbroken and embarrassingly enough so a I. He can't swim with his head underwater for at least a week. This means that we can't go hang out at the pool every afternoon like we have been doing. I really counted on this two hour excursion every day. It kept all the kids happy and content. It also had the extra benefit of wearing them out so that they would all go to bed just a bit easier. I love being at the pool so it's relaxing for me to. There always seems to be someone there to visit with. So now we are on a pool hiatus and everyone is stir crazy. I'm doing different indoor activities that we would normally do during swim time but it's alot harder on me and doesn't wear them out like swimming does. Guess it will just be a long week for all of us without swimming.

But onto good news, blogger is finally letting me post titles, comments and posts again. Yay for small things.

How I know my children aren't from the country.

A conversation as we were driving from Texas to Missouri.

Z. - Hey Mom, look at the really tall grass.
Me- No Z., that's not grass, it's corn.

A Few Observations from this morning:

1. The kids all woke up early and are happily and QUIETLY getting along.

2. Baby A. can find any nightlight in the house and bring them all to me in a matter of seconds.

3. It seems like the only time my children have to go to the bathroom is if I am eating, or if they can synchronize their systems to all go at the same time.

4. I am enjoying my second cup of hot (not lukewarm) coffee. A small pleasure in itself.

5. My kids are already asking if it's time to go swimming since we have gone everyday for the last week. Unfortunately they don't realize how much laundry there is.

6. My title bar in my posts is not working again for the third day in a row. Sigh!

7. I am spending way to much time surfing around blogland this morning and need to get busy with real life.

Titles

For some frustrating reason I am unable to get my title to appear on my posts lately. The cursor just won't go up to it. So now my posts look pretty cheesy until I can figure out what is going on. Any suggestions on how to fix it?

The Wedding Cake

As you know we just came back from my niece's wedding. It was a small wedding from the start but the bad weather made it even more so. Which we tried to make into a good thing by saying there was more wedding cake for us to eat.

As you can see it was a pretty cake. Nothing huge or extravagant but pretty.



And my children were itching to get a piece (or two) of the wedding cake. So once the cake was finally cut they were excited.

I have to admit that I love wedding cakes because they are so much heavier than a normal cake. The filling and frosting is always different to and to me that just makes it all the better. There is one place here locally that I can order a cake that is just like a wedding cake but since they aren't cheap I don't do it that often. But anyways back to the wedding cake.

My son Z. was one of the first to get a piece of cake and I noticed he wasn't really eating it. So I asked him how it was, my nine year old boy who loves cake said "it's okay". So I decided to try a bite of his and I have to agree. It was okay. Nothing like what I was expecting. But we didn't say anything to anyone and just continued on visiting. I later found out that the lady who owned the reception hall included the cake in the package and that she makes them. So now I understood why it didn't taste like a wedding cake. But then she approached my son Z. and asked if he was enjoying the cake. Z. being nine (and not knowing she made it) said he didn't like it that much. She looked shocked. So I quickly tried to cover for him and said it was because the frosting was to rich for us. Z. agreed since he really didn't know why he didn't like it but was going to go along with anything I said. So the lady looked quite happy after that and continued on.

So crisis averted. At least the cake still looked pretty in the pictures and unless you know different (which you now do) you would think it would be delicious also. So moral of the story...never ask a child what he thinks of the cake because they will always tell the truth. Even if it's just okay.

Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying themselves on the Fourth. They normally don't get to do fireworks so they felt like they had won the lottery.



K. really enjoyed being a "big" girl and holding it all by herself.





After watching all the dancing around that Z. did with his sparklers I am thinking of signing him up for ballet. I swear all he was missing was the pink tights. But he had fun so that's all that matters.



And Hoss, well he thought they were really cool. That is until he tried to hold it to close to the sparks and it burned his thumb. After that he was pretty happy just to sit back and watch the others. But all in all they enjoyed themselves and we still have lots of snappers leftover.

Kid exchange

We have new neighbors and they have two girls that are close in age to mine. So my son Z.has been visiting them alot lately. They have cool video games and a bunch of new toys he hasn't played with before. So today after days of my son living at their house it is finally our turn to have the party here. They have been keeping all my kids entertained which is not an easy thing to do. The noise level isn't any worse since my kids are so noisy. It's just been alot of fun for me to see the way they all include each other. Even baby A. has been included in the fun. And for the new neighbor girls, it's fun playing with toys that aren't their own. They also get to practice being with little kids and babies something they are very excited to be doing. Maybe later they will tire of the novelty it offers but for now I will enjoy it while I can.

One of those mornings

It's one of those mornings. You know the one's. The kids were up way to late watching fireworks (and so was mom). The kids woke up way to early (which meant so did mom). Everybody is cranky and in a bad mood (including mom). So much so that when dad finally did wake up two hours later than everyone else (he is on vacation after all) that he just packed up all the kids and left me in my glorious solitude that I am in right now. So what should I do...I'm thinking I'll just do nothing and enjoy the quiet while it last and drink another cup of hot coffee.

Joining the modern era

We have officially joined the modern era today. We conceded that it was time to buy a laptop. After all the time limits we have to put on the kids games and the surfing that me and my husband like to do, one computer was not enough. After lots of research (not) and looking at lots of sale ads we found the one my husband thought would do us just fine. Wish I could tell you all about it, but as of yet I haven't seen it except for at the store. Sooner or later I will get a turn checking it out. But for now I am still on our old computer and not minding a bit. I am looking forward to being able to take the laptop into other rooms when I need to. So cheers to us for joining the laptop age.

Storm Chaser Wannabe

I always thought the storm chasers that intentionally went into a tornado were absolutely crazy. Now I know for a fact that yes they are. The reason I know this for a fact is because my family and I inadvertently became a storm chaser of sorts. Something I promise to never do again.

We went to my nieces wedding in Missouri this past weekend. As the time of the wedding approached we decided to just follow the rest of the family to the wedding chapel since we had no clue where it was and didn't have directions to get to it. I am standing there putting K. in her car seat when I hear the Weather Service announce on the radio that there is a tornado warning for Webster Co. and if you are in Marshfield to seek shelter immediately. I tell my husband I think that's where we are going, so he goes off to tell the others about it. The response was yes that's where we are going but by the time we get there it should be past us. So my husband packs us up and off we go.

Everything is fine even though we struggled to keep up with the speeding driver that my BIL is. (He was raised on the curvy two lane highways and thinks nothing of driving on them at 90 mph) Then as expected, it starts to rain and it just gets worse. About the time we can no longer see them in front of us, due to the rain, we decide to go back home and just drive back later on. Only we can't since we can't see where to turn around and we are completely lost on these back country highways. So we inch along and I start praying the only thing I can remember which was Hail Mary's over and over. Finally we see our BIL stopped up ahead waiting for us, but since our cell phone had no signal, we couldn't call him to beg him to stop and seek shelter. Instead BIL keeps on driving through this mess but at least he slowed down.

Obviously we did make it to the wedding chapel but we were one of only about twenty other people that did. The rest of the people attending actually had half a brain and didn't get out in it. So it was a very small, small wedding with lots of cake for everyone.

About mid way through the reception we heard that a tornado did touch down somewhere near my in laws house so we were curious to see if any damage had happened out there. From what we could tell it landed in primarily farm land. So, no one was injured, including us, the morons who drove out into the country during the tornado warning with out a map or any clue of getting home. I guess the old saying is true, God looks out for fools and children. He protected my children and the fools in this instance were my husband and myself.

So just in case your wondering if I really do want to be a storm chaser the answer is without a doubt..NO! I will let all those other people who enjoy doing keep their jobs and instead just appreciate them all the more.

Procrastination

I'm the worst at procrastination. And today it has finally reared it's ugly head at me. You see we leave for Missouri early (and I do mean early) in the morning for my niece's wedding. And early is never a good thing with me. So today that leaves me with finding out if the vet can board our dog at the last minute( it can). Taking the dog to the vet this afternoon. Buying new clothes for the boys for the wedding. Getting the boys haircuts. Trying to wash a load of clothes we will need for the trip and then packing. I also need to squeeze the time in there to buy the girls some new dressy shoes that fit. It doesn't help that the kids are in the worst and most whiny moods and really don't want to cooperate with anything that needs to be done.

Yes, procrastination is definitely laughing at me today. But no worries, the things that must be done will get done and those that don't have to..well they just won't get done. I really can't stress to much over it since it's to late for that anyway. I'm off to spend a very hectic weekend at the in-laws and intend to enjoy it as much as possible.

How Addicted to Blogging Am I?

Thought this was a fun little quiz. Apparently I am a bit more into blogging than I originally thought.

53%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Online Dating

A Fun Meme

Saw this meme over at 4andcounting and thought I join in the fun.


Were you named after anyone? No my parents just liked the name.

When was the last time you cried? Oh gosh, during any sad movie or sappy commercial I'll end up in tears in no time.

Do you like your handwriting? It's not so bad. But not nearly as pretty as my friend Anne.

What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey

Do you have kids? Yes, four of them.

If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself? Yes

Do you use sarcasm a lot? I try not to since I hate it when people are sarcastic to me.

Do you still have your tonsils? Yep.

Would you bungee jump? I like to think I would. But it would have to be something really incredible to actually get me to do it.

What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Shredded Wheat

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? I'm afraid I'm to lazy to untie them until I need to put them back on again.

What is your favorite ice cream? Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla

What do you notice first about people? Their body language.

Red or pink? I'm more of a red girl.

What is your least favorite thing about yourself? All the extra weight I am carrying around these days. But I am working on that now. Just need a little more self discipline.

What is the last thing you ate? Turkey and cheese sandwich

What color pant and shoes are you wearing? Denim shorts

What are you listening to right now? My younger son say he broke one of his bones and do I want to feel it.

What are your favorite smells? Baking of any type, apples, and gardenia.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My neighbor

What are your favorite sports to watch? my son's baseball team.

What is your hair color? Brown

What is your eye color? Hazel

Do you wear contacts? No

Scary movie or happy ending? Happy endings. Scary movies give me nightmares so I never watch them.

What is your favorite food? I have so many favorites that I really can't pick one. Lame I know.

What was the last movie you saw? Shrek the Third

What color shirt are you wearing? Peach shirt

Summer or winter? Summer.

Hugs or kisses? I guess kisses. I'm always giving and getting kisses from the kids and husband. From the family it's always a hug and kiss on the cheek.

What is your favorite dessert? Again, I don't think I can pick just one. But I do love strawbery shortcake and anything with chocolate is bound to be a close second.

What are you reading? Right now I am reading "A Bend in the Road" by Nicholas Sparks. Pretty good so far.

What is on your mouse pad? Don't use a mouse pad.

What did you watch on TV last night? The Prince and Me. The kids were watching it and I really like Julia Stiles so it wasn't hard to get into it.

Rolling Stones or The Beatles? Stones

What is the farthest you've been from home? Lived in Oulu, Finland for a while with my husbands job.

Where were you born? El Paso, Tx

I'm not tagging anyone, if you want to play along let me know so I can go check out your answers.

Are you kidding me?

Okay, I don't normally go off into these murky waters but really today I just can't resist.

Paris Hilton was released from jail last night and apparently she is a changed woman. She decided to walk out of jail in the same way that every other person who comes out does. Naturally she was bombarded by the paparazzi. It's a good thing she changed into some new designer clothes first. Poor thing had to sit there and endure all those photographers for at least five minutes before her SUV could drive off out of the mess. Guess there is something to be said about being just like the rest of us. All I can hope for is that yes Paris did learn something in her time there and that now she will be a better role model for all these girls that actually look up to her.

All I know is that I am tired of hearing all about her every night on the news.
So for those of you who love Paris, I'm happy that she is now out of jail. I don't know her and really can't walk a mile in her heels but I do wish the best for her in the future. I just hope I don't have to hear about every little detail of it.

Random Things

1. My parents who were in town for K.'s birthday left this morning. This means that my children are exceptionally whinny and testing all the limits.

2. My house and laundry are once again out of control and I really should be focusing on them today. But I'm not. Instead I'm doing a million of other little things.

3. We are supposed to leave town at the end of the week for my niece's wedding. I really can't say that I'm all that excited about the trip. It's a nine hour drive and we will only really be there for a day and a half. Hopefully we will get a hotel this time instead of trying to camp out in the house. They have enough going on without adding our noisy bunch.

4. Swim lessons are going great for the kids. Hoss is able to go into our community pool now without floaties since he can touch and loves diving for toys. K. is doing super also. It's been fun to watch how much they are improving. Z. is loving his advanced class and so it's been a win win for everyone.

5. We only have a couple of more baseball games left for Z. to play. It's always fun when he makes the All Stars but it really drags the season out a long time. With the heat we have had, I'm ready to be done.

6. I'm hoping to get everything I need done before tomorrow so that I will have a few days to relax before being stuck in a car for along time. Guess that means I better get started on it.

Another busy weekend

We have another busy birthday weekend planned here. Add that to the swim lessons and baseball games and out of town company. I really should be cleaning or shopping but I'm not. Nope instead I am sitting around on my hiney reading a book and loving every second of it. Gotta love it when I just give up and decide to claim a few minutes for myself. It's either that or clean the bathrooms and we all know what any sane person would do.

Shopping for Girls

Shopping for girls is so much different than for boys. Boys have the basic style and you really don't have much to accessorize with. You can keep your boys always looking cute and not spend the entire bank balance in the process. But girls, boy they can break the bank in no time. Now since I have two girls who just happen to be younger than my niece I haven't gone broke just yet. But I am sure my time is coming. It is sheer will power that keeps me from buying cute clothes for them constantly. I mean who can resist when they have all these pretty spring colors. But since I have drawers of clothes for my girls and lots of hand me downs I always feel like there isn't a need to spend a lot of money on new clothes for them. Accessories and shoes on the other hand I will splurge on. I think they are to cute when the shoes match. Sadly my daughters don't agree and K. insist on wearing her pink flip flops with everything. Now my girls are finally at ages where I can even buy matching outfits for them. I know, I know, I swore to never do that sort of thing. But that was before I realized how cute it would look in pictures. What is a mom to do? I can't exactly go out and buy these cute outfits in my size and not look like some loony lady who has lost her mind. So instead of developing a nervous tick of some sort I have decided that next time I see a cute pair of matching outfits that I will buy them for the girls. Then maybe, I will be over this latest compulsion of mine to have them matching.

Rained Out Again

It's been another wet weekend for us and my poor kids are feeling it. They were so excited to start their swim lessons this morning but we had such bad storms during the night I wasn't sure if we would have them. I called and they said so far we are still having them. So I pack up my posse of kids and got them all ready to go swimming. When we get there it was cancelled since it had just started to thunder and lightning. Three very disappointed faces looked at me as if I could possibly do anything about it. But since I couldn't we all had to come home, even the promise of baseball tonight couldn't cheer them up. Once we got home and I managed to get the kids back into a good mood the phone rings and of course it's our baseball coach. The games been cancelled because the fields are to wet. Sigh, here we go again. Hopefully they won't be as grumpy after they find out about this (since I still haven't told them yet). Truly we have had so many rainy days this spring even I am getting bored of with it. How can I expect my kids not to be the same way. All I can hope for is that it will dry out soon and that they can go swimming and play baseball tomorrow.