For True Life

Is it Monday?

2009-02-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

This morning my car wouldn't start. I have been having trouble with it not wanting to start for a week. My hubby "thought" he fixed it by putting water in the battery and making sure all the connections were good. Well, I took Olivia to school this morning as usual. I did not have any problems then. I had to work today so when I went out to take Grayson to my mom's I tried to start it and NOTHING. So, I had to call my dad to come and get us. We get to my mom's and she has her car running warming up for me. How sweet was that??? Anyway, I get Grayson settled and head out in mom's car. Well, about half a mile down the road her car dies while I am driving it. Yeah, seriously. Thankfully I was able to coast to the stop sign, put it in park and start it again. So far so good.

Feels like Monday to me. :(

UPDATED TO ADD: Ah yes, I knew it wasn't over. I was coming back from lunch doing about 70 in the middle lane of the interstate and my mom's car died. Yep. I almost got killed trying to get to the shoulder. But I didn't and the car started back up so I am back at work. Needless to say I have had a very interesting vocabulary today.

Is this a test? If so I don't think I am passing!

Pepe LeP.U. Seriously

2009-02-12T08:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning while driving to school the kids and I were assaulted by the most horrific skunk smell ever. There was a freshly slain skunk on our side of the road. Oh it was terrible. We were gagging and rolling windows down to get fresh air etc. So we get maybe a half mile down the road to be assaulted yet again by ANOTHER one on the opposite side of the road. I am not kidding when I say the smell attached itself to my car and it took almost a day to evaporate. Even though I did not hit either one!

The funny part was after we got out of the fog. Olivia paused for a few moments and then said "I bet if you blew your nose right now all your nose hairs would fall out". LOL! You have to love that girl. What a hoot.

Win a Motorola Motozine ZN5

2009-02-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

Go check out this contest at 5 Minutes for Mom!! Who doesn't want a new cell phone?

Is Anybody Out THere?

2009-02-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

Just checking. I get no comments. But, then again, I don't really post anything interesting. LOL!

Where Has My Sweet Boy Gone?

2009-01-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

Grayson loves Waffle House. So, yesterday morning my mom and I took him for breakfast. We were chatting and Grayson was playing with the salt and pepper shakers as usual. Then he found something even more exciting, yes, the sugar dispenser. You know the glass one with the spout on top? Yeah. I told him "we're" not going to play with the sugar because it will make a mess. Well WHACK out of no where he hauls off and slaps me across the face! What the heck???? I like to think he really did not know what he had just done. But, regardless, I put a "scald" on his rear right there in the booth at the Waffle House.

Just another intriguing and oh so exciting post from my house to yours.

Oh, I did find this at Vicki's and laughed out loud....for real. :)

You're A Butt Face

Anyone Have A Mirror?

2009-01-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

We just returned from Wal-Mart. It is always amazing to me the different types of people you see there. Today there was a man behind us in line that had on a great outfit. Lounge pants, a t-shirt with a huge hole in the stomach, house slippers, and a fleece hoody. Nice. I thought I went out looking bad sometimes. Seeing these people makes me wonder if anybody has mirrors in there homes anymore!

Yes, this is what I blog about. This could be why no one reads this blog. LOL!

Doctors Make Me Angry

2009-01-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know it's been a while and I need to do an update post BUT...I have to vent about this first. So...Grayson has been taking antibiotics for the last ten days for a bad ear infection. The doctor thought that his ear drum had burst. Today he went back for a re-check. Thankfully the infection was better. She also found that the problem with the ear was not a burst ear drum but one of his titanium tubes had embedded itself into his ear drum. Yeah, the same tube that according to the same doctor's office in July had fallen out. Hmm....so the poor child has been living with this tube embedded in his ear drum for God knows how long. Nice. My husband took him in for the recheck today otherwise I would have probably went on a nice rant for them.

Sheesh.

Give Me A Break Already!

2008-12-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

Here is how my day has been so far (it's only 8:42AM).

1. Woke up late.
2. Stubbed my big toe and lost almost half of my toenail. Literally. There is more of my nail gone than Olivia had removed when she had her ingrown toenail removed!
3. Went to the home computer and found a blue screen of death.
4. Poked myself in the eye with my eyeliner pencil. Yes, it still hurts. There must be a scratch.
5. Grayson got up and started to dry heave...on me of course. Thank God there was nothing to it.

Now you see why I need a break!

Headlines

2008-12-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

I can not believe the times we live in. I mean making headlines today EVERYWHERE I read is the fact that Oprah now weighs 200 lbs. WHO CARES??? And who cares what kind of berry diet she is on??? I am sick of it. I say it's about time she stopped trying to be something she is not.

Don't we all have more to be concerned about? I'm just sayin'.

Peanut

2008-12-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

On Thanksgiving my niece announced her pregnancy! How exciting! I had to laugh when she announced it because my sister (not the mom) said "I am excited on multiple levels...one because it's not mine!" Ditto to that!

Here are some ultra sound photos.

I Can Take a Hint

2008-12-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

So, I am in the bathroom getting ready for the day. In walks Grayson with a book. He lays it on the counter and says "read dis mommy" about eight times. I finally look and see that he has brought me Michael Thurmon's Six Week Body Makeover.

Yeah, I get the hint.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving Holiday. We ate A LOT. Friday I had a stomach virus all day. That was fabulous because we were supposed to go to NC to visit relatives. Needless to say, that did not happen. We did get to go Saturday. I still don't feel 100%. I did get some great pictures of the kids on Thursday. I would love to show them to you BUT I deleted them all on accident. What a dumb thing to do. I was running my mouth with my sister in law while I was trying to delete just ONE and discovered I clicked the button to delete all. Sheesh. Cut me a break already. Anyway, here are a couple taken after the fact. :)

And The Comments Continue

2008-11-26T10:34:00.000-08:00

Today Olivia got out early. I picked her up and the first thing she said was "this boy told me I needed to get rid of the acne on my face". Okay. I am REALLY losing it here. The child does not have acne. She may have some bumps but they are not red or disgusting, just little bumps that you have to get right on her face to see.

So, being the wonderful example and mother I am, I told her to tell him "I can get rid of the bumps on my face, however, you can't get rid of the ugly on yours."

So THERE.

Mother of the Year Goes To..........

2008-11-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

Olivia came home and said that a kid at school made fun of her hair. Another kid told her she dresses badly. So, I told her when kids say that to her just respond with a smile and say "honey, it's okay, I know my beauty is much too much for you to understand or appreciate".

Was that bad?

So the award is either going to me or the mother of the child at the convenience store this morning. The child did not have shoes or socks on and was walking around the store. He also had jammies on that were for Summer. Yeah, it was about 30 degrees.

So, you vote. It's me or her.

LOL!

Olivia's Fabulous New Cut

2008-11-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

Olivia and I went last Saturday to the hair salon. She got this fabulous new hair cut and her eyebrows waxed! Be sure and leave a comment here for her telling her how wonderful it is! :)

More Grayson Tales

2008-10-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

First, how do you like the new design? Be sure and scroll all the way to the bottom. :)

Okay...on to Grayson. A few nights back Grayson had a drink from lunch that he was still working on. The drink was actually gone but the ice had melted and he was sipping on that. I was on the phone with my sister when I heard this loud slurp coming from his direction. I didn't really think much of it since kids usually do their fair share of slurping. So, I continued my conversation. After hearing the slurping for about as long as I could handle I looked over at him. All I saw were his feet in the air. He was lying on the floor on his stomach. I then heard an EXTREMELY loud and unnecessarily long slurp. So, I got up and look over at him. He had poured the water onto the floor and was lapping it up like our cats do. LOL! It was really funny. I am sure you had to be there. He is really fascinated by the cats and how they eat/drink.

The other day I was working in the upstairs office and he was up there with me. He was quietly watching cartoons. All of a sudden he comes up behind me and starts beating me with his fists. I turned around and said "what are you doing, Grayson?" to which he replied "kicking butt!".
Yes, he did. He got it from an episode of Spongebob. I have poisoned his mind with Spongebob! It was kind of cute the way he said it with that big grin on his face. Of course I had to tell him that was a no no to say that.;)

Kids, you gotta love 'em!

Suppertime Stress

2008-10-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

What an eventful dinner preparation tonight. It started off with my son not being able to wait for dinner. He had to have a hot dog right then. He loves a cut up hot dog with mustard and ketchup for dipping. So I got him settled with that.

I decided to make a broccoli casserole from a recipe I had not used before. I was in the kitchen concentrating on getting it right. Grayson comes in the kitchen asking to wash his hands. I turned to look at him and he was COVERED in mustard and ketchup. I mean he had mixed it and smeared it all over his arms (all the way around)and face. If that were not enough, he had smeared it all over the top of his head too. It is amazing to me how far a little squirt of condiments will go. So, I had to have Olivia get him in the tub which he did not want. While that drama was going on I was back to my recipe in the kitchen.

I got to the part where I added the cheese and it needed to be stirred constantly while the cheese was melting. Of course right at that time the screams from the bathroom came. I needed to take over there. So, I had Olivia come in and stir the sauce while I washed Grayson's hair. He had a complete melt down on that because I had to lay him down in the tub to get all the stuff out of it. I finally got him out and calmed down enough to return to the kitchen.

So, the casserole was in the oven with the chicken. The rice was cooking, all was right. Olivia and I were planning the meals for the week. The timer went off and I decided five minutes on broil would make a fabulously crunchy top to the casserole. Well about ten minutes later smoke billows out of the oven. Yes, you guessed it. The casserole was burned on top.

Thank goodness I was able to scrape off the cracker top and the rest was okay. It was actually delicious!

I hope tomorrows dinner prep is less eventful!

Colors According to Grayson

2008-10-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

My little monkey boy is so cute. He has really been trying to talk a lot lately. The other day we were reviewing our colors. Here are the colors according to him.

Black = bwack
red = wed
blue = bwue
green = gween
yellow = yelyo (my favorite)
orange = owange

TOO Cute! He says his colors not so perfectly and yet he can say mosquito!

Growing Up is NOT Easy

2008-09-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an experience as a mother. I picked Olivia up from school and after our normal exchange this conversation takes place.

Olivia: "Can I have a boyfriend?". (Let me remind you she is only 10.)
Me: "Uh, Nooooo, why?"
Olivia: "because "S" likes me and he asked me to go out this weekend and I told him I would have to let him know."

I think I just sat and blinked for a minute.

Me: "You're 10, ten year olds don't "go out".
Olivia: "Well, "C" (girl) is dating "T" (boy)".
Me: "I bet if I called her mom she would tell a different story".
Olivia: "no she wouldn't".

I'm sorry but since when did 10 years old date??????? I don't think I was aware there was such a thing when I was that age. What is a mom to do?

Well, fast forward to later at home. I had bought Olivia some new pants and a couple shirts. So she proceeds to try them on. She said the pants were too tight. She had a complete melt down. She started crying and saying she wished she was skinny, etc. I told her she had nothing to worry about. I told her she was growing and couldn't possibly stay the same size forever. So for the rest of the evening she was afraid to eat and was obsessed with what size shirts I bought her etc. Where do they learn this??? How do you make it go away?

It breaks my heart that she is already going through worrying about her weight at such a young age. Again, I don't think I was aware of those things at 10.

I guess all in all it ended on a good note for her. She talked to "C" before bed and they were laughing and giggling. I heard her say once "so, did you give "T" a hug?". Yikes!

I am SO not ready for this. :)

What a Day!

2008-09-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a doosie. We had to go to KY for a funeral which was not a wonderful way to start. Well, I was coming down stairs to leave and the heel of my shoe got caught on one of the stairs. I fell all the way down the stairs on my knees. So, the rest of the day (and today so far) my knees felt like they had been whacked with a bat or something.

Then we drove to KY. We had directions from Google maps to the church. We got to the town 45 minute before the funeral was to start. Then we proceeded to drive around for an hour to find the church because the directions were not correct. So, anyway by the time we finally found the church the funeral was ending.

We headed back home. Of course we missed a turn somewhere and ended up adding an extra hour onto our trip home!

Sheesh! What a day indeed!

New Digs

2008-09-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

Well, if anyone out there really reads my blog anymore.......how do you like the new digs?

Vacation Pics

2008-08-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

These may be pretty boring considering they are either of the kids or sunsets! But they were my favorites out of the 235 we took! Be sure and pause the music on the sidebar so you can hear the dorky music on this!

I'm Back!

2008-07-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a while! I have been very busy this summer. We have had a bit of family illness etc. And most recently, a family vacation! I will post more later but here is where we just returned from! Ahhhh.....wish I were still there. :)

This was fun!

2008-06-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

As a 1930s wife, I am
Average

Take the test!

I could not resist. I saw this at Heather's and had to do it!

A Nice Laid Back Weekend - For a Change

2008-06-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Well, Justin, my nephew, came home on Monday night. He ended up having dialysis 4 times. Long story short, he had every test known to man to find out what caused his kidneys to fail, including three pieces of kidney to biopsy. In the end, nothing was found. They said he was one of the healthiest people they had seen. The doctor thinks it could have been a virus, or food poisoning, or something like that. Since he puked violently for 36 hours before getting to the hospital anything of that nature would have rid itself from his body already. He did eat a sub sandwich the afternoon he got sick and it had TOMATO on it! He asked the doctor if it could have been that given the recent scare about those. He said it was possible but since they could not trace it they would never know. SCARY! I mean another day not going to the hospital and he might not have recovered.

So anyway, this weekend no one is getting married, in the hospital, or sick so it's all good. And I am refusing to do house work this weekend.

So let's all thank God for our blessings and have a fabulous weekend!

Urgent Prayer Request

2008-06-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

My 26 year old nephew was hospitalized Sunday with kidney failure. This was out of the blue. He had not been ill until Friday. Please pray for his complete and immediate recovery.

Wedded Bliss

2008-05-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share a few pictures from my niece's wedding. She was married on 5/16. I feel really old. There are two of her (obviously) and one of my Olivia with her favorite uncle!

Good Days and Bad

2008-05-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

So...just let me update everyone on my life.

Wednesday I had the pleasure of getting a "spa" pedicure thanks to my hubby. I have never had a spa pedicure before. I got to the salon and the girl sat me down in a very technology savvy pedicure chair. I mean I got the vibration, surges, and rollers the whole time I got my feet done! Then of course I got to soak my feet in that hot bubbly water. The girl proceeded to work on my feet using the standard files etc. In addition to that I got a eucalyptus mud mask on my feet, a lavender sea salt scrub, a massage from toe to knee with massage oil AND some wonderfully think lotion to top it all off. Needless to say when I left I was not worth a dime! I mean I was ready for some serious rest! But all of that luxury experience probably helped me remain calm on Thursday.

Thursday was the last day of school for Olivia. It was a short day. I go to pick her up at 11:15 am. I always turn off the car while I wait since gas is a million dollars per gallon there is no need to waste any! So, Grayson is in the back seat asleep. We wait about twenty minutes before she gets out. The teacher aide gets ready to call the students out so I start up my car. Uh. Yeah. Not so much. I turn the key and it won't do a thing! Panic mode. My husband works 65 miles from home. So I called my dad. He came with jumper cables and hooked me up. Thank God it started. Apparently my battery did not have any water in it. I didn't even know batteries had water in them! LOL! Anywho all is well now.

That pedicure sure did wonders for my disposition through it all. I was very laid back through the whole event. Which I am sure all parties involved were thankful for!

Hope you have had a great week!

The Sleepover is Over....Thank Goodness!

2008-05-20T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well, the sleepover was a success. We had 7 girls there. They had a blast. Below are some pictures. Not all of the girls were there yet but here are the ones I managed to get to sit still long enough!

Here is a list of things they did.

~Danced
~fashion shows
~rode the scooter and skate board
~jump rope
~played four square
~played duck, duck, goose
~made necklaces
~played hide and seek

That's just what I can remember now. I never knew that girls could be so loud. I mean there is no telling what kind of hearing loss resulted from this party! And they went on like that until I forced them to bed at 11:00pm! Then they still wouldn't be quite. I ended up separating them so they would go to sleep. All the girls got along great. There was NO DRAMA at all! That has to be unheard of.

I also had gotten each one a flash light and put their names on them to use after dark. They had a good time playing hide and seek in the dark with their flash lights.

We made pizzas from English muffins for dinner. I set out all the fixin's and they each got to make their own. It was a great dinner. For breakfast Sunday morning we had pancakes. I could not believe how much those girls could eat!

Thanks for the tips on the sleepover. It was a huge success!

What Was I Thinking???

2008-05-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what I was thinking when I agreed to a sleep-over at my home. This Saturday I will have several 9 year old girls over here for a sleep-over hosted by the lovely Miss Olivia. What in the world do you do to entertain nine year old girls? Or are they already at the stage where any interaction with adults is a no-no? Someone please help me! :)

I need Instruction

2008-05-09T13:23:00.001-07:00

Does anyone know how to make a favicon that will show up in IE and Firefox? So far mine only shows in Firefox. The tutorials on the web are confusing to me. If you know....please enlighten me~!

I need Instruction

2008-05-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know how to make a favicon that will show up in IE and Firefox? So far mine only shows in Firefox. The tutorials on the web are confusing to me. If you know....please enlighten me~!

Uh...hello?

2008-05-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Has it really been a month since I posted anything? Sheesh! Is anybody out there reading anymore?

I have had a lot going on. I have been steadily busy with this venture as well as being mom, wife, etc. Sometimes I don't get to bed until the wee hours of the morning.

Olivia is still getting teased at school. Everyday it's something. You're fat, you're ugly, you have bushy eyebrows, you're stupid, your hair looks hideous, your shoes are "gay", you're a flat chested freak. Yeah. This is just a sampling of what I have heard over the last few months. Most of the time from one particular girl, but sometimes from others. My heart aches for her. I wish I could make it all go away. I have just been assuring her that these things are certainly not true. And that the reason most kids do these things is because they are insanely jealous of the kids they are doing them to. I don't know if that is any consolation to her but I hope so.

Here are pictures of the "fat, ugly, flat chested freak". I think she is beautiful. And by no means fat.

Tales from the Road

2008-04-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but I always seem to get a lot of "useless trivia" from Olivia when we are in the car. For example, this is what I got yesterday:

"Mommy, did you know we have hair on our lip?"

And a few minutes later...

"Did you know that snails can have more than 15,000 teeth?"

You gotta love that information!

Motherhood ~ The good....and the bad....

2008-04-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

I love being a mother. Most of the time it is wonderful. Sometimes...not so much.

I am guilty of thinking I have so much to do that I don't have time to lay down with the kids at night before they go to sleep. Most nights they don't ask, it's put them in bed and your done. But occasionally they do want me to lay with them for a minute. More often than not I get out of it because of all those other more important things that need to get done. I was reminded a couple of nights ago of just what I was "getting out of". I was putting my two year old to bed and he looked at me and patted his pillow for me to lie down with him. Well, I couldn't resist. So I laid down with him. A moment later he turns to me and snuggles in as close as he could possibly get to me. Then, another moment later he rolls over a little and rubs the side of my face with his little hand. I closed my eyes just savoring the moments. Then I feel this tiny little finger brushing back and forth over my eyelashes. What a sweet heart he is. In that one instance I was reminded just how wonderful it is being a mother. Words can not describe a mother's love.

In the wee hours of the morning this morning, my 9 year old comes in and says "mommy, can I lay with you?". So I told her to climb on in. She gets in and tries to go back to sleep. She holds my arm and plants tiny little kisses on it I could barely feel. Then a few minutes later I hear this barely audible voice saying "I love you mommy". Need I say more????

Those are such precious moments in life. Along with those there are the moments that are heart breaking for a mom. Olivia, the 9 year old, was crying last night when I went in to tuck her in. Apparently a girl at school has been telling her how fat she is. I spent time consoling her and trying to assure her she is not fat. So, this morning as I was dropping her off at school I noticed how self conscious she was acting about how her clothes fit and looked. My heart is broken for her. She should not have to feel this way at 9 years old. This is when it stinks to be a mother. I can't do a thing to take those feelings away from my poor little baby.

This is not a good picture but it should show you how "fat" she is (NOT!). :(

Good Mail

2008-03-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday I received a package from Sonya. I won a book over at her place and she sent it to me along with a cool little "list" pad and some travel tissue. She obviously knows me pretty well! I LOVE to make lists. I mean I am really OCD with it. And I ALWAYS must have tissues! I would have posted a picture but my camera batteries are dead as a door nail. LOL! :) Hope every one had a great Easter!

Easter Eggs

2008-03-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

Last night the kids dyed Easter eggs. Olivia will be gone to her dad's all weekend so I wanted her and Grayson to dye eggs together. What a hoot! Grayson is two. Need I say more? He so did not understand "keep your hands out of the dye" and "don't break the eggs!". I think I have about five hard boiled eggs to eat that got cracked when he threw them on the floor! He must have said "egg" about 80 times during the whole process. But it was such fun. I didn't get any pictures because hubby wasn't home and I had to be on top of Grayson the whole time! Maybe I can get a picture of their baskets and the eggs tonight. I hope everyone is enjoying this Easter time with family!

Cancer Free!

2008-03-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

Whew. You are not going to believe this. Our nephew doesn't have cancer. He has MONO!! Praise the Lord! I mean, I hate he is sick but...... After many doctor visits and a battery of tests and blood work the oncologist diagnosed him with mono. I did not know it but apparently a lot of the symptoms of lymphoma and leukemia are exactly the same as mono symptoms! The family of course has been rejoicing over the diagnosis.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Urgent Prayer Request

2008-02-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

My husband's nephew just found out today that he has cancer. It is either lymphoma or leukemia. He goes Friday for testing to determine the exact type and stage. He is only 25 years old. Please pray for him and the family.

We Are Almost Better

2008-02-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

Well, after almost a month of the "crud" at our house, I think we are all just about over it. We still have some sniffles hanging on but not too bad. Thank goodness! This has been the worst sinus episodes we have ever had.

We have been sick so long I can't even remember what has been going on worth blogging about! Whew!

Olivia is wanting to start dance class so we are looking into that. Work is about the same. Apparently we have passed the cold onto my mother which is not good. I think she is starting to get over it. Other than that I can't think of a thing!

I should be back regularly now that the fog is clearing! LOL!

Award!

2008-02-19T09:26:00.000-08:00

I got an award! I can't believe it! Jennifer passed this award on to me. She is so sweet. Thanks! Now I need to pass it on to 10 bloggers!

Let's see....I would pass it on to Jennifer but she already got it!

I am passing the love to:

Twinki at Patti's Place
Jenny at Up The Hill Gang
Shawna at Scamp's Place
Annie at My Life As Annie
Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane
Gail at More Than a Song
Stacy at Vader's Mom
Jenna at A Joyful Journey
Sonya at Mo Mhile Gra
Mandalyn at Grace and Hope

Spread the love!

My Loot!

2008-02-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

WOO HOO! Check out what I got today!

I ordered these items from Jennifer. She is so talented. I have order some other things from her before and she is wonderful. You must go check out J Designs and order some stuff for yourself! She is so sweet she even sent me a little bag of candy and some "J" shaped post it notes! How cool is that??

The Crud Clan

2008-02-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, the crud still lives at our house. The kids are miserable. I don't feel the greatest today. Could be because I have literally been bathed in snot for the last few days! Nice. It is true!

I hope everyone has a fabulous Valentine's Day!

Weekend Fun

2008-02-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

We had such a great weekend.

Friday night hubby and I got to go out for Mexican. You just can't go wrong with that! The kids stayed with my mom so it was a date night. :)

Saturday we drove up to see my friend Jenny and her family. It was such great fun! We met through our time at Children's Hospital. Her son Gus was in PICU while my son Grayson was in NICU. It is a bonding experience! We so enjoyed our time with them. We went out for lunch and then went back to her house to visit for the afternoon. It was so great to see them!

On Sunday I took Olivia to a birthday party. That was fun too. After the party a few of us took our kids to the local pizza place for dinner. It was great to catch up with the ladies while the kids played.

Not so much fun this weekend has been the hacking cough Olivia and Grayson both have. They both felt pretty yucky last night. Olivia said this morning that her stomach was sore from coughing so hard. Hopefully that will get better soon!

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Friday!

2008-02-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

Whew! Glad it is Friday! It has been busy around here. I just popped in to put up a before and after of Grayson's hair. I know Gail is waiting patiently!

Fabulous Give Away!

2008-02-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

There is a new place to go for blog design! WOO HOO! This is great for those of us who love a good blog design. Doodlebug Designs has a great give away going on now through 2-22-08. Go on over and check it out for yourself!

People PUH-LEASE!

2008-01-31T08:34:00.000-08:00

I have become very frustrated with people lately. I have just noticed how impatient everyone on the planet has become. I guess this is a "I want it and I want it NOW" society.

Olivia and I go to eat one night a week, just us girls. Saturday night we went out to O'Charleys, one of her favorites. Now, is it just me or shouldn't everyone expect wait times on the weekends? We we had a 30 minute wait which was not a problem for us. I just got to watching and listening to everyone coming in. Everybody seemed so ticked off that they were going to have to wait. Uh...hello? If you go to a restaurant on a weekend you should be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes in this town. Come on people! One lady was cursing and complaining the whole time. I just about gave her a piece of my mind! Then there were the others who huffed and puffed or rolled their eyes. None of these people looked as if they would die if they did not receive food immediately upon entering the building. What was even more discouraging is that the majority of them were women! The men seemed to take it all in stride. Not saying much for us girls!

I think people should take more time to just be thankful that they are able to do those things and in turn enjoy the experience. All of it, even the wait time!

That is my rant for today! Thanks for listening. :)

My Book Cover

2008-01-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read. Not too long ago I bought a book cover to use with my books. I bought it from Jennifer and I absolutely love it! Here is a picture of it. Go ahead and visit Jennifer and order one for yourself!

Kids Don't Think Before Speaking - and a Haircut Update!

2008-01-24T12:29:00.000-08:00

First, let me start my saying the hair cut did not go well yesterday. Grayson had a complete melt down. But he sure does look cute! Maybe later I can post some before and after shots.

Okay, so, Olivia and I were in the car the other day and this was the conversation:

Olivia: "Mommy, would you rather be on What Not To Wear or 10 Years Younger?"

Me: Thinking....okay so she is giving me a message here. I say "I don't know why?"

Olivia: "I was going to nominate you for one."

Me: Looking as depressed as that made me feel I am sure..."I guess 10 Years Younger because then I could get my teeth whitened, laser eye surgery, skin treatments, AND new clothes."

Olivia: "Yeah, you need that."

As my friend Jenny says....she is not making any deposits in my self esteem bank. I am sure she just didn't think before she said all that. At least I hope she didn't. I am really starting to feel like an old, fat, worn out hag!

Chit Chat

2008-01-23T07:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a few days so here I am! I haven't been doing a whole lot. Saturday I had to return a Christmas gift. I went into the store and returned it and of course I had to browse around to see if I could find anything else. As I was going through the store I just kept wondering why all the clothes out in mid-January are for Spring. Get real. We still have A LOT of time before Spring. What are we supposed to do until then if we need clothes??? Then I found myself wondering why all the clearance stuff looked like it had already been worn out and hung back on the rack for sale. Phew! Stressful shopping day!

School was out Monday and Tuesday for MLK day and an inservice day. Monday I went to lunch with some friends. Kid free and everything! I didn't know how to conduct myself. We don't eat out a lot anymore because Grayson is in the tantrum phase and he screams bloody murder in restaurants when he is expected to sit and eat like a civilized person. So it was a treat to get to go out with two other adults. And we went to eat Mexican at that! My favorite food ever!

Tuesday I had to work. It was a pleasure getting there. We had a lot of black ice. Between the hours of 7 and 9 that morning there were 200+ wrecks in town. But I got there fine and the weather and roads cleared. When I got to my moms to pick up the kids, Grayson started his screaming fits. I swear he is wearing me out!

So today I am hoping for a calm day. But I don't know.....Grayson has been down for a nap for a short 30 minutes and now I have to wake him to go get a hair cut. Wish me luck.

I'm Coming Out

2008-01-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

LOL! I bet that got some people's attention! I have been debating for a long time about whether or not to start using my name as well as my children's names on this blog. It is so complicated to be anonymous! Those of you who know me and know the reason behind the anonymous "thing" understand. However, I feel like I have been in hiding long enough now! So, welcome me (Judi), Olivia (bi-bi) and Grayson (bro-bro)!

Traumatic Tuesday

2008-01-17T06:50:00.000-08:00

What a week. My hubby has been out of town all week which really stinks. So that set the tone for the week.

Tuesday I had to take my son in for his two year well check. He had to have one shot and some blood drawn. Well, the shot went fine. The blood drawing...not so much. It literally took three people. He had to be restrained and even at that he is so strong he won the battle. He was so broken down. He was screaming and big tears were streaming down his face. The nurses could not believe he is as strong as he is. It was all very traumatic for both of us. They still only got about 4 drops of blood!

I guess his fear comes from everything he has been through since birth. Three months in the NICU, months of laser treatments on his hemangioma, surgery to remove said hemangioma, a years worth of reflux medications, etc. I think he probably has reason to be a little fearful.

Poor baby. I never knew doctor visits could be so heartbreaking!

Sweet Boy

2008-01-14T05:58:00.000-08:00

My baby boy just turned 2 on the 9th of this month. We had his birthday party this weekend. I can not believe he just turned two! He was born 3-1/2 months early so it is really a miracle he is even here! He is so sweet. He is very loving. This morning when we took his sister to school he had to kiss her, hug her, wink at her and wave at her before she got out of the car. Isn't that so sweet. I just love him so much! I am at work so this is the only picture I have on this computer. But I am sure you will agree that he is a doll!! :)

Happy New Year - New Look

2008-01-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I am back now from the holidays. I haven't posted in a while. I guess holiday life got in the way! I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday. One of my gifts this Christmas was this WONDERFUL new look I got from Barefoot Blogs. Dawn is so talented. I gave her next to no information about what I was looking for and she supplied me with the perfect design for me! She is such a pleasure to work with. You should check her out! Thanks Dawn, you rock!

Here are a few other items I received this Christmas:

Fossil purse in black

Diamond Earrings

Ralph Lauren Blue body lotion

I hope you all got great gifts too! I hope you will keep checking in here this year. I intend to be a regular!

Patti's Place

2007-12-18T10:13:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you remember or not but in September our family lost a very dear friend. Patti was my sister's best friend for a lot of years. We lost her to Colorectal Cancer. Please stop and visit my sister's blog she is doing in memory of Patti. It is called Patti's Place.

Christmas In July

2007-12-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

That's what it feels like here. It is going to be 74 degrees here today. Unbelievable! We have already packed away our Summer clothes. SO...we are wearing sweaters and sweating like pigs! :P

Momma Said There'd Be Days Like This!

2007-11-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

Well I am back (I think) from my little blogging break. There has been a LOT going on around here. Too much for me to even recount all of it. Just to sum it up....in the last month the dryer died, the vacuum died, the tires had to be replaced, and we have had out of town guests. In addition to that, hubby needs two tires and brakes on his truck. Not to mention the cost of Christmas gifts! Need I explain more why I have been away? It seems like there has been just one thing after another. My sister in law has still been having health issues as well. I have been working two days per week to make extra money. And my son has entered the screaming tantrum phase of toddlerhood. If you have any suggestions on how to nip this problem PLEASE cough it up!

We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. Of course it was filled with travel here and there which absolutely wears me out. Especially when it involves the screaming toddler. But the family time was good. Now I need to get some shopping done which I have not even started!

On a lighter note.....just a few funnies from my daughter. One day we were riding in the car, pretty much in silence, and out of the blue she says "why DO we have ear wax anyway?". And then yesterday, in the car again, she said "mommy, when you sing you sound like Beyonce". LOL! Let me assure you that is so NOT true! But it was cute anyway!

I will be posting more later! I hope you guys are still around!

Fall ~ Finally!

2007-10-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

Thank the good Lord it is finally Fall weather here! We have literally been having 80 and 90 degree weather until this week. Now it is in the 60's. WOO HOO! I love it. Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons. My two kids have been jumping in a massive pile of leaves at my mom and dad's house for the last three days. They have really enjoyed themselves. I have been enjoying watching them. Or should I say watching them without sweating like a pig? Do pigs really sweat? Anyway....

In other news....my sister's birthday was yesterday. So this past Saturday my niece had a surprise party for her. It was her 50th so she went all out. There were black balloons, lots of gag gifts, the works. It was too funny, one of the gag gifts was a walker that had a sign on it that said "Carol's new ride!". She also got a "power lift bra", a hot flash fan, a tray of replacement body parts (nose,brain,ear,heart,etc), a huge set of glasses, and some other things. It was a hoot. She took it really well too. She got a big kick out of it.

Today is my wonderful hubby's birthday. He is 48 today. We gave him gifts and cards last night because I think he is working late today. It stinks to have to work crappy hours on your birthday!

That's all from here for right now~!

Bi-bi ~ 9 going on 19

2007-10-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

Has it really been like five days since I posted last? Sheesh, where does the time go? I have had my hands full with my children it seems. Since hubby has been working long hours I don't get any "me" time. Plus, he has started a side business, I am working outside the home one day per week, and I am trying to start a business too, so I have a lot on my plate! It stinks let me tell ya! Anywho.....

My nine year old daughter, Bi-bi, is becoming very challenging. I never knew that at age nine children could cop such an attitude. I know that when I was nine I didn't cop any attitude because I knew what would happen if I did. She has such a sassy mouth sometimes I have to stop myself from popping her right smack dab in the middle of it! She just tries to act so much older than she really is. Just yesterday I was folding the laundry and I found a teeny tiny bra in there. I mean this thing wouldn't even cover my knee caps! LOL! Why on earth would she want to wear a bra until she HAS to?? And she is asking if she can shave her legs. Again, why would you want to do that unless you had to? She wants her hair highlighted, her nails done, big hoop earrings, to wear make-up, etc. Good Lord. I was still playing with dolls at nine. Oh, and the other day she asked if she could have her own email account AND a password for her log in on the computer. Hmm...let me think about that for a millisecond....NO, NO, NO, and ABSOLUTELY NOT! What is the deal? I don't understand kids these days. She's nine but she acts more like nineteen. I hope it doesn't get worse!

Just for laughs I will finish with my latest fiasco. I was unloading groceries earlier and taking sodas out of the carton to put on the shelf in the fridge. Well...one of the sodas hit the floor and sprayed the entire kitchen. I mean all the cabinets (upper and lower) the floor, the walls, me. I had to mop twice and wipe down the cabinets twice. What a lovely event.

I would love any thoughts on dealing with the 9 year old. :)

Updates...

2007-10-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

It seems like I have a lot to say when I post these days. I can't ever come up with a title on just one subject! This seems like it's been a busy week too. I just thought I would post a few updates.

If you remember, Bi-bi was having problems with a "mean girl" at school and I sent a note to the teacher about it. The teacher pulled the girl aside and told her she is not to talk to, get next to, or communicate in any way with Bi-bi. She also talked to her about name calling, insulting, etc. Bi-bi said the first thing the girl did when she got back to her desk was look at Bi-bi and roll her eyes. The teacher sent me a note back letting me know that she would be monitoring the girl closely. She also asked that I let her know if Bi-bi mentioned any further problems. She said she asked Bi-bi to do the same. She said if it happened again she would take it to the next level and involve the principal. We will see what happens.

I finished reading The Choice last night. LOVED IT! Of course I love anything Nicholas Sparks puts in print. I am not one to write reviews but you can click on the link above and read about it. Now I will be waiting, not so patiently, for his next book to come out! Maybe I should start reading them over. I think my favorite was The Wedding.

My SIL is supposed to be having a liver test done today. I have not heard from her yet as far as how it went etc. But, the other night I called to check on them and didn't get an answer any time I called. That is highly unusual so I called her cell phone. She answered and you won't believe where they were! AT THE HOSPITAL! They had to take their son to the ER. He was having really bad pain in his mid-section. They thought it was his gal bladder. But I think after testing him they gave him some sort of "GI cocktail" they said should relieve him. They said if it flared up in the next two weeks to take him to his regular physician. They are not having good luck health wise. Please continue to pray for their family.

On a lighter note.....we were sitting here the night before last watching TV. There are a lot of cats in our neighbor hood. It seems that they sit on our patio quite a bit because they can see our cats inside through the door. Anyway...we are sitting here and it was about 8:00 so it was dark out. Something scratches on the door (it's a french door so it has glass panes all the way down). I had the blinds up so I glanced over and saw these paws on the door. I go over thinking it was the neighbors cat because she is black and white. IT WAS A BIG FAT SKUNK! PEW! It freaked me out actually. Of course it strolled on out the yard when I came to the door. No wonder I smell skunks all the time around here! Ah, yes, never a dull moment in this neck of the woods! LOL!

I hope you all have had a great week! I'll be "seeing" you this weekend!

Bleeding Cow, A Trip to the Salon.....and more

2007-10-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

How's it going in blog world? I am SO behind on reading posts. I seem to be so busy lately. I can't even tell you with what. It just seems busy. Maybe it's because I don't get a break from mommy duty at night anymore since hubby works 24/7 (so it seems). Anyway, I will catch up. So don't stop coming to read me because you think I have forgotten you!

Let's see....what have we experienced in the last few days? This weekend was pretty busy. Lots of household things got done. Hubby and I went out to eat on Sunday night while the kids stayed with my mom. We order some burgers at a very well known national chain restaurant. They came and when I bit into mine it was practically raw. I mean very pink, almost like they just browned the outside and slapped it on a bun. Anyone who knows me will know how that grossed me out. I have to have all red meat practically burned to be able to eat it. That isn't the worst of it. Hubby bit into his and there was still blood/fluid in the center! Literally. PUKE! I was freaking out! I mean all you hear on the news is the latest deaths from ecoli. I am gagging just recalling the whole event. Needless to say the burgers went back to be recooked. I thought for sure that we would get free meals because of the bleeding cow on a bun...but no...they compensated us by giving us two freshed baked cookies. Gee...thanks...if I die tomorrow from your raw meat I am sure these cookies will be just the consolation my family will need.

I took Bi-bi to the salon this weekend to get a hair cut. It was a lot of fun for her. Her hair looks so cute. It was really long and we had about 3-4 inches taken off. It's still to her shoulders. It looks so nice on her. Maybe I will catch her long enough to take a picture tomorrow. The whole visit was a smidge depressing for me. I go in and all the ladies look wonderful with the freshly styled hair and mani/pedis done. And her I am with second day hair, a St. Pete Beach t-shirt and jeans on and barely any make up. Not to mention I desperately need to lose about 40 lbs and my stylist is about 100 lbs soaking wet. Oh, and beautiful of course. Gag me again! If anyone can give me good advice for weight loss let me know.

Today I worked. The first part of the day I just sat there because the computer would not work. So the second part was pretty busy. But I enjoyed it.

Bi-bi told me that this kid at school gave her a hard time AGAIN today. I don't know if I have mentioned before but there is a girl in her class that gives her a really bad time. Since the first of the year it has been an almost daily thing. She tells Bi-bi she's dumb, stupid, ugly, fat, has bushy eyebrows, has chubby cheeks, wears ugly clothes, etc. So tonight Olivia asked me to write a note to her teacher about it. Which of course I did. I know that part of that is just the age and the stage of life but this girl seems a little extreme. I think she has a bad home life. She doesn't live with her parents, she lives with her grandfather. Not sure why but maybe that has something to do with it. Anyway...hopefully she will lay off Bi-bi soon because I don't want her to feel like she doesn't want to go to school because of this kid.

My brother-in-law had to have a procedure done over the weekend. The diverticulitis had caused a leak from his colon. That caused an ulcer to form between his colon and bladder. So they had to go in and drain the ulcer. The doctor said it was obvious he was a healthy person otherwise the infection would have killed him. Now his wife has found out she has gal stones and a spot on her liver. Please pray for her. She will be having extensive tests this week. I will keep you updated.

Well, I am off to bed. I am worn slap out!

A Book, A Boob, Bedding, and Other Things

2007-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Great title, huh? It's been a few days since I posted. I seem so busy lately for some reason. I tried to post Wednesday but Blogger had other ideas for me apparently. It would not let me upload my picture. At any rate....

I am so excited because yesterday I bought the new Nicholas Sparks book, The Choice. Anyone who knows me knows that he is my very FAVORITE author. I have read every one of his books. In fact, I wait not so patiently for his new releases. :) I am on chapter three and so far I am hooked! I will let you know how it turns out but I am sure I will love it!

The kids have been a hoot this week. Bi-bi was running into her room after her shower the other night laughing her head off. I looked and saw her in front of her closet with a towel wrapped around her just dying laughing. I said "what on earth are you laughing at?" she replied "my boob just fell out!". Hmm....don't you actually have to have boobs for one of them to fall out? So I said, "Bi-bi, you don't even have boobs yet." she replied "yes I do, and I am serious one just fell out of my towel!". I hope you can find the humor there. I was rolling laughing as I got into the other room. Today I went into Bro-bro's room to pick out his clothes and ACDC was playing on the radio. Should I worry? LOL! He had been messing with the tuner and that is what he turned it to, the hard rock station. Keep in mind NO ONE in the house listens to that kind of music! He was playing air guitar and dancing around. LOL! Gotta love that age.

An update on the post where I asked for help with getting Bi-bi to keep her stuff picked up and her room clean. I took JennaG's advice and it has worked wonderfully. I mean it has really been amazing. Thanks Jenna!

I mentioned last week that Bi-bi got new bedding so I am posting a picture of it. I am also posting a picture of the desk I re-did for her.

I have become painfully aware this week that I spend a lot of time cleaning up poop. I mean Bro-Bro is still in diapers so there is that. Then we have our new adopted babies (cats Mimi and Max) who go A LOT. It seems like a very large portion of my day is spent cleaning up one or the other's poo! Not a pleasant job might I add.

I worked on Tuesday. It was nice to have that break. I know most people wouldn't call work a break. But it is amazing how much you can enjoy a break from wiping someone's face, nose, and butt all day! Not that I don't love my baby more than life but a person occasionally needs some time with other adults. It's also amazing how good your attitude can be about work when you know you aren't required to work, you are just doing it because you want to. I never knew what that was like before.

Depressingly enough, hubby is still working long hours. It is really getting old. But what can you do?

Also, a prayer request.....his brother-in-law has been admitted to the hospital today. He has diverticulitis and it caused a leak in his colon which caused and ulcer between his colon and bladder. So the doctors are hoping they can insert a needle and drain it. If not he will have to have surgery to remove it and part of his colon. I will keep you updated.

Oh, and I was looking at fonts on the net this week. I can't believe some of the names of the fonts out there. I would really have a hard time downloading on called "bitch cakes" or "spit curl". Where do they come up with these?

Anywho....that's about enough chatter for today. Hopefully you weren't bored to tears. Go enjoy other posts that are actually meaningful!

Weekly Ramble

2007-10-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a few days. Did you miss me? LOL! Seems like it's been busy here this week. The hubby has severe infection in both eyes so we have been dealing with that. Plus he has still been working long hours. Yuck. The kids and I miss him and it kind of makes for a long week and bums us all out when we don't see him much. But we survived.

I worked half a day one day this week. It was nice to have that break from the house. But I can't handle it when I leave and Bro-Bro has a big melt down. It just breaks my heart.

I also balanced my checkbook to the statement for the first time in 3 months! Woo Hoo! I hate doing that. I tried to use Quicken for a while but I guess I am too "old school" when it comes to my check register. :)

My mom and I went to lunch one day this week. When we left one of the cooks passed us and he had a massive cold sore on his mouth. Gag...puke...I mean really. I know he couldn't help it but I just kept thinking about the fact that he might have prepared the food I ate. On a much lighter note, all the restaurants here are smoke free now. That is such a blessing! We also went shopping after we had lunch. My mom bought Bi-Bi new bedding. It is so cute. I will have to take a picture of it and post it once I get it on the bed. I have just refinished a desk and put in her room too. It is really cute in there. Now she has a place to do homework.

I have been cleaning today. We may head to NC this afternoon.

That's about it from here. I hope you haven't fallen asleep reading this boring recount of my week since my last post!

I Need Parenting Tips

2007-10-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

Recently Bi-Bi has been wanting to spend more time with friends from school and the neighborhood. Yesterday I was sad to hear that she wanted to invite one of the neighborhood kids here but "we just don't have anything fun to do". I don't want us to be the boring house! I want all her friends to always want to be here. Does anyone have any tips for me to accomplish this?

PLEASE, I need help!

Happy Birthday to You.....

2007-10-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

JENNY! I love you! You have been such a blessing to me. You have helped me so much in the time we have been friends. I have never met anyone any more encouraging. Thanks for being my friend! I hope you have a FABULOUS birthday today because you deserve it!

What Is This World Coming To?

2007-10-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

I took Bi-Bi out to breakfast on Saturday morning. We were enjoying our food when I happened to look over and see a younger lady at a table diagonal from us. She was dressed in pajama pants, socks, house slippers, t-shirt, fleece jacket, and a do-rag on her head. None of these items matched even remotely! I just started to wonder what has happened that this is acceptable attire to go out in public. I can not believe it. I see more and more people at the grocery store and at Wal-Mart in their pajamas. Have we all lost respect for ourselves to the degree we don't even care that the entire area sees us in our pj's? Now, I am guilty of wearing lounge pants and a t-shirt to take Bi-Bi to school. But I do not have to leave the car or see or talk to anyone. What about you guys? Do you wear the pj's while tooling around town in the daytime?

Arm Pits, Toilets, and a Bank Teller

2007-09-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

What a title huh? I have been trying to think of a daily title for my mind dumping. I really fought myself not to title it "Daily Dump". But let's be real, that is a little crude. LOL! If you have any suggestions for a daily title I can use for my rambling let me know!

So, yesterday we were in the car on the way to school. Bi-Bi says "Mom, Kay-Kay has hair in her armpits already". Hmm...I said "well that is no big deal" while I am choking down my laughter. Bi-bi says "but I have zero!". I said "Everyone develops at different times and paces". Bi-bi says "oh". Then I said "just be glad you don't have any because then you would have to shave them!". She said "EWWWW!". So I know what I told her about development but do 9 year old girls REALLY have hair in their armpits already??? Sheesh!

This morning I made a trip to glorious Wal-Mart. I had to go in the restroom. I am very disturbed by the toilets that know when to flush themselves. How does it know I am done? The one I used apparently was off it's game to day because it flushed once before I even thought about using it! This is very upsetting because I heard on the news that toilets spray up to 20 feet when they flush. And I am standing right there! I want to be able to flush the handle with my foot and run before I get hit with the disgusting toilet spray! I think Bro-Bro was traumatized by the whole thing. He screamed his head off every time one of the toilets flushed. He may be scarred for life and never be able to use public bathrooms. LOL! Let's hope not.

After the bathroom experience I continued my shopping. I picked up a pack of cheese. Bro-Bro loves cheese. I put the pack in the buggy. The next thing I know I look around and he has the pack trying to eat a piece before it's opened. So I opened it and gave him a slice. I opened it very carefully so I would not tear the bar code the cashier needed to ring it up. A few minutes later I turn to pick up some disinfecting wipes and put them in the buggy. Bro-bro has the cheese package ripped to shreds and half the pack thrown onto the floor. Nice.

After that excursion, we went by the bank and the teller looked like a 12 year old beauty queen. What is up with that? She had perfect, straight, silky hair all smooth and jacked up on her head in a pony tail. And her teeth looked like they would absolutely have to glow in the dark! I won't even mention the perfect skin and the fact that she weighed probably all of 95 lbs soaking wet. I felt every bit of the 36 year old haggard mommy I am. Puke.

Well, that's my day thus far!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Cracked Up

2007-09-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

Must have been funny! At least Bro-Bro thought so!
For more WW go to 5 Minutes for Mom or WW Hub.

Tuesday Ramble

2007-09-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

I have to catch you all up! Not too much has been going on since the weekend came and went. I actually worked yesterday! I haven't worked in 2 years. I am helping out a person I have known since elementary school. This person owns their own business consulting business. I am helping with the basic office stuff. I will probably work one or two days or half days per week for a while. It was pretty fun! I missed my kids terribly though.

Hubby took me out to lunch over the weekend for a belated birthday meal. Which reminds me......a big THANK YOU to Stacy and Shawna for the birthday cards. And a big THANK YOU to Annie for calling me. AND a huge THANK YOU to Jen for sending me the cutest cards and a pretty magnet for my birthday. Of course thanks to everyone who commented here with birthday wishes! You guys made my day last week!

The hubby is working long hours again this week. I am sad about that and so are the kids. It stinks. But he is providing for us so what do you do? I called and checked on my sister in AL today. I wanted to make sure she was okay and handling everything okay since Patti, her best friend, passed away. I am so sorry for her loss. It is so heartbreaking to see someone close to you hurting and you can't do anything about it. I pray for her and for Patti's family every day. She sound like she was doing okay considering. If you read this, Twinki, I love you!

Okay, now I need to know from the moms out there, what do you do when your child brings home a failing grade? Bi-Bi brought home a "U" on a test today. First time ever. This child has never made anything below a B. As a matter of fact she has rarely made a B! What should I do? I am thinking punishment here. According to the teacher she didn't check her work and she didn't even do the last two pages of the test!!! I need input from you!

I guess I can't think of much else. I need to get Bro-Bro ready for bed. Right now he is walking around with a piece of angel hair pasta in his hair. I guess that gives all new meaning to "use your noodle"!

Link Love

2007-09-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Link love for the hubby. He has a blog now and I wanted to let you guys know so you could visit him. He has such encouraging words. Please leave him comments!

Pet Peeve

2007-09-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

I have a really big pet peeve. I can't stand it when people have to copy your every move, outfit, slang, etc. Do you know anyone like this? I have been over exposed to this lately. I know you know what I am talking about. If you are riding in the car and you put your sun visor down the other person has to as well, even if the sun isn't hitting them. Or if you are out shopping and you buy something off the wall like a file crate and they say "oh, I need one of those too". Yeah. Right. Or if you buy a new outfit and wear it around them and three days later they wear the exact same thing. Or you start going to a new hair stylist and the next time they need a hair cut they go to this person too. Do you get my drift? Gets on my. last. nerve.!!! Get an original thought already, sheesh! I'm just saying. It is not cool.

That's my rant for the day. :)

I'm Single Again

2007-09-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

Well, no, not really! LOL! My hubby has been working late for a week. His company is in the process of implementing new processes etc. So being in management he is part of the "team" heading up the whole deal. Anywho...he hasn't been home before 9:40 pm in days. Let's not forget he leaves the house by 5:30 am. I am telling you I do not like going it alone! It has been hard. I did not realize how much I look forward to him walking in the door every evening. And how much I love having our time after the kids get tucked in to talk about the day and watch tv etc. AND how much he takes over with the kids when he gets in. I am worn slap out! I feel like a single mother. Let me tell you I have a whole new appreciation for the single moms out there!

Another sad thing about his working late is that Bro-Bro is just so torn up. He hasn't seen his daddy since Sunday. He wanders around the house calling out for "da-da". It is so sad. He has been extra clingy and not sleeping well. z

Hopefully today will end the working late, at least for this week. He should be on time today. I can't wait! I miss him. :)

Wordless Wednesday ~ Good Workout!

2007-09-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is Bro-Bro's idea of a good workout. Sitting on the treadmill drinking a very large cup of sweet tea!

For more WW go here or here.

I Knew It Would Happen....

2007-09-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, I knew it would. Another birthday. Puke! The big "3-6" is today for me. Puke (again)! I am so not liking getting older. As a matter of fact I have a really hard time with it. So, now you know. Happy Birthday to me, blah, blah, blah. Now, let's move on.

This morning my mother took me to IHOP for birthday breakfast. It would have been very relaxing and enjoyable. Yes, it WOULD have been if the lady behind us hadn't been complaining about every single thing on the planet. From the service to the way her husband cleans the toilet (or lack of), the way he doesn't put stuff back in it's proper place, the screaming "kid" in the back corner, the fact she had to get up and get her silverware, and ON AND ON. Come on! Whatever happen to enjoying life? Doesn't the Bible say something about complaining? Ya think?

I really had to fight with myself not to turn around and give her a mini-sermon on her attitude. If that was her last hour of life just think how she spent it! And anyway is any of the stuff she was harping about that important? NO! People like that just suck the life out of me. It makes me even more determined to be just the opposite. To walk in love and see the good side of things and not focus on drawbacks. I will pray for her today.

Ever day is a blessing straight from God. More people need to wake up and realize that. My friend Patti's illness and passing drove that home to me more than ever. We are never promised another day. And on top of that you could wake up tomorrow to something that would change life as you know it forever. I am so glad I know that no matter what happens Jesus is my Savior and my eternal home will be with Him in Heaven. I hope you can say that as well. Life is so much sweeter with Him!

That being said I am going to go enjoy the rest of my day!

Dress Code

2007-09-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Today the school calls at 1:15 to say that Bi-Bi needs someone to bring her a shirt to change in to. Apparently the one she wore is "inappropriate". Okay, let's review. The children are not allowed to wear anything that bares their shoulders. BUT it is okay to wear a tank top. And according to Bi-Bi's teacher, she can wear spaghetti straps as long as there is a tank top under it. Could they be any more confusing to the kids?? So, Bi-Bi has worn this particular shirt, oh, I would say 8 - 9 times already this year. It has spaghetti straps and she wears a tank underneath. Today one of the aides sends her to the office an hour before school is out to call home for an "appropriate" shirt. The same lady who greeted her and opened the car door for her this morning at 7:25! Do you see why this is upsetting??? You know what happens next I am sure. I went to the school and politely checked her out to go home for the day.

GIVE ME A BREAK PEOPLE! I mean she does not have boobs, she is not dressing like a brazen hussy for goodness sakes! She is 9!

Why do the schools now make every area of getting an education so not enjoyable?

Okay...I feel better.

WOO HOO! It's the Weekend!

2007-09-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

As you may have read, last weekend was a doosy. So I am confident this one is going to be better. Although last night would not indicate such. I had a HORRIBLE time sleeping (or not sleeping I should say). I was up almost all night. But today the weather is good, cooler, and sunny and I don't have to do anything major. So I am thinking it has got to be a good day! I am going shopping and we are going to eat Mexican for lunch. YUM. My favorite food and shopping...how could anything be wrong with that??? I hope you all will be having a great weekend too! I know JennaG should! Today is her birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNAG!

Keep Your Butt Inside The Vehicle......and MORE!

2007-09-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been reading (and really, no one is!) I recently had to go to Alabama to a very close and dear friends funeral. My ex-husband would not help me out with Bi-Bi so I ended up having to take her with me. Also, since the rest of my family went as well, I had to take Bro-Bro too. Yes, a nine year old girl and a 20 month boy, you can imagine. So anyway, my husband did not get to go because his boss threatened to fire him if he did. Nice. Well, the only thing better was that he was supposed to be a pall bearer. Real nice. So, I am traveling to AL on a 5 hour trip with two children and my mother in the car. Need I say more? My sister was ahead of us in her car. We are traveling down the highway and a car that was between my sister's and mine pitches out their cigarette butt. It bounces on my hood and down into my engine. It immediately begin to smell like all four of us in the car were smoking at the same time! I freaked out so we pulled off at the next exit to make sure the discarded butt was not hung somewhere that would cause my car to explode! It wasn't thank goodness. But my point is, if people like to smoke so much, why can't they stand to have the butts inside their vehicle? How do they know some vehicle behind them isn't leaking a highly flammable fluid that would ignite immediately? I'm just saying. Not to mention the fact that pitching the butts out is littering. Hello? I just want to say to all the smokers PLEASE KEEP YOUR BUTTS INSIDE YOUR VEHICLE! Thanks. That's all I have to say about that. :) Just as a note, on the trip home another person flicked out a butt onto my car as well.

We stayed in AL Wed. night, Thurs., and Fri. morning. On Thursday night I decided to go ahead and wash our clothes so I would not have to do that when I got back home. So I put them in the wash and then got Bro-Bro to put him in bed. I had to lay down with him until he fell asleep and I could move him to his portable crib. I got him all tucked in and went out on the back deck to visit with mom, sis, and Bi-Bi. Bi-Bi says "mommy you are going to be very upset with me". Oh, great. I said "why would I be upset?" she said "because I left my iPod in the pocket of my shorts". I said "well just go get it". "No, the shorts that got washed" she said. Fabulous, the iPod I just bought in June for her birthday got washed and no longer works! Needless to say, she won't be getting another one.

After traveling 5 hours home last Friday I realized on Saturday that we had to go to NC for our grandson's (yes I am too young, he's my "step" grandson) second birthday party and I did not have a gift yet! So at nine o'clock I had to make a much dreaded trip to Wal-Mart. What a pain in the rear. After I searched the whole store twice in search of Play-Do, witnessed a very disturbing display in the toy department of a woman trying to hula hoop in front of everyone and stood in line for literally 30 minutes at the check out, I was out of there. On my drive home I was making a turn at a red light. I noticed the car in front of me hit a skunk. Yes, a fresh, ripe, skunk. Of course I could not get away from hitting it immediately after because I would have either hit another vehicle or a guard rail. So I made the rest of the drive home with the stench of dead skunk spray burning my nose hairs! Can you tell what a fabulous ending to the day that was? I had to park outside so the car could air out. When we started out to NC the next morning it still reeked of skunk. Blewk! But finally the smell has disappeared.

Thank goodness this week has been less trying!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Divalicious Duo

2007-09-12T03:58:00.000-07:00

For more Wordless Wednesday go to 5 Minutes for Mom or the WW Hub.

My Middle Name

2007-09-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

Annie, my dear friend, tagged me for this meme. I am supposed to listAnd the first thing you have to do is post the rules of it before you do anything else... So, here they are:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. 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 blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

I think most people are using adjectives to describe themselves so I will stick with that.

A ~ Analytical
N ~ Natural (hubby gave me this one)
N ~ Neat (as in everything in it's place please)
E ~ Encouraging

I tag Jenna, Lauren, Jill, and Stacy. Hopefully you guys are reading this!

Menu Plan Monday 9.10.07

2007-09-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

I am not sure what days I will be having these but here is my plan!

Speedy Chicken Stir Fry
Slow Cooker Tex Mex Chicken
Beef & Chick Pea Curry with Spinach
Shrimp & Grits
Taco Pockets

For more menus visit I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Prayers Needed

2007-09-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

A very close friend of our family passed away this evening. Please remember the family and friends in your prayers. She was only 48. She had bone cancer. Thank you for your prayers in advance.

Chores

2007-09-04T05:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, there has to be someone out there who can give me some advice on this. Bi-bi, my 9 year old daughter, has a serious aversion to chores. She seems to think she doesn't have to lift a finger in this house. She can come and go and dump her junk everywhere and we are just perfectly content to walk over and around it. Let's not even discuss her room. You can't even see the floor most days. Does anyone have a system that works? I thought about a "chore chart" with a reward system. But I can't think of good rewards etc. Any input from you is greatly appreciated! Yelling at her non stop just doesn't seem to be working! LOL!

My Sunday Psalm

2007-09-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

Psalm 3
¹Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
²Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
³But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
⁴I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
⁵I laid me down and slept; I awakened; for the Lord sustained me.
⁶I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.
⁷Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
⁸Salvation belongeth unto the Lord; thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

Hello Blog World!

2007-08-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hi! It's me, Momma. I am here to de-clutter my mind! I am starting this blog as a daily "mind dump" if you will (sorry, I couldn't think of a better phrase!). I hope you enjoy your visit enough to come back every day!

Testing

2007-08-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

test

This is what a blockquote will look like.

Why "For True Life"?

2007-05-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

You may be wondering why this crazy title for a blog. Well, it's simple. When my daughter was smaller she would tell us things that had happened in her day or things she had learned. I would say "really??" and she would always respond "for true life mommy". She said it so often that we began to say it. So it stuck! It's one of the long list of cute things she used to say. I thought it would be a very fitting title for a blog!

Links

2007-05-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

A Rocking Horse to Love

Pedal Cars & Retro Collectibles

The Dollar Stretcher

Blog Rolls

2007-05-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

A Coach For Life
A Joyful Journey
Baseballs and Bows
Confessions of an Organized Mess
Exceedingly Mundane
Farming Folks
Grace and Hope
Gus' Gang
I'm An Organizing Junkie
Jealous Hands
Just A Beach Kat
Laurel Wreath
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience...
Mo Mhile Gra
More Than A Song
My Life As Annie
On the Journey to Victory
Patti's Place
Scamp's Place
The View from Here
The Wilson Six
Thoughts of A Wannabe
Travel Treasures
Up The Hill Gang (like a sis!)
Vader's Mom
Who Could Ask ...

Books

2007-05-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Currently Reading:

Previously Read: