Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Our New Tradition (I hope)



I saw an idea on a craft website and changed it to fit my ideas and my family. We made a family time capsule. I used a quart jar and made a label that I taped to the outside of the jar. Then I took pictures of every one in my family (John took the picture of me). I printed those on index cards and wrote the name of the person, their contribution, age, favorite food, and favorite color. I added the pictures plus the thing that each person thought they would most like to add to represent them in the jar. It was more fun for me than anyone else, but I hoping that in years to come the New Year's Eve time capsule is something that the kids will look forward to.

Help!

OK, I guess I need to confess something before I get to what I need help with. I suck at cleaning the bathroom. It is probably because I didn't really clean a bathroom much until I moved out. (Yes, Carrie that means that it was usually my turn, but I just wasn't going to get in the middle of you and Marleah blaming each other when the bathroom would get cleaned by one of you either way.) I know that I have been out of my dad's house for almost 11 years and this is pathetic. I think the other reason is that apartment bathrooms are so much easier to clean. The tubs and showers are so smooth on the bottom that the dirt comes right off.

Now for my need. I need some ideas on how to clean the bottom of my shower and the doors. The bottom of my shower is textured, and I can't seem to get the grossness out of that stuff. I have been using Scrubbing Bubbles and now have some white patches, but I can't seem to get the entire shower floor clean. The doors are covered in soap scum and I have tried many things that look good while I clean them, but the next time I look at them they are all white again.

**I will spare you the pictures of my gross shower.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

My Great Bras

Since breastfeeding three children, it has been difficult to find a bra that gives me the support to make me look like I have cleavage again. (I know too much info, but oh well.) I am happy to say that this month I have found not just one, but 3 bras that give my deflated balloons the support they need! Why am I sharing this with the world? The answer is simple. I am so dang excited! In the past I have settled for anything that will just give me enough support that I don't feel like I am, as my mom would have said, flopping around. I found that those kind of solutions were just making me look flat. I tried a padded bra a few years ago when I was done nursing Noel, but I hated how it always had to be reshaped after it was washed. Thank goodness for new designers. I can now have some bras that harness me and give me the shape that I have been wanting!

Friday, December 26, 2008

My Favorite Christmas Moments of 2008

One big highlight was having a clean house!
The kids LOVED that Santa wrote a thank you note for the cookies!


Poor Sean got one less gift than Eric, so we let him open a the gift from my parents (it was labeled for John and me). It turned out to be a foot massager. He was quick to let us know that that was not a fun present.

Noel had a very Tinkerbell Christmas. She wore this dress over her jammies until we made her get dressed. Then, she wore it over her clothes until we left for John's parents' house.



Eric opened a Wall-E "chapter book" and excitedly said, "How did someone know that I wanted this!" (He is not very secretive when he wants something bad enough.)

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Scooby-Doo...Who Knew


Slowly but surely the days of Thomas the Tank Engine are disappearing in our house. That means that the boys are growing up and Noel just isn't as interested in Thomas (big surprise). For a while we went through an in between phase of watching things here and there. They all like Disney movies and some Dreamworks movies, but nothing like the obsession that was Thomas for so many years. Now, they have found their new niche. Scooby-Doo! Eric seems to like the mystery involved. Sean likes the humor. Noel LOVES that there are girls in the movies. So there we are. Something for everyone! (And I thought that finding something that the boys and Noel would all like would be difficult.)

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Mamma Mia: The Good and the Bad


Last night I watched the movie Mamma Mia. This is a movie about a girl who is getting married and wants more than anything for her dad to walk her down the aisle. The problem is she doesn't know who her father is. When reading her mother's diary she finds that there are three possibilities. She decides to invite all three potential fathers to her wedding believing that when she sees them she will just know who her father is. As the movie goes forth, there are some predictable small twists and turns. Then ends fun and, yes, predictable.
I liked the basic idea of the movie. It was fun and full of energy. I could tell that the actors had a lot of jun singing the songs and doing the choreography. That was the main plus to watching the movie. At the same time, it was also a negative. It made me wish that I saw it on stage instead. I wanted to be able to feel the energy that could only be felt when watching a live performance.
Yes, there were a few songs that felt a bit misplaced or like they didn't need to be there at all (after all it was basically Abba's greatest hits with a story connected). However, I think that the main flaw was that the script didn't transfer to the screen very well. Over all, I would watch the movie again because it was fun, but I think that it would have been MUCH better live on stage. I may have to find out when it will be in Denver again.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Anthony's Bithday


I am not overly sentimental about my brother, but on days like today how could I forget him. Anthony was born December 18, 1976 (exactly 19 months before me). He died August 30, 1996 (about a week into my senior year). There is more to him than that though. I have some great memories of him.

Christmas time was always interesting with my brother. Most people put up their Christmas tree a little after Thanksgiving. My brother insisted that the tree was not put up until after his birthday because he hated being reminded that his birthday was so close to Christmas and wanted to make sure that they were completely separate. He would get mad if his presents were wrapped in Christmas paper. That meant that my parents would have to buy birthday paper just for him (even my presents were wrapped in Christmas paper most of the time, and I have a July birthday). After his birthday, he was very into Christmas. He prided himself in the fact that he would buy us presents that were not on our lists. Sometimes that was a good thing and sometimes not so good.

Anthony and I were close. For quite a while we share at least some friends. (He had a huge crush on my best friend when I was 14 or 15.) That means that we hung out together sometimes. We had some sort of party when I was in 8th grade (probably a Christmas party). I seem to remember that basically it was my friends and boyfriend that was there. We played truth or dare. Anthony dare my boyfriend to kiss me. That was my first kiss. Latter that night, we went for a drive. Some how we ended up driving around a cull-d-sac with everyone in the car yelling with the doors of the car open for some girl that my brother wanted to see.

I remember Anthony telling me that if anyone wanted to fight me he would take care of them. At the end of 8th grade that time came for me. A girl that I hardly knew was talking about beating me up because I was friends with someone she didn't like. When I got home from school, I told my brother (him being my protector and all). He told me that since it was a girl he couldn't do anything about it and to have Marleah (our younger sister) help me.

I got my first job thanks to my brother at Kenny Rogers Roasters. My fist day I worked in the dish pit (yuck!). The first thing that he did was take me to the back and introduce me to the person that we would be working with (Anthony was training me) that night. It went something like this..."Jesse, this is Rosa. Rosa, this is Jesse. He really likes you." Jesse and I both blushed, but that started an interesting friendship. Anthony ended up walking out on that job twice.

My last memory of him was a day at my mom's house. We were both stopping by there before going to the drive-in that was close. His girlfriend was driving her car. My boyfriend was driving his car. (I don't remember why we were at my mom's, but that is not important to this story.) He said to me, "Hay, Rosa, my girlfriend's car is better than your boyfriend's car." I responded, "Hay, Anthony, my boyfriend's car is better than your boyfriend's." To that he responded in his fake gay way of talking some how. We both had a laugh and went on our way.

I think all in all Anthony and I had a typical bother-sister relationship. He was my protector from the evil boys in the world, and I was the one that hid him from Mom and (mostly) Dad when he would come home drunk and stoned. We both would have fun torturing our sister (she still won't let me forget about some of that stuff). We would hang out when we felt like it. We would fight when we disagreed.

Letter to Santa

Eric wrote this letter to Santa at school this week.

"December 15, 2008
Dear Santa,
For Christmas, I want you to give me the tallent of making a paper airplane.
I have been a very good boy this year! Have fun on your trip around the world.
From,
Eric"

More Sentences

I know that others are probably not as amused by Eric's writing as I am, but this is my blog and I want to share what my goofy son writes. I wonder how he comes up with this stuff sometimes.

"A yummy candycane decorated it's self at my house at 1:00!"

"A cooku snowman with bat wings ran into a wall at my house on Christmas Eve!"

He seems to really like "excited marks." Again, I spelled and puntuated as Eric did.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Decorating the Tree pt.2











Eric, Sean and Noel decorating the tree.

Decorating the Tree




We decorated the Christmas tree bout a week and a half ago. I have just been too lazy to get the pictures from the camera onto the computer, and now it seems that I am having problems loading the pictures on my blog. I have some great pictures of my kids putting the decorations on the tree, but I must settle for before and after pictures for now. I will try to get the others posted soon.

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Secret Woman


I finally finished The Secret Woman by Victoria Holt. My step-mom, Bev, gave me this book and said that it was a good mystery/romance novel. (I started reading it about 2 weeks ago.) It started out very interesting. There was a mysterious death. There was a best friend that "looked out for" the main character. The main disappointment was that the main romance was the main character and a married man (they didn't do more than talk and hold hands, but still disappointing). About halfway through the book there was another mysterious death and more conflict added to the book. It seemed that after that it just dragged on more and more. More conflict was constantly added with a bit of a story added to it. It got to the point that I just wanted to know if my suspicions about what had happened in the case of the first mysterious death were right. Of course I was right. One person was the center of all of the mysteries. BORING! She ended up accidentally killing herself by drinking the poisoned drink that she had fixed for someone else. It was a very anticlimactic ending to a book full of mystery after mystery. My suggestion would be that no one should read this book unless they really have nothing better to do.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Christmas


Seeing all of the decorations going up has made me reflect on past Christmas's, both when I was growing up and since being married.


I remember going to see Santa at Kohls when I was little. We would go to the mall in Indianapolis and follow the foot prints to Santa where we would take turns sitting on his lap and tell him what we wanted for Christmas (I always wanted a new Cabbage Patch doll).


My first Christmas memory was when I was five or six. I, just like every other little girl, wanted a Cabbage Patch doll. After opening up my presents, I found that the only Cabbage patch that I got was a six inch doll. That was not what I had planned. I, also, got some kind of letter saying that I was on a waiting list for a real Cabbage Patch doll. When it was my turn, my mom took me to Toys R Us. We went to the customer service desk, and I got to pick out my own doll. That was excited. I am not sure if I was more excited that I got to pick the exact doll that I wanted or that my name was pick on the list before my sister (I think it was about a week before her which is a long time when you are that old).


When we lived in Indiana, Christmas time always meant that we got to go see Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell a few days later to have Christmas with them. It was always fun to play with the cousins. We loved Grandpa's cookies! We were always sad when it was time to go.


Fast forward a few years. We had moved to Colorado. I was hard to make it to Michigan to see Grandma and Grandpa. Mom had moved out. Us kids still loved Christmas. We loved getting presents for each other. We lived through my dad listening to his Readers Digest Christmas tapes all of the time. To go along with that was his off key renditions of the songs as they played. (I hated it then, but miss it now.)


I remember one Christmas Anthony and I were so excited about what we had gotten each other. We rarely asked what the other wanted, but somehow always picked out something that the other loved. We decided to tell each other what we had purchased and made a pact not to let anyone know (I think I was 15 or 16). I remember that he had given me one of those paper fans to go on the wall. I don't remember what I got for him. Then, we tried to stay up all night watching movies (they weren't Christmas movies, more like horror movies). Gosh I miss him sometimes!


A few years later, Mom and Anthony had just died a few months before. We all missed them very much. Dad had received money from Anthony's life insurance. He decided to use a good portion of that to try to make sure that Marleah and I got almost everything that we asked for. He really wanted to make it special. We made a trip back to Michigan that year. We had decided that we would stop in Nebraska to visit my mom's sister on the way there and back. It was good to see her.


I hope that I can be a good parent like my dad and give my kids the kind of memories that when they get older they can say that I did my best and they have great memories.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Eric's Sentences

In school Eric is occasionally given the assignment to write "juicy" sentences. They usually have a seasonal theme. Lately, he has been coming home with sentences that make us laugh.

"A realy tiny gingerbread man was dancing in the police department in 1617! That's one old gingerbread man!"

"The fat butted turkey was driving realy crazy at my church on my birthday on January 10th."

"Lary the smelly pumpkin was rolling in the park all the time in the afternoon!"

I spelled everything the way that Eric did and used the same punctuation.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Top 10 Things I Thought I Would Never Say

10. My boobs are not pillows.
9. You do not need to wear boots with your jammies.
8. I only want little boys for prayer time, not dogs.
7. Who peed in the cat box?
6. You really need to learn how to wipe your own bum.
5. Who pooped on the floor?
4. I can't vacuum with your bike in the living room.
3. No, I will not kiss you there!
2. Where are your clothes?
1. No one wants to see your naked peepee!

Thank you, Tara, for this wonderful idea!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Going to Grandma's




I was letting the Sean, Noel, and Haley play for a while so that I could get some other stuff done this afternoon before getting Eric. When I went to see what they were doing, thinking they were in the boys' room, I found them in the bathroom. They told me they were taking a sleigh ride to Grandma's.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Ahh memories...


I love my kids. Sometimes they can be extremely irritating. Sometimes those irritating moments become hilarious stories later.


Last night, we were sitting at the table drinking hot chocolate after putting up the Christmas tree and watching Santa Clause. I starting thinking about when my boys were littler. I looked at Eric and started telling him about his "dog" phase.


Eric went through a phase when he wanted a dog so bad that he acted like one almost all of the time. When he talked he would speak in "dog." This meant that he would try to talk and bark at the same time. One day when I picked Eric up from primary (he was a Sunbeam), his teacher told me that Eric had said the prayer...in dog. His teacher, a young newlywed with no kids, thought it was the best thing ever. I was so embarrassed. Last night I couldn't stop laughing while telling this story.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Last Thankful

I am thankful for my friends. I have never had a lot of close friends at one time for a reason. I would rather really know my friends than say that I have a lot of friends. I believe when it comes to friends it is the quality not the quantity that counts.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thankful Nov.26

I can't believe that I will be done with my "thankful" posts tomorrow! I would say that I will make this one good for that reason, but I think I have used the biggies.


I am thankful to have reliable trasportation. My van runs well, for the most part. It fits all of my kids, Haley, and I have two more seat belts in the back. It doesn't have heat or air conditioning (that's why I said "for the most part"), but it runs. It is warmer than being in the cold wind in the winter. It is automatic, so I don't have to worry about shifting.


Last winter, the van wasn't running. I had to drive John's Explorer. It has a manual truck trasmission. It was not fun. Yes, we were warmer with the heat. My right arm did get a lot stronger. I was so glad when the van was fixed well enough for me to drive.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Fench Fry Adventure

Tonight I gave my children corn dogs and french fries for dinner and sat them down to watch Charlie Brown. After finishing my food I left the living room to get other stuff done. Who know that was when the adventure would start. A little while later Noel started screaming in pain and running to the bathroom. She had been constipated earlier so I figured she was having more bathroom problems. She came running back to me crying. I asked her if her bum hurt. She said that her nose hurt and she needed a kleenex. I was confused. I asked her why. "Because I have a french fry in my nose!" she cried. I told Eric to go get me some tissue. I had her blow her nose many times. I saw no fry. I looked in her nose. There it was. A small piece of fry stuck so far up her nose that I wouldn't be able to try to squeeze it out. I didn't know what to do. I called John's mom. I figured after that many boys she had gone through it all. She hadn't gone through this. Her suggestion was either a booger sucker or tweezers. I got off the phone, took Noel to my room, layed her on the bed with one of her babies, and started "surgery." I tried the tweezers first. I couldn't get a hold of the darn thing. I tried one sucker. It didn't work. I tried a different sucker. It pulled the fry most of the way out. I had to use the tweezers to get it out the rest of the way. When it was all said and done the fry was about the size of a small Lego (the ones that have just one bump). I won't post a picture of the fry because no one wants to see a booger covered fry.

Thankful Nov.25


I am thankful for my dad. He raised me basically alone from the time I was 13 (maybe even longer considering my mom's state of mind). He sacrificed for me. He taught me integrity and responsibility. He was the best dad I could have asked for in a confusing tough world. I always wished he would have been more affectionate towards me, but when I think about it his parents aren't real affectionate either. When I call my dad now he always talks to me, even if it is just for a little while. I don't know what I am going to do when he moves to Indiana. I think I am still in denial about that one. I am hoping that they will do the same as they did last year and just say that they will be here for at least another year. It was torture when he and Bev were gone for more than a month.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Thankful Nov. 24

I know I didn't post yesterday. I will make up for it today.

I am thankful for my ability to cook for my family. We would be spending way too much on food if I didn't know how to cook. I even save us a bit more money by making quite a bit from scratch. I am glad that my mom took the time to teach me the basics of reading a recipe so that I can cook for my family.

I am thankful for my mom. I love my mom, and I wish that I could tell her. My mom had many problems, but through it all she loved me and I loved her. My mom taught me a lot about life. She taught me how to be a mom. She taught me basic sewing and basic cooking. She gave me more details about child birth than any 13 or 14 year old that I knew. She told me things that most moms wait until their children are in that stage of life as a teenager. Sometimes I wonder if somewhere deep inside she knew she wasn't going to live to see me get married or have children. I don't know if that is what made her give me so much info or just because that is the way that she was. Either way, I am glad she talked to me that way. I wish I hadn't spent so much time being mad at her when I was a teenager. I love my mom. I hope anyone who actually reads this thinks about their mom, and doesn't take her for granted. If you are mad at your mom do what you can to mend your relationship. You never know if there is going to be a tragic accident that takes her away.

A Night Away

Friday night Sean and Eric spent the night at my sister's (Aunt My) and Noel at my dad's. When I picked them up on Saturday there were interesting little stories about all of them.

Sean had an eventful night. Having not been fed dinner until 9pm, he threw up around 9:15 (my kids have weird tummies). I ended up spending a good amount of time on the phone trying to figure out if he was sick or if it was just his weak tummy. When he went to sleep an hour after throwing up, she and I decided it must have just been the weak tummy, so we called it a night. The next morning, she told me that around 3am she woke up with Sean in her bed. Apparently he had a bad dream.

Eric informed me that he slept on My's couch and it was so comfy that he didn't even have to stretch when he woke up.

Grandma Bev gave the most interesting update. It seems that Noel got herself up Saturday, went into the bathroom, took off her jammies and panties, and went back on the couch (naked) and just waited for Grandma and Grandpa to get up. When they came out of their room the first thing that they saw was my naked daughter sprawled out on the couch.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

I am Thankful for Noel

Noel today on her new tricycle!

Noel a few days before she turned 2.

Noel ejoying her cake on her first birthday.



Noel's first bath in the delivery room.
She is brand spanking new!


Me about a month before Noel was born.
Happy Birthday Noel!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Thankful Nov. 21

I am thankful for good books. (Thank you, Tara for writing about books today!) I didn't really enjoy reading as a kid. I didn't really start reading just for fun until I worked down town and had a bus ride with no one to talk to. I realized then that there are some wonderful books out there. I just had to find the ones that I really liked. I don't read as often as I used to, but I try to read when I get the chance.
I am also glad that there are good kids books. I was a little worried that Eric wouldn't like to read chapter books when they made him make the transition at school (after all that is when I lost my interest). I was wrong. He loves Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, A to Z Mysteries, and really wishes the words weren't so hard to read in Geronimo Stilton books. Sean is really excelling in his reading too. I am always surprised at how well he reads. He loves the "be good" books (I think they are some of the most boring books ever made). Noel just loves to be read to.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Thankful Nov. 20

Today, I am thankful to have the gospel in my life. I sometimes have a hard time with my testimony, but I do still have one. I know that my life would be nothing without God and my membership in His church. I have lived through a lot (at least I feel that way). The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been there for me. I do realize that my life could be worse, but God knows me and understands what I can handle and won't give me more than I can handle (no matter how much it doesn't feel that way during my trials).

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Thankful Nov. 19

Today I am thankful for the health of my children. Yesterday, Eric was trowing up and had a fever. It turned my whole world upside down. He seems to be doing better to day, but he is still pale. When my kids get sick I totally freak out. I think it is because they are so rarely sick. I am lucky to have kids that do catch the occasional cold, but not much more than that. Over all my children are healthily kids. (I guess that means that I am doing something right.)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

My Worst Date

This will look like a good date compared to Carries long list of the worst dates I have ever heard of. I really had mostly normal dates, dinner and movie kind of stuff.
I would have to say that my worst date did involve a movie and dinner. It was a Valentines Day date. I had to drive because I was the one that had a car. That wasn't a big deal. I was used to that. I picked him up and the first thing he said was, "You're paying, right?" I informed him that my last paycheck, along with most of my paychecks, went to my car payment. I did not have the money to pay for a date. Plus, he asked me out. He was going to pay. That made the mood awkward. We ended up having dinner at Denny's. (Not too unusual for a high school date.) Then he had supposably picked out the perfect movie. We went to the mall and he baught tickets for "Happy Gilmore." It wasn't that I didn't like the movie (although I am not a big Adam Sandler fan now). It was Valentines Day. The type of movie I could think of that would be worse would have been a shoot 'em up movie (not that I don't like those kind of movies either). We didn't date after that date.

I am tagging anyone who want to write about this (except Carrie since was already tagged).

Thankful Nov. 18

Today I am thankful for mouse traps. Yes, you read that right. Before the mouse traps, I would have to find mice dead in the hall that Lady caught (presents from our loving cat). She seemed to always get them sometime after John left for work (he leaves around 4:15). That left me to take care of the horrible things. Luckily, Eric and Sean started getting "brave" enough to "help mom" in that department. They even got a system down. Sean would use the broom, and Eric would hold the dustpan and dump the mouse in the trash in the garage. For some reason, the last few months have been the worst when it comes to mice in our house. We do live backed up to a drainage ditch and across the street from a vacant field, so I don't see it getting better any time soon. For now, I will just let John find good places to put the traps that I rarely look, and he can keep on the gross disposing job.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Thankful Nov. 17

Yes, I do realize that I have not posted this in a few days (although I do think that having an answer to my prayers on Saturday counts big time). I am going to have to make up for that in today's post.

1. I am thankful for the lady that holds the stop sign at the school in the morning. (I don't know her name.) We walk to school on the days that are nice and my kids are ready on time. It is getting to be less often, but we try to get out the door on time every morning. Today, my boys were racing to school. She saw them coming and went out into the crosswalk before they got there, almost getting hit by a car herself. (My boys have a habit of not stopping and looking for cars at cross walks.) It was a little annoying that the person driving that car didn't see fit to stop until she almost hit the one holding the sign. I very much appreciate the efforts to keep my children safe.

2. I am thankful for bread. I know that sound silly, but my kids eat a lot of bread and it is cheap. My kids' favorite lunch is peanut butter and jelly. That means that is pretty much all they eat for lunch with a few exceptions. When we run out of cereal and money, my kids gladly have toast for breakfast. I have had a few comments when I do my grocery shopping about how much bread I buy. It is necessary for my family. We can go through as much as a loaf of bread a day!

3. I am thankful for my sister. I love my sister very much. When I talk to her my day gets better. I couldn't imagine life without her.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Answer to a Prayer

I have been feeling a little blah lately. I have been feeling alone and stuck. I prayed this morning to find out what I should do with my self. My immediate thought (most of the answers to my prayers come from thoughts) was that I need to have at least one hour a week where I do something for myself. I need to have some time that I don't have anyone else to answer to. The next thing that I thought was I needed to get online and find the name of the guy that did the wonderful lecture that I saw on Oprah over the summer. (I am not an avid Oprah watcher, but I have been know to watch here and there.) I got onto the Oprah web sit and searched "cancer" because that was one thing that I remembered about him. I found the name Randy Pausch. The video of his lecture from Oprah was not there. I googled Randy Pausch. I found what I was looking for. I found his last lecture. I found the full version, not just the paraphrased one that he gave on the show. It was even better than I remembered. This was an hour long talk that captivated me and inspired me. I don't know how to load videos on this sight, but I will post the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Friday, November 14, 2008

Thankful Nov. 14

This is getting harder. I know that for the most part I have mentioned little things. We will see if I can do this for another two weeks. Hopefully, no one is getting bored of this stuff yet.

Today, I am thankful that I don't watch the news as much as I used to. I hear other people talk about how recent news is either stressing them out or making them sad. I am so glad that I don't have to deal with the extra pressures of knowing what is going on in the world right now. I am the kind of person that would let the current headlines sadden me or stress me out. I have been told that I am an empathetic person. I do like that about myself. It just seems to add some stress that I just cannot handle right now. My life is hectic enough.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Pretty Hair


As many know, Noel got her first haircut Tuesday. It wasn't cut much. Kelli, my haircutting expert sister-in-law, mostly trimmed it and gave her slight layers to blend in the spot that we had to cut gum out of her hair on Sunday. On Sunday when I told her that she was going to have to get her hair cut, she said, "But my hair is pretty," while pouting. We assured her that her hair would be pretty again. Luckily, Kelli was available to cut her hair only a few days latter. Until then, I just put her hair in pony tails. She cried as soon as Kelli showed up on Tuesday and even more when we got her ready to have a hair cut. I told her that Kelli was going to make her hair pretty again. She loves her new hair cut! The only real noticeable difference is in the front (other than the fact that her hair is straighter in the back.)



Fast forward to today. Sean was pulling her hair to torture her (that's what brothers do best, right). Noel yells, "Don't pull my PRETTY hair!"
***Just a side note. Her face was clean not too long before this picture was taken. I just can't get her to keep it clean. I have no idea what she got into this time.

Thankful Nov. 13

Today I am thankful for my vacuum. I know that may sound silly, but until the end of July I didn't have a vacuum that worked very well (thank you, Bev).

I was just looking under my kitchen table thinking, "Gross! That really needs to be vacuumed." That is when I remembered that I am really lucky to have a vacuum that WILL vacuum that grossness up.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Dumb Laws

I copied this from an email my sister sent to me.

Honk if you pass
Rural New Jersey might sound like a never-ending New Year’s Eve party if everybody obeyed the law. State law requires drivers to honk the horn when passing another vehicle going in the same direction outside a business or residential district.
However, watch it in Little Rock, Ark., where the law says “no person shall sound the horn on a vehicle at any place where cold drinks or sandwiches are served after 9 p.m.”
Honking at sandwich shops is OK in University City, Mo. – so long as you honk in your own car. It’s illegal to honk the horn of someone else’s.
Kindly keep your cattle in the car
Hey, city slicker – you’ll have to keep that cow in your vehicle in Topeka, Kan. The city has made it “unlawful for any person to suffer or permit any livestock owned or controlled by such person to run at large, or to drive any herd of cattle, horses, mules or hogs, or any flock of sheep, upon any street in the city.”

You’ll need permission to throw that brick
In Mount Vernon, Iowa, you’re not allowed to shoot arrows or throw bricks onto any street or highway without the City Council’s written consent.

Clean up your act
In San Francisco, it’s illegal to wipe a vehicle with used underwear and to pile horse manure more than six feet high on any street corner.

Unhand that nozzle!
In Oregon and New Jersey, you cannot pump your own gas. Supposedly this practice keeps gasoline prices lower in those states, because insurance costs for gas stations go down if attendants instead of customers pump the gas – but, on the other hand, that attendant must be paid, whereas you pump for free. So the jury’s out on the reasons for this one.

Animal and vegetable antics
Palm Springs, Calif., forbids anyone from walking a camel down the main street, Palm Canyon Drive, between 4 and 6 p.m.
Hunting from moving vehicles is illegal in several states, including Connecticut and Tennessee, where only whale hunting by that method is allowed.
Thou shalt not sow a vegetable garden in any public street in Chico, Calif. The law, however, does not forbid flower gardens.

No pillows on the roadbed
No matter how sleepy you get, you are not allowed to snooze in the middle of any street in Eureka, Calif.
Reno, Nev., won’t let you park yourself on a bench or chair in the middle of its roads, either.
As long as we’re on a roll, here are a few more tips to the lawful:
Yield to peacocks in Arcadia, Calif.
Don’t jump into a passing vehicle in Glendale, Calif.
Don’t change clothes in your car at the beach in Destin, Fla.
Don’t keep a car door open longer than is necessary in Oregon.
Don’t drive through playgrounds in Dublin, Ga.

How serious are they?
Serious. Screeching your tires in Derby, Kan., could get you 30 days in Bad Boys’ Bed & Breakfast.
And if you think switching back to a one-horsepower hay-burner might get you away from the long arm of the law, consider this: In Texarkana, Texas, it’s illegal to ride a horse at night without taillights.

Thankful Nov. 12

I am thankful for the patience of others. I am sometimes slow (at lest it seems that way to me). I am so glad that my friends and family love me anyway and deal with explaining thing to me again. I am thankful that my kids love me anyway and are willing to ask for that drink of water with ice again. I am thankful that while I am trying to think of the word that I was going to use to describe something, most people listen to my ramblings describing the word and accept that as whatever I was going to say to begin with. (I hope that this all gets better when I actually call the doctor and get back on my meds.)

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Thankful Nov. 11


I am thankful that I have the opportunity to watch a sweet little girl three days a week. Haley is such a good little girl and plays so nicely with my kids. Sometimes I find myself wishing that my kids were as well behaved as her. She does have her moments of insanity, but they are usually egged on by my crazy boys.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Thankful Nov. 10

Today I am thankful for Disney movies. Yes, you read that right. With out Disney (or other animated movies), I would not get a shower in the morning. I NEED a shower in the morning if I expect to be in a good mood for even a little bit of the day. The only way for me to get that shower is to put a movie on for Sean and Noel after I drop Eric off at school. (Saturday and Sunday they don't get this privilege because John is here to keep them from coming in the bathroom.)

Sunday, November 9, 2008

The Car and the Key




John has a new car. He traded in his red sports car for a 1997 black Mustang. This lowers the payments and had more of the specifications that he wanted in a car (it is faster and louder). It is a fun car to drive. I just have one problem. I have to use his key to drive it. It is not that he won't give me a key. He did give me a key. When I used that one, the car started. Then, something on the dashboard said "THEFT" and the car turned off. John told me to get a copy of his key made at King Soopers yesterday while I was getting a few things. I did that. When I went out to the car and tried to start it with the new key, same thing. The car started, and then the word "THEFT" came on and it turned off. That was frustrating! At least the key was only 1.60. It appears that we may have to go to a Ford dealership and have a key specially made just so that I won't have to borrow his keys every time I drive his car. Sounds expensive to me. So much for a cheaper solution.

Thankful Nov. 9

I am thankful that I was able to sleep most of the night without interruptions. Yes, that is right. It is still rare for me to get a night of sleep without someone waking me up. Noel sometimes wakes up 2 or 3 times a night (depending on how tired she was when she went to bed). Sean a few months ago realized that he can get attention if he get me up at night (when I figured out what he was doing, I gave him less and less attention). Eric really just gets up when he has bad dreams or growing pains (not often enough to complain). There have been times that I haven't slept more than one or two hours at a time the whole night. (Whoever said that when the kids get older Mom gets more sleep, didn't have my kids.) Last night, I only had one interruption of sleep. Sean had a bad dream. This time I could tell that is what was really going on. I helped him say a prayer for good dreams and put him back to bed. Then, no one woke me until about seven this morning (the time they get up for school). I am so glad!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Thankful Nov. 8


I am thankful for my house and the fact that my money is going towards me owning it and not someone else. John and I rented for the first eight and a half years of our marriage. We thought that we would never be able to buy a house. The good news about the housing market tanking when it did was that we got the opportunity to purchase a home of our own. We made someone else's loss our gain. We bought a foreclosed on home. Sure we had to fix and buy things (the bedroom doors being the weirdest), but it all goes towards our benefit. We no longer have to worry about noisy neighbors upstairs or nosey neighbors downstairs. We can be hermits if we wanted too. We live in a place that we feel secure and our kids are safe. We have a modest size home, but it is perfect for our needs. I love our home!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Thankful Nov. 7

Today I am thankful for my dishwasher. I was remembering that I desperately need to do dishes this morning. Then, I remembered how long it took me to get the dishes done for that year we lived with no dishwasher. Now, I can do a bunch of dishes, and it only takes me about twenty minutes to unload and load the dishwasher. The machine takes care of the rest. What a wonderful invention!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Thankful Nov. 6

Today I am thankful for school lunch. We are so low on food that my kids will actually eat, and I basicly had a choice of bring four rowdy kids with me to the store yesterday or waiting until today. I chose that I would wait until I had only two kids to keep track of (that is hard enough in a boring grocery store). That means that I could not make Eric lunch today due to the lack of peanut butter and bread (he wants peanut butter and jelly sandwitches most of the time). Luckily, today they have pizza on the menu at school, and he is excited that they now offer strawberry milk at school (I am not so sure how I feel about that). We qualified for the reduced lunch program. That means that on days like today, I can feed my boy a reasonable lunch for only $0.40!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

When Eric Gets Home


I have noticed that when Eric gets home from school my house can go from calm to loud and crazy very quickly. (This is not saying that it doesn't get that way when his is at school sometimes.)

For example, today my after I got Eric to school my morning was fairly calm. Sean and Noel watched Arther and Thomas while I took a shower and then played by themselves until it was time to pick up Haley (a girl that I watch a few days a week) from preschool and went to Target to get some stuff for lunch. Then, we came home and had lunch. After that, Sean and Haley played an Arther game on the computer while I (unsuccessfully) tried to get Noel down for a nap. A little while later, all of three kids played and got ready to pick Eric up from school. My house has not been quiet since. I don't know if it is that Eric has had to sit still with little to no exercise all day and now he gets the chance to play, or that all of the other kids are excited that he is home, or that Eric is some how more obnoxious than I had realized.

I do love my son. He is very special. I could not imagine living without him. I just need to find something for him to do when he get home so that I don't loose my marbles!

Thankful Nov. 5

Today I am thankful for my kids. They give me the most joy and the most sorrow. I couldn't imagine my life without them. I love their smiles and laughs. I love their hugs and kisses. I love how willing they are to try to make their parents happy.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Thankful Nov. 4

I have so many things to be thankful for I am not sure that I can narrow it down to one today, but I will try.

Being election day (even though I voted last month via mail in ballot), I am thankful for the right to vote and be heard. I know that some people do not believe that one vote can count that much, but what if everyone felt that way. Then, we would have to be in a monarchy or dictatorship. We wouldn't have other rights that we are privileged to have in this country.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Halloween 2008

Sean was our rock star. He was totally freaked out about making his hair or clothes look too different. I think he just wanted a guitar.
Noel of course was a princess. We did make her wear her jacket to go trick or treating even though it wasn't very cold due to the lack of real selves on her dress.


Eric was our magician. He completely designed his costume. I made the cape, pinned the rose on his shirt, and put a string on the back of the bow so that it would stay on. He had very specific instructions as to how he wanted to look.

My Wierd Side

I was tagged by AnnMarie. So here it goes.

1. I am more worried about wearing comfortable clothes than being warm. That means that I often wear sandles or flip-flops in the winter (yes, even when it is snowing).

2. When my boys don't clean their room, I take away all of the toys on their floor and make them earn them back one toy at a time. (I don't think that the bag that I made has been empty since I started doing this.)

3. I don't give my children snacks very often, but they get snacks at a scheduled time when I babysit.

4. I don't let my kids eat candy or cookies very often, but I eat them as much as possible.

5. My dad thinks that my "most embarrassing moment" is the fact that I went to an elementary school surrounded by corn fields on 3 sides (I was in small town Indiana.)

6. I can keep my house clean when there is no school (for example during the summer), but I don't seem to be able to do it while Eric is in school.

7. I have been working on the same sewing project off an on since Eric was a baby (he will be 7 in a few months).

I don't think I have 7 people to tag.
I am tagging
Jami
Carrie

I guess that is it. I need to find more people with blogs.

Thankful

Ok. I stole this from Jami. I am going to post something that I am thankful for everyday. I need to focus on the positive in my life too. I have so much to be thankful for, and I seem to focus on the negative a lot lately. I am sure my husband, sister and friends are sick of it. Since today is the third I will start with three things today.

1. I am thankful that we don't have to go hungry. We may not always get to eat what we want, but we do have the food we need to feed ourselves and our children.

2. I am thankful for John's willingness to go to a job that he hates to support our family so that I don't have to.

3. I am thankful for the forgiveness of my children. (If they held grudges like I do, I would be in a lot of trouble.)

Great idea Jami!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

GRRR!

Let me start of by saying that my kids were not supposed to be doing this.

This morning while getting ready to leave for school, Sean and Noel went out the back door like they were told to. Eric, on the other hand, went into his room to get something. When Eric and I got outside, the back gate was open and my children were on the sidewalk behind my house (a scary thing considering that street is extremely busy that time of the morning). I ran out the gate yelling at them to see a woman with her car stopped disciplining Sean and Noel. Then she told me what she was doing and chewed me out telling me that it was not safe. (No kidding!)

I hate when people treat me like I am clueless just because my children are doing something wrong. It is not like I told them, "Go wait for me on the sidewalk." The rule is that they are supposed to wait for me at the gate. We are supposed to go out together.

I sometimes wonder if these kind of people had children. If they did, I am positive that their children didn't always follow every rule especially at 5 and 3.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Quiet Conversation

On our way home from church today, Eric and Sean were talking quietly in the back of the van. (One of my favorite things to do is listen to their conversations.) I have no idea what they were playing but their conversation went something like this.

Sean: "Eric tomorrow is a special day!"

Eric: "I know!"

Sean (very matter-of-factly): "It is Thomas's birthday."

Eric: "Cool!"

Sean: "He is getting to be such a big engine!"

Eric (in his I'm-smarter-than-you tone): "Sean trains don't get bigger."

John and I just looked at each other and laughed.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Halloween Party

Eric said to me out of the blue, "Mom on Halloween, we can not bring our lunch to school," in a cross voice.

I said, "I know. You need to bring $2 so that you can get pizza and soda."

Eric started crying. I asked him what was wrong. He told me he already gave her is dollar out of his wallet (it has been in there for more than a year). I asked him why and he said that all of the other kids gave the teacher their money, and he thought that I forgot to send it with him. I showed him the letter from the teacher and told him that I thought that I needed to send the money with him on Halloween. Then, I promised to give him two more dollars (one for him and one for his teacher) on Monday. That made him feel better.

Gosh, I wish I could feel better that quickly when I am upset. Kids are amazing!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

A Messy House

What does a messy house mean to me?

It means a few things. One, I have not had the motivation to get it clean. Two, I have been enjoying my children. Three, we have too much stuff.

I think my main problem is number one. I don't have the motivation. I look at my messy house that I just cleaned a day or two ago and think, "It is just going to look like this again in an hour. What is the point?" I know. I like the feeling when I see that I have done a good job cleaning whatever room I have been working on. I really like the occasional compliment I get from my husband after showing off my days work. I just wish there was a faster better way of cleaning than the usual in and out of the room putting things away and then vacuuming.

Unfortunately, number two is rarely the answer in my house. It is not that I don't enjoy my children. I just don't think I spend enough time really watching, listening and playing when it comes to my kids. (That is my confession for the day.)

Answer number three is part of the problem. I have a problem when it comes to my stuff. I get emotionally attached. The only way that I can explain that is that "stuff" has never left me, won't die, has never broken my heart, and can hold memories that no one else has. I am not the only person in my family with this problem. We all have a hard time getting rid of stuff. That means there are 5 people that refuse to get rid of stuff in my house. The bad part of that is that our house is cluttered. Don't get me wrong. We do throw stuff away when necessary, but we all hold onto papers that aren't needed, toys that aren't played with, computer stuff that will probably never be used again, and the list goes on.

I tried FlyLady about six month ago. I thought that the system was great and a real motivation. Then I got to a point that I was having to get rid of stuff on a regular basis. That slowed me down a bit. Then I got to a day that I was to add cleaning the toilet in the main bathroom daily. I quit. I didn't want to have to clean my kids bathroom myself everyday. I have boys. GROSS!

So until I find something that really works for me (where I don't have to get rid of a lot of stuff quickly, and I don't have to clean my boys' pee everyday), my house will be messy. My kids will continue to be in charge of cleaning their rooms. My boys will be the ones cleaning their pee off of the floor and back of the toilet.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Catch-up Club

"Dear Parents and Guardians,

Your child has one or more missing assignments this week. It is strongly recommended that children with missing assignments remain after school for Catch-up Club. This will give them an opportunity to catch up and receive any assistance necessary to allow them to be successful in their classroom work in the future...."

This is followed by a basic permission slip form for the child to stay after school the next day for an extra 40 minutes.

Today was the second time Eric has come home from school with this note pinned to his back. As a parent, this is a frustrating note to receive. For my child, this does not mean that he doesn't understand the work. It just means that he occupied his mind with things that he felt were more interesting during the hour and a half of centers (a time when the children are given a packet of worksheets and expected to do them independently).

It appears that for most children the centers are good practice, and it is reasonable to have them finish the work by themselves. For my child however, this does not work. He is not an independent worker. He is smart enough to do the work. However, being his father's child, he does not want to. That is when he just decides that he will do things like spend a lot of time in the bathroom and pretend his pencil is a rocket (knowing full well that he is the only one paying attention to what he is doing).

His teacher says that she is going to try another method to motivate him. I have told him that if he can go a week with out having to go to Catch-up Club, I will make him cookies. I wish that there was a way to motivate this child and get him to understand.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Best Princess Movie Ever

I just watched Enchanted with my kids. I know. (I am the last girl to see it.) It was definately the BEST princess movie that I have ever seen!

I thought that it started out kind of slow, but when it picked up, it really picked up! It was funny, suspensful, and had a great twist! Even my boys liked it!

Magical?

OK magical may be a stretch, but it makes the title sound interesting. I love my family. My kids drive me crazy sometimes, but I am told that is normal. I enjoy listening to their "serious" conversations. They are so cute. I find it funny how Eric, in his wise 6 year old way, knows everything because he is in first grade. He has a way of saying things that, if I didn't know any better, I would believe him, too. I also find it funny that Sean will believe ANYTHING that Eric says, no matter how made up it sounds. I find these things magical.