The Christmas Hoopla.

I see that I've been tagged for a Christmas Hoopla by Crooked Eyebrow where I have to list 12 things about myself that are related to Christmas. That seems like a lot! So here I go on my first attempt at a "meme" or should I say hoopla.

1) I do not particularly enjoy decorating my house for Christmas. Now before you get all "Bah-Hum-Bug" on me let me explain. I pretty much suck at decorating. Period. I don't have good ideas as to what looks good together and I like to keep things simple. I hate clutter. Nuff said.

2) It just wouldn't be Christmas without watching my favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story at least once if not more during the month of December. The movie Elf has become my 2nd favorite Christmas movie. Will Ferrell is hilarious and makes me laugh every time I watch him.

3) My birthday falls 3 days before Christmas, which yes, does stink quite a bit, but my family has always been so good about making me feel special on my day and not wrapping my birthday presents in Christmas wrapping paper.

4) I love the old traditional Christmas songs sung by Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Roger Williams, etc.

5) When I was a young tot my brothers and I had some very cool Christmas records that we loved to listed to. Such as Star Wars Christmas and Christmas Disco. Can you tell I was born in the 70's?

6) OMG! I am not even half way done yet and I am starting to struggle! UGH! Okay, how about this. One of my favorite Christmas drinks is spiced eggnog. I even have a homemade recipe that is from middle school home economics class. I just recently found a new recipe that I am looking forward to trying out called City Tavern Eggnog. I copied it from the Southwest airlines magazine when I flew out to Cleveland a few weekends ago. It calls for egg yolks, granulated sugar, heavy whipping cream and whole milk. It's not fattening or anything!

7) I enjoy sending out Christmas cards. This year we sent out ones with a family picture. They turned out good considering everyone smiled at the same time. Amazing! I have found the best way to display the cards we receive is to tape them around the 12 foot door frame opening between the kitchen and family room. See. Just picture them completely down the other side and the purple tree on the right is our backup card display which we have just begun to fill.

8) I was a firm believer in Santa until about the age of 10. My brother and I were being snoops. All of it was totally his idea of course. And we found wall calendars hidden in my parents closet. Mine was Alf and his was sports cars. When we opened them up on Christmas day the tags said they were from Santa. What a way to spoil it. But that reminds me of the time I found out the truth about the tooth fairy. As a small girl stumbling upon a box of little teeth I was scarred for life. I felt betrayed. My parents were impostors! I've since forgiven them and am now following in their footsteps.

9) One of the most memorable presents I received as a child was a 4 foot Barbie townhouse. Let me tell you, it was sweet! And it was complete with a pink elevator that would take Barbie and her friends from the ground floor up to level 3. I played with that for many years and wish I still had it to this day. But, I do still have my Pretty Ponies, or were they called My Little Ponies? Either way, they are in my closet and when my friends bring their daughters over, I bring out the box of ponies for them to play with. Brings back good memories!

10) Growing up, my family would always get a real tree to decorate for Christmas. The first few years I was out of the house with my own family, we did the real tree thing, but then decided to get a fake one. Less mess and less pain from being stabbed by dry dead needles. I do miss the fresh pine scent of a real tree, but Febreze makes a killer pine tree spray called Fresh Evergreen and Snow. You must try it! Plus it's a limited edition so don't wait too long.

11) Okay, this seems like it is going on forever. Bless you if you are still reading this and are still awake. What else can I bore you with? So, I am a fan of colored lights. I really do not care for white. They're pretty, but I like me some color - makes it more festive. This is the first year that I can remember that we actually did not put up any lights outside. I am very sad about this. It seems the weather snuck up on us and who wants to put up lights in an ice storm? Our neighborhood makes up for our lack of outdoor decorations. There are some fanatics around here and I will leave it at that.

12) Drum roll please! My last required entry. And what the heck is there left to say? I love to play in the snow with my boys. I have so much fun building snow forts and snowmen and snow angels and snow hills. Gosh, I could go on and on. I enjoy ice skating and sledding, but I do not enjoy downhill skiing. I have only attempted it once in my life back in high school and didn't really get the hang of it. Maybe I should give it another try.

Whew! I guess that wasn't too bad. Who can I tag next? How about Say Anything? Are you up for it?

The directions:

1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas.
2. Please refer to it as a hoopla not the dreaded “m” word.
3. You have to specifically tag someone when you’re done, no leaving it open.
4. Do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over soon…

Wordless Wednesday

They are such hard workers and having so much fun at the same time!

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I know we were frugal, but seriously?

I have been reminiscing on Christmas’s years ago.

Back in the day when it was just the three of us, money was tight even though we didn’t think much of it. When Christmas time came around, we (or really I should say I) had to get inventive and make the money stretch.

I vividly remember (thanks to the help of home video) one particular year when Taylor was probably 3 years old. I bought him a collapsible laundry hamper. Plain.old.white. No, there was not a Thomas the Tank Engine on it or even a Spider Man. Momma was cheap and bought white. I thought it could double as a toy basket. I could get away with it since he was so little. Sweet Taylor opened it and immediately used it as a fort, placing it over his head. It was almost as good as giving a kid a cardboard box to play with. He brought a toy in with him and ended up getting stuck due to the lack of room. It was funny to watch.

That same Christmas morning Jason was preparing to open one of his “gifts” I had bought him. I still look back at this and say to myself, what in the world was I thinking. (And I can’t believe I am admitting this.) I bought AND wrapped him a package of fire log starters. You know, those wax bricks that you light to help get your fire going. Lame, yes. I completely agree. But practical and cheap – there is no doubt about it. I am not sure if the look on his face was that of surprise or that of “my wife has gone off the deep edge”. We laugh about it to this day. Also that year I put together a stocking for him. And of all things, I included bungee cords, circus peanuts, a bottle of water, a toothbrush and gum among other useless things. All this for an adult. No I am not kidding. You think I would make these things up?

But, isn’t that what Christmas memories are all about?

What fun is it if you can’t look back and chuckle?

I like to think my gift giving has improved; therefore there will be no fire starter logs or white collapsible hampers to wrap this year. I will be classy and step it up a level. I just need to figure out what the next level will actually be.

So now it’s your turn. Have you ever given a really bad gift or have you been the recipient of one? I’d love to hear all about it.

Wordless Wednesday

What would your caption be for this picture?

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You'll Shoot Your Eye Out Kid!

My all time favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story. It is such a classic. The setting of the movie is actually 30 minutes from where I live, but the house where is was filmed at is located in Cleveland, Ohio.

Well, this past weekend on Friday I flew to Cleveland to meet my hubby and attend his company's Christmas party. On Saturday afternoon we had some time to spare so we decided to go tour the house from the movie. It was almost surreal. I felt as if I had gone back in time and was part of the film. I could picture the different scenes of the movie with each room we entered.

Across the street they have a museum and a gift shop where you can purchase your very own full size leg lamp. Although we didn't come home with a leg lamp, we have great memories and pictures of our adventure. Enjoy!

The front of the house.

In the back looking towards the front.

The backyard with the shed where Ralphie shot Black Bart.

The infamous leg lamp. It's a major award!

In the corner sat the Red Ryder BB gun just how it was in the movie.

Here is the kitchen with the Christmas turkey cooking apparently before the turkey thief hounds came around to devour it.

The bathroom and LifeBuoy soap that poor Ralphie had to endure.

The actual car restored to it's former glory.

These Dogs are Hilarious

Just shove it in there. It'll fit.

With winter upon us and freshly fallen snow, we've had to pull out the winter gear.

Having 3 boys allows me to save their clothes, outerwear, shoes and boots. These "hand-me-downs" have worked out pretty well up until this winter.

At the end of the season last winter I bought a pair of winter boots on clearance at good ol' Wally Mart, in size 10. I don't recall who I thought was supposed to fit in them this year as I have a really hard time keeping track of what shoe size the kids are in from month to month. It seems to change quite frequently and we have a huge tote filled with shoes that range from size 7 to size 3. That is 10 different shoe sizes. And I wonder why I'm confused!

I put the new boots I purchased on Carson and send him off to school and watch him hobble into class thinking nothing of it at the time. Later that day we decided to play out in the snow. I notice Carson struggling to put his boots on and getting very frustrated. I go over to help him out and am pushing pretty hard wondering what in the world is stuck inside the boot that is not allowing this boy's foot to slide in. So I take it off and look inside which there is nothing. I try again and get his foot in and he begins yelling that his foot hurts. I feel where his toes are and they are completely shoved to the front of the boot. Then I start to question that maybe these boots were supposed to go to Luke. I take a look inside and see the size 10. I compare them to the boots that Luke is wearing this winter and his also say size 10. Well, I know that can't be right. These boys are 2.5 years apart and I know for a fact they do not wear the same size shoe.

Sure enough, I compare the boot to the bottom of Carson's foot and there isn't even a half of an inch extra. I then take a look at one of his regular shoes and he is wearing a size 13. That is 3 sizes more! No wonder his poor little toes were hurting. Mom's trying to shove them into cramped quarters. I kinda felt bad and all sending him to school in these toddler sized boots. But then I got over it.

So then, I search through our shoe box for a bigger pair of boots thinking surely we'll have something that will work. I find two more size 10's and the next size up is a 3, which is huge on him. But he really wanted to go outside and play so we layered on the socks and put on the size 3 boots and headed out to play.

And believe it or not, they actually stayed on the whole time. Even if they would have fallen off, Carson wouldn't have cared too much. This is a kid who runs around the house wearing only shorts whether it is 80 degrees or 8 degrees. He could care less.

And you'll be happy to know I sent hubby out last night to pick up the proper size boots for this boy. He'll be trying them out at school tomorrow.

I also had to purchase new boots for Taylor since his feet have grown a whole 2 sizes since last winter. How is that possible?

Today when he came home from school he wanted to go play out in the snow. But he forgot his snow boots at school. Of course, he doesn't have another pair that fit him and here goes mom again trying to shove his old size 3's on him.

When will I learn?

So the solution I came up with (and I still can't believe he went for this) was to wear MY snow boots. They are very gender neutral thankfully. But I am a size 9 which I think would compare to a size 7 in mens'. Doing the math that would make them 2 sizes too big. But, he was okay with it. Just as long as no one found out that he was wearing girl-y boots.

I may have to use that one against him someday. Blackmail!

Appreciation from a two year old.

Luke, who is 2.5 years old, is the youngest of my three boys. Having two older brothers gives him plenty of opportunities to absorb everything they say and do. The good and the bad. For the most part Luke is a mild mannered, sweet and loving boy until someone or something aggravates him.

We were driving in the car just the other day and Luke wanted a package of fruit snacks. I told him he would have to wait until we stopped so I could give them to him. Well, that wasn't going to work for him. He had to have them now so he started to crinkle up his nose and give me a sour face while continuing to yell, "phoot snacks!" I finally had an opportunity to reach back and hand them to him. I asked him, "what do you say to mommy?" And he replied in a quiet disgruntled mumble, "Thank you butt face."

What a sweetheart.

Wordless Wedesday

"See Mom, I'm brushing my teeth all by myself."

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My Mom is too funny!

The other day I was talking to my mom and were discussing places to eat. Panera Bread came up during the conversation and instead of using the actual name of that restaurant, my mom literally called it Pantera Bread and didn't think anything of it. I had to clarify to her that Pantera is a heavy metal rock band. Just a slight difference. We had a good laugh out of that!

Oh Yeah - These are good!

Last year I was introduced to a new candle called WoodWick. If you've never heard of these or do not own one yourself, you are completely missing out.

Not only do they come in a huge array of scents, the wick itself is made out of wood. When you light it, it sounds like a fireplace with it's crackling noise.

What a delight!

These are definitely on my Christmas wish list and also make a great gift to give to others.

I Love Cookies

If you are anything like me, you love Girl Scout cookies.

And again, if you are anything like me, your supply of Girl Scout cookies is completely gone.

Don't panic. I have found the BEST and CHEAPEST solution to your cookie cravings.

Keebler brand has a line of cookies called Fudge Shoppe and there are replicas of the Thin Mints (Grasshopper) and Peanut Butter Patties (Peanut Butter Filled). And they are (I hate to admit it) better than GS cookies. Yes, it is true. Try them yourself and I think you will be hooked. They are amazing!

The local grocery store I bought mine at today had them on sale for buy one at $2.99 get one free.

Imagine that - free cookies! Rock on!

My Look-Alike

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I found my long lost sister. Can you believe it?

Now if I could only get Brad back!

Look A-Likes?

I am a big fan of singer Michael Buble. And he's not too bad on the eyes either.

Hubba-hubba!

Well, I have always thought that he resembled my husband, even though Jason doesn't seem to think so.

Tonight I had on our Music Choice Christmas channel and a Michael Buble song came on. During the song it shows different pictures of the hottie. Carson walks into the room and I asked him who that guy was on the TV. And he looked at him and said, "Is that my Daddy?"

So, I am not the only one after all who sees the similarity.

I also think at one time he resembled our favorite singer Edwin McCain. We actually got to meet Edwin on a few different occasions. One in particular was the Rock Boat in 2002 at the artist meet and greet. When it was our turn to talk to Edwin he even greeted us and said, "Is this my long lost brother?" It was so cool!

Thursday Ramblings

Here's the updated picture from my haircut today.

And here's a picture of me around this time last year.

I look forward to Thursdays. Why? Because it is the only day of the week that I don't have to go anywhere if I choose not to. We can enjoy a slower pace in the mornings not having to worry about running out the door to make it to school or bible study on time. I usually just lounge around in my pj's until the afternoon. Call me lazy, but for me it is a nice change of pace.

Today I actually do have one thing planned. I am getting my hair trimmed and my eyebrows waxed. Yes, I am treating myself to an hour of alone time, with the exception of my hairdresser being there, but that's kinda necessary, ya know? I haven't had my hair cut in months. I am attempting to let it grow and am happy with where it's gotten this far. I went in for an eyebrow wax a month ago and my hairdresser couldn't believe how long my hair had gotten. She said she has never seen any one's hair grow as fast as mine does. What an honor! I have no idea why it grows fast since I don't regularly take vitamins or supplements and don't even come close to drinking the amount of water I should. Can hair growth be related to genetics or excess coffee intake? Who knows? When I get back I will update with some pictures of where my hair length was last year at this time and then the newest cut.

I also need to go grocery shopping, but I usually save that for Monday, Wednesday, or Friday while Carson is at preschool. It is nice to only have to take one child to the store. Maybe after my haircut I'll venture out alone to Wal-Mart, although I hate going anywhere after my eyebrows have been waxed since they are very red. I always feel like I have to explain myself to anyone I encounter on why it looks like my brows are on fire. I don't want to freak anyone out.

So enough about my boring day ahead. Updated pictures to come.

Wordless Wednesday

Don't you just love the free suckers the bank gives to your kids?

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A Milestone of a Day

Today my 4 year old hit a milestone.

He lost his first tooth.

I really didn't even see it coming. His bottom teeth have always been a little crooked. But the last few days I noticed one was slightly more crooked than the the other. Carson pointed out to me just 2 days ago that his tooth was loose and here we are today with it out.

Jason had just gotten home from being out of town for a few days and Carson showed him his loose tooth. Well, daddy gets a paper towel out to see "how loose it really is" and a few seconds later out comes the tooth much to my and Carson's surprise.

And Carson's reaction was priceless. He pretty much freaked out, not that it hurt, but because he didn't expect it. His response through all the tears was, "I want it back in!"

Oh the drama!

Looks like the tooth fairy will be making a visit to our house tonight.

Wordless Wednesday

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I Need That!

I was reading Sunday's paper in the Parade insert and was very amused at the new gadgets out on the market. They were titled Gadgets That Work For You. Some were in my mind ridiculous, such as the gloves with the silicon pads implanted in the thumb and forefinger so you can dial your cell phone without having to take your gloves off. To me that's just being down right lazy.


But the one that stood out to me was the SmartShopper. It is an electronic gadget that will record your voice and print your grocery list. It even organizes it by aisle. That is genius! I always imagined how great it would be if I could download my thoughts (and grocery list items) directly from my brain to be printed out and ready to go. I think this is pretty darn close.

Now if they could invent a way to magically bring the groceries home to me, life would be peachy.

I'm So Confused

What holiday are we supposed to be celebrating right now? Well, by the looks of it I'd say it's a combination of Halloween with the lighted pumpkin, look closely and it's Thanksgiving by the scarecrow in the back, and then we have Christmas by the freshly set up artificial Christmas tree, of which we plan on decorating tonight. To say I am confused would be a huge understatement.

My hubby thought it would be nice to have our tree set up before Thanksgiving since we are hosting this year. And I said, why not. Normally it gets put up the day after Thanksgiving, but we made an exception this year. As long as we keep the Christmas tunes at bay until November 23rd I can manage this. I will just have to wear ear plugs in every store I go to until then. So what are your Thanksgiving plans? Are you cooking, hosting, or going out of town? Do you have a special tradition this time of year?

The only way I agreed to be the host this year was if everyone brought a dish. I do not consider myself to be a great cook of any sort. I manage to feed my family whether or not they enjoy eating casseroles the majority of the time. They're such good sports. Or should I say my hubby is the good sport. The four year old will tell me straight out if he likes it or not and then the 10 year old will just moan, but the 2 year old will let the dog taste test it first. I seem to try out many different recipes a lot of the time. Cause I'm brave like that and get bored making the same stuff.

This one time I made a casserole (can you believe it?) and added a bit too much of a certain spice (of which I don't recall at the time what it was). We begin to eat it and I glance over at my husband who has a strange look on his face. He asked what the dish was called and said they should rename it Pine Tree Casserole. It seriously tasted like we were eating an evergreen tree. Not a great taste at all, but it smelled really good. Needless to say, I have not made that dish again. And yet another example of why I should not be allowed to create an entire Thanksgiving feast.

What's for dinner tonight? I haven't a clue. Guess I better go figure it out. But I can tell you it won't involve any unknown spices. I can hear my family giving a sigh of relief.

Wordless Wednesday

Our very own two headed monster. For more Wordless Wednesday's go here.

Shuffle Mode

I am a creature of habit. I like to keep track on schedules and have a plan for the day. Nothing extreme, but enough planned out ahead of time so that I know what to expect throughout the day. When my “schedule” gets shuffled for any reason everyone can feel the effects whether it be in a good or bad way. But I am learning to embrace change and see it as a positive adventure.

For instance, the next few weeks I am not going to the gym to workout, but instead I am going to take a break and take it easy. As hard as that is to imagine, and yes it is killing me, but the time I have gained from this I am using to spend with my boys, one on one time with my boys. And they love it, as am I, and I can really see a change in their demeanor. Another example, instead of searching around mindlessly on the computer, I am using that time to sit and snuggle with my boys while they are watching TV. While I could be running around my house doing laundry, washing dishes, vacuuming, and organizing (things of which I all love to do, cause I am crazy like that), I am helping my two younger boys enjoy playing together nicely, practicing how to share, and working on using nice language. It’s not always fun and games, but its important stuff that I am striving to make time for and the benefits are going to make a lasting impression.

I am enjoying life at the moment on shuffle.

Dead and Dry - Don't You Just Love Fall!

The change of the season is upon us. That means pulling out the extra blanket for the bed, cranking on the furnace, and bringing out the flannel pj's at night. I do love the chill that's in the air. It feels refreshing. BUT,

The big issue I have is that every year when we get our first frost and up until the spring returns, I have such dry skin. My hair seems like it has an electric current running through it and my nails are brittle (which isn't anything new, but it is magnified when it's cold outside). The worst part is my chronic dry lips. It is very irritating and I feel as if I have tried all the different chap sticks and lip ointments that are on the market from exfoliators to lip oils. They are a temporary fix as in 15 minutes tops where I then must reapply it for further relief. So I have looked into home remedies and there are some scary ones out there. For instance (and I kid you not) one person submitted the remedy of using your index finger, wiping it on the outside of your nose and using those natural oils on your lips. I am sorry, but that is just sick! No thanks.

If any of you have any suggestions I would love to hear them as long as they don't involve using my other body productions. I know I also need to drink a lot more water than I currently do, and I am sure that consistently taking a multi-vitamin couldn't hurt either. One home remedy that I just started using yesterday is hydrocortisone 1% ointment covered with Aquaphor ointment. That really does soften my lips and last a bit longer. I recalled my son's doctor prescribing this for his diaper rash. So from butts to lips I am going to give it a try.

I really am a winner!

Well, how about that. I actually am a winner. Last night, the gym I work out at hosted a Halloween Party. I wasn't really sure what I was going to dress up as. I headed out to a party store to see if there were any good costumes on clearance and had no luck. But as I headed down an aisle getting ready to leave the store a hat stood out to me. It was a golf themed hat which got me thinking I could be a golf course. I bought a plastic tablecloth that resembled the greens and fashioned a dress out of it with the help of some packaging tape.

I never thought I would ever make a dress out of plastic. When I was younger I used to make clothes out of paper. Why I never ended up in the fashion industry will always be a mystery to me.

But, back to the costume. I thought it would be clever to have the front of the costume be the "front 9" where I taped flags numbered 1 through 9 and then I labeled the back of the costume the "back 9" and taped flags numbered 10 - 18. My hat had flag 19 on it and I made earrings with golf tees hanging from them along with a plastic golf ball necklace. And to finish off the costume I carried around a putting golf club.

The funny thing about it all is that people thought I really was a golf fan, but in all honesty this past summer was the very first time I have ever tried my hand at 9 holes of golf. I did like it and wasn't too bad at it.

The time came at the end of the night to choose a winner for best costume and guess who won? Yep, it was me! I couldn't believe it! And I was very pleased with my prize. It was a Starbucks gift basket. Rock on mama! I also was adorned with a badge that said winner. That makes me feel so special. It really was a good night after all.

Happy Halloween

Today is the big day that the kids have been waiting for. My boys are going to be a gauze-ghoul with flashing red eyes, Darth Vader, and a monkey. Last night I went to a Halloween themed Mommy's group party. The original costume I was going to wear did not make it to my house. I had ordered it from Ebay and the person contacted me saying the package got returned to them completely mangled as if it had gotten caught in a conveyor belt. (What are the chances?) And of course I didn't request insurance, but they are still going to refund my money. That was nice of them, but I was stuck at the last minute without a costume. I did manage to come up with a really goofy idea that was better than nothing. Can you guess what I am? (excuse the picture quality, not sure what happened.)

I am a devil, but with one horn a.k.a. One Horny Devil. Notice the handcuffs too? Yes, it is somewhat lame, but I was trying to be creative on very short notice and utilize things I had in my home, so give me a break! I may still be able to use my original idea tomorrow at another costume party. I am going to see if any local costume shops have it on clearance. I'll keep you posted. Before I left the house, Carson looked at me and said, "Mom, you have some black eyes! And why are you wearing my Darth Vader cape?" Hey, I was desperate people and I loaded on the eye-make up which was kind of fun.




Beth over at I Should Be Folding Laundry posted about a freaky, but true story and that got me thinking about a picture that I cannot explain. We had a house warming party last October and I took a picture of Cory and my brother Jay. Then looking at the picture, there is a large circle looking image on Cory's sweater. I showed them the picture and they seem to think it's an orb. It didn't show up in any other pictures I took that night. What could it be? We may never know.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

How much is too much?

I like to think I have a healthy relationship with laundry. You see, being organized and slightly neurotic has it's perks. I actually enjoy the laundry process. Yes, y'all I am a strange one. Don't be a hater!

For me I see a challenge, which is to try and keep the laundry baskets empty. The only real problem I have with the laundry is that I don't enjoy putting it away. It will sit all nice and folded awaiting it's journey back into the closets and dressers. The piles have gotten so high at times that my boy's dressers have run out of underwear and socks. Now that will never be the case with my husband. I could go over a month without putting his socks away and there would still be enough for another month's wear. He has the largest reserve of dress socks that I have ever seen in my life. Today I decided to count exactly how many pairs of socks he owns and came up with fifty-one and a half pairs. Seriously. Keep in mind that this does not include athletic socks in which those have their own smaller drawer.

Do you think it's time for a sock intervention?

Another way to recycle plastic bags.

What do you do when you have an abundance of Wal-Mart plastic bags?

Pile them up and jump in them, of course.

This is our red-neck version of jumping in a pile of leaves. Our kids are deprived since we live in a newer subdivision which only has small trees. So, this is the next best thing.

What A Day!

What a day we had yesterday. It started off with my oldest son not feeling well. His temp. was 102 and he complained of a cough, sore throat, and dizziness. The dizziness has been an ongoing issue with him. So, he got to stay home from school and I made a doctor's appointment for him in the afternoon.

Carson and Luke were constantly on each others nerves all day and Carson decided he wasn't going to take a nap, or pick up his toys. So, being the great mom that I am, I gave him 3 chances to pick up the toys. By the 3rd request I informed him that if he did not put his toys away I was going to get a garbage bag out and put every toy that was laying on the floor in the bag and they would be gone. Do you know what that little boy's response was? Are you ready for this one? He replies, "We will just go buy some new toys." Oh no you didn't! I was pretty hot by that response. So I replied back that I would not be buying him any new toys and that we should just get rid of all the toys if that is how he was going to act. Do you know what his response to that was? "Then, I'll just watch T.V." He has a rebuttal for everything I say. Can you say strong-willed?!? (He gets that from me.) So, right now I have a garbage bag half full of toys laying on my garage floor laughing and snickering at me saying, "What are you gonna do now, Mom of the Year?"

So, on with the day. My parents come over during what was supposed to be nap time so that I can take Taylor to the doctor. I go to start my van and the battery is dead. D-E-A-D! Thankfully we have my husband's work van and off we go to the doctor but not before I get my pumpkin latte from Dunkin' Donuts. Simply divine! That was probably the best part of my day.

At the doctors office we arrive 15 minutes early as they requested, for what, I will never know. We continue to sit there for another 20 minutes and finally get into a room where we continue to wait for another 15 to 20 minutes. The doctor checks him out and says he just has a cold that will run it's course, but the dizziness has him stumped. He doesn't know or understand what may be causing it so he has referred us to a neurologist. Now understand that this boy has a great healthy track record. The last time he had to go to the doctor was almost 5 years ago. So hearing this news was a bit unsettling to me.

We make our way home and my husband has just gotten home from an overnight business trip. Taylor asks if he can go in and take bath. Afterwards, as he is draining the tub, Jason and I are in the kitchen and hear the sink gurgling. Now that can't be good. We go down the hall to check on Taylor and there is water slowly creeping from the utility closet and bathroom which are adjacent to each other. I pound on the door to see if Taylor is okay, which he was, but it turns out that there is something clogging the main drain for our entire house and it was all backing up and coming out on our floors. Talk about panic mode. The little boys thought it was great that we had puddles to play in indoors. Not so cute if you ask me. I called my parents and asked them to pick the boys up so Jason and I could get to the source of this and begin the clean up efforts. We ended up having Roto-Rooter come out and $300 later the main drain is unclogged. The culprit: too much paper/toilet wipes caused the back up. We got everything cleaned up and by this time I was more than ready for a cocktail or two.

Let's just hope today doesn't present itself with anymore surprises.

Common Sense?

"Mom can I have a Toaster Strudel please?" asks my 4 year old son.

"Sure, let me make it for you." I reply.

"Do you have to cook it in the microwave?" Carson asks.

Do I really need to answer that? It's not like they're called Microwave Strudels.

Come on!

The Pumpkin Carving

The past few days my boys (or should I say I) have carved their pumpkins for Halloween. Luke the 2 year old didn't quite grasp the concept. I cut the top off and started to de-gut the pumpkin to show him how it's done. I go to help Carson with his and check back on Luke who is now stuffing the guts back into the pumpkin. Dear boy, he's inherited my cleaning genes. Bless his heart. That makes me proud. So, I ended up taking over for him and he was off to other tasks. He comes back in the room with his toy vacuum cleaner and begins to sweep the rug under the table.

Have I mentioned how much I love this boy? One way to a mother's heart is cleaning! At least my heart it is. My oldest son has also inherited this cleaning way of life. He is very organized when it comes to his room and things. Now if I could just get the middle boy to take after his brothers we would be one happy, clean, and organized family. Heaven I tell you.

So, anyway, back to the pumpkin carving. Carson is excited to dig in and get dirty in pumpkin guts. He insists on making it a scary pumpkin to scare the neighbor girls. He’s totally all boy let me tell you. I believe we were successful in creating his view of a scary faced pumpkin guy even though I think it looks really cute. But don't tell him I said that, k? And then on to Taylor’s pumpkin, you know the one that nearly tipped the scales because it was so enormous and caused us to take out a second mortgage. Yeah, that’s the one. I knew I was going to have to pull out the power tools on this one. Who knew how well an electric knife could work on a pumpkin. They're not just for carving turkeys - no joke. My husband first recommended it and I thought no way, but it turned out to be the best tool for the job. When we opened it up I was shocked at what we found. It seemed as if it was trying to sprout new pumpkins within itself. Never before had I experienced that before. It was strange to say the least. Once we got it cleaned out, off Taylor went to create his football guy pumpkin. Enjoy the pictures and Happy Halloween.

Weekend Recap

Updated: By popular demand and to satisfy your curiosity, I have updated this post to include the fashion police mug shot picture of the hairstyle that upset my son.


We had a nice weekend together as a family. The weather has been really mild and unseasonably warmer than usual, which I am not complaining about whatsoever. I love an Indian Summer. We went to a local apple orchard and the boys picked out their pumpkins. I thought paying $.29 a pound was reasonable, but when they weighed all five our our pumpkins and our total came to almost $30 I was a bit taken back. If our yard was big enough I would seriously consider planting our own pumpkins next year. But that isn't going to happen so I guess I should just get used to forking over a good hours wage. Then, when we came home the younger boys wanted to carve theirs, but Taylor was invited to a sleep over so his pumpkin has yet to be carved. Luke's had other ideas with his pumpkin. Instead of taking out the pumpkin guts, he was replacing them with his brothers guts. Oh, well. They had fun and I got good video coverage so that's what counts.

I bought myself a few new pairs of shoes which I know will make Beth proud! I was very impressed at how far Payless Shoes has come. I haven't shopped there in quite awhile, but they actually have name brand shoes now. Imagine that! I do not classify myself as a shoe girl whatsoever. I manage with a few regulars. What more do you need than a pair of black shoes, brown shoes, sandals, and an athletic pair of shoes. Really those are the staples. But I am open to new styles and was in the market for a cute pair of flats to wear with jeans. I have appeared to be successful. What are your thoughts on my new shoe family members? Are they cool or dorky? Seriously I have no clue. Sad but true.

In other news, the neighbors invited us over to watch the Chicago Bears play this afternoon and we were treated to Duck Gumbo. I have never experienced duck before, but was pleasantly surprised. It was very tasty. The kids had a great time playing with their three kids so we actually got to spend some adult time with other adults. It was awesome and can't wait to do it again.

To leave you with a funny story, the other day I decided to wear my hair a little different than usual. Normally I will either wear my hair straightened or back in a pony tail. But, the other day I decided to add a leopard print head band along with a pony tail. I thought it looked really cute and trendy, but Carson had other thoughts. He looked at me and replied, "Why are you wearing that in your hair? You look like a little girl. Now go take it off and put it in your drawer." I never thought I would get fashion advice from my 4 year old son.

A School Assignment

My oldest son who is in 4th grade was given a writing assignment. They were told to write a paper on what they wished for with the title being "I Wish". The following was his actual paper:

I wish I had a Trillion dollars, so I could buy the best house. I'll have the Wii and a movie theater. I'll have a mansion in this country. The mansion would be gold. In my mansion there would be elevators, a mini mall, and my own indoor water park. My mansion would be the best one in the world. I could own a bowling alley. I could own Hollywood and Las Vegas so I could eat for free. I would own a limousine, and could have my own mini golf and arcade. I could have an IMAX movie theater to watch all of my movies. I could buy an Apple Laptop to play all my favorite games. I could buy a Temper-Pedic bed so I can sleep faster.

Whew, is that all?!?!? That is some list. I just hope he gets a good job and starts saving now. What a dreamer my boy is. But it's good to set goals.

Uninvited House Guests

OK - I've about had it. I am ready to pull out drastic measures and call in the professionals. It's these darn pesky fruit flies that are driving me batty - or should I say buggy! They are almost worse than flies. I will be sitting on the couch minding my own business and one of these crazy bugs starts trying to fly up my nose. No matter how hard I try to swat at them and capture them between my hands it is a fruitless effort. Maybe their name should be changed to fruit-less flies. They are so small that it makes it nearly impossible to catch the buggers. What is really bad is when I am drinking my evening glass of red wine and they all invite themselves in my glass where they're having a huge drinking party. Stupid drunk bugs. But, I have found that it is the best time to squish them because they are highly intoxicated and their reaction time is slower. I would love to hear any suggestions of ridding my home of these irritating bugs. In the meantime, bottoms up! I hear bugs are high in protein.

NowThat's an Interesting Color

My youngest son, who is two, likes to drink.

Let me rephrase that.

My youngest son, who is two, likes to drink milk and Gatorade in large quantities. That sounds a little better! He would prefer to live off a liquid diet consisting of those two products than actually eat solid food. So when he does eat a meal he is very picky about what he will actually consume. But back to the drinking problem. I have had issues with Gatorade. Luke had a rash around his mouth for what seemed like the longest time this past summer. I contributed it to being a heat rash or maybe even a food allergy. The doctor said it resembled a classic pacifier rash, but he has been off of that for over a year now. So, I started eliminating things from his diet, which didn't leave much left. Poor kid! It ended up being from the orange flavored Gatorade. The dye in the mix was what was causing his rash, I am pretty sure. Since then we have switched to blue mountain or something like that and a few weeks ago I thought I'd try purple-grape. If you've ever given grape flavored Gatorade to a child still in diapers let me give you a first hand warning before you change their diaper. My child's poop was a frightening shade of green. At first I couldn't figure out what in the world was wrong with him. We had been to the beach and I thought maybe he ingested some of the nasty Lake Michigan beach water. But he continued to have this crazy green poop weeks later. Very nasty stuff. We finally equate this color to the purple Gatorade he has been drinking. It sort of makes sense I suppose. I wonder what the next shade of poop will be when I switch to red Gatorade. I just hope I don't faint at that sight.

Kids Say The Darndest Things!

There are times when my boys can say the funniest thing unintentionally. If I don't write them down they are lost forever. So today I bring you the latest installment of my children's antics and sayings. I hope you enjoy and leave a comment.

• March 9, 2007 - We were having a play picnic inside and Carson (who is 4) holds up an apple and says, "I'm having an appletizer."

• March 24, 2007 - Carson was outside playing on a skateboard and I told him it was time to come inside. He responded, "Not yet, I'm still Tony Hawking!"

• April 3, 2007 - I was telling Carson that tomorrow is Daddy and I's anniversary and asked him if he knew what that meant. He responded, "Cake and presents?"

• April 5, 2007 - Carson was out back practicing soccer since he would be on his first team this year. While practicing he yells out to me, "Oh Mom - I am SO gonna win that trophy!"

• April 8, 2007 - We were having Easter lunch at a nice restaurant in New Buffalo, Michigan and during the conversation I asked Carson what he wanted to be when he grew up. And in a very serious voice he responded, "The Easter Bunny."

• June 24, 2007 - Carson saw a Harley motorcycle parked at a store and replied, "Hey look Mom - that motorcycle has streamers!" in reference to the tassels.

• August 15, 2007 - Carson was watching a video in which a seal popped his head out of the ice. Papa said maybe it was an otter and Carson replied, "No, it's an ice rat."

• September 5, 2007 - We were at Sam's Club and one of the workers saw Luke (who is 2) and said "Hi Baby!" Luke responded back using the exact same phrase, "Hi Baby!"

• The kids love to play the new Wii game system. Carson's name for the remote is "Wii-Mote".
  

There's a new dog in town.

My parents have adopted a new family member and he is adorable. They went to the local animal shelter two days ago to take a look and found this sweet heart. He is just six months old and loves to play non.stop! I don't think my parents knew what they were getting into when they decided on such a young pup, but I think it is really good for them. Our family has always had a dog around from when I was 2 or 3 years old. We love our canines! So it really wasn't a shock to me that my parents wanted to get another dog. Their last dog, Molly, just recently passed away. She was the ripe old age of 12. And like most old dogs, she didn't do a whole lot but sleep, eat and poop. A lot of the time you didn't really even know Molly was around. Now fast forward to today with the new puppy and they have a constant shadow following them around, watching their every move, licking their every crumb that drops on the floor. It's a big change. They are now stuck on finding the right name. We've come up with about 15 different choices, but haven't been able to narrow it down. We could use all the help we can get, so if you would so kind I have created a survey and would love to have any input I can get.

Click Here to take survey

Below are a few picture of me and my old dog Simon who resembles my parents new dog. Freaky!