Crazy and Happy

Rant

2011-10-16T13:51:00.001-07:00

I know that it has been months since I have posted. I hate to return with a rant, but ....you guessed it--I'm a gonna! My best friend has an eleven month old and is 25 days away from her due date with her second. She is sick. No, not because she is having two babies within a year (that constitutes crazy, not sick!) She said she can't take anything for her illness because her husband won't let her! Ummmm.....hello! 21st century! I don't think she liked my response, because I told her she is not the "little woman" and does not have to ask her husband's permission to take doctor-approved medication. Ridiculous!

What do you think? Should a pregnant woman ask her husband's permission to take medicine?

Teacher Gifts

2011-05-25T11:34:00.001-07:00

Well, that's it folks. Another school year has come to an end. I wanted to send something to each of the teachers to thank them for a wonderful school year.

The first idea (x2) comes from Creative Gift and Party Ideas. Of course, I put my own little spin on it. I used canvases to glue the crayons to instead of cardstock and rather than purchasing frames. But to make it a little more special, I used my new special friend: zebra duck tape. I have fallen in love with this!!! What makes this even more special is the price.
Canvas (2 pk) 5.00
Zebra tape 3.50 (with plenty left over for other projects)
2 boxes of crayons 2.50
rick rack and ribbon FREE (already had)

So for around $5.00 each we had a cute personalized teacher gift!

The next idea is inspired by sweet Sandra Stinson, a wonderful K4 teacher. She lost her mother this school year and has been kind enough to share some fun things her mom used to say with us. One of our favorites is, "Happy people wear polkadots." Baby K says this every time she wears polkadots now. Naturally, this had to be incorporated into her gift. I, along with my trusty friend Duct tape, created a cutesy little sign with this on it. Can anyone tell me what might be better than polkadots and zebra together? I didn't think so. Oh yeah, one more thing....completely free!!! That's right-- I already had everything I needed to make this door hanger.

I had a blast creating these! Can hardly wait to show you the baby gifts I am working on!

Flea Market Finds

2011-05-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

Mr. Wonderful and I headed out to some flea markets Saturday with the two girls in tow. I honestly was not thrilled with the flea market we chose because I just haven't found much in there lately. But boy did we find some good stuff. Some of it wasn't exciting to take pictures of, so I'll spare you the details. But we got an self-inflating mattress for camping, computer parts including a sound card that we needed for the kids computer($100 worth for $8), some cute sandals for the girls, a trolling motor to shorten that dreaded canoe trip that is coming up. What else? What else? Oh, yeah! The good stuff!

The first is this gorgeous brass frame. It is super heavy and only $5. Can't wait to make this thing even purtier! Any suggestions for colors? I think black would look amazing, hot pink, peacock blue, etc.

Next, we have this shelf. This baby is going white to join some other shelves. I saw this
on the Nester's blog, and have had my eye out for some more shelves. Don't you just love her home?

At a second flea market, the treasures continued. My girls are really into doing puzzles right now. We found a stash of appropriately sized puzzles for 25 cents each, 2 awesome stadium seats, and these lovelies. Aren't they just the perfect color? And the best part....only 6.95 each!!! Can't wait to do a room makeover and use these!!
Linking to:
Southern Hospitality: Thrifty Treasures

Blogger Jealousy

2011-02-16T08:44:00.001-08:00

I keep seeing all of these fantastic entryways in blogland. And I'm jealous. I have no such entryway. When you walk into the front of my house (for people who don't belong at my house), you are in a converted closed-in porch that now serves as a music studio for Mr. Wonderful. When you walk into the back door (for those who belong), you walk straight into my office/laundry room/catch all room. My wheels are spinning as to how I can transform this room into something that I love. First things first....the pine paneling has to be painted. Second, the "extras" have to go. I think I would love some creative solution to catch backpacks and shoes, hats and scarves, etc. but I just haven't found her yet. I love the curtains in this room and am unwilling to part with them. But never fear....I will figure it out. And when I do, you will have a zillion and one before/after pictures to sort through. Until then, I will keep reading my favorite creative blogs searching for something that makes my heart sing!

crawling out

2011-01-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

I think today is Thursday. I think. You see, I've been dealing with this cold and congestion now for a week and a half, and today I am just not sure of anything. I can't remember street names. Heck, I am not sure I remember my own name. But, alas, Wife Swap has made me crawl out from under the covers and get up to clean my house. I saw myself of Wife Swap today. Except her house was clean. I have been guilted by yet another television show (Hoarders does it too), to get up and get busy. So through my foggy-headedness, I have cleaned up the kitchen, and put on a load of clothes to wash. And the only reason I am sure of that is because I can hear the washing machine going. Once I got that going, I collapsed into my computer chair to read and maybe write a few words. Now I am totally exhausted. I'm crawling back under the covers now so I can go to class tonight. Good mid-day, everyone.

So the day has come.....

2010-12-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

The day is upon us. The dreaded day. She left this morning. Saying goodbye last night was very hard. Maybe I am overreacting, but I really felt sick to my stomach. Still do. Now I know that she is only 10 hours away, a 1 day drive as my sister pointed out last night. But that is a little far to drive for birthday parties or a cup of sweet tea, or just because she needs to get away.

We had that aunt growing up--the one we could go stay with for a weekend when we just needed to get away. I enjoyed that aspect of our relationship--being the getaway. All of my sisters have been that at some point for her, but we were just around the corner. I haven't driven past the empty house yet. I am sure that will be emotional, as well, the first fifty times I do it. After they had several break-ins in the past years, will I ever get used to not looking when I go past to make sure everything is as it should be?

But, Kase, I want you to remember what I told you. I want you to give it a chance and be cooperative. And remember that even through the hard times, you are a Christian. Please remember that everything that you say and do reflects on you as a person. You are so smart and funny and caring....you won't have any trouble making friends. I love you, sweet girl! (You'll always be my first child).

Oh, Christmas!

2010-12-22T08:19:00.001-08:00

Oh, Christmas! How I love thee! The beautiful decorations, the giving spirit, the wonderful comforting aromas of homemade baked goods, but most especially the love of a Heavenly Father who sent His Son to earth to save me!!

I don't love the long lines in stores, pushy irritable shoppers, having a zillion presents to wrap at the last minute because I procrastinate on things like that. But this Christmas is different. Yes, the lines are still long, people are still irritable, and I still have a zillion presents to wrap. But I am sad. Yes, sad. How can one be sad at Christmas? Well, I'll tell you. The joy of spending time with my family is overshadowed this year by the events of the following week. One of my oldest sisters (there are 5 of us girls) is moving and taking with her my beloved niece. Over the past few years, my niece has become a part of my family. She is the big sister to my children, our oldest "daughter." She even calls my husband "Dad." She loves his chicken strips and camp stew. She comes over just because she loves us and has a few minutes to spare. She comes over for a cup of sweet tea after school (because we have the best). We laugh together; we cry together. You see, Virginia is a long way from here. And at 17 years old, she has spent her last birthday in Alabama with her family. This will be her last Christmas with her family. She will miss my children's birthdays for the first time ever this year. And I am sad.

But tonight, I will put on my happy face and enjoy one last chicken strip dinner with her, as dad makes her some camp stew to take with her. I hope that every time she eats chicken strips she continues to say, "There aren't as good as Dad's." And I hope that every time she laughs, she remembers the laughs we have had. And every time that she cries, she remembers crying on my shoulder. And most importantly, I hope she never forgets how much she is loved by her family here. I wish her happiness and quick adjustment, and a speedy return to Alabama. We love you, Kasey.

Making $150 stretch

2010-11-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

Christmas around here, along with most other families, gets waaaayyy out of control. Our children become so wrapped up in gifts that they lose sight of the real meaning of Christmas. So this year, in an attempt to focus our attention back on Jesus and away from material things, we are limiting our spending to $150 per child. Considering one is almost a teen, all of the gadgets that he wants are more than this alone. Emmy, aka Baby Love, is only 6 but has requested an ipod touch. Thank goodness for Baby K and the toys that she wants.

Anyone have suggestions for making the money stretch? I usually try to make them an outfit or two, but my sewing machine is not working right now. The children are 11, 6, and 5. Suggestions are welcome!!

Time to Simplify

2009-11-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

I am so stressed....with school work due at the last minute and the house in shambles around me...I am ready to simplify. My final for this semester is the 15th. After that, folks, it's go time. I am going to become OCD. I have to. I cannot go on in this chaos. Hopefully, when I become OCD, then my children will too. Something has to change.

Busy Little Bee

2009-11-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

So things have just been crazy since the last post. My husband has been a totally different man--the man I married! I love that now when we are all together, he puts on Christian Rock music for the kids to listen to instead of Alternative. I love that he now seems to appreciate the importance of family dinners and doing things with the kids. I love that he absolutely is handling everything since my surgery ten days ago. I get to sleep in while he gets the school kids ready to go. He fixes lunches and suppers. He washes the dishes and the clothes. Not necessarily because he wants to, but because I can't do it. He just does it. He knows that 14 weeks of recovery for mom is a long time, so he is adjusting.

The kids are as wild and messy as always. They certainly aren't going to make it easy on him. Or me. They know that I can't jump up and make them do what is asked of them, so they just choose not to do it. Or to do what I say don't do. Very frustrating.

I have an appointment tomorrow to get the stitches out of my foot, and will probably end up in a cast at that point. I sure was hoping for a shower! I hate baths. Just hate them. I took Baby K to Wal-mart today to get a few groceries. Today is the first day off of crutches, so I got adventurous. Of course, I ran into my doctor who doesn't even live in this town. If I had known he was coming this way, I would have asked him to bring his stuff and save me a trip to Montgomery tomorrow. The shopping trip was probably a little too ambitious for this point in the game because I am hurting now.

Just wanted to do a quick update. Halloween was great. Mr. Wonderful took the children trick-or-treating while I stayed home with my foot up. Yesterday at church was on the very few times that someone has laid hands on me while praying, but lo and behold, I don't need my crutches today. I also have made it 1 1/2 days without pain meds. And I know that yesterday was the first time that I have ever laid hands on someone while praying for them, but it was emotional for both of us. There is just something about touching someone while you pray for them that seems so right. I love this focus on intercessory prayer that we are doing right now. It makes the church seem so much more spiritual.

Well, I'm off. Happy November everyone!

The Angels are Rejoicing Right Now

2009-09-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

That's right, folks. Our household is on fire right now! Sunday is going to be a most wonderful day. My beautiful niece and my wonderful son have been scheduled for several weeks now to go through Believer's Baptism. We have been so excited about this. But today made everything even greater. My husband has decided to also go through with baptism. He has been struggling with this decision for quite a while and feels as if a burden has been lifted. The preacher took him to lunch today where he confirmed that he wished to be obedient to God by following through with Baptism. Now, we all know that Baptism isn't what gets you into Heaven. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior does, but in Mark 16:16 Jesus says, "Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved." But we do know that baptism is not a requirement for Heaven because Jesus saved the man on the cross right then and there. However, in reading scriptures today regarding just the subject of baptism, I relearned that baptism is symbolic for washing away your sins, being raised to a new life, and becoming more Christ-like. And boy, Satan is going to be throwing fits at us soon. And he knows just where to hit us. Trust me....I know where he hits me. In the same spot he has for the last 12 years. But together, and with the strength of our Lord who lifted us to victory, we will defeat him time and again. Praise be to God for the glorious work He is doing in this family!

MIA

2009-09-03T18:55:00.001-07:00

Sorry I have been MIA for quite a while. There has been so much going on, some of which I will write about, others that I can't. There are not necessarily too many eyes that see this blog, but a few of the wrong eyes to write about certain things.

My Emmy started school. She was so excited about it, but now hates it. Who hates Kindergarten, you ask. I ask the same question. Well, probably the little girl that gets in trouble for exposing her rear end to the other girls in the bathroom, making them scream and tattle. Or the little girl that is too lazy to walk home and sits on the curb refusing to take another step. Yeah, the little girl that is driving her mother nutso!! But that her mother loves so dearly.

Bro Man had a rough start to 4th grade. He kept forgetting his homework, until I started making him bring home every book every day. A few days of walking with all those books, and suddenly he started remembering what he has to do.

I started back with more graduate classes. One is online, one is two days a week during the day. Now while the class is not a long class, it takes an entire day to drive Baby K to a sitter, drive the hour to school, sit in class for 1 1/2 hours, drive back to the sitter, drive an hour home. I hate being away all day two days a week.

I have also started selling jewelry. I am in the process of starting my little part-time income generator so I am having to book homeshows quite heavily over the next month. Hubby will be so happy when he reaps the rewards of those shows. I'm thinking I might do something nice like put up some money for Christmas (that he doesn't know about) and get him a new acoustic guitar that he feels he needs. He has one, but I would love to splurge on something that he just wants. But mainly the goal is to get some debt paid off so next year Bro Man can go to private school. I have not even discussed this with him, but he hits middle school and I don't know if I am comfortable with him going to the middle school here.

Facebook has taken over my life. There have got to be support groups for it because it is so addicting. I took a three day hiatus from it and it just about killed me to stay off for 3 days. But I get so much more accomplished during the day at home when I decide not to get on the computer.

Well, that just about raps up the night. Good night, blog buddies!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

2009-08-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

Today marks the last day of summer vacation with my children. Bro Man starts 4th grade tomorrow and Emmy starts K-5 tomorrow. That leaves me with Baby K, and a little peace and quiet. When asked what she is going to do here with just Mama all day she replied, "Be good." Now, wouldn't that be nice? But while I would love to think that I will have all the time in the world to sew or craft or clean, I am a realist. My husband calls it a pessimist. I'm not negative, just real. The start of school leaves me with only 2 more weeks before I return to the pursuit of a master's degree. Counting this semester, only 7 classes left! Woo-hoo! (Insert booty bump!)

On another note, why do vitamins make me sick to my stomach? I take them with food as instructed, but yet I still get the chills and the dry heaving. I take them because I want to be less tired, but after several days of taking them with this result, I stop.

Sorry about screaming at you the other day. I have a million and one things running through my mind, all of which are frustrating me to no end. I look for things to do that allow me no time to think, but those are few and far between.

I am totally addicted to Facebook. I don't really chat with anyone, no one helps me with my Mafia Wars requests, no one comments on my status, but yet I check it 759 million times a day. Maybe its a bit like blogging...if I comment, they will comment. But I do not need to spend all day on facebook. So I don't know if I want people to start commenting because that might compel me to check it more often.

Okay, so that's it for this totally random post. I'm sure I can think of a million more random things that I could talk about, but I'll stop for now. Peace. Love. Change.

ahhh....change

2009-08-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

Are any of you like me in that you love change? I don't mean change that dramatically impacts your life, but change within your home? I love to paint. That is one of the easiest transformations that a person can make. But more than paint. Like getting bold and rearranging the furniture. O.M.G., people! Did you realize that there are some people who don't even think of moving furniture as a means of making your house more pleasant? Those people are called MEN. Why are men against change? Unless it is an increase in your income or a drop in your weight, men are against change. No paint. No moving. No rearranging. Why? Because they might have to lay at a slightly different angle to watch baseball. And that, my friends, is unacceptable.

Since we are soon returning to just one income, and I love change, I am trying to do a little remixing instead of decorating. That is, I am trying to be thrifty and use things that I have already bought or things from other parts of my house to give the house a different look. And yes, I moved furniture. But first thing this morning, I moved it back. Why you ask? Because Mr. Wonderful hated it so much that he did not even want to be in the living room. And since he chooses to watch Baseball Tonight every night when I want to sleep, it is better for him to go to the living room. But I took a few pictures of some changes that I have made over the last 24 hours. Keep in mind, nothing drastic. Just beautifying. Fluffing. And when the rooms are finalized, I'll post them. Oh, okay. Stop twisting my arm. I'll post some now. Gosh, you're so pushy! But I'll save some for later.
This is the newly paired down mantle. The before picture was too embarrassing, so we'll just go with an after. The huge mirror was a bargain at $17, and the only thing new is the flower arrangement which is not complete. Everything else was already in my possession.

In the kitchen, to add a little flair beside the free hutch, I added this cast iron (super heavy) fork and spoon. I got this on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $2.49 about 2 months ago. I don't know what took so long for me to finally put it up.
While this picture is a little dark, you should still be able to see the little shelf above the toilet. This has been in my possession for a good four months now. The white fleur-de-lis I bought at hobby lobby last year for $5.00. The candlestick, bird, seagrass box, the small glass jars and fillings I've had for quite some time now. The curtain and shower curtian (not shown) are from the other bathroom because I did something new in there that I did not take pictures of yet. Those will come later. I am putting the finishing touches on the dining room that I have struggled with for so long, and then I will post pictures of that, along with the new lamps in the living room.

So, until next time, Peace. Love. Change.

Scream

2009-07-28T09:37:00.001-07:00

AAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Boredom

2009-07-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

OMG, I am bored! I have decided to start selling jewelry and I can't start for another month, but I am anxious and ready to get started. The house is mostly clean, except for the bedrooms and about two loads of laundry, but I don't want to clean anymore. That is all I have done all week. But I love it being clean. But when I clean bedrooms, it is not just picking stuff up out of the floors. That is straightening. When I clean bedrooms, I mean pull everything out of the closets, out from under beds, dusting, cleaning out drawers, getting rid of clothes that don't fit, shoes that I never wear. Each room is at least a day long. So tomorrow, I'll keep the main rooms straightened, and if I can find the motivation, I'll start on my room. I am so ready for my room to be cleaned to my standards of clean. Not just straightened. Right now, I am heading into the craft/sewing room to get lost hopefully in something brilliant.

So Screwed

2009-07-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

I have to get organized. I am driving myself crazy!! And I really screwed up the finances this time. I scheduled an online payment for my house before payday. Well, when payday rolled around, I forgot that was scheduled and I paid other bills. Now, if and when that house payment clears, I will be screwed. And I know it is coming. It is what I deserve for my lack of organization. If we can just make it through until next Friday.... I've told Mr. Wonderful who claims that he is not going to worry about it and that there is no point in being mad at me because that won't change anything either. So he says.

I do make a promise to myself and my God that I will be a better steward of money. I have promised myself that before, and I never kept my promise. But this time, I am making the promise to God. From this day forward, I will be a better money tracker, a better bill payer. Not just for my sanity, but for my hardworking husband who is allowing me to stay home again with our last child. Things have to be different. We are going back to one pay check and have to get back in that frame of mind. No more eating out, no more shopping.

With the purchase of our washing machine last week, I have totally embraced the cleaning thing that I have always hated. I love having a clean kitchen, clean dining room, laundry being done, etc. I can't wait to clean. As a matter of fact, I am off of here to do just that.

surgery?

2009-07-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

I have surgery scheduled for the 30th of this month to fix a deviated septum and turbinate reduction. I am totally terrified. I don't know why. I have asked God for peace about the surgery. I have asked others to pray. But still no peace. Only today, I read about the unsuccessful side of this surgery. If any of you have had this surgery, please let me know your experiences with it, whether positive or negative. This will help me decide if I want to go through with the surgery.

Also, please be in prayer for two family members. My nephew, Spencer, has what seems to be staph but maybe just an infection from an ant bite. Doctors have given them conflicting information about what needs to be done. He put a bandaid on it today and the bandaid actually pulled part of the sore off and so it was drained at the doctor, but that is what one doctor said did not need to happen. Please pray that he will have some relief from this and that the procedures that the doctors are doing are successful.

My sister, Brenda, aka Mom on the Go, is also having health issues. She has been for quite a while. But just lately, they have begun looking at MS as a diagnosis. Please pray that this is not the case. While I would love a diagnosis of what is going on with her, I would love for that diagnosis to be something treatable. I also pray that her symptoms do not increase or amplify.

Thanks for your support.

The Juices are Flowing

2009-07-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

The creative juices are flowing again. It feels so good to be behind the sewing machine again. I have instituted a schedule for the kids for the remainder of the summer which enables me to have time to do what I enjoy. It also gives me specific times to be creative, to be domestic (including cleaning which I hate to do!), but also makes the kids responsible for the messes they make. There are two scheduled pick up times for them. At those times, they must pick up any messes they have made that morning and that afternoon. If they finish with what they dragged out, then they move on to their rooms. But since it can all be overwhelming to kids, I am starting small. I set a timer for 10 minutes for pickup, and then 10 minutes in their rooms cleaning up. Today, they had one task--to put away toys. Tomorrow their one task is to put away clothes and shoes. While they are doing their pickup, I have time to get lunch fixed. It is working out much better for me than them. I love knowing I only have to clean for a specified amount of time before I am on to something better.

One of the creations from this week may just be the most unnecessary makeover ever--my mailbox. But it was so drab and dreary, I decided to give it a facelift. I hit it with a shot of black spray paint and some adhesive vinyl and voila. I love the way it turned out.
I have been sewing baby shower gifts, but wanted them to be something personal. I am so tired of the pinks and whites of store bought gifts. Yes, they are beautiful. But I wanted something with some zing. So, I stepped behind the sewing machine. It's been months since I have sewn, and I love the sense of accomplishment that I feel every time I complete something. These are the shower gifts I completed today.

Weird Vacation Apology

2009-07-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

Vacations are relaxing, refreshing, an escape from reality. That is, unless you take my children. My sister, Leigh, and I took her two teenagers, "my" teenager, and my three little ones on vacation. In trying to conserve money, I chose to stay somewhere off the beach, somewhere that Google Maps told me was only a 25 minute drive from the beach. Well, that turned out to be a lie. It was closer to an hour. But we arrived on Wednesday afternoon and did a little shopping. Like the idiot that I was, I took my children in the bookstore. NEVER. AGAIN. We checked in around 4:00, all of us not in the greatest of moods. I took my 3 to see Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs, at which time Baby K started whining to go home. Said whining lasted the rest of the trip. Thursday the plan was to get up and go to the beach after breakfast. We did not even start towards the beach until around 10:30, had to stop at Wally World, and did not arrive at the beach until around 12:30. It was upon arriving at the beach that I realized that I hate the beach. Okay, I do not hate the beach all the time, but I hated taking 3 crabby kids to the beach. The teenagers got hungry and I was bored out of my mind by 3:00, so we packed up and headed back. Those three hours were the only three that we spent at the beach. Friday we went outlet shopping at Foley.

I do want to apologize to Leigh. I do not think you had a good time, and for that I apologize greatly. It was not my intention to go down there and only spend a few hours at the beach, because I know that you love it. And if it is possible, I think you enjoyed my children even less than I did. Not because we don't love them, but because they are horrible. They are brats. And I really am sorry. Next time there will be better research done for hotels, and ours will have a pool. It will be no where near a city that drives me crazy. And it will be less a few children. I really am sorry.

But it sure does feel good to be home. We did not even eat out this morning. Just picked up some food and ate on the way home. We were home by 10:15. So relaxing? No. Refreshing? No. Escape from reality? Nope. A heaping dose of it.

VBS Humor

2009-06-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

VBS humor: Monday's story was about Andrew introducing Simon to Jesus and Jesus giving him the name Peter. Yesterday morning I was trying to get my preschoolers to recall Monday's story. I asked, "Who met Jesus and who did Jesus give a new name?" You could see the concentration as they all tried to recall the story. Then sweet Owen pipes in and says something very quietly. "What Owen?" He said, "Peter Piper."

Gotta love those preschoolers.

VBS

2009-06-16T04:52:00.000-07:00

So, this week is Vacation Bible School. But, for some reason, after only 1 day, I am already exhausted. I cannot figure it out. Is it just having to leave the house that exhausts me? I don't get up any earlier. We get home at lunch time. I just cannot figure it out.

I am teaching the pre-school group, including Baby K, which makes things tough. When Mama is around, she does not want to participate in anything and just wants to sit in my lap or be held. Now, I love that she wants to be in my lap or be held. Love it. But it is impossible to try to teach and lead 6 more children while I have a 35-pound leech attached to me. But I love my Baby K. I love the hugs and kisses, and her random "I love you, Mama" that she says at just the right time.

So we will keep on pushing on through this week, looking forward to the Blueberry Festival in Brewton this weekend, and vacay in two weeks. Leigh and her crew are accompanying us. I wanted to stay several days so we could not stay right on the beach, but we will be staying about 25 minutes away. As long as the place has a pool, the kids and teenagers will be set. We may only go to the beach 1 day out of the 4. But that is okay, too. A couple of hours on the beach and we'll all be burnt to the point of misery. It's as if sunblock does not even matter (but it will be used!).

Hope you all have a wonderfully blessed day!

Prayers Needed

2009-06-09T11:35:00.001-07:00

I have so much going on in my mind right now, and I really could use your prayers. It is nothing that I can talk about, just an issue I need to let go of. All of your prayers for strength, determination, and healing would be appreciated.

Oh Lucky Day!

2009-06-03T17:23:00.001-07:00

Remember when I told y'all about losing the diamond from my wedding ring? Well, the home owners' insurance will cover it up to $1500....minus the $1000 deductible. But yesterday, Leigh called me to say she found the diamond!!!! Can you believe that? It was in her dining room floor, despite a week and a half's worth of sweeping!! Mr. Wonderful told me to drive to Georgia and buy some lottery tickets because yesterday was my lucky day! So, I am patiently awaiting the reunion with my wedding diamond and I am sure the insurance company will be glad not to pay for it.

I am almost ready to show you the dining room. A few more touches are being waited on......but it's coming together so well. I love my red dining room again!!

Oh Happy Day!

2009-05-28T02:58:00.000-07:00

Glory be to God! I have survived the longest school year ever! Only 1/2 a day with students today, and wrapping up tomorrow. This is bittersweet. I will love some of these students forever.

I do not know whether it is the excitement of today, but I just could not sleep this morning. But, oh, the creative juices have been flowing. The dining room is shaping up in my mind. From window mistreatments to wall art, to paint and table decorations, it is all there. And to think that all of the ideas were stimulated by 1 piece of furniture added to my house. I am so excited that I needed to get up and write down some ideas before I forgot what came to me in my subconscious state. I can't wait to get it all together!! And I really did not want a country style in my house, but this is coming together as a sophisticated country feeling. EX. Cite. Ed! Okay, I need to breathe deeply because it has been a while since I have been this excited.

I got up at 3:00 this morning and read Rhoda at Southern Hospitality. She is having a burlap party and I got some really cute ideas from there as well.

Weekend Finds

2009-05-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here are the pics of the great weekend finds. Don't be jealous!! I did not do as well as yard sales as I did at the flea markets, but I'll keep trying.
another great rocker (priceless)
Quilt set for Big Guy's room
Set of 4 black shelves ($10)
Too cute shoes ($1)

skirt suit $4

footed silver tray $7

Gorgeous beaded pineapple.

and last but certainly not least, this lovely piece in my kitchen (free!) from Leigh. I am so in love with this that it is not funny. Miraculously, when this entered my house so did the inspiration for the direction that I want to go with the dining room. I am so stinking excited now!! Drapes are ordered (the same that my sister Brenda has that I have admired for so long now!) Yay for inspiration--even if it is copying!

I Feel Like I Should Pay You

2009-05-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we all gathered for my dad's birthday. We were having a lovely time. Leigh brought her girls, along with Kayla's friend and Rachell's boyfriend. I think this is the first time Rachell has brought a boyfriend around the family. He was mostly quiet. But they were sharing a moment together on the swing out front. Dad had already commented that the swing was big enough that the two of them did not need to sit right next to other. Well, I talked Wesley into going to sit beside them. Right as Wesley sat, the swing began to tip backwards. It did not fall in a normal speed, though; it was more of a slow motion fall. It just laid over on the ground. Everyone was laughing, but Rachell still had a "kill me now" look on her face. I laughed so hard at them that I told Wesley I feel like I should pay him. Ahhh....good times. Okay, the telling of this story is not nearly as funny as the actual event. Oh I wish you could have seen it!! I wish my camera had been close by.

Busy Weekend

2009-05-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a whirlwind weekend it is. Yesterday, my bestie/sister Leigh and I went yardsaling and flea marketing. It was great fun and I'll post some pics of my finds later. I did not get home (she lives an hour away) until 3:00 and then had to turn around and go about 20 minutes further than her house to another sister's house for game night.

But something horrible happened yesterday. We were on the way to Jan's when I looked down and realized the diamond is missing out of my wedding ring. Talk about tears shed!!! And they came quite suddenly and sporadically throughout the night. I have no idea where it is.

Today is church this morning, followed by cake and ice cream for my dad's birthday! The big 6-3!

Tomorrow will have to be laundry day and cleaning day, all the while trying to convince Mr. Wonderful to throw some burgers on the grill.

Hope you all have a memorable Memorial Day weekend!

(Saturday's finds to come later!)

PS: 4 more days of school!!!

10 more days

2009-05-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

That's right, folks. 10 more days until I am back. Until I return to the life of normalcy, where I am able to blog and leave people comments. You see, 10 days and counting, until year 1 of teaching is over and I am back to being Mama. Hallelujah!!

Hope both of you readers are still out there somewhere!! Please check back in a few days for something that I am sure will be neither funny or interesting, but it will be new. It may just be a simple decision of whether we decide to keep a kitten and Sophie, or just a kitten, or just Sophie. I keep hoping to snap a few pics of Jack with the kittens. They are soooo adorable together until he starts getting playful.

Am I sad to see school go? Sort of. I will miss some of my babies, the ones that call me Mother Bowen and give me hugs every day. The ones that make me smile no matter what. But good riddance to the ones that make me want to papercut my jugular.

Have I mentioned only 10 more days??

Sign of the Times

2009-05-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

I was watching icarly with the kids a little while ago (woo hoo for mother's day fun!). Sam was showing Freddie and Carly some gross video, which it did not show. Baby K was sitting in my lap.

Emmy: What did they see?

Baby K: prolly some bad words or boys kissing or someding.

OMG! How does she even know about boys kissing? Do our kids just grow up knowing these things? They don't watch shows that have kissing in them at all. I mean, it's Dora and Diego over and over!! Or Barbie or Thumbelina. or Sponge Bob.

Just another random question. Why does my husband refuse to acknowledge Mother's Day? Every year it comes and goes and he does not acknowledge it with so much as a word. He did before we were married and had children together. He does for his mother. It's just so frustrating?

Weekend Project: Bench

2009-04-20T03:41:00.000-07:00

This is a rocking bench that I found at the flea market. I paid $30 for it, which is more than I wanted to pay, but you have to know how I love to rock.

I took this:

and after a little sanding, priming, and painting, it looks like this:

I am desperately trying to get my house in order and decorated to my satisfaction. The only major issue that I am having, you know, besides money, is the dining room. Still cannot come up with what I want to do in there. It may just have to wait until I can get a new dining table and chairs. I've got my eyes and ears open for the right one, and I'll know it when I see it. I just don't want to open the wallet too far. I think I just need to start yardsaling, looking for the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Well, spring break is over and we are off to work and school again today. Today will probably be one of the worst days of the year. One of my students was killed last Tuesday night in a car wreck, and I can imagine this is going to be especially hard today.

Thanks for being patient with me, as I excitedly wait for the end of this school year and semester at AUM. After May 5, much pressure will be relieved.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2009-04-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Opening day today. This is the first year in with real pitching. We are feeling a little nervous, but have fantastic results to report. The first game started slowly, but we finished strong with a 10-1 victory. We had a four-run fourth and a five-run sixth. Bro Man performed very well. He reached on a walk, sacrifice RBI, and thrown out in his third at bat. He was solid in the field, not missing any plays. The rest of the team--well, everyone struck out at least once. We have alot of potential, but need some more coaching up. We haven't had many practices due to rain (I think only 2 practices), so with time we will gel. Just like we always do.

Go White Sox!!

Under the Weather

2009-03-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

This has been an unpleasant weekend. The indestructible Mr. Wonderful has been sick. WELL, let me back up. For about 3 weeks now, I have been getting dizzy at night when I eat or right after. I don't know what is going on and it passes after about 5 minutes. I would assume blood sugar since eating seems to trigger it. Friday night we went to eat at a friend's restaurant. I got so dizzy before we left there that I ended up falling twice and literally could not stand by myself. When I woke up yesterday morning, the dizziness was gone but I was left all weekend with this very weird feeling. Mr. Wonderful woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat and 101.3 fever. He has not slept since Thursday night. He has been feverless today until about 7:30. It was on its way back up so I banished him to bed for the night. He is forbidden from getting back up.

On a positive note, I made curtains for my niece's room and they turned out beautifully. I can't wait for them to get her new bed put together tonight, so I can take some pictures. It's going to be fantabulous!

Another sweet thing...my sister, Brenda, had a birthday party thrown for her this weekend by her very sweet boyfriend. It was such a wonderful and sweet gesture. She needs to be pampered and made to feel special, and I feel like he does that. I had such a good time visiting with friends and family. All 3 kids had spent the night at Mom and Dad's Friday night, and Bro Man came home with me Saturday night. The girls stayed and had another sleepover. The big guy and I went to Prattville this morning to pick up a few things that we can't find here in G'ville.

Nothing too exciting...just need prayers for Mr. Wonderful. He NEVER gets sick!!

Bitten

2009-03-13T03:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been bitten by Edward. That's right, folks. I fell into the Twilight series on Tuesday and have finished the first two books. I started the third last night, but my eyes were completely too exhausted to continue reading it last night.

I found myself feeling guilty for wanting her to choose Jacob. I loved Jacob. But why, oh why, Stephanie Meyer, did you have to do that to him? That's what made me not so crazy about the second book. I don't want to say too much, because I am going to force Leigh to read them. And after reading the description of Edward, I am a little disappointed by the character chosen for the movie, which I plan to see asap.

But, anyhoo, I will get about 4 hours reading time this morning thanks to graduation exam. After that, I'll see if I can't get away with about 3 more during classes. All of my groups have been testing this week, so I don't find it fair to give them classwork to do.

Toodles! I am off to get ready to read. I mean, work.

You've Got to be Kidding Me!

2009-03-03T04:23:00.000-08:00

I got home late last night, and turned on the television just in time to see Molly and Jason. Are you kidding me? And he claims Deana broke his heart? Did he truly dump Melissa on television? Now, don't get me wrong...he and Molly are cute together. But I am with her....that was all too surreal. Like she was so excited when he walked out...too excited for someone who was heartbroken. I like to cringe when I see someone who broke my heart...okay, really, my heart has only truly been broken one time (I thought it was more than that. ahhh...hindsight) and I have never seen him since. Well, I think he and Molly will be good together. I think he was just mesmerized by her eyes. She does have beautiful eyes.

And I cannot comment on the rest of it because I did not get to see it. I will have to watch it online to see Melissa's reaction to being dumped. I thought for a minute Molly would say no. Would have served him right.

Holy snowflakes, Batman!

2009-03-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

Coming to you from Alabama, where we had snow today. Not much, but considering we are in SOUTH Alabama, any snow is good for us. We were woken up by the pooch this morning only to find it snowing. We woke all the kids up, bundled up, and made the most pitiful snowman you northerners have ever seen. It was about 6 inches tall, but cute. It stopped snowing about mid-morning, so the girls and I went out to church. When church ended, it was snowing again. We came home and got warm and cozy in front of the fireplace. Baby K even fell asleep there. It was so amazing--considering it was 70 degrees yesterday and we wore shorts!

I finished my mid-term essays this afternoon. Doing mediocre work never felt so good. That is one thing off of the totally-stressing-me-out list. After Tuesday, three more things will be marked off. And a big one to check off, teaching. That's right, folks. The official decision was made Friday night when my husband went on a rampage claiming that he was calling the principal and telling him I was not coming back on Monday. I have been extremely stressed out and no where close to even being a good wife or mother, or student or teacher. My relationship with my husband has been suffering because what little energy I have left has been exhausted on the never-ending list of "I wants" the kids have or the never-ending piles of chores. I want nothing more than to sleep.

There are 57 more instructional days left of school. But I am taking this in small little baby steps. Kinda like weight loss. I am setting small goals and setting off to meet those. My first small goal is to get to March 16, which is an off day. Second step, make it to April 13 which is spring break. After that, we're in the homestretch. May 25-holiday. May 28--adios, kiddos. May 29-Adios, GHS! May 30-Bueno, sanity! Summer, sweet sweet summer. No waking kids up early to get ready for school. Maybe a little exercise time in the mornings before Mr. Wonderful goes off to work.

Okay, so now I am rambling in my daydreaming. Please pray for us that this is the right decision. Emmy starts Kindy this year. Baby K has two more years at home, and I truly feel like God is telling me that I need to be there. Maybe by answering my prayers about a teaching job, he was showing me that it was not the right time for my family. Maybe teaching is where God wants me to be, just not now. I just don't know how teachers are doing it. I totally cannot handle the constant disrespect. It makes me want to be so much tougher on my children, so hopefully they will not turn out that way.

Well, goodnight all. Sweet, snow-filled dreams to everyone.

Wii are pitiful

2009-02-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

So we got a Wii this morning. Big Guy has been playing all morning, and making it look easy I might add. Mr. Wonderful decided to partake in the boxing. Needless to say, he definitely broke a sweat. So me and fat self decided it would be my turn. 30 minutes later and I was still struggling for breath suffering from chest pain. Is there any warning on the box that says to consult a physician before beginning this rigorous training? It took a game to show us how "wiilly" pitiful we are. But I so am digging tennis. And I suck at that too. It almost made me consider going to the real tennis courts today. But its cold. Maybe I'll do it anyway. That should definitely help the sickness.

Let me know your wii adventures.

I love you

2009-02-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Ever make a comment that is truly just innocent, but it makes your spouse realize exactly why they love you. Well, that happened this weekend. The kids were gone and I am with laryngitis. Mr. Wonderful was in absolute heaven. And then on top of it all, I announced that I really did not want to celebrate Valentine's Day. What? That's right...I don't want to exchange things for Valentine's. The response to that was a big grin and an "I love you." See, I am every man's dream girl.

Okay, well, I am off to bed to suffer through another headache after a LONG day of teaching without a voice. Thank goodness for my trusty ol' yardstick and a desk! That's one way to get a class' attention. And thank goodness for early release days (tomorrow!). And a three day weekend.

Brenda, when you read this, we need an update on your health. Mom said you were having testing done.

Cracking Up

2009-02-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

That Baby K (3) says some funny stuff. I mean, she keeps us laughing. Well this morning, she came out with another one. Granted it was probably funnier to us than it will be to you, but funny nonetheless.

Obama was on television. Emmy proudly announces that Bro Man does not like the president. I just shrugged it off. As Mr. Wonderful enters the room, Emmy makes the announcement one more time. Only this time, Baby K adds, "Yeah. He only likes the Bushes." How does she even know there is more than one Bush? Mr. Wonderful began talking politics with her, in between laughs, and she responded every time with, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever." Too funny.

Well, the wizard suggested that I stay home for the week to get a much needed break. He is beginning to wonder if my laryngitis is triggered by stress. Either way, he wanted me to rest without trying to be a teacher. I obviously cannot stay home for the entire week, so I will be going back tomorrow, apparently without a voice. I will just have to wing it until my voice returns. I sure do hope this does not become permanent. I am considering learning sign language and forcing all of my family and friends to do the same, so that we may communicate more easily when I am resigned to a whisper. I think the voice issue just solidifies the decision not to go back next year. There has to be some sort of solution. Can I get disability for my voice keeping me from doing my job?

Friday night Bro Man is going to the Valentine's dance AGAIN with the same girl for the fourth year. They claim to be just friends this year, though. At 9, that is all they need to worry about being. Of course, both of their mom's will be there, then they are going to a cookout at her church. I love their family so much. But they need prayers. Kim (the mom) is a nurse. She has been out of work since last summer. There seems to be no doctors hiring in Greenville. They are living off of savings, but that is starting to dwindle. I may do a little research myself to see if I can find her somewhere--maybe not local, but nearby. Surely someone needs a registered nurse.

I'm off to see the wizard

2009-02-09T07:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, well, not really a wizard. More of a doctor. But let's hope he has some wizardry skills up his sleeve. I have had a severe case of laryngitis for 5 days now, even resting my voice. My senior year in high school I went 9 months without a voice. Can this be considered a disability for a teacher? Obviously classroom management and teaching are out of the question for someone who has no voice. I actually think that they behave better when I have no voice, for some reason. I can't teach, so they are required to do more work while I walk around monitoring. Maybe when my voice comes back, I will just continue whispering, if it helps them to work better and behave better.

I know that I have been absent for a few weeks on the writing end of things. I have still been reading, but am too physically exhausted from teaching, college, and mothering to form sentences. I have already missed one night of school, but there is absolutely no way that I can go tonight to sit in class until 9:00 when I feel like crap. Let me explain how I feel. You know on You've Got Mail, how sick Meg Ryan is when Tom Hanks comes to visit. She just feels like lying down, covered up, blowing her nose. I watched that movie the other day and thought to myself (I didn't even say it out loud) that people on movies and tv have far worse colds than the average everyday person. But I feel like Meg Ryan. Feel. Not look. Trust me, I don't look like that when I feel good, let alone when I am sick.

Mr. Wonderful has been a trooper this last few days. He knows how frustrating it is for me to try to say something occassionally and someone not hear me. So he tries to read my lips so he won't have to ask me to repeat myself. He even called substitutes for me this morning and made me a doctor's appointment. All this after I reminded him that he said he would love me in sickness and in health. Ahh...what a good man! He was even late to work this morning so he could try to get me into the doctor.

Prayer requests: My friend and fellow teacher, Shawnda, has to have spine surgery next Monday. It is a very intense surgery where they will actually remove four discs and replace them with cadaver discs. Please pray for her as she has never had surgery and she has a four yo little girl. Please pray for God's healing, for a speedy, uneventful surgery and recovery. For peace of mind for her whole family, most especially her child.

Praises: One of my students told me last week that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. It has been breaking my heart. He informed me Thursday after many, many prayers that he DOES NOT have a tumor. God is a miracle worker!!

Hope all of your lives have been as blessed as mine and those around me. Have an inspiring week.

Groundhog Day

2009-01-23T02:55:00.000-08:00

Anybody remember that movie? Bill Murray is trapped in a single day which he relives over and over? He wakes up at the same time and to the same song. He goes through the same events over and over again. It is sheer hell to him. WELL, I am experiencing Groundhog Day myself. I wake up every. single. morning at 4:38. I follow the exact same morning routine, repeat the exact same activities for the day, and end the day in tears. I am living my own hell. The only difference is that I never know what my students have up their sleeves for that day. I dread waking up in the mornings.

Mr. Wonderful and I had the discussion last night about my future as a teacher. He told me that he was tired of seeing me a blubbering, crying mess who snaps at my children needlessly. He is tired of me being so mentally exhausted that I really have no energy to want to do anything or go anywhere. I told him that I did not know what the answer is, but I think I know must consider what it is. We must get rid of debt. Baby K has two more years at home before she starts school, so my plan right now is to TRY to finish the school year, and consider what my next career plan will be. Maybe this will give me enough time to be still and listen to what God has planned for me. I am not turning in my notice right now; I am going to be still and listen to God. Life has become very overwhelming. I no longer feel like I am strong enough to deal with any of it. The smallest things are setting me into a tear-filled frenzy. Any suggestions?

(When re-reading this, I thought that I sound suicidal--but trust me, I am not!)

good news

2009-01-21T03:09:00.001-08:00

I talked to the sheriff the other night and it turns out that they had already arrested one of the suspects from the earlier post. He confessed it all and gave up the other three. It will at least be some relief to these kids and their families that the assailants will at least be in jail.

I am really struggling with teaching. Please pray for me. It is really taking its toll on me in every aspect of my life.

What is FEAR to you?

2009-01-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

What is fear to you? I get scared very easily, but I am not sure that is "fear." Is it fear when you answer the phone to hear one of your daughters say, "Mom, help us!" followed by gun shots and then complete silence. You bet that's fear. Is it fear when four teenagers are forced into a collision by four gun-wielding strangers who shoot your car? Is it fear when you try to get away but back into a ditch and hit a tree? You bet that it is fear. Is it fear when the two boys take off running and leave the two girls with the assailants? Is it fear when you finally think it's over only to find out that the strangers' vehicle won't start and they come back after you? Unimaginable fear. I really don't know who experienced more fear that night: the teenage girl who was pulled from the car with a gun placed against her head while she waited on her friend to get the car out of the ditch of the friend who knew that her friend's life depended on her getting that stuck car out of the ditch. Or the innocent good samaritan who stopped and tried to help only to find himself the victim of an attempted murder when a bullet whizzed through the windshield of his truck missing him by only inches. Or the parents who must have felt that an eternity had passed before they found out their children were safe. Or the parents of the second boy who could not be found for two hours, the boy whose blood they were looking for because they thought he had been shot, who had run so hard and so far that he collapsed and tracking dogs were used to find him.

This is a true story. It happened Friday night in the small town about 12 miles from here where we used to live. On the end of the road that it happened, houses are few and far between. These teens were followed from a nearby gas station and robbed, and eventually car jacked. It was several more miles before the girls could find someone to let them use the phone to call their parents. It turned out that the boys ran to get help. But I think maybe they ran because they thought the girls would follow. Or maybe they ran as part of God's plan. I know you are thinking that none of this could have been God's plan. But I think if those boys had stayed around, it could have gotten even more violent and one of them may not be alive now. One of the boys has suffered a major head injury which was aggravated recently by a fight at school. He has only been out of the hospital a few months now. I know three of the four teens involved and their parents. This is more than fear--it is a nightmare. It turns out that the truck which the assailants left behind was reported stolen shortly afterward and they found the carjacked vehicle later abandoned. So it looks like these strangers will get away with their crime.

My Baby Boy

2009-01-17T04:02:00.000-08:00

Oh, Sweet Baby Boy! The day has arrived marking yet another celebration of your birth. Today you are nine. All of my life I have contemplated ways that I possibly could keep you a baby, then a toddler, than a young child, now a big boy. I realized that I cannot stop you from growing up; I just have to show you the way to becoming a young man. Thank goodness we have Daddy to show you how to be a great husband and father.

Every day of my life I will remember you being a tiny little baby who peed on his father as soon as he was born. A beautiful reminder that life is good, that God is good (not peeing on your father, you). You were a true blessing straight from Heaven. You still are. I am so glad that God picked me to be your mother. I am so proud of the boy you are, and know that I will be of the young man yet to come. You are such a joy to me. I am so glad we got to spend the day together Thursday. I had so much fun just being silly with you, playing the hand slap game, eating good shrimp and fried pickles, but most importantly good company and laughter. You have no idea how much it means to me that every time we spend the day together you say, "This is the best day of my life." Oh, how I love you!

Here is a pic of how I will always remember you when I call you my baby boy, even if you are 80.
I'll never forget how you loved to walk around the house with only one sock on with a bowl on your head. Or how you used to fall asleep in your high chair eating. How you used to come crawling as fast as you could when you heard the MASH theme song. How you used to come crawling as fast as you could when you heard a cheese wrapper being opened. How you used to sing Chinney Kessey, George Strait, and Toby Keith like there was no tomorrow. You would perform anywhere, anytime. When you got tired, you would crawl into your room and wait at the crib until we saw you and put you to bed.

I love you, mama's baby boy!

Fight to the End

2009-01-10T03:45:00.000-08:00

I went to the movies last night with Sister Lorri. The movie was great. We watched Bride Wars, thanks to the trailer I watched on Stretch Marks. The fighting was hilarious all the way to the end. Great chick flick!!! Check it out!

After a horrible day at school yesterday, the school had the nerve to give me an intent form. If these have been around and you teachers know what I am talking about, then you are chuckling to yourselves. It is a form that indicates what my plans are for next school year. This comes after they told us Tuesday that our class sizes would be going up to around 45. You heard me right...45! If you think I can't get any teaching done with 33 in a class, just imagine 12 more. I did not fill the form out yesterday, because we all know what I would have marked--resign!

I am not sure that I can do this again next year. I am thinking more elementary.

It's Like Coming Home

2009-01-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

Several things that I want to talk about. The first of which is I went to a jewelry party yesterday at sister Jan's house. And I must say, her house is spectacular. It was always nice, but since deciding to sell it and move to the lake, they have redone everything. They have new flooring including tiles and carpet, all new cabinetry throughout, granite countertops throughout, an amazing tile backsplash, paint throughout, new moldings throughout....it's awesome.

Second thing (sorry Leigh), when sister Leigh got ready to leave in the middle of a storm, she backed into my van. Nothing too serious, just folded the hood a little, swapped a little paint, and gouged the bumper. Insurance man called and will send an adjuster to look at the van in the next few days. They will also provide me with a rental while mine is being repaired.

Third: I go back to work tomorrow. I am seriously dreading it. I will make it through the next five months. Depending on the financial situation come summer, I may not do it again. I am going to try selling a boutique brand of children's clothing for some extra income. If that goes well, I will try to do that to bring in some income if I do not teach next year.

But lastly, and most importantly, we went back to our old church today for the first time in several years. We had moved on to a church in our city, but just found that it wasn't really home. Over the last several years of "going" to that church, we have not gone more than we have gone. It is a big enough church where we are nobodies. There are very few people there who recognize me or speak to me. Not that that is a reason to go to a church. But a church home is one where you feel welcome and wanted; where the preacher is accessible. In the two+ years of this church, I never even seen the preacher other than on the pulpit preaching. But being back in our old church, it felt soooo goood. It felt like going home. Like our long lost family, and other than our children getting older, we had not changed and they had not changed. Well, they changed the starting time of church so we got there twenty-five minutes late and NO ONE CARED!! Even Keith said that it felt right being back there. So hopefully, this will be the beginning of a better relationship with God, in a familiar place. I had forgotten how real Eric's sermons are-how he uses real life examples of his mistakes and his family's to drive a point across. I think often times we fault preachers for making mistakes just like us. We put them on some sort of pedestal. In fact, they are human just like we are.

We have an interesting start to 2009--can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us. Praise God for bringing us "home." Now I just need to be still and listen to what God is telling me I need to do about being at home or working. Baby K has two more years until she starts school, and I would love to be home with her and be able to be the mom who goes on field trips and helps with class parties.

Baby K is funny stuff

2008-12-29T04:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, so last Monday I had to have a root canal. It truly was not bad and over in just an hour. After it was over, the dentist showed me the x-ray to illustrate where he broke the metal tip of the file off in my canal. So today I have to go to an endodontist in Montgomery to have the tip removed and the root canal finished.

Last night, I was holding Baby K and we were talking about today. I told her that my beautiful niece would be babysitting them today so I could have another root canal. Her response was, "So you can have four children?" I laughed so hard at her. Then she started whining and said, "I wheely don't like it when you laugh at me. I am not funny." That just made me laugh harder.

In their stockings at MeeMaw's house, they had these grow clothes. It is basically a wash cloth folded up compactly and it "grows" in water. Well, the girls did those last night and K came in with it on her head, dripping water. She said she was taking a shower. My thought was that it was harmless fun. At least she and Emmy were getting along. Bro Man came to get me later to show me something funny. He has a big, huge wooden loft-type bed. On the backside is a built in wardrobe/closet. He opened that to show me two buck-nekkid girls "showering". They were using the backside of his bed as a pretend shower and had gone so far as to strip down to their birthday suits in their pretend play.

Never a dull moment! Happy Monday!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T03:32:00.000-08:00

My children woke me up at 2:45 to tell me that Santa had been here and it was time to open gifts. Then hubby woke me up at 4:00 to tell me that it was 4:00. Then Baby K woke me up a few minutes later because she was "skeered."So I am up, basking in the love of the Lord and the peace and quiet. Merry Christmas to all of you. Hope you have a safe and happy holiday!

A Christmas Eve to remember

2008-12-24T17:17:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve started out beautifully. Bro Man was at BD's, so the girls got up and got dressed in their Christmas pj's. We hung out listening to some good music and baking. I had the most patience you could ever imagine a mother having. I had to make a run to the grocery store with pajama-ed kids in tow. They were so cute and well behaved. The day was quite uneventful until... after nap time. That's right...the dreaded nap. Emmy only slept about an hour and woke up the spawn of Satan. She has been a downright meanie. We took a family trip to get Bro Man and the fighting ensued. Bro Man has been so grown up and sweet and concerned, despite a shaky start where he reminded me several times that I ruined Christmas for him this year. I was so proud of myself for completing the sewing projects that I needed to finish. I was cleaning the house. I went outside to empty the litter box and clean it out in the rain. I came back in to be greeted by the two cutest demons you have ever seen, clutching the baby dress from the last post. Only this time, it had been scissored. That's right, folks. They cut the dress. I have since banned them from the sewing room permanently, have phoned Santa to tell him not to come, and threatened to cut up their dresses. Only at this last thought were they upset. Then as I finish explaining the permanance of what they did, Emmy gets up and goes to get into cookie icing. I just sent her to bed; I am sure she did not go. But I don't care....she'll hide from me for a little while and I'll sit here enjoying my Christmas Eve sandwich...until 8:00, then it is the real bedtime. Merry Christmas!

Staying Busy

2008-12-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

So I haven't blogged in a while and I am about to show you why. I am staying busy making Christmas gifts and Christmas outfits and decorations. I thought I would finally show you what I have been doing. This is a newborn dress that I made (minus the buttons). It is red corduroy with a red and white striped lining.

This is a $1 ornament I picked up at Walmart the other day and a mirror that I have had laying around for a few months. The white behind the tree are the ceiling tiles being reflected in the mirror.
I started these with plain glass ornaments. I added vinyl B's cut with the cricut, add a little ribbon and all done. I also picked up a pack of the fancy ornament hangers that will accompany this once complete.
The bottom picture is of two boxes of Christmas cards that I picked up at the dollar store this weekend. I thought they were so pretty, but once I got them signed, I dismantled them and stole the dove. A little ribbon tie on these will make lovely ornaments, don't you think?

Friends

2008-12-14T13:48:00.000-08:00

I have decided to beat the depression that have overtaken me, and part of that is discussing the things that are haunting me.

I have been struggling for a while now with the fact that I have no friends other than my bestie/sister. But life pulls us in different directions and we don't get to talk to or see each other much. Today in the Wal, I ran into a family that we used to be very good friends with. I used to babysit her children after school every day, her son and my son were inseparable. We worked on many projects together at church, carved pumpkins together at Halloween, went trick or treating together, took the boys to the George Strait concert. We would get all of the kids in the car and drive around looking at Christmas lights. We had a special night a few nights before Christmas with just our families where we would have dinner and exchange gifts. But then we moved.....15 miles away... and we haven't done anything else with them. In fact, I don't even get email or phone calls from her anymore. And the last few times that I have seen them, it has been extremely difficult to even hold a conversation with her. She is always so preoccupied with everything else, no matter where it is. And I miss her. I miss them.

Fast forward a few years. I babysat a baby named Drew. He was born 8 weeks before Baby K. I started keeping him two weeks after she was born. So I had a 1 year old, a 10 week old, and a newborn. Things were okay and I managed well until they started crawling. And then I couldn't handle it many anymore. I told his mother and told her that I would keep him until she could find somewhere else. The very next day Drew was removed from my house permanently. We lost touch with them, even though my husband works with Drew's dad. More importantly, I miss the companionship that I had with them. The mother and I spent many hours together visiting, talking, shopping, playing with the babies. Our families went out to dinner together and went to the rodeo together. Drew's parents have since divorced, the dad remarried with another child, and I have seen Drew once in the last 2 1/2 years when I ran into Dad and new wife in Wal.

Keith and I have talked often about why it is that we don't have friends. Sure we have acquaintances, but I mean true friends. I have Leigh and without her I would be lost. But we live an hour apart. We can't just meet up any time we want to. Is this just life? Keith says the only reason that I was friends with the two aforementioned women was because they had to be nice to me while I was keeping their children. But I don't believe that. Because it went more than just "being nice." We actually did stuff together without our children, and with our children outside of babysitting hours. Am I wrong to long for this kind of friendship again?

I have been considering going back to our old church. We haven't been to ours in months now. I felt needed at our old church, and thought I had developed some meaningful friendships through work in the church. There are people there that I still see and hug every time I see them. There are people there that I miss amazingly. But the fact that in three years, they have not even attempted to contact me in any way upsets me. Why do friendships matter more to me than to the other person? (I know that church is not about me. But an important part of us feeling at home in a church is our relationships with other people.)

Another example is my former best friend (she has been replaced by Leigh). I just feel like I have always been more of a friend to her than she has been to me. I bend over backwards to see her and never once have I had the same. And now she is married. I get emails with pics of her and her husband or her family, but nothing personal in a long time. I get the occassional birthday party invite. But never a phone call. And when I call, she always has a reason that she can't talk and she's very sorry and she'll call me back at so-and-so time and she never does.

I know that life pulls people in different directions. We all have responsibilities to our spouses and our children. But why when we used to make time for one another can we not do it anymore?

The New Me

2008-12-09T03:02:00.000-08:00

I am often a very sad person. I love to laugh, but I do not laugh easily. I am highly stressed most of the time. Nothing really seems to make me happy. And I see that reflected in my child. Bro Man, too, is unhappy most of the time--for no reason. He is quick to get his feelings hurt, not a great sense of humor, cannot laugh at himself. My concern is not for me. It is for an eight-year old who seems depressed.

It has occurred to me that I must change to see a change in him. I have changed alot since being married to Mr. Wonderful, learning to laugh at myself or not get my feelings hurt so easily. But he's only 8, and that breaks my heart. I am always telling him not to be so sad, but then I realized he is mirroring what he sees from me.

I am extremely hard on myself. I think that when I go to school for soooooo long now, that my job should come easily. Teaching is harder than I ever thought that it would be. And I am so hard on myself for that. I feel like there is some magical formula for these teachers whose classes actually sit down and do their work. And because I do not know this formula, I beat myself up. Bro Man is much the same way. If school work is not a breeze for him, he beats himself up. He calls himself stupid, or grumbles and complains about how hard it is. He is in third grade now and is learning a harder math.

I realized something the other night. I have been asking for a while now for God's intervention. But I don't think until the other night that I have been willing to accept it. I realized that I have been unhappy about my weight for almost nine years now. But I really have done nothing to change it. So, it is time to accept me for me. Either I have to be willing to accept myself as I am or be willing to change myself. I explained to Bro Man the other night that we only have one life, one shot at happiness in this life. It is too short to be upset or sad or angry all the time. We have to enjoy each other, laugh together, love together, worship the Lord together. We have to love the Lord with all of our hearts, our families with all of our hearts, and be happy.

I explained to him (and to myself) that is something seems hard, we just have to put more effort into it and try a little harder. We've always got a little more in us than we are willing to give. For example, I took Friday off because I was ready to strangle any given student. Not really--just really frustrated. When I came back yesterday, refreshed and with a new and improved attitude, it quickly blew up in my face. I thought that I came back with more energy and less stress ( I finished my online class.) I thought I had more patience, but then my students told me that I came back with a bad attitude. I think the perception is different because when I am refreshed, I attempt to bring some order back to the classroom in a very difficult class. They do not respond well to order, and they perceive it as less patient.

I have to realize that is isn't how they perceive me, because I know that I am doing the right thing by attempting to cease the chaos. I can only pray that my improved outlook will rub off on Bro Man the way that the unhappiness has.

Inspirations Manifested

2008-12-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

Well, back during the summer, I undertook an inspirational project that I am just now getting around to posting. I posted a picture of a dresser back then. Here it is again: the before.

I used this for inspiration.

and came up with this, which I love. I think it is a pretty good representation of the chair. I have one more to do now. Come on Christmas break!!

Stay tuned for Christmas ornament idea and teacher gifts.

Mariachi Hell

2008-12-04T03:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I was not in the greatest of moods yesterday. I am completely and totally exhausted. I was up for two hours yesterday morning instead of sleeping. Actually, I was up and down and up and down for two hours. It started at 2:30 when Baby K woke me up to take her to the bathroom. Gladly I did so because waking up during the night for the bathroom is a very big step in life for a newly three year old. When she finished pottying, she came to my bed with me--to share my pillow and my blanket while I am stuck clinging to the edge of the bed for dear life. Next, Mr. Wonderful looks at me and tells me he has one of his famous tension headaches. After fifteen minutes or so, he just would not stop talking, so I gladly moved to his side of the bed and massaged his back and shoulder while literally fighting to keep my eyes open. Fast forward fifteen minutes and I am back lying on my corner of the pillow. All of the sudden, the dog is chasing the cat through the hallway, dining room, living room in a circle (hardwood floors and a jingly collar). I get up and stop the madness. Lie back down. 30 minutes later I hear Christmas ornaments jingling on the tree. I go in there expecting to find them swatting the lower ornaments and find this:
(check back later to see picture. I have to get ready for work now.)

Jack wants to go outside. I let him out with some scolding words of how I am not staying up to let him back in. Back to bed. Yelping 30 minutes later at the door. Let him in. He comes in like a maniac making a beeline for the cat. Enter these words," Jack, get on that couch right now." He does. "Now go to sleep." He lays down. "Don't move again." He was still there when I got up at 5:00.

Sorry that was a long background story. I'll give you the reader's digest condensed version of this. School=Hell. And another incomplete AUM class project because I don't know how to design a website. Whole family goes to eat at El Rodeo. I am in a mood and realize it. But we walk into a packed, margarita drinking crowd and lo and behold a mariachi band. Now, I probably could have handled it better in its original context, but the mariachi band was playing Sweet Home Alabama in Spanish. In my ear. Thankfully, they stopped after they played it twice in a row. Towards the end of our meal they resumed eating and I respectfully denied their request for a song choice. They moved on to play Sweet Home Alabama AGAIN, but in English this time. Then Beat It by Michael Jackson, which was actually pretty good. I did not know the next two songs, but was so highly tickled by one particularly drunk nurse. She was getting a solo by one of the mariachi singers and she decided to up and sing. Baby K put on a little bit of a show, too. She stood in the booth, bouncing while holding on to the back of the bench, shaking her little toosh. It was too cute. She kept getting plumber's crack, too. Or as the kids call it, she was cracking. Insert a Happy Birthday song or three and let's call it a night. Time for a siesta!

Sad, but Beautiful

2008-11-29T03:43:00.000-08:00

Head on over to my sister Leigh's blog to read first hand the sad part, but I have to tell you a beautiful story that has really touched my heart. First, a little background info. Leigh has a thirteen year old daughter that she has been having some trouble with. You can read about it here. She has gone to spend this week with her father in Florida. She got some money for her birthday and had planned to buy herself a new digital camera yesterday. Kayla, Leigh's daughter, received word Thursday that one of her best friends was in a car accident and was in a medically-induced coma. Yesterday, she called her mom and asked her to verify the latest information that she heard concerning Haley: that she had been pronounced brain dead. Leigh called and did in fact verify that information. On the phone Kayla told Leigh that she was not going to buy the digital camera after all. She was going to use her money to buy flowers and a teddy bear for Haley. I cry as I write this at the beauty of her unselfishness. See, you don't know Kayla. She has a very big heart, but she also loves to get her way. Sometimes one is blinded by the attitude and is unable to see that inner beauty. But she is so beautiful--inside and out.

I pray for her because I am all too aware of the pain of losing a friend. To a teenager, this is devastating. Heck, to an adult this is devastating. I remember being in college and hearing the news that my best friend's boyfriend had been killed in a car accident. We had company at the time, and I spent the next few hours in the bathroom crying. Even thinking now about that night when I found out Shane was gone is painful (13 years later). Just this school year I witnessed first hand the pain. A 16 yo GHS student was killed in a car wreck. Oh my gosh. It was horrible, even though I did not know her. She was the ex-girlfriend of my oldest, tough-guy nephew. He absolutely lost it when he heard of Amy's death.

Life is too short, people. I was reminded many times last night of Haley when I was frustrated with the never-ending demands of my own children. How quickly it can all be taken away. I am reduced to tears every time I think of how Haley's parents must feel. I had just finished talking to Amy's grandmother yesterday when Leigh called with the news.

We do not always understand the way that God works. We do not understand why people are called home to be with our Father. But this is what I do know: God would not take her without a greater purpose. While that may not be consolation to her family and friends, I just pray that whatever God's purpose was in taking Haley, that something positive will come from it, in some way.

A Good Time Was Had by Most

2008-11-27T18:15:00.001-08:00

And by most I mean everyone except Ryan. Well, he had a good time except during pictures. Only three of us girls and our families showed up this year, but we had a good time nonetheless. Leigh and I made an afternoon out of photographing. I am posting some of the ones that I took; hopefully, she will do the same. Be sure to check them out. Here are a few, starting with Bro Man's attitude.

We nibbled on a bit of Cajun Turkey, ham, Leigh's sweet potatoes, corn and rice casserole, Jan's potato casserole, rolls, beer bread, dressing and giblet gravy, peas, key lime pie, mini cheesecakes, and pecan pie. Can you say yum?????

We left after many long hours of modeling for my girls and headed to my MIL's house for round 2. Thanksgiving dinner had long since been over there, but we participated in the clean-up round. Mr. Wonderful is adamant that nobody can touch his mom's dressing. He could (and probably would) live off of just that alone. And the darnedest thing happened while we were there--Emmy ate turkey. I know, I know. It's something you have to see to believe and the memory card was full. But guess what was even stranger than that....... it wasn't just a bite, it was two plate fulls of cajun turkey. I think that was the first time I have ever seen her eat anything of substance. Most of been all the modeling....hmmmm....that gives me a thought. Tomorrow we are off to the train car behind the library and maybe we'll just give the train tracks a try. I just don't know if I am brave enough...it's a busy track. We'll see what cleverness we can come up with.....

Happy Turkey Day!!

Oh my, you funny girl!

2008-11-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

So Baby K is walking around carrying an empty kitty litter container. It's the big plastic jug type with the screw on lid. I asked her why she had it and she busted out with, "Because...Because....Because.....It's a corporation."

Whaaaattt? She's just turned 3 and she's talking about corporations. Who is teaching these kids these things? Maybe she's just got a head for business. Ryan will be the vet, Emmy the doctor, and Kendall the businesswoman. That's just fine with me.

Gift Hunting

2008-11-25T03:40:00.000-08:00

For the first time in my life, I am having trouble picking out Christmas gifts for my children. Bro Man is 8 and his list consists of a new puppy and a dirtbike. Neither one of those is happening. Emmy is easy schmeasy. No problem for her. Baby K is proving a challenge as well. She is no longer a baby, but a big girl. I know that I want to get both girls big girl bikes, Emmy is getting a Tag Reading System and some books to go with it, a baby doll, some clothes, etc. Bro Man does want a baseball glove, so that is manageable. But here is where I run into problems. I do not want to buy toys. We have entirely too many toys now. I don't want to buy video games, because I want to encourage more active play and use of imagination. Bro Man has a birthday three weeks after Christmas, so we are back to buying then.

Here are my thoughts: I got him a movie to watch on his PSP. I'll get him one of those light tracing boxes because he loves to draw, a baseball glove, maybe one or two video games, and some new clothes. He won't be especially overjoyed, but we still have two other Christmases to attend, where there are sure to be toys.

Mr. Wonderful found some of those Disney princess dresses and shoes in Wal*art the other day and immediately thought of Baby K.

Wal*art's Black Friday advertisement came out yesterday. There was really nothing in there that I would be willing to get up and fight the madness to get. Mr. Wonderful found some SD memory cards that he wants, but they will be there later in the day. I would love the cricut expressions machine for $199, but don't want to spend that kind of money on myself.

I would love some ideas if any of you have them for an 8 year old. The rest of the crew I can figure out.

Where the "Crazy" part comes in

2008-11-23T05:44:00.000-08:00

Okay,

So all of you are wondering where the crazy part fits into the "crazy and happy", right? Right? Just say yes ma'am. Thursday night when I got home, Jack (the dog) ran outside to meet us as he does every single day. As I open the back doors of the van to get the girls out, he jumps in and he jumps out. Well, Thursday night, about 2 hours after we got home, Jack still had not tried to come back in from outside. But my boss' dog would not stop barking. It was driving me insane. So Mr. Wonderful went outside to make sure that it was not Jack. (They are both Schnauzers and sound just alike!) He came back-nope. It was Dr. Farmer's. Another thirty minutes passed and the stupid dog just would not quit barking. Finally, I told Mr. Wonderful that I thought Jack must be in trouble or something because he would not come when I called him. I put my shoes on, gathered a flashlight, and headed out to find my baby dog. As I walked past the van, he jumped on the window of the van--from the inside. He had been shut in the van for two and half hours. I did not even know. But to make matters worse, I had forgotten my keys in the ignition and he had locked himself in there. It took us another 45 minutes to break into the van and get the dog out. Okay, I say we, but I mean I shined a flashlight and held a pry bar while my husband unlocked the door. I swear that Jack drank water for 15 minutes straight. Bless his heart.

Then last night, Baby K was wound up. It was like she was on crack or something. Just a whirlwind constantly. She was sitting in my lap and plop! I heard her drop something into my Diet Coke can. Well, I did not know what she dropped and she just kept saying "the blue ding." Well, when I emptied out the can, I found my SanDisk memory card for my digital camera--full of pictures. That's right, folks. She put my maxed out memory card into the Diet Coke. Rest assured tears were shed over that.

On a good note, I mended a pair of pants yesterday that have been needing repair for the past 4 1/2 years. I do not ever think about it until I want to wear them, and then I do not have time. So last night, I did it. I remembered the pants and by golly, I mended them.

Good news is yesterday started a 10-day break from school. Hopefully I can get some Christmas gifts completed that I am making and some sewing done and some laundry complete and some housekeeping done and some parenting, if there is time. Happy Thanksgiving, bloggy friends.

Struggling

2008-11-20T03:30:00.001-08:00

Okay, I am seriously struggling right now. I am absolutely, without a doubt, miserable at my job. I am back to crying every single day. On top of that, when I get mad, all I can think about is what I missing out on with my girls, while dealing with 150 ungrateful teenagers every day. I traded in my own two pre-schoolers for 150 hellions. When I see the behavior issues going on with my own children that did not exist before they went to daycare, and the return to babydom from Bro Man, and I cannot help but think that those "extra" problems would be gone if I was not working. I am missing out on eating lunch with him for Thanksgiving at school, participating in field trips, being a class mom again, teaching Emily and Kendall to read and write like I did Ryan. I am missing out on the 597 extra hugs that I got every day. But the worst part is that I only want to sleep when I am at home. If I am not sleeping, I am taking out my bad day on my children, because I am completely determined that they are not going to end up like my students.

I came home crying last night. Keith's response was, "If it is that bad, then quit." Oh, you have no idea how bad I wanted to hear those words. But then...... I started thinking. He has been miserable in his job for quite some time now. But he hasn't quit. Because he has to provide for his family. He would love to quit. He wants to open a business for himself. No, we don't have the capital for it, but he would love to do it. I also started thinking that when I was praying this summer about a teaching job, that I asked God if the "right" job for me came along, then he would open the doors to it. And he opened the door to this one. Am I giving up on God's plan? Maybe all I needed was the reassurance from Keith that if things got too, too bad, I could leave.

But is teaching somewhere else going to be any different? No. So then what? As long as I have been in school, I could be a doctor by now. Why am I not? Do I just give up on teaching because the students are jerks? Because I know there will jerks, probably even bigger ones, in medicine. Why is it impossible for me to be happy? Keith mentioned the other night that because of work and kids' behavior, we don't even get to enjoy each other anymore, because "we" don't exist anymore. Everything is about being too stressed out or fussing at the kids. The last couple of nights I have spent watching hilariously funny movies with the kids. I have so enjoyed hearing them laugh. Even Keith laughed out loud from the music studio at the kids laughing. But night before last, I fell asleep at 5:30 watching the movie with the kids and slept all night long, even with them in the room with me. Last night, I made some DawgHouse dip and some beer bread before settling in to watch Garfield. But by 8:15 I was zonked.

I know that I am sick (sinus stuff, sore throat, earaches) and that is more than likely contributing to the inability to stay conscious in the evenings and probably my negative attitude toward my students. My fellow teachers warned me that it is easy to get burned out. I think I am there. I am not going to make any decisions right now. I am going to see how it goes between now and Christmas break.

My sanity is at sake, people. Help!

My BABY is 3!!!!

2008-11-16T03:33:00.001-08:00

So, yesterday was the anniversary of the birth of my youngest child. The child who was born 35 minutes exactly after being induced. The child who caused me major pain while pregnant and throughout labor because apparently she did not want me to have an epidural. We have gone from this: and
to this:
Happy Birthday, Baby K!!! I love you my sweet baby girl!

I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Hide It....

2008-11-10T03:01:00.000-08:00

That's right, folks. So excited. You wanna know why? Because I am the featured blogger today on SITS. What's that? You don't know what SITS is? Well, let me tell you. It is only the greatest social networking site in blogland. SITS features a blogger five days a week. All of the SITS girls go visit the featured blogger and leave some comment lovin'. I hear ya. You wanna be a part of it, too. Well, just click on the SITS button on the left side of my page and presto!! You're there. It's that easy!!

But look--don't be hatin' because I am the queen for a day. You can be too. Now get your scawny tale over there and see what the hullaballoo is all about.

Thanks!

Reaction to the Election

2008-11-05T03:41:00.000-08:00

The next president has been decided. At the close of what is the most monumental election in history, Barack Obama, a black man, has won the presidency. I have been weighing my reaction to his victory, and this is what I came up with. Our country is in the worst financial condition that it has been in as far back as I can remember. I am typically a Republican, a conservative, but I totally agree that it is a time for change. No, I do not agree with all that Obama represents; we do not have the same morals and the same values. However, I wanted someone in office who would bring about change. I know that many voters chose Obama based on the color of his skin. I could not understand why race was playing such a big factor in this race until I heard two explanations of it. One of my students explained to me that Obama, a black man, has been where they are and understands their needs. But perhaps the best explanation came on the news this morning when a tearful ASU student explained the hope that Obama's victory brings to the black population. Black Americans everywhere are inspired by a black man's rise to the most powerful position in the free world.

My concerns about Obama also stem from comments made by the same students. Yes, I do feel that it is important for someone to understand an entire race of people. But our president needs to understand two races of people, an entire country filled with two major races and many ethnicities, along with many minority groups. But more importantly, our present needs to fix what is wrong with America for all Americans. Do I feel that Obama can do this? Do I feel that he can represent all of America? Yes. I am concerned about having someone of a different faith in charge of our country. (I understand that Obama belongs to a Christian church--I am not doubting that--but even Christian churches differ.) But that is what makes America what it is—the freedom for anyone, anywhere, to be anything.

Success

2008-11-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

So....there really is a reason my blogging has dropped off. It's called reality. REALLY...I have not figured out how to be a working mom and a blogger, let alone a seamstress and a crafter. I want to be all of those things, and an amazing wife and housekeeper. But guess what suffers. All of them. That's right. All of them.

But this week being a teacher was really rewarding. The club that I am co-sponsor of hosted a breast cancer awareness walk. Now, I could not have done this without my co-sponsor, but most of the work fell on me. We all know me. I am not organized. But for once, I had a plan. It was just falling into place. We sold ribbons to the students for $1 each and they in turn got out of class 15 mins early to participate in the awareness walk. We set a goal of $500. As of Wednesday afternoon, I was worried. We only had $267 of our $500 goal. Thursday afternoon, we had $410. By 2:30 Friday at the walk, we had $648. Can you believe it? Of the 770 students, 648 were willing to participate in buying a ribbon to get out of class 15 minutes early. We had a pre-walk ceremony with 5 cancer survivors. We let each of them release a balloon with their names tied to them, then the club members released another 5 for people who lost their battles with breast cancer. It was so awesome to see that many young people participating in the walk--for whatever reason--all walking for a cure. The principal was highly impressed at the turnout and the willingness to participate. There were no problems getting everyone to do what they were supposed to do.

We capped off the walk by heading straight into the pep rally, at which the principal and one of the ninth-grade history teachers were "arrested" to raise money for the school since the state cut the education funds. The principal urged the kids to donate money. For every $25, he had to stay in jail for 1 hour. The 1st A.P. and the head football coach each donated a $100 bill. But we have a ways to go. We are still short about $4800. If we don't find some way to raise it, it will come out of our instructional funds. But I trust that we will find a way to raise it. I suggested to the PTO that we do a camp stew sale in January and talk to the local movie theatre about having a GHS night. Any suggestions of fund raisers that have been successful?

Letter

2008-10-24T02:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Mother Nature,

I just wanted to remind you that it is October here in Alabama. I am not sure if you have forgotten or if we have done something to offend you. I am writing this letter to urge you to call off the hounds, to wave the white flag, or whatever it is that I need to do to get you to return us to fall. Two weeks ago, you had obviously taken us back to summer with 90 degree temperatures. This week, 40s and 50s. I just need consistency. See, fall is my favorite season. Spring is nice, too, but fall--with its beautifully colored leaves and football---oh, it's so good. And just in case I hold some special favor with you, I respectfully request that the leaves stay those beautiful colors and, preferably, remain on the trees. That would be a big help. I don't love raking. And I really get tired of strangers knocking on my door asking to rake my yard for money. Can I just tell them that I like the leaves?

I guess Coach Blackmon forgot to tell you that I am supposed to work at the football game tonight. Rain, combined with cold temperatures, does not make me a happy camper. If I must stand outside for hours taking tickets of people foolish enough to watch football in this weather, I need some cooperation for the cessation of this rain. Don't get me wrong: I can handle the cold. I can handle rain. I can handle wind. But the combination of the three may actually be lethal. Are you trying to kill me?

I appreciate your time and consideration of these requests.

Sincerely,

Loving Fall

Trials and Tribulations of childhood

2008-10-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

Bro Man has always been extremely sensitive about his hair. He has always been very peculiar about how he wants it cut, exactly how much should be cut, etc. He makes sure before he leaves the house that it laying just so.

He was badly in need of a haircut. I took him to my SIL, the hairdresser, last Friday, but she could not cut it just then. And I am too impatient to wait on my off day for her to become available. I have let the hair go all week. But tonight I could not take it anymore. I have, generally speaking, always cut his hair. He prefers a style similar to a military high-and-tight but a little longer. In a way, I am very peculiar about his hair as well.

Tonight I got out the clippers and started the haircut. All was going well and we were talking and laughing. He asked about the time Mr. Wonderful was cutting his hair with the clippers and the blade came off. As soon as he said this, I looked down and the blade had come off, leaving a big bald spot on the side of his head. And all chaos ensued. It has been tears and drama ever since. Mr. Wonderful is in the process of giving him an official high-and-tight. I can't wait to see it--I've always loved the cleanness of one. I remember being a young teenager and seeing a particular soldier at the compound where my mom and sister worked, and yummy--with his high and tight.

We just pulled up some pictures of some men with high and tights and Bro Man thought they looked pretty tough, so he turned out okay with it. It's not completely done yet, and hopefully he'll let me take a picture when he is finished, but from what I have seen, it will be too cute on the handsome man.

Cloris-Septic

2008-10-15T03:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, folks that know me know how I love me some DWTS. But I have decided that the show is rigged. There is no way humanly possible that people are voting to keep 82 yo Cloris Leachman on that show. She is a joke. She is on there for people to laugh at. She is not a contender, but like season's past, she has a better dance than she has had in past weeks, and all the sudden her scores jump up higher than some of the others.

Now take Rocco for example. As Bruno said--he didn't have a musical bone in his body. But he genuinely tried. Will he ever be a great ballroom dancer or latin dancer? No. He won't be. But he tried. He didn't get out on the floor and crawl around and pitter-patter during the jive. I understand that she is 82. But she does not have any business on that show if she cannot perform. And there is no way that people are voting to keep her on the show. I just don't buy it.

Do you watch the show? Tell me what you think.

My vote goes to Warren Sapp.

Reliving the Past

2008-10-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

When Baby K was an infant and we had an event to attend, whether it was a family gathering or birthday party or anything with a crowd, she would get passed from person to person. The result was that she could not sleep that night from anxiety I can only assume. She would have to cuddle with me in my bed, under my covers, and I would talk in a very low voice to her until she fell asleep. Sometimes, when we would go to my MIL's house on Sunday afternoons, she would not get her nap. She was always very peculiar about going to sleep somewhere out of the ordinary. So when we got home, I would sit in the desk chair with my feet propped up and rock my sweet angel. She would go to sleep running her chubby little fingers through the back of my hair. Or she would stroke my face with the same little precious fingers until she went to sleep.

Baby K and I spent the day together Saturday. We went to Montgomery and picked out her birthday party supplies. She decided on Minnie Mouse. We had the best time. She was so funny and entertaining. She had everyone in the party store laughing as she walked through the store, talking on my cell phone to her brother and sister. One particularly hilarious event was when she stomped her foot, clad in her cheer-weeter skirt, and told her sister, "You don't talk to me like that." She had everyone cracking up.

This morning she woke up especially fussy and ill. Nothing made her happy. I turned on the radio by the computer and sat in the desk chair, with my little blonde bombshell in my lap, once again wearing the cheerleader outfit, carrying her Tinkerbell purse filled with pandas and a toothbrush. She sat facing outward, quiet and still, listening to the music. I was reminded of the times when we would sit in the chair and I would rock her to sleep. Eventually she turned facing me, and said in the sweetest voice imaginable, "I want to go to sleep on you." She leaned forward, placing her sweet face against my chest, and fell asleep. I had my feet propped on the desk, like I used to do. The only thing missing was her fingers in my hair. It was such a special moment getting to relive that experience, for what was the first time in almost two years, and may be the last time. See, my baby girl turns three next month. I cannot believe that the time has passed like it has. She has grown up so much over the last few months. She talks so completely clear and makes wonderful sense. In fact, she had a french fry today that looked like a rainbow to her. I love that she looks at things with a different approach. So while these special moments of babydom are dwindling, I will always have the memories and always have the future to make even more beautiful memories.

Oh Glorious Day!

2008-10-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, this week has been hell at school. I have been so stressed out. The closer it came to the end of the week, the worse it got for me. I needed a break. So, knowing that we have Monday and Tuesday off, I decided to take today off and have a little "me" time. There are things around the house that I want to do--need to do--but my husband has instructed me to sleep all day. Do nothing but sleep.

I think I am going to try to get a doctor's appointment since I have been sick for over a month now, but I really hate the thought of going to the doctor. Well, here anyway. My doctor moved and now I am stuck with his partner that I can't stand. But I really do need to go, so I'll probably suck it up and go.

Other than that, it's going to be a lazy day. I wanted to go the movies by myself to see Nights in Rodanthe or Lakeview Terrace, but they don't start until 2:00. So there goes that idea. But I should get some much needed sleep today.

It's Me Again

2008-10-07T03:49:00.000-07:00

I am sorry, Leigh, for I have sinned. It has been three days since my last post.

Okay, so my sister is on my case about my lack of posting. Well, here's the deal--as sad as it may be. This real world working stuff is getting in my way. It's in my way of blogging, it's in my way of laundry, it's in my way of getting enough sleep, and it's in my way of sanity. So I just have to try to squeeze in a post or two when I can. I am still reading my favorite bloggee friends every morning, even if I am not commenting like I was. It's not that I don't want to comment, cuz I do. I just am pushed for time to get up at 5:00 and be at school every morning at 6:00. Yes, folks, I go to work at 6:00 even though I don't have to be there until 7:30. That's when I get my work done--and they have blocked blogging. Sorry bootleg internet service. If I want to use my planning period to blog, then--by golly--I should get to.

On another note, one of my college classes ended last night--thankfully. I enjoyed the people in the class because we only had 7. We went out to eat after class at a place called Wishbone Cafe. This restaurant is wonderful and they fry nothing!!! That's right, peeps. No frying. Grease free. I had sauteed crab claws, a side salad, some jambalaya, and a dessert prepared especially for me because they were out of banana pudding. It was two huge chocolate chip cookies surrounding whipped cream and bananas, topped with whipped cream and some sort of red syrup. Really good.

Well, I am off to educate tomorrow's leaders. Oh gosh, I just scared myself with that thought!!!!!

It's That Time of Year

2008-10-04T03:51:00.000-07:00

People come from miles around
From the farms and from the towns
To where excitement can be found
At the Alabama National Fair.

Bro Man went with BD last night to the fair in Montgomery. This left our girls in an uproar that they could not go too. So Mr. Wonderful thought we should take them to the local fair. We did and they had a wonderful time. It was so great to spend time with the kids without the fighting. It was a rare occassion that left me wanting to take them other places. But then we got home. Baby K asked about 8:00 to go to bed. She never wants to go to bed. But she wanted to go in my bed. With me. That was fine, I thought. I'll just lay in bed and watch tv and she'll fall asleep. But no. We ended up wrestling, tickling, playing, laughing until Emmy came to see what the fun was going on. So she joined in on it. Then I found Emmy's and my favorite show on tv: House. The three of us started watching House and that is when the fighting began. "It's my mama." "I don't want "Baby K" to cuddle with you." "That's my pillow." "Emmy's in my spot." (She wasn't by the way.) and on and on and on. By 9:15 we finally decided for them that they must go to sleep.

I am headed to Montgomery today to the Hobster and to pick up Bro Man. I am taking the three kids to the movies this afternoon to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Wish me luck!! Mr. Wonderful won't go because football is on.

Next Friday marks fall break at school. Hallelujah!!

My Husband, My Friend

2008-09-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

Mr. Wonderful is an absolute saint. We had the discussion a few weeks ago, around our anniversary, that after 5 years of marriage, we still are not tired of being around each other. We still look forward to coming home every night and getting to see the other, talk to the other, hug the other. But today my heart is breaking. It is temporary, but, nonetheless, it is breaking. Mr. Wonderful left today for five days. He has gone on another work trip to Boca. Now I know that he was looking forward to it. He has not stopped talking about this steak house that he and Justin ate at every day three years ago when they were there for two weeks. He even booked their hotel directly across the street from the steak house, so they could take full advantage of it. But for some reason, this trip is affecting me more than the others did. I have been absolutely sobbing all morning long. I caused everyone else to cry this morning during the goodbyes. I have been a baby today. This is the first trip he has been on since I have been working. That means, that I still have to get up and go to work, but have to get all three kids ready for school, get them to my sister to be dropped off, get them all picked up, dropped off the places that they need to go in the evenings, go to school myself, supper cooked, kids bathed, etc. But that is not even what I am worried about. He kept saying, "I'll be back. I promise." But he can't promise that. I have allowed worry that something will happen to him to compromise my rationality. I allow thoughts to creep into my head of the phone call that I would receive if something happened to him. And thoughts of what life would be like, how miserable I would be, if he did not return. I know that God is protecting him. I know this. I know this. But he is the person that I think of first when I need to tell something to--like when these idiots at school do something stupid. I need to talk to him every night. Not only to know that he is okay, but because he is my best friend and I absolutely cannot, will not, go a day without hearing his voice.

Oh the pain!

2008-09-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

I spent most of the day in pain. I was at school this morning, doing my normal stuff, and I got sick. I ran to the bathroom only to have a horrible bout of "the runs." But upon leaving the bathroom, I started having horrible stomach pain and was nauseated and very close to passing out. Out SRO escorted me to the teacher's lounge to wait on the nurse. After about 30 minutes of unrelenting pain, she called my doctor who told me to go to the emergency room. Mr. Wonderful came and got me and took me to the ER. The dr. there told me that he really wasn't sure whether it was a stomach virus or the early onset of gastrointeritis (sp?) or a case of constipation. He treated me for the latter of the three. Since being home, I have had several bouts with ye olde toilette, and have had severe stomach cramping. I took a short nap, but was worried I would oversleep and miss picking up Ryan before he gets on the bus.

On another note: I received a shocking email last night. It was requesting my help in planning the wedding reception of my best friend who got married yesterday. Without telling her best friend. Without even so much as a hint. I obviously would not have been able to be there because of school, but that was not the way that I wanted this to happen. She has been dating this professor for, I guess, a year or more. I guess the most shocking thing was hearing it from her sister. But, Geeg called me last night and I talked to her and expressed that I was happy for her, but was really quite angry that she did not tell me. I guess it really was not anger so much as hurt. Deeply hurt. She was the MOH at my wedding. Anyway, she explained to me that no one really was told except her immediate family and his parents. They did not even tell his siblings. So I guess that I am not hurt anymore.

The death of me

2008-09-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

The Georgia Bulldogs are going to be the death of me. I love me some Dawgs. But the stress. I. can't. handle. the. stress. They always do this to me. They make a close game out of something that never should have been. The Sucky Carolina Gamecocks. I mean--come on. The QB's name is Smelley and the PK is Succup. They deserve to lose. But the Dawgs made it a close one. A highly superior defense fell apart in the second half and a highly superior offense struggled to find its stride in the first. Let me tell you why they are killing me. My blood pressure rises to a level where my head is pounding. I have to leave the room to regain consciousness or at least to avoid losing it. I think I am going to develop an aneurysm from this unhealthy rise in my blood pressure. But they won..and after all, that is what matters!! 3-0, baby. 3-0! So what if I am lying on the couch, bleeding internally. The Dawgs are winning!

We had a good day at my niece's birthday party. She had it at Pump It Up. I don't know if this is a chain or an individual place, but if you don't know what it is, it is so cool. They have two different play areas that are rented out for birthday parties. They have inflatable obstacle courses, a huge inflatable slide, a bouncy basketball court, and a round bouncy thing. It is a two- hour party. The kids (and some adults) play for about 1 1/2 hours, then you go to the party room where they serve the food and cake. It costs about $275 but there is no setup, no cleanup, they supply everything but the cake, and the kids are entertained outside of your house for 2 hours. This is definitely a consideration for Bro Man's party b/c it is in January and it ALWAYS rains on his party day. ALWAYS!

Well, the girls are spending the night with my parents and I have been awake since 3:30, so I think I am going to get some shut eye--while I can. Tomorrow I have to do lesson plans and read two articles in my textbook. You think I would take advantage of the girls being gone and get some of that done now--but nope. I am a procrastinator, and it would give procrastinators everywhere a bad name. And I can't take that kind of pressure. Just knowing that procrastinators everywhere would be blaming me...even thinking about it makes me break out in hives!!

Never Forget

2008-09-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Today is a day in history that I will never forget. I, along with my co-workers, had just arrived at work. My boss came in to tell us that the first tower had been hit. We were shocked and amazed. Then he came back a few minutes later to tell us that the second tower had been hit. It was then that we realized that this was not a chance accident. We did not know at the time that it was a terror attack. All we knew was what the news was speculating, and that was that the planes had been hijacked. My boss pulled a tv into the conference room, and the rest of the day, we spent huddled around the television. He did not complain that we were not working. I think he just knew. We all felt violated and scared and nauseated. How big was this attack going to be? Then the Pentagon. Then the fourth plane. Would this ever stop??? I think this fear was as great as the serial snipers from a few years back.

Onto another note, I had three students yelling at one another in class today. I told them to go out and got accused of being a racist because I did not send any white students into the hallway. OK, but the three students weren't white and the white ones weren't in the disagreement. I am so fair that it is not even funny. I have a feeling that this one will lead to a mama visit. Oh well. I did nothing wrong. I know that. The students know that. And so does the girl that called me a racist and then told the principals that I was being racist.

Tidbits

2008-08-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

All of the kids stayed home from school Friday with Daddy. Coach Nick came and laid the new carpet, but didn't do it in the hallway. I was very disappointed to still have green carpet in the house, but the living room looks awesome. Mr. Wonderful told me that the hardwoods underneath the carpet in the living room were in great condition. So Friday afternoon and night, I pulled up the hallway carpet, pad, tack strips, staples, etc. It looks so awesome, though. The living room looks so much bigger now. We got rid of the huge light wood entertainment center and got a highboy entertainment center that is considerably smaller, but matches so well. I will post pics soon.

I found a super large mirror on clearance the other day for $25. It is a shabby chic kind of off white, so it will either adorn the wall in my bedroom or in the hallway. (I vote for the hallway.) With the way it would be positioned in the hallway, we can lay in our bed and see Baby K laying in hers.

A very sweet thing transpired Friday while I was working. The girls were laying in our bed watching a movie when Emily came out with a shocked, tear-filled look. Bless her heart. She had watched Baby K fall asleep and thought that she had died right there before her. Baby K falls asleep so fast. Emily was traumatized by her baby sister's apparent death. That brought tears to my eyes.

Oh, I had the most wonderful day with Baby K. We just have not had much time together since I started working. Yesterday, the girls and I spent the day together ( a very unpleasant one) despite it being my anniversary. Today, the whole family spent the day together. Baby K and I went our way and Mr. Wonderful took Emmy and Bro Man with him. Baby K and I laughed more today than we have in the last month. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. She is soooo funny.

We spent a small fortune at Wally World today. It was unintentional, but we did it. Ryan picked an off-brand Wii type game that was clearly marked $29.98 on the shelf. Mr. Wonderful let the girls pick a $25 slip 'n slide. He got a gas grill (hurricane possibility). We got an invisible fence system to keep Jack-bo in the yard. We got a few groceries and some batteries. Mr. W paid for their three things while I got the few groceries. Then Baby K and I paid for the other stuff. Ours totaled $235 dollars. He told me that his totaled $254, which is more than $60 of an overcharge. I looked at his receipt and Bro Man's game system was $80--needless to say, it and the slip 'n slide went back. $114 for those two things. Still spent too much money, but the grill is something that we use religiously and the invisible fence is for the safety of Jack and the neighborhood. (He bit a hole in Mr. W's brother's shorts yesterday). But in Jack's defense, he views baseball caps as threatening. Once Kyle took his hat off, Jack stopped attacking him. I think he is just defending his family, but Mom thinks he is dangerous. He gets after people all the time, but as long as they stand their ground he backs down. If they run, it is on like a chicken bone.

Just curious if anyone has used the PediPaws pet filing thingee that I have seen advertised on tv. Please let me know if this works before my dog punctures an artery and I bleed to death. His claws are so sharp right now.

Well, enough for tonight. I am going to be a better steward of time--and make more time for my family. Hopefully, I can go back to blogging and commenting soon. Just have to get adjusted to this whole new schedule.

Monday

2008-08-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Monday was the anniversary of the day that my life changed. Seven years ago to the day, I left the horrible relationship that I was in, and started my life over. I remember it vividly. My sister and dad showed up to my house that Saturday morning, and we had everything packed and moved out within about three hours. This was no easy task with a one year old under foot, but we did it nonetheless. It wasn't pretty, but it was done. We threw clothes, blankets, shoes, and anything else that would fit into a sheet we had spread on the floor. We folded up the corners, tied them, and moved on to the next one. We used suitcases to pack up dishes, pictures, knick-knacks, and anything else we could cram into them. It was a very emotional day. I wasn't just leaving someone that I had spent the last four years loving, the father of my son. I was leaving his children, as well. I was leaving my best friend who lived across the road. We loaded up my dad's work truck, my sister's car, my car and we headed off to my parents, where Bro Man and I would spend the next year.

My sisters, not wanting me to sit home feeling sorry for myself, invited me to a dinner they were having about twenty miles away. So completely swollen eyed from crying, I headed off to Twin #2's and Leigh's. Mom and Dad kept Bro Man for me. Oh, how heartbroken I was. I felt like the most horrible failure imaginable. Why couldn't I make that relationship work? How could I love someone so totally and completely and hate them so much at the same time? How do you still love someone when they obviously hate you so much?

After an afternoon full of prayers, I headed to a dreaded dinner. It wasn't that I didn't want to be around my sisters (and I am eternally grateful to them for this), I just did not want to be around anyone. I wanted to lay in my bed and cry and wallow in self-pity--exactly the things that my sisters did not want me doing. I prayed that God would harden my heart towards BD.

That night with my sisters is unforgettable. It was Twin #2 and her husband, Leigh and Twin 2's cousin-in-law. Now, CIL was cute, but they really were trying to fix him up with Leigh. And I so totally was not interested in meeting a man.

In October of that year, I began dating the brother of my best friend. Things got way too serious way too fast, and in three weeks, he was talking about marriage. He was really good to me. Really, really good to me. We continued to date for a couple of months. My whole family loved this guy and if my parents could choose someone for me to this day, I think it would be him. He loved my family just as much and wanted nothing more than to be around them. For the first time in his life since his divorce, he was a good dad. He called his girls every single night to talk to them. He paid his child support religiously. But I could not get over BD. And he understood that and still wanted to marry me. I just was not ready.

In November, Twin 2 called to tell me that CIL wanted to go out with me. Well, because of best friend's brother, I told her no. But my curiosity was peaked. I went to watch him and my BIL play in an old-timers football game for their high school. I broke it off with Best Friend's Brother just a few short weeks later. It was not until New Year's Eve that I went out with CIL. And I never looked back. Early September of the next year, I told him that I didn't know if I would ever be ready to be married. He told me that the trip that he had planned for my birthday was to propose. I was shocked. I didn't know what to say or what to do. It was about thirty seconds later that realized I could not imagine my life without him. I could not wait for the day that I could marry him. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this magnificent creature. For Christmas that year, I got my ring. And this weekend, after the addition of two more children, we celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. I still cannot imagine my life without this man. I love him beyond belief. He is my strength, my sanity, my everything. Without him, I would be nothing.

Crazy Tired

2008-08-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

I am thoroughly exhausted this morning. Last night we had some pretty rough weather due to the tropical storm. It was barely raining at my house, so I ventured out to return some shoes I had bought for Hubby. Two miles down the road at the store, the rain and the wind were so bad, I felt like that hot, bald guy (wow, I never thought I would say those two words at the same time) named Jim on the Weather Channel when he stands on the beach while a hurricane makes landfall. The wind was so strong that I could barely walk. An umbrella was useless. Completely soaked, I did not even attempt to use my umbrella on the way out, fearing I might turn into Mary Poppins. I got home soaked to the bone to barely a drizzle. Two miles can make all the difference.

But on a good note, we had some yummy chili last night. It was just the right kind of day and night to curl up in the bed and take a nap (which I did) and to eat chili. If only I would have had some Georgia football to go with it. One more week and counting. That ought to get me through the week.

And good news, I finally got to turn in my new hire paperwork. The lady at the BOE was nice enough to grant me an August paycheck even though the cutoff date had passed for August pay. So now, maybe seeing some money will keep me motivated as well.

I am so procrastinating right now. I am so sleepy, so I am trying my hardest not to do lesson plans and homework. I also have to create a Jeopardy game as a study guide. I even cooked pancakes this morning to avoid the things I don't want to do.

Settling In

2008-08-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who has sent me a message asking how things are going. I certainly do appreciate the encouragement. Things have been tough--tougher than I could have imagined. But my professor pointed out to me the other day that I am basically thinking "white." I am expecting out of my students what I would do and how I would behave. I am setting the standards for them at what I think they should be for white America. Basically, I am failing to recognize the differences between the black students and white students. I am learning that I cannot be colorblind. Seeing color is one of the things that must happen in order to be a successful teacher.

After two especially rough weeks with three of my classes, a near fight that resulted in threats to shoot another student and everyone else in the room, a student pulled out of my room for bringing drugs to school with the intent to sell, I went to the principal. I laid it all out for him. I told him that I had no intention of coming back last Monday when I left the previous Friday. It was at that point that he realized that things must really be bad. Fortunately, I have a VERY supportive principal and assistant principals. They have agreed to help me in any and every way they can, without overstepping the bounds and running my class for me. My principal helped me to realize that most of my frustrations are at myself, not at my classes. But I am not a quitter. I refuse to quit and let these kids get the best of me. I love teaching the classes where there is some semblance of order. I made the principals aware of the sexual harassment from two students, so now those two will be gone if it continues.

I am stronger than they are. They have not seen strong yet. I will persevere and I will win!!!!!!! I. will. win. Losing is not an option.

The girls really enjoy their school. Hubby got called Friday at 2:30 that Baby K was throwing up. She was over it by the time I got home yesterday afternoon. I was up for three hours with Emmy during the night before she finally threw up. She says her stomach still does not feel good, but she has not been sick anymore.

Bro Man and I got up early this morning and headed to Montgomery. We spent the morning doing some shopping and thankfully got home before this tropical storm rain and winds started. We had such a wonderful morning. There was only one time when I had a problem with him and he immediately apologized for talking to me the way that he did. He was so very super sweet.

Well, I'm done for now. I promise this blog is not going into a rambling about teaching, but right now that is about all that is going on in my life.

I hate it!

2008-08-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, I hate teaching. I hate the kids. I hate, hate the kids. I hate, hate, hate the drug-dealing and using kids. Oh, did I mention that I hate the kids??

Lettin' It Go

2008-08-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

This post is here because I haven't really written anything all week, and I am lettin' it all out now. Both girls are in the pre-K programs that I wanted them to be in. We are just out $250 that we paid to the private school for Emmy as a registration fee when the K-4 program said they absolutely could not take her. But I would much rather cut my losses at that than to get caught up with that school. For my job's sake, I cannot possibly be involved in the private school. Baby K had a great first day of school yesterday. She stayed in her big girl panties all day. The teacher said they really didn't even know that she was in the room. But she was so worn out when I picked her up. Emmy starts Monday. Bro Man had a great first day, other than having this chick in there that has been stalking him since kindergarten. It really is a sad day when a kindergarten girl asks a kindergarten boy if he thinks she is hot. That's ridiculous!! I'll have to have a talk with the teacher about her. He says she is sitting by him and following him around.

My first day was kinda rough. We had a two hour homeroom, so I know them pretty well. First period and second period were only ten minutes. Third period was about fifteen when it was supposed to be thirty. Fourth was pretty good, fifth was okay, sixth was sheer and utter hell, and seventh was superb. After my homeroom was released, my reputation preceeded me. I had the audacity to make tenth graders walk in a straight line to the auditorium for the assembly. They tried me a little on the way there, but on the way back, we only had to start over one time for them to realize that I meant business. But then they all got blow pops when they got back to the room. Fourth period really had an aversion to walking in a straight line to lunch, so I made them a deal that we would try letting them walk their way as long as they were quiet. And three teachers complimented me on how quiet they were on the way. They get blow pops on Monday. I don't really remember fifth period, so I guess it was uneventful. Sixth period was out of control. There was never a moment that control was established. At the very end, I ended up saying, "If you say another word, you can see me at break on Monday." Most got quiet for the first time, but I have three scheduled for break detention. Three thugs. They won't show. You know why? Because I don't know their names yet. So when they get to my class on Monday, they will have two days break detention. And when they don't show, they will be my very first office referrals. Sixth period was so bad that the police officer at the school decided to stop in my class. So bless my ninth graders hearts come seventh period. I made sure there was control in that class. Oh, but I can already tell, they will try me.

Hubby is in a bad mood today. I am not really sure why. He says kids and house. I have been trying to help him with laundry today and I cooked supper and I took Bro Man to BD to see his grandparents who are here for the weekend from Ohio. But let me tell you why I am not in a good mood. A very simple little thing that just set me off. We have 2 1/2 bathrooms. The main bathroom is the one in the hallway. Everyone has always showered in that bathroom. About 8-10 months ago, Hubby put an aerating shower nozzle on the shower. I hate that shower head and have vocalized this many, many times. Since we moved into the master, the master bath has become my bathroom. No one else uses it. Slowly but surely, the rest of the family is starting to take it over. Hubby even told me that it was my bathroom. Today, he comes home from the store with an aerating shower nozzle for my shower. My. shower. I said "Why?" Because he wanted it there. "But you don't even shower in there?" Because he hated the other shower head. Oh, little lambs, it will not stay there. I will purchase one that I have been wanting and it will be on the shower in my bathroom. No kids. No husband. My bathroom. Mine. Mine. MINE! I swear I'll take a case of Diet Coke and lock myself in there.

Bomb Diggity

2008-08-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

My husband is the bomb diggity. I just have to tell you. Now in the four years that I have stayed home, he has not been one to be much help in the housekeeping department. Really, the only time that he helped out was when I got really far behind on it, or when we declared laundry bankruptcy and took it all to the laundomat.

But Monday night I got home from my first day at school. I didn't get home until 5:00, and I came home to find that my husband was doing laundry. He told me that he was taking over laundry duty from then on. How awesome is that?

Then yesterday I got home at 4:3o again. He got home a few minutes later and immediately began doing laundry. But not only that...when he was home yesterday for lunch, he washed up the few dishes that were in the sink. So far, since I have started working, I have not had any cleaning to do.

Then today, I did not get home until 5:00. I packed up the hubby and kids and we went back to work in my room. He did lots of little things for me like putting things on the wall up high and decorating a bulletin board for me. He cleaned the markerboard and all of the desks. He hung a clock, and made some suggestions of things that I need.

Edited* Leigh brought to my attention that it has fallen solely on his shoulders to find daycare for our two girls. He did manage to get Emmy in a K-4 program at a private school and we are still working on getting Baby K somewhere, but the contact information is his. My principal and superintendent have made clear that they have the pull to get my child in where I want her, so I am probably going to have to make use of them as resources tomorrow.

It is for the above reasons that I nominate my husband as husband of the month. All those in favor say "Aye." All those opposed, say absolutely nothing.

Today

2008-08-04T03:57:00.001-07:00

HI-HO, HI-HO, IT'S OFF TO WORK I GO!!

Emmy just got the memo last night that I am working now. She was so excited, but then started crying about how much she is going to miss me. Sweet babies.

Today is going to be emotional. It hit me yesterday, that my girls have never been anywhere or stayed with anyone for any length of time. They have always had food and sippy cups readily available. I am more worried about my two yo than Emmy--Emmy will love K4. Kendall is such a scaredy cat, and always wants her sister. We are going to try to get her into K3, but I don't think they will let her. She knows her abc's, can recognize most of them, and can count to twenty (probably even higher). That is more than most 3 yo can do.

Talk to everyone again this afternoon or evening. Have a blessed day!

Interview Results

2008-08-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

I GOT THE JOB!! I START MONDAY!! YAH!

Phriday Photo Phinish

2008-08-01T04:43:00.000-07:00

Time out. Need I say more? Before you look at the picture....look to your left. Go on. Do iiiitt. See the blue button. Well, as soon as you look at this pic of Baby K, press that blue button. Trust me--you won't regret it.

Okay, I feel the need for further explanation. Baby K is a screamer. When she doesn't get her way or she gets mad, she screams a scream that echoes in my soul. We have been unable to get her to stop this screaming. So now, as a result of her screaming, he gets a veeeerrryy long 3 minutes in time out. But this is how time out works at our house: Time does not start until you are quiet. If you start fussing during the time out, time starts over. So far this has been very effective, because they really do not want the original minutes, let alone extra ones. Baby K gets three minutes (she is 2), Emmy gets 5 minutes (she is 4) and Bro Man goes to his room. The worst punishment for him is to make him clean his room. Obviously she was breaking my heart in this particular time out and her hair was so big when it is usually so flat. I had to document it.

Getting My Way

2008-07-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

I am going to tell you the truth. My husband is not one of those husbands who gives in when I get mad. And I really don't get mad often. But yesterday was one of those days. We made plans two months ago for six friends to accompany us to the Def Leppard/Joan Jett concert this Saturday. My husband tells me and several of the friends that he wants to go early and tailgate in the parking lot before the concert. This will help in two ways. 1)We always--ALWAYS--get stuck in traffic with the thousands of people who attend concerts. 2)The guys can drink their own beer and not have to pay $5 for one every time they want a drink. 3)(Well, I thought of a third.) We won't have to park 5 miles away.

Early to me means getting up there in the afternoon where we have time to sit around and chill out, all the while watching the losers who arrive close to time. Early to me means arriving at least 3 hours before concert time of 7:30.

My husband tells me the other day that he thinks we should leave around 3:00. Okay, lets do some math. The concert is 2 hours away. If we choose to stop and eat or do whatever, we will be cutting into my ideal tailgating time. I suggested two o'clock and told him why. He called me yesterday to tell me that he arranged with Jason (one of the guys going) that we are meeting them one exit away at 4:00. Um, what? Did you say 4:00? So, as loudly as I possibly can, I yell "NO!" into the phone.

K: What? Why?

Me: Well, because we are going to get stuck in traffic and that is not going to give us enough time to tailgate before the concert.

K: We're not going to get stuck in traffic 1 1/2 hours before the concert.

Me: Yes, we are. Trust me on this. We may not, but what if we do?????? Then you will have bought beer for nothing, because you can't take it in there with us. And that isn't even going to give me time to pee before the show starts.

K: Well, I guess you should have called Jason and made plans then, right?

Me: Apparently. But I shouldn't have to. I told my husband the plan last night.

K and Me: (Silence.)

I called my SIL who is going with Hubby's twin brother. She says early to her means 2:00. I told her Hubby wants to leave at 4:00, and she agrees that is assinine. I inform Hubby when he gets home, and believe it or not--he called him and changed the time. I was absolutely floored. I guess I made sense after all. Either that or he got tired of hearing me express my thoughts and feelings. It doesn't matter the reason. I.Like.Getting.My.Way.

Exposure

2008-07-30T12:17:00.001-07:00

I normally would not share things about which I am unsure of. But I've learned something from Blogland. I need the support of people who really do care when there is something up in the air.

I have been praying for months now for a teaching opportunity if it is the right time and the right job. This has been placed in God's hands. While I have been disappointed that I have not heard anything from any of the local elementary, or any elementary school in general, I just have not worried about it. I know that when the time is right according to God's plan, the job will present itself and I will just recognize God's hand in it.

Today at lunch, I received a phone call from the local high school. They are looking for a history teacher and it seems for the second year in a row, they think I am qualified. I told the secretary that I had changed my major to elementary education. (I have a BS in Social Science and pursuing a Master's in education.) I never did interview last year, because I did not want to teach history. However, when I voiced that to my husband, he said, "Well, I don't want to work at the phone company." He told me that I was holding out for a fantasy--the fantasy of a perfect job at a perfect schoool. And it made sense. Is there such a thing as the perfect job? Probably not. I probably have the perfect job and don't recognize it. So I called her back and she was totally excited that I am going to interview.

The job is probably not going to pan out. The reason is that there is only 1 1/2 weeks before school starts. I would still have to interview (exactly 1 week before school starts), be reviewed for approval by the board of education, and the state board of education issue a temporary teaching certificate.

My reason for not wanting to share this news is because I don't want to have to go through telling you all that I did not get the position. If I do get the position, I am not stuck with it forever. I would love the opportunity to teach Sociology. Or English. I am passionate about those two things. I did love history as a high schooler. I only have to keep the position long enough to get my official certification, then I can either go to elementary, counseling, or administration.

Thanks for listening to me run on and on about this. I'll let you know how it goes.

Stoked

2008-07-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, we have had some carpet now for a ~~couple of years~~ a little while that we need installed. We really did not know anyone who installed carpet and no idea of what a pad would cost or it would cost to install. I found out during ball season that Coach Nick does flooring, including carpet. I finally got around to getting a quote from him, but had nothing to compare it to. My living room is 280 sq ft plus a hallway. He quoted me $100 on the living room since I had not measured the hallway. To be fair, I had to get another quote. A guy that grew up near us also lays carpet. I have been trying for three weeks to get in touch with him. His wife finally decided today to give me his cell phone number. He quoted me $225 for labor and $135 for the pad. I called Nick back to give him the hallway measurements so I would be comparing apples to apples. He informed me that it did not matter how big the hallway was, it would remain $100. He said that Ryan is his godson (which I thought was sweet) and apparently I am that grandmother figure for Nick. He and Keith have plans to coach ball together next year again, so he figures that he'll be seeing us for the next ten years. I am so excited that he is willing to do that for us. It makes me feel special. And in my old age, I need to feel special.

Pendant Necklaces

2008-07-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

My sister Leigh over at Graham Shenanigans got together a few weeks ago to make some pendant necklaces. We used the smallest tiles in the pictures. As you can see, I have not gotten around to attaching the metal piece to all of the tiles yet. But I was not happy with that. You could not see the design on the beautiful scrapbook papers we were using, so I went to buy bigger wooden pieces to use. The results are the bigger ones in the pictures, the rectangles, ovals, circles, and larger squares.

Please let me know if you are interested in any of these because we do special orders on just about everything we make.

Good News

2008-07-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had no word yet on Jack's pathology report. Only--my vet is in my SS class, so he told me after class that it was in fact cancer, but that it would only spread from the site and he was successful in removing all of it. Thank the Lord!!

Bro Man had an episode Thursday at the doctor. We went to get his jaw checked out. He has been having some jaw pain and woke up Thursday morning with a swollen face. The doctor examined him and Bro Man chatted away. After the examination Bro Man laid his head on my shoulder and promptly passed out. This is the second time in the past six months that he has fainted, but this time it was in front of the doctor. Last time they tried to pass it off as if he passed out because we were pulling his tooth. But this time, he saw how quickly it happened and without warning. So the pediatrician is being a little more considerate about it. But the news with him is that his jaw is feeling better and he has not had anymore dizziness or problems with passing out. He was so mad at me because I would not let him go swimming Thursday afternoon. I tried to explain that I could not chance that he would pass out in the swimming pool in someone else's care. Of course, he did not understand.

Now, on to some advice. SS promotion takes place at church next Sunday. Emmy is supposed to be moving up. Her new teacher is a severely physically deformed lady. She is sweet as she can be, but Em is terrified of her. She has informed me that she will not be going to that class. I have tried everything under the sun to explain that she is nice and sweet and just looks different, but Em is truly terrified. How do I handle this? Do I go to class with her for several weeks until she gets a bit more comfortable? Do I just let her go to class with me? She can't go with me for the next two years until she gets out of that class? She can't continue with the 2's and 3's because she is 4. I just don't know what to do. Do I alternate weeks of her going with me and me going with her? Or do I just leave her home with Mr. Wonderful and the two of them come to worship service. She won't have a problem being out of the nursery since she will get to go with Bro Man to children's church.

Backyard Friends

2008-07-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening, we had a light summer shower. Well, it started as a small summer thunderstorm and just ended in a light shower. Mr. Wonderful came inside to get me to let me know about some hawks that were perched in a dead tree in the backyard. We watched them closely only to find that they seemed to bathing. It was really awesome and we have never seen them interact with each other that closely. Here are some of the pictures.

I love the way that these pictures turned out. While it is hard to make out that they are hawks, the blackness against the sky just looks cool.

It is amazing that we live in the city and have wildlife in our backyard. Then this morning when I took the dog out, I was amazed to find that they were still there. And then I saw why.
Run for your life bunny!! We actually enjoyed watching the chase one day, but only because the bunny got away. Nature is amazing!!

Apple 4G iPod Nano in Silver

2008-07-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

Can you believe those girls over at SITS? For their final summer prize, they are giving away a 4gb apple ipod nano! That's just crazy. Do you know how happy Bro Man would be? This is a stupendous gift. Or as Jesse would say "Ridiculous." Yes, it is a sad day when I am quoting The Bachelorette. Well, if you want in on this prize, you need to run, not walk, but no pushing, over to visit Heather and Tiffany at SITS, leave them a comment, put the button on your blog, and maybe ask Heather from Nobody But Yourself to lay hands on you. (She has won the last two weeks!) Congrats Heather!

Oh Joyful Day

2008-07-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

It is almost 9:00 and all of my children are still asleep. Two loads of laundry are done, and the house is as straight as it can get without waking up the kids. No, I did not drug my children. We had a long day yesterday. We went to aunt & unc's house to swim. The girls did not swim much, but I entered yesterday not sure how to swim and left swimming. I was so happy. Hopefully since there is alot of summer left here in the South, I'll get an opportunity for much more swimming. It was kind of like exercising.

And being the considerate person that I am, I remembered to put sunblock on my children. But not myself. So after 3 hours in the pool, my shoulders resemble something in the crustacean family. I don't do burned well. The girls still got a little pink even with the sunblock. They were only in the sun 1 hour, so I am glad they didn't stay out any longer. Instead, they helped uncle shell peas, and they loved it. Baby K was begging for more. Nobody had a nap and there was no early bed time last night. Thank goodness they are sleeping in. Sweet Emmy woke up around 7:00 and went back to sleep on the couch. I'm loving this.

Okay, I'm off to fold clothes. Have a blessed summer day!

You Don't Know Jack

2008-07-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am going to take you back through the journey of getting our dog, Jack. There really is a reason for me telling this story. I'll fill you in at the end. When I was pregnant with Baby K we got our first dog, a miniature schnauzer named Leroy. We loved Leroy. He was a great puppy, already housebroken (and named). We could just open the door and let him out. He would run around and when we called his name, he came. But with a rough last month of pregnancy and then a new baby, we just couldn't keep Leroy. One year later, we adopted Skippyjon Jones, a teacup chihuahua. He was 1 1/2 pounds and the absolute cutest thing you could ever imagine. But with a 1 yo, a 2 yo, and a 5 yo, Skippy did not stand a chance. He was constantly dropped and thrown. I was terrified Skippy would get maimed. So Skippy had to find a new home and he found a wonderful one. (She still emails me pics and updates on Skippy). One and half years later, and after many, many months of begging my skeptical husband for another dog, he finally relented. I searched for a few weeks until I found another miniature schnauzer. We named him Jack. Now, I know that I have fussed and complained about Jack some over these last few blogging months, but we love Jack and we adore Jack. He is so much a part of this family. In fact, he laid in the bed with me and Mr. Wonderful yesterday afternoon, sleeping on his back, sharing a pillow. I'll post a picture of this later. But over the last week and a half, Jack has developed some sort of growth on his shoulder. Over the last week, it has quadrupled in size, doubling just this weekend. I took him to the vet this morning, expecting them to lance it and drain it. Only it turned out that it is a tumor. The vet thinks it may be mast cell cancer. He surgically removed the tumor and is going to examine it for trace of mast cell cancer. This is beyond upsetting to me. As is usual, Jack is my baby. He matches me step for step every where I go. Every time I lay on the couch, he jumps up and curls up with me. We have a morning routine when he wakes me up to take him out. He stands with his paws on my stomach, and we just hug and pet and scratch for a few minutes. I hope that everything turns out to be okay. I really, really hope that everything turns out okay. It's got to be okay.

P.S. I waited to post this until I heard from the vet. It was determined that the tumor was subcutaneous lymphoma, but we are awaiting a final word from the pathologist. While any kind of cancer is serious, he is showing no symptoms of the lymphoma in his lymph nodes or his organs. His shoulder was a very rare place for them to find this kind of cancer. So I will continue to hold out hope that the non-pathologist vet is wrong. But Jack does have to his benefit that he is young and in very good health otherwise. He seems to be mad at me at times, but I think he is just still recovering from surgery and being in pain. He was also neutered while he was asleep today, so that might be what he is mad about.

You Make Me So Happy!

2008-07-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

I gotta tell you I love me some Karla. Yep, check her and little Z man out at Zander and Me. Well, now I totally have another reason to love her. She gave me my first award. Do you know how stinkin' excited I am???

Here it is, the glorious beauty that it is:

There are some rules that go along with this:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Ok, now for the people I nominate in no particular order:

1. Graham Shenanigans: Leigh is my homey. Okay, really she is my sister. But she has trippin' stories about teenagers and pre-teens, as well as provoking the creativity out of me. She is a budding seamstress and has started making her own patterns.

2. The Andrews Crew: Rita is an inspirational mother of six including twin teenagers and four wonderful, beautiful adopted girls.

3. Lulaville: This girl is a riot and my red and black blood sister.

4. Staci's Heart: She has pulled me in and wrapped me around her little finger with this story she is telling. And she is trying her hardest to help me learn to forgive.

5. Stretch Marks: Melissa is a hoot. You probably all already read this hilarious blog, but if not totally check it out. She has a lot of things "cooking" right now.

6. Grace Violet: OMG--I wanna be her. She is so stinkin' creative and inspirational. And I want her husband to build me a wall organizer like hers. I swear I attempt everything she posts about. And she knows how to use some Heather Bailey scrapbook paper. I'm just sayin'.

7. Nesting Place: What can I say about the Nester? She has all of our decorating backs. She knows what to do and she does it.

Congrats ladies! Thanks for keeping my blog alive and keeping me sane with yours.

Phriday Photo Phinish

2008-07-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

The lovely, talented, stinkin' hilarious Candid Carrie (see button to left) has a little get together at her site every Phriday. Swing by (presumably you can use one of her crotch hangers) and check out all of the phabulous photos. This is my contribution for this week.

This is one of my favorite pics from my only trip to California. Mr. Wonderful had a
week-long work trip and his work paid for me to go to. It was such an awesome trip!

This one is just to serve as a reminder that the countdown has begun to college football opening day! Go Dawgs! This is a picture of one of Matt Stafford's first throws. I'll give someone a high five and a hug if you can find the football somewhere between Stafford and the intended receiver. You'll get a nice pat on the back if you can pick my husband and son out of the stands on the opposite side of the field. Oh yeah! GO DAWGS!!

Shut Yo Mouf!!!

2008-07-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is the giveaway of all giveaways. Now I am typically a person that would be so thrilled to win anything, really, anything. But I soooo want to win this bad mama! Old Red Barn Co. is giving away this splendifigant quilt made from the best fabrics ever!!!! I mean I am drooling. Let me tell you that if I were someone else and this was Christmas, I would hurt someone I would snatch that quilt so fast. Who cares if a few shoulders get dislocated? This beauty would be mine. Oh, and it would make a great Christmas present to myself. See my family doesn't shop for me. My husband always says, "Go buy yourself something." Now, while that is always fun, a little thought would be nice. And this year, I would like to give myself this quilt.

To be nice and to make things all fair and everything, I am supposed to direct you over there for you to enter. But just keep in mind--I've got one eye on that quilt and the other on you.

More Pics of the Red Room

2008-07-16T15:55:00.001-07:00

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions. Just for the decisions made:

1. Curtain fabric will be purchased of the print in the original DR post. (15 yds x 9.00=$135)

2. Cornices and trim will remain white.

3. Walls will remain red.

4. Everything else is subject to change.

Most everyone said they needed more pics so I took some from each doorway. Here they are:

This is the view looking through the DR into LR. Please forgive the ironing board.

This is view from kitchen towards far end of the dining room.

This is the chandelier that I am not sure if I love or not. But hubby does.

This is the view from LR french doors looking through to the kitchen.

From LR to far end of DR.

From double window looking the length of DR.

From hallway looking length of DR.

One thing I have noticed from these pictures is that we are furniture heavy on the smaller end of the DR and empty on the big end. I'm going to try moving the white server to the other empty wall on the other side of the table.

Taking the Day Off

2008-07-16T04:44:00.001-07:00

I am taking the day off to spend the day with Margo. I am very excited about this because we normally only spend time together when my children are with me. But today I am childless! That's right--free from children for an entire day. My wonderful niece Kasey (bless her poor heart) is staying with the kids today. They are planning a day of movies and popcorn.

For the first time, I am taking a list of things with me that I need to look for and accomplish today. Who is this list-maker that has taken over my life? Hopefully, it will make my morning more efficient. I am even taking my camera with me to document anything nice that I think I can duplicate for less.

I still need comments and suggestions on the dining room (see last post). I'll try to get full room pictures posted this evening when I return from my version of the Calgon commercial. Hobby Lobby, take me away.

Calling all Decorating Goddesses

2008-07-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

I am having some issues with my house. My dining room is red. I love it. Probably will never paint it. The reason for this is that it is a color that my husband would have never let me paint, but it was painted that color when we moved here. It is the only room in the house that I have never thought about painting. Well, I actually thought about black one time, but my husband would die.
It is a very large dining room. It is so large that we have a table, five chairs, a buffet, a couch (yes, a couch), two small tables, and it still looks empty. Get my drift? Big. There is only one decorative display in there, and even that I am not thrilled with. I need artwork, decoration, window mistreatments (HELP NESTER!!!) or new curtains. Here are my thoughts. I would love the furniture to be black. This would mean that the table and chairs, buffet, dresser that will be repurposed as a second server/buffet would all have to be painted. Keep in mind, I am really good at starting projects without finishing them. Here are some pics. Let me know what you think and any suggestions you may have. Also, another thing I need assistance with is how to paint the hardware on the pieces of furniture that would be painted black.

This is the drapery fabric I am considering.

This painting towards the top is similar to one I want to do for the room.

This is the current window mal-treatment. This is worse than just mistreatment. The wood cornices were already in place.

This is the one place that actually has some decorative pieces, but I am still not crazy about this. I am totally open to changes.

This is the wall that holds the repurposed dresser (makeover to come). Notice the lack of artwork above. I am really thinking shelves holding decorative plates, whitewear,etc. However, I am not sure whether to do that if I paint the furniture black.

Please help me with this room!! It is basically a blank canvas, well, a red canvas. I can always post more pics if necessary because there are glass french doors, the double window with the couch in front, an entry way to the kitchen, an entryway to the hallway......