Happy Holidays!

I finished my shopping today with the exception of stocking stuffers. I've never waited this long to get everything done - it was a bit stressful! Rooster isn't getting a couple of things on his list because I couldn't find them but I'm sure he'll be pleased. 

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a great new year!

Take a minute to enjoy this letter to Santa.

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited their doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle In the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family..

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa..

Read more...

Wacky News Wednesday

I know I should have posted my weird news for the day but frankly I wasn't feeling it.  Instead I've decided to give you a glimpse into my schedule.  I'm always fascinated to read what other people do during the day so I thought I would share mine.

Just a disclaimer - Tuesday's are by far my craziest day and the day I get the least amount of sleep. All days aren't like this -

4:30 A.M. Went to bed

6:30 Alarm goes off and I'm thinking it's way too early! But, I get Rooster up and get  him ready.

7:05 It is snowing and the roads look horrible. It's too cold and wet for Rooster to walk so I drive him to the bus stop.

7:20 Back home. It's my night to cook dinner. Put the red beans together and in the crockpot. (Hint: Red beans do not stay red in the crockpot. They turn some funky colors!)

7:40 Get Tater up and ready for school.

8:15  Not my week to drive! Send Tater out the door for carpool.

8:15 - 9:00 Read the paper, think I've really got to stop staying up so late! Kind of wishing I drink coffee - settle for a Pepsi instead

9:00-10:15 Get ready and pick up the house.

10:15 Head over to Tater's school to read with the kids in his class.

11:30 Sit with Tater while he eats. I love to listen to the kids chat while they eat. They were really proud that they got to sit at the 3rd grade table and made sure to point it out to the third graders when they came in.

12:00 Stop in the office - touch base with the Principal and Secretary. Collect the volunteer logs. (I keep track of how many hours are volunteered at the school)

12:30 Decide I want to make corn bread with the red beans but I don't have eggs so it's off to the store.

1:00 Home and I'm way too tired to function. Take a little nap.

3:00 Alarm goes off - Rooster gets home - we catch up on his day

3:30 Tater gets home. Let him watch his half hour of T.V. and have a snack while I do the mad dash to get dinner done.

4:00 Start homework

5:00 Deliver dinner to my exchange buddies

6:00-8:00 Dinner, homework, kids in shower, clean up dinner

8:00 Kids in bed

8:00-9:00 Finish cleaning up the kitchen and little messes around the house

9:00 Log into ChaCha and work while visiting my blog roll and forums

4:30 Off to bed to start all over again!

Read more...

A little extra baggage

I decided that it is about time to loose the extra weight I've been packing around since Tater was born. I ordered some workout DVDs (just ordered haven't used) and have been working on trying to eat better. My problem is I usually forget to eat during the day and don't have anything until dinner. I keep putting it off until after the holdays because I think I would be setting myself up for disappointment if I got serious now. 

Well I've got myself another excuse to use now. It's gotten so cold here. This weekend our high should be 20 degrees with a low of -7. Now that is cold.  So, I'm thinking I should skip even the best diet pill for now and hold on to that extra padding until it warms up a bit. 

There you go - a look inside my rationale (or lack of) about losing weight.

In all seriousness, look forward to my new blog starting in January where I'll write about my progress in getting healthy. I figure if I blog about it I'll have a sense of accountability that may give me the push I need.

Read more...

Grrr...

We had a surprise party planned for one of our good friends on Saturday and planned to take the kids out caroling after.  My good friend Kacy decorated a trailer with lights and hay and I made CD the kids could sing to.

The boys had been passing around a stomach bug the week before and each of them got it one day apart. When I didn't have it on Friday, I figured I was in the clear and did a little happy dance because I managed to dodge being sick for once.

Saturday morning I woke feeling a little queasy (yeah, you see where this is going) and by noon the bug had taken up residence in it's new host and I'm pretty sure he brought some friends. I consider myself pretty tough when it comes to dealing with sickness and pain.  After all I had Tater without the help of an epidural, (Okay it WAS NOT my choice - anesthesiologist went to dinner at the wrong time but still Au natural nonetheless and I'm going to count it) but this stomach bug was ruthless and I finally had to admit that I was sick and wouldn't be able to go. 

I gave Twitch the camera and asked him to please take pictures. At least I could live vicariously through the pics. Here's what I got....

 

 

One of my best girls and her hubby (who is pretty cool too)

A total of 3 pictures!  I'm hearing that Twitch was a little busy singing Blue Christmas over and over and over again and the camera was forgotten.  

The kids had a really good time despite it being so cold. I'm thinking this should be added to our list of Christmas traditions.

Read more...

The tween years

Twitch has joked (at least I think he is joking) that for Rooster's 18th birthday he is getting luggage for his birthday present. I've never thought it was really funny until we reached the tween period.  People keep telling me that kids lose their mind around 12 years old and if we're lucky get it back around 18 - Ain't that the truth! 

Rooster's cell phone starts going off the minute he walks in the door from school and he is texting for 2-3 hours straight. I finally asked him to put it on vibrate because I couldn't stand to hear the bell anymore.  I've also gotten a few emails from his teachers saying that he is talking a lot in class and not doing his work.  I talked to the counsler about it and all I got was that he can guarantee he isn't the only one talking.  Is this supposed to make me happier? 

I know this is an important time for him to find new friends and work on his social skills but honestly I would love to have 1/4 of the attention spent on friends spent on school work. 

Read more...

Hanging in there

 

 G.G. and the boys

We were able to get my Grandma into the rehab facility on Wednesday and things are going so much better.  The staff at the facility she is in now is really great with her and with all of us.  She was there 3 months ago so they all remember her and told her that while they were sad she had to come back, they were excited to see her again.  I honestly cannot believe the lack of care she received at the nursing home, my heart breaks for the patients that are there long term and don't have family to fight for them.  Next week, I'll be writing a letter to the director outlining all of the problems we experienced.  

G.G. is slowly getting her strength back. She's hasn't been eating well because she's been so nauseous but did a little better today.  She will have to stay at the facility for quite a few weeks but she'll be able to come home for Christmas and New Year's.  

Her strength and tenacity amaze me. This is the 3rd time, in a year, we thought we were losing her and she surprised us by bouncing back.  I am so lucky to have such a strong woman as a role model!

Thank you to my blogging buddies for the kind comments left and the emails sent, it honestly meant so much! 

Read more...

Missing In Action

I've been MIA for a few days at least from the blogging world.

My Grandma was taken to the hospital where we found out that she has pneumonia and congestive heart failure.  She has been unable to go home but the rehab center didn't have an opening so we had to place her in a nursing home until an opening comes up at the rehab center (should be tomorrow). 

The nursing home has been a complete nightmare and I can't wait until we can get her out. We wanted to take her home and care for her full time until the rehab center opened up but Medicare wouldn't let that happen if they were going to pay for the center.  So she sits in a horrible facility but someone has been with her round the clock to make sure she is ok.  We had to bring her food to her because they couldn't guarantee she wouldn't get gluten in her food. 

I'm rambling - it's been stressful but I'll be back in a couple of days when she gets settled in. 

Read more...

Spoiled Hubby

Twitch has gotten a bit spoiled lately.  He managed to find a really good deal on a huge big screen T.V. and we got him a surround sound home theater system to go along with it.  He seems to think our family room is now his home theater room and the boys really like the idea. 

I thought it would be a really fun idea to get him some Christmas gifts to enhance his theater experience. Maybe a popcorn machine or some home theater sconces to decorate the place. The only thing is he may get a little too into it and start selling tickets!

Read more...

You may not be a hunter when.....

Wacky News Wednesday (Just a little late)

In Missouri, Randy Goodman shot a 240 lb. defenseless deer while hunting.  Goodman thought the 9 point buck was dead but the deer sprang to life and attacked him with his antlers and legs, in what Goodman called "15 seconds of hell".

The deer ran off and died after being shot two more times by Goodman, who had to be treated at the hospital for a concussion, bruises and a scalp lac.

Might want to think about giving up the hunt at some point.

This isn't the same guy (at least I don't think so) but here's a video of a deer getting a little revenge on a hunter.

Read more...

Fruit Trees

I would love to have a fruit tree growing in my backyard. Who wouldn't love to be able to walk out the door and pick fresh fruit?  We plant a vegetable garden every year but I've never attempted to plant a fruit tree. 

I would really love to have a few Persimmon trees in our backyard.  They are actually the favorite fruit of the orient and a Japanese persimmon tree can produce 100 pounds of fruit in the fifth year.  Okay we would never eat that much fruit but imagine how grateful the food banks would be around here if I could donate that much food!

Read more...

Holiday Gifts for Soldiers

Last year for Christmas, instead of giving neighbor gifts we decided to make a donation to our local Veteran's hospital in the name of our neighbors. We gave each neighbor a copy of a poem and let them know we made a donation in their name. We got such a great response from everyone and it was a great experience for the boys.

Unfortunately, there will be some soldiers who get nothing this holiday season. If it's within your means I would like to suggest sending a care package to a soldier.  There are many websites out there that you can check. A couple of them are;
Soldier's Angels lists many different ways to help.
American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes - you can download a free holiday card to send to a soldier.

If you're willing to send the package on your own I would recommend this site Any Soldier
Over the summer we did a drive to collect items to send to Iraq and Afghanistan and used this site to find out what was needed and where to send. This site will list a name to send it to and you can read emails from the soldiers to find out exactly what is needed.

Happy Holidays!

Read more...

The lights aren't on and somebody is home

We built our house about twelve years ago and about a month after we moved in the lights in our family room started burning through light bulbs. Each one of the light fixtures hold four bulbs and we go through at least two bulbs a week.  We have been putting it up with it for way too long and I hate to think how much we have spent on light bulbs. 

I finally called our friend, who is an electrician, and asked him to come over and take a look. He stopped by over the weekend and said that we need to replace both of the lights. I'm kind of excited to get some new lighting. I've changed the look of our family room since we moved it so it will be nice to have the lights match the decor.

Read more...

Gobble Gobble

Do you still have tons of leftover turkey in your fridge? Are you tired of turkey and mashed potatoes for dinner and lunch and snack and...

Try these recipes for a nice change of pace

Turkey Enchiladas
3-4 cups chopped turkey
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 C. sour cream
1/2 C. Green Chilli Enchilada Sauce
1 C. Shredded Cheese
1 Package flour or wheat tortillas

Combine soup, sour cream and enchilada sauce.  Reserve enough to cover enchiladas. Mix turkey with remaining miture. Spoon mixture on tortilla shells and roll up.  Place seam side down in a baking dish. Cover with remaining mixture and sprinkle with shredded cheese if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.

Turkey Salad Sandwich
1/2 - 1 C. chopped turkey
Mayo (as much as you like)
Chopped olives
Chopped onion
Garlic salt, pepper
Cranberries (if you like)

Mix everything together and place on your favorite bread

Turkey Patties (I got this one from allrecipes)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups half-and-half cream, divided
1 cup cooked, chopped turkey meat
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2/3 cup crushed cornflakes cereal
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Blend in flour, salt, pepper and 1 cup of half-and-half. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring, until thick. Stir in turkey, onion and bread crumbs. Mix well, then shape mixture into 8 small patties and refrigerate to chill for 30 minutes. 

Place cornflake crumbs in a shallow dish or bowl and place remaining 1 cup half-and-half in a second shallow dish or bowl. Heat oil in skillet. Dip patties in crumbs, then in cream, then in crumbs again; brown patties in the hot skillet, place in a serving dish and cover with soup.

Read more...

Life Insurance

Obtaining term life insurance is not something I like to think about but I know it is something I really need to do.  When I quit my job with the Federal Government in January, I lost my life insurance policy that I had with them.  Now I only have a couple of small policies with the credit unions.  It's a little stressful to think that if something happened to me I haven't gotten things set up so Twitch and the kids would have a little bit to help out with things. 

I really need to get on the ball and get it taken care of - first thing after the holidays. (That seems to be my timeframe for everything)

Read more...

Christmas Tradition Forgotten

I can't believe I did it!

Every year, since Rooster was a baby, we have gone into Ogden the day after Thanksgiving and watched the Christmas parade where Santa makes his grand entrance. After the parade the lights are turned on in Christmas Village and they have a fireworks show.  By the time it's over we're all pretty hungry and we walk over to a friend's Greek restaurant and have a yummy dinner. 

I have no idea what happened this year but I completely forgot about it! I feel like such a bad mom - how could I forget a tradition that we've had for years?  I have a sneeky suspicion that my kids won't even notice but I still feel pretty bad about it.

Read more...

Natural pain relief

My body is showing the effects of dancing and tumbling all my life.  I put my body under so many countless hours of strenuous activity that it's not suprising that I've developed some arthritis and pain. 

I've had a lot of people recommend magnetic therapy to help relieve some of my symptoms. In fact, my Grandma wears a magnetic bracelets to help her symptoms of Fibromyalgia. I'm not a big fan of taking a lot of medications so I think using a natural technique like magnetic therapy would be a better solution for me.

Read more...

Can I get a thank you?

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to anyone who has the job of putting Christmas lights on trees. You've made my Christmas decorating so much easier. What did I ever do without you? I've even figured out a way so I don't have to shape the tree every year.  I'm putting it as is in our fruit cellar when Christmas is over. Why didn't I think of this before?  I almost went and bought a new tree on Saturday that has a memory and shapes itself  then I thought why not just put it away put together.  A friend of mine says she even leaves it decorated when she puts it away but I have such a blast with the boys decorating and would really miss it if we didn't do it.

Yeah this may sound a little lazy but I prefer to think of it as freeing up time so I can shop and spend more time with my family. 

Read more...

Getting there

We've spent the day pulling out Christmas decorations and I must say we've made a lot of progress.  We've got most of the outside decorations up, just need to do the lights on the house and got the tree up, still need to decorate it though and then I just need to put the various decorations around the house and we'll be done.

We even managed to find the treadmill that has been in our storage room since last Christmas.  Rooster asked if we could bring it back out so he could start running at night.  He is starting to get on a big fitness kick, which is good, but I think it's more so he can impress the girls. He even put the free weights up in his room so he can lift weights when he gets home from school.  Are all 12 year olds so girl crazy?  The part that I have a hard time with is most of the girls he hangs around with are in 9th grade.  Seems just a tad bit too old for me but his dad thinks it's pretty cool. Gotta love the men mentality.

Read more...

Christmas Tree

I just finished shaping my Christmas tree and wanted to share a tip.

Whether you use a real tree or an artificial one there is always going to be some holes or bare spots.  Last year I decided on a really cool way to fill in the bare spots on a tree.

I bought a big bag of cinnamon scented pine cones and put a pine cone where ever there was a blank spot.  It helps my artificial tree smell really good and it looks great too.  I'm thinking about getting some non-scented pine cones and trying to find a pine spray that I can use. 

Read more...

Looking for home based business ops

I know quite a few people who do really well with a home business.  I've been approached by many of them to join their business and have seriously looked at and even joined a few. 

I've often wondered though how an average person (like myself) finds unbiased information on home based businesses.  I recently found a website, which is ran by Microsoft,  that helps people connect with home based businesses. If you are interested in operating your own home based business, you may want to check it out.

Read more...

I'm worn out

Have you ever noticed how being around constant fighting and stress can wear you right out? I'm so exhausted I feel like I could sleep for a few days and still be tired.

As I sit here trying to get my Christmas tree up all I've heard for the past 2 hours is my boys fight like they are mortal enemies.  Please someone humor me and tell me that one day they will actually be friends. This, after my morning spent in hell also known as Wal-Mart on Black Friday.  I honestly could not believe the way some people were acting this morning.  Black Friday is always crazy but this year it was over the top.  I can't count the number of times I got hit by a cart, getting my toes ran over in my soaking wet slippers (hint don't wear slippers outside in a downpour, you're feet ) and I just missed a full on brawl in the electronics section. I guess a guy and a girl were fighting over a TV and it turned physical.  Seriously is saving a few bucks worth going to jail over? 

I'm am glad that I was able to get the majority of my stuff online last night and just needed to pick up a few things.

Maybe I need to take a little vacation and stay at a Las Vegas hotel!

Let me know how your Black Friday was. Hope it was better than mine!

Read more...

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your turkey be golden brown and juicy, your mashed potatoes fluffy, your pies delicious and may your memories of time spent with family and friends last a lifetime!

 

I heard the other day that the average amount of calories a person eats on Thanksgiving is 4500 calories and that one slice of pecan pie has over 1,000 calories.  Holy cow! No wonder I can't move for hours after. I better take it easy this time I'm getting a head start on my Black Friday shopping and heading out Thanksgiving night to go get a new Christmas tree. 

weight loss

Read more...

To all my EC dropers and Commentors

I'm Sorry!! Please forgive me for not returning the visit. I will though.  I've been so busy trying to fix my lack of questions coming in from ChaCha that I haven't done much else the past couple of days. This in itself could be a REALLY long post but it would be nothing but me ranting and raving so I'll stop.

Read more...

Proud Mama

I'm so proud of my little Tater that I had to share. He got 100% on his spelling test! He has worked so hard and it was great to see him so excited.  We took him out to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate and had so much fun.

He struggles with spelling and reading. He has been in speech therapy since he was 2 because of a speech delay so it makes sense that spelling and reading wouldn't come easy for him.

A few posts ago I mentioned that we were dealing with some issues with both of the boys. With Tater there was some concern that he may have suffered a brain injury over the summer and it was just showing up now. After visits with his pediatrician he doesn't think there has been any brain trauma (although I'm still a little freaked out that there may be) but he wants him to be tested for Dyslexia.  I've had my concerns about Dyslexia, which is what started the whole testing process at school and brought up the brain injury concern.

So with everything going on he definately deserved a big celebration for his hard earned 100%.

tv stands

Read more...

Dinner Exchange Group

I realized I haven't blogged about the dinner exchange group that I belong to on this blog so I thought I'd take a minute and post about it.

I set it up with 3 other friends, we all live really close so it makes it really easy.  Each family takes a night and cooks dinner for all 4 families and delivers the meals to everyone by 5:00.  On the nights I have to cook it can be a bit stressfull but it is so nice to cook one night and have dinner brought to us 3 nights.  We have it set up for Monday-Thursday, though I would really like to add one more person for Friday.

I get asked a lot if it saves us money.  There are times when I've spent way too much on a meal to make it worth it but it's a learning process and I'll just save those dinners for the weekend.  Other than that, I really think we are saving money. It also helps on those night when I just don't feel like cooking and would normally go get fast food.

I have another blog where I post our weekly menu and recipes. You can check it out at Mama M's Cucina. 

Some suggestions if you decide it might work for you.

• Set up the exchange with close friends who are willing to hear criticism about their food if the meal they make isn't a hit. We've been lucky that everyone has enjoyed all of the meals, but we have an understanding that we can tell each other if something might not be worth having again.  
• Be organized.  We meet once every 2 months and plan out the meals. This way we can all agree on a meal up front. It also gives us a chance to catch things when they're on sale.  Organization is key on the day I cook and I don't always do a good job. It's hard for me to judged how much time I need to cook for 16 people and there has been a few times I've had to call and say dinner was going to be late. My kitchen is usually trashed on the days I cook.  I could definitely use some organization skills on the day I cook.
  
• Be flexible. There have been times where someone has had to switch their menu because life happened and they didn't have time to cook what was planned.  I also keep a stash of frozen dinners for the kids just in case they don't like something that is brought over.
• Relax. It was kind of odd for me at first to be able to do other things besides cooking on my days off.
  

Read more...

Invitiations for every occasion

I just found a company that is right up my alley. We love hosting get togethers at our house. New Year's Eve is always done here, I make a big deal out the boys birthdays and summertime is just an excuse to have a BBQ every weekend.  The part that I have a hard time with is the invitations. I'm not a fan of store bought invites so I usually make my own, which can take a really long time when my OCD tendancies kick in and I have to redo it over and over again.

I found this company that will make customized invitations. They make everything from wedding invitations to pet birth and pet adoption announcements.  I'm definitely thinking about using them for our New Year's Eve invitations this year.

Read more...

My Review - Twilight Movie

Warning - Possible Spoilers!!!

First let me say that I never like a movie as much as the book but in the case of Twilight I really didn't like it as much as the movie. 

I went to the midnight showing with a group of friends. I envisioned all of us clapping and cheering when the movie ended. Instead, we found dead silence. Apparently, I wasn't the only one not impressed.  The film is raking in the money though, Wikepedia says the film made over $35 million its opening day!

I think the movie did a horrible job of portraying the intensity of the relationship with Bella and Edward.  A friend of mine said she didn't know what else they could do since the movie was already over 2 hours.  A perfect example would have been to make the waitress in the restaurant as pretty as she was described in the book.  In the movie, she was a bit scary so of course Edward wouldn't pay attention to her. In the book, Bella said she was pretty and Edward didn't even pay attention to her.

The movie moved incredibly fast and left out a lot of key scenes from the book. It also had some things added that confused me.  I think one of the best parts of the book is when Edward and Bella are in the meadow and Bella is fascinated by Edward's skin in the sun. In the movie, the first shot of Edward in the sun looks like he is sweating not shimmering. The rest of the time in the meadow is shown in short clips with both of them just laying in the meadow.

I thought the acting was horrible! With the exception of Cam Gigandet who played James. His character does have a pretty intense role in the movie but I thought he was fantastic.  For the most part all of the Cullen's walked around with crazy looking, wild eyes.  The way the other high school kids talked was way more than I could handle.

My biggest complaint about the movie is that I never really connected with any of the characters in the movie.

My break down on the characters; (you can check out their bios at IMDB)
Bella: I think she is a doll.  Really cute and a good Bella. Not the best actor, especially when she is thrashing around after James bit her.

Edward: Didn't like him at all in the first part of the movie. He had really weird facial expressions and came across kind of dorky (technical word, I guess). But by the end of the show I really liked him. He was really cute with Bella.

Jacob: I liked him. He had a real innocence about him. Although I thought it sucked that they cut out the entire beach scene where he tells Bella about the history of the vampires and werewolves.Oops totally forgot that it was there just shorter than in the book.

Charlie Swan: Not much there. My heart broke for him when Bella was leaving.

Alice Cullen: Not in the movie much, which is sad because her and Bella seem to be good friends in the book.

Jasper Cullen: All I can say is WOW! He was a train wreck that I couldn't stop watching. He looked like he should have been locked up somewhere instead of going to a high school.

Rosalie: Not a bad actor but a REALLY bad wig!

Emmett Cullen: Was he in the movie? Oh yeah, I saw him riding in the back of a jeep a couple of times.

Dr. Cullen: I thought he was an ok actor but my hell he looked horrible! His hair was bleached way too much and his skin looked plastic.

Esme Cullen: I'm not sure that she said over 10 words in the whole movie.

James: Awesome!

Laurent: Really not in the movie much - loved his red eyes

Jessica, Mike, Eric, Angela, and Billy Black: None of them had much to in the film. They really let the relationship between Mike and Bella slide and Jessica never shows the jealousy of Bella and Edward's relationship.

Read more...

I love a Giveaway!!

A fellow blogger (who has helped me out tremendously) is having a fantastic giveaway on her blog. She is giving away a $50 gift certificate - just in time for the holiday shopping.  Check it out and enter yourself at her World of Mom blog.

Read more...

Weight Loss

I've been struggling to lose the weight from my last pregnancy. Ok Tater is 7 but it takes some time right?  I've decided I need to start taking better care of myself.  I ordered a couple of work out DVDs, vowed to eat more than once a day, sleep more than 3 hours at a time and I may need to buy Phentermine.

I know there are a lot of factors that play into not being able to lose the weight I need to. Maybe by doing all of the above I will get some good results.

Read more...

The Gift That Keeps Giving

I'm finally starting to think about what to buy for Christmas gifts. Better late than never right? I always have a hard time deciding what to get friends and family that live out of town. By the time I buy the gift, wrap it, box it up and pay for shipping I'm exhausted. Then I found the wine of the month club. I can have the wine shipped directly to their house and I can determine how often they get it (once a month, bi-monthly or quarterly). I can also set it up for them to receive it every month or a set number of times.  It's like the gift that keeps giving all year long!

Salute!

Read more...

Mounds of Laundry

Right now, everybody's dirty clothes get put in a hamper in my room. That's four people's dirty laundry put in my room and most of the time the boys miss the hamper and it ends up on my floor for me to pick up.  I told Twitch that it is time for there to be a hamper in each room and have the boys responsible for taking care of their own clothes.

I started looking around and found this great laundry hamper. The boys could put their clothes in it, zip it up and roll downstairs to the laundry room.  It can also be used for groceries and toting sports equipment to and from games.

Now if I can get them to use it we'll be on the right track.

Read more...

Give me your thoughts - Please

I'm changing my blog template around, as if you couldn't tell. 

Please let me know what you think about the header. Is it creepy to have eyeballs staring back at you when you visit someone's blog?  Even though they are cute little eyes, yeah Tater is feeling like a rock star now.

Don't let that influence you please leave me your honest thoughts.

Read more...

New Weekly Feature

I've noticed a weekly feature on some blogs and decided to come up with my own.  I'm proud to announce

"Wacky News Wednesday"

Provided I remember, I'll post a new weird or unusual news story every Wednesday.

The first story I've picked reminds me of something I did when I was younger. I was in junior high and getting ready to go to school. There was a candle burning on the shelf in the bathroom that I decided to put out with the hairspray I had just used on my hair. Yeah, you read correct - I have no idea what I was thinking. 

It was the 80's and I was using Aquanet which seemed to be awfully flammable.  One little squirt and there was a huge (maybe smaller) fireball that exploded in my face.  I was fine other than the lose of some eyelashes, a few singed eyebrow hairs and the majority of my bangs gone. You know the bangs - the big 80's bangs.  

According to the Daily Telegrah, a 13 year old thought his toilet smelled a little funky so he sprayed it with room freshner. While using the same toilet he decided to play with his dad's lighter.  Apparently, the fumes (from the air freshener) were still lingering and he was blown off the toilet and through a window.  

The 13 year old was quoted as saying "Then I began fiddling with a lighter my dad left in there and suddenly there was this big orange whoosh! of flame. I woke up outside with my clothes burned off me and smelling like a barbecue."

I hesitated in posting this story because the poor kid was injured and will need months of treatment. I hope he feels better soon and that everything goes well for him.

Read more...

Just in time for the movie

My mom and I have been working frantically trying to get our version of a Twilight bracelet done. Here they are. Each one has a pewter wolf, a Czech crystal heart and an apple made from glass beads. We're selling them for $20.00. If you're interested let me know.

Read more...

Veteran's Day

In honor of Veteran's Day 

From my family to you - Thank You!

Special remembrance to Ryan Balmer and his family. You remain in our thoughts, our prayers and our hearts.

Read more...

Twilight Movie

I'm so excited for the Twilight Movie to come out. I hope I like it as much as I did the book. 

I was able to get tickets for a group of us to go to the midnight showing. From what I'm hearing the midnight shows are sold out now around here so I'm glad we got them when we did. 

Not sure if I'm a fan of the actor playing Edward. He looked a bit different in my mind.  

Any other Twilight fans? Are you going to the movie?

Read more...

Give Me A Break!

Let me start by saying we've got some major stuff going on with both of the boys which has left me stressed and quite grumpy but seriously do we need to see Christmas decorations and have Christmas music on the radio the day after Halloween.

Don't get me wrong I love Christmas just as much as the next person.  I love seeing my kid's faces light up on Christmas morning. I love spending time with friends and family throughout the holidays.  Knowing that I get one of my girlfriends that one thing that they really want but would never buy for themselves is great.  But, all in due time.

The Saturday after Halloween 2 houses in our neighborhood already had their big blow up decorations outside, Christmas lights up and trees in their windows.  And Wal-Mart and a couple stations on the radio were playing Christmas music.  Even Tater was bugged and asked if we shouldn't have Thanksgiving before all the Christmas stuff came out.

I guess I should at least take my Halloween decorations down this weekend but I'm not giving in. I'm keeping the fall decorations up until the end of the month then I'll bust out the 15 totes of Christmas stuff and fit right in with the Griswald's of the neighborhood.

Read more...

Could we get so lucky?

One of my dreams is to be able to take our family to Africa.  I was at the elementary school talking to Rooster's teacher last week.  She volunteers for an organization that has adopted a tribe in Africa that has been devastated by AIDS and malaria.  We started talking and she told me she could help make my dream happen.  What?! Are you kidding me!  She is emailling the director of the program and I should know more in a couple of weeks.  The price for airfare is crazy so I'm not sure that we will be able to swing it for this summer but hopefully by next summer.

The boys are torn between going and not going.  They don't want to get all the vaccines and their a little nervous about going so far away but they are excited about taking the plane and meeting the kids in the tribe.

You can adopt a child through the organization, the money goes to providing food and other supplies.  We are going to adopt 2, one for each kid and it would be so amazing for them to be able to meet them if we can make it over there.

Read more...

Barack Obama's Grandmother Passes Away

I just read that Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, lost her battle with cancer on Monday night at the age of 86.  He has credited his grandmother with helping him become the man he is today.  How difficult it must be for him to keep his focus on what may be one of the biggest days of his life.

I can only imagine that losing a loved one on the eve of such an important event would be almost unbearable. 

My heart and prayers go out to him and his family.

Read more...

Vote

VOTE

Don't forget to vote!

I'm sitting here watching SNL Presidential Bash on TV (hope you've been able to enjoy it, it's been entertaining - Amy Poller's rap is hilarious!) and thinking about how important it is for all of us to get out there and vote.

I'm also kind of relieved that it is coming to an end.  I'm tired of all the negative ads and the emails that I have been getting that are obviously not true, the endless recorded phone calls telling me who I should vote for and the abundance of fliers in my mailbox and on my door. 

I hope everyone has done their research and uses their vote wisely for whoever they feel is the right candidate for President and local offices.

As if the privilege of voting isn't enough, companies are offering free goodies to voters.


Participating Starbucks shops are giving away away a free tall coffee to voters.
Participating Ben & Jerry's stores are giving away a free scoop of ice cream for voters between 5PM - 8PM
Participating Krispy Kreme stores are giving away a free star shaped doughnut with red, white and blue sprinkles to customers wearing a I Voted sticker.

Read more...

Halloween!

We had a great time on Halloween!  We went trunk or treating at a church in our neighborhood, then over to some friends for apple cider, trick or treating around the neighborhood and then over to visit Grandma and Grandpa.  We were all worn out by the time we got home. In fact, Tater fell asleep in the car. 

We carved pumpkins Thursday night when Twitch got home.  He has been working out of town for 3 weeks and the boys were so excited to see him.

 

He has been wearing these vampire teeth no stop since Monday

 

In honor of his Dad, the plumber, Rooster chose a slightly offensive pumpkin.  Twitch should have been the one talked about in the debate.  Dave the plumber sounds so much better than Joe the plumber (or maybe I'm a bit biased) but he is a licensed plumber who would have revealed in the "exposure" ha ha.  Did you hear that Joe just hired a management company to handle all the request for appearances? Crazy!

 

Rooster aka Slash - He wrote his Hero paper in school about Slash and his Dad

 

Tater aka Indiana Jones.  He loves the movies!

Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Read more...

Happy Halloween!

I've been boo'ed. Thank you so much Christine!  She has one of my favorite blogs you can check it out at The Power of Housewife Word of Mouth. 

So here's the deal...
Go to as many of your blog buddies as you want and tell them they have been boo-ed . Have them pick up this picture and add it to their blog and say with the link who boo-ed them . Put the picture in your sidebar if you want so then others know that you have already been boo-ed , if you post lots and it's not on the main page where everyone will see your boo-ed post! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Read more...

So sad

Sorry for the depressing post but my heart is so sad that I had to share.

A cousin of a good friend of mine was accidentally shot by his 11 year old sister.  He is 15 and thankfully he is still alive but he is paralyzed from the armpits down.  My heart just breaks for this boy who's life is completely changed because of a split second decision and for his sister who will live with what must be horrendous guilt.

Please if you have guns in your homes keep them locked up and talk to your kids about what to do if they see a gun even if they think it is unloaded. 

Read more...

Sign of the times?

The other day I found out that Rooster's school went into lock down so that the administration could search lockers for weapons and drugs.  He is in the 7th grade and goes to a junior high that I think is a pretty decent school.  I don't remeber having locker searches in high school let alone in junior high. 

I asked Rooster why he didn't tell me that it happened and he said he didn't think it was a big deal.  I have to wonder if my child is so used to seeing stuff like this that he thinks it's no big deal. 

I'm wondering if this is normal?  Do other junior highs have locker searches?  Do you see this happen in your area?

Read more...

Body World's 3

Rooster and I went to see Body World's 3 on Saturday and it was really an amazing experience.  The exhibit uses donated bodies that have been preserved using Plastination, which stops decomposition and preserves the body.  There has been some controversy in our area about the exhibit.  Some letters to the editor have said that they thought it was degrading to the people who's bodies were used in the exhibit.  I have to say I think it was done well.  The identity of the bodies is never given and I'm not sure that a person would be able to recognize a body if they knew them.  The bodies were also donated by the person themselves when they were alive.  

I'm making this sound a little morbid and it really wasn't.  We were able to see every part of the body (right down to veins, arteries and capillaries) and learn what each part does.  It really is a chance to see and learn about the human body in a way that is so much more informative than reading from a book.

After exiting the exhibit, they have models (i'm not sure if they were actual body parts now that I think about it) that you can touch and see what the plastination feels like.  Rooster was also able to put on gloves and hold an animal heart, an cow eye and something else.  Too much for me and the smell of formaldehyde was overwhelming. 

If you get a chance to see the exhibit, I would highly recommend it, with a few recommendations.

I decided not to take Tater with us because I thought it might be a bit too graphic for him.  I think he would have been okay but I wouldn't recommend taking young children to it.  Keep in mind full bodies are displayed including parts that young children may not be ready to see, even Rooster had hard time understanding why everything had to be seen.

There is a part of the exhibit that displays fetuses.  Although it was interseting to see the different stages of development, this part was difficult for me to look at.  I'm not sure that I would go through this part again if I were to go back.

Plan on spending a few hours.  They recommend 90 minutes.  We were there over 2 hours and kind of rushed through the end of it because it was getting late.

Read more...

Celebrity Rehab.

I had the T.V. on the other night while I was working and Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew was on.  I hate to admit it but I'm hooked.  It was so sad to watch the effects drugs and alcohal have had on the people that are on the show.  One of the hardest for me to watch was Rodney King.  I'm assuming he started having a drinking problem after he was beaten (I could be wrong) - I find it incredibly sad that his whole life has been ruined because of what happened.  From what was shown it doesn't look like he has ever actually worked through what happened to him.

Jeff Conaway is on again this time.  Wow, what a difficult time he has.  It will be interesting to see if he is able to stay clean this time.

The other stars that are on the show are, Nikki McKibbon, Sean Stewart, Tawny Kitaen, Amber Smith, Steven Adler and Gary Busey, who is really hard for me to watch.

I have to wonder if this kind of reality show is crossing the line into something too personal for TV and if the producers of the show are taking advantage of people who desperately need help.  Let me know what you think?

Read more...

Halloween Costumes

I finally got the kid's costumes done this weekend. 

Rooster is dressing up as Slash from Guns N' Roses or lately from Velvet Revolver but it will always be Guns N' Roses for me. 

Tater is dressing up as Indiana Jones.  I'm not thrilled with the hat we found for him but he likes it so that's what counts. 

I'm excited that this year is going to be so easy on me.  Usually, I do a lot of makeup and latex so this year will be a breeze.

I don't know if other areas have trunk or treats or not but that's what we will be doing Friday night.  It makes me a little sad that my kids don't go around the neighborhoods for hours like I did when I was a kid but then again they don't know any different.  We always do the trunk or treat, our immediate neighborhood, and then around the neighborhood I grew up in. 

In case you're wondering what a trunk or treat is, a church or school in the area opens up their parking lot for everyone to park and pass out candy from their trunks.  Most people decorate their trunks and some years we've had hot chocolate, cookies and a haunted house. 

Read more...

New Blog

Just a quick post to introduce my new blog.  You can click on the link to the right it's Mama M's Cucina.  There isn't much there yet but my plan is to share recipes, menu ideas and my experience with our dinner exchange group.  Check it out if you have a minute.

Read more...

Grandma

My Grandma was recently hospitialized for a week then in a rehab center for a week.  She is home now but has a nurse, occupational therapist, physical therapist and an aide coming in several times a week.  She has always been so certain that she wants to stay in her home but since the rehab center she has been talking about moving into an assisted living facility.

On one hand I would be so happy to see her move into a center.  I think it would be good for her to be around so many other people and to have activites so readily available.  It would also give my Mom a much needed break.  My Mom goes to my Grandmas at the first of the week and stays there until the weekend.

On the other hand it's so difficult to watch my Grandma get to the point where she thinks she may need to move out of her home. 

Man, it's hard to watch grandparents and parents get older.

Read more...

Fall Colors

I feel so lucky to live so close to the mountains. We took a drive up today to see the changing leaves. Unfortunately, I think we waited too long because most of the leaves were gone. Tater wanted to get some pictures so he could submit one for the Reflections contest at school. Here's the pictures he took

 

This one is taken from across the Dam.

  

  

 

Read more...

I've been tagged!

Irene from Notes From A Wannabe WAHM has tagged me! What does that mean? I get to post 8 random facts about me.

Here's the official rules
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog post about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

And... Here's my random facts
1. I have 2 boys and I'm even going to give you their real names - Ryker (AKA Rooster) is 12 and Jake (AKA Tater) is 7. I wonder if anyone thought I really named them Rooster and Tater :)
2. I have been married for 18 years. Holy cow I had to do the math on that one.
3. I can NEVER remember my anniversary. My cousin calls every year to remind me. (Thanks Crys)
4. I think I may be addicted to Chapstick. I wake up in the middle of the night to use it and panic if I can't find 1 of my 8 tubes.
5. I drink way too much Pepsi.
6. I love to read Janet Evanovich's books.
7. I've seen Grease over 100 times.
8. I have 2 dogs. Riley is a Pekingese/Yorkie and Chloe is a Pomeranian/Yorkie.

Now for my tag to these 8 great bloggers
The Geek's Girl
Cajun Blogger
Claudette's Words
Da Boss and Bry Guy
The Fuzzbutt Files
Here on Columbia Avenue
House of Bargains
Family of 3 Boys

Read more...

Oh, The Mommy Guilt

I've got Mommy guilt and it sucks! I broke down and gave Tater some cold and cough medicine tonight. The poor little guy has had a cold for the past week and was coughing so hard tonight that I gave in and gave him the medicine. I don't like to give either one of my kids much medicine (it took me 2 years to finally agree to meds for Rooster's ADHD) and with all the hype going on about kids and cold medicine I was determined not to use it. But the poor dude needs to sleep! We've tried Vicks on the feet, I'm running a humidifier and I still need to try a recipe I found for some salve to put on his feet but for tonight I caved. He is sleeping and I've only heard him cough a couple of times. Maybe it's the placebo effect but either way I'll take it (Mommy guilt and all) if it means he gets a good night's sleep.

Read more...

I'd like to thank the Academy

 

Really, I would like to thank Kim at Flipping Adventures for giving me an I Love Your Blog Award.  Thank you so much I really appreciate it!  

I want to pass on the award to these other blogs - you all are amazing!

Confessions of a Baltimore Housewife
Lisa's Command Post
Hillbilly Heart
Kim's Kountry Kitchen
Raising a Girl
House Wife Mom
The Fife Life

There are some rules for this award:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the persons you've nominated.

Read more...

Some Great Reads

I've been fortunate enough to meet a great group of bloggers that have been more help than any of them know.  If you have a minute please check out their blogs.  You'll find a little bit of everything.

All in a Blog
Angies Silly Stuff
Baby Luvin
Confessions of a Baltimore Housewife
Blog About it
Blog Fogg
Bloggie Mommie
Busy Bee Village
The Cajun Blogger
Chatty Chica
Claudette's Words
Confetti by:Kateedyd
Da Boss And Bryguy
Deal with Chronic Pain
Digital Photography Today
Domesticated Diva
Drizzly Blog
Fat Girl Goes Fit
Feelings Just Are
Five O'Clock Somewhere
Flipping Adentures
4 Cats Make Me Crazy!
The Fuzzbutt Files
The Geeks Girl
Godly Woman
Green 'n' Pink
Happy Healthy Families
Here On Columbia Avenue
Hillbilly Heart
House of Bargains
House Wife Wom
I Don't Commute
I Love My 3 Boys
Jolly Mom
Kateedyd What?!
Kimmi's Krazy World
Kim's Kountry Kitchen
KKB Mom of 3
Kookie Krumblez
Lisa‘s Command Post
Luxury Lifestylez
Making My American Dream
Mama and Hustler???
Mia's Menu Mania
Mia's Motivation
Mix World
Mad Mommy
Moma's Crazy World
Moma's Life
Mommie’s Marbles
Mommy Mia's World
Mom Tidings
Mom to Three Sisters
Mom to Tweens
Moon Babyz
Ms Frugal McDougal
My So Called Blog
My First Steps With Jesus
My-Junk-Drawer
My Name is Not “Mom”
My Wahm Life
My Weekly Beef
Not Just In Your Head
101 Ways to Save
Pamela-te-da
Paradise Fiber Studio
Photos for the Fun of it
Postcard from Somewhere
Pure Jade Home
Raising a Girl
Remotely Mommy
Saving with Style
Saving With Tracy
Shrinking Pamelalala
SlickMom
Something Witty to Say
Surgical Nurse Musings
Talk Time with Kim
teleTwenties
The Jolly Kitchen
Three Times a Brideamaid
Thrifty Momma Ramblings
Thrifty Thoughts
Time Keeps on Flying
Vibrant Healthy U
Wahm Adventures
WICBlog
Work from Home Options
World of Homemaking
World of Mom

Read more...

What do you want to be when you're older

We just had Rooster's SEOP conference.  I have no clue what that stands for but it was a meeting with myself, Rooster and his counselor.  Before I got there Rooster had filled out a paper about what he liked, what he thought about school, and what he wanted to be when he grew up.

He has wanted to be a doctor since he was little.  Actually, up until about age 6 he wanted to be a doctor, a Backstreet Boy and a police officer.  Now he is down to one job.

I always thought (still think) he would be an amazing business owner/entrepreneur.  He can turn anything into a money making op.  But I was so proud to sit and listen to him talk about his plans to be a surgeon or an anesthesiologist.  On the other hand my heart was breaking just a bit, knowing how difficult it will be for him getting through college and med school with ADHD.  It truly is almost a full time job for me to track his assignments, follow up to make sure they get turned it, remind him of tests etc.  Our big goal for this year is getting him to learn more responsiblity and I have to say he is doing an amazing job but we still have a ways to go.  We have been so lucky to have great administration at Rooster's school and the psychologist gave me some of the best advice I've ever gotten.  Dealing with ADHD is not a race it's a marathon.  So we continue to celebrate the small and big steps we make knowing that we are working towards the finish line of our marathon.

Read more...

Our Soldiers

I was watching Little People, Big World last night.  The dad from the show was in Iraq to meet with a family that had 3 kids in their family that have dwarfism.  I have to say it made me an emotional wreck.  Not only was the story about the kids heartbreaking and at the same time inspirational but seeing the conditions that our soldiers are living and working in was absolutely eye opening.

Living so close to a military base we have many friends and neighbors who are in the military and have deployed several times to Iraq.  Last year we lost our neighbor when the vehicle he was in was hit by a roadside bomb.  Before his accident, I was so naive about the conditions over there.  Ryan's death brought everything so close to home and I don't think any of our lives will be the same. 

As you read this, please take a minute to think of or pray for our soldiers.  I only wish that every one of them would come home safely. 

And if you get a minute try to catch the episode of Little People, Big World - it really was moving

Read more...

I'm getting my own domain and did you hear about.....

Yipee!  I'm so excited within the next couple of days you should see my link change over to a dot com.  I must admit it feels kind of cool to have my own domain.  I hope there won't be any problems with the switch over-Let me know if you have any problems.

Completely unrelated - I was watching Regis and Kelly this morning and they were talking about a new email filter that can prevent drunk emailing.  Do people really do this?  I must be a bit behind the times.  I've heard of drunk dialing and drunk texting but drunk emailing?  Who takes the time to boot up their computer and compose an email?  Do they spell check first?

Apparently, there is a need because Google has a trial running with Gmail that will pop up a series of math questions that have to be answered before an email can be sent during late night weekend hours.  Math questions?  I would be in trouble without having a drop of alcohol.

I guess in the case  of someone who decides, in a stupor, that they really belong with one of their exes instead of their current the filter could come in handy. 

Read more...

They weren't kidding!

The weather prediction was a little off - and not in a good way! We got a FOOT of snow today! The boys were so excited they could hardly stand it. The snow was too wet to make a fort but they had a blast just running through it and throwing it.

Tater took this picture around 4:00 -a lot of it had melted by then

I thought this was kind of funny-Not sure if you can see it but there is a perfect little rose behind the tombstone and surrounded in snow.

If you've never tried homemade, snow ice cream you're missing out! It's yummy, so easy and so much fun for the kids. I know some people would be concerned about the pollutants in the snow but I think for an every once in awhile treat it should be fine.

Here's How:

What You Need:
1 cup Half & Half
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of salt
5 cups of fresh, clean snow


Mix all ingredients together and eat!
To make it even creamier add 1/2 of a mashed banana.

You can try other extracts like almond, mint, orange lime.......

Keep us in your warm thoughts - we should thaw out soon!

Read more...

So not ready for winter!

We're supposed to be in for a big storm tonight.  We're supposed to get 2-5" of snow tonight. I'm so not ready for this!  I don't think it will stick around - the ground is too warm and it should be back up to the 70's by the end of the week but still 2-5"?!! Give me a break.

I went back to the doctor because I wasn't feeling any better.  I now have bronchitis on top of the pneumonia.  So I'm on round 2 of anitbiotics an oral steroid on top of the inhaled steroid and breathing treatments.  I really hope things start getting better over the next few days. 

Read more...

Homework

As I write this I'm sitting with Tater doing his homework. Yet again I am amazed at the amount of homework he gets. We've been working for about an hour and he still has one more assignment then reading for 20 minutes. He is only in the 2nd grade - 1 hr - 1 1/2 hours of homework is too much. My 7th grader does maybe 2 hours a week of homework and is getting a 3.1 GPA. What's up with the elementary schools?

I have always been a supporter of homework - I don't think there is enough time or resources during the day for kids to learn everything they need to. But I also believe all things in moderation.

Recently, there was an article in our local paper citing research that homework does not benefit a student until the junior high level. One local school has actually done away with homework this year. It will be interesting to see how their test scores compare to the schools where kids do homework 1-2 hours a night.

Meanwhile, we'll keep plugging away and hope for the best.

Read more...

Not a cold

There is not much in life that I truly hate but going to the doctor definitely falls under that category. My cold wasn't going away, in fact I felt like it was getting worse so I broke down and made an appointment. I was so confused when he told me he needed to do a chest x-ray and asked him why when I was sure I only had a sinus infection. Turns out I actually have pneumonia. I've been spending a lot of time in bed, Bunco last night wasn't bat wings and all the yummy stuff I had planned (did KFC instead) and have zero plans for this weekend. I don't have time to be sick but I really don't have time to be sick in the hospital so I'll take it easy this weekend and hope Monday is better.

As women, we need to remember to take time for ourself and if that means we're sick for a day or two so be it. I really think if I had taken care of the cold up front I wouldn't have pneumonia now.

Read more...

Tater's Assignment

I just wanted to share one of Tater's assignments that he worked on in school last week - so freakin' cute!

He brought home a spiral bound book with a cover that reads "Advice from a 1st grader by Tater". His teacher printed the first part of a saying then the kids filled in the ending. I'll list the printed part in black and Tater's answer in red - enjoy!

When the cat’s away….
The cat’s at a party

Don’t cry over….
A toy.

Good things come in….
Order

With age comes…
Death

If you lie down with the dogs…
They will bite you.

If at first you don’t succeed…
You loose.

A penny saved is…
A penny less to spend at the store.

You can’t teach an old dog…
Tricks

Good things come to those who…
Eat Cookies

Don’t count your chickens before they…
Hatch

Every cloud has a…
Rainstorm

You’ve made your bed, now …
It is time for school.

What goes up must…
Come down

No news is…
Snoring (??? Can't explain this one)

The early bird catches the…
Early worm

There’s a time and place for…
Picnics

If you can’t stand the heat…
You must turn it to cold

You can catch more flies with honey than you can with…
A fly swatter

Read more...

It's baseball time!

Last weekend was the home opening weekend for the Bees and we were able to get tickets for the game on Sunday (for FREE-if I haven't already told you about the pinching your pennies website, I really need to). The weather was fantastic! 72 degrees with a slight breeze-not many things better than a Sunday afternoon at the ballpark with weather like that.

The kids are getting to the ages where they are doing much better at watching an entire game. We usually leave early (because the kids get bored) but this time we went late and the boys were upset that the game seemed so short. We will definitely go for the entire game next time.

Not only was it a great day at the park - the Bees won the game. We manage to catch a several games each year but have yet to be at one they won. I'm not sure if they are a much better team this year or if Portland just isn't a very good. Either way - a win is a win :)

We had great seats right on the first base line (Yup Tater cut all his hair off-Rooster is still hanging on to his)

These pictures were taken with my phone so it doesn't do it justice. It really is a gorgeous field with a fantastic view of the mountains surrounding the field. Notice all that snow on the mountains?! Arrgh

Speaking of snow-we've gone back to winter here. It snowed a lot earlier this week (didn't stay around though) and is supposed to start snowing again tomorrow. Maybe it's today, I haven't slept yet so technically it's today (3:00 AM) but in my mind it's still Saturday. Wow-did that make any sense?

Read more...

Easter Weekend

Rooster packing up the trailer

We decided we couldn't wait any longer for summer to get here so we packed up and went camping at Antelope Island over Easter weekend. Not the best idea we've had in a long time! Although, we had a great time with everyone that went, it was sooooo cold!!!! We got there around 7:00 Friday night and the sun had already gone done and the wind had picked up so we hung out in each other's trailers until everyone went to bed.
Camp

Saturday morning, we took all of the kids on an Easter egg hunt at the ranch on the island. They had tons of stuff for the kids to do. Face painting, a fishing pond game, they could practice lassoing a "cow" and walk around the old barns.

Tater roping a "cow"

We were the first ones back to camp and found a little visitor in our campsite.

I told Twitch I wanted to get a good picture of the buffalo but I didn't have my good camera with me. He kept telling me how they are passive animals, no they wouldn't charge at me, no I wouldn't die by buffalo attack etc. He told me that morning the Boy Scouts, that were in the campsite next to us, were really close to the buffalo and they were fine. Thinking back on it these were the same Boy Scouts who came over about 11:00 the night before and asked us if they could have some of our firewood. So much for always being prepared! I was able to get really close to the buffalo and get a decent picture (but I would have loved to get one of his face) before he turned and walked away. When everyone else got back to camp, I learned that buffalo really aren't that passive and that they will charge a person and can run 40 miles per hour when they get going. Now I know why Twitch stayed behind when I went to get a picture. He said he would have been ok because he didn't need to run faster than the buffalo. He only needed to run faster than me to get away. There's some love for yah!

By Saturday night, the buffalo became really comfortable with us and spent most of the evening just a few feet from the trailers.

That afternoon we hiked down to the salt flats so the kids could launch rockets. They had so much room to run -they had a blast!

The hike down to the salt flats

The kids running to get the rocket

Tater and S building sand castles

We spent the rest of the afternoon flying kites, riding bikes and launching missiles.

Rooster launching his missile

Tater and Twitch flying kites

We had another visitor to our campsite! A dinosaur must have walked through while we were gone.

Kidding-Tater made the print

Rooster probably had the best weekend of his life. His girlfriend went camping with us. Ooh I should clarify not just her. Her parents are good friends and the whole family was there. They were inseparable. In fact, someone asked K's sister where K was and she said "I'm sure she is with Rooster. She is always with Rooster. We're lucky though because K is a really good kid and they have so much fun with each other. Rooster is like a little gentleman with her. He will offer her a chair or his jacket or whatever he thinks she may need or want. I always joke with Twitch that I'm not sure where he learned it from.

Tater was having a lot of trouble with his asthma. So I took him home Saturday night to sleep then went back Sunday morning. He was so impressed that the Easter Bunny would come to our house for him and go to the campsite for his brother. We went back Sunday afternoon and Tater found his eggs that the Easter Bunny hid for him, had a great brunch then cleaned up the campsite and headed home.

Antelope Island (would be a really nice picture without the smudge on the lens!)

Antelope Island

Read more...