Sunday, November 30, 2008

Almost Silent Sunday

We had our first "real" snow today. I had Jason take the kids out to play while I did ChaCha. They were all kinds of antsy, Izzy especially. So they bundled up, Jason grabbed the camera, and away they went. I think for a little point and shoot he got some really great pics of them. They seem pretty self explanatory, so enjoy! Prayers and blessings everyone, try to stay warm this week! Yes, I know Izzy's jacket isn't zipped up all the way, Jason has this thing where he's afraid to pinch him with the zipper.


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Friday, November 28, 2008

Black Friday

The only shopping I did on Black Friday was to go to Target at 3 in the afternoon to pick up Playdoh for Izzy, and some dryer sheets. Target had a set of Playdoh that came in a bag with 4 cans and 10 toys for $6. I also picked up a basic 4 can set of Playdoh, to start working with Izzy now. The one with the toys is for Christmas.

We put up the tree tonight. More accurately, I put up the tree. I put it all together and then strung the lights. I let the kids put all the decorations on themselves. Jason was in the living room to take pics, of which he managed quite a few of my rear end, and to help wrangle a very curious Izzy.

Katy and Emily did an excellent job of entertaining Izzy. Katy kept swinging him up on her legs, it seems to be a really popular game now. Emily spent some time playing with the blocks with him. Toward the end of their antsiness, while I was finishing up the last of the lights, they all decided to go spinning around in circles. It was a mad house I tell you!

First up was playing with the lights. At one point or another, I had everyone watching over my shoulder. I'm not really sure WHY that was the case, but what I was doing was interesting to all of them.

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This next photo is just a random one of me that looks really odd. Jason said he was trying to use the natural light, not the flash, and this is what came of it. I told him I looked like a ghost, but he missed the reference I guess because he was pointing the shadows BEHIND me when he mentioned a "ghost".

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It's now time to play Up, Up, and Away with Izzy! Katy did this with him for what seemed like hours, at least to her I'm sure, but was in reality only a few minutes. The other kids were trying like crazy to get Katy's attention while she was doling it out to the youngest of the bunch!

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Jason decided it was time to check back in with me to see what kind of progress I was making. After all, when my part was done, he could leave and go hide away from all the crazies somewhere!

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Emily took a turn with Izzy. Playing blocks seemed to entertain them both, for at least a little bit. I'm not sure where the other 3 disappeared to during this time. You'd think that they would have been shoving themselves in front of the camera!

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Finally we get to them freaking out like the crazies that they are! I'm not sure who started it, though I have a sneaking suspicion is was Jason and Izzy, but they all ended up spinning in circles so many times they couldn't stand up!

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I leave you dear readers with this thought. Even though the youngest and oldest may get along, there will always be strife in the middle, as can be witnessed by this telling photo. Prayers and blessings everyone, I hope you have a great and relaxing weekend!

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Day Before

I'm sure that you all are out there, just getting ready for the big feast that shall descend upon our country tomorrow.

Last minute cleaning and grocery shopping. Ironing and meal planning. Figuring out who is going to sit where at the big table and all of that stuff. Me, I'm trying to decide if I'm going to make a pumpkin roll or not.

Jason said Audra was bringing pumpkin pie. That's great, and I appreciate the contribution. My question is this, is it JUST the pumpking pie? Is it only ONE pie? Because if it is, that's not nearly enough dessert for everyone. After all, in my household alone I have 7. Yep, you read that right, 7. Emily is joining us for the holiday.

An accident occurded today. One that James almost took the fall for, but the girls got a fit of conscience and came clean. They were goofing around in the closet and Emily got knocked in to the window. The glass broke. Now, I'm not so angry about the glass being broken. Accidents happen. What upset Jason and I the most is that until it became apparent that James was going to get in trouble for it, they "didn't know how it happened".

After they came clean, I tried to explain to them that it was important to tell us what happens WHEN it happens and in FULL. We can't best assess the situation if we don't know all of the circumstances. They were told not to play in the closet. Jason cleaned up the glass. I'm clumsy and I would have cut myself at least once. He put plastic sheeting over it. Thankfully, when storm windows were originally fitted for the house, one was put over that window. It's not a window that opens, it is there for looks more than anything. I am going to call around on Monday and try to find out how much it will cost us to replace the glass.

I told Jason that I wasn't quite sure what Jenn was doing with her free weekend, but I hope she enjoys the time. He said she was doing a little jig and it didn't matter much because she was "free" for the four days. I sent an email out to the in-laws to let them know we were having an extra child in the mix. Jason jokingly said he wouldn't have said anything and waited to see if they noticed! Hehe, our house is RATHER chaotic, so who knows how it would have gone?

My darling 2 year old has taken to waking in the middle of the night and not wanting to return to slumberland until 2 or 3 in the morning. This is VERY frustrating to me. Every time, it seems, that I think of getting up and heading to bed, in walks Izzy. Jeez child!

I had the oddest dream this morning. For some reason, I was living in an assisted living home, one meant for the mentally challenged. I know I say it so PC, but saying "retarded" has always bothered me. In my dream, we all took the home's bus to the library. They wanted me to wear special shoes. They were supposed to make me walk "correctly" or something like that. I felt so out of place, so lost and confused. It's like I belonged, but I felt like I had another "life", one I should have been living. The final straw for me was when we were all getting ready to leave. Apparently we were picking up extra people there at the library and bringing them home with us. I had it, I couldn't take it any more. They wanted me to wear the shoes that I hated. They were ugly and uncomfortable for me. I told them I wouldn't be getting back on the bus, that I was leaving and going my own way. That is when Jason woke me up.

I told him about the dream. About how it made me feel so "broken". He said "Do you know the difference between Apple and Microsoft?"
"Uh, no"
"One reads the numeric code from front to back, and one reads it from back to front."
"So which one is back asswords?"
"Microsoft. Bill Gates did it as a way to avoid infringing on a patent held by Steve Jobs. It makes the computer run slower, but it also enabled him to get a lot of contracts and eventually knock out Apple as a true competitor."
"Um, ok"
"Jamie, you are like Microsoft. Your brain works just as well, it's just wired to run differently than other people's. That doesn't make you broken, it makes you different."

While that is an odd analogy. Though it makes a lot of sense. I guess my brain doesn't want to infringe on the patents of others. Maybe it allows me to be more creative. Maybe it keeps me overly optimistic when so much would bring others down. Maybe it allows me to look at my kids and really enjoy them running around and acting like true heathens. It certainly makes me who I am.

I'm having difficulty coming to terms with this concept of "true self". I'm sure there will be plenty of posts about it. I'm also sure there will be plenty of things going on that I don't post. At least not right away. They may feel to personal or too fresh. I may not have it in me to go in to it once again. Oh, and from this point on, my therapist shall be known as Deb, The Bitch. She pushes hard, and she expects something back, and I think that is good. It really makes me stop and think and respond in an honest way. That can only be healthy.

This won't be an easy road by any means. There is going to be a lot of stuff I don't want to own up to, I don't want to look at, I don't want to remember. That being said. In order for me to get to a healthy point, to be the best Wife and Mother, I need to be the best Jamie. And that is going to suck. And be so worth it.

Prayers and blessings everyone, I hope you have a wonderful and blessed holiday.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Guest Blogging this evening....Cereal Daddy!!!

Yes tonight you get to hear from the other half of the insanity as the Serial Mommy is driving around with lots of children driving her nutso. Why "Cereal" Daddy??? Because that's about what I can cook, I make pancakes, sandwiches, and a mean bowl of Cherios. So tomorrow is the day before thanksgiving and I'm wondering just how we are going to pull this one off. I know it will come together alright but it just adds to the confusion around here. I'm getting ready to (ahem) Enjoy 5 days off of work to spend with my loving family and I don't know if I'll be screaming for them to take me away for the nut house before I can go back to work. Hopefully Jamie will let me play lots of video games and read my book. Good luck with whatever you and yours are doing for this holiday, and pray to the gods and goddesses for our Heathen horde.

Peace and Love Peace and Love

Cereal Daddy

Monday, November 24, 2008

Being Shrunk

I went back to therapy today. As Jenn said "How did it feel to be shrunk?" I suppose that is a relevant term.

How did it feel, how does it feel? Odd, that's for sure. It's an hour, or little over all focused on ME. How I'm feeling. What I'm thinking. How I'm doing. I feel like I should be hanging up a mirror and admiring myself or something. It all seems rather narcissistic.

I have homework from therapy. I know, weird right? She wants me write letters to my mother that I would never send. Talking about myself as a child and how I felt and the needs I feel weren't meant and all of that. My initial reaction is to say no. I mean, after all, it's in the past, isn't that where it should lay? Last time I tried to get out my feelings about all of that, my mom and I didn't speak for almost 3 months. Yeah.

Apparently I have a low level of self worth. It seems to stem from feelings from when I was a child. Um, OK. Sure, I do buy it. However it all seems rather selfish to do all of this. What exactly will it accomplish. Obviously, I'm not sending the letters, or sharing them with anyone but Deb (the therapist) or Jason. I'll do it, but who knows where it will get me?

Apparently I'm not TRULY depressed. I probably have some depression, like borderline. I can see that. Also quite a bit of anxiety that may be masking itself as ADD symptoms. If that is the case, then I've been anxious my entire life. I suppose as we go along, we'll figure out which it really is, huh?

Therapy is a study in selfishness I am coming to find out. Or at least how I perceive selfishness to be. It's all self centered and self focused and Me Me ME. It's a bit sickening.

That being said, I realize the need in me to go. Jason is an amazing husband. Supportive, loving, caring, all that super good stuff. I can't get him to leave no matter what (that whole self worth thing again). Trust me, I've tried, he just digs his heels in more. Whatever is going on in this messed up head that is on my shoulders needs to be fixed before I actually succeed in chasing him away.

Well, I am off to knit or write or do ChaCha or something like that. Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope you have a wonderful holiday week.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Almost Silent Sunday

I'm going to admit that I've been slack. You are going to notice that suddenly I'll have posts for the past week up all at once. Sorry about that, but I've been in a funk, so here is something new.

Jason and I went out on Friday. The dinner was good. The symphony was boring. Not to mention the climbing 4 flights of stairs in heels. The seats were way far up, which in all honesty, isn't such a bad thing, at least as far as going to the symphony is concerned. That being said, the Kalamazoo Symphony leaves something to be desired. I don't know if half of them were sick or what. There around 50 string instruments. And then the rest.

Let me see. 2 Flutes. 2 Clarinets. 2 Oboes. 2 Bassoons. 3 Trombones. 1 Tuba. 2 Trumpets. 4 French Horns. 1 Percusionist, who only played the timpani. Yeah. I KNOW that with the symphony the strings will outnumber the rest of the instruments, but this seems a bit scarce to me.

So here are pics from the evening. Getting ready and all of that. No, I'm not sure why my face looks so white in the last two photos, I SWEAR it didn't look that way in the mirror in the bathroom. Ah well. No one said anything in person, so either they weren't paying that much attention or it really didn't look like that. I like the dress that I wore. Katie Ann saw it and said it would be perfect for her wedding if I wanted to wear it there, so WOOHOO on that, I don't need to buy a new one now. Looking at the pics, I don't look as pretty as I felt for some reason. Or maybe that is my perception. Who knows.

Here is the first. My hair, from the front/side, and my ever present can of Mt. Dew. I got the curls by putting it in bobby pins the night before and leaving it until about 3 in the afternoon on Friday. Hence the name "pin curls".

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Here are my clothes, all layed out on the bed. Don't mind the mess on the floor. I made the shawl myself. It has a crochet stitch that I took from a sweater pattern. I made up the dimensions of the shawl as I went.

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Here is the jewelry. What can I say, we took a lot of pics with the getting ready process. I made the brown necklace. The grey/black pearls are a gift from Jason last Christmas. I made the bracelet as well. That is mood beads. A cool thing I got from my day trip to Shipshewana. The earrings are gold and silver from Avon. The pin is silver and glass crystals that I have had for ages. I picked it up when we were doing the Renn Faire stuff for a summer (1/2 summer?).

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This is Jason. He got angry with me on Thursday night because I was on his case about what he was going to wear. I'd been asking him all week. I figured he'd better figure it out Thursday night so that it could be washed and/or ironed before we needed to walk out the door on Friday. Considering all of our "dressy" type stuff is in tubs in the basement, it was a good call.

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Here I am doing my makeup. Like I said, a lot of pics. If you look, my face is NOT all whited out. I don't know why it did that in the final pics. Kind of annoys me really. Oh well. You can see the back of my hair. It's not all curled because it's too short. I have discovered that while I would LOVE to have long sexy hair, it just annoys me as soon as it touches my neck. So long on top and tiered/layered/wedged in the back it is.

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These are the last two pics. The first is obviously just me. The 2nd is Jason and I. My sis did the honors. Pay no mind to my orangeish skin and white face. Jason tried to fix my face in Photoshop and unfortunately you can't just add red tones to just one part of the photo. Or so I understand. It was WHITER. Oh well.

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Prayers and blessings everyone, I hope that you had a pleasent weekend. Did you get your dinner stuff together for the big meal on Thursday? I bought the Turkey, everything else is being bought on Wednesday.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Funky Fun Friday

Jason and I went out tonight. We had fun, I guess. Word of advice, don't go to the symphony if you've been up all day chasing children and working and what not. There just isn't enough going on to keep your attention so you just sit and zone out listening to the music and find yourself sliding down in your seat and drifting off which isn't a good thing when you are wearing a knee length skirt and a pair of heels.

Well, now that I got past the run on sentence of the century, how was your week? Mine was off kilter if you hadn't noticed.

I got my flyer in the mail for Jo-Ann's and I got an email from Lion Brand Yarn. Oooh. There is a very simple pattern for a very nice scarf in the email. Oooh oooh the yarn for the scarf is on sale, 2 for $4! Usually it's $2.99 a piece. Woohoo!!! I'm going to make 2 scarves. One for my FIL for Christmas, and one for my Secret Santa for the 4 or More Mommies. I may do one for the Secret Santa for the March Mommies as well, but I don't know who I'm getting for that so I don't know if a scarf is right for them, they may live in Cali or Florida or some place like that! I may even do one for my dad, and I wonder if Sue wears scarves? I know Linda does. I won't be getting all of that yarn this week. Just the yarn for FIL and the Secret Santa.

Homer is out of work. I talked to him. I guess he's getting unemployment. Yippee for him. It does mean that the child support we receive will be greatly diminished, if we see it at all, go figure. Oh well, we've made it on tight before, we can do it again.

I'm looking at doing Angel Food Ministries for December. For $30, the box of food seems to be a good value. If we like it, I may get more the next time around. It would certainly help stretch our food budget and with the freezer downstairs, it won't go to waste.

I'll be contacting my case worker on Monday to let her know that we won't be receiving the child support. I also have to call the Friend of the Court to see if they actually garnish child support from unemployment. I have therapy on Monday evening too. I missed last week in favor of sleeping. Go figure.

I need to get the dining room cleaned up by Tuesday evening. I want to set the tree up then. Well, put it together and string the lights. Wednesday, I'll be driving to Muskegon to pick up Katy and Emily and then doing my last minute dinner shopping.

Emily is Katy's younger 1/2 sister. They share the same dad. She is Jenn's daughter. Chris cancelled on them for Thanksgiving, so I offered for Emily to come here if Jenn didn't have plans with her family. So Emily is staying from Wednesday to Saturday when I bring them both back up north.

Emily is related to us in a weird kind of way. It's almost like she is a cousin to the kids. But not at the same time. With Chris off living his own life, barely acknowledging his children, I feel like someone should be there to be Emily's 2nd family. Everyone has one, or at least they should. So Emily will be coming down with Katy for visits and that kind of thing. What's one more kid after all, right?

Prayers and blessings everyone, I hope that your weekend is filled with fun and family and all that makes you smile and feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Thankful Thursday

What to be thankful for today?

That I'm alive.

That I have a wonderful husband who loves me dearly even when he is out of cigarettes because he smoked them all too quickly and he KNOWS I don't pick up more until Friday when he gets paid and he is suffering from a bit of nicotine withdrawl and is being a pain in the ass.

For children with brains and mouths and thoughts and abilities even when they are using all of those to drive me absolutely bat-shit crazy.

For the ability to take care of myself even though I'm the world's worst procrastinator and I hate putting forth effort to do anything.

I'm just keeping it real here people. After all, life isn't perfect, and mine really is very far from it. Prayers and blessings all, I hope that you have a great weekend.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I Know, I Know

So Nablopomo is sucking for me right now. Now, technically it says 30 new posts in the month of November, so I'll do a couple of makeups and we'll go on our merry way, ok?

A few things.

Today is my daughter Vyky's birthday. She is 14 today. I thought of doing a post just to her. I don't know if I will or not. It's still very emotional. I can sympathize with parents who have lost a child. Not having her near me, in anyway, is similar to her dying. However, I KNOW she is still out there. She's growing and learning and maturing. I wish I could see her, to hear what she thinks and has to say. I imagine she is amazing. And beautiful. It might be easier if I had a picture, however I don't. I've thought of writing to her dad and asking for one. I'm not sure if it is fear of him not answering, or fear of him answering that keeps me from doing it. I am sure that at some point, I will write it all out. Maybe even later today, but right now, at 4:16 in the morning, it's not happening.

My sleep schedule has been SUPER weird the past few days. I stayed up all night on Sunday night. I was told to call Jayden's doc first thing (8 AM) on Monday to schedule her an appt. By the time I was ready to go to bed, I would of had to be up in about 3 hours. I was having Jason wake me up before he left for work so that I knew I'd be awake. He leaves at 6:30 in the morning by the way. He would have woken me around 6. I napped on Monday during the day. Then at 6:30ish that night, I went to bed and slept til 3 in the morning. Last night, I went to bed at 9, and slept til 3 this morning. I'm hoping that tonight I can stay awake until at least 10, so that I can sleep a little later. It doesn't help that Izzy has been getting up between 3 and 4 every morning to come down stairs and crash on the couch.

Thanksgiving is next week. We'll have a big old dinner, lots of family time, a good time (I hope) will be had by all. Then the chaos of the "official" shopping season will begin. We are using Jason's Christmas bonus to do our gift shopping. I'll be working on handmade items as well.

The goals for this weekend are to get the house in tip top cleanliness shape for the dinner on Thursday. That means I need to work on the dining room every day this week until it's ready. It would help if Izzy would stop going behind me and taking all the books off of the shelves, but oh well.

I think that is all for now. Prayers and blessings everyone, I hope you have a great week.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Almost Silent Sunday

This will be Almost Silent Sunday at some point today. I did have "blah blah blah sunday blah blah blah" up here, but that was supposed to be a place holder, not a published post. Ah well. Please be patient with my "technical difficulties" :-D

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Random Saturday

The thoughts meandering through my mind went a bit like this today...

I see the signs all over town "Pray for our New Leaders" and I have to wonder if the "conservative" guys would have won would those signs still be up there? I would think that ALL political leaders need our prayers, especially with the way this country is right now, don't YOU?

I'm going OUT on Friday with my HUBBY on a DATE! Like DINNER and SYMPHONY!! I feel so GROWN UP!!! I know that's funny, however I actually had to go buy a dress. Why buy a dress? Oh come on, you know what stay at home mom's wear. Jeans on a dressy day. Yoga pants on a non-dressy day. Pajama pants on a "Why the HELL did I get out of bed" day. I don't see "DRESS" in there at all.

So many projects to accomplish. I was hoping that I'd have the curtains for the house made by now. Um, I don't even have the curtains for the extra doorway in the girls' room finished!

I've been thinking of a list of things I'd like to work on in therapy. Just so I can give it to her. Part of the paperwork was asking what I felt I needed services for. I also asked Jason to write stuff down. He sees things differently than I do after all.

I'm making beef stew in the crock pot right now. The left over pot roast from last night, some fresh potatoes, and fresh baby carrots, all cut up. YUM YUM. At least I hope so. Tomorrow night we are having a whole chicken. Then I'll boil the carcass and have a nice good chicken stock in the freezer. I want to look for a buttermilk biscuit recipe online and make some from scratch and make chicken and dumplings from the chicken stock and the biscuit mix.

I need to buy my turkey this week. That is quickly approaching and I need to be prepared! I also need to figure out what else I am going to be serving. It will be just Jason's family joining us this year. My dad and Sue are going to be up north with her family. Her parents usually go south for the winter, but didn't this year, so they are going to enjoy the holiday with them.

Jason was supposed to call his sister about Thanksgiving. Oh well, I'll remind him again tomorrow. I need to send out my annual "this is our holiday schedule this is what the kids are in to" email to the extended family. Coordinating Christmas dinners for us is a plan that takes a month's notice. It's also why we do NOTHING on Christmas day aside from rent movies and get Chinese take out. From the 26th to the 31st we are running all over the state like chickens with our heads cut off!

Tomorrow is Almost Silent Sunday and I told Donna (a mommy on the Four or More board) that I would post pics of my scrapbooking stuff. She's trying to find some sense of organization in hers. I can understand that. I'm trying to find some sense of organization in ALL of my stuff!

Jason said he WILL take pics of me all GUSSIED up on Friday. I made a necklace to go with it. I'm working on a headband and a shawl. I'm wondering if I should go with barrettes instead however. I'll argue with the headband a little longer and see what comes of it and take it from there.

I am going to research Craftacular as a possible Etsy store name. I can always go with JDR. I like that. Simple and concise. It also happens to be the initials for BOTH Jason and I, so it easily describes that it is OUR stuff.

Prayers and blessings everyone. Try to stay warm, unless you are to the south, then try to stay cool. It's supposed to be cold and snowy for the rest of the week. It's about time, is what I have to say about that!

Friday, November 14, 2008

You Might Not Know That I...

...Drive no more than 9 miles over the speed limit on the highway because I've gotten so many tickets I'm now paranoid, unless I'm in Chicago, then all bets are off
...have 2 close friends in real life and don't have the desire for more, unless I meet some of my "mommy" friends, as Jason calls them.
...wanted to name Jayden "Jaydenya" (say it with me...Jay-Den-Ya, mom claimed she couldn't pronounce it) and call her Jayd and my mom talked me out of it, and I'm upset because now Jayden is such a popular BOYS name
...grew up with a BOYS name and swore I'd never do that to my girls, and I did inadvertently
...usually read the first three chapters of a book, skip to the last one, read that, and then go back to the rest of the book
...have a very strange thought process and when you talk to me "in real life" I tend to not make sense unless I take the time to explain how my brain went from point A to China and then Antarctica and back
...started therapy yesterday, and I liked it.
...love mood rings and mood beads and all those cool things like that
...feel like I was born a generation too late because I love all that hippy dippy crap
...make jewelry that I give away or shove in a box and never see again, I don't wear it, I don't know why, though I really like what I make
...love to cook big big meals
...collect barbies, not like super crazy collect, but I own 3 that I won't let Jayden play with
...love the Dodge Viper and the F150 Ford truck
...owned a 2001 Ford F150 Extended Cab 4x4 Offroad with the V8 Titan Engine, and I LOVED that truck, and I gave it up for a mini van, which I don't really like, so that we would have more room for our family
...collect teddy bears, when I was little it was stuffed bears, now it is ceramic ones
...would rather have salt than sugar
...love to shop but hate shopping for stuff for myself, I always feel so self-conscious in what I am wearing
...really like classical music and Jason and I are going to the symphony next Friday for a grown up adults only date
...every one of my kids are named after a member of the family or, in some cases, two in some way or another
...recently discovered that I have A.D.D. and I won't be taking meds, at least not right now
...love nail polish and I own all kinds of "weird" colors
...think buffalo chicken ROCKS!
...talk to my ex-MIL on the phone more than I talk to my own mom, though Ma lives in Wisconsin and I see her maybe once a year
...can't accurately remember the birth stats of my kids...oops, there are FIVE of them after all
...think Sweetwaters is the BEST donuts ever ever ever made, hands down kicks Krispy Kreme's ass, and I know because we had a Krispy Kreme in town and it went out of business because Sweetwaters is 100 times better!
...was inspired by Miss Britt
...love shoes, all kinds, but I am cheap and won't pay more than $40 for a pair, and have only paid that much a handful of times
...love jewelry that I never wear, I have a whole jewelry box full
And I don't know that you...

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thankful Thursday

This week I'm thankful for Jason.
For the kids.
For the house I live in.
You know, the usual crap.
For my friendship with Jenn.
And with Daisy.
That my parents are healthy and alive.
And Jason's folks too.
That our van still runs.
That we'll have money for Christmas.
That Jason's job gives him a Christmas bonus so I can have money for Christmas.
That everyone who can will be here for a huge Thanksgiving meal.

Prayers and blessings everyone. Remember to be thankful for what you have. Worrying about what you don't won't make it any easier on you.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Happy Birthday Katy Beth!!

Happy birthday Katy! I hope you have a really great day! I know you are at school today. I hope that the dinner you have is tasty and the gifts you receive are wonderful! We will see you at Thanksgiving and we will celebrate then!

Katy is 11 today. That big age of transition and growing. Being an almost teenager, as she reminds me, is full of angst and self doubt and fear. It is also a time of change and growing and learning.

Katy is a smart beautiful well rounded girl. I believe in her, and her ability to grow and adapt to the changes that will be coming in her life. As everyone who has ever been through it knows, teenagerness (is that even a word?) brings about so many changes in ourselves, in our bodies, in our way of thinking.

Katy has the support and love of a lot of people. I know she will handle the coming years with grace and dignity.

By the way, I'm not saying she won't become mouthy and moody and all that teenage crap that every parent dreads. I AM saying she is smart enough, and loved enough, and encouraged enough, to know that no matter WHAT she is dealing with, she KNOWS she has someone she can go to when it seems to be too much, as it will, even though to us adults it won't really look like too much.

Katy impressed a judge this year. He couldn't believe she was only 10 at the time. He felt for sure she was much older, simply on how she handled herself. He called her funny and smart and mature. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind and be heard. Now, if a girl of 10 isn't afraid to tell a judge what she wants, I really believe she will do well as she gets older.

I think the challenge for us, her parents, will be getting her to come out of her shell a little more, to, if not lead, at least not be so willing to follow. It has been difficult to teach her that she can say what she needs to and not worry so much about how who she is talking to will feel about it.

Prayers and blessings everyone. Remember to enjoy your loved ones at every age, for soon, it will be past and you will wonder where the time went.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I Am So Tired

I am so tired of getting yelled at for my blog. Suck it up folks, I'm an adult, you are adults, put your big boy/girl pants on and BE adults. This is MY space, where I write WHAT I WANT! It is my way to let out steam, be creative, think things through, scream, yell, and holler in a rather HEALTHY way!

Two posts ago I mentioned In-Laws. I told Jason, just in case he caught some flack for it. By the way, I wasn't speaking of MY In-Laws, just in general. Firstly, I have NO problems specifying when I'm speaking of MY In-Laws. Secondly, I was actually thinking of how THEY may have been feeling about adapting to ME more than the other way around!

Jason asked me not to write about MY In-Laws anymore, ever. I told him point blank, NO. He got pissed. He doesn't ask much of me. I usually oblidge. I'm not going to with this. I will NOT censor myself, I don't give a flying rat's ass if the POPE or the QUEEN OF ENGLAND or THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is reading. What you see is what you get. Niceness, meanness, snarkiness, all of it, 100% ME.

Jason is also ANGRY because I HATE to clean. You know what I woke up to this morning? My 2 year old destructo boy CLIMBING on the counters, getting in to the cupboards. Not to get anything to eat, oh no, that would make sense, but to throw SHIT on the FLOOR!! He wastes food like no one's business. There is NO way we would allow the older kids to get away with HALF of what he throws all over. Time outs don't work. Spankings don't work. Yelling doesn't work. Gently redirecting doesn't work. When I say I've tried it all to get through his thick ass head I mean I've TRIED IT ALL.

Yes I'm angry right now. I'm TIRED of getting yelled at for shit like this. I love my husband, I really do, but when he ATTACKS me at 5 in the morning, it kind of rubs me the wrong way! Just add a VERY naughty 2 year old and you've got one very PISSED OFF mommy!

I'm tired of cleaning up and it just being destroyed all over again. I'm tired of Jason cleaning up and it being destroyed all over again. Destroyed by the same person. He climbs over any gate we put in his doorway. We can't keep him in Lockdown the entire day. We can be in one room, he'll go to another and destroy it. Jason vacuumed the living room on Saturday. I didn't even get to SEE IT clean because by Sunday it looked the same as it did BEFORE he vacuumed. He said he vacuumed, I'm just taking his word for it because I sure as HELL don't see it!

Jason acts like I LIKE living like this. Um, hello dumbass, but NO! What the HELL am I supposed to do? I clean, I pick up during the day, I bitch about it, but I DO it! You can't even tell by the time you get home! The laundry I wash is overtaken by new dirty stuff. The dishes I wash are overtaken by new dirty ones. The spaces on the floor I clean are overtaken by the new dirty ones that Izzy makes. Trust me, I don't ALLOW him to do this. His nose finds that wall for GOOD chunks of the day. There is a REASON he still takes naps, so I can TRY to get stuff cleaned up! However, for as long as it takes to clean up, he's awake again and BACK AT IT!

Jason has spent days with this kid. He knows that you can clean spotless on Saturday and by Sunday it looks like you haven't cleaned in WEEKS! I enjoy a bit of chaos in my life, I really do. I find it calming. It reminds me that life really IS chaotic. Izzy takes that to the extreme.

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING he does, eats, drinks ends up on the floor. Books are on the floor. He goes through our shelves and tosses them ALL. Adult books, kids books, it doesn't matter, if it's on the shelves it goes on the floor. He takes EVERYTHING out of the baggies/boxes that I have it organized in. The kids school materials. His snacks. Boxes of cereal. Packages of pretzels. Coffee filters. ALL ON THE FLOOR. He POURS his drinks out, and if he can't get it to pour, he takes a drink and SPITS it out, on to EVERYTHING. Tables, books, couches, carpet.

He isn't allowed to play upstairs alone. Jason is trying to figure out how to hang an extra door. Why? To keep Izzy out of the upstairs bath and storage room. Izzy keeps going in to the bathroom and using the litter boxes like sand boxes. Throwing it ALL over, and in to the toilet and bath tub! He gets a bath everytime he does it, AFTER he gets a spanking (000h, the spanking word, wonder how many hits I'll get for THAT? Too bad I don't have one of those things that tells me HOW people found me) and standing in time out while it is cleaned back up.

Short of keeping the boy in time out and sitting in a chair at all times, what is there to do? He KNOWS he shouldn't be doing these things. He does it as quietly as he can. When he sees an adult coming, he runs FULL tilt in the opposite direction! He KNOWS! He still does it! NONE of my kids were EVER this destructive. NONE! It's not my parenting because that has been consistent. Jason follows my lead for the most part.

Right now, I need to go clean up the living room. Izzy has speech therapy this morning. I think it would be best to give her a clean floor to work with him on. Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope your spouses/significant others are more understanding than Jason is lately and I hope that your children are better behaved than Izzy.

It Has Come to My Attention...

That BlogHer is going to be in CHICAGO next summer! Chi-town is THREE hours from me, THREE HOURS!!!! Which means, I can go!!! Well, kind of. I wouldn't go the whole week, I don't think, maybe a long weekend.

Of coarse, I have to ask, can I even GO to BlogHer without being a part of the BlogHer network? I don't have the ads. I applied. I'm on the bottom of the list, the very long waiting list I'm sure.

Miss Britt has it posted on her blog. All about it. Now, I'm pretty sure I can party like the rest of them. I don't know most of them, though I DO read them, every gosh darn day for some! I wanna be part of the cool crowd MOM! Can I Can I Can I???? HUH HUH HUH????

Now, just to figure out HOW I'm going to tell Jason that I'm going to take a long weekend to Chicago to meet a ton of people I've never met (you too DAISY!) most likely by myself where he'll have to take time off of work and spend all that time with the kids. Wait, if I drive, I can bring the olders up to Linda in Wisconsin. Now THERE'S an idea. That will Jason home with Izzy.

I don't know how it'll work out, but now I have a focus, and I wanna go! I'll figure it out.

Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope you have a great Vetran's Day. Are you working today? Sometimes it's hard to figure out who works on Vetran's Day and who doesn't, ya know?

Edited to add, I'm a COOL KID now!!! I'm a BlogHer! Woohoo!!! Still no advertising, but that's all right. Now, I just need to get to the party....oh, and you can find me on the BlogHer network as, you guessed it, serialmommy. I know, SO inventive, right?

Monday, November 10, 2008

The Things That Come to Mind

I'm a thinker. My brain just doesn't shut off. I don't sleep overly sound. I wake up a few times in the night usually. My point is that I'm constantly thinking of things. Things I want to do, things I want to post, that kind of thing.

At this moment, these are things I'm thinking. Hey, it's Nablopomo folks, you should EXPECT randomness like this!

Jason needs to take more pics of the family. I need to take more pics of the family. We have a great camera but we hardly ever use it. I think a lot of the kids' lives are getting left behind as memories and not being documented. I'm never in the pics, nor Jason. So we need more pics of each other too. We used to take pics all the time. I wonder why we stopped?

Everyone has issues with their In-Laws. It's just how it goes. Why? I have a theory. We go all of our lives with our family. Our mom and dad and aunts and uncles and siblings and grandparents and cousins and what not. That is our family. When we become seriously involved with someone else, either in a very long term committed relationship or legal marriage, the other person's family is SUDDENLY our own. We have all these NEW people who have their own way of doing things, of saying things, of thinking and being, and we are told "This is your family now. Treat them as you would your own." It's SO hard to do that.

In your own family, the one you grew up with, your personalities may clash. Hell, they WILL clash. However, you grow up with "You can't choose your family". So you deal with it. You have your whole life to learn how to handle the clashes. You learn what to say or not to say, how to behave, that kind of thing. With In-Laws, you don't have your whole life to adapt. You are given no warning. You don't know if you'll clash or not. You'll be yourself, and find out that it rubs one or some or all of them in a way that you just didn't intend. You will go about doing your "usual" thing and find out someone takes serious offense with it. You weren't trying to upset or offend, you just didn't know. You are a stranger to them, and they to you. It leads to all kinds of stress and strife for your partner. After all, it is THEIR family causing the issues. Very rarely do we stand up and say "You know, I could of handled that differently and I take the blame. " It's usually more like "YOUR family is crazy/insane/stupid/etc..." Maybe if we all just stood up and said "I'm sorry I don't get along with so-and-so. I will try harder in the future." I think it'd bring a lot more peace to everyone.

I love to bake. I hate the clean up. I'd LOVE a Kitchen Aid mixer, one with a bread hook along with the mixing beaters. I'd make so much bread! It's a dream, on the list of things I'd like to get someday. Maybe with our income tax return this year. Maybe not, I don't know yet. I think it will depend on what else we need to pay, what else needs the money infusion. I know I have my sister's wedding that I need to set aside money for. The bridal shower, the dress, the bachelorette party, etc. It's a nice dream at least.

I hate to clean. It sucks. It almost seems like a pointless endeavor. I mean, why am I cleaning? It's just going to get trashed again by one of the kids, usually the youngest and the one that disciplining is least effective with. *SIGH* I KNOW it NEEDS to be done, but that doesn't make me more inclined to WANT to do it.

ChaCha. It's work. The people using it ask silly questions. Stupid questions. Lots and lots of sex related questions. Can people REALLY be THAT clueless about the sexual things they are asking, or are they just asking to see if they can get an answer? All the questions get answered by the way. Sometimes I answer questions, but more often than not, I send them off to someone else to answer. It's a way to earn some money from home and I'm not going to argue with it.

Why is life so tiring lately? Why is it wearing me down so damn much. Jason says it's because I'm tired. Why am I so tired I asked. He said because I take care of the kids all the time. I can very much see that. Oh, and the messy house makes me tired just looking at it. Go figure. Jason said if I spent 1/2 as much time CLEANING as I did BITCHING about cleaning.....yeah, well, not cleaning means I don't need to clean it AGAIN, so .

Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope this week finds you well.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

This Was Going to be a Different Post.

I'm not doing Almost Silent Sunday this week. I might put photos up later this week to compensate. This was going to be a different post. About accepting the things in others we don't care for and all of that. However, I'm making it short and sweet. I may come back later today, or wait until after midnight, and do the accepting post.

Right now, we have 1000's of troops deployed overseas. There just isn't anything to be done about that. I don't support the decisions of those in charge to send our troops out there. I think they were VERY misplaced. That being said, I DO support our troops. They are giving themselves to do what so many of us don't want to do, don't even want to think about. They are sacrificing their home lives, and some times even their physical lives, to go over, where they are told, and do a job that they have been told needs to be done.

All of these soldiers need our love and support. They need to know they are appreciated and cared for. Some of them don't have anyone sending them letters and emails and care packages. Why that is, I don't know.

For quite some time, I have been trying to find a way to match up with a soldier to show my support. To send those letters and emails and care packages. To let them know they are loved and cared for and very much appreciated for what they are doing. I finally found the place to do it.

Adopt a U.S. Soldier is what I found. They paired me up with a soldier by the name of Diana. I'll be sending her a letter later this week. I'm going to have the kids draw some pics of what they think soldiers do. I'll send a care package once a month.

According to the site, there usually isn't an overabundance of soldiers, however there is RIGHT NOW. Please, go to the site and sign up. Show our troops that they have the support, love, respect, and care of those they serve. After all, they are serving us. They signed up to keep our country free. No matter if you agree with where those troops are sent, they are doing it of their own free will. Our military is 100% voluntary. Show those men and women you appreciate the sacrifices they are making for us. Show them that you care.

Prayers and blessings everyone. Enjoy your freedoms. Show your support.

Make Up Post 101

This is the post to make up for missing out on Friday. I don't know why I didn't post on Friday. Oh wait, yes I do! It was an odd day, to say the least.

I had stayed up all night and I made the mistake of laying down on the couch to watch a movie, the 1st National Treasure. I fell asleep, and the kids let me sleep all day. James got food for Izzy. I think I woke up once to change a diaper. They trashed the house. Jayden ate way too much candy. James was on the computer the entire time. Well fuck me. When Jason got home, he was on the computer all night. Past midnight, so no post for me.

Today (I'm still on Saturday folks) was GREAT!!! I only spent about $30. I really didn't go to BUY stuff, it was more just to GO. Ya know?

I DID get some really great beads. I'm a weirdo, I KNOW. I got 6 mood change beads that I'm going to make in to a bracelet for myself. I got some really pretty blue and white glass beads that look like they have little flowers in the middles of them. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with those yet, but I'll figure it out. I also bought a couple of multi strand clasps. They are pretty and the kind of thing I've been looking for.

Lately, I've been making barrettes. I was thinking about opening an Etsy store with them. I like the name Crafty Intentions, but I feel like I've heard it before in regards to someone else. I don't know if it was another Etsy store (I did a search and nothing came up) or a person's blog or what. I need to do more research to figure it out first. So I'm looking for suggestions on names. I don't want one that is specific to the barrettes because I'd like to eventually list Jason's Fimo creations and maybe some hand made jewelry. Did I post about this yesterday? I *think* so! Oh well, that is just how my mind works some times.

I am going to have Jason take better pics of the barrettes tomorrow, and have them in my hair, and in Jayden's, so I think that will be my Almost Silent Sunday post. Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope your weekend went well.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

I Know I Missed A Day.

What can I say? I missed a day. Maybe I'll post 2 posts for today. I'll probably do that at some point this weekend.

Later today (because it IS Saturday now) I am heading on a road trip with MF Jenn. We are heading to Shipshewanna! It's not a short drive from here, at least an hour, if not more. It really isn't about the shopping down there either. It's the point of getting out and getting away from the day, something I REALLY need right now.

This past month has been SO much. I'm tired and worn out and ready to throw in the towel, and the holidays aren't even here yet! Those mean travel and family and coordinating visits with about 12 billion people and driving and presents and wrapping and shopping and and and...well, you get the idea.

To add to it all, I think I'm going to open an Etsy shop. Keep in mind, I'm really no where near having enough inventory to be able to do that yet. I'm working on making the stuff now. I don't even have a name!

I've started making these cute beaded barrettes (is that how it's spelled? Could it be barettes?). I'll take a pic of the ones I have done when it is daylight out. The current pics I have now just aren't good at all. So far I have three barrettes made and I'm working on a fourth. They are going to be sold as singles, not as pairs. Each one will be unique. To start off with, I'm going to use only materials I have here in the house. I bought a package of 30 "blank" barrettes last week, so that is my goal to start with. I'm thinking that at some point after the holidays I may have enough inventory to start up the shop.

I'd like to also list Jasons Fimo sculptures. If I can get him to make me more of them. We tried selling them on EBay once. I think Etsy will be a more appropriate forum for sale of those.

This post will be short and sweet. I need to be heading to bed shortly so I can be awake by 9 so I can get ready to head out when MF Jenn gets here at 10. I'll be bringing the camera. I don't know what I'll be taking pics of, however I'll share whatever it is I do see! Prayers and blessings everyone, I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Thankful Thursday

Today there is a lot to be thankful for.

I'm thankful that America has given a great man to really shine and show us some change for the good. We really need it right now.

I'm thankful for family. No matter if we disagree with them, or don't particularly like them all the time, they make our lives richer and better just for them being a part of our lives.

I'm thankful for Jason. I know, I'm thankful for him every week. I don't think that will ever change, and trust me, he really deserves to be thanked.

I'm thankful we are able to provide for our family.

Prayers and blessings everyone. I know it's short and sweet, but hey, it's better than nothing.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Everyone is Reading.

It seems that everyone is reading. People you never thought were reading. People you never thought WOULD read.

Here's the thing about writing and talking. You can say and read the exact same things. They will always come off as different.

This is my space, where I come to write it out. Instead of keeping the anger, joy, frustration, pride, happiness or whatever in, I come to let it out. This is very much an open book to my life, to EVERYTHING that I am feeling, to everything that I am thinking and going through. It isn't unusual to find a post about 6 different things all at once. There is a reason one of my keywords is "I digress" and "random crap".

Apologies are better in person. They go over better that way. There are times when someone comes across something that wasn't intended to be shared with them, at least not at that time, in that form. Sometimes writing it out helps rephrase and reform the thoughts and allows the person to find the best way to approach whatever it is.

Now, I'm going to be specific.

Marian, you and I have never really gotten along. I understand that. I accept that. I know that Jason, the man that I love with all my heart and being, is your baby. I understand how you can feel that he is being "taken away" from you because he now lives his very own grown up life somewhere that isn't 5 minutes away. I understand your love for your son because I feel that way for all of my children. The ones who live here, and those that don't.

I DO feel it is a violation of privacy to move things around in my kitchen or bathroom or any other room of the house. I like the disorganized sense of it. Ironically, it brings me peace. That being said, I was not intending on attacking you with my posts. Jason and I had NO idea that you read this blog. If we had even thought of it, and we honestly didn't, what I wrote wouldn't have been phrased that way, or possibly wouldn't have appeared at all. It was a vent, a voicing of my own frustration. I was asking for suggestions, though I hadn't really received any, on ways to best approach you about how I feel.

I didn't know how to say to you "Marian, please stay out of my cupboards. If you want to know something, please ask me. I will answer you honestly and completely. I feel that you going through things is an invasion in to my personal space. You may find things that I am not ready to share with you because it isn't the right time to do it. I was raised to answer direct questions honestly and that if it's behind a door, cupboard or room or car or whatever, it's private. Please stay out of those spaces. Please don't wash the dishes after the meal. I take offense with it. It feels like you are saying that it's not done right with how I (or Jason) do it. I understand you were trying to say "Thank you for the meal" however you are a guest in my home and Jason and I are quite capable of cleaning up on our own. Thank you".

Now, saying it like that comes off as bitchy and crass, doesn't it? How is it different that I put a lot of stuff out here, on the internet, for all to read and I have a problem with someone going through my things at home? I am choosing what I am putting here. I'm not taking photos of the inside of my cupboards, or my dresser drawers or the inside of my van, or any other super personal space like that. You won't see copies of receipts (not so you can actually read them at least) or my last name listed, or that of the kids. When you come to my home, you are in my home. You are there, in person. It is open to you, to walk around, to sit on my couch, to eat the dinner I cook, to go upstairs and see where the kids spend a lot of time. We keep the things we don't want to share behind closed doors. What I write here isn't anything that I wouldn't say or show you in person. It may be in rough form, but it is what I would share willingly.

Marian, Jason loves you, and no matter who he is married to, he will always care for you and Dave. You are his parents and are irreplaceable that way. I don't know how to ease your feelings of losing him. I will most likely feel similar when my own children go to have their own lives. I do feel that way about the ones that aren't here.

This does not mean that you are not welcome here, in my home. If anything, we want to see you more. We can't afford to come down there all the time, raising a family is expensive, as you know, and there are bills to pay. We would like you come up for dinner here occassionaly, though we understand the situation with Dave and his dad and Uncle Don. Unfortunately, sometimes life keeps the ones you want closest to you apart.

I also know that you may not understand why we do certain things the way that we do. Homeschooling, me not working, the stuff with James and Katy and Vyky, the way we parent and discipline, and the whole ball of wax. It is all very different then how anyone else does it. That is because we are different than anyone else. We do try to do what is in the best interest of our kids, and of our family as a whole.

I know that you and I will not always see eye to eye. We are two very different people who have Jason in common. We both love him as much as we possibly can. Jason is the best thing to ever happen in my life. I've gone through so much hardship and crap and hurt and failure. You did right when you raised him, and thank you for that. He is an amazing and wonderful and caring man. He loves me, and my children. He accepts me, and mine, as we are. He has embraced our life and how we live it. I promise I try my damndest to make him happy. Thank you for entrusting him to me.

Prayers and blessings everyone. Remember, you can't choose your family, not really. They are all different than you, and while you may not like them much, they are yours so cherish them for who they are.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Tasty Tuesday and Voting Too!

We voted. We made a family affair of it. We walked over to our polling place. We didn't have to wait very long at all. James and Jayden looked at our ballots. It made a little more sense to James because of what we had been working on, elections, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, voting, that kind of thing. I showed him where you could write in the name you wanted. He confirmed that mine and Jason's ballots looked exactly the same. We all got stickers and came home.

I made donuts on Sunday or Monday night. I used the left over dough from the first batch that I had made. These pics are in chronological order. Jayden kept wanting to help. She and James got to roll the dough a bit, and they each pressed out some of the circles. The pics should tell the story. I didn't take any pics when I originally made the dough. They were good when they were first done, but seemed to go stale quicker than other donuts I've had. It was my first time and I learned a lot. I even learned some stuff that I'll be trying the next time around. I covered the donuts in powdered sugar when they were done cooling. I think next time I'm going to try to fill them with pudding.

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Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope you enjoyed your Tuesday. Go eat a donut for me!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Randomness

In order to post every day, I'm going to be doing a lot of random things. OK, I admit that pretty much EVERY post on here is pretty damn random, however the INTENT will be just random. How about them apples?

Jason is reading to the kids. Lord of the Rings. It's what he was reading. Jayden wanted him to read to her. And there you go.

Izzy keeps taking things off of my counter in my kitchen. And coloring on himself with markers. He also got stark naked. He didn't need a clean diaper. Jason went to put his jammies back on him and Izzy fought him off, which leads us to believe that Izzy just wanted to be naked.

James went to his first appointment with Doc. O, the psychiatrist. One of James' meds is out the window, to be taken no more. Another is having the dose changed around a bit. We'll see how it goes with it like that. Larry is going to be working on getting James in to getting a full Developmental Evaluation. It will be an all day affair. Oh fun.

We had shredded chicken for dinner. I made a smaller bowl with Buffalo Sauce. I made a bigger bowl with BBQ Sauce. I never knew there were so many uses for shredded chicken! I'll be making that again. It went over REALLY well!

Tonight, we are going to do donuts again. Actually, after this post is done, I'm going to go find space on the dining room table to roll out the dough. Pics will be taken and posted tomorrow.

Prayers and blessings everyone. Enjoy the rambles!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Almost Silent Sunday

Well, as you all know, Halloween was this past week. We ventured out with all of the goblins, ghouls, witches, pirates, kings, and princesses (why are the girls always princesses and NOT queens? Just curious) to go begging house to house for that coveted treat that is in the rarest form around this house, CANDY!

James is a Pirate. His own choice. His boots are left over from when Jason and I did a season (or was it 1/2 a season?) on the Renn Faire Circuit with
Swords of Valour. I have some pics with them, maybe I'll put those up later this month when I'm searching for post topics. Anyway, I digress as usual. I went everywhere looking for a BROWN pirate hat and I finally found one at KMart. I was going to make his costume, however the current Bane of My Existence, also known as our dining room, never was cleaned (yeah, that's ALL me) so MF Jenn bought it for him. Thanks Aunt Jenn!

Jayden is a Fairy. The pink and blue is a costume I made a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. It's actually about 6 years old. It has been passed from girl to girl as dress up clothes. Jayden wanted to be a fairy, so she wore that. The skirt on it is rather short, so I bought her a 2nd wrap around skirt to go over it. The wings come from her "personal collection". She owns three pair after all. She's a collector of wings I guess you could say!

Izzy is wearing a Jester's costume. It is something that I originally made for James when he was 4. He wore it that year for Halloween. It has a matching hat (that we can't find right now), and it DID have bells, however they all came off in the wash OR Izzy yanked them off. I didn't bother to replace them because Izzy would have yanked them off all over again.

I must apologize in advance for the rolly polly belly and the multiple pictures of my butt in baggy jeans. I was walking, Jason was photo taking. I do like the sweater however. I got two of them, one in that green, and one in a soft rose pink. They were $12 a piece at Wal-Mart.

On to the photos!

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Prayers and blessings everyone, I hope that your coming week is wonderful!