Learn to Swerve.

Knocked down in her prime...

Mikey: "Mom. I gave everyone Pokemon names that they should go by. "

Mom: "Ok Buddy, Let's here em."

Mikey: "I'm Charizard, Aubree's Butterfree, Daddy's Riachu, Chairity it Picachu, and you are Jiggly Puff"

Mom: " Oh good choices buddy, Is Jiggly puff the mommy pokemon?

Mikey: No. ITs the Fat one.

And with that I put down the highly delicious yet entirely too fattening chocolate covered popcorn that only the boy scouts know how to produce, and proceed to drink water. Thank you my son. For allowing  me  to see the light.

One down. One to go...

Holidays that is. I can say that because my actual involvement in Thanksgiving was 4 storebought pies, and showing up at the house of the nice people who invited us, on time. I add on time, because being dressed, in the car, and on the way by noon with 3.5 kids is something I am quite proud of.

Now its time for Christmas. I made the mistake of telling my kids that Christmas is After thanksgiving, lest I forget to mention that its 30 DAYS after, not immediately following the Turkey. Aubree so sweetly asked me as she awoke the morning after "Today is CHristmas huh mama." Oops.
Santa has alot of explaining to do. Speaking of the bearded one, he has no CLUE what to do for this years Festivities.

I tend to be of the Less is more mindset when it comes to Christmas, but knowing Mike might miss the  next 2 Christmas' and missed the last one, makes me want to go all out. I know gifts are not all there is to it, but let's face it, they make it alot of fun.

I have Mike figured out. X box 360. No secrets there. Him and Mikey like to play it together sometimes, and he doesn't ask for much. Aubree is getting a Kitchen and tons of little wooden food sets. I wanted the wood ones so that they can be sure to last through all the kids.

Mikey I'm stuck on. I wanted to get him a Nintendo DS lite, for purely selfish reasons. 12 hours in the car to FLorida, 3.5 kids, me, mike my sister. It could be the difference between sane travel and a 5 year old being dropped off along I-65. On the other hand. ITs alot of money and the only thing he would get.

Me, well, I do my own Christmas shopping, not that Mike doesn't love me, but last years Christmas was 4 UFO donated episodes of Friends, and a bottle of Cool Water perfume. Just because I wore in high school, doesn't mean I want to continue the tradition babe... I do love him and we agree its better if I shop for myself. SOOOO. Drum roll. I have decided to get an iMac. WOO HOO! I know. Its a little more than I want to spend but I have some money coming in from some projects, and I really need a new desktop, so I decided to join the iMac revolution.

Any ideas what to look for? What to get? I  know some of you  use one. What do you suggest? I have a friend who works for them, and another who's promised to make sure I get what I want. I just want to be sure of what I want. This will be the last Computer for a long time.

With Christmas on its way, we are leaving soon for Florida, where we plan to take the kids to Disney. My parents are meeting us there and it should be ALOT of fun. I won't be able to ride anything. (I just found out I'm 12 weeks along!! Whoa there. That's almost 1/3 way through!) But the kids will have fun. We've gone quite a bit since we have family who works for them, and family who lives there, its cheap and easy, but they have always been young. WE lost Mikey our first year, and decided to take a small hiatus before going back. This time we'll be prepared.

I'm doing better on the sickness front. Not too much pukage to speak of. and I've gained 2 pounds. Which for me is a milestone to cheer about, usually I'm up 14 pounds and eating my weight in junk hourly.

I've gone on for far too long. Thank you for all your thankful comments. being Thankful is something I am trying to be better at.

Hope to have some layouts to post soon. I keep saying this, but I mean it this time! Thanks for reading, enjoy your week!! (I had to show you this only because its the first time in forever she's sat still long enough for me to get a picture. She's officially 19 months old. I can't believe it.) in 6.5 months, I'll have another one. Wow. Just wow.

Thankful...

For Freedom: From this man and countless others.

For a roof over my head.
FOr parents who act their age, love me, take me in when I need it, and give unselfishly.

Children who let me know when enough is enough:

The ability to have children.

A belief in God. And a daughter who knows "Heavenly FAther can see me mama"

A car that runs.

Enough food to eat.

A Happy life.

A not so perfect existance.

The love of a husband.

The power of the priesthood.

An eternal marriage.

A place for everything, and nothing in its place.

SO grateful for so much. I can't thank my Father in HEaven enough. Happy Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?

Things that make me happy today...

Today brought a smile to face for many reasons. I'd like to share them with you.

1. Knowing that even though I'm the youngest one, with the MOST kids in my birthing class, I don't have to take the diabetes test, because for the first time in my pregnant history I am not over weight or at all at risk. Take one for the home team RUth.

2. Seeing these
at Target, and paying less than half of what I would for a pair of REAL ones. It didn't hurt that Charity said SHOES when she saw them. That's where the smile came in.

3.Buying these dress up shoes at the dollar store, and finding out the typical american male dream really can come true. Girls who vacuum in high heels really do exist.

4.Doing what I do every once in awhile. Setting up the table with my good dishes and place mats AFTER the kids have gone to bed, hoping that someone might drop by between the hours of 9pm-6am and say, WOW, I love that table setting. As you can imagine, It hasn't happened yet.

5. Hearing my kids have this conversation:
Mikey: We don't get everything we want Aubree.
Aubree: Yes we do Mikey, we get food, and baths.
Mikey: Yeah. I guess you're right.
Good to know food and baths are all they want.

6. Hearing the man at the salvation Army bucket playing his harmonica to the tune of oh come all ye faithful, and then upon putting money in, telling us Merry Christmas. Even if it might not be "politically correct".

7. Having someone tell me that I have the most behaved children she's ever seen. I can only guess most of the children she's seen have permanent cages at the zoo?

8. Buying a $10 Carpet flick knowing I saved myself $2390 as I run it over those large and in charge dirt pieces.

9. Getting all 4 seasons of scrubs in the mail. One of my favorite comedy sitcoms EVER.

10. Picking out the family we're going to do for Secret Santa this year. I love being able to help a family out that might not get what they want for Christmas. We let the kids pick one gift from their Christmas list to give to a child, and while it seems like something little, it teaches them so much.

Silly little things I know, but I can't help but think its the little things that make the most difference. Thanks for reading girls =)

I-CAN'T-SAY-NO.

You want to sell something? Show up at my door and offer to demonstrate it, slap a FDA approval rating on the side, tell its me its going to make my life easier and better, and watch me hand you my money.

I did it. Again. Last night, this lady came over for a demonstration. Totally going to tell her no. Totally had no intention of even listening to what she had to say. 2 hours later I was the proud owner of a $2400 cleaning system. SAY WHAT?? YEah. 10 minutes after she walked out the door, and I cleaned the last of the dust mites that are ruining my childrens lives, out of the carpet. I realized. I AM STUPID.

Don't get me wrong, its a great machine. If I had $2400 that needed a home. As it is, I have no home to call my own, and it might make things a little cleaner, but I can buy alot of dust mite remover for $2400. SO. Today. I called her back. I told her, I had a moment of weakness and I had second thoughts about it. SO of course, she came back tonight to RECONVINCE me of my reasons to need it.

I'll have you know. I didn't cave. I politely but firmly through a painful smile, told her it was WAY Too much to pay, even for the satisfaction of removing the dust. Of course she made me look like the worst mother ever for putting a price tag on the throats, and lungs of my 3 soon to be 4 kids. But let's face it. I had to do it. I gave it back.

I have the kirby woman coming over next week. Pray for me.

On the cuteness side of the house, I have found a new addiction. Children's hat and scarf sets. I must have bought 4 of them this weekend, and I fully intend to make Aubree model each and every one of them. If they fit me, I'd model them, but the tiny mittens on these fat paws left alot to be desired.

AUbree however can make them shine. Nothing else to say, but I am going to the post office tomorrow come rain sleet, hail or meteorites. If I owe you something, consider it on its way.
Have a good sunday and keep me posted on cute scraproom stuff. I still don't know what I want for Christmas. After all, I have $2400 to spend ;)

Bet you thought I forgot... *We have a winner*

I just wanted to throw you off. I have a box of assorted goodness waiting for the one who can tell me What part of my body is the most expensive and why... Seems odd, but I've talked about it before. I'll give you a hint. I've never had plastic surgery=).

Its the teeth! The teeth!! These stinking teeth that continue to fail me!! I love being able to chew, but really for what I pay to keep them "healthy", I'm thinking of switching them for some cheaper models! Thanks for playing girls. All 2 of you!! I appreciate it ;)

She's turned into her Father.

So my adorable cuteness of a daughter goes with me to wal-mart last night in this ADORABLE little emsemble. I realize I said adorable twice, but really, the situation warrants it. So we are perusing the aisles of said store and after about five minutes she looks and me with the most puzzled look ever, and says " How comes nobody told me I'm cute?" I don't know honey. Perhaps they are blind. Or mayb they don't look at random little girls in the aisle of wal-mart.

SO yes. Methinks, its a good idea to put a damper on the telling her daily how cute she is. We'll stick to every OTHER day.

Whatcha think?

I am doing it. I'm finally working on something besides growing a perfect son, and trying to seek revenge on the cowardly woman residing somewhere in my circle.

I started DOING the scraproom. And by doing, I mean. DOING. Check it out.

I picked a color scheme. Teal and REd. Red and black is the old color scheme, so rather than redo it all, I decided to punch it up with some fun things in the teal color department. Want to see what I got?

These.  In teal and red to make a pseudo carpet for this tiled floor I work in.

these  In red and teal in magazine holders, and document boxes to hold stickers and what not.

Cuteness.  in 3 sizes small medium and large. THe large one has wheels that I can use store paper in and pull it out from the desk. I have the black pottery barn look alike tressel type desk that I bought at Target, and I am trying to find a few more accent pieces. Maybe some cool letters for the wall? Some red shelves or magnetic boards? Any ideas? I know you guys are creative people.

I love the way this is coming together, and I want to do some MAJOR reorganizing before I show photos, but I think I might just do a few to show you what I have to work with.

I bought some red and teal paint and 3 blank canvases, I plan to "create" this weekend when my husband is off. I love the idea of taking total chaos and turning it into a creative space. We shall see what becomes of it all, but if anything, the shopping is fun.

Nothing really great to tell. Aubree is finally a dancer. Although she can't start until January, (apparently she has to have a physical, which seems easy, but getting an appointment at the military hospital for anything less than urgent care is harder to do than a level 10 sodoku puzzle.)however, she is prepared with her clothes the leotard and tutu are enough to appease the dancing notions of a 3 year old. Everyday she puts it on and does what I can only describe as a preschool mosh pit  meets the wiggles. ITs totally cute, but its going to break her heart when she has to do ballet. That's all they have for her age group. Oh well. Its one more thing to cross of my list of things to DO that I keep saying I'll do. That should count for something.

Let me know what you think of the purchases, and what you can suggest. Links are always fun. LEad me to the deals ladies. I have faith in you.

DAn Had A Nap... and won't you no longer be my neighbor.

... 2 things to whine.. I mean tell you about today. One being good. The other being, RUth seriously has a bone to pick with someone in my court. Not sure who. Anonymous chickens.

We'll start with the good. My son, Michael Allen, the little boy who I have always had faith in, but who never expressed interest in anything other than toys and sports.  READ A BOOK. No joke. An honest to goodness 7 page, one syllable book. AM I proud? You better believe it. I bought him this hooked on phonics program thinking it would go into the pile of things I wasted hard earned money on. And I Was wrong. He has sat down everyday and begged me to teach him to read. And taught him I have. We have yet to conquer big words, or anything that requires bifocals to look at, but I'm so stinkin proud of him.

  Now. Onto the don't mess with me side of the house.

Today, I had the pleasure of a visit from the Local Military police. For what you might add? Did we break a rule? Have we not cut our grass to the required 2 inches? No. Apparently, SOMEBODY in the court where we live, has decided that I am an unfit mother. They called the POLICE to tell them that my child is unattended alone outside for , and I quote " HOURS AND HOURS" They made it sound like we lock our kids in our fenced yard and force them to play until they are allowed back inside. Are you for real? My son who gets home at 11:20. My son who was outside in the yard with his father at 12:00 when the police arrived. Granted whoever it was looked mighty stupid when the police saw him fully clothed outside with his father enjoying himself, playing happily in our yard. But needless to say, It made me realize some people have too much time on their hands. The officer who was taking time out of his busy day to give us the memo, made sure to mention that we were in  no trouble, but that somebody was out to see us moved.

  What gives? I mean, I try. I do. If you have a bone to pick with me, please pick it in person. I have so  much more respect for people with guts than those who hide behind a phone. I've known for awhile we had some haters among us, I just didn't realize they hated us that much. Ah well. Lesson learned. I will no longer let my kids play in our yard with their parents. Running free and naked like a jungle monky is apparently the only acceptable playing format. Shame its getting cold.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

(P.S Stay tuned on friday for a round of Free Goodie Friday. ITs gonna be HUGE!! I've been cleaning and its good stuff!)

This too shall pass...

When I was in high school we used to do this thing, this church lady dance I think its from SNL or Mad tv, something of that nature. It went with this little tune... " And at the end of the day, when I feel I have defeated satan, I like to do a little dance... pa-chink, pa-chink... hands on your hips with a dancing motion.

The point? It is the end of not only the day, but the week. And I do not feel that I have defeated satan. I feel that lately, I have let him kick my butt.

   I am not a quitter. I am not one to let others down. And lately, this is all I have done. Whats my deal? When did I get so selfish? I don't know.  BUt the first thing I want to make clear is that it ends tonight. Stole that from All american rejects. I am going to start being the person that others believe I can be. With that. I move on.

    To my favorite day of the year. Veterans day. I love Veterans. I love soldiers, I love men in uniform, I love sacrifice, I love people that give up things that matter to most of us to help and serve where their CinC asks them to. I love my husband. I love his buddies. I love the Army, the airforce, the marines, the coast gaurd the navy. Heck, I even love the national gaurd.

  Please. Do me a favor find me a soldier tomorrow. A person that served this country, whether its your dad, your husband your grandpa, or your next door neighbor. Find them.  And tell them thank you. Thank you for me. Thank you for my family, my freedom, and everything I am grateful for. 

I know I will.