I'M BAAAACK!
My break was pretty sweet. Almost as sweet as my caramel apple pie....

...but not quite. I got so much done the last few days. It really was nice! I'm gonna try to get to all my bloggin buddies blogs in the next few days, but, uh, there are 110 posts to read! I'm probably not going to get to read each and every post, but I'll do my best!

The rodeo was great! Little Bug is all cowboy! When we got there they gave him a hat and he didn't take it off the entire night. The volunteers tried to take it off to put his medal on, but he cried. So, I carried the medal and he kept his hat on. The best part was seeing the grin when he got on the horse. He is getting his sports physical this week to get the doctors "okay" for the horseback riding therapy. It's hard to explain what happens to my little boy when he gets on a horse. It's amazing. The confidence and joy on his face just about brought me to tears. Love it!

Of course, now that I am back, I have to have a new template. Is it Halloween-y enough? I've got some other Halloween "looks" that I will debut throughout the month! Enjoy the day!

We interrupt this regularly scheduled bloggy break to bring you important garage sale fodder news.
Butterfly print: $5
Bench to be recovered and repainted: $2
Chairs also to be recovered: $1 each (yeah, I said ONE DOLLAR)
Having someone give your Baby Girl a purse because "She's the cutest tiny little thing I've ever seen!" and another woman at a different sale give her a beach ball because "SHE'S A DOLL!!!": priceless
Baby Girl sure knows how to work the cuteness factor. It's fun to take her out with me.

Just a little cleaning update, I got the master closet dejunked and cleaned out. I made curtains for the master bathroom, I do have a kitchen and the children are wearing clean clothes. It's amazing what can be accomplished when I don't sit in front of the computer so much. I'm afraid my break isn't over yet... which means I still won't be visiting blogs just yet. Sorry, but I still haven't touched this computer desk. And I've got a hundred other things to get done this week. I'll be back soon. I'll probably post again tomorrow to tell you about the rodeo! It's tonight! Enjoy your day!

You've Heard it Before....

You're gonna hear it again. I'm taking a blogginess break. I read this post by Annie yesterday about hording. It kept me up really late thinking about it... I have piles of stuff. My master bedroom is a mess. The rest of my house is not great. And I have two big things coming up. I've invited all of the women from church to come to my house for a class on wheat. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? Argh... and my parents will be here in a week. They have told me they don't care how the house looks, but what they don't understand is that we will be sitting down to listen to General Conference (a broadcast where the leaders of my religion speak to everyone in the church) at the computer. This computer....

Now, you do have to understand that all of those papers were stacked neatly a few days ago. Then I couldn't find something and I just kind of threw them everywhere. And I do have a habit of having an empty and a half full water bottle on my desk. Unfortunately parts of my home don't look much better than the desk. Somehow, I can't seem to find the balance of blogging and taking care of the people who are actually living in my home. Thus, another bloggy break. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're all doubting me. My last breaks have been... um... short. We'll see how it goes this time. So, off I go. I will horde things no more. I will not allow the clutter to rule my home! Cleaning is my middle name! I AM THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD! Or... um... something like that....

Profile

I changed my profile picture. I probably won't use it for long because it's hard to tell what the picture is when it's that small... but I thought I'd post a bigger picture so you can see what it is...

Can you see him? Look real close right under where it says "Fresco Lavado"...

Now, I know that most people would be totally grossed out by finding a frog in their bag of lettuce at the grocery store? Me?? I would so. stinkin. EXCITED!! That is the coolest thing ever! Why don't the grocery stores sell lettuce like that here? Maybe I'll ask for a bag of Canonigos lettuce for Christmas...but I only want it if the frog is inside!

My Mom Can Beat Up Your Mom
Okay, so maybe my Mom can't really beat up your mom... but my Mom is AWESOME! They are coming to visit in about a week and I am so excited I can hardly stand it! There will be trips to the beach and San Diego. Lots of good food and games. Baby Girl's birthday is in the mix. AND... to top it all off... I talked my Mom into teaching a class that I was going to try and do! OH YEAH! Actually, I didn't have to do a lot of talking. We are learning about storing food in our homes in case of emergencies and one of the things we store is wheat. Not wheat flour, just plain old wheat. Some people have wheat grinders so that they can make their own flour, but some people don't. So, we are having a class on what to do with your wheat if you don't have a grinder! We're going to talk about sprouting and wheat berries (boil the wheat till it's soft... it tastes a lot like brown rice to me). I was going to gather info and try to teach it myself, but my Mom's already taught a class like this. I told her about it and said, "Would you like to teach it while you're here?" I figured she would laugh at me, but she said yes! I am so excited! It's gonna be awesome!!! Sigh... I love my Mom!

I Made It...
It's over. I'm done. Tuesday has 20 minutes left in it and then... a nice and easy Wednesday. Red came home and did homework. That was a struggle. Mostly because he asks for help and I have no clue what the heck it's talking about. For example: he was supposed to find all the mistakes in a paragraph and then mark them using these symbols... if there was a letter that was supposed to be capitalized, you draw three lines under it. Wha....???? Anyway, I had to read and reread it to figure it out. And we won't even talk about the numeric portion of his homework. I'm so glad that he is good at math because in about one more year, I won't be able to help him with any of it.
After homework I got ready for back to school night. It was wonderful. Little Bug's teacher is fantastic. She thinks that Bug is so sweet and such a cutie. Which means I really liked her. Anyone who loves my kids is a-okay in my book. She is working a lot with his teacher from last year. So, he has a familiar face along with some new ones. I think that has really helped with his transition into the new year. Should be another good year for him!!
Red went to Scouts and then to a friend's house. I'm gonna call this kid ND - that stands for "non-dude". This is the friend that does NOT say "dude" every other word. Red and ND are getting along so well! They have a lot of fun together. ND has been invited for a sleep over this Friday. We'll see how that goes.
Enrichment... well...it was a great evening. Wonderful class... great treats (patting myself on the back...) but we had a pretty poor turnout. Hopefully next month will be a little better.
On the way home from the church I felt so good to be done. DONE! I put a CD in, turned it up and sang my heart out! Oh... it felt so good! Tomorrow we will go and have lunch with friends. Just a laid back visit. The kids will run around and play, we will visit and just hang out. And that's it. That is all I have planned. Doesn't that sound heavenly?

Playgroup Letdown
I got the kids ready to go. Shoes, socks, brushed hair, clean clothes... the works. I told Baby Girl where we were headed and who was going to be there. I thought that girl was gonna burst with excitement! After all, it's awfully boring being here with me all day long. So, we loaded up in the van and off we went! We pulled up to the road and... it was blocked. Construction blocked the road. No problem... we'll find another way in. Um... yeah. There is no other way in. We could have tried to find a parking spot a ways off and then walked, but we still would have had to walk through the construction. And there is no way I could have got Little Bug to walk past that jackhammer. No way. So, we headed home. Heartbreaking sobs came from the back seat as I explained to Baby Girl why we weren't stopping. When will I learn my lesson? You don't tell your kids ANYTHING till it's actually happening. That way, when things don't work out, they never know the difference. Someday I'll learn... maybe... well, at least I can cross that off my list. I got Little Bug out the door and ran my errands. Now I need to throw together the veggie pizza, do piano lessons, get kids to do homework, take Red to Scouts, get to the church by 6:30 and somewhere, somehow find a way to sneak out for Back to School night. No problem.

Terrible Tuesday
Today is going to be one of those days where I run. No, not really run. I hate running. But I will have to go from place to place without much of a break. We've got a play group at 9 and then we have to hurry home to get Little Bug cleaned up and on the bus for school. I have to go to Costco and get a veggie tray for Enrichment (a meeting for the women in our church... more about that in a minute). I have to hurry because it's minimum day for Red (every Tuesday is... I hate Tuesdays...) and as soon as he gets home we have piano lessons and then Cub Scouts. After that is Back to School Night for Little Bug at the same time as Enrichment. I'm the Enrichment leader and I'm supposed to give a short presentation and help in the nursery. I had no idea that tonight was back to school night. We had one paper come home the first day of school with a date and then "more info to follow". We never got the "more info" and I totally spaced it. So, I'm trying to figure out a way to juggle that. The fact that Little Bug went to sleep at 11 and I got to bed at 11:30 doesn't help. It also didn't help that I drank a bottle of water at 11:15 last night. My Tuesday started at 3:37 this morning when I had to get up and pee. I hope that isn't indicative of how the rest of this day is going to turn out....

Change
I just like to keep you on your toes. Two templates in less than 24 hours. I think this is a record. So... what do you think of this one? (I promise I'll get frogs on here sometime jean knee...) Any suggestions?

Have you ever...
...talked to someone on the phone who made you feel stupid?
...cried about feeling so stupid?
...made a new blog template to make yourself feel better?
...stayed up till midnight with a child that just couldn't seem to fall asleep?
...been woken up the next morning by your kids playing Littlest Pet/ Winnie the Pooh war?
...tried to wake up your sleepless child by opening blinds, taking blankets and general noise so that they won't repeat the midnight bedtime?
...been annoyed by everything just because you're tired?
...been insanely jealous that your husband gets to leave the house and go to work?
...made a list on your blog hoping that someone, somewhere will be able to relate with you, and in turn make you feel a little less crazy?

Change is Good
You had to know that I'd be switching the template around again. I'm not sure if I like this one... I might use one that has bolder colors... but this one fit my mood for tonight. I love your critiques. So, tell me, what do you like? What don't you like? Be honest. Or not. Your choice.

Cookie Monsters
I decided to make cookies tonight. It is nice and cool once again (don't worry, it's not supposed to last... it's supposed to be 97 by Wednesday... sigh...) so turning the oven on didn't make my house akin to Dante's Inferno. I really wanted to make chocolate chip cookies and use the recipe that my mom used when I was a kid. I guess I'm feeling all nostalgic or something. Whatever. Red was at a friends house so Little Bug and Baby Girl were my kitchen staff. I was surprised! The kids are good helpers! Who knew? Baby Girl scooped the dough onto the spoon and Little Bug scraped it off onto the pan. They were a great team.

Baby Girl was a little dramatic about the whole thing. She had to talk about each "cute little cookie" as she put them on the tray.
Little Bug got bored with all the talk of cuteness.

After the cookie dough was on the pan, Baby Girl helped herself to a spoonful.

Little Bug wouldn't even try the dough. He ran off and played with the hopper ball.

When it was time to refill the hot pans with dough I took over. I'm a klutz and tend to burn myself whenever I cook. I'm not sure if I have passed this genetic prowess onto my kids. I think we'll wait a few more years before we put it to the test. So, while I made the rest of the cookies, Baby Girl posed. After all, what good would a cookie session be without a few poses??

I'm ashamed to say that this is not how cookie making usually goes at our house. I usually usher everyone out of the kitchen and work solo. We had so much fun tonight that I think I'm going to have the kids help me more often! I know that my Family Fun magazine has recipes each month that are kid friendly. Do you have any recipes that are good for little fingers and hands to help with? Would you mind sharing??

Acclimated
I never thought it would happen. I always assumed that my blood would be thick and that the temperatures Southern Californians referred to as "cold" would always feel nice and refreshing. I was wrong. I have all the windows open today. There's a storm blowing through. My thermostat says 75 and I'm ALMOST cold. Not quite, but almost. My kids are curled up on the couch in their blankets watching "Fraggle Rock" (I love Netflix) and I'm sitting by the open door contemplating putting on long sleeves and pants. I've become... one of them. What will our trip to Idaho be like in November?? I'm gonna freeze my tail off! Hmm... well, maybe it will be a good excuse to buy one of these super cute sweaters from Old Navy or Kohls!

Question
***Update*** Red coughed all night. And I mean that in a very literal sense. He woke up this morning with a slight fever. I shouldn't have complained. Now Murphy's Law has crept up on me... no birthday party for us today. In a way, I'm relieved. In another way, I can't help but feel bad. Red was quite excited for this party :( But, I'm still curioius about your answers to my questions... so... keep reading!
Red has been invited to a birthday party. It is to be held at a place called Pump It Up where they have a multitude of inflatable bouncers for the kids to enjoy. I called to RSVP and the mother of the birthday boy asks me how many adults would be accompanying Red to the party. Um...there was nothing on the invitation about this. I tell her I was unaware that he needed an adult (or two?!) to accompany him. She sighs and explains that he needs someone to watch him and keep him out of trouble. Now, I don't think she has ever met my son. She's just assuming that all 8-9 year old boys are trouble makers and will cause her problems. Which, really is probably a safe assumption. But, Red is really a polite kid. He may sass me at times, but I have never heard him talk to another adult disrespectfully. So, I'm taken off guard by her comment. I told her I couldn't come without my other two kids and she said to bring them along. They will get to participate in the bouncer stuff, but what am I supposed to do while they are opening presents and eating cake and such?? My two younger ones like to "help" when it comes to gift unwrapping. Now, some might say that this would be a good learning experience for them. But, it's not a social mountain I am willing to climb in front of a huge group of strangers. Should we sit in the car for this part of the party?? I don't have the cash to get a sitter and hubby won't be off work yet, so they have to come.
Here's my next question: is this normal?? Do you usually accompany your children to birthday parties? Whenever we've had a party for one of our kids it's been a "drop your kids off and be back in an hour or I'm setting them out by the curb" kind of thing. Okay not really, but you know what I mean. Kids stay. Parents go. Kids have fun. Parents come. Kids go home. Everyone is happy. This is how all the parties we have thrown have been. And all the parties they have attended have been. And if I had needed parents to stay and help, I would have personally asked them to stay or included that information in the invitation.
ANYWAY...she seemed annoyed with me like this was something I should have known. Have I made some kind of social faux pax? Fill me in bloggin buddies. I really am at a loss here. Oh, and if you hear weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth tomorrow afternoon - that would be me trying to keep my younger two from ripping the paper off all the gifts.

Cowboy Up!
Little Bug LOVES horses. When we lived in Oregon we did hippotherapy or horseback riding therapy. It was amazing. When we first went out they put him on a horse, just to see if he'd even get on. Brownie was his name and for Little Bug, it was love at first sight. The problem with Brownie was that he was HUGE. Too big for Little Bug to ride. When we came back for lessons/therapy they tried to put him on a mini named Pegasus. Screaming and crying ensued. Next lesson we got Chip. More screaming and crying. We were going to stick with Chip, but he hurt his foot and the next horse in line: Brownie. He climbed on and smiled. He was home. He felt so comfortable on that horses back that Little Bug would lay down while Brownie walked (FYI: there were always 4 people with Little Bug and the horse - the instructor, the leader, and one person on each side of the horse holding Bug's legs). He was in heaven. As part of this program they participated in a rodeo for kids with special needs. The first year, Little Bug was too young. Last year we moved one week before the rodeo. There is horseback riding therapy down here, but the school told us he was too little and wouldn't help in getting the information until the end of school when the program had ended for the year (the riding place takes it's students through the school system unless they are home bound). We're hoping to change that this winter and get him in the program. We'll probably have to put our boxing gloves on, but it will be worth it.
I think Little Bug would love the rodeos and I've always felt a little guilty that we missed last years. But, today that all changes. You see, I caught wind of a rodeo in a town not far from here that pairs up their professional cowboys and cowgirls with these special needs kids and they go and do their rodeo stuff. I have no idea what that all entails, but I think it will be great just to see Bug on a horse again!
So, dust off your boots and shimmy into those Wranglers! We're going to the rodeo!

I Had Forgotten....

I was so excited to set my plan in motion. Long movie = long nap. Then I remembered that today is early release for Red. Drat! Foiled again! I'll try for a nap tomorrow. I wouldn't need a nap if I didn't participate in the nightly routine of hacking up a lung... but I digress.

Baby Girl was going through some old videos looking for something to watch when her eyes landed on "The Little Mermaid". She's never seen it. I knew there was a reason I had never shown it to her, but in my sleep deprived state, I couldn't remember the reason. So, I popped it in our decrepit VCR. She was totally absorbed in the underwater world until...

That's right. Ursula. Has there ever been a creepier villainess in the Disney lineup? This is one bad girl and she scared the beejeebies out of Baby Girl as soon as she came on the screen. I watched my girl recoil in fear and in my mind flashed all of the nasty, horrible and downright scary scenes with Ursula in them.

"Hey, Baby Girl, should we watch something else?"

"Yeah. Let's watch the Bugs (Bugs Life)! That Mermaid movie was so cute. Turn it off... now!"

Makin the Rounds
Ah... my head doesn't hurt so much any more. Which means that I can look at my computer screen without feeling like my cranium is going to explode. Such a nice feeling. The down side: the crud has moved into my chest. So, with each breath I have a rattle and with every cough a flame ignites. Another fun feeling.
I got a little nap yesterday. It would have been longer, but darn those "Blues Clues" for being so short. I had been asleep for 20 minutes (which, admittedly is better than nothing) and it finished. Baby girl yelled, "HEY MOM!! I NEED A NEW MOVIE! HEY, WHY ARE YOUR EYES CLOSED? YOU CAN'T SEE THE MOVIE IF YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES!" If the show had been a few moments longer... oh well. Today I'm going to put in DuckTales or Gummi Bears... I think there's almost 4 hours of cartoons on each DVD. A 4 hour nap?! The thought sends my heart into happy pitter patters. I suppose I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I can't help it.
I've finally made it to a few blogs. I'm hoping to hit the rest this afternoon. It's like therapy for my twisted self. Free therapy. Can't beat that!

Nancy and Yvonne both gave me this award! You guys are so sweet! Thank you so much! I hate passing these things on because I know I'm gonna leave someone out. Here's the deal, if I read your blog it's because I find you amusing or uplifting. Mostly I read for a laugh. Being a mom means that I clean a lot of messes. I get to laugh at the same knock knock joke 50 times. I have to TRY to find the humor in situations (and it doesn't always happen). But, when I come to blog land, it's giggle time! I like the serious posts too. I like learning about y'all! So, if I've been to your blog more than once in the last few weeks consider yourself tagged with the "You Make Me Smile Award!"

Oprah

Just a quick post here... still feel cruddy... so I'm gonna post this, plug the kids into a movie (I know it's bad... but I'm really not in the mood for playdoh and finger paint), and then curl up in a ball and rest!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 18th Oprah is having a show on autism. The show will probably be a little on the dramatic side (Oprah usually is, in my opinion), but hopefully there will be some good information on the show. If you get a chance to watch, I hope you will. Maybe you're thinking that you don't have a child with autism or you don't know anyone with autism. Well, chances are that could change. You see, 1 out of every 166 (or 150 depending on the numbers you read) kids in the USA is autistic. And the numbers are climbing.

I think one of the hardest things (notice I didn't say the hardest) about having a child with autism is the lack of understanding in others. Look at this face:

There is no physical way of telling that Little Bug has autism. It's that way with most autistic kids. They look "normal" (whatever THAT means). So, when he goes into sensory overload (his senses are bombarded by too many things at once, and he can't process all the information) in the store and has a meltdown people think he's a brat. They stare and you can see it in their faces "Why can't you control your child?".

I found this on one of the websites I was looking at today... thought it was a good description of what it might be like to have sensory issues...

Picture yourself visiting a strange country, where the rules for “normal” behavior are all different from what’s acceptable back home, but nobody will explain to you exactly how or why.
The people around you routinely break into laughter, or collapse in sobs, for no reason you can grasp. Except for these outbursts, their faces are as impassive as masks. When someone approaches you, you can never predict whether they’re about to deliver an angry lecture or give you a hug.
And just when you think you’ve started to detect some pattern to this ongoing madness, the landscape suddenly erupts into bright, flashing lights or high-pitched sounds that pierce your nervous system like a dentist’s drill—so thoroughly breaking your concentration that you have to begin solving the mystery again from scratch.
This “strange country” is our everyday world, as it appears to someone with the developmental disorder known as autism.

(I believe this description was written by a woman with autism named Temple Grandin)

So, if you are unfamiliar with autism, I encourage you to watch the show or check out any of the links above.

Whew! Who knew that getting on and off my soapbox would be so tiring? I'm off to medicate and sleep as much as the kids will let me...

Behind in Bloggin
I haven't been very good about visiting around blog land the last few days. I'm sorry. I'm trying. I think I'm coming down with a sinus infection. At first I thought it was allergies... now I'm not so sure. I think Little Bug might have it too :S So, I will try to make bloggy rounds as soon as I can, but I'm not promising anything for the next few days!

Rolaids Spell R*E*L*I*E*F
Have you ever been in a situation where your heart just fell into your stomach?
The filter on our pool died last night. Okay. Not a big deal.
This morning I went out to the van to get something and noticed a puddle of water by the deep freeze. Didn't think anything of it. Why? Too tired to have it register. (Remember the barking dog from the previous post).
Anyway, fast forward to this evening. We were headed out to grab a few things at Costco and the puddle had gotten bigger. I was more awake and it registered - deep freeze is THAWING. I open it and it sounds like a waterfall in there. Water is dripping everywhere and some of our things are no longer frozen. GRRR!! Nothing had spoiled but I was frustrated. I buy extra bread, tortillas, cheese, meat and fruit whenever I can and then I freeze it. I've lost that storage!
Now, my brain feels like it's wading through sludge right now, but slowly, every so slowly it dawned on me that these two items died around the same time. I had Hubby go out and check the breakers. He messed with it a little, but said it didn't look like anything had been tripped. He flipped the one for the outside outlets anyway, just in case. I went into the garage and noticed that the outlet has a surge protector on it. I pushed the little button and then listened as my deep freeze sprang to life! HURRAH! Then Hubby went out and plugged the filter in.... and it worked! HURRAY HURRAH! I know it's silly, but the relief I felt was so fantastic and overwhelming! Actually, the surge of emotions has left me feeling quite exhausted. I think I might have to send Hubby out for some peanut M&M's or a Snickers bar or something! And apparently I should have been an electrician. Cause I'm so good at that wiring and electric-y stuff ;)

Play List
My play list is just as random as I am... don't ya think? Honestly, that first song, Waterfall by Jon Schmidt makes me so stinkin happy. Weird, I know. Any requests? I can add a few things if you'd like... and yeah. Milli Vanilli is on my play list. SO WHAT!? Enjoy

This, That and the Other
More randomly random stuff for ya today

• Last night was one of the longest nights ever. Red has decided to use our bathroom if he has to get up in the night. To say he is noisy would be an understatement. Then, the neighbor's dog. I could drop kick that darn thing. I can't believe the owners don't hear it after 3 hours of barking. In honor of the dog, we have a classic Sesame Street clip for you:

• Baby Girl brought this home on Sunday. She explained to me that it is a picture of Little Bug, Red, herself, Daddy, and me... holding our baby. No, I'm not pregnant. But I'm sure there are people who wondering if I might be. Hmmm... more on that subject later.

• Tiara #3 is finished. That's right. For those of you following the tiara saga, I said #3. I was going to post pictures of #2 but it is just dorky. No, really. I designed it and it looks TERRIBLE! But this one... Actually, I designed #3 too... but I quite like it... I'll take more pictures once it is decorated and all that fun stuff.

Okay... enough random stuff for the day! Happy Friday everyone!

Aquatic Academics

I have been trying to have preschool with Baby Girl every day since school started. She doesn't really like it. She hates structure and routines. So, I'm trying to find ways to still teach a few things, but have it be fun. Thus, our preschool in the pool.

We went out and counted how many times we could jump up and down. We sang the ABC's while we chased each other around the pool. We played "I Spy". We watched a butterfly land on the "biggie board" (it's just a little kick board) and take a drink with it's long tongue. Then we talked about where the butterfly might live and what other creatures might live in the bushes and trees. Overall I think it was a very successful lesson and since there really doesn't look like it's going to cool down any time soon, we will probably be able to do it several more times before we put the pool away for the "winter".

The Stink
Have you ever been wandering through your house and thought: what's that smell?
And so you go from room to room trying to figure out what that unpleasant aroma could be?
And you find that it is in every room of your house?
So you mentally go through a list of everything you've cooked or thrown away as you try and find the source of this unnatural perfume?
And then, have you ever finally realized that the fragrance is coming from you?
Because you've been so busy working your tail off and your children have decided to not let you have a break to shower because they need you EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE?
And you cooked with chicken, Italian dressing, onions, tomatoes and somehow your body has absorbed all of those scents?
And since you cooked on a day when it was 109 outside you're a sweaty mess?
And then at night you're just too tired to shower?
After all, showering takes effort. And that is something you just can't give at this moment??
Because this has NEVER happened to me... unless you count yesterday.

Reality Check
Right now... yum... at this very moment... just a sec... I am eating... oops, I dripped... chocolate almond ice cream as fast as I can.... almost done....there. So delish! Now, you may be asking WHY I am wolfing this down as fast as I can. Well, there are 2 reasons.

1. It's hot here. The slower I go the more my ice cream resembles chocolate milk with chunks. And that's just wrong.
2. Biggest Loser is on tonight. I really enjoy this show. Mostly because I'm a dork. But, um, I feel kind of guilty sitting in front of the TV watching people diet and work their butts off (literally) whilst I eat my super fattening ice cream. I try to avoid all situations that will add to my mountain of guilt. Thus, the scarfing of the delectable dairy delight before the show starts! Then I don't have the guilt.

So, am I the only one who enjoys reality TV? I know I'm an amazing person, but I can't imagine that they keep putting this show on just for me...

Hate is a Very Strong Word
I'm gonna say it. I know that I will get all kinds of people saying, "How can you hate that?" But I do. I loathe that it's about to start again. That it will consume one night each week and several other nights and days to fulfill all the requirements. That's right. I hate Cub Scouts. I dislike that there are all kinds of awards for sports. At the last pack meeting we had in the spring there was one kid who had earned his basketball, baseball, football AND swimming badges. They went ON AND ON about how WONDERFUL this kid was. Everyone else was "Here - good job". Red isn't into sports. He likes to throw the ball around with Dad, but he just doesn't have that really competitive nature about him. Which means that he won't be WONDERFUL in the eyes of these leaders.
Now, I know they learn some good things in Scouts. Like respect for the flag. Respect for their bodies. Knowing things about their communities. These are all great things. But, does being able to do a "frog stand" really give a kid an advantage in life?

Actually, when Red did this, I was almost afraid he was going to break his arms. I guess some of these things just seem silly to me. And really, my biggest problem is with one of the leaders. We had the "rain gutter regatta" in the spring. The kids make little boats out of kits and then they blow on the sails to send them down the rain gutters. At the end, Red's leader was praising them all. Letting them know that she was proud of them for coming and participating and that there were no losers because they all did their best. Another leader pipes up and says "That's bull! If you don't win then you lose. Therefore, you are a loser." Which, technically, is true. But, seemed a little harsh to be calling these 8-10 year old boys "losers". Guess who had not won a single race? Guess who slumped over to me with his eyes brimming with tears? Guess who pulled it together and cheered for the boys that had won? Maybe Cub Scouts will be good for Red. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

September
I'm craving fall weather. I have been burning my "Apple Cinnamon" candle. I made a big ol' pot of soup on Sunday (even though it was 104 outside). I find myself looking out the window and wishing I could see reds, oranges, browns and yellows. I miss the colors of fall. I want to rake up a big pile of leaves and play in them. I miss that crisp morning air and the smells of harvest all around. I guess I'll just have to settle for changing my blog again. Besides, every time I open my blog I think, "Wait... who's blog is this?" The pink is just not me... so, this will hopefully feel a little more like my blog and perhaps seeing these dusty fall colors each day will help me not feel so homesick for a change of seasons.

Tomboys vs. Girlie Girls
I am at a loss. Baby Girl is turning into a girlie girl and I'm not quite sure how to take care of a girlie girl! You see - I'm a tomboy. I like snakes and frogs. I was the owner of two lizards at one point in time. When I was a kid, I loved dinosaurs so much that my parents planned a vacation around my obsession - and it was awesome! I did play with dolls, but my dolls were tough creatures. My Barbies parachuted off of our swing set and rescued Ken from his latest mishap (he was always getting into trouble). I got toy cars and trucks as gifts. I remember dressing up, but not too much. All through high school I wore big t-shirts and boys jeans. Why? Because that's how I was comfortable. And that was what was most important to me. I brushed my hair, but that was about it. And make-up?? Who cared about make-up? I don't think I really started wearing make-up till I got in college. I could hang with the guys and I liked it that way. So, when my boys came on the scene, I knew what to do! And it was so much fun to see them pick up a lot of the same likes that I had as a kid.
Enter my little Princess. Usually she's a good mix of both. She loves her dresses, but she's usually packing around a plastic snake or a dinosaur. But lately... well, lately she is a girlie girl. She wouldn't go to church without her toenails painted. She gets up in the morning and wants to wear a dress. She likes things in her hair and she loves to cuddle her dolls. I'm not sure what to do with this child! Doesn't she want to go look for lizards in the back yard? No. She wants to smell the flowers and watch the butterflies. Doesn't she want to play with the cars? No. She wants to get out the dolls and the castle and play "Your Majesty" (that's really what she calls it). Wouldn't she LOVE to look at a dinosaur book? No. She wants to read "Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses". I feel like I can't relate to this child! I guess I need to get in touch with my inner Princess. Actually, I'm not sure that I have an inner princess! I think a dragon may have eaten her a long time ago.
(Oh, and the blog look will change soon... why? Because it's TOO GIRLIE for me!!)

Randomly Random

• My Mom sent this email to me the other day... and since I have a slight fondness for M&M's ... I thought I'd share (the email, not the M&M's...)
  Friday, I went to the doctor for my yearly physical. My blood pressure was high, my cholesterol was high, I'd gained some weight, and I didn't feel so hot. My doctor said eating right doesn't have to be complicated and it would solve my physical problems. He said just fill your plate with bright colors: greens, yellows, reds, etc. I went right home and ate an entire bowl of M&M's and sure enough, I felt better immediately. I never knew eating right could be so easy!
• I took the tiara off the oatmeal container - it came off smooth as silk! No problems whatsoever! Then I put it in a bag and stuck in on a shelf... but I didn't push it back far enough and down it fell. Down, down, down, and landed with a little thud. And yeah. It broke. I'm not going to post pictures. It will make me cry.
• I still don't have pictures of my niece. I got a nice blank email from my Mom last night, but no pics. She had a rather crazy day yesterday, so I guess I can forgive her, this once...
• We got things worked out with the rental agreement. We will be here till next August. Sigh. Not what we had hoped for, but he's not going to raise the rent. So, at least there was one positive thing.
• Red had a new friend over the other day. This kid was so great! He didn't say "dude" the entire time he was here. NOT ONCE!! And Red limited his "dude"-isms to a bare minimum. I think we should have this kid over more often.
• Yesterday was a big cleaning day for us. We got so many things done! Now if I can just maintain it... sigh.... I even got the computer desk cleaned off! Major accomplishment for me!

I think that's about it for this Sunday Morning. I talked to my parents and it sounds like things are going really well with my Sister and the baby. I am thinking about taking a trip up there to see her. I'd have all three kids, no Hubby, for about 13-15 hours - depending on the number of potty breaks. And I'd need to do all the driving in one day. On a scale of 1 to 10, how crazy is that?

SHE'S HERE!
My mom called just a little while ago to tell me that we have a new baby in the family! I am so excited and yet... I am so heartbroken. Stupid I know, but I don't get to be there. We are 15 hours away and I'm missing this awesome moment with my Little Sister. I missed the last one too, but I had a 3 month old and the roads were horrible... I just want to hug my Sister and cuddle that new baby! Gosh darn it all to heck! Pardon my French. Sigh... okay, details, as far as I know... baby and mom are great. Baby is eating already so that is good! 6 pounds 4 ounces 19 inches long. That sounds so tiny. I just bought a package of hamburger that weighs more than my new niece! :D All of my babies were over 8 pounds!! Seems so tiny to me. So, in honor of this little sweetheart, I'm changing my blog look (not that I need an excuse, but this is a good one, don't ya think?) So, we are thinking in celebration colors for our new baby girl! Pink, green, orange, red... I'll post some pics if I get some :)

The Aunt
When I got married, I became an aunt to 13 great kids. All of them on my Hubby's side of the family. I am the oldest in my family. I was the first to get married. He is the youngest and all of his brothers and sisters were married and had kids by the time we tied the knot. But I never really felt like an aunt. My youngest brother was the same age as my oldest nephews. So really, it felt like I had 13 more siblings to tease and play with. I didn't feel like a REAL aunt till my sister had a baby a few months after I had Baby Girl. Of course, there are now 18 nieces and nephews on Hubby's side. But just one niece on my side. But, today that will hopefully change! My sister is headed to the hospital to (fingers crossed) have her baby! They've said it is a girl, but we'll wait for the official verdict. Last time there were some complications and it got a tad scary. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing this time. I'm gonna be an aunt again :)

I Love Blogging

Thank you! You guys are so awesome! This is why I love blogging... I can come, write about a crappy situation and you all pat me on the back, give my a cuddly blanket, a good book to read, a box of cupcakes and a bag of M&M's to make me feel better! Okay, so this is all VIRTUAL stuff, but still! Your good words make me FEEL as good as if I had those things! So, thanks!

NOW! Wanna see what I did last night? It was so fun! Well, I enjoyed it. I made a royal icing tiara. How weird am I?? (Don't answer that... it was a rhetorical question) I saw one on Slyn's site awhile back (by the way, if you get a chance, you should totally dig through her posts... she has made some amazing cakes... this one and this one are my FAVORITES). The instructions were on Cake Central. I started by drawing a ton of different patterns. They were all pretty cruddy. So I got a pattern from the Cake Central website. Printed it off and then taped it around our oatmeal container. Then taped parchment paper over that.

Then, you just follow the pattern with the royal icing.

I did 3 layers and this is how it looked when I was done.

I am not a professional by any means. I'm hoping to hide some of the imperfections with edible glitter :) Now it has to dry for 2 days. Then I can hide the trouble spots...er, I mean, add a little color to it. Are you wondering why in the world I'm making a royal icing tiara? Baby Girl's birthday is in October. When I was reading about these it said that it takes a lot of practice to get them off without breaking them and that the first FEW will most likely break... so, this is a practice tiara. Hopefully, by then I will be able to make a really nice one to set on her birthday cake.

BLAH!
Have you ever had a really funny post in your head, but then things start to go crazy and all funniness tends to leave? Yeah. That's me today. Sorry. I'm a stressed out mess. Our contract to renew our lease with the house is coming up. Our landlord told us we could set the length for any amount of time since we've already been here for a year. And, he would keep the rent where it is at. We told him we wanted 6 months - thinking we might move into a bigger place around spring break. That would give us a chance to save up a little money for the deposit and moving expenses. (Which we should have been doing all along... I know... :S) He told us "Sorry... can't do that". Um... okay... so, we asked if we could go till the end of the school year. The answer was yes, but he was going to jack up the rent! Whatever happened to letting us set the terms on this thing and keeping the rent the same? So now he's kind of got us over a barrel. We can't really afford to move right now and we can't afford the higher rent. But he will leave the rent alone if we will stay for another year. I'm furious. I really wanted to get out of this neighborhood. Away from the kids who are so awful to Red. Have I ever told you about the time they stuffed him into a suitcase and then drug it up and down the street?? Yeah. So, it looks like we're in it for another year. Doesn't that sound like fun??
Sorry about my little rant. I'll try to think of something a little more entertaining to post about later today...

Things I Learned on the First Day of School
Yesterday went well for both of my kids. I love the first day of school. I love to see my kids learn and grow. This has caused me to reflect on some of the things that I have learned recently.

• Having two bathrooms in the house is a good thing. A very good thing.
• When celebrating the first day of school, you should limit your consumption of Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes. If you consume your body's weight worth of said cupcakes, you will feel sick. Very very sick. For more than one day.
• Chocolate apparently does NOT cause pimples. If it did, I would be a gigantic walking zit today.
• Staying up till 1:00 a.m. to watch a mini series on DVD is not a bad idea. Unless you have to get up and function the next day. Then it is a horrible idea.
• Energy saving light bulbs (you know the kind that flicker and flicker and flicker when they are turning on) are not a good thing when you are trying to recover from a Hostess cupcake, lack of sleep hangover.

Well, that's it. I know it's not earth shattering knowledge, but it has changed my life. Forever.

I Was Trying to Help...
Red is very dramatic. He likes to tell stories and tends to exaggerate ALL THE TIME! Wonder where he gets that from? ANY HOW, he had a pretty fantastic day at school today. His teacher is great and he found a lot of his buddies from last year at recess. But, there was some teasing. I guess he was talking to someone and another kid was listening in on the conversation and said, "Hey, that kid with the orange hair has a WEIRD VOICE". (Remember this is the version from my dramatic 8 year old) I told him that I didn't think he had a weird voice. Of course, I'm the mom and my opinion doesn't really matter. So, I asked him if he thought his voice was weird. He told me no and I said, "Well, then I think your voice must be normal. Maybe those kids were just being weird!" You know... trying to stick up for him... defend him against these unseen villains. Red's response "That doesn't make any sense, Mom." And he walked off. Sigh. At least the rest of his day went well!

The Great Equalizer
Today is the first day of school. Can I tell you how quiet it is? Even with just Red gone? He is my tease. He likes to tickle and torment his younger siblings. It's his job. I know this because I too am an oldest child. It's just how it works.
Anyway, we took Red to school this morning and he was very nervous. He was up at 5:30 because his tummy had butterflies in it. Then he fell back asleep and had a hard time getting going. We got to school and were surrounded by hundreds of kids and their parents. The kids that are going to school are easy to pick out: they are the ones in uniform. Not the strict button shirt, nice slacks or skirt kind of uniform. The dress code is: navy blue, hunter green or white shirts (button up, t-shirt, or polo - but no logo's and no tank tops) and for the pants/skirts/shorts they can wear khaki, navy blue or white. Who puts white pants on a kid? Anyway, there are some people that complain about the uniforms. Me? I love them! As I looked around I couldn't tell if this kid was wearing designer shorts or the ones from WalMart. And for us, it's cheaper. Red has a few clothes that he wears for after school things and play time. But guess how much a plain blue t-shirt is at WalMart? $3.50. They're $4.50 at Target. We got shorts at Kohl's for $6.00. Guess how much the Tony Hawk polo was that Red REALLY wanted? $18.00... on sale. Normally $32.00. And you can't tell the Target polos from the ones bought at Macy's. They're all dark blue polos. Little Bug goes to a different school. No uniforms. Which, is actually a really good thing for him...
I'm curious... what do you think about school uniforms? Do your kids have to wear them? Do you think it's a good idea? Or a bad one?

You've Lost that Lovin Feelin
A few short days ago I was the princess. I was adored by my children. Yesterday, not so much. You see, I usually wear my hair pulled straight back in a pony tail. I have two reasons for this.
1- IT'S HOT! If I didn't pull my hair back off of my neck, I would be a sweaty slimy mess in about 10 seconds flat.
2- I'm lazy. It takes time to actually DO something with my hair. Pony tails are the easiest option.
Yesterday I decided to change things up a little. (BTW - do you know how hard it is to take a picture of the BACK of your head... go ahead... try it!!)

I thought the little curls and swirls were kinda fun. I know you can totally see the bobby pins, but I really didn't care. It was off my neck and not in a pony tail. I thought I had done well. Then I went out to greet my public (I'm a princess, remember?). Baby Girl pointed at my head and said, "What happened to your hair? It's all poofy and pokey! BWAAHAHAHAHAHA! POOFY HAIR! POOFY HAIR!" At this moment Red pipes in to say, "Your hair does look really weird Mom. Why did you do it like that?" Then he starts to laugh. Little Bug likes to laugh when everyone else is having a good time. So, he joins in. But then, off in the distance, I see him! He comes riding up in his mini van and says, "You look beautiful!" Ah, my Prince Charming is always there to save the day!

Another day, another blog look... what do you think of this one?

School. Starts. in. TWO. DAYS!!!
I am so excited I can hardly stand it! My kids are excited too! I have many reasons for my joy, but the big one right now is our neighbor boy. Now, there are quite a few kids in the neighborhood, but a lot of them have divorced parents and are staying with the other parent for the summer. Except the kid that I wish would go away. This kid makes me mad. He comes over, asks Red to play till someone better comes along. Then he tells Red to "Go home now. We're done." and takes off. He even had the nerve to play with the new kid IN OUR YARD after telling Red to get lost! When Red tries to play with them, they ignore him. This kid is also a liar. Don't know how many whoppers he's told me. He has also tried to talk Red into eating mushrooms that were growing in someones yard. Psycho kid told Red that he had eaten them before and that they weren't poisonous. Now, maybe they weren't poisonous, but we live in a neighborhood with a pretty strict HOA. Bug and weed spraying are very common. So, even if they weren't poisonous, there's a good chance they had been sprayed with something that is. So, summer is over. The kids that were gone will be back soon. And Red will be in school. With his friends that like him for who he is, they don't want to kill him through poisoning, don't lie to him and want to play with him no matter who else comes around. YEAH FOR SCHOOL!!

Long Weekend
I think we might be one of the only families in our neighborhood that are still around. Everyone else is at the beach or in the mountains. School starts on Tuesday, so they have to take advantage of this last vacation time. We, on the other hand, are just lying around. Doing nothing. I doubt we will BBQ or anything this weekend. I would like to get some organizing done, but really, I doubt it will happen. At least, not today. Maybe on Monday. Right now, it's time for being lazy. The kids are watching a movie, hubby is reading the 6th Harry Potter book, and I... well, I'm spending way too much time on the computer. It's kinda nice...