Huffin and Puffin

Many of you may remember my friend Marissa's unfortunate hiking experience last year.  Well, I had the opportunity to go on that same hike with some friends awhile ago.  Needless to say, I went to the bathroom before we left.  Never let it be said that I don't learn from my other's mistakes.

But, before I tell you about this latest adventure, I need to explain a few things.  First of all, you need to understand my definition of "hike".  So, if everyone would please open their copy of "The World According to Melissa" to page 245.  Let's see... ah... yes!  Here it is...

hike - verb - mindless wandering while eating snacks

I like to stop and look at flowers.  Check out crazy bugs.  And, of course, eat while I go.  Another thing you need to know about this hike - all of the gals I went with are runners and are in fantastic shape.  (Technically, I'm in shape too.  Round is a shape.)
Anyway, I had gotten up early, dressed comfortably and then loaded my backpack full of snacks.  My good friend Shannan was our lovely driver and away we went.  Chatting, laughing, and me, totally expecting to "hike" in my own special way.
So, you can imagine my surprise when we get to the trail head and I hear the one of the gals say, "Let's see how good of a workout we can get here!"  

Wait.  

WHAT?

They weren't there to "hike", they were there to race up the canyon!  Everyone took off at a pace that Olympic sprinters would envy.  And I brought up the rear... huffing and puffing.  After awhile I asked for a break so I could eat a snack.  I was feeling a bit dizzy... which may have been from lack of food (most of my family has some sort of blood sugar problem) or lack of oxygen.  Either way - I needed to rest for a minute.  The other gals weren't even winded.  Not in the slightest.
I was a little embarrassed at making everyone stop for a little while, but it was either have them stop and wait, or I could pass out and then they'd have to carry me back to the car.  Which, of course, wouldn't have been embarrassing AT ALL.
But, after awhile, I got my second wind and started to feel less self conscious about myself and I really enjoyed the last part of the hike.  Too bad I had been a crying whiner for the first half... well, a breathless, dizzy, crying whiner.  
And the best part?  I didn't get a sliver in my butt!  WOOHOO!!  (Don't know what I'm talking about?  Go read Marissa's account and it will all become clear...)
The End
(What?  You were looking for a moral?  Some life lesson learned about persevering or having a good attitude or loving who you are no matter how awesome everyone else around you is?  Well, too bad.  I got nothing... I'm just grateful to be splinterless!) 

The Great Reread

I think I've mentioned once or twice that I love to read.  Lately I've read a slew of mediocre books that have left me feeling kind of ... well, kind of meh.  Nothing interesting or entertaining about them... actually, that's not totally true.  In the last book I read I created a kind of game where I counted how many similes and grammatical errors I could find.  That's not usually what I do with a book, but when you have errors as blatant as "The children was playing in the clearing" (not a direct quote, but close) then you just have to start paying closer attention.  My grammar isn't perfect, but I also don't have an editor or a slurry of people read everything I write before I "publish" it.
Anyway, I'm tired of these bland and boring books and I've decided to take a couple of months to do some rereading.  I want to read the Percy Jackson books again.  I can't wait to get lost in the Chronicles of Narnia.  Who wouldn't love to walk the halls of Hogwarts with Harry Potter?  I have a stack of books from the library, but I think I'm going to take them all back so that I can revisit some favorites and maybe find myself really enjoying reading again.
Do you ever reread books?  Or are you the type of person to read something once and then be done with it for good?  If you do reread, what are your favorite books to pick up time and time again?

A Deep Breath

For the last few years I have had a mantra... something that I've chanted to myself when things were a little crazy with kids/work/life in general.  That mantra is : It will be okay.  

I know.  It's very profound.

I can't count how many times I've told myself this.  Told my kids this.  Told anyone with a problem this.  It's my go to answer for everything.  And now... well, now that mantra is being put to the test.

Let me ask you something... how many times have you moved in the last 12 years?  If you were to ask me that question I would probably say "One too many".  How many moves do we have exactly?  Well... that depends on how you categorize a move.  I count it if we moved all of our worldly possessions from one location to another.  So, let's start at the very beginning... 

1. January 1998 - moved into our first place together after we were married.  
2. April 1998 - we moved out of the first apartment and in with my Grandma for the summer.  We ended up putting most of our stuff in storage... but we did move it all.  So it counts.
3. August 1998 - moved into a teeny tiny apartment.  I was pregnant with our first baby and had to back into the shower.  Really.
4. November 1998 - got accepted into government subsidized housing (Hubby in school, baby on the way...).
5. August 1999 - moved to Moscow, ID to further the education of afore mentioned Hubby.
6. September 1999 - got accepted into government subsidized housing about 2 days after I had finished unpacking.  Now, technically while we were in college, we moved home each summer... but we didn't move all of our belongings.  So, I don't count it.
7. June 2002 - moved for our first job to a house in Murtaugh, ID.  Got almost everything unpacked and then...
8. June 2002 - got offered a cheaper, nicer place to rent by our landlords.  And it wasn't just a little nicer... it was A LOT nicer... and it was on a lake.  Couldn't resist.  Packed all our junk up and moved again.
9. September 2002 - we moved to Irrigon, OR for another job.
10. June 2003 - moved to Hermiston, OR to be closer to said job.
11. June 2004 - bought a house in Hermiston, OR and thought we would live there forever until....
12. September 2006 - moved to our current location here in Southern California.  But this summer....
13. June 2010 - Yuma Arizona... here we come.

We've been married for 12 years and will have 13 moves under our belt.  Yes, we are insane.  Yes, we are incredibly tired of moving.  Yes, the kids are fairly upset with this decision.  Yes, we think we're doing the best thing for our family.  But that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.
I'm tired of starting over, finding new friends, figuring out how to fit in, getting the kids into school... just everything about moving makes me cringe.  I like where we are at.  I like our friends.  I like the school situations for all of my kids. I'm not looking forward to moving.  At all.  And yet... I know it will all work out.  

Now.  That being said... does anyone know anything POSITIVE about Yuma?  I've looked on the internet a bit and everything I can find is negative.  EXTREMELY NEGATIVE!!  For example... they don't have a Costco... which, in my opinion, is a crime.  But if you know anything good about Yuma, I'd love to hear it.  If you don't know anything good about Yuma, well, pat me on the head, commiserate with me for awhile and then, if you don't mind, please tell me that it will be okay.  Because every time I start to give myself "the mantra" my voice quivers and my eyes start to get all watery... 

At least I get to take you all with me.  You won't mind going to Yuma inside of my computer, will you?  

Unfinished Business

I like to create.  It's fun to sit down with a few pieces of fabric and see what I can throw together.  Sometimes it's a mess and other times it turns out a-okay.  Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of starting a crafting project, but not finishing.  I thought about taking photos of all my items in progress, but decided against it.  First of all, I don't have the time to take that many pictures.  Second, I don't want to waste your time looking at that many pictures. Suffice it to say, my projects are varied and many.
But I've set a goal for this month.  I'm going to finish at least one project - Red's quilt.  I started it last summer when he complained that his old quilt was too hot.  It has a fleece back and it's a tad toasty for the summer months.  Unfortunately for my oldest child, he's like his mom.  He wants to sleep with a blanket of some kind.  I can't sleep unless I have some kind of fabric tucked all around me... he's the same way.  But when the desert summers hit... it can be a tad uncomfortable to be swaddled in fleece.
So I'm going to finish it.  He's enjoying the fleece for now, but it won't be long before the heat settles back into the valley and he'll be sweating it out.  This is what I have done so far... hopefully in a few weeks I'll be able to show you the whole top!  Wish me luck.

I'm Sorry

I can't remember how many times I've ranted and raved over the comment verification on blogs.  It's always a frustrating thing for me to have to type all those letters in... usually I have to type it in 3 or 4 times before I get it right.  My fingers mover faster than my brain.
But, I'm afraid that I've had to cave and put it up here.  I'm not getting nasty comments.  No haters or anything like that... just spam.  Lots of spam on my older posts.  And it annoys me to no end.  This is my place!  I don't want you to write about your "helpful, cheap, medical supplies" on my blog.  GET YOUR OWN BLOG!!
So, I'm sorry, but you'll have to type in those crazy little letters from now on to read my blog.  My deepest and humblest apologies.

That Extra Incentive

There is a 5K this May in Del Mar - just north of San Diego.  And, since I am insane, I've decided to run in this race.  Actually, I use the term "run" rather loosely here.  What I mean by "run" is actually more of a fast walk/slow jog.  I haven't run on purpose since I got out of high school.  My expectations for this race are fairly high - I want to finish and I don't want to puke.  Reach for the stars my friends!  Reach for the stars.
Unfortunately, my desire to do the race hasn't been enough to keep me motivated in my training schedule.  I've had really good excuses for not running every day... things like "I'm going shopping.  I'll do lots of walking there and that will count as my workout." or "Meh.  I don't wanna".  And so, oddly enough, I'm not progressing.
I decided that I needed to find something to motivate me to get up and get moving.  Apparently having good health isn't enough.  Meeting my goals for the race doesn't keep me moving either.  I thought about rewarding (a.k.a. bribing) myself somehow.  But, the only rewards I could think of were edible, fattening and therefore, highly counterproductive.
But I think I have now found a motivator that might actually work.  Three little words that for some reason strike fear into my heart: high school reunion.
I graduated in 1995 and there is a group trying to get a 15 year reunion put together.  Why is it that the thought of seeing people from high school makes me panic just a bit?  Are these people really going to judge me and my life?  Possibly.  Should I really care?  Probably not.  But I do.
And so, I'm going to attempt to loose a little weight.  And hopefully preparing for this race will be a good way to do it.
Have you attended any of your high school reunions?  Did it make you nervous?  Or am I just being weird??  (that's always a possibility...)

Content

This last week has been stressful.  Too many decisions to make.  Too many decisions made by others that have affected our lives. Blah.  Blah.  Blah.
Some friends invited us to head to the beach Saturday and I wasn't going to go.  Baby Girl had been sick and I wasn't sure if her cough would get worse in the cool, moist air.  I didn't want to drive over there.  My back hurt.  Whine.  Whine.  Whine.  Cry.  Cry.  Cry.

But when Saturday morning came around I decided we should all go.  We loaded the car and headed out into crazy Southern California traffic.  We had never been to Crescent Bay and we got a bit lost at one point... but, it was worth it...

Lots of playing on the beach.  Then, because it was one of the lowest tides of the year, we were able to really explore some of the tide pools.

At the end of the day the kids were finally done climbing on everything.  No one was throwing rocks, playing where they shouldn't, or fighting over toys.  And that's when it happened.  Just for a moment... really, less than a minute, I felt peace.

Unfortunately, screaming children pulled me out of my reverie.  But I was thankful for that brief moment.  There is just something about the beach...
Do you have a place like that?  A place where you can go and just feel peace... even if it's just for a moment?

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

It's been a bit wet here in the currently not-so-sunny Southern California.

One moment you think it's letting up...

And then it really starts to come down...

Which, of course, means that I'm taking lots of pictures...

I want to remember that once upon a time we saw rain here in the desert.  It has even been kind of cold... for Southern California.  (38 is cold for here!)  I wish I could absorb this coolness and take it with me into the 120 degree weather of July and August...

Unfortunately the rain starts to gather in areas that don't have great drainage...

People aren't taking their time as they try to get from one place to the next and there have been accidents because of the rain.  Many of the roads are closed due to flooding.  I watched some ducks swim in what used to be a grassy spot (much like the one in the photo above).  We've been leaving early for everything and getting home late.  School buses are off schedule.  We were supposed to go to Disneyland this week... but it was a little too soggy for our tastes.  Everything just feels a little off kilter with this downpour.

But even with all the craziness... I'm still loving the rain!

So, what's the weather like in your neck of the woods?  Are you seeing rain?  Snow?  Blue skies?

And the Winner is...

I didn't know. No, really. I had no idea that my children could be so devious. Apparently they've been planning this for a long time, but I'm just barely catching on. They are having a contest amongst themselves to see who can be sick the most days this year.

So far Little Bug is in the lead with 10 days.

Baby Girl has 4 days - including today.

And Red is seriously lagging behind with just 1 day- that would be today.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to step in and be the "mean mom" and put a stop to this little game they are playing. The fevers, the coughing, the hours in the bathroom... I'm putting my foot down. No more contest!

I'm sure that they will whine and complain, but I'm okay with that (as long as the whining and complaining isn't accompanied by germs). A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do! Right?

Photo: a feverish Baby Girl and a completely exhausted mama.

All Weird

I love having one on one time with each of my kids. It gives me a chance to talk to them... see how they're doing... and play around a little bit. I usually walk away from these moments feeling pretty good. But, every once in awhile I hear things that just don't sit well with me.

For example... Baby Girl and I were conversing the other day and I made a some silly comment. She gave me a rather puzzled look and this was the conversation that followed...

Me: "Baby Girl, you should know by now that your mom is a little weird."
Baby Girl: "Oh no, Mom. You're not a little weird. (At this point I thought she was going to defend her wonderful mother... but then she continued...) You're a whole lot weird. You're all the way weird."

All the way weird? Really... I thought I had a few normal traits... but apparently not. I wonder if she realizes that by having an "all the way weird" mom that the possibility of her being "normal" are slim to none? Poor kid. She never stood a chance.

Parable of the Squished Frog
Once upon a time there was a mom. She was a fairly typical mom. Nothing too amazing about her, and yet she wasn't a total slouch either. But things began to pile up for this mom ... as it often does for most mom's. The kids had been sick for a long time - taking turns, sharing germs... you know the drill. This mom had also been sick. Lack of sleep was piling up, as well as the laundry, dishes, and the muffin top whenever she put her favorite jeans on.

One day she decided to change everything. She got all the laundry done. She vacuumed. She got dressed for the day. She spent some time doing Wii Active. The only dark cloud on this day was the fact that one of her kids was sick and had been sick for over a week. He was entertaining himself quietly while she went about her business.

While she was working out she had the thought, "You should really go check on your kiddo... see what he's doing". But this day was about HER and she was totally in the groove doing lateral shoulder lifty things. So she waited. Once her workout was done she tracked her sweet boy down only to to find that this little guy...

an aquatic frog (read: has to stay in the water or he dies) was on the kitchen table. He wasn't moving and her little guy was kind of poking him. Trying to get him to jump. There were water marks all over the table where he had been previously jumping.

Now, you need to understand that this sweet boy was not being mean. He wasn't torturing the frog - he just wanted to play with him. He didn't understand that his actions would actually hurt the little guy.

But mom... well, mom kinda freaked out. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. Because, you see, she felt a lot like that frog. Lifeless and kinda squished. She put the frog back in his tank and watched him float there. She began to cry. She sent her son to his room before she said something that she would regret (it's a bad habit she has). She called her husband and he tried to comfort her, but she was a little too busy wallowing in self-pity.

Depressed and just a little bitter, she watched the dead frog floating in his tank. She berated herself for not checking sooner. Which led her to examine all the other ways she felt like she had failed. The list was long and varied. But then... something happened. The little frog moved.

At first she thought it was a trick her eyes were playing on her. But no, he moved again. Slowly, but surely, he started to swim. Soon he was zipping around the tank. And the mom was amazed.

Somehow this frog had fought his way back. He had been unintentionally tormented and squished. His chance of survival was nil. And yet... he did it. And it occurred to this mom... she could still be like this frog. Yeah, he's still a little squished looking... but he was alive and moving.

And so, I'm here to tell you... I'm still alive. I feel a little squished and like I'm being tormented by things beyond my control. But, in the ever so wise words of Dory, from "Finding Nemo", I'm gonna "just keep swimming".

To Whom it May Concern...

Dear Lady at Wal-Mart who can't count,

Everything you did made me want to smack you. First of all you had probably 30-40 items in the 20 items or less express lane. Then, as the cashier started to ring up your items, you decided to go and grab a box of tea "real quick". So, you kind of jogged away, got your stuff, came back, patted me on the shoulder and said, "See - that wasn't so bad now was it?" The polite thing for me to do would have been to smile, brush it off and move on with my life. But I just couldn't. I was in a hurry, running late and you were being a twit. Then, to top it all off, you didn't look before you backed your car out of your parking spot. You almost ran me over. Missed by about 3-4 inches. Yep. I really, really wanted to smack you!

Signed,

Annoyed

Dear 10 Year Old Boys,

I'm glad that you enjoy your imaginative play. But you are loud. Too loud. And when I tell you to quiet down, I don't mean for you to be quiet for 5 seconds. I mean that the volume of your voice needs to stay down at all times. And if you don't understand what I mean by the term "at all times", I would be happy to explain it to you.

From,

A mom with two other kids who are already in bed asleep

Dear Parent of visiting 10 year old Boy,

When you called and asked if your son could come and stay on Friday night and Saturday, I assumed you meant Friday night and Saturday during the day. Silly me. Apparently you meant Friday night, all day Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday morning. When I asked you what time you were going to come and pick your boy up and you stared at me like I was speaking in a foreign language... I am concerned. Very, very concerned.

Sincerely,

A mom who is wondering if she now has another child living with her forever

Dear Twilight Fans,

I can appreciate the fact that you like the books and the movies. What I don't appreciate is the glares and obnoxious comments when I explain that I'm not a fan. Can't we agree to disagree on this one?

Respectfully yours,

Tired of Twilight

Dear People who are Sick,

STAY HOME!

Wishing You All the Best,

Someone who doesn't want to get sick again

Dear Blog Readers,

I'm sorry this post is kind of whiny. I'm a bit tired. I'm very overwhelmed and I promise not to write again till I'm in a good mood.

Love Always,

Melissa

Thank Y'all Kindly

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all the opinions that you shared for my little project! After carefully considering what everyone said...

I decided to go with an option that I hadn't even presented to you. I apologize... I liked the white, but when I laid it all out, all I saw was the white stripes. I really wanted the stars to be the focus. So, I laid it all out with the green and it was just too busy. I asked Hubby what he thought and he had a good idea, but I didn't have the fabric that I needed. So, I did what any crazy quilter would do - I went to JoAnn's. And there I found just what I was looking for.

And so, without further ado, here is the quilt top... (please don't look too closely... mistakes abound on this crazy thing)

And this is the fabric I'm using for the back.

I wish you could feel how stinkin soft that stuff is!! Baby Girl tried to pack it off several different times this afternoon and she has informed me that she NEEDS a blanket with this fabric. She also told me that if I wanted, I could find a different fabric for the baby's blanket and she would just take the blue piece. She's a generous soul... I may have to go back to JoAnn's and get her a piece of this stuff - maybe in pink :)

I'll show you more pics when it's all done. Now I have to decide if I'm going to tie it or quilt it. I'm the world's slowest quilter... so I'm thinking of just doing the ties... but I know quilting will look nicer...

Anyway! Thanks again for sharing your opinions... I hope the fact that I changed my mind completely won't deter you from sharing your thoughts with me again!

HELP!!

I need your advice on a baby quilt I'm putting together for my awesome cousin whose wife just had a baby boy!! I can't decide how to arrange the blocks... so you get to help! You'll have to use your imagination just a bit... I love the way the blocks turned out...

This is what it looks likes when all the blocks are together...

Anyone see my mistake? Yeah... I miscounted my blocks! Can you believe that they asked me to teach a sewing class to the women at my church? I think this is a bad ides since apparently I can't even count... anyway, I think it looks to busy this way... what do you think?

I think I'd like to do sashing in between the blocks. I have a couple of options... white with a blue divider block.... (imagine the sashing going across the top and bottom too)

white with a green block....

or green...

What do you think?? I think the green sash looks too busy. I'm leaning towards the white with the blue, but I'm not sure... any suggestions??

This is Halloween

You're probably tired of reading Halloween posts... but I really want to get this up. You can skip this post if you'd like, okay? Let's start with the food. I got ideas from Family Fun, my friend Rachelle, or my own crazy brain. First off we have...

one eyed one horned flying purple people eaters...

witches fingers....

brains...

mummies...

eyeballs...

and the ultimate Halloween breakfast!

As for the costumes... I finally got Red's done...

Little Bug was a cowboy - again... and of course, he still hates having his picture taken, but I did get one good shot!

Baby Girl was a queen (it's actually a dress from Belle's Enchanted Christmas, but it worked)

I was a pirate...

Baby Girl and Red designed our jack-o-lanterns this year...

Fun was had by all, but I ended the night feeling like my head would explode! Sinus infections are such grand things...

Hope you had a great weekend!

What's a Girl to do at 4:53 in the Morning?

Write a totally random blog post... of course!

• Little Bug got up around 3:45. Hubby got up with him. Apparently he wanted breakfast and a potty break. Go figure. I don't think he's fallen back asleep yet... but I sent Hubby back to bed seeing as how I can't sleep anyway...
• Why can't I sleep? Well, exactly one half of my nose is plugged up. It's so plugged that I cannot even blow my nose and it keeps randomly running down my face... while I sleep. Can I get an EWWW?? Thank you.
• I am not done making Halloween costumes. Slacker Mom of the Year. Baby Girl's costume isn't even started. Luckily - she's flexible. She dug into the dress-up box and went to school as a clown yesterday and tonight she's going to be a princess. Not the fairy princess that she wanted, but no one ever really gets what they want, right? Well, unless you're Red. Then you get your Jedi costume - no matter what. I've been promising to make him one for 2 years... this year he's holding me to it.
• And speaking of making things... I'm using a Simplicity pattern for this costume. May I just get something off my chest here.... THERE IS NOTHING SIMPLE ABOUT A SIMPLICITY PATTERN! There. I feel better. I measured Red and bought the pattern that SHOULD have worked. The Jedi robe fits my husband... since it was a one size fits all type thing... and the tunic fits me. I wonder what the models look like that they base their sizing off of??
• We had a ghoulish dinner last night and then watched old episodes of "The Addams Family" on Netflix. I'll try to do a Halloween post with costumes and food stuff later... maybe tomorrow.... or next week... or... um... sometime.
• I get to host book club at my house in a few weeks. We're reading "The Hunger Games" and may I just say how much I love that book? Have you read it? If not, I highly recommend it! If you have read it, would you like to help me brainstorm a bit? Can you think of any discussion questions? I have a thought of few already ... but I'd like to hear from you guys :)

AND....... I can breathe! The nasal decongestant has kicked in...which means I can now blow my nose! And I think Little Bug finally fell asleep! Can I get a w00t? Yeah... probably not at 5 a.m. Maybe later...

Welp. I'm gonna see if my brain will let me go back to bed for awhile. Happy Halloween!!

9

Tomorrow is Little Bug's birthday! This kid of mine has sent me on the biggest emotional roller coaster over the last 9 years. For example... right now, he's supposed to be asleep. But I just caught him down the hall putting all of Baby Girl's Littlest Pets into the washing machine. Frustrating that he's not in bed? Yes. Maddening that he's made a big mess? You betcha. Funny to see the crazy way he's got all the toys arranged? Yup. It's a mixed bag with this kid. His troubles make my heart ache. But his accomplishments give me joy like I've never known.

Another example... the children's organization in our church is called the Primary. Every year they put on a program for the adults. There is usually a lot of great music and a small speaking part for each child. Last year we tried to get Little Bug to say a few lines.

He screamed.

I cried.

This year I got him to say the lines.

He grinned and giggled.

I cried :)

And so, to celebrate this glorious boy of mine, I thought I'd share a few pictures with you... enjoy!

This photo was taken this summer in Utah. I have lots of pictures like this where he is squinting, closing his eyes, deliberately looking away from the camera or glaring at me. He's a pretty typical boy in the fact that he does NOT like having his picture taken...

This was the first day of school... see... here we have the glare...
This was a trip we took to pick raspberries. He wasn't a fan of the small prickles on the bushes... but he had fun wandering around. Again, he wouldn't look at the camera...

Little stinker! He's pretty darn pleased with himself in this shot...

Ah... here we go! This is the smile that melts my heart!

Happy Birthday my Little Bug! You are such an amazing kid! You've grown so much this last year... I can't wait to see what the new year holds in store for you!

Why We Love Sale-ing

Yeah... that says "sale-ing". And yes. I know it's not a real word to most people... but it is to us! You see, I grew up with a mom who LOVES to get a good deal. And so, garage sale shopping comes natural to her. When I was growing up it was frustrating at times... people would ask where I had gotten my J. Crew jeans (there wasn't a J. Crew for hundreds of miles) and instead of telling the truth, "My mom scored these at a yard sale for .50! Awesome, eh??" I would just kind of blow it off... "I don't know. My mom got them for me somewhere..." and then I'd change the subject as quickly as possible.

Now that I'm older I don't care who knows that most of our possessions are 2nd hand... in fact, I'm pretty proud of the fact that I can save a buck or two or more... sometimes a lot more.

For example... Baby Girl got some money for her birthday. She wanted to get one of those stuffed Littlest Pets. She had $10 and that was the exact price of the stuffed animals at WalMart. I told her to hang on to her cash and we could look around a little before she spent all of her money.

The Saturday after her birthday we went out garage sale shopping and stumbled on a sale that had stuffed animals for a quarter a piece. They had SIX Littlest Pet stuffed animals! So, for $1.50 she got $60 worth of toys! She had enough left to go get one of the smaller plastic animals at Target and she's still got $2 that she's saving for our next "sale-ing" trip.

Maybe it's genetic... but man! I love a good deal! And it appears that Baby Girl likes the idea too :)

I'd Forgotten...

Red is off to a science camp for a few days this week. I hope that he's having a fabulous time! I hope that he's learning lots and having fun with his friends. I hope he's staying warm and playing hard. But I hope that he'll be ready to come home tomorrow because I sure miss that boy!

You see, I'd forgotten how much he does for me each day. I've really taken him for granted. You see, he's a pretty darn responsible kid. He gets himself up each morning and makes lunch for himself and Little Bug. He gets his breakfast and sometimes gets cereal for the younger kids if I'm not up yet (my kids are early risers... I am not!). He'll take out the recycling, help fold laundry, and get toys cleaned up. If I give him a job, he might whine a bit but, he always gets it done. He makes me smile and laugh several times each day. And every night, before bed, I get a hug and a kiss.

Of course... Baby Girl and Little Bug aren't getting teased. The house is staying a little cleaner with one less kid around. And I'm pretty sure that our grocery bill went down (even though he'll only be gone for 3 days).

But all in all, the good outweighs the bad. Yep... I miss that kid

Who Would've Thought?

6 years ago tonight I was headed to the hospital to have a baby. We didn't know if it would be a boy or a girl. The last ultrasound had given us a 60% chance for a girl. After two boys I was pretty hopeful for a girl, but, of course, would take whatever came our way. The doctor had decided to induce me a few days early. We got set up at the hospital the night before and then waited.

But there's something you must understand about me: I don't deal well with pain. So, I had some drugs in my IV when the contractions first started. Then came the epidural (manna from heaven, thankyouverymuch!). And then the decision was made that I would need a c-section - which meant that I would need a spinal block. Copious amounts of drugs were swimming through my veins. In fact, I was so drugged out that when my baby was born the doctor said, "It's a girl" and I responded with, "What's a girl?" I think this little moment of unintended humor set a pattern for my Baby Girl. She loves to make others laugh. When she was younger it was pretty random things that she'd throw out there and a lot of courtesy laughing on our part. But, as she's gotten older, her ability to make us laugh, really, truly laugh, has gotten more refined.

For example: The other day I picked Baby Girl up from school and we headed out to run some errands. This is the conversation that followed...

BG - "Mom! Stop! We have to go to the house and get Baby Girl!"

Me - "Wait... what? Aren't YOU Baby Girl?"

BG - "No Mom. I'm just the narrator of this story!"

We both laughed till our sides hurt. She has her moments of pouting, but usually even that dissolves into giggles after awhile.

She's a good mix of princess and tom boy. This picture was taken while she was playing a Star Wars video game with Red and yelling "GET HIM!! SHOOT THAT GUY!" all while wearing her princess dress and tiara...

She's not always daring or willing to take risks, but once she gets warmed up to an idea, you'd better watch out because she'll dive right in! (pun intended)

She's the first to forgive and give hugs. She's always thinking of others and trying to find ways to cheer people up. She's creative and clever. She would paint or play with clay all day long if I'd let her. She loves to dress up and put on a show for anyone who is willing to watch.

But most of all... BEST of all... she's mine!

Happy Birthday my little Twiddle! I love you so much and I hope you have a wonderful day today!

xxxoooxxx

Mom