Refocus

Okay - so maybe my spirit was a little dampened by yesterdays happenings (scroll down to previous blog post), but I'm gonna try to bounce back here. Kailani over at An Island Life wants us to post our favorite ornaments. I have several... so here we go!

I hate throwing away flowers. I like to dry them and then they just sit around my house. At one point I still had most of the corsages I had gotten from dances in high school and college. Lame, I know. But then I found a craft that I could use them in... I took the corsages apart and put them into these...

I think I have 9-10 of these... all different. This is probably my favorite one. I used the dried flowers and the ribbon and threw the rest away. I love what they add to my tree!

My Grandpa (my Dad's Dad) passed away before my parents had even met. I never knew him, but I feel like I know a lot about him from family sharing their stories and love. One thing I do know about him is his love for Yosemite Sam. So my Mom got me this to put on our tree...

When I was in Kindergarten my teacher made each student a star of clay and wrote our names on it. I still have it. It's simple, but I felt like that teacher really loved me! So I've kept it all these years...

When I was growing up one of my amazing friends gave me an ornament she had made every year for Christmas. I still have a lot of them... this is one of my favorites.

But, my all time favorite ornament is this one!

No, we don't fish. At all. I have never been fishing in my life. Never. And it's been years and years (before we got married) since Hubby has been. So, why do we have a fishing ornament on the tree? My Mom thinks the world of my Hubby and she was so excited that I was marrying him. So she gave this ornament to him the Christmas right before we got married! It was perfect and I still love putting it up each year. He's still my "Catch of the Day"! Yeah, I know that's cheesy, but it's true.

So, what are your favorite ornaments? Let me know if you post them!

And thanks Kailani... this has helped me feel a little better about all the Christmas craziness!

Killing the Christmas Spirit
I have had so much fun this holiday season. I'm looking forward to Christmas and have really been feeling the true Spirit of the season. Till the last few days. I've felt down and frustrated and ready to curl up and be done with Christmas. What happened that changed this feeling so drastically?? Well, I'll tell you...
I went shopping.
It started with having to go to the mall for the last of my stocking stuffers - books from Barnes and Noble. Baby Girl twirled and ran and bumped into people. I apologized and a few smiled. But most glared and "Harrumph"-ed their way past us. When I left I felt a tad defeated. Sure I got the items I was looking for, but the smile was starting to disappear from my face.
Then I had to go to WalMart. I hate going in, but when a girl is on a budget you've got to go for cheap. And we live in a valley that doesn't believe in cheap. Ask any of my Mercedes or BMW owning neighbors. There are some fantastic stores down here, but they are expensive unless they have a good sale. The things I needed were not on sale anywhere... so, to WalMart I went. Looking back in retrospect, perhaps the extra money paid would have been worth it. Although, people here are just grumpy right now. So, I may have had the same experience anywhere.
I thought I could make the best of the situation. I smiled at people. I said "Hello" and "Excuse me" as I pushed my way through the minions of other shoppers trying to stick to a budget. People glared, stepped in front of me ON PURPOSE, blocked lanes while they visited with others for a good 5 minutes and were, in general, grouchy. And I'm just talking about the EMPLOYEES! Don't get me started on the other shoppers. It made me want to yell, "GO HOME! And take your stinkin grinchy attitude with ya!" GRRR!
So, if you're looking for a fantastic way to kill off the Christmas Spirit, head to your local WalMart where the employees are rude and the shoppers are heartless. Or, go shopping in general. But, if you want to keep that lovely Spirit alive, finish your shopping online!

Randomly Random
First off in our randomness is the blog change. I think this is one of my favorites! What say ye??
We went to the San Diego Zoo yesterday and as we were walking in we saw this sign:

Red promptly asked "What about pants? It doesn't say anything about pants?" So, if you are planning to visit the San Diego Zoo any time soon, please know, pants are optional.
While at the zoo we got to see the pandas and this one gave me a smile...

I love to look at the Pandas. They are one of my favorite animals... hands down!
In gingerbread house news....

I won first prize at our church dinner! Woo hoo! I won some very cute coasters and some hot cocoa. I was a tad embarrassed though, everyone else had bought kits. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. Not one other homemade house in the place. We'll just have to see if I am crazy enough to try it again next year.
Oh, and for those of you that wanted the syrup recipe that I mentioned...
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 TBSP. water
Combine everything in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium heat (any higher and the sugar will BURN) and stir continuously. Bring to a boil - turn heat to medium low and let boil (still stirring) for 4 minutes. Wahlah. All done!
I'm afraid that's all the randomness I have for today. We watched the first Bourne movie on Thursday and the other two last night. We finished around 1:30 and my brain isn't working as well as I'd like it to right now! I hope you have all had a wonderful Sunday!

You Can't Catch Me...
Gingerbread making is a serious pain in the buttocks! I had no idea how much work just making the darn cookie pieces was going to be. My Mother in law makes a small gingerbread house for every grand kid to decorate at Thanksgiving. There are 21 grand kids. And she always makes extras just in case a couple break. She is an amazing woman to go through this every stinkin year! I know that I could have bought a kit and made a house that was kind of small and that would have looked a lot like this:

But, that's not crazy enough for me. No, I need to do something insane. Something that will take 3 days to complete. So, I got all the stuff together and made the cookie pieces and baked them over 2 days time. Then Hubby and I put them together last night and I gasped! It filled an ENTIRE JELLYROLL PAN! I thought it would be a lot smaller... what was I thinking?? (Ignore all the junk in the background... I couldn't be bothered with something so trivial as putting papers away before taking this picture)

I spent today decorating it. Baby Girl helped when she wasn't eating the frosting. Red wanted to help, but he had to go to school. Little Bug picked Nerds off of it and broke icicles. Bless his pointed little head! Finished product:

Do you like the smoke coming out of the chimney in the back? What do you think? Is it better than the kit? (yes, I'm totally fishing for compliments... ) No one, I repeat, NO ONE will be eating this house. It will be on display in my home for the next 20 years. I think I will have it enshrined in a plastic case...

One great tip I got from my MIL was about construction. Instead of using royal icing to put it together we made a really heavy syrup - like what you would use for suckers. It sets almost immediately and it's hard as a rock! You don't have to sit and wait for the icing to dry for each piece. And if it does harden in the pan, you just put it back on the stove for a second and you can use it again! Then we used the royal icing for the decorating. Just thought I'd pass that along in case any of you are contemplating a similar journey...

Nostalgia
The other day I was browsing at Barnes and Noble online when I came across this video : Claymation Christmas
This was a FAVORITE as a kid! My parents recorded it off of the T.V. and we watched it over and over. Don't remember it? Well, here are a few clips! The Three Wise men is my favorite...followed VERY closely by the Carol of the Bells







What's your favorite Christmas show from when you were a kid?

Cut and Dry

My hands are pleading for your help. Every winter they dry out. I'm not talking about a little chaffed skin here. I'm talkin raw, burning, splitting, dry skin . Today I went to the bank and noticed that my hand was stinging a little bit. Looked down and one of my knuckles had split open and it was bleeding. I have tried all kinds of lotions and nothing has helped. Some have even made it worse. I'm hoping that maybe one of you will have some kind of magic lotion that you use! This picture really doesn't do it justice... my hands are red and dry and splitting on almost every knuckle... What do you use to keep your hands from looking like this:

The Great Gingerbread Adventure
I have never made gingerbread. That's right. NEVER. So, why in the world did I sign up to bring a gingerbread house to our church's Christmas dinner? I HAVE NO IDEA! And now I'm stressin a little bit! What in the world was I thinking? I have put houses together before, but that hasn't always worked out really well. They tend to lean a little bit and cave in on themselves. Fantastic. What have I done?? Is gingerbread hard to make? Will I regret this for the rest of my life? I admit that I love new crafts, but I don't really like to display my first try for the world to see... maybe if it turns out badly I'll tell them that the kids made it... yeah... that would work... right?
Any tips for making amazing gingerbread houses?? I'll take whatever you can give me!!

Go here... no, really, I'll wait...

Did you go? Here's the link again... just in case....

What's that? You missed the last link?? Well, try this...

GO HERE

Did you make it that time? Good. I can't imagine my home being buried in that much water and mud. I hope I never have to find out. But, if I do, I hope there are good people like Daring Young Mom (also known as Kathryn) willing to help me out. I made a donation and I challenge you to do the same. If each of us can give just a little bit, it will add up to a lot of aid for families who desperately need it.

Have you ever....
... had a rough night and finally fallen asleep around the time you're supposed to be getting up?
...eaten cake for breakfast to balance out the effects of a really rough night?
... tied a girls hair in rags (little strips of fabric) and then taken great joy at the wonderful curls that follow?

... had to take a Christmas present back BEFORE Christmas? (I just found out that the gift I got for hubby has been recalled...)
... bought something online and then used the UPS tracking number to check on that package 100 times each day because you're so excited about what is coming??
... found yourself just as excited about Christmas as your kids? But in a different more peaceful way?
... spent an afternoon creating lots of different blog banners because you have downloaded enough Christmas digital scrap booking stuff to keep even the most devoted scrapbooker busy for years??
... gotten behind on something because you totally and completely forgot about it? Yeah... I forgot about my little devotional blog. How lame is that? For those of you who have been following it, it's finally updated. You can check it out here.

Trim the Tree
Just a few pictures of our tree decorating extravaganza from yesterday...
Baby Girl loved to just sit and stare at the lights even before we had the ornaments on it.
The kids all took part in hanging the ornaments and would then stand back and admire their handiwork...

If you'll notice in the picture right above, there is a rather large clump of ornaments on the bottom of the tree... I was going to leave them, but Little Bug had put some glass and some heavier ornaments all on one branch. I was afraid they would fall and break, so I rearranged a few. Not many, but I don't want to loose any of these ornaments! Little Bug also got to put the star on top! He's never done it before. Never shown any interest in it till this year. But he knew exactly what to do with it!

And then we have the finished product. The first picture is with the flash, second is without...

We had a great time listening to music and talking about the ornaments. When I was a kid my mom bought us ornaments each year and put them in a box. We would talk about them and she would tell why she had bought each one. When I got married, I got my box of ornaments. It was so fun to explain all the ornaments. My kids each have a box of ornaments in our garage. We're going to sit down this evening and talk about what each one means and why I got those specific ornaments. This is one tradition that I really love and I hope my kids will love it too!

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

And I couldn't be happier! I know you're thinking that I'm some kind of freak... maybe I am! But, bad weather means that my cocoa tastes that much better. It's that much more rewarding for me. It also means that I get to open this box....

And let me tell you... I LOVE THIS BOX! Why do I love this box? Let me show you....

What's that there?? That looks like...

SWEATERS! I NEVER get to wear them! Funny thing about living in Southern California - it's warm here. I pull my sweaters out to go to Idaho. Then I put them away when I get home. I LOVE sweaters! This is a wonderful gift for me!!

And by the way, you people are awesome! Your birthday wishes have made my day! You've put a smile on my face and I appreciate it!! And just so you know Nancy, my dear sweet Grandma wanted to name me Pearl! Wouldn't that have been fun to be named after such a horrible event? On that note though, do take a moment to remember this day. And if you get a chance on this Pearl Harbor Day, thank a soldier for their services!

Now, I'm off! It's time to have that hot cocoa...thanks again for all your sweet wishes!

Celebrate Good Times
Some people don't like birthdays. They pretend that they don't have a birthday and go on with their customary routines. They don't want anyone to acknowledge that they are getting older. They just want a regular, normal day. I'm not one of those people!
December 7th is my happy day! And so, of course, I've changed the look of the blog! Some of you have asked what I'm going to do on this glorious day... For me, this day is about relaxing and spending time with family so that they can pamper me. SO!! First off I'm going to have an applesauce bar and cup of hot cocoa for breakfast. I think I'll throw a spoonful of carmel in the cocoa just for good measure! Then I'll get the boys out the door for the day. Baby Girl and I are going to go out for lunch. If Hubby can meet us, great. If not, we're going out anyway. We might head to Barnes and Noble or maybe Kohl's for a little bit. Then we'll come home and wait for Red and Little Bug to get home. We'll decorate our Christmas tree and get pizza for dinner. (I am NOT cooking on my day! The closest I'll come to that is boiling water for my cocoa!!) Then, on Saturday (yep, we will continue to celebrate the next day... I like to stretch it out for as long as possible) we are headed to San Diego (unless it rains). We will go to the zoo and then hit a fabulous restaurant in Temecula on the way home. Which restaurant? Don't know... don't care! As long as I don't have to cook it and they don't serve it to me in a cardboard box, I'm good!
So, I'm curious... how do you like to celebrate your birthdays? Do you celebrate with friends? Family? Both? Or do you like something more quiet? To do a few things on your own? Enquiring minds want to know...okay, so that should say "enquiring mind" since I'm probably the only person who wants to know, but still! Humor me, please?!

p.s. I know that Kool and the Gang don't really bring the Christmas spirit, but I couldn't resist...

Running
Today was a crazy day... I'm trying to get lots done today so that I don't have to do a darn thing tomorrow*. I had to mail a package, I went and joined the local chapter of the American Autism Society, took some toys over to the Toys for Tots drop off (that's my good thing for the 25 days to make a difference), looked around Toys R Us for the last few stocking stuffers - couldn't find them, so we headed to Lowes to get our Christmas tree, and then to Wal-Mart (the bane of my existence) to get the stocking stuffers. Lots of errands. Then I ran home, cleaned up, got some laundry done, cleaned a little more... just general rushing around. Tonight I'm going to grade papers for Red's teacher, make some applesauce bars to enjoy in the morning, and hopefully watch the first Bourne movie. If I have time, I just might get some Christmas cards ready to be sent. All of this craziness just to be a bum tomorrow. But it will be worth it...

Don't forget to go here for the mini devotional...

*why am I insisting on a life of ease tomorrow? Because it's my birthday! This is my gift to myself... a clean house and nothing above and beyond keeping the children and myself alive for 24 hours :)

So, I clicked on a link on a blog which took me to a link on another blog which took me here. A sweet blog called "25 Days to Make a Difference". The main writer on the blog is a young girl. Each day she is doing something to try and make a difference in the world. She is also donating her entire months allowance ($25) to charity. Other people have matched her donation and now she's having a contest of sorts. You can participate by doing acts of kindness and in the end, the person who has made the biggest difference, chosen by this awesome young lady, will get the money donated in their name to a charity from a list they have compiled. How cool is that?? You can also offer to make a donation. So, I'm going to try and do this. I think I'm going to see if Red wants to do it too. I'll probably just let him post his good deeds here on my blog, rather than starting a blog just for him.
It feels a little weird to talk about the nice things I've done... but, I have to blog about it so they know I'm participating. So, today I did the dishes for my Hubby. That is usually his job, but I knew today was going to be a rough one for him, so I decided to finish that task for him.
So, would you like to join in? Do you want to participate? This is a really cool thing! The deadline to sign up is on Saturday the 8th. You only have to participate 3 times a week, but, the more often you participate, the better your chances are. So, go on! Go sign up! Do something good in the world today!

Good Idea, Bad Idea
Good Idea: making delicious salsa for a yummy treat and eating a LITTLE while watching T.V.(see previous post)
Bad Idea: making delicious salsa for a yummy treat and eating almost ALL of it while watching T.V.
I ate and ate and ate that stuff last night. It was so good! But not a good idea. My tummy rumbled all night long... bleh. I'm still not feeling too grand today, but, I'm sure that in awhile, I'll eat a little salsa for breakfast. Because I like to punish my body so that I can eat things that taste good.



The video is a tad morbid, but it makes me laugh. :)

Here's the recipe for the salsa. I got it from my Mom, who got it from my Aunt. Not sure if my Aunt came up with it or not... but here it is
Pomegranate Salsa
1 lime - juiced
2 pomegranates - peeled and fruit pulled out
2 avocados - chopped very fine
2 tomatoes - chopped very fine
2 green onions (I use regular onion) - chopped very fine
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper
1 tsp. coriander (I don't have this, so I don't use it)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
After chopping avocados, put in lime juice - make sure they are coated with the juice. This will help them from browning. Add pomegranates, avocados, tomatoes, onions, salt, pepper, coriander and cilantro. I like to let it sit for awhile so that the flavors can mix. Serve with Frito's or other corn chip! Enjoy - but don't pig out on it like I did...
The devotional is up for the day.

Some Like it Hot
I made salsa tonight! So yummy!!
What's that?? What did you say? Those tomatoes look a little funny?? Look a little closer...


What's that?? Still can't tell what it is... well, let's get a little closer....

Closer still...

Oh yeah! You're lookin at tomato, onion, avocado, cilantro and..... pomegranates! And let me tell you... it is OH SO GOOD! This combo is a tantalizing treat! I'm gonna sit down and watch the Biggest Loser with a pile of this and a bag of Scoop Frito's. Oh, it's gonna be good!

Mount Vesuvius
Yesterday I blew my top. And the words that spilled from my mouth were like molten lava. They burned a scorched everyone that got in my way. It was a humbling moment when I walked down the hall and heard Baby Girl yelling at her toys saying the exact words I had just said to her. I got so caught up in my feelings that I let it overflow to those around me. I'm tired of house work. No, tired isn't the right word. You see, I am a person who loves projects. BUT, those projects need to have a beginning, middle, and an end for me to feel satisfied with the outcome. Housework isn't like that. It's a circle. For example - I finished the laundry yesterday. Spent the entire day washing, folding, putting away. And then when everyone got in their pajamas last night they threw their clothes into the hampers - meaning that I didn't FINISH the laundry. There was no end. I got the dishes done, then we had lunch - more dishes. We got the toys cleaned up, then the kids wanted them back out to play. I'm really struggling with the fact that there just isn't an end. There is no real finished product. It makes me frustrated and at times, angry.
I apologized to the kids and tried to make it up to them. Red was already at school when it happened, so he was safe. I took a magazine to Little Bug that was from the San Diego Zoo. It was full of pictures from the Wild Animal Park of the 4 baby elephants that have been born there in the last 3 years. He loves elephants! We sat and looked at the pictures and said "elephant" for each picture and then giggled. Baby Girl and I spent some time together after Little Bug went to school. I painted her toes a lovely shade of sparkly blue and we watched a PBS cartoon together. We giggled and had a lot of fun. I just wish I could have done those things for fun and not as an apology.
So, how do you get through your housework? How do you find joy in it and not let it become drudgery? Any ideas how I can feel accomplished with this? I just want to feel like what I do matters. And right now, it doesn't. Plus, I can't blow my top like that every time I'm frustrated with folding laundry... suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Don't forget to go here today :)

Amazing Grace
You may want to turn the music off before you watch this clip...

Have you seen this movie?? It was WONDERFUL! I enjoyed it! I know there are others that feel it moves a little slowly, but to me, it was captivating. If you get a chance, you really should see it!

December 2nd & 3rd devotionals are up over here.

I Can Almost Cross it Off My List....
I have a list of things that I want to get done before Christmas gets here. Some of the things I've gotten done (shopping is a big one) and some I haven't started yet (we still are debating the real/fake tree thing). But I am SO CLOSE to having one more thing crossed off my list! These puppies...

From left to right we have stockings for Little Bug, Baby Girl and Red. I bought a bunch of coordinating fabrics and then they each got to pick the one they liked best. You can't tell from the picture here, but I machine quilted the fronts of each stocking with a gold thread. It was a lot of fun for me. Now I just need to get mine and Hubby's done! I might work on it tonight... or not. Maybe I'll just throw in a movie and eat lots and lots of candy... because that's on my list too... no really! Right here... look... #23 - Watch a movie and eat lots and lots of candy. I'm all about getting these things crossed off my list as soon as possible...

By the way, the first devotional is up at the OTHER BLOG. Remember, this is a simple, short, mini devotional. Meant to take just a few minutes. But, I still think it will be a wonderful thing. Head on over and check it out if you get a chance. I'll post a new one each day...

Mini Devotional
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away I created another blog. This blog was purely for me to mess with the templates. To try things out. See what I liked and what I could do with it. I've decided to turn it into something else for the holidays. Each day, starting tomorrow, there will be a mini devotional with a short quote, a scripture to read, a holiday suggestion, and a song to sing on that blog. The Relief Society Presidency (leaders in our women's organization at church) gave us a little notebook thing that has this spiritual advent calendar in it. I thought it was such a good idea that I would share with you. So, head on over to my OTHER BLOG starting tomorrow for a little spiritual lift each day. When the holidays are over, it will go back to being the blog I mess with... but for now, I hope it will be something to help bring the true spirit of the season into your home!

Didn't Make It
I tried. Really I did. I wanted to clean till noon today. I made it to 10:00. Rats. I just started feeling a tad on the woozy side. And decided not to push it. So, I'm resting and hoping to get the other 2 hours in this afternoon... oh well. I'm going to do a little holiday getting to know you thing right now... I guess it's a meme, but I got it in an email from a friend and thought it would be fun to post. I've added to it and changed it a bit...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. Who ever heard of having a gift bag fight when you're done opening your gifts??
2. Real tree or artificial? I love real trees! LOVE THEM. But last year it just about killed us... it's too warm here and the tree released pollen like crazy in the house... we just might get an artificial one and this breaks my heart! Anyone know of a candle that smells like a Christmas tree??
3. When do you put up the tree? As soon as possible after Thanksgiving... we are looking at artificial trees tonight and if we find one it will go up when we get home!
4. When do you take the tree down? Usually right after Christmas because the real trees are pretty brittle after 4 weeks :(
5. Which do you prefer: eggnog, spiced cider, or hot cocoa? Normally I would say hot cocoa, but we had a spiced cranberry cider stuff the other night that was DIVINE!!!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmm... my birthday is right before Christmas... I'm trying to remember which gifts were Christmas and which were birthday... I got a camera one year and had so much fun with that thing! Took pictures of everything I could find!
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yep
8. Hardest person to buy for? Parents - both mine and hubby's
9. Easiest person to buy for? My kids! I love to find things that they will love :D
10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? Can't think of anything....
11. Mail or email Christmas card? Um... yeah... I don't usually send out cards... um... cause I'm lame and stuff... :S
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf - hands down!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I buy things all year long. I have a box I put them in and then I either pull it out for Christmas or birthdays
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not yet
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Hmmm... that's a tough one... I love candy canes. I know that's really simple, but I love the mint flavor so much!!
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Usually clear... I want the color to come from the ornaments...
17. Favorite Christmas song? Yikes... um... to listen to: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by BNL and Sarah McLachlan. To sing myself: Silent Night
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We used to travel, but now I really enjoy our Christmas time spent at home. And the kids seem to like it too.
19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Yep - Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Doner (or Donder), Blizten and Rudolph
20. Do you have an Angel on top or a star? Star - rustic, very country looking star...

Now it's your turn! I'm not gonna tag anyone specific, but if you feel the need, play along! Let me know if you do :)

8:30
With a stretch and a yawn I greet you all! I went to bed at 7:00 last night. I was up at 6:30 with a bit of a headache. An Advil or two later and I'm feeling great! So great that I'm going to attempt to clean my house. I'm not going to overdo it (that usually just makes me feel cruddy again), but I am going to get a few things done. I've given myself till 8:30 to do bloggy things and then I'm off! I'm going to work till noon and then give myself another little break. Hopefully I will have some good things to report! See you in a few hours!

Perspective
It feels like I should have posted this a week ago... it's a rather Thanksgiving-ish post. We watched "Ratatouille" the other day with the kids. And I've been thinking about part of the movie. There is a food critic who comes in and orders some "perspective". He is ready to give a scathing review till he gets something he wasn't expecting and it changes his way of thinking. Kind of an odd thing to ponder, I know, but it did make me think about my own perspective. Here are a few things I'm going to try to change my perspective on...

• I'm still sick... but the last time I checked, a head cold is not life threatening. So it's not a big deal.
• Baby Girl has been getting up between 4-5 a.m. the last few days. It's annoying. But, she's not sick or in pain. She just wants to play. It's not so annoying anymore.
• My house is a mess. Everywhere I look are paper piles and items that I haven't put away. But, I have a house to live in. And I'm thankful.
• Hubby and I are trying to make some pretty big decisions right now. It's maddening and stressful. But, we are choosing between two good things. I'm grateful for so many opportunities.
• Little Bug has autism. It's something I can't change. And sometimes, it just gets me down. But he is happy, healthy, and starting to say more and more things each day.
• I spent the evening with a group of women last night that I don't have anything in common with. I felt out of place and rather alone for most of the evening. But, I got a break from home and when I got back, Hubby had done laundry.
• Red has a bit of an attitude right now. We are butting heads at every turn. But he is a bright kid. And even though I hate to fight with him, his arguments are starting to be more logical and I can see (even in verbal combat) just how intelligent this little guy of mine is.

So, I'm trying to look at each situation in a new light. Now, if you'll excuse me, my head is pounding, but Hubby has a job. So I was able to drive to the store, buy some Advil, bring it back to my home where I will take two, put a movie on for the kids, and then I will rest.

Lessons Learned

1. Never buy jeans while bloated. Forget the fact that your last pair of jeans has a hole in a rather revealing place. You can wear capri's in Idaho till the bloating goes down. You will freeze, but just for awhile. Then, buy jeans that actually fit right.
2. The shower at my in-law's house sits at about 5' high. I am 5'6". I will hit my head on the darn thing every time I'm there.
3. The shower at MY parents house has no water pressure. It will always feel like a glorified spit bath.
4. We get sick every time we go to Idaho. Every stinkin time.
5. Staples are easier to take out than they are to put in Baby Girl's head.
6. Talking about Christmas a month before it's actually here is a bad idea when there are children involved. It guarantees a month of begging and asking "Is it Christmas today? NOW can I open my presents??"
7. P L M O W - those 5 letters, in that order, spell every word in the English language. Just ask Baby Girl.
8. If you have a big day, where you have a lot of errands to run and cookies to make and programs to create, someone in your home will get sick. Very sick. And you will have to run errands, make cookies and create programs anyway.
9. PLMOW. Yeah. That about says it all.

Black-ish Friday

This is long... sorry. Last year our shopping experience was a tad frightening. Not super scary, but we were one of the few that got "THE" item at one plac. You can read about that here. This year wasn't quite so crazy. We started plotting and planning on Thanksgiving morning and I started lamenting because there were 3 stores that opened at the same time and they had things that I NEEDED! Okay, so, maybe I didn't need them, but I WANTED THEM! I narrowed it down to two stores. We had to be at Toys R Us and ShopKo at 5:00. In steps my brother's totally awesome wife - they have a big group that goes out every year. They divide and conquer the shopping world. They had a group that was going to be at Toys R Us and they offered to pick up my things. They got every stinkin thing on my list! They totally rock and I will love them FOREVER!!

Anyway, Mom and I got up at 4:00 and started to layer. You see, you can't go out in Idaho at 4 a.m. without 100 or so layers. We went to ShopKo. They opened one set of doors at 5 a.m. on the dot. The other set of doors, the ones we were lined up at, opened at 5:00:32.4 and there was much weeping and wailing and general gnashing of teeth. So, we did the only sensible thing - we RAN to the other doors and got in just a few seconds faster than the people we had been in line with. The only downside to this was a pretty good shove I got from a lady on her way past me. We found almost everything we were looking for. My Mom couldn't find one thing (I would tell you what that one thing is, but the person the gift is for occasionally reads the blog). We stood in line and joked with the people around us, lest they should decide they HAD to have what we had and try to take it from us. Apparently my humor worked well because no one ripped the Littlest Pets or Star Wars Blaster from our frozen fingers. After that we headed to a craft store called Porters. Once a year this store does a wonderful thing - they put all of their Willowtree figurines on sale - including the Nativity sets. I got the main set last year and this year I added the stars, another shepherd, 2 more lambs and a camel. I will get the ox and goat for my birthday (thanks again Mom!!). Next year I will save up and get the wise men set and maybe some more stars. And someday I will have the gorgeous creche!!

After that I think we went to WalMart. They had been open for a few hours... but we were hoping a few things might still be left. We were SO SURPRISED!! There were very few people there and they had a lot of their door busters left! So we got our things, plus a few other things! Remember that one thing that my Mom couldn't find at ShopKo? She found it at WalMart for $20 less. Who knew that WalMart could bring so much joy? Usually I dislike them, but on Friday, we were friends. After that we went to KMart and got some jammies and a few clothes. Then we headed to Geraldines. If you are ever in Idaho Falls you MUST stop there for a cinnamon roll. It will make you say "Cinnabon who??" They are fantastic! By happy coincidence, my brother and his wife were there with their shopping party. They gave me my Toys R Us items (Hello Transformer that turns into the Millennium Falcon!!) and then we bought our gooey goodness and headed home. Other's may not have gotten everything they were hoping for, but my black Friday wasn't all that black. More of a gray-purple color that matched my frozen limbs. We were only out for 4 1/2 hours but it was worth it. My Christmas shopping is done. Yeah, you heard me - I'm DONE SHOPPING! We can now commence with holiday joy!

WHEW!
I did it! Can you believe it? I stayed off my blog for over a week. Now, I know some of you can stay away for a month or more, but I just can't. I start writing blog posts in my head after a few days and then I just can't think straight. Actually, it was pretty easy to step away since we hopped in the car and drove for 15 hours to visit family. And then we played. Oh how we played! We played so much and so hard that half of us are now sick. Yep. We pushed ourselves into utter exhaustion and then just a tad farther into the kingdom of congestion, deep coughs, and sore throats. We are hoping to make an exit from said kingdom soon. So, technically, I'm back. But I'm surrounded by sickies (and I think I'm jumping on the band wagon), so you still may not see a lot of me around till the veil of fogginess in my head lifts. Even though we're sick, it's so good to be home!

Out of Time
I feel like I'm about to run a marathon. I have 100 things to do before tomorrow and I don't have the time to finish them all unless I stay up for the next 36 hours. Well, technically, that isn't true. I COULD finish everything if I would just step away from the computer. If I would stop reading. Stop writing. Stop playing pointless games. I could get it done.
But every time I think about this, I can feel the withdrawal symptoms creeping up on me. I get dizzy. My mouse hand starts to twitch. My eyes come out of their glazed state and I can't focus on anything that isn't square and shiny. I'm not sure I can do it. But, I'm going to try. My family and home are crying out for me and I suppose it's time to respond. Okay... on the count of three I will attempt to pry myself out of this chair... ready... one... two... three!

Christmas Craziness
Yes, I'm going to blog about Christmas before Thanksgiving. Why? Because I'm a Christmas purist. I believe that it should be celebrated ALL YEAR LONG. And so, it comes time for me to make another change. No, not the template, not yet. I'm still being thankful for our Veterans and our men and women currently serving in the armed forces. No, the change I'm making will probably annoy a great many of you. But, it is my blog. And so, I'm gonna do it. It's time to start the Christmas music. Oh yes it is! Every time you come to my blog you will be greeted with cheery tunes of the holiday persuasion. What is your favorite Christmas song? Leave me a note in the comments and I'll see if I can get it on the playlist! I hope that if you are a Scrooge or a Grinch that you will still stop by and read. Just turn the volume down before you come on over. But, if you're like me and you can't get enough of the stuff, well then! Crank it up! Cause it's Christmas here at the Memos!

Image Meme
1. The age you will be on your next birthday:

2. A place to which you would like to travel:

3. Your favorite place:

4. Your favorite object:

5. Your favorite food:

6. Your favorite animal:

7. Your favorite color:

8. The town in which you were born:

9. The town in which you live:

10. The name of a past pet:

11. The first name of a past love:

12. Your best friends nickname:

13. Your nickname/ Screen name:

14. Your first name:

15. A bad habit of yours:

16. Your first Job:

17. Your grandmother's name:

18. Your major in college:

Removal
I've removed pictures of the kids from my blog. I've read several different things about pictures being "lifted" from blogs and used in advertising or in inappropriate ways and I just don't want to risk it. I'm so sorry... but there will probably not be any more photos of my sweeties on here. And there are a lot of blog posts that don't make sense right now because they went with the photo. I will try to go through and edit them so that they make sense, but it's going to take me awhile!

Oh What a Night
You don't know how hard it was not to blog yesterday :) Especially since we had such a fantastic evening on Sunday... this is gonna be long... sorry....
Baby Girl fell off a chair and gave herself a nice little cut on the back of her head. I could see that it would require stitches, so, off we went to the Emergency Room because most of the Urgent Care places that we knew of were closed. We got to the ER and I just stared - it was filthy. There was crud on the floor and when we went into the bathroom I killed a baby cockroach. We sat there and sat there. Baby Girl was actually in a fairly decent mood. We told each other stories and she colored in a coloring book they had given her. About 30 minutes later they tell us that we have to go to Urgent Care. Apparently there was one that we were unaware of and it was open. A nurse came over and we walked to the place and sat down. I thought that since we had already been there for awhile that they would put our chart in accordingly. Nope. Bottom of the stack. We waited another hour in the waiting room. They finally put us in an exam room. There are holes in the ceiling and walls. There is some kind of yellowish brown substance dried on the floor. There are holes in the examination table that have been fixed with duct tape. The duct tape is filthy. The paint is peeling. I won't let Baby Girl get off her chair or my lap because she doesn't have shoes on. We waited half an hour and the doctor came in said, "Yep. She needs to be fixed up. I'll go get my things and be right back." We wait for another HOUR before he comes back. They ask me to hold her legs as she screams for me. "It's okay Baby! I'm right here!" I try to comfort her, but now she is hysterical. I look away while they deaden the area... oh wait... what's that? They DIDN'T deaden the area? They just started stapling her head without any kind of numbing device?? Nice... she is in major pain now and the doctor messes up one of the staples. They have to pull it out and put in a new one - still with no pain meds. She is frantic and starting to hyperventilate. They get the other staple out as she screams, "MOMMY! MOMMY! WHERE ARE YOU?" I start to cry. They get it done and she jumps up and clings to me tighter than I ever could imagine. The tears roll down my face as I check out. I call Hubby to come get us. On the way home she curls up in my lap, her arms still thrown around my neck and she says, "Mom, those guys were hurting me and you didn't come." I cried all the way home.
She is fine now. She doesn't want anyone to touch her "owie". If you ask her "Do we stand on chairs?" she will say, "No. When you stand on chairs you fall off and get a big owie and go to the doctor and he will hurt your owie so that it will be better."
I've already informed Hubby that HE will be taking her to get the staples out. I just don't think I can go through that again...

In Honor
I've changed the blog again. Change is good, right? Monday is Veteran's Day. I think that many people look at it as a day for the kids to be out of school. To hit some great "Veteran Day Sales" at some of the department stores. It doesn't seem to have a lot of meaning for a lot of people. But it should.
I don't know how to honor the men and women who have served or are serving in our military. How do you thank them for leaving their homes and their families and facing horrors that most of us will never know? How do you thank the families who lost loved ones in the war? How can they ever be repaid? I don't know how to do it.
So, in my silly bloggy way, I'm going to try. I changed the banner. It isn't much. But it's something. I'm also going to pass on blogging on Monday. I won't be reading or writing. Kind of my moment of silence in cyber space.
If you have family or friends who have served or are serving now, tell them that a stranger in Southern California says "Thank you." And if you yourself have served.... thanks.

Totally Rockin Red
Today was HIS day! We got a letter a few weeks ago from his teacher letting us know that Red had been selected for student of the month. He said that we could tell him about it or let it be a surprise. Now, if any of you know me at all, you will know that there was NO WAY I was gonna tell him about this! He did ask me one day if I had gotten an email from his teacher. I told him no and asked why. He said, "Oh, just something about student of the month or something....". "Nope. No email." (Is that another lie? I guess not really... I DIDN'T get an email... it was a real letter...) Anyway, we showed up today and at first he didn't see us. Then they started the assembly and the principal told the kids to turn around and look at the "visitors". Red just kind of glanced at the parents and then he saw us. The look on his face was priceless! Shock, then happiness, then total excitement as he realized what was going to happen! It was fantastic!
Then tonight we had Pack Meeting for Cub Scouts. He got several awards and is getting really close to his advancement. It was fun to watch him and listen to the leaders praise him and his hard work. I still hate Scouts, but tonight was a good night.
Sometimes I think kids get the short end of the stick when it comes to rewards. When you do well at your job you get paid. And sometimes, if you do REALLY well, you get paid MORE! Kids get a gold star on their paper. A pat on the back. A "Good job." every now and again. I think that's why I enjoy these reward times so much. It's just a great way to show these kids just how awesome they are. And let me tell you, Red is TOTALLY AWESOME!!

I Lied
My guilt floweth over this evening. You see, I told Baby Girl a lie and even though I felt justified at the time, now I feel a little bad. But I really didn't have a choice... let me explain. Hubby went out and got all the stuff for our Halloween Trunk or Treat from the garage. While he was out there he moved some boxes that were very strategically placed. As in: hiding Christmas presents strategically placed. He forgot to put them back in their special places. So, when Baby Girl and I ran some errands she saw it.
Baby Girl - :::GASP::: What is that?
Me - What is what?
BG- Is that a kitchen?? Is that a kitchen for ME??
Me - :::muttering::: Crud.... Um no. That's not a kitchen. It's an empty box. There's nothing in it.
She burst into tears. When I got a chance I went out and re-hid the box, but she's got a good memory in that sweet little head of hers. The next time we went out...
BG - Where is that kitchen?
Me - Baby Girl, remember? It was an empty box. I threw it away.
BG - You threw away MY KITCHEN??
SIGH. More tears and sobbing about how she will "NEVER EVER GET A KITCHEN". Like I said, I feel justified in my actions, but is a Christmas present something to lie about to my kid? Although if I had told her the truth she would have wanted it RIGHT NOW. And what was I supposed to say?? "Yes Baby, that's your Christmas present. But you have to wait another month and a half before you can have it. Okay?" Yeah.
So - the hard question - do you lie to your kids about things? The more I've thought about this, the more I see where I tell my kids little white lies on various occasions. How can I expect them to be truthful with me if I'm not truthful with them? Perhaps I should continue pondering this when the sun comes up. But really, are there times when it's okay to lie/trick your kids??

TA DAH!
Well. I made it. There were times when I thought I'd give up. Put the whole bloggy experience on the back burner for awhile. But I stuck with it and now, I have officially been blogging for one year! Would you like to read my first post? Yeah... me neither. It's a pretty lame thing about how I didn't know what I was doing and stuff.
So, Happy Bloggiversary to me! Or is a Bloggity Birthday?? Hmmm... does anyone know?? Because really, the blog came into creation on this day... hmmm... well, I guess I'll just have to have two celebrations. Just to make sure I don't offend anyone...

The Ultimatum
First off, thanks for all the well wishes from yesterday. We almost didn't make it out of the store alive. One Snowbat (thanks for the new term Justrandi!!) just about ran over a little girl's feet. And as she cruised past she yelled at the little girl to "Move it!" Another lady was bumping other people's carts out of the way with her cart. I felt like I was in some kind of geriatric roller derby! ANYWAY...
Last night Hubby and I were watching "Chuck" (love that show!) and a commercial came on for one of the issues that is on our ballot today. There is an area of land that some people want to develop and put some kind of spa on it. People are complaining because they feel it will ruin their view. Plus, the land isn't zoned for a business or something like that. I don't understand why we have to vote on it. Anyway, last night there was a commercial that basically said "You can vote yes to have this really nice spa put in that will bring money into the valley. Or, you can vote no and we will put as many houses on this land as possible - over 700". Nice. I always like a quick, to the point ultimatum to help me decide how to vote!

"The Old People are Back"
We get a lot of Snowbirds in this area. People who are usually retired and move down here for the warmer winter climate. Some of these people are wonderful! They are sweet and kind and they do this weird thing with their face... I believe it's called "smiling". Then there is the other group. They are grumpy and ornery and the world is a rotten place so, they feel entitled. Entitled to your respect. No matter how they treat you. Entitled to cut in lines. Entitled to yell at anyone who gets in their way. Entitled to complain when they are seated next to your family at a restaurant because you have CHILDREN (which appears to be a SIN to a lot of these people). Worst of all, they feel entitled to drive wherever and however they like. I've only been flipped off a handful of times in my life, but several of them have been here in California by little old men careening down the road at crazy speeds. I've decided that they need to put up billboards and big flashing signs that say something to the effect of "The old people are back. Please act and drive accordingly."
Now, I have to go out shopping and I fear for my life. If you don't hear from me again, then you can probably safely assume that a little old lady beat me to death with her purse because I had my 4 year old in Jo-Ann Fabric or we were side swiped by an old man on his way to play a round of golf. If I live to post another day, then you'll know that all Snowbirds we came in contact with were of the sweeter persuasion. Cross your fingers for me!

Family Photography Fiasco
I knew there was a reason we hadn't had pictures taken in such a long time... somehow, I had forgotten. But, it all came rushing back to me in one quick instant. When we first got there we were all fine. The kids were giggling and laughing. I was thinking "YES! Happy kids= good pictures!" And we waited. There was a huge carousel just outside the doors of the place we were at. The kids wanted to ride. There was toy store next door. The kids wanted to wander around and beg for things. These distractions made the waiting harder and harder for my kiddos. Little Bug started to get frustrated. "NO!! No no no no no no no no no!" I silently screamed in my head... the lady who was supposed to be helping us was carrying on a conversation with someone who MIGHT get their pictures taken there SOMEDAY. We had gotten there 15 minutes early to sign in and get everyone ready. Our session time came and went. 20 minutes after our appointed time, our photographer finally came over, but by this time Little Bug was done. He had been cute and silly when we first got there. Now he was ready to leave. On top of that, every time the flash would go off and make that popping noise he would scream. He covered his ears and cried.... so our family pictures look like this:

See the lovely smiling faces? Wait... what's that? Little Bug looks completely and totally terrified?? That's because he was...
Picture of the three kids looks like this:

What's that you say?? Red and Baby Girl look stinkin cute? Well thank you! And Little Bug? He looks alienated and afraid?? That's because he was trying to escape, but his horrible mom made him stay and sit there while the flashes popped in his face...we didn't even attempt to do individual photos of him. We had tortured him enough. When he was done, he curled up into a little ball in the corner and jumped every time the flash went off...

SIGH. We did get two good shots of Baby Girl:

Not sure why some of the photos are smaller... :S

And a really good one of Red:And a really nice one of Hubby and I:

When we were done we walked through the toy store. I started to tear up. I was so frustrated as I watched Little Bug giggle and laugh at a train going round and round in circles. Don't get me wrong... I was glad that he was happy again. But it was a HUGE reminder of how different he is from other kids. Then I had to remind myself that he's doing the best he knows how and so am I. Another thing that I need to remember is that it is okay for me to try and stretch him a little by making him do things that are hard. Perhaps if we attempt the hard things, he and I will both grow and get a little stronger each time. At least, that's what I hope.

The Results are In!
I know that you are on pins and needles to see who won my fantastic giveaway! Sorry to keep you in suspense for so long! I was going to have the kiddos draw names, but there was no way I was going to cut out 223 comments and fold them all. I'm kind of lazy like that. Besides, we didn't get home till 9:00 tonight and the last thing I wanted to do was keep those crazy tired kids up for one more minute! So, off to bed they went, and I headed over to www.random.org I got things organized, assigned everyone a number and then threw the info in there and went to town! Here are the results...
Meg won "Kite Runner"
Mommy won the bag
Tricia won the "Love" bracelet
Monkey Giggles won the bracelet and earring set!
Congratulations winners! I will be emailing and contacting you all to get addresses to send your items sent out!

Sonoma, I Love You
So, I've gained a little weight lately. I love to buy Halloween candy that has some sort of chocolate on, in or around it. Then I consume every last morsel before October 31st and go out and buy Smarties to give the kids. Why do I buy Smarties? Because I won't touch them unless I'm totally desperate for sugar. I know that's lame, but that's how it is. So, after consuming a bag of peanut M&M's, mini Twix and a few Reeses Peanut Buttercups, my weight has gone up just a tad. This is a bad thing since I needed some new clothes for family pictures tomorrow. I headed off to Kohls, my head hung in shame. I grabbed a pair of super cute Sonoma pants in my normal size and one size bigger and slumped into the dressing room. I just KNEW the bigger size was gonna fit. Imagine my surprise when they were too big. We're talking "falling off as I walk around" too big. Woot! Woot! So, I tried on the normal size and they were too big too!! So, I grabbed the smaller size and WAHLAH! Look at me baby! Pants that fit perfectly! I think that everything I buy from now on will say "Sonoma" on the tag!
(P.S. I know that each company has their own sizing and that if I went to Gap I would be buying pants 10 sizes bigger than normal... I just want to enjoy this moment and pretend that my weight gain has all been muscle mass... )

Bad Mommy
I sent my 8 year old to school today in tears. Big, hot, streaming tears. He has gotten into a terrible habit of dawdling. Just one example: he was supposed to be brushing his teeth. He turned the water on so that it was just dripping one drop at a time. I don't know how long it took him to get the faucet just right, but after 5 minutes he was still brushing his teeth. Yesterday I caught him watching TV when he was supposed to be doing homework. If he has something unpleasant to do (like homework) he suddenly has to go to the bathroom - for half an hour. I could go on and on.
Today he has a friend coming over and so he needed to practice piano this morning. He had an hour to get ready and do piano. That is PLENTY of time. He took 20 minutes in the bathroom, 15 minutes to eat two pieces of toast, 15 minutes in the shower, and of course there was the 5 minutes of teeth brushing. The other 5 minutes? Random wandering and playing with Baby Girl. I lost it. I grounded him for next week. No playing. No TV. No PlayStation. Which is why there were tears.
I'M TIRED OF TRYING TO GET HIM TO MOVE!!! Sigh... I am not going to reverse the grounding... I feel like he took his own sweet time to get out of piano practice. But I need ideas on how to help him move a little faster. I've tried timing him - doesn't work. I have used bribes, but I hate doing that and after awhile, they loose their charm. Nagging, of course, is supremely counter productive. Red is an obedient kid, in his own sweet time. I need some suggestions on how to help him get his rear in gear before I ground him for the rest of his life!!