Freezing
Good morning Bloggernauts! How are you on this fine Tuesday before Thanksgiving?
Me? I'm freezing my tail off. Something possessed us last week. Something sinister, I'm sure. Whatever it was it convinced us to spend some time in Idaho, which is where I am at this very moment.
It's always great to see family and friends, but... it's IDAHO! In NOVEMBER! I mean, really... what were we thinking?!? We awoke to a balmy 20 degrees this morning. It's going to warm up to a delightful 45 sometime around midday.
Apparently we have all acclimated to the California desert because I'm feeling a little bit popsicle-ish right now. All the locals (aka - family) are saying how nice it is for November. I'm laughing and putting on another layer of clothing.
I'm not going to be able to read blogs or write on here till the beginning of next week. We've got so much going on right now. We're having a great time, even though we look like the little brother in "A Christmas Story" after he gets his big ol' snow suit on. We're going to play and laugh and enjoy one another.
On Saturday we'll be at Temple Square to see the lights. I'm really looking forward to it. My kids have never seen them and it's been a long time since I've been there either. I know it will be cold, but if any of you bloggernauts would be brave enough to venture out to meet us there, email me and we'll plan a time and location to meet up on Temple Square! If you can't meet on Temple Square, well, we probably won't be able to visit this time. We've got to try to get to St. George after our time in SLC.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I hope you'll be spending the day with those that you love and eating delicious food that you love even more!

Selfish
I haven't posted twice in one day for a long time. I just had to get this out of my head and onto ...um... the screen. I was going to say "onto paper" but, uh, that doesn't really work, now does it?
I was sitting here at my computer having a little pity party for myself over something really stupid. When I say "really stupid" I mean REALLY STUPID. I pulled up my blog and turned my play list on hoping that the music would put me in a better mood.
"Stand" by Rascal Flatts came on. This was one of the songs that I listened to this last spring when my friend passed away. It hit me like a ton of bricks: this will be their first holiday season without her. I think of her four boys and her husband and suddenly the stupidity of my own insignificant problem is intensified.
I have so much to be thankful for. I'm not going to waste any more time feeling sorry for myself. It's not worth it. None of us know how long we will have on this earth. Can we really afford to use our time worrying about our own little problems? There are too many out there who need us. Starting with our families.
It's so easy for me to hide behind my computer. To answer my kids questions as I clickty clack on my lovely little keyboard. I've buried myself in my writing. The characters in my story have become more important than the people in my life. I look at my kids and wonder, "What will they remember?"
Will they remember the times I do play with them? Probably not. Because those times are short and not often enough. Will they remember me sitting at the computer or reading books? Probably. Why? Because that's what they see me do. This is not what I want my kids to think back on and recall.
I know this is a rambling post. My emotions are all jumbled up and I feel a tad overwhelmed at the moment. Hopefully as I get my priorities straight, my feelings will sort themselves out.
If you think about it, would you pray for the Gasaway family? I'm sure they could use it about right now.

Martyrs
After we went to the San Diego Zoo we stopped off at Oceanside. It was cold, but my kids are die hards when it comes to sand and surf!

As you can see, there was a pretty darn thick fog rolling around while the two youngest played in the water and the rest of our group gathered shells for our project.

Then we got to work!

It's our tradition to make a sand sea turtle and decorate his shell with ...um... shells.This year our turtle had a kazoo.Rock on dude. Rock on.

Monkey See, Monkey Do
While my parents were here we went to the San Diego Zoo as part of the birthday celebrations for Little Bug. It was a great trip, but our feet were sure sore by the time all was said and done. Little Bug loves the elephants (of course)
This is the look he gave me when I told him it was time to go.
See this cool looking otter?
It's not an otter! It's a monkey! It's called a swamp monkey and they like to swim under water. This one was teasing the real otters by pulling their tails and then running or swimming off.
I think this may be Red's long lost cousin...
And, of course, the three headed giraffe.
Oh come on! Doesn't it look like it has three heads? Right... moving on... Little Bug was pretty tired by the end and would lay down on anything he could find - including Grandma.
I'm so glad my parents come to visit us a couple of times during the year! We always look forward to their trips!

Belated Birthday

Little Bug's birthday was in October... another thing I didn't blog about. Sigh.

It was so fun to have my parents here for his birthday! They gave him a huge floor puzzle with zoo animals on it. He got lots of elephants for his birthday - they are his favorite animal. He had to open each gift and then take it over and examine it while sitting or laying down on our giant pillow (love that thing!).

He's not very fond of cake or cupcakes. So, cinnamon rolls were on the menu. He does love those!

It was a great day. He's such a sweet kid. We are so blessed to have him as part of our family!

Recap in Pictures
First off, thanks for all the support about going back to school. It's a stressful thing to think about, but we both feel really good about this decision. I have no idea why we feel good, we just do. So, we move forward.
Second - I'm sorry I've been absent in blog land. I had no idea that writing a book would take so much out of me. I get done writing that and I feel like I don't have anything left to say - which is why I haven't blogged or been a very good commenter. I'll keep trying... don't give up on me yet.
Since words seem to be escaping me, I thought that for the next little while I would do recaps in pictures. That way I don't have to really think. Just share photos from what's going on in our lives. We're going to go back a few weeks... to Halloween. I know. It feels like it was forever ago. But I'm sharing anyway...
Red was Commander Cody from Star Wars (yeah. I have no idea who that actually is, but he was excited about it. And yes - the mask TOTALLY smashed his nose - good job to whomever designed the darn thing!)
Baby Girl was Fancy Nancy - each time she wore her costume it was a little different depending on the accessories she chose.
Hubby was a nerdy tourist for a youth group activity he was helping with.
I was a witch - not a far cry from reality.
Little Bug hates Halloween. He wore his cowboy hat long enough to grab a few pieces of candy and then he was done. I was handing out candy while he was wearing the hat and then he wouldn't put it back on for pictures... so no pictures of him this time.
There you have it. In the next few days I'll recap in pictures (and a few simple words) about our family photo shoot, Little Bug's Birthday, Disneyland and other random things! Hopefully when I get this NaNoWriMo done I'll be a little more active in blog land. Till next time! TTFN!

The Deep Breath
So, I mentioned that on Sunday my family took the opportunity to beat each other senseless with pool noodles. It was great fun and a wonderful stress reliever. But, perhaps some of you were wondering what may have brought on enough stress to whack my family around? Well, I didn't really beat the kids. But Hubby... well, that's a different story. He bore the brunt of my fury, and I did pack quite a bit of fury into those swipes.
You see this guy right here?
He would like to go back to school. Not just any school... law school. Please excuse me while I go do some deep breathing exercises. I'll be back momentarily.... in through nose.... exhale out through mouth... inhale positive energy... exhale negative energy.... and one last time.... iiiiinnnnnn.... and ooooouuuuuuut.
M'kay. I'm back. Thank you for your patience. Anyway, as I was saying, Hubby has decided that he would like to go back to school. He told me this on Saturday, hence the beating on Sunday. I'm actually not too upset about this new development. He had mentioned before that he would like to go back to school someday. I always smiled and said, "Yes dear." Because I thought he was talking about a few courses from the community college. Not actually returning to student living. Let this be a lesson to you... don't agree to ANYTHING unless you know all the details.
Where was I? Oh yes, law school. Things have been moving in the direction of change for quite awhile in our lives. Hubby had applied for several jobs, but they just didn't seem to really fit what we were looking for. I know there is no "perfect job", but we like to pretend it's out there somewhere. Anyway, the jobs just weren't working out. A friend from high school came a few weeks ago and he is going back to school next fall. Hubby and my friend chatted at length about it all. Seeds were planted. Who knew they would take root so fast?
Even though this is going to sound totally insane, I'm feeling okay with this right now. I'm a little worried about how we're going to make it all work, but I worry about that here and now too. Now, I want you to go ahead and tell me how insane we are. Or, if you'd rather try to make me feel better, you can tell me about something totally crazy you've done... but please, only share if it has a happy ending!

Halloween is Over...
Last year a gal in our church gave a talk and I loved it! I still remember feeling excited about the ideas that she shared and so I found the article she pulled some of her thoughts from and wanted to share it with you. It was written by Glenn Beck - a radio and TV personality.
The holidays are upon us, my friends, how will we approach them? Just some food for thought... this article was published in Glenn Beck's magazine "Fusion", December 2007 issue.

Trinity of Holidays
- by Glenn Beck

Let's talk turkey (and eggnog and noisemakers, for that matter). We're in the midst of the holiday season (no, that's not a PC term; I'm talking about Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's) and I have just one question: Do you even remember what it's all about?

I'm guessing you don't, because we've buried the magic of those holidays under so much noise and irrelevance that we really don't enjoy this time of year -- and we certainly don't grow spiritually from the gifts that are right in front of us. Over time, we've mangled these holidays into unrecognizable displays of gluttony and greed.

Take Thanksgiving, for instance. In November 1789, President George Washington made Thanksgiving a national holiday when he declared that the nation needed "a day of public Thanksgiving and prayer." Somehow, this day in late November that was intended to be a timeout to give thanks to Almighty God has turned into a feast of food and football that has nothing to do with prayer (unless you count praying for your football team to cover the spread, which I obviously don't).

Christmas is intended to celebrate the birth of Christ, but political-correctness and consumerism have mangled it so far beyond recognition that I'm actually surprised when I see a reference to baby Jesus anymore.

January 1st offers the promise of a new start and a new calendar year, but it's become an excuse to party and drink so much that you wake up not even knowing what day it is.

It's no wonder that, after the turkey comas and pine cone needles have disappeared, the only thing left over from the holidays is a bigger waistline and more credit card debt.

I want us to take back the real meaning of these holidays. I don't think it's an accident that they are clustered together; I see it as divine design. Every year they offer us a clear series of steps we can take to become better people.

Step One is gratitude. Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to humble ourselves and give thanks for the many blessings we have. Prayers help us find peace and acceptance with who we are.

Step Two is redemption. If you have seen my Christmas show, you know that I believe Christmas is more about the death of the man than the birth of the child. We celebrate the birth of the baby on December 25th, but the reason for His existence was so His death would cleanse our sins. His journey, from manger to cross, gives us a second chance.

Step Three is hope. The New Year gives us a clean slate, made possible because we've already humbled ourselves, given thanks, and found redemption. You can't succeed in your resolutions if you are still damaged from the past or if they are just a list on a piece of paper.

None of these holidays started out as anything extravagant. Thanksgiving was just a proclamation, Christmas began in a stable, and the New Year has always just been a day on the calendar. But their magic is in what they represent and in the opportunities they give us. They are very simple in their rewards: your grandmother's tablecloth; your child discovering the Christmas tree; the promise of a new year.

The true gifts of the season aren't in a lighting display or a gourmet meal; they are in your heart, and gathered around your table. You just have to take the time to look for them.

Traditions and glittery stuff are fine -- but our souls need attention, too. There is such a thing as a second chance and I hope, if you need one, you will find it this season in all the blessings around you.

Happy holidays from the Glenn Beck Program

Take it for what it's worth. But, I'm hoping to apply some of the things he mentions in my life. I think that too often we get caught up in the material aspect of these holidays - I know I do. I'm so busy in the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day that I forget to be thankful for the family I'm surrounded by. I'm so eager for my children to open their "perfect gifts" on Christmas morning that I neglect to remember the only TRUE "perfect gift" ever given. I'm so exhausted on New Years that I don't make resolutions to change. It's so much easier to just stay the same.

This year will be different. I'm going to keep the materialism in my holidays to a minimum. I wish I could say that I would eliminate them entirely, but that would be a lie. I like to cook for my family on Thanksgiving, but this year I won't go so crazy with our menu. I want my kids to get a few things for Christmas, but they don't need so many things - because that's exactly what they are - THINGS. And I'm going to make some changes. I can see how much I need that in my life.

Sorry this is so long! I'm not trying to be preachy... just using my blog as a sounding board for a few thoughts that I thought might be useful to someone else. What do you do to keep the holidays in focus in your home? Do you have traditions to help you maintain the spirit of the holiday rather than the things of the holiday?

Therapy
We got out our pool noodles and had a sword fight tonight. We chased each other around, giggled and showed no mercy in our "poodle" battle (pool+noodle=poodle. I know. We're weird). My muscles will probably seize up on me tomorrow, but it was worth it. You have no idea how good it felt to smack my family around a little. I think they felt the same way. This may become a new tradition. When things are a little stressful in our lives, we'll just go out and beat each other up with 6 foot long pieces of foam. You should try it. It's cheaper than therapy and I feel tons better. Apparently I had a lot of pent up feelings that I needed to get out. Maybe I need to take up kick boxing?
What do you do as a family to de-stress??

WHEW!
I'm back... sort of! We've had a really busy 2 weeks! Lots of fun, but lots of running around... let me give you a brief rundown...

• Wednesday October 22: A friend from high school came for dinner. We had a great time visiting and catching up. I was so glad he was able to stop in!
• Thursday October 23: A friend that used to live here in the valley came for a visit! Our kids played and had a ball. It was sad to say good-bye again, but we had a blast while they were here! (Come again any time Adena!)
• Friday October 24: My parents arrived! WOOHOO!! Let the party begin!!
• Saturday October 25: Clean up day at the school. My parents are so awesome. We gave them the option of staying home or coming to help. They both rolled up their sleeves and went to work! Mom and I went shopping that afternoon to gather supplies for Little Bug's birthday and for a youth Halloween party Hubby helped with.
• Sunday October 26: Little Bug's Birthday! My boy is 8. He is such a blessing in our lives! We had a pretty mellow day. We opened gifts and ate cinnamon rolls (L.B. is not a fan of cake in general). We also did family pictures (which I will blog more about later...)
• Monday October 27: Made chili and got last minute details for costumes for a party at our church. The kids had a blast and came away with TONS of candy. Dentists must really love this time of year...
• Tuesday October 28: Shopping! Playing! General frivolity! The kids picked activities, the grandparents complied. It was a fantastic day for the kids and their Grandma and Pop Pop to just spend time reading and being together. We usually plan so much in every time they visit, they don't get a lot of down time to just hang out.
• Wednesday October 29: The San Diego Zoo was calling our names! We walked all over that place and had a wonderful time. Then we headed to Oceanside to dip our toes in the water and build our traditional sand sea turtle.
• Thursday October 30: MORE SHOPPING!! Had to go out again! Baby Girl and Pop Pop stayed home and played every board game we own. Then they played the Wii and I think they both really enjoyed that. That afternoon Red played the piano for them and that evening Alan and I went on a date! A REAL DATE! It was fantastic!!
• Friday October 31: Halloween! My parents decided they were going to scrub my house. They dusted, picked everything up, wiped down counters and vacuumed... which is how my Dad threw his back out. He has a bad back and he twisted just the wrong way. But, we did learn something new that I thought I'd pass a long....you can make homemade ice packs that stay cold for a really long time and they are slushy - so they conform to your body giving you better icy coverage! We found two things that worked - dish soap or a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water. The dish soap will freeze solid (at least, mine did) but it thaws fairly well and stays cold for a really long time. The rubbing alcohol and water (1 cup alcohol, 3 cups water) just stays slushy and, again, stays really cold! We just put it in Ziploc bags and it worked great! Anyway... back to Halloween... Little Bug HATES this holiday. He's not a fan of masks (they aren't supposed to wear them at the church party...) and he hates having people jump out and scare him. So, this is usually a pretty stressful day for him. He did well at school, came home and didn't want to leave again. We ordered pizza that night and Baby Girl, Hubby and I went out trick or treating. Red went with friends (he's too cool to go with us!). That night, after the kids were in bed, we watched "Emma Smith: My Story" and it was really good! I would recommend it!
• Saturday November 1: Wait... it's November? This last month flew by... anyway... today is the day we pulled out the Kleenex. Time for my parents to go home. Baby Girl and Red cried. Little Bug screamed. I let a few of my own tears flow... sigh. It's always so fun to have them here and always so hard to see them go.

And there you have it. I have more to tell you, but it will have to wait. This post is getting long enough as it is! I hope your week has been fantastic! See ya in blog land!

Details
I know I already blogged a little about Baby Girl's birthday and how Murphy's Law lost a great battle, but I thought I'd share a few pictures from that fun day.
We did a "Fancy Nancy" dinner just with the family. Baby Girl wanted spaghetti and kool-aid slush. So, just to make it a little fancier, I pulled out some old green goblets and found the little paper umbrellas. Nothing too great, but she thought it was fantastic! (Yeah, her teeth are blue from the slush)I made little crowns out of royal icing for the cupcakes. They were really easy to throw together. They aren't anything amazing, and the red one broke (you can see where I stuck it back together), but Baby Girl loved them! She had an "Art Party" with her friends. We let them draw with sidewalk chalk while we waited for everyone to arrive. Then we gave each kid a canvas just like a REAL artist (you can get a 3 pack of canvases from WalMart for $3.50 - they aren't fabulous, but they worked...). The kids loved it! After that we came in and had each kid make their own personal pizza. We used frozen rolls for the crust, so it was pretty simple. While the pizzas were baking we let Baby Girl open gifts and then we ate pizza and had cupcakes. Again, I used royal icing to make little artist pallet candies to go on the cup cakes. Overall, I'd say she had a pretty fantastic birthday!

Snort
Baby Girl is obsessed with Halloween costumes right now. If you give her the chance, she will ask you what you're going to be for Halloween and tell you all about her costume. She's MORE than excited about this trick or treat stuff. It's fun to watch her enthusiasm.
The other day this conversation took place in our home... and I'm still laughing about it!
Baby Girl: Daddy, what are you going to be for Halloween?
Hubby/Daddy: I'm going to be a grumpy old dad!
Baby Girl: You mean you're going as yourself?
Ha! This is why I had kids! To keep me entertained!

Wha...??
Sometimes I do things. Dumb things. My latest and greatest dumb thing? I decided to try out the whole NaNoWriMo thing. Unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo? So am I! Which is why it wasn't very smart of me to sign up for it.
It stands for National Novel Writing Month. There. Everything should be clear as mud to you now. I know it is for me...
Here are the basics: Starting November 1st I will embark on a quest to write a novel that will have 50,000 words. I will have those 50,000 typed onto my lovely computer before the end of November. That's FIFTY THOUSAND words! You'd think this wouldn't be such a daunting task, but here's the real issue here - I have no idea what I'm doing or what to write about. I started to jot a few ideas down, but all of them are fairly lame... no, they're really lame! And I'm fairly certain that most of you have noticed that my grammar is not stellar.
BUT! I'm going to try. Don't be surprised if I'm not in blog land much for the next 6 weeks... my parents come this weekend for a week long visit and then I start writing! If I do make it to your blog and my comments are completely incoherent, I beg your forgiveness. I'm not so good at trying new things and it tends to addle my brain... wish me luck!

We Don't Need No Stinkin Roads
I did it! I got all the laundry done on Friday!! Well, as done as laundry can technically be... we were all wearing clothes - a.k.a. potential laundry. But, that's besides the point. Everything in the baskets was washed, dried, folded and PUT AWAY. I'll have to do it all again soon, but it was nice while it lasted!
Saturday we decided to go on a little adventure. This is the road we followed...No, really! We went off-roading on Saturday! We went down washes like this...And up hills like this...We stopped at an area that was used in WWII for training purposes. General Patton wanted to get the soldiers ready to fight in West Africa. He needed an area that was hot, dry and remote. Enter our lovely desert! They built stone bunkers and part of them are still standing...And then we got to this...It was much more imposing in person. In one spot there was a rock that would have taken the bottom of our truck off. Up over the hill was another little gully with really steep sides and there was NO WAY we could get across it. The desert conquered us, but we did have a great time and hope to go out and do it again... after I get through my next pile of laundry.

A Full Day
Today is going to be full. I wish it was going to be full of life experiences that I will learn from. Or full of new and exciting things. Or full of laughing with friends and family. It would be nice if it was going to be full of sand, surf and sun. But no. That's not what my day is going to be full of.
Today will be full of laundry. Lots and lots of laundry. Not dirty laundry. No. Clean laundry. You see, I've been keeping up with washing and drying the laundry. I've folded and hung up the things that will wrinkle badly.... and then I've tossed the rest back into the baskets to fold another day. Things like towels, underwear, pajamas... things that don't matter if they look rumpled. But now my baskets overfloweth. Apparently we have a lot of items that I don't care if they are wrinkled.
I have been trying all week to fold them. Honestly I have! One day I even took everything out of the baskets and threw them on my bed. I figured that I would HAVE to fold everything before I could go to bed! Great idea, right? Well, it would have been. But, instead of getting folded, they got put BACK into the basket around 11:00 that night. I was going to fold while watching some T.V. the other day, but then I got involved in another project and didn't watch the show OR fold laundry. I was actually hoping that eventually we would just use all the clean laundry and I wouldn't have to fold and put it away at all. But I've been efficient. I've been washing the clothing as it got dirty. What was I thinking?
Who knew that clean laundry could be such a burden? It's taken over my bedroom and I'm putting my foot down today! So, wish me luck as I try to uncover the master bedroom, fold an endless amount of towels and pajamas, and try to find mates for each sock (that sounds kinda creepy, don't you think?).
So, I want you all to go out there and live life to the fullest! Do something new! Laugh with a loved one! Make a new friend! Because one of us should have fun today. And heaven knows it's not going to be me!

P.S. I was going to add pictures, but Blogger said, "NO! Quit wasting time and get to work!" Who knew Blogger could be such a task master?!

Murphy's Law vs. Prayer
I'm sure we're all familiar with the concepts of Murphy's Law and of prayer. But just in case you need a quick refresher....
Murphy's Law states that anything that possibly can go wrong, will.
Prayer is supplication to a higher power - in my case, it usually involves pleading and often times, begging.
Baby Girl had her birthday last week and I was afraid that Murphy was going to win out. But you know, prayer is a pretty powerful thing... let me give you my examples.
#1 - Baby Girl got up on her special day and stumbled into the living room where she just about passed out. She ate a few bites of breakfast and then was sick to her stomach several times. Not a great way to start out the day. So, I said a quick prayer. By that afternoon, she was feeling so much better. By the evening? She was 100%! The majority of her birthday was spent with her feeling good.
Murphy's Law - 0
Prayer - 1
#2 - We invited some of Baby Girl's friends over for a party Saturday morning. We had planned for the kids to spend the first hour of the party outside. When we first looked at the 10 day forecast it said the weather would be nice and cool. But, as we got closer, they started predicting a wind storm with gusts up to 40 miles an hour right during the party. Not the best weather for kids to be outside painting in. Again, I prayed. And we had a lovely breeze, but no major winds. Our artists created their masterpieces without any interruptions.
Murphy's Law - 0
Prayer - 2
#3 - As soon as the birthday guests started arriving at 10:00 I realized that the gardeners usually showed up around 10:30 every Saturday (we are renting and are NOT allowed to touch the landscaping for any reason). The kids were outside painting and, once again, I said a quick prayer asking that this party would go on as planned. And, once again, my little prayer was answered. The gardeners were late. They didn't get to the house till around 1:00 that afternoon.
Murphy's Law - 0
Prayer - 3
Apparently good ol' Murphy is losing his touch! These examples may seem silly, but to me, they aren't. They are beautiful reminders that God does love us and He wants us to be happy. He cares enough about us to be involved in our lives - even in the little things! Now that I've learned this lesson (again), maybe I'll be able to remember it for awhile... I hope...

Simple
I am not extraordinary. Not in any way, shape or form. I don't like to stand out from my neighbors. I'm more of a "blender". I live my life the way I see fit, but it is nothing to marvel at.
But now, well, now it's time to take a stand. It's still me. Still your Average Jane, but I find myself needing to speak up just a bit. I'm still going to keep it simple. Nothing fancy. No deep thoughts. No big words.
Now, before I get started, I'm going to give a warning: I can and will delete comments. I am going to try and express my feelings in a thoughtful and honest way. But I will hopefully not be hurtful. I encourage you to express your opinions. But, this is a "hot button" topic and I will not tolerate any sort of hateful thoughts. So, everyone, please be on your best behavior or I will put you in the time out corner with the kid who picks his nose... got it? Okay... here we go.
As a citizen of the United States of America, I have the opportunity to vote this fall. As a Californian, I have the opportunity to vote on a State Constitutional amendment - Proposition 8. Want to read about it? This is a Wikipedia article... it presents both sides fairly well. The basic outline of Prop 8 is this: there will be an amendment added to the Californian Constitution that will make marriage legal only between a man and a woman.
Here's what I believe...
... I believe in marriage between a man and a woman. I believe this is sacred. Sacred as in divine. As in set apart by God. And so, I will be voting yes on Prop 8 this fall.
And that's it. I told you this would be simple. If you would like to learn more about my position, you can visit this site. If you disagree with me, that's fine! Please express your opinion, but don't be obnoxious or nasty. If you agree with me, that's fine! Please express your opinion, but don't be obnoxious or nasty. Now... talk amongst yourselves...nicely!

The Force is With Her
First of all, I'm so excited about everything I have accomplished this week! I have a huge pile in my hallway of things I'm hoping to sell at the neighborhood yard sale in a few weeks! I also have a big pile of empty boxes and Rubbermaid containers. It feels so good to get this stuff ready to leave my home. I'm not done dejunking, not by a long shot, which means I'm not quite back into the blogging world, but I had to share this story!
Red had a friend stay the night last night. Both of his parents are nurses and had to work the night shift. So, we had another contributor to the general chaos in our home. He's a good kid and we don't mind helping out. They were really good about going to bed on time and getting up early. Maybe a little too early, but they didn't come in and wake me up, so it's all good!
The boys got ready for school and had half an hour till they had to leave. They asked if they could play with the light sabers and I said sure... so off they went smacking and crashing into each other. Now, Red isn't supposed to use his right arm (the broken one) very much. We went to the doctor yesterday and he said that things are healing well, but that he needs to be very careful for another week or two. He explained to Red that the muscles in his arm and hand are connected to the bone. So, if he uses the muscles, it pulls on the bone and could pull the bone out of place. Which would then mean surgery. This is something we don't want...
So, Red was light saber fighting with his left hand and his friend was really taking advantage of the situation. He had Red backed into a corner and Baby Girl came running into the room...
Baby Girl: Can I play with you guys?
Friend: Um... I don't know...
Red (tired of getting beat up and knowing what would happen...): YOU BET! Let me get you a light saber! (We have plenty of light sabers around the house...)
Now, you need to know that Red's friend is 10. Baby Girl will be 5 tomorrow. This kid outweighs her by 40-50 pounds. But Baby Girl... well, she's fearless! As soon as she had her weapon in hand she attacked. And she held her own. Pretty soon I could hear the friend saying, "Hey, not so hard! Hey!! That's not fair! HEY!!! STOP!!!!!"
I walked into the room to see HIM backed into a corner and Baby Girl striking blow after blow and cackling like crazy! She was relentless and Red was throwing his saber into the fray every once in awhile, but the bulk of the fighting was between the friend and my girl. Eventually, the friend got tired of this tiny creature beating him up and called a time out. Then he ran out of the room hoping to escape for a moment. No such luck. She chased him "Mwahahaha"-ing all the way. She doesn't believe in time out. Especially when she has the upper hand!
Finally the time came for the boys to go to school. Red grinned and said, "She's pretty good, huh?" Baby Girl grinned. The friend? Well, he's a good sport. He grinned too and said, "Yeah, she's good. I guess that was fun."
I probably wasn't the best hostess by letting my teeny little girl thrash on our guest. Perhaps I should have stopped her..... nah! It never hurts to have a victory over a bigger opponent or to have a little humility thrust upon you, right?

Dear Wonderful Awesome Blog Friends,
I just thought I'd let you know that I'm taking a blogging break for a week or so. No reading, no writing. As I look around my home I feel completely overwhelmed by the messes that I see. I'm tired of it. I did a dejunking during the summer, but it seems to have all found it's way back into my home. So, I'm trying again. And I'm in the mood to be brutal. I'm tired of all the crap here in my home. Every time I see a pile of clutter I can feel how it affects me physically, mentally and emotionally. I don't need this in my life. I have a lot of wonderful things to focus on, and the clutter isn't one of them. So, for the next week or two, I am not going to turn my computer on till the evening. I'll check my email and perhaps write a little on Facebook, but I'm afraid that will be it. I've got to make priorities and I'm starting today!
See ya on the flip side!
Melissa

Sporadic Speculation
Okay... so I got tired of calling these random posts "randomly random". I needed something new... I think Sporadic Speculation works... don't you?

• Red's arm is now casted. The orthopedic surgeon would like to x-ray it again next week to see how it's healing. The break is right near the wrist and he's a little concerned about the way it might heal. Last night we saw some friends in Costco and they asked how long Red had stayed in the hospital.... uh, come again? Apparently everyone thought that since Red had seen an orthopedic surgeon that he must have had surgery? Or something like that... hopefully we'll get that set straight... but he is doing great! He went to school today and you should have seen the little crowd that gathered around to make sure he was okay... mostly girls! :)
• Speaking of girls.... do retailers know that not EVERY little girl in the world is in love with Hannah Montana or High School Musical? Baby Girl's birthday is next Friday and I wanted to get her a few shirts... I really had to search to find something that didn't have good ol' Miley Cyrus or Zac Efron plastered to it! I did finally find a few things for our birthday girl.
• Speaking of birthdays....My parents will be here in 3 weeks to help us celebrate our other October birthday - Little Bug. The time is here... he will be 8 years old in 3 weeks. I think I'm coming to terms with the fact that he won't be baptized and probably won't start Scouts... it will be nice to have my parents here! We'll do some fun things and focus on what a great kid Little Bug is!
• Speaking of happier things... Baby Girl has decided to be Fancy Nancy for Halloween! For those of you who are unfamiliar with this Character, Fancy Nancy loves all fancy things! She uses fancy words and then explains what they mean. She loves to dress up and she always looks very "posh" (that's a fancy word for fancy). I'm not sure who's having more fun with this - Baby Girl or me?! I've been buying fun things that will be for her costume, but I'm going to give them to her for her birthday. We're going to curl her hair and put on some fun jewelry and sparkle shoes... I know that most people won't have a clue who she is, but that's not really the important thing, right?
• Speaking of Fancy Nancy... In conjunction with the Baby Girl birthday... I am thinking of baking a Fancy Nancy cake... any ideas?
• Speaking of baking...Baby Girl has her last cooking class today. Let's hope nothing gets burned today... last week, it didn't get burned. We did french toast sticks. We didn't get the sticks back that we had made. We got the kid who soaked his stuff in the egg mixture so long that they didn't cook all the way through. Yeah. We are glad to be done with this class...

I think that's about it for my randomness for today. Thanks again to everyone who gave sweet thoughts and encouragement the last few days! I really appreciate it!