You know you're getting old...

When you're TRULY excited to get a new vacuum cleaner. Yes, I know, I know... who cares. But typically when you say something isn't working anymore, you say, "You know, that old piece of crap washing machine? It really sucks!" But, when it's a vacuum, you can't SAY that. Generally, when a vacuum cleaner goes bad, it DOESN'T suck, and therein lies the problem. So, to Conn's we went and bought not one but TWO new vacuum cleaners! Aren't I spoiled? :) Yes, I know. I am. :) I'm loved!

I got a little lightweight Eureka for the hardwoods and tile and then got a new Eureka for the carpet (basically, the upstairs). The total for both was under $190 so you just can't beat the price we got. And, face it. Without having a vacuum that sucks (in a good way), you can't clean Thor hair off the stairs! Man alive can that Rot shed!

Then, off to Souper Salad (one of my favorite eateries) for dinner. I feel totally spoiled tonight!

OH... and I also found out my friend Carl Wilson, a fellow Scouter, is ALSO a Buffalo (from Woodbadge -- we were both put in Buffalo patrols!) I'm so glad he's a Buffalo. I know it really doesn't matter in the long run but, for me, it's pretty darn cool!

I used to be a Buffalo
and a good ole Buffalo, too
but, now I've finished Buffaloing
I don't know what to do
I'm growing old and feeble
and I can Buffalo no more
so I'm going to work my ticket if I can....

Back to Gilwell, happy land
I'm going to work my ticket if I can!

80 then 30

They always say, "If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait 10 minutes." Well, when the front blew in yesterday... it took about 10 minutes for the temperature to drop from high 70's to 40's. INSANE.



Of the $400 worth of bedding plants (some tropical) we'll see if they make it. :( They're covered with my king sized beautifully expensive sheets weighed down with paint cans because of the 50 MPH wind gusts we had for about 24 hours.



Pray for my plants... UGH! Right now, it's 44 degrees. I did buy more bird feed for the little feathered friends so that they could eat something to keep them warm. I wish some would come live in our little houses. Oh well... I'm going to bed tonight... later taters

The Mosy Scrapper is looking for a Guest Design Team Member for May!

The Mosy Scrapper is hosting a Guest Design Team call for May! Come check out the requirements and TRY OUT! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO!! Good luck to everyone!

Fighting Clutter

I found this fantastic site about how to conquer clutter...you know the "I Might Need It Someday Syndrome?"

Check this out! CLICK HERE

Drewisms

"Brown cows give chocolate milk."

"My favorite kind of milk is camel milk."

I was checking the weather on my phone to see when the front htat was supposed to hit was going to... and wanting to look at the radar to see where the system was and the "channel" it pulls up on the phone has headlines and then weather, sports, entertainment, etc. I read one headline aloud, "49 dead in Pakistan." Josh goes, "How?" I replied, "Probably a terrorist." Drew says (very matter-of-factly, I might add), "Probably a T-rex."

LOL

I love this kid!

I've Been Tagged!

My friend, Christa, tagged me HERE and so I'll comply! :)

Now, the challenge is this... You have to go to where you store your pictures. Go to the 4th folder, post the 4th picture and explain what it is. Then you can tag 4 of your friends.

LOL... this is SO not an exciting picture (sorry) but it's the 4th of the 4th.



This is a photo that I'd scanned in of a book about Ancient Egypt -- and how to make a mummy. Since we are doing an Ancient Egypt study, I thought it would be fun to make one.

And now... I tag..

Felecia
Mary
Kim
Criztina

:) be sure you link back to this post when you do your own! :)

Another blog

I started a new blog today to have a place to record our journey in homeschooling. So that I can record what J is doing as well as show off some of the things he's learning. I'm even going to let HIM do some of the posts! SO... any of my fellow homeschoolers that wish to check it out... it can be found HERE. It's 2boys2fillmyheart.blogspot (and the www and dot com are on it, of course.)

one of my peeves

about society today... saggers and muffin tops!

Gentlemen, pull you freakin drawers up. No one wants to see your stripey boxers. Having to pull your pants up every two steps means that they DO NOT FIT. Idiots. Now, I've heard tale that "saggin" spelled backwards... I'll just let you do that... and so it's a "culture" thing that I obviously wouldn't understand. But I do understand COMMON DECENCY. No one will give you a job if you can't keep your pants up! Pull up your freakin pants. Idiots. The whole lot of 'em!



Ladies, just because you can BUTTON something -- DOES NOT MEAN IT FITS! You all know what a muffin top is... low rise, too tight jeans followed by an overflow of flesh from the waistband. It's not attractive. It makes you look BAD... bad. bad. B-A-D also FAT... and not in the PHat way... in the ... you need to getcha some Jenny Craig sorta way!



or



or this...

Saving. Things. Just. Cause

My refrigerator is the queen of the kitchen. She and I don't get along right now as she's frozen my water line which prohibits us from getting chilled drinking water from her but the ice dispenser still works so for now, it'll do. The solution to the frozen line is to empty the unit and let it sit open for a day or two so that it can thaw. And, since, at the present time, that's not an option, ice is all we receive from the queen.

The inside of our kitchen's queen is food. Lots of it. Condiments, snacks, drinks, left-overs, produce, yogurt, cheeses, lunchmeat, and, of course, what house of children would be complete without a bottle of -- you guessed it, Hershey's syrup. I'll have to admit, I've seen an episode of Cribs before and am really surprised at how these people have these huge homes and immaculate, gigantic, fantastic kitchens that are NEVER USED?! Wow. I just can't imagine!

The freezer portion is different. I have a love/hate relationship with this part of Queen. It's so narrow that it's almost just impossible to store anything. I certainly can't flash freeze anything on a cookie tray... can't store pizzas... the pull out shelves, don't really ---pull---out. The whole thing just annoys me really. However, since I'm loved, I received a huge chest freezer and it is SO WONDERFUL! :) That is where the goodies are kept.

So... the inside is no mystery now... but the outside. The outside is a treasure to me. The outside is covered with pictures (in page protectors) that my boys have drawn... or them and their friends... The side has Drew's school calendar... a prayer calendar... it's just a wonderful place to sit and smile. It has Josh's first drawing of "our family" and now it also hosts the same of Drew. I'm going to do the embroidery thing of the drawing like I'd previously posted about.... but something else that I'd saved are a few comics that I just thought were poignant at the moment. :) And now, I'm goign to share them with you. Eternally they are digitally captured and now I can dispose of the paper they're on in the recycle bin and free up a little space on the Queen. :)

This first one is just what it feels like in my house half the time...



And then when I felt like I'd never get an adult moment again...


This is something I could see Drew doing. :) However, he routinely thanks God FOR God and his friends and family and toys... and Santa Claus. :)


This, however, is the one that started it all... this is my all time favorite. Brilliant, I believe would be an accurate word to describe this one.

I'm nesting

(for no apparent reason)... spring cleaning... decluttering... LOL... WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT... I'm getting rid of JUNK/CLUTTER/UNORGANIZATION and IT FEELS GOOD!

I cleaned out Josh's room today...did Drew's room... tackled the rest of the playroom... everything has a place! I even almost finished the tacking up of the pennants! Ran out of them so gotta hit the sports store one more time!

I need a few more touches!

The last thing I wanted to do was to put posters of the boys on the wall in their sports gear... but apparently your photos have to be 100 GIGS BIG to do that! (Lol) just kidding but I seriously have no clue how big they have to be but apparently whatever I'm doing isn't big enough! Dag nabbit! 11x14 is as big as I'd be able to get a print without it being fuzzy but... seriously, that's so not big enough to even be considered a poster! Anyone make posters before? e-mail me... I need to figure out what to do to make it better! I want posters of my boys up in their room!

The best idea for gift giving to GRANDPARENTS

I follow several blogs -- and from time to time...when I actually HAVE a few moments to catch up on my igoogle reader (LOVE it, btw) I will go blog hopping on the blogs that the blogs that I follow follow. Ha ha... that was fun to say...

Anyway, I found this great project for a way to save your children's drawings and give them as gifts. Check this out! IT'S SO ADORABLE!

http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/03/embroider-your-kids-artwork.html

Today is a perfect example...

... of why I prefer to listen to CD's or children's DVDs in the car instead of live radio.

Drew and I are driving down the highway enroute to IHOP so he can have breakfast (pancakes and bacon) with his grandma and then to plant some flowers and such with her. He wants to talk so I turn off the radio and when he said he was done, I turned it back on just to have something to listen to. I was listening to talk radio but both stations went to commercial, so I thought, seriously, I did.... "why not find some music we can listen to".... turn on FM and start channel surfing...

1st station... commercial
2nd station... commercial
3rd station... commercial
4th station... it's on there all of a microsecond but then I hear, "dumb ass" -- great... that's just what I want my 4 year old hearing....

I'm sick to death of all the gratuitous expletives, gratuitous nudity, gratuitous sexiness, gratuitous violence.... it's just very HARD to be a parent and teach your children right when the WRONG STUFF is shoved down their throats on a daily basis!

Mr. DJ -- if you're reading... YOU are the ! SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE! Grrrrrr mama bear is irritated!

I go a walkin....

And I'll give you a dose of the original just in case you're so inclined. :) I love this song!



....but actually, we went walking after 8:30. :) Drew and I started our nightly flashlight walks through the neighborhood looking for spiders. :) (I did a prior post on that HERE so, just if you're inclined to do the same, enjoy!) We had a great time, ran into about 8 neighbors or so...showed a few our little secret and had a great time. :) We must have seen over a hundred just in our yard alone! There are literally THOUSANDS of them in the neighborhood -- FREAKY! I don't think I'll be walking barefood through the grass at night ever... ever again.

We needed to walk after dinner at the Golden Corral (YUM!) :) It's a quarterly treat... and they have my favorite (mashed taters and brown gravy, corn, and FRIED CHICKEN!) YUM-O! :) Don't worry, I got a healthy serving of fresh veggies too - and no dessert. :)

Obama -- sucks

The man is an idiot. Because of his trillion dollar budget plan needs moo-lah, he's halted a program that has had $2 million allocated for training and certification of US pilots to carry firearms. The LAST LINE OF DEFENSE from another 9/11 and he wants to take away their right to pack heat? What kind of freakin MORON IS HE? From the TRILLION he's spent, I say that 2 Million is WORTH IT!

And in his sweeping idiotic legislation... now Mexico is slapping tarriffs on US imported goods to make up for the money lost due to his violation of NAFTA... what a moron! He does stuff like that then tells everyone to jump through hoops to fix stuff he's screwed up. Rad here. The man has no idea what he's doing. He just glad to be the first black guy doing it. Congratulations on being the first black president that has already been the WORST spender in the HISTORY of our COUNTRY. IDIOT! Farewell -- you'll hopefully be a one-timer! http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/Mexico_Slaps_Tariffs_on_US__

Fatties

Well, at least American's aren't the ONLY fatties on the planet... claiming your family is TOO FAT to work and want more benefits? I say get your fat butt off the couch, consume LESS CALORIES -- 3,000 a DAY -- and exercise -- if you consume "real" food rather than over-processed CRAP, you might be surprised how UN-heredity your condition truly is.

UK Family 'Too Fat to Work'
By MIKE BRODY, MyFox National

LOS ANGELES - A family of four in England say their weight prevents them from working and they need more government assistance, according to the Daily Telegraph .

Philip Chawner, 53, and his 57-year-old wife Audrey reportedly each weigh 336 pounds and their daughters Emma, 19, and Samantha, 21, weigh 238 pounds and 252 pounds, respectively.

The family receives approximately $31,553 a year in benefits. They claim to spend about $70 a week on groceries and consume 3,000 calories a day.

They say their weight is a hereditary condition. "All that healthy food, like fruit and veg, is too expensive. We're fat because it's in our genes. Our whole family is overweight," Audrey Chawner said.

A 2008 study by Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity suggests weight bias is as prevalent as racial discrimination.

Barbie turned 50!

Does anyone care? ha ha... (not me) But I did find THIS site interesting!Anyone want a boobie necklace complete with silver tips?

Wise words of president past

John Kennedy reportedly once said to an assembled group of scholars in the White House, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."


The quotes below could prove his point.

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.
Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson

In light of the present financial crisis, it's interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

Change is good...

THIS is what I was saying from the get go!

Waging a war on posterity!

And yes, more...

President Lyndon Johnson's administration was known for his War on Poverty. President Obama's will become notable for his War on Prosperity.

We're speaking, of course, of Obama's plans to hike income taxes on the most wealthy 2 or 3 percent of the nation. He's not just raising the top rate to 39.6 percent; he's also disallowing about one-third of top earner's deductions, whether for state and local taxes, charitable contributions or mortgage interest. This is an effective hike in their taxes by an average of about 20 percent.

And soon the next shoe will drop - he'll announce that he's keeping yet another of his campaign promises: to apply the full payroll tax to all income over $250,000 a year. (Right now, the 15.3 percent Social Security tax only applies to the first $106,800 of income - you neither pay the tax on income above that, nor accumulate added benefit.) For many taxpayers in this bracket, this hike will raise their total taxes by about half.

Finally, he's declaring war on investors by raising the capital-gains-tax rate to 20 percent.

These increases are politically insignificant: The top 2 percent of the nation casts only about 4 percent of the votes, barely enough to attract the notice of even the most meticulous pollsters.

But they have enormous economic significance. Those who earn more than $200,000 pay almost 60 percent of America's income taxes and account for a third of its total disposable income. If these spenders and investors are hunkering down, waiting for the revenuers to beat down their doors, their confidence will be anything but robust. Their spending will drop; they'll be unlikely to invest (except in new tax shelters).

Franklin Roosevelt's presidency was marked by an emphasis on recovery in his first term and class warfare (which he called "reform") in his second. Campaigning for re-election in 1936, FDR famously declared, "I should like to have it said of my first administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I would like to have it said of my second administration that in it these forces met their master."

Obama seems to have skipped the first-term FDR program and jumped right into the class divisions and warfare of the second.

But the president would do well to remember that Roosevelt's assault on the rich led directly to the recession of 1937-39 - when unemployment soared back up to 19 percent. (It was brought down only by World War II.)

Obama must realize that his tax hikes will dampen investment and consumer spending and prolong and deepen the economy's woes - this is presumably why he's postponing most tax hikes until 2011. But taxpayers, particularly wealthy taxpayers, are not dumb: They'll know what's coming, and look to secure the hatches in advance by sitting on their money.

But then, Obama must also realize that his stimulus package, with its massive growth of government, is going to kindle huge inflation in coming years. And he surely realizes that he can't expand government health insurance as massively as he intends introducing rationing of medical services.

He must know, but not care.

Here is a president who would rather redistribute income than create wealth. He thinks it more important to grow government than to fight inflation. He believes that it is crucial to expand health care to the young and middle aged, even if it means cutting it back for the elderly. He's more committed to effecting "broad change" in his first term than he is to winning a second one.

We have a president, in short, who will stand on his principles. Unfortunately, they're bad ones.

Obama - socialist

Is anyone listening?

Don't you wish someone would listen when you shout, "Wake up America"?

Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 - December 19, 1968) was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.

The Socialist Party candidate for President of the US , Norman Thomas, said this in a 1944 speech: "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of "liberalism," they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." He went on to say: "I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democrat Party has adopted our platform."

"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." ~~Margaret Thatcher

Is He Doing It On Purpose?

Yeah, it's a rant tonight! :) This little missy is horked off!

Again, another of the e-mails I'd been saving which questions whether Obama is doing this crap ON PURPOSE?!? Makes you wonder doesn't it?

There's a school of thought that the Obama administration is deliberately damaging the economy and gutting the stock market, on the theory that doing so will make more people dependent on the government and pave the way for a far-left regime. Doug Ross makes the argument:

Consider that, in the teeth of a devastating recession, Obama has:

• Raised taxes on small businesses, the engines of entrepreneurship and job growth

• Raised the capital gains tax

• Lied about "tax cuts for 95% of Americans", offering instead $13 a week, achieved not through tax cuts, but by changing the federal withholding tables!

• Destroyed charitable giving by axing the tax breaks for 26% of all giving (or $81 billion in 2006)

• Proposed a carbon cap-and-trading scheme designed to punish oil companies and further tax consumers

Why would Obama inflict these destructive policies while the economy is collapsing? Simple. Each step strengthens the role of government in people's lives.

• Squelching the stock market kills its attractiveness as a parking lot for private capital. Combined with an increase in the capital gains tax, investors will swarm to bonds -- tax-free vehicles like municipal bonds, which benefit the growth of state and local government. And unions, of course.

• Carbon cap-and-tax will raise taxes on all Americans as the cost of goods and services will increase to address a non-existent threat.

• True tax cuts would grow the economy, which is why, of course, Obama shuns them. The last major recession was Jimmy Carter's malaise. It consisted of of double-digit inflation and unemployment. It was finally licked by across-the-board tax cuts for everyone (even the despised rich), which touched off a twenty-plus year run of prosperity.

• Charities reduce the role of government assistance for those in need. That, in Obama's world, can not be tolerated. That is why charities must be choked off and allowed to die. Especially faith-based institutions.

The only plausible explanation is that Obama's destruction of the economy is intentional.

It is based on a failed ideology that has a track record of Mugabe-esque disaster.

And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Jim Cramer is a long-time investor who's been around the block a few times. He thinks the Obama agenda is crystal clear, stating "...their agenda is destroying the life savings of millions of Americans... we've elected a Leninist."

Cramer went on to say that President Obama has caused "the greatest wealth destruction I have seen by a president." So he's got that going for him.

Cramer calls it an "assault on the economy" by the President and his cohorts. If all of this comes as a surprise to you, I'm guessing you never saw The secret scrapbook of Barry Soetero. Because if you had, you would've known.

Universal Preschool

And another thing that has me ticked .. I received this from a list I'm on (on the 13th)

Several months ago, I was contacted by the producer of 20/20 with John Stossel who was doing a story in OPPOSITION to universal preschool. I helped them put together a panel of parents to be interviewed for the piece in Los Angeles, California, and provided lots of information, research, and commentary to help them with their story.

A short version of the program aired this morning on Good Morning America.

THE ENTIRE 20/20 PROGRAM WITH JOHN STOSSEL WILL AIR TONIGHT ON ABC TV, 10:00 PM!

I just spoke to the producer and she tells me that they've already received "a ton of negative feedback" on the ABC website. She wrote, "Some positive feedback would be great!" She said the more feedback - the more likely ABC would be to revisit the subject.

Please watch - and MOST IMPORTANTLY go to the ABC website where you can watch snippets and learn more here: http://www.homefires.com/click?upkscam

Post your comments about it here: http://www.homefires.com/click?upkcomment

Universal Preschool will:

*Increase government debt

*Extend the already failing public school system

*Threaten the existence of private preschool programs (many of which are owned and operated by women and minorities)

*Harm the intellectual, physical, psychological, and social development of young children through forced academics that includes standardized curriculum and testing of 4-year-olds! (See http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/)

Nevertheless teacher's unions and corporate interests are teaming up with government to institutionalize young children in this mega feat of social engineering that will grease their pockets with tax-payer dollars.

UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL IS BIG BUSINESS. It is NOT about quality early education and it is NOT in the best interests of MOST little kids.

We have a rare opportunity for opponents of universal preschool to be heard. Please, TAKE ACTION NOW! Watch the program and post your comments TODAY.

You are welcome to pass this message to anyone.

Thank you for your help!

Diane Flynn Keith
List Owner
Founder, http://www.universalpreschool.com/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is that not just scary? This government that F's up (pardon my Texan -- but I'm mad!) EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES wants CONTROL over my PRESCHOOLER? That's ridiculous. It's not necessary and we don't have the money to fund such stupid ideas...

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=7070646&page=1 There's the link to 20/20's page about it... go read it, post your comments... DO NOT SUPPORT UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL!

I'm going to have to agree with Superdad here wherein he says that, "their whole goal is to eliminate the parents and they want control over the kids from birth to death. This is straight out of the Karl Marx "Communist Manifesto" It is a tough read, but you ought to read it sometime. They control the kids and what they are taught, then they will have unlimited power. They are not Democrats in the old fashion (JFK was strong military, cut taxes) these people are straight up Communist. They want control over every aspect of your life and want you dependent on them for your own existence. I have seen it coming for years, it will just have to smack vast majority in the face before they realize it. Just wait till they get universal healthcare. You will have govt telling you what procedures you can have, what dr's you have to use, who gets what medicine. Basic procedures now will have a year or longer wait time. You know in Canada and Great Britain where they have the "model healthcare" Obama wants - doctors DRIVE CABS in the evenings just to make ends meet because the government controls what they can make. So our brightest will no longer go into the medical field b/c their pay will be capped. But then they want all salaries to be capped. Barney Frank has already said that. We are in better shape than 95% of the country so I really hope for the worst short term so people will see what the Dems are all about. They are so overreaching with their power that 2010 will be good for Conservatives."

Political Rant...

I just wonder when we as a public will stand up and say, "ENOUGH IS FREAKIN ENOUGH!" There are so many attacks on the human family... on Christian... on being AMERICAN... in OUR OWN COUNTRY... on those that PAY their taxes... on decency...

Some of the posts I'm going ot make tonight I've been debating on whether or not I would post because I just sometimes wonder... who even cares anymore? Does everyone just bitch, whine and complain but no one does anything -- and if you wanted TO do something??? What in the world CAN YOU DO BUT TALK?? The only power an individual has is to write a letter and to do protests... but why write when the men and women supposedly "serving" for our best interests are being lobbyed by con artists lining their pockets with free vacations and campaign dollars. I think lobbyists should be illegal. I'd almost put my life on the line that over 99% of the politicians are corrupt and just see dollar figures. I think there should DEFINITELY BE TERM LIMITS to keep career politicians out of there. If there can be a limit to the presidency.. there should DEFINITELY be a limit on any other seat!

There are so many things about this freakin idiot -- Obama -- that I just wonder what the hell we're going to do now? I wonder WHEN this IDIOT will realize he's in over his head? His arrogance and stupidity is just... mind boggling. Just simply mind boggling. His arrogance about the budget and then his budget is in the TRILLIONS.... ??? no one has EVER had a budget in the TRILLIONS? Does "the annointed one" give a CRAP about spending anyone else's money? What the HELL???? I'm so mad... I'm mad and don't feel like there's a thing I can do. I feel like I am a shareholder in the middle of a hostile takeover.... and I'm going to be given a pink slip and no severance package...

I feel so "trendy"

I got a Cricut! I can't remember if I said anything about it or not yet but I got one! :) I actually got one because they were $99 at Joann's -- no coupon, no special thing... just a great sale! That and their cartridges for my bug were on sale too! I snatched up the 50 States cartridge. I am so excited so NOW I'm on the Cricut bandwagon! :) WOO HOO!

I just now, need more cartridges -- and to offload my Sizzix (though I really do still like it for several things. :) Is it bad to have both? Am I now having too much stuff? I need to have a scrappy sale I think!

I've also pretty much sold myself that BOTH MY BOYS will be homeschooled next year. If I put them in the private school I was looking at, it'd be about $1200 a month and while I don't know what's going to happen with the economy, why not do what I can myself and enjoy having them all to myself just a little while longer?

I've resolved that I need to schedule their time... and schedule them both to have some classes AWAY from home at the Creative Arts in Action homeschooler's school (think of college for kids) -- you pick a course, pay a fee and take the class once a week for 2 hours...do your work at home... yeah, it's like college for kids! I'm excited about the though of that opportunity for J so that he can connect with OTHER kids that are homeschooled and not feel like an outsider. I WISH THAT KID WOULD GET SOME CONFIDENCE! How do you make your shy, self-conscious kid gain confidence? Ugh!

ANY-WHO... I'm still doing curriculum research... mostly for J but have started looking at it for D as well. :) I think it will be extrememly hard but I've stumbled across a system called "workboxes" and you can read about it HERE but I think THIS is going to be the ticket that gets us a) outside exercising DAILY; b) doing more creative opportunity activities; c) completed in a timely fashion to have more time for the FUN STUFF!

Jumping for Joy

This was a nice lazy morning... then we stopped off at my favorite toy store - Learning Express Toy Company to pick up a present for D's friend, Spencer. HE was having a birthday party at a place called Let's Jump. It's pretty cool and all kids love it! Huge areas of inflatables to jump on -- what's not to love?! :)

So they do the jump thing, I take J to hunt down a fire -- we saw billows of black smoke on the way in. I'd never chased down a fire -- neither had he. So, we found it! A small private storage shed on Lake Grapevine was ablaze inside. Crazy there's tons of water but none to put out a fire? J and I speculated all kinds of scenarios as to why it could be burning. Then we went to Kohl's for some new shoes. ;) $45 shoes for $22. You can't beat that! I got D some new character t-shirts. :) $7 each -- you can't beat THAT either! He loves "Darf Gader" :) He can't say his name properly to save his life and frankly, I don't care! It's SO CUTE listening to him mispronounce it! I'm thankful he can say his "r's" properly... instead of calling them "awe" for "r"... I'll take my speech battles when I need to...but i know the "awe" one is HARD HARD HARD to break!

Then we went to have dinner with Grandma at one of her favorite restaurants -- Catfish & Company. Then home -- I changed into some fuzzy, warm jammies and sacked OUT! I was awoken at about 8:15... was up until about 10:45 and then back out. I think I'm coming down with something

Spring break!

It's the first day of spring break. And, in traditional fashion, I feel like I'm coming down with something. :) Gotta love those spring colds. :) Actually I think Mr. Wonderful passed it on to me. Oh well. Live and learn!

Mr. J leaves today to spend the week in Iowa with his biological father. He'll be back on Sunday. I'm sure he'll have fun but we'll miss him when he's gone. D generally doesn't know what to do.. checks in his room to make sure he didn't come back while he was sleeping (it's very sad) when it finally "hits" D that his big brother isn't home. Then, when J is gone, if I do anything "remotely" fun with D, J feels like he's gotten the shaft and is left out. It's quite annoying but... ??? what can you do?

Right now, laundry, packing, staying warm (it's 46 degrees). Later today... hmm... no clue what we're going to get into!

Mardi Gras!!!

The winning costume at Mardi Gras this year...

Prayer request

Received this today from a lady in a homeschooling group I'm in.

Please pray. :(

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Hi everyone,

I know that I am quieter member in many of my groups and am a new member to some of the groups that I am sending this email to. I feel badly that some of you have not had but a couple of emails from me, and that you are just getting to know me, but could I share something that is burdening my heart this tonight with you all? I know that most of the groups that I am sending this message to are crafting and homeschooling groups. But my heart is breaking tonight and I could use some positive thoughts and prayers for my family if you have a second or two today.

Our four year old son, Kortlandt, has been undergoing testing this last week because he has had a lot of blood in his urine. He also had episodes of bleeding last month. A couple do days ago, we received a call that his testing is showing that he has a tumor in his kidney and possibly his bladder as well. He is scheduled for surgery in about 6 hours....at 8:00 a.am. Monday morning. I know I should be sleeping but I cannot sleep and so I am writing to ask if you would pray for our family if have a minute today. We are praying for wisdom today as we try to prepare our 7 children for the road ahead. If this turns out to be cancer, Kortlandt will likely start chemotherapy about 10 days after surgery, Radiation may follow, depending on how advanced the cancer is. We know that God has a plan and a purpose for Kortlandt's life but I will admit that we are reeling as we try to come to terms with what is happening.

We have lost 3 precious babies already and I would be lying if I said that the thought that we may lose Kortlandt as well has not crossed my mind. We already have one terminally ill son who is the light of our lives and I never could have imagined that I would be caring for 2 critically ill children at the same time.

I feel so badly about coming to the group with something this serious when I have only just joined or been guilty of lurking. But I feel that it is important that I explain why I have not responded individually to the kind messages that some of you have already sent. They mean the world to me right now and in the coming days, I will respond to each person that emailed me, but it may take me a few days. My head is filled with 101 thoughts today and I am not able to think clearly. But I have not forgotten about the friendship that you have extended to me. Honestly, it has meant even more to me in the last 24 hours than you will ever know.

Thanks to everyone who sends up a prayer for my precious son today. I appreciate them more than you will ever know.

Talk to you all soon...

Hugs,

Patty

Hypocricy - The American Way...

Menu Plan Monday

Yes, it's that time of the week! Menu Plan Monday! WOO HOO

Monday:
B: Dry cereal, milk
L: Roast beef sandwiches from last night's pot roast, mac n cheese
D: Grilled chicken, loaded mashed potatoes, green beans, whole wheat rolls

Tuesday:
B: waffles, fruit, juice
L: Subway Tuesdays (tradition)
D: Going out to eat with my dad and sister -- Mexican :) DARN - no cooking.. moo ha ha ha

Wednesday:
B: Breakfast toasters (eggs, cheese, bacon on toast)
L: tuna fish sandwiches, chips
D: Hamburgers on the grill, baked beans, fries

Thursday:
B: Josh's favorite - biscuits and gravy
L: Pizza rolls, ranch, carrots and celery sticks
D: Spaghetti, salad, garlic breadsticks, crock pot apples for dessert

Friday:
B: Drew's favorite - Pancake Friday!
L: sandwiches
D: Josh and I are going on a camping trip so we'll be eating on the road or at camp depending on when we leave

Saturday:
CAMP FOOD

Sunday:
B: CAMP FOOD
L: On the road
D: Taking my mom out for her birthday at Catfish & Company (her favorite)

Anyone in California...

Needs to get photos done by these people... http://www.theblogisfound.com/ I FREAKIN LOVE THEM

A new find while surfing with insomnia

I couldn't get to sleep until about 3:30 am yesterday morning... and now it's 12:23 am today and again, I can't sleep. Rather than lay in bed for 3 hours like I did LAST night, I'm being productive. :) Or, that's what I'm at least telling myself. Why not clean up all my favorites... reduce or check on the blogs that I follow... etc. Then I came across one that I'd saved not too terribly long ago called 4 Reluctant Entertainers... but I tell ya... I love this woman! She just gets me! :) I invite you to check out her site HERE... great ideas she has, like THIS POST she shows a FANTASTIC way to preserve your kids school memories EASILY... I mean, easy schmeezy! Fantastic, simple and quite "doable" TODAY! :) I swear, I'm not getting a kick-back for promoting her site...but I knew I'd saved it for a reason -- and when you check it out -- YOU WILL TOO! :) Check her out!

Heard today at my house....

Drew screaming down to me from upstairs (I was doing laundry)

"Mom, I have a cold bo bo!"

Me, "Oh really? How so?"

"I was going poop and a little bit of water splashed up on my bootie and dat's why it cold."

"Thanks for sharing that with me."

"You're welcome."

Organization and sleepy head

Yesterday, I went to the Container Store and purchased (because they have them 30% off) two 62" wall brackets and 10 buckets that attach to those wall brackets. The buckets hold 24 DVDs each. I got all the movies alphabetized and a space or two in between each letter just in case we got new movies... and guess what... all TEN BUCKETS are FULL! I need to go get two more! WOW! BUT, it feels good finally getting that room some kind of organized.

I also bought a $25 rolling under the bed storage bin for Drew with a hinged lid to store his GeoTrax. He's decided it's time for a big boy room and so it's going to be turned into a fire man room. :) Any fun -- REASONABLE ideas -- let me know! :)

I rolled out of bed this morning at 10am -- Spring Forward SUCKS! Especially when you can't fall asleep until about 3:30 a.m. :( I was SO FREAKIN TIRED... Needless to say, morning church was missed so I'll be hoping for the 6pm service.

Dumb....

and Dumber... It's dumb, but it's one of my FAVORITE movies of ALL TIME! It's on TBS right now. Drew's never seen it. I'm glad he's getting the "edited" version. Josh is cracking up at it - he loves it too. There are so many CLASSIC lines to this movie.... it's just hilarious! :) Just thought I'd share that with you.

I love it when they've driven the wrong way and they're in Kansas or something.... and they said something like, "Man, I thought the Rocky Mountains would be a lot more rocky than this... that John Denver's full of shit man."

LOVE IT! Love it love it love it...

Singing Mockingbird....

When they dress up in those RIDICULOUS tuxes. They're hilarious! If you've never seen it -- see it for me... then you have an excuse! :)

SILENCE!!

and I mean it! For the first time in MONTHS I have COMPLETE silence in my home. Both of the boys are gone, the dogs are crashed, it's 12:38 and I'm still in my pajamas and while I should be doing something completely selfish like watching tv while eating bon bons, I'm blogging! :) I love silence! :) It's so refreshing. So what exactly DO I decide to do? Straighten all the crap up that's made its home in organized piles around this place I call a home.

What do I find? Why... proof that my son has no clue as to my sense of humor and hasn't quite reached that age where he comprehends sarcasm. Should I be sad about that? LOL... We went to Half Priced Books a week or so ago to get him a new book. We had a time frame but he cuoldn't make up his mind and when I saw I had 15 minutes until I needed to be at Drew's school before he was out for the afternoon. I simply said, "Time's up, we've got to go."

"But moooooooooooooom, I haven't found a book yet."

He reaches for one that covers rocks and minerals. I remind him that he just received an uber cool one from his Aunt for Christmas.

"Oh yeah, then what about this?" He points to something... that I just won't buy. No idea what it is now.

"No, if you don't have something in mind, we'll just get a book next time."

so I get the sigh and heavy feet behind me as I stroll up the aisle to the check out. While doing so, I pass one of their mini kiosks in one of the wide aisles and it has wooden towers and 4 books on top (one for each side of the square towers) to display. I smiled, chuckled, and said -- dripping with sarcasm, I might add, "OOOOOOOHhhhh, Josh, you need to get THAT book -- the Art of Hula." I kept walking.



When I get to the checkout counter, I realized I'd forgotten my homeschooling card so I was filling out a new application (homeschoolers get 10% discount on books) and wrote my check and was grabbing my books to leave. I get to the car and I go, "What in the world is this? Did YOU get this?"

The Art of Hula was IN MY ARMS?! We'd just bought a freakin hula book.

Josh said, "YOU SAID TO GET IT?!?!"

I said, "I was KIDDING. Well, you better be the best dern hula dancer this side of Hawaii."

He thougth I was serious. Then he got mad and pouted because he didn't catch my sarcasm. I was like, "Josh, it was a $4.50 mistake. I should have paid attention to what was in the pile. I just said that because you couldn't find a book so I was suggesting that one as a joke."

I guess the last laugh's on me since I had to buy it anyway. :)

So, anyone out there want to learn to hula? I've got this GREAT BOOK....

My crazy Drew...

it's 70 degrees at 10:30 am and I look outside my window and Drew is in the backyard in snowboots, winter coat, gas mask, gloves and a hat being a "fireman" in the backyard by himself.



The imagination on this kid is amazing! JUST amazing. Of course, I didn't take a camera. :) BUt at least I have the memory.

Learning about Delaware

Our day started out rather uneventful but we decided to learn about one state a week -- in the order of how they came into the Union. So, first off. Delaware. December 7, 1787. Did you realize we didn't have a president until 1789 so they were a state without a president. Very cool. We bought THIS lapbook kit from Hands of a Child so that we could use it on each state. We've learned some fun stuff about Delaware -- we actually didn't finish it in a week because we're ALSO doing an Ancient Egypt lapbook and got a little caught up in that one... BUT we'll finish it tonight I'm sure! :)

When we started researching the state bird of Delaware - the Blue Hen Chicken - we found out some interesting bits of history... It's amazing, you know. I don't think that I would have even ever cared about learning anything about Delaware but now... because of Josh, I know a little something new. I know their flag's colors were chosen because of their matching the colors of General George Washington's uniform. Their state bird was chosen based on the historical accounts of the men who fought in the Revolutionary War from Delaware... with the same tenacity of the birds they brought with them (blue hen chickens)... the birds weren't even native or abundant in Delaware... they were cock fighting birds. We learned it's only 30 miles wide -- WOW... LOL... being from a state as BIG as Texas, that's just wild to imagine! :)

Last night was leftover night and Josh and I watched

The Mummy Returns (Brenden Fraser is a hottie, by the way) I find this movie both ... entertaining and ... well, the eye candy is just delicious. :) hee hee... It was fun for Josh to see a lot of the history we've been researching on Ancient Egypt in this movie. He's enjoyed it tremendously... sometimes it's been a whipping and getting that kid to understand dynastys and how ever leader is called Pharoah and such is a bit of a daunting task BUT... at least he's HEARD it so that when he RElearns it later, he'll remember SOMETHING about it. (I hope)

Since we joined Blockbuster's online membership -- like NetFlix -- he's a mailman stalker. It's almost to the point of being a little annoying that he just feels like it's now HIS job to go get the mail and open any movie in there. Yesterday, I finally said, "Whose name is on the envelope?" He said, "Yours...but..." I cut him off and said, "So, if you got something in the mail with YOUR name on it, would you want ME opening it?" He said, "Well, no.." Again, I cut him off. "So, even if you THINK the contents MAY be for you, before opening something that doesn't have YOUR name on it, what do you think you SHOULD do?"

{{then I get "that look"}}

"Ask permission."

"Very good."

(My work was done. He asked. Received. End of story. BUT we'll hvae to see if the same thing happens for Monday's mail.)

12 Hours of rest...

Yep you heard me...and I needed it badly. I went to bed about 7:30 last night and got up about 7 am... went back to bed after making breakfast for the motley crew and woke up realizing WOW... Drew's going to be late to school... YIKES! Basically I'm just so completely exhausted from running on fumes for so long...it's offically taken a toll on me...

SO... I'm going in and unsubscribing from a lot of e-mail. This woman who LOVES to just have information overload needs to simplify. I haven't been able to visit my favorite scrapbook site (The Mosy Scrapper) in weeks... I feel like I've lost a set of friends because of it... I am pulled in 100 different directions so that sometimes, I just feel like it'd be easier to run away. And that's not good. I'm spread so thin that I can't be the person I want to be for the people I need to be it for... SO... God's speaking to me to wake up and focus on the necessary!

And, then I received this in my inbox today from my mom... it spoke to me..

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'

'It was great, Dad.'

'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.

'Oh yeah,' said the son.

'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father.

The son answered: 'I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

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This struck a nerve because sometime I feel like I'm so worried about missing some important information that I get information overload and then shut down. My kids really WONT care if my house is spotless... they'll care if I spent time with them. My kids won't care if I answered all my e-mail but they will that I went outside to pick dandilions with them... so unfortunately, lots of my "important" (quantity) things have really fallen to the wayside... but the quality of the time I HAVE been able to spend with my kids... it's getting MUCH better. :) And for that I really AM thankful...