Happy Holidays!

Christmas has come and gone. Our house is finally settling down, and getting back to "normal."

Is there such a thing?

We had a great Christmas! Couldn'T have asked for better! Well, except to have Jess and her family here, and Chris and Crystal too. Other than the few missing family members, it was perfect. The kids were even kind to us and didn't get up at the butt-crack of dawn on Christmas morning! We stayed up far too late on Christmas Eve with Mom and Dad playing Spades. (Blake and Dad won....as usual) The kids all slept upstairs so no one would get up earlier than the others and have a preview. We told them they absolutely could not come down any earlier than 730. They were nice and obliged!

Looks like grandpa had too much Christmas Eve fun......

The kids were all spoiled. Got most of what they wanted. Had a great day playing with all their new fun toys. Luckily, we were able to sneak a nap in while the kids played with their toys. The weather was a bit damp, but warm, so the kids were able to go out and ride the new toys their Grandma and Grandpa gave them. We need to get a new battery for the Gator the kids already had, then Bry, Drew, and Sam can chase each other and Sophie through the yard. We have only had one injury with the kids "cars". Bryce ran over Drew's leg. I am still not sure how it happened, as I was inside(bad mom, yes, i know).

Anyhow, the day after Christmas all the family descended upon us. It was great. It is always nice to have everyone here. For one, since it is our house, i don't have to stress if the kids make a mess or brake something. It's ours anyway.
There may be some blackmail video somewhere of Blake and I singing and dancing to "Another one strikes the dust". Yeah, that was a moment that should not have been recorded for posterity. We got the game "Lips" on Xbox for Christmas. It is a karaoke type game. It is quite fun, though I think we have done all 40 of the songs about 100 times now. I had never heard the "song?" Lipgloss until that game. Interesting.....the power of lipgloss...who knew? Wish I didn't. It is a fun game, and even those of us who have not been blessed with amazing vocal talent still have fun playing it.

Here is a little funny for you. My kids will kill me for this when they are grown. For those who don't know. Our back yard backs up to cattle field. Our back fence line is just cattle wire. We love it. The view is great, and the kids enjoy seeing the cows. Well, while everyone was here, one of the kids (i think it was my nephew, but cant remember) came in and said the cows were jumping on each others backs. Next thing we know, we look out, and all the kids have gotten chairs and are sitting or standing by the fence watching the cows "jump on each other's backs." A little farm education never hurt anyone, right? It was quite funny, if only they knew what the cows were really doing. Thankfully, the older ones, who probably do know what the cows(and Bull) were doing didn't announce it or educate the little ones. Sophie (the dog) was itching to get out there and nip the heels of the cows. She loves to go under the wire and get in the hay field or the cow field. We hate it, as it means we have to chase her....

The kids had a great time playing football, riding bikes, playing on the Wii and Xbox, and eating. There was lots of yummy food! Scott and Melinda made us a YUMMY standing rib roast, garlic mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, rolls, and gravy. It was delicious! I think I gained 10 pounds from that meal alone! It sure is nice to have 2 former chefs in the family. Sure beats the little Caesar's hot-n-ready i feed everyone.

We played lots of games: Apples to Apples, Ticket to Ride, Lips, and others too i am sure. Apples to Apples was a new one for us, and quite fun/funny.

Everybody has gone back home now, and the kids are back to driving me crazy since they have no one to play with! I get to go take down the "Easel Tree" at the church. Our pole was missing for the center of the tree, so our tree was improvised and the branches were wrapped around an easel from the church library. It worked quite well! Do you think there is a market for Easel trees?????

Off to take the kids to the park. I hit Target yesterday for the 75%off Christmas Clearance. Just trying to do my part to keep the economy afloat.

Jobs...they come; they go.....

Two weeks and two days ago, Blake and Jeannine (his co-worker) were called into their company's Alabama HQ. Evidently, even though the contract was not at its end, the Pentagon ended the contract to move it up to DC. In fact, they had already, unknown to anyone here, had a bidding process and hired 5 contactors (at DC wages...?) to replace the 2 here in Alabama. How does this make sense to anyone? Anyhow.....they were told to come to HQ at 1030 and not be late. They get there and the dude that tells them not to be late....well, he was 20 minutes late. So they sat with the VP and chatted for 20 mintues waiting for the "dont be late guy". What did they chat about? Oh, you know Christmas, shopping, trips......all light hearted things. Never saw what was coming.....
Late-man shows up...the meeting begins. On the way to the meeting, Blake and Jeannine rode together. She kept reassuring him, if something was up the company would take care of them. They always had. They'd work them in the HQ office till a new contract would start or a job came available. But, the contract wasnt even at its end, the government LOVED them both. No worries.

WRONG.

The VP informs them that effective in one week, they would no longer have a job. Yep, thats right folks. 20 days before christmas. 10 days before Kayleigh's birthday. Oh, and there was no severence package offered. They did agree to pay out all vacation and sick leave.....all three days of it...woohoo. They also have us on their insurance until Jan 1. Can you say...we are ALL getting new glasses and any other thing we can think of on this great insurance that had absoluetly NO deductibles for anything. They said there is just no projected work, and with the way things are, they can't afford to keep them on without work in the future. :( Whatever folks.....

After all this, the VP asks if he can have some feedback....hahahahah!!!!!!! Not sure what he was going for here. "Sir, you did a fantastic job firing us. The way you talked about Christmas for 20 minutes and put us at ease before the meeting started really made the "you dont have a job in 7 days that much more dramatic...Kudos to you!" Jeannine, who is a bit of a firecracker, evidently had feedback for him. I was told something to the effect of: "you just fired us 20 days before christmas. I've worked here for 8 years, and this is what I get. What kind of feedback do you want. THIS SUCKS"

The company really is upset that this has happened to (supposedly), and did not know it was going to happen. They really do love Blake there.
So, after the meeting they head back to the base......they get to the office and tell the people in the office what has happened, and they are floored. They had no clue either. Shock, Disbelief. Fear. Sick to your stomach. Dread.

However, the people in the office...like I said, they LOVE Blake and Jeannine. They got their resumes and before Blake left work that day, it appeared he had a new job. The Project Lead got Blake's resume from another lady, and came to see him. He is supposed to retire in a little over a year, and told blake he would hire him to replace him right now if he could! In the end, they hired Jeannine on as a Config. Manager (dont know what that is, but she did, and now does it) and hired Blake on as Asst. Project Lead and as the Program Manager. He is positioned now to take over as Project Lead when the guy retires.

It has been a blessing that 20 days before Christmas Blake lost his job. We kind of kept it a secret till we knew for sure he had this other job. We felt like we had JUST done this..oh yeah, we had....and were hopeful the unemployed time this time would be much shorter! The job offer came officially on Wednesday. He started work Thursday at 7am! With his generous vacation/sick leave from his old job, we went exactly one day without pay! Oh, and this job comes with quite a raise (he went from being the low guy on the ladder to the boss of the whole schibang). They will also be paying to send him to some PMP boot camp and pay for his PMP certification! (Dont know what it is, but it is supposedly pretty expensive and impressive? as long as I get a paycheck....who cares!) Here's the thing....they told Blake that if he hadn't had that other job....he never would have gotten this one! THey had applicants that already had their PMP andMaster's Degrees completed. But, they knew him and his work ethic. They know he is a MASTER politician, is a quick learner, and is an effective leader.

When he got the first job, we were frustrated because it was nowhere near the level of responsibility (or pay) he was at in the AF. We wondered why it was all he could get when he was qualified for so much more. We know now that it was a way in for a much better job!

We are so grateful right now for his new job (we know this economy is scary!) and for the people he worked with that saw his value and who also took care of "their own".

Anyway, that is our news....

We read a statistic that after leaving the AF (or military) it typically took three jobs to get the "right one". So, if that is the case, we should be set!

Boring but busy....

Nothing exciting going on here. We have been busy, which is pretty much a constant with five kids around.

This past weekend was the Interfaith Nativity. It turned out beautifully! Blake and I, along with the Backus', got to host/hostess for a couple hours. That was lots of fun. I am still amazed at how many different kinds of nativities there are. Everyone around here seems to be getting a cold or flu or strep throat or something. We'll be making our way to the dr today.....fun times. Jonathon is the only one who went to school, though admittedly, Andrew could probably have gone. He is coughing, but no fever and seems to have enough energy to fight with Sam.....constantly.

Jonathon had his second temple trip this weekend! He got to spend the night with his friend Hunter and ride up with the youth. I had a Christmas Craft Show this weekend, so Blake was home with the kids. It was a SLOW show....everyone was either in Birmingham for the big Prattville-Hoover State Championship football game (Prattville won...makes 3 state championships in a row! Hoover is the school that was on the MTV series 3 A Days....I believe.) Anyway, between that big game and the Alabama game....sports took priority for the day. I still did enough sales to make it worth it for me!

I can't remember if I shared it on here or not, but Restoration Mercantile (http://www.restorationmercantile.com/) is going to be carrying my things! They also have several vendors who are interested and are wanting to carry a line of LDS themed products! I'll update on how things go!

We had a great Thanksgiving....We went to Lake Martin again. It is becoming a tradition it seems. We all had a great time. Though Scott and April (my brother and sister) were feeling a little under the weather. We played badminton, ate, played Ticket To Ride (a really fun board game), and of course at more. The kids rode their bikes....only one major bike accident. Of Course, Kayleigh (and Julia) were involved......seems Kayleigh has her moms skills on the bike. A little ice, motrin, and lots of attention made things all better. The weather was perfect until Friday where it began to rain and rain and rain! We woke up Saturday with a stream of water running through our room.

Mom and Dad came back to our house, and we had a fun night of card playing....where if i remember correctly, Mom and I beat Blake and Dad at spades.......Ok, maybe not, but we probably won at least one hand?

Biggest news for our extended family is the birth of little Peter Sands M. My sister, Jessica's third baby. Mom and Dad are there now getting lots of baby love and helping take care of Kylie, Alex, Jess and probably Ryan too.

So that is it in a nutshell for now....lots of field trip, Christmas Parties, and fun coming up!!!!!!!!!!

Blog MIA and a classic story.

I have been taking a blogging holiday. Or not...I've just been so busy, this has not been on my radar.
I do, however, have an excellent story to tell.
For quite a while, April (my sister), Yahnira (my best friend) and I have planned to go to Wrapper's Delight. It's a 36 hour Scrapbooking Crop. Heaven to a Scrapbooker. No kids. Uninterrupted time. Chocolate. Scrapbooking. Make and Takes. Games. Prizes. Fun!

So, we head up to Birmingham early Friday morning. April was having a rough week. The water heater decided to go out in their house on Thursday, and we were supposed to be staying there. No biggie. We ended up getting a hotel room. Hot showers are a must when you are staying up until 2 am. Friday was fun. I actually got stuff done, which for me is amazing. Usually, I am too busy running my mouth, and accomplish very little. I also had an advantage in that i was alone on one side of a table while April and Yahnira had to share a side. I guess I got lucky. Anyway, all day long, they pulled door prizes. WE DIDNT WIN. I mean, there are only like 62 names in the bucket and they couldnt find ours. April eventually won towards the evening. So, Saturday was going to be our day.

Saturday, we are having a great time. I think maybe overtired? Getting into this game. They have these sheets of paper with sponsors names on them taped to the floor around the room. When they play the theme song, you are supposed to run to one of those squares.We'd been doing this for almost 2 days now. We knew where all the squares were. Had paths mapped out to the ones around our area. We were right by the Accucut (big die cut machine for you non scrapbookers) machine, so often there were extra people in our area, forcing us to find alternate squares and routes.

This is how my luck had been going. For an entire day I stood on the same dang square. The time a lady gets there before, IT WINS. So, we are playing. Yahnira had nearly taken a fall, and determined, since she was having NO luck, she was not going to endanger her life any further and was going to refrain from running like an dog after the mailman for these prizes. I should have taken her cue.

Picture it: the music (which of course had to be Rappers Delight for the theme song since that was the name of the crop) plays. I go to stand, and turn to my right at the same time. Some one (me) had placed my obnoxiously large scrapbook bag on the floor just to the front right of my chair. As I turn, my foot is caught under my chair, behind the front right leg. I can feel it, I am going down and it is not going to be a gracious fall.

I try to salvage my standing, and attempt to step over my gargantuan bad, but to no avail. Instead, my shin scrapes across the top of the bag, my right leg comes free at just that moment. Launching me like a spit-ball out of a straw. I go gliding across the isle, head first into a large pink tackle box. My bag erupts across the floor like a volcano, and I come to a landing, skidding across the carpet on my left knee, right elbow and forehead. It was like a game to twister played by an airplane in a crash landing. I can only imagine the sight it must have been as my delicate (fat) frame came billowing gently (crashing violently) across the isle (through my stuff and some lady's rather large and rather pink GIANT HARD PLASTIC tackle box).

As I skidded to a stop, I took inventory of the damage. One bag, totally emptied across the floor. Check. Major Rug burn knee despite wearing jeans. Check. Pretty nice raspberry on elbow through long sleeve shirt. Check. Bruised forehead from tackle box across the isle. Check. Shattered pride and utter humiliation. CHECK CHECK.

I am laughing, but it is one of those "if i dont laugh i am going to cry and then it will only draw more attention to me, so i am going to laugh with all the other people who are laughing at me. Please make them stop laughing so i can quit laughing, cuz i might crylaugh and that will be quite ugly. Then they will be able to say, did you see the lady trip because she didnt know how to stand and now she is crylaughing and she looks like a freak." So I laughed. Everyone did. Some people checked to see if I was ok. Which I ofcourse laughed (as stated above) and said ofcourse I am ok. And you know, I still didnt win. Though, I dont know if I could have made it to the front of the room at that point. I was still picking up my scrapbooking supplies and pride off the floor.

there is one thing i can just about guarantee if you go somewhere with me. I will either say something really stupid, do something really stupid, or attempt a combination of doing and saying something stupid. As I stood up and dusted myself off, I realize I had just fallen big time in a room full of 60 something people. I think (though I am not quite sure) it is a new record for me. I think this is probably my 2nd best large group clutzy moment, following behind my bicycle boardwalk crotch crash of 4th grade. You really dont want to know that story. but there is a campground full of people from Saint Joseph's peninsula in Florida that can tell it. I'll just say I have no coordination, and should not attempt to ride a steep ramp that makes a 90 degree turn on a bike. I met a wooden support pole to the boardwalk banister and thought it was a firemans pole. I still have a scar. Can't show you, but I do. (yeah, sorry about the TMI there....readers and former guests of the campground...)

Anyway, I have added two new scars to my poor 29 year old body (i dare anyone to correct my age!). It is 11 days later, and I STILL have a nasty scab on my knee. I had to take motrin for a week I was so sore and bruised up! Seriously, who knew scrapbooking....no standing up and walking could be so dangerous.....??????

Is there anything better than Fall!!???

I forgot how much I enjoy Fall! Today, I sat on the back porch, watched Sophie chase bugs and bark at cows, and enjoyed a cup of apple cider! Alabama isn't known for its fall foliage, but from our little hill, i can see trees off in the distance changing colors. From green to red, orange, gold and brown! (and I smile knowing we dont have trees in our yard I have to rake!)
Something about fall is cozy to me. I think my mind knows once fall arrives, the holidays are near. That means lots of family, fun and good food! It means the kids have time away from school, and lots of togetherness here at home (which is sometimes not a good thing).
I think this year I am able to relax and enjoy it for the first time in two years. It was this time 2 years ago that Blake was in Kabul and the kids and I were adjusting to our new life without him. Those were times filled with fear, pride, joy, anxiety, and fall was an expression of sadness. This time last year, we were yet again anxious, wondering what was to be. Embarking on this new journey, quietly wondering..... Fall was an expression of change, and change that wasnt seeming so great. I felt much like the withering leaves about to fall, but I was desperately trying to hold on. Luckily, hold on we did! And this year, the colors of fall are very vibrant, the cool crisp air is welcomed, and change is greated with enthusiasm. My focus has changed, as have my worries. (Having a job will help you not worry so much about looking for a job!!!) I am so grateful that we have a beautiful (though at the moment messy) home, that right out our backdoor is a big backyard that my kids love to wrestle in (just watch our for dog poo!), beyond that is a fantastic view of God's landscape. I am grateful that my husband has a great job that enables me to be home with my little ones, to see them off to school, and greet them when they come home. This week, I am grateful for fantastic medical insurance! (6 out of 7 tested positive for strep throat.....the 7th is being tested this afternoon!)
Not sure why today it hit me. Perhaps because yesterday, wondering who would be our next president and what effect it would have on my family and this country led me to realize today that no matter what, I have everything that matters already. The past two years have really taught me that!

UPDATE on Bryce!

We got the CT scan back, and thankfully, Bryce does not have the abscess they feared he had! I have to admit i was very anxious and a bit freaked out. The drs. office was great, and the nurse explained to me why they thought he had it, and thus the reason we were able to get a CT scan done so quickly!
What the CT scan showed was Bryce has fluid in the soft tissues of his neck, and some largely swollen lymph nodes. They think it is due to the strep throat. He is to continue the antibiotics he is on, and if at the end of the course, his neck is still stiff, he will undergo more testing.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. The past 2 days have been hectic, and at times, quite worrisome. We did find out about 11 am or so that he was in the clear for the abscess, but this is the first chance I have had to sit down again.

The kids are all tucked in bed, trick or treating is over, and I am cleaning up a messy house! We are all still recovering from three crazy busy weeks! Tomorrow my kids get to deep clean their rooms! Their will more than likely be wailing and gnashing of teeth.....

Again, thanks for the prayers and well wishes, they were certainly felt, and we know our prayers were answered today! Who knew a stiff neck could potentially be so serious!!!

Never a dull moment....

We could use some prayers for Bryce. He woke up yesterday morning unable to move his neck. After a full day at the drs office, we learned he and I both have strep throat. However, that is not the cause of his stiff neck.
We were sent for a CT scan of his neck, and will get the results this morning. They have initially ruled out meningitis as he has no fever, is not photo-phobic, and has had no headache. He has had a cold recently, but had seemed to feel better! (In fact, he doesnt even have a sore throat!)

They are trying to rule out what is called a retropharyngeal abscess. Here is a little linkie loo for you to find out what it is: http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic506.htm

As you can see, we are a bit worried. If it is a retropharyngeal abscess, we have caught it early. If the CT scan comes back negative, the next tests will be spinal tap, to difinitively rule out meningitis.

The dr. is hopeful the stiff neck is just a manifestation of this atypical strep we seem to have. However, b/c of some other symptoms Bryce is showing, he is concerned about the above.

We will keep you posted, and would appreciate the prayers! He has been such a great patient, and did fantastic with the CT scan yesterday. They did it with contrast, so he had to have an IV. His poor little body was shivering and shaking, but he still had the entire staff and other in the waiting room laughing the whole time! They said he was the best patient they had seen all day! He told them that his mom got stabbed in the butt by the doctor today! (I got 2 shots!) He said "Mom had to pull down her pants, and got stabbed in the butt twice! Luckily I missed it, cuz that is gross"
He told the nurse when he got his shot, that he had on clean under wear, but maybe got a little pee on them.

Anyway, we are supposed to get the read from the radiologist this morning. I will post an update as soon as I can.

She's Baaaaaaacckkk!!!!!!

Wow, almost 20 days since I last posted. It isnt because I havent had anything to say (those who know me know that isnt possible). I have literally just not had the time to post!
We finally had our ward super saturday. I like to think it went well. People seemed pleased with their projects, and I was very relieved to have it over and done with!
The next week was spent with field trips to the zoo. It rained! We got SOAKED! SOAKED! Thankfully, my friend Polly had Sam, so he wasnt being dragged through the weather. It was still a fun day. Then the Pumpkin patch. No rain, just a beautiful day. Next came the missionary zone luncheon our Relief Society Presidency had to put on. That is always a fun day. I always think of when my sons are on their missions!Finally, yesterday was my first show. We did really well, and people seem to love our stuff! I came home and had to finish preparing my talk to today. I got home at 615, and put the kids to bed at 730. I literally fell asleep at Blake's desk at 8pm. I got up went potty, and laid on the bed to finish my talk, but fell asleep again around 830. I woke up at 715am! OOps! The talk came together just fine though.
So, hopefully the next few weeks will be slower. I have a good bit of custom orders from the show this past weekend that I have to get done this week. I am excited! So glad I am doing something I enjoy!
I know this is a rather boring post, but I am still exhausted!
One little funny......
Blake brought the kids and the dog to the park to see the booth. A friend of his from work came and helped me for a while. She is the one who talked me into doing the booth! Anyway, Blake was standing with the kids across the traffic path with the kids. He was talking to Kayleigh. I was talking to Jeanine (his friend from work) when I see Sams pants fall from his waist to his feet. Sam didnt notice, Blake didnt notice, but I sure did, as did jeanine and about 10 other people around. Thankfully, he is only 2, and when he realized it thought it was funny. Blake said it happened again on the way to the car. He said Sam was walking slow, and this lady said, "Sir, did you know his pants are at his ankles!?" He obviously is not blessed yet with is mother's gargantuan rear end.

Field Trip to the Fair!

Monday, Jonathon and Kayleigh's gifted program took a trip to the fair. The educational reasoning was "physics in motion". The teacher wanted to go experience it first hand. Blake and I say it was just an excuse to take them to play all day.
The day was a lot of fun! My only complaints (and you know I was going to have some) was the cost! HOLY HECK is it expensive to go to the fair! Second, I forgot sunscreen. We were there from 830 to 2pm. NO sunscreen, hair pulled back. My ears, neck, scalp and face are pretty much fried. And it hurts!

When we got there we had to wait an hour for the rides to open. So, we toured the animal and other agriculture displays. That was interesting, yet stinky. The pigs they were showing in the arena were rather amorous. We didn't stay very long there. They kept having to separate them. Kayleigh asked me, Mom, why is that one pig trying to climb on the others back.......

Moving on!

The rides finally opened, and my kids were fearless. In fact, the scarier looking, the better. I had five kids in my group. Two were more cautious and did not want to ride very much. One kid came with out lunch money. To the parents that send their kids to the fair with no lunch or lunch money, newsflash....I dont want to pay 4 bucks for your kids hotdog, another 2 for his water. I already had to take a home equity line of credit out just to step in the fair, and sold my wedding jewelry to buy my kids the "you can ride everything" wristbands. Then there was the funnel cake that had to be bought.....I pawned the car. And seriously you fair people.....4 bucks for a shaved ice. REALLY. and I kid you not Slush Puppies were 9, yes NINE dollars. We did not get slush puppies.

It was so much fun, so I guess I just wont think about the money. But I am cheap, so I really will, I'll just pretend like I wont. (Sidenote: babysitter at home with Sam for 6 hours, not cheap either. Had to sell Sam to pay for it.)

All kidding aside, it was a great day. We had a lot of fun, saw A LOT of very interesting people, more tattoos than i have ever seen and in places that SHOULD NOT be seen in public, ate all kinds of yummy fair food, watched a "Cool" teenager step off the Gravitron and loose his lunch in front of about 100 people, who instantly laughed. I love getting to see my kids in their social setting. It makes me feel good about how we are raising them, and am proud to see their choices (so far!) in who they choose to associate with. I just hope they continue to be such great kids!

Does anyone know how to get in touch with John Tesh?

I hate John Tesh. In that David Hasselhoff kind of way. You know what I mean. He has that smarmy look to his face that says..... I think I am great. He looks like a hairy dude too (much like the Hoff). He has always annoyed me. Not sure why? When he was on Entertainment Tonight, hated him. When he tried to be a piano playing superstar, hated him. He just has that "I'm talented enough to be famous, but not talented enough for you to like me, so I'll just be annoying and cling to every opportunity to be in the spotlight" kind of way. (Disclaimer: Dude has more talent than me for sure, but I am not annoyingly famous....just annoying)

So, am I blogging just to share my feelings on Tesh and the Hoff? No.

Recently, John Tesh has become the second man in my life. I guess I have now developed a love-hate relationship with him. The Teshmiester has become the little whisper in my hubby's ear that finally gets him to do the things I am nagging him about for YEARS. And this has given me yet ANOTHER reason to hate on the Tesh.

Blake commutes 25 miles each way, and in the car listens to the radio. Evidently, he is inflicting the John Tesh show on my poor helpless radio. However, like a kid finding a sucker on the ground, he just can't help but pick up the goodies. He'll walk in the door nearly everyday with some random John Tesh fact.

"John Tesh says....." is a frequent comment in our home. Often, it is stuff I have been saying for years. (you know the stuff you tell your husband "they say you should/shouldn't....which is followed from the husband with, "well who told you that?", and "Who is THEY?????" Then the information is promptly discounted and discarded)But hey, give a man an annoying voice and a radio show and the husband will listen. Guess the boobs (mine not Tesh's) don't have as much power as they once did. Seriously, you'd think Tesh was Oprah or something. (Oh, and i dislike her MORE than the Teshter)

So, my question to you all, if I have to listen to the "John Tesh Says...." constantly, can't I at least reap some of the benefits. I'd like for John Tesh to list the following on his radio show:

1. Husbands should always offer to do housework. It makes for a happier home and wife.

2. Don't rag on your wife at how dirty the car is. They're your five heathens too. She wasn't the only one there when they were made, and shouldn't be the only one having to pry dried on tootsie pops from the leather in the van. And NO, she does not know what the mysterious liquid is in the cup-holder. But, John Tesh says you should offer to clean it.

3.Don't ask if you have clean underwear. Look at the GIANT pile in your bathroom. None of your clothes have magically sprouted little underwear-legs. Chances are, unless clothes have started magically replicating, those are the same dirty underwear you didn't take to the dirty clothes yesterday. John Tesh says, if you aren't going to wash them, AT LEAST take them to the dirty clothes.

4. If you love your wife, don't make her watch old Night Rider reruns on the RTN. (See comments above on her feelings about the Hoff.) John Tesh says torturing her with one 80's has-been is enough, and he is taking on that role.

5. ALWAYS let your wife sleep in on the weekends. John Tesh would.

6. When in the car together, she can hear the radio, so you really don't have to repeat what John Tesh JUST SAID. She may just be choosing to ignore it.

7. Since said wife gave up chocolate, she may be(ok IS) rather grumpy. (Yes, this is in addition to her normal state of pleasant grumpiness) You should do something special for her. A giant chocolate candy bar would be nice, but cruel. VERY cruel. John Tesh says skip the chocolate and go for cash. She likes that too.

8. She really likes good Mexican food. She really hates cooking. Mix those two together, and what do you get? Pick up take out at the Jose's at the interstate exit. (She can probably give you the call-in number) John Tesh says this will score major points and might lead to a good night. (unless, of course, you count the byproducts of ingesting re-fried beans and jalapenos') Though I am sure john tesh has a cure all tip to get rib of gas (mine and yours).

9. When said gas attacks at bedtime....it is not polite to fan it to your wife's face. Nor is it polite to hold her head under covers (in some states that is probably spouse abuse....so says the Tesh). The polite thing to do, as per Tesh ...if you were to ask him....is to go to the bathroom and rip 'em.

and finally

10. Tesh says that sometimes it is better to pretend you don't know where you heard something. Anytime you say to the wife, "john tesh says....." She stops listening. While the Tesh-man has offered TONS of helpful bits of information over the past months, he is really annoying. The man can't seriously think we think he knows all that. Hello, can you say staff researchers? Pretend the dog told you. It'll get you further.

So, unless John can get my husband to stop leaving his socks and shoes everywhere, convince him to clean the kitchen from top to bottom, wash and fold all the laundry, and scrub the boys bathroom (seriously....3 boys, one toilet, GROSS), cook dinner, clean the van, and rub my feet; I really have no use for him. The show is called : Music and Intelligence for YOUR life.....not for Your Wife. Let's keep it that way!

We have a second dog!

This morning we got another dog. This one is a puppy, not quite fully grown. It just did the cutest things this morning, enjoy a few pictures. I am not quite sure what kind of breed this dog it, and unfortunately, it certainly isn't house-trained.

I was on the phone with my mom when I noticed our new puppy chewing on Sophie's ball. I hope she doesn't mind sharing. The new puppy certainly didn't seem to mind chewing on a used ball. BLAhhhhh.....that is NASTEE.

After enjoying the ball for a while, he played and jumped. He grabbed Sophie's stuffed bear and bit and shook it, just like Sophie does. Sophie was just watching all this in amazement. I think she was trying to decide how she felt about another dog invading her space.

Up next he found Sophie's squeaky toy. I think this one is the new puppies favorite. He picked it up and carried it around in his mouth. JUST LIKE SOPHIE DOES! WOW! They are SO alike.After he finished playing with that, he moved on to the purple squeaky bone. He could not get that thing to squeak no matter how hard he bit and pushed on it. Sophie is better at this. I guess it will come in time.

So far, the new puppy seems to be fitting in just fine. I do wish we could do something about the house training. He also barks a little too much. I am not sure how long Sophie will tolerate him playing with her toys. Personally, I think it is kind of gross that they are sharing toys.

But isn't he just the cutest puppy ever!

Disclaimer: Yes, I am a horrible mother, I did not intervene and let my kid chew on the dogs toys. Believe me, much worse had already been in the kids mouth. Besides, they share popsicles, potatoe chips, and sometimes sippy cups; so what is a little tennis ball and teddy bear between friends!

I didn't mean to break his heart!

This morning when I got up, I had no intentions of breaking someone's heart. In fact, I had my day planned out to be quite boring. School, lunch, commissary, dinner, bed. Woo hoo. My day certainly didn't go that way, and I found myself trying to mend a poor broken heart.
I told the kids I would take turns eating lunch with them at school. I started with Andrew, since he is in kindergarten. We did that a few weeks ago.
Today was Bryce's turn.He has been reminding me of it since I ate with Drew. I am so glad they want me there, and had intended on eating with Bryce much sooner than this. Today, I finally made it up there. Sam and I packed his lunch....fruit roll up, little debbie fudge round, Cheetos, and a juice box. Healthy, huh! I know Sam wont eat a sandwich, so why waste!
We get there right on time. Sign into the office, get a visitor's pass, and we meet Bryce and his teacher in the hall. He is SO excited to see us there.
We go in and find our seat. We get to sit at a special table that only kids eating with their families get to eat. Bryce loved it last year when I would come eat with him, though we sat with his class then. Anyway, when we get in, I told Bryce I had to go say hi to Drew. Their lunch periods over lap by about 20 minutes. So, Sam and I made our way through the sea of cafeteria tables. Andrew is quite excited to see us as well. All his friends introduce themselves to us. I check to see what of his food he is eating. Give him a hug and a kiss, and tell him that I have to eat with Bryce and to have a great day. He seems ok, and off i go.
A few times through the course of lunch I look over to Drew and wave, smile, and notice he keeps looking over at me. I enjoy my lunch with Bryce. All his old classmates from last year try to break their necks to say hi. They have all grown so much over the past year! They seem like big kids now instead of babies!
I notice Andrew's class is starting to do clean up. Next thing I know, I look over and Andrew is standing with his teacher just SOBBING. He is all out crying. Tears, shrugging shoulders, sobbing cry! He is looking at me with eyes that look like his puppy died. I tell Bryce I need to go check on Drew, as his teacher is mouthing, "he's crying cuz he had to go to class". I walk over and give him a big hug. Whispering in each other's ears, I find out he doesn't want me to leave, and wants to come home with me. He is sad that I didn't get to sit with him, and wants me to go to class with him. How sweet, but also so hard. I have wrestled long and hard as to whether he was ready for kindergarten because he is just so young, sweet and tender. For a moment, I wanted to grab his sobbing little body, and take him home with me so he wouldn't have to be sad or lonely. Instead, I made a deal with him. I promised him a treat! Told him to go have a great day and do well at school, WITHOUT crying, and I would have a treat for him when he got home. That perked his sweet little face up. The tears dried, and he was ready to go to class.
This mom, however, felt guilty that my little guy had such a broken heart because I didn't eat lunch with him. I felt guilty that he doesn't absolutely LOVE school like my other ones have. I know it will come with time. Every day he talks more and more about friends.
By the time he got home, the only thing on his mind was his treat! His first words off the bus,"mom, you didn't forget my treat did you!?" He got to enjoy his skittles, I got to enjoy his smile.
How ironic that on one hand, I would like to wrap him up and keep him home with me, but on the other hand, I am nearly counting the days till they are all in school. What I'll do then, I have NO idea! (but i have three years to think about it!) In the meantime, I'll take turns eating with them at school, I'll enjoy dragging Sam all over with me and getting to answer 10,000 times a day "Mommy, what's that?", I'll enjoy helping with the stupidest homework, and when the time comes that Sam goes back to school, I'll be the one with the broken heart! Do you think they'll buy me a treat to keep me from crying?

BigNews!!!!!!!!! for me anyway!

This is something we have been thinking about for a while! Since we are not moving, we decided to go ahead with it.
We purchased a commercial vinyl cutter, and have started a Vinyl Business! I have been playing with it this evening, and it is so fun! I am working on a website, and a few other things! I will post some pics soon! The only drawback to it is I am spending a lot of time in the garage. I am so paranoid I am not alone in there......we caught 2 mice shortly after we moved in. I am so afraid one might still be hiding in there and attack me. I have HUGE fears of those tiny, nasty little creatures. But, because of the size of the cutter, there was just nowhere else to put it!
Anyway, I have been designing files, downloading fonts, and coming up with ideas for a while, and am excited to finally have the machine up and running!
I'll post a link to my site soon. In the meantime, if you have anything you want done in vinyl.....I think I might know someone who can hook you up with a great price!

Jonathon's Golden Birthday

It is a once in a lifetime event, turning the age as your birth day. This year Jonathon turned 12 on the 12th!This was birthday was a very special one! Not only was it his golden birthday, but it is a special age in our church! When a young man turns 12, they enter into the priesthood! We are lucky enough to live near family, so we had the entire family (minus Jess and her bunch) up for his birthday.
We did cake, ice cream and presents on his actual birthday with just the grandparents and us. Scott and his family arrived on Friday evening. April and her family came on Saturday, and Chris and Krystal came Saturday evening.
Saturday was beautiful, so we took the kids to the bamboo forest.

It was not as impressive as I remembered from my childhood, but evidently a tornado re-did the landscape several years ago and it just hasn't recovered yet. The path has become unkept, and the mosquitoes were out in full force!

Still, it was fun to walk through! We did get rather hot rather quickly! Bryce and Andrew moved so quickly, the camera and I didn't catch up to them. From the forest, we headed to Bass Pro Shops to let the kids torture the innocent shoppers within, I mean, shoot guns upstairs. They had a ball.

April and her family met up with us at Bass Pro. Shane skipped out, would prefer to go to a Alabama football game than to spend hours with 20 of his most favorite crazy family members. Go figure?????

Sunday, my baby (he'll always be my baby!) was confirmed as a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood! We are so proud of him! I know it will not be long before we are (hopefully!) sending him off on a mission! It is amazing how quickly the days and years are flying by! It truly seems like just yesterday that he was a blond haired little boy pointing out airplanes in the sky! He really is a great kid, even if he does fight with his siblings a little too much for this mom's taste! He has read the Book of Mormon, on his own, front to back about three times now. (He is almost finished with his third) That is much more than I can say for me as a 12 year old! He bears his testimony on his own on Fast Sunday. He talks to his friends at school about the gospel. He even tried to give a friend a Book of Mormon. The kid didn't accept it, but we were so proud of him for trying. This move has been a difficult one for him, and friends have not come as easily this time. He was the new kid in a school where kids have been together since kindergarten, so last year there were times when he really did not enjoy it, and felt like he didn't have many friends. Still, he excelled, and continued each day! He ran for vice-president of Jr. Beta Club this year, and while he didn't win. I was very proud he put himself out there, and took the chance. Now, don't get me wrong, he is still 12, and he certainly has his moments when I could hang him by his toes! All in all, a great kid who is a great example to his younger siblings. We know we have been blessed with very good children!

Speaking of very good children, as I sit typing this, Sam has made a spot on the living room floor with a giant box of Lucky Charms, picking out the good parts! (for the record, I only like the marshmallows in that cereal too! ) That must be my cue to quit blabbering, and do the mom thing. That two year old of mine can make quite the mess! Oh the thought! But he sure is cute!

Was it the dog?

Disclaimer: You all will know a little too much about my family by the end of this post.

As you all know, we got a dog about a month ago. She is very sweet, and very well behaved. Sometimes, I guess just to keep me on my toes, she would do something crazy like pee right in front of me, or poop by the door. To her defense, she is not a barker or whiner, so if you miss her standing quietly by the door (that is her bathroom cue) it is your fault, not hers. So, I have noticed over the past week the little boys room smelled like pee. None of my kids are bed wetters, but I still checked the beds to see if maybe Sam had a diaper malfunction at night or if Drew might have had an accident. Beds smelled fine (for little boy beds anyway).
I go ahead and strip the beds thinking maybe it just needs a little freshening up, and it isnt a pee smell? I do notice Sophie(the dog) will go into the boys room briefly. I wonder if she is sneaking in there to pee. I had just taken her out, but thought i'd see if I can catch her. She goes in there, and I go into stealth mode. Stalking the dog. Trying to prove she is covertly peeing in my carpet. I've already decided it must be her. Now to catch her in action.
I peek my head around the corner, making sure she doesn't see or hear me. She is sniffing at the carpet at the foot of Drew's bed. I look closer and realize there IS a wet spot there! I knew it! She was peeing in there. DANG DOG!!!!!!
i walk into the room, "Sophie, did you do that? Did you pee in the carpet?"
She is a very gentle dog, and doesnt like to get in trouble. She tucks her little tail, turns and goes out of the room and gets on the couch and curls up. I, in an attempt to out do my stupidity when cleaning the boys room (for a refresher:http://ginger-myrandomnothingness.blogspot.com/2008/05/things-mom-of-boys-should-know.html), I bend down to see if this is the offending odor. That would be a resounding YES! I wonder WHY?????? She had JUST been out. And this was A LOT of pee!??!!! Was she marking territory? Suffering from doggie incontinence? Trying to make me go insane? A quick search of google on how to remove pet urine from carpet, and that's the end. I did crawl around and sniff the carpet all over to see if she had frequented any other parts of the room. I am happy to report she had not.
Fast forward to that evening, I am tucking the little boys into their bed. I am sitting on the floor, reading Drew and Sam a book. For some reason, I ask Drew, "Have you been peeing in your carpet?"
Now WHY did I ask my 5 year old, fully potty trained kindergartner if he was peeing on the carpet? I have no idea. But the look on his face as soon as I asked, and I knew. He got this sheepish guilty look. I have to admit I was a bit relieved. I can communicate with a child and solve the problem. If it was the dog, I was afraid it was going to be an ongoing problem. He still has said nothing, but I can tell by his reaction he is in fact the guilty party. I ask again, "Drew, did you pee-pee in your carpet?"
He says, "I don't want to be in trouble. Please don't be mad."
Me, "So you peed in your carpet?"
He just kind of stares at me, aware I already know the answer. I want to hear him say it. "Andrew, tell me the truth, or you will be in bigger trouble. You know Sophie got in trouble today because I thought she was peeing in your bedroom."
"I did mom."
"Why did you pee in your floor? "
"I don't know."
"That isn't an answer Drew. Tell me why you peed in the floor! How long have you been peeing in the floor (Remember, I said I noticed the smell earlier in the week, just took me a while to identify what it was!)? And where?"
"I did it 2 times, maybe 4. "
"Why"
"Someone was in the bathroom"
"you know we have two bathrooms, where did you pee?"
He points straight to where the offending spot had been.
We then went on to have a discussion about how he must use the bathroom. And then I felt the need to be even more specific. The toilet in the bathroom. I know Drew is kind of like me, and just not a morning person. He is also a little on the lazy side. So, I guess when someone was in the bathroom, and he is half asleep, he'd prefer to pee on the carpet instead of walking across the house to the other bathroom.
I didn't know whether I should spank him, laugh, ground him,......what i should do! I was grateful it wasn't the dog. However, seriously, how does a kid even think up the, hey, lets drop my pants and take a piss on the baseboard/carpet, routine? Maybe it is a family trait, peeing on things they shouldn't. Their dad did pee on an electric fence when he was a kid.........

That being said, carpets are cleaned, dog is no longer on my bad list, and I am making sure Drew pees first thing every morning!........IN THE TOILET!

Super Saturday Madness!

Tomorrow night is my ward's Back To School Bash Enrichment Pot Luck. How is that for a title!? I have been in a tizzy the past few days trying to figure out, buy supplies, and make samples for our Super Saturday in October. I will post some pics when I get things finalized. We are also playing LDS Family Feud tomorrow night. That'll be fun! We went to Sam's today to try to buy disposable cafeteria treys. They didn't have them anymore! Such a bummer! We got cute square plates instead! We promised the young women treats if they volunteered to sit the nursery, so I get to bake lots of cookies tomorrow!
This week is shaping up to be a crazy one! This afternoon Sophie has her first appt at the puppy groomer. She is getting a trim, wash, dry, having her nails done, and some other things that really didn't sound that fun to me. Sophie may feel assaulted when we pick her up. All i know is if when i went to get a shampoo, cut and dry they "expressed" anything associated with the word anal, I'd not be going back. Poor dog. But, at least she'll smell nice and fresh and have pretty nails!
Tomorrow is going to be fun! I always look forward to Enrichment night. (yes, i know i am a dork!) Really though, no kids, someone else making dinner, adult conversation; Can't beat it!
Though I have been getting some razzing about the invites. I made a last minute change and didn't fix part of it, so it read:
A-M bring a main dish
L-Z bring a side/dessert

Yes, I know L comes before M. I did go to Alabama public schools, and although I haven't bothered to actually graduate from college, I DO know the ABC's.

The kids are home and I better go diffuse the bombs!

I am a ding-bat....

This has been a long week. (though aren't they all!)
Between sick kids, RS presidency meeting, ach. days, scouts, and school projects; each evening has been a frenzy of activity. I would use the evening hours to kind of hang out a bit, catch up on laundry (or try to ).
By Friday am, (today) I was pretty much useless. I HATE getting up in the morning. HATE IT. To say it takes me a while to be coherent and pleasant would be fair.
This morning was no exception. I was up late lastnight working on my Deep Ocean Diorama and Election signs. Ok, not MINE, but somehow, I got suckered into "helping". The diorama turned out fantastic, and the signs we mostly cute. It got to be later than I have been. Got up the same time this morning. That sucked.
I dutifully go to the kitchen and make lunches for the 4 school aged kids, and one for Blake.
They all leave and Sam and I watch Curious George.
Typical day.

Around 1130, the phone rings and it is Blake calling from work. This is unusual as he hates talking on the phone, and even more so talking on the phone at work.

Blake: Did you make my lunch?
Me: Yeah, did you forget it at home?
Blake: No, I have it right here.
ME: Ok? (confused...)
Blake: Did you make me a sandwich
Me: Yes, i was out of sandwich bags to I wrapped it.
Blake: Well, I see it, but you, um. well.....
me: What?
Blake: Its just bread and cheese.
Me: What do you mean?
Blake: there is no meat. It is just mayo, mustard and cheese. No meat
Me: Are you sure?
Blake: yes, I am looking at it now. there is no meat.
Me: I know I got the meat out, wonder what happened to it (thinking to myself Sophie probably had a good morning snack) So are you going to eat the cheese sandwich?
Blake: No, it is gross
Me; Ok, sorry about that. Why don't you go get a sub....or see if they'll just sell you meat. Tell them you already have the bread, mayo, mustard and cheese.
Blake: (not thinking that is funny) Goodbye Ginger,


I couldn't help but giggle thinking of him unwrapping the sandwich and coming to realize it was just bread and cheese.
To make up for it, I took him to Outback for Salad and Steak tonight. Ok, I wanted to go out, but I took him with me!

Oh, Sam got in BIG trouble today. He was on the grumpy side this morning too (don't know where he gets that!). Sophie had been patiently sitting by the door waiting to go out for a while. I told him I was going to take her out, then we'd have lunch. He didn't want me to. Starting fussing. I told him Sophie had to pee and I was taking her out. So out Sophie and I go......
She quickly tends to business, and is ready to go back in. I get to the door and notice Sam is inside and the door is closed. He usually stands on the deck while I take her to pee. Not this time. he was mad I took her out before making him apple juice. I go to open the door. It is locked. Sam has disappeared. I am starting to get annoyed. I have no extra key anywhere. I'd have to go next door and call Blake to come home, or go ask the construction workers across the street to break into my house for me. I bang on the door. Sam comes and looks then walks away. I am loudly saying...>Sam, the door is locked...UNLOCK the door! He smiles and says, Mommy outside. OPEN THE DOOR SAM. Now I am getting mad. If I have to go to a neighbors or to the construction workers, he is REALLY going to regret it. You see, I was wearing Santa Claus pajama pants, Barney colored crocs, my hair in last nights ponytail, and a stained up polo shirt....no bra. Lovely. just lovely. I decide I better bang some more and convince the 2 1/2 year old to unlock the door.
UNLOCK THE DOOR!!!! SAM I MEAN IT>
Sam: (trying to turn the handle) You do it. It locked.
I try explaining to a 2 year old how to unlock the handle. After what seemed like forever he finally got it unlocked. Sophie and I came in, and I had to deal with the naughty 2 year old.

I was SO glad when bedtime came tonight. Now I am just counting down the minutes to mine. To sum it up, I was out smarted by a two year old, and failed to make a simple ham sandwich. I am a dingbat!

Ahh..nothing like waking in the morning to the fresh sounds of.....

Vomit. And to be clear, morning in this case is defined by 4 something in the morning. Oh, but the joy was just beginning.
Luckily, the guilty party had felt queasy earlier and was properly prepared for such a distribution of last-nights dinner.

Happy Labor Day!
Nothing like a holiday to make the kids sick. There go the plans!

Oh, but don't feel bad for me. You see, the fun was just beginning.
After making sure all was well with the puker, I nestled back into my bed. Hoping to get a bit more sleep. Not to be. Shortly after, Kayleigh comes in with the dog, who apparently felt she was missing out and insisted on being taken out at 5 in the morning. It was still dark, so Kayleigh was scared to take her out. Now, for about half a second, I was not in my right mind, and slipped on my shoes and was going to take Sophie out. Then I realized that I had no clothes on. Grabbed the robe, out the door. Sophie decides she just is out for a EARLY morning stroll, and nibbles a little here and there on her favorite snack.....grass.

I get tired of the morning salad-bar stroll, and suddenly realize I need to go to the bathroom. Gravity I guess? I tether the dog, and go in. Tell Kayleigh to keep an eye on her. Kayleigh goes and brings her in.

I am keeping my eye on her as she has a routine, she gets up in the morning and goes out to do her business, both kinds. She did not do the deed while out, and I do not want my carpet to fall victim to puppy potty problems. I notice her sniffing, so Kayleigh and I take her out again. Success.

We come in, and I settle in bed again. Thinking if I could just get back to sleep until 7am that would be fantastic. I knew yesterday when I told Blake I really needed to sleep in, it wouldn't happen. I roll over, put the covers up, and begin to snooze. Not 5 minutes later, I hear round two of the Refried Bean Regurgitation 2008 begin. I get back up. Tend to him, and go to the kitchen to get him some water to rinse with.

I notice Sophie is pacing back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room. I am always suspect when she paces. So i go see what she is pacing for.

Oh, the joy. The dog is sick too. Other end, but nasty none-the-less. It is about all I can do not to just sit down on the floor and cry. I have been up for two hours and have dealt with vomit, a slow stroll around the yard at 5am, more vomit, and now doggie doo (of the liquid variety) in my entry.
Instead of crying, I do what any sane person would do. I got pissed. Turned around, stomped to my room, collapsed on the bed and told Blake he had to go clean it up. Sprinkled in my proclamation on how gross it is was the reminder the dog was his idea, the question as to why I always get to clean up the body fluids, reminders it isn't fair, attempts at guilting him for sleeping while I nurtured the sick kid/dog, and then a pitiful attempt at ignoring the puddle of poo ensued. This outburst lasted for a mere moment, as I hear Sam is up, and am fearful he will find the poo and fall in it, and that, my friends, would have been the end of me.
My attempts to guilt, beg, and order Blake to clean it have failed miserably. This does nothing to help my mood, especially when the question of my needing Midol is floated. I stomp out and get the *%*#&%(!!! mop. Rubber gloves and paper towels in hand, and a few gag-ful minutes later, my floor is now poo free. Blake appears with the mop and bucket for final clean-up.

Poor Sophie is resting on one couch. Jonathon, also known as He-Who-Pukes-Too-Much, is laying on the other. They could pass as twins.
I am over my fit (the cleaning period was not a pleasant time here.......I believe I muttered many names about anyone who passed by as I cleaned Sophie's contribution to my morning) I am finally feeling sorry for Sophie instead of pissed at her. I sit on the armchair to watch the news coverage of Hurricane Gustav. Blake walks in, sits beside Sophie.
He turns to me, and asks, "Why aren't you in bed?" Seriously, SERIOUSLY, do you really want me to answer that?????????????
So, what did you do this morning before 6:30?

Gotta have Fay-th......Tropical Storm Fay that is!

For about two months, the past weekend was set to be one of adventure for our family! The guys had made plans to go canoeing over in Georgia. Mom was going to hang with Kayleigh, the little boys, and me. Kayleigh had a day-long achievement days activity, so it was just me, the younger kids, and my mom for Saturday. We began to wonder on Thursday if our weekend was going to play out as we had planned. A storm playing ping-pong with the Florida coast threatened to wash out the plans for a 17 mile canoe trip. Never fear, we kept an eye on the weather channel, and decided that unless it was a downright flood, they would go. What is the worst that could happen? They'd get wet on the river! The outfitting company wouldn't let them float if the river is high anyway.

We keep an eye on Fay, watching her bounce across Florida. Dumping massive quantities of rain wherever she went. We certainly needed the rain!

Mom, Dad and Chris arrived on Friday night. The weather in Rome seemed as if was going to be okay. Here in Alabama we were due for rain! Lots of wind, rain, and possible tornadoes! The guys left around 5am. Within 30 minutes of them leaving, Fay began dumping her rain here. The wind wasn't too bad, some gusts were pretty strong. Kayleigh was supposed to be at the chapel at 815 am to catch a ride to the stake center. Mom and i decided that after we dropped her off we would go to Sam's club. I hadn't been to Sam's in forever! We go to get in the car and the battery is dead! I kid you not, for forty five minutes, my mom and I tried to get the van started. We had the batteries hooked up, only we didn't realize the car you are jumping from has to be started when you try to crank the car needing a charge, duh......We had connected them, started moms car, then tried to start my van. Nothing would happen. My neighbor's husband came to our rescue. He unhooked everything, left moms car running, reconnected the batteries, and the van started on the first try! Easy....we are all set! Feeling a little dumb, but hey, the car is running!

By now the rain is heavy and steady. We call the guys to see where they are, and they are still on the road. Their weather is still holding.

We drop Kayleigh off right about an hour late. Head to Sam's. At this point the van has been running for over 40 minutes, so i didn't think anything about it any longer. We take our time in Sam's. Taste all the yummy samples, look at all the fun furniture, check out the Wii games. We check out and head to the van. The wind is whipping and the rain is POUNDING! We unload all the goods into the van, buckle the babies in, and NOTHING.

The dang van is dead again!!!!!!!!!!!Only this time, there is no neighbor to help, no house to keep the kids dry and warm, just the dead van, 35 mph winds, and enough rain to make ya start looking for the Ark.

Mom volunteers to go in and ask the tire dept if they have a mobile charger. I sit with the babies and defrosting groceries. I gave the kids an ICEE pop to keep them happy, and wait. Luckily, the guy in front of us comes out, and I jump out and beg him to help me. I could tell he thought twice about it, as it was pouring rain and he was about to get REALLY wet. He saw the kids in the van, and I think that is what did it for him. We get the cables, jump the van, and I pull up to see mom coming out. She has with her a guy from the Tire Center carrying a starterthingiemabob. We tell him thanks, but no thanks. Off we go. Straight home. The kids are wound-up and over-tired. I am soaking wet and a bit stressed. As we drive home, the wind gusts get stronger and the rain harder!

That is how the remainder of the day stayed too. HEAVY rain. Amazingly, the guys said it didn't start to rain there till they pulled out of the river at like 530 pm. They drove home in some REALLY bad rain and wind.

Sunday we were celebrating Andrew's birthday with the family. Evidently while we were blowing out candles and having cake, there was a funnel cloud right over the school that is across the street from us!

Monday was MORE rain! Sophie (the dog) was not enjoying this! She had to be carried past the door to go out. Once past the downspout, she was fine and would go trot in the rain. The kids spent about 2 hours in their cubbies because of tornado warnings on Monday.

This really was the kind of weekend I like. Lazy and Rainy! Nothing got accomplished in the house, but it was pretty relaxing (if you ignore the van problems!)

Tuesday finally saw and end to the rain. Around 4:00 my neighbor called and told me to go outside. This is what we found:

I guess to get a Rainbow, all we need is a lot of Fay-th.....I know cheesy....but i just couldn't help it!

Big Announcement! IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

Kayleigh is finally getting a sister! It seemed like it would never happen. Three boys in a row after Kayleigh.

We decided we were done. Five kids were enough. I resisted and resisted and resisted, but sometimes you just can't help it! We were definately missing a member of our family. As much as I wanted to be done, to be able to sleep through the night, to be done (almost) with potty training......I relented. It is our pleasure to announce our new baby! Her name is Sophie.

She is a 2 year old Dachshund, Border Collie mix. She essentially looks like a midget Border Collie. LUCKILY, she came to us potty trained! She is very well behaved. We have only heard her bark 3 times! She does well on the leash, and loved to curl up on the couch. She is great with the kids, and is adjusting to our crazy family quite nicely.

We got her from the Humane Society! She is just a sweetheart! She looks very much like a dog I had growing up, so we jokingly refer to her as Oreo 2.0 (Oreo was the dog's name). We are still getting used to having her here. We have to watch opening the door, she tries to go everywhere we go. She gets up on the bed. I had to take my flipflops from her five times today.

We have been shutting her in the masterbath when we leave, then shutting the master. I came home yesterday and she has somehow let herself out of the bathroom and was SLEEPING ON MY BED! She is curled up beside me now. She had her first Vet appt. today! She didnt like some of the things they did to her, though I must say, I sympathize with her!

One is the loneliest number......or maybe not!

The last few weeks of summer, as always, were packed full of excitement! Here is a brief summary:

Our niece came to visit us for a week from New York. She was visiting her other grandparents in Alabama when the grandmother got sick and had to be hospitalized. She came to hang with us while her grandmother got better. It was fun! I think Kayleigh enjoyed having a GIRL to play with! While Emily was here visiting, our friends from Missouri (who just moved to Atlanta) came for a three day visit! So Kayleigh had 2 girls to play with, Bryce and drew got to play with their friend Carter, I got to hang with my friend Manda( and we had FUN!), and Sam got to torture their dog. In the picture above, we are taking Emily back to her grandparents on our way to Mobile! We spent about 4 days in Mobile! Dad went out of town, leaving Mom all alone, so we headed down for the weekend, and had fun! It was HOT, but it was still a nice trip! Sam played himself out, and fell asleep on the floor! After our trip to mobile, Jonathon and I went house hunting in Atlanta. We all know how that story goes, but we had a fun trip! Got to see Scott, Melinda and the boys (thanks for letting us crash!) We came home, and were in a whirlwind of job interviews, moving, not moving, and such when we got a phone call!

Blake's sister, Amanda, and her family wanted to come through for a visit. We haven't seen them since we went to Disney 3 years ago! They came on Wednesday! Andrew and his cousin, Bella, hit it off and were nearly inseparable.

The rest of the kids got along quite well too! Can you see all those kids!!!???!!! We had 11 children 12 and under in our house for 2 days, and they were all ours or Amanda's!!!!! Those are some busy parents....in many ways! :P

Truthfully, the visit went quite well, and we were sad to see them go so quickly. We played Rock band, cards, and only had one vomiting incident!
I will say feeding 11 kids at one time is quite the chore! We are used to having large groups at our home. Since we are the midpoint in my family, we often have family things here, but there is usually a higher adult-to-kid ratio. And again, the girls were out numbered 7-4.

The Jackson's left Thursday, and Blake started his new job on Friday!

Even BIGGER news....Andrew is an official Kindergartner! He got his shots and didn't even cry! What a brave boy! He loves school and his teacher so far! He looked SO cute carrying his school bag in and getting off the bus the first day!

Here are all the kids on their first morning of school!

And what is that????? That is a 2 year old with his shoes on. Why? Because he thought he was going to school too! Are those tears??? YES they are! He was not a happy boy being left at home all alone!

So what does a mom do with a very sad 2 year old???

Give him a paintbrush, a block, and some paint! Duh!!!!!

He made quite the mess, but he was SO proud of his block, and enjoyed painting with mommy! Today is the kids fourth day of school, and EVERY morning so far, he has gotten his shoes on and asked me, "mommy, we go?" The first day of school we went grocery shopping, the second day we went shopping for craft supplies for a baby gift i was working on, the third day we went to the park for 2 hours. So far today, I have been able to hold him off, but it looks like a trip to Target is in our future. Though, that is probably a mom thing, not a Sam thing! :)

And here is my project I complete while Sam was painting. It is a gift of a friend having her first baby! The frame is about 25x20. If you look closely at the frame, you can see hints of pink and green coming through the cream paint! I love making things for little girls! So fun!

Now, I just have a Super Saturday to plan (anyone got ideas for some great craft projects!) and I want to get my Etsy shop up and running! It has been a BIG adjustment having Blake back at work, 4 of the 5 kids in school, and the house to Sam and myself. I forget too how much a 2 year old needs to be entertained without 4 others around! I see lots of play dates in our future!!

Hope the school year is starting off great for you all too! Once again, I feel so lucky to live just across from the school. I can be a lazy mom, and still get my kids to school on time!

Replacement part.....PLEASE!

Well, I did it again today! It wasn't near as good as the "molly mormon" incident of June '08, but the entire room again, got a good laugh at my expense.

When will I learn? Probably never. I really need like a three second delay to keep me from doing stupid things like smelling pee-soaked underwear, calling someone's wife a "molly mormon", making the ill timed joke; then there was the time I thought I was sending my sister Jessica a funny news story, but instead it seemed I had accidentally sent an off-color news story to my Bishop! (thankfully, I had ONLY sent it to my Sister-in-law who is aware of my lack of common sense), and to keep me from just plain ole' saying the wrong thing at just the right time!

So my question....how do I get a replacement part for that filter that I evidently didn't get, or have somehow broken?

I think I may count to three each time before I speak. Thankfully, for every stupid thing I say, it does seem like I say 10 or so intelligent things. Or at least I think i do??????

I am certainly learning to think before I speak. Just wish I didn't embarrass myself so in the process!

So, if anyone has a part number for "Stupid Comment Mouth Filter" and "Common Sense Housewife Chip" I would be greatly appreciative! Otherwise, look forward to many more lovely stories about my rather unfortunate mistakes!

Stop the presses.....Change of Plans!

So, today, I should be packing, arranging, cleaning, sorting, STRESSING.
Blake was SUPPOSED to start his new job in Atlanta, GA on Monday.
I went on a house-hunting trip last week to find a house, and with much frustration, had little success! Things were not falling into place. The house we wanted was for Sale or Rent. It had been on the market as a FOR SALE house for months, and FOR RENT for a little over a week. Our realtor was contacting the other realtor to get our application, and to get details. I LOVED that house. It was huge, beautiful, and would have fit our perfectly!
After seeing everyhouse in the area in our price range, I was finally content and Jonathon and I headed back to Alabama.
The realtor called us and told us that morning, the other Realtor had received an offer to buy. They would entertain that first, then consider the Lease applicants. They should know something in a day or two. Great. We were going to wait and see if the offer took, but in the mean time line up our second choice home.

Well, none of that matters, as Blake is not going to Atlanta. He got a job in Montgomery! Not ony a job, but a great job, with more money, and FREE benefits!!!!!! It is amazing what has happened at the last minute.

Our Bishop had been trying to help find Blake a job since we moved here, off and on. He has a lot of contacts, and evidently a really good reputation among his peers.

Nothing was coming. We kept hearing....his resume looks great, we'd love to have him, but dont have a spot.....We were told mutliple times he needed to "dumb down" his resume, as he had the resume of a CIO or CTO, and the were usually hired from withing. Great, but we need a paycheck folks!

So, while I was in Atlanta, a series of email went back and forth between Blake and our bishop. Blake pretty much told the Bishop thanks for all the help, we've run out of town. He also told him that I was in ATL househunting, and that we were more than likely moving in a little over a week, as unless there was Divine Intervention, we had to go where the job was.

Well, here I sit, a week later. There was in fact Divine Intervention. The Bishop emailed Blakes resume to a friend at a firm he used to work at. (Which, by the way, is the same firm that Blake interviewed with in May and had the job which the AF never funded!) The VP said the resume looked great, and he'd put it in a file, but taht he didnt have anything. That was Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon, Blake got an email from him, the VP, that they wanted to interview him Friday (last Friday). So he interviewed, and they told him they'd make a decision and notify on Tuesday.

Tuesday comes and we here nothing. Oh, the nerves, the twisting stomach! I know many of our friends and lots of the ward were praying for and with us! Guess we arent TOO unlikable....
Tuesday afternoon, Blake emails the VP the usual thanks for the opportunity to interview, blah blah blah......He gets a reply that is somewhat jumbled, but basically sounded like he got the job!

An hour later, it is confirmed, we have the job in Montgomery!!!!!!The only thing we needed then was Air Force approval.....(agh! not this again!) and for Blake to accept the offer! So we were still unsure it was 100%!
Wednesday he goes in to meet with the VP again, and see the offer in print. They offered him more money than Atlanta, and they pay for 100% of our medical, dental, vision insurance!

We truly feel blessed and that our prayers have been answered! We didnt mind moving, but staying here is what we really wanted!

So, that is the news! He got a great job here in Montgomery, doing what he wants to do! Yeah!!!! Oh, and he starts tomorrow!!!!!

Was he the Brown kid or the White kid?

Our ward has experienced a massive influx of people this summer.This is a natural occurrence since we are so close to the military base. Every year there is a big move in and move out. There are lots of families that are here for only a year to attend a school at Maxwell. We also have gotten several others that are here for 2-4 years. Two Sundays ago they welcomed about 5 families.
The primary is absolutely busting at the seams! In Relief Society, we are having to pull in extra chairs. Today, from the pulpit, the had to ask everyone make room as there were people in the foyer with no place to sit, and we already had the overflow opened! It is great!
After church on the way home, Jonathon was telling me he had been talking to one of the new boys, Abe. We moved here about a year ago, and this had been a harder move for Jonathon. He said he wanted to make sure the boy felt welcomed. I was so proud of him for this.
I was curious which family he belonged to, as I had seen him with one of the families, but couldn't remember. So I asked, "Was he the the Brown kid or the White kid?"
Jonathon and Kayleigh both looked at each other, then looked at me. Their faces both in a bit of shock. And as innocently and matter-of-factly as possible, kayleigh said, " Mom, there were no new brown children. They were all white children." Then, as if she was bothered, added," And why are you asking, you never ask if they are brown or white."

I am giggling at this point, facing the road so they can't see me laughing. I reply, "I wasn't asking that, I was just trying to figure out what family they belong to....the White's or the Brown's."

Jonathon and Kayleigh both laugh, realizing the mistake.

"Oh," Kayleigh said. "I thought you were asking if they were white or brown, and wondered why you cared."

Blake and I both found it funny. The thought hadn't even occurred to me about color, I was just trying to figure out which family had kids the same ages as ours to try to arrange play dates.

Though, in our ward, we now have the Black family, White family, and Brown family. So, if you are the Grey's, or any other color family, we're waiting for you to move on in.