Vanishing comments

OK, I fiddled around with the template again (visited Blogger Templates and noticed they had posted new coding for this template). The code for commenting is much nicer than the typical Blogger comment style and now I will get email notifications again (bye-bye HaloScan). Tomorrow I may do further tweaking (just words and stuff). Guess I can't leave well enough alone!

Edited to add: Hey, I wonder if the new template might have fixed that Safari problem... Anyone out there using a Mac who can tell me?

Thanks, Flirt!

Flirt made me this cute button. I didn't even ask!

Playing Michele's games can be hazardous to your pocketbook

I love Michele, don't get me wrong. But doggone it, I'm getting a severe case of blog-envy from some of these other sites! I want something cool.. something more "me" (whatever that is).... Wait, I'm not really cool; remember the test? Zoot has said she will help me out in a month or so, and I really thought I could wait (and maybe I can), but these Scavenger Hunts have made my craving seem too powerful to wait that long. And then Kym goes and totally redoes her site with the most awesome design and my jones is getting really bad. Alas, I have no techy husband to do all that coding for me. I am stuck with what I have for now... something that doesn't show up right for those using Safari... Unless..... I hire someone to install Wordpress or MT and do a site design for me. Oh yeah. Like that's happening. Remember we are trying to get our house ready to sell before we move to California?? The disposable income just isn't there for this little hobby of mine.

I guess March 7 isn't that far off... or is it?

Preparing for a long day

It's Sunday... that means I won't be here. First comes Sunday school and church (with my husband OOT, I get to teach the junior high class in his place; we're in Acts 12 and 13, if you'd like to read along). Then afterwards will be LTC practice until 4:00 or so. We'll come home, let the dog out, and be back at 6 for our 5th Sunday service (we don't usually meet on Sunday evenings... those are reserved for Family Life Groups... but we get together as a large group on 5th Sundays). That puts us back home between 7:30 and 8, depending on how long we wind up staying afterwards. Whoever said weekends were relaxing doesn't live our life.

I finally finished Michele's Round 3 Scavenger Hunt. Funny how one day you totally miss something and the next it just jumps out at you. Have started Round 4 and so far it is taking me as long as the others. Perhaps later tonight I will be able to work on it.

Well, off to get my shower and get ready. Then I'll wake up the kids and get them ready as well.

Welcome, Scavengers!

Imagine my surprise today to find I am on Michele's Scavenger Hunt! All you scavengers grab a comfy spot and make yourself at home.

I'd love to give you some hints, but nope, just can't do it. Not even for $100 dollars. I'm not gonna tell you a thing.

Hope you enjoy your visit!

The search is over

Found a bathing suit! Thumper, we did not make it to Sam's to look at Speedo's. I don't think the suits there would fit, anyhow... she is in that in-between stage; adult suits are too big, but the 7-14 sizes in the girls' departments are too small. I would have gone to Kohl's, but with our schedule the way it is this week, it would have meant taking all 4 kids again.... and they get really bored at Kohl's. So we wound up just down the street a ways at Gordmans. Again, the selection was iffy, but we found something I could live with that she fell in love with. (I just reread that and realized it makes it seem like I didn't really like the suit. I do. It's very cute. I guess it is just not what I would pick for a 13yo if I had more choices.) I didn't like the $40 price tag, but Emily offered to split the cost with me (somehow it seems like I'm still paying for it though... considering all her money comes from her father and me). We did wind up with a tankini. But the top still covers her stomach when she raises her arms over her head. So it passed the tummy test. I just hope it passes the water test this weekend.

I'm getting ready to do more scrapbooking this afternoon. My friend Kami, who is a Creative Memories consultant, is coming over to work with me. She's also staying for dinner and is going to give Emily a ride to Bible Bowl practice on her way home. This will save me a 50-minute round trip ride out there and back to drop her off, plus the one to go pick her up. Kami's 3yo daughter Kadie will also be here. She'll be good company for Halle and Joel. I might have a couple of other friends come by to scrap as well. This could be a real fun afternoon!

Does this come in one piece?

Emily is going to a sleepover birthday party this weekend. The mom has reserved a hotel room for her daughter and a few friends; they'll swim, watch in-room movies, eat junk. One slight problem. My dear 13-year-old has outgrown last season's bathing suit. Yeah, that's right. And she doesn't wear "Girls" sizes any longer.

So we stop at Target on our way home from taekwondo class today. Our initial reason for going was to get her friend's present, but when she saw the bathing suits out, wanted to try some on. They had not one single one-piece bathing suit! All they had were bikinis and tankinis. I wound up letting her try a tankini.... but once I saw the top on her, I had to veto it. It was WAY too lowcut. What is up with that? I just can't believe the selection was so limited.

So now we have until Saturday to find a bathing suit. She wants one now (like she wants everything). We just have to find time in between other commitments (my WW meeting, ladies' prayer group, kids' evening taekwondo) to go out and look.

It's only Tuesday?

Sheesh. It really feels like it should be at least Thursday.

I had lunch with friends today... we're all ladies from the same church who try to get together at least once a month to celebrate each other's birthdays (or is that others' birthdays?? Oh well.. I'm not looking it up. Read it with whatever version you deem correct.) As we conversed of vacations, kids, schedules, etc., I looked around the table and found myself getting all misty-eyed at the thought that I would no longer have these women in my life 4 1/2 months from now. At least not physically in my life. Those thoughts continued with me as I drove home as well. I confess my eyes did more than mist on that drive.

I am no stranger to goodbyes. We left our last home almost 2 years ago. That was a heart-wrenching move. We have good friends back there in Ohio whom I haven't seen in months. These friends will always be good friends, regardless of how often we talk. They don't check their email, so we don't converse as often as I'd like. But when we do get on the phone, it is almost as if nothing has changed. However, my new friends are all email-savvy. We are more likely right now to send each other emails rather than call, unless there is an urgent need/request. I am determined to keep in touch with these gals. They are the kind of women who will try to come visit us after we get to California. I think I will need that.

Milestones

Halle lost her first tooth tonight. We didn't even know it was loose until about 20-30 minutes before she wiggled it loose! As you can see, she's quite pleased.



What a difference between Halle's reaction to her first loose tooth and her older sister's! Emily was very squeamish about her first one... she didn't want to wiggle it and she didn't want anyone else messing with it. Once Halle found out this one was loose, she set to work on it with a vengeance. Success was not far off.

And now the tooth right next to that one is loose as well. Guess the tooth fairy will be busy here this week!

Edited/Updated to add: Emily says my memory is faulty (wouldn't be the first time). She says she lost her first tooth eating popcorn and almost swallowed it. The episode I am thinking about was her 3rd tooth. What a bad mommy. I stand corrected. However, I still stand by my assessment of the differences between my 2 daughters.

Sunday stuff

I am up much earlier than I need to be today. We aren't going to early services this morning, so no need to leave the house until 9ish. But... with hubby gone, I have 3 kids sharing my kingsize bed. That wouldn't be too bad if Joel hadn't forgotten to put a Pull-Up on before bedtime, and I hadn't forgotten to remind him/check to make sure. I woke up earlier smelling that smell you don't want to smell... Guess I'll be throwing in a load of laundry before we go to church, and Febrezing the mattress.

It's just as well we are going to late services. We are having a potluck afterwards (ooooh... I need to put my roast in the crock pot), then a series of events/sessions having to do with the youth camp our kids go to each summer. We won't finish up until 4:30. So at least this way, the dog is only home alone in his kennel from 9-5 instead of 7:45 to 5. Poor baby. I suppose I should be thankful that it's only like this on Sundays, and not Monday through Friday, like some poor doggies have to suffer through.

Saturday Six

From Patrick's Place:

1. Which of the following is your favorite store and why?
A) Wal-Mart
B) Target
C) K Mart
D) Sears

2. How far does your closest friend who's not in the same town as you live, and when was the last time you saw them in person?

3. Have you ever gone on a date with someone you met online? Would you?

4. What is your favorite novel and what makes it stand out for you?

5. You get snowed in at your home for three days. You have power and telephone service, but no way to leave the house. How will you amuse yourself?

6. A fellow journaler you consider a friend disappears from J-land. Visitors leave comments in the journal but they get no response. You send the journaler an E-mail to make sure everything is okay, and despite the fact that you see that it has been read, you get no reply. What do you do?

My answers:

1. Target (or Tar-zhay). More specifically, SuperTarget.

2. My OOT best friend is a 14-hour drive away. I haven't seen her since last May.

3. Never gone on a date with someone I met online, but have met online friends IRL. Not sure I would do the dating thing.

4. Tough question. I think Lightning by Dean Koontz. I loved the characters and their sense of humor in the face of adversity.

5. Blogging and blog-surfing. GameCube with the kids. Trivial Pursuit. FOOD!

6. Nothing to do but wait, unless I have their address. Then I drive to their house and park outside and watch them. (No, not really... but it could happen.)

The Obligatory "100 Things" Post

(This post was edited Mar. 19, 2010, and re-edited April 26, 2011.)


1. I was a skinny child and a fat teen.

2. I played the French horn for 3 years.

3. I was yearbook co-editor and #3 in my high school class.

4. I babysat for the vice-principal. I hung out more with my teachers than I did the other kids.

5. Aside from my college years in the dorm, I lived in the same house from the time I came home from the hospital until I married my husband.

6. Said house was located in the same town as the restaurant famous for its Throwed Rolls.

7. I graduated with honors from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in Home Economics.

8. No, I can't sew. It wasn't that kind of Home Economics.

9. I met my husband at church in the town where we were both attending college.

10. It was not love at first site. He was too skinny and had on a 3-pc. suit. Thankfully, I looked past that.

11. My husband is was a nurse anesthetist in the Air Force. Now he is a director of an anesthesia department at a local hospital.

12. We have lived in Cape Girardeau, MO; Dayton, OH (twice); Ft. Walton Beach, FL; Rockville, MD;  Omaha, NE; and Travis AFB, CA.

13. Now we are in Huntsville, AL and plan to stay for good!

14. We have 4 kids. Emily is 19, Noah is 15, Halle is 12, and Joel is 10.

15. Noah was born at home. (No, I didn't plan it that way.)

16. He was born on Emily's 4th birthday.

17. Having babies is easy for me. It's raising them that makes me scream for an epidural.

18. Some days I'm glad other women want epidurals. It pays the bills.

19. Other days I wish they'd suck it up so my husband could be home for dinner.

20. I like Dean Koontz novels. The man has an out-of-this-world imagination and a great sense of humor.

21. I have 1 older brother and 1 older sister living. Another older brother was killed in a car accident 15 years ago.

22. When I hear fiddle music, I think of him and miss him.

23. My husband retired from the Air Force on Jan. 1, 2010.

24. If he hadn't found a great job here, our second choice would have been Omaha.

25. We only have about 2 1/2 to 3 years to go. Time to start planning our dream house. We made a last minute decision to retire, so didn't build a house. But we found a great one anyhow.

26. I love looking at home plans. No need to look any longer!

27. I am a Christian.

27. We attend a great church here and I sing on the praise team.

28. We have a 8yo wire-haired fox terrier named Campbell and a 4yo Great Dane named Rory.

29. I have 9 nieces and nephews and 6 great-nieces/nephews.

30. I was the baby of my family. But according to Dr. Leman, I'm also a functional first born and functional only child.

31. I think he meant dysfunctional.

32. I like Disney stuff. We are DVC members.

33. My favorite vacation so far was our Disney cruise in Dec. 2003.

34. We went again in September 2005.

35. That would have been my favorite vacation, but I broke my foot falling down some steps on Grand Cayman.

36. Hopefully we'll plan another cruise soon.

37. I like to watch movies, but am getting fed up with the profanity and sex in them. It's getting hard to find something worth watching these days.

38. I like Jim Brickman. I also have a collection of Barry Manilow albums and CDs.

39. Until I got my van with XM radio, I listened to KLOVE. We don't get KLOVE here.

40. So I mostly listen to XM 32: The Message, although I've become a recent "Rick and Bubba" convert on The River 100.3.

41. I love to sing.

42. Emily doesn't like it when I sing, even though everyone says I have a good voice.

43. I tell Emily to live with it. When she pays the mortgage, she can tell me where I can sing.

44. Some days I am a soprano. Most days I sing alto or even tenor.

45. I am a wannabe scrapbooker.

46. I have 2 bags full of Creative Memories supplies I need to use.

47. I have about 19 years' worth of pictures to sort and put in albums.

48. Not all of them are in print. The last few years are on CDs or on my hard drive.

49. We don't have cable television any more. We have way too many channels.

50. My favorite one is HGTV. I'm not sure I have a favorite anymore.

51. I used to watch Trading Spaces on TLC. On our first Disney cruise in Dec. 2003, I met Paige Davis.

52. I have a picture of us together, plus an autographed copy of her book.

53. I have an autographed picture of her husband, too. He is a Broadway actor who played Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast and Scar in The Lion King.

54. I'd like to make it to NYC some day to see a Broadway show... maybe Wicked, which we did get to see in San Francisco 5 years ago.

55. I am a fast reader.

56. In college, I stayed up one night and read all of Gone With the Wind. It only took me 5 or 6 hours.

57. I still have a hard time putting down a good book. These days it is liable to be a Karen Kingsbury novel or something by Francine Rivers... or a host of other Christian authors.

58. If I don't have a book in my hand, and I'm not watching TV or singing, I might be reading a book on my iPhone using the Kindle for iPhone app. I think every book I have on it is one I got for free (and they aren't all the classics, either).

58. If I'm not doing any of the above, I'm probably online.

59. I have had some kind of online account since 1993.

60. I had a Prodigy account (it came with the computer) and can still remember my account name (just a bunch of letters and numbers).

61. My first web page was on Prodigy. Then I moved to Geocities, and finally here to Blogger.

62. I prefer blogging. It's quicker and easier than maintaining a regular webpage.

63. I hung out at the ParentsPlace chat rooms a lot back then.

64. I was known as CareerMom. Most people thought it meant I worked out of the home.

65. But I stay home with my kids.

66. I homeschooled my kids until this school year. Now the three youngest are in a small private Christian school and my oldest is in community college.

67. Yes, they get plenty of socialization.

68. Emily would argue with that, but she is thinking of socializing, not socialization.

69. I want to visit Hawaii some day.

70. And Alaska.

71. I'm sometimes a little nervous about moving to CA. The farthest west I've ever been is Kearney, NE. I don't like California and cannot wait to move. I am thrilled to be back in the South again!

72. I used to do a lot of counted cross stitch.

73. I don't anymore. My fingers go numb. I had carpal tunnel surgery in both hands (not at same time... one in February, one 3 weeks ago) and they feel so much better, I may give it a try again soon.

74. I like crossword puzzles and word games.

75. The best puzzles are by Dell. "Dude, you should have bought a Dell."

76. I like to play the piano.

77. But I'm only good enough to play for fun.

78. I used to be a La Leche League leader.

79. I nursed for 8 years with only a 2 1/2-month break between my 2nd and 3rd children.

80. I like to eat at Japanese hibachi restaurants. Hibachi chicken is my favorite dish there.

81. I also love a good chicken alfredo.

82. I like to cook, but I hate cleaning the kitchen.

83. Ditto with doing laundry. I don't mind washing it, but I wish someone else would put it away. I'm enjoying it more these days; maybe because I feel like I have more time to do it now that I'm not trying to teach the kids and do laundry at the same time.

84.This is taking me longer than I thought it would!

85. I have big feet: Ladies' size 10 1/2 - 11, Mens' size 9.

86. I hate shoe shopping.

87. I'm not a fan of cold and snow.

88. Nebraska has lots of cold and often lots of snow.

89. I'd like to take the friends I have there and move them someplace warm (like here!) with me.

90. We were at the airport in Newark, NJ on 9/11/2001.

91. We were there when the towers were struck. If we could have seen through the smoke, we would have seen the second tower hit.

92. Yes, it was a scary thing.

93. No, we did not get our vacation to Disney World that was supposed to have begun that day.

94. We bought a Yukon XL 9 days later.

95. But we haven't given up flying.

96. I just wish it was cheaper.

97. If I had to work outside the home, I would want to own a bookstore, preferably one that specialized in children's and young adult literature.

98. I have a strange "affliction" that makes me burst out in song whenever I hear something that reminds me of a song lyric. It doesn't even have to be the actual lyrics to a song; it can be just slightly reminiscent of one.

99. I have a late-night load of school uniforms awaiting me...

100. I'm glad I made it to 100.

One of those days

Message to self:

Almost alone

It's almost 8 a.m. and all but one of the kids are still asleep. Halle just woke up and asked me if I would go watch Fiddler on the Roof with her. Yeah, my 6yo likes that movie. I like to think she gets her good taste from her mom. Oh yeah, and that's one to add to my list of movies to cry by.

My 2 weeks of single parenthood start tomorrow night. And Emily is having a friend sleep over, so I will have one extra 13-yo girl. 'Nuff said about that.

The PsychoKitty Speaks Out: Diary Of A Mad Housecat

My friend Thumper's cat has written a book. You really want to read this book. Max is the funniest cat you've ever read. I. Kid. You. Not.

You will learn new terms like "Kitty Crack," "Stinky Goodness," and "Sticky Little People." You will laugh. A lot.

Go order a copy. Tell her I sent you.

What's your viewing pleasure?

Just one question: Widescreen or Fullscreen??

Is it something I said?

Gee, judging from the comments (or lack thereof) these past few days, I am getting really boring. What can I say? My life has been full of some pretty boring stuff. Shopping for blinds and shower curtains... doing laundry... I also don't want to spend a lot of time dwelling on negative stuff. So if I can't think of anything positive to say, I'll sit on my hands till I think of something. (That's not to say there will *never* be a complaint or negative word, but I don't want to post entire novels on how crappy life is.)

Anyhoo... it seems like I am finally getting somewhat back to normal around here. We actually did school today (the floor did not cave in, the roof is still on the house). My order list for new materials is almost complete (cha ching). The order form for our fundraising cookbook is ready to put in the mail. I can relax a little bit now.

Life is good.

Dodge this

I mentioned my husband going to Blockbuster the other night with Emily, my oldest. They came back with Napoleon Dynamite, Dodgeball, Surviving Christmas, and Collateral. I fell asleep during the first one. I didn't really want to watch the last one after I heard the first few obscenity-laden conversations. So I watched Surviving Christmas last night while he was watching Collateral. It was an OK movie. Not hilarious, not totally boring. It was kinda fun watching Ben Affleck play a 30-something millionaire with the social skills of a 10-year-old.

Fast forward to this morning. I have 2 large baskets of laundry to fold and 4 movies due back at Blockbuster by noon, one of which "everyone" says is just hilarious. So I popped in Dodgeball and watched while I folded the laundry. It could have been a good movie. I got tired of some of the language in it, but the last straw was near the very end, when the lead female character swapped spit with another female... and then proudly announced she was bisexual. That didn't add one thing to the movie. It was tasteless and unnecessary. And kids are watching this. It just gives me a sinking feeling in my stomach. If you haven't watched it, don't bother.

Just for fun

Nothing new... I've never claimed to be on the cutting edge of cool.

Long days

We are entering the season of long Sundays for me. I mentioned in my previous post about Leadership Training for Christ, which my 2 oldest are involved in. As we prepare for the convention on Easter weekend, we will be spending most Sunday afternoons rehearsing chorus, drama, and puppet skits... plus practicing for Bible Bowl. Yesterday we went to early service at church (begins at 8:15). That was followed by Sunday School (9:40-10:30). During 2nd service, my daughter and 5 other girls worked on a banner (for the LTC convention). I helped get lunch for the LTC kids started in the kitchen. After second service (noonish), the kids came in and ate lunch. Then began the various practices. That lasted until 4pm. Now I am not the only person who is spending that much time on this... there are several other couples who are involved. But it is draining. Or at least it is this year. I don't remember it feeling like this last year.

Yesterday we didn't come straight home afterwards. We had to run by Linens 'N Things to take back a shower curtain and stuff. We're redoing the kids' bathroom after the new paint job. Took us two more stops (Kohl's, SuperTarget) to find something we could all agree on. It was nearly 7 before we got home. We still had to eat dinner (my dear sweet hubby made spaghetti and garlic bread). Noah had 2 boys coming over to spend the night. They played up here on the GameCube for a while, then headed downstairs where the PlayStation resides and took down a stash of movies as well. Emily and her dad went to Blockbuster and picked up some movies. I started to watch Napoleon Dynamite with them, but was just too tired, so I wound up upstairs in bed by 9:30/10 and fell asleep very quickly. I had the whole (king-size) bed to myself all night.... everyone else camped out in the family room (except the boys... they had the basement all to themselves).

This morning I am going to make some cinnamon streusel muffins or bread for the kids to eat for breakfast. I'd better get started on that.

Potpourri

No, not the scented stuff.... I'm referring to the variety of topics weaving their way through the sulci and gyri of this thing I call a brain. What I did last night, what I'm going to do today.... It's free association day, where my post may lead in a thousand different directions.

Brian is getting ready to go out of town for a couple of weeks. So yesterday, he and Noah went out for a "guys' breakfast." Last night, he and Joel had the house to themselves to hang out alone in (and play loads of GameCube and watch movies), and Monday, he is taking Halle out for breakfast. (He and Em have had one-on-one time more recently than the others). I get to go out with Emily today. I hope these are things my children will remember, and that we do these often enough to make a difference.

So last night the girls and I went to a friend's house for the evening. Emily and Noah are both participating in Leadership Training for Christ (LTC), which hosts a convention every Easter weekend. Some of the events/activities featured at this convention are Bible Bowl, puppet skits, dramas, art exhibits, choruses, sign language (song)... The majority of the kids participating from our congregation are 3rd-6th graders, but we have a small group of junior high kids who are doing Bible Bowl. That group was gathering last night to study the first 3 chapters of Luke. While Emily was doing that, another mom and I were reading, editing, and rewriting drama and puppet skits. We took the kids bowling after they finished their studying, and continued our work on the scripts at the bowling alley. (I think if anyone put down their beer or cigarette long enough to notice us, we probably were a funny site... we were reading these dramas aloud to each other, taking different parts and using different voices.) We got a lot done and I can't wait to see the kids working on these skits.

The whole beer and cigarette thing leads me to my next tangent. That was the absolute WORST bowling alley I have ever been in, scent-wise. The smoke smell was the heaviest I have ever experienced. I was literally stripping my clothes off seconds after we got in the house. Everything I had, right down to my foundation garments (what a prissy sounding word... but better than underwear) was covered in stale tobacco scent. All 3 of us girls put our coats and clothes in the wash last night. And I headed straight to the shower to get the smell out of my hair. Today I am snuffling and snorting from the exposure. (Has California banned smoking in public places yet??)

So today Emily and I will probably go out for lunch... Brian has a mens' prayer group this morning, so we will wait for him to get back (probably not till after 10). Lunch seemed to make more sense. She wants to go to Olive Garden.... and that sounds yummy. With the frigid temperatures here, a nice bowl of Pasta Fagioli will really hit the spot. When we get back, it will probably be near time to go to Noah's basketball game. And hopefully after that, we'll finish up getting the house put back together. The main thing left to do is get stuff up on the walls, so I'm not sure how much we'll get done today.

What is he thinking?

We finally got our bedroom put back together yesterday afternoon. We decided to do some rearranging of the furniture (all 3 pieces... yes, it is sparsely furnished). We moved the bed to a different wall and the chest to the wall opposite where it used to be. The nightstand now sits adjacent to the bed, but is angled in a corner instead of being right next to the bed facing out. We now have a huge amount of free floor space at the foot of our bed. (Hey... there's enough space to put down one of the Oriental Rugs my husband bought in Oman a couple of years ago... the rugs that are rolled up in our closet and have never been spread out on a floor other than to examine them when he brought them home. Will have to think on this...) Anyhow... the dog is totally freaked by this. He walks into the room and sits in corner and looks like he has lost his best friend. I wonder how long it will take him to realize it's the same room and he is still allowed in there?

I lost something

2 more pounds gone! I was really dreading going to weigh-in today; I felt like I hadn't been eating like I should this past week or so. But the scale said differently... What a good feeling. I hope I can maintain the momentum.

It's Show-Your-Desk Day

Donna over at Quiet Life is inviting us all to show her our desks. I admit I did a little bit of moving and stacking for this picture.

The Crying Game

Following up on my earlier post about crying at movies, what are your favorite movies/scenes from movies that make you cry? Here's my list (in no particular order):

1. You've Got Mail: the ending, of course!
2. Return of the King: The reunion of Arwen and Aragorn; the Hobbits' farewell
3. Mr. Holland's Opus: mostly the ending.
4. Return to Me: when David Duchovny's character comes home to an empty house (his wife had just died)
5. Holiday Inn: when Bing gets his girl.

I'm sure there are more... my brain is shutting down for the night. Some of your favorites are probably mine as well.

I'm just sensitive

I just finished entering the last recipe for the fundraising cookbook and am ready to fill out the order forms. Before that, I folded all those ginormous baskets of laundry that were in my family room. I have put away the basketful of clothes that belonged in my closet, Emily has put away all hers as well (at least she says she did... I had better not discover differently). The boys' clothes are still in the basket and will go upstairs shortly. So I am rewarding myself with a couple of minutes here to blog. But I digress before I begin.... Whilst I was folding said mountains of laundry, I watched our new copy of 13 Going on 30. That is such a cute movie. And being the sappy sentimalist I am, I was in tears during the scene in which Jenna goes back to her childhood home. These weren't little misty things... these were real tears. I'm not sure what evoked such a response from me. I do tend to react emotionally to movies; Emily thinks I cry way too much (she never cries). I don't know if I was thinking of my own adolescence, living at home with no responsibilities, or if I was just that tuned in to Jenna's character. But I was really feeling that sad helpless feeling. Guess that means someone did their job, whether it was Jennifer Garner, the director, or the writer.. Anyone else out there a big bawlbag when they watch a movie?

Were you born in the 40's,50's,60's,70's?

I came across this today at Suzanne's blog. Really makes you stop and think. I'm not advocating a complete return to "the good ol' days," but there is a lot of truth in what is there.

Feels like starting over

The painters are gone....... now begins the task of putting everything back where it belongs. Kym has asked for before and afters; I'm not sure what I have in the way of befores (probably nothing), but once the house is back in order (maybe later this weekend), I'll try to take some pictures and post them. It will probably take longer than usual to put things back because we'll be decluttering and organizing, tossing and storing..... to help get the house in showing condition.

So while the painters were here, the kids and I hung out in the basement. We cleaned it and cleaned out the small room that was to be my craft room (wound up being a junk room), then the 2 youngest and I spent some time working on a 400-pc. Noah's Ark jigsaw puzzle I got for Christmas. We are nearly done with it. Emily and Noah played GameCube most of the day..... with a smattering of schoolwork thrown in. We still haven't gotten back into a regular routine yet. I am hoping by next week we will be. I've got to pull out my catalogs and bookmarks/favorites and order them more materials, as they are running out.

1 down, 1 to go

The upstairs received its new layer of paint yesterday; today it is the main floor's turn. While yesterday's job was an all-day affair (3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1 hallway, 2 ceilings), today promises to be much shorter (foyer, kitchen, and one long computer/library room). The painter thinks they can knock all that out in 3-4 hours. I will be glad to have it done. My house is in the worst disarray it has seen since we were unpacking boxes to move in. The family room is packed full of books from my floor-to-ceiling bookcase, items from the tops of bookshelves, and the former wall decorations... not to mention 4 ginormous baskets of clean laundry. Today we will be hanging out in the basement (thank goodness it's a finished basement!) in order to prevent mishaps such as the ones that occurred yesterday (doggie brushes by paint.... jumps on our leather couch...). Thankfully I saw that fairly quickly; the paint is no longer there.

Tonight is the meeting for my fundraising group. We have to work on preparing for our upcoming benefit auction in March, and I will fill everyone in on how our (how I would like to say my, considering the only work anyone else has done on it was to submit one of their recipes) cookbook is shaping up. I am hoping to send in the order in a couple of days.

time for bed yet?

It's 1 a.m. and I am still up. Tomorrow, the painter comes to start painting the upper floor of the house (3 of the 4 bedrooms, the hallway, and 2 bathrooms). He will do this floor on Tuesday. We've been cleaning out rooms and getting them ready. A fun job.... NOT.

Today was Joel's day for funny stuff. As we were getting in the truck to leave for church, my husband noticed Noah didn't have his Bible with him. He asked Noah if he knew where it was, and Halle answered, "It's on the shelf in the foyer." Joel decided to be contrary and said, "It's not a shelf." He and Halle were going to enter into one of those, "Yes it is," "No it isn't," conversations when I told them, "Well, if you're going to get technical, it's called a console. So you could say, 'It's on the console in the foyer.' How's that sound?" Joel's answer: "Stupid."

Then tonight, Emily was playing Extreme Skate on the GameCube... she was racking up the points in Andy's Room and at one point had executed some awesome moves to land her in Molly's crib. Joel started laughing and saying, "Emily's in Molly's crate." Poor attachment-parented, family-bedded kid.... he doesn't know what a crib is! But he does know about dog crates. Go figure. I've often thought a crib was very similar. I guess Joel must think so, too.

A book meme

I haven't done too many meme's (I think a grand total of one) since I started this blog, but this one looks kinda fun. I got it from Froggie's Lilypad, who got it from Monkeyboy.

Instructions: Copy the list from the last person in the chain, delete the names of the authors you don't have on your home library shelves and replace them with names of authors you do have. Bold the replacements.

1. Dean Koontz
2. Gail Carson Levine
3. Max Lucado
4. Kevin Leman
5. Richard Soule
6. JRR Tolkien
7. C.S. Lewis
8. J.K. Rowling
9. Stormie Omartian

This, that, and the other t'ing

We are home from the basketball game (an afternoon game, not a morning game, as I previously thought). Surprisingly enough, it was not a knee-slapper. It was actually a pretty exciting game. We had a couple of little boys on our team who have skilz. These are 2nd-graders playing... and one little guy was getting nothin' but net from the outside. Totally amazed me. He's the shortest one on the team, and I think he made at least 1/2 of our baskets. I started calling him "Muggsy". (Gee, hope his dad didn't mind... He was sitting next to me.) I think I'm going to enjoy Saturday afternoons. "A tisket, a tasket; We want a basket!" I think I'll be able to leave the Depends at home.... Unless all that jumping up and down is too much for me.

Emily is still working on her layout. It is mostly done... just some tweaking to do on the comment code. I like the colors on her skin... purple is my favorite color. But for some reason, her site is really hard to read on her computer and hubby's laptop. Looks great on my computer, but very hard on the eyes on theirs. Emily is sitting here telling me it's only hard on my eyes. What does she know?

I found a new site this week that I am really enjoying. Her blog design is neat, and she is a riot to read. She's also up for a BoB award in the Mommy Blog category, so go vote for her. Oh, who is she?? It's none other than Very Mom. Go visit her and tell her I sent you.

Oh, finally... I can remember a funny kid thing when I'm sitting here. I was giving Halle a bath earlier this afternoon and she was examining her legs as she was in the tub.

H: I'm getting skin like Daddy's.

M: Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

H: Bad. I don't want hair.

M: Oh, you think your legs are getting hairy?

H: Yes, and I don't want hairy legs!!!

So, is 6 years old too young to shave??? Or maybe a little Nair?

And hey, I've evolved again!!! Now I'm a Crawly Amphibian!

It isn't whether you win or lose...

What do you get when you mix a 40yo, 13yo, 6yo, and 4yo on a GameCube? I don't know the answer, but whatever it is, it isn't fun! I just finished the longest game of Mario Party 6 with 3 of my kids. The 6yo was so super-sensitive that she burst out in tears when she lost a mini-game (correction: when she lost a mini-game to her 13yo sister). She wound up quitting the game so that her 9yo brother had to take over her spot. The 4yo kept hitting the pause button in the middle of everyone else's turn, or starting the mini-game before us newbies had a chance to read the object and directions of the game. The 13yo was just a humongous PITH (H for Hiney... we don't generally say the "A" word here), with just a bit too much gloating over her mini-game victories. I guess the nice part of this game is that chance plays a big part too... The 4yo wound up the winner. And I was never so glad to see an end to a game in all my life.

Oh, Emily has started her own blog. Not much there now, but I'm sure she'll find something evil to write about me soon. Stop by and tell her that I sent you and to be nice, or you won't tell your kids about her blog!

I'm a Flippery Fish!

So I finally finished reading through my BlogRoll this morning (and added a few new sites while at it).... and thought I'd check my status in the Blogosphere Ecosystem. I have risen from Insignificant Microbe to Flippery Fish. What that does for a gal's self esteem....

We finally got the Christmas decorations down last night. Took the better part of an hour and a half to get the decorations off the tree and into their individual Hallmark boxes. We discovered we could use a few more of those red and green Rubbermaid totes. I wonder if anyone still has some left?

Last night was Noah's first basketball team practice at the Y. Hubby and a neighbor/church friend are coaching the team, which includes Noah's best friend (son of said neighbor/church friend). I would have liked to have seen this practice. Their first game is Saturday morning. I imagine I may need some extra-absorbent pantyliners to watch this game. It is bound to be amusing. Please don't think me to be a mean mommy... I'm just realistic! I'm sure it will be loads of fun for everyone.

Some assembly required

It only took a week and a half, but we finally put together one of Noah's Christmas presents last night. The assembly took the better part of 2 hours, but the resultant joy was worth it (I can say that, because I wasn't the one putting it together!). I really should have gotten the video camera out, because once the thing was up and running, it really was a fun sight. Especially when the dog discovered it. He was trying to catch the cars racing around the track (succeeded a few times).

It's darn cold today! The temp has risen 3 degrees from when I got up... It's now a balmy 0 degrees Fahrenheit, with a windchill of 8 below. I am NOT going out. I will stay in and fold laundry, clean house, maybe even get the ornaments off the Christmas tree. Or... have GameCube tourneys with the kids. Decisions, decisions...

Chinese, anyone?

We just had the *suckiest* dinner ever. I tried one of those package mixes for Sesame Chicken (my most favorite Chinese food). To be specific, it was Sunbird Classic Sesame Chicken. Just add chicken and water; cook in a bag in the oven for 30 minutes. Oh man... it totally BLEW! It was the unanimous opinion of everyone in the family. Needless to say, there are lots of leftovers. I know there are starving people everywhere, but we are dumping that stuff down the disposal. It was NASTY. So now the kids are scavenging in the kitchen... one is having peanut butter sandwiches, another is having Cocoa Pebbles, one Pop-Tarts, and another Cap'n Crunch. I suppose today would be a good day to pass out the Flintstone's Chewables, eh??

So does anyone have a recipe for Sesame Chicken?? Something with a yummy glaze like what I get when we go out for Chinese? My taste buds will thank you!

I'm WHO??

Found this link courtesy of Mellie Helen:


Mr. Potato Head: You have your idea of how things
should look, but you're flexible enough to allow
for change. You are not bothered by changing
methods, mid-course if necessary. You use an
eclectic combination of curriculum sources.

What Type of Homeschooler Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla




And you are....?

The snark emerges

I try not to be snarky in public. But the time has come. I know I mentioned several posts ago about the cookbook I am helping to publish to benefit a local non-profit adoption and counseling agency. We are nearing the date I want to submit the book for publication and are very close to our goal number of recipes. To date, we have amassed 183 recipes.... all typed by my own hot little hands. Here's where the snarky comes in: I am supposed to be the "Chief," not the "Indian," in this project. I asked someone else in our organization to head it up, saying I was trying to avoid micromanaging the task. She agreed, saying that as president of our group, I should be delegating. So how in the name of all that is holy did *I* end up being the one doing all the work?? Not that I haven't enjoyed it. But I wouldn't mind a little help. She picked up some recipes from our submission box the other night... a grand total of 5... and then told me she didn't have time to type them in. But somehow she had time to type them in an email to me and send them to me to type in! Makes no sense, does it? She is retired, no children at home. I have 4 kids at home... kids which have been quite ignored while I sat here typing in recipes, deciphering bad handwriting, and making note of which recipes I will be trying. I don't have the time to do this, either. But I make it. I think I will be very glad when my term is up.

The solution

Suzanne asked me to post my solution to the problem of switching to HaloScan/losing access to Blogger comments. I'll try to do that in a way that isn't totally confusing. Basically, I have a couple of sets of Comment Tags in my template. 1 set is for the HaloScan comments, and another is for the Blogger comments. I have it rigged so that the main page contains the links to HaloScan's popup comment system, and a separate link that takes you to the permalink for that post, where old comments can be read and new Blogger commenting can be posted. I tried to copy/paste the code here, but it was a total mess. Basically, I just copied Blogger's comment tags and pasted them in my template following the HaloScan tags. I did a bit of tweaking with the order of the link tag (like getting the number of old comments in the middle of the verbage of the link text). Overall, I am pleased with it. At least I have a way to see old comments now. I do wish HaloScan offered free email notification of comments. I have a feeling I will be checking my blog more frequently now (but not too frequently, hubby dear!).

Happy Times

I feel like a blogging goddess! After 30 minutes of tweaking, I was able to figure out a way to keep my old commenting system and HaloScan. So now I can still see all my old comments, plus the new ones posted from HaloScan. And for times when HaloScan is down (like now), people can use the old Blogger commenting system (for which I still get email notification... I don't think I'll be paying HaloScan for that).

To borrow a phrase from my eldest: "Happy times!"

I'm done for tonight

Well, I decided to try HaloScan.... I've got it up and running, I think (somebody comment so I can see!). In the process, I cannot get to all my old comments. The word at the HaloScan forum is that they are still there (in fact, until I deleted one Blogger tag, the number of old comments would show, just not the old comments).... there is just no way for me to get to them any more. I'm a bit saddened by that. I had some nice comments. Serves me right for messing around, I guess.

So I am going to just leave this baby alone for the rest of the night. If anyone out there has any suggestions or solutions, I'm all ears.

I did it

It's not exactly what I want, but it is pretty... and it has some purple in it (purple is my favorite color). So until I find an easier way to get something else, I think this will be it. I still need to add my blogroll over on the right. I'll probably have to look at someone else's source code to figure out how to do that. I swear, I just don't feel like I have time to learn new stuff right now!

In other news, the snow is still falling. We have plenty of necessities, so I shouldn't have to get out tomorrow. Hubby was informed that he is "mission essential" today, so even if the base commander closes the base, he has to go to the hospital in the morning. Joy, joy.

I think I'll go see if I can fix the blogroll thing now. (Update: I've fixed that, but just noticed this template didn't have comments tags.... I guess that is next. But first, getting the kids in bed.)

Snow update

The weather forecast is calling for 9-14 inches now. I'm not going anywhere I don't have to. We're having soups and stews for dinner the next few nights. And I just might turn on the fireplace (which really performs a much more decorative function than it does practical). And darnitall... I never ordered the dog his NeoPaws. Time to drag out the scrap towels to dry him off when he comes inside.

It's ok...

My husband really doesn't mind me blogging. He was a little hurt that I hadn't told him, though. Lesson learned. He says he could probably get into doing it too. I hope he does. I think it would be good for him. Probably better than playing Sarge's War on the GameCube for hours on end. (I say that with love, dear.)

Now, if I could just find an easy way to get a nicer look for my blog... I am sick of Blogger's templates. I want something more me. Anyone have suggestions? Anyone want to do it for me?

Odds and ends, this and that

We spent the entire afternoon yesterday folding and putting away laundry, rearranging the furniture in my youngest daughter's room, and trying to put up new curtains in Noah's room. (I say trying because it just wasn't happening. Whoever designed this house built the window in his room with less than 2 inches from the corner of the wall to the window facing... No room for the curtain rod and finial.) We still haven't taken down the Christmas tree. Perhaps tomorrow night.

The dog is suffering from gastroenteritis. I think it began last week (game night) .... he was quite flatulent (nothing like dog toots to get a party going) and we spent the evening shuffling him outside or to other rooms after he made his presence known in a silent but nearly deadly way. It progressed from an invisible malady to a quite visible one (if you get my drift), thus I took him to the vet today. We have 2 kinds of medicine now, plus some special doggy food till his insides are feeling better. I think he is doing better already.

We're gearing up for some winter weather here. Sleet/freezing drizzle changing to snow, with more snow on Wednesday. They say we're looking at 6-11 inches. Brrrrr....

I started this blog back in November and never mentioned it to my husband. He noticed me working on this post and asked what it was. He was very surprised to find that I had a blog and hadn't told him. I figured he'd just think it was one more thing for me to waste my time on the computer with. Hopefully that won't be true. He doesn't seem too upset with the idea. I think it would be neat if he'd start one too. Maybe I should suggest that. How many of you have blogging spouses???

Report: Big boost for blogs in 2004

Report: Big boost for blogs in 2004

So bloggers and blog readers are still a minority... But we're growing!

Sleep??? What's that?

Anyone else stay up too late last night? We went to a games night at church, where we shared soups and desserts and played games till shortly before midnight, then prayed the New Year in. We had to pick up my oldest and one of her friends at the youth group NYE party afterwards, so we didn't make it home until 1 or so. Everyone went to be shortly thereafter except for me and the two 13-year-olds. We were up until 4:00 a.m.!!! What was I thinking???? The girls were playing Sims 2 and I was getting my first turns at playing Haunted Mansion on the new GameCube. It was fun.... but the dog woke me up to go outside at 9. The girls were back up around noon; the rest of the family didn't make it down till almost 1. We had a very late breakfast of pancakes around 2. Needless to say, I haven't felt like doing much of anything today!! But I haven't been a total slug. I did make dinner and ran to the store for some stuff afterwards.