Ice Ice Baby

This is absolutely beautiful...


This, not so much...



Other than the trees snapping, we were without power for a few hours, internet and cable a little longer and the ice snapped the phone line. Luckily by the time the boys got up and realized there wasn't any school today, everything was back on. I am incredibly grateful for that! Hope you all came out ok too. Something tells me it's gonna be a long winter.

Scrooge? Not anymore.

Well, it looks like I wasn't the only one with a lack of Christmas joy this year. I only received 1 happy memory! That's so sad... Christmas is supposed to be a magical time, full of love and sharing. You big scrooges! hehe
That's ok... I've actually started singing "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....everywhere you go..." It all hit me Sunday night. We were all home... something that's very rare these days. With the whole evening "unplanned" for once, we turned on the Christmas lights and all nestled in to watch the Christmas Story. That's all it took. Everything's so busy all the time. We all rush around from one place to the next and the stress just builds and builds. There is no time to think about Christmas or anything that's not happening at that very moment. I hope you all take the time to slow down, take a breath, and share some quiet time with your families. After all, that's really all it takes to reconnect and honestly what's most important. Merry Christmas everyone! May you get everything your heart desires this year.

I seem to have misplaced my Christmas cheer...

Christmas has always been so big for me. I love giving gifts, all the pretty decorations, and all the fun activities Christmas time has to offer. Even into adulthood I've never been able to sleep the night before... usually laying there until the wee hours of the morning... and after sleeping only a few short hours, I'm always the first to wake up. I remember years when my kids were little and Mr. M told me not to wake them up. So, I would just go around the house making noise until someone heard and woke up all on their own... I had nothing to do with it. hehe I couldn't help it. I was just so excited for them to get up and see all the wonderful surprises that Santa had left for them.
This year though, something seems a little off. We've done the decorations, and most the shopping, and even some of the fun activities. For some reason... I just don't feel it. Nothing feels "Christmasy" this year. It can't be that I've finally grown out of my childlike love of Christmas...I simply won't accept that as an option. I don't believe anyone should ever give up their Christmas innocence.
In a couple weeks the tree and all the pretties will be coming down and I certainly don't want that to happen before it ever "felt" like Christmas. So, I invite you to share one of your favorite Christmas memories with me...or two.. or three. I'll take all the Christmas cheer you'd like to give.

Where's the fa la la la la?

It started out one of those perfect days... but isn't that how they normally start out? It all changed rather abruptly when I began my nightly pick up voyage. I hadn't gotten to very far into the country before my wiper up and decided to mangle itself into it's mate. I drove that way until I found somewhere I could pull in, thank god I wasn't on the interstate, which just happened to be a deserted church parking lot. Why oh why couldn't someone be there right then? As I stepped out of the van I realized that it was also a flooded, deserted, church parking lot. Good thing I'm wearing those suede boots. What better way to wade through a pond? errrr It took me about 15 min. to untangle those little wipers that didn't seem to want to let go of eachother...in the pouring rain...standing in a pond... as youngest boy child is calling Mr. M in a panic. We finally get back on our way as I myself begin to panic because we're down to 10 min. to pick up oldest boy child. All the time trying to use the wipers as little as possible..turning them on for 1 quick sweep when it was impossible to see anymore. I was almost there when we reached a stand still in traffic. How can this be happening? 5 min. of barely moving traffic later, we realize there's been an accident. We finally get around that, get to the school and due to lack of parking spaces left at this late hour, am parked in some remote area. Then comes the frantic text messaging to oldest boy child to let him know where we are. No response...I begin calling... Voicemail..what? 20 min. later he decides to turn his phone on to see why he's been standing on the other side of the building for so long! After finally locating him and getting back on the road, I had to pull over yet one more time to fix the wipers. It took me almost 2 hrs. to do the nightly pick up. Yes, one big shit sandwich evening delivered to me in a urine soaked lunch sack.
I'm ready for the Christmas cheer to begin.

Goings on

Other than getting the tree, nightly wrestling practices, school stuff, and the preparations for the oh so dreaded banquet, which will thankfully be done and over with after tonight, here are a few other things we've been up to this past week...
Nugget shoveling snow...

Pickle dressed for 80's day at school...

The best little Christmas pageant ever...

The Pickle starring as Robert R. Robot...

The Nugget starring as the little shepard boy...

An outstanding performance boys!

A Pickle and some flap jacks

I've been fretting for some time now about the alarming rate with which my children are beginning to grow up into these .....grown people, that are getting harder and harder to recognize. The little boys that used to be within them only show rarely anymore. Like I said, I've been adjusting to this. I recently realized though, that not only are they growing into these practically adults before my eyes, they are now beginning to do things that I, being an adult, don't even do. One such example is the pickle, who like the nugget, always seems to get up earlier than we do....Mr. M and I have never been early birds. The other day he wakes us up wanting to know if he can make pancakes. huh???? At this hour??? He's not talking pancakes like mom makes either. Me, I make it from a box..add some water or milk. I've even been known to buy the frozen flap jacks.. just pop 'em in the microwave and have at it. No, the pickle learned how to make pancakes from scratch in school and proceeded to get things out of the cupboard like flour and baking powder. Wow.. my son can make pancakes from scratch... and they were good.

The little show off even make a couple Mickey Mouse ones for him and the nugget.

I try not to look at it as my 12 yr. old showing me up and more as how you're supposed to want your kids to turn out better off and more talented than yourself. Looks like he's gonna be just fine.

Where's our snow day?

I was very surprised to wake up yesterday morning and see the winter wonderland that developed while we slept... and it hasn't stopped. Today I'm pretty ticked off that our district has felt it necessary to be one of the few schools in the entire area still having school. My poor pickle was at the bus stop freezing his little ass off for 40 min. this morning. If it's that hard for the buses to get to them... why in the hell are they having school?! This happens every year. It's usually us and the one rival district the last two to do it...and it almost never happens. The pickle had his first snow day.. since he started school... last year. So, I guess I shouldn't be surprised....
Wish me luck as I brave this treacherous weather to pick up the pickle after wrestling tonight.... home schooling is sounding really good about now.

Oh Christmas tree

Now that we're all 10 lbs. heavier from turkey and all the fixings...which believe it or not the boys actually helped make this year.... it is time to get all ninja on this Christmas business. We are well on our way to giving Clark Griswold a run for the money. Outside lights are up... most of them anyway, Mr. and Mrs. C are in place, the wreath has been hung on the porch with care, and candy canes guiding you straight to the door. "The tree?" you ask, but of course it is up. We searched and searched until this beauty was found.....

The pickle took charge when it was time to cut it down..

The nugget supervised oh so well...

and everyone yelled timber as she fell to the ground...

Such wilderness men they've all become...


Hope you all have as much fun hunting for your tree as we did!

Pickle's new trade

Just when I thought life couldn't get any more hectic, the Pickle up and decides to join wrestling. Don't get me wrong... I'm very proud of him for wanting to try something new. Wrestling though??? Not sure where that came from. Keep in mind, I was just informed of this a couple days ago. Today the papers came home...
He will need a physical of course before he's allowed to practice... I knew that. Just didn't realize practices would be starting Monday. Nor did I realize that from that 1st day through a good part of March there will be either practice or a meet every single day but Sundays. hmmmm It seems he'll get the first week of Christmas break off but the second week there will be practices every morning. Not sounding like to much fun yet. The upside... well, he'll take the bus to all the meets. The downside of it is that I'll have to drive into town in the middle of the night to pick him up afterwards...20-30 min. depending on traffic and my utter fear of driving at night during blizzards. Same as with every night of practice and oh i can't wait till he has to be there by 5 or 6am to drop him off. Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to drive so far... every day.... sometimes twice a day. This is the part that sucks about your children attending school in another town...hmmmmm Do you think there's time to move... a bit closer.... like across the street from his school...oh if only he could drive.
Pickle, I apoligize in advance for any problems that arise due to my lack of organizational skills that may hinder your future with the WWE.
Yes, I'm done whining now. I do wish Pickle the best of luck and I'm sure he'll have lots of success in his new trade.... that is if I get him there on time.

The ringing of the bells

There was some crazy cold wind outside the Kroger yesterday where the pickle and I stood for 2 long hours ringing bells for the Salvation Army. It was a service project for the boyscouts but of course they had to be supervised... that my friends is where I came in. There was never a dull moment with the constant foot traffic that goes through there and the actual bell ringing... not bad at all. It was that cold, cold wind that brought me to pure misery. I don't know what we would have done without the Starbucks, whose coffee and cocoa gave us a little bit of warmth... well, for 5 min. before it turned ice cold itself. Still... those were precious, very much appreciated moments. A few hours after I got home, as I was bundled up in my chair under 4 blankets and sitting on a heating pad because my back side was still cold to the touch... pretty sure my butt's got frost bite, I had the utmost respect for the people who do this. Every year you go in store after store passing these people, throwing in a little change if you have it, avoiding them if you don't... never really stopping to think about what they're doing or how miserably cold they must be at that very moment. You never really know until you experience it for yourself. So bell ringers of the world.. I salute you. Ring on!

Coming undone

The up coming holidays along with the hectic craziness of every day life has most of us running around like an energizer bunny ready to crash at any moment. So much to get done without any possibility of it all getting completed. This song kind of says it all....

Now that it's been established that I'm coming undone, I feel energized to atleast get 1/2 the things accomplished that I set out to do today:p

Holiday help

For any of you that are moms and live in the area, just wanted to let you know about a holiday contest going on with lots of give-a-ways. All you have to do is go to newsanchormom.com to enter. Hey it's worth a try and we could all use a little help this time of year. Good Luck

Cleaning out my drawers... no, not those drawers!

After making the decision to be a stay at home mom again and deciding to quit smoking... which I've unfortunately since taken up again.... I gained a ton of weight. For the past 7 or 8 months I've been slowly trying to take it off and get to a healthy weight. I've always been an eater. I will not starve myself for anything. If I want something, I eat it. So, the biggest obstacle for me is portion control. I still eat. I'm just more likely to make better choices and be satisfied with a smaller helping than I used to be. So far I'm down 24 lbs. and I feel alot better about myself. I feel better in general.
I decided to go through my clothes the other day. My drawers and armoire were packed so I figured I should weed out the stuff that didn't fit anymore. If I get rid of the stuff, hopefully I won't slip into those sizes again. Not sure if that's a good strategy or not but it seems like a good plan. When I was done I had 2 big boxes of clothes to get rid of. For one, I didn't realize I even had that many clothes until I started going through them and two, wow...it's a good feeling. Only one major downfall in all this... I now have no clothes. Mr. M would say that's totally ridiculous... there's still plenty in there. No Mr. M a person can not survive with only 3 pairs of pants! Well, not a girl anyway. No major shopping sprees for me, though. I think I'll wait and see where this thing takes me.

Definately not retro cool

The time comes in everyones life when you have to bite the bullet and buy a new heater for your home. Believe me, this is something we've been putting off for a very long time now. The cost of replacing something that is still technically working and costs so very much is enough to choke me. I say technically because although it still actually runs, it's a gamble every year of whether it will actually get us through the whole winter or not. It's so loud. I'm talking sounds like a train coming through, have to turn up the t.v. when it comes on, loud. Sometimes it even sticks... it'll run and run and never shut off. You have to actually go down in the basement to shut it off for a few minutes so it can clear it's head and begin to function properly again. Every time I'm walking down those stairs cursing I think of the dad in "Christmas Story".. I so feel his pain. Oh and the kicker... our highest bill in the winter months is usually around $400. Most things that have come out of the 80's are pretty cool... not a heater. There's no getting around it, it's time.

We also decided that while we were at it we might as well get air. It's cheaper to do it all at once than decide you want it later. No, this house didn't have central air when we bought it and we thought "Hey, who cares. We can live without it" We now realize that was all just crazy talk. We need it. We want it. We're getting it. The company we're going with takes 1/2 the payment now, and the rest when the job is complete. So today, I held back the incredible urge to vomit as I wrote that check. Hopefully the nausea will subside before I have to once again make that fateful walk to my purse for the check book.

Ms. Cup

Our precious little Buttercup


Why are you taking pictures of me lady...


Can't you see I'm sleeping?!


Fine... get your #*@! picture!


Now, go away while I sleep.

Thank you for being so cooperative Ms. Cup.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

It's a beautiful, 20 degree, autumn morning. Terribly cold yes, but the sun is shining and in our neck of the woods that's really all you can hope for this time of year. The older I get, the less I care about how I look during times like these and more about keeping warm. This being said, I began the process of getting ready to take Daisy dog out. The pickle offered to take out the Cup this morning so I have just the one to deal with. I wear my big ski jacket, snow boots, scarf, gloves, and a hat. Definately a sight to see... atleast I'm warm. Daisy seems to be rejuvinated by the crisp air...


I think she's smiling..

While she runs around I realize that the tree in our backyard has finally decided to shed it's leaves....it's always the last one. It's not even windy out or anything... it's like it just up and decided it was time.



The leaves were just pouring out of it and I had to laugh.... the sound. It sounded like someone was having a giant bowl of Rice Krispies. Snap, Crackle, Pop. This went on the whole time we were out there and I'm sure will continue until all the leaves are gone. It was beautiful and entertaining to watch. Now comes the bad part... we have to rake up all those leaves! The horror!

At your service....

You know that saying... always the bridesmaid, never the bride? There have been numerous movies and t.v. shows depicting the utter horror one experiences when being asked once again to be in someone's wedding. I, myself, have never experienced such horrors because of the simple fact that I haven't been in any weddings, let alone a slew of them to be horrified about. To me it sounds like a fantastic thing to be a part of. That's why I am completely honored that my little sister has asked me to be her Maid of Honor. Yes, yes, believe me I am fully aware that the proper term for a married woman, such as myself, is Matron of Honor. I ask that you refrain from calling me that though, because I think it sounds utterly awful. Something about the word Matron.... ewww.

I'm so very excited and can't wait until they set a date so I can do whatever it is Maid of Honors do. Oh, and if there's not an age requirement on the ordaining I'm sure the pickle would love to officiate. hehe


Me and my little sister.... twins separated 3 years apart

The popcorn chronicles

This, this is the current seen unfolding at mob central. We've been overrun by popcorn. Every kind of delectable popcorn imaginable.



Mud Puddles... mmmmmm

The pickle did a fantastic job with selling this stuff... $630 worth. This is the most merchandise sold in mob history! He did it himself too. Mr. M and I didn't sell it for him at all. Unfortunately, the poor guy wasn't even in the top 3 sellers. I thought the fella would atleast get an honorable mention... or even some of those cheesy prizes you get with everything else you do during elementary and jr. high. No such luck. Life as a child salesman is rough these days.

Now for the delivery... really wish we would have taken that into consideration before he sold so much. You may not hear from me for awhile.... unloading all this corn may take quite some time.

The people choose Obama

Here he is ... our President elect. Whether you voted for him or not, today is still a happy day for us all. History has been made and our country will change. We need a change, a change for the better, and after listening to the speech he gave in Chicago last night, I think he's exactly what we need right now. We need to put our faith in him and pray everything turns out for the best. He brings a kind of unity to us all that's refreshing and fills you with hope. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for us all. For the first time, in a long time, things are looking up for us America.

The stress is rising..

I'm not sure why these things happen to me. It seems I have a big sign on my forehead that says ask me... I'm a nice lady who won't say no. The most recent being asked to organize a banquet. It was one of those things... caught off guard in the middle of the Walmart.. didn't see it coming. Not finding an escape route, I caved and said yes. I've never organized something of this stature before. Not without the help of others anyway. This, this will be all me. I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. I was told I would be contacted by the woman who did it last year to give me some pointers to what she's done previously. It sounds like it's pretty much up to you how you do it. I figured..OK, I'll just wait until I hear from her... hopefully she'll send me some check list of everything that needs to be done. As I wait patiently, I receive not an email from her but one from the guy doing invitations asking my approval. Does anything need changed? ummmm how the hell am I supposed to know???? Yes, now I am in a full fledge panic.
I haven't done anything and I'm guessing at this point, I probably should have.

I'll be waiting on my porch with my bag packed if someone would kindly come wisk me away, out of the country, until this hoopla has passed.

Tis the season...

Hard to believe it's time already, but we began our Christmas shopping today. Once Halloween's over it seems that there is no time to waste... Christmas is fast approaching. It's sad that Thanksgiving usually gets lost in the shuffle but honestly who can wait until after Thanksgiving to start their shopping? You'd never get everything done in time.. and if you did, you'd be in a mad panic the entire month of December. Not that most people aren't anyway..but still.

I have mixed feelings about the way we're doing Christmas now. With one side of our family, we all drew names. The other side.. we're just buying for the kids. This will make my shopping fairly easy this year and with the lists everyone made, there's nothing to think about... just head to the listed place and get the listed item....stress free shopping. On the other hand, it's so fun to watch people unwrap their gift and to see the look on their face when you surprise them with something you knew they'd just love. Having the lists though, saves alot of frustration of roaming around wondering what in the world someone doesn't already have. Not going broke at Christmas is a plus too.

So even if it's a gift card, my gifts will be boxed and wrapped. For my sake, please feign surprise when you open them 'cause I'm gonna pretend that I came up with it all on my own. Happy shopping! Oh and in case you didn't know.. 52 days until Christmas. Please don't throw things at me... just wanted to inform those who hadn't checked a calendar lately :p

Visit from the Arizona chapter of the Mob

Last week Sista K and soon to be brother Jacob came home for a visit. I make it sound like they're holy rollers, don't I? Not that they're not religious... they're just not living in a convent or monastery, contrary to the way the names I've given them sound. That's just the way I like to refer to them. Get used to it cause I can't see me stopping anytime soon.

So anyway... they visited. Always so fun when they come home. Tiring, trying to fit everything we possibly can into the short amount time we get with them... but worth every second. Just thought I'd share a few shots of our time together....

Every time they come home we get unseasonably cold weather....



The boys couldn't wait to show them the new addition to our park...



There's something about Mary...errr Kelly



We played a whole lot of guitar hero...



A whole lot...



Also, alot of Singstar going on...



Awww.... Brother Steve's singing to the baby.


Silly Pickle and even sillier Auntie K...



Good times, good times.

Trick or Treat

Halloween is finally over. Well, considering it's a Friday night and all I'm sure there are people out there partying the night away.. for us though it's 9 pm and we're done. We finally got those pumpkins carved....



Little Miss Cup couldn't keep her nose out of the pumpkin carving..



Watched Nugget's parade...



Surprise, surprise his costume was the same thing you've seen him in every Saturday for the last 3 months. Who am I to complain...atleast I didn't have to buy a costume. He was supposed to be a werewolf football player but then decided he could not wear that sweaty mask...whatever.

Then there was the trick or treating...







Can't remember the last time we were able to walk around town on Halloween without even wearing a coat. It was a beautiful night and so much fun. Mr. M had to work so I was very happy to have Angel, Steve, Melissa and Devynn join us on our adventures.

Now I must go take everything down and go through that candy... No I'm not gonna eat it... not much of it anyway. :)

Halloween eve

Here it is the day before Halloween and I've yet to accomplish anything. We still have 2 pumpkins that are in need of carving and my children aren't going for the "Why can't we just have regular pumpkins this year?" argument. So tonight will be filled with trying to get through 2 huge pumpkins, digging up some costumes for not only trick or treating but also for a parade the nugget's in tomorrow afternoon, and watching some sort of festive movie. This is the first year we haven't spent the entire month watching every and any Halloween movie we could find. We didn't attend any haunted houses and it was simply to cold to stand in line at the haunted trail. I used to be so in to the holidays... not sure what's happening to me in my old age. There neither seems to be the time nor the energy to do all the things we used to love doing. Halloween eve is my last ditch effort to get in as much Halloween activities as possible. I'm gonna go put on my scary music cd now ...hopefully that'll get us in the spirit... and get to it.
Happy Halloween!

Football has come to an end

Six bottles of Shout later, not sure why anyone would ever think having white practice uniforms could possibly be a good idea, football season is officially over. Nugget had quite the cheering section at his last game Saturday. Seventeen friends and family members came out to cheer him on. The Cougars beat Pontiac 24-0 bringing their season to an end at 8-0. Here's an interesting little tidbit for any of you that watched the last game... one of the coaches told us that JFL had a rule on their books that said if we were to beat any team by 40 pts. we automatically forfit the game... I guess it would be bad sportsmanship to cream 'em. So, at times they were giving them b.s. plays to do so we wouldn't score. I was wondering why it seemed like nothing was happening at times...

So anyway, it was a hectic season but it was alot of fun. Thanks to all of Nugget's fans who gave up all their Saturdays to come root him on..you all made him proud.
I don't know about you but I can't wait to do it all again next year!

Pumpkin love

Pumpkin shopping is all the rage with the mob. We pick up random pumpkins here and there because some of us simply can not wait to get to a respectable pumpkin patch.
It never fails that my Nugget will pick out the most pathetic looking little guy in the bunch. At one place he informed us.. "This one's perfect. Well, except for this side that's all dented in and black...but other than that, it's perfect!" The kids got heart. Always picking the underpriveledged. Then there's the Pickle who will hold out til we get to an actual pumpkin patch and searches the entire place until he finds that perfect one.





We found a couple good ones to add to our ever growing collection at home. Now if we could just get around to carving them....

Losing it

I just started reading Valerie Bertinelli's book "Losing It". All I've read so far is the Prologue which only took a few minutes, but had to stop to ponder my major confusion. She's a spokesperson for Jenny Craig because she was obese and has since starting lost a ton of weight. Ok, here's where I'm confused. At her biggest... just over 170, wearing a size 14 jeans. Now down to 132 wearing a size 4.
HUHHHHHHHHHHH???? What am I missing here? For one, size 14 isn't THAT huge. I mean come on.. didn't they say that most American women are somewhere between a size 12-14? Second, she weighs 132 and wears a 4? You know, I don't weigh much more than that and I'm certainly no size 4. We're about the same height and body type. Someone want to explain this to me? Either she's fibbing somewhere or the pants run on a whole different size scale where she's from. Now that I'm feeling like a fat pig, I guess I'll go finish the book.

btw.. Nugget's team won their game yesterday 38-14. They're now 7-0. So proud of the little boogers!

Shovelin' corn

You walk outside and it hits you... that putrid smell that festers in your nose long after you go back in, penetrating deep into your very core. It tis...dum dum dum dum ... the rancid smell of harvest season. You think I'd be used to it. That is what they say about those who live on pig farms and such... you just don't smell it after awhile. Unfortunately, I was blessed with a nose as trustworthy as a hunting dog. I smell things a mile away and always much stronger than anyone else. Not something that I wish on anyone. No good could possibly come from such a talent.
This... this downfall of mine.. makes harvest particularly hard for me. Like I said, putrid.

Oh there's more though... the corn dust everywhere. You have to turn on your wipers before you can go anywhere, you can barely see through the screens, it covers everything. It attaches itself to you and follows you everywhere you go. It snows corn every day for months.

I was told some years ago that they handed out turkeys to local residents as a way of saying "Sorry we showered you with shit for 2 months". Obviously that is no longer a tradition.... I've never been rewarded with poultry.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go find what we did with that shovel.

Charred weiner memories

One of our favorite things to do in the fall is having weiner roasts. I find it fascinating that something so simple as putting a hotdog on a stick and cooking it is so entertaining for my kids. They'd rather do that than go out to eat. I'd like to believe it's because we've raised our children to enjoy the simple things in life. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the enticement of being allowed to play with fire at all. It can't be that...

One thing that is a mystery to me though, is how they think this dog they've made...burnt beyond recognition and cold as ice on the inside... is the best thing they've ever had. I do recall many a "mooooooooom you burnt it" in my time. In my defense, it was hardly ever burnt... a little crunchy..maybe. I guess the thrill of making it themselves outweighs the risk of loosing teeth. They certainly aren't willing to risk it on anything I've made though. I don't take to much offense, they don't make me eat the fine hotdogs they've made. Sweet, sweet boys.

We had a weiner roast at grandma and grandpa M's last night...always fun. And look forward to many more charred weiner memories with friends and family in the coming months.

Whatever will it be?

For the past week now, my kids and I have been watching our local park. Seems we're getting some new playground equipment and the wait to see what it is, is pure agony.
We watched as they took out the baby swings and those awful tires. Yeah, I hated those tires. Three tires all in a row. Every time one of my kids dared to climb them, they ended up with deep black stains on their clothes that wouldn't come out. The nugget in particular lost many a shirts to those darn things.

I remember when I was a kid. We got a new contraption in our park one day that was all the rage. No idea what it was called. I always called it the spinny thingy. It had individual seats.. 4 I believe. It spun around, 2 of the seats went up and down also. Someone sat on the bars in the middle, put a foot down, and turned that baby til you couldn't take it any more. Ah, the days when it was fun to push yourself to the brink of vomiting.

So we continue to watch day by day, as groups of men come and go. Waiting to see what exciting things we'll have to conquer. Making guesses of what we think it may be.

It might be awhile before it's done though. I know there is obviously something constructive going on over there.. but to me, it still looks like a giant hole in the ground.

The mob rocks

I've been in kind of a funk lately, for obvious reasons, but a trip to town today with the ever entertaining Cari Jo turned my frown upside down. During a quick stop at the ole Walmart to get such exciting things like cat litter and one of those little pads to go in front of the litter box so fat cat doesn't drag litter all over the joint, we came across the ever present discount video game bins. While rummaging through to see if I just might be able to find a little something to start off this years Christmas shopping, I found them... 2 games that I HAD to have.

Many of you know how much my mob enjoys rockin out to the Singstar games. We've had Singstar Pop and Singstar Rocks for quite some time now. Today I nearly peed myself to find Singstar Amped with alot of songs from my highschool days... which I gotta tell you I was super proud of Mr. M for earning lead singer status doing "Come as you are" by the infamous Nirvana. And the other one... Singstar 80's. Me, I received the all mighty Singstar status for perfecting Madonna's "Material Girl".
Hold your applause please... atleast until after my acceptance speech.

If you aren't up to performing, I suggest you stay away from my house for awhile. You just might be handed a microphone upon entering. In the meantime, we'll be working on Mr.M to construct a suitable stage.

Saying Goodbye...

Today was the funeral of a very good friend of ours. It's never easy to lose someone so close to you, it actually seems to get harder every time. And when their so young... it's just heart breaking. Joe was an amazing person, always thoughtful, so good with our kids, we'll miss him greatly.

Hunka hunka burnin love

All this talk of weddings has me thinking...maybe it's time for Mr.M and I to renew our vows. We have been married for 10 years now. When we got married, we up and decided to get married in Memphis. We were going to visit Graceland and thought..hey, why not get married while we're there. It was a blast. We decided we could always renew our vows somewhere down the road and actually have something more...conventional, I guess you could say. I don't know, though. Something seems very enticing about renewing your vows in Vegas. This could have a little something to do with the fact that I just got done watching "What happens in Vegas", or maybe a little to do with the fact that I've never been there. Come on... what's not fun about a cheesy elvis renewing your vows? Seems a little fitting since the 1st time around was in Memphis. What do you think... anyone up for a road trip... errr plane ride actually? Why is it road trip sounds like so much more fun?

Happy Days...

I was sitting here last night, minding my own business when I get a very startling picture message. I believe there was a hand.. I can not be sure of this because all my eyes could focus on was the beautiful rock gleaming before my eyes. Oh my goooood! Yes, that was my response. The Jakester has proposed to my beloved sister K. All together now...Wooooooohooooooo!

I admit.. I freaked out. I am so very happy about this. I'd like to say I controlled myself enough not to ask those probing questions you get from absolutely everyone you tell...when, where, etc. I can not say the same for my children though. The first thing out of the nugget's mouth was "where will it be? will we be traveling or will it be here?" Put the calendar down nugget...it happened just mere minutes ago...give them time. And the pickle... well, let's just say there was no time for questions with all his whoopin and hollering...oh, and with him repeating .."Yeah, he's finally gonna be our uncle". Not that they didn't already consider him that but it's nice to have it official.

So in case you couldn't tell guys... We are all very happy for you and wish you the very best! Love ya

One more time now....Wooooooohooooooo!

Would you like to buy something?

Nothing sends those chills up your spine quite like the words.."mom, we're selling stuff at school/scouts/football"...or whomever it may be that so easily convinced my children that selling this miracle number of items will bring you all the riches you ever imagined. I know, I know...good cause...they're all for good causes. I just wish some of these organizations would come up with something a little different...something that's never been done before. Or maybe quite possibly they could try doing their fundraisors at different times of the year. Could someone take into consideration the difficulty these poor little salesman have of selling something to the same people who just bought from them, their sibling, neighbor, or the kid down the street, only a month ago? I feel for these kids. Thus, explaining the reason why I can't say no when one of these little smooth talkers with dreams of selling enough to win that Wii knocks on my door. I'm certainly not going to be responsible for crushing their dreams. If only I could say the same for other people. I can understand if you don't have the money or simply do not want anything. What I don't understand is how someone can be so blatantly rude to a child. There's no reason for it. Open the door...don't hide until they go away, say no thank you, be a grown up! After all, the child is not the enemy. Just a pawn in the game. They'll understand your politely declining. What they don't understand is you being a jackass.
So yes, I will always be that sap buying something from every little nugget that knocks on my door. Maybe they'll remember me one day when their on the Forbes 100.

Jasmine

that was then....



this is now.

When pickle...my oldest...was 2, we decided to get him a pet. We knew someone who was looking for homes for the litter their cat just had. To this day, I'm really not sure what possessed someone so highly allergic to cats as myself to up and get a kitten. All I can remember is seeing them playing and being so lovable...kittens are the most adorable little things. Not only did we bring one home for the pickle, we brought one home for my sister. So our cats are cousins, yet brother and sister...I know it sounds a little backwoods hillbilly but it wasn't a breeding thing..just a home placement thing. hehe

Believe it or not we both still have these cats. What, 10 yrs now? Funny thing is, they both think they're dogs. Mine has always run dogs out of our yard and atleast one of my dogs is scared of her. The bigger of our two dogs, actually...but that's a whole nother story. And my sister's cat...well he runs with their dog. I guess our cats really are two peas in a pod. Here's a pic she sent me...



love it!

We've spent alot...I mean ALOT...on this cat that thinks she's a dog over the years. I remember one time she got sick. After a $500 emergency visit to the animal hospital and $100 monthly payments for over a year to the vet she came home to us with a hole in her neck that we had to feed her through with a syringe. I swear she's gone through her 9 lives by now...and then some.

We love our little fat cat Jasmine!

Cougars and the Hogs

My youngest, aka the nugget, joined a football league for the first time this year. It's been alot of fun. So far they hadn't lost any games. Yesterday they were scheduled to play Metamora and honestly we were a little worried that this could be their first loss. We were told they had some big kids and they played dirty. After talking to the coaches whose teams played them last week, our coaches spent the whole week training these boys to stand their ground. Boy were we all surprised to get there and see Morton waiting to play us. We knew nothing about this team but their players were huge! One of these kids was as big as their coach! I was squirming in my seat watching those boogers plow through our boys....well, that and that fact that I had to pee for about 3 hrs. I was so not using that porta potty..nasty does not begin to cover what I saw in there. Lets just say the used toilet paper was coming up out of it...I cringe.

Back to the boys... We weren't scoring at all but I was so impressed by these little boys holding the hogs back...yes, their name was the hogs. By 1/2 time the score was still 0-0. The Cougars didn't give up. Still can't get over how big the hogs were...
Anyway, At the end of the 3rd we started scoring. The Cougars ended up winning 20-0.
Noone saw that coming. I'm so proud of our team and can't remember the last time I saw such an exciting game.

I gotta say my nugget made me the proudest of all. They said his name over the PA system 4 times for his terrifying tackles...My heart stops every time he goes down... and he even recovered a fumble. That's my baby!

Nugget's team is now 4-0. We all celebrated with a pizza party at Coach Hefner's. Can't wait til the next game!

Thanks to everyone who's been coming out to support the Cougars this season. Nugget's so proud of his cheering section :)

Survivor

I haven't watched Survivor since the very first time it ran. I liked it but just couldn't get into it after that. Today a friend of mine sent me an email with a suggestion for the next season of Survivor. Thought some of you might get a kick out of it. Oh and for the record.... Mr.M says he's not interested in participating in this. Sorry Jeff Probst, you'll have to call someone else.


THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports
and either take music
or dance classes.
There is no fast food.
Each man must
take care of his 3 kids,
keep his assigned house clean,
correct all homework,
and complete science projects,
cook, do laundry,
and pay a list of 'pretend' bills
with not enough money.

In addition, each man
will have to budget in money
for groceries each week.

Each man
must remember the birthdays
of all their friends and relatives,
and send cards out on time

--no emailing.

Each man must also take
each child to a doctor's appointment,
a dentist appointment
and a haircut appointment.

He must make
one unscheduled and inconvenient
visit per child
to the Urgent Care.

He must also
make cookies or cupcakes
for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for
decorating his own assigned house,
planting flowers outside
and keeping it presentable
at all times.

The men will only
have access to television
when the kids are asleep
and all chores are done.

The men must
shave their legs,
wear makeup daily,
adorn themselves with jewelry,
wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes,
keep fingernails polished
and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks,
the men will have to endure
severe abdominal cramps, back aches,
and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never slow down from other duties.

They must attend
weekly school meetings,
church, and find time
at least once to spend the afternoon
at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to
read a book to the kids
each night and in the morning,
feed them, dress them,
brush their teeth and
comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:
each child's birthday,
height, weight,
shoe size, clothes size
and doctor's name.
Also the child's weight at birth,
length, time of birth,
and length of labor,
each child's favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear and
what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island
based on performance.
The last man wins only if...
he still has enough energy
to be intimate with his spouse
at a moment's notice.

If the last man does win,
he can play the game over and over
and over again for the next 18-25 years,
eventually earning the right
to be called Mother!

Another nugget...

One more thing...
Sorry, I know I may seem a bit like a blogging fool today...what can I say...it's a busy day.

Just wanted to say Congratulations to Uncle Jake and Aunt Kelly on their new, adorable, precious, ..did I say adorable...little nugget of a nephew. I'm so happy to have a new baby in the family. Well, technically family...or will be one day since Jake's gonna marry my sister some day soon and give me lots and lots of little nieces and nephews.

Quit giving me that look Jake..it was just a thought :p

Enjoy the new baby guys!

Miss you

Today is also the anniversary of my mom's death. 13 years it's been now. Someone gave me this poem... I still cry every time I read it.

GOD ONLY TAKES THE BEST

GOD Saw That She Was Getting Tired
And A Cure Was Not Meant To Be

So He Put His Arms Around Her
And Whispered "Come With Me"

With Tearful Eyes We Watched Her Suffer
And Watched Her Fade Away

Although We Loved Her Dearly
We Could Not Make Her Stay

A Golden Heart Stopped Beating
And A Warm Loving Heart To Rest

GOD Broke Our Hearts To Prove To Us
That He Only Takes The Best

~Christopher Warner



We miss you mom!