I'm Kreativ!

I was so pleasantly surprised to find in the midst of my hustle of Thursday that the wonderful Jack over at Slightly Off-Center, has awarded me this Kreativ Blogger Award. It made my day :o)

So, the rules are:

♥ List 6 things that make you happy.
♥ Pass the award onto 6 Bloggers you consider to be Kreativ.
♥ Link to the blogger who gave you the award.
♥ Link to the blogs receiving the award.
♥ Notify the recipients.

6 things that make me happy

1. My sons
   
2. Toe socks
   
3. Trampoline's
   
4. Blogging
   
5. Singing
   
6. Beating a Sudoku Puzzle
   

I would like to pass this award along to to following blogs:

1. BeccA from BeccA's Buzz, who is also known for Give Me Five Monday. I like the little pictures she find to go with her posts, and the fabulous background on her blog.

2. LarryG over at Yesterday, Today, and Forever. He's got some beautiful poetry that I enjoy reading. It makes me think, and it gives me that little bit of a vacation in the middle of a long day :o)

3. Ragtop Day. I can't recall how I came across her but it was through random blog hopping that I'm coming to really enjoy. Anyhow, I really got wrapped up reading her humorous and insightful posts in an everyday life as a single mother of two girls. I'm also jealous that I don't have two girls! lol

4. Diana from Diana's Little Corner in the Nutmeg State. I happened upon her blog through the Friday Fill-In meme that I take part in. I admire all of the posts devoted to social activism surrounding Trans-Gendered people and their rights. I found it very eye-opening the first time I read it, and I admit it...I'm hooked.

5. Yellow Rose from Yellow Roses Garden. I believe I happened upon her blog through the Friday Fill-In as well. I like her blog layout, and the fact that she calls herself Yellow Rose cause my name is Amber Rose. She also takes some great pictures :o)

6. Dorky Dad. I blog hopped over to his site one day and he had me in tears reading about his sons antics and his unique take of life as a father. I keep going back, and it's more of the same. It's safe to say he's been added to my usual read blog list.

I have to say, it wasn't long ago that I only had my family as faithful readers of my blog. One Meme changed that, and I feel honored to have ANYone think of me when considering handing out an award. So, thanks for making me feel so special because it's a terrific feeling to know that a) I'm not alone in the world, and b) people can actually relate to the everyday experiences I have, which is a saving grace on those days where I feel two strands away from pulling all of my hair out.
Now...if you'll excuse me, I hafta go tell those ppl that I've passed it on to them :o)

Dinner & Shopping

Well, we ended up trying to schedule the Turkey Dinner for 1pm. The Turkey, however, decided not to grace us with it's presence before our honored guests needed to make their exit. Thankfully, M-I-L brought a Spiral Ham for backup (as per my request), and we feasted on Ham and the fixings instead. I'm aghast that I forgot to bust out the Cranberry sauce, and that neither of my children cared for a lick of the food I slaved over all day. It makes me very sad. I wanted to curl my hair and had my hair up in rollers when everyone pulled up, shoulda seen me hustle to the bathroom to take them out and blow dry my hair. Mr. was teasin that he was gonna take photos and post em on Facebook, thank goodness it was only teasing. What a sight...bathrobe, apron, and rollers! Anyhow, I didn't get to make a pie either, but that's ok, more room for the regular stuff.
Well, after having a frustrating afternoon of them not eating, and then not taking naps, we got off to the M-I-L's to kill some time before heading to our local outlet mall for some early Christmas shopping. We played a bit of Yahtzee, got H into the bathtub and the like before we headed out at about 10pm.
The sale began at 11pm, and the first 500 ppl through their central doors got $15 g/c's, which we didn't wait for, but instead headed to their Lee/Wrangler store where we got $5 g/c's for being one of the first in the store. Yeah, I got 3 pairs of pants, a pair of wicked Holiday Knee socks, and a pretty sweater for $21. I rock. I know. SCORE!
The next store we visited where I bought something with was the Leather store where we got Mr.'s winter coat from last year. I'm sick of my Columbia coat...I've only had it for 5 years now, and though it still looks like new, I'm sick of not being stylish, for once I'd like to look less than practical. So, I scoped out the store (which was having a 30% off everything until such and such time) and picked out a beautiful White Wool Mid-length Jacket that was on sale for $42. *sigh* I could have gone home right then and been satisfied with what I got, I haven't spent that much money on myself in forever! On we went tot he next store, where I bought myself a new pair of Adidas running shoes (I've never owned a big name brand pair of shoes that I can recall) for the YMCA where I've managed to procure a membership recently, and plan on actually attending regularly once I get Hunter used tot heir sitters. Once again, we kept on, and made our way to the food court where we stopped and snagged a bite of Chinese food, and kept on to the K&B Toy Shop, where we snagged a few things for the boys. I'm impressed that this years' crowds were both smaller, and tolerant to others around them. Last year it was frickin colder than a polar bears' paw, and WAY too crowded to even consider waiting in line to purchase something, and extremely rude, causing me to leave earlier than planned.
We made our way back to M-I-L's and arrived around 2am, not bad for 3 hours worth of shopping, but the only problem remaining was the caffine still working it's way through my system. Needless to say I feel I got less-than-adequate sleep, but am still quite functional.
We ended up heading to WalMart today (as we needed a few grocery items to make it through) where we got a gift for my Stepdad, almost completing my list of stuff to get for my peeps back home.
*sigh*
I've been trying to decorate all night, but neither of the kids are interested, the Mr. is playing video games with a friend and hogging the TV, so I'm finding it difficult to get into the mood. Usually I pop on a Christmas movie or music and get hustling. Maybe I can complete it tomorrow night.
I hope everyone enjoyed themselves yesterday...I'm hoping to catch up on a bit of sleep this weekend, crossing my fingers that the boys will agree.

Friday Fill-Ins #100

1. My stomach doesn't agree with lactose, and I so wish it did.
2. Junk food is what I ate the most of on Thursday.
3. The yard looks decent, amazingly.
4. My mom's or my Grammas house is where I'd rather be at any given time.
5. The smell of lilacs reminds me of summertime in Kelowna.
6. Sleep is what I need right now!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting my Christmas Decorations up, tomorrow my plans include sedating the kids so I can sleep in (j/k) and Sunday, I want to Relax a little!

Thursday Thunks - Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome to the November 27th version of Thursday Thunks!
Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Kimber, the color crimson and the number 34 (as in days left in the year).

1. Today is the biggest day in your chosen career. You have THE job interview. Everything must be spot on. As you are getting dressed, you realize Oops!, you forgot to do laundry. You have NO clean underwear. What do you do? Go commando, wear yesterday's dirty undies, wear them inside out, buy new ones on the way to the interview or just say screw it and go back to bed?
If it's that important of an interview, you know I'd be buyin some new super special lucky undies. I would consider stealing a pair of the Mr.'s as well.

2. If you took a fully cooked turkey and a ripe watermelon and dropped them from 50 ft up, which would make a bigger splat and mess?
The Watermelon I guess.

3. An ex lover, friend, or spouse is in a serious accident, they have lost their current memory and think you 2 are still together. S/he keeps calling for you from their hospital bed. The family calls begging you to come visit until s/he regains current memory. Do you go?
I go, but I take current spouse with me, and I refresh the ex's memory. Is that cruel?

4. You have the opportunity to meet your favorite famous person. You have heard the person isn't nice in real life. Do you go ahead and meet them or choose to keep your fantasy of them real to you? Why or Why not? I meet them, because it's time for some new fantasies anyways.

5. Do you like lemons? Do you use them to clean with or just as a food source?
I used to eat lemons for lunch. HAHA, that sounds so macho. No, actually I used to take lemons with me to school and have my teacher slice them for me, where I would then proceed to eat them with my lunch. Don't anymore, actually, I don't even buy them...but I do like pink lemonade! So, Food Source would be my answer, in a roundabout way.

6. If chosen to be in a horror/suspense movie, would you do it? If so, would you be willing to be the first person killed in the movie?
I would be the slasher baby!! I wouldn't wanna be the first person killed, unless it was someone really important, like the president or something. Ever notice how in slasher flicks they're always nobodies who are running away from said slasher? I wanna see a slasher flick in the UN while everyone is there...*POP* Ohhh, there goes the PM of England, *POP* Ouch, there goes the president of France (do they have one?), *PING* There goes Japan's PM and so on. I think that'd be cool, throw the world into chaos with one slasher.

7. It's raining. It's cold. You cannot leave the house. How do you spend the day?
I bust out the tents and tunnels, and the ball pit, and I make a really cool fort in which we have a picnic and watch a few movies in. Did I mention we'd all be taking a bath and drinking some hot chocolate and reading a few books together? Oh, and if there's nothing to do the next day (school and such) I think I'd force all my boys to have a make-up & nail polish kinda day. Yup, you read that right.

Dawdling

Guilty as charged. I should be cleaning right now, as we will have company over, but it's so difficult leaving blogs unread and unpublished.
We're moving the baby gates from the main-ways today, as Grandpa K is blind and we don't want to hinder him unnecessarily.
I've made myself a list of things that I need to accomplish by the end of today, and as long as I get some done each hour, I'll be ok with it, and I'll know that I put forth a good amount of effort.
Anyhow, I plan on getting the majority of the food ready to go this evening. That means I'll be making some dinner rolls, and cinnamon rolls, and slicing and peeling all the vegetables (they store nicely in water overnight), and getting the minor trays (we don't have meals the day of, we just snack until dinner is served) ready, putting away most containers that aren't needed...making sure I have enough container for leftovers...yadah yadah.
I always worry about not having enough cutlery or dishes as I've only got our set of 8 to work with...what about serving spoon? Yikes...glad I can call my M-I-L.

"It's a beautiful lie
It's a perfect denial"
30 Second to Mars - Beautiful Lie

Started hanging my ceiling border last night in my room, then I realized I may not have gotten enough. I stopped after only one wall, thankfully it's a longer one, so if they don't have any of it left at the store I can just do the opposite and finish painting in the other two and leave it at that.
Anyone care to ask how much trouble that stupid ladder gave me? LOL It's one of those bend it anyway you want kind of ladders...real big, and akward as hell to manuever around furniture. Took me 15 minutes just trying to figure out how to get it to the position I wanted it in, then another ten to get it set up in the right place, frustrating, but I did it all on my own. I keep getting the feeling I'm relying way too much on my husband for those silly do-it-yourself things, and I really need to keep that portion of my identity, cause I feel it's important. Just cause I have a guy around doesn't mean I need to use him for everything, right? Thankfully, I'm not that far gone yet, I mean, I know how to use a hammer and screwdriver, so we're all good.

"Dont fall away
and leave me to myself
dont fall away"
Fuel - Hemmorage

Is anyone else planning on going shopping tommorrow night or Friday? We're going to brave the masses after dinner at a local outlet mall, and hopefully get at least one gift per person on our list. Thankfully, our list is a bit shorter this year as we're not doing all my aunts and uncles like we normally do, just the Key super duper special ones. I'm planning on sending back a couple of small boxes to my mom to hand out for me.

"And in another year
The pain will disappear and I
Will look back on this life as if it were a scene
In a film somebody made for you and me
I wish you well"
Tom Cochrane - Wish You Well

I would give anything to be back home for Christmas this year...I can't tell you how much I've been daydreaming of being snowed in with my family playing board and video games, busying ourselves with different minor projects, and in general enjoying each others' company. Heck I'd even love to be Family Taxi this year. I'm so disappointed in myself for being a voice of reason and saying we'll stay here until June. I'd give anything to smell Gramma's cooking, listen to her wordless whistle and hum, laugh with my mom, play card games with my Uncle, and learn new computer tricks from my aunt. I'd give almost anything for my family this year. I want so badly to go for an evening walk in the snow, where the night time sky glows purple from the city lights, where all you can smell is snow and pine, and the snow muffles all sounds till all you can hear is your own feat crunching the snow underneath...to go sledding by the truck headlights and bonfire at the local ski hill, to have random friends drop in and join us in our meals and gift giving. I wish I could be there for breakfast the morning after and watch them all try and figure out what to do with their new treasures, and wearing their new clothes, and take a billion and one pictures.
I'm so happy I'll be able to be with them next year, I don't think I could stand another year away, but if I take it one day at a time, my heart won't break so badly.

"In your mind, through your eyes, do you see?
It's the Fantasy"
30 Seconds To Mars - The Fantasy

Random Ramblings

"So you think you're lonely
Well my friend I'm lonely too"
Journey - Lights

And now, more from our sponsor...
Oh man I gotta wonder why on earth I'm doing things so differently. It's funny how subtle these things are. Like taking Mondays off...I generally try not to do any cleaning on Mondays. I get my cleaning done on Sunday, but with a small place it doesn't show. You know, the law of dynamics...the smaller the space the easier it is for something ot look out of place and make it all cluttered. That's my kitchen for you. I just finish the dishes and somehow the sink is piled mile high with them again. How does that happen?

"What's so wrong with being happy?
Kudos to those who see through sickness."
Incubus - Warning

It's snowing today. Coming down good. Woke up late this morning, had to rush to get D off to school. It's always a challenge when things like this happen to keep Mr. nice. He gets real upset (more so lately, something must be bothering him) when people start running late. Oh he got off before he was late, but we like having more time to get ready and not cut it so close.
The Mr. drug us all out lastnight to some Open Modelling casting thingy. Oh glory what a giant waste of my time. What was I thinking? His claim was that it was "for the kids", though I can't imagine why. Why would I want to create more work for myself? Can you imagine? Driving to locations, keeping the kids in check and coaxing the appropriate shots out of them for photographers?? I must be insane for even agreeing to it. Did I mention Mr put in his application as well? I feel like I was tricked here...bet we'll not get into that.
Anyhow, the guy called back asking us to bring D back in because he was interested in him, and that it would cost $150 to build him a portfolio. IN-teresting. I won't voice my comments.

"Oh, moon of alabama
We now must say goodbye"
The Doors - Alabama Song

Gotta head to the library with the little Mr. H today so I can pick up my book on hold, drop off the movies from last time, and pay some late fines. I guess I'll hafta let H play with the trains :o)
Tomorrow is Baby Group day, but I need to check also if they'll be having it or not...

"Streetlight people, living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night"
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'

Did I mention I finally finished painting our upstairs bathroom? Yup...it's only been since mid-June that I've been waiting to do it. Yay me! Now I just need to finish hanging the ceiling borders and I'll be all finished in the home reno department.
I need to dig out of decorations, and re-arrange the Halloween decorations cause I know I just threw everything into one bin and it needs to be organized. Blah...better late than never right?

"She put the lime in the coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up,
And said, "Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache?"
Harry Nilsson - Put The Lime In The Coconut

Give Me Five Monday #42

Give Me Five Monday is hosted by BeccA over at BeccA's Buzz, click here if you'd like to play along.

Give Me Five Sub Sandwich Toppings &/or Condiments

1. I usually stick to the same veggies: lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, and pickles.

2. I'm an EXTRA MAYO & Mustard lover! Everyone can rest assured that I will always be a lotsa lotsa person.

3. Salt and pepper...gotta have it on any and all sandwiches, even if I make them at home.

4. I love cheese...any kind, it doesn't matter. I recently tried Havarti, which I found to be a bit salty, but rather enjoyable if I cut back on #3.

5. My all time fav sandwich topping is Turkey, leftovers from Thanksgiving please.

Did I ever mention I used to work at a Subway? Did I ever mention that I met my husband at Subway? Did I ever mention that I loved the smell of baking bread when I got pregnant with my first son while I was working at said Subway? Hmm...

Our Wednesday, For Your Entertainment

OK, so now that I've had a chance to absorb a bit, and yes, even chuckle a little, I'm now going to tell you about our Wednesday.
SO...all week long I had fought and fought with Mr. D cause he was grouchy, and snippy, and smarmy, and just over-all ornery. He wouldn't listen to my instructions, or requests, and he did an amazing job of ignoring me as much as possible. Now, I had chalked this up to last Friday's Boy Scout Overnighter that we had attended (you know, the one where he stayed up until 3am?), and the resulting lack of sleep from said event. I had no idea...
Wednesday morning rolled around, and as I rolled out of bed (I had asked the Mr. to get D off to school and let me sleep in, but 5 minutes after he got up it became clear that wasn't going to happen) I could hear the Mr. trying to get D to get up and get dressed.
This should have been a clue as to how my day would go...you know that whole "which side of the bed did you roll out on" thing?
After about 8 minutes of trying to get D out of bed, and his subsequent moanings and groanings..."I'm tired", "I'm too heavy", "I'm cold", I finally had had enough. I walked over and stood him up, and attempted to dress him myself...the only problem was, he decided to go limp noodle.
Show of hands, how many of you readers have successfully dressed 6 year-old limp-noodle??
So, after dressing (due to the fact that each time I tried to push on a sleeve, or sock, or pant leg he was limp and it ended up slanting back into his body) he went running to daddy crying "Mommy punched me and she kinked my leg!".
Great.
I didn't even bother asking him to make his bed, I just did it myself.
Another 10 minutes and he's finally finished brushing his teeth, and we head downstairs for breakfast. Well, by this time he's crying and carrying on so "I'm fragile!", "You're being mean to me", "I don't want to talk to you".
Can you guess what happened next?
That's right...I couldn't get him to eat. Try as I might I could not get him to eat ANY of his breakfast. He kept running away from the table and burying himself amongst the pillows on our couch and screaming at me to "get away from him". Consequently little H woke up, though how he had slept through everything up to this point, I had no clue.
Well, I couldn't send him off to school without food, and screaming and crying that I had punched him and was being "very mean"...what does one do in this situation??
I did the only thin I could do...I called the school and told them he was sick.
By this time H has caught on to the tension in the older D and began trying to catch up. Throughout the day everything would be fine, we'd be playing something quietly, all occupied, and then one would upset the other and before I knew it a full on tantrum would erupt from both of them. D would start screaming and actually with tears crying about how he didn't like his brother, or how he was hurt, or that he didn't like us anymore, or that something wasn't fair...
Then H would throw himself flat on the floor in retaliation and screaming "oooh", "Owwww", "Hurt!".
Yeah...fuuuun.
The Mr. finally arrived home from work, and can anyone guess what happened here?
Yup, the boys kicked whatever energy they had before into overdrive, and everything that had been happening thus far, suddenly intensified and got worse. It seemed like it was every few minutes chaos would errupt with one screaming and crying, and the other throwing himself flat out on the floor screaming about how he had been hurt (though he actually wasn't, for the record).
Thankfully, Wednesday night there was a Cub Scout function that the two older Mr's had to attend, and it gave me a bit of reprieve from D to gather my wits about me.
I had phoned my M-I-L earlier in the evening and asked her to come and speak to D again about what was going on, as she's an outside influence who hadn't yet insulted him, so she was safe to talk to.
They boys arrived home from Cub Scouts with my Mr. so aggrievated with D that he was almost dangerous to be around...yup, his behaviour hadn't improved any.
Glory...Once again, everything intensified when my M-I-L arrived, and she was kind enough to take D upstairs and help him get ready for bed, and chat with him about what was bothering him.
By this point in time both the Mr and myself were ready to pull our hairs (does that sound right?) out. So, we took a breather, we were ready to hear what the M-I-L had to report.
Well, relaying back to D being bothered last week, and possibly even the week before where he didn't want to go to school, and having trouble with another boy...she began to relay his school problems that seemed to really be having an effect on his whole being.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how badly spending 6 hours a day with the same people day-in, and day-out can be...but I am. It's been that long since I was in school, and I just don't recall how horrible it can be to face the same tormentors everyday.
We're small people...I'm short, so is my husband...we're not going to have tall kids. D is small for his age, almost a whole head shorter than the farm grown kids here in Ohio, but roughly the same size as the ones back home cause they're from the same short stock too.
Last time we had issues it was a few kids stealing his hat and holding it up where he couldn't reach it...this time it's a few kids bugging him about his name, and his height.
I went to the school on Friday for lunch with him, and wow...one of the kids in his class was walking with us to the cafeteria, and actually said to me "You're short, you look like a 6th grader", and then for the duration of the lunch break (15 minutes) proceeded to continue making comments about how short I am. I can definately see why that would bother D, cause I wanted to slap him...his comments were that rude.
Now I'm trying my hardest not to solve his problems for him, but how far should I be taking my actions when it's affecting him this badly?
All I can say, is I hope we don't have many more day like this, as I'm not so certain we can tolerate it.
before you finish reading this post...please take a moment and appreciate the humor of this situation...a two year old frequently dropping to the floor screaming about beig hurt, a 6 year old in tears at the drop of a dime, a mother at a loss as to which one to aid first, and a father wishing he really hadn't walked in on this situation.
Yeah, it's times like these that make me wonder...who's bright idea was it to let me leave a hospital with a baby?!?!

Friday Fill-In's #99

1. The last band I saw live was 54-40, and they kicked ass!
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is spending time with my family. (if you don't celebrate thanksgiving, insert your favorite holiday)
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is meagerly started.
4. Thoughts of PTO agendas fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear a corset...(cause it's easier than getting some kinda plastic surgery for one event like pictures)
6. Bagpipes are so sad.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Playing with the boys and melting my eyeballs with Rollercoaster Tycoon, tomorrow my plans include pulling popcorn duty in my husband's stead (Cub Scouts orders are in and need to be picked up) and Sunday, I want to sleep in!

Hunter Sings Thomas & Friends

Yes, let's just try and ignore me singing to coax him to sing shall we?

Thursday Thunks

Welcome to the November 20th version of Thursday Thunks!

Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

This week we will answer some strange, off the wall questions, thought up by Berleen's daughters demons (ages 12 & 14). Brought to you by Berleen, the color green and the number 147.

1. Do you like potatoes? What kind? Yes, and ANY perogies, french fried, home fried, hashed browns, hash brown patties, mashed, whipped, baked, Champed, soup. Potatoes are my number one, favorite food of all time. If I could eat potatoes every day until the day I die, I'd be a happy camper.

2. If you were dressed up in a fish costume and you went underwater and a shark saw you, what would you do? I'd lure the shark to the fish costume, wriggle out of it, and book it while the shark eats the bait...though I'd have to hope it takes it's time noticing there's no meat cause I'm really not a strong swimmer.

3. Does Jello make you happy? No, I don't particularly care for Jello...unless it's the pudding.

4. If you could have any animal, exotic, extinct or other type, what would it be? A Black Panther

5. Would you fill up a pool with pudding and jump in? Sure, why not...I've heard milk is good for the skin...so long as it was one where I could touch the bottom, can you imagine...death by pudding. Doesn't sound desirable to me.

6. When you are feeling icky with the sickness feeling, what is your first choice for feel-better medicine? I don't take medicines when I'm sick. I prefer to let them run their course. I drink lots of water and tea with honey, and soups. The more I have to go pee, the more bad germs I'm cycling out, and the more room I'm making for healthy ones. I believe that if you take medicines to STOP feeling sick then it will only prolong it because once it wears off you go back to feeling sick again, and I am of the opinion that during the time where you don't feel sick the body stops fighting it as much.

7. Do you count with your fingers or in your head when it comes to mathematical equations? In my head...though I have to admit when no ones looking I wiggle my toes to help me out, that's why I love toes socks LOL

8. Do you have any key chains on your keyring? How many? What kind? I have a couple, just the variety that clubs hand out, like from the grocery store and library. I used to have a bunch of Happy Face ones, but once you get kids it's difficult to keep them from breaking when they play with them. I do use a Lanyard though, it's a Roots Canada one about 5 years old now, I've always found it easier to not hold my keys, the bags, my purse, and a baby at the same time.

9. What do you dunk your french fries in? OH MY GOD I'd give A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G for New York Fries Gravy!! I usually don't dip, I'm a salt addict, so long as I have salt for my fries all is well.

10. When I say "Moo I'm a duck" do you think of a cow or a duck? I think you're weird.

11. If you had the chance, would you go to the very bottom of the ocean? Nope, I'm claustrophobic and deeply afraid of deep water, see the above swimming reference.

12. Would you rather be Spiderman or Batman? I'd rather be Wonder Woman...but I guess maybe Batman cause then I'd have a kick ass house with money to spare for charities.

13. Would you rather be in a hurricane or a tornado? A hurricane...I'd rather have time to absorb the situation that have it come and knock my life out of whack and then leave in the matter of minutes.

13 is bad luck... last question by me (Berleen)

14. Do you like pumpkin pie? Do you cheat and buy a premade one or do you make it from scratch? Heck, do you even make pumpkin pie at all? This is my first year of attempting a pumpkin pie. My family is weird...my husband doesn't like cooked fruit, and no ones else likes it but me. SO, I bought the canned stuff to give it a whirl, I don't believe I've ever tried the scratch variety cause I don't know that many ambitious people.

Adventures Through The School

"Well I'm alive, I'm alive but I'm sinking in
If there's anyone home at your place, darling
Why don't you invite me in?"
Counting Crows - Rain King

I SO did not wanna get outta bed this morning, really truly and honestly. My alarm went off, and I snuggled down deeper. I hafta give the boys a bath this evening now cause it's a bath day and I was supposed to get 'em in the shower this morning but I just didn't feel up to it. Anyone ever have those days where even the mundane chores of a regular day just seem so insurmountable that it's not worth it to even attempt?

"As the day divides the night
Here we are searching for a sign"
30 Seconds To Mars -End Of The Beginning

Anyhow, got D off to school, came home and wondered how I was going to get through the day like this. Got H up and my Mr as it was his day off, got him to drive us to Speech Therapy where we agreed that it was best to discharge him, so no more speech cause H is just that smart. To be on the safe side the therapist said she'd call once a month to check that he's still progressing well, but otherwise, that's that. Yay, he's back on track, and he has finally caught on to using signs with vocalization, which is really helpful, he really only use it to accent, clarify. Funny...for a boy who used to use ONLY signs, he now only uses it when he can't explain himself clearly enough when he speaks. I've caught him on only one occasion trying to say I love you (which was our main goal), but I guess everything will come in time. He speaks well enough for me, though sometimes his words seem a bit garbled and I need a bit of help figuring it out, it works. Hooray for us!

"I know that I would never be this blue
If you only loved me half as much as I love you"
Patsy Cline - Half As Much

Came home and scooted over to the school for PKVW Reads. I signed in and went to get my first child for our reading time and her class wasn't there (we're supposed to get a phone call to inform us of changes to avoid wasted time). Went back to the office and the p/t secretary told me her teacher was sick and they had a sub AND their class combined with the other 3rd graders for a presentation from some College students. I went and asked the other teacher, and we left it up to the girl who didn't want to miss out on her presentations, which was ok. So, I went back to the Reading Station to get my things ready for the next child when the PKV Reads teacher informed me that the girl's mother didn't want her reading in the program, so next week I'll have a new student. There must be some reason why, but I can't fathom it, and it almost bothers me.

"That kinda lovin'
Turns a man to a slave
That kinda lovin'
Sends a man right to his grave"
Aeorsmith - Crazy

Poor D is having a rough month in school. He's been picked on by other kids for so many silly reasons it almost seems absurd that they hurt his feelings, but they do. Children are so fragile it's difficult to keep my mind on top of it, and how best to handle each situation because I remember so clearly those same feelings while growing up. I want so badly to hug him and know that I take away the hurt that's there, but each person must make their own way. I remember so many people telling me I was too sensitive while growing up, that I always made too much of things, and just how small and stupid that made me feel. Like what I was feeling was something that I shouldn't have been feeling. I learned to stop telling because I just wasn't valid. It's not like I didn't know issues like these would arise, I just didn't think they would make me hurt so much for him. It's making these things really difficult for me to differentiate between his feelings and mine, I guess. My fear with this is that I don't want to turn him into me, but want to give him the strength to overcome and move on and face those silly things that come up with grace and not me traumatized for life by them. I so badly want to instill that strength in him, that little bit that would make him jut out his chin and and say to those people who are teasing "Yeah, so what?".
God, I hope I'm doing my job as a parent.

"About all of the things that I long to believe
About love and the truth and
What you mean to me
And the truth is baby you're all that I need"
Bon Jovi - Bed of Roses

Give Me Five Monday #41

Give me Five Monday's are brought to you by Becca, over at BeccA's Buzz. Come on over and join us!

Give Me Five staples on your grocery list besides milk, bread and eggs.

1. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup...hafta agree with Becca on this one. Both my boys love them some Chocolate milk, but as my youngest is the only one in the family NOT lactose intolerant, we have to buy the syrup instead of the pre-made.

2. Kraft Cheese, once again I have to agree with Becca. We all love cheese, and though we don't usually stray too far from it, we usually go with Mild Cheddar, our other fav's include Co-Jack, or Mozzeralla. Oh yeah, we usually stick to Kraft cause it's the tastiest, I can actually tell the difference between it and off-brand's cause the off-brands are saltier, and more coarse or stiff.

3. Oscar Mayer Turkey Bologna. My boys LOVE this one as a snack, and I don't feel so bad feeding it to them knowing it's a lot lower in sodium, and only has 1 gram of saturated fat. I'm also happy knowing it comes from the meat of only one animal...

4. Oatmeal. We all love this warm cereal, and we only need brown sugar to make it scrumptious. The minute I run out of it they ask for more.

5. Raisins. Of course, a huge fav of kids everywhere. Both my boys will eat these till the cows come home or until they've had too many. If you're a mom you'll understand the too many part. We like to spice it up every once and a while by buying Yogurt Raisins as well.

it's Snoopy Dance Time!

Thanks to Kimber, who game me my very first ever awards. Yep, that's right, my award cherry is broke.



For the Uber Amazing Award:
* Put the logo on your blog or post.
* Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing!
* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
* Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.


For The Sparkly Award:
Post this badge on your site and link back to Maternal Spark. Then award 5 of your blog friends who have sparked creativity, conversation, controversy and friendships with you!

For both awards I nominate:

Janet - she is where all my meme's began. It all started with the Friday Fill-Ins that I first read on her site, and then all my blogging really began. I'm also addicted to her What Is Is Wednesday's cause she takes amazing pictures...plus her "Why So Serious" tattoo is pretty freakin cool!

Helen - Originally I met her through my aunt, we went to a Concert together way back when, and I guess in the last 6 months or so I really got hooked on her blog as she was just getting ready to have her first baby, Lily. I love reading the highlights of being a new parent, and a wife, as well as the activist thoughts that inspire me to be a better person, though it may be through the small things I am able to do.

Canucklehead - Always good for a giggle or a "moment" as he's a terrific writer. I find it enjoyable to surf his site as he's got some great jokes, pictures, and some pretty cute kids. Plus I love the references to bacon.

Nietha - Ok, so I know we're related and that makes me biased, but she writes a really amazing game review when she wants to. It's updated sporadically , but it makes for an interesting read.

CoffeeSlut - Admittedly I haven't paid many visits to her site, but it's memorable simply because she's a slut. I look foreward to seeing her icon each week when I complete the Thursday Thunks.

The Junk Drawer - I've only been reading Kathy's blog for about a month now, but boy oh boy have I gotten a few giggles from it. I found her site through Canucklehead's site, actually, when he recieved an award last month from someone, he listed her as an award recepient.

I know I should probably do a list for both, but I honestly don't "read" that many blogs. I blog surf a bunch, but I'm not really that committed to too many out there. Also, I should state that these are in no particular order... :o)
*does Snoopy Dances* I like this award business, it makes me feel special :oD

Quick Get Me A Massuese!

Holy G-L-O-R-Y.
Lastnight we had a shift in plans. I was supposed to stay home with Hunter by myself while Chance took Darius to a Boy Scouts Overnighter at a YMCA just north of us. It turned out that we switched places, and I went with Darius instead.
Let's state that I spent the day cleaning the MIL's and clearing out her garage in preparation for the cold weather. I hadn't really thought about how much work I had put in there until I woke up sore this afternoon.
We arrived at the YMCA about 45 minutes early, we were the first ones there (as I wasn't sure how to get there) and got to explore a bit beforehand. We brought in our sleeping roll, and backpack, and got on with the activities. Once our other Cub Scout friends arrived we went and played Soccer in the gym. I ran and played with Darius at each opportunity for the majority of th evening (until my shoes started to hurt my feet, then I instructed him to play something with another Scout someplace). They had some terrific plans for the boys for the night, with Sand Art, Dodgeball, Save the Person (a knot tying activity), a Movie, a snack of Hot Dogs, chips & juice, and plenty of running around at full tilt.
I haven't unloaded my camera yet, but I got some terrific shots of Darius running around with friends and those images will last me forever, I'm sure. His hair was flying back (not that it's very long) and his clothes were plastered to his front and billowing out behind him, and he had such a big grin on his face it was impossible not to catch it.
I did my best to keep up with him at every step. I'm offended once again by the lack of participation from the other parents in our group. The two who showed up sat on the bleachers all night and didn't participate, the only thing they did with their boys was the crafty stuff. They even had a game of Parents vs. Scouts in Dodgeball which they didn't participate in (and neither did I, for the record, as D didn't feel like playing so we left the gym for this one). There was a Handicapped guy there and I have to say I was very impressed at his participation level as he was out there playing with his boy every chance he got (minus a break now and then). I basically glued myself to D's side all night. Yes, I could have appeared overbearing, but I choose to see it as participating. When he went potty, I was in the hallway waiting for him to exit, when he ate his snack I was next to him on the bedroll. We had fun in each others' company. Not that I prevented him from playing with anyone else, I just chose to take a step back and be within reach for whatever it was that he was doing.
We had an amazing time, and byt the time midnight rolled around (It started at 9pm) he was complaining about being tired. Thinking back on it I could have set us up in a quieter corner of the place and let im zonk out cause he was ready to, but I didn't want him to miss out on anything so I pushed him to stay awake for the entire night. He finally conked out around 3am waiting for them to put a movie on the projector & wall of the Gym where we had our sleeping bags rolled out on the floor. 6am (maybe it was 6:15?) rolled around and someone came in yelling and screeshing to rise & shine. I was up instantly as I don't believe I had actually gone to "sleep" the entire night, more likely dozed. They played Finding Nemo & Atlantis for a couple of movies while everyone was sleeping. Did I mention it was an "Under the Sea" theme? Anyhow, it took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to shake D out of bed and get him to go brush his teeth. He refused to get his clothes on for the day though, and actually threw a crying fit at me for trying to get him to do so. So, we had fresh breath, rolled up our sleeping rolls, and headed out. Darius got a badge for the overnighter, which was cool. It had started rainging shortly after we arrived there around 8:15 lastnight, and hasn't stopped since...I guess we're due some precipitation and it's supposed to turn into snow, so C tells me.
Anyhow, we got home about 7 this morning, and went straight back to bed. I guess H gave C a hard time lastnight and got as little sleep as I did, and he was grateful to have me home with him. H & I crashed until just after noon, and D got up not long before. It was kinda funny, when we got home I marched him upstairs after another mini-fit telling me he was too tired to move, and he got mad at me for telling him to get in bed...but he was out before I had a chance to get myself settled in bed with H.
We're home now, out of the rain, and it feels like our kilter has been knocked off, hopefully we get back on track with what's left of the weekend.
As I was getting us ready to go I realized I didn't have a sleeping bag, and had a passing thought of bringing an Airbed and blankets, but passed it off as wussy. Yeah...the other parents in my group brought their airbeds & blankets. I slept on a 1" thick foamy in a kids sleeping bag while D had a couple of blankets for padding.
I feel like I got beat up. A ocmbo of moving objects from a garage down to a basement, lack of sleep, and playing all night with my oldest son really did a number on me. I hurt everywhere. It hurts to think.
I had an amazing time and would do it again in a heartbeat!

I couldn't understand why our pack leader kept asking me questions like "I bet you're gonna kill your husband when you get home huh?". I really enjoyed myself, all night. The only thing I'd do differently is bring a better pair of shoes that didn't hurt my feet so much, so I could play more. I'm not like other moms that way, I enjoy getting rough & rowdy with my children, playing games with them, encouraging them to use their imaginations, and everything that goes along with it. I thrive on it, and so do my kids. I wish I could do it more often cause it was just that much fun.

Friday Fill-Ins #98

And...here we go!

1. Please feel free to serve yourself in my house.

2. When I clean the bathroom with lysol I can't help sniffing it occasionally afterwards.

3. My favorite thing to cook is Spaghetti, because it smells so delicious while it's bubbling, and it reminds me of home.

4.When Hunter or Darius laugh, I always think "this is something I can't get enough of".

5. That's the thing I love most about having children, they make me appreciate the little things.

6. When I deal with Immigration, either in Canada or the USA, and they bring up my Native American Ancestry but end up telling me "You're not Indian Enough" always makes me think to myself, what the heck?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a night without the big Mr's, tomorrow my plans include possibly cleaning the house and making it smell like lysol and Sunday, I want to get to church and go to that book group, even though I haven't read the book!

Thursday Thunks

This week we will answer some unusual questions, brought to you by Kimber, the color purple and the number 13.


1. Have you ever pooped in the woods? Plenty...I'm from British Columbia, if you don't know where that is, look it up. Mountains, Woods, Lakes, Rivers...and CAMPING. You do the math. I'm pretty certain we've had this question before, haven't we? I believe I answered that's why I have TP in the Emergency kit in the back of my truck.

2. You are starving. You have not had anything to eat for days. In front of you is poison ivy, a live hissing cockroach, and a rotten stinky piece of some sort of mystery meat to eat. Which would you pick and why? I eat the cockroach of course...might sting a bit on the way down, but oh well, what's a little pain, I've had children, it's all good. Better to get some extra fiber than be miserable & Itchy, or get some sort of funky food poisoning and loose what little nutrients you have, right?

3. Bottled or Tap water? Does it really matter? I guess tap, since you asked :oD

4. Your dream job, what would it be and why? To own my own business...doing what I don't know. Oh wait...I'm supposed to say I'm doing it!

5. Do you have any snow globes? Sure, they all say Canada in them somewhere.

6. Do you like your bed? If not, what kind of bed do you want? I guess I like my bed, I find it uncomfortable most nights, but I dunno if that's due to the mattress or the pillows. Oh well. I want a super-squishy-I'm-not-going-to-wake-the other-person-up-when-I-roll-over kinda bed that swallows me whole when I lay down on it.

Rememberance Day & A Plan

I'm sorry to say that I missed out on the ceremony they had today, it's been a while now. I don't actually have anyone in my family who is a Veteran, that I can recall. I think I do remember one or two people had enlisted, but not actually gone? Hmm, sketchy.
My husband's family on the other hand...nearly all the males, save him, have been enlisted and called to active duty. Veterans all of them may be.
ANYhow, we're having Chance's dad over for dinner...and I'm makin the good ole' Spaghetti. I'm hoping I can convince the Mr. to go and get some garlic bread, as I think it would be a wonderful touch to dinner.
SO much to do, so much to do.
I need to start making phone calls to the list of organizations that I've made for donation requests. Since we're working on five months, we're even considering corporations such a Northland Juices, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dell, Microsoft, and Disneyworld. I'm also going to make a list of a few travel agencies in the local area to approach about a few small trips for donations.
I'm seriously hoping that this will be the biggest year ever for the Parkview Mardi Gras. I've come to understand that the government holds nothing when it comes to field trips and the like for schools, and so it's left up to the PTO's of each school to do the fundraising to have ANY extracurricular activities, assemblies, and field trips. As it is, our PTO is in the red by about 10,000...and as it is, they're looking our way to help boost their budget for the next two years.
Here's to high hopes.
Everyone cross their fingers, and seriously pull for me, cause I'm not gonna stop until the day of actual Mardi Gras come March 27th. Here's hoping my efforts won't be wasted!

Recap, Yes, I Know, It's Long.

Funny how sometimes things get going so fast it's tough to slow down enough to type a few paragraphs.

"The spotlights hitting something
That's been known to change the weather"
Elton John - Bennie & The Jets

Kind of an interesting week I suppose.
Wednesday we had parent teacher conferences, where we found out that our brilliant genius is trying to avoid doing his schoolwork. No real surprise that she stated she'd like him to work more on his writing skills. So, apparently he's been missing recesses cause he has had to stay in and do his schoolwork. I also noticed that in the past two weeks (where he's been getting almost unmanageable) that he hasn't been playing with people like in the first weeks of school. So we uncovered a theory that maybe there were some issues of him being possibly bullied or some such thing going on beyond the scope of normal class realms.

So, Thursday I packed up a lunch, grabbed my camera and headed to school. I signed in at the office and made my way to the playground where it was seconds before I was swarmed by little people. All of the sudden Darius became the most important person on the playground as they were all interested in what he was doing, because he was doing it with me. I took plenty of pictures of everyone and everything. I noticed a few times that Darius actually needed encouragement to play with me cause he ran away a few times and I couldn't find him (I wonder if he didn't want me there?). In any event, I got him to eat his whole lunch, so I think at the very least I'm going to try and make it over there at least once a week to help him eat his lunch, and make sure there's not any wasted funds there. I really didn't notice him avoiding anyone in general but I did notice how roughly he was playing with one boy in particular, and the awful language on the playground. I actually heard a number of 1st graders using the word "crap".
I got my Halloween decorations down on the last day of nice weather after I picked D up from school (did I mention Halloween was t-shirt weather all night long, amazing!). Had both of the boys outside with me helping me dismantling all the decorations and tossing them into the bin.

"Well it's set way back in the middle of a field,
Just a funky old shack and I gotta get back"
The B-52's - Love Shack

Afterwards Darius had Cub Scouts, which he was whisked off to. Ronnie came over and watched Hunter for me while I moseyed on down and took pictures so I could drop off the popcorn order forms. I found out after a bit of heckling that for Canadian orders that they would place the order and have it shipped to me, then we would be responsible to send it to them on my own. Kinda silly, I wonder why they advertised it as anyone can order it if we were going to be responsible for anything...ANYways, Darius sole about 155 Dollars worth of popcorn, and earned an incentive gift, of which he chose a surprise bag.

"Save your tears and laughter
Because it doesn’t matter what you find"
INXS- Pretty Vegas

The Halloween decorations I took down filled the bin up and to over-flowing, but I haven't quite put everything away nicely, re-folding it all properly and such yet. I'm washing my way through the items that were used as an outdoor display cause a lot of them were crawling with spiders and the like. Once I get that all done I think I'll sort things back into the costume bin, that should help on the amount of space available in my Halloween bin. Anyways, trying to keep those boys off the road is a tricky feat, but it wasn't so bad until they decided to get rowdy and just not listen, and ended up getting both sent inside. Both boys thought it was funny to see mommy climbing the tree to get the decorations that were stapled to upper branches, down. I got a few scrapes, and even suffered a mosquito bite!
After everything Chance went and rented me Get Smart, GREAT movie. I giggled quite a few times. I was impressed that Steve Carrell didn't try to channel Don Adams, but still did a great job portraying his character. I didn't care for the direction the character connection took, as from my memory 99 & 82 were never involved, but what can you do?

"Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you."
Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You

Friday was our Anniversary...seven years, and we're finally starting to see things on the same page, I guess it was only a matter of time. I decided to have us go to Hero House here in town. A little splatter on the wall with an absolutely delicious Philly Steak and Cheese Sub. Amazing, truly. I had to remove all jewelry (I was wearing a lot of rings, yeah, I broke out my bling) and by the end of it I had food caked under my nails and required a thorough hand washing before I could even think of doing anything else. We hopped around town after that looking for a relatively quiet place to discuss our plans on moving. Well, it being a Friday all places that had bars in them were crawling with patrons, and we eventually ended up at a Starbucks. I can actually say I don't think I can recall EVER having anything from Starbucks before, but was impressed with the Cafe Mocha I ordered. We sat and came to the conclusion that we'll be looking at June as our moving date goal. We discussed surrounding options to consider, financial matters, and choices for school and temporary living arrangements. Overall it was a positive experience, as I was expecting an all out war of words.

"I put millions of miles
Under my heels"
Audioslave - I Am The Highway

We also discussed job options and we got chatting about Chance's dream job. He wants to do Outdoor Adventure Tours, and hopes to get his hands on a Hummer to do so. though it's wide, I don't think the mainstream folks who want a backroads tour of the province are interested in going on those super narrow goat trails, I think maybe mainstream backroads are good enough. It's a terrific idea I think, and I fully support him, should he attempt it. I just don't see him lasting in any job where he answers to some schmo who doesn't have himself together or whatever.

"Gotta be green
Gotta be mean
Gotta be everything more"
Mika - Grace Kelly

In all, I'd say it's been a pretty decent week/weekend. I missed church today, I just felt like I'd rather eat an amazing breakfast...horrible, I know. Oh well, I drove Chance to work, and then the boys and I hit the store for the ingredients that I was craving. We came home, I tidied up a bit, and got started on our amazing morning brunch. Pancakes with whipped cream (I cheated and actually bought a container of Cool Whip, I don't even know the last time I did that), and my yummy breakfast dish of scrambled eggs, hashedbrowns, green peppers, onions, and garlic all mixed into one. It was super yummy, and i think D has a secret hatch that he opens only for pancakes cause he polished off a fair few and the last time he asked for more he made the fatal error of asking for a drink which he then guzzled down. Afterwards he had a hard time walking due to sloshing tummy syndrome.

"So now we're flying, we're free
We're free before the thunderstorms
On towards the wilderness
Our Quest carries on"
Dragonforce - Through The Fire And Flames

Hunter put four words together today. He said "Mommy, Help me please". It made me happy. Life is good...let's keep it rollin!

Friday Fill-Ins #97

1. My blueprint for success includes keeping track of how many hours I sleep a day.
2. A sucker leftover from Halloween was the last candy I ate.
3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is Oil of Olay, I suppose.
4. Sleeping can be good therapy.
5. I'd like to tell you about a man named Jed, poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed.
6. Honesty is my strongest characteristic.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to celebrating my Anniversary with the Mr. without the kids!, tomorrow my plans include doing a Raffle Committee Mtg. and Sunday, I want to get to church for the third week in a row!

You Tell Me...

I made a strange discovery today, and it kinda weirded me out. A Bald Squirrel jumped out at me twice today. Once walking my way to my son's school for lunch, and once on my return. Have you ever seen a bald squirrel? Is it rare? Is it dangerous? Should I call Animal Control or the Humane Society or something? You Tell Me...cause it's kinda creepy lookin.

Thursday Thunks

Welcome to the November 6th version of Thursday Thunks!

This week we will answer some unusual questions, brought to you by Berleen, the color red and the number 1,908.

1. The election is over... what do you think? I'm surprised that someone I wanted to win actually won, I just never thought I'd live to see it in my lifetime, though I realize now that it was statistically bound to happen.
   
2. Tell us about a snowman. I'm not that great at building them, honestly, they usually never want to stick together when I lift the body and head onto the bottom, and I end up being a stickler about how symmetrical it is, so I try to leave the snowman building to the Mr.
   
3. What brand of ketchup do you buy? Heinz, or whatever is cheapest really.
   
4. Do you use a cookbook? Not usually, I'm just that great of a cook...*wink wink* Really, only when i know we're having company for dinner.
   
5. Do you blow-dry your hair or let it air dry? Air dry most days, unless I'm cold, then I blow dry
   
6. When was the last time you were sick? Just before my birthday I was horrendously sick.
   
7. What is the strangest letter of the alphabet? Z, I dunnoa bout you but there's really not much use for it, I think. Nevermind the fact that it looks like a seven with a tail...I wonder if it's lucky?
   
8. Who was the last person you bought a present for? What was it? Will you buy me one? I bought my mom a gift, I'm getting a head start on Christmas shopping this year, trying to get one small thing for each person (and I have about 3 stored away now). I'm not telling because she reads my blog, and no, I'd prefer to make you a gift, honestly. I should go and buy my husband something as tomorrow's our Anniversary.
   
9. Why are we ending at 9 questions? Do we usually have more than 9? I've honestly never noticed.
   

Please Remind Me...

Movies to watch tonight, am not allowed to relax and blog...SO remind me to blog about Parent Teacher Conferences and concerns surrounding said event. Remind me to blog about my adventures (yet to happen) disassembling my Halloween Set Up (cause I used a million and 1 safety pins, staples, twine, and tape). my Anniversary is coming up on Friday, remind me to blog about said event and decisions surrounding the big "moving" discussion" that is to take place on said night. Gosh, I love chocolate milkshakes....

Weekends...

Well, Monday has arrived, amazing how it does that around the same time each week. Hmm.

"Give it all ya got until you're
put out of your misery"
Aerosmith - Ragdoll

Let's begin with Friday's events, shall we? Friday, being Halloween, I thought we had the entire day planned out. I just keep moving towards that thought that it's just stupid here during holidays cause it's never convenient for any ppl in the USA for anything. I know, I'm generalizing, and I shouldn't cause it's just not nice, but I'm really that angry about the whole silly thing. I went overboard on my decorations, cause it seemed like fun. I bought boatloads of candy, cause I do things like that. I stayed up late multiple nights in a row to finish costumes for 3 wearings each. All for nothing, it seems...my own pleasure.

"Dream on,
Dream until your dreams come true"
Aerosmith - Dream On

We got a total of about 3 ToT-ers, and Darius only went out for about an hour, and ended the night abruptly. Chance actually had to take him to a different neighborhood to go out, and after he dropped him off back at home, Ronnie and I decided to take the boys out around here.
Picture us...walking on the crappiest sidewalks in the state, pushing a stroller (read: Hunter was too cranky to put his costume on), in the dark. Sure, I brought flashlights, but have you ever tried to manuever a flashlight and push a stroller at the same time? It's not as easy as I made it look.
Disappointing, in that we got virtually NO ToT-ers. We didn't go to the Hunted House like we had planned (not that anything we plan is concrete), but stayed home and rented movies instead. Did I mention I also went to sleep fairly early?

"Words are sometimes hard to find
The silence can be so unkind
You always help me find my way"
April wine - Just Between You And Me

I actually did manage to sleep in on Saturday, thanks to that wonderful husband of mine. I rolled outta bed kinda late. The boys all loaded up to go get their hair cut, and it kinda dragged out but it eventually got done. We went to a consignment store to look for some pants for me, but I only ended up walking out with a new pair of shoes (only...lol). I played with the boys for the majority of the day before I decided to get off my butt and do the cleaning I had been neglecting in light of Halloween. I washed my floors, vacuumed, and cleaned the bathrooms. I loaded the dishwasher, and did a load of laundry before my husband called and said he was bringing home company from work after they finished closing.

"The future's uncertain
and the end is always near.
Let it roll, baby roll...
All night long"
The Doors - Roadhouse Blues

Sunday rolled around and I decided that we'd get up early enough to go to church as we needed to return our UNICEF boxes. I rolled us outta bed bright and early, we all showered (no small task) and dressed and ate som breakfast before leaving the house at what we thought was going to be cutting it close. We were just about to turn into the church parking lot, when I realized (after a small glance at my husband's cell phone for time check) that we were an entire hour early. Yes folks, that's right, distracted dumbasses that we were, we forgot to turn our clocks back that hour the night before. So, our tensions that had been building all morning (as they usually do when we need to get out of the house on time) had dissolved themselves in that moment as I burst into laughter at our own stupidity. My husband wasn't still impressed, but the mood lightened considerably. We made the service, and though Hunter didn't stay in the nursery the entire time, it was long enough for me to enjoy some of it.
After services had ended we were coralling our kids when my husband has one of those lightbulb moments. He stopped walking and says "Oh Man, I forgot I told my dad we'd visit him today". (can you hear my groan?) I was already tired from the morning rush, and was ready for some lunch. Apparently he told his father we'd take him out for precisly that. So, we loaded up for the entire day, and headed out. Well, wouldn't ya know it, my poor husband missed his exit off the freeway, and ended up driving us forever out of the way before we finally arrived to pick up his dad.

"In your darkest dreams see to believe
Our destiny is time
And endlessly we'll all be free tonight"
Dragonforce - Through the Fire and Flame

Long story short, by the time all was said and done we were all tired, and the boys and I relaxed in the backseat (yes, I always get bumped to the back of the bus whenever anyone else gets in cause I'm the smallest we got) before making it to the MIL's. Hunter was sleeping by then, and so was I, so I volunteered to stay in the truck and snooze with him until he woke up. I was supposed to do some cleaning but by the time dinner was over with Chance was so tired and the kids so out of control we decided to just come home.

"You walk by, and I fall to pieces"
Patsy Cline - I Fall To Pieces

We arrived and collapsed as one at home and got he boys off to bed. Can you believe Hunter was actually out before 10pm? That never happens, and what is even more rare is he didn't walt up once until 4am, when I finally headed to bed. Yes, I played a combination of Rollercoaster Tycoon and guitar Hero World Tour until 4am...I know, I'm too old to be doing this anymore, really. Anyhow, I woke up and got D off to school, and decided to rake the lawn since it was such a beautiful morning out. Our yard looks much better now, you can actually see that it's defined. Hunter and I came inside (he was outside driving his ride-em into the piles of leaves I kept making) and watched some tv and played together before kicking daddy out of bed and replacing him, stealing his warm spot to zonk for the next 4 hours. Actually, it could have been closer to five, now that I think about it. That was it, my day was ruined, I was officially useless after that.

"What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Wont see what might have been"
Metallica - Unforgiven

I guess my weekend had it's changes. I expected to head to the HH, but ended up not, and I expected not to get any sleep, and I did. Sure, I'll take those switch ups. Hope your weekend was as decent as mine.

"Do you want to be different?
Try to let go of the truth"
30 Seconds to Mars - Beautiful Lie

Give Me Five Monday #40

Give Me Five techniques you use to aid in writing for your blog or for your journal...whatever helps cure that writer's block.

1. I think about what new antics my kids have come up with. My children are always reliable for ridiculous things to blog about, or the new way they made me laugh, or proud. It's a main reason why I blog, to keep my family (on opposite sides of the country) up - to - date on what's happening within my family, without holding information. Though I'm guaranteed to miss some info, I can rest assured knowing that I've got most of it covered.

2. I listen to music, hence the music quotations in between paragraphs in some of my posts. It doesn't have to be a specific type of music, I can find a meaningful lyrics in almost ANY song I listen to, that what's so inspirational about it. Though I'm sure each song is supposed to have a context, what makes this particular method fun is that I have the ability to remove that context and use it as my own.

3. Consider my feelings for the day, and what may have inspired them. I actually treat my blog in many ways, and that's what makes it so personal to me. Not only do I blog meme's, and music lyrics, but I also give genuine feeling to my words. I think about certain situations that may be informational (readable and interesting) and I write about how it made me feel. Everyone can relate to feelings, or maybe have their eyes opened to a new way to describe it. I really enjoy it when I can bang the nail on the head from a description of a certain feeling accurately, and in a new light. It makes me feel amazing, even if no one reads it.

4. I remind myself to complete daily tasks. I know, it's shameful, but another way I use my blog is to remind myself that I had planned to do something, but didn't actually see it as overly-worthy of writing it down on my calendar on my desk. So, I usually add in little tasks that are running through my head when I began blogging and through-out the day I re-read my blog to see if I want to make any revisions, catch the reminder, and gett off my butt to do it.

5. Random thoughts, and updates. I am a wellspring of unnatural random thoughts, and quirks. Did you ever wish human beings came with their own cartoon soundtrack? *boink boink* (dontcha just love hearing me blink in expectancy?) When all else fails I enter in some random thought that floated through my head for the day, either random in general, or from a train of thought from reading the news of the day. I pick something and just go with it, and it eventually leads me to what I wanted to start out with in the first place but just didn't know it.

6. When all else fails, I go do a quiz at Quizopolis.com, I do a survey, and go from there...after I post my answers, of course.

And there you have it, my personal cure to writers block, though admittedly, I don't get it very often. Did you enjoy this blip into how my thought proccess works, hopefully it's not as whack as I think it is.