Merry Christmas to all. . .

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. My children of course got too much stuff. They had a wonderful time at both grandparents. We are still at Moms and I have eaten entirely too much good food this wonderful Holiday season.

We did the Christmas pickle this year. For those of you that may not know, the Christmas pickle is a German tradition where the pickle was the last ornament hug on the tree on Christmas Eve. When the children woke up on Christmas morning the searched for the pickle and the one that found it got an extra present. Thomas got the extra present this year. He was so excited! We then opened our gifts from each other and played with what Santa had brought.

Jack picked out the cookies to leave for Santa and he left a snackie cake and a peanut butter cookie. Then he also left a sign in pad for Santa to sign after he ate the goodies. We had new tree lights this year. Seems our tree lights don't last very long so Mark bought the new LED lights. They are really bright! They glow neon purple. I don't really like them that much but, that is not my job.

We have had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you all did too.

What a great kid. . .

Ok, I am going to brag a little but not on my child but my sisters' youngest. She is such a good kid. She is very smart and from the time she was in the 4th grade when you talked with her it was like talking to an adult. She is far more advanced than her years. She is in the 8th grade and has never made below an A on anything. She took the SAT as a 7th grader and scored in the 99th percentile. Which is wonderful. My sister called me today and was telling me about a raffle that was being held where her other daughter works. The oldest daughter is also very smart and has yet to make below an A as well, she is a junior in High School. She wants to be a Pharmacist and works in a pharmacy after school. The pharmacy was holding a raffle to raise money for a little girl that needs a kidney transplant. She has had one transplant and it is failing and she has been put on dialysis. For the raffle, you bought tickets and they were giving away $500 to the winner and of course the ticket money went to the little girl. I will give you three guesses who won. Yes, my sisters' youngest. She got the call yesterday that she had won the money. I am sure you know where this is going, but I feel the need to brag anyway. Most kids age 14, 15, or 16 would say yeah, I can buy . . . well you know what they would say. This great kid said, "Mom, do you think we should give the money back to the little girl to help with the transplant?" My sister of course said it was up to her because it was her money. It only took a split second to decide. She and her dad took the money by today. How cool is that? This is what Christmas is all about. I don't think at her age I could have made that decision so simply.

Here's to my sister her husband and great kids!!!!!!!

Holidaze. . .

I started out really good this year with buying for Christmas. I had my tree up before Thanksgiving and actually had some gifts wrapped and under the tree. Wow!! I have never done that before. I love Christmas so I keep getting started with gifts and decorations earlier and earlier each year. It drives Mark crazy! The kids are all excited they have seen Santa and given him their grand list of wants. I started some baking yesterday. I love to bake at Christmas, now baking, is different from cooking. Baking means sweets. I try to bake and give things to my neighbors at the Holidays. I bake an assortment of goodies from cookies to bars and cakes and Jack makes fudge. He does a really good job too. Me, I don't do fudge. I have tried a few new recipes recently to try to change up what I give. I don't want people to get bored with my goodies.

My sister used to make the best butter cookies. She made them a lot when she was in college. They were the best! So I have been searching for the recipe. I had one written down and I thought it was hers but this one was terrible. It ran all over the place. So I began my quest for the perfect butter cookie recipe. I searched the net and called a few people ect. . . I think I may have found the one. I am going to try it tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes. I did make a really easy Pampered Chef Holiday recipe. It is a Toffee Praline bar. I think I will do it again, it was so easy and good. The kids liked it.

I guess I will start full throttle tomorrow with my baking. I am going to of course make the Hello Dollies and Pecan Sandies my Mom always makes. They are a favorite, and it just is not Christmas without them.

Dave Ramsey. . .

I went to the meeting the other night. It was great! I learned a lot. I also learned I had missed some really useful things in the classes prior to this one. So, I am trying to find another session going on so maybe I could get in on the start.

This really got me thinking about my families financial welfare. I know it is not about money but I do want my kids to be able to go to school and not worry about student loans. I found a book at the Drug store not long after I had been to this class with Beth and it was a Woman's point of view on finances. She also takes the Christian approach like Dave does. She talks about how there are no dumb questions when talking about your money. That made me feel better. I feel I ask dumb questions sometimes but even Dave said if you don't understand ask. I am going to get Dave's book to read next. These are not the kind of books you can read at the pool or beach side either. I have been carrying around my calculator and note pad the entire time I have been reading this other one.

I sat down and totaled up our spending for one month and gee whiz, we have a lot of work to do. It is not anything we can't do though, we just have to set our minds to it. Now, naturally Christmas is not the time to be trying to do this. But, we have to start somewhere and as the saying goes, "there's no time like the present."

I like that both Dave and Ms. Castleberry approach saving with a Christian perspective. Because when people start trying to save or if the economy is bad they cut out their charitable giving. If you don't believe me look at our food banks today. They are begging for food to be donated. But Dave's plan has a place to build your wealth and still give to your Church and other Charities that are in desperate need today.

I am going to pull on your heart strings a little today. Don't forget to donate to your local charities, they are in desperate need for all those that are less fortunate than we are.

This is my public service announcement for the week.

Who Knew???

Who knew my Husband was in vogue? I don't mean the magazine either. I did a brunch show last week with great success. All of the ladies were talking about Dave Ramsey. In case you do not know him, he talks about saving money, getting out of debt and doing it all from a Christian stand point. One of the big things is not to have a credit card and not to use one if you have one. This is where Mark comes in.

When I first met Mark 17 years ago he was loaded. HA HA!! No, not really but he had more money then than he has now. He blames that on me of course. He was single living in a one bedroom apartment no payments of any sort except regular monthly things. He also did not have a credit card. If it was up to him he would not have one now either. His philosophy was if you did not have the cash in hand you didn't need it. I came from a different philosophy, this is not my parents way but it was the young 20 somethings way. If I wanted it I got it and I had credit card debt from when I was in college and not working because of it. Mark hated credit cards and refused to have one. He was very tight and still is to a point. When he changed jobs he had to get a credit card for his work. This was a tragedy to him. We dated and of course married within a year and I worked two jobs to pay off my credit card debt. I worked in a lab third shift and then worked the lunch shift in a local restaurant as a hostess. Nobody laugh!

I am interested in hearing more about Dave Ramsey. I hope there will be a class near by to attend in the future. I did some research on him on the net and he has a solid plan to get out of debt. Marks' sister has his book and I hope she will let me borrow it. She said it is really good and a lot of it is common sense.

Who knew my tight wad husband was in vogue. HA HA!!

30 minute Chicken...

Pampered Chef has a 30 minute chicken recipe for the microwave. I have been reluctant to try it because chicken in the microwave just does not sound good. I never had the nerve to try it. Well, last week we had our meeting and that was one of the recipes our group had prepared. It was wonderful. It was so moist and tasty. I decided I would give it a try. I went to our local meat market, which by the way is the best, I picked up a chicken. I asked the gentleman behind the counter if it had the guts in it like the turkeys do. He said he thought they did. So I decided if it was only going to take 30 minutes that I would wait on Mark and let him take the guts out. HA HA!! I don't like messing with raw meat at all. So when Mark got home I asked him to get the guts out. He peered in the chicken and said, "there is nothing in there." I said oh, ok then. I rinsed the bird and placed it in my PC deep covered baker. I rubbed it down with olive oil and mixed a seasoning together of paprika and some other things I cannot remember right now. It said you were supposed to tie the legs down. Well, if any of you have read my blog or know me you know that I don't always follow the directions in the recipes and I did not tie the legs down.

I put the bird in the microwave on high for 30 minutes. When it came out I checked the temp. to make sure it was done, the juices were clear. When I took it out the little legs were standing in the "It's a hold up" position. That was funny. So I guess I should have tied the legs down. The bird was done and looked pretty good too.

We all sat down and Mark carved the bird. It was really juicy. I loved it. Mark even liked it and he was skeptical.

If you would like this recipe go to the PC website and look under recipes or email me and I will send it to ya.

Poor Thomas. . .

On Thursday at 4:25 (of course) Thomas comes running in the house screaming his head off. I just assumed it was the typical screaming of the day. When I rounded the corner he was covered in blood. He was screaming and crying so that I could not understand what he was saying and he was covered in blood and I could not tell what was bleeding or where he was hurt. He was obviously hurt. After getting some of the blood cleaned off of him I finally realized he was bleeding from his mouth. Ok, I can handle that. Why is it that mouth and head wounds always bleed as if they have severed an artery? I guess the blood vessels are so close to the surface. Of course with mouth injuries you add the saliva and that makes it look worse.

Once we all had calmed down I found out he got hit in the mouth with a stick. He had a bad spot on the upper part of his gum and a small hole between the gum and lip. I was somewhat concerned about the hole so I called the doctors' office. I told them what had happened and asked it they might need to see him. They said to bring him on. So off we go at 4:45 to the doctors' office. Don't you know they love frantic mothers at 4:45 in the evening.

Thomas was all to pieces. He does not like the doctor especially when he thinks it might involve a needle of some sort. He calmed down on the way to the office but, once we got out and started across the parking lot he went to pieces again. This did get him plenty of sympathy from the office though. The nurses just ohed and poor thinged him as we went to the exam room. The doctor came in and asked how he was and again he went to pieces. Thomas did not want to let the doctor look in his mouth. Finally after some quick talking the doctor was able to access the situation. He said, "you could argue it needed a stitch, but I am not going to do it."

So Thomas and I both sighed with relief and the doctor told us what we needed to do for the next two days. He said mouth wounds heal quickly. Thomas could not have anything crumbly for two days. He could only eat soft things like yogurt, pudding, and ice cream. He could have eaten mashed potatoes and mac & cheese but Thomas won't eat that on a good day. He had to rinse his mouth after every meal too.

He still has a little hole up there but he is eating solid food. It is healing though, thank goodness.

We made it through Halloween without incident. Thomas went as the black spiderman and Jack was a crazed doctor with his inerds hanging out. They looked pretty cool.

Red Velvet Cake. . .

Mark loves Red Velvet Cake. So I decided to make one for his Birthday. The kids insisted on helping. I agreed reluctantly. They did pretty good except Thomas was yelling at Jack about the amount of flour he was putting in the cup. Jack was measuring the flour into a Pampered Chef measuring cup and he had not reached the amount we needed but Thomas felt we had enough. I think this was the first time they both wanted to help fix something. It was a definite learning experience for us all.

The cake, on the other hand, turned out fabulous. I had never made one before. I guess I had it in my head it would be difficult but it was not at all. Unless, you add in the fact I had four extra hands all wanting to add something at the same time. Beth and Jenn I give you kudos to letting your kids help you in the kitchen it is not as easy as it sounds.
Thomas calls this cake the "Red Delicious" cake.

I found the recipe on www.allrecipes.com they have great recipes and usually have several of the same thing. I looked through at least 4 different Red Velvet Cake recipes. I would make this one again. I used a cream cheese and butter frosting recipe that came with the cake.

Halloween? ? ?

Well, my kids start talking about Halloween and what they want to be as soon as they start school. I think they both have changed their little minds 100 times each. We have gone from skeleton baseball player to clone trooper. So I really do not know what they are going to be. The times as they are I wish they would let me do something without buying a costume.

I remember my Mom always made our outfits out of something she had on hand. I was always pretty proud of what we came up with. I think my mom only bought me an outfit one time and it was one of those cheesy paper suits and a plastic mask. I was a robot monster.

When my sister and brother were little my Dad was City Manger. They used the old jail outfits as softball uniforms so he brought two of those home and my brother and sister went as prisoners one year. You know the black and white striped outfits. Mom has pictures of them. I went as a witch several years, I think all little girls go as witches at least once. I also did the gypsy thing too.

Mark and I both love Halloween, we are still kids at heart. We dressed up our first year we were dating and just walked through his neighborhood. He was Gene Simmons of Kiss ( with all the makeup) and I was Igore (with the hump on the back) I have pictures too. I think it was love at first sight. HA HA!! To crazies.

I guess it is only natural that out kids love it too and get so excited about getting to dress up.

Happy Halloween to all!!!!!! See last Halloweens outfits below.

The Rock- A- Thon

The kids participated in a fundraiser at Church on Friday night. We had a Rock-A-Thon. The kids rocked in rocking chairs all night. HA HA!! Mine did not stay all night but they did stay part of the night Friday. We are raising money for an Orphanage that we sponsor in Kenya. One of our young adults has been living there to help with the children for several years. The kids wrote letters to the children in Kenya and they were so cute. Most of these children's parents have died and they do not have anyone to take care of them. They recently got a newborn that the mother had died in childbirth and the grandmother was 80 and could not care for the baby. It is really sad that they do not have the medical standards and care that we do.

The kids got to see video of the children in Kenya they all had smiles and seemed so happy. I want to believe that my children did learn something from this experience. The mother of the young man that is running the orphanage came and talked with the children and was trying to explain how things were over there. She has visited him a few times. This young man is very special. He went to Kenya when he was only 19 yrs old. He has been in charge of the orphanage since then.

I don't know about y'all but at 19 the only thing I cared about was what boy I was going out with next and what outfit I might wear.

I hope that seeing the video and hearing the stories of those kids touches something in my kids. I want them to realize that the end of the world does not come when they don't get their way.

The Purple Fish. . .

Well, Thomas got a purple fish today. This is not a good fish. Pink is next and that is when I would get a phone call. Thomas was very upset. He cried and apologized for at least 20 minutes after he got home. There must be something in the water today because enrichment was terrible today. None of the kids would pay attention and they were sooo loud. Usually I will have maybe one or two classes with one or two kids that are disruptive but today they were all disruptive. I lost complete control in one class and finally had to get them to walk around the gym because they would not listen to anything I said. I hate days like this. I guess it is just par for the course for Thomas to have gotten a purple fish.

Thomas lost his TV privileges today because of his behavior at school. It was really not as bad as some I have seen for myself. But, the teacher has her expectations and he did not meet them today. Thomas is very upset he does not get to watch TV and is waiting for his Daddy to come home to see what he has to say on the matter. I have already spoken with Mark to give him a heads up. He also agrees with no TV.

I always back up my kids teachers even if sometimes I don't exactly agree. That is their only hope for survival. (teachers) I never let my kids know that I do not agree with what the teacher said. I know there are some parents that don't back up the teachers and I can only say you are not doing your kid any favors by allowing them to misbehave in school. You are only prolonging the suffering of everyone. I have seen it first hand this year with enrichment. One child can ruin everything for the rest of the class.

To all of the teachers I salute you. You have the hardest job. Your pay is no where near comparable to the work and the mess you must tolerate.

Love, Prayers, and hugs to all the teachers; past, present, and future.

Help Whip Cancer . . .

I know 2 posts in one day. WOW!! As you may or may not know I am a Pampered Chef Consultant and October has been named Cancer awareness month. Sooooooo. . . .

To all you wonderful ladies that read my blog or even if you just stumbled on it today. Be sure you get your regular check ups and mammograms. Also be sure to do your self exams too. We know our bodies better than our doctors and we owe it to ourselves to be persistent.

I have lost one maternal Aunt to breast cancer and have one cousin that has had a mastectomy. We have all been touched by cancer one way or the other. It is our job to look out for each other.

The Pampered Chef is doing a special Help Whip Cancer in October. We are offering our special pink products through each consultants personal website. I cannot give out my website address here due to Pampered Chef policy but, if you would email me I would be glad to give it to you so that you could place an order. I am also doing a Fundraiser for the Help Whip Cancer Campaign so if you would like any of our other products I can get those for you too. One $ is given back to the American Cancer Society for each pink product you buy and 25% of what I sale in my fundraiser will go back to them as well.

Please email me pamperedpage@bellsouth.net
products are directly shipped to you.

Christmas Wish lists. . .

Yes, I know it is only October but for some reason my children are already making their lists. Once Thomas gets home from school and does his homework he watches TV. Every time a commercial comes on he runs up the stairs to tell me to add whatever he has seen to his list. The other day I was a little surprised when he came upstairs and said, "Mommy I want and easy bake microwave, you the thing that I can make cupcakes with." I said yes, I know what they are I used to have one when I was little. He then says, "You did?" With great excitement. Did you make cupcakes with yours Mommy? He asked. I said yes, and cakes. Well, I only want to do cupcakes he replied. Then he says, "I know it is a girl toy but I still want it." I told him that was ok. That some of the great chefs are men.

Now Jack on the other hand is going to be more difficult this year. Thomas is at the age he wants everything he sees on TV. Jack is a little more discerning about what he wants. He said he would like a new bike. He does need a new one he has had this one for almost 4 years and he is almost to big for it. That is all he has said so far.

We try to match dollar for dollar what the kids get for Christmas. I don't want one to think he got more than the other one did. So with Jack possibly getting a new bike I do not know what to get Thomas. I think Thomas could use Jacks' old bike. There is nothing wrong with it, it is actually in really good shape. I am not ashamed to say my kids do get hand-me-downs.

Conversations with the kids. . .

The other night I was racing around trying to get dinner on the table and the kids are milling about in the kitchen. Thomas begins with; "Mommy when I have kids I am not changing any diapers." Somewhat stunned as to where this came from I said, "Oh yeah, who is going to change them for you?" He did not even turn around and said, "Jack will do it for me." I just about fell out. I turned around and said, "What? You think your brother is going to come over and change your child's diaper?" Jack just busted out laughing but he never really said anything about it.

Several days later we were eating at a local restaurant and this conversation came up again. Thomas then said he was going to live in Hawaii. I asked him if I could come and live with him and he said yeah. At least he has aspirations to go and do something. I did not ask him what he was going to be doing for a living. I guess that will be another blog. Jack popped up and said he was going to live in the Bahamas. I laughed, I do not know where they get all this from. I asked Thomas if Jack was in the Bahamas how would he change your kids diapers? He said he did not know but he was not going to change them.

Just a note: Mark did change diapers. He also helped feed and all those other nasty things we have to do for our kids when they are so little.

Telling Stories. . .

OK, I may have a problem. While I was at school on Wednesday I just happened to mention, the falling asleep in the cafeteria incident, to the assistant in Thomas class. She laughed and said they did not have a sub on Monday nor did Thomas get left in the cafeteria. So I am relieved that my child was not forgotten but now I have a bigger problem. My child likes to stretch the truth. Ok, I will just say it, he lied. I asked Thomas about this that night. He got a sheepish grin on his face and gave in and said no he was not left in the cafeteria. When I asked him why he lied he of course could not tell me. The teacher laughed and said he had a vivid imagination. I thought ok she is being really nice about all this. I told her to remember this if he came to school and told some outlandish story of something at home. She laughed, almost like he had already told her something. Wonder what he said?

Jack, on the other hand, cannot lie. He his honest to a fault. If you ask him something he will not tell a story he will tell you the truth even if it means he gets in trouble. Now how is it I got two ends of the spectrum in one house. We have raised them the same way. Yet one will lie to save his own fanny and the other will tell the truth even if it means his fanny. Marks' mom told me that his Dad could weave a tale like nobodies business. She said he told her this long grizzly story of a scar on his back and she believed him and come to find out it was not true.

So is it genetics that makes us do the things we do? Do our genes play a role in our personality?

Those are my thought provoking questions of the day.

The Half Day. . .

Yesterday the kids only went a half - day to school. I have yet to figure out why. Since my day was cut short I went to breakfast with my friend Lori. We had a nice leisurely breakfast and enjoyed stories of each others past few weeks. We only had a short time to do a few things so I decided I would take her to the new meat market here in town. They have fresh meat, seafood, baked goods and homemade pasta. We both decided we would get something for our families for supper. I was thinking about ribs. Mark and I had been talking about ribs earlier last week. I decided ok, I can do this. How hard could it be to fix ribs. Well the hard part was figuring out what kind and how many I needed. Thank goodness the nice folks at the meat market were able to help us out. Lori and I each left with BBQ sauce and ribs for our families. Oh, don't let me forget to tell you the best part, the ribs were $3.79/lb. Not a bad price.

I have not talked with Lori this morning about how her ribs were, but mine were great. I boiled them on the stove for about 30 min. and then Mark put them on the grill and basted them with the sauce every so often. Mark did not like the sauce that much but I did. It was sweet. The kids didn't like them. I did them some chicken on the grill. I kinda figured they would not like the ribs.

Now that I am comfortable with fixing ribs, I may have to try my Pampered Chef recipe for them in the deep covered baker in the microwave. Yes, I said microwave. I will keep you posted on that one.

I did a lot in my half-day. Poor Thomas had a day. He came home and told me he had fallen asleep in the cafeteria. Since it was a half - day they did not get their naps. I think they may have gone to lunch early too. Thomas said one of his friends teachers woke him up and he finished eating and then went back to class. He said he looked up and everyone was gone. I have always said my kids needed their rest. I just didn't know they needed it that much. I wonder what he is going to do when they don't take naps after Christmas?

The Little Leaguer

This is not mine it was printed in a paper in 1969 written by Jack Lee. I found it looking at some old stuff at my moms. It struck a cord so I thought I would share.

I had a little leaguer,
that played ball for me.

He never missed a practice,
he was always there at 3;

And when we had a ball game
his best he'd always show,

I'd ask him where his folks were at,
but he would never know.

They'd bring him to the ball field
and then got to town,

And then one day he got hurt real bad,
his parents couldn't be found

He's grown up to be a teenager now,
and he's in and out of jail.

And his parents often ask me,
"Tell us where we failed."

So all you parents with little leaguers,
go to their games and stay.

And let them know, that you'll be there
every game they play.

And should they make an error,
don't make them feel ashamed,

Just tell them to try a little harder,
it's all part of the game.

And when it is his time to bat,
stand up and holler loud,

It will make him feel much better,
to know you are in the crowd.



PS: sometimes as parents I think we get a little to caught up in things and miss the big picture. In ten years your kids won't remember the score or who won only that you were there.

The Craziest T- Ball game ever. . .

I am sure most of you know how the modified t-ball is played. We have a 10 run rule so that when you reach 10 runs in an inning that inning is over. The other team gets to bat. Well, last night we hit first and we got our 10 runs and had to go out in the field for the other team to hit. They got 10 runs so now we are tied 10 to 10. We come in and hit again and get 10 runs once more. This was worse than sitting through a root canal. Now our score is 20 to 10 our favor. We go back out in the field and they now have 18 and we have 2 outs. We just could not get that third out. We ended up 20 to 20. I guess you can say both teams need to work on defense.

This time when Thomas asked, "Mommy did we win?" I could say with pride no but you did not lose either. HA HA!!

I do believe that this game should go in the record books somewhere for the craziest game ever.

The kids had fun and that is the most important part. Some of the kids that had not ever gotten a hit made good hits last night so that was great. I think everyone came home at least once or twice. Naturally when Thomas came home he slid into home plate. Marks' brother got a good picture I will try to post it later.



On a side note: I was looking through some old photos of Jack as a baby and toddler and I just cried. The grow up so quickly. I feel like that time with him just flew by and I missed it. I take my camera with me everywhere now so I can take pictures at a moments notice. I hope that while they are in school I will get some of my scrapbooking done. Anyone with suggestions I would love to hear them.

Kindergarten Enrichment. . .

Our elementary school has parents that come in and do special classes for the kindergarteners. We offer: Music, PE, science, spanish and art. I am doing the PE this year. I was quite nervous today to get started. I had fun though and I think the kids had fun. Some of them did not know what to think. I had a few that were wild and wooly but as a whole they did well.

I was trying to teach them about personal space and general space. I think that may have gone over their heads. I was soaking wet when I finished. I had four classes of kindergarteners. I knew a few of the kids just because they had been in preschool with Thomas.

I am going to have to put on my thinking cap for next week because I don't think they are going to let me do the same things twice.

I hope the other teachers did well with their classes today. I am sure art was a challenge. Their little attention spans are not very long.

If any of you have any suggestions as to what to do for Kindergarten PE please let me know. I am all for any suggestions.

Winners and Losers. . .

Thomas had his first modified t-ball game today. Modified t-ball is where the coach pitches to the kids. They get 5 pitches and if they do not hit it they get two chances off the tee. Thomas did pretty good for this to be his first time with coach pitch. He got a double off the first hit and a single off his second hit. He scored two runs and got one out at second base. His team did well for the first game and to have had several practices rained out.

It was terribly hot today and humid. I felt sorry for the little guys. In case the title of this blog did not give you a clue our team lost. Thomas was a little upset. He asked, "Mommy did we lose today?" I simply replied, "yes dear, but you will do better tomorrow." Thomas said, "Mommy nobody lost last year in t-ball." I told him that now that he was playing modified t-ball that there had to be a winner and a loser. It is so hard to help your children learn such life lessons as there are winners and losers. Thomas is innocent in his thinking and I guess I have sheltered him as I sheltered Jack when he was this age. My children are idealists like me or like I used to be. They think everyone is good and that mean people are only on TV. Oh, I wish that were true.

So today I comfort my little ball player as he faces a loss on the scoreboard.


On a side note:

We only really lose if we never try. I don't know who actually said that but it was not me.

High School Football. . .

Tomorrow we get to go to the High School Football game. I know I have mentioned that Jack is playing Pee Wee football. Their team will get to run out on the field with the big High School boys tomorrow night. Jack is so excited. I think Mark is too. I am not sure if the coaches get to run out too or not. I guess we will find out tomorrow.

Thomas has his first baseball game on Saturday and then another on Sunday. Jack has Jamboree on Saturday too. So I will be running from the baseball field to the football field. Nothing like being a "Field Mom." I guess it is a good thing we only had two kids. I know there are many more Moms out there just like me. Our kids won't appreciate it now but when they have kids they will appreciate all that we are doing. I know I appreciate my mom more since I have had my kids. I did everything in school. I was a: cheerleader, ballerina, softball player, and showed horses with my sister. I can only imagine how my mom felt taking us everywhere. She had three to deal with. We were a little farther apart in age though.

To all the other "Field Moms" out there, here is to you and your family. When the chips are down remember how their little eyes sparkle when they see you in the stands or when they see you watching them. It really does mean a lot to them, they just don't realize it yet.

Conversations with Thomas. . .

As we were going down the road the other day I said something about Thomas being a young man. I may have said he was a handsome young man. Thomas said, "I am not a young man. I am not young anymore, I am in kindergarten." I said, "You are still a young man." "I am not, I am not young anymore." Thomas replied. He also added, "I am not your baby anymore either mommy." I told him, "oh yes you are. You will still be my baby when your as old as I am and have babies of your own." This went back and fourth and then I thought, ok there is no since fighting this.



Flash forward to last night.



As I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready a lot later than usual. The boys are running around the kitchen driving me crazy as usual. I asked Thomas if he wanted some milk. He said no he wanted soda. (note to those that do not know me. My kids do not drink soda often and never at home.) I told him no he could not have soda. He argued, of course, and told me he could have soda. He then said something about when he had kids that he would let them have soda. I told him I hoped to live long enough to see them both with children of their own. I also told them I would be glad to keep their kids and that I would allow my grandchildren to have soda and sweets and anything else they wanted. Then I would send them home to their daddies. (I know, how mean could I be.) I would probably only do it one or two times. Thomas laughed and he said I would just send them to their rooms. HA HA HA!!



I hope I live long enough to see my kids with kids. Of course I would have to apologize to their wives for all of that. To Memaw and Gee I am glad you do not do this to me. Mark of course may deserve a little of that too. I don't think I deserve any of it.

Hospital trip. . .

I had to take Jack to the Hospital this morning. Not an emergency or anything. He just woke up with an ear ache and sore throat. I worry about him with ear aches because in kindergarten his ear drum ruptured. He hardly ever complains about aches and pains so when he says something is hurting it is serious. We went to the Hospital because I do not go to "Doc in the Box" places any longer. That is a long story and for another day.

We did not have to wait long to be seen. They put us in a room with two beds divided by a curtain. There was not anyone in the other bed when we went in. They checked him out and he has strep. Not good since my child is allergic to every known antibiotic. I am not kidding. I could tell he did not feel good. He was not his perky self. They swabbed his throat and here is a little trick that I use when the kids have to have a swab for strep. Have them pant like a dog while they are swabbing the throat. It helps with the gag reflex. Jack did really well with it.

While we waited for the test on the swab they brought in a little girl in the bed next to us. They pulled the curtain so we could not see them and they could not see us. But the curtain does not help with sound. She was not a happy little girl. You could not help but hear what was going on. She was very upset and according to what the mother said she was not normally fussy. You could tell by her crying she was in pain.

The doctor told them they were going to do some x-rays and since she was so little they would have put her in a harness to keep her still. She just cried even louder. I felt so sorry for the little girl and the parents. It is so hard to have a little one that does not feel well. You cannot tell them all will be better. By this time Jack was dressed and sitting on my lap and we were waiting for his prescription. Jack said, "Mommy I wish I could trade places with her so she did not have to go through with that. I have had an x-ray and I know they don't hurt. " I am glad he had his back to me so he could not see my eyes well up with tears. I was so proud at that moment. As we left Jack turned to look at the empty table where the little girl had been and said, "I am so sorry she has to go through with that. I hope she will be ok." I told him we would remember her in our prayers tonight.

Helicopter Mom?

OK, I was reading this article in the dentist office the other day about a "Helicopter Mom." I have to say it caught my eye. I have heard of Moms being refered to a lot of things before but never a helicopter. HA HA!!

This was a fifth grade teacher writing in about a mother she had that came in every day and unpacked her childs book bag and made sure he had everything he needed before she left. I know I hover and maybe too much sometimes but I think I will get over it before they are in the fifth grade. This mother also questioned the teacher about his assignments and projects. The teacher finally had to ask for a conference to discuss the mothers' actions in the classroom.

Ladies if you see me hovering over the school please tell me I do not want to be referred to as the "Helicopter Mom." I know our school has a lot of volunteers. My husband even made the comment that the other counties close to us would be so lucky if they had the volunteers that we do. Hummm??? Is that a helicopter I hear? We are very lucky that we have so many volunteers. We even have those parents that come in and help with enrichment. I will be doing that this year. I am going to (ok swallow what is in your mouth now. No spitting on the computer) help with PE. Yes, I am going to help with kindergarten PE. Hey, maybe this will help me get in shape.

If you would like to read the article about the Helicopter Mom it was in O magazine July issue written by Amanda Robb.

Football is here. . .

I went to my first football practice last night. Between the heat, humidity, and Thomas it was not fun. I don't think I will go to another one. Mark is helping coach so I really don't have to go. What I was able to see looked good. They have only been doing "conditioning" this week. Yes, they practiced in the pouring down rain. They start hitting next week. That is the part I am worried about. I just hope they learn how to hit the right way. Jack is having a ball. He loves all the activity. They have been starting out with calisthenics (jumping jacks, running in place, push ups, up downs, ect. . .) then they break up in to groups and work on their positions. Mark is loving it too. I think he is re-living his youth. He loves football and wishes he could coach full time. He is really good with the kids. He enjoys being in the heat and wet sweaty yuck. They came home every night soaked to the bone. Jack could not stop talking about all the things they did. Mark came home one night and said, "I bet I was the only coach who got a hug." I asked him who hugged him and he replied, "who do ya think?" I said Jack? He said yes, he came over and hugged him and said, "I love you Daddy."

Mark has only helped coach with Jacks' age one other time. He helped coach basketball last year. He will admit that he does not know that much about coaching basketball but football, on the other hand, he knows all about. He played through High School and College and was an assistant coach at the High School level after college. Mark said he saw one of the mothers of the kids he helped with in basketball and she had this look of, oh no not the basketball coach. He wanted to tell her he knows a lot more about football than he did about basketball.

Games start around the 20th so I guess I will have to fluff my pom poms and get ready to be the Football Mom on the sidelines.

6 hours of peace and quiet. . .

Well, anybody wonder what I did with my day? Once I got the crew out the door for work and school I got to relax for a little. Then I decided I needed to go to the gym. I did not have to rush my workout. I had plenty of time to do all the machines I wanted. I then went home and took a nice long hot shower. AHHHHHHH!! I don't get those often. I am usually rushing so much the water barely has time to get hot and I am out on the run. I went to town and goofed around. I have not done that since Thomas was in preschool. It was a nice day! I am ready for battle now.

The boys made it through school and they both had a good day. I waited in the driveway for them to come from the bus stop. Thomas ran to tell me all the neat stuff he got to do today. They did not get to go to the Treasure Box today but he hopes he will next Friday.

They brought home their first fundraiser junk. Now, I know the schools always need money but really. I cannot stand these things. My kids are harping on me, "Mommy you have to buy 10 things so I can get a free ticket to ride whatever at the Fall Festival." I do not agree with this. They are turning our kids into little salesmen. I think there are enough salesmen out there now. What are we teaching our kids? We are rewarding the kids that get there parents and other relatives to buy the most usless junk. They are talking about taking the Accelerated Reader recognition out of the school but let's be sure we recognize all those little salespeople we are breading.

I am putting my foot down this year. I do like the wrapping paper and I may buy a roll from each of my kids but that is it. This is not what I want my kids to learn. Look honey if you sale 10 pieces of this crap they will give you this other piece of crap. Sorry. I would rather they do more of the Spellabration type things. I would pay a lot more for that than I would for any of these other Fundraiser things. Give me something my child will be able to use later.

For all of those I may have offended I am truly sorry.

PS: My husband is a salesman.

The First Day. . .

Well I made it. Whew!!!!! I only cried a little this morning. I really wanted to cry when they came home. (not like that). I met them at the bus stop because of our wonderful rain we have needed for so long. Thomas got off the bus and had this huge grin that covered his entire face. He ran and jumped in the car. I asked him how he liked his first day of school. He said it was great! So I guess my tears and worry were for nothing. My baby is so grown up now.



I asked him how his day was and he said they let me keep my eye open during rest time. He got a green fish, which means he had a good day and did not get called down too much. No home work for him, yet.



Jack had a good day too. He is so excited he is learning cursive writing. He has wanted to learn that since he was in first grade. They learned i and t and put it together for it. I told him he needed to work on his printing before he started on cursive. Oh well.

So I guess our first days of school went well. I only hope the rest go as smooth.

Wanting to do more. . .

Ok, I am feeling my mortality today. I watched "The Bucket List" last night. If any of you have seen it you know what I mean. I cried through the whole thing and laughed at the same time.

There is so much I want to do. There is so much I would like to expose my kids to as well. Now I am not at my end or anything like that, it just really makes you think about things. You think about the things you've done and the things you always say we'll do that next year or when we have enough money we will do that.

I was at the Bridal Show in Greensboro for The Pampered Chef last week and there was a travel agent besides us. I talked with her at length about a cruise to Alaska. I would really like to take the kids, I think it would be a great experience for them and me. I know they are young and may not appreciate everything but I think they would look back on it as a wonderful thing. I asked the travel agent to send me some info on Alaska. I just got it day before yesterday. It has some great stuff in it. It has several different trips you can do. A couple of them have land excursions too. The one that most peaked my interest was the one where you could actually walk on a glacier. I thought that would be awesome! You also got to go to a gold mine and pan for gold and "finders keepers." Jack liked that part.

I guess the point to all this is that I really would like to take the kids on this trip. The movie just sealed it for me. I won't ruin it for those that have not seen it. Why save and save and put off things until you can actually afford them. Now I am not saying spend everything you have. I am not crazy. It's just we all say I am going to do that or I am going to do more with my kids and then you turn around and there not there anymore. They have there own families or their in college and it's not cool to go on vacation with your folks anymore.

Now Mark is going to be the problem. He is the more level headed one in our family. He always says we'll do that after the kids are grown or we need to save more money first. Now I said I am not crazy I am not going bankrupt to go on vacation or anything like that. But, I think I can scrimp and save and do more shows and pay for our trip to Alaska. So with that said; I am going to set my plan in motion. I would like to go next year so you guys keep me honest. The kids would be 9 and 6 by then. I think I could handle them on an ocean liner. What do ya think?

Oh, did I mention that I am an eternal idealist. HA HA!!

PS: I went on a 9 day trip to Europe with my 8th grade class. I loved it. My parents did not go. I am not sure of the exact cost but my folks were not made of money. I know they did without so I could go. I did not quite appreciate all of it until later in life.

I'm back. . .

This has been the craziest summer ever. I thought summers were for relaxing and being lazy. We have been anything but. I am so ready for school so I can slow down a bit. Jack went to summer camp and had a ball. He went trotting off to his cabin with his suitcase and sleeping bag and said, "See ya Mom." I was a little hurt. We followed him to the cabin to make sure he got everything put up and set up right. We met the counselors that would be staying in the cabin with them. This was a church camp so I felt comfortable leaving him. There were about 8 little boys and two adults in the cabin. Those poor guys (counselors). After we got everything unpacked Jack said ok it is time for you to go. Again I felt a little hurt. No clinging, crying except when I got in the car to go home. I know I should be glad that he is so independent that is they way we raised him and the way we want him to be. But why is he so independent. (Sorry a Mom moment there)

Mark and I took Thomas to visit Marks' sister for the night. Thomas did not want to sleep upstairs without Jack. We took him to Robbies' house and as soon as we got there Thomas says, " don't you have some place to go?" Why do my children want to get rid of me? Do I shelter them to much? Do I hover to much? Well, I don't care I'm the Mom and that is my job!

I guess I should be proud that my children are independent. I am proud they are independent! Jack is still talking about all the fun he had at camp. This was only for a weekend next year he gets to go for a week. He is very excited about that too. His favorite part was the nature walks and all the fun stuff the guide taught them about nature and history. He got to canoe and swim, go on hikes, have camp fires, and arts and crafts.

He seems so grown up since he got back.

There is no such thing as a frigid. . .

We went to a family reunion this past weekend. I got to see most of my cousins. I have not seen them in probably 2 years. When I was little we went to my Grandmothers every Christmas and got to see everybody there. When she passed away we started doing a reunion every year at someones house. This year it was at my cousin Oliva Anns' they live in Tennessee. They have a pool and horses. My kids played in the pool all day, of course. We had lots of great food. My relatives are the best cooks. The men can cook too. My cousin Chris brought a fabulous Gazpacho. No one had seen my kids in two years so everyone was giving them a hard time. That is a family tradition. You have to aggravate the children. That one has been passed down from their Dads and so on. My Uncles used to terrorize me and my sister and cousin. They would chase us and tickle us till we wet our pants. I think that may have been their goal. Well my cousin Chris was going on with Thomas and asked if it was frigid in the pool. Thomas' teeth were chattering like he was freezing. Thomas replied, "there is no such thing as a frigid." He still affirms that there is no such thing as a frigid.

Jack got stung by a bee while playing in the pool. He is not allergic, thank goodness. He cried and screamed a lot but that was about it. Now he runs from anything flying around no matter if it is only a fly. I took some great pictures of Jack jumping off the diving board I will try to get some of them uploaded sometime. They are really good, he is right in mid air.

It was great to see everyone at the reunion. I wish we could get everyone together more often but everyone is so busy. It is hard to find a time when everyone can come.

But Mommy. . .

Some days I feel like my first name is "but." I bet if I heard "But Mommy" once today I heard it a thousand times. Why is it that children feel the need to argue with every point. Jack would argue with me if I said how pretty the blue sky is. He would say but Mommy it is really a pink blue not a true blue. Is is just because he is 8 or is it just because he is a boy? My husband hit the nail on the head the yesterday. We went to out neighbors for a fabulous 4th of July party. They had a cook out and fireworks and all kinds of things for the kids to do. They had a pool, a blow up water slide, and a slip in slide. Now I ask you wouldn't any child or adult be happy with that. Well we told Jack not to go to the pool because we could not see him over there and he whined and stomped, but mommy. Mark said, "He would not be happy if he had a million $$ he would want two million $$. " But Mommy why can I not have two million $$? Well, am I the only one this happens to?

I do believe Jack will be a lawyer some day. He should at least, he loves to argue. It truly does wear me out some days with his, "but mommy." I never knew that boys could whine so much. I always thought it was the girls that did the whining. I have been proven wrong on that one.

I have decided I am going to try and stop the arguing. I do not remember taking issue with my parents as much as Jack takes issue with everything I say. If he is doing this now what is he going to be like when his hormones hit. I had planed on taking them to McDonalds as a treat while Mark was out of town last week. Jack proceeded to argue with me about what he wanted to order. I put my foot down and I turned the car around and he came home and ate a turkey sandwich. I told him I was not listening to the arguing anymore. I think I am going to take this approach more often.

Happy 4th of July!

Finally He's Home. . .

Yes, finally my dear hubby is home. The kids are so glad. They missed him so. (he has only been gone a week) But I guess a week for a little one is quite long. Thomas says, "I know you are planning something for just me and us." I think he meant "me and Jack." Mark always does things with them after he has been gone, like go to the movies or bowling ect. . . Mark has taken the week off and so we are planning a day trip to a local amusement park. The kids don't know that yet. If they did I would never here the end of it. Mommy is it time to go yet? Mommy is it tomorrow yet? Is it time to go? You know the drill. We won't be doing the pool this week since he is off. He is not a pool kinda guy. We might get to go to the lake though. We all enjoy fishing! Of course I don't get to fish as much as I used to because I am watching and making sure that nobody falls in.

Here is a little funny aside:

Mark and I had not been married too long when we bought our first boat. It was a bass boat. I love to fish and so does Mark. I always joke that I caught him because I could out fish him. HA HA HA! I like deep sea fishing personally. One day we went out on the boat and I had packed us a picnic because we were going to be out all day. It was an early April. Still a little nip in the air. We had been out for awhile when it began to rain. Now, that is one thing I do not like to do is fish in the rain. But, according to my husband that is the best time to fish. We were really catching the fish but I was cold and wet and my hands were frozen from the nice breeze we were getting. I was ready to go home and get into some dry clothes. I had on my bathing suit, a t-shirt and shorts, sweat pants, and a rain suit coat. We were in a cold rain. Well, if any of you know die hard fishermen they never want to stop if the fish are biting. I urged Mark to go in. I was cold. Much to his dismay he went toward the ramp. My job was to make sure as we approached the dock that the boat did not hit it too hard. It was also my job to get the truck and back it down in the water so Mark could load the boat. So I go up to the front of the boat with keys in hand and Mark was approaching a little too fast. Instead of getting on all fours like I usually do, I simply stood and put my foot out to stop the boat. As I said, Mark was approaching a little fast and hit the dock with the trolling motor and was scrapping it down the dock. When Mark heard that sound he through the boat in reverse to back it out. Well I lost my balance and fell between the boat and the dock rear end first. The water was pretty cold! I came up laughing because I still had the car keys. It was terribly funny except for the damage we did to the trolling motor. It had to be fixed. Mark was terrified that I had hit my head on the dock. He was afraid I might not come up. He was very happy when I did bob up with keys in hand. He was very apologetic for several days after that. Every now and then I remind him of that day. We both have a good laugh then.

No Joy in Mudville. . .

Well, we lost our game today. Actually we lost two games today. It was sooooo hot. The poor kids were just little puddles. We won our game last night and then played this morning and lost then had to play again and lost that one too. So we are out of the tournament. Poor Jack came out of the dugout crying and said it's over Mommy we don't get to play anymore. He was so sad. It broke my heart. They were playing some really good teams from other areas.
We will retire his jersey this year and move on.

Our next adventure will be football. Yes, I am a ball park mother. As long as my kids are having fun and want to do it I am there for them. The football thing I am a little worried about though. He moves up to tackle this year and he is not that big. He is fast though so I hope that will help.

I guess we will spend the rest of our summer basking in the sun at the pool. Yeah!!

Some more Thomas- isms. . .

While we were at the doctor for Jacks' physical Thomas had to remind the doctor that Jack is allergic to "dust bunnies" HA HA, He is in fact allergic to dust mites. Thomas insisted that they were dust bunnies. Anyway.

Today we were getting in the car and Thomas wanted to kiss me on the lips. I told him my lips were for his Daddy only. He said so when I get married I can kiss on the lips. I said yes. He said, "Mommy I hope when I grow up that I can marry you." I told him that was very sweet but I bet that he would meet someone later that he would want to marry. I also told him he needed to marry someone his own age. He then said, " OK maybe I will marry Jessica and Jarrets' Mommy." I just laughed. Wendy is one of my best friends I thought she would love to know that my son wanted to marry her. Wayne you better look out. Thomas is trying to move in on you.

Something cool for the kids. . .

I was reading this magazine, "All You" and it had a cool idea for your kids this summer. Their readers send in tips and cool stuff to save money and such. One reader said she let her kids create their own movie. She said they wrote their own scripts and rehearsed it and then filmed it. She said later the whole family would sit down and watch it together. I though that was pretty cool. I may try that with my kids. Who knows we may have another Lucas on our hands. You never know until you try.

I told Jack about it and since he is the only one that can write I told him he would have to write the script and that I would help film it for them. I think the reader that suggested this had more than 2 kids. He seemed pretty interested but who knows. I may try it later in the summer after All Stars calms down. I will keep you posted.

Here is another Thomas- ism:

Yesterday the door bell rang and of course the herd went running. It was our neighbor and I told the boys they could go out and talk for a while. Thomas shut the door on me and said, "We need our privacy mom," Now I ask you what do a 5, 6, and 8 year old need privacy for? That was a hoot!

God? ? ?

My husband and I watched a really good movie the other night. "Facing the Giants" It is about football and one man that had so much heart ache and pain heaped upon him it could have made anyone crazy. But he had an amazing faith in God and prayed. God answered his prayers not on the mans time schedule but on Gods' time schedule. You know he is famous for that. We pray and he answers our prayers only sometimes it is hard for us to wait. This was an awesome movie. Of course I cried through the whole thing. It was great.

I feel drawn today to write about this because it moved me so much. Sorry but I am just that way. My husband and I are Christians and are trying to raise our children in a Christian environment. I am a firm believer in prayer and its' power.

In 1996 my father fell through the roof of our barn. It just so happened I was at home for a visit. My mom called me on her cell phone and told me what happened and I called 911. I raced to the barn and when I got there, there were 3 fire trucks, 2 ambulances and several volunteer vehicles. They had my dad on a stretcher taking him to the ambulance. When we got to the hospital they did x-rays and found that dad had crushed his right arm. He was going to need emergency surgery to save it. He was in surgery for 5 1/2 hours. In the wee hours of Sunday morning the doctor came in and told us that he made it through surgery and would be in ICU for a day or two and then would be able to go home. We prayed a lot that night for God to help dad. We found out that not only had he crushed his arm but he had cracked his pelvis and lacerated his kidney. He was in ICU in traction for the pelvis. Well things went for ok to really bad in 24 hours. Dad had to be put on a respirator. A lot of things went on during that time and he ended up in ICU for 3 weeks. He turned 64 in ICU mostly unaware of anything that was going on. We were only allowed to see him at certain times and for short intervals. It was during this time that I became very close to God. We were on a first name basis. I prayed all the time. Everyday there was something new that was causing problems. He had good days and bad days. After 3 weeks he finally got to be moved to another floor and was off the respirator. He was still in traction for the pelvis though. After 2 weeks he was released to go home to a hospital bed in the basement. He had to stay in it for 6 more weeks. He had to learn how to walk again. My Dad is truly a walking miracle. The doctors never expected him to recover the way he did. He took 18 units of blood while he was in ICU.

My dad is now 76 and people still tell the story of when he fell between 17-23 feet through the roof of the barn. He told me years later that while in ICU that there was one time he felt real peace and he said I could have let go. I am at peace with my life and with the Lord. Then he said he thought about Mom and said he could not leave her with all the horses to take care of. He also said he made several promises to God. He didn't elaborate about that part though.

I still pray everyday and I feel that my life has truly been blessed. I am also teaching my children to pray. They pray for their friends when they are sick or when they are traveling with their families. The night after the tornadoes came through Thomas prayed for the people and the children whose homes were damaged. That really touched my heart.

Mommy is the adult she can do what she wants to. . .

This is part of the conversation that ensued on the way to the pool this morning. Jack asked what I had brought for snacks and when I told him he was not happy. Then he asked what I brought for myself to eat and drink. I told him I had a Dr. Pepper for myself. He moaned and whined because he does not get soda very often. Thomas said she is the adult and can do what she wants to. I said yeah! I don't let my kids have soda because one, it is not good for them but the other reason is I feel like I have to have it and I don't want them to get that way. They only get milk and some juice at home. On a rare occasion when we go to McDonalds I let them get sprite. I don't like for them to have juice either because of all the sugar.

Now back to I get to do what I want to. Hmmm, Now I wanted to sleep late today but because of my (2) two legged children and my one four legged child I was up at 6:30. I get to do what I want to do.

I would love to eat chocolate all the time. But, if I did I would probably make myself sick and weigh 500lbs. I get to do what I want to do.

I would love to go to the beach every weekend. But, if I did my kids would never get to college. I get to do what I want to do.

I would love to get my nails done every so often. But then we would not get to eat that week. I get to do what I want to do.

Being an adult and getting to do what you want to do stinks. But I will have that occasional Dr. Pepper when I want one.

My children are in for a rude awakening when they get older. They think that as adults that you can do anything you want. What they do not realize is all the sacrifice that goes on when you become an adult and have a family. I will certainly remind them of this when they have their families.

I would not trade them for anything though. I love em. They keep me hopping.

So what will I want to do today? I am taking Jack to ball practice.

Brother Vs. Brother

Why is it the older brother feels the need to traumatize and terrorize the little brother? I honestly don't know. My brother and sister are a good bit older than me and maybe my brain has blocked out all the trauma. Jack the oldest told Thomas the youngest that their teddy bears come to life at night and that if you are mean to them they will get even with you while you sleep. So now the teddy bears must sleep downstairs away from them. Thomas is not mean to his bear but he is still scared.

Now in Jacks' defense, when he was in kindergarten they had a teddy bear day and all of the kids could bring their bears to school. Now the bears had a sleep over at school and guess what. They were all in different places in the room than where the kids had left them. Now the teacher told them that they must have come to life to play with all the fun toys in the room. Jack said the toys were thrown about and some of the bears were in the center area playing with them. The kids got a big kick out of all this. We never did hear a lot about it from Jack.

Now he decides to share with Thomas all about the bears and their abilities. Thomas and Jack both believe just about anything you tell them. They believe all people are good and so on. Ahhh, the sweet innocence of youth. I used to be the same way. I am more of a skeptic now.

Jack has a spend the night party tonight with a friend. Thomas is afraid to sleep by himself. Thanks Jack! I guess I am going to be camping out in Jacks' bed tonight. Oh, my aching back.

I guess this will be one of those stories to tell when they get married. Or maybe when the graduate from high school or college. My brother enjoyed telling everyone, at my Wedding, about my imaginary playmate Jill. I had her for a couple of years. Needless to say I was an embarrassment to my family. That is probably why my brother chose to tell that story at my Wedding.

Ode to My Hubby. . .

This is an ode to my Husband on Fathers' Day. He is such a great Dad. These days of the fast paced life we lead it is hard for a father to work 40+ hours per week and play with the kids. Well I have to give my Husband credit for doing just that. He takes after his father I am sure. His Dad passed away in March of 2005. I had the honor of knowing him and being his daughter-in-law for 12 years. I loved him dearly. All the stories I heard of him from Mark about growing up were wonderful. He worked very long hours and sometimes different shifts. He always made time for Mark. No matter how tired he was he always would play ball with him or go fishing ect. . .

Mark truly is a great Dad. He takes the kids to the movies on the weekends and that in turn gives me a break. He doesn't just take them to see things he wants to see either. He took them to "Horton Hears a Who". He said that was a stinker. But, because the kids wanted to see it, he took them. He plays in the yard with them and takes them fishing. He loves to fish and so do the kids. Sometime we get to eat what they have caught.

Today they played ball in the yard for about 3 hours in the heat. I think Mark was the biggest kid out there. Some of the neighbor kids came over and played too. I know there are men out there that don't do these things and fellas let me tell you, you are missing out. I talk a lot about seeing things through your kids eyes. The one thing I see in my kids eyes about my husband is that he is the best Dad around.

I must tell you one tell about him that might embarrass him. When we had Jack our oldest he did not want to eat after he was born. Now Mark and I neither one knew that much about kids we were just winging it. Jack would not nurse. It had been 2 days and he was still not latching on. He was being kinda bottle fed in a strange sort of way. Those of you that have had dealings with the "Breast Nazis" know what I am talking about. Mark came to me one evening with tears in his eyes. He said, "What are we going to do when we get home if he is not nursing? He will starve to death." I laughed a little and told him I would give him formula before I would let him starve. We both laughed then. I don't think Mark had ever held a child before we had ours. He never held his nephew or nieces. I do remember in the Hospital looking over groggily and seeing him hold Jack and watching a football game on TV.
Once we got home from the Hospital it was a team effort. He took a week off of work to help me when each child was born. He got up with me for those 3am feedings. He did fall asleep in the floor in front of me but never the less he was in the room with me. I had 2 c-sections so he had to help carry the baby to each room because I could not carry him. He changed diapers too. That was an event in our house. I will never forget him changing Jack one day and I heard the most awful scream and I got to the room as fast as I could and Jack had peed all over the wall and Mark. I told him next time please don't scream I just about threw a stitch trying to get down the hall. I thought he had dropped Jack or something.

Mark has always taken care of the kids with me. He even did bath time too. He did not want to give them a bath until they could sit up though and that was fine with me. I will never forget Jack must have been about 2 years old and I had to go on a trip for work. I had told my parents about it and my Mom asked, "Who will take care of Jack?" I laughed and said his Daddy. I was only gone for 2 days and I knew Mark could handle it. He did fine without me.

I know that when my kids get older and have their own families that they will remember what a great Dad they had. I hope they take after him and his fathering skills. I love my hubby dearly and am so proud of the Father that he is.

Proud Mom! ! ! !

I have to brag a little today about Jack. Today was Honors Assembly at school. Jack received an award for his AR (Accelerated Reading) today. I am so proud of him. He was the only 2nd grader to receive an AR award today. I am proud because this is something he did on his own. I did not push him to do this. He loves to read and is good at it. He is reading at a 4th-5th grade level. He likes to read Magic Tree House books. I am glad he likes to read. I did not like to read at his age. It is only in my "old age" that I have found joy in reading. My husband on the other hand reads all the time. I guess I have to give him credit on this one. He reads everything and even as a kid he read a lot.

Jack had 71 AR points. If you do not know what AR is; the kids have to read books and take tests on them to see that they comprehended the book. For each book he read he took a test and received from 1/2 point to 3 points per test. There was a minimum point value you had to reach before you could be recognized. I am not sure what that is but I do know that Jack exceeded it.

Reading is so important and I am so glad that the school is recognizing kids for their reading. I am not just saying that because Jack got his award either. There are schools that recognize high candy sales or high magazine sales and other such mess. We need to be recognizing and encouraging academic performance. If we do not encourage our children to excel in academia you just might be taking care of them on in to their old age instead of vice versa. I always encourage independence with my kids. I want them to be able to leave the nest and excel in the "real" world. I know I do shelter them some. Some people that know me may think I shelter them to much. I don't see it as sheltering but as protecting them. They are so innocent, they think the "S" word is "Stupid." I love that. I hope that I can continue to protect them. We talk about bad language and things they are not supposed to say. I have heard some terrible things out of kids mouths at the ball field and ect.. Things I would not repeat. I wonder sometimes who they have heard talk that way. Do they really hear it on TV? Or have the poor things heard it because it has been said to them. I love that my children are innocent I want to keep them that way.

Sorry about the bragging. I'm a Mom it's my job.

How Hot Will It Get?

Last night Jack had a ball game and I cannot believe how hot it was at 6:00pm. We were outside for about an hour and my shirt was soaking wet. The poor kids were pouring water over their heads to cool off. You would think at 6pm that it would be cooling off. We were even playing down in a hole where it is usually cooler. My husband kept saying the sun will be going down soon. It did not go down before we were through playing. Thomas was not even in the game and he was soaking wet too. His hair looked like he just stepped out of the tub. I love watching my kids play ball but my goodness it was hot last night. This season is almost done and then we start All Stars. My only hope is that those games will be later in the day so the kids don't get so hot. Jack is excited about All Stars this will be his first year.

I guess when I am not at the pool trying to keep cool this summer I will be at the ball field watching my "little" All Star.

Treating yourself !!

I bought a gift certificate for myself to go to the spa. I figured I deserved it. I have a long hot summer with two grouchy boys to look forward to, I should pamper myself while I can. I bought this online you could get a $50 gift certificate for $25 so I did. I decided to go for the full body massage. Now normally I am not a massage kinda girl but, this was wonderful. I opted for the Swedish which is supposed to be less painful than the one to relieve stress. It was still somewhat painful. The lady that did mine said I had a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders. Hummmm, wonder why that is? Could this be the reason I chose to pamper myself. I have decided to follow the philosophy that; I am the only me I have and I need to take care of me. I have put others first for so long and I need to take care of me or those others will not have anyone to take care of them. HAHA!! Seriously, what good are we as mothers if we do not take care of ourselves. I know we all neglect ourselves to provide for everyone else. Stop, take stock in you, and today do a little pampering for yourself.

The great thing about all of this is that my husband is so nice he takes the kids to the movies or bowling so that I can have some time to myself. He does understand as a stay at home mother it is hard work and we do everything but stay at home. Thomas asked where I was going that day and I told him the spa. He said Mommy are your going to the Auto spa? I told him no I was going to a people spa. The place we take the car to get it washed is the Auto Spa and Thomas loves it because it sprays all of those pretty colors of soap.

So today I recommend you all take some Me time and pamper yourself. Even if you only take some extra time in the tub our shower do it for you.

Remembering Canie. . .

We just recently had to put our beautiful Chocolate Lab to sleep. Her name was Canie she was almost 15 yrs. old. This was a very hard decision that my husband and I had to make. We loved her so much. She was our first animal after we got married. My husband always wanted a big dog he only had little dogs growing up. (Poor baby). All I had was big dogs growing up so I knew how much trouble they would be. He was in for a treat. This was one of those I told you so moments. I have only had a few of those with him. We moved in to a new house right after we were married and he immediately started looking for a big lab. We had a nice big back yard that could handle a large dog. It was our garage that was not ready for those big puppy teeth. She chewed everything. If it was wood she had her mouth on it. We tried everything to keep her off of it including putting hot sauce on it. She liked hot sauce. We fenced in our back yard so she would have plenty of room to run. My husband planted Cypress trees in the back yard about 20 of them. Everyday Canie would meet him at the gate with one in her mouth so happy to see her Daddy. She dug up every one of them. Needless to say that was an I told you so moment. We decided at two we would breed her and let her have a litter of puppies. She had 11 puppies right after Christmas. They all lived. We sold all but one of them. We kept a yellow male. His name is Jake. My boys grew up with Canie and Jake. Jack would chase Canie and grab her tail she never minded it either. She was very easy going. My husband always wanted a dog that would fetch. Canie did fetch but only when she wanted to. Not when he wanted to. She was funny that way. She was very loving though. The year we had the big ice storm and the power was out for several days he got the bright idea that she would keep us warm. We had moved our mattress into the living room in front of the fireplace. He let her in and she ran upstairs we got her under the covers with us and she rolled over and all four legs just running and through all the covers off. Ah, again and I told you so moment. We left her in the garage one day and somehow the door to the house did not close and she got in. She was probably in the house alone for several hours. We found teeth marks on the remote, she licked the stove, she had moved things from one room to the other, and she had taken ornaments off of the tree and chewed on them. We found things miss placed for weeks. Another I told you so moment. The dogs never really barked unless they needed too. When I say that I mean, Canie only barked at strange cars, snakes, and smoke. So we always new when someone was cooking out or when someone drove up in our driveway. She did save us one night. She began barking about midnight on a Saturday night and I made Mark go out and check. He went downstairs and he was going to shock the dogs in to not barking. So he threw open the door and yelled really loud, "Stop that". Much to his surprise two heads popped up from between our cars. Our neighbors kids were trying to break into our cars. Now how is that for a surprise. I think he scared those boys as much as the dogs and himself. The dogs got the Royal treatment from that point on.

Jack was very sad the day Canie died. He cried and he wanted her back. He did not understand how much pain she was in due to the pancreatitis. She was very sick. Mark and I both cried and I still cry some days when I think of all the things she has done and all she meant to us as a family. I have a lot of pictures of her and we will always tell stories of her just as I have told you. These are only a few of the stories of Canie. She was a great dog, friend, mother, and protector. My sister said it best when she said, "We are here to take care of and protect our animals in life and in death." She was trying to ease my pain in the decision we had to make.

Canie you will be missed! We love you! Craters' Cajun Hurricane September 9, 1994- May 29, 2008

Kindergarten Assessment. . .

It is that time of year when all the little boys and girls that will begin Kindergarten have to take a test to assess where they fall in school. I guess this is to see how much work the teachers are going to have ahead of them in the fall. Thomas went for his test earlier this week and did great for a five year old. He had to spell his name and of course he did throw a capital A in there. I thought it was great he spelled his name correctly. "Thomas" is not an easy name to spell for a 5 yr. old. He did not get any points for spelling his name because of the capital A. Then the teacher asked him to draw a picture of himself. He loves to draw and of course he is at the stage where his head is tiny and everything else is huge. Well, she showed me what he drew and it was only a circle. He told the teacher he did not know how to draw hands and feet. All she was looking for was a face. I think he may have misunderstood. So he did not get any points for that either. He could count though and he could count objects and he knew his ABCs'. Oh, he also knew the name of his Preschool. I think that is wonderful. Not all kids know the name of their preschool or where they go to daycare. They were not giving points on that. I am not bitter that he did not get a good score but it strikes me funny where they placed their emphasis. So far of all the parents I have talked to they all said that their kids also threw in a capital letter in their name too. Jack did the same thing when he was tested. Notice I have picked somewhat simple names for my children. I feel sorry for some of these kids that have these insane names that they have to learn to spell. We did put some thought in to that when we named the kids. Of course Mark wanted something that sounded good over the PA system. He has great aspirations for our children's sports careers. HA HA!!
The other way we picked our names was to go outside and scream it off the deck. I know that sounds a little strange but if you really think about it, you spend a lot of time yelling that name and it should sound good. Back to our subject. They had the kids cut a rectangle out of a piece of paper. Thomas is left handed in most things although he can color and write with both hands. The teacher said he had trouble holding the scissors. I didn't tell her this but I don't let him use scissors. He does use them in preschool though. She showed me the rectangle and he did really good down the side and when he started going across the top he got a little jagged. Then he gave it to the teacher and said here you finish it. So there is another area he did not get points. Oh well, I guess they will have plenty to teach him in Kindergarten. For everyone getting ready to take their Kindergarten assessment, don't sweat it. If they knew everything before they started there would be no reason for Kindergarten.

"Life is an adventure, especially with young children. Enjoy it all because in a flash their grown and gone."

Works for Me Wednesday

Ok, I know it is only Tuesday but who knows what will be going on in my life on Wednesday. So here it is:

Today the boys were playing in the playroom and knocked over a lamp and broke the bulb. Thomas is sick. He has pink eye and an ear infection. He is very cranky! So, they come down to me and say Mommy we broke your lamp.
Me: You did what? Them: We accidentally knocked over your lamp and the bulb broke. I shook it out of my hair. Me: You what?

Ok, so after I count to 100. I go upstairs to see what actually had happened. Sure enough they had broken a lamp and the bulb. Here is a little trick I use to pick up tiny pieces of glass out of carpet or anywhere else for that matter. I use a lent roller. You know the little roller thing to get hair and fuzzes off of your clothes. It does wonders for tiny pieces of glass too. If you do not have a lent roller you can always wrap tape around your hand and use that too.

Thomas-isms'

Thomas is so funny. He is my spunky, wild, and sassy 5 year old. He is constantly amazing me with the things he says. Everyone should take a day and look at the world through your pre-schoolers' eyes. You would be amazed how different things look. You would also be amazed how they interpret the things you say.



Some of these things I have talked about in previous parts of my blog so please pardon the repetition. I was visiting with my parents this weekend and Mark kept the kids. I was only gone overnight but when I got home I thought Thomas had grown. I told him I thought he had grown a foot while I was gone. He said, "Oh yeah? Where?" (stuck out his foot and was looking for another one.) He is so funny sometimes.

Of course there is the frantic jumping up and down shouting "What does it mean? What does it mean? What does swelling mean?" All of this happened because he fell and hurt his wrist and my sister said it looked like it was swelling.

One day Thomas was going around the house hold his breath. He would just be walking down the hall and all of a sudden take a big deep breath and hold it. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I am trying to get a baby in my tummy." OK, yeah I did not get that one either until I talked to his Daddy. Thomas had told his Daddy he wanted a baby brother or sister. Mark told him to hold his breath. Needless to say you really have to watch what you say to the little ones you never know how they will interpret it.

Oh, and I don't think I had mentioned this one before. Mark and Jack were watching basketball on TV in the living room and Thomas and I were watching TV in my room when a commercial for a pretty diamond ring came on. It was talking about the "Canary" Diamond. Thomas asks me, " Mommy do you have a ring like that?" I told him no that that was a really expensive ring and Mommy did not have one like that. I then, as a joke, told him to go and tell his Daddy that Mommy wanted a "Canary" Diamond ring. He said ok. He repeated it twice to make sure he was saying right. I muted the TV so I could hear the talk between Mark and Thomas. Thomas told him exactly what I had said and Mark told him to tell me to "hold my breath." Thomas immediately began screaming and saying over and over, " I don't want another baby! I don't want another baby!"

There is never a dull moment in my house. This is why I am writing everything down. They are so cute.

Shots??????

I had to take poor Thomas for his physical last Friday. He was due his shots before school. I did not tell him he was going to have shots. I kinda wormed my way out of it. I said, "I'm not sure, they might." I tried not to tell him he was going to get shots because I knew what would happen. When the nurse calls us back and began the weigh in and height check, Thomas asks, "Do I have to have shots?" Before I could but in the nurse says, "yes you are getting shots today." I could have screamed. All this time I kept saying I don't know, maybe and here she just blerts it out. Thomas immediately began his routine of hopping down the hall like a bunny and repeating, " I don't want shots." Over and over, "I don't want shots." Those of you that know him you can see this happening. Once we are in the room he starts in on; "will it hurt? Is the needle big? do they do it hard?" You can imagine these questions right? When the Doctor came in to do her exam she talked to him and tried to explain that he had to have shots to protect him. Again, those of you that know him know there is no way to reason with him.

He was so pitiful. I felt really bad about having to bring him to have this done. The nurses come in and start the prep for the shots. He had 5. Yes, 5 shots at one time. I thought there would only be 2 or 3 but 5 I was even in shock. He got up on the table himself without being told. He laid down and he pulled my face to his and said, "Mommy I want you right here." I told him I was not going anywhere. I pulled down his pants so they could get to his legs and Thomas did not want them to look at his underwear. He is a little modest. He put his fingers in his ears. I asked why he had his fingers in his ears and he replied, "I don't want to hear myself scream." That is so sad. He cried big tears. So much that he had wet the paper on the table. I lay across him and held his hands and the nurses said they would not do anything until he was ready. He took a deep breath and said, "NOW, NOW, NOW!!!!!!!" The nurses were surprised and said ok. He cried quite a bit and then calmed down and limped out of the room. He was pitiful. I felt so sorry for him. That really is a lot for a poor kid to take. He got some gummies from the checkout lady and was ok after that.

I am glad we don't have to do that again until he is 13. That was quite a workout.

Road Trip!

Well, yesterday I drove to Gaffney, SC to go shopping with my Mom. We met at the outlets off 85 in the morning. She was looking for a Coach pocketbook for my sisters oldest daughter that turns 16 on Friday. Coach, yes that wonderful bag I used to buy so many of before I had children that would require college tuition. The last bag I bought was when Jack was 2 and a 1/2 so six years ago. Wow! That long. Mom and I were again shopping at the outlets with Jack. Mom was watching him in the stroller while I shopped for the perfect bag for Jack to give me for Christmas. I found 2 that I liked so I let him choose which one he liked the best. He said, "Mommy please stop you're scaring me." Both my Mom and I busted out laughing. I believe he said this because he knew I was having lots of fun shopping and I usually say that to him when he is having lots of fun playing wildly. You really have to watch what you say around my kids because you never know when it will come back to bite you on the behind.

Mark knew we were going shopping and he left me a voice mail on my cell phone which I rarely have on or answer. He wanted to know if the Governor of SC had come to shake my hand for personally boosting the economy in SC. He has such a sense of humor. OK so back to our shopping trip. This trip was so Mom could get her gift and so I could get shoes for my kids. The each needed dress shoes and tennis shoes. Mark also through in the fact he could use some dress shoes too. Osh Kosh was having a big sale and so was the Nike outlet.

It's not a good idea to go shopping with your kids to an outlet mall that has a playground. That is all I heard the entire time I was shopping. Can we go to the playground yet? Can we go to the playground now? Mommy the playground is that way. I am sure you have heard it too.

My sister and her girls came to meet us for lunch and do a little shopping. So I told the boys if they could behave during lunch that they could go to the playground. They sat like little angels while they ate their pizza and we caught up on all the latest gossip from home. After lunch Mom sat while the kids finally played at the playground. My sister and the girls went and did some more shopping. We hit a few more stores and made our way back to the playground. Thomas had hurt his hand on the pavement. He was fussing and holding his wrist. My sister said I should get some ice because it looked like it was swelling. Thomas immediately went into meltdown mode and was screaming oh,oh, what is swelling? We all laughed. He did not know what it meant but he knew it was not good. I looked at his other wrist to compare to see if it was truly swelling and they did not look that different and my sister said oh know they're both swollen. Well, that started the meltdown again. I asked him if he could wiggle his wrist and he said yes and proceeded to wiggle the one that was not hurt.

Well, he survived and is not in pain today. I am however. I have not been shopping like that in quite some time. I am really out of shopping shape.

Is it Monday? . . .

Actually this all happened on Tuesday. It might as well have been a Monday for me. I had to get up and get Jack to school and look good. Ok, now when I say look good I mean look presentable enough to be seen in public. You know you have those days where it does not really matter that you did not get a bath or comb your hair because you are only going through the drop off line. Well, not today. I had to take Jack in because his class had done weather projects and they were on display for the parents to see that morning. Not only did I have to look presentable but so did Thomas. He was going to school after I dropped Jack off and saw his project.

Now that you have the back story; I jumped up and got my bath fixed my hair and then had to get the kids ready. Yes, I do have a husband but for some reason he believes that during the week his only responsibility is to get himself ready and go to work. So I get everybody their breakfast and fix lunch for Thomas. Out the door we go in record time. Naturally I run into everyone I know at Jacks' school. This is why I had to look presentable. I walked and looked at all the kids projects and oohed and ahhhhed at everything.

Now I am off to take Thomas to school. We got there really early compared to most days. Everyone seemed rather surprised to see us. I guess I really am that bad about getting out the door in the mornings.

And now on to the grocery store because I did not get everything I needed the last time I was there. I forgot my list. So here I go through the store talking to myself racking my brain to remember what I needed. I had to order cupcakes for the Easter party, sugar, sweet and Low, and a few other little items. I finally found my sugar and put a bag in my buggy. I went on to the cereal isle and looked for Thomas' cereal. I finally found it and started to the next item and I stepped in a pile of sugar on the floor. Where did that come from? Oh my gosh! It was pouring out of my buggy. I picked up my bag of sugar and proceeded to the check out ladies to inform them there was a clean up on isle 8. I did not realize but I had a little trail of sugar going through the store where I had been shopping. I was rather embarrassed. I apologized and finished my shopping. If Thomas had been with me I do believe I would have blamed him for it. HA HA!! As I approach the register the nice lady that I had informed of my misfortune was bagging for the other counter. She announced, "There is the crazy sugar lady" and said she would help me on the next register. Well I made it home without incident, thank goodness. All I wanted to do was go to bed!

First Kiss. . .

OK, I have a situation. Thomas came home yesterday and told me he and another little girl in his preschool had kissed. When I asked him where he said," in my school." I actually meant where; like face, cheek, or nose maybe. Instead I got lips. Yes, he has had his first official kiss. Beth please tell Sarah I am sorry. Jack has not even been kissed yet. (thank goodness) When Mark came home I told Thomas to tell his Daddy what had happened at school. Mark asked him if he liked it and his eyes got real big and he nodded yes. Am I in for a long, long, long adolescence? He is only 5. HELP? Should I be worried? Mark told him he would get cooties. Of course that started a whole other issue.
The little girl is very cute and very nice. He has good taste.
If this is any indication as to what I am in for, I am not ready. For some reason I thought having 2 boys would be easy when it came to dating. Their Daddy was not interested in girls until he went to college. I could sure deal with that. Mark was to in to sports and being a boy. I am going to be raising two ladies men. What did I do to deserve this?

Ladies any advice?

Valentines' Day . . . Ahhhh. . .

I know I am a little late for this but I have to get this off my chest. My husband does not believe in Valentines Day. Like if he does not believe it does not happen. HA HA!! When we first met he told me this line of bull. In truth it is his way of getting out of having to buy flowers when they are the most expensive. I have always told you he was cheap. He does buy me flowers on occassion but he hates it on Valentines day. He says it is a made up holiday that the card and flower shops conjured to make money. Anyway, he really does have a heart. I thought about this when I read Beths' blog about all the other women getting flowers on V Day and how Dan didn't do that. Well the first V day after we were married I was working in an office of a bunch of spiteful women. Mark new I did not like where I worked nor the bunch of women I worked with. So in order to make me feel better about me and to make them suck air. He sent me a singing quartet to my office. Yes, a singing Barber Shop Quartet. They sang, "I love you truly". Needless to say there were a lot of men that night getting an ear full! I was a little emabaressed but I loved every minute of it. I do sort of miss not working anywhere now. But only for that reason. I just had to tell you about that one. He really can be sweet when he wants to.

This year I did get two long stemed red roses. He snuck them in the house and let the boys give them to me. To bad I don't have more kids huh. Goober didn't get me any chocolate though. I had to buy that myself. Oh well, ture love is never perfect.

My Baby is growing up. . .

My baby is now 5. Yes, I said it 5. Is this possible? Is it possible that the little bundle of joy that I fretted over for 9 months is now 5 and will start school in August? It seems that only yesterday he was siting in his bouncy seat cooing and giggling at everylittle thing. How is it that they grow up so fast? I am not ready to be a mother with two boys in school. I like being the mother of a preschooler. It makes me feel young. OK, I know I'm selfish, what can I say. What ever will I do with myself for those "Fabulous" (oops did I say that?) 61/2 hours with no kids.

What your Husband lets your kids get away with. . .

I had the pleasure of entertaining some of Beth and Jennifers' friends at their house for a Pampered Chef party. It was so much fun. We made all chocolate recipes, of course. While I was "working" HA HA, my husband was taking care of our children. I love my job! I get to entertain all the time and we have so much fun. How cool is that? OK, OK, so back to the story.

I got home after the show and there sat my beautiful boys watching "Gremlins", yes the 80's scary movie that I was not allowed to see because it was PG. I did see it later and I was scared to death of those little creatures. Now my kids are 8 and 4. I was so upset I could not believe he let them watch that movie. His response was, "they wanted to watch it." I asked, "and if they wanted to watch 'Nightmare on Elm Street' you would let them watch that too." He said no he would not let them watch that. Thank goodness. I told him if they had nightmares he was going to deal with them not me. He said oh, they will be fine they are not scared. It came time to go to bed and Thomas the 4yr. old started crying and did not want to go to bed. He said the "Gremlins" were going to get him. I told Thomas it would be ok because Daddy was going to get a sleeping bag and go sleep in his room with him. Needless to say my husband was not to happy with me at that point.

They did sleep through the night with no problems. I did have issues the next day with Thomas not wanting to take his nap because of the "Gremlins". Now that was this past Sunday and yesterday as his teacher was puting him in the car from preschool he asked if he could watch it again. I told him no and proceeded to tell the teacher the sorted story. She laughed and asked Thomas if he was afraid of the "Gremlins". He told her he was a little scared of the ugly slimy ones. She laughed again and said you know they are not real don't you. He looked at her real puzzled and said, "Have you seen the movie?" Well we both busted out laughing.

So I guess the moral of this story is: If you leave your husband alone with the kids be sure to hide the scary movies.