Can I take care of business?

Well, Budman has been sent on another business trip. UGH.

The kids already miss him.

So do I.

He will be back soon enough, but we're not quite used to being apart from each other, which sucks, but we'll survive. I'll try to keep my whining and self-pity to a minimum...

You might ask if I worry about announcing to the Internet that my hubs is away?

NOPE.

Just when I thought...

Thank Goodness for Budman. Just when I thought I was permanently out of ideas to blog about, he brought this home.

It's a shoe-box. (I'm sure you could have guessed that, but work with me here...)

INSIDE the shoe-box, were these.

6 baby rabbits. (I was holding one of them)

He went to his mom & dad's house today, to help them with some auto repairs, yard work etc, and his mother asked him to take care of the nest of rats that were out in the yard. Only they weren't rats. And Budman couldn't "take care of" them. So, he loaded them up in the shoe-box, and brought them to me. I did some Google research, figured out what we needed and my stepmother and I ran out and bought some milk replacer, and some tiny bottles, and tried to feed them. So far, they are a little slow in getting the hang of it, but we made some progress. At this point, though, we're starting to think that they may be a little older than originally thought, so they may actually be weaned.

We don't have any intention of keeping them, so no lectures, please. :)

Normally, he would have left them alone, and not disturbed them, but they would not have survived had he left them. The In-laws dog was already nosing around, and between her and the lawnmower, they would have been goners for sure.

The original plan was to keep them until they were old enough to be released, which we could do here on our property, since we already have plenty of rabbits here. However, I may make a few calls tomorrow to see if there is a local wildlife rehabber who would be interested in taking them.

Either way, we are handling them as little as possible, and have already explained to the kids that they will not be staying. The boys understand about wild animals, and how you can't keep a wild thing locked up, no matter how much you want it, because wild things are meant to be free and wouldn't be happy if they weren't free.

But aren't they just the CUTEST things?????

I got nothin'

I'm sorry - I have no idea what to put in this space!!! I've had a crazy bit of a weekend/start of the work week, and my mind is filled only with compliance and contracts, instead interesting bloggy thoughts.

I have one small - not terribly funny - story from the weekend...

The kids spent all day playing Nerf wars in the back yard Saturday (Yes, I let them play with toy guns, if I didn't they would just make them out of their fingers or breakfast toast or whatever), this involves Monkey and Mater on a team against Possum. They will run around and shoot until one of them gets hit. If they manage to get Possum, the little ones jump up and down and yell, and scream "We won". If one of them is the one who has been shot, the other immediately puts down his weapon, and says, "I give up". Wussies.

They spend lots of time planning, and strategizing, and at one point, they started a new game. Monkey walked slowly straight toward Possum, lowed his gun to the ground and backed away slowly, hands in the air. Possum looked at me, as if to ask "What are they up to?", but I only shook my head, to let him know that I had nothing to do with this plan. Mater then lay down his gun as well, and backed away. I stepped in at that point, telling them that playing that way wasn't much fun for anyone, and if they had 'bullets" left in their guns, they had better be shooting!

Wait, what??

===============

And...

Also, as usual, my children offered up LOTS of cutsie things that were said, but I can only remember one of them now - I always tell myself to write them down, but I never do...

Mater: Mom, Monkey won't play with me...
Me: Well, why not?
Mater: I don't know, because he's a lazy bum!

ok

I'll give my brain time to recharge, and perhaps I'll have more later this week...

Sorry!

Avast, me hearties!

Ahoy, ye land lubbers!

Today is International Talk like a Pirate day!

By now, I figure everyone knows what this is about, but if not, check here.

I was reminded this morning when our local traffic reporter, Monty Cook from WBAP, did his entire traffic report in pirate talk. Budman and I were cracking up and it was pretty impressive. I wish I had a recording of it...

So, blah blah blah, talk like a pirate (which obviously, I'm not any good at). If you need help, here's a pirate talk how-to.

My pirate name is:
Bloody Jenny Bonney

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

part of the fidius.org network

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.

==========================

In related news, I heard a story on the radio this morning about the Grandbury (TX) High School Pirates. Some woman has complained to the county commissioners, because the Booster Club wanted to put up flags around town before a football game.

Since Grandbury is home to the Pirates, these flags have the Jolly Roger on them. Sounds reasonable, right?

Not to this lady. She claims they are "Satanic", and the city will be risking "the wrath of God" by displaying these flags. Never mind that this isn't a county issue.

I am sick to death of people getting offended over stupid stuff!

Pirate flags? Really?

Is there not enough wrong with the world that you can't find anything else to be offended about? Fight racism, sexism, crime, vandalism, poverty, child abuse, injustice and genocide, but leave the poor high school mascot alone!!

Besides the fact that she claims that this flag is "satanic", my quick research attempts this morning turned up no evidence other than the fact that the flags were used by pirates to intimidate their victims. This claim is laughable.

*******

Whew, got on a little rant there, didn't I?

Sorry, but this kind of crap just really chaps me.
Besides, it's my blog, so I can rant if I want to.
(Don't worry, I won't sing the song - even though it's stuck in my head now)

*******

Now this is my kind of pirate... ;)

Yummy!

Awesome...

If you Google "I'm Mediocre", My site is number one. - Oh yeah!!

Here are a list of search terms used to find my blog. And a lazy excuse for me to direct you to old posts, so you can catch up on the wonder that is me, and I won't actually have to come up with new content. Sorry guys, my brain is just still too sleepy... Bring on the weekend!!!

why is it called beauty sleep - Just a guess, hon, but I'd have to say - 'cause it's supposed to make you beautiful.

hot mamas have long hair - I beg to differ my friend... I get a lot of searches for swing bob hair cut pictures and pictures swing bob hair. Not terribly interesting, but my posts are here and here. **(Wait, not to say that mamas with long hair aren't hot, I just meant that they aren't the only ones...)**

homemade mums for homecoming - This one didn't take long. And yes, this one came from a Texas searcher.

choking the chicken - I TOLD YOU I was gonna get searches for that!!!

one-legged man breakfast - I'm assuming that you can eat the same breakfast as the two-legged men do. We didn't have any one-legged men at our breakfast

shots for school - we didn't need them after all. And my little weirdos were actually dissapointed about it!!

alzheimer's memory walk in bogspot - I don't know where Bogspot is, (probably Alabama), but I'm doing the Alzheimer's Walk in FW.

an empty mind - I gots one!!

sarah sunshine porn - This is a terrific porn name!! I'm assuming that it's already taken, since someone went looking for it. Not that I'm looking for a porn name. What are you trying to say??

My all time favorites: These are so old, they don't even show up on my stats anymore.

Empty mind of a child - we have some of those!!

Monkey fart hamburger - I'm actually speechless. For once.


I hope these were entertaining, and that you have a wonderful day.

=====================

It's a sad day for the California Raisins. Motown songwriter, Norman Whitfield, 67, died Tuesday from complications of diabetes. He co-wrote some well known songs, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me). According to the Washington Post article I linked, his list of song credits is extensive.

Is it just me??

Budman and I were walking to our car this evening, and we saw a sign for this place, advertising mums and garters.

Budman asked what that meant, and I just said "It's Homecoming season, dear."

He didn't know what I meant by that, and asked for more clarification. As I'm explaining Homecoming Mums/garters, I realize that he has ABSOLUTELY no idea what I am talking about.

Me: "Wait, what did y'all do for Homecoming in Arizona?"

Budman gave me a blank look, and I said "Let me guess, you never went to Homecoming, did you?"

Nope, he never went. He didn't spend much time doing "school activities" back then, he was on his own by the time he was 15, and was usually too busy working to pay bills to mess with that kind of stuff.

But that's not what bothered me about the whole conversation, it was the fact that he had NO CLUE what a Homecoming mum was.

So, I began to wonder - is this a Southern thing? a Texas thing? Budman's argument that they don't have a lot of fresh flowers in Arizona doesn't fly with me - we rarely used real mums anyway.

I clearly remember going to Michael's to pick out supplies to make a garter for whichever boy had asked me out for Homecoming that year.

mums, ribbons, lettering, bells, trinkets....

There's a tradition - you wear your Mum to school the day of Homecoming, and your friends choose a ribbon, and tie a one-handed knot in it. I can't find a reference to this online ANYWHERE, and I had almost forgotten about it.

I did some quick Googling, and most of the links that pulled up were for places in Texas. Hmmm... Even Wikipedia has only the smallest mention of Mums:

"At many high schools, especially in the southern United States, homecoming dates exchange "mums" on Homecoming Friday, to wear to the game and the dance. These are very elaborate corsages (for the girls) or garters (for the boys, worn on the arm) that consist of a large flower (usually a chrysanthemum) surrounded by a ribbon ruffle. Long ribbons, decorations and trinkets are hung from the mum which indicate the students' date of birth, name, class, interests, and messages towards other people."

So, I'm wondering:

Doesn't everyone do Homecoming Mums?

Is it just something we do here in Texas?

Is it really that big a deal that Budman hasn't heard of this? Since he's a guy, it's probably not as big a deal.

Did you have mums when you were in High school?

Were they made with real flowers or were they homemade?

I must know all about it.

----Wishing I had a scanner, because I KNOW I have a picture of at least ONE of the four mums I was given back then.----

**This year, Possum is not participating in Homecoming - at least he hasn't asked a girl to go with him or anything... Good thing I discovered Budman was clueless about this - I can pick up the slack whenever the time comes.

The return of the weekend update.

Alternate Title: "Gosh, we sure are boring..."

Ah, the Weekend Update. I'm sure you've been missing it with all your heart.

Considering that I have the most boring life ever, you're probably thinking what's the point?

Anywho...

Friday was fraught with Ike anticipation. It was the only topic of conversation that anyone could manage, and I was starting to get a little annoyed with my co-worker, who gave me up to the minute updates, every.freaking.second. of the day. Flipping out that we might actually get 30 mph winds once Ike made it inland and up to our neck of the woods. Thirty mph?? Oh no! Whatever will we do???!!!

Sarcasm is my weapon of choice.

She was all day sending me pictures of random flooded roads and traffic on the I45. (oh god, I just said THE I45 - I hate when people do that!!!) It's not that I don't care, because I do - friends and family in the area and all that - she is just one of those people that grab onto something and CANNOT let it go. And freaking out is what she does best (i.e. Already this morning, I have been subjected to constant updates on the state of our economy, the stock market and, as usual, gas prices.) Good times...

Friday evening, we watched the news and played with the kids. I woke at 2 AM to discover that ALL FOUR of our local networks had preempted all programming for Hurricane talk. Some of them were even boasting commercial-free coverage. I watched that for a little while, until I could fall back asleep.

Saturday morning, we stayed in (TOLD YOU I have the Most Boring Life Evah!!) the kids played in the rain, we watched The Sword in the Stone, and countless hours of Spongebob, in an effort to keep the children from driving me going insane . The weather never got bad at our place, we had less than an inch of rain, and mildly gusty winds. Ike decided to head east to see the sights. I am rather glad of this, although I was really hoping for a good rainstorm...

Saturday night, as I was putting the boys to bed, I was teasing them about... GIRLS!!! As I climbed to the top bunk to tuck Monkey in, I asked him about his GIRLFRIENDS, and was relentless in insisting that he must have a GIRLFRIEND. (Use your imagination, sing song voice, tickling and general teasing ensued)

His reply?? "Snap out of it!"

I swear, I don't know where they come up with this stuff.

When I got to Mater (who apparently DOES have a girlfriend), I asked her name (He doesn't know), if she was in his class (She's not), what grade she was in (Kindergarten - at least he doesn't have the older women chasing him...), and what her name was (He doesn't know). Awesome! Amid all the giggling and teasing, his response?

"Snap out of it!"

Sunday was spent doing a little grocery shopping. I HATE when we go shopping hungry - We bought mostly food for lunches for Budman and I for this week and next, and I'm embarrassed at how much we spent! ON LUNCHES! Oh well, we likely won't be needing to buy anything for a while...

Other than that short excursion, we spent the weekend at home, on the computer, reading books, watching TV, eating ridiculous amounts of food, and just being the boring folks that we are...

I did laundry, but only because I think my work frowns on nudity...

The boys did get to spend some time outside yesterday, which kept me from going crazy and killing them.

Of course, after a while, I heard screaming, and as I ran to see what was the matter, Mater came towards me claiming he had been stung by a bee. I never saw the bee, but it had gotten in his sock, he said, and whatever it was, it got him right on the ankle bone. I couldn't find a stinger, but he had a small red spot on his ankle, and it began to swell almost immediately. We made a paste to put on it, which he thought was pretty cool, and he snuggled with me for a while, until he wanted to move to a pillow in the floor.

He's fine - apparently, he's not allergic, and I'm not certain that it was a bee, since we never found a stinger. I believe that some wasps don't leave a stinger behind, and we have plenty of those around our place. Budman did a check of the area, and couldn't find a nest there, so I don't really know what happened.

But at least he's got a good story to tell at school today.

Sure beats "We sat around and did nothing the whole time..."

Don'tcha hate my random posts!?!?!

First, It's September 11th. Not to get all preachy on you, but please make some time today to pray for those people, or just take a moment to think of them and their families. Here is a list (just one, so far) of people who have 9/11 posts today.

BurghBaby

A Mom Two Boys

Happy Meals & Happy Hour

A Mama's Blog

Amy in Ohio

Autobiography of My Feet

Twice as Nice

Draco's Rose

Cake Wrecks

Decisionally Challenged

I will update as I find more. I'm still on my first cup of coffee.

Second, Ike is a pain n the @ss. I have one friend who has already evacuated, and another whose family is doing the same. My uncle and his family live in Magnolia, and he has a Veterinary practice in Houston, and I know Know KNOW that they will not evacuate and leave the animals. I don't even have to ask, I KNOW. Please, please keep all of those people in your thoughts, keep your fingers crossed, think good thoughts, pray - whatever you want.

Third, Tonight is the Boy Scout Rally. Monkey has been waiting for six months to be old enough to be a Cub Scout, and tonight is his big night. He's a bit nervous, I could tell, but Budman, who was also a Cub/Boy Scout (he still has all his stuff - AND his dad's - so cool) will be going with him, while I take Possum to DeMolay. Whew, let the fun begin. I think knowing that Daddy will be going with him took a little worry off his mind.

Fourth, I think I may have forgotton in the last 'Hmmhmm' years how busy High schoolers are. Possum is in ROTC, which has after school "practice?" on Tuesdays, and he also wants to be in the... Crud, I forgot what he called it... the rifles and such... not color guard, but dang it... I'll think of it, which practices on Wednesdays, and then DeMolay on Thursdays. He has been warned, if his grades are not to our satisfaction, we will yank him, so here's hoping. So far, he's been very diligent with his school work.

Fifth, Why the HELL did my step-mother feel the need to buy my SIX year old Axe Body Spray? I know she's a Grandma and must spoil him and all but really, WTF?? He's all spraying himself every morning before school, and decided that he would be wearing the spray this evening to the Boy Scouts rally - QUOTE "Even though there won't be any girls there." Huh??

Sixth, Who in the Hell said that my baby was allowed to have a **Gasp** Girlfriend??? He's FIVE, and some hussy* is on the bus blowing him kisses??? Oh Lord, no. I cannot deal with this.

Seventh, I don't really have a seventh, but I'm trying... Oh yeah. I'm really interested in this site. Unfortunately, my work computer hates all things fun, so I will have to see if I can figure it out this weekend. I just wanted to say - if you do this and post your pictures, PLEASE let me know, because I cannot get enough of these photos...

Eighth, I am obsessed with well, actually a LOT of things but this week, it's Chuck Norris Facts. I giggled for hours yesterday, drove both my co-workers and my husband crazy and convinced at least four people that I'm certifiable. Actually, only three - I'm pretty sure Budman already knew that about me.

• My favorite? (today) "Chuck Norris once shot down a German fighter plane with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"

Lastly, Have a terrific day and since I probably won't finish tomorrow's post until Monday, a great weekend, too.

*If that hussy is your daughter - I'm sorry - I didn't really mean it. Just keep her blown kisses off of my baby, please??

Brace yourself - My post on politics.

Or not.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have seriously considered going ahead and putting it out there. Giving you my opinions, etc...

But I just this morning read another post that made my blood boil. Not so much the blogger, but the way that people - commentors - began attacking each other (and the candidates) with venom - it didn't matter that what the person said was true - it only mattered that they didn't agree, and I got angrier and angrier as I read.

I have read so many political posts lately, and it seems like everyone is doing it. All the more reason not to jump into the fray. The commenters (both conservative and liberal) are vicious, and I've seen all out "wars" on someone break out for daring to express their opinion. I have commented on a few, always politely, but I will not do it anymore. I feel SO very strongly about my views, just as they do about theirs, but I'm not going to get sucked into a name-calling match.

My opinions are just that - MINE. and OPINIONS. You don't have to share them, you don't have to agree with them, and as a special favor to those of you I hold near and dear to my heart (this means you, readers) you don't have to listen to them.

Also, this website has been up to this point a troll-free zone. I understand that trolls are not something that you can prevent, if they truly want to target you, (do they still say flame??) they will do it. However, I'm not going to invite or encourage the kind of backbiting and hatred that I have seen on so many blogs lately. Not that I'm saying that those bloggers invited it, but it just seems to happen, and so I'm deciding to stay out of it.

If you are truly interested in how I feel about the election, email me - I will be happy to discuss it with you. But, since I value my frends, (Yes, I consider you all friends) I will spare you my diatribe on who I'm not voting for, etc...

This election has been by far the most vitriolic, malicious display I think I have ever witnessed. (and I went through a divorce!!) So, to that end, I am borrowing this button from my friend, AnglophileFootballFanatic, who a few days ago, had a much better post than this one about the political brouhaha that's out there right now...

There it is - my "political" post. Sorry to disappoint.

I am The Little Red Hen

**This is a reprint from my old blog – Saturday, April 08, 2006**

Here is a little story for you.

There once was a little red hen who lived on a farm. The hen's friends were a duck, a pig, and a cat. One day, the red hen needed to go to the store to buy groceries.

The little red hen asked, "Who will help me buy the groceries?"

"Not I," said the duck.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the cat.

"Then I will do it myself," said the little red hen. And she bought the groceries without any help at all.

The little red hen asked, "Who will help me bring the groceries into the house?"
"Not I," said the duck.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the cat.

"Then I will do it myself," said the little red hen. And she brought the groceries into the house without any help at all.

The tired little red hen asked, "Who will help me put the groceries away?"

"Not I," said the duck.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the cat.

"Then I will do it myself," said the tired little red hen. So she put the groceries away without any help at all.

The very, very tired little red hen asked, "Who will help me cook the dinner?"

"Not I," said the duck.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the cat.

"Then I will do it myself," said the very, very tired little red hen. And she cooked the dinner without any help at all.

The hot, fresh dinner smelled very good. The little red hen asked, "Now, who will help me eat this dinner?"

"I will!" said the duck.
"I will!" said the pig.
"I will!" said the cat.

"No, you won't! I will do it myself!" yelled the little red hen. And she ate the dinner without any help at all.

The End


Well, not really the end. Actually, that's not exactly how the story goes. Truth is, The Little Red Hen really prefers to go grocery shopping without the duck, pig and cat, if she can manage it. An episode the other day where they unwrapped a few candy bars that she then had to purchase will give you a reason WHY she prefers to go it alone, if you need one…

And she didn't ASK for help bringing the groceries into the house - Instead, she waited to see if anyone would get up off the couch to help. No such luck. The duck, pig and cat, did however, say "We love you Mommy" each time she entered the house on EACH of her three trips from the car to the house. The little Red Hen told them to quit sucking up and did it all herself.

And of course, she did not eat all the food herself, she fed her family like a good Momma Hen.

Works in progress

I'm working on several posts, but can't seem to find the time to get them finished!

• I've got one about the kids, and discipline, and such. Hopefully (for you!) it will be entertaining.

• I'm fighting the urge to weigh in on politics. Hopefully (for you!) I will be able to hold off. But, dang, people are pissing me off!!

Instead (since I can't seem to finish anything these days), I will tell you a little about my weekend. My favorite part of this weekend, (besides the fact that it was the weekend, and I did next to nothing... but not totally nothing, because we had lots of company, and I had to clean toilets becuase 14 year old boys don't know that "Clean your bathroom" means to actually scrub toilets and sinks and such. Grrr.) was Sunday, when Budman (for whatever reason) decided that he needed to take me out dancing that night.

Thankfully, I managed to talk him out of it, so he insisted that we spend the evening dancing together on the back patio. We have a CD player out there, so we spent all evening digging through our collection, and dancing. Pretty soon, everyone came out to the back porch and the kids were dancing with my step-mom, but then my dad came along to dance with her, so Budman and I danced with the kids, until they had enough, and we went back to dancing with each other. It was fun, and silly and sweet - and I really loved it.

And although I always feel a little hokey dancing in our yard at first (Yes, we have done this on more than one occasion), I start to think that it's probably a good thing that the kids see Budman and I spending time together doing mushy stuff (Not TOO mushy), and that they grow up knowing how much their parents love each other, because they see it on a regular basis, and being included when we do our silly stuff.

Monday, I stepped outside for a minute, and Mater ran out with me, turned on the music, and asked me to dance with him. I guess we made an impression...

I know this isn't terribly well written, or even concise, but it's been floating about my head for a few days, and at some point, you have to write it all down, ready or not, just to make room in your head for new crap. So here - you get it "as is".

Have a terrific week.