Who's that girl??

Yes, I know, it has been a while. I haven't blogged in WAY too long. I'm going to go ahead and confess that my Reader is WELL above 1000 unread's as well, so if you've been feeling neglected lately, it's completely my fault.

Well, for my first post in ages, I thought I would get you all up to speed on what's been going on in the Sunshine household, with PICTURES!!!

This could take a while.



The Tiger Cubs toured Mrs. Baird's Bakery in Ft. Worth

We had a funeral. Pop passed away in January. It was a very rough time for Budman and the boys. We're hanging in there, though.

Mater had a stomach bug and fell asleep in his toast. He's feeling MUCH better now.

The Tiger Cubs took a tour of the Fort Worth Star Telegram printing operations.

Monkey, Mater and I took a trip to the Zoo in Waco with Copper's Fox, the Tater tot and our parents.

I have to share this video - it was SO funny.

Monkey entered his first Pinewood Derby for Cub Scouts - Recognize anyone??

My Valentine's Day present!!

I got a new haircut!!

We dog-sat for my MIL. I took this video of her dog, Shadow playing in our backyard.

Monkey went to his first Blue & Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts
And tomorrow is Monkey's 7th Birthday. He is having a party at a local pizza place, and I will share photos soon.

I have a few stories that I'm trying to keep in my head, I've been wanting to blog for a while, but as you can see - things have been pretty busy here.

I also promise, I will be catching up with my reader as soon as I can, hope you are all doing well.

Eternal Sunshine

Whisper what you'll bring to me; tell me if you can

Saturday, I took the boys (the little boys, Possum was invited, but politely declined) to see Santa at Mrs. Baird's Bakery. We've never gone there to see Santa before, but I'll never go anywhere else again. The folks at Mrs. Baird's REALLY know how to do it up right.

First, they have a giant tent set up, and inside, it's completely decorated. Santa's workshop displays line the walls, and smells of Cinnamon Toast filled the air.

Here's a picture of Monkey and Mater enjoying their free Cinnamon Toast. I didn't realize at the time, but in ALL of the Toast-eating photos I took, Mater had his eyes closed. I think he was just enjoying that food a little too much!!

Santa was amazing. Once the kids got up to see him, he spoke with them for a minute, posed for a picture, and gave them a package of powdered donuts from his pack.

More than once, I saw him straighten the skirt of a pretty dress as they placed a little girl in his lap, so that she would look just right in her picture. The lines weren't too long, and once we were done, the boys got their toast, and they had coloring pages and a craft activity for the kids to do. (Unfortunately, there were so many kids at the craft table, and I'm not comfortable posting pictures of other people's children.)

The only glitch in the whole day (other than the wind - Thank Heavens that they had it all set up inside the tent), was when we stopped off at PetSmart on our way home, where SANTA was there for pictures with pets. My smart boys, immediately wanted to know how Santa could be at this store, when we had just left the Bakery, and of course, I reminded them how Santa can't be everywhere at once, so he has helpers that work for him, speaking with kids, and taking pictures with pets, etc...

Later that day, while the boys were telling their Grammy all about Santa, she mentioned that SHE used to go see Santa at the Bakery when she was a little girl, so I guess Mrs. Baird's has been bringing in Santa for quite a few years.

I certainly hope they keep it up, I haven't had this great an experience going to see Santa since I was a little girl!!

Conversations, Part - whatever...

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Stop by to visit Copper's Fox, she's got a funny story about my nephew, Tater-tot, and Mater.

Also, don't forget about my friend Holly, Anglophile Football Fanatic. She's donating her November ad revenue to Food for the Poor. Every click counts, so do me a big favor, and help her out!

Day TWO of her giveaway is today, and people, it is awesome. There will a giveaway every day this week.

Please head on over to her place, and enter her contest.

First order of business

Well, first things first. I hope that you read Tuesday's post and headed over to Rachel's house to enter her giveaway and click her pages (It's OK, that sounds dirtier than it is) in order to help her in her quest to fight Breast Cancer.

You did? Good, now go again. it's OK, we'll wait here for you.

2nd order of business, is that my baby sister (HA! She's taller than me!!) has FINALLY decided to blog, and I want you all to go check her out, because 1.) she's my sister, and I love her and 2.) She's WAY funnier than I am. But, I'm only going to tell you her link if you promise not to go leave me for her... Well, now that's settled, I can give you directions over to her place. Coppers Fox. I'll be helping her get settled in at her new home, and like I said, she's super terrific, so you'll want to come back and visit her often.

Next, we have a little cuteness from Monkey. Sorry, to my Plurky friends, you've already heard this, but it's adorable, so you'll just have to deal - or you can skip to the next paragraph, if you feel the need.

Last night, while Monkey was rolling around on the floor like a wild, well, Monkey

Monkey: "Mom, when I grow up, I'm going to join the US Army"
Me: "You are?"
Monkey: "Yep, I'm going to fight for our freedom"
Me: "wow..."
Monkey: "Yep, I'm going to leave my family to protect our country"
Me: "Wow, Monkey, that awesome!"

I don't know where he got this, and the thought of my little baby leaving his Mommy to fight for the country, while admirable, is terrifying to said Mommy. Thankfully, I know the Army won't take him until he's at least 10... Kidding.

In other news, he lost his FIRST tooth yesterday at school. The nurse gave him a certificate and a little treasure chest to keep it in, and the Tooth Fairy came last night and left him $2. (First teeth are worth more, she won't be quite so generous next time.)

Mater went to bed early last night, and woke with a tummy ache this morning, no fever, but the little guy stayed home from school today - just in case... I'm hoping he's feeling better for Halloween. it would break his heart if he had to miss out on the fun!

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And, as usual, I must remind you that I am still donating my October revenue to the Alzheimer's Association. And don't forget to enter the giveaway for my Blogoversary! You have until October 31...

Wekend Update: Random, random, everywhere...

Hello, remember me?? I know I'm a huge slacker. I still can't seem to turn all those "Drafts" into "Posts". I'm working on it.

Coming up later this week, the Cub Scout post I have been promising. I've decided to wait until after his Bobcat ceremony (is that what it's called?) to finish that one up.

Also, I have a circus recap. I took LOTS of photos (& video), and I would have had that one finished already, but life keeps getting in the way of my blogging (RUDE!) Plus, there's that whole camera slacker thing I've got going on...

So, instead I will share a bit O' the random...

Yesterday's Left-handed compliment of the day: "You're VERY intelligent in your own way." I won't share with you the response that came to mind...

I never did make it into work on Saturday. I fully intended to, but Budman had to go to his parents' house to work on their cars, and with Mater having run a fever the day before, we did not want to bring him around Budman's Dad, Pop, for fear that he would get very sick. So, the kids and I stayed home, I did laundry and cleaned house, and felt very productive instead.

Saturday was the Circus, thanks to Possum, who said "I don't have to be there until 7:20, I thought we would leave around 7:00", (Gee, thanks for making our plans for us, we MIGHT have had something else in mind, though - So sorry we didn't consult you first!!) we were very nearly late. My parents DID meet us there, and as I'm getting out of the car, I get my SECOND phone call from my mother (She's not so good with the concept of 'go with the flow'), who says "The man here says the show starts at 7:00. That's in five minutes!" So, we hurried over to meet them at the door, rushed in and found our seats. Possum, turns out, was NOT supposed to be there at 7:20, since the silly thing STARTED at 7:00 and he couldn't find the other boys in the group, because they were already out in the CENTER RING!!! Grr, the boy makes us crazy sometimes! Oh well, he made it to where he was supposed to be, and we had a lovely time. I have lots of pictures, and will share soon.

Sunday, the little boys went to Church with Grandma, and the big one went to the shooting range with Grandpa, SO Budman and I snuck off together!! We went and had breakfast at Whataburger, then swung by the auto parts store to buy a radiator for his mother's car. (Boy, does he know how to show a girl a good time!!) Sigh... Where was I? Ah, we headed to the In-laws, and replaced the radiator - OK, so Budman replaced it, but I totally helped him, AND if I had a Chevy S-10 whatever, I could SO change out the radiator on it. I could SO!! Budman said next time he was letting me doing it all. SO there!

Surprisingly, the radiator only took about an hour and a half, and we headed back home, where I prepared a little Seven Layer dip to snack on while Budman and Possum watched the Football game, which was a tremendous disappointment, and I Plurked.

The kids had Monday off school, so they were tasked with getting the Halloween decorations up outside. They also got to carve Jack-o-Lanterns!! The decorations aren't quite finished yet, but don't worry BurghBaby, I will share the pictures, as promised.

I guess that's it for now. I really have lots more ideas, but somehow, I'm lacking the words to back it all up!

Oh, and remember, my blogaversary is coming up, and I will be having a giveaway!! Stay tuned for more details!!! (Dang, I'm not sure how to spell that!!!)

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Please don't forget that I'm On the MOVE for a cure to Alzheimer's. (Read yesterday's post for more details.) I'm donating all revenue from October to the Alzheimer's Association. Please stay and click a while!!! And if you wish to donate to a terrific cause, I would be honored if you would support me in my Walk on October 18th!!

Click Here to Donate

Something occurred to me...

Lately, I've been so busy trying to have "something to write about", that I've been neglecting my favorite part of my blog. Telling you about my family. Granted, it's not always funny, although we have our moments, but it's real...

We have made it through the first 6 weeks of the new school year. It's been largely uneventful (in our world, uneventful is a good thing).

Possum, has been struggling with organization again this year. He is certainly smart enough to complete his work, but he often forgets to turn it in, or leaves the book he needs at school, etc. This is frustrating, and THANK GOODNESS for the online grade check, because he would NOT tell us any of this on his own. I'm not sure whether this is because of his forgetfulness, or if he's just being sneaky, but I am so glad that I can check all of his assignments online, because that way I can stay on top of things... I'm pretty sure this is all part of the teenage boy's brain. I can only assume that he's so busy thinking about girls, that there's not room in there for "unimportant" stuff like schoolwork! So, I've become a nag, and I hate it.

Monkey is still having trouble staying on task, minding his own business, etc and he's still a terrific liar. (No, I'm not calling my son a liar, I just mean that he's rather good at it...) Currently, he's grounded until further notice. He's not grounded for the minor infractions at school, he's grounded for lying, which in our house, is a MUCH more heinous offense than not following directions or whatever.

He's also still doing his Cub Scouts, although after Wednesday, he almost lost that privilege, too. However, we have decided that instead of taking away Cub Scouts, perhaps we can use it to help remind him that he needs to live up to the Motto of the Cub Scouts - Do your best. Every chance we get, in all the things he is learning, about respect, duty, goodwill etc, we try to turn those things into a life lesson, to show him how he can use those ideals in his daily life at school, to follow his leaders, to do his best, to give goodwill. I really do hope, as I have from the beginning, that those things won't become just words to him, but goals and practices for his daily life. He will receive his Bobcat badge next week, and I'm almost as excited as he is! We've worked really hard.

Mater, bless his heart, hardly ever gets talked about, because he doesn't get into trouble. Monkey was my angel baby, but Mater is my Angel child. Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect, and he does occasionally get into trouble at home, but he does not get into trouble at school. Last year, in Pre-K there was ONE day out of all the (180??) school days, that he did not get a sticker. (Their chosen measurement of conduct). This year, so far, he is doing just as well. He's learning quickly, starting to read, and sounding out words. He gets easily frustrated, but he's doing great. He's in Speech therapy twice a week at school, and already I've noticed a big improvement with his "r" sounds.

Yesterday, after school, he began feel sick, and ran a fever all night. Poor thing - he felt SO hot. By this morning, his temp was down to 101.4, but of course, he still stayed home from school. He was VERY disappointed, he loves school. (Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, if you don't have one of THESE thermometers, get one - it's the ONE thing I don't know how I ever lived without!!!!)

Budman and I are tired. LOL!

Possum, who I've mentioned before is in DeMolay, will be working at the Shrine Circus on Saturday, so we will be taking the little ones to enjoy while Possum is there. We went last year, and really enjoyed it a lot. I'm looking forward to taking them to do something fun. Mandatory fun - we all need to try it (on a completely unrelated note, the link for the Shrine Circushad a Kid fun page, where you can print off coloring pages for the kiddos!!)

I've had several requests from my family for visitswith us and the kids, but they will have to wait a little longer. Budman will be taking the kids to his parents house (yes, I realize they are family as well, but they don't request, they guilt) on Saturday, to work on their cars, while I take my happy butt into work to catch up a little. So, I'm going to have to tell my folks that we are available Saturday night at the Circus, if they would like to join us, otherwise, it will be two more weeks. Ugh.

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Please don't forget that I'm On the MOVE for a cure to Alzheimer's. (Read yesterday's post for more details.) I'm donating all revenue from October to the Alzheimer's Association. Please stay and click a while!!! And if you wish to donate to a terrific cause, I would be honored if you would support me in my Walk on October 18th!!

Click Here to Donate

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??

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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!

Changes, Part II

OK, so I decided I would go with Eternal Sunshine. Sounds kind of peppy, and since I'm an annoying Pollyanna-type, it probably suits me.

I also decided to Plurk and Twitter. We'll see which one I end up sticking with.

If you want to follow me on Plurk, I'm at http://www.plurk.com/user/EternalSunshine

For twitter, it's http://twitter.com/EternalSunshin

I can already see how Plurk, Twitter and Facebook could totally ruin my blogging if I'm not careful. I'm sure I'll be able to figure out a nice balance once the new wears off.

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In other news, I had yesterday off work. It was a busy day so that I could get the boys ready for school. I took Mater to get his shots in the morning, so that I could make sure that his new school had everything they needed (We got re-districted this year) for him to start next Tuesday.

I was pretty sure that Monkey's shots were up to date, but I took with him with us anyway, so that they could look over his shot record to be sure. When we got there, they told me that Monkey was up to date, and ... so was Mater. Crap - I drove 20 miles for nothing!

Next, we went to the school; I had been told at the end that since Mater was in Pre-K last year, I would have to redo the whole registration process at the new school. Turns out, the old school just transferred his records, so other than our proof of residence, they had everything they needed already. That was a nice surprise.

Then off the super mega store, that I hate, but dang - it's just cheaper than everything else! I got the rest of the boys school supplies (except for Possum, since he's in High School, we won't know what he needs until he gets there), picked up some school clothes for them, as well as new backpacks.

They were acting like wild animals in the store, but I was STARVING, so I took them to McDonald's for lunch. I normally wouldn't take them somewhere special if they hadn't been behaving, but I also knew that it was an exciting day for them, and they were having trouble "reining it in".

We did a little more shopping, then headed home, where I collapsed into a chair and didn't move for an hour. I still have to find a personal pencil sharpener for Monkey's list (WHERE do they come up with this stuff!?!?), but other than that, these kids are ready for school (and Mom is ready to send them!).

Possum has Fish Camp this weekend, I guess he will get his schedule then, and figure out "how High school works". I remember moving the summer before I started HS and I was SO nervous, AND I was new. At least he's not the new kid anymore...

His school is unlike any High School I've ever seen, they put the Freshmen into "The Freshman Academy", mostly separated from the upperclassmen, and when he moves to tenth grade, he will have to pick an "Academy", based on his interests and aptitude. It's very unusual (at least, I think it is), but I guess it works for them. I'm interested to see how it works.

I really hope that Possum enjoys High School as much as I did.

So now, our oldest starts high school, and our youngest is starting Kindergarten, dang, who said they could grow up!?

Oh, The Google searches I'm going to get...

I know - two posts in less than 12 hours... No, I'm not sick, but thanks for asking!

I have been meaning to post this one for a while, but I've been hesitant, because I can only imagine the crazy search terms that will bring perverts people here... However, Catwoman recently posted this (You MUST read it, go ahead, I'll wait) so I decided to suck it up and just post the story already.

A few weeks ago, Budman sent me this link. (I feel I must warn you, this site can be a tremendous time suck, so let's try and stay focused on me and MY story first, Mkay??) I thought it was funny, and gave it no more thought. When he came to pick me up from work that evening, however, this thing

was in the car, in my seat... Purty, ain't it??

"Oh gawd, you bought one?? I just thought you were sending me another crazy product idea." (He loves to do this. I don't know how he finds some of this crazy stuff.) Turns out, he and his boss had stopped by the hardware store at lunchtime - Men - and he saw the chicken sitting there innocently, picked it up, and when he saw what it did, he had to have it.

So, the chicken came home with us.

Monkey and Mater were very curious about the chicken. They really love that their father likes toys as much as they do. (except when they bring home a cool happy meal toy, and he steals it, but I digress)

Here's the point where I must show you what it does - PLEASE, if you are at work, or have a sleeping baby, husband or dog, and don't want them to wake up, turn down your sound. (Actually, it's not quite as loud as I thought it would be...)

Naturally, the boys then wanted in on the fun.

ALL.EVENING.LONG. I was bombarded by the following statements coming from my little darlings:

I want to choke the chicken!

Mom, can I choke Daddy's chicken?

Is it my turn to choke the chicken??

No, you can choke the chicken after I'm done!

I LOVE choking the chicken!

FINALLY (long after all the talk of choking the chicken had gotten old) it was bedtime. The boys each begged to be allowed to choke the chicken one more time before they went to bed, and as they were heading up the stairs exclaiming things like "I want to choke the chicken again tomorrow" and "Choking the chicken is FUN!", Monkey cried out "That is the best thing ever!!"

To which his father replied "Almost, son, almost

awesome. Thanks, Honey!!

(And what is UP with my gratuitous use of parentheses lately?)

Short-lived victory and Wordlessness

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This morning, when I checked my reader, I had 85 unread posts.

Ah well, it was nice while it lasted.

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Conversation with Budman as I was hitting the snooze button this morning

Me: When do you want to wake up, baby?

Budman: Eighteen years

Me too, my love, me too.

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And now, for my Wordless Wednesday (which is not so wordless)

I get to see my favorite nephew this weekend! YAY

Visit Wordless Wednesday for more!!

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Are you Mediocre?

Head on over and join in the fun!

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Weekend Update

Here I am, back with another weekend update! Saturday was a busy day - Budman and Possum worked on the boat engine ALL.DAY.LONG. Monkey and Mater went with me to drop the clothes at the cleaners, and then they went to a birthday party at The Little Gym. If you have one of these near you, I highly recommend a birthday party there. The party was 90 minutes long, and it was the most well-organized 90 minutes - with kids - I had ever seen. Every thing went like clockwork. And boy, did the kids have a blast!! I had my camera, but for some reason, it went kaput on me, so I may have to have Budman take a look at it for me (Or else convince him that I REALLY do need a new one- haha)

After the party and picking up the clothes from the cleaners, we went home and the kids played in the driveway, while Budman and Possum finished up working on the boat. I went into town to get some Popeye's chicken for dinner, and then back outside again. My excitement for the evening happened when I ran up to the corner store to get a lottery ticket. I picked up a bottle of Starbucks frappuchino and some candy for the kids, and as I was standing in line, I noticed a man standing by my car. I thought that it was rather strange, so I watched him closely, then realized with a sinking feeling that I hadn't locked my doors, as he reached for the door handle and opened my passenger side door. Without thinking, without even putting down the items that I was carrying in my hands (and hadn't paid for yet), I ran out the door, and YELLED at him "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Apparently, I scared the crap out of him, because he began stammering and apologizing and saying that he had the wrong car. When I looked down, he had already put his beer in my floorboard. I guess it was an honest mistake after all... I locked my doors, and went back into the store, where the gentleman in front of me apologized for his friend, and the man behind me claimed that I had "scared him". I told him that "I pretty much scared myself". So, I paid for my items, and hoped that no one would notice that my hand was shaking as I passed my money over the counter. When I got home, I told Budman my story, and he was NOT happy. He didn't know what I was thinking, running outside to confront that man. For the record, neither do I.

Sunday, was a little less crazy, Budman and Possum took the boat out to the lake in the morning, I had instructions to meet them there at 9:30 with the little ones. That way they would have time to make any needed adjustments before we got there. Unfortunately, while the motor runs terrific, it has some sort of transmission (is it called a transmission on a boat??) issue, where the boat will not go forward OR backward. So when we got there, Budman and Possum were making their way back to the shore, by paddling with a 2x4. According to Budman, this is a fairly easy problem to fix, but he didn't have the tools he needed there at the lake. All the same, we came there to fish, so he put Mater and Monkey in the boat, strapped them into their life vests, and let them fish in the boat anyway. So what if we were 5 feet offshore, the boys didn't care.

We didn't catch anything, and after a while we headed home for lunch - My aunt, uncle and cousin had come over, and they had brought kids with them. When the neighbor put her kid over the fence so he could play too, that's when Budman and Possum snuck out for a haircut. Grrr.. I managed to keep the kids outside, and when they finally left, I was completely wore out.

The kids didn't watch a minute of TV this weekend - until Sunday evening, when I decided that I had finally had enough outside time (It got up to 92 degrees yesterday - ugh!) I made let them come in and watch America's Funniest Videos. I don't know what it is about that show that they love so much...

Anyway, that's mostly it. It was a pretty good weekend, and I only wish it had been longer...

Lazy Post today

Weekend Update - Mother's Day edition

Whew! I'm tired! Busy busy busy...

Saturday, we loaded up the kids and went fishing. First, we stopped by the grocery store, and picked up stuff for lunch. Out at the lake, we fished a while (with only Budman and Mater catching anything), and once it started to get a little crowded, we headed up to a picnic table and started lunch. I played 'I Spy' with the boys while Budman cooked brats and we all snacked on potato chips. After fishing, the guys dropped me off at the house so they could go shopping for Mother's Day gifts. After a while, they came back and said "We couldn't find anything, so we're sending you to get you haircut, and to get a pedicure and your nails done." My gut, told me they just wanted me out of the house, and I was right - but, hey, who am I to argue??

So here are my nails...

And my toes

Also, the flip-flop sandals that Monkey and Mater picked out while shopping. Monkey picked the red ones, and Mater picked the white ones!! This way - I didn't have to take two pictures.

These are the shoes that Budman picked out for me - I should have known, he was just commenting the other day about how dirty my Keds were...

I think this is what happens when you send boys/men shopping. Oh well - We LOVE us some Tony Stewart!!! I alos got a Tony Stewart #20 Home Depot t-shirt and a Dallas Cowboys t-shirt. I LOVE having boys! :)

Choxie truffles - YUM. I had to go ahead and eat a few of these - I left them on my laptop - and they melted. In situations like that it is best to remove the evidence. Still have several yummy sounding flavors to try, but unless I want to share 2/3 of every truffle with Monkey and Mater, I think I will hide in my closet to eat the rest!

Here is the card Monkey made me at school. Inside, there are several pages where he completed the sentences his teacher had written. If I had a million dollars, I would buy my Mom: a slidr fon, a red slidr fon (a slider phone, a red slider phone) I didn't even know he knew what a slider phone was!! The best thing about my Mom is: byin her stuf (Buying her stuff) And the last one (which he said he didn't have time to finish, but completed for me verbally) It makes my Mom happy when: I get a sticker.

I think it's a remarkable likeness, don't you?

Aren't I lovely??

He also made this bookmark - they picked the flowers themselves, pressed them and made them into bookmarks. I think I love the stuff they bring home from school better than the stuff from stores...

This is the card from Mater - There's a poem inside - very cute

Here is a photo my Mom took of all of us yesterday (well, not all of us, but all of us that were there...)

Hope you had a terrific Mother's Day - My guys really outdid themselves this time...

ANOTHER Birthday!!

Possum is 14 today!

I hope you know that I'm not nearly old enough to have a 14 year old!!

And I hope that you know just how very much we love you, and how very glad we are to have you here with us.

I coudn't resist. I also hope you realize that you were put on this earth so that your father and I could embarrass you at every opportunity.

We love you and we are so proud of you. You're a terrific boy kid young man, and I am so happy that I get to be a part of your life.

Happy Birthday, Possum.

weekend update

This weekend was - thankfully - largely uneventful. Friday, I slept all day, took Possum to his appointment (He remembered not to ride the bus home - YAY!)

Friday evening was more hanging out in the recliner under a blanket.

Saturday, Budman and Possum headed off to his parents house to help out. They've just bought a house, and between moving, repairs, yard work and auto maintenance, Budman and Possum have given up ALL of their weekends lately. Unfortunately Budman's dad is too sick to do most of these things and his Mom shouldn't be doing it all by herself (although, she's a tough one!) and Budman's brother bailed to AZ, so there isn't anyone else to help them. I stayed home with the little ones, we went out to lunch at our local Italian/Mexican/home cooking restaurant - I.kid.you.NOT. Chicken Fried Steak, Flautas, and Ziti with Meatballs were just a few of the items ordered at our table.

After that, more sleep, then watching the boys while they played outside in the backyard. We picked berries, and the boys ate them with sugar. Budman and Possum got home very late, and he was exhausted.

Sunday morning, even though I still felt like crud, I volunteered to head back over to my in-laws house with Budman and Possum, so that we could (hopefully) finish up the hedge-trimming and auto repairs (actually, Budman handles auto repairs) and get back home in time for lunch. We had Grammy take the little ones to church, and we got over to the in-laws house and got down to work (after waiting for them to get home for 30 minutes) When I finally looked at my watch again, it was 1:30, and there was no way that we were going to be home in time for lunch. Budman had promised the boys a fishing trip in the afternoon, so after a quick lunch, we finished up and headed home. Of course, we were all exhausted, and when Budman found out that the boys had Monday off from school, he quickly decided that he would take the day off of work and take them fishing then instead of Sunday evening.

So, last night was spent being completely lazy. We did give the little ones their summer haircuts, (This is when I stop spending money on professional cuts for the summer, and buzz their little heads in the driveway!) they have been begging for weeks to have it done already. I was waiting until I was sure that it wouldn't be getting cold anymore. Monkey asked to be completely bald, and I told him that he would have to wait until school was out for that. He's almost there, anyway. I will have to get pictures, soon. For Mater, we can't go quite as short with him - he's so blond, that he looks like he has no hair at all if we get it too short, not to mention I worry about sunburn on his head. I figure we can slap a little sunscreen in his hair, right??

So, the boys (Budman included) went fishing today, and I headed in to work. I'm still feeling a bit yucky, but nothing to stay home over, so here I am.

I'm glad Budman got a chance to do something fun with the boys - weekends are often so busy, that it's good when they can all have a little guy time.

Conversations #3 - Mater

Monday, to Grammy, after spelling a long list of words all by himself while doing his "homework":

"This is my dream come true! Mom is going to be so proud of me."

Thursday, after he fell on the sidewalk, and skinned his knees and elbow:

"That's why they call it a sidewalk, you're supposed to walk, not run!"

Showing off his new found ability to read clock times:

"Mom, let me show you how I can tell time! Six O'tock, Twelve O'tock, Four O'tock..."

After I showed him the blanket I am crocheting and asked what he thought:

"Blanket?? It's got HOLES in it..."

On the phone Friday:

Mater: "I'm doing my home work,"

Me: "Really, what are you learning?"

Mater: "I learned that 1 and 2 makes 12"

Friday night as I was putting him to bed:

"Mom, promise me in the morning, I can eat my head?"

Head on over to Absolutely Bananas for more Make me laugh Monday

Conversations #2

Part of Absolutely Bananas' Make me Laugh Monday



Monkey to me this weekend after showing off his awesome basketball dribbling skills:
Monkey: I did that for freedom.



Mater: Mom, can I tell you another secret?
Me: Sure.
Mater: Yours butt is bigger than Daddy's
Me: Thanks, Mater.


Monkey, one morning as he and Mater are in the bathroom going potty (After a particularly impressive pee.)
Monkey: Mater hasn't gone yet - That's ALL me!

Monkey update & Wordless Wednesday

I spoke with Monkey's teacher yesterday, she informed me that 'Yes, she was at school Monday' and 'No, she did not draw the pre-school happy face in his notebook'. We discussed what a good little liar he was, and she told me all of the things he did Tuesday at school. When we got home, we gave him a last chance to 'fess up, which he did, he copped to the writing of the smiley face, the picking of boogers and wiping them on someone and playing at the water fountain in the hallway. I beleive he finally admitted his part in the Iran-Contra affair, the Tailhook scandal and he owned up to being the second gunman on the Grassy Knoll.

This went well for him, for while he is still grounded for two weeks (YIKES! I'm a mean momma!) and got a spanking, I let Budman do it, which involves a lot of noise and fanfare, but the spanking is pretty wimpy. (Just don't tell Monkey that)

We had a talk with him about the issues that his teacher mentioned, and I'm hoping that it will make a difference. This punishment was alittle harsher than he's had in the past, but I'm hoping that it will make an impression on him. Now I just have to hope that Grammy doesn't let him do whatever he wants when we're not around, thereby negating any good it may have done.

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And now for the wordless stuff...

Visit www.wordlesswednesday.com for more participants!

With a capital T - and that rhymes with C and that stands for

Monkey.

My little Monkey is a good liar, it turns out. Last night when I got home, I asked him if he got a sticker at school (This is the conduct process they use at his school). He said "yes", we said "Good!" and went about our evening. Budman and I were dealing with Possum and some assignment/homework issues he was having, I ate dinner, and played/talked with the little ones. Later, when I asked to see Monkey and Mater's notebooks, Mater brought his right away, I signed it, and looked at his papers. Monkey started in with a story instead "Um, my teacher wasn't there, and I had another teacher and I got a smiley face, but she THOUGHT I had a bad day, so the smiley face looks a little weird."

Anyone suspicious at this point? I was. I opened his notebook and saw something similar to this.

Now, it was written in pencil, and basically, it looked like a 6 year old had drawn it. Normally, his teacher, when she doesn't have time to do stickers will draw a smiley face (two vertical lines for the eyes and a smile) in pen or marker. I asked Monkey over and over if he had drawn it, I all but called him a liar, gave him MANY chances to tell the truth before I grounded him... Oh - the two colored dots correspond to whatever infraction he committed yesterday, I can never remember what they mean. Keeping hands to himself, and following directions, I think. So, you can see why I might be a bit suspicious of his story.

No matter how many times I asked him, no matter that I said repeatedly that he would be in more trouble for lying, than for just admitting that he perpetuated a cover-up, he stuck to his story, even brought out the tears, until I was starting to believe him myself.

I know in my gut, that his teacher did NOT NOT NOT draw that smiley, but dang, that boy was starting to convince me.

I am SO in trouble when he's a teenager. What am I gonna do when he SWEARS he doesn't know where that beer came from (or worse - OMG!) and he's SUCH a good liar that I believe him!?!?!??!?

Before you think I'm a horrible mom for grounding him without actually getting the truth, I wrote a note to his teacher (who WAS at school yesterday after all) for clarification. Monkey is grounded until further notice, and once I get the whole story, we'll revisit it.
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In other news, on the way to work this morning, not even a mile from our house, which isn't exactly in the country, but more like a rural area, a little bunny rabbit ran out in front of the car, and while I did hit the brakes, Mr. Bunny has seen his last Easter. Budman, of course, was laughing at me (only because we have an ongoing argument about a squirrel that he ran over once, only he insists that I did it, and now he has the bunny to hold over my head for the next 50 - 60 years...) and I was rather shaken by the whole thing.
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In other news, Budman (every time I type that it comes out Budamn LOL!) is leaving town next Monday for a week. His work is sending him to a trade show. In Las Vegas. So I'm not only incredibly jealous, because even a business trip to Vegas is like a vacation, I'm also going to miss him terribly! We've never spent more than one night apart since we got married. **Sigh** Next week should be interesting, and if I get a bit whiny about how I miss my man, I'll understand if my readership (LOL - both of you!) decided to skip out and come back once he's returned. ;-)


Have a Happy Tuesday.