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

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K

Or not.
(I just love throwing movie quotes into my everyday conversations.)

Anyway...

Time for another giveaway post.

This one is a big one, and you will be glad you got in on it!!

Head on over to The Lil' Peanut Patch and enter their 12 Days of Christmas at the Patch. THey are having TWELVE (Yes, 12) days of giveaways, and two lucky people will each get to win half of those prizes. Yes, you heard that right. One person will win 6 prizes, and one will win the other six prizes.

One catch - You have to enter ALL the giveaways to be entered, so be sure to get moving over to the The Lil' Peanut Patch to read the rules, enter and win!!

In other news...

There have been lots of goings-on in the Land of Eternal Sunshine lately. I took off all of last week (and most of the weeks prior -heehee) for the Holiday and to rejuvenate my mind (or something), but I will be getting back on the ball very soon. I have awards to mention (and give away), contests that have been won, a very spectacular Secret Santa shimpent arrived, and more!!

Oh - and my nephew, the Tater-Tot (formerly known as N, or Nigel) informed my Sister that he wanted to make Christmas gifts. She's asked for ideas, and I haven't come up with anything age-appropriate yet. Please head on over to her blog and leave some ideas. They will be most appreciated!

I'll leave you with this - A little late for Thanksgiving, but appropriate for the time of year.

Sunday, we were at the airport to pick up Possum from his vacation to his Mom's house. As Monkey, Mater and I were waiting for Budman to go get him, I pointed out a soldier walking through the terminal. Monkey shouted out "Hi Soldier!!" The man smiled and waved at the boys, and we smiled back. Then Monkey shouted "Thank you for all you do for our country!" I got a little teary-eyed... Sometimes my kids really surprise me.

I don't know if the young man heard Monkey's thank you, but I hope so, and I want to say a special thanks to all of our servicemen and women.

Weekend Update - short version.

I could not even begin to tell you all about the weekend, it was too crazy - so I'll go with this:



And this:



That's what Budman and I did on Sunday. We are now finished with ALL the Halloween costumes for the family.

YAY!!

Now I can start thinking about Thanksgiving.

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...

Opposites, wondering and musings...

If the opposite of black is white...

What's the opposite of Red?
What's the opposite of Green?
What's the opposite of Purple?
What's the opposite of Brown?

The funny thing is, when I asked these questions to myself, an answer popped in to my head instantly for each of them. I'll let you ponder it yourself, though, without the interference of my opinion.

Last night was Cub Scouts night. I suck, I have so many pictures, and I really want to do a picture post, but I'm not comfortable putting pictures of other peoples' kids on the Internet, so I'll need to figure something out there, before I can post the tale...

Conversations with Mater:

Mater: Mom, it smells like Butt in here!!

Mater: Mom, Monkey's attackling me!"


Conversations with Monkey:

Monkey: "I'm goin' to town here, Mom!" (while drawing the coversheet for his Cub Scout scrapbook)

Monkey: "Mom, I'm keeping my eye on you!"

This weekend will be spent finishing our Halloween costumes, I really hope I can get them done. I'm still debating whether I want to wear my costume to work or not next Friday. We are allowed to, and will have a contest, but it's going to be a pain to work in all day... Hmmm... Will give it more thought.

Since Halloween is not over yet, I am still in denial about the approach of Christmas. Do NOT tell me how you finished your shopping in March, or how you're already starting on shopping for NEXT Christmas, I will hunt you down. I'll get there, the same way I always do... gradually!

First, I have to get into the Thanksgiving spirit, which involves me planning an elaborate menu, and all of us eating until we explode. Then I will be ready to think about Christmas. After I clean my family off the ceiling.

Have a terrific weekend. I'll leave you with this one - What is the opposite of puce?


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...

Scenes from a Walk

A few highlights from this weekend's Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk®. The kids did really well considering we dragged them on a 3 mile walk! We had our biggest team ever, My sister & nephew, my Aunt K, Cousins S & S, Aunt K's friend, K, my Dad and Stepmom and Monkey and Mater all walked and had a great time.

Mater - watching the opening ceremony...

Monkey and Mater

Monkey and Aunt K in the T-shirt contest. We didn't win, which explains the look on Monkey's face, but the group that did win was walking for a relative that had passed away the day before... There were a lot of great T-shirts there.

Remembering loved ones...

On our way. (Mater is on Papo's shoulders...) There were TONS of people there.

My Aunt K and her friend, K. (They have the same name, and I would give them names like I've done in the past, but my family has a LOT of 'K' names, and I'm running out of ideas!)

Miles of people...

Bad picture, but this woman was ACTUALLY carrying her dog. Huh??

Mater, Monkey and Nigel

Oh, and our team?? Raised $895.00 so far!! I will still be donating my October revenue to the Alzheimer's Association. Thanks to all of you who sent your well wishes, I appreciate it more than you know...

And don't forget to enter the giveaway for my Blogoversary! You have until October 31...

Today's the Day

The giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered!

Today, I am walking in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk®. It is the largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's in the nation.

I've told you all about my Grandpa Jack, and why I'm walking. So this morning, perhaps even as you read this, I will be walking a 5K (That's 3 miles), along with my sister, my step-mother, aunt, cousins, friends. This is the largest team we have had, and I'm hoping that Grandpa Jack is proud of us. But mostly, I just hope that he knows how much we love and miss him.

I'm not going to bore you with statistics and facts today - I've already written all of those here and here. Today, I just ask that you spend a moment thinking a good thought for us. I will be donating all revenue for the month of October to the Alzheimer's Association This may not be much, but they're getting it all. I really hope that you will consider taking some of your time (today, tomorrow, sometime this month) to click through. It won't cost you a thing, except time, and it really is for a good cause.

And, if you would like to donate to the Alzheimer's Society, I ask that you consider supporting me in my walk today...

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

Now...

Today is also the one year anniversary of my blog. (Technically, it's tomorrow, but then I would have to write two weekend posts - when I normally don't even write one, and... Oh sorry, back to the good stuff) It doesn't really feel like it's been that long, but here we are - one year later!! To celebrate, I am giving away a $25.00 gift card to JCPenney. It's not much, but it's yours, if you're the lucky winner.

Here's how to enter:

1. Post a comment on this post before October 31, 2008. I normally wouldn't make it this long, but since I'm having the contest in conjunction with my Alzheimer's fundraising efforts, the 31st it is. (Don't forget to leave an email address, so that I can notify you that you have won.) **EDITED TO ADD: Contest will close at 12:00 noon on Friday, October 31st.**

2. For two extra entries, write a blog post linking to today's post and this one, and leave the link in a comment.

3. Stumble this post for another extra entry.

(In fact, if you leave all that stuff in ONE comment, that will really help.)

One entry per person, the winner will be chosen at random ('cause I'm ALL about the random), and will be notified by email. I will also post it here. If the chosen winner does not respond in 3 days, I will choose another winner.

Sound fair? If you have any questions, email me (the address can be found on my profile page)

Thank you all for a wonderful year...

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??

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

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!

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..."

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.

News from the Sunshines

Or is that the Empty Minds??? Anywho...

I received the following email from my sister on Wednesday...

(Names changed to protect the - well, whatever...)

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

From: Joanna
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Subject: Great news!

Starting September 11, Kyle will be starting a new job (a new career) with the CityNearWhereWeLive Police Department. Yes, as a Police Officer!

We didn't tell anyone at the time but from October of 2006 to August of 2007 he attended InsertNameHere Regional Police Academy's nights and weekends Basic Peace Officer training. He graduated 2nd in his class (by 1/100th of a point!) and passed his TCLEOSE test on his first try. Since graduation last year we've been looking for the right opportunity for him. Being out in the country in OurTown proved to be a challenge - it seemed OurTown was the only police department close enough and the only one not hiring... but now CityNearWhereWeLive has hired him and I'm so excited that we'll both be working in the same town!

I am so proud of him for pursuing and achieving this dream of his (or ours!). Since he was very young he's wanted to be a police officer... so this is a dream come true for him.

I'm sure this news, out of the blue, raises a lot of questions (like how did I ever keep this a secret!?!?!?). Please understand that I didn't tell (at Kyle's request) because at age HisAge going after a new career like this was scary - we didn't know for sure he could do it (well, I always believed he could but he doubted). He didn't want anyone to know unless he succeeded...

Pray for Kyle’s Mom - she may have a heart attack when we tell her! Keep us in your prayers too! Lots to do between now and the 11th (only 2 weeks!).

Love you all,

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

This is super exciting news, and we are very excited for him. We had NO CLUE, and normally I would be PO'ed at Joanna for keeping something like this, but Kyle is a VERY private person, and I respect his wish to keep things under wraps until he knew for sure...

So, good luck Kyle. We are so very proud of you for for fulfilling a dream and that you are a member of our family.

Time for a bit of seriousness.

A few years ago my Grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. While we ultimately lost him to cancer, it was his Alzheimer's that had the greatest impact on our family.

I have decided to do all I can to help end Alzheimer's before it affects another generation of our family! My sister, J, and I have had a team in honor of our Grandpa Jack every year since he passed.

This year we are walking in October.

An estimated 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's today. And with 78 million baby boomers approaching the age of greatest risk for this fatal disease, the need to find a cure is more urgent than ever. Unless we find a way to change the course of the disease, 16 million Americans will have Alzheimer’s by 2050.

Since 1989, Memory Walk has raised $230 million for Alzheimer care, support and research. By teaming up with others, I'm hoping to do my part to fight this deadly disease.

The Alzheimer's Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research, and funds raised through Memory Walk go toward research to treat and prevent Alzheimer's, and programs to improve the lives of millions of Americans already affected.

We know we can make a difference together! To join our team or make a donation, visit the link below.

Follow This Link or click on my sidebar to the left to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support the Alzheimer's Association.

Here it is, as promised.

Since it's been over a week since I last posted, and PLENTY has happened in that time, I'm actually going to be kinda glad to get all of this out of my head - finally.

Unfortunately for you, I will be subjecting you to a bulleted list. (Why do people always apologize for the bulleted list?? I actually enjoy them - everything is organized neatly, so you can read each point, and move on. So, next time you do a bulleted list, no need to apologize - at least, not to me)

• Two weeks ago, Budman and I took my cousins, Kaley and Kyla, to see this band, among others. Budman has been friends with them (the band, not my cousins) longer than we've known each other, and this is the first time we have gotten out to see them. It was fun, and I didn't get home until 1:30AM! I'm such a party girl.

• In addition to Mater's birthday last Sunday, we had a b-day party to attend for one of Monkey's friend's, at Peter Piper's Pizza. It was a nice time, but I hate those things. I don't really fit in with all the other mothers, who I guess know each other all ready, and no one talked to me.

• Since I don't really like having to hold conversations, I didn't mind it so much

• My nephew, Nigel (See, I'm giving everyone names, now instead of initials) turned four on Wednesday, so we drove down to Waco for his birthday party.

• I took 124 pictures before my camera battery died. Still loving my camera so much. Last year, with my old camera (which took AA batteries), I went through 6 batteries (could have gone through more, but I only brought six), and only got 60 or 70 pictures. This year, if I had charged my camera after Mater's birthday last week, my camera would have been good all day and then some

• I wish I had gotten a picture of the play food that we bought for him, 'cause some of the items, were rather questionable - at least for a dirty-minded soul like me, and would have made for great blog fodder

• Yesterday, while I was home with the boys, they asked to make books. I gave them paper, and helpd them draw things like rocketships, trains and boats. Turns out, they made "Mom and me" books. For example, Mater's book had pictures of me and him on the rocketship, train, etc... and chronicled the "adventures" we went on. Monkey's book was much the same, but the adventures were in a different order. SO cute... and creative

• Mater's idea originally was to do a "recipe book" He changed his mind before I could figure out exactly what he had in mind, but it got me to thinking. If I had them each draw pictures of their favorite foods, and then added recipes, it could be cute. Need to give it more thought - I'm trying to figure out how I can turn it into a Christmas present idea

• Still need someone to do help me learn my Statistics problems. UGH

• It was 107 degrees here on Sunday, and 106 yesterday

• It's only supposed to be 98 today, Thank goodness for Tropical Storm/ Hurricane/ whatever Edouard.

• I think it's pretty sad when we're all jazzed about the temperature "ONLY" getting up to 98 degrees.

• I'm leaving you with this picture of the cake that my sister, Joanna, made for Nigel's birthday. Prepare to be amazed. Oh, and please forgive the poor color quality of that last photo. I futzed with my camera setting, and I have no idea what I did wrong. But I still LOVE my camera!!!

In case you were wondering, that's Daffy duck, on a life raft in the Ocean. Made with food paste and fondant and all that good stuff, and dang, all I did was buy a cake at Albertson's for my kid...

The one with the Birthday...

Today is Mater's birthday. My baby is 5 years old.

Budman and I decided to take him out to the driveway to give him his gift first thing. Budman blindfolded Mater, and told him "I put your present somwhere out here. Go find it." Then he spun him around once or twice, took off the blindfold, and sent him to search for it.

Note the location of Mater's present... (Hint: It's the bicycle)

Mater headed out into the yard, while we shouted "You're getting colder, you're getting warmer...

This was great entertainment - for us. (He even looked back at us a time or two!)

After looking all over the yard, he FINALLY saw it:

Budman told me "I want a picture of his face the second he sees it.

How's that??

He couldn't wait to hop on and take a ride!!!

After lunch, he opened a few more presents...

And of course, Monkey HAD to get in on the pictures, too.

Introducing Pop

Exhausted today. I haven't gotten to sleep at a decent time in weeks because my husband is a horndog I've been staying up too late and getting up way too early, which doesn't really help the whole insomnia thing.

Last night, Budman and I went to the VA hospital to spend a little time with his dad, who will henceforth be known as Pop. Pop has cancer. Budman's mother was able to go home and get some rest, which I know she really needed.

The VA hospital is such a sucky place. If it ever comes up, and you have the power to keep someone you love out of the VA hospital, I TRULY TRULY hope that you do. Unfortunately, Pop doesn't have any other options.

He looks pretty weak, he has fluid on his lungs (AGAIN, after they just drained it last week). They are installing some sort of drain/catheter-type thing, so that he will be able to drain his lungs as needed, since it takes an act of God to get anything done for him at that hospital. It seems to me, that they won't DO anything (at least not anything worthwhile) unless it's in order to save his life. If he's just having trouble breathing, they put him on oxygen (he has that at home) and breathing treatments (he has those at home) and run tests on him. If he's about to die, then they pull out all the stops and do something.

I'm frustrated, and maybe that's not really the way it is there, but it seems like it. That place was so awful. The air was hot and stale, and walking down the hall to find Pop's room, there was a horrible stench in the air. I whispered to Budman "Someone pooped themselves", and he muttered agreement. The rooms are unlike any hospital I've ever seen. Three, sometimes four beds to a room, and I can tell that the rooms were not planned that way, because they only put two TVs in each one. So, they're just overcrowded, or cutting costs, or I don't know what. The people that fill these rooms, I can only assume that they are the men and women who served our country in the military (Isn't that what the VA hospital is for?), don't they deserve better?? As we drove up, I was surprised at how nice the outside of the building looked, I was expecting a real shit-hole. The lobby is decorated and bright - like a regular hospital. But the upper floors, where the patients are...

As soon as we got there, we had no sooner exchanged pleasantries and sat down, when Pop asked Budman to take him out for a cigarette.

• One could argue that he doesn't need to smoke, that it will only make him worse, his breathing is bad enough, no open flames around the oxygen tanks... (Just kidding about the oxygen tank)

• Or, you can say to yourself, this man is dying, and one or two cigarettes are not going to change that, nor are they going to speed up the process anymore than it already has been. The doctors have basically told him already that all the changes he's made to his diet over the past few years aren't going to prevent the inevitable, so now he eats what he wants. So then the argument becomes: if you're down to your last moments, (however many - or few - there may be left) you might as well live them the way you want to.

After initially telling his dad that he wouldn't take him downstairs (and knowing full well that he can't make it on his own, because he gets winded walking to the bathroom, and he has to use a wheelchair-as-a-walker for that), he has the above mentioned argument with himself (I know, I could see the thought process reflected on his face, and because I was having the same argument in my head - I told you we share a brain) and gives in.

So, Pop gets to go downstairs, outside to sneak half a cigarette. Seriously, he can't even smoke in the smoking area, he does have an oxygen tank on his chair (it was turned off), and no oxygen equipment in the smoking spot. Budman felt a little guilty for taking him down there, but he's a grown man, and he does have a right to decide how he wants to live the rest of his life...

At some point during our visit, a young Doctor comes in, and gives him a marker. She explains: After he is bathed and prepped for his procedure in the morning, he is to take the marker, and write "YES" across the right side of his chest. Yep, you read that right - due to the potential for mistakes, they require that all patients mark themselves as to what area/side their operation is to take place. I told Budman, I would have written "You're the Doctor, you figure it out" across my chest if I were Pop. This does not instill a great deal of my confidence in their skills, people or facilities.

I know that they have a hard job. I know that they are most likely all underpaid. They are certainly overcrowded, and probably understaffed as well, becuase if I were a medical professional with a choice of places to work, I would not choose that place.

I'm pretty sure this is all disjointed, and my thoughts are not organized well, because you're getting them as I think them, and because, well, I'm just plain tired.

I've been meaning to post more detail on Pop's condition since the first time I mentioned him, and after last night, today seemed as good a time as any to get it all out.

a/k/a time flies when you're... oh never mind

I'm going to have to start numbering these... Not to mention finding a way to make our weekends some more interesting... Ah well, just the highlights, then...

Here's the weekend update.

Friday, we took the day off of work. The memorial service wasn't until the evening, but we were not about to spend the extra gas, to go to work, come home early, get us and the kids ready and drive all the way back up to the church where the service was.

Gas prices seem to influence more and more where we go. I don't even like to drive the 4-7 miles it take to get wherever I need to go in town. If it weren't for those pesky kids wanting to eat all the time, I probably wouldn't go anywhere EVER!!

The service Friday evening was nice. My uncle wasn't the kind of guy who would have wanted everyone dressing up all fancy for him, but we did it anyway. The boys behaved well (Thank goodness). There was a slide show, some music, and then people told their stories. My uncle was the kind of guy, that if you knew him you had a "story". There will be no funeral - at least not yet. Due to the nature of the incident, he has not yet been identified, and the investigation is ongoing. So, in lieu of a funeral, the memorial service offered some closure (as much as you can get in this situation, anyway).

Saturday, Budman went to his parents to help with work around the house, the kids and I went to get Father's Day gifts. I got T-shirts and paints, and we made hand print T-shirts. The boys each picked their own paint color, and I could not have picked better colors if I had tried. They went perfect together . We went ahead and made four of the shirts, for my dads and Budman's dad, also.

Sunday, we gave Budman his shirt, and the cards that the little ones had made for him. He was touched. (He should have been... The boys asked for my help in spelling. I got a piece of paper, and wrote the things they said they wanted to put in the cards, I was a bit teary-eyed just reading them.) Monkey, especially, who wrote, "I love you for keeping us safe. Thank you for being the best dad." Aww.... excuse me just a moment. 'Talk amongst yourselves'

Dinner that evening was, surprisingly, a success. Seems lately anytime I get in the kitchen, something goes wrong. It's part to do with my scatterbrained nature, partly bad luck and partly that I always get a bit ambitious in the kitchen. I planned the menu last week, bought my groceries ahead of time. And feel free to laugh at me, Budman does, but lately ALL my recipes come from bloggers.

The menu:

Bacon Tomato Cups from Robin at Pensieve - Oh mama, were these good... I think I overdid the Mayo a teensy bit, but they still turned out heavenly, and if I hadn't reminded them to save room for desert, Budman and Possum would have eaten them all. Thankfully, I still have quite a few of these in my fridge, and I'm kicking myself for not bringing them for lunch today...

Shrimp Scampi from My Wooden Spoon - This was awesome. I think I will use more butter next time, but it was a hit. Both Possum and Monkey went back for thirds!! Granted, Possum will eat anything, but he won't go back for seconds or thirds unless it's REALLY good.
What went wrong: I forgot until the very last minute that the shrimp we bought was not already peeled, and had to turn off the fire under the pan while I spent almost 20 minutes frantically peeling shrimp.

Creamed Spinach from The Pioneer Woman - I really cannot get enough of her recipes. I have not found a bad one yet... And to be perfectly honest, I have never eaten spinach before yesterday. Shocking, I know. I've never been able to get past the smell of canned spinach, but when I made fresh creamed spinach yesterday, I REALLY liked it!!
What went wrong: Not having ever cooked fresh spinach (or any spinach, for that matter) before, and being the stubborn know-it-all that I am, I did not look at the spinach until showtime, and I wasted another ten minutes removing all the stems. This is something I could have had Possum do for me, he was already hovering around the kitchen anyway... but I'm stubborn like that.

Carrot Cake from... a box. I had big plans, to make Sigrid's Carrot Cake, also from The Pioneer Woman (I told you - 90% of my recipes come from her!!), however Budman talked me out of it. He thinks I like to make things complicated. Once I started listing ingredients, he BEGGED me to just make him a box cake. Truth be told, I'm glad he did, if I had been doing it from scratch, I would have had to begin cooking right after lunch, and probably, I would have procrastinated, and not made it at all, and then I would have been upset with myself for not being Superwoman. I'm weird like that. So box cake it was, and my step-mother said it was the moistest cake that she had ever eaten, so YAY Betty Crocker!!!

So, even after going back and removing the really boring stuff... This is still way too long. But, if you've made it this far, you either really like me, or maybe it wasn't quite as boring as I thought...

Have a great week.

Not sure...

Not sure what to say, not sure what I SHOULD say. My family emailed me the article about my uncle last night. It's so unfair. People my age (or younger) should not lose their parents. People my parents age shouldn't lose their spouses. I cannot imagine what my aunt is feeling. I know that I would be completely inconsolable, and even now - I'm at a loss.

So, this is what fills our thoughts right now. Well, that and Budman's father, who has been in poor health for years, but is back in the hospital this week. At this point we've heard 2 - 4 months left, but they've been telling us for 5 or 6 years that each Christmas would be his last. My guess? He's too ornery to die... Still, Budman is hurting, and I am hurting.

And I promise I will post pictures of the new car, and happier details of our lives. But right now, it just doesn't feel right...

Weekend Update - continued

First, I have to say that my Monkey graduated Kindergarten last night!!

I'll have photos - as soon as Budman sends them to me - So today may be a two-poster!! I know you're SO 'cited.

But, for now - back to the weekend update. It isn't all that interesting, but I'll do my best.

Oh - and Possum's eyes are looking much better. You can see a little bit of purple if you look closely, but he's doing just fine, thanks for thinking of him!

Saturday, was pretty simple. Budman worked on the car, he was feeling a lot of stress about that, and when you're stressed, I'm not really the best person to have around. I can be a bit... clingy, for lack of a better word, and annoyingly accommodating. Finally, I recognized that Budman needed some time to himself (I'm not exactly a quick study). He went out for a while, I cleaned our bedroom, while doing laundry (and actually putting away clothes!) I had the boys clean their room and the loft (which is nothing more than a glorified toy storage area).

For lunch, I chopped up some leftover ham and made an awesome ham salad, the little ones, of course, don't know what's good, and preferred to have Mac 'n Cheese. (Neanderthals)

After lunch, I had the boys take a nap. (The little ones, I don't make Possum nap). We have pretty much done away with napping, since they don't have nap time at school during the week, but Saturday was stressful, and I wanted some time to get the cleaning handled, without having to stop every five minutes to break up fights or whatever.

When Budman returned, he announced that we were taking the boat and heading for the lake - as soon as the little guys woke up. I went upstairs a few minutes later, and they were both awake, so we got ready and headed out. This was the first time that we let them swim in the water while we were out there, and they were both VERY nervous about that - even though they had their life jackets on.

Both Monkey and Mater are a little afraid of the water. It took me forever before I could get Mater to take a bath without screaming - and showers are a nightmare!! We had a little pool last summer, and while Monkey would have lived in it if we would have let him, Mater very rarely felt the need to "swim". So, understandably, they were both freaking out a bit about jumping into the lake from the side of the boat.

But, mean mommy that I am, I made them get into the lake at every opportunity. Budman was in the water with them, and usually, we only let one in at a time, since I discovered that while I can get into the water, our boat doesn't have a ladder yet, so I am incapable of pulling myself back out! I'm so embarrassed to even admit that... No upper body strength, and overweight. YAY! But, that's OK, I'm working on it - and Budman promised to get me a ladder. Anyway, I wish I had taken the camera, because I will not be able to accurately describe some of the funniest moments that happened. I'm totally gonna try, though.

While Mater was in the water, he was screaming so loudly, that I was sure someone would call the police. He just about came unglued! As Budman was handing him up to me so I could lift him back into the boat, he said (still screaming) "I liked it!!!" Sorry Mater, not buying it.

Monkey also fussed a bit, they both like the water fine as long as they can touch the bottom, but that's not so easy in a lake. Later, we found a spot to do some fishing, and Mater decided that he needed to.. go potty. When we told him that he would have to get into the water, he decided all of a sudden, that he no longer had to go. Too bad, we lifted him over the side and down into the water, while he's screaming "no, no, no, I don't want to! no, no, OH MAN!" That was the moment when his feet touched the bottom of the lake. We were in a little "inlet", and it was about 2-3 foot deep. He felt awfully silly about the fuss after that. He took care of business and we teased him for making such a ruckus. He wiped his tears, and began to laugh at the whole thing. He even told the story again several times later that night after we got home.

We stayed out on the lake as late as possible, getting back to the boat ramp just before the sun began to go down. It was so very nice. I think we'll be spending most of our time there.

Sunday, we slept in a little and then decided to head back to the lake. (Aren't' I boring? "car trouble, blah blah, lake, blah blah, laundry, blah blah blah!" Some swimming, some fishing (I won - I caught SEVEN fish!!) Repeat. Repeat again. We headed back home, ate some hamburgers, and put the boys down for a nap. As soon as he asked to be excused from the table, Mater asked if he could go take his nap. Monkey was not far behind. Due to the heat of the day, and the VAST amounts of sun, even Budman and I took naps. After that, Budman spent the evening on the laptop, looking for our new car (Yes, my car is repairable, but it will be time consuming and expensive, and we've been discussing a new car with better gas mileage anyway. Guess now is the time.)

Speaking of sun, the top of my right foot is burned. The left foot is just fine. I have no idea why. Budman, bless his heart, burned his scalp (I knew I should have rubbed sunscreen in his hair...) And I managed to miss a few spots when I applied sunscreen, so I have pink cleavage and the backs of my arms are not feeling so hot. Actually, they are feeling hot - but you know what I mean...

Monkey and Mater, managed to avoid being sunburned, I'm a maniac when it comes to sunscreen for my two fish-belly white boys, though.

Possum got a bit of sunburn on his back, and several people have asked "Didn't you put sunscreen on him?" My answer has been that he's 14, and old enough to put on his own sunscreen. Is this wrong? I did remind him on Sunday, although he forgot to put it on his back, and is now a little sore...

Anyway, so I'm now wondering, Should I have made sure he put sunscreen on? Having your (step)mom put sunscreen on you - isn't that a little creepy? I generally try not to nag Possum about stuff, although he is forgetful, we are trying to teach him responsibility for his own actions, and not to depend on us to think for him. Just wondering - Input appreciated.

Well, there it is - Not nearly as exciting as I built it up to be, but that's our weekend nonetheless.

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Busier than a one-legged man...

In a butt-kicking contest.

Whew! Well, Here's the weekend Friday update.

Friday, Budman and I were headed to Mater's school because he won the "Insert school name and mascot here" Pride Award for the 6th 6 weeks. It's an award that is voted on by teachers (with student input) and it's for students who show good character. Yay Mater! This honor won him a certificate and a donut breakfast with the pricipal in the library Friday morning. We were planning to head into work late - after the presentation was over. Unfortunately, fate, karma or the universe had other plans. On the way to the school, my car died. At 60 mph. On the freeway. Yippee.

THANKFULLY, grandma was also going to the school, so that she could take Mater for the day after the presentation - and we would be able to head on into work. (Mater's in afternoon pre-K, so he wouldn't NEED to be there for another several hours.) So, we all hopped in Grammy's car, headed to the school,

then went back home to call a tow truck. ARGH!!! Budman was not a happy camper.

As it happened, we had left Budman's truck at my work on Thursday, to save gas, and because we were both headed to the house anyway, it seemed nicer to keep each other company. Of course, this meant that we had ONE car at home, and NO alternate way into work.

So, I got an unexpected day off work on Friday, it was spent doing lots of laundry. After a little while, Budman and I arranged to borrow my father's Jeep to go pick up his truck. After a VERY windy, bumpy ride (I have decided that I do NOT want a Jeep!) we got to my work and managed to pick up the truck without being seen by anyone who knows me.

On the way home, Budman got a call from the school nurse. At Possum's school. Apparently, there had been a fight, and Possum did NOT win. She felt that he might need medical attention, and could we please come get him. ARGH!!! So, Budman and I headed toward school to pick him up. Of course, as is our luck, before we could get there, there was a multi-car pile-up on the freeway, about 100 yards in front of us. We got to watch as the rescue vehicles arrived, and proceeded to shut down the freeway for 45 minutes. 45 very long, very sunny, very hot minutes in a Jeep. I actually turned on the A/C, which was less than effective with no top or windows, but I didn't care.

Budman called my dad to go get Possum, and once we were able we headed home.

Turns out, Possum is fine, relatively speaking. His face is a bit cut up, and he has TWO black eyes. I'm not really sure what happened, but apparently he and another kid decided that they were going to box after class. Ugh - Teenage boys...

This was supposed to be the WEEKEND update, but this is getting long, and I still have two days to go. Besides, I never have anything to post on Tuesdays anyway, so I will continue my tale tomorrow.

I'll bet you just CAN'T wait...

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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...