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!!

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.

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...

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

Awesome...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

an empty mind - I gots one!!

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

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

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

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


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

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

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!?

Changes

I've made a few changes to my blog. (I'm sure you're sitting there right now saying, "Duh!")


Based on several series done lately by some really terrific bloggers, and the reactions to these posts by some of my friends, I've been making gradual changes. (Sorry if I missed anyone - it took me hours to go back and find the posts I was looking for)

This new template may end up being temporary, although it's really starting to grow on me. I have been desperate to find a 3-column layout, so that my sidebar wouldn't be so cluttered. Now, I've found it, but it's possible that when my blog figures out what it wants to be when it grows up, I will have someone design a template that is all mine.

I changed my name. Then, shortly after, the day after, in fact, I discovered another blog, written by a very lovely woman who calls herself Sunshine. (Yes, I am asking myself why I didn't check on that BEFORE I renamed myself... ANSWER: Because I'm an arrogant twit who thinks she knows everything, that's why) Her blog is older than mine, she's been Sunshine longer. I don't know how I missed it, and I'm not sure yet if it's that big a deal. It doesn't seem that we travel in the same circles, so any possible confusion might be avoided. I'm still up in the air, and not sure what i should do about it. I suppose I could begin calling myself 'Eternal Sunshine", which sounds a hell of a lot better than changing my name to 'Empty Mind'. Your thoughts on the matter??

So, name change issued to be addressed at a later date - but not too late, because it's driving me crazy.

My children's names will not be changing (except for Mater - maybe). Those animal names are actually their nicknames, and while we don't use them on a daily basis, we do use them. It started when my father named Chipmunk, and then we decided that all the children needed animal names as well.

For all of them, their animal name either fits their personality, or in Chipmunk's case, physical appearance. No, she doesn't have rodent teeth (and if she did, we would be calling her Peacock or some other animal name, 'cause I AM NOT THAT MEAN). She just has this habit of walking with her hands out in front of her like "paws" pointing down - or whatever. My point is, she looks a little like a chipmunk. Either that, or like the scene from Legally Blonde, where they do the "Bend, and SNAP!" routine. Given those options, I prefer Chipmunk.

Mater also has an animal name as well, we finally decided on Grasshopper, but since I had already started calling him Mater here, I never changed it... Besides, he's the only one that doesn't really "fit" his name, so I'm waiting to see if he grows into it before I make it permanent.

Aren't you glad I decided to share??

Now, please be sure to comment with your thoughts on the name issue. I feel rather silly, having made a big deal about changing it (which it wasn't) only to turn around and change it again, or worse, change it back... Help!

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...

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.

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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I'm mediocre - Are you?

Come check us out!!

Why is it so hard to think up titles for these things?

Today was an early day for us. Budman had plans to take my step-dad fishing this morning. And sure enough, Papo B was standing in our driveway at 6:25am! Of course, with Budman puttering around the bedroom, turning on lights and opening doors, I was up. I honestly tried to go to sleep once he left the room, but he kept coming back in to ask me stuff. So, I grabbed my robe, and headed outside to say goodbye.

Busy busy busy.

I hopped in the shower once they were gone, had another successful experience with the VEET® products I mentioned yesterday. Good thing, too, 'cause I went and bought some shorts yesterday after work. Can you believe that I did not own ONE.SINGLE.PAIR. of shorts?? Sometimes, I am so bizarre.

Oh - and thank you all for your comments of yesterday's FtF post. If anyone tries the VEET®, please let me know - I would love to hear how it goes...

My nephew N is staying with us for a few days - His daycare was closed Friday, and so they drove him up Thursday evening, and will be by in a while to come get him. I am taking the little ones to my mother's this morning, which is also where my sister, her hubby and N will be heading. Us gals are going to do some sewing stuff, while the boys play with N and Uncle K. Once Budman, Papo B and Possum are done fishing, they will be hading back so that we can have lunch.

And , now that I've looked at the clock, I just realized that I need to load up my sewing machine and get this show on the road.

I'll probably have a lot of cutsie saying by the time this weekend is over, but for now, I'll give you this:

N, to me this morning: "Aunt Mel, where's your best friend?"
Me: "You mean Uncle Budman?"
N: "YEAH"

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.

Weekend Update

**EDITED to add: I tried not to make this post sound whiny or as if I were complaining. I'm not, really, sorry if it comes across that way...**

Ah, this was a busy one. Budman left my camera at work, so I have NO pictures of our Easter frivolities.

Friday, Budman was planning to replace the alternator in my car, so I took his truck to get Easter baskets for the little ones, and eggs for coloring. As we were leaving Albertson's, his truck wouldn't start, so the boys and I headed back in to call him to come get us. Since my little car had a faulty alternator, and most likely wouldn't have been able to jump the big truck, he had my father come with him. Unfortunately, the battery was still showing a charge, and the alternator seemed to be the problem. ARGH! So, both boys, Budman, and I all rode home with my father in his pickup (NO BACK SEAT!) Thankfully, we were not far from home, but I was VERY uncomfortable with the arrangement.

Saturday morning, the alternator that Budman put in MY car was not working, (and we still didn't have the truck back) so I had to borrow my step-mother's car to take the boys to my mother's for our family Easter egg hunt. Budman put the old alternator back in my car, and went off to help his brother build something.

We had lunch at my mom's house, and then Easter egg hunting with all my cousin's kids. Seems there's a lot of sickness going around these days, so we had a skeleton crew this year. My mother has 6 siblings, I have MANY cousins, and out of the 8 or so of us that live in town we usually have around 15 kids each year. We only had 10 this time, still quite a few... Monkey & Mater were VERY well behaved, I was so proud of them. Funny, don't you just LOVE getting your kids around other kids - just so you can see that yours aren't so bad after all?? Budman, worked all day with his brother, and came home late, falling asleep on the couch instantly, poor thing.

Sunday, we headed off to get his truck from the Albertson's parking lot. Turns out, it wasn't his alternator, only the battery (weird, they even tested it at the auto parts store, and said it was fine.) Anyway, the new battery did the trick, and we brought the truck home. When we got there, Grammy was loading the boys in the car, to go get Papo J; he had run up to the corner store, where the BATTERY died on his Jeep - it wouldn't start, and she needed to go rescue him. LOL! They're all convinced I'm a jinx! I pulled the boys from the car so we could get the eggs colored for our Easter Egg hunt that afternoon with my cousins from my father's side of the family. Budman volunteered to go get Papo J.

We kinda had to laugh at all the car issues this weekend. I told Budman that we should just be thankful they all happened now, while we still have tax money instead of some week when we can't afford it. That's normally our luck!! Besides, he said it was finttin for Easter weekend, since his truck died on Friday, and we fixed it on Sunday (;-P I told him that was sacrilege!!)

Anyway, Uncle K and his gang were coming over for lunch, but were running late because they had car trouble (LMAO!!) then Easter egg hunting and off to the airport so that we could pick up Possum. We got home just in time to put the little ones to bed, and off to sleep ourselves not long after.

Why are weekends so tiring? Why do I always expect to get rested up on the weekends? I should know by now resting up is what work is for!

Thursday Thirteen - Birthday Edition

Monkey turns 6 today. So, Here's my Thursday 13.

Monkey-boy style.

Yeah, I know that was more than 13, but LOOK at that face!!

Happy Birthday, Baby!