Thursday, November 29, 2007

dirty sexy money

Is now my new favorite show (aside from Boston Legal). For those of you who miss the days of Dynasty and Dallas -- THIS is the show for you. So much drama - the Baldwin brother is in love with a transvestite and he's running for Senate, Donald Sutherland (yes, Kiefer's papa) is the patriarch of the Darling Family and lots and lots of soap opera type activities - hee hee hee, I love this show. Honestly, liking this one better than Grey's Anatomy which has turned into a major snore fest!

So, totally not important stuff going on around here. Today, the 29th, Little Prince turns FIVE! I AM THE MOTHER OF A FIVE YEAR OLD! Yowza! That one is kind-of hard to wrap my brain around. I remember when my own mother was the mother of a five year old, you know?

I'm also wondering if all five year old boys are horrible listeners or if I'm just a terrible parent who hasn't been doing a good enough job? Little Prince got in trouble at preschool today. So much so, that he was actually sent to the Principal's Office. No remorse either. Yes, he was upset that I found out about it. Was begging them not to tell me. Then begged daddy not to tell me. All of this because 1. he was excited to show his class his Monster Jam folder - he just wouldn't shut up about it apparently, even after multiple requests by his teacher to sit down and listen. THEN, 2, he decides, for some ungodly reason, to take a pair of scissors and cut a hole in the center of his uniform shirt! The $30 Lands' End polo shirt that can't be patched. Thank you very much for that.
So the punishment was no video games, no Jeep driving and no visiting his papa to go swimming. The result? He was a perfect, sweet, compliant little angel the whole evening! He even was helping to do laundry!! And the cutest thing is that he's been walking around the house singing "o the weatha outside is fwightful, but the fye is so dewightful" - it breaks your heart. My little angel. Can't believe it. Can't remember life before him. His sparkling blue eyes, his raspy little voice. So thankful and grateful to God for sending me this precious life and entrusting his care to me.

Happy Birthday, Prince Michael. I love you.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Top Ten Christmas Songs....

Okay, now it's time for some audience participation!! I want to know what YOUR favorite Christmas songs of ALL TIME are!! I want to do this early, while we're all still excited about Christmas coming and not sick and tired of hearing our favorite songs raked over the coals of Muzak systems worldwide. So, here is my top ten, in no particular order:
1. O' Holy Night
2. Merry Christmas, Darling
3. Mary, Did You Know?
4. anything on the Charlie Brown Christmas CD - Vince Giuraldi (spelling??)
5. Let It Snow
6. Winter Wonderland
7. O' Come All Ye Faithful
8. O' Come Emmanuel
9. Carol of the Bells
10. What Child is This
Okay, now it's YOUR turn...inspire me, tell me what songs bring you those warm feelings and make you feel like Christmas is here. Can't wait to see. Have a Happy Tuesday.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

and she's back!

First, let me apologize. I ranted on about how depressed I've been and then I fall off the face of the planet for what feels like a year!! Sorry about that - not that I'm egotistical enough to think you're sitting at home twiddling your thumbs wondering....what's happened with her?!!?? Puhleeze.

Secondly, saw the doctor on Wednesday. Went great!! I've started a new medication that is actually for migraines! Seems to be doing the trick. The wonderful side effect is that it knocks me out! I take it around 8PM and I am out like a log by 10PM!! So I guess that means I'll have to get my work done either via computer or here at home before then. AND, I've now gone five whole days with no headaches! That, in and of itself, is nothing short of miraculous. I'm not feeling like I'm in the abyss of gloom and despair. I'm back to my normal, silly self.

Thirdly, I have succumbed to the pressure of Christmas! My tree is up. The lights and stockings are hung. The wreath is on the door. I even have ornaments in the kids' bathrooms!! My kids have a stuffed Rudolph who sings and they are joyously singing 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' 24-7 and so far, I haven't had the urge to THROW the reindeer out the window! LOL

I even got up at 4AM on Friday to head to the toy store - mistake. Left and went to Target where I purchased a ton of movies for next to nothing and then to Michael's where I made out like a bandit! So fun.

I've been reading your blogs, and everyone made these beautiful lists of the many things they are thankful for. Well, I don't really have time for that but I will highlight the things I am truly thankful for.
1. My hubcaps thinks I'm cute and silly and puts up with a lot of my crap; 2. I have THE most adorable kids on the entire planet - they break my heart every day with the things they come up with like when Little Prince says to the Princess "K, I'm so lucky to be your big bwother" (that's how he says it!) - brought tears to my eyes!; 3. I attend a great church that is supportive and FUN and a pleasure to be a part of; 4. My friends and my family. You're always there for me to vent to, complain at and be a pain to. Thank you.

I hope all of you had a wonderful, safe, love-filled Thanksgiving. Peace.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Depression Bites!

Ever since the birth of my Princess K, I've been dealing with depression. It's not something I would wish on my worst enemy. I thought, as has my doc, that it is a hormonal thing. Maybe it is. It doesn't seem to be getting better, though. I am feeling myself sink. Quickly. Sinking faster than a 300lb man who gets tossed over by Tony Soprano.

Not writing so that you'll say 'oh, it will all be fine' - deep down, I think I know that, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm questioning everything I've ever believed in. Questioning my own reality. I have never, repeat, never felt this bad.

I laid in bed this morning with the blinds closed and blankets up over my ears. Sobbing. Not only not wanting to get up, but just not wanting to be.

The only thing helping me get through the past few days is the realization that I do have an appointment with a neurologist/psychiatrist on Wednesday. I've been shaking the family tree to see what mood disorders or mental health issues run in my family and it is quite startling, to say the least.

A few weeks ago, I "met" another mom (a blogger, of course!) who is dealing with some of the same issues. All I could offer her was encouragement to get help, not to be ashamed of treatment. I'm glad I did. I'm so glad I ran across her blog because it made me realize that the medication my doctor had me on was not working. So, my doctor weaned me off. This, what I'm going through now, is the result - three weeks of no meds. And I know that there is no pill to make us happy 100% of the time - who would want that, seriously? I know that we all have "down" days and "up" days but, when your down days are outnumbering your blah or up days, and you don't want to answer your phone to even talk to your friends - there is definitely a problem.

I'm looking back at my entries the past couple of weeks and begin to wonder - is the constant cleaning and organizing part of this? Is that my "up"?

I see the new doc on Wednesday - met with him once before and he is the one who suggested I look into my family history. So, now it is time for an official appointment. We'll see what happens.

Sorry if this was depressing! Just need to get it off my chest. Thanks for letting me vent.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

WHAT??!!??

I am sitting here watching Oprah. I am flabbergasted!! She has this family of hoarders (husband and wife) on the show and they were living surrounded by clutter - SEVENTY FIVE TONS OF CLUTTER! They had black mold growing throughout the house, 70% of their furniture was destroyed by mold, windows had to be replaced, drywall ripped out, rat nests, etc.

They filled up a 10,000 sqft warehouse to sell the stuff she had hoarded.

Okay, so first of all, yes, I feel bad for these people. I feel bad that they have this obsessive compulsive disorder. BUT come on!! Oprah and GE and Broyhill, and others furnished their house, re-did the kitchen, new flooring by Lowe's!! What about those of us (you and I) who are daily keeping up, or trying to keep up with our housework?

Can Oprah and Lowe's please come replace my flooring? I've had two kids spill milk, juice, cereal on it. Never mind the fact that I've also had these same two kids PEE on said carpet during the potty training times. Am I rewarded for trying to keep the clutter OUT of my house? No. Instead, I have been paying MONTHLY to have my carpets cleaned because I cannot stand it being dirty. Although, you know what's going to happen? A few years from now, they'll find out I have mold in my house and it will be from my carpets not drying completely or something lame.

I'd even let them renovate my kitchen too. The nasty laminate cabinets and counters are beginning to warp. Maybe O can send Nate to my house??

I'm really not trying to be insensitive, but my other gripe about this show, is that this woman's core problems have not been dealt with. Yeah, she has a sweet, new pad. But she's not going through therapy to treat the underlying issues. Let's see the house in a year. I know, that makes me so negative, but come on, let's be realistic.

I've spent every day this week cleaning some aspect of my house and attempting to get organized. How hard is it, really, to throw out an old towel or pair of shoes that you don't use anymore? Maybe I have a different disorder. One that is the complete opposite of hoarding. I have a tendency to throw things out. If I haven't used it recently and don't foresee myself using it soon, I pitch it. Sometimes I regret it, but I have a great feeling when I look in the drawers or the linen closets and can find what it is I'm looking for. And contrary to what you've been reading about me, I am not neat freak, by any stretch of the imagination! I just have two kids under the age of five, so it's constant picking up. Whatever. I just get irritated seeing people being rewarded for bad habits and behavior. Especially when this "behavior" isn't being treated through therapy. But who am I to judge, right? Oh well. I hope they can keep it up. I really do. I hope they can prove me wrong.

Now, if you or anyone you know would like to donate new flooring to someone - I'll make myself available!!! LOL.

Gotta Love The TIVO....

Whoever invented TIVO should get a Nobel Peace Prize. Seriously. One of the top inventions EVER!! Without a doubt.

For those of you who don't have TIVO, you're thinking that this contraption is for the truly addicted.....it's actually just the opposite. I watch probably HALF of the TV as I used to BT (before TIVO). Now, I only watch what is good and worthwhile....and the best part is I can watch it when I want to. Usually that is at 2AM.

The other great thing about TIVO is that I have recorded all my kids' favorite shows so when it's 7PM and they're bouncing off the walls - I've got something they'll want to watch - other than Spongebob!! It's great. Love it. WELL WORTH IT.

Right now I'm watching Oprah - I record all week and then watch the ones that look interesting. BT, I would watch it every day and sit (and sit and sit, through commercials and everything!), watching, waiting to see if the show would become more interesting. Now, I fast forward and if it's not interesting, I delete it. I don't sit and waste an hour watching something I really don't want to watch.

So, here's the question, why would I continue to sit there watching something that wasn't interesting when I was watching it live?? Why didn't I get up and go do something else?? Who knows?! I think it's the hope that something would get better - or then you start to flip the channels, to see if there's something better. I really, honestly, now watch only the things I really want to watch. So, if you've been wondering what the rage of TIVO is, now you know.

And, now, for those of you I've been complaining about the Christmas decorations to - well, I'm putting the tree up on Friday!! I think I've totally gotten into the spirit because it finally cooled down here (it's been in the high 60s when we wake up and only getting up to about 76 during the day!! - that's a cold front for us!). So, as soon as I finish, I'll get the pictures posted - hee hee.

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Love all your comments, emails and fun stories! Have a great one!!

Friday, November 16, 2007

excuse me???

Today started out as any other ordinary day. Took Little Prince to school and Princess K and I headed to Super Wal-Mart for some grocery shopping. Yee Haw! My least favorite place on Earth - Super Wal-Mart. But I digress.

So I shop for about an hour or so and go to the checkout lanes. It's almost noon and the store isn't all that busy, but the lane I'm in has a whopping three customers in line. One lady who is almost finished, another lady who is starting to put her things on the conveyor belt and then me.

I was standing there for about three minutes probably, when a manager comes over and asks me to go to Aisle 5 - new cashier coming on! I look to the woman in front of me - she's not paying a lick of attention and is busy talking to her friend. So, I go ahead and go to Aisle 5 and begin unloading my heaping, overflowing shopping cart. Just as I lift the Clorox wipes onto the belt, this woman comes up from behind and proceeds to yell at me: "I hope YOU have a nice day, don't YOU worry about us, WE weren't in line apparently".

Did I mention that she was SCREAMING???

So, I then apologize and offer to let her go ahead, that I didn't realize, blah blah, blah. She continues to repeat very loudly "No, YOU have a nice day" in a very nasty tone. She walks away from me and goes back to her aisle, but is complaining about me under her breath the whole time. This is when I lose it! I literally began to yell back - first saying that I already apologized, please go in front of me, and then she wouldn't even look in my direction but kept talking to her friend, which irritated me even more. So, I say "Lady, if you've got something to say, say it to my face, don't stand there and talk about me under your breath, you big dummy!"

YES, I called her a "big dummy". Apparently, I'm in second grade AND a dork!! Too funny. Sad, but still funny. I just couldn't understand why someone would want to take their items OFF of the conveyor belt to go to another aisle at all. Still don't, actually. I mean, really, you're already there, by the time you get all your stuff back in the cart and hauled over to the new cashier, you would've been done!!

Unfortunately, for me, I think she just wanted to prove to her friend what a big shot she was. I should've just let her do it and kept my mouth shut. I should've just kept it at the apology. She chose to continue with the negativity, but so did I. I showed just how rude I was when I called her a big dummy.

Doc, I need to up my meds NOW!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

monica bang....

Hooray for me! Seriously. Hooray for ME! Let me begin by saying that Sunday night I spent FIVE hours cleaning my closet! Yes, FIVE entire hours. I labeled my shoe boxes, tossed three bags of trash and three bags to donate. I can now spend time in there without having an anxiety attack. It's fabulous.

Between yesterday and today I have:

~cleaned/organized kitchen cabinets;
~cleaned/organized two linen closets;
~straightened kids' closets;
~re-organized my dresser drawer configurations to give my husband an extra drawer to himself (yea, that's the way I am, completely selfless HA!);
~cleaned/organized my laundry room;
~organized about 400 CDs/DVDs;
~organized all my tons of scrap booking crap;
AND, I am 100% completely caught up on laundry!

I can't believe it. I know, lame, lame, lame to be this excited about it, but I don't know if my house has ever been this organized. It is amazing to me. I am not a Monica. By any stretch of the imagination. I am the girl whose room in high school looked like the closet had exploded. I have always let things slowly become a mess and then I spend hours trying to clean it again instead of just maintaining and keeping it clean from the get-go. So, the fact that my laundry room and linen closets are perfectly organized (and they even have extra space for more stuff!) is almost miraculous.

Whatever shall I do with myself tomorrow??? Grocery store and Home Depot. Hee hee. Can hardly wait.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

I am exhausted!

The past week, I've been operating(if that's what you want to call it) on less than four house of sleep per night. I'm sitting here now, yes, at 2am, and I can not even keep my eyes open. So, I'm done for the night, will write tomorrow.

Monday, November 12, 2007

people are blogging...

this is an idiotic post, but what the hay, here goes...if anything, you'll catch a glimpse of my pseudo-neurosis (is that even a term?).

Today, for some reason, the song "Let's Give 'Em Something to Talk About" - got stuck in my head - so now, it's turned into let's give em something to blog about...you try it...you'll come up with a doozy of a song! Here's mine so far...make sure you're channeling Bonnie Raitt on this...
people are blogging, bloggin' 'bout people,
I think they're funny,
you won't believe it
....they post their pictures,
they post their stories,
I keep on reading, but they don't know I
laugh just a little too loud
scroll just a little too long
I read the blog like it is my job
Maybe one day, the publisher will come along,
lets give 'em something to blog about....

that's it so far...I know, it's so dumb. LOL.

On another note, tonight was one of those nights where I roamed CVS for about an hour. Supposed to run in and get girly items....came out with a pair of socks, B12 vitamins, Self magazine (love Carrie Underwood's hair color and need a picture of it), water pills AND my girly items. It was heavenly. I literally went up and down EVERY SINGLE aisle. The office supply one twice.... love office supplies, don't get me started!

I then came home and scrubbed my entire body - like it's never been scrubbed before and now I sit at my computer, in my bath robe, with wet hair and perfectly moisturized face. I just finished putting together a purchase contract for a client (yippee!!) and changed some details of my own listings in the multiple listing service. Soooooooo, I actually did get some work done, had some time to myself, time with a friend, made a home made dinner, got laundry done and its not even midnight! Woohoo. I am on a roll. Now if I could just get more than three hours of sleep tonight.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

i'm succumbing to the pressure!

Okay, okay, okay. I'm almost there. I now want to put up the Christmas decorations. I want to listen to my Diana Krall, Charlie Brown Peanuts and The Carpenters' Christmas CDs.

Last night, I started my wish list. You know, the list you put together methodically, and in a certain order so that your husband and family members know exactly what you want. You know, the one that isn't looked at when they finally go shopping on the 23rd so you end up with the Romancing the Stone DVD (yes, that was one of my gifts last year, along with Jewel of the Nile!).

I'm even contemplating putting Christmas plates in my china cabinet this year AND wrapping any thing that is hanging on the wall - is that dorky? I've seen it in model homes and thought it was adorable.

My problem is that I have my son's birthday on the 29th. My husband and I agreed when he was born that we would not do anything Christmas related until after his birthday - we don't want him to feel like he's getting gypped out of his special day. Soooooooo, it is what it is. But, as soon as his birthday party is over, I'm going to haul the boxes out of the attic. Clark Griswold, I'm going to give you a run for your money this year!

the vagina monologues??

Last night I finally got caught up on reading all the blogs I like to read on a regular basis - I was up until 4 AM, not good. But, I'm caught up. One person I like to read is Cecily - http://mychaosmybliss.blogspot.com/ - check out her blog... her most recent post is about using proper terminology for body parts with kids. I completely agreed with everything she said. We don't use the right words in our house either!

So, how random is this? I am reading Good Housekeeping this morning - Faith Hill on the cover, December issue. Here is what made me laugh out loud:

"It's just so funny. You know, we've done what all the books tell you you're supposed to do, and taught the girls all the proper names for their, um, anatomy. Now in my day, that is not what was done; we definitely had cute little names for things. But the girls know what a vagina is. We have this little rope swing in our backyard. And the other day, some lifelong family friends were over, and Audrey was on the swing. One of our friends was pushing her, and she was swinging pretty high. So he said to her, 'are you OK, Audrey?' And she said 'yeah, I'm fine...it's just that sometimes this swing gives me a vagina wedgie.'"

And that is why my kids do not yet know the word vagina.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

i can't spare a square...

So. Yesterday I was shopping, yet again, and found myself getting pissed. Not just a little bit either. I was beginning to become irate. Wanna know why?........

Because being played on the muzak system at Macy's was "Let It Snow"! Hellloooooo....this is South Florida, for starters, it will never snow here, so don't get my hopes up. Secondly, it's really bothering me that the decorations have come out, the santas are out and now, the music is playing overhead. I bet tomorrow if I run to CVS, they'll have the Christmas crap on sale for 75% off and Valentine's Day cards will be out! It's ridiculous.

Have a couple of companies I want to plug here today - took the family for our Christmas card photo -

Got them taken at Kiddie Kandids - those places in Babies R Us stores - it was fantastic. I was in and out of there in an hour and it really is affordable!! Highly recommend. Also, went online to design our Christmas card (I'm just trying to have everything here and ready for me to get them sent out on December 1st). I normally order from Wal-Mart, but this year - shutterfly! Awesome designs. You can change and customize the greetings and the fonts. They're way cool and only a few cents more than Wal-Mart.

Oh, and in case you're wondering....I had a Seinfeld moment today in a public bathroom, as evidenced by my title. The poor woman next to me couldn't get the TP out of the holder-thingy. So of course, she and I both are quoting Seinfeld in the bathroom. Too funny. Geez, I miss that show.

Oh - and the recipe for the leftover turkey - yummy.
2 cups (or so) of chopped turkey (I used jennie-o sundried tomato seasoned turkey)
8 oz of pasta (macaroni or penne - I used rice penne b/c my hubcaps is allergic to wheat), cooked.
Saute onions and bell peppers (and celery, but again, allergy so I eliminated) in 2T of olive oil.
Then add:
one can of cream of chicken soup (or whatever kind you want, really)
1/3 cup of sour cream
you're supposed to put like 1/3 of a cup of milk, but I was out
CHEESE - I used handfuls of: sharp cheddar, monterey jack and mozzarella
(the recipe called for cheddar, mozz, gouda so you could be super creative here)
I salted and peppered it and then added 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Mix those ingredients together until it is gooey, then add your noodles and tuna to it.
pour it all in a lightly greased 9x13 pan and top with more cheese
Bake at 350 until golden (mine only took about 20 minutes - I think because I didn't add the milk, so it wasn't too liquidy)
ALSO, the recipe called for 4 ounces of frozen broccoli - didn't have that either....hope this recipe makes sense. It was delish!!!!
Have a fantabulous weekend!!

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Here Comes Santa Claus...

So I went to the mall tonight. Had to buy a couple of things for the family picture which is taking place Friday and guess what!!!???!! Can you guess? They already have Santa's Workshop set up! There are freakin' wreaths hanging EVERYWHERE and Christmas ornaments and wrapping paper is already marked down 50%!!!

COME ON PEOPLE, LET'S GET THROUGH THANKSGIVING FIRST!!!!

I want to listen to my Christmas music so bad, I can hardly stand it.....BUT, I'm going to make myself wait until December 1st. That will be the day that the decorations go up and we begin the countdown. Not a second before.

Oh, and as for the shopping, if you need to get outfits for the kiddos for Christmas pictures/church events, etc....I'm telling you, go to Children's Place...stuff I thought I got a good deal on (on Monday) - is now 40% off! So, taking my receipt back tomorrow to save more money.

Daughter is doing GREAT. We had a family day today - we all stayed home and caught up on laundry and yard work. fun fun fun. I even made a fantastic casserole (I don't normally make 'casseroles') using leftover turkey breast..... All I can say is my husband ate almost HALF of it himself. It was really good and super super easy (can even be made gluten free)! Will definitely be using again. If you need a good leftover turkey recipe - this is the one. I won't post it on here unless requested though, so let me know.

It's almost Friday - so have a great day, make the most of it and kiss those babies!!

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

all is well!

We're back from the hospital (a few hours ago, actually) and princess K is doing fantastic! She was a little groggy when she woke up but we got some juice in her, gave her a special toy from the hospital and she was happy again. In fact, when they wheeled she and I (me holding her in the wheel chair) down to the floor for discharge - she perked right up and says, "what is this chair?" - the nurse was howling laughing.

I realized once again how fortunate I am to have a family that is relatively healthy. There were other kids there with leukemia, another little adorable boy with a huge cyst in his neck. His parents looked horrified and scared to death, understandably, too! It's always an eye opener though when you see just how fortunate you really are.

Thank you all for your super sweet and thoughtful comments and wishes, it means a lot to me.

please pray for my daughter...

This might seem like an odd spot to do this, but I'm asking those of you who visit this site, to please say a prayer for my daughter, K. She is having a procedure today that requires she go under general anesthesia for about 15 minutes. The actual "surgery" is only about five minutes BUT, she's never had any type of anesthesia, and I'm really nervous about it.

I don't know why this time is making me so nervous. My son had to have a fairly major urology surgery when he was barely one. I wasn't half as nervous about that one as I am about this one. She has what is known as "labial fusions" - men who are reading, you may want to stop now. Basically, from my understanding, the body is looking at the opening as a "wound" and keeps "healing itself", so the doctor will go in today and open it back up. No stitches are required and she'll be a little sore for a few days when she goes potty.

The amazing thing is that she hasn't been complaining about it at all. Our pediatrician said it's mind boggling that she hasn't been screaming whenever she goes to the bathroom. That helps me to know that she is a really strong little girl. But, I'm still scared. I'm really scared.

What if? What if she doesn't wake up? That's a horrible thing to think, I know, but all evening, that's what I've been thinking. I cannot imagine my life without her. Daughters just have a special place in our lives. I honestly just LOVE spending time with her. She's so much fun! I've spent the past two and a half hours crying at my computer. Sending emails to friends, asking them to remember her tomorrow. To remember my husband and I. Wondering if I'm feeling this way because my intuition is telling me to cancel the surgery? Am I PMS-ing? Am I sleep deprived? Why am I freaking out like this? Maybe I'm just ultra sensitive because I, as a female, can't imagine what it is that they're going to be doing to her later today. I don't know.

Waiting in the hospital waiting room has got to be one of the most awful experiences any parent can go through. When my son had his surgery, they had given us an idea as to when they would be finished. That time came and went. I started panicking! Finally, a nurse came out to tell us he was fine, the surgery went fantastic and that our doctor would be out in a few minutes. The floodgates opened!! This mommy really thought for a moment or two, that things had not gone well and that I might not see my little boy alive again.

So, if you think about it, please say a prayer for us today. I truly appreciate it. I'm sure I've shared too much personal information here, but more than anything, I need to get it off my chest. I have to get up in four hours, so I'm going to go snuggle with my little princess. Goodnight for now.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Seriously, are you kidding me??

Why is it news that Katie Holmes ran the New York City Marathon?? Does anyone really care????????????????????????????????????????????????

Cute girl and all, but come on. This is not really newsworthy. Congrats, sure! That's really hard and so cool that she finished, but does it really warrant publicity?

Whatever.

Show it to me on ET but don't bombard my inbox and websites with this "breaking news", puhleeeeze.

Enough rant for now.

Fall Back!

Well, we fell back last night; or, rather, this morning, right? I love time change Sunday in the fall - that extra hour - mmmmm. Makes my week! Although, when you spend every spare second on the computer, that hour really gets eaten up quickly. I think that the time changes are really rough on kids, though. That's been my experience. Every time - regardless of if we're 'springing forward or falling back' - my kids act like terrors for about a week after! They can't sleep at night and they wake up at the butt crack of dawn! It's awful.

I did have a great weekend. Hope you all did, too. It was a super busy weekend, with a school Christmas Village - to raise money for the school, kind-of a crafts fair sort of thing, a birthday party, church, had a girlfriend over, etc., etc. But, all in all it was great. I went to Hallmark and got tons of FREE stuff....and bought some new foundation at the MAC counter - loving it! I'm a totally girly-girl. I LOVE makeup. In fact, my girlfriend who came over last night, we spent a couple of hours just going through my old makeup bags and deciding what to keep and what to pitch. It was very empowering somehow. Sorry, Dev, if you were bored out of your mind!

We are experiencing "cold" front here with temps in the mid-upper 70's! It is absolutely HEAVENLY. So, I will be taking the kiddos to the park tomorrow and spending as much time outside as possible, before it's back in the 90s again.

Have a FABULOUS MONDAY!

Friday, November 02, 2007

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everywhere you go......

YIKES!!!

I'm not going to sit down and count how many days until Christmas but, gosh, getting a little stressed about it. September last year I was almost done with my shopping! (I had money then) - this year?? Nada.

Every store at the mall is decorated already.

Macy's had their trees up a month ago! Right now, before the entire world, I am committing to not go crazy trying to get gifts for everyone, finding the "perfect" gifts, setting the "perfect" table, decorating the "perfect" tree, creating the "perfect" family portrait Christmas card, etc., etc., etc.

Let's remember what it is all about, people! Hard to do that when your kids are continually saying "i want that one" over and over and over again. Is it me or are there more and more commercials playing on Nickelodeon right now? Every two seconds there is an ad for some sort of doll or race car! I can't take it anymore and it's only November 2nd. Augh!

I'm not the grinch. I will not be the grinch. I LOVE this time of year. It's my favorite. BUT - for the sake of sanity, I need to set some boundaries, set some limits. In fact, I'm so very much NOT the grinch, I'm going to listen to some Christmas music - and just so you know, I was eyeballing the eggnog at the grocery store tonight. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

The day after...

So exhausted. High on candy. And that's just ME. We had a fantastic time trick or treating. My 'rents came down to walk with us and we all had a great time. The kids got along famously and there were no bad moods or temper tantrums.

Went to the Children's Place to buy Alice in Wonderland some tights and found the most adorable dragon costume for $4.99!! Bought it just to have for dress up. The little guy decided that's what he wanted to be for trick or treat. It was a BIG HIT! We went to dinner beforehand (in costume, of course!) - and the manager of the restaurant brought out a gift certificate to Learning Express because, and I quote, "your costume is so cool"!! All that was missing was the fire breathing.

Here are a couple pictures of the big night.




You can't tell by the pictures, but my little girl actually let me put sponge curlers in her hair yesterday - when we left the house her hair was gorgeous!! But, since we have a Tropical Storm hovering around, any curl quickly disappeared once we went outside. We even did mascara (just a little) and some pink lipstick. She thought she was "IT"!! Too much fun. And on my little dragon - yes, that's green face paint, but it started to sweat off. Overall, though, the rain held off until we got back in the car and it wasn't too hot! Can't complain.

By the way, I gotta plug the Children's Place again. Geez, when they have a sale, they're not kidding! The costume I bought yesterday is normally $29.50 - it's well made, good fabric, etc., it really is a dangerous place for me because I always find something. They even had boys jeans for $4.99 - but not in the sizes I needed. So if you're near one, you must go check it out.

We're loaded with tons of candy, a fair amount of pictures, and really good memories. It's an early bedtime tonight for sure! That's what Halloween is all about.