Between the Lines

Would anyone be interested in reading a book with me? (You know, sort of like reading with a book club where we all read the same book and then discuss it or whatever...)

I was just wondering...

Or do you have a book you've read that you would highly recommend reading?

I like to be always reading something and right now I don't know what to read next.  Haven't looked for something, really, but thought it would be nice to go with something someone's read and likes.

I like clean books, and no F-words, please.  ;)

Thanks!

Just so cute!

I took these yesterday.  The first two, he's just rolled over and rolled back... I thought it was funny that he rolled between the bars of the butterfly thing.  The third one was just too cute not to take a picture of... Andur used to do that to Matt's hat, too!

The first two, and many other pictures, have been taken right next to my computer - where my camera is.  This is where he plays while I do my computer time everyday, so that's why there are a lot of pictures in this spot.  ;) 

He's just so stinkin' cute! At Walmart yesterday, he got so many compliments and was talked to by so many people... could be because he was drawing a LOT of attention to himself by "talking" rather loudly.  It was quite comical, he gets the most serious faces going and makes that "ooo" shape with his lips, one can't help but laugh and talk back.  :)

Slow down, time!!

Quin is 7 months old now! I can't believe it!

Here he is today:

The kick-toy we have doesn't work when you kick it but when you hit the hanging toys, so I put him in this seat so as to reach the kickers...lol

If you click on this picture, you can see his two cute little toothies!

He's been sitting up and rolling over for a month, now.  No signs of crawling anytime soon, as he still hates being on his stomach, but my kids don't usually crawl until around 10 months.  Just like his older siblings, he's content to just sit and play, although, he does love attention.  He LOVES people, even strangers, which is probaby due to his love of attention.  I'd still like to give him someone to play with someday, so who knows.  He's eating really well, still just two meals a day.  His appetite for his bottles shrank a little, but he doesn't spit up anymore so I think he was just regulating.  I don't know how much he weighs, probably around 20 lbs.  I'll have to see... I think he's working on another tooth, as his drool has kicked up again and his thumb is constantly being chewed on, more so than normal.  He jabbers a lot, screams (for fun) a lot, grunts a lot and loves making an "oooo" shape with his cute little lips while he makes noise.  He also likes smacking his lips and sticking out his tongue.  His laugh is more of a squeal, like he's still not quite sure about being tickled (hee hee), but he does have a cute giggle when he manages to do so.  The kids are the ones to usually make him laugh, simply by saying "BABY" right in his face and he loves them to pieces.  He's pretty much out of his 6-9 month clothes, but we don't have money right now for bigger ones, but soon, hopefully.  Such a sweetie!

How about them sad, sorry apples?

One thing I do not claim is greatness in the kitchen.  I can cook well enough, and follow a recipe ok, but sometimes things just don't turn out.

For example:

Last night I tried to make this:  http://www.cookinwithgoodlookin.com/2009/10/red-cinnamon-apples.html

But it ended up like this:

You can't tell from the picture, but that apple could kill someone if you threw it at their head. 

These are the things I learned last night while attempting to make these supposed-to-be-yummy candied apples:

> Red food coloring stains faster than you can say "red food coloring", like so:

> Do NOT cut up the apples, thinking more candy per square inch would be better.  This is what happens if you do:

>When the directions say boil sugar mix until brown caramel color (about 250 degrees on candy therm.), do according to color, not the temperature on the thermometer.... otherwise, you end up with hard-tack candy that cools and hardens oh-so-quickly.  Apparently, candied apples aren't supposed to be as hard as Jolly Ranchers, according to my husband.  I personally have never had one but would have to agree.

>Always remember to spray your paper before placing apples on it.  Notice how the paper's torn in all my pictures? Yeah, doesn't taste so good.

>When at first you don't succeed, have someone show you how to do it the right way.

So, my table ended up looking like a Red Delicious Massacre:

BUT, at least I didn't boil over the sugar and melt my new stove.  (Matt was worried.  And, yes, I've done that before, to my poor MIL's stove.  I felt a few steps below awful that day.)

We had fun and we'll try it again another year, but maybe with just plain old caramel apples.  ;)  They did taste good, especially the cut up ones because the juice of the apples mixed with the cinnamon flavor, so once you got past the candy that forever stuck to your teeth, it was yummy.

Skeleton Puzzle

I found this while I was looking for something else and thought it was kinda neat:

http://virtualastronaut.tietronix.com/textonly/act15/game-skeletonpuz.aspx

See if you can do it!

Watch This

Trunk or Treat - Lame-o-style

So, our Trunk or Treat for church was last Saturday... borrr-ing.

There was no one there!! All because it rained! Come on, people, it's just water! LOL  Those who did show up, just went inside to do it. 

This year, my kids' costumes are a la dollar store, as you may well be able to tell.

 My little "Princess Lime" fairy:

My "army dude":

My little lammy-poo (actually, it's just a little snow suit):

I hate generic, boring costumes.  My kids chose these, so no offense to them.  But I like costumes that Kmart doesn't sell.  One year, my kids were Christmas presents:

  Another year, I was "pregnant":

This year, we WERE going to be the Nativity scene, but I was the only one willing to play the part.  Oh, well.  There's always next year.

You can click on the picture to make it bigger to see how much candy we didn't score:

(Not that I need candy...)

Here's hoping Saturday brings in more spoils..er.. is more fun! ;)

A lost generation, I am not.

I found this through a friend's blog, do watch:

F.A.S.T.

We're doing a program as a family at the kids' school called F.A.S.T. (Families and Schools Together) on Thursday nights for the next several weeks.

We started it last Thursday and, so far, we love it!

They feed us dinner, then we sing, then we do scribbles (drawing something out of a scribble on some paper), then we do feelings charades, then we split up into a kids group and a parents group (the kids get to play games and make things and the parents just get to relax and talk), then we have one-on-one special play (Matt goes with Andur and I go with Natalie, we get a plastic box with a bunch of odd stuff in it to use our imaginations with and make things and just play), then we do a lottery drawing (it's rigged, everyone gets a chance to win a huge basket full of games and family-time stuff - very cool!), then we do a big circle game called "rain" where me make rain sounds with our hands, then we say goodbye and go home.  After the dinner part, they take Quin to a babysitting room so I can fully participate.  Everytime I've checked on him, he's either playing so nicely and happy or asleep (after 7pm, which is his bedtime).  I love that he does so well!

It's been so much fun and we are loving it! It's been nice having a family night twice a week.  I love this school district and that they do such awesome things like this!  I guess this is an international program, and it's fully funded so we don't have to pay anything.  After we win the "lottery", it's our turn to bring in dinner but they give us a Walmart gift card to pay for everything.  We just have to make it and bring it, they even serve us.  Well, our kids serve us, which is such a bonus!

Another great part is they encourage parental authority, so they come whisper to the parents what to do next and we are to instruct our kids from there.  They aren't to have any interaction with the kids unless they're in the kid group.  I love that! It's such an awesome program!

A Year's Worth of Fun!

It's been one year since I started blogging! Wow!

I wanted to post something "FUN" today... this was sent to me from my MIL:

Cheating?

Click here and vote for my recipe on the left so I can win the Halloween Recipe Contest!

OR, if you feel like that's cheating, vote for which ever one you feel is the best....

(Mine's the chocolate six-legged spider.... in case you wanted to know......)

;)

The Zen of Sarcasm

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.

3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day .

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving .

20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

AND

22 . Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Is Ignorance Really Bliss?

Recently, on one of the blogs I read, there was a link posted that led to this link, where one can find out if there are any sex offenders living in their area.  It gives names, addresses, when and where they were convicted, what they were convicted of, and it even includes a picture as well as several aliases for the perp.

I entered my hometown information and found out that there are several offenders in my city, but even more scary than that, there are four right here in my subdivision.  Two of them live literally right around the corner from me, one of which lives in the cul de sac my kids were allowed to ride their bikes in this last summer.  The other two are a mere two to three blocks away.

Did I really need to know this? What good is it really going to do me? Of course, now I'm so changing my kids bike-riding boundaries.  But who's to say my next door neighbor isn't an offender? There are many who haven't even registered, let alone been caught.

Part of me says it's good to know, because now I won't let my kids be a temptation for some sicko living around the corner from me.  I believe that sexual addictions are one of Satan's most powerful tools and that just because someone's a registered offender, doesn't mean they're "cured".  But what about those I mentioned earlier? Am I going to worry about every single one of them? I was walking through Walmart and saw a guy I thought looked like one of the offenders, then got to thinking that the guy who bought our stove looked like one, too.  I don't want to become paranoid about this. 

What do you think? Is it good to be informed? Would you rather not know? I'm in between.  I think it's good to know so we can be smart about where we let our kids go in this neighborhood that I swear by, but at the same time, now I feel the slight need to be freaking out a little.  My kids walk to and from school every day and it takes them a good 15 minutes to do so.  Now, if they get home 10 minutes late, I'm going to wonder why even more than I did before. 

Not knowing has it's charms, it's been said.  I would almost rather stay in my own safe little world where I can trust everyone and not worry about my kids walking to school or riding their bikes because we live in the best neighborhood ever. 

I guess as long as I keep my kids informed about stranger danger and what to do if, Heaven forbid, the worst should happen and pray a lot-a lot, all the worrying and freaking out won't be necessary.  What will be, will be.  That's so hard to say when my biggest fear is my kids being kidnapped.  I would seriously rather them be dead then not know where they are.  I know that may sound weird but that's how I feel. 

That's it, I'm signing my kids up for Kung Fu.

Boycotting School Pictures

I've ordered school pictures every year because if I don't, I feel guilty for some dumb reason.  This year, not so much.  I'm sorry, but I'm not going to feel guilty about not spending $26 per kid, for the cheapest (and smallest) package of pictures.  Yes, I know they're professional, but really? They're just pictures for crying out loud!

So, I decided to take my own with my new camera (oh my gosh! I totally forgot to post about that!).

Here are some that I especially liked:

And, of course, I had to take a few of Quin.

Here's his first time in the grass:

Not liking the leaves:

(I got my camera in September, it's better than the one I wanted!!! It rocks!)

Another Cheesy Made-Up Joke

From Andur:

What do you call a lazy girl?

A lazer! (laze-her)


LOL

That's my (husband's) boy!

Andur made up a joke and told it to me last night - I hope I remember it correctly:

What did the girl say to the hot water?

You're hotter than I am!


That's a 7 year old's sense of humor, I guess.

Then let me do it!

I always try to get my Natalie to double-knot her shoe laces because they're always coming untied. 

Her reply to this?

"But, Mom, I'm not a double-knott(pause)ER!"

Whatever.

Really SICK of hearing about the swine flu

This is a slightly venting post, so if you're offended by such things, I suggest you quit reading now.  (LOL)

I know the swine flu is going around like crazy and there's a lot of people out sick but why does everyone have to be so freaking out about it? I've read about it enough to know that it has the same effects as the normal flu (is there such thing??), it just has a different name (and strain).

Now I know there are going to be those of you who are like "Well, what about this..." or "Well, I know someone who's kid's in the hospital because...." and so on.  I get it.  I know it's an illness I don't want to have nor would I want my family to have it.  I know it can get serious.  I'm not ignorant about this, nor do I think it's not a big deal. 

I'm just so sick of everyone making such a stink about it.  If you're that scared, stay home.  And, please, if you or a family member has it, STAY HOME.  (Seriously! Don't be coming to Walmart with your fever-ridden kid with a mask on his face thinking you're not spreading germs any other way!)

But stop all the freaking out already!  Geesh!

(Now watch, my bad karma post will come back to haunt me....)

Super Super!

Last Saturday was SUPER Saturday and this is what I made:

And then, at Walmart recently, I've scored some awesome, er, I mean, SUPER deals:

These were all only $1.00 EACH!! Natalie's set for the next three years!

And these were $5.00 each, at 15.5 oz.

This larger can is the one I normally get, at $11.88 for 25.75 oz. 

Hmm... 31 oz. (two small cans) for $10? Or 25.75 oz. for $11.88? Doesn't take a genius to figure this one out.

SUPER!!!

Stupor of Thought

Stupor, by definition, means "a condition of greatly dulled or completely suspended sense of feeling."  The word stupor derives from the Latin word stupure, meaning insensible.  Insensible means "meaningless", among other things.

I never really knew what a stupor of thought was until I had one.  Usually, when the answer to a prayer is "no", I know it, like really know it.  It's like when you're sitting at a car dealership waiting for the salesman to "run the numbers" and the only thought that's screaming through your head is "LEAVE NOW".  Just like when something's right, I know it, like really know it, and it happens without me having to do much about it (like when we found this house, our old house sold in only TWO WEEKS, whereas the house two houses away from us is STILL for sale, going on a year now) and in my head it stays right without a shadow of a doubt.

For the past two weeks, I've been feeling confused, doubtful, frustrated, lack of clarity, and so on.  My thoughts about a certain subject have been muffoogled, as my dear word-inventing husband would put it.

So, last night, the hubby and I had a long talk and decided we both don't feel right about having another baby right now.  That doesn't mean we won't ever, but for whatever reason, now is not the right time. 

I just wanted it to be right so bad, but it just wasn't.  Dang it.  ;)  Oh, well.  On with life.

A Really Great Quote

I recently finished my new book, The Christmas List, by Richard Paul Evans and it was SO AWESOME! I'm not surprised, all of his books are.

There was a quote that I absolutely loved:

"We all get lost sometimes.  The trick is to believe that we're worth finding."

I highly recommend reading it!

I could have gone the rest of my life having never experienced this and been fine.

A millisecond after pulling Quin out of his jumping device where he had been, you know, jumping, he puked. 

Right into my mouth. 

I've never spit something out so fast in my life. 

And it wasn't just a little bit.  Judging by what I wiped off of my face post-gagging and what was on the carpet after I spit it out, I'd say there was almost a tablespoon. 

So. Gross.

Another Da Vinci in the making

This is Natalie's sidewalk chalk version of this:

See the resemblance? She added the parking lot.  So much scope for the imagination.

Dude, really?

No, I am not pregnant. 

Yes, I will be trying to GET pregnant (as of Thursday).

Yes, I know my youngest two will only be 15+ months apart.  I am doing this ON PURPOSE.

I wanted to clarify those things, not that I need to.

People, this is my blog.  I don't use it as a journal, I don't use it as a brag site (except for exceptionally proud moments that are mostly to be shared with grandparents), I do NOT intend to go private (nor should I have to). 

If you don't like what you're reading, then don't read it.  No one's making you follow my life.  I really don't care if you don't.  I never begged anyone to read this.  I did this for family and friends that lived far away and I find it fun and entertaining. 

I am not perfect, I never claimed to be.  I'm certainly not perfect on my blog, again, nor do I try to be.  This is me.  This is real.  This isn't some "my life's so perfect I want to make you gag" fairy tale blog.  I tell it like it is.  I whine.  Who doesn't??? More importantly, WHO CARES! I enjoy writing and venting and laughing at myself and my kids and other people.  I do a lot of that on my blog.  MY blog. 

If you don't like what you're reading, there's a liiiiittle "X" up in the top, right corner of your screen.... click it.  Don't be leaving comments that, really, only show your ignorance to the situation in my comment spaces. 

Again, if you don't like what I have to say, stop reading MY blog.

To the rest of you, please continue to share my journey.  We are going to be trying for another baby, our very last baby.  We don't want Quin to be spoiled, he needs a friend.  My older two are 16 months apart and I wouldn't have it any other way.  This is a huge, scary step for us as the last baby was a crank-pot and I was a little messed in the head. I'm better now because of it and can handle it again if need be, hopefully more gracefully this time.  I know what I'm doing, I'm not stupid (regardless of what a few may think), and I am excited for this.  So there.  I'm done now.

2 + 2 = 4

Otherwise entitled:  "Why, yes, we ARE crazy."

If you can decipher what it is I'm trying to say, you win! What will you win? Nothing! That, and the satisfaction of knowing you cracked the code, bay-bee! Oh, yeah.  ;)

Stuck

Yesterday, I was doing some dishes and found Quin like this when I was done:

It never ceases to amaze me how babies can get into the funniest places.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

A friend of mine sent me this and said I could post it:

Two different Versions! ................. Two different morals!



OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.


MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!





MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Rev. Jeremiah Wright then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the
grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.



MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

Halloween Recipe Contest!!

My husband's cousin has this awesome blog where she lists recipes that are tried and true.  I've used one of them already and it was excellent! (It was the lasagna, by the way.) 

She's having a Halloween recipe contest and is giving away some great prizes!

Click here for details on how to enter, what you'll win, and all that jazz. 

If you do decide to enter, do tell her that I referred you! ;)

Happy October!!!

The Results Are In!

Click here for my book give-away results!

12 Days

That's how long Fall lasted this year.  Bummer.

This is what I woke up to this morning:

This is my back yard.  Poor, poor trees.

The other side of my back yard.  We heard branches breaking all morning long.

I really wish the leaves could have a chance to you know, FALL.

I'm going out with a broom to help releave some stress (for the trees, not me), but being 5'3" only gets one so high.  ;)

This is the tree in my front yard and my neighbor's tree.  SO glad we cut down those dumb Russian Olives!

Oh, Karen, remember my flowers that were doing so well? They didn't make it:

This is what they looked like before the snow of death:

Well, our heater has a new thermostat and our wood stove is already broken in for the year.  Just wish I had weeded my gardens before this all hit.  Oh, well.  I should've known better. 

Two More Days!!

You still have two days to enter my give-away if you want this book! If you don't want this book, you can still enter so you can give it to someone else as a gift.

If you're not familiar with Richard Paul Evans, I highly recommend checking him out.  He writes so well, to begin with - his books are captivating from the very first page.  He doesn't waste paper describing what someone's wearing or what the room looks like.  There isn't a boring page in any of his books, and I would know, I've read them all.  He also writes women so well, which is strange for a man.  He's married with several children and is even a member of the church.  You won't be disappointed if you give him a chance, I guarantee it!

Enter today!! Giveaway ends Monday morning!!