The party is over

Spring break has officially ended. The kids are back. School is scheduled for tomorrow. The house is a mess. No more running around the house nekkid.

I need a glass of wine.

Yahoo! It's gonna be Party Time!

I've been bummed lately. In a rut. Down in the mouth. Blue in the gills. Feeling like someone peed in my Cheerios.

But no more! Da Man and I suddenly realized that most of the kids were going to be G.O.N.E. over spring break leaving us with just Magnet and Alien. Wellhell! I can fix that! A quick phone call to Grandma and they are shipping out on Saturday.

So yeah, can you see where this is leading?! One entire week of no children! And even better, 3 entire days of Da Man and I together without kids and without work and travelling around to wherever we want to!

Sooo, what should we do? We are dropping kids off in central Missouri. Thoughts are perhaps to swing down to Branson and spend a long weekend. Maybe go up to Kansas City..I'm just plain old pumped to get away with him and just Do Something.

I'll bring my laptop with me and I'm sure that I'll have wireless somewhere or another...and so I'll update you on my various stages of giddiness!


Man...I feel so much better now! Taking a mini vacation is even better than a glass of wine (or four).

(as always, thanks Rick for the doodle!)

To be a kid again (otherwise known as) To sleep outside without being drunk.

My two youngest boys are sleeping outside tonight on the trampoline. They are bundled up in blankets and are lying under the clear night sky with a million stars overhead.


I kinda freaked out Magnet with the first photo. He didn't hear me coming outside.


Alien is already sound asleep buried in his pile of blankets.


The night is just wonderful, a soft breeze, mild temperatures. It's kinda tempting to join them.

I think the last time I slept outside, I had passed out on some lawn chair after drinking waaaay too much and woke up the next morning with a ton of little stripes across my face.

Just not the same.

I love that swept away feeling

that you get from reading a good book. I love just disappearing into the storyline and being part of the story. I love getting to know the characters and sometimes will feel quite sad when the story is over and I have to bid farewell to my friends.

I'm a fiction nut and primarily it's mysteries and thrillers. But one series I read really caught me up and there is a new one coming out soon! I can't wait! It's the 'Outlander' series by Diana Gabaldon. Have ya'll read them? I highly recommend them. I'm completely in love with a tall red-headed Scot named Jamie. Da Man would be on his own if Jamie was to show up and wanted to whisk me away! It gets pretty steamy in parts and is officially part of the 'historical romance' genre but lemme tell ya, it is an awesome series.

Of the classics, I'd have to say The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck is my favorite. Incredible story that one is.

One thing that I have always wished for my children is that they discover the joy of reading. I still remember the day that my daughter first became actually drawn into the book she was reading. It was Island of the Blue Dolphins and she cried when one of the main dolphins was killed in the story. She was in 3rd grade. Magnet was a little older, in 4th grade when he became lost in a story and it has yet to happen to Alien. He doesn't much like reading and only does it when he's forced to I'm afraid.


I could stay all day, no, an entire week curled up in a beautiful book-lined study.

So what are your favorite books?

Spelling Bee 101

Yep, it was time for the county spelling bee. Actually, it's the elementary and middle school spelling bee but since our county has such a small population, it's also the county spelling bee. So school, town and county spelling champ all in one shot!

Alien was so excited this year. It's the first year he was eligible and he was pumped! Magnet was very laid back this year. Didn't even go over any quiz words or anything. He has done this 2 previous times ya know...he's a well-experienced bee-er that has been around the block more than once!

The kids competing were 4th through 8th grade. Altogether 59 kids were lined up to compete and they were all given a practice word to begin with. Magnet sailed through his word with 'place'. Piece of cake. Alien has nervous as he stepped to the microphone but got 'month' without a hitch.

Okay, now time for the real thing. Round 1 has commenced and there are a few casualties. Magnet steps up to the microphone. His word is 'temper'. He spells out T. E. M. P. U. R. E.

Huh? This is my kiddo that had a 10th grade reading level in the 2nd grade? I think he was just a bit too laid back this year. He's giving me this look cause I'm getting onto him about picking his new wires on his braces. Don't even ask me about his wires and brackets and how many extra trips we have to take back to the dentist. He's lucky he's still alive right now.

So back to the bee. Alien's word is 'graze'. G R A Z E. Easy peasey. Round 2 comes around and kids are starting to drop like flies. Alien's word is 'nurse'. His sentence was "Your mother is a nurse at the hospital." People around me snickered cause shore'nuff, I'm a nurse at the hospital. Again, the kid got it right.

Round 3. His word is 'platoon'. Now this one is a bit tougher for him and I didn't know if he had seen this one before. He spells P L U T I N E. Down he goes but he gave it a good shot. He was pretty bummed at first.

Then he remembered that he had gotten farther than his brother. All was right in the world after all. Just an FYI, a 4th grader ended up winning the bee, for the first time in our county's history! I wish I had a video of how excited the 4th grade class was. The boys were all pumping their arms with every correctly spelled word! It was pretty awesome. I love small towns.

What a day! Alien's birthday!

I can't believe my baby is 10 years old. That means I definitely can't blame my weight on him anymore. Drat and double drat.

This year he got to choose 2 friends to accompany him on an out-of-town fun trip. Since our town is only 600 people, if you want to do anything fun, it's pretty much out of town. He chose Steven and Katie. They had a blast!


We spent the majority of the afternoon at the skating rink where they skated their hearts out.


Of course, it took a few times around the rink before they got their 'skating legs'.


Before we hit the rink, we headed to Pizza Hut. Nothing beats pizza on your birthday except pizza on your birthday with your best friend!


Even better, pizza on your birthday with your best friend WHILE making faces at your mom! I told them their faces would freeze that way and they did! Didn't wear off until after the waitress walked away with a very odd expression on her own face. Must have been catching.


Friend presents came during skating.


And cotton candy. I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to trapping myself all day with 3 ten year olds on a huge sugar rush.

After skating, we hit Granny's house for cupcakes and milk. Went to McDonalds and picnicked at the park where they were able to run off some of that sugar they had consumed. No pictures though, I left my spare batteries on the kitchen counter. Nicely charged up though. That's partial credit right?

Then back home again after a very loooonng hour long ride home. Alien was so jazzed up that his voice volume did not have a 'lower' to it at all. Louder and louder and louder. I dreamed of my wine all the way back.

Kids are dropped off and we are back home again. For the final round of the 'birthday show'.


The real cake. With TEN candles on it. Double digits dude! A whole decade! Wow..umm.. damn..why did I say that? I feel really old now.

Then our presents which the big prize of the evening was a tie between the new Nintendo DS 'briefcase' with lots of extra supplies in it or the remote control boat that his grandparents got him. He's looking forward to using that on our lake before long. Preferable when it is warm enough to get into the water to rescue the boat from wherever he strands it at!

Well, that was my day. How was yours?

Alien's Homemade Essay Assignment

My dear youngest son, Alien, has been going through a bit of a rough patch these past few weeks (could be months). Granted, he's 9 years old. He's in the 4th grade. He's a boy. He's also firmly feels that he is the Center Of The Universe and has absolutely no thought to anyone else at this time. No matter if someone is in the middle of a show or a game, when HE wants to watch or play something else. No matter if someone is sound asleep and HE needs to tell them that the dog just did something funny. No matter if...well, you get the picture.

I had finally had my limit the other day and so I told him what I was going to have him do. He had to write a page for me about what a family is, what being in a family means, how has he currently been acting and what was he going to do to be better.




This is what I got: (spelling and syntax is his)

First of all a family has to work together, and not fight and stuff. Help each other, try to be good freinds, be happy, have a happy life.

I have been acting horrible and not acting like a normal person.

I have been screaming, yelling, bosy, mean, not truthful.

I'm NOT going to be screaming, yelling, bosy, mean, I AM going to be truthful, nice, peaceful.

Have I mentioned that he has got a heart of gold and is always the one that notices any little change. I could have fixed my hair different, be wearing a new shirt, have earrings on that I haven't worn in a long while...and HE'S the one that notices. He's the one that runs up to give me a hug first and tell me how much he loves me. He's the one that feels just heart-broken if he thinks he has disappointed me or his dad or his grandparents. He's my wonderful little Alien.

Concession stands

They take a lot of work and cooperation to run. Somehow I ended up saying I'd help get the concession stand ready for the basketball game today and while it was fun, it's a lot of work!


Alien had fun sitting with his friend Emily and starting his endless cycle of munching. It starts innocently enough with a request for root beer.

I'm done though now and back to wonderful laptop and I feel back at home again! Ahh!

The walls have ears

A friend of mine emailed me some jokes today which just cracked me up. Da Man was sitting over at his computer across the room playing hearts, his new game obsession at the moment. I read this particular joke out loud to him.

The Polite way to Pee

During one of her daily classes, a teacher trying to teach good manners , asked her students the following question:

"Michael, if you were on a date having dinner with a nice young lady, how would you tell her that you have to go to the bathroom?"

"Michael said, "Just a minute I have to go pee."

The teacher responded by saying, "That would be rude and impolite.
What about you Sherman, how would you say it?"

Sherman said, "I am sorry, but I really need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

"That's better, but it's still not very nice to say the word bathroom at the dinner table," said the teacher.


Then she asked, "And you, Johnny, can you use your brain for once and show us your good manners?"

Johnny said, "I would say: Darling, may I please be excused for a moment? I have to shake hands with a very dear friend of mine , whom I hope to introduce you to after dinner."

The teacher fainted...

Funny right, I thought so also. I was still enjoying the chuckle when Alien walked up and said he heard that joke and knew what it meant. I tried quickly to distract him with his undone chores, didn't he need a shower, did he have his clothes laid out for tomorrow, oh look, there's Elvis. To no avail. He said, 'shake hands with his dear friend right...the toilet!' Whew...I fainted.

PeeWee Basketball

This is the story of my youngest son, Alien. Today was his first basketball game EVER. He was pretty nervous and was worried that he wouldn’t know what to do when he got out there but he actually surprised me. Here he is getting to the school gym and making sure his shoes were tight. It’s all about the shoes ya know.

Watching the girls game was quite exciting and they did very well. It was amazing to watch these little girls running around the court and they quite handily won their game. They will start shooting up in size soon but for right now, most of them are still the same size as the boys.




Of course I mentioned that this was (blog fodder) photo documentation of my boys…like I always do. For some reason Magnet thinks he wants to start his own blog also. No no no…not the puppy dog face. I can resist it. I can. I can. Well, maybe I’ll let him.


Alien got some court time and actually had the ball in his hands TWICE during the game. Of course I was bouncing in my seat and didn’t think to get a photo of him at that moment.


We’ll work on trying to break free from defenders later on.

A great time was had by all and then reality set in when we got home and I chased them both out of the house. Either stay out and play or stay in and do chores. I love the peace and quiet that always brings!

Peace out and bunny ears to you all!

Woohoo! Let's meet the fam!

A huge thank you to my dear hubby for getting the wireless up and going! This is so cool now that I can load up all my pictures and post away! So say Hello to Da Man!




Here is my oldest son..affectionately known as Magnet. It's a long story that I'll tell sometime!




This is the youngest son who has various names depending on the mood he's in for the day! He goes by Alien or Twerp or COTU (center of the universe). Can you tell what kind of stage he's going through just now?! I love him dearly but there are days I'm not sure he's going to make it until his next birthday! Just kidding...I think! ;o)




This is Little Boss with her daddy....she's totally a daddy's girl, or more truthfully, she's her daddy's boss! hehehe..you guys just THINK I'm kidding here don't ya? (wink)




And here is the newest member of the live-in family aka The Dude. He just turned 16! Sounds (and often acts) just like his dad! He moved in with us at the beginning of January and is going to school here now.


Okay, I'll get some more up later, I haven't posted any pics of Hippie Chick and Sketch, the two oldest girls that don't live with us.

Thanks for meeting my family!

Aww...my little girl

This is Little Boss...isn't she cute! Unfortunately, work and kids here didn't allow me to see her in this Homecoming ceremony but I was told by her mom that she did just wonderfully. I'm betting that 11 or 12 years from now, she's going to be in a photo just like this again but then she'll be wearing the queen crown.

http://www.pratttribune.com/archive/x1992962229/g258258c0adcd13bafe16db51babc0b5f63b8dd966a1e4a.jpg

Obviously, I'm having trouble posting a picture of it, but there is the link to the Tribune photo.

I've been thinking about names

yeah, yeah, I'm still at work and while I HAVE been primarily working, my little gray cells have also been churning away at my name problem and I think I'm coming up with it.
Kid #1: Hippie Chick
Kid #2: (still undecided)
Kid #3: Dude
Kid #4: Punk 1
Kid #5: Punk 2
Kid #6: Little Boss

So I just need something for #2...she's creative, living with her mom, very artistic, writes plays, acts and directs...there just isn't much creative that she can't do! She draws in the anime' style so perhaps something with a Japanese flavor. I know that Lady in Japanese is Fujin...that just might work.