Give aways, award, oh my...

My bloggy friend, Missy at Two Monkeys is having a give away...her first one. She is such a crafty, creative person and she is sharing with the rest of us. Winner of the give away gets one of her custom made hairbows...so, so, so cute!! I can't remember how I came across Missy, but I was immediately drawn to her blog and her etsy store - she has quite a variety of things... I fell in love with this:

I ordered one for my sister's birthday...Missy finished it in a weekend - UNBELIEVABLE!! If it were me, my sister would be getting it in 2012! The bag is made with sturdy, but fashionable material has inside and outside pockets...it is SO adorable!! So go check out Missy and enter the contest (even though, I'm winning this one)...your consolation prize will be seeing her adorable twin girls...

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Another bloggy friend, Shannon at Welcome to the Nut House, has bestowed this award on me:

Thanks again, Shannon!!!

I have been coveting this award...I think it is so cute!!! Now I am to pass this award on to seven blogs I heart:

1. Tressa at American in Norway

2. Jennifer at The Fun House

3. Jess at The Wilson's House

4. Jill at The Perlman Update

5. Jen at Buried with Children

6. Shanna at Smiles Miles & Trials

7. CaraBee at Land of Bean

There are so many more I want to add, but a lot of you guys already have this one!

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My Oh My...

I'm having 5, 10 year olds over tonight for a slumber party blow out....Wish me luck!!!!

Urgghhhhh!

I've been such a whineybutt this past week...I'm usually more hardcore when it comes to illness, but not with this last one. May be it's because I have a new outlet to get it all out when before I just sucked it up and moved on. Is blogging making me whimpy?! An idea for another post another day...

In my attempt to "grin and bear it" this week, I've come up with all the illnesses I was developing (tongue-in-cheek of course). Working in a medical office, they got the joke...so this past week I've had Rheumatic fever (achy knees), Bubonic plague, and MRSA (due to a nice little pimple in my nose - ewwww! I know!!) Do you know how much it sucks to have a cold and a pimple in your nose?! - blowing your nose hurts like a bitch. I'm sorry for the imagery I'm causing at this point. So, having a history of performing "bathroom surgery" on myself, I decided to take care of the pimple (really to get some relief while blowing my nose). To be honest, I messed with it more than once. Here's the result:

CELLULITIS!! I have an actual diagnosis now!! Am I my worst enemy or what?! So I am on a 10 day course of Keflex for my poor aching, painful nose. I'm thinking I got what I deserved whining all week and trying to get rid of my MRSA, bubonic plague and rheumatoid fever myself ;)

Post Script: I pride myself in looking at all my favorite blogs on a daily basis and being able to be very up-to-date. I've failed this task miserably this week and I'm feeling so guilty. My saving grace will be that not everyone posts on the weekend so I'll be able to catch up...so if you notice that I'm constantly stalking your blogs and haven't been this week it's not because I've lost interest it's due to all the above...SORRY!

Friday Foto Fiesta Finish

It's time once again to play, Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish!!! *applause* *whistles* You too can partake in the festivities...head on over to see what's going on this week!

My choice this week is a picture of Jack that I just found out existed. My sister was recently visiting and took this picture of Jack struggling to get a toy out from between his crib and a chair. Apparently she saw what was going on and ran for her camera; by the time she returned, Jack was in a tizzy fit about his inability to get the toy out. So does my sister help?! No way, it's time for a photo op; she encourages him to try again...here's the result...

I've been wracking my brain for a good caption for this picture, but I just can't find one...so now it's your turn to "Name that Photo"....

I've reached a new low...

at least according to my husband....

When I'm not out in the blogosphere stalking reading my favorite blogs, I can be found holed up somewhere with my nose in a book. I've been reading EVERYWHERE about people GUSHING, and going GAGA over the TWILIGHT SERIES. So I decided to jump right on that bandwagon and see what all the hoopla was about.

I mentioned to my co-worker that I had been hearing about how great these books were and how I had to get on the wait list at my library for it...and she mentioned she had it at her home; her daughter had read it. I begged and pleaded with her to bring it in (which she did) and I proceeded to devour the book in 1 day....I concur with the GUSHING and the GAGA-ING - it's a great, easy, spellbinding read!!! So after I completed the first book, I was chomping at the bit for the second...I was speaking with another friend about the books and she said her next door neighbor had the series. I know her neighbor and I begged her to ask if I could borrow the books. She delivered and brought me book 2 yesterday...I just finished that...I am loving these books!!!

I already have book 3 because during one of my whining sessions this past weekend when I wasn't feeling well, I goaded my hubby into picking me up what I thought was the 2nd book, but turned out to be the 3rd book...so I am set for the next day or two.

My husband commented that I really needed to expand my reading list to involve books that weren't written for 13 year old girls; little did he know that the books I had already gotten were from 13 year old girls. When I informed him of this, he just rolled his eyes and told me I was hopeless.

Oh well, I'm enjoying myself...I've even gone to the movie website to see the trailers and pics...The actor chosen for Edward is definitely not what I've been imaging, but the actor playing Bella is a pretty close fit. I'm getting excited to see if the movie does it justice...I know they usually don't, but I still get excited for them....you know, because I'm a 13 year old girl like that!

Weigh-in Wednesday

Well, this will be a quick one...I didn't go to my WW meeting today to weigh in. Why? because I know the scale wouldn't have been kind to me this week because I haven't been to kind to my body. I know it's a cop out, but I just couldn't have kept a positive outlook knowing the NUMBERS!! So I skipped it...

Still haven't gotten my mojo back...thought that doing the C25K would really be a motivator, however, I ran 1 1/2 weeks ago and my left knee was feeling kinda funny...since then both knees are feeling as if they are hyperextending when I walk (the right is probably now involved because I've been overcompensating for my left knee). My plan is to wait until my knees feel like they are meant to be walked on again and do the "Kelly modified" C25K program meaning I'll probably just walk for 2-3 weeks before even building up to the running. My poor knees can't take the extra weight I'm carrying and then compounding it with joint-crushing jarring while running.

I told myself tonight that I couldn't post until I tracked today's food...so I did and here I am...no changes, but you know what? that's okay for right now (at least until next week...)

I hope you all are doing well with your health goals and have some good news to share...but even if you don't, that's okay too...

Stranger in the house

Jen over at Buried with Children inspired this post...actually reminded me of this and I thought, it's a good story; why not share?....
I am a night owl; most nights I am up by myself for a few hours before I finally call it a night. Before I discovered blogging, I was a t.v.-aholic. Not just any t.v., but bad t.v. Oh and I loved t.v. around Halloween because they had all these freaky stories on...I was watching one such story about this doctor in Key West, Florida in the 1920s. He worked in a tuberculosis ward and fell in love with one of his patients. Unfortunately, the patient succumbed to the disease and passed away. The doctor couldn't get over his undying love for this woman so he exhumed the body and made it his wife...in.the.biblical.sense... (don't believe me, click here)
Now the freak that I am had heard this story before and I knew there were going to be pictures involved...that's just the icing on the cake...so even though I had seen the pictures, I was getting anxious with anticipation at seeing it again. So I'm nervously awaiting the pictures while sitting on my couch near my front window (it's about 12:30 am) when I hear a car door shut. I think to myself, that sounded awfully close, but didn't think anything of it. Then all of a sudden the screen door opens and I freeze...surely, I am freaking myself out by watching scary television, but then the front door opens and this man walks into my house!!!
Now, have you ever had a dream when you are attacked or something jumps out at you and you scream and nothing comes out?! Well, it's a recurring nightmare of mine that if something ever happened, I would lose my voice and would be unable to call for help. Let me tell you, I no longer have to worry about that...I jumped up from the couch, got in a semi-crouched position, fists clenched and shaking; I screamed at the top of my lungs, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed so loud my throat hurt! Well the guy (who never got past the front door) looked at me weird and just backed out of my house and left. I then proceed to scream for my husband, "BILL, BILL, THERE IS SOMEONE IN THE HOUSE!!" Well Mr. Policeman comes running out of the bedroom in his birthday suit carrying his gun...he is still half asleep and completely freaked out. He asked me what happened and I hysterically tell him someone just walked into the door, etc. etc. So my husband in the buff with his gun cocked (I couldn't resist) goes to run out in my front yard...I slam the door shut and tell him he's not running outside naked!! (Okay, so my priorities are a little off at this point) so he runs back in the bedroom puts on pants and then runs out (much better). Needless to say, there is no sign of the guy...we called the cops and they couldn't find any signs of the guy...so my husband tells me I need to go to sleep as it's 2 am now...sleep?! whaat?! My husband offers to stand guard so that I can sleep, but I opted for him to come to bed with me so that if the guy returned, he'd be right there.
As I was sharing this story over the next few days, I got a lot of "So who do you think it was?", "Have you asked any of your neighbors if they've seen anything", etc. Well, in our old neighborhood, we really didn't know anyone, but then it clicked...the newish neighbor across the street kinda looked like our perp (Bill hates it when I speak cop-ese)...So the story in my mind that helped me sleep better...was that new Mr. Neighbor comes home drunk late at night, confuses the houses walks into my house and is confronted by crazy screaming lady (moi!). Talk about a sobering moment!!

Preaching to the Choir

Okay, I need to vent...I am a disorganized mess (is that redundant?)...First of all I lost a whole weekend due to whatever nasty summer bug I caught...head cold, achy, and very fatigued. Not that I get usually get a lot accomplished on the weekends besides catching up on all the sleep I lose staying up until 1am in the morning, but that's not the point, I lost a weekend.

So I drag my fat ass to work (fat ass because the scrubs that were feeling a little looser last week are feeling a little snug this week - why couldn't I have had a stomach bug that made me lose my appetite?). I have a super busy day with patients, patients, patients and more patients. I try to avoid having too much contact because all of them are immunocompromised in one way or the other; I even thought about wearing a mask, but then I thought that was a little too dramatic. On top of the plethora of patients, I had a monitor in today (one of the nice ones), but still more work...

I get home start dinner (hubby usually starts the dinner, but I told him I would cook when I got home 'cause he's never made the beef stroganoff...(don't know why I am so protective, it's not like it's a complicated recipe - beef, soup, sour cream, noodles!!!). So I drag myself home and start browning the meat when my middle child, Emmy, comes in and tells me it's parent night tonight at her school. I think I said, "You've got to be f--king kidding me?!" But I hope not because she is 6...so let's just pretend I said, "Oh my, I completely forgot!" (Did I mention I still feel like I've been run over by a Mac truck?!) Well sure enough, she's right; it's parent's night tonight starting in ....oh 10 minutes...lovely! So I turn over the cooking duties to hubby who by the way is a walking zombie as he was called out to a crime scene at 2:30 am...Off to school I went in the middle of a thunder storm.

So I make my way to the classroom in the aforementioned thunderstorm and I am made to wait OUTSIDE for the requisite 5 minutes before the start of the fun-filled evening. Hello?! lightning was still dangerous last time I checked and we are living in the lighting capital of the world!!

We enter the classroom and I have to sit for the next 60 minutes in a kid sized chair that is 10 inches from the ground...did I mention that I think my illness was rheumatic fever as my knees are both aching and I am hobbling around? As the teacher speaks more and more about what a 1st grader is supposed to know and accomplish, my anxiety level grows and grows. And I am going to find the time to do this when?! It already took me 1 week to fill out all the back-to-school paperwork....URGHHHH!

Best news of all?! I go back on Thursday for 5th grade parent's night...Can someone call me in a prescription for Xanax?

That's all for now, Whiney McWhineybutt signing off...

A Mish-Mosh, Hodge-Podge, and Sunshine....

That's right a post about a bunch of things....

Let's focus on the last first...The sun is shining in the Sunshine State once again (at least in Central Florida). I didn't realize my tolerance for non-sunny days had gone WAY down. But after 4 days of constant rain, it's good to see the sun again!! BTW - I used to live in Tacoma, WA so I used to be very used to rain, but I guess living in Florida has given me SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

Now that Fay has finally left (talk about an unwelcome guest), another unwelcome guest has entered our household: the summer cold/flu. I've identified patient one: Jackson; of course he's fine now and enjoying the turmoil he brought. Emmy is also still good which is wonderful because she's my girl that gets EVERYTHING!!! I'm currently waiting for the Tylenol Cold & Flu to kick in so if I ramble or don't make any sense, I'll blame it on the pseudo-fever I have!

Now I've had a very rewarding week this week...I am so feeling the award love and I'm ready to spread that love...aren't you glad that's the only thing I can spread over the computer!!!

First, Angie over at Angie's Spot bestowed this wonderful award to me:

This award was created by Memoirs of a Mommy in honor of the organ donor that saved her son's life 07/07/07 and to raise awareness of organ donation. The rules of this award are: SHARE THE LOVE!!! Share this award with all those blogs out there that you love. All the people who make you smile. All those that make you laugh. All those that make your day. All those that leave uplifting comments on your blog.

So here's who I would love to pass this along to... oh and make sure that you include a link to the original post (see above link) with the award and ask your recipient to do the same**

Jen at Buried with Children

Tricia at Hippie Family

Karla at Zander and Me

Missy at Two Little Monkeys

Lori at Lori's Blog

Jennifer at The Fun House

Jess at The Wilson's House

That's seven in honor of the life saving date....I could add much, much more, but I'm pretty sure, these awesome ladies will cover a lot of the blogs that I would have continued to mention...we seem to visit the same blogs :)



I also received this award this week by 2 of my favs...Lori at Lori's Blog and Mary at Now Entering Momville:

I would like pass this one along to:

Tressa at American in Norway: My BFF from High school and one of the people who encouraged me to partake in the fun of blogging!!

Kat at Sunshine and Lemonade: The woman's an inspiration....she exhausts me with all she accomplishes in a week, not to mention the wonderful daily posts!!

Jill at The Perlman Update: I love to live vicariously through Jill; her life is so fascinating to me...plus she's an awesome, supportive bloggy friend.

Therese at The Musings of a Mom: I'm in awe of her with 3 boys...such a scary prospect for me...the trouble they can get in *shiver*. She seems to handle it with ease and the boys are adorable!!

Cat at Juggling the Act of Life: My bloggy friend from South Africa...I love visiting blogs from other countries...her life is busy and fascinating...I love to visit daily!

Angie at Angie's Spot: Angie's fabulous! Her posts are always so fun and those girls of hers...A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.!!

And Lori also gave me the kick ass blogger award so you know what that means...I'm Kick Ass Squared...but what it really means is I get to pick some more kick ass bloggers to send this to...
Here are the rules:*Pick 5 Bloggers that you feel are Kick Ass Bloggers* Let em' know in your post or via email, twitter or blog comments that they've received an award* Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to Kick A** Blogger Award* Hop on back to the Kick Ass Blogger Club HQ to sign Mr. Linky then pass it on (which you can also get to on the above link)

Mary at Now Entering Momville...Have you seen this lady's blog?!!...such awesome give aways all.the.time!!

Kat at Mama's Losin' It...a superstar in my book. She's probably received a million awards, but I'm giving it to her anyway 'cause she's hysterical!!

Cyndy at Putting the Fun in DysFUNctional...my new Gator friend...I needed to add to her blog bling!

Angie at Angie's Spot: Have you visited her on Mondays?! Wooo Hooo - get me a fan!!

Juli at Just Juli: A funny gal that seems to create fun wherever she goes or whatever she is doing!!

Friday Foto Fiesta Finish

Ladies and Gentleman, it's once again time to play, Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish. After your done here, go over there and see who's playing this week...

I just want to go on the record to say generally I'm not a mean Mommy. However, I've been given a 1st child who is the total opposite of me when it comes to rides. I can't tell you how many times I have waited in line for a ride with this child and had to turn back around as soon as we were about to get on a ride because she start flipping out. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, my sister and I are trying to carry on a family tradition of going to a kid's amusement park in Lancaster, PA called Dutch Wonderland. Let me emphasize the word KID'S; there are NO scary rides in this park...except if your name is Cameron. So I had the brillant idea that I could trick her onto the the KID'S flume ride and she would just have to love it! Well I was WRONG and I have the pictures to prove it. And that hysterical laughter you see coming from me? Well, I just have a twisted sense of humor.

My MIL

Before you all jump to the conclusion that this is going to be one of the typical MIL posts, I've got to break it to you gently...My MIL is AWESOME!!! and it's her birthday today so Happy Birthday, Joan!!

The other day, Mary at Now Entering Momville blogged about what your life would be if you had married your first love...for those of us who didn't. And I was quickly reminded of how thankful I should be that I didn't marry college boyfriend because either I would be in MIL hell, be estranged from said MIL from hell, or she would be buried in my backyard. Can you say control freak?! College boyfriend's mother actually set him up on a lunch date with one of her co-workers...we had been dating for 3 years!! NICE!

I have another MIL from hell story...When my husband and I moved to Florida, his only relative in Florida at the time was his dad and his new wife, The Beast. The Beast was/is another über-control freak who was so, so difficult to get along with. She would actually call me at my work and chew me out for not calling them on a weekly basis - hello?! not my parents! don't even like you!! The last straw for me was at Cameron's 1st birthday party, The Beast actually said to my baby, "No, let Grandma Beast, do that. Obviously Mommy doesn't know what she's doing does she!" I'm not lyin'!! So after my husband had a discussion with his dad about how we didn't like her behavior or comments, his dad and The Beast chose to exit our lives...

Joan on the other hand has ALWAYS been a wonderful MIL, friend, and confidant. She and her husband, Mark lived in Connecticut until about 7 years ago. I would call her in the fall and say, "I bet the leaves are turning and are looking gorgeous right now. I sure miss that; you know autumn is my favorite season" and poof! she would send me a ticket so I could visit. When they moved down to Florida, they chose a community about 30 minutes away...she later told me one of the reasons they chose the area was so that they could be close to the grand kids, but not too close to crowd us.

Joan has taken all of my children one day a week prior to entering school (she still does so with Jack-every time she has him, I get "Hi Momma" e-mail pictures of him - a treat to receive at work!). She does this to help us out financially b/c she knows daycare costs are a bitch. Speaking of financial help, she contributed money each month to the girls' college funds (which are now paid for...). Anytime a child is sick, Grandma is there to take care of them. Grandma will take the kids to parks, movies, etc. etc. My kids are truly blessed to have her in their lives as am I.

I could literally go on and on, but I also don't want to make you nauseous with the utter awesomeness which is Joan. Don't get me wrong, she's not perfect, but neither am I...I sure did luck out with her though!!!

Weigh-In Wednesday

Hello, Hello, it's Wednesday again and time to report how I'm doing on my weight loss goals along with all the other peeps at OSB. What's OSB you ask? Well click here to check it out!!

Quite honestly, my mojo is not 100% back...I am still not tracking food; probably because I wait until I've done all my daily tasks (including catching up on my reading, etc.) and I am just too tired to log. I need to get back into the habit of logging immediately after I eat.

I am still attempting to do the Couch to 5 K program. I have only done gone out to run 1 time since last week; I was supposed to do the run last night, but I was unable due to good ol' tropical storm Fay. I'm trying to get myself out of my funk and get re-motivated, but as I read back on what I've written and all I see is constant excuses...

So now for the numbers...I'm up again by 0.6 pounds :( What is it with me and this 0.6 lbs thing?! So I did bring up the whole mojo thing in the meeting today which just so happened to be about setting realistic, mini goals for myself. So I started thinking of a good first goal to reach as motivation...How bout being able to wear my wedding rings again?! Yup, that's right, my fingers are too plump to wear my rings; how embarrassing is that?! Unfortunately, this has been a reality for me for a couple years so I don't know if that would be a really good motivator...May be if I go under a certain number, I'll treat myself to a massage!? Any ideas?...I need to get back on track!!!!

How did you guys do this week?!

How fun is this?!

This weekend one of our family friends had a birthday for her son's (Connor's) 9th birthday. It was at this place called Rebounderz in our town. It is a play place filled with trampolines. The kids loved it, even Jack.



The guy who came up with this idea is sitting on a gold mine; the kids only have the endurance to jump for 15 - 20 minutes tops then they are done (you pay $10.00 per kid per hour)!!




After they're exhausted from the jumping, there is a snack bar and a bunch of video games for kids to play (which is another way to keep the cash flowing into their pockets!) The plan was go back to my friend, Terri's house for food, etc. after everyone had their fill of jumping. However, the kids wanted to play games, get slurpees, etc., etc.. As a group, the adults developed the 'party-line' comment for the kids that no one had money for games, etc. etc. Past experience has proven once you give them $1, they're back every 5 minutes begging for more like little game playing crack addicts! You would think the kids would get it after hearing the same answer from 5 different adults, but no...they seem to think we would magically come up with cash if they nagged, whined, and pouted. Adults = 1, Kids = 0.

Emmy - Whining and pouting because no one would cough up cash - poor little monkey!!

Jan and Sheila - 2 of the mean adults with a jumped-out Jackson

We headed back to Terri's house for food, drink, and cake; my party of 3 grew 2 more kids. Lauren and the birthday boy, Connor chose to drive over with us. The coolest thing about these kids is they have literally known each other from birth - Lauren and her mom, Sheila (Hi Sheila, I know you're reading ;) came to visit Cameron and me in the hospital on the day she was born. Connor was born a year later and all of us converged upon Terri shortly thereafter. Now the kids don't see each other as much as they once did; they all go to separate schools, but just like their moms, they have the ability to pick up exactly where they left off and have a great time together. Such a cool relationship to have this young.

In the back of the van with my additional hitchhikers

Emmy still upset she didn't get any tokens to play games...she later cheered up after cake and ice cream :)

Jackson chillin' in the car seat

Goofy faces for the Camera everyone!!

Fay update...It's been raining here all day, but it rained harder yesterday before the storm was even an issue. So the kids were home from school due to a drizzle! The storm is supposed to hit our area tonight around 8 pm and be here until the wee hours of Wednesday morning. The schools response? - Close the schools for Wednesday...Day 3 of the 2008-2009 school year: days of attendance = 1. Isn't it great to be a kid?!

First Day Back!!!

Cameron and Emmy returned to school today - yeah!!! Cameron is going into 5th grade and Emmy is going into 1st grade. We had the opportunity to go to the open house on Friday and meet their new teachers.

Emmy's teacher Mrs. M. has been at the school for decades and has a very well known reputation. I am hoping she will be helpful with accommodations and understanding of Emmy's issues. Her room is decorated nicely and Emmy zoned in right away to the fact that her teacher is a Gator fan and has paraphernalia around the room. I think she felt at home.

Cameron actually has 2 teachers this year which I didn't know until we went to open house. Cameron did though...hmmm... may be you should communicate this with Mom?! Anyway, she's with one teacher in the AM and one in the PM. It's supposed to get them used to middle school and the class changes, etc. The one huge difference I noticed in the 5th grade classroom is the starkness...none of the jungle themes, aquatic themes, it was total absence of any theme except a classroom in the eastern block! I'm hoping the teachers were just behind in getting their classes set up but some how I don't think so!!

So here are our traditional 1st day pics:

Emmy

Cameron

Cameron

Cameron

Emmy

Cameron & Emmy

Emmy outside her classroom


Cameron outside her classroom


Emmy

Off to class...

Both girls reported good days...Cameron had homework tonight; no break for 5th graders!

Guess what?! No school tomorrow due to Tropical Storm Fay - Yeah, they decided to shut down the schools tomorrow at lunch time today...Yippee!!

Here we go again?!!

It's hurricane season once again...not that it hasn't been hurricane season since May, but we have our first possibility of a storm that may be hitting us this week. When warnings were issued in past years, I just kinda smirked and thought, "Whatever" because nothing substantial ever happened...but then we had the infamous (at least in FL) 2004 hurricane season. We had 5 hurricanes that hit us that year, Charley, Jeanne, Ivan, Bonnie, and Frances......Awful! We got the most damage from Charley and Frances...debris everywhere, we lost our fence, neighbors had trees uprooted and worst of all (in my opinion) was no electricity for 5 days. 5 days+ no AC+ Florida in August= miserable!! You start off thinking, "oh it's not too bad, we'll be just fine", but by the 3rd and 4th day, you are a stark, raving mad woman with crazy hair, crazy eyes, crazy everything. I remember after Katrina hit New Orleans seeing a mom with a baby being interviewed the first day, she was chipper, all ready to go for this adventure. They found her 5 days later, and she was that aforementioned crazed woman. I remember thinking, "I know just what you're feeling sister!"

(do you see how Ivan and Jeanne actually left and then came back again?! WTF!!!)

The shortages are another thing that sucks...gas starts going before the storm hits because people stockpile for their cars, generators, and who knows what else. So the stations that still have gas after the storm have lines for miles. No big deal right?! Wrong! because of debris fields and the fact the ports where the gas come in are closed, gas deliveries may be a week or two out. Does your state ever have plywood shortages?! Florida does...everyone becomes a madman trying to get plywood to board up their windows...Florida looks pretty ugly preparing for a storm! And the big ticket item, GENERATORS...the neighborhood fills with the sound of constantly running motors from these God-sends!! But good luck finding these little beauties prior to or after a storm...We got our generator (finally) after Frances hit. The kids and I had escaped to Delaware. My sister flew into Orlando to come get us (isn't she awesome?!); she was probably one of 3 people flying into Orlando at that time!!! Up in Delaware, I started calling all around to find a generator to drive back down to Florida. The response at all the stores, "we are all out of generators" - Whaat?! "we've had to ship them all down to Florida". After pleading my case (using my seemingly permanent crazed-woman mannerisms) I tracked one down in Philadelphia. It was so worth it!! We actually wanted more hurricanes to hit so we could use that bad boy!!

Since our hurricane season from Hell, the local news goes ape shit if there is something brewing off the Canary Islands (yes, I now know where the hurricanes originate from, I know what NOAA stands for and I have their website as a "favorite" on my computer", I've gotten to know Jim Cantore from the weather channel and if he says something is coming, I believe it!!, I get the joke, "If Jim Cantore is reporting from your home town, you better leave"). So currently, we have Tropical Storm Fay (that's right tropical storm) that's right about at Cuba and our governor, has called a state of emergency for Florida...Huh?! It's not even scheduled to tickle the toes of Florida until Tuesday...but a state of emergency now?! Nothing like freaking out the natives!!! The news is eating it up...we have flashes underneath all programming letting us know the current statistics of the tropical storm. It is predicted we will feel the results of the storm on Wednesday...I always look forward to returning to my days as a mad woman; however, I do need a new fence :)



I'll leave you with a little joke that Cameron told me today that seems appropriate:

Knock, Knock

Who's there?

Wayne

Wayne Who?

Wayne, Wayne, go away!

You always remember your first

AWARD....Now get your mind out of the gutter and pay attention to me ;)



I've received my first award today from Therese at The Musings of a Mom



Here are the rules:

*Pick 5 Bloggers that you feel are Kick Ass Bloggers
* Let em' know in your post or via email, twitter or blog comments that they've received an award
* Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to Kick A** Blogger Award
* Hop on back to the Kick Ass Blogger Club HQ to sign Mr. Linky then pass it on (which you can also get to on the above link)



So here are my choices....Drum roll please...

1) Jen from Buried with Children - Jen is a Mom of 4 (3 of which are triplets) and has an amazing outlook and wit. I love reading her daily and looking at pictures of her beautiful kids! Plus, her oldest, Hayden is blogging gold with his statements!!


2)Tricia from Hippie Family - I love her blog and the comments she leaves for me...so funny!! Plus her little baby girl is very adorable (even though she's a gangsta in training ;) !


3) Jaci from Ravings of a Madhousewife - Another funny blogger. She makes me laugh out loud often which isn't good when I'm reading during work hours...it blows my cover!


4) Jess at The Wilson's House - She understands the whole college football craze that goes on in my house for half the year, plus she has a little guy who can be Jekyll and Hyde just like my little guy...it's good to have found someone who can commiserate!!


5) Jennifer at The Fun House - Jennifer is mom to 5 beautiful children, she and her husband do so many fabulous things with their kids and I get to live vicariously via her blog. Plus she does glassblowing as a hobby; something I've always wanted to do.


So ladies, go forth and continue Kicking Ass!!

Bathtime Trifecta

Bath time for Jack & Emmy usually happens right after dinnertime...tonight was no different. Jackson loves, loves, loves, bath time; the splashing, playing, freedom of not being held and able to flip around like a dolphin. So I got Jack cleaned up from dinner (a pre-bath wipe down) and took him to the hall closet to get out the towels. I made the mistake of putting him down and the little bugger took off. I told him to wait, but he just turned with a grin and vaulted into the bath tub - clothes, diaper and all! I finally got his wet clothes off of him between laughing fits and bath time began...

I'm a little more lenient with Jack's explorations than my husband is...so I let him do some things in bath time within reason (e.g. stand up for a few seconds, spin in the water - I am watching of course!). Well the husband peeps in just as Jack loses his balance and goes under and comes up sputtering...he gives me a look like, "Are you not watching him?!" - Strike #2 for bath time.

Emmy and Jack continue to play amenably and then Emmy announces she's done, gets out and dries off. Jackson continues to play...now I am not a bath time Mom who watches every.single.thing that goes on in bath time...I usually have reading material and I keep an eye on bath time shenanigans via my peripheral vision and frequent glances. Well, I'm reading away and I a hear a grunt. I look over and Jack is in a squat position...immediately, I think, oh shit! which is exactly what floats up next to the boy...Needless to say bath time was over.

Friday Foto Fiesta Finish

It's Friday! It's Friday! Thank goodness it's Friday!! One of my favorite blog days 'cause it's time to play Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish! After you're done here, go over to Carrie's and see who's playing this week....



This one is titled: "Jackson finds his tummy"...I am blessed to have such a wonderful MIL, Joan. Joan watches Jackson one day a week for us and as an added bonus, she loves photography. As a result, I have a ton of pictures of Jack (which is unusual for a 3rd child!). She actually caught the moment he discovered his belly and/or belly button...I love those baby rolls!!

In case you didn't believe me...

Remember when I told you about what a HUMONGOUS Gator fan my husband was here? Let me just give you a little more information to prove that statement.

When Jackson was born, my husband (who hates shopping), immediately went to the Gator/Seminole store and purchased a hat, onesie, and socks for the baby and official cheerleading outfits for the girls (here's Cameron modeling hers).

The baby's hospital picture was taken in the Gator apparel:

I had to resort to threats to keep my son's baby room from looking like this (note: the walls would be orange and blue)

I talked him down to a mobile, bumper, and banner.

Then the fanaticism took on a newer, scarier level when the Gators started to have a killer 2006 football season. Of course, my husband attributed this to Jackson's birth and how he must be a good luck charm. So as a result he created this blog for Jack: Born to be a Gator.

I told you so...please send your condolences via the comment section...

Weigh-in Wednesday

Another week gone in my weight loss journey and I've made a couple changes this past week...

First of all, I've joined the bandwagon over at Operation Skinny Bitch it's a relatively new website that has been created by 2 ladies, Shannie and Shannon (easy to remember right?!). The concept is to have a place for SUPPORT so anyone starting, in the middle or at the end of their weight loss journey is welcome. Also it doesn't matter what you are doing to get healthy...So if you're interested hit the link above or on the picture on the side bar and sign up!

Second, I've finally started an exercise program officially...I found out about the Couch to 5K program via one of the members on OSB, Sasha. The whole concept and plan is here, compliments of the Cool Running website. Let me tell you, running is NOT my thing. There are people out there that have it on their list of lifetime goals to run a marathon; Me? not an inkling of interest there...but I think I could handle a 5K and the program looks very do-able. So I decided to take the plunge...I have 2 of the workouts under my belt (and believe me, I am sucking some serious air out of the universe!!). I'm trying to find a 5K in October to participate in...I would really like to do a run for MS or the Susan G. Komen foundation...more on that as I find out information...

So now for the numbers of this week (which coincides perfectly with the weekly OSB weigh-in). I gained 0.6 lbs this week :( It seems losing my "motivation mojo" has caught up with me...However, I'm not making that big a deal about it because I'm sure the new changes will turn things around and help me get that Mojo back!

I leave you this week with a link to a couple of inspirational ladies who have been very successful changing their lives:

1) Jessie at Muthering Heights: Her 100th post was about her 100 lb weight loss! (and thanks to Cassie at Southern Domestic Goddess for leading me to this post...Cassie is also a featured Saucy Blog this week...she's funny...go check her out!)

2) JKW at My Journey to a Better Me: She's working to loose weight in 2008 (I hadn't heard that one yet, cute huh?!). Look at her picture diary on the side bar of her blog...AMAZING!

I hope you find these ladies as inspirational as I did...and good luck this week on whatever your better health goal is this week...remember to put your update in the comment section!!

Here come the "Terrible Two's"

Jackson whom I fondly refer to as "Jack-Jack", "Bubba", and "The Dude" is about to get a new nickname..."Lil' Bastard" or LB for short. Shocking, I know; my husband doesn't approve either.

Jackson, I'll be nice for now, is starting to become a brat challenging at times especially when those times involve Jackson not getting his way. Now remember, he is my 3rd child...I've been through this stage twice before, but the girls going through terrible two's were totally different the boy going through terrible two's. My girls would throw themselves down on the ground and pitch a fit worthy of an Oscar nod (it was actually pretty comical to watch). Jackson, on the other hand, gets a serious, contemplative look on his face, calmly walks away, picks up something (a toy, book, cup, 8x10 picture frame) and throws it at you! If he doesn't make his target, never fear, he either tries to throw it again or he just hauls off and hits you. What an angel baby!!

So Jackson has now experienced the joy of time out...for which he responds like this...

and this:

I'm still trying to capture the serious look, followed by the different stages so people will believe me when they find him tied up in time out. I just need to find protective gear first.

Picture Day

I got a call from Sears a couple days ago...it seems they are tracking my kid's "important milestones" via my Smile Savers account...I'm informed we are due for our 2 year pictures and do I want to schedule an appointment (internally I feel guilty if I don't schedule these appointments like I don't want to "capture those special moments"; what do I care if the Sears' associate thinks badly of me?!). So I schedule an appointment (I.am.a.robot). I feel bad because Jackson is my only boy and he's the 3rd so like all kids that aren't the first, the "professional" photos are lacking; however, I realized today I was totally bamboozled...Jackson doesn't even turn 2 until the end of September - Sucka!

In preparation of the big appointment, Jack needed to get a haircut...he is looonnng overdue...his previous spiky haircut has grown out over his ears. So not only do I have to get him presentable for pictures that will "last a lifetime", but I have to get the kid's hair cut.

So the big day arrives (not that I was counting down to the day, in fact, I forgot about it until my reminder call - bad Mommy!). I wake up on the late side (I'm a night owl and would love, love, love it if I could sleep in til 11 am each day, but I dream on...) and realize there is no way I'm going to make my appointment in time. So I push back the appointment (I still don't believe Sears even has an appointment book because regardless if there's an appointment on the books or not, I wait 1/2 hour). I get Jack dressed and jump in the car with Jack and Mommy's little helper, Xanax Cameron. We head over to the posh salon (Great Clips) in a nearby strip mall and wait in line for a $9 haircut. This was Jack's 3rd haircut, previous haircuts have been no problem, but not today, oh no, not today. As soon as the cape goes on, Jack starts screaming...no amount of Mommy comforting would help (and I forgot the &&$%$ binky in the car). Cameron was sent to fetch the miracle apparatus binky and the haircut continued semi-successfully with whimpering.

We arrive at Sears, wait our 1/2 hour and the photo session begins...Trying to get a 23 month old, sleepy baby to pose is like herding cats! But we got some cute shots.

Now it's time for the package discussion, you know the ones...the best value is $350.00 and you get four million pictures that you end up putting the majority of the pictures away because you forget to give them to people...and the cheap package is $125.00 and you only get 200 pictures. So me being the cheap frugal Mommy I am, I have a plan. Me to the associate: "What is the current smile savers package?" Associate to me, "A free 8x10". My response..."Okay, I'll take the 8x10 and a CD ROM of all the photos in the session". Then the associate tells me the CD ROM is $120.00 - Whaaat?! I stutter, "$120.00?! I've gotten the CD before and I know I didn't pay $120.00 for it" (If I did, I need to get a lobotomy!). She replied curtly, "Well, you must have had a special coupon for it". So I changed plans...I got the free 8x10 and a collage picture...the pictures weren't that great!

NEW CONTEST IN THE BLOGOSPHERE!!!

I just got done finishing one of my favorite daily reads, Jennifer over at The Fun House. Not only does the girl entertain me daily, but now she's gone out and purchased some fabulous Lush products and made a prize basket (I've never heard of Lush before, but the stuff she listed looks SO cool and I'm not even a bath person...)
So go visit Jennifer here and learn about how to enter for the goodies...make sure you peruse her blog, she has 5 adorable, adventurous, photogenic, happy kids and they do some great activities. Not to mention how cool Jennifer is herself...one of her hobbies is Glassblowing!!

Good Luck to me and Good Luck to you!!!

What I need...

So one of my bloggy friends, Kat over at Sunshine and Lemonade posted this fun little activity on her blog on Thursday. I already warned her I was going to use it this weekend. What you do is google your name followed by "needs" and list the top 10 (or 13 in Kat's case). The findings were quite comical, so I thought it was worth a posting.

Drum roll please...: Kelly needs:

1) "Kelly needs little man to get him off"...I'm not touching this one, but what a way to start!

2)"Kelly needs to keep the drama going on"...don't we all?!

3)"Kelly needs to dump Katherine Heigl now"...I didn't even know we were dating, but done!

4) "Kelly needs her brother backstage"...No way, if I were ever in this situation, my brother would/should be the one on stage

5)"Kelly needs to be in my life always"...Aww...so sweet! I'm here for you, Schmoopie!

6)"Kelly needs a friend who cares"...doesn't everyone?!

7)"Kelly needs to grow up"...I concur...I've been trying to accomplish this for years!

8) "Kelly needs your help"... I guess this is in regards to #7?

9)"Kelly needs a new attitude"...apparently I've pissed a few people off...

10) "Kelly needs the sun"...I agree so that's where I'll be today... outside in the pool provided the thunderstorms stay away!!

So, if you'd like, you can play here or on your own blog...it's a cute, entertaining activity (and I'm sure Kat won't mind!). Make sure you re-visit Kat's post from Thursday so you can see her's and all the others that left comments...there are some funny ones on there!

Bonus...

We went school supply shopping today. I don't know about other parts of the country, but in Florida, we have school supplies that need to be purchased to supply the classroom.

Brief pause to address the Florida State Legislature:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Why is it you felt that it was necessary to cut school funding AGAIN?! Oh, what? the lottery is supposed to supplement education in Florida...Really?! So instead of improving the school system by using that money to supplement education, it was a better idea to cut the education budget to next to nil and just use that?! Hmmm... Good thinking! May be that's why Florida isn't doing too well in regards to national educational statistics...just a thought.

Please excuse that brief interlude...so here are this year's lists:

FIRST GRADE - Emmy
1- 12 Count Crayola Colored Pencils (7”)
1- 24 Count Crayola Crayons
1- Washable Crayola Thick Classic Markers
2- Sharpie Fine Marker - Black
1- Expo2 Low Odor Dry Bullet Tip Marker - Black
1- Expo2 Low Odor Dry Bullet Tip Marker - Red
1- Expo2 Low Odor Dry Bullet Tip Marker - Blue
2- Assorted Color Highlighter - Regular
6- 9.5 pt. Pocket & Brad folders – red, blue, yellow, green, purple, orange
2- 70 Count Spiral Composition Book – Wide Rule
10- 0.77 oz. (22g) Elmer’s Glue Stick
24- #2 Made in USA Pre-Sharpened Wooden Pencil
1- 11” x 8” x 2.5” Spacemaker Case w/ Handle (School Box)
1- Blunt 5" Fiskar Scissors
1- Pink Bevel Eraser
1- Baby wipes – 80 Count (bulk)
1- Box Ziploc Brand Quart Size Bags – 25 count
1- 4 Oz. Elmer’s School Glue
1- Large Box Kleenex Brand Tissue – 120 count
6- Pencil Cap Erasers
1- Box Ziploc Brand Gallon Size Bags – 20 count

FIFTH GRADE - Cameron
1- 12 Count Crayola Colored Pencils (7”)
1- 24 Count Crayola Crayons
1- Washable Crayola Thick Classic Markers – 8 count
4- Expo2 Low Odor Dry Bullet Tip Marker - Black
1- Bic Medium Point Stick Pen - Green
24- #2 Made in USA Wooden Pencil
1- Sharp 5” Fiskar Scissors
3- 0.77 Oz. (22g) Elmer’s Glue Stick
1- Large Box Kleenex Brand Tissue – 200 count
1- Sharpie Fine Marker - Black
1- Fluorescent Highlighter - Yellow
2- 9.5 pt Pocket & Brad Folder - Red
2- 9.5 pt Pocket & Brad Folder - Blue
2- 9.5 pt Pocket & Brad Folder – Yellow
2- 9.5 pt Pocket & Brad Folder – Green
1- 9.5 pt Pocket & Brad Folder – Purple
1- 9.5 pt Pocket & Brad Folder – White
1- 9.5 pt Pocket & Brad Folder – Orange
1- 9.5 pt Pocket & Brad Folder – Light Blue
1- Box Ziploc Brand Quart Bags – 25 count
1- 3” x 5” 100 Count Ruled Index Cards
1- 4” x 6” 100 Count Ruled Index Cards
5- 70 Count Spiral Composition Book – No perforations
1- Nylon Pencil Bag, Clear Top w/ grommets – 7-1/4” x 10-1/4”
2- 200 Count Wide Ruled Filler Paper
1- 8oz. Waterless Hand Sanitizer Bottle w/ Pump (Boys Only)
1- Baby Wipes 80 Count (Girls Only)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back to school supplies: $85.00

New school clothes: $150.00

Being able to post this video and it being relevant: Priceless

(enjoy...this is one of my all time favorite commercials...this whole post was just an excuse to be able to use it ;) )

Bandwagon

Well I am probably one of eleventybillion people who will be commenting on the Olympic games...so since that many people will be talking/blogging, I just had to join the bandwagon. Not that I have that much to say, but I thought you might be interested in the perspective of this Olympics from a past Olympian...what?!, I've never divulged I am a past Olympian?! How could I have overlooked that?...Yup...I sure am...In fact, here's a picture of me during my glory days:

That's me 3rd from the left in the shiny swimming cap...Wasn't I SPEC.TAC.U.LAR?!!

Okay, so may be not 100% true...I never made it to the Olympics nor have I ever participated in synchronized swimming, HOWEVER, I have been in a pool and worn a swim cap (not a shiny, sequiney one though)

So a layman's, just general run-of-the-mill, plain-Jane, American perspective...

I love the opening ceremonies...I'm always excited about the parade of athletes and the pride for my country that it brings me. I usually forget there is some kind of show prior to the parade, but it's initially a welcome surprise. Then I start reacting like I do when I see a fireworks show...Love Them...for about 10 minutes, then I'm done.

So....finally after 2 1/2 hours of watching (really reading, snacking, commenting...) the parade of athletes begin...My favorite part! I quickly realize I do not know where 1/2 of these countries are!!! Elementary & High School geography just didn't cover where Nauru is or what I call people from Myanmar . So then I start to feel stupid and depressed because Bob Costas just has to share all the downer information he can come up on these countries!

Even with all my faults and irritations, I do enjoy the grandeur and pride of the Olympic games. I am attempting to share the concept and trying to build that pride in my children about what these other Americans have accomplished. I look forward to watching my favorite sport...Swimming. Winning gold at McDonald's (they better be running that contest again; I've been playing since I was 12. You can not beat the pride you get when an American athlete has won gold and you get a free Big Mac!) And in 17 days, I will be glued to the screen for the 15 hour closing ceremonies!

Funniest comment of the night comes from my husband...after the 15th fireworks display, my up-to-then silent husband says straight faced, "Okay, we get it, you invented fireworks..." I hope this translates...I thought it was comical, but then again I am pretty sleep deprived.

Friday Foto Finish Fiesta

It's time once again to join in the fun sponsored by Candid Carrie: Friday Foto Finish Fiesta...After you're done here make sure you stop by Carrie's to see all the rest or better yet, join in the fun yourself!!

This is Cameron & my father-in-law a couple years ago...this photo captures one of the things they do with each other (and it seems to have been adopted by the other grand kids too) which is "fake fight" They make these ugly faces at each other, throw insults, "Grandpa, you're a monkey face", etc. The funny thing is, I used to do the exact same thing with my Grandpop...may be it's in the genes. So to me, every time I witness this, I get the warm, fuzzy memories of my own "fake fights" with my Grandpop so long ago...

Also, it's Mark's birthday today....Happy Birthday, Grandpa/Mark!!