Counting my blessings

I'm watching the Extreme Home Makeover that took place in our town here in MI. Okay, truth be told, I missed the first half, so I'm not exactly sure what happened, but this is what I think happened. A nurse at the hospital Brad used to work at died recently after contracting Hep C after getting stuck while working on a sick patient. The same thing has happened to Brad. It makes me grateful that he hasn't contracted anything as a result. It was scary enough that he had to go and get regular testing. Ugh. I know it isn't a dangerous job like firefighter, police, soldier, etc., but there is still danger involved. I try to not think about it, but it is part of the reality.

I've been spending the weekend crying because I'm not going to be able to move out to Philadelphia with Brad until our house sells or gets rented. Essentially, December is out of the picture. I was so sad to think of spending more time without him. But then I watched this show, and I couldn't even imagine being without him for the rest of my life on earth. At least I know that I'll be back with him in the near future, even if months don't seem very near right now.

Countdown

Is anyone else as anxious as I am for Christmas to get here?

I love the snow that came today. It is beautiful. I just wish Brad wasn't driving home in this mess.

Unusual Thanksgiving

Well, if something bad is going to happen, at least the timing was perfect.

On Tuesday, after declaring my hiatus, my internet went down. I'm not really sure what time, as I was reading and totally into The Host. I ended up reading until 4 am that morning. Yes, it sucked me in! At least the kids slept in and I got over 5 hours of sleep. Wednesday the internet still wasn't working. I spent a lot of time on the phone with the useless tech support. They said they couldn't send anyone out until Friday. I guess it didn't bother me that much since I was still completely engrossed in The Host, but it did make things like finding a shuttle for Brad's dad to get here difficult. I didn't realize how much I needed the internet! For looking up phone numbers, addresses, etc, not just blogging. It was made somewhat easier by the internet on my phone. Sure am grateful for that little feature! I got The Host finished and really did end up loving it. I would probably put it after Eclipse and Twilight and before Breaking Dawn and New Moon on my favorites list for Stephenie. I would definitely recommend it for a good read, especially if your internet is down anyway. By that evening, both Brad and his dad had made it here safely. Words can't explain how grateful I was to have Brad home again. He makes me feel whole again.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. I was desperately in need of a break from kids. I dreaded being apart from Brad, but knew they needed some daddy time. My friend Jill just got back from Ukraine last week with her two adorable children, Keith and Kristina. With my situation being what it is, I wouldn't have a lot of chances to go visit them before moving further away. So, I got to spend 4 heavenly hours with nothing but my thoughts and music. No kids fighting, no one asking me for this that or the other, no responsibility other than obeying the speed limit, and music that I got to pick. Her children are adorable. Such sweeties. I haven't been to a Sonic since OK, but the one there was closed for Thanksgiving, so Jill and I just went to Burger King for lunch. Then we went to see Twilight together. We'd both seen it already, but we thought it would be fun to see it together. And it was. :) Then we sat around at the theater eating ice cream and chatting for another hour. After that, I had 4 more hours of peace and quiet on the way home. I was definitely grateful for the recharge, but desperately missing Brad too. And maybe the kids a little. :)

Friday Brad woke up bright and early to go a get a few Black Friday deals. Black Friday is sooooo not my thing. I avoid shopping whenever I can. Then he came back and got the kids to go pick out a toy. He really missed them and wanted to do a little spoiling. The internet guy came while Brad was shopping with the kids. The internet guy declared that our modem was dead. Lovely. Brad was still out shopping, so he was able to get one before coming home. I spent Friday reading Stephenie's copy of Midnight Sun. Dang. Dang. Dang. I wish, oh how I wish, that she would finish it. It is my favorite book so far, even more than Eclipse, and it isn't even finished. Oh, the injustice. I'm just such a romantic, and to read page after page of how deeply he loves her just melts me. Sigh. There were so many tied endings in MS. Like what he actually did do to Lonnie. How Ben asked out Angela, and a hundred other little details that I loved reading about. Dang. Dang. Dang. We had our turkey dinner that night, but it was all pretty low-key. Just the basics. I needed a break, not a huge elaborate meal. Brad did most of the hard stuff anyway. He just amazes me. He also worked on fixing the internet. If it had broken when he wasn't here, I could have gone weeks without internet. I'm pretty glad it broke while I was absorbed in a book, and when Brad, the ultimate handy-man, was here to fix it.

Brad just amazes me on a hundred different levels. I'd been asking him for months to read Twilight, but when he is reading, it is usually a medical book and he has little time to read for fun. I kinda dropped it, knowing it wasn't fair to push him when he is already so busy. Then last week he called and asked if he could buy it on CD so he could listen as he drove to work. He said he knew it was important to me, so it was important to him. And he did it without concern to the reaction of other guys. In fact, my dear brother revoked his 'man card'. Goof ball. My happiness is paramount to Brad. Everything he does, he does with me in mind. That makes him my Edward. He also is my own personal heater. He lets me warm my cold hands and feet on his constantly warm body. He is Native American, though he isn't part wolf, and that makes him my Jacob. He is also an incredibly talented and dedicated surgeon, and that makes him my Carlisle. Please forgive my mushy ramblings about Brad. I've been suffering without him for nearly 6 weeks, so I've had Brad on my brain lately. It was bound to leak into my blogging...

Friday night, we put Stink to bed, put a movie on for the boys, and left them with his dad so we could go watch Twilight. It was so much more fun for me knowing that he had read it. And to see him catch the changes and differences and be able to talk to him about them. We even started reading New Moon together. I sure love him.

Today, Brad has let me catch up on days of emails, blogs, facebook posts, etc. Right now, they are all out getting their hair cut. My boys really needed one! Tonight we are watching some football! Go Pokes!

I think that is about it for my days without an internet recap. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Hiatus

I'm taking a blog break so I can finish The Host before my FIL has to take it back to Brooke in OK this Sunday. Totally not into yet, but I hear it gets better, so I'll keep plugging away for now. But really, I just want be reading New Moon right now.

Twilight! AKA embracing my nerdiness

Any long time readers of this blog will know that I've never shied away from embracing my nerdy side. And thanks to that I found some others who love Jim Croce. Now, for us true nerds, are there any Alan Sherman lovers out there? Doesn't count if you have to Google it! :) I've had his music stuck in my head for 2 days. I need to get his CD.

So, it is now time for me to embrace my Twilight nerdiness. I won't be expounding on the finer details of the movie for you who haven't read it yet or who have no desire to do so. I got it out of my system with Becky. :) We talked about the movie for about as long as the movie was! Okay, that is totally an exaggeration. We only talked for half an hour, but I still got it out of my system. Love you, Becky!

Anyway, this blog is about embracing my Twilight nerdiness, not the movie, which I L.O.V.E.D. by the way. I'm going back next week in fact. I digress...

About 11 of us gals decided to have a girls' night out to watch Twilight. We made t-shirts for the occasion too. hee hee Having never had much of a talent for puffy paint and sparkly stuff, I made a shirt using an iron on transfer. Most of the work being done on the computer is more my type of crafting. In fact, I screwed up the shirt once it got to the ironing. I'm truly inept. I'm digressing again. So, 11 of us more mature Twilight fans all got together in a restaurant complete with shirts. I'm sure we looked a sight. :) We chatted and giggled and had a marvelous time. We had a quiz based on the book. I had an unfair advantage, having just read it this week while I was sick. I got the most right and won a prize! Go, Melisa! Go nerdy! Chocolate and pens. A few of my favorite things. Ahhhh... And then we had a vote for the best t-shirt and I came in second to a hilarious shirt that I loved so much I voted for. I also wore my Breaking Dawn necklace I made at the release party and the Twilight bracelet that Dana made. I bought it with the money Brad's mom gave me for me for my birthday, and I've been anxiously awaiting to show it to other Twi-hards. It is red, black, and white, with crystals in some of the beads, and little flecks of sparkle in them. So beautiful! And I got to pick out the charms for it. I picked out an apple, an infinity symbol, a lamb, a lion, and a crystal heart. Yes, I know the crystal heart isn't until Eclipse, but it is my bracelet and I can get what I want. :)

After a yummy dinner and lots of giggling, the ladies decided to descend upon the mall's stores. I am sooooo not a shopper. I did manage to look in a Bath and Body Works though. But that is the extent of my mall shopping. I decided to just go and wait in line so I could save seats for everyone. And due to my expert planning (aka luck), I was at the part of the line that had chairs to sit on. Sweet. So, I sat and read my movie companion while I waited for the movie to start. My mom got it for me when she came last week, and I hadn't had a chance to read it. I figured some time would be spent waiting for the movie to start, so I decided to bring it. And when we were allowed in the theater, I was able to procure some pretty nice seating, if I do say so myself, for all 11 of us.

Since we just got new phones, we have unlimited internet access this month on them. I was able to follow the BYU/UofU game pretty closely on my phone until it got to be obviously one-sided. Yes, yes, that was a good game to miss. :)

And there is my nerdiness for ya. For you gluttons of punishment, I have pictures on the cookie blog of my 2nd place winning shirt, my bracelet, the festivities, etc.

Pre-Twilight post

Yes, I'm going tonight for the first time. :)

Isn't this exciting?!

http://www.twilightlexiconblog.com/?p=2723

Yeah for New Moon! I think they should do all 3 at once. :)

And because I must throw some football into my Twilight post, I'll share this with you too:

I asked Brad if BYU and OSU were playing, who would he cheer for. He said, and I quote:

"My blood is orange, baby. Edward likes to eat cougars, remember?"

After laughing until I cried, I realized I couldn't argue with the logic since he is my Edward. :)

The dilemma

Here is my dilemma. I already bought a ticket for Twilight tomorrow night. I should have put on my calendar that the BYU/UofU game AND the OSU/OU game are on tomorrow night. I'm going to be disowned from both sides of my family! The biggest games of the year and I'm going to miss them both! ARGH!!!! Decisions like these shouldn't have to be made! I've never seen Sophie's Choice and have no clue what it is even about, but let's call this Melisa's Choice. A huge football fan choosing between her favorite teams and one of her favorite books. I can't win, and I can't lose. Well, my teams can lose. And if they do, it might make missing the games easier... WHAT AM I SAYING?!?! Of course I can't want my teams to lose! Do you see what this is doing to me?!

As Matt so wisely said, "May all red teams lose this weekend."

GO COUGS!

GO POKES!

****Update**** Nata-Leigh has informed me that the OSU/OU game is not actually until next week. So, I'm only missing BYU/UofU, which is bad enough, but thankfully I won't be missing both. But I still love watching OU lose, so I'm standing by my original statement of wanting all red reams to lose. And for the record, I am not anti-UofU. I just don't like them when they play the Y. But I am most definitely anti-OU.

You aren't Job!

Quit trying to compete!

Sorry for the long read everybody. I just really really really needed the vent.

I just can't even believe my life. So ridiculous. While I obviously think I have nothing on Job, I can't shake the 'poor me' feeling right now.

I have about 5 loads of laundry to do. That isn't counting the bedding and towels I have from my renter who left yesterday and the one leaving tomorrow. I got the laundry started, but then dashed over to weigh in at the MWLC. I'm a little bitter about it because it takes an hour of my time when I could just hop on and off a scale in 2 seconds. Not too mention Odie's on board computer has been complaining lately that I need to get the oil changed. Of course. Then a quick trip to Blockbuster to return some movies. I came home and while unbuckling Stinker discovered that she had opened my box of chocolate shakes and bit some of the packages. She was quite the dusty mess. I get in the house and there was a message on my machine. Someone wants to look at the house! YEAH! I'm just thrilled! Get done answering some questions and such, and go down to switch out the laundry. And what do my eyes behold?? Water. All over the floor. Truly. I called my favorite plumbing people and they said they could send someone out between 2 and 4. Not too shabby. Then Roo's bus calls. Can he be ready 20 minutes early? The bus driver is in the area and would be late if she dropped off the other kids and had to come back. Sure, why not get him ready while all my stuff in the basement sucks up water. Truth be told, he was already completely ready, being the anxious boy he is, but I just couldn't leave him to get on the bus by himself. Come to find out the bus still has high schoolers on it. Ugh. Is it too late to change my mind? Don't panic, Melisa. This isn't a big deal. If nothing else, the kid knows how to scream. :)

You would think all of these phone calls with plumbers, interested buyers, bus depots, etc, wouldn't be that stressful, but every time I get on the phone, Stinky is screaming 'Daddy! Daddy!' and trying to grab the phone. Sad on so many levels, but still frustrating. It isn't always daddy on the phone.

If I'm going to be in the flooded basement, I should find something for Stinker to do. Well, it is nap time! Seeing as how she is on the tail end of illness, she is in the diarrhea phase. Lovely. Have I mentioned I've been super nauseous the last 2 days? Diarrhea doesn't help nausea. Just so you know. Change the second, oh so lovely, diaper of the day and get her down for a nap. Plumbers call to say they can come now. GREAT!

Head downstairs to start sorting through the disaster. Ugh. My poor friends are now sucked into my chaotic life. I think I mentioned we have a massive basement we aren't really using, right? So, I let my friend Natalie put some stuff down there before they moved. There is so much room down there, it wouldn't be in the way at all. And then I told Shannon she could hide a Christmas present there too. I won't say what since this is a public blog and kids could see it, but think super expensive. Not to mention all of the stuff I took down there when we started packing. And now there is a bunch of water. Gag. I start moving boxes to drier ground. And when I got to a wet box, if it was books or the like, I took them out to dry. THANKFULLY, most of the water was absorbed by the cardboard and the books got very little in the way of moisture. In all, we got away relatively easy. It didn't even get to Shannon's box. Hallelujah!

The plumber shows up and gets to work. Says the main line is backed up. Nice. Gets his big drilling tool and has at it. Tells me that flushable wipes (Kandoos) are in fact not flushable. They don't disintegrate like TP and shouldn't be considered flushable. Good to know! If there is a bright side to any of this, besides the damage to boxes being minimal, it is that the water that backed up was from the laundry, and not the toilets. Can I get a Hallelujah?! I was pretty grateful, let me tell you. It all cost a pretty penny. Especially considering I'm trying to figure out where we will get a first and last months rent for Philly while paying a mortgage in Lansing. Anyone want to rent a lovely 6 bedroom home? Sigh.

And in the midst of all of this, the fabulous missionaries came to help with my leaves. For some reason, having an open house, sick kids, becoming sick yourself, and then getting a flooded basement all while your hubby is out of state leaves very little time for raking leaves. Imagine that.

Lest you all think I am nothing but calm, cool and collected, I'll share another little tidbit with you. My curtain hanger on the door, isn't staying in. I tried to push it in, but no. So, what does any sane person do? They whack it with the side of their hand and try to force it in, right? Of course not. Here is another tip. If you are going to take out aggressions by hitting something, hit some smooth and flat and preferably soft. Do not hit something narrow and round and hard . I can't even write right now, though thankfully typing is still possible. Lovely. And if you even made it through this rambling recap of the last few hours, you will be rewarded with pictures on the cookie blog. They aren't up yet, but should be by the time you read all of this. ;)

And yes, I moved the boxes, vacuumed the water, and sprayed bleach before blogging. I'm not a total slacker.

20 seconds

In the 20 seconds it took for me to open the van door and get out Roo's coat, Stinker snuck out to the garage. I came back in, went to grab Roo a snack and started looking for Stink. Then I heard muffled wails. I opened the garage door and there she stood with her puppy and baby. Man, she is fast.

tmi

It is really hard to balance a barf bowl in your lap while you hold your 2 yr old who wants to play with it. Calet is being so clingy today, and it is not the best day to spend it holding her. Sigh...

So, I'm going to spend my sick day doing nothing. Except reading Twilight yet again in anticipation of this weekend. And goofing off on the computer. And remembering why I keep putting off pregnancy. I hate puking.

And if you are curious, last night went much better. Not perfect, but lots of improvements. But it is getting really really REALLY hard to carry my boys back to their bedroom. My boys are growing up!! Sigh

Going commando

No, you Friends fans, I'm not talking about what I wear under my pants. I'm talking about commando parenting. You know what I'm talking about. Kids aren't listening to a word you are saying. You are fed up. Don't want to resort to spanking. So you have to find another way to make them so miserable they wish they had listened to you. I think Erin will remember what I'm talking about since she was in the cross-fire of another commando parenting episode a couple of years ago. We were taking Erin and her kids to their car, but had to stop and get Jamo from Pre-K before going. Roo was throwing a fit, took off his seatbelt and refused to put it back on. I told him if he wanted to be in the car, he'd better put on his seatbelt or he was getting out of the car. He again refused, so Brad pulled over, I got out with Roo, and we sat in the parking lot as Brad drove off to get Jamo. It worked for a couple of reasons. It was warm enough that it wasn't child abuse to sit in the parking lot for 10 minutes. He has never had a similar episode since either. The problems being 1) a lot of the very kind people in OK stopped to ask why I was sitting by the road with a wailing 3 yr old and 2) it was across the street from the fire station, so we had fire trucks stopping to ask if we were okay. Sigh. At least it worked.

Tonight, the commando parenting involved 1) separating the boys 2) turning off the side lamp 3) turning off the hall light and standing in the hall the whole time to make sure they were obeying. Roo was so upset he weeped, wailed and moaned for 20 minutes. Which is frankly a good thing. It means I found something that has bothered him enough to get some results. Hopefully tomorrow they will actually listen when I tell them it is bed time rather than having to take it to the weeping and wailing stage. I can't wait until Brad is back and I have reinforcements.

Laughing my head off!

Okay, this is sooooo funny! It is totally mocking Twilight, but seriously, it is hilarious.

http://movies.msn.com/movies/galleryfeature/lost-twilight-script/

And you have to read the whole script, so go to more on each picture. There are only 10 pictures, so it is worth your time.

Oh, and if you haven't read Twilight, don't go and read this. It is totally spoiler-y. And even though it is dang funny, you probably won't get some of the humor. And also, why haven't you read it yet!?!?!

If you go check it out, leave me a comment and tell me which was your favorite because I'm that curious. My favorite was #2. "your undead badonkadonk" HAHAHA! I'm dying here, people. And no, I don't get out enough. Thanks for asking.

Sorry!

I don't know how I let this day get away. Oh yeah, Stinker is sick and extremely clingy. The boys won't stay in bed. I'm going crazy.

So, here is my big news! I'm going to be an aunt again times 2 (and maybe 3)!!!

I mentioned this ever so slyly before, but now I'm coming out and saying it! My sister is having a baby girl!!! She is due during the middle of March Madness. But I'll bet the baby comes early because I can't imagine a Jones/Woahn baby missing basketball! :)

And Travis and Resa are adopting a little baby boy! They are beyond thrilled. Our hearts have been aching (I'm crying as I write this) with them since they lost Alexander nearly 2 years ago. This little boy has been eagerly awaited! The birth mom is due in December, right around Travis' birthday. Their foster son, David, is going to be an amazing big brother. He is such a sweet and thoughtful kid. If they are able to adopt David as well, it would make me an aunt times 3! My parents could go from being grandparents of 3 to grandparents of 6 all within a few months! My kids are going to love having cousins at the Jones reunions! Wahoo!

On Brad's side, we have Aeryn to love and snuggle. We miss her so much. The girls are only weeks apart and I hope we can get them together often.

My first poll

I posted my first poll about blogs and music. I have found that I need to keep my sound off on my laptop because so many blogs are playing music at once and then I can't listen to what I had on. Am I the only one experiencing this? I'm totally not complaining. I get that blogs are our own place to do what we want, say what we want, and express what we want. I wouldn't want to squash people's expression. But is there a happy medium? Like not having the music on auto-play or something? Am I the only one even thinking about this?

Okay, I have some totally exciting news I'm going to be posting tomorrow, so check back. :)

Irresistible

Okay, I know you guys are already sick of me blogging today, but I couldn't resist this! So dang funny. And I don't even like Star Wars. Don't hate me for admitting that, by the way. My awesome aunt, Susan, sent it to me.

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/song_dance/John_Williams_A_Cappella/#213523

Revenge, Melisa style

In honor of my friendly neighborhood vandal, I'm putting up a picture I got from Elizabeth's blog.

Just click on it to make it bigger.


I didn't ask permission, but she gave me permission for the Obama Christmas story, so I'm going to assume she is still open to me stealing her stuff. :) Thanks Elizabeth!

Hey haters!

Okay, I was taking Jamo to school today and apparently someone is upset that I used my constitutional right to vote to vote for McCain/Palin. They tried to pull out the 'for sale' sign, knocked the box with flyers to the ground, and then threw an Obama sign over their handiwork. It makes me wish I still had my McCain sign so I could put it back out. Thankfully no eggs were thrown, no other noticeable damage was done, my mail was still in the mailbox and my van remained safely in the garage.

Being drastic

I have fallen off the weight loss bandwagon. I could tell you it was because of the whole move thing, but truthfully, I've been at a plateau a lot longer than that. I couldn't seem to get myself to get back to work. So, I'm going to put this blog out there so I can hopefully have more accountability. Unfortunately, I'm a chicken and am not willing to make it a public blog at this point. It has a lot of personal and incriminating stuff on there. Ya'll are welcome to read it, but please be gentle with your comments and such. It is still a sensitive thing for me. And keep in mind that I started it thinking it wouldn't be shared with the public at large, so it is probably a bit rough around the edges, shall we say? I'm definitely not sending out a mass invitation for this blog, but if you want in, just let me know. If I sent you an invite to the cookie blog but you didn't accept it, it automatically deletes after a month. Just so you know, you weren't un-invited.

Having said all of this, I finally got my butt back to the gym today. YEAH! It felt great, of course.

By special request

Thanks, Nata-Leigh, for making me feel loved and missed! I never thought I could be missed after 3 days. I would have thought you'd appreciate the break. ;)

So, I'm trying to come up with some excitement to share. Hmmmm, got some boxes so I can start packing all of the clutter (Thanks Elaine!). Have only used 2 of said boxes. But I did get the toy room cleaned (AGAIN). The only room I have left to do is the study. And boy, does it need a lot of work. I keep putting it off. Naughty me. It is just going to be so miserable to do and I can't bring myself to do it after the crazy few weeks I've had. Think of your junk drawer and what a disorganized mess it is. Now imagine it being the size of a bedroom. And there you see my problem. I've spent an hour here and an hour there, but what it really needs is a lot of undivided attention and a lot of boxes to start packing all the clutter.

We haven't had so much as a nibble on the house, which might be considered a good thing until I get the study done. But, all 20 of the papers in the "Take One" box are gone. I had to make a copy and put more out there. So, if nothing else, there is at least some "silent interest" if that is even a phrase. At least 20 people were interested enough to grab a paper. We'll see how fast the next batch goes.

Stink is being a stink. She has decided to potty train herself. Every time I change her diaper, she wants to go potty, nay, INSISTS that she goes to sit on the potty. Really, I think she just likes to get out the wipes. She is going through a TP and toilet wipes phase. It is driving me a little bonkers.

I am in love with all of my new birthday stuff. My phone rocks. My purse rocks. My new bling rocks. My sunglasses rock. And by rock I mean that I love them. Even if no one else liked them, I do. A lot. I am one happy camper.

I am missing Brad tons the last few days. We got free texting this month so we could communicate at will. But with our new phones and the data plan thing, we could chat on msn messanger all day instead. All day being the rare moments he has between patients. Being the old school kinda gal that I am, I sent him this:

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that Id like to do
Is to save every day
Till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
Ive looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

If you are too cool to recognize this song, it is Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce. Yes, I fully embrace my nerdiness. Anyhoo, I heard it in the car the other day and started crying. This being apart for weeks on end kinda stinks.

What had been intended to be a short little post has now become incredibly long. I probably should have cut it in half so I'd have something to talk about tomorrow. :)

Virtual tour link added

I added a link to the virtual tour on the cookie blog. :)

Thirty-two!

I love getting older. I have no hesitance whatsoever to proudly announce my age. I have had an amazing life and happily accept every year it brings.

I had such a wonderful birthday. I feel very blessed indeed. It was hard being away from Brad though. I did go and buy a cake. A mini cake for the kids to share. I got a pumpkin roll. Yum! No, I don't plan to eat the whole thing. But it is my birthday and I wanted a pumpkin roll cake. And I got a bottle of sparkling grape juice. All of the money I got is already spent. :) And I love my stuff. And my new phone. Well, I haven't had a chance to give my phone uninterrupted attention yet. Maybe tomorrow...

Oy, what a day!

Last night I woke up to vomiting sounds at 3 am. Probably my least favorite way to wake up. My favorite being a rainy morning with Brad next to me and no alarm clock to wake us up. The benefit of being older is that the boys are usually great about puking in bowls or the toilet, but apparently this one caught Jamo by surprise. He had said the night before that he thought he was going to puke, but he wasn't acting very serious about it. Shows me. So, I cleaned up a lot of the puke on the floor, but didn't do the scouring because I was exhausted. (For the record, I did get the scouring done this morning before voting).

I had such a big day planned today. Sigh. Rachel was going to watch Stinker. I was going to go to the Medical Weight Loss Center, register my cars (again, as the last time didn't work out), go to Roo's parent/teacher conference, head to the bank, Blockbuster, vote, get the van's oil changed, and then head over to JC Penney to spend my birthday money on a GREATLY needed new purse. Guess how much of that I got to do today? Right. Vote and parent/teacher conference (a million THANKS Shan!!! And folding my laundry too. You rock!). Oh well. Those were the 2 most important things. Besides, now I'll get to do the shopping tomorrow on my actual birthday as Rachel agreed to take Stink tomorrow instead. Angel woman, I tell ya. I am getting a new purse! And my new phone will be arriving! My bracelet from Brad's dad and sister arrived yesterday and I'm already wearing it. (shhh, don't tell! :) )

Oh, and in exciting news, the listing for the house is up!!! And yes, I know I'm in the picture. Duh, Melisa. Just what I need. A side profile shot in my house picture. Ugh. The virtual tour should be up today sometime too. Anyone want a fabulous house??? And just because I'm that goofy, I'm not putting the link on here. I don't exactly want to advertise my address. It is one thing to have your address out there, and another to have someone link your blog to your address. So, dash over to the cookie blog. Come on. It's easy. Just click the big, fat link over there. If we know you at all, or even if you are a friend of a friend, you are welcome to check it out. It is just meant to keep out the sickos. Of which I am sure, none of you are. :)

And one more thing, GO VOTE!!!

Slackeriest Halloween ever!

I know slackeriest isn't a word. But it fits. I did nothing for Halloween. Didn't buy or carve a single pumpkin. Didn't get out a single item of decoration. Didn't put a moments thought into costumes. I just let the kids go through the dress up box and pick something. Jamo grabbed some stuff he thought Pikachu would wear and took his Pokemon ball. Roo used his Hulk slippers and hands. Stinker put on a Dora backpack and a tutu.

We usually give away a lot of candy we get to the treaters, but by the time we got back, most of the treaters were done. Oops. So we have (had) lots of candy! And I didn't decorate because it would look tacky in the Virtual Tour pictures, which were Friday afternoon. So I didn't see a point. And I didn't have any desire. ;)

Roo had a rough afternoon yesterday and drove me bonkers. I banished him to his room at 6. He got quiet so I checked on him at 7 and he was asleep. Of course, he was up again at 10. Sigh... Stinker just ignores alarm clocks, so there was no sleeping in at our house. But does that mean I can get the kids to church on time? NOOoooOOOoooOOO. Stink jumped in the tub with her dress on because the boys didn't drain it and I forgot to check on it. Then Roo spilled a bowl of cereal. Seriously? Seriously. All before church.

Okay, pictures are on cookie of the "costumes" and such. I also have a slide of sleeping children, the missionaries, and the marble toy we have. My kids LOVE the marble track. They get to be creative and put stuff together and try new things. It is great. The thing I don't like, is marbles are terrifying around kids Stink's age. To deal with this, I ration out marbles. If Stinker is asleep, they each get 5. They can't leave them on the floor or the marbles go in time out for a week. When they are done, they have to hand them back to me so I can count and make sure they are all there. If Stink is awake, they all get 2 each, and I stay in there and do periodic marble checks to make sure we still have them all. You can see this in the video. :) If not being played with, the marbles are locked away. Am I paranoid. Oh yes, yes I am. But choking on a marble is a nightmare to me! It would be worse than a hot dog or grape! Ahhh! It is a wonderful toy though and the kids think it is great.