What the SCRAP????

Oh!!!! I'm SO excited! I have teamed up with several fun designer friends at The Shabbee Chick Designs to work together on fun custom layouts. One of them is this sassy chick above Dale Ann Cubbage!!! She is totally Shabbee-licious and I am so stoked to work with her! Whoo-hoo!

I'm also working with some other Scrap-happenin' gals. Go on over to the website and check it out!!! Love it.

On another note, what is the deal with sickness spreading rampant all over the country??? Kellie and her little family had something yucky recently and now everybody at Ashley's house is sick and I can't go over and play. Boo hoo.

I took her this sniffles basket and left it on her porch this morning.



It had a ha-yuge jar of my homemade chicken and noodle soup, a sleeve of crackers, the latest Better Homes and Gardens mag and a big ole' mug tied onto the handle with an assortment of teas in it a little bag inside.

It's hard when a mommy is sick because then there is no one left to take care of people. Families don't realize how much the mommy runs the house and keeps it rolling until she gets stuck in the bed with the sniffles.

So, I've loaded the kids up with Germ-X and given them strict instructions not to hold hands or share chapstick or whatever. Jacy had seven kids absent in her class last week. I'm pumping the girls so full of vitamin C they're starting to turn orange. I'm holding my breath! Literally. If I hear someone coughing I hold my breath. Does that work???

Okay, so I hate to admit this to you, but have you seen that show on CMT called "My Big Redneck Wedding"??? Oh. My. God.

Now, keep in mind that I'm from a very small town and have struggled my entire life to break away from anything that is associated with, how shall I say this, white trash tendencies. You know what I'm talking about. No judgment. Really, none. Just not for me, 'kay? Insert courtesy smile here.

But this show. Oh. My. God. It's like when you slow down when there's an accident on the highway and you don't want to look but you sort of feel obligated and you just, frankly, can't turn away and you shake your head and furrow your brow and say "Bless their hearts". It's like that. Godblessthem. I can't turn away. I've watched them all. We stumbled upon it one day when we were watching some Billy Ray Cyrus/Hannah Montana special on CMT because, as you know, my children are obsessed with Miley Cyrus. Obsessed. Then this Redneck Wedding marathon came on afterwards and I swear to god, I could not do anything for the rest of the day. I left it on and kept making excuses to come back in the room and watch it. I would rewind the DVR and yell at Jason "Come in here and check this out!!!!" or "Hey, don't you work with that guy???". Or "I think that might be my cousin. I think.".

It is like none other. One bride to be, who was beautiful. Seriously beautiful. Wore a camouflage wedding dress. They drive down the aisle in quads and mules and 4-wheelers and have beans and cornbread in the garage and use beer cans smashed around Christmas lights for decoration.

Train wreck.

The thing is, I actually teared up at one point because this little boy, I think they said he was eight or nine, wrote a letter to his new daddy and he told him how he was so excited because he bought him his first quad and it wasn't a baby quad and how he wasn't scared of the dark anymore and how he was happy because his mommy was so happy and I'm slobbering into the couch cushion. Blesshisheart.

One groom gave his bride a wedding gift of a hog butchering kit because he was a hog hunter and now that she was his wife it was her job to butcher them. Oookaaaay.

You HAVE to watch it.

Jacy has violin tonight. She can now play three songs. Isn't that presh? Molly wants to get her this for her American Girl for her birthday. Sweet sister.

We've Moved!!!!

The Shabbee Chick Designs has a new store front! Come check us out at The Shabbee Chick Designs!!!

Get off the phone and drive!!!

I have never been so happy to pull my car safely in the garage and shut the door behind me. I think all the crazy people must be out today and they all decided to come to my town.

This morning I went to breakfast with my girlfriends, Debbie and Jen, and we had a great time like we always do. So, I had a little too much coffee! What else is new? So I'm a little shaky and nervous! So what! Does that mean that every driver on the road needs to try to scare the living hell out of me????

I went to a fun store in our town where they have great sales on designer stuff on Fridays. It's hit or miss with this store because half the time I walk in there and find nothing, but today I got a great deal on a little tiny Tommy Hilfiger purse for Molly and some fun sneakers for me! Yay for Amber! So I'm feeling great and am be-bopping out to Charlotte, the minivan when I see an idiot in a Ford Taurus careen across the parking lot and slam into some carts that were sitting in a parking spot because apparently everyone is much too busy to actually put their carts in the cart return. (Aside: do you do that? Because if you do and you don't have small children or a handicap, put the damned cart back in the damned cart return. Your legs are not broken and it will save lots of chipped paint on cars. If you have small children, I understand. I still think you should put it up, but I get it. I remember how when my girls (who are only two years apart, remember) were little and I had one in a carseat carrier and one toddling around holding onto my pants and I had to put the groceries in the car and then strap them in and pray one of those darned carriers was nearby to put the cart into otherwise I was going to leave it strategically placed in front of my car and cross my fingers that it didn't start rolling downhill.) So back to the idiot in the Taurus. He was one of those people who feel that driving within the lanes in a parking lot was beyond him, apparently, because he was flying across all the lanes of parking spots. He must have been a huge hurry to go shopping. He literally pulls into the parking space and crashes into the carts that were strategically placed there, gets out of his car and goes into the store. I. Kid. You. Not. One cart went rolling across the parking lot and slowly stopped when it hit one of those little median things with the trees planted in them. Wait. I think I just found some video of him. Yes, here he is.


THEN! As if that weren't bad enough, I almost got mowed over in the post office parking lot. Then I went to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy and some guy (on the phone) is backing out of the parking space and I'm driving down the lane saying to myself "Hedoesn'tseemeHedoesn'tseemeHedoesn'tseeme! I KNEW IT!!!" as I lay on my horn and he stops inches away from hitting my passenger door. GET OFF THE DAMNED PHONE!!!!

So I get my prescrip and head home and as I'm exiting from the highway to the off ramp, apparently I'm exiting really slowly and this man in a ha-yuge white pick up truck (on the phone) rides my bumper and then actually drives down in the ditch to go around me on the exit ramp. I swear to God. So then what? He has to stop because the light is red. I honk my horn at him and motion for him to GET OFF THE DAMNED PHONE!!! And he looks at me in the side mirror and I realize...I know him. It's a contractor in our town that Jason used to work with. Well! He sees he knows me and he's really embarrassed because he just behaved like a donkey and what's worse is that he knows me. So what does he do. He waves. Waves at me. I waved back. With one of my fingers.

In case you want to be on the look out for him, I've posted his picture at the beginning of this post.

So I pull into the garage and just sit there shaking. The dog is in the garage looking at me like "Are you going to get out or what?". I'm not leaving the house for the rest of the day. And no more coffee for me.

What gets me is that I'm such a cautious driver. I never drive across parking lots like the Ace Ventura guy. I always back slowly out of a parking space and I leave my little beeper that tells me when I'm too close to something on all the time. There's actually a woman's voice that comes on in my car that says "Approaching curb" or "Object within ten feet". She's quite annoying and Jason always turns her off because sometimes when you're sitting at a red light she says "Object within ten feet" when the car behind you pulls up to stop. But I love her. She's my friend. And every crazy person in America has to harass me when I'm out driving.

Good thing the kids weren't in the car today.

So here's a story about what a cruel mother I am. Christy will appreciate this. I know you're out there, Christy. My girls had shrimp etouffe for breakfast this morning. Sounds like a yummy way to start the day, doesn't it? Jason and I sat at the table with them and had bagels and a fruit salad and they had leftovers from last night.

This is how bad I am.

Now, you know I lived my grandparents when I was a kid. And you just didn't get a choice as to what you ate at meals. Ever. You just ate it and were thankful to have it. And you always cleaned your plate. My grandparents lived through the Great Depression and can remember when powdered milk was a luxury and they had to staple cereal boxes to the soles of their shoes because there were holes in them and no money to buy more. Not cleaning your plate or complaining about what was for dinner was never an option. Now I'm not quite that legalistic about food rules. But when I've made a nice, healthy, balanced meal for the kids I expect them to eat it. I always take into account the foods that they just plain don't like and I avoid serving them and when I do serve them I don't expect them to eat it. For goodness sake, there's all certain tastes we don't care for, kids are no different. But we don't ever, ever eat out during the week unless I'm sick or there's a special occasion. Ever. I cook. Every. Night. And, dammit, I'm a good cook. I work hard to plan menus and prepare delicious things. (See I have to justify myself here because I'm feeling sad for them this morning.) So I spend like four hours last night making a Mardi Gras meal for the family. Homemade beignets and everything. The yeast kind. My kids loved my shrimp etouffe the last time I made it. Loved it. Like licked the plate loved it. This time I didn't chop the vegetables as tiny, but I still used the exact same amount, and they could actually see the bell pepper and the celery and the onion and fresh parsley and they weren't having it. They sat at the table for an hour and half refusing to eat it. Seriously. Jason and I ate the beignets right in front of them and they still didn't budge. Finally Molly asked to be excused and I told her that if she didn't finish it she had to have it for breakfast this morning and she said okay. I know she thought I'd forget.

BWaaahahahahahahaha. (Evil laugh.) I don't forget anything.

So I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge and this morning, they got it for breakfast.

But, you know what? They ate it. And then I made them pancakes.

Betcha they don't try that again.

Aren't I mean?

They are going to Jason's mom's to spend the night tonight so we can have a date night. It's my turn to pick the movie. Do you do Netflix? We do. And I have a really bad habit of bumping Jason's movies down on the queue to put mine on top. Really bad. So, recently, we got to his part of the list and we've had, like, six of his movies in a row. And they're bad movies. Really bad ones. Like "The Wicker Man" which has the world's worst actor, Nicholas Cage, in it to begin with, but also happens to be the world's worst movie also. Twoforone. And "Frailty" which has the world's second worst actor, Matthew "Naked Bongo Drums" McConaghey in it and was terribly, terribly disturbing. And "Employee of the Month" which, let's not even discuss. So, needless to say, it's my turn to pick. And you know what? There's nothing out there I want to see.

When are they going to start making good movies again? Tell me.

I bought my girls these Easter Dresses today. You can't really tell from the picture but they are a beautiful white cotton eyelet. Precious on two little blondies.


And because Easter is in March this year I bought them these to go with them.

Matching of course. Why does it have to be so early? The Easter Bunny likes to hide eggs outside on Easter and when its in March the weather could be iffy. Why? And then we like to have breakfast outside on Easter morning. But if there is frost on the ground that could put a damper on that. Why?????

Solstice, shmolstice.

On another note, my friend Deb laid her head down on the table and laughed at me when I told her I highlighted my girls hair. I have for over a year now. There hair would be a very dark blonde, almost brown if I didn't. Do you think I'm weird? They love it. Molly will say "Mommy it's time for you to dye my hair, my roots are showing."

Wednesday

Pfew! Is it Wednesday already???? WHERE has this week gone???

This morning I went up to the school to monitor for standardized writing tests that the state requires. They mandate an independent volunteer be in the room to see if a teacher is following the guidelines they set. And no cheating, etc. Last year there was a tiny discrepancy in one class-something like the kid opened his test too soon or something equally stupid-and they had to throw every single one of the tests out and not grade for that year. So they were cracking down this year. There are not a lot of stay at home mommies that are available anymore so they call me every single year. I hate it. Just between you and me and thousands of people who read this blog. I. Hate. It.

I hate helping the kids fill in the bubbles. I hate having to sharpen seven thousand #2 pencils. I hate having to sit perfectly still so my shifting around in a seat two sizes too small for my highness doesn't disturb testing children. I hate the looks on the kids faces as they take this ridiculous assessment of their skills. I hate the pressure it puts on the poor teachers who pray that these kids will remember something that she has taught them so she can make the percentage that she needs to make to reflect well on her. (Don't get me started on No Child Left Behind). I hate the way the slower kids glance around and see that the others have finished and are waiting on them so they quickly fill in the bubbles and slam the booklet shut. I. Hate. It.

But I do it anyway because the school has to do it and they need me. So I read two entire cookbooks, made my grocery list, rearranged all the phone numbers in my cell phone, read all the posters on the wall and jiggled my foot for three hours.

So here are some layouts to share.

Jacy brought home these chopsticks from school last week and has insisted on eating absolutely everything with them. She cuts whatever we are having up and then takes three times as long to eat something because she has to use the chopsticks. Here she is eating a grilled cheese sandwich. She would pick up a piece and dip it in the tomato soup with the chopsticks and then eat it. It was funny, but now it's losing its charm.


So here's some fun news! I've had so many requests for blog designs, I'm designing a new website to come out soon! Thought it might make it a little more professional if I got off of old Blogger and spiffed stuff up a little! It is taking me forever to get it up and running, though, but I'll give you a preview when it's up. Don't worry, I won't stop blogging. I know you were all worried there for a little bit that I might stop inflicting my mindless babble on you. But you're in the clear. What would you do without hearing my incessant ramblings and rantings??? How could you go on?

Here are some more fun bloggers that have been freshened up lately. They are all totally delightful people. That's what I love so much-getting to chat with so many genuinely nice people!!!!

Quilty Chick

ScrapsADaisy

And of course our Big Mouth Giveaway winner, Jen at Keepin' Up With the Jones'

Go visit and say hi!!!

They're all so delightful!!!

The girls and I made big jumbo pretzels the other day. It was so fun, even though they didn't turn out to be the most professional pretzels you've ever seen. We did the whole yeast thing and learned about how yeast was alive and Jacy just fa-lipped out about that. "Alive!!! Eeeewwww! I'm not eating alive things!!!" They rolled them out and twisted them and shaped them and floured them and pounded them into almost unrecognizable things. My little OCD mind had to keep telling itself that it was the process and not the outcome that was important. But you know, they actually were quite delicious, especially dipped in cheese sauce.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. They are dark and un-edited, but you get the idea!!!



Apparently it was funny hat day. I'm not sure-I wasn't informed. My kids are always doing stuff like that. Wearing strange articles of clothing at random times. When Jacy was about a year old she wore a tutu absolutely everywhere and would cry and wave her fat little hands around when I took it off of her for her bath. She even wore it over her jammies and little dresses at church. That stuff doesn't bother me. I let them wear weird things like rainboots and frog costumes to Wal Mart and Jason will say "They can't go like that!!" And I'll say "Why not? They're little girls, not corporate executives." So, apparently this day was hat day.

Whatever.

Rainy Saturday

It's a cold, rainy Saturday. It is 11:30 in the morning and I'm still in jim jams and robe and it feels fabuloussssss! The girls are playing house in their bedroom and have pulled every American Girl item they own out and set it up into the ca-yutest little tableau you have ever seen. Molly's got her "Wash Day Fun" all set up with her little ironing board and drying rack with the clothes pins and they've got dolls in a the AG bathtub and Kit's riding her scooter with her little backpack on and they Bitty Twins are having breakfast at the little table. If I wasn't so darned lazy I'd get up and go take some pictures of it. Makes me want to go in and play, but there is a sign posted on the door that says "No grown ups." I'm serious. Meanies. Won't let a mommy play...so mean.

Here are some pictures of my girls I took at a park a coupla weeks ago. Aren't they beautiful girls? I have to brag on their sweetness because I am always so dissatisfied at any picture of my kids. They never seem to capture their precious personalities, their positive precociousness and simple happiness and innocence. I think every picture should have an invisible halo around their little heads and a soft wind blowing their blonde locks and a sunbeam illuminating their rosy cheeks. But here are my beauties for your viewing pleasure.

Animal School and Giveaway Winner!!!!!

And without further ado, the winner of my 300th post and free customized blog header giveaway is....

Jen from Keepin' Up With the Jones'!!! It was totally random and totally cheesy and consisted of me putting all your little namies in a brown paper lunch sack and shaking it up and standing in my kitchen in my pink robe and fuzzy slippers and drawing Jen's name. So, Jen, click on my verbage in the sidebar and send me an email with the details I've listed and I'll get started right away! Can't keep a girl waiting!

The kids are out of school today for Staff Development and I told them we could do something fun. I offered skating, but can you believe the roller skating rink is closed today? On a Friday when every public school in the district is out for staff development??? Hello?!!! Whatever, I wasn't really in the mood anyway. Flashing lights, disco balls, loud music. Nah. We went bowling instead. The kids had a great time and it is so fun to watch them get into it. It's nice that we they are to the age that they can actually lift the ball and send it all the way down the lane without us having to press the little button for the man to come and walk down the little gutter thingy and retrieve our ball. And we don't have to use that little ramp anymore where you put the ball on top and it rolls down the little hill and down the lane. We do use bumpers. Gotta love them bumpers.

We had a very nice Valentine's Day and the girls loved their bouquets.
Here are Missy and LullaBelle enjoying their Valentine's.

Notice how big LullaBelle is getting? Ginormous!!!! Not really but much bigger than this.

She chewed one of Jacy's Berenstain Bears books that Jacy had left outside on the porch swing when she was reading the other day. Hysterics ensued.

The Valentine's parties went well. We made ice cream sundaes in Jacy's class and apparently the ice cream dribbled all down the front of my brown capri's and no one told me about it, and so I went to Wal-Mart and Hallmark and the library afterwards and then came home and changed clothes and realized it looked like a baby had thrown up all over my pants. Nice.

Here's a recent banner I made for a blog design.

Go on over and visit Little Town Big Life and say hi! She's a sassy funny lady, too. You'll enjoy her blog. And she cooks delicious things and posts pictures of them and so I sit here reading and chewing on saltines dreaming of her cheesecake.

Have you seen this? Watch it all the way through if you can. Turn your sound on.

Gimme Some Love!

Happy Valentine's Day out there! Hope ya'll are getting some good good lovin's today!

I'm in a ha-yuge rush today, so just wanted to quickly post some good wishes for this day of love. I'm homeroom mom for two Valentine's Day parties today so that means that I spent most of yesterday afternoon making party favors and reminder calls to other mommies who say they will bring items and help out. (Please follow through, please follow through.)

The girls got pink oatmeal with red and white sprinkles and red hot heart candies in it this morning with heart shaped toast and pink milk. A sugar filled morning to start off a sugar filled day. I also made them this cookie cake for their after school snack.

I'll be kicking myself at 8:00 tonight. They are getting some fun little gifties for Valentine's day including the pink camo sleeping bags and some fun gifties from here. They are also going to be surprised with a special delivery at school today with these ca-yute (if I do say so myself) little bouquets made with my own lily white hands.
Last year I spent upwards for $60 for a shop in our town to deliver candy bouquets to the school. It's a big deal to get a delivery at school on Valentine's Day. Your name is called over the intercom and you get to go to the office and get it and everyone knows that you are special because you got a delivery. So I order these candy bouquets like two weeks early and they bring them home and had a total of six pieces of candy in them. Six. I'll never do that again. So I spent $8 each on these little bouquets and they are much ca-yuter than those silly bouquets. Ridiculous. And there's no delivery fee, because they will just get carried to the school in the mini van and hand delivered by moi! People should be checked for price gouging this time of year. A bouquet of roses gets hiked way the heck up in price for one week. I always tell Jason never to buy me flowers for Valentine's day because it makes me mad how high the roses are for five days. Wait until the week after, I always tell him. But he never listens. And I'm always glad he never listens. Valentine's Day without roses would be like Christmas without a tree. But still!

Don't forget-the drawing for the Big Mouth Giveaway is tomorrow, so if you haven't posted a comment on the post previous to this one-do it today to be entered for a free custom header for your bloggie!

I'm off. Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now. I can tell I need to pull on the old running shoes because I'll be running hither and yon today.

Happy day to you!

Big Mouth Giveaway

Well, I can't believe it, but my 300th post is already here! It seems like just the other day that I was sending Steph her giftie for my 100th post! Just goes to show how much I blather on and on and on. And yet, you read on...

Okay, in honor of my incessant need to talk about myself I'm doing another giveaway! This time for a free customized blog header design!!! At the end of the week, I'll do a random draw from anyone who comments on this post for a fun freebie!

We watched this movie last night.



It was a very compelling, touching movie and I would recommend it to anyone. Jason and I sat there on the couch, both of us with tears running down our faces, holding hands like we were on a roller coast ride. It was that good. Adam Sandler was just fabulous playing a grief stricken man whose entire family was killed in one of the planes on 9/11. It was very well done and respectful of that horrible tragedy. It's still so hard for me to think about the families that were affected by that travesty and he personalized it in a way that anyone could relate to. Just fabulous, fabulous fabulous. Keep the tissue box close by when you're watching it.

Here's another fun blog design I did this weekend for Anita at Cottage Affairs. Go on over and check her out and tell her I sent ya! She's a total sweetie!

Saturday Morning

Okay. This is literally the only time I've had to post since last Tuesday. And we've got a full weekend ahead of us, so I thought I'd grab some time while I had it. Whoever makes the comments about housewives and bon bons and couches and soap operas need to be drug out into the street and shot. I have had no time to catch my breath this week. But such is life.

My side of the family is coming over for my mom's birthday lunch today. We may have to use a shoe horn to shove them all in the house, but they're coming. I've made the most beautiful lasagna in the world to serve them. It's bubbling away in the oven as we visit. Then tomorrow is Jason's birthday. And the girls are begging me, begging me to go home with my mom today and spend the night. Every part of me says let's not invite more chaos into an already chaotic weekend schedule, but I hate to say no to them spending time with their grandma. Truthfully, I really just don't want to make the long 45 minute drive to my mom's tomorrow to go pick them up. That's one way. 45 minutes. Sigh. I told you I was raised a country girl. They live way the hell out of town.

Okay, all you dollhouse fanatics have to go get this book. It's fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. Molly got a little log cabin dollhouse kit for Christmas that she and Jason are currently building in the garage. Remember, she's my little crafty girl and loves to make anything. She thinks this is just the best project ever. She is so impatient to work on it each day she sits on the back porch and waits until poor Jason gets home from work with a list of what she hopes to accomplish on it that evening written down for him.

Why aren't there more windows in schools? I was thinking about this yesterday as I was driving past the new construction they are building on the high school in our town. It's a huge brick structure with little to no windows. Why do they do that? Are they trying to ensure zero creativity in our kids? "Let's not expose them to any sunlight, it might encourage the brain to think liberal thoughts not in tune with our agenda." Are they afraid they'll look out the window once in a while, yearning to be outside instead of in the classroom? I wish they were outside instead of in the classroom.

Just wondering.

So as I am out and about in town I always find it most interesting, that a.) I always see someone I know wherever I go in this little burb (And I mean always. Even on those nasty days when I'm slumming it in a baseball cap and sweatshirt just out for a gallon of milk and not in the mood to chat. Always.) and b.) that these people I meet have so much information about me and the happenings in my life.

How do they know these things? You may find this hard to believe since I post most of my waking thoughts on this blog, but we are, in fact, a very private family and reveal little to no information about what is going on in our lives except to our closest friends. You guys, out there, for the most part are anonymous, black faces. Lovely faces, but still you wouldn't know me if you saw me on the street. (Unless of course you met with a chubby, loud redhead and then you'd think "That may just be The Shabbee Chick.") But how do these people know things about me? It's a quandry. I know I'm not telling my happenings or the girls happenings. Jason, who is silent a the grave, is not talking. How can it be that a mommy that my child went to preschool with five years ago can see me by the oranges at the store and ask me personal things about my life? How does she know these things?

Last night we went to dinner with Jason's parents, whom we hadn't seen in well over two weeks and the first thing that Grandma does when we sit down in the booth was turn to Molly and say "Let me see those braces." How did she know we got braces? They were only put on the day before and Jason hadn't told her about them. He tries to communicate with people as little as possible and couldn't even remember to tell me that his dad was going to have knee replacement surgery-how could you forget that, I ask you? What the hell? It's kind of scary. Like a bunch of stalkers are watching us wherever we go. We must be turrrrrribly inturrreesting to be the topic of so many people's conversations. (This said with increasingly irritated tone of voice.) Whatever.

Let them talk. Buncha gossips.

(Aside: I'm not as irritated as I sound, although it does really freak me out sometimes. I've gotten over it to an extent. Once about two years ago there was a rumor going around town that Jason and I were getting a divorce. It was awful. His parents came to us and sat us down with gravity all over their faces. I thought one of them was dying. They thought we were hiding it from them. I was devastated they were so worried. Molly was in second grade at the time and a little boy whose Mommy kindly asked him if Molly's parents were getting a divorce went to school and asked her and she came home and asked us if it were true. It was horrible. Jason and I have never had marriage trouble. Never. In our twelve years together he is still the love of my life and, although we've had normal husband and wife stuff go on, we're truthfully best friends. I felt like I needed to wear a t-shirt with "Yes, we're still married." printed on it because well meaning people would come up to me and clutch my hand and ask me how I was doing. It was terrible. I thought I was going to have a stroke during that period of my life. But we moved past it. I think. So really, all this stuff about braces and trivialities doesn't make me as mad as it once would. Although it is highly irritating. I don't know why I told you all that. Don't tell anyone in my town. I don't want to discuss it by the greeting cards. 'Kay, thanks.)

Ooookay. Enough pontificating.

How many times do you change clothes in one day? Is it more than once? I change clothes waaaaay too often in one day.

Here's what happened yesterday.

Took a shower, fixed hair dressed in decent clothes to go to the girls' school and pop popcorn for my Friday in the month to do it.

Went home, changed into grubbies to clean bathroom and mop floors.

Changed back into decent clothes when Jason called me to go to lunch with him.

Went home, back into grubbies to cook pie and prep lasagna for Mom lunch.

Back into decent clothes to go to dinner with the in-laws.

Home and into p.j.'s.

Is that excessive, do you think?

Just wondering.

I have six people waiting on me to design blogs for them and I know they think I've forgotten them. I haven't forgotten you, six people! I'm working on it, it just takes a while and I'm tuuuurrribly important and busy writing mindless tripe for people to gossip about on my blog. Two of you will get previews today, never fear!

Fun Headers

Okay, here's some ca-yute blog buddies that I have recently created fun banners for. Please go over and visit these sweet gals!




Kellie is just the greatest and I'm a little obsessed with her fun blog and now she has a sassy new banner to spice it up. She's such a sassy gal!

And of course Fabulous Fannie who is new to Blogland but is Hi-Larious! And has the greatest blog. Fun, fun, fun! Go visit and say HI!


Remember if your blog needs a little pick me up, click on the verbage under my little advert in the sidebar! I'm having funfunfun until my sweetie takes the laptop away....

Exercise

I'm not much of one for exercise. The whole sweaty, huffy-puffy-ness kinda exercise. I like the idea of it. But I'm more a leisurely stroll kinda gal.

But today, I want all of you gals out there to go exercise. I'm serious! Huff and puff if you need to, but get off your fannies and go exercise your right to vote!!!!

Today is the big scary Tuesday that leaves politicians shaking in their high heels or loafers whichever the case may be. But to all the women of America it's a fabulous day! Less than 100 years ago women in this country were not allowed to vote. Now women of America stay at home because it's raining or don't want to get out because they'd have to pack the diaper bag or can't leave work for 15 minutes to go stand in line or just simply aren't registered. For shame! All of you gals out there (who, I might add, are smarter than most of the men of America-my husband and yours excluded-you can share those seats) get your sweet little hineys up out of the chair that you are sitting in and take yourself down to your polling place and vote.

Don't wanna know who you vote for. Don't care. Don't want a political discussion. I'm not like that. Just want you to get out there. Take your daughter's along....

Go RIGHT now!

Miss Priss

This is the layout I am submitting to the SMJ scrappin' layout challenge. I love Shabby Miss Jenn and all her fun stuff! And I looooove her little challenges. I'm determined to win one at some point...

Okay, we're off to our favorite used bookstore on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and then we're poppin' over to a beautiful park we used to live near back in the newlywed days to take some pic's of the girls. And then of course it's Super Bowl night and the girls and I are making a spread. Not telling who I'm rooting for, but let's just say I always love an underdog. Unless it's OU and, clearly, they're never the underdog!

Oh and look at what my sweetheart brought home for me on Friday.

They are a "Hang in there, spring is almost here!" pick me up! Isn't he the best?

Flip it! Flip it Good!

In the words of Devo...you must flip it! Flip that calendar page! It's February!

Yay! It's no longer January. I hate January. It's so...blah. I'm not a winter-lover. In fact, although I despise labels, I think I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (oor whatever it's called) because I just get very yukky in winter. Oh, sure I talk fun about snuggling and knitting and cozy-ing up and I do all those things, but really inside I'm tense and want to be outside digging in the dirt, doing projects or playing with the kids. I want to go on picnics and road trips and do outside activities like the zoo and the park and the lake. I get cabin fever very easily and make countless trips to the library and paint things in my house and clean like an insane person. I over commit thinking "Well, what the hell else am I doing?" and then get stressed out. I spend too much time on the phone and the computer and go out to coffee and lunch with my girlfriends too often. (Is that possible?) Anyhoo, February sounds much saner. It even has a holiday in it! Hooray! And my sweetie's birthday and it's the month where I put on long johns and gloves and a scarf and go outside with my sweetie and plant potatoes. It starts to stay light outside longer and they have sports sign ups. It hints of spring and an end to winter blues. I like the cold and the snow and ice and wind until about, oh, New Year's and then that's it. I'm done. I need sunshine.

So Flip it! Flip it good!

(Aside: By the way. I refuse to acknowledge the fact that Phil the groundhog saw his shadow and predicts more winter. Not hearing it. Damn you, Phil. And to think, I made a cupcake in your homage.)

It's a beautiful sunny day here and this morning I was sipping my coffee and standing at the big window in our living room looking outside when what should I see walking down the road but Nigel the rooster and his new bride, Clementine the only chicken that survived the chicken massacre of last summer. Walking down the road. (Aside: the girls have decided they are now married because Clementine follows Nigel-the name we have adopted for the neighbor's rooster who will not leave our flock no matter how many times we dump him over the fence-around constantly. Molly came running in one day and said "Mom! Mom! Nigel and Clementine got married!" I just stood there with a dish towel in my hand and looked at her trying to think of who in god'sname she was talking about. Then she said "Do you think they will have more Shabbee Chicks?". Pwecious!") So out I go in my pyjamas and pink bathrobe to chase some &$)!!!@**%$-ing chickens down the street and back into the yard. Then I went into my husband, who was still in bed, and stood over him and said "Good morning," in a singsong voice. "The damned chicken yard has to get covered toooo-daaaay! Pancakes in thirty minutes."

Poor guy.

The snow from Thursday has melted except for remnants of this guys head.

This is the first snowman the girls have made all by themselves and they were so proud. We really didn't get much snow here, only around two inches, so he was a dirty, grassy snowman, but beautiful in their eyes because he was hand rolled with love and no help from Daddy! They stacked him up all by themselves and I stood at the window and watched them haul the middle up with care, destroying one in the process causing Molly to cry out in frustration. But they started rolling again and made a successful attempt the second time!


I've heard that Blue is the new Black. Have you hear this? I spent all day Friday painting my bathroom a pale, pale blue. So pale it almost looked white on the paint chip, but is clearly blue on my walls. I love it. I tried taking a picture but the bathroom itself is such a closet I couldn't get a decent one. You'll just have to picture it in your head. I still have all the pink rosebud stuff and pink towels and they look fab-oo with the blue. I found some pink glass doorknobs and replaced all the gold ones on my cabinets and they are precious! Come over and I'll show you!


I'm a terrible painter. Terrible. Oh, I do a great job on the walls mind you but I get it all over EVERYTHING when I paint. When Jason came home I had it all cleaned up and put away because I wanted him to walk in and be surprised and say "Why you have really worked hard! How wonderful." or something equally patronizing which I always long to hear. But instead he walked in and before he even got his keys put down he said "What did you paint?". I had it ALL over me. In my hair, on my glasses, on my hands and fingernails. I had changed my clothes, but still had some on my socks. Then Missy walked in and he looked down and said "You even got it on the dog!" and sure enough, she had a big blue streak down her side and I had to give her a bath.

Sigh.

But it looks good, dammit!

I'm so excited because I'm getting ready to start the bookclub that Not Quite June Cleaver is beginning on Wednesday. We're reading this book and it looks precious. It's out of print and was last published in 1940 so it's an old yellowed copy and it looks perfect for me! Can't wait.

I was looking at our nightstand lately and I have got to finish some books before I start this one. It's getting ridiculous. Here's what is on my nightstand Keeping the house, I Capture the Castle, Coming Home and we took the kids to the library today and I got some more books. It's an addiction, I tell you!

My husband's just as bad. Here's what is on his nightstand: Robert Ludlum's "The Cassandra Compact", two books on building your own greenhouse, Gordon McComb's "Lasers, Ray Guns, and Light Cannons. Projects from the Wizard's Workbench" and a biography on Alexander Graham Bell and his passion for invention. What can I say? We are a diverse family!

I went to coffee with my girlfriends, Jenn and Debbie yesterday. It was a cooooold morning and we sat in the coffeehouse and drank hot coffee and ate fattening pastries for two and a half hours. I need to have coffee with my girlfriends. I always come away feeling good and revitalized and reminded of what I am doing and that I'm not the only one out there fighting my way through the ups and downs of parenting. Friends are important. So, have a great weekend, friends.