Rockin' Around

One more time, I just wanted to remind you all about my WordArt Bundle. It's all old stuff, but maybe you didn't grab it the first time around :) Click HERE to go and check it out. It's only $5.00, making each of the 10 WordArt packs only $0.50 a piece. GREAT deal, I know ;) hehehe.


Hi all! Man oh man was I tired when I got up at 7am this morning! I managed to get the kids dressed, get the teacher presents all together, get Toms gift exchange gift wrapped, get Jim and Jake situated, get myself dressed, and get out the door by 7:45am. I dropped the kids off at school, and walked them to their classes even.

I came back home, and was SO tired. I turned on Cartoons in my room, climbed into bed, and let Jimmy watch (and Jake do school). I slept from 8-9:15am when my Mom called. I woke up, and felt a little better. A little bit. I had time to shower and get ready and drive on up to the kids' school.

They were having Christmas parties for each of the kids, and I got to come! It was the first time. I'd always had little kids at home, and it's always distracting (to me at least) to have to bring small children while trying to spend time with the older ones. So I never went. But now with Jacob old enough to babysit, I was able to go.

I got there right at 11am, and the guard was JUST unlocking the gate. Score it! I didn't have to park in the front - yeah! I went to Joe's classroom first, but they weren't quite ready to start the party. I found Tom at the playground, and he introduced me to a few of his friends.

I wandered down to Eme's classroom, and their party was in full swing. I went and sat by her at her desk, and she showed me all of her stuff. She'd made a snow globe out of a baby food jar, glitter, baby oil, and a small toy. It was SO cute. She had some coloring pages, and I helped her color for a little while.

Her teacher always has such nice things to say about her. Eme really is a good student, and a great little girl. I think I'll keep her :)

Next I went to Toms class. They'd just had their gift exchange, and were passing out all the treats. SO many treats. Dang, treats everywhere. Tom was building his toy that he got from the gift exchange. A hot wheels track. He was SO proud of it :) He introduced me to a few more of his friends, and I wandered down to Joe's class.

They were playing a "musical chairs" type game. They passed around the stuffed animal, and said a little rhyme about it as they went. If you were holding it when the rhyme was over, then you were out. The kids were having SO much fun. Only in Kindergarten - LOL!

After the game, we gathered up all their stuff, grabbed his goody bag, and headed out with all of the other Ft Bliss kids. I gathered up all my kids, and we headed home. The kids were SO nice to share their goodies with Jacob and Jim, since they didn't get a party. Such nice kids :)

Captain America was home when we got there (about 12:30), and said that the blender broke. Crap. Good thing I had a fund called "Household repairs" with about $40 in it. At least I had money to replace it.

I was still tired, so I went into my room, and took another nap. I know, I know, story of my day, right? It's nap day, apparently. Maybe I'm getting sick, besides being tired.

At around 2pm, Andrea texted me and asked if I wanted to go to Walmart with her. She had to get some distilled water for the humidifier, and diapers. I needed a blender, so I went! The kids were doing their chores, and then were gonna play the computer. They were all settled in :)

We went to Walmart, and it was pretty busy. But we found what Andrea needed, and I even found the things that Jake/Tom needed. Undies, black socks, white socks, and deoderant. And tissues for Joe. I forgot that Joe wanted black socks too. Next time, Joe!

No blender, though. They had some weaker ones, but I wanted to get a powerful one. Captain America's milkshakes have ice, and it needs to be able to cut through it. Andrea said that we could stop at Target and look. It was kind of on the way home.

And they did! And it was on sale. $30 for the same one that Wal Mart was out of. And the same price. And Captain America would be happy because it was not from Walmart. ROFL! We headed home, and all was well.

Oh yeah, I'd bought a frozen lasagna, brown and serve rolls, and bagged salad at WalMart for dinner, too. I didn't feel like cooking....

So I got home at 3pm, and guess what? I took another nap. I woke up at 4:30pm, ad put the lasagna in the oven, and went back to lay in bed. Jimmy and I put Ratatoullie in to watch, and I dozed, and he watched. I don't think he's feeling terribly well either. He's usually not so snuggly.

We had dinner at 5:30pm, and I made the kids do their chores again. Captain America got home at around 7pm, and went to make his shakes on the new blender. I was excited to try it out. And it didn't work. Dang. What's that all about. Well, come to find out, the old blender wasn't broken. The outlet just needed reset. Crap. SO, we pulled the old one out of the trash, washed it all up, and it worked just fine. So we boxed back up the new one, and will take it back to Target. Or save it for when the old one finally does die. I'm not sure yet. I guess they'll always have sales, right? What's that saying "The universe will provide"??

We were thinking about going out on a date, but I was tired (and had bad cramps), and he was tired. We wanted to go and see Avatar, but it was sold out. "Did you Hear about the Someone or anothers" looked good, but was gonna be $12. And our budget for entertainment for the rest of the month is only $15. The Vampires Assistant was only $4, but it wasn't until 9:20pm, and we were both tired. We decided to skip the date, do what we needed to do around the house, and go to bed early. Sounded like a plan to me.

Even with all the napping, I was STILL tired. Definitely sounds like I'm getting sick. Sigh.

So here it is, 9:15pm, I'm done blogging, I'm gonna make a freebee real quick, and I may watch some TV on the internet. Lie to Me, or Fringe, or Medium. Those are my favorites. Saturday is our Wards Christmas Party. Should be a good time. I'm not sure what we're doing the rest of the day. Sleep will probably be high on our list - ROFL! All of my kids are still out in the living room, playing and having a good time. Pretty soon, I'm gonna have to be the bad guy and break up the party. Do you suppose that they'll sleep in? The big ones, possibly. But probably not the little ones.....

So Saturday is the day that I wanted to take the Old WordArts, and re-do them. Funny thing is, though, that I may like the old one better - ROFL! Not that I don't like the new one. I do think it's cool. But I just REALLY like the old one. So, click HERE to go to the old one, and click on the links below to go to my accounts to download the PNG file.

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Christmas Party

OK, so I don't have new stuff for the week. Well, technically, that's not true. I have 5 new WordArt packs, 3 of which are Christmas themed. BUT, because of my extremely long day the other day, and my very poor math skills that night, I missed my deadline, and posted my products a few hours too late. SO, nothing new can be released this week. :( BUT, I think I've come up with a way to still sell some stuff - ROFL!

Here's the deal. These are all OLD WordArt packs. I don't want anyone misunderstanding. This is NOT new stuff. They're all in my store right now, for $2.50 a pack. BUT, if you buy the bundle, you'll get all 10 WordArt packs for only $5.00. That's $0.50 a pack. I KNOW! That's cheap. AND, I tried to make it a true variety. A little bit of everything. So, do you like? I thought it would be the perfect way for someone who didn't have anything from me to get a taste of stuff. Anyway, click HERE if you wanna go and check it out :) It'll probably be available for about a week or so. So get it while you can!


OK, so hopefully disaster averted - LOL! Anyway, busy busy day on Thursday. Again, I don't know why I keep looking for them to be less busy. Silly me :)

When I got up at 7am, I went out to see how far along everyone was, and noticed Tom laying on the couch, fully dressed. I was like, um, come on, go get breakfast, get moving, and he was like, "Mom, my foot is KILLING me. I didn't sleep at all last nigth". Sigh. It was gonna be one of THOSE days.

Of all the kids, Tom is kind of a drama king. And I know that sounds harsh to say about your own kid, but call a spade a spade, right? He's got a low tolerance for pain. He just does.

SO, I knew that there was nothing wrong, but I called the appointment desk, described how he was acting, and they got him right in. 8am. So, I threw on some clothes, took the other kids to school, left Jake with Jim, and headed to the doctor. Captain America had taken my truck to work, since his wouldn't start again (even after the new battery - must be something else wrong with it), so I took his Saturn. Good thing we all fit!

We got RIGHT in to see the doctor. She looked at Toms foot, and said that it probably wasn't broken, but that she'd order some xrasy.

So we hobbled over to Xray, and got those taken, then hobbled back to the patient room again. She came back in, and nope, no break. She showed me how his feet were flat, and if it wasn't an issue now, that it would be in the future. He needed inserts. She said the fact that he's overweight doesn't help. He's 95% for height, and 105% for weight. I know that 105% sounds horrible, but really, it's only 10% off his height. So he needs to cut back and play more, but that's it, I think.

She referred us to the Brace Shop at the hospital to get the inserts, and to a nutritionist. Cool. I've always wanted to talk to a nutritionist, honestly :) Now I'll get the chance! Oh yeah, and a prescription for Motrin. Because that's what Army doctors prescribe. Motrin. I was kind of excited, because I didn't have any Army Motrin yet. Woohoo!

We were 15 numbers away from being called, so we sat down and read for a while. I'm reading the Cassandra Claire book, City of Bones (or something like that). Just started it. Seems promising. I've heard a lot of good things about it :)

We finally got the Motrin, and headed to the hospital. I was a little stressed about it, since I had Captain Americas car, and the hospital sits on a hill. Why is that a problem, you say? Well, Captain Americas car is a shift stick. So I roll when I stop on hill, and it about gives me a heart attack. BUT, I managed. I slowed WAY down when the light turned red, and by the time I eased my way up to it, it was green again, so I didn't have to start from stop. I'm sure the people behind me thought I was dumb. LOL!

We had to park CLEAR in the back, because they're building a parking garage, and theres construction EVERYWHERE! One bad thing about living in the warm weather. No season off for construction. It's year round. Sigh. SO, poor Tom was limping and hobbling all over creation looking for the Brace shop. He got his inserts, and we headed back on post.

Captain America texted around that time, and wanted me to switch over vehicles. So we dropped off the Saturn at his work, and took the Suburban. I SO love my truck. Wouldn't trade it!

Next ,it was on to Toms school to sign him back in. While we were there, the Vice Principal called me in to talk about Joe and Speech. Yeah, the kindergartner can get speech, but why not Tom, the 4th grader, who REALLY needs it. Sigh. Anyway, I signed paper after paper after paper. He was really good about explaining all the stuff that I needed to know. Mr Vasquez is a GREAT guy, I think :)

I finally got home at around 10:45am. Long morning, all ready. I came home, changed my clothes (or did I. No I think I had the same hooded sweatshirt on - LOL), made sure that the kids were still alive and well (ROFL!), and headed out again. I'd made plans the day before to go to lunch and get my eyebrows threaded. The Tom thing threw me off. Sigh.

Kim and Andrea and I went to lunch at Olive Garden. Mmmmm, soup and salad is my FAVORITE. I like the potato/sausage one. Can't remember what it's called, but it's SO good. We had fun eating and chatting and laughing. Andrea and I ALWAYS make Kim laugh - hehehe. I think it's because we're naughty - LOL!

After lunch, we headed to the mall to get threaded. The chickie said that she needed 15 more minutes, so Andrea and Kim headed to Sears, and I headed upstairs to Game Crazy. Only it wasn't Game Crazy, it was Game Stop. And they didn't have the same sales. They had a PS2 plus 2 games for $50 at Game Crazy. And Jake had the money. I was supposed to be looking for him. Sorry, Jake.

I headed back downstairs, and the threading girl was back. But there were 2 girls in front of us. So we waited. And chatted with each other, and the people who walked by. Andrea went first when it was our turn, then me, then Kim. Yeah, it hurts. The inside part of your eyebrow worse than the outside part. But it's SO worth it. They look fabulous when they're done, and it lasts SO much longer than plucking. Thanks, threading girl! I love you :)

After threading, we headed back on post. We dropped Kim off at her house, then headed to the school to pick up the kids. Luke had fallen asleep in the Suburban, so I stayed in the vehicle with him, and Andrea went in to pick up the kids.

We got home, and Jake and Jim were SO happy to see me. Poor kids. It'd been a long day. I didn't mean to be gone so long. LIke I said, the Doctors appointment really threw me off.

We got a snack, then did our chores, then watched a bit of Night at the Museum 2. Jimmy just LOVES that movie. Too cute!

I finished designing my "teacher gifts" for the kids teachers, and sent the finished product to Walgreens. They looked pretty good! I ordered 8 of each (6 different prints), and 3 pages of tags. It was coming together nicely.

We had fried egg sandwiches for dinner (well, it's better than cheese and crackers, right?), and I headed to Walgreens to get the photos. But first I stopped at the gas station to fill up. Captain America had been harping on me ALL day long to get gas for the truck. Really, for the last 2 days. So, I finally went. I also filled up the little tank for the lawn mower. See, I'm just that good :)

Next, on to Walgreens. Tom needed a gift for the gift exchange in his class, so I spent a lot of time looking around the toy isle. The toys all cost about $7. BUT, they were having a deal of 3 for $14. SO, it would only be $4.33 if I got 3. So, I spent more money to save money, if that makes sense. I got a present for the exchange, and some lip gloss/body glitter for Eme, and some cars for Jimmy. They didn't really need another present, but I was feeling generous :)

I got home, and started making cookies. Andrea and I and Laurie were all going in on the idea. We were each baking a few types of cookies, then putting them in little tubs, then giving the teachers a framed Christmas saying. Pretty cool, eh?

I put all my scrapped pages into the frames, and tied raffia around it. I made "cake mix" cookies, and roll out sugar cookies. I felt like it took FOREVER. And I was super tired, on top of that. Not a good combo.

The kids helped a little but, but lost interest quickly. We were supposed to go to Scouts, but we skipped. I needed to get the teacher gifts done.

Captain America got home at 8:30pm, and helped Tom with his inserts. Thank goodness. I didn't know what to do for it :) I was still baking cookies.

After I got done with the 2 different kinds, I realized that I was supposed to have treats/snacks for the kids classes too. Sigh. I really didn't wanna make more cookies. REALLY didn't. So I grabbed my big boxes of Nutri-Grain bars, and decided to let the kids take those. I'm so bad - LOL!

At around 10:30pm, I went over to Andreas house to trade cookies. Laurie was there too. OMGosh, we ended up staying and chatting until 1:30pm. And I told Captain America that I was coming right back. Oops. Sorry, honey! I really meant to come right back. They sucked me in. It's all their faults - ROFL!

So here it is, 1:42 pm, and I'm just finishing up blogging. And I need to design something for y'all. Something. Preferably something without typos. But that's a lot to ask, since it's after midnight. OK, be right back!

So, in honor of all the crazyiness we've had over the past few days trying to get ready for school Christmas parties, here's a Christmas Party WordArt for ya! I hope you like it :)

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

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Helping

So it was another long day. I was at home most of it. Thanks to setting my watch right last night, I was up at 7am getting my kids ready for school. They were all dragging a bit. I think, over vacation, we'll all sleep a lot - hehehe. Well, at least that's what I wanna do :)

I straightened up a bit, and my Visiting Teachers came over at 9ish. They taught a nice little lesson, chatted with me for a while, and left a GINORMOUS plate of cookies/chocolates/goodies for us. OMGosh, they were SO good. When they left, Jake, Jim and I tasted them all. SO good. Kayley and Chelsie, THANK YOU!!!

Jimmy and I laid down on the couch to relax and watch a movie. At one point, I asked him to go and get me a soda from the fridge, and he did, and dropped it over the couch, into what he thought was my lap. But really, it was my EYE! It hurt SO bad. I instantly started crying, and tried to hide my face from Jim, but he noticed. He felt SO bad. We're quite a pair - LOL!

Luckily it didn't leave a mark. But dang, it still hurts and is tender. I was afraid that I'd end up with a shiner :)

At around lunch time, Andrea and I were both on the computer, and were Skyping. Yes, she lives down the block. I know it's kinda pathetic, but we like it - LOL! At about the same time, she got a call from Ryan, and I got a call from Laurie. We both went our separate ways - hehehe.

Laurie wanted me to drive her to the airport (about 3 minutes away) so she could run in and pick up a camera that her niece had left there earlier in the day. She didn't wanna pay for parking. I can totally relate - LOL!

So I went to Lauries house with Jimmy, and picked up her and Rowan. We dropped Miss Laurie off at the airport, and circled it once. On the 2nd time around, she was out. It was such a quick trip :)

Jimmy and I ended up staying at Lauries house to play until the kids came home from school. It was a good time. Except for the fact that Jimmy was wearing his jammies and no socks. LOL! I didn't know that he'd be leaving the truck - hehehe.

At school, Andrea went in to gather the kindergartners, but since I had Jim, and Jim had no shoes, and there's no way on Gods green earth that I could carry that child for an significant distance (he's 55 lbs), I decided to just wait for them all to come out.

The moms chatted, the kids played, and eventually we gathered everyone we needed, and headed home.

The kids did their chores, and I worked on Cub Scouts. I had some papers to print out, some parts to cut out, some badges to make, and a few activites to plan. All in all, it went pretty fast.

So as I'm sitting in my bedroom, on the floor, working on Cub Scouts, I hear this SUPER loud crash. Great, I think. What did they break. I went out to investigate, and this is what I found.

Apparently Jake and Tom were looking at a funny part in a book at the table, and Joe coudln't see. So he climbed up on the table, and was sitting on it. Well, true, he's the smallest Harty kid (by 5 lbs), but still, the table wasn't designed to hold a 50lb child. It really wasn't.

There were splinters of wood everywhere. I don't know if it's saveable or not. Jake, Tom, and I carried the pieces to the backyard, and figured that Captain America could work on it over the weekend. And if it's broke, well, I'm not sure what we'll do. Probably buy a folding card table at Walmart. Until I can decide what to do for real. Not so cool. Lets just hope that it's fixable.

I didn't really feel like cooking, so I cut up some sausage (precooked) and cheese and crackers, and we did that for dinner. I know, bad. But it's Wednesday. And some Wednesdays are like that in my house :)

About 20 minutes before we had to leave the house, Jacob informs me that he's having a white elephant exchange at church, and that the gift needs to cost under $5.00. Are you freakin' kidding me? And you didn't tell me this when we were at the store because......????? Sigh. OK, make it work. Find something.... Scramble mode.

I found a package of M&M's (the big ones, Christmas themed), and a box from Amazon.com, and the wrapping paper, and some filling fluff, and I make it work. The gift looked pretty nice, anyway. And really, who wouldn't be happy with a WHOLE bag of chocolate? I'd like that- LOL!

We left for church at 6:15pm, trying to get there at 6:30pm, in order to set up the gym. We got there at about 6:27pm, and the doors were locked. So we waited. And waited. And waited. And Joe puked. It was nasty. He has this cough, and it's gotten worse as the day went on. So he was hacking and coughing and, well, puked. Poor kid.

Most of it got on his coat. Which I took up, wadded into a ball, and put in the trunk. I passed him a whole bunch of napkins that were in the truck (no one had taken them inside the house yet), and had him wipe up the small amount that got on the seat.

And we waited some more. And more. 30 minutes worth of waiting in the truck. Luckily, I had my MP3 player, and my cord that goes to my CD player. We listened to the final battle in Eclipse. Only Jacob and I knew the story, so it was pretty entertaining to the kids.

Someone finally showed up at 6:55pm, and we rushed in and set up. It was a pretty good pack meeting. SANTA came! Our Cubmaster wasn't there (hint hint), so Santa filled in. The kids LOVED it. Well, the siblings LOVED it. The scouts kinda had a I'm too Cool for you look. Or maybe that was just my son, Tom. Maybe...

Tom received his Citizenship badge, and we were so proud of him. Way to go, Tom! And thanks, Andrea, for being such a great den leader for Tom!


Santa had a TON of presents in his bag, and we played a game with them. Everyone sat in a circle, and we passed the presents either left or right, as Santa read a story. When the word Left was said, we passed Left, and Right when Right was said. It was SO funny. The presents kept bogging down around the little kids. At one point, Rowan (3) had about 8 presents in his lap. ROFL!

After the game, we opened our Candy Canes and ate them. Santa then let all the kids come and sit on his lap, and tell him what they wanted for christmas. And, it was SO cute, but Santa told the kids with dad's who were deployed that he'd talked to them earlier in the day, and that they said "I love you and miss you". OMGosh, it was the most cutest, most adorable thing I'd seen in a long time. Santa, you rock! Those kids really needed to hear that from you :)

We closed the Pack meeting, cleaned up, and headed home. I was tired, and a bit fried from man handling kids all evening.

Jake was pretty excited when he got back from his meeting. He'd scored a glass chess set. He was SO stoked about it. Way to go, Jake!

As we were entering the gate on Post, we were stopped for a random inspection. Really? I was cold, I had 5 kids in the truck, and I was grouchy. Not so cool. Jimmy tried to run into traffic, I couldn't figure out how to get the latch open for the hood, I had to point out all the puke areas so that the guards didn't puke themselves. OMGosh, it was crazy. Joe was FREEZING, because his coat was covered in puke. I must admit, I wasn't having very nice thoughts.

The one lady (out of 4 guards) kept giving me looks of utter pity. As she should. ROFL! Let that be birth control for anyone thinking of having children. I loaded the kids back up, shut all the doors, buckled in Jimmy, went around to buckle Joe, who was afraid to touch the place where the puke used to be, got situated, and headed off. I'm sure that about 3 or 4 people were spared inspections because the of the sheer amount of time it took me. So there. You're welcome, people. I took one for ya! You owe me :)

I was even more fried when I got home, but luckily Captain America was there to help me. I quickly put the kids to bed, and sat down for some "quiet time". I downloaded a few of the new Christmas kits from Scraporchard (OMGosh, their amazing), and started to design a framed picture for the kids' teachers for Christmas gifts. I did 3 before I got real tired.

Captain America was in the room too, watching his new Dukes of Hazzard episodes, and reading something or another to do with work. It was a relaxing hour or so.

Then I designed, and blogged, and now it's only 11pm. And I'm tired. I'm going to sleep early (well, for me :)

So this comes from a song that we sing with the kids in Primary. When we're helping we're happy and we sing as we go, for we like to help (insert adult - Mother), for we all love her so. I find myself singing this to my kids often. Because maybe if they *think* they like to help me, then, well, maybe they *will* like to help me - LOL!

I thought this WordArt would be perfect for pictures of little kids helping out. Don't you think?
Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

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Ho Ho Ho!

Heavens! I'm mighty tired right now. It's almost 1am, and I'm just getting around to blogging. Sigh. Why? Why do I do this to myself? I've gotta say, though, I didn't get a moments rest today, it seemed. It was go go go all day long.

I bought a new watch at Big Lots this past Saturday, and set the alarm to go off at 7:30am for church on Sunday. Unfortunately, I didn't re-set it for 7am for the rest of the week. So, 2 days in a row now, I've woken up at 7:10am, in a panic, scrambling to get kids to school on time. As I type, I'm gonna take a short pause to fix that.

*pause*

Thanks for waiting. OK, now I should be good to go for Wednesday :) Anyway, I got the kids off to school, and got Jimmy dressed, and to Jake started on school, and got Captain America off to work, then left with Andrea to go stocking shopping. The kids stayed home, since you can't really take kids along. Well, not without a lot of sneaking around. And really, who wants to sneak around :)

We went to the Dollar tree, and were there WAY too long. I think we looked down every isle 3 or 4 times. BUT, I got most of the things I needed. A few food type items, a bag of peanuts, some toys, some coloring books/calendars, I'm gonna put in fruit and granola bars later. Pretty good stuff. I tried to make them "even", if that's possible. It's just that it's easier to please a 4-6 year old than it is a 10-12 year old, know what I mean?

So, after the Dollar Tree, we headed to Wal Mart to get the candy. Because as good as the Dollar Tree is, Walmart is better on candy. I'm sorry, but it is. I may not hold Walmart in high regard right now, but I can recognize that much, at least :) hehehe.

We got candy, then went to the toys. I needed Hot Wheels. But then decided to just give Captain Americathe money, and let him pick out which Hot Wheels. Because you KNOW that I'd pick the wrong ones. I just don't have Hot Wheel Picking as one of my talents. Sad, but true.

We met up with Laurie there, and hung out in the Transformers isle for a while, chatting and chatting and chatting some more.

After getting everything we needed (well, except for my foundation, because they were OUT!!!), we headed back onto post. Andrea dropped me off at my house, and I picked up the boys, kissed my husband hello/goodbye for lunch break, then headed off to Taco Cabana, where I was meeting Andrea/Laurie.

It was a fun lunch! Cabana bowls are definitely good :) After lunch, Andrea went to the school to pick up one of her kids for their physicals, and Laurie and I headed across the street to Ross. Do y'all have Ross where you live? It's fabulous!

So, we walked around for a bit (dang, it was crowded), and found a few things. I found Wii Lightsabers. A 2 pack for $9. OMGosh, that's a good deal. I found similar ones online, but they were 30 bucks. $9 was perfect! Lauire got a few things, and we decided to go pay. We had about 30 minutes before we had to be at the school, and it was only 5 minutes away.

Holy line, Batman!!! I seriously almost fainted when I saw the line. It went from the front of the store, all the way to the BACk, then turned and went down the isle, and started to loop back to the front. What did people think this was, Black Friday? WTHeck? Because I REALLY wanted the lightsabers, we got in line. And waited. And waited. Oh yeah, without a cart, because there were none in the store.

And with 2 3-4 year olds, and 1 12 year old. And wait. And wait. And inch our way painfully to the middle of the line. With 15 minutes before time to get the kids, I was starting to panic. Laurie said that I could go with Jake and get the kids, and that she'd stay with Jimmy and pay. I gave her money, and headed out! It was going to be close.

There was quite a line of traffic on the way to the school, since the middle school had just got out, but I got there on time. I went and helped picked up the kindergarteners, since Andrea was at a Drs appointment, and she usually does it.

I told Lauries kids that they were coming with me, and mine were coming with me, and Leslies were coming with me, and Andrea's son Sams backpack was coming with me (he has an after school PE class) and we headed for the truck. Except for Lauries son. He kinda freaked out. I guess they'd had a talk last week or so about riding home with strangers. And how there's a code word that the stranger had to give him before he could go in their car. Somehow he miss the fact that I wasn't a stranger. Sigh.

So he was bawling and freaking out at his little sister (kindergartener) and big sister (5th grader) happily piled into my truck. He started to walk home, and I called and explained the situation to Laurie, and she said that she was almost there, to no worry about it. Sigh. Yeah, SO not a stranger. I see the kid every day. At church. At school. Socially. Heck, I was at his house on Sunday for dinner. NOT a stranger. I had the talk with my truck full of kids on the way home that mom's give "code" words to prevent kids from getting stolen by strangers, or people that mom's dont trust. Mom's "best friends" don't count as strangers....

So, I "ghosted" behind the kid, which seemed to panic him too. Lauire eventually got there, picked him up, and followed me to my house. She collected her kids, gave me my "item", Leslies kids continued walking home (2 houses), and we all went inside.

We decided to switch up the chore chart. Sometimes it's needed. Sometimes. I think this one is going to work out. Jake is now in charge of putting away the dishes, washing/clearning the counters, cleaning the stove top, sweeping the kitchen floor, and doing the upstairs bathroom. Tom is in charge of the DVD's, the computer area, the dining room floor, and the trash. Eme is in charge of the living room floor, the VHS's and the laundry room. Joe and Jim have the backyard, the kitchen table, and their room.

In an hour, the house looked pretty good. Great job, you guys! Andrea dropped off Luke at around 5pm, so I could babysit. Sam had an orchestra concert, and taking a 20 month old little boy is NOT the most fun thing in the world. He had a TON of fun at my house :)

Also while she was gone, I wrote a note to Katy and Adela. If you notice, I'm not doing a lot of stuff with them, as of late. We've kinda had a falling out. Remember the brunch on Monday to fix it? Yeah, well, not so much. It came out that they had issues with our husbands. And at first, Andrea and I weren't really sure what to think about it. I think it took a few days to sink in. For the ramifications of what that meant to hit home.

Did we really wanna be friends with people who thought so little/poorly/negatively about the men that we love, the men that we chose, our best friends? No, we didn't. So, I composed an email to them both, telling them that it just wasn't gonna work out as friends That I was sorry about how it happened, but that I'm sure that if the situation was reversed, that they'd do the same thing.

And I sent it. And I got back a response, all defensive, and saying "well, if your upset about it, then maybe your husband IS those bad things that we said about him" from one of the girls, and a "sorry it didn't work out, no hard feelings, best of luck" note from the other. Sigh. I guess it was to be expected.

It really put a bad feeling in my stomach. You know me. I don't like confrontation. Or contention. Or bad feelings. And here I was, with all three. Sigh. So I kinda felt sick the whole time.

I went in the kitchen and made pizza dough from scratch, trying to keep my hands busy, even if my mind couldn't be. I just love homemade pizza. The last pizza just came out of the oven when Andrea and Sam and Ben got here. I invited them in for dinner, since Captain America wasn't home yet.

Andrea and I read the "response" emails, and the original emails, and talked about it at length. Honestly, I think she's afraid to send an email to them at this point, for fear of what they'll say about her. Sigh. Why must life be so hard sometimes.... We unfriended them on Facebook (as well as our children), and that was that. It's really unfortunate that it's come to this.... But I refuse to be friends with someone who thinks that my husband is a racist. You can't just throw that word around and expect people to be OK with that. That's kind of a deal breaker, don't you think?

OK, ok, I hate airing dirty laundry on here. I haven't said anything about it before, but I just can't keep it in anymore. So there. It's out. I feel better. Sigh. Kind of.... Give it time, right?

So Andrea and the kids went home at around 7:30pm, and Captain America got home 10 minutes later. Dang, early for him! We let the kids stay up a little bit later, and played a family game of Uno. And I even won! I never win at Uno - LOL! It was pretty fun.

Captain America read the little boys stories, and I helped the kids who needed Vasiline get all lathered up. Tom's elbows are SO gross. Seriously, dry, cracking, and black. It's nasty. I've been putting MASSIVE amounts of Vasaline on them, with the cut off top parts of socks around is elbows. I asked him if kids at school make fun of him for it, and he was like "No, mom, they think that it's kind of cool". ROFL! Me, the fashion starter - ROFL!

Joe has chapped nose SO bad, it's extending all the way across both cheeks. Like a mustache. Poor little guy. I lathered him up pretty good. And he's got super dry hands, so I put it on thick, and put socks on his hands. That ought to help. Dang the dry El Paso air. LOL!

I stuffed stockings after the kids went to bed, and sorted some more presents. I'm about 70% done wrapping presents. Not too bad, for more than a week out, wouldn't you say? And the stockings look good, too! They're crocheted, so they're really stretchy, and TONS of stuff fit in them. I don't know if that's good or bad. Good from the kids' point of view, but bad if your the elf filling it.

Oh yeah, and I told the kids that an Elf came to pick up the stockings, and that they took it to the North Pole to fill it, then Santa will deliver it on Christmas Eve. Don't you wish you knew an Elf?

And then I had to design another WordArt pack, and load the store for the week, and design something for a Store project, and design my freebee for today, and here I am, blogging. It's now 1:30am, and I'm tired. And my throat is starting to hurt. I really hope I don't get sick. I don't have time for sick. I've got stuff to do. Fun stuff. Super fun stuff. hehehe.

WordArt Wednesday again! Click HERE to go to scraporchard to grab the zip file, and remember, you must be logged into the gallery in order to get the download :) Thanks!

Choices

Morning, girls! How's your week going??? For being only Monday, it's sure started off busy - LOL! I got up a few minutes late, but still go the kids ready and out the door on time. I worked on my shopping list, and left the house to go shopping at 8am-ish. Jimmy and I went with Andrea and Luke. Laurie met us there. It's always more fun shopping with friends :) You should really try it - LOL!

We stopped at the post office on the way home, so that Andrea could send a package to Ryan, and I sat in the car with the kids. Another good reason to take a friend along. A baby in the post office the week or so before Christmas is NOT fun, any way you look at it - LOL!

We got home, put away the groceries, cleaned the kitchen, and Andrea and I headed back out to the store. We had a baby shower to go to later on in the day, and needed to get a present. We went to Fallas Paredes, and found some nice gifts!

We headed home, I fed my kids lunch, and I headed out to the baby shower. It was at an Italian Restaurant, Dominique's. Off of Montana. For Leslie's friend, Morgan. It's her first baby, coming in January. Henry.

I had the soup and salad bar, and Andrea and I split a slice of chocolate cake for dessert. Thanks so much, Leslie, for the invite, for the company, and for the lunch! You rock, girl! And Morgan, good luck with your baby, and your trip back to Tennessee!!!

After lunch, we headed back on post to pick up the kids. I brought Leslie's kids back to their house, and spent some time with the kids. Tom played with the neighbor kids for a while, and Eme and Joe played outside. I chatted with my neighbor Leigh for quite some time.

Later, Jimmy and I laid down on the couch, and he fell asleep. I must have dozed a bit, but eventually got up, and fixed dinner. Well, if by apple slices dipped in carmel sauce, rolled in peanuts, ranch and carrots, and bologna sandwiches you mean dinner - ROFL!

At around 5:30, I went with Andrea to take her kids to piano, while my kids watched a movie at home. We were back close to 7pm.

I finished off a movie with the kids, and put them to bed. I designed 2 WordArt packs, and blogged for the day. Busy, busy, busy. BUT, I think I accomplished everything that I needed to do today. That's always a good thing.

I put the big kids to bed at around 9pm, and I headed down to Andreas house. We watched a movie, and I came back home around 11:30pm, when Captain America finally got home from work. Poor guy, her really does work a lot... ;(

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

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Merry Christmas

OK girls! I finally got the pictures from my b-day party!!! Mom, these are for you :)

This is Andrea's house!

Here's the dessert table :)

And the real food :)

OK, then I went around and got a shot of me and each one of my friends.

Andrea and I

Leslie and I

Katy and I

Laurie and I

Leigh and I

Keri and I

Wanda and I

Karen and I

Mindy and I

Christie and I

Adela and I

Kayley and I

Heidi and I

And, the infamous pants! I mean, really. Who wears these???? Strike that. I know who wears these. When we went to the commanders Christmas party, 2 different chickies had on pants this tight and similar fabrics. Sigh. I guess it's just ME who doesn't wear these pants - LOL!

Another Sunday down - hehehe. Just that much closer to Christmas, right? LOL! Captain America was late for his meetings this morning, because his phone was on vibrate from the movies, and he uses it as his alarm. Poor guy. He was headed out the door when we all got up.

We made it to church on time/early, and got the seats that we liked :) Primary was busy crazy as always. We had 2 teachers not show, one come late, and one that the teacher doesn't start till next week. It always makes for an interesting Sunday.

After church, we came home, ate turkey sandwiches, and I took a nap. I laid down at 1:15pm, and got out of bed at 3:45pm. I wasn't asleep the whole time, but I did sleep. Jake came in 3 different times to wake me up, Joe rang the door bell once, a friend dropped by a b-day present, Captain America came home, you name it, I was interrupted - LOL!

I directed the kids to clean up when I finally came out, and started on dinner. I was going to Laurie's house for a "group" dinner. I made some potato chowder, and it really turned out well. I tried to follow a recipe, but changed it a WHOLE bunch. Do you ever do that?

It was pretty fun at Lauries. Captain America didn't come, because he was napping. He didn't get home until almost 4pm from church. I tried to wake him up, but he was incoherently talking about work. I figured I should let the poor man rest - LOL!

Laurie's family, my family, Christie's family, and Kayley's family were all there. We had 2 kinds of soup, and 2 different lasagnas, and some chips/crackers/dip. It was a nice evening. Laurie read a Christmas story, and we chatted, then we all went home.

I stopped by Andreas house to give her family my left over soup. I was betting that she hadn't made dinner yet, and I was right - LOL! I knew that she'd been baking Gingerbread for her hubby in Iraq, and I know that if I had been baking, I wouldn't be cooking too - LOL!

Captain America was awake when I got home, and the kids and he sat down to watch "The Dukes of Hazzard". I was in the bedroom with the door opened, folding laundry. I could hear it, but didn't want to stop. I was on a "laundry folding" roll. Best not to interrupt that, right?

When I was done folding, I came out and finished watching the show with the family. I worked on a scarf that I was crocheting for Jimmy, and actually finished it off! He LOVED it :) Captain America read the kids stories after the show, and put them to bed.

Now, all I have to do is put the clothes away, design a freebee, and I'm good for the night. I have a busy day planned for tomorrow, so maybe I'll go to bed early. Or maybe I'll go clean.

Monday I have grocery shopping, then baby shower gift shopping, the baby shower, then getting kids from school, then piano lessons with Andrea (I just go along for company - LOL), then Family Home Evening. Dang, we're busy - LOL!

So since I'm feeling the holiday spirit, I decided to make you a Christmas freebee :) Because they're just so darn fun to make - LOL! Hope you enjoy!

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Good Courage - 2010 Mutual Theme

(Let me preface this with : I'm sorry, Mom, about the lack of photos. They're on Andreas camera. And I failed to take any today. I know, I know, bad daughter. I'm sorry. I'll try harder next time :))

Happy Birthday to ME! ROFL! SO, I was woken up at 8am by fighting kids. Through the door. Through my "noise reducing fan". Through the snores of my tired husband. 5 fighting kids. For 45 minutes I tried to block it all out, but to no avail. By the time I went out at 8:45am, the house was trashed.

How do they do it? Is it a talent that they have? I wonder if it's a marketable skill? Destroy a room in 3 minutes or less? Surely a movie/tv set would hire them to do the "after" scenes for crimes? Or natural disaster movies? SO, if you hear of anyone looking, I've got their demolition crew. Just putting it out there....

I was really tired, and a bit crabby. I think it was from all the food yesterday. All the "yummy to the taste but bad for the body" food. Why? Why do I do this to myself? I felt really good, nutrition wise, the past 10 days when I was eating on my menu. And I go and blow it. Well, after my birthday, I'm getting "back on the wagon". I feel so much better when I eat what I should, not what I want.

Anyway, I moved myself out to the couch, and got on the laptop. I wasn't really feeling like doing much else. The house was trashed. Captain America was asleep. The kids were loud. But then, they're always loud. I think I must be PMS-y, because I was feeling a bit emotion. Either that, or I was just coming down off of a very large sugar high.

By the time that I really woke up, and was functioning, it was almost 10am. I hopped in the shower, and started to get ready. Captain America woke up at around that same time, and we both got ready, and organized the house a bit. It wasn't "company worthy" by any means, but it was better than when I woke up - hehehe.

At 11:30am, Captain America and I left on our date. I gave Jacob detailed directions about what to do with the kids. How to entertain them. What to feed them. The works. They should be fine....

Captain America and I headed out to the Olive Garden. Dang, it was chilly in the restaurant. We were seated in a BIG booth, across from each other. But after we got our drinks, I moved to his side so we could snuggle for warmth. ROFL!

We both got the soup and salad. I got the spicy sausage and potato one, and Captain America go the beans and beef one. Next time around, he got the chicken and dumplins one, and I got the minestrone. I just LOVE soup. And bread sticks dipped inside of it? YUMMY! We also got an appetizer. Spinach and Artichoke dip. SO yummy. It didn't really have very much, but what it did have was tasty.

After lunch, we went to the mall to walk around for a while. Old Navy was supposed to have fleeces for $5 on Saturday only. But of course, they were gone. We got to the back of the store, and found a $5 rack, though. BUT, I noticed some people milling around off to the side in the back of the store, and finally realized that that was the LINE to check out? Are you kidding me???? Yeah, I was like, Captain America, we're leaving - LOL! I didn't have time to wait in a line that big!

So we wandered around to a few more shops. We went to Game Stop, but it was so packed that we left. I decided that I wasn't really "mall people". The stores all sold things that were over my comfort level, money wise. I can't imagine paying $30 for a shirt. Or $50 for a pair of pants. Or more, which is the crazy part. Yeah, I'm more of a Walmart (as much as I HATE them lately), GoodWill, Big Lots, Fallas Paredas, Family Dollar kind of gal.

Anyway, it was getting to be time to go, so we headed off to the Battalion Commanders Christmas Party. I called to check on the kids at about this time. Jake said that Eme and Tom were fighting with each other. After talking with both of them, twice, I finally sent them both to their rooms, and told them to no come out until I got home. Sigh. There was a lot of screaming and yelling going on on the other end of the phone. Poor Jake. At least with them both in their rooms, it should be easier for him.

We met outside of his house about 15 minutes before time to start with all of the leadership in Captain Americas battery. About 10 people. We all went in at the right time. 2pm. We went through the reception line, then went to the food. Again with the food. They had an horderve (yes, I know it's spelled wrong, but spell check isn't touching this one.....) table, and a dessert table. They had some good stuff!

We ate and chatted for 45 minutes, then the commander gave a toast, and we all headed out. I wasn't quite sure what to do when the little cups of alcohol were passed out for the toast. I felt obligated to take one, but then just left it on the table. I guess, I should have just said no thanks. It was silly to take it and not do anything with it. (Because I don't drink, you know). Next time, I'm just gonna say "No Thank You". Sigh. At least I usually don't have to worry about such things.

So, we all headed home after that. Back through the reception line, and out the door. Yeah, the house was slightly trashed. Not as bad as it could have been, but not as good as I'd hoped. We spent the next 45 minutes cleaning up, and getting it back to almost normal. The living room looked good, at least.

Captain America went to wash the rigs (and even the neighbors car), and I got the kids ready. We were going to the Movies. The On Post theater was showing "A Christmas Carol", and I thought it would be fun to take the family. Especially since they didn't get to go with us to the Christmas Party.

Right before we left, we got out my cake, sang Happy Birthday, ate, and loaded up in the truck. Thank you, Andrea, for the WONDERFUL cake. It was SO good :) I may or may not have eaten Jimmys piece ( he only ate 1 bite). Yeah, um, er, well, that's why I go up in weight when I'm not on my plan....

We got to the movies a little late, but didn't miss anything. Some would say PERFECT timing. Jake and Tom wandered off to find their friends, and Emeline spotted on of her girlfriends and went to sit with her.

So it was Captain America and I and Jimmy (sitting on Captain Americas other side) and Joe (sitting on my other side). The movies started, and it was LOUD and scary. Perfect! My kind of movie - LOL!

I noticed that they lifted the script, it seemed, directly from Dickens. I thought that the kids wouldn't like it, because of the "strange" language, but they seemed to be enjoying it. About 5 minutes into the movie, Jimmy fell asleep. Yep, slept through the ENTIRE thing. And it was loud. With dramatic lighting and sound changes. And yet he slept. hehehe.

Joe, on the other hand, was scared. He wanted to sit on my lap. About 30 minutes into the movie, I went and bought popcorn for us. Jake and Tom and Eme were else where, and Jim was asleep, so just Captain America and Joe and I ate. LOL! Joe got to hold it, and I think he really felt that it was just for him. Sweet kid :) Plus, it gave his nervous little fingers something to do.

We gathered up our crew when it was over, and headed home. Jimmy was dazed and sad and crying loud all the way home. Sometimes he doesn't wake up well. He kept asking when we were going to the movies, and if we could get popcorn. Poor kid! He'd missed the whole thing...

We hurried and got some dinner (turkey sandwiches - LOL), then headed back out again. We went to Fallas Paredes, which Captain America had never been to before. He liked it too! I knew he would :)

We found presents for each other, and had TONS to choose from. Tom bought a sword and a nerf-ish gun for Joe, Joe got a Star Trek figure for Tom, Eme got a shirt for Captain America (that he picked out, gave to me, and I showed to her, saying "Hey, I bet Dad would like this), Captain America got 2 shirts with skulls on it for Jake, Jake was supposed to get something for me, but I just realized that I didn't pay for anything for me........, I'd gotten something for Jimmy last time I was at the store, Joe got a "paint it yourself" tea set for Eme (because she showed it to him). I think that was everything.

We found a few Cars toys and some Ninja turtle toys for Jimmy from "The Big Guy", and I got a new skirt. We bought new pants for Joe (long ones) and some new sweat suits for Jimmy. They now wear different sizes. Jimmys waist is SO much bigger than Joes. But Joe is SO much taller than Jim. Why can't all body types be the same?

I had about 4 transactions when I went through the register. I sent Captain America and the kids to Big Lots (just a few stores down in the strip mall). AND, they do a 10% military discounts. So that was good :)

Next, after dropping off my packages at the truck, I went to Big Lots. As I was walking in the door, I found MY WATCH!!! The same one that I have now, but in dark gray. And it was only $8. I think I paid $20 for this one. Mine was falling apart. Missing buttons, the velcro wasn't sticky anymore. It was well over time to get a replacement watch. I was STOKED!

I found the family, in the toy section. Dude, I think we were at Big Lots for like an hour. The kids had fun looking at all the toys. I wandered the store a few times, but mostly was in the toy section.

I found a Shake and Go cars toy, and another car that lighted up and drove on its own and played music, or something like that. Jim will like it. Captain America found quite a few things that he liked, too. A Hot Wheel with SUPER big wheels for the Hot Wheel derby next year, a Hot Wheel version of "The General Lee", from The Dukes of Hazzard. And, a complete season of The Dukes of Hazzard for only $6. He was SO excited.

We headed home at around 9pm. The kids were getting tired. We stopped at the McDonalds drive through for Ice cream, then back through the gate. And guess what? For my b-day present, we got searched. Yep, Andrea, just like you! But these guys weren't as nice.

We asked if we could leave our sleeping kid in the truck, and they said go ahead and leave the kids. After the inspection, the guy was like "Um, really we should have made you get all your kids out". No duh. I realized that. I just wanted to let JOE stay asleep in the back seat. I would have gotten the others out. Whatever. It was cold, and I was glad to get back inside the truck.

So we headed home, brought all the stuff inside, and put the kids to bed. I started blogging/designing, and Captain America sat down and watched 1/2 an episode of the Dukes of Hazzard before bed. Poor thing is always tired these days :)

So all in all it was a great birthday. It started off a little rough, but again, I think that was just a sugar let down. I pepped up as the day progressed :) Thanks so much to everyone who wihed me a Happy Birthday. It worked! My birthday WAS happy :)

So since last week was the 2010 Primary theme, I thought that this week could be the 2010 Mutual theme. Just to be fair - ROFL! I thought it turned out pretty nice :)

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the pNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

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