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Saturday, September 17, 2011

On the Waterfront

Ug. Another sick day. Because I did WAY Too much on Thursday, I kept Friday to a minimum. I got up at 5:25am, took Jake to Seminary, slept, drove home, got Tom on the bus, took Eme and Joe and Jim to the bus, visited with the ladies (because likely that would be all of my social time for the day), and came back home, exhausted. Ready for a nap. I sat down on my couch in my room with my pillow and blanket, and in wanders Jake, who had missed the bus. Crap.

So I load up in the car, and drive him to Austin High. And drop him off a block from the school so he can walk part of the way. hehe. Gotta learn a lesson in there somewhere, right?

I head back home, and had some quality time with my couch/tv. I watched several TV show episodes, and at 10am, fell asleep on the couch. And then moved to my bed. And slept till around 12:30pm.

And felt a tad better when I woke up. I had lunch, and just lounged around on the couch watching TV. I thought about pulling out my laptop, but just couldn't find the energy. And Thursday night I forgot to load my store. I was totally gonna do it today. But nope, I was a major slacker. OK, so I was just sick. We'll blame it on the sick... Maybe on Saturday.

At 2pm, Amanda came and picked me up, and we went to Sonic for a drink. And she swung by Starbucks to get some coffee ground. I got me a RT 44 Diet Dr Pepper, easy ice, and she got a RT 44, Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla, extra ice. To each his own, right? hehe. And we headed back to post, singing loudly (and badly - I was TOTALLY loosing my voice) the whole way. Gotta love having friends you can totally be yourself with, right?

At 3:10pm, Tom came home. And at 3:30pm, I had him go to the bus and pick up the other kids. And I retreated back to my bedroom to veg some more. I didn't feel quite so crappy when I was just laying around. I left the kids with VERY simple instructions. Have a snack. Play or watch electronics. DO NOT MAKE A MESS. That was the only criteria for the afternoon. hehe. For the most part, they did pretty good.

At 5:15, I came out and made everyone tuna sandwiches. And then at 5:40, I started getting ready for Soccer. Eme and Joe both had games. And Leo was coming with us tonight, then spending the night afterwords. I was gonna leave Jake and Tom and Jim home to have free time. Sounded like a plan.

Well, Jake was being a bit frisky, and I didn't feel good about leaving him home with Tom and Jim unsupervised, so I made him come with me. There's a Youth Center where we were having the games. So I got the kids situated at their fields, Jake signed into the Youth Center, and I went and sat to watch Eme's game. And it was SO long. hehe. I tried to sleep in my chair, but the other parents were cheering SO loud, it was kinda hard to sleep. Hmpf!

I got to chat on the phone with my dad for a bit, and that was real nice. Soon, Eme's game was over, and Joe/Leo's game was starting. So I crossed the field, and went to watch their game. The Youth Center had closed a little after 7pm, so Jake was with me. And he was bored, but was still being good. Around 7:45pm, he decided to walk home.

Eme had fun playing with the other siblings, and I kinda half watched the game, half slept. Well, zoned out, really. It was getting chilly (82), and I was glad that I'd brought a jacket. hehe. After what seemed like FOR-EV-ER, it was finally time to go. I gathered up all the kids, and we headed back home.

Joe and Eme and Leo got a big snack, and the other kids were home watching Star Trek. I retreated to my room, and I'm gonna have them go to bed around 9:30 or so. I'm gonna lay on my couch and watch some more TV, I think. And hope that I feel better tomorrow! I should, after my day of rest, right?

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!


Great beach layout, Sharon! I miss the beach!



Friday, September 16, 2011

Modern Times

Hey there, my girls!! I was feeling slightly better today, and I think I did too much.... Sometimes that happens :)

I woke up at 5:25 after a great nights sleep, thanks to some Niquil. But I was SO tired. I got dressed, got Jake up, and the two of us headed to Seminary. And yeah, I slept in the car the whole time.

We headed back to post, and I got Tom off to the bus, and Jim and Joe and Eme ready for the bus, then walked them to the bus stop. The girls and I decided to have a Walmart trip at 9am. To the Montana one. Maggie and Hannah, and Kari, and Amanda and I were gonna go.

The kids left on the bus, and I got Jake off at 7:50, then I sat on the couch with Boxer for about 30 minutes and rested. I totally should have been cleaning, but I was still a bit sleepy.

Then, I decided to make a little shrug/wrap thingy that I saw on Flergs site. It didn't look too hard. I found a white shirt, cut it up the middle, cut off the neck band, and sewed it so that there was a draw string area. Then, I used a safety pin and threaded some teal ribbon through it :) What do you think???
I thought it was cool. And then it was time to go. Amanda came and got me, then we swung by and grabbed Kari, then Maggie and Hannah. And off we went to the Montana Walmart.

We wandered around, finding a few things to price match, and looking for random things here and there. Mostly just looking around :) I found this for you, Captain America! I didn't buy it, but I did take a picture of it - hehe :)

I looked at Bike prices for Jim, but they didn't have one there that I liked. Plus, there was no way that it would fit in Amanda's car. I decided that I was gonna get him a bike for his birthday. I wanted to get one for Joe, but he insisted on Legos.

Anyway, we looked around for a bit longer, then went to pay. And our cashier wouldn't let us do price match on Albertsons Price Match Mix and Match sale. He said we had to get 8 cake mixes, or 8 cereals, or 8 specific things, not "mix and match". Sigh. He clearly didn't get the point of the MIX and match...

So we put those items back, and paid for what did work. And loaded up Amandas car, and headed back to post. It all barely fit - ha! But it DID fit. We dropped off Kari, then Maggie and Hannah, then Amanda and I headed back out again.

Here's me with my Pringles. Aren't I hot?

We decided to do lunch at Chili's. Yummy!
I really really like these chicken nachos they have there!
Amanda got the chicken quesidillas. Or however you spell that. She said they were really good.
We headed to Verizon next. She wanted to get a charging dock for her car dash. We went in, and were seen right away, luckily. She paid, and we headed out. To Big 5 sports. Austin is starting Wrestling next Tuesday, and needed shoes. I said they'd have a better selection/price at Academy Sports. We made plans to go there Friday or next Monday. I did get some more soccer socks for the kids, so it wasn't a total bust. hehe.Check out this bike we saw outside of Big 5. Ha!
And we went to the Jaurez Walmart. And they had a bike! It was only $52. Down from $70. Can't beat that. It's a 20 incher, so it's gonna be a tad bit big for Jim, but not that big. OK, now I need to know how to teach a kid to ride a bike. hehe.
We grabbed the few other things that I needed (ha!) and headed to pay. And this time, our cashier understood the whole "mix and match" theory. Thank goodness! I got Cookie Crisp cereal for $1.50 a box, and $1.00 off of 3 boxes. Good deal! And some Hamburger Helper, and a few other things. Yummy!


It was amamzing that Everything fit in the back of Amanda's car - hehe :) But we made it fit!We headed home, and had about an hour before the kids got off the bus. I whipped up 2 boxes of Cupcakes, and worked on printing out some cupcake toppers. Oh yeah, it was a very productive hour - hehe.

Tom got home at 3:10pm, and I sent him to get the other kids at 3;30pm. They were home by 3:45pm. And Jim just LOVED his bike!



I thought the cupcakes turned out pretty good, too! What do you think?
Then we headed to the park for Jim's birthday party. Kari and kids, and Amanda and kids, and Margot and kids were there :) Maggie was gonna come, but something came up. And Terra didn't get the "memo" that it was changed to the park - hehe. And Liz had something come up. But the kids who were there had a lot of fun, I think!










The mom's sure had fun, anyway - heheWe headed home after the party, and I got Jim all ready for soccer. Tom REALLY wanted me to go to his school for the open house tonight, so I asked Kari to take Jim to his game. She's such a sweetheart! I snapped a few pictures of Jim on the day of his first game :)


Kari picked up Jim, and Tom and I headed to his school. It was a really cool meet the teacher night, actually. The did a mini version of the school day. Each class period got 8 minutes. So we went to 1st period and met the teacher, then 2nd period, then 3rd, and so forth. It was really pretty cool. Tom's teachers all seemed very good and friendly.

Here's Tom and I in his Humanities class. It seemed like a pretty cool class, actually!
After the "day", we headed back home. And Jim got home around the same time as me. And I was SO tired. I'd really over-did it today. The house was a bit messy, so I had everyone do a quick clean up job. And it looked a ton better after about 25 minutes. The kids had a quick dinner, and it was off to bed. Jake took the dog on a walk, and a storm hit. We lost power for about 15 seconds, and thankfully, it came back on - hehe. I wasn't prepared for an evening with no power - ROFL!

I let Jake and Tom and Eme finish off their episode of Star Trek, and everyone was in bed by 9pm. It's now almost 10pm, and I'm just now finishing this off. I'm so tired. I hope that tomorrow is a more restful day :) We shall see...

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!


Great layout, Sharon! Loving the yellows in this layout!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Grumpy Old Men

Oh yeah, sick day... Too bad I couldn't take the entire day off. I did take a lot of the day off, though. hehe. I woke up at 5:25am, got ready, got Jake up, and headed to Seminary. And slept in the car the whole time.

Jake came out, and off we went. We got home just as Tom left for the bus. I got Jim and Joe and Eme ready, and I took them to the bus. I'd texted Kari, and told her that I wasn't feeling well, and that I shouldn't walk this morning.

I chatted for a short time (well, for me), with the girls, then headed back home. Jake had about 15 minutes before he had to go to the bus. He got ready, and left. But not before he'd made me some hot herbal tea. What a sweetheart! I didn't even ask. I just mentioned in passing how it sounded good and like something that would help my poor throat.

Anyway, I slept from 8-9, and it felt so good. I got up, grabbed a laptop, and moved out to the couch. Or maybe it was the couch in my room. I don't remember. All I know is that 3 hours passed. hehe. I answered a few emails, organized some stuff on my puter, this, that, and the other thing...

See, aren't I hot?


So around noon, I decided I was a tad hungry, and soup sounded good. And I had no soup. Hmmm, where has soup? Olive Garden has soup... Spicy soup that would be good for me, right? Isn't spicy supposed to clear your sinus'?

Amanda agreed to come with me to the "doctor", and off we went. hehe. She was feeling a tad under the weather too. Oh yeah, we were quite the lively bunch...

First thing I did, was get my Diet Coke, take a few sips, then spill it ALL over the table. ha! I really was out of it...
OK, this one is better :) hehe.
And here came the food :)
Align CenterAnd the Panini
It helpled a tad :)

And I had soup and breads sticks and 1/2 a panini for later.
Amanda and I stopped at the "Jaurez" walmart on the way home, and I checked on the kids' glasses. They should have been in last week or so, but I still hadn't gotten a call. Yeah, they were in. Just no one called me. Sigh.

I got a new tire pump for the kids' bikes, and some nectarines for me, and we headed back home. I think I'd expended all my energy for the day.

I texted Krystal, the Primary President, and told her that we were skipping Cub Scouts tonight. I just didn't feel up to it. And since Joe is a pack all on his own, I figured I should tell her - hehe.

We swung by Sonic on the way home for a happy hour drink. And the DDP was totally nasty. So we went back through the drive through and got a different one. Much better!

We headed home, and I had an hour to relax before Tom got off the bus. I napped a little bit.
Tom got home at 3:10, and we got the snack all ready. Mozarrella cheese and grapes. And I had to divide them all out evenly. Because my kids KNOW if someone has one grape more than someone else.... hehe :)

At 3:30, I headed to the bus stop. And grabbed my kids, and Kari's kids. And headed back to the house. I had the kids all sit down and do their homework, and then, as they finished it up, they could come in my room and watch a movie. And I napped on my bed.

And the kids were really very good. They kept the volume to a minimum, and didn't fight. That's always good, right? hehe. At 5pm, I sent Leo home to get on his soccer clothes (his older brother was there), and then I took Joe and Eme and Leo to soccer. Tom supervised at home.

I dropped them off, and headed back home. And put the burritos in the oven. Not on the menu, but the other day when I made homemade burritos, I had a 2nd tray that I put in the freezer. For a day JUST like today :)

Kari got done with her appointment, and met the kids at the practice. And dropped off Eme and Joe, and picked up Josephine at 6:30ish. Everyone had dinner, and the kids had some free time. I rested some more. Cause resting is what you should do when you start to feel sick. Until you are SO sick that you can't do anything (which is usually what I do - hehe).

At 8pm, I had the kids turn off all electronics, and get ready for bed. And Jake informs me that he has a project due tomorrow. Sew a cloth flag. Are you kidding me??? I vaugely remember him asking me about doing it over the past few weeks, but it's always been in passing, and I've always been too busy. I guess that's as good as "asking" gets for this kid. Hmpf.

So we went into the garage, and dug through the fabric boxes. I found the green (kind of - it was flowery) and orange and white fabric. For the flag of Cote d'lvoie. Or something like that. hehe. It's late, and I can't remember. It's a country in Africa is all I know...

So we cut out the fabric, and I started sewing it while Jake took Boxer on a walk. It looked pretty good when it was done. Kinda long and skinny, but hey, I'm sick. What do you expect. hehe ;)

Jake and Tom are finishing off their episode of Star Trek, and going to bed. I'm watching a new show, Dexter, that my friends recommended... I think it might be too "rough" for me... The verdict is still out. Just started watching it :)

Anyway, I'm gonna medicate myself, and go to bed. As of yet, I haven't taken any cold meds. But I figured that night was a good time to take them. Jim has a soccer game tomorrow, and we're gonna have his birthday party at the park after school instead of at the pool. At this point, I just wanna get the party over with - hehe :)

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!


Great layout, Sharon!!! Are these all grumpy old men in your life??? hehe :)

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Eternal Sunshine

Hola! Hope you all day a great day today :) Mine was pretty busy, but good. I woke up at 5:25am, and was actually feeling rested! Going to bed at 9 ish will help that, huh? hehe. I got Jake up and ready, and he said that he was feeling nice and rested too.

Boxer was hilarious this morning. He saw a reflection of himself in the back door, and FREAKED out. He was barking SO loud, it's a wonder that all the kids didn't wake up. hehe

Jake and I chatted on the way to Seminary instead of him sleeping. It was really very nice :)

He went inside, and I messed around on my phone for a bit, then napped for about 20 minutes. And then we drove home. We got Tom off to the bus, and I hurried and threw on some clothes for my appointment, and got the kids ready for the bus.

We were out the door by 7:15am to the bus stop. I chatted with the girls for a bit too long (hehe), then headed home. I made sure Jake was ready, and gave him directions to be to the bus on time, And I headed out to the West side for my appointment. I got there RIGHT on time. Traffic was a bit busier than I was expecting...

Slug Bug!!
My appointment went really well. We talked about Captain America and I, and how we interacted when he was here, and what we needed to work on when he gets home. And we talked about how I got through this cycle, of feeling overwhelmed. And I "give up" for the day. Just say "screw it", and eat what I want and avoid real life. Yeah, that's about it. He said that I should work on thinking something different rather than "screw it" at that point. The day is not lost. I can still make good choices, and do things that will make me feel better. So I'm gonna work on that.

I got back home at 9:30am, and had just enough time to grab a bowl of frozen fruit, and sit outside and wait for Amanda to pick me up. We were going to Housing so she could learn about "clearing housing". I was just along for the heck of it - hehe.
I painted my toe nails pink on Sunday!
We were at housing until a little after 11am. And we headed back home. She dropped me off, and went to run a few errands. I changed and got ready for Yoga. Kari and I were going to Stout at 11:30m. And I had a protein bar and a nectarine for lunch.

I went and picked her up, and off we went. John was the teacher, and he 's pretty good. My legs shake real bad, and I was sweating by the end. But it was a good stretching workout. I felt good/sore after words.

We headed back home, and I was STARVING! I held off by cleaning the house for a bit. I did some dishes, and swept some rooms, and gathered some stuff for the kids to put away. And then, after about an hour, went into my room to watch some Dr Who.

And I couldn't hold off any longer, so I made a sandwich. And sandwiches for the kids for after school. Since that was supposed to be the after school snack. And it was SOOO yummy!

I put some potatoes in the oven to cook, and left them for about an hour or so. A little more, I think. Anyway, I went back to watching Dr Who. And I had some cereal. Because I was STILL hungry. But I stopped after that. See, I didn't fall completely apart :)

After the potatoes were done cooking and cooled a bit, I made them into twice baked potatoes. I added ground turkey and onions, and seasonings, and broccoli. Looked pretty good when it was all done! I topped it with cheese, and put it in the fridge for dinner. I was productive!

Tom came home at 3:15, and I went to the bus to get the kids at 3:30pm. I brought their sandwiches with me, and we picked up Kari and Leo and Josephine in addition to my kids, and we all headed to the library.

They were playing Secretariat. It was a bit long, and a bit not what my kids were wanting to see... But they did ok watching it for a bit. I got 2 WordArt packs designed, and visited with Amanda and Kari for a bit there. Then, at 4:45, we headed home. I had to get Jake to the Youth Center for his "Go Live" club.

I dropped the kids off, turned the oven on, and drove Jake out to the Youth center. And I was next to this truck at the stop light! UPS!

I dropped him off, and found out what bus went from Austin to the Youth Center. Now all I have to do is go in and get him another bus pass. And I drove back home.

I had Jim do his homework, and got dinner all served up. We had to leave at 6:10 to get Jim to Soccer on time. Eme was playing with her friend Alexis, and Tom was watching Joe. He was in charge of having Joe finish off his homework before we got home.

We picked up Josephine and Kari, and headed to soccer. We got the schedule for games, and I went inside and picked up the 9-11 year old schedule too. We signed up for snacks on one of the days, and then it was time for me to go to and pick up Jake from the youth center. Kari said that her hubby would come and pick them all up from Soccer, for me to just go and get Jake and not worry about it. Thanks, my dear!

I headed back to the youth center, and went inside to sign a permission slip for Jake. They're going on the 24th to the movies to see that new Taylor Lautner (or however you spell it) movie. Abudcted, or Abduction or something like that. I checked to make sure that it wasn't R, then got him all signed up.

And we headed home. Jake got dinner, and everyone relaxed for a bit. At 8pm, I put the little kids to bed, and I had Jake go and walk the dog. And I headed in my room to blog. Tom was still in the dining room doing homework.

It's now 8:53pm. Jake is heading to bed, and Tom is finishing up homework. I'm finishing up my episode of Doctor Who, then I'll either go to bed or watch one more. Cause it's just SO stinkin' good - hehe :)

Night, girls! Till tomorrow!

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!


Nice beach pictures, Sharon!!! Love the layout :)