Seriously?

Well, the day was so long today, it kinda feels like it's been 2 days since I blogged. hehehe.

Started off bright and early when my alarm went off at 7am. Good thing I went to bed and midnight last night, and not later. Cause less than 7 hours, and it's not good.

Not that 7 hours felt all that great. Maybe it's just that for all of spring break, I've been getting up at 8:30-10am. So 7 felt REALLY early. I know, I'm spoiled. But hey, it took a LOT of years to get kids old enough to fend on their own in the mornings. Believe me!

SO, I was up at 7am, got breakfast ready, got ready enough for grocery shopping, and got the kids up. Yeah, it was a total shame to have to wake them up. Jim and Joe were still sound asleep. Eme was at least just dozing in her bed. Not sound asleep.

As a protest against having to go shopping with all my kids, I decided to go in my jammies. hehehe. I had on a blue boy scout camp tshirt, my white zip up hoodie, a tan bandana, no make up, my old navy jammie pants, white socks, and flip flops. Oh yea, I was hot. With the 3 kids in tow, it just completed the look :) hehehe.

Cause remember, Jake was at a Boy Scout winter campout, and Tom was spending the night at Grants house. So I had Eme and Joe and Jim. Oh the joy!

We got there, got the cash we needed (Joe was SO impressed with the pile of $20's that came out of the ATM - hehehe. It's takes a TON of money to feed my family for the week. I always take out $200 on shopping day. That's what I have to spend. Today's total bill was $199.36. Can't get much closer than that :)

The kids did ok on the trip. Joe and Jim were in the cart with the "car" and the steering wheel. I was pulling that one, and pushing my regular cart with the groceries. Eme was either helping push or pull. It was a madhouse.

The bagger I got wasn't the best. When loading the truck, he put the bread in the back. I saved 2 of the bags, but missed a 3rd one. It was squished under all the other groceries. Most of the time, though, they do a great job......

So we drove home, and it was just a bit before 9am. The little kids helped me carry in all the groceries (I'm missing Jacob more and more each day....), and I put everything away.

At around 10am, Danielle called and asked if we wanted to come over and play. We'd talked about it yesterday, so the kids threw on some shoes, and we headed over. We walked down to their neighborhood park, and played for a few hours. She's a fun friend!

At 12:50pm, we headed home. Rushed. Jimmy had an appointment for his rash at 1:20pm, but we needed to be there early.

So we went home, went to the bathroom, put underware on Jim (because the child keeps forgetting/purposefully leaving them off, when he gets dressed. Just the sweats. Sigh. I'm NOT bringing my child to the doctor without underware....again. hehehe.

We got to the appointment 1 minute before it started, but we were good. They looked at the rash on Jimmys arm, and perscribed him some creams. An antifungal, and a steriod of sorts. They said come back in 3 weeks if nothing has changed. Okeydokey.

Also, I had them look at the wart on his finger. It took FOREVER to find the liquid nitrogen, but then they came back and froze it off. He screamed. Apparently, it's just supposed to be cold, but Jimmy didn't get the memo. Poor baby. Luckily I had a bandaid in my purse, because, you know, bandaids make EVERYTHING feel better...

So when the doctor was back in, I asked him about the plantar warts on my feet, and how the appointment line wouldn't get me an appointment. So he filled out a little card for me, and told me to take it back up to the front desk, an said that they'd give me one. Sweet!

SO, we went to the pharmacy, then to the front, and I got an appointment for beginning of April. Better than nothing, right. My poor feet....

We came home, and relaxed for a little while. About 10 minutes later, Joe's friend Daniel came over to play. His big brother had walked him over to see if Joe was busy. The 3 little boys, Joe, Daniel, and Jim, too turns playing on the Wii. They took turns. 2 would play for 10 minutes, then they'd switch out. So each kid got to play for 20 minutes, then 10 minutes out. It worked pretty good.

He stayed for about an hour, and his brother came to get him. I sat down and watched a few episodes of Lost, finally getting all caught up again. The internet is a lovely thing. Thank you, stations, for putting your programing online. You make me happy :)

Kayley (Leighs daughter) asked Eme to come and spend the night next door, and Tom came home from Grants house (he had a FABULOUS time). I stood outside and chatted with Becky (Grants mom), and Leigh, for about 30 minutes when Becky dropped Tom off. I'm missing girl interaction, I think.

After Becky left, Leigh and I took the kids and went to the park. Andrea even came down and met us there for a few minutes. Seriously, I though she'd dropped off the face of the earth - hehehe. Baby was there, and had the most DARLING hair cut! And her father in law was there too. They're visiting for the month.

So we chatted until the wind started to blow SO hard that the kids started to shiver. So we walked home. Andrea wanted to borrow a movie, so she came to my house, and we chatted outside on the front step for a while longer. But then even more wind came, and started blowing TONS of dirt on us, so she went home - LOL!

I watched another episode of Lost, and then noticed that Joe and Jim had BOTH fallen asleep on the floor watching a movie. Tom and I carried them to bed (it was about 8:30pm), and then I had Tom go to bed.

I watched a movie in my room, and then got a call around 10:20pm from the Scout leader saying that they troop had decided to come home a day early, because bad weather was setting in. SO, I needed to go and pick up Jake. Across town.

So I went and got him from the leaders house, and hurried home. He'd had a TON of fun on the trip. But may have sprained his ankle. So it would have been more fun if that hadn't happened. I helped him unload his gear, got him his toiletry bag, and sent him to shower, and straight to bed. It was 11:30pm before he was in bed.

Oh yeah, I hadn't seen Captain America since lunchtime, because he had to work late, then was on "Bar Duty", or something like that. Apparently, the officers have to take turns going to the bars on Friday nights, and making sure their soldiers are behaving. Or something like that. He had to go, starting at 9am, and ending at 2pm. So much for hanging with the hubby. Good thing we went out on Thursday night, eh?

So anyway, since my babysitter was back, and since my husband was gone, and everyone was asleep, I decided to go with my friend to Walmart at midnight to get the New Moon DVD! Hilary from church, and her friend Julie from her husbands unit. SUCH fun girls.

We walked in the store, and there was a line at the front of the store. And it went ALL the way to the back of the store, then went to the middle of the store (layaway). Yeah, we were there FOREVER, but it was fun to chat with the girls. It was slow moving, because you had to pay for it, not just grab it and take it to the front.

But we chatted about army posts, and kids, and husbands, and church, and friends, and EVERYTHING. It really was a fun time.

We finally got to the front of the line about 2am. Then we still had to go to the front of the store and pay for Julies stuff. So another line to wait in. But that just meant more chatting...

I was back on post at 2:40am, and sat down to blog. Captain America was already home and snoring. hehehe. I noticed that Andrea was online (yeah, WHY was she up - hehehe), so we facebooked chatted for a while. And here it is, 3:21, and I'm about done blogging, but still need a freebee for tomorrow.

If it had a TON of errors, you know why. Because my day was WAY too long..... WAY.....

Seriously? I know, it's supposed to be a "Second Chance Saturday" thing. But you know what? It's 3:30ish. And this is only 1 word, and spell check said it was right. So I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead. Cause you ALL know what happens when I design after midnight...

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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See the new packaging? You like? Gives me a lot more space to work with, right???

I'll Start Tomorrow

OK, first off, here's my new products for the week! Yeah! I remembered. hehehe. Click HERE to go to Scraporchard to check out my new products for the week, and remember, they're 20% off the first week, or $2 per pack.

Layout by Charmaine

Layout by Trina

Layout by Trina

Hello, Hello, Hello! Another day of spring break, down - hehehe. Today was a good day for me :) I was up at 8 something, getting ready for the day. Eme had a doctors appointment at 9:20 that she had to be at, and they want you there early.

So she showered, and I showered, and the kids got ready, and we headed out. We didn't have to wait that long, and it was our turn. They weighed and measured her, did a vision test (which, I think when we go to the eye doctor again, she'll need glasses...., and put us in the room to wait. The doctor came in, and had a student that she was training.

She checked Eme over, and discovered her dray patches on her trunk. They've been there for a while. She prescribed some steroid cream for it. 2x a day for 10 days. We went to the pharmacy, got the cream, and a few other over the counter meds (for free!), and headed out. We swung by CYS (child youth services) and turned in her physical, then headed home.

We got ready, and were almost out to door to go to the pool at 11am, when the neighbor kid told me that open swims starts at 1pm. Sigh. SO, I texted Danielle (who we were meeting at the pool), and we changed the time to meet till 1pm.

Tom washed the truck for us, and I chatted outside with me neighbor Leigh for an hour. We came back inside, had some food, watched part of a movie, THEN it was almost 1pm. We headed out, and drove this time. Yeah, it took 2 minutes to get there. If that - hehehe.

The pool was pretty fun. The kids had a good time, and liked it even better that there were kids that they knew there :) And I had a friend, and we actually went in the water, so it was WAY better for me - hehehe.

Oh yeah, so as we were swimming, Jimmy came up to me, in the pool, looked at me, and said, "Mom, you have ugly boobies", then swam away. Um, ok. hehehe. I wonder what "pretty boobies" would have looked like to a 5 year old. Silly kid... And no, they weren't hanging out. They were nice and covered up. So that was Danielles and my joke for the rest of the pool time. Me and my ugly boobies...

We headed home at 3pm, and Danielle invited Eme to come and play with Bailey (1 grade below Emeline). She was SO excited. We went home, got everyone dry and changed, then headed over to Danielles house, to drop off Eme.

Back home, and Tom got ready for his sleepover at Grant (Becky's son)'s house. He was SUPER excited. He's been trying to get Becky and I to arrange a playdate with him and Grant for a year now - yeah, we're slow :)

At a little before 4pm, Becky came by to get Tom. They were going to the pool for a while, then back to Grants house. Yeah, Tom was on cloud 9. He grabbed his backpack, his new legos, and out the door he went :)

SO, the little boys and I spent the late afternoon together. Jim and Joe played Legos Star Wars Wii for a while, then we played Phase 10 for Kids together. Joe caught on pretty quick, but I think Jim will need a bit of help. But it was pretty fun.

Captain America came home at around 6:30, and asked why we weren't at Scouts for Joe. Oops. I'd forgotten. Hehehe. I convinced him to take us all to Cracker Barrel for dinner, and we headed out at 7pm. We haven't been to Cracker Barrel since we moved to Texas. And I like Cracker Barrel.

We stopped by Danielles house and picked up Eme, then headed to the East side. Eme had already eaten, and didn't want food, so we just got her a soda. The boys got a mac n cheese kids meal. Captain America got a Bacon Cheeseburger, but didn't eat the bun, scrapped off the mayo, and only had a bite of the cheese. He got some cole slaw and green beans as his side. Me? Well, I got the old fashioned breakfast thing. Yeah, not the most healthy, but SO tasty - hehehe. Biscuits and gravy, grits (i like it with sugar/splenda, like oatmeal), bacon, sausage, ham, hashbrown casserole, scrambled eggs, and fried apples. OMGosh, I was in heaven. I think tomorrow is the day to start the diet again, don't you - hehehe.

Joe always either makes evil faces, or crazy eyes....

(see my sunburn? that hour outside talking with Leigh really got me!)

After dinner, we headed to Academy Sports + Outdoors, to look for Football cleats. Tom and Jake both needed a pair for Football, and Captain America needed a pair for all of the sports that they play for PT in the mornings. His current pair of cleats are from 1988 or something like that. Yeah, they're older than some of the guys he does PT with - ROFL! I think he's got him moneys worth out of those - hehehe.

Anyway, we found baseball cleats (not with the metal, but with the stud things) for Jake and Tom (the football ones were out in the sizes or not as comfortable as the baseball ones). Captain America tried on the ones for Jake, because they have the same size feet. Both of them wear a size 12. Crazy, that my 12 year old wears a size 12 in mens. And my 10 year old wears a size 9 in mens. I hope that they fit, since neither of them were there to try them on.... We'll just bring them back if they don't.

Captain America found a pair of work jeans for $4.88, and we headed to the check out. It was 10pm, and the store was closing. The kids were fading fast, and within 5 minutes, they were sleeping in the truck.

I carried in Joe, and Captain America carried in Jim (because, although younger, he's lighter by 5-7 lbs), and Eme took herself to bed. Captain America hurried and got ready for bed, and here I am, on my computer. It's now almost 11pm, and I'm tired.

I'm supposed to go over to Danielles house in the morning and let the kids play, but I'm also supposed to go grocery shopping. If I was smart, I'd wake up at 7am, get the kids ready, go shopping at 7:30am, be done by 8:30am, come back home, put it away, and be ready to go to Danielles house by 9am. That's what I should do. We'll see if I can get to bed anytime soon....

Then, Jim has a doctors appointment at 1:20pm for his rash on his arm. Very similar to Emes, but larger, and more circular. But it doesn't itch, so they don't think it's ringworm. Who knows. And I still need an appointment for my poor feet. Did I tell you that I have plantar warts on the bottoms of my feet. I know, super embarrassing. I promise, I wasn't playing footsie with frogs. I don't know where they came from. They're just there. Like 6 total. And I got the "do it yourself wart freezer" stuff from the store, but it doesn't seem to be doing it.

I tried calling the doctor appointment line, and they were like, yeah, that's not important enough. I'm gonna have to call again, and tell them that they're hurting. Cause they are. Cause I picked at them. And now they hurt. I hear that the trick to getting an appointment is to play EVERYTING up. See, government run health care is NOT gonna be pretty.... Where you basically have to lie through your teeth to get seen. Like this "OMGosh, my feet hurt SO bad that I can't even walk. They're bleeding, and I don't know what I'm gonna do" Then they'll give you an appointment. Sigh. Andrea taught me that - hehehe.

Yeah, I haven't talked about Andrea in a while. That's because I had no babysitter, so I couldn't leave to go play, and then her in-laws came to town. I miss you, my friend! Don't forget me..... I know you read this (sometimes), so just know that I miss you...... *sniffs and wipes a tear*

Oh yea, did I tell you that my Sister Madi's husband Joe joined the Army? He graduates from Basic Training tomorrow. Dang, seeing pics of her and him at family day brought back memories. That was me, in October of 2008, just where she is today. Congrats, Joe! Have fun at AIT!! Can't wait to hear where you guys get stationed!

So, in honor of starting my diet "tomorrow", or cleaning my kitchen "tomorrow", or anything else that I'm gonna do "tomorrow", here ya go - hehehe.

Click on the links 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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Sweet

Well, we're 1/2 way through with Spring Break. It's been restful, that's for sure. Haven't really done anything yet. Just rested at home :) I'm used to going out a few times with the girls..... hehehe.

So I slept in again, like I have all week long. I did get up earlier than the last few days. See, that's good, right? I even made green waffles for the kids. And wore a green shirt and green socks, just so that Eme woudn't pinch me. Because she was running around being the "green police". LOL!

AND, Lenny the Leprechaun turned our milk green. But that was about it. I think he got lazy this year....

Tom played with Legos for quite a bit, Eme played with the neighbor girl for a little while, the little boys played in the backyard for a time, and the day went on.

At 5pm, I made soup, and at 5:45pm, we went to drop Tom off at football practice. We came back home, and about 20 minutes later, Captain America got home. We all got ready, loaded up in the truck, and headed to the football field. Captain America gets to help be a Defensive Line coach for Toms team.

He went with Tom, the little kids went to the park, and I played on my phone for a while. And texted. And facebooked. And passed the time.

Soon it was 8pm, and we headed home. But I made us take a quick detour first, and we headed to McDonalds. We each got a sundae. 2 Strawberries, 2 plains, and 2 hot fudge. Mmmmm. Guess which one was mine :) hehehe.

We were home by 9pm, and got the kids ready for bed, and in their beds. Veronica came by at around 10pm and borrowed our sleds. She was going to White Sands tomorrow with the kids. We still haven't been yet, though. LOL!

So here it is, almost 11pm, and my house is silent. Well, except for the crickets. And I'm watching a movie while blogging. Really, I'm mostly watching the movie - hehehe. Red Eye. Have you seen it? It has the chicke from the Time Traveler's Wife, and the dude from Batman, the Scarecrow. Good movie :)

So I found these really cute fonts today, while looking around online, and thought that I should make a WordArt using them. Here's what I came up with. Click on the links 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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Happy St. Patrick's Day Clover

Hey girls! Happy St. Patricks Day to you!!! Hope you're wearing green today, or I'll cyber pinch you - hehehe. Don't worry, I don't pinch hard :)

SO, Tuesday was a long, but good, day. I woke up late again. Which was fabulous, because I had no where to be :) I slept in until a little after 9am, and came out to see the kids. They kept asking to turn on TV/Video games/Computers, but I kept putting them off. Playing is better :)

Tom started reading our D&D players handbook, trying to make a character. He seemed pretty interested in it ;)

At around 11:00am, we headed out to the store. I'd showered and got all ready, so we headed to town :) First stop, Big Lots. I wanted to get a new DVD holder. I found one that hold 96, and thought it would be big enough. We got another few things, and headed out.

We next drove to the East side, and went to Wal-Mart. There's a McDonalds inside, so we went for lunch, since it was noon. I even let the little kids get a Happy Meal, which I NEVER do :) I gave them the choice of more food or a Happy Meal, and 3 of the 4 went with the Happy Meal.

After that, we walked around for quite a while. We spent a long time in the toy isle, just browsing. I did get some label stickers to put on my new DVD case, so I can know which DVD goes in which spot. We got a few other toiletry items, and were done.

So as we're loading up in the truck, I look in the back seat, and notice that there's a toy in it's package between Joe's seat and Eme. Huh? I didn't buy a toy. Looked like a cheap one from Big Lots. I ask Joe about it, and he turns pale. Not a good sign.

He tried to tell me that he accidentally walked out with it from Big Lots, but then he admitted that it was under his shirt. That's why I didn't notice it. Yeah, you don't accidentally hide something under your shirt and walk out with it. So we had the "Don't Steal" talk. He felt SOOOOO bad.

Since we were on the other side of town, we decided to take it back tomorrow. I knew that there was a FAllas Parades over on that side of town, because I'd gone with that ACS class that I took with Laurie. I just couldn't remember how I'd got there. So I got back on the 375 loop, and drove for a while. I took a few exits, but nothing seemed familiar. I drove till I got ti 1-10, and knew that wasn't right. I took a side street, and ended up by Tinseltown (the movie theater we go to sometimes), and remembered seeing that with the ACS class. Hmmm. I pulled over, and googled Fallas Parades, and found the address. 1700 Zaragoza. Hmmmm, I was near Zaragoza. SO, I took it till I was at 1700. And guess what. It was 2 blocks from the Walmart I'd started at. Sigh. Well, at least now I know where it is :)

So we went in Fallas, and looked around. I found a swim suit for Eme for only $4, but didn't wanna wait in the long line, so we just left. I'll come back another day when I don't have 4 kids and get it for her.

Next, the Dollar Tree was 2 stores down in the strip mall. We went in and looked around, then left. Didn't buy anything at that store either. By now, it was 3:00pm, and I was ready to come home. SO, we drove back to post, and came home. I let the kids turn back on Electronics (except Tom, who was still banned), and sat down with my new DVD case. I put on the labels, and wrote on the tabs, and got it all organized. Looks pretty good. BUT, I'll need another one, because I only have 12 empty slots....

Next, I started designing. Really, they just needed packaged up. I had to make the fonts lists, and the previews, zip it, upload it to the server, post a preview on Photobucket, and post it in my CT thread. Sigh. What a process. Then, about 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave for Football, I realized that I wanted to make a Spring Break WordArt pack. SO, I designed one real fast, and got it all ready to go.

Needless to say, we were about 5 minutes late for Football. BUT, the WordArt pack was done. With the time change, the sun was still out for most of the time we were at football. I chatted with Andrea on the phone for the first 20 minutes, then, as I was about ready to gather the kids from the park and head to Walmart (we'd forgot trash bags last time we were there, and we were COMPLETELY out - not good), when Captain America called. He was on his way to the Football field. YEAH!

So, I chatted with him as he drove to the field, then hung out with him for the next hour and a bit. About 30 minutes before practice got over, it got dark and cold. I had a big puffy red coat, so that was fine, but I was wearing flip flops. Not so good. My toes were painfully cold when we left.

I introduced Captain America to the coach, and he may even come and help out a few times with the boys, if he can get out of the battery at a reasonable hour. It would be nice, because Tom seemed SO pleased that his dad was there.

We came home, changed into some warm clothes, and I made Oatmeal for everyone. Cause Oatmeal is warm. And we'd just had bologna sandwiches for dinner. And I just remember that I'd made some herbal tea. Which must be still sitting on the counter. Crap. I bet it's cold now......

Anyway, we all sat down and watched "Night of the Comet" together (minus Tom, and Jake, because he's still camping). Do you remember that cheesy scary 80's movie? We used to watch it ALL the time as kids. Watching it again tonight with my kids, um, yeah, what was my mom thinking! hehehe. Those 80's movies had quite the language. Not so cool. But sometimes watching movies from your "childhood" is kinda fun :) We enjoyed the movie together.

After the movie, we put all the kids to bed, and Captain America went to bed, and I sat down to work. It's now 11:49pm, and I'm a bit sleepy. Gonna go design your freebee, then hit the sack :) Hopefully the kids will sleep in too, since they went to bed at 11pm. :)

Off to watch Lenny the Leprechaun turn our milk green.....

Click HERE to go to Scraporchard to download the ZIP file, and remember, you must be logged into the gallery in order to receive the download ;) Thanks! Or, just click HERE to go to the Freebee gallery in general :)

Make the Best

Much better day. Much better. Well, it ended better, we'll say that :)

I woke up at around 8:30am, or was it a little after 9am. Can't remember. The kids were all playing nicely together, and I got them some cereal. Some of them had already eaten. Captain America was gone at work, and we spent a quiet morning at home. Electronics were turned off, and the kids were just playing.

Captain America came home at around 10am, and was home until a little after 12pm. He called and arranged the tow truck to come and pick up our truck, and arranged to have it dropped off at the Ft Bliss Auto Craft place so they could fix whatever was wrong.

The tow truck dude came when Captain America was in the shower, and I went to talk with him (the tow truck dude, that is). He wanted to know what was wrong with it, and I told him that it just died at the intersection. That it made a grindy noise, and wouldn't start. He wanted the keys so that he could look.

I went and got them, and he tried to start it up, but it wouldn't start. Just made those grinding noises. He got his portable jumper thingy, hooked it up to the truck, and tried again. He was able to get it to start, but the serpentine belt in the front started to smoke real bad. He turned it off, showed me the part that was the alternator, and asked if it was spinning. He started it up again, briefly, and no, it wasn't spinning. He said that it was the alternator, and that the belt would need replaced too.

I went in to get Captain America, and he came out to talk with the dude. Captain America said that he could fix those pieces himself, and he and the tow truck dude decided that he didn't really need to tow it to the mechanics. That saved us money on labor! Thank you, tow truck dude!

So the tow truck dude went on his way, and Captain America came back in for lunch. We tried to talk about how we were both upset with each other, but it wasn't working......

He went to work, and I let the kids (minus Tom, who was grounded), play on electronics. A few played the Wii, and one played on the computer. Tom did his own thing. At around 2pm, I bundled up the kids and we walked to the indoor pool. It's about 2 1/2 blocks away. I brought my laptop, and designed while the kids played. Jimmy and Joe are both confident enough in the pool with life jackets that I don't need to be in there with them. Finally :)

I got 3 or 4 WordArt packs designed (but not packaged), and the kids were done. By 3:30pm, we were home. They shed their pool clothes, got dressed, and we settled in for the rest of the day.

At around 4pm, we got a knock on the door. It was a buddy of Joe's from school. His mom said that the kid had wanted to come and play with Joe for a long time, so they drove around the neighborhood until they found our house. Yeah, I don't know how she found us, but she did. The mom asked if Daniel could stay and play for a 1/2 hour, that he'd never gone to a friends house to play before by himself (always with his older brother). She seemed kinda anxious about leaving him, but we traded numbers, and she said she'd come back in 30 minutes.

She left, and the little boys played SO well together. Daniel was great, and I think he and Joe had a lot of fun. The mom came back, and we chatted for another 15 minutes, then they went on their way. She seemed like a nice lady :)

We spent the rest of the early evening hanging out. I had the kids stop and do their chores at one point, and got them some dinner. I got a call from the Scoutmaster at 5:30pm, saying that Jake was messing around near the wood pile on his campout, and fell and hurt his foot somehow. It wasn't broken, or swollen, but he said that it hurt. They didn't know what to do with him. Sigh. With one vehicle, and Captain America working, I had no way to come and get him.....

I read a few emails, and found one comment on my blog that got me thinking. You know how you can say mean or negative things about your family, but if someone else does, you get all defensive? I know you do. Everyone has that gut reaction. WELL, I'm actually glad that someone said slightly negative things about my hubby, because my "mama bear" instincts came out. I instantly wanted to protect him :) He may be annoying and selfish sometimes, but he's MY annoying and selfish. Know what I mean.

So it got me thinking, that even though he makes me mad, and says stupid manish things that he shouldn't some time, he's still the love of my life. I wouldn't trade him for the world. And that I missed him the last few days. Even though he's gone a lot with work (and I must add, that I don't begrudge him the time that he's gone. He's doing a VALIANT thing by being in the US Army. It's no easy job. He's putting his life on the line for his country, and that can't be downplayed....), I still usually feel close to him. I hadn't the past few days, and it took an emotional toll on me. I missed my man...

During lunch, we had talked about what he meant about the clothes thing. What he'd meant is that when I'm at my goal weight, I seem consistently happier. And I know that he just had my best interest in mind. Did he go about trying to motivate me the wrong way? Um, yeah. The completely wrong way. BUT, he was only trying to help me. He really was. He just needs to work on his "how to speak to girls" skills. hehehehe.

Captain America was home at around 6pm, changed, got some food, and went out to take out the alternator. He didn't have a metric set of ratchets, so it was kinda slow going. I went out to join him, and he was pleased that I was there. I told him that I missed him, and that I wanted to hang out with him. And it was that easy. We weren't mad at each other anymore.

He went and got the parts that he needed for my truck, and a light so he could see what he was going, and 4 metric ratchet attachments. I came out and watched him put them in, and even helped a bit. I held the little flashlight, and helped with the belt. See, I'm helpful - hehehe.

I must say, it went in a lot faster than it came out. It was about $110 for parts. Much cheaper than having to pay both parts and labor. My man is SO handy :) Gotta love him :)

We finished up at around 9:45pm, and came in. Tom had put the kids to bed while we were outside fixing the truck (mini date, I guess - hehehe). We cleaned up, and he went to his office to work on his work, and I sat on the couch to do my work (but he left his door open, so it was like we were in the same room). I must say, I feel SO much better tonight than I did last night :)

So I guess the thing to remember is, when you're mad at your spouse, just remember all the good things that they do, and the reasons that you love them. My friend Andrea tells me this all the time; Would you rather be happy or right. Yeah, tonight I'd rather be happy :)

This WordArt request is from Treva. I thought it was JUST perfect for a WordArt, and SO true. I think many times, Luck is really people taking this quote to heart. Good things happen to people who actively seek good things.... Know what I mean? (not meaning that bad things never happen.....cause they do.......)

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Handprints of Love

First off, here's a new Bundle for ya! Well, technically, there's nothing new in there. New, in the fact, that it's never been offered in a bundle before...... Click HERE to go to the product. It's $5 for all 8 packs. Great deal, eh?


Is it Monday already? And the Monday of Spring break, none the less. Where does the time go?

So, another Sunday. Since my truck was broke, we had to shuttle to church. Captain America was up and ready and out the door to meetings before anyone else was awake. We got up at 7:15am and started getting ready. He came home at 7:50am, and we decided that I'd go to my 8:20am meeting with Jake, Tom, and Joe, and that he'd stay behind and get the other kids ready.

I met with the member of the Bishopric, and they released me from my Primary Presidency calling, and asked me to be the Chorister in Primary. Sigh. This makes my 8th time doing it. But, I don't turn down callings, so I said yes.

I left the boys at church, and headed back to get the rest of the family. Apparently, while I was gone, Jake and Tom were fist fighting in the chapel, and the bishopric member had to come and talk with them. Needless to say, the were in SO much trouble when they got home. Both were banned from any forms of electronic entertainment for a month. That's just NOT acceptable behavior.

So I come back home, get Captain America and Jim and Eme, and we head back to church. On the way to church, Captain America starts questioning me if I'm gonna ever get back on my diet. And he says that since I'm probably not gonna, then I oughta get rid of all my skinny clothes and replace them with clothes that fit me at this weight. What the heck? Yeah, I was NOT pleased with that conversation. Did he take a stupid pill this morning? You don't EVER talk to a woman about her weight. EVER. Somehow along the way, he missed that part....

So, my day didn't start off too good. I had to take Joe into the hall during sacrament and talk to him about being reverent, and then take Jimmy to the bathroom, because he says, Loudly, "Mom, I"ve gotta go poop NOW or I'm gonna poop my pants". So out we went.

AND, since I ate a WHOLE bag of prunes last night (I know, I know, not the smartest thing to do, but they're my WEAKNESS. I LOVE prunes...), I had the worst case of stomach cramps EVER. Felt like I'd taken laxatives. SO not cool.

I was doing sharing time, and part of it was to watch the Follow the Prophet movie that I'd spent 3 hours making yesterday. And I couldn't get the TV to work. It's the same brand of TV that we have at home, and has the A/V connections in the front. And they went bad. Sigh. So I had 7 minutes worth of Sharing time to stretch into a 15 minute slot. AND we didn't get to see the movie. I was disappointed.

I did find someone to take 3 of my kids home, then waited for 15 minutes after church for Captain America to get out a meeting, when someone else offered to take me and the other 2 kids home. That was nice. I don't know how long I would have been waiting.

I got the kids food, then went in my room for a break. I wasn't feeling well, so the bathroom and I had some personal time - hehehe (actually, not funny - seriously - LOL)

Captain America got home, and we decided on the boys' punishment. I took a big nap, and Captain America helped Jacob finalize his packing for the campout. The little kids watched a movie, and Tom read his book.

I got up and read for a while, then made lasagna casserole for dinner. I think everyone liked it well enough. I liked it, anyway. It was the first thing I'd eaten that day, so I didn't really feel that good. I know, I need to take better care of myself. I was just upset the whole day, and with the prunes and all, yeah. Didn't feel like eating....

So after dinner, I ask Captain America how we're gonna get Jake to the church at 7:30am. He says that I've gotta call around and find a ride for Jake. Sigh. SO, I facebooked my friend Hilary, who has a kid in Young Mens with Jake, and she said that Jake could come over and spent the night, then go with Nathan in the morning. SWEET! That would work perfectly.

So Jake said bye to the family, and we loaded this stuff into the Saturn, and we headed out. We carried all his stuff into Hilary's house, and I stayed and chatted for a while. Time got away from me, and when I looked at my phone (on silence, from church), it was almost 9pm, I had 3 texts and 2 missed calls. Crap.

I hurried home, and the kids were already in bed. I cleaned up the kitchen, and went in to blog. Captain America and I still aren't talking. Sigh. Not looking forward to this week. I don't have a car, don't have a babysitter, not speaking to my husband.... and I'm hormonal. Dangerous combination, you know. OK, I'll stop whining....

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#!@$x%^

Well, it was an interesting day, to say the least.... I slept in until about 10:30am, which was HEAVENLY. We planned on going to the West side and getting some needed shopping done, but Captain America and I both got occupied doing other thing. I was reading a book, and working on a Primary sharing time activity, and Captain America was playing Guitar Hero.

So, at around 4:30pm, he's done playing Guitar Hero, and done exercising, and wants to know why we're not going to the West side. Well, I'd planned on going out with the girls in the evening, and I'd already cleared it with him the night before.

So now I'm the bad guy because we didn't do the plan like we said. Sigh. Why must men be that way? So now we're both mad at each other, and the rest of the day kinda sucked. Veronica's kids were going to see her ex (their dad) for the evening, so she and I and Andrea were supposed to go for dinner and a movie. She texted and said that she'd be good to go at around 7:45pm.

At 6pm, I headed out to Walmart. Jacob needed a few things for his spring break camp out. They were leaving early on Monday morning, and since we don't shop on Sunday, tonight was the night.

I got some snacks, and a few pair of $8 jeans for the child, and some drink stuff, and some peanuts, and stuff. I paid, and headed home. I got about a block and a half from my house, at the stop light at Jeb Stuart and Robert E Lee (I could see my house from there), and while waiting at the red light, the truck dies. I try and start it again, and it kinda makes this grinding noise, and refuses to start.

Sigh. I call Captain America, and he says that he's in the shower, and that he'll be there as soon as he can. Which is like 15 minutes. So I sit at the stop light, for 15 minutes, waving people past me, waiting for him to come. Some random dude comes and asks if I need help, and I tell him I live just over there, and the my husband is supposed to be coming to help me.

Finally, Captain America comes. Another random dude stops to offer help, and Captain America and the dude push the truck through the intersection and to the area by the bus stop. In the gravel (decorative rock, according to housing....).

We go home, and Captain America seems more interested in know where his receipt for his tennis shoes are than me (he needed to go and exchange them tonight). Sigh. I know that men and women are wired differently, but sometimes hormones makes you think strange things...... Anyway, he was like "you can handle calling the tow truck, right? You'll take care of it?". Sigh. Yes, I can handle that. So I call the insurance, and they schedule a tow truck. Luckily, he added towing to the plan a few weeks ago. 2nd time we've needed it since then.

The insurance place says that it'll be an hour before the tow truck gets there. I help Jake with packing his lunches for his trip, and about 15 minutes later, the tow truck dude calls and says that he's at my truck.

So I run out the door and over to the truck, in the dark, and I guess that Captain America got in the car and drove there. I didn't know he was coming. So it looked a bit odd that I showed up walking, and he was driving, but whatever.

The guy towed the truck the 1 & 1/2 blocks to our house, and he was on his way. Captain America headed out to the shoe place, and I went inside. It was now 8:30, and the movie had already started. Crap. The next one started at 9:55pm, and that was too late for me. SO, I missed out on the movie. And the shopping with my family earlier in the day. My whole day pretty much sucked.

After Captain America got back from the shoe place, we talked about what happened during the day. I don't know that we got anything resolved. Do you do that? Talk about it, and then almost get it solved, and then it starts all over again? Sigh. We were SO close. So here it is, 10:57pm, and I'm tired. I still need to design. Captain America and I aren't speaking. Happy Saturday to me :(

I'm sure tomorrow will be better, right? We'll get it all talked out, and be just fine. I just HATE fighting.... It's SO draining....

See how thrown off I am tonight. I didn't do a "Faithbooking" WordArt like I was supposed to. I made this one, because I don't swear hehehe. Sigh. Tomorrow....

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Off We Go

What a whir-wind of a day :) Fun, but fast! Started off at 7am, getting kids ready for school, and working fast and furiously to arrange my living room for the party. I got the kids on the bus, and moved things around so I had seating for 21 in my living room. In a big circle.

I went to Andreas house at 8am to exercise, and was home at around 9am. I swept and did a few dishes and washed some counters and swept some more and put on some better clothes and made my egg salad sandwiches shaped like dinosaurs and made caramel corn and drank some Diet Mountain Dew and swept some more (did I tell you that my kids crushed some styrofoam yesterday ALL over the house - yeah, still sweeping it up from random places), and all of a sudden, it was 11am. People started trickling in.

I had Jessie (2 kids) and her friend (1 kid) and her friends friend and Bridgette (2 kids) and Kayley (1 kid) and Andrea (1 kid) and Veronica and Laurie (1 kid) and Leigh and Leslie and Aimee (4 kids) and Danielle (1 kid) and Heather (2 kids) and Heidi (3 kids) and Karen (1 kid) and Hillary and Sarah (1 kid). Wow. That's a lot of people and kids. If I counted right, it was 18 women and 22 children.

We ate a TON of food (mostly desserts, mainly cupcakes - hehehe) and chatted and laughed and giggled and played a few games. We did another "under $3" gift exchange and chatted some more. At 3:25pm, everyone was gone, and us moms who get kids from the bus made our way over to the bus stop.

After the bus, Jake and Joe played Wii, with Hunter (Leslies kid) joining them, Eme and Tom went with Veronica to play with Michael and Bella at their soccer games, and Jim and I went to the park to play with Andrea, Luke, and Ben. It was a sunny and nice afternoon at the park.

We came home, and I cleaned up after the party. The kitchen wasn't too bad, but the living room needed some work. I swept up candy wrappers and cake and cookies and frosting and such. hehehe. I put chairs back where they went, and did a load of dishes. It looked pretty good when it was done. But I don't think that I EVER Wanna see another treat again. I feel SICK from all the junk food.......

At 8pm, we turned on a "family movie", and laid down in the living room with pillows and blankets. Captain America came home at 9pm, and joined us for the end of Batman Begins. I think I'm gonna make the man take me out tomorrow late morning for a "date", since I'm too tired tonight. That should be fun :)

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Sleepy Time

See, I'm not totally brainless. Well, not TOTALLY. hehehe. Anyway, I'm remember to post todays "Fresh Fruit Friday!" And it's even Friday! Aren't you proud of me! Well, you should be :) heheeh. Click HERE to go to my store. Remember, all my new stuff is 20% off (or $2.00 per pack) for the first week :)








Hello busy day! I hope spring break really is a break. Cause I need one!

I was up at 7am, and did the normal routine. Kids up, dressed, fed, coated, out the door, and to the bus. Then, at 8am, I mosied down to Andreas house for exercise. It'd been since MOnday that I last exercised, so it kinda kicked my butt. Just a little, though.

I sat and watched a partial episode of Oprah with Andrea (even though I don't like Oprah, I did like the episode - all about shoes and accessories), then headed home.

I cleaned on and off all afternoon. I did all the dishes, some by hand. I washed down the counter tops. I moved around the furniture in the living room, and swept really really good. I made 48 cupcakes, but didn't frost them yet. I also hard boiled 2 dozen eggs.

I showered, and at 2:50pm, Andrea came and got me. We took cupcakes from Veronica for her son Michaels class for his birhtday. Then, we stayed for the kids to finish up AQ, then came back home.

I got my kids fed and situated doing homework and chores, and headed for the commissary. Andrea followed behind in her suburban. We hurried and go all of our weekly shopping done, then headed back home.

I barely had time to get the kids to unload the truck, pull all the food into the kitchen counters, grab out the bagels and cream cheese and cheese slices and cotti salami, and assemble sandwiches. Joe was in his Scout uniform for tonight, and Jake and Tom had on their football stuff.

We loaded up in the truck at 5:50, and off we went. The original plan was for Captain America to be home, and take Joe to Scouts. But he wasn't, so it kinda put a kink in the plan. I took all the kids.

Jake's uniform didn't fit right, so he was supposed to talk to Coach about some smaller pants. I dropped the boys off at 6:03pm, and headed back to post. We went to scouts, and were 20 minutes late. But, they hadn't started yet. They were even slower that I was - hehehe.

I coudln't keep Jimmy in the room where they were doing Tiger cubs, because he was too nois7. Not a bad noisy, just playing with toys noisy. SO, I went to the room next door, and let him play with the other little siblings.

Captain America called at 6:45, and said that he was coming home, and could pick up Jim and Eme. So I walked them out to his car, and went back in for Joe's lesson. They were learning about music. They listened to 5 different songs, and tried to say how it made them feel. Most said they felt silly. Silly boys!

We were home by 7:15pm, and I dropped off JOe, and headed to Andreas house. We needed to grab a few things from the Jewelry Box for the party, but we had to hurry. I had to get Jake and Tom at 8pm.

So, we went, got a few things, and hurried to football. We were only about 5 minutes late. NOt too bad. Jake looked GREAT. He got a bigger uniform (oops about the "alterations") and smaller pants. He looked pretty good.

We came home, dropped off Andrea, got the kids to bed, and I started cleaning again. I did more dishes, Captain America frosted all the cupcakes, I made Egg Salad for sandwiches, moved ALL the chairs in the house to the living room (we now have seating for 20-21), made up the table for the paper products and punch, put a tablecloth on the counter, and am now blogging. Sigh. It's after 11pm, and I'm beat.

Of course, the dose of Niquil I just took may be contributing to that. My head hurts. And it's not a migraine. It feels like what a migraine starts out feeling like. Pressure behind my eye. But it doesn't develop into something else. I guess it's a Sinus Headache. I've been taking a decongestant, but I don't know how great it's working. Maybe if I hadn't taken it, I'd be dying? Who knows.

Anyway, I'm excited about my party tomorrow. I think I'll be fun. But mostly, right now, I'm excited about going to bed. Because I'm tired.

SO, in honor of my sleepiness, I'm quoting one of my FAVORITEST funny movies, "The Master of Disguise". Yeah, if you haven't seen it, you should - hehehe.

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Oh The Pain

OK, for anyone who wants some Baby WordArts at a VERY good price, I have the sale for you :) 8 Baby WordArt packs, for only $5. That's $0.62 per WordArt pack, and $0.14 per WordArt. Yeah, can't beat that! Not too shabby, right? It includes:

(ALL PREVIOUSLY RELEASED PACKS)

Pregnancy Attitude 1
Pregnancy Attitude 2
Pregnancy Attitude 3
Pregnancy Attitude 4
Newborn
Baby Shower
Baby Shower Mega
Ultrasound

Click HERE to go to Baby 1 Bundle. I have 2 other Baby Bundles in the works. Look for those soon!

WHY!!! Why must I be getting a head cold? *sniff* *sniff* Hopefully it'll pass quickly. I have WAY too much to do to be sick.

And, I just realized that it's Jimmy's Un-Birthday today. Because March 11th is 6 months from September 11th. Happy UnBirthday, Jimmy. I'd get you something, if we celebrated. But we don't. So I won't. hehehe.

I was up getting the kids ready for school, but felt like I was dragging a bit. I got them out the door, then managed to throw on some "non sweats" clothes for my meeting with Joe's vice principal at 9am. I met with him and the speech teacher. When we put Joe back into Kindergarten, his old 1st grade teacher mentioned that Joe may need speech. So we went that route. AND, the speech teacher pre-tested him last year (october), and found that he was having problems with about 6 things. When they did the formal testing this year (last month, I think), they found that it was now only 2 problems. He's progressing by himself. They think he'll grow out of it. And yeah, he probably will.

Then we talked about Tom. He was officially denied treatment from our Insurance. Twice. SO, that's not gonna work. I found out today that the school never officially tested him, because he only had problems with that one sound, and that the district would likely deny him.

BUT, I pushed for the formal evaluation, and the speech teacher said that we'd try and make it work. Even if she had to "fly under the radar" to get him some help. Thank goodness. I'll have to make sure that I keep up with them, and push to get Tom's issues fixed. Why can't it just be easy.....

I got back from the school, and slipped right back into my sweats clothes. And stayed that way for most of the rest of the day. I just kinda loafed around the house, feeling congested in my head. Sinus pressure. I didn't like it.

After lunch, I decided to "un computer lab" my dining room. hehehe. Remember how I said that the whole wall in the dining room was lined with computers? Well, now it's not. I have the hutch and one folding table with computers on one wall, then in between the 2 windows, I have 2 folding tables jutting out into the dining room. So the computers are facing out, all the cords together between the two tables. Clear as mud? hehehe. I think it'll work better. Opens up the room better, I think.

Anyway, I took down ALL the computes, moved all the folding tables, and swept really good. It was a BIG mess for an hour or so, but cleaned up nicely.

Before I knew it, it was time to get the kids. I opted to go and get the kids from AQ, since it'd been a while since I had a turn. Andrea was there too, so we hung out from 3-3:45, waiting for the kids.

I came back home, and started on dinner. I made potato soup. It was pretty good. We heard from Jakes football coach that they finally had enough boys to make up a team, so they were issuing equipment before practice tonight.

We left a few minutes early, picked up Kayley's son Joseph on the way, and went to practice. They only had a tiny (on Jake) practice jersey for Jake, but Captain America said that we could cut the sleeves to make it work. Jake's SO afraid that he'll get in trouble. I told him to just tell the coach that his dad did it if he looks like he's gonna get mad.

The kids and I sat in the truck for 45 minutes while the big kids did football. It was WAY too windy to be outside. Cold and windy. At 6:50, we got Jake, and headed for Scouts. They're going on a snow camp out over Spring Break, and needed to have their bags packed so it could get ok'd. He hauled his big duffel bag out, and I left to go home.

Kayley was picking up her Joseph and my Tom from Football, and since Andrea was at the church tonight anyway for a meeting, she said that she'd give Jake a ride home.

By this point, my head was really starting to hurt. Felt like a migraine. But I think it's sinus. I took a decongestant a few hours before, but it didn't really seem to do a great deal. Right before bed, I planned on taking some Niquil. That'll do the trick, right?

I put Joe and Jim to bed, sent Eme upstairs to read, and relaxed on the couch for a bit. Tom came home a little after 8pm, and Jake was home by 8:45pm. Captain America came home at around 9pm. Here it is, 10pm, I just took my Niquil. I should hurry and go design, before the Niquil kicks in. There's no telling what I'm likely to come up with - hehehehe.

Yeah, I bet you can guess where I got the inspiration for this beauty - hehehe. Click on the links 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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Be Happy Mask

Another day done :) Started off a little earlier than normal, but still good. Because it's getting lighter earlier, the little kids are up sooner. So they come in to see my sooner. So I'm awake sooner. BUT, there's a time change coming up soon, so it'll be dark again, right?

I got the kids dressed and fed and presentable for school, then sent them to the bus stop. I got ready to exercise, and texted Andrea to see what time we were gonna be doing it. No response. I figured that either she was sleeping, or there was someone sick. I took some time to read :) Cause I like reading :)

I got Jake started with school, and finally heard from Andrea. She'd been up late coughing, and her hubby let her sleep in. But we made plans to go to lunch with the girls. SO, I hopped in the shower, and got all ready.

I still had an hour or so before time to go, so I cleaned up a bit, and hung for a while. I got the kids all ready for their lunch, then left with Andrea. Captain America had wanted me to get a few things from the store, and wanted me to drop off his Laptop at Fedex (it's still broke).

Andrea and I headed for Olive Garden, and met Veronica there. Laurie and Hillary joined us later. We had a bunch of fun, eating and visiting and being silly. Girls always have a GREAT time :)

After lunch, Andrea and I went to the Dollar Tree, looking for decorations for the St Patricks day party. We found a few things that would work as decorations, then headed to the Fedex Store. It was a super fast trip.

Next, she dropped me off at home, and I picked up Jimmy, and we headed to the commissary. They were out of a few things when I'd shopped last week, and today was the day to get them :) Less than 30 minutes later, I was heading to the bus stop. I got the kids from the bus, even though I was a few minutes late, and took them home.

We got chores started, and homework started, and snack and such, and headed off to Football/Babysitting class. I dropped Jake off at the SKIES building at 5pm, then took the other kids to the football field to wait for Football to start. Eme had gone with Bella (Veronicas daughter) and her family to their sports practices, to play with Bella. I'm SO glad that she's found a girl friend!

Jimmy fell asleep on the way, so when Tom went to help the coaches set up before practice (we had an hour to kill), I designed on my laptop in the truck, and read. Joe was back and forth to the play equipment, and finally came back to the truck. It was SUPER El Paso windy outside. Andrea dropped her kids off at the SKIES building for piano at 6pm, and joined me at the Football park. She and Luke came and hung out in my truck, and we chatted for about an hour.

At 7pm, she left to get her kids, and I left for home. Captain America was home, so I figured that I could leave the little boys with him, and go back to get Jake at 9pm. Kayley was picking up her son Joseph and my son Tom at 8pm for the Football field.

I uploaded all my new products to my store between 7:15pm and 7:45pm, then headed to the SKIES building. I got Jake just as his class was ending, and headed home. Tom beat me home by about 5 minutes. Emeline came about 20 minutes later. She'd had a TON of fun with Bella.

All the kids are in bed now, and I'm working on the MONSTROUS pile of laundry in the laundry room. I watched a movie and folded laundry at the same time. I think there's probably still about 5 loads still in there. I have 6 baskets full out here that I need to either put away, or give to the people who belong to the clothes. Sigh. Laundry is never ending, you know...

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Laughter Makes You Happy

Another Monday is gone - hehehe. It was a good day for me. I woke up at 7am, getting Joe, Eme, and Tom ready for school and out the door and to the bus. I got Jake and Jim up and ready, then headed down the block to Andreas house at 8am for exercise. We did the 30 minutes video, since we'd missed quite a few days last week. We'll do the 30 minute video for a week, then go to the 50 minute one. We don't wanna start too fast, you know ;)

I was back home by 9:30am, and helped Jake get on track with school. Jimmy and I hung out for a while, and we just spent the morning at home. I worked on my Oregon taxes most of the morning, and finally finished them up. First time I did it, I owed Oregon almost $100. Second time, I owed $70. Third time, I found a Military thingy, and they were giving us back $98. Sweet! Apparently, military pay can be deducted on state taxes, so I didn't owe any taxes, AND we got back what we payed in for State Taxes. Sweet. Now, to assemble all the parts, and send it off.

Captain America came home for lunch, and I was on the phone with the Oregon Tax information people in Salem Oregon, and I was on hold for almost 50 minutes. I just wanted the address to send my taxes too. Would it be too much to ask that you put the address on your website? Really? I didn't feel like paying $35 to efile my state taxes, so I just did it myself. But then, when looking for the address, it was NO where to be found. SO not cool.

I spent the afternoon reading, and Jake finished up school. My Visiting Teachers came over at 2:45pm, and we visited and chatted for a while. Kayley and I walked to the bus stop to get the kids at 3:30pm, and I brought back home Veronicas 2 youngest kids from the bus. She was at the school getting Michael (hers) and Tom from AQ.

15 minutes later, she took her, and left me mine. We did chores, and got the house pretty clean, then played for a while. Joe and Jim kind of worked on their room. Kind of. I had all the other kids clean their rooms too, and now my laundry room is EXPLODING with laundry. Sigh. I know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

After what should have been dinner (Leigh, my next door neighbor, brought us over a chocolate cake, and we kinda had that for dinner, plus some soup and bread from my visiting teachers), I worked on the bills. I got my monthly budget for March all worked out, and balanced out February. It looked pretty good :)

Captain America had come home at around 6pm, and left shortly after for Basketball. He's on the units team. He called at 7 something, saying that the other team had forfeited, and that they'd automatically won. AND, since he was done early, said that we could now go to the outlet mall and get new shoes. Joe desperately needed a new pair.

SO, I gave directions to put the kids to bed, got Joe ready, and left with Captain America to go to the West side. We got there about 30 minutes before the store closed. We found a nice pair for Joe for $20 (after a 20% military discount). I found a pair of light hikers that I liked, and they were 2 for $50. I found a pair for Tom that would work (can you believe the child is 10, and wears a 9 in mens....), so we each got a pair for $25 (instead of $30), but after the discount, they were $20 each. Captain America got his, and used his "Shoe Allowance" fund. He needs new running shoes every 3 months, because of the amount of PT that he does.

We left the store a little after 8pm, and headed home. Joe told us that he was STARVING. Poor kid. We stopped at Burger King, and got him a Whopper Jr and a fries. He scarffed that thing down SO fast. So we got him a 2nd Whopper Jr. That kids doesn't eat often, but when he does... Look out! hehehe.
We headed home, and Joe was fast asleep within 2 minutes. He was full and he was tired :) We got home, I brought in all the shoe boxes, and Captain America put the sleeping Joe into his bed. Captain America headed off to bed himself, and I sat down to blog/design. It's not 11pm, and I need to make my freebee real quick, then I'm gonna read a chapter, then hit the sack. I'm sleepy :)

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Team Jacob: 236
Team Edward: 253

I'm just sayin'.......

Beautiful to Me

Happy Monday, everyone! Sunday was good for us. I got up at 7am, got ready, got the kids ready, printed out my Sunday lesson, and still had 25 minutes left over. Next week? I'm sleeping in till 7:25, I think - hehehe.

We got to church on time, and the kids were mostly good for Sacrament. I said the closing Prayer, and headed to Primary. We only had 1 teacher not show up, and apparently she'd texted me that morning, but my phone was lost under Captain Americas seat, so I didn't know. But we easily found a sub, so it was all good.

I did my sharing time lesson, which went well. We got home from church at about 12:45pm, and started on lunch. We cleaned from 1-2:30pm, and the house looked MUCH better. The kitchen in particular.

We read a lot today. I told the kids that they heeded to either play quietly in their rooms, or pick a book and read. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon.

We watch the church movie, Testaments, with Captain America when he got home. It was nice. We talked about it when it was over, then had more free time. Captain America left for a church meeting at 6:30pm, and I let the kids watch a movie while I read some more.

Joe and Jim went to bed at 8pm, and the other went to their rooms then, and turned off lights at 9pm. Captain America got home at around 9:45pm, and was chatting with his dad when he walked in the door. Paul's such a great guy :)

After Captain America went to bed, I moved out to the couch to read some more. Here it is, 12:30am, and I'm tired. I need to design something and get some "shut eye". Know what I mean?

This WordArt request is from Carrie. 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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Study of the Scriptures

Well, I finally got my relaxing morning that I always wanted :) I woke up at 9am, to find my kids watching TV quietly, having already fed themselves breakfast. Can't wish for a happier scene than that, right?

I got myself breakfast, then just spent the rest of the morning doing nothing. It was SO nice.

At 12:30pm, we got the kids some lunch (hot dogs on the grill), then hung out some more. Back at around 10am, I made the kids turn off all electronics, and just play. Some went to the park, some played at the neighbors house, some read books, just a quiet late morning/early afternoon. Eme was still at her friends house, and had plans there for the rest of the day. She was REALLY liking the "girls time" thingy :)

At 4pm, Captain America and I started to get ready for our date. We'd decided to go on a date on Saturday instead of Friday, since Friday was so hectic. I showered, and he cut all the boys' hair. They were starting to look a bit shaggy.

We got ready, and helped Jake and Tom make homemade pizza. They really did a fabulous job. They got the yeast and water together, letting it rise. Then added the flour and oil and salt. Then kneeded it until it was super soft. Tom did an outstanding job with it.

They got it on the pizza pans, then shredded the cheese, cooked the meat, spread the sauce, the meat, and the cheese. When we finally were ready to leave for our date, all they had to do was preheat the oven and pop it in.

We gave Jake directions for the evening, then headed out. We went to Applebees for dinner. We got the 2 for $20 deal. With cheese sticks, and we both got a steak. With a salad and steamed veggies. Pretty close to the ole diet. It was nice to sit and chat and just hang out together.

Next, we drove to the East side-ish area, and went to the Movie theater. Tinsletown. Where all the teenyboppers hang out. hehehe. We checked to see what was playing, and there was a showing of Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief starting in 5 minutes. Perfect! I paid, and Captain America parked, and we headed in. We get the military discount, so it's about $6 a ticket instead of $9.

The movie was really good. My kids are gonna LOVE it when they see it. We'll take them when it comes on post.

After the movie, we stopped by Walgreens to pick up my invitations to the St Patricks Day party. Remember how I had the Valentines Party? Well, we're having a St Patricks one too. SO excited! Should be a ton of fun.

We made it in through the gate without having a "random inspection", and home. It's almost 11pm, and I've got my Primary sharing time lesson all ready for tomorrow, am done blogging, and am now gonna go design a freebee for all of you fabulous ladies! Night!

Here's the Visiting Teaching message for March, in case you needed something to pass out for the month :)

Click on the links below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks! Oh yeah, and it looks like Team Edward is winning, but only by 8 downloads :)

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Team Edward or Team Jacob?

So much for my slow day. Yeah, if this is my restful day, just shoot me now - hehehe. I was up a little before 7am, getting kids for school. And cooking breakfast. And getting Captain America off to work (no PT today for him).

I got Jake started on school, and then just sat around for a while. I played online, watched a little bit of cartoons with Jimmy, printed my shopping list, but didn't do anything with it. Just being lazy. But it only lasted for about an hour and a half.

At around 9am, Laurie called me, and said that there was a matching set of Washer/Dryer on her block, by the curb, with a sign taped to it that said "Good.". Sweet! I could use a backup set. PLUS, if the dryer worked, then maybe I'd have one that worked. hehehe.

So she came and picked me up in her hubbys truck, and we headed to her street. We backed up to the washer/dryer, and then realized, "how the crap are we gonna get them in the truck???". We did the dryer first, and it was SO heavy. But somehow we managed to get it in.

The washer was next, but even heavier. We bent down low, squatting, and tried to raise it up. But we weren't strong enough. It tipped her way, bouncing off of her cheekbone and shin, then my way bouncing off of my nose. We quickly set it down, realizing it wasn't gonna work.

Dang, my nose hurt. Tears immediately sprung to my face, and we both just stood there laughing that we hurt ourselves trying to get a washer from some dudes trash into her truck. hehehe. SO pathetic - LOL!

We somehow managed to lift it and get it in the truck, even if it was sideways. About that time, the dude who lived there came home, and helped us get it the last little ways in. He said that the washer worked just fine, but that the dryer needed a new dial on the top. At least I know what's wrong with it. Now I have 3 slightly broken dryers - LOL!

We took it back to my house, then attempted to unload the first one, getting it to the gravel by my garage. Luckily, before the 2nd one came out of the truck, my neighbor and his 20 yr old son noticed us, and ran over to help. That's what we needed. 2 strong men :) That's the answer to everything, right?

I went back in the house, made Burger King playland plans with my new friend, Danielle, and her son, and Jimmy, then called Andrea to see how she's doing. Luke is still in the hospital. Did I tell you that he has Viral Pneumonia? Luckily, her husband is home now, and can take care of getting the kids to school, and watching them after work. So she can stay in the hospital and focus on the baby. Poor kid. And poor mom.

Anyway, I told her that I'd come and visit. So I got my shopping list all ready, so that after the hospital, I could swing by the commissary, shopping before meeting Danielle at Burger King at 12:30.

So I drive to the hospital, about 20 minutes away. And there's NO parking. I had to park across the street in the pay lot. Oh well. Andrea, you're worth it! I finally find the right place, and the right room, and visit for a bit. She and Luke have been in this tiny little room since Tuesday. I don't know how she's doing it. I'd be going insane :(

Veronica came about 20 minutes later to visit too. She goes to college right around the block, and stopped by after class. About that time, Andrea had to go watch a video about asthma. She'd seen it last time the baby was in the hospital, but they made her see it again. So Veronica and I went downstairs to the little coffee shop, and got a soda.

I was supposed to leave to go grocery shopping, but decided to postpone it, and stay and chat. About 20 minutes later, Andrea was done. We went back up to her room, and hung out for a bit more.

I left the hospital at 11:50am. Just as I passed the exit for highway 54, I got a call from Captain America, saying that his truck had broken down around that area, and that he needed a ride. Sigh. I had to go WAY out of my way to get back to where he was. i-10 to airway to airport to fred wilson to gateway east to ellethorpe. BUT, I finally got there. I had to call Danielle and tell her the situation, and that I'd call her when Captain America was all taken care of.

I took these photos while driving through the new "spaghetti bowl" being constructed near post and dyer/fred wilson area. It's a big mess right now, but will be SO much better when it's all finished.






Apparently, something broke when he was about a mile away from the place that they had one of their meetings at today. So he left the truck under the overpass on some gravel, and walked to his meeting. I picked him up after it was over.

I took him home, grabbed Jimmy, and went to Danielle's house at 1:30pm. We drove over to Burger King, and let the kids play for a while. I got Jimmy a $burger, a $fries, and I got a $salad and a $drink. So my meal was only $4. Not too bad, considering how expensive the class was with all of it's eating out this week.

We ate and chatted for a while, then she had to go to the school to get her preschooler, and I needed to go grocery shopping. Jimmy wanted to go home, so I dropped him off with Jake, then headed to the commissary.

I'd misplaced my list, so I went without it. Funny thing, though, when you use the same list week after week, month after month, you get where you don't need it. AND, I'd gone through it this morning, marking off things that we already had, and how many of what we needed. Amazingly enough, I remembered it. So I just went down my normal pattern of isles, and it was all good. Do you do that? Start on one end, and go methodically down the isles? OK, so maybe I'm weird. Even if I don't need anything down that particular isle, I still go down it, just so that the zig zag pattern is intact..... Yes, I know I'm strange :)

Anyway, I get my groceries, pay, and head home. I was almost $30 under budget, too. I wonder if maybe I forgot some stuff - hehehe.

I didn't have time to go home before the bus, so I just met the kids at the bus in my truck. After getting them, I drove home (yeah, 1 block away), and the kids helped unload the truck. I put away all the groceries, and had Emeline do her chores. After they were done, she gathered up a few things, and I took her to a sleep over at Bella's house. That's Veronica's oldest daughter. She's in a grade or two higher than Emeline, but Eme's a good 1/2 a head taller than Bella. hehehe. They seem to get along fine :) I bet she's having fun!

I came back home, and got the other kids ready for Football equipment night. From 5-7 at the park where they practice, the 2 younger groups of football players were getting issued their equipment. Unfortunately, there's not enough kids for the older team, so they're out of luck. BUT, they did extend registration for another week, hoping to get a few more players. 3 or 4 more boys, and the team is filled. SO, hopefully a few more Ft Bliss parents will sign their 12-13 year old boy up for Football. Pretty please???

We got the helmet, the shoulder pads, the leg pads, a pair of practice pants, and practice jersey, and a game pants and game jersey for Tom. He was SO excited about it. Sorry it's sideways, I didn't feel like photoshopping it tonight :)



We headed home, and were home by 6pm. We also found out that it takes under 10 minutes to get to and from the field. I keep starting my stopwatch when I leave, and I keep forgetting to stop it when we get home. One of these days I'll remember. Another odd quirk of mine. I like to time things :) One time, when I had to pee REALLY bad, I timed it. 1 minute and 6 seconds. That's a LONG time, you know. OK, too much information (TMI), I know...

Anyway, back home, and I started some soup/stew. It had carrots and onions and celery and parsely and sweet potatoes and garlic and green peppers and italian seasoning and chicken broth and ground turkey. And a few handfuls of brown rice. Smelled really good :)

Joe wanted to go to the neighbors house and jump on their trampoline with them, so I let him, and Captain America got home at around that time. The soup was still cooking, so I left it to simmer. He and I loaded in my truck, and we headed out to meet the tow truck. LUckily,k when he bought the thing, he put towing on the insurance. So the tow will be "free" for us. Gotta like that.

We met the tow truck under the overpass, and I parked in the road, with my blinkers on, having the other cars go around us. Luckily, it was later, and there wasn't a lot of traffic out. During the day, that would have been pretty dangerous.

The tow truck guy got the truck on the flatbed, and we headed back to post. He dropped it off in our driveway, and I parked on the street. Hopefully I get my parking spot back soon..... Captain America's buddy thinks that it was the clutch that went out. I don't know anything about cars...

The kids were watching a movie when we got home, so we sat and snuggled with the little boys, and watch the end of it with them. At 8:20pm, Captain America and I headed out to the mall to buy his vitamins. Jake put the little kids to bed, and he and Tom watched another movie.

We got Captain Americas vitamins, and then walked the mall for a bit. I wanted to go to the Jewelry Box, but it's gone in the Cielo Vista mall. What's up with that? I don't know why it left. So sad :( Maybe it's just moving to a different location? I'll keep my fingers crossed.

We looked at a few more stores, then headed home. We put Jake and Tom to bed, then went to our room to watch a movie. And here it is, 12:30pm, and I'm tired. Again. I was supposed to go to a church meeting tomorrow morning, but I'm skipping. I wanna spend some more time with my husband and family. He's been gone so much lately, and he has the day off. So I'm playing hookey.

This WordArt request is from Heidi. AND, I 'm curious to see which side you all are on. SO, there's an Edward Download and a Jacob Download. Lets see who has the most votes/downloads. Me? I'm Team Edward. All the way ;)

Team Edward - 4shared
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Team Jacob - 4shared
Team Jacob - box.net