Third, the Blog

Hey there, guys! Yeah, yeah, I was totally supposed to get back to this sooner. I really was... But I didn't... Sigh. Only because I had a full and fun day, so that's gotta count for something, right? LOL.

So, yesterday, I woke up and blogged and watched Captain America (the real movie - ha!). I said that last time I blogged. Anyway, at around 10:30, I texted Kim, and said that we should get a group together to go to McDonalds with the kids! I said 11, then came right back with noon, so I could shower. She came back with the SAME thing. hehe. Too funny :)

So, I texted everyone I knew, with plans for McDonalds at noon, and feelers for a girls movie in the evening. And I spent the next 45 minutes texting back and forth with people. Finally, I put the phone away (hehe), and hopped in the shower.

I wanted the kids to do chores before we left. And for the house to be a little less trashed. So, I said, "We're going to McDonalds!!! Do your chores before we leave". Yeah, no change... None at all. Freakin' kids.

Then, instead of yelling, I got smarter. I said it this way. $3 towards lunch. And extra dollar toward lunch if you did your chores. And another extra dollar toward lunch if you clean your room. OMGosh, people scrambled at that point. Dishes were being washed, vacuums, brooms, all sorts of stuff going on! It just took McDonalds to get them to do it - hehe.

So, by the time I got done with my shower and got ready and it was time to go, my house was mostly clean, and most of the kids' rooms were cleaned too! Score! Jake and Eme both had clean rooms and chores. Joe and Jim had a clean room but not clean chores. Tom had clean chores but not a clean room. So, 2 with $5 and 3 with $4. We made our list on the way over. And what a list it was. hehe. That poor McDonalds worker. He got it mostly all right, though. Just forgot Tom's side salad. We did get it, though :)

Here's some pics of us waiting for our food :)

Kari and kids and Kim and kids met us there. It was funny, cause I invited like 19 people to come. It's all a numbers game, you know. For every 7 or 8 no's, you get a yes. Ha! So the more people I invite, the more likelihood I'll have of having someone to play with! :)

And you know what? We were at McDonalds from noon-4something. Holy crap! But, the kids were being good and playing well. Why leave if they're being good, right???

Jake and Justin had fun hanging out. Especially since Jake was grounded from Friends' houses. This was as close to friends as he was gonna get today :)


Scotty is SO funny! He was fascinated with this necklace from New Years. He pretended like they were foot cuffs, and hand cuffs, and chains, and all sorts of stuff. Silly boy! He leaves in a few weeks to go and live with his grandma.

His family is moving to Germany, and they don't have the facilities there for him. Plus, it's time for him to go either to a group home, or somewhere where he can get one on one. And grandma can give it to him. With no little bothers, I mean brothers (hehe) to stress him out. A good routine. Family close. Good schools. Scotty is gonna love it :)


We only had one minor incident while at McDonalds. Jimmy was telling Jake to throw the chipmunk toy at his head from across the playland, and that he'd dodge it. And Jake, not thinking, did it... And yeah, Jim totally didn't dodge it! Bloody head. Luckily, it wasn't a lot of blood. Just a little scratch, really. Jake felt really bad, and tried to comfort him. And I guess Jimmy learned that he wasn't able to dodge flying plastic toys...

Kim and Kari



Finally, at 4pm, we decided to load up and head out. And kids were being super good still. We figured to leave before something went wrong - ha! Leave on a good note, you know :)

Jake wanted to go to Game Stop and exchange a few games. See, he used to have a PSP. He'd earned money back when he was the babysitter. Before Aspergers reared its ugly head with puberty. And then, when he cleaned his room one time, he accidentally threw it away. Oops. Yeah, BIG oops...

Anyway, he had a few PSP games, a Wii game that was his, and a XBox 360 game. He figured he could get some money for a different game. And I let him know that it would only be a few dollars he'd get for each. They're not worth much as trade in. BUT, he was fine with that. They weren't doing much for him anyway, he said. It was his money...

And off we went. Here's Jim in my messy car. ha! Well, it's my car. It's THEIR mess. I didn't make it. It's all their crap!
Eme's so cute! But I was trying to figure out how to get her hair to look better. Even after washing it, it always looks stringy. Maybe it's the age? I think she needs a new cut...
We were at game stop for like 2 hours.... Holy freakin' crap! hehe :) They were having a buy 2 PS2 games, get 2 PS2 games for free. Pretty good deal, really. Jake spent WAY too long looking around for 360 games he wanted. And couldn't find any.

Then finally decided on Wii games. And worked out a deal with me, that if he cleaned and detailed both vehicles (inside and out), that he'd earn 20 bucks. Finally, he'd picked something. Then he decided he didn't want that after all, and he wanted a controller and a numchuck. Seriously?

Tom, in the meantime, selected 4 games that he wanted. And then Jake went to look. And thought they were SO cool. So he decided that's what he wanted. Are you kidding me??? Sigh. I guess the kids were being good. No one was freaking out. So it was ok-ish.

Eventually, finally, 90 minutes after we got there, we paid. After the trade in, and after the $20 that I owed Tom for babysitting, I paid $33 for games. I got 2 Wii games for Captain America for 2nd Christmas (I hope he likes them!!! I think he will), 4 for the house (PS2), a Wii game, Tom got 4, Jake got 4, and Tom got a controller for the Ps2. Not bad, huh??? And then we headed into the PX for a Taco Bell Beanie Cheesie Nasty.

And headed home. I got there in time to get the kids situated, and settled in with their new games for the night, and I headed over to Kims house. We were going to a movie! I had 3 girls say that they could go :)

Kim and I went to pick up Julia, then headed to the theater. And we met Jane there! There were SO many people in line. Luckily, it was moving fast. We got our 710 tickets for Footloose, and got in the popcorn line.

We were all going in on a combo, so Kim and Julia went to get seats, and Jane and I went to get the food. And by the time we got our food, and found the right theater and the girls, the movie was already started! Dang. I transferred our first refill into the waterbottle, then went out to get the 2nd refill. And missed more of the movie. Crap.

I'd missed the first 10-15 minutes at least when I finally sat down. It was a good movie, though! I liked it. It was a bit hoochie feeling at parts. Too much skin. A little too much bumping and grinding for my liking. But the music was great! I'd say, not for young teens. But good for grown ups! I found myself singing along with the songs (sorry girls - ha!)

We stood around and chatted for quite a while after the movie, then finally headed home. It really was a great girls night out :) Thanks for playing, girls! We dropped Julia off at her house, and Kim and I both realized that we were missing essential things in our household. Toilet Paper for me, and trash bags for her. Yeah, essentials! So off to Walmart we headed.

And grabbed the few things that we needed, and dittle dattled around for the few things that we didn't. That's the fun part of Walmart, you know. Just browsing, and see what's there. Turns out, there was a HUGE clearance section there tonight. I ended up getting super long Xmas socks for a dollar. And some 2 packs of colorful socks for a dollar. And this cool watch!
I got a Texas Longhorns Basketball jersey and shorts for Joe for only $3. That wasn't bad. And a few other things. Anyway, we paid, and she brought me home. My kids were supposed to have gone to bed at 8:30pm. Well, the little kids went to bed at 8:30pm. Jake and Tom were still up and playing games. It was like 12 something....

So I made them turn it off, and go to bed. Seriously, you guys. It's "Practice going to bed early" night. hehe. And I went into my room to try and blog. Scrap that. To just post the WordArt. I was tired. I'll blog in the morning.

Then, I went to check to make sure that the kids really went to bed. And I caught Jake in his room with a laptop and headphones! Seriously??? Did you not learn your lesson last night??? So I took the laptop, and went back to my room. And posted the WordArt.

Then Jake came in, all apologetic. Can he PLEASE not be in trouble. He was sorry. What about last night, I said. Well, THIS time he was REALLY sorry... Um, no. I told him that his punishment was either "electronics with no friends" or "friends with no electronics". It was a hard choice for him to make. I told him to let me know in the morning.

He got angry, and stomped out and slammed the door. Yeah, by then, I didn't really care. I just let him go, and didn't blog, tied up the computer, and went to bed. I listened to music on my phone (which I usually don't), and went to sleep WAY later than I should have. Sigh.

Anyway, that was my day :) See why I didn't blog. hehe :) So, if you are looking for the wordart, it's in the post previous to this one. This one just has the blog from today :)

Third

I'm gonna hop back on here tomorrow and blog. It's 12:41pm, I just got home from the movies and Walmart, and got in an argument with Jake. Normal teen stuff, but still, it's taken the wind out of my sails. I'm gonna watch this episode of X-files and go to bed. I'll blog in the morning :)

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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Second

Well, I have been feeling a tad bit congested as of late. And decided that I was gonna nip it in the bud before it developed into something more. So I took niquil the other night. And slept like a baby. hehe. The right dose, this time. Did I tell you I accidentally took a double dose the other night??? hehe. THAT'S not gonna happen again :)

Anyway, I woke up around 10:30 am. Well rested. And Facebooked with Captain America for a bit, then went to get the kids ready for church. And at 11am, I tried to get Jake to wake up. And yeah, he wouldn't wake up. The other kids didn't wanna go to church either, but they did what they were told. Jake? Not so much.

He knows that the house rule for not going to church is loss of all electronic privileges for the rest of the day. Including TV. Anyway, we got ready, and left the house at 12:10pm. And as we pulled away from the house, Jake came running out of the house, half awake, with his jammies on, yelling, GIVE ME 5 MINUTES!!!

And I could have waited. I really could have. But I'd been trying to wake his sorry butt up for the past hour. To no avail. So I figured that he deserved to be left, right? And then next time I told him to wake up, he'd take me seriously! So he argued with me for a few minutes, then I told him I was sorry, and I drove away. Secure in the knowledge that ALL of the fun electronics were locked in my bedroom. Even the TV power cord. Oh yeah, I'm thorough...

Church was good. And since my #1 distraction was gone, I was able to pay attention. And actually get something out of the meeting. My new friend, Maria, and her family spoke. They were pretty good talks too :) The points that stuck out in my mind the most were that Wishing, and Hoping, and having faith are 3 completely different things. And how true it is.

2nd hour, being the punk that I am, I decided that I wasn't going to go to Sunday School until I could take Captain America with me. hehe. So I sat in the hall with my friends and chatted. And then headed off to Relief Society.

Rebecca taught, and did a great job :) Then we loaded up in the truck, and headed back home. And Jake was still asleep. We got some dinner, and some of the kids and I watched a movie (well, part of one) in my room.

We did some chores, and hung out for the evening. With late church, we really don't have a lot of time between church and bedtime, you know. hehe. At 7pm, it was bedtime/quiet reading time. For some reason, I was SO tired! Maybe that icky sickness that was trying to sneak in? Anyway, I made sure the kids were all in their rooms and ready for bed, I took a dose of Niquil, and headed to bed. 7pm, and I woke up at 7am.

Feeling rested again :) I got up, and started blogging. And watched Captain America. As the kids woke up, the came and joined me. I'm finished blogging now, and 4 of the 5 kids are in here with me :) Hope everyone has a good day! Today and tomorrow are the last 2 days of break, then the kids go back to school! Woohoo :) 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!

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Here's the missing layout from yesterday! hehe :) I found it! Well, Sharon put it in the folder for me, so really, I just did what I always do, and it magically appeared. But I'll take the credit. ROFL! I'm liking this one, Sharon! She used my number freebie series, and my month wordart, available for purchase HERE.

First 1st

Hey there you guys :) It's 11:30pm here, and I'm not feeling much like blogging. I'm missing my man, and wishing that I was snuggled up next to him instead of with my cold, impersonal computer... grrr. Not too much longer, right? Longer than I'd like, though... Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the PERFECT day for him to come home. Or then next day. I'd take that day too. Hmpf. Oh well. Endure to the end, right? And now there's word that the guy who was supposed to book the flights may not have confirmed them right, so they may be later... But that's just a rumor.. Who knows. He should be home sometime in the next month. That's all I know for sure. No confirmed date yet. Sigh.

Anyway, my alarm went off at 8am, and Captain America was on Facebook. So I chatted as long as I could, then hopped in the shower and got ready for the game. Between my teens and Kim's teens, we had babysitters for the Sun Bowl. It's SO nice to have built in babysitters. Jake had plans with Justin for when he woke up. Austin and Joe were gonna go to Kim's house when they woke up. That let Tom in charge of Eme and Jim. And I told him I'd pay him for the day, so he was enthusiastic about it. hehe :)

Here's me, all ready for the game. In my new t-shrit


And my blue hoodie :)
Kim and Tim picked me up, and we headed to the game. Kim was quite upset about the Handicapped parking at the game, and we ended up having to park FOREVER away, paying $10 for it. They did have a Handicap shuttle, though. That was good.

check out my boots! I took the picture for Captain America. He was still on Facebook and we were still chatting.

We hung for a bit, and "tailgatted". The girls chatted and ate chips and such, and eventually, it was time to go to the stadium. We hurried to catch the shuttle, waited in line one time, and squished on. It was PACKED!

Kim and I
Kori and I

Waiting to get our tickets taken
My ticket!! My mom was pretty jealous. hehe. She's the football fan. ha!
Here's my full length pic for Captain America. hehe ;)
We found our seats, and went for lunch. Kim and I each got a turkey leg and a corn on the cob. Seemed like a wise food choice to me :) We could have shared a leg, though. It was a TON of food!




It got TOO hot, so we had to shed our sweatshirts! People were getting sunburns, too! Crazy, for December 31st, huh???
Oh yeah, it was the Utah Utes vs the Georgia Tech YellowJackets.
The half time entertainer was BJ Thomas. My mom said that she and my mom went and saw him in concert in Portland when they were dating! hehe :) He was still going pretty good for an old guy! LOL

Oh yeah, it was a GORGEOUS day!
We made the drinking guys move to one end, and had Jane come and sit by us. She was pretty cool. Her hubby and Tim work together, apparently.
During half time, we went for more food. I got nachos to share, and Kim got a funnel cake to share. I liked the nachos better, and she liked the funnel cake better, so it worked out. I really wished I had some older kids around, to help me finish off the food! (but for that reason only... I hate wasting food!)
There were several dudes in Elf suits, a Santa man, and you can see a gorilla man here too. Lots of crazy outfits. ha!






This is Jane's daughter, Eden. She LOVED Kim and I. And we got to share snuggles during the 4th quarter. It was nice :)



Army guys! Ft Bliss ended up with a whole bunch of free tickets. Thanks, El Paso, for donating them! That's where we got ours :)

I guess Tim had been drinking a lot, and felt like he needed to go and lay down, so we left early. We still needed to catch a shuttle and make it to the truck. :P

We made it back to the truck with no incident, and, as luck would have it, got random inspected coming through the gate. Luckily, it was a super fast check. They dropped me off at home, and the kids were happy to see me.

Joe and I snuggled in my room and watched a movie, then we all did some chores and got the house cleaned up. Then we all watched a few movies together. It was a pleasant evening.

I did get sad a time or two, thinking about how Captain America wasn't here with me. I spent about 5 minutes sitting on the bathroom floor crying. Then Tom and Jake came in and found me, and brought me out to start another movie. And each sat on one side of me, and snuggled through the whole movie. Yeah, that helped. Thanks, boys!

I texted with my friends for a little while, and played Family Feud on my phone for a bit. I'd already seen the movie. At 10:30pm, the kids were starting to get tired and restless. They couldn't agree on one more movie, so I just sent them to bed. No one complained.

I started blogging, and watched some TV. It just turned midnight (thanks, Amanda, for texting to tell me Happy New year or I would have missed it completely - ha!). I'm finished with the blog, and I'm gonna go to sleep. '

Happy New Year, you guys! Hopefully I won't have to be "single" for long in it! I can't take about another month, but that's all I got in me! No more - 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!

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Sharon, my dear, if you made a layout, I couldn't find it. I so didn't wanna blog last night. Here's my sorry attempt at scrapbooking - hehe :) My kids are cute, at least, right? hehe :)

And yeah, this is gonna be a series!!! Ordinal numbers, that's what it's called, right? For calendars and dates and other things :) What do ya think???