Wow is it WET!

In case you are wondering....yes it is raining. And the water creeps closer. Seriously! I need a boat!

Weight Loss

I wish I could say exciting things about the subject. Right now in my family, it seems to be the number 1 topic. My mom has to do it, my sis wants to do it, my hubby is being my support while we both do it. And I must say it rather SUCKS!!!!! Watching every morsel of food you eat, going to the store to decide what food you can eat. The good news is that I have almost come down 10 pounds. The bad news is I AM HUNGRY!!!! We are strictly counting calories right now and trying to pick good food choices, like lots of veggies. I like veggies, I really do! But I miss chocolate, ALOT! And bagels and donuts! Of course now we know why I have to be on a diet for a while. I need to reestablish a baseline and remind myself of moderation. But I have to be strict now. But since Chris is torturing himself too, it is less hard. If we could just get exercise squeezed in!

Anyway, I am trying to be better about adding blurbs in 2010. And maybe a couple of pictures or something entertaining. We'll see.

I also read two books that made me feel awesome by Emily Watts. She was someone I had heard speak many years ago at timeout for women. I'll have to tell you about them sometime.

And a flashback

Happy New Year!!!!

I am feeling like it is a Muppet day. Enjoy!

And the number one 2009 moment.....................

Was there any doubt that a 10 day trip to California had to be the top moment for the family? We had very few glitches on the trip which basically means a perfect trip! We hit many theme parks, namely Disneyland/California Adventure (4 days) Legoland (1 day) and Knotts Berry Farm (1 day). The kids were really good! The crowds were still too much for our tastes but after 13 years of planning to go back, we did. And Chris's mom did get to come and that was a lot of fun too.

Amanda and Jocelyn were the biggest thrill seekers. They liked the roller coasters. Rebecca was loving all the rides until Tower of Terror terrorized her. Drake got brave once, for the Ghost Rider and that ride scared the pants off him and gave me a run for my money too. After that he was all for the tamer rides. Corwin flat out liked the Rocker Ships. If you said the word ride, he'd exclaim "Rocket Chips!!!!"

Anyway, Happy New Year!!!!

I think that we actually enjoyed Legoland more than Disneyland, although every day had fun moments.

The Best of 2009

Jocelyn graduated from Kindergarten! That is quite a milestone in her life.
Rebecca was in a play. SHe was one of the leads and she was AWESOME!!!!
Amanda played church Volleyball and she was very good!
Soccer on Saturdays, but only until Spring was finished.

Guitar Hero Junkies live at our house. It is a rather fun and addictive past time.
Pinewood Derby. This was Drake's first yeat and he placed 4th. Not bad!

Swinging at the Park. Jocelyn taught Corwin to swing, sort of.
Birthday girl blowing out 6 candles.
Spelling Bee Champion for Harmon Elementary.
Swimming fun!
Corwin's first Hockey Game. Too bad the Coyotes lost in a very boring game.
Chicago with no kids!!!! Great for the parents.

Merry Christmas

Except for getting sick and spreading it to all the other family members, Christmas was pretty good this year. Santa brought a few sensible gifts, like new bath towels. This caused a few near tears to a certain little sweetie (Jocelyn) Corwin got up at 5:30 am and was not keen on going back to sleep. So I decided to get everyone up just after 6 because I was worried that he might go back to sleep, and then we'd have to wait until noon or something for Christmas.

So quick run down:

My entire family now has an Alabama Shirt. Very important. I can't believe it too a title to remind me that they were deprived. And I thought it was an appropriate gift for their Papa to give. My parents also bought our family tickets to a hockey game tomorrow. The kids are so excited!!!!

Corwin refused to open anything and spent most of the time putting Christmas candy into his new toy castle which wasn't wrapped. When we helped him unwrap, he would cry and try to close the gift back up!

Jocelyn had a very boy Christmas. Remote control cars and video games. But that was good to her, No princesses at this house. She did get an MP3 player too.

Drake was surprisingly mellow considering that his first 4 gifts were clothes, towels, underwear and socks. He did get some video games and a remote control car and an MP3 player.

Rebecca got the first taste of creative wrapping by Santa. Lots and lots of duct taped gifts. She got some DS games and clothes. She finally got a Larry Fitzgerald jersey.

Amanda was surprised that Christmas had any good gifts. She knew we are spending big bucks on her Senior Trip to Europe. Her most favorite surprise beside a Coyote Jersey was her class ring. She had left it out where little kids could get it and I rescued it. She didn't ask me about it so I wrapped it up as a gift. She was pleased and annoyed.

I got a new comforter for my bed and new shoes. Plus some Baby Blues Collections. ANd what Christmas would be complete without Mayhem and gore so I got Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz!!! And a Wii game called Boom Blox -- not that I will get to touch the Wii to play it! Of course the 3 hour nap today was awesome too. Darn head cold came on fast and furious and is thankfully exiting in a hurry.

Now Chris had some items on his Amazon list. The biggest being the Lego Millennium Falcon. This is a very non sensible gift and he didn't think he was getting it. However I noticed the box that it came in had the words Millennium Falcon Shipper on the bottom of the box. And I was worried that he had seen it, so of course I had to devise a plan so he would be surprised.

So this story is long, you might need a snack. I'll wait...........................

Okay so last week I noticed that the box was advertising his gift so I decided I should have a dummy box and then the real thing. Not sneaky but kind of fun. So I filled the box with random legos and heavy bags of macaroni and put a book in there for him. I was all pleased and I took the new brown box to my office and hid it. It had the word lego on it, but no mention to the type. So I am thinking I'm AWESOME!

So last Friday, I am running kids up to their mom. I am trying to get out the door and gather bags and phones and my purse, etc. And I kept having to run in and out. I had left the keys dangling out of the car door, I was sure of it but could not find them. Now I had noticed some teenage boys loitering in the street but didn't think too much of it. Searched for keys when I got home for hours. And my mind kept thining, those punk (not as in punk but as in buttheads) kids stole my keys. So Amanda being possessive of her truck decided to hide her truck away from the house in case. SO 10:30 at night we get this loud pounding on the door. It is the Sheriff's department thinking someone had stolen and abandoned the truck. Mentioned my dilemma to the Sheriff and he said that punk kids are stealing cars and wrecking them or trashing in general. SIGH!!!!! He gave us ideas like kill switches and rekeying the car. We decided to go get the club for the 2 cars that live in the driveway in the hopes of deterring them. So far so good but I get up in the night and check. And we had to rekey the house too. That was surprisingly easy. Got a kit from Hone Depot and replaced the pins. Cars though, we are down to one working key per vehicle. Not cool. ANYWAY!!!!!!! The searching for keys brought Chris into my office and I was sure that he saw the big box that said Lego on it. CRAP!!!!!!

So...........................I decided to make yet another dummy gift and hide the actual gift under a HUGE pile of blankets in the cornor of the room. He opened the 2 dummy gifts and his other gifts and I am sure he was thinking that he was supposed to have Legos. He had a look on his face that was definitely confused. So I give him a teeny tiny present with a note in it, and pull out the lego set for him to open. The kids are just laughing because they knew what was up.

Later when we talking, `he said he hadn't noticed the boxes ever and he was genuinely surprised when the big boxes didn't contain any legos. He never associated the boxes with anything specific. He was so clueless because I use the box stamped Millennium Falcon Shipper an the bottom. He didn't NOTICE!!!! I pointed it out to hime later. I could have put a spotlight on the box and it would not have occured to him that there might be writing on the box!!! So I guess I was creative for my own amusement. OH WELL!!!!!

See I told you that you needed a snack. Maybe pictures of our day later, but for now....Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Christmas Countdown

I am busily trying to get ready for Christmas. I have wrapping to do but my last gifts came in yesterday. Yeah!All the way from the Bama Store, ROLL TIDE!

And yes I have been running around wearing lots of Bama Gear lately. My winter coat is my Bama sweatshirt (We don't get that cold so it works.). And it is funny how many people have commented on it. Like in Disneyland in October where an Iowa fan said that the title game would be Iowa vs Alabama. He was half right. And then just last week I went to order Pizza and the guy behind the counter is a Long Horns fan. He said I couldn't be served! And he said he'd spit in my Pizza. And we have an old daycare parent who was rooting for Bama to go because she wants to see her Longhorns beat up on the tide. Apparently, it isn't fun to root for your team unless there is someone to gloat over afterwards. Whatever!!!!!!

Anyway, in case I don't get around to another post this year:

Merry Christmas!!!! May there be Peace in your home and love in your hearts. And may you be blesses in the New Year.

No news is good news

It is so hard to stop and post when there is really nothing going on. Thus I usually facebook that random boring thoughts. For some reason on the blog, I feel like I need to be posting with pictures and elegant thoughts. Seriously, that is so not me. I should get over that.

Random thoughts I am having right now:

Eek! Christmas is close!
Eek! Tax time is coming!
Why didn't I sleep in?
If I get the books done today, will they get here in time to send for Christmas?
If I win the lottery, will I quit my job?
Marshmellow mateys are yummy.

That's it! Maybe I won't be gone so long this time.

Men and Women

Men Are Just Happier People:
NICKNAMES

1. If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
2. If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT

1. When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50.

None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

2. When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY

1. A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
2. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS

1. A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .
2. The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS

1. A woman has the last word in any argument.
2. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE

1. A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
2. A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS

1. A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
2. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE

1. A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
2. A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP

1. A woman will dress up to go shopping, go to the gym, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
2. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL

1. Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
2. Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING

1. Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods,

secret fears and hopes and dreams.

2. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house..

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

SO, send this to the women who have a sense of humor and who can handle it ... and to the men who will enjoy reading it.

Summary of Life

Summary of Life

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats..
2) When your Mum is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food..
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.


GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground...
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.


GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional..
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.


SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . . . Not piddling in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . Having friends.
At age 17 success is . . . Having a driver's license.
At age 35 success is . . . .having money
At age 50 success is . . . Having money..
At age 70 success is . . . Having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . .. . Having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . Not piddling in your pants.

Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way;
BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.

Have a wonderful day with many ! *smiles*

Take the time to live!!!
Life is too short.
Dance naked. Woo-hoo!

Frazzled Inspiration!!!

If you need more inspiration or details on Close to My Heart, here.

I am just days away from posting an order. And I am so excited to share the Stamping Month Deal. So if you need some stamps or ideas, frazzledinspiration.blogspot.com

And my blogs are in desperate need of some revamping. Many friends and family and various talented people have accidentally been excluded and I am working to fix that. If you want to be included or excluded, let me know. I don't get tons of traffic, but I love being able to link up with my friends and family easily.

SHREDDING

I have killed my poor shredder. I have been desperately trying to create order in my house. And I had boxes of financial stuff from the past 8 years stashed in various spots through my house. I have been trying to consolidate and purge. I have 6 black garbage bags of shredded documents (I put poopy diapers in the bags too to discourage children from playing with the confetti). I have at least 3 more document boxes full, but my shredder has decided no more! Maybe after a rest.

Why, oh why????

I'm not sure what the laptop did to deserve such abuse. But Corwin find offense in keys being attached to the keyboard. Daily we have reattached buttons. Alas they have started to disappear. So if you notice extra typos, have mercy because my laptop is no longer convenient. SIGH!!!!!

Amanda is a licensed Driver

So Amanda has gotten her license and we repaired a truck for her to drive. She in turn is on our insurance policy so our rates doubled plus $20. Yeah teenagers! And Corwin still tells me he needs a binky for his mouth but he is surviving and so are the rest of us.

bINKY bLUES

So we are on day 2 minus the Binky. I know where 3 are right this minute, but have not wimped out yet. Even though it took Corwin 5 full hours to go to sleep last night. And he is tantruming in a very impressive way. And if I sit still for more than 3 minutes, I will go to sleep. Still if I break him off it, I can quick searching for them all the time. At least he is doing better than Amanda did.

Better Blogging, I hope

I keep thinking I need to get back to blogging. So hard when my office is under lock and key 12 hours a day to keep the daycare kids out. So my dear hubby has refurbished an old work laptop for me. So that means I can be out with the kids, making sure they aren't killing each other and also talk to the cyber world.

Quick run down.

Amanda has passed her driving test with her driver's ed instructor. She will be getting her license any day now. Just have to find time to go to the DMV! Scary!!!

Rebecca loves middle school. She is so old!!! Changing classes, prioritizing homework, etc. She has a new love of jogging. Thinks it is fun. She is contemplating cross country and saying goodbye to soccer.

Drake had a nasty virus the second week of school which caused him to miss 3 days. He was covered in a rash from head to toe and he had his mouth so swollen he couldn't eat for 3 days. He is a carrier of HSV-1 which decided to make it's presence known with a vengeance. The rash was an allergic reaction to the virus activating in his body. That was a fun weekend, let me tell you. To get a diagnosis, there were 2 trips to the doctor and a blood draw. To have had a camera!!!

Jocelyn is exceptional in 1st grade. Doing all kinds of work, starting to read. She just loves to learn, loves homework. Really into basketball right now. How Chris and I could have an athletically inclined child is beyond us, but it may have happened by accident.

Corwin loves that we are home more. Has a very loud temper when he is ticked. Glass shattering screams are fun!

Anyway, fingers croseed for better blogging!

Toothless Joce

Pics speak for themselves! I "heart" my hillbilly. :)

Happy Birthday Amanda -- late!!!!

So I am posting a day late. Blogger was not letting me load images. And then I was so busy trying to get 16 scrapbook pages of Amanda into her album I forgot to come back and post for her HUGE day here. I can't believe that she is 16 already. I can't believe how old that makes me! Now to get her bday pages posted!

Mini Vacation

I am sitting in Havasu enjoying unlimited access to a pool and playmates for all the kids. We are having a nice, relaxing 4th of July weekend with our dear friends. Sleeping on an air mattress with kiddos not so much fun but better than the full bed, only because we know that the kids will join us.

We used to come to Lake Havasu City every year but it has been about 4 years since we have been here. And although the drive can be hard on us, we always feel at home when we get there.

Hope everyone has a fabulous fourth. And God bless to our military members whether abroad, at home, or retired. We are so blessed because you have chosen to serve for us.