~Life According to Heather~

Po' Man's Tin Tile

2011-12-28T18:04:00.001-08:00

Po' Man is certainly ME!

I really like the look of tin tile and wanted to try it out in my tremendously tiny kitchen... until I went to Lowe's and saw they wanted more than $20 for one square tile! So.... I found a bit of a way around it.

I knew there had to be a way to replicate tin tile with out the dramatic price. So, I went to the wallpaper section and found a really nice selection of textured wallpaper, already pre-glued and the whole role was the price of just one tile! Then, I strolled over to Home Depot, where I know they sell Martha Stewart metallic paints...

Now, my kitchen's fully messy b/c I'm painting and whatnot, so I'll only show you a bit, but isn't this nice? Oh well, it'll do for now.... 'till we tear out the wall when we remodel. ;-P This will pacify me in the meantime!

We MADE THIS!

2011-12-14T07:01:00.000-08:00

Ok... so, while I'm at it. I was going to wait until this was ENTIRELY done, but, well.... it may never happen. I needed a desk to fit the space of my nook... storage and whatnot. So, I drew up some plans, bought everything, hubby did some cutting and screwing, and this is what we ended up with! I love it! And the rubbed wood showing thru is INTENTIONAL! I'm still planning on building drawers for the larger cubbies and a small table that slides out for the keyboard, but other than that... It's here. I'll update this post when it's truly complete.

Another Dresser Redo

2011-12-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

This dresser, to me, is like one of those~ you love it or you hate it! (I personally LOVE it!!! <- and that's what matters! ;-P ) I had alotta fun doing this one, though. I left it the old white chippy paint that was on it, painted the top and stripes, did the Japanese Cherry Blossom design (which is one of my faves~you may see more of...), and replaced the knobs. Viola! It'll do for now... Hehehe...

Dresser Redo

2011-12-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

So, I thought I'd try my hand at refurbishing some furniture. Several blogs have inspired me lately and I can't get enough! Here's what I just finished today!

This is how the dresser looked before... Sorry I took a pic after I removed some of the drawers, but you get the idea.

Well, after sanding, primer, plugging, holes, paint, sanding again, a bit of glaze, new holes drilled, and a coat of poly.... THIS is how it ended up! I think I like it pretty darn well!

I even put a liner in it... I just love this fabric pattern!

Things That Make Me Smile... When I Think No One Is Looking!

2010-07-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

Little Stinkers!

Great Grandpa Pritchard stealing the thunder of this unexpecting lady.

Mamaw

She's so beautiful..... My mother wasn't even thought of yet, but for some reason this photo makes me want to say, "I miss those days..."

My Great Grandfather, Hugh Pritchard.

I never got to meet him, but EVERYONE's stories of how loving, compassionate and funny he was makes me miss him and look forward to seeing him one day... right next to my Papaw, Hugh's son.

My Papaw, Elwin Archer Pritchard.

I'm not sure what to say... There's just so much! I sooooo miss him and often, when I'm visiting Mamaw, I forget that he's not there. I expect him to come walking down the hallway... I have guilt when I bring a drink into the living room or eat his favorite ice cream out of his bowl... well, not completely guilty! He was so smart and loved to tell riddles and solve old fashion puzzles. He was a huge stinker! He used to wave at us everytime we left his house through his huge picture window. Well, one day my Aunt was leaving and as he went to wave goodbye, flipped her off instead! LOL! I always wondered if that was what he really did to us...

Old Pictures.

My Mamaw and her sister and mother... and I believe the original "Radio Flyer"!

Paw Prints.

While I was working in the garden my kitty came out of nowhere and marched right up my backside to rest on my shoulder. What a weird cat! Unbenounced to me, she left her mark. Which my husband so kindly brought to my attention later.

Juneau.

Juneau was a mitten pawed cat that arrived one day and decided to NEVER EVER LEAVE! She was such an amazing doll that we decided to keep her.

Naughty Sophia.

My sneeky, back climber. Super funny to watch. Never thought I'd be saying that... I feel like the cat lady! Truth be told, if I knew all of my kitties would be like her, I may consider the position.

Rosco and Cletis... sigh...

Though my thoughts of throwing them out of the window has lessoned as each day passes, I really couldn't imagine my house without them.

My men.

Pic says it all... These are the best guys on the planet! Son's taking right after his papa, who (after 14 years of marriage) still opens my car door.

Not embarrassed. Mind wandering.

The best girl I've ever met! It's like I don't even want to tell you everything amazing about her bc I wanna keep her all to myself. Cliche it may sound, loving, giving of herself to the point of slaving for others, uses her brother as her puppet and best friend, funny.... she just gets it!

Make up!!!

You do mine and I'll do yours!!!! LOL!

Aaaand... Another Cake!

2010-06-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ya know? I thought, "Wow. It's been so long since I've blogged maybe I'll post my latest cake masterpiece." It's kinda disheartening, tho, realizing that the last blog I posted was so long ago... and it was a CAKE! Maybe that's telling me something.

Well, anyways, I was beseached by an aquaintance to help her make her daughter's grad party cake. Long story short, she told me she wanted (non-school) colors of pink and yellow and that the idea was all abt welcoming the summer. So, this is what I came up with:

This was my pitiful sketch of the idea I was going for... I thought, hhmmm... I could have a beach bag laying on its side and its contents spilling out. Course, then I got to thinking more (eeeehhh) and thought how cool it would be to make the sand and water and props and a beach ball (in case the bag wasn't enough~ yeah right. Only 1/2 of the beach bag cake ended up being eaten in all!).

This is what I ended up with:

And I love it!

The beach ball was layered cake that I had carved into a dome. I didn't have a pan for this, tho, I've heard you can buy them. The 'water' was made from a recipe I found for glass sugar kids use to bash over their buddy's heads. Sounds good! It's from sugar, water, corn syrup, and cream of tartar.

Then, I wanted a beach towel coming out of the bag, too. My kids were like, "What is THAT?" Oh well... Those at the party seemed to know!

I made all of the fondant to cover the cakes and make the props myself! It's similar to a great, edible playdough. I made the flip flops and added purple twislers for the straps. The ipod, spf lotion and daisies are all edible, too. Everything was! The sand was brown sugar.

A girl's gotta have her lip stick at the beach!

Her sunglasses were supposed to be hanging over the side of her bag, but I thought this made it look like it was part of the bag... Oh, well. I'm not very good with the technical stuff yet.

However, I did add "seamwork" to the bag to make it look sewn.

And that's that.... Tho...

I had a very highly dissappointed boy on my hands for about 5 days! Poor guy! Don't worry, tho, everyone got the leftovers!

CAKE!!

2010-05-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

So, I was commissioned by a very dear friend to make a cake for her sister's baby shower. Though, I've only made... 4 other cakes, I completely welcomed the challenge. I'm really liking this cake business and I learn sooooo much every time I make one! It's usually involving my demise, but I still like it... And, honestly, even if it was a clump of cake covered with icing, what woman is going to complain? So, I felt less pressure, but still hoping the it turned out nice and 'creative'...

I made all 9 cakes the day before. Got up at 6:00 am and made a ton of icing! Yumm-O!

Sometimes this happens! :-/ But! Icing covers a multitude of sins!

The Baby's room was going to be pink and brown themed, so my idea was to make a neopolitan cake. 3 layers and each layer had vanilla, strawberry and chocolate cake. It was really pretty when cut and completely matched the icing colors. It was a good idea, I think..

Mmmm.... This was all I needed! And if you think I didn't stick my finger in this and lick it right off, you'd be crazy! My mamaw has always said that no recipe is complete until it has a little bit of spit! LOL! NO! I did NOT spit in it. It's just that the laws of double dipping don't apply to the woman cooks in my family!

It's a bit difficult to transfer the layers on top of one another, so this happens.... Oh well, more icing!

I used buttercream icing. Is there any other kind? ;-) I would like to try to work with a few kinds of jams or fruity icings.

See? All better! I set the cakes aside in order to allow icing to dry. Then, I can work on smoothing it a little more.

2 down, 1 to go!

I found these miss matched designs of ribbons that fit nicely and stiched them together... Took 4 ever. I may rethink this, too, in other future cakes. It was a bit expensive.... So, we'll see.

I masked the edges of the ribbon with a bead of chocolate. This is the bottom layer.

This is the top layer. I tried the Japanese blossom look.

I had this cake powder that was beautiful, but it would not look right on the cake, so I furred the top. It turned out MUCH nicer this way, anyways. So, I'm glad it happened.

Here's the middle layer. Wrapped a piece of ribbon around it and chocolate pearl accents.

Here's all 3 layers.

Here it is at the party! PHEW! It made it! Part of the theme of her party for her sister was, girly, girly, girly! Diamonds and Dior! Fabrics of pink and flowers! Major femininity ruled the air!

It all went really well and Melissa made sure the party was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.!!!!!!! I was happy to be a part of it!

So long winter...

2010-04-26T19:20:00.001-07:00

(Deep Breathe) I love spring! It's as though all of my friends are coming home for a visit or returning from a seasonal journey and staying at my house! I'm speaking of my precious friends growing in my very, very tiny piece of earth. They may not impress anyone other than myself, and I am completely okay with that! If I only had 1 pitiful little daffodil, I would probably feel contenment.

As corny as this may sound, I felt this tree kind of resembles the survivals that we undergo, yet can't let go of the things that have passed or been spent. Through the winter, this tree has survived, yet never did it let go of the leaves that needed to be returned to the ground...

A pinched version of a beach, Springfield, Ohio has a wonderful reservoire that, though it may contain a bit of urine and beer bottles, displays a beautiful bit of scenery for all of us to appreciate if we allow it. The snow gives us the feeling of white sandy beeches...

The snow and ice began to melt in the warm, 60 degree weather. I thought it made beautiful patterns in the slush covered body of water.

Gotta love my kitty, Sophia.

As the winter was leaving and the snow began to subside, often I'd awake to see a mist of humidity scaling around our neighborhood. I truly love waking up to sights like this.

This "in flight" bumble bee loves my redbud!

My redbud makes me feel like a great gardener! It always grows so fast and shows up right away!

When these (there were 3!) birds flew overhead while we were at a park a few days ago, I thought a kite was flying overhead! It's wingspan was so large that it shadowed the sun atop our heads. Neat!

Pick Your Battles... The Food Knowledge... or lack thereof!

2010-04-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

I am an overweight, health conscience individual. In fact, sometimes I wonder if I'm overweight b/c of all of the information that has filled my brain over the last 10 years... Don't eat fat. Eat fat, but good fat. Watch calories. Calories from grown food are different than calories from processed food~ eat as many agricultural calories as you'd like. Butter. No, wait, marjorine. Nope, butter. Olive oil's best. Nope, sunflower or safflower oil is~ unless you have a nut allergy. Eat plenty of veggies, but don't go to the store everyday b/c that will cost you an arm and a leg! Buy frozen veggies. No, don't! They go thru a heating and cooling process that kills all of their vitamins. But, it doen't matter anyways, b/c ur gonna kill 'em once they hit the stove top burner. Never eat store bought orange juice for the same reason: pasterization. Don't eat wheat! Eat whole wheat. But, wheat turns into sugar. Eat Right For Your Blood Type. That diet makes no sense. No chips. Baked chips are better. But, yet the food nutrition stats on the back say otherwise. Tea! That's great for u... unless you decide to purchase non-organic. Tea's still shipped from all over the world, some parts of which they still are legally allowed to use DDTs. Sugar. No, Splenda. No, honey. No! Only Stevia!!! (Which is what I choose, mostly... then, honey... Sugar is a last resort, except for in cooking. The other things just don't bake right!) Eggs. Free range. Organic. Not just "organic", they need to be free range, too. Cage free just means that they let them out once a day for a minute or two or that they keep the chickes in a tightly enclosed pen, which they still can't move around. Support local farmers. Grow your own food! High fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated... everything! Oh, and by the way, your children are going to HATE all of the food you're switching to!

Then, IF you're able to achieve a sensible list of items to keep in your home, you have the guilt that comes along with buying packages of things that you don't know what's in them. And even worse, the guilt that comes along with not knowing how an animal is treated before they've slaughtered it for your table! I'm a firm believer that there are certain animals God has allowed to be utilized for food. I, however, am even more certain that God DOES NOT approve of the terrible conditions these animals are forced to endure their entire lives! Calves being ripped away from their mothers and fed a mixture of pigs blood and corn meal just so that the farmers can actively partake in the mass production of dairy milk! Lame, sickly and weak... Mad cow, swine flu, ecoli... there are reasons for these diseases coming in contact with us that has nothing to do with "the circle of life"! Being bled by having their throat slit while still alive isn't a good idea. Then, we decide to eat these mistreated animals. Tell yourself what you want abt the fact that they're bred to be slaughtered, no matter the method, and that it doesn't affect you... that you cook out all of the impurities. (Scoff!!) Whatever! If you ever wonder why you feel tired or depressed or unusually emotional.... take a look at the animals that you've eaten and the factual hormones that shoot through there bodies their life and assume that you won't feel the way your "now food" once did...

What's wrong with free range animals, happily fulfilling their lot in life, and when the time is right, instintanious annihilation? A quick jolt of electricity or a shot to the head. Though it still saddens me, animals in the wild annihilate one another in the most grotesque ways, BUT they are "complete" and "whole" mammals, reptiles, amphibians, etc. until that time comes. THAT to me is the "circle of life". Right?

SIGH..... Anyways, now having vomitted that all out onto my plate (and yours), there are so many battles to pick. How can you decide what to eat? If you're like me, you have a grandmother that came from a very large family that had to have a farm to sustain them and butchered their own animals and had their own smoke house to cure the meat in and grew all of their own crops that were canned by the hundreds in quart jars on a daily basis. AND, they were much more healthier than we are.

Oh, and don't forget the fish! Farm raised or wild-caught. Well, DEFINITELY wild, that is unless another kunker oil boat decides to regurgitate all of it's black gold throughout our ENTIRE seasides!

Then, you have the "organic" or "non-organic" war. I've read a million books (well, a little over exaggerated, but you know what I mean) that have been written by ppl that swear you should ONLY, EVER EAT ORGANIC. Of course, they have their wealth from books and talk shows. Easy for them, right? Is it really organic if it comes from 1500 miles away or over seas? It's still picked too soon and rushed. Now, don't get me wrong... if the price is right, I will def choose the organic over the NOT any day, no matter if it's mushier or smaller... Most of the time, I'm pleased, to be honest. But, there was a study done with 100 lactaiding woman. In 85% of those women the scientists found jet fuel emmissions in their breast milk. So, even the healthiest of healthy is contaminated. Pollution is everywhere!

And am I the only one that's completely addicted to these cooking shows that show cuisines from all over the world that utilize their own fresh produce within a 15 mile radius?

All in all, I guess I just have to start by simply making 1 change at a time. First, of all, my family has cut WAY back on the fast food. Soon to completely eliminate. Which has been saving us a fortune! Well... maybe not, but pretty darn close! More home made meals at home, which you'd think would enable me to lose weight, but I'm such a d@r* good cook!

Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself n2 some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness!

2010-01-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

Those are the words of Dale Carnegie, a businessman turn author/lecturer. Not, however kin to Andrew Carnegie of Carnegie Hall. He did tho, change the spelling of his name to match Andrew's seeings Andrew's success was growing.

Concerning happiness, I do so wish to write. I enjoy playing around on this blog, but I wonder if I could be a writer. Would I ever have a famous, cliche kind of quote others would recite for me long after I'm dead? Not recalling where it originated but its meaning was so powerful, it dare not be forgot. Doubtful, since I'll never seem to gather original, provoking ideas.

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. ~William Shakespear

To come close to writings as Shakespear or Jane Astin or Louisa Alcott seems something only a well-learned man could accomplish! To recite old English the way they did, simply b/c it was their way and the only one they knew, but none-the-less, beautiful. Sometimes, tho, it didn't sound as nice as it read. I think I prefer to read it, unless it's uttered by someone such as Brian Cox.

But, then, about what would I write? Myself? Yawn. I have been known to be one of those people that have stated, "My life's so crazy, I could write a book!" (Say it in a Southern Draw and pretend you have a beer belly!) I may have some things to share that I haven't already, like how I pee in the shower... pretty much every single time I take a shower. I can't help it. I always pee before I get in, but then here comes the warm water. Or how I abhor crying b/c I feel it makes me weak. I could do mommy/daddy issues! UGH! Who cares about that?! I don't even want to talk about that junk! So over it! I could write about my family. Or should I say, MORE about my family. I do have plenty of stories for that! But, once I HAVE to do it I may not enjoy it anymore... I could include, tho, what it's like being a Christian woman, mother, wife and how I've fought to endure through all of our struggles and tribulations.... yada yada. It's been done so many times. Everyone strives to live by some guideline and struggles to maintain it. It's called LIFE! I am a frugal person/lover! I have ideas for that, but most of them come from books I've read! I could write fiction, non-fiction, biography, autobiography... But who cares?! I'm a no namer... Hhhhmmm... Well, I suppose for now, I'll write sheer, utter nonsense to myself on my blog... It'll be a journal of sorts... Maybe something could stem from it.... I might get to author a movie like Julia and Julia! OOOoohhh... Maybe I should test things out and document every single detail and post it for the whole world to see (In my mind I'm standing on a cliff shouting this out with my arms outstretched and head tilted back like in the Irish Spring commercials! LOL)! Ahem... excuse me. I can get carried away. I suppose that's already been done, too. Hmph! INSPIRE ME!

Life Is Like a Box of Chocolates!

2009-09-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

Oh, that Forrest! How wise...

Ya know, life can be very much like that box of chocolates, not knowing what you're going to get, but yet, still how delicious that box is!

With all of the chaos going around the way - and not just us! I'm completely amazed by all of the ones that you would never have thunk come up to us and telling us their tragic/chaotic stories. People who were believed to really and completely have it ALL together - I've decided to take control of what I can... MY LIFE! And everything that's surrounding it. Can I control my finances or how someone else treats us (like luring our first pet into a cage and dumping her somewhere and acting like it was our fault!) or the endless phone calls from collectors of telemarketers that became old about 13 years ago when I first got my own telephone! Nope. I can't control them. But, I can control MYself, and how I look at things. We constantly allow so many toxins into our bodies from stress and why on earth give them that power over us?!

This is what I've started... It's small and many folks already do it, but here goes... For every bad (OMG! My life is ending!) situation that we're faced with, I find 3 positive things that have come out of it. Between that and my "Positivity Journal" that I keep, my attitude has really changed and I FEEL COMPLETE. I've even noticed a change in my children and husband. It's something that I've always known, how mom feels is how the rest of the family feels... but, this isn't only a change in my life, it changes how my children look at things and hopefully will represent the way that they choose to rear their children.

For the past... oh 8 or 9 days, every time something bad happens, be it bad news in the mail, kids fussing, bad neighbors doing illegal things and getting away with it, or just a gloomy, muggy day - like today- I jot down 3 things that are good that have came out of it. It may even be that I take out an old receipt from my purse and scribble down a thought or two.

For instance, when the cat situation happened (Long story short - Evil neighbor, lured innocent house cat (illegal), dumped far away (also illegal) and is not ashamed by her actions) it seemed as though no one would listen. It's not like we're the "cat people", we have 2. They're indoor. They snuck out one night. Loved it. She didn't.

One night, after the cat napping!, I was sitting there thinking... Is that okay? Can someone just take something that's yours (or in this case ReAnna's) and dump it somewhere and it's okay? If that's the case I could take all of the neighbors' barking K9's and ship them to the Reservoir.. So, I decided to call around and see what I could find out. Well, the police know nothing. We printed up the codes for them! They tell us to contact Humane Society. HS says call Sheriff. Sheriff is township, not city. They say call cops. That ticked off my mother, who happens to be more passionate about this cause than I am and she's contacted code enforcement (who never got back with us). Then, that guys secretary got tired of him not calling us back and gave mom the name and number of the City Manager! So, now they, too are on the case. Apparently, if it gets resolved a lot of folks may or may not get into some trouble for not doing their jobs. All I wanted was someone to at least give her a warning and say she can't lure pets with food and trap them. Sheesh!

Well, after being emotional about this for too long, I decided to be positive... First of all, we rescued the kitten that had been coming around for fear that she, too, may be dumped (and of course, I became hero to the children who have been driving me insane with wanting her since she showed up). And she is just a doll! The sweetest personality of any cat. When we let her in for the first time, she went right into the litter box, so we think that she was probably dumped in our woods, like so many of the strays over here. Secondly, it's made us appreciate the pets that we do have. We don't think of them as a burden (not that we didn't enjoy them, you've heard the stories) but a privilege to care for them and give them a loving home. #3 positive feeling was now our neighbor avoids us like the plague! It may not seem too positive to you, but we've dealt with her bad attitude and dislike for our children for the last 7 years. It's so nice to go outside and completely be ignored! It avoids that awkward tension experienced when you had to find something polite to say quickly without it seeming made up.

Also, as far as my husband being laid off and injured... though I thought for a long time of all of the negative things, I failed to see the positive. How we've received help from assistance programs, the time spent together - virtually stress free, having a helper around the house, getting projects done that have been ignored for years!, and who doesn't like the smell of coffee brewing and bacon in the skillet. My husband happens to be the absolute best bacon maker ever! He gets them so perfect. Chewy throughout. Mine are burnt in some spots and raw in others. UGH! We've been able to do our bible studies much more thoroughly and draw closer to Jehovah as a family. In fact the hard thing that I dealt with in trying to think of three positive things was that I couldn't limit it to just 3 things. There were so many wonderful things that have come out of this situation.

These are just a couple of my situations that I've changed my thought process on, but I have a notebook that's filling very fast, and you get the idea. I've even found that things that normally would irk me, don't. Like, if I don't feel it's important enough to take out my pen, I just let it fly!

I have so many books, bill books, budgeting and finance, self-help... Wouldn't it be great if others told me their stories and I put them together with mine? ....I'd like to have a book like that.

Things I Love!

2009-09-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love the smell of rain in the spring and fall. In the spring it's great b/c it's a relief from the snow that seems neverending. In the fall it's a sweet smell that arises from the decaying leaves and plant debris that have shed to the earth's floor. A summer rain can seem pleasantly welcome, too, if there shortly follows relief from a humid eve.

I love the sound of a baby's voice. Be it a cry or uncontrollable laughter, it doesn't matter. That innocent, pure sound never gets old. Sometimes, I just sit in my bedroom and fight back the tears b/c I know that the laughter, arguing, excitement, playful banter and quiet storytelling that I overhear coming from the next room... isn't going to last forever. One day... It'll be gone. As much as I want to complain about noise (sigh), it's stability and I know it won't last forever. Just let it happen. Whence it's gone, I'll be lost wondering where I may find it again.

I love the sound of lots of feet in my home.

I love the smell of spices coming from my kitchen. It means that I've got a wonderful reward of sweets in the oven. Though, I still reserve a spot in my heart for the smell of fried onions and stewed veggies.

The kitchen is full of herbs drying for winter use.

The wood floors have been recently oiled.

The woodburner is close to being lit.

The windows are open, allowing a bit of a fall breeze inside to air out the stink of summer.

The bathroom smells of baby powder that was used after the last bath.

The babies' room smells of crayons, clean laundry and that perfume (of a vanilla scent) that ReAnna keeps spraying everytime she's in there for any period of time.

I just love it.

The smell of fresh cut grass, most people love. But I, too, love the look of it. Like when you vaccum your carpet. It just makes everything else look so much better.

I love sitting in the shade of our patio umbrella or of the maple tree that sets over the hammock.

I love the Japanese anemonie that are currently in full bloom, next to a vining rose that is of the same color, yet has just begun this year.

There are many great spectacles of beauty on this earth, but yet the view of the forest from my front door will do just fine.

Soon the apples will be ready for pickin'. I like to gather the ones that are on the southeast side of the tree b/c they have been warmed fairly well by the sun. The taste is more fully enhanced. Who doesn't find the sound of the 'pop' when you've cracked a bite of the apple comforting?

How blessed, truly, I am to have the one that I share my life with truly earn my deep respect. Though persecution stumbles us all, it's nice to have a stronger hand to lift you. No need to force myself to submit to his headship b/c he makes it so easy to love and support his decisions. All he does is a sure testament of his love for his family.

I often lose touch with these insignificant treasures. Finding the time to recollect the deeper things of home and life and love can prove to be one of my tougher battles. But, when I do... the feelings of love, comfort, endurance and appreciation for all we go through and learn from are overwhelming. If only I could always remember...

See?...

I'm so mad at myself!

2009-08-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

Anytime someone else tells me their issues/problems, I truly try very hard to reason with them. I try to get them to see that they're definitely NOT the only person on the planet going through what they are experiencing and a lot of times it's all in how you may look at a situation. I hate a truly healthy individual to feel sorry for themselves. You have health, food, shelter, family, children, etc.

I'm mad b/c I feel soooo sorry for myself that I can hardly breathe. I'm at the stage where I'm fighting back that rather pushy lump in my throat. The one that reminds me that he wants out and he'll make me think of all my problems at once in order to accomplish this task.

Andre's had surgery, yes. But, he's doing good for being only 6 days post op. The day after Andre injured himself the pediatrician's office called letting us know that ReAnna tested positive for strep throat. But fortunately it wasn't a painful virus and didn't last very long. The next day I needed to mow the lawn - I'm finding it difficult doing EVERYTHING. Not that I don't like mowing or taking out trash or driving, washing car, laundry, dishes, dogs, getting kids ready, breakfast, lunch, dinner, welfare appts, picking up kids, getting the remote, dispursing meds, and applying for jobs... it's just that I never had to do ALL of it myself before. Like, I know people do it all of the time, and my poor husband is miserable and I know he wishes he could help, I just want him to stay put and chop wood for winter at the same time. Ugh! Overwhelmed. - anyways, I mowed the lawn and was attacked by KILLER BEES! They were out for blood, mine! They tried to kill me, I know it! I got stung about 12 times. Well, anyways that was last weekend. I feel pretty good now, except they itch like the dickens. Then, we went to welfare... it was good. Humbling, but good. I'm completely NOT ashamed. My husband gives them 25% of his pay every week so it's about time we get a little something back. I have a long distance cousin that I care for more than she knows and her idiotic husband up and took her son (which is her whole LIFE!) and won't give him back. The catch... they are married! She was supposed to come up to Ohio with her son for 2 weeks and his controlling mother convinced him of how horrible a mother she is and brainwashed him into to doing this b/c he can't think on his own. Now she cries herself to sleep every night. He got a restraining order put on her so she can't even call to check on her son and now has to go thru a vigorous custody battle. The justice system is so screwed up. She really wanted a family for her son and tried to work things thru with her husband. He gets mad and hits her, but she owns up to her end. She dug her nails in him... as his hands were around her neck! It's very hard to deligate one law for every circumstance. He even told the judge during the court hearing for the restraining order - which he AND his nasty mother were shocked to see her at!- that she was an amazing mother. She was given up for adoption by a woman who should have never been able to have children (tho I'm glad she did or I would have never had my Tony or Amanda) and has been scarred by it, never understanding how a mother could do something like that to their kids. Now she's without hers! So, it's got me a little emo.

Kids got off to school great and are loving it. So that's good, right?

Besides wondering how on earth I'm going to pay for August's mortgage, let alone September's, we got a little - okay a lot - bad news today.

My husband sold a couple of turn tables that are highly sought after, on ebay a couple of weeks ago. This was to help cushion the effect of playing football. These were sweet turn tables, too. He's always used them for deejaying and stuff. He DID NOT want to part with them but he feels he doesn't use 'em enough to hold on to them while we're unable to pay things. Makes sense. We may find more things to fit that category... Well, the buyer didn't purchase shipping insurance, which is their option. The tables arrived to them today completely trashed! Broken arms, needles, dust/head covers. Post office is trying to say that it's not their fault and we have to eat it. Buyer wants money (to the tune of $457) back. Which is understandable. I just truly feel that whether insurance was purchased or not the post office has a responsibility to deliver something in tact! Shipping insurance is more for items not packaged well and they clang together during delivery and break. Well, these items' BOXES were crushed and caved in, despite the fact that I wrote huge "FRAGILE", "THIS END UP", and "HANDLE WITH CARE" memos all over the boxes!

I can understand buyer wanting money back for damaged items. But they were delivered in tact and I sent them off at the post office. Ebay claims no responsibility, that we need to contact paypal to see what to do. Paypal claims no responsibility and won't release any funds to either person, and when they do it'll probably be back to the buyer, not us. The post office claims no responsibility (so far, we have to go/call tomorrow morning) b/c we didn't purchase the shipping insurance (that the buyer didn't want). BUT THEY DESTROYED THE BOXES. FRIGGIN' MORONS! OOOHH. What to do?! I don't normally discuss finances but I DON'T CARE anymore.

So here's the photos of how the packages looked when they arrived. Can you believe it. It seems like a photo that would be on Letterman. Please handle with care, my butt!

There's several scratches on these that were NOT there b4, caused by the head cover shattering.

And... the head cover shattering!

We're soo stupid for not preparing better for these situations.

We're sooo stupid for waiting and expecting uncertain funds!

We're soooo stupid for....

I'm tired.

I always had the moto, "If it's a problem that can be fixed with money, it's not a problem worth worrying about." Now I feel more like, "If it's not one thing, it's two or three or four."

I just feel sooo depressed and pessimistic. Everything downhill. I need good news.

I know, I know, it could be A LOT worse. I just wanna feel sorry for myself and I want it to work and make me feel better. I know that it won't. It doesn't matter. I'm only talking to myself anyways....

Signing off, to myself...

P.S. Please God... help us to be better people and to rely on you...(sigh)

Oh, did I mention that I have terrible allergies that started last night and my eyes look like tomato halves and my nose is almost bleeding... I'm out of tissues. Paper towels hurt.

Okay. *Update* So, the man that purchased the turn tables from us just called. (I'm only on the comp now b/c he sent us the pics and I wanted to post 'em. I'm not a comp - aholic) He was really cool and completely stated how he could tell we took EXTRA good care wrapping it so that it should have made it there fine. He was highly pleased that we weren't trying to avoid him or anything and were on top of things with whom all we called... yada yada. Anyways, worse case scenario, if the post office gives us the run around, which they will... he's asked us to go in with him on the parts he needs in order to repair the items. So, out of pocket for now is $50 bucks. If the post office admits any wrong and refunds anything at all (I'll pass out from shock) then, we won't be out much at all and we can reimburse him for his expenses. In fact, he and Andre discovered they have much in common, esp listening to similar music, so Andre's gonna send him a couple of albums when we issue him a check. Andre doesn't use albums much anymore since he's gone digital. Anyways the p.o. stuff will probably take a couple of weeks.

I hate showing how much something can make or break your day/thoughts. If I could just rely on Jehovah more and stop relying on only myself! Open mouth, insert foot... a little... : )

GOOD NEWS!

Andre's Surgery - WARNING! CONTAINS GRAPHIC MATERIAL AND SOME NUDITY!!!

2009-08-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

So, my life since Friday has completely been consumed by worrying about my husbands health, finances and getting kids ready for school. (Which has been great. I'll post about thay later.) Nights have been pretty sleepless b/c everytime he tosses or turns I panic wondering if he's in pain. Well, I should've paced myself for the time after the surgery. Everyone around has been so encouraging with telling us how much more pain will be experienced after the surgery. Well, they were completely accurate! Well, anyways, here are a few pictures from the day of the surgery...

My brave little guy...

Prepped for surgery.

The doctor actually wrote "IT" on Andre's leg making certain that he cuts open the correct appendage.

During the end of the surgery, the doctor couldn't get him to wake up from the potion that they gave him. So they had to give him something that reversed all of the effects of the sleepy medicine. Bad thing is that it also reversed the effects of the pain medicine and the novacain. When he started to awaken, they took out his intibator (sp?) but then he stopped breathing so they had to re-intibate him. Once he was on track and starting to become more clear headed he COULD NOT GET COMFORTABLE. So, this is his tossing and turning.

Now keep in mind that he's a bit loopy. As he was tossin' and turnin' his gown started coming up in the back and revealing the full moon... Then, really loud he hollers out at me, "Here! Take a picture of this! You're taking pictures of everything else." And yanks his gown off his backside! Yikes!

See? I told you there'd be nudity! Don't ever allow me to photograph something and expect that I wouldn't put it on the web for the world to see!!

Awww. What a cute tooshie!

I've decreased the size of the pic so as not to offend anyone. Just scroll past. QUICKLY!

Like one minute he's talkin nonstop, the next he's sawing logs!

Ewwww. 21 Staples. PAIN PAIN PAIN... Tisk Tisk. All for a game of football!

EWWWWW!

Just a Quick Update

2009-08-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

Just to let folks know, briefly... Andre has surgery scheduled tomorrow (Aug 25) at 2:45. Poor guy, no food after midnight tonight. He's gonna be starving by the time I take him home (if he's allowed to come home...). The doctor said recovery could be anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months. Yay!

No More Contact Sports for Andre! And I MEAN IT!

2009-08-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Most of ya'll know what has happened to my husband but for those that don't... Here's the story:

Andre's routine on Friday over the last month or so was to pick up Tony on his way home from work and go play football. They've been playing TACKLE football, which I had my opinions about already. Here's the thing, Andre being 33 is a pretty large guy... Typically I have more concern for the other guys, not like he's a world renowned body builder or anything but he has been called 'a wall', 'giant', and 'rockbiter' (ya know the character off of Never Ending Story). Also, he played tackle football a few years ago and broke his boss's nose. Not a good thing. He's not hugely competitive, just loves football! The guys he plays with are like his age down to 14. Even Talon has made a couple of plays.

This Friday, tho, the guys mentioned it seemed as tho everyone was playing like they had some vendetta for everyone, like just hittin' harder - stuff like that. Well, about 5 minutes b4 this particular play, Andre and a few of the other guys were just talking about how they're getting a bit old for this and not having sick leave from work that you could collect from if something happened to them. Well, anyways Andre'd have to tell you the story of the "play" (that goes in one ear and out my other!) but all I know is there was a pile of guys and he was the one that didn't get up. Now, let me state for the record ALL of the guys were highly concerned and have been calling for the past 3 days. This was not an intentional thing, just stupid! LOL! (Sigh) Boys! I tell ya.

Well, Andre apparently collided knees with Chase Rice (wonder if he's okay, btw). The angle that Andre was hit caused him a lot of pain and he was like in the fetal position on his side and grabbed his knees. Right away, by what he felt in his hands he knew something was wrong. A couple of the guys came up to him to see if he needed help getting up and he just told him that it was pretty serious, he knew and wasn't gonna move. It wasn't until he moved his hands off his knees that everyone knew how bad it was. It looked like his knee cap was in his lower thigh. His knee, tho being bent, looked completely flat. YUCK! They had to call the squad to come get him. Well, in the meantime, Andre calls me (and I was like, "Gosh! What does he want now?!" I was trying to enjoy 2 minutes with everyone gone. Yes, I feel bad about feeling that way - NOW.) and proceeds to tell me a brief synopsis about what had happened. My favorite part of his story was when he first started. He says, "I need to tell you something and I need you to know that I'm not playin'." Understand that he HAD to say that b/c of his history of messin' with people and playing practicle jokes on them. (Such as this one time he was at my dad's putting up a new ceiling fan in dad's kitchen. We had all walked out of the room for a minute and when we came back the ladder was tipped over and Andre was laying face down on the floor with legs and arms bent and spread out all over the place. We didn't even blink. We were like, "Get up!" LOL) When I got there, I started laughing. Seeing that big ogre being lifted into the Ambulance was a sight. The EMT guys couldn't even lift him and when the first guy came out to see what had happened, he looked at Andre and said, "OOOOOHH!!!" Andre says, you know it's bad when the paramedic cringes.

Well, what ended up happening was that the tendon that connects the knee cap to the shin bone was severed, ricocheting his knee cap up into his lower thigh and the tendon slung back to his shin bone. EWWW! Well, we go to the bone doc tomorrow at 7:45a to see when his surgery will be. Fortunately his boss was kind enough to at least lay him off while this is going on and through recovery, otherwise there'd be no income. At least there'll be something. And I'm completely proud to say that I'll be taking advantage of whatever the welfare office has to offer. We'll be going there tomorrow after the appt...

Anyways, when Andre called me to tell me what'd happened on the field, I told him to have Anthony take photos. Little did he know, I wanted 'em so I could post 'em on the net! HA! So, here you go...

You see that bulge in his leg? That's his knee cap. His knees are lying perfectly together so it's easy to see where his knee cap SHOULD be.

What a goober!

CREEP! He's gonna be one of the perverted men in the hospital, isn't he?

"The Cat Meows All the TIme" By Talon Hurt

2009-08-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

The cat always meows and I keep feeding her food cause she always meows and then, and then I feed her food. I take a big hand full and I give it to her. I give her it and she eats it all gone. I give her the cat food, the whole entire bowl, and she eats it all. So, that's why that I love the cat.

She's always hungry and that's okay. And I love her so much! And I can't stop loving her.

She always lays on me. Whatever time I was on the hammock, she would lay on me.

And I remember that time when ReAnna was... um... when she knew it was a girl b/c she lift up her tail. She noticed it was a girl. But, I love my mom, my dad, my sister, Lucy, Sophie, Rosco and Cletis and the other cat. The cat is named Juno. And then that's the end of my story of my cat.

The End!

(A note from Heather: As Talon's done telling me this story, he tries to explain to me that Chinese people don't have computers. When I tell him, "Sure they do." He says no, b/c they don't I electricity. I say, "Sure they do." He says well, they speak Chinese and the computer speaks English! Gotta love 'im!)

ReAnna's Story, by ReAnna Hurt "The Cat"

2009-08-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a stray cat that always came around BUT mom didn't like the cat coming around (that is not true! HCH).

Me and Talon have been saving up money to get all it's shots and to get it fixed.

Mom says we shouldn't do that. She just wants us to save our money on a game system...

um.... don't write that! Hey!..... They're gonna be like, "What are you writing?" Erase it! GGGRRRR!

Anyways....mmm....I took the ca, well Talon took the cat in this morning. So, mom told me to come downstairs and I took the cat upstairs... But, then, kinda embarrasing... On my way downstairs, I felt something kinda wet. I looked down and the cat had diarhea all over me!

Even though my mom was really mad... I was still upset with the cat, but I still loved her.

Um...mom keeps telling me to squirt her b/c she wants her to leave and go somewhere else. But, I don't want her to go. So I just closed the curtains instead. She's on the deck on top of the table laying down. Just meowing, waiting on me to come outside and pick her up. But, mom says I can never bring her in the house again.

The End

Congregation Picnic

2009-08-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've been in my congregation in Springfield for about 21 years! since I was 10 years old. Friends have come and gone, but we've always had the same base of folks that are more like family than my own blood for the most part. Well, there was a decision made to redraw the dividing line for our city. We have 3 congregations and in one of them there were enough people that if they dissolved it they could be divided into the remaining 2 congregations. Not only would this save on certain costs but it also brings in more wonderful association to the other 2. Ya know, it's bitter sweet... So, when they drew the dividing line some of the ones in our Hall went to the other and we gained some of their folks. It's like, I truly miss my family that went to attend the other Hall (which is like 7 minutes away) but, it's soooo nice to see these other folks coming to our Hall. No matter what we're family. It feels like people moved out of state LOL when they really just relocated only about 6 miles away! The awesome thing about this change is that it truly has brought the city of Springfield's congregations together! Like, we always see each other at assemblies and sometimes out to eat or while in service but we never really GOT to KNOW each other well. Now it's like, I'm closer than ever to the friends that went to the other Hall b/c we keep calling and getting together and then the folks that came over are soooo amazingly loving that I can't wait to make them feel welcomed and get together for dinner. We got some of the most spiritually minded brothers and sisters that are super encouraging. Good people to work hand in hand with. So, we got together on short notice to have a SPRINGFIELD picnic. Usually we have East or West get-togethers. Not everyone was able to make it but we had a lovely turn out! And OOOHHHH the food! Better than a family reunion! Well, maybe not my family's, but surely most's.

Here's just a few of the folks that I'm talking about. And I do mean a few!

Dan and Judy Rosebrock. I just love them!

Brent Mabra. A card shark!

Oh yeah. Be afraid. I kid you not!

My Chae Chae. I've know this child from the womb. Love her crazy lots!

Brothers from another mother. These boys admit that they're almost like twins, minus the black and white thing. They feel they have very much in common. Well.... they do have some crazy stories!

Dan Rosebrock

Aahhh. Debbie Jones. This is my and my husbands extended mother. Well, I'd like to take her for my own, however there's plenty of others that can say the same. She makes it VERY easy for me to love her! To me, she seems so wise b/c she really meditates on what she's gonna say b4 she says it (unlike me). If only I could accept her example.

Fred Richardson and Johnny Kenerly. What can I say? I just love 'em. They are truly amazing men and wonderful pillars of strength in our congregation.

My Cup Runeth Over!

This is my FAMILY!

(Well, a few of them anyways...)

I can honestly say, I truly love every single one! Despite our differences we overlook our imperfections and look forward to a time when we can really appreciate each other without the involvement of Satan's influence.

Oh, and check out the hottie in the pink shirt, front row! Woohoo!

Heidikins! The epitime of Victorian Beauty and a spitting image of her mutha! I love this girl. She's soooo sweet and she's kept my kids many times. The sad thing is that EVERY time she kept Talon I forgot to give her things like DIAPERS or wet wipes. That's all tho. Nothing important! LOL! One time she had to take him with her some place public and he pooped. Apparently there was only like 1 wet wipe in the container and she had this naked baby on a bathroom changing table trying to pull out all of the paper towels out of the machine! LOL! Poor thing. I'm so glad she's still even my friend. She's a wonderful kid. Support her! She's getting ready to go to Guyana. She's helping to preach where there's a greater need for volunteers to help serve all of the people. I'm gonna live vicariously thru her for a little while.

Madam Hopie! The queen diva of the wee ones. Anytime you see her there's usually a long line of wee ones following her like she's the engine of a train.

Thomas Huffman, Sr. He plays the banjo. How cool is that. U know how fast they have to pluck?!

Aaaaaahhh. Miss J'ameya (a - me - a) The lady of rage! That's what I call her b/c of her afro puffs (which I am so jealous of- I wish I could have afro puffs). This child is completely awesome! She's highly intelligent and a million more times sassy! Completely full of spunk. We were at her house a while back watching a music awards show and they were dancing and she's like, "Get it girl!" LOL! No lie, she's amazing and you can't bribe her for nothing! I offer candy and gets NO love. I tell her she's ugly (only b/c she's obviously NOT and it gets a little rise out of her - tehe!) and she looks at me right in the eye and says, "No I'm not!" Ha, never changing her facial expression! Too funny. Talon LOVES her! He's her little buddy.

You see? Even though he couldn't force her to stand any closer to him than this!

Melissa Jordan (J'ameya's mommy) and Jenny Dill. Very classy sisters. Very sharp! And they LOVE Jehovah!

I pretend that this man is my grandpa! I just love him! I think he's the sweetest thing, which makes sense b/c Judy is absolutely the sweetest lady on the PLANET! I kid you not! Her voice just makes you feel as though everything will be alright. I really hope that her father will teach me the jitterbug in paradise! (I'm sure he'll move way better than me! ; )

Partners in crime, K'shante, Kristopher and 'Samson' with baby Olivia. These 3 are virtually inseperable. They're going to have really great stories to tell on each other when they get older.

Kyle Rucker. Lookin' like his daddy! This 'little' guy is like 14! or close. He's faster than a speeding bullet and has a smile to die for!

Chassity Plott and Mailynn. Mailynn lives in eye shot of my house so I like to scream to her when I'm on the front porch that I'm watching her. If she has a few cars over I call her and ask her why I wasn't invited to her party! LOL I just love to kick it with these 2 ladies. Chassity may lead a busy life but if I even sound like there's something wrong, she's like, "Okay. Let's go get a drink." or talk or appetizer or whatever! Both are amazing mothers and dear friends!

Miss Sonya Bustos! The mutha of all muthas! She has 3 amazing kids. By that I don't mean like 'all kids are amazing'. Hers truly are! They are each completely different, yet all histerical! She's an amazing mother to EVERYONE! Not just hers, but I completely know that the whole village/kid thing is absolutely in her thought process. I truly hope we can become even closer sooner than later.

HeHeHe... My little stinker! I'm soo in complete in utter infatuation with this boy. Madly in love with him. Well, he makes it Very easy to be overcome with emotions when he flashes his little dimples. But, honestly... boys are extremely bizarrely entertaining! Esp. this one!

My little heathen is hiding behind Alyssa's noggin. And then there's Toyota/ I mean Mercedez and William Vincent. This combination means... anything can happen. Heads flushing in toilets, farting contests, worm kissing/licking... You think I'm kidding? All of that is true and has already occured.

Rice and Alec Plott. Would you believe these boys are the same age?!

This little beauty is Alyssa Libertus. I don't know her as well as I'd like but from the brief encounters I've had... I like her a lot! She gets my stupid joking around... and we both think that the D.C. bathrooms smell like bootay! HaHa. Well, at least I do!

This is a sillouette of the most sexy card shark on this side of TV! I love this guy! Truly my best friend. Friggin' histerical! He's proven to be an amazing helper for this family to get through these last days!

The youngest Rice boy and my Billie Jo. She wouldn't be the same without those glasses. She reminds me of Margaret off of Dennis the Mennis with Walter Mathou. Do you know what I'm talking about? Too cute and full of personality!

Well, anyways, that's the end of this. I truly love Jehovah for giving me such a wonderful fellowship of folks and perfect companions to get through this system!

Indianapolis Zoo

2009-08-18T06:26:00.000-07:00

Again, another wonderful trip. Though, I feel our Columbus Zoo (Jack Hannah's) is the best, this one had a few other things to offer that ours doesn't. Like the Dolphin Dome! We got to see the dolphin show- uh, amazing! I love dolphins. And the walrus! Well, you'll see in the pics why I'm lovin' him. And the polar bear was breathtaking. So, here ya go...

Sleepin'... again...

You know, I've never seen them actually cleaning out the tank before. That was kinda neat.

This here was one of the coolest things (and of course, Talon's favorite!) We were able to pet sharks! They were 'dog sharks' and sooooo awesome. They really liked being petted. In fact, this one that Talon's petting would come around and flip over onto his backside so that you could rub his belly! Too cute. I have a newfound admiration/appreciation for sharks... well, at least these guys.

Oddly enough, they had eyeballs like ours. I thought that was kinda creepy b/c I just thought they'd have like black eyes or something and then they kept moving them around like we do. Just FYI.

Isn't he beautiful?! I thought so.

Ahhhh. The walruses. These guys were in my top 3 of favorites.

They kept swimming around in the same pattern. The neat thing that we witnessed was that when they went back to what we thought was them wading in one spot, they were actually STANDING on their fins. I thought they had one tail fin, but they actually have two that are more like FEET! See?

Can you see the top of him and the bottom where his feet are standing up? That was sooo cool. They're so awesome.

This was the dolphin dome where you could walk under and see the dolphins swimming around. It was really hard getting a photo b/c they're super fast! So I took a shot of the dome and then just enjoyed what I was seeing. :-)

The coolest thing was that some of them were seperated into other tanks but they kept constantly hanging out and talking to each other. They'd swim away for like 10 seconds and then come right back and start talking again. I wonder what they were saying.... Aren't you glad Jehovah created everything soooo different, just for our enjoyment?!

And then there was the amazing dolphin show!

This was the splash zone. Andre, Tony and the kids sat there. I sat in the bleachers in the middle to get good pictures. Now I wish I woulda had them sitting with me b/c they couldn't really see what was going on until the dolphins came their way.

You see? I'm not sure they were feelin' that...They had this 'bio' area where everything in it was an entire 'desert' ecosystem. So, when you went in (including the weather/temp) made you feel you were in a desert.

Seeing a 3d ride... hhhmmm... Since when did they get "rides" at a zoo? We rode a little baby roller coaster, too. The kids loved it. Re is VERY skeptical of everything, but once she does it she doesn't want to stop!

These were so close you could feed them.

This guy has the best job EVER! Lazy thing! He barely moved to swat a fly...

Momma,

And the baby. I want one!

What's Been Happening Over the Last Two Months While I've Been Ignoring My Blog!

2009-08-18T03:23:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been 2 months! I have absolutely NO viewers and am all to blame. I need to keep up better with this.

We have done buku things over the past few months. The kids have truly enjoyed their time off, and I've really enjoyed them being home!

Where to begin... trying to remember back that far!

Well, other than being completely obsessed with my yard- which is still nothing to brag about (until the heat sets in- I hate humidity!) we had a lovely getaway to Indianapolis.

The kids had a lot of fun and we had my cousin, Anthony tag along. He's truly become a joy to have around. I miss him while he's gone. (More about him later) Anyways, we got this package where we were able to visit the Indy Children's Museum and the Indy Zoo.

We went to the museum first. It was great, I highly recommend going there! It was very interactive for everyone!

Here's a little preview of our getaway...

It all begins with packing:

The morning of our trip, getting ready to go. Kids are like, "Aaa." Anthony's like a motor, "LetsgoLetsgoLetsgoLetsgo!" Hahaha. Bless his heart, he doesn't get to do this kinda stuff often.

Just one serious picture, please...

Thank you. But, where's my makeup? Makeup? I need makeup!All my babies!

Then, there's the 2 hour ride:

Re was already passed out! She can't hang!
Neither could Talon.
Then, there was Andre...

Who was driving!

(LOL! This is for the National Lampoons fans!)

And of course, the best part of hotel stay... jumpin' on the beds!

The museum truly was amazing!

There was this rather large (4 stories!) glass sculpture that was awesome.

The bottom of the sculpture was on a glass floor so that you could view it from the lower level.

This was kinda cool. This was a 2 story dino that they designed so that it's head is coming thru the upper the window.

This is the backside of the dino with the family.

This is definitely the right museum for the dino lover, like Talon! He's trying to make it look like he's being eaten by the dino. LOL!Of course, this was one of Talon's favorite parts; the museum superhero. Course, it may have something to do with the fact that he had dinosaur teeth in his pocket! Re's practicing to be a mama tut! They had a HUGE King Tut exhibit.This was a pretty neat dino exhibit. This is where a lot of the mythological dragons were based, esp in the Harry Potter movies- from what the scientists here were saying.

This was really neat, too. The "scientist" was chiseling away at the rock debris of this T-Rex thigh bone and the window was open so that you could touch it. Just felt like super hard wood, not quite like a rock, tho- which is what I thought it'd feel like. This was a neat little lab for the kids to explore mock fossils by measuring, comparing, feeling, etc. They really enjoyed it. They had this excavating area. The sand looks like sand, but it really was a bit tacky. Not quite sticky, but kinda hard to separate. They were trying show how hard it is to excavate these bones with just brushes in order not to damage the bones.

King Tut's guard. Oh yeah. That's a beast.
This was really cool, too. They designed this portion of the building to appear as though the dino's crashing out.

Gettin' my hair did!

Coolest game of Connect 4 ever!

Awwww...

They also had this really cool magic show. The kids loved it! Well... Re enjoyed it, Talon spent the whole time trying to figure out "how they did that".

Oh, and we can add this to the long list of places my husband has decided to take a quick nap. (Like when we went to see Bill Cosby's standup, or during my Lamaze (sp?) class - which I could understand if we just didn't happen to be the ONLY 2 PEOPLE THERE that day, or at our homebuying class - which I could understand if we just didn't happen to be the ONLY 2 PEOPLE THERE that day!) Trying our hand at drawing a dragon. Aw, Andre's concentrating sooo hard!

Another cool exhibit the kids enjoyed. It was a blue screen and on the TV was marine life. Talon decided to put on one of the costumes. They liked being on TV.Though, Talon did seem a little more excited by his shadow. Do you recognize this guy? He was the Museum Super Hero! This museum hires MANY local actors and he did great! He was very animated and the children learned so much by watching the (be it magoo sometimes) actors and their stories. He did great. Here he's crying b/c the train just couldn't get up the hill! Waaahhh!This was the solution. An engine that pushed not pulled. This was a CLOCK! I thought it was cool. It's ran off of liquid. The blue liquid shows the time. The left numbers are the hour, and the ones on the right are the minutes. Wouldn't it be neat if most of our electric items could be run like this? HHhhhmmm... This clock was 11:57a. It was only about 4 minutes off! They had this "culture" thing going on, so we got to see African drummers and Asian dancers.

There was a lot of neat artwork outside, too.

The kids were trying to copy the poses. Get out of the picture, Andre!

Of course, Andre couldn't allow the day to go by without abusing Tony!This post is too long! I'm gonna have to make another one for the ZOO! LOL!

Bloggers Block...

2009-06-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

Is there such a thing? If so, I'm signing on the dotted line. I have had such an eventful last week, yet really nothing to write about... You know, of interest to anyone but me. No one ever reads this thing anyways so, I'm only sorely attempting to sound interesting to myself... which is pretty much the story of my life- and in my mind is absolutely acceptable:-) PPLLLTTTHHH!

So, I suppose I could write something promising... like how I really think that Talon's going to get to enter first grade in the county school I've enrolled him in. It's a wonderful school that ReAnna attends. But, if not, I've decided to incorporate "self-education" myself, 'family learning' I like to call it. The term 'home schooling' is so 'THEM', ya know. Not that I'm anti-school, but what's the sense in utilizing the same terms that's for a broken system that someone else has glorified and failed to acknowledge it's flaws... Like the difference between schooling and learning. Again, I'm not ANTI-school. In fact, of my MANY career desires, I always held the yearning to teach. Now, my 'class size' is just 2, but ya never know...

Or I could write about something sad... like how my dearest friends just lost a close family member. Why should I care too much about THEIR family member? I mean it wasn't THEM, right. Well, one of the biggest reasons is that my friends are more kin to me than most of my 'blood family' and he got the freakin' "call" right in front of me. It's been a long time since I've seen a grown man fight back the grief of losing his only sister... or hugged a child that moaned in pain b/c she's not too sure how to handle losing her dear aunt...

Or I could write, once again, about my Talon and how he set off the security alarm today at PayLess! Claiming that as he used the restroom in the back he "couldn't find which way to go". Knuckle head. (You) think I'm joking? Anyone who knows us knows that's one of the LEAST things Talon has done or is capable of doing. Do you know how many times I've heard, "Oh honey, you can't come back behind the counter." or "That's okay, I'll mop it up." or "Don't climb on that, it's not sturdy." "Ma'am your son's hiding in the clothes rack." And Miss Dorothy, my elderly next door neighbor, "I see Talon come to the front to pee in the yard when ya'll are in back." Then there's my infamous question posed almost daily, "Talon. Where did you find that gum?" (If we're at a restaraunt, I know it came from under the table, but what about when we're not?...hhhmmm)
I swear (not really) I think that we all really worry too much about germs b/c my son's injested so many that his immune system's like a diaphram; vertually inpenatrable but when you think about it, disgusting! (Sigh!) My purse has become a carrying case for antibacterial "Talon-wear".

I could write a blog on my husband and his job. How he works building highways in the heat, rain, humidity, yada yada yada. No. That's crummy. If I write about him it needs to be about how we crack up at drunk people we see when we're attending our buddy's band playing. Or how I love his legs, they're built like a horse's, no lie. Or how our desires and likes are so different, but individually we're so awesome that we just like each other! (Yep. I'm pretty awesome... toot. toot. If I weren't me and I was someone else... I'd really like me! HA!) We always come together and are on the same page with most things that matter. But, I like celtic, he likes Run DMC. Oh, who am I kidding, I love 'em too! One minute Gaelic Storm, the next Guantanamera. Norah Jones to Jim Carey. Yep, Andre's (sigh) awesome...

Does anyone want to hear about Re's bodily functions? How she can pass gas out of any open orphas in her body and she has no limited supply. Though she's a girl, she'll kick your butt... We worried at one point that we'd get a call from a boy's mother that said 'our little girl' just socked their son b/c he told her she was pretty... hhmmm. Now she's showing signs of liking boys (of course most of them are in books- her most recent crush is Edward Cullin, of course. I wonder if I should tell her I just saw the previews for 'New Moon'. I went to see 'the Proposal'-freakin histerical- and it was one of the previews) and she loves that she's getting boobs. She calls them "mini-boobs". Then, we were over my in-laws house and Dad comes outside to make us aware that Re has just informed him that she has hair growing under her armpits... hhmmm. She thinks that little peach fuzz is "hair". Oh, just wait!

I need some ideas... I could post agendas or daily journal entries... recipes/dinners for the week... personal info, controversy... home life, world concerns... hhmmm. I'll think about it... Sorry to bore all the folks who don't look at this site anyways...

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2009-06-15T07:08:00.001-07:00

Yeah... Ummm. Okay. So, at first I was quite offended by the whole Jack Osbourne thing... but, once my offense wore off, I realized that any sane person looking at this would have to admit that I resemble the dude quite a bit... fat cheeks and all. Freaky. Creepy. Hhhmmm.....

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

Just watch...

2009-05-21T06:12:00.001-07:00

I found this video in the Hurt archives. I just shake my head.... Talon, Talon, Talon... (sigh). He's about 4 in this video.

Not usually into cliché, but it DOES speak for itself!~

ThEEEE MOST DISGUSTING child EVER!

2009-05-21T05:27:00.000-07:00

I've been debating for awhile about posting this one, with all the perverts and wierdos, who knows who will get arrested for what anymore. But, I just can't wait until she graduates to post this. My daughter, who I speak of quite a bit, is unlike most kids. I try to tell people this, but no one really understands to what extent I mean. Yet, she's truly one of my biggest heroes! Here's a few reasons why....

I must tell you that this is not meant for the week stomachs and, YES, it involves TMI! You are about to experience a variety of bizarre emotions as you watch/look at a few of these pics/vids. Some worse than others. I'll try to ease you into it...

Sweet and innocent enough? Or so you would think...

Lover of worms...

Ré at 7. Beware....

I know, I know, I know...

AAaaaaahhhh. But, when she's sleeping....

Home Is... A Tuesday Thought. (It is Tuesday, right?)

2009-05-12T04:10:00.000-07:00

Home Is

Home is where quart jars house earth's goods

Where the clothe's line is the place to spot the seasonal bird

Where there's never a full crayon in the half full box and the yo-yo always bumps the floor

Where there's an inate faith that the sun will always rise and the sun will always set in that same lead glass window

Home is where the rugs are warn and the piano needs tuned

Where the quietness means "they're up to something" and the steps are the preferred place to house your shoes

Where there's more stuffed animals on the bed than blanket

And on the dining table, a bible spread open in the hopes of finding daily comfort

Where the bills are high, but who cares

Where quiet time's when the sun leaves

Where the printer never has any ink

And a prayer is the last thing you think

Home is where to a friend, foe, family or not, the front door always says welcome

Where there's more school papers than books

Where there's more coats than hooks

Where I long to be even after the nicest of vacations

Well , maybe it's not your's, but I call it "Home".

Garden Fence

2009-05-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we're poor, yeah? We're currently working on installing (ourselves, one by one) a privacy fence in the backyard. Something that we've always wanted to do for safety, etc (stray dogs + kids = ya know) but, since we've had the pups we recognize the need for one NOW! Having said all of that, I planted a garden (veggies - nothing fancy, just what I can find cheap) and if those dogs get into that garden I will lose grip! Well, we can barely afford the privacy fence sections so I thought maybe I could make one myself. It doesn't have to be fancy, just sufficient. It doesn't even have to match. I thought about collecting stray sections of picket fencing here and there, but even the junk stores want 20-30 dollars for one section and you can buy one new for that price. PPPLLLTTTHH!

So, I've found pieces of wood and other things that I think I can use and just started piecing things together. I need about 60 feet of fence and this is what I've come up with so far:

Here's my garden... 15x15

This is my first section: Isn't it cute? I used 2x4's from an old skid and old scrap wood, then put scrap pieces of wood on them.

My baby's really playing the part. We call this: "Man in deep thought..." LOL!
And how cute is this? I used a candle holder that I couldn't sell in a yard sale for the past 3 years!... and put the little flowers that the kids planted in it.

Here's another piece:

This is probably my favorite so far. You may not be able to see it but, there's a little blue metal basket hanging on the left, I'll probably put some fake or dried flowers in. There's a Coca-Cola sign I never did anything with, a gourd bird house in the middle on the bottom (I have 3 more of these that I'll probably use). That blue piece of wood cut at an angle was leftover wood that we used for a shelf. The red thing is an old license plate...

This is my final piece: I was so glad. All of this took maybe 5 hours from start to finish. We've got about 15' of fence so far and still have more wood leftover to get about 10 more feet or so. Using things like shutters or scrap wood really helps to take up fence space. When I get the whole thing done I'll take better pictures and post them. (My camera's lense failed to survive the test that Talon put it through so I'm using my CAMERA PHONE! HA)
You see, nothing fancy. And I've been able to put old things I have around the house on them. That level was André's dad's and is probably about 40 years old! Oh, well. I like it!

And by the by, don't my Spirea shrubs look gorgeous dahling?!

They're so pretty cascading on the side of my house.
They're so soft, when you walk by them it feels like cold feathers brushing your skin. And the smell... AAHHHH. Simply heavenly. Subtle, yet sweet. MMmmm Perfect! Thank you Jehovah!

21 Things I NEVER said BEFORE I had children...

2009-05-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

1. Why is there a bar of soap in the garbage disposal?

2. We write on paper, not the bottoms of our feet. By the way, keep them out of your mouth.

3. Why do you want to know if "Daddy can get fixed"?

4. Who left a tissue in their pocket b4 I did the laundry?

5. Why are there so many rocks stuffed in your diaper. (Now they've moved onto pockets... or anything that a rock will stay in...)

6. Talon's poop is the color of the crayon box mixed with sand... hhhmmm.

7. Honey, pads aren't toilet paper for girls.

8. A weenis IS your elbow!

9. If someone has something on their face that's supposed to be there, it's not nice for you to try to take it off.

10. No, I can't 'just write a check'. Where do you think the money comes from?

11. It will grow if you stop playing with it!

12. It's not nice to touch other people's private places. And NO, I don't want to know what it felt like!

13. That's just something dogs do... (to everything!)

14. I love you honey, but can you please stop 'sharing with me'. You licked it.

15. Again, I love you. If you don't .... I'm going to throw you out of the nearest window.

16. Okay, but if you fall out of it, I'm not taking you to the hospital.

17. You can't just pull your winger out and pee anywhere you'd like.

18. Why is there gum in the bathroom drain and who put the ink pen in the toilet. (Yes, we've replaced the toilet twice since Talon's been born.)

19. If you wipe your butt good, maybe it won't be so itchy.

20. Put YOUR boob in his mouth. (Speaking to André)

21. Sometimes your breathe stinks too!

Just a side note:
See what'd I tell you? Not even 24 hours after I published this post look at what they did... I wonder if you can guess WHO this is and guess WHO did this to them...
Guess what they used? Paint, nail polish? NO! A fr3@k*n permanent marker! HHMMMmm... Any suggestions on how to remove this quickly?

I think I'm like, the best Mom EVER!... Except yesterday...

2009-05-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, so funny story... The fourth graders at Ré's school are all learning about the pioneer days. It's been a really great curriculum for the kids. Their teacher gets really involved... with projects and songs. Well, RéAnna and her 4th grade class are supposed to be going to this awesome 1 room school house in Greene county. All of the children are given the task of really playing the parts; dressing like 'Little House', packing lunch in a metal box or a basket, no disposable things, no bananas- only food they would have eaten. Then, there's actually a teacher that teaches them for the day and they get to play games outside the same fashion as were played in the early 1900's. So, exciting, yeah?

Well, last week (to refresh my memory) I asked RéAnna which day this was going to take place on... She told me 2 different dates and one was on a Sunday, so she wasn't 100% sure, but she finally said it was Wednesday. Well, I told her to make sure and let me know- b/c I really wanted to go all out: salt pork, corn bread, home made apple butter.... blah blah. Well, yesterday I go to take her to school, she gets there early b/c of the time I have to drop Talon off at his school, so as I pull up to the school I notice a couple of children getting out of their cars in 'Laura Ingalls' wear! OMG! I looked at Ré and screamed, "OMG Ré! I thought it was Wednesday!" Ré's screaming, "I thought it was! What do we do?!" Okay, so I call the school to see when the busses would be leaving. I race home! Ré rushes upstairs to put on her planned outfit. I race to make her a lunch meat sandwich, granola, apple, water in a glass jar- lunch in a basket with cloth napkins! YIKES! Okay, we race to get out of the house, she looks soooooo beautiful (I even flat ironed her hair). We race to school and get there with 7 minutes to spare, PHEW!~

All day long I couldn't wait to see how her day went. I was soooo excited for her, I really wanted to go to this thing! So when I went to pick up Ré from school, I noticed she kinda had a look on her face.... Hhhmmmm. Didn't seem right. I knew something was wrong. So, she got in the car. I said, "What' wrong?'' Ré then says: "MOM! (sigh) All of the classes (all 3) are going seperately to the school. It was Ms. Paulsen's class' turn today, not Mrs. T's!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! OMG! I had such a bizarre feeling. Like I felt soooooo bad for her b/c of her having to wear her costume all day, but at the same time it was the funniest thing that she had to wear her costume all day! Of course, she attempted to blame it on me and I tried to explain that that's where misscommunication gets you....

So, this is how my little one went to school yesterday, as the rest of the class was normal...

HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HHEEE! HHEEE! HHEEE! HA! HA! GASP! SIGH!

Don't you just love tots!

2009-04-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

No, not Napoleon Dynomite's tots. Toddlers! Well, we have this 2 (almost 3) year old friend named Aarolynn Jane (A.J. for short) and she is the silliest thing! She does little things all of the time when she comes over, like pull the cat's tail and smile, bang her head into something and smile, overflow the sink... and smile! She's so stinkin' cute/funny and she's a little stinker. No matter what she does, afterwards she looks at you and just simply smiles. What a doll! Stinkpot, but a doll!

Anyways, she (of course) likes to play dress-up or with make-up with my RéAnna. Well, I was in the kitchen and she came downstairs with a tube of Ré's lip gloss in her hand. Sounds innocent enough... she wanted me to put a stroke of gloss on her lips. The only problem is that her apparent attempts to gloss herself ended up everywhere BUT HER LIPS! See enclosed photos!

Hope you all have a good day!

Welcome!

2009-04-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

I just took the kids to see that new movie "Earth" yesterday. It was so awesome. I figured that I couldn't go wrong. It was rated G and was Disney (not like they've NEVER had questionable entertainment, but it was "G"). It was spectacular. I thought I'd go and fall asleep, but it was really goooood! Now, I don't want to be one of those people that hype things up and then you go to see it and it's 'okay'. If you like National Geographic-type shows, I HIGHLY recommend this. It really makes you appreciate how absolutely magnificent our Creator is! It was beautifully done and be sure you stay for the 'extra' footage after the movie. Don't you hate it when people are leaving during the credits and some of the BEST stuff is showing! Ever since Toy Story I've been a credit watcher. Now it's hard to find a movie that doesn't show extra stuff. Okay, enough rambling about the movie...

Can you believe the weather? Hello 80's! Welcome! I love spring. It's such a nice relief after a winter (no matter how good or bad winter was) to see the first tulip or hyacinth. I usually get a crocus creeping up through the shallow snow. They only stay for a few days, but it's like it's saying, "Don't get discouraged. Spring's coming. Start those tomatoes!" Seeing my magnolia bush, corral bells..., tulips, lambs ear, redbud blooming, catnip, hostas peeking out, japanese maple budding (which by the way I started from a seedling last year and is now about 12" tall - take that Lowe's! $50 bucks for a tree! C'mon!), spirea bushes budding, and this was a tiny piece of comphrey that Mamaw gave me last year and look how big it's gotten already!, I'm not really sure....?? But, hey! He's back!peonies stretching up, mini hollihocks.... (I could go on forever. My garden isn't impressive, but it's mine!:-) all of them blooming, budding, peeking, etc. it's like old friends that moved away and came back for a visit. Welcome friends! And can you believe the fre@k%n ice cream truck has been coming around already. $2 for a cone?! No thank you. I'll go to Youngs Jersey Dairy and get fresh, homemade cream for that price! And we get to feed the goats and smell the cow poo, so there! I would love to join a few local folks and swap pinches of flowers. When I moved to this house all I wanted were rocks and plants. I thought is would be kinda nice having things from my dear friends' and families' yards in mine, no matter how great or small, a flower is a flower after all! Again Welcome!

We HONESTLY have the WEIRDEST kids ever!

2009-03-29T12:34:00.001-07:00

No really, we do. Talon comes downstairs hollering that RéAnna just sprayed him with the spray bottle that we use for animal control. There's water on his face and shirt, in his hair. Legitimate compaint... or so it would seem!

So, we holler for RéAnna to come to us so that we can talk. Well, RéAnna explains how Talon WANTED her to spray him and asked her to squirt him in the mouth and that when she did he moved and shook his head side to side spritzing him all over his face! So, then he says, "I'm telling Dad!"

So, Daddy says to Talon, "Well, you didn't tell us about all of that."

Then the girls (Alyssa was over, too) proceed to pour out all of the things that Talon's been doing... "He's been pulling my hair!" Talon replies, "No, I didn't! My hand got stuck in her hair!" / "He kicked me!" Talon replies, "No, I did not. I laid my foot on your shoulder!"

So, then, my husband and I can't hold back our laughter, which makes Talon mad b/c he thinks we're laughing at him (which we are really) and he in a very calm tone says... "Well, I've decided that I'm going to move into another house."

Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that as we were giggling and Talon was sulking all of the sudden I see Lucifer coming in from the Living Room soaking wet, looking terrible, shaking each paw as she lifted it off of the ground. I said, "What happened to Lucy?!" and then, RéAnna (in the most natural tone) says, "Oh yeah. I gave Lucy a bath." Uuuhhh, would you please stop bathing the cats! They're good, really! They're already static-e enough! We should have got a gold fish!

Almost Monday

2009-03-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Oooohhh... My weekend has whizzed by. Really the entire week has flown by really fast. We had company from Virginia come up and visit us last weekend (we had a blast- they're great peeps!). They left Monday, but it took all week to get back into my routine. Don't know why. My heart just hasn't been into doing what I know that I need to do. Behind in laundry, bills, studying, dishes - chores in general, blah! Well, it may help if the weather would stay somewhat warmer and stop raining and being all cloudy. I don't want to complain too much, though. My plants are sprouting up everywhere and my grass is growing that I planted a couple of weeks ago.

So, preping for the week... Get all of the kids outfits out and ironed for the week. Laundry. Dishes. Have to open enroll Talon Wednesday morning for Possum (I want to be there at like 6:45a to make sure we're the first to arrive. They open at 7a and last year the lady said they didn't take any for K b/c they had their limit of kids, so I'm hoping that if there's a spot or two for 1st grade he'll be the first to get in...). Preschool Transition Committee is Wednesday @ 3:30 and I'm supposed to go out in service with Dawn in the am. I need to work on Ré's talk on the 16th of April.

UGH! One last breathe and then I'll get started...

Another Reason I Adore My Babies!

2009-03-24T05:17:00.000-07:00

Paint anyone?

2009-03-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

So, my son, Talon, is learning about his spheres, cubes, cylinders, and cones in his kindergarten class this week. He's had to identify the shapes on worksheets and what-not... Well, his Friday assignment was to bring in just a couple of things that resembled these shapes. So, I was so proud of him for finding everything very quickly on his own and without my help. For the cube he found and old block. For the sphere he took one of the dog's old chewed up tennis balls (it was completely bald of any green fur, but who am I to correct the boy, everything he had was perfectly fine). For a cone, he grabbed a tiny funnel I kept under the kitchen sink (how'd he even know that was in there?...hhhmmmm). And for the cylinder, he decided to grab a brand new quart size can of paint. These items were absolutely perfect! Yet, without stunting his likeliness to handle his assignments independently, I kindly mentioned that he may not want to take the can of paint b/c it may break open and spill. (It was so hard not to just snatch that can right out of his hand in a shocking panic. That was what I was going to use to paint the trim in the hallway! GGRRRRR) But, he was so excited about the items that HE came up with, apparently he didn't take my advice... and here is the end result...

21 Things I'm going to try...

2009-03-19T07:54:00.001-07:00

21 Things that I'm going to try...

1. Keep my voice low, even when I'm certain the only way anyone will hear me (or listen) is if I scream at them.
2. Pray. Not that I don't. I'm going to pray as if my life depended on it!(Which it does!) I need to truly depend on Him and make Jah my intimate friend.
3. Pick up my guitar again and stop making excuses!
4. Dare I say it.... think before I speak!
5. Laugh! Laugh when I'm alone. Laugh when I'm hurt. Laugh when I'm feeling unworthy, laugh (or at least smile) when I don't believe the compliments I'm given...
6. I'd like to have someone over for dinner that I would have never considered until now.
7. Breathe. All of this is going to end at some point. Good/bad. It'll all be gone. Enjoy. Learn. Breathe.
8. Try to be humble, really humble. Remember that in the face of complaint, I have it so much better than others that never asked for or deserve what they ended up with.
9. Love. In every aspect of the sense of the word. When others are angry, love.
10. Let go of pasts. It's like you taking poison and trying to watch someone else die. You're the one that it'll kill. It wastes too much time. You never get that back.
11. Don't worry. You know, no matter what we do to our kids, they still (for some reason) turn out okay. Pick my battles. Know that we're protected by a very big God!
12. Think pretty. Big girls are beautiful! Rolls are okay. Stretch marks are battle wounds of the 'play'ground, a beauty mark of the life we carried. Now, if I could just convince myself that's TRUE!
13. Just listen. Don't always offer advice. People don't always want to hear my stories that are similar to their tribulations. Sometimes people just wanna vent and feel as though they are the only ones on the planet that are experiencing their trials. They know they're not alone. They know what to do. They know the advice. Just listen.
14. Do things for myself. Not in a selfish way. Children need to see their folks enjoying life. In turn they enjoy one another. Just make what I'd like to eat sometimes. Write again! I used to write all day long. I loved everything. Poems, stories, agendas, ideas, thoughts...
15. Try a diet. Not "diet". Diet, meaning "lifestyle". I'd like to change my outlook on food. It really is just to fuel you throughout your day. It doesn't always have to be a form of art, enhancing the flavors, eating more, sampling everything, critiquing.
16. Let someone else teach me. Accept that I don't need to do everything. I don't need to teach others always. Stop being so independently stubborn. It's okay to learn something that I'm uncomfortable with and look like a fool.
17. Dance again. Try it. I used to love to dance. Then once I felt my husband smirk as I was dancing. Immediately I closed up. I only dance silly for my kids. Not seriously... I feel like I'm too big... I'm so afraid of proving the stereotypes true! Letigo!
18. Patience. I'll try it. Some say I have it. I don't see it!
19. I want to try to travel without a guide. Appreciate everything that I lay my eyes on, that I smell, that I taste. Be cautiously naive.
20. Talk to those I need to. Don't ignore them when they're really wanting to know. Don't push away... I know I'm a talker to most, but sometimes, to avoid conflict, those that I need to communicate with get silence.
21. Finally. I'd like to try trusting people. I do. I don't. Not just trusting them once. Trusting them always. Let stupid stuff go. Don't hold grudges. Wasted time.

21 things about me! (I'm so self-consumed.)

2009-03-19T07:50:00.000-07:00

21 things about me:
1. When I go to someone's house and use their bathroom, I always turn their toilet paper around so that it goes over the roll, not under!
2. I was married at 18! And I'm still married to the same guy! SHEESH!
3. I absolutely love Celtic music.
4. My heart melts when I see "older" folks holding hands or opening the car door for one another.
5. I've been known to cry over a commercial.
6. I would like to use the restroom just once every now and again without an audience.
7. I love company.
8. Matt drives me insane! LOL
9. I love to try new things. Very domesticated. But, my heart lies where there is warmer weather and the open road.
10. There was a time where I could easily do 80 pushups (boy style, with chin touching the floor. I got an A in gym for doing that). Now, I don't think I could do 4.
11. I don't manage my time as wisely as I should. Like right now, I should be cleaning or studying...
12. I love to read! Fiction and self-help stuff! and the watchtower publications. They always have intriguing facts.
13. Man, this list is taking 4EVER... Sometimes, I wish I could go back to work just to get a break from the things at home. But, noone else does what I do the way I do it.
14. I like to talk a little bit... I'm catching myself offering unsolicited advice. Trying to work on that.
15. I hate hotdogs UNLESS we're at a baseball game. For some reason they just taste better there and my desire to comprehend all that I am ingesting is overshadowed by tradition.
16. Spring and Autumn are my favorite seasons. Summer comes next.
17. I'm more like my grandmother than I am my own mother.
18. I love thunder storms.
19. Did I mention I like to talk?
20. No matter how much I tell you that your kids are cute, I'm secretly thinking inside that they're definitely not cuter than mine! LOL TEEHHEEE.
21. Cyndi Lytle is a keeper. She's one of my best girlfriends. She puts up with all my crap. No matter how mad I make her, I know she's still gonna call me over for dinner!

Where the heart is...

2009-03-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

Ohhhh. How I've longed through all of the winter and ice to recieve a bit of vitamin D through the most natural source available. And it's finally time to be able to enjoy it! The sun. I know it's only March 19th, but I'm already calling my grandmother for reminders on when to plant things. Last weekend we spent time trimming down rose-of-sharon and planting grass seed in the bare spots that the dogs dug up.

When we were gathering all of our yard debris, we spotted some debris that some kind neighbor relocated behind our privacy fence (which we have to keep clean in order for the city not to fine us!). Well, apparently there was some poison ivy in this heaping pile of someone else's laziness. Now, when it's blooming, I know just what to look for in the leaves and berries. When it's naked, it just all looks like crap to me. So, guess what we did... We took everything over to our friends' house and had a bonfire! Her dad came out when the fire was almost entirely gone and says, "Who brought all of the poison ivy?" AAAAAHHHHH!!!! My heart sank. We had all these people and ALL of us had kids. OMG! If any of them gets poison ivy internally, I will just die! He seemed to feel it looked "old". D@m& those people who left me their mess. OOOHHHH, you just wait. I do a lot of yard work Spring - Fall. I've got an incling as to whom it may be, b/c last year I was hanging laundry on the line and noticed my rose-of-sharon that's behind my privacy fence moving around. Then, I saw the old man that lives behind us walking to his house.... his yard all neat and crap. Well, I have TWO DOGS buddy! ...and "crap" is right! Anyway, guess what I have all over my arms and the creases of my elbows and my fingers! Yep, poison ivy! I don't think it came from when we burned it. It was when we were loading it all up in the truck to take over, I bet! André didn't get anything... Black people!

So, that story is actually a little off subject from what I wanted to right about (A.D.D. much?). My heart truly lies in the open road. OHHH how I long to visit my family out of state! I think I'm going to plan a two week road trip for this year, perhaps when André gets laid off. I don't know. I want to stop by Kentucky, first and visit André's Aunt Cleo (her middle name's Patra. Isn't that cool?) She lives in Louisville. She's much older that André's father (in her 80's) and we'd like to spend some time with her. Then, we have some of the DEAREST friends ever, that I miss so much, in Virginia. Kim and James and the girls. They are really our family more than friends! I forced Kim to be my friend and have been bugging her ever since! They have the most delicious girls around, Jada and Olivia. They left Ohio and went back to VA and we've seen them...twice. They only live 6 hours away (but the roads are so windy, I'm car sick every time we show up!).

Then, we have friends that live in North Carolina, Guy and Veda, who are always up for the company. I believe they just had their 3rd baby! Congrats!

But, our final and last stop will be where my heart has lied since I was 2... Where the humidity takes your breathe away and every beach you go to has a different color of sand. A place that, no matter where you go, has a man on the corner selling boiled peanuts! Aaaahhhh. Boiled Peanuts! The home of the Gators. Florida! My family lives in Jacksonville. Well, actually, McKlinney, but it's just a little town near Jacksonville. My favorite spot, though is St. Augustine! I'm not exactly sure what we're going to do this year b/c I'd really like to see the golf side. It's amazing how the difference is from one side to the other. We'll see. I'll have to do some research. Ugh! But, it'll be worth it!

Sophie, Kitty #2

2009-03-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

(This is an older, updated post.)

Okay... we did it again. Why? Don't know. Really I have felt Lucy needed a playmate for a while now. I came in contact with this woman that literally ran into a box of kittens someone had abandoned on the side of a busy road. They were in sore condition and it's been hard for her to keep them on her own (she already has 3!) So, I gave in and accepted one. I'll post her picture later. She's really cute. Her name's Sophie. We're not sure her age. I'm gonna say about 7 weeks.

-That was the old post. Sophie is just what Lucifur needed. Sophie is the sweetest furball ever and she's tough enough to stand up to LuLu! She was a pretty smart addition.

Our Kitty, Lucy

2009-03-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

We've adopted a kitten and named her Lucy. At 4 weeks old, her mommy (who is a stray) was hit by a car and left Lucy and her 3 siblings orphaned. So, it wasn't a difficult decision to welcome her into our family home! However, Lucy has become a demon cat from Hades. We call her Luci'fur'. She was such a sweet little thing. The first time I bathed her (she was a stray) she pierced my thumb with her tooth. OUCH!!! She ain't been right ever since. But, for some reason, I think it's histerical the way she keeps her distance and hisses at anyone her comes her way. She loves André, tho. I think it's b/c he never messes with her. I'd say it's b/c he's a man, but she doesn't care for Talon much... of course, that could be b/c of obvious reasons. He's Talon... She does like Ré most of the time. I like how Ré handles her. She just says, "Oh ,be quiet."

Here's Lu @ 4 weeks and Lu NOW!

Found this cute video of Talon.

2009-03-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

Talon was about 2 1/2 in this video. I just think that it was too cute... Why I love 2 year olds!

Life Skills... I thought I had 'em.

2009-03-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

I'm reading this really informative book on "Life Skills". What attracted me to it was that I've always been flooding my mind with ideas of homeschooling my children... Right now my daughter is doing amazing in her school... I don't really care for my son's school so, I volunteer quite a bit and hope to get him into Ré's school next year. However, I'm always looking for ways to empower me as their first teacher and keep the door open for homeschooling if the circumstance arises.

So, I found this book. As I began reading it, I felt as though we already do most of the suggestions... Ya know, we pretty much have the children do everything we do, along side us... for the most part. My daughter is an amazing cook (scrambled eggs, fried eggs, omelets, pancakes, brownies... that kind of thing) and my son, who has no fear, insists on using the saw or axe to chop wood. They clean, sometimes better than others. But, there's still something I'm not doing quite right. Like, I'm very anal when it comes to my house being clean. I know, it's all me... It's kinda an OCD thing. So, if they fuss or are bored, I give 'em a broom or a rag. It's not always a great job, but it keeps 'em busy and I figure, with practice, one day they'll be great.

Now, I know that most people don't enjoy being "responsible" but I do want my kids to see the need in it (I don't want my kids to be able to read every book in the library, but lack the skills to dry dishes well) so, I was hoping that the book would give me some good ideas (I'm always game for a good idea). But, what I've found is that there were some things that I never thought of. For instance, about my own life.... I don't think my mother intended on this, but she didn't really "teach" me life skills. Now let me explain before everyone assumes I'm saying she was a terrible parent (we could go on for days). What I'm saying is that there weren't very many "skills" she literally taught me. Like, she cooked... and I'd watch. I don't recall much of her allowing me to do something entirely on my own with her over my shoulder giving me step-by-step instructions. But, I remember when I moved out having to call her for step-by-step instructions on things like how to make spaghetti or how to do my laundry. Now, as a kid I had chores and there were certain things that I'd figured out. But I learned to sew from a fashion design course I took in high school. My mother can sew beautifully, but, I didn't connect with her on it until after I had already learned from school. And I have family members that can make jewelry or quilt or paint a car or sew anything that you'd ever dream of or cook like they were born with garlic in one hand and perfect temperature in the other hand. Ohhhh, how I wish Aunt Elsie would have taught me to quilt or widdle wood (she's made so many amazing pieces of furniture, tables, chairs, etc.).

I didn't know how to fill out a time sheet for field service. Mom would dictate certain things and then leave it at that. Not that she didn't teach me things, I learned a lot. But, as far as "life skills" go... I really wish I would have learned much more. I did chores perfectly b/c my parents ran a tight shift with that. My dad is really OCD, he had somewhat of an unstable childhood and had to have something in control. Plus he was in the Navy and trained to keep everything spotless, ironed and organized. If I went to bed without doing dishes I was awakened (no matter what the hour) by pan lids being banged together or my mom would spray me with a water bottle to waken me... (needless to say, I hate dishes, ugh!) I was also taught to mow the lawn pretty well, ya know with a pattern and all.

I just think that we, as parents, feel we teach our kids a lot (which we do) but there's still holes in our parenting that we tend to overlook. Sometimes it's hard to stand back and let them do their own thing. Like, I want teenagers that actually clean their room and do dishes well....Which means I'm going to have to give step-by-step instructions several times and walk with them as they sweep the floor - otherwise, they just do one line down the middle of the room. I have to take time out and teach and be okay with the outcome. I have a huge problem with refolding the towels or socks that my kids have folded.:-/

My daughter loves to read (many times I've awoken in the middle of the night to use the restroom and found her with a book STILL AWAKE, reading...) but, I don't want her to not be able to change a tire or iron her shirts... My son is very hands on, I don't want him to fail at helping to keep a clean home and helping his wife and family to do things like cooking or braiding his daughter's hair.

In reading this book, I've found that there were a few things that made sense that my husband and I didn't come into our own marriage with. Truthfully, we lacked a lot. I could do most things, but when kids came, we assumed these steriotypical "roles" that we talked so much about never assuming. It was 50-50, yeah right! I would like my children to be responsible and then have responsible marriages and raise their own children to have these life skills. I think it will help to lead to their happiness later, do ya know what I mean? There have been many times where my hubby (whom I love dearly) could have just helped a little bit or cooked when I was pregnant... not that he can't cook, it just wasn't enforced and he had no desire, so we had a lot of take out... And don't let me get sick! The entire house seems to fall apart.

I hope I'm explaining this well... I'm not trying to come across as berating anyone, I'm simply saying there are some things that we tend to take for granted and forget about. I love being reminded of things that I never thought much about before. And I love my life. I love being domestic... most of the time.

Columbus Zoo. Who hasn't?

2009-03-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Dad invited us, so graciously, to the zoo over the summer(2008). He is a cancer survivor and every year they have some sort of special event. It was really nice! We raced around trying to see everything. It was us 4, Dad, Missy and the kids. It was a really nice time...

Where's Dad's Phone????

2009-03-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

I (Heather) was just talking to dad on the phone. He started freakin' out. He said he couldn't find his cell phone. Now, if you know my father... he's a very interesting chap! It doesn't take much to fascinate him and he hasn't always been up to date on electronic gadgets. Needless to say this was one of his first cell phones...
He checked his pocket, not there. He checked the table, not there. It took him all of 45 seconds to realize he WAS TAKLING TO ME ON IT!!! I just had to share it.

Early sign of alzheimer's/ old timers?

"Natural Stimulation"

2009-03-15T12:07:00.001-07:00

This was a picture that I took of RéAnna on the day she turned 1 year old. I entered it into a contest and won. My photograph was published in a book of many photos. I really didn't expect anything to come of it. I just thought she was cute...

Talon's First Day of School! Sept. 12, 2008

2009-03-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought it'd never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever...(you get the point) happen. But, it did. September 12th, 2008. Talon had his first day of kindergarten! His teacher's name is Mrs. Bohn (pronounced 'bone', which Talon loves. He said it's like Dinosaurs.) and she's really nice and Talon really likes her. She has an assistant teacher working with her, Ms. Turner. And boy does she need it. She handles 25! kids in her class. So, hopefully all will go well. Talon has his first field trip to a pumpkin farm October 3rd. We'll post some pics for that whence it happens.

Dogs!

2009-03-15T12:02:00.001-07:00

This was another "older post" on my family site...

But, THEY'RE JUST SO SWEET!!!....

You know there was a time where I just wanted a moment to myself while I used the restroom, ya know, with having a husband and 2 kids. Now, I would love to be able to walk into a room without having my crotch sniffed! Let me start from the beginning. My kids (and husband) had been talking about wanted to get a pet for awhile. I said that if we removed the carpeting and finished the hardwood underneath and got a couple of air purifiers I would consider. Well, we did... so, I thought we'd just get a cat. I like cats, you know. They come over to snuggle and then, when they're done with you, they go away and sleep all day. All you have to worry about is the litter (so, my naive mind thought) and I clean that thing 2x a day. Well, my friend had called me one day and said that the stray cat her mother had been feeding had just been hit by a car. Which wouldn't faze me so much, but she had just had a litter of kittens about 4 weeks before this happened and was keeping them under their hot tub. So, immediately I began thinking. I could come and see them and surprise the kids with a new baby kitten. I was doing the humane thing. I'm RESCUING! Not so bad, right? WRONG! The first day I brought her home, everyone loved her and wanted to hold her, she was adorable. But, I figured since she was a stray I needed to bathe her. So, I got on the internet (keep in mind, I've always HAD pets, but my parents did the 'caring' for them, and she was only 4 weeks so I was getting advice on how to bottle feed her and such) and there was a 'care for your kitten' site. It said that a kitten should be blow dried so that they don't get chilled and get sick. So, upstairs we went to wash the cute little furball. As I did the blow drying thing, I could tell she wasn't enjoying herself. However, no harm was being done... until she pierced my thumb with her cute little baby tooth! Okay. I can take a hint. However, ever since that, she has been like the cat from HELL! You know the expression "meaner than cat dirt". I'm thinking that's somehow connected to Lucy. Which, by the way, we named her after "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", now we call her Luci-fur! So, still just a kitten, we figured in order for her to release some of her aggression we'd get her a buddy. That's how we ended up with Sophie (which is my absolute favorite pet). Well, the first 3 days Sophie (which was an abandoned kitten I found on Craig's List) was with us, I really thought Lucy was going to hack her up and gobble her down. But, after the 3rd day they have been best buds. It was exactly was Lucy needed. Now she's still a witch to us, but her and Sophie are cool. I don't know why, but I still like that little heifer! That was in March-May of 2008. Well, it didn't take very long for the kids to figure out that cats "don't do anything" and I really didn't want a dog. Not just yet. Dogs require so much effort and I just got Talon and Ré BOTH in school. However, I was on Craig's List (D@%* you Craig's List!) and I happened upon these puppies and just mentioned to my husband that if I was to ever get a dog these would be the kind I would get. They were amazingly beautiful. Their mother was full-blooded Treeing Walker Coonhound and I guess their "dad" was a neighbor's (wink wink) Black Lab. There were puppies she had birthed. I was scared that if I didn't at least go and look at these that I may "pass up the only dog that's out there for me". (Stupid girl) So, we went to see them, long story short: adorable, piled high pot bellied puppies came to greet us, picked a beautiful gray one, owner (sad they may not all find a home) handed André a second one and said, "Buy one, get one free"! We were sooooo stupid. They were soooo cute! Who could say no to them? Well, if there was ever a moment I'd like to go back to... So, within a matter of 6 months we went from 12 years of having NO animals to having 4 animals, a chewed/tore-up couch, chewed up leather chair, an enormously large dog kinnel that has nowhere else to go except for my dining room, about 20 squeek toys and 30-40 dollars a month in pet food. Tell me again, why....

OOOHHHH, that's why...

My Heart Was Crushed!

2009-03-15T11:52:00.000-07:00

I was just on one of my best childhood friends websites, you know just seeing what was new in her life, (and I probably shouldn't be doing this... I know it's gonna get me in trouble... letigo!) but I read a blog that she posted and I was so heartbroken by it.

So, you know I'm a J.W. and she was raised by Witness parents... As she got older she decided that it wasn't for her. Which is completely fine, people choose their own paths.

Okay. Here's a copy of her blog:

Knock, knock (Who’s there?)

Jehovah.

I just had a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses at my door. Some of you may know that I was raised by parents under the influence of that religion. It was kinda weird to be on the other side of the door. I let them ramble on for a few minutes; they seemed nice enough, but cut her off with "I'm not really interested" when she offered to leave an Awake magazine and come back later to talk about it. Should I have told her about my upbringing and how I never believed any of the stuff that church tried to brainwash me with? Probably not. It wouldn't have made any difference with her. Or maybe they would have put me on their "do not call" list. They actually have one of those. Eh. I'm glad that I'm a grown-up now and I don't have to let an organization make my life decisions for me.

~ Then here were some of the comments:

*Heh. That happened to me once. I didn't answer the door. :) Posted by lydia on Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 3:08 PM
* I was tricked, because I was expecting someone else. So when my buzzer sounded, I thought it was my friend. Oh boy, was I wrong... Posted by Naomi on Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 12:12 AM *i just tell them i'm an atheist. if that doesnt work i invite them in for pasta...in my shower. that usually does the trick. Posted by Lettus on Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 3:48 AM

Okay, now, I'm trying not to take things personally and when I see us being made fun of by comedians or on TV, I actually find it somewhat humerous... You know, at least we're known for going door to door. Jesus did the same thing and was chastised. So, I'm cool with it, too. But, this was my dearest childhood friend. Now, I could go on an endless ride that would list the many things she's done in her life that I've worried about. Some were down right dangerous. But, she's my friend and I'm NO ONE to judge, I've got my own list, ya know.

But, I feel so slandered by her. It's one thing to say, I'm moving on. It's another to talk about "brainwashing" and what not... And that's still her family! Who have done more than most families would do for someone.

So, of course, I had to leave a message... and I probably should have let it go. It's not my site. She can say whatever she wants. You know, if she was talking about me... I'm not so sure I'd care as much. Well, anyway... this is a copy of the comment that I posted:

Do you really feel you were brainwashed by "that religion" that you couldn't make decisions on your own or that maybe you just had strict parents? Whether you were raised Catholic, Buddist or with no "religion at all" you'd still have something to complain about b/c you hated how your parents "controlled" you. Your dad would always be just that, your dad. It wasn't the "religion" that caused him to be a jerk to you (as you've mentioned to me more than once, twice or thrice). He was just a jerk! You know the funny thing is that we've never hurt anyone and the society really tries to teach us how to be peaceful people. If you have a bad apple, does that mean the whole tree's rotten?

Sometimes when we "grow up" it's nice to let things go. And if you were an athiest, I'd still love you and I would never judge you for your decisions the way I get judged for mine... Truly "happy" people always seem to find time to bother themselves with the lives of others and chastise them for their decisions, even tho they wouldn't want the same in return. Did you ever think that these "Jehovah's Witnesses" may have liked to make other plans for their Saturday afternoon/morning? Maybe spend time with their family or take their kids to the park or "wait on someone else" to come over and visit them? Maybe they'd just like to sleep in one day, but they didn't. Instead they VOLUNTEERED (that means "not getting paid for" what is being done! The only motivation is compassion for others...) their time and resources just to offer an encouraging word to someone (obviously it wasn't you) who may have been really needing it...

You know, I'm sure that my grandmother will never accept "those beliefs" as her own, but she absolutely enjoys it when they come to "visit her" b/c for that day, that may be all the company she gets. She has family members that literally live within walking distance that don't even CALL her, but she knows that when they (JW's) say they'll come, there they are. They don't ask for ANYTHING in return from her, no money, no commitment, half the time she doesn't even take the literature. But, as long as she's still willing to open her door and would like to talk, they'll keep coming back... I'm sorry I've rambled on. You know I love you, Naomi. I'm just a little hurt. And I've had a little too much coffee! But, I feel the need to defend this issue... I know this is just your thoughts. And maybe you never thought I'd see it, or maybe you knew I would and didn't care. That is still your family. I am sooooo glad that you've found the love of your life and true happiness. Why do you still bash us? And didn't you just go to the Kingdom Hall with your family recently? Why? You've never been one to do something you didn't want to. You know, when your parents get Maddie, they always bring her to the hall and she's so popular with all of the kids that she's always being invited to someone's house. Do you think we "brainwash" her? She had a blast at the tea party. She comes to my home and she's "another one of MY kids". I just don't understand... I'm sorry. I truly am. Please forgive me for spewing my guts out on your site. I do love you... Posted by Lady of Ire! on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 2:22 PM

Jokes? Got any?

2009-03-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Much of our time is "go go go", so one of our favorite things to do is sypher through wholesome riddles and jokes and see if the kids know. It's really great when we're dining out or in the car or whatever. The kids love it, but I must admit, I think it's histerical! I have a few, does anyone have any more?

RIDDLES
1. What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in an hour?

2. What can you catch but not throw?

3. What gets wetter the more it dries?

4. Forward I am heavy, backward I am not. What am I?

5. The man who bought it doesn’t need it. The man who needs it doesn’t know it. What is it?

6. What goes around the world but stays in the corner?

7. Light as a feather there is nothing in it. The strongest man can’t hold it much more than a minute. What is it?

8. What object has keys that open no locks, space but not room, and you can enter but not go in?

9. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?

10. No sooner spoken than it’s broken. What is it?

11. There is a thing that nothing is, and yet it has a name. It’s sometimes tall and sometimes short. It joins our talks and joins our sports, and plays our every game. What is it?

12. Pronounced as one letter and written as three. Two letter there are and two only in me. I’m double, I’m single, I’m blue, green, and gray. I’m read from both ends and the same either way. What am I?

13. We are little creatures; all of us have different features. One of us is set in glass, one of us you’ll find in jet. Another you may see in tin, and the fourth boxed within. If the fifth you should pursue, it can never fly away from you. What are we?

Did you get any? Well, here are the answers:

1. The letter M
2. A cold
3. A towel
4. A ton
5. A coffin
6. A stamp
7. A breath
8. A keyboard
9. Footsteps
10. Silence
11. Shadows
12. Eye
13. The vowels A, E, I, O. and U"

Here's another one:
Q: If a plane crashed on the border of England and Scotland, where would they bury the survivors?
A: you don't bury survivors

Q: Twelve pears hanging high, twelve men passing by, each took a pear and left eleven hanging there. How can this be? How can eleven pears be left?
A: 'Each' is a mans name!

Q: If there's a frog, dead in the centre of a lilypad which is right in the middle of the pond, which side would it jump to?
A: neither, the frog is dead!

Q: You're a bus driver. At the first stop 4 people get on. At the second stop 8 people on, at the third stop 2 people get off and, at the forth stop everyone got off. The question is what color are the bus drivers eyes?
A: The same as yours, you're the bus driver.

Q: David's father has three sons : Snap, Crackle and _____ ?
A: David

Q: What has a mouth but doesn't eat, a bank with no money, a bed but doesn't sleep, and waves but has no hands?
A: a river.

Q: If the red house is on the right side and if the blue house is on the left side where's the white house?
A: Washington DC

Q: A cowboy rode to an inn on Friday. He stayed two nights and left on Friday. How could that be?
A: His horse was called Friday.

Wise ol' Heather. Age 30...

2009-03-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I've had many firsts over the last couple of years... Mostly thanks to my children. Well, 2 years ago was a new first. ReAnna's 2nd grade teacher was 3 years my junior! Never had that happen before. I began with a very skeptical attitude, but it turned out to be a very pleasant year. She was just amazing, not only with my baby, but great with all of the others, too. I truly have a place in my heart for this particular teach b/c she really helped to set the foundation for the attitudes of the children towards ReAnna's religious beliefs.

Well, she has recently (last few months) had a baby girl of her own. Going along with all of the stresses and worries, I gave her a bit of unsolicited advice.

Here goes:

Teacher wrote: February 27 at 6:40pm "Thanks for the websites...I will check them out out... and I know what you mean about feeling like I am doing everything wrong. Does the worrying ever go away?

I hope I get to have Talon in class.

Sounds like you are busy with puppies! Mine our driving me crazy..I feel like I have 3 children!
I need to post pics of (baby)...although recently an administrator told me that teachers should not have facebook pages. OOPS! I love this, it has helped me reconnect with people I have not heard from in years.

Sounds like (baby) needs me! More later! So good to hear from you! Molly:)"

Then, I wrote:
"Well... the bad news is: the worrying never ends. The good news is: the worrying never ends. It's just like the stages of your child's life. You trade one stage in for the next. Ya know, like... crying for sassing. As they grow, they prove that they're not as fragile as we think. I remember when I had Ré. I went over to a friend's house that was selling a product and I was supportin' the cause, blah blah blah. Well, she had a lady that was attending also. She was a very kind lady, and it shocked me to death to find out that she had birthed 8 BABIES! She looked GOOD! Well, so I figured she knew what she was doing when she asked to hold my precious gem... She threw her around like a rag doll. Ohhhh. It was so hard to bite my tongue, thinking every swing on this lady's hip would be Ré's last bit of survival. But, ya know... Ré (who didn't go to many others at first) was so unbelievably comfortable with this woman. Now, she was only about 2 months old. Ya know, the times before there's much neck strength. But, she was just fine. Our kids tend to show us that they'll be fine.. We just choose not to see it right away. There's also a whole lotta hormonal crap that goes on initially. I had post partum with both of mine. Once I found out that many women dealt with it, I was able to think rationally about it. I noticed this overwhelming feeling of "aloneness" (even if my husband was sitting right next to me!) towards the evening hours. So, I would make sure that I was home and comfortable around that time. I tried to talk to hubby about it, but I truly think they go through some stuff, too. He used to cry b/c everytime he'd want to hold the kids (when they were new) they'd cry. They only wanted me and he felt he 'failed as a father'.... Ya know.. when you're pregnant there are so many things people tell you..."Get plenty of sleep now, you won't have any when the baby comes" (yeah right. were they ever pregnant. I didn't sleep for about 7 months b4 Talon came along. And the lack of sleep didn't bother me as much as the "crying and I'm not sure why" sinarios.) or blah blah blah "poopy diapers"... There are 3 main things noone tells you: 1. They've been in you for 10 months. They only know and want YOU! Your smell, feel, sound. UGH! Don't feel bad dads, it does go away. It has nothing to do with their lack of skills! 2. It doesn't last forever. Sometimes you feel that this is what you'll deal with the rest of your life. Nope. They grow. You never hear anyone say that. "Guess what. Your daughter is going to be a fourth grader!" and 3. You'll be an amazing mother. Noone says that. They tell you all of the things that they did wrong or express their unsolicited opinions of "not to have any". Never, "Man. I couldn't have picked a better mother for a child." If you heard that stuff, koodos to your supporters. So, I always try to remember that kinda stuff when I get my chance to talk to the mommies. Motherhood is THE MOST EMPOWERING THING YOU WILL EVER DO WITH YOUR LIFE! That lack of confidence you feel... that's the sign letting you know, you are doing everything just right! It's one of those hine sight things. You won't see it just yet. But, like I said b4... we try hard not to scar them for life or screw them up, we end up doing more harm than good, yet, they turn out absolutely fine! We care. We try. We love them to no end! They drive us nuts. We want to throw them out of the window or drop them off at the local shelter. But, they turn out fine! ... and the best part! They LOVE us! (Until 13 when they think we are no longer the smartest people on the planet! LOL. You wait. It won't be long b4 Averi looks up at ya and says, "Mom. You're so smart." When she does, record it... for proof! :-) Anyhoo, did I ever mention that I tend to talk a lot?... I'm sure you never noticed when you had Ré...;-) I truly hope you get Talon. I just hope his desire to learn isn't entirely demolished by then! I just never remember being in K and telling my parents that I didn't want to go to school... oh, well.

Well, I'll let you go. Take care of yourself, first! It's not selfish. It's the most loving thing you can do for her. I didn't realize that until I was ready to leave!!! Not that I EVER would have.

Oh, yeah. Also, hold her as much as possible. That whole cry it out crap and holding a baby spoils her is a bunch of B.S. They become much more comfortable with you and then before you know it, they can sleep anywhere. They develop that comfort and confidence that you'll give 'em what they need right away. Again, unsolicited advice. Never listen to other people... including me! ;-) It's called "instinctive parenting". It's the best kind. Most tried and true. Ask you grandmother!"

"P.S. Oh. And the facebook thing... It's not wrong for a teacher to have one. Just don't post any NUDES and show them to the students! LOL What morons!"

So, yes, I know... a very long-winded use of a platform that I have only stood on for a few short years. But, I do have to admit, it can be very invigorating to share just a little something you've learned with another woman. What do you think?

Out of the mouth of babes!

2009-03-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

I've got a feeling I'm going to write a lot of blogs similar to this one... Oh, where do I begin?... So, you know my kids... they're very interesting and funny and 100% honest (well, except for Talon... he's realized sometimes when he tells the truth, it gets him into trouble... Ré on the other hand constantly tells the truth, even when it's to her deficit:-/ ).

Well, anyhoo... I'm getting the kids up and ready for school this morning. The kids are sitting on my bed talking, when Talon says, "Mommy, what's 'classic' mean?" So, I proceed to explain that it involves things that are old, but good; tried and true. Something that was invented, sung, driven, written, or made a long time ago and has proven it's test of time. It was such a great thing way back when that it's lasted or stuck with us up to now. I thought it was a pretty good question and I was really impressed with my answer, b/c Talon seems to ask these intriguing questions that I never really thought about. RéAnna always asked questions about life and reality, sometimes it was difficult to explain, but for the most part I simply overwhelmed her with the knowledge I carried.

Talon on the other hand asks things like, 'how does the picture come on the tv?' or 'why did dinosaurs eat meat when Jehovah made them to be nice?'. You know, stuff that I really don't know quite how to explain to a 5 year old boy that seems to maybe not be listening to me anyway, I just take for granted that someone else figured it out.

Well, after about 10-15 minutes of me fixing my hair, I hear Talon holler from the bedroom, "Mom! You're Classic!" .....hhhmmmmmm???? Then, I hear RéAnna yell back, "Talon. You just called Mommy old! I mean she is up there and she knows quite a bit..."

Thanks Guys! Now there was something else that happened this morning... Something Ré did that was funny... I just can't remember what it was... GGGRRRRR!!! Maybe I am getting old... UGH!

Circle S Pumpkin Farm Field Trip

2009-03-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is Tyra!

Another mother volunteer walking with her girl.

My Guy, Taligator!

Going on the hay ride!

Back in the classroom.

Not in any kind of order...

This is a class picture with assistant teacher, Ms. Turner. She was excellent! We miss her very much.

Talon and Sarai, Amari's sister that's 'helping'.

On the bus!

Talon had 2 firsts today!

One was his first field trip.

The other was his first ride on a school bus!

He went to the Pumpkin Farm and rode a hay ride, got lost in a maze of haystacks, played in the barn full of hay and slides, sat on big fat pumpkins and picked his own pumpkin.... I'm pumpkined out!

Yes, I volunteered... yeah, speechless... I'll keep my comments to myself. This day was about Talon! Gosh, he had so much fun and it was a gorgeous day to do it!

FYI

2009-03-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone (probably only me) that reads this that I'm in the process of transferring my easysite info from there to here. So, I'm copying and pasting some of my easysite posts to this site. Why? Easysite costs, blogger doesn't. Hopefully blogger will stay around for a long time and I won't lose my information, but what can ya do. We're poor. Free's my favorite price. So, you may see some repeat blogs, but I wanna set this site up and it looks kinda naked!

Talon'thh toooottthhhh finally came outh!

2009-03-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, sir. Finally, my 5 year old son has lost his first tooth. And the way it happened was toooooth classic. He had been working with the thing for a little while now.... back and forth, tooth and fro. Well, while he was in my bedroom he became frustratedly angry with his sister and bit the corner of my bed and out it came... Silly boy. So, then I explained to him that every time he bites something that's not food he's going to lose a tooth! I wonder if he believes me....

Canasta is sooo much fun!!

2009-03-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Canasta is great!
I don't know why it's taken me so long to learn this game, but I'm hooked. My mamaw (Nellie Pritchard) just taught me. Man, I don't get it... but, it's so addictive! Every time I play (all 4) I get smashed! The worst one was when I was teaching my friend Cyndi and she doubled her score in our second hand and KILLED me! It was her first time! And I (even tho I didn't know what I was doing really) was supposed to be teaching her. Is it possible to enjoy something so much that you are simply incredibly terrible????

RéAnna's first talk: "God has a name"

2009-03-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

RéAnna had her first public talk in the Ministry School. It was entitled "God has a name". She did such an awesome job! I'm so glad that there's just some things she gets!

For those that couldn't see it -b/c you live over 500 miles away:-( - here's her outline. (BTW, I was her householder. Her setting was witnessing to her music teacher at school. She was working on the first point of counsil: Accurate Reading.)

R-Hey Mrs. Hurt.

M-Hello RéAnna. We missed you at the winter play last night. What happened to ya?

R-Oh. Well, on Tuesday nights my family tries to do our family worship together.

M-What does that mean, ‘family worship’?

R-It’s where we all sit down and study subjects that are in the bible and learn about Jehovah.

M-Oh, okay. You know, if you don’t mind my asking, why is it that you always Him that? I mean no offense, but why don’t you just call Him "God" or "Lord".

R-Actually, I’m not offended at all. I’m glad you asked me that question because we just talked about his name a little bit last night and I wrote a few things down that I wanted to remember… One of the points made was that there are scriptures in the bible that tell us that God named the angels, he named the stars, Adam and Eve, and he even gave Adam the job of naming the animals. You can read that for yourself at Genesis 2:19.

M-reads Genesis 2:19 - 19 Now Jehovah God was forming from the ground every wild beast of the field and every flying creature of the heavens, and he began bringing them to the man to see what he would call each one; and whatever the man would call it, each living soul, that was its name.

R-So, do you think that it would make sense that God would probably have a name too?

M-I don’t know… It’s God. Does He need a name? He knows who He is.

R-Do you think that God has feelings like we do?

M-Sure. I think He gets mad and feels love and joy. I do know that we were made in His likeness.

R-You know, the other day I saw my first grade teacher at Walmart and she didn’t remember my name, and I was kinda bummed out. How do you feel when someone that you haven’t seen for awhile remembers your name?

M-I do feel kinda special. Okay, I see your point.

R-We also talked about a scripture at Isaiah 42:8. Would you like to read that?

M-reads Isaiah 42:8- "I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images. Hmmm. I don’t ever remember reading that.

R-I’m also sure you’re familiar with the Lord’s Model Prayer. Let’s look at it again… Matthew 6:9.

M-reads Matt 6:9-"YOU must pray, then, this way: "‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.

R-I learned that here Jesus is telling us that God wants us to know He has a name and that we should tell others His name…

M-Well thank you for sharing what you’ve learned with me.

R-That‘s no problem. I probably should be getting to class, but I did want you to know that I have a magazine at home that talks all about God’s name, Jehovah. It will help you look in your own bible and see what His name is and why a lot of bibles don‘t use His name in them. I could bring it to you tomorrow if you’d like.

M-I most definitely would. That’d be great! Thank you, RéAnna.

This was actually based on a discussion that RéAnna had with our neighbor. We catered it to fit her assignment. She was awesome! Did I already say that?

No more tubes! No more balls!

2009-03-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally did it. Something we've longed for over the last 7 months! We got the kitties and pups fixed! Finally! Now, here lies the true test... Will they calm the friggin' heck down?! Well, it's only been about 3 days and so far not a big change. Their stitched and incisions look awful. I feel terrible for all of them, really. The female cats were placed on a hallucinogen so when they came to, Sophie (my sweet, loveable, kind kitty) was mad at the entire world! Not to mention she couldn't walk a straight line, something she prides herself on. Lucy (whom we also coin as "Lucifer, the demon cat from hades"! She likes noone! Well, I take that back. RéAnna won't put up with her aggressive crap and forces her to like her and André never gives her the time of day and she seems to flock to his legs whenever he enters the room...) seemed very loveable. Weellll, it's all wore off and they're back to their normal selves. Sophie won't stop nursing on my blanket and Lucy attacks me every time I get too close. The pups on the other hand... They act as though nothing ever happened. I have to force them to settle down. Mostly, they sit in their cage (under the doc's suggestion) for the first 5-7 days. Well, hopefully they'll stop humping everything, including each other!

Sunday Morning

2009-03-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love that song? Well, so far we've lit the woodburner (not that we needed to... we just love the mood it sets... the weather has been so nice, warm enough to open a window, but cool enough to light the wood... aaahhh SPRING!), chased the dogs that broke through the screen on the back sliding doors (did you know that the body shape of a coonhound was built for speed?), got somewhat dressed to work in the yard (plantin' grass... no, not that kind... :-p you were thinkin' it!), assisted the children in making a mess by adding creativity to a pair of pants and a shirt (glitter, markers... turned out pretty cool), made sausage, biscuit, egg sandwiches for breakfast, steeped coffee, watched my husband get more than frustrated over our leaking faucet (that I'm pretty sure I broke... no cuss words yet... hopefully...), fed animals, used the potty, read an article on the net about a childhood friend that has been captured for a triple murder, listen to Talon whine about wanting cereal - again, and it's barely noon...