A THOUSAND WORDS THURSDAY

On Dec 12th, 2006 I was cleaning out the refrigerator when it hit me that it was a little TOO quiet ~ you know that sinking feeling that something is wrong. Well I went to Elijah's room and he was happily drawing then I could NOT find Isaiah. I looked for what seemed like forever. Inside. Outside. Under beds. Closets. Bathtubs. Behind furniture. He was no where. He was only 18months old he couldn't be too far, right? With my panic came the shaky voice screaming out his name then I heard a faint giggling coming from...........yep baby boy had crawled into the refrigerator while I was scrubbing shelves in the sink and he shut the door. I opened the door and he said, "Boo Momma!" It was one of those laugh and cry at the same moment times THEN I went to get the camera. He was very excited about his successful hiding place and did NOT want to get out. Needless to say he was NOT happy when I put the shelves back in and he would NO longer fit!!

To see more A Thousand Words Thursday posts or to join in the fun go to:

WRITER'S WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY: MR. PLOWMAN!

For this week's Writer's Workshop Wednesday I chose ~ write a letter to someone who bothered you this week! Not sure if this is allowed but I kind of switched it to a song that I have been singing and creating all day! I'm telling ya'll I'm sick in the head...hehe!

First of all it goes to the tune of Mr. Sandman.....you know the one.....Mr.Sandman, bring me a dream, make him the cutest that I've ever seen.....ok I will wait as you catch the tune and get your vocals ready...


.....still waiting because I know some of ya'll are googling to get the tune because when you had kids they sucked the brains and memory clear out of your head like they did mine! Why do you think I stopped with kid number 2? Besides ya'll know you originally started blogging so you wouldn't forget all the crazy cute things your kids do!.....




....ready, let's go.....


Mr. Plowman, we need to talk (bum bum bum bum)
I need a break so let's take a walk (bum bum bum bum)
Your plowing maaaaiiinn streets the sun melted (bum bum bum bum)
The cars behind you are getting pelted.
Plowman, I'm not alone
The Okie Mommss don't want to stay home
Please plow the right streets
Mr. Plowman we need to meet!


(bum bum bum bum bum........)



Mr. Plowman, YOU don't get it
I've had more fun just pinching my zits
The kids are bored, restless and fighty
The cabin fever symptoms are so mighty
Plowman, I'm not alone
The Okie Mommss don't want to stay home
Pleeeease plow the right streets
Mr. Plowman, we need to meet!



(bum bum bum bum bum........)



Mr. Plowman, (male voice: "Yessss!") us Mom's are real coollllll
but our ki-ids need back in school
The maaaaiinn streets are clear of all icy
so do the streets by homes it would be nicey
Sandman, please plow the bus routes (plow the bus routes)
Before the Okie Moms go on the outs
We'rrree going o-nn day three
Mr. Plowman plow them, please please please
Mr. Plowman plow the right streets!



Rough I know! I only changed it a kazillion times while singing the madness today after I saw the plows going down clear main roads and received a call cancelling school tomorrow yet AGAIN due to unclear bus routes! Not bitter! Not bitter at all I tell you!

For more Writer's Workshop Wednesday posts go to

and join in the madness!

JUST ANOTHER MANIC MID-WEEK DAY!

I get a call from a friend tonight whom I haven't talked to in a little while. She says, "How was your day?" Not sure if she really wanted to know but this was my answer!!

This is how my day has gone.....

8:30am ~ Dad calls telling me he won't be in today because he went to the ER last night and he has two kidney stones. This means more than likely he will NOT be making his Aunt's funeral or pickup up my Grandma to take her to Iowa for her sister's funeral. What now?

9:00am ~ While getting out of the shower, I hear Isaiah having a coughing fit. I go to check on him wrapped up in my nifty new Sexy Mama towel Momacita Cleta made me when low and behold he coughs, gags then vomits on my feet! Nice! He doesn't have the flu or anything like that he just does this if he gets any cough AT ALL! I think he has my easily triggered gag reflex!

9:15am ~ Done with shower #2

9:20am ~ Mom calls to tell me about Dad going to the ER not knowing he already called. She wants to know if I will stop by his doctor's office to pick up his medicines. Ok what is one more stop for Dad!

10:00am ~ We are finally in the car and on our way!

10:40am ~ FINALLY leaving the doctor's office! I thought I was going to go postal in there, seriously! First I had to wait in the line with 5 people in front of me. Going pretty fast until the man directly in front of me had a NEVER. ENDING. STORY. I thought I was going to rip my hair out! This man kept asking the same question over and over and over again and without fail the receptionist kept saying I don't know sir you will have to ask him when you see him. He kept saying, "Well is he going to do it!" Same cookie cutter response. "Well is he going to do it!" Again same cookie cutter response! Man....GET. A. CLUE. she does not know!! I thought for a minute maybe he needed a quick slap on the back of the head because he had a one track mind or something was stuck up in there! FINALLY THEY GET TO ME! No meds! No prescriptions! I then begin to wonder if I had misunderstood Mom and was supposed to go to the pharmacy but now the blind receptionist just missed his prescriptions ON THE TOP OF THE PILE THREE TIMES!! Call Dad to see if he wants me to drop off the scripts for Mom to P/U or just wait for them! Just wait! Great!

10:45am ~ The pharmacy says it is a 30 minute wait if I "drop off" the script in the drive thru but only a 10 to 15 minute wait if I come inside. OK well that was a no brainer! I unload the boys, go into the pharmacy to shop around while we wait!

11:00am ~ Still waiting!

11:15am ~ Still waiting and getting impatient!

11:35am ~ It's finally go time! We waited not 10 minutes, not 15 minutes, not even 30 minutes BUT A WHOPPING 45 MINUTES! DUDE I SO ABOUT LOST ALL MY MARBLES IN THERE!!

12:00pm ~ On my way to work I decided to call my friend to see if she had left her house since Monday. She does NOT leave her house until ALL ice is gone and refuses to emerge to drive AT ALL until then. I was calling to check on her....well ok more like make fun of her when all of the sudden A LARGE LINE OF ICE from the power line above my car FALLS ONTO MY WINDSHIELD! I screamed and think I peed a little which she thought was absolutely hilarious and said it was God teaching me to be nice! Not funny, not funny at all! I am finally at work! Woohoo the excitement is almost unbearable!

2:00pm ~ Went to Taco Bell. More ice failing from power lines onto my windshield which means more pee and more screaming. Dude it makes you want to scream "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" and hop out of the car until you realize you would look like a complete moron and that would totally undermine the whole "I am woman hear me roar" mantra! I might need to carry clean underwear in my car from now on!

NOTE TO OKLA DRIVERS: Do not stop directly under any stop lights or power lines at traffic stops when the ice begins to melt. The ice will fall on your car and can cause temporary loss of bladder control! No loss of bowel control has been reported but it could be likely! You've been warned!

4:02pm ~ I got a rather cryptic email from fellow BA blogger Georgie telling me school is cancelled again tomorrow. I thought surely it was just a sick joke and laughed it off!

4:05pm ~ My sister calls to tell me her husband has been rushed to emergency surgery to have his gallbladder removed at 3:40pm

4:25 pm ~ My phone rings again and blinking "BA Schools" knowing it was the automated telecast school cancellation message, I cringed but answered only to find out Georgie's email was in fact correct and school is cancelled again tomorrow! UGH! This prompted my Writer's Workshop post I will be doing when I am finished with this one!

4:45pm ~ Feeling bad for my sister waiting in the family surgical waiting room alone I decide to go sit with her. This was quite a tough decision for me since on Oct. 7, 2008 her husband left her and the kids. My thoughts went like so

1. My sister is alone! Although estranged from her husband, the father of her youngest boy, she still desperately wants to work it out with the giant sized loser and I know she is a bundle of nerves.
2. Although I under no circumstances wanted to see him, I did have visions of him in a drug induced state and me kicking some sense into his big 'ol butt. This would probably be my one and only chance to fight him AND win!! Oh how nice it would be for him not to be able to talk back~!!

5:00pm ~ I arrive at the hospital and convince my sister to walk up to EOPC to see a certain special little girl in the blogger community. Guess who I say this evening? My sister thought I was nuts and would come off as stalkerish but after telling her HARPER's story and about all the gifts and visitors she has already had then she was on board. We thought we would never find her through the medical supply and blind covered windows but low and behold we found her. They were holding her for the first time and we just cried. Mommy was grinning ear to ear with teary eyes while Daddy was taking pictures a million pictures with his giant camera. No joke guys they have a whopper of a camera! Then the nurse handed her a bottle so she could feed her for the first time and we cried even more. I wanted so badly to wave or knock on the window but there was NO way on God's green Earth I was going to interrupt their long awaited moment. I can't imagine waiting that long to hold and feed my baby and the last thing I would want is some blogger bangin' on the window! lol I could barely see Harper but when I could she was a beauty. She is so big and cute! I wish I could have met the Stamps but it was not about me after all just that sweet little baby and her parents. I could not wait to get home to see all the new pictures I knew would soon be up!

7:30pm ~ I call Hubs to tell him I am leaving the hospital and will be home shortly when he says, "Can you stop and get some food?" meaning he has yet to feed our children.

8:00pm ~ Get home, feed family nutritious fast food, begin cleaning house and doing laundry with a blogger check now and then! OOOOhhh and they have tonight's pictures of Harper up so you must go see her!

NOW I have kids in bed and onto my obsession.........oh blogger how I love thee!

THE BEAUTY OF IT ALL AND A BATHROOM RUN!

I have to tell you I HATE ICE STORMS and if you read my blog at all you already know this!

HOWEVER

I love the look of a yard or field of completely untouched snow or ice!

Not stepped in, urinated on or driven through just completely untouched!

It is beautiful!

In fact this morning at about 1:30 am I was sliding out to the car to retrieve something and I was in awe at the beauty.

The next thing I love about ice/snow is that even though it was 1:30 in the morning it looked like it was evening just before the sun goes down.

I could see everything!

I just stood there admiring the beauty of it all and was wondering about how light it was when I noticed the sky....

......was completely white.

No dark! No stars! Just white.....

Was it the reflection off the snow and ice?

Complete cloud cover?

Or moisture in the air?

Nonetheless I was in awe then quickly realized my feet were freezing and I REALLY had to pee!

Awe over and into the warmth of my home!

I AM THAT GIRL!

I am THAT girl!

I'm the girl that pulls right into the big snow pile instead of going around b/c I know my truck will make it!

I'm the girl who is NOT afraid to drive in ice or snow and look forward to the challenge!

I'm the girl who wanted rid of the 4 ugly giant bushes in front of her house so I came home from work, tied them to the back of the truck and pulled them out ALL ON MY OWN!

THAT felt amazing and the kids still in their cars seats thought I was nuts!

And my favorite is I am the one who drives the big 'ol SUV with tow mode stopping to ask the MALE drivers stuck in their boy toy trucks to see if they need help from ME!!

I must admit I did that twice yesterday and it felt so good and inpowering to hear them say "Oh no I already have help on the way!"

LIARS....they just didn't want to take help from a girl in a bigger truck!!

That's how we roll!

Gotta love it!

I am woman hear me roar and my engine soar!

I am Beauty and the truck is MY Beast!!

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY: ICE ICE BABY!!

Attention: WW readers several pics and definitely WORD FULL but good!

Sunday evening Chai went with me to Wally World on a little grocery run only to discovery they were out of almost everything either of us needed. It was ridiculous how bare the shelves were. I wondered if yet again I had made it there on the 1st when the state issues food stamps but alas I had not. We noticed at the front of the store that they had ice melt, shovels and ice scrapers and immediately said to each other is this storm supposed to be worse than we originally heard or is everyone panicked the ice storm from 13 months ago is again headed our way.

WOW!

It brought up so many memories.

You can't begin to imagine how wierd it is to be in your town with no power.

Not just a block or two but the whole town.

Wally World ~ closed!

Quik Trip ~ closed!

Gas stations ~ closed!

Target ~ closed!

Grocery stores ~ closed!

Banks ~ closed!

No stop lights, no street lights and no where to buy the necessities!

Then when Wally World finally opened they had nothing! NO candles! No gas heaters! Not much food! ALL stores had to discard refrigerated/freezer items which meant NO milk, dairy....you couldn't even buy hot dogs for petes sake....how was I supposed to feed the boys....LOL.....OK seriously!

The storm severity was completely unexpected!

YES we knew we were getting ice but not enough ice to SNAP power poles!!

We were out of firewood and you just don't realize how cold the house can get without any heat source except body heat...ooh lala...~ well at least we didn't! ALL the stores had hundreds of people waiting to buy generators before they could make it off the trucks!

Yes it was nice to finally get firewood, snuggle on the couch with the boys to do puzzles, play board games and read books by candlelight

FOR THE FIRST 8 HOURS OF THE FIRST DAY BUT THEN I WAS DONE!

I am not a non-electricity living girl!

I couldn't even go to work to escape because there was no electricity which also meant NO income!!

No school to send the kids to and even after the schools had power they couldn't have school because they had to clean the kitchen from the melted frozen foods and totally restock their kitchens.

It was unreal the damage done to Oklahoma and the other parts of the midwest struck by the storm. Ancient trees split in half and reduced to nothing by the shear weight of ice ~ I never imagined the damage ice could do! The storm debris pickup from the Dec 2007 storm did not get finished until June 2008....maybe it was July.....anyway THAT gives you some idea of how many trees GREEN COUNTRY lost!!

WHY can't we just get some snow?

I am so sick of ICE here everytime we get wintery weather!!

Some people were without electricity for over a month and crews came from all over the US to help restore power to our communities.

I LOVE THOSE GUYS AND I LOVE ME SOME ELECTRICITY!!

I totally appreciate street lights and stop lights because I quickly learned there are hundreds of people out there that have NO CLUE what to do at a four way stop!!

SO NEEDLESS TO SAY I don't think we were the only ones freaking out because the store was empty on the grocery side.

Fast forward 13 months to NOW.....

YES we are having a bad ice storm, yes the kids will be out of school for the second day today and yes many things have been closing in fact I had to go to 3 gas stations this morning before I found one with gas BUT we still have power because I am posting this!!!

I have to admit I panicked at the mere thought of not getting to be on blogger for a few days!!!

Sad but very very true! Here are a few pictures from our Dec 2007 Ice Storm:

This is the view from the street looking into our yard! Our house was completely hidden!

I thought I might cry at the thought of losing our Magnolia tree in the front yard especially since it is the only tree on our property that I even like!

Isaiah's car was covered in "stuck" water as the boys put it!!

How about that chair.....obviously we were using it as lawn furniture at the time! LOLOLOLOLHow cool is it that our basketball goal froze in the "swoosh" position!!

What can I say we've got it like that and the net is so used to that position from all MY swoosing!! Stop laughing I am so serious!!

Look how thick the ice is on the little berry lookin' things!

I didn't want to say they are berries then get comments telling me how stupid I am because I really don't know what in the world they are, I just love the picture!

For more Wordful Wednesday posts or to join in the fun, hop on over to

Come on! You know you want to!!

NOT ME! MONDAY

Come join MckMama and all her wolverine MckFriends for

Confession is good for the soul or NOT!

• I did NOT suck on the pump of a mini Windex bottle thinking it was my drink while blogging into the wee morning hours and eating a King Size Snickers.


• I did NOT cry because it snowed on my son's birthday. This was the only thing he prayed for and I was NOT a complete emotional wreck.


• During a MAJOR chocolate craving I did NOT rip the kitchen apart trying to find any form of chocolate only to find the leftover Halloween stash with just two bite size bars.....you know they would have been gone in 2 seconds flat if I actually DONE this!!


• I did NOT call our lawyer and completely flip out because Tez has lived with us for over a year and the child support payments are still coming out of Hubs checks. Tez's mother NEVER EVER gives us the money back and never pays us child support either. We had agreed we did NOT want child support from HER simply b/c we knew she wouldn't pay it but WHY ARE WE STILL PAYING HER!! Short of giving the lawyer another retainer to sue her for the money I bet we will never see it!!! I am at the point that I want him to quit his job just so the payments stop! Really we are paying for him to live here and never asked her to pay child support but then we are paying HER for a child she doesn't even have custody of or even a desire for regular visitation. I hate the dept in our state that handles child support.....they sit on their butts NOT doing a thing for anyone except themselves!! Half the people don't get child support at all and then there's us paying child support for a kid WE have custody of!!! HELLO CAN WE SAY IDIOTS?!?!?! Sorry did NOT plan on that one being so long but it ticks me off and once I get started...........
  
• I did NOT go to our new Dave and Busters and while I was rounding up the children, the rest of our crew waited at the door. I did NOT just about knock out some mouthy drunk woman. I was NOT standing there talking to my 7 yr old son and 14 yr old stepson when she pushed me into my son and into an arcade game on purpose yelling "EXCUSE YOU!" SERIOUSLY I WANTED TO KNOCK HER OUT AND I WON'T EVEN DENY IT!! If her friends would NOT have grabbed her and lead her off apologizing then she would have been lying on the floor. NO one I repeat NO adult is going to push me AND MY LITTLE BOY!!! Needless to say I have NO desire to return especially with children!!
  
• I did NOT attend a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese b/c I HATE that place with a passion! I then did NOT think anyone would be there because who still goes there so it wouldn't be that bad ONLY to arrive with a packed out crowd of loyal Chuck E. Cheese fans ~ I think I could actually feel my blood pressure rising and my claustrophobia taking control!

For more of MY NOT ME! MONDAYS, click HERE!!

COFFEE WATER???

Chai calls one night to see if we want to go to El Chico. After thinking......ok ok I didn't think at all I just told Hubs and the boys to get their shoes on! We used to eat there ALL the time but recently not so much so we were more than happy to oblige her with our company!!

I am not a pop drinker.....for those of you going "Pop?" it is Soda, Soda Pop, Cola, carbonated sugar infested beverage......but I love me some good Pepsi! Since we do not buy pop in our house the only time I have it is when we are out to eat. I hate Coke so I always have to ask if they have Coke or Pepsi. Unfortunately, El Chico is a Coca Cola infested restaurant so I ordered tea. This was the first mistake! The tea comes to the table and I put one Splenda....ok ok I'm lying.....I put about 3 Sweet 'n Lows and took a big 'ol swig..........

.......I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO VOMIT AND SPEW THE NASTINESS ALL OVER MY BOYS ACROSS THE TABLE......

I said to Chai, "Wow that is nasty! Taste it!"

Chai laughs at me because I just did one of my own pet peeves! I crack up when people say O that is nasty....taste it, smell it or whatever....! HELLO! Why exactly do I want to do that if it is nasty?!?!?!

So what did I do but made mistake number 2...........

....yep took ANOTHER drink to be sure I wasn't hallucinating!

*gag*gag*gag*gag*gag*gag*gag*gag

That is about how many times I gagged after the second swig!

Why I took the second drink I am unsure other than the coffee taste I abhor made my decision making process totally malfunction!!

It tasted like really really really weak coffee but it had the distinctive taste of coffee and THAT my friends I was sure off! I hate coffee! I have tried many different kinds of coffee with many different flavorings and additives and I cannot stand coffee! I tell the waitress, "I am not sure what exactly this is but it definitely is NOT tea! It tastes like it has coffee in it!"

The waitress returns with TEA then says, "I grabbed the wrong pitcher because apparently they put coffee water into a tea pitcher! I am really sorry about that!"

Coffee water?

I don't know what this is or if I even want to know!

Water from cleaning the coffee maker?

Ugh......I don't even want to know!

IF BY CHANCE YOU KNOW WHAT COFFEE WATER IS AND IT IS A GROSS ANSWER, PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT AND TELL ME BECAUSE REMEMBER I HAVE AN EASILY TRIGGERED GAG REFLEX AND I TOOK TWO BIG 'OL SWIGS OF THE NASTINESS!!

WOW HOW MY MIND WONDERS!

So while admiring the cluster of under-the-skin-painful-unable-to-pop-for-like-a-month zits that have taken control of my jaw line and by jaw line I mean the area that should be my jaw line but rather a mere slant into the giant double chin that should be my neck my mind wondered and it went a little something like this! (WOW can we say run-on sentence! lol)

I was washing my face then putting on the usual nightly fixes aka expensive products that aren't doing a thing I thought of Elijah. Poor boy has had eczema since he was a baby. He used to scratch his legs until they bled but now he scratches and constantly looks ashy. I mean the boy can put lotion on and five minutes later I am telling him to put more on because his skin is "thirsty". The boy has a major aversion to lotion. By aversion I mean doing the whole "I've got to pee" dance with arms flapping saying "I hate lotion" then stomping away to which I answer "Don't say the word hate say I don't like" to which he replies "I don't like lotion a whole lot because it makes me feel wet like I peed my pants or something!" Well at least he didn't say hate! lol Then with this thought came....

At one point his pediatrician prescribed a lotion that upon filling the prescription and reading the warnings I failed to use. In all capitals the very first sentence read: "DO NOT USE THIS LOTION ON CHILDREN! IT HAS BEEN FOUND TO CAUSE LEUKEMIA IN STUDIES INVOLVING CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 12!" At first I panicked b/c I had used this very lotion when it first came out when E was a tiny baby obviously before the scientist freaks "tested it on children" then I was ticked off that the pediatrician prescribed it to my boy. Are you freaking kidding me? This thought then went to.....

At this point I decided to take E to a dermatologist. E was just 5 at the time and I figured the dermatologist would have some miracle cream or life altering suggestions. NOPE! No hot baths ~ first of all what child takes a HOT bath to begin with but I have known this little fact since he was diagnosed as a baby! Oatmeal in the bath water to aid in the itching ~ no news here! Avoid steroid creams because the skin will actually thin and crave the steroids thereby causing more itching and requiring more steroids to relieve the itching ~ again no news to me since I've been dealing with this for so long and my Hubs has psoriasis! His list of useless info could go on and on. Doc then decides he needs Elijah to take his pants off and lie on his belly since his worst area is his thighs (front and back) and his butt. Nothing weird here......UNTIL.......he is looking at the eczema and his scaring then proceeds to spread the cheeks.....little odd to me.....then while he is talking to me he's sitting there with his big ol hands on E's butt cheeks squeezing them with his whole hands and continuing to talk to me and squeeze and talk and ......me saying, "Elijah pull your pants up please and go stand in the hall!" at which point the Doc did a little drum roll pat on Elijah's rear and Elijah did as he was told. I begin to tell the doctor who I think was just naturally doing it and not even realizing it which creeped me out even more that i thought what he was doing was entirely inappropriate, I didn't think he should be seeing children if he couldn't keep his hands to himself, I would like his prescriptions and I would not be returning so I needed a referral! I then had to talk to my five year old about how it was not right for the dermatologist or anyone to touch his butt like that ever and to tell Mommy if someone ever does it again. I may have overreacted but it made me sick to my stomach, the whole mommy intuition crept through my veins along with plenty of adrenaline and I'm going to kick your butt chemicals. This thought made me think......

I have a couple of single women friends who might want to go see the butt squeezing dermatologist claiming some sort of weird rash for him to see!

SICK I KNOW.....BUT FUNNY!!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

Here in Oklahoma good, fluffy, build-a-snowman snow is hard to come by in large quantities. We get flurries and the occasional inch or two but mostly our wintry weather here is ICE!! Our last BIG memorable snow was the end of November 2006. We had almost a foot at our house!

Isaiah was just 19 months old and he was okay with it until the moment he fell and got it on his hands. The boy literally swore off anything to do outdoors including walking. It took almost a full two weeks for every tiny bit to disappear and he didn't not walk on solid ground outdoors for those full two weeks until every last flake was gone!! Now at age 3 he wants to build a snowman so bad but he hasn't had enough snow!!

Elijah on the other hand was almost 5 and loving every minute of it!!

He's s"NO"w angel!!

Then of course there was Daisy who was still alive at the time and loved for us to throw snowballs for her to catch mid-air and eat!

For more Flashback Fridays:

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

Wow it has been awhile since I have done a Friday High Five!

I am going to add a Mr. Linky at the bottom to see if I can get anyone to join in ~ saying this with fingers crossed! If it is anything like the Mean Green Giveaway, I won't have one participant but I love reading all kinds of blogs so I will at least try! Pick any topic for your High Five that you want, post about it linking back to my blog then sign Mr. Linky with your name and the URL of the High Five post not your entire blog URL.

Hint for the newbies: Write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the high five post then copy the address at the top of the page THEN paste on the URL box of Mr. Linky.

Sounds complicated but it isn't!

Here we go:

TOP 5 REASONS TO MAKE YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS

5. Having a home FREE of toxic chemicals!

4. Do your part to protect the environment!

3. If your child or pet gets into the cleaners, then they will not be harmful!

2. They are easier and cheaper to make!

And the NUMBER 1 REASON to make your own cleaners:

Let's say you can't sleep because you keep hearing music so you get up to blog. You decide to eat the KING SIZE Snickers your Hubs bought the night before and become very thirsty. The homemade cleaners you made might not be as toxic as the mini Windex bottle you just sucked on thinking it was your drink! Sad but very very true!

Join in the fun!

For more of MY FRIDAY HIGH FIVES, click HERE

FOCUS FRIDAY

The things I WILL get done in the coming week:

• file the 100 stacks of bill lying throughout the house (sadly I never open any of them b/c I do everything on the Handy Dandy WWW)
• gather all the 2008 info needed to do my taxes (mortgage info/medical/daycare)
• I will be doing nothing else since this will take me FOREVER!!!!

PHOTOSTORY FRIDAY: A LOVE AFFAIR WITH EYEWEAR!

This boy has a LOVE for eyewear.......ANY EYEWEAR and he is HERE today to strut his stuff!

Our little model can be seen here wearing his older brother's highly-fashionable, neon-flashing, Ninja Turtle-talking glasses at the age of 18 months! Yes he started early folks our little fashioniste (I know it is supposed to be fashionista but I think his Daddy might hurt someone for calling his baby boy a fashionista ~ so bear with me!)

At almost two he revealed his own fashion statement by wearing these very in style glasses upside down!!

Yes baby we see you! Seen here with his highly fashionable, green and yellow Sesame Street binoculars, our boy is too cute out on his first one-on-one date with his love Q! He took her to eat at Zio's not at all decided by their Mothers then out to see Sesame Street Live. The first MANY attempts by the two of them to use the binoculars and actually share the binoculars were unsuccessful since they both had them turned the wrong way!

One of my favorites! Our model is now wearing oversized swim goggles! Hey supermodels and celebrities are seen the world over wearing those HUGE sunglasses that take up half of their face so he is just jumping on the fashion bandwagon. This was taken this past summer while at our friend's birthday party ~ the same swim party where she told the boys just to pee in the bushes so they wouldn't track water through the house. Bad mistake! Huge! Isaiah loved this theory and proceeded to pee in the bushes about every 5 minutes! Trust me ~ I took plenty of those pictures especially when he couldn't pull up his wet swim trunks and would waddle over with them around his ankles to a crowd of people just so I pull them up! Being the nice Mommy, I pulled them up each time........after I put the camera down and quit laughing!!

Just weeks ago for Christmas Isaiah got his very own talking, noise making and too big for his head racing helmet! Now he doesn't have to make ALL of his own sound effects while running through the house driving his imaginary race car!

AND THE END OF THE WORLD MONUMENTAL FIT THROWN THIS MORNING WAS FOR THESE:

Our little GQ boy may appear happy in his superstar glasses; however, at 7:10am this morning it was quite another story as he couldn't find his "star swungwasses" anywhere. You can see why he was so upset b/c he looks too darn cute in them!



Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

Taken in July of 2007 when Isaiah was just 2yrs old, this picture is one of my all time favorites. We came home from a birthday party and he fell asleep on my bed. I proceeded to take about 50 black and white pics of him ~ eyes, ears, fingers, toes, ears, nose then made a scrapbook page that I absolutely love.

For more Wordful Wednesday posts go to:

DAVE AND BUSTER'S

Today after Elijah's basketball game we met our friends Tammy and Jessie and their son John at the new Dave and Buster's for lunch. The food was really good but I shocked to see that it was half the size of the one we visited while in Atlanta a year ago. I must say the food is great but pricey and they don't really have many things for the younger kids to do. I realize that it is supposed to cater more to the adult crowd but we visited anyway. My food was REALLY good! The boys had a good time but they always do when they are together!

He's lovin' life right about now!

Totally immersed!

Pure joy!

Total concentration! Can you see Elijah's tongue?

This the THE ONLY game Isaiah wanted to play!

He loves cars!

John and Elijah attempt to dance!

And my favorite pic of the outing:

At least he does NOT get his dancing abilities from his Daddy!

This is all from his Momma and her little twinkle toes!

SURPRISE!!

He prayed for God to send snow on his birthday and God sent him snow. We may of only got a small amount of flurries but he was still very excited!!

I decided to split his parties this year due to the fact that he has so many more friends from football and basketball and our family is very large so it would be too expensive otherwise. So I asked my Mom if I could have a SURPRISE "family" party at her house ON his birthday since I couldn't get reservations for his friend party until the 31st. I didn't want him to have to wait so long to celebrate. After basketball practice on Thursday (his birthday), we went to Meme's where his family awaited. He was surprised after running in for an urgent bathroom run. He came out of the bathroom and when everyone yelled SURPRISE he just smiled and said, "HUH?!" He didn't have a clue although I don't really know why he didn't with all the cars outside.

He is just too handsome for words!

Getting ready to blow his candles out!! Ha!

A MAN FOR SHAN!

Last year when we took the boys to see the Harlem Globetrotters I found a man for my friend Shandolynne.

His name was Big Easy!

Perfect!

Shandolynne, this post is especially for you! A few weeks ago Martez and I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters with my parents and I wanted you to know that your man is still with the team! I thought he wasn't but he just switched his number....phew! He is number 52 now!

Pretty nice view huh Shan!

Girl look at him! Nice looking, tall, athletic, personality plus, good with kids, funny and then of course there is the whole "Big Easy" part!

Am I a good friend or what?!?!

Love you!

ANSWERS TO "DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?"

Remember this post ~ Do you see what I see?

I will wait as you go catch up!!

This is the answer:

A football ornament Elijah got at his football party

A lovely, very shiny ornament Elijah made at school

And an ornament Isaiah made at school

Why is this an issue?

Our Christmas is decorated late into a December night each year by MOI!!

I believe my tree to be very pretty and I am anal about proper placement, symmetry and equal amounts of the colors. I love my decorated Christmas tree and handmade ornaments do not make it onto the tree. SAD I KNOW! Believe me my Mom hassles me about EACH AND EVERY YEAR!! I just can't handle the randomness of them. They DON'T match and there is only ever ONE of them. I DON'T do random when it comes to my tree. I DON'T do onsies. You can't have symmetry with just one of any ornament ~ NOT possible! This year Isaiah was insistent about an ornament he had made and a couple of his "beautiful" ornaments made to the right side of the tree facing the wall. He said, "Oh Momma they look weally pwetty there, huh?!?" My instant reply, "Oh yes that is the perfect spot for such beautiful ornaments!" His satisfaction was entirely too easy and satisfying for me since you couldn't tell they were even there. I know, I know stop with the mother of the year rantings yet again. I just NEED symmetry ~ work with me here. Elijah comes along with the football and places it just to the right of the CENTER of the tree. I couldn't move it so I wouldn't hurt his feelings BUT IT ALMOST KILLED ME EVERY TIME I LOOKED AT MY BEAUTIFUL TREE ALL I WOULD SEE IS THE BIG FOOTBALL. Seriously guys work with me you know FOOTBALLS don't go in the center of the tree. Then came the handcrafted, shiny ornament he made at school which he also placed in the center of the tree and a gingerbread ornament he made a few years back. You guys have no clue how hard it was for me to leave them in the spots Elijah placed them. REALLY HARD! Again there was a FOOTBALL IN THE CENTER OF MY PRETTY TREE. Luckily the dogs removed the gingerbread which was actually the cutest of them all and they ate it ~ hey I can't really say I felt too bad about that! I feel AWFUL for this since so many Moms decorate their tree with special ornaments the children make or receive each year but I just can't help it THEY DRIVE ME NUTS! I've decided as soon as we get a bigger house we will have two trees ~ my pretty tree and the random kid made ornament tree; however, I can't say that until then I won't try my hardest to not let the children see and unpack the entire bag of their ornaments I have saved. Hey at least I keep them since they are special to me~ does that make it any better?

DEAR CREATOR OF THE KING SIZE SNICKERS

Dear Creator of the KING SIZE Snickers,

I am writing this letter to let you know you might single handedly be my excuse for being overweight! Why? Why did you make the snickers such a creamy, chocolatey, peanuty, caramely, addictive, fattening, delicious bar of love and then go and make it KING SIZE? I mean the addiction was bad enough with the regular size bar so why make the addiction KING SIZE? Sometimes I wonder if I could live off the sinful goodness you created and then I look into the evil fat image starring back at me in the mirror. I can't erase the stretch marks caused by two pregnancies and countless KING SIZE snickers! I can't get rid of the gallbladder-ectomy, appendectomy, oophrectomy, tumor-ectomy and two c-section scars that lace the upper portion of my body. Yes those are proper medical terms there!! But the rolls of fat that took over the abdominal region of my body I can't control either thanks to you! The rolls got bigger as your Snickers got bigger so YOU are the one I will blame. Sure I put the bar into my mouth but YOU made it addictive and irresistible to people the world over. How do you live with yourself? Hold on......

.....sorry I needed yet another bite. I have to pace myself or the speed at which the bar disappears overwhelms me! I am writing this with a proposal in mind. How about you discontinue the KING SIZE Snickers and pack 3 bite size bars into one package? Maybe I could spread those out, finish one and save some for later since I wouldn't want to ever admit I ate 3 Snickers in one day! Just a thought!

I WILL admit the name SnickersSatifies.com is a GREAT name for a website simply because it is so true. I also will admit more than once I have wondered if the name Peanutopolis placed on the back of some of the packages is an actual place and if the cost of living is cheaper there. I've thought about searching on Mapquest but I think that might be taking it a little far!

Again just a proposal but alas it is time for another bite because it just keeps starring at me and screaming my name!

Your KING SIZE Snickers lover, addict and fat friend,

Angela

DO YOU EVER HEAR MUSIC?

Music to my ears....hmmm....not so much. Some people hear voices but I keep hearing music. Don't know why or from where but I keep hearing music.

I thought maybe a TV was left on....NO.

I thought maybe a radio was on.....NO.

I thought maybe the volume on the computer speakers was on low and I was hearing music from someone's blog I had minimized.....NO.

Definitely not the Hubs because his snoring is definitely NOT music to my ears. I thought maybe I was hearing the dryer's loud annoying beep for me to empty it.....NO.

Maybe Elijah is just talking in his sleep.....NO.....probably later though.

I thought maybe the neighbors were having a siesta then realized I probably meant fiesta but was still unsure so I went outside to check.....NO.

HEY I took French, remember...I don't know Spanish....only words closely related to French, counting to 10 or words otherwise learned from Dora the Explorer! Highly educational!! But why is the little girl wandering around town alone getting lost anyway and why in the world does she have a pet monkey. One of those "things that make you hmm..." ...are you humming or singing!

I don't know WHERE in the world I am hearing it from but I keep just randomly hearing music.

Faint music.

It is taunting me and I can't sleep!

PHOTOSTORY FRIDAY: MY THREE LOVES

I absolutely love to watch my three loves together! Whether playing, sitting, cuddling, singing or sleeping, I NEVER get tired of it. I love pictures of the three of them together! This is BY FAR my most favorite:

In June of 2005, I took this picure. Isaiah was 1 month old and Elijah was 3 1/2 yrs old and I never get tired of looking at it. I miss the days of having a new baby in the house and I will probably never experience it again but this picture takes me back every time. I was in the kitchen and when I came out to the living room they were just like this watching Tom and Jerry. I ran and by "ran" I mean post-very painful and eventful-much worse the the 1st c-section-2nd-c-section-still-carrying-baby-weight-tummy shakes like jello-speed-walk to get the camera then the smiles and waalaa.....in love! Many more "3 loves" sleeping, playing, cuddling shots later I got my next favorite...

This was June 2007 after Martez and I came back from Nashville to attend Chai's wedding. It was our first time to leave the boys and go on our OWN mini vacation. NICE! When we got back you would think the boys grew suction cups and stuck themselves to us at all times! But when you catch a moment like this......who cares if they have suction cups for hands! Many many more "3 loves" sleeping, playing, cuddling shots later I got my NEW favorite picture....

....taken Fall of 2008! Now Isaiah is three and Elijah was six. I thought the house was awfully quiet and went to see what was going on. You know there is trouble when OUR house is quiet! NOT this time! I found my three loves cuddled up asleep in my chair while attempting to watch a football game!

I love these moments!

For more Photostory Friday posts:

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek