Weekend Project

We are doing a Clean Sweep on Conor's room today. And by we, I mean me. ;) It is amazing (and embarrassing) how much stuff was in his room. Conor has helped me to move it all into the living room. We did not sort, we did not neatly stack things, we simply went in his room and got an armful of stuff and took it and placed it in a pile on the living room floor. All of it. In drawers, in the closet, on the floor, on the shelves. Everything. Except for his actual clothes which I will go through after we are done with the toys.

Here is what my living room looks like right now.

Yikes! Everything except for his clothes and bed. We are just going to go through it, one piece at a time and decide "keep" or "get rid of" and will be donating the get rid of pile to someone. A local woman's shelter will probably get the majority of it. And Amvets - they happened to call yesterday and are doing a pick up in our area later this month. And possibly a couple of others.

At least 75% of this stuff will not be going back into his room.

Wish me luck. I need it, I'm running out of steam as I type this.

More Random Rambling

Do you ever look at something and think, "I would like one of those!" Then your birthday or Christmas rolls around and someone asks you what you want and your mind just goes blank. "Uhhh, I don't know. I don't really need or want anything, so ... just pick out whatever if you want to get me something." (This is usually to my mom or my sister.)

Or you find yourself with a little extra mad money that someone gave you because you couldn't think of anything, and you spend it on your kids or on underwear or socks. Something that isn't really a treat.

I do this ALL. THE. TIME. And I can remember wanting something, and thinking "I'll tell my mom this if she asks" but I can't remember what it is!

I have, however, gotten gift cards from someone with SPECIFIC instructions to get something I REALLY want, and that I have to report to her what I bought for MYSELF. It took me about 2 months to find something that fit that bill. But I did finally get a rug for my living room that is colorful and serves a great purpose - covering up all the stains that won't come out of the carpet. Hey. I have kids you know? And a dog. Stains are just a part of my life.

Anyway... I finally remembered something that I have wanted for a while. So, since my birthday is so far away and I will forget by then... I think I'll get it for Jeff for his birthday. His is just 25 days away. I could go get it now and just hide it in the dishwasher or something. Some place he won't ever look.

Ok, Ok, I'm just KIDDING! He looks in there sometimes when the clean dishes don't get put away and that is the only place to find a spoon. Because all the other ones are dirty. Or lost somewhere. I swear, my small spoons are disappearing. I can wash them all one day, and the very next day the silverware slot for little spoons will be empty and there are only like... 3 in the sink. Where did the other 10 go that were there yesterday? *shrug*

This year is flying by - in just a few days it will be March. It seems like Christmas was just last week for Pete's sake. (Anyone know who Pete is?)

Exactly one week from today, we are going to have a visitor. A friend that Jeff and I met on... the internet. *gasp* I really don't think he's an axe murderer, otherwise I wouldn't have invited him to come visit us and meet us in person. I've talked to him for a little over 2 years on a game we all play together online. He will be getting home this Saturday - he is in the Navy and has been on a cruise ship for the last 7 months.

His deployment was originally supposed to be 6 months, but it was extended a month. I have been in contact with him via email for all of his trip, and I know how excited he is to be coming home.

I'm still not sure what we are going to do with him while he's here, other than feed him. He got food poisoning on the ship and was sick for a few days, and the food there is probably a lot like school food. Not all that appetizing. So he didn't eat well while he's been gone. So, of course I feel bad for him and want to feed him some real food. I really think that's the only reason he's coming to visit - he wants some good home cooked food. Why else would he want to come and see two old people... or wait. ONE old person (Jeff) and one not quite so old person?

I do think it will be fun to have him here for a weekend. I have a few things in mind, but we will probably just wing it. See what we feel like doing when he is here.

Yet another rambling, subject to subject post with no pictures. I don't know what is wrong with me! At least I did post a couple of pictures before doing it again.

The Kids

I haven't been taking many pictures, and I need to correct that because I need to post more pictures! My posts have been long, rambling, boring posts. So, to break it up a bit, I found a couple of pictures that I don't think I have shared with you.

The first one is of Ceara and Conor. Can't tell they are related, can you? This was in the summer when they were both sporting nice tans.

And here is Allie and her best friend, Chrissy. They look like they are related too, but they are not. Allie has a knack for finding friends who look like her.

I will try to take more pictures to post!

Tequila Sunrise

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY SAY ABOUT YOU?

This is a meme that The Daily Rant did and I figured it fit into my previous post about music, so why not do it? :) I have 400 songs on my iPod, so it will be interesting to see which ones pop up randomly. And I'm SURE that the answers will be crazy, but... that makes it fun too.

* Put your iPod or mp3 player on SHUFFLE.
* For each question, press the next button to get your answer (no cheating!!).
* You must write down song/artist even if it doesn't make sense.
* Include any comments in parenthesis.
* Post the list on your blog with #25 as your blog post title.
* Tag people in other blogs. (I'm not tagging anyone, but please feel free to do your list here in comment or on your own blog. Just let me know about it so I can come read!)

1. What do your friends say about you? Higher - Creed

2. How would your coworkers describe you? Fallen - Sarah McLachlan

3. How would you describe yourself? Tuesday's Gone - Lynyrd Skynyrd

4. What do you like in a romantic partner? I Don't Have to Try - Avril Lavigne

5. How do you feel today? The Storm - Garth Brooks (I'm actually having a pretty good day so far!)

6. What is your life’s purpose? Too Far This Time - Toby Keith

7. What is your motto? Hysteria - Def Leppard

8. What do you think about the most? With Arms Wide Open - Creed

9. What are you going to do on your next vacation? Thicker Than Blood - Garth Brooks (I don't know this song...)

10. What do you think of your first love/date? Paper Bag - Ana Nalick (Over his head? Heehee)

11. What is your life story? Cowgirl's Saddle - Garth Brooks (I don't know this one either! And OK, I just listened to it for a couple of seconds and I just have to say that Garth Brooks singing parts of this in Spanish? Weird.)

12. What did you do yesterday? Let Me Be Myself - 3 Doors Down

13. What do you think of when you see the person you like/love? Black Water - The Doobie Brothers (I do love this song, but... it doesn't make me think of Jeff!)

14. What describes your wedding? (I’m not married, but I’ll do it anyway) Round & Around - Alana Davis

15. What will they play at your funeral? These Boots Were Made for Walkin' - Jessica Simpson. (Although I would like to say it was Nancy Sinatra's version, it wasn't available when I downloaded the song! And I do like this version because it has a good beat. Although, I don't like the way she sings some parts of it. I almost cheated and skipped past this song. But I couldn't do it!)

16. What is your obsession? Take the Keys to My Heart - Garth Brooks (OMG! How many times will he come up? I do love Garth, but... this isn't a fair shuffling. Humph. Also, this is another song I don't know!)

17. What is your biggest fear? Don't Stop Dancing - Creed

18. What is your biggest secret? Are You Ready - Creed (Seriously, how is this a shuffle? I have like... 20 Creed songs out of 400 and it comes up this many times in a shuffle?)

19. What is your biggest turn-on? Girl Like That - Matchbox 20 (LOL!)

20. How do you describe your friends? One Last Breath - Creed

21. What would you do with a million dollars? Something to Believe In - Poison

22. What is your opinion of sex? How You Ever Gonna Know - Garth Brooks

23. What is your biggest regret? Armageddon It - Def Leppard

24. What would you rather be doing right now? Turtle - Alana Davis

25. What will you post this list as? Tequila Sunrise - Eagles

As I did this, I didn't even read the questions... I am amazed that so many Garth Brooks and Creed songs came up though. I think the most of any one group I have on here is the Eagles. I have... 5 or 6 of their CDs on my iPod. Some of the songs I don't even know, they are just on CDs that I bought and I just added the whole CD. Some of the answers are funny, though. I was tempted to cheat, but I didn't. Just random fun stuff.

If you wanna do it, do it. I don't do tags! I don't have that many readers! And many of them don't have blogs anyway.

This, that, and a bowl of horse shoes (WHAT?!?!)

LOL Silly title, but since I think this post will be about several different subjects, all with a point(!), I just made a random title.

I was thinking a lot about how it is that we start liking certain music and hating certain music. There are all sorts of different music tastes in this world and I don't quite know why one person loves rap music, while their next door neighbor hates it. Some people love country, some hate it. I like a large variety of music, but a lot of people don't like the stuff I listen to, either.

So, I was trying to figure out why I like what I like. I like songs where I can actually hear what the person is signing - understanding what they are saying. If it is about a topic that I don't like... well then, I don't like the song. I like certain beats, different sounds. And my mood is what determines what I listen to most of the time.

I find myself listening to classic rock music the majority of the time now. I feel like a lot of my music likes from my parents. My dad was in a band in High School and continued his music career until just a few years ago or so. His band played classic/southern rock. CCR, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, just to name a few. I grew up going to watch his band play, or sitting in his living room during band practice. I thought then, and I still think, that he and his band were the best ever. I was always proud to go and see them and be able to say "that's my dad on the keyboard / harmonica." The drummer in his band bore a great resemblance to and shared the same first name with Alabama's lead singer - Randy Owen.

He and his band played every year at a town festival called River Days. They were the main attraction and we always got to go with him. We got to stand on the stage with them when they were setting up - our friends were very jealous. And all of our girl friends thought my dad was hot. Or a fox as it was termed back then. I was always... ewwww. Hello? That's my dad.

I was in the car with Allie earlier this week flipping around stations and I came across a harmonica playing. My very first thought was of my dad. It was always amazing to me to listen to him play the harmonica.

I also like country music as well. That I attribute to my step-dad, Jack. He listens to country music all the time. And I grew to like it as well. He always whistles along to the music when you are riding with him. Or even when he's listening out in the garage while he does something. Jack has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. While he does have quite a reputation of being ... ummm, someone you didn't want to mess with when he was younger(story in a second), I think he out grew that. But he is certainly someone I would want on my side in a fight. Good thing he was always on my side. :) He would help someone in a heartbeat. He is a very good man, and I love him very much. I know I can always count on him if I need something.

We used to wrestle on the living room floor when I was a kid. And I mean wrestle. I was such a tom-boy when I was little. Not that I'm any different now... but anyway. That's beside the point. What was my point again? Oh... memory lane so to speak. I do have a point to this post!

Jack always had a change jar where he threw all of his pocket change when he was going to bed at night. I loved to count it for him. He would always let me keep any money that didn't equal a dollar when it was all said and done. Like... If I got $50.93? I got to keep the 93 cents. And somehow it was always close to a dollar that I got. :) NO I DID NOT CHEAT! I honestly got 90something cents extra almost every time.

OK, now for the story about Jack. My daughter, Allie, is as close to Jack as I was growing up. He is Poppy to my kids. I do believe Allie has him wrapped around her little finger. Anyway! She was out with her church talking to people and apparently she started talking to someone who was asking her about her relatives that he might know. (Small town, a lot of people know your parents or grandparents from school.) She mentioned Jack and he said, "Oh, yeah... I remember him. He wasn't really anyone you wanted to mess with when we were growing up. Him or his family." Yeah, he was a trouble maker. Big time. He has told me stories... but I won't go there today.

And the main stream pop music, of course, is what I listened to with my friends. The big haired 80s bands we used to swoon over. My best friend had a car without a stereo in it, so we used to ride around singing whatever we felt like. A lot of time it was Randy Travis - "Well, there's my easy chair, just sittin' there. I've spent a lot of time..."

I also like "Oldies" music.

But what is it about music that makes some people like some stuff, and other people not like that same stuff. I always expect people to like what I listen to, although I might not like what they listen to. Why do I hate head banging rock where the lead singer screams the lyrics? Yet obviously someone likes them or they wouldn't be played on the radio.

I find classic rock is what I prefer most now because it seems mellow to me and it sooths me. Most of it brings back memories. I can remember certain things because of music. They say smell is what triggers most memories, but for me, I think music triggers more memories.

OK, all this and I'm not really going to finish this post the way I thought I would. I have a couple of more posts that will follow this one that will tie back to this, but I don't want to bore you all at once.

What kind of music do you listen to? Does music conjure up memories for you as well? I also find that I like music that other people like. There have been songs that I don't like, then if a friend likes it, I will give it a chance and more often than not I will start to like it too. So tell me what songs are your favorites. I'll give them a listen. :)

One sided conversation

At least once a week when I pick Conor up he asks to go to my mom's house. I usually make him call and ask her. Not because I mind asking, but because if she says no then I'm not the bad guy. For some reason, if I tell the kids someone said no they think I'm the one saying no and they don't take it so well. They pout. But if it is someone else, they are fine with it. Maybe a little disappointed, but not too badly.

So, Tuesday night Conor asked to go to my moms. I handed him the phone and said, "I'll take you there, but you have to ask her if she will bring you home."

So, here was his side:

"Can I come over?

Will you pick me up? (When I heard this, I turned around and said, no, I'll take you, you need to ask if she will bring you home.)

I mean, will you bring me home if my mom drops me off?

Can we go to McDonalds?

Well, I don't like vegetable soup.

Do you have some macaroni and cheese?

Cheese pizza?

Spaghetti and Meatballs?

I can see if Grandma will make me something. (Mom lives right next door to Grandma)

Why did I just hear the door? Are you going somewhere?

I'm in Mom's car and she's driving to your house.

I'll be there soon. See you then. Bye."

I was laughing the whole time.

The Associate by John Grisham

I love John Grisham. He is one of my all time favorite authors. I buy his books on the day they are released, as I believe I have said in previous posts. So, this book was no exception. I counted the days until its release. I went and got it on my lunch hour from work. I started it and I put. it. down.

Although I loathe to say anything negative about him, I had a really hard time reading this book. I actually just finished it over the weekend - unheard of for me to take so long to read a Grisham book. For me, personally, this book was a disappointment. I could see what he was trying to do, BUT. To me, he made the lead character look like an idiot.

*Spoilers!* (nothing major, just a little bit of detail)

The lead character is graduating at the top of his class from YALE LAW SCHOOL. He is the Editor of the Yale Law Journal (or whatever it's called), and is supposed to be an intelligent person. So, how in the world does someone who is that smart allow himself to be blackmailed with a video that shows two of his friends / roommates engaging in questionable activity? He is not even in the video when the questionable activity happens, but according to one of their sources is passed out in a chair during this video.

Hello? Seriously? We are supposed to believe that a relatively intelligent person would let himself be blackmailed with that? The whole premise of the blackmailer is "ruining his reputation" even if he wasn't one of the participants.

So, that just totally ruined the book for me. I can't believe in a stupid lead character. And there wasn't much of a resolution at the end, either.

Let me state again, I love Grisham. So, this book will not in any way deter me from going out on the next book release date and getting the latest book. This is really the first book of his that I didn't like, but I still read it.

Did anyone else read it? U2Bwb? What are your thoughts?

Jeff's New Job

A lot of you already know, but for those who don't... Jeff got a new job recently, this is his second week. Back in January, he did a 2 day assignment as a contractor for a local service provider. The assignment was to go to a customer site with three other techs (in Cincinnati) and do a data transfer using some new method developed specifically for this customer. I don't know all the detail, but the data transfer went well.

Then Jeff got another offer of employment for two projects for my employer. One was Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm and the second one was Friday night 4PM to disconnect a bunch of computers and inventory them for a move, then returning on Saturday morning to the new site at 9AM to reconnect them.

And then the other service provider called him to offer him a 2 1/2 month assignment because the initial data transfer went well, and the customer was happy with it, they wanted them to do all their sites across the US. They wanted 3 teams of people to travel to these sites, with one team lead, to do the transfers at the sites. Jeff was their #1 choice (I think out of about 20ish techs? I forget). Of the customer's, of the developer, whoever - they wanted him to be one of the team leads and travel to a bunch of places to supervise the data transfers. They would pay him an hourly rate, with a minimum of 32 hours / week, plus all expenses. Provide him with plane tickets, hotel, and rental car and give him an American Express to pay for his other expenses as well.

He struggled with the decision. First because he would have to quit the projects he was on, and he didn't really want to do that to the company I work for. And also because he is still attending courses at a local school on Monday and Wednesday evenings. The traveling would be done on Sunday, returning on Wednesday, so he would not make his classes. In addition to that, he is still taking online college courses. So, he is a very busy man at the moment. He spoke to his teacher and arranged to make up the classes on Thursdays and Fridays. And he took the job. He is still doing the Friday night / Saturday morning job for my company, though.

So, right now? He is in Florida. Enjoying 80 degree weather while staying in a very nice hotel. Last week was just Cleveland, OH, and he drove there. Next week it's Nashville, TN. He will also be going to Phoenix, AZ; and ... heck I forget all the places. I'll try to list them as he goes, though.

Meanwhile, at home... Conor misses his Dad. Every day he asks me when he will be home. I'm just not good enough. lol Well, he did spend a lot of time with Jeff over the last year while Jeff was unemployed. So I guess he's kinda used to him.

And, not being a morning person AT ALL, I'm still trying to get used to having to get Conor up and to SafeCare each morning so I can get to work. Since it is not on the way to work, it is taking me a bit longer each morning in drive time. Then pick him up after work - I don't really like him having such a long day away from home (SafeCare to school, back to SafeCare til 5:30ish). It's only temporary though.

Jeff is finally getting some experience! :) Although these jobs are temporary, we are hoping they will lead to something else. For now, though, he is very busy. Working two jobs (one with travel) AND trying to keep up with two schools as well. And homework. And working in time for his family. But it's only for a couple of months, so we can survive it! Besides, he had a year to rest up for this!

Hope all of you are happy and well!

Inconsiderate People

I stop at McDonalds every morning to get my coffee. Because to me, paying that $1 is so worth it because I don't have to take the time to make it, and it tastes a lot better. Let's face it, I am NOT a morning person and every second is needed for other things in the morning. If I were to say, get up earlier than necessary instead of hitting snooze a couple of times, I might possibly enjoy a nice cup of coffee while I'm waking up. But instead, I enjoy those extra two 9 minutes of sleep. And I stop and get my coffee at McDonalds because the coffee at work? I'd have to be EXTREMELY desperate to drink that sorry excuse for coffee.

Anyway, back to the irritating person of the day. The guy who, right after he placed his order, drove forward one car length and got out of his car and started scraping his windows. And took his sweet time about it. When I pulled up, there was not one car in front of him and he was still scraping away. Like he couldn't have done that in a parking space before placing his order? There was no hurry to his scraping. There was no "I'm sorry" guilty look to the people behind him who had already ordered but couldn't move forward because he was sitting there.

What. A. JERK.

I wonder if there are enough irritating, inconsiderate people to have a weekly post about them. lol Sadly, I think it could be a daily post. =\ But I'm not turning my blog into that. So maybe I will go for weekly.

Hula Hoop

Our Wii has a Hula Hoop game. It's really fun! And funny to watch. Here is Conor trying to do it.

Please ignore the various toys laying on the ground. And the annoying sound of my voice - it sounds so loud! I should not talk on these things.

Snow Day!!!

We all got a snow day today - Conor got one Monday since there was a 2 hour delay and he's in morning kindergarten. Allie and Conor were both off yesterday, and Jeff, Allie, Conor and I are ALL off today. We are currently under a Level 3 snow advisory and cannot go anywhere. Not that we want to, we are all snug and warm in the house. It's not just snow though. We got... ummmm I think 3 or 4 inches of snow yesterday. When I came home from work yesterday, it was an ice storm. The ice continued to fall until I went to sleep, and was still falling this morning when I got up. Now it has changed back to snow and they are predicting another 4 inches or so.

Here is the view out my front door. There is a street there, but you can barely see where people have traveled on it.

Here is the bush right outside my door - you can see the ice on some of the branches:

Here is the view from my back door:

And a picture of my shed:

It doesn't really look so bad in the pictures, but it's the ice that is causing the most problems I think.

We are all just laying around in our PJ's today. I made a big breakfast - sausage, scrambled eggs, biscuits, gravy, hash browns - and we are all enjoying our day off.

And I have a book to read. :) The one I have been waiting for finally came out yesterday! John Grisham's new one - The Associate. I also have some cleaning out of toys I could do... but that just doesn't sound appealing right now. ;)

Hope you are all safe and warm!!

A Saturday Afternoon with the Kids

So, Barb had this crazy wonderful idea to give us a family gift this year for Christmas to force us to spend some quality time together as a family. She must have been out of her mind known that with two teenage girls and a 6 year old, there isn’t a whole lot that they all LIKE to do together, so she came up with something for us all!

For Christmas, she gave us all gift certificates to a book store – as well as some money to use to go out to eat before or after the shopping. Perfect because 4 of the 5 of us love to read, and the one who doesn’t can still get a CD or game – they have a lot more than books at book stores now!

So, we decided to go last Saturday because Jeff was starting a new job that would have him working on Saturdays for at least the next 9 weeks. So, two Saturdays ago, we all piled in the truck and headed south to the book store. We decided on Applebee’s for lunch, and then onto the bookstore that was just down the road.

Once at Applebee’s, we became THAT family. The one that goes in and doesn’t like the place that the hostess seats us at. (Not me, I was fine with where she took us!) So, Jeff asked, “Can we sit in a booth?” Well, you know… booths aren’t really made for 5 people, but since the 5th person is little, we can kinda make it work. Unless that 5th person insists on sitting with Mom and Dad and not with his sisters. So, it was a little snug, but we managed.

Conor and Jeff spent a lot of time looking around the restaurant at the paraphernalia hanging on the walls and pointing out different things of interest. Then I heard a song and it was one I liked, but it was from a few years back and I couldn’t remember who sang it. So I asked Jeff.

“I don’t know, ask the waitress.”

So, I did. She didn’t remember either, so she went to ask someone else and returned with an answer.

After she left Jeff said, “We should tell her that her tip depends on her knowledge of the music being played – for every one we ask that she gets right, it is a dollar. If she misses, it goes down a dollar.” “Uhhhh, no.”

So, she comes back and he tells her that! She was fun though, and she tried to play along. Conor assured her that his dad was, “Just joking.”

At one point she didn’t know one and I mouthed the answer to her so she would get it right – Jeff totally didn’t see me do it, but now he will know.

Then Jeff would quiz Allie and Ceara about them as well. There were a lot of old songs played, nothing really recent, but when one song came on, I was sure that Allie would know it.

“Allie, you know who sings this song, right?”

“Ummm, let me listen.” *pause* “No.”

“WHAT?! Seriously? I am SO telling Poppy on you. I can’t believe you haven’t been exposed to them. Starts with the letter at the end of the alphabet…”

I forget what she guessed, but it started with an X.

“Ummm, hello? You don’t know what letter is at the end of the alphabet?”

Then she guessed something else that started with a Z, but it wasn’t correct.

“Poppy looks like them a bit with his beard…”

Nothing. Blank stare.

“ZZ Top, duh!”
“I don’t know who they are…”

“OMG! I really am telling Poppy on you. I can’t believe you don’t know who ZZ Top is.”

I know she is young, and they are old… but I have gone to great lengths to torture expose her older music and make sure she has a little bit of taste in music. Like Lynyrd Skynyrd. And the Eagles. And Bob Seger. Stuff I make her listen to all the time in my car. And I KNOW that Jack (Poppy) also subjects her to older music. And she has done fairly well in picking up on it, and actually liking it.

And then it started. “What time are we going to be home?”

"Ummm, I don’t know, we are just relaxing and enjoying ourselves. We aren’t really on a time schedule.”

“Well, I’m supposed to go to the movies tonight.” (This was Ceara.)

“Yeah, we should be home in plenty of time for the 7 o’clock movie.”

“But I wanted to go to the 5 o’clock.”

“And I want to go to Chrissy’s” (Allie)

Sheesh! Guess it is too much to ask that two teenagers spend a whole afternoon with their parents!

“Well, we can’t help you. You didn’t tell us your plans, and we made plans, and we’re not rushing. This is supposed to be fun.”

Conor wanted dessert and so he got some chocolate thing (surprise) and the girls were squirming in their seats with impatience.

We finally left the restaurant, much to our server’s delight, and went onto the book store. As soon as we went in, everyone went a different way. Jeff went to look at DVDs initially, Allie went straight for the books, Ceara went to the games, and I chased after Conor, who went off on his own and gave his mom an anxiety attack while she was searching for him.

I found him within a couple of min and he announced, “I’ve already been to the kids section and there isn’t anything in there I want.”

Then he saw a display of stuffed animals and immediately wanted one of those. As if he doesn’t already have 100 stuffed animals taking up space in his room. However, it was his gift card to spend as he wanted, so I told him he could carry it around with him while we looked at other things. Hoping that I would be able to convince him to get something else.

We looked at books, games, movies, and he did not decide on anything else. Then we met up with Jeff, who had gotten a book on CD (Bill Bryson’s Shakespeare: The World as Stage), so I left Conor with Jeff while I went off to search for something for myself.

While looking, I ran into Ceara who had decided to get a Rubix Cube game, and said that she was just going to hang out with me while I looked. Then we ran into Allie who had found 3 books to buy. They both went to pay for their purchases, while I continued to look. Then Jeff and Conor walked up and Conor was done as well. Conor had found a magic kit that he wanted, in addition to getting the dog.

The girls wanted to go wait in the car for us, so Jeff handed them the keys and they took Conor with them to go sit in the truck. Jeff and I walked around together for a little while, and then he went off on his own. I looked all over the store and I was feeling a bit rushed and decided that I didn’t want to get anything that day. Sorry, Barb! I participated, I just figured I would be better off waiting until the book I want comes out, or having the time and no pressure to look around for myself.

So, I started looking for Jeff. I walked the whole store a few times looking for him. I even hovered outside the men’s room to see if he came out. I finally decided to just go outside and see if he was in the truck. Sure enough, he was. They were all sitting there waiting on me, so I just climbed in the truck and we were off.

Jeff opened his new book and put a CD in, while the girls sat in the back listening to their iPods. Conor took a little nap on the ride home, so he was a bit groggy when we got there. Jeff was volunteered to take the girls to their social events, and Conor and I went into the house to practice his magic tricks.

He was seriously disappointed that it wasn’t really “magic” and that he was unable to make things really disappear by buying this little box. However, he did enjoy finding out how to trick people into thinking it was magic. We went through the books and he practiced a few to try out on his dad.

He was never really a good secret keeper. He always tells on himself whenever he does something he isn’t supposed to do (like eat a piece of candy before dinner or whatever), so after each trick and his dad being amazed, he had to show him how it was done.

He said he was just going to tell his mom and dad because he didn’t want to keep secrets from us! I wonder how long that will last? I’m betting not very long.

We had a fun day, though! I would like, just once, to take a tape recorder or something with us when we do these outings. We always laugh a lot. Usually at Jeff because we all gang up on him, but still… it is fun. Although I didn’t get a book, I am getting one next week. When John Grisham’s new book comes out. That will give me something to read for a day. Or maybe two since it is a work day.

Thank you Barb! We did have a lot of fun despite my teasing at the beginning! :) I have just figured out how to do the strikeout through words. After all these years of blogging... lol Everyone enjoyed the food, and the afternoon together.

Phone Call

"Will you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Look up Nautica White Sail and see if it is a man or woman's cologne."

"OKaaayyyy, why?"

"Because I took Conor shopping to spend some of his birthday money and he bought this cologne. I've sprayed it on both of us and it smells a little... flowery to me. Kinda like a woman's perfume."

LOL!

"Sooooo, you smell like a woman now?"

"It's NOT funny! You're going to blog about this aren't you?"

"Wellllll... maybe."

I looked it up, and it does say that it is a man's cologne, so they are in the clear - no perfume wearing men around here! But the doubt that was there was funny and I HAD to tell you about it.

I don't think Jeff wears it anymore though. And he's going to probably yell at me when he reads this. But... I need some funny material! Or actually, I just need to remember the stuff to write it down.

Morning Madness

This morning started out fairly well, as in I got up earlier than I needed to, but it turned out that I needed that extra time. And a little bit more than that. I had to take Conor to his daycare this morning because Jeff had to be at work at 7am.

So, I thought I was doing well because I had all our cloths set out and ready, had Conor's lunch packed and ready, and all was looking good. Then Allie called from her bus to tell me that she was rushing to get to the bus stop on time and she fell in a neighbor's back yard and she thinks she lost her iPod. She wanted me to go look for it, so I told her if I had time I would. She said it was across the street, behind the first house to the left.

So, I went out to start my car while Conor finished getting dressed and I walked across the street and tried to see her footprints in the snow to find where she had fallen. It was dark, and I was freezing - tears running down my face from the cold - so I looked for a few minutes and then gave up. I couldn't imagine what the neighbors would have thought had they woken up and looked out the window to find me walking around in their yard. I also thought with the shoes I had on, I was likely to fall in the snow as well and I just didn't want that to happen.

While I was walking home it occurred to me that the "first house on the left" could have been the one at the end of the street. So I figured I would stop there as I left.

I went back inside and finished getting Conor ready and got our things together and walked out the door. I stopped at the last house and got out, with Conor (because he said he has GREAT eyesight and could find it even though it was dark) to look for the place she fell. I finally saw it almost at the top of his yard, where the small hill began. We went up to look and didn't see anything at first - but then I saw it finally. Hard to see a small silver square in the white snow when it was dark outside. Again I felt weird being in someone else's yard.

I brushed the snow off as we walked back to the car and started on the way to the daycare. It's only about 10 minutes away, but it is 10 minutes in the opposite direction of my work, so about 30 min extra is what I needed and I was already running a bit close.

Half way there I realized I forgot the security card that I needed to get in. They frowned upon always knocking on the door to get let in when they gave us all cards. But I figured I would just explain. Then I noticed that I forgot to bring his lunch box. Gah. I had to turn around and go back to the house.

So, it was a busy, rushed morning, but I was only 5 minutes late to work so it wasn't too bad.

And today is THE day - the making of history. The day our new President gets sworn into office. This is a day that most people will remember where they were when this happened. I wish I could say I was somewhere other than at work. Trying to watch the inauguration on the live video stream from MSN on my work computer is proving difficult. It keeps freezing up. Less than an hour away now. :)

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Freezing!!!

I knew we were going to pay for that summer-like weather in fall. This week has been very cold. Like below zero cold. So, this morning, when Jeff got up to get ready for his job (!! *yay*) and found that we had no water, it was certainly a DOH! moment.

Like we didn't learn our lesson 2 years ago when it happened. We were going to get heating tape for the pipe, or some sort of insulation for the part that is in the closet in our garage - the only part that is exposed - but, I guess we got side tracked. So, this morning? Frozen water pipes. Because it is Friday and Fridays just can't. be. easy.

So, he woke me up by saying, "Our pipes are frozen." That was way more effective at getting me out of bed than if my alarm had gone off. I got out of bed and immediately grabbed my space heater and headed to the garage with an extension cord. But not before tripping over 1,000 things on my way. Hey, I said I was out of bed, not awake. Jeff followed behind me, as I went into our UNINSULATED garage with no more than a T-shirt (sleeveless at that) and my underwear. Now THAT woke me up. I don't know the exact temperature, but outside it "felt like" (according to some random weatherman or person, or w/e) -25 F. While in the garage I proceeded to trip over a few more things before finally making it to the closet and putting the heater in there. I could have been muttering some words under my breath as well. As I was coming back in the house, I don't know if Jeff was laughing at me or not, but he said, "You are getting on my nerves already today - I could have done that, you can't even walk straight."

"Well, then quit following me around and don't talk to me!" No, I'm not Miss Sunshine in the mornings.

So, I was disoriented, didn't know what to do. I brushed my teeth with water from the tea kettle (haha we don't even drink tea! at least... I don't.), and set about finding clothes to wear. Then we discussed what we were going to do with the kids - they were all off school today and the girls are watching Conor since we don't have any sitters lined up. So, we couldn't just leave them at the house with no water.

Jeff said, "You want me to call my mom?"

"Well, no, she won't be awake at this time. She works late, and she's not a morning person." (You can thank me later, Barb.)

"I'll call my dad, then."

"Who is going to drive them to Mason? I'll call my mom, she's a morning person (used to be anyway)."

So, I called my mom... who was in bed. Sorry, Mom! Jeff was going to drop them off on his way to work. I went out to start my car and when I came back in, the water was running. About an hour after the space heater was turned on it. So, I called my mom and told her they wouldn't be coming after all.

This is the very first time the girls have kept Conor. I've only called once so far. Conor answered the phone and sounded a bit irritated that I was interrupting him playing a game with Ceara. So, I guess they are fine. ;)

It has been a very strange day today. Customers today so far... have been interesting. I'll write more about that later. Maybe. ;)

TGIF!!!

Read at your own risk. Not a fluffy, cheery post.

Empathy or sympathy - while they are similar, they are not really the same. Empathy is more like actually trying to put yourself in someone's shoes. Sympathy is like acknowledging someone's feelings - but not really trying to know what they are feeling. At least that is how I interpret the definitions.

I empathize with a lot of people. I try to put myself into their situation to experience what they are experiencing. Of course, I could never really know exactly what it is like, but that is why I have so much compassion for other people.

I see someone walking down the street with a back pack when it is very cold outside, and I want to know their story. I want to pick them up, feed them a hot meal, and talk to them. I don't do it of course. And I always feel sad that I didn't. The reasons for not doing it vary, but I still feel they are all "excuses" and I don't like them.

It saddens me that there is such a fear in helping people. I see people sitting at the end of the highway with signs. I give them money. I've heard the arguments that you shouldn't, and that just doesn't sit well with me. I don't care what they spend that money on, that is their decision to make. I did the right thing. No one will ever convince me otherwise. You never know how close we are all to being in their shoes.

This is also a big reason that when I read the newspaper I walk away with tears in my eyes over people I had never heard of until that day.

I don't really know if it is a good trait or a bad trait, I have been told by a lot of people that I am "too nice."

A boy who goes to Allie's school decided at the age of 17 that he didn't want to continue with his life last night. When Allie told me, all I could think about was what could have possibly been going through this boys mind that he would want to do such a thing? And then the thoughts of his parents, and what living hell they are going through. It makes me wish I could have done something - which is irrational of course, I had never met the boy, and it's not like I can possibly meet every person on earth and convince them that life is worth it.

I laid down to go to sleep last night and I couldn't do it. My chest ached for this boy and his family. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I got up to go talk to Jeff. He was on the couch watching a movie and I sat down in front of him. I laid my head on his shoulder and talked to him about it. Why people, especially kids, think that nothing is ever going to be better. Life is all about trial and error, there will always be good times and bad times.

I wondered if there were any missed signs. I wondered if it is possible for me to miss signs. For something this horrific to happen in my family.

I know high school is hard. There are kids picking on each other, making fun of each other, trying to knock people down a notch. And yes, I know that the kids who do that are the ones who are really insecure themselves. They need to make people feel bad to make themselves feel better... whatever. Teenagers can be SO. MEAN. (So can adults I know, so it is not just an age thing!) And every time I hear any of my kids, or any of their friends say anything bad about other kids in their school, I tell them to stop. I've lectured so much over it that it now only takes a look from me. Then they are jumping all over themselves to defend their snarky remarks. But I think they are getting better about it.

So, today, my heart is heavy and my thoughts are with this boys family. I just want to pull my kids close and hope they know how much I love them.

Please Read

In lieu of me trying to come up with something funny to write, you really need to go read this post over at Derfwad Manor because it is EXACTLY how I feel! I love her blog, she is hilarious, and I have spent the past week or so trying to get through the archives. I laugh out loud at almost all of her posts, and I need to add her to my links.

See if you don't crack a smile or two, or 100 while over there reading her posts. Or leave your coworkers/family/dogs/cats/whoever might be around wondering if they need to send for the men in the little white coats because you are laughing at your computer screen.

Competition amongst the kids

We got a Wii for Christmas and the kids love it. Ceara has set out to get every 1st place standing she can - she is obsessed! And then everyone else wants to beat her score. Which we do when she goes to her mom's, and then she has to try harder when she comes back!

Once she got all the 1st places, Jeff said she was grounded from the Wii. He's just mad that he can't beat her at boxing. No one can yet. The above video is of Conor trying. I wish the video wasn't so dark - his movements were cracking me up!

And yes, I know it is bad that he got mad at the end of the video and tried to kick her. I talked to him about that after I turned the video off. I promise!

Oh, and to update my prior post about asking Allie what she remembers about Christmas - she does not remember NOT getting something that she wanted, nor does she remember wanting something all that bad. And I think the Wii distracted Conor from the dinosaur. He still noticed he didn't get it - but he was good natured about it and said, "Maybe Santa will bring it next year." :)

My Poor Boy

Poor Conor. Just 2 days into his Christmas break from school and he gets the stomach flu. Has, uhh... problems coming out of both ends. His bottom end being the worst of it. Eeeek. Sorry, but I'm trying to be honest without the graphics...

While other people around me got it (Allie, Ceara, my nephews), theirs only lasted 24 hours. But Conor held onto the bug for about... 4 or so days.

He finally got better from that, and on Monday, December 29th, he started not feeling so well in the evening. Had a bit of a temperature and his throat was sore. I gave him some medicine and he went to bed. During the night, he woke up several times crying. In the morning his temperature was high again and he was miserable. I went to work and called to get him a Dr. appointment. Strep throat.

So, he got that pink stuff - the Amoxicillin liquid they give to kids. The pharmacy we went to only had enough for a 5 day supply, and we would have to come back to get the other 5 days. He started feeling better within 24 hours, but we kept giving it to him, as we were told to do. So, as of yesterday, he had been taking it for 8 days.

So, last night he took his shirt off and his back was covered in raised bumps - that itched. It was also spreading down his arms a bit. Chicken pox? That was the only thing I could think of at the time, but they didn't look the way I remembered them to look. But, hey... it has been over 10 years since Allie had them, so I couldn't be sure.

So, this morning, his legs were covered and there were red splotches from where he had scratched during the night. I called and got him another appointment to see the doctor, and Jeff just called to let me know that it is NOT chicken pox as we thought. It is an allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin he was given.

Why it didn't show up until after 8 days of use, I have no idea. I just feel bad for Conor because this is the third week in a row he has had problems. Poor little guy. Maybe now the rest of the year will be free of any sickness! That's what I'm hoping for at least. That he got it all over with for a while! :)

In other news... I have some pictures and videos that I will try to post soon. I love the holiday season, but I feel a lot better now that things have gone back normal. At least a little bit normal. :)

Happy New Year!!!!!

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2009!!!