Smellyann Strikes Again

Saturday 9: Tunnel Of Love

Link up here if you want. I'm mad now; I already typed up this whole post once, and Typepad or Google Chrome ate it. Forgive me if the redeux is grouchy. Also, apologies for the comment verification; I've been getting so much spam lately, I could open a Hormel plant.

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Saturday 9: Tunnel of Love

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1) Do you enjoy amusement park rides?

Of course, but I'm kind of a big weenie when it comes to roller coasters and stuff like that. I'm working on growing my cajones, though: when I was a kid, I used to be terrified of rides like the Scrambler or others that spun around fast, and now they're favorites. So there's hope for me, yet!

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2) In this song, Bruce likens romance to riding through the tunnel of love. The Red Hot Chili Peppers sing about a "Love Rollercoaster." What amusement park ride reminds you of your relationships?

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If walking on hot coals were a ride, I'd say that. There's an element of danger, sometimes someone gets burned, and yet it's exciting and exhilarating. Oh, and very intense. Life with me is not a picnic.

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3) Bruce's nickname is The Boss. Who was your best boss? What made him/her a good supervisor?
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That would be me. I'm my own boss now, and I like it that way. I am hard on myself when I deserve it, but I can also be patient and kinder to myself when I need that, too. I pay myself what I'm worth - although I need a raise, Self! - and listen to my instincts. I push myself, I create challenges and goals, and I work hard to achieve them. 

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4) Bruce's father was a bus driver and his mother was a legal secretary. What professions did/do your parents work in?
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Hey, I was once a legal secretary, too. I had a good boss then, as well. (RIP, Jim.)

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Mom did a little bit of everything, and I'm sure she did lots I didn't know about. She was a secretary when she died. I have a newspaper article on her from when Stacey and I were toddlers; she had started a babysitting co-op in our town and they praised it for it. Now, those are commonplace. As for Dad, he's a bit of a Jack of All Trades, Master of None. To sum up his talents, he's a salesman. He could sell water to a fish.

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5) Bruce met his wife Patti at a bar in Asbury Park. Do you believe you can pick up lasting love in a bar? 
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Of course. I know a couple that met that way. As for Hubs and me, we met online, and that works, so why not a bar. Incidentally, my parents met though a dating service, too.

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6) Springsteen was unable to work for years because he was embroiled in a lawsuit with his management company. Have you ever been sued, or sued someone else?
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Five barks for you. Heh.

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7) Bruce won an Oscar for writing the title song for the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia. Do you have a favorite Tom Hanks movie?
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It has to be Splash, my first Tom Hanks movie. He, Daryl Hannah, John Candy, and the rest of the cast were awesome in that. I could watch it again and again. I wonder if it's on Amazon Prime?

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8) Bruce's official Twitter account (@springsteen) has more than 389,000 followers. Do you tweet? If so, how many people follow you?
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I tweet updates and check-ins from my iPhone and reward sites like Crowdtap and Swagbucks, but I'll rarely go straight to Twitter and post Facebook-like status updates. I couldn't care much less about that. I'm @Smellyann if you want lots of stupid information about where I am, though. ;) I have no idea how many followers I have. Three or 400, maybe?

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9) Bruce's drummer, Mighty Max Weinberg, led the band on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Who do you think is funnier -- Conan or Jay Leno? Or are you looking forward to Jimmy Fallon?

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Fallon's okay - he's gotten better since the beginning - but I'm a huge fan of Conan. We have a similar sense of humor; I 'get' him and think he's hysterical. I never liked Leno as a talk show host at all. He's unoriginal and unfunny, IMHO. I was horrified by that whole Leno/Conan shake-up on NBC. Really? That was ridiculously unfair. I felt so badly for the O'Brien family, to be honest.

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I'll be back tomorrow for Sunday Stealing, if not before then with some family updates. See ya back here, hm?

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Fin.

Product Review: "What's In The Bible DVD"

I was selected for participation in this review and given the What's in the bible DVD as a member of The Homeschool Lounge Review Team. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

A little while back, we were given this DVD: Volume 1: In The Beginning / Genesis from the "What's in the Bible" series to review. It's taken us a while to watch the DVD because our machine broke, and then the laptop wouldn't read the disk properly. Argh! We finally had a chance to view the 60-minute DVD Monday night, after I figured out how to get it to play in the afore-mentioned laptop. At last!!

 

You may or may not be able to read that top-right corner, but it tells us that this series is from Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales®, of which we are huge fans! Indeed, I recognized several voices from VT, so it was a little bit of familiarity embedded in something novel for us.

All three kids sat transfixed throughout the hour-long, two-part DVD, and they erupted into giggles many times in that time. Volume 1 covers the structure and purpose of "the world's most important book," along with who wrote it. Covered topics include Adam & Eve and Noah and the Great Flood, amongst others. A bonus short section,"Quacky's Questions," answers "What is kindness?" My children watched the entire DVD, and then we discussed it.

Jack, my 9-year-old son, was exhausted by the time it was over, so he (as is typical for him) claimed not to have enjoyed it or learned anything from it (though I know he did both) and went straight to bed when it was over. Well! That left the girls.

Sophia, seven, told me she learned that it's important to always try to be good and obey her mom and dad, and God, and not be bad. She learned what sins were, and she learned about Noah and the flood. She said she was glad that God promised not to flood the entire Earth again, and she also learned that God separated people and gave them different languages to speak so there would be less sinning in the world. (Hey, I'm just telling you what my baby said; take what you will from it.)

When asked if she learned anything additional, Chloë, 11, told me that she learned that the Bible is the most important book in the world. We've talked previously - earlier in the same day, even - about respecting The Good Book and not losing or mistreating it (or any other books, but especially this one), so it didn't surprise me that she had this to say.

Both of my daughters said they loved the DVD and thought it was really funny, especially when the characters spoke in silly voices. They were surprised to learn that we get to keep the DVD instead of "renting it back," as they say, and also that it was given to me for us to review. Chloë said, "I thought you bought it for us as a fun surprise! Can we get more of them?"

 

Indeed,  I think it's possible this will make a great set for Christmas, and I know they - and the like-minded amongst you out there - will be thrilled to receive it!

If you visit the site, you'll see there are some great **free** resources and activities to go along with the series, including coloring pages, Bible flashcards, a Study Guide, and more!  Let me know if you end up getting the set or any parts of it, and what you think, too!

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Thanks to The Homeschool Lounge review team and the series for providing us with this excellent jumping-off point for discussing all things Biblical!

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Friday Fragments

Link up here if you've got bits & pieces rattling around in the ol' noggin to share with Mrs. 4444 and friends today! I have quite a few, so take a load off and stay awhile, won't you?

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I've got new news, so pop on over to this post if you want to know what big changes are afoot in my (and my older daughter's) lives!

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Likewise, I'd love your input on my Aloha Friday question for this week, which is here! Let me know if you have an AF post this week, too, so I can be sure to check it out!

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I've been playing around with the new Jafra color collection lately, so I'm experimenting with some new looks instead of my usual standby, which is closest to the bottom right in this collage. Which do you like best?

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Chloë, my oldest, was looking particularly adorable today, so I snapped this photo of her and then played around with it in Picasa by Google. I can't claim credit for those curls, which she gets from her daddy. His hair looks just like this when he's not, well, in the Navy for 19 years!

 

Chloë wanted a makeover, so we played around with some of my make-up on her for a little while Thursday evening. What do you think about make-up on a 10-year-old? Totally wrong, or okay if it's just for fun, like this? Obviously, we don't do this very often, but I think it's fine once in a blue moon, for kicks.

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Speaking of Jafra, I've been painting my nails with our wonderful lacquers faithfully, and they're actually growing and not breaking! I have paper-thin nails normally, and they break easily. My sister's nails are long and strong, so I sent her this picture on Facebook. Yeah. We bonded over nails. What can I say; she's a cosmetologist!

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Sophia and Jack have been having so much fun with their Kiwi Crates over the past few months, that I finally relented and renewed their subscription after being asked approximately 8700 times. They worked on it a bit Thursday evening and made parrots and treasure boxes. Can you guess the theme? Yep. Next we'll be making pirate hats and eye patches to go with them. Fun!

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After nearly two years of trying to get a table to our local Melting Pot's Girls' Night Out, I finally scored us a table - at 10:30 PM! It ended up working out to be a good time, albeit very late, because my friend Tabby and I had preview tickets for the movie American Reunion, the American Pie sequel, the same night. So for seven hours, I was out with first Tabby, and then Tab, and two of my "Turtle Friends," Saritah and Jenny From the Block at dinner. And oh, my gosh, I laughed so hard and often during both events. The movie was hysterical from start to finish, and we had ourselves a hilarious time at dinner, too. I hope we don't have to wait another couple years to do it again!

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Our tax refund check came in recently - well, partially, anyway, as the IRS denied Chloë as our child based on a clerical error on their part, argh - so Rob and I got some very necessary new tires for his motorcycle, Elsie, and my Odyssey, Penelope. The tire appointment was supposed to take about two hours, so I asked Jenny From the Block to keep our kiddos while we were there. I just wasn't up to deal with the boredom whining, basically! She agreed, so in the end, Rob and I decided to venture out together on his motorcycle for the first time, to use one of our Groupon-like certificates for a local Thai restaurant which we'd never tried. We were the only people there for quite a while, as you can see, but it certainly wasn't because of the food quality!

Our meal was excellent, although mine was spicier than I expected. I can't do spicy, and not just because of my sensitive gastric bypass pouch; I never could handle it. I just don't have the stomach - or tongue! - for it, sad to say. Still, it was good. But better than that was the fun of riding around on the back of the BMW with Rob! I had so much fun! I was a little scared, sure, but it was a breathlessly-exhilarating kind of fun. I hope we get another chance to do that again soon, too!

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So pretty much other than the pictures and details of Jack's birthday party, I'm all caught up now on my blahggy show-and-telling. I really ought to do that, especially since it'll be time to show Sophia's birthday party pictures in another week! On Friday the 13th, my youngest child will turn seven! We'll have her, 9-year-old Jack, and 10½-year-old Chloë. It' to face the music: my family is aging out of the "little kid" stage. I guess we're pretty well established by now, huh?

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And now to leave you with my old standby, a Cute Kid Quote. As you may or may not know, in my previous existence as a singleton, I was a marine biologist, studying shark feeding behaviour. My kids know all about that, and for whatever reason, it comes up frequently. Anyway, Thursday afternoon, we were driving around, when Jack suddenly asked what a car's muffler was for. Before I could answer, Sophia snapped at him, "She doesn't know! She's not a car biologist! It's not like she dives into cars!" I had quite a chuckle over that one! These kids. They kill me.

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On that note, thanks for stopping by, and have a fabulous weekend!

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Friday Fragments

Link up with here with Mrs. 4444 if you've got bits and pieces floating through your brain today!

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Right off the bat, I have to say I'm excited that tomorrow is the day I'm spending ~8 hours getting my iron transfusion! It's my first one, and it's not unusual for gastric bypass patients to need them. I'll probably be getting my first of many Vitamin B12 shots, as well. My hemoglobin levels are abyssmally low, which means it's a struggle and a chore just for me to make it through the day, every day, let alone cover everything that's on my plate. I've been dropping a lot of balls lately, admittedly, and I'm hoping this will make a huge difference for me - and my family, who have to put up with me. Hopefully, too, I'll be able to stop consuming the massive daily amounts of caffeine that I do to stay functioning and focused. So, yay!

The only downside is I won't be able to knit during the procedure... but I have about eleventy-billion magazines to catch up on, so I'm covered there. And I can always nap. What I'm wondering about now is, when do I pee? And eat? (I'll let you know. Hee.)

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In awesome news, my kids have been focusing on their reading in our homeschooling so far this new year, and they have progressed dramatically. My oldest, a fifth grader, had to write her first book report, after much gnashing of teeth over it, and she did a splendid job. I had to make just a few corrections - all mechanics - but the content was fantastic. I was so pleased!

As for the two Littles, my son is in 3rd grade and came out of 1st grade public school hardly literate at all. So I remediated him from the Kinder level with our K-2 Hooked on Phonics program, and he just "graduated" from the program! It only took him a year and a half to do all three years' worth, so that's pretty great. Yes, I'm proud of him, but even more incredible is how visibly proud of himself he is! I love it!

The youngest, a first grader who was a late bloomer with regard to reading (she's the most active, physical of the lot), has suddenly pushed through the block and is now almost to the 2nd grade level of the program. So go, kids!! Starting next week, we'll slow down on so much all-reading, all-the-time, and focus more on math, with which all three of them also need remediation. No child left behind, my butt! But the buck stops here. :)

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We were supposed to go on a field trip to the Food Bank with our two respective Girl Scout troops today, but I found out two hours before the trip that they had to reschedule it. ARGH! I had no choice but to cancel our regular meeting, since I have it planned to have a guest speaker come in, and there was no way to get her on such short notice. It was pretty stinko (my word of the month), and I was bummed, since we're behind where I wanted to be in my Daisy troop at this point. But with the iron deficiency, I have to say, I wasn't too terribly disappointed to get a reprieve! Just sayin'.

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We've had Sophia to the Emergency Department 3-4 times this past week, as her breathing struggles have suddenly kicked back into high gear. It's not the weather, since it's barely cold here, and it started in the summertime anyway (in 2010!). We've seen 8 or 9 different doctors and gotten just as many "suggestions" about what it could be, with no real answers. It's frustrating for me, as her mom, to watch her go through this, so I can only imagine how much of an annoyance it is for her. My husband thinks it's entirely stress-induced, but I disagree. That may be a component, certainly, but since it frequently comes on when she's just sitting around, doing nothing remotely upsetting, how can that be?? I just wish I could help her.

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A local-but-online-only friend of mine is a potter, and she fashions these awesome, funkadelic business card holders that I've been coveting for a long time. Last week, she made this red one, and I KNEW it was the one I had to have. It arrived today. Do you love it?! I do! So cool. Check out Lisa's Etsy shop for more awesome clay-mations!

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We drove up the Eastern Shore of Virginia on Sunday (here's my view out the windshield of the Chesapeake Bay), for a high-paying mystery shop. Great, except I kind of screwed it up a little, and now I don't know if I am going to get paid for it. Argh. Well, if that happens, at least we had a fun trip and enjoyed lots of interesting scenery, right?

This is the kids in the back during the trip, watching Judy Moody and the Not-So-Bummer Summer, which they've been waiting for me to rent from the Blockbuster kiosk for ages. I waited until it dropped to $1, so I could get it for free (lots of codes out there, folks!), because I'm cheap like that!

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Speaking of mystery shops, Rob and I finally went out for a nice dinner - with the kids, so it was only semi-romantic! - to celebrate the 11th wedding anniversary we shared on the 2nd of this month. Here's my Appletini. The kids love cherries and all clamored for mine, but um, no. Not the ones all soaked in Smirnoff, kiddos! It was really strong, and I got drunk very quickly. I drink maybe once a month, if that, and wow. I'm such a lightweight since my surgery!

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And here's me, that night (tipsy), showing you my hair in its awkward growing-out phase. I can't stand my hair right now. I want it to be long NOW. I'm half-tempted to just chop it again, but it grows soooo slowly, I may never have another ponytail. Is 35 too old for ponytails, anyway? Not around the house, or in the summer at least, right? ;)

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Last week (which I can tell ya, because I skipped FF then, sorry), we totally kept the kids up and took them to the 12:01 AM first showing of the newly re-released Beauty and the Beast in 3D. It was AWESOME. I think I had as good a time as the kids did. It cost a small fortune; I had sticker shock, but it was worth it for the "cool mom points" I earned, I think. At least Rob managed to stay awake during the whole thing - he'd had a nap first to make sure! Have you seen it? It was great.

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Lastly, speaking of Etsy, I have to share this story. I bought this gorgeous yarn on clearance from Summer of Perfectly Handmade, and the whole situation quickly turned into a comedy of errors: First, she accidentally sent me the wrong yarn, and then she sent me the correct yarn after I mailed it back (and she was GREAT through this whole process, and I totally recommend her, so don't think I'm speaking too badly of her). Well, it was badly skeined, and when I wound it into center-pull "cakes" with my swift and ball winder, it took about two hours vs. the 10-15 minutes it should have, because it was such a mess. I finally got it, though, and managed to knit ONE hexipuff for the Beekeeper's Quilt I'm making before going to bed for the night. Well, I stupidly left that troublesome-but-lovely yarn out overnigh, and our two kittens decided to make it their plaything overnight. When I woke up early, before the kids, I went to go knit another puff with it... and it was GONE. So I instantly knew "the twins," as they are, were the culprits and headed upstairs to look for it. I found two 8mo kittens, each with a shred of the yarn hanging out of their mouths and looking at me guiltily. They immediately dropped it and went to go hide under my son's bed! Then I searched around and found the yarn strewn all over my older daughter's room, some of it chewed it into short strands, some of it just a gnarled, knotty mess, but all entirely wrecked. GAH!!  However, I kept plugging away at it, and look! Up there! I managed to eke out 13 or 14 hexipuffs out of the yarn, which I eventually sorted out, and they'll look great in the quilt. But what a pain!!

P.S. Summer sent me some more yarn as a gift, for all my troubles. So if you're a "yarnie" like I am, don't hesitate to check her out!

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I'll leave you on that note. No, this one: "All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

RIP, Dr. King.

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Fin.

This Mission Is NOT Impossible

Full Disclosure: This information was provided by IMAX through MyBlogSpark. In exchange for this post, I was entered to win a contest, but all opinions belong to me.

Get ready for action, adventure, and explosive entertainment like you´ve never seen it before! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to check out Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol in IMAX theatres.

Starting December 16th, a full five days before its North American premier, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol will be shown in a mind-blowing IMAX experience in 300 theaters across the country. Join Ethan Hunt and his team of rogue IMF agents, in this awesome spy adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. With 30-minutes of scenes shot with IMAX cameras, fans will be able to enjoy certain sequences of the movie in larger than life proportions. You will be right in the action as Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) scales the world´s tallest building; the Burk Khalifa Tower in Dubai, as this and other thrilling moments expand to fit the entire IMAX screen. As an added bonus, IMAX will offer the first previews of the upcoming Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, prior to Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol.

So go on over to IMAX's Facebook page to "Like" them and check out the film. Let me know what you think if you went!

Have fun...

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Friday Fragments

Mrs. 4444 is the brainpower behind Friday Fragments, so be sure and link up with her if you're in pieces this week!

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So, despite the fact that:

 - We still have some fleas and our natural solution (sprinkling diatomaceous earth everywhere) isn't working well,

- we still don't have AC in the house OR in my van,

- last year's housefly problem has returned,

- pigeons have invaded our attic, and

- my bipolar meds are in need of tweaking, apparently, because my moods are all over the map lately,

I'm having a pretty decent week. I'm feeling happy, content, and grateful for my wonderful life. It's not a feeling I've experienced often in my mixed-up life, so I'm holding onto it this time with all my might.

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Our monthly Bunco night was Wednesday, and I was the "host" (although it's always held at T's house now). These are the prizes I brought, and they were pretty well received. I love getting Bunco prizes and always put a lot of thought into it. I actually kicked butt this month and won TWO prizes, so I brought home the chunky red necklace from Torrid that I liked, and the Salt Water Taffy that my kiddos had been eyeing since I picked it up. Steph subbed in this month and snagged a couple herself!

Btw, see those cards with the elephants on them, near the top left? Made with real elephant poop. Awesome, right? :D

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Speaking of Bunco, I wore this pendant that I reviewed on my giveaway blog, Fishing and Wishing, and it got raves! Check it out if you'd like one for yourself. ;)

And not only that, but I'm thisclose to my goal weight and very definitely plan to reach it by the time I hit the 1½-year post-gastric bypass-surgery mark on the 26th, so my new figure got a lot of attention at Bunco night, too. I purposely dressed up in my LBD (Little Black Dress) to show it off a little, hee.  Two of the other ladies were talking, and they told me that I should be a spokesperson for the surgery! Another one even called me "skinny," which is, like, the awesomest compliment I can get right now.

Love those girls, MWAH!

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I had my 18-month follow-up with my surgeon (Dr. C, thank goodness; I think the other guy is a complete @$$) this morning, and he was full of praise for my progress.

He doesn't want me to lose much more at all, actually. I'm at about 152.5 lbs, and he'd like to see me go no lower than 150 lbs, even though I'm only 5'2" and my "ideal" BMI-chart weight is about 125 lbs. He said that a frame that can hold 341 lbs (I know!! Shame on me) just would not look good at 125, and I would probably feel terrible. I asked him to elaborate on that, and he just said I'd feel completely miserable. (Wouldn't I like to test that theory, though?!)

So, I know I will go substantially lower than 150 when I get my jiggles and stuff cut off, which I plan to start doing as soon as our still-outstanding tax refund comes in, but maybe the 120s aren't the destiny for me. Eh. I got called a "MILF" by two hot guys recently, so what more do I need?! :D

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Oh, also, I asked Dr. C. about the fact that almost every time I stand up, I get so light-headed that I almost black out. It's a major nuisance. I wasn't sure it was related to the weight loss, but he confirmed that it definitely is and is very common.

The problem?

My blood pressure is too low.

Which is a switch, considering I used to be on meds for my very HIGH pressures.

The solution?

I need to add more muscle mass, since I've lost a considerable amount of that, to help bulk up my weakened blood vessels, and I have to add more salt to my diet. (You don't hear that often, eh?) And hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, of course, which I am always conscious of, but it's especially hard in the current heat.

He promised that it would stop when my weight loss finally levels off, and that is one thing I am looking forward to. Having to stop and hold on to something for 10-20 seconds every time I get up is a major pain in my arse!

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Tonight was fun. With the Amazon.com gift cards I've been racking up with my Swagbucks, I was able to get a free Ice Cream Maker, and it arrived last night. Rob went out for the extra ingredients we needed tonight, and we made some awesome organic vanilla soft serve. I can't really have any, but I did steal a few spoonfuls of the finished product. Oh, my stars, it is GOOD. GOOD!!! Next time, I forewarned them that we'll be making me some sugar-free strawberry sorbet, so Mama can actually enjoy some frozen goodness. I can't wait!

(Those pictures are from my shutterbug-in-training, Chloë.)

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I had two free passes to see Toy Story 3, so I bought two more tickets and took the kids to see it at the local theater today. What a great flick! I actually cried my eyes out at the end. The kids loved it, too, and they talked about it all evening. Have you seen it?

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That's it. I didn't record any Cute Kid Quotes this week; hopefully I'll get some for next time!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Fin.

Things On My Mind

So I'm behind again; what else is new?

There has been lots going on.

Of course, as usual, I have been driving myself crazy with the mystery shopping. I did get a new shirt out of that, though, and I've had a couple high-paying ones that were worth the incredibly boring effort.

I went and had my Quick Start training for being Sophie's Daisy Scout troop leader next year. I learned a lot and feel much more prepared to begin that endeavor, even while simultaneously beginning to homeschool the three kids. I will feel even better after I pick up my Leader guide. Kim, the trainer, gave me lots of good hints and tips for running the troop smoothly.

She (Kim) also has a very petite daughter, so when she saw Chloe Friday night at the "She and Me" pre-registration event for next year, and Chloe introduced herself as a rising Junior Girl Scout, she offered to break out her daughter's old Junior petite uniform and pass it along to me. Great! Any way to save a buck.

On the one hand, I want to save each uniform especially for the girl who wore it and earned all the patches, but on the other hand, in order to save money, I ripped all the Daisy petals off Chloe's Daisy uniform so that Sophia can wear it.  From now on, now that I know the girls will have lots of patches sewn on, I won't do that anymore. But I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth; if she wants to pass on the old Junior uniform, who am I to say no?

Speaking of that She and Me event, who can resist laughing at this picture of Sophia clowning for the camera:

I dare you to try. Every time I look at it, I can't help but grin, at least!

The event was lots of fun. The girls made lotions (cherry and orange), painted a clay magnet, strung beads for bracelets and necklaces, colored pictures, made tissue paper flowers, and more. I have lots of pictures - too many to post here. As it was the beginning of Sophia's Scouting journey, of course I had to bring the camera.

Unfortunately, that meant there was no camera for Rob to take along to Jack's Cub Scout sleepover at the Sports Hall of Fame in Portsmouth. Rob and Jack spent the night there on Friday with the pack. I heard it was lots of fun. There was a scavenger hunt. That's about all I know, since Rob's iPhone battery died, and he didn't even get i-pics of the event. Suck.

Also, in case you haven't been reading the Sweet Pea Academy blog, Friday was Jack's first official day as a home-schooler! I pulled him out after, well, you can go read it for yourself if you're interested. Cute pictures there of him making pancakes, too.

So naturally, home-schooling has been at the forefront of my consciousness just about constantly lately.  I'm not going to do a whole lot with the boy, aside from get him tested to gauge his baseline for right now. We'll take the rest of the year pretty easy and do fun things together with his daddy, and then start up again in August or September when the girls are ready to join us. That will take a lot of pressure of me for coming up with a last-minute curriculum, which is a huge relief.

In the meantime, I have made up Sweet Pea Academy ID cards for Rob and myself, as home educators, and for Jack, as a student. Then we can use those cards for teacher discounts at TAPS, Michaels, AC Moore, Barnes & Noble, etc. They're pretty cute, too (the cards). I like 'em.

So what else...

Oh, so the kids went to the Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic Saturday with Rob, to build a Mother's Day trellis planter. They each made one, and they all had a FANTASTIC time. It's a really cool program, if you haven't heard of it. Both Lowe's and Home Depot run these workshops for kids, teaching them all kinds of skills and making lots of projects. I've known about it for a long time, but this is the first one I actually signed them up for because I have no clue why. They can't wait to go again, though. The next one is in two weeks, and they're going to build a catapult! I don't think HD is running any this month, at least not here.

Also on Saturday, there was a big drawing at the local mall for a big package that I desperately wanted to win: a fitness package, spa package, and MAID SERVICE!!! All to one person. Oh, how I needed that. I came close, too. Chuck from the Morning Point (the radio station I often listen to) chose a paper and said, "Does anyone have a first name that starts with "M"? Do you live in Virginia Beach?" But alas, it was another M in VB. 

I did win a small garden prize, though. They had a separate game, a roulette wheel-type thing, and I put my piece on Kelly Clarkson. KC came up when the wheel was spun! I didn't know what I won, but of course, I was all full of the glee and stuff. It turned out to be some nice gardening gloves and a hat, and blueberry soap. The girls were with me, and they were even more excited than I was. They took our picture, but I don't know if it's going to be on the radio's website or what; a quick search there turned up nothing. Let me know if you spot us!

Hm, so on Thursday, Chloe went to her weekly therapy session. L called me in for the session, too. She wanted to talk about a picture Chlo had drawn the week before. I don't want to get too far into Chlo's psyche here, but let's just say that there were some very strong feelings about Robby, babies dying, and such. I was absolutely in tears. I felt terrible that she's having any kind of hard time with that. I guess all these years, I have been focusing on how Jack is going to grow up feeling about losing his twin, and I just haven't worried too much about any impact on Chloe for losing her baby brother. Or Sophia, for that matter. They've always been free to talk about him, but ... I don't know. It just took me a bit by surprise. I feel kind of stupid about that, now.

So there is a lot of anxiety on her part. We are supposed to make her feel as comfortable and safe as possible, and give her as much control as we can. Those anxious feelings can masquerade as ADHD, too. L was surprised when I told her we took Chlo off the med, but she didn't seem to have too much of a problem with it, like her pediatrician did. But I don't want to get into that again, right now.

Saturday night, we watched "The Business of Being Born" with the kids. That may surprise some people who think that kids that young have no business learning and seeing so much about human birth, but I honestly have zero problems with it, especially when it's done as tastefully as in that doc. It's nature, it's biology, and I am a very strong proponent of being completely honest with your kids, as long as that honesty doesn't harm them in any way. Half the time, they were bored watching it. They have had SO many questions - especially the girls - about giving birth lately, that I thought it would be helpful for them to see that, in fact, most babies are NOT cut out of their mothers' bellies and are delivered in a much less scary way. (Holy run-on.) I think it helped. Hard to say. Sophia still thinks babies all come by c-section, I think, but she also realizes that they are born vaginally, too. I don't think she quite gets it yet.

And of course, I was impacted by the movie, too. So was Rob. I feel strongly that anyone who is pregnant or thinking about it should watch this doc. I can't say for certain that things would have gone any differently for us (I had two emergency and one "emergent" c-sections), but I know that I would have started out, at least, with a midwife and a planned home birth if I knew what things were really like in the OB world. I thought I needed an OB/GYN because I wanted "someone who knew what they were doing" or something like that. Ha! I feel the fool for feeling that way about it, but what did I know. I was 24, scared and clueless.

There's little I can change about the horrible way my births went, but there is a lot I can change about the way my family eats. On my own, I also watched "Food, Inc.," a documentary about, well, the food industry in America, especially farming. I feel even more strongly than ever about changing our diets to reflect my/our concern for the environment, our health and nutrition, and the world in general. I can't wait to get that garden planted, so we can eat fresh food straight from our backyard. Whatever we can't grow ourselves, I want to supplement from the Farmer's Market (as much as possible) and the organic section of the grocery (as little as possible). I know it will cost, but hopefully the money we save on growing our own produce will offset the cost of buying non-genetically modified milk, for instance.  I definitely recommend y'all watch this one, too.

And I don't plan to let my kids eat another hamburger or pork chop. Certainly not from McDonald's or, say, Sonic. No more fast food, and no more fast food mystery shops. Rob will probably balk, but I'm going to stand firm on that. I'll probably let the kids watch Food, Inc. when the disk comes in the mail from Netflix, so we can talk about exactly why I want to implement these changes in our diets; it really wasn't that grotesque or anything like that. I didn't find it to be too graphic at all, and I was watching it from their standpoint the whole time.

It makes me more eager than ever to get out of this house and get a place on a nice lot, where we can maybe have a goat and some chickens, too. Fresh eggs! Fresh milk! It would be grand, so nice. If the boat plan doesn't happen for now, I definitely want to move out of here as soon as possible. We planned on being here about five years, and it's been over seven now. I hate it!! The house is to small (it's a townhouse), our neighbors are right on top of us, and forget about the nitpicky homeowner's association that drives us crazy.  I dream of living where Nikki lives, Chloe's troop leader - it's exactly the kind of place I want. A sprawling ranch with a huge yard and a garage... sigh. Maybe. Maybe.

Well, I could say a thousand more things, but I really must get this desk cleaned up.

Oh! One more thing before I forget:

I finished Luke's wool shorties for Stephanie. I started them about two weeks ago, but she commissioned me for them literally months ago, maybe even before he was born! So it's about dang time I got them done. I didn't do a drawstring, but that will be quickie-quick. I just don't know if she wants one yet, or what kind or color she'd want. But yay! Cute, right? I hope they fit, since they were custom-made to his measurements.

I guess that's it. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms and grandmas out there!

Fin. 

P.S. I watched Revolutionary Road, too, with Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Have you seen it? It was good, but it was no Titanic! Quite the opposite, quite quite.

Eyes Wide Open

Well, that was an interesting visit with my dad and wife #5, as always.

As for her, I am not impressed. I don't want to dog the poor woman out on here, but let's just say my shoe has more personality.

As for him, well. There have been a couple of occasions in the past where I was tempted to completely disown him and cut him out of my life, but something keeps holding me back. Is it that I just don't want to be parentless? Maybe. Is it that I still sense that somewhere in there, deep down, is some semblance of a decent human being? Maybe, but as he approaches 70, it's becoming less likely.

He better hope he's married to someone if and when he's too old to take care of himself anymore, because neither my sister nor I are likely to do it. In contrast, I'd cut off my left ear to have my grandfather come live with us!

There are some areas - most, actually - in which I would never model myself after my father:

#1: Relationships. I mean, c'mon, the man is on his fifth marriage, and he's not even rich or famous! (hee) Three of those (so far...) ended in divorce, and no doubt my mother would have left him, too, if she'd lived long enough.

#2: Parenting. After spending half a day with my kids, who were excited to see him and so therefore a little more wound-up than usual, his advice was to smack them around now and then. Really? This is your advice, all these years after your 16-year-old daughter became emancipated when you beat the shit out of her for the umpteenth time?

Sorry Dad, I told him, but spanking is just plain stupid. How do we teach our children not to hit each other if we're hitting them ourselves? Not to mention that it's pretty ineffective. No, hitting children is the realm of the unintelligent and unimaginitive parent.

He replied that yes, this is the current conventional wisdom. No, sir, it's MY own thinking. Yup, I do that now. Imagine that.

#3-through-infinity: everything else. He's just such... a dick!! He really is. He walks into our house, without knocking, like he owns the place, and begins making demands like a child. He expects everyone to drop everything and cater to his and his wife's needs, including sheltering his three possibly flea-ridden dogs for the duration of their visit. Three extremely spoiled and ill-mannered dogs, that is. My husband was floored when one of the dogs was found on top of the kitchen table, eating the leftovers we hadn't put away yet. Hey, dog, I was planning on eating that chicken later, y'know!

I asked him a question about movie stars, and it turned into this vitriolic political diatribe. Ugh!! I absolutely abhor talking about politics with anyone, but especially him, because he is so caustic and nasty about it. (Most of the people who ascribe to his particular beliefs on the subject seem to be, I've noticed, but not nearly so much as him.) He wasn't amused when I pointed out that most people in academia lean much more to the left. *ahem* But I was!

So, I could turn this into a huge, long mega-rant, and it might or might not be a very interesting read, but it's already 0200 and I have had a headache for most of the day. Do I really want to give myself a worse one when I need to go to sleep soon? No, I thought not.

********

Other than the stuff that drove me continually nuts (at least he knows better than to use the "n" word in my presence, since the last time when I stopped the car and threatened to kick him out), here are the highlights of his visit:

Dinner at Yukon Steakhouse Thursday night, which was abysmal. The company wasn't terrible, actually, but the service, the food, and the prices (!!!) were. I will never, EVER go back to that place, even if they offer us a free meal every month after I write to them.

Friday, the one full day Dad and Wife were here, we started off by driving down near Pungo to look at horse farms. Wife is a huge fan of horses. We were going to drive down to the beach and walk around, but the weather wasn't nice, so we just stopped at their hotel down there and had a potty break. Then Dad needed a kid break, so we went to LH Mall to let the kids run around in the play place while D&W did some window-shopping. (Before they left, and after they returned, he kept stopping at every other store window to ask Wife if she liked this much-too-young outfit or not. It was a little entertaining and a lot sad. I mean, she's got a 21yo grandchild, FPS!)  They took forever and a day to return, so the kids got hungry for lunch. I took them to Subway at the other end of the mall, and we came back to the play area, split the footlong four ways (with some left over), cleaned up, used the restroom, and still no sign of them. I was beginning to get irritated, but they finally showed.

We went home after that, and though it was not even 1600, I started dinner. Wife doesn't eat lunch and therefore requires a very early dinner, and apparently the whole world is supposed to bend to this crazy schedule. Whatever. I'd had the forethought to throw some chicken in the crockpot before we left in the morning, so between that and some quick pasta and sauce, dinner was a piece of cake. I'd baked cookies the afternoon before they arrived, so that was dessert. Everyone seemed satisfied, and no one cared that I hadn't prepared a fabulous gourmet meal, so that was a relief. I'm always nervous about feeding guests, thanks to my stepmother making me batshit crazy about cooking. Heh.

After dinner, we watched a western romance movie starring Katherine Heigl, which was the latest Netflix movie for my dad. They brought it up from home. The kids were bored to tears with it, but I was glued to the screen when I wasn't busy crocheting. (I'm thisclose to finishing that project and meant to do it today, but I couldn't do a thing with this migraine.) Anyway, it was called Love Comes Softly, and it was pretty good. I enjoyed it. Except for a scene near the beginning that proved it was clearly NOT the "kid-friendly movie" my father had proclaimed it to be. Argh, again!!

When the movie ended, they left with Jack for the night. He was terribly excited. I whispered all the "rules" of behavior to him, and he solemnly nodded his head in agreement before taking off, hand-in-hand, with his Grandpa. No way in hell I'd send one of my daughters for the night with him, but he - and they - don't know it yet. I felt Jack was safe enough for one night away with him, when it was only a 20-minute drive down the road. And I knew that on his own, Jack would behave well enough not to risk getting a spanking. Or worse.

And so they left. In Jack's absence, we gave Sophia an early birthday present (she turns five on Tuesday): the DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack of The Princess and The Frog. I'd gotten it for FREE on Amazon.com after cashing in for all those gift cards lately. Great movie; I really loved it both times that we've watched it so far, and I have several songs in my head from the movie. All at once. I can't wait to watch it again! The girls loved it, too.

I was going to finish my crocheting during that movie, but instead I had myself a little sobfest. It was the 26th anniversary of my mom's death, and though that might seem like a ridiculously long time to still be crying, the pain is fresh. I suspect it always will be. My sister cried too, she said, and I know her pain is the same as mine.

So on Saturday morning, we awoke early to the three dogs barking (bah!) and Rob leaving for work. I hate it when he works on the weekend... We were just getting out to take the dogs for a walk around the lake when Dad returned with Wife and Jack. Everyone but Wife went for the walk with the dogs, and then they packed up and left for home. I did not feel one pang of sadness or disappointment at their departure, which is quite the opposite feeling I get when, say, my sister leaves. Or I leave her. I remember crying my eyes out when we visited last August!

Well, I've probably said enough and then some. Hope y'all have a good week, and I'll be back again soon enough with tales of hijinks from my naughty kids in need of spanking. Wink, wink.

Fin.

 

On The First Day Of Spring Break...

...my true loves and I didn't do anything super-fantastic. Eh.

Here's what did happen, in a nutshell:

I slept until noon. After staying up all night Saturday-into-Sunday, I was mighty tired.

Fortunatelly, Rob had the day off. He did have to go in wicked early because the AC repair guy was coming in, but he got home before the kids woke up. He took them outside to play.

When I was just waking up, he was bringing them upstairs to take a bath. Apparently they got REALLY dirty, playing outside. My kind of fun!

I called my dad back, who had called me from the store, wanting to know if what he had chosen were appropriate gifts for Sophia and Jack's birthdays. We chatted for a while.

I went out to do a S*nic mystery shop while the kids watched Movie #1.

We pretty much had a Movie Marathon after that. Except for breaks to clean up a little bit, eat, and what-have-you, I think the kids watched six Disney flicks back-to-back. (Toy Story & Toy Story 2 from the girls' Easter baskets, The Fox & The Hound, 101 Dalmatians, and... I can't remember what else.)

{Speaking of Disney movies, did I mention that I ordered The Princess and The Frog off Amazon.com with my Swagbucks money, for Soapy's upcoming birthday? I did. Also, with money from winning Deal Seeking Mom's Coupon Database monthly prize twice in a row, and from doing the Kimberley-Clark mom discussion panel - both of which rewarded me with more Amazon cash - I bought Sophie the Barbie car she's coveting, and two new books for me. I have a little bit left. I was going to spend it on something else which now escapes me, or save up for the Hoover FloorMate we really need. But yay for free money! Oh, and, from all the Disney Movie Rewards points I'm getting with all these movies we've been getting such great deals on, I've almost got enough points to cash in on the Princess scooter off their site! The girls will LOVE that. Jack will not, but they don't have a 'boy' scooter that I can see...}

So while the kids watched movies, Daddy cleaned up his very messy side of our room, and I worked on my to-do list. I managed to get a lot done:

• Called Dr. A's office to speak to his nurse and have him re-submit the referrals to Audiology that J & S need, for they are still under review after a week. Weird.
• Called and verified that Jack does NOT need a follow-up appointment for physical therapy until his leg braces don't fit or are uncomfortable
• Made an ultrasound appt. for Jack's right nut (4.22.10)
• Made eye exam appts. for all three kids - FREE at Wal*mart (with our insurance), unless I decide to let Chloë get contacts (this Saturday)
• Called the creditor for our debt with Bounce the bunny's vet bill, and had them reverse the $32 late fee, since I had thought it was all paid off and never received another bill. Phew, they did.
• Talked to my dad AGAIN, about what he and wife #5 want to do and eat while they're up here at the end of this week
• Called to make myself a dentist appointment; haven't heard back from them yet
• Called to completely cancel our TV service, as we don't get reception since canceling digital cable back in January, so why pay $10 a month for nothing? Hello, I should have done that two months ago.
• Called my bipolar shrink to make a meds appt, but we're playing phone tag
• Made an appt with a child therapist for Chloë (this Weds. pm)
• Went to the P.O. and mailed packages of coupons to overseas military (last month's and this month's, oops), red pens to MIL, and stamps to Grandpa
• "Made dinner," which consisted of pulling a variety of frozen entrées out of the deep freezer, microwaving them, and calling it good. I'll make something "realer" tomorrow. At least that's the plan...
• Cut, sorted, filed and listed in the DSM database my coupons from the past three weeks. Damn, that was a lot of coupons.

I didn't get everything on my to-do list finished:

• I still need to schedule those Audiology appointments, which I probably won't be able to do until the end of the week, after they are submitted a second time.
• I need to get labs drawn for both Sophia and myself; hopefully I can run us out to the base to get those done first thing in the morning, before either of us have eaten, since they're both "fasting" labs.
• I couldn't make Chloë's Dermatology appointment, because a referral to a civilian provider is coming in the mail. Why, I don't know, but I prefer it that way anyway.
• Still need to make that appt. with my bipolar shrink.
• I didn't get to the bank to deposit the NINE mail-in rebate checks I've received in the past week (yay!)
• We didn't do a Markeroni. More on that tomorrow, after we've hopefully done one.
• I didn't bake anything. I'd planned to bake something every day this week, starting with Rob's lemon poppy-seed bread. But, the night is still young...

And that's about it. I took a nap just before bedtime, so Rob put the kiddies to bed, and he's got to go back to work tomorrow. Bummer!

Are you having a fun and interesting week so far?

Fin.

A Few Things I Neglected To Tell You This Week

... along with my usual rambling shit. No "deals" or coupons will be mentioned in this post. I promise! ;)

(All BEP pictures taken by yours truly)

If you're friends with me on Facebook, then you already know all about the fact that last Friday, I won tickets from our newspaper to go see the Black Eyed Peas!!!  The concert was on Monday, so I quickly posted on Facebook to find a "date," since Rob works nights and couldn't go. So sad, so sad. A friend, Linda (not the one who sometimes babysits the kids) whom we met through Chloë's acting & modeling stuff, jumped right up and asked to go, so I thought, why not? Steph surely wasn't going to leave the baby to go with me, anyone else who I would seriously want to go with either has a baby, couldn't have gone, or lives a jillion miles away. And so it was.

The funny thing was, on Saturday, Linda (pictured above at the concert with me, looking terrible in this pic) called to tell me her daughter had just won tickets to the same concert! So Linda, Laura, her guy friend, and I headed up to Hampton on Monday to watch LMFAO, Ludacris (what an awesome opening act!!) and the Peas. Tabitha's 14yo daughter, Gia, watched the kids. I kind of felt bad leaving them for so long (ended up being 7 hours!) on a school night, especially since Jack wasn't feeling well... but it was the BLACK EYED PEAS, for Pete's sake! I couldn't pass up the chance. I ♥ them!

LMFAO, the opener, was, um, interesting. I'd never heard of them before this concert, and that's just fine with me. I didn't hate them - they were pretty funny, actually - but I didn't love them, either. They entertained, but when their set was over, I was ready for it.

Between each act, Linda and I moved up closer and closer to the stage. Oh, did I mention our tickets were on the FLOOR, and we were maybe 5-8 people from the stage at any given time?! We were so close to them. It was awesome. Her daughter wasn't so lucky, but their seats weren't terrible, either. Ludacris (above, on the right) was pretty awesome. That was a good time. 

The crowd went crazy when the Peas finally came onstage. Taboo (left) and Apl.de.ap (right) were looking as hot as I've ever seen them. I was feelin' it!

When Will.i.am did his freestyle rap, oh, man... HOT.

Fergie... what's there to say? It was incredible being in the same room with this phenomenal (IMO) talent. Loved it, loved every minute of the whole concert!! I really had a ball and, a week later, am still way amped about going. What a great night!!

I didn't get home until nearly 0100, and poor Gia was exhausted. She'd slept, but not much. Just as we were pulling in, she texted me that Chloë woke up with an earache.

 

So, sick kid #2 for the week. On Tuesday, Jack stayed home, but Chloë felt better after a dose of meds. By Thursday, Sophia was sick, too! She came home early on Thursday and stayed home all day Friday. Poor kiddos had a rough week. I came down with Sophie's upset tummy on Friday, which wasn't too bad and hey, it probably helped me lose a little weight. I didn't really mind it...!

Friday, Sophia felt a lot better, but they wouldn't let her go back to school until she'd been 24 hours without the poopies. She went along and did all my running for the day. We went to the Navy base and got my TB test read (all clear), and then we went out and turned in all my sub documentation so that I could finally get fingerprinted. At last, I've only been waiting since September! Now I'm just waiting to get my official letter in the mail and then I can start. Can't wait!

Jack's very $$$ growth hormone meds had been delivered the week before, so we just started up giving him his nightly shots again. Unfortunately, I gave him one of the shots upstairs one night, and then I asked him to bring the box - which contained not only that night's meds but ALL seven vials of HGH - back down to the refrigerator. The meds MUST be refrigerated. I never went back downstairs that night, so imagine my dismay the following night when I found the box on an oft-neglected counter instead of in the refrigerator!!  Augh!! I called up the manufacturer and discussed the problem with them at length on Friday; we finally concluded that the medicine was not longer effective nor guaranteed safe, and it would have to be discarded. Holy cow.

So then I called up the military mail-order pharmacy that ships it to us, to see about getting a replacement. I explained what happened, and the guy on the phone told me, "Well, I can send an early refill, but you'll have to pay for it." With much trepidation and a lump in my throat, I asked, "How much will that be?" I expected the answer to be in the thousands of dollars, so I was overjoyed when he told me, "It wasn't our fault, so you'll have to pay the nine-dollar co-pay again." Hell yeah, I'll pay nine bucks!! Phew phew phew!!!

Guarantee you I won't be keeping all seven vials in one place like that ever again!

On Friday night after the kids were in bed, I had a little manic streak and found myself busy in the kitchen. I was looking for something under the kitchen sink, which was a scary scene with all the cheap cleaning products I've been stocking up on lately. I pulled everything out, clean the disgusting shelf, and reorganized everything by current usage requirements, type, size, shape, color and alphabet. Okay, maybe not those last few things, but it looks good! I give it maybe five days before Rob messes it all up again, though.

After that, I decided to give the Hoover FloorMate I'd picked up a few months ago from a fellow Freecycler a try. Our floor is nastay right now, so it really needed a good scrubbing.  Well, I took a "before" picture of the floor, but the damn thing didn't work. I had my water and baking soda solution all over the floor, but no suction. That sucked. I dried it up, but not before Lily (the dog) came in with her muddy footprints all over everything. That was fun.

Then, I spied the brown bananas on top of the fridge and finally decided to give my new mixer a spin! I know, I know, it's not the first thing I was supposed to make with it, which was the first thing Rob told me when he came home from work that night. Hmph. At least I finally used it! And believe-you-me, it was quite the thrill! That machine is a Godsend. I love it, love it, love it and will be using it much more frequently after this! So powerful and fast! My banana bread was mixed up in seconds. It even mashed the bananas for me, effortlessly!

And as good as that chocolate chip banana bread looked, it tasted even better. Yeah, I had some. More than a little. SO FREAKING GOOD! We have more bananas, so I may be making another loaf before I get to Rob's lemon poppy seed bread. I think this was the best banana bread I ever made. Seriously. And I thank the KitchenAid.

I stayed up all night that night, with the help of the caffeine-full Diet Coke I'd gotten earlier that day and the Black Eyed Peas on my iPod. Chloë and I had an 0800-1000 booth sale at one of the Food Lion stores in town, and I was in a really hyped mood, so there was no point in going to sleep for just a couple hours and possibly missing the booth. The time passed really quickly, although I can't say I got a lot accomplished after the kitchen stuff. I started packing up the van around 0630, but it was so extremely cold out (for here) that I was shivering uncontrollably and in tears when I finally woke Rob up to help me finish packing the cookies. Could. Not. Get. Warm.

That booth sale SUCKED. The girls were freezing and miserable, and we barely had any customers. No cookies were sold at all for the first 50 minutes, and in the end, we only sold 18 boxes. It was awful!

However, I had a good conversation with Nikki, our Leader who was there with her daughter, and we/I decided that I'm going to lead Sophia and her daughter next year - along with whomever else I take on - in their Daisy troop!! I'd been toying with the idea (I mentioned it here recently) for a while, but I finally decided to go for it. I don't know how to let them know, but I'll find out soon. I'm excited!! Technically, Nikki and I are both going to Co-Lead Chloë's Juniors troop (they'll bridge to Juniors at the end of this year) and Sophie's Daisy troop, but she'll mainly take over the duties for the older girls, and I'll have the younger ones. We'll help each other out as needed. She doesn't like to go to all the meetings, whereas I like that stuff. But I don't want to drag all the kids with me, so I'll go do that if she keeps my kids. She's got four of her own, so it'll be, uh, fun in her house during the meetings! It sounds like a really good plan to me. I can't wait to get started, now.

I napped (I think? I can't remember) after that, and then it was time to get ready to go to the evening booth sale at Farm Fresh. Rob and Jack were off to Hampton (the same place where the BEP concert was on Monday) to watch the car races with the Cub Scout pack. They couldn't get an extra ticket, and I couldn't find a babysitter, so Sophia had to come with me to the booth sale. I put her in Chloë's old Daisy uniform (which will be hers next year) and made her an honorary Daisy for the night. How cute does she look?! (The one pigtail was blowing in the wind; they really did match, I swear!)

Sophia was beyond excited to help sell cookies! She couldn't wait. I had to talk to her repeatedly about behaving like a big girl, but for the first hour, she really did great. She asked the customers if they would like to buy cookies and relished saying, "...to support our troop!" Her favorite part was leading them over to the cookie table, where I was, and helping them select their varieties. She would hold a box of cookies up that she wanted them to buy with one hand, with her other thumb in her mouth, and just look cute. It worked so well, we ran out of the three slow-selling kinds of cookies that I kept telling her to "push"!

After the next mom-Brownie pair arrived to relieve Nikki and her daughter, Sophie and I quickly ran home to grab the rest of our cookie stock. In the five minutes we were there, Sophie had time time go potty, grab a drink, and get a booboo. The booboo part deflated her, and she wanted no part of selling cookies when we got back. She sat by me or near/under a table behind me for a while, until her mood improved, and then she got back out on the floor again. It was by far our best booth sale this year, and we had a lot of fun!

The boys were still out at their races when we got home, and Rob texted me picture after picture of Jack having the time of his life. It was a thrill-a-minute for him, I heard. He loved the crashes! I'll have to get those pictures off my phone and share them another time.

 

The girls and I watched Little Women, and Chloë was sobbing big, happy tears during the whole thing. My little emotional baby girl. It would not surprise me at all if it turned out she's bipolar, too. She loved the movie, though, and watched it again on Sunday. Sophia and I fell asleep snuggled up on the couch together, and I didn't wake up until Chloë was kissing me good-night. And then again when Rob and Jack came home, and he lifted Sophie off me so I could be comfortable. She's getting so big and heavy!

I did not wake up until noon the next day, thanks to someone coming to buy some cookies from us after seeing the soap-writing I'd done on Vanna's windows about the sale. Thank goodness she did, because I was supposed to pick up more cookies at 1100 for the booth sale at 1300! I raced out, picked up the cookies, and then dropped them off at M's house for the booth. Chloë and I didn't have to do this one, thankfully.

While that was going on, Rob and the Littles were outside in the sunshine. He was painting the house trim, while the kids and Neighbor Kid were driving the Power Wheels all over the driveway. Chloë and I went out delivering and selling more cookies. We didn't sell a whole lot - less than 10 boxes - but every little bit counts. She was just starting to fuss about being cold and hungry when M. called to say she was on her way back from the booth sale with the cookies. Saved by the bell!

M. and I chatted in the driveway for an hour after taking inventory of the cookies and money. Her daughter got in the toy cars and drove around, having lots of fun. It was a good visit; we plan to do it again soon. After they left, Chloë and I delivered more cookies until dark. It was a full cookie weekend! Two more weeks, and then it's OVER. Yay.

And now that it's 0300, I should either go crash... or make some banana bread. I'll let you know tomorrow what I decided!

Fin.

 
 
  

Wednesday Running: Steals, Deals, And Doctor Appointments

Today is Thursday. Sophie is home sick from school with a very upset tummy, poor thing. She came home yesterday and threw up all over. She felt fine this morning, so I sent her to school, but then they called and said she kept running back and forth to the bathroom. Rob went and picked her up, and they said to keep her home tomorrow, too. Poor thing! This Baby Kevin plush from the movie Up! arrived in the mail while she was relaxing on the couch, so I gave it to her for a little sicky present. She loves birds and the snipes from the movie, so it instantly cheered her up. She told me, "I'm the snipe mama!" before she ran with her new toy back to the couch. Incidentally, I got this free - for just the cost of s/h - through Disney Movie Rewards. You should join - the kids have another upcoming free surprise from there, too!

So, I had planned to spend the entire day cleaning, but between the migraine I'm nursing and Sophia being home, I haven't gotten much accomplished at all. I really need to mop the floors, since it's been raining and the dog has been tracking muddy paw prints everywhere... but first, I'll share about yesterday with you. Might as well, since the dog seems to have the runs or something, too! She has been in and out, in and out, and there is nothing worse than mopping the floor only to have it dirtied right up again. Right?

Let's begin:

 

On my way out to do errands, I didn't feel like doing my hair, AND I found these long-forgotten huge gold hoop earrings in my sock drawer. I normally never wear earrings anymore, even though I have four holes in each ear, because I keep having allergic reactions to every pair. Even silver and gold ones. My ears get all gross, and that's the end of that. So just for kicks, I decided to try again and wear these huge earrings with my hair pulled back into a tiny ponytail. This is a horrible iPhone self-pic, but really, it didn't look too bad! A fact that was confirmed when I went downstairs and Rob did a double-take, telling me, "You really are beautiful, you know that?" I melted, of course. No, I don't know that.

The first thing I did was run out to the Navy base to get my tuberculosis test started. If you've never had one, they inject some fluid under the skin on your forearm and then "read" the test two days later. I have to get it done before I can submit my subbing documents, a fact which escaped me last week when I went to go get fingerprinted. The fingerprinting has to be done last, so I still need to go out there tomorrow and do that after getting my TB test finished. The procedure was quick and painless. The nurse-receptionist at the immunizations clinic LOVED my earrings, asked me to give them to her (jokingly, but I should have because they weighed a freaking ton), and told me they looked great on me. I'll have to wear them more often!

Feeling confident about my appearance after two compliments in a row, I headed to CVS to shop the weekly deals, which I'll show you by transaction:

#1: EARinse, which was on sale for $7.99, normally $9.99. I didn't have any ECBs from last week, so I paid the $7.99 OOP, but I got $7.99 back in ECBs for #2. Plus, we can really use this, since Rob and the kids often have problems with their ears.

#2: Almay Smart Balance Foundation, normally $13.99, on sale for $9.99. I had a $2 MQ (manufacturer's coupon) and the $7.99 ECBs from #1, making this free! I just paid 50¢ OOP for tax.

#3: I paid just 68¢ OOP for all this:

• 5 cans BumbleBee Chunk Lite Tuna, regularly $1.79 each, on sale for 49¢ each. I had a $1 off 5 MQ
• Almay Intense i-Color mascara plus FREE bonus eyeliner pencil, regularly $7.99, on sale for $5.99. I had a $2 MQ
• Colgate MaxFresh toothpaste, regularly $3.29, on sale for $2.99. I had a 75¢ MQ
• PowerBar Strawberry Energy Gel Blasts, regularly $1.69, on sale for $1.50

Plus, I had a $3 CVS coupon for the Almay that stacked with the MQ, which spit out from the red in-store machine (look for it and scan your CVS card every time you go, for more coupons. Yesterday, I scanned my card and got a coupon for $5 off $15 order, but it expires Saturday, so I'll have to go back to use it!) I also had $6 ECBs from #2, making the total just 18¢ plus tax = 68¢. And I got $1.50 in ECBs for #4 from the PowerBar Blasts, and another $2 ECBs from the Almay make-up and $2 ECB from the toothpaste.

#4: This one was a little bit of a bust. This Physician's Formula Bamboo Silk face powder is normally $9.99 and was supposed to be on sale for $6.99. I had $5.50 in ECBs from #3, which should have made this ten-dollar powder just a buck and a half, but it didn't ring up at the sale price. I didn't realize, so I paid the $4.99, but I will return it tomorrow and hopefully get it for the sale price. Good thing the CVS is on the way home from the Navy base where I'll get my TB test read!  This transaction gave me back $5 ECBs for #5.

#5 - #8: This actually represents four different transactions. The Air Wick Freshmatic Ultra is normally priced $12.99, but they were on sale for $5.99, and I had two $5 MQs! I got these $13 machines for just 99¢ each!! Sweet. And like I've mentioned before, we can definitely use a lot of air fresheners 'round here to cover up the various pet odors going on.

The Renpure Organic shampoos and conditioners were on sale for $4.99, down from $6.99 normally. I paid full (sale) price, since I had no MQs, but there was a try-me-free MIR (Mail-in Rebate) form on each one that I sent in yesterday. I could have gotten more, lots more, but I didn't know if there was a limit on them. None was mentioned on the MIR form, but I don't want to chance it. So, four free bottles, at least! Chloë uses sh & cond like crazy, so I will stockpile all that I can for cheap or free.

After 8 transactions in a row (although I always let the other customers jump ahead of me when I do that, so they don't have to wait in line forever behind me, rolling their eyes), I could tell the cashier was getting tired. However, she was as nice as could be through it all, and I appreciated it. CVS always has the nicest employees!

In contrast, I went to Walgreens after that, and the cashier couldn't have been a bigger beyotch. She was so snotty to me, telling me I had to get everything in one transaction. I was like, "Um, why?" She told me, "That's just the way we do it." I told her no, it's not, so she called a manager over, who had no problem with me splitting it up. Puh-lease! She just didn't want to deal with the hassle. But I did things my way, and it was cool, so here's what I got:

#1: Theraflu Daytime and Nighttime Severe Cold & Cough, normally $6.49 each, on sale for $5 each. I had two $2 MQs, making my total $6. I had no Register Rewards (RRs) from last time, so that's what I paid. Not the greatest deal, but I saved $6.98, so it's okay. With all the illnesses running rampant in this area - and this house, currently - it's a good idea to be stocking up on this stuff. Plus I got $5 in RRs for #2.

 

 #2: I paid $4.12 OOP for the above, saving $15:

• (2) Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Rapid Release Gels, normally $7.49 each, on sale for $4.99 each. I had two $2 MQs, making them $2.99 each
• Goody Ouchless Hair elastics (which Chloë goes through in abundance, since she takes them out and never puts them back where they belong), normally $3.99, on sale for $2.99
• I had $5 in RRs from #1, making my total $4.12 with tax!
• The Tylenol spit out $3 in RRs and the Goody bands spit out $2 in RRs, for #3

#3: I paid just $5.57 OOP for all the above, a savings of $48.40:

• Kellogg's Smart Start cereal 17.5-oz cereal, normally ??, on sale for $2.50. I had a $1MQ
• Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate with Almond bar, normally $2.59, on sale for $1.50. I had a $1-off-2 SQ (Walgreens Store Coupon)
• Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate & Peanut Butter bar, normally $2.59, on sale for $1.50, minus the SQ above. (I confess, I had a piece of this, and OMG, it was so good. I threw it up, though, so I gave the rest to the kids!)
• (8) various Right Guard deodorants for Rob, normally $3.19 each, on sale for BOGO. I had four $2-off-2 MQs
• (2) Trident Layers Gum (great for the Tooth Fairy!), normally ??, on sale for 99¢. I had two 75¢ MQs
• Excedrin Extra Strength gel tabs, normally $4.99, on sale for $2.50. I had a FREE product MQ
• (2) Excedrin Extra Strengh Caplets, normally $4.99, on sale for $2.50 each. I had two $2 MQs
• Plus I had $5 in RRs from #2, making my OOP total just $5.57! Not bad at all.

Does anybody actually read all that? Just curious.

After that, I headed to Farm Fresh to get my money order for fingerprinting on Friday, along with a half-gallon of skim milk. I need that for my protein shakes. I had just had to dump out half of a full gallon of skim that went bad, which is so upsetting. I got the milk for free at Walmart, but still. Waste is waste, and I hate it!!  It was also double-dollar Wednesday at Farm Fresh, but there were no deals with which I was impressed, so I skipped it.

Back in the car (another silly iPhone self-portrait), I headed out to Portsmouth to the Naval hospital there, for my second consult with the plastic surgeon. He had told me to come back and talk with him when I decided whether I wanted the abdominoplasty (not free) or the panniculectomy (free). Rob and I opted to use some of our tax money to do the abdominoplasty, since it really wasn't that much money, and I would get much, much better results.

Dr. T. told me that in order to schedule the surgery, I would need to lose a minimum of 15-20 pounds, but to lose as much as I possibly could before the surgery, for best results. Since he's scheduling about a month out before the actual surgery takes place, I plan to lose the minimum, go back and schedule the surgery (and PAY, so that the money isn't sitting there, waiting to be used for something else), and then keep losing more weight in the meantime.  The 15-20 pounds isn't daunting to me at all, even when I consider the monthlong stall I just got through. I am going to keep pounding back the protein shakes - and not much else - along with exercise.

Dr. T. also said he wants me to start power walking 30 minutes every other day (I'll have to start tomorrow, I guess), and get up to an hour daily. And he wants me to do strength training, too. I guess the Wii Fit isn't cutting it! He told me about iFitness, an awesome iPhone app that tells you not only how to do all the weight machines and exercises at the gym (which is free for me to go to on base; the bases just aren't close to our house), but also how to use your own body for weight training at home. He has an iPhone too, so he showed me the app, and it really is great. It's only $1.99, so I bought it and will begin using it right away!

We talked about doing other work in the future. I'm really not going to turn into a plastic surgery junkie - I promise - but after losing so much weight, things really just don't look good underneath the clothes! My boobs are hideous, and my arms could be a weapon if I over-jiggle them. Dr. T. said that he could do my boobs anytime I wanted (he even used the word "boobs," twice, hehe), but that I should be at my absolute lowest weight possible for the arms. He said it's his least favorite surgery, because there's no way to hide the scars. Honestly, though, I truly don't care about scars - I just hate the excessive jiggling going on! I already have a ton of scars, so they don't bother me. I'm not trying to pose for Playboy here, after all.

He offered to look at my butt, but I told him I don't care about a butt lift, because I can't see it! Hee. I would do my thighs too, if I could, because they are gross, too. However, all this (the arms, legs and boobs) can wait at least another year, if there's enough money from our next tax refund. I'm in no hurry. It's the belly that absolutely drives me nuts when I look in the mirror. I HATE IT!!

Afterward, I drove home to relieve Rob, who had stayed home to get the kids off the bus for me. I got home in plenty of time to do that, though. When Sophia came home, she was really not feeling well, and she threw up a bunch when we put her on the couch. Poor sweetheart. The kids have all had it this week. We opted to skip dance class for the second day in a row, in order to stay home and let everyone relax.

Chloë started working on her homework, but she could only do a little bit, having forgotten most of it at school! The living room really needed to be picked up, as there were toys and books all over the place, so she took care of that while I helped Jack with the three days of homework he had to do last night. He had stayed home on Tuesday, and never did his HW on Monday, since he wasn't well then. He griped a whole bunch about all the work, and it took 2 or 3 hours, but we got it done.

After the homework - and dinner - were all taken care of, we ran out for a Target run. I needed to get quite a few things, including the pink bins that the stuff above was pictured on, to hold all the toiletry stockpiling! I got a lot more than this (the Soap Buddies, priced at 99¢, were free after the two $1 MQs for any Johnson's baby product; the Renu contact solution, travel size, was 59¢ after $1 MQ. I wear contacts almost every day, so these were a must-have for me), but I didn't get a chance to photo everything. Two deals I missed out on were 8 (!!) of the Scotch Fur Fighter Rollers, priced at $3.99 on sale; I had 8 $4 MQs, but the cashier wouldn't accept them. Bah. Also, Gillette Body Wash 8.4 oz, is on sale for $1.99, and I had two $4-off-2 MQs, which would have gotten me four free, but they were all out. Bah again! Hopefully I can make it over there sometime this week to get those.

I wanted to check out the $5 kids' DVD section for another new DVD or two for the kids' collection. They were on sale for $4.75, so I picked up three: Jumanji, The Swan Princess, and Little Women. Jack and Sophia are watching The Swan Princess right now; Soap is thrilled that the princess's first name is our last name!

Also while there, I needed to return three of the five pairs of jeans (all Mossimo) that I just bought for Rob. They run big and looked ridiculous on him. I bought them off Target.com, but the exchange was no problem once we got a receipt printed out from the in-store kiosk. I found two pairs of Levis jeans in his size, on sale for $19.99, so I picked them up. They're not the color he likes, but he'll just have to deal! He's really small, so his size is hard to find, and they didn't have any left in his color. I hit the clearance rack, too, and got him THREE pairs of khakis for less than 20 bucks! I was sleeping when he came home and tried everything on, so I didn't get to see how they fit. Maybe tonight.

My OOP at Target should have been about $95, but I only ended up spending $59 after all the gift cards I had from the recent deals there, along with a $25 gift card I had for redeeming my MyPoints! Make sure you sign up with them and click on all the emails you get, because I really rack up the points that way, along with using them for the online shopping I do. Love my MyPoints! (I don't know how to post a referral link from them, or else I would. Tell 'em I sent ya!)

After a quick run to the bank to deposit a mystery shopping paycheck and my rebate from Coors Light for the free Thanksgiving turkey, we were home at last. The kids went right to bed, but Sophie came down around 2300. She had napped after throwing up, so she couldn't sleep. I cuddled with her on the couch, and I played her lullabyes on my iPhone's iPod. It put me to sleep, so I was happy when I woke up after a little while and found her snoozing in my arms contentedly. We were still there, sleeping soundly, when Rob came home from work a little later, but sometime during the night, she got up and went to sleep with her daddy. When I asked her why she moved this morning, she told me, "Because I love my mommy AND my daddy." Aww. ♥

Fin.

 

 
  

  

 

 

 

Where The Hell Is Summer?

I'm freaking FREEZING. It's about 28º out right now, and I can't get warm. I have no adipose fat, the brown fat that keeps us insulated against the cold. I think I've complained about this before, maybe more than once. Well, it doesn't get any easier. I haven't acclimated. I'm cold, I'm miserable, I'm cranky, and I want to cry.

I stayed up until about 0530-0600 this morning, watching the Diane Keaton-Queen Latifah-Katie Holmes vehicle Mad Money on Netflix streaming, and knitting that kimono. I finished at the same time the movie ended. Being so preoccupied with movie and yarn kept me unaware of how cold I was, but as soon as it all finished, I became acutely aware of my nonstop shivering.

(The movie, by the way, was entertaining and amusing. It wasn't a bad choice; if you've got nothing else to do, it's worth seeing.)

So I was so cold, I went straight upstairs, with a magazine tucked under my arm, to the kids' bathroom to take a bath. I rarely take baths. I hate taking baths. But sometimes, it's the only way to be warm and comfortable.

I walked right back out. Oh, my God. Let me just say that my children are disgusting, and that every visible surface of that bathroom was COVERED in toothpaste, except for the tub. I was pissed!

So, I went back to my own bathroom and took a hot shower instead. A very long, very hot shower. When I was all done washing up, I started shaving everything there was to shave - except my head, natch - just so I could stay in the water longer!

I had been wide awake up until that point. That warmth knocked me out, though, and I was yawning furiously by the time I got out. I am a creature of strict bathing routines, and I always, always, always brush my teeth as soon as I get out and towel-dry my hair, then do my various facial creams and what-not, before applying body lotion, combing out my hair, and blah blah blah. Last night - nay, this morning - I didn't do any of that. I was just so tired. I went straight from the shower to the bed, without even drying off, and fell fast asleep immediately!

Needless to say, my hair looked quite... interesting when I woke up. Rob did the ol' point-and-laugh routine at me.

Thankfully, he gets the kids off to school nowadays, so I didn't have to worry about that. I was aware at some point that he crawled under the covers and snuggled me, but I didn't really wake up until 1400. And then I freaked, because my phone was downstairs, and my alarm clock was flashing numbers much later than that. I thought I'd missed getting the kids! It turned out to be okay, and Rob was still home, and he came up to cuddle me some more before we both had to get moving. He normally leaves between 12-1300 for work, but he didn't have to be in until 1600 today because of the Super Bowl. Really? That's a reason to... oh, whatever.

We left the house at the same time, he for work and me for the bus stop. The kids were late, and I stood out there, freezing. Bah, no fun. They came home, finally, and had a snack, and then I started them right to work on their homework. Sometimes I let them chill a while first, but we had too much to do tonight for that.

Jack finished his up quickly, but Sophia was bothering Chloë too much, so it took her a long time. I had to scold the girls every couple of minutes, so she could get her work done. I got tired of nagging, so that's when I took the kimono upstairs to press it and block it out on our bed. When I came down, she was somehow miraculously finished. Maybe I should just leave the room more often!

We hopped in the van to pick up a Freecycle after that. I was supposed to get it two weeks ago, but then it snowed, then yesterday, but I forgot...  The lady was very nice and patient, though, and she had a bunch of things for CARE Package as well as the stationery I was there to pick up! Nothing photo-worthy, just some used gift bags for packaging up the layettes, but a LOT of them.

Back at home, I gave the kids their marching orders. I let into them about the toothpaste-covered bathroom upstairs, and then I handed each of them a wash cloth and sent them away to clean it up. I haven't even checked it yet, but Chloë said it was all clean except for the vanity drawer. I have a hard time believing that, but if it's true, I will be amazed and impressed!

I made dinner while they cleaned. I use that term loosely, though, because tonight's dinner was - guess? Guess? Give up? - yet another stupid DiGiorno pizza. I shouldn't say it like that; I'm grateful for many nights of free, easy dinners, but it's getting to be a little too repetitive! When I have some freezer space back - because we definitely need to make up those pizzas and free up some room in there - I'll be able to stock more foods. And really, like I've said before, with Rob working nights, it sucks to cook meals that the kids just aren't going to eat anyway. At least with the pizzas, they are eating well.

After dinner, it was time to head out to Cub Scouts. Chloë brought a pencil and some paper so she could do some writing (she ended up making lists of names, for whatever reason); Sophia brought her "Raising a Reader" bag of books from the preschool. At the beginning of the meeting, the boys colored pictures of Boy Scouts setting up camp, while they waited for all the kids to arrive. We had seven tonight.

When everyone was there, Den Leader Beth told the boys that tonight's activity would be to make balloon decorations out of their Tiger manuals, for the Blue and Gold ceremony/party commemorating today's 100th Boy Scout birthday, next Friday. They had to decorate empty soup cans with birthday wrapping paper scraps, pompoms, feathers, stickers, and whatever else Beth had brought, for the centerpieces. They tore into it and made such a mess! I was mostly busy keeping the girls, so another dad helped Jack out a great deal, and I appreciated it.

Jack mostly used pompoms and stickers. He had a blast gluing things on!

While they worked, we parents talked with Beth about all the requirements for rising to Wolves next year, as well as making sure the ones who wanted to were signed up for the Arena racing (Rob's taking Jack), the Blue and Gold (I'm taking Jack and the girls), and summer camp. We signed Jack up for the 4-night Cubs camp in July, and I talked to Beth at length about it. She's going to be there, looking over him, which relieves me greatly. I let her know that he still wets the bed sometimes (privately, of course), so we talked all about that and making sure he's fine. He may not be my youngest, but he's definitely the one I tend to worry myself about the most!  But after seeing his big sister go to sleep-away camp for the past two years, he is beyond thrilled to be going himself!  My big boy ♥

After the den meeting, we headed to the Girl Scout Cookie Chair's house, nearby, to pick up a new cookie packet for me. Rob accidentally recycled my entire cookie sales stuff last week, a fact that had me in a major panic Sunday morning! She rescued me and calmed me down, though, reassuring me that she could replace everything I needed. Whew.

After a quick stop at the bank to deposit a mystery shopping check, it was time to get home and work on the laundry. Rob's been washing up a storm, so I had about eight loads in need of folding up in my room. The kids all had more pizza first, and then we got down to business. Actually, now that I think about it, I sent the Littles into their bathroom the scrub it some more, and then they went right to bed. Chloë stayed up for more than another hour, helping me put away laundry. When she started saying, "Am I done yet, Mommy? I'm so tired," of course, she was excused! 

I only got about halfway done with it before my back was in agony from the way I was sitting on the bed, so I gave up for the night. Unfortunately, there are piles of folded clothes all over my bed now, and it's too cold to sleep downstairs on the couch! Guess I'll have to... thankfully, Rob brought me down some long underwear when he came home, because I was in tears from the chills. He's a good man, that one. I love him.

I finished up the kimono, and now I think I'll crochet a few quick dishcloths. I threw away our last sponge today, because it was gross even after washing it in the dishwasher AND zapping it in the microwave, so I need to have something to wash with before I can buy some more this weekend. Fortunately, I have the know-how and plenty of kitchen cotton yarn for it in my stash.

Welp, that be it. Hope the start to your week was just dandy.

Fin. 

P.S. Call me crazy, but all this scouting stuff has me in a tizzy lately, and I am seriously considering being Sophia's Daisy Troop Leader next year! Am I out of my mind?!

Hello, Cupcake!

Catching up...

Tuesday

Honestly, I did plenty of stuff on this day, I just can't remember what now! But I did get this in the mail:

Ten skeins of Peruvian 100% wool, for $50 for CARE Package! That's a really good deal; I got it from Discontinued Name Brand Yarn. I've purchased from them several times before and have always been happy. They offer steep discounts on great yarns. I like this green, but it's not extremely soft. It's not too scratchy, I think, but now that it's not so soft I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with it. Perhaps a felting project that I design myself? Eek, nervous about that. We'll see!

Wednesday

As usual, I spent my first hour after the kids got on the bus screwing around online, doing my Facebook games. That is a given, and I don't apologize for it. I'm not a morning person and it helps wake me up. Plus it's hard for me to move and do things when I'm so cold. But after that I got busy!

I spend a lot of time now looking at couponing and deal blogs. Money is so very, very tight right now that I'm pretty obsessed with saving money and getting the best deals. On Wednesdays, the grocery ads come out for Farm Fresh and Harris Teeter (my favorites, although I need to branch out more because those are also the two most expensive stores);  Farm Fresh doubles coupons up to $1.00 on Wednesdays. Both double up to 99cents every other day, so I look at those blogs to see what I can get for free after sales and coupons. I'm going to start stockpiling, too. I just have to figure out how to get massive amounts of the coupons I need to do so, without spending too much to make it a worthwhile cause. I'm already stockpiling the toiletries from CVS and Walgreens, and now I'm going to start doing it with food, too.

Rob says to me after I tell him this, "What are you, Mormon?"

Well, no, but it would be much better to get a ton of stuff for the pantry for FREE and then shop from the pantry, planning our meals around what we have on hand, then having to run out and buy stuff at full-price! Right?! So that's the plan.

(Also the current plan, because of super-tight finances, is to scrap spending the summer in L.A. and use the money I will hopefully earn from subbing to, you know, live off and stuff. It sucks, and Chloe was bawling when I told her, but we gotta do what we gotta do to stay afloat.)

So anyway. The deals I got Friday were thus:

This 8x10" photo collage from Walgreens was completely free! I paid nothing out of pocket for it! And it turned out really nice, too. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I like it.

 
(Sorry for the crappidity of this picture. I hate my camera!!)

All of this, which is 1 bottle of Gatorade G2, 2 single-serve bowls of Kashi cereal, 8 bottles of DanActive, 8 Activia yogurts, and a Tony's cheese pizza, were free after deals at Target (the Kashi) and Farm Fresh (everything else)!  Only the Kashi and some of the Activia still remain in existence; everything else was quickly consumed. My kids are BIG fans of yogurt shakes and smoothies, so when I can get these free, I act quickly. Might have to take subbing off on Wednesdays so I can be sure to have time to get the freebies! ;) I kid... sort of.

My total out of pocket for the above was five whole cents for tax, at Target. Would've been 13 cents at FF, but I had a $5 gift card that I'd JUST gotten in the produce department for signing up for a second Sunday newspaper delivery. I'm getting it for the coupons for $1.47 extra a week, and I KNOW I will recover that in savings each week, so it's worth it. Too bad I can't just get the extra coupons and not waste the whole rest of the paper, but I'll definitely Freecycle that.

And I got a free lunch, too! I can't eat very  much, so just a few bites satisfies me. I got a cracker with smoked salmon spread from the seafood department, a slice of bread and a bite of donut (not the best, but one little bite won't kill me) from the bakery, and a hunk of cheese for my bread from the deli department. All free samples, and it filled me up. Hey, I have no shame.

I made myself laugh going out and doing that shopping, too. I don't have pictures of it on this computer, but I knitted Jack a hat with cars on it a few years ago. He wears it now, and it's still big on him. It turned out HUGE, because I didn't really pay attention to gauge back then. Anyway, I hadn't showered yet but really wanted to go out and get my deals before they were sold out. My hair was a mess, so I went out wearing Jack's car hat! It's blue and yellow and orange and green... and oh, so not grown-up. Every time someone would glance at my hat and then look away, I'd chuckle to myself.

When I got back home, I realized I still hadn't made anything for Bunco that night. I was supposed to bring a dessert, but I had no mixes of any kind in the pantry, and absolutely no money to buy something. So from-scratch it had to be!

I couldn't find any recipes I liked on AllRecipes.com, so I used the one for vanilla cupcakes in the back of my beloved Hello, Cupcake! cookbook. I got it from the kids' school Book Fair last year, but I've seen it around everywhere.  The recipe was supposed to make 24 cuppies, but since I way overfilled the cups, mine only made 16. That was enough for the 12 for Bunco and one each for the family, so it worked out fine.

They turned out beautifully! It has been harder for me lately to resist sweets, but fortunately I'm not a big cake lover, so I had no temptation to try these. Still, they looked pretty good!

I just dipped them in that chocolate Betty Crocker frosting I got from Walgreens the other day and then used the pearls from Williams-Sonoma to decorate them like the colorful petit-fours I made one other time. The kids remembered those, too, and kept saying so. 

Dontcha want a bite?

While they were baking, I was talking to my dad on the phone as he drove from his home down to Florida to pick up his fiance girlfriend.  Their wedding, which was to be his fifth, is off, but they rented out her condo, so they're still moving in together! Eek. I'm worried for him. It is kinda funny, though...

Also, while I was on the phone with Dad, my doorbell rang. It was a fellow Freecycler dropping off yet another awesome package of stamps for my grandfather! Grandpa has been collecting stamps for over 60 years now, and he's got dozens and dozens of albums full of them. He loves all kinds - used and new, foreign and domestic, whatever I send him - so I always ask on Freecycle for people to save the stamps from their holiday mail. Several people responded and sent me stamps for him, which was great, but then I hit the jackpot with Ken! Ken brought a huge pack last week and another one Wednesday, filled with thousands of stamps (old AND foreign) I'm sure Grandpa doesn't have. I'm so excited; he's going to be thrilled!

I also got another freebie in the mail Wednesday: My e.l.f. cosmetics! Remember I'd bought that e.l.f. mascara on Target so I could get a free $5 off $5 code for their website? I just bought five random things that I really didn't look at, on a whim, just to see what I ended up with. It came yesterday; I haven't tried anything yet, but it looks fun! And if I don't end up using it, it would make a great gift (or Bunco prize?)

(By the way, if you want me to stop posting my deals and steals, I'm not gonna, because they excite me so. But let me know if you hate them and maybe I'll do it some other way. If you love them, let me know if you want to know how I save money, and maybe I'll get it together to write a post on that. I'm still learning how to do it big-time, though!)

After dance class that night, I had Bunco. I had to remind Rob to come home so I could go, because he completely forgot and was going to work several more hours. Poor Rob is having a tough time these past couple of weeks. He's got a new chief whose mission it is, apparently, to make his life a living hell. He's coming home more disenchanted with the Navy than ever, wishing I would win the lottery and get him out. (Too bad we don't play.) It sucks, and I feel bad for him, but there's nothing I can do. 

Also, speaking of Rob, he's going back to nights starting next week. Bah. I hate that. HATE IT. But it might solve the problem of how I'm going to get the kids on and off the bus once i start subbing, now that our nice Japanese neighbor-lady has moved to Texas!

And further Rob news: He may be going to Haiti with 48 hrs notice, for up to three months. I am not worried about it and am not complaining, but I will miss him terribly if he goes. If they need him there, though, so bet it. I'll let you know when I do.

Back to... Bunco. I quickly decorated the cupcakes and got my stuff together to leave, as soon as he arrived home. Fortunately, T was hosting it at her house just down the road from mine, so I wasn't late. I drove so carefully so my poor cupcakes wouldn't roll around in the cake case! Bonus: because her wee baby girl goes to bed at 7:30 every night now, she's going to host it every month now so the baby can go to bed on time. Yay for me; I hate hosting at my house!

Bunco was a lot of fun. We had a new face there, and she turned out to be really nice. And Steph was there, which took me by surprise; I had no idea she was coming since she quit back in April and didn't tell me she was subbing this month! That was a thrill, and of course I got to love on Baby Luke some, too. The cupcakes mostly got eaten, except for three for the kids to take to lunch today, so that worked out fine. And I was really hyper and silly and in a great mood. I kept cracking myself up, and I think maybe I made a few other people laugh, too. ;) Hopefully I wasn't too annoying. I didn't have caffeine, so I don't know what was up with that...

When I got home, we watched our Netflix movie: Bruno, with Sacha Baron Cohen. Oh. My. God. Do not see this movie if you have weak sensibilities! Rob thought it was stupid as hell, but I laughed my ass off! He is SO wrong. I mean, don't get me wrong, I thought it was stupid too, but there were many hilarious parts that just had me laughing because I couldn't believe he actually did that! On film! For the whole world to see! What a riot. Have you seen it?

Friday

I've been sleeping upstairs in the bed still, with my heating pad on and snuggled up to Rob. Keeps me nice and toasty, but man, I miss my couch. My eyes are always in bad shape from the way I sleep in the bed. All puffy and crusty and gross. Nice, right? Plus I can't stay asleep; I toss and turn and adjust all night. It's not the best sleep. When it warms up, I'm back to my couch, thank you very much.

At ten, I picked up Jack from school, so we could go to our respective doctor's appointments. I had my one-year (!!) post-surgery check-up first, in Newport News, and then his appointment was two hours later in Portsmouth. He was happy to be out with Mama and NOT at school - so long as he didn't have to get any shots. He didn't.

I had been praying all morning about being blessed with abundance, because those places are NOT close together, and would require a lot of gas. I only had an eighth of a tank left, and like I said, not one penny in the bank account. I was hoping for a loaves-and-fishes type miracle. Well, that didn't happen, and my gas went down almost to 'E' by the time we arrived in Newport News. Then I remembered there was still a little money in the CARE Package account. Now, normally I am very carefully about not touching CP money except for CP needs, with no intermingling, even though I use OUR money for CP needs all the time. But I had no choice; I had my son in the car and couldn't afford to just run out of gas in Newport News, so far from home. So, I put $20 worth of gas in the van - which I will pay back tonight  since it's payday now, phew - and considered that the blessing I was asking for!

We arrived at 10:30, a half-hour early for my 1100 appointment. So when I was sitting in the waiting area at 11:45 with a very antsy six-year-old boy, I was pretty annoyed. Especially after the receptionist called me up to tell me that my referral had expired on the sixth, and I could either reschedule or try to get a new one, backdated for today's appointment. Or pay out of pocket. Um, no. So now I need to get a backdated referral, which they refused to do last time, because no one in that whole stinking office can figure out how to set up a system for contacting patients to let them know their referral is running out?!?! What the hell? Every other place I go handles that themselves. Or at least lets me know - well in advance - that it's time to get a new one. I made that appointment THREE months ago, which is plenty of time for them to have noticed that I would need to get new insurance paperwork. Shame on them.

I found a suggestion box in the bathroom - which I always use before weighing in, hehe - but nothing to write with. I should have just said something at the desk about it. Very annoying!

Anyway. My appointment went really well. Doc was extremely pleased with my more-than-150-lb loss in the last year (it's actually not my anniversary for 12 more days, so I'll post more pictures then) and congratulated me thoroughly. They only guarantee - and not even really that - a 75-lb loss, so I've done well with his help!

My protein is still on the low side of normal, so as usual I was admonished about that. I've been eating a ton of eggs since my labs were drawn, though, so I'm betting it has come up since then. My iron is still quite low, even though I've been taking the ferrous sulfate, so he prescribed chelated iron, which will be more readily absorbed. And that should help me stay warmer, too. My vitamin D came up nicely, though, at least!

He answered all my questions (and a couple of Jack's), and when I was getting up to leave, I was overcome with gratitude and instead of shaking his hand, I grabbed him for a big hug! He was a bit taken aback by that and kept saying, "Oh! Okay!" and laughing. I thanked him for myself and for Rob, and told him how happy I am now. And I am. It's been great, this past year. I love my RNY (roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery)!

It was late by the time we got out of there, probably about 1225, and Jack's appointment was at 1300, more than half an hour away! I still had to get the gas, so I stopped and did that, and then I stopped next door at the Burger King to get him the free lunch I'd already promised him all the way up there. He was so excited - not by the food, but by the watch in his Kids Meal! He kept telling me the time, which was actually the date and never changed. Funny!

Then I drove like a bat out of hell to make it to the hospital on time. It's pretty sad when I'll drive more carefully with cupcakes in the car than with my kids, so I'm resolving now to do the opposite. I'll just have to consider them my little cupcakes, instead of my little ducklings. We got there late, not getting to the peds office until 1313; they consider you late if you're not there 15 minutes early, so I was worried they wouldn't see us. But they did, so yay!

He needs a new referral to the endocrinologist who prescribes his growth hormone shots, and also he needed his physical form filled out for the school testing he's getting for special services. We spent until 1400 with young Dr. A., a little cutie who I really like (not in THAT way, just as a doctor). He's very patient and attentive, and he really cares about the kids. I kind of sprung the physical form on them without notice, but he was more than willing to get that done for me, so I appreciated that.

Jack will be seven in just over two months. Hard to believe... He weighs 32.4 lbs and is 39.5 inches tall. I said to Dr. A., "Well, he's stil the size of your average two-year-old, huh?" He said, "Yes... but think of it this way, he's the size of a small three-year-old, and a really small four-year-old - isn't that better?"

Um, sure.

He failed his vision test again, so I need to take him back to the eye doctor to see if his prescription needs to be adjusted. It's been less than a year since he got his glasses, so I was kind of surprised to see how bad he did! Maybe he just wasn't concentrating enough on the chart?

Otherwise, everything went well, and he's healthy and happy. He was bouncing around, having fun, and cuddling with me at times. A couple of years ago, I didn't even think he liked me at all. I was very sad about that. Things have done a 180, and now we're quite close. It's fantastic!

I was worried about being late for the bus to get the girls, and my phone was dead, so I couldn't call anyone to go get them. So, again, I drove too fast. Just around the corner from our house, a policeman pulled me over for doing 40 in a 25. Eh, oops. I looked right at him as I was passing his unmarked car, and knew he was going to pull me over. Sure enough. I was cringing at the thought of yet another bill to pay the whole time, so I was beyond grateful when he told me that because I have "plus points," he was going to let me off with just a warning. And warn me to slow down, he did. Twice. He also saw Jack in the back seat and examined his carseat to make sure he was buckled properly. Hopefully he didn't notice what a mess the van is right now, but at least the boy was safely harnessed.

When we got home, I was surprised to find Rob in the driveway! He usually doesn't get home until at least 1800, but it was before 1500. Jack was excited to see Daddy, too. He bounded out of the van and ran into the house; I followed, sure that either Rob was sick or there was trouble at work. It was neither (although there WAS trouble at work); he just got off early today! What a nice surprise.

We all walked down, with Lily on her leash, to get the girls from the bus. Jack wanted to drive his Caddy down there, but it doesn't move fast enough. He was so bummed. When all the kids came off the bus, they surrounded the dog and gave her loads of attention. She's so shy, though, I'm not sure she enjoyed that!

Rob and the kids played outside, working on Jack's Pinewood Derby car and driving the trucks around, while I took a nap. I'd planned on an hour-long snooze, but it turned into three hours! Which meant we missed the Parent Reading Night at school. I'm so bummed about that, because the Math Night was so fun and informative. Darn it. I really, really wanted to go.

And now I have to pay the bills before I get back to sleep. Happy Friday, everyone!

Fin.

 

I ♥ Wags

So last night sucked.

You have seen here, and if you're friends with me on Facebook, there, that I am always cold now. Miserably so. I can not get warm to save my life; I am chilled to the bone. I am absolutely certain, no-doubt-about-it (or as I remember my mom saying, "No bout adoubt it!") positive that it's because I lost weight so quickly, my internal thermostat hasn't had a chance to catch up. And I've lost my insulating body fat. So I'm very uncomfortable.

Last night was the worst. I was shivering and shaking as usual, so I decided to take a hot shower. Only, when I got into the shower, with the water set on the hottest possible setting, it still felt cold to me! I felt like I was showering under melted ice. I got in and out of there FAST, because it was making things worse.

So I was standing in the middle of the bedroom after that, dripping and wearing just a towel, when Rob came upstairs. I said, weakly, "I need some clothes..." before bursting into tears. And then I just sat on the bed and sobbed until I made myself throw up. It was awful.

Rob got me my robe, put me under the bed covers with a heating pad, and covered the comforter with his supah-dupah warm sleeping bag. Then he crawled in beside me, holding me tight to warm me up, and I finally was able to settle down and fall asleep. I slept all night long, thanks to him. I love that man. Even if he does drive me crazy!

********

This morning, I was toasty and warm when I woke up, so I was reluctant to get out of my bed. So, too, was Sophia, and it took me more than 20 minutes to get her out of her bed. Ugh! She has been so slow-moving in the mornings before school; usually that is Chloë's job. She (Soph) made us so late today that we missed the bus, and I had to drive them to school. I hate missing the bus and having to drive them in. It seems like such a waste of resources!

When I got home, I farted around online and on Facebook as usual, which I did off and on pretty much the entire day when I wasn't getting up to do ten billion other things. And my friend Erika posted a link to her dinner recipe on FB, which I saw, thought it looked good, and realized I had all the ingredients!

So, I immediately straightened up the kitchen a little, because I just can not bring myself to work in a messy kitchen, before getting out all the ingredients. I defrosted the chicken tenders before throwing them in the crockpot, and chopped up a fresh onion. Not as small as I was "supposed" to, because I love cooked onion. I used one can of cream of chicken and one of cream of onion, because it's what my hand reached first and why not? Since the onion was going in there anyway. Add a little butter and the water, and voila! Dinner. It simmered all day in the crockpot, and oh! It smelled divine. I could even go in there every half-hour or so to warm myself on the crock. Which I did.

Later, I listed my entire CD collection, the replacement Cricut, and the replacement printer, on Craigslist. I need to raise some $$ to pay the bills and, well, buy groceries! I have listed that Cricut three times now, and every single time, people ask me if it's the Expression (it's not). I clearly state in the ad, "This is NOT the Expression." And someone inevitably tells me they want to buy it, are going to come today, and will pay my asking price... only to follow up with, "Is it the Expression? Oh, never mind." So annoying!!

Meanwhile, 27 people have emailed to tell me they want to buy the treadmill, which I sold a week or two ago. I really need to find the link to unpublish that ad!

Anyway. What else?

Oh, so I did end up making a spreadsheet of all the spending and savings for 2010 so far, at least starting Sunday. I missed a week, and it's too late to do anything about that now. Guess I'll just have to end it a week into 2011, hm?

I did other stuff too, around the house, but it seems like I spent the vast majority of the day sitting here, thinking "it's too cold to do a damn thing," and shivering. That was kinda sucky. Oh, and I know, I did the reports for the three shops I did at the mall on Friday, which I couldn't (okay, didn't) do this weekend... and I read and read all kinds of blog posts on couponing and stockpiling, because I am really going to get serious about it this year!

Things livened up, of course, when the kids came home from school. As always, they were all about having an afternoon snack, but no one ever wants the same thing. I made Jack eat the sandwich he didn't have at lunch time; Sophia had about 9 different things because she's forever hungry, and Chloë made her BB&B. Oh, I didn't tell you about the BB&B? It's her own creation. She even wrote down the "recipe" for Rob. It's hanging on the fridge; let me go get it. Okay, it reads,

"BB and B

(Bread Butter Banana)

Lone Star Bread

Spread margarine all around. Put 2 slises of Banana on it.

AND

that is how you make BB and B"

Isn't that cute?!! I so love it. She made that the other day after our mystery shop there, and of course we no longer have the Lone Star bread, so it just isn't the same, but it's still her new favorite snack. She's very proud of it.

After snack and a brief unwind-and-play period, I got the kids started on their homework. It's always a bit of a trial to keep Sophia away from the other kids, and quiet so she doesn't bother them, while at the same time keeping them quiet and not hitting and kicking each other! Fun stuff. But we managed to get everything done between 1600 and 1700, a fact which is nothing short of a miracle for Miss Chloë Raine.

So, I had promised them we'd go get a Redbox movie, and let them pick it out, if they finished their homework by 5. Jack was literally finished at 1659, so I kept my word! I told them to put shoes, socks and coats on, and then my phone rang. I told everyone to be quiet so I could talk on the phone, and it ended up being a lady from the substitute teaching office, telling me everything I needed to know for next Thursday's meeting. The entire time I was on the phone, Chloë was shouting and yelling, completely ignoring my wild gesticulating. I was pissed!!

After I hung up, I yelled at her about how rude and disrespectful she was while I was on the phone, and then I noticed she never put on her shoes or coat, either! So, I told her that, sorry kid, you don't get to pick out the movie. She walked away to put on her shoes and coat, and I got up to follow her, and found her making an nasty face and sticking her tongue out at me! So unlike her... and she didn't know I'd seen it.  I confronted her, and she denied it, which always amazes me when I am telling them, "But I SAW YOU DOING IT!!" Hello, how else would I know? She finally admitted it, and I sent her to her room, for the disrespect and for lying. She would have to stay there and not go pick out the movie at all.

{And before anyone hates on me for leaving her home alone, the Redbox is literally 3 minutes away, and she is nearly 8½. Certainly old enough to leave home for a maximum of 10 minutes by herself, especially when I knew she absolutely WOULD obey and not leave her room while I was gone.}

At the Redbox, we quickly picked out "Monsters vs. Aliens" for the kids, and "The Proposal" for me and Rob. But I guess that'll be just for me, tomorrow, since he's disappeared for the night.

I called Chloë down when we returned, and she apologized for her behavior. And I apologized to her, too, because I have a foul mouth and said something not nice to her. We forgave each other and hugged it out, and all was right with the world again. But I really do need to watch what I say. For one, she's a sensitive kid, and for two, I know full well that words can hurt more than hands. I am NOT going to be my stepmother.

So. I put the movie on for the kids and then went to check the crockpot. Ooh, the smells were driving me crazy with anticipation. I threw the biscuit-dumplings in, and was just about to do nothing much when the doorbell rang. It was the Cox cable guy, here to shut off our cable. =( He came in and immediately unplugged the DVR/cable box, which made me oh-so-sad since I never got around to watching the shows I had saved. I've become so dependent on the DVR! And of course there were tears on the parts of the kids, too, first because in doing so, he cut off their movie, and second because they started asking me, "What does this mean? No more Noggin? No more Disney Channel? No more Cartoon Network?" Yeah. It was a sad day for the Odettelettes. But they'll survive, and so will I! I still got my innernet, right??

Dinner was ready, but none of the kids wanted to leave their movie to eat it. So I fixed myself a small bowl, and you know what? It was GOOD. I shall definitely make this again. Even the biscuit-dumplings, about which I was unsure, tasted yummy. Try this!

Rob came home, and he was in agony from a bad migraine. He thought he was going to throw up, so he didn't want any dinner. I again made the kids stop their movie to come eat, and Sophie and Jack were bawling about it. Normally, I don't put up with crying over dinner at the table. You either eat, no tears, or you go cry in your room. I hate that!

But tonight was Cub Scouts night, so Jack really needed food in his belly. He tried a bite of dumplings. Yuck! He tried a bite of chicken. Ew! He cried and cried for ten minutes, until I excused him to go wake up his father and find his Class A shirt. Meanwhile, Sophie was also refusing to eat, but Chloë was on her second helping. She really liked it!  Phew. Success for one kid, anyway.

The boys left for their meeting, about which I don't really have any details, while the girls finished their movie. They loved it! Not quite as much as Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, I don't think, but they were really engaged in the plot. The boys came home, finally ate some dinner (cereal for a still-crying Jack, who really didn't like the food), and the kids went to bed.

I checked in on my deal/coupon blogs once more, and found a great scenario for some products at Walgreens. I was so excited, I had to go right out and get everything! Here it is:

I paid $47.61 (after tax) out of pocket for these 22 items, some of which are very expensive high-end products (well, for Wags anyway). The savings amounted to $100.63, since the value was  $144 for all the items (before tax). I'll get an additional $10 back from the Johnson & Johnson mail-in rebate (in the 1/10 newspaper coupon insert), and I got back another $5 in Register Rewards for all the L'Oréal items I bought on clearance with coupons, making my net OOP (out of pocket) $32.61 for $144 worth of stuff! Not bad. Here's what I got this time:

 

• (2) L'Oréal nail polishes in "Breaking Curfew" (normally $4.99; I paid 29¢ each - and I really like the color!)
• L'Oréal dual eye shadow in "Mocha Buff" (normally $8.99; I paid $2.49 and also really like the color)
• L'Oréal Age Perfect Makeup in "soft ivory" (normally $16.59; I paid $2.29 and would have chosen this exact shade even if it wasn't on clearance)
• L'Oréal EverPure Smooth Conditioner (normally $7.49; I paid $5.49)
• L'Oréal EverStrong Reconstruct Conditioner (normally $7.49; I paid $5.49 and got two conditioners because I always use it up faster than shampoo)
• (2) 18oz Quaker Oats (normally $3.29; I paid 50¢ each for something we use up a lot)
• (2) Bic Comfort3 Advance razor 4-packs for Rob (normally $6.50 each; I paid $2 for both)
• (4) Lubriderm Daily Moisturizing Lotions (normally $4.29 each; I paid 86¢ for all four!)
• Aveeno Active Naturals Nourish+ Volume Shampoo (normally $7.99; I paid $5.99)
• Aveeno Active Naturals Nourish+ Volume Conditioner (normally $7.99; I paid $1.99)
• (2) Clean & Clear Blackhead Clearing Scrubs (normally $5.99 each; I paid $3.98 for both, and either Rob can use this or maybe I'll keep it in the stash for a few years and one of the kids might need it?? Hopefully they'll get my skin though, not that his is too terrible)
• RoC Multi-Correxion Exfoliating Cleanser (normally $10.49; I paid $2.24 and am interested to see how this works!)
• RoC Age Diminishing Night Cream (normally $15.99; I paid $8.97, which is still a lot for me to spend on a non-Jafraitem, so it better be good!)
• Extra Spearmint gum (normally $1.29; I paid nothing and will use it for Tooth Fairy duties tonight, since Chloë lost another tooth!)
• Mentos cinnamon mints (normally 99¢; I paid nothing)

So those prices are pretty good, and don't include the $15 I mentioned above. Sweet deals, and good stuff. I get so giddy when I get all these wonderful products! I'm going to go add everything to my Rubbermaid storage tote for all the toiletries I'm stockpiling, and then go play Tooth Fairy. After that? Hopefully sleep...

Fin.

 

 

 

Nutella No-Go

Busy day.  I should be sleeping by now. I did take the sleeping pill last night and slept a full night, and I haven't been tired since then. I'm still wide awake, too much so to settle down and try to sleep, darn it. Sucks, because I have another full day tomorrow.

I did a lot, but it doesn't feel like I got a lot done, if that makes any sense. I cleaned up the kitchen, ran the dishwasher and emptied it later. I did take an hour after the kids got on the bus and play my various silly Facebook games. But then I didn't touch them again until night-time. I canceled the cable, although I did decide to keep the local channels for $10/month. We can always drop that later, too. I looked at all the coupon sites and made my deals for today, which is when the new grocery sales start in our area. I contacted the Brownies moms about coming to sign permission slips, and no one wanted to come... so they all told me to forge their signatures on them. Heh. I did, but then I realized - after turning it in - that I spelled one of the girls' names wrong! Oops... how do you explain that one?!

Anyway, so after I showered and got ready to go out, I ran to Target and got lots of great deals, including the new "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" DVD for the kids. Chloë has been raving about it since she saw it at the theatre with her soccer friends, and I knew the kids would enjoy it. I got lots of other great stuff too, but I didn't have time to take a picture and figure it all out.

Then I went to Harris Teeter - MY old store - for the first time since I quit back in October. They are running super doubles week on coupons, so I had to suck it up and go in. I was so nervous! It turns out that was for naught, because everyone was so nice and welcoming. I got lots of hugs, and everyone was concerned about me because they'd heard about the breast cancer thing. I assured them that I'm fine and all is well, and they seemed happy about that. Lots of nice people. I really kind of miss working there. I do. But, the hours weren't enough, and apparently things have gotten lots worse regarding that. So it was the right thing to do, I guess. Oh yeah, and I spent about $61 but SAVED $84 in coupons! All stuff we need and will use, of course.

I got home just five minutes before the bus came, so I didn't even have time to unload the groceries (and speaking of which, please tell me why I bought the 2½-dozen egg carton when there is NO room in my fridge for it?!) before walking down to the bus stop. The kids came home, and they helped me carry in the bags. I quickly scanned the Target stuff and part of the HT stuff for Nielsen, and then we had to leave for both girls' dance classes. 
Sophie went first, and the Bigs did their homework while she was in there. I knitted on the kimono. Can't really say it was power knitting, since I had to stop every two seconds to help Jack with his work. Chloë went in second, and I kept knitting while the Littles climbed all over every inch of the van, pressing buttons and generally driving me mad. In a fun way, though. ;)

 

Oh, and the entire time all this day was going on, I was in a madcap rush to figure out if and how we were going to go to New York City - tomorrow! And back - in a day! Chloë's acting and modeling agent there called to say they had an audition for her to attend today or tomorrow (I said to them, "Today? You know we're in Virginia, right?") for a Nutella commercial. They really wanted her this time. Steph volunteered to drive up with us OR stay home and get the Littles to and from school, however we needed her. Isn't she awesome? We were going to have her and Luke come with us, and then her sister Mandy wanted to come along, too. It was just going to be a straight shot up there, audition, have lunch in Manhattan somewhere (the audition was right on Broadway), and then drive straight home. A seven-hour trip, or thereabouts. I was going to have to cancel all sorts of things for tomorrow. But in the end, we called to check and see if she could still go, seeing as she's missing four front teeth, and they said NOPE! No way, no how. Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted...

After the dance classes - during which time I talked to Ms. D, Chloë's Jazz teacher, and was told that she's focusing much better in class lately, to my surprise since I have not yet had her evaluated for ADD - we came home so I could prepare dinner. The yummy food from grocery shopping was still all over the kitchen table to be put away, and the kids were picking at this and picking at that, wanting to nibble, nibble, nibble. I had planned on making the grilled salmon from Schwan's, but in the end they had sandwiches and chips and assorted other things, and I never cooked at all. 'Tis fine. Salmon can wait 'til Friday, since we have a dinner shop tomorrow night.

After dinner, Rob and the kids watched "Cloudy With..." while I worked on Cookie Sale paperwork and drove the permission slips over to the person in charge. He got the kids ready for bed, and then we posed for all these silly pictures together. It was a little bit of fun, we enjoyed it. Jack keeps insisting he doesn't know how to smile, so in the ones where he IS actually smiling, it's because I was tickling him! And now, back to reading my Cookie Manual some more, before I train the girls and moms at tomorrow's meeting. Ciao!

Fin. 

Nine Years

On Saturday, Rob and I celebrated our ninth anniversary. Nine wonderful years:

In November, 2000, we met online. We lived in Florida then.

In January, 2001, we eloped!

In September, 2001, we had our first baby, Chloë Raine.

In August, 2002, I became pregnant with our identical twin boys, Jack River and Robert William.

In October, 2002, we moved to Guam.

In December, 2002, Guam was hit by the worst supertyphoon on record. Because of a complicated twin pregnancy, I was declared "unfit" to live on the island.

In February, 2003, we moved back to the States, to Virginia.

In March, 2003, our sons were born 9 weeks early. Three days later, Robby died. Something in me broke. I would not be "myself" again for about four more years.

In July, 2004, I became pregnant with our baby, Sophia Lorelei.

In April, 2005, we welcomed Baby #4 to the world.

In October, 2006, we took a family trip to Disneyworld!

Around that same time frame, I was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and the medication trials began in earnest. My weight gain started to be out of control from the meds. I hated myself.  It was an awful two years for us, while I tried to get the weight under control and qualify for gastric bypass surgery.

In June-July, 2008, we finally took our honeymoon, the trip of our dreams, a two-week European cruise, without the kids. It was an incredible trip. We were so happy.

In January, 2009, I finally had my gastric bypass surgery. I had ballooned up to 341.3 pounds. My husband still loved me, despite the weight, although we had a rocky next couple of months while we sorted out the major ups-and-downs of the previous eight years. We went to marriage counseling. Everything worked out well, and we are now stronger than ever before. We realized that sometimes it takes a crisis to appreciate how much we love each other.

And now, in January 2010, we are celebrating nine years of marriage, four children, one child's death, a few bumps in the road, and my having lost (so far) 155 pounds since surgery. (I weigh 14 pounds less than when we met!) We are completely in love. He is my everything. I hope I am his.

********

For an anniversary present, Stephanie offered us a free night of babysitting.  In our marriage counseling sessions, we were "ordered" to have a date night once a week. We did that at first but can't really afford it regularly anymore, so we jumped at the chance! It wasn't until we were actually ON that date that we decided exactly where we were going to go.

We had a Restaurant.com certificate to Taza in the Westin hotel in Town Center, but when we arrived, it turned out that Taza was gone, and Lucky Star was in its place. After some conferring, the manager of Lucky Star decided he would honor our certificate, but because the restaurant portion was closed and only the bar area was open, we decided to eat somewhere else. It just wasn't the ambiance we were looking for tonight.

We headed out into the freezing cold night to find somewhere else to eat. I thought about Ruth's Chris, but since we've eaten there several times before, I didn't mention it. We stopped in at Sonoma Wine Bar & Bistro next to Ruth's Chris, where we ate one time with the kids, although it's most definitely not a kids' restaurant. It would have been more than satisfactory, but they were completely booked.

So we decided to head down to a new place where we hadn't been before but had seen on the drive over: Zushi Japanese Bistro. It was a great find! We were greeted immediately by a man who seated us and took our coats. He pulled out my chair, and pushed it in for me when I was seated. He recommended the spicy soup to us, since it was so cold out, to warm us up.

Rob took him up on the soup offer. It was REALLY spicy. When the server took his drink away to refill it and forgot to bring it back - the only slip in the otherwise outstanding service - he had to steal some sips from my Diet Coke!

The tableware was really cool. I loved the silver chopsticks!

 
  
We ordered a LOT of sushi. Far too much. I don't know what we were thinking, other than we LOVE sushi.  This wasn't even all of it - there was another plate I forgot to photograph!  So when we were finished, and I asked for a box for more than half the food, the sushi chef came over and showed genuine concern for our satisfaction. "Everything is all right? Lot of food came back to the kitchen!" I assured him everything was great and that we were just full, and he laughed and said, "Yes, only two of you!" Lucky us, though, there were plenty of leftovers for snacking later!

Rob felt brave enough to try the sea urchin. Like I've said, he'll eat anything once. I took a scoop of the orange stuff. Blech. In my past life as a marine biologist, I dissected enough sea urchins to know there's nothing in there that makes me go, "Ooh, I wanna eat that." Rob didn't like it either. Our assessment? Don't order it!

The server took our picture. I thought we looked pretty good tonight! Except for my red chest, from the allergic reaction I'm currently having to who-knows-what.

The server, the chef, and the host checked on us multiple times during the meal. When we were finished, the host immediately went to retrieve our coats for us.  We weren't near the garage where we'd parked, so I stayed behind while Rob ran to fetch the van for me. The host asked what he's driving and said he would keep an eye out for him for me. When Rob pulled up, the Host walked out - in the freezing cold, without a coat, with me and opened the car door for me. I was very impressed by that; I almost wanted to give him a hug! So if you love sushi and appreciate good service, do check out Zushi in the Town Center of Virginia Beach!

After dinner, we drove two minutes down the road to go to the movies. We saw It's Complicated, with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin.  I'd heard it was hysterically funny from beginning to end, so I really wanted to see it. I'd heard wrong. There were a few funny moments, including one absolutely hilarious scene that had me going, "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" but it was no all-out laugh-fest. It was okay. I could have waited for the DVD to come from Netflix. Maybe we should have seen Avatar instead, after all!

All-in-all, it was a pretty good date night for us. We came home, and Steph and Tim were there with their baby Luke asleep in Tim's arms, our three kid still up and running around after eating THREE times in our absence (!!!), and two more sleeping charges of Stim's on the couch.  A full house. The other two kids' mom was coming in a half-hour to pick them up, so we sent our chirren to bed and then hung out with Stim for the rest of the time. I held Luke the whole time. I just love that kid, as much as I love my own kids, which is saying a lot for me because I don't tend to like other peoples' kids, in general! He's beautiful and sweet and perfect, and I'm so happy for them.

And now... I'm waiting for Rob to go upstairs and clean the tub and all his crap off our bed, so we can go have a spa night together, with a good, hot soak and massages and... ;)

Fin.
  

 

It Snowed!

Not a lot, as you can see, but some. Some is more than we usually get, so it's a big deal for the kids. Two funny things Sophia said this morning, as we drove around getting deals:

(1) "I forgot about snow!"

and

(2) "I want to go out and make a snow angel!" Nevermind that there's, like, less than a millimeter of snow on the ground. And she's sick, so no, there will be no snow angels for Sophia on this day!

So I'm going to try and play catch-up with you, since I have some time. And by "have some time," what I really mean is I'm supposed to be knitting three scarves that someone ordered from the CARE Package website, which I said would be ready by tomorrow. I'd forgotten I still had those scarves for sale on the site, and I really need to take that down, because (1) I really don't want to make them anymore, and (2) hardly any of those colors are even available in anywhere, at least around here. I looked. Everywhere.

Anyway.

I've been up since 1 or 2 AM, after sleeping on and off all day Saturday, along with the kids. And Rob. We're sick. I think it's just a cold, for me, but the kids have all had fevers, so who knows. They missed school on Wednesday AND on Friday. All that to say, I've been up for hours, and I used that time, as I am wont to do, to browse the couponing and deal blogs that I read, coming up with plans to save beaucoup bucks this morning!

Sophia woke up just before I was leaving, and she wanted to come with me.

Our first stop was at CVS. I've actually never been to a CVS before, but there were so many good deals this week that I decided to give it a go. My mainstay is Walgreens for good H&BA deals. Here's what I got:

• Two packages of Glade Scented Oil Candle refills, in Dewberry Dreams
• Two Glade candles, in Apple Cinnamon (mmm)
• Revlon lipstick, in Blush
• 500 mL bottle of Listerine mouthwash
• Almay mascara, in blackest black
• Barbie toothbrush by Zooth, for Sophia
• Crest with Scope toothpaste
• Nivea body wash, in some kind of citrusy flavor that I forget b/c it's upstairs now
• Shick intuition razor, in cucumber melon
• 4 packages of Thermacare neck-to-arm heat wraps
• 4 Hot Wheels cars, for Jack (not shown, because he took them away)
• Party pack of 10 cans of Play-Doh, for Sophia (not shown b/c she took them)
• Aleril Sleep Aid, 4 ct

And guess how much I paid out of pocket for all that, after sale prices, coupons and Extra Care Bucks? $7.56!!!! (That's after the $10 I used from the kids' Grandpa in cash, too, for their cars and Play-Doh. Full disclosure. I didn't get Chloë something because she didn't want me to hold her $5, and now she's lost it.) Awesome, right?! I love getting good deals. LOVE it. And we can use all of that, except maybe the Aleril, which was free, so I can give it away without care.

Oh, and that new red bag that you can sorta see in the back of the picture, but which is really great and I love it? I got that for $2.99, including shipping, from Woman Within. I think it was originally a $35 bag.

So if you like deals - and steals! - you gotta start reading some of these blogs. I highly recommend Deal Seeking Mom (link above); hers is The Best.

Next, we went to Target. From the Deal Seeking Mom site, I'd gotten a link to a $10 manufacturer's coupon and a $5 Target coupon for the Tinkerbell Blu-Ray/DVD combo, and since I'm collecting those right now, yee-haw! I got it for only five bucks, and it'll be a great stocking stuffer for one of the girls. Plus there's a $5 mail-in rebate that I may not use, because you have to buy popcorn seasoning stuff. And Steph, even though you showed me how to pop my own popcorn instead of buying the microwave stuff, I haven't done it yet! ;)

I don't know why I included the printer ink in the picture. There was no deal on that. Der.

But, there was a deal on the e.l.f. mascara duo here, where you can get a $5 eyeslipsface.com coupon for any e.l.f. purchase - and I only spent a buck on the mascara. Sweet.

So it was a good morning, money-wise. Sophie was just excited about the Barbie toothbrush and Tinkerbell movie, and I was glad for the company.

When we got home, the other two kids were up, so we did the daily Advent box. They each got a little toy out of the box (a kazoo, a ball puzzle, a deck of snowman cards). Today's activity is to drive around looking at Christmas lights. We didn't do yesterday's activity - go down to the Lights at the Beach - so we'll do that tonight, too. Probably.  

(And speaking of deals, the tickets for that are normally $10 a carload, but I bought it for $7 from our school's PTA. And I can fit three more people in the car, if you wannna come along!)

To be continued...

Fin.

In Which I Spent All Our Grocery Money On Other Stuff

And I thought Monday was busy. That was just the warm-up! Tuesday was just plain crazy.

We woke up around 0800 and got the kids fed, dressed and me showered. By the time the floor guy got here at 0900 (after Rob once again stayed up all night doing as much as he could to empty out the living room), we were about ready to embark upon the day's missions. And so we did.

First up, we went to the local Boy Scout council shop to get the rest of Jack's uniform. At the non-camp-out on Friday, the pack leader provided us with the Tiger Cub neckerchief, slide, handbook and a hat that was much too big. So I exchanged the hat at the shop for a Small and then started gathering the rest of his uniform pieces. The smallest shirt will probably be huge on him, but we'll make it work. The available pants and shorts (which are not required, but which were on sale) started at a 6, and since he wears a 2t or, at most, a 3t, that was a no-go. We got the belt and patches, and I scored two BSA car magnets for my car and Rob's for free! Rob has to sew on the patches at work sometime this week, so I'll take pictures of him when it's all put together - hopefully by his next popcorn show-and-sell on Saturday.

Second, we went to Pembroke Mall to get the kids some new shoes. Payless was running a BOGO-50% off sale, and I had a coupon for an additional 20% off that, so that's where we went. I was happily surprised to find Champion soccer cleats for both girls in just the right sizes there (9½ for Chloë, 10 for Sophia!). The minute Jack saw those black "boy shoes" on his sisters, he wanted to sign right back up for soccer! Uh, no. Too late for fall, buddy! All three kids got a new pair of sneakers for starting school, and Sophia got a pair of pink, sparkly dress shoes since her feeties have grown, and those are her favorites. They'll model those for you on the first day of school next week.

On the way into out and out of the mall, the kids insisted on stopping in at the pet store to look at the kittens and puppies, and though we had a thoroughly packed schedule, I obliged. They were very cute, of course, but I always feel so bad for them in there.

 

I really really really really want a chihuahua, but barring that, I'd take just about any little tiny schmoo. I wuv the widdle babies!

Our next stop was around the corner at Kmart, where I had called earlier and found out they had soccer gear. Well, that was a big fat LIE, because I found soccer balls and nothing else. Bah. That was annoying. But Sophie found a backpack for preschool that she liked: purple with a butterfly on the front, and it was 50% off. The girls needed new undies, so I bought them two huge packs each, also on sale. I picked up some composition notebooks that I remembered I still had on their school supply list, and then we were done.

By that point, the kids were seemingly beside themselves with hunger, so we stopped at the Kmart café to get them each a nasty Kmart hot dog. It came with a drink and a bag of chips, and they all ate every last bit. Except for a few chips that, wonder of wonders, Sophie of all kids didn't finish. Shocker!

Then we went around the corner to Dick's Sporting Goods, to see if we could get the rest of the girls' soccer gear. They were required to have cleats or sneakers (check), soccer shorts, shin guards, soccer socks, a size 3 ball (check) and, of course, a bottle of water for practice and game breaks. Everyone had to go potty as soon as we got there, so to Jack's enormous dismay, we had to ride down the highly-feared escalator to get to the restrooms. He clung to me and sobbed, his shrieks of fear echoing all over the store. As soon as we were down and stepped off, he breathed an enormous sigh of relief. At the bathrooms, I found an elevator on which we could go back up, and I breathed my own enormous sigh of relief! But, hello, doesn't she look so cute in her black, pink and white get-up? Sophie will model hers on Thursday when it's her turn to practice.

We had circled back around near home again by that point, so I stopped in to get my coupon for a desperately-needed oil change and my nailclippers, since I'd chipped a nail. Not that I'm whining about it; since it was pretty much the low point of my day, I can't complain!

We rushed to the Texaco around the corner for my oil change. I try to go there for them, because the price is right (and I had another $10 off, woot!), and they give excellent, fast service. Yesterday was no different, and I was pleased when I left.

We were in such a hurry because Up was playing at the dollar theater again - and this time I really could call it that, since it's only a buck on Tuesdays. I figured four bucks to entertain the kids in the middle of a busy day was a bargain, and since the movie was so spectacular, I didn't mind a bit. This time, I was able to catch everything I'd missed the first time, which was a lot. I managed to cry three times. Jack moaned the whole time about being staaaaaaaarving, so I broke down and bought them some cheesy fries. After such a good lunch, I was surprised when they all disappeared within a matter of minutes!

I had called Rob to come home from work during my oil change, because the floor guy was alone and couldn't move the huge TV and entertainment system by himself. So he was home after the movie ended, and we went over to pick him up and bring in our plethora of bags from the van. After getting Chloë all dressed out for soccer practice, we went right back out again, this time to Wal-mart to find a lunch box for Sophia. Kmart didn't have any, at least none that were kiddie and of interest to Soap.  So we got that, and I'd brought along the school shopping lists to finish the rest of the shopping. The school aisles were a freaking mad house! We managed to find everything except the folders with prongs, of which we need a LOT. So, shit, I'm still not done. Ugh. And I didn't buy any of the "optional" stuff like tissues and hand sanitizer, because I'll get that after the next payday when I have my coupons with me. They can wait a week, right? Maybe I'll write an explanatory note, just in case...

By that time, we had to race to get Chloë to her first soccer practice on time. I, of course, had forgotten the directions (I could get there from home easily enough but was confused on the route from Wal-mart), so once again the iPhone came to the rescue! I first used the Google voice search app to look up the school address, and then the Maps app to get the directions from our current location. Love that thing!!! We were on our way in no time. The only problem was, the school field was HUGE, and we ended up on the wrong side. We had to load everyone back up in the van, drive around to the other side and walk across another huge field to get to the right place. So we still ended up being ten minutes late. Bah! I hate being late!

 

Soccer practice went really well. For being easily the smallest girl on a team of 6-8 year olds, and most of them having prior soccer experience, my novice player did a great job! She worked really hard at following Coach Matt's directions, and she never gave up. I'm not saying she was great at it, but she wasn't terrible, either. She tried and tried. I was so proud of her!! ♥

When it was over, she was visibly exhausted, despite three breaks for water. The coach talked to us parents, and it was decided that their team name is the Purple Dolphins. (She suggested the Sparkles, but even she voted for the Dolphins instead!) Then the coach informed us that the practices will be every Tuesday and Thursday at 6... Well, guess what? Sophie also practices Thursday at 6, and Rob probably won't be able to get home from work on time. So that sucks. Anyone want to drive Chloë to soccer on Thursday? ;)

We got a bag full of loot, too: Chloë's purple shirt for games, a bunch of Rush soccer stickers, all kinds of information about soccer, soccer tattoos, a patch, and other fun stuff. I'm glad for the soccer rules, because I know virtually nothing about the game and will need to brush up.

Anyway, we still weren't done, although we were all tired by that point. I used my iPhone again to get us to my first shop at a convenience store, and I used it a third time to get us to the next one at a taco shop. (Heh heh). Those shops went by quickly, and we finally made it home at 2030. Dinner, baths, bedtime... well, I assume bedtime, since I fell asleep myself before 10 and didn't wake up 'til 0400. And even then, just for a short while, and I got about five more hours of sleep. And I'm still tired!

Now it's time to go start our Wednesday. The floor guy is here, the kids are corralled and restless, and I need to get them involved in something. Ciao, then!

Fin.

Working Title

We've been busy.

I was, ugh, up again (more than) half the night again Friday into Saturday, so I was pretty groggy when the kids woke me at ten or something. I found Rob was gone with my van, without his phone or a note left, and I had no clue where he went. I was exhausted and annoyed. This didn't bode well for the weekend... but it wasn't too bad.

Rob and Jack to the Lowes on Holland Road at noon, to sell popcorn with his Cub Scout pack or troop or whatever it is, for two hours. Apparently he did really well, politely going up to everyone and asking if they'd like to buy some. Probably because he's so tiny and cute, they couldn't resist! Overall, they sold $860 worth of popcorn, which is $10 for a very small canister - that blows my mind! People buy that?! Apparently they do. I never even heard of Boy Scout popcorn until maybe two years ago. Nuts.

While they were gone, I set the girls on various tasks around the house (cleaning up their room, or whatev) so I could catch a few zzz's here and there. At one point, I gave Sophie an entire M-shaped stickie pad that I was never going to use, and told her to go crazy sticking it around the house. So she did. Next thing I knew, I had two or three on my arms, face, you name it... and they were all over the house.

Did I care? Nope. Harmless.

So they eventually came home and we all went out to do a bowling mystery shop. We always play two games, with the kids the first game and by ourselves the second game. I had a picture of Rob helping Chloë bowl, but I can't find it, so you're stuck with this one of Sophie, 4, lifting Jack, 6, up to the water fountain. She's as huge as he is tiny!

Bowling was a ton of fun. Rob finally broke a hundred, and I bowled a much-better-than-usual 87! Not much to be proud of, but for both of us, it was an achievement.

Found it!

Sunday, we (I) slept in a little late and had to rush around to get to a popular boob-themed wings restaurant for a lunch shop. We got there in time, though, and it was fun. The waitress talked me into buying a themed "I'm Kind of a Big Deal" pink shirt for the girls, which is cute. It'll fit Chloë for a while, and then Soap.

Then we went over to the AT&T store to switch Rob's phone to an iPhone. See previous post about how awesome they are.  The kids did NOT behave in the store until they came to the big iPhone display, and then they were thoroughly engaged in playing with those so Rob and I could conduct our business. Phew.

When we got home, we were supposed to clean up downstairs (me, the bathroom; Rob, rip up the living room rug), but it was so late by that time that we didn't have time to do anything but get ready for our special date. We had a dinner shop at a fancy-schmancy steakhouse, obstenibly for Rob's "birthday," which isn't really 'til the end of the month.

 

They brought Rob out a special dessert for his birthday, and the server took our picture together with it. We had a really nice time, and dinner was absolutely perfect. It was the best visit we've had there so far. I absolutely love spending time with my husband, just the two of us. We had fun, lots of laughs, and I was just so happy that he was happy about his new phone. Makes me glad to make him glad, you know?

I ♥ my Bob

After dinner, we went to the bar for a couple of drinks. Normally, there, I have the German chocolate martini, but this time I went for the pineapple upside-down one. Both are pretty damn good. Next time I think I'll have the mint chocolate martini - in a year when I'm eligible again. Of course, now I can only drink a sip or two and then I'm drunk - and done. Rob gets the rest, but it's nice to get a taste!

So that was Saturday. We were going to go get massages after dinner (for free!), but the place was closed when we left the restaurant. Bummer. Oh well, next time.

We went home to relieve Steph, so she could get home early and get to bed and off her feet to stop the painful BH contractions she's been having lately. Nobody better be having any preemies on my watch! The kids were just eating dinner when we got there (we'd gone to eat really early), so she helped get them fed before taking off. They went to bed shortly after, and Rob and I just played around with each other and our phones the rest of the night, not really accompishing anything. Oh, well.

Today was a lot of running. I'm so tired; I can't believe I'm still awake! I only got four hours of sleep or so before my phone woke me up with incoming text messages, and then Sophia was downstairs before I even shut my eyes again. Early.

But that was okay, because we had a fast-food breakfast shop again. So once the other two woke up, had a little something to eat and got dressed, we headed out for the day. We did that shop, and then we went to the library to return the 9 books they picked last week and rent out 10 more. I didn't get any new ones, because I'm still only four chapters into A Thousand Splendid ... oh, shit! I'm reading the Kite Runner, not that! Hahaha, I returned the wrong book. D'oh! Well maybe I can go switch 'em later in the week. Dummy. Ha.

Next, we headed out to Lynnhaven to do a pretzel shop at the mall there. I had a teensy-weensy bite (required) and split the rest amongst the kids. They were so thrilled to get the treat. I kind of forgot about lunch then, because Steph wanted us to come out and go the movies with her and her niece. So we got some gas and drove out to EBF to hang at her house for a while before the movie.

The kids started watching Night at the Museum, which we'd never seen before. Steph showed me how to do stove-popped popcorn, because I'd never learned. It was fun, except when we caught a potholder on fire! Hehe. I'm going to get some stuff and do it like that next time. Less waste!  The kids ate a ton of popcorn while I started teaching Steph how to crochet. She did really well with chaining and is now working on single crochet, which is going great, too. She's a fast learner!

Soon it was time to go to the movies. We loaded four kids and the crocheting into Vanna and headed to Greenbriar for the $1.75 movie at Cinema Café. This was Night at the Museum II, which was really funny! We laughed a lot, Steph and I. The older two girls sat well and quietly, Jack was so-so, but Sophie was pretty restless until I let her play with apps on my iPhone. Thank God I thought of that, or I'd have had to take her out and have us both miss the movie we paid for.

Rob was home when the movie ended, so we said good-bye to Steph (whose husband, Tim, had joined her at the mall by that point) and headed home to Daddy. The drive took over an hour; traffic was so bad. I should have used the Traffic app on my phone to avoid that, but I didn't think of it. 20/20 hindsight...

So that's it until tomorrow, when the running begins again!

Fin.

Two Hours Of My Life I Won't Get Back

So I slept past noon today, but it's okay because Rob had the day off. Don't ask me why, they just gave it to him. He was going to go take his motorcycle test in the morning, but he didn't want to leave the children with me sleeping, and he didn't want to wake me up. I appreciate that, because I obviously needed to catch up on some zzzz's, but he could've and should've. Oh, well.

Speaking of Rob, he doesn't think he's made chief, because they're only promoting 9 PR1s (his rate). He thinks his chances are bad. I prefer to think positive. He's earned it. He deserves it. We need this. Oh please, oh please, oh please...

Anyway, I finally woke up, checked a million trillion emails and went a little nuts when I realized I didn't have the prize package I needed to do a reveal shop at the movies this evening. Ahhh! After calls to my scheduler, visits with the neighbors and frantic searching, I finally found the package behind the shoe box where it fell when I signed for it and dropped it. All was right with the world again, for that moment anyway.

I showered, stuck in the contacts that I was supposed to have worn for at least two hours before my eye exam check-up (oops, had to lie), and went to that appointment just in time. I was in and out of there in about 29½ seconds with my script in hand. Contacts are good. Money is not, so I'll have to order them next week after payday. Glasses in the meantime, I guess!

Then I picked up a Freecycle I'd gotten for Stephanie: a bag full of maternity clothes in her size. Score! Hopefully they'll be cute and fit her. I haven't opened the bag...

At home, I started reading all my shops and preparing myself for the work ahead for the evening. I had to schedule them trickily, since they all fell in the same 4-hour time frame and were nowhere near each other. I started printing out my forms to fill out after the shops, when my black ink ran out. Suuuuck. Last thing I needed - and the rest of my printer functions won't work when an ink cartridge is out, which pisses me off to no end. I can't scan my receipts and other collateral for the reports, even. Dumb set-up, if you ask me.  Boo, Kodak!

Rob showered and dressed himself and the kids - who were still playing in their PJs 'til then - and we set off on our mission. Our first stop was a pretzel store in northern Norfolk. That went well, and I was in and out of there in a flash. One down, two to go.

Next, I had to do a movie ticket and concession assignment at a certain urban-flavored Norfolk mall. I could watch the movie afterward, but I didn't have time then. So I bought the ticket for much later (for My Sister's Keeper) and did the rest of the shop. Rob got some Coke and nachos out of the deal - and the kids were full on hot pretzels and a pretzel dog - and I got the movie ticket. Two down.

Our last stop was a new-to-us restaurant in Town Center, near our home. I hadn't worked for that new-to-me mystery shopping company before, so I really want(ed) to do a stellar job. I'm always nervous, because I take this job seriously and want to rank high and prove myself early. I sent Rob in to do the bar portion, which he's done for me before and which I can't do because I can't drink, and then we met him in the restaurant for meal. His food was good, but I didn't care for mine. I ate a third of my turkey burger anyway, because it was my first food of the day and I needed the protein, but none of the kids would partake. They basically ate French fries. Hey, ketchup is a fruit, right? Three down. But I still have to work tonight, because I couldn't do the reports without my scanner.

At home, I set the kids on their own mission while I cheered them on: Find the TV remote that's been missing for days. One for four TV remotes missing in our living room somewhere, I might add. Maybe we'll find the others when we take the place apart to put in the new floors? They never found it, but Rob did after they went to bed, so I'll give him the points they would've gotten later, if you know what I mean...

Soon, it was time to make like a baby and head out  - to my solo movie viewing.

It's hard to say what I hated the most about this cinema experience: the group of people to my left, whose phone kept ringing for the first quarter of the movie (but stopped two minutes before my own, which I didn't think I had with me, rang a noisy rendition of Salt 'n' Pepa's "Push It Good"), who had a baby and a toddler with them for a 10-to-midnight showing (nice), and who snored noisily through the second half of the flick (can't really say I blame her)... or the movie itself. It's a toss-up.

I hate to ruin it for any of you that might actually want to go see this movie, after reading the wonderful Jodi Picoult book that my MIL so awesomely bestowed upon me to read during our European cruise last summer, but damn. Do not go see this movie if you don't want to spend two hours pissed off, rolling your eyes, and clenching your jaw. The acting was terrible - especially Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin - but the directing was worse. There were parts of the movie where the action completely stopped while they played another sappy song. You know all those wonderful side stories Picoult created in the book, aside from the main case? They either skipped them entirely or I wished they had, because they only touched for seconds here and there and made their severely underdeveloped inclusion entirely pointless. I know time is a factor, so either focus on the main story and leave out the things you don't have time for, or leave out the sappy songs! But the worst insult was that the movie wasn't at all true to the parts of the book that matter, that make you think, make you feel, make you care, or make you cry. 

Hated it. Absolutely hated it. And I walked out of there so mad!  Definitely let me know if you watch it anyway, and if you agree or disagree with my analysis.

So.

After the movie, I drove to the closest Wal-Mart to get my printer cartridge. It was after midnight, but there were crowds of people sitting on their cars in the parking lot, listening to loudly playing Michael Jackson music. The place was pretty hoppin' for that time of night in the store, too. I got in and out quickly and then raced home to pee like a racehorse. I couldn't go at the store; I hate using any bathroom but my own comfy pot at home. You too?

On the way home, I was driving along, minding my bidness, when some jerk-off whips onto the on-ramp next to me and comes plowing into my lane! Thank God I had room to swerve sharply into the left lane, because both of us would have died in that crash, I bet.  I blasted my horn, twice, gave him the one-finger salute when I passed him, and dropped a torrent of four-letter words into the ears of no one but myself. What the heck was he thinking?!! Death wish, maybe?

Blah. I'm still annoyed about that movie. But I must move on now and work on those reports. Time's a-wastin'!

Fin.