Tag!

Two of my favorite blogs, Amanda Sanders and my sister's have started a game of tag. All you have to do is answer the following questions. The only rule is that the questions have to be answered in one word. Here is my list.
1. Where is your cell phone? counter
2. Where is your significant other? bed
3. Your hair color? natural
4. Your mother? farmer
5. Your father? heaven
6. Your favorite thing? kids
7. Your dream last night? None
8. Your dream/goal? success
9. The room you’re in? office
10. Your hobby? crafts
11. Your fear? underachieving
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you’re not? superwoman
15. One of your wish-list items? money
16. Where you grew up? Happy
17. The last thing you did? news
18. What are you wearing? sweats
19. Your TV? OFF
20. Your pet? numerous
21. Your computer? cool
22. Your mood? mixed
23. Missing someone? Jennifer
24. Your car? dirty
25. Something you’re not wearing? contacts
26. Favorite store? NONE
27. Your summer? memorable
28. Love someone? heckyeah
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? today

So, if you made it all the way through, you need to know that I HATE choosing favorites. I'd invite anyone that wants to participate to do so. It'd be really cool if you'd leave a comment with your address so we can check out your answers and if you'd link back to this blog from yours.
so--
TAG, YOU'RE IT!

Visit the North Pole

Okay, I'm the first to admit that it drives me nuts that Christmas decorations, etc. are in the stores and we haven't even gone trick or treating yet. I always feel like Thanksgiving is skipped over. But, I found a site today that is worth a look, even if it isn't even December yet.

You can go here and visit the North Pole. Play games, read stories, write stories,write a letter to Santa. (Santa will write you back) All kinds of stuff awaits you. There is even a quiz you can take to see where you rank on the Naughty or Nice list. What caught my eye today, though, was the "Good Deeds Calendar." You can print one out for the month of your choosing. It is pretty much what I call a chore chart. It has several things your kids probably are doing or supposed to be doing every day. The kids are to keep track of what they do and leave the calendars under the tree for Santa to see.

Brilliant!! Instead of saying--"Santa might not come if..." You can just say, "What do you think Santa will think of you good deeds calendar?" What a fun thing to do as a family as you head into this hectic time. Keep track of your good deeds--emphasize the positive.

Have fun at the North Pole!

Thoughts of Halloween

I've been thinking about where we'll take the kids trick or treating this Friday. It is an away football game so lots of people will not be home. But, I remembered that most of the homes we are expected to "haunt" will have eager candy givers just waiting for our arrival. How cool is it that my kids will trick or treat at many of the homes I did as a kid? That got me thinking of places we must stop and places that I wish we could still visit.

Here are a few places I remember going to as a child:

• Hobart and Anna Mae's--Anna Mae always had those spiced muffin/cupcakes with the ghost made out of a sucker (Tootsie Pop, I believe) and Kleenex. It was always in the middle of the muffin. I never cared much for the muffin or the sucker, but I thought the whole thing together was way cool and I had to have it.
• Grandmother Sims--she always made popcorn balls. Have you ever tried to make them?
• Burnett--she had reserve candy for her "special" friends. (Sadie was fortunate enought to get to visit her some)
• Si and Willa--Si would always make us say our name, etc. for the video camera. We really should all get together with Si to view those someday--he turns ninety soon. I imagine Aunt Louise will be there to help him this year.
• Ruth Mann--She'd always take our picture and send it to us later. I remember the year we went with the Whites and were Star Wars characters. (there's another post--costumes you remember)

We'll probably drop in on Si, Roberta, Cone, the Butlers (Sadie went in their house one year and started up the stairs), and Bob and Pat's for sure. Only in Happy does trick or treating take awhile because you are sometimes expected to go in for a short visit. Robby and I will probably score some candy, too. If you are in Happy Friday, feel free to join us.

El Camino Update

We took Nonnie to El Camino today for lunch. Right off Sadie noticed they had new menus. Nonnie laughed and said she could guess what was new. Much to our surprise cheese dips have gone up to $4.25. Nonnie never hesitated, we all got to have our own.

Virtual Pumpkin Carving

Click here to carve your own pumpkin online. It's nothing fancy, kinda fun.

Another One of Those Days

I could tell this morning that Biscuit, the cat that won't eat, was not doing well. I told the kids that he was very sick and probably would die. T.S. and Tryce colored pictures for him. Every time they'd go through the kitchen they'd announce that his "fur was still moving." At lunch we had a wonderful conversation about Biscuit going to live with Cowboy (Tryce's Dad's dog) and that Cowboy and Biscuit would have lots of fun playing. T.S. said, "Maybe he will come back to life and play with us." To which I replied, "No, we have to let him go live with God."

I hate days like this because they are days of my own making. I'm the one that agrees to feeding cottontail bunnies. I'm the one that started feeding the 4 orphan kittens. Biscuit has never been interested in eating the solid food. He politely refused to drink from the saucer. He would spit out the softened cat food when I put it in his mouth. He was content to stay on the bottle. I was determined it was time to be weaned. So now, I feel a little guilty--I could have bought more kitten milk and kept bottle feeding him. But would that have benefited him in the long run?

I realized we are all sometimes like Biscuit. Sometimes we want to be bottle-fed. We don't want to switch over to the solid food. There are several references in the New Testament that use the analogy of switching from milk to solid food and growing in our spiritual life. We don't do ourselves any favors by taking the easy way. As parents we sometimes have to watch our kids struggle as they grow and mature. No one said life or parenting was easy, even if you're a mama cat.

Sometimes I just don't like life lessons...wouldn't it be nice if they were all sunshine and roses?

An Up and Down Day

Today has definitely been a day of ups and downs:

• Biscuit (kitten) will still not eat solid food.
• T.S. had fun playing with the kittens.
• Tiger (kitten) had an accident and now seems to have some head trauma. He has improved tremendously since the incident, but I don't think we are out of the woods yet
• T.S. cried and cried about Tiger and is now elated that he is "better." I have a bad feeling about what still may happen.
• T.S. and I built a cool train track today (one of our best)
• Flu shots: T.S. cried and threw a fit before hand; his arm doesn't hurt at all now. Sadie and I were "big girls" and our arms are terribly sore.
• Some of the craft stuff I ordered is here--can hardly wait to get busy.

Overall it was a pretty good day--I think.

Memories

Today T.S. wanted a carrot to eat with his soup. When I sat down to eat I helped myself to a carrot stick and was reminded of going to El Camino in Tulia to eat when I was little. A long time ago, they would bring a relish plate to your table when they brought your chips. I remember the carrot sticks were always really good. I believe they kept them in ice water until time to serve. They were especially good in cheese dip. Nonnie would let each of us get our own cheese dip. Which is something we still do today.

Another thing I remembered was going to eat there with Grandma and Grandad and several cousins for something. We all got to have sopapillas. We were allowed to not only have honey with them but to mix sugar with our honey. The honey came in honey bears. We started squeezing them until just a little honey was coming out, then we'd let go and the honey would go back in the bottle. We were all laughing so hard that Grandma was in tears. We recall that story often and always have a laugh. Honey doesn't come in the bears anymore, it does come in packets and is still good on sopapillas with sugar mixed in. (I tried it again this summer just to be sure).

The relish plates and honey bears are a thing of the past, but out own individual cheese dip and it being a treat to go with Nonnie to El Camino are things that haven't changed.

Campbell's Soup and FFA

You may have noticed in the side bar that you can go to the Campbell's Soup site titled "Help Grow your Soup" and click on the Red Barn to support the National FFA Organization. I'd encourage you to check the site out. Campbell's is doing some neat things in conjunction with the FFA. One thing that caught my eye is the projects to preserve old barns. There are some really neat pictures of old barns.

Speaking of FFA--Robby has almost finished buying all the pigs his kids need. The BBQ bus traveled to a Firestone opening on Saturday. After that, Firestone reserved the bus for the Tech-tu game. We are so excited, the bus is great advertisement for the Happy FFA program and all of the great people who helped fund the project. I believe Firestone is even going to make a donation to the chapter and possibly fund a scholarship. Needless to say, Robby is thrilled.

A Day in the City

I travelled to Amarillo today--by MYSELF. I enjoyed my time alone and made the following observances:

• If the economy is so bad, why are all of these people in Amarillo and in my way? Traffic was pretty heavy and all of the places that I think would be hurt in this "bad" economy seemed to be doing well--nail salons, restaurants, the mall. You had to wait in line to exit the mall area.


• Why on earth would you choose the weekend to have 1/3 of a parking lot of a shopping center resurfaced?


• Sam's apparently is in the middle of resurfacing their parking lot, too. The whole lot was available, but parts didn't have lines. You can imagine the craziness; some aisles (is that what you call them in a parking lot?) didn't have room for two cars to go by at the same time.


• Those crafty people at Hobby Lobby are scary drivers, both in the parking lot and in the store.


• I finally bought myself some boots today. I have never spent that much on something to wear in my life. They are pretty cool and should last several years. Sorry, the picture isn't that great.

I ate lunch at Great Harvest Bread Company. Yummy, homemade bread and an incredible amount of meat and cheese on the sandwich. Even bought a few loaves for the family.

Random Thoughts

Just some things that have crossed my mind lately.

• Do you think the chickens miss the eggs when I take them everyday? I wonder if they go back in their house and think, "I know I left it here, or maybe is was over there...where'd I leave it?"


• Browsing through blogs I've noticed that a lot of families have been to pumpkin patches and apple orchards. Do you think they know they can grow their own pumpkins at home in a flower bed or large pot? Should we tell them? Maybe I should just have a pumpkin patch next year.


• How much money do you think Wal Mart loses at the self-checkout line? (had a while to ponder that one in the "real person check you out line")

You'd Think I'd Know Better

If you look at my profile you'll see two things--I'm a mom, I'm a keeper of kids. I've been a mom for 8 years and have been keeping kids for 7. So, what follows should be filed either under "you'd think she'd know by now" or "people really trust her with their kids?"

It is a gorgeous day today, the rain has stopped the sun is shining, all is right with the world. I'm trying to be domestic today, so while I am hanging wash out on the line (how green of me) the boys are playing on the driveway. I finish hanging out the wash and tend to the chickens. On my way in to the house to put the eggs in the fridge, "CW, stay away from that puddle. Let's not throw rocks in it."

I come back outside--he's by the puddle again (of course). He grins and moves away. I realize the bottom of his pants are wet. "Oh no," I think, "if his pants are wet so are his shoes."

On the way in the house I ask two-year old CW a stupid question, "Why'd you get in the puddle?" To which he replies, "because..." I finish the answer for him, "Because it was there."
The pants are in the wash, hopefully the shoes will be dry by this afternoon. Sorry B, at least your son is having fun.

The Benefit's of Being a Stay-at-Home Mom (or why I hang out with preschoolers and toddlers)

I am very blessed to be able to not only stay home with my child, but to keep two others as well. On some days it is three boys (ages 4,3 and 2) and me. Why do I enjoy it?

• Easy to hold up your end of the conversation


• Very positive work place--toddlers and preschoolers aren't concerned about the economy, the election or much else besides what the next activity is and when it will be time for snacks


• Fun games like RazBilly


• Freedom to express yourself--they love my artwork


• Get to play with Play Doh, markers, paint and make collages


• Nap Time


• I get to witness lots of cool milestones


• Snacks
• Can wear your pajamas all day and no one minds.
• I always have a reason (or 3) for why the house is such a mess.
  

Controversial Doll

On the news this evening, they had a story about a controversial doll made by Fisher Price. The doll is supposed to "cuddle and coo." She says, "Mama" as well. The controversy is what she says after that. Fisher Price says she is only programmed to coo and say, "Mama."

The news station has a special loop to hear it over and over again; they even slow it down for you. Listen to the doll before reading the story. Click here to see the full story and listen to the doll.

Let me know what you think you hear.

I can't decide if the doll really says what they say it says or if I just think it does because I've heard them say what the doll supposedly says. Does that make sense?

Another Cool Site

As a mom and keeper of kids, I'm always on the lookout for craft ideas, educational tools and coloring pages. While searching for a dump truck for T.S. to color today, I came across this site:
The Best Kids Book Site. It's an " Interactive Media Channel where Books, Crafts, Pod casts, Online Video, and Web Resources" Intersect. I haven't had time to explore it fully yet, but if you go to their blogs, they have a craft of the day, coloring page of the day and even stories to listen to. The site itself has coloring pages and crafts as well. It has book recommendations and links to to other sites for nearly any subject you imagine. I think you could probably spend hours just looking around at this site. I did notice that there are lots of ads--but that's the price you pay for "free" coloring pages and crafts.

I wonder if I could get a job searching for cool sites and then telling about them???

In Search of the Perfect Pomegranate

UPDATE: I posted the wrong site, if you want to see the progress from bloom to fruit, click here.

I was very excited in the produce department the other day. Pomegranates are starting to arrive. They are an indulgence for me as they are a little pricey. From now until I get tired of eating them, I'll be on a quest to find the perfect one--juicy, sweet, but not too sweet and a little tart. It is kind of hard to get to the seeds, but the effort is worth it. The seeds are tasty and crunchy--what more could you want in a snack (and healthy, too). The other thing I like about this fruit is that no one else in my family likes them, so I don't have to share. You can click here to see pictures of pomegranates from bloom to fruit and then to the tasty seeds. It is really an interesting and pretty process.

Happy Bonza Bottler Day

Happy Bonza Bottler Day!!



Please go to the official site and check it out. They have recently updated it. Click on party pictures and see if you recognize anyone!

What I've Learned...so far

Before I begin, I need to add one more to our compilation:
I've learned that 'it' is going to happen, so you might as well smile and make an adventure of 'it'.

This has been a really hard list for me to come up with. I really like what everyone else had to say (all three of you). When I read them, I thought,"yeah, me too." So here's what I've got so far.

• Life is all about choices. Your choices determine what happens, from your attitude to your income--so choose wisely. Don't be afraid to admit you made the wrong choice, you can always choose again.
• Dishes, laundry and the house will wait; your kids and family will not. When I die, I want my family to say, "Boy, we sure had some fun times." Not, "We had the cleanest house in town." (not that the latter would happen.)

I was really hoping to come up with something profound. I think it all boils down to:

Life is as simple as you choose to make it. Love freely, laugh a lot and share that love and laughter with everyone around you while you can.

What You have Learned

After an overwhelming (thanks you two) response to this blog post I've finally compiled a list of the top 8 things you guys have learned so far in your life. Here they are in no particular order.

1. Nothing is too big for God.
2. You never know where life is going to take you and what you are going to find once you are there.
3. Life is never how you pictured it.
4. It's a small world.
5. Life is too short to try to please everyone.
6. Sometimes you get what you need, not what you want.
7. It's easy to hold a grudge, and a lot harder to find a way to forgive and move forward.
8. There's no place like home and no one like family.

I'm working on the list of things I've learned so far. Feel free to comment and let me know what you have learned. I hope we are all learning something every day and that we can learn from each other.

New Features

On the side bar you will notice several new features:

• Verse of the week--I'm attempting to learn a verse each week with my sister, feel free to join us.
• Click for Mammograms--Click the pink ribbon to go directly to the site to click to fund free mammograms
• Followers--click to sign up to follow this outstanding blog

Christmas Gifts

I'm always on the look out for Christmas gifts. I like to start shopping and planning early. Today while watching TV, I found the perfect gift, and it will work for EVERYONE in the whole family. It is called a Snuggie--it is a blanket that you wear. It actually looks like something I might like, but the commercial cracked me up.

• It is one size fits all--they showed it on adults and children. The kids looked like they might be missing arms, because the sleeves were so roomy and long.
• It's buy one get one free (you have to pay the additional processing fee--which is probably $19.95--I didn't catch that, the print was too small)
• Comes in 3 colors--aqua, red and blue.
• Walking around in their Snuggies, everyone looked a little like monks in a monastery . The people in the commercial even wore them to keep warm at a football game. Excellent idea, but again--monks at a football game is a little strange.
• I can see Robby and Cody now in their Snuggies. Let me know which color you want, guys.

If any of you already own a Snuggie, I hope I don't offend you. Like I said, it really looks like something I might like. Also, if you already have one let me know, I don't think anyone needs two. I'll have to get you something else for Christmas--maybe a Chia pet or the booklight that is free with the Snuggie purchase (gotta stretch those dollars).

Interesting Blogs

It is very easy to get caught up in the blogging world--sometimes I just like to roam around in it and see what I can find. This one has very interesting pictures and advertisements. It is worth a look.



On another note, apparently no one reads this but my sister which is going to make my idea of compiling a list of things we've learned so far a little difficult. So come on people, take a chance, leave a comment or drop me a line. I'm not asking for a dissertation or a novel, just a line or two. I'll even let you be anonymous when I post my list.

Mother of the Year

Just thought I'd let you know, I am definitely up for the coveted Mother of the Year Award. I know, you probably thought you had it in the bag, let me tell you about events this morning that will swing the vote for the award my way.

T.S.: Mom, when are we going to bake the Halloween cookies? (the kind with the pumpkin already on them)

Me: Let me eat breakfast first.

T.S.: No, we have to cook them now. That's what I'm having for breakfast.

They are baking as we speak. Yes, I let my child eat cookies for breakfast.
I know, you are petitioning now to have my "Mommy Button" taken away--I could hear the gasps as you read that I let my kid eat cookies for breakfast. Don't pretend--you know you've done it once or twice, too.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is breast cancer awareness month. This month your click for free mammograms counts DOUBLE. So what are you waiting for? Go Click.

What Have You Learned?

UPDATE: October 13--The last few times I have tried to go to the website mentioned in this post it has been unavailable. Sorry if I've led you on a wild goose chase!


Yesterday I ran across this website titled "Things I have learned in my life so far." You can illustrate the thing you have learned and send it to this site and they will post it. Very interesting and hard to stop looking at all of the things people have shared. (a few, but not many, were a little weird and not really for young eyes)

My favorite was, "My attitude, my choice and I'm choosing happy."

The sight got me thinking/wondering--what have I learned in my life so far? (have to check back for a future post for that nugget of wisdom)

What have you learned in your life so far? Please leave it in a comment or email me (to do that you must know me and already have my email address). I'll try to compile our own list of things we've learned.