The Oven Man Commeth

Damn! Damn! Damn!

It was going to cost nearly $400 to get that MFer fixed. Yeah, right. Thanks, but no thanks buddy.

We went to Sears and got a new oven which will be delivered on Saturday. I'm so tired of cooking on the stove top and in a crock pot. I want to heat a frozen pizza in the oven just like all the other kids on the block get to do.

Our appliances are white, but we decided to switch to black. So all the other majors will still be white until they go to the big appliance house in the sky. I wish we could afford to replace everything at once (but hell, if we could afford *that* we would have gone with all stainless).

E

Party...Scout Style

Tonight we went to a Den Meeting/Birthday Party. OMG it was so much fun. I mean we did the usual Scout thing - Pledge of Allegiance, Cub Scout Promise - and then we were served an authentic Philipino meal. It was YUMMY!

I think we should do that more often, you know have people over to experience different foods and cultures. We have a very diverse little den. We could do it.

The cake was as chocolate as chocolate could be so no complaints on that front. The boys got to do a treasure hunt for their goodie bags. One of the best parts of the evening was the adults (okay, me and Papa - some of the parents could stand to loosen up a bit) sang karaoke. We rocked.

E

A Boy's Life

My goodness what a great Saturday. Papa took the boys fishing all afternoon. They came home smelling of dog and lake water. Doesn't get much better!

They're really enjoying casting. Not necessarily fishing, but getting that bobber right where they want it is such great fun they can hardly stand it. I guess it's a guy thing.

I stayed home and organized my craft room.
Different strokes...

E

Light A Candle For My Oven

The damn thing has died. It comes in three's so first the dog, now the oven. What is next?

We've had the oven for nearly 9 years so I have a feeling we have to get a new one. I think it could be fixed, but they're probably going to tell me some laughable number to get it running again.

Any ideas for stove top cooking until the Sears guy can get here NEXT week?

E

A Little Bit of Irony

I'm looking for a Bible cover for the Negotiator. He wants a very specific kind. He wants it to be camoflauge and say something about the Lord's Army. So I enter this information into Amazon.com and I get not only the Bible cover I'm looking for, but also this little gem.

What a giggle.

Or maybe it's just me.

E

Dangerously Crafty

This crafting business is dangerous. It can turn your head around like in that Exorcist movie.

Every time I get an e-mail or a catalog from a craft related business I get all gung-ho on a hobby. Now I'm a scrapbooker through and through, but I sure am a fickle woman when it comes to other crafty arts.

This morning I caught a glimpse of my sewing machine and tackle box of sewing supplies. Then I received an e-mail about Simplicty patterns being on sale. Then yet another e-mail containing a coupon for material. I think to myself, I really should get back into sewing.

They saw me coming, didn't they?

E

Brrrr

Holy. Crap. It's. Cold.

I'm a Texan and I'm not used to this weather. I don't know how you people in the North and Midwest deal with this shitty weather for months at a time. I would be on mega doses of Prozac if I had to deal with this more than a few days.

I'm tired of being in the house. I'm tired of being cold. I'm tired of the break in my routine. This cozy cold weather was fun, but now that I'm made all my cold weather food, I'm pretty much done.

The kids like that they've had two snow days. They'll be plenty ticked in May when they realize that just means school goes a little longer in Spring. I'll wait for the school to deliver that piece of bad news.

-E

The boys are catching snowflakes on their tounges. Que cute!

That's me and my good sense getting the hell out of the cold. The only good thing about this weather is that I finally get to wear my pink Uggs.

In Memoriam

Zoe

April 1, 1995 - January 13, 2006

The dog died. This was the last picture taken of her before we took her in to the vet. We knew she had been struggling with The Big C, but she'd been content. This morning she couldn't walk, couldn't eat and couldn't drink. We knew it was time to let her pass.

My Cheating Heart

I'm being a lazy blogger and posting the answers to one of my emails. Feel free to steal it, but if you do, let me know so I can peek in on your answers!

It's all about Friends...

1. What is your occupation? Wife, Mom, MDO instructor/coordinator.

2. What color are your socks right now? White.

3. What are you listening to right now? The damn dog barking.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Penne pasta with pesto sauce, grilled chicken, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes.

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Burnt orange ;)

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Mandi.

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Very much.

9. How old are you today? 36

10. Favorite drink? Coffee, coke zero

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? football

13. Pets? Zoe, Chula & Hurley all mutt-Chihuahua mix

14. Favorite food? Chips & salsa

15. What was the last movie you watched? "Tortilla Soup".

16. Favorite day of the year? The first sweater-weather day of the year.

17. What do you do to vent anger? talk, walk, write nasty e-mails that I never send

18. What was your favorite toy as a child? My tea set from England (I still have it).

19. What is your favorite -- fall or spring? fall

20. Hugs or kisses? hugs

21. Cherries or Blueberries? cherries

22. Do you want your friends to email you back? Of course

23. Who is most likely to respond? Diane

25. Living arrangements? With Papa, two boys and 3 dogs.

26. When was the last time you cried? Tuesday because my husband did a really sweet thing for our boy…Good daddy!

27. What is on the floor of your closet? shoes

28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? I don’t know.

29. What did you do last night? Went to my knitting group and talked about toilet planters.

30. Favorite smells? The smell of coffee brewing, the smell of my sons after they’ve been playing hard.

31. What inspires you? The Word.

32. What are you afraid of? Missing out on my kids growing up.

33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Oooh, spicy!

34. Favorite dog breed? Dachshund

36. How many years at your current job? 15, 8, 4 respectively

37. Favorite day of the week? Friday

38. How many states have you lived in? 2

39. Favorite holidays? Cinco de Mayo

-e

Excitement

Today is my anniversary.

It's been 15 years of marital bliss, but it feels like 5 minutes.

Under water.

-e

Happy Birthday, J-Boy

He turns 8 years old today.

It's just not possible! He was just born, wasn't he?

Time is passing so quickly. I love the independence that having a growing child brings, but I am missing that baby boy! -E

I Made It Myself!

In light of the new year and doing our best to keep things tidy, The Critter has taken to cleaning his own room. Today he came to me all excited that he made his own bed. I guess a little more practice is in order.

-e

New Years Goals

I've decided not to do the whole weight resolution. I'm just not there yet. Still I have so many other things I can resolve to do so here goes...

1) To stay on budget. Last year I created a budget - what a concept! This year I resolve to manage our money and be good stewards of what has been given to us.

2) To ride my bike. I finally got a helmet so I can set a good example for the kids so now I have no excuse. Of course, I haven't committed to a specific time or place to ride so I'm not so sure how this resolution will go.

3) To scrapbook at least once a week. I have tons of materials and tools and I need to use them. To that end I will not buy any more supplies (see resolution #1) until at least April 1 (Q2). I hope to get some friends to scrapbook with me during the day while the kiddos are in school, but we shall see. Either way I will commit to getting my pages caught up.

4) To have people over to our house. This goes to making relationships in the real world. As much as I value the people I "know" online I have to make an effort to keep in touch with the people in my world. There are people I'd love to get to know better and that means face time. It is inconvenient to create relationships, but no mom is an island so I gotta reach out.

5) To work on feathering my nest. I have a list of goals and projects I want to accomplish. I have little line item in my budget and Papa and I have identified one home improvement project a quarter. The first goal is to replace 2 light fixtures and add an outlet to the front of the house.

6) To drink more water. I'm really bad about living on coffee and diet coke so I must make this change!

Allrightee! There's my plan in blog. Anyone else want to share their resolutions?

-e

Friday Five: New Years Eve

Okay, I borrowed this from Kristy.

1) Big Party or stay at home alone?
Stay at home with the boys.

2) Stay up to watch the ball drop?
Go to bed!!!

3) Will you make any resolutions?
They will be post on here 1-1

4) Is Dick Clark a good host for New Year's Eve?
Yes, buy Ryan Seacrest isn't bad either.

5) Do you know the words to Auld Lang Syne?
The first verse. The rest I'm just mumbling under my breath.

-E

I'll Just Wear A Hat

Lately The Negotiator has taken to wearing hats rather than brush his hair. What is up with that? I tell him to go brush his hair, but he acts like this is just SUCH an imposition on his time. Maybe it is to him, but c'mon, kid, we all crosses to bear.

I'd love to find a compromise, but there doesn't seem to be a middle ground between his idea and mine. I know eventually I won't have a say so, for now anyway, I win.

-E

Puzzling

We got a 500 piece puzzle on Christmas Eve. At first Papa and I weren't all that jazzed about this project, but it was a picture of a train so The Critter's happiness served as our motivation. Well, I'll be damned, but it turns out puzzles are kind of fun! The four of us will sit around for a little while, try to put it together and have sparkling conversation.

So a week later we are still working on this puzzle and it's still fun, but we all want our kitchen table back. We've actually been eating over the puzzle pieces at meal time. This method isn't working anymore.

I am spending the morning cleaning the kitchen and thinking about where to move all 500 pieces in various stages of completeness and NOT send these guys into a tizzy about ruining what they've worked on so far. And where the hell do I store this while they're working on it? I don't want it on the dining room table either, but at least we don't eat off of that one as much as the breakfast table. It seems like it would be a reasonable compromise for the time being.

Of course, they're talking about actually buying a puzzle table. Yeah, right!

-e

Bah Humbug!

It's getting to be that time of year when I'm completely overwhelmed. The irony is that I'm actually at the end of all of our holiday commitments. This is really the time of year I swear, "never again!" Of course, that sentiment doesn't stick.

I will say have have scaled back this year in all things and that despite the busyness of the season I haven't been totally stressed out. I've tried really hard to keep perspective and pray for guideance on what is really important.

Sorry I haven't been around much, but I'm sure you are all just as crazy this time of year. Here is hoping your world slows down a bit also and we can catch up soon!

-e

Which Reindeer Are You?

I am...

You Are Blitzen

Always in good spirits, you're the reindeer who loves to party down with Santa. Why You're Naughty: You're always blitzed on Christmas Eve, while flying! Why You're Nice: You mix up a mean eggnog martini.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Go find out who you are and let me know!

-e

My First Time

Until today I was an IKEA virgin.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Really, there are no words. My head is so full and my heart sings at the joy that is that store. Two of my friends who had given up their IKEA innocence before me took me to guide me through. We couldn’t get through all of the offerings today. We had to rush through the market place and didn’t get to check out the As Is section. I will furnish the boys room with stuff from IKEA.

My shopping list was so long, but I had to whittle it down to only what I was going to take today. I totally felt the value for my dollar. I can't wait to go back. I want to go back now.

This is my new happy place.

The Mystery of Boys

My little boys are showing their genetics.

Oh my goodness these kids cannot sit still. That is of course unless they are in front of a video game. Otherwise they are perpetual movement. They can't sit still to eat, to do homework, not even to sleep judging by the way they toss and turn to get comfortable.

Yesterday we were at the dentist and they talked her ear off. Apparently they had been saving questions up for her since their last visit. She rocks. She patiently listened and answered all of their questions. She even chatted them up about spit and other good boy stuff. I was horrified. She looked and me and reassured me she understood. You see, she too has boy offspring. We looked at each other knowingly.

They've really gotten to the age where they prefer to hang out with Papa. They love me and want me to take care of them, but the other stuff is all about Dad. They go walking through the parks and creeks looking for bugs and reptiles. They climb trees. They build forts. They have burping contests. All activities of great fun, I'm sure, but I'm going to pass all the same.

I'm reading two books right now that I'm hoping we'll help me understand these male creatures that have invaded my home. So far I'm really caught up in Kids, Parents and Power Struggles. I'm also starting Bring Up Boys. Papa just finished that one and said he got a lot out of it. Any other suggestions?

-e