Here I am

FINALLY!!

So, anyone miss me this week??

I haven't felt well for about a week and the "storm" (read really cold with a bit of icey roads--enough to shut down all of Dallas) didn't help. Somehow or another I lost Monday entirely. Which I didn't realize till I looked at the calendar on the door and asked hubby what day it was as I had a very important MD apt on Monday morning...and he informed me it was Tuesday. From then on it's gone downhill. I missed the Tues goal post. They cancelled my RCIA class Tues night due to foul weather. I missed the Wednesday Hero post. I didn't look at my Google Reader at all Mon, Tues or Wed...we won't even discuss how full THAT became!

THEN, holy jehosifat would you believe I missed my Thesaurus Thursday post?? oi vey!

So! As I still feel sniffly and snotty and really needed to get my feet back on the ground before next week, I managed to get myself cancelled from work tonight. I was sposed to work Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri before having 5 nights off....so having this Fri off (2 nights off in a ROW!!) is a real nice thing to help me get my act back together before tackling next week's work schedule!

First in getting my act together was a long day's sleep!! aaahhhh, that felt good.
Next I rescheduled that MD appointment for Feb 11th--sigh
Then I sat here and read all the posts in my Google Reader. If you suddenly got a comment from me on a post you wrote Monday, well, now you know the backstory.
Now I am writing my posts for last week. This is going to segue into the Goal Post once I'm done rambling down my winding rabbit trails and I will get Thesaurus Thursday up later tonight.
Once that's all done I will again be oriented to Person, Place and Time and able to tackle the week ahead as it comes at me.

I have found that with having 34 blogs in my Google Reader I will frequently find about 50 posts a day waiting to be read. Having all these to read and still wanting to devote a portion of the night to either working or sewing has led me more than once to shorten the comments I leave per post. In many cases I will just leave a one word comment. This is more difficult than it sounds. So, I think that for my birthday I will have to ask for a Thesaurus. I mean, how many times can I leave "fabulous", "terrific" or "woo-hoo" as a comment? Tis just too boring. I should make a 1 word comment contest! I'll work out some rules and get back to you.

In the meantime, let's get our goals straightened out here. Remembering that it is now Saturday morning and I only have to Tues night to get them done my goals are...
1) start on my and Sugars' matching Easter dresses
2) post that award post that's been sitting in blogger forever
3) finish my reading for both last week's and this week's RCIA class.
4) make a list of all our VHS tapes that we want to replace with DVDs
5) make a book wish list for hubby for my upcoming birthday.

As for last week's goals....
1) frame that cross stitch! Did this before I got lost in time.


First Down! Ball's on the 40

2) finish the 2 posts that I have saved as drafts Done! First Down, Ball's on the 30 (this is how I've had something for you to read this week!)

3) work some more on Sugars' quilt Done! I have all 21 nickel sized yellow cirlces basted for the flower centers and 11 of the flowers basted...First Down, Ball's on the 20

4) get started on the Easter dresses. Fumble.

5) exercise 3 nights (sooner or later I'll actually get up to THREE nights a week, so far I'm averaging 1-2) Pass Intercepted by whatever time warp it is that I landed in this week. I'll get back to this for next week.

So, what are YOUR goals this week?

PAM!!
How're your goals coming? Here's the best I can do with what I know you've done.
1) draw plan for pictures and shelves
2) sweetly ask hubby and sons to hang pictures and shelves (the key word here is SWEETLY)
3) mark birthdays on new calendar and toss old one
4) begin to sort through papers to file vs papers to shred making 2 stacks
5) Spend time cheering up your Dad and Aunt who have both recently been released from jail. (my Crazy Grandaddy called the hospital jail whenever he got home we'd get an email saying "paroled again!")

Thesaurus Thursday

Welcome to Thesaurus Thursday, 2009.

This game has brought me great joy and taught me many new words! I'm glad to continue it into this new year. Welcome to all newcomers!! Take a minute and peruse our "game rules" here, then come back to this post and join in for big fun and enormous laughs!


Are you ready??

Last week's official definitions were:
mydriasis - excessive dilatation of the pupil of the eye, as the result of disease, drugs, or the like.

muzzy - 1) confused; muddled. 2) dull; mentally hazy
ie, ME for the last week!!

Congrats to Smarty Pants Henrietta and Lori!
Lori in South Dakota said...
muzzy--how I feel in the morning before a pot of coffee, especially if I've been out the night before.

Henrietta said...
Muzzy, lovely old English word, another of my mother's favorites. Probably the closest thing in the modern day USA is fibro 'brain fog'. Very common 'morning after the night before' syndrome also found in medical interns after a tough rotation.


Congrats to these Silly Geese:

AZ, who frequently hides in the weeds, (you need to start a blog!) and Airborne Poppa aka Pops. They win for having the absolute SILLIEST comment conversation this blog's seen in awhile!! love it.

AZ said...
Mydriasis: This is easy, "mydriasis" is a medical term to describe the condition of buttocks of furnace room workers, as in "Jeebus, can you get me some lotion for bottom I have terminal mydriasis!"

ABNPOPPA said...
AZ stole my idea on midryass. I am protesting! Technical Foul, Flag on the play!

I so upset I am just wuzzy

Pops

AZ said...
ABNPOPPA sorry, but I visited your blog and noticed your from the Midwest, I on the other hand live in Mydriasis Central aka Arizona. I lived through our infamous 122 degree day, I know mydriasis first hand, I lived through it! :0)


Thanks! y'all cracked me up!!

APPLAUSE!!
APPLAUSE!!!
APPLAUSE!!!!


The words for this week are:

back matter
balkline



For those of you who are new this year, all words and definitions come from my 1992 Random House Webster's College Dictionary. I do not pick proper nouns or words that I know the meaning of.

For all winners, the Awards will continue to be found on my sidebar to pick up at your leisure.

Now don't forget to leave your comments for the new words!

Mightymom Interviewed.

I'd like all of you to meet Lisa at Are We There Yet?....Now, this is a different person from Linda of Are We There Yet? --two moms, same blog name, go figure--

Anyway, Lisa has 10 kids. And you really should go and read this post where she gives us a bit of insight into each of her amazing kiddos.

At any rate, Lisa sent me 5 interview questions for a meme going around. Here they are...with my answers.


Lisa said...
Here are your five interview questions, as requested:

1. Who is the saint that you think is the best model for your temperament and station in life? I haven't studied the saints enough to really say. But I did pick St Monica awhile back as one I wanted to emulate because of her following her wayward son praying for him....which after 17 years of prayer led to his being baptised.

2. What are three adjectives you would be most pleased to hear used to describe you? patient, encouraging, funny

3. What is the hardest day you ever lived through? The first day we heard there was something wrong with the sonogram on our oldest, and we were to show up at the PeriNatologist's office first thing the next morning....then there was every day after that over the next 4 months up till 2 weeks after his birth, when we realized that he was okay.

4. Describe your "signature" outfit.
jammies with a sweatshirt over the top and a blanket on my lap.

5. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be and who would you like to find waiting for you there? a cruise ship in warm waters with my hubby

Clutter Meme

Pam has started this Clutter Meme and I agreed to join in!

For starters, this is our family organization. Each person is color coded, this is how we know what to do each day. January wasn't too busy actually, wish I'd had a pic of December!


Next up, as requested is our computer desk. On top of the printer is a collection of papers that is too important to throw away, but not important enough to file. On the shelf under the desk is all that usual computer related stuff that is needed on occasion. I could make it look neater, I suppose, but everything that's there belongs there.


This is my sewing area. In the chair resides my purse, by flag bag and my lunch bag, along with my coat. In otherwords, everything I take to work with me. On the sewing machine we have a plastic bag with the 3 Christmas gifts I still need to hand out, Sugars' quilt and material to finish it, and a cloth book in need of repair. When I have more projects in the "being worked on" stage this gets messier. I should say that before New Year's all those books on that little shelf were piled on the lamptable or next to the computer. On New Year's I cleaned off that shelf to have a handy place for these books that we read regularly. Also in that shelf is a bag that I use to carry the white notebook, the 2 copies of This is our Faith, Bible, and the Catholic Catecism back and forth to RCIA classes every Tuesday night. See my dictionary that I use each week for Thesaurus Thursday??


Now we move into the kitchen where the real mess begins.
Here is our "catch all, clutter central" I didn't know Subvet was gonna straighten this a bit while I slept tonight. You can see our cell phone (we only have the one) his belt and asst pocket items. My name tag, alcohol swabs, pens and asst pocket itmes for work. Our jar of change, a couple prayer books we grab when we have a minute. Some Christmas cards that were returned to sender...our latest Netflix movies...and I don't know what all else. Yes, those are two bottles of sunblock and two calculators there. You can also see the yummy chocolate cake he made tonight while I slept...what a NICE thing to wake up to!!


This is major clutter area number 2, but we've been working on keeping it cleared off. Here we have the foam airplanes and their launchers that are for outside play but can't be stored outside, the playdoh toy that is for table play only. I have a delimma with this toy. Once it is assembled it no longer fits in its box. Which makes it difficult to store. ALL TOY COMPANIES NEED TO REMEDY THIS PROBLEM. You can also see our bill-box (oh yeah, today was payday, need to get to that) and today's mail that hubby has left for me on the table in my "spot". There's a couple Southern Living magazines hanging out there as well as a flyer from church for things we're deciding on going to....ya know, clutter.


I took a picture of this cause I think it's funny. Along with Subby's apron, bags of nuts, spices, chopping board and cookbooks we have a bubble maker. I think it got put there when it needed cleaning...I'm not sure. I probably should put it away but I don't know where it belongs....maybe on top of the frige??


And here's the other corner of the kitchen and the reason I've only lost 1 pound this month!
Here you can see the 2 pie keepers, both currently empty (after all, there's the cake!), tub of homemade bread, tub of chocolate chip cookies, and tub of chocolate chip muffins--breakfast of champions! In front is my lunch for tonight, homemade chicken&rice soup and Dr Pepper.


So now I'm gonna tag some of my favorite photographers with this meme, Pinky, Linda and Ellen! Take a pic of your clutter areas/desk WITHOUT STRAIGHTENING THEM and let us know what you have hanging around......

meme

Subvet tagged me for the 7 things about me meme.
I changed it up a bit and now I give you
da da da duuuun:

7 things that drive me crazy at work

1) when I walk up to you and say "I'm going to listen to your lungs" then proceed to place my stethoscope in my ears and on your chest. PLEASE BREATHE. deeply if possible. I cannot tell what your lungs sound like when you are holding your breath.

2) when you hit the call light and the voice comes in the room saying "can I help you?" TELL THEM WHAT YOU NEED. If you need pain meds then say so, if you want food or drink say what you'd like. The reason that speaker was invented is to save the nurse the time and trouble of going to your room, finding out you want a sandwhich, going to get your sandwich and then returning to your room with it. Consider this your very own personal drive through. Do you go up to the speaker at McDonald's and say "I'd like something to eat please." ?????

3) if you tell me you're hurting, and I offer you pain meds that you then refuse, you are not allowed to whine about being in pain. BE QUIET OR TAKE YOUR MEDS.

4) I realize that it gets lonely and boring sitting in a hospital room, but please remember. I am a nurse...not your new best friend...I have 5 other patients to see before midnight, meds to pass out and butts to wipe. If you just need to talk, PLEASE CALL SOMEONE

5) For goodness' sake, DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR TAKING A DUMP. wiping your butt is part of the job and we have the best air freshener known to mankind. I'm just glad that your intestines are working properly.

6) I cannot read minds. Please do not lay there hurting quietly all night just to tell me at 4AM "I've haven't slept a wink" If pain is keeping you awake TELL ME! Doctors are paid a LOT of money just so that I can call them in the middle of the night and get you medicine.

7) If I have just given you medicine to help with the nausea and vomiting that you've been complaining about, DO NOT ASK ME FOR CHOCOLATE PUDDING. The answer will be no, hunger and nausea do not happen at the same time.

Now, please be nice to your nurses and remember these the next time you go into the hospital.

We all will thank you.
:-)

Thesaurus Thursday

Welcome to Thesaurus Thursday, 2009.

This game has brought me great joy and taught me many new words! I'm glad to continue it into this new year. Welcome to all newcomers!! Take a minute and peruse our "game rules" here, then come back to this post and join in for big fun and enormous laughs!


Are you ready??

Last week's official definitions were:

zygodactyl - 1) (of a bird) having the toes of the foot arranged in pairs, with two toes pointed forward and two turned rearward, as woodpeckers. 2) of or pertaining to a zygodactyl bird 3) a zygodactyl bird.




Congrats Smarty Pants Henrietta!


zymurgy - the branch of applied chemitry dealing with fermentation, as in winemaking or brewing.


Congrats to these Silly Geese:
nancy said...
A Zygodactyl was a Cajun dinosaur, known to feed almost exclusively on crawdads in the bayous of Louisiana.
Zymurgy is a word that refers to the collection and study of the petrified droppings of the Zygodactyl. They are being touted as a possible alternate energy source.

Lori in South Dakota said...
Zymurgy---surgery on your zym

But Lori,....what's a zym????




APPLAUSE!!
APPLAUSE!!!
APPLAUSE!!!!


The words for this week are:

mydriasis
muzzy



For those of you who are new this year, all words and definitions come from my 1992 Random House Webster's College Dictionary. I do not pick proper nouns or words that I know the meaning of.

For all winners, the Awards will continue to be found on my sidebar to pick up at your leisure.

Now don't forget to leave your comments for the new words!

Goals

I just love getting flowers for no reason! Hubby is a Good Boy!


Last week's goals were:

1) Go to the quilt store. Done! Yeah!! I bought tons of fabric for upcoming projects!! I now have all the fabric and batting for my sister's quilt, fabric for the 3 baby blankets for my co-workers...plus some extra to have onhand, and fabric, patterns and notions for me to make matching Easter dresses for me and Sugars!! Now, I need each night to last about 5 hours longer and I can get all this done!!
First Down, ball's on the 40.

2) restring the yoyo bears. Done! So far so good. It's been 4 days and they haven't managed to break the crochet thread yet!!
First Down, ball's on the 30

3) exercise 3 times during the week on nights off. I managed to get 2 nights in there. But the third I'd forgotten to take my heart meds and didn't wanna risk exercising without them!!
Second Down, ball's on the 23.

4) work on Sugars' quilt. Done. Actually I've worked quite a bit on it! I picked out, traced and cut flower templates for the applique work. and I've got 17 of the needed 21 nickel sized circles basted which will become the flower's centers.
First Down, ball's on the 13

5) frame cross stitch. Fraid not. I forgot to measure the silly thing before making my pilgrimage to the store on Monday. So it's still in the closet waiting to be measured and framed.
Fumble! defence takes the field.

Now, for next week my goals are

1) frame that cross stitch!
2) finish the 2 posts that I have saved as drafts
3) work some more on Sugars' quilt
4) get started on the Easter dresses
5) exercise 3 nights (sooner or later I'll actually get up to THREE nights a week, so far I'm averaging 1-2)

So, what are YOUR goals for the week.

Yes, you DO have them, even if you don't write them down as "goals". Do you need to go to the store? Got a book you want to finish? Papers to grade or a room that needs cleaning?? These are goals. It always helps me to have a list, otherwise I get a few spare minutes and I just sit with a book. This way I get some time and think "now what do I want to do?" I pull out the list and decide which one I want to work on right then. :-) And it's soooooooo nice to be able to mark em off as DONE!

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Cindy

Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike A. Monsoor
29 years old from Garden Grove, California
September 29, 2006


In April 2008, Michael Monsoor (who had already been posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions in a May 9, 2006 incident, when he and another SEAL pulled a wounded team member to safety amidst gunfire) was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His funeral, attended, in the words of President Bush, by "nearly every SEAL on the West Coast," was held on October 12, 2006 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. During Monsoor's funeral service, as the casket was taken from the hearse to the gravesite, fellow SEALs lined up in two columns to slap and embed the gold Tridents (a pin awarded for successful completion of SEAL Qualification Training) from their uniforms onto the top of Monsoor's coffin.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike A. Monsoor's Summary Of Action.


"The procession went on nearly half an hour, and when it was all over, the simple wooden coffin had become a gold-plated memorial to a hero who will never be forgotten." - President George W. Bush

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Toddler Love

What do you do with a dolly you love??

Think back now.....how did you show your undying affection to your favorite stuffed animal??

Was it like this??






I restrung the yoyo bears using crochet thread that I'd used to make Subvet's rosary. So far they have survived being thoroghly loved by the 2 hooligans and hooliganette. If they sucuumb to the affection showered on them....well, I still have more string.

:-)

You Might be a Mommy....

originally posted at Extraordinary Mom's Network 9/15/08

If you have to make an intentional effort to take a shower at least every 48 hours … you MIGHT be a Mommy.

If you go out for a dinner alone with your husband, hear a kid scream and have to look over just to make sure it isn’t one of yours … you MIGHT be a Mommy.

If you no longer put “laundry” on your to-do list because by the time you get it folded, the hamper is full again … you MIGHT be a Mommy.

If you’ve ever been so tired you turn off the hot water in your attempt to warm up the shower … you MIGHT be a Mommy.

If you’ve ever written your shopping list in crayon … you MIGHT be a Mommy.

If you’ve worked hard to change all your swear words to repeatable phrases such as “God Bless America!” … you MIGHT be a Mommy.

If this is your idea of multi-tasking …



Yes, you MIGHT be a Mommy.

If you can come up with more than two potential reasons for a child’s “emergency bath” … you MIGHT be a Mommy.

(This one’s for my wonderful husband)
If you’ve ever been awakened from much-needed sleep by the sounds of an emergency bath…you MIGHT be a Daddy!

Picture Pages

Linda's having a contest!! The grand prize winner of this contest will receive a 20" x 16" matted print of whichever photo you like best valued at over $25.00. The runner up will get three greeting cards with their choice of photos valued at over $12.00.



As I just LOVE her photography I'm trying to WIN the contest!! And, if one of you won her contest I'd be just thrilled for you!!! Follow the link to get the totally complete rundown of all the ways you can get chances entered to win....but HURRY cause it ends on Monday night. Blame my work being busy for the short notice. Follow this link to see all her photography!!




Now, please pay special attention to rule number 3 of the contest

3. If you write a post about this contest with a link to Mouseski's Photographic Musings and refer others over to this contest (who are not on my blogroll), I'll toss in another five entries for you and one entry for them if they leave a comment but the person coming over needs to make sure to tell me that you sent them in their comment. For each person who comes over from your post, you get one extra entry into the drawing.

That means I need YOU to go HERE and leave a comment saying that I sent you. Then we'll both get entered!! Don't forget to go HERE and see all the beautiful pics! I dare you to try and pic a favorite!!



I don't know what facebook is...but there's something about it in the rules...so I'm mentioning it too.

Now, I want you to know that all the pics I've put in this post are from her blog and are NOT on her Mouseski page...ie, THESE ARE THE REJECTS PEOPLE!! Go and see the REALLY good ones!

Another Finished Project!!

YEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!!!







The Kleenex box is so you can see how big it is.






I have finally finished the never-ending cross stitch!

I feel like singing the Hallelujah Chorus while running through the streets with streamers flying high!

Let me tell you about this cross stitch.

I can't remember when I bought it as a kit. Let's just say MANY years ago. Then it sat in the closet. And sat and sat and sat sat sat sat.

When I was put on bedrest Feb 2, 2005 while pregnant with Gator-boy. I needed something I could do while watching Sonshine play in the floor so I pulled out this cross stitch and started working on it. Well in the month before he was born I did the bear's head, that was all. Then it got put away and stayed in hiding till Jan 12, 2008 when I started working nights. The place I was working at then was just opening it's doors, it was slow at night, and they were real sticklers about not going online at work. So I pulled this out to work on. Well, here I am, a YEAR later and it is finally finished.

whew.

Considering how long it spent in a hoop (4 years!!) I'm amazed it isn't more puckered and lumpy!

I shall find it a frame and hang it in my bathroom soon.

:-)

Thesaurus Thursday

Welcome to Thesaurus Thursday, 2009.

This game has brought me great joy and taught me many new words! I'm glad to continue it into this new year. Welcome to all newcomers!! Take a minute and peruse our "game rules" here, then come back to this post and join in for big fun and enormous laughs!


Are you ready??

Last week's official definitions were:

twee - affectedly dainty or elegant [1900-1905; appar. reduced from tweet, mimicking child's pron. of SWEET]. Congrats to Smarty Pants Henrietta!

twayblade - any of verious terrestrial orchides, esp. of the genera Listera and Liparis, having two nearly opposite broad leaves. Congrats to Smarty Pants Linda!


Congrats to these Silly Geese:
Lisa said...
twayblade - n. The edge of a knife dulled by cutting vegetables on a metal tray, as spoken by a three-year-old.
f.i.: "Dat knife won't cut my samwich, Mommy; it has twayblade."

AZ hiding in the weeds said...
Twee: When the spot weld on your tweezer breaks, the two halves of a tweezer is known as a twee. By industry standards a tweezer is made up of the right twee and the left twee (or in Australia the top twee and the bottom twee), the spot weld holding the two twees is know as the "zer" hence the name tweezer.


APPLAUSE!!
APPLAUSE!!!
APPLAUSE!!!!


The words for this week are:

zygodactyl
zymurgy



For those of you who are new this year, all words and definitions come from my 1992 Random House Webster's College Dictionary. I do not pick proper nouns or words that I know the meaning of.

For all winners, the Awards will continue to be found on my sidebar to pick up at your leisure.

Now don't forget to leave your comments for the new words!

Last Chance!!

Later tonight I'll be picking winners for this week's Thesaurus Thursday so if you haven't entered NOW IS THE TIME TO DO SO!!

We have some new faces and competition is FIERCELY FUNNY! (funnily fierce?)

use the link above this post to join in today!

I'm not

but if I were...

this is the pic I'd enter in the I heart faces kids photo contest!



don't ya think??

Taking stock (back on the 50 yd line)

Last week's goals were:

1) update the Thesaurus Thursday glossary with 2008's words.
Got through March 4th, still working on it. 3 yd gain, Second Down, ball's on the 47

2) repost here all the posts from EMN that are my original work.
Done! You will see them come up over the next several Sundays. 10 yd gain, First Down, ball's on the 37

3) tell you a funny story or two....as soon as I think of them
well I thought the Chinaman comments were funny.... 10 yd gain, First Down ball's on the 27

4) finish that cross stitch (HAHAHA!--have to say it though)
DONE!! oooo aaahhh ooo aaahh, you can see it on Friday! Completed Pass for a TD!! Mightymom does a TD dance in the endzone!!



(look familiar??)

5) get to the quilt store...my sister's apartment hunting, getting out of mom and dad's place for the first time (she's 25)...and we know what THAT means, right??
nope. Didn't make it.



let's see, next week's goals.

1) Go to the quilt store.
2) restring the yoyo bears
3) exercise 3 times during the week on nights off
4) work on Sugars' quilt
5) frame cross stitch

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Deb

Capt. Ed Freeman
Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)


While reading the info on Cpt. Freeman, I found that I couldn't have put it better than this.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Taking the Hooligans to Mass

this was originally posted 9/1/08 on Extraordinary Mom's Network.


Taking the Hooligans to Mass

It's quite the adventure. Let me tell you about it.

My kids all have developmental delays. Speech, socialization, physical, sensory integration, think kinda like mild autism and you'll have the right mental picture.

For starters, our church is one great big echo chamber. I’m telling you, the squeaking of my shoes echoes in there! Now, I spent 3 months trying to teach Sonshine to say “go” back when he was almost 2 and only had 4 words. I will remind myself of those 3 months of prayer and struggle to teach him to talk every 6.7 seconds from the opening of the church doors to the pulling into my driveway.

So, would you like to join us on a trip to Mass??

We go through the same thing every Sunday. It starts outside the doors with Mom announcing “We are now going into the church, this means you need to be QUIET! Do you understand?” A rousing chorus of “Yes Ma’am” a grin from Subvet and OFF… WE…… GOOOOOOO!!


Due to sleep schedules (I work nights and the kids nap) we go to the 10AM Mass…..the most crowded one…the one where if you don’t get there early enough, you’re gonna be standing in the aisles. Well, as you can imagine, trying to get through Mass without the visual and physical barriers of the pew just isn’t going to happen so we always make sure to get there early….Plus, we need to be up close so the kids can see what’s happening. This helps them stay focused and attentive (more or less). So all in all we get to church about 30 min early. Which is just about the time that the Family Rosary starts up.



Sonshine, (at a louder than normal volume) “Look Mama! It’s JESUS Mama! YEEEEESS It’s Jesus on the Cross Mama! Jesus with Booboos on the Cross Mama!!”

Mom, (in a frantic whisper) “yes dear, now we need to be quiet and take our seats come on”

Did I mention the words ECHO CHAMBER?

Everyone, (in prayerful mumble) “Hail Mary, full of grace..”

Sonshine, (in normal speaking voice…and 5 words or so behind everyone else) “Hail Mary full of grace, it's Jesus Mama!! Jesus with BooBoos!! Blessed are thou among women Mama!! I'm saying Hail Mary Mama!! and it's Jesus and GOD on the CROSS Mama!! with BooBoos!! “

Mom, (still with that frantic whisper) “very good, now say your prayers QUIETLY please”

This continues until the rosary is finished, he’s always about 4 or 5 words behind…always with interjections…always at a volume sure to make echoes in the near empty church.

He’s even learned to cross himself now…of course he does it with his left hand (not right) and smacks himself almost hard enough to leave a mark, but still!.....


Future interview with Child Protective Services—“Ma’am, your son has bruises on his forehead, shoulders and chest…” “Well, see...um…..we’re Catholic and…..um……..”

Then Mass starts.

Very early in the Mass Father Tim blesses the children and sends them to the chapel. This is good, Mom takes both boys and we join the other kiddos in our child oriented lesson. During which my 2 sons studiously attempt to unweave the wicker on the chapel seats. Raise their hands to volunteer to read the scripture (Sonshine is –at 4 years old—4 feet tall, so I have to keep saying no….sorry…they can’t read) and generally attempt to focus on whoever the teacher is that week.

I do know that Sonshine listens, even though he doesn’t appear to. For example, one day the story was about courage. One part says that it takes courage to tell your parents when you do something you shouldn’t, such as breaking a glass. Now, all during the story the boys are..um…shall we say otherwise occupied. Generally being wiggly, noisy, and distracted.

Then we rejoin Mass at the beginning of the Eucharist (Communion).

Mom, (once again) “OK boys, we’re going back into church it’s time to be quiet. If you’re not quiet we will have to leave before it’s over. Do you hear me?”

Boys, (cheerfully, with big smiles) “Yes Ma’am”

Deep breath, quick prayer…...or two….

The congregation is usually singing as the kiddos (and this mom) come back in. We get to our pew, Subvet and I exchange thumbs-ups to say that Sugars was marginally quiet during the Homily and the boys did not succeed in destroying the chairs in the chapel….this week.

We’re half way there.

We kneel, the church gets quiet as Father Tim begins the Eucharist.

Sonshine, (LOUDLY) “Look Momma!!! It’s the Body and Blood of Jesus Momma!! YEEEESS Momma! The Body and Blood of Jesus Momma! Jesus with BooBoos!! Jesus Died Momma and God put him on the cross with Booboos Momma!!!“

Mom, “yes, now be quiet or we will leave!”

Remember 3 months of begging God to allow this child to talk???

A few moments of quiet pass during which Gator-boy (y’all better pray for my sanity once he starts talking) starts getting fidgety. Out comes Momma’s purse. Some women carry makeup and wallets in their purses….I carry……..





Church appropriate (ie, quiet) entertainment. (if ever you need such items…the calculator and tape measure work the best)

Then begins the weekly wrestling match. WWF has nothing on Mightymom vs the Hooligan Duo in the pew. Trying to teach them to kneel has been a challenge, to say the least. Usually finds me with a boy on each side of me (toy in hand) on the kneeler with a handful of the backs of their pants and pull ups. This way I can “apply gentle pressure” should they decide they don’t want to kneel anymore….

(I’ve never faced the folks who sit behind us….better not to know) I will say that since we started going to Mass, my shoulders, hips and back have gotten much stronger. (It’s all about counting your blessings, folks!)


Sonshine, (when do they learn to whisper?) “Momma! You broke the glass momma!!”

Mom, “WHAT?”

Sonshine, “YEEESS! Momma! You broke the glass and was COURAGE Momma!!”

(Oh, the story book…..got it)

Mom, “ssssssshhh, it’s time to be quiet, see Daddy’s gone to get the Body and Blood of Jesus, we have to be quiet now”

Sonshine, (even louder than before) “Have to be quiet Momma! Have to be quiet and break the glass Momma! And Jesus has Booboos Momma!!!”

Mom, “hush now or we’re gonna have to leave. “

Sonshine, (WAILS) “NO Momma!! Wanna see Jesus!! Momma Wanna see the Body and Blood of Jesus!!! PPPPLLLEEEEAAASSSSEEEE!!!!”

(Oh yeah….worst mom of the year award coming my way.)

Mom, “we’re almost done. Please just hush for a few minutes”

Sonshine, “sssshhhh Momma.”

On come the announcements….Sonshine (of course) has a comment for each picture they project on the wall to go with the announcements but by this time I’ve given up and am just trying to grab up all our stuff so we can make a quick getaway. I sincerely hope the poor guy who usually sits in front of us is hard of hearing. I figure since he doesn't bust out laughing or show signs of irritation he MUST be!!

Father Tim says those blessed words “Mass has ended, you may go in peace”

We head out the door, load the clan in the van. Subvet looks at me and says “Well, we made it through another one! Shall we stop at Sonic on our way home?”
You’d better believe it! Momma needs a treat!


Thank you Dear Lord
For these precious children
For the special encounters we have with them
For the lessons they teach us.
Thank you for their ability to talk…..even when they talk too much.
Amen.

OH Yes!!!!!

What military aircraft are you? F-15 Eagle You are an F-15. Your record in combat is spotless; you've never been defeated. You possess good looks, but are not flashy about it. You prefer to let your reputation do the talking. You are fast, agile, and loud, but reaching the end of your stardom.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Ummmm

In response to the videos I posted of Sonshine exercising with Richard Simmons

Linda said...
Well that explains why you aren't motivated - you probably aren't dressed properly! First you need to strip down to your undies and then go for it!


My dear Linda....that would be a Richard Simmons Fear Factor clip!! Let's NOT go there!!!

:-)

We were getting dressed that morning while Richie played and my memory card kept running out of space. So I took one short video...ran and deleted a bunch of stuff then took another...while in the meantime the kids continued to get undressed.

Did look rather funny though huh??


So this morning the car wouldn't start. We found this out AFTER we woke all the kids up at 5:30AM and got them all dressed so we could go to early Mass due to me needing to go to work tonight. Guess what?? No Mass, No Work, 3 kids up and raring to go EARLY with nowhere to go. Not Fun.

Tomorrow we will tow the car in to get it fixed and get ourselves a rental and all will be back on track. sigh, except our finances....last paycheck we bought a new Hot Water Heater.

Good News.

I am actually getting work done on this cross stitch! I'll be catching up with all y'all's new posts during the week, time for me to work some more on my goals.

:-)

Me, Sonshine, and Richard Simmons

OK, so some nights I lack motivation to get up and boogie with Richie.

So I go looking for inspiration.........



I mean come on! If my 5 year old can totally enjoy it!!!



Yes, this qualifies as Physical Therapy for the boy.

Mean
Old
Mommy
!!!!

Well, it's cold outside so PT option #1 is out and I didn't have any tape handy so PT option #2 is out....gotta come up with SOMETHING ya know!

His favorite is doing "The Swim" (which by the way is GREAT for his upper body and coordination!!) and we all "Jitterbug" to Rockin Robin together!

Emailed Comments

I recently got this email from Linda at Are We There Yet?

Sigh ... so, I left a comment on Thesaurus Thursday and only had to do the verification thing twice - woohoo!

However, the comment that I TRIED to leave on the one about word verification, I tried for over 20 times (even logged out and logged back in) and it would never take! So ... here is my comment and perhaps you can add it on for me!

Yeah, I get stupid stuff like myself from time to time and then go through and delete it as need be. Some people just have no respect, I tell ya!

I'll try not to whine or complain about the word verification but if my visits are fewer in between you'll know why! Some days are better than others on the word verification but I never EVER get it to go through on the first time!

Good thing I like ya!


If you, like Linda have trouble with the comment verification you can always email me the comment and I'll put it up on the post you specify. My email is this.mightymom at yahoo.com it's on the profile page in case you forget.

Typos aside, can anyone figure out why her computer has such trouble with the word verification??

Thesaurus Thursday

Welcome to Thesaurus Thursday, 2009.

This game has brought me great joy and taught me many new words! I'm glad to continue it into this new year. Welcome to all newcomers!! Take a minute and peruse our "game rules" here, then come back to this post and join in for big fun and enormous laughs!


OK, here's a hint folks. Don't read the comments until AFTER you post your guesses!! Then you won't have trouble coming up with a definition cuz someone else's silliness gets stuck in your head! Feel free to leave multiple definitions for either or both words. And if you were going to say the same thing someone else says, then SAY IT!! I have never made the rule that only one person can claim any particular definition or prize...Silly or Smarty.

Are you ready?? Got those funny bones all warm and limber??

OK.

The words for this week are:

twayblade
twee



For those of you who are new this year, all words and definitions come from my 1992 Random House Webster's College Dictionary. I do not pick proper nouns or words that I know the meaning of. (yes, participles dangle all over my house...deal with it).




For all winners, the Awards will continue to be found on my sidebar to pick up at your leisure.

Now don't forget to leave your comments for the new words!

Sleep??

but Mom! (says Sugars) There's just so much to say!!

Wednesday Hero

Airman Melissa Pyle


Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) Airman Melissa Pyle mans a jet blast deflector station on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the Gulf Of Oman. Theodore Roosevelt and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Have Every Right To Dream Heroic Dreams. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Word Verification.

It's back ON and I don't wanna hear ANY complaints about it!!

Here is why...

I just got 11 comments all at the same time (ie computer generated). This is not the first time I've been spammed like this since I took off the verification.

Now, so you'll fully understand the problem I have copied each comment here and the post it was written on. They've all been deleted now.


On the "I love fog" post

贵港热线休闲游戏中心 said...
Although from different places, but this perception is consistent, which is relatively rare point!

On "Help"

淮安棋牌游戏中心 said...
Although there are differences in content, but I still want you to establish Links, I do not know how you advice!

On "2008"

二八杠扑克棋牌游戏中心 said...
Good Blog, I think I want to find me, I will tell my other friends, on all


On "Goals?"

淮安棋牌游戏中心 said...
Although from different places, but this perception is consistent, which is relatively rare point!


On "What Santa brought to me"

我爱斗地主 said...
It seems my language skills need to be strengthened, because I totally can not read your information, but I think this is a good BLOG

On "I have to say.."

名城苏州游戏中心 said...
After reading the information, I may have different views, but I do think this is good BLOG!

On "Let it snow"

姜堰23张 said...
Although we have differences in culture, but do not want is that this view is the same and I like that!

On "Show and Tell/Finished Project"

我爱麻将网 said...
It seems a little more than I need to check the information, because I was thinking: Why does not my GLOG these things!

On "Merry Christmas!"

常州升级 said...
Some of the content is very worthy of my drawing, I like your information!

云南信息港游戏 said...
I will pass on your article introduced to my other friends, because really good!

On "Advent Calendar" (the last one)

常州升级 said...
See you in these things, I think, I started feeling good!
Personalized Signature:贵州信息港休闲游戏中心,我爱掼蛋网,重庆游戏中心,金游世界视频棋牌游戏中心,南通棋牌游戏中心,贵港热线休闲游戏中心,淮安棋牌游戏中心

Mr Turtle

You'll notice over there that Mr Turtle has found some new surroundings to wander through. I got on my sadly misbehaving scale yesterday and have restarted the ticker with my current weight...heading toward the same goal.





Quizas mi paso es lento, pero yo llegare!

(y'all translate for each other...my beeper just went off again.)

What was I doing?

Oh yes, GOALS.

Goals for the week....well, I'm thinking....

Here's the deal, starting on New Year's Eve I
work 3 (Wed, Thurs, Fri)
off 1
work 2 (Sun, Mon)
off 1
work 2 (Wed, Thurs)
off 2
work 2 (Sun, Mon)
off 1
work 1 (Wed)
off 1
work 1 (Fri).


THEN

I get 4 days off in a row.

So I don't really forsee myself getting to accomplish much in the way of craftiness for this week. I can, however, work on the old blog here during slow moments (like now). Which means that my goals this week are gonna be more blog oriented.

1) update the Thesaurus Thursday glossary with 2008's words.
2) repost here all the posts from EMN that are my original work.
3) tell you a funny story or two....as soon as I think of them
4) finish that cross stitch (HAHAHA!--have to say it though)
5) get to the quilt store...my sister's apartment hunting, getting out of mom and dad's place for the first time (she's 25)...and we know what THAT means, right??

Check back next Tuesday to see how well I did.

And don't forget that Thesaurus Thursday makes it's 2009 debut the day after tomorrow!! Are you warming up your funny bones??

Inspiring

I saw this on CNN in a patient room at work last night.

I love fog.

We once had a cat who would walk right in front of you, tail straight up. He would keep just enough ahead of you that you couldn't touch his tail. If you sped up so would he. If you slowed down, he slowed down...always keeping just barely out of reach.




This is how fog is.



It can come to you, but you can never go to it.



For every time you think "just a little bit farther and I'll be in the fog"



You realize that it's still just out of your reach.



Things hide in the fog



Only to be revealed little by little as you approach



Distance and depth are skewed what looks so far is really just a few feet away.


Things are blurred at the edges


So that you're left with only a hint of what is in the mist


Fog envelopes you, like a fleece blanket


It muffles sound and mutes colors


And leaves you wrapped in the stillness with only those things right in front of you to focus on.




I love the fog.

HELP!

Remember these?

I used hand quilting thread, double thickness.

THE HOOLIGANS BROKE IT, inside of about 4 hours.

Any suggestions for something stronger that isn't stretchy like fishing line? I'm wondering about Pearle Cotton thread or the crochet thread I used to make Subvet's Rosary...providing the cats don't get it!!

aarrrrggghh!!

Help! I need somebody
Help! Not just anybody
Help! you know I need someone
HEEEEELLLLPPP!!!

2008

Instead of resolutions I made goals last year.

2 of them to be exact.

Goal #1 was to lose some weight...I never really named an amount..just get started losing.

Well, as many of you can see from Mr Turtle over there. I have lost weight. Just about 15lbs. Not as much as I'd like, but some all the same.

Goal #2 was to finish some of the projects of my To Do list so that I could move them to my To Done list and shout To Dah!


As always seems to happen, my To Do list grew as I went. But here it is now.




To Dah!
17 projects To Done

13 still To Do.

I've been postponing this post till I got ONE more To Do To Done. ....

If it weren't for work and sleep it'd be To Done by now. Maybe in the next couple of days..if so I will UPDATE this post.

Only 1 project was given up for a lost cause and that was mending an embroidered sweater than on inspection was too far gone to mess with.

Pictures of and Information about 13 of the To Done projects can be found here

Another one can be found here, which is the hemming of Gator's pants.

The other 2 To Dones are:

mending Subvet's bathrobe



and making Subvet a Rosary for our Anniversary (which the cat has since chewed through rendering it useless)



Of the 13 To Dos still on the To Do list, 7 of them have been started and are laying around in a bag or tub awaiting finishing. The other 6 are either just a pattern, a bunch of uncut fabric, or an idea sitting on the shelf in my head.

So, while neither of my goals for 2008 were completely absolved, I have made great progress on BOTH of them!

For 2009 I will keep the same 2 goals and hope that at least one of the two can be absolved by 2010.

What were your resolutions or goals for 2008?? Did you meet them?? And for 2009????

Come on now, fess up!