very cool!

Last week, you might remember, I posted this cartoon....if you didn't watch it then watch it now so you can understand what I'm going to tell you about.....go ahead, I'll wait...






done laughing yet??

Last Sunday in Mass I handed each boy a pen and something to write on to help keep them QUIET....which did work pretty well overall.

I didn't pay a lot of attention to WHAT they were drawing so long as it was on the approved paper and not the hymnals.

until Sonshine asked me to draw him a jack-o-lantern.....which I did. Next time I looked down this is what I saw...



for some reason I don't think he was concentrating on the homily(sermon)

another weekend begins

I have 4 nights off in a row....lots of things planned to do.

Yesterday our priest came and blessed our house. After he left I went to sleep.....and slept from 4pm to 4am. crap. 1st day off and nothing done. But that did effectively switch me back to a day schedule.

So, goals for the next 3 days are as follows:

1) get to the gym 3 times
2) get swimsuit altered
3) get swimshorts made
4) do listening program 4 times with kids (this means twice today...)
5) get my snuggleometer back up to Full.


Something I've noticed watching the old cartoons.
Watch this and check out what Donald's doing at 6:46.....



Now, tell me, when's the last time you saw a cartoon character doing THAT??

by the way, Bugs and Daffy do the same thing...I just can't remember which cartoon it's in to post it.

And Sonshine told me in the car the other day..."I"m turning orange momma! I'm sick just like Bugs Bunny."

We might need to find some new cartoons to watch.....



but honestly folks, am I the only one who instantly smiles every time I hear the Merrie Melodies theme song start?

Come on now, fess up!

reading the classics

"There has been a great deal of soft soap talked about God for the last hundred years. That is not what I am offering. You can cut all that out."


C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I had a nice vacation!

Looky what we got in the mail!! a pillowcase for each of us. Sugars thought hers was a good blankie at first....

And Speedy's taken over the baby doll's basket....

I guess it's a really good place to sleep!

Now, check out my track-laying prowess here!

and I'm a much better track layer than I am a camera person!

Also, I have marked all 119 posts in my google reader as READ! So if you've posted something in the last week that you want me to see you'll have to send me a link to it!

So, how was your weekend??

get this one out of your head!

life at my house

ever been loved by a hooligan??

thoughts on chasing hooligans

and a fav!

for you

We interrupt this program.....

I have the next 6 nights off work.....and there are kids to snuggle, hubby to entertain (or vice versa) and QUILTS to finish!!

oh yeah...and a gym to visit...

Therefore.

It's a cyber break!
I'll see y'all next week, play nice while I'm gone now.

creativity....

Having played flute in about 5 zillion band concerts over the years I must say I just love this cartoon!



It's also one of my all time favorite cartoons for creativity.



Speaking of creativity....I was told yesterday morning "Look Momma, I"m a door!"

catching up

Gator-boy started riding Saturday! Here he is, his first time on Mr Bill!

The Picasso of train tracks?

He says the one closest to him is the King and the other is the Queen...think there's too many limbs on them? Guess again!!

These are the King and Queen of Hearts from the following Classic Disney cartoon!!

if you can't watch the whole thing, start at about 5:15 for the explanation.

Dinner is an Adventure!

We're heading out to eat as a family tonight.

I tell Sonshine where we're going as it's a new place to him.

He says, "Okay! We're going to CatFood Heaven"

No, "CatFISH Heaven"
"Okay Catfish Heaven!"


This place puts baskets of peanuts in the shells on the table and bowls of hushpuppies to enjoy while you wait.


So we order 3 childs plates (children plates??) one shrimp one catfish and one chicken strip. then give each kid some of each to try as it was all new to them. (We decided to branch out from the "grilled cheese and french fries" rut.)

Here are the results:

Gator ate all the fries, played architect with the peanuts. Refused everything else.

Sugars ate 1 peanut, about 15 hushpuppies, some fries. her shrimp and catfish. (yes, she's MINE)

Sonshine ate about 5 peanuts but when he threw the shells on the floor (as the signs on the walls tell you to do) he would periodically throw a nut down there too and JUST COULDN'T stand to leave em on the floor. No matter how much we tried to convince him to just get another from the bowl as the floor is DIRTY. He unequivacally stated "I do not like puppies!" Then ate his shrimp tail first. (note to self....remove the tails BEFORE giving shrimp to the kids!) When I asked him if he was gonna try his catfish he said "No! That's for cats Momma! Catfish is for cats not boys and girls!!"

hmmmm seems I missed some culinary education along the way..............

teas and gyms.

Well, there were 4 Princess bags left after my tea party. Each bag held a teabag of each type of tea offered at the party. This means I have quite a bit of tea to drink! So far I'm about through the fruit flavors and thought I'd do a little review.

Very Berry - hmmmm, fruit....tea....odd. but nice

Black Cherry Berry - yummmmmy!!

True Blueberry - yummy

Peppermint - well, okay in a toothpaste sort of way...maybe if I add chocolate it'll be more like the Andes mints I L.O.V.E.??

Raspberry - goes well with chocolate....lots of chocolate.

Country Peach Passion - tastes fuzzy. don't ask me how, but it does. This isn't odd though, I prefer Nectarines because just about anything with peaches tastes fuzzy to me.


Now, my long term readers will remember that this is the THIRD year that I've made a weight goal. I started in Jan of 08 wanting to lose 50lbs. Well, you can see the weight ticker on my sidebar and know that the pounds aren't leaving very fast. Therefore, hubby and I have decided to (once again...) join a gym. I'm heading over there tomorrow to see about signing us up.

Which means that the following email that I just received is quite timely!

enjoy!


A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM

Dear Diary,For my New Year resolution this year, I purchased a week of personal training at the local health club. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

MONDAY: Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god-- with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!! Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines... I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

TUESDAY: I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY: The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members.. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other crap too..

THURSDAY: *&&&#$%@! was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late-- it took me that long to tie my shoes. He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny witch to find me. Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine-- which I sank.

FRIDAY: I hate that #$%^@** Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the darn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?


SATURDAY: Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel...

SUNDAY: I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year I will come to my senses and pick a New Year resolution that is fun-- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Please let this be a trend that sticks around!

Princess Tea Party!

Before we party, we must rest....and any old spot will do!!



Well, I was too busy being a Princess to take pictures of the party....so you'll have to trust me it was waaay fun!

Here's the set up.....


First up is our Princess Tea Table.

Fear not, every Princess had a napkin, they were drying when I took pictures! The blue and gold china was my Mother-in-Law's, the white with flowers is my wedding china.

What's a tea party without tea??

Mary Ann was the winner of our Princess Prize....which was this basket and all the tea that was left after the party (there was a LOT left!). Enjoy Mary Ann!!

On the "sideboard" we have our Princess Tea fixings. I borrowed Lori's "Queen" of the Stash tiara for my Princess labels..

The china in the center that looks green with flowers was my mother's.

and of course Princesses can't dirty their hands with a trashcan!!

Other than me, there were 5 Princesses and 4 toddlers (none of whom were mine) in attendance. A bunch of wonderful food and desserts. And one who tried to "crash" the party.....

It was remarked on that the front of my house looked like a Honda Odyssey used car lot! haha.

After everyone left she came back......even though I told her the tiara was too big for her!




If you haven't had a bunch of friends over lately you should! Enjoying the company of a group of friends is food for the spirit.

A big thank you to all the ladies who came to my Princess Tea Party! I enjoyed each of your company enormously!

Things that make me laugh

I'll admit I'm easily amused, and little things will often crack me up....


Like when someone's dog on farmville gives me a patch of tall grass.

Or when my friend from Canada gives me a brown goose.

Or when Walmart has 15,000 types of coffee pots and grinders and Mr Coffee tea makers....but nothing so provincial has a whistling tea kettle.

When my 2 year old repeatedly tells me "yes dear" when I tell her to do something.

When my 4 year old comes up out of the blue and plants a kiss on my cheek...then wipes off the one I give him....which of course means I have to give another...which he wipes off..so I give another....and he wipes...till I finally get one planted he either can't reach or he gives up.


When my 6 year old randomly starts singing. Boy loves to sing....but he doesn't always get the words right...and sometimes he moves back and forth between songs in the weirdest medley you can imagine! Occasionally even putting the words to one song to the tune of another....currently it's all Christmas Carols...

affection and teamwork

you'll find both in this video.


listen closely and you can hear Gator tell each train "bye bye choo choo" after he gives them a kiss.....

and apparently when I took Sonshine to the back of the house to do his Listening Program the team fell apart...and all 3 trains ran off the tracks and under the sofa!!

still fragmented....

So, have you ever felt like this???

by the way, the 18 wheeler is called a "choo choo truck" and the yellow SUV is a school bus. gotta love 2 yr olds!

I have decided there's just nothing quite as much fun as having an autistic 6 yr old backseat driver!! "RED LIGHT!! Stop Momma!! STOP!!!" ~~~~I will, once I drive the rest of the 1/2 mile to get up to the intersection!! And I don't even want to TALK about trying to make a right turn on red!!

Sugars' 2 week post op check went well. Hearing tested normal. Here's to a healthier 2010!

Mom, "I think you're being goofy."

Sugars, "Yes! And Donald Duck!......and Mickey Mouse Momma!!"

Fragments of a crazy life

Created by Mrs 4444, Friday Fragments are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard. Collect humorous observations, "Heard" items, and other small gems and put them together in a Friday Fragments post.


Nope, it's not friday yet...I'm either a little late or way early....I prefer to think of myself as early.



I wasn't ready to be done with Christmas yet. But for some reason Sosnhine has decided it's TIME to take everything down. Wouldn't let me procrastinate another day. Now my living room looks empty....sigh. And suddenly I feel LATE in getting the Christmas Cards out. Better get that done ASAP!

"Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer, has a very shiny nose....and if you ever saw it....you would even say it BLOWS." ~~Sonshine

Momma, "Finish eating your cookies so you can get down from the table"

Sugars, "Yes dear, eating cookies"

How is it that the child in need of eye drops crys and fights while Sugars, who no longer needs them, is standing there asking for "drops in eyes Momma! want drops in eyes!"

I passed a car on the road the other day. While sitting next to them at a long light I got curious...so I counted how many air fresheners they had....I counted 3 from the rearview mirror, 3 from EACH back seat window and 1 from the back windshield. All I could think of was, "I wonder if they have bad gas?"

10 points to the person who can correctly identify what's in these pictures....as named by Sugars

Mass Adventures...the childless edition

Here's to cleaning out the draft section in the New Year!


I saved this blank post with just the title back in October. I thought I would do a follow up to these ....three.....posts....telling about the difference going to Mass now that the boys are in Religious Education and Sugars is in the nursery while hubby and I go to Mass alone.

I thought it would make a nice funny post about rubbing shoulders with the hubby and actually listening to the homily (sermon).

But other than the occasional observation of my fellow worshipers. I'm forced to say that Mass without hooligans is....well.....a lot less entertaining.

Without the antics of autism and the snuggles of used-to-be-toddlers-now-entering-schoolage Mass is just,.........., Mass.

There is definitely something to be said for "Be still and know that I am God." And worship is always fulfilling. But when the kids are gone there's a void. And on the rare occasion that I go to Mass alone there's a loneliness that almost hurts.

If you've ever seen the "ribbon" for autism it's a coloful puzzle.





When I had kids my life went from Black and White to Technicolor. They've colored my life, both in and outside of the lines. And there are times when being black and white can be restful to the eyes and mind. But there are also times when you miss all those colors and the picture just isn't as pretty.

I am so very grateful for my three perfect children.

They have, after all, taught me how to love, how to laugh, and yes, how to cry.

I look forward to the time when my husband and I can sit in a pew at Mass with our 3 children, their spouses and oodles of grandchildren!


Till then, I'm working on relearning how to "Be still and know that I am God."

Happy New Year's!

I hope that everyone enjoys this fresh beginning.
Make a few goals and appreciate every blessing.

My 2010 goals are

a) lose those last 30 lbs
b) finish the crafting To Do List.
c) play the piano more often
d) increase exercise
e) get at least 16 kisses a day. from 4 different people!