stuff and nonsense.

I can't wait to get home! I have tonight off...work tomorrow night then I'm off for 5 nights. sigh.
sure wish I'd gotten SOMETHING done last weekend but I didn't.

Well, except I did make it to the gym twice. Went 8.5 miles in 53 minutes.

1) Gonna try to beat that time this weekend, we'll see.
2) I also need to finish Gator boy's footprint block and
3) put together Easter baskets, not to mention
4) get a referral for a MD appointment I have on Monday and
5) replace my beloved trowel, which the dandelion as tall as Sugars broke in half.

So, what is your favorite Easter tradition? What are your Holiday plans?

We haven't made any definite plans as of yet, I'll let you know when we do

interesting diversion...

enjoy

goals? nah.

Last weeks goals were:
1) give extra snuggles and tickles to Gator boy Thursday on his birthday. - DONE.
2) get to that gym 3 times....this time my goal is 8 miles! - only made it once last weekend but did make the 8 miles.
3) PARTY! - whew-boy! if you missed the pics scroll down a post or two
4) Write something funny for this blog. - well, maybe not funny, but I felt like the searching for pepper post was much better written than the drivel I've been putting out lately
5) There are 2 prayers I want to memorize so I'm going to be working on that this weekend. - well, not exactly memorizing them, but I have been SAYING them more.

This weekend I'm off Friday (tonight), Saturday and Tues nights which is a crazy and screwed up schedule that doesn't really give me a break so no goals for this week.

I will say that I made it to the gym tonight and pedaled 8.5 miles in 54 min....my next hurdle will be to go FASTER! Anybody got some pompoms? I'm gonna need all the cheerleaders I can get! Come on Ellen B....I've seen those pictures!

Easter is in EIGHT DAYS!!! I gotta get some baskets made! And that Easter Bunny better be bringing me some SWEETS AND CHOCOLATE!!

Finding the Pepper

Wanting to be like the grownups, my kids will frequently ask for "salt and pepper" on their supper. What they don't know is that I just wave the salt shaker over their plate, then give them plenty of pepper. I do almost the same with my plate too. Not too much salt, but gimme that pepper! Without pepper the meal is just bland. The last two nights at work I was disgruntled that I couldn't find any pepper. There's a salt shaker, 45 salt packets and an entire BOX of salt...but no pepper anywhere.

So tonight I got smart(er) and packed our box of pepper with my lunch. (hope you didn't need it honey) result was a much tastier lunch.


I've been a bit disgruntled by a few things lately. The future of hospital nursing as I see it looks bleak. I've lived in our current house longer than anywhere else in my life....and wanderlust is starting to set in. I'm dreaming of moving places...from Alaska to Maine to Lafayette to just across town....just pack up and go. Thinking about different ways to use my RN that will be less effected by the socialization of medicine in our country. I'm once again searching all over for the pepper. And so far all I've found is a bunch of salt. Plans that don't pan out, more secure jobs that only pay half of what I'm getting now. I'm searching in places I've already looked.

But I want to get smart(er). I want to find that simple, yet ellusive, solution that will provide financial stability for us in the years to come.

Perhaps I should ask St Anthony for help. I hear he's good at finding things....maybe he'll help me find some pepper.

Gettin down with the Mouse

Well, the biggest hit were the games....which I have no pictures of because I was too busy herding hooligans at the time.









Check out the frowns....when the big screamfest that preceeded ChuckE started Sugars and Gator both got scared and I had to take them back to the games till things quieted down....then when we brought them back to the table they cried.......till we put bits of chocolate frosting in their mouths.....


yes, chocolate does cure everything!


Gator really likes blowing out those candles! He blew out the match before the guy got our candles lit...then he blew out the candles at the start of the song...then he tried to blow them out before Sugars had a chance, would have too if not for Daddy's hand over his mouth.....





It was a fun party, but I came home hungry and tired.



And here's what to do when the 9 inches of snow breaks the stems on your blooming hyacinths......

my kitchen smells waaayy good right now!

we had a good weekend. Hope you did too.

sigh

our clarion call this morning....

woke up to "it's snnnooowww Momma!! snow! the car has snow and the bushes have snow and daddy's boots have snow and the tunnel has snow and....." sigh. no decision yet on if the birthday party will be canceled....sigh.

These pictures were taken at 8am this morning....





see my poor hyacinth under there? There are 4 of them but this is the only one I could see.....


9 inches in my front yard and it's still coming down!




The roads around here are mostly clear just slushy and there's no ice on my driveway, even in the spots where we ALWAYS get ice so I'm hopeful about our party....so far.





It's now 10:30am and the snow has mostly stopped falling. The sun is out. Our roads have stayed clear of ice, just with snow/slush so hubby's going to check out the main roads before we make a decision on our party....

COME ON SUN!!

by the by..

high tomorrow?? 62
Tuesday?? 74

I'm not the happiest camper

Trip to the eye-ball doctor

So when the lady calls us out of the waiting room, Sonshine runs up to her and yells, "I want some glasses please!!!" She cracked up, said most kids fuss about getting them, not asking for them....


Turns out he's far-sighted and I was told to get him a pair of OTC readers for close up work.



So I did.




His head's so big and round that the women's fit him best....which is why the lenses look too big for him...but they don't slide so that's what I went with.


Now the other two kids are bawling and throwing fits because THEY want "a turn with the glasses"......


GO FIGURE!!

a note on that baby blanket.

It was way easy to make, just 2 pieces of flannel sewn together, the colored squares are printed on the fabric!

:-)

and hubby was a Senior Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy, he served 22 years on Submarines.

A Finished Project!

Here's the baby blanket I made for a co-worker! I have to be at work tomorrow during the day for a skills checkoff so I'm going to try and get it to her then

:-)

On to the next sewing goal - the footprint blocks for my Mommie Quilt!


TEA TIME!




This Tea Party is hosted by Ruth at Celebrate Friendship. Stop by and tell her hi!

Today I'm going to show you one of my hubby's cups. The logo seems to fit my mood lately as regards a) getting to the gym and b) my weekly goal list!




My tea is black cherry with a spoonful of sugar

I'm excited about our upcoming party. ALL of our immediate family will be there as far as I know. Even my siblings!!

When the well runs dry remember a rainstorm is right around the corner. :-)

goals, birthdays and.....

the makings of a great weekend!


as tonight is my last night of work I shall take score of my goals this week.

The goals were:
1) go to the gym 3 times, ride 7 miles. - well, I only made it once...but I rode 7.5 miles! 1st down, 10 yards.

2) make the baby blanket - it's almost finished! Just one more finishing touch and it'll be done. 1st down, 10 yards

3) get to the contact and bra stores - got my contacts!! was able to see Alice in 3D without wearing two pairs of glasses YES!, bras I'm still working on. 2nd down, 5 yards.

4) work on Gator's footprints - I did work on them...just a little, but some. 1st down, 10 yards

5) finish The Screwtape Letters - DONE!! I highly recommend this book! CS Lewis lays out every conceivable way that man wanders from God. I plan on reading it again...only this time with a highlighter and notepad in hand!
TOUCHDOWN!


Now, for next week.....

1) give extra snuggles and tickles to Gator boy Thursday on his birthday. he missed being a St Patrick's Day baby by 2 hours and 44 min. To see some of his first pictures wander this direction.

2) get to that gym 3 times....this time my goal is 8 miles!

3) PARTY! in celebration of Sugars', Gator's, and my birthdays we're going to meet up with family at Chuck E Cheese...where a kid can be a kid...and so can a Mom! hahaha. Someone, Anyone please call me and remind me to take my CAMERA with me and take pictures so I'll have a fun blog post come Monday. A good time to call will be Sunday at about 11:30am. the party starts at 1pm.

4) Write something funny for this blog. I don't know if you've noticed (I have), ye ol blog's not as funny as it used to be. I mean, I've written some rather hilarious (at least to me) stuff over the years....here's hoping the well isn't quite dry but rather just waiting on a thunderstorm!

5) There are 2 prayers I want to memorize so I'm going to be working on that this weekend. (For you Catholics out there they are the Novena to St Philomena and the Hail Holy Queen. -- yes, yes, yes, I STILL don't know the Hail Holy Queen. primarily because I always FALL ASLEEP before I finish my Rosary!!)


So, there you have it! I am also in the process of compiling a list of fun places to take the kids in the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex for this summer. I'd really like us to have an adventure every other week. :-)

what's your plan for this weekend??

FINALLY!

My Christmas present finally made it here from Italy!



I don't know if I should blame the Italians who made it, or the Italians who shipped it..(Italians are not known for rushing things)..but this is the longest I can remember waiting for a Christmas present!


Well worth the wait! Thanks Subvet! You're the greatest.

FINALLY!

weekly obligatory cuteness.

been a good weekend so far.

Lunch with my MOMS friends at Rockfish was GREAT! Gator voluntarily ate all his popcorn shrimp!!

The only down side was Sugars stealing my gumbo! I mean she took my spoon right out of my bowl every time I put it down!


Then!!

Saturday we saw Alice in Wonderland in IMAX 3-D. It's been a long while since I enjoyed a movie so much! Of course, hubby and I decided they emptied the Hollywood Insane Asylum to make this movie. Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Danny Elfman, Helena Carter.....not to mention Lewis Carroll himself.

It was weird and entertaining and visually rich.

I can't wait till it comes out on DVD to see it again!

friday fragments the home sick edition

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.




yes, they spent all day in their jammies.....more than once!




thanks to Aunt Sheryl for the Fantasia coffee table book...the kids are really enjoying looking at the pictures before, during, and after watching the video...over, and over, and over. This beats Bugs Bunny hands down for the Mommy Satisfaction Award!






the necessity of many loads of laundry can make for strange bedfellows....







a bunch of cards can be fun for an hour in the hands of 3 hooligans.....not that I understood their "game" but they were happy so who cares?





"Look Momma! I'm a Card Boy!"




Momma says, "Come on let's clean this mess up before Daddy gets home." (from adoration)
Sonshine says, "NO Momma! We have to wait for Daddy to get home to clean up so we can be a TEAM!"

goal post.

ah well, you know how my weekend went...so the goal report isn't good, but for the record, here you have it:


1) finish my shorts - well, I got them done except for the bottom hem...tried them on to find out that the pattern vs real sizes was WAAAYYYY off. these shorts are about 2 sizes too small! So I'm calling them done for now and setting them aside till I lose enough weight to wear them!

2) go to the gym 3 times - I only made it once...but I rode for 6.5 miles!

3) work on Gator's footprints - some work done, not much...but some.

4) make a baby blanket - not yet.

5) get to the store for more contacts and bras (not at the same store!) - not yet.


and there you have it. I was intercepted and sacked by illness!

For next weekend I am off Thurs, Fri, Sat, and Sun.

The goals are:
1) go to the gym 3 times, ride 7 miles.
2) make the baby blanket
3) get to the contact and bra stores
4) work on Gator's footprints
5) finish The Screwtape Letters

tune in next week for a play by play game report.

friday fragments.

friday fragments.

here we go again...

we interrupt this blog's usual silliness for an illness recap....

March 1st everyone gets diagnosed with strep
March 5th Sonshine starts with vomiting and diarrhea
March 8th Gator starts with vomiting.....


And here I sit, it's 1am on my night off and I've got both boys up watching Toy Story 2 while we wait for their waterproof mattress covers to finish washing so I can send them back to bed.


we don't seem to be out of the woods yet as Gator's still having the heaves every now and again poor kid.

hopefully this is the end of the illnesses, because I'm stressed and tired from all these ickies.

Think I'll go take a nap!

Gotta love her!

thanks to Adrienne!

my olympic sports

So, I had Friday and Saturday nights off....

based on my award winning performances of these two nights I hereby proclaim two new Olympic Sports.


Linen Laundry Marathon.

Friday night Sonshine got a stomach virus. I do believe that over the course of that night I washed every piece of Linen in our house except what was on My and Sugars' beds....

Ended up with the boys on the floor of the living room from 2:30am on laying on an old comforter and pretending to sleep. while I scrubbed thier mattress. Which meant that the only goal I worked on was Gator's footprints as I could do that in semi-darkness.


Sleeping Stretches.

I'm not sure if it was the thunderstorms moving in or just the crazy schedule I keep...but I ended up sleeping well for 6 hours straight Saturday during the day...I got up and went to choir practice and Mass, then when hubby went to bed at 10pm I fell back asleep on the sofa....all dressed and ready to go to the gym HA! HA!...and slept till 4am. I'm gonna blame the cat that was sleeping on my stomach the whole night! She held me down and forced me to sleep!!

Now everyone's off to Mass and I have a little less than 2 hours to myself before they come home and I need to go back to sleep so that I can function at work tonight. In deciding what to do with that 2 hours I've come up with yet a third Olympic Sport that I could take home at least a bronze in....Perpetual Procrastination!!




In case you missed it...Diane had this to say about my trip to the store this weekend...

Just don't reverse the contacts and the bras. You'll have some miniscule clear falsies that aren't very supportive and some very unhelpful blinders. Probably get some strange looks as you'll be the one feeling your way around with saggy boobs, lol. ;o)

I haven't made it to either store yet, but I will keep this in mind when I get to go!

Thanks for the smiles Diane.

goal post for a strange weekend....

Well folks.

It's time for goals. Since I was sick I did absolutely NOTHING last weekend. Big thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. Sugars and I did have a good albeit quiet day. This weekend is going to be strange. I'm off friday and saturday, go back to work on Sunday night, off Mon, then work Tues and Wed. So my "weekend" will be fri, sat, mon this week.

For this weekend my goals are

1) finish my shorts
2) go to the gym 3 times
3) work on Gator's footprints
4) make a baby blanket
5) get to the store for more contacts and bras (not at the same store!)

I've been losing ground the last few weeks on these goals. Playing defense against a fierce opponent. Let's hope for a touchdown this weekend!

"What are you doing here!??"

One of Sugars' most Frequently Asked Questions.

Can you take a guess??

hubby's station.....

my station....

beignets!!!!! Hubby's first attempt, and they turned out delishous!

Sonshine gobbled his way through 3 in record time....Gator licked all the powdered sugar off his before tasting...and Sugars decided they were best eaten upsidedown.

I didn't think to get a pic of her shirt BEFORE I brushed off most the sugar.

And for the obligatory Birthday Cupcakes for School I tried some decorative icing for the first time......

That was pretty fun, think I'll get green icing to try for Gator's school party in a couple weeks! It was waaay easy if you're thinking of doing any cake decorating. I got theBetty Crocker decorating icing in the "cheese whiz" can. It comes with 4 different tips and some brief instructions. much less messy than I remember from my mothers parchment paper and tip days of my childhood with a similar (although not as talented) result!

I'll have to ice some cakes and practice with these things! This was fun. Taking a cake decorating class is on my list of things I want to do when the kids are older and life has more breathing room.

Thanks to everyone who wished us happy birthdays. It was quiet and without fanfare (that comes later) but was very nice. My hubby gave me Bon Jovi's new CD "Circle" yippeee!!! Which reminded me that I should have added Jon Bon Jovi to my pop quiz list for his birthday is also March 2. Although I'll take my 1975 to his 1962...just sayin'.

So, to year 35 I say....bring it on!

I know I know

Yes, Diana, you're right. That award post published TWICE before I got around to finishing it...this time I just left it up.

I'll finish all that stuff out sometime this week, for right now we're all down with strep throat and I'm not feeling much like thinking.


in other news.

Bless Their Hearts (which is Southern for "those morons!")
the folks at Sonshine's public school sent home a family project for St Patrick's Day...the project was a large "shamrock" for us to decorate....except it had FOUR leaves.

My darling IRISH CATHOLIC husband was beside himself.

My solution was this, drawn on the back of their clover, and decorated by Sonshine:

we're waiting to see the school's reaction

And as for the Pop Quiz, ......

Texas Independence Day as well as Sugars', My and Dr. Suess' Birthdays are all TODAY! :-)

Sonshine's class is studying Texas Independence Day in Social Studies, which is why he had that paper as homework last week.

The places on it are:

Big Tex at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas,

downtown Dallas skyline as seen from across the Trinity River levees,

the landscape looks a lot like the farm where the boys do their equestrian therapy,

The Water Gardens in Ft Worth,

there's a closeup of bluebonnets (Texas state flower) and the pic that shows both bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush (the salmon/pink colored flowers)...these two flowers are frequently seen together on roadsides. The paintbrush starts blooming just before the bluebonnets finish,

then there's The Alamo in San Antonio,

the Brazos Wind Farm in Fluvanna (Lori, I double checked and you were right),

the State Capitol Building in Austin,

and a couple of cowboys (because the boy loves cowboys!).

I had printed off a bunch of pictures of things uniquely Texan for Sonshine to choose from since he hasn't traveled much yet and these are the ones he chose.

just for fun

Which Disney Princess Are You???


According to the answers you have just chosen you are most like the Disney Princess Cinderella.

Although gentle and soft spoken, Cinderella has a keen intelligent sense of humor which she wisely keeps hidden from her cruel Stepmother and jealous stepsisters. Finding delight in her tiny animal friends, able to sing as she works, Cinderella has true dignity something her Stepsisters could learn a thing or two about. Despite moments of heartbreak and disappointment, Cinderella holds onto her hopes until goodness and beauty are rewarded and dreams that she has dreamed do come true.

Did you answer the pop quiz???


come on now...give it a guess or two!