Friday Fragments

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.



Don't forget to vote!
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a sneek peek.





"Hello Speedy! I'm Speedy!"


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yes, once she saw the tail she forgot all about the elephant.....

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Heard from down the hall......"do you want pizza for supper tonight or fried flies in oil?"

He'd better watch out, one day these kids are gonna call that bluff!!


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Preschool had a Halloween Parade Wed.




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my 5 year old son learned this morning that spinning around on your hiney....necked.....on the carpet....is NOT a good idea!

"ouch! Momma! it HURT me!!!"

no, I wasn't able to keep a straight face.

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yes, I KNOW that this is Friday and Halloween is Sunday.
no, I HAVEN'T finished the other 2 costumes.
no, I'm NOT working on them.
yes, they WILL be done on time.
no, I'm NOT procrastinating!

I am waiting for "the opportune moment"

(yes, I DID watch Pirates of the Carribean last night... ;-) )

Wednesday Hero

GySgt. Carlos Hathcock
May 20, 1942 – February 23, 1999


Carlos Hathcock was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. Hathcock's record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the Marine Corps. His fame as a sniper and his dedication to long distance shooting led him to become a major developer of the United States Marine Corps Sniper training program. He was honored by having a rifle named after him: a variant of the M21 dubbed the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather.

You Can Read More About GySgt. Hathcock Here

You can watch an interview with Gunny Hathcock
Here
Here
and Here

I have to say that it's kind of sad that the best source of info I could find on Gunny Hathcock was on Wikipedia. There should be a lot more sites honoring this man.

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.

Kindness, Love, and Have mercy!

Kindness:
from facebook last Saturday.

Some days the kindness of strangers to my kids makes me cry. In the school parking lot in the rain my oldest was having a complete Autistic meltdown because the school's Fall Festival was canceled due to weather. A lady brings him one of the jackolantern cupcakes she was taking back home. Made all the difference!! After eating the cupcake he was happy and I was in tears!!

Love:
I L.O.V.E. to dance.

and am seriously close to forking out the $60 on the Zumba DVD set.......
I mean, doesn't this look like FUN!??





Have Mercy!

So, two days before the Halloween Party and Parade at Preschool...when I have FINALLY finished sewing all the stripes on her tabby cat costume....sugars has decided she no longer wants to be a cat. She wants to be an ELEPHANT!!

I told her she could be an elephant in a cat costume! :-PPP

Priorities!!

found at The Jungle Hut

Joy!

Look!




Do you see that?!


Here, Look closer!





yesterday was a day off....with NOTHING ON THE CALENDAR!

pure bliss!

and how did I spend my blank day?

well I was soo sick the night before that I slept hard all night long. Waking feeling well rested for the first time in a couple weeks. Then hubby headed out to run some errands so while Sugars played underfoot I caught up on all the posts in my google reader! of course this was periodically interrupted by Sugars snuggles :-)

then, I saved all 300+ pictures from my memory card onto CDs and cleared out my memory card (which was full!) so I can take some more pictures.

then, since I didn't feel good enough to do anything yesterday for Subvet's birthday (have you wished him a happy birthday yet?) we all went out to our favorite catfish place for dinner!

tucked the kids in and have spent the last hour working on Halloween costumes.

Now it's off to bed so that I can get up really early in the morning as I've got a breast cancer continuing education conference all day tomorrow.

:-)

what a great day off!!

This is Terrific!

Over at The Creative Minority Report there's the results of a study that proves that having babies makes your brain grow!

Really!!!

my favorite quote:

And those moms who are particularly awestruck and gushy over their babies show more growth in the brain areas associated with motivation, reward and the regulation of emotion, the researchers said.


Take a look for yourself!


wow, I feel so emotionally regulated!! ;-)

snicker snicker snicker!!!

Today is Subvet's BIRTHDAY!!

So, I hacked his blog.....tee hee hee....

Go on over there and leave him some birthday wishes!!
But you'd better hurry, before he finds me out and deletes the post!

:-)

Carving pumpkins!!

Ready to get started!

Mine has bumps and Subvet's is that green thing..

Each kid told me what kind of face they wanted.

Well, Subvet did most of the carving, thank goodness!

I did the cleaning and drawing

Then it was time to pose for a group picture...

well, at least all the pumpkins were looking at me!!



.

Then I sorted the seeds from the goo and cleaned for toasting.




The recipe called for margarine and Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt and table salt. I used garlic powder instead of garlic salt and butter instead of margarine and they turned out great!

yummy straight out of the oven!

A Momma's Joy

A Momma's Joy is.....

when "Momma, I pooped!" no longer means there's a puddle down someone's leg and across the living room floor.

A Momma's Joy is....

knowing they haven't learned to tie a knot yet.

A Momma's Joy is....

when "Silly Sock Day" can be continued through the weekend.




A Momma's Joy is....




3 days in underwear, without any accidents.





A Momma's Joy is...




when happiness can be achieved by picking out your own clothes, regardless of the weather.

A Momma's Joy is...

knowing they won't care that today is her first time to ever carve a pumpkin.

A Momma's Joy is...

listening to all three kids singing together as they play.

A Momma's Joy is...

when all these things happen during a single Saturday morning.

,

Wednesday Hero

First Lieutenant Gregory F. Ambrosia
28 years old from Knoxville, Tennessee
2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173d Airborne Brigade


The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Gregory F. Ambrosia, United States Army, for gallantry in actions while serving as Executive Officer, Company A, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173d Airborne Brigade Combat Team, in action in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, in Afghanistan, on 25 - 26 September 2007. First Lieutenant Ambrosia's gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army. NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD: On 25 September 2007, Able Company, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry air assaulted into the village of Qowru and conducted a search and attack through the village and surrounding caves in order to disrupt Taliban and Al Qaeda forces in the Watapor Valley. The Company Executive Officer, First Lieutenant Ambrosia air assaulted into OP REDSKINS, one of two company observation posts (OP's) overlooking Qowru, in order to establish a command radio relay station and overwatch the mounted assault element in the valley with 60-mm. indirect fire. Upon occupation, ICOM intercepts informed the OP that the enemy was mobilizing and massing for an attack on both company OP's and the mounted maneuver element in the valley. Immediately upon insertion, the 22 Soldiers of 1st Platoon which assaulted OP REDSKINS linked up and moved towards their position overlooking the valley. There were explosions and shots fired across the valley during the night, but no fires were directed at OP REDSKINS. By morning the OP observed the rest of the Company move into position and begin their search and attack through the valley. A fire team plus-sized element of Anti-Coalition Militia was maneuvering to high ground to the east of the company when they made contact with the position at OP REDSKINS. The first individual that came close to the OP was an enemy scout. The individual was engaged immediately and within minutes several of the ACM fighters engaged the observation post with an intense volume of fire. Without any hesitation, First Lieutenant Ambrosia immediately assessed the situation and reported to the Company Commander who was located down in the valley and by this time under fire as well. He gave the enemy situation and without any concern for his own safety remained in place while exposed to heavy enemy fire from ACM forces advancing on his position to within hand grenade range. He continued directing fires and making critical radio transmissions using both FM and TACSAT communication. His timely and accurate calls for 40-mm. and 81-mm. danger close fire were the only effective defense for the OP. While the rest of the element were throwing hand grenades and engaged in close combat with a flanking ACM force, First Lieutenant Ambrosia held his position under heavy direct fire during the 4 hours of the engagement without deviating from his radio transmissions. He requested fire missions, using three different indirect fire assets and close air support simultaneously. First Lieutenant Ambrosia's strong character gave him the tools he needed to repel the enemy attack. First Lieutenant Ambrosia's indirect fire was able to hold the enemy front, which allowed the rest of the OP to fight back the enemy's attempt to turn their flank. First Lieutenant Ambrosia continued providing covering fire simultaneously as he had to make corrections on the 500 pound bombs dropped all within danger close. He gave the Battalion Commander updates of the enemy and friendly situations as they developed. He continued to hold his position even though he was constantly exposed to close heavy enemy fire. First Lieutenant Ambrosia kept keeping Close Combat Air updated on the enemy's location allowing the AH-64 (Apache) to effectively engage and kill three ACM fighters. Despite constant signal intercepts suggesting advancing and flanking maneuver forces, his ability to continue setting the tactical conditions gave the Non-Commissioned Officers and all junior leaders the ability to maneuver their Paratroopers. First Lieutenant Ambrosia's actions throughout the entire engagement were of the highest degree of valor. He performed honorably while under direct enemy fire and effectively engaged the enemy under the most difficult circumstances. First Lieutenant Ambrosia was a key leader during the battle, providing true leadership to the entire element. Even when events became dire, he kept his demeanor and without hesitation took the fight to the enemy. His actions are the true embodiment of the Infantry Warrior Ethos.

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.

Dad's On Retreat Day 1 Part 2!!

First though...Linda, are you sure he's not relate to you??



So, after we went home and got dressed (in big boy underwear!) we headed out again. Our first stop was back to the Heard Museum.

We did a little better with the Ice Age Mammals than last time, at least we all made it through the rooms....QUICKLY.....with a bit of whimpering.

But our real destination was their NEW EXHIBIT.....DINOSAURS!!!

Spread out along one of their 1/2 mile loop trails we had a great time with these!

Started with a bit of fun in the sandbox.


Then we found this guy.....Sister did fine till they started to make noises! So Sonshine was able to go investigate while we held back a bit, then we trotted past and on to the next! This dinosaurs sounded like a cow!!

Sonshine told me this guy was letting him know where all the OTHER dinosaurs were so we could find them.

No, I wasn't being attacked by a giant snake, that's the string from the camera! haha.

This guy sounded like he had the hiccups! (or was bleching depending on your point of view) We started telling him "say excuse me" every time he made noise. That did help Sister get a bit happier....that and her security stone that she picked up along the way.

I thought this was a bit gruesome and not exactly family friendly. Could have missed it myself. And yes, his head went up and down with "chewing" motions......ick.

This next guy was entertaining.....he'd periodically spit water at the onlookers. I'll bet most celebrities could identify with the sentiment....

Since we'd had fish the night before and Sister ate the most of all of us....she and this guy were kindred spirits for sure!

The last on our trail was also the biggest! Sonshine called him the Big Fat Dinosaur!!

Somewhere along the way after we finished the dinosaur trail Sister lost her Security Stone....but not before I got a picture of it!

We took a turn through the zoo part and the butterfly house, both of which you can see here.

Then we headed out to Chili's for lunch.

Next we had an abbreviated stop at the Library for some new movies and books. It was abbreviated because Gator had his first two accidents of the day while we were there....One right after the other. First came the diarrhea, yeah, run down the leg and drip in a puddle on the bathroom floor before we can get to the stall kind of fun. Then after 15 min of cleanup from that and new clothes, we're not out of the bathroom 3 minutes before I hear "I'm wet!". Sure enough! Back for another change and I decided I was done exploring town for the day!!

We enjoyed watching our movies and then headed to bed.

Day 2 started waaaay too early for Mommie and I'm really looking forward to picking Daddy up in another 5 hours! So far we've done nothing but get the hooligans dressed and hang out at the house, after lunch I've promised them balloons from the store (it was the bribe to get the boy to wear the underwear!) then on to pick up Subvet! yipeee. I really hope he's had a good time on his retreat. Guess I'd better get myself dressed and get some lunch on the table!!