Thursday Thoughts

I had so many thoughts to write about today and as I sit here, I can't remember one of them. What is that a sign of? Don't tell me!



I seem to be on the mending trail today. My tailbone still feels funny and I can tell that there is still some swelling there. It is really a weird feeling. It's a little strange driving while leaning to one side, it kinda throws you off. But I'm the mama, and the mama has to keep the family moving!

Today was Ethan's first basketball game. His team won, so that was exciting. It was actually a good game, with the winning basket being made 2 seconds before the timer ran out.

Speaking of Ethan, yesterday he saw me walking around with my ice pack strapped around my rear and he said, "so is that what you call a fanny pack?" HAHAHAHA - funny boy, that Ethan. He acts just like his father.

Did I tell you that we had a snow day yesterday? We did. The problem was that there was no snow and the sun was shining. I really didn't understand, as all of the county school only had two hour delays and we were cancelled. Our school is in town... so whatever.

Now, tomorrow may be another story. We are supposed to get 7-10 inches tonight. I really don't want it to snow. I don't like the cold. I want warm and pretty, not cold and cloudy. sigh.

Last year we got a ton of snow on Valentine's Day. My hubby didn't even go to work because we were snowed in. I've added a few pictures from this event.

You gotta love those snow plows!

Who knew cleaning could be so dangerous?

When I looked at my to-do list this morning...

Who am I kidding, I don't have a to-do list!

Anyway, I've been wanting to clean the area at the top of the basement stairs for some time now. We have a fairly small house, so I have to utilize every nook and craney. We store our vacuum in this area, along with other cleaning supplies. As I said above, I don't have a to-do list, so I finally remembered today that it needed to be cleaned out. I had some time while Cassidy was sleeping, so I went to work.
I pulled everything out so that I could sweep and mop the floor and then I decided to clean off the shelves, too. We keep a step stool in there, so I pulled it open and started unloading the top shelf.
I started to make my 3rd or 4th climb on the stool when, WHAM!

The stool slid out from under me, hit the wall and sent me flying to the floor... the very hard kitchen floor.
I couldn't breathe, I couldn't cry, I thought I might be sick, and then I got really hot and started to sweat. There was A LOT of sweating!

It hurt... really,really bad. And did I mention that I just went to the Chiropractor on Saturday? Well, I did. I went back today, post fall, so that he could align me again. That hurt, too!

So, I lay here typing with an ice pack on my tail and four Advil surging through my blood stream. Can I say that they aren't helping too much? There is swelling and bruising, and it's not pretty people.

But, I am also thankful because it could have been much worse. For instance, my head was a mere inch or so from the kitchen table. That gives me reason enough to send up Praises!

Monday, Monday...

Can you relate?

I think it's going to be a long 12 1/2 years for this little one. He's only in Kindergarten this year. All that cutting and gluing and coloring can wear a kid out!

Bloggy Giveaway - The Amber Stick *UPDATE*

Sorry, this giveaway is closed. I am going to be picking a winner today! Thanks for entering.

This is my first bloggy giveaway! Woohoo!

I was at a meeting a couple of weeks ago and heard a 911 operator speak about the importance of having the information that you might need in an emergency situation. She introduced something called the Amber Stick. It is a Portable Child Identification Device that is basically a USB flash drive that will work on any computer with a USB port. There is too much information to explain it all, so if you would like to read or hear more about it, you can click here.

I thought that this was a great idea. If you would like to enter to win this Amber Stick, please leave me a comment. I will be drawing a winner on February 1, 2008.

Feel free to enter, even if you are not a blogger. This giveaway is limited to US residents only. To see more bloggy giveaways, click here. Have fun! The master list will be up at 8 A.M. CST Monday the 28th.

Name Changin'

So, I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog. I came up with the current one just because I needed a name for it. It's not very original.

How do you like this one: Trying to Stay Sane... in an insane world.

Or: Cherishing the Moments

Or: Have You Seen My Keys?

Yeah, that last one just kinda came out of nowhere! It's very fitting though! So, which one should I choose? Will ya help me out here?

Friday Full O' Fun

Before I even get started with this post, I have a little question. IS it possible for a 10 year old boy to take a shower in 30 seconds? Mine swears it can be done. I know I just heard the water turn on and he is already out.

Anyway, I want to tell you about my wonderful Friday. And by wonderful, I mean annoying. But before I get into that part of the day I will tell about Ethan's Fifth Grade Tea. Every year the students do a tea and parents and grandparents are invited to the school to hear them sing and then visit the classrooms. Friday was the day for the 5th grade. Sarah's and Ben's will be later on in the spring. This was Ethan's last one because next year he will be in middle school. I can't talk about that though because I will start to hy.per.venti.late and well, that would be bad.

Here is his class. They sang some fun songs. One song was in Spanish and they did one about the 50 states. They really did a very good job. Their music teacher was my choir director in high school... we won't talk about that either.
Here is the annual "picture with the teacher" picture. I have one from every year. Maybe I'll do a post of those when his elementary graduation gets closer....throat...closing...up....
This is where my day started to get really wonderful, or annoying. I got a letter in the mail about a month ago telling me that the information between the BMV and the Social Security office didn't match and that my D.L. would be invalid by next Thursday if I didn't get it taken care of. So, on Thursday I called the SS office and asked them what I needed to bring to the office to get this taken care of. I wanted to know because I had to drive 40 minutes to get to the closest office and I didn't want to get there with the wrong stuff. She told me that I needed something with my old name and my new name. I asked if my old SS card would work and my birth cert. and then my D.L. and my marriage lic. She says "sure, that will work."
SO... I get over to the office and wait 45 minutes before they call me number. I get up to the counter and she asks for my stuff. I hand the lady my marriage license and she says, "this won't work."

What?

This won't work. It has to be certified. Oh, and this SS card isn't the id that I need.

What?

So I nicely say, " This is why I called yesterday. I think that you all need to be a little more specific when give information out."

She says. 'Well, if you would have done this 12 years ago, you wouldn't have to worry about it."

Now, have you ever seen those signs that say "no guns" on them? I can totally understand why the SS office has one of those because a perfectly sane person could be tempted to use one there!

Oh, I do kid. I wouldn't hurt a fly! But seriously, I was shaking.

To make a long story short, I had to get my school transcripts (scary) and a CERTIFIED copy of my marriage license. You see, I did send my stuff in after I got married, but apparently if you don't ever get a card then they didn't get what they needed. They just don't tell you that.

Whatever.

I came all the way back home, went and got all of the paperwork that I needed, picked the kids up from school and drove BACK to the SS office. Yes, 40 minutes away. The good news is that I got everything taken care of and my new card is on it way!

On the way back home, we stopped and picked up Tasha and Maggie and took them home with us. Scotty joined us when he got off of work. We had pizza and peach pie and watched Evan Almighty. The kids had ice cream that we found in these cute little containers. I couldn't resist them.

Here's my Maggie Anne eating her ice cream. She's a hoot and a half!
Sarah was more interested in the gameboy than in the ice cream.
As was Ben

You don't even want to know how many calories are in that little tub o' ice cream.

On a bright note, I did get to go to Hobby Lobby BEFORE I went to the SS office, priorities people. Their scrapbooking stuff was 50% off and I just had to take advantage of that! I also found this cute little sign for my front door. I love it so much and it was 30% off.

Saturday was happier! :)

The Hairdresser

One of the many nice things about having a girl is that I can get my hair brushed pretty much any time that I want. After she was done, she told me I looked fab. (haha)

I am realizing that I need to take advantage of this time, because soon she won't have time to brush my hair. She will be too busy brushing her own! I love my girl.

Amazing Faith and Trust

I was going to write about what I have been learning in my quiet time this week, but I think this will be more of a challenge to you. When you have a little time and you want to be absolutely blessed, go here (scroll down)and listen to this father's message that he gave at his 2 year old son's memorial. Boomama had mentioned this family on her blog a couple days ago, and I can't imagine the pain. Their faith is so strong, I'm humbled by it. He is a radio personality in Alabama.



Go and listen, you will be a changed person.

GPS Love

Yesterday, nothing. Today, it just keeps flowing out. Three posts in one day.

I am taking a scrapbooking break to put the kids to bed and since they are in the middle of a mean game of Battleship, I have a few minutes to tell you this story from the other night.

We were coming home from the concert on Friday night and Eric had his GPS with him because it's his baby. We knew exactly where we were going, but the GPS is so much more fun!
Anyhoo, we got the kids all settled with their DS Lites and boxes of candy from Wal-Mart because, well, I'm all about keeping them entertained while we are in a confined space. Things go so much better...for me. Eric got his GPS all ready and we took off for home.
Now, have any of you seen those commercials for the GPS? For example, the little voice will say "turn right ... in 50 meters", but the guy turns into the building. Well, there is one where the guy talks to the little voice. To make a long story short, kids DO remember everything they see and hear because Eric's GPS "lady" came on and said, "Your exit is in half a mile". Ben said, without looking up from his game, "Thank ya baby, I luuuvvv you."

I nearly wet my pants. It was so funny.

I found the commercial on YouTube. Gotta Love it!

There has to be a volume knob somewhere!

I wish that I had a microphone so that I could share with you all the sheer blessing of having 5 school aged children talking at the same time, very loudly. Today was a half day at school, so they're home early. All of this after spending the morning in Ben's class celebrating the 100th day of school.

Have you ever counted to 100, like 22 times in a row? I had the honor of doing the center with the 10 plates with the 10 different snacks on them and the kids had to put 10 of each in their baggie. Cheerios, raisins, goldfish, marshmallows, crackers, Crispix, you get the picture. Notice the lack of candy in that list because candy is bad, bad, bad. At least that's what the school says anyway. I won't go there.

I finally got Eric to fix the sink last night. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as we thought, but there was a leak and it was causing some damage. We will have to replace the floor of the cabinet and we are drying out the moisture as we speak. I think I will be able to start working on the painting soon. Yeah!!

Well, the kids are done with their hot chocolate, so I better go clean up the kitchen.

Does anyone have some earplugs I can use?

Tiny Talk Tuesday

I always forget to tell you where to find more Tiny Talk Tuesday posts! Sorry! You can find them at Not Before 7. Go on over a check them out. Thanks for hosting TTT, Mary!

This was a conversation between my husband and Cassidy, the little girl that I watch. They were going to get us some lunch while I was at Curves. Cassidy's mom went to Hawaii with her mother for a week. They told her that they would bring her back a bathing suit. This conversation happened on Thursday.

C(cassidy, 3yrs.): My house is down there.
E(my husband): No, your house is down there.
C: Oh. (short pause) My mommy isn't there.
E: Well, where is she?
C: I don't know
E: Is she in Hawaii?
C: Nooooo, she is with nanny. (C's grandma)
E: Well, where are they?
C: They went to buy me a babing (bathing) suit, but I think they walked because they've been gone a LONG time!





One of things that I have taught Cassidy this year is the pledge. I finally got her to do it on video for me.

Not too many words today

Well, I'm kind of at a loss for words today. I guess they call that writer's block or something. I'm not a writer though, so I guess I have blogger's block. Anyway, here are the kids with their school awards. They all did such a great job this 9 weeks. We are very proud of them.

What's in a name?

I got this from Melody's blog. I had what they said about my name posted here, but I accidently erased it and I don't want to go back and do it again! So, if you want to play this little game, here is the site. Have fun.

Surprisingly, lazy wasn't on my list!

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I went shopping!

I got in some shopping time today between awards programs. I went to our mall, which is basically a Sears and a Penny's with a long hallway connecting the two...seriously.

Anyhow, I found some cute shorts and a nice white top to take on our cruise. In the process, I managed to jab my finger with the zipper on a pair of capri pants. Did I mention that I had the white shirt on when this happened? Have you tried to unbutton a shirt with the wrong hand before, while trying not to drip blood all over everything? It's a challenge. I also found some brown slacks to go with a shirt that I had found earlier.

So, I came home and started talking to Eric about how the brown slacks I bought were not the right shade of brown and how I guessed that I would just have to wear that particular shirt with jeans, maybe on the day that we board the ship.

He looked at me and said, "I don't even know what underwear I am going to wear tomorrow and you are already trying to figure out what to wear when we board the ship."

I just looked at him and said, "Yep". A woman has to have plans, especially when it come to vacation clothing. I think it was BigMama that said, "a woman has to have options".

I agree 100%

Oh, and I told him that he could wear the blue ones. :)

It's Friday!!

It's Friday, Yeah! We are so excited that it's Friday around here. We have a busy day scheduled though. Eric decided to take the day off so that he could go with me to all of our "things".
I'm not sure why, but the school spaces the Honor Roll awards programs out throughout the whole day, so we have to go to one at 10am for the two little kids and then to one at 1pm for Ethan. I know! Nothing like breaking up the day! Anyway, we are so proud of our little clan for the work they do in school.

I have had so much fun having Cassidy all week. Her mommy is in Hawaii with her mother for a "bacation" so daddy has been taking care of her all week. He has done such a great job with her. He deserves a gold star! Good Job, Bill! I do have a great Tiny Talk Tuesday that I'm going to do on this subject!

For a Christmas gift, we gave the kids tickets to see PCD in Indy. That concert is tonight. They are soooo excited to go. Ben is anxious to see Randy, his buddy. He's been counting down the days all week. It will be a great time.


By the way, 10 more pounds to go and then I am going to post a before and after shot of myself. I am so close to my goal. I really can't believe how much I've changed and how much healthier I feel.

Have a safe and wonderful Friday,

The Daily Dose

I have been honored with this sweet little award from Suzi. I kind of feel the same way she does in that it surprises me that people read my blog. I am so appreciative to everyone who reads and leaves comments for me. The comments are the best! I just love 'em! I can't get over how many friendships I have made through this thing. It will be so exciting to meet the ones of you who will be at Siesta Fiesta in August!

So, I get to pick 5 bloggy friends to give this award to. I want to pick you all, but I will stick to just 5. Here's my list:
1. Mary @ Not Before 7 - Love those TTT's!
2. Fran @ Blessed by Him - Fran is one of my newer bloggy friends. I love to read her blog.
3. Alana @ A Kiss, A Hug and A Squeeze - I know that she already got this award, but I just have to give it to her too. Love ya Alana!
4.BigMama - because my day is not complete until I read her blog. She always makes me smile...always!
5. Amanda @ BabyBangs - This is another "have to read" blog. I don't know that there is anyone as open as Amanda. I appreciate her love for Jesus and her family.

Thanks again, Suzi!

Darleneology

I got this off of Suzi's blog. I thought that it looked fun. If you want to do it too, go ahead and copy it. Let me know so I can come over and take a look!



MOUTHOLOGY
Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Ranch, just a little bit

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. McDonald's ... I know.

Q. What is your favorite sit down restaurant?
A. Texas Roadhouse

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. usually 20%

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
A. Cadbury Eggs! The original ones with the white and yellow cream--yum! I might get sick FROM them, but not sick OF them.

Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
A. green peppers, onions, pepperoni

Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
A. butter and jelly

TECHNOLOGY
Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. A picture of Austin, TX that I took when I was there in April-- love it!

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. three

BIOLOGY
Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. Right

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. some moles, oh and three large children! Like I could forget that!

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. 2 years

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
A. a case of water from Wal-Mart

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. Yes, by a concrete floor after I sucked in enough helium to cut off my oxygen supply. Not a bright idea.

BULLCRAPOLOGY
Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. No

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
A. I've never really cared for my name, but I don't have a favorite that I would change it to.

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. red

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. I don't think so

Q. Have you ever saved someone’s life?
A. No

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. No

DAREOLOGY
Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A.Never!

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. Nope

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. No, I love my bloggy friends!

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
A. hahahahaha!! No, but I don't ever plan on getting that offer!

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
A. No

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. Never!

DUMBOLOGY
Q. What is in your left pocket?
A. Nothing

Q. Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A. It depends on who you're with.

Q. Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A. Carpet

Q. Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A. Stand

Q. Would you live with roommates?
A. ???

Q. How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
A. Too many to count

Q. Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A. Never

Q. Who is number 1 on your Top 8?
A. what is a top 8?

LASTOLOGY
Q: Last Friend you talked to?
A: Angie

Q: Last person who called you?
A: Eric

Q: Last person you hugged?
A: Eric

Q: Last person to stick their foot in your face?
A: One of my kids, I'm sure

FAVORITOLOGY
Q: Number?
A: 7

Q: Season?
A: Fall

CURRENTOLOGY
Q: Missing someone?
A: Yep

Q: Mood?
A: Happy

Q: Listening to?
A: The traffic and Steve Urkel and the fan on the laptop..oh, and the heater just kicked on

Q: Watching?
A: my computer screen and Family Matters

Q: Worrying about?
A: Nothing really.

RANDOMOLOGY
Q: First place you went this morning?
A: the kitchen

Q: What can you not wait to do?
A: Go on our cruise

Q: What's the last movie you saw in a theater?
A: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Q: Do you smile often?
A: Yes

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A: Yes

Every girl needs a little bling

Cassidy and I went to the store today and we found this cute little dog toy for Sally. It's a diamond ring, and she is quite possesive of it.

ATTENTION MEN: THE FOLLOWING IS FOR WOMEN ONLY-- CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED!

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So, I also bought a sweater at the store for $5.oo, what a bargain. I opted to wait and try it on at home, which was a good idea considering that when I took my shirt off to try it on Cassidy proclaimed, "You're b**bies are falling down; so are my mommy's." -- Thank you very much for that humbling comment from a three year old. Tell me something that I didn't already know.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

As you know, I have been organizing old pictures and trying to get caught up on my scrapbooking. Unfortunately, it is a slow process.
In the meantime, I found some really great pictures from the past that I just have to share with you. I love old pictures, and the memories that they produce are priceless.

These two pictures have to be my favorite because they are of the two cousins that my sister, Michelle, and I grew up with. Yes, we were 12 hours apart, but we have an unbreakable bond.

I'm reflecting on the good times we had as young'uns.(single tear)

Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. We just have so much fun when we're together, still do.



This is Curtis. The corner of the picture tells me that this was in 1985. This was taken at the playground of the school that I went to. Daniel Webter Elementary... it's a Walgreens now. They tore it down several years ago. I remember when a kid fell off the top of that slide and cracked his head open. Grand memories.
This is Curtis and Amanda, his lovely wife. I took this picture this summer at Gulf Shores. The guy in the white hat is David, his dad. We rode in the back of his truck to Alabama from Indiana one year with, gulp, no seat belts. We were in the bed of the truck with a topper on it. We had our sleeping bags all spread out, candy and our Walkmans. Rock on! I think Michelle even brought her crocheting. Doesn't quite fit, does it? Fun times, fun times.
This is Calvin in 1985. You all have been introduced to him over the last few weeks because he was here over Christmas and New Year's.
Oh, there are so many stories that I could tell you about what all we did when we were kids, but I won't. Some good, some bad, some ugly, all memorable.



Oh, Calvin and Curtis...You're welcome!

A Tribute

I thought that I would take Tasha's comment and run with it. Getting rid of the old sofa IS the end of an era. It was a good ol' couch. It withstood many a day and night of rough-housing.

For example:
That's Tasha's husband, standing on the arm and the back of my couch. I remember that night, I think it was roughly midnight or so when I took this picture. It's so much fun to have close friends. You know, friends that feel comfortable standing on your couch...with their shoes on! Love you, Scotty!!

No, really, there was nothing you could do to this thing that would hurt it!

NaNaNaNa, NaNaNaNa, Heyheyhey, Goodbye!!

Well, we finally got rid of the 14 year old sofa. We had it for 11 years, Eric had it for 1 year before that and his parents had it for 2 years before that. We were in need of a new one, but with three kids and Sally, 3 babysitting kids and a husband (haha) I wasn't too worried about getting a new one just yet.

BUT, Eric saw a flyer hanging up at work and called about this sofa with a queen-sized hide-a-bed. The guy works with him and told him that since it was Eric, he would sell it to us for $150.00.

This thing is practically brand new! It is in perfect condition and the mattress looks like it has never been used. Praise the Lord! They also gave us a lamp, valences and a vase that matched it.

So here is what I found when I got home from my meeting tonight:

Yes, that's Emma, our sitter, holding my front door in the middle of my living room.

Nancy and Eric carrying out the old sofa. Eric picked up our pastor's son, Nathan, to help us. God bless those PK's!

Only one minor snafu, our storm door got broken, but we needed a new one anyway.

The old sofa in our front yard. My brother-in-law took it to give a family that lost all of their belongings in the flood last week.

The new sofa! This picture doesn't do it justice.

The kids, having their last sit on the only sofa we've ever owned. I realize that this picture confirms what you all have probably thought of me, I am a little crazy! It's like 22 degrees outside and those are my children sitting on a sofa... in our front yard...with traffic driving by. Classy, Iknow.