My Super Fun Week-ish

This past week-ish was definitely fun-filled for me! (Hopefully it was for all of you, too.)

We had an excellent Thanksgiving. My family does Thanksgiving slightly different than most (not a surprise...we are an odd bunch). Ok, actually it's not slightly different...we do it very different.

None of us are huge turkey lovers. I am not much of a meat eater. I don't eat it very often and when I do, it's pretty much chicken (because, let's face it...chicken tastes goooood). So I would definitely prefer not to have to cook one of the big, creepy looking turkeys in my beautiful kitchen. Instead, we have a really big breakfast. I make eggs and biscuits and gravy and potatoes and bacon (yes, I know bacon is a meat) and cinnamon rolls and pancakes and lots and lots of super yummy breakfast food. It's a tradition my husband and I started years ago. It works for us. My sisters and my niece came over and we ate and hung out and played video games on the Wii (which I am really, really BAD at! My 4 year old can beat me at bowling...and golf....and tennis...and cow racing....) and we just enjoyed being together.

Then, for those of you that know me well you know I LIVE for Black Friday. It is probably one of my favorite days of the entire year.

My sister, Tracy, and I got up at 2:45am on Friday morning.


By 3:30am, we were standing in line at Kohls with all of the other crazies (notice the temp. That is definitely a major perk of shopping at 4 in the morning in Florida!!).

Tracy and I always have the same game plan. On Thanksgiving day we sort through the ads together. We make our lists and decide what we will be on the hunt for. There is absolutely no shopping around.

We went to Kohls first because it opened at 4. We ran in, grabbed what was on our lists (because we are the fastest and can throw the best elbows. J/K!) We were in and out in 15 minutes!

Next, we headed over and got in line at Toys'R'Us, which opened at 5. Again, we grabbed what was on our list (except for one item that they had mistakenly "forgot" to put out that morning. Someone should be FIRED!) It took us slightly longer there due to the stocking error, but it was the "jackpot" store of the day.

Target opened at 6, so we headed over there next and got in line next. The woman behind us in line was so annoying. First she complained about how crazy the people had been at Wal-Mart (Umm, DUH! Wal-Mart shoppers are pretty psychotic on non-shopping frenzy days. What did you expect??). Then she complained about the fact that they weren't opening the doors early even though there were so many people in line (Umm, yeah. Duh again! Those workers inside would rather be visiting the proctologist than standing in there, waiting for the mobs to descend.) I was so thankful when the line started moving and we got away form her!

We then headed over to Wal-Mart (because we are glutton for punishment) and after we headed over to the mall. We ended up making a killing. By 8:30 we were back home in bed. The trunk was FULL of games and toys and other fun stuff by the end of the morning. We figured it out and although we ended up with more than $1000 (retail value) of crap, we paid less than half of that for it! SCORE!


My parents then came into town on Friday afternoon and we headed out with our mom for round two that evening.

Saturday morning I FINALLY got to see Twilight with my sisters and my mom. I loved it. Enough said.

Sunday we all decided to go to the Pier at the beach. They always have good entertainment and lots of cool vendors selling fun knick-knacks. We got to dance on a stage to some funky calypso music (I know, don't be jealous!) and my niece had her picture taken with Santa (who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and bermuda shorts) and the picture was hilarious because although she didn't cry, she looks terrified!!) Then, my husband decided that he wanted to try this trampoline bungee thingy (after Tracy had paid for Evan to do it but he chickened out once he got onto the trampoline). They hook you up to a bunch of bungee cords and you jump on a trampoline and go flying way high into the air. Each time he jumped and went higher and higher, he would yell "weeeee" or "woohooo" or "whoopy" a little louder. At one point, when he was jumping so high he would fly up into the air and the bungee would actually have to pull him back down before he went flying off into the dark, night sky, he yelled "This....." then bounced..... "IS...." then bounced..... "FUN!!!!!!!" (See, this is why I tell everyone I have FIVE children.) He ended up gathering a crowd. Tracy said she thinks they should have given her a partial refund because of the business he brought in from his hootin' and hollerin'. Of course this is the ONE time I forget to bring my camera with me.

I spent today just hanging out with my family and, yet again, got my butt kicked by a little, bald 4 year old on the Wii.

It was a pretty great week-ish.

How was yours??

Don't Blame Me. It Wasn't My Idea!!

As a mom, I am always trying to teach my children independence.

It seems to be a very fine line that I have to walk. For example....I will let them choose an outfit and dress themselves. However, they are not allowed to wear jeans and a raggedy old t-shirt to church. I will let them help me plan meals and then help make dinner. But dinner can not consist of jelly beans, potato chips and hot chocolate.

This brings me to Saturday afternoon. I was cutting Kyle's hair. Kyle has crazy hair. It is perfectly straight. There is no body to it. However, it it extremely thick and very coarse and tends to stick out in all different directions if we let it grow out even the slightest bit. So I just take the clippers and I buzz his head. It works best that way. He likes it that Mommy then spends the next week and a half rubbing his head because I love that "peach fuzz" feel.

So, I am almost done with his hair and I call Evan.

"Ev, your hair needs cut a little, too. So I am gonna do you next, ok?"

"Yup!" He replied, as he danced around to whatever music was playing in his head.

Evan's hair was looking pretty shaggy. I tend to let his grow for a LOOONG time in between cuts because his curls just make my heart melt. I always tell him his hair is curly because his brain is overloaded with "craziness" and so that crazy then spills out through the tiny holes on his head. We call them his "crazy curls." He prides himself on being wacky and, therefore, has always loved his crazy curls.



So, I was finishing Kyle and brushing off all of the hair that had fallen onto his neck and his shoulders when Evan comes, cart wheeling into the room.

"I want my hair just like Kyle's!" I started giggling a little because lately Evan has wanted to do EVERYTHING just like his big brother.

I opened my mouth to say "NO FREAKIN' WAY am I hacking off all those beautiful curls!!" When my wonderful husband blurted out "OK!"

I think my jaw hit the floor. "Wait. No. It's not ok. I am not cutting off all his hair!"

Evan came over and stood beside me. Tears started to well up in his eyes as he said "YES! I want to be just like Kyle!"

ACK! My heart was screaming out to tell him 'too bad so sad' and know that he would be over it by morning, but my head had to butt in and remind me that although he is still little, he is trying to find his place in this world as a big boy. He is only 4 years old, but I think that is definitely old enough to be voicing his opinions and for me to hear them.

I debated for a few minutes while I got him all ready and in the chair. I decided there was no way I was going to do it. I couldn't. I took the clippers in my hand. He looked up at me and smiled and said "Just like Kyle?" I took a deep breath, smiled back, nodded and said "Just like Kyle."

I then proceeded to chop all of his gorgeous, brown locks off. I teared up as I watched the hair falling to the floor, creating a big pile of soft, c-shaped curls. Evan noticed that I was upset and said, (with a very strong 'you are such a goober undertone') "Mom, they'll grow back."

So, here he is with his new "do." Which, by the way, he absolutely loves.



Doesn't he look like a totally different kid?? He is right. They will grow back (which apparently is a good thing because some of the women at church just about went into shock when they saw him yesterday).

In retrospect, I am glad I listened to him. He is growing up so fast and I want him to know that his opinions matter and that he should absolutely stick to his guns when he feels strongly about something.

However, get a close look at the picture above because I AM NEVER CUTTING HIS CURLS OFF AGAIN!!!!!!!

To All the 'Lurkers' in the Blogosphere (and my friends too!)

I love me some comments!! I just wanted to let everyone know that.

I recently posted a comment on a blog where my opinion was different than that of the author and was all but stoned for it.

I love hearing different opinions about what I write (whether I know you or not). If you think I'm funny....let me know! If you think I'm boring.....let me know!! If you have had something similar happen or read something that you think is totally wack....let me know!! If you think I am the world's best mother and that I deserve a big trophy...well, then you probably haven't actually READ any of my posts. So, go ahead and read away and then...leave me a comment!!

All I ask is that you keep in mind that this blog is rated PG, so please KEEP IT CLEAN!!

This One's for Marquesas!!

This weekend, my sisters and I are heading up to my brother's house. His beautiful wife is pregnant and we are all going up there for her shower. I can't wait!!

In honor of this special event, I have decided to dedicate this post to Marquesas (my SIL).

This is just a short list of some of the things that my children have taught me in the last 8 years. I look forward to the day when I can read your list, Marquesas!!

Ten Things I Have Learned From My Children:

1. If someone tries to take your picture, make a funny face. It's the law!

2. If all of your friends are doing it, it might not be the safest or smartest thing to do, but it sure as heck is gonna be fun!!

3. If the food is not smeared all over the place, you aren't really enjoying it.

4. Dance like no one's watching. It's more fun that way!!!

5. If you have 4 children uner the age of 8 and your house is quiet...be afraid. Be very, very afraid!

6. No matter how much the child enjoys being licked by their dog, he does not enjoy being licked back.

7. If you want to insult someone, all you have to do is follow up a with the word "butt" at the end.

8. Boys always have the longest, thickest eyelashes......and no, it isn't fair!!

9. You can lead a child to toilet, but you can't make him pee!

10. It is possible to remember more of a foreign language learned from watching children's TV than remember what was learned from the 2 years of a foreign language you took in high school.

DEGGAT

That's TAGGED spelled backwards, in case you were confused.

I've been tagged (I know it was forever ago, but better late than never, right??) by Sugar Mommy


1. When I am walking along and hear music, I aboslutely, with no exceptions, HAVE to walk to the beat. So, if you are ever walking with me and are in a hurry, just whip out your IPOD and blast anything techno in my ear and we'll be there in no time!

2. You know those rides that spin you 'round and 'round so fast you stick to the wall?? Well, I don't.....stick, that is. I get in. It starts spinning. The floor drops out and everyone else is whirling around, laughing and stuck fast to the wall like glue.... as I slowly slide downward until my feet touch the bottom. Apparently, I am anti-anti-gravity. Go ahead. Laugh it up. Someday, when gravity decides it's tired and quits, I will smile and wave to you as I watch you float off aimlessly into space!!

3. My first job was working on a farm as a farmhand. I shoveled cow poop and sorted potatoes and picked pumpkins and I absolutely LOVED it!

4. I can't watch the movie "The Princess Bride." It scared me when I was little and I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it since!!

5. When I write, I like to use lots and lots of exclaimation marks!!!!!!!! If this is annoying to you, too bad!! I will never stop over-using them!!!!!

6. When I read a magazine, I can't start at the front. I have to open it up randomly (somewhere near the middle). I then read from the middle to the front. When I get to the beginning, I flip to the end and read from there, back up to the middle.

7. When I eat french fries, I have to eat them in pairs, according to size. If any don't match up, I either give them or throw them away. Oh, no...wait. That isn't me that does that. It's my friend Jude. It's a good thing too, because let's face it....that's just weird!! :)

Ok, so now I am going to tag:

Jenn at But It's a Dry Heat.....
Tracy at The Life of Tracy
Jenny at Buckeye Corner
Sarah at Our Beautiful Crazy Wonderful Life
Erynn at The Twice Fortnightly Dispatch
Sarah at Borup Bunch
and
Leah at Laughing Leah Loves Lillies

TrIcK-Or-tReAt, sMeLl mY fEeT!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, second only to Christmas. I love picking out costumes and carving pumpkins. I love getting my children all dressed up and watching how excited they are to go around, begging candy from perfect strangers.

This year was slightly different. Evan was still not fully recovered from whatever bug had knocked him out a few days earlier. Kaily and Kyle came home from school all excited, but by dinner time, Kyle was complaining that his tummy hurt. Poor little guy. We got them all dressed and ready and snapped just a few pics before Kyle had to start running to the bathroom every 15 minutes. Since he obviously couldn't come with us, we took his bucket around and the neighbors all made sure to give him a little extra for when he felt better.

We are planning on putting them all back in their costumes again next weekend to try and get a few more pics. But for now, here they are....in all their Superhero glory!