WFMW: Nuthin

Ok, I got nuthin for Works for Me Wednesday. So I won't use Shannon's fancy logo or junk up her site with my link to my site about well...nothing.

If you happen to stop by today, leave me a note. I'll have my nose deep into cascading style sheets for online help projects, so if you happen to be a css expert by all means give me a hand. Cause I know NUTHIN!

Mommy Bodies

I found this awesome blog tonight. All mommies need to check this out.

http://shapeofamother.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday, 3

Dear 3

I remember the day 10 years ago when they brought you back into my room the morning after you were born. The nurse rolled your bed to the foot of my bed and quietly left the room. I got out of bed and tip-toed down to you, careful not to wake you up. The moment I looked at your sweet, quiet face, my life completely changed. I was from then on, a mommy.

I tell you every single day that I love you and that I am proud of you. But you have no idea how intense these feelings are. I am so very lucky to have you as my son. You have such a gentle heart – you are kind to every person you meet. When you run across someone who is struggling, whether it be in school or sports, you go out of your way to encourage them and let them know that you support them. That trait, along with your outgoing personality and your amazing intelligence, will help you in every aspect of your life.

This is your last year of elementary school and you have no idea how much that saddens me. My little 3er should not be 10 years old today. On the other hand, I am so excited to watch you continue along your journey to becoming a teenager.

Happy Birthday, Sweet 3.
I love you,
Mom

Back, Vomit and Grasshoppers

Yeah, it’s back. It returned just by mowing the yard. I’m furious about it, so that’s all I’m going to say about it.

T woke up this morning with a horrible sore throat and a fever. He started vomiting this evening. He inherited this father – the two of them always throw up when they get strep. And of course it happened on a Sunday so I don’t have access to strep tests and antibiotics. (Yeah, I know, but I’m too cheap to take him to the ER. It's not like he's dying.) The worst thing about the timing of this -- his birthday is on Tuesday and we've got a whole big shindig planned for him and a handful of friends. More about that later in the week.

DH spent the day trying to keep J entertained. They took their bikes down the bike path. Apparently the path has been overrun by grasshoppers, especially the part around the stream. DH told J the best way to get through them was to go as fast as he could. J took that advice, raced through them as fast as he could, full SCREAM ahead. And then proceeded to come home and would not leave the house for 2 hours. “I’ll just have to be inside for the rest of my life. Grasshoppers attack me when I’m outside.” Nevermind that I’ve never seen one in our yard.

Five Things

5 things in my closet

1. A very ugly white furry coat that I got for $10.00 at the end of last winter. It goes over your head, and there are large areas for your arms to slip through, and is floor length. There is some fake fur around the collar and goes all the way down the front. I suppose if I was a “snow angel” it would be perfect. But I’m not. There were 2 main reasons for buying it. Number 1, it was only 10 bucks. Number 2, I attended too many winter funerals last year and froze my ass off at the cemetary because I didn’t have a good “funeral” coat. Now I am prepared!!
2. DH’s bizillion t-shirts, most of which he never wears.
3. A blue leisure suit. Don’t ask.
4. My dresser. It’s old, but it belonged to my Great-Grandma Gladys so I’m never getting rid of it. I also have her ironing board. I miss Grandma Gladys – she cracked me up!
5. My good suit, crumpled up on the floor. It’s been waiting for me to take it to the dry cleaner’s. It will be waiting a bit longer.

5 things in my fridge

1. 24 oz bottles of Diet Mt. Dew
2. Jose Cuervo Margarita drink. Gotta keep it cold, cause you never know when you’ll need to pull it out.
3. An assortment of highly processed meat products
4. 2 – 18 packs of eggs. I get into a cooking frenzy sometimes. You can never have too many eggs on hand.
5. Yoplait Thick and Creamy Yogurt, caramel flavor. You NEED to try this!

5 things in my car

1. Sue’s blue and white towel that she left at the lake last weekend. It’s pretty nice, so I might just keep it.
2. 4 outdoor lights that I need to give back to my mom. She gave them to my boys to sell at their garage sale, and they didn’t sell. And I’ve got plenty of my own crap around my house – don’t need hers too!
3. My Sirius radio. As Chilihead said, if you don’t have this, you “Siriusly” need to consider getting it! Radio Disney alone makes it worth our money. And can you ever get enough of “The Big 80s”? NO
4. A soccer ball, of course
5. Probably a whole bunch of crap in the third row. That “kid” area and I never venture back there. Could be the source of the nasty smell I’ve got going in there these days. Hmmmm

5 things in my purse

1. An assortment of billfolds and wallets: my checkbook wallet, the wallet where I keep the bills and change (don’t ask me why they are separate), T’s billfold and J’s billfold.
2. Hopefully my keys, but their location is usually a mystery
3. Lipstick
4. Pen
5. Fingernail file and clippers

WFMW: Packing Kids Clothes

Whenever I pack for a trip, I make sure to pack the kids’ things as simply as possible. So I lay out outfits they will need for each day, complete with socks, underwear, etc. For each day, I lies the clothes out (I may fold the shorts and shirts in half so that it makes a skinny stack), stack them up, and then roll them up. So each day we’re on vacation, the kids just have to grab a roll out of the suitcase and they have everything they need to get dressed for the day!

This works awesome for several reasons:

• Helps me make sure I pack enough socks and underwear for them.
• Keeps the clothes from getting too wrinkled in the suitcase.
• Saves space in the suitcase.
• Makes them self-sufficient while we’re on vacation. All their clothes are in one spot – we’re not searching for this shirt or those shorts.

I learned this from my mother. It worked for her, and it definitely works for me! Check out more tips at Rocks in my Dryer.

I'm Too Thin

Nobody has ever told me I was too thin. But yesterday it happened. Apparently I’m too thin.

Was I excited? No, not in the least. Was I feeling good about myself? Umm…no. Was I so mad about the comment that smoke was coming out of my ears. No, but only because I don’t know how to make smoke come out of my ears.

You’re probably thinking someone said, “Green3, you are just too thin. You need to have some of this chocolate cake.” So then I proceeded to eat the entire cake. No, that’s not what happened, but it would have been awesome to eat an entire chocolate cake.

Or maybe you thought this is what they said, “Green3, you are just too thin to wear size 3 jeans. You really must go down to a zero.” No, not even close.

Here’s what actually happened. “Green3, your corneas are too thin. Your corneas are just not thick enough for us to do the LASIK surgery you so desperately desire. I’m afraid you’ll be wearing your contacts and ugly glasses for the rest of your life. Good luck with that.”

‘nuff said

WFMW: Helping Families in Need

Food pantries across the nation are always remembered around Christmas time. The need is there all year long! Please donate to your local food pantry on a regular basis.

We have a food pantry drop off box at our local library. At least once a month, the kids and I load up bags of food and take it with us on our weekly trip to check out more books. I've explained to them why we do that and that it may be some of their good friends who are benefiting from it. Sometimes I buy specifically for the food pantry, other times I just look at my cupboards and think, "Why on earth do I have 3 jars of Miracle Whip?" or "I've go so many boxes of kleenex that I can't store them all." So I set them aside for our next trip to the library.

Sometimes I call friends and ask them if we can stop at their house to pick up items to take to the pantry with us. Then I haul the kids around town and let them pick up all the items. They think it's so much fun!

Check all food products for expiration dates before delivering it to the pantry!

Check out Rocks in my Dryer for more awesome tips!

Happy Birthday

I have a big "L" on my head. I forgot to wish one of my best friends a "happy birthday" today. So Happy Birthday, 32D!

Love you lots,

green3

Queen of Pain

If you are lucky enough to not know me, then you are also lucky that you have not had to watch me struggling to get around the past few weeks. **BACK PAIN** Did I unknowingly make a deal with the devil at some point in my life? Is that why I'm struggling with this?

Anyhoo...when people see me, here is what they probably think is running through my head.

And here is what is really going on in my head.

CLUEless Son

I've been spending a lot of time trying to become healthy. Not dieting so much, just exercising regularly, taking vitamins, not eating a ton of junk, and whatnot. So I was thinking I was on the right track, and that since I was feeling better, I was also probably looking better. My adorable son set me straight last night.

We were getting ready to being our "Family Game Night" with Clue, a game I despise but since my son loves it I play along. He asks me which token I want to use. I jokingly (or maybe not jokingly?) replied, "I better be Miss Scarlet since I look the most like her."

"Actually, Mom, you should probably be this lady. You look more like her."

FIVE FRIDAY

I know you've been anxiously awaiting my next genius post. Well, I don't have anything genius to say so I'll throw out these tidbits for FIVE FRIDAY!!!

1. I'm busy. Not just busy-body busy. I'm BUSY! Busy at work, busy at home, and I'm running for school board so I've got campaigning to do. That school board thing is a whole different post. More on that later.

2. My brother brought me back som SoBeLean on his last trip home. I love that stuff. I keep it warm in the garage and only put one in the fridge at a time. Not cause I'm lazy - I just don't want my boys stealing the stuff. THIS DRINK IS MOMMY'S!!!

3. I'm pondering letting my kids have some friends stay overnight tonight. But 4 wild boys in my house for many hours? Yikes.

4. I am in over my head with projects. I'm still in the middle of painting my garage. And you all know how nice a half-painted garage looks sitting in your yard. SWEET. And my flower beds, which look nice from a distance, look like a junkyard up close.

5. I cannot wait until August 19. Party Time!!!!

WFMW: Washing Windows

To wash your windows without leaving behind streaks or a ton of lint, spray them with your window cleaner and wipe them down with newspaper! I learned this tip several years ago and have never gone back to rags.

For more tips, check out Works for Me Wednesday Goddess Shannon.

Talladega...what the...?

Let me set the scene here: Our family loves NASCAR. Our family loves Will Ferrell.

Now logic would tell you that the movie Talladega Nights was going to be “our”movie. This is the one we figured we’d probably go see at least twice at the theatre and be the first in line to buy it when it came out on DVD. Oh how wrong we were.

Problem number 1 – It was rated PG-13, but it should have been rated R. I’m no prude, but I had my 6 and 9 year old with me! Yeah, I know it was PG13 and I expected a few lines of crudeness. But this was bad enough that I – the “not prude mom” – was considering walking the boys out of the theater. Tons of references to sex and drugs and the swear words came out WAY too often.

Problem number 2 – The movie sucks in general. Will Ferrell is our man, but this movie totally blows. It’s just not funny.

If you enjoy these subject matters, maybe this movie is for you:

• Ricky and his sister start making out with each other at a bar and then become a couple. “I did the paint job on his car…and we had sex.”
• One character was gay, which means there were lots of men kissing each other, holding hands. Heck, even the straight men started kissing each other on the lips toward the end of the movie.

So my fellow bloggers, as well as my friends and family who visit me daily but don't leave comments, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT SPEND MONEY TO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!

She's a Little Bit Country...

Marie Osmond is in the news today. A line from an article states, “Osmond’s manager said he gets tired of responding to tabloid reports.”

Before I read that article, here’s how I would have assumed a phone call would have gone with Marie’s manager:

So here how I thought a typical phone call would go to Marie’s manager:

Manager: Hello?

Marie: Hi, Mr. Manager. This is Marie.

Manager: Marie who?

Marie: Marie Osmond

Manager: Marie Osmond? I’m your manager? I haven’t heard from you since 1984.

Marie: Well, I think you are my manager.

Manager: Ok, well, what do you want?

Marie: I guess I really don’t need anything. Hey, have you heard that they now have a tooth whitening solution that only takes 1 hour?

Busy guy, eh? Now I consider myself (yes, always and forever) a huge Donny and Marie fan. I had the whole deal – Barbie dolls, microphone, outfit, records and probably a bunch of other crap that my parents could not afford but still bought for me. And yes, jealous girls, I even attended a Donny and Marie concert. So today is a sad day for me. According to how tired and stressed out Marie’s manager is, apparently I’ve missed out on a huge chunk of Marie’s career.

WFMW: Discounts for Online Shopping

If you do any online shopping, always check out this site first: www.naughtycodes.com. They accumulate all the current discounts that website are offering and provide all of us shoppers with the codes! There is nothing more frustrating about online shopping than getting to the shopping cart and see that it's asking for a discount code - AND I DON'T HAVE ONE!

Check it out, and happy shopping!!