Please read!!! ***UPDATED***

JORDAN HAS BEEN RETURNED!!
Kim needs your help. Her grandson has been abducted. Please go read the post, and look at the pictures. Thank you!





Jordan is 6 years old DOB 3/10/99. He is approx 4 ft tall, 50 lbs, has a scar on the middle of his back, exczema on his right arm and wrist, and a wart on his right thumb. He was last seen wearing a grey shirt with a navey collar, and blue shorts with orange flames on the sides. He responds to the name "Jordan Barry". He was last seen on 9/28/05 at 10:00AM in Lakewood, OH.
His abductor, Nancy Rolfe, may also go by the name Flora. She is in her 40s, thin, approx. 5'6, may have changed her appearance to look older. She may be driving a white Chevy conversion van, or with a friend driving a white Honda with black trim. She may be headed to Florida, or Mexico.

Please, help Kim and her family find this little boy. Contact your local police department with any information. The family is offering a reward for information leading to his safe return.

Prepare to throw things at me

I am ashamed to admit I'm failing at my attempt to become a non-smoker. I wasn't going to admit that publicly, but what the hell... So, what's the worst y'all can do, besides ridicule me?? Tish and Ammie are gonna have my ass on a platter! I am going to the doctor on Thurday for an unrelated appointment, but I'm going to inquire into some stop smoking aids. Hypnosis has also been suggested, so I'm looking into that. Either way, I'm TRYING, and DAMMIT this is HARD!

Anyway, on to other topics. Cori is having a BUSY life right now, so head on over and give her some comment love. We've all been there, where you barely have time to breathe, let alone blog!

Another blog friend is a bit stressed about a procedure this weekend, so let's all think good and healthy thoughts for this wonderful blogger. Pray, chant, meditate, whatever you feel like doing to send some cosmic vibes out, they would be appreciated!!

Another sign that I'm getting old and boring... I was totally happy to see the new phone book was here. Why? Well, we had one from 2003, and all the coupons were expired!! My biggest complaint now? Half the coupons are for Topeka stores, which are 45 minutes away.

I've made a new friend! Like, one that DOESN'T LIVE IN MY COMPUTER!!! She lives a couple blocks away! This is an accomplishment, since N was beginning to think I only had friends in my computer. Granted, my best friend is still in here, but only because I can't convince her to leave California and run away with me. Silly woman!

Well, that about sums it up for now. I'm off to watch Boston Legal in a few, I hear it's right up my alley. Enjoy your evening!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I. WANT. A. CIGARETTE! I keep thinking "Oh, I'll just pop out onto the porch, and smoke. Oh, shit. I don't smoke anymore. DAMMIT!" This sucks. I am compiling a list of things that piss me off, so check back for extra snark.

Stop Smoking: Attempt 4

The last time I tried to quit smoking was in November 2004, that attempt bit the dust on day 5, when Madison broke her leg, and was hospitalized. Sadly, quitting smoking is the hardest thing I've done, by far, and my motivation is lacking. Why? Because I like to smoke, I am well aware of the health risks, but I really enjoy the habit. Unfortunately, it's getting more expensive by the minute, and it was either Cokes or smokes that had to go. I simply cannot function without my Cokes, so it's bye-bye cigarettes. I am not a happy camper. My dirty little habit is all consuming, I think about it every five minutes seconds or so. So, we'll see. I can't make any promises (although I keep hearing Tish in my mind, telling me to QUIT!!) but I'm kinda hoping this gets a bit easier. If not, 4 bucks a day is well worth the sanity. **SIGH** On a funnier note, I went up to the shoppette to buy some candies, and the cashier asked me if they were goodies for the kids. I told her no, I was trying to quit smoking (as I stared longingly at the racks of cigs). She looked at me and said "So I guess the shirt is true right now?", and I realized I'm wearing a shirt with a snake on it that says "Beware: I bite". I told her it was VERY true, God help my poor family. Standby for snarkiness, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Sunday Soup

We went to a BBQ for N's company yesterday evening, which is automatically interesting. You see, if you gather all the families and single soldiers of all the ranks, proovide free food, and tell them BYOB, it's bound to be entertaining. Well, we invited a couple families back to our house after the BBQ broke up, and went home to prep. I had to run to the video store to return a movie, and stopped at the shoppette to get some drinks. The line at the shoppette is crazy, and there is only one register open. Finally someone says "Hey, why is that employee just standing there {by a back door} when there are like 30 of us in line?!" and the cashier replies "Because he caught a shoplifter." Great, it's Saturday night, and we all get to spend 30 minutes in line because some asshat decided to steal and the MPs are no where to be found. Here's a clue, this is FEDERAL property. If you break a law here it's usually much worse than breaking the same law off post. Stealing a candy bar or something from the shoppette is SO NOT WORTH the trouble you are gonna get in. Anyway, we were quite ready to have them just release the offender to those of us stuck in line, none of us were too happy.
Fast forward... we (Jake and I) arrive back at the house to find our guests have arrived. We get everything organized and start to relax. All of a sudden my front door opens (no knock, no ring, nothing) and another (single) soldier walks in. He's 3 sheets to the wind already, and apparently didn't understand that this was not a frat party, we all have young kids. He starts acting obnoxiously (when N told him to stop by, he was sober and claimed to have quit drinking altogether), spilling stuff, talking out his ass, the whole nine. He's sucking down a bottle of 20/20, and some beer, at a quick pace. 3 sheets is now more like 9, he's tore up. Finally, we girls go outside, and are out there talking for about 30 minutes. He comes stumbling out of the house, mutters something, and heads toward the street. We call out to him asking if he's driving, and he says "Yes". We ask him for his keys, tell him we have a DD and will give him a ride, which he refuses. I then tell him if he leaves my house in his car I will call the MPs. Three warnings were met with three "Whatever"s, and he pulled away. I went inside to call the MPs, and N was already on the phone with his sergeant. The guys had tried to get his keys before he came outside, and gave up short of an altercation. Well, calling the Sgt may cover their asses, but it doesn't help any if he kills someone while driving to his barracks. I call the MPs, and from the sound of the background chatter they caught up with him while I was still on the phone. I've been stressing about it since, (that was about 11pm last night, talk about ruining our night!!) even though I know I did the right thing. It's hard, knowing someone will get in so much trouble, but we tried to stop him, and what if he killed someone? It sucks that someone could be so ignorant, when we had a ride available for him. Either way, the whole situation has been eating at me.
Topping things off, we woke up this morning to complaints of a bellyache from Maddie. Hmmm... this is not uncommon, though she can have some BM trouble. We head out to breakfast, figuring she'll feel better when shortly. No fever, nothing like that. We're on the road and she starts throwing up the water she sucked down just moments earlier. Yay, this is gonna be a fun day!! We turn around, I get a warm bath drawn, and get in with her. She perks up in the bath, maybe she just had an upset tummy. No such luck, the puking quickly returned, poor little thing was so upset. After a few hours she is keeping down crackers, and feeling a bit better. By dinner time she is almost back to normal, so I'm hoping it's all over.
On that note, Desperate Housewives is about to start, so I'm outta here!! Enjoy the show!

Do you Blingo?

Ok, Ok... I know EVERYONE uses Blingo already. However, on the off chance that someone stumbles upon my site and DOESN'T know what Blingo is, I'm inviting you to sign up. If you win, I win, and it's all FREE!!! Who doesn't love FREE stuff? Cori has a bunch of Blingo friends, and I have none, so I'm feeling pretty lonely. Add this to the fact that some people have won MULTIPLE iPods, as well as other stuff, and I'm really bummed!! Come on, let's win stuff together, just for searching the net!! You know you want the new iPod Nano that they are giving away!!

Rita

Please pray (in whatever way you do so) for everyone in the projected path. A close family member of Nate's lives in Houston, and isn't evacuating. We're aggrivated by that, because she could have gone to my in-laws in central TX, but didn't feel the need to. Even if she wanted to, it'd be damn near impossible to now, as the roads out are deadlocked. Nate and I are thanking our lucky stars, because he almost took a firefighting job last year in Port Lavaca, a coastal port in the path of this storm.

I'm worried sick for all of our TX family and friends, and once again captivated by the weather reports. Part of me wants to be home in TX (our home is in the middle of the state, so not in much danger), but ultimately I just want everyone to be safe.

Wahhhhhh!

I realize I'm quite boring right now, but I was hoping everyone would hang with me. Apparently I've been downgraded on the evolutionary chain from Marauding Marsupial to Adorable Rodent. "Scuse me while I go cry and nibble on some cheese!

The kids' room

The kids' room is 75% done. We're not getting actual beds yet, as they still roll off the mattresses all the time, but we got their big kid mattresses and rearranged their room. There are a few more things I want to move around, but we're close to done with the re-decorating.

Send Earplugs

Seriously, I don't think my kids have shut up for more than 5 minutes in the last 7 hours. Jake got up with them this morning, because he's a glutton for punishment. I've warned people about my kids' incessant talking before, but sometimes you just have to experience it to understand why I pray to go deaf every night. Jake has now decided he is never having kids, and any time he thinks about it he's going to play a tape of my children, who NEVER. SHUT. UP! My mother-in-law will probably want to strangle me for ruinng her chances at grandchildren from her youngest boy, but I can't help it. Nate is lucky, he actually IS going deaf in one ear, I envy him. Someone please tell me that this is a phase, and it will soon end. Or at least send heavy medication, I'm dying here!

For Katy

Katy and I were emailing back and forth about TX, and I got a little homesick. So, I thought I'd pay some tribute to the Lone Star state by sharing this picture of my stairwell. His name is Harry the Longhorn (don't ask me why, he has been with Nate longer than I have!). And NO! We're NOT UT fans, this is a Sooners household. Still, I thought I'd share with you my Texan Shrine. Bow in awe... NOW! **wink**

My latest project ***Edited***

We've been working on a bookcase for the kids' room. I think it came out well after a few minor adjustments to my original plan. (That bottom area is a cubby, it's a long story...)




**Edited**
It occured to me that I had already told everyone about the project in my last post, so please ignore my tendency to be redundant. I can't help it, the kids hid my brain somewhere, and I'm too lazy to look for it. Oh, look... a nice comfy couch... see ya!

Weekend Update

Well, hi there! I'm still alive, thankfully! How was your weekend? Mine was BUSY!! Here's the breakdown...
Friday we hung out, and took it easy... or at least that was the plan. I went down to talk to my neighbor, and they were all 3 sheets to the wind on her front porch, so I decided to join them. We all went down (she lives 2 houses down) and partied it up. Pass out in the wee hours of the morning, knowing we had to be up EARLY for the post wide yard sale. Nate drags me out of bed, we then drag Jake out of bed, and set up our stuff. Yard Sale all day, both selling and shopping, takes us to early afternoon. Jake's girlfriend, Susie, was visiting, the kids were IN LOVE. Like, "Mommy WHO?!" We decided to go to the carnival at 8pm, normally the kids' bedtime, and spent an obscene amount of money on a few rides. It was quite fun, the first carnival the kids had ever been to, they were totally amused. One final spin on the merry-go-round, and we called it a night. The boys planned to drink through the night, so Susie and I got to enjoy the show. We were plannign to pull some pranks on them after they passed out, but they wouldn't stay in a deep enough sleep. Still, it was quality entertainment. That brings us to today, AKA "Recovery Day". A nice, laidback race/football day. I needed that, so I'm enjoying myself. Ah, the life of the young and energetic, Susie and Jake made me feel OLD! I'll post some pictures tonight or tomorrow, as well as the now-infamous (to us at least) bookcase we built. I think I am a sucker for punishment, I don't know how many cuss words spilled from my mouth during this project, but it would make a sailor blush!!
So, what's life like in your corner of the world??

EX HAUS TED

I am tired with a capital T. A night of partying with the neighbors, then the post-wide yard sale this morning, and it's been a LONG day. We might take the kids to the local carnival tonight, depending on our collective energy levels, so I promise to update tomorrow. I hope y'all are having a great weekend!

I hope you rot in hell

No, not *you*! The person at IP address 24.159.116.233 (Charter cable) from Charleston, West Virgina. The person who came here looking for pictures of criminal activities against children. You like looking at that shit, scumbag? You deserve to have your genitals burned off with acid. Seriously, ROT. IN. HELL.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming. Normally, I wouldn't even bother addressing such filth, but this search was particularly disturbing.

Happy birthday...

To ME! So, feel free to smother me with birthday wishes...
Let's PARTY!!!

Volunteers needed!!!

Y'all know Grace, the super-fabu-hippie-mommy-Liberal-yoga lover-totally awesome blogger, right? Well, she needs our help, with her super successful Katrina Victim Direct Relief blog.
Why should we volunteer our time to help her out? Well, because she is a SUPER SWEET woman who would totally give you the shirt off her back, or at the very least, invite you for some tea and chatting at a moment's notice. She claims she needs help because she is a menopausal, hot flashing mad woman, but really it's because she is only human, and this relief effort has been successful beyond ANYONE'S expectations. It's for a great cause, getting direct relief to the people who need it most, eliminating the middle men that can bottleneck the much needed supplies to the disaster victims on the Gulf Coast. How blessed can you be to have an opportunity to contribute your time to this wonderful effort? A couple more people like Grace, and this world would be a much better place!
Go.
Help.
NOW!!

Is this thing on??

Anyone out there? know everyone is busy with school, and volunteering, and other life things, but I'm thinking maybe y'all forgot about me! My comments have all but stopped, and my stats tell me very few visitors are even stopping in. I mean, if I suddenly stink, or my writing is total suckage, or whatever, y'all can tell me!! Paranoia sucks!

Random thoughts

Does it mean you're a grownup when you wake up with a nose full of boogers, and it makes you realize you need to change the AC filters?

Hmmm... no power tools until everyone is awake... damn!

It's pretty funny that my mom calls to tell me she actually mailed my birthday present BEFORE my birthday. And that she was SO PROUD. Sadly, I'm just as proud, as our family never mails ANYTHING on time. This is why I pay my bills online.

I thought Wacky Packages trading cards were a rip off of Garbage Pail Kids, but apparently they've been around longer, and are both made by Topps. Still, a quick search shows that GPK are back in stores, who knew?? I love how the toys from my childhood are back again!

Well, that sums up my Sunday Morning randomness. How's your weekend going?

**9/11/01 We will never forget.**

Awesome

Y'all have to check this out. Shylah sent it to me, and it's just the best thing I've heard all weekend. Foamy the Squirrel rants on the media and the Katrina Disaster, and the message is one we can all agree on. For those of you who don't know who Foamy is, he's a cartoon squirrel that rants on topics du jour at Ill Will Press. Hilarious!
** Turn up your speakers, and this is NOT suitable for kids/work/devout Christians, as there is much cursing. Still, it's worth listening to, I promise!!**

A brilliant post

No, not mine. Don't be silly. The brilliant post can be seen here, at Code, Code World. Bill discussed the Katrina disaster/response point by point, politely and rationally analyzing the actions of different government officials. Everyone has been discussing the "Who screwed up?" aspect of this disaster, and the finger pointing has been plentiful. I personally think Bill did a wonderful job of analyzing the actions and lack thereof without jumping on partisan bandwagons. Go check it out, I definitely think it's worth reading.

Done!!

Well, not the whole room, but the curtains are done, at least!! The fabric didn't show well in the pics, but it's cute little rainbow dots, and I made the white curtains for the bottom half of the window, since the kids sometimes go to bed before it's totally dark.. It's so bright and cheery in there now!!

Expect cuss words to follow

I don't like this place. Ft. Riley, that is. I don't like N's unit, they are comprised of wish-washy fuckwads who just CANNOT stick to their word. My good friend Debbie warned me abotu the whole damn brigade doing that kind of shit, and she was right. Here's a newsflash to all people in the brigade. Intergrity is an "Army Value", you should try it. If you say you are going to do something, FUCKING DO IT!! This back and forth, broken promises, he said, he said (we're in an all male unit, no "she" to speak of) Alpha Male bullshit is poor form. It hurts morale, it cheapens the value of your collective word, and it's making this brigade and especially N's unit a shitty place to be. If you say something will happen, make it happen. Fuckers.

**For the record, this is not stemming from one event, nor is it from events that were out of the command's control. This is from a few instances of people who should be able to keep their word about reasonable requests not doing so. Shit happens, but apparently it happens a lot more in this particular brigade.**

End Rant.
I'm now having a shitty day, thanks to one asshole in particular. Oh, well, I can go back to bed in a few 12 hours. Dammit!

Helping hand

Many of you know Cat from A Mom In The Swamp. They are from one of the hardest hit areas in LA, and lost pretty much everything. Her sister-in-law has posted on her site, with a list of things they could really use. Please go check it out, and do help if you can. Thanks!!

Answers

Bill and Katie: Jake caught the moth in a lamp, but the cat gave it a good effort!! (Bill, why the yellow 'vette thing? That made me laugh!!)

Cori: YES, the dirty girl, can you believe she brough a dude in that house looking like that?? Not only is it some white trash dudde, but she drove to another state to pick him up, and bring him back here. Yummy!

Project: Kids' Room

The kids room is being redone in "Rainbow Learning", ABCs, 123s, and shapes, all in rainbow colors. So far I've finished making and hanging the cardstock border, it's hard to see in the pics but the alphabet, and 0-9 are written on the cards. I'm still working on ideas for their new curtains, and other decorative accents, I'll post more once I get it all figured out. Any suggestions? (Keeping in mine that we are on a budget, and can't paint the walls.)

Blah Blah Blah

Welcome! Have some randomness!

I've realized just how early the Home Depot obsession starts for boys. The closest HD is about 20 minutes away, and not in an area we drive by every day, but my son sees the orange signs and starts yelling "DEPOT!! Mommy, DEPOT! Let's go to DEPOT!" He saw a bag from our last trip today, and started in again, he loves him some "Depot".

Another current obsession of Shane's is motorcycles. I think this is Daddy's doing.

Maddie's obsessed with saying "Happy Birthday", has been since their birthday in June. She'll say "Happy Birthday!!" to you over and over again, regardless of the time of year. My birthday is next week, and since N told her that she's been giving me birthday wishes ALL day, every day. Too cute.

I'm watching my cat and my brother in law try to catch a moth. Quality entertainment.

One of my neighbors has some white trash crack head living with her while her husband is deployed. They're "just friends". Right. I have a bridge I can sell you REAL cheap.

Gas is too fucking expensive, so it's been a pretty boring few days.

Blah. Blah blah blah! Talk amongst yourselves.

Busy bee

I haven't been posting much, because I've thrust myself into projects. Keeping busy helps keep my anxiety down, especially when things are as chaotic as they have been. The Katrina Disaster, the death of Justice Rehnquist (another opening on the court for Bush to fill scares the crap out of us liberal minded folk), the outrageous gas prices, these are all things that can send me into a panicked frenzy if I'm not careful. So, I've decided to decorate the kids' room, finish up some new pillows, sew, craft, scrap, whatever I can do to refocus my energies. I'll post pictures once I get some of the projects completed, and I'll try to come up with something witty and amusing for everyone. In the meantime, please do not become complacent with the struggles of the Gulf Coast survivors. Donate, volunteer, pray, do whatever you can to help. The anniversary of 9/11 is a few days away, take some time to remember those who were lost, and focus on the patriotism that came from that tragedy. Do something nice for someone else, do something nice for yourself. Enjoy our blessings, and share them.

Idle Hands

Now that we've finished the table (well, that's a lie. It needs some finishing touches we don't have yet.) I am desperate for another project. I decided I hated the smaller pillows I made for the living room, and wanted to make new ones. This is not going as well as one might hope, and I'm getting a bit ticked off. I have fabric to make the bolster and decorative pillows for our bedroom, but I am not really up to tackling that. In all honesty, I have a few different "projects" in the works, but I haven't got the motivation to work on any of those at the moment. Bah!! I need something to do!!

A bit of positive

It's good to see that more than just the negative is making it into the news. There have been lots of reports of the horrors of the Katrina disaster, and blame for who screwed up what, but this story tells of the community spirit, and generosity from a few states in this country. (To the rest of the states, what the hell is wrong with you?) At the end of the article there are some quotes from evacuees about how they want to pitch in, do a bit of work, show their gratitude. Not all is evil and ungrateful, and that makes me feel better about our society.

The lighter side of things, brought to you by Budweiser

The boys have been drinking since early afternoon, to celebrate the begining of college football season. So, by 11pm or so, you can imagine the state of things. Nate had his Sooners hat on sideways, and Jake had his Texas A&M hat on the same way. I looked over and noticed them, and promptly went for my camera.
Me: "Look at y'all wearing your hats sideways, dorks!!"
Nate: "Great minds think alike!"
Jake: (deadpanning N) "Does your ass itch, too?"

I was laughing so hard I could barely snap the picture, but I assure you I did manage to immortalize the scene for the scrapbooks. I'll post the picture later, I'm too lazy to walk over to the PC and upload it right now. So, in addition to foot powder for his STINKY shoes, Jake will be receiving some butt cream for Christmas to help that itching problem.
**Jake, I'm just kidding, you know I love you!**

Been There Donation Clearinghouse

Emily and Cooper over at Been There have come up with the WONDERFUL idea of a donations clearinghouse. Head on over to read the most amazing donation story, and find out where you can send your in kind donations. Please go check it out, and then get working on collecting these goods!

Buckaroo

I found this link via Cori, and decided to play our own Buckaroo with our cat, Callie. Getting Callie to lay still can be tricky, but a little loving from N and she was down for the count. We decided on "Reading is FUNdamental Buckaroo", using children's books.
Final tally was 21 books.


**Updated** Bonus Buckaroo: "Junk Food and PS2"

Katrina

What can I say? I have no idea what to say anymore. I want to help these people, to go down there and pitch in, or SOMETHING. The disaster is all I can think about lately, and I'm frustrated by my inability to help in any signifigant way. I watch the news, and see the pictures, and all I can think is "Do they have diapers for those babies? Formula? Medication for the sick? How will they survive?!" I'm sitting here in my home, with my internet access, and all of the things I need, and these people are refugees in their own city, with nothing to sustain them. I don't think I'll be posting much in the next couple of days, but I'm here, and reading blogs. If anyone knows of ways to help beyond donating money (we have, but we don't have much to give) please let me know. CJAping at gmail dot com.