Leaving the nest

Jake left a few minutes ago for San Antonio, early tomorrow morning he'll swear in to the United States Coast Guard. We're all going to miss him a lot, I'm really glad he stayed with us for a couple of months before he left. It was nice getting to know my brother-in-law, and for him to spend some time with Nate. He will tell you himself how much he looks up to Nate, always has. I'm sure part of that is the 9 year age difference, Nate was leaving to go into the Army when Jake was just a kid. Anyway, we're really proud of him, he's shown maturity and discipline beyond his years. Best of luck, Jakey... we're always here for you.

Stories from the road

Guess where I'm writing this from!! Oh, come on... guess! Well, I'm on 135 South, heading towards Wichita, KS. I cannot WAIT to get out of KS, I never thought I'd be so excited about entering Oklahoma. I figure I can write a few posts along the way in Notepad, and post them once we reach internet access. We stopped off at a truck stop to buy a converter for the laptop charger, and gas was $2.07/gal. The really sad part is that made me want to pee my pants a little. I mean we paid $2.24 when we filled up on post, and my MIL says it's in the $2.40 range in TX. Anyway, we've had one pee accident per child already, the joys of driving with toddlers. I guess it could be worse, no one gets carsick in our family. Nothing like the smell of puke to make 650 miles last forever.
On the non-roadtrip front, something occurred to me Tuesday night when watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". Where the hell were the parents of the Peanuts gang? When Linus falls asleep in the pumpkin patch it's his sister who goes out and gets him. What was Mom doing, drinking herself into oblivion?? How about Dad?? Seriously, that was a CPS case waiting to happen. I wonder what the Peanuts gang grew up to be. The world may never know.
So, that's about it for this stretch of highway. Keep on trucking, or something like that.

More tales of the road here. I'm in Lawerence, KS, home of Kansas University and right next to Wichita. We just passed a billboard that convinced me this town needs to be bombed right off the planet. A polite looking young man next to the words "ex-gays prove change is possible". WTF?!?! I'm guessing it was for one of those "camps" that "reforms" gays and lesbians. I'm totally disgusted. Seriously, I hate this state.

We stopped in Moore, OK to get an OU hat for Shane. Wal*mart was the Promised Land!!! There was $2.00 gas, and the Wal*mart had every OU thing you could want! Nate was in HEAVEN!

Well, we are in the great state of Texas now, we arrived at about 5:30am, I've never been so happy to see the Killeen exit. Actually, when we passed an HEB in Waco, I decided that I love HEB and want to marry it and have little HEB babies. I had a Krispy Kreme in Alvarado, and thought it couldn't get any better than that, but seeing HEB, and then our bank, and Baylor, and the bar I got drunk at for my 21str birthday, and YEAH!!! We are in TEXAS!! We're home!! Too. excited. for. words!

Saturday:

At some point last night I decided I wanted a tattoo. We were down at the tattoo shop, saying hi to everyone, and I told Chris I wanted to get in his chair later. Since it was the day before payday, we got lucky, and the place was pretty slow. When I said "I just want a little bit of cover work to start extending this tattoo towards my other shoulder", Chris heard "Let's do both shoulder blades tonight!!" He gave me such a killer quote on it I decided to go all the way. Of course, N decided he wanted another too, so halfway through mine he left me with his brothers, and went across the hallway to Chad's booth. Thanks, hon! Anyway, I was a big fat baby, but I made it through. I only teared up twice, and didn't break anyone's hand. Thing is, there a few moments where I was like "This isn't bad, I've got this, I'm good... OH SHIT! NOT GOOD!! NOT GOOD!!!" Since this was much larger than my other two, I am SORE! I'll post pictures when I get home, sicne I don't have my USB for my camera with me.

So, I'll probably post more later, and pictures are coming next week. Happy Halloween!

Adios, amigos!!

We're leaving this afternoon for Texas, we'll be back on Tuesday. Our "bubby" Jake is going to Basic Training for the Coast Guard! I'm really excited for him, but also sad he's leaving us. He's been staying with us since August, and it's been really great having him around. The kids are going to miss their Uncle Jakey so much!! Of course, going to Texas to see Oma and Opa, and Uncle Ducky will help soften their pain. Candy and trick-or-treating will surely sweeten the deal.

On a sidenote, housing failed to inform us that the construction crews would be digging up our yards to put in a new sewer line. I finally asked one of the guys what exactly they were tearing up my lawn for. I woke up this morning to find a backhoe in the yard, and about an hour ago they started digging. I'm glad I won't be around for the rest of this "project".

So, have a great SPOOKY Halloween weekend, and I'll see you next week!

Please let there be a season two!!

FX's provacative drama "Over There" finished it's first season tonight. I will be so disappointed if this show isn't renewed next year. Apparently, it's up in the air right now, it's been both praised and criticized, so we shall see. I think I'd have a harder time watching it if my husband was actually in Iraq at the time, it would be a little too close to home. Still, understanding military life, and the realities of deployment, it's an interesting and fairly realistic show. My only real complaint? All but one of the spouses cheated, or at least stepped on the line of cheating. There is a lot of infidelity in the military, I think young couples, long separations, and the nomad lifestyle lead to a lot of cheating, and a very high divorce rate. Still, there are thousands of military spouses who stand faithfully by their soldier through thick and thin. Not all of us look at a deployment as a singles cruise, not all of us need to find comfort in bed with someone else. I'm just saying...
Anyway, I digress. The show as a whole was really good, even N got hooked on it. I may have to check out "Nip/Tuck", since I love "Rescue Me" and "Over There" so much, though I'm not sure I can stand the gore. Other than that, I'm down to only "Desperate Housewives" until next summer.

Code Red!! **updated**

Vacuum Watch status: No activity. It seems her manic cleaning has either stopped, or moved indoors.

Now, we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you an emergency broadcast. Code Red: I'm out of Coke. I drank my last can this morning, and have no backup until lunchtime. I have to pack for our trip to TX, and am doing so without my lifeblood. CODE RED! CODE RED! Lock all your doors and stay inside until further notice. Stay calm, and ignore any screaming or crying you may here coming from the central US.

That is all. Stay tuned for further updates.

**Update: Order has been restored, I have a fresh 12 pack in the fridge.

That's the way the cookie crumbles **UPDATED**

We have a little joke around here about Nate's ability t make cookies. I make some kick ass cookies, and my wonderful husband has tried many times to make some of his own. Unfortunately, they don't ever come out right. Usually, the dough is crumbly and dry, and until now I could never figure out why. I was out running errands when Jake decided he wanted to make chocolate chip cookies. N told him to wait until I got home, not trusting his baking abilities. Well, I told the boys I didn't feel like it, but they could go ahead and give it their best shot. Jake asked how many tbsp make a cup, referring to the butter. I told him to look on the package, and he said, "A whole stick?" I told him he needed TWO whole sticks. At this point, N tells me that's why his cookies suck, he'd only been using one stick. Aha!! A good laugh all around, and we go check on Jake's progress in the kitchen. All of a sudden I realize he's put ALL the ingredients in a bowl, but hasn't used the mixer yet. Why I point this out, he looks at the recipe, and realizes his error. Nate asks me if I can fix it. Um, no... not unless I have a magic wand that separates everything again. So, they're mixing up a big bowl of ingredients, and hoping for the best. I totally give them an "A" for effort, although their recipe reading skills are much lacking. I'll let you know how they turn out.

**I'm happy to report the cookies came out fine. Pass the milk, please?

More childhood mishaps

Vacuum Watch status: Not vacuuming, moved on to washing driveway. 4:15pm CST

So, continuing with my theme of childhood mishaps today, I'll share another story of un-common sense at my mom's store. My mom met my dad while working at the store, he's a police officer in the same town and would frequently stop in. They started dating when I was 7 or so, but my mom already knew quite a few of the officers in the town. Well, behind the registers there is a button for emergencies, you can push it and a silent alarm goes out to the police. You can probably see where this was going. I knew the button was not to be pushed, but sometimes I would help put things away behind the registers, bag items when it was slow, etc. I'd see that button, and it would almost call to me. I just wanted to see what would happen, who can resist pushing a button that you aren't supposed to touch? Well, one little push won't hurt anything right? I won't even push it, I'll just touch it. It's recessed into the counter, I'll just stick my little fingers in there and see what it feels like. Oh, just a regular old button, I feel better, I got to touch it and nothing exploded or anything. Right?? No harm done!! Um, approximately 30 seconds later there were quite a few police officers standing outside with weapons drawn, yelling in to my mom, asking if everything is ok. Uh, oh... I'm probably in a lot of trouble. Well, it was explained, I'm sure there were a couple chuckles over this, and life went on. I can't even remember if I was punished, I'm SURE I was for such a lame-brained idea, but I do know my mom was thoroughly embarrassed. I was too, of course. And I never touched that button again.

**If I can get my husband to give me the OK, I'll blog his most infamous childhood mishap. It's way better than mine, certainly a lesson he only had to learn once.

Un-Common Sense

Vacuum Watch status: Still vacuuming. 12:45pmCST

Christine reminded me of some childhood mishaps, with her daughter's pencil sharpener incident. I figured I'd share them with you, in case you needed a good laugh today.

A little background. My mom worked as a store manager for a large company in the northeast. She was there from the time I was an infant until early this year, she told me just before New Year's Eve 2004 that she was leaving the job.

Back in the late 1980s, they built a new store closer to our home, much larger, a big step up for her. This was HER store, she opened it, built the customer base, met my stepdad there, etc. When this store was first built we spent a lot of time there preparing for the grand opening. The day before the store opened, she took me with her to finish up some last minute things. She sat me down in her office, and probably told me to behave, color a picture, and not mess with anything. Well, my 5 year old self took that as "Play with all the things on Mommy's desk." Eventually I came across the stapler, which seemed like a fine device to explore. After stapling a few papers, probably an eraser or two, I decided to experiment. I wondered if the stapler could staple my thumb? I placed my little thumb, pad facing up, under the device, and pressed. Guess what?? Staplers DO staple skin!! Who knew? Needless to say, I screamed for Mommy, who came and bandaged me up in good Mommy fashion. I'm sure it was only two little pinpricks, but at the time I certainly thought I was dying. I'm sure she silently laughed, just as Christine did. After all, kids don't always use common sense.

Vacuum watch 2005

My neighbor? She's vacuuming again. Furiously. In shorts and a t-shirt when it's in the 50s. Nate drove past her today, she was sitting in her jeep (not the car she's vacuuming, I think it's her husband's jeep) gripping the steering wheel and looking around like she wasa trapped animal. I know that I was poking fun yesterday, but as this goes on I am thinking she really might be ill. Her husband is deployed, has been since we moved in, and that's pretty much all I know about her. She actually lives a few houses down, so not much of an opportunity to just run into her and start up a conversation. Apparently her next door neighbor is in N's unit, another neighbor who is in the same platoon is going to ask him what's going on. There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this bizarre behavior, but I'm not convinced yet. So, we're on Vacuum Watch 2005 until further notice. I'll keep you updated.

Rest in peace, Mrs. Parks

Rosa Parks has died of natural causes at the age of 92. Go in peace, ma'am, I hope we never forget your message of equality.

Go away

Hey... person from Pakistan. There are no "Ultr*a Ultr*a R*ape pics" here. They still cut off body parts for crimes in your country?? Because I can think of a few to relieve you of.

Don't make any sudden moves

Shhhh. Don't move. My neighbor has gone crazy, and we don't want to agitate her. Really, the woman was always kind of high strung, I've never spoken to her but I often see her running around like a maniac, always moving at hyperspeed. We nicknamed her Redneck Lady, you'll just have to trust me that the name fits. All summer long we watched her run (really, RUN) her lawnmower around her yard, then run in spastic circles with the leafblower to blow off the clippings on her driveway. Imagine taking meth and deciding to do lawncare, this is what it would look like. Anyway, she never bothered anyone (her daughter is a different story), just continued with her bizarre routines. Last week she began vacuuming her car. I know what you are thinking, "So what?? Everyone does that!" When I say vacuuming, I mean with the whole upright vacuum, not with a hose or a handheld. A bit weird, but ok, whatever. She's been at it for 4 or 5 days now, still a bit weird, but maybe she spilled sand in there or something. It might be more time efficient to borrow a shopvac from housing, or go up the road to the car care center and use the vacs, but we haven't reached total insanity yet. However, when I walked outside a few minutes ago I noticed she's still at it. She's been vacuuming since early afternoon, like lunchtime or so. And it's now 8pm. And dark. In case you aren't following me, she has been vacuuming her car for over 6 hours. Doesn't that seem a bit, um, INSANE?? Lady, there is no more dirt, I promise, just put down the vacuum and step away from the vehicle. Here, have some Valium, I think you need it. These nice men are going to take you for a ride, to a place that will be nice and clean. **smile and nod**

Un-Motivational

I like my house to be clean and tidy, but don't we all? I mean, I don't have unrealistic expectations, I know the house will be a bit of a mess when the kids are running around being kids, but I usually clean up every night. That means I have a nice clean house before I go to bed, and for about 5 minutes in the morning. Lately, however, I have no motivation to clean. None. I force myself to do as little as possible, but it's a true battle to convince my ass to move. Still, one can't live in filth, so I swept and mopped, and wiped, and all that fun stuff. There is still a ton of stuff that needs to be done, but I'm clinging to my excuses. We're out of paper towels, can't clean the glass. Oh, can't vacuum, I might wake up the family. (I always vacuum at night, what's the difference now??) Bah, I need a maid or something. This cleaning crap is really interfering with my hobbies. And where the hell does all this dust come from?!

RIP

My cell phone is terminally ill. It has cell phone pnuemonia, someone left it out in the rain and it is having trouble recovering. I think it is time to remove the life support, and let it go in peace. I'm not as fanatical about my phone as some people, but that is partially because it's cheap and fairly new. It wasn't chosen for it's looks or features, but rather for it's low, low price. I'm also sad to report N's phone is not doing well. He used to have the same phone I have, but he has a tendency to break phones. He now has a non-flip phone, since they are tougher to break, but something has managed to malfunction anyway. I'm pretty upset, since we just bought this one a couple months ago. Anyway, since our cell phones are the only phones we use, they must be active and healthy. Since we're going to TX next weekend, I'd like them to be working before then. Thank god for Ebay, I'm shopping and bidding as we speak. The end is near for the current models, may they rest in cell phone heaven.

Speaking of pedicures

I've been getting a large amount of hits from a picture of my pedicure a couple months ago. Um, why are y'all (those who are coming here for that picture) so interested in feet? Nevermind, I doubt I want to know. Ew.

Battle of the sexes

We're having a little debate this morning. The kids woke up in a fairly good mood, being cute and sweet, a bit unsettling to tell the truth. Then, their normal personalities woke up, and fought over breakfast. The issue at hand? The age old battle of the TV. Madison wanted to watch Spongebob (thanks to Yahoo! news, which had a picture of Spongebob on my computer screen), and Shane wanted to watch... football. Daddy watches ESPN in the early morning, while getting ready for work. This means it's usually the station that pops up when the TV is turned back on. Shane has become quite the BOY lately, with an obsession with bugs, sports, and farting. Oh, the farting. He thinks it's just the funniest thing ever, and he can stink up a room faster than most grown men. Oh, and he MUST poop first thing in the morning, or his day has not started well.
What was I saying? Oh, yeah... the days Blue's Clues and the Backyardigans being his favorite viewing pleasure are no more. Instead it's any football game he can spot, regardless of level, team, or score. He's just starting to understand the intricacies of a game that still confuses me, but apparently the topic of the week is fumbles. Last week it was touchdowns. Now I understand how boys become men, and seem to just magically know all about sports and cars and bodily functions. If you need me, I'll be teaching Madison the fine art of the mani/pedi.

Business plan

I have it all figured out, as Cori would say how I'm going to "make my pile" (although that phrase conjures up thoughts of pooping, I've been around toddlers for TOO LONG). You see, my son's head is made of super unbreakable material. He's taken more than his fair share of blows, rarely do they result in more than a minute of whining. For example, he fell down the stairs, and scraped a nice chunk of skin off his forehead, but was seemingly unfazed. He still has a bit of discoloration where that scab healed, right along his hairline. Then, when getting out of the LooneyVan today, he tripped over his own feet, and faceplanted on the concrete. He managed to hit the exact same spot, and luckily only got just a couple of tiny scrapes. It all happened in that horrific slow-motion, where I saw him falling, but couldn't reach out fast enough. Poor kid. Luckily, no bleeding, so a bag of chips from the store erased his pain. Anyway, onto my business plan. I'm going to re-create the material Shane's head is made from, and sell it to NASA. No more shuttle problems, Shane's head could withstand the intense heat and pressure of re-entry without damage. Maybe the military will use it to replace their body armor. A light-weight, wash and wear material sure to stop the sharpest shrapnel. I really think I'm onto something here.

Seriously

One of our cousins recently found a lump in her breast. She's about my age, early 20s. A mammogram is scheduled for the 31st. So, if you could spare a moment to pray, or chant, or talk to your god however you chose to, we'd appreciate it. There's a little girl who needs her mommy, and a whole family who needs Emily to be OK. Keep her in your thoughts? Thanks.

Crystal

To each his own

Ok, so Harriet Miers, new Supreme Court nominee, has some signifigant pro-life ties. Could this mean the end of Roe v. Wade? Democrats predicted this very scenario before Bush's second term, with 2 openings on the court he can easily stack towards right-wing conservative views. I have just one question for the right wing. Why do you feel everyone should live by your morals/standards/opinions? I am personally pro-choice, because I believe every person has the right to choose what they do with their body. I'm also pro-euthanasia when there are checks and balances, such as Oregon's current law. I'm for the right to modify one's body, the right to dress how one chooses, and to raise one's children as they choose. I don't have the right to tell anyone how to live, provided they are not harming anyone else. You may say "What about the fetus?" and my answer to that is it becomes a crim when the fetus is viable on it's own. What's that, approximately 23 to 24 weeks? I'm against late term abortions, with few exceptions. Ultimately, I just cannot understand why so many people want the whole country to live by their rules. Why can't we all just live and let live? If you don't approve, you don't need to participate. Do a little research on life before Roe v. Wade. There were tons of women dying because of backroom abortions, clothes hangars, herbal abortions, heading to Mexico to have the procedure. Outlawed abortion failed as miserably as prohibition, and a couple of decades can't change that. So, who are we to tell our neighbor how to live?

I don't feel like coming up with a title, so bite me.

I'm a bit under the weather, thus the lull in postings. I spent yesterday in bed, and after sleeping away as much of Monday (and early Tuesday) as I could, I am doing better today. Except... I have that icky queasy feeling, where nothing sounds the least bit appealing. Fun. I blame Wal*mart... check back later.