Whatever

So, yeah

2011-02-23T06:39:00.002-06:00

That post the books I read and review them, that didn't work out. I haven't posted since LAST year. I really should try that again. I do read a lot. I actually have taken a break from reading so much, but of course, that's not working. Instead I'm playing sudoku, but I really should read. Next on my agenda to read is Lovely Bones. I'll start it tonight.

Books read in 2010

2010-02-09T21:30:00.002-06:00

I'd really like to keep track of all the books I read. There really are quite a few. I will list them and discuss them, but I have no idea what order I read them in. Here's the list of books finished in January, in no particular order:

Just After Sunset by Stephen King I may have finished this in December, but I don't think so. Either way, this book of short stories has stuck with me. I really loved all of them. The story that really got me was Harvey's Dream. Very interesting. I also really enjoyed Anyana. Actually, I liked all the stories.
Another Faust: The First of Another Series by Daniel and Dina Nayeri This book, a young adult novel, was another great read. I can't wait to see what else they have in store. This is a brother and sister writing team, which is amazing in itself. I would kill my brothers before being able to write with them. Anyway, I chose this book because I heard an interview with the authors on NPR. It sounded so amazing, I went in and ordered it immediately. So, this book is a take on the Faust story. Basically it's about making a deal with the devil. But, if you have never heard the Faust story, it won't make a difference, you'll still "get" the book.
The Gutbucket Quest by Piers Anthony and Ron Leming Well, this book was good. Very short and quick book. I always love a Piers Anthony book, and this didn't disappoint. I probably would not have picked up this book without Piers Anthony's name on it. I love everything I've ever read by the man. This book only felt like a touch of Piers in it. The story is about a blues guitar player that is transported some how (maybe through a lightning strike) to a parallel universe. I loved the musical concept of this book. I don't want to give too much away in these books, but in this one there is a guitar called the Gutbucket, and there is a quest concerning it.
Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz Dean Koontz is one of my all time favorite authors. I have been reading him since my dad left a book laying around and I picked it up and have tried to read all of his books ever since - about 5th grade. So, typical of Koontz's style, you are pulled in right away even though I felt I had little in common with the protagonist. This guy has everything. Then his heart messes up. As you follow him through the eventual heart transplant, many things come up. Of course why did this perfectly healthy, young guy get sick anyway? Well, you would think that a heart transplant was the end of the adventure and they all lived happily ever after, but no. Soon, he's feeling threatened and is the organ donor wanting her heart back? He is getting messages that "Your heart belongs to me." Definitely recommend this book.
Rant by Chuck Palahniuk Yes, this is the guy who wrote Fight Club. Let me just say that I love that movie. Luckily, I saw the movie first. Rare case, but the movie was better than the book. Also, lucky for me, I read other books by him before reading Fight Club. I felt that he was an amazing writer from the other books I read. Fight Club was a good story, but not great. Rant is interesting, but I have heard many people saying they don't like the format. Basically, it's an interview/oral history and it's written from various view points. I liked it. It also amuses me that the main character Rant Casey, doesn't even get to tell his own story. Why? You can read it and find out! I can't give that away.

So, I think that's all I read in January. I'll check my nightstand, it's full of books. I'm of course reading a book now, so I will have to do a February installment in a couple of weeks.

Happy Winter!

2010-01-07T12:16:00.002-06:00

NOT. Man it's cold. I have a severe caffeine addiction. So, even though that little weather channel app I have keeps flashing and telling me it's below freezing and it's a windchill warning, I went out. I was out only a few minutes total. Walk to the car, walk into the gas station (I love QT!), and walk back out. My feet are frozen! I feel like I went out barefoot. Yeah, I have a snow day from work, but it's not being productive. Amory is on the playstation, Corey is on the wii, and I'm obviously on the computer. I guess it's productive in that I posted more than a sentence for the first time in about a year!

wow

2009-04-28T14:58:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's been nearly 4 months since I posted. I just set up mobile posting, maybe I'll think of stuff randomly. Maybe I should get over my facebook addiction.

Dreams

2009-01-12T14:37:00.002-06:00

So, I was volunteering in the 5th grade classroom today. I do it every Monday afternoon. (I go to 1st grade in the mornings, they just didn't need me today.) While I'm sitting there, this boy asks me what's my dream. I must have looked blank because he then clarified it by saying, "What do you want from life, you know, your dream."

It's been about 2 hours since he asked me that question, and he continued with, "do you want to be a millionaire, do you want...." until the teacher told him to get back to work. Two hours later, I don't know the answer. When I was little, I wanted to be a doctor. Then I wanted to be a photographer, a musician, a football player for the Chicago Bears, a jedi (yes, the boy gets it from me), a ninja, a Marine or a SEAL, a bartender. Basically, there were a million things I wanted to be and most of them had nothing to do with any of the others. But, what about now. What do I want from life?

I think my life is pretty decent. Sure, more money would be awesome, but what's the trade off? Would I need a different job, or maybe a second job? I'm not willing to do that. What about jobs? Would I want a different job? Right now, I'm happy with my work. Sure, there are tons of things that I can't stand, but I've worked enough to know that all jobs have bad points. My job though, has so many good points, I'm not trading. Just the job part of it alone is great. I work 40 hours, have holidays, vacation, no weekends or evenings, and I only work 4 days! I like it. Also, they are really good about letting us have time off for kid functions if needed. Then, lets look at what I do all day. I teach. What's better than that. You get to experience the joy of learning every day. Sure, some days it could be just the fact that they finally figured out that if you stack big blocks on the bottom, a structure stands better than on little blocks, but that's fine. Then there is the potential you see with so many of the kids is amazing. I have one kid that is so enthralled with anything in the animal kingdom especially bugs. I can see him being a scientist. Also, as you teach, you learn. Thinking again about my budding scientist, this is especially true. He will find something and want to know what it is. We will do research to find out what it is and as much about it as possible. The main thing that he was researching was butterflies and moths during the summer.

Then there is family. My two kids can be a challenge, but they are a lot of fun that I wouldn't change for anything. I also have a great husband. Sure, they all make me crazy once in a while, but ultimately, they are awesome. AND they all put up with me.

So, while I may have given up on my "dreams", I'm sure I'll be fine.

What I've been thinking about

2009-01-05T16:08:00.005-06:00

Mostly, I have been thinking about growing up. When I went to grade school, there were several schools in the district. I just checked, they only have 5 there now, but that's not my story. My story is that I went to almost all the grade schools in that town. Even if there were only 5, that's still more than one a year. I was there only until 4th grade. Kindergarten was at it's own building. Anyway, then we moved when I was going into 5th grade. I went to two schools in 5th grade. We actually stayed in Lincoln, NE all the way until 8th grade. That was huge, of course we went to Jr. High so technically that's two schools. I begged not to move. My family left NE a couple months before I did. I got to stay with my grandparents for half of a semester. I moved to good old Kansas over winter break. I hated it. We moved to a small town from a big city. I had friends in Lincoln and a whole world that we all had conquered.

So anyway, towards the end of 8th grade, I had to go to a new school in a small town. Everyone knew everyone else and had known them since basically birth. That is not all that cool. Being the new kid sucks. If you have never been a new kid, believe me, I was the perpetual new kid, it sucks. No, people weren't mean or rude or anything, they just have this history. They've been going to each other's birthday parties since before kindergarten. Thinking back, I'm not so sure I went to any classmate birthday parties. Maybe they didn't have those in Hiawatha. Maybe we were too old and I didn't know. Sure, I did make friends, and ultimately, it wasn't a horrible place to grow up. Some of my best friends are from there and my husband is from Hiawatha.

But, what's bothering me is that I don't have NO one that I have a life long connection with. I see people from all over on facebook posting pictures of themselves with their friends from kindergarten and they are my age and older and are still friends with these people. Well, of course there are younger people that have life long friends, too.

So, my goal in my present life is to NOT move a million times and let my kids stay in the same area. There are positive aspects to moving so much. I'm really good with names and faces. I can observe all things from any angle and don't have to be involved in everything. I honestly don't care what's popular or what other people think about my choices. I'm also good at doing stuff fast (coming in the middle of a semester and still required to do all the work causes that one) and I can do it by myself.

Things I feel that I'm missing from moving so much really aren't as numerous now that I think about it. I do have a hard time getting comfortable enough to not be shy. For example, if I go somewhere new, I'm quiet, hang back and take it all in. People that I've known for a long time don't know this, they think I'm out going. Or if you met me when I was in one of my comfort zones you might think I'm fine. I don't have long term memories of many people. If I think of my best friends from Washington, I still think of them as my best friends. Sure, I added them as friends on Myspace, but I don't really KNOW them. Also, the last time I saw them was when I was 18, so they were too. Of course, now it seems like they should still be 18. Then my best friend from Lincoln. He's my friend on facebook. If I'm honest, I think of him as a 12 year old. Seriously, this was my best friend for 3 years. We were always together. I moved away and started over. He probably has other childhood friends that he continued to be friends with and is still friends with.

Anyway, what's everyone else think? Do you think moving around a lot is hard on a kid? Would you try not to move too much, or is it not a big deal? Like I said, I hope to stay put so our kids can just have the long term bonds. Also, did you move around a lot? How did you deal with it? I'm sure each personality handles each thing differently, I don't think my brother really cares that we moved so much, but I did.

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Macy's 2008 Th

2008-11-28T16:32:00.002-06:00

This is awesome.

Rules

2008-11-25T18:11:00.002-06:00

So, I was thinking of rules we had when I was a kid. Things have changed a lot since then.

The other day, I was driving down the street and saw kids riding their bikes on the side walk near a busy street. I started thinking. We live near a busy street that has a few places that aren't so bad. I don't know if I'd let my kids go over to the gas station there right now. Corey is 11 and Amory is 7. When I was in 5th grade I was 10. We moved to Lincoln, NE. One of the busiest streets there is O street. We were NOT to cross O for anything. Did that stop us? Well, of course not!

So, I was thinking about rules. The ones that were broken and those that weren't. My dad had a thing called "Hollering Distance". If we were called to come home, we better be there in no time. I don't even use the word holler. Anyway, the other one we had that pertained to distance and being home was the rule to be home before the street lights came on. I remember they came on in a series. You could pedal as fast as they came on. It was a race to get from one end of the street to the other. Great times. I don't even think we ever got in trouble for not making it back on that. I'm sure we were late, but not too late.

So, anyway, I was thinking of my kids. They don't have these rules. It's kinda sad. They don't really GO anywhere. They sometimes go across the street. I kinda wish they could go run around, but I don't know where they'd go. I DON'T want them near the busy streets, but ultimately, I would have been there if I was a kid.

I don't know, I just think kids these days don't do nearly as much as we did.

Anyway, the kids

2008-11-17T12:10:00.003-06:00

All the time you read blogs about kids: Parenting blogs, homeschooling blogs, and just blogs that have random mentions of kids. Heck, you may even see blogs written by kids. I'm actually thinking of having my two start blogging. "Why?" you may ask. Well, there are a few reasons.

Last week we had parent teacher conferences. Amory's was first. Last year, we did his second so he felt vindicated this year. I didn't really know it was a competition, but if your kids are in the same school, you might think about it. Last year, we had a good conference and he was doing at or just above grade level in some things, and below grade level in writing. Let's just glaze over all the behavior issues. (I always write that word behaviour because it looks better all Canadian, but my firefox says it's wrong. Just like theatre is wrong.) Anyway, back to this year. We go in there expecting some of the same. I volunteer most of my day on Monday at the school. I'm in the 1st grade from 8:00-10:00 or 10:30. So, it's interesting that this kid who didn't know his letters before kindergarten, is a top reader! He is reading chapter books and I guess I didn't realize that wasn't normal. His sister was at that level at this age, so it's normal to us I guess. He's at grade level in math. I'd like him to do better at that, but he just doesn't like to sit still long enough to deal with it. Oh, and his behaviour isn't an issue this year. I don't know if it's because he has such great experienced teachers, or if it's him being better. I think a bit of both, probably. His teachers ARE excellent though. Anyway, what the main concern with him is writing. We need to catch his writing up with his reading. Again, I think it's mostly he doesn't want to sit still for it. He never colored as a preschooler. We tried getting him things he liked: spiderman, cars, trucks. Nothing worked. So, ultimately, I think his motor skills are behind. However, he can play video games like a maniac, so that slightly skews that theory. So, back to the blog idea. I was thinking of having him just write a few sentences here and there to encourage the writing process. It won't be HAND writing, so he may go for it. It will help with comprehension and getting thoughts to "paper". We'll see.

Now, on to the girl. She is very bright. However, she won't take risks. She does the minimal amount of work to get what she needs done. I've noticed lately, that means her sentences are very short and boring in most things. So, that's my goal for her. I'm going to try to get her to expand her thoughts a bit. I have no doubt this kid could be way better at most things if she just tries. She used to always be top of the class in reading, writing, math, pretty much everything. Now, she's NEAR the top I'm sure, but everyone else is catching up. I'm not saying average is bad. I'm saying EFFORT is good!

So

2008-11-17T12:08:00.002-06:00

Guess what. I still miss my dad even though Halloween is over. It might be because he also went crazy about Thanksgiving stuffing/dressing. I guess, the point is, if it's worth doing, do it right! He made homemade bbq sauce once too.

My Dad - halloween god

2008-11-03T11:21:00.004-06:00

So, Halloween just ended and it's my favorite time of year. Seriously. I go completely insane for Halloween. Sure, I love candy, but more, I love dressing up and all the frights. At work, I do the Haunted House for our Halloween carnival. I love everything about that. It is a lot of work to set up, but every year, they ask if I'll do it again. I always say yes. I will take pictures next year though. Someone asked me about that and I didn't even think of it!

So, over the years, I have gotten more and more obsessive, so have the kids. When Corey was 3 weeks old, I didn't bother dressing her up. We didn't go out, in fact, it seems weird to me when people take their infants out just for the candy. I have seen people do that and always wonder. Maybe they just can't buy their own candy. Anyway, when she was 1, she was a clown. That year, she had a store bought costume, but we did minimal make up. When she was 2, she was a lady bug. She picked her own thing, but the creativity hadn't come out yet. At age 3, she was a bunch of grapes. I don't have that picture on this computer, but it was cute. I got her some purple sweats and several shades of purple felt and made the top look like grapes clumped up. She also got a purple stocking cap that had felt leaves and a pipe cleaner stem. NOW the fun was beginning! Her best friend was a barbie cowgirl that year. So at age 4, I thought we'd make something even cooler, but we had a backslide. The barbie cowgirl was going to be a barbie cheerleader, so my awesome cool daughter, wanted to be a cheerleader too. I refuse to buy that crappy character costume stuff, so we just bought her a KU cheerleader dress that she could wear any time. The new born Amory was a Jack-o-lantern I made out of orange sweats, a orange hat, and black felt. FELT IS OUR FRIEND! He only went out because his sister and her friend were going out. Some people insisted on giving candy to a 2 week old, but whatever. Anyway, I'll have to find that picture on the other computer too. For now, I have just Corey.

At 5 years old, my child realized she will NEVER be barbie ANYTHING for Halloween. As we were driving somewhere, we were discussing Halloween. I asked what she wanted to be. She said, "I want to be a stoplight". I am sure that was random as we were sitting at a stoplight. This is a kid who at age 3 named her cat Pick because I asked her if it was her pick when she chose it out of the box of free kittens. So, when I asked it's name, she was frustrated at me for not knowing it was PICK!
So, I decide, stoplight, HELL YEAH we can do that. We ran with it. So, my kid was strapped in a lightup box and it was the BEST costume EVER! Her brother was a bee. It was a hand me down and it fit. We are creative BUT cheap!

So, the next year, was fun too. We had Corey decide she wanted to be an angel and her brother should be a devil! WAY cool.

The next year, we were all vampires. I can't find that picture. Then the next year, Corey was a dead prom date. It was so hard to get her to wear bloody makeup! Amory was a grim reaper that year. He had his face painted AND wore a mask. After that, Corey was a dead bride. That was fun. We found a black and purple formal at a garage sale. We bought black roses to make a bouquet. I need to get my old computer up to get these all!

Last year was a Vampire RockStar and a dead guy.

Then this year was a vampire school girl, a skeleton boy, and me the zombie punk.

Now what does all this have to do with my dad? Well, I got this enthusiasm from him. When I was a kid, I remember him working on my makeup to the extent of perfectionism. He even did my hair. Sure it took forever to get my hair combed out that year, but I looked like the best vampire of all time! Also, he taught me a cool trick for cheapness. If you need a beard (5 o'clock shadow) burn a cork and rub it on your face. Anyway, imagine a biker guy doing MAKEUP. That's my dad. Now, let's think of the time he wanted to be a woman for Halloween. He shaved his face, chest, and legs! Then, another year, he wanted to be a clown. His thick long hair wouldn't fit in a bald cap. He ripped it. He then shaved his head bald! I think that was the first time he had short hair since the Navy! He went all out all the time.

Oh, and he's also the one who taught us to carve pumpkins. I'm slightly saddened by the fact we didn't carve pumpkins this year. The ones the kids bought though, were not good though. AND the fact I had strep made me run out of time. I only have one picture of my dad online. It has nothing to do with Halloween though.

Anyway, most people say they miss their loved ones on holidays or on their birthday or even the anniversary of their death. Sure, sometimes I do think of my dad on those types of things, but the time I miss him most of course is Halloween!

Amory's birthday remix

2008-10-14T10:33:00.001-06:00

Birthdays

2008-10-12T17:58:00.003-06:00

If you've read this blog at all, you will know that both my kids have October birthdays. Thankfully, we've finished up the party insanity. Corey's birthday was last Monday with her party the Saturday before. She had a really fun party. When I asked her what they were going to do she said, "Play Rock Band." I thought that might work for a bit, but I wasn't sure it would entertain everyone. Well, it did and we also tie dyed t-shirts. She got tons of gift cards and we got her a digital camera. She has been quite excited about that. Anyway, we sent the boys home at 8pm and the girls slept over. Pure insanity, but I think they had fun.

Amory's party was today and his actual birthday will be Tuesday. He's been asking for legos and that's what he got. We worried because he is such a mess. However, I think it's a good idea for him. He needs to work on his fine motor skills and even though this isn't writing, it will help. He definitely has the attention span for it. His party was a pirate party. I had color sheets and we painted bandannas. (Firefox says that is spelled right, but it looks funny).

I'm trying to think back to my birthdays as a kid. I don't really remember much. Is it because we did things on a smaller scale when we were kids? Or do we just really not remember all this effort our parents put in. I'm hoping for my own sake it's that we just didn't go as big when I was a kid. I remember going to McDonalds as a kid for my birthday and my friends came and we had presents. I don't think we had the real party though. I think it was more of a come and eat and hang out. I don't even remember handing out invites. Who knows.

5 things you might not know about each of us

2008-09-15T13:42:00.006-06:00

Amory

1. Amory is almost exclusively called AJ now. I honestly think that one friend of mine, the principal, and I are the only ones that call him Amory. The principal is swinging towards AJ too. It's so bad that he was across the street and I knocked on the door and the grandma answered and I asked if Amory was there and she said, "WHO?". The mom knows what kid is mine, grandma, not so much.

2. Amory is musically talented. He can memorize music and sing guitar parts after only hearing them a time or two. He makes up his own songs. He can keep a beat on a drum set and is awesome at hand drums. However, he can NOT play guitar hero or rock band.

3. Amory is a geek (like his mom). His passions include star wars, comic books, and transformers.

4. Amory loves to read. His favorite books right now are dinosaur books. I swear he has probably checked out the whole section at school. When reading them out loud it amazes me that he can pronounce most of the words.

5. He loves animals. His favorite thing to do is to go to the pet store. They all know him there and pretty much let him do whatever. He's helped catch a koi from the pond, he's fed fiddler crabs, held a bird, petted a snake. He just goes in and asks, "What are you doing? Can I help?" Of course, he did get bit by a hamster and it bled like crazy, but they took him to the back room and cleaned him up and he thought he was awesome.

Corey

1. Corey is a typical big sister. Many people think she's this nice, sweet girl. She's really not. She does things quietly to get her brother in trouble. She won't let her brother do anything with her unless it benefits her. She also beats her brother up way too much.

2. Corey was reading before kindergarten. She's always been good with reading. She loves it. She is now doing above average in math though. Her teacher had to come tell me how well she did on a standardized test the other day. Always great to hear.

3. Corey can take a shower for over an hour if you let her. It's insane. Wait until she's a teenager. I'll never get her out of the shower!

4. Corey loves to bake, cook, draw, color, paint, and pretty much everything else that is creative. She is an artist on every level. Her new passion is cake decorating. Also, she's an amazing singer.

5. Corey is very sensitive and things really upset her. The good thing about this is she is very aware of things going on around her. She pays attention to everything and has an opinion about everything, but she is also empathetic and wouldn't want to hurt feelings.

Nikki

1. I don't have a lot of hidden secrets. If you have known me for any amount of time, it's easy to know what I'm all about. Seriously, I'm an open book and have been about the same person since I was a kid. I'll go with some general info I guess. Oh, this is an old picture. I don't have long hair in the front right now, and never really wore clips in my hair. Here's my opinion about hair. It's just something that grows on your head. Who cares! I prefer to cut it short and ignore it.

2. I like sports. All sports. Well, ok, I'm sorry but golf is boring to watch and I've never played it so maybe not golf. When I was a kid I was a huge Lakers fan. I couldn't stand Larry Bird and the dorky Celtics. Now, I'm all about the Celtics. I've been into them since Paul Pierce left KU and went to Boston. Strange, I know, but I tend to follow players rather than teams when it comes to the NBA.

3. I'm shy. Most people don't believe that. I always say I lead from behind. I will do this at work, home, and even did it as a kid sometimes. I can't even remember how many times I'd make my brother do something for me. Shoot, once we went to see Body Count, he had to go get autographs for me. At work, I'll let the aide in my room lead us into a field trip. I'll say, "Just go in and say we are from CLC and we have an appointment." Then I hold the door. Why can't I go in? No idea. I think it's because I don't want to seem like an imposition. Even if I've been to a place before, that's how I am. I guess I don't want to cause trouble. (I'm the peace maker). Also, that's one reason I like playing drums. You get to be in the back and hide. Once I'm in my element though, I can't shut up. How can you be so shy and so social? No idea!

4. I failed Calculus 2 at KU. I don't even know why I took it. My advisor sucked that's why! I didn't need it. I could use it as an elective. Well, the TA spoke no English, he couldn't say half the names in the class. I was failing so bad, I should have dropped it. Instead, I stayed there. By the time finals rolled around, I said screw it an F is an F. I didn't even go to the final.

5. I moved around a lot as a kid. I really hated that. I went to most of the grade schools in Oak Harbor, Washington. Then we moved to a small town in Nebraska. I'm thankful we moved from there. When I say small, I'm not joking. The year I graduated highschool, the graduating class for that UNIFIED school was 2 people! Unified means from several towns in that area! Two people. TWO. Anyway, then off to Lincoln, Nebraska. I honestly never liked the cornhuskers, but Lincoln was a lot of fun for a kid in 5-8th grades. Well, it was good friends and lots of places to play. I never wanted to leave there. In fact, my family moved. I stayed with my grandparents a few months. I had to go to Hiawatha, Kansas after that. What? Never heard of it? Really? Maybe that is because it's small. Not as small as that first town in Nebraska, but sure not big. The plus is, I knew everyone I graduated with. The down side is there wasn't nearly as much to do. Also, I never really felt like that was home. I kept wanting to go back to Oak Harbor or Lincoln. Luckily, we didn't move any more. I moved to Lawrence, KS for college and have been here since. Love it. I plan to let my kids grow up in one town and keep all their friends. Sure, there isn't as much to do, but I think it's more a sign of the times. People just don't let kids run around like we did when I was a kid. This neighborhood does have kids running around some.

Kenny

1. Kenny is the cook around here. I will cook, but ultimately, Kenny is the one who makes things. He makes his own spaghetti sauce. I also like when he makes fried potatoes and rice bowls.

2. Kenny is a pacifist. He can get angry, but never to the point where he wants to hit someone. Well, sometimes my brother pushes him, but even Ghandi would want to deck him.

3. Kenny feels the same way about Hallmark holidays that I do. They are cheesy and we don't need to have a card or a special day to tell people we care about them. Of course, he seems to feel that way about birthdays too, and my birthday SHOULD be a holiday.

4. Kenny was born in the same town both his kids were born in. That's pretty cool. Sure, he hasn't lived in Lawrence all his life, but he was born here. The kids like to see the hospital they were all born in.

5. Kenny is a guitar player that is wasting his talents. Seriously, he's pretty good and gets better when he actually plays. He has not played in a band in about a million years. I sometimes wish he would play somewhere, but he's really a homebody.

Frustrated

2008-09-09T16:34:00.002-06:00

I am about to blog something that is going to seem unpatriotic especially at this time of year. However, I feel that the use of free thought and saying what you want IS as American as you can get. If you don't USE your rights, what's all the fighting for anyway?

My frustration is a 5th grade social studies test. The kid got a C which isn't bad, but isn't great. I looked over the test just to see what was going on. There were some errors that I totally understand marking down; they were only partial answers. That accounts for 5 points. What really bothers me is the multiple choice.

1. Why is the motto E Pluribus Unum a good saying?
a. Many people spoke Latin.
b. Coins display this saying.
c. Out of many states, one country was formed.
d. Americans share many ideals.

What would you answer? Could it be argued that it's not a good saying? Out of many, one. I have to admit that I haven't read the propaganda, I mean text book, to see what the answer that is expected. I have taken enough tests to guess that a teacher would probably say that D is the real answer. But, A is valid in that many more people DID speak latin, but it wasn't a universal language, so I would guess that's a flaw of that answer. B isn't good. It was on the coins after it became ONE of the mottos on the great seal that was approved in 1782 (first on coins in 1786). If you look on wikipedia (which is of course what I did) you will see that originally, the thought WAS C. That is what the kid answered and I can see the thought process to that. We are 50 states (and even then we were more than one state) coming together to make ONE nation. Many forms one. Sounds like the saying to me. Then there is D. I'm not 100% sure if that is the real answer, but it would have to be. However, we do NOT share ideals in this country. That is actually part of what makes us great. We can all think what we want. I think this question wasn't great.

Now this next one is the one that will get people mad at me. It's almost like I'm Obama running around without a freaking flag on my lapel.

Why is the Pledge of Allegiance important?
a. It shows our varied population.
b. It teaches us to memorize sayings.
c. It shows we have a strong country.
d. It tells the basic ideals Americans share.

Now, I KNOW I can argue that it's NOT important. It's not. Some people don't even say it at school. They really don't. Let's look these answers to the "pledge" question, right after I make a short tangent about the history of it. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This pledge was written for the most part in 1892 as a part of Columbus day celebrations. We won't start yet another tangent on my thoughts on THAT. The original author was a Baptist minister, yet he didn't put the god part in. He did feel it was a way to show solidarity. Interestingly, the other part that was changed was that he said "my flag" instead of "the flag of the United States of America". Then there is the under god issue that was added in the height of a war with Korea AND Germany. Have you ever noticed how all that propaganda comes out when there is some sort of turmoil.

But, regardless of all that, back to the question. A - it shows our varied population. Obviously that's not the right answer. I can't even twist that one to make it fit. Then B says it teaches us to memorize sayings. I have to be honest and say that right there is my answer. I contend that it's not philosophically important so I'll say if it has importance it would have to be so I can memorize something. I personally like mnemonics for memorization, but that's me. Next is C which states it shows we have a strong country. Go back and read the pledge again. This is ONE nation (be it under god or not) INDIVISIBLE... That's pretty darn tough. It can't be divided (reminds me of a song by Sham 69). Sounds like a decent answer to me. And finally D states it tells the basic ideals Americans share. I honestly don't think that. I think some people think this. But there are those that feel the that pledging to the flag is idolatry. (On a side note, I've thought this since I was a kid and remember getting in trouble at a young age for questioning this and the cross symbol. Maybe I was a Jehovah's Witness in a past life. I don't agree with all they have to say, but that's one thing I do agree that is biblically valid -not stating the what I feel about the bible either, but if you are saying you believe the bible, you might rethink how you feel about idolatry.) Then of course there are those that feel that this should not be considered one nation under god. So, people with this belief wouldn't share the ideals with people that do. With liberty and justice for all. THAT is an ideal for all of us, but different people feel differently about what that means. Wiki the word liberty. And justice? Justice for ALL. I'm willing to bet if you even think for a second, you can think of many injustices around you at any given time. Sure it's IDEAL to have these qualities, but I don't think all Americans share ALL the ideals in the pledge.

What is the correct answer you may ask. I don't think my answer of B is the right one. I know it's not C because that's what the kid wrote and she got it wrong. It would by default be D. I guess if the book says it is it must be. I just don't agree is all.

Here's the question for those that took the time to read this insane rambling: What to do. I found out that my child is not the only one to do poorly on this test. Do I let it go knowing it's the first test, the kids will get used to it, 5th grade is harder. Do I contact the teacher and if so say what? Obviously, this diatribe is for me to blow off steam. I need to be more assertive rather than aggressive if I contact the teacher. I CAN do that, but it wouldn't have helped with my frustration to talk nicely right now, but I CAN. Or should I save up my anger and write to the text book company? I could do that, but seriously I doubt that would do any good.

Done for now.

First day of school.

2008-08-13T09:54:00.000-06:00

Today was the first day back for the grade school kids! I hope this means I'll be writing more as I'm a huge slacker. Oh well.

How's it goin'?

2008-05-19T07:51:00.004-06:00

Well, things are good here. We've been running amok with the summer ball going on. I just posted about it on my kids sport blog. We got the kids' schedules for games and they are all on the same days of course. So, we have to miss a bit of each of the kids' games. It will all be running all summer long.

The kids get out of school on Thursday and I think they are looking forward to summer. I know Corey is, but Amory really loves school and his friends. They are both looking forward to being at the pool all summer long though. I do plan to keep them reading and stuff like that this summer. I don't like the summer slide, and I won't let it happen! They will come in next year at or above where they leave this year in reading and hopefully math.

So, this weekend, we went to a birthday party for one of Amory's friends. He was the only kindergartener going on the diving boards. The nut was also going off the highboard before any of the 4th graders would go off it. The kid is so insanely me it's not funny. His sister is so her dad. She watched the other kids go off the boards. I was always a swimmer and was always on the boards.

Sunday we went to Corey's second softball game. The team they played was pretty well matched with us. The only problem was one of their pitchers had some amazing power, and no control. She hit 4 of our girls. One girl had to get a pinch runner. It was insane. A new thing was our umpire let us steal first on a dropped 3rd strike. Corey struck out and went to 1st, but was mad at the strike out. Anyway, we don't know if that rule will stand up in the future games. It seriously confused our girls.

sup?

2008-05-05T13:30:00.003-06:00

Nothing here. Last night, I went to a friend's house to play cards. We used to do that all the time ages ago. Finally we got back to it. So, we sat around and we were talking about one of our old friends that moved away that used to play with us. So, we texted her Kansas number. She (allegedly) replied back. That was funny because she told me she was keeping that number, but no one believed me. We had pizza. I ate some with pineapple. The one boy always gets that and now I like it. People new to our weirdness say, "Oh, you mean with ham or canadian bacon?" No, we mean no meat, just pineapple, it's GOOD. So, that was Sunday.

Saturday, we went and watched a friend's baseball game. They are 9 and they played one of the 10 year old teams. They didn't do too bad, but you can definitely see the difference a year makes. It was so cold Saturday morning, I couldn't believe it. Oh well, we got popcorn. After that, Corey had softball (I'll post about softball and karate over at the kids' sport blog which no one really reads, but I enjoy it so who cares.) We both got a lot of sun for how cold it was. But, my mom took us to eat a late lunch.

Friday was my last "vacation" day. We didn't really do anything all week, and Friday was even worse, I didn't do any house work like I'd planned. Oh well.

Thursday we went to a different kid's baseball game. They are good. The exciting part was the weird Kansas weather. We stopped at the gas station to get fuel and drinks (Corey was to have softball and she needed a gatorade). So, I pay at the pump and go inside where the kids already had picked out drinks (and were looking at snacks). I hear something weird and look out and it's HAILING. Golf ball sized chunks of ice were pelting towards the earth. Luckily, my jeep was under the gas pump's awning, not that it would matter. But, anyway, I try to pay for our drinks and food. My card is declined. I was furious, I knew I had money. I told him to throw out my gatorade because I'd already drank from it. He gave me and Amory our drinks because Amory had a fountain and mine was opened. So, I go to the ATM and of course, had money. I got $10 and went back and got the darn snacks and Corey's drink. Seems that this flash storm knocked out their whole system. By that time it wasn't raining and it looked sunny to the west. So, we headed to the game where it didn't even rain! So, we come back to town for Corey's practice and no one was at the field she was practicing. Turns out they canceled because of lightning and such. How weird on different sides of town there was completely different weather.

Wednesday was my birthday. We didn't do anything, which is fine. However, I boycotted the whole McDonalds thing that we always do on Wednesday (karate). We went to Pepperjax. I called in the order, and guess what, it wasn't even started before I got there. I was pissed. Turned out ok for me since I got a $5 gift card.

So it's prom season

2008-04-29T13:04:00.003-06:00

And normally I don't even think about it more than noticing that there are dresses in the windows of the department store. Also, it's usually around my birthday, so I might notice it because it's my birthday (tomorrow). However, this year, Sunshine has on her blog a blog prom. That and my 10 year old LOVES prom dresses.

Yesterday was to come up with songs. I actually had to struggle to figure out any songs. Finally, I looked up what songs were popular back then that they MAY have played. I know they didn't play Quiet Riot's Come on Feel the Noise, those crazy kids kept saying "Girls fuck your boys" whenever it came on. Oh, and I'm sure everyone thought they were so smart. They also didn't play Billy Idol's Mony Mony people randomly would say... Well, if you were ever at a dance where they played it you know. I've heard that you can see Billy Idol mouthing something on the live version of the song. I don't remember that though, but technically, Vital Idol came out when I was really not that old. So, whatever. But, I kept thinking of what they may have played Bryan Adams' Everything I Do. I swear every "couple" said that was their song in those days.

So, basically the music at prom was probably crap. But, I did go.

What memories do I have of prom in general? In Hiawatha (that's where I lived in my high school years. I don't usually call it home town, but that was my high school home), we had banquet that was hosted by the juniors. This was a dinner at the Elks or something. I don't know. I'm sure the hometown people there would remember what it's called, I just remember it was on the end of 7th street. Anyway, no out of town guests can go to this (by out of town they mean people not in our school. You see, we could invite people from other schools and even graduates, but not sophomores or freshman.) Anyway, after banquet, you go to the prom at the National Guard Armory. That's where the juniors would decorate every chance they got the week before prom. And then after that was after prom. You got to go home, change, and get back to play games and stuff like that. You also won prizes. Ok, so in Hiawatha, all there is to do normally is go cruising. So, that's what we did as sophomores. We also took water guns. That didn't make prom goers happy, but what did we care.

Ok, so junior year. I went with a couple friends. The one girl's dad owned the ford lot, so we got a mustang convertible to drive. AWESOME. So, we rolled up and our dad's were in the crowd (the town shows up and takes pics). They gave us corsages escorted us to the door and Jennifer's dad parked the car. People had to park their own cars, so we were lucky to go in as a group. Then we ate a crappy ass dinner that was roast beef and green beans, and who knows what else. Then we went to the dance and hung out some more. After the dance, we went to the after prom party. Let me tell you now. I wanted my hair down. I don't have the picture from that prom, but it was bad. My mom just thought you HAD to have everything done. I hated every second of it. Also, I'm not a dress person, but that was fine. My hair was waterproof, combproof, you name it. So, I went to APP in jeans and freaky hair. I think in the raffle I won $20. Oh, and then we went to St. Joe, MO for breakfast and home to sleep.

Senior prom was almost exactly the same. I forced my boyfriend, Kenny to go. You may recognize the name since he's my husband now. He didn't go to his, but oh well, he must have not been too traumatized. He's still here (and grumbles about proms still). Anyway, I tried to inform the hairstylist to NOT screw my hair up, but she did. Apparently, I am the only person who thinks that hairspray and prom do NOT need to go together. So, again crazy hair and jeans to APP. This time I won jumper cables, so that's not bad either. It's not a TV, but oh well. Anyway, that's it. I don't need to worry about proms again for a few years. Here in Lawrence, they only do a senior prom. But, of course, you can go if you are younger if someone asks you. I hope I don't need to worry about that until Corey's senior year though. Seriously.

Gosh

2008-03-10T11:04:00.002-06:00

I think I'm down to posting monthly. I haven't been too busy, just too lazy!

This weekend we had decent weather and not much going on. Our kids got free meals at On the Border from the dentist so that's where we ate lunch Saturday. Then off to Amory's last indoor soccer game. I haven't updated the kids' sport website, but he loved soccer. His main thing was he got a trophy. Poor kid didn't feel so great at the game though. He was seriously walking from one side of the court to the other and the ball would be zooming by.

Yesterday, we went out to eat and then after we settled a bit, we took the dog for a walk around the lake. The dog is impossible to walk on the regular collar, but we got him a harness and he's amazing. I already love this dog because he fetches, and now he goes for a walk! We are working on sit and stay. Sit works usually, stay, not so much.

Today, I did my weekly volunteer thing with my daughter's 4th grade. It's always fun. I go in for math. One kid in her class drives me nuts though. He's smart, but he keeps telling everyone how he's so smart. WHO CARES? Then he was getting the math questions wrong, so that's funny. My kid though, she's smart too. However, she missed a question and started crying. I wish there was a way to get her to not need to be perfect. I'm certain that is why she wants to quit so many things.

This is funny

2008-02-12T18:56:00.000-06:00

So apparently I'm full of anger. But I have no pride. Oh well, I'll kick your ass for saying it. :)

Your sin has been measured. You have committed many sins, but Wrath is the mortal sin that has done you in. Just below, discover your full sinful breakdown and learn what it is about you that condemns you to hell.

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	Medium
Envy:	Medium
Lust:	Medium
Pride:	Very Low

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com

Obligatory Super Bowl thing

2008-02-04T17:45:00.000-06:00

So, last night was the Super Bowl. My biggest peeve with it is that it's always the quarterback to be the mvp. Ok, I know that's not really true, but it seems like it. I am sure that Tom Brady would have got it if they would have won, even though Wes Wexler was THE player on that team. But, seriously, look at Eli. He did the best I've ever seen him do, but that game was won because of their defense. If you aren't going to give the defense the mvp, then what about David Tyree? Did you see that catch in the 4th quarter? Oh well, in the grand scheme of things, you will never remember in the future who won it anyway.

Another thing, Bill Belichick. People are saying he was a poor sport. I think it was a mix up. Sure, he should have stayed there for the last second. He went out there to shake hands and was sent back. I'm guessing he was just frustrated and felt like he had to leave at that point.

So, it was a good game. I honestly didn't care who won, but I was cheering for NY just because I tend towards the underdog when neither team is a favorite.

speaking of happy holidays

2008-01-01T02:40:00.000-06:00

Do you ever tire of the debate on what people should say? Say what you freakin' want. I do think that when place puts up a sign that says happy holidays it's more realistic than merry christmas because there are more than just christmas. Besides, New Years is a holiday, so you can keep it up that long. But in speech, say whatever. Just don't push your agenda on people. Quit being offended by "happy holidays" and quit debating it. Oh and christmas is considered mispelled because I didn't capitalize. Sorry.

While I'm on a rampage about religion (sorta) NO ONE is killing god in the Golden Compass movie. In fact, if you truly believe in the christian god, how can he die? Where do these people come up with this crap? And worse, why do people believe everything they hear from some email? It's propaganda, people. Agendas are dumb.

Technically

2007-12-31T14:18:00.000-06:00

It's Monday. I guess I should post. I don't do New Years Resolutions. I know better. I always want to be a better person, I just don't need to make an actual goal.

So, what should I write about on New Years Eve? I'll think on it.

Happy Holidays

2007-12-26T09:30:00.000-06:00

Well, the holidays are just a memory it seems, but not quite. We have off today though, so that's a good extension. It IS boxing day - not that THAT means anything in the US. Anyway, we still have a get together with the husband's family this weekend and then we are going to some friends' for new years eve.

Well, we are broke so the kids didn't get too much, but luckily I started getting things earlier this year so they got more than I thought. Adults didn't get each other anything, but we are fine with that. We decided we WANT things and we'll get them eventually. I want a new camera (mine broke and the one I'm using now is NOT the greatest.) Kenny wants a new guitar. He just thinks he needs new ones all the time, but that is fine.

Ok, so the kids of the broke people actually DID have a good holiday. Santa brought the girl an easel. I wanted her to get a nice one, but she got kid one from Target and she loved it anyway. I got it on the blitz at 6am and only paid $15 so the fact she loved it is AWESOME. Amory got a MP3 player from Santa. It's a sponge bob one. It was 1gb and you can use a sd card for more space and it was $50. That was our big ticket item, really. I know it was alot, but this kid is a music man. AND, it's big enough he won't lose it. Should be interesting to see what he puts on it. Stockings each had a webkinz, a dvd, a couple of packs of trading cards, a couple hotwheels, and a small thing of candy. Corey got holiday socks and Amory got underwear. No idea why santa sends that sort of stuff OFTEN, but no one argues.

From each other, Amory got a skateboard and Corey got a makeup set. Both things they really wanted, both under $10. Amory really wants a REAL skateboard, but you know, he's 6 and I don't want to shell out that kind of money and have him not take care of it.

From us, Corey got a new karate gi (she needed it and well, you wrap it and it's a gift.), two bratz (yeah, I'm the mom who buys these), two canvases that were pretty big, a fashion design kit (with fabric and needles and everything. She already made a dress), and that may have been it. Amory got a hotwheels set, some marvel action figures, a spiderman memory game, a cosmic catch game, and a small rc helicopter.

Don't feel bad for these kids though, they got a TON of stuff at my mom's house. Mostly clothes, but they both got things they really wanted. Amory got a Nerf N-Strike Disk Shot (yeah, guns too) and Corey got a T.I.M. Doll that she really wanted. I don't know anything about these dolls but she loved it. They also got random stuff over there. Amory got a farm set (which he loved) and Corey got a sword and stand. These will be for display only, but she loved it. She's learning sword in karate this year, so it will be cool to have it. She is really loving the martial arts stuff.

Anyway, we are all done with spending money, so that's good. Hopefully we will still have money for food!

What's up

2007-12-11T14:24:00.000-06:00

So, I was going to add on to my google meme with a "favorite animal" because I saw it on ...and the pursuit of happiness and thought I was missing out. BUT, I finally decided I didn't have a favorite animal. I love lizards, frogs, and snakes. So something in that area.

I had karate testing which I talked about on my kids' sports blog.

I'm off work for an ice storm that didn't happen. Kids are out of school. The boy has been playing outside in the freezing rain. He forgot his gloves at school yesterday though.

Oh and while Amory was at basketball, Corey was at the church. The music director was RAVING about Amory and the bell choir. Apparently, he just walked in, listened for a bit and got it down immediately. She kept telling my mom how hard it is, but that he picked it up so fast. I always knew he was music minded but WOW, I was so proud of him.

Other than that nothing is going on.

Google Images Meme

2007-12-03T07:55:00.000-06:00

Ok, so what the heck is a meme? I looked it up and decided I didn't care that much what the definition was. I liked this one when I saw it on Cheeze Whiz and Mustard so I took it. I randomly read blogs so I hadn't read that one in ages and the first time I do, I steal something.

How it works: Type the answer to each question in a Google image search and post the 1st picture result. (Be forewarned, if you are going to be 34 it's pregnant belly, I went with something else instead though. I'll probably do that for other ones too. I'm a cheater. I also don't know how old I am unless I do the math.) Oh and host them yourself. I don't want anyone thinking I'm encouraging bandwitdth theft.

Age at my next birthday:

I chose this one because it's cool

Place I’d like to travel:

Ireland is just so pretty, and it has lots of haunted places. Also, one of my internet buddies lives in Ireland. I've been infatuated with Ireland for a long time. Yeah, I have Irish blood and many people ask me that because of the red hair. Most people I know that are Irish don't have red hair, but whatever. This lead me on a tangent about red hair, including the origins of red hair. Part of this tangent included the thought of "Why are the red heads in movies bullies?" I know as a kid growing up with red hair, you were more likely to be picked on because of it. Two movies I can think of right now are Billy Madison- the O'Doyles have red hair. And How to Eat Fried Worms- the bully in that one has red hair. Makes me mad EVERY time. I'll live.

Favourite place:
Washington State. These pictures made me home sick and I haven't been there for 15 years! The first one is a similar view you see all over Whidbey Island. The second one is the Deception Pass Bridge. It's how you know you're almost home! I so love the area. You have woods, mountains, ocean, and there is Seattle if you want city life.

Favorite object: This is a hard question. Know in advance that I won't put people because they aren't objects, although there are several people I couldn't do without. The obvious would be a computer. People that know me, know I love my computer. I'm choosing to not interpret this as "possession" though. My favorite object of all time is a car. But, I just have to decide WHICH car is a favorite. My first car was a 1970 buick skylark. Doing an image search just made me fall back in love! I wish I still had one! My second car was a 1971 Pontiac Ventura II. Same basic body style. I had the ventura for a long time. I just needed something more practical when the baby was born (10 long years ago.) I think I sound like a guy stereotype. My loves were cars and I had to let them go for the kid. Oh well, the kid is a keeper! I also had a 1967 Mercedes 230s that I pine for.

Favorite food: Ok, another hard one - Pineapple pizza (yes, I'm a freak)

Of course, I eat at pepperjax so often, so it's also my favorite. Seriously, I ate there Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Favorite color: cerulean (I could say blue, but it's not just ANY blue. I'm a crayola fanatic)

Nick name: I will go with

Kenny calls me this.

Place you were born:

that's fun!!!

The iTunes (or windows media) Meme

2007-12-01T09:50:00.000-06:00

LA Daddy posted this on his blog and it's cool Of course, I love music, so that helps. Oh and alphabetically symbols and numbers go before the alphabet and I noticed iTunes puts the numbers last.

The iTunes Meme!

How many total songs? approximately 55210 (in fairness, my husband IS addicted, and many aren't ones I would have necessarily picked, but the music is AS A FAMILY).

Sort by song title - First and Last… First #1 Zero - Audioslave
Last zzxyz - Stone Sour

Sort by Time - Shortest and Longest… Longest The Garden - Cathedral 26:51
Shortest The Ballad Of Jimi Hendrix - S.O.D. 0:05

Sort by Album - First and Last… First 0:12 Revolution In Just Listening - Coalesce
Last ZZ Tops First Album - ZZ Top

Sort by Artist - First and Last… First 100 Demons
Last ZZ Top

Top Five Most Played Songs… Anthrax – Antisocial
Metallica – Jump in the Fire
NOFX – Leaving Jesusland
Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop
Anthrax – In My World

Find the following words. How many songs show up?
Sex 108
Death 399
Love ll92
You 3074
Home 248
Boy 350
Girl 345

First five songs that come up on Party Shuffle…

Number One Chicken - Red Aunts
In The Wild - Uk Subs
Win - David Bowie
Saccharine - Good Riddance
Diamond Ring - The Black Crowes

What’s in your iTunes? Would you like to play along?

Tag! You’re it!

High School

2007-11-19T14:33:00.000-06:00

So, there is this article in the local paper that has me thinking back. It's about band uniforms. It made me think about the uniforms we wore in high school band. Then, it got me wondering. What did everyone else do in high school?

Like I mentioned, I was in band. My favorite part was marching band. I was also in jazz band, percussion ensemble, and of course concert band was part of it. I also was on swim team. Swim team started when I was a little kid. I think I was about 10 when I started swim team. I did state in Nebraska for u12 one year. Placed 17th in backstroke (my worst thing) and that's it. I didn't place in anything else. It was fun though. I still love swimming. It's great exercise, I just wish I could get myself to the pool in the winter. I'm just too tired to get there. It's one of those things where you KNOW exercise is good for you and will liven you up, but you just have to get there first. I also ran track (sprints) all four years, but I sucked at that. Anyway, I think that's about all I did. I did volleyball freshman year and didn't really like it. I did cross country senior year for about a week. I was never supposed to run distance. Seriously, that's insane! Oh, something I did that isn't common knowledge, I did Miss TEEN Kansas when I was a junior. It was interesting. Even then it wasn't my thing, but what the heck, gotta try new things.

So, what did you do in high school? Do you miss it?

Picture Post

2007-11-12T14:09:00.000-06:00

I took this picture ONE year ago. At first glance I think that my kids haven't changed AT ALL. But, they have. Last year they were 5 and 9. This year they are 6 and 10. Why does that seem so much older? Ten is double digits. I remember being 10. I only remember some of 9, like breaking my finger. And six is on TWO hands not one. My daughter is a 4th grader now. That's not a little kid. She's growing so much, and learning so much. She still does the same sorts of things and is very strong willed. However, she's also learned to not be AS shy as she used to be. She now can do things in front of other people without being embarrassed. She also is all of a sudden, understanding math. She struggled with math for so long, but now she "gets" it. Her grades are those that anyone would be proud of.

Amory started school officially this year. He was the type of kid that couldn't sit still to color or cut. Letters were NOTHING to him. Now, just a few months in, he's coloring, cutting, and can read some words! He's still having a hard time doing what he should when it's sitting still too long, but he's getting there. He actually went to karate tournament this year and didn't freak out with the noise and activity. That's a great improvement.

Both these kids have their rotten moments, but they also have their amazing ones.

In case you want to see the rest of the pictures from that photo shoot (looking for a perfect picture for the Christmas cards) here they are.

So, what's going on.

2007-11-11T17:04:00.000-06:00

Again, I've been out of the posting thing for over a month. I have an excuse! The first part is that October is always extremely busy. Both kids have birthdays. That's just the tip of it.

October 6th is my oldest child's birthday. It was also the day of the school fun walk. Well, I ended up with a bad stomach virus and all I wanted to do was puke. I normally help at the fun walk, I went up there, but they sent me home. Turns out we had our best ever turnout and the most money ever raised. Well, sadly we were supposed to go to the amusement park with my daughter and her friends that day. We had to postpone. I felt like the bad mom. She did end up having a great day though. She did the walk then my mom took her, her brother, and her friend running around shopping all afternoon. When my mom got tired of the them, she sent the girls with my husband to the movie and the boy went to my brother's.

Then sometime around the 8th, our cable was off. Luckily, my mom dvr'd many of my shows. BUT, we thought it was from late payment, so we had to wait for a week for pay day. (yeah, we are slow payers, sorry, it happens). I was off work, and no cable. In our house, no cable means no internet. BAD. Well, so that all sucked and we went in and paid it. It's usually back on right away when we get home. NOT this time. We call them and ask and turns out our cable was NOT disconnected all that week. We had tech support and everything. The outside cable was chewed up. Apparently one of my amazingly brilliant dogs chewed it in half.

We did the amusement park on the 13th. It was rainy and gross all morning. Of course it was! It ended up clearing soon after we got there and it was great. We had a TON of fun. Got all the kids home around 9pm!!!

Amory had a great party on the 20th with all his friends.

It was a costume party with a bleeding eye cake (yes, I made it, but while I'm proud of it, it's not that big of a deal). I had absolutely nothing planned other than cake. We had it at my mom's house though and she has a huge outside play area, so that was good enough. Fun was had by all.

Then in case that wasn't enough, we did the whole Halloween thing too. Amory decided to be the Boogey Man instead of a vampire. It could have been awesome, but he had no patience for the makeup, so it was just OK, but people liked it. Corey was still a Rockstar Vampire.

So, mix that with basketball, volunteering at the school, work, gymnastics and karate, we have been running. I do plan to write AT LEAST on Mondays again though. Check back tomorrow. (edited to fix pics)

Yeah, I watch tv - ALOT

2007-09-29T09:42:00.000-06:00

I honestly don't watch live tv very much EXCEPT Heroes but I record that too. DVR RULES. So, I had to look up the shows to see what night they are on.

Monday: How I Met Your Mother -I love this show. I laugh at most episodes. Big Bang Theory - Ok, it's new, but I thought what the heck. I liked it I don't know how long it will last though. Most people don't get the geeky humor and sadly, that means they'll pull it. Two and a Half Men - I have always loved Charlie Sheen, so that's an automatic for me. Everybody Hates Chris- Love Chris Rock, and this kid could actually BE him. Too funny. Heroes - NEVER miss this show. I let my daughter stay up late to watch it. We turn it on after 2 and a half men and then we can just skip the commercials. I could probably make a whole post just about Heroes. Journeyman- I watched the premiere of this and liked it. It's very Quantum Leap-ish, but different enough to not think it's copying.
Oh and honorable mention: Chuck- I can't fit it in unless I drop Chris, and I know that they repeat Chris a lot but I just don't know. I watched this Saturday night and liked it a lot. I have to decide by tomorrow! We'll see. I originally thought it was on Tuesdays.

Tuesday: I'm going to check out Carpoolers - who knows, it might be good. I have no desire to watch cavemen. Are you serious? A whole show? The commercials are bad enough. I would watch a geico gecko commercial for 30 minutes MAYBE. Law and Order SVU- I never miss this either. I like the oh and I record Murder on Spike. It's interesting, and since I like the crime shows, I get into this. Reaper I liked it so much. I love Kevin Smith, this was very much like his normal stuff, but at the same time, it was very much it's own thing. Funny stuff though.

Wednesday: Trying out Pushing Daisies - I think this one looks really good. I can't wait to watch it. It's added to my DVR, we'll see if it stays. Then I watch Ghost Hunters- This is actually #1 on my DVR priority list. I'm not home on Wednesdays until late, but I will come in and watch this before bed EVERY time. I even watch repeats of it sometimes. Criminal Minds - I love Mandy Patinkin. I'll miss seeing him on the show, and I'm actually nervous to see what happens in the 2nd episode. CSI: New York- Love this CSI. Most people don't like it as much. Maybe because it's grittier. I personally can't stand Miami. Miami's filming is weird to me and I really hate David Caruso. On the other hand, I like the New York one and really like Gary Sinise. Haunted- is on after ghost hunters on Sci-fi and my husband is recording that, so I'll watch it too. I'm watching the first one now.

Thursday: Without a Trace and CSI -I like this original one. Not interested in the whole Grissom/Sara love thing, but still. Scrubs - one of the best comedies around right now. Have you noticed there AREN'T a lot of comedies anyway. Weird. And I checked into big shots- it was OK I guess. I took it off my DVR list though. I guess if you like deperate housewives you'd like it. It was definitely a serial drama. I like the actors, I've always like Titus. But, I just don't like this kind of drama.

Friday: Last year I watched Men in Trees -and I'll probably watch it still when it comes back. I so see myself getting bored with it though. Moonlight was awesome. It was one that was a TRIAL basis on my list. I am so keeping it. I'm all about the vampires! I loved the film noir feel of this show too.

Weekends: who knows, I guess Law and Order, Shark, whatever oh and football. Oh, and fox on Sundays!!

Other shows I record are : It's always Sunny in Philadelphia on fx and Law and Order CI will be on USA and I have to change my schedule thing for that. Ace of Cakes on Food, Myth Busters on Discovery, Human Weapon on history, Pros vs. Joes on f/x

I think that's it, but I never catch up.

Work

2007-09-21T04:40:00.001-06:00

No idea what is going on in this town, but the vomiting must stop. Two staff went home with it yesterday. A few others called in, I have no idea what was wrong with them. One person called in because her son was vomiting. Well, last week at the kids' school there were FOUR kids sick in the lunch room in ONE day. That was the day I visited. Glad I missed it all! One of the kids was in my son's class, but I must have been at recess already by the time that happened. Anyway, yesterday at work was INSANE. We have to keep ratios in each room depending on age group. Luckily, it went ok as far as that goes because seriously, it could have been worse.

During quiet time though, I worked on Amory's invitations for his party. He's having a Halloween Party. Costumes "encouraged". I need to order him some crafts for the party. Gotta have a plan. They may play outside, but you never know what the weather will be like in October.

oh and

2007-09-17T12:07:00.000-06:00

On the fun side. Yesterday, I took the kids to their first comic con. It was a small one here in town called freecon and they got to look at stuff and get free comics. Corey wanted to see artists and there was only one actually drawing, but she got to see how fast he drew. Amory has completely outgrown the super hero thing I think. He went more towards star wars. Corey really wanted a poster. She ended up getting ultimate x-men. It was funny because neither kid knew more than superman and batman in the DC comics. Kinda sad though.

Speaking of that have you seen the I'm a Marvel, and I'm a DC videos? Funny!

so

2007-09-17T11:04:00.000-06:00

I haven't been to the blog world in AGES. I guess I just took a break for no reason! I haven't read a blog or wrote one in WEEKS. I'm trying to catch back up now.

What have we done since the end of August? Not much really. Right now, we are planning birthdays for both kids. They have October birthdays. Corey is going to invite a couple friends to Worlds of Fun. It's an amusement park over in Kansas City. Honestly, taking a few friends there will PROBABLY be cheaper than getting somewhere rented for a party.

Amory is having a halloween party. I'm all about that. Usually I pull the lazy, buy a cake thing. I'm SO making this cake. I am doing something layered and pumpkin on top and going for bleeding too. I WILL take pics of that one. I'm stoked. I may have to make one now next week to try it out.

Trips

2007-08-27T11:27:00.000-06:00

I would love to go on a real vacation. I haven't done that in ages. If I could go anywhere, where would it be? Who would go with me?

If I was taking my family I'd like to do a few different things. The first thing they HAVE to get in a plane and see the ocean. I can't believe my husband has never been to the ocean. It breaks my heart almost. Even in the middle of the country, I feel the ocean calling. I just want to go run in the ocean, feel the sand under my feet, squishing in my toes. Shoot, while we are at it, we could go to California and visit the redwoods, or go camping in Washington state. Beautiful country. It amazes me how some parts of this land are so pretty. Kansas is OK, but it's not all that pretty.

Another place I'd like to take my family is on a historical trip. Boston, Philadelphia, that sort of thing. I went to Boston over a year ago and it was so cool to see the history. Kansas is cool because it has very interesting Civil War history, especially Lawrence. But just the age of some of the buildings on the East Coast is amazing to me.

That leads to my other dream vacation. Ireland. Well, acutally, anywhere in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. Speaking of beauty and history. I would be there in a second if I had the money. I really would love to see some castles and stuff like that. If the kids didn't go, I'd so go check out some of the haunted stuff. I hear they have tours and such.

With no kids, I would pick New York City. I fell in love with that place when I visited for work. There is so much to do and see. I would love to take my husband to NYC. I think he'd love it too.

Another thing I want to do is to tour the country and ride all the roller coasters I can. I love roller coasters. Would I take my kids? Doubtful. Both of them have been crazy scared of things lately. Who knows. They may grow up by the time I get rich enough for this trip though!

So

2007-08-20T07:29:00.000-06:00

The kids are at school. The husband is at work. NOW WHAT? I'm currently cleaning off my desk. You see, I have a horrible habit of putting things on my desk that have no business on a desk. I also got a new monitor, but there is NO way that thing will be on this desk at this rate. SO, here I sit with a trash can next to me. Of course this leads to distraction. I started writing this about 20 minutes ago. I got side tracked by the Garbage Pail Kids on my desk. Then I had to google them. Then add to it odd things on my desk. So far, the weirdest is 2 Christmas ornaments. What month is this? I'm sure it's not December!

The cool part of being here alone. No tv. Now don't get me wrong, I like to watch tv, but sometimes I would love for it to not be on. In fact, I have the winamp going and only have to listen to what I want. Oh, yeah, Mondays will be good for that. Right now, Black Flag is playing and I don't have to listen to the tv over powering it and I don't have to hear anyone else's music even louder.

But, the bad part. If you have ventured over to my other blog, the one about the kids' sports and stuff, you know that I love to run the kids around. I don't have anything to do today. NOTHING. And oddly, there are no activities tonight either.

If I find anything else cool on my desk, I'll edit this. But, before I hit "publish post, I've got a Ryne Sandberg card and a Danny Manning card on this side of the desk. Now we head to side two.

I should have posted yesterday

2007-08-14T05:37:00.000-06:00

At the very least I post on Mondays because I don't work and it's my down time. Well, it's the LAST Monday before school starts. Well, we have a tradition at our house called donut Monday. We head to the gas station and buy some krispy kremes. Well, my son, being the brainiac he his all of a sudden has figured out days and has a sense of time. He asked to go to "donut Monday". How could I refuse, it's his last Monday home for a LONG TIME! I still can't believe my youngest child starts school this week!

After we eat our donuts, we went to hobby lobby to make a return. I got $16.08 back. Then we head to Pet World. That is my favorite pet store. It's locally owned and sometimes costs more, but the animals are better and the staff is friendly. So, we got a few hamster things and some crickets for the chameleon. We start to leave (we'd been in the store over an hour). Amory decides he wants a new hamster (you may remember we've had bad luck with hamsters). Well, he had $16 left of his allowance, he now has a new hamster. This one is named Chocolate and it moved in with Corey's hamster Vanilla (she helped in the naming).

We finally leave, grab lunch and just chill out for a few minutes. Get a call that the kids are starting swim lessons. Get another call that it's canceled. Had a meeting for PTA. Left the kids here and they were asleep before I got back. Corey starts school tomorrow! Amory starts on Friday. Look out!

Stumble Upon

2007-08-07T05:50:00.000-06:00

If you have firefox, you should have some cool add ons. I LOVE the FTP add on because it's free and it works well for uploading to my websites. Before I discovered the ease of the FTP transfer, I had to upload each individual smiley to a message board. Then, I figured out the FTP thing and it's so much easier. I also have an add-on called cool iris that lets you preview a link without ever leaving the page you are on. I use it a lot on myspace to see who is trying to add me. I also use it when reading a news article or a blog that has a link to another post that I want to see, but don't want to be bothered with the back button.

But, my favorite thing is stumble upon. I find sites that have tshirts from my childhood , cool swords, and a funny thing that tells you what you are. By the way, I'm a funky egg who likes to teach ringtails. It's cool because it gives you things in your interests. I get a lot of the same one my husband does (we must have similar interests). But, I also get stuff he doesn't like Drum Corps International. Anyway, if you have firefox (and you should) get stumble upon. It might up your bandwidth, but it's still cool.

The weekend

2007-08-06T07:09:00.000-06:00

So, Saturday was busy. We found out a church was handing out backpacks with supplies to kids in K-6th. We went there and of course it was packed, but the kids got their backpacks. Amory wanted a character bag though, so he was happy to get stuff, but wanted a different bag. Since we saved money, I agreed, and he's giving his to a friend that has a bag that's all torn up. Anyway, it's his first year, he should have a bag he loves! He ended up getting a star wars backpack. He's all packed and ready.

After that, we had to take the dogs to the vet to get their stitches removed. Smokey, the bigger dog was NO problem. Flipped him over, snip, snip, done. Zeus, the min-pin, only had one stitch, but my goodness, that little shit was hard to hold down. Then, it turns out, when he was there for the surgery and boarding, they forgot to do his shots. So, we had that ordeal too.

We came home, and headed to target. My kids think that target is the pinnacle of fine dining. Seriously, they BEG to eat at target. So, we eat, and look at school supplies. There were a few things they didn't have in the bags. And, we picked up the star wars backpack. We thought about going to wal-mart too, but we went home. We did end up at walmart later and picked up the very last things for school supplies. Both kids also got binders even though they don't need them. But, they pay for those with their allowance. The mean mom that I am, I made Corey pay for her spirals too. I will pay the $.10 it costs for a plain one, but the $2 it costs for Corbin Bleu, she has to pay. She got a few plain and 3 "fancy" ones. She's happy.

Sunday, my mom took us school clothes shopping. I got Amory some converse all stars for $11. There was one pair and they were his size. I was NOT leaving them in the store. Anyway, we ate lunch at JR's place GREAT food. We got tons of stuff. Came home and relaxed. I did go to bed a bit early.

Today, we hope to run around downtown, but the darn kids won't wake up!

Addicted to blogging?

2007-08-04T06:36:00.000-06:00

Got the link from a blog OF COURSE!

65%

San Francisco Singles from Mingle²

Watermelon

2007-08-03T05:43:00.000-06:00

Another favorite food. Today is national Watermelon day. Heck I could eat a whole watermelon. I love it, but it gives me a sugar high if I eat that much, and it makes me pee. So hyper and have to potty. Maybe that's why I don't often buy it at home. I don't want those qualities in my kids.

Yesterday would have been my dad's birthday. He's still missed all these years later. Happy Birthday Dad! Something funny half related to my dad is that his name was John. (yeah that's not the funny part, everyone was named John). Well, my son's name is Amory John. So, the funny part is that Amory thinks every stuffed animal or hamster or whatever he gets should be named... John. He even wanted to name our dog John. Seriously, we chose the name Amory because we liked it and it was just different enough to not be too weird, and he LOVES the name John.

Today is National Cheesecake Day!

2007-07-30T13:31:00.000-06:00

I wish I had the $$ to go get me some too. Man I love cheesecake. I do NOT like the jello kind. I'll eat it for the flavor if desperate, but I don't eat gelatin generally so anyway. What kind of cheesecake do I like? Well, there is the obvious plain. I like them alot. I use lemon zest in mine and it gives it a bit more tang. Yummy. I will eat those with berries (raspberry is my least fave). I have tried banana cream, dulce le leche caramel (VERY sweet, but yummo), chocolate chip, and chocolate (I've made one and it was good). Now I could sit and drool on the cheesecake factory's menu all day. I really NEED to get myself to one of those places. I don't even need dinner. I'd eat dessert all day. Ok, but my FAVORITE cheesecake is pumpkin cheesecake. I make this (along with regular pumpkin pie) every thanksgiving. I could eat it non-stop. Seriously, I love pumpkin, but in cheesecake it's even better.

Do you like cheesecake? What kinds? Flavors you've tried and didn't like?

Super heroness

2007-07-30T11:58:00.000-06:00

Last post on this topic (at least for today). I've decided to pick super powers, BECAUSE if I pick the magical powers like Harry Potter (which are cool) you have regulations. If you pick ones like the Xanth novels, you may end up with a lame one based on what you are born with. (Of course I did say you could chose your power, but whatever). So, I'm going with Marvel Girl/Phoenix the Rachel Summers Phoenix, not Jean Grey ultimately they are the same powers, just Rachel is cooler and has Cyclops for a dad. I am partial to the red hair. Her powers are listed as :Omega Level
Unlimited telepathic and telekinetic abilities, small fragment of the Phoenix force and residual Phoenix power, time traveling abilities. Basically she can do whatever she wants. :)

how did I get the powers? I have X-men powers, they are genetic.

Magic Power vs. Super Power (an essay on my dorkiness)

2007-07-29T13:30:00.000-06:00

Don't you hate it when someone else makes you think? Over at Corky's Log there is a post about another post at Cynical_Bastard's (which was actually interesting and I may start following that blog too) about which would you rather have magical powers or super powers.

Well, interestingly most people said magical. I say interesting here even though it's NOT all that interesting if you are thinking of Harry Potter powers. You can do almost anything with magical powers like in the Harry Potter books. All the everyday crap you have to do like cooking and cleaning would be a flick of the wrist. Transportation? The Flue Network is cool, hop in the fireplace and go to someone else's fireplace. But apparating would be great. You could NEVER be late for work. 6:59, pop, I'm at work. Leaving at the last minute is OK (yeah, I leave late daily. I'm addicted to the internet.)

However, what kind of magic are you talking about when you make a blanket statement like "Would you like magical powers or super powers?" One series of books that I LOVE is the Xanth Series by Piers Anthony. He has magical characters. However, most of them have ONE magical ability. There is a girl who can change the color of her hair and her twin sister that can change the color of other peoples' hair. Ok, there are good talents too, like Bink has the talent of protection from magic. Dolph can change his form; which is cool too. But seriously, what's the point in having a talent like changing your eye color. While cool, it's not particularly useful.

Then there are super powers. What is a super power? Like the United States? No, like a super hero. But just because you are a super hero (or even super villain) you don't necessarily have a power. Seriously, Batman has no super power. He is the best of everything. He's extremely smart, agile, and obviously strong. I think he's a ninja or something (actually, I don't know much about Batman Begins as I fell asleep for the movie, but I heard something about ninjas). Green Lantern doesn't have a power, he has a magic ring that gives him power (different rings get their power differently). And not to just pick on DC comics, I'll look at some Marvel people too. Captain America, like Batman, is ultimately an amazing human that trained himself to be above and beyond everyone else.

And then how do the ones with powers get them? Does it matter? If it comes from a symbiotic suit (Venom), you were born with it mutant style(most of the X-men), an experiment gone wrong (Hulk, Morbius), a weapon made by the government (well, he was a mutant first but he THOUGHT he was a weapon - Wolverine), a mishap of some sort like being bit by a spider or a space accident (Spidey, Fantastic Four) or an alien (Superman) does it matter? I guess not.

But seriously, I think the real questions are: If you could have a power of some sort what would it be and how did you get this power? Would you use it for good, evil, or just everyday stuff like doing the dishes? Would you be part of a team or a loner?

(I'll make another post when I decide what my answers would be).

ok editted (apparently I have a bad side)

2007-07-29T11:03:00.000-06:00

Don't worry, I'm looking for a good super hero one too. Maybe even gi joes and star wars too.

What house are you sorted in

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

Back with what GI Joe are you. I got Snake Eyes which rules because he's the coolest. When we were kids, I was always either Snake Eyes or Flint (did you know Flint was a Kansan?)

Your Score: Snake-Eyes

You scored 64% Initiative and 91% Combat Prowess!

Expert in 12 Fighting systems? Master of all edged weapons? Commando status? You are perhaps the most deadliest member of the team. You have combined the best of both worlds...ancient and modern forms of combat. On top of that you have a high moral code...probably why him and "Scarlett" are in love. You saved her life but in exchange became a mute and had your face heavily disfigured...

Link: The Which G.I. Joe Character R U Test written by Simple_Man on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Marvel character?

You scored as Gambit, Born on the bayou, Remy LeBeau is a Cajun theif who seeks to avenge the death of his family. You are a kindhearted person who is not afraid to mix it up and bend the rules a bit.

Gambit

80%

Mr. Fantastic

75%

Wolverine

75%

Dr. Octopus

55%

Nightcrawler

55%

Domino

55%

Magneto

45%

Venom

35%

Banshee

35%

Apocalypse

25%

Which Marvel Comic Character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

DC character

You scored as The Joker, You are The Joker!
You are a psychopath! Corrupt to the core, you enjoy causing pain and suffering. You will get your way or people will get hurt. Although you HATE those that oppose you, you do enjoy the challenge and will fight back for fun!

The Joker

63%

Wonder Woman

58%

Darkseid

56%

Hawkman

54%

Batman

52%

The Green Lantern

50%

The Flash

50%

Superman

46%

What Famous DC Character Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

And finally Starwars

You scored as Darth Maul, You are fairly quiet but speaking is unimportant, for your actions speak volumes. You have a fair number of tattoos, but that's okay, because they look cool. Now if only you could find a really good surgeon to sow you back together.

Darth Maul

88%

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

88%

Palpatine

75%

Han Solo

75%

Yoda

69%

Padme Amidala

56%

Luke Skywalker

56%

Boba Fett

56%

Leia Organa

50%

Obi-Wan Kenobi

38%

Which Star Wars character would you be? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

what's up?

2007-07-23T21:45:00.000-06:00

not much.

Did you read the new Harry Potter yet? I did and really enjoyed it. I'm not going to give away anything, but I'd be happy to discuss it in emails. Anyway, I read it this weekend as soon as I got it. I had a long weekend, so I was tired, but I kept reading anyway. Only thing I regret is that it's over. I half wish I would have slowed down and savored every page. Oh well, I suppose I can re-read it.

This weekend, I also read the first two books in the spiderwick series by Holly Black. I think there are 5 books in that series. A movie is coming out based on these books (I'd say they are geared for 3rd to 5th grade, but I'm not good at judging). I intend to read the last 3 as soon as possible so I can get them out of the way before the movie comes out.

Speaking of movies and Harry Potter and stuff what books will fans read now? What books will be made into movies? Like I said, Spiderwick is good. Other series for young readers that are in the fantasy vein that I have read include Septimus Heap, The Bartimaeus Trilogy, and Artemis Fowl and Charlie Bone. I also enjoyed Wrinkle in Time (and will pick up the others in that series.) Also, be sure to check out the Cornelia Funke books, I hear they are great too.

Spiderwick is about 3 children who find a book about a "fantastical world". Because of this book, they end up having many adventures including meeting brownies, fairies, and trolls.

Septimus Heap is the series that I can see younger Harry Potter fans looking to. It's about a wizard family and Septimus is the 7th son of a 7th son. He is believed dead, but he isn't. The adventures are just begining.

Bartimaeus is interesting. Another young magician with family problems. This boy summons a djinni (genie).

Artemis is my favorite. He's NOT a wizard or a magician or anything like that. He's just insanely smart! He has many adventures involving the faeries and other magical creatures.

Charlie Bone has a power from being a descendant of the red king. His power is hearing thoughts or conversations in photographs. These books are easy and not as good as Harry Potter. BUT, I think kids would like it way more than adults.

a funny kid said

2007-07-14T18:58:00.000-06:00

So, we are at the restaurant. There is a fly in the window sill and the kids are poking it and proclaiming it alive and then dead. SEVERAL MILLION TIMES seemingly. Well, it's alive. So anyway, Corey said, "I think it's been sterilized". I'm sorry to say, I laughed my butt off. After I calmed down, I asked her if she meant paralyzed and told her that sterilized meant he was either never having kids again (which is the version that popped in my head making me laugh so hard) or so super clean he could perform surgery. I also defined paralyzed. She nodded slowly and smiled like, "yeah, I got it." And said she meant he was her doctor and he wasn't having any more babies anyway.

Friday the 13th

2007-07-13T17:00:00.000-06:00

Well for those of you that know me, you may now that I'm not superstitious. In fact, I've always loved Friday the 13th because it IS Friday after all. Today was the exception! I didn't even remember it WAS the 13th. So, anyway for reasons I'm not getting into right now, we didn't have electricity last night. We slept like crud with no air and the boy being afraid of the dark. Oh well, that worked out. I thought, what the heck, I'll get to work early, I can't go online or anything. Guess what! We drove my vehicle when we went out yesterday. Kenny used my keys and never gave them back. It was before 7, so I knew he wasn't at work yet and I called him. He brought my keys to me and I was still leaving in time to be ON TIME. Well, I get in my car and head one direction, he heads the other. My car dies on the wrong side of the street for parking on, just half a block away. SO, I immediately call Kenny whose phone went straight to voice mail. I call again. Nothing. Call my mom thinking my step-dad would be there since it's his DAY OFF! But NO, the guy doesn't take days off. He gets a day off from his job and goes to work with a friend. Call good old husband and cuss out his voice mail. So, I figure out what was wrong with the car when I got out and see a huge puddle and notice it really smells like gasoline. I stand back and see a hose under the car dripping. I decide to check it out and see if I could figure out what it was, and my mom drives up while I'm contemplating the hose. Well there was this nice shiny part under there. I knew that my husband and step dad had changed something to do with the fuel line. (it's a fuel filter I hear) Anyway, so I got it figured out. Thankfully it didn't take long because I kept trying to start it at first and when you turn on the ignition of a fuel injected car, gas starts flowing. Anyway, called husband's work before figuring it out and he SAYS he can't do anything and he might be able to leave work in about a half hour. Yeah that helps! NOT. So anyway, I walk home to find a screwdriver. My mom pulls into the drive way to give me a ride to my car. Ok, it's three houses down, but ok. So, anyway, I got it fixed, got bird shit on my arm and my other arm is soaked in gas. The freaking gas that cost about $3.10 a gallon. I kept thinking how much money was on the ground.

So, I made it to work and couldn't stop shaking. Too much adrenaline. But, my stepdad finally calls my mom's cell and tells her something. She said, "I want you to tell Nikki that." and hands me the phone. He said, "I bet it was leaking fuel behind the driver side rear tire, wasn't it?" He KNEW it might not be tight enough. They didn't have a screw driver to do it, so they did it with pliers and HOPED it would work. So, of course they were on my shit list for awhile.

Luckily, the rest of the day was good. Oh, and we played kickball at the park and my team of ragtag 5 to 8 year olds beat the other kids - even though their teacher was sure they would win.

Movies of the last 25 years

2007-07-07T21:22:00.000-06:00

71%

FilmCritic.com - Movie Reviews

Well, I haven't seen them all! What about you?

dogs

2007-07-07T08:46:00.000-06:00

When we bought a house, I was excited to be able to have a dog. I wanted an older dog from the shelter. Well, my mom takes my son to a breeders house who just happened to have a dog that was old and retired. We could have her (if we got her fixed). She's a Jack Russell Terrier. Good dog, too. She definitely has old lady attitude.

Well, fairly recently, my cousin tells us that his dogs were going to have puppies. His male was a dachshund/min pin. His female- pitbull/rot. So I say, OH THAT might be a cool puppy. Guess what, they had ONE puppy. It is cute. Guess who owns his dumb butt? Me. He is a definite puppy. Very crazy and goofy. Hope he calms down SOMETIME!

Now, my mom raises min pins. RAT DOGS! She ends up giving one to my daughter. Ok, it's kinda cute and it's not annoying like his mom and sister. (I don't know if it's breed specific or just them, but the females are horrible).

Ok, so this AM they all get out of the fence. The two younger ones found a way out. They took off. I can hear them on the wrong side of the house as I'm getting dressed. So, not dressed, I have to go out to chase two dogs. So, I open the gate and out runs the third. Well, she came back right away. Finally get the rat dog. My daughter comes out to help, and she's down the block. Apparently, the dog ran all the way down the street. The neighbor lady says "I feel for you." I know she does because her dogs do the same thing. At least our neighborhood isn't ultra picky about this stuff. But how the hell did I get 3 dogs???

Now that you are a mom shouldn't you dress better?

2007-07-06T19:58:00.000-06:00

I mean, really? This was the most annoying question I remember from being pregnant with my first child. Oh, it ranks up there with something about my hair. AND, if you know me, you know that I'm not a "traditional" type of person. I mean the name ntaspnkasu that is the screen name of this blog translates to "not as punk as you". I cut my hair how I want and at this time it's long for me at nearly 3 inches. Oh, and I'm sure someone would probably like me to change my musical taste and stuff like that too. But, I digress, so...

I didn't know there was a mom dress code. I even bet you can't guess who asked me if I was going to start dressing better. No, not my boss even though I did work in the same place during both of my pregnancies. Work place dress codes ARE common, but that's got nothing to do with parenthood. Yeah, you got it. Good old mom. You would think that mom's would support you. She did and does on so many things. BUT, she has a definite on how things should be. Apparently, moms don't wear converse all stars or tshirts. Those boots have to go. Don't you know that it's an INSULT to say, "Your momma wears combat boots"? Anyway, why should a mom be your only definition? I want to be a mom, a wife, a teacher, a writer, a student, a music lover, an opinionated woman, and just plain ME.

As a side note, you don't have to wear "mom jeans" just because you are a mom. It's ok. Your belly button does NOT need to be covered by jeans. Your waist is NOT your belly button. T-shirts are fine for just hanging out. They are fine for work if you are used to making messes with 5 year olds all day. They are fine for seeing a band play. And sorry, I will NOT pay tons of money for shoes or purses.

Oh and a question I didn't actually hear, but was told that it was asked, "Is their kid going to be born with colored hair, tattoos, and piercings?" When I heard that one, I was offended as I don't have any of that stuff, and neither did my husband. But I didn't let that show. I said, "Gosh, I hope so. I hope genetics has nothing to do with anything and I get a kid with green hair." It was his sister-in-law though, so whatever. We are the freaks in both families, WHATEVER (favorite word in case you can't tell).

Anyway check this out:
Don’t you wish you could have just handed them this?

Read more at the Parent Blogger Blog Blast today. Seriously, I read a ton of these and just nodded and laughed. I swear I related to so many of these!

M is for MEME

2007-06-25T08:24:00.000-06:00

Ok, so there is this blog ...and the pursuit of happiness and she had a cool meme so I decided to participate. The idea is the person gives you a letter. Ms. Sunshine gave me the letter M. Then you get to write about your ten favorite things beginning with that letter. If anyone one (of my other 2 readers) want to do it, let me know, I'll give you a letter and I promise not to pick something like X.

So, I get M mighty mighty M

1. Monday What's that you say? Yes Monday. I work 4 ten hour days. My day off is Monday! While most people are at work whining "I hate Monday." I'm usually at home chilling on the computer. Worst case, I have an appointment and have to go to that. This last semester, my husband switched to days so it was my son and I only. This school year, I may volunteer at the school more, because the evil one starts school all day. But, that's my choice!

2. message boards I'm so completely addicted to message boards. Well, it's not too bad any more. I go to blogs more. But, it's basically the same. I used to have a whole folder of message boards, now I spend most of my Monday on a birth month board that was from way back in October 2001. We started on ePregnancy and then that morphed in to geoparents. Then it went to sheKnows. It lost all semblance of what we liked and became a dictatorship. Plus, all the dads on there were NOT happy with the new name. Well, one group made a debate board that I was a part of for awhile (that split into another board that I am still half way a part of) and then we made our own birth month board. Recently I also made one for people who graduated with me. It's pretty slow, but we weren't a big class. But I check it a few times a day.

3. Music To me, music is so important. I love all music. Sticking the M theme is hard here as I love so much, but here are some M artists I like: me first and the gimme gimmes, Minor Threat, Glenn Miller, Miles Davis, Motley Crue (I know, but can't help liking them), Madball, Ministry, mudvayne, melvins, murphy's law, misfits, mix master mike, mr bungle, I'm sure there are more.

4. movies I love to watch movies. I refuse to strain my brain to think of all the M movies I like. But, I like movies. I don't like old old movies though. I just can't handle how hokey they are. I mean there are a few I like, but everyone raves about casa blanca and I just can't handle it.

5. Mail Well, good mail anyway. I like catalogs, packages, letters, and of course birthday cards with MONEY (I thought of using money as an M I like, but that's a given.) I don't like junk mail and bills though.

6. May The month? Not really. I mean the name. It's my last name now that I'm married. The month is OK, it's the last day of school, my husband's birthday, Memorial day, and Mother's day. But as a last name it's pretty good. My maiden name was Plummer so you get all those jokes. But, along with the name, you get the fact that I'm married to a great guy. I mean, he's awesome and he puts up with me. That's a good thing. I'm kinda annoying but then, so is he.

7. messy projects I like to make big messes at work. I work with 5 and 6 year olds. We love to make messes. We did the mentos thing. We made goo that was a sticky grossness. And, we are always gluing things and breaking things, and well, you get the idea. Oh, and mud puddles and water sprayers are always fun. I usually come home GRUBBY!

8. M&Ms Really, I like candy, but if you get down to it, I get m&ms the most often. I like plain. I'll occasionally eat peanut, but not often. I'm not a huge chocolate person, but I do eat quite a few m&ms.

9. Massachusetts Is that spelled right? yeah, I think it is. Ok, in fairness the only place I've been is Mass is Boston, but I loved it. We walked every where. I met a few of my online buddies for the first time, and had a bunch of fun. This would be a great place for a family vacation with all the history and stuff.

10. Motherhood Seriously, just being a mom is good. When your 5 year old walks in and says, "Mom, I need to borrow a peanut." And you say, "Borrow? Are you bringing it back?" Be prepared for the answer. He does plan on bringing it back. That smirk makes you think it's not a good idea. (He's planning to see what happens when you put in the nutcracker even though I told him those are for nuts with shells.)

honorable mention is Meme's (because sometimes I just have no idea what to write) and martial arts (because I like to watch my daughter's karate, and swords are cool.)

Star Wars

2007-06-24T08:25:00.000-06:00

Ok, so we all know star wars rules. BUT now my 5 year old realizes it too. He is constantly playing star wars on playstation. He also has MAD lightsaber skills. He flies off the deck with his lightsaber with great flair.

I have no clue how many lightsabers we have in this house. Every time he gets money, he buys a new one. He has the "build your own" one that he made into darth maul's.

He's finally watching the movies a bit more. He still can't sit for a whole two hours, but he is getting more. But honestly, I watch them when he puts them on so it's not too bad. I'm still sad that I don't have the ORIGINAL star wars (not episode 4). I know it's been said before about the scene with Greedo and Han, but wow it sucks now. I have the version where they shoot at "nearly" the same time. It looks bad and took away from the original. Ok, enough rambling, but did you know there is a conspiracy theory page on the whole thing? Very interesting. And does it bother anyone other than me that people keep calling it "episode 4" or "a new hope"? I mean, it's STAR WARS, the next one is The Empire Strikes Back, and then finally Return of the Jedi. I know they said what episode it was on the words scrolling up even originally, but who cares?

Then to add to me being neurotic, I have toys that my son can not play with. He asks me all the time if I am ready to open my Boba Fett yet. I'm not. Poor mistreated kid. In fairness, I have let him play with some things, but he is DESTRUCTIVE.

Well, I won't babble on any more now.

writing for writing sake.

2007-06-22T18:22:00.000-06:00

So, I had something I wanted to say, but no clue what it was.

Work was cool today. We did the mentos and soda thing (do you say soda, co' drink, pop, coke, soft drink, what?) Anyway, we had each kid bring in a 20oz soda. We guessed which would work the best, and then at the end I had a 2 liter of diet coke to do. I didn't tell them it was diet coke though; I peeled the wrapper off. Anyway, so interestingly Pibb Xtra worked the best out of the choices we had. I was surprised. I kept hearing that the diets worked best, but not in our lab tested experiments!! Anyway, so then I was trying to drop the mentos in the 2 liter. Well, I only got one in there and it shot into my face! The kids thought that was awesome. I thought it was sticky, but it was worth it. The funny part was that we were using a stick to measure and one of the boys asked what we would say if it went past the stick. We told him that it was a max. Well, why was that funny? His name was Max and he thought we made it up because he asked it. So all day he said that the diet coke was a Max. Gosh I love 5 year olds!

ah kids

2007-06-10T19:13:00.000-06:00

So, my dash light that illuminates my speedometer has been out for awhile. Well, I hit a pothole the other night. It came back on. When I got home, I parked with my tire on the curb slightly. It made the light pop off again. So, driving home last night, I tell the husband that I think something is loose in that side of the car. So he slaps the dash. The light flashes on. We were both impressed. He said, "Hey, I didn't think it would work. I'm the Fonz". So, in pops the boy from the back seat. "What's a Fonz?" Seriously, I laughed the rest of the way home.

weekend

2007-06-09T07:45:00.000-06:00

Well, nothing was going on yesterday. That's not usual around this place. Today we will be going to worlds of fun for lots of fun! www.worldsoffun.com Tomorrow we will be at CK's softball game. Sounds like a good weekend to me.

stress

2007-06-02T22:45:00.000-06:00

Ok, so we are bad news to hamsters. Some time ago, we got our daughter (by we, I mean the easter bunny) a hamster set up. Well, she used her allowance to buy food and a hamster. ALL SET, right? Then she convinced her brother to get one too. She named hers Lightning and he named his John. Well, soon, someone left the cage open and John was gone. Eventually, The Evil One got a new hamster and named him John 2. Well, things are going well until the boy lived up to his evil moniker. He took Lightning out of the cage and lost it. Now, we have two hamsters running free somewhere in our house. Of course with a cat and two dogs, if they aren't in the walls, they are dead. Well, fast forward to earlier this week. I get a text message that John 2 is dead. Apparently the girl left the cage open and the cat killed it. Luckily the girl didn't see all the gory details, but she was traumatized anyway. Well, I really started to like the darn rodents, so I bought replacements today. Great, I let them pick out their own and we were all happy with a new location for their cage that was boy proof and cat proof. Fast forward to midnight (right now). I have been holding John 3 most of the evening. He is probably going to die. He is a gorgeous gray. At the store, he was active and in the box home, he was playful. Now, he is laying around and breathing weird. I'm nearly in tears over this. The boy is worried, but he is trying to convince himself it's just tired. I hope he's right. The boy went to bed, and I've sat and tried to get the hamster to come around. All the websites don't list symptoms that fit everything here, except possibly a stroke. WHAT? Seriously? Anyway, the girl hasn't named hers yet, but it's so freaking active it's probably ran 5 miles already on the wheel. Anyway, I'm afraid to stop my vigil, but I'm so tired. I am sure if he's not with us in the morning I will cry. I mean, I've only had him here for a few hours, but I can't handle it. Update in the morning.

reunion

2007-05-30T05:37:00.000-06:00

So, it was my 15 year high school reunion. The cool thing was seeing people you haven't seen in a few years. But, you know why you don't see them much? Probably because you don't have much in common with them. Anyway, I met my friend's husband for the first time. I liked him, he was really nice. Before the "party" we went to my brother in law's house. It's always good to catch up with them. Then on to the party and the food was not bad, but small portions and we had paid $20 a person (it was to cover other expenses, but whatever). Anyway, after the dinner portion, that was the only organization there was. The rest of the night was a booze fest. Not much fun if you aren't a drinker. Luckily there were some people that can consume responsibly and so we still had some people to talk to. All in all, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Last day of 3rd grade!

2007-05-24T20:25:00.000-06:00

Ok, so it's not MY last day, but it's my last day of 3rd grade homework. Guess what. On the last assignment, I got 16/16. Oh, nevermind, to give credit where it is due, it was an ORAL report, so my daughter got those points. But, I scored well on my writing and display; she read it well though. The funny thing is that we made a book instead of a poster because I don't have poster board just laying around. She got a note on her report that praised her for that. It was great because I told her it didn't HAVE to be a poster. YAY! Actually, she did great in 3rd grade. I'm proud of all the work she did. Oh and her teacher rocked and the kids were lucky to have him.

Funny story I nearly forgot

2007-05-23T20:58:00.000-06:00

Ok, so this kid walks into the class room and said, "Hey, guess why I was late coming to school today,"

With that sort of lead in, you just have to know so I of course said, "Well, you went to eat breakfast?"

"No", comes the reply. "My poop was stuck and wouldn't come out." Short pause here. "Hey, Nikki, do you know what was in my poop."

I was sure I knew at that point, but can't spoil that fun. "No, hun, I don't."

"Corn! There was corn in my poop."

To which I have to reply, "Yeah, that happens sometimes."

All this happens while the dad is standing there trying to hide. He then informs his son that he doesn't have to share the story with EVERYONE that day. Poor dad, but we thought it was hilarious.

yay work

2007-05-23T06:10:00.001-06:00

I don't know why I've been at the same job for 12 years. They drive me nuts, but oh well. I guess I'll probably be there forever.

All my kids are leaving soon! I'm getting new ones next week. The sad part is the ones I adore are leaving the center. Some are moving to the school age room, but not all. I lost one yesterday and I think two today. Ok, gotta grab the camera and head out. Busy night tonight. If it doesn't rain, I'm going to go see a baseball game and then head to karate for Corey.

The girl's first show

2007-05-21T12:16:00.000-06:00

Corey had her first concert the other night. She saw clutch live. It was about 1000 people from what I hear. All I know is it sold out. Anyway, she had a blast and got some drum sticks and was near the stage the entire time. Too fun. Poor kid slept most of Saturday though.

music meme from la daddy (see links)

2007-05-21T11:24:00.000-06:00

Ok, so it's really from a post of his at blogfathers (also linked)

What song do you hear that takes you back to high school?
In highschool I listened to tons of stuff. I mean seriously from the 50's stuff my mom had around (Bill Haley is a favorite to this day) to the stuff that was out on the radio at the time (like Guns and Roses and Motley Crue,) and stuff that wasn't on the radio much (like Suicidal Tendencies, DRI, Billy Idol, Anthrax, Fabulous Thunderbirds) as well as Beastie Boys and such.

But the song that I didn't really listen to a lot, but that reminds me of high school is Come as you are by Nirvana. I swear. Why you may ask. It's because when it first came out, my friend Jeff played that on every instrument he could find. I mean, the guy is obviously a good musician, but dang get a new song. Now when I hear it on the radio I think of band class.

What song do you hear that really fills you full of regret?
Regret? The lion sleeps tonight because it reminds me of my dad. Makes me regret not hanging out with him more. You know teenagers, they don't hang with their parents. Now that he's gone, I don't get that chance. I don't regret much in life, but that's the main one.

What song restores your faith in humanity?
I guess I'm still looking for the faith. Ok, I'll say "I love chocolate milk" by scribble monster

What song truly makes you smile?
Most music does - well except sad songs, but even then it's a good thing. In the mood made popular by Glenn Miller

What song can’t you wait to play for your kid?
My kids listen to whatever we do anyway, so they've heard everything

What song didn’t used to mean anything to you… and now it really does make an impact?
no answer, still thinking

What song takes you back to college?
Anything by the Beastie Boys, DRI, Body Count, lots of things. I lived in the "arts" dorm. Lots of music. Oh, but I'll pick Rancid's Ruby Soho just because I had to defend my love for Rancid to the CCP (capital city punks) several times. The whole sell out thing is frustrating. I thought you made music SO you could make a living at it.

What song would be the first song on your iPod if you were stranded on a desert island?
Whatcha Want Beastie Boys (well, at this second!)

What band influenced you the most?
Suicidal Tendencies I guess. Good attitude.

Ok, so

2007-05-21T11:01:00.000-06:00

I decided to add a new blog where I can write all the other crap that isn't about my kids' activities. So, it begins.