What Did You Say?

I called my sister yesterday to tell her about the cat incident. She doesn't do the blog thing so I knew she wouldn't learn about it from reading here. This was our conversation.

"Hello."
"Hey Kristi. When Eric came home he smelled something that was possibly dead in our garage. When he went to go check, he found the dead thing. It was our neighbor's cat."
(Kristi's panicked voice) "Is that a man? I didn't know you had a neighbor named Pat!"
"Nooooo! Cat! Cat! It was a cat, not a person."

You can imagine the laughter that insued because my sister thought we had found our neighbor "Pat" dead in our garage. At least we now have something to laugh about when we think back on this experience. Eric told me I should have responded to "I didn't know you had a neighbor named Pat." with "We don't.......anymore."

The Popularity of Beef Jerky

Apparently I have missed something. We went by this store that was dedicated to beef jerky. Is beef jerky so popular and in great demand that it needs an outlet store? Eric and I contemplated it and decided we had to find out what was the deal. We left the kids in the car and went into the store. It was surprisingly very busy. I really think it was the newness of the store that was drawing in the crowd or other people that were curious and wanted to check out the beef jerky craze. I couldn't see the rational of a bank loaning money to someone to open up a store to sell mainly beef jerky. Maybe I should jump on this bandwagon and open up a outlet store for chips, trail mix, or socks. The owners of this store must have taken a poll and found out that what most people are missing and craving is beef jerky, or maybe they got lost in a forest for days and realized how beneficial beef jerky would be at that moment. I invision them writing up their business proposal on leaves out in the forest.
I was surprised that the store did have other items for sale. I bought two jars of gourmet peanut butter that had yummy stuff added to it (chocolate chip cookie dough and raspberry white chocolate). I had to unexpectantly run from the store so Eric purchased my peanut butter. Tip: Do not try the habenero flavored potato chips. You will be running to your car to drink anything that is available (yesterday's juice, the dog's water, hand sanitizer), yet your mouth will still be on fire when your husband shows up wondering why you ran like a lunatic out of the store. Good times, good times.

Grown Up Hattie

"Mommy what is that?"

"It is a bra."

"Why do you wear it?

"It hold up my boobs and gives me support."

"Who wears that?"

"Older girls and ladies."

"Mommy, when I get older, can I wear boobs?"

"Yes, Hattie."

I've Got the Joy...

Emogene was singing one of her favorite songs while getting ready this morning. Here is her version.

"I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart to stay. .......

I've got the Peter patter doesn't matter down in my heart..."

I had to rush to write it down. She has her mom's talent of making up the words to songs because she doesn't hear them correctly. This drives Eric nuts in the car when I am singing along to a song and I say it wrong. His favorite is Jingle Bells. I have sung it the wrong way for years. "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one whore soapen sleigh, hey."

A Day out and About

We had a great day today. We started out at PetCo. We needed crickets for the lizard. We are also trying to get Sheldon used to car rides so he isn't so nervous about them. I am so proud to announce that Sheldon is apparently a great looking Dane. Some lady that has show quality Danes fawned all over him and wanted to know where we got him. She said he was beautiful, had a great shape, and she could tell was from great bloodlines. Can you believe that the toilet paper bandit got that many compliments? Oh, by the way he struck again yesterday. Emogene just sat there and watched him destroy whole roll of toilet paper in the middle of the living room.
Let's get back to our day of fun.

Hattie found the perfect hat in the food bowl aisle.
This is Isabel's favorite breed. It is a Yorkie. Warning: All pet owners beware. Hattie will try and pick up your dog without warning.

Emogene was showing me what she desperately wanted. I said no.

We then went to Bass Pro Shop when it was feeding time. Hattie said, "Aww, look at the cute baby fish. Isn't it cute Mommy? Why did the big fish eat it?"

Eric found something he wants to try to get past security on a flight next week. He wants to try and trick them. I'm not thinking that it's a good idea.

Look at my big, bad hunter.

She is trying to look like a big, bad hunter. She still looks too cute.

We had fun today. Sheldon was good. We got a lot of dirty looks in Bass Pro. Apparently they usually don't see dogs walking around in there.

Update on the Cat

The neighbor's son came home as Eric was outside hoping someone would come home. We are relieved to find out that we had nothing to do with the death of the cat. We were terrified that it had died of starvation and lack of water or something. Apparently it had been hit by a car two weeks ago. The owner saw it happen. The cat ran off towards the ditch next to our house. Our neighbor tried to run after it, but couldn't catch it. He never saw it after that. It must have gone into our garage and died from the accident. We have had cold weather except for the last few days which must be why we had not realized it was in there before. It was under some things. Eric has decided he wants to clean out the garage tomorrow.

Need Help with a Sad Problem

Eric came home from work today. He had opened the garage to put something in it. Lately I have been bypassing the garage and going through the front door, so I haven't been in there since Tuesday. When Eric came in he said, "It smells like something is dead in there." I could tell by his face, that it had to be something larger than the occasional mouse. I said, "Maybe it is the neighbor's cat." Later, Eric went out to check on it. He came back in and asked the girls to leave the room so he could talk to me. It was the neighbor's cat. We had not heard it meow. We have no idea how long it had been in there. Eric went to tell the neighbors, but they are not home, so we don't know what to do. Eric was thinking about burying it, but they may want to do it. I know how hard it is to lose a pet. What would you do?

Role Reversal

I can not believe this little darling is growing up so fast. She is growing up so fast that she is somehow causing me to regress. Let me explain.
Emogene was begging for me to put an alarm clock in her room. Her daddy used to get her dressed in the morning. She would try to sleep through it, give him dirty looks, whine, and make his morning and everyone elses not so fun. When Emogene would not stop about the alarm clock, Isabel offered hers. Isabel uses her IPhone as an alarm clock. Well, Emogene now gets up at 5:50 by the beep of her alarm clock, dresses herself, puts on her shoes, brushes her teeth, and then comes into my room. She wakes me up and what do you think I say?
"Five more minutes." You heard it. I am a teenager again, and Emogene is the parent. Hey, she even dressed Hattie one morning. It hasn't happened again because of her realization that Hattie is uncooperative, but it was nice for that one time. I could not believe how awesome the whole alarm clock thing worked out. I wonder if she could start making breakfast and fixing her and Hattie's hair. This is sounding better and better as I am typing. Hmm, what else could I train her to do? This alarm thing helped out Eric. Maybe I can keep up with this theme. Maybe she can start mowing the lawn. Oooh, that would be a great Father's Day gift to Eric. Is 7 too young for mowing the lawn? I think not. I know what your thinking, but really she is a very mature 7 year old. She has also been working out on the Wii a lot. She can start pushing that mower soon. I think some weight lifting is needed. That will be our next step to get this lawn mowing gift ready. Yes, this is going to be the best Father's Day ever!

The Little Artist

Hattie drew some chalk drawings at school yesterday. I told her teacher to hold on so I could go get my camera. I told her I had to take pictures of her drawings for the blog. She thought this was humorous. She apparently has not been around many psycho blogging mothers.

Hattie was pointing with her foot. We will call this drawing "Yellow Blob."

She likes the letter "X." She has been drawing it a lot.

Hattie's best friend, Kali, was still at the school when we left. I called her mom later and found out that Kali ran up to her mommy and said, "Mommy could you take a picture of me for the blog?" Oh my, I am inspiring young people. I believe Kali is going to be a blogger.

Sadly, Kali's mommy did not have her camera with her this time. Kali baby, Mrs. Tricia will be glad to take a picture of you anytime. Maybe I can get a playground picture tomorrow.

Church Happenings

Before our Wednesday night Bible study, we take turns bringing a meal for everyone to enjoy. Tonight Kathryn brought King Cake. This is a dessert eaten around Mardi Gras time. It is yummy. As you can see, Emogene fixed her own piece. I was worried she hadn't left any for the rest of the people. She has a history of getting gynormous pieces of the cake on Wednesday nights. I have been mindful to watch her and cut it myself. She managed to sneak this piece past me. I am glad this child has become a Wii fanatic. She is going to need it after that piece. Everyone else's pieces were half that size.

Please notice her hair. She fixed it herself and loved it. She is also wearing her favorite shirt again. Man, if I wasn't' so good with my laundry it wouldn't have been clean.

Also, tonight at church I got a case of the church giggles. Hattie was pretending to whisper a secret into my ear. Not only was she too close and tickling my ear which would have caused me to giggle a little anyway, but it was her unique way of faking a secret. She kept repeating one word over and over again. "Piss, piss, piss, piss, piss, piss....." She got a little upset with me for laughing at her. She has entered that phase, but sometimes I can't help it. She cracks me up.

Bedtime Fun

Bedtime has to be one of the worst times of the day. The girls don't like it and they let us know. It has drastically improved with a new discipline strategy we are testing. I have heard Dr. Phil say many times that you need to find a child's "currency" and take it away. Well our children's currency is stuffed animals. We now take one animal from each child at night and if they get up for a not good reason or continue to scream for no reason, that animal goes into the trash. It is working well. It took Hattie a few times to realize we were actually didn't want her to walk across her nightstand and attack her sister. She has lost many animals, but it has drastically tapered off. Emogene is a scaredy cat which she gets from her mother. She has not lost any. And just for your information, I am not an idiot, I have been throwing away mostly McDonald's Happy Meals toys and things caught in parades. We haven't gotten to the expensive, sentimental animals. This doesn't seem to matter to Hattie though. She grieves over each one that is lost, and her behavior improves each time.
This brings me to tonight. I could hear them playing in the bedroom for a while. I had not gotten up to check because I don't mind if they visit. Emogene will sometimes tell Hattie a bedtime story. I like them to have this sister time.
Well Emogene comes out of her room. I quickly reminded her that getting up was against the rules. She then impressed upon me that it was an emergency.
Here was our conversation.
"Mommy, do you know that thing you put on our bed?"
"A blanket?"
"Noooo, that thing. It is big and poofy, and it helps you to be comfortable."
"The mattress?"

"Yes! Well, Hattie's fell off."

This is what I saw when I walked in. According to them it just fell off. Hmmm, I'm not so sure about that.

Fashion Show

Emogene and Hattie put on a fashion show for me today. Emogene was even nice enough to put up the clothes she had modeled. Hattie was another story.

"Here comes our first model. She is wearing a striped number. It says look at me in horizontals. You have to be very secure with your body to pull this off folks."

"This is one of our nonchalant models. She is very carefree She is wearing a dress that is meant to hide her hands just in case you have not had a recent manicure. It is our new look this spring."

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"Here comes our next model. She has on a gigantic tent looking dress. I'm not sure what the designer is thinking with this Barney look-a-like ensemble. Maybe it is meant for an 8 or 9 year old and needs to be put back on the rack until next year."

Here she comes again. Our nonchalant model has changed into a more casual outfit. It is definitly part of our "Sleep Shirts Without Pants" lines. I have heard that if she could, this model will wear pajamas all day. Please ignore the creepy eyes behind our model. We have a dog trying to sneak into the show.

Oh wait folks, our model is taking a break. She has decided that a little meditation during a fashion show is a good thing.

This says, "I'm ready to go play outside." Oh no emergency! We have a wardrobe malfunction. After a close review from our panel, we have determined that her pants are zipped everyone. No more need to panic.

Woah, our model thinks she should show us a riskier pose. We need to get her off of the stage. I think she may need to be confined to her house until she is 25. SECURITY!

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I hope you all come again soon to see our summer line.

Extreme Laundry Room Makeover

I decided that since the rest of my house is just perfect (water marks on the wall, damaged carpet, writing on the walls, place in the ceiling where I almost stepped through it, etc.), I would do a makeover on my laundry room. I am the chief laundry person in the house. Eric hates it, he assumes I love it, so he stays away from it as much as possible. I am, no was, the worst laundry person, that is until I redid my laundry room. It has been a month of the new system and I actually like doing laundry. My laundry is caught up everyday and I only spend 15-20 minutes in there at night. Here is my brand new laundry room.

Okay, this is my old laundry room. I had a shower curtain rod above it to hang up wet clothes to dry. I had four containers along the wall in front of the washer to separate the clothes.

I also had one shelf and a strange wire hanging shelf above the washer and dryer to place junk. Ignore the drying underwear on the doorknob. Notice I still had to use the door on occasion to hang wet jeans. The top of my dryer was used to hold lots of mess. It took some rearranging to get the dryer lint out.

This is no more. I painted the walls a light lilac just for me. Who else goes in there? I did draw the line at putting more than one coat on the walls. I mean it is just a laundry room people. Who is going to care if it only has one coat? I painted the shelves a deep chocolate color and removed the shower rod. I bought the green containers on the top shelf from Dollar Tree and made labels, laminated them, and tied them with decorative ribbons. This helps me to know exactly where to put things. I even have a box for lonely socks and pocket finds. I put a piggy bank in one basket which collects money for Lydda's adoption fund. If any change is found, she gets it. The hamper on top of the dryer is used rarely. I have a uniform jumper in there at the moment because it needs to be hemmed. I do put the towels in there as I fold them, but I put them up immediately.

These are my favorite parts of my laundry room. Eric hung four posts for me. The man at Home Depot and Eric both thought I was a little nuts as I explained what I wanted. The first Home Depot man was convinced having pipes stick out from you wall would not work. I'm glad I didn't believe him and went to find a person that could see my vision. Each child has a pipe. Eric and I share one. I hang any clothes that need to dry, or just clothes that need to be hung up, on the clothing owner's pole. When all are dry I transfer them to the closets. I don't have to do this everyday, yet nothing is cluttered or messy while it waits to be put away. Each child also has a canvas basket. I wanted to have them monogrammed but Eric put his foot down on that one. I like monogramming things and since it was for me to see, I thought it would be a good idea. Eric didn't see it that way. He said I could just remember the color for each child. I give each child the basket every few days. They then put the clothes away. The little green basket is where I put the loose socks as I am cleaning out the dryer. When the dryer is empty I match them. If I have any leftovers I have a separate basket to check for the mates. I put any unmatched socks in the lonely socks container. I still have my four separate containers to sort my laundry. They
are the perfect size too. They are trash cans from Walmart. When they are full, it is a perfect size load. I also have the girls get undressed in there before a bath so their dirty clothes get put away immediately. I will also bring them in there after a bath to get dressed with things that are in their hampers. This won't work when they are older and if they ever have a brother.

I LOVE my new laundry room. Eric is going to put another bar with the pipes coming out on the opposite wall. This way the hanging jeans won't get in the way of the baskets. We also will be adding to our family over the next few years and I will need more pipes. I have also asked him to hang a shelf above the door. I want to put out of season clothes up there or other things that need to be hidden.

As you can see, I have a small laundry room. I tried to use all available space. I don't feel constricted even though I added so much to a small room. The poles are very high up. I wanted them high so they wouldn't be in the way. I get on my tiptoes to hang up an item. It is better than the shower curtain rod that was above my head while I worked. I hope you enjoyed seeing a room of the house that is truly mine. Hmmm, I might be putting these pipes in my closet. I think it might work.

Exta Info.: I used my mother's laminating machine, therefore I did not embezzle laminating supplies from work.

I also know my dryer is extremely unsightly. The top of it is covered in rust and it doesn't stop when you open it. This has caused me to almost break an elbow while playing the game "Can You Grab That Moving Shirt?" This dryer is extra awesome because it was free from my friend Dollie about 6 years ago. It was her great aunt's dryer. This thing works great.

And the winner is....

NANNIE! I promise it was not rigged. I wrote down the numbers 1-5 on a piece of paper. I took out the number 4 since that was a comment I had put on there and then erased. I balled up each little piece of paper. I then shook them around in my hand Emogene picked one piece of paper. I secretly wished it would not be Nannie so it would not looked rigged, but we unwrapped it and it was a three. Nannie, you need to let Hattie know what kind of picture you want painted. She can even try to recreate a famous work of art. I will have another give away soon.

The Gifts that Keep on Giving

How many of you are familiar with Moon Sand? I am a huge fan (gritting my teeth)! A friend of ours gave it to Emogene for her 3rd birthday. We have had this particular joyous material for 4 years now. It is a gift that keeps on giving...... headaches, screaming matches, clean up nightmares, etc. I can count on one hand the number of times I have gotten it out for the girls to enjoy and create castles. The first time we used it, I failed to read the directions before we started. I thought it was going to be a great activity for Emogene on a rainy day since it had the cute inflatable box to contain the mess. I got it out and she began to gleeful play with a substance that has sand in the title, but is not sand. I was reading about it as I watched Emogene dump a little on the floor. Apparently this substance should not be flushed down the toilet or put down the drain. That can't be safe! This made cleanup harder than expected. It also should be dusted off of clothing so it does not make its way into the washing machine. What damage could this stuff cause? I began to panic a little. What if a grain of this stuff somehow got into Emogene's mouth. What if I don't clean it up well enough and Hattie crawls on it? If it is lethal to a toilet what could it do to a human? Then I returned to my senses and realized it would not have been sold for children if it were that toxic (prelead paint fiasco). We, I mean the children, have thus enjoyed it for a few years.
Today, I gave in to their pleas. I was going to be painting outside so I thought okay. That's not completely truthful. I gave in mainly because I wanted something to blog about. I am not a good creative mother in real life, but I like to play one on my blog.
The Moon Sand was LOVED by my children. I only heard the girls start a screaming match 4-5 times. The picture showing a serene sharing moment was just that, a moment. They had a different definition of equal amounts. I was able to finish painting and read a little bit of a novel though.
On second thought, ignore all I have said about Moon Sand. I think EVERY child should have some. In fact, I know some little girls and boys that will be getting some at their next birthday party.

A Blooming Artist and a Giveaway (Last Chance)

On Wednesday night Hattie drew some pictures for me. She used paper plates. She thought it was a lot of fun. While checking out her work, I was really awed. I know I may be a little bit prejudiced because she is mine, but really can't you see the talent. Now be honest with me, do you think she is good, like really good. Never mind, I already know what you are going to say. You may even be speechless or have been brought to tears. Just look at the drawing of Sheldon. One word, inspiring. The "foots" are eerily lifelike.
Well this got me thinking. I have seen the number of comments on my blog and I thought a give away was a great way to reward my reader, I mean readers. If you leave a comment about this post, you will receive a one of a kind piece of painted art by Hattie. I will even let you tell Hattie what you want her to paint. Just think of how much this will be worth one day. Just look at her artistic abilities now. Can you imagine what they will be when she is older and takes some art classes? If you are chosen you may have a hard time deciding what she should paint. I will tell you this, she is very good at portraits (I'm sure you knew picture #3 was me). And folks, this painting won’t be on any old paper plate, she is going to use CANVAS. Whoa! I know it seems like too much, but I will also throw in a picture taken of her while painting it. I know you have stopped reading because you are busy commenting. Hurry. I will only accept comments until Monday at 8:00 pm.

"Sheldon"
"Foots"

"Mommy"

Award Number Two

You read that right. I received another award. This time it was from Kathy (Lindsey's Mom) . I am going to have to clean off a shelf. I think some dusting may be required.

Since Kathy revealed that I can give the award to people that have already received it, Kathy will be getting one. I love checking up on her kiddos. She lives in Alaska and it fascinates me.

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find friends and be friends.They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships will be propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly- written text into the body of their award."

Here are 8 more recipients:

1. Kathy at Our Life with Lindsey

2. Jocelyn at The Boy Who Found Me

3. Debby at When God Calls...

4. Kathy at Our Journey to China and Our Daughter

5. Lavonne at The Dideon Family

6. Beach Mama at Lifes a Beach 4 Us!

7. Gretchen at Love's Journey

8. Lindsey at THE LORD, MIGHTY IN BATTLE

Thank you again Kathy, this made me feel better. It was hard to just pick 8 the first time. I love so many blogs.

The Bloggy Awards

I can't believe it. I actually won an award at the Bloggy Awards. I was not expecting to win so I took a quick trip to the bathroom. I didn't want anyone to see the disappointment in my eyes as a stared at the winner, so I left my table. I was shocked to find out that I actually won. As you can see I barely dressed up for the occasion. The dress I was wearing has never been worn before even though I have had it for 3 years. Eric surprisingly got it to zip. I was shocked since it never zipped before tonight. I did have trouble catching my breath throughout the awards, but you'll do anything for the perfect dress. Maybe next year I'll do some kind of colon cleanse and starvation plan to prepare for the awards. My hair stylest and makeup artist were busy with my friend Denise. She was stunning. I'm okay with her stealing my people since she is the one that nominated me for this award. I would like to thank Denise for this honor and I couldn't have done it without my fans. Thank you!

My award is called the Lovey Award. It was given by Denise at There's Always Room for One More.

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find friends and be friends.They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships will be propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly- written text into the body of their award.""

Well the following 8 people should be pleased with themselves! I love them like I actually know them, even though most I have never met. I hope you enjoy receiving your award in a less embarrassing way. The winners are...

1. Team Houston ( I know them so well that I don't even know their first names.)

2. Melissa at Harriman Family

3. Amanda at Living in the Now

4. Nicole at The Parnell Family

5. Jill at Life at Killeny Glen

6. Renee at A Baker's Dozen

7. Sandy at Pokonutz Journal

8. One Happy Momma at Life With Miss Magoo

Ladies, I love you all!

A Day at the Park (Part 5)

Does it look like she is in a teacup? Well she is not. She was peering over the slide.

A Day at the Park (Part 4)

Two angels swinging together.

This child could swing all day.

Eric was thinking skiing. I was thinking Moses.

Here is a hole Emogene was digging. She was very upset we had to leave (Sheldon's fault), because she was trying to make the deepest hole EVER.

A Day at the Park (Part 3)

I was so proud of Isabel for getting up at 7:15 to go with us. I told her she could stay in the bed, but she wanted to go. I snuck some pictures of her while she was doing her homework.

Emogene was in a tunnel just about to go down the slide. This is Emogene's favorite shirt. She loves those Jonas Brothers.

A Day at the Park (Part 2)

Hattie was waiting for me to start pushing her on the swing.

Emogene was watching Hattie swing so I could take her picture. She was very cooperative today.

I love taking close up pictures.

I had fun using the action mode on my camera. I am still not brave enough to take pictures manually.

A Day at the Park

We went to the park today to give Eric a day off. He got to sleep as late as he wanted without any noise. We secretly left at 7:45. He woke up panicked because he didn't see the note I left for him and I had left my phone in my coat on the picnic table. I eventually went and got it and called him to let him know we were fine. We even took Sheldon with us. I'll have to tell you about that later.

Hattie was in complete bliss on the baby swing.

Emogene was enjoying the weather.

I love Emogene's freckles. I try to kiss everyone.

My little Hattie is so sweet.