The Honest Woman

Who Say's

2011-07-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

Who says these bumbo seats are just for infants? Obviously they have never met PPP!

Oh, She gets into everything! The picture says it all...

Dancing? Who Comes Up With These Rules?

2011-07-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Crazy day yesterday. Had to go get the PPP fitted for her ballet and tap shoes. This will be her first year. Everyone keeps telling me to put her in dancing. She has all these moves that need some structure, if you get what I'm saying. She will bounce and pop anywhere.
Anyway the fitting started at 3pm. so at around 2 the PPP was dressed and playing with friends. I went to shower and get ready. Walking out the door at 3, I went to collect the PPP and you can just imagine what I found. Really b/c I did not have the time to take a picture and I don't think it would have been appropriate. She had on some brown stockings with a pink pull over jacket and a swimsuit under that. Bare with me... but she looked like a hoochie. Not to mention there were men working next door where she was visiting. This was not at all how I had sent her out of my house. So, back inside to change. After fussing and crying (both of us) she finally took off the jacket and put on a dress. Leaving the swimsuit and stockings on. Did I meantion her hair looked wet? "OH, NO NO, not the blowdryer" she screams! YES, and while blowdrying I find this white paste all in ther head. What is it? She obviously got into some hair glue/paste/gel? Who knows.....DRAMA!
Also had to get LittleDX some shoes for school, so he had some interest in the trip.
PPP and LittleDX fought the whole trip. I asked where they wanted to eat but they obviously did not hear me, so I picked. Now I had just bought LittleDX some shoes but he found it in him to cry about where we were eating. Sometimes I just don't understand how they think. So to all the fussing and fighting, I announce that they will not be able to swim when they get home. Things went silent and we were able to eat. Which did not last long and they were back at it on the way home. LittleDX tells PPP that she needed to stop and that they were not going swimming when we get home. So she looks at him sarcastically and says "Who... WHO, comes up with these rules?" as she shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

I'm Back

2011-07-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

Took a long break. HaHa, not really! So where have I been for the past 2 years? Well...
The kids went back to school and I went back to work.
I about to post the craziest things going on.
- Honest

Where Is My Head?

2009-02-05T08:37:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was a chaotic day here at the Orcino house.
- Take Grandma to the Dr.
- get Grant to read
- turn in the plates on the work truck
- drop the insurance on the work truck
- take mom to pay a few of her bills
- pick up my one hour photos
- my parents were here
- and mother nature mishaps
Yes it is true, all of it!
To top things off, while I was chasing Grant and Gabriela around, I placed my clothes through the wash cycle. 15 minutes later when I reached for my cell phone, I realized that the outfit I had on did not have pockets. Can you imagine my face when I figured out that tucked inside the pocket of my pants, that were now in the washer, was my cell phone.
I ran to the washer and pushed cancel, then waited for the door to unlock. I pulled out my pants and checked to pockets---no cell phone. OK, I thought maybe I placed it somewhere else, just then I saw a little light at the very back of the washer. There it was, all wet...gasping for power...and smelling spring fresh!
So I did what anyone would do....I took the battery out and brought it to the bathroom to blow dry it while I prayed that the Lord would have mercy on it and breath new life into it.
The display was drowned. I called my DH and cried to him. He laughed and told me to let it dry out some.
I calmed down and waited for him to get home and check out the damage. All the while I was shopping for a new phone. Where is my Faith?
DH came home and checked it out. Turns out that if the little dot in the battery compartment turns RED it is shot, gone (according to him)! So we think we have insurance on it and I can just get another phone right.
Well I am even more upset because my husband (who has gone through 5 phones in 2 years) says that I should have his current phone and he will get himself another phone (I can't be trusted with a new phone so soon anyway). Furthermore he will stop by the phone place after work and take care of getting another phone.
What? (OK, am I being unreasonable, I mean I did mindlessly stick my phone through the wash cycle) But, I do not want to have to change all of his stuff... Is is not just easier to re put my info into a blank phone! I can't even retrieve my stuff from a washed phone!
Today I compose myself.

Giveaway!

2009-01-05T10:04:00.001-08:00

The winner is #6 Nikowa. Congratulations and thanks to my lovely assistant Grant for pulling the winning #'s.

In honor of thier 1st Anniversary, Heart of the Matter online is having a giveaway!
I will be joining in the giveaway with some great hard to part with items;

Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Deep Cleansing Hand Soap in Sweet Pea scent. Ahh, my favorite! I keep a bottle in my kitchen. This will keep your hands from drying out. If you wash your hands as much as I do, this is a must. Comes with a red Wristlet. The snap flap opens up to reveal a deep pocket with a shorter pocket in front and a zipper pouch. Perfect for holding necessary items when you perfer not to carry a handbag. I could have used this last night at the RAW/ECW event.

Anyway these are new and unused!

To enter simply leave me a comment and include your e-mail address. A winner will be randomly selected from the comments. Sorry, I can only ship to US addresses.
Happy Anniversary Heart of the Matter!

Another Giveaway for HOTM

2009-01-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

And the winner is #12 Bonnie. Congratulations and thanks to my lovely assistant, Grant, for pulling the winning #'s.

Another Giveaway for Heart of the Matter's Anniversary!

Black & White Zebra print handbag. This is hard to part with but I bought this from a local boutique before Christmas. Turns out that I was blessed with a handbag for Christmas and this one will never be used. It is brand new with tags and features an inside zipper pocket, cell phone pocket and a card pocket. Isn't it awesome!

All you need to do to enter the drawing is leave me a comment and include your e-mail address. A winner will be randomly selected from the comments. Sorry I can only ship to US addresses.
Happy Anniversary HOTM!

The Winners Are

2008-12-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

The Little Old Mom Who Lived In A Shoe- Green Candy Cane Dress
and
Cherie J- Red Candy Cane Dress

Thanks to all who entered!

To show my appreciation to those who entered the drawing, I am offering 30% off of the dresses listed in the blog shop. This will be on a first come first serve basis and the offer is good through Monday December 15, 2008. This would be a nice Christmas present for the little princess in your life.
To take advantage of this discount, go to the blog shop and post a comment letting me know what dress you would like to purchase and mention the discount. I will then send you a paypal invoice. I know many of you were interested in the same dresses, the retro and mod dot patterns are discontinued, act fast!
Much Appreciation to all and Congratulations to the winners

Win A PillowCase/Bandana Dress

2008-12-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

There is a Holiday Expo going on at the Cafe!
My giveaway consists of these goodies:

Bandana/Pillowcase Dresses
These 100% cotton dresses will fit most 12 months-4T as a dress and 5-10 as a swing top. Get up to 9 years of use from one piece. These dresses can also be worn year around. Great alone in summer months and can be paired with a long sleeved top and pants or jeans during cooler months. Works well as a bathing suit cover. Ribbon ends are treated with Fray Check. As with all handmade items their may be some irregularities which will not affect the durability of these chic and spunky little dresses. Wash in cold water to prevent shrinkage and color bleeding.

The first picture is of the green dress with a candy cane applique. This second photo is of the red candy cane dress. It would be so cute over leggings and a snug long sleeved shirt. It would even be cute over jeans!

***********************************************

All you have to do to win is visit our blog shop and then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which little dress is your favorite. That's it! really.

Two winners will be drawn at random on December 12th then contacted via email. If you do not have a blog then you will need to be sure to leave an email address.

For more great giveaways please visit the Internet Cafe!

Here is what is going on

2008-11-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

I am taking time off. Yeah right! Here is what we are working on.

Ceramic tile is going down in our living room, kitchen, wash room and foyer. My dear husband and my little brother worked diligently all weekend.

Every time the saw was turned on, I had to pray. I was so nervous.

The living room tile is down and almost ready to grout.

The kitchen and foyer tile is cut and ready for concrete.

Notice we still have a lot of trim work to do around the doorways and baseboards. My little brother should be here this weekend to wrap that up. Hopefully my husband can finish the kitchen and foyer tile. Then all we will have left is the wash room and the dining room will be last. Slowly but surely we will finish. Though my husband and my little brother have done a wonderful job, I would recommend hiring professionals. This is a big headache and another full time job.

Change Is In The Air

2008-11-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

Since there was no perfect candidate for President, I voted for the candidate that shared most of my views. I did not vote based on race or religion. That being said I will welcome Mr. Obama with open arms and pray for his success.

We are a country with many backgrounds. No matter what we look like on the outside, we are all Americans.

I have many black friends. I enjoy there company, there honesty, there will to see things move. I enjoy hearing their points of view and knowing there dedication. I have been told that I don't see in color. I reach for the heart, its how God intended for us to look at each other. I love my girls and if having Obama as President will somehow crush the racial boundaries that are evident in many areas, then I am so excited to step into this chapter of American History. I am excited for my neighbors who can put down their luggage and finally feel at home.

God is still God and he is our savior. Government is only the law of the land. God is in control and has had a plan since the beginning. Now is the time to no longer depend on the Government for jobs, income, security and hope--it is the time to totally rely on God.
Pray for our officials
Pray for our neighbors
Pray for our country
Pray for our children
Pray that Americans will be united

Welcome Mr. Obama, we will prosper together!

Girls Day at the Spa

2008-11-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

I received a spa package from my lovely sister for my birthday in September.....2007. Yes, aren't I horrible? The problem was that I did not want to go by myself so I waited till her birthday rolled around in April...2008 and I bought her the same package so we could go together. Here we are a year later and we finally made an appointment.

We get to the spa @ 9am and since we both opted out of the massage (I had a staph infection and Amy wanted highlights - as if she needs more hair color) and we started with a facial.

Now, I had never had a facial so I did not know what to expect. I was thinking of a green mask and cucumber eyes. There was only one facial lady so I went first. We were to get a half hour facial and since Amy brought her camera she asked to go with me to take pictures or watch (she just wanted to blog it I'm sure). We were told that there was only room for one person in the room and that she could not come with me so you can imagine how bad it freaked me out when I walked into the room and saw a chair sitting at the foot of a nicely made table were I was to lay.

Furthermore the facial lady told me to take my shoes off and lay on this comfy table where the blanket and sheet was pulled back for me to climb under. Then she says "if this were a full hour facial, I would have you remove your top also". Hello, its my first facial and you have already lied to my sister about having room for her in here and you mention me undressing with you in this back room. Okay, maybe I was over reacting but I was horrified!

Now I must relax while some weird facial lady massages my face with oils and suffocates me with steam. It felt great, really... I relaxed enough for her to think I was sleeping. She woke me up and made me a glass of water and told me to take my time while she left the room. Are you kidding? I gulped up the water and got out of the back room so fast. If there is a next time then I will know what to expect but I was just too freaked out this time.

So I get back to the waiting area just in time to tell my sister, "there is a chair in there...good luck". I hoped I freaked her out.

Half an hour later she was done with her facial and we were off to get manicures and pedicures. The manicure part was great but I was concerned about the pedicure part. My toes are horrible and I hate for someone else to handle them. Luckily, the lady I was with was really good and she made me feel comfortable. She said she had a few ladies that come in regularly and that they pick at their feet and compared to them, mine were in good shape. The pedicure also included soaking my lower legs. It was refreshing. She also gave me a tip....If you put Vaseline on your feet at night and were socks over it, you can maintain your soft pedicured feet.

Next was lunch. We both ordered a Chicken salad which came with bread (Amy's favorite part of the meal). We actually switched half way through. I gave her my bread and I finished her salad. We are strange.

Next was our hair. Amy's person loud capped her for having box color in her hair (if only she knew how much). Whew, good thing all mine grew out cause she would have been reported. The rest of the day we were with our hair stylist, who was also our makeup person.

I had my hair cut short and asked for red low lights. I think I scared my stylist when I asked for red. She kept saying what do you mean red? Okay, maybe it was me again, but I thought red was one of the primary colors. Finally, Amy's stylist, who had bright read lowlights, walked by and she said "do you mean red like that". "Yes, that is it" I told her. Then she asked her for the color number and she rambled off some numbers and my stylist just kept repeating them and I just kept praying she knew what she was doing. She looked really confused.

She mixed the color and kept asking me "red, are you sure, red?" What planet did we land on this morning? Is there a whole other language and thought pattern for spas? I can't even see my sister, what is going on in this place? Yes, RED, I am going to love it I told her and I will not blame you if I don't. I will blame Amy's stylist. HA HA!

I felt better when I was under the heater and the man that owns the place walked by and told me "don't worry you are in good hands, your stylist is an artist". Back at the chair she was still saying "oh, this is really red" "I hope you like red" "It came out really good".

I told her I loved it and I really did. She did not cut my hair as short as I wanted it in the back but I did not say anything. I did not want her to freak out on me again, so I dealt with it. She styled it and we were off to get our makeup.

She really did a nice job on my makeup. I was kind of nervous cause I was watching Amy get her makeup at the same time. That girl was putting some wild blue color on her eyes and she did not have enough coverage on her face. There was also some great tension between Amy's stylist and every one else that worked there. She had some kind of chip on her shoulder. Anyway, my stylist just kept telling me about how wonderful the products were and how she had so many problems with her skin till she found this stuff. Blah, blah, blah... I am not a big cosmetic person (although I was actually a consultant for MK) I am not paying $60 for foundation. Sorry, I just nodded my way through it.

So we were off, but not before paying and Amy mentioning that I could buy her a Chi flat iron for Christmas. Whatever! Who spends that much on a flat iron? Not I! So if any of you out there want to make a sister happy, a Chi is the way to do it.

To the car where I tell Amy to take off her blue eye stuff as a grab my flip flop Crocs. My Crocs were about an inch too big before they sat in the car under the humid La. sun. Now they fit perfect.

We were going to catch a movie which didn't start for another 2 hours later so we stopped by the book store for some coffee and reading. Well, she read while I talked about our adventure. I did find this book on the shelf, which caught my eye. "Kiss My Math" Showing pre-algebra who's boss. Who actually buys this stuff? I mean that is exactly how I want to entice my children into learning math!? What??

We went see Eagle Eye starring Shia LeBeouf. We were on the edge of our seats the whole time. That was a great action packed movie. I would recommend it.

Now back on planet Earth, it has taken me a month to write about this. Don't we look cute! Minus the blue eye junk.

Amy should get around to posting her side of the story. Visit her side of the spa at amybayliss.com

Update on Gabriela

2008-10-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

Her hand is healing well. she has one spot that still needs to be debride. Otherwise we just have to keep the Silver Sulfadiazine cream on it cause she likes to pick the dry skin off. She plays her drama well. She even conned her Daddy into promising to take her to see HSM3. We will see if that happens. She has also been wanting her hair cut. We finally went on last Saturday. She locked so cute, but a little older too.

I'm All Official Now

2008-10-19T13:56:00.001-07:00

Gabriela's Accident Update

2008-10-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Thursday I took her back to the Dr. The Dr that she had seen on Monday was not there so she saw her other Dr. Gabriela was horrible from the time we stepped foot out of the house. I had to struggle to get her belted in and pop her leg with a spoon twice. We get down Tenant Rd. and she is screaming because she has gotten her leg stuck outside of the seat belt. I have to pull into a driveway and fix her. All this time she had no idea she was going to the Dr.
This picture was taken when we parked at the Dr.'s office. I wanted to get a picture of how she was crying and throwing a fit BUT when I pointed the camera she SMILED! Rotten child!

Once she saw we were going to the Dr she was calm because she had wore herself out in the car. At least until the Dr came in. Of course she was bandaged and we had to take them off. She screamed and trembled. She did not want to be in this Stupid place. They had to soak her hand in some water or I had to hold her hand under water while she screamed. I think she just likes to scream. I think she was OK with her hand in the water she just wanted to throw a fit and call everyone stupid.

The Dr wanted her to start Whirlpool Therapy on her hand to clean it. It is also a necessary procedure to relax her muscles and get her back to moving it, since she has her wrist flopped down and will not move it or her fingers. I asked if she thought it was broke. She said well if we did not have an X-ray then we need to do that ASAP. The other Dr did not want to X-ray it until Friday when I was supposed to see him. So we need to get X-rays but not before:

On top of this trauma she was due for her 4 year old shots and the Dr insisted on doing it today because it included her Tetanus. So as they are preparing for 5 shots she is still screaming from the bandages being removed. I asked for some Motrin. The nurse assured me she would get her some. I had to hold her and rock her so she would calm down and this was before the shots.

Once the nurse came in with the shots she went ballistic again. I told the nurse that she is strong and she may need to get another nurse in here. The two of us tried to hold her down but were unsuccessful. She left the room to get another nurse. Gabriela, while investigating her leg for holes, says "she tried to stab me with that shot". (She is so funny even in distress!).

She was stabbed 5 times and then they sent us for X-rays. Note they did not re-dress her hand so I was able to snap this picture.

DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH!!

It looks pretty bad, but this is SO much better from what it looked like a few days ago.

The Radiologist did get us in pretty quick even though I had to fill out paperwork and wait for them to call the Insurance Company. And since we have a $7000 deductible we have to pay out of pocket. The Dr wanted wrist and hand views for my cost was $80 which she said I could pay before I leave.

Gabriela did pretty good for the X-rays she just freaked out if she thought the technician was going to touch her hand. Upon leaving the receptionist stated that the technician did not do separate wrist views because Gabriela's hand was small enough to get both at once. Thank God it only cost me 1/2 as much.

We were back to bring the films to the Dr and get set up for whirlpool therapy. There were no obvious breaks in films.

Gabriela freaked out when they had to put gauze over her hand. And the nurse finally remembered to get her some Motrin. Which I had to fight with her to take. She still does not understand that this makes her feel better. We did get a therapy appointment for a couple hours later. We were off to lunch at Burger King (Gabriela's choice). We went in and the lady at the door gave her a crown. How lovely! She could not sit still to even eat. She ran all around and climbed on the cabinet to the drink machine. You know like the kids you can not stand when you are in a restaurant. What could I do? If I correct her someone would be there to scold me and it was obvious from her bandage that she was hurt. But her actions said the injury was not holding her back.

This picture is the afternoon before the Dr visit. She has also been jumping on the trampoline and climbing cabinets. She has found her way around without even using her wrist.

While at Burger King I received a call from one of the nurses. It appears that my health insurance believes that whirlpool is an unnecessary and unproven procedure and it is not covered. However since my deductible is SO high it does not matter. I think therapy may cost a couple hundred dollars for the evaluation and maybe $75 dollars for the whirlpool treatments. I do have an idea of what workers comp would pay considering my experience.

Well can I tell you I was in for a rude awakening! They were going to charge me $400 for the evaluation and $200 for each treatment which the Dr said needed to be done daily. They had already called the insurance and was told that I had a high deductible which was not met so this would be out of pocket. The receptionist, she asked "did you know it would be this much?" Are you kidding, "No". She says we could work out a payment plan. And we could waive the charge for the dressings. Oh how sweet. Well I think we need to go ahead and at least try it, since she is not moving her hand at all.

20 minutes later, after Gabriela is climbing the walls, they come out and explain to me that they think the procedure is going to be more than once and that the OT would like for the PT to the procedure. The PT was not in so the gave me an appointment for Friday. They told me that the PT was not yet certified but she was really good. I think they just did not want to have to charge me for an OT, so OK!

We were off to Wal-Mart because Big Daddy promised her a prize. Her shopping was more of a nightmare than her hand. I want this, no I need this one, maybe I could look around some more, no put this back, I don't want that one, open this so I can see, Let's go back to that 1st one...again. Then I was going to get her a movie from the Red Box. Well she dropped her bag and was headed to the parking lot while I was occupied with the Red Box. So I stopped the transaction and picked her up screaming and throwing a fit and walked back to the car. Where I popped her leg again for throwing a fit. No movie for bad little girls, we are going home.

Back to therapy on Friday, Gabriela threw a fit trying to remove her bandages. She threw the toy they gave her to play with, her shoes, and ugly stupid words. Turns out that removing the bandage did not even hurt. But they did promise her brownies if she was good. So on to the whirlpool. She freaked out again and I had to hold her hand under the water. They decided to play Dora Candy Land while she whirl pooled. This got her mind off of the whirlpool. She won at Candy Land, did I mention that the OT was also there and played Candy Land with them.

The unofficial PT ordered gauze and non-adhesive dressings for the other PT's there and she dressed her wounds. This was about the only thing she did besides play Candy Land. Need I remind you they told me this was a $400 charge. Anyway the were to bill the Insurance company first and hopefully they will reduce the charges that I will have to pay.

Amy says I should get my own whirlpool like the one's for your feet, since that is all it does and do her therapy at home. So I am off to find a Foot Whirlpool, if I find one for less than $100 I will gladly call and cancel further therapy sessions.

Wal-Mart carries this one for $29.84 and has 7 spa setting which include heat, vibration, bubble and jets. I am so off to Wal-Mart!

The Art Gallery

2008-10-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

After the Heart Of The Matter Online Conference, I decided to create a gallery in the foyer. I bought some document frames from Dollar Tree and dug through the kids work for 8x11 pages to frame.
The butterfly and the palm tree were cute ideas that used Gabriela's own hands. Followed by a birdy, some robots, career path, You are grape and we could not leave out LSU.

The larger frames are all plastic poster frames. These came in handy for those larger projects that Grant created in Kindergarten. It came out really nice.

These are my favorite ones. The first one you cant really see but it is a "Rocket Ship" in space. The one below it is Grant's blue foot print made into flowers and Gabriela's pink foot print on a "Beach Flip Flop". On the other side is the great Red, White and Blue! and a Thanksgiving Prayer with Gabriela's "hand print turkey".

This is so cute, Everyone loves it and it was easy, easy, easy!

The After Party Attire

2008-10-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

Is that socks with plastic heels?

Best of Both Worlds- the Secret Star's

2008-10-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

The girls rocked! We started out with Hannah Montana trivia, those who answered correctly got to pick a pillowcase dress. On the hanger of the dress was a number, once every girl had a dress the girl with the lowest number was first to get a gift box and choose a hair bow. You would not imagine how long it took them to choose a dress. They were actually shopping. I was thrilled. Gabriela had no idea. Not only that they all had to go and change into there dress before trvia was over. Some of them actually returned there dress for a more flattering color. It was great.

Ah, The rock star cake. It looked really good and it was chocolate and I did not get a piece. Oh the horror.

The Secret Star herself. Yes, this thing is 4 years old. Watch Out! This was her pose--no one coached her. (Pray for me, cause this thing is a hot mess!)

This is what is left of 23 pillowcase dresses and 12 bows. There are 9 happy little girls out there in the world.

Best of Both Worlds Party- the Boys

2008-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sadly the Pokemon trainer was only able to train 2 boys. The cousins did not make the party in time. To hear the other side of this story see my dear sisters blog about the "Worst of Both Worlds Sister" inpursuitofproverbs31.com. Anyway they managed on their own pretty much. They played Hannah trivia and received their gifts.

Grant was really excited to see his Pokemon gifts, Battleship Game, Kinex Big Rig, oh and money. Money from those who could not find Pokemon. Imagine that. Even his cake had to be made from another character choice then drop that character kit and buy some Pokemons (or whatever) to place on the cake.

I dreaded it but he was thrilled and that is what counts! However; whoever dressed this child is FIRED! (Is that what he wore to bed a couple nights before?)

Best of Both Worlds Party Intro

2008-10-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

So we were planning on having a party of both of the kids somewhere between their actual birthdates. Grants birthday is at the beginning of August and Gabriela's is at the end of September. Gustav ruined our inbetween date and we finally hosted a double party on September 27th.

I must note that I plan weeks ahead of time for parties. My intentions are to bless the guest. I wanted to make Grant's extra special since we agreed that this year would be his last "Birthday Party". The kind where we invite the whole family, decorate etc... Next year he will take him and a few friends or cousins somewhere for his birthday. Who knows what to buy a 7 year old anyway?

Gabriela of course picked Hannah Montana and I was thrilled there is so much I could do with that. Grant, to my dismay, choose Pokemon. Yes, Pokemon! I was so mad, you can't find Pokemon decor anywhere at the last minute. And I waited until the last minute hopeing he would change his mind. He didn't, thanks to the cousins for this Pokemon thing.

I was able to go all out for the "Secret Star". Hannah Montana trading cards, rings filled with gloss, tatoos, blowers, tamborines, mirror compacts, candy bracelets and hair assesories. I also hand made eight hair bows and glued a Hannah emblem inside. That was just the favor boxes. I had also made 12 hair bows in an array of sizes to give away and 23 pillowcase dresses. This party will ROCK!

For the Pokemon trainer I was able to scrounge around for some old Pokemon kids meal toys. Added to that a pack of Pokemon trading cards, gum filled watches and a sticky lizard. WOW, then I just had to print Pokemon pictures to decorate with. Like he could not do Transformers or something that is not over 12 years old and discontinued?

(The results and pictures will be posted later)

Pray For Gabriela!

2008-10-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

She is OK just in pain. Here is what happened.

It is Saturday, Darin is complaining about the kids rooms. Gabriela of course will not clean hers. Grant has done his best to pick up his room. Since Gabriela will not clean her own room, Darin has insisted that I must do it and I should have done it yesterday.

Well, he is off to do other things but not before unplugging the treadmill 3X's. Grant has insisted that he needs exercise. He got on it again and hit the #10 speed. Good thing Gabriela reached the key to pull it out. I took the key and put it away and told them to stay away from the treadmill. It is not a toy and someone could get hurt. I retreated to Gabriela's room to clean her dress up mess. And all the little pet shop toys she was given for her birthday. It was madness in there. I had just started cleaning the floor when I heard Gabriela screaming. She is always screaming! I kept cleaning until I heard the desperation in her voice as she pleaded with Grant to "Turn It OFF! Turn It OFF!"

I ran in and saw her hand stuck under the machine, lodged between the belt and her little rubber basket ball. I yell, "Grant, TURN IT OFF!" as I pull her hand out. She takes off running around the house and screaming! I can't get to her to see it. Grant is running too, I run after him to see what happened. I fall on the cement floor and bust my knee's.

Will Gabriela stop? I must be the most horrible mom in the world!

I grab her, it looks badly burned over the top of her hand and fingers. I ran it under cool water, she was frantic, screaming, chattering her teeth, almost convulsing. I was crying, trying to calm her down. I cleaned it the best I could and put some antibiotic ointment on it and wrapped it with gauze. Started her on some antibiotics samples I had and gave her Motrin and Tylenol in three hour intervals. She got up at 12 am crying, I tried to give her Motrin but she was so upset she threw up in my bed and on her gauze. I had to clean her all up again and more gauze.

Sunday I took the gauze off and it kind of stuck to her but it looked good. I cleaned it again and Darin said I did not need to put anymore gauze on it because it needed to air out. I just put some antibiotic cream on it and let it go. It started to swell and grow big yellow scabs. She would not let me clean it anymore. She would not soak it in water. I planned on taking her to the doctor in the morning. She was up all night complaining that it hurt.

Monday morning we got up to get ready for the Dr. Gabriela refused to take any Motrin. Her hand is pretty swollen and she has a thick yellow scab growing. Yuk!
The Dr. needs to do a debridement. She is not going to like this. It took me and 2 other nurses to hold her down while the Dr. scraped her wounds. She had a fit. She was hollering "Don't do it" "Let Me Go" "Get This Boy Off Of Me" "Somebody Help Me Please" "Let Me Out Of This Place"! The Dr said this was a really painful procedure and that she had handled it well. He told her that she was a good girl and she repeated "I am a good girl?" she repeated everything like she was in shock. He did ask for a hug and she reluctantly hugged him.
He informed me that I needed to clean the wounds everyday and put antibiotic cream on it 2 times a day. I told him that I would do my best. He assured me that I could bring her in every morning to have it done if I could not handle it. He wanted to see her back on Friday for sure to make sure that her wounds were healing and to make sure she did not have a fracture.
She was in tremendous pain on the way home and I had to drop off her medicine and get her some gum (which I had promised her).
The Dr gave me a Wal-Mart bag full of goodies for me to do the debridement at home. Good thing, do you know how much this stuff cost and I probably would never find the Non-Adhering Dressing. Thank You Jesus!

This would be her now. I feel soo bad. God Speed for Gabriela!

She is still explaining to Grant that the boy Dr. hurt her hand them wrapped her all up. She is a mess even in pain. Grant still just can not understand how he had any part in hurting his sister. Lord help us!

Rate What She's Wearing?

2008-10-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

So, my sister over at inpursuitofproverbs31 decided to take blog world shopping with her for a top. She is a brave soul! Especially to ask blog world for her opinion. Is she CRAZY or what? Well my opinion was soo long that I needed to do my own post about it. So go over and visit Amy and let her know what you think. Here are my thoughts.
1st let me just tell you that shirt #1 was flattering. Great color, shape, fit and a good box shape up top for your sort neck. I hope you bought that one to wear for Wheel of Fortune! But just for fun let me rate them all. Don’t get mad, I am honest!
#2, would be my 2nd choice. It does slim you (as if you needed any help) but I am not liking the colors so much and it feels suffocating. We are in Louisiana. But it does give you a big bust. You could sweat it out for that!
#3, Some people liked this one. OK it is cute, but it kind of evened out your mid drift and hips which did nothing for your top. If you know what I mean?
#4 This is cute but I am not liking something about it. Maybe it is the fact that you have a big bow on your breast. But, a lot of people liked this one. You just don’t look comfortable in it.
#5 Very cute, goes good with the jeans, accentuates you top. All the cleavage kind of scares me. But I could get used to it. Hey get this one for me, maybe showing cleavage will create a mirage for the baby bump I have had carried around for 4 years now. Sorry I have said too much. Moving on
#6 Cute, too fitting though. Kind of makes your arms look big and is that a girdle underneath or just your jeans?
So you do want to accentuate your boobs in order to hide your hips or flab, but keep them covered, you can still be sexy and flattering.
Who are you kidding, so they don’t make clothes for people who are 5’3? Try being 4’9.5 ½ or something like that and I am at least 20 pounds heavier. Stop calculating!! I know I just told my weight and it is horrible. Hey, I did buy me a treadmill and I even took it out and ran on it one time but thanks to my children I had to retire it. And the girl will have scars from her mishap with it. But that is a story for another day. Good Luck, Hey, they say that having relations helps to tighten the tummy. I haven’t tried that yet, just passing it on.

Bleeding Purple and Gold

2008-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

LSU is sacred around here. Everywhere is Purple and Gold. Every event is centered around it. Don't plan anything to interfere with the game. It is Tiger Mania time again.

Well a birthday party for my niece was themed all things LSU. This gave me a great opportunity to use my talents or talent, meaning the 1 I have. Anyway it was the Saturday before Hurricane Gustav and leaving town to search for a present was out of the question.

I went to a little boutique in town and purchased a Webkinz tiger. Surprised they still had one left! I had some purple bandanna's and some gold thread and purple and gold ribbon. And this is what became of the gift for a special little girl's LSU birthday. Her own LSU pillow case dress, three different hair accessories and a tiger webkinz with its own matching LSU pillow case dress. It was a big hit!

It Never Ends

2008-10-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

Boy- How did you know that I had a hot dog?

Girl- Because I peeked on you.

Boy- You peeked on me?

Girl- Keep your eyes on me (as she points her two fingers from his eyes to hers).

How Sweet, I Think?

2008-10-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

After opening a bottle of water for her, Gabriela tells me, "You're ingenious!"

My Meal Option

2008-10-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you picklesandpomegranates for your ideas. Here is what I have done;
Once we recieved power after Gustav, I made recipe cards. I went through the cabinets and freezer to see what I had on hand to make. For everything I had I made a recipe index card. For example I had everything to make chili and tacos so I wrote a card for those. I put the ingredients on the front and wrote out the directions on the back.
My goal was to make enough cards for meals for 2 weeks. I found other recipes in books and wrote them on the cards. If I already had some of the ingredients, I marked them in pencil.
I then took the cards to the grocery store to buy only what I really needed for the next 2 weeks. Saved a great deal of money!
Then I gave the 14 cards to my husband and asked him to pick what he wanted. He choose to pick 3 at a time.
This saved a great deal of time that we would have spent agonizing over what to cook? What do we have? What is that at the bottom of the freezer? Why did the lunch meat go to waste?
What do you do? Visit Renae and share your ideas.

Imagine This

2008-10-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been caught with your hand in the cookie jar? Well here is how the Princess has responded; (I must note that this is her complete saying, I did not ask her any questions)

"I just wanted five of them, ....without asking.....Exactly.....you wasn't there!"

She had obviously thought this one through. Imagine that.

WAIT....Don't leave....It's Still Me...

2008-10-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm still here. Honestly. How is my new look? I was actually able to give my own ideas for the new look. Honestly, my first look was just graciously given to me when I had no idea what a blog was. Amy just said that I needed one. Now that I know what is going on with blogs, for the most part anyway, I can keep up with it. I found this cute kit at Digital Candy, I sent it to Amy and Voila! Isn't she great! I am loving my new look and I have BLING! And butterflies of all kinds.
Thank you Amy for being tired of my old retro look. You are a great friend and tista!

What's Going On Around Here

2008-10-08T14:53:00.001-07:00

Introducing the Little Cinderella, Live American Doll!
And her brother too!

Human/Horror

2008-10-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

I am busy working and here she comes;

Momma, I can't go to sleep....Daddy is watching a movie and it is scaring me. (I must note that any and everything she has a problem with is scary). She continues, It is too loud it is hurting my ears and I can not go to sleep cause daddy is watching a human movie.

A human movie, I ask?

Yeah, a human movie and its scaring me.. she screams.

(laughing) I tell her, "You are human".

to which she argues, "NO, I am not human, I am a princess!"

Well excuse me if I forgot who I was talking to! Oh the HORROR!

Fidgety?

2008-10-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

I did get to communicate with many experienced homeschooling moms at co-op. I also picked up on some tips I have to try. One mom stated that her your child could not stay still. It reminded me of my nephew who goes through class upside down. She said her child would literally stand on her head during lessons, chat and stare off into well God knows where. This sounded like my child, partially anyway. You know the child that the public school system wanted me to have tested for ADD.

Ready for the tip? She was able to get her child off of his headstand by allowing him to chew gum during class. This is just great. Did I ever mention that I hated gum? YUK! I am sure that this will not help every child focus but it is worth a try. Now, I must overcome my fears of the sticky substance and try this with my 1st grader.

Has anyone tried this? Do you have any other focus tips?

Co-Op Subjects

2008-10-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

We started co-op the week before Gustav. Grant was pretty upset and did not wnat to go because I was not teaching his classes. He would rather home school. How sweet! He just did not want to be away from me. He felt a little better when I told him that I would not leave him. I would be there the whole time. So we were off to co-op. He has four classes: Science, Geography, Contenders of the Faith and Etiquette. I figured he needed these the most.

Gabriela stayed with the Preschool Chicks, I was assigned to help her teacher for the last two hours of the day. She had fun serving all of hte pretend food to the other Chicks in the class. Story time was awesome--her teacher is a retired librarian, she has a way of bringing every story to life and the chicks love it.

After the first four hour day, Grant no longer wants to home school, he just wants to co-op! I had to break the news to him that co[op was just for 1 day a week and only a few subjects were covered. We still have to homeschool on all the other days. How is a little boy supposed to be responsible for all these subjects?

Beginning Homeschool

2008-10-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

Home school has been an adventure. Grant is still not interested in reading but math has been good. We are doing Saxon Math which is a review of last year and adding on to what he has already learned. If only reading was this simple.

Gabriela is excited about learning her letters. We have started the Before Five in A Row series. She was not interested in the actual story but the added questions and the resources for lapbooks created enthusiasm. She has learned her letters A and B. Anytime she sees these letters she announces "Hey momma, LOOK, that is the letter that you telled me." I ask "What letter is this?" She then tells me the letter and I applaud her knowledge.

Smarty Pants

2008-10-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

One afternoon while enjoying some family time in the kitchen, Gabriela goes into an explanation of events that have occurred with the potted plants. Through all of the DRAMA I understood that she was disgusted that the plant had leaked dirty water into the pan underneath. It was an outrage (for her anyway, hilarious for us). I mean she's no Cinderella and that mess was not going to clean itself. I had to explain to her that the plant will drink the water in the pan when it is thirsty. She was fine until Grant proclaims "SHE is not smart"....... "I am".

Yes you are!

"The Wrath of Gustav on Plaquemine"

2008-09-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

I hope this finds everyone well. We received power on Tuesday morning after being mauled by Gustav. Our neighborhood looks like a tarp city. We received minimal damage: our fence decided to lay down and take a nap in the neighbors yard and our trees up front decided to lay down in the road. (As this picture shown from my dining room window.)

Good thing we re-shingled our roof last year, we are almost the only house that did not receive roof damage. We were not spared by the flying shingles. (The below picture is my neighbors roof, taken from my kitchen window.) They scratched our vehicles in multiple areas. We made it and that is what counts.

My niece lost part of the roof on her trailer. They quickly placed a tarp over it and held the ceiling up on the inside with 2x4's. It was a sight. The water was still dripping three days later when we stopped by. She was heartbroken. Thankfully here Father and Grandfather could rebuild it.

Bayou Plaquemine was the worst I had seen. There were many homes with trees through them and many had there roof just ripped off and we even captured a flipin trailer. It is really heartbreaking. My neighbor hood was nothing compared to what you are about to see.

I Did It!!!

2008-08-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I completed my final finals for college. If all goes well, I should get an A- in these last classes and graduate with a 3.7 GPA. It's final, I will have an Associates in Arts in Business (AAB) degree with all Educational electives.

Before I could post this I recieved my grades. Guess What.......I finished with a 3.82 GPA. WOW, what a relief. I can honestly say that the biggest sacrafice has been the time and that will come second to paying my tuition here shortly. Oh, well. I did it!

Monday, Monday

2008-07-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

So, this is my first Monday unemployed and I got to sleep late. My kids finally rolled my out of bed at 7 a.m. I could have still made it to work on time, (if I had a job).

My husband wanted me to get up at 5 a.m. and exercise. I just wanted to sleep late, because...I can. Anyway I stumbled to the kitchen to make coffee at 7:10, switched the clothes, ignored the dishes and headed to the bedroom.

The bed looked nice and comfy...or the kids looked real nice and comfy in it watching cartoons. So I headed to my closet. Should have been the prayer closet but I will multitask.

So I am finally getting around to putting up my winter clothes and I need to do some organizing so I could actually get into my closet. This is without stepping on all of my shoes that the little princess has worn...then thrown back making a mound in the doorway. At least she returned them. There will be a day when she won't.

I would have taken before pictures to share but I am really embarrassed. I tackled the closet from top to bottom. Next was the laboratory and cabinets. I must mention that I had moved out of this bathroom years ago. Since then my darling husband had been in there and just recently he decided to move out. Good thing cause the dust mites were moving in by the billions.

The closet took a couple of hours but the bathroom took the rest of the day, at least until I had to take a shower and get the kids ready for Karate class.

I must have sweat off about 10 pounds today. My darling husband insisted that the air conditioner should not be set below 78 degrees.

I grabbed my first bite to eat after my shower. Then I thought what about the kids. Then I remember they had made themselves a jelly sandwich. Soggy cereal bowls were still on the table, that on top of 2 yogurts each (I think) and numerous Popsicles. They should live until supper.

So, we get home and I get the famous question. So...what did you do all day? Like no one had a clue what the bathroom and closet looked like every day for the past year. I guess we all completely ignored it.

Praise God, tomorrow is a new day!

The Things Kids Say

2008-06-10T12:24:00.001-07:00

So I am at the computer diligently trying to write a paper. OK, more like hoping the paper will write itself. It is late and I am worn out after dealing with the screaming and hollering princess this afternoon. And here she comes with this little cup.

PPP I want some tea
Mom No, you are not getting tea, you can have milk
PPP Well, fix me some
Mom You go get it
PPP I can't do it
Mom Yes you can, go

I can hear her coming up behind me struggling to hold the milk.

PPP Uh, OOh, dis is heavy, I can't do it
Mom Bring it to me
PPP here

She now has a big cup, and she has grabbed the new gallon of milk instead of the gallon with only a little left

Mom Where is your little cup
PPP I don't know, maybe it went back to the drawer
Mom Go get the little cup and put this one back, and why did you get the whole gallon of milk when there is an open one?
PPP I did not see the other one

I get up to make sure she finds the small cup. I open the refrigerator

Mom Put that milk back in here, don't you see the other one right here in front of you, Duh!
PPP Duh? Duh to you!

Can you say SMARTELIC? Only my child would have a come back for Duh. Now we all know how to respond to Duh, So, Duh to you!

The Things Kids Say

2008-06-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Recently overheard....

"Grant give me a spoon, that was so nice of him.....and the last day he wouldn't even marry me."

Libby Lu Makes Her Dreams Come True

2008-04-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Amy and I both forgot our camera. AHHHH!

Anyway she was acting really shy, she first went to pick out her 5 items. Of course she picked the make up stuff and some long blond extensions. It was like a real shopping spree including almost being clobbered by a girl about a foot taller that her and 3 times her weight, whose mother was only paying attention to taking pictures. I was able to scoop Gabriela out of the way in time and said um, excuse us, to which the mother just kept snapping pictures. Hopefully I am short enough to have gotten the expression on my face in one of her shots.

So we survived that madness and she went to make some sprinkle potion, basically the body glitter, to which she picked the pink pouch and the pink glitter first then motioned to add the rest of the colors.

Then moving on to her makeover. She was put in the middle with the heart mirror initially and refused to sit in the blue chair so the girl moved her over to the seat at the entrance with the big square mirror. She then needed to pick nail polish in which she picked pink. The girl told her she could pick another color also and she pused the purple and blue away. Her hands were sitting on a paper towel and the girl took out the makeup compact and asked her to point to the eye and lip color she wanted. She just looked at the girl, with her hands sitting on the paper towel. The girl says just point to what color you want. Gabriella looks at her and looks at her nails. I said "her nails are wet, she can't point". So the girl was like how about pink, since I know you like pink. You should have seen her face light up when she seen the pink on her eyes, she was a totally new girl.

Next was the hair style a rock girl or a princess style. She says I need Hannah Montana. I had to explain to her that the Hannah hair would go down to her ankles and would be very hot on her head to which she responded OK then this one, while motioning to the rocker. Remember her nail are wet. Now for the hair extention color. She says I want pink hair. Well all of them have pink highlights, so you have to pick black, brown, or blonde. To which she motions to the blonde and the girl says, "oh, you are good!". Every women in the store was smiling at her saying how cute she was walking around with her fingers out and palms horizontal. She is soo funny.

So the school called again today,

2008-03-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

I heard the nurses voice and I think what now. (she justed called yesterday to tell me that LDX had ran into someone and his eye was a little red and will probably turn into a black eye, which it did).
Anyway, what now?

LDX is in the office he says he has a headache, (yeah me too, probably from him being so hyper and unruly all week while he has been on antibiotics), he does not have any fever, do you want to come get him
me- does he look pale?

Secretary- No, he does not have fever.

me- (yep, you mentioned that already) he only has like less an hour left of school?

Sec- yes, less than an hour, do you want to just let him wait it out?

me- yes, just send him back to class to wait it out.

I called BD who was on his way home, and asked him to stop by the school to check on LDX. He says oh, he just wants to check out, but I will stop.

He calls me, he reached the office and they called LDX to the office and here he comes skipping down the hall.

LDX- hey, Daddy you come to check me out?

BD- no, you can carry your tail right back to class, I'm going home, don't you come back to this office lying about being sick, no one is going to come check you out.

Next time I threaten to bring him to the Doctor

Checkin' Out

2008-02-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

So the school calls, Little DX has walked himself to the office and has proclaimed that his throat hurts. The secretary says "He does not have fever, do you what to come get him or bring him some medicine".
Uh this sounds like an ultimatum. So I tell her he probably has a sinus infection, I will bring him something for a sore throat.

I leave work go into the next town and stop at Wal-Mart to get some non medicated sore throat strips. And drive to the next town to bring it to school. They call him back to the office and I look at him and ask what is wrong?

LDX- I don't know
Me- Why am I here?
LDX- I don't know
Me- I left work to come see about you and you have no idea why I am here? Did you come to the office and tell them that your throat hurt?
LDX- yeah, can you check me out?
Me- Where did you hear that from, Who checked out?
LDX- me, I want to check out?
Me- who checked out that you would want to check out, or even know about checking out?
LDX- nobody
Me- you are not checkin out

I gave him the sore throat strip, which he said was very nasty. (I had tried one, it was nasty! sour! yukk!).
I told him to go get some water and get back to class.

How does a 5 year old know how to dream up a story in order to check out?

Boy oh Boy!

Burger King... Have It Your Way!

2008-02-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

So it is a day out on the town and I had to take Pretty Pink Princess. My Mom wanted me to take her to look at manufactured homes. So, we are going through the homes along with some other people and I had told PPP she needed to stay close so no one could take her. Well, we were in one of the last homes, (btw.. have you seen these homes lately?), talk about nice! Anyway PPP gets away and before I knew she was gone and she is screaming! I run around the corner and there she is,,,, out the back door and sitting on the ground. NO STEPS! I jump out and make her stand up. She is complaining about her ear but there are no visible marks. So I take her to the car, buckle her up, and leave...can't take much more of this.

Now we are heading to pick up something to eat. I am watching her and not wanting her to fall asleep because she really scared me when she fell. We go into the fast food restaurant and now she will not stay still. There is a couple there with a little boy that looked about a year older than her and they are staring amusingly. I get our cups and tell her to come with me to fix the drinks and there she is bouncing and shaking her little bootie while singing "don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me"?. She said it twice before I realized what she was saying. I was like, "girl stop singing that" but of course the whole restaurant was laughing and carrying on.

She is a HOT MESS!

Where does she get this from?

2007-10-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

So Big Daddy gets the children up this morning. Pretty Pink Princess is hot, running a temp. He puts her in the bed with me and gets her some medicine.

I lay with her for a few minutes. I get up and take her to the living room and sit her in the recliner. She hands me the remote and tells me she needs to watch Barney. I submit to her demand. I make her a cool compress and set it on her head and go to take a shower.

I get out of the bathroom and go to check on her. She has cooled. I take the compress off of her head as she motions for me to move out of her view of Barney. How dare I block her view! Anyway, I ask her if she feels better, she shakes her head yes as she make a sickly face. I ask "do you need this on your head still?" She says "No. I'm FIRED UP". I lose composure and retreat to the bathroom.

Where does she get this from?

"Now, That's How You Dood That!"

2007-10-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

So I bought myself a new shirt.

This shirt is black with a red, gray and white colored oval pattern. It is a smooth cotton/polyester blend. It is really eye catching with a scoop neck and back. It also has a thick leather, wrap around, high waist belt.

Well I was putting on this shirt this morning and little DX says, "Hey, my teacher has a one of those" as he taps on it, "I mean a belt like that".

I said "Really? That's nice." Of course, it is the first time I am wearing something like this and I have to check myself from every angle. I am thinking that I need to put the belt higher and tighten it.

Well when I do that the end of the belt is just hanging out there. So, my back is to the bathroom door, which is open and in comes little DX, again. I am just standing there looking at this excess on this belt.

He comes from behind me, lifts up my arm and says "moma you have to do it like this" as he is tucking the excess under the back of the belt and making sure it is nicely placed to look right from the front. "Now, that's how you dood that".

Well thank you little DX I would have thrown this shirt out.

I get to work and my friend tells me how nice my new shirt is and "Did it come with the belt?".

So I told her about how little DX fixed it for me. She says "Well that is how you do it, I am sure that he has observed how his teachers wear them and so he knows."

Little DX saves the shirt.

SHHHHHH!!! Nobody tell Big Daddy about this OK?

Wordless Wednesday

2007-10-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

It is a good thing that this is for Wordless Wednesday because, well, I had no words.

Go here for more Wordless Wednesday!

Accident vs.Purpose

2007-10-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

So Little DX has started learing 'accident' and 'purpose' at school. It appears that he is having a hard time with this. The class is on the carpet, Little DX is kicking another student and the teacher asks him to stop. He continues so the teacher asks him to go to the back of the class and stretch out.

He tells her no.

Needless to say he gets in trouble. I get a call from the teacher. When Little DX gets home I question him.

Me: Were you kicking someone at school.

Little DX: No.

Me: What do you mean no.. that is not what the teacher told me.

Little DX: Well It was an accident.

Me: Did your teacher ask you to stop?

Little DX: Yes.

Me: And did you stop?

Little DX: I couldn’t.

Me: What do you mean you couldn’t?

Little DX: I did not know that I was kicking her.

Me: Oh, so you were kicking a little girl.

Little DX: No, it was my foot was kicking her, but I did not know it was hitting her.

Me: So what your telling me is that: Your foot was hitting a little girl, your teacher told you to stop kicking the little girl, but your did not know that your foot was hitting the little girl even after you teacher brought it to your attention and asked you to move. On top of all that information, this was an accident?!

Little DX: Well it was an accident!

Me: It sounds like you were doing this on purpose!

Little DX: Well it was my foot!

Me: Yea Little DX it was your foot.

5 year olds, you just can’t get through to them.

No Pun Intended...

2007-10-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

So we are at Hunka (uncle) Ryan and Nanny’s having a cook out. It’s hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and cheese dip, steaks, you name it. Oh and small ears of corn.

Of course, Nanny has these handy little corn cob hooks. Well the adults were eating the corn with the handy little knobs. Now the Pretty Pink Princess wanted some corn so Big Daddy cut the corn off of the cob for her. Well she screamed, "NO!! I want the whole corn."

Big Daddy gives her a whole corn.

Now, once again, she is on the table yelling and crying making a huge scene. She now has everyone's attention. I asked her, "What is the matter Princess?"

"MY CORN NEEDS SOME EARRINGS!"

By all means give the little Princess's corn some earrings... NOW!

Then the corn breaks in half. We panic thinking she is going to scream again. Instead, she laughs and with a giggle says, "he, he, now I have two!"

Bed Time Stories

2007-07-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

It is late and time to go to bed. Big Daddy is aggravating me. I get up and go to Little DX's queen size bed, he won't agitate me. Problem, Big Daddy comes in too. Now he is also aggravating Little DX. I am quiet and wait for a moment when I can go back to my bed. I slip out and return to my own bedroom which is directly across the hall. Not 5 minutes later Little DX is there also. The next morning Big Daddy tells me that he was awake when I left out. He said Little DX was trying to leave but he would not let him. So Little DX tells him that he has to use the bathroom. He thinks he is slick. The wheels are turning and the mastermind is at work. He goes to the bathroom and on his way back he gets down and the floor and crawls past his bedroom and into mine. As if Big Daddy could not see him. He honestly did not know. I guess neither one of us could pull it off.

Why Did We Teach Her To Potty?

2007-07-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

Another bathroom issue.

So we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. All is going well. Little DX is amused by feeding the rides multiple coins. I have to explain to him that one is all it takes. But two fit. Such a boy!

Pretty Pink Princess soon slows down to realize the bathrooms. Now these bathrooms do not contain heavy doors. There is just an opening with a little pathway. Very child friendly. What I can't understand is-- why in a world where mother are usually taking children to the bathroom-- is the Men's bathroom 1st? Children do not read male and female signs. And they sure did not stop PPP from running into the first bathroom opening available and dropping her drawers. So here I am, I have to go into the men's bathroom---way behind her sprint, past the urinals and into the stall where she as already sat her butt down on an unknown toilet seat. Here I am, in the men's bathroom standing at the door while my daughter pottys. In comes an man with his son. I am probably ghostly white right now. As the little boy stops for the urinal but his dad pushes him to a stall. I say "Sorry, she just ran in here". He just looks at me, probable just as embarrassed as I.

I grab PPP off of the toilet, pull her pants up, quickly wash her hands and run out of there. And I breath---Inhale, Exhale. OK its over! Of course PPP has no clue, she is off to play, leaving me standing in the hall in front of the men's bathroom gasping for breath due to the torture she has put me through.

Why did we teach her to potty?

Girl Birthdays and Toilet Seat Protecters...

2007-07-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Big daddy does not want to deal with PPP, so he brings her to me at work while he and Little DX go visit the dentist. She and DX has somehow remembered where my low calorie cookies are located. That is the first thing they go to and Big Daddy and Dx are off leaving me to work and deal with PPP. She is enjoying herself, everyone is saying how cute she is.

Of course she will not sit still or be quiet. While I am on the phone with a provider she has slipped away into the neighbors cubicle and found candy in her drawer. When the neighbor catches her in the drawer PPP says, "Hey, you have candy in there, can I have dat?" my neighbor responds of course you can anything you want. (Bad Idea).

Now, PPP has to go use the bathroom. This is her favorite thing, she has to visit the bathroom of every environment that she enters. Why did we have to potty train her? So we are off to the bathroom.

She does not want to sit on the paper that covers the potty because "uhh, dat's nasty paper". She has totally misinterpreted the concept of seat protectors.

On the way back to the desk, she must stop by another co-workers desk. Just to pop in and say hi and of course to see if she still has suckers. (She is an elephant, she forgets nothing!) Of course I get to talking and she runs off. She is quick! I have no clue where she went. She is not around any corner. So, I go back to my desk- she did not return. Now the office is looking for a 2 year old. No sign of her. After a few minutes, everyone is panicking, except for me. I know her, she is hiding. She peeks her head around the door of my supervisors office. "Hey ma, here I am". Like haha I have all those people looking for me and here I am enticed by the LSU collection in your supervisors office.

Back to the desk and sit down. I get another call and she is off to the neighbors desk. She has found a fish figurine that has nylon fins.

Me "Put that back."
PPP "No, that's mine!"
Me "That is not yours, put it back."
PPP "Yes this mine, I bought that from the store."
Me "You did not buy that from the store, you took that off of that desk. You have not been to the store to buy that."
PPP "Uh, OK."

She places the figurine back on the shelf. Finally it is quiting time. As we are leaving out the secretary calls us over to come into the big wig managers office. PPP only needs an invitation and she is into the office and behind his desk. (He has a 2 year old daughter also). He turns around and says "Hey, how are you doing?"

PPP "I'm fine"
BWM "How old are you?"
PPP (as she holds up 2 fingers) "I'm three years old."
Me "she is 2, but I don't correct her because by the time she figures it out she will be three. BMW to PPP "When is your birthday?"
PPP "I don't know but I am having a girl birthday so you don't want to come."

Let's get out of here! Can't take that girl no where.

No Boys Allowed!

Row, Row, Row Your What?!!

2007-07-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

It's A.M. I am trying to hurry up and get dressed. The kids are in the living room.

Pretty Pink Princess starts to sing "row ya boat gently down the stream, mary mary mary life a but a dream"

Little DX announces that is not how it goes, I tell you how, "row row row your boat, gently down the stream, merly merly merly merly life's about a queen"
PPP no, its "row ya boat gently down the stream, mary mary mary life a but a dream"
Little DX, no its not!

I walk in, "Why are you arguing?"

PPP - He don't know dat song.
DX - No she don't know how it goes. It goes like this "row row row your boat, gently down the stream, merly merly merly merly life's about a queen"

Of course Pretty Pink Princess sings her version louder. I say, "You are both right, sing it how ever you want too" Between you and me, I like Little DX's song. That's my little Prince!

Bad, Bad Cup!

2007-06-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

Big Daddy comes in and interrupts me while I am in class (on-line). He seems to be really upset about what he has just discovered. In comes a naked Pretty Pink Princess.

I ask her, "What happened to your clothes?"
BD- You need to come see this and do something with PPP before I sentence her to the tower for eternity.

I walk into the bathroom to see a trail of water from the toilet to PPP's potty. On the side of the tub is a coffee mug. (Are you ready for this?) I dare to ask, "PPP who made this mess?"

PPP- What mess? Somebody did that?
Me - Really, Well who was playing in the toilet?
PPP- Somebody did that, I don't know who!
(Ahh, she looks soo sweet and innocent)

Me - WHO WAS PLAYING IN THE TOILET?
PPP- somebody, maybe brother.
Me -YOUR BROTHER WAS NOT IN THE BATHROOM
PPP- Oh yea he has been in the chair.
Me -YES, he has.
PPP- Well, somebody did that, maybe me, that was not me.
Me -It wasn't?
PPP- No that was my hand that did that.
Me -So, not you, but your hand made all this mess by itself?
PPP- Yea, my hand did that, and the cup too.
Me -GET A TOWEL, CLEAN UP YOUR HAND MESS AND STAY OUT OF THE BATHROOM UNLESS YOU HAVE TO PEE OR POOP!
PPP- The cup made this mess too, it help me clean too? Come on cup, we clean this mess.

She gets a towel and gives the cup a ride on it as she wipes up her mess. How do you correct that?

...so much for family time.

Cooking Tips for My Sis

2007-06-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

Amy,

Even though you won't just give me a prize, you did not say that I could not give you any tips.

Stay out of the kitchen--Make him do it--That's why he bought a grill, right--You do not want to be heating up the house.....cooking anyway.

The best tips I have for married cooking is;

Prepare before hand like I know you already do, being a former Pampered Chef creator and expert. Do not dare step into the kitchen until all of your wifely and motherly duties are taken care of. You do not want the children coming into the kitchen begging for Cheetos and punch. You also don't want your lovely husband coming into the kitchen being as sweet as sugar while you are trying to cook quickly. This may not be a problem for you but it has been a huge problem for me.

Find one of those places where you can prepare weeks worth of meals for a dainty price. That's the only thing that will keep everyone on a busy schedule pleased.

Everyone has a dollar menu but you want whole food recipes.

Take a whole loaf of bread, and a whole pack of cheese, and a whole pack of turkey, dstribute all evenly and garnish with condiments. Enjoy!

Love ya,

Little Amy

The Meek Shall Inherit...

2007-06-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

Little DX approaches me, he has been at swimming lessons today and his soft fair skin has reddened. He has just told Big Daddy how bad he feels. Big Daddy has informed him that it is a sun burn.

DX- Mom I have a sun burn from swimming at the civic center.
Me - You did not swim at the civic center.
DX- Yes I did, we go to that civic center for swimming.
Me - No, you went to the civic center for story time. You go to someone's house for swimming lessons.
DX- Yea, well the civic center is the someone's house.

He bends his arms and slightly raises them, his hands do not even go above his head.....he says
DX- Aww (his says this very calm, lightly and really meek)

Again he raises his arms slightly reaching above his head

DX- see ma, Aww (again really meek, barely a sound, soo sickly)

I laugh....

Me- Sorry, but that is soo funny how you are dramatizing a sunburn.

DX leaves and runs to tell Big Daddy that mama just laughed at him.
BD- Why did she laugh at you?
DX is whining still meekly like he has been traumatized.
BD- Come see, come tell me what happened.

The drama will not cease, DX continues to whine as he makes his lip tremble and fakes a gasp for breath.

BD asks me what I have done to Little DX. I demonstrate to him how DX lightly lifted his arms and let out a pitiful moan. He laughs too, I walk out the door to go get some of the aloe plant.

the meek shall inherit matt 5:5 ;o)

Not Clay Aikens...Wordless Wednesday

2007-06-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Go here for more Wordless Wednesday!

Princesses Don't Do That!!

2007-06-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

The children stayed home with Big Daddy for a couple of hours yesterday morning. Of course they slept late, therefore last night they did not want to go to sleep. And of course, this morning they did not want to get up.

I go to Little DX's room and dress him while he sleeps. Pretty Pink Princess is whining for me to hold her. I get her to the chair in front of the TV to watch Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. I dress her and I'm ready to leave. She does not care about time she just wants me to hold her. I ignore her whining, feet kicking fit and walk to the back to turn the lights out. As I am turning to step out of the bathroom PPP is standing in the doorway. She turns her back to me an lets out a fart. Not a little poot, a rumbling fart. As if to say you did not do what I wanted and here is a little idea of how I feel about it. I tell her "Princesses don't do that!" As she grins and runs away she says, "Yea I do that!"

....a day in the life

Don't Say That!

2007-06-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

After being away from his children for quite some time on business Big Daddy returned home late one night. He loved on his children and tucked them in bed. I got up the next morning and woke the children up for school.

Little DX had a strange look on his face. I asked "what's wrong?"

DX: When is daddy going back to Texas?
Me: He just got home. He won't be leaving again any time soon
DX: Why not?
Me: Because he is finished working there for now. He is home to spend some time with you.
DX: I want him to go back to Texas.
Me: Shhhhh! be quiet, why would you want him to leave?
DX: He needs to go back and buy me my DX hat.

Ahh the motive. OK, send the man away, he must leave and not return unless he has a DX hat in hand.

....some people's children

What Are Kids For?

2007-06-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

Pretty Pink Princess is having a conversation with her Uncle while at the Father's Day BBQ. She points above his lip and asks "What is that?" Uncle states "That is my mustache".

PPP says "Daddy has a mustache". Then, as she points to Big Daddy sitting on the side of her Uncle she says "yea he sure does".

Then she turns around to look at me and states "Moma has a mustache too".

Uncle is so hysterical he can not elaborate on the conversation that he just had with PPP. And of course, no one else heard what happened (except for my little brother aka Soldier Hero, who was sitting on the side of me) , so everyone is sitting around waiting for him to gain his composure and tell us the story.

Uncle is finally able to tell us what she said and then Soldier Hero says "I saw that coming as soon as she swung her little head around. I just knew she was going to say it!"

Thanks PPP, today I wax.

....one more family holiday

Two Time Loser....

2007-06-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

As I sit down in my recliner to relax, Big Daddy is looking upset. I ask him "What is going on?"

He has had an argument with the two year old, Pretty Pink Princess.... he has lost.

Bid Daddy is hesitant to explain the situation for fear of further frustration or for the simple fact that his pride has once again been stepped on by his little girl. My four-year-old son, whom we affectionately call DeGeneration X or Little DX is eager to tell the story.

"Sister was not listening, Big Daddy told her to put her shorts back on and she ignored him."

Thank you Little DX for explaining the madness. And in comes the Pretty Pink Princess with her shorts on her head. Her head is through the waist of the shorts and her little face is peeping out of a leg hole. She gracefully eases down the hall into the living room where the rest of the family is sitting. She announces her presence by stating "LOOK, I put my shorts on". Little DX can not hold his composure. He is laughing hysterically. He is sitting with Big Daddy who is trying his hardest to look like a disciplinarian.

Pretty Pink Princess begins to roar and strike at the air with her claws, all the while looking like Little Pink Riding Hood through the leg hole in her shorts. I am holding a cover over my giggles because once again she has showed Big Daddy up. She has indeed done what he has asked her to do, 'put her shorts on'. This is such a hilarious scheme by a two year old. Big Daddy is now crying he is laughing so hard. Who can punish that?

I guess this means the crown and the belt goes to: Pretty Pink Princess!!!!

....this is family time.

I Sad At YOU!!

2007-06-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting story but true. Let me set the plot.

Big Daddy (BD) passes by the bathroom and there is toilet paper all over. He calls in the Pretty Pink Princess (PPP):

BD- Pretty Pink Princess did you do this?

PPP- umhun

BD- did you wipe yourself?

PPP - Nope

She takes off into the living room where Big Daddy meets her. There are candy wrappers where Big Daddy had left his candy. The Pretty Pink Princess is cleaning the chocolate out of her teeth and has chocolate smeared across her face.

BD- Did you eat my candy?

PPP- SO!

BD- Don't SO me, you are going to school.

PPP- FINE!

Big Daddy spanks her on her padded bottom.

PPP- I'm gonna tell yo mama on you! I'm sad at you!

BD- I'm double sad at you!

PPP- No, you love me........ I sad at you!

That Honest Woman

2006-10-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

Hi- It’s me, Andrea, The Honest Woman.

I am a 30 year young wife and mother of 2 energetic children. My husband, Darin, likes to call himself Big Daddy. We met in a Christian cell group 8 years ago. Married in 2001, Grant was birthed into our family a little over a year later. A month after celebrating Grant’s second birthday, The Pretty Pink Princess, Gabriela was born. Both children have a combination of our qualities, which you will hear about regularly but don't expect me to claim any. Grant we call Little DX because he likes WWE’s Degeneration X. Big Daddy has gotten us hooked on wrestling. Every Monday night we will gather together to watch RAW. Oh, come on, I know there are other women out there who enjoy it.

I worked in the corporate world for 8 years and 2 years ago I decided to go to college online through University of Phoenix. I now have Associates in Arts in Business (AAB) and will stop there for now. During my second year I developed an interest in teaching and decided on all educational electives. This included; Contemporary Issues in American Education, Teaching As A Profession, Child Development, and Classroom Instruction. Those were my favorite classes. They just came so naturally and due to some pushing from my father above we started homeschooling this year. Yes, I said good-bye to the corporate world at the worst economic time ever! Good thing I only move when God pushes me.

I am co-owner “SplitDecisionz” where I help my sister, Amy, as much as I can and she pays me. I guess she feels guilty for stealing my business name so she gives me proceeds. No, really, when I was a teenager I thought of the name “Split Decisions” for a business, because well everything comes down to a split decision. I was very much in the world then but now realize that God had spoken that to me. A couple years later when Amy asked my ideas for a name “Split Decisionz” just popped out of my mouth. She just thought it was brilliant.

I enjoy journaling our experiences, scrapbooking and clean sarcasm—which you will see in my writing. I also contribute to Heart of the Matter Online where you can read how God talks to me through homeschooling. My friends say I am reliable, humorous and to the point.

Thanks for asking. I hope you continue to visit.