Can A Mom Say That School Sux??

Liam, Ian and Trent, our neighbor, playing in the sand before the rains came.
Brent relaxing with a beer. He was resting while I was busy preparing. wtf?
This is not a great picture of the cake but we used a John Deere tractor pan and then decorated it. He absolutely loved it -- it wasn't perfect but he thought it was.
Ian was actually blowing out his candles and was not happy about his picture being taken.

This morning before school -- Ian was excited, Liam was almost indifferent. Sporting his approved standard uniform -- school shirt and jeans. Can you believe Liam got his hair cut on Thursday? Hopefully with the new uniform code he will not be in violation. As long as it it "appropriately groomed" it should be ok. Should Liam get more cut off, what you think???

Yes, school officially started today at 8am. I'm really kind of sad. I love having the boys home, even though they do fight a lot, but it keeps it interesting and I guess I just love the freedom myself. So, can moms say that getting up and going back to school sucks big time? I guess so because I just did. So, we've been busy right up until last night. I'll break it down:

August 18th -- Ian's 8th Birthday. We had a neighborhood birthday/family party for him in the garage. It had rained all day but they were able to deliver the sand as promised and the kids all played in the sand pile, swam, and we did the eating/birthday cake usual. He said it was the best birthday he'd ever had. Really laid back and casual and since the kids weren't running in and out of the house all day I pretty relaxed. They even swam in the rain and they were so excited. It turned out well and we all had fun. Kind of ended up being a neighborhood get-together but it was nice to reconnect after a long summer. Of course the only downside is that some of the kids were over playing at noon although the party didn't officially start until 5pm and then I had to end up sending some of them home at 8:15pm. Ian had a blast with his friends so I guess that's what counts, not all the hairs I pulled out throughout the day. Good thing I have a lot of it so you can't see the bald spots! Nah, it was good.


Saturday we wanted to do something fun to celebrate the end of summer so we took the boys to eat and went bowling. We've done it a few times but they were happy that their granny decided to go and we had so much fun. We had great Mexican food at Carlito's, bowling and then we came home and talked and laughed until Ian fell asleep. Even Ian didn't gripe or whine one time... well... maybe once, but that was it and that's pretty good for him.

Liam was really kind of scared, maybe a little nervous about starting seventh grade today. He seemed nervous this morning but he said he was fine. I'm just praying he has a great day. Some of his teachers are supposed to be really hard and sticklers so I'm kind of dreading that, but I didn't tell him anything. Hopefully their personalities will overshadow their reputations. Ian was so excited about second grade. I'll download some pics of the first day of school and the birthday party in a bit. I don't feel like going out to my truck to get the camera. Lazy I know but I'm comfy and sipping my hot orange tea. Trying to get back into the swing of being on my own. Brent went with us and then he raced off to work. I can't imagine racing off to be at work so whatever floats his boat. He usually runs in the opposite direction.

Let's start something new:


How do I feel today???? (1) kind of sad (2) kind of happy (3) nervous about their day (4) positive about this school year (5) indecisive --nothing new there if you know me really well.

Oh yeah. I almost forgot. My sister and I attended my friend's Pure Romance party on Friday night. We had so much effin fun!!! We drank daquiri's, laughed, made fun of all the "tools" used for couples, drank more daquiris and ate all her snacks. It was the most fun I've had with a bunch of women in a long time. So, me and Tricia decided to book a party for September. Mainly I want the discount and the free hostess gift. I really want the free gift and the consultant said she'd give it to anyone who hosted a party so we decided to do one together. I asked her if we had to share the gift, and she assured me and she would give each one of us one. It was pretty funny but I was really curious. I mean she's my sister and all, but no one wants to be that close! LOL So I bought $212 worth of "tools" and creams and edible this and hot that. Everything looked like so much fuuunnnn I just couldn't decide. I know, I know, I totally blew the whole not spending frivolously thing, but I did some freelance work a while back so I decided that's what I would use that money for, and well worth it I might add. Anyway, this is like the first time I came home from spending a bunch of money that Brent didn't offer up a negative comment. HaHa He actually sat with me and I told him what everything was and what it was for -- it was like Christmas, well, only in a naughty and raunchy kind of way!!! So needless to say we had a great weekend and if you haven't been to a Pure Romance party or bought any of their merchandise and want to know which flavors taste the best, just ask me. We had so many things to taste, sniff and lick that I was full by the time the party was over. Ok, so that's pretty funny even I laughed out loud at that one. Yup, that's been my week. Birthday party - check. School shopping and picking up schedules - check. Learning what your neighbors and friends do in the bedroom - check. Giving the boys a great weekend before school - check. Giving my husband a great weekend - priceless.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Lions & Tigers & Bears Oh My....and a monkey's doodle?

I think this is the one you can kind of see the spider's monkey's little penis!! he he We thought it was pretty funny, and gross, and disgusting. Kind of like a train wreck -- cannot keep your eyes off of it no matter how hard you try.

So this is Liam doing some of his first jumps. He's so little for his age so he was really proud that he could lift the front end of his bike up enough to even do this. Kudos to him for persevering!

This is what we've done this summer that the kids, including ALL the neighbor kids, really like -- we make our own sno-cones. Fast, cheap, did I mention cheap? And fast. Then when you hand out about six of these things they are already wanting more then you make more and they want more then you have to say "Ah, I would but my blender's on the fritz." -- go home and tell your momma to make you one you little sponge!! Nah, just kidding. I wouldn't really call them a sponge! LOL

The boys in front of the fountain in downtown Lafayette, after eating at the Blue Dog Cafe. Y'all think Liam needs a hair cut before school? Maybe just a trim eh?
This white tiger's pic is a little smoky/hazy/blurred because I had to take it through the glass which was soooo dirty and she kept pouncing up against it. She/He was totally po'd at the voyeurs. I would be too!!
Ian seems to have a forced smile. Liam loved the tortoises but I think they really grossed Ian out -- although he did love the alligators.

Outside the Blue Dog Cafe with, yup, you guessed it... a blue dog. It actually had a yellow dog and a red dog on the other two sides of it. Why stop with one color right? We said if our dog, Ivy, was blue, it would look like her. Only Ivy's not blue, she's kind of peppered I guess. She's a Catahoula Leopard dog. She's our totally cool dog. Ivy. Not this big blue one....

So we went away for a few days. Our little mini-vacation with the boys. We ended up in Lafayette, visiting with sister and having fun and staying busy. We took the boys to the Acadiana Zoo on Sunday and they really enjoyed it. Of course, let's just say, the animals were waay too hot, not excited in the least to see us! Ian thought the baby bear we saw was dead, but actually he was just sleeping, probably because he was so lethargic because of the heat. It was about 150 degrees, nah, not really, just about 96, 97, 98 give or take a few degrees. We were all hot, yet the poor animals looked really miserable. The Siberian Tiger was ( I guess, it was white!) was EXTREMELY agitated and would lunge at the onlookers only to be stopped by the plate glass windows. It was pretty exciting though and made me jump for sure. Liam's favorite things were the old tortoises, Ian really like the tiger because it scared him and I absolutely loved the giraffe. He/She was so graceful and content. Oh, Ian told me to put on here that he loved the lemurs. He has a soft spot in his heart for lemurs since we did a huge report complete with pictures and geological information for his first grade class report. We love lemurs. They were pretty funny. The spider monkey was soooo funny because as he hung upside down and would swing from one side to the other, his little penis was protruding. Needless to say, it was hard to get my three boys (yes, Brent included) away from spectacle. Well, I think I was the one who wanted to stay around to see what that spider monkey was actually going to do about it! LOL I crack myself up sometimes. So we went to a fresh produce market, tried some new restaurants that were great by the way: Serrano's, Blue Dog Cafe. Brent was really impressed with the places we went and even a quick meal heading out on Sunday at Raising Cane's was really good. The chicken was sooo good I'm craving it again. Brent and I got to spend some quality-much-needed-alone-time together and we did grown up things. We bought grown up movies and grown up toys. It was too fun and actually felt naughty. Oh, and it will definitely be repeated. We had a blast. Learned that I want to start doing things we enjoy without the kids. NOTE TO SELF: hire a babysitter and go out and have fun. I have always been against people outside the family watching the boys, but they are much older now and can tell me everything so I figure a little high-schooler might want to earn some extra money. We need to get away more often.

Last week was really busy with Brent being off all week and then decided at the last minute to leave town. At least I didn't overpack with so little time to prepare. We rented a nice car and had great conversation all the way there. The boys napped and watched movies on their PSP's. LOVE THE PSP. We have a dvd player that I'll bring but the PSP's allow them to watch different movies and they seem to stay quieter longer which is best in the long run for all of us!

Took Liam school shopping yesterday for a few things while Ian went to Jump Zone for a few hours. You pay a flat fee and they can jump on the giant indoor inflatables, play basketball and dodgeball. He had a great time and wanted to go back today but...... it's after 2:00 and I still haven't gotten dressed yet so I told him he could go back tomorrow. I was cleaning the bathroom and kitchen today which ended up taking longer so I'd rather him go for the full three hours. Hopefully it will be open next week also and he can enjoy that with his little friends before school starts. His birthday is next Monday, the 18th, so he's trying to decide what he wants to do with his friends. I want him to wait for a big party until after school starts but he just wants to invite his little posse and swim and cook out so we may do that for him Sunday. I need to think about that today. NOTE TO SELF: think about Ian's birthday and go change out the clothes in the washer. See, if I don't write it down and see it in black/white, you can forget it. I am a visual learner. You can show me once and I'll have it down or you can tell me a thousand times and I still won't remember. Oh, and while driving to Louisiana we asked Ian what he wanted for his birthday and this is what he said, "Well, I've been thinking about that and I want Pokemon cards (him and the neighborhood boys are all over that) and a load of sand. Not regular sand but 60/40." What the hell? Is there a difference in sand? So I guess he'll be getting his load(s) of sand because that is what their track needs to get it stabilized so he can ride his dirt bikes on it and start practicing some jumps. So if he wants sand, let the child have sand, although it's kind of sad. Why couldn't he ask for a new xbox 360 game or WII game or something a little more tangible? How the hell am I going to wrap up a load of sand? I guess I could have it delivered on his birthday and not tell him then he'll be all surprised? Any suggestions?



New movies coming from Netflix: Pippi Longstocking and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Yeah, I'm all over that with excitement. Neither one of my babies have ever seen either of these movies and I am going to make them sit down and watch them. We watched Field of Dreams this morning on HBO and they both loved it. Who knew? Trying to stay away from all the sex, drugs, killing movies and there's not a lot to choose from that will keep Liam interested so he's just going to have to grin and bear it. Also putting in my que for netflix: The Princess Bridge. They should really like that one and I do not think either one of them have been it before but I probably made Liam watch it at some point.


Heading into Beaumont tomorrow to take Ian shopping. We got him a few under armor shirts at Academy yesterday but he needs some shorts something fierce. All of his are getting too short because he has such long legs. Hopefully I can scope out Kroger for Farmland Bacon since I have about 15 coupons for $2 off each package. I bought 10 pks. at Super H-E-B in Beaumont last week but I want to use the other coupons up before they expire at the end of the month. Hey, you can never have too much bacon right? Brent laughs at my deals but all the jars of spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, jelly and bacon sure have come in handy lately when meal planning. Going to attempt chicken parmesan this week although I'm not too big on it, we'll see if I can manage. to cook it. Any good recipes for the crock-pot using canned sauga? I think I have Emeril's and Classico. yeah, the Classico was the Target special with the coupon so I think I picked it up for about $1 after the $1 coupon. It seems like all the prices I see on different websites for Target, Walmart and HEB are more expensive here. I cannot remember exactly what it was but the website said their Walmart carries it for $1.69 and I found it at ours for $2.12. Eh? WTF? That just seems wrong. So, off to call the pedi and make an appt. for Liam's school physical. YIKES, it's that time again. Liam has soccer practice until school starts three nights a week then it goes down to 2 plus games on Saturdays. He was exhausted after his 3 hour practice Monday and 2 hours last night. He's one of their fastest little runners and he loves running. Who knew MY child would like running??

Quickie Post...

Can you read this? If I log-in through IE (Internet Explorer) it has the background showing through which makes it very difficult to read. Yet, I usually log in through Firefox which comes up completely different with no problems at all. Jennisa is working on the problem. Let me know how you log in and if it is easy/hard to read the posts. Thanks.

I'll do a regular post later. I've been really busy with getting ready for school in about 2 1/2 weeks and Brent taking a few days off to enjoy with the boys before they head back to school. Off to soccer, my 'lil momma's hospital visit and supper. Oh yeah! Yesterday was "FREE" film developing day at Walgreen's so I turned in Ian's disposable camera film that the poor little guy has been wanting developed since Easter when the Easter Bunny brought it in his basket. So we're off to pick up the film and see exactly what he's been taking pictures of -- can't believe we used to have to wait so long to see what our pictures looked like. Seems so archaic to me.

My 1st Brilliant Blogger Award... yeah!

I've been TAGGED! Jennifer at JustBeeKoz tagged me with a Brilliant Blogger Award so I'm going to keep it going. I have to tag 7 blogger friends so let's do it. Thanks Jennifer for my first Bloggard (short for Blog Award). Yeah, my own stupid not so funny humor!

Per Jennifer: Please keep it alive and kickin!

A. Attached or single? Depends, nah, just kiddin. Very Attached and devoted to my sweetie.

B. Best friend? Brent

C. Cake or pie? Brent's chocolate cake! To Die For!

D. Day of choice? Saturday for the busyness of it all; Sunday for the family time.

E. Essential item? I'll agree with Jennifer on CAFFEINE, morning papers, MAC (make-up, not the computer), right now in the wake of Tropical Storm Edouard -- batteries, flashlights, candles and non-perishable food!

F. Favorite color? pink

G. Gummy bears or worms? bears

H. Hometown? Beaumont, TX now residing in the sleepy little town of Nederland, a hop, skip and a jump from the crime and misdemeanors of Beaumont

I. Indulgence? Blueberry Watermelon sno-cone; my my how I luv me some sno-cones!

J. January or July? January

K. Kids? 2 -- all boy boys

L. Life isn’t complete without? Sitting on the deck, watching the boys play and swim, making goo-goo eyes at Brent the whole time and both just grinning from ear-to-ear and the whole time the kids keep saying "What? What's so funny? What did I do?" They can be so narcissistic at times, I must say.

M. Marriage date? June 16, 1990

N. Number of brothers & sisters? 1 brother, 5 sisters

O. Oranges or apples? apples (with a little peanut butter or caramel dip, YUM)

P. Phobias? 1. Getting burned alive 2. some horrible accident disfiguring my face 3. Brent going bald 4. constantly worried about my children's safety 5. dying alone in a firey crash, at least if I have to die in a firey crash I'd rather not be alone but not with my children which only leaves one other choice of who should be in the car with me 6. knocking out my front teeth in a teeter-totter accident, or one of the boys knocking out their front teeth or for that matter Brent knocking out his teeth in a teeter-totter accident. I have soooo many phobias I cannot begin to list them all but #7 would have to be: getting held up at gun point in a bank and all of us having to get naked and stare at each other while getting robbed. Is that not the epitome of embarassing situations, I don't care that I would be getting robbed but just having to look at perfect stranger's doodles and do-ma-hickeys, ewww, well, I would have to just gag all over that situation! OK, I think that sums up my top 7 worst phobias. I'll add more as they come to me.

Q. Quotes? “Wrinkles only go where the smiles have been.”-Jimmy Buffett
"If you can remember how many times you kissed your babies today, it wasn't enough." - Me

(I always said that to Liam and Ian from the time they were born, and I still say it today). Of course, they hate when I kiss 'em so now I get the peck on the forehead and big bear hugs.

R. Reasons to smile? 1. When the boys laugh at my stupid stupid jokes and Marianisms 2. When Brent tells me that he cannot believe how much we still love being together and how much fun we still have after 25 years 3. When you can actually see the "light bulb" going on when you explain or teach your child something new. You know, the "ah-ha" moments -- I Love them. 4. Deep conversations late into the night pondering "why" we're all here, nah, just kidding. Unless it's an x-rated conversation I'm probably asleep when Brent starts talking relationships and the "whys" and deep things like that. I always say "I'm not a deep thinker, I'm a deep SLEEPER!" I think it's funny. I think it's hilarious. Brent does not. No, really. About once in a blue moon I'm up for a deep conversation, then I'm happy for awhile. 5. oh yeah, when Ian calls his penis a "doodle." I think that's pretty damn funny. A doodle. A doodle. I had never heard that before it came out of MY child's mouth.

S. Season of choice? Do we have "seasons" in southeast Texas???? Y'all better call me the next time you see one!

T. Tag (nominate) seven others!

U. Unknown fact about me? I have a very special talent that no one knows about... well, maybe one other person. Of course, this is trying to be a clean, family blog so I cannot speak of such things on here. Let's just say, well, it's.... it's.... I'll tell you my next unknown fact about me: I can eat a Reece's cup in 3.8 seconds. Really, I think I still hold the record from fourth grade.

V. Vegetable? Favorite of all time: the zuccini - so phallic, so versatile, so delicious!

W. Worst habits? picking and scratching my head... until it bleeds. yuk. gross. nasty.

X. X-ray or ultrasound? ultrasound

Y. Your favorite food? Asian grilled chicken salad. YUM, especially during the hot summer months.

Z. Zodiac sign? Capricorn

New Blog Design Put A Smile On My Face

THANKS JENNISA!

So, how you do you like the new design? I'm all crazy for it. I think Jennisa at http://onceuponablog.org did a great, wonderful, superb job. I was soo excited to see my little mama up there. Of course, she is waaay too skinny to look like me, but it totally reflects me and my personality so if you'd like to comment on whether you like it or not, you can. I'd love to hear any feedback. Of course I won't be changing it, but feedback is always a good thing right? I really waffled between including Brent and the boys in the header but it is called Java Mama and I think it all came together rather well. I'm sure Brent's not interested in it in the least, although he does read it at work when he gets bored! So, I guess I'll just stick with what I know best, writing what I feel like writing. Oh yeah on another blog this lady wrote something about how someone told her to stop writing about this/that and that it was rude and you want to know what she said to the "anonymous" person who commented: "If you don't like what I write, don't read my blog." Yeah, I was so happy people stand up for their freedoms as put forth in the Constitution and do not cower and fold from the pressures of those who are too cowardly to even put their real name on a comment. Whew, ok now on with this post...

So we had a pretty good week and weekend. Took the boys to see Batman: Dark Knight and I actually stayed awake for the whole three hour movie. Heath Ledger, well, all I can say is that if he does win the Oscar for this role posthumously, he rightly deserves to win that little gold statue. It was the only Batman I have sat down to watch in a very long time, and it was rather riveting. We had errands to run all week and chase down bacon at a supermarket in Beaumont to be able to use some more of my $2 off coupons I bought off of Ebay. We ran into an old friend and I had so much fun talking to her. Of course the boys were bored to tears so I ran them by Barnes & Noble for a drink and we looked at some new anime books. Then they were hungry so I drove them over to Rao's to get the only tuna fish they will eat. Ian got the gelato and it was extremely good. I wanted some so bad but #1 - I do not need it, and #2, I'm lactose intolerant so I could just imagine the pain I'd be in had I partaken in such an act. I was, however, not going to buy it and not taste it. It was divine, heavenly. I told Brent he would love it. It's so creamy and well worth the drive. Haven't tasted too many other gelatoes that can compare -- even Liam liked it, and he's really picky with everything.

Of course, now we want to see several other movies and Ian's on this Space Chimp thing because our little neighbor went to see it. I just don't think I could sit through Space Chimps and he's a little too young to leave in the theater. I've never done it before, guess I shouldn't start now. I put some movies on Netflix for a family movie night and we ordered Pippi Longstocking and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Kind of corny but I am sooo friggin tired of my seven year old watching inappropriate things/movies/dvd's/games so now I'm doing what I should have done a while back, monitoring any and all media in the house. Our little neighbor (who is 7) came over and told us that he had his tv taken away because the 9 year old neighbor was over and put in on HBO or something like that and showed naked girls. YIKES.... where the hell were the parents? So, needless to say my children have always played at my house so I can monitor things like that and I guess it's not going to be changing anytime soon. We have some business to take care of when Brent gets off today and he has to get some things taken care of then I'm making big tacos and taco salad for supper. It was like 98 degrees all weekend and we didn't hardly cook although Brent did grill some pork chops last night. I'm in the mood for a big taco salad but I'll make the boys their choice of taco or burritos but most of the time they end up eating the taco salads anyway.


The boys got up bright and early this morning and with the help of the neighbor kids, repainted the inside of their club house. They are making it into their Pokemon trading card hide-away which we said yes as long as the paint was actually being used for the walls and floor and not just to paint their bodies. I haven't climbed up their yet to view the work of art, but I guess I will in just a big. They're letting it dry now and then need to add another coat. At least I hope it's all the same color. Ah, to be young and want to work out in the heat all day to accomplish something that you will reap the benefits and be able to enjoy. I remember those days. Our clubhouse was usually in the bushes along the field close by our house and we would put all our Barbie's out there and make houses for them out of shoeboxes. I know, sad and pathetic, but at the time all the girls in the neighborhood lived for that. Once, my friend across the street had a big oak tree that had some kind of lily or bushes growing all around its base and that was our clubhouse all summer. I loved it until ... that one awful, disgusting day I was laying in the bushes on my stomach playing with the dirt, waiting for her to come back with some drinks and I saw a grass snake. Scared me half to death. Come to think of it I never set food inside the bushes around that tree again. I think I was about 8 or 9 years old and I never, I don't think ever, laid down on the grass again without a blanket. See, I'm pretty good about that. It only takes once for me to learn my lesson.

Another Effin Hurricane - Get Prepared, Run for the Hills

So, we had a really great weekend. The couple's shower yesterday for my nephew and his fiance went off great and I think everyone enjoyed themselves, even the guys. Hey, you really can't go wrong when you invite the guys and beer to the party. Brent actually said it was ok, considering it was his first shower. Well, he did go to the end of one of my baby showers so he actually had seen one in progress before. Saturday we got a bunch of stuff done and all our shopping for the shower gift and things like that. Liam and Drake hung out at Drake's for most of the day so we accomplished a lot with only one child. I hit Office Depot Friday night and purchased $18.47 worth of school supplies for $2.64. Not bad if I must say so myself. It doesn't even put a dent in what they actually need on their lists but it was just stockpiling a lot of pens and paper and such for during the school year.

Christene and Bailee came in for the shower and they spent the night here last night and got up to leave at 7am this morning. Way too early for me, I went back to bed after they left. But Bailee had conditioning at 10am so they had to be back by then. In case she reads this, me and the boys are going to come and stay after y'all move. I can help you unpack and get organized. The boys and I cleaned out every little part of Ian's room on Thursday. Ian and I spent the better part of six hours in there getting all of his toys weeded out and going through all of his books. We organized his toys and book shelf and we had two blank bookshelves to work with so we got the books on those and have utilized every available space he had once again. I have a ton of books (he calls them baby books) but early chapter books and easy readers that I need to pack in a box. We then organized his closet and his clothes according to color. He really liked that. I was doing laundry on Friday and gave him a couple of shirts to hang up and he came back and said that he put the tan one with the browns and the kind of red one with the reds. I told him that was fine. I think he's proud of his color coordinated closet. oh shit. I just thought about something. Hopefully that's not a precursor to any homosexual tendencies... now I have something else to worry about. Maybe I'll go mess all the colors up and see if he freaks out. Nah, just kiddin. I wouldn't do that, I don't think. I'll let you know tomorrow what I decided about that whole dilemma.

Ian went to his cousin's birthday party with his Granny yesterday and had the best time. He talked about the party and the golf cart and having a water fight so I'm guessing he had fun. His birthday is August 18th so now he's already started planning his party. He said he wants a "crawfish slash swim party." I thought that was pretty funny. I think that would be fun for a family party but I'm not sure what he'll want for a school party once school starts. He's going to have the same kids in his class plus two more and one of them is our little friend Abby so I think that may take some of the first day jitters away. We'll see. Need to take Liam school clothes shopping soon but he won't speak of it. I told him if he doesn't go I'll just do all the shopping for him. They have mandatory uniforms this year so he is sssssooooo pissed about but oh well, he has to do it so I told him he may as well do it with a smile. I'm actually pretty excited about the prospect considering I cringe every time I think of how much $$$ I spent last year. He is ever so picky in his clothes, the brands, the way they fit, the way they feel which does not make for easy shopping. Ian is different and he pretty much says yes to anything. He does not have to wear uniforms until fifth grade but I've been buying shorts here and there when I go to the mall so he has some really nice ones already. So he needs shoes, underwear, backpack, lunch kit and shirts. I'm banking on t-shirt type material because it's sooo hot in August and September and they sweat so much at P.E. I hate to put anything heavier on him. He's already wearing some of Liam's shirts so that may work out, although Liam isn't willing to share.

This is a satellite image of Hurricane Rita that hit us in September of 2005. I think I still have PTSD symptoms from that whole evacuation scenario.

OK, so there's a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and Brent just called and said he thought the hurricane warnings were all the way up to Galveston. I'll have to check the National Hurricane Center and we may need to start making plans. That will be horrible because my little momma is at the rehabilitation hospital for physical, occupational and respiratory therapy which would seriously freak me out if we had to leave and her go somewhere else because of her oxygen dependence. She evacuated with me and the boys in '05 with Hurricane Rita and even though I bitched about it and was stressed out, at least I knew where she was and that she was being taken care of. Of course I think she regretted coming with me and the boys (I was wound a little tight those days) it was an experience none of us will ever soon forget. I bet she remembers Lenny and the "tube." She was hilarious and can be ruthless when she needs to be. Better go get some dinner started and finish the laundry I started this morning. Having a lazy day today that's for sure. But I played with the boys and watched Ian and his friends do ramp jumps on their bicycles until it got so freakin' hot you couldn't breathe. It's ridiculous. Those kids are liable to get dehydrated if they're not careful. Well, ciao bella.

I GUESS THAT ABOUT SUMS UP MY MOOD TODAY. HOWEVER, I REFUSE TO LET IT INTERFERE WITH OUR DAY. I AM GOING TO BE HAPPY TODAY, I AM GOING TO BE SWEET, I AM GOING TO HAVE FUN WITH THE BOYS.

OK, now that I've gotten my mantra for the day out of the way, I hope your day is great and I'll post more later. Lost my last post I'd been working on and I'm too peeved to re-do it so I may later after I get this huge list of errands out of the way.

I have a couples wedding shower is this weekend and I have some food to prepare for that so I guess I need to make a list of what I'll need and think about something to get them. The theme is Around the Clock and I have 5:00am so I'm kind of stumped on what to get. Any good ideas out there for a gift that you would use at 5:00am??

Guess I better get dressed and get the boys up and out of here. They bought new games the other day at Circuit City and they sure are eerily quiet this morning. Ciao!

Psychos and Talking Yorkies, And July Just Started

Can't sleep. It's almost 2:30am and I'm nowhere near being sleepy. Brent worked on the computer and bought new this/that and it's back in working order, tip-top shape. The poor man literally had to rebuild this piece of equipment and then go and buy another sound card because somewhere along the way ours was corrupted. He had to update the BIOS and cmos this and waaay too complex for me. Boring. But the good news is: I can hear everything now. I can hear the songs on my blog and I love that because at this point in my life, I love these songs or I wouldn't have put them on here. So, how was the fourth for y'all?? Ours was really pretty awesome. I wanted to take pics but my camera wasn't charged up so that blew big time. Brent's parents and his brother and my SIL and their two kiddos stopped by and they all popped fireworks. It seemed like the boys would never run out but we had a good time just watching all the fireworks going off around here. My brother-in-law bought a really pretty and big one that we did close to the end and that's the ones I like the best. Liam and Ian really enjoy the ones that are loud and louder and the more obnoxious, the better. Brent had bbq'd all day so when everyone left we stayed out until after 12:30, came in, ate again and we all took showers and watched some tv until the boys got sleepy. Needless to say it was after 3am before Brent and I got some shut-eye. They let us sleep in though and that was really nice. I really should have quick charged my cameras and taken some photos. I made a blueberry crunch for dessert and although I didn't eat dessert until about 2am, it was DELICIOUS. It was lovely and moist, and fruity and blueberryey ?. Brent loved it and so did the boys. Ian cannot get enough of it.

So, trying to find some fun stuff to do next week. I have a few things in mind for the boys but we'll see how that goes. Have a return on a computer software thingy from Circuit City and some errands to run on Monday, but other than that no big plans. My psychotic brother is up to his bad habits and to say the least, it's embarrassing. Have a little couth, gain some composure, act like an adult and check yourself back into rehab so you don't fuck away the next half of your life. I have no patience or room in my life for people that don't help themselves first so that chapter is closed. I'll just pull my Scarlett O'Hara thinking out of the closet that I haven't had to use for a long time and remember that "I'll think about that tomorrow." I used to be pretty good at it so hopefully time and age have been good to me and I'll be able to do it again. So, needless to say I won't be worrying about that.

I added Twitter to the upper right corner so keep adding updates. It's a pretty neat thing and I'm still trying to get used to it, but I can definitely see it getting more popular. I kind of messed around with it and you can go into Everyone and catch a glimpse of what others are saying and if you get interested, you can stay up on their updates via your phone and text into your updates. It was kind of cool so I might be adding to it periodically.

OK, so Brent and I had fun last night. I was outside watching them ride the four-wheeler and dirt bikes and then Brent took Ian riding on the Buell. That kid loves that motorcycle. He loves his daddy too but put them both together and it's a winning combination. OK, so no more blah, blah, blah about the boys and Brent. Anyway Brent rode up to me and said "How in the hell can I still be in love with you after all this time? We should be over this by now, right?" I don't know if it will ever happen but I'm just enjoying the ride while it lasts. And what a great ride it is....

UPDATE... UPDATE: Psycho bitch next door had a booty call and we witnessed it. Well, not actually THE booty call but I was out watering and Brent came up and said the guy on the motorcycle is there so we ran and looked and YUP, an actual booty-call.

I guess now I can sleep well knowing that highly disturbed, painfully ugly people out there in this world are getting a piece of ass every now and then too.

Oh and this piece of information I know you just can't live without: According to Tricia: dogs CAN talk. She called me this morning swearing up and down that Toshi wanted to go out and he was whining at the door and she swears she heard him say, hang on to your ass cuz this is one for the history books, dogs can TALK, she heard Toshi say "Maa Maa." You know, momma. WTF?? I think she's worked at the post office soooo long that now she's going postal. As in over the edge crazy. So, Toshi can now call her name when he wants to go out. I bet Maizee is all jealous and starts talking before long. You can bet your ass I won't be volunteering to bring that little sucker to his groomers anytime soon. Could you imagine driving down the road with Toshi in his little carrier all buckled up and all of a sudden he says "Bitch, you better not be dropping me off at the old dyke's house to get my balls washed!" To which I would reply: "You better shut-up or she'll find you in a pan of water on her stove when she comes home from work today!" Yorkies, aarrrhhh!! Ciao.

I Am What I Am or Am I? A Tale of the He/She Dilemma

Hopefully soon I'll have a new blog design. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and after the link from Kadie over at A Womb at the Inn (sane) I need some ideas bigtime. I don't want anything too cutesy, too girly, too boy(ey??), but just right. After really inspecting my site I realized how boring it is and it needs some action. Some oomph!!! Any ideas come to mind?? The boys' picture is cute, no, it's downright adorable and all, but who wants to look at them every time they visit my site? I do, but I'm sure no one else does. I know I've said it's my blog and I can whatever I want, but I want people to l-i-k-e it (whine) and I want people to c-o-m-e b-a-c-k to it. (more whine)


Of course, I offer no sound advice, no coupons, not even any real or practical suggestions to real problems. But I do like jokes about the dregs of society, hearing real gossip about people I know and don't know, and anything else that people really shouldn't say or do. I know people can be cruel and that's it... it's a cruel world. Grow some hide and roll with the punches. I have recently decided that I will not be controlled by what others think I should say, do, or how I should act/react to situations. I am tired of people wearing their emotions, political agendas and religion on their sleeve. I don't try and force anything down anyone's throat, don't do it to me. I like to read funny things and laugh. I LIKE to be entertained. I DO NOT LIKE thinking about serious stuff all the time, talking "feelings" hardly at all. You know I just realized that maybe that's why Brent loves me so much, deep down maybe I'm a man. Maybe I look like a girl on the outside (and the inside I guess because I did bear my own children) but on the rings of my DNA I may be a male. I may be a he/she that I have bad dreams about. Why else would I like nasty jokes, laughing at them and then trying to remember them to tell my sisters? Why else would I hate romantic comedies and movies that center around love.? Don't get me wrong. I loved There's Something About Mary and the ones like that but Definitely, Maybe was too boring for me. I loved Knocked Up, mainly because it was hilarious and I can definitely see the sexy humor in Seth Rogan! My favorite movie since Brent took me to see it years ago has always been Predator. I think it's the greatest movie ever and I just don't think many girls/women (am I a woman or a girl or a lady or a he/she??? I'll ponder that one later too) think that about this particular movie. It has the elements of excitement and mystery and the gore (which I love, the more blood and guts and scarier) the more I love it. I loved Wrong Turn. It's about some psychotic killer in-breeders and it is hilarious. I actually think it's a black comedy -- which brings me to Fargo. I love that movie, although I love, absolutely adore Four Weddings and a Funeral and Muriel's Wedding. So, now I'm really confused. Is I a girl or isn't I? Do I have to stop getting my mani's and pedi's and cut off my long brown, blonde, black, coco highlighted with red strips underneath hair? Really, I usually have about four different colors highlighted when I do get my hair colored and highlighted but it's not all ugly and punk or anything. Really subtle yet with a modern flair. Except for the gray that seems to be poking out all over as we speak. Do I have to cut it off into a mullet and stop buying and wearing my beloved MAC make-up? I dare not speak of such things. Maybe I can have some "man" things in my life, like porn, scary/gore movies, and hating when strange people cry in front of me and still be a girly-girl? Maybe I'm so used to being around all the boys and men in my life that I forgot what it's like to "feel" and have the "emotions" of a woman. Whatever, it's all bullshit anyway. In the words of Popeye "I am what I am." Was it Popeye that said that or one of the Little Rascals? hmmm. Ciao.

Oh, and by the way. I did the Walgreen's and CVS thing with coupons from all the websites I've been reading and it seems that I didn't do too good of a job but I am definitely making headway. I spent an out of pocket total of $123.46 and yet my total savings from in-store sales and coupons (both store and manufacturer coupons) was $83.62. Not bad. No pictures or anything like that because I bought a lot of stuff I'm not too proud about the prices. Like $16.99 for my Neutrogena Body Oil - sesame scented. I love, love, love that stuff and I hope they're making more as we blog!

And.... I'm not a lesbian. My friend just told me it sounds like I'm trying to come out of the closet. Nah, just wondering if its nature vs. nurture.