What on Earth IS Uniqua?

Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers! You guys are so great! You know how you're always thanking me for making you laugh or making you feel better? Well, it works the other way around too! You guys always make me feel so much better! :)
We're all on the mend here. No more fevers and no one has thrown up since (knocking REALLY hard on wood) two nights ago.

Last night I dreamt that I was pregnant. I must have been delirious with fever.


Savannah came home from school today with a project for her health class. She's to keep track of all the bad words (stupid, idiot, shut up, buttmunch) she hears this weekend. After being home for all of two hours, her notebook was full. I'm so proud.

Because Austin was puking and fevery yesterday, he stayed home from school today. So Austin lay there on the couch watching cartoons with his little brother and sister. Austin is the kind of kid who cannot watch cartoons without pointing out all the little idiosyncrasies he sees.

"Why doesn't Little Bear wear clothes? His parents wear clothes. Why does he run around naked all day?"

"Austin, it's a show about talking animals. A little girls hangs out in the forest with an assortment of talking wildlife and that's ok, but the fact that Little Bear doesn't wear clothes bothers you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How can Spongebob go to the beach when he's already under water?"

"So the whole talking sponge, starfish, crab, and squid are ok? A squirrel who somehow built a dome under water and lives in the ocean is ok, but the fact that Spongebob goes to the beach under water is absurd?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where are Max and Ruby's parents? Why aren't they ever on the show?"

"For real? The whole 'talking bunnies who can take a bus to the store by themselves' is fine and dandy, but the fact that their parents are never shown is troubling to you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What on earth is Uniqua?!?!?!"

"OK. ya got me there. I have no idea what she's supposed to be! What on earth IS Uniqua?!"

Not for the Weak of Stomach

Yes, I know I haven't written in a couple days, but I have a good excuse. I'm dying of the flu. Ugh, fever, back hurts so much, headache, yuckness. Yesterday I slept until 10:00am, got up and then went right back to bed at 12:00. I slept until 5:00, had a piece of toast and some tea and then went back to bed at 8:00. Thank God Joe was able to stay home from work or the kids probably would've burned the house down because I couldn't move. That's actually the good part.

Yesterday morning, Clay threw up on the couch. This is the same couch that the kids broke this summer. I knew there was a reason I hadn't replaced it. Thankfully I was sleeping and Joe got to deal with that.

Then, after lunch yesterday, the school called to say that Austin was in the nurse's office with a migraine. He gets these now and then and nothing but Advil and sleep in a dark room will make them go away. Joe picked him up from school and before he was able to drive the 3 blocks home, Austin puked all over himself and Joe's truck. Delightful. It's not uncommon for Austin to throw up when he has a bad headache so we thought that's all that was. Notsomuch. He continued to get sick from both ends all night. That's still not the bad part, however.

Last night, Clay and Brooklyn fell asleep in bed with me. I was awakened around midnight to the sound of water running. Or so I thought. My foggy sleep-induced brain thought, "I hear water. I think it's water. Wait. I'm in bed. It can't be water. Oh no! Brooklyn's throwing up! I reached over in the dark to see if I could feel where Brooklyn was sleeping. My hand hit a pool of vomit. I came to my senses real quickly then! I realized that it wasn't Brooklyn, but Clay, who was throwing up. ON Brooklyn! Nothing says brotherly love like a giant puddle of barf all over you! If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I don't do barf, so naturally I freaked out, ran out of the room and called to my husband who had fallen asleep in Clay's bed.
Joe entered our bedroom to see Brooklyn lying on the bed covered in Clay's mess and just crying. The poor thing! Clay wasn't doing so hot either.

I would have left and gone to a hotel room right then and there if it wasn't for the fact that I had a fever and felt like crap. Instead I gave the kids a bath and can proudly say that I didn't throw up myself while doing it even though I gagged a dozen times and had to leave the bathroom twice. Joe had the nasty task of taking apart our bed and rinsing stuff out and washing it. In fact, he spent today getting his car detailed (I keep envisioning the B.B.O. Seinfeld episode and I fear his car will never smell the same). He also had to remove the pillow top on our bed and take it to a laundromat to try and get it clean. After 2 hours, it's still not dry. Maybe sometime next week it'll be dry.

This is all after Lexi and Clay had the flu last week - fevers, aches, colds.

Ugh, as I was writing this, I just got a call from the school. Looks like Jackson is the next victim. Sending Joe to pick him up... and perhaps some orange juice, and maybe some crackers, and a big vat of Lysol....

On the bright side (because there's always a bright side, right?) thank God this didn't hit me until after my speaking engagement at Fremd High School and after I finished my revisions and handed my manuscript to my editor!

Can I Take Your Order?

I spoke at a local high school today for their Writer's Week program. All week, students and actual honest-to-goodness real writers share their work and their insight with an audience of students and teachers. And then there was me. I stood up there, palms sweating so much I think they made a puddle, and I talked. I don't even remember all that I said. I guess it went ok. I mean, no one boo'd me or threw rotten produce at me, so that's good, right? My sister videotaped me speaking so that I could see what not to do the next time I speak anywhere, but I didn't have the software to transfer the video to my computer. I'll try to get a video on YouTube soon.

Last night I had a dream. It was actually more of a nightmare. I used to have this dream frequently back when I was a waitress, but I haven't experienced this dream since 1992. Except for a few variations, this is how the dream generally goes...
I'm working in a crowded restaurant and the hostess has seated me like 8 tables at once. Everyone is demanding something from me.
"Miss, can you take our order now?"
"Oh miss! What is your soup du jour?"
"Where are our drinks?"
"Can I get the bill?"
"Where is our food?"
"This isn't what I ordered."

I was running around in circles, trying to get everything for everyone, but I just couldn't keep up. I went to the bar to wait for my table's drinks, but the bartender forgot how to make a martini and had to look it up in his bartending manual. He couldn't look it up though because he didn't know how to spell "martini" and no one had a clue. I kept trying to tell him that it started with a letter "M", but he didn't believe me and meanwhile, my customers were getting angry. (At least I could spell in my dream.)

Instead of waiting for the bartender, I started adding up customer's bills, but I couldn't do the math. The calculator was broken and I couldn't figure out how to add the bills. I kept looking at the tickets, but they were written in another language and I just didn't understand the characters that were supposed to be numbers. The sommelier, who was Gary Cooper wearing a cowboy hat in my dream, came by and told me that I was stupid and not only did I have no clue about wine, but I couldn't do simple addition. I almost cried.

The next thing I knew, I was trying to ladle out bowls of soup, but instead of soup, the containers were filled with water. A gentleman, who had been seated at one of my tables, walked into the kitchen to get his own soup.

I decided that I had to run to the grocery store to buy soup for the restaurant, but while I was there, I realized that I was missing my bowtie. Suddenly I wasn't in the grocery store anymore, but I was at the mall trying to find a bowtie so I could go back to work and take care of my tables. I was running from store to store in the mall, freaking out that I had tables who were impatiently waiting for me and I couldn't go back until I found a stupid bowtie. (Yes, I know it makes perfect sense to leave your job in the middle of a shift to go shopping for formalwear.)

I awoke feeling frustrated, feeling like I needed to do something, feeling like everyone wanted something and I wasn't able to get a grip. I was dropping the ball and messing up everything. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. It's sometimes difficult to juggle everything. It's so hard to keep up with housework, to pay bills on time, do laundry, make doctor appointments, and make sure your kids have clothes they haven't outgrown. Then there's getting the kids' pictures taken, arranging birthday parties, planning out Sunday school lessons, going to the grocery store, making school lunches, and cooking dinner. And let's not forget making sure you spend enough time with the kids together and individually, helping them with their homework, reading to them, making sure they do their homework, and practice their instruments, ensuring they eat a balanced diet. And if you work outside the home, there are the meetings, the paperwork, the business trips, and the phone calls to deal with as well. It's a wonder we don't all wake up in cold sweats in the middle of the night after having the waitress dream!

After thinking about this for a while, I came up with these suggestions to help beat the stress of feeling like you just can't do everything and make everyone happy.

1. Delegate - This is where you tell the kids, "You WILL clean up your rooms, vacuum the family room, and set the table, or I will lose it and run away from home, leaving you to eat nothing but Fruit Loops and Kool-Aid fish for the rest of your lives.

2. Say no to non-essential things - "Hey Mom, can you go to the grocery store? There's nothing to eat in the house."
"Sure there is! Look in the couch cushions. Those Cheerios can hold you over for at least another week."
Or "Hey honey, are you going to do laundry sometime soon? I don't have any clean clothes."
"Eh, I've got your old boy scout uniform packed away in the attic. Just pull that out and wear it."

3. Make a list - I find this especially helpful. Make a list of everything you want to get done during the day, then cross off tasks as you complete them. If you do something that isn't on the list, write it down and then cross it off. Trust me, it'll make you feel like you're really accomplishing stuff. Make sure to add all ordinary things like brushing your teeth, going to the bathroom, and drinking a cup of coffee to the list.

4. Baby steps - Break tasks up into smaller chunks that are easier to handle. Like cleaning one room instead of worrying about cleaning the whole house at once. Or like eating just one piece of pizza at a time instead of trying to devour the entire thing at once.

4. Take a deep breath and relax. Remember what's important and things will fall into place. If they don't, just take some time out and escape the stress for a little while by going shopping for bowties at your local mall.

Sunday Sound Out

Now I bring home SMALL amounts of sand and it's in my carry-on where there's no question about what it is. Where are you headed next? (For the next SSO!) Chris

I wish I hadn't brought home that sand. Oh my gosh did it smell nasty when I got home and opened up that plastic bag! Blech!

And let's see here... I'm not sure where I'm going next. Possibly New Jersey; possibly the nuthouse; if I'm lucky, to bed.

I love Kelli's "I think of recipes as more of guides. This dish is kind of an amalgam of a couple different recipes." :D Hehe....Recipes are more like guidelines.....:) Liz's Random Thoughts http://lizsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/

LOL! Kelli's funny! And she tells the most amazing true stories about her life. Every time I think I've heard it all, she tops it with another wild tale. She has lived through some really incredible stuff in her short years. She needs to finish her book!!! (Hear that, Kelli?) Oh and she did post that recipe on her blog here.

Ahhh, that was SOO funny! Thanks for that. Did you make any of those up? Brilliant! 2OutsideTheBox http://2outsidethebox.blogspot.com/

(This was about the phrases people googled which brought them to my blog.) Yes, yes I sat around one day and thought to myself, "what would be a really funny thing for someone to google in order to find my blog? How about playland pee pants! Yeah, that's the ticket!" LOL - I couldn't make that stuff up if I tried!

A whole bunch of you asked me how I found the keywords that people googled which brought them to my blog.

I use StatCounter.com. I really don't know much about this kind of stuff. I think I just googled stat counters and this popped up. There may be better ones out there. I really don't know. Anyway, I created a free account at statcounter.com. I can login there and see how many impressions my blog gets on any given day, how many of those hits are from new people and how many are repeat visits, what city/state/country they came from, what sites they came from, what keywords brought them to my site, and more. It's kind of fun checking out all that info.

P.S. Have you ever thought of becoming a surrogate mother? 2/19 is the 1 yr birthday of the twins I delivered last year via surrogacy. Rayven http://www.stay-a-stay-at-home-mom.com/

OK, this may sound strange coming from a woman who has given birth to six kids, but I hate being pregnant. I find nothing fun about heartburn, sciatica, weight gain, aching hips and back, bleeding gums, stuffy nose, and giving myself shots in the abdomen twice a day. I think I'll pass.

The question is, what did people do for butt-cleaning, gel-like substance, pee-smelling hamper related questions before Google???Occidental Girl http://the-occidental-tourist.blogspot.com/
4-1-1?

Speaking of moon, do your kids act out worse when there's a full moon? Sherry http://strideright1988.blogspot.com/

Nope, they're pretty much crazy every day.

Runs in the family, huh?? Your parents made you sleep on a shelf, & you make your kids sleep on a shelf! :-) Kim

Oh my gosh how do you remember that post??? That was from a long time ago! I'm impressed.

Our possums look nothing like those lol roseys madhouse http://roseysmadhouse.blogspot.com/

You're in Australia, right? According to my son (the missing Kratt brother) possums live in Australia and Opossums are the only marsupial to live in North America. I found these pictures of the differences...

Opossum from North America - looks like a giant rat

Possum - prevalent in Australia - looks more like a bush baby.

This concludes our zoology lesson. Spin you later!

I wanna know, do which kid get along better with which one? Seems like Clay and Brooklyn are partners in crime :) Corrina

Hmmm, it depends on the day, or hour, or minute sometimes.

OH my GOSH! We had a lunar eclipse here too! We must be looking at the same moon! Weird. *lol* Thanks for making me laugh by saying that you had one there. Erica

Ha ha ha. Although I say stupid things on a regular (daily) basis, I wasn't totally dumb about this one. People in Australia couldn't see this eclipse and folks in parts of Asia and Alaska could only see a little bit of it.

Hi Dawn, I have a few question's for Sunday sound out. #1. How long have you and Joe been married?

Too long

#2. Did he propose to you in a unique way?

I don't remember.

#3. What time do you put the kiddo's to bed on school nights and weekends? Kristine in Michigan.

It doesn't matter when I send them to bed, it always takes another 2-3 hours before they actually fall asleep.

What did you do with the critter? Lynne's Somewhat Invented Life http://lynnewsnyder.blogspot.com/

Possum Stew

one recently caught possum, skinned and cut into small pieces (you can use roadkill scraped off the pavement but be sure it's fresh. If it's covered in flies, don't use it for this recipe. It would be better suited for Possum Hash)

4 medium taters, cubed

3 carrots, sliced thickly

2 ribs celery, sliced thickly

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cans stewed tomaters

4 slices bacon

salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon slices in heavy, deep pot until crisp. Remove bacon and crumble. In reserved bacon drippings, cook onion and garlic until tender. Add tateres, carrots, celery, cans of tomaters, salt, pepper, bacon, and possum meat. Bring to boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer on low for 4 hours. Enjoy with a nice jug o' moonshine.

OK a bunch of you guys asked me how I did the cakes. Here goes...

I usually use this recipe for buttercream. I don't know if it's that good or not because I hate frosting. Other people tell me that they like it though.

2 1/2 pounds of 10X powdered sugar

3/4 - 1 c. water

1 t. salt

1 t. clear vanilla

1 t. almond extract

1/2 t. butter flavor

1 c. shortening

(You can use butter in place of the shortening; just omit the butter flavor. Or you can use half and half, butter and shortening. This will not produce a white-white frosting however. Use the shortening if you want pure white like for wedding cakes.)

I dump 2 # sugar in my mixer. Then I add the salt, vanilla, butter, and almond flavorings. I put 3/4 c. water in and blend on low until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the shortening. Blend until mixed well. Add the last half pound of sugar and blend some more. If the icing is too thick, add a little cold water a T. at a time until it's the desired consistency. Don't overmix or mix on high. You don't want to beat a lot of air into it and you definitely don't want a cloud of powdered sugar to coat every surface in your house.

A crumb coat is a thin layer of buttercream (or you can use other things like piping gel or apricot glaze, but I use buttercream) that you apply to your cake. Any crumbs that come up get stuck in this thin coat of buttercream creating a smooth, crumb-free surface for icing. After letting the crumb coat dry, carefully ice the cake with enough buttercream that you don't scrape down to the surface of the crumb coat thus tearing up bits of cake. I don't think that makes a lot of sense. It's a lot easier to show someone than it is to explain it in writing.

I make my icing smooth by letting it set up just a bit, then using a smooth, untextured paper towel, I gently rub over the surface of the cake. Again, hard to explain in writing. The next time I make a cake, I'll try to remember to video tape it.

How in the world do you find the time for such cake masterpieces? Have you figured out how to add hours to the day?? haggardmom http://haggardmom.blogspot.com/

No and I've been working around the clock to try and figure that out! If anyone here knows how to add hours to your day, please, please, please (I'm begging you!) let me know!

Wow!!! Excellent job! Did you take a class? I can't even get icing on the cake without tearing the cake up. Angie

I did actually. I took 2 continuing education cake decorating classes at a local college for fun about 13 years ago.

Is there anything you CAN'T do?!?!!! fourmonsters

Let's see... I can't finish everything I need to do on a daily basis. I can't stop procrastinating. I can't lose more than 3 pounds apparently. I can't sing. Seriously. It's scary how bad I sound. I'd make a Youtube video of me "singing", but I had to promise the US government that I would never sing in public. Part of some noise pollution bill or something...

Here's MY question...did your red frosting taste bitter? If not, how did you manage to get Red Red (and not pink) without the taste being just awful? Stretch Mark Mama http://stretchmarkmama.blogspot.com/

Nope. I used no-taste red coloring from Wilton. Totally not Feingold approved, btw.

Question for the Sunday Shout Out: What do you do when all the kids want a "corner piece" of cake? (I try to keep some extra buttercream in the fridge so that all of my pieces are corner pieces...lol!) Kim W.

Actually, they don't all ask for a corner piece, but if they did I'd probably say something nice and comforting like, "Eat it and like it! There are starving people around the world who would be thankful for any piece of cake!"

Do you make cakes for people outside your family? You could have a whole (very profitable) side business going!! BarbJ

I used to, but it was really not profitable. I takes a loooong time to do each cake and at the prices I charged, it was so not worth it. I began to dislike making cakes when I was doing them every weekend. Plus, people tend to frown when they pick up their cake and there are little kid fingerprints in it.

I'm with the cupcake makers - and my poor Jib had to have her cupcakes decorated by her big sisters, because I waited til the last minute and didn't have time! I'm a terrible mother... Julie http://juliekirbyblog.blogspot.com/

You're not at all a terrible mother! I just really enjoy making cakes for my kids, but let me tell ya, there have been many a time when I had Savannah slap some frosting and sprinkles on cupcakes because I just didn't have the time or energy to make a cake for some function.

OMG, you are one talented woman! You rock! Happy Birthday kids! Who is gong to make your cake for your birthday? Sue http://ascapecodturns.blogspot.com/

Ewww, no cake here. I'd prefer a birthday tirimisu or a birthday cookie or a birthday margarita thankyouverymuch.

YOU'RE MY HERO. (remember that line from Ferris Bueller?) Margee

But of course!!! LOL!

For Sunday:What are (in your pictured opinion) the best birthday cakes you have made? And do you like to eat/work with fondant? Chelf http://chelfspace.blogspot.com/

I've used fondant in the past, but I'm not real proficient at it. I think fondant, when done well, looks awesome and you can do so much with it, but I don't really care to eat it. Wilton makes a premade, packaged fondant that tastes like glue. My own recipe is a million times better, but I still find it strange to eat a cake topped with something chewy.

I don't know that these are my best cakes, but here are a few pictures I found...

Hmmm you really can't see the details of the lace and the morning glories. Oh well.

Here's the other Nemo cake I was talking about.

Sorry it's crooked. This one was one of the best. It had a removable corsage of gum paste flowers and ribbon. It was covered in fondant and had ribbon insertion, and delicate string work (that's hard to see in the picture).

I'm ready!

A wedding cake - hard to see detail

A princess castle cake I made for Savannah a long time ago. Ugh, I wish the detail showed up better. Oh well. You get the general idea.

Just monkeyin' around

A birdhouse with chocolate dough roses

A cake for a benefit at the Arlington Park race track

Cheeseburger in paradise...

Let Them Eat Cake

We had a joint birthday for Clay and Brooklyn tonight. I spent the whole day making cakes.

Clay's cake - Here I have 2 layers. I have just finished trimming and shaping it and am starting to crumb coat it. Can you tell what it is?

Here I've got it shaped the way I want it, I've put a crumb coat over the whole thing and I've got the red icing on and smoothed out.

I've added the white and blue windows.

Here I've got almost all the decorations on.

Ta da! Lightning McQueen. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! And yes, I do know that Lightning McQueen is number 95, but I put a 4 on him because Clay is 4 and I'm just so clever that way.

Think Duff would hire me at Charm City Cakes? ;)

Top view

Yes, I know - it's more pink than red. I forgot to make the frosting up ahead of time.

Side view

Back view

After working on Lightning McQueen all day, I realized I only had an hour left to do Brooklyn's Nemo cake! I slapped this thing together and Nemo ended up looking stupid. I've done much better Nemo cakes before. I was disappointed with this one.

My two year old birthday girl on the merry-go-round

My four year old birthday boy on the merry-go-round

My mom with my totally cute nephew, Dominick

Scattered Pictures

You asked if all my kids shared bedrooms. Nope, I just put them on the book and game shelves to sleep.


Ni-night kids


Hibiscus blooming in February! The picture turned out pretty light, but it was absolutely beautiful in real life.

The night I got home from Texas, I tucked Clay into bed and walked out into the family room. Immediately, he started yelling, "There's something outside my window! I'm scared. I don't wanna go to bed." Used to his stalling, I, of course, replied, "There's nothing outside your window, now go to sleep." He seemed pretty freaked out though, so Savannah took pity on him and went into his room to settle him down. A second later, she yelled, "There's something outside his window! There's an animal!" We all rushed back to take a look. This is what we found sitting on the window sill...

An opossum! It's not like we live in the woods or anything. I have no idea where this little guy came from, but he posed nicely for his picture, didn't he?


Last night we had a full lunar eclipse here. Austin and Savannah went out and took pictures as the eclipse progressed. Cool, huh?





OK I'm off to make birthday cakes...

It's A.....

OK, I've had like a thousand people email me asking me if I was ever going to reveal what the gross food was. I guess you missed the part where I wrote, "I'll announce the winner on Friday." You guys pay attention like my kids do! ;)
Since I've already gotten a correct guess though, I'll go ahead and tell you the winner tonight.

But first....
I was really amazed at the number of comments I deleted from people who wrote, in a really nasty way, that I was a terrible mother who never changed her kids' sheets. They assumed the food had been there without a container for months. Now these comments didn't really bother me because I knew the whole story behind the food whereas they did not. It just surprised me at how many self righteous people out there feel the need to judge someone else. I don't share stuff on my blog so that people can rip me apart. My readers don't share their comments to be judged and put down either. I share stuff to let everyone know that they aren't alone. I tell it like it is. I love my family, but I'm not perfect. I don't pretend to be. I like to share the crazy things my family does and I hope it helps you to find the humor in the everyday, crazy things in your life. I just want to tell my readers that it's ok if you have laundry piled to the ceiling. It's ok if you gotten nothing done in your house because you just spent the whole day holding your sick, feverish toddler. And it's ok if you've somehow managed to miss a chunk of lasagna in your child's bed for a couple weeks! ;) LOL

Just keep in mind, when you're reading a blog (be it mine or anyone else's) that as a reader, you're only getting a glimpse into the writer's life. The writer doesn't share every detail of every story because, let's face it, that would be extraordinarily boring. Reading blogs is fun. It isn't necessarily a study in nonfiction. Stories are not necessarily the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. They are a mere glimpse into the writer's life and nothing more.

So, come on everyone. Let's be nice and support each other. Big hug!

...Or you'll be grounded until next month! Because I said so!

OK, the gross food was a turkey and cheese sandwich on wheat bread. Joe and I believe it was only setting out for four days. The reason it got so nasty so quickly is because of the diet we have Jackson on - no artificial additives or preservatives. Have you ever made fresh bread? You know how fast it goes bad, as opposed to the store bought varieties made with more chemicals than flour. Jackson brought his uneaten lunch home from school and carried the sandwich, which was sealed in Tupperware, to his room so he could have a snack after school. Knowing Jackson, he got side tracked, forgot about his sandwich and left it there for a few days.

Here's the whole picture of the "sandwich" in the container...



Congratulations to morninglight mama who was the first person to guess turkey and cheese on wheat. She'll be getting some new Tupperware containers courtesy of Barb at Tupperware! Thank you Barb! Check out her website to order your own containers or to book a party so you can get some free Tuppergoodies!

Oh yeah, if you like giveaways, check out the contest Angie's got up on Mamaslike right now.

Thank you to all the people who voted for my blog in the Blogger's Choice Awards. My blog is currently in first place for Best Humor Blog and Best Parenting Blog. It's in third place for Best Blog of All Time and Hottest Mommy Blogger. Thank you!!! I'm so flattered!

Oh yeah! I cannot believe the amount of folks who googled the terms I wrote about today! It seems like everyone must know where "playland pee pants" takes them! It's cracking me up!

How Did You Get Here???

I like to check my stat counter now and then. It's fun to see what keywords people use in their Google searches that bring them to my blog. Here are a few from this week...

playland pee pants
It's the new Chuck E. Cheese.

my kids are so bad

Join the club.

gaterdad
Upon waking and seeing his reflection in the mirror,

Mark googled this.

dime a dozen for big butt

Twelve big butts for 10 cents! Get 'em while they're fresh!

if you never wanted to talk you should have said so

Wouldn't you have to talk to do that?

hamper wet clothes odor urine

the answer is - your kid peed in his pants and threw them in the hamper.

do you work at a grocery store? no. then why are you checking me out?

Lame pick-up lines for $400, Alex.

my son had a diaper full of clear gel like pellets

You might want to stop feeding him clear gel like pellets.

best way to clean in butt

For real? Someone had to google this?

ok so who has the best mom site

I do, of course. ;)

(The next three must have been done by the same person!)
if i touch the plastic covering right above the styrofoam piece, the styrofoam piece falls and may dance some more

why did you go you could have let me no so now im all along what will it take to make you come back home

you know who i said i do she said you do i said do but i really don't because it's you that i really want.

Friends don't let friends google drunk.

how to cram feet into shoes

Are there really websites out there devoted to this?

popsicle stick hamster coffin

Yes, I think Martha Stewart had a special on popsicle stick furniture recently.

the song that gets on your nerves

I bet this is what came up...http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/2007/11/ultimate-diet.html

spaz purse

Forget Coach, Fendi, Vuitton, and Prada. The Spaz purse is all the rage this season.

hair in your butt crack

Naturally my blog came up on this search - probably because of all the time I devote to talking about the topic of hair in your butt crack.

eat butt paste

I frequently post recipes for this ingredient.

photos of horses butt hole

I don't know why, but I feel a little sorry for the person who googled this.

my mom said to pick the very best one and this is it

Interesting way to pick a website. I wonder if she "eeny meeny miny mo"ed her husband.

can blogger see who has looked at blog

Yes. We can see who typed in stupid search phrases on Google too.

i wish there a way to go into the world of pokemon

You know, he needs something to do now that he's reached the highest level in Dungeons and Dragons.

stomach srapels

I've heard that these are even safer than staples.

my cat is dragging his butt hold across the carpet

Is anyone else noticing a disturbing amount of butt references?

i put honey on my infants pacifier continuously 10 days, and just read that honey is not good for them, what can I do?

First off, you can type 90% less words in your search.

inconce

My blog came up in this search??? What the crap is an inconce???

look what i can do blogspot



how do you decide to have 6 kids
Not by reading my blog, that's for sure!

why does cheese ruin your voice
If the person who googled this saw my pictures from last night and thought they were of cheese, I can understand their belief that cheese could indeed ruin one's voice.

lightbulb shaped bottles
Now there's a bright idea.

i resign
Me too!

Gross Food Find Contest

Inspired by my friend, Michelle over at My Semblance of Sanity, I'm doing a Gross Food Find Contest. You know, since I can't manage to go a week without finding some disgusting food item left somewhere in my house.
Joe found this in Jackson's bed while helping him look for his tin whistle. Leave me a comment with your guess as to what on earth it is and the first person with the most correct answer will win. I'll annouce the winner on Friday. The prize will be a set of new Tupperware containers to help keep your food fresh even when it's been in a backpack for a month. :)




Mmmmmm, now that's good eats!

Sunday Sound Out

Home sweet home. Thank you Kelli and Dennis for your awesome hospitality! I had a wonderful time in Texas, but it's nice to be home. Savannah and Lexi got sick while I was gone and they have fevers. :( Although I was only gone 2 1/2 days, and Joe was perfectly willing and capable of caring for our kids, I felt guilty about leaving. I honestly think it's a good idea to get away for a little bit now and then whether it's to a movie with your girlfriends, or dinner with your sister, an overnight retreat, or a short weekend away. If you can swing it (and believe me I know it's not always possible to find the time, money, or child care to do this) I really recommend it. There's just something about escaping for a little bit that can clear your mind, refresh and renew your spirit, and make you really appreciate what you have. That said, I have to admit that I felt guilty leaving. Why is that? Why do moms feel so bad if we take a little time for ourselves?

Anyway, I got to the tiny airport in Corpus Christi about 45 minutes before my flight. No problem because the airport is small and there were only 4 other people in the whole place. So, I go through security where the guy tells me that my driver's license is going to expire in a couple weeks. Yes, I'm aware of that, thank you. As my belongings are going through the xray machine, the TSA guy asks me, "Do you have any liquids with you?"
I answered, "Yes, right here in my quart size, zippered bag, duh." He didn't buy it and made me open my suitcase so he could rummage through it. I was a little put out, thinking that the guy was wasting my time and I needed to get to my gate. I know the drill. I had my little baggie of 3 ounce bottles separated from the rest of my belongings.

He looked through my clothes. That's fun - having a stranger look at your underwear in the middle of the airport. He pulled out a gallon size ziplock bag holding my Sonic cup filled with sand and seashells. He gave it a strange disgusted look and put it back. And then he pulled out the little bottles of hot sauce. Oops. I had totally forgotten that I'd bought them! I felt like an idiot. Everyone behind me in line pointed at me and implied I was a terrorist for trying to smuggle hot sauce into Illinois. Ugh.

The TSA guy escorted me out of the security area so I could go check my bag where the lady at the counter helpfully informed me that my driver's license was going to expire soon. Then I got to walk through the whole security process again. I walked through sheepishly, head hung low, for forgetting about the hot sauce and the TSA guy reminded once again (in case I'd forgotten in the last 5 minutes) to take care of my driver's license when I got home.

On the second leg of my trip, from Houston to Chicago, I got to sit next to Coughy McCougherton. Oh man, did that gross me out! Want to take bets on how many days until I get sick?

Oh yeah! I joked that I'd probably have sand and hot sauce all over my luggage when I got home. Well, the hot sauce was ok, but the sand....notsomuch.

OK, here are this week's questions...

Dawn, I just LOVE that you do this. Are you always this quick on your toes? - BoufMom9
Oh yes, I'm especially quick on my toes trying to catch up to my friend Gin when we go "walking".

When you were pregnant with your kids did you ever have morning sickness? We want to have more kids but I had morning sickness so bad when I was pregnant with my first that im not sure how it will affect how I take care of my son. Any tricks you had? - Angela
I had morning sickness to some degree with all six of mine. Things that helped me were eating sour candies, drinking ginger tea, and eating almost constantly (which may have had something to do with now lovely physique.)

Seriously - how did you plan the kids that way? I've seen you post it twice already, the first time I thought it was a joke, then you said it again and I am now guessing you are serious. - Anonymous
Well, if you eat red M&Ms while you're pregnant, it will be a girl and if you eat blue ones, it will be a boy. (I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist.)

Oh, and a SSO question for next week, how long do you actually follow through with grounding your kids? You say your oldest is grounded until the second coming. My mom could efficiently ground me for a whole month before it wore off (gradually), but I have a hard time grounding my kids for more than a week. (Is it just circumstances or am I really that weak? LOL!) - Anonymous
Good question. It's really important to say what you mean and mean what you say. Although on my blog I said that Austin was grounded until the second coming, I actually told him that he was grounded from TV and going out and doing anything fun until he was caught up with all his missing assignments. I stuck to that one. He's just now gotten his TV privileges back. I also told him that he was grounded from video games until March. I've stuck to that one also. I know it can be hard sometimes, but I think it's very important to follow through with what you say, not only when you dish out a punishment, but if you make a promise to do something also. Your kids won't respect you or trust you if you aren't true to your word. Like I said, it's easier said than done... This is why it's imperative that you think first before laying down the law. For example, it may not be a the best idea to tell your 3 year old that he can't watch tv for the next year. Really, who is that punishing? You obviously won't be able to stick to that without landing in a nut house. Try to make the punishment fit the crime, and make it age appropriate. Yes, I took video games away for a long time, but I give my 2 oldest kids a fair amount of freedom when it comes to school work. They've always brought home As, with the occasional B. They've always completed their assignments, therefore, I don't hound them about homework. Austin slipped up and blew it. He showed me that he'd made poor decisions with his time management and chose TV, video games, and goofing off instead of completing his work. Because of this, I limited his options, so he would have no choice but to do his work if he wanted the freedom to play games. When he proves that his brain is functioning once more, I'll give him more freedom to make his own choices with his time again.

Are you kidding me? You were able to answer all those without thinking? I hurt my brain on the first one! (Thinking, "Back seat? The one directly behind the driver? Or the one all the way in the back? Good lord, I haven't climbed back there since the fam came back from their Thanksgiving exile -- er, trip! I wonder if that's where that haunting smell is coming from. Or -- wait, this couldn't be asking about all four rows of back seats, could it?")Thanks for the invite to take the night off from thinking, Dawn. Yeah, thanks a lot. - Kalynne
You think too much, Kalynne! :)

Your blog has become daily humor therapy for me! Just wondering - do you receive more or less e-mail now then you did during the Pokemon auction? - Janelle
I get less now than during the auction, but I get more insane ones now.

okay, so aquamarine *reminds me of a movie my daughter watched on Disney...I think* is your birthstone...which means March...when is your birthday and what do you want? - Bre's Mama
You are right! And I'd like a house someplace that doesn't get snow. :D

Question: Do the normal folks in your life know of your online success? (Such as your pastor, doctor, grocery store check out girl) Or, is is still safe for you to go outside the house without paparazzi following you? - Angela
LOL! My pastor, the pediatricians, and a couple check out girls do actually know about my blog, but it's no big deal. I'm just a regular ole mom who goes to the grocery store in jeans, and t-shirts smeared with peanut butter, her hair stuck up in a ponytail, a bunch of kids hanging on me.

Have fun! Of course you found the glasses! Are you going to see Mimi? - Grandmother Goddess of the Garden
I would LOVE to see Mimi in person, but no I didn't get to her neck of the woods while I was in Texas. I think we may be meeting up soon though... :)

Do you think you can get that recipe for the curry dish? I love Thai and curry and it sounds wonderful. - Deb in OPKS
LOL! I told Kelli that I had readers who wanted her recipe and she said, "I think of recipes as more of guides. This dish is kind of an amalgam of a couple different recipes." She promised to try to remember how she made it and post it on her blog though.

You flew into Houston and drove to Corpus? - rusrhi
I flew into Houston and then walked 8 and a half miles, took a bus, a tram, and a helicopter to get to the other side of the airport so I could change planes just for fun and fly on to Corpus Christi.

Actually Joey got stage fright, you needed Chandler to step up and do the job. Because, yeah, He stepped up! But really, we should never, ever talk about it. - Julie Oh my gosh! My face is red! I can't believe I messed up my Friends trivia! You're right! I kept picturing Joey saying, "That's right! I stepped up to the plate!" but I forgot that he got stage fright! LOL!!!

Do you find yourself saying dumb stuff, out of habit, as if the kids were there? "Oh, look, an airplane!" "See the horsie?" - Suburban Correspondent
I totally do that! This weekend, I also grabbed for a diaper wipe in my camera case and it took me a second to realize that I didn't have the diaper bag with me!

Pardon my ignorance (I've never been to a beach and apparently skipped biology class), but what happens when you touch a jellyfish? And are those jellyfish alive or not so much alive? - Raising Country Kids
According to Kelli, they were still alive, waiting for the tide to carry them back out to sea, but I believe you can still get stung if you touch them even when they're dead.

Check back here tomorrow for my great contest!

The Prairie Sky is Wide and High

Kelli and I are so brave, so confident and secure about ourselves that we can show you these pictures. Now brace yourselves. They aren't pretty. You've been warned.

Before Texas humidity...

After Texas humidity!!!

Note the Texas oil well look on our faces. So pretty and shiny!

So, that's why the folks from Dallas looked like this!

Kelli and her husband Dennis, drove me to Padre Island where we walked along the beach and collected shells. I kept seeing these strange blue balloon-like things all over the beach and had no idea what they were. They were odd looking. I bent down to pick one up when Kelli told me, "Ummm, you might not want to do that. Those are jellyfish." Duh! The beach was covered with jellyfish! It was really neat. The only jellyfish I've seen have been on SpongeBob and they're always pink. How should I know those blue balloons were jellyfish? Amazingly I didn't step on any (because of course, I was barefoot). It's a good thing too because Joey Tribiani wasn't around to pee on my foot.

A gift shop that looks like a cool sand castle


Another gift shop - you walk through the mouth to get inside. I guess you get vomited out when you leave.

the beach

jellyfish

bird

a little crab

Remember the black hole at my house? The one where all my lost items go? Well, I today I learned where the black hole empties out! At the beach on Padre Island!

a lightbulb covered in barnacles

looks like another jellyfish, but it's a balloon


a big drum of something or other

motor oil

Now I'm told that the beach is lovely during the summer and it isn't littered with garbage that's washed ashore. It's really sad to see all the junk that ends up in the ocean.


Check out the road! It looks like it goes up and then just drops off the face of the earth!

Check it out! They have Jack in the Box too! We don't have those anymore. Oh and I apologize to the many angry readers who pointed out my horrible, grievous error. I'm sorry for saying we don't have Sonics in IL. Apparently southern IL does. Who knew?

Oh yeah - note the wind in the palm tree!

The Stars at Night - Are Big and Bright...

So, I'm here in Corpus Christi. I didn't even come close to missing my flight this time. I'm getting good at this travel stuff. ;)

When flying into Houston, I saw out the window what looked like my backyard. It looked like mounds of snow. Everywhere for as far as you could see - snow. However, it wasn't snow. It was clouds. Lots and lots of clouds. As Murphy would have it, I left a very bright sunshiny Chicago this morning to travel to the land of cloud-cover. Oh well, at least it's warm. Humid actually. My hair has grown to four times its regular size. I'm going to need a cowboy hat to contain it soon.

Actually I don't think we flew into Houston at all. I'm pretty sure we landed in Oklahoma and then we taxied to Dallas and then I walked through corridors until I got to Houston. Man, that airport is spread out!

Kelli met me at the airport and took me on a tour of Corpus Christi and drove me to the ocean!


a seagull


a pelican


the USS Lexington in the OCEAN!!!


A huge array of goodies from my most gracious hostess, Kelli


Just like in the fancy hotels!


OK, maybe it doesn't look so wonderful in this picture, but this was the fabulous dinner Kelli made. Mmmm thai stir fry with coconut milk, curry, pineapple, chicken, broccoli, peanuts...yum!


Cheesecake. Me likes Texas!

Oh yeah! I even got to stop at Sonic! I always see commercials for Sonic at home and it sounds so good. We don't have any in IL. Strawberry limeade! De-Lish!

Dawn

Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

My husband and I have never made a big deal out of Valentine's Day. As long as he acknowledges it in some way, I'm happy. This year he got me a dozen pink roses that are very pretty. There was also a heart shaped balloon in the vase. That is, until Clayton got ahold of it and popped it. He also got me a card that reads-

"Some days are so busy that all I wish for is one quiet moment...
...just to tell you how much I love being married to you.
Happy Valentine's Day to My Wonderful Husband."

To his credit,Joe did notice that the card said "husband", and had crossed it out and written "wife" in its place. I had to laugh when I saw it anyway. He explained that he couldn't find a card that said what he wanted it to say so he picked up this one. Of course, there's a much bigger selection from which to choose when you don't wait until the day OF or the day BEFORE an occasion. That said, I have no room to talk this year as I completely forgot to get him a card at all. I know, I know. I did, however, get him a big box of his favorite candy so I'm not a complete loser.

And I'm sure no one will be surprised to learn that I found Lexington's glasses this morning. You know, because I gave up and ordered her a new pair yesterday. It only makes sense that I'd find them today. They were on top of a box under the girls' bunks. I hadn't actually looked there because my daughters assured me that they'd searched under the beds. My bad.

I'm going to Texas to visit a very awesome person - my web designer and friend, Kelli. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to a little sunshine! I'm not sure if I'll be able to connect to the internet while I'm there, but I'll try to update. If not, see ya Monday! I'm off to pack now. Have a great weekend!

The Big Black Hole

The black hole in my house is expanding. Not only have I lost my memory card, but Lexi's glasses, and Jackson's tin whistle are missing now. Add those to at least 10 socks, a little green button I've been meaning to sew on Brooklyn's sweater, Jackson's homework, the no spill valve for the yellow sippy cup, Savannah's old Hit Clips toy, the Ariel costume, half a package of cookies, one of Lexi's pink earrings, a flower charm from my anklet, the lid for our ice cream maker, about a dozen Tupperware snack cups, 3 tubes of chapstick, a comb, 2 toy horses, the remote control to the Sesame Street car track, and 3/4 of my memory.

Seriously, where does this stuff go? It's not like my house is so big that stuff could get lost in one of many rooms. Why can't I find these things? I'd love for someone to come up with small, inexpensive homing devices that could be placed on your items. I would certainly put one on my car keys, my camera, Lexi's glasses (you know, the new pair I just ordered for her grr), the comb (that thing always disappears!), my cell phone, and my shoes because for some reason Clay and Brooklyn like to walk around the house in them, leaving them in strange places.

How does stuff like this disappear? I'm left wondering if Brooklyn throws things in the garbage without my knowing. Or maybe Clay plays with things and then leaves them in odd places. Maybe Austin takes them and hides them in his room for kicks. Perhaps burglars break into my house and decide they just can't live without a tin whistle or a green button. Where does everything go???

P.S. I may know where the half a package of cookies went. Shhhh.

60 Things

I'm busy working on revising my book these days. I've written a million words today and I just can't think of anything else to say so I'm dragging out this questionnaire that my friend Debra sent me recently. If you're a blogger and can't think of anything to write, feel free to copy these questions and answer them on your blog. (It's always nice to have a night off from thinking.)

60 Things You Possibly Didn't Know About Me

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
bags from Aldi and Trader Joes, de-icer, CDs, a wooden tic tac toe game, a couple mittens, fries, papers, misc. spoiled food, crumbs, half full bottles of water, a Leapster cartridge, a bagel, fruit roll-up wrapper, gum, toys, an overdue library book, and a Cinderella shoe. There's probably more, but I'm not going outside in this weather to look! It's a million below out there!

2. When was the last time you threw up
I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might jinx me.

3. What's your favorite curse word?
Does crap count?

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today?
Brooklyn, Clayton, Lexington, Jackson, Savannah, and Austin. (yeah, yeah, remember - I'm not mathy)

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
yelling at Jackson to get dressed

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
putting a Curious George band aid on Clay's foot because it was "blooding". LOL

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?
Am I psychic now?

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
Nope

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?
JUST GO TO BED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
yes

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
stupid water

12. What are you wearing right now?
a three piece suit

13. What was the last thing you ate?
a bowl of twigs and bark cereal

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
Yes, 2 t-shirts

15. When was the last time you ran?
high school

16. What's the last sporting event you watched?
??? the kids' baseball games last summer?

18. Who is the last person you emailed?
my loopy friends

19. Ever go camping?
unfortunately yes

20. Do you have a tan?
ROFL!!!

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
What's soda?

25. What did your last IM say?
ni-night

26. Are you someone's best friend?
I hope so

27. What are you doing tomorrow?
Ugh, Lexi lost her glasses sometime between Friday night and Saturday night. I have no idea where they are. We've all been tearing apart the house since Saturday night. What the heck?! Where could they have gone? For crying out loud. @@ Anyway, I have to go order a new pair for her before I leave. She can't see without them and I can't wait until we maybe find them. Murphy's Law says they'll turn up the day I pick up the new ones. Oh well, she'll have a back up pair then, I guess. So, I have to go order new glasses for her and I have to go to the grocery store and the bank. I want to clean some and make a couple meals to throw in the freezer for when I'm gone, and I have to pack.

28. Where is your mom right now?
She doesn't have a curfew so I'm not sure. Ummm at her house?

29. Look to your left, what do you see?
a wall

30. What color is your watch?
don't wear one

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia ?
kangaroos

32. Would you consider plastic surgery?
Yep

33. What is your birthstone?
aquamarine

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit thedrive thru?
I drag six kids into the restaurant.

35.How many kids do you want?
18 Just kidding!

36. Do you have a dog?
nope

37. Last person you talked to on the phone?
Joe. He was calling to say, "I know I said I'd be home four hours ago, but I'm just leaving work now."

38. Have you met anyone famous?
Bozo?

39. Any plans today?
I'm thinking about calling it quits on the book tonight, having some chai tea and watching Raymond.

40. How many states have you lived in?
one. Well, I was living while I visited other states though, so I guess I've technically lived in several states.

41. Ever go to college?
nope

42. Where are you right now?
here

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
overwhelming email

44. Last song listened to?
red, red wine UB40

46. Are you allergic to anything?
cleaning

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Crocs

48. Are you jealous of anyone?
I don't think so

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
LOL! They shouldn't be if they are!

51. What time is it?
see number 30

52. Do any of your friends have children?
nope

53. Do you eat healthy?
yes. I eat healthy IN ADDITION to eating crap.

54. What do you usually do during the day?
damage control

55. Do you hate anyone right now?
I don't think so

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
No. I've taken to answering the phone, "Hey Good Lookin'!"

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
29

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
yes, but it was so long ago, they only had 5 flags

60. How did you get one of your scars?
operation from when I had pyloricstenosis as a baby

Monday? Sound Out

Here is the updated map. There are over 260 now! WOW! Thank you to everyone who has sent us a card or letter!!! You can click on the map and zoom in or out. Click on actual markers to see the names of the people living there.


View Larger Map

Anyway, (This is a SSO question) I know that mom's are "supposedly" not allowed to get sick, but what do you do when your hubby get's sick. I know I can't stand it, he's such a whiner at my place, LOL!. - Jenny
I walk around in a passive aggressive snit, feeling angry that he can call in sick to work, lie down, and do nothing but sleep until he feels better. Is there any other way to act?

I just thought of a question for NEXT Sunday... What is the age difference between Austin and Savannah? What is the height distance between those two? Is there any competition between Austin and Savannah with regards to their height? -Lisa
Austin and Savannah are 18 months apart and they're nearly the same height. Savannah's catching up to Austin in height, but I'm sure Austin will shoot up soon. They've both almost passed my whopping 5'4".

Hey girl!
You need to post that people can vote for your blog nominations! I thought those were awards you ALREADY won...you could have tens of thousands of votes if people knew they could vote - cuz you ARE everyone's favorite!!! - Semblance
Awww, thanks Michelle. I was nominated for funniest blog, best parenting blog, hottest mommy blogger, and best blog of all time. You can find links to these nominations along the right column of my blog. Just click on any or all of those links and place your vote. You can vote for your other favorite blogs while you're there too.

What vehicle do you drive that fits your family of 8? - Pam
I have an old GMC Safari and Joe drives an old Suburban. We looked for cars a while back, but it didn't turn out well. Maybe this summer...

BTW, What WOULD you do if a monkey bit you? Now THERE'S a question for your Sunday Shout Out! - Rick
I'd bite him back, of course.

So, where did you get that perfectly-uniform-snow-fort-building-block-tool? Thanks! - Debby
I got it at Target, but they sell them at all stores like that. At least they did before we got the ton of snow. Now they're selling bathing suits and despite the fact that it's below 0 and snowy outside, I can't find a new winter coat for my daughter to save my life.

First of all I appauld you for even attempting the walking for 2 hours........My question is are you going to attempt this again? - plainprecious
That's the plan. Ask me how many times I've gone back so far though.

how do you workout/walk in jeans? that's too constricting. maybe you should try something w/ a little more leg room. :) - shandra
For real? I don't know. Maybe I'm weird, but I have no problem walking in jeans. Besides that's all I have that fits!

I was just looking at the new photo of you on the other lady's BLOG...and you surely DON'T LOOK 37...Maybe 28.
Really!! But, I wanted to ask briefly: You mention how you put up a few ads on your site...How does that work? Do YOU select the companies OR do they approach you to ask permission? How would you know what to charge them? Melech
28??? Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! As far as ads go, you can easily add Google ads to your blog, or you can apply for BlogHerAds or other ones like that. The people who have placed individual ads on my blog contacted me and asked to advertise. As long as it isn't something that I find offensive, I'm happy to put the ads on my blog.

Hi Dawn, Have you ever tried water arobics? It's really fun and easy on your bones and muscles. Also makes you sleep really well after. My girlfriend and I would meet in the evenigs. That worked for a week or two then we would meet and skip on over to the bar for munchies. - Kristine in Michigan.
I've thought about it and I'd probably give it a try if it weren't for one thing - putting on a bathing suit.

But, but, but, it's only 9:52 PM, why does the time you posted on your blog different from the actual time, if you just posted? But, wait, what I really want to know is when Brooklyn's birthday is? - megryansmom
The time on my blog is the time I opened a new post and started writing. I could open it 5:00pm to start writing, but then I'll get distracted by making dinner, helping with homework, breaking up fights, blah, blah, blah and won't publish the post until 1:00am. Even though I publish it after midnight, the time will read 5:00 pm. Oh and her birthday is the 17th.

Did you try resetting your router? - Black Sheep Dancing
As technologically inept as I am, I did actually try that a couple times.
And thank you to everyone who gave me the link to Get a Human. For those who didn't see this in the comments, it's a link that will take you to a page of information on how to bypass those automated voice systems and get through to an actual live person.

you know what your work out post did for me? - Franzi
Make you never want to set foot in a gym?

It just clicked you have 3 boys,and 3 girls, does the order go boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl? - BBA
Yes, we planned it that way.

You look awesome! I can't believe you have had six kids. You keep on mentioning your weight and trying to eat healthier and I picture someone much larger than you are. - Lowa
I'm telling ya - it's the strategic placement of kids around me.

I'm amazed at how much snow you have! If we get an inch of snow the whole country comes to a standstill! Do you get that much every year? (Please forgive my ignorance I come from UK)! Fab snowmum & babies! - Linda Bowen
We usually get a fair amount of snow, but this year has been especially snowy with more on the horizon.

Also a question for you since you brought up the makeup issue, though in different context. How often do you wear it? - SubWife
Only if I go out in public. Don't want to scare anyone, you know.

I'm wondering what your child was thinking w/ banana peels in the sock drawer? - anonymous
He was probably thinking that he didn't want to mess up his jammie drawer with it.

Hey, with all that snow, do you all ever make snow ice-cream?? - Lisa, San Antonio, Texas
I'd never heard of such a thing until a couple days ago when the kids asked me if they could make it. I think it was on The Food Network. Ugh, like I want to mess with that. I told them they could scoop up a lemon snow cones from outside instead. ;)

Quick question, I noticed that your middle daughter isn't wearing her glasses - I only notice this because my 5-year-old has recently begun to wear glasses (September '07), but school pictures had passed. Do you give her the choice about pictures with or without glasses? - juneau poole party of 4
I've always gotten her pictures taken with her glasses on because that's how she looks. She wears glasses, so she has glasses in her pictures. I had her take them off for this picture though because the light was really glaring off them. Someone else asked me a question about how my kids take care of their glasses, but I can't find it for the life of me. I bought Lex's first pair of glasses from Walmart because I didn't know any better. We went camping the day after I picked them up and while riding her bike, they fell off Lexi's face and were crushed in gravel. As soon as we got home from our trip, I took them to Walmart to see if they could fix or replace them and the ultra helpful people there told me they couldn't do anything and I'd need to buy another pair. They broke THE DAY AFTER I GOT THEM! Needless to say, I've never gone back there. I get the kids' glasses from a store called For Eyes. I don't know how wide spread this chain is, but they're wonderful! I can't even count how many times they've fixed, adjusted, or replaced my kids' glasses for free. The glasses are reasonably priced there too.

Your youngest MUST know how cute she is. Every single picture I ever see of her, she has the cartoon-like "I'm such a cutie" pose!! How endearing :) - anonymous
HAAAA! I have many more of her that look like this...


Did you say yes to the play because you were interested in it and will enjoy doing? Or because someone else wanted you in the cast? If it was the first reason - go for it, I say. But if it was for the second reason then my opinion is twofold (1) You need to say 'no' at times, and (2) You must be a really nice person to do it for someone else. Whatever the reason I hope you have a great time. Mum-me
I said yes because I'm stupid.

Dawn, I've been wondering how Mimi is doing. Have you heard from her recently? (If you just answered this question, or it's right under my nose, accept my apologies.) - Bev
I have heard from her. She updates her carepages very frequently. Mimi sounds like she's doing all right considering. This is from her carepages last night...
"How do you stand all this?" I can’t. I just make do… Come on! Could you? If you had lost your 4 year old? God is on my side, that’s how…

Its worth a shot... Will you do my taxes. (I figure that odds are you'll say "yes." - Rick
Sure, but you do know that I'm not very mathy, right? You don't mind paying 10,000 in taxes, do you?

Too Tired for Sunday

Too tired to compile all the questions for a sound out. I know, I know, but try to relax. It'll be ok. Deep breaths. I'll do a Monday Sound Out instead.

So Joe and I went out with friends today. We went to Flanagan's Wake. Has anyone ever seen this? It's along the same lines as Tony & Tina's Wedding. If you haven't heard of either show, they're sort of interactive plays with audience participation. Thanks to my many years of practice in high school, I was able to avoid eye contact, look the other way, and slide down in my seat without being too obvious that I was trying to hide from the actors walking around, looking for victims volunteers. Joe, and our friends Jen & Chris, didn't fare so well as all three were called upon to give answers or hop up on stage. Hee hee hee!

After this we drove around looking for a place to eat. Chris stopped at a restaurant, rolled down his window, and said to the valet, "Hi! We're looking for a place to eat. Do you know of any restaurants around here?" As the words started coming out of his mouth, he realized what he was asking, but it was too late to stop it. I'm sure the valet thought we were all daft.

So I ordered some chicken dish and it tasted like crap. Not that I've ever tasted crap, of course, but it wasn't very good. I really didn't care for it. Everyone talked me into sending it back to the kitchen. I've never done this before. I apologized over and over to the waitress and told her that I was sure it was fine, but I just didn't like it and could I please get something else? She was very nice about it. I'm pretty sure the cook was offended and spit in my new dish, however. Then a manager came out and demanded to know what was wrong with my chicken and why exactly did I send it back, and what was wrong with me. OK, so maybe it wasn't that bad, but I felt so embarrassed. Next time, I'll just eat the funky tasting chicken.

When we got home, the kids greeted us by running around the room like loonies and yelling like crazy people. My bil & sil, who had been babysitting, insisted, "They weren't like this all night. Really, they were totally good." See? They save it up for me. They can always manage to behave for others, but when I'm around, a switch flips and they go nuts.

My sil is pregnant and due in May. She looks like she's six weeks pregnant and she feels great. What's up with that? Anyway, she and my bil are HUGE Nascar fans. I think they're going to name their baby Daytona. Or Dale. Or Bristol, or Talladega, or Darlington. I may just have to do a contest about this when it gets a little closer to May.

It's like 200 degrees below 0 here and we're supposed to be getting yet more snow this week. How fun <---read with enormous amounts of sarcasm. Anyway, it's so darn cold here. It's the kind of cold that instantly freezes your snot when you walk outside. In fact, it's so cold that when Joe was at work a few minutes ago, he shut his car door and the window shattered. Five trillion degrees below zero and no window in his car. I can't take the cold, snow, and lack of sun anymore. I'm going to Texas later this week to meet with my web designer. I hope she orders up some sunshine for me.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

I didn't write last night because I was at rehearsal. That's right. I said "yes" to being in the play because I'm stupid. Do you know people like this? Maybe you are a person like this.

Will you do this?
Yes.

Will you do that?
Yes.

Can you help with this?
Yep.

Will you volunteer for that?
Sure.

Do you mind taking on this project?
No problem.

Why do I do this? I thought I'd gotten better at saying "no", but apparently not. I got my editor's notes this week. They were longer than my book. (Just kidding, Beth) Anyway, I have a lot of work to do and now I have to memorize a million lines. I have got to be the dumbest person I know. Well maybe not the dumbest, but I'm definitely in the top ten. Anyway...

You guys thought my kids' fort and snowmen were cool? Check these out! I took the kids to a snow sculpture exhibition/contest tonight. I wish I'd gotten some better pictures, but it was freezing and snowy out there tonight and the kids were turning into popsicles so we quickly looked at the sculptures and left. I ran some errands earlier today and it was warm enough to just wear a sweatshirt. Crazy weather.

The gang


Youthful dreams

Swan (this one was really cool!)

It's What You Wear

Atlas


Jellyfish (this one was really cool too!)


Cheese (there were mice crawling through the holes in the cheese and a knife sticking in the bloc)

It's Not Over 'til the Fat Lady Swings (Get it? LOL!!!!)

It's hard to tell from the picture, but this was really cool. It's a boat floating in the clouds above the Chicago skyline.

Slow Dancing Turtles (I wonder if they have Comcast?)

After our trip to see the sculptures, we came home and watched Evan Almighty. Anyone ever see this? I liked it. it wasn't awesome-great, but I thought it was entertaining, if a little predictable, and the kids liked it. Of course, I never saw Bruce Almighty so I didn't have anything to compare it to.

Makes ya think though- if some guy claimed that God had told him to build an ark and invited you to come along lest you get flushed away in a flood, would you hop onboard? Would you think he was a kook of magnificent proportions? I have to admit that I'd probably think he was in need of some serious psychiatric drugs. Although if I saw the herds of animals standing around (like in the movie) I'd be inclined to take a little cruise aboard the ark, I think.

How about if you were Evan? What if God told you to do something like build an ark in your backyard? You'd probably think you were losing your mind. I know I would. How many of us would listen? This is my problem. I'm usually too busy blabbering away and I forget to take time to listen. Maybe God isn't telling us to build an ark, but if we take the time to listen, I think we might find that He is indeed to trying to tell us something. Perhaps it's just to do something that seems little and insignificant to us, but like they said in the movie, "You can change the world one little Act of Random Kindness at a time."

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I've had some of these pictures on my camera for a while now, but I keep forgetting to show you guys. Enjoy...


Doesn't the toilet look pretty with make-up?


The sink too


Hey Mom, don't I have big muscles? I've been working out.


Hello. Do you like my hat?


Why yes, I do like your hat!


Hand over your money and no one gets hurt.


Found this in the freezer the other day. I guess the guilty party Clay thought he wouldn't get caught if he only took a couple bites and put the rest back in the package in the freezer.


What else would you keep in your sock drawer but a banana peel?


This is what I found in the bottom of Lexi's backpack today. Mmmmm.


The snowmom my kids made yesterday. If you look closely, you can see 4 of the 6 snowbabies in front of it.


Snowbabies


And finally, the picture of me and the kiddos

As always, check out mamaslike for some great products and giveaways from some hard working stay-at-home-moms!

Have a question for me? Check out my FAQs.

And it's been brought to my attention that people who have subscribed to my blog through Blogarithm are only getting emails for about 1 in 3 posts. I post almost every day, so if you haven't been getting daily notifications of new posts, you might want to sign up with Feedburner (there's a button to the right for that) or some other feed thingy. You can always go back and read previous posts by clicking on the desired month under the heading "Old Stuff" over on the right column.

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Thank you and have a good night!

If This is Correct, Say Yes

I didn't post last night because I couldn't get an internet connection until 11:00 pm and I was too ticked off to write.

Something happened to my router. Or maybe it was my DSL. Or something. Anyway, I couldn't get online. I learned something about myself when I couldn't get online. I have an addiction. When I couldn't log on, I started hyperventilating, freaking out that I was missing ...I don't even know what I was missing, but I was sure I was missing SOMETHING! Something big and important and terribly exciting! My heart was beating 200 times a minute and I started twitching. I, the person who used to say that computers were evil, was going through withdrawal because I couldn't connect to the cyberworld.

Anyway, that wasn't even the frustrating part. The mind-numbing, maddening, irritating, aggravating, annoying, exasperating, infuriating, riling, troubling, trying, vexatious (thank you thesaurs.com) part of my little extravaganza tonight was the two hours I spent on the phone in a maze of voice menus. TWO HOURS!

Welcome to AT&T.
For Spanish blah blah blah numero uno.
I see you're calling from xxx-xxx-xxxx. Is that the phone number listed on your AT&T account?

ME: Yes.

Thanks. I'll just look that up. Now, in a few words please say the purpose of your call. You can say things like "I want to pay my bill", or "I want new phone service." To speak to a service representative, say "agent".

ME: I can't get online.

It sounds like you'd like to make a payment. Is that correct?

ME: Umm no. Duh. I have internet problems.

Lets try this another way. If you're calling about payments, say "payments".

ME: NO! Not payments. Internet service!

OK which service needs repair, phone, internet, tv, or none of those?

ME: INTERNET!!!

I think you said you're calling to repair your dial up service. If this is correct, say "yes".

ME: YES!

My mistake. Please say one of the following: phone, internet, tv...

ME: INTERNET! It's always been internet. It's still internet!

To get you to the right place, I need to know where you're calling from. Are you calling from the same number as your high speed internet line?

ME: Yeah.

I think you said, "phone services." If this is correct, say "Yes".

ME: NO!

To get you to the right place, I need to know where you're calling from. Are you calling from the same number as your high speed internet line?

ME: YES!

Just a moment while I look up your account.

ME: You do that. @@

I'm sorry, I do not understand. Let's try this another way.
To get you to the right place, I need to know where you're calling from. Are you calling from the same number as your high speed internet line?

ME: YES!

Main menu: please say the option that best describes the issue you're calling about. For set up, password or connectivity issues, please say "tech. support". For billing questions or account services, say "billing". To hear these options again, you can say "repeat".

ME: GRRRRRRRR!!! You've got to be kidding me!

I'm sorry. I did not understand. If you're having problems with your high speed internet and would like tech support, say "yes".

ME: I'm having problems with this stupid voice menu! Can I talk to an actual person? Do you have any of those there???

It sounds like you want to pay your bill. Is this correct?

At this point, I whipped the phone across the room and grabbed a beer.

I tried calling the customer service line for my router, thinking that maybe someone there could help me. I was on hold for 42 minutes. That's not an exaggeration. FORTY-TWO MINUTES! I heard Rhapsody in Blue, Moonlight Sonata, Beethoven's Fifth, Barcarolle, William Tell Overature, and Danse Macabre. I started having flashbacks of piano lessons as a child. I never did talk to anyone there.

I tried AT&T two more times and each time, after navigating their system for several minutes, I finally got through to an actual person. Of course, when I finally got a person on the phone, they didn't speak English! I guess they might technically have been speaking English, but it was so broken that it might as well have been Greek or Ubbi Dubbi. Why? Why is this? And why do these people act so annoyed that you're bothering them with your obviously stupid questions? Where's the customer service? From the cashier at the grocery store, to the floor help at the clothing store, to the customer service rep. on the other end of the phone, more often than not I encounter someone rude, annoyed, or seemingly bored. What, can no one smile? Can nobody be helpful? Can't anyone at least pretend to care about your needs?

It's so rare to find a person who will not only help you with a smile, but who will go out of their way to give excellent customer service. Whenever I encounter such a person, I make sure to let them know how much I appreciate their help. I also try to find a manager so I can praise the employee that took the time and effort to give great service.

Anyway, at 8:30, I completely gave up, ran out to Circuit City in a blizzard, hoping to get there before they closed, and bought a new router. Voila! Problem fixed. I got back online at 11:00 pm.

It's been a fun two days here. I also learned that my oldest son hasn't turned in numerous assignments at school. He's grounded until the second coming. Today my youngest son, who has been totally potty trained for over a year, decided to poop in the garbage can. Why? Why do they do things like this? For the love of all that is Holy, WHY??? I made him dump it out into a garbage bag. Then, apparently offended by the stench of his own poop, he figured he'd spray some air freshener around. Unfortunately he grabbed a can of lemon-fresh Pledge instead. He sprayed furniture polish into the air and it landed in a waxy coat on the laminate floors. They are now more slippery than the streets outside (which are really slippery because we just got another 5 feet of snow here.)

Speaking of snow - the kids had a snow day today oh joy. Austin and Savannah went outside and instead of building a fort, they made a snowmom and 6 snow babies. Great, right? However, they used my husband's car jack to lift the middle snowball up so they could situate it on top of the bottom ball. My husband was less than thrilled with this.

It's still snowing here. What are the chances they'll go back to school tomorrow? What are the chances I'll stay sane if they don't?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edited to add - a lot of people have written to tell me that they aren't getting notification from Blogarithm when I've posted. Some people have said that they only get 2 or 3 updates a week. I don't know why this is happening, but I added (actually Angie added) a Feedburner button right above the Blogarithm one. I guess you can just subscribe there to get updates when I create a new entry.
Also, I was nominated for some blog awards. I put the buttons for those along the right side of this blog. If your have the time or inclination, you can vote for my blog in any or all of the categories.
Thank you!

But I Didn't Pee my Pants. Really.

I met my friend Gin at the gym this evening. My plan was to walk around the indoor track for two hours. What the crap was I thinking??? TWO hours?! OK, the most strenuous thing I've done in the past eight years is blow my nose. After I had my third baby, I started doing step aerobics five times a week. I lost a ton of weight, I looked good, and I felt great. In fact, I turned into one of those sickening people who actually liked to exercise. I looked forward to my workout and I felt sad if I missed it. How sadistic is that?! Now I'm once again struggling to add exercise to my daily routine of cleaning spilled milk off the kitchen floor, changing toxic diapers, fishing the ice pack out of the toilet (don't ask), and trying to get marker stains out of clothes.

So, finally, I got up the energy to meet my friend at the walking track. I got to the gym and drove around for half an hour looking for the closest parking place because why should I get exercise walking from my car when I could pay the gym to let me walk around inside their building? I found a nice close space next to a snow bank the size of Mt. Everest.

I didn't realize that when Gin said, "Let's walk" that it really meant, "Let's run as if we're being chased by chainsaw wielding madmen." Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously. She's running along, not even breaking a sweat and then there's me with my stubby little legs working double time to catch up to my friend who is like 7 feet tall. I'm lumbering along, looking like the full grown mountain troll in Harry Potter, drool forming at the corner of my mouth, sweat pouring down my face, and my legs protesting the cruel and unusual punishment.

Not only was Gin running, but she was TALKING! I wasn't even able to gulp enough oxygen to support breathing, let alone TALKING. Seriously, she's easily conversing about this and that and I'm making these guttural grunts in response. Somewhere around the 400th lap I had a heart attack. At least I think I did. I'm pretty sure it was the big one.

Who ever said that exercise was good for you?! Repeat after me - exercise is evil. Pure, unadulterated evil.

I had to borrow a couple of big muscley guys from the work-out room to carry me out to my car. OK, so I didn't really, but this is my story and I'll tell it how I want.

I had decided to stop at the grocery store on the way home to pick up chocolate a few things until I got out to my car and had second thoughts about that plan. Remember when I just had to get the nice close parking spot? The one next to Mt. Everest? Well, I had managed to get out of my car without any problems, but (perhaps because my legs had turned to Jello from walking) for some reason, I had a hard time squeezing between my door and the snow bank to get in my van. I grabbed onto the handle and opened the door and in slow motion, looking like an episode of I Love Lucy, the door swung open, me still hanging onto the handle, falling back, back, woah, down, down, splat! And let me explain something here. After getting a good foot of snow dumped on us, today was 40 degrees and snow was melting, causing rivers of slush everywhere. I fell, not in an ordinary snow bank, but one of wet, slushy, putrescence.

I stood up and immediately took inventory of the damage. Was anyone watching me who will now think that I drink heavily when I work out? No. Did I hurt anything? No. Is my butt wet? Oh yes! It had to have looked like I'd just wet my pants. Now I admit, after having 6 kids, that I don't have the best bladder control in the world, but this was just ridiculous. I decided to just drive straight home instead of stopping at the grocery store. Then I remembered how much I really needed to get chocolate a few things, so I decided to brave it. I mean, how many people could possibly be at the grocery store at 9:00 on a Monday night?

For the first time in my life, I wished that I had my kids with me at the store so they could provide a distraction. If they were with me, people would be staring at them and not my wet behind. I walked in, and convinced that the lady in the produce section was not actually looking at bananas, but at my apparent lack of bladder control, I quickly removed my thick winter coat and tied the arms around my waist, trying to cover my butt because clearly, walking around a grocery store with a frippin parka wrapped around my waist was a better, more inconspicuous look than a little imperceptible dampness on the seat of my jeans.

And to top it all off - I have a blister on my little toe and I'm quite certain I'll need the jaws of life to extract me from my bed in the morning.



P.S. Thank you to Mary Beth Adomaitis who wrote a really nice article about me on Love to Know - social networking. You can read it here.

Sunday Sound Out

First off, I want to thank all my readers who took the time to send Austin a card or letter. I'm really impressed that so many of you spent so much time looking up, writing out, and printing off information about your towns. Thank you for all the pictures, cards, information, nice compliments,and offers of a place to stay if we ever get the chance to visit!


View Larger Map

A special thanks to Paulette for the "Keep Austin Weird" t-shirt from Austin, TX, and to Charlene for the plastic bear containers of honey and mustard from Hillsboro, KS, and to Rebecca for the Mardi Gras beads from Baton Rouge, LA.


For those who have inquired - yes, you can still send a letter. This is an ongoing project that will continue until May. Our address is...
Dawn Meehan
PO Box 66274
Chicago, IL 60666

OK, here are the answers to life's pressing questions...

question...mom to mom, more of a plea actually for much needed advice before I go insane. How do you get a 7 yr old to swallow a pill? Its Concerta for ADD so it cant be broken or chewed. I need help :( - Kristy
Ah yes, there comes a time when, because of your age and weight, if you choose not to swallow a pill, you'll need to drink 1 1/2 cups of liquid penicilin. So, it's a good reason to teach your kids how to swallow a pill. I was horrible with this as a kid. My mom had me practice by swallowing dragees. Then I moved up to Red Hots. I've also heard that swallowing a pill with a little pop works because the carbonation helps so that you don't really feel the pill going down. It's hard when it's a time-release medication that can't be cut in half or broken or chewed at all. Maybe another reader has a good idea that could help. Good luck!

One of the best things my husband and I have ever done was going on a cruise to the Caribbean with Royal Caibbean. Our 25th is next year and we hope we can go on another one only to different islands. You and your hubby deserve to do that after your hectic year you are having! Just disappear for awhile. Brenda
LOL! Funny you should say this. Joe and I went on a cruise for our tenth anniversary. It was my ideal vacation. Lying in the sun, drinking rum, and doing nothing more strenuous than reading. My husband, on the other hand, was so bored he ended up asking the maintenance guys if he could help fix leaky faucets, broken pumps, and the hydraulic winch. Needless to say, that was his first and last cruise. We talked about going for a little weekend getaway, but I'm sure you can guess how many people offered to watch the kids.

Sunday sound out ? What is your favorite meal to make that everyone will eat. I have a problem in that with 5 kids I normally have one that hates whateer I am making and I make them something different. - plainprecious
I haven't forgotten about the other requests for meal/shopping/cooking/budget ideas. I will get to it soon. Promise. All I'll say now is that if my kids don't like what I've cooked for dinner, they're free to make themselves a sandwich after they've at least tried a couple bites, but I will not make multiple meals.

do people who live in such frigidity actually bother to shave their legs at all in the wintertime?? When it's cold here in Florida, & I'm just wearing jeans everyday, then who cares how unsightly one's legs get??? - FLmomto4
LOL! Well, I have no idea what other people do, but I shave every day because I'm just insane that way. I never want to see a Chia Pet growing out of my legs.

Do they make a red food coloring like that? I've been hoping for something that would actually make white frosting into red frosting ever since the Pink Spiderman Birthday Cake Incident of 2005. - Amie
Ooooo! Ooooo! Ooooo! I know this one, Mr. Kotter!


Use powdered colors! They give your icing a much deeper color without diluting it. Or you can also use a packet of cherry Kool-Aid to color your icing. I don't recommend this if you're covering a large area of cake with it because it tastes funky in my opinion. Another great way to darken your icing so Elmo, Lightning McQueen, and Spiderman aren't pink is to make it up a few days ahead of time and let it set in your fridge. It'll darken up a bit over time.

Hi Dawn, Oh My gosh...What a mess! Were there faces red for along time too? Was this in the summer months? It could have looked like a really bad sunburn. Or did the kids have to go to school that way? LOL..Oh and I think I saw that chair at the goodwill store. - Kristine in Michigan
It was really dark, their skin stayed stained for days, and no it wasn't in the summer. It happened when Austin was 3 and Savannah was 2 and it was the first day of Parent's Day Out at my church. It was fun taking my muti-colored children there that day.

Loved reading your FAQ Dawn! The rum is in the mail.... VanDerHoekArt
Woooo Hoooo!!!!!!!

thanks for spelling "definitely" correctly. it really bugs me when people don't. bugs me to the point that i, without meaning to, lose a little respect for said people. i realize that's weird. - Chunk
You're welcome. Thank you for capitalizing correctly. ;)

I too have a clotting disorder and am pregnant again and doing the blood thinner shots everyday. What clotting disorder do you have exactly? - Ramilin
I have Prothrombin gene mutation.

So, where are the pictures?!? -another mom
Patience, young Jedi. I just had them taken. I should get them next week.

Are you ready for the snow tomorrow? Kathi S.
Ugh. We've had so much snow this season already. I hate snow. I hate winter. I hate cold. Have I mentioned that I'm moving to Aruba yet? Speaking of snow, here are some pictures...

Austin & Savannah in the snow fort they spent 3 hours making.


Looking up from inside


The outside

Dawn, I hope you included your husband in a few photos - it would be nice to have some family photos for later in life - that include everyone!!!!! We take professional photos each year of our son, but every other year, it is also a family shoot - with us in it also!
I can't wait to see your book - and your beautiful photo! - Pam (Seattle)
Nah, not in these pictures. I wasn't thrilled with the way they turned out and I didn't buy any actual prints anyway. I just bought the rights to two pictures. We do a family photo every couple years and Joe is in all the pictures with the kids because I'm the chief photographer.

My resolution was to go on a "no pepsi" diet. Figuring if I cut out those calories I wouldn't have to do a real diet. It has been amended to "no pepsi before 8 p.m." I really need it for my rum drink. You can't drink rum straight, right? - Patty, MD
You can't? Seriously? Aw man, I've been doing it wrong.

Dawn wrote: "11. I will finish things that I start.
This is now, "I will finish things that I start within a"
Within a what??? Don't leave us hangin' girl!!! : P - Becca
Oh sure, I'll be happy to finish this in just

In a land dominated by those of the female persuasion I feel it my duty to be the advocate for Joe. Give him the hard working man more of your time. Swap him with the "girl friends" place on your list. And be sure to tell him that I'm on his side. - Rick
As much as I'd love to spend an evening listening to Joe's "if a monkey bit you" questions, you might remember that I have 6 kids and cannot leave them home alone.

A question for Sunday: Who are your favorite authors? - Georgetta
Does Dawn Meehan count? LOL!
I really don't get the chance to read very much. I wouldn't even say that I have any favorite authors. I've always liked Mark Twain though.

What a NEAT outfit!??! Where did you find something like that?? Lowa
It's cute, isn't it? I got it here.

That was adorable. What a happy girl Brooklyn is! She reminds me of my own youngest who is 22 mos. I *LOVE* this age. I was trying to remember if you've ever said how old Brooklyn is? - Polly
Brooklyn will be two this month. And "happy" isn't quite the adjective I'd use to describe her. Stubborn, spoiled, and cranky are words that fit her a little better.

I haven't been checking out your side
adds for a while. Imagine my surprise when I ran into the section for all those awards you have won.
How long has that been there? - korkie
Those aren't actually awards. At least not yet. They're nominations. Go ahead, click on them, and vote for any and all categories if you're so moved. :) Thanks!

Now, I'm off to watch football commercials.

Tickle Me Brooklyn