Sunday Sound Out

Hey Dawn, did you hear they are making a Fraggle Rock movie?
No, I didn't know that. Is it just me or is there another movie based on old cartoons and shows every month? Scooby-Do, Underdog, Speed Racer, Batman, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Xmen, Get Smart, etc.

Ever since the first time I saw your picture, I thought you reminded me of Nia Verdalos... And didn't she write My Big Fat Greek Wedding? And she's really funny and Greek, and you're really funny and Greek... So I've been wondering... Are you two related???
Sure, my cousin Nick's father, Nick, has an uncle named Nick who is her brother-in-law's, uncle's son, Nick.

Sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask. Why was Clay peeing in an empty plastic bag?
Because he's Clay.

Ack! A fate worse than death to a teenage boy. Except mine. Good lands, the boy loves to shop and it scares me. What's with him? Is he normal? Should I have him checked out?
It depends. What does he like to shop for? As long as he isn't dragging you into stores to try on high heals, make-up, lingerie, or prom dresses, you're good.

Are you just trying to add to your collection of boob stickers so you can do another e-bay auction???
Ooo, now that's not a bad idea. Unfortunately I already threw them out. Come to think of it, I'd be worried about what kind of person would bid on used boob stickers. Probably the same person who googles "butt polish". I am, however, going to be putting up a new auction on eBay later this week.....

Pants are stupid. Why do we even wear them?
Where else would you put your keys? You'd have to carry a "man bag" if you didn't wear pants and you'd look like HIM or HIM.

Are you telling me that your 12 year old son wears a 29W/30L in pants???
I don't think so, but it's hard to tell since he "tried them on" by putting one leg in them and pulling them all the way up to his knees, before stating that they didn't fit.

Can you send those 29W/30L pants my way?
Perhaps. They're going to be one of the items I put up on eBay this week.

Ouch on the arm! Praying he mends quickly and well. :) Funny how you knew it was coming, does that sort of thing happen often? or are your kids just predictable? ;)
All of the above.

I'm going to put into words what already went through your mind... well, that's one less set of baseball games and practices to go to!
LOL! I can't tell you how many people have said that. Actually, we're still going to his games to watch his team and cheer them on.

And the cakes!!!! Please tell me how to put on icing without it becoming crumbly????
You can find my directions HERE.

Do you want to come to Texas to bake a cake for the baby's baptism?
Sure, as long as you pay my airfare and hotel.

How long does he have the cast on? Is this his first broken bone?
He only has to have the cast on for 3 weeks! And yes, amazingly this is his first broken bone. Savannah broke her arm badly when she was 3 and Austin broke his thumb a couple years ago. Those have been the only broken bones we've experienced :::knocking on wood:::

Austin must be pretty artistic. What kinds of projects does he make on his own... other than making state maps with frosting?
LOL! Austin is really artistic. He can copy any drawing, detail for detail like it was nothing. He does really useful projects on his own like drawing pictures of every Simpsons character and cutting them out and creating his own mini Springfield. He draws pictures of every player on the White Sox and places them in their own mini Comiskey Park (yes, I know that's not what it's called anymore, but it's still Comiskey anyway.)

We parents of larger families certainly are efficient, aren't we?
Absolutely! Wash the truck and the kids together. Wash the dishes and baby in the sink together. Teach the kids math while eating cookies..."12 cookies minus 2 cookies (crunch crunch crunch) equals 10 cookies." You need to read 20 minutes, Jackson, and Clay needs to be read to. You read to him - 2 birds with 1 stone voila!

I too believe that it's in guys genes to get hurt. Whenever we watch those shows where people are doing stupid things I always comment to my husband that its always the guys that try stupid stunts because women are too smart to do dumb things.
Oh my gosh, I wrote a whole section about this in my book! LOL!

I have a sunday question - I am thinking of starting a blog and have read of the practice of giving your kids "blog names". Did you do something like this or are the kids named after cities in real life?
Nope, they're actually named after cities in real life. Maybe I should have called them:
Austin - Greg
Jackson - Peter
Clay - Bobby
Savannah - Marcia
Lexington - Jan
Brooklyn - Cindy

By the way, the root of the word meme is from the French word "meme" meaning "the same," or shortened from the word "mimeme" from Greek "mimos" meaning "mimic."
Hey! We KNEW it had to come from a Greek word. Of course!
You give me word, any word, and I show you the root of word is comes from Greek.

Okay all I have to say is THANKS A LOT for the Pogo website reference because I needed a reason to spend five more hours a day on the computer. Now I'M totally addicted, too. Geesh.
LOL! Sorry. Actually, I hadn't played since August! I just found the link on my computer back in April and started playing again. It's easy to get hooked. I just got rid of the link on my computer so it's not so easy to get to anymore so I'm not tempted.

I am wondering how old Savannah is (I have one that is 13 and driving me insane!)
She just turned 12 and she isn't driving me insane (yet). Savannah is an awesome helper. She's generally pretty happy and easy going and she's great with the little ones.

Okay so I know I live under a rock and all, but what commerical are you referring to? Guess I should put down my mop and get to watching tv...need to stock up on Bonbons first!
I don't watch much tv either. In fact the only time I ever watch is after 10:00 at night. I watch Friends reruns and Food Network. That's about it for me. Anyway, it's a commercial for T-Mobile and you can see it HERE.

How awesome that you will be speaking! I just was on BlogHer and saw it mentioning the conference...hmmmm...
Does "hmmmm" mean that you're considering going to the conference or does it mean, "Hmmm, I wonder what the heck those BlogHer people were thinking when they asked you to speak!" LOL Come to the conference! We'll meet up for a drink and laugh about what a dork I sound like in person!

My daughter gets her new one on on June 5. I was considering the waterproof stuff so that she can swim and shower and all that neat stuf. But I wondered exactly how they did that. I still think that once wet it will just be a gross mess on her arm. And, I do need to pay extra for that .... Please let us know how it fares when actually wet and maybe what it feels like inside the cast (that is really what I want to know .. lol).
So far, so good. The doctor said that the waterproof lining was made from Gore-tex. It's supposed to stink less when the cast comes off because he can bath in it. Water quickly evaporates through the fiberglass. There have already been a couple times where he complained that his arm was itchy so he stuck it in cool water to ease the sweating and itching. I think (if I remember correctly) that the waterproof casts may not be used for some breaks because this special lining can't mold as closely to your arm or leg or whatever and if there's a chance of the bones moving out of place, the doctor may use a more traditional cast to make sure the bones are held tightly in place.

I'm so proud of you for going through all those pictures like a champ! It's hard, but definately worth it!! Did'ya get anymore stickers??
LOL! This made me laugh - like a kid going to the doctor's office...."Was I good, Mom? Can I have a sticker?"

1. Hooray! So pleased the mammo came up negative
2. Congrats on being mentioned in that essay
3. Thanks for the info on Vitiligo
4. Bummer about the tooth! Have fun at the dentist. No, it never ends.
5. My son would like to say "I like turtles 'n' cheese."
6. He's 12. There is no hope for him. He will always be nuts. =)
BAAAAA!!! Wow, he sounds JUST like Austin!

Blessings to Jackson as he faces the world with this condition. Some of the strange questions stayed with me and now make me laugh. My all-time favorite was, "Did you suntan with little bits of paper on you?"
LOL! People ask silly questions, but I chalk it up to ignorance. I think a lot of people have just never heard of Vitiligo. I'm thankful that Jackson is very fair to begin with so it isn't too noticeable on him. My heart breaks for people with dark skin because it's very noticeable and can have such a huge impact on how they feel about themselves and unfortunately, how others relate to them. Actually, at this point, Jackson thinks it's kinda cool that he glows in the dark under a black light. LOL

I thought that's what all backyards looked like. Just add a batting cage and your at my house!
You mean like this?

Ok so it's not really a batting cage, but does a pitching thingy count?

Ok, but why only one flip-flop? Where's the other one?
I just found the other one in my bedroom of course.

what my mom would say if she were to read this...
"you could have picked everything up and put it away in the time it took you to take pictures of it all!"
No way! I have enough cleaning to do without picking up the kids' assorted junk. That's their job. If I pick it up, I throw it out.

I've been meaning to ask you for a SSO question: at what age do you start potty-training? Have you found any proven methods that work? (seriously...?) My 3rd child will be 2 in August and potty-training the older two was pretty Hades-ish (they weren't really fully trained until 3 1/2). Diapers keep getting more and more expensive, and I would just like a veteran mom's opinion! Thanks!
Good question. I did a potty training post HERE. There are a plethora of opinions in the comments. I personally am more of a "they'll potty train when they're good and ready and there's no sense in pushing it" kinda person, but I don't think there's any one perfect way to potty train. And, as always, each child is unique. You have to find something that works with their individual personality.

I recall awhile back that you had placed a picture of your pantry on your blog. If I remember correctly, you had everything in storage containers. My question is this: Even with everything sealed like that, do you ever have a problem with ants? (I'm currently fighting one now due to baking supplies :( )
Yeah, my pantry is organized and everything is in an airtight container, however the kids still leave trails of food particles wherever they go. (Maybe they think we'll leave them in the woods some day like Hansel and Gretel) I don't worry about the ants too much though because the spiders usually eat them. I don't worry about the spiders either because the mice eat them. The mice aren't a big problem because the cats generally eat them. The dogs eat the cats, the goats eat the dogs, the cows eat the goats.....Can you tell I recently read "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" to the kids?



OK, this is it for this 2 week edition of Sunday Sound-Out. It was my Lexi's birthday today and she spent the afternoon and evening with a headache that caused her to throw-up a couple times. Poor baby. I'm off to go tuck her (and the other kiddos) in bed. Have a great week everyone! And thank you so much for all your comments! I love reading them. The wonderful things you guys write make my days much brighter! :)

Don't forget to check out my other blog HERE.
And make a note that I'm going to be changing my blog over to my website soon. You'll be able to find it at BecauseISaidSo.com.