Points

I have sunk to a new low.

I paid my 3 year-old a dollar to get out and retrieve an empty Coca Cola box from my neighbor's recycle bin so I could get the Coke Rewards points off the end of the box. She's the only one I could bribe. The other kids still have their pride, but Lillian was all over that dollar, man. She jumped at the chance to get garbage for Mommy.

That was after I filched an empty box of cereal off another neighbor's recycle pile because the box had 5 Boxtops for Education on it.

Hi, my name is Beth and I'm a pointaholic.

(Donations gladly accepted....feed the addiction!)

The Simple Woman

I discovered The Simple Woman on one of the blogs I peeked at this week. She does her "For Today" entry every Monday, but since I just found her I'm doing it today. I think I might move it to Monday and make it a habit. Here goes.

For Today...

Outside my Window... It's sunny. I'm hoping any praying that we get some of that precious and much needed rain from Hurricane Fay. We're parched.

I am thankful for... being healthy for the past 8 days. I hope the worst of the tummy troubles is behind me. I'm taking my Cipro, eating my Activia (not with the Cipro, of course) and trying to stay healthy. Praying, praying, praying to stay well.

From the kitchen... I think I'm going to make a homemade dessert today. We have a few overripe bananas. I think I'll make a few loaves of banana bread and take a couple out to the kids' school tomorrow. The teachers are busy getting their classrooms ready! Aiden's been begging for some potato salad, so I might stop by the produce stand and buy some potatoes to make that for him tonight.

I am wearing... Comfy black lounge pants and a t-shirt.

I am reading... The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson.

I am hoping... to be able to finish my to do list today while the kids are at their Nana's.

I am hearing... the TV, Elvis on my iPod, and Lillian telling me something about The Little Mermaid.

I am creating... lists, lists and more lists. Much to do before our Disney trip!

Around the house... boys playing computer games, kids getting ready to go have lunch with Daddy, laundry to wash, laundry to fold, clothes to get ready for consignment...movies to watch and be returned to Netflix...a dirty house waiting for Kim to come clean tomorrow.

One of my favorite things... this summer my favorite thing has been taking the kids to lunch with their dad and having him drop them off at his mom's. I've really enjoyed my Wednesdays this summer. One of my other new favorite things is our fish tank. My back and behind hurt from sitting on the squatty stool we've placed in front of the tank. It's totally engrossing.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... wash, hang and iron winter clothes for my appointment at the consignment store, make packing and grocery lists for our Disney trip, wash the kids' laundry, wash our laundry, pack for Disney, take the kids out to their school to drop off their school supplies and meet/reunite with their teachers

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...





In a week I'll be checking into that hotel for a glorious end of summer vacation. I cannot WAIT.

Sunshine in the House

" A good laugh is sunshine in a house." - Author Unknown

Last night hubby and I watched the Adam Sandler movie "Click". It was a funny little movie with a heartwarming message, and it made us laugh heartily several times. The premise of the movie is that Sandler's character, Michael, has obtained a universal remote he can use to adjust time (pausing, fast-forwarding, etc.) Our favorite part is probably the film's most juvenile moment, but man, did it tickle our funny bones. The boss, who is played by David "I'm Enjoying a 2nd Career as a Reality Show Judge" Hasselhoff, is telling Michael that his promotion (which he thought he had in the bag) isn't a done deal. Michael pauses time, jumps up on the desk, and floats several "air biscuits" in his boss' face. Then he jumps down, sits back in his chair and unpauses life. The resulting scene is just priceless. Cracks me up thinking about it.

So today at lunch Camryn asked me and the hubby what we were laughing at last night. We retold the story to the kids and we all got a good laugh. While we were laughing, hubby noticed that Lillian was crying. He asked her what was wrong and she said, "I bitted my finger!" She'd stuck a roll on her finger and proceeded to take a big bite out of the roll, not realizing that she'd simultaneously be chomping on Mr. Pointer Man.

Bless Lillian's heart, we all started laughing again. She didn't like that one bit, but when Aiden passed Lillian the pepper and said, "Want pepper on that?" we all lost it again. Lillian smiled, too.

Laughter. It's like sunshine in the house.

Monday, Monday

Went to the doctor today. Took all 4 kiddos with me. They took a bath in hand sanitizer several times while we were there and again after we left. We don't need ANY more sickies in this house.

Told the doctor about my stomach ailment.

Got some Cipro in case it's bacterial.

(Here's the bad part...stop reading if you have a weak tummy)









I have to poo in a cup so they can test the poo for parasites and other intestinal yuckies.

You know I just can't wait for that.

I just hope they find out what's wrong with me (er, us... because Camryn was sick again this morning...)

Fish Talk

Our family is fish obsessed. We've taken to sitting in front of the new fish tank about as often as we sit in front of the television. It's fascinating to have this little ecosystem in our very own den. Who knew it would be this entertaining?

My husband and my older daughter, Camryn, like to fish watch more than anyone. Several times this week I've seen them like this, engrossed in conversation about our new wards.



I think it's awesome. I love to hear them chatting outside my office door (which is where the tank is...) Camryn soaks up everything her dad has to teach her about the fish, and she's taken to Googling stuff about fish on her own time. I think she's more invested in this tank than her daddy is. She's even developed some fish-like tendencies:



I've been swept up into the whole fish world myself. I stop and stare at the tank several times a day. I have chastised Camryn for getting too emotional when we lose a fish, but yesterday I found myself overreacting when Big Red (our Betta) was stuck in the pump. His gorgeous fantail had gotten caught and I didn't notice until it was almost too late. He swam away once we released him from the pump's suction, but he was dead when we returned from church last night. Poor fella. I was a little sad. He was the one I watched the most (I even gave him his name!)

We bought 3 preggo Guppies at PetSmart on Friday night, and this morning one of them had babies. Camryn was so excited! We were keeping the moms-to-be in a maternity net so the other fish wouldn't eat the babies, but we released them this morning after the first one gave birth. The two moms that have yet to give birth would eat the other's guppies, so they had to move out. The babies are still in the net, and the other two preggos will have to give birth and try to protect their fry from the other fish. Hey, it's the survival of the fittest (and we don't need 50 guppies in the tank!)

Here are our newest additions:



The other fishies are already very interested in what's swimming around in the maternity net. It's like seeing a bunch of untouchable pizza slices and hamburgers.



We got two new Neon Tetras to replace our dead Nick Jonas. We've renamed the group the Jackson 5 ("Who's that?" my kids said. Can you believe?!? Well... maybe it's better that they not know that cute little lead singer became an alleged pedophile...)



This is one of our Silver Dollar fish. We have two of them, but they haven't been named (mainly because we can't tell them apart...) These guys are my favorite, but I think they hide from me. They're never around when I want to see them. I have to sneak up on them. I'm amazed this one stayed still for a picture.



Those Silver Dollars like to eat the smallest of our new Ghost Shrimp that hubby picked up today. The bad thing about the fish dying is that they have to be returned so we can get our money back, and that prompts another round of fish and equipment purchases. Hence the new shrimp in the tank. Why shrimp? Well, I was told they help keep the tank clean by eating the algae. They were a must have, he said.



These are our Dwarf Garamis. We have one that has a small dorsal fin (we call her Miley Cyrus) and another with a larger dorsal fin that we call Hannah Montana.





This is one of our angel fish, appropriately named Angel. The angel fish are fun to watch, because although they're schoolers (they swim together) they do like to nip at one another.



Another (unnamed) Angel Fish:



We also picked up some new Zebra fish and some algae eating fish (I call those scumsuckers), which are way too fast to be photographed. They zip all over the tank and make things interesting. It's really cool to see the scumsuckers stuck to the glass of the tank. They're like little vacuum cleaners.

Are you bored yet?

Husband

I've seen this on so many of my friends' blogs lately, so I thought I'd put it on mine, too. (And no laughing at the pink backpack. There's a story there...)



What is his name? Stan, Daddy, Doctor

How long have you been married? Coming up on 14(!) years.

How long did you date? From August '94 until we married January '96. We were engaged December '94. I had known him for 4 months when I agreed to be his wife. I just knew he was the one.

How old is he? Just turned 37 in June.

Who eats more? He does.

Who said I love you first? He did. On our first real date (we met on AOL and talked on the phone for a month before we met in person...) My response? I was so shocked I said, "I kinda like you, too." I did love him, but it was weird to hear him say it since we had just "officially" met.

Who is taller? He is, by 4 inches.

Who sings better? That would probably be me, but he can pick out a tune better. He just sings so softly that it's hard to hear him.

Who's temper is worse? Mine. He's very patient, but he can get really mad if things build up.

Who does the laundry? That would be me. He'll take the hampers from our closet to the laundry room for me, but that's where his responsibility stops. I relieved him of all laundry duty when we got married. I'm very picky about doing the laundry. He will put his away, but he hardly ever washes anything but towels.

Who pays the bills? He does. Most of our bills are paid via automatic withdrawal, but he's the one that set up all of that. He's the money nerd.

Who cooks dinner? I do most of the time, but he will if I'm tired or sick. He's a great cook, but he doesn't measure anything. Makes me crazy, because his recipes can't be duplicated!

Who mows the lawn? Mr. Fred. He's been mowing our lawn for a few years now. He's a really nice guy... very patient and willing to move the kids' toys out of the way when he mows.

Who wears the pants in the family? He is. He welcomes my input, but he makes the final decisions on most things.

Fascination

I should probably save this one for Wordless Wednesday, but it's too cute. Annabelle loves the fishies!

It Is "Fin"ished

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of one of the Jonas Brothers. Yes, our Nick died today. May he rest in peace.



(That's not actually Nick. Ours was grey and bloated, so I used my old friend Google Images to bring you a better picture of what Nick might've looked like at the height of his time in our tank...which was all of 3 days...)

Bubble... Bubble... Toil and Trouble...

I knew it would happen.



You can barely see it for the crowd of children jockeying for position around it, but that's our new fish tank.

What, you say? Didn't you just get a 5-gallon tank on Monday?

Why yes, you're right, dear readers.

But that wasn't enough. Once my husband got the small tank home, he started dreaming of bigger, better tanks. He assured me he would gradually build on this fish obsession, but yesterday he called me and asked me to measure the only empty wall in our den. He was standing in the fish section in Wal Mart when he called. Maybe I should've fudged the measurements a little, because he took the children back to PetSmart and bought the biggest tank he could find that would fit on that wall.

The kids and hubby were all up until 9:30 last night filling the tank with gravel, faux underwater flora, structures and of course, water.





At last, the bubbles rose, the light was turned on and the children sat mesmerized in front of the tank. It is quite pleasant to watch and listen to.



There were no fish in the tank until this morning. Something about the temperature having to rise and all that hoo ha I know nothing about. It's nice to watch, but I have resigned all fish care to my husband. I have killed fish in the past, and I don't want their blood (do fish have blood?) on my hands.

On another note, I made an awesome purchase myself yesterday:



That, for the unscrapulous of you out there, is the much sought after Fiskars Threading Water punch. It makes that pretty scalloped edge you see on the paper. Ain't it purty?

Wordless Wednesday

Not Much Has Changed, But They Live Underwater...

Meet the newest members of our family:



Those are 3 Neon Tetras. We call them the Jonas Brothers. We're not really sure what their genders are, but we thought since they're a trio and our 10 year-old is in LOVE with Nick, Joe and Kevin, the name fit.

My husband had a 10-gallon tank when he was in school, and he's longed to bring fish back into our home since then. We've had cats since 1995, so he didn't want to tempt the cats with the fish. I guess he changed his mind, because while I was in Hair Masters with the girls getting haircuts, the mister took the boys into PetSmart and bought a 5-gallon tank, some accessories and these cuties. I kinda like 'em. I hope we graudate to a larger tank soon.





The cats don't seem the least bit interested in the fish. Maybe they fish are too small to be seen. Either way, the lid can't be penetrated by the kitties, so I think we're safe. We'll see. Our trio may be a duo by tomorrow.

Oh, and here's Lillian's haircut. Quite a drastic change, but I was sick to death of hearing her (fake) screams of (fake) pain every time I touched her hair.

Golden

SO PROUD



TO BE



AN AMERICAN



GO USA!

And to the French team:

"True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes." ~Edward Frederick Halifax

"It is always the secure who are humble." ~Gilbert Keith Chesterton

"None are so empty as those who are full of themselves." ~Benjamin Whichcote

"A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle." ~Benjamin Franklin

The Best Friends...

....are good books.

"Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book." ~Author Unknown

"A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it." ~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

I just finished a great book. I climbed into bed around 7 pm last night, exhausted from being sick and just plain tired of being awake. I wasn't really ready for sleep, though, so I picked up a book I'd purchased at Barnes & Noble on Wednesday. I'd read a brief review in People magazine and seen the book listed as one of my choices in the Book of the Month Club to which I belong. I bought it on a complete whim, but I'm oh, so glad I did. It's a treasure. One of those rare tomes you just do not want to end. I loved it.

The book?



The book is made up entirely of letters written between the main character, Juliet, and the people in her life in post-World War II England. I'm now fascinated with the Channel Isles and Guernsey and so many other things that were part of the book. It was a charming read, a great refuge from the in-your-face, skirt-the-edges of vulgarity I've found in a lot of modern books. This one just captured my heart. I highly recommend it.

In fact, I'm going to give it away. Post a comment, a greeting, a single letter... anything... and I'll put your name in a hat. At the end of a week or so (or whenever I remember...) I'll choose a name out of the hat and send my copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society onto the lucky winner.... because.....

"Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind." ~James Russell Lowell

Friday Feast

Again, a meme, because I think I've thrown up my creativity along with everything else lately. I picked this one up from this site. Bon Appetit!

Appetizer: When was the last time you had your hair cut/trimmed?

Probably 3 or 4 months ago. I've gone through so many hairdressers in the past few years. I had a great one that could do whatever I asked with my hair. I showed up one day for my regular 6-week appointment, and she was gone. No notice at all. Just vanished. I found out later through a friend that she was a drug addict. I haven't heard from her since, and I haven't been able to find anyone that I click with, either. It's a shame, because I really enjoy getting my hair cut, but I've gotten frustrated with the search.

Soup: Name one thing you miss about being a child.

Dare I say the lack of responsibility? I mean, I did have responsibilities within my family (chores, etc.), but not like I do now. I can't abandon my children or chores on a whim to go read a book or shop or do things I could truly spend hours doing (scrapbooking, watching movies, etc.) The children and this house and all things associated with it are my responsibilities, and that's what I signed up for when I got married and bore children. I just miss the freedom of someone else having all that responsibility.

Salad: Pick one: butter, margarine, olive oil.

Buttah. I love me some real butter. One of my fondest childhood memories is churning butter with my kindergarten class. It was around Thanksgiving and we were learning about the Pilgrims and such, and Ms. Loretta brought in a real churn and cream and we made butter. She served it on crackers; we each got ONE measly cracker with the most heavenly substance I'd ever tasted spread across it. The skies opened and the angels sang and I was besotted with butter from that day forward. I was very fond of the butter tub as a kid, too. I have a vivid memory of sitting on my booster seat in the middle of the kitchen when I was maybe 3 or 4, tub of butter on my lap and knife (surely not? Maybe a spoon...) in my hand, eating butter. You can have your margarine and your olive oil. I may have clogged arteries, but buttah is bettah!

Main Course: If you could learn another language, which one would you pick, and why?

I took 4 years of Spanish in high school and one junior level class of Spanish my freshman year of college, so I'd probably choose to build on that knowledge. Plus, our community seems to have a high concentration of Hispanic people, so it would serve me well to brush up on my Espanol, si?

Dessert: Finish this sentence: In 5 years I expect to be…

Forty. I don't think too far ahead. I prefer to live life day to day. It's less stressful that way.

And here we go again

Last night. 11 pm.
Me.
Sick.
Again.

This morning.
4(ish).
Aiden sick.
Again.

This morning.
5(ish).
Me. Again.

I am starting to think we're never, ever going to stop throwing up. Thank goodness my sister is here to help.

Kodak Moments

I call the following series of pictures, "What Happens When Your Kids Get Ahold of Your Camera".

Gimme' Five

The blogging well has been drying out much like the lakes around here, so I turned to my old friend Google for some inspiration. I told Google to find me topics related to "Blog Memes" and I came across this blog. Every Monday she posts a new "Gimme Five" topic, so I'm going to tackle this week's subject:

Give Me Five things you haven't done in a long time that you would like to do again.

The blog owner says, "I love thinking back to old times and every time I do, I always end up with the same question, 'Why has it been so long since I've done that?' So let's make a list and then *maybe* think about doing them!"

Gotcha.

Ahem.

(1) I haven't jumped on a trampoline since I was a little kid. We had a round one in the backyard, and I loved jumping on it. I loved everything about it: the feeling of temporary weightlessnes, the ability to turn flips, the up and down and up and down, and the soaring. Nowadays I cringe when I think of how badly I could've gotten hurt on that trampoline. That was in the 80s, before there were nets and safety measures for trampolines. I don't know where I lost my sense of daring, but it's gone. I would never even consider buying a trampoline for my children, but I sure would love to jump on one again. In private, of course, 'cause who wants to see all my flabby bits fly up in my face?

(2) I used to be a roller skating fool. My dad used to back the cars out of the garage so my sister and I could skate in the shade on the smooth floor. Round and round and round and round. LOVED it. Loved the skating rink, too. I've been to our local skating rink a handful of times, and although it's not the same rink I went to as a kid, it could be. It looks (AND SMELLS!) exactly the same. It's a time capsule, with the swirly 70s carpet, Disco ball and the same old brown skates with red toe stops. Good times, good times.

(3) I used to spend my summer days beside the pool. I'd go out early in the day with a radio, a towel and a good book, and I usually wouldn't go back inside until the book was finished (or if it started raining or got darker...) I still love going out to the pool, but now I rarely get to read. Between refereeing the kids' arguments and fulfilling their requests to play with them in the water, I can't read. They get tired of swimming after 2 hours or so, and there is the sun factor, too, so we just can't be outside all day anymore. I miss that.

(4) Before I became a scrapbooker I was a cross stitcher. I have several cross stitched pieces framed and hung around my home. It was a soothing hobby, and I really enjoyed it, but I just don't have time for it anymore. I have lots of unfinished projects in a bin in the basement. I'll probably have diminished eyesight by the time my schedule is open enough to pursue that hobby again.

(5) I used to enjoy the company of women. I still do, for the most part, but I can't say I trust a whole lot of women anymore. I'm always wondering what they're thinking of me and what they will say behind my back. I didn't used to be that way, but experience has taught me that a lot of women have a hidden agenda.

I have my sister, my husband, my children, my college roommate and my parents. That's the entire list of people I can trust 100%. I'm very guarded with other folks because I've been burned so many times by people (WOMEN) I THOUGHT were my friends. Catty, judgmental, controlling, narcissistic, shallow, insecure (!),cliquish, self-inflated women that will turn on you in the blink of an eye and have no problems tearing you apart or even inventing stories about you to turn people against you. Sounds like high school, no? Ha. The immaturity doesn't end there. Some women never grow up.

In the past few years, the word "bitch" has come out of hiding. It used to be a slur, but now most women wear it like a badge of honor. Women are proud to be bitches. I don't get it.

"And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'"

Billy Joel hit the nail on the head, 'cause that's women for you. Sad, but true. I'm so sick of it. Sorry, ladies, but there needs to be an anti-bitch movement. We need an infusion of gentility, kindness, HUMILITY. You can be strong without being mean. It does work.

(And I'm not saying that all women I've met are like that... I have a handful of lovely female acquaintances about whom I think very highly. They're a very rare bunch, though...and I'm sorry if the B-word offends you. There's just no better way to put it, unfortunately.)

Nothing Magical About August

Turning 3 will not cure the terrible 2s, and August 1st didn't hold any magic as far as getting rid of this stomach bug. I was attacked again yesterday.

I had a To Do list about a mile long, and since yesterday was the beginning of Tax Free Weekend here, I decided to knock out the whole list in one day. We had lunch with my husband, then set out on our adventure.

Our first stop was the local gift shop where we buy our Webkinz. I'll admit that I'm a hopeless addict.

How could you resist faces like this?





I never got excited by the whole Beanie Baby craze (I owned a select few), but these Webkinz are like cuddly crack. I bought the cocoa dinosaur for myself (her name is Matilda, in case you're curious... I thought about going with Puff, because she looks like a dragon, but that is so cliched.) The yellow critter is a Wacky Zingoz, and he's my favorite. He has the cutest little voice. I am going to keep him on my desk so I can squeeze him every now and then. He doesn't mind. ; )

The goldfish belongs to one of the children. I bought each of them their own fish. The fishes' names are Cheeto, Cleo, Splash and Whirlpool. They arrived in stores just yesterday, and they are the first Webkinz pets to get underwater rooms. It's WAY cool. Can you believe it? Can you believe that I'm this STOKED about stuffed animals imported from China?!? Yeah, me either, but it is what it is.

After we bought our Webkinz, we went to AC Moore to pick up a few things. That's when I started feeling icky. I kept going, though, stopping in at Old Navy for dressy shorts for Quinn and then to Shoe Carnival to buy back-to-school sneakers for the 3 youngest kids. At least that went quickly, because I felt like I was going to pass out. It didn't help that the stores were jam packed because of the tax free weekend on top of it being near 100 degrees. Stupid, stupid me.

I had one more stop before I could get home: Target. That's not a place I like to take the kids on days I feel 100%, but I gathered up my courage and forged ahead. The list was short, and I promised the children rewards if they'd behave in Target like they had all day long. They were amazingly well behaved given all the shopping, walking and sweating we'd been doing all day. They acted exactly as I had requested, so Lillian chose a Barbie, the boys chose a Lego set (to share! Yes! I offered them one BIG Lego set to share vs. getting one tiny set each, and they chose to SHARE! Score!) Camryn chose a bead curtain to hang in her bedroom doorway. We were done, and just in time.

When I got home, things just went from bad to worse. I feel much better today, but last night was not fun. To put a positive spin on it, I can say that I'm so thankful that it all happened during the day so I could go to bed on time. I'd be a zombie if I'd had to get up in the middle of the night. Be grateful for the little things, I guess. Today is a new day. I just hope it doesn't come back.... again. That is one visitor that is NOT welcome in my home. EVER.

I Am a Yellow Crayon

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors. You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius. Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way. While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme. Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

What Color Crayon Are You?

The Greatest Swimmer Interviewed

This is a video I shot right after Lillian swam without her floaties on Monday. That's Camryn doing the interview, and at the end it's Aiden's voice you hear saying, "And we're off." That was a totally spontaneous moment that made me laugh. Don't know where he picked up that phrase, but we all had a good laugh after he said it.

(That's Quinn in the red shirt. His SuperSoaker was being used as a camera. He must've been getting another view of the interview...)