Mama Blog

Dropping the ball

The ball just dropped. Steven and I turned around from the computers, watched it, and that was that. Woohoo! Big celebration at the Bates house. This has been such a year of growth, for all of us I think.

I'm too tired to reflect on this year tonight. (I had to retype tonight three times, yeah I'm tired) It's technically still 2003 here in the Central Time Zone. Maybe we'll go ring in the new year again.

Dropping the ball

The ball just dropped. Steven and I turned around from the computers, watched it, and that was that. Woohoo! Big celebration at the Bates house. This has been such a year of growth, for all of us I think.

I'm too tired to reflect on this year tonight. (I had to retype tonight three times, yeah I'm tired) It's technically still 2003 here in the Central Time Zone. Maybe we'll go ring in the new year again.

Random Shots

We chose a camera. Now to figure out all the bells and whistles. Steven took a stab at it. Keep in mind, he has used but isn't comfortable with a mostly manual camera.

(click for larger)

And then I played.

I'll take more later. We've got a sitter for a while. Since Steven's working all weekend, we're going out for my birthday today to see Lord of the Rings: Return of the King!! Thirty. Wow.

Random Shots

We chose a camera. Now to figure out all the bells and whistles. Steven took a stab at it. Keep in mind, he has used but isn't comfortable with a mostly manual camera.

(click for larger)

And then I played.

I'll take more later. We've got a sitter for a while. Since Steven's working all weekend, we're going out for my birthday today to see Lord of the Rings: Return of the King!! Thirty. Wow.

End of Year Q&A

End of year 40 questions
Stolen from DJ.

1. What did you do in 2003 that you'd never done before? Say no to someone.
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend Stacy had her fourth child, Hudson.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes. My step grandfather just before Lizzy's first birthday.
5. What countries did you visit? Does LaLa Land count?
6. What would you like to have in 2004 that you lacked in 2003? A consistenly cleaner home and a consistent good attitude.
7. What date(s) from 2003 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 2. I met Dj in person and August 23 we flew to Seattle and saw Mike and Jody, Big Dog and Susie.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Learning to say no.
9. What was your biggest failure? Not keeping calm when I know I can.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Illness of the mind, so to speak.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Steven's new truck and my camera
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Steven's for not throttling me or running away during "the episode."
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Mine.
14. Where did most of your money go? Bills.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Feeling like my old self again.
16. What song will always remind you of 2003? No idea.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? MUCH Happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? 15 lbs thinner.
iii. richer or poorer? (same as Dj) Money wise, the same. Otherwise, richer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Reading.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Yelling.
20. How will you be spending Christmas? Christmas day was just the five of us.
22. Did you fall in love in 2003? All over again with my honey.
23. How many one-night stands? In 2003? None, ever.
24.What was your favorite TV program? We cancelled cable this year, but Law and Order CI was good.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope.
26. What was the best book you read? My Bible.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? None.
28. What did you want and get? A digital camera.
29. What did you want and not get? ??
30. What was your favorite film of this year? Lord of the Rings: Two Towers.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 29 and I honestly can't remember.
32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having worked on this depression sooner.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2003? BAHAHAHAHAHA!
34. What kept you sane? Leaning on God. Steven. Chatting with Dj on a regular basis. Friends and family.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Vincent D'Onofrio.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? I try to stay out of it for the most part.
37. Who did you miss? Our families.
38. Who was the best new person you met? Dj is just downright cool! And offline-Lynn.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2003. You'll end up miserable if you try to please everyone.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Ch-ch-changes!

End of Year Q&A

End of year 40 questions
Stolen from DJ.

1. What did you do in 2003 that you'd never done before? Say no to someone.
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend Stacy had her fourth child, Hudson.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes. My step grandfather just before Lizzy's first birthday.
5. What countries did you visit? Does LaLa Land count?
6. What would you like to have in 2004 that you lacked in 2003? A consistenly cleaner home and a consistent good attitude.
7. What date(s) from 2003 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 2. I met Dj in person and August 23 we flew to Seattle and saw Mike and Jody, Big Dog and Susie.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Learning to say no.
9. What was your biggest failure? Not keeping calm when I know I can.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Illness of the mind, so to speak.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Steven's new truck and my camera
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Steven's for not throttling me or running away during "the episode."
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Mine.
14. Where did most of your money go? Bills.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Feeling like my old self again.
16. What song will always remind you of 2003? No idea.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? MUCH Happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? 15 lbs thinner.
iii. richer or poorer? (same as Dj) Money wise, the same. Otherwise, richer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Reading.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Yelling.
20. How will you be spending Christmas? Christmas day was just the five of us.
22. Did you fall in love in 2003? All over again with my honey.
23. How many one-night stands? In 2003? None, ever.
24.What was your favorite TV program? We cancelled cable this year, but Law and Order CI was good.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope.
26. What was the best book you read? My Bible.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? None.
28. What did you want and get? A digital camera.
29. What did you want and not get? ??
30. What was your favorite film of this year? Lord of the Rings: Two Towers.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 29 and I honestly can't remember.
32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having worked on this depression sooner.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2003? BAHAHAHAHAHA!
34. What kept you sane? Leaning on God. Steven. Chatting with Dj on a regular basis. Friends and family.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Vincent D'Onofrio.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? I try to stay out of it for the most part.
37. Who did you miss? Our families.
38. Who was the best new person you met? Dj is just downright cool! And offline-Lynn.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2003. You'll end up miserable if you try to please everyone.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Ch-ch-changes!

Playing Catch-Up

Our holiday turned out to be very nice. We missed our family this year but we talked to each of them on the phone.

The girls got all sorts of things that they loved. Dress up clothes, horses, books, clothes. Lots of things. On the day after Christmas, Pam, Charles and the boys came over. The girls played until they were worn slap out last night. We were standing around the kitchen while the kids were sitting down having dinner. Someone looked over at the table and noticed Emily was falling asleep in her chair. heh.

We all went into the living room to pile up on the furniture, finish eating and watch a movie. Em managed to stay awake through the whole thing, though she bounced from lap to lap. The girls willing went to bed (GASP!) just a few minutes after our company had to hit the road.

We all got up this morning fairly early. Some of us not by choice. I've gotten into the habit of staying up late and not sleeping enough or wanting to sleep in. Blech. It's my body's pattern to do that. I have to basically force myself onto a "regular" schedule. Steven's at work today. He works all next weekend, which is of course my birthday. feh.

OH! Among the other lovely things I received this year, I got the first season of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Oh dear Lord I swooned! It's no secret to Steven or anyone else really that I think Vincent D'Onofrio is the bee's knees. Steven used to say that the nights it came on television (when we had it) were my "date nights." "Oh yes, it's Friday (or whatever day, I can't remember now) your boyfriend is on tv tonight." He's a character my honey! I also tease him about the same sort of thing. Well, not with Vincent D'Onofrio. That would be, um, weird. I know, for instance, that he thinks she is pretty. I tend to agree with him on that. She doesn't fall into the "disgustingly thin and scary" category. She isn't the blonde haired, blue eyed "typical" star. Anyway....

I was trying to think of some funny stories to tell you guys from the last few days. But mostly I'm going blank. I'm very tired after several days of going hard all day long and not sleeping enough. I also seem to have a headache and I'm thinking it's sinus related.

I still haven't made a definate decision on a camera yet. I've narrowed it down. The one I'd LOVE to have is way more than we can spend or even think of spending. But, man I honestly drool over that camera. The other ones are all the same brand I had before, Fuji. The three I'm waffling between are the FinePix S5000, S7000, and the S602Z. Each one has it's good points. So, I'm really not sure what I'll do. I feel lost without my camera, though.

I'm going to go work on cleaning upstairs. The June Cleaver alien mothership may have left (I don't think the Air Force would've liked them hovering long) but one of them still seems to be using me as it's host. Despite cooking three VERY large meals in a couple of days, my kitchen stayed relatively clutter and mess free. My living room stayed clean (minus the toys when the kids were up) and Steven kept the rug clean. I've kept up on laundry, but there were several stacks upstairs that needed to be dealt with before. Now is the time!

Playing Catch-Up

Our holiday turned out to be very nice. We missed our family this year but we talked to each of them on the phone.

The girls got all sorts of things that they loved. Dress up clothes, horses, books, clothes. Lots of things. On the day after Christmas, Pam, Charles and the boys came over. The girls played until they were worn slap out last night. We were standing around the kitchen while the kids were sitting down having dinner. Someone looked over at the table and noticed Emily was falling asleep in her chair. heh.

We all went into the living room to pile up on the furniture, finish eating and watch a movie. Em managed to stay awake through the whole thing, though she bounced from lap to lap. The girls willing went to bed (GASP!) just a few minutes after our company had to hit the road.

We all got up this morning fairly early. Some of us not by choice. I've gotten into the habit of staying up late and not sleeping enough or wanting to sleep in. Blech. It's my body's pattern to do that. I have to basically force myself onto a "regular" schedule. Steven's at work today. He works all next weekend, which is of course my birthday. feh.

OH! Among the other lovely things I received this year, I got the first season of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Oh dear Lord I swooned! It's no secret to Steven or anyone else really that I think Vincent D'Onofrio is the bee's knees. Steven used to say that the nights it came on television (when we had it) were my "date nights." "Oh yes, it's Friday (or whatever day, I can't remember now) your boyfriend is on tv tonight." He's a character my honey! I also tease him about the same sort of thing. Well, not with Vincent D'Onofrio. That would be, um, weird. I know, for instance, that he thinks she is pretty. I tend to agree with him on that. She doesn't fall into the "disgustingly thin and scary" category. She isn't the blonde haired, blue eyed "typical" star. Anyway....

I was trying to think of some funny stories to tell you guys from the last few days. But mostly I'm going blank. I'm very tired after several days of going hard all day long and not sleeping enough. I also seem to have a headache and I'm thinking it's sinus related.

I still haven't made a definate decision on a camera yet. I've narrowed it down. The one I'd LOVE to have is way more than we can spend or even think of spending. But, man I honestly drool over that camera. The other ones are all the same brand I had before, Fuji. The three I'm waffling between are the FinePix S5000, S7000, and the S602Z. Each one has it's good points. So, I'm really not sure what I'll do. I feel lost without my camera, though.

I'm going to go work on cleaning upstairs. The June Cleaver alien mothership may have left (I don't think the Air Force would've liked them hovering long) but one of them still seems to be using me as it's host. Despite cooking three VERY large meals in a couple of days, my kitchen stayed relatively clutter and mess free. My living room stayed clean (minus the toys when the kids were up) and Steven kept the rug clean. I've kept up on laundry, but there were several stacks upstairs that needed to be dealt with before. Now is the time!

Uber-Cleaner

June Cleaver aliens have abducted the real me and replaced it with this cleaning freak. I woke up and started and just now quit. Downstairs looks really nice though.

Only a few more things to bake/cook before Friday. We're having a small dinner with the five of us tomorrow. Then on Friday, Pam, Charles and the boys are coming for the day. We'll visit, eat, open gifts, eat some more. Somewhere in there Charles will surely fall asleep on the couch.

Oh crap. We were planning to have pizza for dinner and I just realized I never bought the supplies. GACK! Plan B??

We just all went for a walk/bike ride. Katy still seems terribly afraid of riding the bike with the training wheels even slightly off the ground. She rode around the neighborhood (a good sized city block) twice and then for the last round she ran. Emily scared the living daylights out of me on that last round. We were all the way back to our street. Steven (pushing Lizzy in the stroller) and Katy raced to the house. Emily was riding beside me and I was walking as fast as my short little legs would carry me in an attempt to get some exercise. Emily decided she wanted to catch up to them so she raced off. She's riding down the middle of the road (which is the ONLY level spot) and a car comes up behind me. The speed limit is 10mph here so I wasn't too worried about that. I called up to her to move over to the side. She didn't hear me. I called up again and when she heard me she turned around sharply, saw how close the car was and over compensated. PLOP! The car stopped but when Emily jumped right up and smiled they went on. I was hoofing it up the street (very out of breath and out of shape) and she was fine. Startled me more than her, though. She hopped right back on and rode home.

Well, we're going to go watch some holiday movies, read some holiday stories, eat some pizza (we ordered some), and take a bath. The girls will get their jammies I made (yes, I finally finished) and we'll hang out for a while. I even had time to put my pants together. They are very, um, different. I didn't have enough material to make the pants so I used two different flannels. The front is red flannel with large plaid and the back is small red plaid. Quite funny, but man are they comfortable! I wasn't sure they would fit. I had to wing it because the pattern didn't have my size. I also made them capri pant length which is just right for me.

Happy holidays you guys! We love and miss our families this year. I don't have my digital camera so the pictures from tomorrow won't be up for a while. I will, however, put up an entry that is as descriptive as I can make it.

Uber-Cleaner

June Cleaver aliens have abducted the real me and replaced it with this cleaning freak. I woke up and started and just now quit. Downstairs looks really nice though.

Only a few more things to bake/cook before Friday. We're having a small dinner with the five of us tomorrow. Then on Friday, Pam, Charles and the boys are coming for the day. We'll visit, eat, open gifts, eat some more. Somewhere in there Charles will surely fall asleep on the couch.

Oh crap. We were planning to have pizza for dinner and I just realized I never bought the supplies. GACK! Plan B??

We just all went for a walk/bike ride. Katy still seems terribly afraid of riding the bike with the training wheels even slightly off the ground. She rode around the neighborhood (a good sized city block) twice and then for the last round she ran. Emily scared the living daylights out of me on that last round. We were all the way back to our street. Steven (pushing Lizzy in the stroller) and Katy raced to the house. Emily was riding beside me and I was walking as fast as my short little legs would carry me in an attempt to get some exercise. Emily decided she wanted to catch up to them so she raced off. She's riding down the middle of the road (which is the ONLY level spot) and a car comes up behind me. The speed limit is 10mph here so I wasn't too worried about that. I called up to her to move over to the side. She didn't hear me. I called up again and when she heard me she turned around sharply, saw how close the car was and over compensated. PLOP! The car stopped but when Emily jumped right up and smiled they went on. I was hoofing it up the street (very out of breath and out of shape) and she was fine. Startled me more than her, though. She hopped right back on and rode home.

Well, we're going to go watch some holiday movies, read some holiday stories, eat some pizza (we ordered some), and take a bath. The girls will get their jammies I made (yes, I finally finished) and we'll hang out for a while. I even had time to put my pants together. They are very, um, different. I didn't have enough material to make the pants so I used two different flannels. The front is red flannel with large plaid and the back is small red plaid. Quite funny, but man are they comfortable! I wasn't sure they would fit. I had to wing it because the pattern didn't have my size. I also made them capri pant length which is just right for me.

Happy holidays you guys! We love and miss our families this year. I don't have my digital camera so the pictures from tomorrow won't be up for a while. I will, however, put up an entry that is as descriptive as I can make it.

This is not Christmas weather

(I have no idea why the thumbnails come up blurry, click to see it)

(click for larger)

I want some snow!! Not a lot. I'd settle for a little. All we're getting is rain. I didn't expect snow here but I'd love to have a Christmas with snow. Maybe one year we'll be stationed somewhere that gets snow.

I finished Emily's jammies. She still needs to try on the top for me. Katy's were finished sometime around midnight last night. I have to have her try the pants on so I can set the elastic and the length. Steven's are finished. I pinned the pattern onto some fabric in the off chance that I get to make myself a pair of jammie pants. Not likely to happen before Christmas Eve though.

I stumbled across a box of clothes today. Not literally stumbled. I was picking up the yarn in the sewing room since the cats decided they'd strow it all over the place last night. When I went to put the yarn box up I saw a box I hadn't noticed before. Upon opening, I found several things that are 2T size and several that are 3T. One dress still has the tags on it. I think that dress was a gift and Em never got a chance to wear it before she outgrew it. I'll have to make sure Lizzy gets a shot at wearing it.

I need to get busy baking and finishing up. Made gingerbread men yesterday and they turned out quite soft and yummy. I have plans to make chocolate chip oatmeal, sugar cookies (with help from the girls) and possibly cranberry bars. I also need to whip up at least one batch of fudge for Steven to take in to work tomorrow. A coworker asked for some specifically so I thought I'd send it in. This after last year when they insisted I was trying to make them fat. heh

This is not Christmas weather

(I have no idea why the thumbnails come up blurry, click to see it)

(click for larger)

I want some snow!! Not a lot. I'd settle for a little. All we're getting is rain. I didn't expect snow here but I'd love to have a Christmas with snow. Maybe one year we'll be stationed somewhere that gets snow.

I finished Emily's jammies. She still needs to try on the top for me. Katy's were finished sometime around midnight last night. I have to have her try the pants on so I can set the elastic and the length. Steven's are finished. I pinned the pattern onto some fabric in the off chance that I get to make myself a pair of jammie pants. Not likely to happen before Christmas Eve though.

I stumbled across a box of clothes today. Not literally stumbled. I was picking up the yarn in the sewing room since the cats decided they'd strow it all over the place last night. When I went to put the yarn box up I saw a box I hadn't noticed before. Upon opening, I found several things that are 2T size and several that are 3T. One dress still has the tags on it. I think that dress was a gift and Em never got a chance to wear it before she outgrew it. I'll have to make sure Lizzy gets a shot at wearing it.

I need to get busy baking and finishing up. Made gingerbread men yesterday and they turned out quite soft and yummy. I have plans to make chocolate chip oatmeal, sugar cookies (with help from the girls) and possibly cranberry bars. I also need to whip up at least one batch of fudge for Steven to take in to work tomorrow. A coworker asked for some specifically so I thought I'd send it in. This after last year when they insisted I was trying to make them fat. heh

The Usual Suspects

The cat litter needs to be cleaned. Want to know what tipped me off on that one? No, not the stench of adjusting Daisy to cat food from a diet that previously consisted of kitten food. No, Charlotte and Daisy were not picketing along the top of the stairs with tiny signs demanding Toxic Waste Cleanup NOW! Oh no. I can tell the litter is "scoop-ready" when Lil' Miss Daisy decides to leave me a present in the downstairs bathroom sink. Yes, I'm serious. She gets into the sink and poops. Drives me batty! The litter boxes are typically cleaned out every other day since we got Daisy. But I suppose we'll have to change to every day. Little turd. (no pun intended)

I'm behind on my sewing and wrapping. We give the jammie gift on Christmas Eve. I haven't sewn even the tiniest bit so I'm still right where I was. Steven isn't working at "work work" except for a short stint on Wednesday morning. He'll be home, at least in the mornings, so I can get some things done. He's supposed to find out today if he can work a bit extra over the holidays at the comissary. We could certainly use the money.

We've been sick, out of town and sick again for a good long while, which meant we have been absent from church quite a bit. We went today and people were teasing us about being first time visitors. The funniest part was Emily. She walks into her class for Sunday School, sees Mrs. Debbie and declares "Look, (doing her best Vanna White) I grew up!"

The Usual Suspects

The cat litter needs to be cleaned. Want to know what tipped me off on that one? No, not the stench of adjusting Daisy to cat food from a diet that previously consisted of kitten food. No, Charlotte and Daisy were not picketing along the top of the stairs with tiny signs demanding Toxic Waste Cleanup NOW! Oh no. I can tell the litter is "scoop-ready" when Lil' Miss Daisy decides to leave me a present in the downstairs bathroom sink. Yes, I'm serious. She gets into the sink and poops. Drives me batty! The litter boxes are typically cleaned out every other day since we got Daisy. But I suppose we'll have to change to every day. Little turd. (no pun intended)

I'm behind on my sewing and wrapping. We give the jammie gift on Christmas Eve. I haven't sewn even the tiniest bit so I'm still right where I was. Steven isn't working at "work work" except for a short stint on Wednesday morning. He'll be home, at least in the mornings, so I can get some things done. He's supposed to find out today if he can work a bit extra over the holidays at the comissary. We could certainly use the money.

We've been sick, out of town and sick again for a good long while, which meant we have been absent from church quite a bit. We went today and people were teasing us about being first time visitors. The funniest part was Emily. She walks into her class for Sunday School, sees Mrs. Debbie and declares "Look, (doing her best Vanna White) I grew up!"

Gibberish and whatnot

My old website (helpinghandsdoula.com) is coming down in a few days. If you use it to get here, change your links now. Go ahead. I'll wait.

The girls' dresses for Nancy's wedding were shipped today. They should be here early next week. I went looking for shoes tonight. It's tough to find white dress shoes in the winter. I found ONE pair at JCPenny that was on clearance but they didn't have either size I was looking for. I went to Dillards because I'd seen these shoes on their website. I'd shown them to Nancy, we both loved them. They had Katy's size but not Emily's. As I'm wandering around trying to decide what to do while the salesperson looked around in the back for any other white shoes, Lynn points out these shoes (except in white) to me. They were way up high on a shelf that I hadn't even noticed. And ON SALE no less!! As we take them down and I'm checking them out, the salesperson comes back out and tells me she found another pair. It was, of course, the exact pair we were looking at. So, for $24.99 I got them.

Now they need tights because, well, it's going to be January. Even in south Georgia it's cold in January. They need the thick tights too, not the "pantyhose" type. Katy has some white thick tights that she wears under her uniform skirt in the winter. As long as they STAY white until then, she's all set. Emily only has the thin kind. I'm fairly certain I found Katy's at the BX, so I'll go there and look. I probably should just get Katy a new pair anyway. I could keep them in the package until the wedding, then after that she could use them as a back up pair when I'm washing the other one.

I'm thinking I might use sponge rollers on Katy's hair. It's already curly, I know I know. But this would help her hair keep it's shape and not look as droopy on top. Just have to find some of those rollers. Do they still make those? Emily's hair, well, it's very short. Adorable, but short. It's a "pixie" kind of short. It suits her face and her little impish personality very well. But, there's not a lot that you can do to it. Nancy is getting them a flower halo thingy (what is that called anyway?) to wear so Em's hair will mostly not show. Katy's will though, so I need to figure out how to put part of it up without getting in the way of her halo thingy.

Let's see, what else.....

OH! Katy's at her sleepover. Remember we'd had to pull out the big guns before with the lying issue. She did a fabulous job and now she's enjoying herself immensely.

Not much else going on. Steven works tomorrow and Sunday, which will help a bit with the mulah situation. I don't have a camera. We took it back to Sears and ended up just getting the money credited back to our card. They had a camera we liked (they apparently don't carry the same one we had) but we'd have had to pay about $150 on top of what we were getting back for the damaged camera. Plus, it wasn't in stock and they couldn't get it to me until the Monday after Christmas. So, we're going to research and discuss and get one a bit later.

Must get to sleep. Shopping makes me tired, but going anywhere near a department store or mall this time of year just sucks the life right out of me.

Gibberish and whatnot

My old website (helpinghandsdoula.com) is coming down in a few days. If you use it to get here, change your links now. Go ahead. I'll wait.

The girls' dresses for Nancy's wedding were shipped today. They should be here early next week. I went looking for shoes tonight. It's tough to find white dress shoes in the winter. I found ONE pair at JCPenny that was on clearance but they didn't have either size I was looking for. I went to Dillards because I'd seen these shoes on their website. I'd shown them to Nancy, we both loved them. They had Katy's size but not Emily's. As I'm wandering around trying to decide what to do while the salesperson looked around in the back for any other white shoes, Lynn points out these shoes (except in white) to me. They were way up high on a shelf that I hadn't even noticed. And ON SALE no less!! As we take them down and I'm checking them out, the salesperson comes back out and tells me she found another pair. It was, of course, the exact pair we were looking at. So, for $24.99 I got them.

Now they need tights because, well, it's going to be January. Even in south Georgia it's cold in January. They need the thick tights too, not the "pantyhose" type. Katy has some white thick tights that she wears under her uniform skirt in the winter. As long as they STAY white until then, she's all set. Emily only has the thin kind. I'm fairly certain I found Katy's at the BX, so I'll go there and look. I probably should just get Katy a new pair anyway. I could keep them in the package until the wedding, then after that she could use them as a back up pair when I'm washing the other one.

I'm thinking I might use sponge rollers on Katy's hair. It's already curly, I know I know. But this would help her hair keep it's shape and not look as droopy on top. Just have to find some of those rollers. Do they still make those? Emily's hair, well, it's very short. Adorable, but short. It's a "pixie" kind of short. It suits her face and her little impish personality very well. But, there's not a lot that you can do to it. Nancy is getting them a flower halo thingy (what is that called anyway?) to wear so Em's hair will mostly not show. Katy's will though, so I need to figure out how to put part of it up without getting in the way of her halo thingy.

Let's see, what else.....

OH! Katy's at her sleepover. Remember we'd had to pull out the big guns before with the lying issue. She did a fabulous job and now she's enjoying herself immensely.

Not much else going on. Steven works tomorrow and Sunday, which will help a bit with the mulah situation. I don't have a camera. We took it back to Sears and ended up just getting the money credited back to our card. They had a camera we liked (they apparently don't carry the same one we had) but we'd have had to pay about $150 on top of what we were getting back for the damaged camera. Plus, it wasn't in stock and they couldn't get it to me until the Monday after Christmas. So, we're going to research and discuss and get one a bit later.

Must get to sleep. Shopping makes me tired, but going anywhere near a department store or mall this time of year just sucks the life right out of me.

Daily Rumination

10:49am
Busy as always. Cleaning, cooking, making grocery lists (need to make FUDGE!), planning what to do while Katy's on break from school.

My laundry room, downstairs bathroom, and my kitchen are cleaned (except dishes). I'm planning to clean the living room and work on laundry this afternoon. Need to shop for groceries this afternoon, but we'll meet Steven there after his run. Need to get to Sears to swap out my camera.

I really wish that I could keep on top of the "mess" around here. I feel like I'm forever picking up, straightening up, dejunking. The laundry pile is never ending. Even the clean clothes seem to go on forever. They get folded, put into piles on the couch and they stay there. I think I'll move them all upstairs today and sort them out. I'm very tired of looking at them. My bed gets made every day, mainly because it takes all of two minutes. Lizzy's bed gets made every day because it takes all of 30 seconds. The extra bed in Lizzy's room gets straightened (if needed). But Katy and Em's bunkbeds rarely get made. I love their bunk beds but I'd almost rather they had two seperate twin beds or they slept on the full bed together. At least then it'd be easier to teach them to make up the bed by themselves. I don't really know what to do about it though. I'm sure Steven doesn't want to move the bunk beds Again. I certainly can't do it. (It requires lots of tools and moving heavy stuff)

I could move Lizzy's toddler bed into the room with the bunk beds, move the girls dresser into the room with the full bed. Then Lizzy would share a room with the unoccupied bunks, but when company came they could sleep on the full bed.

I realize this is riveting subject matter. Control yourself. Take a breather, get a drink, then come back. I'm planning to leave this open and type a little at different times today. I would normally just put up seperate entries throughout the day but then most people miss them. Family tends to follow the notify link only and they end up missing other posts. I'll give this method a shot for a bit, see how it works out.

17 days!! ACK!

1:28pm
Working on our menu plan and grocery list for the next week and a half. Now I just have to balance our accounts so I'll know what our money situation is. Blech.

3:50
Becky asked: If you could change one thing or several things about your high school life, what would it be?
I would have waited to have sex. There I said it. I wasn't going to choose that for an answer here because a LOT of my family reads this. But honesty is a good thing and being a Christian now has changed my perspective on a lot of things. (8:47pm) I should have waited. Doesn't matter if it was Steven, the man I did marry.

Anywho, I'm going to bed. It's taken me all day to get through this. Commissary trip, blah blah blah. See you on the flip side.

Daily Rumination

10:49am
Busy as always. Cleaning, cooking, making grocery lists (need to make FUDGE!), planning what to do while Katy's on break from school.

My laundry room, downstairs bathroom, and my kitchen are cleaned (except dishes). I'm planning to clean the living room and work on laundry this afternoon. Need to shop for groceries this afternoon, but we'll meet Steven there after his run. Need to get to Sears to swap out my camera.

I really wish that I could keep on top of the "mess" around here. I feel like I'm forever picking up, straightening up, dejunking. The laundry pile is never ending. Even the clean clothes seem to go on forever. They get folded, put into piles on the couch and they stay there. I think I'll move them all upstairs today and sort them out. I'm very tired of looking at them. My bed gets made every day, mainly because it takes all of two minutes. Lizzy's bed gets made every day because it takes all of 30 seconds. The extra bed in Lizzy's room gets straightened (if needed). But Katy and Em's bunkbeds rarely get made. I love their bunk beds but I'd almost rather they had two seperate twin beds or they slept on the full bed together. At least then it'd be easier to teach them to make up the bed by themselves. I don't really know what to do about it though. I'm sure Steven doesn't want to move the bunk beds Again. I certainly can't do it. (It requires lots of tools and moving heavy stuff)

I could move Lizzy's toddler bed into the room with the bunk beds, move the girls dresser into the room with the full bed. Then Lizzy would share a room with the unoccupied bunks, but when company came they could sleep on the full bed.

I realize this is riveting subject matter. Control yourself. Take a breather, get a drink, then come back. I'm planning to leave this open and type a little at different times today. I would normally just put up seperate entries throughout the day but then most people miss them. Family tends to follow the notify link only and they end up missing other posts. I'll give this method a shot for a bit, see how it works out.

17 days!! ACK!

1:28pm
Working on our menu plan and grocery list for the next week and a half. Now I just have to balance our accounts so I'll know what our money situation is. Blech.

3:50
Becky asked: If you could change one thing or several things about your high school life, what would it be?
I would have waited to have sex. There I said it. I wasn't going to choose that for an answer here because a LOT of my family reads this. But honesty is a good thing and being a Christian now has changed my perspective on a lot of things. (8:47pm) I should have waited. Doesn't matter if it was Steven, the man I did marry.

Anywho, I'm going to bed. It's taken me all day to get through this. Commissary trip, blah blah blah. See you on the flip side.

Car(d)s and Trucks

We filled out our Christmas cards last night. I've got to get quite a few addresses from people still. I got several cards in the mail yesterday. I love getting cards in the mail. Much nicer than bills.

Katy's program is tonight. We picked up a skirt for her last night. I can't believe that it was the only skirt in the whole section! Two stores, each had one skirt that wasn't underwear showing, street walker looking. Gah! Anyway, it's a jean skirt that is about mid-calf length. She's going to wear a striped sweater and black dressy boots.

I don't think I've written about this yet, but Steven got a truck. It's a 2000 Dodge Dakota Quadcab. Dark blue and it has a bed cover with a built in tool box. He'll (hopefully) be driving it home today.

Oh sheesh, the girls are fooling around. Gotta fly!

Car(d)s and Trucks

We filled out our Christmas cards last night. I've got to get quite a few addresses from people still. I got several cards in the mail yesterday. I love getting cards in the mail. Much nicer than bills.

Katy's program is tonight. We picked up a skirt for her last night. I can't believe that it was the only skirt in the whole section! Two stores, each had one skirt that wasn't underwear showing, street walker looking. Gah! Anyway, it's a jean skirt that is about mid-calf length. She's going to wear a striped sweater and black dressy boots.

I don't think I've written about this yet, but Steven got a truck. It's a 2000 Dodge Dakota Quadcab. Dark blue and it has a bed cover with a built in tool box. He'll (hopefully) be driving it home today.

Oh sheesh, the girls are fooling around. Gotta fly!

Daily Fodder

I'm so sleepy today. I hit snooze twice this morning and it seemed like I'd just closed my eyes when the alarm was going off again. It currently takes me 20-30 minutes to get Katy and Emily out of bed for school. This means we rush around trying to accomplish in 40 minutes what we should have over an hour to do. You know, however, that because they don't HAVE to get up next week they'll be awake at the BUTT CRACK of dawn!!

Jenn asked: what would you have named your son if you'd had one?

Not a lot of people know this but we had a miscarriage when Emily was 11 months old. It was very early in the pregnancy, though no less painful emotionally. To work through the whole thing, I talked to Steven about giving the baby a name. We picked the boy's name we'd chosen back when we had Katy (didn't know she was a she until she was born), Jason Ray. My best friend Becky gave me a silver angel pin when all that happened, I wear it on days when I think about that time. Elizabeth is also a "Ray" but her's is a more feminine spelling of Rae.

Only 9 days until Christmas. I've got several things to sew/finish. I've done NO wrapping. Katy's school Christmas program is tomorrow night. I think we're going to pick her up a skirt tonight.

OH! My camera is kaput! I've got to get the warranty out and take it to Sears to replace it. I feel lost without it. No pictures posted until then.

Gotta go get the kidlet from school!

Daily Fodder

I'm so sleepy today. I hit snooze twice this morning and it seemed like I'd just closed my eyes when the alarm was going off again. It currently takes me 20-30 minutes to get Katy and Emily out of bed for school. This means we rush around trying to accomplish in 40 minutes what we should have over an hour to do. You know, however, that because they don't HAVE to get up next week they'll be awake at the BUTT CRACK of dawn!!

Jenn asked: what would you have named your son if you'd had one?

Not a lot of people know this but we had a miscarriage when Emily was 11 months old. It was very early in the pregnancy, though no less painful emotionally. To work through the whole thing, I talked to Steven about giving the baby a name. We picked the boy's name we'd chosen back when we had Katy (didn't know she was a she until she was born), Jason Ray. My best friend Becky gave me a silver angel pin when all that happened, I wear it on days when I think about that time. Elizabeth is also a "Ray" but her's is a more feminine spelling of Rae.

Only 9 days until Christmas. I've got several things to sew/finish. I've done NO wrapping. Katy's school Christmas program is tomorrow night. I think we're going to pick her up a skirt tonight.

OH! My camera is kaput! I've got to get the warranty out and take it to Sears to replace it. I feel lost without it. No pictures posted until then.

Gotta go get the kidlet from school!

Answering Questions

(Note to self: For goodness sakes woman, remember not to hit the back button when previewing/editing an entry!!)

Aimee wrote: If you could have anything for Christmas, what would you have.

I'd go for a trip to some remote island. Lots of sleeping, relaxing, drinking of drinks with umbrellas in them. A massage here and there. There would be very little talking, from me or anyone else. I'd read as many books as I could devour in my short trip. That about sums it up. Well, except that I'd miss my family in about 30 seconds.

Andrea wrote: First question: Can I steal your idea?
Next: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
First: Sure thing, I borrowed it from someone so it's technically not my idea.
Next: Hahira, GA We'd love to have a small working farm on lots of land, a house with a wrap around porch with rocking chairs all over it, a big country kitchen, a tire swing in the tree out front. Hahira is anywhere from 1-4 hours from all of our family. That would be great. I want the girls to grow up knowing their extended family the way I did.

Lynn wrote two questions, one of which I'll have to spend some time thinking about before I answer. The second is: If money were no object (as far as schooling & such) what would you want to be when you grow up?
A photographer, hands down. I'd want to have a small studio/dark room set up in a small out building near our home. Swoon. Some day.

Aunt Donna wrote: If you had one week to go anywhere in the world and do something, where and what would you do?

See first question. :)

Answering Questions

(Note to self: For goodness sakes woman, remember not to hit the back button when previewing/editing an entry!!)

Aimee wrote: If you could have anything for Christmas, what would you have.

I'd go for a trip to some remote island. Lots of sleeping, relaxing, drinking of drinks with umbrellas in them. A massage here and there. There would be very little talking, from me or anyone else. I'd read as many books as I could devour in my short trip. That about sums it up. Well, except that I'd miss my family in about 30 seconds.

Andrea wrote: First question: Can I steal your idea?
Next: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
First: Sure thing, I borrowed it from someone so it's technically not my idea.
Next: Hahira, GA We'd love to have a small working farm on lots of land, a house with a wrap around porch with rocking chairs all over it, a big country kitchen, a tire swing in the tree out front. Hahira is anywhere from 1-4 hours from all of our family. That would be great. I want the girls to grow up knowing their extended family the way I did.

Lynn wrote two questions, one of which I'll have to spend some time thinking about before I answer. The second is: If money were no object (as far as schooling & such) what would you want to be when you grow up?
A photographer, hands down. I'd want to have a small studio/dark room set up in a small out building near our home. Swoon. Some day.

Aunt Donna wrote: If you had one week to go anywhere in the world and do something, where and what would you do?

See first question. :)

A request

ACK! Never hit the back button in MT. You lose your entry. Basically it read like this:

Since I'm at a loss for things to blog about at the moment, I issue a challenge to you (idea from other bloggers):

Send me a question or questions and I'll answer them here. I reserve the right to decline questions that might be too personal or I feel uncomfortable answering. Anything else is fair game.

A request

ACK! Never hit the back button in MT. You lose your entry. Basically it read like this:

Since I'm at a loss for things to blog about at the moment, I issue a challenge to you (idea from other bloggers):

Send me a question or questions and I'll answer them here. I reserve the right to decline questions that might be too personal or I feel uncomfortable answering. Anything else is fair game.

Mostly for a reminder

This is boring to do list stuff. Nothing big. Just a way for me to keep track of what needs to be done and is finished.

-order cake for Em's birthday
-clean kitchen
- move Christmas boxes back to closet
-buy ext. cord for outside
-straighten desks (finish one, complete the other)
-fold clothes already on couch
-wash/dry/fold at least one more load today
-clean Big Girls' room
-put clean sheets on all bed
-straighten/clean bathrooms
-sew on jammies and Em's dress
-sweep
-mop
-sweep driveway

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure there's more.

Mostly for a reminder

This is boring to do list stuff. Nothing big. Just a way for me to keep track of what needs to be done and is finished.

-order cake for Em's birthday
-clean kitchen
- move Christmas boxes back to closet
-buy ext. cord for outside
-straighten desks (finish one, complete the other)
-fold clothes already on couch
-wash/dry/fold at least one more load today
-clean Big Girls' room
-put clean sheets on all bed
-straighten/clean bathrooms
-sew on jammies and Em's dress
-sweep
-mop
-sweep driveway

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure there's more.

Happy Happy Birthday Baby!

She was greeted this morning by a new bicycle. She'd outgrown the old one so we moved her up to a big girl bike. She was thrilled!

We're having a little party for her on Sunday. Nothing major. Burgers, cake, presents. Fun stuff!

In other news, I have my first counseling appointment today.

Oh, and her mama butchered her hair yesterday. We'll be getting that fixed QUICKLY!!

Note to self: Do NOT attempt to cut Em's hair in an effort to save money or just trim it. It NEVER works out.

Happy Happy Birthday Baby!

She was greeted this morning by a new bicycle. She'd outgrown the old one so we moved her up to a big girl bike. She was thrilled!

We're having a little party for her on Sunday. Nothing major. Burgers, cake, presents. Fun stuff!

In other news, I have my first counseling appointment today.

Oh, and her mama butchered her hair yesterday. We'll be getting that fixed QUICKLY!!

Note to self: Do NOT attempt to cut Em's hair in an effort to save money or just trim it. It NEVER works out.

Oh My Word

Twenty seven.

Yes, I said twenty seven.

Twenty seven days until I turn 30.

Wow.

Oh My Word

Twenty seven.

Yes, I said twenty seven.

Twenty seven days until I turn 30.

Wow.

Where'd it go?

I was just putting up the tree and I noticed something was missing. Each of us has an apple with our names written on it. I found Steven's, mine, Katy's, and Emily's. Somewhere in the closet under the stairs is Jason's and Lizzy's. Instead of digging, I'm going to buy a gold paint pen and make a new one.

Katy lost her third tooth today! It's a top front tooth. She has a cute little lisp when she speaks. She was horrified by the blood. She kept saying she was scared of it. It finally stopped bleeding and she's back to normal.

Lizzy has been in a mood lately. I hate to say the "terrible twos" but man oh man. She's driving all of us nuts.

I can't seem to get the outside lights to go like I want them to. Steven hasn't been home before dark any night lately. And he won't be again tonight. I wonder if we could put them up in the dark?

I've lost just enough weight that my rings are slipping off my finger. I've almost lost them in the shower more than once. Add the cold weather snap we're having and I have to be careful with them.

Emily turns four tomorrow. I can't believe it. We've been looking for a bike for her since she's outgrown the old one. I suppose Steven can go tonight after work and find one. I, also, still need to finish her dress. Not much left to do. Gather the skirt, attach it to the bodice, hem it and add snaps to the shoulders.

Going to make some lunch, put the kidlets down for a nap. I want to vegetate during nap time but I highly doubt I will.

Where'd it go?

I was just putting up the tree and I noticed something was missing. Each of us has an apple with our names written on it. I found Steven's, mine, Katy's, and Emily's. Somewhere in the closet under the stairs is Jason's and Lizzy's. Instead of digging, I'm going to buy a gold paint pen and make a new one.

Katy lost her third tooth today! It's a top front tooth. She has a cute little lisp when she speaks. She was horrified by the blood. She kept saying she was scared of it. It finally stopped bleeding and she's back to normal.

Lizzy has been in a mood lately. I hate to say the "terrible twos" but man oh man. She's driving all of us nuts.

I can't seem to get the outside lights to go like I want them to. Steven hasn't been home before dark any night lately. And he won't be again tonight. I wonder if we could put them up in the dark?

I've lost just enough weight that my rings are slipping off my finger. I've almost lost them in the shower more than once. Add the cold weather snap we're having and I have to be careful with them.

Emily turns four tomorrow. I can't believe it. We've been looking for a bike for her since she's outgrown the old one. I suppose Steven can go tonight after work and find one. I, also, still need to finish her dress. Not much left to do. Gather the skirt, attach it to the bodice, hem it and add snaps to the shoulders.

Going to make some lunch, put the kidlets down for a nap. I want to vegetate during nap time but I highly doubt I will.

Good Grief

Can I survive the next two hours? Will Lizzy drive me completely bonkers? Is she conspiring with Katy to make me unscrew my head? Will Emily stop fighting a nap so she'll stop the incessant whining?

Stay tuned....

Good Grief

Can I survive the next two hours? Will Lizzy drive me completely bonkers? Is she conspiring with Katy to make me unscrew my head? Will Emily stop fighting a nap so she'll stop the incessant whining?

Stay tuned....

Trip Images

I took several pictures on our trip. I'll show ya a few.

This is my brother Ben's horse, Mable. She's a Clydesdale, I believe her coloring is called Roan but I could be wrong on that. She's huge and she makes me nervous around Elizabeth. Mable's hoof is as big or bigger than Lizzy's head. Besides that, Lizzy doesn't understand that trying to stand under the horse is probably not a good idea.

(click for larger)

And this is a perspective shot of how big Mable's head is in comparison.

(click for larger)

The girls wanted to go for a ride. Mable isn't saddle broken so they just have to hang on.

(click for larger)

I'll post more later. I need to eat lunch and get busy.

Trip Images

I took several pictures on our trip. I'll show ya a few.

This is my brother Ben's horse, Mable. She's a Clydesdale, I believe her coloring is called Roan but I could be wrong on that. She's huge and she makes me nervous around Elizabeth. Mable's hoof is as big or bigger than Lizzy's head. Besides that, Lizzy doesn't understand that trying to stand under the horse is probably not a good idea.

(click for larger)

And this is a perspective shot of how big Mable's head is in comparison.

(click for larger)

The girls wanted to go for a ride. Mable isn't saddle broken so they just have to hang on.

(click for larger)

I'll post more later. I need to eat lunch and get busy.

We made it. Two parents

We made it. Two parents and three kids in an overpacked van traveled twelve hours across three states. Driving from Daytona just to the Florida Alabama border takes forever. That panhandle seems to be the longest stretch of road created.

I sort of enjoyed not having computer access. I did want to blog myself and read a few things, but not the way I was before. It's rather freeing. I need that time to focus on what matters most. Taking care of my family and my home.

Steven's working all weekend but we're going to drag out the decorations and I'll start putting them up. We're using our short table top tree again this year, I think. I'd love to have a real tree again but I just don't know. Lizzy did okay with the few trees we encountered, despite taking all the ornaments she could reach off Becky's tree. My other concern is the kitten. I'm guessing she'd be climbing it on a regular basis.

We also have to pick up Emily's birthday stuff. She'll be four on Monday. How did that happen? Didn't I just have her????

We made it. Two parents

We made it. Two parents and three kids in an overpacked van traveled twelve hours across three states. Driving from Daytona just to the Florida Alabama border takes forever. That panhandle seems to be the longest stretch of road created.

I sort of enjoyed not having computer access. I did want to blog myself and read a few things, but not the way I was before. It's rather freeing. I need that time to focus on what matters most. Taking care of my family and my home.

Steven's working all weekend but we're going to drag out the decorations and I'll start putting them up. We're using our short table top tree again this year, I think. I'd love to have a real tree again but I just don't know. Lizzy did okay with the few trees we encountered, despite taking all the ornaments she could reach off Becky's tree. My other concern is the kitten. I'm guessing she'd be climbing it on a regular basis.

We also have to pick up Emily's birthday stuff. She'll be four on Monday. How did that happen? Didn't I just have her????

Hi from sunny/windy Florida

This is the first time I've touched a computer since last Thursday. It feels odd to get back to it. I missed it and I didn't.

We've had a great visit and lots of fun. We're going home tomorrow in the morning. It's going to take us all day to get there.

I'm basically brain dead at the moment. Perhaps I left my brain in Biloxi. heh

Hi from sunny/windy Florida

This is the first time I've touched a computer since last Thursday. It feels odd to get back to it. I missed it and I didn't.

We've had a great visit and lots of fun. We're going home tomorrow in the morning. It's going to take us all day to get there.

I'm basically brain dead at the moment. Perhaps I left my brain in Biloxi. heh