Stupid wind

The drama of it all

A few days ago K was having a sleepover at a friends house. She called home that evening all distraught and fretting over a huge disaster that had just happened. WHAT?, WHAT?, I say, after listening to her voice and hearing all the sadness and concern hovering there. (In the back of my mind I am listing off all the terrible things that must have happened) She says, I brought my beads over here to M's house and on the way something terrible happened. The container got turned on its side and ALL my seed beads spilled ALL over. (Oh for cryin out loud)(I say this in my head) Oh, okay, well have you tried picking them up perhaps? Well, they didnt actually spill on the floor. They all just spilled into each other in the container and now the colors are all mixed up and its going to be impossible to sort them all out and its just awful, mom. Okay, well, it sounds like you have a couple options. Sort them out. Or not. Everything will be fine. Just find something else to do for now and we will figure it all out when you get home.

Fast forward to yesterday. We finally had time to assess the situation and this is what we found. Every single color has now merged with another becoming what they sell as rainbow mix.


This is the size of a single seed bead.

This is the size of many seed beads.


This is going to call for some serious specialty tools.

The spoon allows us to remove the beads from the little cubbies.


The card? Yeah, I had to ask, too. S said, well, I was thinking I could use it like you see the pharmacists counting out the pills.....So, what begins as a pile then gets moved around with the card in hopes of some actual sorting going on.

There was A LOT of discussion on how this was all going to work out. Would it work out? What would be the best way? Was there a BEST way?


And of course, strict supervision is required.


And everyone knows that supervisors require snacks.


And when the supervising is over, well, then he needs busy work. Or we would have have had an even larger seed bead mess. So, what began as this.


Got turned into this.


He really made quick work of that entire bag.


After what felt like many hours of sorting and led to several original cases of "a pain in the neck":


We salvaged what we could and they went into this new container that has separate locking cubbies. So as to avoid another seed bead disaster.


And then, we threw in the towel and declared these unsorted beads, the recyclers. The dreaded, dig thru the tub looking for a few spares....

But, shhhhhhhh. Dont tell K. They had all these for 50% off at the craft store.


I think it should be more than enough to get her going again. They will wait for her here, on the counter, until she arrives home from school.

Hit by a Mack truck

This past Thursday I came down with a huge case of the flu. HUGE, I say. The hugest I have seen since, well, I dont even know. Today as I sit here checking my mail and such for the first time in about 1 week....my eyes still feel like they are gonna pop outta my head. The pain is unbearable. On the brighter side. I woke up this morning without a fever for the first time in a week. On an even brighter note, my husband is coming home a day early from his trip out to Cali.

Yes, you read right. He has been outta town. He was here for the first few days, but the day he set out to leave I was a real mess. Now, dont go getting your underwear all in a bunch over that. He would have stayed if he could. He had to be at a conference. Did I want him to stay home? Hell, yeah. Did I tell him that? Well, no. I knew he felt very torn already. I was super sick and he is getting ready to take off. I just pulled on my superwoman cape and got to work. Yeah, not so much. I was so sick I couldnt even lift my head off the pillow. I couldnt even open my eyes.

Sunday was the worst, I think. That was the day he had to leave. My head was just pounding, along with my sinuses. And my eyes? I dont even want to think about it. I called him everyday, crying. Sometimes more than once. I was a mess. I have to say, I felt very helpless. My Ma was able to help when she didnt have to be at work(that was a huge blessing) and I have other friends. But, most of my friends have kids of their own. I hate being an imposition. And who wants to help out at a friends house who is sick and then take that all back home to their family? See? The hardest part? Having a little one at home and not feeling up to taking care of him. The other hardest part? Not being able to just lay down when I knew that was exactly what I needed. The big kids really had to pitch in and work some overtime. And they did. They were a huge help. But you know, there are things that just mama's can do. Like tuck you in and give you kisses when you bonk your noggin.

I am so happy that S is on his way home. I may be able to get some sleep yet.

In case of motion sickness....

Do not watch your son play Mario Galaxy on the Wii.

He seems to be walking around planets that happen to be spinning. He walks upside down on things that then spin him all around. He jumps from planet to planet and then has to fight a great big gopher that shoots up outta the planet.

I am sitting here thinking that I really need some dramamine. Like now.

I cant believe it either

One of the drawbacks to living in a small town is that you don't have as many resources as you do in a larger environment. Case in point....RECYCLING.

I am so stressed over this. There is NO recycling in this darn town. How can I sleep at night? Coming from an area that does offer recycling I just got used to the idea of filling up another receptacle that was designated for recycling only. I never sat back and pondered over it. I just did it. I used something that I could recycle and it went into the recycle can. Now that I can't recycle I have to see all the things going into the regular garbage and know that they are going right into the dump. I am having major stress over this.

I have one option. And to be honest it is not a very good one. The larger town that is about 10 miles from here does offer a recycling drop off area. It has these great big dumpsters with nice pictures on them that tell you what to put in where. Sounds great, right? Well, not really. See, the dumpsters are hardly ever emptied and to make it even worse, people will just drive by and dump their regular trash in there. Taking advantage of the fact that they then got rid of their garbage for no cost. This, however, makes it harder for the people who are trying to use the dumpsters for the actual idea of recycling. When the city sees the trash in there they then have to close down the whole site in order to do a clean up. So, it stays good for a few weeks then starts all over.

AHHHHHH....does anyone have any ideas for me? I try really hard to limit my use of plastics. Really hard, but sometimes it is near impossible. When I do have to use it, I would really like to know that it is getting recycled. Glass I can try to reuse myself. I save a huge amount of plastic just by having my milk delivered to my home in glass jugs. But, I still need to do more.

Can I like write a proposal to the village and ask them to offer recycling? Yes, we are a village. Not a city. Not even a town. Anyone?

on the move

I feel bad because my posts have been so sporadic lately. I apologize.

We are on the move beginning tomorrow, so I wanted to give you a heads up that it will prolly be next week before I can check in.

I am sure I will have all kinds of good moving stories for you. Something always seems to happen, right?

Till then...take care and keep on writing. I'll miss ya.

I still can't seem to laugh about it

It has happened to me. I am 32, ummm...33 now. And for the first time in my whole life I left something on my cart in the grocery store parking lot.

I have decided that I am too busy. I am too rushed. I feel like I am running, running, all the time. I know it has everything to do with getting the house on the market in time. It could not possibly have anything to do with the fact that I have 2 kids in school, soccer, band, book clubs, and a toddler running around. Nah. Not at all.

I used to look in amazement when I would see carts in the parking lot with items left on them. I would talk to myself and say things like, How could they forget that case of soda there? How could you not see that huge jug of laundry soap? In my case, how could I not remember that I placed that large jug of freshly squeezed orange juice on the bottom of the cart because my 1 yr old was determined to fit the whole pour spout in his mouth and I was tired of telling him to stop it. How could I do that? How could I forget?

The worst part....I totally didn't even realize I had left it until later that evening(mind you, I went to the store at 8am and he got home at 5pm) when my husband got home and I was telling him how I had gone over budget on the groceries. I was telling him that I was confused as to what I had gotten that made me go over....I must have forgot to add something up while I was shopping....it sorta struck me just then...I don't remember putting away my OJ....My OJ...it must still be in the van....I leave the sink, fistful of unsnapped beans in hand....to go retrieve it....yeah...not so much...It was then, at that very moment I realized that I...Me, had left something on the cart. What is happening to me?

Make me feel better and tell me that you have left something in your cart before. Even if you have to make something up.

What in the sam hill?

My husband's cousin was over here a couple nights ago. Wait. I'm gonna say our cousin. I mean, even tho I am only related to her because of the mere fact that I married her cousin. I love her to death and am I gonna say she is mine, too. She is mine. There, I said it. She is super sweet, comes to visit me(which is asking a lot!), loves to hang out with my kids, and has great big goals in mind for what she wants to do with herself and her life. She has a plan. Gotta love a young adult with a plan. Best of all? She is a great role model and example for my kids to look up to. She has a good head on her shoulders and knows how to use it.

So, when she was here and showed me this package she had gotten in the mail...well, to say the least, we were both appalled. Any ideas on what it is?

Here is another hint.


For all of you that answered a cigarette ad, give yourself a hand. Now this is not just any ol' ad. This is a full service ad. Complete with a user's guide and a gift certificate booklet and everything. I am surprised that there wasn't a pack of smokes right in the box, too. Here, take a look.

Yep, BOGO. Just like at Payless Shoes , but we ain't talking shoes, are we? Now, if you are like us, then by now you are just completely disgusted and shocked and angry and ....look at the nifty little booklet that comes with it.


Now, I am all for supporting the arts. I want my kids to have an appreciation for them one day, just as I do. Not this kind, tho. Not these artists. The ones that are trying to make a cigarette pack look cool and trendy in hope that they will sell more. Especially to kids? Don't think so.


The only folks hosting smoker-friendly events? Is there such a thing? Should smoker and friendly be in the same sentence together? Smoking is not friendly. It does not do friendly things to your body. It does not make you friendly, friendlier, or friendliest.
And the real kicker? I'm one of you now? What in the sam hill? You'll let me know when you are whipping up any new smokes?

Let me just say. What the H E double hockey sticks, ever. I don't want to be one of you. And I don't want you catering your advertising to young adults. My cousin is not even 21, yet. She is not even of the legal drinking age. So, what? Let's catch her now and get her on to smokes before the big gun drinking folks come in and get her first? Because, what? Both of those things are so darn good for you to do in the first place.

Camel people, you should be ashamed of yourself. Down right ashamed.

The good news. My cousin was as equally disgusted as me at the whole idea. So, take that Camel people. You didn't win this one over. One less person you have in your corner. One more for mine!

Already this morning!

It is almost 11 am as I sit(finally) to post this entry. I have done 3 loads of laundry, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, washed all my hand washable dishes, changed a couple diapers, and had my trip to Target.

The Target trip is where things got a little crazy! Loaded the little guy up after he had breakfast and made our way to Target. So far, so good. Got there, got his cart pouch all ready, got him in the cart, got my bag and our cups of water. Made it into the store...looking around in the dollar spot...realize that my cart is leaking water all over and that my son, his clothes, the cart pouch, and my bag are all now pretty well soaked. The culprit...he got a hold of my water cup(which I now wish was spill-proof, like his)and poured it all over himself! He had great fun. He was laughing and carrying on...I was assessing the damage and trying to figure out where to begin!

Lucky for me I have my brand new bag! It is equipped with all the bells and whistles(only a little damp). I take him out of the cart pouch and into the restroom to strip him down and change his diaper and his clothes. Now that he is all dry again I use his wet clothes to finish drying off his place in the cart. The cart pouch is so wet it is dripping water. I roll all the wet stuff into a bundle and stuff it on the bottom part of the cart and set off to begin anew!

Dry and still happy. Who could ask for more? Now onto my shopping and to look for cool and groovy things for my green and pink swap!

The sun will come out, tomorrow

Today was one of those days where you just wanna climb right back in the bed and get all cozy under the covers and just stay there....for a long time.

I have been feeling under the weather for a few days and finally decided after 3 days of fever and sore throat that I would go to see the dr. I am sure my being sick has everything to do with the fact that all 3 of my kids have been sick over their 3 week spring break. So, I call in to the dr. this morn and get the earliest appt. they have open. In the meantime, I have to get the kids fed, shower, change the baby, and then eat some breakfast myself. Oh, and call Grammy to see if she can sit with the kids so I can go.

As I am eating my bowl of oatmeal I see outside that it is getting pretty dark and nasty. The wind is beginning to pick up and the lightning and thunder is beginning to roll in. Great. It is gonna pour down rain right when I have to leave. And yes, does it ever. Rain and rain and rain. I pull into the clinic and it is just coming down in sheets. I sit there a minute, you know you do too, thinking that it will slow down just for me so that I can get out of the car. A minute turned into more like 5 and I finally talked myself into getting out. I have an umbrella and still get soaking wet because it is so windy. Get all checked in and am sitting there waiting for my turn...what is that noise, I think to myself? I guess everyone else was thinking that too. Because we all get up and go look outside. It is hailing. Nice, marble sized hails...all over the pretty cars in the parking lot...lotsa hail...about 15 minutes of hail. The lady next to me and myself pretty much look at each other and say,"I'm gonna go sit down. Not anything I can do about it. Let's just not watch." Good plan.

Get in for my appt and have to sit thru pretty much the equivalent of 2 appts because there was a medical student who came in first and had to do everything the actual dr was going to do so he could report all his findings to her. Just so she could come in and do them all over and they could talk about it. I have strep throat. They both came to that conclusion. There was a consensus. Especially since I went in with the assumption that that's what it was. Great. Lovely.

Get home, eat some lunch...more soup. Yummm...Take my meds. So, I have to say that my throat feels a lot better. However, in order for my throat to feel better I have to have a pretty nasty stomach ache. But, you gotta love antibiotics, right. makes one thing feel better and then makes something else not so good.

The sun will come out, tomorrow. Even if it is going to be 25 degrees cooler than it has been.

Sick Babies

My head: Wake up. The baby is crying.

Me: Yes, I know. I'm getting up now. What time is it exactly?

My head: It's really early in the morning. Really early. So early that it is still dark out.

Me: Well, it really wouldn't matter if it was light or dark outside. I am a walking zombie at this point.

My head: Then why did you ask me?

Me: I dunno, just to say something I guess to make sure that I am really up and not just talking in my head.

My head: Thanks.

Me: Sure, no problem. Any time.