and the costumes are.......

Ash decided on Luigi as a costume, Landry went with Tony Hawk, Allye was Minnie Mouse and yep Tucker was a HOUSE.  No special house just a house.  It turned out well but really a house?  We meaning me decided the fam wanted to go cheap for costumes this year so we borrowed and procured for free what we could and ended up spending a dollar.  Now to be fair Momma took Ash out to find just the right shirt and apparently that was quite a hunt and the paint was kinda pricey ($12).  Thanks Momma!

These are the results........((((((((((drum roll))))))))))........

Allye as Minnie Mouse

Ash as Luigi

Landry as Tony Hawk

Tucker the HOUSE

The whole gang of bandits!

All of that to say this.....

So the week started off pleasantly enough.  I mean on Monday Scott was up and about fairly early but he very  kindly respected the no talking unless absolutely necessary rule.  He even consented to driving Allye to PATH, so I didn't have to leave the house until 12:30.  Actually I needed to leave at 12 but since I can't seem to convince myself that drama class begins at 12:30 not 12:45 I always leave late.  Not only do I leave late but I am usually yelling out to the boys as I go that I am sorry about not making time for lunch but dad will be home soon.  All of that was okay, drama class was fun and then when it was over off to XC practice or really a fun run.  I said something about wishing we didn't have to go and Allye couldn't stop thinking about  my comment so after 30 minutes she came to the car in tears and insisted we go home and then insisted it wasn't anything I said that upset her.  Yep I'm a great mom........
We declared Tuesday official make our costume day!  So I painted knee and elbow pads, found a skateboard helmet, yes I know we should've already owned one what with Landry on his skateboard all the time. I procured overalls for a Luigi costume, and then I built a house.  It was a cardboard house but I built it nonetheless.  I had a meeting at 1:00 and was heading that way until the tornado weather said I don't think so little missy."  So I stayed at Momma's.  I managed to get there 20 minutes late and we only spent 45 minutes choosing 5 menu items.

On Wednesday, what with the Tuesday tornado weather messing up my clock, I woke up late, not until 7: 57!  Meaning all the people were up when I got up.  Meaning they were all talking and such...ACK!!!  I still managed some productivity, I dyed a shirt, made paper patio furniture for the previously mentioned house, went to the other drama class and then back home.  Once at home Lydia came over for a bit, then the pink parade( Anna, Julia, Emma, and Kate) came over and giggled among us.  After the Boveries went home we had some chicken and dumplings Kate had 2 helpings so I guess they were tasty.  At church, we had a meeting and I kinda sported a bad attitude.  God cleverly reminded me that my negative thinking would not, could not stop His divine power. By turning the heart of a man to Him, God dismissed  my stinkin' thinkin', our dear friend Nick was baptized into Chirst and along with his sins my negative thoughts were washed away.

You'd think after overcoming the obstacle of pre-coffee chatter and a realization that I need my attitude adjusted that'd be busy enough of a week.  Oh but no!!  I remembered Allye had to get to the ortho.  Bad scene, let's just leave it at new brackets, bigger wires and rubber bands.  She is in pain.  Finally we get back home and finish up the boys' school work.

Costumes had to be completed because tonight was the first of our 2 halloween activities.  We I had to paint a shirt and hat, make a patch for said hat, and make Minnie Mouse ears.  I had a fabric spray paint to use for the to be painted items, this requires adult supervision and I am not the adult you should choose.  I put plastic on the painting surface to protect it, but it slipped my mind entirely that I should not be spray painting in the kitchen.  Ill just show the photo evidence.....

Doesn't seem so bad, just a little paint on the arm...

Then I noticed the chair....

Then the fridge...

and the other side of the fridge...

 And quite possibly the worst idea of all because I do not think drying the hat in the oven was a bad idea, was drying the painted items in the dryer.  At least if I was short cutting things and not rinsing thoroughly.....

It is sooo hot in here!

So today I thought I'd confess to some of the things I am not so proud of but I don't seem to be in a hurry to change.  I am not a stellar house keeper.  I want to be a whiz at all things domestic but alas I am not.  I am a fair to good cook, a decent seamstress, a mostly loving wife and mother but I will probably never manage to wash the dishes as I go about my cooking. Thus leaving a giant pile that I have no interest in washing after all that cooking. My dream life involves having clothes in my closet ready to wear not clothes that must meet the iron before adornment can take place.  Even dreaming this dream of life without wrinkles does not inspire me to stand by the dryer ready to hang everything while it is still radiating heat.  I wish to be thin I would even dare say the size of my soul is a shapely size 10 but I can't seem to get past the sweating involved in running. 

All of the above would seem to be victimless crimes and generally speaking they are unless you count me.  However my most grievous and some may say annoying flaw is the direct link between my physical comfort and my ability to be rational.  I do not like to be sweaty, hot, tired, hungry, cold, sad, stressed, itchy, sleepy, confused, or achy.  Really, I know I should just suck it up and deal right?  The problem is Scott.  You see he seems to be a very tolerant person (sometimes this aggravates the problem) and he lets me get away with complaining.  I haven't said or done many things that have resulted in him getting to exasperated with me. However allowing the children to consider shoes as optional year round and adjusting the thermostat from 65-80 with no stops in between, are no crossing zones.  So I have say things like "Do not go out without shoes until at least April!" and I have to ask permission to adjust the temperature in the house.  Honestly he can be a real fun sucker sometimes!

Well all that to say it is VERY hot in this house today. 78degrees!  I mentioned it no less than seven times with no results.  I stood in the front door going in and out breathing loudly to indicate the pleasant outdoor temperature compared to the inside OF OUR HOME!!  Nothing.  It's possible I began ranting about heat stroke and the dangers of excessive sweating and how maybe I could faint from this heat.  Nothing.  While rushing around to get the boys dressed nice for Young Men' s night at church I began to experience stress. Where could the church socks be?  Confusion.  Where on earth had the belts disappeared to?  Of course my temperature was at atomic levels by now and I couldn't even think!  Did Scott care?  No, he was giving some lame excuse about between seasons and dealing with it.  I had to take off my shirt lay on the bed and absorb all the coolness I could, which let me tell there wasn't much.  I yelled for no one to touch me.  And Scott just hovered over me, exuding heat I may add, laughing!  Yes that's right laughing at my pain.  Finally I had to finish finding the boys' things so I got dressed and headed up stairs to complain look for the belts.  The boys' were concerned they asked why I was so hot so I told them their dad was a sadist and refuse to cool the house for me.

Now I do not need any dogooder improvers of mankind to point out that a.) If I were a stellar housekeeper I'd have known where the socks and belts were  b) If I were at the dryer hanging up warm clothes I would not have needed to use the hot iron, and c)  If I dropped a few pounds my body temperature would most likely not escalate to such a degree.  See, I know stuff!

Old Times

I really love "Old Times'.  You know what I mean right?  That moment when you're really enjoying some friends or family and your heart is full and you're laughing so hard you cannot stop smiling and you think "Just like old times".  Yeah, I love that.  There are many things that I love.  Since I  had this very experience last night I thought I'd share some......(in no particular order)

I love my family
I love a good sandwich
I love to laugh
I love to sew
I love color
I love when I make Allye laugh
I love green and blue
I love good ideas
I love road trips
I love when people say what I did is awesome
I love the feeling of the cold side of the pillow
I love when I shave my legs and change the sheets on the same day
I love the smell of garlic
I love completing projects
I love people with personality
I love that people forgive me
I love old friends
I love things that remind me of childhood
I love coffee
I love pretending I'm organized
I love fabric
I love my mom's cooking
I love NCIS
I love when people are real
I love cheese
I love reading
I love knowing the words to the song on the radio
I love sweet cereal
I love not having fleas in the house
I love poptarts and coffee
I love to feel cool air around me while I am cozy.

Once again it's Wednesday......

My becoming a star witness doesn't seem to be panning out.  I embraced a child at church tonight, gave him instructions as though he were my own and then he turned around and said "Hi, Ms. Candy!"  So I am discouraged, if I can't pick the child of my womb out of a line up what hope is there for me?

I also seem to be failing in the mature woman of 40-something department.  Although I am not quite 40 I should at least be semi mature right?  Well not so much.  Allye was telling the boys and me something about her friend saying of you lick someone's elbow they can't feel it.  Well obviously I had no choice but to put my elbow in Tucker's face and insist he lick it.  Then I licked his and Ash licked Allye's and Allye licked Ash's. Landry not excelling at hand washing was not included in this activity.  It was a grand experiment but probably should not have taken place while driving down the road.  It is also possible that in class tonight when a certain charming young lady was painting her picture of Moses and said "I am getting some orange for my tits (instead of sticks maybe)."  I laughed out loud.   Yes, I am a grown up....kind of......

I took the boys to the glorious wonderland of the Wal Mart toy aisle today and they bought a new toy.  Yes that's right all three of them got a new toy that compliments the purchase of their brother's, it was a rare and beautiful moment of peace and harmony that lasted through the check out line and into the car where a heated discussion ensued about who went first........

Then it was off to laser tag, a new activity for us.  Apparently it was AWESOME!!!  You can run inside, in the dark, yell and scream and point your gun at someone.  What, I ask you, is there not to love?  So they played 3 games and according to the polls the villains prevailed each outing.  So today at "recess", we learned that the bad guys win and when shooting shoot to kill.

It was off to the Jones' home for dinner.  I must say it was excellent and made me feel very happy inside.  The boys being very excited about their new toy brought it in to force Jacob to play with them.  Tucker excitedly informed me that buying these toys was a great investment because they had given up video games ever since they got it. So let me recap.....3:30 purchase of toys, 4:00-6:00 laser tag, and 6:15-6:30 said statement of video game abstinence.  Yes I think I changed their lives today!!!!

I Spy With My Little Eye.

Lately I have been indulging in my love of mystery novels.  I really like Agatha Christie but honestly throw anything my way and I will give it a try.  This recent, high intake of suspense and thrillers has gotten me on a path of self improvement. I have undertaken the challenge of becoming a great witness!  Now I should regal you with the deep and meaningful reasons that led me to this mission but, I can't.  Not because it's top secret and I'd have to kill you if I told you, but because there is no such reasoning.  I just want to be ready in case my eye witness testimony is ever needed.

You see Scott the "mocker man" has in years past made non-flattering laughing sounds at my observation skills.  Just because you don't notice a Lowe's being built in a previously empty lot until opening day, I say "Why would I be looking at an empty lot? My time is more valuable than that!"  If I happen to notice someone has started shaving his head a few years late, I say at least appearance is not important to me.  I think its rude to keep count of who notices what and when.

Now being a very civil minded person and not at all strange and/or bizarre I have decided to embark upon the journey to star witnessdom.  I do not think that this will be a journey without its trials, for example Scott has already corrected my observations 3 times and Allye keeps saying, "Mom why do you keep saying 'I'm a witness!'?"  See, no support at all.  Also I am pretty sure that if I actually were to witness a horrific crime the only way any details would come from my catatonic brain would be through strong medication and hypnotherapy.

Its true, the dark green(Scott says it was black) Saturn with a man in his late thirty's/early forty's, had a license plate reading CHEWBCA.  See I notice things.

Today I .......

Finally!   We had an actually honest to goodness nothing to do stay home Saturday!!!!  I know!! I feel the same way, pinch me am I dreaming!!!   So let's see what kind of magic I made out of my day....

I began my morning with an urgent need to pee so I took care of that first off.  I decided to go ahead and stay up just in case by sleeping longer someone may have tried speak to me upon awakening.  Just to be safe I get up before anyone else in order to prevent potential acts of violence.  I then made a delicious pot of coffee and did some important Facebooking and blog reading.  I watched an episode of Bones on Hulu.

By the time I was finished with all that stimulating activity Scott was up and we sat companionably together reading novels.  I am a novel and a chapter ahead of him so I am trying to pace myself.  I had a bowl of  cereall for breakfast but for the life of me I can'remember what kind.  I feel certain it was super healthy and in no way is it endorsed by a cartoon character.  

I decided tidy the kitchen and spent about 10 minutes marveling at how nicely my lousy dishwasher cleaned to dishes for a change.  I added some white vinegar to the bottom of the washer and as suggested by my pal, Kendra, I ran the hot water until it was steaming and then I started the cycle.  Well really for me that was enough to call it a great day but hold on to your hats there was more!

I then completed the laudry and Scott was sweet enough to keep me company and help out.  He did the dreaded task of sock matching.  I know!  It's okay to be jealous.  After laundry I began sewing and I actually have 3 completed projects for the day YEA!!!!  I started and completed 2 apron/potholder sets and a swaddling pouch.

A few days in the life....

Well this week is shaping up to be another earth shattering chapter in my exciting life.  I didn't fully recover from my weekend until today so yesterday was pretty much a bust.  I kinda, possibly,  maybe snapped at the kids in drama class,  hopefully they will think I was just acting....  I sewed a fairy skirt.  A "heart fairy" to be exact.  What is a heart fairy you ask...Why it is a creation of my own making.  Autumn called Quack to say she wanted to be a heart for Halloween and I said "Sure!"  Then I thought how uncomfortable will that be so I called and counter offered with a fairy costume.  Clever huh?  You'd think so but now it has to be extra awesome so she will forget that I didn't make her a heart.  Brooklyn was sewing with me on Sunday day and every time we heard someone above us walking she'd say "That's Jesus." 

On Friday I had to fix dinner and get out of the house in a hurry.  Scott told me not to worry about cleaning up, he'd do it.  I told him I'd never found him more attractive and of he picked up a broom I may not be able to leave.  The moment of insanity passed and I got to do dishes on Sunday....

I actually cooked dinner two nights in a row.  I know that is ground breaking news and my family is still reeling from the shock.  I'm hoping to make it a regular activity.  Ash was so overcome with good feelings that after dinner he came over and said "Mom you sure make ooonnnneeee good meal!"  Well at least I cook one thing he likes.

The children keep saying things like "Mom can I get a blanket?  Its cold outside and we don't have long pants."  Really! where do they get this passive aggressive behavior, they should just speak their minds so I can say "get over it", instead of playing dumb and pretending I'm not getting the hints to get the cold weather wear out.  Not sure why I dread that trip to the attic twice a year.

Weekend with the teens....

So this weekend I chaperoned an event for the youth at our church.  The event was a youth rally called FallFest.  It was wonderfully fun and spiritually uplifting.  I always enjoy time with the teens and I learn so much.  I find their personalities refreshing and charming; although, I will say that sometimes they should be knocked in the head.  I suppose I should think they are weird, but I don't.  I guess that is pretty telling about my state of mind.....  I know they think I am weird and for Allye's sake I hope she doesn't mind. 

We laughed lots, stayed up very late and had conversations ranging from the silly to the potentially life changing.  I will never understand parents who do not see how crucial it is to share in these kinds of moments.  I know I will not be able to be present every moment with my children when emotions are high and their hearts are ripe for change, but you can bet that I will have shared enough of them that they will be burning with desire to fill me in and pray. 

What I don't understand are those who treat youth events and youth group as though it were a paid service that is to be used to fill the weekends and keep the kids out of trouble.  It is an avenue, a tool, a resource for opening the hearts of our youth and showing them the blessings of fellowship and relationship we can have through Christ.  Sharing in this part of their lives shows our commitment to their salvation.  I don't get in Allye's space, I let her play and laugh and sing and pray within her group.  I am just present.  They(the group) will  come find me and bring me in keep me close, they want us, as their parents and loving adults they trust, to be the steady voice of reason that gives them the courage to let some walls come down and begin to acknowledge that there is a need for Christ and salvation and they are not invincible or alone.

Many in this group of teens have been in my life since they were in diapers, that makes my attachment to them all the stronger.  I love them and I want only the best for them.  I want only the Godliest of things for them and I pray I share only His standards of purity, modesty and sincerity as I influence their hearts.  

Not much....

Not much going on in my world lately.  I went to a meeting last night and probably spoke out of turn, it's just something I do.  I made chicken and dumplings for dinner.  I did not master the sewing on of blanket binding or mitered corners.  I got impulsive and plunged my hands into a pot of green dye and had incredible hulk hands for an evening.  Tucker informed me he gets sick when he thinks about lying and Landry said he sometimes thinks about it.  We seem to have the flea situation under control, so Henry can come back in the house soon.  I woke Scott up this morning to listen to suspicious scurrying sounds.  I procured a commitment for a basket in our silent auction at the Gala in February.  I folded laundry and matched socks and then I got crazy and put them away.  I sorted through some pattens to choose some for the plays I am costuming.  I spent about 20 minutes trying to decide if Chris O'Donnell is attractive.  Still not sure. I took a shower and forgot to shave my legs.  I spray painted a cheese plate.  I only drank one and a half cups of coffee today because I got hot.  We let Allye get a facebook account and I seem to have mixed feelings.  I went to the library and checked out 3 books and the Brady Bunch.

Obviously the glamour of my daily life is shocking, but try and maintain control.

doing.........

For all of you who were worried about my general state of mind, we caught a mouse.  The sad truth is that I'd have rather been hallucinating.

Yesterday we had a guest speaker at church.  His name is Jason, and he has a shaggy "Jesus" beard.  I was moved as always by the things he was convicted to share with us.  I have no doubt that God sent him here at this time to adjust my bad attitude. I, as those who know me well already know, think I know everything.  I also think I do everything right, which leads to thinking I am leading a more Godly life than everyone else.  Let me tell you this is not good.  This attitude builds bitterness, arrogance, angry, pride, and SIN.  The worst part about it is that when you think you have it all right, you don't need God so much and then the darkness is there and that's where the ugly things blossom.

Jason reminded me of several things, the first being that I belong to a awesome God.  God who began time, is at the center of time and is all that will be at the end of time.  He reminded me that satan is a created being and is the prince of this world of death.  He reminded me that Jesus endured more than my weak minded self can ever grasp.  He endured it on MY behalf and He is asking only that I do the job I am called to do.  I am not called to monitor the flaws of others.  I am not called to ensure everyone at church does their fair share.  I am not called to condemn those who make choices for their families that I may know with certainty are wrong.  I am not called to sit in superiority over those who may not have the expectations of their children that I do.  I am not called to keep score.  I am not called to stay within my comfort zone of people I approve and by doing so hiding His word from those who need it.  I am not called to be in charge of this world.

I am called to love.  I am called to sacrifice.  I am called to obedience.  I am called to service.  I am called to goodness.  I am called to humility.  I am called to honor God with my life.  I am called to repentance.  I am called to patience.  I am called to doing the right thing.  I am called to a pure heart.  I am called to removing the plank from my eye.  I am called to being busy at home.  I am called to sharing the Good News. 

Please join me in praying that I am always striving to do what I have been called to do.

sometimes i wonder.....

Do you ever just wonder about random things?  It would seem that I do.

I wonder if Han Solo's name was chosen to reflect his independent, Lone Ranger personality.

I wonder if anyone besides me ever felt annoyed because their husband slept with a pillow between his knees.

I wonder why men are perfectly capable of playing sports fully clothed but women are not.

I wonder why God created fleas.

I wonder why people like cooked fruit.

I wonder why if anyone else likes the word pagan, not actual pagans, just the word.

I wonder why people who love root beer often don't care for Dr.Pepper.

I have many more thoughts I may share them again sometime.........