BLOGGER ALERT!!

HOW TO CATCH THE SIGNS OF BLOGGING ADDICTION

*If you have more than one post a day

*If you check your comments more that 15 times a day

*When you check your comments, and than respond to those comments, and then check if the commenter responded to your comment

*When you child does something cute, and you drop everything to go write about it

*When you think, "That will make a great post" during everyday activities.

* When your children are hanging on you to see if you are done with the computer yet.

*When you don't have your housework done, and don't care. (It never gets all done anyways!)

*When you have to chase your family down to have them read your latest entry.
(my poor husband is drug to the computer most nights to approve of the blog...and to (he better) compliment!)

*When your mother starts saying "I think your addicted!"

*When you read your comment both on your e-mail alert and then have to go to your blog to read it on there too! (they do look different you know!)


If you said yes to 3 or more of these signs listed above...you have a blogging problem! If you know what to do about it....PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!!

Squeezing out the pigs

My children have been blessed with very fair skin, and soft blond hair. When they are babies their hair looked almost white at times.

Poor little Summer is 18 months now and it has taken her every bit of the last year and a half to grow some hair. When she was very little, people would call her a boy. The child could be in a pink dress, and they would still say " What a cutie! what's HIS name!"

By 10 months old, a defiant me went and got her ears pierced. My husband was not happy with me. Told me I was trespassing on her virgin ears.

That didn't stop me, but it didn't change much. She was still pretty bald, but now with earrings. (Didn't seem to help the matter much either...people still called her a boy at times.)

The other night I attempted for the 89th time to pull her hair up in some kind of bow.....and you know what....I could! Well kind of. We squeezed some piggy tails out of that fine soft hair, and oohhh did she look cute! We did out photo shoot as seen, and looked in the mirror to show the "pretty girl!" what she looked like.

It lasted oh about 5 minutes before she screeched like a banshee and she tried to pull them out...hair and all.

Oh well. At least I have these shots to treasure.

Doctor's orders

Smart girl, See the big scary lion. He will protect you against all the people that think it is necessary for you to get rid of your bottle! Don't they understand how much you LOVE your ba-ba. That you wake up each and every morning asking for it....that it is what you want at night, snuggled up in your jammies. That it was one of your first words and you announce it with such emotion, such fever!
Don't they know that your mommy knows you are the last of her babies and her heart is breaking to see you grow up so fast!

Happy Birthday Ollie!

Let me introduce you to the sly fox above. That is Mike's nephew Ollie. We don't get to see him and his mom and dad (Mike's brother) much, but we sure do love him. He is having a birthday party today, that we couldn't get to, but we sure hope he is having FUN!!

Happy Birthday buddy!
Love, Uncle Mike, Aunt Becky, Tatum, Jake, Matthew, and Summer

How many blondes does it take?

I don't know what's happening to my brain cells. I think I have run out! Maybe it's from hanging out with this one (above...to the right). Lately I have been having blond moments. Not that I really want to call attention to them, but I'm starting to feel like Jessica Simpson, not knowing if Chicken of the Sea is tuna or chicken!
For months now, months, Heather and I have walked by all this construction outside the window of the YMCA where we work out. For some reason we thought we needed to put our 2 cents worth in, and let it get in our crawl. "What in the world!" "What are they doing out there?" They are tearing up everything and making a big mess!" "Why would they be doing this when they are just now opening the outside pool?" (I told you months!) We look out the window in disgust and shake our heads. All the time!
Well DUH! Heather (the smarter of the two in this instance) says to me today..."you know what that is? I finally figured it out. It is the new addition to you locker rooms."
You means the renovation to the locker rooms that has been publicised for MONTHS? The same renovation that we pass huge poster board signs everyday to get to workout that announce it? The one that has closed our bathrooms and locker rooms so we can't use them anymore. The renovation that is talked about EVERYWHERE???
Yea, um brilliant. The sad part is who know how long it would have taken me to figure out myself!!!
I am already licking my wounded intelligence....Heather was sending a package to Australia and wanted some neat ideas for it. US stuff you know. She said she was thinking of putting some American money in it. I said "Heather...why would you do that?? They use the same money as us!! They speak English, and their money is just like ours (okay...Heather again is the smart one in this story...I've got to stop talking, I come out bad in these stories!) The funny part is she went for a while with me on this. She said "they do?? ohh." "Wait a minute...Becky it say UNITED STATES OF AMERICA on the bills?!"

DUH! (hales of bay)

I think my kids are draining any intelligence out of me!

Thank God Heather and I think this is funny. If I wasn't laughing I would be crying...

You're great at making human beings!

Out of the mouths of babes. Isn't that what they say?

Today while playing with his baby sister Matthew exclaims to me..."You're great at making human beings!"


Not only am I thrilled that a 7 year old can appreciate his sister so much, but that he can appreciate where she came from! ME!

I said "Yes Matthew, I am great at making human beings because I made YOU!"

Jake the Snake

My son Jake is a goofball. He cracks me up on a regular basis. He also drives me NUTS!

Perfect example....last night the boy was told to take a shower. He did. Buck naked with his fricken socks on! Who forgets to undress all the way? I found a gross little pile of wet socks on my shower floor this morning.

He thought up a great game once that involved his tying himself to the cargo rack of the van. I told him not too, that if he seriously did, he would have to figure out how to get himself undone. Unfazed he continued his game. Passing by later, there is Jake the train wreck, about hogtied to the car, crying because he had to pee. "PLEASE MOM!!! HELP!! I'm going to pee my pants!!

Raising boys are soo different than raising girls. Neither is easy and they both come with their own trials.....but I tell you...if I am able to get that boy to 18 in one piece it is a miracle!

Here is my brainiac playing football toss with himself. He puts a smile on our face everyday....and a grey hair on our head!

Do you know the 90's

I am a bit of a nut when it comes to recognition of movie stars and such. I can see a actor in a movie, and say..."Isn't that the guy from that one movie, he played the neighbor of the little boy". My husband has been astounded over and over by this odd random knowledge. He says I'm a freak of nature.
Our People magazine is the subscription that never lapses. I know way to much useless stuff.


Well...Let's see how well all of you can do with a bit of 90's trivia. Sadly I knew most of these answers right away. Can you match the quote with the famous person:

A. Can we All get along? 1.Ellen DeGeneres

B. I didn't inhale. 2.Jeffrey Dahmer

C. Yep, I'm gay 3.Bill Gates

D. There were 3 of us in 4.Rodney King
this marriage, so it was a
bit crowded.

E. They tasted like beef 5.George H.W. Bush

F. Someday, kids will spend 6.Michael Jackson
more time on a PC connected
to the Internet than in front of
T.V.

G. I don't like broccoli. And I 7. Princess Diana
haven't liked it since I was a
little kid and my mother made
me eat it. And now I'm the
President of the U.S.A and I'm
not going to eat any more broccoli

H. Me and Janet really are 2 8. Bill Clinton
different people



Have Fun and Good Luck! Will post the answers tomorrow!

Favorite Room in the House

When Mike and I first got married, I was all of 17 years old. I had no idea how to take care of a home, cook, or do laundry. It didn't matter though, I was IN LOVE! In the beginning Mike tried to do the laundry and gently show me how. I halfheartedly and haphazardly did. Some. We would truck off to the Laundry mat on his days off and make a time of it.
When Tatum was born, my grandma bought us a washer and dryer. I was all of 18 years old now, and had a baby. Laundry was not the priority for me getting through the days. My mom would come over and help alot. Our place had a squeezed in area that led to the back door where the washer and dryer was. Needless to say we hardly ever used that door because there was a PILES of Laundry.
When we got our 1st house, the basement was where the machines went. Cold, wet, and spiders. I was all of 22, with 2 kids and I started to try. I really did. Add another baby in there and I always felt like I was behind. I could never keep up.
Now I live in the nicest home I ever have in my life, this one even has a laundry ROOM too. But yup...throw another baby in the mix and Laundry was not one of my strong points. It still always had the upper hand. Yes, now I can tackle it, but it does not take long for it to take over again.
I have been dreaming of one of those big big machines, that can do like 12 pairs of jeans, and actually DRY them. I was getting sick of the machines running all day and it just wasn't quick enough. So I started to save. In a big pretzel jar for months and months. A couple times I thought I was getting close, but when we would go to the store, they would still be out of my price range. (stupid pedestals).

Finally the time has come......I got them suckers. And you know what? I can keep up! I'm doing it! I feel like I am actually getting the housewife thing down! Laundry is done daily and it no longer has the upper hand.


Welcome to my new Laundry Room....

I know...they are green!!! Isn't that great! The guy at the store said I was the first one in town to get this color.

The delivery guy seemed a little worried, and came into me and said "ya know mam'.........um the machines are green. Is that correct?"

Yes , Yes I love their color.

The Laundry Room also have the 4 kids growth chart that I painstakingly have transferred every move.

The Plantation Shutters, my friend had gotten at a rummage sale for $5!

Baby wets through her diaper? No problem.

Kid throws up in bed? Taken care of.

Husband bring home piled up gym clothes from car from last 6 weeks? Easy

Daily Laundry? I got it down pat now!

Do I like doing Laundry? umm..no, not really.

Do I Like my Laundry Room?? well, now I am all of 33 years old and because of the journey, I can appreciate it greatly. Yes, it is my favorite organized room in the house!

Happy Monday

Who says Mondays are rough??? Let's watch pure joy and know it is within us too! It is all our choice!

Poison Ivy

Let me start off by saying you are not dealing with a rational woman at this point. I am on the brink. THE BRINK.

I itch.
Really bad.
Really really really really really flippin BAD.

I am highly allergic to poison ivy. Amazingly enough, I seem to be able to catch it from in the air. THE AIR PEOPLE! How can you combat that?? I get it so bad that my Dr. has a back order of steroids for me at all times in case it hits before I can get in for an appt. I get it so bad that once when I was 12 I got it on my face, and my eyes were about swelled shut. I looked like the elephant man.

They say your skin has a memory (is there any more good news about this stuff) and when you have a new batch, it can show up where it was the last time JUST because your skin remembers it. Unfortunately that is true, because it is happening to me now. Same pattern up and down my arms.

But this is the fun part...you ready???
Not only am I on steroids.
Not only do I have poison ivy.
But Mother Nature decided to come for a visit....oh joy. The back of my thigh is upraised in a rabid heap and gets to enjoy sharing space with my "Always" with mother flipping wings!!

Happy 60th Mom!

This is my beautiful mother. She was born September 21st, 1948. She has lived quite a life, and although I cannot tell it all, I can tell some. This is a birthday tribute to the lady that has LOVED me unconditionally my whole life. This is for my mom!

Some of the best memories of my mom:

*My grandparents used to have apple trees, and once a year we would go over and collect them in brown grocery bags. When we got home mom would get busy and clean them all up and makes batches of homemade applesauce. Some we would get to eat hot, and some she would freeze for the upcoming winter.

*When it was Christmas time I can remember anxiously getting off the bus to try to find the decoration of the day somewhere in the house. Mom always had a way of making games up and having fun.

* When daddy would get home from work you would sit in the gold chair with tassels, and he would sit in the blue chair...you drinking a sprite from a green bottle.

*Tim and I would go down to the creek and collect clay and you would let us use your molds to make little statues of centipedes and Donald Duck.

*Once a month we would do the BIG shopping called monthly shopping. We bought soo much food to last us most of the month. It would get loaded up in the station wagon back, and we would get boxed in by all the brown paper bags. It was fun to feel "trapped" and ride home that way.(Those were the 70's-80's..nobody wore seat belts!)

*When you wanted us to come home you would ring the great big bell that was bolted to the back of the house. We could hear you all thru the neighborhood.

*When dad was out of town we got to move the kiddy table to the family room in front of the T.v. and have a special dinner of tuna fish (dad didn't like tuna at all) and cheese bagels.

*One of my earliest memories is taking a nap in your big bed with the blue bedspread.



*If we got sick, we would get "throw up bowls", cinnamon toast, and sprite,


*Every year you would sign up to help with the doll booth at the church festival, and we would get these bags of hideous used dolls that you would clean up, dress, and curl their hair. At the festival I always felt so proud of you when someone would WIN one of these dolls for a prize.

*I am probably one of the few people who grew up in a house where we ate cereal with coffee rich and water. (Mom was very allergic to milk, so we usually did not have it.)

*You would plant marigolds along the sidewalk in the summer


*We would take family walks in the woods. You and daddy, Tim and I.

*You made batches of Christmas cookies and kept them stored in tins on top of the fridge.



*When it was payday you would get all the cash, and sit on your bed dividing it in all the envelopes to carefully spend for the month.

*You were the best mom ever. You taught me 3 very important things.

1. You stayed married. There just was not another option. You stuck in there no matter how hard it got. How sick Dad got. And you LOVED him so much. This has probably been a HUGE impact to my marriage. I saw firsthand how it was done. THIS is just what you do. There is no other option. You stick in there to the end.

2. You try to make the best out of whatever you've got. And you try to make thing FUN. You are always coming up with crazy ideas to do with the kids. They think Grandma is GREAT!

And 3. I have ALWAYS felt loved. There has NEVER been a time in my whole life that I did not feel LOVED. I never doubted I was loved. No matter what I did I knew that you loved me. No matter what happened I knew you loved me.

It defined the word unconditional!

I admire and love you so much. You have no idea how much you have shaped my life. I hope you have a wonderful birthday.

Love,

Becky

Tea for Two

Summer has been so in to her little toy kitchen, her baby stroller, and her dolls. She is the perfect little sassy mama. With her being the youngest, she gets told what to do by alot of people. When she is in the throws of pretend, she seems to be VERY bossy. Not having a younger sibling, and her older ones being away at school all day, she takes it out on the cats. She tells them "NO" when they are doing nothing at all. She fusses and squallers when they walk by. It's the perfect match because they are not phased in the least and just subtly stare at her with a glazed look. Our kitten Abby has been great. She endures rides in the baby carriage, blankets stuffed on top of her, and hopes for a drop of milk when the bottle is around. I think it's safe to say the the cats are our sweet baby's best friends.

I've been tagged!!

This is soo exciting!! I have been tagged by Betty (my new bloggy friend!) to play this game. "Ready or Not, Here I come!!"

WHERE WERE YOU 10 YEARS AGO?

Let's see...10 years ago was 1998, and we were living in our 1st house. We had a very busy year before and were playing catch up. In 1997 our son Jake was born, we bought our 1st house, and my father died all within a few months. So by Sept. 1998 Jake was just turning one, and Tatum was 5. I was 23 (gosh I was a baby!)

WHAT IS ON TODAY'S TO DO LIST?

Wouldn't it be easier to ask what is NOT on it? Hmmm...The boys will be home from school soon. Tatum just got home, and the baby just woke up from her nap. It will be off to Hip Hop class for T, then to get J to football practice...then pick up T from Hip Hop, and then pick J up from football. We've got dinner, homework, and showers to do. I have a load of laundry in the washer and one in the dryer. The dishwasher is running. I have to get some work done for my husbands business, and if I'm lucky I'll get a walk in with the neighbor!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE A BILLIONAIRE??

I would pay off my husbands stores, I would get each of the kids $ set aside for college, I would pay off our house, I would buy my brother a new house, car, and pay off his debts, I would take my whole family on a great vacation!

NAME 5 PLACES YOU HAVE LIVED?

*Milford, Ohio

*Goshen, Ohio

*Eastgate, Ohio

* Lebanon, Ohio

I haven't really lived a 5th place. (And all the places listed above are technically all Cincinnati...)

NAME 3 OF YOUR BAD HABITS.

1. I am a list maker. To the point that I annoy people. I have lists for my lists lists. (my mind is overflowing people! I panicked that I would forget something if it's not written down)

2. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE baked goods. I have NNOO self control when it comes to this issue. Brownies, coffee cake, donuts...bring it on!

3. I am not a morning person. I am afraid I have scarred my children on this point. I admit...I am just plain mean for the first 1/2 hour. Unfortunately this is the only time of day my kids see me till afternoon. I am grumpy and yeah...that says it..grumpy. I say to myself every night..."tomorrow I will try harder!" and Yup..I am still grumpy.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SNACKS

Umm .. didn't you read above?? DONUTS!!!!

I also love Crunch N Munch, sea salt potatoe chips, cheese balls and crackers.

WHO WILL YOU TAG FOR THIS MEME?

I say Catherine, Heather, Heather, and Lula! Be sure you answer the questions and put a picture of you too!! Tag your it!!!

Garbage Night

Okay people, I'm going to bare my soul a little. Please don't laugh. We all know we each have weird things about us all.
One of my FAVORITE days of the week is Garbage Night. I read a post recently that touched this subject, and a feel passionately about this topic. I love Garbage Night. I guess it's because I feel productive? I don't know. I love to see all the stuff that is cleared out from the house, being removed from my cluttered days. I look forward to it each week. It's like I get a fresh start...out with the old, in with the new. I am disappointed if I did not fill up all three cans...it's like I didn't do my job if I don't. Not that we waste anything...Mike and I always joke that the trash pickers never take from our pile because we don't have anything good. If it's in our trash...it ain't workin. We also recycle.
I guess it's sad that the picture above doesn't even show it all. There is still the swing base that the hurricane snapped, but we still have to unscrew so the garbage men will take it. I still have the litters boxes to empty. The overflowing recycling bin hasn't been drug out to the curb yet. (No...I guess what's sad is that my neighbors witnessed me taking a picture of my garbage!!)
Well with 6 in our family and 5 pets...it's bound to build up. Now I feel foolish.
Doesn't everyone feel this way???

Another "No School" day

With all the damage from the "Inland Hurricane" we experienced here in Ohio, the children's school has been canceled for 2 days now. TOMORROW they go back, but with a 1 hour delay and early release...it doesn't seem like much. So today we tried our best to have some FUN!! We went to the park and played....

When we pulled up Summer screamed!! She knew where we were!!

This is what it's like traveling with a teenager...I believe here is where she is talking on her phone and daring me to take her picture..

Then we went and got some Harvest decor. With it being in the 70's and everyone burning wood...it smells just like FALL!!!

This was too funny...I guess I should have thought it out better, but 4 kids and 2 HUGE cornstalks did not fit well in the car!

Then Jake and I got to work!

We planted mums and took out all the old dying summer flowers.




I'm new at this blogging thing..I just erased 2 pictures! @#$%@!@#*(crap..

Here is our cat pumpkin...with the fitting name she had to be in the shots

Summer is excited with all the new things going on. She is trying to talk more and more everyday. I found the cutest darn Halloween outfit for her the other day and bought it.

It is Little Red Riding Hood, and she loves it because it is a dress. When we put it on she wants us to turn on the music and dance (dancing is pretty much going in circles until she is dizzy).

I am loving these days, these moments....I am loving being a mom!