Christmas...

Something you want,

something you need,

something to wear,

something to read...

This is the little Christmas rhyme that is supposed to help keep the focus of the holiday OFF the presents.

It is supposed to simplify my shopping.

It is supposed to give me guidelines so I don't feel like I have to go completely overboard and pile the Christmas tree with commercialism.

Why do I feel guilty if I stick to the list?

Why do I feel like my kids will be disappointed on Christmas morning if I do not overwhelm them with everything their heart desires?

I swear parenting is hard! And it is not even the daily visible things that are the hardest, it is the internal struggles that you go through everyday in the process of trying to raise creatures that are lovely and worthwhile.

Or maybe I just overthink it...?

from my phone!

This is so cool-- I am blogging from work!

Trickle Down

Jacob got a new cell phone today. Actually I got the new cell phone and he got my old one. This is not the first time my little family has done the cell phone merry-go-round. He got a Motorola Rokr. I loved this phone. It was so easy to use and had a ton of great features. Hayley got my last cell phone. It was a Motorola Razr. I also loved this phone. (the only reason Jacob didn't get this phone the last time we did upgrades was because he said red razr's are kind of girly. He, thus, was stuck with an even older phone for awhile.) Anyway, I got the new phone. I got a blackberry Pearl. I don't think I like it. After having Motorola phones for the past few years, I have gotten used to the way they work. This is a whole new interface to get used to. I think I will enjoy the SmartPhone capabilities once I finally figure them out, but in the meantime, I am struggling with even finding how to send a text message. I did already figure out that this phone can sync many email addresses and my Facebook account! I bet I can even BLOG from my phone!!

A pictoral update

It's been a long time. A lot has happened in our lives since the last time I updated. I promise to do better. This was Halloween. Ruby was a bat. Jacob was a shadow (minus the face paint here) and Hayley was a pumpkin. Interesting thing about Hayley's costume, last year it was Ruby's. Jacob's football season ended and we are now on to basketball. Ruby played soccer with the cutest bunch of Kindergartners ever. I made that adorable banner, it was the talk of the league. Everyone wants one now! Hayley played a LOT of soccer too. More on this later... Jacob is demonstrating why he is the best big brother EVER here. He plays with his baby sister. He is 13 almost 14 and actually plays with her. I LOVE this kid. This is Ruby at one of Hayley's soccer games in the rain. Ruby's 6th birthday was on Nov. 12. She had her 3 best friends over for a sleepover. Two boys and a girl. I will be sorry for the day that Ruby and her friends Jimmy and Alaric realize that she is a girl and they are boys. Remember THIS POST ? Well, we got one. His name is Hank and he was the second pup born to Molly. He is so adorable and already a beloved member of the family. Hayley's classic soccer team WON the Fred Meyer President's Cup. This was a big deal because no classic girls team from Roseburg has ever made it into the finals much less WON the thing. This is Hayley and her BFF Kali. They have played socccer together since they were 5. It is so exciting to see them play at this much more competitive level. We spent Thanksgiving at the coast. It was peaceful, relaxing and absolutely perfect. My kids are great and so much fun to be around. This is Toni. MY BFF. We have been friends for almost 20 years. She was the girlfriend to my ex-husband's best friend. Funny how we both ditched them , but our friendship has remained and fluorished.

Hayley and her Future Husband

This is Hayley and Ashton, her future husband.

Hayley doesn't know she will marry Ashton, and Ashton doesn't know he will marry Hayley. Ashton is one of Jacob's best friends.

This picture was taken during our Labor Day camping trip. Ashton's mom and I totally set it up so that we could display it at their wedding.

Baseball Game

Three nuns were attending a baseball game...

Three men were sitting directly behind them...

Because their habits were partially blocking the view, the men decided to badger the nuns hoping that they'd get annoyed enough to move to another area...

In a very loud voice, the first guy said, "I think I am going to move to Utah. There are only 100 nuns living there.".

Then the second guy spoke up and said, "I want to go to Montana, there are only 50 nuns living there."

The third guy said, "I want to go to Idaho. There are ony 25 nuns living there".

One of the nuns turned around, looked at the men, and in a very swet and calm voice said,

"Why don't you go to hell. There aren't ANY nuns there!!"

What Color are You?

I did this "What color are you thing" after I saw it on Kandi's blog.

You Are a Green Crayon

Your world is colored in harmonious, peaceful, natural colors. While some may associate green with money, you are one of the least materialistic people around. Comfort is important to you. You like to feel as relaxed as possible - and you try to make others feel at ease. You're very happy with who you are, and it certainly shows! Your color wheel opposite is red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you.

What Color Crayon Are You?

I am NOT green. I like green, but my favorite color is red.

I went to Las Vegas with 2 friends from here, J and S and one of S's friends from Portland.

The whole intention of the trip was to get away from home, cut loose and have fun. We certainly accomplished that goal.

Because we live in small town Oregon there is no way that I could ever get totally drunk and silly and still be able to maintain my professionalism and reputation. And for S, it is worse. Her husband is a principal.

Going out of town is great for that reason alone. Just being able to check inhibitions and have a shot or 3 of tequila was fabulous.

The hangover? Not so fabulous.

I Left Las Vegas

Las Vegas was very fun. I am broke and tired.

This is the view from the room at The Paris. The fountains at the Bellagio are something else. Love them at night.

These guys are everywhere passing calling cards. If a person were so inclined, they could pretty much get whatever kind of hooker their heart desired for a price. There were even women hawking these cards.

We went to the dueling piano bar at the Paris on Friday night. What a great time.

I paid $8 for a freaking Bud Light or 3.

That was a lot cheaper than the tequila shots we were having with them at $13 a pop.

Saturday was a much slower day. Much of the day was spent reviving and recuperating. Room service was lovely. Later that afternoon we shopped (more). The shopping in Vegas is phenomenal. Especially for me because i just don't have that many shopping options here in Douglas county, Oregon! It is really too bad we opted to just carry bags on the plane and not check luggage. Because i had no room to get things back, my shopping was VERY limited.

I did manage to get more than a few things. My suitcase was a little sausage on the trip home!

Does anyone else take pictures of things when they are out shopping? I saw this Christmas decoration, but it was very $$$ and much too big to haul home. I know I can make it for less, so I took a picture to jog my memory.

Puppies

This is Molly. The first time mom of 10 puppies. She is living my nightmare. Can you imagine feeding 10!!! (I think that we will be getting one of the pups. Molly belongs to Jacob's best friend and Jacob actually got to help deliver the babies last night!!)

I bought a pair of shoes. But only because my feet needed relief. The blisters were BAD. The new shoes helped.

I'm so excited...

As I am headed up to Portland this weekend, I can't help but get excited at the prospect of

SHOPPING!

Good shopping.

Douglas County, Oregon is not known for being a shopping mecca in any way.

I get overwhelmed imagining the places to spend my money!

And then usually buy nothing.

Why is it that when I do have the time and opportunity to let loose, I just can't bring myself to buy?

You know, you always find a ton of things you want when you are broke, but when I am trying, I usually end up frustrated. (wow, i am writing in both first and third person in the same sentence--yikes!)

Anyway, my point is (yes, i do have one) I am going shopping. I am going to try to buy something, but am almost positive I will end up with next to nothing.

Weekend Plans

I am headed off to Portland later on this afternoon. On Saturday I will be attending a Survivor's Luncheon with one of my dearest friends and 8 more of her friends and we will celebrate the fact that she has been a breast cancer survivor for 11 years! Typically we also participate in the actual race, but this year on Sunday our daughters will be playing soccer in Milwaukee, so the race is out. The energy at Waterfront park during the race is just incredible AND the event itself is so happy and uplifting. Anyone who has ever participated in a Race for the Cure event will tell you that it's such a celebration of life.I think everyone knows family or friends who have had this very common cancer and we all want a cure to be found, so it is great to be able to support an organization that has been so effective in funding research and moving treatment options forward.

Tangle

What if I just left? Seriously the things I have to do just to arrange a weekend away. One kid I will pick up at her soccer game in Portland. One kid will stay here with friends and play soccer and one kid is headed to the Duck's game. If any of the convoluted arrangements fall apart, the whole house of cards comes down. I almost had to put a spreadsheet together just to keep track of who goes where! The big kicker of the deal is... It's not even my weekend, the kids are with their Dad this weekend and I still have to make all of the arrangements in order to have confidence that everything and everybody is being covered!

Me from A to Z

A. Attached or single? Single, sadly.

B. Best friend? A few really good ones and one very best.

C. Cake or pie? Cake

D. Day of choice? Thursdays are golden. Something about the end of the week, with the anticipation of the weekend.

E. Essential item? My cellphone

F. Favorite color? red

G. Gummy bears or worms? gummy bears I guess. i really prefer Jelly bellies.

H. Hometown? Hillsboro, Oregon

I. Indulgence? books, lip gloss, nestle quik

J. January or July? definitely October

K. Kids? Three of them. I wanted four, he wanted two. Three is perfect!

L. Life isn’t complete without? Moments of silence

M. Marriage date? December, 1993 (Divorce was March 2005)

N. Number of brothers & sisters? 1 brother, but I am about to disown him because he is a schmuck.

O. Oranges or apples? I'm picky. Green apples only - fresh from the tree or a Granny Smith version. Never mushy sweet ones like Red or Yellow Delicious.

P. Phobias? having the phone or electricity disconnected. running out of toilet paper.

Q. Quotes? "fake it 'til you make it"

R. Reasons to smile? kids belly laughs, kindergarten soccer, cool mornings

S. Season of choice? Autumn!

T. Tag seven peeps! no way!

U. Unknown fact about me? I am still friends with every guy I ever dated (I think I must be the schmuck!)

V. Vegetable? Asparagus and cauliflower

W. Worst habits? nagging my kids

X. X-ray or ultrasound? I've had both.

Y. Your favorite food? popcorn

Z. Zodiac sign? I am a textbook Gemini.

Things that SUCK

It's been a crappy week. Maybe if I dump my head, I will feel better.

• The new Facebook sucks. I will continue to use the old one until I no longer have that option. And then i will probably HAVE to use the new one, but I won't ever like it.

• Laundry really sucks. Just when you feel like you are on top of it, a teen or pre-teen brings a fresh pile that just has to be washed right now!

• Being divorced sucks.

• Being trapped in Douglas county, Oregon sucks. Not that i would ever really move my children. but according to the terms of my divorce, I am bound by a 90-mile radius of my ex. That doesn't leave me many options if I even wanted to have them.

• My ex in-laws suck. Their baby boy is a lying, cheating, lazy jerk, yet I must carry on as if he is the greatest thing since grape gum because of their "status" here.

• The price of home heating oil sucks. There is no way that I will be able to afford to fill up my oil tank for this winter.

• My kids football coach sucks. If you say practice is from 4 to 6 pm, then practice should be over at 6 or close to it. Last night it was 7:40. Yeah, most families lives revolve around their Middle School son's football schedule. Thanks, we were happy to drive 15 miles just to stand around and wait, hungry for almost 2 more hours.

• People who can't follow directions suck. She is prescribed pain pills every 8 hours for a reason. To withhold because you don't think it is good to take that many is cruelty.

• Doing dishes sucks. I have never had a dishwasher in my life and i am sick of doing dishes.

• Standardized testing sucks. I am researching the opt-out option for my kids. I hate the amount of energy the school district spends on all aspects of testing.

• Parents who give up on their kids suck. I teach in alternative education and most of the time i think that the kids I have would be successful in the regular classroom if their parents would just grab a clue and get involved.

• Dating sucks. Or should I say the lack of dates sucks. The fact that I am nowhere to really meet anyone sucks. Or the fact that anyone i do meet knows my ex and likes him sucks.

• Having to worry about every dime I spend sucks.

• Seeing the signs of aging sucks. I am not old, I do not feel old. Grey hair means old. Sucks.

• Stupid over-excited, over-bearing room mothers in kindergarten suck. Lady, some of us do have jobs.

• Being played sucks. I am aware of it, I even point it out to him when he is doing it. I am still not immune to it. I hate feeling 18 and out of control.

• My bank sucks. Why do they post the highest transactions first, then putting the rest of the balance into overdraft mode. Yes, i have savings and overdraft protection both attached, but I really think this is the banking industry's way of tacking on any and all fees they can. Also, why did my deposit not get posted first? I think a phone call is in order on this one.

• The insurance industry sucks.

• Paying more for less sucks. Smaller packaging, same price--wonder if the consumer will notice? I notice!

• Guilt sucks. I feel guilty about the big things and the small things. Like when a store that i have never gone into goes out of business, even if it is a store that has nothing that I would buy in it. i still feel guilty.

I am sure that I have more, but this is enough negativity for now! I do feel a bit better just getting it all out! Anyone have anything they care to add?

How fast are YOU?

32 words

Speed test

I got a "D" in typing in high school.

Enough said.

My brother and I would like to announce...

That it's on like Donkey Kong.

Have you seen this commercial?

Seriously one of the best on TV these days.

It is a follow-up to this commercial.

Every time it comes on we just crack up. We love that commercial.

It's about the only one I don't fast forward through.

And my brother and I would like to anounce "oooh, we're scared".

Here is another commercial the Mannings did to promote reading to kids that is very cute

also.

Back to School!

The first day of school!

We are beginning the 2nd week of school here and beginning to establish some helpful routines. This past weekend was spent cleaning a little and reorganizing a little to hopefully make our busy lives run a little smoother. I woke up this morning energized and ready to face another week!

Stop the World......

Things are hectic and busy. I forgot how this time of year totally kicks me in the pants.

I think that by the end of the weekend I will not have myself organized and by this time next week I will be in my groove.

Until then, chaos reigns.