In honor of Gus’ Nurse Sally…who can quote Napoleon Dynamite like there is no tomorrow, I decided to choose quotes from the movie!

Vern: What are you going to do today, Napoleon?
Napoleon: Whatever I feel like I want to do! Gosh!

Napoleon Dynamite: Hey, can I use your guys’ phone for a sec?
Secretary: Is there anything wrong?
Napoleon: I don’t feel very good. [takes telephone and dials number]
Kip: [on other line, making nachos] Hi.
Napoleon: Is grandma there?
Kip: No, she’s getting her hair done.
Napoleon: Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh…
Kip: What do you need?
Napoleon: Can you just go get her for me?
Kip: I’m really busy right now.
Napoleon: Just tell her to come get me.
Kip: Why?
Napoleon: ‘Cause I don’t feel good!
Kip: Well, have you talked to the school nurse?
Napoleon: No, she doesn’t know anything… Will you just come get me?
Kip: No.
Napoleon: Well, will you do me a favor then? Can you bring me my chapstick?
Kip: No, Napoleon.
Napoleon: But my lips hurt real bad!
Kip: Just borrow some from the school nurse. I know she has, like, five sticks in her drawer.
Napoleon: I’m not gonna use hers, you sicko!
Kip: See ya.
Napoleon: Ugh! Idiot!

Napoleon: Stay home and eat all the freakin’ chips, Kip!
Kip: Napoleon, don’t be jealous ’cause I’ve been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I’m training to become a cage fighter.
Napoleon: Since when, Kip? You have the worst reflexes of all time.
Kip: Try and hit me, Napoleon.
Napoleon: What?
Kip: I said come down here and see what happens if you try and hit me.

Deb: And here we have some boondoggle keychains. A must-have for this season’s fashion.
Napoleon: I already made, like, infinity of those at scout camp.

Napoleon: Well, what is there to eat?
Grandma: Knock it off, Napoleon! Make yourself a dang quesa-dilluh!
Napoleon: Fine!

Napoleon Dynamite: Deb just called me. She pretty much hates me by now.
Pedro: Why?
Napoleon: Because my uncle Rico’s an IDIOT.
Pedro: Do you have anything to give to her?
Napoleon: No. Not unless she likes fish.

Uncle Rico: Napoleon, it looks like you don’t have a job. So, why don’t you go out there and feed Tina?
Napoleon: Why don’t you go eat a decroded piece of crap?

Napoleon: Why do you got your hood on like that?
Pedro: Well, when I came home from school, my head started to get really hot. So I drank some cold water, but it didn’t do nothing. So I laid in the bathtub for a while, but then I realized that it was my hair that was making my head hot. So I went in the kitchen, and I shaved it all off and I don’t want no one to see.

Rex: At Rex Kwan Do, we use the buddy system. No more flying solo. You need somebody watching your back at all times. Second off, you’re gonna learn to discipline your image. You think I got where I am today because I dressed like Peter Pan over here?
[points to Kip]
Rex: Take a look at what I’m wearing, people. You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while I’m wearing these bad boys? Forget about it. Last off, my students will learn about self respect. You think anybody thinks I’m a failure because I go home to Starla at night? Forget about it!

Napoleon Dynamite: You know, there’s like a butt-load of gangs at this school. This one gang kept wanting me to join because I’m pretty good with a bo staff.

Napoleon Dynamite: Tina, you fat lard, come get some DINNER!… Tina, eat. Food. Eat the FOOD!

Napoleon Dynamite: I caught you a delicious bass.

Randy: Napoleon, give me some of your tots.
Napoleon Dynamite: No, go find your own.
Randy: Come on, give me some of your tots.
Napoleon Dynamite: No, I’m freakin’ starving! I didn’t get to eat anything today.
Randy: [kicks the tots]
Napoleon Dynamite: Ugh! Gross! Freakin’ idiot!

Two bonus quotes because I couldn’t cut them!

Napoleon Dynamite: What are you doing here, Uncle Rico?
Uncle Rico: Grandma took a little spill at the sand dunes today. Broke her coccyx.

Uncle Rico: Napoleon, you know we can’t afford the fun pack. What, do you think money grows on trees in this family? Take it back! And get some Pampers for you and your brother while you’re at it.

You may remember me mentioning that we were cutting out our cable tv…well, we did…..and I miss watching The Tudors!! Waaaaaaahhhhhh…..

I know, I know…it’s such a horrible show and it’s not at all something “nice” to watch…but the costumes are grand! They really are!! And I am learning some history too…so you can see, it’s not really bad at all! Right?!

Anyway….so does anyone know if this series will be on dvd at BlockBuster…and will there be a Season Two???

And then there’s Dexter….why, oh why, we did we have to give up our Showtime!? lol!!

Photo courtesy of LogJam MicroBrewery
And I was going to buy several hundred links….what a bummer! lol!

Is this for real?? Is it photoshopped?? I need to know ’cause if there are hogs this honkin’ huge running around down there in Alabama….I ain’t going’ there!! Sheesh….go check out the video over at Cnn..Fox…which ever news you choose. I’m sure HogZilla can be seen on all of them!!

By the way, just so ya’ll know, I would never but several hundred sausage links…ever. I don’t even buy sausage links….GROSS!!! Have you seen sausage being made and then squirted into all those intestines….ack! No thanks!!

Medicine is Drawn into a Syringe
Photographic Print
Kennedy, Taylor…
Buy at AllPosters.com

Well, I’m waiting to hear from Pete. He took his first really big test today in Pathophysiology and he said he would e-mail me after he finished. Well, he did but all I got was an e-mail that said “test” in the subject line…was it a “test” or was he trying to tell me about the “test”??? Who knows! lol!! I have visions of him passed out at one of the computers in the lab there on campus…is that why there was no message in the e-mail he sent!? Sheesh…man…let me know something!!

TeaMouse is having another writing contest! This time the theme is “romance”. The following is my entry…

As I approach the one year anniversary of Gus’ death, what we fondly like to call his Coronation Ceremony, I have been reminiscing quite a bit. I have a lot of memories from this journey and I’m trying to get them all down on paper.

When I think of romance, I think about a time when Gus was just about a month old and in the NICU. Pete would always go to the NICU in the mornings so he could get the doctors’ reports. He had to do this because, at that time, I really couldn’t process much. Between being post-partum, having a deathly ill child and being 2 hours from home, I was a complete mess. All I heard was “he’s not going to make it…” even when the reports were fairly good! (the head nurse ordered me to stop pumping, start eating chocolate and get some Zoloft…things were much better after that, but that’s another story for another time! lol!)

One morning I got a phone call from Pete telling me that I needed to come down to the hospital because the doctors had decided it was time to try to feed Gus with a bottle! I was so excited…I just remember thanking God for this progress. I went down and scrubbed in…sat down and feed my baby for the very first time ever.

Later, it hit me what Pete had done. He very easily could have fed Gus himself and then told me about it later….he could have demanded that I give him a turn feeding Gus…but he didn’t. He was so sensitive to my needs and desires and to me, that is true romance.

Pete did this very thing several other times…even on the day that Gus died.

I told him that I needed to hold Gus as he passed and he told me that he wouldn’t have it any other way. He could have put his foot down and told me that I “had to share” and that we both should be holding Gus. He knew though…he knew what I needed and he loved me so much that he denied himself the privilege of holding Gus as he died.

That’s romance, folks…and I am blessed…

Be sure to go over to TeaMouse’s to read the other posts about romance! I think it is so nice of her to host these contests!

A SLUG! That’s is what I’ve been this whole entire week….I hate when I get in my “slug funk”. I seem to be crawling my way back though…so my family will be ecstatic!

• School went well this week…everyone worked diligently and we were able to cover a lot of ground. I didn’t teach any Chemistry or HIstory this week so we could focus on our math and language arts. I just want to make sure everyone is where I want them to be…

• I have been having a lot of “Gus dreams” this week…only makes sense because soon it will be one year since he passed. This coming Thursday the 31st to be exact.

• I started a new blog called Jenny Jumps In! which will be my blog about “blogging for money”. I will also be posting about online-marketing programs, money-saving ideas, contests and freebies. I have had great success with PayPerPost in the past couple of weeks…$325 to be exact! There’s a button on the bottom of this post if you want to give it a whirl.

I think that’s it….maybe next week will be more exciting since I will not be in a “slug funk”!

Check out other WR over at my dear friend Judi’s blog!!

…or let me say, not just yet!

Mom informed me a few days ago that she was going to buy us all neti pots like she had seen on Oprah. Now, hear my heart, I’m sure neti pots are little miraculous snout cleaner-outers and I’m not here to make fun of these things…I really think they work! I just don’t think I can have one in my house and use it without laughing myself sick! lol!! And I’m also not sure that I can remain calm and breathe through my mouth as the water is going into my snout…scary!

I first saw a neti pot on a reality tv show when Gus was in the PICU. I quickly called the Nurse Practitioner into the room to watch this guy use his FIL’s neti pot. What!? Ewwww….he actually used his FIL’s neti pot because he wanted to “bond” with him and he thought it would make the FIL feel special!
Well, this little bit of interesting tv soon turned into a huge search on the internet….because that’s what everyone does in the PICU when all the kids are behaving!! Amber, the nurse practitioner, found a lot of interesting things about neti pots and even a few interesting looking ones too. She did such a good job researching that I had to rename her “Nurse Neti Pot” and that is what she has been ever since.
Nurse Neti Pot was there with us on the day that Gus died. I will never forget her diligence and the love she had not only for Gus but for my whole family. I loved joking around with her…she understood that in the PICU there were times you had to joke and laugh so you wouldn’t cry. I miss Nurse Neti Pot. I should send her a letter….

This is from Gus’ CaringBridge site:
TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2006 09:42 AM, CDT
Gus’ teeth have stopped bleeding..we think! lol!! He was given a medicine that is used for oral bleeding and it has seemed to work. He is still quite puffy but is peeing ok. He can’t help but be “over-filled” with all the blood products he has to get daily. Pete bought me a step stool so I could get up higher so I can reach over and squeeze Gus…we have to be very careful not to move him so it’s best for me to “hover” over him and give him hugs and kisses! lol!!
Pete and I are on our way to a Grand Round…we like to pretend we are doctors! The head of Gus’ transplant team is speaking here today and we were told we could come. Dr. Mazareigas is going to be talking about intestinal failure and transplantation….that would be us! lol!! Anyway….I’ll be back later with more…

Please consider Organ Donation…

What do you do with a wiggly little girl who needs to move during Math Time? You introduce her to Jumpin‘ Jack Math!! This is not a new idea to any of us who homeschool but it is a new idea for Belle. I have also used a similar “tool” from my arsenal of ideas with “non-stop Jake”.

Here’s how we do it…Belle does a section of math and then she does a set of jumpin‘ jacks. What’s cool about this is that the benefits are threefold: 1) allows her the needed movement 2)provides exercise and 3) and extra counting practice.

This would so not be an incentive for me to do my math! lol!! Maybe little pieces of chocolate but definitely not jumpin‘ jacks!

More words from the wonderful book There’s a Word For It by Charles Harrington Elster!

Good Eats
Tin Sign
Mummert, Marty
Buy at AllPosters.com


1. arachnivorous…likes to eat spiders
2. phthirophagous…gobbles up lice

3. batrachophagous…likes to hoppers..as in frogs

4. ophiophagous…snake eater

5. scolecophagous…likes to eat worms..ack

6. xylophagous…likes to munch on wood

7. limivourous…mmm mud!

8. scatophagous…poo eater

9. sanguivorous…blood-sucker

10 saprophagous…feeds in decaying animal matter

11. hematophagous…again, a blood-sucker

12. coprophagous…again, a poo eater

13. merdivorous…and yet again, poo eater!

Belle: Momma, you just have to come see this!

Me: What is it, Belle?

Belle: Just come, it’s a surprise!

Me: ok…but what is it?

Belle: It’s God’s thumbnail, momma!

I just love that when she looks up into the sky and sees the moon that she immediately thinks of God. Oh to have the insight of a child…..

Today I’m going back to my first post and talking about why I started blogging.

I first got involved in blogging type activity when I put together Gus’ Caringbridge site. Here’s the first post from that site.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2005 09:01 PM, CDT
Gus is feeling much better today. His legs are not so tender and he is smiling more. He wore his white polo and new blue jeans this morning…and immediately had a leak!! Oh, well, you won’t hear us complain about that!!
We are waiting on test results concerning his liver enzymes. The TPN (intravenous nutrition) causes liver damage so we have to keep track of the condition of his liver. It’s a trade-off that hopefully/prayerfully will help his bowel adapt and grow. With elevated liver enzymes, Gus is somewhat yellowish…I call him my “Little Yellow Dumpling”. He’s precious no matter what color he is!!
Gus was in and out of the hospital and there were several times that I was away from my other children. I realized that a good way to stay in touch with them…and a fun way for all of us to communicate…was through blogging. I also realized that there were people out there that were very concerned about the well-being of the children during this hard time. I wanted to share with everyone that even though times were hard that the kids were doing well…I did this by blogging about whay they were learning in school and what they were doing. I blogged about how they were helping Gus and also helping me! Here’s my first post from “Up the Hill Gang”
Crawling Through a Blue Whale’s Aorta

September 27, 2005

We are currently doing a mini-unit on whales. Did you know that the largest Blue Whales have hearts that are the size of Volkswagon Bugs?? And that a human could crawl through the aorta! That is mind-boggling to me…and suddenly very disgusting! Oh, one more thing, the blue whale is the loudest animal coming in at 188 decibels…jets are 140 decibels and conversation between humans is 60-70 decibels. Interesting….they are big and loud…sounds like my two oldest boys!!!

Pete made a 94 on his Anatomy & Physiology exam…the class average was 68. We are all really impressed with his vast knowledge!! I believe he is studying bones right now.

Leif Erickson was who we talked about today during history. I came across this website that was very interesting… http://www.viking.no/e/people/leif/e-leiv.htm

We are really behind on learning sign language. I think we need to practice more during conversations. I’ve been signing with Gus when I’m bathing him, changing his diaper etc…but then sometimes I forget! It will just take some getting used to. I’ve finished the story props for Lunch by Denise Fleming and they are really cute, if may say so myself! Go visit her website. It’s neat. http://www.denisefleming.com/
After Gus died I started Gus’ Gang.

Welcome

June 5, 2006
Welcome to our new blog! Pete and I hope that you will visit us often and check out what Gus’ Gang is doing. We are excited about this ministry and we look forward to encouraging families with chronically ill children. If you know of a family that you think needs to be encouraged by Gus’ Gang please let us know!

and here’s the second one since the first one wasn’t too exciting! lol
Take a look…

June 5, 2006
at sweet Emma Cody!
Emma has set up residence in the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital NICU…she’s been there since January 2, 2006! She is a micro-preemie and is loved dearly by her family and her nurses. Right now Emma needs prayers for her lungs to heal, for her fundo to work and for protection of her bowels. Please also pray for Emma’s big sister, Gracie. Times like these are very hard on siblings…let’s shower this precious family with prayers!!
I’m a sucker for sucker pictures!!
Blogging has been very therapeutic for me and I’ve met a lot of neat people!

Look what I caught Jake doing! Those of you who have been visiting us for awhile know that Jake hates to read so when I saw this happening I was so pleased! Reading takes you soooo many places and I really want Jake to experience the joy of reading a good book. We’re still working on this but I think this photo certainly shows movement in the right direction!

There are 10 days between now and the anniversary of Gus’ death. Gus died last year on May 31st. Grieving has not been a bitter ordeal for me and I’m thankful for that. I know that some people can really struggle with the death of a child. Hear my heart here…I’m not saying that losing Gus has been easy. I am saying that I have not dwelt in that stage of grief where you are trying to place blame somewhere…on someone…something. I have been there but not for long. What is so tricky about grief is that there is no guarantee that I won’t revisit that stage!

There’s also no guarantee that those “crying spells” will hit you when you are at home, in private. Oh just the opposite is certainly going to happen and always when you least expect it! But, these “crying spells” are good for those who grieve. I embrace them!

So, if you see me crying in front of the shredded cheese section at the grocery store or at the back of the BloodMobile where all the snacks are….let your heart be glad because what you are seeing is my healing.

Busy week again…lots of school work and house cleaning…just the same ol’ stuff!

• Pete started school this week. He will be going all day every Tuesday and Thursday. He’ll be working on the weekends only. We think this will be easier on the whole family because it will give us family time.

• Speaking of family time…Pete and I have decided to get rid of the cable tv. We feel this will give us more quality time together. I’m going to miss House and The Tudors but I figure I can rent the full season when they are available.

• I have been able to work on my WIPs and have made some good progress!’

• We were visited by a sweet baby bird who, I’m happy to say, has flown away! That or a cat has eaten him…I’m going to go with the first option!

• Belle continues to enjoy playing with Elijah who is even further “up the hill”. He loves her and gets so excited when she comes to play!!

• I’ve signed the boys up for Script Frenzy and they both have started working on their story ideas. Script Frenzy is from the NaNoWriMo people. I’ve decided to skip this event and save all my energy for NaNoWriMo 2007. I had a blast last year and I actually finished a rough draft of a novel!!

• Belle has had a rough week with injuries. The first one occurred when she was standing on top of the big green garbage can( the one that the garbage men come and get) and it slid out from under her and she fell on her arm. We thought it might have been broken…watched it and decided she was ok, just skinned up. The next injury happened earlier today. Somehow, a piece of chicken wire poked into Belle’s ear…they were outside trying to make a chicken wire cage around the jungle gym thingy. She was crying, but she has been doing that a lot lately, so I didn’t go running to see what was going on. She came in to me and her ear was bleeding!!! OMG! Freak. me. out…all I could think of was that she had damaged her hearing. I was next to sick but we were able to see where the wire actually went in and it was really just a scratch. She can hear and she has not complained about it hurting so I think she’s ok. I’ll keep watching her though….Can you imagine what I would have had to tell doctors this week?? “Uh, well, she was standing on the garbage can out front by the road blah, blah, blah” and then later saying something like “Uh, well, you see we have this chicken wire in the back yard and well, it poked her in the ear….” Sheesh….just a smidge embarrassing!

Check out more WR over at Judi’s!

1. Tiramisu Tart, 2. Tiramisu, 3. Tiramisu, 4. Tiramisu Cake Closeup

Inspired by my pal, Judi, I am posting my favorite dessert too! I love tiramisu and it’s just about the only dessert I ever order. When Pete and I were in Pittsburgh, we discovered the wonderful tiramisu at Joe Mama’s….it was wonderful!

Tiramisu means “make me happy”…probably because of the espresso and cocoa in the recipe! Though I love anything “coffee”, I will have to say that my favorite part of this dessert is the mascarpone cheese. This dessert is so yummy and light…one serving is never enough…and that, my friends is why I can’t make this dessert at home! lol!!

Here are some recipes:

Heavenly Tiramisu…this is a great site with lots of info.

Chocolate Tiramisu Cupcakes

Tiramisu Martini

Visit other Friday Favorites over at Amberly’s!

Photo: The Age.com.au

Ok…never again will I say that I hate my hair or that my makeup doesn’t look good! I mean, I know Phil Spector is a genius in the music industry but sheesh…can anyone actually carry on a conversation with him without completely breaking down in a fit of laughter??
I’m really surprised that he has taken such poor care of his decollete area…look at all those age spots! I shouldn’t be too hard on him. I guess he has focused all his energy on his BIG HONKIN’ HAIR…sheesh….completely disturbing!

“God finds a low branch for the bird that cannot fly.”

Turkish Proverb

Look at this precious, sweet baby bird that the kids found today. Jake, my tender-hearted son, brought the little thing to me and told me that he was going to care for it because it had been abandoned. I could tell he had already planned out this little bird’s life…how he was going to smoosh up worms, where he would build him a nest, what he would be called. I tried to explain to him that the bird was probably just learning how to fly and had not been abandoned at all. I pointed out how the little guy had feathers which meant that he was a fledgling…the neighbor kid swore up and down that the bird was fresh from the egg! I can understand that thinking because he was tiny.

To the horror of everyone, I suggested that the bird be placed back near the area where he was found. Well, I wasn’t very convincing because Jake stood his ground and insisted that the bird had been left. I went on to tell Jake that the baby bird’s parents were probably very nervous because their baby was gone. Jake looked at me and said, “I don’t think they were because they were trying to attack me!”…WHAT!? Now, I’m feeling terrible because all I can think about is how some momma bird is out there somewhere running around trying to find her baby!

The bird had been named Taz. The kids really do think they are saving this little bird and they just can’t wrap their minds around the fact that they have actually endangered him. I have sent Pete out to convince the kids to put it back. Let’s hope he’s more successful than I was….sigh…

Just so you know….

• It’s a myth that if you touch a baby bird it’s parents will no longer take care of it. In fact, birds have a poor sense of smell so they have no idea that anyone has touched their baby.

• Baby birds hydrate themselves through the liquid found in the regurgitated food that it’s parents provide for it…they don’t drink water like adult birds do. If offered water in a little bowl, they may aspirate some of the water and develop pneumonia. Not good!

• Nestlings sometimes fall out of their nests and it’s perfectly ok to place them back into the nest. Nestlings look like little nudey birds! Sometimes they have some feathers…but it’s pretty obvious that it’s a newborn.

• Fledglings have feathers and usually are hopping on the ground looking like they have been abandoned! It can sometimes take fledglings 5-7 days to learn how to fly…we all develop at different paces don’t we?!

Visit this article for a lot more info on orphaned birds.

I turned 18 during my Freshman year at ETSU. I joined Delta Zeta Sorority. My dorm room was broken into and my eel skin pocketbook, mini recorder, $50 and my favorite pair of Benetton (or were they Esprit?) blue jeans were stolen. I loved to “Walk Like An Egyptian” down at Richard A’s and Tu La Fe’s…Matilda Bay Wine Coolers were my absolute everyones favorite drink.

This was my first time away from home…take a look at my dorm room. Can we say “spoiled”??!! My roommate Dawn’s Dad laid the carpet and my parents took care of our cool Balloon Shades. Of course, we chose to use the popular colors of “Peach and Green”!

My sister and I on the day I moved into my dorm room.

That’s me right there in the middle…I can’t believe how slim my legs are. And look at those cool Kaepas!! I wonder what color triangles I have snapped in….probably peach! lol!

Oh boy…can’t wait to read the other Time Travel Tuesday entries!!

10 Songs that Make Me Sad…well, let’s say songs that stir up memories that make me cry!

Held by Natalie Grant
Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) by Chris Rice
Wonderful, Merciful Saviour by Susan Ashton
Praise the King by Cindy Morgan
Proud to be an American by Lee Greenwood
The American National Anthem by Francis Scott Key
Luca by Suzanne Vega ok, this one doesn’t stir up memories! I have been fortunate enough to have not experienced domestic violence…Pete wanted me to let you all know that!!
Open Arms by Journey (lol!)
Memories by Barbara Streisand ( Hubble: Go get’em Katie.—Katie: See ya Hubble.) I’m crying right now!
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole …and now I’m really crying!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Visit more Ten on Tuesday posts over here!

This weekend, while my mom and grandmother were here, we went downtown to shop at our local fabric store. While Belle and I were outside waiting for them to come out, I realized that there was music playing! It was like music from the 40’s or 50’s …it was old music and it was wonderful! It was such a neat thing…I have never noticed it downtown before.

This is a photo of Belle right before she started dancing all over the sidewalk…the music really did make you want to dance! lol!
Next door to the fabric store was this great antiques store. The owner was such a neat person to talk to and her store was just wonderful. I found a pink shelf that I really want…well, actually I found a lot of things I really wanted in her store!! There was a stuffed Humpty Dumpty with an embroidered face that was so neat…very vintage looking. It was a neat place to buy a unique gift and I’ll be going back! This is the shop’s mailbox…clever and fun!!

This came to my house this weekend….it was holding all of Mom’s meds. I talked her into trading bags with me because I LOVE this quilted pink/black stripey fabric! I also love the way she made the handles…really different. She really needs to make these bags and sell them!!

I feel sassy!!

Wings–Freedom Series

Gwen Meharg (one of my favorite artists!)

TO give heart and mind to God, so that they are ours no longer–to do good without being conscious of it, to pray ceaselessly and without effort as we breathe–to love without stopping to reflect upon our feelings–such is the perfect forgetfulness of self, which casts us upon God, as a babe rests upon its mother’s breast.

JEAN NICOLAS GROU

I am going to be adding this

Plastic bags consumed this year:

to my sidebar because I feel like there are way too many plastic bags out there. I love all the ideas for re-using and recycling these bags…for example:

Tote Bag
Necklace
Rugs

But this is my favorite!! I think I’ll be making some of these for my shopping trips. Neat!

You can get your plastic bag counter over at Reusable Bags.

complain about how small they are (apparently McAlister’s lemons are huge!) then pull away from the drive-thru window and proceed to lose your grip on your ice cream cone and dump it in your lap and down your leg….just ask my mom! We laughed hard, folks…

Belle bought me these cool Twisted Stitcher Socks today while we were out and about! She couldn’t wait to give them to me so I got them a day early! lol!! She asked if she could sleep in them tonight…of course, I said yes! What a sweetie!!

Tea Mouse is hosting the “World’s #1 Mom” contest and she is asking for entries. You are to write about why you are a great mom…she really encourages us to share our funny stories! So here’s my entry for her contest:

The Bog Boy
(oh how I wish I had a photo! lol!!)

It was a nice day at home school co-op. The sun was shining and there was a light breeze…just a wonderful day to play outside! After lunch, the boys asked if they could stay awhile and play with the other boys and of course, I said yes. I sat with some other moms and we talked about curriculum, current events and whatever else crossed our minds. Belle was playing with some of her little friends. All was well!

Awhile into our conversations, we heard that there was a kid stuck in one of the big mud bogs up behind the church. Not to worry though…he wasn’t stuck bad and he was getting out even as we were hearing about it. So we went on talking…priorities you know! Lol!! I’m not sure why we didn’t go check on the kid but we didn’t! After awhile everyone started leaving…I started calling for my kids so that we could leave also. I asked if anyone had found out who the “Bog Boy” was but no one knew. We were all making jokes about the poor mom who was going to have to deal with all that mud!

2o minutes later I have only managed to gather up one child…I have stopped to talk again and I know that my kids are fine because they know they have to stay in a certain area. As I’m talking to my friend, I see Jake running down the hill waving his arms and yelling at me…I have no idea what he’s saying…then I see it! Coming up over the top of the hill is the “Bog Boy”…this kid is twice his size because of all the mud packed on him….he looks like a monster! Lol!! I turn to my friend and we joke again about the mom who is going to have to deal with all that mud. As “Bog Boy” gets closer I hear a voice that sounds familiar, “Hi, Mom”……sigh…….my first-born, by the book, don’t break the laws or else child, Nik……is the “Bog Boy”!!!

I made him strip down (after everyone left!) to his drawers before he got into the van…his mud shoes were put in a box in the floor along with his “Bog Boy” uniform….sigh….I got myself a big serving of “Never say never!” that day.

Nik said that he had seen something “shiny” in the mud and he wanted it….so he went in after it and soon started to be sucked in by the mud. One of his friends had held out a flimsy little branch to help him and Jake just ran around freaking out!! Lol!!

We just finished reading a nice little book about the Gold Rush. It was based on letters written by Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe to her sister…she used the name Dame Shirley as her pen name. Dame Shirley wrote to her sister about what life was like in a mining town. This little book is a quick read but doesn’t go into great detail like the letters do…what it does though, is point me to Dame Shirley’s letters! I am definetly going to try to find this book of letters so I can read about the details….details like furnishings, sayings, foods, clothing, etc. I think that would be so interesting to read!

This book is about a sleepy rabbit who got a bee stuck in his mouth. The bunny could only whisper. She met an owl, a squirrel, groundhog and a bumblebee and then went to sleep. I liked this book because it was about bunnies.

Here is a poem from the book:

Rabbit

Nobody knows a rabbit’s nose
The way it twitches
The way it goes
Constantly on his face

Nobody knows a rabbit’s ears
The way he listens
And what he hears
And his sad little rabbit tears

Nobody knows a rabbit’s eye
Red as rubies without surprise
In his square fur face

The Sleepy Book by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Garth Williams

I am currently reading a great book I stumbled on at the library. It’s about words….and I think I must have this book for my library! There’s a Word For It by Charles Harrington Elster is chocked full of wonderful words for all of us logomaniacs (one obsessed with words) and verbivores (one who devours words). Here’s a list of 13 of my favorite gross words from Mr. Elster’s book!

1. codgel–the fat on the underjaw of a hog
2. curpin–a bird’s butt
3. gleet–slime, sludge
4. helminthous –infested with intestinal worms
5. jumentous–smelling like horse pee
6. keech–large lump o’ fat
7. ambeer–the spit produced when you chew tobacco
8. mucopurulent–consisteing of mucus and pus
9. fearns–sheep intestines
10. bathybius–slimey stuff found in the mud on the ocean floor
11. culch–garbage of any kind
12. frass–bug poo
13. pulicose–infested with fleas