Muahahahahahaha...Happy Halloween Redux

To celebrate this fun day, I have two pics and a couple of bad jokes for you.

What does a skeleton orders at a restaurant?
Spare ribs



What do you get when you cross Bambi with a ghost?
Bamboo



Who did Frankenstein take to the prom?
His ghoul friend

So, do any of y'all have a really good or really, really bad Halloween joke to share?

Sluuuuuuuuuuurp

That great sucking sound you hear is the sound of any control over my schedule going down the drain. Maybe that isn't quite true but that is how it feels. All of a sudden I have so much on my plate and I'm wondering where I'm going to find the time for all of it. Somehow I have to find time for homeschooling, a huge craft project (commitment not just because I want to...well, I want to but there is a deadline), potty training Gabe (he's still fighting it tooth and nail), my cross stitch design blog needs updating, *something new and exciting for me coming down the pike but it also requires time, housework (BLECH), and all the projects I would like to do. Calgon, take me away! Ah well, at least these are mostly all good things making demands on my time.

And, now I must go finish making Gabe's Volcano Man costume. Halloween is disturbingly close.
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Finally, just in case you need a laugh, check these sites out...

1. Pets Who Want To Kill Themselves
2. Pets As Art Mediums (or you can google poodle sculpting or look at poodles as art mediums)
3. Accidental Dong (it is oh so wrong but OMG hysterical)

*Hopefully, it will be official soon and then I can tell y'all

Help my friend Aunt Becky...

Please go read her post Aunt Becky Has Some Esplainin’ To Do and vote for her in the contest. She is going to donate the money to March of Dimes if she wins.

Muahahahahahaha...Happy Halloween

So folks, spill it! Do you celebrate Halloween? Are you dressing up? If so, what are you wearing? If there are kids in your life (your own or others), what costume are they going to wear? Have you carved your pumpkins? Tell me all about it.

Gabe is going to be a superhero of his own creation - Volcano Man. We have to make his paper mache volcano hat today. Joey is going to be a Reaper. We have an old Dementor robe and I have the make up to do his face as a skull. And, Marty is going to dress up as a vampire and give out the candy. I might even put on a costume. We also carved 3 pumpkins the other night - 1 for each boy. Pictures of all will come next Wednesday for show and tell.

SHOW AND TELL: Wildlife In Miniature

Lately, I've been lucky enough to get some awesome pics of some of the smaller members of the wildlife kingdom. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I do. The first and third pics are clickable for larger images.Anyone know what type of butterfly this is? I've been too lazy busy to find outFire ants are beautiful as long as you avoid the sting.
Did you know that the Daddy Longlegs is really one of the most poisonous spiders in the world but it is completely harmless to people because its mouth is too small to bite us? Barb pointed out and Snopes confirmed) that this is a myth. Sorry for perpetuating this but I really did see this on a nature show.
World's coolest caterpillar! And, in answer to a question asked, yes I touched it and noticed no reaction to the fur.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

Hey PAY IT FORWARD ladies...

Lisa, Sheliza, Nina, Aunt Becky, Cara, and Billy...can all of yo u email me your addresses? Use this link to send them to me. I have the first two presents done and want to mail them out as I finish them.

Pay It Forward Post

Different but Equal

I saw this wonderful video over at the Bionic Mamas blog. It is so beautiful and so powerful. Please take a moment to watch it.

"This is what we fought for in World War II that idea that we can be different and still be equal." - Philip Spooner, 86 yr old lifetime Republican and Gay Marriage supporter

Hey Book Challenge Ladies...

How is everyone doing on the Book Challenge? I just hit 80 books (10 above my estimate) for the year. Admittedly, quite a few of the books I've read have been pure fluff but that is still a lot.

Have you discovered any new authors? Have there been any books you have particularly loved? Let me know how y'all are doing since I'm starting to plot and plan regarding the prize.

Random October

We’re official! Woohooooo! As y’all know, I went camping with Joey this weekend (more on that later). When I got home on Saturday, I got the shock of my life when I opened the mailbox. Our official homeschooling card was waiting for us. I put my paperwork in the mail on Thursday. Our mail doesn’t get picked up until after 3 in the afternoon. Despite all that, I had my card in hand on Saturday. Holy smokes Batman. Occasionally, the wheels of government don’t get bogged down in red tape.

I ordered all our books last night. 5 books - science, math, social studies, literature, and writing - cost just over $200. Thank God for used books because buying just the literature book new would have cost over $100. Until the books get in, we are reviewing things he is suppose to have learned all ready. Sadly, I’ve already had to reteach converting fractions to decimals. He knew the basic process but was shaky on execution...and, this is a child who had an A average.

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Joey and I had a blast camping but we did come back one night early. Friday night the wind was whipping through the trees. It was blowing so hard that if you closed your eyes, it sounded like you were listening to the waves crashing against the shore. And, then it started raining. It rained almost all day Saturday. We were soaked. There was a little bit of water in the tent (just around the edges). And, there was a good chance of a bad thunderstorm on Saturday night. The last straw for Joey was when his second set of shoes became thoroughly soaked.

I have also come to the conclusion that I need to buy an air mattress for camping. The years I spent doing EMS and the years I spent training horses did a number on me and made my back rather intolerant of nights on super hard surfaces. Does that mean I’m getting old?

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I may just have to attempt to write a poem. I have some rather evocative phrases that keep running through my head. I may even share it with y’all if you promise not to laugh. You can tell me it sucks...just don’t laugh.

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The boys and I carved pumpkins last night. Joey picked a somewhat traditional but cool looking face. Gabe wanted us to make a puking pumpkin. And, Marty, oh the face he designed for his pumpkin was specifically designed to evoke a WTF reaction.

BTW, if you carve your pumpkins early, coat the cut edges with petroleum jelly and they won’t shrivel.

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My new modem is coming in today! I will have both internet access and phone at the same time again...yay!

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So, what’s going on with y’all?

An Unfortunate Meme...

This is a blast. I saw it over on Lindsay's blog and thought it would be fun. All you have to do to join in the insanity is go to Google and type in unfortunately followed by your name. This is what came up for "unfortunately Kristin Cruz"...

• A story of the life and work of Kristen Cruz, a pr professional living and ... Unfortunately, this change may affect your bottom line...
• After 10 months of going it alone, Mark Wallengren will be teamed again with a female co-host on the morning show at KOST-FM (103.5)
• Unfortunately, the coverage of Illustrator and Photoshop provided by .... Nizhny, Natalie, and Kristin Cruz. "Fashion Design Skills 101...
• Unfortunately, on Wednesday, February 11, 2009, her life and the life of her ... Gainesville, FL–I guess we can take Kristin Cruz's name off the list for mother of the year
• Kristin Cruz is running late and apologizes. It's her first official day as Mark Wallengren's new co-host on the KOST/103.5 FM weekday
• MySpace Music profile for kristen dela cruz. Download kristen dela cruz Acoustic / A'cappella / music singles, watch music videos, listen to free streaming ...
• Unfortunately, sometimes those consequences effect others, but it's still how you deal with ... 13 Kristin Cruz. August 30, 2009 at 11:15 pm ...

Hehe, I think most of these make me very glad I'm me and not any of those Kristins. So, what comes up for you? You can always edit out the name if you blog anonymously.

Another Random Update

I met with people at Marty's school and told them about what had been happening. They were properly horrified. The kind of scary thing is this young man wasn't even on their radar as a possible bully.

Marty won't be "officially" withdrawn from school until we get confirmation of our homeschool status but the school knows he isn't coming back. We aren't waiting on the state to actually start homeschooling. We will be starting our adventure on Monday.

3 boys + 3 hammers + *another outdated and broken piece of technology = another afternoon of fun
Pray for me. I'm camping Friday and Saturday night and the chance of rain is 50% for Friday night and 90% for Saturday. I like camping but don't really wanna do it in the rain.

Hope y'all have an incredible weekend. See you on the flip side!



*Sadly, that monitor has been waiting(in our storage closet) to go to the dump for almost 2 years

A quilter and crafter's dream...

Check out this awesome giveaway over at Pumpkin Patch Primitive Quilt Shoppe. You have the chance to win not one, not two, not even just three fat quarters of fabric but 27 fat quarters of every print in the Red Rooster's Pumpkins & Spice Fabrics by Whimsicals! Truly a crafter's dream! If there are over 350 valid entries, the lovely Brenda is going to ante up a $100 gift certificate to her quilt shoppe.

I also have to send a shout out to Carolyn over at Taking One Stitch At A Time and thank her for letting me know about this giveaway.

SHOW AND TELL: Let Them Entertain You

Today was one of our school system's stupid early release Wednesdays. Marty, of course, was home and Joey got home from school at 1:15 (vs. his normal 3:45 release). We had hours on our hands and very little we had to do. Marty and Joey chose to act out those manly man testosterone driven destructive urges while Gabe let loose with his creative artistic side.
Marty and Joey are always a little happy when some piece of electronic equipment gives up the ghost and goes to the old tech graveyard. They have decided this is a perfect opportunity to wreak havoc and practice destroying things. Above are the remains of my late lamented printer. Sadly, between my printer dying and the internet issues, this hasn't been a good week for technology in the Cruz household.
And, Mister Gabriel saw the lovely yellow and brown palette of the side of my house and decided that nothing would enhance it like a healthy dose of green chalk. I'm really, really glad it was chalk and not something permanent.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

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Sadly, the internet issues I mentioned in my last post aren't completely solved. We have isolated the problem a bit further. Normally, our computer is hooked to the Vonage modem (internet phone) which then goes to the Earthlink DSL modem. Right now, if I have it hooked up like that, the phone works but I can't connect to the internet. If I take the Vonage modem out of the loop, I can get teh web pages to open on my computer. This means that the Vonage modem is failing. A failing modem like that can handle the data stream for a phone call but can't handle the data stream for a full blown internet connection. So, right now I have a choice between phone or internet. This means I probably won't make iron commenter...or blogger bingo. Boo hoo

Aaaaah, bliss...random bliss!

My internet is back up and running! I was without an internet connection over half the day. Oh, the horrors! I'm still not sure what exactly happened but the wonderful man at the Indian branch of Earthlink technical support got my 'puter up and running. I got so excited when it finally said something other than "Internet Explorer can not open this page" that the guy thought he had to remind me I wasn't online yet. He started laughing when I said that I knew but I was just so glad it was doing something different. I was tickled when he said he had been having a bad day up until he helped me.

Cub Scout popcorn sales are done for this year...wooohooo! And, Joey did an awesome job. Despite our sales time being interrupted with the chaos of Marty lately (I know, not his fault, but still chaos), Joey still sold over $700. That put him into the realm of the really cool prizes. He picked out a bow and arrow set. Yes, a real bow and arrow.

My sis had a brilliant idea. I was looking over all the multitude of homeschooling curricula and just couldn't figure out which way to go. My sis (who has homeschooled her girls) suggested that we just buy copies of the text books the school is using right now and continue homeschooling with them. Since this is a sudden change and we need to get up and running quickly, that is the way we are going to go.

My brilliant hubby got the kids' computer back up and running. Another case of I don't know what the hell happened but it is working now. Actually, it probably was a case of a ridiculous number of cookies and other crap on the 'puter.

I was looking at the wall that I have the kids growth marked on and Marty has grown 8 inches in 11 months. Well, fuck me, it's no damn wonder he was having muscle spasms because the muscles couldn't keep up with the bone growth.

I got Gabe's winter clothes out and realized they may not last him through the whole winter. Gabe had been in 3T shorts and larger shirts all summer. As long as they were the long shorts, they worked better than the 4T shorts because the waists on the 3Ts fit him better. The first cold day we had last week, I pulled out a pair of 4T pants and a size 6 sweat shirt. While I had to cuff the sleeves, the rest of the sweat shirt fit him wonderfully and the 4T pants were only just long enough. Damn, if that kid grows too much more, he will be in 5s before the winter is out. All my boys are going to tower over me.

And, finally, happy ICLW! I'm going to do my best to hit Iron Commenter again but Joey and I are going camping this weekend. That is going to steal time away from the serious blog habit I've developed. And, sadly, I still live in a cell phone free world which mens no remote blogging or commenting.

When you come to a fork in the road...

take the road that leads in a completely unexpected direction and say a prayer that the ride is smooth.

Today, I made the decision to pull Marty out of school and homeschool him. We had gone from Wednesday (when the back spasm sent us to the ER) all the way to last night without a spasm. At 3 am, Marty woke up screaming because of a muscle spasm in his neck. He was able to get back to sleep but didn't sleep soundly. I woke him up at 6:20 because it was time for his morning dose of meds and time to get ready for school. Marty flat out told me he wasn't going. I tried to explain the necessity and all the solutions we had come up with so his back pack wouldn't injure his back and he still refused. That's when the mommy radar went into full alert

*WARNING*WARNING*WARNING*

I said, "Ok, talk to me, tell me what else is going on." He basically said he would rather die than go back to that school and, with a little pushing, I got the details of the crap a few students had been putting him through (details later). I decided there was no way in hell any child of mine was going to be treated that way and made that miserable. I decided to homeschool him through this year and next and we will reevaluate things when it is time for high school. One of my conditions for agreeing to this is that Marty and I are going to have a sit down with the vice-principal of the 7th grade and we are going to fill his ear with all the crap those little bastards have put my son through. Marty will continue his music through clarinet lessons because that will allow him the option to rejoin band if he re-enters public school. Now, I have to decide between traditional homeschooling and the public cyberschool that North Carolina has (thanks for helping me find the info Rys).

Have a seat, strap in, and enjoy the ride. It should be an education for all of us.

Blogoversary Giveaway Winners...

Thanks to everyone who took the time to stop by and wish me a happy blogoversary. The winners of the blogoversary giveaway are Sandy from Between Lightning and the infamous Stirrup Queen herself, Mel.

Sandy, I'll need your address so I can pop the hat in the mail. And, Mel, your hat will be coming directly from my friend Jen in Florida.

SHOW AND TELL: I've Got Mail

I wanted to share with y'all two of the coolest things I have gotten in the mail recently. First of all, I got the cutest little dragon from the beautiful and talented Katie of The Happy Hours. I signed up to be part of the Pay It Forward fun that was going on over at her blog and this cutie is what I got...What makes this little dragon even more special is that Katie actually learned a new crochet technique just so she could make this guy for me.

And, the second most excellent piece of mail I got is the wall graphic I won from the contest on MomFiles courtesy of the fine people at UPrinting.Y'all may remember this pic from one of my Wordless Wednesday posts. I am thrilled to have a 24 in x 24 in version of it to hang on my wall.

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Only 2 more days to sign up for my blogoversary giveaway. Don't miss out on the fun.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remebrance Day

*"Too many families grieve in silence, sometimes never coming to terms with their loss. Our goal is to help others relate to our loss, know what to say, do or not say, not do and to help families live with their loss, not 'get over' their loss."

I'm going to light a candle at 7 pm. Please join in. We are all in this together. Whether your loss was early in pregnancy or you lost a newborn, we all grieve for our lost babies. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you today and always.



*from the main page of the Pregnancy and Infant Loss remembrance Day website

I was wrong...

There is something that makes a mom feel a hell of a lot more helpless (and scared) than a mom not being able to make her kid feel better. Hearing your child say, "I can't move my legs mom" and "Mommy, I'm scared" makes you feel one hundred million times more helpless and scared to death.

Marty woke up at about 5am with another neck spasm. Twice, he fell down. At first I thought it was kid drama but, after the second fall, I relized the spasms must be so bad they were making his legs give out. I had him take a hot shower to hopefully help ease the muscles. After his shower, he stretched out flat on the couch. After a minute or two, he let out a yelp. I said, "Dude, if its hurting that bad, change positions." He sat up and then I told him to move his legs into a more comfortable position. All of a sudden, he looked at me and said, "Mom, I can't move my legs." I have never heard anything scarier in my life. I did all the little tests that I was taught to do as a paramedic. When I realized he had little sensation below his waist, I woke my hubby up so he could watch the other kids and I called 911. Believe it or not, I managed to remain remarkably calm...or at least maintained the facade of calm...until the paramedics loaded him into the ambulance. I climbed into the car to follow them in and promptly lost it. I cried and prayed and pleaded until we got to the hospital. Then, I dried my face, fixed a calm expression on my face, and joined Marty in the ER. When the doctor examined him, he had good reflexes but was still almost completely lacking in sensation. The doc scheduled him for a full spinal MRI and then the waiting began. The ER was busy today so there was quite a wait. By the time we got to MRI time, Marty was wiggling his big toes but still nothing else. A full spinal MRI takes about an hour and a half and, it turns out that Marty has a touch of claustrophobia (it felt like the MRI tube was closing in on him) so they gave him a dose of ativan to help him relax for the MRI. Well, the ativan relaxed him enough that he went to sleep...and, when he woke up as the MRI was ending, he could move his legs again. As close as we can figure, when he spasmed so badly this am, it pinched/put pressure on something that caused the temporary paralysis. When the ativan relaxed him, it seemed to interrupt the neck and back spasms and the spasms ending removed the pressure/pinching. Evidently, it isn't unusual for kids who grow very quickly to have muscle spasms because the muscle growth just doesn't keep up with bone growth. What is unusual is the extent of Marty's spasms. Since the MRI was clean and doesn't show any problems, I'm picking up a copy or the MRI to take to his chiropractor and he's going in to get adjusted. Hopefully, he will get as much relief from his spasms as my *sister got from her back spasms this summer.

This was, I think, the most terrifying experience of my life. I told Marty he spent all his "scare the crap out of mom and dad tickets" for the next couple of years and he could not do this again. I do not ever want to feel that scared again.


*My sister had back spasms so horrid this summer that she could barely move. Two adjustments and the issues were totally relieved.

What did you have for dinner tonight?

I'd like some ideas for later in the week.

Tonight, we are having pork loin with a mesquite dry rub; mashed sweet potatoes with a bit of butter, a little brown sugar, a dash of vanilla, cinnamon, and a shake of ground cloves; and yellow squash and onions sauteed in soy sauce.

:(

My boy is still hurting. And, damn it, nothing makes a mom feel more helpless than not being able to make her *baby feel better.




*Yeah, I know Marty is almost 13 but he will always be my baby.

Free OPKs or Pregnancy Tests...

Tanyetta and Monnie brought this to my attention through posts on their blogs and I thought I'd pass along the news. Visit this site to get 10 free opks or pregnancy tests. We all know infertility can be mind-boggling with its expenses. These freebies can help out just a little bit.

Back to the doctor's office we go...UPDATED

Last Monday, Marty was having some major hip/lower back pain and we took him in to be checked. After a thorough exam and some xrays, the doc concluded she couldn't find any injuries and chalked it up to growing pains. After all, the kid grew almost 2 inches in 3 months.

Well, before he went to bed last night, Marty mentioned he was feeling a weird tingly pain in his neck. Given that he hadn't injured it (and, over a year ago, he had a muscle spasm in his neck), I figured some motrin and sleep would take care of it. About an hour and a half after he went to bed, he woke up screaming...and I do mean SCREAMING. We tried everything there was to try...hot packs, cold packs, pain killers, and finally a left over muscle relaxant (from the previous spasm incident). All that lot did was relax it enough that he could sleep...and it took until almost 3 am to do that. I had hoped he would be ok when he woke up but it still hurts and he is still having painful spasms so to the doctor we go. Can you say a quick prayer that the doc can do something to relieve the pain?


***The doc checked him out (And for you nurses, did all the proper neurological checks) and, sure enough, its muscle spasms. She had their sports medicine person give him some exercises to help stretch out (and thereby relax) his muscles. We came home with a note excusing him from PE for a week and a 'script for Flexeril. The meds and the exercises seem to have helped a bit already.

Content, celebratory, and devastated

At first glance, these seem to be the most unlikely trio of words. Surely no one could feel all those things at once. These three words came up when I read Mel's Pick A Card post last night. She asked readers to pick three words to describe how you are feeling right now. Those three words, content, celebratory, and devastated, were my three words.

Content - I am content because my family is doing well. The kids had a wonderful day with friends. I got to hang out with my *sbc Jennifer. Hubby is (hopefully) on the mend from a persistent lung infection. I've been crafting and reading and playing with kids. Life is good.

Celebratory - 5 years blogging. That's one hell of a good reason to celebrate.

Devastated - My dear friend Velda, the one recently diagnosed with cancer, has been told it is terminal. The doctors say they can extend her life and give her more time but they say they can't cure it. It just isn't fair. Velda is such a lovely, caring, generous, beautiful person and it kills me that this is happening to her. I first met Velda when she was a community leader on the cross stitch board on ParentsPlace.com (part of iVillage). Velda's love, and enthusiasm , and generosity brought together one of the most incredible group of women I have ever known. These women have been together for going on 9+ years now. We've supported each other through good times and bad...pregnancy, marriage, divorce, miscarriage, and illness. Without Velda pulling together this group in the beginning, we never would have had this blessing in our lives. Velda, my stitching sister, my long distance friend, I love you and want you to know how much you mean to me. Thank you for being a part of my life and I am hoping and praying for a miracle so you can be a part of it for a long, long time in the future.


*sbc = sister by choice

Happy Blogoversary to me!

5 years ago today I tentatively put my stamp on this little sliver of the blogosphere. All I was hoping for was a place to let it all out...a place where it was safe to scream and yell and stomp my feet while I raged about how unfair infertility was. Little did I know I would find so much more. I found a group of women who knew that even though there were days you couldn't seem to feed yourself more than *floor cake, you would still soldier on, you would still fight through it, all for the promise of the miracle. I found a community who supported me through my journey and who embrace me even though I've managed to have my miracle baby. I've found sisters and friends who are spread across the earth. I've found women (and men) who inspire me with their drive and determination. I've been awed by the beauty of a simple everyday story. And, I have to bow at the feet of the women whose snarkiness and warped sense of humor trump even mine.

I never would have guessed that my status as poster child for repeat pregnancy loss/secondary infertility would have brought so many riches to my life. I wouldn't wish this journey on anyone but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Thanks for spending a part of it with me.

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Now, to counteract that diabetic coma inducing part of the post, I'll share with you a tidbit that shows what my life is really like. I was sitting here getting ready to start this post and I heard a rustling in the kitchen behind me. I figured it was one of the older boys who had woken up but, when I turned around, it was Gabe. As I was asking him if he was ok, he came walking out of the kitchen bare assed with pajama shorts in hand. His response to the "are you ok" question..."Mommy, I'm stinky." Yes folks, Gabe woke up to sort of loose poop (I know, tmi) and, instead of asking for help, he elects to take off his diaper and put it in the trash. In the process, he gets said poop on his legs, on his pj shorts and shirt, and on the edge of the garbage can. I told him thank you for trying to be a big boy and clean up after yourself but, if this ever happened again, he absolutely HAD to let me change his diaper. I also told him a better way of being a big boy would be to go in the potty (he is still flat out refusing...arrrrgh). Aaaah, the glamors of mommyhood. Thank god the mess wasn't any worse than it was.

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BLOGOVERSARY GIVEAWAY

To celebrate my 5 years blogging, I am giving away this fabulous adult sized pumpkin hat. I designed this based on a child sized pumpkin hat pattern I found. It is crocheted with a thick burnt orange chenille that should keep you warm in even very cold weather. For those of you with a normal sized head, it will be a fairly loose fit and won't completely squish your hair. For those of you with abnormally large cabezas like me, it will still fit. It will just be a snug fit.

I will also be giving away this second pumpkin hat generously donated by my dear friend, the FABULOUS Jen over at In One Ear. This hat is sized to fit a large child/teenager.
The contest starts today and will be open all week long. I'll announce the winners next Sunday. I'm keeping the entry rules simple. This contest is open to anyone and everyone who reads my blog. Even if this is the first post you have read, you are eligible. All you need to do is comment on this post. If you have a favorite memory, story, or post from my blog, tell me about that please.


*Getupgrrl, if you are out there reading, know that we remember you and your words still mean something this many years later.

Stitching Post Saturday 10/10 & Blogoversary Giveaway Preview

I'm so happy. In addition to being productive around the house, I've been really productive with my stitchy crafts. I have one cross stitch piece I'm making for a friend but I haven't taken a picture yet.

I finished 4 hats for Lady Nunn over at Preemie Presents (please click on the button to the left and find out all about Preemie Presents. I'm hoping to knock out at least 4 more before I mail them.
I started making my second Pay It Forward gift. It doesn't look like much yet but it's going to be super cute.
And, finally, I finished the hat that is going to be the prize in my blogoversary giveaway. The giveaway will start tomorrow, my 5th blogoversary and I will take entries all week.

Yes folks, it's an adult sized pumpkin hat. For those of you with a normal sized head, it will be a fairly loose fit and won't completely squish your hair. For those of you with abnormally large cabezas like me, it will still fit. It will just be a snug fit.

So, to wrap it up, hats, half done cuteness, and come back tomorrow to help me celebrate my blogoversary and enter the giveaway.

Just because it's good to laugh...

Gabe and me reading


Gabe's Ghost Faces

The black hole strikes again...

Can anyone please explain to me how I can have something one minute and 5 minutes later I don't have it? I was working on hats for Preemie Presents last night. I finished crocheting one, set my hook down next to me, and finished off the hat. One of the kids had been up to go to the bathroom and asked me to tuck them back in and, by the time I came back out to the living room, my hook was gone. Now, with most sizes of crochet hooks, this wouldn't matter. I have multiples of most sizes...but not of this particular hook. It was the only size G hook I had...UGH.

I'm really beginning to think there is a black hole somewhere in my house that sucks these things in. Or, maybe its like that *episode of the Twilight Zone where there is a crew that constructs the future and, when they forget to build something into the future, that's when we lose things like our keys or our mp3 player or our crochet hooks. Then, if a few "scenes" into the future they remember to add said object into the tableau, we suddenly find the object in a place we know we've looked a thousand times.


*This is one of my all time favorite episodes of the newer version of The Twilight Zone. YOu can view the episode in 3 parts - here, here, and here.

SHOW AND TELL: Pacman Obsession

Even thought video games and arcades changed the teenage world when I was in high school, there were only a few of them I was any good at. I like Galaga and, when it came along, Donkey Kong. I was pretty damned good at Frogger and Space Invaders. Heck , we even had an Atari 2600 at home and we thought we were the shit for having one of those consoles. But, the one game that really rocked my world was Ms. Pacman. I don't know why I love it so much but, not only did I love it but I kicked ass when playing it. Needless to say, I was pretty thrilled when I found the Pacman/Ms. Pacman clone, Waka-Waka, on Facebook. Well, a few weeks after I Discovered Waka-Waka, Gabe noticed me playing it and wanted to watch every time I played. Pretty soon he was playing too. And, soon after, every time I sat down at the computer, Gabe was asking me to play the ghost game (his name for Pacman/Ms Pacman). To put it simply, Gabe became addicted to the ghost game. It was so bad, Gabe began copying the facial expressions of each of the four ghosts. Yeah, they really do have different expressions. He completely cracks me up with his ghost faces. I tried to get that on video but it's too dark to really see. I did however get a pretty cute video of Gabe pretending to be Pacman. I think the spinning he does is when Pacman dies.

Please ignore the mess. It was right before I cleaned up and there had been 6 kids and two shedding dogs running through the house.
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BLOGOVERSARY ALERT: I'm fast approaching my 5th blogoversary and my 700th post. Sadly, I won't quite be able to sync up the two dates but I still think the 5 year mark deserves a special recognition. Sooooo, I will be giving away an whimsical adult sized crocheted hat to celebrate my blogoversary. Make sure you come by on October 11th to join in the fun and see the cool hat you can win.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

Wordless Wednesday: the Fair Edition

I think this captured Gabe's approach to the County Fair perfectly...wide-eyed, unbridled enthusiasm.

Check out more Wordless Wednesday posts HERE and HERE.

Brainiacs and more

Over the past week and a half, Marty's hip/lower back have been bothering him. He hadn't actually injured them but they were hurting. I chalked it up to growing pans and had been treating it with ibuprofen. Well, in addition to spending 6.5 hours at the fair on Saturday, my brainiac decided to jump on the trampoline on Sunday despite the fact his hips were still hurting. On Monday, when he tried to run in PE, he felt like his legs were going to give out under him. So, I picked him up and scheduled a doctors appointment. (If I ever have to take all 3 boys to an appointment together again, just kill me and save me the pain. It was HORRID.) The doc examined him and didn't find anything wrong but she took a couple of xrays just to make sure. Luckily, those were clean too. The doc said the fact that he had grown over 1.5 inches in 3 months probably caused the muscular pain and that a week off PE, no trampoline for a week, and continued treatment with ibuprofen should take care of it. Yeah, Marty is now almost 2 full inches taller than me. He is 5' 5.25" tall...WOW!

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Brainiac #2, otherwise known as Joey, had me throw his tennis shoes in the wash last night. I wasn't too concerned because I know he has multiple pairs of shoes. Well, this morning he asked me if the shoes were dry and got all panicky when I told him they weren't. See, I knew he had left one pair of shoes on the trampoline and they got wet in the rain. What I didn't know is that one pair of tennis shoes are lost in the house and 2 pairs of shoes, one pair of hiking boots, and one pair of rain boots were all out on the trampoline soaking wet. I gave him a choice between wearing my "girly" (his definition, not mine) tennis shoes or his Crocs to school. He chose the Crocs. I can NOT believe he left that many pairs of shoes on the trampoline...argh.

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Marty also introduced us to killer alien cows yesterday. What do you mean you've never heard of killer alien cows? Well, here they are or, more specifically, here one is.

I'm not sure if I should applaud the creativity or wory about the insanity...ROFL!
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BLOGOVERSARY ALERT: I'm fast approaching my 5th blogoversary and my 700th post. Sadly, I won't quite be able to sync up the two dates but I still think the 5 year mark deserves a special recognition. Sooooo, I will be giving away an whimsical adult sized crocheted hat to celebrate my blogoversary. Make sure you come by on October 11th to join in the fun and see the cool hat you can win.

Perfect Moment Monday...

The Power of Prayer
or, for those of you who don't pray, the power of positive thoughts

My life is good. But, what I want to celebrate today are things that have happened to two of my bloggy friends.

First, Baby Smiling In The Back Seat has a marvelous Perfect Moment Monday post. Many of us have been praying hard for her and her twins since her pregnancy was threatened by pre-term labor. Go visit her. Something marvelous has happened.

And, my friend Jenn over at Patience Is A Virtue is experiencing her own maybe miracle. The tumors (probably fibroid) that were threatening her health and a very unexpected pregnancy appear to have stopped growing and, best of all, the baby is still growing. Please go wish her luck.

And, finally, thank you everyone for the wonderful support you have shown me and my friend Velda. We've already seen twice that prayers/good thoughts work. Let's shoot for a third miracle for her.

This whole wonderful community is my Perfect Moment. Go check out more Perfect Moments over at Weebles Wobblog.

What Not To Wear: Wayne County Fair Edition

I love beautiful clothes. I love seeing someone well put together. But, honestly, that isn't what I expect to see at a county fair. I expect to see people wearing casual clothes. Even among casual clothes, there are certain things that scream out "DON'T WEAR ME!" Here are a few of the charming selections I saw at the fair yesterday.
Sun protection is a good thing but an umbrella hat just screams "I have no clue." Wear a fishing type hat, something with a full brim, but, please dear God, do NOT wear an umbrella on your head.
See those lovely clear plastic straps? Well, they would be bad enough if they were the spaghetti straps that belonged to that shirt, but they aren't. That shirt is a halter top and those lovely clear plastic straps are bra straps. Just say NO to bra strap flashing (can't even call it bra strap peak-a-boo because each whole damned strap shows).
Adult men do NOT need to wear thugwear. When the crotch of your jeans is a full 10+ inches below your ass, you are WRONG! And, see those lovely aqua skin tight jeans in the next picture? Even on a young woman, not the best idea. But, on a young man, they scream bad fashion choice.
And, finally, when the bottom of your shorts are approximately even with your crotch, leaving 4+ inches of ass cheek showing, DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE. You have either been shopping in your smaller sister's lingerie drawer or you have no common sense whatsoever.

What's the worst fashion choice you've seen in public? Do any of them beat this fine selection of fashion wrecks?


*In answer to WiseGuy's question, I did take the pictures. Thank God my camera has a good zoom.

Stitching Post Saturday 10/3

I have been busy, busy, busy this week - both with the kids and with my crafty stuff.

I made and attached the label to the memory quilt.

Woohooo, that means it can go into the mail next Friday.

I tried a new crochet pattern. Its fairly simple and straight forward but it creates this smashing boa-like scarf.
You couldn't really see the rich, gorgeous colors in the full length picture so I took a closeup too.

And, finally, I started on the first hat for Preemie Presents. It always boggles my mind to think a baby could be so tiny as to fit into one of these itty bitty hats.
If any of y'all are planning on making stuff for Preemie Presents, there are two fabulous size charts I have found that will help you make the stuff the right size - one at Bev's Country Cottage and the second one at the HeartFelt Angels site.
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BLOGOVERSARY ALERT: I'm fast approaching my 5th blogoversary and my 700th post. Sadly, I won't quite be able to sync up the two dates but I still think the 5 year mark deserves a special recognition. Sooooo, I will be giving away an whimsical adult sized crocheted hat to celebrate my blogoversary. Make sure you come by on October 11th to join in the fun.

Let's Monkey Around

I saw a story on Good Morning America today that got two very distinct reactions from me. The first reaction was "That is seriously fucked up" but , then I thought for a minute, and my second reaction was "Well, I guess it isn't hurting anyone and if it makes them happy, so be it." What was that story you ask? GMA did a story called 'My Monkey Baby': Couples Treat Adopted Monkeys as Children based on information TLC found for their documentary 'My Monkey Baby' which will air Oct. 4th at 9 pm.

The people featured in 'My Monkey Baby' have various reasons for adopting a baby monkey. Some of them don't want to risk repeating a seriously screwed up childhood. Others adopt monkey because they can't have children. One woman resorted to adopting a monkey because she experienced crippling depression when her youngest child moved out. These people all treat their monkeys as real human babies. One couple goes so far as to have a fit if someone refers to their "baby" as a monkey and not as their daughter.

Truthfully, I don't understand this. This really reminds me of the scene in Children of Men (the book...haven't seen the movie) where a woman is parenting a realistic doll because she craves a child and the melt down/devastation she experiences when the doll breaks. I think treating monkeys as children is more than a little delusional and I don't think these people are ehlping their long term mental health. But, like I said before, I guess it isn't really hurting anyone, so who am I to judge.

What is your reaction to all this?

Devastation

I am just heartbroken. A dear friend of mine ended up in the hospital this past weekend. She was diagnosed with cancer after they found 3 tumors in her brain. Right now, not much else is known. I am so scared for V and her family. It's just not fair.

Can y'all say a few prayers, send up good wishes, or do whatever you believe in? None of us who love her are ready for anything to happen to her.