330 Snow Day? SERIOUSLY!!??

This is the view I woke up to outside our backdoor. Katie was behind me, asking if she had to go to school. "Honey, there isn't that much snow. You probably have to go, but let me check." And I pulled up the county school webpage and there it was at the top ... SCHOOL CLOSED.

Wait ... WHAT?!!? So I looked out the door again ... and I still saw this same dusting of snow. But of course to Katie it might as well have been a blizzard! She was so excited!! She wanted to get suited up and go out right away. Of course, as always happens, we couldn't find her weatherproof mittens. Well, I found one .... but since Katie thinks they are toys when she isn't using them for their intended purpose we can't find the other. It will show up in a few days when it isn't needed. I finally convinced Katie that her velour pants would not fit under her skinny jeans ... and she was OFF! Yes, she did smack me with this snowball right after I snapped the picture. She even attempted a snow angel ... in the hammock. AND THEN ... Connor woke up! And of course he wanted to go outside as well. So, I got him suited up and away we went!... you knew I would take pics of something not involving the kids ... Daddy even bundled up and took Connor out for some play time!

And ... at the end of the day, as I checked my email... I noticed one from the School .... CANCELING SCHOOL FOR TOMORROW!

...and this is what the yard looked like right then!! I have heard it is because of our extremem cold temperatures. But I think of the fact there might be kids with no heat, who will be home. And not to mention that if the kids were in school they would be inside. When the kids are at home they will be playing outside ... IN THE COLD! And I worry that there are kids who might only get a well rounded meal when they are at school. I do live in Mississippi, so that is all entirely possible. And what about those kids left at home because there is no childcare?!

The school has heat ... CRANK IT UP! I don't know how much more togetherness this family can stand!!

.... OH! And next time, don't make me struggle through the screaming and the tears to get homework done!

320 I Shot Santa

I'm serious. I couldn't take it anymore. No matter how bad my kids were Santa kept bringing them presents. And not just that, the presents got bigger and BIGGER. So I had to take matters into my own hands. Oh, don't worry. I didn't leave any evidence. There are no fingerprints or blood splotches. Dexter would be very proud. You would almost think that Santa had never really existed at all...

Now I just have to break it to the kids.

Oh, so you think I took it a little too far? Believe me, you don't know the half of it. You see those two adorable kids in that banner up at the top? They are hellions.

Connor is two. He walks into a room. He glances around, cataloging each and every thing he can destroy. And then he systematically carries out his plan. If you try to put something back, then the whole world implodes and the screams begin. Here is a short list of the things he has done this week.

1. He opened a bottle of yellow fingernail polish and flung it all over the upstairs bathroom.

2. He squeezed an entire tube of Katie's hot pink lipgloss onto the carpet in the living room.

3. He took a bottle of powder and proceeded to empty it onto the pile of clean clothes which I was one load away from completing.

4. He screamed at me because I wouldn't change his CLEAN diaper.

5. He punched me in the crotch because I closed the cabinet doors.

6. He pulled all the storage containers out and crawled inside the cabinets.

7. He squeezed the toothpaste on the floor.

8. He poured a bag of cereal on the floor.

9. He dumped a bottle of electric shave cleaner on the (thankfully) dirty clothes.

10. He has slowly and surely stripped me of all sanity.

And nothing works. If you tell him "no" he just screams it back at you. If you pop his hand, he punches you. If you smack his little bottom, he hits himself harder. I need to bring the pack-n-play back in the house to use for TIMEOUT!

Katie is 7 (...and a HALF) but she might as well be 15. She is sullen and sassy. She knows everything. And man I am starting to sound redundant on this one! I just am at my wits end. I know I have only myself to blame. Not just for spoiling her rotten. I know it is my just punishment for all those years of being a complete ass to my own Mom (sorry Mom!). Although I am starting to think I am getting the crap end of that deal. I am fairly positive I didn't turn into a complete bitch until puberty....

This week we had to complete Katie's Reading Fair project. I have never hated soemthing so much!! I tried to get her to plan it out on a piece of scrap paper and she started yelling that she knew what she was supposed to do. Of course when I asked her what that was she couldn't explain it to me. She just kept freaking out because the teacher said they were supposed to put the pieces of paper on the boards (AND OH MY FREAKIN HEAD EXPLODED). There was no way to convince her that I wasn't trying to make her turn in a piece of paper as her project instead of the board. I admit it, I flipped ... I sent her upstairs because it was preferable to actually losing my mind. I paid for it later by having to stay up late and wake up early with her to finish it.

Oh, and she randomly tells her brother she hates him.

So ... as you can see, I had no choice. I took the fat guy out.

317 First Rule of Parenthood

This has been the week of Mean Mommy. No matter what I do, the kids end up screaming and crying ... and I end up not caring. Connor threw a fit because I closed the garage door. Katie cried for an hour because we had to throw away all her streptococcus filled make-up (even though we promised to replace it when she gets the all clear). Connor ran after me with his tiny hand raised, face turning red because I wouldn't let him stand on a chair and destroy the kitchen. Katie threw a fit because I made her go to bed ON TIME. My favorite though was when Katie cocked her hip, bobbled her head at me and tried to tell me that she could pick out whatever makeup she wanted and we couldn't tell her no.

Wait?!

WHAT??!!!

FIRST RULE OF PARENTHOOD, if the kid says they get to tell you what to do you immediately have to prove them wrong.

....And I did! I pulled out all the stops. I used the "You are the child and I am the parent" routine. It works like a charm to induce tears and low-pitched grumblings. I can only be positive I heard the words "meanie" and "not fair" but I am sure she maligned me quite well. If that girl has one thing it is teen angst. I don't know what we will do when she actually goes through puberty.

I know, it is all our fault. We have spoiled her rotten. When you spend every second of the day worried that something could go wrong and you could lose your child you tend to spoil. For the first 5 years of Katie's life we did that. I would put her to bed, and I would freak out if she cried ... maybe her blood sugar is spiking/dipping! What?! Who knows, it could have been anything! Or even worse, I would be scared shitless when she did NOT cry! I can't tell you how many times I climbed those stairs, mentally preparing myself to find her not breathing. And when she was a baby, we checked her blood sugar every two hours, so that was A LOT of trips up the stairs. We logged each morsel of food she put in her mouth. I timed breastfeeding sessions. When her sugar dipped we would force feed her juices and fruits and candy. And as she grew it didn't get much easier. She was more active. She would run around like a wild thing and burn sugar like nobody's business! And then, a miracle! A new form of diabetes was discovered, and we had her checked. And we had our answer to why her sugars were so hard to control. She was still producing insulin!! Her diagnosis changed our lives in many ways. Her blood sugar has been spectacular! She still has some highs and lows, but they are not as severe. Letting her out of my sight is not the terrifying experience it once was. I almost never climb the stairs in fear ...

BUT! It is hard to break the habit of trying to fulfill her every whim. Trying to do everything we can to make her happy. And throw on top of that, the addition of a little brother. A lot of the time we are trying to make sure she does not feel jealous. In no way do we ever want her to feel she comes in second ... but we need to also teach her that doesn't mean she comes first.

We have been lucky. We have a boy and a girl. We can qualify statements. I can say "You are the cutest GIRL ever!" or "Connor is the sweetest baby BOY ever!" and for now that works. I know it won't always, but I am holding onto it while I can. If it will earn me one less Mean Mommy point then I will qualify every statement I make for the rest of my life. If I fail at everything else in this life then I will know that the one thing I did the very best was to be a Mommy to Katie and Connor.

.... at least if I let Katie pick out the makeup she wants ....

315 Wild Goose Chase

I went searching through old pics last night, looking for one single pic of one single thing that I had no clue of when it occurred. Yeah, it was a long search. Once I started looking I couldn't give up without finding the picture, so I was stuck. An hour or so in I had looked at just about every picture I have taken in the last 7 and a half years. Most of them (99.2% to be exact) are of my kids. But, there are a few of me ... there are even a few of me as I tried to lose weight. Hell no I am not putting them on here! I was just pointing out that there have been failed attempts before. To be more precise, everytime I have gotten back into shape that even approached my pre-Katie body I have gotten pregnant.

So yeah, that would be twice.

Between Katie and Connor we had another miscarriage. I continued to eat as though I were eating for two. As you can guess, that was not a great thing for my body. It was even worse for my mind. About the time our baby would have been due I finally clued into what I was doing to my body. I made changes, tried to exercise more and eat a little better. I was right there, almost back to that pre-Katie weight when I found out I was pregnant with Connor. Best thing ever for my heart and mind, but my body took a beating. Although, if I do say so myself, I was an adorable prego with Connor (I look like crap carrying a girl though). Then whamo! Connor was here, almost six weeks early. It took 2weeks of back and forth to the hospital to get him strong enough to come home. And then, as I mentioned before, it was the holiday eating season. Add to that, I was no longer working, so no longer walking and walking and walking. Oh the fat spiral just widens and widens!

So ... after that ramble here is what I wanted to share. Update on working out. I have been running almost everyday, and each day it is getting a bit easier. I know this falls under the category of Too Much Information (TMI) for a lot of people, but I can feel the changes as my body starts to firm and tone. I catch myself rubbing my hand over my tush or my thigh muscle where it starts above my knee. Oh, don't get me wrong ... it doesn't LOOK that good, but it is getting there. I have a LONG way to go to get anywhere near the body I want. Strangely enough, one of the biggest changes has been through my torso. The back fat (yeah, there was some) was the first to go. And thank goodness because that is really what pushed me over the edge! BACK FAT! Oh the horror!! I can put up with A LOT, but when I reached back to scratch my back and got a handful (don't throw up now people) it was done! Sadly, we have reached the point where the fat is turning to muscle. I say sadly because that means there is no actual weight loss, muscle weighing more than fat and all.

Just for posterity I am going to try to do weekly updates here. I will put my workout chart at the bottom, just for the giggles. And yeah, I have no clue how many laps on my track make a mile. It is bigger than a high school track, but I am not sure by how much (and totally off the subject, I miss my high school track with its squishy goodness!). I will set my pedometer up and walk out a mile, and then I will be able to keep better track of it.

Monday ---hour run/walk

Tuesday ---Hubby was golfing, no run for me

Wednesday --- 45 minutes on the track

Thursday --- 30 minutes, hard to run with hubby and kid meeting you on every lap

Friday --- 1 hour doin' the walk/jog

Saturday ---40 minutes on the track

Sunday ---Started breaking in the "new" Bowflex!

... and yes, I did find that picture I was looking for. March 2007, looked in that folder twice :)

cross-posted at The Biggest Twatter blog!

313 Blame It On The Time Change!

I don't know why, but EVERYONE I have talked to is having the same problem. We are all in a pissy mood, or the ones we love are in bad moods. We are snapping over the smallest things. It has to be the time change. We feel like there isn't enough time in the day when it is pitch black by 6pm. The stress levels rise! Its not as though we felt there was enough time in the day to start with, and now it is so much worse. And the kids ... ACK!! Tempers are at the boiling point and something has got to give!! Please tell me that I am not the only one seeing this??

It hasn't helped around here that we all have strep ... AGAIN! Katie missed almost an entire week of school last week. Not to mention what the antibiotics are doing to Connor's poor tushy.

The only thing that is keeping me sane this week is escaping to the track for an hour while Connor takes his nap. No one freak out and call child services! Chip is in the house the entire time, and while he may not provide the level of care to which my kids have become accustomed he can certainly sit on his butt and be an adult(ish type person). WHAT?! I told you I was in a pissy mood!! Okay, so now that is all settled here is what I really wanted to say ... I am ENJOYING working out. I am loving being able to get out in the sun and fresh air. I can't wait for my escape from these walls! Maybe that will be the true motivating factor to me working out. MY SANITY!! Lose the FAT, Keep the SANITY! And I have been doing pretty good. I missed Tuesday (as far as I can remember, but my memory sucks so I might have been out there) and I missed today, but other than that I have been hitting the track. I was all dressed and ready to go today when Katie asked me to stay inside. I can't turn down my girl, right?? We had to do some make-up work for school anyway, but I would have really loved to ESCAPE!!! Katie did come through for me though. I had decided to do some sit-ups and push ups, but when she walked into the room asking what I was doing I thought I would get her involved. Great idea, right?! WRONG!! Now Katie is the Leg Press Nazi! Oh sure, first it started out with 20 ... and she left. But she came back three minutes later and made me do 30 ... and then she wanted me to do 40! I am going to have some strong thighs! Or I would if the poor bugger would put on some weight.

Just as an update ... I have lost 11 pounds. Okay ... FINE!! So that is mainly because I moved the scale away from the wall. I will take it though! I am already 11 pounds closer to my goal of ... yeah, I ain't telling you my goal. My goal is not a number anyway. My goal is a fit body and SANITY. And, when I reach that goal I will post before and after pics ... and I will even tell you how much I weighed.

(you can keep up with our motivation Twitter group by checking out our blog here ---> The Biggest Twatter) If you are trying to get back into working out, or if you are so incredibly in shape that you can offer advise, join us on Twitter or stop in the blog and say hello!!

In Other News: It has only taken seven and a half years, but Bart will FINALLY let Katie pet him without entirely freaking out. As you can see, he still does not enjoy it.

300 Cleaning and Crafting

Friday night I told Katie that until her room was clean that she could not have her friends over again. Her room was so messed up that it was a feat just to walk to her bed to tuck her in. I had to take a cup off her bedside table so it wouldn't fall. It was full of some milky fluid and HAIR! Katie likes to make "potions" with water and lotion and bath gels, but the hair had me stumped. She had given her Build A Bear a haircut. Her Siberian Husky looked like it had been shaved for hip surgery. I was irate! It probably made me so mad because I loved my stuff animals when I was a kid. I might have cut Barbie's hair and snapped her bendy knees the wrong way, but I loved my stuffed animals. I managed to get her to sleep and escape (normally I fall asleep after her bedtime story). I went straight to "my room" and began to play. I needed to de-stress. I started on a few things. I broke out the paint and the Modge Podge :)
This one came about only because a single strand on the paint brush I was using to Modge Podge was sticking out. I already had the dark brown paint out, and as soon as I mad a single brush stroke this is what I saw. Although, I seem to be painting a lot of trees lately (did I mention that my grandfather was a tree surgeon).
This one is just in its first stage, but I have no clue what the next stage is going to be.And this one will have a girl added to it. I have some ideas ...
The next morning, Katie woke up and got to work cleaning. She cleaned and cleaned ... two hours later she came downstairs to ask if she had cleaned enough. I trudged up the stairs, hoping HOPING that she had made some good headway on her room. And this is what I saw ....It took her TWO HOURS to shove her stuff out of the way to create a path? I wonder how much of that two hours was spent playing? 90-95%? So, of course I did what I had said I wouldn't do ... I started cleaning her room. And as I uncovered her floor this is what I found. I have no clue what it is. It is black and tarry/waxy. I am sure it is from make-up, and I was afraid it wouldn't come up. It was about that time that I looked in the hallway to find that Connor had dumped a whole bottle of blood red medicine on the floor. Luckily he did not try to take it. My old paint palette was laying in the hallway, and he tried to pour it in there. He missed. So, I had to bust out the steam cleaner. That thing has had quite a workout lately! It may not have gotten all of the mess up, but it did a pretty good job. I was afraid the black wouldn't come out at all. I thought I deserved a little relaxation, and using your old craft stuff is KIND OF like cleaning, right?! I saw this cute little felt plushie on Stix on the Beach, and I knew I would have to make one of my own oneday. Yesterday was the day. I grabbed what I had nearby (yeah, I have felt in the kitchen - well, in the buffet in the dining area) and got to work. I sketched out a basic shape for the body, and I winged it on the other pieces. It took me about two hours to hand sew the little guy. I started out thinking I would make a "boy" but when I started on its mouth that changed. Two stitches in and it looked like cupie bow lips, so I went with it. Katie named her Rose (which is much preferred to Heart Love that she wanted to name everything last year). Her neck looked a little bare, and my inspiration was wearing a scarf/necklace, so I decided she needed a scarf of her own. Connor adopted her rather quickly ... And he took Rose on her first swing.

All I needed was a little crafty time. It is amazing how it can calm me down. I need to do it more often, OBVIOUSLY!

257 Why do I even bother?

I stayed up late. I wasn't even on the computer. I wasn't Twittering or cruising Facebook. I wasn't editing pictures (although I should have been). I wasn't searching for cute pictures of cats typing or other nonsense. I was CLEANING! *GASP* I know, a dirty dirty word!!! I couldn't help myself, the house was just to that point where I could not take it for a moment longer. I cleaned. And when I came down the stairs this morning this is what my living room looked like ... It is not spotless by a long shot! But this is pretty darn spiffy for the Jaxon house. I also straightened up the kitchen throughout the morning, but you will have to take my word for it. I picked up a few times. Just little stuff that had been dropped and left behind, but we were doing pretty good on keeping clean. Connor did manage to spill his juice pouch on the floor and throw his toaster strudel at the couch, but that is normal messiness. And then ... they had to come in from the pool. Katie said the sunscreen was stinging her eyes (even though it had been on for an hour at that point) and they trooped into the house. I was trying to occupy them, so I popped up some popcorn and got them settled in ...

at least Katie started to pick it up ... and I do mean started because she sure as heck never finished. I did get the worst of the popcorn off the floor. I got Connor fed and bathed and tucked into bed. And then the girls had to do crafts (did I mention we had an impromptu sleepover?). Paper bag puppets. I dove into my poor neglected craft room to retrieve a few supplies (the most action that room has seen in a LONG time). And I set them up and went into the kitchen to smash up some guacamole (YUM) And then it was time to get tucked in. When I came back down from reading two Scooby Doo stories this is what I found ...

........................................................

WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER????

This is also my SOOC Saturday post. Sure, what could I have done in editing to make these pictures any better? Not much. They are pictures of a sad room, and no amount of editing would improve them. I am sure that Melody and the others participating in SOOC Saturday have much more inspirational pics to show you, so hop on over to Slurping Life!!

(look on my left sidebar ... computer is not wanting to paste the link in- GRRR)

I am a bit of a negative Nelly today , and I am sure you can understand why.

240 Prop H8

I won't claim to be up on all the political jargon of the day. I don't watch CNN and FoxNews from sun-up to sundown (more like Spongebob and Hannah), but I will tell you this... California has let us all down. Even the people who are feeling vindicated in the decision to uphold Prop H8. Why you ask? Because we are HUMAN. We are PEOPLE! We all have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Sure, the Bible says that homosexuality is wrong. OR DOES IT?? There are many interpretations of the Bible, and if you want to look into one regarding homosexuality and the Bible then please visit this Wikipedia link. And no, I am not gay. I am not trying to defend my own way of life, but I am defending the lives of my friends. I am defending the lives of your fellow Americans. You know, America ... Land of the Free and Home of the Brave!!?? So why do we repress a segment of our population? Does it make you a better person to turn your back on those who are in same-sex relationships? You want to thump your Bible? How about this one ...

JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED Matthew 7:1
or if you need the whole text :
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you

Above all, the Bible teaches us to love one another. To accept one another. Do you think that you will convince someone to "reform their wicked ways"? Do you think that they have chosen homosexuality. Oh sure, it is super glamorous, and who doesn't love to be persecuted?! God created them as surely as He created you and me. Remember that the next time you turn up your nose. Or how about this, remember that the next time you bow your head.

**This blog DOES reflect my personal beliefs. I stand by these words. I know that there are some who read this blog that will disagree with me. You are entitled to your beliefs. As for me, I will continue to believe in LOVE!**

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone ...

223 Plague House

Katie is fighting off round three of Strep Throat, and this time she managed to pass it to me. Either the girls are passing it back and forth to each other, or we have an extremely rare form of penicillin resistant strep. Wouldn't that be JUST our luck! Rare illnesses are our specialty. Like it isn't enough that Katie is a daibetic mutant, she has to get rare forms of strep. Luckily we have not gotten Swine Flu, though I am pretty sure I jinxed us just then. Chip's boss got back from vacation in Mexico last week, so when Katie woke up Friday morning with a sore throat I kept her home. I didn't want to terrify the whole school.

The Swine Flu hullabaloo seems to be dying down. People have realized that WE HAVE HEALTHCARE! Although I do have a friend whose child attends one of the schools in Tennessee with a confirmed case. Obviously they closed the school, but when she tried to go to her gym she was told that she could not come in until the school re-opened. Before anyone freaks out (Mom), I am taking it seriously. I am watching the kiddos and paying attention in public to stay away from someone that is obviously hacking up a lung, but seriously! it can be passed 24 hours before symptoms show up, so we should all calm down. If you are going to get it, then you are going to get it. Wash your hands, cough into your elbow ... live your life. End rant.
While at the doctor I had them do a pregnancy test. Don't get too excited Mom, it was negative. Of course you should know that since I would not have mentioned it on my blog before I told you about it. But that isn't what I wanted to talk about. It was just some strange timing. I want three kids. I mean I REALLY want three kids, but I was just starting to come to terms with the idea that we are probably going to only have two. And really, I have two wonderful kids and they are MORE than a handful, and I only have two hands. But, that little possibility, very exciting. We don't need to be pregnant right now. We need to get little man out of diapers and I am trying to start up the photography business. But it would have been AWESOME! So, I am a bit sad. And sadly, a bit relieved. Maybe in a few years I can get my third.

198 Pettiness Becomes Me!

Some really stupid, petty, random rants. If you are easily bored then you might not want to read any further.

It was a gorgeous day today. The sun was shining and it was a balmy 72, so I had the windows thrown wide to refresh the house. Our cat, Bartleby, was taking advantage of the windows and the fresh air. He was perched on the windowsill and the light was hitting him just right (and my house gets horrible light so this is rare). His eyes looked amazing and for a moment I thought I might almost like him ... then I grabbed my camera and he bolted! I thought wrong! Useless Animal! I will remember that when he tries to cuddle up to me now that the kids are in bed.

Another petty annoyance, my cell phone! One, I can never decide whether it is better to have it on vibrate or ring. Yes, that is right ... for some reason I have the only phone that does not offer a combo. And two, it does not have a key lock feature, so I have to yank it away from Connor if he manages to snag it. I would hate for him to call 999 (the distress signal) again! And then I have to hear him scream like I stole his chocolate. I hate making him scream, so then I hate my phone even more! So, if those two things are important to you, then stay away from the Samsung Sync.

Also, discovered this week why the ink for the Kodak ESP series printers is so cheap ... because it sucks! Well, the printer sucks. I just wanted to print a few basic pages, mainly black and white. Half of the page looked like it was not printed at all, and then all of the sudden it was clear as a bell. I cleaned printer heads, re-aligned the heads, printed a test page ... and then it printed one page correctly. The next page, retarded again!I was already pretty disappointed in the way it printed photos. Hell, it is a KODAK printer ... you would think pictures would be the best thing it prints, but they were FLAT! I printed a few to take home to my Mom last month and they turned out horribly. But, I thought, Katie likes to print crap out from her little kiddie sites, and I don't need expensive ink to print out ten thousand pictures of Barbie or Polly Pocket. WRONG! She tried to print a page that was a color-by-number type thing, and you could not even read the numbers in the spaces! I even printed it on "best" and it was illegible. Not really saving me money if you don't work at all! So, Kodak ESP 5, you are an EPIC FAIL!! And the double fun ... I bought it at Circuit City. Yay me!

Katie is driving me nuts with pickiness. She has started complaining about wrinkles in her socks. Not just complaining, CRYING! I know, diabetics have problems with circulation and it can make their extremities more sensitive. But technically, they have shown that until children hit puberty there is really not much to worry about circulation wise.

Katie is also driving me nuts with bitchiness! Yes, I said bitchiness. She is all sweetness and light as long as she is getting just what she wants, but the very instant you try to rein her in or tell her no ... it is ON! She has gotten in the habit of saying "I don't have to" about everything. If she has done something one way one time, then she acts like that is how it is and there is no way to deviate. Or, to be more precise, if she LIKES the way something was done once then she expects it to be done the same way each time. And, the most annoying is when she snarls at you when you are trying to help. I try to correct her when she is reading her homework and it is as if I slapped her. But, if she wants me to help her and I don't immediately read her mind to know that she wants help, then I get snarled at again. There is no winning with that girl!! She is the reason they are referring to her age group as Generation Diva!

And Connor ... well, there is not much to complain about with him. He does tend to smack people in the face, so that isn't very nice. And he screams like a girl if he thinks he is going to get in trouble. He will spill something (read - pour it deliberately on the floor) and when you tell him no and try to clean it up he screams as though he has been scalded. Oh, and I can't forget how he will throw to the ground anything you try to take from him. If it is something breakable then I have to sneak up on him. Okay, so they are a few things to complain about after all.

My DVR is KILLING me! We never had this problem with TiVo, but lately it has been chopping the final 15 minutes off of shows because it runs out of room. And not just any shows. It happened on the season finales of a couple shows. It chopped off the very end of Battlestar Galactica, and I do mean the end! It was the Series Finale. We don't even have it set to record all the cartoons and Disney that we had the TiVo recording! I can't imagine how fried it would have been if we had. I can't wait to go back to satellite!

Bought some new flowers for the yard, but then we had a freeze warning so they are in my window. Katie picked them out, and she is on a pink color kick right now.

Can't wait to get them out in the yard! maybe the birdbath will be less gruesome with some pretty flowers around it. Right now, it is just a mute testimonial to the life and death of a mouse.

But then there are moments when it feels like everything is right in my world ... and they look something like this ... This is a bud on one of my grandfather's peonies that I transplanted out from Atlanta. It is a first! I am hoping it will actually bloom this year.Lack of real flowers has never stopped Katie from bringing me some "flowers." Six years old is still the age when weeds are as beautiful as roses. It has just been in the past week that I have noticed Connor walking around with one of Katie's old babies. He is quite the manly baby doll though. It is just too sweet to see him play with the "baby"!

Well, at least I have gotten that off my chest. Sometimes we have to let the pettiness out before it starts to fester and explode. Crisis averted!!

165 Spring Cleaning

It has been pretty boring here in the Jackson house. The weather can't decide what it wants to do. We are anxiously awaiting the start of Spring, when we can once again enjoy the outdoors. We had one nice day as a tease, then the temperature plummeted 30 degrees the next day. Connor has taken over chores for me though. He has mopped ... and mowed ...
Now if we can just teach him how to vacuum and fold clothes. No wait! We can teach him to clean up after his sister since she never learned!
But really, we are starting our Spring Cleaning a little early this year. I would like to leave a clean house when we all head to Atlanta. The only problem ... the instant I clean anything it is destroyed. I mop the floor, and CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP, Katie and Mia come running in from outside. I put toys away, and if you have kids you know how long that lasts. I get to the bottom of the laundry and it is overflowing the next day! And I am not even going to start on DUST! If Katie sees a clean surface it must be covered in art supplies or make-up.
But this week it is going to be SERIOUS! I am cleaning this house. While Katie is at school I will tackle it. I need to paint their bathroom and get that done, so that bathtime can be upstairs instead of my bathroom. I really need to sort through Katie's massive wardrobe and pull out all the clothes she can't (or won't) wear anymore. Something has GOT to be done before I lose my mind. If I have to stare at these four walls all day then they might as well be clean.
I just wish I wasn't the one that had to clean them!!!