I may faint!

After almost ten years of not going anywhere we are now going on our second trip in 2 months. We are on the road as I am writing this. Hopefully I will have internet somewhere to post it. The last real trip we took before my brothers wedding was to the same place we are going now and we had Dear One’s mom with us. It’s been a little hard for him, I’m sure, the memories of having her with us. It was a miserable trip but one that we would give anything to relive now. We only had 2 kids then, Audrey would have been around 3 and Jo was just a baby. I was pregnant with Drew and didn’t know it, thus the reason for it being a miserable trip. I was sick and uncomfortable the whole time. Then before we knew it we had 4 small kids and not much money so going anywhere besides to the store to buy milk and diapers was out of the question. So to have the freedom and money to go now is a blessing. We will probably be home before most of you read this, Dear One doesn’t stay anywhere for long but still the kids will have been able to see a new place and have a few new experiences. Traveling with kids is never pleasant, no matter their age and I’m quite sure teenagers are the worst!!

Random Abandon

I prefer the word homemaker because housewife seems to imply

that there may be a wife someplace else.

A quote from the Gilmore Girls;

Emily-"Well then what do you usually eat for breakfast?"
Rory-"Usually
just a pop tart."
Emily-"I'll have the maid whip one up for you."

Oh to be so posh that you don't know what a pop tart is!!

One day, One choice, One pound at a time

SW-218
CW-186
LW-184.8
GW-160

It's simple if you eat more calories than you burn in a day then you can't lose weight. I had moved away from the habit of keeping track of what I was eating and this has been my downfall (or is there such a thing as an upfall haha). I've kept track the last couple of days and it isn't pretty. I haven't been doing that bad but all of those little habits are slipping back in. It's time to cut myself off and straighten myself up. Hopefully now that I know exactly where I am going wrong I can talk myself out of it. I need to keep that motivational factor of being able to be here for my kids futures in mind. I need to set a good example for them.

P.S. I don't think there is such a thing as an upfall - my spell check doesn't like that word.

The idea for - Our Family History

I have had the thought many times lately that I wish I had been blogging when the kids were little. There are so many stories that I would love to have compiled some place for them. I read all of these blogs from mothers with young kids and think how great it is going to be for them to be able to look back and see how things were and what they did. Why is it too late? It's not, so I am going to start recording some of the stories from when they were small to go along with the ones from now. I am sure that as they get older technology will only continue to advance and this is going to be better than any scrapbook I could ever make. I'm working on getting all of our home videos onto here or DVD's (just started the research actually) and may be adding in some videos too at some point. I am working on the first story to post now and you will have it soon, hopefully (I am becoming too much of a perfectionist about some things).

A New Look

Free at last, free at last!!!

So if your here very often you have noticed that I have slowed down a bit lately on my postings but (again) if you are here often you see the reason why now!! I, who had no previous html or css knowledge, designed this new look all by myself. I started working on it a few weeks after taking my blog public, when I discovered these things could be done. The last 2 nights I have been up until 4 working on it (thank goodness it's summer or I would seriously be dragging) but don't tell Dear One (and honey if your reading this, I love you). So I hope it is pleasing. I still have a few tweaks to do that couldn't be done before actually posting the template but I must get sleep. If you could see how I just spelled sleep before erasing it you would see that. Let me know what you think, I can take it.

59 days till school starts!!

I just wish he didn't trust me so much.

One of my favorite quotes has forever been

I know God will not give me anything that I can't handle.
I just wish he didn't trust me so much.
~Mother Teresa

I was looking at my daughter today and this quote came to my mind. Did God know what he was doing when he gave me these children to raise? I think that he did. Sometimes there are situations that leave me wondering what on earth he was thinking. Had he met me at the time? I was a 17 year old kid without a clue what she was doing. I have grown up with my kids and while that has been interesting I'm not sure it provided them with the best mother possible. I can already look back and see so many mistakes that I have made. The guilt of having 4 kids is overwhelming at times, there is not a possible way to provide all of them with the time that they deserve and Audrey has probably drawn the shortest stick from that pile. I try now to make up for what she missed all of those years that I was barefoot and pregnant. I hope that I have taught her well. There are times that we have to make decisions that are hard, when we know that someone that we care about is going to get hurt by what we say or do but make the decision to do the right thing anyway.Life isn't always easy, in fact it seldom is but being able to say "I did the right thing" is priceless. I hope at least that I have taught her that.

60 days till school starts!!

Stuck in the Middle

I'm a little bummed today and no matter how hard I try when I write I keep drifting towards things that I can't really talk about and don't want to talk about. So today your not getting much. I'll just leave you this:

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,
Here I am stuck in the middle with you.

Come be stuck in the middle with me, Please. Somebody.

61 days till school starts!!

Audrey's missions trip: Day 4

Sunday 4:45 pm
She's home! Hooray! For now she has an all new attitude and I love it. They had a great time and Jeanie (one of there youth leaders) said they made us all proud. They had 8 saved and around 5 to make commitments to do better for the Lord. I am so excited for all of them. They are an amazing group, they are typical teenagers with their typical dramas but when it's crunch time they are awesome. They came back renewed but completely exhausted. I am just so thrilled and proud that you can't even imagine!

Random Abandon

Happy Birthday to my Daddy!!

We saw a segment on the news the other day that said that people who have bumper stickers are more likely to have road rage. I said Dear One needed a bumper sticker, the kids thought I was hilarious, Dear One not so much. He informed us that he doesn't have road rage he has stupid people rage.

I love it when it rains while the sun is still shining. There is nothing more beautiful.

63 days till school starts!!

Audrey's missions trip: Day 3

Saturday 11:40 pm
I didn't hear from her until just now but that was expected. They did the hike today and she said it was beautiful. She really didn't have long to talk because they had to try to get some sleep but she sounded great. She is very excited and encouraged. She has made friends with the people that work their and their kids. It seems like they have really been able to reach out to a lot of people. The will do one more service in the morning and then help with breakfast and then they will be on their way home. I love that she has the opportunity for these experiences but I miss her like crazy and can't wait till she gets home.

One day, One choice, One pound at a time

SW-218
CW-184.8
LW-186.2
GW-160

Finally down a little bit, let's see if it sticks. I still haven't kicked my butt into gear and I know that if I did the weight would probably be coming off quickly. I don't know what to tell you, I just can't seem to motivate myself. Any suggestions?

Audrey's missions trip: Day 2

Friday 11:00 am
Audrey just called and the morning went good. She didn’t have long to talk so I didn’t get a lot of details. Hopefully she will have longer tonight. She said it was going good and they were getting ready to go help with lunch. I miss her a lot, being gone to school during the day is one thing but being gone for days on end, that’s tough. Two of the staffers (not the boys staying there) are flirting a little but I have Skyler’s (one of Audrey’s friends) guarantee that she is keeping them in line.

Friday 10:30 pm
They are having a wonderful time. She is so tired and so sore but very uplifted. Their services today went really well and they have had 9 or 10 commitments (which she explained means that some of them have been in church but just committed to doing better while others have actually been saved). Andrew’s (one of the teen boys) preaching has been wonderful and she said the one service he gave them all chills in places they didn’t even know you could get chills. When they did their mimes (to find out what this is click here) some of the kids even ask them to do one of them again. They are expecting tomorrow to be even better. They are hiking and then having their service up on the mountain. I am so excited for her, for all of them. They seem to really be being blessed.

Audrey's missions trip: Day 1

Thursday 8:00 am
Audrey is on her way on a missions trip with a few of the youth from our church. It’s not like foreign missions, she’s not going out of the country or anything but still she is away. They are going to a camp where they do programs with kids who are separated from their parents; some have been taken from their parents, some have parents that are in prison, some have been abandoned, and the list goes on. It seems to be a great program and the retreat is a beautiful place but they are there to serve. They are going to do devotionals with the kids, help them with the activities that they are doing and help prepare their meals. I am so excited! Excited that she is interested in missions, excited that she is willing to help others but most of all (yes, I’m aware of how selfish this is going to sound as I am saying it) I’m excited for her to see the other side of life. Not all kids have cell phones, I pods, and every convenience available. Not all kids have annoying, nagging, loving parents who care about what they do and where they go. I hope she comes back with a new respect for the life that she has.

Thursday 2:30 pm
They made it there safe and overly excited and ready to go. I know by the end of the day she will be exhausted, especially since we were up until 2 am last night talking on the phone. She spent the night at mom’s house last night because they had to be at the church, which is 45 minutes from our house, at 6 am. I was not dragging my butt, let alone the boys out of bed at that hour. So when she couldn't’t sleep she called and we talked till almost 2. I’m a little nervous for her but as I said before mostly excited. The camp is, at this point in time, an all boy’s camp. They have different groups at different times but right now (of course while my 13 yr. old daughter is there) it is all boys. I’m not really nervous about that though, I know her leaders and there will be No chance of any “hooking up” of any kind. I just hope that she has a good time and is blessed.

Thursday 11:00 pm
Just talked to her before they laid down for the night. Today they just helped out some and prepared for tomorrow, that is when they will be with the actual kids. She is having a good time so far. Hopefully it will go good tomorrow when they do the services with the kids. We miss her. Matt even came up to me and said "Mom, I think I miss Audrey" I was amazed. She is pretty hard on the boys but they still miss her when she's not around.

What's the deal?

Don't faint! I actually got some work done this morning. I cleaned out the refrigerator, I mean completely. finished. top to bottom. even the freezer side. It needed it badly and I'm going to the store this evening and it is pretty much empty so it was time. I cleaned out the fridge and have my clothes almost caught up and got a few other things done and I have realized something. I have wrongly been blaming the boys for the fact that I can't get anything done. While they can be aggravating, running in and out and making messes, it appears that my daughter is the actual culprit. She left on a trip this morning(more on that later) and spent the night with my mom last night (the church is 45 minutes away and they were leaving at 6am and I'm not dragging my butt, let along the boys out of bed that early) so she wasn't here this morning at all and I actually got stuff done. I'm not sure what that is all about, I am thinking it over, I know there must be a reason but it is alluding me. She somehow feeds my laziness. I'm thinking that maybe it is guilt, after all even after 3 tries I could not provide her with a sister to hang with. It's not like she wants to go out and climb the mountains with the boys so maybe I feel the need to entertain her. I just don't know, it will come to me eventually. Maybe I can get alot of stuff done the next 3 days!!

66 days till school starts!!

Wordless Wednesday

Ohh the joys of an all day sucker!

To see more Wordless Wednesdays click here!

67 days till school starts!!

Note to Self:

This is a note to myself for future reference. It should be reviewed

every year around April so that I have time to get everything in order.
Do not wait until the summer to do your spring cleaning. Once your kids are off from school you will not do a thing. Just keeping the house to where you can walk through it is all that you can manage in the summertime. Have all of your cleaning done, everything organized, all closets cleaned out and every possible thing done. I will repeat do not count on doing things in the summer. You will be lazy, you will sleep in and you will want to spend the time with your children having fun. This is not the time to try to be disciplined and resourceful. Once more, Do not plan on being worth anything during the summer.

68 days till school starts!!!

Something you may not know

I was just setting here working on a project and thinking about posting pictures when I get done and realized that a lot of people reading this probably don't know that I do this. It actually makes me feel really old when I tell people that I do but what the heck, I'm not so young anymore. So here it goes. My name is Melanie Dickens and I ................ crochet. There I said it. Yes I crochet. I haven't been doing it for a long time, 3 years almost exactly. I am completely self taught so some of the things that I did in the beginning are currently falling apart. I wanted to make a blanket for some reason so I checked out books from the library and looked things up online and then went and bought a few things to get me started. It took time but I figured out the basics and as they say the rest is history. I have tried a few different things but I really prefer making blankets. I've never really been interested in making clothes but I have done scarves and purses. I have tried sewing and quilting (still go to classes for this) but crocheting just comes natural for me. It is very relaxing and soothes my mind. I'm working on a project now and I will post pictures once I get it finished. In the meantime here is a link to my past projects.

A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks: Book Review

A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks

There is a reason why Nicholas Sparks is the Bestselling Author that he is. This is a beautiful love story about forgiveness and doing the right thing even when you can’t forgive. I am not generally a fan of love stories but Sparks always manages to give it a little twist that makes it more than just a love story. The mystery that is the background of this story is heart wrenching all on its own. A wife and mother killed at an early age with no explanation to be found, A husband left behind with no way to move on, A little boy who has been allowed to just drift through school because his mom is gone and a teacher willing to make a difference. Fate is lovely, cruel in many ways but still lovely. My only complaint with this book is that it was a little predictable however this is easily made up for with Sparks’s wonderful use of words. He puts you into the mindset of a small town and draws you right into the story. The edge of madness that these people skirt is tantalizing. The husband was determined to blame an “enemy” for her death but this is a reminder that sometimes our only enemy is the one in our minds. This is a very quick and easy read but I loved it from beginning to end and probably will read it again someday. The story that is told in Chapter 13, that later leads to a superb ending for this story could be a book in and of itself.

Random Abandon

Jo spent the night at his papaws and when his uncle called and he answered the phone this is how the conversation went:

Uncle: (trying to pick on him and being sarcastic) Who is this?
Jo: This is Leota Dickens’ grandson.

Now where did he get those manners from? That’s my little (crap I should’ve said big) man for ya!

The end of Little League season = The beginning of summer (for real)
Nothing to do but laze and have fun. Man do I wish that were true.

I think....You say

Track :: Running
Snake :: Poisonous
Assignment :: Work
Blockbuster ::
Movies
Bombastic :: Wordy
Adventure :: Trek
First time ::
Virgin
Aged :: Wine
Grip :: Squeeze
Shortcut:: Cheat

So what would you have thought?

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time,
the insane asylums would be filled with mothers.
70 days till school starts!!

Happy Father's Day

I just wanted to say "Happy Father's Day" to the two wonderful fathers in my life.

First to my Dad, He is the best. He is a great man and I love him. We are not "affectionate" people but I know from the bottom of my heart that he loves me too. He would without doubt be there for me anytime that I needed him (and has been in the past) but he is not a Dad that constantly gives his opinion. In fact sometimes even when you ask for it he is leery of giving it because he knows that we must work these things out for ourselves. I just want to say that I love you Dad and you are the greatest.

To my Dear One, You are the greatest husband I could have asked for and the best Father I could ever have imagined for my kids. You have changed diapers and cleaned up messes. You play with our kids and attend every event that they have. You take the time to be with them and that is more important than anything. They love you and that is the best thing anyone can say about a Father. You Rock!!

Last day of Ball Season

Last day of ball season today, unless they do tournaments (blah, blah, blah). It was a long day (one game at 4, another at 6) but it was also great to be out of the house with the kids. It was gloomy but it didn’t rain on us while we were there and that was much better than the unbearable sun beating down on us. So want to hear the cutest little thing? My son can talk of nothing but his ©cutie pie little girlfriend© and I have it on authority that she feels the same way. So they are both at the ball field today and neither one of them will speak to each other. I love young kids in love it’s just so cute. They did finally talk to each other, it just took some prodding. I love that my kids are growing up and no longer need constant attention. I can remember what it was like to go to these things when they were all small and just starting to play. Oh now that was misery glorious. I don’t understand parents who want to keep their kids small, I’m excited to see mine grow up and to see what kind of adults they become.

71 days till school starts!

One day, One choice, One pound at a time

SW-218
CW-186.2
LW-186
GW-160

I believe I am officially in a stall. I did really good this week as far as eating but I'm still not getting my exercise in. I can't seem to get a routine worked out with the kids home. I'm not one of those woman that can make their selves get up at 5 in the morning when I don't have to. I keep thinking I'll do it in the evenings but by the time I get there (with all of the kids home) I am exhausted. I don't have little kids though, so I could walk anytime I wanted. I'm just going to have to find a time that works for me. I need to walk after I get up and eat just like I was before, it just wouldn't be as early in the day. One problem with that though. I'm very self-conscious and if I do it then Dear One will generally be home from work and laying there staring at me and I find that hard to deal with. I know that sounds silly to most of you but in my mind it makes sense. Of course it would probably be good self-esteem exercise too. I will have to try it this week.

From 360 to 0 in 4.5

I'm having some major withdrawal here. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and I like spending time with them, I am just in shock. This was the first year that I had all of my kids in school and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the time that I had to myself. To go from 6 hours a day to myself (thats 360 minutes) to absolutely not even a second alone has put me into shell shock. The last week of school (that was 4.5 days) was just a prelude to what was to come. Jo was home most of that week because of his foot and Audrey only went one day but that was nothing compared to having all 4 of them home 24/7. I had quickly forgotten what it was like to not have any time to myself. I forgot the joys of not being able to pee without being interrupted or of having the house get dirty within 5 seconds of me cleaning it. I forgot what it was like to not be able to write a blog without someone questioning who I was writing to! Now I can only think of how I squandered my freedom and how much I could have accomplished. What was I thinking?

73 days till school starts!!

Wordless Wednesday

Too much time in Blogland leads to this.....

For more Wordless Wednesdays click here!

74 days till school starts!(Thought I forgot didn't you)

I almost forgot

Just a few closing thoughts for the day:

I am loving this whole SITS thing. I had no idea there were so many other crazy bloggers out there. Oh the world it has opened up to me. It has left me wondering how many days I can get buy with saying "No housework today". It has made me very envious of some of their swanky designs though and I would love to have a new look from this talented woman. And oh yeah I almost forgot (but not really cause my lovely ones have gotten on my last nerve today)

Only 75 days till school starts!!

Odd Hours by Dean Koontz Book Review

Odd Hours by Dean Koontz

I have read many other reviews of this book and I agree with most of them, the good and the bad. I, however, am not an all or nothing person. I also must say that I love Odd Thomas and there will never be another book like the original. This is a good book, if taken for what it obviously is. It is sporadic and very noticeably a set up for future story lines but why is that such a big deal. It is still a good piece of work and if you are going to be involved with a series of books you have to be able to roll with what the author is trying to accomplish. Koontz is known for letting his books lead him and I believe that is what he was doing here. Yes, this could have been a much greater novel but that may have ruined where he is going and yes, what was included in this book could have made a very compelling short story if written by a less voluble writer but again who knows what would have been lost. Now I can get on with my thoughts on this installment of the series.

“Odd Hours” gives us everything that we have come to expect from our loveable fry cook. He is humorous and philosophical yet full of humility. This writing is some of Koontz’s most memorable, although broken and erratic at times there are some real literary gems in this book. Some of the other characters are so enduring, namely Hutch and Birdie and some of the scenes so visible in my mind that I was delighted. There are many loose ends and unanswered questions but how else would he keep you anticipating where he will take you in the future. Then there is the whole situation with Annamaria which is very entertaining and took me back to read many of the sections a second time after I finished the book (I think I have her figured out but I will keep that to myself). By the end of this book Odd is no longer a naïve young kid, he has been forced to deal with where his gift/curse is going to lead him. This is, as I said, a good book if taken for what it is – a link in a series. If you haven’t read any of the Odd series, I highly recommend them but don’t start with this one. Start at the beginning and continue on through the 4 already written and the 3 more to come and I’m sure it will all make sense.

Wedding Afterthoughts

I just wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures from my brothers wedding. Not of the actual wedding as you see, just a few shots from afterwards. This first one is a great one of my
StairSteps

And this one, believe it or not is the favorite of most of my family.
It's just us being us.
Gabbing and goofing.

And oh yeah......76 days till school starts!!

Under control?

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up

is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller

I have already had a glimpse of what my summer is going to be like and I’m not having any of it. So when the kids get up today I am laying down the law. It is time for them to realize that Mommy is not here to be their slave. They have got to be responsible for themselves. I have tried in the past but it is a hard thing to accomplish with 4 kids in a house this small. So I have a new plan. I can’t punish one without punishing them all (did I mention that we live in a shoe box?) so I have come up with a new idea. I have lists made up of what they need to do and all of the conditions lined up. For their morning chores I have decided that they will be doing nothing until they are done. The TV will not come on, they will not use the computer or phone and they will not go outside and play. In the evenings they are going to pick up any and all messes they made during the day and do their tasks for helping to clean up after supper or they will not get to do any of the aforementioned things for an extra hour after they get their morning chores done. I hate to punish them all if just one of them is being lazy but I have no other way to do it. I’m hoping they will put enough pressure on each other (without getting too mean about it) that they will each get their things done without making a fuss. I am reliably inconsistent so all of you keep your fingers crossed for me. This is the first of many battles that I will have to fight this summer, I am sure, but if I can get this one thing under control the rest should be much easier.

Random Abandon

Given my obsession with Myspace and now blogging I never thought I would say I didn’t want comments but after just two days of my kids being off from school I have said it. They, for some reason, feel the need to comment on every statement that is made so we have a new rule – No Comments! This doesn’t apply to me – Obviously!!

Boy- n.: a noise with dirt on it.

Dickens Dinner #2 is over and done and we actually made it to this one. All went well but everyone wasn’t there so we shall see what the future holds.

“I can’t believe yall got to play with Play-Doh all day. That’s so not fair.”

Ok not a weird quote for a family with a bunch of little boys except….

It came from my 13 yr. old talking on her cell phone to one of her friends from school.

Got to love the last week of school!

Now I shall leave you with a short thought: Remember someone always has it worse than you!

77 days till school starts!!

One day, One choice, One pound at a time

SW-218
CW-186
LW-185.2
GW-160

Ok. Ok. I know. Honestly I can't seem to get past this point. I bounce down and back up but I just can't get below 185. I thought I was going to do it this week but the cards were stacked against me. I gained -no lie- 5 lbs. while we were in Tennessee. I lost all of it and on Thursday I actually saw 184 on the scale but it was short lived. Along came TOM and out the door that went. I will break through this week though. I promise you. Sometimes it is so easy to do this and sometimes it seems impossible. I'm trying so hard to make our lives healthy but it is not an easy task in this world. I know that it can't all happen overnight and that there are many facets to it but I want to feel like I am passing something good onto my kids for their future. That's why (as you know if you've been reading) I wanted to do this a healthy and smart way and not just by taking some pills or starving myself. As my title states though, I can't be perfect and healthy all the time. Each day brings a new struggle and new choices to be made and many times the weight just creeps off but at least I'm no longer headed in the wrong direction.

The joysof summertime and boys

At some point last weekend Jo hurt his foot, at exactly what point we cannot pinpoint, that is the loveliness of young boys. My guess is that he did it jumping into the pool at the hotel, he says he did it at the baseball game Monday night but I distinctly remember him limping on the trip home Sunday. In either case he is done with baseball for this season and let me see you try to keep a 10 yr. old boy sitting still. We took him to the doc and got an x-ray which they promptly said they were afraid to read and sent it on to a higher up radiologist. All came back clear though and apparently he just has a stone bruise. Still means no running for awhile and not going barefoot for a long while but that's better than a chipped heel. Oh the joys of summertime and boys, I have a feeling its going to be a long summer. Let the countdown begin and No I'm not joking!

79 days till school starts!

What inconsiderate lovely people!

Today was award day and graduation at the boys school. It

is hard to manage doing much of anything at this school, for reasons I won't go into. Jo is was in 5th grade and normally they get T-shirts made and wear those to graduate in but they didn't even get those this year. They did at the last moment decide to let them make tie-dyed T-shirts and then had them all sign each others. We were very afraid at first that they wouldn't even get to "march" but they did. I also had a Kindergartner graduating, so it was a busy exciting day for us. It all went pretty well, with both receptions before the assembly we just did the back and forth thing and the kids all had a really good day. I on the other hand ended up very upset and aggravated. It was one of those things where you just have to stop and think "How inconsiderate can people be?" Granted it was very hot in the gym (it is the one part of the school that isn't air conditioned) and we had all been there for awhile but geeze people!! They had gone through all of the awards and then did the graduations. Kindergarten first and then they started the 5th graders. Half of the parents in the place were up, moving around and getting their kids or talking. They were standing in the middle of the aisles where the kids needed to walk, blocking every one's view and keeping all of us that had graduates from seeing, filming or enjoying anything. Again I say "How inconsiderate can people be?" It was truly heartbreaking and unfortunate. If any of those people were my child, I would have taken them directly to the bathroom and busted their

hind ends!

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.

It was all and all a good day. It just left a bad aftertaste.

New Additions

If you know me you know how much I love animals but we have had a really bad spell with them lately. The turtles got sick and/or chewed up by the dog(it's a long story), the hamster died while we were at the hospital with Dear Ones Mom and cats always have a way of disappearing around here if let outside for too long. So we were down to only Tuck the Dog. One pet wonders we are no longer. Within the last few weeks we have gotten two kittens who are about the same age. I'm in love, I love cats anyway and one of the kittens is a calico(which is my dream). Sox is suppose to go outside when she gets big enough but I'm hoping they will do good and by then Dear One will have forgotten that promise. So meet Sox and Calli!!

Going Places

“Don’t you want to do something with your life?” I have been asked that question so many times in my life and it really frustrates me. Yes, I am a stay at home mom. I am devoted to my children and making sure that they become decent human beings. What makes others think that this limits me? Who gets to decide what determines if you are “Going Places” or not? I have a successful career, whether or not anyone chooses to agree with me. I could be stepping into a huge debate here, I know that. I am not even going to touch the subject of stay at home mom versus working mom. To each his own, everyone does what they have to and what they feel is right for them. Just because I choose to stay home with my children does not make my life worthless. I am not dumb actually I’m pretty smart. I am not lazy, actually strike that I can be but who isn’t at times. I do not watch soap operas or talk shows all day. I take my job seriously, very seriously. This is where I am going to step into a debate. I believe if a woman is a stay at home mom then that IS her job. My husband doesn’t do much of anything and I don’t think he should, he has his job too. He helps out when he knows that I really need him too and I expect no more of him. I try to make my kids do their part but not because I want to have less to do, I make them do it because they need to learn to be responsible for their selves. Making the kids do their part is a job in and of itself at times as any mom will tell you. I could sit here all day and list all of the different jobs that I do and do well, I might add. We’ve all seen the lists before and heard the stories of what a mom would earn if she got paid for her work. No I’m not jockeying for the top spot in my office, or working my way up the corporate ladder but I hold a very special spot for a lot of people. I am proud of where I am and where I’m going and I am going places. Who knows where my job as a mom will take me or who I will be the mother of someday. Plus I get to spend my summer days spending time with my kids and getting to know them better. So I’m going lots of places, How about you?

This post was entered into a contest at Scribbit.

Prejudice comes in many flavors

A comment was made yesterday by our great Vice-President and I just want to put it in a different context for a minute. Let’s say he said this instead “We have Cheney’s on both sides of the family and we’re not even Hispanic.” What would the reaction have been? Or if he had said “We have Cheney’s on both sides of the family and we’re not even Black.” Oh my! Would that have been a disaster! So why is it okay for him to say “We have Cheney’s on both sides of the family and we don’t even live in West Virginia”? Where are the big groups that should be poised and ready to go after him? To me prejudice is prejudice. Does it matter who it is against? This comment was so inflammatory and ridiculous that had it been made about anyone else there would be a huge uproar over it. Yes, I live in West Virginia and I took more offense than anyone who lives elsewhere would but why is that? When we hear of people being judged unfairly or put into a stereotype like this it shouldn’t matter where or who it is, it should offend us all as a nation. If he is making comments like this about us in public what kind of things is he saying about you behind closed doors? I am appalled that he would make such a comment but I am even more appalled that there is not more outrage from the general public.

This weeks Pop Quizzes were:

I love writing and I love blogging but I do not like these weekly pop quiz blogs, they just don’t feel right to me. Someone gave me the idea and it sounded great but I haven’t found a way to make them interesting. I just want to write, I don’t want to feel forced to write. I enjoy the Random Abandon blogs, I work on them all through the week just jotting down things that are on my mind. Honestly I am still new to all of this and it is going to take some experimenting to find a style that I am comfortable with. Any input is always welcomed. Just bear with me and hopefully it will get better. I’m not sure I could have made a list for this week anyway. Taking the first trip with our kids in many many years brought about many many questions. The most prominent one was definitely being: What the heck was I thinking?

Woman are truly better together!!

Check out this place for us all to join together.

Random Abandon

West Virginia is no longer Open for Business. We are once again simply Wild and Wonderful. Actually it's been that way for awhile but I just saw it for myself. See history here.

West Virginia restaurants are really lacking. Case in point: The KFC in Wytheville, VA has dumplings and they are actually good. Get with it people.

Traveling with kids is dangerous to your health!!

Weddings can be beautiful in so many different ways, what works for some may not work for others. Funny how marriages follow those exact same lines.