Morning Ladies,

It is very sunny and humid outside today. Storm has passed whoohoo. We got about 7 inches of rain yesterday so ground is finally soaked for a little while.

Becki I think I am going to weed today while the ground is really soft, YUCK I hate that.

Bunny & Sassy & Tracy, sorry bout leaving last night, our electricity went out cause of the storm. lol @ Mixed Nuts.

Smiles and Sunshine Everyone,
Trina

Well, we are back! Checked out the classroom and got Jack set on what to do when he steps off the bus next week. Just about finished buying the school supplies. Will finish the rest this afternoon. All the kids at school were so cute. They seemed so excited to be there and go peak in their old classrooms. Bumping into old friends.

Becki, I feel your pain too. I remember Ted starting High School. I just couldn't believe he was that old already. I am feeling that way again because he is a Senior this year. Pang! My heart just clenches. What will he decide to do? I really want him to go to college but am so afraid that he is thinking of the Marines. Gut clench. I do not want to hear one word about how character building it is in the military. We had a boy die this year in Iraq. I babysat him from the time he was 3 years old. I lost it at his wake, I would not survive my own child's funeral. I still feel heavy hearted every time I think of him and his parents.

Pixie, Darlin' we missed you. Left me all by myself! Sheesh. It's ok, I should have been in bed anyway because we had to be up an out early today. 4 kids fed washed and dressed takes a while in the morning! LOL! Who is that masked Sassy Lady? She is hillarious!

Crazy Chic, belongs here with the rest of us loonies!

lmao yes she is a hoot, and does fit right in with us mixed nuts! lol Her and Bunny were a barrel of laughs last night! I sorry girlie girl for leaving so unexpectedly lol.

Awww I feel for ya'll. I remember what it was like when the boys were going back to school or just starting school. I think its harder on the mommas than it is on the kiddos. Tracy sweetie, even though I am a military brat, I don't think I could take it if one of the boys were to join the service. Alan wanted to and actually went to talk to a recruiter, they wouldn't let him cause he is the only "fox" child left in our family and also his eyesight would just let him go into the army and he didn't want that. I think it was the army, not sure anymore. I can really understand your fears, character building or not!

I'll be keeping you ladies in my thoughts and prayers as school starts.

Smiles,
Pixie

Hmm...well, my excuse for leaving last night is that I crashed at work. They should NEVER put a loveseat in the traffic office. What were they thinking?? They know I work until 2-3am, and get up at 6am....so with less than 2-3 hours of sleep.....that soft, cushy couch is tempting at 1am!! :O)

Oh, well...it was only a 10 minute snooze...just long enough to tease me. :O) I hate driving home like that, though. At least I'm only 3 miles away, so it's not THAT bad...until you think about the whole "most accidents happen within a mile of the home" statistic.
Oh, blah blah blah.... :O) LOL

Well, this is the second week of school for us. They started early, and I only have 3 in school. Aubeni would be in preschool this year, but she's still struggling with the whole "potty vs pullups" thing. She wants to be a baby, but she wants to be a big girl too...so we're letting her make her own decision. She uses the potty quite often, but not enough to go to school yet. She's a VERY strong willed child, so we're not going to force the issue. When she's ready, she'll go. :O) Just gotta keep the options open for her, that's all.

My youngest son played hookey today...convinced his daddy that his tummy hurt, so his daddy let him stay home. I was too tired to realize what was going on, until at about 8am, I saw Elijah running around the house, munching on cereal. I'm like "BOY! What are you DOING here?" LOL He TRIED to convince me that his tummy still hurt, but I didn't buy it. If it can hold cereal, and run around in circles....it's not hurting TOO bad to go to school!! :O) Told him, "you're not my FIRST kid...I'm a little bit broken in now, ya know"

LOL Kids are so fun. So, rather than use the gas to take him to school (it's 12 miles away), I put him to work. He's washing windows and cleaning his room. Then he gets to work on the bathroom (ICK...the ULTIMATE punishment!). Maybe he won't think it's so fun next time. Gotta break this habit early...he's only in first grade.
And yes, I considered WHY he didn't want to go to school...and it just boils down to the plain LAZY thing. He admited as much. "just didnt' want to do the reading today". So, of course...we'll be working on that TOO this afternoon!! LOL

Well...I hope you ladies don't melt away today. We've got CLOUDS!!! YAY!!!! :O) And a 30% chance of rain tomorrow!!! YIPPEEEEE!!!!! LOL :O) We're supposed to get back down into the upper 90's....about a 10-15 degree break!!!

I am looking so forward to November!! :O) I LOVE wearing sweaters!! I think I have a zip or button one in just about every color! Just call me Mrs. Rogers!! LOL (no, seriously...hubby DOES...)
Tell ya what...if you want to embarrass my hubby, just go to Walmart with him, when it's really crowded...wearing a green zip up cardigan sweater.
For some reason, that does it every time. :O) LOL

He has issues.

Too Cute Bunny,

Kids do learn early don't they? lol Cole used to use that line when he didn't want to run in P.E. lol

I am looking forward to November also, it does get cooler here around then. With the weather we are having I wouldn't be surprised if we don't have a cold winter!

lol Alan LOVEs Mr. Rogers, used to have to watch him all the time, I used to have to tape the show for Alan when he was in high school even lol sheesh. Sad sad day when Mr. Rogers left!

Pixie

Oh, I LOVE Mr. Rogers!!! When I watched the news..and found out ...I cried!!! Literally, called my hubby at work, sobbing...he thought for sure I'd lost one of the kids or something...LOL
I finally choked out...MR ROGERS DIED!!!!
Hubby's all like..."um, hasn't he been gone for years now??"
LOL

I still watch Mr. Rogers!! That's the only time the kids aren't allowed to bug me. During my 25 mintues of MR ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD.

I know...I know....But you're NEVER too old for Mr. Rogers!! :O)

You and Alan sheesh!!! lol

Don't forget.....

Thanks for the commiseration girls. I appreciate all the support. We just got back from Pat's school. He is attending the Intermediate School this year so it's a whole new environment. New building, different layout. All that jazz. We had to buy a scientific calculator... Crazy, what they are teaching these little one's so early now. It blows me away that they are catching on to such advanced math and algebra.

Ted hated reading Bunny! Couldn't stand it, especially out loud in class. Funny thing is he could do the readings at Mass for the whole school when he was in 7th/8th grade. Go figure.

I wish my boss would let me nap at work! Always get busted. Nothing like a 4 year old boss, poking you in the butt, Mom, mom, mom, etc. At least if he was an adult I could sue him for harassment!

Wouldn't you be, couldn't you be, won't you be my neighbor? ROFL! He practically was my neighbor. Lived in Pittsburgh. Ugh, hate those Steelers! Growl, Woof!

Love the picture! I have to be the dissenter (sp?) in the group, he gave me the creeps when I was a kid. I always thought Maid Miriam/Marian? was scarey looking with those dark eyebrows and funky nose. Too close to the witch in Snow White. Would you like an apple Dearie? Yucky! The part of his show I liked was when the Trolly came in the living room before going of to the castle. Ding, ding! I probably share some of the same issues as your hubby, Bunny!

The marines have been coming to the High School 6 times a year. Serious recruiting going on. Sometimes they just show up and hang out in the guidance office. The tv commercials they are running now look like really cool graphics to video games. Then they come on with some line about don't just sit on the side lines, do the real thing. Puke. It is not a game. Not even close. Then there is the army, navy, airforce. I told Ted, if you really want to do this it will have to be through ROTC. That way he goes in an officer, he wants to do air traffic control. I say Go Navy.

Boy, do I wish you all lived in my neighborhood! Wouldn't that be fun?!!!!!

We haven't even started the school shopping yet, Tracy! Good for you to be almost done! I had to run to a neighboring town today, and they have a Goodwill, so I got a chance to look there a little bit. They had all ladies long sleeved blouses for 99 cents. I LOVE when they have good sales like that! I got lots of blouses that will fit Elizabeth in a few years, and a couple for me. Plus a pair of denim capris for Elizabeth. I wish I fit into a medium or large, as they have SO MANY nice tops! But, not much in the plus sized, I'm afraid. Just another reason to lose weight!!

Have to go pretty soon and get Dylan some football cleats. He is using some passed down from his big brothers, but I am pretty sure they are baseball cleats. He is complaining that his ankles are hurting so badly, so I am going to go get him a pair of football high tops, and he has to tell his coaches that his ankles are hurting, so maybe they will tape them. He is so wary of complaining, but I told him, they will know what to do!

Then, tomorrow we have a busy day, with football pics and soccor practice, plus a birthday party for William to go to, all in the morning. Then, in the afternoon, my parents are taking us school supply shopping. They started doing that a few years ago, and they offered again this year, and while I told them they certainly didn't have to, if they wanted to, I absolutely wouldn't turn them down! That helps out a bunch!!

Sunday, our oldest, Carl, was able to get us all tickets to Adventureland (a halfway local amusement park) through his work, so we are all (like the whole family, plus Carl's girlfriend and her little girl) heading up there. That's 10 of us!!! We are going to bring up a little grill and cook our lunch out in the parking lot, to save some $$. Then, since we will be in Des Moines anyway, we'll head over to Sears, to do a little school clothes shopping. I have a $75 gift card for there, so that should get us some clothes.

It is going to be a $$$ spending weekend, sadly, but we are doing the best we can to save!!

Tracy - both our older boys joined the National Guard after high school, and went through boot camp, but they both were discharged for medical reasons. Thank goodness! Carl got something wrong with his shoulder, and Ray was discharged because he gained too much weight, and didn't lose it. Not a fun way to get kicked out, but we're sure glad he did!

Have a great afternoon, everyone!

Becki

The bunny cookies arrived! Ihe icing held up great, only 1 broke (the bag lost vaccumm), the others held up great. Is that lemon in the dough I taste? Hubby snapped a pic with his camera phone I'll email it over. My class is happy. Box arrivied beautifully. I'd say 9/10 (bunny spots looked more like polka dots than "spots"), beyond that the taste was dead on, and they held up being delivered on a 103 degree day, with no loss of taste or texture.

Hey, Tracy, or anyone else for that matter - have you tried selling clothes on ebay? When I was at Goodwill, I picked up a really pretty green Ann Taylor Loft blouse for 99 cents, and I would think I could get a good deal more than that on ebay, but I just don't know. Our Goodwill always has good brand name clothes - American Eagle, Maurices, Ann Taylor, Gap, Maurices, Christopher & Banks, etc..., and I am wondering if it would be worthwhile for me to pick up some of those when they are on sale and try to turn a profit. I certainly would have picked up more today, but Dave called while I was there and had run out of gas, 25 miles away from me. I checked out REALLY fast and got over there. But, anyway, the Ann Taylor is too big for Elizabeth right now, and I am just thinking about listing that on ebay to see how it goes. Oh, and Abercrombie! I went a little crazy last year buying clothes that are too big for Elizabeth, because I was just thrilled at the name brands I was able to get for mere pennies on the dollar! I got her this beautiful Abercrombie sweater for 99 cents, but it won't fit her for a couple years yet, at least! (I'm not sure I want to get rid of that one though, I am totally in love with it!) Anyway, just thinking!

I told hubby that I'd rather pay for the boys to do college outta country, than have them enlist (hubby is both pro-military and pro-bush... go figure), but that there was zero chance they would enlist (I've a military family, and they no longer take care of the familes).

Oh, thank you for letting me, Fishy!! Ugh - I hate it when the bags loose their seal!! I don't know why that happens sometimes, but I am so sorry about that! And sorry about the polka dots!! No, no lemon in the cookies. I thought about adding some almond flavor, but I thought for my first try, I'd better leave the recipe alone. Thank you so much for letting me know, Fishy! And thank you for your honesty! I REALLY appreciate that!

Actually, it would make a great Spring cookie, say April's cookie of the month, there's a delicateness to the batter that lingers. Hmm also good for picnics.

Man! I can not keep up with you guys! It's gonna take me 2 years to read all of these posts! :o)

Anyway, Hermit, I will trade for anything. Like I said, I have plenty of those bulbs and I like everything.

It has been raining here like crazy! We just had this really big loud thunderclap and it sounded like all of the shelves in the warehouse came falling down. I have NEVER heard a thunderclap that loud before.

I have some really good news. I came back from lunch today and sat in the bosses office, and he gave me another $2.00 an hour raise! That is a $3.00 in a month! And I am getting another 1.70 in January! Wahooo!!!! And I have only been here 4 months!

I hope that everyone is well, and I will catch up on the posts this weekend.

Laurie

Congrats on raise Laurie!!!!!
Beckilove, I think e-bay charges you to sell on there. You might want to list them on craigslist.org. It's free!We will be listing our house FSBO on there this weekend. We just moved in here,but being so far from family BITES..... so bring on the moving boxes & vans.....AGAIN. Anybody want a 4 bed ,2 bath Palm Harbor Modular Home on 4 acres in North GA? About an hour from Atlanta!LOL!!!

Sorry for buttin' in again girls but beckilove I've sold on ebay for many years (don't right now, kinda got burned out) from yard sale finds, feel free to email me if you wish, I can give you a few tips:))

Sassy
sassyd@sccoast.net

Congrats Laurie on the raises!!! Glad to know you werent stuck in any of that water!

All the talk about Cookies is making me hungry for some!!!!!

There's that wild and crazy pistachio Miss Sassy!!!

Found out that one of my "mystery Lilys" may be an Amyrillys sheesh I really know so much don't I????

Smiles,
Pixie

Sassy - So glad you are joining us again today! I will shoot you an email. I mentioned Tracy, because I know she is selling quite a bit on ebay as well, but I don't know about clothes.

Congratulations, Laurie! Wow!!!! That is so awesome!! You must be a real gem there!!!! I'm glad they are seeing your real worth!

Yeah, Pixie - if we were all neighbors, I would make you some cookies and bring them right over! Here is what they looked like when they left my house.

I hope they looked about like that when they reached you, Fishy! Except for the one that broke! I had a little trouble with the icing dripping down the side. Tracy gave me a different recipe I will try next time! Thanks for the idea of an April cookie, darlin'!

MMMMMM MMMM MMMM those look good! I've had Mr. Rogers Neighborhood song in my head all afternoon now thanks ya'll lol.

LOL! Me too, Pixie! Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won't you be my neighbor????

Okay, I don't know if this was more of a regional show, or if it was national, but did anyone else watch Captain Kangaroo? That was my favorite! And I don't know why I am thinking about this, but I think I was on one of those kids shows way back when one time! I can't for the life of me think what it was though. I just have this tiny memory of waiting in a line to go through and be on this show. Hmmm... Maybe it was just a dream. I'll have to ask my mom about that when I see her tomorrow! Oh, with Floppy! I can't think what that was. Floppy the dog! Was that on Captain Kangaroo? Or was that something else? But, I think I met Floppy! Ugh! I can't believe I am piecing through all of this in front of you all! But, I am sure I met Floppy on TV! Ha, ha! Do I sound stupid, or what?! Okay, ya'll! Time to laugh at Becki! No, I haven't been drinking yet, but that is sounding like a good idea right about now! : )

Okay, just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I did find it. There was a show, that I think was just here in Iowa, called "The Floppy Show". Yep, I did meet Floppy!

{{gwi:1296688}}

Okay, off to get a drink! (ha, ha - probably not yet!)

Beckie, I loved Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans!!! OK now your cast of characters up there look familiar, I know thats not Mr. MaGoo (sp) but that there on the right looks alot like him. Even called Fox in to see if he thought so. Now Imma gonna be wracking ma brain to figure out where I have seen that cast from. (lived everywhere but never in Iowa although I was there almost 4 years ago lol) hmmm. lol maybe a drink will help me remember too eh? lol

Whoohooo Becki did ya get his autograph? This is something ya need to share with your kiddos sweetie!!!!

Beck....so what we drinkin? lol Tracy that was cute this morning, thank so much, sorry had to leave you girls last nite, but my bud Trina quit on me, naaaaaaaah, jk! No I really had to go to bed! lol

Ok some one 'Splain Lucy' about his swap, too late to join? Not sure right now I'm getting in another one for next month, but after that, I'm open to it. Will keep popping in if ok, you girls are MY kinda girls, not boring as hell!
(oooophs! did I missspell that? hummmm......)

lol, Sassy

Hmmm, I can't remember if I have an Ice out in the garage or not! I'll have to go look in a minute! That's one of my favorites! Otherwise it will be a plum wine from a local winery here. It's a new one my hubby brought home for me - very yummy! I'm not much of a wine drinker, but this one is very smooth and sweet - just the way I like it. I hate dry!!! Ick - cotton mouth! There are VERY few wines that I will drink! Hmm - my hubby would love it if I got into the Kahlua! A couple white Russians, and he likes me very much!!! : )

Ooh, there was the masked sasser again! Did you all see her?? LOL! Evening Miss Sassy, Glad you came back to visit. I do believe we are still open to more swappers. Don't remember when we're supposed to ship by, though. We haven't partnered up so you can still chime in and ring someone's bell! (Sorry, a little windchime humor). Send 5 plants, bulbs of your choosing to send to the partner that you are assigned along with 1 set of windchimes, garage sale / homemade / storebought (we aren't picky), you can add any goofy, silly, nice, thoughtful items if you wish but it is not necessary. Seeds are bonus items, not considered one of the 5 plants. Ship Priority. That is about it. Tell her more if I left anything out, girls.

Becki, Yep sold clothes on ebay. You can turn a decent profit on the resale name brands. Talk to sassy, talk to me. We should be able to get you set up on doing it pretty cheap too. I use Auctionzealot.com for creating listings. They don't charge anything and you can put tons of pictures in your listings for free. You only pay the eBay listing fee and gallery picture fee. I really liked Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans! They were only on Saturday Mornings here. We had to watch Barnaby on Weekdays to make do for daytime kid programming. He was a little goofy but I liked the My Name Is Simon The Things I Draw Come True Cartoon that played!

Boring as WHAT? LOL! We don't grade on spelling here, at least not all the time, grin!

Bottoms up Becki! White Russians? Hm, I wonder why they don't have a White Irishman, White Englishman, They are all equally pastey! heh! heh!

lol Becki you be wearing those daisy's and polkadots on Kahlua? lol

I don't really remember cartoons other than him and dad had to watch roadrunner on sat mornings and then Mr. Magoo lol. Then I do remember some cartoons from overseas but they were mostly in Japanese lol I don't even think we had a tv in Hawaii, I am sure we did just don't remember it lol.

oKAY..I never got into the whole Captain Kangaroo thing. THAT guy scared me. I think it was his receeding hairline. Or just the wierd guy in the overalls.
Hmm. Not real sure, honestly. :O)

Then again...maybe I just prefered someone that calls me

SPECIAL SPECIAL You are my friend..you're SPECIAL to me...you are the only one like you, like you...I LIKE YOU...

LOL

I always thought Trolley was magic...And that X the Owl really COULD fly. And I never knew that Mr. Rogers did all the puppets voices....up until about a year ago, anway!! :O)
I know...that says alot about me!! Ya know...up until probably just a few years ago, I didn't know that Aerosmith was such a naughty band, either!
Hhmmm...Walk this way???

I don't think I'll ever sing that in public again. :O)

How bout an Irish Eyes, they can be deadly if they are Kelly green wink wink!!! Make a good drink too lol

Hey I just found out that Puff the Magic Dragon was written when they were on acid, and its actually about the trip they were taking on acid and not about Puff anyways!!!

Makes me wonder what Puff N Stuff was all about now!!! sheesh

Oooh I have some Irish Eyes over here, Miss Trina! They are hazel but when he wears green, mmmmmmeow! They glow! Gotta love it! Yeah, I could drink to that!

OMG - My hubby asked me a while back what Puff the Magic Dragon was, and I told him it was a cartoon dragon that I loved! He was like, yeah, right! You really are naive aren't you? (Yep, guess I am!)

I just love kelly green eyes, I wish mine were that color without contacts!!! You Lucky Girlie girl!

We had this saying in High School...

"Over your head, below your knees...zoomed right past ya on a moped.."

Yeah,.....that's me. Most of the time. :O)
I still can't snap my gum without choking on it. I was known for saying things like "If you catch me , will I fall?"

Uh-huh. Still do. So you see.... That's why I like Mr. Rogers. As ditzy as I am, HE still likes me.
Cuz I'm SPECIAL.

LOL :O) :O) :O) :O)

Bunny, I have meant to tell you this and while I am thinking of it now I gonna! The lobster mold I love, I forgot to tell you that I collect tin molds and have never seen a lobster one. I am going to use it to make a crawfish jello mold with black olive eyes at a crawfish boil next weeken!

Oooh! My man has "caribean" eyes...like the color of the ocean, that gorgeous blue with the green middle?? If he gets mad, though...watch out...they turn silver. Oh, but if he's happy....they're the most GORGEOUS deep blue....

I'm stuck with POND WATER eyes. Very light goldish brown with green in the middle. Depending on what i wear, they get darker or lighter....
I've always wanted violet eyes. Dont' know why...just have!

Funny thing is...ALL of my children have different eye colors! Deep solid blue, green, caribean, chocolate brown & light silver/blue. How'd THAT happen??? :O)

fox has blue eyes, Nan has ice eyes, and Alan has the deepest blue possible, Cole had Gray eyes and I have chit brown eyes, don't know why I didn't have a child with brown eyes lol.

I should have said I get to look at Irish Eyes over here. Not mine, the hubbies. I'm a brown eyed girl. My Brown Eyed Girl! That's what he sings to me. Love that song!

Bunny, you are so much like my best friend (also named Tracy). Silly as ever but smart as a whip. She says the darndest things and just busts us up! One of my favorite quirks of hers is she is constantly mixing metaphors or just makes new words.She will say things like "flustrated". She means flustered, slams it with aggravated, and boom we have a whole new word. But she can outsmart me any day of the week. LOVE THAT GIRL! Wouldn't change her for the world or you either! You should see the words she makes when she has a couple of beers in her. I then serve as interpreter.

You are special... I keep thinking of the church lady on Saturday Night Live. Picture her taking over for Mr. Rogers. SCAREY!

My daddy used to sing that to me as a lullabye Tracy lol, I have it as my cell phone ringer for Fox lol. I love that song too, Cole and I used to sing it together when we would have karioke (sp) nights lol.

Bunny is Special!!! Welcome to my Neighborhood!!!, I have a question though, why would he change shoes ?

Yeah, I never got that either, Pixie! Maybe he needs to wear clean shoes in the house? I've never seen a gym floor at his house, you know like when you walk into a gym, and it says "No street shoes"? I don't know!

I agree - Bunny is special, and so are all the rest of you!!!

Our kids all have blue eyes except for Pat and Emma. Pat has Deep Chocolate Brown eyes and Emma has this ever changing color that we can not put a name on. Some days they are gun metal grey, others brown, then still they can look greenish.

Dan, Jack and Ted all share this very pretty pale sky blue color. Danny's seem to get that aqua cast to it sometimes. Love those blue eyes. They are stunners. Especially in a nice tan face.

Dave and I both have brown eyes, and William & Lily do too, but Elizabeth got blue. It was the same with Dylan - Bryan's (his father) are brown too, but Dylan got blue. I sure don't understand the whole genetics thing!!

Maybe they have really dirty streets from all those steel factories in Pittsburgh. Can't bring the soot on the carpet. Secret Germ-aphobe? I tell ya he was creepy, that is why he needed his "Sneakers". So he could creep up on Mr. McFeely. Oh man, I am cracking up at typing Mr. McFeely. ROFL. C-R-E-E-P-Y.

Umm yeah! Whoever named that character must NOT have been thinking! : ) I like McDreamy much better!

I don't understand the genetics thing either when it comes to eyes, I always thought brown was the dominant color, My mom had blue eyes and my dad has brown, my older brother and I both have brown only his are more topaz than mine and my lil brother has blue

I have had the traits conversation many times with the other tracy. She is a nurse, we used to yack about it. 2 blue eyed parents will always have blue eyed children. Brown eyes are a recessive trait. They only show up under certain conditions. Same deal with green, hazel etc. She is very good at explaining this stuff. The only hard and fast rule I can remember is 2 blue parents=blue eyed babies. There is dominant recessive traits which is why one of the kids will have blue eyes to brown eyed parents.