i read 2 books yesterday. yes 2 books. i know get a life. i took monkey to monkey joe's and he played for 3 hours and i read. then the guys were watching a football game i didn't care to see so i started another book and finished it.

the first book was this. normally i love her books. this one made me mad. the main character ellen just made me crazy. you may like it. i'd be interested to see if anyone else felt the same way.














then i read this one. my friend supercoolmom that i'm in blogger book club with said she was going to read it with her other book club. so i thought i would check it out. it was GREAT!!! it's told by a 15 year old autistic boy who finds his neighbors dog dead in their front yard. big c went to a school that had inclusion with autistic kids and there were 2 in his class. he was good friends with one of them and i'm good friends with his mom. this book really made me understand what he (and his mom) are going through. and how his mind works. it's funny and sad and amazing how he processes things so much differently than i do. if you know anyone who is autistic get this book. even if you don't read it anyway. thanks supercoolmom for the recommendation!!

it's great to live in the south!

YIKES!!

rain rain go away.....

i just can't be happy can i? when it doesn't rain for weeks and we are in a drought all i can think about is rain. now that we have soooo much (thanks to Fay) i can't wait for it to stop. yesterday we got over 6" of rain. and the thunder this morning woke me up. it sounded like a giant walking across the yard. super loud. and it's supposed to do it some more today. *sigh* my yard looks like a swimming pool. now i'm going to have to mow again. i was hoping i was done with that for the year!

this is the last week before school starts for us. and it's been pretty boring. on monday my friend deborah and i took the kids for a ride on our new light rail. it's not close so we haven't done it before. but it takes you downtown right to the new children's library, Imaginon.
i enjoyed it but the older boys said they were bored. of course they were. they're teenagers and need to totally entertained all the time. the little kids really enjoyed themselves. the only problem we had were the high school kids that got on after us and were rude, crude and vulgar. i wanted to turn around and say "do you kiss your momma with that mouth?" but i was afraid of getting hurt. :)


i highlighted my hair last night. i don't know why i didn't go into hairdressing after high school. i'm very good at it! (if i do say so myself)

i rented What Happens in Vegas last night. i have seen it before but it was so funny. and hubby laughed and laughed. and we got Island of Nim. very cute. jodi foster did a great job. very neurotic.

i am hoping to order monkey's school stuff this week. if it would stop raining and my hubby could go to work we would have the money to do that!!!!!!!!

i've been setting up field trips for us to take. we have tickets to see some plays at the Children's Theater. peter pan, a Christmas story and frog and toad. monkey will love them. and we are going apple/pumpkin picking. and another zoo day. we are going to have so much fun!

and have i mentioned that i'm addicted to Facebook? thanks sis. (note the sarcasm) i love flair! if you have a facebook account add me.

VOTE FOR ME!!

hehe

Housework was a woman's job, but one evening, Carol arrived home from
work to find the children bathed, one load of laundry in the washer
and another in the dryer. Dinner was on the stove, and the table set.

She was astonished!
It turns out that Ralph had read an article that said,
'Women who work, and had to do their own housework were too tired to
have sex.'

The night went very well.

The next day, she told her office friends
all about it. 'We had a great dinner. Ralph even cleaned up the
kitchen. He helped the kids do their homework, folded all the laundry
and put it away. I really enjoyed the evening.'

'But what about afterward?' asked her friends.

'Oh, that ... Ralph was too tired..'

God is good.

42 ODD Things about me meme!

1. Do you like blue cheese? yes, the stinkier the cheese the better
2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? yes , i'm such a rebel!
3. Do you own a gun? no, i'm afraid of them!
4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? red b/c it made a great mustache
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No since they are never for me, just for my kids
6. What do you think of hot dogs? i think they are best burnt
7. Favorite Christmas movie? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - "If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now."
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? i prefer scotch but i ususally just have water! ;)
9. Can you do pushups? yes but only the girly kind
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? wedding ring is what i should say b/c i wear it all the time but i have some great earrings and i think i like those best
11. Favorite hobby? reading
12. Do you have A.D.D.? no. hey look! is that a chicken?
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? since i'm on happy pills i have no bad traits! :)
14. Middle name? Rogers - maiden name. i don't have a real middle name. my folks were so convinced i was a boy they never picked one out
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? austin, camera, trashmen
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly have? water, wine, water
17. Favorite TV show? iron chef and jon and kate plus eight
18. Current hate right now? having to get a job to pay for gas for michael to get to work!
19. Favorite place to be? new hampshire on the party porch. i miss it!
20. How did you ring in the new year? watch the terminator series and played board games with the kids
21. Where would you like to go? Greece
22. Name three people who will complete this? melissa, jennifer, cathy b
23. Do you own slippers? yes but they are completely worn out, will have to get some new ones this year. they are fuzzy and purple!
24. What color shirt are you wearing? orange my favorite!
25. Do you like sleeping on satin? yes b/c it stays super cold all night
26. Can you whistle? yes but not very well. but i whistle great through a blade of grass!
27. Would you be a pirate? sure. travel to faraway places, get a great tan, and get to keep all that great loot!
28. What songs do you sing in the shower? ususally stuff from musicals.
29. Favorite girl's name? Cassidy
30. Favorite boy's name? Michael
31. What is in your pockets right now? not cash that's for sure!
32. Last thing that made you laugh? my kids. they made the video characters head super big on jax and daxter and we laughed our butts off
33 Best bed sheets as a child? what an odd question. i can't remember but any as long as i didn't have to put them on the bed they were the best
34. Worst injury you've ever had? car accident, got hit by a drunk driver. i was fine really but my sis was pretty beat up. and i broke a fingernail once...
35. Do you love where you live? yes!! but the traffic is getting really bad from the new development down the street. i'm thinking of putting nails in the road to make them slow down!
36. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2
37. Who is your loudest friend? jennifer
38. Does someone have a crush on you? everyone that knows me!! :)
39. What is your favorite book(s)? the far pavillions
40. What is your favorite candy? mary janes! yum but you never get them at Halloween anymore. boo
41. Favorite Sports Team? Cincinnati Bengals
42. What song do you want played at your funeral? the Grinch!




job info coming soon.....

bad news

i got a job. :(

the weather was sooooo amazing yesterday we had a picnic!!!
who would have thought, in the middle of august, we could have lunch outside!!

note the spidey outfit. monkey said it would help keep the mosquitoes away.

and it's raining today. my grass is super dry. i hope it keeps up all day.

my sweet sis is going to be at the airport tomorrow for a 2 hour layover!! big c is going to be at a friends house but monkey and i are going to hang out with her for a while. i can't wait!

weekend

what a nice weekend. the weather was sooo great on saturday we turned off the a/c and opened all the windows. awesome!! hubby mowed the front yard and i cleaned for my pampered chef party i had sunday. then we sat on the couch and watched the olympics. now that we have a dvr we just tape and watch what parts we want. love it!! big c spent the night at logan's and my mom came and got monkey and took him to dinner and to see wall-e. so we had a night to ourselves. very nice. got chinese and just chilled with a movie. 21. it was really good.

sunday was church then hanging out with more olympics until the PC party. very successful and fun. yummy food of course!! and i'm up to $60 in free stuff!! i just can't decide what i want!

we are having a dilemma about church. we go to the main campus in matthews which is only about 15 minute drive. not bad at all. but they are putting a satellite church in mint hill up the street from where we live. and i know God wants us to go there. we did the portable church for so long i feel like He prepped us for this and we need to be obedient to what He wants us to do. but I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!!! i love just going and not having to work. (i don't consider keeping the nursery work!) and if we do what we are supposed to do and go to the new church there will be lots of work. and then there is big c. the middle school program is amazing! and he has been asked to play in the band. and this is the age where kids start falling away from church and i don't want that to happen. at the new church there will not be a middle school band. church for them yes but not their own building like they have now. and he is very upset about it. we keep beating it to death. and just don't know what to do. anyway...

oh and kim THANK YOU FOR INTRODUCING ME TO MIKA!!!! we love him!! how much fun is he!!!

corn dog muffins!

my kids cooked dinner last night!!!!

i found this great corn dog muffin recipe and they decided they wanted to make it themselves. monkey got to cutting the hotdogs and big c mixed everything else. monkey has a pampered chef safety knife and he uses it whenever he can. he was chopping away and said "look mommy i'm a sous chef!" we watch wayyy too much cooking channel!

they were really amazing! (the muffins i mean!) they tasted just like corndogs but better. i think they next time big c has a sleepover i will let the kids make them.

here is the recipe.

corn dog muffins
makes 18 (large) muffins

* 2 (8.5 ounce) packages cornbread mix
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
* 9 hot dogs, cut in small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease muffin tins.
2. Stir together the cornbread mix and the brown sugar in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk in a small bowl until smooth. Fold the eggs, cheese and hot dog pieces into the dry mixture until moistened. Spoon mixture into muffin tins until 2/3 full.
3. Bake in a preheated oven 14 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown.

heard from the other room....

ms. jetson, the doctor will see you now.

WHAT? that monkey. he cracks me up

i am extremely tired of extreme home makeover

well it's over. and i have to say i truly enjoyed all of it. except today. there must have been 1,000 people there. and they were the rudest, most inconsiderate people on the planet. they stood all over the flowers, left their trash everywhere and even sat in our swing when i went inside to potty!!! i took tons of pictures but this video really shows what it was like. so enjoy.

i got a small glimpse of ty pennington as he ran by the crowd. sorry it didn't turn out better. but i did get to see ed up close.
he is a cutie too. and very sweet.

some lady let her kid pee in the bushes in front of the house!!!
what!!??!! why didn't she just ask to use the one inside. it's not like we weren't sitting right there!!!!! some mom did ask if her son could go and of course we let him. we are not ogres people! and a family brought food from Wendy's and had a picnic in the front yard. no big deal except one of them threw their tomato off of their burger into the yard!! again, WHAT!!!???!!! i found it after they had left or i would have thrown it back at them!!


and people were passing out right and left from the heat. the reveal was supposed to happen at 2:00 but they had to break for lunch (union rules i guess) and they didn't re-start until 3:30. some people had been out there since 9am! and it was HOT!!

the house is beautiful!! i can't wait to see the show to see the inside. when i know the actually date, i will let you know!

i had to go back EHM day 4

i caved. but i convinced my mom she needed to see it and i knew she would not stay out there very long. so i was only there for about an hour. and really there was not too much to see since most of the work is being done on the inside now.

2:30



notice how this house dwarfs the ones next to it. it's a monster.

one of the crew used the pressure washer hose and misted the crowd. they loved that.

here is the path thru the yard again. it just keeps getting worse.


and here is a group of people that are coming from the shuttle.
they arrive like this every 15 to 30 minutes. lots of new people to talk to! :)

ty was there but i didn't see him.

today is the reveal. i decided i am going to go. my mom told me that i had put in all this time and i needed to be there. so be prepared. you never know what may happen......

i'm so tired of Extreme Home Makeover Day 3

i think i have seen all i want to see of this house. but here's what i have. these are all from saturday

10am

this is one of the carpenters rib (so called b/c when he was little he liked frogs so much that everyone called him ribbet instead of robert and then it got shortened to rib.) he was so cute and very nice to everyone!


we have a children's inflatable play place here called monkey joe's. and my monkey loves it! they are one of the sponsors of the house and monkey joe showed up today. that was my monkey's favorite thing of this whole week!

noonish



2:00

i found out from one of our neighbors that if you lived in the neighborhood you could take advantage of the food and things they were providing for the workers. i really didn't want any food but they did have free icee's!! so we went and got 2 of those.


about 5:00 i had had all i could take. i was sunburnt, sweaty and oh so tired. so we took some last pix and headed home.

this is the path through the yard i'm sure it's only going to get worse!

these are some of the durn people that made the path through the yard.

this is one of the 2 tents set up for the workers. this one has the icees!!

and here is the house as we left.

i really don't want to go back. but then again i do. i'm like a junkie with his fix. "i can do without it! i don't need it!" anyway ty never showed up yesterday and is supposed to be there today. maybe i'll stop by for an icee......

EHM day 2 part 2

we went to bonefish grill for dinner. yummy!! then we headed back to the house about 8:00. i was floored!!

they had put up all the wrapping and the shingles on the roof. but the foot traffic was still going strong. it was sooo hot and humid i was hoping that would keep the people away. no such luck.

then it got dark and they turned on the big lights.

9:00pm

midnight

2:00am (yes 2:00am!) and there will still people out there watching. other than me i mean!



7:00am (yes 7:00am!! thanks monkey)
i can't believe what they got done in just 5 hours. painted, the wood stained, landscaping (mostly the back) and no telling what it looks like inside. we will be heading back in a little while. monkey is really getting tired of being there. and i can't figure out why i'm so obsessed with it. i think if it wasn't at my mom-in-laws i wouldn't be so excited.

and this is the yard.
i can't imagine what it's going to look like after monday. thank goodness they will re-seed the whole thing!

EHM day 2

monkey got me up early this morning. thanks. but i got up and we were at the house by 9:00. this is what it looked like i can't believe how much they got done from yesterday.

i set monkey up on a blanket in the front yard to play with his My Little Sandbox.

i brought some magazines and the laptop so i could check up on everyone's blogs. which i have been super slack on. sorry!!! but so many people kept stopping to chat with me that i had almost no time to check. it was really great though. everyone congratulated me on my location. and wanted me to tell them what had happened yesterday. so i got to talk a lot!! (which always makes me happy!)

i tried to take a picture about every hour or so. here's what i have so far.





we left about 4 to come home and let the dog out. we are going to dinner with my mom then we are headed back to spend the night. because it's a friday i expect tons of people to show up after work and after they have dinner. ann (hubby's sis) had to leave for the airport this morning at 4am. there were people out there watching then!!! so i plan on staying up and observing.

i still have not seen ty pennington. he should be there tonight or tomorrow. but rip, deedee, michael and ed were there. i saw ed and michael doing some silly stuff and getting filmed. i can't wait to see the show and see if what i saw is what they put on there.

and it's HOT! but i'm in the shade thank you very much! hope to get some good pix tonight. so be checking!!