How bout a couple of quick, quick takes?

1.  Didn't get much sleep last night.  The Peanut came in around 1 am and slept with us for the rest of the night.  He was mumbling something about "finishing the show" and trembling.  I couldn't tell if he was scared, cold, had to pee or was just really tired.  So I sent him to the bathroom thinking he would go back to his own bed after that.  No such luck.  He came back and decided to cuddle up right next to me.  On my pillow.  With my blanket.  Did I mention he has taken up a snoring habit?  My position on co-sleeping hasn't changed.  I still can't sleep with someone touching me.  Or kicking me all night long.  Needless to say I did not sleep much at all for the rest of the night.  I did ask him several times during the night if he wanted to go back to his own bed.  Especially after I finally dozed off for a few seconds and was woken by him saying "Mom!?  Was that poop??"  Um... What?  "Never mind."  Really?  I am supposed to go back to sleep after that??  He was content enough to remain.  And then this morning he woke up and asked how he got into our bed.

2.  After all the work I did de-hoarding the house so it would be easier to clean and prepare to host Thanksgiving, we have decided not to host Thanksgiving.  I thought it would be nice to take a little vacation for once and mainly, I don't feel like cleaning.

The bad news is that I will still have to clean for Christmas.  I really should get started on that now.  Procrastinator.

Totally linking this up with Theme Thursday "prepare" if Cari ever posts it. Ahem. ;)

3.  My husband turns 40 on Tuesday.  Being a loving, considerate wife, I planned on having a big party for him.  I am also a terrible procrastinator and an even worse planner.  Needless to say those plans never came to anything and it seems we will be doing exactly nothing for him.  Because I am the worst wife ever.  So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to do something super special for him on a $0 budget and four days of planning, I'm listening!

4.  I am on tsu now.  I just can't seem to help myself.  I have to join every social networking site out there.  It's invite only but you can click on my invite link if you want to join or you can follow me if you are already a member.  It seems to be catching on.  Mainly because you can make money using it.  Still figuring it all out myself.

5.  I swear the Peanut was just singing the Mr. Ed theme song.  He says he was just randomly singing "of course of course" but it sounded just like Mr. Ed.  I, of course, had to You Tube "Mr. Ed Theme song" and the Peanut insists that it's nothing like what he was singing.  Totally was.

Then I got sucked into the You Tube vortex and ended up here.

Conclusion.  I watched way too much TV in the 80s and 90s.  The only show on that list I didn't watch was #15.

6.  After watching this yesterday, my kids can't stop singing "I've got a butt."  Totally should not have let them watch it!


7.  As a continuation of my 31 Days of De-hoarding series and self motivation to continue the de-hoarding process, I started a new link-up.  Take It Out Tuesday.  Every Tuesday I will be de-hoarding something and inviting you to join along.  I will also be keeping the link open all week so bascially you can de-hoard something any day and join in.  Also, if you aren't a blogger but still want to join, feel free to just take a picture and tweet or Instagram or Facebook it with the hashtag. #takeitouttues  Because I like things nice and easy.  You're welcome!

Now go check out some more Quick Takes at Kelly's!


*This post may contain affiliate ads.  Read my full disclosure here.

1.  Today was the anniversary of Matthew's death.  My husband took the entire week off work and we have been spending the week together as a family.
2.  On Matthew's birthday we headed out to his grave site.  He is buried about an hour drive away so we don't get to visit him as often as I would like but we make sure to go out there to celebrate his birthday.

3.  Last year I was kind of unprepared for his birthday and went at the last minute to try to find some things to decorate his grave with.  Unfortunately, I discovered that September is not the best time to find outdoor decorations.
4.  This year I have been gathering things throughout the year so we would have some gifts to take out there.  We also wanted to have something for the kids to participate in so we made a stepping stone.  We spelled out his name, added a Superman action figure to the center and the kids placed all the glass mosaic pieces.  They were really excited about making a gift for Matthew.
5.  We headed out to the cemetery and gave Matthew his gifts.
The stepping stone.  Flowers.  A #2 birthday candle.  A humming bird.  A little bunny and mushroom.  A drawing (birthday card) the Princess made for him.  And small stones we each decorated.  Mr. Cool and his parents also contributed a pinwheel which was perfect.
The vase, teddy bear, little car and flowers we put there last year for his 1st birthday have held up so I added the pinwheel to the vase.  His little glass dolphin is also still there and though it has been kinda beat up, it has held up better than I ever expected.  After we placed all his gifts we sang him Happy Birthday and had cupcakes.
6.  I love that cemetery.
It is so pretty and there is an "old cemetery" section with the taller cooler looking tombstones.  The little white church was recently restored and I love seeing it right next to "our tree" that stands over Matthew's grave.
My husband's grandfather is also buried there along with many other family members.
I love that Matthew is buried surrounded by family.

I always like to take pictures when we are out there.  Kids, stand by that tree and act natural.


*This post may contain affiliate ads.  Read my full disclosure here.

It has been way too long since I last participated in Seven Quick Takes Friday!

Let me tell you.  I always have grand intentions of all the things I am going to share on the blog.  Half written posts, posts in my head, oodles of pictures taken with a specific post in mind and then...

Life happens and posts don't get written or finished.  And you never get to hear about that trip we took to Disney World almost two years ago.

So, for your reading enjoyment, here are seven quick blog posts I have been planning on writing.

1.  The Princess gets glasses.

In hindsight I should have probably realized she needed them.  She would get so upset when doing her school work that her letters looked wiggly.  I thought she was just being a perfectionist.  That was only part of it though.  Turns out wiggly meant blurry.  Go figure.
I got glasses too.  Not that I really needed them.  My prescription is the lowest one.  But I thought it would encourage her.  Good thing I don't actually need them because I have already managed to lose them.  Which totally makes all my lectures to her about taking care of her glasses and not losing them, a bit hypocritical.
2.  The Princess gets her first haircut.

My sister was in town for a few days this week.  She got in on Wednesday evening and on Thursday morning she got up early and left for an appointment.

When I woke up I realized it was a bit late and wondered why the kids were sleeping in so long since they hadn't woken me up.

It was quiet in the house and I was surprised to find the Peanut sitting at the bottom of the stairs casually flipping through a comic book.  I asked him what he was doing.

"Waiting for Aunt Treesa to come down."

I told him she had left for a meeting and he looked at me like I was deluded.

"No, she can't have left.  Her shoes are still here."

Sure enough, her sneakers were there by the door.

"Buddy, she wore a different pair."

He gave me a confused look and asked to go check her room.  He would not believe me until he had confirmed her absence for himself.

Later, the Princess woke up.

She picked out her clothes for the day.

A dress paired with a skirt.
Her argument was that they went together because the skirt was twirly and the dress has a pretty pink ribbon.
Can't argue with that logic.

So I made her tuck the dress into the skirt.

We went on about our day and around noon I told them to get shoes on because we were going to be leaving in a minute.

Is that an outfit or what?

My husband was coming home on lunch and we were going to do our taxes.

She was ready to go and said to me, "As soon as Aunt Tweesa comes down we going to leave?"

Again, I found myself explaining that Aunt Theresa wasn't upstairs.

Again I was faced with a quizzical expression.

The Peanut has been predicting snow (in DFW TX) for Christmas this year.  He is very determined. "It's going to snow on Christmas.  It is.  It is.  Because, I just know it."  There is no hopefulness in his voice.  He says it as absolute fact.  That's the faith of a child.

Unfortunately the forecast does not support his theory.
It's going to be a scorcher!

Remember "Once Upon a Time" when I used to write funny posts?

Right.  Neither do I.

You are probably hoping I am about to write a funny post.  Sorry.

Instead it's going to be another one of my boring "my house is a mess and I don't want to clean it" posts.

Because that's what I do when I am looking for something to do other than the things I am supposed to do.

Today I bring you a list of 7 things I need to do today.  Exciting right?  You are totally on the edge of your seats.

1.  Clean the house.

Big surprise there.

Tomorrow is December 1st.  And I am under the deluded fantasy that I will somehow clear out an area big enough to put a Christmas tree up.

This is the corner we put the tree in every year.
But now I have a desk.  And a sewing machine table.  In that corner.  Yup, they're there.  Under all the clutter.

This weekend is the 34th Annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis Illinois.  In honor of this event the kids and are are all wearing Superman shirts today.  It's the next best thing to actually being there.  At least that's what I tell them...

Super Cowgirl

Red K Superboy

This is what my lucky hubby gets to come home to everyday!

Whenever an image of a baby pops up anywhere in the house, a state of national emergency is declared.  Two children begin screaming and running around the house frantically.  I am located and strongly urged to "COME SEE THE CUTE BABY!"  It doesn't matter where I am or what I am doing, bathroom included, I must drop everything and run to see the cute baby or order (or at least a lack of screeching) will never be restored in this house.  "Will our baby be that cute?"  "I sure hope so!"


The cute baby spotting phenomena is also extended to my computer.  As it so happens, more than a few of the blogs I read have lately been showing off adorable pictures of brand new babies.  Therefore, anytime I am on the computer, two children are in my lap exclaiming "awe!"  "Scroll down, scroll up, awe!"  I should actually count three children in my lap because the one in my tummy has been growing and is taking up a bit of lap space him/herself.  As much as I love the cuddles, I also treasure my space.  Especially when attempting to type.


Unfortunately, the cute baby spotting has also been occurring frequently in Mass.  If you are the mom of a little baby and happen to be in Mass one Sunday, you might find yourself being pointed at across the church by a Peanut.  This Peanut will be frantically climbing across the pew, over his dad, around his sister, all while pointing obviously, to reach his mother and exclaim, "Do you see that cute baby?!  Will our baby be that cute?"


We had a very nutritional breakfast this morning.  The Peanut ate a lemon and the Princess had a jelly sandwich.  It was that kind of morning.

The boy loves lemons.

He ate the whole thing and went back for more.

You thought I was going to actually stick with a theme there didn't you?  Well, except for the Superman part.  But that was of vital importance.  Much like baby spotting.


Yesterday, I posted my first ever giveaway.  Don't forget to enter!!!  Go, now.  You know you want to!!!

The Peanut has been pampering me today.  I'm not sure where he got the idea.  Perhaps all the Mother's Day commercials?  He started off by doing my hair.  He pretty much used all his sister's hair dealies.  

Don't be jealous.  We can't all be this beautiful!

That pink thing on top is a tiara.

Possibly he was just tired of my hair looking like this. 

Later he gave me a back massage.  Not even sure where he ever even heard of back massages.  He had to ask me how to do it.  It pretty much consisted of him softly rubbing my back.  I will be sure to encourage this type of behavior!

--- 1 ---

Yesterday I did housework.

I know!

Not sure what is wrong with me. I would claim to be nesting but I don't think that happens until the third trimester. Can't really say for sure because even pregnancy has never prompted me to clean like a crazy woman. So, maybe it's a virus? Like some kind of clean freak parasite taking over my body?

I actually unloaded 
and
 reloaded the dishwasher. Washed the Crockpot. Got dinner in and cooking with plenty of time to spare. All before 10am! Dinner finished cooking at exactly 5pm on the dot.

Which is exactly when my husband declared it was time to take the kids swimming in the still too cold pool. So, we kept dinner on warm and I watched my crazy shivering family splash around for an hour. They had a blast!

This morning I realized that somehow, during the course of the day yesterday, half the dining room table was mysteriously cleaned off. I have no memory of these events. This leads me to conclude that the parasite theory is indeed valid.

--- 2 ---

You will be happy to know that today I am fully recovered and back to my usual housecleaning avoidance at all costs ways.  

Though I really do need to do a load of laundry. We have a busy weekend ahead of us full of going places that require suitable attire and not superhero feety pajamas.  

Where can I find that parasite?

--- 3 ---

See this rocking chair?

It was mine when I was a wee one. Then my 
naive
 generous parents thought they would give it to my children so they could enjoy it and someday pass it down to their own children.  

Unfortunately, I was a much better behaved child than my own children are. I chalk that up to the good parenting I received.  

My kids?  

Might as well have been raised in a barn.  

They have yet to grasp the concept of 
sitting
 in chairs. Rather, they seem to believe that all furniture was created to be their own personal jungle gym. Every day I hear the creak of my favorite little rocker, threatening to give out and crumble into sawdust. I turn to see my son standing in it while attempting to rock hard enough to launch into orbit. I begin to have convulsions.  

It also doesn't help that the chair has become the favorite item to use in a "friendly" game of tug of war. See, now both kids love the chair. Even though they have several other child sized chairs and adult sized couch, loveseat, recliner at their disposal, only the rocker will do.  

Finally a compromise is reached.  

1.  People tell me all the time that I am a patient person.  I don't feel that way.  Things get on my nerves and I feel very impatient.  I think the confusion comes from the fact that I tend to be to shy and probably too lazy to actually say or do anything about the things that frustrate me.  Unless they make me really crazy.  Then, watch out.

Right now Blogger is starting to test my patience.  I haven't been able to edit any of my gadgets for almost a week now.  Can't add or change any buttons.  Can't move them around.  This is causing me problems because there are groups I want to join or links I want to add and I can't.  Making me all sad and frustrated.  I know, switch to Wordpress.  But I don't wanna!!!!  I'm stubborn too.  I love Blogger.  When it works!  I think the thing that frustrates me most is the lack of feedback from Blogger.  I understand things happen.  Glitches can't always be avoided.  At least tell me how to fix it, or that you are working on it, or are at least aware of the problem.  Something!  The closest to an answer I have gotten is to try another browser.  I use Chrome.  If Google can't make one of their products work with one of their other products then what hope do I have for it to work with anything?  Google friend connect seems to be down today also and I can't help thinking it's related.