My Little Life

My muses are currently on strike, or something...I don't feel one teeny little smidge of creativity right now, so excuse me, while I regurgitate something back to you, that I posted awhile ago. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this little bout of reflux! ;) ------------------------------------------- Original post: My Grandpa and the Pot Plant: Yes, my friends, you read that right...the pot plant, not the plant pot. Pot, as in cannabis, marijuana, weed...uh huh, that kind of pot! This: Is my Grandpa! He looks kinda grumpy here, but really he's not! This man will do anything for a loved one...he'd drive through three states just to change a tire for you (and bitch about it the whole way, but be darned mad if you called anyone else!!), he even once brought me my purse when I was shopping 45 minutes away...just ' cuz I was air-brained enough to leave it at home! He doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, is nearly 80 years old and is healthier than most 40 year olds . That...

For anyone who has ever had or will have a mammogram, you have GOT to read this hilarious story . You'll thank me later! Well, really, I can't take the credit for finding it, it was Lucy and Ethel that did, so, you can probably just skip me and thank them! But, in any case, you're welcome! Oh, and if you go check it out, will you come back and tell me if you found it as funny as I did, or was I just in a weird mood?! Now, it's my turn... thank you !

Why does hindsight have to be 20/20? I really wish, I mean really, really wish, that foresight could be 20/20...you know? I've been doin ' a lot of thinkin ' lately. And I've decided...I wish I had educated myself more. For my children's sake. Rather than just taking "their" word for it. Not that I don't trust "their" word...I just think "they" need to getcha while they have you. Know what I'm talking about? Why, it's the Great Debate, of course!! "Childhood Vaccinations". I still haven't educated myself entirely on it...I'm of the mindset, now , that "what's done, is done"...my babe's 18 months old...nearly done with her shots...well, actually, we may have just finished them...till kindergarten, anyway. And, Little A. just received his Kindergarten shots today. I know, without a doubt, that I would still have chosen to vaccinate my kids fully...being a nurse and all, I know I would fee...

And other fun kid stuff: Miss E. at Big A.'s football game, "Mom, is there a confession stand here?" ---------------------------------- Conversation between Miss E. and E.W.: "We know two cows in heaven." says E.W. (Mr. Wonderful and his brother have a beef cattle hobby, a calf died this summer, and recently, they had to "put down" a cow who's back had been broken by a bull...poor thing.) "Uh, uh." says Miss E. "We know one cow in heaven, and one cow in here (patting her tummy)." --------------------------------- Big A., coming upon a toilet, that had yet to be flushed, "Ugh...who left the kids at the pool?"

I was in a frump. That's the physical version of the emotional, funk . Yes, atop my head, used to reside a tired bunch of overgrown highlights, split ends and shaggy "nothingness". But not any more!! I am now, sportin' "Hot Mom Hair"...and I feel fabulastic , today! Tomorrow (when I'm left to my own styling devices) who knows, but today...look out world! Mr. Wonderful even came home on his lunch break to take some photos...okay, I'm totally lying...he came home to eat lunch, I bombarded him at the door, shoved the camera in his hands, and dragged him outside...where he made me pretend I was a model ("show me whatcha got, give it to me baby, pout, oh yeah..." and so on and so forth...) And this, is what I have to show you! My sorry attempt at the " model pout" (it's okay to laugh, I nearly peed my pants when I saw this one!): "Oh thank you, Lord, for 'Hot Mom Hair'!!" Sassy, side view: And, just plain, ol...

It's that time again! Time to purge yourself of all the things you didn't do this week! Head over to MckMama's and see what other's "haven't" been up to! I have not been tempted to declare my home a "natural disaster". I mean, you know, if I had the power to make such declarations. And, to be completely honest, it's not so much my home as it is my children's rooms . They are not so beyond the point of no return that the only thing that could save them at this point is a backhoe and a landfill. I do not feel the need to don a life preserver before entering their rooms... no way !!! Not Me!! I have not been living in a "sick house"...with a white flag flying outside my home, to announce to mail man, the milk man, the peeping Tom, that indeed ...it is suspected that the H1N1 virus has entered our home. I'm not suspicious that it actually wasn't the swine flu... sigh ...and here I thought we were just gonna g...

Last week I left you with this: And this week I leave you with this: Unfortunately, progress has been slow on The TreeHouse this week...okay, not slow...non- existent . Well, unless you count moving the remaining rafters from the garage down to The TreeHouse . If that's progress, then, by gum, we've had some! So, while I was hoping to see a TreeHouse with a roof, I'll just settle for gazing upon Mr. Wonderful flexing for the camera... show off . My guess, is that by the next installment of The TreeHouse Chronicles, we'll be seeing a bit more roof action! ----------------------------------------- Fun stuff!! I'm gonna be sportin ' some "Hot Mom Hair" by lunchtime tomorrow!! (Well, I'm not sure where YOU are, so, it might be breakfast or tea time for you, I can't be sure...) I'm so excited to get rid of this drab, awful length (you know, when it gets to that point where you can't do anything to make it look good?) mop on my head. Ye...

It's official... Fall is here!!! The air is crisp and cool, the leaves are starting to fall (and I hope they take it slow this year, maybe we'll be able to keep up that way!), the sun is shining and the trees are changing colors! It is one heckuva beautiful day in Minnesota! What's it like where YOU are?

I'm a converted city chick...or would it be converted country chick? Well, whatevah ...point is, I live in the country and I love it! But I grew up "in town"...hence, "the conversion". We had a bountiful garden...at least in my eyes! We had tomato plants dripping with red fruit, and Mr. Wonderful said, "Let's can it!" Well...lemme tell ya 'bout canning. I figure it's like knitting... no one hates knitting but still does it to put clothes on their back (anymore), right? Yeah, well, I figure no one hates canning but still does it to put food on their table. So, our tomatoes that we had " comin ' out of the wazoo"...after blanching, cooling, peeling, seeding, quartering...we've got like...a jar. (And, I found out that someone we knew planted 120 tomato plants...we had 6...so much for that "wazoo"!) 27 hours after we started ( ok , so maybe I'm exaggerating) we've got enough for one meal. Maybe. If w...

Okay, so I had a couple questions about the swine flu and flu vaccines, and you know...I aim to please...and crazy enough, my bestest , most respected, very own pediatrician was on call last night, and moi? I picked her brain. For all y'all. (Sorry, again...I know I'm from MinneSOOOOta , but sometimes I like to pretend I'm a Southern Lady.) Okay, so my take on the vaccination debate: (and please, please remember, I am just one lowly old mom, who's a nurse...and this is just my lowly old opinion...not advice -- geez , always gotta CMA , even when I'm not at work! That CMA bit was for nurses...anyone else know what it means??!!) Anywho , back to the issue at hand. Swine flu vaccine, first...jury's out for me still. As far as my fam ? Definite no. The only reason I am considering it, is I work with a high risk population...meaning, A. I don't want to infect anybody, and B. I don't want to bring anything home to my fam . Honestly, though? I'm leani...

TGIF!!! And here in MinneSOOOTA, it looks like a beautiful one! Quick run down of the rules...copy and paste the following questions to your blog, answer them, grab the MckLinky BlogHop code and link up! I'd also be very grateful, appreciative, forever indebted, honored, etc...if you'd link back to me, Mama M.! Oh, and if you don't have a blog, but want to join in, just leave me your answers in my comments! September 25th Questions: Thanks to Keely for inspiration and Liz ...I really wanted to use a question Amanda suggested...but decided it was a little too risque ! 1. What celebrity have you been told you look like? 2. What is your all time favorite movie, any special reason why? 3. Since we're talkin' movies... Popcorn: overrated, underrated, or 'bout right? 4. Are you a glass half empty or half full kinda person? 5. What perfume/cologne do you wear? ---------------------------------------------- 1. What celebrity have you been told you look like? Oh, I ...

Think that, maybe, I shoulda wished for a million dollars, instead of an early(ish) case of the swine flu. It appears as tho' my swine flu wish has been granted...not that I really wanted my kiddos to get sick, in actuality, I was just hopin' to sail through the flu season without a scratch...or a sneeze, actually. Literally, just a couple of hours after I picked our pediatrician's brain at work (she happened to be on call), I came home to discover Little A. had a bit of a cough. Didn't really think much of it, until this morning, when he climbed in bed with us... burning hot. When we woke for the day, I took his temp...102.4. Hmmm..."Little A., do you hurt anywhere?" Little A., "No...but my face hurts", as he's rubbing his forehead. "And my tummy hurts, and my legs hurt." So much for the "confirmative" no, he first gave me. A call to the clinic, a visit with our "swine flu guru" (luck of the draw...we just happene...

All the talk about swine , reminded me of something... Ever wonder what we, permafrosted , people up here in MinneSOOOOta do for fun? I mean, you know, when we aren't cooking hot dishes and saying things like " dontchaknow" and " ya, sure, youbetcha "? You're gonna be so envious when I tell you about our fun, that MinneSOOOOta just might see an influx of new residents. Ready? Okay, (sheesh, I sound like a cheerleader, "Ready? Okay!!"...) so, we head up to this teeny, tiny town called Leader ( seriously , teeny tiny...like itsy bitsy )...a town so small you could easily drive right past, none the wiser, never knowing you're missing out on gobs of fun. Gobs. And, well, I'm being slightly sarcastic...'cuz, it turns out, for all of my eye rolling, scoffing, and joke making, I really did enjoy myself! It's the Leader Pig Races!! Please, PETA, please...calm down. I promise, the pigs are treated very well. We cheer really loudly for th...

You know what? I really love my mama. I was talking to her on the phone today, when I (frustratedly) said, "* sigh *, I've gotta go." I was holding a melting baby, the older boys were supposed to be cleaning their room, but appeared to be engaged in WW III, instead. And my mama says, "I just heard something that I thought was nice... 'When you have small children, the days may seem long...but the years go fast'." Excuse me now, while I go hug my babies and dry my eyes.

Nurses are germophobes , right? Nope, not me. I tend to be " mellowdramatic " (and yes, I meant to spell it that way!!) as opposed to " uberdramatic "...which is, perhaps, why I'm takin ' this whole "swine flu" thing with a grain of salt. Want my opinion? Hmmm ...well, if you don't ...do not proceed !! Do not pass Go !! So, the swine flu...medically, officially, known as the "H1N1" virus. Know what I think? I think it should be called the " bullcrap " virus. ' Cuz that's what I think it is. Remember the Lyme's Disease scare? Overrated. Remember the West Nile, mosquito bite encephalitis scare? Overrated. Remember the Bird Flu scare? Really overrated. Did you know that approximately 36,000 people die from the regular old seasonal flu every year? Know how many have died from the swine flu? 477, according to this site . I talk with the doctors at work, asking their opinion of the swine flu, know what they say? We...

Mr. Wonderful often comes home with uber exciting stories (aside by me...I really wish I could put those two cute little dots above the u in uber , you know?)...exciting stories, that he, inadvertently leaves me hanging with! You know, he is a huge Rocky fan, and Sylvester Stallone (who, by the way, I'm kinda sorta, maybe a little bit, distantly related to by marriage... really!! ) stars in Cliffhanger , so maybe the Mister is trying to channel a bit of old Sly...* snort *...or not. First, it was this story, His brother and sister-in-law took their 6 children and teenage niece to our state fair. Teenage niece got separated with the three youngest children, one of whom is, um, well...let's just call him, intense . BIL went one way, SIL went another and things went down hill from there. Intense was not quite acting, well, as intensely as he usually does, the baby was freaking out, and teenage niece was desperate for some parental help. Finally found my SIL who, (and now ...

Howdy! Well, I survived the tie-dying party, and after asking around for tips, I thought I'd throw out my own...tips, that is. First things first, never, ever throw a tie-dye party for 7 eight year old girls, plus two little tag-along boys all by yourself. Ever. Case in point: "How do we...", "But how will it...", "Mama, can you put...", "I wanna go first...", "No I wanna go first...", "Mama can you put this...", "I'm gonna have the prettiest one...", "No, mine's gonna be the best...", "Mama can you put this on..." and so on and so forth (and, poor Little A., he finally just gave up with trying to get his "safety shirt" on...threw his arms up in the air and said, "the hell with it"...well, not really, but I know that's what he was thinkin'.). Okay, back to business... Step #1, The Supplies : Go to your nearest (large) craft store and buy yourself a "hi...

Ugh...I'm such a loser. A while back (probably like, 12 years ago) Keely gifted me with an Honest Scrap award...and I, the ungrateful little ninny that I am, have forgotten and forgotten and then remembered at the most inopportune times (like when I'm getting my teeth cleaned) that I have yet to thank her! I'm sorry. Please forgive me!! Thank You, Keely !!!!! I appreciate you thinkin ' I'm "honestly scrappy" enough to deserve an award!! (P.S--I love this award...think it's pretty hilarious, what with it's clever play on words!!) I was awared this by Lucy and Ethel a while back , and like the slacker I am, I only sorta completed my "requirements", so I guess I'll finish my 10 honest things about myself (I originally did 5)...here they are: 1. I hate black olives...but have discovered a fabulous new use for their disgustingness ...they make fabulastic (that's my new word) fruit fly bait! You're welcome. 2. I hate cleaning fl...

I've been on a Not Me! Monday hiatus...a sabbatical. But, I'm back in the saddle today! Check it out, over at MckMama's place, and find some more Not Me! Mondayers !! I did not lose my mind...certifiably, or uncertifiably , and decide to have a "tie-dye" birthday party for my eight year old daughter. Miss E. and her 6 friends did not nearly drive me to the nut house... nearly . Tie-dye? Great fun...but 7 eight year old girls? I did not find myself utterly annoyed with the majority of the children in attendance...oh, no, Not Me! Miss Patience herself! I did not whip up a batch of salsa so yummy, I impressed even myself! Our garden is not overflowing with tomatoes, and I am so unsure of what to do with said tomatoes that I just did not throw it together. Me, Martha Stewart? No, not me!! Tiny girl enjoys asserting her independence, verbally and physically. She roams the house like it's nobody's business. I did not, find myself asking Mr. Wonderful many ...