Grab your tissues and watch!

This is such an awesome video!  Made tears come to my eyes.  Animals are way smarter than people on such things.

Day of fun and other random nonsense

Yesterday, Mr. B. had the day off, so we got to doodle around, just the two of us.  We got his car inspected and hit the mall for a bit - mostly so we could have lunch at Johnny Rockets!  If you've never been, it's like an old time soda fountain diner.  Hamburgers to die for, chili dogs, egg creams, and this:

The most awesome root beer float on the planet (oh, and there is my super cool bag from Tarabu in the background!).  They even have tiny little juke boxes on each table, complete with a cup of nickels for you to play songs with!  And, if you hit the right song, all the staff in the diner stop and dance along to the song.  I love that place!

We also hit up the metaphysical shop in Redbank.  It's a great shop, but every time I go in there, I think of things that I'd do differently to make it more current and hip.  That is probably not what they are trying for, but geez, I'd love to open my own store geared toward a younger crowd.  Mr. B told me I should look into a small business loan.  I told him that I might look at taking a couple of "entrepreneur" type classes at the local community college before I get all crazy taking out loans, lol!  Maybe one of these days, though.

Just to let everyone know, I've got some sweet giveaways coming up in the next few weeks!  Keep stopping in and checking for them! 

New Kitchen Curtains!

I just ordered these insanely cute curtains from Fussy Gussy on Etsy.  You can get them with any fabric that she has in the shop.  I got these:

I love the fabric, very kitcheny, colorful and cute.  

However, what I really wanted was to get the same curtains with this material:

Sadly, probably not as kitcheny for most people, so I went with the other.  I'm sure I can find someplace for curtains with that material, though....

UPDATE to add Fussy Gussy has a blog, too!  Check her out!

Mrs. B. Cooks....Fusilli with Sun Dried Tomatoes

We had this for dinner last night.  So yummy!  What's great about this recipe is that it's pretty quick to throw together, it's full of really good, healthy ingredients, and that leftovers store and travel well.  Great dish to throw together at the beginning of the week and have for lunch all week!

Fusilli with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Grilled Chicken

For the dressing:

5 Sun dried tomatoes (from a jar in oil), drained

6 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 tsp capers, rinsed and drained

2 tsp Kosher salt

3/4 tsp pepper

Add ingredients to a food processor and process until mostly smooth. You can make the dressing quite a bit ahead if you need to.  When you taste this, it's going to be really strong and slightly sour.  Don't be alarmed.  Remember that this is going to flavor the entire dish.  It will be much mellower once you've put the dish together.

For the dish:

1/2 lb fusilli pasta (or other spiral shaped pasta)

1 pound of tomatoes, chopped

3/4 cup Kalamata or Nicoise olives, chopped

1 pound Mozzarella cheese, medium diced

6 sun dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

2 cups sliced grilled chicken

1 cup Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup basil, julienned 

Cook pasta to package directions and drain well.  Add dressing and gently toss until evenly distributed.   Add tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, chopped sun dried tomatoes and chicken and toss again.  Sprinkle in basil and Parmesan and gently mix to distribute.

Serve.

Lauren Nicole Gifts Giveaway!

I think I might start making Friday's about giveaways!  I always seem to find a ton of them on Friday!

Lauren Nicole Gifts has an awesome Vera Bradley Gift Set to give away.  Find the rules on her blog here. 

Jimmy Fallon Squashes the Beef

Though I haven't posted about what happened, I have commented on a few blogs that were talking about the situation between Perez Hilton and Miss California.

Whatever your views on the situation, this video from Jimmy Fallon, is just funny!

Heathen's Hearth has an INSANE Giveaway Going On!

You must go visit Heathen's Hearth and see what they are giving away!  Tons of awesome stuff!

I've ordered from this shop many times, and their products are soooo good!  I even ordered Xmas presents from them for family!

So go check it out!

And the Winner Is......

Thanks to all who entered my little giveaway!  Several people got multiple entries for following this blog, following via Facebook and/or Twitter, and by blogging or Twittering about the giveaway.

So, the winner of the Adidas Elite Team Duffel bag from SoccerPro.com, chosen via an online random number generator is (drum roll please).....

Wendy from It's Really Only a Purple World!

Wendy, please send me your shipping info, and I'll have this in the mail by Monday!

Keep on the lookout for more giveaways coming up!

Update:

My dad has made it through surgery!  He's now in the recovery room, and if all goes well, will go home tomorrow!  Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Say a little prayer for

My dad is having surgery today.  Please keep him in your thoughts today.

Also, as I had planned the duffel bag giveaway before we had the surgery date, I am extending it one day.  So I will pick, via an online random number generator, a winner tomorrow at noon EST.  Find out how to enter, if you haven't already, here.

I'll update when I have some news.  Thanks guys!

Spring Fever?

I don't know if it's Spring Fever, the moon in Pisces, or just life, but man I'm really feeling the stress lately.  We put our dog down, having trouble getting the insurance help we need to get my son's hearing aids, major issues with his school,  the craptacular rainy weather that always brings me down a little, my dad is having surgery tomorrow, I had a stupid blowout on another blog (one that's out of my own community, no less) where I was accused over two days of being a racist and a homophobe because someone misunderstood something I posted.  I was so pissed/upset, I was literally in tears over that one.  Of course, I know that anyone who knows me would find those accusations ridiculous, but the thought that anyone in my community would label me as such...wow.  I don't even have the words.

So, with all the stress, BS and craziness going on, I thought it would be a good time to do a "count your blessings" type post and remind myself why life is good and stupid people don't matter.  But instead of making a huge list of blessings, today I want to focus on just one thing:

I have an amazing husband.  He works his butt off to provide for our family.  He's smart, he's funny and charming.  He's big, strong and gorgeous.  He supports me in whatever I do.   He knows me inside and out and usually finds just the right words to make things better.  He'd slay any dragon for me.  He knows and accepts all of my crazies.

I was just about to turn 25 the month that I met him, living with my parents and my 2 year old after a bad break up with my son's father.  I had just gotten to the point where I wanted to start dating again, but I had some strict rules that I wanted to stick to:  no one younger than me, no one I met in any kind of club/bar, and no one in the Army.  

One night, a friend came in from out of town, so after my son was safely tucked in bed, with my parents babysitting, I went out with friends to go dancing.  At a club.  We were having a fine time, dancing, having a drink or two.  At one point, I had to make a pit stop to the ladies room. Walking through the crowd, I felt a tug on the sleeve of my leather jacket.  I looked up (not a small feat as I'm 5'11"!) into the most gorgeous pair of brown eyes I'd ever seen.  Connected to a 21 year old Army soldier. *sigh*

I wasn't going to do it.  I wasn't going to go out with him, no matter how good looking (and let me tell ya, he was (is) smokin'! ) he was.  No matter how nice he seemed.  But at one point, while we were chatting with him and his friends, he left to go buy a round of drinks, and one of his buddies came over and said something to the effect of, "Just so you know, my friend is a really decent guy.  I'd trust him with my sister.  You can trust him."   Now maybe he was just an awesome wing man, but after his little spiel, I decided to take the chance.    I told him I had a kid, and I'd only see him after I got off work (I was working the 5 pm- 11 pm shift) when my son was asleep and I wasn't taking time away from him.  The fact that he was okay with this, even when he was getting up at 5 am for PT was just another positive in my book.

So we started dating.  He'd drop by my work as I was getting off.  We'd usually go sit in Denny's, order nachos and coffees and just talk for hours.  Every once in a while, we'd throw in a real date to the movies or something.  I was adamant that I would not introduce my son to just any doof that I went out with a time or two, so after a couple of months, they still hadn't met.  Then one evening, out of the blue, this 21 year old man asked me "Don't you think it's time I met your son?".  And that was it.  I knew that I was madly, passionately, kookoo bananas in love.

We met 2 days after Valentines Day.  He proposed (with badly shaking hands) the day before July 4th (he wanted to do it while we were watching the fireworks, but it didn't quite go that way).  We got married the day after Thanksgiving.  That was going on 14 years ago, and I am still madly, passionately, kookoo bananas in love.

Since then, we've add 2 more kids, got out of the Army and moved cross-country, had a child diagnosed with autism, lost relatives, suffered through my major depression, found good friends, and went through a ton of ups and downs.  But the one, never changing thing, has always been that he is my very best friend.  He's a rock when I loose it, and I try to be the same for him (though I think he's so much better at it).  I can't wait for him to retire (yeah, we've got a ways to go yet) so we can spend our days together out fishing, or watching tv together, or traipsing off to Africa (I'm still trying to convince him of this one - but I want to go see Jane Goodall's chimps!).

So at the end of a very bad day, like yesterday, there is always at least one, bright, shiny moment to look forward to.  At the end of the day, I get to sleep next to the best husband on earth.

Looky What I'm Getting!

Check out this bag that Tara from the Tarabu shop at Etsy  made for me!  I custom ordered it, and she worked through every single detail with me - the size, the shape, the closure, and the awesome material!  

I cannot wait to get my hands on it!  Thank you, thank you, Tara!

Monday Giveaway Madness:

Only 2 days left to enter to win that wonderfully huge Adidas bag on this blog!

The Apron Goddess blog is giving away an AMAZING apron this week!  Be sure to visit to find out the rules to entering!

Also, Two Brooms Up is giving away a natural citrus cleaner from the Ecostore USA!  A green cleaner from a green store.  What could be better than that?  Check out the site for details and rules on how to enter.

Early Monday Morning Moaning

After a week of just hanging out with the kids, they are all back to school today.  I wish it was summer vacation already!  I dread resuming my fight with my son's school over services.

We've also hit a snag with our insurance over my son's hearing aids.  We are trying to get them to pay for them through a certain audiologist that we've been seeing (who is in our plan), but apparently, what they don't tell you when you start seeing an audiologist (even though they cover them!) is that if you have to actually get hearing aids, the only way that they will pay is if you go to a certain place.  Grrrr.   Now they want us to start all over with testing.  I'm fighting to try to get them just to pay the freaking doctor to do the aids.  What a pain in the hiney.

We had a great time with our neighbors on Saturday.  We got together with the Lunch Lady and her family at Mrs. Coffee's house with her family - out on their deck for the first really nice weather of the season!  Much laughing, wine, food and fun.  It was so what I needed after these last few weeks, let me tell you!

On one last note, my dad will be having surgery this Wednesday.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks.

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start! 

Day of Silence

April 17  I will be offline in support of the Day of Silence. 

I dedicate this day of internet silence to Justin Goodwin, Josh Kehoe and Bobby Daniel Caldwell, Gerry Edwards and Chris Bevan, Anji Dimitriou and Jane Currie, Pfc Barry Winchell, Matthew Shepard, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover   and especially any child or anyone who has ever been a child bullied by the taunts of "faggot".  Any person who's ever been made to feel ashamed of who they were.  Anyone who had to hide what they really felt out of fear.  To all those high school kids who will stand up today, despite the fact that they might get teased or harassed and who will "say" enough is enough.  To all those kids who were brave enough to be themselves despite it all and those who couldn't be no matter how much they wanted to.

I hope one day that we can all be ourselves without fear.  That we will all be allowed to love who we want without worry.  That no teenager or child will be harassed for being "different".   That we will all have our basic cilvil rights in a country that prides itself so much on being equal.

I hope that day comes soon, before another 11 year old boy hangs himself over names other children call him.  Before another couple is beaten in front of their children's school.  Before another young man is tied to a fence to die.

See you on Saturday.

Dinner last night

I wish I had thought to take some pictures last night of what I made for dinner.  It turned out so great!  I had a nice beef roast and wanted to try something new with it.  I found a recipe that used mustard and sage to make a rub, but I thought it sounded more like something fit for a pork roast.  But I liked the idea, so I changed it up and used horseradish and garlic.  Add to that some homemade bread, roasted asparagus with parmesan and a red wine reduction made from those tasty roast pan scrapings, and wow!  It was just delish.  Here is how I cooked the roast:

Mrs. B.'s Horseradish and Garlic Rubbed Roast

3 pound top loin beef roast

2 Tbsp olive oil

Wet rub ingredients:

1/2 cup prepared horseradish

1 Tbsp heavy cream

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp cracked pepper

2 tsp dried rosemary 

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp coriander seed

Prheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine rub ingredients in a small bowl.  Rub all over roast.

In an oven proof skillet or dutch oven (I used my cast iron skillet) heat olive oil.  Add the roast and brown on all sides.  Make sure it's good and browned!

Place dish in the oven for 10 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 250 degrees F. and continue cooking for about 1 1/2 hours (or 30 minutes per pound of meat).

Remove roast to cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 20-30 minutes.  This is such an important step!  Not only does it help the meat to finish cooking, but letting it rest means that the juices in the meat get to redistribute and don't pour out as soon as you cut into it.  You MUST let your meat rest!

While the meat is resting, you can make a super tasty red wine reduction to serve with it.  To that awesome pan of crusty black specks and grease (LOL!) add about a tablespoon of minced garlic.  Use over medium heat, use a whisk and stir in the garlic and start loosening the cooked on bits.  Add a cup of red wine to this and bring to a low simmer.  You want to let that cook off until it's about half the liquid you started with.  At that point, add about 1 1/2 cups of beef broth (or reconstituted beef bouillon in a pinch).  Again, get to a low simmer, and cook off about half the liquid.  Add about 1/2 tsp of pepper.  Keep whisking now and then to get all the cooked on bits loose.  When the liquid is reduced to about 1 cup, taste and adjust the seasoning to your taste.  You can serve this as is, or strain through a fine strainer or cheesecloth.  Super tasty!

Cooking the meat like this, at a high temp for a short time, and then a low temp for a long time, lets you create a nicely browned, meat that is super tender on the inside.  We cut this roast with a butter knife with no problem!  The horseradish adds a bit of spice and heat without being too much - the flavor really mellows with the cooking, so don't be afraid to try it if you think horseradish is too spicy for you.  

This is definitely one that I will be making again!

Adidas Elite Team Duffel Bag Giveaway!

As a parent of three, there has been more than one time in my life I've been packing for an activity and thought, in my  best Chief Brody voice, "We're gonna need a bigger bag!"  Well, finally, I have found that bag.

The Adidas Elite Team Duffel Bag is 35" x 14" x 14".  That's big enough to carry all your soccer gear,  towels, sunscreen, a change of clothes and snacks for a day at the beach (for my family of 5!),  or the entire contents for a sleepover for one 10 year old girl (and if you've ever seen my daughter pack for a sleepover, you know what I'm talking about).

The soccer store I got if from couldn't be easier to shop at, either, since I bought it right online.  A couple of quick clicks, and I was done - checkout couldn't have been easier!  Besides this huge bag, they have balls, jerseys (even Becks!), posters, watches - basically anything you could ask for in soccer training equipment.

Even better, they offered me an extra Adidas Elite Team Duffel Bag to give away to one of my readers!  If you have busy kids, are active in sports yourself, or travel, you are so going to want to try for this.  It is the roomiest, best constructed duffel I've ever owned.

So the rules for the contest?  Open to anyone, anywhere.

Earn 1 entry for the Adidas duffel by visiting SoccerPro.com, coming back here, and commenting on  what your favorite item from the store is.  You must do this to qualify for the giveaway.

You can earn 1 extra entry by "following" this blog, Facebook or on Twitter.  If you follow, or become a new follower, just leave an extra comment letting me know.

Earn an extra 2 entries by blogging or Twittering about the giveaway.  Comment to this post with a link to your post.

If you order something from the soccer store during the run of this contest, let me know, and you'll get an extra 5 entries for the Adidas duffel bag!

This contest will run from today, April 15 until noon, EST on April 22.  Good luck!

PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have a blog that I can contact you from, please leave an email address so that I can contact you if you win.

Tuesday Rainy Day Mutterings

Just stopping in for a quick update.

Thanks to everyone for their kind words, support and prayers while my family has dealt with the passing of our dog.  It means a lot.  Everyone is doing as well with it as can be expected.  Some times are harder than others.  Yesterday while I cooked dinner, I burst into tears when I realized that no one was begging for scraps at my feet.  I know it will get easier, but we'll never forget him.

Tune in tomorrow for the beginning of a contest!  I've got a cool prize to give away!

And I'd like to challenge everyone who reads this to go computer free on April 17 for A Day of Silence.  I will be logging off in support.  I'd love to know if anyone else is participating in any way.

We're in the midst of spring break, and the weather is rainy and gross.  I just want to stay in bed, drink cocoa and read!  

RIP Tuck

We'll miss you old man.

Saying goodbye to an old friend this weekend

In every family, there comes a time when you have to say goodbye to a member.  This Saturday will be one of those days.  

We got Tucker, our dog, almost ten years ago and he was already over a year old.  For a big dog (he's over 100 pounds) that's pretty old.  He's to the point now where he's having trouble getting his back end up and getting up and down all the stairs in our house is really starting to be a problem for him.   His quality of life is on a fast moving downward slope.    

Tuck is, as we like to say, one of the dumbest dogs on earth.  He's a purebred dog, who has obviously had a little too much inbreeding in his past.  At the same time, this has made him very gentle, very loving, and a really good family pet.  My daughter was only a little over a year old when we got him, and as toddlers will before you teach them not to, would try to pull in his tail or ears.  Some dogs, especially a dog coming from another home into a new one, might snap or growl with some strange, small human climbing all over them, pulling on their parts.  Not Tuck.  He simply took it with a big, doggy smile.

A few years ago, there moved into his home these small, strange varmints.  Another dog, after being the only pet in the house, might have protested (or ate them, lol).  Not Tuck.  He simply moved over and made room on his bed for them. 

Or on the couch.

Or the floor.

Sometimes they'd get together for a little sing along.

And though we all grump when he needs to go for a walk (start reading at paragraph 3), or when he steals our hot dogs, or when he breaks open a whole bag of pizza crust mix, this Saturday will be a very sad day for our family.  

He probably deserved a better family.  One with a big fenced in yard.  One with more time and energy.  One with not so many priorities that meant the dog got pushed to the back burner more often than not.  But we really are going to miss you, you big dumb dog.

Mom of the Year? Nawww!

Awwww!

Natalie, over at A Little of This, A Little of That nominated me for this award:

How cool is that?  Thanks, Natalie!!  And now for the rules of the award:

Admit one thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are No Longer allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!

Good heavens, just one?  I think one of the prime feelings a mom gets to have is guilt over things you've done with/to your kids, isn't it?  If you work, you feel bad for not being home with your kids.  If you stay home, you aren't sure you are setting the right example.  You feel bad for taking time for yourself, for yelling too much, for not making them eat enough vegetables, for this, that, or the other.  Whew!  And sadly,  there are those moms who think it's all a competition, and love to point out your failings (always a place where they think they excel by the way!).  I think the best thing we can do as moms is just what we've been doing all along: the best we can.


Remind yourself you are a good mom, list seven things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. These are the things to remind yourself everyday that you Rock!


1. I love the days when I can get all the kids to want to go somewhere as a family and it turns out awesome.

2. I love hearing from  a teacher how much they enjoy having one of my kids in their class: tells me that something must be working, somewhere.

3. I love when we find a movie that we can all pile into the tiny living room and watch together while munching on popcorn (not always easy with the age difference between the oldest and the youngest - not a lot of shared interests, there!).

4. I love how kind all of my children can be (just not always to each other).

5.  I love how, though they fight with each other, an outside threat to one is an threat to all.

6. I love that they all three show a love of reading, to different degrees.

7. I love telling them stories of the funny things they did when they were toddlers.  They can never seem to hear the same stories over and over.


Send this to five other Mom's of the year that deserve credit for being great moms and remind them that they are the best moms they can be!! Remember to send them a note to let them know you've selected them, and add a link to the person who nominated you.

Boy, there are so many "mom bloggers" out there that I just love to read, so this will be hard!!

1. First up is Wendy at Athena Academy.  She's a homeschooling pagan military wife.  Life as a military wife is not an easy one.  I love reading her adventures in homeschooling and dealing with the red tape of life.

2. Nydia at Bringing up Salamanders.  This one was a given.  I don't think I've ever seen anyone have so much joy being a mom.  She does it with a relaxed grace that is truly a beautiful thing. Reading about her bringing up her son, and now building her new home in Brazil, is one of my daily pleasures.

3. Jamie at Mrs. Sour Britches: we deal with many of the same issues, so it's nice to read another mom's point of view.  And she's not afraid to tell it like it is, which I love!

4. Magickal Mommy isn't quiiite a mommy yet, but she will be any day now!  And you can feel the love for this soon coming baby right through your computer screen!  I know she will be a great mom, and I can't wait to read her posts about it!

5. Because not all your kids are humans, I'm giving this last award to Jackie Sue at Yellowdog Granny.  She's been dealing with her cat Annie's illness and recovery lately.  You can tell how much this woman loves her dear little fur baby by the fact that she accepted donations to help pay Annie's vet bills.  I'm sure that wasn't easy for this proud, cranky Texas woman!  Granny is original, out-spoken, funny and amazing.  If you don't read her blog, you should! (She does have a human kid, too, lol)

So those are my nominations for Mom of the Year from my blog roll.  Go visit them and see what they are all about!

Visit Ant B

I know many of you know Ant B.  She is the owner of an Etsy shop that sells her handmade pottery.  If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you've see her stuff - in giveaways during the 31 Days of Halloween, and through my collection of her little witch hat ornaments.  She is also listed on my Pagan Parents of Special Needs Children listing.

You may have noticed that her shop has been closed, and her blog hasn't been updated.  Well, she posted today, to let her readers know that's she's started a new blog: Ant B at Home.  The sad, sad news is that it is a blog to tell the story of how she is dealing with the fact that her 19 year old son has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and has been told that he might have only 6 more months to live.  

If you know of Ant B, or if you just want to show some love for a woman and her family going through something no mother should ever have to face, please visit her new blog and let her know you are thinking about her and her family.  She's just a wonderful, generous person, and I'm sure she will appreciate all the prayers, kind words and support that anyone is willing to share.

You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers, Ant.

Today is for aprons, lol!

My love of aprons has hit an all time high lately.  First I won this awesome apron from Apron Frenzy via The Apron Goddess blog:

Then, cruising through Etsy, I found this polka dot apron wit

h a skull trim (on sale for $10.00!) at Invader Kristin:

I've really been working with Miss M. to get her cooking skills up.  At 10, she's still a little nervous in the kitchen, so we haven't done as much cooking y

et as much as food prep: chopping, measuring, whipping.  Lots of cakes and brownies, lol, but not as much solid foods.  She does make a mean scrambled egg!

Today, The Apron Goddess is giving away this little beauty:

Go to the post for details on how to enter!

Went to see Monsters VS Aliens last night!

Mr. B. and I took Miss M. to the movies last night to see Monsters VS Aliens 3D (the boys chose to stay home and play video games *sigh*).

The movie was really cute! Nicely themed about sticking with your real friends, who appreciate who you really are, and being true to yourself (without being too preachy).

It's amazing how far 3D has come since my teenage years - I remember going to see the Vincent Price 3D version of Horror in the Wax Museum. This was light years ahead. It really seemed like things were coming out of the screen at you!

We had a great time at our movie, with our smuggled snacks, lol! Who could possibly afford to pay for tickets ($43 for just the three of us!!) and snacks?

Definitely recommend this movie for a family outing. As an added bonus, Hugh Laurie plays a half man/half cockroach mad scientist. You just can't get better than that!

This is why I love her so much :O)

I had to have my in-laws come pick up my daughter this afternoon so that I could rush over to my middle son's school to discuss some things he said in school (more on that another day).  After having to take her to the hospital to get her hand X-rayed this morning (basketball injury) and coming home to find the dog had peed one of the Great Lakes in my entry way.

So I was feeling pretty upset when I made it home.  My mind was spinning, I was near tears.  Then the phone rings, and it's my daughter.  "Mom, look out the window, there's a rainbow!"  Now she's way across town, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to see the same thing that she was seeing, but sure enough, when I looked out, there it was:

And suddenly, things didn't seem quite as bad as they had 2 minutes earlier.

(That little gray area at the bottom right is the bay. If it were sunny and nice out, it would be a nice blue color for the picture.  But since it's been raining all day, we get the funk color, lol!)

It's Friday, but does life really slow down?

There was a time in my life, when I saw Friday as the beginning of something really special.  A couple of days where I could relax, catch my breath, have some fun.  Even when the kids were younger,  it was still a day I couldn't wait to get here.

Fast forward to today with kids age 10, 12, and almost 17 a house in the midst of repairs.  Today I am taking Miss M to the doctor.  Yesterday she was playing basketball at school and the ball hit her finger.  She came home with it taped to the next finger, and it didn't look to bad.  When the tape came off, she couldn't really bend it, and the swelling started.  Ewww.  After a ton of ice and a good night's sleep, it still looks and feels crappy, so today we'll go sit as a "walk in" at my doctor's office.  Fun, fun, fun.  Last time we did this, we sat for 2 hours.  Still better than the emergency room, though.

Tomorrow, I have an 8:45 dentist appointment.  Yes, 8:45 on a Saturday morning.  What was I thinking when I made THAT appointment?  

Even more stressful?  I'm taking my son at 11:00 to get his official driving permit and pay for his 6 hours of driving school.  I'm not actually too worried about him driving.  This kid has been "old" since he was little.  He's very careful about not hanging around "party" kids -- I could leave a 6 pack of beer on the table and leave for a week, and they'd all be sitting there when we got back.  Very serious, very straight-edge.  I have no doubt he will be a careful driver, never letting people drive without a seat belt.  Heck, he's already said no one will ever, ever eat or drink in his car (when he gets one).  But the fact that he's old enough to drive?  Good golly, when the heck did that happen?!

My plan (as of now) is to shove all "work" related things into Saturday, so that Sunday we can play.  And of course, next Thursday starts Spring Break for our district, so I'll probably get a lot done.  Strange that I actually get MORE done when the kids are home?  (School days consist of mornings following kids around making sure they are scrubbed, brushed, de-stinkified, properly clothed, eat, have lunch money, blah-blah.  Afternoons are full of helping middle son navigate the piles of homework the middle school brought to him and trying to fit in actually cooking dinner.)

Wow, this was one of my more all-over-the-place posts, wasn't it?  But, at the end, it's Friday, people.  And anyway you cut it, it's still pretty good.

Pagan Parenting Link

Danae, at Crafty's Cuppa Coffee posted her original Bottle Spell for Good Behavior. It's a bottle spell for children that she created with her daughter to help her keep her good mood. It's really original and would be so great to do with your little witchlings. Thought I'd pass along the link for those who don't read her blog (yet!).

So you might have figured out....

So you might have figured out that my post yesterday on Sasquatch Jerky was an April Fool's Day joke.  I was amazed at the lack of comments, until the emails started rolling in, all of them worded so carefully that I might want to rethink spending $500.00 on a bag of jerky claiming to be made from Big Foot meat!  Oh, you guys do crack me up!!

A big shout out goes to my friends at http://www.jerky.com  for letting me take part in this fun!  And if you didn't click over yesterday and check them out, and you like jerky, you should.  In fact, if you don't like jerky, you should still check out their Pineapple "jerky".   Some people people might have merely called it "dried fruit", but this stuff is way too yummy for such a common name. I got some of this a while back, and it is sooo good!  And pretty!  It's dried in whole slices, and ends up looking like a big, dried flower.  I had 

plans on putting it on top of cupcakes for an edible decoration, but it didn't last long enough in my house to do it (yes, the kids were willing to eat it, it was that tasty).

And rest assured that when I purchase from http://www.jerky.com, I won't be paying for their exclusive Sasquatch special, lol!