You...are a Silly Girl!

Sometimes my kids do things that make me laugh so hard that I have to wonder where they came from!!

Seriously...what do you do with a child like this???

Turkey Day & Such

Hope everyone had a GREAT Turkey Day, we had a full house and a full weekend. Just a few pic's to recap!

The Turkey....isn't it pretty!
The Kids table, I somehow forgot that there were going to be 6 kids?? This table was great for four, a little tight with five....forget the sixth!



One of my favorite views of Downtown Annapolis...

The first of many failed attempts to get all 6 kids to look at the camera, smile and look normal all at the same time!!

I would love to have a PINK house! The hubby and I..

One of my favorites....

Potty....

MOUTH!!! It's official, Mommy has a Potty Mouth!! I admit it....

Even on my best day I don't claim to be a perfect Mom. I do try to be the best mom I can, but...sometimes the "S" word comes out....OK, maybe more than sometimes!

I know this because twice in the past week my darling has used the "S" word - very clearly - and very much in the right context!

The child won't use the potty...but she sure does know when to use the potty word!

Today on our way to Philadelphia there were Cops EVERYWHERE and as we passed one that had pulled someone over she exclaimed:

"SH*T....Some-pin Happn'd"

As I sat there in shock, the silence was broken by the rest of the kids BUSTING out laughing. I tried NOT to giggle....I KNOW that it isn't funny...but really it was....sorry....So I giggled, I did....

From now on I will be much more conscious about using the "S" word!

I am definitely going to work on this.....

But really, it was funny.....

It wasn't a proud Mommy moment, but it was a little funny....

What they see...

I have NO Poker face - at all. I wear my emotions, both good and bad on my face. I have been accused of the "evil eye", the "death glare", and many more - more than one time... My eyes get REALLY BIG when someone says something that I am either shocked by, or don't agree with, when I am excited, etc.

And sometimes when I am downright TIRED, it shows....This is what I would call One Tired Mama!!

My kids LOVE the camera, they all want to take pictures all the time. In fact The Princess had gotten hold of the camera the other day and was right there snapping away when I got out of the shower!! Can you say....DELETE - DELETE - DELETE!!!!!! These are the pictures that The Brawn captured the other night on the way home from the shop. It is sometimes shocking to see what the camera really captures. I hate that my kids see that exhaustion in my face. But lets face it...life is exhausting!

Notice The Princess in the backseat who thinks this is all HYSTERICAL!!!! And why, when your two the more tired you are, the more energy you have???? Why doesn't that happen to the rest of us?? And The Brains, he is just so sweet.

And my Photographer....

And his feet...

OK...now I am off to delete these not-so-glamorous photos of myself! And dear God if those pictures that The Princess took pop back up when I plug my memory card into the printer at the Photo Shop I might just....just....well I don't know what I would do, but I am pretty sure that my eyes would pop right out of my head!!!

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO "BUY A HAND" FROM McDonalds!! Really, you don't know what that dollar, your dollar, will mean to someone!

Eat a Cheeseburger, Please!

I would personally like to encourage EVERYONE to go out and buy a hand for World Children's Day. November 10-20th - $1.00. I will be buying several...

We have used the services of The Ronald McDonald House in Camden, NJ. during one of our trips to C.H.O.P. (Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia). They were wonderful to my husband and kids while The Brawn and I were in the hospital. We have never been able to use the actual Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia - they are ALWAYS over-booked. We can never get a room at this location. Literally, for the past 2 1/2 years they have never had room availability!!

That tells you how much this house is being used!

The Ronald McDonald House is an amazing resource for families who have children in the hospital. The services that they provide, for the price that they charge the family is again, amazing.

Please support this charity - even if you don't want to eat a "chee-buger" as The Princess would say. Give a hand. It is only a $1.

You can read more about this program and find out exactly where your money is going....here

Construction has begun...

On The Princesses doll house. We have been gathering our supplies, and have even gathered some supplies for the Boy House for her little cousin. I even bought him a set adorable little "boys" to go with it from this little shop.







All these little pieces that I found here are going to be turned into furniture and other household accessories.






I had done plenty of shopping around before I decided to paint and make our own furniture. Everything was "imported" and I just didn't want to deal with all of the issues that have come along with imported items recently. So I (and the crazy little voice in my head that tells me all of these ideas are fantastic!!) decided to do this. I did find this unfinished furniture at the little doll house shop in Annapolis, I snapped it up, it was the only set!!

We are trying to make (or buy handmade) as many of our gifts as possible. I have found SO MANY great things on Etsy that it is almost too easy. I would show you some of my other finds, but you never know who is reading!!!

I will show you more as I make progress....think, Pink....Green and Girly!! Would it be wrong to add sparkles to it??

We share everything...

...including our GERMS!! But not our toys! Being an only child for my entire childhood....my brother wasn't born until I was 13....I don't get the concept of drinking out of someone Else's glass, eating someone elses food, and the nastiest offence....using somebody Else's toothbrush...YUCK!!!

Since the ick seems to be spreading, The Brain is home with tonsils the size of ping-pong balls and The Brawn is doing his best to fend off the germs - he made it without getting the stomach ick that the Princess became possessed with on Monday - I took a moment to soak our toothbrushes. Seems that everyones is fair game?? I actually hide my toothbrush in the cabinet!You'll notice that there are like 9 toothbrushes in there...there are only 6 of us? What's up with that?? Door knobs, walls, car seats and any other flat surfaces got a good scrub on Monday.

This week seemed to be taking on the feeling of a perpetual Monday. I was feeling the tension building from ongoing events of the week, when I heard a song from a one of my favorite people...and decided to change it with my own two hands..... there are so many things that we can't control, but we can control our emotions and reactions to situations. Being pro-active not reactive!


So....

I wrote a letter to someone who is no longer a friend....let her know that I was thinking of her

Wrote a letter to my husband...let him know that I love him even though we don't get 5 minutes together

Let go....can't hold onto situations that I can't control

Said a prayer for a stranger that I have grown to love and admire...

Got a haircut

Did a little window (catalog and Internet) shopping..

....this would sure make my days a little brighter...and I really need these! Pretty Please!!! Every girl needs a pair of silver shoes!!

And then I felt better!!!

And then....Homework and Dinner reared their ugly head!

Mommy MacGyver

Just call me Mommy MacGyver.....
........we have all had those moments where we suddenly need to create something out of nothing! That would be dinner last night!!! Remember I was on my way out for errands when the Princess lost her cookies in the back seat! I didn't realize until moments before the hubby came home that I had nothing, I repeat nothing for dinner in the house. I scanned, slash that - searched the cabinets for some form of food.... Here is what I came up with....

Vegetable broth
canned of diced tomatoes
can of white beans
1/4 bag of little ring pasta
some onions

and I found some frozen vegetables in the freezer - bonus!

So, what did we come up with???

Hearty Minestrone Soup!! Yeah Mommy MacGyver! And it was Delicious!!!! I even found some croutons...dropped them on top for an added little treat. (We don't normally have them - they are empty carbs so I am thinking that hubby bought them and hid them in the cabinet. He acts the most deprived about our carb controlled environment!)

I will be working on my menu planning tomorrow morning. ....

Monday just makes you want to Barf...

Or at least it makes the Princess want to....!!! Yep..isn't that pleasant?!?! Was headed out to do a few errands...when I heard a strange little sound from the backseat, turned around to witness complete nastiness!! I could really go on and on with the details, but who needs that!

Needless to say, I headed home and spent the next 12 hours trying to accomplish the ittiest bittiest tasks!

I LOVE MONDAYS!!!

BUT.....on a completely different note! I started this today.....

You have no fortune.....

A little bedtime story for you....

Remember my mentioning of a broken foot and other cast members (lol...that sounds funny) in my family? And by cast members, I mean cast wearing members! Well here is the funny - somewhat unbelievable story. The kind that makes you say.....SERIOUSLY????? I actually Challenge your bad luck!!

In late August, on a dreary mid-week day, a Customer came in and asked if I would be interested in making Turkish coffee with him/for him? I agreed....it seemed like fun. Plus, I love to learn and try new things. He offered to read my fortune after we had finished our coffee....another part of the Turkish coffee experience. Again, I agreed...seemed pretty exciting to me!

He started with his, he showed me his "fortune" in the coffee grounds....it is a little like reading the clouds....I saw it. It was pretty exciting, I was ready to see what mine had to say.

Then he flipped my cup over, looked at it, looked at it a little more....showed me the lines of coffee grinds and explained that they are roads traveled and to be traveled....and then he very matter-o-factly said..."You have no fortune!".

I laughed a little and told him he didn't know just how true that was! Little did I know what I was in for...

Fast forward a few hours....

An UNBELIEVABLE storm came out of nowhere...literally hail so big that it blanketed the ground...Lightning, wind, and RAIN!! It was CRAZY with all cap's.

We were of course still at the shop and everyone (the entire family) was there, when a huge bolt of lightning struck in the distance. My hubby jokingly said "that just hit our house!...hahahaa". Within 5 minutes his cell phone was ringing. It was our neighbor telling us that the big tree out by our garden just got struck by lightning and had split like a banana. Some cursing followed and a tidbit of panic.....Storm passed and everything was back to normal...or maybe not.

OK, that was Tuesday/Wed......Sunday, same week, The Brawn comes to me, again at the shop, and says "my wrist really hurts..." I take one look at it and realize that it is broken. Yep, it was that obvious. We won't get into the husbands theory that "it didn't look that bad". I leave work, take him up to the Dr.'s....the first Dr. says it is fine...second Dr. confirms the broken wrist.

Remember this is Sunday....

week goes by and there is a birthday party on Saturday...the kids attend and guess what happens? In the words of The Brain...."...well, I fell about 5o times and at some point, this happened...." at which point he shows his swollen deformed wrist off. Yep...you guessed it....broken! Broken wrist, same hand as his brother....same EXACT break!!!

I jokingly say to the Dr....."just cast us all and get it over with. But, not my hands..we own a coffee shop..hahaha" Secretly I am fearing they think I'm abusing my children!

Ok, that was Saturday....

Thursday, get everyone home from school...Princess is sleeping while I am carrying her in from the car. Does anyone hold the door for mom?? NO! Mom holds the door for everyone else and then when I turn to go in and let go of the door...well, I failed to get in before the storm door slammed shut on my Achilles!! This resulted in my foot getting caught between the bottom of the door and the kick plate of the house, causing me to fall forward. I never for one moment thought I broke my foot, but I did know that something was seriously wrong with it. My toes retracted back like the witches feet in The Wizard of Oz!

I went straight to the Dr.'s. The staff at this point looked at me when I walked in like they were having dejavue! And guess what??? I BROKE MY FOOT!!!

So at this point I am sure you are thinking that this just can't get any worse? Never wonder that....Never....

A week later....The Brawn falls down the stairs and guess what....sprains his foot so badly that he needs to be in a cast for 6 weeks!! Yes....6 weeks!!!

I am not going to lie - I started looking for the vehicles to be parked outside my house with the words Social Services on them.

There were many kooky situations in those few weeks....true nutty-ness! We were going to take a group picture of us all, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I am still trying to forget it. I felt like there was a little hex over us. I am hoping that it has worn off by now, know what I mean!

The moral of the story....well....hopefully you will have had a giggle at my expense, but if/when someone tells you that "you have a long road to travel and you have no future"....run...run for the hills!! No, don't do that...you could trip and break something!! Just quietly walk away.....And as for my "fortune"...whatever little fortune I might have had before this incident has since been spent on co-pays and orthopedic bills.

...The same gentleman came in over the weekend and asked if I wanted to make Turkish coffee with him again...Uhhhh....NO!!!

I am still trying to rebuild my fortune!

With Love....

How does a Pumpkin turn into a Carrot?? A Halloween Word Problem..

The Beauty made Pumpkin Cupcakes for us!!! Aren't they cute!

I am thinking this was done because we didn't ever get around to carving pumpkins...

How does a Pumpkin turn into a Carrot??? It's a word problem so try your best...I was always terrible at these in school!! Remember to read carefully!

What do you get when you add 1 Green squiggly bow as the stem + 1 pair Orange leggings + one orange shirt + Orange fluffy tutu + Brown boots for the dirt??

Give up??

A Cute Little Pumpkin!!!

Now...when you subtract- the Orange Fluffy Tutu but + a little extra dirt on the shirt and leggings....what do you get????

A Scraggly little Carrot!!!!!

After her daddy thought he had won this battle...she escaped and ripped the tutu off! Turning herself into a Carrot!!!

Halloween was so laid back this year....I LOVED IT!!!! I was originally feeling really bad about my lack of Halloween decoration and prep work...but at the end of the night - not so much.....

Our version of Halloween included a day together....no school for anyone (mom's choice....we were originally supposed to head to Philadelphia for a Dr. appt.)....then we went to the Park for a Costume Parade - where we had a Winner among us!!! "The Brains" took Judges Choice!!! Look below and you will see why!!

The Brains was dressed as a girl and was hysterical.....took Judges Choice!! Whoo-hoo!! You go babe!!

The Beauty = Penny from "Hairspray"

The Brawn = a Giant with his Fairy Friend

I had to share this picture of The Brawn's girl friend - that is "girl" "friend"...two words.... not "girlfriend" in case anyone was confused....I was asked to make that very clear.....she was a fish tank! LOVED IT!! Too Cute....and HOME MADE! She is a cutey to begin with!

Because we no longer Trick-or-Treat and the kids all "made" their costumes out of previous year costume pieces and things we had on hand, we promised them a special TREAT! A Family Date if you will.... We went to dinner at the Japanese Steak house where we all had a great time....except The Princess who COMPLETELY FREAKED OUT after the guy set the grill on fire at the beginning of our meal!

At that moment she requested in her quietest two year old voice ...that "we go home RIGHT NOW!!!!" It was a little funny....it was even funnier when the guy put food on her plate and she told him...."I eat none-a-dis" as she waved her hands over it like she was making a potion!

Look at the smiles and BIG eyes!!!

Fun was had by all....except maybe The Princess....

Check out her face....I'm thinkin' she's thinkin'.... "Seriously?????"

Much of the evening was spent like this....standing up holding The Princess.....AWAY from the table!! But it was still a very good time!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!!!