Something Fun for Sunday

I know there are TONS of ways to listen to free music online, but my good friend (and boss) Julie Wells just shared a great one with me. I am so hooked on PANDORA internet radio. I love how simple it is to hear good music and get turned on to new music that it will select based on what you tell it you like. You can make up different stations--I have a contemporary Christian one, a Cool Chicks one (currently playing), an 80's one. . . I love listening to this while I do my various computer tasks. Plus, when the girls wander by, they shake their little booties to whatever is playing and that always makes me smile! Maybe next time I'll even get up and do a little booty shakin' myself! I am, after all, trying to be/have more fun!
Hope you enjoy it! You can always count on the super cool Mrs. Wells to introduce you to something new--sushi, facebook, and now this. . .Thanks!

P.S. I love Jewel! That is why you see her pic!

t.m.i. Tuesday

The Truth About Me According to My Family
What started out as a silly little survey everyone was posting on Facebook turned out to be very revealing. Who'd have thunk it? My initial thought was to ask my youngest two the interview questions because the little ones always give those endearing, sweet, innocent answers, but then after hearing their answers, I was hooked. I had to see what the others had to say too. And then, because I really couldn't stop myself, I asked my husband the questions too (about me, not his mom). I really am a glutton for punishment!
See what you think. . .
1. What is something mom always says to you?

• Olivia (4): That'll do donkey. (a quote from Shrek--funny, I do say that.)
• Patia (6): Be a good girl.
• Levi (10): Think before you ask questions.
• Madeline (13): Madeline!
• Jasmine (16): Clean your room!
• John : Honey, would you (fill in the blank)

2. What makes mom happy?

• Pretty much each answer had to do with them doing what they were supposed to do, particularly without being told to do it.
• Jasmine: Coffee (SO true!!)
• John: a clean house (which explains why I'm rarely happy?)

3. What makes mom sad?

• Olivia: not listening to you.
• Patia: when we don't obey. (are you beginning to see a pattern here?)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

• Olivia: jokes.
• Patia: saying something really funny.
• Jasmine: sarcasm.
• John: she doesn't. (okay, now that one made me mad.)

5. What was your mom like as a child?

• Olivia: brown hair
• Patia: pretty, smart (she might be my favorite)
• John: sneaky (he's right. . .)

6. How old is your mom?

• Olivia: 6--I don't know--14?
• Patia: 32 (I love her more and more all the time.)
• Everyone else was close or right

7. How tall is your mom?

• Olivia: wait, I wanna measure you real quick! (she got a tape measure out of the drawer) 4! I say, "4 what?" She says, "just 4."
• Patia: (she also measured first) 30, just 30
• Everyone else guessed close. Inquiring minds want to know. . . 4'11".

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

• Olivia: exercise!
• Patia: do grocery lists, no workout! (yes to the first, no to the last)
• Madeline: correct people.
• Levi: cut out coupons

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

• Olivia, Patia, Levi: clean up.
• Madeline: go out to eat. (when the numbers are down, we are more likely to go out.)
• Jasmine: celebrate!

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

• Mostly the standard fare. . .model, rock star. . .yeah, right!
• Jasmine: Saving money.
• John: writing. (okay, he redeemed himself a little on this one, but he rarely reads anything I write.)

11. What is your mom really good at?

• Olivia: exercising.
• Patia: writing. (that's my girl!)
• Levi: smart shopping (good boy!)
• Madeline: see question #8 (she really does have my sense of humor)
• John: being a mom (he's just sucking up, now)

12. What is your mom not very good at?

• Olivia: painting. (she means that I don't let them paint or paint with them very often)
• Patia: playing games with us. ( I want to cry)
• Levi: sports in general. (that is true, sadly in my competition driven family, true. . .)
• Madeline: Guitar Hero. (also true, but I care not)
• Jasmine: Mowing. (true again, never ever done it!)
• John: having patience. (alas, true again.)
• Good news: we had to skip this one and come back to it. They all struggled to think of what I'm bad at. But all were true, some sad, all true.

13. What does your mom do for her job?

• Olivia: get toys for other little kids. (I'm Santa)
• Patia: work at a toy store.
• Older kids: they knew this one of course1
• John: play on the computer. (ass)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

• Nothing fun to report here, they mostly picked things we had on our menu in the last week. Short attention spans, I suspect.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

• Olivia: because you do your jobs good and that you love me. (she is sweet)
• Patia: you always love us. (I'm glad she knows this)
• Levi: you take us to church every Sunday. (Thank you! Finally a good answer out of these kids!)
• Madeline: you don't embarrass me in public. (Clearly I need to up my game!)
• Jasmine: your attempts to help me solve my relationship problems.
• John: being a Christian mom. (wife?)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

• Olivia: Cinderella (Cinderella! Cinderella! All I hear is Cinderella!)
• Patia: Daphne
• Madeline: Mr. Crab because he likes to save money. (Jazz says he's greedy. . .I'm not greedy.)
• Levi: Betty Boop (She's hot!)
• Jasmine: Belle because you like to read. (And because I'm pretty?)

17. What do you and your mom do together?

• Olivia: homeschool preschool
• Patia: read
• Levi & Jasmine: eat together
• Madeline: ride in the car
• John: go to church
• Bad news: based on how long it took them to come up with these answers, we aren't spending enough quality time together. Riding in the car? Are you kidding me?

18. How are you and your mom the same?

• Olivia: same skin
• Patia: we're girls
• Levi: we both like stuff organized
• Madeline: big lips
• Jasmine: we are stubborn (she is)
• John: we both want to raise good kids

19. How are you and your mom different?

• Olivia: we don't have the same hair
• Patia: you are bigger, I am smaller
• Levi: I like to play in the snow and you don't (cold and wet are not my thing)
• Madeline: I'm more free spirit, you are more regulation (she would have the free spirit thing totally in common with her mom)
• Jasmine: I'm (she) more argumentative (no argument here!)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

• Olivia: kissing (I do love me some kisses!)
• Patia: by what you say
• Levi: you take care of me and provide me with stuff (Madeline echoed this)
• Jasmine: you keep me on track (I try)
• John: you put up with me (and he puts up with me)

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

• Olivia: grocery shopping
• Patia: grocery store, now workout at church
• Levi: church or anywhere with Nancy (excellent point)
• Madeline: church

This survey revealed three major things to me:

1. I'm doing something right--they see that I value a dollar and want to make each one stretch. They have all helped me clip and sort coupons. They see the list making process and they know I do my best shopping BY MYSELF!
2. They value the basics. We provide for their needs, take them to church, and give kisses.
3. I need to have more fun with my kids. Their childhoods are flying by and I might just be too busy looking at grocery ads and making lists to really enjoy them. Painting, anyone?

Word-Free Wednesday

Ahhhh. . . .Spring!

Okay, well yesterday seemed like Spring! Today, not so much!

At least it is sunny!

I know it is Word-Free Wednesday and all, but I would be remiss if I didn't explain my absence absence. I know the 4 or 5 people who actually follow along must be absolutely beside themselves. And poor Pam in Canada. . . Anyway, as I have already revealed in my Dirty Little Secret Pic, my life is a mess. Okay, maybe not my whole life, but my house is for sure! So, I am taking a little hiatus from blogging and Facebook to focus on getting my home shaped up. I'm actually pretty excited about the process! A friend mentioned the other day that they don't keep a lot of stuff in their home and what they keep, they use. How refreshing! I want to live like that! So, over the next few weeks, (who am I kidding? Months!!!) I will be cleaning up and clearing out! Since one of Dave Ramsey's favorite sayings is, "sell so much stuff your kids think they are next!" this new goal of mine will fit in nicely with what we are learning in FPU. I will still do a post here and there as writing is very therapeutic for me, but just don't look forward to something everyday!

In case I haven't said so, thank you to my good friends who have been following along! It is so much fun to share the chaos of my life with you. Again, it really is like therapy for me! A weird, voyeuristic, free sort of therapy!

Not enough info leads to t.m.i. Tuesday

Some peoples say, "I hate confrontation--I'm not good at it." I am not one of those people. I don't start fights on the street or anything, I'm just not afraid to give my opinion or speak my mind. I know, shocking, right? But, I do have this bad habit of avoiding a conversation that might lead to a no answer from someone in the position to tell me no. Here's how this usually works--I'm planning on going out with girlfriends for dinner, but instead of just telling my husband about it, I write it on the calendar which I leave open on the counter, for anyone (i.e. my husband) to see. Then a few days before the event, I casually mention it and has no idea what I'm talking about and I blame him for not looking at the calendar. I do whatever it is I planned to do and in my book, he can't be mad because he should have looked at the calendar. Very passive-aggressive of me, don't you think? Now I'm not advocating this style of "communication"--it is just what I do. Well, let me just say that this back fired in a big way on Sunday night. Which in turn lead to my Manic Monday crashing right into my t.m.i. Tuesday. Please read on--this is after all a cautionary tale.

If you have been a faithful follower, you remember from my Inaugural Post that I blogged about setting up a Facebook page last Sunday. Clearly I'm not keeping secrets--I POSTED IT ON THE WEB FOR ALL THE WORLD TO READ. ( Hello, Pam in Canada!) You see the similarity between my calendar on the bar and the web posting. . .well, he doesn't look at our calendar and he doesn't read my blog either. His problem, right? Well not really. See, I already knew how he felt about Facebook, but instead of talking with him and showing him what it is all about, I announced to the world on my blog I had Facebook and neglected to discuss it with him. This time my shenanigans really came back to bite me! He was mad! Super mad! Didn't tell me goodbye before work or make my coffee for me on Monday morning kinda mad. All day yesterday I felt horrible. Couldn't eat, couldn't focus, cried, sulked, suspected my own husband of being up to know good himself--just another Manic Monday!

So what is the moral to this story? Just be up front even when you know you might not enjoy the conversation so much. It saves so much hurt, and in this case suspicion, in the long run. This by the way is the same thing I have told my older children NUMEROUS times. In fact, I have a special little word for what you do when you don't tell the whole truth and that word is LIE. That's right--not a fib, not an omission, not even an innocent act of passive aggressiveness--it is a lie. I will not be a liar. When it comes to communicating with the ones you love the most, there is no such thing as t.m.i.

Because you indulged me by reading my cautionary tale of woe, here is treat for you from the '80's.

You gotta love the '80's!

Inaugural Post

So, here it is...the beginning...of what...who can say... I'm certain I shouldn't say much as it is nearly 1 a.m. and "crap" happiness has set in. Just to clarify, that has nothing to do with actual crap, but actually is our little family way of saying slap happy.

I'm sure my husband is wondering what I've been up to on the computer all this time. Well, if one can wonder and snore at the same time that is. He went to sleep hours ago, but when the snoring stops, I wait for the call from the bedroom--"are you still on that computer?"
Just in case you wonder what I've been doing all this time, thus far I have:
1) checked & deleted an inordinate number of emails from 2 different accounts.
2) created our budget on Dave Ramsey's "My Total Money Makeover" (check back later for more on this!)
3) created a facebook page (this may not please him, but it is just for fun!)
4) and now this...

So, there you have it! Quite an exciting couple (4) of hours! Uh, oh! Pretend like you're asleep! I think I hear him coming! Sure enough--my "dad" just gave me a lecture on self-control. Actually, my dad was a little more clever when he lectured me...John was not so clever, just grumpy. I guess later today--it is already Monday--it will be my turn!