Wednesday Weariness

I spent most of Alex's nap time this afternoon cleaning out my two cabinets that hold spices, seasonings, oils, etc.

When you cook often, as I do, it is important to have an organized, clean, well-stocked kitchen.

Bwaaaa, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Hee, Hee........................ ROFL..............

Okay, you can stop now, it wasn't that funny...

Seriously, I was looking for two things: Colored sugar, for Christmas sugar cookies, and blue food coloring for the magic potion for Catelin.

I know that I had these items before we moved, but now... ? Who knows. Can't find 'em. Must purchase more.

As I was cleaning/organizing I remembered that my baking powder was expired. When I made Pumpkin Bread before Thanksgiving it turned out kinda "heavy". So I wanted to get the baking powder out of the cabinet as well.

Now, this was so funny I thought you all might like it:

It looks fine, don't you think?

This is the bottom of the can.

Ha, no wonder the bread was "heavy", it's a wonder we didn't all die of Botulism or Trictospitosis. The best thing is, I packed it and moved it all the way from IL to GA.

Someone here must really like Hot Sauce. Who needs 5 bottles of hot sauce???

This is where Lucy stands on the chair and tries to help.

(Don't tell Mark, she sniffed his favorite hot sauce)

Let me tell you about The Vinegar, er, Vinegar(s). Balsamic-Fancy Brand, Balsamic-WalMart brand, Red Wine Vinegar, White Wine Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Seasoned Rice Vinegar and TWO bottles of regular White Vinegar.

Who needs 8 bottles of Vinegar......... the same nuts who have 5 bottles of hot sauce, and 15 packets of soy sauce from the Sushi Bar, that's who!

This is why you need a clean and well-organized kitchen. So you can keep all your Hot Sauces and Vinegars on the same shelf.

Post Thanksgiving Burn-out

Happy Post Thanksgiving Burn-out. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and a great turkey feast. Hope you got to see friends and family and remembered to be Thankful. We had a great time visiting with our Grandmas and making memories.

Catelin was off school for the week so the kids and I left on the previous Saturday, drove to Illinois and spent the whole of Thanksgiving week with Grandma Angela. On Wednesday, Mamaw and Papaw drove over from Indiana to spent the holiday with us.

Three Grandparents, two Grandchildren; it's a good thing.
I slept in, finished a good book and even took time to shave my legs. (TMI, sorry, but you just don't understand how significant that really is...)

Now, the drive up to IL was uneventful, just looooong. The weather was good, and no one screamed unnecessarily. Catelin ran the DVD player and Alex was allowed a pacifier. ( I know, I know... but I just don't care...)

We break up the drive with a lunch stop at a McDonalds playland. I always pray against, staph infections, pink-eye germs or random bodily fluids being in the playland.
I wasn't disappointed, Catelin came out to report one little boy was guarding the top of the slide by spitting at everyone. Yeah... there's one in every crowd. At least this time it wasn't mine.

The playland is perfect for Alex to run out all his energy and maybe sleep a little for the second half of the trip. It's a treat for them, for being in the car so long and it's also good-behavior leverage. "If you don't stop fighting/whining/crying/kicking we are NOT going to McDonalds!"
What did parents do before McDonalds?

Coming back to GA was another story. We left an hour and a half behind schedule, it was foggy, it rained, it was dark by 5:00pm, Chattanooga was bumper to bumper traffic for miiilllles and somehow I completely ignored my GPS and got lost briefly in Atlanta. Ack...

So, now it is time to prepare for Christmas. I need to finish my shopping, of course.
Catelin and I always choose a charitable cause to support for Christmas. This year I think we are going to purchase coats for a local 'coat-drive' and maybe even donate supplies to one of the county animal rescue groups. We also need to decide on a tree: real or fake? And see if our decorations made it here in the move or are they in IL? Hmmmm.
I want to spend one afternoon, with Catelin, making cookies.

Geez, I need to start a to-do list.
There are many, many things I need to get started on and get done.
What are you doing to get ready, now that the Holiday season is in full swing?

Friday Observations

1. Ants do not die when it gets cold. They just move into your closet. And the upstairs bath.

2. It is possible to turn the whole television upside down and shake it to get the DVD out. That would be the DVD that Alex shoved past the DVD tray.

3. There needs to be a LAW, that any Halloween candy left over past November 5 must be thrown in the trash immediately.

4. Forty degrees is considered a serious cold-front in Georgia. Everyone broke out the scarves and fuzzy boots. Catelin is still wearing a cotton jacket.

5. Candy Cane Creme Oreos are from the Devil. Purchase at your own risk!

6. When you really need one, every flashlight in the house will have dead batteries.

7. When you put your jeans in the dryer, by mistake, they will never fit again.

8. Oh, and Candy Cane Creme Oreos are evil. Do not buy them...... but if you do... send me two.
Just two, no more than that...

Oh, so pretty...

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty.... " everybody sing now " ....so pretty, and witty and bright!"

Don't worry Grandmas', it's not blood. Nor, is it, a new variety of Alex Allergy hives.

Oh no, it is a whole tube of Avon, Beyond Color, Lip Plumping, Mad About Mauve. Yes, mauve lipstick.

What you can't see is, that it is even rubbed into the back of his neck and behind his ears.

Apparently, when he got the lipstick out of my make-up carrier he also grabbed a really nice Clinique blush brush. He used the blush brush to smear the lipstick all over the floor and front of the dresser. So not only is the lipstick a goner, but so is my best blush brush.

This is about the 5th tube of lipstick that Alex has destroyed.

Sorry Dad, but the boy likes himself a bit o' color.

I swear I was only out of sight 6 or 8 minutes so that I could go upstairs and supervise Catelin's piano practice. I had a feeling she was practicing her notes one time and then just hitting replay on her keyboard over and over. (I'm still not sure that wasn't the case.)

I left Alex sitting quietly with his trucks, watching Caillou on PBS. I'm pretty sure it was a premediated strike. He was just waiting for the right moment.

Please note that the lipstick is everywhere except his lips.

Now that annoying song is in my head.

Just wait, you're going to be humming it all day and cursing me.

Beware of Greeks...

Friday was Greek Day at school.
For the last 2 weeks the third grade has been studying Greece, ancient Greek customs and Greek mythology.

On Friday, they dressed in Greek costumes, sampled Greek food and competed in the "Olympic Games"!

She really would have preferred to go as Medusa. That's my girl.....

A Small Observation

I actually read the reader "Sound Off" section and the Editorial comments in our local newspaper today.
It reminded me of this quote, which I could not quite remember, and finally had to look up. (I love Google.)

A long time ago Oscar Wilde said: "By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community."

'Nuff said.

Happy Halloween!

We had a great time Halloween.

All the kids 'on the block' (sorta) met at one house to trick or treat together. Costumes were required for all participants. Including adults. Hee, Hee Mark, thought he was going to get away with NO costume. But the neighbors busted him and pointed him to a big pile of costumes. And, of course, I do not have a picture of his get up or of my totally cute witch costume.

Really, I just wanted a reason to wear spider web stocking and paint my fingernails glossy black. I sooo could have been a good Goth (if I'd been born 10 years later).

Catelin was a Go-Go Girl. Alexander was Thomas Train. That other cutie is Princess Isabella, one of our neighbors.

Alex totally GOT IT. Follow the big kids to the door, stand in the group, hold up your bag, get CANDY!!! He walked the whole circle of the neighborhood and refused to ride in the wagon. He walked 1 whole mile!

I think if you walk a mile in the dark and cold, tripping over a foam train costume every few steps you deserve to get to eat Tootsie Pops at 9:00PM.