Caramel filled Hershey Kisses are da bomb!! Don't believe me? Go buy a bag! I'm not going to leave any candy for the trick-r-treaters because I'm gong to eat it all!

Travis is the little dragon that lost his smoke. He's all tuckered out. He played outside for several hours while we cleaned out the garage and killed lots and lots of spiders :::cringes::: Then he got his bath, put on his dragon costume, and while I was getting Jacob into his puppy costume, Travis zonked out in the recliner. He's going to miss out on the candy and fun! Jacob looks adorable in his costume...it's a dalmation suit, and I used my black eyeliner to paint his nose black and draw little whiskers on his cheeks. I took some pictures, but he gave me the grins BETWEEN pictures. It's so hard sometimes to catch that priceless photo.

As soon as Michael gets back from returning the truck to Michael's mom (we used it to haul off a bunch of junk from the garage), we are going to throw some steaks on the grill. Yummy. But I'm not gonna have any room left in my belly if I don't stop eating Hershey Kisses!

TTFN!

Last night was rough. I didn't get much sleep, but when I did sleep, I had the WEIRDEST dream. It involved a train ride to somewhere I don't know, two ex-boyfriends, my parents, a hotel, a waterbed (who has those anymore?), a dollar bill, and a devious, twisted scheme I was attempting to come up with. And I wasn't married in the dream. Very weird.

Jacob's doing better this morning...his fever is down...but I'm worried that as the sun goes down, the fever will return. And that'll mean we'll have to miss church tomorrow. I miss church so much it seems like, and I hate it! I have an important job to do and I don't feel like I'm faithful enough. I know it can't be helped when kids get sick, but I still feel really bad for missing.

Michael actually has a Saturday off, and with no game to go to. Imagine that. So after lunch we're going to clean out the garage. A bunch of mice are about to become homeless!

My wittle bug just ain't acting right. I kind of thought maybe something was wrong last night when he woke up crying, but he ended up sleeping the rest of the night. Well today, he hasn't wanted to eat much of anything, and he had a majorly bad diaper, and has just kind of laid/sat around. Usually he's very active and into everything he's not supposed to be. Not today. He feels warm, too. And he's kind of been grunting for the last 2 hours. Then he looks like he keeps trying to doze off, even when sitting up. His eyes just don't look right. At first thought, maybe he's cutting a toofie. But on second thought, maybe he's caught something yucky. I hate it when my J-bug is sick!

Tonight Michael's going to the Southaven football game. After my high BP spell today, and now that Jacob's not feeling good, me and J are gonna stay in while Michael & Travis go to the game. I might pop in a movie or something like that.

Michael's almost home, so I need to get Travis' clothes changed so he'll be ready to go. Later!

The punkin is done! It was incredibly easy, and fun. There's something quite satisfying about stabbing a butcher knife into a pumpkin head. Travis had fun using a long-handled spoon digging out the guts. My jack-o-lantern is now sitting on the kitchen table, all aglow. I will try and take pictures of it tonight after it gets dark. Afterwards I took it upon myself to roast the pumpkin seeds. Here's how:

You need seeds (duh), 1 tbsp salt, and 1/4 cup cooking oil.

1. Wash seeds thoroughly of any remaining pumpkin pulp, pat seeds dry with a paper towel.

2. In a bowl, mix together seeds, oil & salt.

3. Spread seeds onto a cookie sheet.

4. Bake @ 300 degrees for 30 minutes, and TADA!

They are quite tasty. Different. But satisfying.

P.S. The comment links are back up, as if anyone actually bothers to comment anymore. Comments on the new "look" would be nice, though. ;-)

P.P.S. I just have to figure out how to get multiple posts within one date to appear more separated. Right now they kind of run together.

In case you were wondering, this is how you carve a pumpkin.

Note/Disclaimer: While me and my family do not participate in some aspects of Halloween, we do like pumpkins and candy. Plus, it's something fun/new to do with the kids.

Morning to all. It took me 'til after 12:30 a.m. to get my blog in working order again, and then no sooner than I laid down in the bed, Jacob woke up crying, which is unusual for him to do in the middle of the night, so I figured something must be wrong, so I sat up with him 'til about 1 a.m.

When I got up this morning, I checked my blood pressure first thing, and it was 163 over 88. I am tired of trying to figure out what may be causing it, and I'm even more tired of shelling out money trying to get these doctors to figure it out, to no avail. I had a friend tell me to chug a bunch of water and cranberry juice, and no citrus. If it works, I will be amazed, and I will also have the strong urge to call my doctor and chew him out for not just telling me to try something so simple. I've heard of people using "alternative methods" for various medical problems, but I've always been the traditional type...go to the doctor and let him fix it...instead of trying a "home method". So maybe since I've had no results at the doctors, I will try something myself. Couldn't hurt. And it might actually work. Actually, that's not the first time I heard someone say to chug a lot of water to bring BP down.

Anyway, Michael bought me a punkin last night, so I need to find some punkin carving directions...never done this before. I'll let ya know how that goes.

Don't be alarmed. I got sick and tired of getting everything moved, so I just said "to heck with it" and went with a new template altogether. I kind of wanted a change anyway, and boy did I get one. What can I say? I like pink. It's the only feminine thing I'm allowed to have. My house is full of boys. A husband, a 3-year-old, a baby, 2 dogs, and a cat...ALL boys. SO this is my one little corner of my world that can actually be girly.

Anyway, I don't have a commenting system up at the moment, but that's coming soon. And I plan on designing a new banner to match the new template. AT LEAST I still have my blog though. I wasn't so much worried about keeping the "look" as I was the contents. The things I have written over the last year were much, much more important to hang on to.

I am freaking stuffed to my limits. We went over to my inlaws' tonight, and had chili, hot dogs, baked potatoes, brownies, cookies, ice cream, chips...it was awesome. I had a free lunch today at Amanda's (thanks for the pizza!) and then free supper at my inlaws' place. Didn't I just rack up today, lol.

I have known this for awhile actually, but tonight I was truly amazed at Travis' musical ability and rhythm at such an early age. He has a toy drum and a toy guitar, and while he is highly interested in sports and throws a ball almost nonstop it seems, he picks up his "musical instruments" equally as much. He plays along with any song he hears that he is already familiar with, and goes right with the beat. It's really hard to explain...it's just something you have to see and hear. It's amazing. It's unbelievable. It's genetic. ;-)

AOL should be history soon, but I'll update on that whole ordeal. It's like WEIRD for me to even think about...I've had AOL since 1997 I think? If not before? I met my husband over AOL, and several people I'd call close friends. I mean, I know it's not like I will be losing touch with everyone forever. It's just that I got so used to AOL...it just became a normal part of every day life. Everyone complains that AOL is horrible, which yeah, sometimes it is, but it's still something that's been part of my life for 7+ years. I'm going to start having separation anxiety or something. But right now, we're all about saving money and pinching pennies where we can. Maybe if the economy starts booming and money starts flowing like milk and honey again, we'll get it back someday. But for now AOL, buh-bye!

Well, that's it for me! Nighty Night!

P.S. Also many thanks to Brad & Chad for their computer help!

I have a massive headache. And I'm wiped out. I'm probably going to have nightmares tonight about Internet Explorer using like 9,000% of my computer's memory, but I need to go to sleep. I want to get started on moving all my blog graphics right away and changing the template to reflect these changes, but tomorrow isn't looking too good for getting this feat accomplished. A friend invited me and the kids over for lunch tomorrow afternoon and to just hang out, so that's where I'll be.

Church was good tonight, although halfway through, I had to take the kids over to the nursery and sit with them because they were getting antsy. But after church I got to practice some upcoming music with a few singers, which is a plus. Actually getting to practice and getting people to stay after church to practice...what a concept!

Oh, and the curse was broken. I guess the Babe decided to finally give up his grudge towards the Red Sox. I never thought it'd happen in a million years. Apparently neither did Red Sox fans. I mean, the last time the Red Sox won a World Series, in 1918, was before the Great Depression, there was no NFL, no NBA, heck, my Grandfather that passed away a few years ago, was only 4 years old!! It's been 86...count them...eighty-six years! Simply mind-boggling!

It's late, my bed is calling my name, and I've had enough of this computer!!!

Praise the Lord! I have a new internet connection, a new e-mail address, and AIM. I have been busy today working on this crazy computer. I'd go into all the dramatic details, but I am about to have to run finish getting myself and the kids ready for church. To make a long story short, I'm now using NetZero for my connection, Mozilla for my browser (I have viruses, apparently, and it's causing IE to suck the life out of my memory), and of course, AIM to chat. I still have Booberry617 as my IM name, but my new e-mail address is music_4_grace@yahoo.com . In the next day or so, AOL will be history, so if you haven't read my e-mail that I sent to everyone, be sure to change your address book accordingly. I'd also like to take this time to thank Jay for all his wonderful, professional computer expertise. He is a GENIUS!!

Must run for now! More later!

P.S. My blog will probably be crazy for the next few days, too, because when I lose AOL, I will lose my current server space where my blog template and blog images are located. What a pain! But things will get running more smoothly later...I promise :-)

So what's different between my blog and most of my friends' blogs? I actually update mine and give my readers new material daily (mostly). Michael told me today that my blog is really good and that I should keep it going. So I took advantage of the opportunity to inquire as to why he stopped blogging no sooner than he started it. What he wrote in his, while it lasted, was very, very good, I thought. He said he had "nothing to write about". Like, HELLO? All I have to write about are diaper changes, spanking kids, and money problems, but apparently it's good reading material, or I wouldn't have people checking back daily to read it. If I was in the outside world 5 to 6 days a week, I'd have TONS more to blog about. And not having time is no excuse, either, because he spends a large portion of his evenings at home right here, on this very machine. And he loves to write. So then his next excuse is something like "Well I'd just be repeating everything you wrote about," to which I responded, "No, you have a different perspective on things, and plus, you are gone 8+ hours of the day, so you are seeing and doing totally different things than me." For crying out loud, start blogging again, PLEASE! Your blog needs you, and you need to blog! I need your blog! Society needs your blog! There, I've said my piece. ;-)

Be sure to set your clocks back one hour this weekend. This means that instead of your VCR flashing 12:00, it will now flash 11:00. (I heard this on an SNL rerun, Kevin Nealon's Weekend Update, last night and thought it was appropriate.) He really did do the best Weekend Update. It got really stupid with Tina Fey and Jimmy Falon. And now Jimmy Falon's gone, so it's even WORSE with Tiny Fey and Amy Polher (sp?). Nothing gold can stay....

....which reminds me of one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost....

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Like, I first read that poem in the 7th grade when we had to read The Outsiders, and somehow I remembered it all these years.

I feel like crying right now. I just feel like a sentimental slob, and it's because of the website I just looked at. It was of a friend's little girl that had been diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago, and is now in remission. The way she loves her little girl, and has tons and tons and tons of pictures made of her all the time, it just makes me think maybe I don't put enough emphasis on my own children. Like, I'm not sure if that actually makes sense to you.

I take pictures of my kids when I think about it, but I don't have rolls and rolls of film to develop all the time, and lots of albums full. From the time me and Michael have been married up 'til now, I have about 3 albums full of pictures, and a little over 1,000 pictures I took on my digital camera that are stuck here on the computer, and if my computer crashes, I will lose many precious pictures of my babies and my family. And I have probably less video footage of my babies. We have captured their birthdays and Christmases on video, except last year, when I got up Christmas morning, pulled the battery off the charger, hooked it up to the camera, and it had enough juice to last about 5 seconds...battery was old, I guess. And I've taken it outside a few times to catch Travis playing basketball, or video taped him singing and playing his guitar, but other than that, that's it! I mean, most parents (or so it seems) OBSESS over these things. I tell myself all the time though that I'd rather just enjoy playing with them and making memories than worrying over a stupid camera. It's really hard to get in the middle of everything when you're trying to play with cameras. I kind of think about the song by Brad Paisley, "Who Needs Pictures?" Which has some truth to it. But when I get older and my kids get older, are my memories going to fade?

I keep finding myself thinking my kids are always going to be this size, so sweet, so innocent, so adorable. There will come a day where there will be no more Nick Jr., sippy cups, toy trucks, bath time, play time, booster chairs, car seats, etc., and the thoughts of that makes me so sad. I mention this to Michael, and he says "Well it's time to have another baby." But, I can't just keep having babies. The fact of the matter is, my body is only going to allow me to have one more baby, and then I HAVE to get my tubes tide. I kind of want to "save" my final pregnancy for when the kids are much bigger, and I get baby fever again. If I have another baby any time soon, it will just take away time that I have with the kids that I already have.

It's just too bittersweet. Jacob is off the bottle, walking now, won't be very long before he moves to a "big boy" bed, and in a year, we'll probably start potty training. I have taken them for granted. I have let hours and days pass, just going through the motions of being Mom, without really stopping to embrace every fleeting second with them.

Typically speaking, I usually have a pretty good idea what I am going to blog about before I sit down to write. But not today. Nothing blogworthy really sticks out in my mind. Today is the normal Monday...or the normal any day. The only day that's usually "different" for me is Sunday. The rest of my days are spent chasing kids, watching Blues Clues nonstop, and cleaning things.

Friday we did the Christmas shopping thing and put most of the kids' stuff "Santa Claus" in layaway.

For Travis:
1. F-150 Truck...battery powered...he can ride in it ($150)...yeah, we went over our limit a little.
2. Hungry Hungry Hippos game ($16.00)
3. 3-pack of remote control trucks ($10.00)
4. 4-pack of cardboard puzzles with trucks, dinosaurs, etc. ($5.00)
5. Spiderman Helicopter ($5.00)

For Jacob:
1. 3-in-1 Trike...transforms from a rocky-bike to an actual trike with wheels...also has an extended handle where he can be pushed on it to learn to steer. ($30.00)
2. Little People theme park ($15.00)
3. Sports pack with miniature soft basketball, football, and soccer ball ($5.00)
4. Hammer with lights and sounds ($6.00)
5. Little People truck with cart ($5.00)

I ordered both of them some movies at Half.com. I got Jacob the "Blue Talks" DVD and one of the "Baby Einstein" DVDs, and then I got Travis "Babe", "The Lion King", a "Thomas The Tank Engine" DVD. I also want to get them both a new fleece blanket, and some stocking stuffers.

I think I still want to get...umm...wait...ask Santa to bring Travis a Magna Doodle...it looks like something he'd have a lot of fun with. Jacob wants cars, lots of cars. He will sit in the floor for an hour, pushing a car or truck back and forth across the carpet. The problem I think we are going to have come Christmas morning is Travis and Jacob are going to want the other kid's toys, lol. Maybe I messed up and should've bought them both the same thing. Believe it or not, I still try not to buy Jacob's toys that say "Not intended for ages 3 and under", which is silly, because guess what? Travis has TONS of those "Not intended for ages 3 and under" toys, and Jacob plays with them. All the time.

I had Michael's Christmas presents, or so I thought, but I got outbid on Ebay for both items...darn it! And I refuse to bid higher when it means I'll be paying the same or higher than I can get the same thing in a store without having to pay shipping.

Going Christmas shopping early has got me looking forward to Christmas coming back around. It seems like more and more people dread Christmas more and more as the years go by, but like, I have fun with it because I LOVE to see my kids' faces. Last year was Travis' first year to really be able to express himself and show a lot of excitement about it, and so this year he's highly anticipating "Santa Claus" and "Christmas trees" and "Christmas cookies". In all honesty, I want to make Christmas a lot more than just being about "getting stuff". I want to give my kids a special Christmas...give them things they love, but I don't plan on spending thousands of dollars either. I really don't buy them anything else during the year other than necessities...food, clothes, etc. Their grandparents don't really buy them toys during the year either. They both have a room FULL of stuff, and while it is great to get new toys, I want them to learn the real meaning of Christmas, something I never learned until I got married. (Yes, my parents made Christmas very special in our house and it was a wonderful, exciting time of year. Not just because of the presents, but just because of the warm, fun, loving atmosphere we had in our home. Helping decorate the tree, helping make sweets, watching Christmas movies with my family while drinking hot chocolate, going shopping with my Dad to pick out my Mom some special things, I have tons and tons of wonderful Christmas memories and traditions growing up that I want to keep going.) Growing up I was never taught the REAL meaning of Christmas...Jesus' birth. Like, I knew Jesus was born of a virgin, and I knew the story of Mary and Joseph, but it wasn't taught to me as being part of Christmas. I was taught in church "We don't celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birthday because no one really knows when he was born." I was taught that it was bad to have a nativity scene in your front yard and "Jesus Is The Reason For the Season" written out in lights across the roof. And now, to this day, I'm not sure WHY they believe this. This country "observes" many other "holidays" that no one knows the day it actually happened, or they may know the day, but observe it on a different day. Of course, I was taught about Easter the same thing I was taught about Christmas. So in church growing up, Christmas and Easter were not even MENTIONED. Totally doesn't make sense.

Okay, so, I don't know how I got off on all of THAT! I must run for now! More later!

Happy 400th post!!! :::confetti:::

Last year I averaged 0.045 posts per hour, 1.0685... posts per day, 7.5 posts per week, or 32.5 posts per month. (I ended the actual year at 390 posts.) That, my friend, is a lot of writing.

Have you ever played the game Mafia? Neither had I until tonight. Holy moo cow, what a freaking game! Like, if you've never played, you'll be so confused at first, and then you start to figure it all out, and then it is just freaking cool! A bunch of us got together after church tonight and played. It works best with larger groups, like 10 or more people. I actually won the first time around, without really knowing exactly how, and then after that, things got really twisted, people chose sides, screwed each other over, and before you know it, they killed me!! What's bad is they made the mistake of "killing" me when I was the "nurse". And then in the heat of the moment, I stood up to leave the circle and said "Fine, you made a big bad mistake, because I was NOT Mafia! I was the NURSE!" Even though I wasn't supposed to tell, haha. And the thing is, every time the men kept getting killed, they just assumed the women were the Mafia, which one time it worked out that way where all the Mafia members were women, but for good measure, we all killed one of the women, just to kind of throw things off. I don't remember how many rounds we played, but it was a total blast. And what sucks is Michael knows when I'm lying, so I had to try and avoid eye contact with him, because if I tried to plea my case by saying "I'm not Mafia!" even though I was, he KNEW it and he had everyone convinced that I was lying. GRRRR!

And...my piece of advice for the day:

Next time you have more than one IM going, be sure you just typed your life story to the right person. Can I hear a great big "OOOOPS!!!" ??

And Memphis lost to Cincinatti. And I don't want to talk about it. And all it takes is one bad loss to make bandwagon jumpers start talks of jumping onto other bandwagons. Makes me ill.

Night Night for now! Hope everyone had a good weekend!