25 revelations about myself

23. I do like to be around people but not a whole bunch at one time, I like to be able to carry on a conversation or listen in with all the people I am around.

I'm sure people probably think I'm grouchy or unsociable sometimes, but really, I'm not. I would just rather be sitting and talking with a couple close friends than be at a party with 50 people who have to scream small talk at each other.


Changing the subject....

Last Night, Emma and I were reading her book from school. When she finished I was asking her what words rhymed with Tap, Cat, Am, etc

Me: Whats words rhyme with Am?
Emma: "Jam, Mam, Pam, lamb, Ham, Da...." and she throws her hand over her mouth!

This is also the kid who sings, "Toes in the water, BUTT in the sand, Not a worry in the world, COLD SODA in my hand!"

I can't even make her cuss! You would never know that this is the kid who once told my dad to "Shut the door or I'll kick your A**!"

25 revelations about myself

22. Most days I feel like a fraud pretending to be a mature, responsible, maternal adult. Sometimes I don’t but usually I feel like the world views me as though I should be a welfare single mom who lets my kids run around in dirty diapers and drive around my beat-up paneled station wagon even though I’m not *and I repeat, I’m not*

See look, I bathe my children!

And I read them bedtime stories. Granted sometimes I make sure there are about 3 words on a page.

And then I tuck them in at night...doesnt she look sleepy! And then I go in there and tuck them in again. And then again. And then I think about what the wise mom told me one time...something about Benadryl. (jk...)

little Rocky

We went to Wal-Mart last night and of course the girls thought that meant to automatically start acting like hoodlums. They definitely had their moments! We were walking through the little girls clothes just looking at things and next thing we know Emma and Rayne are running through the racks of coats. So Ellen goes over there and thunks them on the head. You know, the discreet little thumps on the head that are appropriate for public places. Emma immediately starts crying and holding her eye. Ellen is insistent that she did not hit her eye but Emma starts in with, "Oh My Gosh, Now I'm gonna have a black eye! I cant believe you hit my eye! I'm gonna have a black eye!" Very dramatic.

So on the way home, Emma is sitting there quietly and suddenly she says, "Don't tell Daddy that Ellen hit me in the eye! Just tell him I got into a fight with another kid!"

...Your guess is as good as mine!

Them Crazy Kids of Mine

Misc. Pictures from this weekend:

Emma and Cassidy on the wagon ride at the pumpkin patch in Lawrenceville.

This is how Cassidy bowls! Strike every time, if you can believe that!

Emma doing the slingshot!

Cassidy brushing her teeth. This kid should never have cavities, she LOVES to brush her teeth. Any time someone mentions the word teeth, you can hear Cassidy running as fast as she can to the bathroom where she grabs a toothbrush out of the drawer! She says, "Teef".

Here is Cassidy and Emma right before bed last night. Cassidy thought she should help Emma by brushing her teeth too!

Little Daredevil that she is, Cassidy actually JUMPS off my Mom and Dad's fireplace! You would think that, being the 5-star parent that I am, I would be running to get her down before she cracks her head open! Not taking pictures and laughing!

25 revelations about myself

21. I want 4 kids. (If for no other reason other than #20.) Myles says he wants 3 but will at least go until he has a boy. For this reason I hope #3 is a girl too.

***MOST days this is true, There are some days where I think that 2 is the perfect number. You know why? Because there are two bedrooms in my house and contemplate locking one in each room! Two kids...two bedrooms...Coincidence....I think not! No, just kidding of course, they actually are both great kids. However, I do wonder how people that have kids very close together manage! Mine are 4 years apart, I think I would like the next one a little less apart than that. But then again, once they are 4, they are pretty self-sufficient!

Cassidy and the "ssseeee"s

Cassidy loves to play outside. She especially likes to go see the "ssseeee". (Which are Horse's in her world)

She walks up to the fence and talks to them for awhile.

Then she walks over to the gate and leans through hollering at the top of her lungs at them. Seriously, I should have taken a video!

First baby Apache comes over, he is definitely not intimidating! Him and Cassidy have words. Cassidy started pulling grass and giving it to him.

By now, Jake has seen the grass and ran little Apache off. Now I'm not sure, because she didn't say, but I'm thinking that Cassidy is trying to figure out whether she is gonna lose a finger if she feeds him grass!

I guess she thought he would be safe! She is so not afraid of them. You really have to watch her because there is a gap in the gate where the dogs run through and I caught her trying to squeeze through there. Luckily she is never unsupervised out there!

The next day, Jon, Ellen, and I went to Orscheln's and we let Cassidy play with the little animals for awhile. (I apologize if you are in retail, I'm sure this is very annoying to have to straighten back up!) Anyways, we look down and Cassidy was taking EVERY horse off the shelf and setting them down beside her. She had her own little herd going!

She loves her "sssseeee"s!

25 revelations about myself

20. I am an extremely unorganized person but find that with each child I improve a little bit.



No really, I am horrible! But I am somewhat improving! For Example:

1. Emma's school papers are all in one spot. Granted that is in a stack on top of our filing cabinet inside our closet. Hey at least they are in one spot and out of site!


2. My kids have a "regular" bedtime routine. I use the "s because regular for us means that it is just an improvement on our previous habits. Such as Emma actually has a general bedtime now. She used to just go to bed whenever we did. And Cassidy has to go to sleep in her own bed, or I should say, Emma's bed.
   
3. My clean socks are now in one general basket instead of scattered throughout the rest of the clean laundry that is waiting to be folded (or worn, whichever comes first).

Ahh...Its the little things that make me feel structured!

25 revelations about myself

19. I love to cook and bake but hate to clean up the mess. I will eat or at least try any kind of food…and it shows!

Just a tiny little tidbit...it's kind of a blah day.

On a happier note, Little Brother is 20 today.



(hehe...Jon wanted me to delete the cowboy hat picture a loonnnng time ago...hehe)

25 revelations about myself

18. I do not usually wear frilly clothes, jewelry, or shoes, do my hair or wear makeup because I do not like to draw unnecessary attention to myself. I feel like an impostor if I dress up. I have not always been like this either.

Well, ....that and being low-maintenance allows me to get me, Emma and Cassidy ready and out the door in 50 minutes or less! Yep, don't have to worry about me taking 3 hours to get ready! Although I do confess, I do try to fix my hair at least 3 days a week.

(besides when it's curly, it looks better in a ponytail) :)

25 revelations about myself

17. I love my husband but my wedding day was the most miserable, exhausting, irritating and uncomfortable day of my life. I bit Myles’ finger HARD when he was doing the cake thing because he started to shove it in my face but then again I was pregnant and bitchy too!

Myles and I. September 13, 2003
I loved my flowers, they were beautiful!

One little piece of advice that I like to pass on to engaged couples....Go to the Courthouse! My mom gets a little defensive when I mention how much I hated my wedding (Understandable, after all she did foot the bill.) However, it wasn't so much the wedding I hated; that was pretty, loved the cake and the flowers, the outdoor set-up, etc. It was more like, the awful uncomfortable dress, being in front of all those people, making small talk, smiling all the dang time, etc.

The Cake.
It was amazing. Frannie made it, so of course it tasted good. And the flowers were awesome, when I envisioned the cake with all the roses I had this picture in my mind. It turned out completely different and so much better than I ever imaged!

The Kiss.
I have always hated pictures of people kissing. Not sure why, just one of my little quirks. I guess it just seems intrusive to me. I put this picture on here to show the gazebo and the flowers. I did like that, it was simple but still pretty.

The Wedding Party.
It's a little blurry, I couldn't seem to find a good one.

** A funny story from my wedding: (see there was a bright spot!) I remember standing in the room getting dressed and I could see the groomsmen out behind the house, hiding and sneaking whiskey. Clayton ran off to go pee, and then they stand there awhile longer and he goes off to pee again, then again! I could see him pulling at his tie and sweating...then he says, "Man, I don't know why but I am nervous!" To this day I associate being nervous with peeing because of Clay.
Also, Bologna was riding horses with Myles and the groomsmen that day. He had his old horse, Kim, and her baby with him. They had been drinking all day and Bologna was trashed. In fact, he never got off his horse even during the ceremony. I'm not sure he could've gotten back on. Anyways, I remember looking out there and seeing my mom's dad walking across the yard to go talk "horse" with Bologna, and cringing because here was my prim and proper grandpa with good intentions going out to talk to the drunk guy who wouldn't get off his horse! Such a conflicting pair!

Shoooeeee's

This morning I, in my routine morning babble, told Cassidy that we were going to get her shoes on. I picked her shoes up and Cassidy started crying and saying, "NO, No, NOOOO". Not a big deal, I just put the shoes in her diaper bag and continued getting everything ready. Next thing I know I hear CLOP, CLOP, CLOP through the house. Cassidy had picked out her own shoes that she was going to wear! She came up to me saying, "Shoooeee!"

Never mind that they wont fit for another couple of years! They were Emma's lace-up boots.

25 revelations about myself

16. I do not shop! It makes me depressed or angry, depending on the day! Spending money makes me anxious.

I'm having deja vu, I think I just mentioned this. However this is no longer true...Used to be spending money while shopping made me anxious. Now, spending money on bills, groceries, diapers, babysitter...um...pretty much everything, makes me anxious. I would LOVE to hand over all my bills to somewhere and say, "Here, make me proud and pay my stuff" Of course, they would probably say, "Sorry, I'm not a magician!"

25 revelations about myself

15. I have been broke a good part of my so-called adult life and am pretty much ok with it. I feel right at home with the other millions of broke people. I also don’t feel sorry for people who say they are broke but still go shopping for clothes or shoes or household decorations or landscaping or buy meaningless grocery items (like refrigerated pie crusts) because that is why they are broke, duh!

Ah yes, one of my biggest pet peeves...Shopping and People who Shop! I mean who really NEEDS landscaping? Or a new purse?

Oh man, that reminds me! Christmas is right around the corner! Ack! *clutching my chest as my eyes roll back in my head*

25 revelations about myself

14. Sometimes I wish that I could stay at home with my kids but I feel obligated to stay where I am at because certain people depend on me. I don’t know that we could make it financially without the second income.

ok, ok, I lied. I KNOW we couldnt make it without the second income right now! I never thought I would be one to want to be a stay-at-home mom. Honestly though, I am so jealous of them. I would love to just take care of my kids and be able to satisfy all their quirky habits. I am just afraid that if I stayed home I wouldnt be able to satisfy their hunger, because I wouldnt be able to afford to feed them! On another note, I dont think I could let my dad down because he's counting on me to work here for the rest of my life...Yep, I'm a lifer!

25 revelations about myself

13. I did not necessarily enjoy being pregnant but I loved giving birth to my kids. (Although technically I don’t remember much of Emma’s birth!) I was proud to be capable of doing it. I would secretly like to have a home birth but I know Myles would NEVER agree because he comes from a very anti-natural standpoint. Not that there is anything wrong with that but I am a believer that your body is made to handle certain things and that medical intervention can sometimes impede the process.

Hmmm...yeah, I cant add much more to that. I know it could raise a few eyebrows, but women have been doing it for centuries. I don't understand why people think that it is impossible to have a baby without IVs and monitors and breakaway delivery beds! When I say home-birth, I don't mean completely unassisted, but wouldn't it be awesome to have midwife come to your house, have the baby, and never have to go anywhere!

I've only told this to a couple people and they think I'm crazy! Oh well, It's not like I would ever get the chance anyways!

Terrible Two-sday

Myles' mom got to watch the girls yesterday because of Christopher Columbus day. I think she got a taste of just how "busy" Cassidy is! She was saying how she hits the ground running as soon as she wakes up, how she eats ALL the time, and how she gets into absolutely everything! It doesn't take me long to sum her up; one word, "ornery"!

Here she is down at Ellen's last night. Her poor computer was about to have seizures, Cassidy had so many things pulled up on it! She loves buttons, and is obsessed with appliances and remotes, and phones, anything with buttons! Anyone that cute with a smile that evil...well, they have to be capable of mass destruction! Look at her, the orneriness is seeping out of her eyes.

Don't Worry, We put it on the Delicate Cycle!

After we got home, I pulled the clothes out of the dryer and took them into the living room. I was sidetracked for a minute by the show that Myles was watching and the next thing I knew, I hear, "Hey!", and then evil mischievous laughter. I look in there and this is what I see. As you can see she was extremely proud of herself!

When I tried to reach in and pull her out, she scooted back as far as she could and cackled. I had to start piling cold wet clothes from the washer on top of her before she decided it wasn't fun anymore.

Cassidy also has an obsession with shoes. She tromps all over the house in various shoes, sometimes they match, sometimes not. One of the first words she learned was "shoe".

Trying to put on Daddy's boots.

Here she is saying, "Shoooeee"

25 revelations about myself

12. I am not an affectionate person except with my kids. I can’t stand to be all touchy feely. I did not use to be this way.

Actually, Ellen and Jonathan are the same way. Grandma is pretty much the only one that can get away with hugging and kissing us! :) When Myles and I got together it was a big adjustment for me because they are a very affectionate family. Always hugging before they leave and telling each other they love them, and my family just doesnt do that! Not that we dont love each other, it just is never said. Anyways, I have adjusted and I can handle being hugged and all now!


Also wanted welcome little Sophia Elise to the world today! Congratulations JD and Erin, Drew, Jazlyn, and Emma! From what I can tell, her little cheeks tell a lie! They were telling me at least 9lbs and JD says she only weighs 8lbs 1oz!

25 revelations about myself

11. I have ‘friends’ but not like Ellen and Natalie. Even though Ellen is technically my sister, more often she is the other ‘best friend’. We are not all mushy sisterly love, just one of the girls. I don’t know what I would do without them; we understand each other like no other people can and we have been that way since high school.

Honestly...It's kind of scary sometimes that 3 people that different can think the same thing. When we were in high school, we dressed in 3 different styles and to this day, we have 3 different styles. Of course, we have rotated those styles. I cant say that I dress up very often...well, ever. And Ellen, who wore a softball uniform and sandals to our high school graduation, is very dressy. It takes her like 3 hours to get ready to go anywhere. (seriously!)

We have had our kids together, been through school, jobs, men, etc together, made new friends, sometimes together and sometimes apart. I cant say we always agree with each other and we may give each other space to work through something, but we can always start back at Square 1 like we never left.

And...NO, Ellen and I have never switched places in school or even wanted to! I know you were wanting to ask that question. For God's Sake, We dont even look like each other! (riiiiight....)

25 revelations about myself

Well, I've gone and skipped a day. I had good intentions of posting yesterday and I got busy and forgot all about it. Ellen jumped me about it, you would think the person that probably knows me best wouldn't read this so religiously.

10. I am thankful for where I live and sometimes I look out my windows and feel sorry for the people who don’t get to live with that kind of view or in this kind of environment

I can't imagine living anywhere else. (And if you dont think this isn't obvious, wait until I take my kids to town. They are SOOOO not town kids!)

When we were younger we actually used to travel often. I can't believe my parents let Ellen and I take some of the trips by ourselves. Really, letting two 15 year old girls take a GREYHOUND BUS, of all things, on a 3o some hour trip to Amarillo, TX!!!! Let me tell you, you meet all sorts on a Greyhound Bus! How about letting two 16 year old girls drive to Amarillo, TX and THEN...call and say, "Hey, we're going to Edgewood, New Mexico from here for a week so we won't be home as planned!" Granted these were church functions with church people but still... How about letting us go on a cruise "with" our uncle and some of our friends to the Virgin Islands when we were 16. That was a well chaperoned trip! (NOT!!!)

Actually I look back and am SO glad that they let us experience that! Lord know, it never would have happened after I got together with Myles! I remember thinking when I was a kid, imagining myself as a single girl living in some loft in the city, with coffee shops and art studios and museums. That was a dream that died pretty quickly. And honestly, I still get a rush in the city. I can't get enough until all of a sudden....WHAM! The walls start closing in! Reality Check.

I am so glad my kids get to grow up in a small town. (name that tune, ellen)

The Great Pumpkin Patch, Arthur, IL

On Saturday, the girls and I went with Cindy to the pumpkin patch in Arthur, IL. It has been featured on Country Living Magazine and on the Martha Stewart show and in her magazine. It was worth the drive, I have never seen so many pumpkins and gourds in my life! It was really a cloudy, cold, windy, gloomy day to be at the pumpkin patch, but we had fun anyways.

The girls in front of one of their (giant) corn shocks. I Love this picture! Cassidy is really cracking up.

I think my camera lens was fogging up or something. All of my pictures, Cassidy looks like she's glowing. I mean, I know she is an angel and all...:)

There were photo opportunities everywhere! Emma on a stack of straw in front of the straw maze.



This was a little tunnel thing that the kids could crawl through after the maze. Cassidy just ran through it.

There was a little bitty straw maze for kids under 3. Boog was just standing in the entrance with her hands in her pockets. I don't think she was impressed.

Cassidy and I at the entrance to the patch. Not the most flattering picture...but then again, they never are!

I thought these pumpkins were so cool. You cant really get it in the picture, but they were a reddish orange color and really neat looking. Of course, they were $8 so I didn't bring one home. I cant make myself pay $8 for a pumpkin!

The pumpkin patch puts up a new display every year. This was last years display. I didn't get a picture of this years, but it was a giant rainbow made of pumpkins.

Another display, Train Engine.

Awesome pumpkin trees.

The Grand Pappy of all Pumpkins! 901 lbs!

One of these days, I'm going to have to invest in a real camera. My camera phone takes decent pictures but sometimes it doesn't do any justice. Between the lint from my pockets and fogging up from being in the cold, I end up with some funky pics.

25 revelations about myself

9. I don’t do enough drugs, listen to the right kind of music, wear weird enough clothes, and devote enough time to....be an artist in a college setting!

Basically it goes like this, Art Education is a double major. Art first, Education second. The Art Program requires you to be an artist-definition being: beanie wearing, "inspiration" smoking, art-class junkies who spend every waking moment in studio. Yeah, I lived an hour and 15 minutes away, I had a house, a child...(well, make that two if you count Myles) and a life. Its a shame I didnt figure it out sooner, then I could have used my associates and went on to get a degree in something a little more....well, boring!

Such is life.

Miss Manners

I was just sitting down here at Ellen's and only half-listening to Rayne and Emma's conversation. Suddenly I hear Rayne say, "dont you want to look pretty Emma?" Of course she said yes. So Rayne says, "Well then, you've got to wear make-up all day, Like your mom and my mom do!" I said, "Rayne, I dont wear make-up. Are you saying that I'm not pretty" She says, No, your still pretty!" Then she turns to Emma and says, "See Emma, I'm teaching you how to be polite!"

How kind of her...

25 revelations about myself

8. I really would have loved to be an art teacher but unfortunately you have to be an artist first and teacher second. I just wanted to teach kids to love art and express themselves through it.

Pretty self-explanatory. Wait for #9 if you have questions.

**Funny story about this weekend**

We took Emma TPing for the first time! It was great, I had to stay in the car with Cassidy, so Ellen was keeping an eye on her. You know, keeping her off the dark road and making sure she hid in the bean fields at the appropriate times. I laughed so hard just watching from the car, it was hilarious! I really had my doubts that Emma could be quiet enough to go TPing but she didn't do too bad. The first place we went, Emma and Ellen are walking back to the car and Emma says in a stage whisper, "I tied a bow around his tree with toilet paper". Of course, Emma was worried about the aesthetics of the toilet paper arranging! She was starting to get a little freaked out because the other kids kept talking about people coming out of the house to shoot them but apparently she got over it pretty quick! At the next house, Emma and all the others are walking up to the house and they are talking about how so-and-so is going to come out of the house with a gun. Emma says(in her southern girl drawl), "Nuh-Uh, So-and-so likes me! But she don't like nobody else!"

If you only knew how close to the truth that is!

25 revelations about myself

Today's Revelation
Pay close attention these next few days. 6, 7, 8, and 9 are very closely related and best understood when read one after the other. I was going to put them on here all at once and then I thought, No, I might run out of things to write about one day and wish I had more irrelevant verbal vomit.

7. I really hated college but wish that I had chosen a more useful degree choice.

I realize that I could go back and start again...I just cant make myself mark off 3 whole years of my life as a waste. However, I know that I will never finish the first degree that I started, more on that to come. Not to mention the first 2 years were completely paid for and well...I definitely wouldn't be getting any scholarships or pell money this time around! Also, have I ever mentioned how badly teenage girls annoy me!


This brings me to a completely unrelated story:
I was at the drivers facility yesterday and this girl is in there with her mom. I'm guessing her to be about 16. Anyways she was on the phone the ENTIRE time I was in there and her mom just kept rolling her eyes at her because she was talking so loud and so much. Finally, I was getting ready to leave and I hear this girl say in all her gum chomping, braces wearing, finger snapping, head shaking, hot pink, unashamed glory; "Hey, Josh likes Erica K*****. Spread it! Really, Spread it! I want it on the buses, grade school, middle school AND high school! Spread it! For real! Spread it!"

I dont think I have ever witnessed such a thing!

She's fast...Really fast!

I picked Emma up from school yesterday and she came up to me with this keychain toy thing that apparently Mr. Harper(pe teacher) gave her. I asked, "so Emma, how did you become the lucky recipient?" Her teacher standing there says, "It was probably because Emma is always telling him that 'she's fast, really fast!' "

I had to laugh, I can just picture Emma with her big eyes and her bouncy cheerleader voice telling Mr. Harper that she can run faster than anyone!

Then on the way home, I asked her where Mr. Harper got that toy from, (I'm assuming the playground) and she says, "Oh, he probably got it from Ginger's collection!"

**Ginger is Mr. Harper's wife that Emma has never even met!**

25 revelations about myself

Revelation of the Day.


6. I try to forget that I’m a failure because I didn’t finish college.

I do think about going back to school some day for business...

Of course, I would have to pay the $300.00~ overdue book fees that way they would let me in the doors. Hey in my defense, the purpose of the book was for 'research' and the book was due back before I got all my 'research'ing done. When I was finished with it, I returned it! I'm telling you, they make big money on them dang book fines!

On a happier note, I recieved a 100% on my Philosophy of Education thesis at EIU. They even wanted me to present it to the Board of Education.

I turned them down, after all, I would have had to go check that dang book out again and do more research because I had NO IDEA what I even wrote about!

The definition of : philosophy, n. 1. to babble in big words. 2. to make more sense in your head than what comes out of your mouth.

Look it up if you think I'm kidding!