Friday Fragments - Halloween Edition

Friday Fragments is courtesy of Mrs 4444 of Half Past Kissin' Time. She is on a break due to a personal tragedy and could use your support at this time.

Speaking of which, my next fragment is also about a tragedy. My dear bloggy friend, Kathleen a.k.a. Beany from sogratefultobemormon, is missing. She never made it to work on Monday morning, and has not been seen since. Your support, thoughts, prayers, glows, whatever it is you do, are desperately needed in this situation.
Beany, we love you and hope you are safe and well.

On a happier note, I got Boo'd! Not BOOED, like people yelling at me, but Boo'd, like someone likes me.
Here's the scoop. It's a really cute concept that many people do in real life. You leave a little treat on someone's doorstep, and then ask them to pass on the fun.
In the bloggy world, the treat is this adorable picture!



The rules of this are:
Go to as many friends as you want and tell them they've been "BOO'd."
Have them link back to your blog to pick up their Halloween Treat (picture) and tell them to Boo their friends.
Then put the picture in your side bar so everyone knows that you've already been "BOO'd" and to send the picture to someone else.

And, I got a treat, not a trick. I won the Moose Munch from Candid Carrie and Harry & David!
I'd never even heard of it before, but OMG, that stuff is GOOD. They totally hooked us up, with beautiful packaging and at least 10 different flavors of Moose Munch. We are HOOKED! Thanks, Carrie! It's always nice to get fun treats.

Speaking of witch (did you catch that? ha ha I'm so clever!), today is Halloween! My favorite holiday of them all. The kids will be with their dad (and Spiderman will be with his grandmother), so J and I are dressing up two of our dogs. One will be a devil, and one will be an angel! I will definitely be posting pictures. We are planning on walking them down Main Street in our little town, where they have trick-or-treating and other fun activities, and then passing out candy with them at home.
I hope you all have a safe and fun-tastic Halloween!
Here are a few Halloween pictures for your viewing pleasure.

I Know This Much Is True.

1. I know that losing a lot of weight resets your body thermostat. I.am.ccccold!

2. I know that coffee has kept me alive on my drives home the last few weeks. Thank you, Juan Valdez!

3. I know that tequila makes my clothes fall off.

4. I know that when I text J with "What's shakin, bacon?" he's going to text me back: "Nuthin, muffin".

5. I know that I am sad because I have finished reading the Twilight series. I wish they could've went on and on.

6. I know that just because two things are different, that doesn't mean one is superior to the other. No matter what one thinks.

7. I know that I can't save all the animals out there, but I sure wish I could.

8. I know that I am ready for another fun fall weekend!

9. I know that I don't do everything right, and my kid sometimes drive me nuts, but I'm still a good Mom and my rugrats love me.

10. I know that Spiderman is worried about changing schools, because both (yes, both) of his girlfriends will break up with him. I told him not to worry, he'll find new girlfriend(s) at his new school. The boy is a chick magnet!

10.28.2008

IYGAKAC~ 10.28.08

Hey there, friends! Welcome to this week's edition of If You Give a Kid a Camera!
See that graphic up there? My fabulous friend Alexis from Indelible Creations made that for me! There's also a button on my sidebar over there ~~> that you can grab! Go check out her blog, she is awesome.

Today's photos are by Ladybug, my almost-13-year old teen terror darling daughter. As usual, I turned her loose and told her to take pics of whatever she wanted. She shot a few pictures of some of our outdoor decorations.








And the Ladybug is all about patterns, especially polka-dots. This is a basket we keep dog stuff in...



...and one of her striped beach towels.



And, I now have a Mr Linky going thanks again to Alexis at Indelible Designs.
Sign up! And thanks to all of you who join in the fun.

10.26.2008

Weekend Fun Stuff

I was given this lovely Kreativ Blogger award by Willow at Apron Strings & Angst, and this time there was a rule to go with it. I have to tell you some things that make me happy.
So, in no particular order:

~ Pickles. Seriously, I love them so much it's ridiculous.
~ My new home and neighborhood.
~ When the Gators kick butt like they did yesterday!
~ Fall and Halloween.
~ My family, of course.
~ My pets, of course.
~ The ability to walk almost everywhere we need to go, except for work. Saves gas and gives us exercise - win/win!
~ Good music.
~ Alone time with hubby.
~ A good book.

I'm passing this award along to:

Mozi Esme's Mom...she's always creating fun activities to do with her daughter, and they're educational too. She's amazing!

Lynette @ KooKoo for CocoaPuffs...she may not be crafty but she made some adorable Halloween stones!

A Thorn Among Roses...I love her kreativ parenting tip!

And last but not least, Meaghan at I Kicked Cancer's Ass. I love her determination and hard work at educating people about cervical cancer!

*************************************************************************************
And speaking of Meaghan, she is having a giveaway! Check it out for your chance to win 1 lb. of gourmet coffee from her online coffee shop, Get the Bean.

On the topic of giveaways, there's another one going on at The Secret is in the Sauce, and it's a big one! Check it out!

I hope y'all are having a wonderful weekend!

10.24.2008

FFFF ~ Interesting....

....choice of reading material.

It's hard to tell from the crappy cell phone picture, but that is my 7 year old Princess, reading Newsweek.
Of all the things to do while waiting at her sister's orthdontist appointment, that's what she chose.
Well, she did say at her Preschool Graduation that she wants to be the President when she grows up.....

Join the fun!

Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta

10.23.2008

Thank you, and I am a butthead.

I have been tagged for a few memes lately and given some awards, and I've been remiss in doing my part! So here are a few of the things I need to catch up on.





Lynette at KooKoo for CocoaPuffs tagged me with this one:



Here are my seven random facts:


1. I am just about to crack open the final book of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn. I don't want it to end!



2. This weekend,we are taking the girls to a Fall Festival to benefit The Sebastian Ferrero Foundation. One day, I will post about why this foundation has a special place in my heart.



3. One of my big pet peeves is when someone comes up to me while I am obviously talking on the phone, and starts talking to me as if I were not on the phone. So.RUDE!



4. My voice is mostly back, but I think I sound like an adolescent boy right now. Very flattering.



5. In addition to the Fall Festival I mentioned above, this weekend is homecoming for our favorite team, The Florida Gators, involving a parade, pep rally, and of course the football game. There is another Fall Festival in a small town near us, and a Harvest Festival in our little town. Lots of fun activities this weekend!



6. Tonight is the Fall Festival at the Princess's school. They have the best Fall Festival of any school I've ever been to, I just love it. But...no other parents from her class have volunteered to help out with our booth, so I may be running it all night by myself! Slackers.



7. We're getting a new living room set delivered next week. Yay!

If you want to do this, you're tagged!

I am honored to have received this award from MamaHut:

...and this one from Mozi Esme:







Thank you so much!

And...this makes me feel like such a butthead, but I'm pretty sure I got one more award but I can't find the email about it and can't remember what it was or who it was from. So...if you recently tagged me or gave me an award and I haven't mentioned it, please smack me over the head to remind me!

10.21.2008

If You Give a Kid a Camera 10.21.08

It's pretty bad when you suck at your own game! We were so busy today that Ladybug didn't get to take any pictures. So, my submission for today is one of my favorite pictures that she's ever taken.

This is one of my dogs, Tater, and my brother's dog, Bonnie. They're standing behind my parents' "BAD DOG" sign. My parents have no dogs, they're just weird. The 2 dogs maybe weight 20 lbs together, and that's pushing it!

Be sure to check out the other IFYAKAC particpants!

DFTF

Kelly at Song for Whoever

The Bouf Kids

10.19.2008

Spiderman Returns

Dunh dunh dunh! Sounds like a cool movie. But nope, it's all about my stepson.

I'll give you just a little background. Spiderman is 9 years old. When he was 6 months old, his mom, C, took off and left him with his daddy, my husband. For years after that, C was in and out of Spiderman's life at her whim. Then when he was four, his daddy met me. C and I have had a bumpy road, but we now get along pretty well. But when I first came into the picture, she was a little jealous of my role in Spiderman's life, and started trying to be more of a mom figure. Eventually, she met a guy who seemed like a really good influence on her. She settled down, got married, and approached J about having Spiderman come to live with her. After many talks, J agreed to give it a try.

Long story short, that was two years ago, so she was definitely given a fair chance. It started out well, but she had another baby and things seem to have went downhill from there. She has a diagnosed, relatively serious mental illness, and she tries to overcome it but it's a struggle, and I do sympathize with that. Then, her husband lost his job of many years, and started drinking heavily. She tried to work, but ended up losing her job too. Her husband has had a few more jobs, but lost them as well. He's drinking up their savings, and she's not handling everything well at all. Right now, it looks like she may be taking off, leaving the baby with his (drunken, unemployed) father. When J approached her about Spiderman coming back to live with us, she had no objections. In fact, she said she really didn't have time to take care of him right now, anyway.

But thankfully, Spiderman has a stable, loving home with us waiting for him. He will be back with us, and this time permanently because we don't believe in playing ping-pong with kids. Spiderman has some special needs as well, and he needs stability even more than most kids.

While he lived with us before, he was doing so well, and progressing wonderfully. I know that now that he's coming home, we can help him continue to thrive.

We're all so excited to have him back. I know he'll be going through a lot, and I hope & pray his mom doesn't totally disappear. It may be a bumpy start because of what he's going through right now, but I know it's best for him and I'm happy to have him back in our loving, dysFUNctional home.

10.15.2008

My Heart Goes Out to You...

I have several drafts I've been working on, waiting to be finished and posted. So many things I want to tell you all, memes I've been tagged for, pictures to share...

But then, while traveling the blogosphere for the last two days, I came across four blogs that totally moved me. And I knew that I had to share them with you all.

I think sometimes we all get complacent, and forget that other people out there are dealing with issues so much bigger than we can even grasp. They make our day-to-day stress look like molehills to mountains.
They need our support, prayers, vibes, juju, whatever you have to offer.

I put a link to this blog up on my sidebar. Mikey and his family are going through a very rough time, and right now they're on pins and needles waiting on results. Please go visit them.

This lovely lady visited my blog recently. She left a comment and I went over to visit her blog. I was absolutely amazed and left in awe of her and her family. Their story is amazing, and right now little Dennis needs love and support. Can you visit and leave some love?

And then there's Kori. I can't even imagine what she and her family go through on a daily basis. Their strength amazes me. They are also in a time of need right now; need of prayers, support, and understanding.

One more thing....my long-time bloggy friend, Krissy, just suffered a major loss. Her family is devastated.

Please take some of your blogging time and visit these people. It may give you a different perspective. It will almost definitely deeply move you, and make you pause to think about what other people are going through, and where our focus should be in life.

*One more thing...if anyone knows how to set up a PayPal account for donations for someone, please let me know...and please don't make it complicated! I can't do complicated!*

10.14.2008

If You Give a Kid a Camera ~ Spooky Edition

Today's edition of If You Give a Kid a Camera is brought to you by the Princess. I turned her loose with my cell phone this afternoon, and she had a blast. She mostly photographed our fall/Halloween decor. She did a great job!

This is a close-up of our spooky doorbell. When you ring it, a spider shoots out of the mouth and it talks in a scary voice. It scared the crap out of an unsuspecting UPS guy last year!


This is a non-Halloween wall decoration, it's a candle-holder.



(fake) chili peppers that hang in the kitchen.

Back to the festive stuff....this is a Halloween candle holder.

A black cat candle holder (we seem to like candle holders a lot....)

This is a wooden cat, and a wooden pumpkin sits in front of him and says "Happy Halloween".

A fall wall hanging.

A jack o'lantern....you guessed it....candle holder!

a Halloween tree I've had for many years.

This is a S'mores bat. He lights up. So cute! One of my favorite decorations.

And this is my favorite IYGAKAC picture for this week. This....is the Princess's SOCK! LOL

Here are the participants for this week's IYGAKAC:

Don't Forget to Flush

MamaHut

If you joined in, let me know so I can link you up!

10.13.2008

This post is being typed in a whisper...

...because I have no voice. Nada, zip, zero. Just a whisper. It's really frustrating, although everyone else finds it mildly amusing.
I'm still working though, because I need the money am so dedicated.
Here are the things that made me ROFL while playing Yahtzee on Sunday night, which probably helped my voice take a vacation.

I saw a red spot on Ladybug's nose.
Me to Ladybug: Did you try to pierce your nose this weekend?!
Ladybug: (shooting me a dirty look) Mo-om! It's a ZIT!

Princess to Ladybug: Act your age, not your IQ!
Ladybug: My IQ is 20/50! (that's her vision...I guess she was thinking eye-q? She is such a blonde....)

And, the Princess's new name is Yetta....as in, Yetta Gin Misbehavin' (say it out loud)....I think that was one of those things you had to be there for.....

Here's hoping my voice returns soon. It's annoying when you want to yell at your kids, and it comes out in a whisper! The dogs give me pretty funny looks, too.

10.12.2008

Almost There

Thanks to two donations from the outlaws this weekend, we are almost to our goal of $200 raised for March for Babies! Maybe we'll exceed our goal this year. Every dollar counts & helps babies!



Why donate?
*Because right now, premature birth touches half a million babies and their families every year.
*Because babies born too soon are more likely to die, or have lifelong disabilities.
*Because 120,000 babies are born with serious birth defects every year.
*And because every baby deserves someone in their corner.

The March of Dimes is here for all babies—those born healthy and those that need help to survive and thrive.
The solution is simple.

10.09.2008

Thankful Thursday

I haven't done one of these in a while, and it's way overdue. It's time to count my blessings!
* I am SO thankful that we found our lovely new home.
* I am thankful that a few key things fell into place, enabling us to get this home.
* I am thankful for my husband, and all that he does for me and our family.
* I am thankful for my kids, even when they reeeeeeally test my patience!
* I am thankful for coffee. I honestly don't know how I would've made it through the last couple of weeks without it, and it's not going to get any better anytime soon!
* I am thankful that I had the courage to take a leap of faith, and make a life-changing decision this past February, that has improved my life even more than I imagined.
* I am thankful that we have the ability to fix a really bad situation for my little stepson. (more on that later)
* I am really thankful for my job & co-workers, and my supervisor who can tweak my schedule at almost a moment's notice. This makes my life so much easier. I'm thankful that things have improved greatly at work in the past couple of months.
* I am thankful that Autumn is here, my favorite season, and that it's October, my favorite month. I love all the fall decorations & activities, and Halloween is my favorite holiday!
* I am thankful that my best friend's grandpa, who recently passed away, got his dying wish to be buried by his mother. The plot had never been reserved, but amazingly had never been purchased. (RIP Grandpa Jack)
* I am thankful for your generous donations to March for Babies in honor of Baby JW.
* I am ever-so-thankful for all of my bloggy friends! xoxoxo

What are YOU thankful for?

10.07.2008

If You Give a Kid a Camera...

...you never know what kind of pictures you'll end up with! But they're bound to be entertaining. They can range anywhere from the silly/goofy, to the amazing. You may be surprised at what you'll see when you're looking through your kid's eyes. You get a glimpse of how they view the world, and what they find important enough to photograph.

So, I'm issuing a challenge! Once a week, give one of your kids the camera. If you can't bear to put your fancy, cost-as-much-as-your-kids'-college-education camera in the hands of a drooling, clutzy preschooler, give him your cell phone camera, buy her a kiddy camera, or just get a disposable! Let her take pictures of a trip to the zoo, a family wedding, or just hanging around the house. See the world through your kid's eyes, whether that is 2 feet from the ground, or 6 inches taller than you!

Then, post the results on Tuesdays. One picture, seven pictures, how-ever-many (I totally made that up) stand out as something fun or funny or just cool. And, tell your friends to give their kid a camera, give them a link back here, and tell them to join us on Tuesdays!

Feel free to steal the graphic, too.

Here are my first If You Give a Kid a Camera shots.

If you give a small Princess a camera....

...you may find an adorable shot of one of your dogs.

If you give a Spiderman a camera....

....you may just get a little creeped out when open your cell phone to find a picture of a snake! *shudder*

If you give a preteen Ladybug a camera....

....you may wonder why your boy-crazy daughter felt the need to take a picture of her cell phone....with your cell phone.

And if you give a teen T-bone a camera...

....you may end up with the best picture of your beautiful cat, that you've ever seen.

(taken with his cell phone, totally unretouched. Her eyes are really that blue, and I've never been able to capture it before!)

What do you think will happen....if YOU give a kid a camera?

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)