Randomness At Our House

My sister-in-law says that I have made her tear up/cry twice this week and wants me to stop.

So, I thought I would lighten things up with just  random bits from our lives recently.

Our microwave just went "zap" one morning, when I was trying to reheat my coffee.

Panic ensued.  Mostly from my teenagers.  How would we heat up our nuggets and pizza rolls  they wondered.  I wondered if I would have to resort to heating my coffee up on the stovetop like my mom used to do?  Gasp.

So, I looked on-line found some pretty decent prices for microwaves at Walmart and made plans to head over there after the National Honor Society induction ceremony.  D-man is Vice President and A-girl was being inducted.

Rainman had to work and L-girl was spending the day with the Ramblers group from our church.  So, they weren't at the ceremony.  The Ramblers are the senior citizen group at our church (although all ages are welcome).  L-girl went over in the morning to help them with a craft painting project that they are working on for a fundraiser.  She left at 8:45 in the morning....she got home last night at like 9:30.  The Ramblers know how to party.  They crafted.  They went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.  They crafted some more.  L-girl was invited to join them for supper at a local Mexican place that also holds a trivia contest.  So, she and the friend of ours who had the crafting at her house, took a nap on the couch to prepare for their night out.  Just cracked me up. Homeschooling was why this kind of day was even possible for her.   L-girl had  a blast and came home exhausted!  Too funny.

The induction ceremony only took like 20 minutes total because there were only 11 kids joining. So, we had time to run to Walmart.  I perused the microwave offerings (none of which were the ones that I had seen on-line)....found one that was the right size, right wattage, right price.  But, there weren't any on the shelves.  I went over to the nearest department for help.  It happened to be the gun (i.e. sports and leisure) section.  They did their little computer gun magic and said that there should be 3 in the warehouse.  But, of course, when he went and checked and there weren't any.  So, I went with my second choice, which was $10 more than my first choice.

We got it home and D-man and I got it all set up....and lo and behold....the cord was too short to reach the outlet.  Grrrrrrr.   But, we found a power strip and are using that, so we should be okay....but to get to that point took us like an hour.

This morning, this sign was posted on the cupboard above the microwave.  L-girl cracks me up.  Totally a mom in training, right?

I am chuckling just reading it again.

I am so glad we have babies around our house again.  I have missed seeing things like this throughout our school day.

V-girl has been practicing her braiding techniques on anybody with long enough hair.  She is getting better.

L-girl finally let someone trim her hair.  She picked A-girl (I am not sure how I feel about my roll as barber being taken over by someone else).

But, it looks really healthy and A-girl did a good job.

Found this on the camera too....apparently L-girl had practiced her deer make-up on her little sister before Halloween.  Her mouth is cracking me up.

Hopefully that was less heavy and more light-hearted for you, Deb!

Trying a Little Something New

I am going to try something.

I am going to try to see if I can blog a little bit everyday.  So for you occasional readers, sorry, if I am going to start bugging you.

For family and friends, sorry if I start boring you.

Just an experiment though.....so don't worry.

I felt pretty good last week.  I have bumped up my calcium consumption(ice cream) and supplements (ginormous horse pills that I cut up into teeny tiny pieces) and my numbers are increasing.  I am still below the normal rates so I have to have more blood work done in a few weeks to make sure that it is steadily increasing....otherwise we do something else.

I was actually able to have the air conditioning off for a few days last week.  It was heavenly.  Then the humidity came back and I was a wimp and shut the windows and turned it back on.

I made chili, a pot roast with mashed potatoes/steamed veggies, AND a hot dish last week.  Oh, and an apple pie and an apple crisp.  Just call me "Betty", "Ms. Crocker" if your nasty.  (Did I just totally age myself there?)

We went to Walmart last night and Rainman and I purchased 2 things.  Yes...just 2.  I have learned that Rainman and I do not make good shopping partners - at the grocery store or anywhere.  We have completely different styles.  So, I spotted a few things that I will make a return Walmart trip for.  But, for this time, we walked out with a Carpenter's CD - at the request of a few of our children.  Yes, that is the truth.  Yes, those Carpenters...Karen and the blond brother.  They have become little 70's music lovers since I got Rainman the Sirius XM radio reciever thingie that means he can listen to his old Casey Kasem countdowns from the comfort of our home.

V-girl and S-girl frequently request Paul McCartney and Jim Croce (although V-girl pronounces his name Croaky), while we are driving around running errands.

Our only other purchase was good, old fashioned Carmex because poor little S-girl has cold sores.  She had these spots at the corners of her mouth that, at first, just looked liked cracked skin or that she had licked too much.  Then, one night they seemed bigger so I actually called her over to examine them more closely.  Sure enough, they are little blisters.  So, we are slathering them with Carmex to see if that will take care of them.  She has never had them at the corners of her mouth before, just on her lower lip.  Not sure if there is some medical meaning or reason behind that.  I just feel sorry for her.

I gave V-girl some bangs this weekend, on a whim.

She, as usual, had followed me into my bathroom because whatever she had to tell me was way too important to wait until I had actually finished my business.  While she was telling her tale, she kept pushing her hair out of her eyes.  So, I said, "Should we just give you bangs?"  She did that deer in the headlights thing - where you could see her mind wheels turning - Was I serious?  Did I mean right now?  Can we really do it?

We decided that she would just get up on the toilet seat and cut them instead of cutting hair in the kitchen like I normally do, so we could surprise everyone and have a little game going on to see how long it would take every one to notice.  Everyone, even Rainman, which is a miracle on its own, noticed immediately.  Probably because she had this big old grin on her face the entire time she was trying to walk around the house all cool and pretend like nothing was up.  She is totally adorable....and looks waaaay older.

 
In my Sunday School class yesterday, we talked about some exerpts from the book The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer.


Some really good quotes and ways of thinking about things.

Anybody read it?  Have any feedback?  Should my class do it as an actual Bible study?

On a closing note for today, my laptop is acting up.  Like a cat - or a toddler - it is only cooperating when it is in the mood.  I am sure I have some stupid virus that snuck in.  Grrr.  This is when I miss having a real job, with a real IT guy to sweet talk into helping me.

I Love Family Pictures

On one of my recent posts about our new house, I talked about how A-girl and L-girl had taken over the task of hanging up our family pictures.

It still makes me happy every time I walk out of the hall bathroom and look at this.

(I couldn't fit them all into the picture....but there are just lots and lots of pictures of my babies throughout the years.)

Even though these have been hung up for over a month, I will still catch Rainman occasionally just standing in the hallway looking at the pictures.  Makes him happy too.

I just have to turn one way to see these....

 And the other way to see these....

Can you see the smile on my face through your computer?

I love these people.

Only a Little Embarrassing...

I guess I am like a lot of bloggers out there.  I share a lot of the great things my kids do, pictures of my house when it is clean, or, the great homeschool products that are out there.

I don't share a lot about the real aspects of our life.

I did share about how I really DON'T do it all here.

I did share about our sock problem  here.

I did share about the cockroach in my coffee here.

I am about to add another real tale to the list.

Yesterday, was Thanksgiving.  For the first time ever, we celebrated with friends.  Rainman works most Thanksgivings, so we have either gone to family (when we lived in Minnesota) and he joined us there after work, or I have hosted and we scheduled our meal around whatever shift he was working.  Sometimes, we even celebrated on a totally different day.

But, this year, my wonderful friend, Sherri, asked what we were doing for Thanksgiving because she was in the mood for a crowd.  Just inviting my family over constitutes a crowd!  The kids thought going over to Sherri's house was a great idea.  They have a really big T.V. and a fun, little, teeny, tiny dog.

So, we decided that I would make a few side dishes and she would handle the turkey.  Great plan!  So we prepped and made things the night before and then I whipped up a few of them Thanksgiving morning.

(I had a picture of A-girl cutting onions in her sparkly Hollywood sunglasses but Blogger is telling me I have hit my 1 GB limit and need to buy storage space.....I have no idea what they are talking about...so, for now...no picture of A-girl.  If anyone has tips on how to fix this issue - without actually buying anything, I am all ears!)


After I got my final side dish in the oven, I announced that I was going to take a shower.  I took a good long shower, put extra conditioner in my hair, washed and moisturized my face, put a little make up on.  I looked pretty good.  Got my comfy (elastic wasted) but, sort of stylish pants on.  My hair, if I leave it alone has a nice wave/curl to it, so I decided to let it be and try to wear it down.

But, I know myself well enough that once I started moving around or working in the kitchen, I would want to be able to pull it back out of the way.  Nobody wants a long curly hair...even if it is pretty...in any of their Thanksgiving feast.

So, I grabbed my Lilla Rose hair clip that I am totally in love with.




Problem was that I had no pockets in my comfy pants.  And V-girl wanted me to help her get dressed.  I knew if I set the hair clip down I would forget to grab it again.  Especially because V-girl is quite picky about clothing. 

She is a bit of a Goldilocks in that her underwear have to feel "just right"...and then, the pants can't pull on the underwear too much....the pants can't make the underwear move around too much....and, the shirts she wants to wear are almost always stained, so there is a bit of bargaining over which clean shirt she likes enough to wear.  So, helping her get dressed takes a while.  Plus, there are 5 other kids around that have questions, stories that need to be told, need help putting belts through the loops, or opinions on what to wear.

Suffice it to say, if I had put the Lilla Rose clip down, it wouldn't have made it to Thanksgiving with me.  And, remember my hair was wet and conditioned and wavy and pretty....I didn't want to put it in my hair and ruin in.

So, I tucked it in my cleavage.  I would just keep it there and then, when I got downstairs, I would put it in my purse.  So, V-girl/Goldolocks finally arrived at a pair of underwear that fit her just right.  I had been able to coerce everyone into bringing an extra pair of play clothes.  Then someone yelled that the oven timer had gone off.  So, I went downstairs pulled the casserole out of the oven.  Yelled at the kids to grab their stuff.

Asked A-girl to double check the list I had made the day before so I made sure that I grabbed everything I had promised to bring, including crafts and games for everyone.  By the way, I stole a bunch of game ideas from my sister's Twelve Days of Christmas posts. They were a huge hit!!!

Anyway, I had lots of stuff to bring....successfully got it all balanced and positioned just right in the van and were able to get it all there without anything spilling along the way.  I only had to turn around about a block from our house to come back and make sure that I had remembered to turn off the oven (I did...but didn't have any actual memory of doing so). We left our house around 10:30 a.m.

Once we got to Sherri's house, the kids played, Sherri and I cooked and visited.  We had dinner.  We cleaned up dinner.  Sherri and her sister decided that they were going to Black Friday shop on Thanksgiving night.  Walmart opened at 8:00, so they decided they had better leave around 7:00 or so.  A-girl and L-girl wanted to go with on their very first Black Friday adventure.  Sherri and her sister had room, but it was 6:45 when this decision was made.  So, there was a mad rush of getting ready and off they went.

I did not go shopping.  Number one, I don't like to shop.  Number two, I don't really have much money.  Number three, I went to a Black Friday sale once when I was about 13 or 14 with my friend, Natalie.  It was a nightmare.  We went to Dayton's in downtown Minneapolis....and I think Target.  I am not sure.  I have blocked most of it out. 

Anyway, I wished them well, said I would handle putting the leftovers away and off they went.

By this time, Rainman had arrived from work and had eaten his dinner, while the rest of us had leftovers, and joined the guys for the football games downstairs on the big T.V.  So, I cleaned up the kitchen until he came up, after the game, to see if I was ready to head home.

We got the four kids that were left and headed home.  A-man had really wanted to go Black Friday shopping too and was quite disappointed that there wasn't room for him.  He also had no shopping money, so even if they had room, it would have been pointless.

D-man, S-girl and V-girl rode home with Rainman (there is always a lot of fighting over who gets to ride in the car....apparently when all you know is a big extended, high top, conversion van....a car ride is very exciting!)  A-man and I were all alone in the van.  We had a nice visit about life and Christmas.  He came up with a plan on the way home.  He announced that since his sisters got to go Black Friday shopping, that we should get to watch a Christmas movie without them.  I am pretty funny about us watching the hokey Christmas movies together this time of year.  But, I agreed that sounded like a good plan.

So, we got home, the kids got their jammies on, got a snack.  I checked e-mail and Facebook.  We finally settled in to watch the movie about 10:00.  (By the way, if you are looking for an extra hokey Christmas movie, tune in to 2006s Christmas Do-Over with Jay Mohr and Daphne Zuniga.)

I sat down and put my feet up and started watching the movie.  I had a little itch in my chest area, so I reached into the front of my shirt to scratch it.  I know.....real lady like, huh?

But, wait!  What's this?  What is in my bra?

Yes, it was my Lilla Rose hair clip that I had placed there.....just about 12 hours prior.

Seriously.

How sad is that?

I mean, yes, I have a bosom. 

But, I had no idea I could really hide things there undetected by me, or anyone else, for that length of time!

Seriously.


It is kind of sad, isn't it?

Funny.  But.....sad.

The One With The Cock Roach....

For those of you that know me in real life, it is no surprise to you that I am frugal.  A cheapskate.  A tightwad.

For those who only know me through me blog.....well....you have probably figured that out too.

I hate to waste things.  I hate to throw away food that someone around here could eat.  You know?

So, when I have days where I don't finish all the coffee in my pot, I just let it sit there and use up whatever is left, in the morning, before I make a fresh pot.

I get up fairly early, while it is still mostly dark out.  I do my morning routine without lights. 

So, one recent morning, I came down to the kitchen in the semi-dark, shook my coffee pot.  Yup, enough for about a cup before making a new pot.

I stood in the semi-dark kitchen and poured myself a cup.  I couldn't really see other than to know I had the right aim and wasn't missing my cup.

Then I heard a plop.

Hmmm....I thought.  I must have had grounds at the bottom of my pot that congealed together or something.

Now, this is the part of the story you will be proud of me for....and I will forever thank God for.

I decided to dump out that cup and go ahead and splurge and make a fresh pot.

Based on the title of my post, you know what the plop was, don't you?

It was a big one too.  Sort of like this one. 

(Alicia, if this is finally the day you actually read one of my blog posts....you need to STOP right now and pick another one.  I mean it....do not look any further.)





It was dead.  So, I guess it must have gone in looking for water and not been able to get back out since the pot slopes at the top.

Rainman has informed me that it isn't actually a cock roach....but a palmetto bug.

Frankly, I do not care what it is called.  I just don't want it in my house and I especially do not want to share my morning caffeine with it!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Just remember to check your coffee first before you sit down with that piece of pie.

But, Wait! There's More!

Guess what?  It costs more than I thought to take a look at me naked.

Remember $142.85 ?

Well, I got a letter from the dermatologists office yesterday saying that I owe them $29.20 and I had better pay up.....or else.

So, let me get this straight.....for someone to take a look at this old gal in the buff....it cost a total of  $172.05. 

Somehow I am thinking I could have been looked at nekkid for a lot cheaper in certain parts of this country.

$142.85

As a mother of six, that is a lot of money.


I do remember a brief time in my life, when I was single....working a great job.....paid cheap rent for a basement apartment...... A time when I would drop that much at Target on a cute cart-full of little things and didn't bat an eyelash.


But, in general, that is still a lot of money to me.

So, let me ask you this question.

How much would I have to pay you to take a look at me....naked?

Did you get that?

I am paying you......to look at me.....naked. 





Okay, are you done thinking?

I can't believe I am about to type this sentence. 

I just paid $142.85 for a Physicians Assistant to look at me....naked.

It wasn't even the doctor.

I don't understand my insurance anymore.

Back in the good old days of healthcare in Minnesota.....maybe even the good old days before Obamacare (I don't really understand that either).....my yearly visits to the dermatologist were considered preventative and were covered 100% as long as I went to someone within my "network".

I hadn't been to the dermatologist in 3 years, since we moved.  I had been putting it off because, quite frankly, I hate the healthcare options available here in Georgia.

But, in case you haven't seen me in real life, I am very pale....and have lots of freckles and moles that can turn into nastiness if left unwatched.

So, I finally (3 years later) put on my big girl panties and scheduled an appointment.  Since I haven't had the best luck with doctors down here, and have been surprised numerous times by the amount we owe when the bill came.  I called my insurance company directly and asked them to tell me who to go see.....thinking it would be cheaper that way.

So, they gave me a name, I called.

Now, here is where my first red flag went up and I didn't pay attention to it.

They had an opening the very next day.  In Minnesota, I always had at least a month wait to get in.

From the point I hit the ripped up welcome mat on the way in, it was horrible....and I wasn't even naked yet.

The front desk receptionist was rude and had a nasty attitude.  I got the feeling that she felt she was doing us "little people" a favor by being in our presence and allowing us to see her providers. 

As I was waiting in line, I heard her tell the pharmaceutical rep that the doctor was gone for the day.  Hmmm.....I thought that was who I was seeing. 

For the record, I do not mind Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants....our primary care guy in Minnesota was a wonderful Nurse Practitioner.  What I do mind is telling me on the phone my appointment is with the doctor and showing up to find out it is with someone else.  Bait and switch.

Oh, well.  I was here now.  Then I proceeded to fill out the extensive paperwork provided (really, I don't see how many of those questions relate to my skin).  As a former Executive Assistant and the one in charge of creating forms for the clinic I worked at, I was appalled at the forms that they handed me.....copies of copies of copies....if you know what I mean.  It was blurry and crooked.

Again, back to the rude receptionist.  I went up to hand in my paperwork and get my insurance card back.  I was tall enough to see that she was on the phone, so I just stood there waiting.  While I was waiting, another gentleman from the waiting room came up and said something like, "Excuse me...but my son has been waiting over 30 minutes for his appointment."

Now, this man was quite short....and the receptionist was sitting behind the computer screen.  He obviously could not see that she was on the phone.

She took the phone away from her ear and super rudely (picture one of those rude New Yorkers in the movies) said, "I am on the phone!"....accompanied by an eye roll and head shake that sent her big hoop earrings bouncing around on her shoulders.

He and I shared a look and he whispered to me, "Be with you in a minute, sir."

Honestly, I did think about walking away at this point.  I really should have, but I was so proud of myself for finally scheduling this appointment after 3 years.....that my feet didn't move.

Then, the rude receptionist informed me that I had used up all my HRA dollars so I would have to pay for the entire visit out of pocket.  I asked whether my insurance would at least pay a percentage of the visit.  I was told no.

I asked how much it would be.

She hollered over to the other lady sitting on the other side of the office to ask and the answer was hollered back.

$142.85.

Stupidly, I still didn't walk away.  I think I was sort of afraid that they would charge me anyway for being a "no show" for the appointment.

Enter a non-smiling nurse to call me back to the room.  I still tried to be friendly and nice.  (It is a problem I have....I want everyone to like me).

I was told to undress and that the PA would be in shortly.  When the PA breezed in, she was friendly and nice.  But, without going into much detail....she wasn't as....ahem.....thorough....as my doctor in Minnesota.  I wasn't sure if she had really looked over all my nooks and crannies for potential bad moles. 

Here is where the other difference is.  In Minnesota, if something suspicious was found and they wanted to take it off to analyze it.....they took it off....right then and there.  No separate office visit was needed.  Ever.

Guess what I was told?  They do not do removals the same day (yes, this was also snottily said)....so for the one mole that she wanted to take off, I would have to come back again.

I am not going to.

I can't imagine how much money that would cost.  Office visit plus removal.  No thanks.  Besides, I get enough snotty attitude from my kids, thank you very much.

It was sort of nightmarish from the beginning to end.  I know that I shouldn't take my moles lightly and I will probably see if my regular doctor down here (who isn't horrible) will take it off and have it biopsied.  If not, I am, for now, just going to take a picture of it and keep an eye on it.

Healthcare in Georgia feels like I am in a whole new world....and not in a good way.  The overarching feeling I get whenever we go to the doctor is that they are doing us a favor by seeing us.  That we should be grateful that they have allowed us to darken their doorstep.  There really is no southern hospitality in site.  Other than the fact that I get called, "Honey" or "Sweetie" a bit more than I would like.

I was spoiled in Minnesota.  They have spectacular, innovative health care available.  Although you will run into a few crabby people here and there, most often you will find  "Minnesota Nice" displayed. I think I was spoiled under an HMO system.  I, at least, understood the rules.

I don't get this system we are under now.  I think it is considered a PPO with HRA.  I don't know if it has anything to do with Obamacare or not....but, I do know that we pay a lot more in premiums.....we pay a lot more out of pocket.....and we get far less service and care.....than we did 3 years ago.

So, back to my original question.

How much would I have to pay you to look at me naked?  Keep in mind that I have no money left....so I think I may just keep  myself under wraps for a while.

Socks and Sandals

I know.

You aren't supposed to wear them together.

I know that.

But, my toes were cold this morning.

And, I just needed to run to the store to get a gallon of milk for breakfast....before the kids got up.

So, I did it.

They aren't even my socks.  They're Rainmans Chicago Bears socks.

 

I was feeling pretty okay about it on my rush in and out of the store.....pretty sure that nobody would pay any attention to me and notice my feet.....until I saw someone else in socks and sandals.....walking in front of me.....

 

 

It was a man. 

 

He had pajama pants on.

 

He was at the store in need of only one item too.

 

It was 8:00 a.m.

 

He was heading to the checkout with....a bottle of wine.

 

 

(I didn't even know you could buy liquor that early in the morning.)

 

 

So, um, I am thinking that maybe next time, I will let my feet be cold when I am out procuring supplies for my babies.

 

I don't really want to be bundled into the same group of people as that guy.  Do I?

Mischief Afoot

Here is how I know there was mischief afoot and that there was a recent "fight" in the basement.

They were found in that order on my camera...and, apparently....this was the photographer/evidence gatherer......

I still do not know what actually happened in the basement....but those involved keep laughing about it....so I guess it wasn't that serious, just messy, huh?

A Random One

Not feeling very capable of pulling together a cohesive blog this morning, so thought I would share a few random moments from recently.

We love our new (to us) little pink vacuum.  There have even been incidents of fisticuffs over who would actually get to use it. Not really....but is is a very popular item in our household.

By the way, our Christmas stuff has been taken down and put away now.

Modeling their new dresses from Grandma.

Having lunch in their restaurant.  The unusual part of this is that this time, it was A-man idea, and he served everyone.

And, just so you know, I  try to keep V-girl in clothing....I really do....she just wants nothing to do with pesky things like shirts, pants, socks, etc.

My mom sent me this beautiful cup and saucer for Christmas...it was my Grandma's.

Speaking of Christmas gifts....I just realized that I never did a Christmas post and there are things that should be shared.....I got something that I have wanted/coveted for 20 or so years.  There was screaming and tears....by me....I acted like.....well, a kid, on Christmas morning!

My friend, Sherri, came over and helped me organize/declutter/rearrange my kitchen and garage.  Look!

We have a larger recycling bin since we always overflow ours....and we repurposed these shelves to hold some of the more seldom used kitchen-y things that I don't want to get rid of...but were taking up valuable cupboard space in the kitchen.  I am loving it.

Okay, I think that is enough random things for you this morning.  I will be back with a belated Christmas post, a New Year's wedding post,  and what photo evidence suggests....

some sort of scuffle in the basement....documented, apparently, by this person...

Okay...Here is a Random One...

I can't put together a coherent post today - so I will just put together a little random post.

1.  Thanks for everyone making me feel better about letting my kids have cereal for breakfast.  I really was starting to wonder if I was the only one doing it.  It was those darn freezer cooking....plan ahead menu websites...with their breakfast menus of waffles and egg sandwiches that got me all paranoid.  But anyway, thanks for the input and uplifting encouragement that I wasn't scarring my kids for life!

2..  We are in a food co-op and at our last pick up day - we got a big bag of frozen breaded okra.  My neighbor who is also in the co-op was VERY excited.  She loves okra....would eat it everyday if she could kind of love.  She gave a little tutorial on how to fry up the little suckers.  Long story short,  I enjoy fried okra.  To me, it sorted tastes like broccoli....brocolli...you know that green tree kind of vegie?  I don't feel like looking it up in a dictionary - you know what I mean, right?  The rest of the family is pretty much split down the middle with half liking it and half kind of indifferent to it. Since all the kids are huge vegie lovers, it doesn't worry me at all. 

But, we have all started calling it something other than its God given name lately.  S-Girl announced after her first bite...."I love Oprah!  Can I have some more?"  So, yes....we now eat a little deep fried vegetable and call it Oprah.

3.  The kids got one of these for Christmas...

 S-Girl has once again renamed an item in our house.  She calls it the "Spit and Sin".  If you didn't catch it the first time - slow down and read it again.....

4.  We lived in a house with 3 bedrooms in Minnesota and when we moved to Georgia, we upgraded to a 4 bedroom house.  We figured with 6 kids, that would be two people per bedroom, right?  Instead, this is what my kids like to do....

Can you tell there are 5 people sleeping in this room?  Yes, 5!  Maybe this shot will help you see a bit better...

See?  Three kids in one twin bed!  They did this by choice and they picked the smallest bedroom for some reason!?!  If they could, they would have a slumber party together every night.  Sometimes we let them because it is so funny to hear them breaking into giggles and cracking each other up.  Sometimes we yell that everyone has to be in their own rooms.  Much whining and asking for second chances ensues.  I have to assume this is one of the things from their childhood that they will remember!

5.  A-Man lost his very first tooth last week.

He looks kind of puffy and beaten up in this photo and his tooth area is still a little bloody...sorry....but he pulled it out himself and was very excited even though there was blood which usually sends this rough and tough guy straight into Sissyville!

6.  This is what we grown ups did during Georgia's recent snow storm....insert dramatic newsworthy music here.....


aka, Total State Shut Down 2011

It is a glow in the dark puzzle of the Las Vegas skyline....very cool and very hard.

I will put together a post on what the kids in our house did during the Total State Shut Down 2011 next time!