Don't be a Grinch

I am so very blessed that my children have people who care about them and want them to have cool things under their Christmas tree. I have offered to do the shopping for people who want to bless my kids. But somehow, I didn't expect to be "Elf, party of one". I am just feeling down about Christmas today because I have ALL of the shopping to do for my kids, from us and two others. My husband tries hard, but often I've bought my own presents too.

So, who has something to lift me up with holiday spirit? Aren't I just awful?!

Bad Blogger!

Here you go Melzie, since I don't have a scale yet.

I'm sorry it's been 8 months since I blogged last. I don't like typepad, and I miss Vox, so I'm back here. Melzie was looking for a buddy to accompany her in a get healthier journey, and I volunteered. I have a cruise in 130 days, so I want to be healthier and look better.

More to follow!

Reminder

I am now posting over at http://cfodel.vox.com.  Check out what I have to say there!

Just a Reminder

I'm now posting over on http://cfodel.vox.com, so come visit me there!

The "Other Blog"

I'm really liking VOX, so at the moment I'm posting over there.  To see my latest posts go to http://cfodel.vox.com.

Friday!!

Am I the only one who thought we'd never get to today?!  Man, I'm tired and we still have two busy days to go!  Tonite is our cub scout pack meeting for both boys.  Connor gets his first award tonite, so that should be entertaining.  Duncan is getting another pin, his compass emblem, and his outdoor activities award patch.  I'm proud of him for that one.  Tomorrow we have an 8:30 am soccer game for Connor.  This should be interesting -- it's been much cooler lately so it will be a nippy game I'm sure. 

I will have more pictures to share from Walking with Dinosaurs when I get time to sort through them.  The kids had a really good time.  Duncan was quite determined prior to the show that it was a 'movie'.  We laughed at him, once the show started he hardly moved and didn't make a sound.  It was really amazing to see how big some of the dinosaurs were.  There was one person in the show, the "paleontologist", and it was amazing to see how small he was compared to the dinosaurs.   I was impressed at how much history and science was included in the show.  Their website has souvenirs on-line for sale; the kids may find the DVD under the Christmas tree.

I really am liking the Vox blog so far.  Jill said it well when she said she could finally understand the teens/20s obsession with MySpace.  I too find it a bit addictive to come here and tweak it a bit.  For example, in the books link I'm starting to link any books I've read recently.  It will be an incentive to me to read more so I can see it add up, and so my friends can see what I'm reading.  I also find that if my friends are on Vox, it is SOOO much easier to see if they have a recent update! 

Duncan's blister is healing really nicely.  It has almost deflated entirely.  He has been so very good about not messing with it.  The knot on my leg still feels warm to the touch and hard, but it doesn't bother me unless I put pressure on it.
I think that's it for now.  Sorry it isn't a long update, but I have to snatch writing time when I can find it these days.  Have a great weekend!

New Blog Home?

OK, "everyone" is trying out Vox, so I have to too. I'll keep you posted if I decide to move there permanently. In the meantime, check it out and let me know what you think. My Vox Site

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Tacos

Tuesday - Spaghetti

Wednesday - Shrimp & Rice

Thursday - Eggs, Bacon & Toast

Friday - Corn Dogs

Saturday - Sandwiches

Sunday - Left overs

Catch Up

Wow, busy few days for us! Wednesday I went on Duncan's field trip to the Dixie Classic Fair. I think he really enjoyed that I went along. I did something I never do... I paid to let a guy guess my weight, with the caveat to please not announce it over the microphone. Imagine my delight when he guessed under by 45 lbs!! Duncan won a stuffed frog for my efforts. We walked for four hours so I got my exercise in that day! I'll post some of the pictures from that on my photo blog.


Thursday Charles took Connor to soccer practice while I packed for our camping trip to Hanging Rock State Park. It was the fall camping trip for scouts. We left right after work and headed up to Danbury on Friday. Friday night we cooked our own food, a delicious meal of steaks, corn-on-the-cob, and skewers of yellow squash, zucchini, and onions. YUM. Unfortunately we had two injuries Friday night. Mine wasn't as bad -- there were seat sized logs all around, but I kept slamming into one in the dark with my left shin. I have a baseball sized bruise and lump on my left shin. The guys finally avenged me and burned that particular log in the fire. Duncan got interested in a bug that everyone was looking at and reached over and grabbed the glass of a coleman lantern, and has a lovely 2nd degree burn/blister on the palm of his right hand. Say OUCH with me! Despite his boo boo, he and Connor both had a great time. They went on a three mile hike Saturday morning. The webelos 2 scouts cooked breakfast for us Saturday morning (fruit salad, pancakes and sausage) as part of working on their outdoorsman badge. Saturday night the Webelos did skits and songs for us by the campfire. Sunday morning our little group had bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast cooked over the fire. YUM. Then it was time to head home.

Thursday Thoughts

It rained!  It rained!!  We have been sooo dry here so it was wonderful to hear rain about 4:00 am this morning!  Of course, Connor has soccer practice tonite and we are camping this weekend so it's not great timing, but I was still glad to hear it falling.

We've had such a very busy week so far.  Monday was Connor's first den meeting as a tiger cub.  There are eight boys in his den, and he's already seeming to bond with them.  We took a hike and collected leaves to do leaf rubbings.  They are certainly a full-of-energy group.  His den will only meet once a month, but then they only have five achievements to do for their tiger badge, and one component of each is a family item.   He has already completed the requirements for his soccer belt loop, and we are starting on electives and his soccer pin items.

Next week we are doing something special with our family; I bought four tickets for us to go see Walking With Dinosaurs here in Winston-Salem.    For more information about it see http://dinosaurlive.com.  Duncan still thinks it's a movie, but I know they will be quite excited when we get there on Wednesday night!!

In Honor of Courtney....

I present my menu plan for the week!!! Are ya scared yet? Seriously, we have such a busy week ahead of us that I'm proud to know what dinner is every night, even if it's not a terribly balanced week nutritionally!

Sunday - Hamburger Helper skillet meal (everything ready from the frozen section, just heat) - Cheeseburger Macaroni
Monday - Herb Chicken with rice in the crock pot
Tuesday - Spaghetti
Wednesday - Fellowship dinner at church (beef tips)
Thursday - Cheesy Italian Shells
Friday - Camping - steaks and corn on the cob

Quick Boring Update

Sorry -- we've just been REALLY busy. The trip to Las Vegas kicked our butts, and we are still recovering. I've got to travel for work today, so I'm leaving early, and getting home late.

Connor has a mild case of croup, but the steroids kicked it immediately. Duncan continues to demonstrate tween obnoxiousness. Scouts and soccer are in full swing, so our evenings are busy. Connor's team lost 0-3 to the Pirates this past Saturday. He had a field trip to Vulcan materials quarry on Monday. Yesterday they mailed their "Flat Stanley" letters out. Hopefully today his class will get a postcard from Flat Stanley's visit to Las Vegas!

The kittens continue to grow. Charles introduced Morgan to her first pedicure last night, and those little raptor claws are much shorter now. He said he'll need help getting Brigit to hold still for hers.

More this weekend -- I don't have another free evening until Friday!!!

Thank you Flickr

Go here to see the majority of my Vegas pictures uploaded to FLICKR. I haven't labelled all of them yet, but you'll get the idea.

Teaser

Our Thursday night in Las Vegas!

Viva Las Vegas!!!

Holy cow... Charles is a horror movie freak, and he surfs a website called FearNet. He entered a contest to win a trip to Las Vegas to see the world premiere of Resident Evil: Extinction. Well he woke me up at 2am last night to let me know he won!!! So Thursday morning at 7:30 am a car picks us up, and takes us to the airport for our whirlwind trip to Las Vegas. We have fabulous friends who are keeping our kids Thursday evening for us, and we'll return home from our trip at 10:00 p.m. Friday night.

WooHOO. So what's fun to do in the middle of the night in Las Vegas?!

First Soccer Game

Dragons 5, Rangers 4

GO DRAGONS!!! They did awesome... they played their positions (new this year), worked as a team, and listened to their coach. I'm such a proud soccer mom!

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Thursday

Fall is going to be very short at this pace! Connor had his first yellow light at school for playing in the water in the bathroom. He wasn't terribly upset about it, and neither was I. We'll see how he feels on Friday when he doesn't get his reward for the week since it wasn't all green lights.

Last night we went to fellowship, and Connor had his first night in the Children's Choir (he was previously in the preschool choir). I hope he really enjoys it. He had to draw a picture in Sunday school of what God called him to do... he told Ms. Lynn that God called him to sing.

Our Weekend

Here we are, "official" members of Ardmore UMC!! That took up alot of our Sunday, obviously. We spent alot of Saturday shopping for clothes for the kids. Our big excursion was to the $2 theater to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Both of us really enjoyed it. Oh, and new kitten pictures up on the photo blog!

No Neglect Intended

I've been slammed this week! Soccer has started for Connor, and we had two nights of practice this week. I made it to the gym on Wednesday, my mother-in-law is here until Sunday, and we are (finally) joining the church on Sunday so that's a big deal. I'm taking a 30 day class at Big Picture Scrapbooking, and I'm behind on my homework for the week, and the anniversary crop at Scrap Addict starts this weekend. Busy busy busy! New pictures are up on the photo blog!