Blue Light Special...

Ok, so I realized I have neglected the hotdogs and grilled cheese for a week...ok, not the actual hotdogs and grilled cheese.
Who am I kidding.
That's what we had for lunch.
And dinner.
At least three of the last four nights.
I have picky children.
What can I say.

It might be that I am just now recovering from my trip to the Fayette Mall with all 5 kiddos in tow. I am still having flashbacks from briefly losing two of the five in the depths of the food court...somewhere between Chick-Fil-A and Chao Cajun.

Anyhoo, we are in full decorating mode over here! I have a good friend who is a super talented decorator and she has assisted in my endeavor in making the house look cheery and bright! (pictures coming soon)

As y'all know...the tree just came down July 10th. It is now going back up. That means it will have been up 34 weeks in the year 2011. Is that some kind of record?!?!
I will now begin taking bets on when it might come down...

Speaking of decorating...I ran a few little errands today in search of some things I needed to complete the decor. Somehow I ended up on Nicholasville Road by Kmart.
Now, I have to say I probably haven't stepped foot in a Kmart for, oh, I don't know...10 years?!?
I think it is because Kmart always looks so sketchy...it's kinda dark at the entrance (I think they are using the 40w bulbs), there are never many cars, there is an occasional cop car in the parking lot (as there was today), and most of all it's virtually empty in the store.
I don't mean shoppers either.
I mean employees.
It's like you are in there alone.
And at any minute a masked man is going to run into the store.
And then a scary voice will come over the intercom and instruct everyone to the backroom.
And then you will be forced into a tiny back office by two men in ski masks where you will have to abandon your cart full of Jaclyn Smith clothing and Martha Stewart Christmas decor.
I really don't know where the fear of Kmart comes from...
But I'm tellin' ya there is something about it that screams "holdup".

Thankfully I made it out alive...and I even got a few good deals in the process.
And I am now a "frequent shopper" card holder.

On a non-crime related note I am volunteering Friday night at our church for an amazing event called Jesus Prom.
I am SO SO excited...I have wanted to do this for a long time, and I finally managed to get myself signed up.
It is an amazing ministry at our church...we basically host a HUGE prom for physically and/or mentally handicapped adults. It is based on the parable in Luke 14:12-14. That says, when you give a banquet, Jesus said, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed. These people are completely incapable of paying a host back.

I love this.
There is something so wonderful...at least to me when you give of yourself.

I love being a part of something so amazing...I am blessed with THREE beautiful, healthy, happy children. I am humbled that He choose me to be their mother and there is not a day that goes by that I do not thank him for that. But even if they weren't "perfect" I would love them no less. They are my children.
I pray that they can see the good deeds of others and also have a servant's heart. I try my best to set an example for them, I pray that they take note and will grow to be loving and kind and giving...
I love the message's version of James 1:22-24: Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

So friends, go out...do a good deed, help out a friend, give of yourself.
You too will be blessed.
I promise!

Hope y'all have a great Wednesday...until next time....

The day in which I went to the mall...with 5 kids. By myself.

So I just needed to pop an aspirin to write this post.
Not really.
But I could use a stiff drink.
And it's not even 2pm.

You might ask yourself, "Self, why on God's green earth would this woman go the mall...with 5 kids...on a day most of the public schools of the state are out of session?".

Well, yeah, I am asking myself the same thing.

I have a sister, a much younger one at that (my poor father), and I had promised her a shopping trip for her birthday.

I also have a son, who is 6 who I had promised could have his best big boy buddy over on his next day off school (today).

I also have an additional 4 year old and 16 month old myself.

Now I was never any good at math, but I am pretty certain that adds up to 5 crazy kids. And one even crazier momma.

On top of that I have noticed that all the surrounding counties have descended upon the Fayette mall...as in let's get our Christmas shopping on in the big city folks!

So needless to say, we tackled the food court, more specifically Chickfila... Then we moved on to Hollister.

Let's talk about Hollister for a moment shall we.

I thought I was dreading the day my daughter wants to shop at Justice. I think I have decided Hollister may be worse...
What's with that place!?! It's so dark. Yet so expensive.
You would think with the fact they don't turn any lights on it would be much cheaper. Look, you are saving on the electricity bill...therefore a mere tank top fit for a miniature size person should not be forty dollars!
And while I am on that subject...the xs there...I am pretty sure my 4 year-old could wear that now.
So see, not only are you dimming the lights and saving electricity, the clothes have a minuscule amount of fabric...

Anyhoo, I have a very responsible and respectable little sister...clearly she is being raised right because she picked out two very cute sweaters to add to her wardrobe.

Then we breezed through a couple more stores in search of the perfect scarf. Every girl needs one of those this season! ;)

We managed to only loose the big boys once.
(who knew it took 20 minutes for two boys to go the bathroom!!?!?)
(I seriously considered having them paged...)
(But alas, they came back to us...)

We wrapped up with the 5 for 5.95 cookie deal and all was right with the world.

Until I looked in the back on the way home and Jack was gnawing on a stale french fry...pretty sure that was from our Sonic drive-thru trip 3 days ago.

I need a nap.
In a bad way.
Today I was like Michelle Duggar, minus 14 children, and I'm not pregnant...and I am fairly certain she wouldn't wrap up the evening with a stiff drink.

On a side note...see the Hollister bag. Shame.
And evidently this one was "better" than the last one she got...where the boy was taking off his pants.
Oh my heavens.
I hope we can shop at Gymboree for many more years to come.
Think I can still put matching shoes, headband, & tights on her at 12?!
Who am I kidding.
I can't even get clothes on her at all these days.

A Random Rainy Day List...

...it's raining.
A cold rain at that.
Something tells me I need a nap.
Honestly, I don't have much to say (or at least that's what I am thinking....20 words into this post)

So in honor of my lack of information I give you a list of useless information.

1. I did the new update on my iphone. I am usually terrible at those updates because it would involve actually plugging my phone into the computer, and leaving it alone for a full 5 minutes. I mean, you get that warning that says "sync in progress"...I don't want to mess with syncing...it sounds serious. Anyway, I am all up to date now. Not sure what that means except that I am certain my phone may be a little faster now. Or maybe it's all in my head?

2. I have successfully picked out all of the good candy in the kids Halloween bags.
I wonder if my parents did that to mine? Mom? Dad?
I woulda been so mad.
Plus, they had me convinced they didn't eat candy because it would "rot your teeth outta your head"....pretty certain I have used that line on my kids. And I am definitely eating their candy.
However, I am certain that you all will think I'm crazy because I was not pleased with my kids loot...it was ALL candy bars... I mean, where are the sweet tarts, gummy candy, starbursts, and skittles... It seems we have a truckload of mini Snickers.
Boo!
And I don't mean that in the Halloween spooky greeting kinda way...

3. Did y'all realize it is almost time to put the tree up again? Is it me or did we just take it down?
Oh wait, yes, we did just take the tree down.

4. I just remembered I started something last week called "Ten Things Tuesday"...that didn't last long did it?? I'll try and work on that...in the meantime consider this your consolation prize.

5. I admire single parents. I do. I mean I really do. The hubs has been traveling a LOT lately... I try and give him grief about things like, oh, I don't know, leaving the tree up until August. But hands down he is a WONDERFUL father. My kids are blessed that where I lack in patience he makes up for it. For instance we are in this phase that goes something like this...
Momma, why is the sky blue?
Momma, why is the guy on TV wearing a red shirt?
Momma, what was the name of the mascot for Central Michigan, that team UK actually beat?
And what was the score of that game?
Momma, what was the name of the pink fairy on Tinkerbell and the great fairy rescue? And the yellow one?
Momma, what is the name of the teacup boy on the Belle movie? And why is his name Chip?

You get the picture.

Well, these questions usually all come at 8:30 at night.
At bedtime.
Momma is tired.

So my answer is usually some irritated version of, "I don't knooooowwww. Why do you ask so may questions?!?!"

I can't tell you how many times I have come out their rooms, even though I am "so tired" to get on the computer and I see google, wikipedia, or what have you and it's pulled up with a question on there like, "Why are there rings on Saturn?".

Bless his heart. He wants to give them an answer. I just want to go to bed.

So daddy, please come home soon...we have a whole list of questions waiting on you.

Happy Thursday y'all!