Everybody dings the garage door at some point in their driving career, right?

Well, today, I used up my 'garage door ding' .....

I am in big trouble when Mr. Jen gets home.  I already called the garage door company and they told me that only the bottom panel has to be replaced and that we could do it ourselves so that we don't have to pay for a service call all the way out here - which starts at $100 and goes up from there - plus the cost of the bottom panel for the garage door.

All in all, not such a good day, but it could have been much worse....I think!

Yesterday, I went shopping for something to wear for our upcoming family portrait. I actually got the rare opportunity to go shopping all alone and actually made the extra arrangements to go to the closest really large town in Montana - about 100 miles away - to make sure I got the very best selection.

So, you would think it would be an enjoyable day. No kids, lots of stores to shop in, no schedule or time table to stick to as my hubby was taking care of picking up both kids from their schools.... Not so.

The first problem was that I was limited color-wise. Photographers, when you have portraits made, want you to stick to having a color scheme - mine was red and white - and the clothing items should be fairly plain in pattern....so, no plaid, wild stripes, shiny stuff....

You would think that red or white would not be a problem, but I was not happy with the limited selection of things in those two colors. Even at the most expensive department stores, there was not a whole lot to choose from. The sales lady in Dillards, bless her, pulled every single red sweater from the ladies department and I tried every single one of them on. I actually did purchase a sweater in Dillards - to the tune of $150 - that I am returning today. I like it, but not enough to pay $150 for it! It is cashmere - and gorgeous - but honestly not my style at all so it is going back.

Finally, after scouring several stores, I went to one store that I never go to anymore - Eddie Bauer. Right in front, folded neatly in a pile, was the perfect sweater and it was white. Now, I had been looking for red for myself, but I ended up with white and that is fine. As long as it fits well, which it does, and didn't cost $150 - which it didn't. $50 is way more reasonable, don't you agree?

By the end of the day, I was disheartened though. Shopping used to be fun, but yesterday it was a chore that I didn't really want to do. Not sure why I felt that way, but I did. Now, the real chore begins.....getting my family all to sit straight, smile and co-operate for these portraits! LOL

While out shopping the other day with my two kidlets, we visited the Halloween apparel section at Walmart. I always buy a holiday themed t-shirt for each of the kids to wear to school and then we keep it as a play shirt afterwards.

So, there we are perusing the Frankenstein t-shirts and looking at socks that having lights that flash when you walk when I suddenly realized that Owen is not standing next to me.

Panic mode!

I called his name and I heard him call back for me, just around the corner from where Maya and I were standing. Relieved, I peeked around the corner to find him standing there - all in one piece. Then he pointed and said, "Look Mama, flags!"

He was standing in front of an entire display of very tiny and very colorful ladies thong underwear.

Now, I ask you, what sort of manager okays the display of 200 pairs of teeny, tiny thong underwear at the front part of a store? And right next to the grocery section too!

All I could do is chuckle and say, "Yes, aren't they colorful!" I mean, I really didn't know what else to say. Then, of course, he asked if he could have one - which had to be a big no.

So, we hit the deli, got some popcorn chicken and got the heck out of there. I am always cautious at Halloween time. There are some very scary and gruesome things in the Halloween aisle - but I didn't think we would run into trouble in the apparel section! LOL

Jen Returns!

After major computer problems, numerous outings and one family disaster, I am back to blogging! It has been one He** of a month and I am quite frankly glad to have it behind me for the most part.

Right after the 4th of July, I started having trouble with my computer. It starting acting very strange it became harder and harder to get online. Thinking it was my AOL browser, I downloaded a couple of other browswers to try them out. Doing so only made the problem much, much worse. So, I took my Gateway computer - that I custom ordered and paid big bucks for - to my local computer repair place. They called me a couple of days later saying that the machine was working fine - and it did for a couple of days - but they they whole computer became totally unresponsive and will not work at all.

I felt at first that I ought to try and have my Gateway fixed. It was quite expensive afterall but my husband encouraged me to just go and buy another one. So, yesterday, he took me to Best Buy and I chose a Sony - and purchased the extended service plan. So far, so good. Even the Windows Vista is not what I thought it would be and all is well!

In the meantime, we had planned a trip to Yellowstone Park. It was so hot that we decided at the last minute to change our plans and head to Couer d Alene, Idaho to visit Silverwood Theme park instead. In the end, I was glad we went to Couer d Alene because as soon as we had made our plans, my 92 year old Grandmother passed away and my Dad was a wreck. After all sorts of drama that I don't care to recount, I finally ended up in Idaho with my family enjoying cool weather and having a great time riding some rides and eating everything that I should not!

We also had Owen's 4th birthday party. He had a wonderful time and is thrilled to be a big boy now. Of course, all of the boys that we invited we on vacations with their families so it was Owen, his sister, all of his cousins (who are all girls) and Owen's friend Lindsay. All the girls did a great job of being really excited over toys meant for boys and had a great time trying on Owen's Batman wings and playing with the remote control cars and Transformers. All in all, a great day!

So, now things are beginning to wind down and we are getting ready to settle in for the school year. I am getting the paperwork together for Maya's Kindergarten registration and going through all of her clothes and shoes to make way for the new wardrobe! She is very excited and I am scared to death. My baby girl is going to ride the bus with all those other big kids and eat lunch without me. I have resolved NOT to cry about it, but I am not sure I will make it

I give all of you my word of honor that I will visit blogs very soon. I hope all of you are well! Take care and enjoy what is left of summer!

Just so you know, I am not dead - or mad at everyone! LOL! I am just really busy at the moment and have a ton of stuff to blog about!

Stay tuned and thank you for your patience. LOL!!!

I have a major dilemma.....

A group of my online friends are having a Convention in the UK - Blackpool it be exact - in June. I had already resigned myself to not being able to go. My kids are too young to be without me for long and also too young to travel overseas.

So, the other night, out of the blue, my hubby says that he can rearrange things and - that if I want to, I ought to go to Blackpool.

If not for the kids, I would have already bought my plane ticket - but I am feeling really guilty about even thinking of going, let alone actually doing it. First of all, I am having a hard time justifying spending the money for airfare to only stay in the UK for a week. Airfare costs the same whether you stay one week or three and I, frankly, would rather stay for three but that is absolutely out of the question. I cannot be and do not want to be away from my kids for that long. Secondly, if I spend this money on this trip, that might mean we cannot go to DisneyWorld and take my Mom and Sister with us next year. While that is not certain, I am having a hard time risking the chance for my kids to spend some time at DisnseyWorld with their Auntie and Nana.

On the other hand, I have given up almost everything I like to do - job, travel, several hobbies - to stay at home with my kids. A small get away would be Heavenly!

Ugh!!! Any pointers??

Ugh! I had a terrible day yesterday. In all actuality, it was not me - it was everyone else. LOL!!

First of all, it snowed like crazy and I had to go out and plow the road. My husband is away until Saturday and so I had to go back and forth between the house - where the kids had to stay because they cannot play outside while I am on that snow machine - and the plowing job. I was almost done and was on my way back that the machine quit. Just went totally dead - and it is past due my time to pop in on the kids. I had to leave the snow machine - in the middle of our private road - and hurry the quarter mile back to the house. Maya, worry wart that she is, was sure that I had been eaten by a bear (impossible - they are all hibernating). So, I spent the next little while calming her and Owen and calling one of my neighbors for help.

My neighbor, bless him, came right over and sorted out the machine, parked it back in the barn for me and told me to call him if I needed anything else. I was very grateful for that!

Then, the phone rings. It is the seamstress from the dry cleaning shop where I took my coat. The zipper in my favorite coat was ripping out from the bottom up and needed to be fixed. The coat needed to be cleaned anyway so I asked for a new zipper to be put in it. Well, the seamstress calls me and says the zipper works fine for her and does not need to be replaced. Tired and short on patience, I replied - very shortly - that I ought to know if the zipper is broken since I wear the coat regularly and I would like her just to put the new zipper in and be done with it. I know I was less than nice, but for goodness sake! If someone wants a new zipper put in their coat - just put it in and take the $25 you are getting paid for it.

Not 5 minutes later, the phone rings again and the voice on the other end of the line says - "We are sorry, buy due to the unexpectedly large volume of calls, no one is available to help you at this moment. Please wait on the line. The Leukemia Foundation....".

That is when I hung up. Imagine - a charity telemarketing call asking someone to hold the line! Yes - I cannot wait to stay on hold for a telemarketing call and have nothing better to do. What genius thought that marketing strategy up?

Rant over.

Today is a new day - thank the Blessed Father! I am looking forward to having a pleasant day today without all the hassles of yesterday. I hope each and every one of you has a lovely and blessed day as well!

Both of my kids are sick and so we are just laying around watching Sponge Bob cartoons and eating things like fruit and jello today. Both kids stayed home from school today and Owen will likely stay home tomorrow. Oh Joy.

Er....I mean - poor little guy. He is not ornery, demanding and hard to deal with at all. He is a perfect angel and totally reasonable. I also have *plenty* of time to do all the things I need to do in between all the requests he makes. Yeah - we'll go with that.

Hope you all are faring better than I today!

What's a Girl to Eat?



We can't eat beef - Mad Cow Disease.....


We can't eat chicken - Bird Flu.....


Can't Eat Eggs, Salmonella....


Can't Eat Pork, Trichinosis....


Can't Eat Fish, Metals in the water have poisoned them....


Can't Eat Fruits and Veggies, Pesticides and Chemicals....


That leaves us with.....CHOCOLATE!

My buddy Cynthia sent this to me and I am just spreading the joy!

Check this out: Saucy Santa

I have had one of those days. I have tried off and on all day to get here so that I could sit down and blog about this week's episode. It has been a comedy of errors the whole way through.

First off, I had to repaint one of the walls in my dining room. I started on this early this morning because I had to prime first and it takes awhile for things to dry in between coats. First thing that I discover is that I had purchased two different types of primers the other day and so I had to go to the hardware store and buy new primer.

So, I got the primer up on the wall with no problems what so ever. I then put at second coat of primer on without incident and waited for that to dry.Once again, I sat down at the computer and tried to get out a blog entry only to be bombarded with other things more pressing. So, I gave up and ordered the gift baskets from Harry and David that I always send out. At least I got that done!

With things settled a bit, I went out to my car to get something I had left out there only to discover the soda I had purchased when I went to the hardware store had frozen - and exploded - in the back of my Toyota. %$&@! That took a while to get cleaned up but went easier that I thought it would, so I returned to the house, fully determined to finish the painting in the dining room before my son decided to "help" me.

Upon returning, I noticed there were a few places that needed a touch up, so I did that, cleaned all the brushes and go ready to apply the paint. Lunch time - or actually way past lunch time. Right. Gotta feed the kids. So, chicken noodle soup warming on the stove, I grabbed something that was in the bottom of the bag I had brought in from my car before I discovered that the soda cans had exploded. I no sooner got the jar in my hand when it slipped out, hit the edge of the countertop and shattered into a hundered pieces.

The good news is that I did not cut myself and the kids were wise enough not to get near the mess. The bad news is that it was a 12 ounce bottle of pine infused essential oil that was to be a Christmas gift for my Dad. Double %$&@!

My entire house - all 3,000 square feet of it - reaks with the nauseatingly strong smell of pine along with paint and oil that I fried the fish in for supper. My dining room wall has two coats of primer and no paint.

Somebody get me out of here! LOL!

Meme Time!

What are your top five favorite television shows when you were a kid?

1. I Love Lucy
2. The Andy Griffith Show
3. The Dukes of Hazzard
4. The Cosby Show
5. Happy Days

I have many happy memories of watching A&E in the evenings. They had all kinds of classic television shows on at night. I was a fan then and I am a fan now of I Love Lucy. I watch it whenever I get the chance. The Andy Griffith show is also still a favorite. My favorite character is Barney Fife followed closely by Gomer Pyle! That is very telling - I know.

I don't think anyone of my generation did not watch watch Happy Days and The Dukes of Hazzard. John Schneider was my first real crush. Who among us did not wear a pair of Daisy Dukes at least once in our life? I have fond memories of riding our bikes pretending to be the Dukes or Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane. I am sure my sister Julie will be on here telling you all sorts of untrue stories on me about this era in my life.

The Cosby show - we all loved. I wanted to be Bill Cosby's daughter so very badly. A Dad, totally plugged into the lives of his kids, and active and caring parent who had a sense of justice and humor. We should all be so lucky.

I tag Karolynn, Sharon and Devonna for this meme next!

Rules: List your favorite 5 television shows from your childhood, name three more bloggers to do this meme, copy/paste these very short and sweet rules, and then leave said bloggers a comment letting them know you have tagged them!

With the holidays fast approaching, this week's catagory is Favorite Holiday....

My favorite holiday is Christmas. It has all the things I like to do involved and is one of the two most important days of the year. Not only do we get to honor and celebrate the birth of our Savior, we get to do special things for our family and friends. Christmas involves all of my gifts - shopping, cooking, decorating, entertaining and surprising people. All of that in one! Yippee!! And, I also love to wrap gifts - which most people hate to do. Christmas is Heavenly - in every sense of the word!

My hubby is a big fan of Thanksgiving - both for the food and sentiments behind the holiday. We always try and make a big deal out of Turkey Day at our house.

Maya says that Halloween is her favorite holiday because you get to dress up and go out in public. Hmmm...... I am sure it will be her favorite - until November 1st rolls around and everyone starts talking about Christmas and making out their Christmas lists. The neighbor girls had Part One of her Christmas List done in August so the rest of us had better get cracking!

My sisters and I were playing on blogthings and I found this quiz.

Your Blog Should Be Blue

Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere. You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant. From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

The funny thing is, I dislike blue - a lot. I do not mind Cinderella Ballgown Blue so much, as for most other shades of blue, I do not like them. I really do not know why either. It is just one of those things I guess.

So, what color should you blog be?

Confession~

Bill is gone into the wilderness until Tuesday and I have not actually cooked a single thing since he has been gone. Warming up soup and Raviolis does not constitute actual cooking does it?

We have gone out for dinner for the past two nights! Shhhhhhh.......!

How Many Brunettes Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?

Apparently, more than one. Here is my story....

We have one of those combination light/fan fixtures in our bathroom and the light bulb had blown out. So, I got out the step ladder, newly purchased bulbs and the vacuum cleaner to change the light bulb and clean the fixture. I was going to be up there anyway, might as well bite the bullet and clean it properly.

I removed the plastic cover, vacuumed the fixture and then removed the blown bulb. So far, so good. Right. So, I then grab a new bulb and get back up on the step ladder to screw in the new bulb.

It would not fit.

What?

I tried again and again, and the bulb would not fit. So, I went out into the soon to be dining room and hijacked a bulb from a lamp. It also, would not fit.

What??

When I tell you that I could not figure out what on Earth was going on, I am not kidding. I was truly perplexed. I tried one more time, pushing really hard on the bulb to make it fit. While I succeeded in getting the bulb into the socket, it would not screw in. I tried it both way. No dice.

Huh?

Then it hit me. When I unscrewed the blown bulb, the metal threaded part remained in the socket and I, like a moron, had spent at least a half an hour total trying to change that light bulb. So, I marched downstairs, turned off the breaker, returned back upstairs and removed the metal threaded part from the socket and screwed in the light bulb.

I felt, and still feel, really stupid. Sometimes I wonder about myself - and this did not help. So, if you have done anything silly this week, just compare it to what I did and feel better about yourself. At least you can change a light bulb!

And They're Off!!!

Maya and Owen were off to their first day of Preschool today. Maya is in actual Kindergarten prep preschool and Owen is attending to play.

I am grateful that neither one of them cried or begged me to stay with them - however, a *little* something would have been nice. They were gone the minute we hit the door and did not act all that thrilled to see me when I came to pick them up!

We will see if it is still that way two months from now........

I am not sure the Mommy Community blog is still doing Friday Faves. I will not use their little graphic anymore because I am not sure if they are still doing this meme, but I will keep doing a Friday Fave - and yes, I know it is Saturday!

This week's topic is:

Candy Bar!

I am a fan of Butterfinger and Milky Way Midnight - neither of which I should be eating. Dieting will start again soon! LOL!!

So, what are you favorite candy bars?

Still Crying......

Monday was my son Owen's third birthday. I have been a bit weepy ever since. I cannot believe that he is three already. I seem to barely remember him being a tiny baby! He cannot be three! Where did the time go?



We had a big party for Owen - at which he was the only boy! The other two boys who were invited were unable to come for various reasons. That did not seem to bother Owen at all. He carried on as usual and had a great time! The child received a bumper crop of gifts, including a wooden dragon that my sister spent hours putting together and lovingly painted orange and green which are Owen's favorite colors. Everything else either had wheels or flies. Bill spent the entire rest of the afternoon playing with Owen's toys including the helicopter the neighbor girls brought over. It is so funny to look around for your husband and find him out in the yard in the middle of all of the kids playing with toys! LOL

Owen was the child I never planned to have. He was a total surprise - and one that I am grateful for. Having two babies only 16 months apart was extremely stressful and difficult. I was out of bed and doing business as usual (almost!) two days after have a c-section with Owen because I had no choice. I had a 16 month old baby to take care of as well as my newborn.

I took a lot of crap about not breastfeeding Owen. The truth is, I physically could not do it. I had a hard enough time functioning as it was, let alone throw that in there. I did not breast feed Maya either. The pediatrician, of all people, told me not to worry about it (as he passed the Kleenex). It is difficult on moms who have had rough pregnancies and then a c-section. Throw in a 16 month old and breastfeeding should have been the least of my worries! I really appreicated that from our doctor. He was the last person I ever expected to hear say that.

I guess I am just feeling very sentimental today and for some reason breasts have been a big deal around here lately - cannot say why - and the bad feelings about breastfeeding showed up. Funny how things do that! Owen, in spite of my failure to breastfeed him, is a very healthy and growing three year old boy. I cannot believe it! He will be the last of his kind because I cannot and should not have any more babies, but I am so grateful he is here and that I get to be his Mom!

God gives us things for a reason. Owen has important things to do in this world and I cannot wait to see him grow up to be a man who loves God. Just not yet.......

Back from the House of Mouse.....

Our trip to California is sadly over. I really enjoyed it - in spite of the heat and crowds and would go back next week if I could.

Let me start with the hotel. The Grand Californian is where we stayed. I chose this particular hotel because the travel agent suggested it. We took my mother in law - who is over 70 - with us and I wanted her to be comfortable and be able to go to her room if she needed to rest. The Grand Californian, with it's private entrance into Disney's California Adventure, was the absolute best location.

The Grand Californian is an Arts and Crafts style lodge - totally my style - well, one of them anyway. Very nice and very big! The pools were great and the food was plentiful and all fantastic! Our hotel was not terribly crowded and we had two rooms with a view of Downtown Disney. Maya loved that! She could hear all of the music that was playing and watch all the people as they walked by. Owen was, as usual, indifferent to the entire Disney experience. Owen.

We went on as many rides as we could handle. They were all a lot of fun but I have to say that my very favorite was the newly reworked Pirates of the Carribean. It was great and both of the kids loved it. I will not say anything more about it because I would not want to ruin any of the details for anyone.

In spite of the crowds, we really did not wait in any really long lines for any of the rides. We used the FastPass gizmo for some things, but most of the time, we just waited in line - never waiting for more than about 20 minutes or so. I was quite impressed with that. The most fun for the kids was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlasters.

It was crowded at this time of the year and Maya and I were the only ones of our group to cope with that fact very well. Crowds do not bother me. Traffic does not bother me. I had a great time in spite of the complaining and lack of help from the other two adults - who were both so overwhelmed by the crowds that they were a bit out of sorts. No big deal. I am used to such things and we all got on well and had a great time in the end. The only thing I wish is that I could have done a bit of shopping for myself. That is not happening with two kids!

I also got the chance to meet my friend Sharon Lathan. She and sat in the lobby of the Grand Californian for a couple of hours and gabbed. She was lovely - very Jane Bennet like - and we were instant friends. I think she and I could have gone on for quite some time, but we both needed to get back to our respective families. Now I have the idea of taking a vacation, sans my family, and meeting up with Sharon and a few of our fellow Darcy Saga fans. That would be awesome to do some day! Someday....

When I got back, I was shocked and humbled to find that I have had a blog award bestowed upon me by my friend Jenster. I am thrilled to be the recipient a Rockin' Blogger Award. Try as I might, I could not get the graphic to load. My DSL is down again so I will have to give it another try in a day or so. Thank you Jenster! You are an awesome friend and a TOTALLY ROCKIN" BLOGGER!!!