A bodacious bag, the boys, books & a bad cut

I won a bag from Carissa at Good And Crazy People. She makes them herself, and they're so cute!! I really like mine. You can see more of her stuff at Apricot A Lot.

A few nights ago, we pulled out blankets and watched a movie in the den, National Treasure 2. Remy and Annie crashed immediately. Aren't they cute?

Yesterday, Remy bought an art kit at Michaels, the craft store, a cute dog to paint.

He managed to get paint in lots of other places as well, unfortunately.

It's now hanging on his room door.
He's so proud!

And Donny felt he had to try his experiment again, cooking egg in soft drinks.


he adds Sprite
and then Coke...
and it doesn't cook but looks gross...



I've emailed his science teacher in hopes of figuring out this experiment.
I'll let you know when I hear back from her.

We don't have a Barnes & Noble in our small town Texas, so the boys and I hopped in the car today and drove to a nearby town. We were in heaven.

As we entered the store, I told the boys they had a spending limit of $20 or two books.

Remy then said, "What's our speed limit?"

hehe....come to think of it, that boy could use a speed limit.

We spent over an hour browsing. I wish I'd had my camera to capture them sitting in an aisle surrounded by piles of books, loving every minute of it.

I was going to end the post here, but then had an unexpected event occur tonight. While doing dishes, a bowl broke and sliced the top of my thumb. Hubby was working late in Dallas, so I piled the kids in the car and drove myself to the emergency center a few blocks away.

I got in just before they closed for the night. They cleaned the laceration and then used silver nitrate to cauterize the wound and stop the bleeding. Just in case you didn't get that...

cauterized = burned.

IT FREAKIN' HURT!!
I almost started crying.

Couldn't fill the pain pills at Walgreens due to an error of info on the prescription

and the e-center had closed by this time. Lovely, huh?

So, I'm up, hurting and trying to type with one hand, keeping my other hand elevated while it throbs in time to my heart.

Donny took a picture of it in front of the computer moniter.

Who knew doing dishes could be so dangerous?!

My Mission: To Reach the Kitchen

My mission is simple.

I need to get from my bedroom to the kitchen.

I am no long Rhea, mother of two,

but instead, a secret agent,

perhaps not unlike Sidney Bristow in Alias

(one of the best TV shows EVER)

Or I'm a sexy ninja

I live in fear.

Why, you ask?

Because my house is a cluttered mess danger zone, a battle field and an obstacle course.

To get from one room to the next, I have perfected my belly crawing skills



so the natives won't notice me.

I can become one-with-the-wall to edge around a room.

I can dodge, duck and dive into a forward roll.

Annie has also perfected these skills.
(Ok, that's not really Annie, but you get the idea)

Together we attempt to avoid an attack from the natives...

The natives have air support,


bombs,


artillery


and fortified bases inside

and outside.

They even have special weapons which are banned in our house this land.

They've interfered with my communications, and I can hear them listening in on my transmissions.

Then, today, they attempted a more direct approach:

"Mama, come in here, we want to show you something."

I hear giggles.

Oh, no, I won't fall for that. The oldest trick in the book.

I'm running the opposite direction!

I need some defensive plans of my own, a counter-attack, a secret weapon...

Wait. I've got it.

"If I get hit with ONE more thing, I'm taking away your computer and TV privileges!"

And, I duck as the barrage of paper airlines and balls come flying my way.

My Squirrel-Proof Bird feeder - Camera Critters

Rascal, our friendly neighborhood squirrel does it again. He enjoys that bird food more than the birds do, I swear. AND, our dear, sweet Annie would really enjoy catching him...she tries. Ahh, the food chain.

Grab a camera, photograph a critter and click it online to share in the Sunday Camera Critters! Started by Misty Dawn.

A Science experiment, Shopping & Southern Etiquette

My eleven-year-old, Donny, decided to show us a science experiement his class did in school right before summer. He said they cooked an egg in a soft drink.

We didn't believe him. That's just not right.

So, he bought some Sprite, we gave him an egg, and he went to work to show us how it was done.

He scrambled the egg....
and then opened the Sprite.
Remy is looking on in disbelief...
The Sprite mixes with the egg...and...

Nothing happens!! It doesn't change at all. We were disappointed. I think Donny left a step out of the process....surely. Or an ingredient. He said you can do this with raw egg or raw meat, and it will cook.

So, I've tried to Google this every which way I can possibly think of it, but I can't figure it out. Has anyone heard of this experiment? I may email his science teacher and see what she says.

Meanwhile, here's a smiley picture of Remy, who just lost another tooth!

Donny's smiling, even though his experiment failed. Poor Donny. I may pull out that fun experiements for kids book and try some more exciting ones...that actually work. Might make good blog material be fun and educational!!
And, since we can't end this post with a failed experiment, here are the boys with Annie...all cuddled up together in ONE chair. Amazing, huh? Annie thinks she's a lap dog and doesn't realize she's over 80 freakin' pounds!!

Oh, one more thing. I found a beautiful coffee mug the other day that I just had to have. It spoke to me, it really did. It's mine. No one else can use it. ONLY MINE. I don't drink coffee. So, it will be MY hot tea cup.

AND, I recently bought these adorable Wrap-a-Latte products that you can get your initial on for your coffee or HOT TEA drinks, to reuse and reduce waste. Isn't it adorable?!! I bought one for my mother-in-law and my mother. And myself, of course, because it was just too cute. I found them originally in a store here in my town, but then also found them online here and here.

I seen a lot of blogs lately talking about road rage, (most recently at Law School Sucks...And so do Lawyers and Amy's Brat Pack) and I just have to share my thoughts about that.

A Southern Gal's Guide to Road Rage Etiquette

1. You don't honk unless someone's about to run into you. It's just rude.

2. You do NOT gesture at other people. You know the gestures I mean. And, if someone makes them at you, you just smile and wave back. It drives them nuts. I think this is called Passive Aggressiveness.

3. If someone really butters your bread, then you have a perfect right to tell your children to cover their ears and then procede to yell away all you want in the privacy of your own automobile.

4. If you're forced to deal with someone face-to-face (say in an accident-type situation or a policeman pulls you over, god-forbid) playing the helpless female is essential and works every time. :o)

Thanks for stoppin' by, y'all!!

Blogging with a Purpose

I recently had a post called Wanted: An Internal Moral Compass that garnered a lot of attention. I was given a blog award and a shout out. See below.

San, the lovely multi-talented artist in Santa Fe, from A Life with a View awarded me this sweet prize, and I thank her for that!! Check her out when you have a chance.

In the spirit of giving and having purpose, here are a few bloggers I feel deserve this particular award:

Blondie at Tales from Clark Street

Carrie at The Gremlin Wrangler

The Secret is in the Sauce founders, gals Heather and Tiffany, for bringing together bloggers and forming a sisterhood.

And, Kathy at Mama's Losin' It.

I also was a top contender for Post Of The Day on David McMahon's site. He's an Australian journalist, author, and internationally-published photographer. He also has a mean sense of humor in his "verse and worse" posts. Check him out when you have a chance!!

Classy Chaos Challenge

OHMOMMY has a challenge on her blog today, a Classy Chaos Challenge. She takes fabulous photographs and wants us to think outside the box with our cameras. So, here's my contribution...taking pictures of heads from above. I took this a while back, actually, but it works! Here's Remy on the playground.

And me zooming down on his head from above.

My furry nephew

I have four sisters and one brother. And, they all have children, at least two each, except for one sister. The Bug only has one child, my nephew Hollis, who so happens to have four legs and a tail. He's got big ears, lots of wrinkles around his face and is very hairy. He's special that way.



So, blog friends, I'd like you to meet Hollis.

Here he is chewing on Donny's shoe. I think he was teething. He doesn't really do that anymore. I think.

How can you not love that face? Isn't he cute? He looks a little bewildered, I know. I don't think he was used to having lots of pictures taken back when my sister first got him.

He really likes Donny's shoe. Remy really likes Hollis, as you can see by his half-hug...but at this point, Remy was a little scared of his cousin, because Hollis was as big as he was, and a little rambunctious. That's why he's hugging away from Hollis' head. hehe Less chances he'll be nibbled.
Oh, wait, I spoke too soon. Remy's feeling braver. Look at those cute faces. Can you see the family resemblence? They have the same...ummm...eyes? no...same energy! Yes, that's it. Both of them are more than likely to be bouncing off the walls with energy. Both need to be run...DAILY.

Hollis has gorgeous hair. And the most hilarious expressions. Unfortuneately I don't see him much now, because my sister has moved to California!! I miss The Bug, her hubby Rock Boy, and Hollis. My boys miss their cousin. And, I don't think Annie has met Hollis yet.

This is my sister with her baby. Aren't they sweet? He's her first born. He's a little spoiled (shh! Don't tell her I said that). He has no bedtime, he pees outside, she hasn't put him in school and she has this special voice she talks to him with...

Ok, look at that face. I'd spoil him too. He's adorable. I miss you Bug, Rock Boy and Hollis!!!