I have a dozen or so stamps sets listed for sale on Ebay, if any of you are interested. My user name is the same there (kisatrtle) if you want to look. I'm cleaning out my craft room and listed them for $5.00 each.

Dear littlest G,

Do you come up with new ways to terrify your mom everyday? Do you wake up and think..."What can I do today that will make my mommy freak?" On Saturday, you tripped and whacked your head on the molding along our staircase. I tried to circle the lump in the picture. Click on it to see a larger version. It swelled up immediately and it looked like you had a bouncy ball growing out of your skull.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, "Wake him up every three hours from bed." He also said a little Tylenol wouldn't hurt...no kidding. Really? *** PLEASE NOTE: this sentence is laced with sarcasm***

So I woke you up and you didn't like it. At one point you said, "Mommy, I'm tryin' to sleep here." That made me feel happy...like you didn't do too much damage to your brain. After all, the ability to be sarcastic in our family is, most definitely, a dominate trait. See above.

Needless to say, we were both pretty cranky on Sunday, but we muddled through. You still have a lump. Said doctor told me it may be there for a week or more and slowly become a faded black and blue memory.

My question to you is...will you wait till it is entirely gone before you think up your next trick?

I'm sitting here listening to my daughters. They are supposed to be sleeping. They aren't. The boys in our family have all settled down and are now fast asleep. I'm including daddy in that list. I'm trying to work, but don't feel like writing about the goings on of school boards tonight. I'm trying to relax, but I've seemed to forgotten how.

Has that ever happened to you? I remember, as a child, how much it used to annoy me about my very own mother and now I find myself doing the same thing. I can't just sit, I can't be still, and when I try I realize just how tired I am. I look around and see that while I was out no one cleaned off the table, or picked the strewn about items up off the floor, or folded the ubber amount of blankets that we have.

It is hard for me to just sit whenever the house looks like this. I find it hard to craft when there is laundry is piling up around me. I find it hard to post anything worth reading.

To my middle daughter:

Ten things I want you to know:

1. You don't need to like or even enjoy the things your older sister does. However, if you do like the same things that's okay too. We all have things in common, but remain our own individuals.

2. Just because you can't spell "scratch" doesn't mean you are stupid. There once was a person who couldn't spell anything and you know what happened to him? He invented a program called spell check and made a fortune.

3. Nothing about being 7 years old should ever be described as "hard". Being 7 should be fun and exciting and filled with adventure. Don't be so tough on yourself.

4. Your parents love all of their children equally.

5. If someone doesn't want to play the same game as you, it is okay to play alone. I'll let you in on a little secret...when you get older you may actually desire time for yourself.

6. Eat dessert. Even when your friends all start to worry about their weight (trust me this will happen sooner than you think), eat dessert anyway.

7. Listen twice as much as you speak.

8. Try to visit the ocean at least once a year. It's humbling and reminds you that you are only one small part of this great place.

9. Challenge yourself to do something new every year. Step out of your safety/comfort zone; and

10. When someone tells you that you can't do that because your too small, or two big, or too whatever, prove them wrong.

Remember mommy and daddy love you and no matter what we will always be there for you.

I'm having a BIG Thanksgiving at my house this year. My sister and her family of 4 are coming up for North Carolina and I'm inviting all of our kids grandparents, as well as my sister's in laws. Her husband is an only child and we are keeping our fingers crossed that his parents will join in on the chaos. Traditionally, we have shared the day with friends in our area who also have out of state/out of town family and we are including them as well.

If everyone comes...should be about 27 people, including my parents and their new spouses---OUCH. That might be awkward. **smile**. At least they can't say they didn't get a gobbly cute invitation! Raise your hand if you think I'm crazy? Alright, that's more hands then I expected....what if I tell you my husband does most of the cooking as anything dead freaks me out. Still crazy? Ahhh, what do you know anyway. If you're in the area, stop on by....

To the future POTUS:

First, I have no doubt that you are indeed a faithful reader of my blog. That being said, I'd like you to pay close attention to the following areas once you are elected. Please note, they are not in order of importance.

WAR: As I reflect on the fact that we have been at war since the birth of my middle daughter, I'm deeply saddened. Before, I get an onslaught of emails, I didn't say I was for or against the war, I just said I was sadden that we are still at war. Please consider that, Mr. President, when making future decisions.

HEALTH CARE: All American citizens should be entitled to health care. Do I know how to accomplish this? No. Do I know how to pay for this? No. Do I believe that it is the right thing to do? With all my heart.

GAY UNIONS: This is a touchy subject that I will not pretend to know a lot about. However, I will say this. I worked many years for a gay man whom I loved as a friend. The fact that he died alone in a hospital because his partner was not afforded the same rights as my husband has brought many a tear to my eye.

GAS PRICES: How do we solve this dilemma? I suppose that is why you are running for POTUS and not me. The right answers seem to allude me. What I'm asking is that you please help my family of five continue to drive our van, which cost more to fill up with gas than I ever imagined it would.

Finally, as my dad always said to me, ask yourself this questions...is the world a better place because you are in it? Find a way to answer yes.

Sincerely,

an undecided voter

I got tagged by Sweet Mary and now I've got to tag somebody..

The challenge is to list 6 random facts about myself and/or 7 strange things about about myself. I will tag a few others and hopefully they will play along by listing the same random facts/odd things about themselves.

Six random facts about me...

1. I do not like food that is mixed together with other food. ie: hamburger helper, chocolate chip ice cream. Actually, I don't like anything with hamburger in it. UGH.

2. My shoe size is 6 1/2.

3. I rarely, if ever, wear make-up.

4. My children's names all begin with the letter G.

5. I enjoy spending time with my friends; especially the crazy crew I get to spend two weekends a year with at the beach.

6. My favorite color is green.

Six odd things about me.

See above...LOL

I will be tagging:

The Daily Scrapper

Beanie

and

The Elmo Wallpaper

Just for fun, I thought I'd participate in this meme I found over at Rocks in my Dryer. In honor of Labor Day, it's about...well, labor. And not the kind you get a day off for, either.

How long were your labors?

Kid #1, 8 hours.
Kid #2, 4.5 hours
Kid #3, 6 hours.

Clearly, kid 2 likes to mix things up a little. She still does.

How did you know you were in labor?
Kid #1, wildly painful contractions
Kid #2, never went into labor; at one week overdue I was induced.
Kid #3, began contracting during church services

See above, kid 2 still doesn't play by the rules.

Where did you deliver?
With all of them, at a hospital. Like Shannon said, that's where they keep the drugs.

Drugs?
Yep, with all three of them and I have no shame about it. I don't enjoy pain and would probably have slept better if the doctor would have agreed to the epidural at 8 1/2 months.

C-section?
Nope. Didn't even come close.

Who delivered?
Doctors. The first two I lucked out and had the same doctor, whom I loved. She recently passed away from breast cancer and I was deeply saddened to learn that. The 3rd had one of her partners and she was equally wonderful.

If you want to play along with this meme, just cut and paste the questions into your own blog, and leave me a link.

Happy Labor Day.