TGFTFH!!

And for those of you unfamiliar with that particular acronym, it stands for: Thank God For Tax Free Holidays!! Ours starts today, I will now take Jeremy's first paycheck from his new job and spend it all on Daniel's school supplies and new jeans. Ok, not ALL of it, but a goodly portion.

A Special Gift For Liz

You asked for it, so here it is: A naked picture of the adults in the house! Feast your eyes and enjoy the scenery!

Daniellington

Daniel asked me if we can do some pictures of him, since I've been doing a lot of Launa, but not much of him and "...it's not fair!" So I agreed that I would put some photos of him up. These are his choices:







I love that rotten kid.

Polling Is Now Closed

Our last poll started as a shut out, paper was winning 3-0. Even as early as this morning the poll was paper 4, plastic 0. I was sure it was going to be a total victory for paper. Which is why I was so surprised to see that plastic in the last final moments got 1 vote! Congratulations plastic! At least someone out there likes you! (Or maybe it was a pity vote, only the final voter can say for sure.) Thanks to everyone who voted in my last poll. As a token of my gratitude, you may expect your "Have You Been Cranky Lately?" t-shirt with my beautiful face right on the front sometime in the future. Be sure to vote in my next poll!

What Do YOUR Children Do When You're Not Looking?

Now that we've been moved into 2 bedrooms at my in-law's house, the computer hangs out in the kids' room. Guess what they were doing the other night when they were supposed to be sleeping? That's right, taking naked pictures of Launa on the computer! Also a picture of the underside of our mouse. Nice.

My Favorite Man's Birthday Is Today!

Happy birthday Jeremy! I love you. You're my favorite person, and I'm glad you were duped into marrying me! :) Here is my photo tribute to you, my loving husband!

The Details

Well, I suppose I've kept you all waiting for the details of the move long enough. Let's see, I was hoping to have the house ready to be loaded into the moving van the night before the move so that we could clean and get out at a decent time in the morning. Instead it too us all of Friday and most of Saturday to even get the van loaded. By 4:00 we had all our stuff in a van, and the apartment and its' left-over contents were a wreck! My mom stayed behind to clean up after us...poor thing. She did the best she could with what she had to work with and the fading light. (PS, there's still a kitchen table and 6 chairs, and an entertainment center in the building if y'all know anyone who needs them.)

Cut to our little road trip. So we didn't leave the house til 4pm. Jeremy had picked up our new puppy (Superman) at about 10:30 that morning. He was so good during the ride! He laid down between Jeremy and Daniel in the moving van and slept most of the time. Anyway, we were wiped out and by the time we got to, I can't remember the name, someplace in KY, Jeremy decided it was a good place to stop for the night. We got a motel room. Superman pooped in it. We tried to sleep, but Daniel's bottom started to itch, so he was kicking around and freaking out at 1:45 am. I got up and put him in the shower. THEN I got to sleep. (Did I mention that the only room they had was a smoking room with a king bed and a whirlpool that cost $15 extra? They waived the pet fee for us.) We got a later start on Sunday than I had hoped. One of our friends gave us two $10 gift cards for McDonald's, so we decided we would use it for our trip. We had been making good time until we decided to stop for gas and McDonald's. I took Daniel to the rest room and then went to order McDonald's. I waited for a good 5 minutes in an unmoving line in the middle of the lunch rush. Finally it was my turn and a girl shouted that they could only take cash because their card reader was down. I went out to talk to Jeremy. He just handed me some cash so I could order our food and we could get on the road. Ah but we are naive. Once again, I had to wait in a ridiculously slow moving line. When I get to the front, I find out why: the whole thing is out of order, cash registers and all! They are writing down people's orders on a piece of paper and using a calculator to figure up the totals! When I finally get all of our food, I don't have enough hands to fill our cups, so I make a trip out to the car to deliver the food (we had to stay in the car since we were traveling with the dog), then run back inside to get the drinks. When I get back out to the car, Daniel is crying. I ask what's wrong, and find out he wanted his usual, plain cheeseburger and not chicken nuggets. Well, I ordered his a plain cheeseburger, but they gave us 2 nuggets. I take the offending nuggets back to the restaurant, and have to wait for someone in the mixed-up crazy, confused madhouse to notice me. Finally, I got the cheeseburger. I go out to the car, deliver the cheeseburger to Daniel, Jeremy's already most of the way through his meal. I tell him he's just going to have to wait for me to eat my food, because I will not eat and drive at the same time. Did I mention that all this time, Launa is sleeping peacefully in the back of the car? I'm finally done eating, and I'm ready to go when Launa wakes up. She needs to use the bathroom, so it's back to the restaurant for me. We finally get out of there, and we're all itching to get back on the road. I get Launa in her seat, but there's a box next to the seatbelt buckle (which I can't move, since it's packed tightly into the car) that is greatly inhibiting my ability to get the latch right on the seatbelt. I am trying not to lose my cool when this whole stop had lasted a good 45 minutes longer than we had already wanted it to. Jeremy is in the moving van watching me, but he can't really see what's going on, he just knows that I've been leaning into the back of the car for 3 minutes or longer. He gets on the walkie-talkie (that he bought special for the trip) and says something jerky like "Well Daniel, I don't know what's taking those girls so long, I wanted to be on the road 45 minutes ago!"

I lost my cool.

It wasn't pretty. The crazy thing is, when I was finally ready to talk to him about it an hour later, he still had no idea why I was upset with him. (My incoherent ranting obviously hadn't made an impression on him.) So I had to explain it using small words. His reaction,"Oh, well you were in a good mood when you got out of the restaurant..." Meet the greatest actress in the world. I was NOT in a good mood. Anyway, I think we got to Georgia by 5pm on Sunday night? Maybe it was 4...anyway, fortunately, my father-in-law and my 2 brothers-in-law came to help unload the van, and they got it knocked out in maybe 1/2 hour to 45 min. Then we went back to the house and crashed. I don't really remember what happened after that. At all.

So Monday was Jeremy's first day of work. Any of you living in the Wood River area will understand what I am talking about: Guess what? At Shaw carpet, they actually reward hard work and good behavior. You are promoted based on your work ethic and abilities. They help pay for college. They like to promote from within. Basically, if you do your job and do it well, there is a future for you at this place! Jeremy is beside himself with joy. He gets to work in a fulfilling and rewarding environment. I think he is really looking forward to this job. At least it's a step-up in the atmosphere dept.

I had to get Daniel registered for school on Monday, guess what? I have no idea where his SSN card is AGAIN! I have everyone else's! Not Daniel's. Did you know that you are only allowed 3 replacement SSN cards in your lifetime? Yeah. Daniel's about to get replacement number 2. I can't believe his card wasn't with everyone else's. I was EXTRA careful with his! I should have been with all the other important documents.

I went grocery shopping yesterday. Anyone want to guess how much milk costs here? C'mon, guess! $3.50? $3.85? $4.00? You're all wrong! Ladies and gentlemen, milk, from a cow, in the state of Georgia, costs a whopping $5.68! Oh yes. It really does. I was able to find it for less at Wal-mart, but even their brand-name was that expensive. Good thing I'm not too good for generic! Anyway, I haven't found the local discount food chain yet. It's on my mission list. Find the closest discount grocery chain. Anyway, this is the longest post in the history of long posts, and my dog needs to be let out for a few minutes. I'll let you go for now.

*WHEW* We Made It!

Me before the move:



Me after the move:

Polling Is Now Closed

The results of the last poll on "Have You Been Cranky Lately" are, once again, split right down the middle. 50% of you like to take online polls, and 50% of you do not like to take online polls. I have had a very long weekend, so I have nothing terribly silly or clever to say about it, however, all of you who participated in my last poll will be getting your "Have You Been Cranky Lately" key chain in the mail. Congratulations, and keep checking that box for your great prize.

Since I Will Soon Be Experiencing Internet Silence...

I guess I will go ahead and write my tag post, it will give you all something to think on for a few days while I am away from a computer. I'll go ahead and go over the rules again, for those of you who don't know them: Link back to the person who tagged you, post these rules on your blog, share six unimportant things about yourself and tag six random people at the end of your entry. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs. Enjoy the results!

1: I am the most funny when I'm serious. When I'm trying to be funny, I can be mildly amusing at best. When I'm seriously talking about something, I'll say something goofy, and not notice the silliness of the comment until everyone in the room is laughing.

2: I know the words to just about every song I know. I know a LOT of songs, in a LOT of different genres. I also have a strange ability to predict what's coming up next on the radio. I guess I start to memorize radio station's play lists without realizing I'm doing it.

3: I have in recent years become a talk radio junkie.

4: I am totally disgusting in my sleep. I snore like an old man, and by the time I crawl in bed, I have some serious gas issues. That's something I never warned my hubby about before we got married. (Of course I was unaware of the snoring.)

5: Some day I hope to adopt a child from my friend Angela's ministry. She goes to the abortion clinic in Granite City every time the doors are open to try to talk the ladies that go inside out of having an abortion. A couple of times a year she saves one, and sometimes she needs to find a home for them.

6: I can be severely socially awkward. If I make a social faux pas, I then try to fix it, which usually makes the problem even worse. If I would shut up and just crawl into a hole and die for a few days, the problem may ease up a little, but I always have to go compounding the problem. That's one lesson I am still learning. At least I am aware of it, and can work on it.

So, there are my six things. I look forward to finding out more about - wait - I don't know anyone. I only know 3 other bloggers, and they've all been tagged. Poo. Oh well, y'all know about me now! The next time you hear from me, I'll have a thick southern drawl. Well, maybe not immediately. I hope to be back within 4 days. See you then!

These Really ARE The Best Brownies!

Once when I had been really bogged down with school work, and Daniel had just gotten home from school but went over to his friend's house, Launa was feeling really lonely and sad that she didn't have anyone to play with. Well, I wanted her to feel better, so I asked her if she wanted to make brownies. She got all excited about it, and I went to get the recipe from my cookbook. Sadly, it called for melted chocolate, and all I had was cocoa powder. I got on the internet to get a recipe that called for cocoa powder instead of chocolate. I immediately found some brownies called "The Best Brownies". Sounded like my kinda brownies! So I got the recipe (from here: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1610,153184-228203,00.html ), but I had to write it out by hand because my printer almost never works. Somehow I copied the recipe down strangely, and I came up with an even better version of "The Best Brownies". Believe me, you really want to try them!

Mary's Best Brownies:

1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 egg whites
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend butter, sugar and vanilla in a larger bowl. Add egg whites, and beat on high speed with hand mixer until batter gets foamy. In a small mixing bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Gradually blend into egg mixture. Spread into 9" pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Frosting:

3 Tbsp. butter, softened
3Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk

Cream butter, cocoa powder, corn syrup and vanilla in small mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar and milk. Beat to spreading consistency.

These brownies are good, but they are even better the second day for some reason. Anyway, since I couldn't think of anything good to post, I thought I'd put up something good to eat. Almost as good as something clever or witty-and tastier!

I'm Sad

Today is a sad day. I just got back from my last day at my church. Now I get to go to my mom's house and see all my siblings for the last time before the move. I've already spent much of today crying. I don't see it getting much better.

I Guess No One Noticed

I have a new poll up. If you want to win a prize, you need to vote! Hurry! This poll's prize is great!

Am I Ever Grateful!

Yesterday my baby brother and his wife came over to give me a hand with the packing.



Man can she pack!



When I stand in the middle of a room wringing my hands saying, "Oh dear, what can I do? There's so much junk, I don't even know where to start!" Jody comes over, has a quick look around, grabs a box and starts packing! She's incredible! And she was able to organize the junk as she put it up! My living rooms looks so much better now! (Look! Floor!)



We got through all the toys and junk in the kids' rooms too. I think Launa's a little freaked out by this, though. As she was getting ready to crawl into her little mattress on the floor, she looked at me and said, "Are we really doing this?!" That seems to be the general consensus. We all wonder are we really doing this?!


James helped too, but he had to go to work at 3:00 just like Jeremy, so it was a lot of Jody.

World Record!

So, I was lying in bed last night, and I realized something. I'm pretty sure that this month marks the 10-year anniversary of the last time I threw-up! I was 16 and it was summertime. It was either June or July I'm pretty sure. Anyway, since then I have managed to get married, have 2 1/4 children, clean up after those children (which can sometimes be fully disgusting), and sometimes be ill myself. All without puking. I am doing quite well on my recurring New Year's resolution and my life's goal in general. If I can do this 6 more times in a row, I'll be 86, and not have thrown up in 70 years! How great would that be? The only problem with this awesome record of mine is that I really can't prove it, so I guess you'll never see me in the Guinness Book.

Poll Results

I would like to thank the 8 of you who voted in my very important poll this week. In the beginning, it looked as if my poll absolutely did not work, as the "no"s were beating the "yes"es quite soundly. Then during the middle of the week, the "yes"es overtook the "no"s in a startling upset! However in the last day or two of the poll, the voting evened out, and ended in a dead heat- 4 "yes"es and 4 "no"s. I'm afraid with the data at hand, I can't say if the poll worked or not. Maybe we'll try this poll again at a later date, and see if we can get a more definitive answer to the question. Once again, I want to thank you all for voting, I'll be sending all voters their "Have You Been Cranky Lately" mug with my "mug" on it as a special "thank you" for your participation.

Daddy's Story

I was out running errands when Jeremy called to tell me that as he was doing some work in the kitchen, Launa came running into the room crying. When he asked her what was wrong she bawled,"Daniel's stinking up my aaaaiiiirrrr!" I guess her brother was a little gassy this morning.

Warning

My blog may be very boring for the next few days. I may even stop posting for a little while, because the move is not looking very good. I am seriously freaking out about this thing, and I'm afraid that's all you're gonna be hearing from me for a while. I don't want to bore my new friends and make them think I am a whiner (even though I am). I like to get people to like me before I spring the whininess on them! And I don't want to bore my old friends who already know all about my idiosyncrasies and the personal hell I create for myself by being a champion procrastinator. Anyway- as I said this is a warning to those of you who would still like to be my friend- take a few days off, come back on July 22. I should have something new to talk about by then.

Aye-aye-aye! -Or- Oh My Eyes!

My living room:

Pretty sure the fire marshal would be unhappy with this.

Did I mention that Jeremy's new job starts July 21?

That gives me about 13 days to get this done.

Blog...more fun than packing...can't step away!

Happy Independence Day!

Even though technically we declared our independence on July 2. Have a great day anyway. Thank you founding fathers and Revolutionary War vets, and all the other vets who fought to ensure our independence. Love you guys!

The Results of Our Girls Day

Have you ever seen two more beautiful girls? I didn't think so. I like to think that our girls day was a smashing success. I only wish you could see their nails and dress-up dresses! Well, it's time for my gorgeous princesses to become sleeping beauties. Better go cast my magic spell and make it happen!

Something I Don't Like, And Something I Do Like.

I don't like Aussie brand shampoo and conditioner. It acts as cheap as it costs. But I love Pure & Natural moisturizing almond oil and cherry blossom body wash. Good stuff, and now my bathroom is starting to smell like it all the time, and I love the scent! I don't like the other scents by this brand, but I love, love, love this stuff. And it's not expensive.

They're Gone

Yep. The boys just left for 3 days. It's just us girls! So, party at my house-girls only!

...I wish...

Instead I get to pack and clean while the boys go get a job for Jeremy. Neither is really a "fun" thing to do, but if I could be relaxing while Jeremy drives (for 8 hours) and then hang out with family for a couple of days instead of cleaning, believe me I would!

I did promise Launa a girl night, where we could do hair, makeup, nails, dress-up, watch a girl movie and scarf pop-corn and cookies. Not a bad night if you ask me. Who knows, maybe a good friend will show up! Launa is way excited and can't wait to start. I told her we have to get some work done first, and she took it pretty well. We'll probably pack her room first. So if I want to have some fun, I should probably get to work now.