B..B..B..Freaking..R..R..R! The pipes froze last night (no shower! Sorry flylady) for
the second time this winter, because Lyle STILL has not wrapped the
pipes with insulation. What are the odds of Texas having two freezes
in one year, right? So before he leaves to go teach fire school,
he puts a space heater under the house and asks me to check on it 'a
bit later' So I check it a couple times, and the water was working, but I couldn't
make the stupid shower drip, so if I take out the heater it'll freeze
again, and if I don't, the next TXU bill will be a fainter.

So off I go to the shop, and get a couple pieces of house insulation,
thinking I'll jest set it in front of the hole (another Lyle undone honey
do - and don't feel bad for him, I did all the electrical, he has to
do all the plumbing. We are equal"ish"...)so the wind won't blow in,
I grab some plywood and a drill and I'm off - except I am wearing
slippers (I know, I know), so I fall on my a** going around the
house, and then get down on my knees in a puddle created by said
space heater. I'm going to bed before Lyle comes home, in case the
pipes have refrozen in the next two hours - cause if he says a word I
may shoot him.

My fingers are cold, but I had to come complain about the fridge. I did an inconspicuous area test spot with the black marker, and it came off fine. So I write it all on with the red (7 flylady bedtime routine items) and then head off to do number one, expecting to spend the rest of the evening casually watching HGTV abd scrapbooking. I laid out my clothes and started a load of wash, then....I went to wipe it off. Nope. I spent 25 minutes, and finally got it off with orange clean and baking soda. Well, at least the fridge is clean. Then the ice saga. I give up. At least I made it home. Besides, what's wrong with going to bed at 7:30? Lyle has ruined me.

I forget what I am supposed to do. I told Lyle about the list on the fridge, and he said "WIll it come off?" Then he got sed to it, stopped panicing, and brought me home a pack of those wipe-erase markers. Wish me luck. Last night it was icing and I was cold and I lost all my willpower once I got hime, so I went to bed at 7 o'clock and watched TV all night where it was warm and cosy. I have PMS, I think I need B vitamins.

That Winsor Pilates vid would be a good gift for Mother's Day, Gee. I have the DVD or I would copy it for you. I do have some yoga vids and one Denise Austin Pilates video I could copy for you if you want. Or, I could try to copy them. The tv is all jumpy from the sound of the surround sound I installed on Sunday, so I am not too confident lately. I found the yoga to be kind of mind numbing, but I only did it a couple of times. I SUCK at sticking to things. Lyle is teaching fire school tonight, so I will have some time to get the stuff written on the fridge.

Yay Alex for 14-1/4 lbs. I called Mom this morning and she said Dad was mad yesterday again. And she had high blood pressure when she went to the DR aso he wanted her to go on a blood pressure medecine, which she looked up on the internet and thought was not for her. She asked him if it might be the stress she was under, and he said that had nothing to do woth it. She said that was "bullshit". Mom actually said "bullshit". I laughed. Anyways she took the prescription, but she was going to talk to the druggist. I called my doctor and told her about it and she said she would put her on a six month diet, exercise and stress reduction regimen and have her test herself weekly at the drugstore, then recheck her then. I tried to call her back and tell her but she must have gone to see Dad already.

The boss just came and and told me to go home, it is sleety out and he wants everyone to be home before it gets dark. Lyle didn't wash the crockpot from Sunday, so I moving tonights meal to tomorrow, which was menu day, and buying chili from Wendy's for supper tonight. Except I have to drive a half mile down the road and people here cannot drive in ice...

We had Alex checked today and he is up another 12 ounces so that makes his weight 14 1/4 now. I would love to do that winsor pilates exercise I have been trying to talk Mike into getting it for me but then I thought maybe I should start with yoga and work my way up to windsor what do you think?

I still do not use a control journal and i only look at the flylady musings as well I am taking baby baby steps now since Alex has been needing all my time but i do lay my clothes out most nights and I clean my sink 9 times out of ten. like I said babybaby steps . I do not feel guilty when I can not get things done anymore b/cause I now know it is not me but my type lol.
Any way gotta go unload the dishwasher.

I hate red eye! I have a pen thing for the printed pics. I can't believe that Alex is so old either. Yikes! I am glad he is getting the hang of eating. How much does he weigh now? I have discovered Winsor Pilates, and I have decided it is the alternative to exercise I have been looking for. I hate working out because I hate to sweat. This makes me sweat, but not "sweat and keep killing yourself? you idiot! Sweat is a sign of BAD things!" More like Hmm...calm, gentle, stretch...hmmm...relaxing, but invigorating...hmmm...whoops, I'm done! What is that - a drop of perspiration on my brow? How refreshing! Okay, well, not that good, but I'm trying.

You're right on the money with the mitre saw thing, Rolana, I have one, it is even a compound one. But I am totally clueless as to how to do this. I got some tips from a buddy at work that I will try as soon as I get the guts. I can't believe you have actually asked me to show you my scrapbooks! WWWOOOHAH! This may take a while, but I am in! Maybe we could make an evening of it, invite the sisters, and I'll bring all my crap and we can all exchange sparkly glitters! We were talking about coming home this summer but I am not sure when or if. Lyle gets lots of time off, but I only have 9 days (out of ten) left this year. I have five allotted to a Canada trip, but I just don't know...the Money and all.

I joined this Yahoo group called Alt_Flylady, because the flylady groups I have looked at around here seem to be all bible thumpers. I am going to try it. After what Rolana said about the emails, I signed up to have them delivered to me as one daily digest, so that I get them all at once, and zip past the ones I don't care about. Right now all I read are the flylady musings and the success stories. I started two weeks ago but didn't want to say so in case I failed. One of the ladies in the alt_flylady group said she writes her morning and evening routines on the fridge door with a Wipe off marker, so it is easier for her to remember that trying to find her control journal and actually open it. Lyle used to write me love notes on the bathroom mirror when we first got together, so this won't freak him out too badly. I have to try this, because all weekend my new control journal was on the move...

My daytimer (aka the Log), home from work (I'm fairly organized at work, just not at home) joined it on friday night on my night table. Saturday morning, it was opened and spread across the newly made bed in piles for organization - abandoned, it was later heaped onto the sewing basket by Lyle in search of napping space. At dinnertime, it was spread across the floor in a frenzied search for the recipe for the new menu planning ahead thing (Never did find it, I winged it, thinking - what could be so hard about wilted spinach and chicken salad? - Lyle actually gagged. LOL). On Saturday night I rescued it and took it to the living room, where it resided on the coffee table, causing tremendous guilt all evening. On Sunday morning, after ignoring the bedtime routine (except for deciding to wear the crumpled work jeans on the floor to hook up the surround sound in the attic the next day) I grimly went forth to open the book - I unpiled the Log off the top (after removing six naked barbies from their latest home) and then remembered I needed tea. This led to getting the paper to read with the tea, which led to clipping the day's coupons, which led to starting a roast in the crockpot....Sidetracked Home Executive! But we have an excuse, Mom taught us this from the time we were kids. So - I never did open it. It is still on the coffee table. The Log said a happy goodbye and came to work with me today. I do a lot of work on Monday mornings just to avoid carrying notes from last week's Log into this week.

I have made another couple cool changes too - I have a pretty paper bag with handles in the laundry room that says "socks with no friends" for all the lonely little guys. Theoretically I will throw them out in a boogie. I can't stand the thought of chucking them and then finding their mate/friend/child socky - and I will be the one responsible for their loneliness forever. I did my first 27 fling boogie on Saturday - it was pretty painless because I had five old phone books and some old magazines of Lyle's. Later, when I told him, he said if he didn't know he didn't care. :) I told him the reverse does NOT also apply.

The lightbulb in the fridge blew on Saturday - in the past, replacing it would have taken months. I removed it, added the brand name to the "home Depot" list on the fridge (as important in our house as the grocery list) and know I will buy one on Wednesday on my bi-weekly hardware shopping trip. It feels good to be a little in control, anyways. And Lyle is CEO of dishes. When I get up to check the laundry, he gets up to check the dishes. Although I have to do all the meal planning and cooking, he cleans the kitchen afterwards. I refuse to remind him, but all I have to do is make a point of folding his socks in front of him (Something I heretofore have refused to do) and he gets the message. Now I have to figure out a way to get him to wash the table and counters.

I have to go finish my Log and weekly plan - wish me luck!
Ande

Alexander is 11 months today I can not believe that in one month he will be a year where did the time go?! Just dropped in to say hello I am trying to put Alex down for a nap and he is not cooperating hopefully that will mean he will go to bed early tonight. Got some pictures developed I will try to get a photo page for you guys to see them at I also have to get Mike to take the red eye out of them about 85% of the pics have it.

Ok my posts are not being posted I posted on the 14 and on the 17 but neither one showed up on my area. On friday I wished you all happy Valentine's day and I rambled on about stuff on the 17 and I mentioned that Alexander gained another 200 grams(7 ounces) and is starting to get the hang of eating. He does not like the baby food but will eat the toddler meals and outr food mashed up he had potatoes at supper tonight and loved them. Hope this one gets posted.

Sparkly hearts gotta love em don't ya! Andrene when you do come home bring a couple of your scrapbooks and drop by and show me ok. Who knows maybe I will get started on this one and you can share some ideas. Wouldn't it be easier to cut molding with a mitre saw to get the angle thing right? Pay no attention to me I have never cut molding in my life, just a thought.

Replacing eating with shopping sounds like a plan except I tend to eat out of boredom at night when the stores are closed. Might have to "gasp" exercise or something instead.

Tim is on his third block for industrial mechanics, he writes his final tomorrow. He has been a little stressed out go figure.

Greg apparantly doesn't think he wants to look like a pirate, imagine! With all that gold maybe you could make rings for both of you. :)

Rolana

What a day!!!! SO far, I am further behind in my work than I was when I got here. It is GROWING!!! OH well, that's why they pay me the big bucks. Speaking of big bucks, I got the first installment on my bonus, and ordered the carpet for the end of the month, then Lyle and I finished the trim this weekend - all except for the crown molding, which I still haven't figured out how to cut. Wish me luck. Now I have to go to Mesquite this afternoon to the Town East Mall to start a job that was supposed to start on Monday, but I didn't know that it was...WHOOPS! That was a big oopsie on my part. I have plenty of excuses as to why I didn't know, including phone calls and emails not responded too, but in the end it is always my responsibility. I hate that part.

I found some sparkly "confetti" for Valentine's day for half price and got it for my scrapbooks, since you mentioned it. That'll look cute! I think you should definitely write it rather than type it - it means so much more when it is part of you. I am thinking about declaring a shopping moratorium for a month, not buying anything except groceries. I use shopping to replace eating in my life. :( Rolana, what kind of course is Tim finishing up? I feel terrrible for not knowing.... Congratulate Brit on the holey tummy. I have a really huge 14 k gold hoop that Greg could wear, (think 80's), it was a gift from an old boyfriend, and I lost one. I have been considering melting all the old stuff down and making something new out of it - including my old wedding ring, and my engagement ring. Make good use of them! I told Lyle we should use our old wedding rings to make new ones, but his ex girlfriend made him throw his out. DUMB! I do have a couple of really little hoops that I only have one of, I'll have to send those with Joni's EXTREMELY late birthday present. I have to go - must work now!
love
a

Those are all good aren't they. So it wouldn't really matter what type of paper you used if you weren't putting photos in your scrapbook right? I was actually thinking about creating one for the gratitude thing. I got some cute valentine like stuff you know the sparkly hearts and x and o's that I thought would look neat sprinkled on a page. I figured I could use regular scrapbook paper to start and maybe find some cardboard and cover it with either some fancy wrapping paper or material to use for a cover. I might just hand print the text parts instead of typing it. Wouldn't it be neat to use caligraphy? Wish I knew how to do it.

Well Brit finally did it, she got a hole poked in her belly button. The woman came here and did it, Brit had no way to get to her house and she was headed out of town for the weekend. She says she goes to peoples houses all the time because people sometimes want things pierced that they aren't comfortable going to a shop for. Anyway she also said she plans on having piercing parties, I don't think I will be going.

Brit didn't holler or anything she did start laughing at one point probably because I started laughing at her. The lady who did it was telling her she had the toughest skin she had ever seen I told her that she got that from her Dad's side of the family.

Greg has his ear pierced he wants a hoop for it instead of a stud just a little one. I should get him a great big one and tell him he can be a pirate. He probably wouldn't find that funny though, he is at an age that doesn't see humor in stuff like that.

Tim is home for the weekend, just one more week to go and he is all done his course for this year. I'll be glad when he is home full time again.

What about having warm feet to stick your cold feet on in bed? Or when you go outside and your car was just magically washed, for no reason other than it was dirty. Or a kid waking you up with an impromptu "picture of an elephant on a fence" on Saturday morning. :) They have scrapbook stores all over the place here that sell acid free and lignin free stuff for making scrapbooks that last for generations. Or, they say they will, time will tell. Wal-Mart sells some paper and albums, too. They have places on line, but most of them are US. There was a Canadian one in the back of one of my magazines, if you're interested I'll try to find it. In some scrapbook magazines, they say you can use anything you want, but if it doesn't say AF or LF then just don't let it touch the photos, and they will be safe. I usually mat them on a square of the AF paper, and then put that on top of the non AF paper. Others say that the oil on your hands will ruin the pictures, and that you have to have special handcream and archival spray ($40 - forget about it!) to keep everything safe. For me, I buy the AF LF stuff because it comes in all sorts of patterns and colors, but I also use Christmas wrapping paper, cool stuff from newspaper ads (I usually photocopy it or trace it and color it because newsprint turns yellow fast - but they have great fonts and black and white drawings), you can download fonts from the net to use and print out the titles for your pages. I have been thinking about using Ashley's coloring books. Lately I have been in a tearing paper phase, so instead of say, drawing an orange pumpkin (I am still working on Halloween) I will tear orange paper to look like a pumpkin and then tear green paper to make a little stem and leaves. I also shade those with chalk and pencilcrayons to give them depth.

They have a few kinds of books that you can use, one type called 'strap hinge' or 'post bound' where the covers aren't attached together so you can add in as many or as few pages as you want - I love that kind. Then you can get the pages that are plastic (some photosafe kind) sleeves that you tuck your pages into - that keeps them clean, but I usually have lumpy stuff that won't fit in all that well - like little pumpkins and ghosts made out of craft wire, or tiny pompoms. They also have some that each page just has holes in it and the book is like a three ring binder - I don't have one of those. I think that is what I need for the lumpy pages. I do have a post bound one where the paper just has holes in it, but it is kind of hard to get the pages to lay flat - they all get a wrinkle from when you turn them.

When we go places I keep ticket stubs and programs and silly stuff - like a subway token from Boston, and a Chuck E. Cheese quarter from there, or confetti, and then I stick them in there or put a little envelope on the page and put it in that. Lyle used to say I was a little overboard on the whole thing, but then I got some pages done, he liked them, and now he enthusiastically helps me save stuff.

When Ashley was sick last weekend Lyle was saying the same thing - like, Ashley is old enough to tell us if she is sick or if she wants or needs something, but if we say no, then she is dependant on us and that's all she gets. He was sad about it, but I think that was more related to the fact that her Mom had not let her wear a coat to go to our house in 49 degree weather the day before because her other coats were at Grandma's and she only had one that she didn't want to "lose". That drives Lyle crazy, with good reason I guess. He is a jerk when they are together. She frustrates him incredibly - it's funny (wierd, not haha) to see him at such a loss for words. She pushes all of his buttons. Too depressing of a topic for today! Luckily I had bought her a new coat before we went skiing (Well, new to us) and then we bought her a skisuit, plus she had two coats from last winter, so I sent three coats home with her. They only cost a couple of bucks at second hand stores, so why even bother to worry? I am an extremely good thrift store shopper - I refuse to pay $145 for a blazer when I can get the same thing for $3.99 at Goodwill. There is a store here called Kohl's, it is a department store like Sears, and they have 80% off their clearance stuff on Wednesdays. I can get Ashley jeans for $1.85 and me dress pants for $5. Lyle said I can't buy thrift store pants anymore, because I don't like to try them on and they are usually too short. About a month ago we took everthing out of the closet to paint it, and we agreed not to put anything back in unless it fit. I lost a lot of pants that day...but so did Lyle. We do have a probation pile in the spareroom closet, but if they don't fit by November, they go too. We have an extremely neat and tidy closet at present, though!

Can you believe that Lyle has agreed to help me do the flylady thing? He is going to have morning and bedtime routines too. Although, he thinks he will do his morning routines when he gets home from work, because he always gets home before me. I really hope it works for us, our house in definitely in C.H.A.O.S. I started yesterday, Rolana, and I got them to send the emails as a digest, so I only get one a day. One big one, but one. And we decided to do the bathroom sink as our sink. I shined it last night, and this morning was the first morning in weeks that I have not woken up to yucky scummy shaving debris in the bottom of the sink. YAY Lyle! Well, I have been yakking forever. Can you tell I am not that busy at work? Yesterday morning I got the IT guy to make me a new email: She-RaDefenderoftheUniverse@royalseal.com. It really works! moshera is my login for everything, so I always think of he man and she ra when I am on the net. Then I called a couple of my clients (ones who appreciate a good joke) and told them I was changing my email address to reflect a change in my personal power. That got them laughing, and I was able to beg for work with a little more dignity than usual. Love you all...
a

Well you certainly do talk a lot :) one of your most likeable qualities too. Now you have given me an idea, I really like the idea of a special scrapbook for gratitude, if you really think about it you will definitely get more than a page. Doesn't have to be deep stuff either, just stuff that touches your heart. Any mom will understand the importance of sticky kisses. What about the way your guys arms feel around you. The sunset. Snowflakes sparkling in the moonlight like diamonds. Butterflies, snow angels, fireflies or the smell of a bonfire. As you can see I could go on and on and on. I won't though :). So my question is this when making a scrapbook what kind of paper do you use to start it and how do you bind it or do you start with a book? Any tips on things to definitely include or avoid?

When children are sick you can imagine all sorts of things going wrong, it is absolutely horrible. When husbands or live in males are sick you wonder how you lived with them that long with out killing them. Course that could be just me :).

I remember doing the three hour feedings and feeling like I would never sleep again, hang in there Angie. I am glad you have help take advantage of it.

I am starting to think that I talk way more than you guys! I guess it's because this is my only web-related responsibility. :) I talked to Mom last night, she said that they moved Dad to the second floor and that he looked forward to seeing her every day. She thought. That is good. She seemed happy to be home and unpacking, although a little overwhelmed by the amount of stuff she had to unpack. We weighed in today for our office challenge - I gained a pound since last week - wish I could lend it to Alex. Speaking of whom, I couldn't see those pictures, Angie. I think it is from yahoo's end that I couldn't see them, they are not going past their server. :( You'll have to get Mike to send them I guess. I am going to go to flylady and sign up, but do it under my ev1 email account so that will be all that goes there. Then I just have to remember to check it. That may work. Talk to you soon -
a

Well, I missed the morning at work, although I thought I was getting over it. :( This morning I got up at 6 to go to the bathroom and fainted on the toilet. That is the second time that has happened to me! The first time, I fell off and scratched up my face on the edge of the door, which woke Lyle up. This time I fell backwards so I didn't fall, but he didn't hear me and I couldn't call out when I woke up, I was too weak, so I slid off the toilet and crawled to the tub and stuck my head under cold water until I could cool down and focus enough to go back to bed. Then I was cold so he brought me his blanket that Charlene made him for Christmas, because he said it was his favorite and it would make me feel better. He is so sweet.

That is cool that you get a support worker, Angie - that must help. I know my brain doesn't work as well when there are house work things to be done - I just keep going through the lists in my mind. I don't necessarily do it though....It must be overwhelming - every three hours. 22 ml sounds like a lot more than a tablespoon and a half. How many emails do you get if you sign up for flylady? More than one a day? I thought you just got one from "Kelly" to tell you what to clean that day. I could handle that. More, I don't think so.

You know, a gratitude list might make a good thing for a scrapbook page. Although, if you noted, mine was pretty dumb. Wouldn't I have to think of things that were a little deeper? Like more philsophical than the guy in the office next door not yelling? I would like to see what I would have written when I was Brit's age. You'll have to try to keep it for posterity. I am sorry that she and Greg are sick - sick kids are draining on everyone - ask Angie. :) Sick husbands (or live in type persons, we have been talking about getting married a lot more lately) are equally draining. Lyle does baby me when I am sick too, though, so I shouldn't complain.

I went to a scrapbook store at lunch to buy paper that looked like straw ans ended up spending $7.01 for that 59 cent piece of paper. I can never get out of those places without picking up just one more thing. I suppose, after missing the morning and then going to lunch, I should really go. Plus, Dr. Laura starts in a couple minutes, so I'll want to listen to her! Talk to you all soon!
a

Hello just thought I would post to let you know I am still around. Alexander ate 22mls of cereal(thats 1 1/2 tbsps) he had some green beans for lunch and ate them very well. Its a start anyway. I think he is finally catching on to the eating thing.(I hope anyway)gotta go chat later.

Hi All I have been having fun with sick kids Greg missed two days of school and Brit missed one. Fun stuff. Nothing too serious thankfully.

No Andrene Brit didn't get a hole in her belly button yet but she is certainly working on it. It would be so nice if parents had the energy that their children did.

I signed up for flylady and the next day I unsubscribed, what a lot of email. I told Loretta to share any cool tips with me. I think I would find it too annoying having all that talk about housework, seeing as it isn't my favorite topic.

That gratitude thing is cool I remember Oprah did a segment on having a list of things you are grateful for. I made such a list in my Journal, it is really nice when I am upset. I showed it to Brit awhile ago and she made one for herself. RJ

Here I am. :o) Are you catching what Lyle had or are you getting over it? :o(Cool about the lilac paper. I don't even want to know why you had your glasses hot glued together do I lol. No running water in the sink makes it easier to keep shiny ;o). Darn I will try to send the link again or I will get Mike to email the pics to you I would do it myself but I know very little about doing that and god knows what I would send you. lol Alex is great he gained 6 1/2 ounces last week and he has started to eat baby cereal for us he even let Emily give him a couple of bites tonight It was so cool. I went to the buck or more store last night and spent 15 dollars on loys for him to use as reinforcers(or is it reinforcements I am not sure which it is ). I had a support worker in today to help me I get her for 2 hours Tuesday and Thursday for a couple of weeks to help me get caught up on housework or to keep an eye on Emily what ever I need to ease the burdens today I had her do dishes and mop my downstairs floors while I put laundry away upstairs and started putting away my Christmas decorations. She told me to make a list of things I want done for Thursday. I find it strange getting help but it is so nice to have someone helping out. I am so exhauseted from Alex's feeding every three hours it just seems like I get one finished and get him settled for a nap and I have to get ready for another feeding I hope next week we can relax the feedings to every four hours. Anyway gotta go and tend to baby . talk to you later Angie.

Waugggghhhhh! That is either a wail of discontent or the name on my Construction Practices professor in university. Or both. My tummy feels funny, I have 32 minutes more of work to live through, and I am on my fourth building erector for the Hattiesburg Mississippi job. This latest guy is from Alabama. He freely uses the term "Kick some a**" as part of his professional repertoire. Where are you guys? No one has posted in a while. List of positive things in my life:
1. I did not get pinkeye (knock on wood)
2. I did not have to shoot anyone today
3. I went to a scrapbooking store on the way back from my meeting and got cool paper with lilacs on it
4. I got new glasses at lunch so Lyle will stop calling me "the blob" (he says he is referring to the large mass of hot glue holding my glasses together, but I am not sure)
5. Jim, the guy in the office next door, is not yelling at the moment.

That's it. Like Oprah says, Gratitude is an attitude. Or something like that. I found the flylady website and now I have the idea. I am thinking of becoming a flybaby, but I am stopped by the not having a kitchen sink. Well, at least not one with water connected to it. I thought about doing the bathroom sink, but Lyle shaves in it every morning and that is yucky. Angie, I couldn't see Alex's photos, allI got to see was an error message. :( How is Alex? Loretta, how is Dad? Rolana, does Brit have a hole in her bellybutton yet?
a

hi everyone. :) I have had a lazy day today - Lyle felt better this morning so we all got ready to go to the Boat Show, where Lyle wanted to go last week. So we went to IHOP for breakfast - then we stopped at Michael's (a craft store) so I could get a set of stamps (I had a 40% off coupon that expired today). By the time Ashley and I got out to the truck, Lyle felt bad again, so we came home instead. Then, he took a nap, and Ashley decorated a foam frame for her Mom for Valentine's Day, by the time Lyle woke up she was complaining that her eye hurt. She had been at the eye doctor on Friday, so I just thought she was thinking about eyes (when she came in to wake us up this morning she had made an eye chart and was using it to test our eyes), but sure enough, it was red with green gunky stuff. I sen ther in for a nap, and it was better when we woke her up for supper, but by the time she was half done supper she sid it was hurting again. Lyle took her to the clinic. I opted to stay home and guard the cats. I have been working on scrapbooking the pictures of our visit to the pumpkin patch last fall. I am looking forward to doing Christmas ones. :) I was going to call Mom earlier today, but the cordless was dead and I didn't want to talk on the other phone - Lyle's parents bought him one shaped like a motorcycle and it is rather uncomfortable to hold a gas tank to your ear. I look forward to the pics of Alex, Angie. I can't check my email from home, or, rather, I could, but i can't remember how to get into the site. And I am lazy, so I will wait until Monday. I am watching "While you were out". I wish someone would come decorate my house while I was out. Heck, I'd settle for them just cleaning it. What would that flylady say to do if there was no sink? Talk to you later. :) a

Andrene, Yes Maggie's Birthday is the 13th. Emily will sometimes ask to go to bed but I think it is for the stories because there are a few that I only read at bedtime. I will try to post some pictures of Alex on his babiesonline photo site I have some on my yahoo album I will email you the link so you can see them they are ones with the tube in so Mike didn't want it on the babies one cause everyone has access to it the yahoo one is only by invite so only the people I want to see it can see. Loretta I will e-mail it to you too.
I for got to call Kathy on her birthday I had had a migrane and thought about her all day I figured that I wuld be better in the evening when she was home to call her but I forgot until 11:30 and then it was too late I was going to call Mom last night to see how Dad was but I for got until 11:30 I almost called anyway but the baby started fussing so I needed to tend him(mike had been holding him but I guess the baby got tired of him) I have to remember to call tonight. Well I have to go tudy up as Joyce is coming over in a half and hour for cake so much for me relaxing oh well thats life. I will be back later now that I have some familyto bore er chat with lol.(ps. flylady rules with a clean sink and a feather dusterlol)

Whoops I posted by mistake. I am using Lyle's laptop and the keys are close together. It is really convenient though, to be able to sit on the couch while I type. Ashley is the only child I know who asks to go to bed. I'll have to go read her a story in a bit. Speaking of wierd gibberish, Rolana - Mozilla? IE? Hmm...methinks you know too much! I think there is a recipe for the Alfredo sauce in the Joy of Cooking, but mine is out in the shop still packed in a box. Someday I'll have a kitchen to unpack it in. :) The cat is on the back of the couch and she keeps sticking her paws in my hair. Loretta, how do you even function on that little sleep? I would be biting people's heads off. They do have fake fires in fire school. I think there has to be something warped in someone's brain to allow them to run into a building that everyone else is running out of. But hey, I still love him. And if that's Lyle's only wierd thing, then I'm happy. I'm glad that Dad was able to be walking around today - I also like to be able to get good and frequent updates, on him and Alex. I hope we all continue to hang out in here. :) Ashley is trying to read the sentence where she saw her name, btu she keeps being interrupted by a mesmerizing episode of Cosby, circa 1985.

Who is flylady, Whee? I remember that name from somewhere. Is she the one who wrote the book about the clean kitchen sink? I talked to Charlene today at work, we were trying to figure out how she can come to visit. We found a fare from Boston for 262 US, and she can take the bus to Boston for only 42US. It'll be a long day, but not too expensive. Maybe I'll be able to save up a free ticket by then. Lyle's family is havng a reunion in Phoenix in April that he wants to go to, so we are trying to save tickets for that too.If I make four on line purchases from Southwest they send a free ticket. I love that! I just have to go to my jobs a little more often. That is one good perk from m job. We were supposed to get our bonuses on February 1st and we still haven't gotten them, so I am somewhat disgruntled right now. That is about a quarter of my salsry, so when they don't give it to me it is fairly significant. Ashley needs her book read, so I'll go for now.
Love you all -
a