WARNING! Gross descriptions ahead....

I feel gross. Downright gross. I didn't know a human could produce so much snot. I think I could single-handedly provide enough mucus for some kind of medical study. Wanted: Forty gallons of mucus. I could answer that ad.

This does not make for a creative person. I did walk in my studio and gaze longingly at the items sitting on my table. I bought some items at the local art supply store (no, not M's or HL). We have this cool store called Texas Art Supply... I love it there. Anyway, they had all markdown/red tag items an additional 50% off. What a deal! I have a whole bag of stuff, a lot of it from Memory Makers (I think...i'm too tired to go look). I got this stamp set called Hollie's Inspiration from Prickley Pear Stamps for $3.00! I got some other doo dads. I love a bargain.

Someone told me that M's carries the Suze Weinberg Melting Pot... something I have wanted. It is regularly $35, so with a 40% off coupon, it would be $21! I will check tomorrow!

I'm off to drug myself... if you get this congested, and have to sleep at night, I cannot recommend enough Zicam Extreme Congestion Relief. It is a life saver!

Feelin' Blue

I have a cold.

I feel awful. My nose is congested, I am coughing, I'm achy... just plain yuck. and could I laze around and relax? Of course not. That doesn't happen with this Mama (unlike SOME of my friends who are given the luxury of a three hour nap in the middle of the day despite having four kids). While my loving husband Bugman was off dealing with the Houston court system for a speeding ticket, I had to lug kids around, pick meat from the meat market (we bought a 1/4 of a cow), load meat into the already overcrowded deep freeze (do you KNOW how hard it is to fit a 1/4 of a cow in there???), pick my order from the Seabrook farmer's market, and then pick up a kid, deliver another... aaaaaaahhhhhh!

And then there's the teenager thing... My oldest is dealing with the issue of being affectionate toward girls in general (just a friendly thing) and why it's off limits (why don't they understand???). He is really struggling with this. He just is a loving, affectionate boy. It's not a "s*x" thing for him... nothing overt about it. Just a loving, friendly hug or arm on the shoulder, but it's offended some teenage girls AND boys. It's hard being a boy with Asperger's. People don't understand because it's not a "visible" problem.

Off to help bugman with a brisket he's been cooking for the last 22 hours!

I Did It!!

We have been trying to potty train this little one for almost two weeks. From day one, he has been great about "peepee" in the potty, but forget trying to get him to "poopoo"!! We tried everything... special underwear ("Don't poopoo on Mater!!"), but nothing worked. So we resorted to bribery! If you will poopoo in the potty (and Mama or Daddy has to see it there! He tried to tell me he pooped the other day, but I never saw it, and his heiny sure was clean, so I'm not sure he really did), then you can have a new hotwheels car!!

Well, he pooped in his pull up (that he wears when we are out) on Sunday after church. Then he didn't go for THREE DAYS. I was beginning to panic. Yesterday, he finally went...in his underwear. **Sigh** I was about to give up. Today, he has been fine. He got up from his nap, and went potty (#1), and then suddenly said "I have to poopoo!" and RAN to the potty. YEAH!! He did it!! Tiny did a HUGE #2, and here he is with is new hotwheel. He is sooooo happy. We have five more cars to go!

Tiny with his new purple cadillac hotwheel.

Yummy Ribs!

We have a great grocery store here in Texas called HEB. Ours has a little cooking area called "Cooking Connections" where they have chefs that make at least three dishes each day. The idea is to present quick, easy and tasty dishes that you can prepare yourself. They had a wondeful dish called "Easy one hour Ribs" a couple of weeks ago, so I just had to try it.
You can see by the empty tray, they went over well! And as you can see by my lovely shirt, they went over well ON me also!

Here's Your Title!

I am a delinquent blogger. I have been negligent. I apologize. Life sometimes gets away from me.

I was reading a new blog today, of another homeschooling mom who has six kiddos... and one a teenage AS boy! (For those who read this and DON'T know, my oldest son has Asperger's Syndrome). It was refreshing to read that maybe my teenager is not so different from other AS kids. Life can be very trying with a teenager with AS.

One thing she has done in her blog is give each child a nickname, so I think I'll do the same. Here out, my wonderful dear husband will be known as Bugman, as we own a pest control biz and it is befitting him. Bubba14 is my oldest son, as that is the nickname his brothers have already given him. Legoboy11 is my second son. He's the math/science freak and of course, Lego (and Starwars) obsessed child. Third in line is my kindergartner LittleJ6. He's the one that Dobson was observing when he wrote "The Strong-Willed Child". We just started "school" with him (learning to read) and he loves it! Last, but not least of course, is my youngest, who will be 3 tomorrow! "Tiny" (as Bugman calls him) is not so tiny! He has a genetic disorder called Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. Among other things, he was born with part of his intestines on the outside of his body. Anyway, he is quite a large boy... 3 tomorrow, and wearing a size 12 shoe, and size 5 clothes.

Bubba14 is quite the challenge these days. He is in drama, which is wonderful, except that the dramatic come home with him. Everything is a major event. Yesterday, he took a math test. He got two wrong. Even though he got a 90 on the test (he has a fit until we give him a "grade"), he began the diatribe on how horrible a student he is, and I had to suffer with the whoa-as-me attitude for hours. What is a mom to do? And then there is his play... his drama class is putting on "The Mouse Trap" in about two weeks. The drama teacher asked the kids to ask people to the play and "reserve" tickets. Well, Bubba took that seriously, and he is constantly making lists of who we should invite and we need to make sure that we reserve their tickets. Sigh. One day, I will go crazy with this!!

Time to get the show on the road here. Bugman is playing Uno with the kids before he leaves. I have a brief moment to shower now.