My little old man with her best friend the little old lady.

I posted pictures of all of my kids that trick or treated in our neighborhood. Erin and Shannon trick or treated in their friends neighborhoods. Erin went home with a friend after school and got ready over there. Most likely so she can leave the house dressed kind of trampy in her mini skirt and stilettos. Normally I would try to have a little more control over what she wears out of the house but I figure she will change as soon as I am out of sight anyway. Besides, just having a night free of Erin/Sybils mood swings is kind of nice, at this point I don't care if she goes trick or treating as part of a nudist colony as long as she is not in my zip code!!

I won the costume contest today at work. I got twenty dollars!! Pretty cool, my head is still itchy and I think my eyebrows are stained black for a while but it was fun. Someone even blew me a kiss from a stoplight. I guess I have to look like a dominatrix to get attention while I am driving these days.

Kelsey weighed her candy, she says tonight's haul combined with what is still left from trunk or treat is over 12 pounds. I think at least 8 lbs of that candy will end up on my butt by Thanksgiving.

My little hockey player!!

Scarlett O' Hara (Without Teeth)

I am actually wearing this crazy get up tomorrow to work. I am pretty proud of the gloves, I bought those 99 cent stretch gloves, cut off the fingers and hot glued aluminum foil to the tips. Pretty ingenious if I do say so myself. Dave is out of town for work, he comes home tomorrow to a biker babe. Lucky him!!

The kids are still on fall break, they are already bored. I got home from my classes today at 2:30, Maggie was still in her pajama's and once again there were candy wrappers all over the floor. What makes my children think that it is a good idea to eat candy all day and just throw the wrappers on the floor? Did they think I wouldn't notice??

The tooth fairy remembered last night to come. Yeah!! We went out to dinner tonight, I asked Maggie if she got her money from the tooth fairy? She said, "no, I don't even know where my tooth went?" I told her that daddy put it under her pillow when he carried her off to bed. She fell asleep on the couch. We actually remembered the tooth fairy for once and she forgot to check under her pillow. I give up!!!

I got up early this morning and after doing my daily scavenger hunt for my make up, hairspray, deodorant and hair straightener I made my bed and straightened up my room before I left for work. Kelsey had three friends spend the night so I wanted to keep up the charade that I was a neat and orderly mom. When I got home from work my bed was unmade and there were candy wrappers all over my floor. Not only that but there was pieces to a chewed up razor and a hacki sak chewed up and sprinkled all over my carpet. I am thinking of contacting Ellen DeGeneres and asking her if she might be interested in a 2 year old cock a poo. Maggie said that he was humping again (I didn't know she knew what that was) She asked me if we were going to have him neutered again?? If I could I would. When I got home from work Maggie was still in the same clothes that she had slept in and I think her and Ryan had Halloween candy for breakfast and lunch.(in my bed) Their babysitters(Shannon and Kelsey) aren't the most attentive bunch but their price is right.(free)

We took Kelsey to soccer practice, Shannon to her friends house and then we were heading to the mall. Erin was driving. Yikes!! On the way to practice Kelsey realized she had one of her old spikes and one new one. Lucky for her, it was a left and a right, one was just smaller than the other. I wasn't about to go back home. The quicker I can get out of the car with Erin driving the better. She would have to deal with the lopsided shoe thing. We got to the mall safely and in one piece. Erin was looking for shoes for her Halloween costume. She found a pair on clearance for $5.00 not exactly what she wanted but they will do. I think we passed the annoying girls at the hand lotion kiosk about 4 times. By the end of my shopping trip with Erin/Sybil I was ready to scream "No I am not interested in your stupid hand lotion!! Back away or I'm going to go postal on you!!" I realized at 7:25 that I had lost track of time and I left hop a long Kelsey with two different shoes at practice. Luckily I got a hold of Dave and he was in our driveway when I called so he was able to go get her in time.

Maggie lost another tooth today. Enough already!! I believe that is three teeth in less than two weeks. I am going to try my hardest to remember this time. Please say a little prayer that the tooth fairy doesn't call in sick again tonight!!!

We had games all morning and afternoon so we went to a 6:00 mass this evening at a neighboring parish. They had a special collection for a retirement community for the nuns. They say the average age at the community was 90. Dave made Erin run inside with a twenty dollar donation after mass. He had left his wallet in the car. She was a little baffled as to why her father was giving the nun's $20 dollars when he won't buy her a pair of stiletto's to wear with her Halloween costume. I seriously doubt there are too many angels walking around in mini skirts and stilettos in heaven. I am guessing the twenty dollars will be better spent with the nuns.

Kelsey had three girls over to spend the night. They are on fall break all week. I don't know the parents very well since we are still fairly new to the school. When one of the girls got dropped off I was talking to her mom in the front yard. She was surprised when she found out I had college age kids. She said"Oh my gosh, you don't look old enough to have kids that old." I said my standard response "I started young but I feel old." My darling daughter Maggie, innocently kicking a soccer ball around in the front yard, piped in with "yeah she had her first baby when she was a teenager, I'm the youngest." Thanks for sharing all the family secrets Maggie. I'm sure this mother now has a wonderful first impression of me. I was 18 not 13 but I didn't feel like explaining, I just let her leave with her imagination running wild.

I went to the store to pick up a few snacks. Erin and Lauren went with me. They raced to the front seat and tied. They both sat in front on the way there. There are six other seats in the van and those two still have to fight over the front seat. Some things never change. Lauren is 20 and she will still knock someone out over the front seat. My deodorant disappeared off of my bathroom sink this morning. I had to use Old Spice deodorant today. I asked Lauren if she had seen my deodorant? She said"check my purse it might be in there." Sure enough that's where it was. I also found all of my make-up, my hair straightener, hairspray, shampoo and conditioner as well as my body wash up in Erin's bathroom. I love going on a scavenger hunt every night looking for all the things I need to keep up with my personal hygiene and beauty. One of the lovely pitfalls of having 6 daughters. I never have tampons, deodorant, or mascara.

I worked on getting Cinderella ready for the ball while Dave took Ryan to his soccer game. When they got back I could tell the game hadn't went well. Dave said "he didn't even try, he just stood there half the time." His team is pretty bad, most of the kids are only there because their parents signed them up. They have lost every game. Ryan is actually a pretty good player, he plays on a competitive team also where he does really well. Dave was frustrated with his lack of effort not lack of skill. Ryan went upstairs to take a shower and the rest of the family was telling stories of all the fatherly advice that they have gotten in sports through the years. I always knew when they would all go outside to play, that I should probably get the Kleenex's ready because someone always came inside crying. Erin said she hated it the year she played softball. Dad wouldn't let her come inside until she could catch a pop fly. Remember, "Murphy's Never Quit." The best was when he was making an igloo with the girls in the snow. They got cold and finally quit while the king of "Murphy's Never Quit." stayed out in the snow all by himself finishing the igloo. We all watched from the warmth of the house laughing at his stubbornness.

I was still working on Cinderella's hair and make up and Dave left to go to Sam's college for the parent weekend bar b Que and activities. Dave was talking to Sam's coach's husband and he pivoted his foot to turn around at the same time that the coach's little boy came running up. He tripped over Dave's foot, split his lip open and landed face first in a pot hole. Way to impress the coach honey. Our kid will never get any playing time now. Fabulous!!!

Kelsey went to spend the night at a friends house. Grandma was going to drop her off after her game. She packed no clothes for the next day, no pajama's and one shoe. Pretty much typical for Kelsey.I dropped Erin off at her friends volleyball game and then she is going to a bonfire party. Her social life is so much better than mine. Shannon had a 6:00 game and then she was cheering for the boys game immediately after hers. She went from a sweaty soccer player to a cute cheerleader in 5 minutes. I really enjoyed my quiet shy daughter flirting with the boys in her cute little cheerleader outfit after the game. NOT!!! What happened to the kid who would never brush her teeth or hair. I think I liked her better then. She does smell better now but I would prefer that she didn't notice boys. I bought Ryan a couple new pairs of pants tonight at Old Navy. I have a hard time finding clothes for him. He is so skinny that the slims, even with the adjustable waist just hang on him. I took him with me so he could try things on. He is worse than the girls. He is picky with what he will wear. Luckily his father will wear whatever we tell him to. He still needs garanimal tags like he had when he was a kid to match his clothes but he will basically wear whatever we give him.

Tonight was Trunk or Treat. Trunk or Treat is allot of fun, you park your car and pass out candy from your trunk. Maggie woke up this morning at the crack of dawn excited about tonight. I on the other hand was kind of hoping for a torrential downpour to cancel tonight's festivities. We did get rain, not enough to cancel the evening but just enough to get my shoes and the bottom of my pants soaking wet. They had over 400 kids registered so I spent over $40 on candy. They gave awards to the best dressed family, best decorated car and best costume. Some people went all out. One dad told me he was dressed as a dad who really wanted to be there tonight. I think we must shop at the same costume shop. Once you park you are not allowed to leave until it ends at 9:00. All kidding aside it really is a fun, safe evening for the kids and it was well organized. It was just cold and wet.


Lauren is coming home tomorrow for me to do her hair for a wedding. She told me last week
that I wasn't allowed to go to any of her siblings games tomorrow so I could fix her hair. Her boyfriend reminded her that she wasn't actually in the wedding so she probably could just do her own hair. That didn't go over real well with her. She called me tonight while I was at Trunk or Treat to ask me what time I planned on waking up in the morning. She has to be completely ready by 1:00. I guess she feels she needs more than 4 hours to become Cinderella.

Sam has parent weekend at her college. I think they are planning some type of Tennis match or something, parents vs kids for her soccer team. Sam is at her school on scholarship and financial aid. Most of her peers were born with silver spoons in their mouths. We on the otherhand didn't even use utensils for most meals. The girls are all really nice but I am not looking forward to playing tennis with a bunch of people who probably take lessons every summer at the country club!! I think I might rather go back to Trunk Or Treat or maybe even the art museum!!

I dropped my algebra class!!! Factoring trinomials was what did me in. I probably could have stuck it out and pulled off a C in the class MAYBE!! I just didn't have the energy to stay up past midnight anymore, doing something that made me feel so stupid. I thought about dropping a couple of weeks ago and Dave offered me some words of encouragement. "Murphy's never quit." I had two weeks to think about it and I realized I am not really a Murphy. My maiden name is Friel and Friel's quit!!! I signed up for next semesters classes, I am taking United States history from 1945 to present, ceramics and photography. No trinomials there!! Now that I will be taking ceramics,I will get to make my own lopsided poorly painted pencil holder this mothers day.

Parent teacher conferences were tonight. I was kind of dreading going to Maggie's for two reasons, one, she is struggling a little bit with reading and well, you know, the whole nun costume on the wrong day thing. The conference actually went well, her reading is much better and she did really well on her last skills assessment. Shannon and Kelsey were the same, they both could do better if they applied themselves more but as a whole they both do well. I really liked both of their teachers. Ryan's teacher said he is doing well but he did get an N for needs improvement for respecting others property. She said that some of the boys, my little angel included, like to take other student's pencils, break them in half and throw them across the room. I asked her, "what was wrong with that?" She didn't mention anything about the backpack full of spit wads that he has. She told me that one day she threatened to take his chair away because he can't sit in it for longer than two seconds. Luckily for him, he is really smart so all of his grades are good, I am hoping his maturity will come along at some time in the near future. Last year in his religion book when he was supposed to be drawing faces showing emotions on the people in his religion book, he was drawing rotten teeth and nose rings and tattoo's. Everyone loves a comedian. That is everyone except a teacher!!

I have parent teacher conferences tomorrow night. On the way to school this morning, I asked Ryan if I was going to hear good things from his teacher or bad things?? He said ,"don't worry mom, I am doing really good!! Last year in behaviour I got an n for needs improvement. This year I got an S- ." Hmm, let me see, a satisfactory minus, that is just fabulous. Lets call all the relatives and brag!!

The tooth fairy was supposed to visit again last night. She called in sick again. I think she may have a drinking problem because she has shown up days late for work more times than I would care to count. Erin was home from school sick today. I remembered about the absent minded tooth fairy when I got to work. I called home and told Erin to check and see if Maggie even remembered to put her tooth under her pillow. She lost it early in the day, she may have forgotten at bed time. If her tooth was under the pillow I instructed Erin to crumple up a dollar and throw it behind her headboard. We will just tell Maggie she must have knocked it off the edge of her bed while she was sleeping. I have 7 kids , they each have twenty baby teeth. I have used the crumpled dollar behind the headboard several times!! It works like a charm.

The dog left me a little present tonight, well actually he left me a couple. Not only did he get into the trash but he also pooped in my bathroom. I am glad someone has time to poop because I sure don't. Maybe if I would have picked up the dog ease pheromone plug in at pets mart last night he wouldn't have been so stressed out tonight. Or maybe I should just tie his leg to a pole.

I went to a meeting tonight for 6th grade parents on parenting. No, they didn't make me go because I sent my first grader to school in a nun costume on the wrong day. All parents of sixth graders were required to attend. Anyway I learned that there is a new group of kids in our generation, not only is there adolescents they now have a category called adultescence. That is for college students who have no responsibility other than their grades. I learned that this new group ends at age 27. WHAT!!! Am I going to be raising all my babies until age 27??? When I was 27 I had five kids. I was responsible for more than just grades. Speaking of grades, I got a field trip assignment for my art class. I am supposed to visit the art museum and sketch something that I see there. Not only am I supposed to sketch something, but I am expected to ask a complete stranger to take my picture in front of the subject that I am going to sketch to prove that I was actually there. I think I would rather put a hot poker in my eye.

Sam turns 21 tomorrow. Where did the years go??? It seems like just yesterday that she was fighting with Lauren over clothes. Oh wait a minute I think that was just yesterday!!! Seriously , she has become an amazing young lady right before my eyes. I am proud to call her my daughter. What an amazing kid I have. As parents you guide your children as best you can and hope that they make great decisions into adulthood. So far so good. (Well, with the exception of Brad) Anyway, Happy Birthday Sam!!! I love you!! I hope Brad doesn't read my blog!!

Aren't some of the best things discovered by accident?? For instance the pantyhose were invented after a seamstress accidentally sewed two stockings together, Viagra was originally for some other medical ailment, someone dropped chocolate into peanut butter (where would we be without Reese's?) Coca cola was originally cough syrup etc etc..... Well I believe I discovered an amazing product with a double use this weekend. I have only had to buy two bars of soap for Ryan's bathroom since we moved in a year ago. Now that he has his own bathroom I can better monitor how his hygiene is going. Before we left for the fall festival this weekend I noticed a nice little dirt ring on his neck. I sent him upstairs to take a bath and instructed him to scrub his neck. He came down 20 minutes later squeaky clean. Well, almost squeaky clean. He missed the dirt stains behind his ears. I brought him upstairs to show him the proper way to clean his neck. I grabbed the washcloth in his sink and scrubbed behind his ears. To my amazement his little neck came clean without too much scrubbing. I then noticed the smell on the washcloth was not soap but rather soft scrub with bleach. I used the same washcloth that I had used to clean his bathroom earlier. I think I might be on to something. I wonder how good it would be for his neck if I sprayed it with soft scrub every day. Maybe Not!!!

I went to Pets Mart tonight looking for some type of padlock to keep the dog in his crate. The vacuum on it's side is no longer doing the trick. I was unsuccessful in finding any type of lock but I did find another interesting product. It was called Dog Ease Pheromone made with St. Johns Wort. It was a plug in solution that releases pheromones in the air to help relieve your pets stress. WHAT!!!!! What kind of stress can a dog possibly have?? I am thinking about buying a dozen of them and plugging them in, in every room of the house. Maybe it will help my stressed out husband. I can't imagine how anyone could be so stressed out all the time when they are lucky enough to be married to me. He is at Walgreens right now refilling his high blood pressure medicine. The doctor tells him to take one a day, I tell him to take three!!!

Lauren and her boyfriend Mike took Ryan and Maggie to the pumpkin patch to pick out a couple of pumpkins. When they got back with their pumpkins I was a little surprised at the pumpkins that they picked. Lauren said they didn't have too many left to chose from. The one Ryan was carrying was all bumpy and wrinkly. Dave said "that is pretty wrinkly" Ryan responded "yeah it was special to me, it reminded me of mom." OK I guess I will let that one slide considering I scrubbed his neck with bathroom cleanser today.

It is so nice to have a clean house. I wonder how long it will last?? I was able to sit outside on my deck today, enjoying the beautiful fall day. I drew a few pictures of trees and plants in my sketch book for homework for my art class. I didn't even sit in the drivers seat of the van all day. I kind of missed my old friend. NOT!!! I guess this is the kind of relaxing normal people do every weekend. That is, people who didn't take the phrase "be fruitful and multiply" quite as literally as we did.

Lauren and her boyfriend Mike came over for dinner tonight. Shannon's friends all have a huge crush on Lauren's boyfriend . We went up to the fall festival at church this afternoon. Shannon had been up there all day working, earning her service hours. When we arrived a crowd of eighth grade girls came barrelling in the side entrance of the gym . I smiled and said "Hi girls, are you that happy to see me or could it be Mike??" They looked embarrassed and ran away giggling.

Tomorrow is the big day. Maggie gets to wear her Margaret Mary costume to school for the prayer service. I am thinking of whipping up a costume for myself so I can show up in a disguise so no one knows that I am the idiot that sent my kid to school in a nun costume last week. Last week she had all of her teeth. Now she looks like the patron Saint of people on the TV show COPS!!

Sam was going to come home tonight for dinner and spend the night. She still has to go to soccer practice even though she has a bum knee. She said she still is part of the team so she is expected to sit on the sidelines and shiver to show support for the team. After practice her car wouldn't go forward. She has a transmission fluid leak so she has problems with her car allot. The car is only 3 years younger than she is and it is most likely not going to end up in any Dairy Queen antique car show anytime soon. She didn't feel that her driving skills were good enough to make the 40 mile trip home in reverse so she stayed at her apartment. Dinner was good, sorry we missed you Sam!! Maggie ate corn and a roll, Ryan didn't eat, Erin was too full from lunch and the dog almost got the whole roast before I had a chance to slice it. Luckily I have quick reflexes!!

Lauren came home Friday from college to get her fall clothes. We had our yard aerated last weekend. Lauren asked me what happened to the yard. I told her that we had it aerated and she said "Oh I thought wow, Seamus is doing really good at finally pooping outside." I then told her she was actually right, Seamus has been so good lately that I let him have a little party and all the neighborhood dogs came over and pooped exactly the same size and consistency every two inches in the front yard, and it is her week to pick up the dog poop!!!

Kelsey spent the night at a friends house so Maggie had to clean their room today all by herself. I will go upstairs with a broom tomorrow and get all the stuff out from under the bed. For right now it looks great. We got all of our Halloween decorations up tonight. They look pretty cool, Dave made a big spider web out of rope. Maggie was putting the pressure on to get the Halloween decoration out. That is important stuff to a six year old!!!

I cleaned my house all afternoon. The girls had about 6 empty bottles of shampoo sitting on the ledge of their bathtub. I guess you never know when an empty bottle could be useful. Erin and Shannon were home this afternoon so I actually had some helpers. The music they chose to blare through the house while they cleaned was not something that I would have selected but at least they were helping. I don't think they would have been quite as motivated if I would have cranked up the old Rick Springfield greatest hits CD.

Maggie had a party to go to tonight. I wasn't exactly sure what time the party started nor who I should RSVP to or even what the phone number was. Luckily the little girl having the party has an older sister in Kelsey's class. She mentioned to Kelsey in class on Thursday that Maggie is the only kid in the class who hasn't rsvp'd. I was in the process of piecing the mystery of the smeared invitation together with Kelsey's CSI kit that she got for Christmas last year. When I took the smeared invitation off of the refrigerator to try and figure it out, I found another invitation behind it. Ryan has a party at an ice rink on Sunday. I guess that means I am going to spend the next two weeks explaining why he can no longer play ice hockey. Shannon is at a party tonight and wants to know how late she can stay, the invitation said the party ended at 10ish. I think that means 10:05, she thinks it means Midnight! Kelsey is at a trivia night with a few friends and Erin is at a friends house in our old neighborhood working on her Halloween costume. When my kids were babies I remember thinking how I would probably wait up all night for them to come home when they are teenagers. Now that reality has set in I think, whatever you do don't wake me up unless you are on fire or bleeding. Wake up your father!!

I bought a new vacuum tonight. The other one we have has been used as a barricade on it's side to help keep the dog in his crate. I picked up some carpet stain remover while I was at the store. Lauren mentioned that our carpet was starting to look like the carpet at our old house. Maybe we should be like gypsies and move every couple of years. We could start fresh with new carpet and a new school where no one knows who we are and that I pack m&m's for lunch and send my kids to school dressed as a nuns. Dave invited his study group over Sunday. Now I have to get all the stains out of the carpet and clean all my toilets to look like a mom that has it all together. It is so hard keeping up this charade!!!

Oh yeah I almost forgot, the tooth fairy bolted out of bed at 6:20 am in a state of panic. Of course she failed again miserably. Falling into bed completely exhausted her little angel's tooth slipped her mind. She woke up Dave and asked him if he had any money. Luckily daddy pulled through and took care of the tooth fairy duties. He never did find her tooth but he did manage to put the cash under the pillow.

I have had a site tracker on my blog for a full month now. I am completely awestruck. I have had visits from 8 countries and 23 states. My family must be crazier than I actually thought we were. I just picture the emails going around the web. "Hey Bertha, check out this website I found, this lady on the web, she is insane and I think her kids might be too. They hang Christmas lights in the bathroom instead of replacing light bulbs." Whatever the reason people come back and new visitors arrive, I am completely thrilled, humbled and grateful. Keep spreading the word!!! I owe allot of people dinner for passing my site along to their address books. So far I have made almost a dollar fifty off of my ads on the site so we will have to eat cheap. How about a soggy pretzel, m&m's and olestra chips??? Any takers???

Ryan is doing a reading at church tomorrow at the all school mass. At least I think it is tomorrow (could it be next week?). I decided to break down and cut his hair tonight, he was beginning to look like one of his sisters. I sent him to school today in his Eddie Munster shoes, he couldn't find either pair of his school shoes so as a last resort, we cleaned all the spider webs and eggs out of the shoes that he left on the patio for two weeks. I sent him upstairs to put his belt on that he forgot AGAIN!!!! He came down with it on and I asked if he managed to hit all the loops?? He responded proudly "I sure did." Luckily Shannon noticed before he got to school that he looped it through his back pack straps as well as his belt loops. That's one way to get him to remember his backpack. I'm considering just embroidering kick me on the back of his school shirts instead of messing with the sign!!

Maggie lost one of her front teeth tonight. A large piece of her gum is still hanging down where her tooth was. It is extremely attractive. She is going to be Scarlett O'Hara (or as she says, Scarlett O Hairy) for Halloween, we may have to alter the costume a little to be a red neck Scarlett O'Hara. I have another chance at the tooth fairy tonight. She was off duty on Labor day for the holiday.

My sweet little boy walked into my bathroom this morning at 7:15 while I was brushing my teeth and said "Mom, I have a field trip today, I have to bring a sack lunch, what should I bring? we don't have any food." I don't think I have been to the grocery store since the Carter administration so we had a bit of a problem. How does he expect me to remember when his field trip is, he should consider himself lucky, I could have sent him to school dressed as the Pope!! Ryan won't eat sandwiches and I was fresh out of crackers. I found some frozen pretzels in the freezer. I microwaved it and put it in a baggy and hoped the steam didn't turn it into a soggy mess by lunch time. I found some chips in the back of the pantry, he doesn't need to know they were made with olestra, (I hope he doesn't get diarrhea on the field trip). Dave got a big bag of M &M's as a gift for bosses day so I put some in a lunch baggy and topped off the brown bag with a Capri Sun (made with fruit juice, nutrition is important to me!!) I instructed Ryan not to drip chocolate all over his face when he chews so no one know he is eating M&M's for lunch and by no means is he allowed to sit by his teacher during lunch!!

I actually had a fairly normal evening tonight, thanks to rain. Erin's and Ryan's practices were canceled so all I had to do is pick up Shannon at cheer leading practice. I was actually able to work on homework and enjoy my family aka play referee to Shannon and Kelsey and Ryan and Maggie. Sam and Lauren still aren't speaking over the green blouse so I didn't have to play referee with them and Erin/Sybil is a different kid ever 15 minutes so I don't even try to jump on that train wreck. Dave went to the grocery store tonight. I think I might have Ryan bring his teacher an apple tomorrow!!

Tuesday's are always a little crazy, I have school during the day and in the evening Shannon, Kelsey ,Erin and Maggie all have soccer practice at four different fields. Dave goes to school on Tuesday nights so I'm on my own. I spend about 4 hours driving up and down Hwy K every Tuesday. If anyone lives in O Fallon MO it would be nice if you posted signs of encouragement up and down the road for me . For example; Happy carpooling, you only have 60 miles (on the same road) to go. God loves you!!! Or maybe someone could post Maggie's spelling words up and down the road. You might even consider setting up a table or two with stations of refreshments like they do in marathons. A cold drink, a sandwich or maybe even a handful of Valium. Anybody????

Even though I hate driving that is where I get some of the best information out of my kids. For instance: Ryan told me there is a kid on his soccer team who's tongue was so long he could pick his nose with it if he wanted. He thought that was pretty cool. Not to be outdone Ryan boasted that he is able to pick his nose with his toes. He is still unable to tie his shoes correctly but picking his nose with his feet is a cinch. I think I should ask at school if they have any openings in the gifted program!!

I talked to Lauren today and asked her if she called her sister to see how her knee was? She said "No I am not talking to her because I asked her last week if I could borrow her green long sleeved shirt since I haven't had time to come home for my fall clothes." Sam told her no because she hasn't worn it yet. There is a proper clothes borrowing code of conduct that mustn't be broken. If you have something new, no one can borrow it until the rightful owner wears it first. Lauren felt that since she didn't have any fall clothes that she found a loophole in the rule. Not so much!!! I am so sad that I didn't get to witness this little cat fight, I sure miss my girls when they are away at school.

Today I skipped lunch in an effort to save money for Maggie's therapy she will need when she is older. She was so excited to go to school in her St. Margaret Mary costume. Unfortunately for her the prayer service is next Monday. I believe that is what I thought to begin with. I grazed over a note this weekend and didn't notice the date. All the kids at school were asking if anyone else saw the midget nun on campus. I think the school should go ahead and laminate a kick me sign to have on hand for all the Murphy kids!!

I wonder if Lauren's chemistry teacher showed up to class drunk again?? Lauren was more concerned with the fact that her skin was so dry instead of her being drunk. She said"her skin is flaking everywhere, hasn't she ever heard of lotion?" I'm thinking if she is downing a fifth of scotch before class, hydrating her skin is not top priority.

Sam made it back to St. Louis, she got hurt at her game in Boston, she collided with another player and hurt her knee. She said she is able to walk on it but is having a hard time straightening it. She tried to shave her legs today and she said it hurt. I hope she was able to apply lotion when she was done, otherwise her sister would be shamed by the family!!

It would be nice if one of my college kids would change their major to psychology. It would save me a ton of money if Maggie could just call one of her sisters the next time her mom humiliates her in front of the whole student body.

Did you know St Margaret Mary Alocoe wore pink crocs?? OK so the veil is a little wavy but considering how it started out, it came together with at least a little bit of the correct shape. It was much better than Erin's attacked by a cheetah mini skirt. Maggie was not able to gain the 3o lbs that I needed her to to fit into the costume, I however was succesful at gaining a few. I had to make a few adjustments to the black tent to shrink it down.

I was late getting to Kelsey's soccer game today, Ryan was missing one of his shoes. We finally found his crocs but were still unsuccessful at finding his other school shoe. We found a pair in the backyard but they were full of spider webs. I decided to not make him look like Eddie Munster at the soccer game and we kept looking.

I cooked dinner tonight, something I haven't done in ages. Ryan ate Fruity Pebbles instead. I didn't have crackers as one of the courses so he passed on dinner. Maggie and Shannon argued all through dinner, the argument ended when Maggie took off her sock and threw it at Shannon, it landed on her plate. She couldn't aim that well again if she had another ten tries. My kids forgot how to eat when their meal doesn't come from a paper bag or a concession stand.

I am going in to work a little late tomorrow so I can see St Margaret Mary at the prayer service. I hope her costume doesn't unravel as she processes in to school. I may bring the bathrobe and black slip with me so I have a back up!!

I learned a valuable sewing lesson this weekend. When you are cutting out a pattern and it says cut on fold, that means you actually fold the fabric over to double it before you cut it. Who Knew!!

I went to half of Maggie's soccer game and then headed out to Kelsey's game yesterday. On the way home we had to stop at Hobby Lobby to pick up more fabric. This costume is reaching the $50 mark. Maggie went with Erin to babysit for a friend of hers. I didn't have her to try things on while I was making it. I improvised and used her 13 year old sister. Amazingly enough the costume is actually the perfect size for Shannon. I can't imagine where I could have gone wrong. Umm, maybe taking on this project. Why didn't I just put Ryan's bath robe on her with a black slip on her head. Maybe she will grow 10 inches tonight. I thought I had until the 22nd but once again I screwed up on the date. She has to be wearing her costume Monday morning when she arrives at school by 7:45. Yikes!! I wonder if it is possible for her to grow 10 inches and gain 30lbs that fast. I wonder if I sent Shannon instead if her teacher would notice!!

This morning Ryan tied his shoes and had his teeth brushed by 7:15. I guess my little outburst yesterday paid off. The veins in my neck are still tired from their vigorous workout. Sam called me yesterday to let me know that she arrived safely. I said "that is great honey, where did you arrive safely?" She said "Oh didn't I tell you I was going to New York?" Umm no!! Thank God she didn't say Vegas I was afraid she ran off to get married and didn't tell me. I told her she doesn't call me enough and she said "the phone goes both ways, maybe you could call and check on me since I just ended a two year relationship, maybe you could call and make sure I am not depressed." I am going to call her in the morning to make sure she is not depressed. She scored her first collegiate goal tonight. Yeaaaaahhhh Sam!!! It was even a left footer. She plays in Boston tomorrow.

I went to 3 different sporting goods stores tonight looking for soccer spikes for Ryan. Dave bought him some on Wednesday but they were too big. As I was driving to my third store I realized it would have probably been easier to go back to the place where he lost it and crawl around on my hands and knees until I found it. I finally found a pair in his size and picked out a new pair of shin guards. I watched a show on Oprah today on transsexuals and started feeling a little guilty about making my son wear pink shin guards. I have visions of him twenty years from now sitting on Oprah's stage with his wife and kids wearing a dress with more cleavage than his wife. He had one of his friends from school spend the night tonight. Erin came down stairs after she got out of the shower wearing a bra and soccer shorts. I have a feeling Ryan's friends are going to enjoy spending a lot of time at the Murphy house for years to come. I explained to Erin that modesty is actually a good thing especially when we have 9 year old boys staying over. Luckily this kid also has three older sisters so I don't need to call his mother and apologize.

Lauren called yesterday and told me that her chemistry teacher showed up for class drunk again. Some of the students have complained to the department chair and he assured them he would keep a close eye on her. Of course he wasn't on campus to witness it yesterday. Lauren said the class meets at 1:00 in the afternoon. If anyone should be drunk in the early afternoon, it should be me.

I got to school today with a bit of a sore throat. No, it was not because I was breathing in cold air on a nice fall morning, it was because I was screaming my fool head off at my son this morning. I looked like a graduate of the Alec Baldwin school of parenting. My gas light came on last night so I knew I had to leave early to get gas. We scampered around like we do every morning (while Dave slept) and headed out the door. In the driveway I noticed Ryan didn't even attempt to tie his shoes. I think he thinks they are slippers. That in and of itself is a sure fire way to set me off. As I was backing out of the driveway I noticed he was sitting on his backpack as if it were a booster seat. He also didn't put forth the effort to fasten his seat belt. As I was yelling at him for his minor offenses I made the mistake of asking him if he brushed his teeth. He responded "umm I forgot." I believe it was at that moment that my head started to spin and I was spewing green vomit all over the van. I dug through my purse, gave him a few breath mints and instructed him to brush his teeth 15 times when he got home as penance.

I put about 40 soccer miles on the van tonight, it was a light day. We had a confirmation meeting at church for Shannon. Our priest was talking about different rituals in different cultures. One was where when a boy reaches a certain age they take them deep into the woods and tie them to a tree and leave them there all night. In the morning the boy sees that his father was actually there all night watching over him in silence. I believe there was a spiritual message that he was trying to give but I couldn't help but think I sure wish I could tie Ryan to a tree. Later in the homily he had us close our eyes and try to imagine our children back in their infancy and how it felt to hold them close. I wonder if I was the only one in church who was remembering a little baby with fire engine red hair with a temper to match. Shannon screamed 12 hours a day for the first three months of her life. I shared my thoughts with Dave as we were leaving the meeting. He laughed and said "I don't remember ever holding Shannon."

Dave is on his way to pick up the Erin and Shannon from where there car pools for soccer drop them off. Erin called and said "Will you call dad and tell him not to be so crabby, before I get in the car." He was mad at her for not calling sooner for him to pick her up. She is supposed to call when she is 15 minutes away from the meeting place. I laughed and explained to her that she was on her own. Ten minutes later she called to ask if I had an insurance card in the van. She said " Dad got pulled over because we are missing our front license plate." The license plate got ripped off our bumper by a big tire tread on the highway on the way back from Florida three years ago. Dave has been planning on replacing it but he figured he would wait until the other one falls off. I think I may pretend to be asleep when all my little rays of sunshine arrive home.

Today I am tired from staying up past midnight working on my presentation every night this week. I really don't feel like looking for anything funny in my day. (Was there anything funny in my day today??) Oh yeah Maggie asked me if I finished her Margaret Mary costume? That was pretty funny!!

We went to high school night . That is where different Catholic high schools in the area put on 30 minute presentations to tell you about their school. The first one we visited was Incarnate Word, that is where Erin goes and Sam and Lauren graduated from. I think I could have actually given the presentation since we are on our 7th year there. They gave everyone who came a free t-shirt. Hey, didn't I finance those with my last seven years of tuition. Shannon was still on the fence between two schools. I overheard Erin say as we are leaving "I can't believe she is even considering going to that stupid school." I wonder if the 400 students that go there realize that it is a stupid school I may try and get a buzz book so Erin can call everyone to let them know. Because everyone knows her school is far more superior to Shannon's other choice of school.

Today a boy asked Kelsey out. He told her, her freckles were beautiful and her eyes were the color of the bluest sea. What has he been reading?? She turned him down. She used to like him but not anymore. You snooze you lose. She said, he should have asked earlier!!

Grandma told Ryan tonight that she wanted him to be in charge of the trash each week. He normally carries the trash cans back, he learned the hard way this summer that it is better to drag the cans back after the trash man comes. The week he returned full trash cans back to the garage it reached 98 degrees. Our whole house smelled like the county dump. She said his new job was to go around and empty the little trashcans on trash day. He said "no way grandma, I am not touching the girls bathroom trashcan that is full of, Oh God, don't make me say it." I think grandma may need to find a new special helper for that job!!

Lauren had a luncheon to go to at the Ritz (an expensive hotel) put on by her college for all scholarship recipients. She sent me a text message while I was at work that I needed to work a little harder that she thinks she wants to have her wedding reception there when she gets married. She sent the same message to her father. Her father is still trying to figure out what a text message is!! We have already told her we have 6 bright shiny ladders picked out for each of them to elope with. If she is the first to get married she gets first pick. I am pretty crafty, I can hot glue all kinds of fancy stuff to her ladder!!

Last night I stayed up until after 1:00 a.m. working on my paper for my ethics presentation. Needless to say I was tired and crabby this morning. Maggie was going on a field trip and I wasn't sure if she was supposed to wear her uniform or not. I hate that, I always feel like the worst mom in the world if my kid forgets dress out day or her snack or her show and tell day or her St Margaret Mary costume.

She said they were going to see the play Little Riding Hood. She said "you know her mom, she is the girl that knocks on Shrek's door in Shrek the movie." Am I really that old to where Little Red Riding Hood is now just a character with a cameo in Shrek.

We got to school and the other first graders also had on their uniforms, whew, I dodged that bullet. The kids got out of the van and walked towards their buildings. I noticed Ryan had a bad case of bed head. I didn't even notice before we left the house. Had I cut his hair last night like he asked he wouldn't be a big target for a kick me sign today, due to his smashing hairdo.

Ryan has soccer practice tomorrow at 5:00. I either have to go to soccer master on my lunch hour at work to buy him new spikes or he has to hop around at practice. I think I should let him hop, he might learn a lesson. Never mind, it's Ryan, he would think that was cool. He told me he had to write a poem today at school. His was "If you are hungry for a deer, shoot one in the rear." He said he changed it on his paper to "ear" so he wouldn't get in trouble. In the end he had to write a new poem, his teacher wouldn't allow a poem about shooting. I though it was kind of catchy!! If your hungry for a deer, shoot one in the rear. That could be a little jingle for deer hunters everywhere.

Tonight was typical with me putting 70 more soccer miles on the van. After I picked Erin up I ran through McDonalds drive thru to get a large iced tea. I needed some fuel to keep me going tonight to finish my ethics paper. Shannon needed to be picked up soon so I decided to stay put until she called. Erin found a dollar and some change in my purse and went inside to get a hamburger. She came out and said, "did you know these gold coins aren't dollars?? They are batting cage tokens." Luckily she had enough money without her fun money, she saved herself the embarrassment of trying to pay for a burger with tokens. Maybe I will send her to the grocery store tomorrow with Monopoly money.

The kids were off of school today so I had an unusually tranquil morning. The girls at work were taking bets on how many phone calls I would get. They weren't too bad, just 4, it was a light day. I picked Ryan up after work from his friends house. They were able to find one of the shoes that he had lost last night. They just so happened to be his soccer spikes. I said to him, "Let me get this straight, so far this soccer season you have lost two complete sets of uniforms, a soccer bag and one soccer cleat. I believe there is nothing left to lose, you are wearing your sisters pink shin guards." Last season he would cry if I made him wear them. I told him no one would see them under his socks but he refused. This season he has had a change of heart, it is easier to wear pink shin guards then to look for his own. I told him we would have to amputate his right foot because we couldn't afford a new shoe.

Ryan asked me if I could cut his hair tonight. I asked him if he really wanted to be that close to me with scissors in my hand on the night I threatened to amputate his right foot? He passed on the haircut.

The Margaret Mary costume is still cut out and ready for me. Tomorrow is another day!!

Ryan woke up today with a large blue splotch on his back. Maggie left a marker on the couch with the lid off and Ryan fell asleep on the couch and rolled around with the marker all night. My new brown couch is now brown with blue spots. It actually matches my new kitchen table with the finger nail polish remover rings and the polka dots from Lauren's spray adhesive. The next piece of furniture I buy is coming from the Salvation Army. I tried to donate my old table and chair set when we moved and they said, "thanks but no thanks." I was able to sneak a coffee table with a missing pane of glass past their quality control. I stacked the three panels of remaining glass on top of each other and they didn't notice there should have been four. Maybe they just pitied me since they passed on my couch and kitchen table.

Today was unbelievably hot for October. We had 7 games today from 12:00 until 7:00. Dave and I brought the kids to 10:00 mass and then headed in different directions to different soccer fields. By the time I got to Maggie's 2:30 game I was beginning to melt. She was starving and I told her I would take her to get something to eat after the game. Forty minutes into her game I felt like I was going to pass out. I was so hot and all I had had to eat so far was a communion wafer. I came up with an idea for future games. I could buy a whistle and hide behind a bush and blow it 4 times to signal the end of the game. (It could work!!!!)

The game finally ended and we headed to McDonald's. I walked in with some very attractive sweat marks under my arms and all down the front of my shirt. It was a very relaxing lunch, we had twelve minutes to eat before we had to get home and change uniforms for her next game. (Doesn't every six year old play on two teams?) We were able to eat in about 6 minutes, the flies circling my food really sped up the process.

The kids are off of school tomorrow. Ryan is spending the night at his friends house tonight. He went to their parish picnic with them . When I called to check on him, his friends dad said "Ryan lost his shoes at the picnic." (Oh how shocking!!!) It was dark so they couldn't find them, they are going to run up there tomorrow and look for them then. God made that boy cute for a reason!!!!

The Margaret Mary costume is cut out!!! I'm getting there, I have until the 22ND. I will most likely be scrambling on the 21st to find a costume shop open at midnight with a nun costume!!

So I am not the best videographer

I hope you don't get a stiff neck watching this!!

Shannon has turned Maggie into a high school musical junkie. I obviously haven't learned which way to hold my camera when I take movies. We listen to the CD every morning on the way to school. Shannon claims it puts her in a good mood before school. I sure wish we had this CD back when she was in First grade. I used to have to pry her off the heat vent every morning and threaten her within an inch of her little life just to get her dressed in the morning. Thank you Zack Efron for helping my stubborn red head get moving in the morning!!

The fabric for the Margaret Mary Alacoe costume is still in the bag. St. Sponge Bob is looking better and better with every passing day.

TGIF. I am so happy to be staying in town this weekend. I still haven't cleaned out the van from last weekends trip. It is starting to get embarrassing every morning when I drop the kids off at school. Every time someone opens the van door, something rolls out. Come to think of it I think my closets are that way too!!

Kelsey came home from camp today. She seems to have had a good time. She was pretty quiet because she was so tired. She told me she had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night one night and the cabin was dark. She missed the ladder and hit the floor. She didn't have any stairs to fall down like she does at home so she settled for falling out of bed.

I picked up the fabric today for Maggie's St Margaret Mary costume for All Saints day at school. I am not much of a seamstress. I gave Erin a sewing machine two years ago for Christmas. She is really creative and I thought she would really enjoy playing with it. Christmas morning she made Shannon a mini skirt made out of fleece. She named it "attacked by a cheetah." It really did look like something "attacked by a cheetah." It was rather disturbing. I thought about having Erin help me with the costume but I don't see St Margaret Mary in a fleece miniskirt with holes in it. Then I had another great idea. What if I used a costume I already had here at home. I searched through our dress up clothes and came up with a great idea. I could send her to school in our sponge bob costume. Wasn't he the patron saint of square pants? It could work, her teacher is young, maybe she will believe me.

Today started typically, Maggie brought me her library books to clean the dog pee off of them before she turned them in. If anyone has a first grader at Assumption, you may want to pass on Tallyho Pinkerton and the Rookie Reader with a picture of a boy with an iguana on his shoulder. Just a little heads up!!!

About this time 20 years ago I was in my 16th hour of labor with little Lauren. I think even at 9 months pregnant I was 20 lbs thinner then I am now. Oh that makes me so happy!!! It is hard to believe so many years have passed. I don't even feel 20 years older. (Except for the black hair that I plucked from my neck today.)

Erin got some new jeans today after school. Her and grandma went shopping, she bought these darling jeans that would look great on her if she got them three sizes larger. Why do teenage girls insist on tight jeans. (I remember when I was her age laying on my bed in all of my 85 lbs zipping my Jordache jeans with a hanger. ) She tried them on with one pink spike heel and one leopard print spike heel. She asked "Which shoes do you like better?" Um let me see, how about some khaki's and a pair of flip flops.

We had to go to the neighbors house(a classmate) for help with Maggie's spelling words tonight. One of the words she had written on her list was ort. I was a little uncertain of what ort could possibly be. Maggie said "Oh I know what it is, I think it is "ont." Oh yeah "ont" how silly of me, that makes much more sense. Erin used to be the same way in first grade. We would do a practice spelling test and she would get 10 wrong. We would write the ones she got wrong 5 times each and take another test. She would then get the other 10 wrong. Somehow we survived the year and she is a great student. She still can't spell but neither can her father.

I had quite a few new visitors to my site today. I now have visitors in 13 states and 3 countries pretty cool!!! Thanks for reading about my family's dysfunction and keep spreading the word.

Happy birthday little WA WA. I Love You!!!

(my favorite high maintenance daughter)

Happy birthday Kelly!!

(my favorite high maintenance friend)

Kelsey headed off to camp today, I am really going to miss her. Now when I hear a loud crash I can no longer assume it is just Kelsey falling down the stairs. (for the third time this week) Lauren called me today and I told her Kelsey was at camp, I reminded her to call her on Friday to see how camp was. She asked "did she bring a blow dryer?" I asked her why in the world would she bring a blow dryer. (Obviously my fashion major, high maintenance daughter has never been camping.) No, Lauren she is not going to glamour camp. I bet they don't even have tanning beds in the cabins.

I checked Kelsey's bag that she packed last night and took everything out to label it with a sharpie. I asked her if she packed underwear that fit or did she grab Maggie's. She has a bad habit of wearing her six year old sisters underwear that are about four sizes too small instead of getting hers out of the laundry room. I started pulling them out of the bag and was horrified at what she packed. She had two pair of 4 toddler underwear and one pair that the dog had eaten the crotch out of. I said "great. Kels, crotchless panties for camp, where did you put your go go boots?" She laughed and said she didn't notice them when she packed.

It was my turn to drive to Erin's practice tonight. I worked on homework for a while in the van until it got to dark. Then I went outside so I could be dinner for all the mosquito's in St. Louis County. I am glad someone got dinner tonight!!

I got home and Maggie said there was some excitement in the neighborhood. Someone was tied up, had a baseball bat, was robbed, almost ran over someone, and the husband and wife were screaming at each other, she should have thrown in a rape and a murder while she was at it. I called a neighbor to get the real story. I think a teenager was driving too fast and almost hit a little boy. The little boys father detained the girl until the police came. Maggie's story was much more exciting. It kind of makes me nervous to go to parent teacher conferences this year. I wonder if her teacher knows that Dave ties me up and chases me down the street with baseball bats.

I stumbled into my design class about 8 minutes late today. My professor said "traffic?" That is the running joke in the class whenever anyone is late, that is his way of excusing all tardies. I said "no, I was actually digging in my kitchen trashcan looking for my first graders math homework." Good times, Good times!!

I can't find my tackle box full of art supplies, I think I may have left it behind in Indiana. Fabulous!!! Today was one of those days that started out in the trash can and by mid day I was wishing I was back at home digging through the trash.

Kelsey's practice was cancelled due to the extra games last weekend. I got Maggie ready and off to practice on time for a change. I was the first one there! I soon realized we were the only ones there, they have changed Tuesday practices to every other Tuesday. It's a good thing I wasted the two things I have an abundance of, gas for my car and time. My tank is always full and I am so bored all the time, I am just looking for a reason to hop in the car and find something to do with my time!! When I left for Maggie's practice I asked Kelsey to unload the dishwasher and pack for camp.

Kelsey is leaving at 6:30 am tomorrow for 6th grade camp. When I got back from my wild goose chase Kelsey was sound asleep on the couch. I had 10 minutes before I had to get Shannon to practice. By the time I got back from that it was 7:30, I woke Kelsey up and told her to start packing. Of course we lost the list so we had to call 3 people to get the camp list. In the mean time I put Dave in charge of Maggie's homework tonight. Within 4 minutes, Maggie had a meltdown and started crying. Daddy isn't as patient as mommy. I fired Dave as tutor and told Maggie to go put her pj,s on ,wash her face and settle down. Dave left to pick up Erin and Shannon from practice and to pick up last minute things for Kelsey for camp. I was going to unload the dishwasher that I asked Kelsey to do 3 hours ago and when I was finished I told Maggie I would help her. We got through our homework, flashcards and spelling words and she headed up to bed.

I went downstairs to do some research for my presentation next week for my ethics class. Erin called and said "Why aren't you answering your cell phone?" I told her that her father was picking her up that she could call him. She said "he already picked me up but he is really crabby , I am just wondering why we are at Wal Mart?" Umm, Why not ask the person who took you to Wal Mart. I explained that "daddy has homework issues," and that he was getting Kelsey's stuff for camp. I wonder if they need any more chaperone's for 6th grade camp. I could have Dave packed and ready in five minutes.

I still haven't caught up on sleep from this weekend. I stayed up until 3:00 am Saturday in the hotel lobby working on graphing inequalities. It was nice to have some quiet time. I also got to watch Jerry Springer. I didn't know that was still on the air. That show makes me feel so normal!!! I finally went upstairs around 2:30 the hotel guests that were coming in the lobby were more and more interesting by the minute. I figured between Jerry Springer and all the drunk guests, the distractions were beginning to equal that of the Murphy kitchen, it was time to head up to bed.

After work I decided to try and take a quick cat nap. As soon as I dozed off, Kelsey came in and asked me how she was getting to soccer practice?? I am sure the house was either on fire or someone was bleeding because she knows better than to wake me up for any other reason. I told her I was taking her but maybe it would be better to wake me up 10 minutes before we had to leave, not an hour before. Shannon was looking for the cordless phone and hit the page button, unfortunately for me, it was on Dave's dresser so I got to listen to it beep until she found it. Shortly after that, Dave came home, Ryan came in looking for Dave (he forgot the house is on fire or someone is bleeding rule too), Ryan let the dog in my room when he was looking for Dave. The dog climbed up in bed with me and promptly started gnawing on his leg. I decided this would be the point where I ended my refreshing 8 minute nap.

Home sweet home! I couldn't wait to get home last night.I didn't know what or who I missed more, the rest of my kids, my husband, my bathtub or my bed. We got home around 10:15 I headed straight for my bed!!!

Dave is going on the next soccer trip. I played DJ for Shannon for six hours on the way there and the way home. I now know the difference in Zack Effron's voice in the high school musical movies. Shannon insisted we take the van on the trip so she could watch movies. On the way down her and Kelsey got in an argument because Kelsey wouldn't put a movie in because she was closer to the DVD player. They never did put one in, Shannon felt the 3 steps toward the back of the van was just too much work!!!

I need to give a shout out to my friend Mark, he wants to get mentioned in the blog. There you go Mark . Your a stud!! I had a visitor on my blog from Brazil yesterday, pretty cool!! Now everyone in Brazil will know Mark is a stud too. Sorry I didn't post last night when I got home, I was way to tired. Dave was on the computer when I got home and I didn't feel like waiting until he was finished. I put his laptop on his front seat this morning. He got the message and is dropping it off today to get fixed. He even put a new light bulb in Erin's bathroom. Maggie came in my bathroom this morning and said "Did you hear about what daddy did?" I said "no what did Daddy do?" She replied proudly 'He put my hair in a ponytail while you were gone." I sure wish I had a picture of that ponytail. Our oldest daughter will be 21 in three weeks and he finally learned how to do a ponytail. Maybe in our next quarter of a century together I will introduce him to the dishwasher and the stove. No, maybe not, Baby Steps!!!!