"Saw VI"

I know the movie hasn't come out yet but I swear you could have used Kyle's bathroom this morning for part of the footage!

For the past several years Kyle has been prone to nose bleeds. This morning he was eating his breakfast at the bar and kept sneezing ( a normal morning routine for Kyle).....after the 3rd sneeze I told him to go to his bathroom and blow his nose.
He gets down and goes back to his bathroom while I head off to the laundry room to iron his shirt ( yes, I do all my ironing in the morning...I never think that far in advance to do it the night before....don't judge me!)

Anyhow, back to my horror movie......when a few minutes pass and Kyle hasn't returned to finish his cereal, which is now forming into wallpaper paste, I yell for him to hurry up. When he doesn't answer I head back to his bathroom to add a little "morning momma modivation". As I turn to walk in his bathroom I actually scream!!!!!

Why you ask????? Well, lets just say it looked like the St. Valentine's Massacre took place in this 6 X 11 bathroom! Kyle is standing at the sink holding a Kleenex that is soaked in blood up to his nose and the rest of bathroom is COVERED in blood spatters. When I say covered.....I mean COVERED...the sink, mirror, wall, shower curtain, toliet, floor, rug....EVERYTHING!

It looked like someone to a weed wacker to the poor childs nose!!!!

Come to find out, he said he sneezed as soon as he walked in the bathroom before he had a chance to get a kleenex.....Yay think????

I tell ya, it was even to gross to take a picture of. And it was too early in the morning for me to be scrubbing up blood (which I just noticed got on my pants)

But at least he did make it to his bathroom and I didn't have to clean up all the blood from my kitchen...and his breakfast...YUM!

The worst part is, I cleaned his bathroom from top to bottom on Saturday. Even washed the shower curtain and liner too....(don't start Heather, yes I wash the liners cause I'm a tight wad)....oh, well back to square one!

Hope your morning went better than mine!

Say what?!?

okay people, Kyle just sent me a text message and said

his text "Madison(his girfriend) asked if I could come over to her house Saturday night. can I go? She asked her mom and she said ok"

My text "and do what?"

his text "idk, watch a movie or something"

My text "how about you guys get a group together and meet up at the movies"

his text "is that a no"

My text "let me tlk to ur dad"

his text "k"

....okay Dad, ball is now in your court on this one.....AND don't let me down!!!!

I don't think I am doing very good on this whole teenager thing.....I might need therapy or medication or a something....he's too young to go over to some girls house with some parents I don't know and do God knows what when her parents are not paying attention in God knows where and ......oh goodness I can't breathe.......


HELP!!!!!

Ahhhhh......the Fair.....

Let me start by saying that I HATE THE FAIR!!!!!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE roller coasters at places like Kings Dominion, Carrowinds & Kings Island. And I must be in the very front seat when I ride....cause if I die I want to see what is about to chop my head off :O)

But I hate county fairs! This being said, where did I go last night???? Hmmmmmm....let me think........oh, that's right! THE STINKING COUNTY FAIR!!!!!

Being the wonderful, most awesome, fun loving, nice, sweet, caring mother that I am I took Kyle to the fair. All by myself I might add!!! He was dying to see his girlfriend cheer at the compition they hold at the fair each year and then all his friends were going to ride the rides. And let me just say that Kyle has been to the county fair the past 3 years with friends and each time he has thrown up from the rides.

So we watch the cheerleading, which Woodington Middle School won 1st place....GO RAIDERS!!!!!! Anyway.....and then he was off with his little group of friends to the rides....and I was left alone to fill over 2 hours of "down time". So I walk around and look at all the exhibits and vendors and still had 1hr & 45 mins to kill :O)

So then I found a picnic table and sat back and decided to do a little "people watching".....that my friend was a scary experience.....man do fairs bring people out of the woodwork or what?!?

Finally, at 9:30 Kyle made his way back to eat his slice of pizza I had got him for supper. And boy was he pale as a ghost...I knew this was going to be bad. He said he felt to sick to eat his pizza and that he just wanted to go and close his eyes. His girlfriend just sat there and laughed.

He rode the entire way home with the windows down and his eyes closed and I told him to give me plenty of notice if I need to pull over for "puke stop". Thank goodness we made it home where he climbed in bed with his handy trash can close by his side.

.......ahhhhhhh....the fair..............

Birthday Pals!

Here is a picture of me & the girls after our dinner out to celebrate my 34th birthday!!!! Man I look good for 34.....don't ya think?????

We went to Logan's for dinner and drinks and had a great time...then headed back to my house for presents and cake. We were all stuffed from dinner but crammed the cake in anyway :O)

Thanks girls for a wonderful birthday....I didn't spend it on the football field like the past two years and there was no hurricane...like the 3 years in a row before that.....YIPEEE!!!!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!!!

Today is my birthday!!!!! YIPEEEEEE!!!!!

I am 29 AGAIN :O)

No really I am 34.....but who keeps counting after 29?


.....so here it goes....a 1, a 2, a 1 2 3.............

Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday dear ME
......HAPPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

Don't ya just want to sing along too????

Hurricane Floyd-1999

This week marks the ten year anniversary of Hurricane Floyd. I hate to say it but I witnessed this storm up close and personal as it slammed the eastern part of North Carolina.

It was my first experience with a Hurricane so I was not really sure what to expect. We new it was heading our way and that it could get bad. But I didn't know just how bad. Chris had been sent to the Outer Banks in Dare County to help evacuate the coast which left Kyle and I at home to weather the storm.

The rain started early that morning but I went on to work dropping Kyle off at daycare, he was only 2 1/2 at the time. I don't remember the rain stopping the entire day and by 3 that afternoon my work decided to close. I picked up Kyle and headed home. When I pulled up in the driveway I was greeted by my neighbor next door saying that our Chow (who we had to keep in a dog pen at the time) was up to her stomach in water. Once I had her dry and safe in our shed I headed in side. I stayed glued to the TV the entire night. Chris called as much as he could with orders on what I needed to do.....fill the tub with water, fill ever empty container I had with water, flash lights fresh batteries, propane for the grill and canned foods. I wasn't really that worried at the time I guess because I wasn't sure what to expect, I mean how long could it really last????? The next day everything will be back to normal....right???????

Nice thinking on my part but.......WRONG!!!!!!!

Later that evening the rain and wind were pounding every window in the house and it was so load I couldn't have slept even if I wanted to. We lost power around midnight so I layed with Kyle in our bed until the wind got so bad I was afraid the windows that were right over the bed were going to break. I grabbed Kyle, pillows and blankets and headed for the hallway. We were renting an older home in town at the time, you know the kind that has a door you can close from the livingroom to the hall.....so I closed all the bedroom doors, bathroom and livingroom doors thus leaving us barracaded in the hall. And that were we stayed until Chris made it home and to our rescue!

We all slept in the hall that night and when the sun came out the next morning it was a horrible sight. Tree's and powerlines were down everywhere. All the major roads and bridges leading in and out of our town were flooded or washed out. There was no way in......and no way out of or town!

The water began to rise and buildings, business and homes were flooded. Dead livestock floated down the roads along with a few coffins that had surfaced from an old cemetary!

Our home was spared from flooding but we were without power for 4 days. I learned to cook any kind of food you an imagine on a grill and thank goodness Kyle liked to color because that was all we had to do.

That first experience with Floyd opened my eyes to how bad it can get and the effects it leaves. I am now perpared for every hurricane!!!!

Pay it forward

This little diddy right here is an awesome way to give someone you know or may barely know a huge smile when they check the mail and get something other than bills and stupid junk mail!

One of my favorite blog buddies "Erica" over at www.d6scotts.blogspot.com has the cutest little game called Pay it forward. It's away to meet up with other bloggers and get a cute gift all at the same time. Check it out and see!

But just go and look cause you just know I am gonna win!!!!!

I remember.....

.........the exact spot where I was sitting on this very day 8 short years ago......do you? It was a day that changed all of our lives forever even if we did not personally know someone who perished on 9/11 in the attacks.

It was a beautiful morning as I sat at my desk working...okay maybe I wasn't really working...... anyway, one of the guys that worked in the shop came up and needed change for the drink machine. When I gave him the change he said "did you hear that the World Trade Center has been attacked?" Hearing the word "attacked" gave me chills as we all raced to the breakroom to turn on the small TV (complete with rabbit ears) to watch the live footage unfold.

The images I saw that day, the fire, the smoke, the screaming people as they ran down the streets looking for a safe place and innocent victims jumping from the buildings was vivid enough to bring tears to everyones eyes. No one spoke.....just watched and listened.

The phones at our office began to ring non stop, all seven lines, as people were calling to inform us and their family members. My after school sitter called to see if I wanted her to go pick up Kyle from school. Everyone was so unsure of what would happen next...if anything?

As the days passed you could not turn on the TV without it being coverage from 9/11. All regular programming had been cancelled and news updates were a constant reminder.

With each 9/11 anniversary that has passed, I always pause for a moment of silence and rememberance for those who lost their lives. But this year, it was different. This morning I was in a meeting that began at 8:30 with several other people and I asked that we please take a moment of silence to remember the victims. Each person closed their eyes and bowed their heads.

For me, this 9/11 anniversary has taken on a whole new meaning. You see, this passed year Kyle and I went to New York City and visited Ground Zero. After, seeing the massive whole in the ground, the tile memorials painted by school children and pictures of loved ones hung in the fence, my heart has been forever touched. I stood there, on the same street that everyone had been running down to find saftey, I touched the same white concrete benches that gave fire fighters a moment of rest and I saw the look in my sons eyes as his fingers linked through the barricaded fence where the towers once stood.

I hope we all continue to remember..........

Hard working man.....?????????

Sunday morning I went into Kyle's room to wake him up for church and I did something that I have not done in a long time.....I took his right hand and held it while I TRIED to get him to wake up.....all the sudden I felt something gross and yanked my hand back......"what the world is that????"

I opened up his hand and looked at his palm and you will not believe what I saw.....his entire palm and fingers on his right hand are covered with hard calluses!!!!

You would think that with Kyle only 13 years old that we have subjected him to HARD core child labor or that maybe he got the calluses from putting up hay or working in tobacco and corn this summer (hey don't judge me!.... He loved working on the farm and he loved the thought of earning his own money) or maybe he got them from his weekly job of sweeping out our 3 car garage.......these are all thoughts that ran through my head but they were all.....WRONG!!!!!!

As Kyle started to stir I asked him how in the world did he get all the calluses from?

Kyle "they are from riding the 4 wheeler"

Me "well then why are they only on your right hand?".....I mean I was just guessing on this but the last time I checked it did have two handle bars??????

Kyle "Mom, the gas is on the right!!!!"

Me "so why don't you have them on your left hand?"

Kyle "duh, cause that's the brake side!"

Me "enough said"

So there you have it folks. My son has permenant calluses on his right hand from driving his four wheeler. However, the good side is that it could be worse....it could be from playing the Playstation!!!!!! And evidently we can go ahead and disconnect the brakes cause he must not need them!!!!! God help me!

Oh, I took picture with my cell phone to post for all you guys to see but now that Alltel has merged with Verizon I can't seem to access my pictures online...THANKS VERIZON!!!!!!!!

No BIG Plans

For the past two years our Labor day plans have including the following......

last year - we sat at home watching Cat 1 Hurrincane drench our house with rain and wind. Also the same weekend Chris tore his ACL in his knee (which sweeled up the size of a basketball) so he layed on the couch with ice packs the entire weekend and wound up having to have surgery to repair it a few weeks later.

year before- spent that Labor Day in the ER getting stiches in Kyle's leg from a 4 wheeler accident....yes, I am fully aware that 2 yrs ago he was only 11 and you are thinking "What mother in her right mind lets her 11 yr old son ride a Honda 350 all alone with flip flops???????"......lets just say it's all his DAD'S fault! :O)
That's why I called his Good Ole' Dad on the way to ER so he could meet us there. Cause let face it, when I saw that yellow fatty stuff sticking out of the blood I was NO HELP!

So let's hope and pray that this Labor Day weekend is accident free!!!!

18 Kids & Counting......

.......you can't be serious????? Have you watched this show???? And now the tabloids say that baby 19 is baking in the oven as I type??????

For those of you who are not fascinated with the Dugger Family like I am I will catch you up to speed. They are a sweet family complete with 18 kids ranging in age from 20 to 8 months and all the childrens names begin with the letter "J".....Joshua, Jenna, Jessa, Johannah, Josiha, Jennifer, Jordyn, Jinger.....oh, Lord I'm stuck at 8 names......good thing I'm not the Mom, I would never be able to remember them all and would wind up calling half of them by the dogs name!

Anyway, they live in Arkansas in a humungo house they built themselves.....and I can speak from experience that building a home yourself is no walk in the park!

Now, on to the main point of my post. Michelle Dugger a.k.a Mom age 45 is now prego with kid #19 while all the while her oldest son Josh is expecting his first child(Michelle's first Grandchild) next month. Things of this nature never cease to amaze my little "Mom of 1" brain! But I must say that I am addicted to this show and don't miss an episode.

I guess the thing that has captivated me is the fact that the house always seems to run smoothly. Everything is ALWAYS so nest and tidy, the kids are always very clean, well behaved and well dressed.....(my 13 yr old has to be told to brush his teeth, take a shower, do his homework and most days even be reminded to breath!)
I just don't see how she has pulled all this off while keeping her sanity intacked. I mean honestly folks I am give slam out each night by the time Kyle goes off to bed and I only have 1 child to keep track of and he is equipped with a cell phone and I still struggle......maybe I need to get him a tracking collar?!???

Michelle and Dad "Jim Bob" always speak to their kids in the sweetest voice. Never raising their voice or yelling. I would love to know how they get a teenager to do something without yelling...I have to know the secret! The kids are alway polite and get along together very well (or at least long enough to tape the show) the older ones help out the little ones and no one is running around half dressed or just in a diaper sporting the ever fresh "bed head".....NOPE.....not on Momma Dugger's watch!

So have any of you watched this show and become addicted like me? They are most awesome family in my eyes. I have never really had the desire to have multiple children, much less 19. Nor can I begin to understand why anyone would want such a hectic life. God has given me one wonderful son who is full of life, energy and laughes. And last time I checked 1 child is enough to make me a Mom!

That time of year~

Can you believe it is the first day of September!!!! I can't....this year has just flown by as I stand by with a dumb expression on my face that says, "uh, where did it all go???"

Fall is a mere 21 days away. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year! I know most people love Christmas time and the warm summer, but for me it is the cool, crisp fall mornings that I love. When the first cool breeze blows I run to the mail box to rip down my summer flag and put out my fall one, replace the bright colored wreath on my front door with one for fall. Complete with all the wonderful reds, yellows and browns!!! I also have a horrible addiction to candles!!!! And when I say addiction...I MEAN ADDICTION!!!! All my candles even have their own little "home" in my home....well actually it is a double cabinet in my kitchen but it is totally devoted to ALL CANDLES!!!! Yep, Partylite, Yankee, Scentcy or Doller Tree....hey, I don't descriminate! I burn a candle or put a fresh tart in my tart burner almost every night. I love the smells!!!! Baked Apple Pie, Fall Festival, Autumn Leaves & Harvest.....ahhhhhhh....I can smell them now.



And the best part is that Yankee has come out with a bunch of new scents for Fall that I got a wiff of last weekend while shopping at the mall and oh man did they smell gooooooooood!!!!!!!!!