A Few Things That Make Me Say WHAT THE HECK!?

OK first things first...

Yesterday I spent the majority of the day cleaning house - the whole house. The Hubby comes home and comments about how nice it looks. Then he proceeds to rummage through the fridge trying to find something to eat. In the process he decided to clean it out leaving all the inedible crap on the counter behind him. He turns around and says "Sorry Sweetie for messing up the kitchen"... then walks away!!!

WHAT THE HECK!?!

This is bound to offend someone but its my blog and I don't care...

What ever happened to honor and wedding vows? My husband has a friend tell him recently that out of Friends 5 closest friends my husband is the only one who has not cheated on his wife - including said Friend. This is sad. Apparently, The Hubby knows plenty of people who do this... Seriously...??? I know its not just the men who have affairs... plenty of women do this as well. Someone I looked up to cheated on her husband.

This had me completely floored and I asked The Hubby why someone would do this. His reply: Honor. I would add Integrity, Character, and Morals to the list but they all pretty much mean the same thing. Seriously... have a little respect for your spouse.

I need to get off this soapbox before I really get going. Things like this have a tendency to drive me insane... so I'll just say

WHAT THE HECK!?

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

Get the HECK Outta My House!

So I had another blog topic prepared for today but I decided to postpone said topic in light of very recent events at my house.

12:00 - had lunch with the kids

12:30 - Zac is sleeping soundly in his bed and Caleb and I are picking up his toys

12:45 - Caleb and I are sitting in the rocking chair reading a few books then we start listening to some relaxing Classical Piano music on my MP3 player feature of my phone. It would have made a cute pic: The two of us sitting head to head sharing earbuds. Ahhh... cherished moments.

1:15 - Caleb is sleeping soundly in his bed and I get cozy and lay on the couch with one earbud in one out (So I can hear the kids if needed) for a little relaxing on this drizzly/rainy day.

2:00 - Door to door Kirby Vacuum Salesman comes to the door. I debated answering the door but he saw me on the couch as he got out of his truck. I know because he smiled and wave. Didn't know who or what he was until I opened the door.

He asked if I had heard of something and I said no. He said it would only take 10 minutes and I don't have to buy but he has to show me to get paid. "Plus, it will give me an opportunity to get out of the rain." Dude! You're not walking... you are riding around in a Suburban! Whatever... by this time he was already in my house and living room taking his crap all out.

I looked at him and asked: "Is that thing going to be loud?"

"Well, it is a vacuum."

"As I said before, my kids are sleeping."

"Oh. Is that important?"

"What the $#***&#! do you think!? Do you think I would have told you that my kids were sleeping so you needed to be quiet FIVE TIMES already if it wasn't important?!"

Well... I didn't say that exactly... but I wanted to. Instead I said, "Uh... Yeah! I don't want them to wake up. They need to sleep."

"Well I have to do the demonstration to get paid. And I have to run the machine to do the demonstration. If they wake up I will help you get them back to sleep before I go."

(Like HECK you are!) "OK. Well... we"ll see."

Then he's trying to tell me that my Dyson only has a life span of 3-5 years. And my still looks in good condition. "Oh you've had it for 5 years? Well... uhhhh...."

"How much did you pay?"

"$350"

"well... the new one will cost you $800."

"No it won't. I can get it for just under $500."

"Do you know a guy or something?"

"No. I shop at Costco. And they aren't $800."

So he ran his little machine about 5 times with his little black cloth to show me how much dirt my Dyson left behind. Trying to lure me in.

"Are you a stay at home mom?"

"Do you also run a daycare out of the home?"

"What does your husband do?"

"You guys probably make the buying decisions together, right?"

"Yes."

"Well... has he ever bought anything big without telling you first?"

"Nope."

"Nothing? Not even a TV or steroe? Nothing?"

"Not if it's over $50. That's our agreement. That's one reason we are still married 10 years later."

Then I told him I would prefer if he didn't turn it on again.

"Well I have to turn it on to finish the demonstration."

"I understand that. But my KIDS ARE SLEEPING!!!"

So he calls his little driver in the 'Burb and asks to be picked up. A stupid little conversation takes place between them trying to get me to let him stay in my house and "make the sale".

As he is packing up his crap, Zac starts stirring and making a little noise. I just look at him and smile and say "That's why I asked you to stop."

So I politely escort him to the door and give him the best replica of a smile I can muster.

Now I'm pissed because I didn't get to lay on my couch listening to my pretty music and look at the big beautiful tree across the street with big bright orange leaves rustling in the breeze.

Jerk.

Is Eight Ounces Enough?

Well... it's that time again... Homecoming. Apparently, Homecoming is a big thing here in Michigan. You get a dress... you have the dinner... you take the pictures... then the big party. Haven't figured out how Homecoming is different from Prom really.

Where I come from (Oklahoma) we did things differently. Sure, we had Homecoming but there was no dress... no fancy dinner... no pictures except of the funky ways people would dress for Spirit Week... and the dance was after the game in the gym. No big deal.

So The Hubby and I went to dinner with The Fireman and his wife last night. We went to Louis Benton Steak House, where I might add you can find one of the BEST steaks in Grand Rapids. So LBs as we affectionately call it, is a fancy 5 Star restaurant. They were slightly busy last night being a Saturday.

We had not been seated at our table five minutes before "they" showed up. Twelve of them to be exact. Teenagers. They did not all show up at once. Maybe four at a time. You are lucky enough to have them seated next to our table. That's right, I said YOU. Otherwise I would not have this wonderful and hopefully entertaining blog to post.

So beings my little tale...

The first group shows up... no big deal. Then the second group shows up and instead of waiting for the hostess to show them to the table, they start wandering through the dining room. That prompts a girl already seated at the table to shout out her friends name ACROSS THE DINING ROOM. Which in turn made everyone in the place cringe.

Once everyone had arrived the overall decibel level increased by about 15%. Instead of being in this nice quite atmosphere, I felt like I was sitting in Logans.

They are looking over the menus talking amongst themselves about what they are going to order when we hear the girl at the end of the table ask the question that will go down in the annals of history much like the phrase "Where's the beef?!" At least for the four people seated at our table. She is discussing the size of the Filet and asks her friends "Do you think 8 ounces is enough?"

I think it was at this point that The Fireman and I looked at each other and said "I am SO blogging about this."

Turns out that eight ounces was not big enough. She got the twelve ounce and split it with three of her friends. That's right. FOUR girls split a 12 ounce Filet. It was cute how they were so concerned about the split charge. They decided that they could split the steak themselves but wondered if they would still get charged for the additional plates.

Things quieted down a little while they were eating... but since four of them only had three ounces of steak to eat the quiet didn't last long.

I had the privilege of facing the table so every time they took a picture I got flashed in the eye. I curse the day the digital camera was invented. They took a million pictures. The Fireman was seated across from me and I was seeing so many black spots that his head had a million holes in it.

I guess they were getting bored because they were getting more and more obnoxious as the night progressed. Two of the girls decided to put the "fake" tea lights in their cleavage and pose. One girl started taking pictures of the inside of her mouth. One girl stuck her hand up another girls dress. And one girl was wearing Ugg Boots with her formal dress.

I felt so sorry for the server but luckily their group had more than six so she at least got to add the 18% gratuity.

All in all it was quite an entertaining evening. I think next time the kids should go to Outback. At least they can afford to eat there.

10 Followers!

This is a shout out to my momma. She is my TENTH follower of my little blog. Still trying to figure out why she wasn't the FIRST... but I will take what I can get. To tell you the truth, I never really expected to have any followers. But then I got one... then one became two... three... four... five... well, you get the picture. I do a little happy dance inside when I log on and see that I have a new follower. It has become an addiction. Feed the addiction my Bloggy Friends! : )

Show Some Bloggy Love

So my friend The Fireman has 2 Followers now... and we all know that Followers are like Crack... once you get one you obsess until you get more. Heck... I'm stuck at 9 and I'm always checking to see if I have made it to that first benchmark of 10 yet.

He's got some good stuff over at The Chaos Experience. Show him some Bloggy Love and check him out... If you like what you see, hit that little Follow button.

Tears in a Jar: Praise You in the Storm

"Praise You In This Storm"
-Casting Crowns

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

I really can't explain it any more than how this song does - but I'm gonna try. If I knew how to post the actual song so you could hear I would.

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

I can not tell you how many times I pleaded with God to change His mind and give me my girls. I was convinced if I prayed and pleaded enough God would have to hear me and give in to my petitions. All the while I knew and believed that God is Sovereign and He sees the Big Picture and I can only see one piece. I rest in the knowledge that as my "story" unfolds I will begin to see more of the picture but I will never understand the whole picture this side of Eternity.

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side

In spite of the storm raging around me I stayed focused on God and the Hope that only He could bring to me. In Hebrews 13:5 Jesus says "I will never leave you nor forsake you". When I don't feel like lifting my hands in praise to my God, Jesus is there holding them up for me. When my burden of grief and pain seems too hard to bear, Jesus takes it from me. Psalms 56:8 says "You have taken account of my lament and keep my tears in a bottle". My tears are important to my God.

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

It always seemed that in my darkest hour I still felt His presence around me. Keeping me... Holding me... Comforting me... Catching my tears... Right there where I needed Him to be... All I needed to do was reach out my hands and Praise.

MIA and Other Things

I know... I know... it's been a while since my last post. I can't blog very well from my phone and my keyboard decided to go on the fritz and I had to coax it back to reality.

So... I am excited to announce that I won the Drabby To Fabby Friday giveaway last week. They say it was random but I wonder if Tamara just felt sorry for me??? Either way I am super excited to get my prize. My little piggies are gonna be super fabby now too! Go check out Tamara's site or click on my Drabby to Fabby button and you can join in the fun too!

I think I forgot to mention that I also won The Tomato Collection Giveaway from Nicole at Bellies and Babies.

This has been one successful blog experience for me so far! Anyone else have something to give away that I can win?

Even though I haven't been posting much doesn't mean I haven't been working on more blogs. I have about three in the Que right now for Tears in a Jar. I knew this was going to be hard, I just didn't realize how hard it would be to hit the Publish Post button at the end. So, far this has been a personal thing I have kept to myself knowing all the while I needed to share it... All in letting go I suppose. Stay tuned.

The Cute Factor

So I was told by The Fireman that it has been 4 days since my last post and that proper blog ettiquette is one blog entry every other day...

Caleb must have taken some "cute" pills this morning with his vitamins. The Hubby was home for a bit this morning hanging out with us and I was getting Zac changed from his jammies. Caleb comes over and starts pointing out his belly butt(on). Then he proceeds to point out everyones belly butt(on). When we asked him where Zac's belly button was, he says "That's not Zacky, that's Peanut."

"What?" was our reply.

"He's Peanut and I'm Punkin." The names we call them...Haven't ever heard Calebuse those names before.

Then, I took the boys to JoAnn's Fabrics today to get some safety pins. We are standing in the corridor and I am grabbing a basket and loading Zac in the back. I turn around to get Caleb and put him in front and I see him standing in front of the automatic doors with eyes as wide as saucers. I think it just clicked at that moment that he has complete control over the function of the door. He would take one step forward... Doors open... Then one step back... Doors close... Repeat about a hundred times. The expression on his face was priceless. I especially liked the exclamations of "Whoa!" and "Look at that! Did you see that?!" "They open for me!"

Watching him "control" the doors like that reminded me of Travis' blog on the same subject. Only Travis does a "finger wave" ala Jean Luc Picard.

Oh to be a kid again with all its new discoveries.

Thanks for being patient with my "irregular" blog postings. I'll try to be better...

The Fireman

It has come to my attention, in a magical way, that my friend, The Fireman, reads my blog on a regular basis. At work I might add... cause he's a security guard at an empty building so he has lots of free time. He apparently finds me a little humorous too - which is something completely unexpected.

Oh and he's a volunteer Firefighter ... let's give some huge PROPS to these men and women!!!

So, in an effort to provide some alternative reading material for The Fireman I will try to blog more often.

Unfortunately, today is not gonna be one of those days because Caleb has decided not to nap.

Drabby Too Fabby Friday!

So last week I mentioned Drabby To Fabby Friday... here it is! I know you've all been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting in anticipation to see me transform right before your very eyes.

This was something that Tamara at Mad Boastings of a Cheapskate Mom launched last week. I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon, because lets face it, I needed the excuse to "dress up".

So here's the before pic:

Yes those are The Hubby's flannel pants and t-shirt. My jammies are underneath but it's a little chilly in the mornings... and I don't want to wear my jammies all day. This is the usual attire until I get around to getting myself ready for the day... which usually happens sometime before lunch.

Here's the after pic:

I must say I clean up pretty good.

Make-up including Lip Gloss which you can't see because of the self-portrait in the hallway. Nice pants that I wouldn't normally wear around the house. And new shirt I just bought on clearance at Sam's Club yesterday for $2.01. Thought Cheapskate Mom would appreciate this. The shirt is purple with embroidered flowers and beaded embellishments - once again self-portrait.

Don't judge me on my extra curves... I just had a baby and my clothes are either too big or too small... and the too big clothes are really tooooo big.

So there you have it... My Drabby To Fabby.

I must say though that I felt pretty good after taking the time to do this today. It even released my inner "house fairy" which is something even The Hubby will appreciate.

Check out more DTFF transformations here.

Happy Friday everyone!!