Wordless Wednesday

Walking on the banks of the Mississippi River

I know it's up early, but I have to work tomorrow and thought I would make sure I had it up in time. To see more Wordless Wednesdays go HERE

You Gotta be Kidding Me!

I've gotten the school supply lists for the kiddies for the upcoming school year. It seems not only do we supply our kids, but the teachers and the school nurse and the school office as well. Here's the lists for all 4 grades (1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th) combined:

• 2 boxes of quart storage bags
• 1 box of gallon storage bags
• 9 boxes of tissue
• 1 box of band aides
• 4 pairs of scissors
• 5 boxes of baby wipes
• 3 packages of small toys(party favors..that must equal at least 24 per class)
• 3 packages of pencil top erasers
• 4 boxes of crayons
• 6 reams of copy paper
• 1 ream of card stock or color paper
• 14 packages of #2 pencils
• 15 packages of glue sticks
• 2 bottles of Elmer glue
• 2 8-line writing tablets
• 3 zippered pencil bags
• 4 pencil sharpeners(this is just for one kid)
• 1 art box
• 4 backpacks
• 15 folders with prongs and pockets
• 7 packages of 200 count wide-ruled notebook paper
• 2 packages colored pencils
• 2 2 1/2 inch 3 ring notebooks
• 2 packages of dividers
• 1 package of book covers

The ones in red are the ones I just cannot believe I have to buy. I mean 6 reams of copy paper (that's 2 reams each for each of the younger three I'm sure the end result will be 8 but my oldest son's supply list didn't include it, yet). Plus on grade has to have a ream of colored copy paper or cardstock. Yea, I'm so not buying cardstock after purchasing everything else. Whatever happened to schools supplying stuff like that. Don't they get grants and such for supplies? Don't teachers still get a tax deduction for classroom supplies they have to purchase themselves? I didn't have to spend half this much for the year I homeschooled my kiddies. Another thing that riles me is that most of these supplies will be put in one large container to be distributed to the classroom prn. In other words my kids will be coming home saying they don't have pencils or crayons about 1-2 months into the school year. Even though I bought them, in case of my daughters class, 8 boxes of #2 pencils at the beginning of the school year. Yea the teachers are going to love me 'cause I plan on labeling each and every pencil, crayon, marker, folder, notebook with my kiddies names. Even if I have to get out the woodburner to do it. So whenever that kid brings home a pencil with my kid's name on it the parent will know who to thank for supplying their kid with supplies.

I'm all for helping people who cannot afford to get their kids supplies. But I know there are always some good-for-nothings out there that know how the schools operate these days so send their kids in with the bare minimum if anything at all. So I spend mine and my husbands hard-earned cash on supplies that my kids may never see again after the first day of school.

Another thing really sucks. On the first day of school the teachers will send lists of "classroom supplies needed" home with the kids. Oh and I just checked Teachers/educators can receive up to 250.00 tax deduction on classroom supplies. Good for them, huh. Can't gripe about it to anyone where it'll do any good. The school board and such will just spout their whole, funds are tight spiel so parents need to suck it up and hey why your at it why not buy some ridiculously expensive candy from this catalog (don't mind you can go down to the Dollar tree and get the same crap for a buck). If my kiddies didn't enjoy the school so much and I really need my little paychecks right now...I'd go back to homeschooling them.

Wordless Wednesday(or nearly so)

This is our largest pumpkin so far, last one got to almost the size of a baseball then died this one is as big as most cantaloupes you see in the store. The pumpkin vine has taken over the garden. This section is hanging from the corn and zucchini.
This is our snake gourd vine (and Casper our dachshund) it's huge.
this is the snake gourd vine at night when it blooms it has the prettiest white flowers this pic just does not do it justice.

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2 Weeks and 5 days...

...or otherwise titled "I love my children, I love my children (rinse and repeat)".

Do you ever want to hang your children to the ceiling fans by their toenails? Yea, me too. Today is one of those days. I'm trying to get my kiddies to clean house. Because I dislike cleaning and I especially dislike cleaning up after other people who are old enough to pick up their own dang mess. I try to be a patient person. I am with everyone and everything except my kiddies. I try with them, but it don't work. I try to be nice. "Pick up the living room and I'll set up the slip-n-side.", "Clean your room and your friends can come over", " Do the dishes and I'll give ya 50 bucks" (okay so not the last one even though hubby had similar deal with our oldest son, it was twenty not fifty but it doesn't matter 'cause oldest son is not greedy enough I guess to work for it). Nice don't work. I get mean...that don't work either. Nuttin works. My dd is, instead of worrying about her own job, getting on to her brothers for not doing their jobs. Dear dd last I checked I'm the one with all the stretch marks from carrying and delivering all you brats so please, please let me be the one to worry about who is doing what.

I love my children, I love my children...

...but I hate seeing my house this way. I could, probably, clean up the entire thing myself. That doesn't teach the kids anything though. Well, yea it does. It teaches my boys that housecleaning is woman's work and they can sit on their arse and make all the mess they want 'cause mama is going to clean it up. It teaches my daughter that she is not responsible for her messes 'cause mama is going to clean it for her and when she gets older and becomes mama she'll then be responsible for everything. This mama does not do that. You make the mess, you clean the mess. Their daddy is the same way, but at this moment he's not home. He should be sometime this evening but not now and has not been all week. It shows. He can get them to work, I can't. I don't understand why, never have. I can do the exact same things, say the exact same words and it doesn't work. He comes home and they'll work. Heck if my mom came down here they would work for her. Why not me!?
I know that's the battle cry for all the moms out there "Why will you listen to everyone else but me!?"
So, does anyone come over and make my kids listen. Or come over and set out front with me sipping strawberry margaritas till we forget what a mess is. I do have 2 slip-n-sides.


2 weeks 5 days till 1st day of school

Wordless Wednesday

In the Garden

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A Cool Thing

On the way home from work today I saw a bike rider (bicycle not motor). He was in the right lane going straight through the signal (patiently waiting for the green light) in a florescent green shirt. I don't think he was a commuter, as he was wearing bike gear (the bright green shirt and spandex shorts). Still it was cool to see a biker on one of the roads I plan to ride once I start commuting.

Diets

I know I change diets about as often as I change my haircolor (about at the same time, go figure). Well I was reading First magazine and a new diet/lifestyle caught my eye. It's called Crack the Fat-Loss Code by Wendy Chant. It promises to break weight loss plateaus and you can lose up to 17 lbs in the first 7 days. Okay so, no, I do not expect to lose 17lbs in 7 days. That doesn't even sound healthy but a big weight loss the first week would be great. Basically the first week is the tough one and then on the following weeks you cycle between baseline days (where you eat both high carb and low carb foods), carb-down days (low carb foods) and carb-up days (high carb but still nutritious foods). Even on low carb days your allowed one starchy(high carb) food for one meal. So your not giving up anything just changing the pattern you eat...and if you eat with no pattern your creating one. I'm thinking about combining this with the Eat Clean Diet (which I stand by, even though I've been a dirty girl.. lately and have been eating junk, when following the Eat Clean diet you feel healthier). I wish I could combine all these with the blood type diet but I can't afford to do the blood type diet very often as I have to cook a separate meal for me then the rest of the family (I felt very very good on that diet, sinuses all cleared up and just a sense of all around well being).One of these days I'll find that magic combo, that perfect solution. Of course I'll let you know when I do. I know everyone says eat healthy and exercise. But there's more to it then that I know there is, I just got to figure out what. Most likely it's different for everyone. Unfortunately we're not all cut from the same cookie cutter (mine had a post babyx4 belly and big butt and wide hips and smallish breasts how about yours..wait don't forget the thunder thighs, can't forget the thighs). Still if something works for me I'm glad to share it with the world.

Happy Fourth of July!

Yea I know it's only the 2nd but I'm not going to be on till maybe Monday so I figured I'd get a head start in wishing all my blog readers(all two of ya) a good holiday. Tomorrow after work we're heading up to Mo to get my youngest two from my mom's house. Really all I want to do is grab my babies and head back home to spend time with my family. **side note**I know my mom, sisters, nieces, nephews, etc...are family as well but whenever I mention/think of family I think of my hubby and I and our children. My central unit. Everyone else is pretty much just relatives. Not to confuse anyone into to thinking I think any less or that my extended family is less important (okay yea they are less important then my hubby and kids are to me but it's not a great extent) it's just that when I want to spend time with my family or spend holidays with my family all I'm thinking of is the six of us (not the twenty or more of us all together in a tiny little place getting all hot and frustrated with each other).
Anywho, I would rather just grab my babies then head over to the park to watch the fireworks. Or sit in our backyard and watch as we are close enough to see them I think. I do better seeing everyone else in small spurts on non-holiday weekends once, maybe twice a year.
This may all change when I'm older and griping to my kiddies that I never get to see the grandkiddies; why don't they ever come over; I wish I could see them more. Goddess I hope I don't turn into that type of parent. I want to be the non demanding, happy with whatever time they have to spend with me type. I can be non-demanding, really. My hubby would never believe it.
Okay I'm just rambling, please have a great and SAFE weekend and I'll catch up on everyone's blogs next week.