Christmas Trees Or A Trip To Menards With A Group Of Males

Mike decided that this year, we'd get a 'real' Christmas tree. I had always had artificial ones before, so this is something completely new for me. I had hoped to get our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving- but that didn't happen because of a death in the family. I had hoped for the following weekend, but because of that death in the family, I ended up snowed in in Oklahoma. I again hoped for the weekend after that, but we decided to wait (I don't remember why at the moment).

So- finally, FINALLY, we were headed to Menards to get our Christmas tree. I don't know if Menards is a national chain or not (is it?), but just in case- it's a home improvement/hardware store. A new one opened up not far from here in October. This place is huge. It's like man heaven. Or maybe man hell, because I saw the fence that I want, and light fixtures that are to die for, and closet organizers (I could use a couple of those), and Christmas decorations (they have a giant inflatable peppermint arch! Dylan shouted 'I want that!' when he saw it and it was all I could do to remember that I'm an adult woman and screaming 'ME TOO!' in the middle of a store is unbecoming).

So. We walk into Menards and the boys' jaws just drop. Oh, I can just see the little gears working in their little heads! Cody- the child whose first real word was 'LIGHT!', which was repeated over and over and over, either with finger pointed towards the light or hands flipping the switch off and on- he spotted the lights first. Dylan saw the inflatables, and Evan pointed out all the gloves on display. For them- Menards is a little boy's idea of heaven.

Mike's reaction was pretty much the same, which doesn't really surprise me.

We head off for the Garden Center (after I steer Mike in the right direction, he was drawn to the lights like a moth to a flame, I swear), I made Mike stop when I realized that we had lost one of our members (to the gloves, of all things). On the way, we passed the toys (had to steer the boys away from those), saw more inflatables, steered Mike away from the timers (for his fish tank, so that he doesn't have to reach down and flip a switch to turn the light on), noticed the sheer abundance of chocolate at the register (ya know, for the husbands to give to their wives when they spend too much money at Menards), and looked at the stuff used for shelving (I'm female- don't ask me what it's called because I don't know), and finally- we reached the Garden Center.

Those doors opened, and the boys were in heaven. Trees! Christmas trees! Everywhere! We looked at them all, felt the needles, decided that we want the biggest one, even if it won't fit in our house and we have to cut the top off, no, we want that one, with the brown needles (yeah, I vetoed that one quickly), oh, look, if you shake the branches just right on this one the needles fall off (another veto), and so on. We looked at them all, Dylan voting for the ones with the netting still on, Cody wanting the biggest one, and Evan nearly speechless by all the trees. Finally, we narrowed it down to two white pine trees. We had the boys vote- Cody picked one, Dylan picked the other, and Evan was the tiebreaker.

At which point we realized that we needed a tree skirt and lights, so we went back into the store. When we reached the automatic door leading into the store, Dylan threw his arms out and said 'Open Says Me!' That was the end of them being cute- and the beginning of them being little terrors.

It was like a free for all! I do not recommend going to Menards when the estrogen is outnumbered by the testosterone 5 to 1. Our $13 Christmas tree ended up costing us a whooping $90. We had the tree skirt, the lights (3 sets of LED lights, which apparently are all the rage among 27 year old men), two ornaments (those were my fault- they're for Cody's teachers), a handsaw (because I don't let my husband near a hardware store often enough for him to have a handsaw already, even though I'm pretty sure that there's one in the garage that belongs to my dad), and a timer (for the fishtank).

We got home, got the tree up, and now when you walk by, my living room smells pine fresh.

Post Halloween Candy Hangover

We went, we got candy, we survived.

And now comes the real fun of Halloween- the arguing with Mommy over how much candy they can have on a daily basis. Oh joy.

I have a ton of candy- leftovers, as well as what the boys brought home. When I can get a minute alone, without the candy monsters, I'm going to get a picture of what is left of their haul.

I'm one of those moms that encourage the candy feast on Halloween night- because after that, the candy is being put up and they'll only get a few pieces a day, for as long as they remember we have it. And, of course, Mommy has been dipping into the treats (although, to be fair, the boys were more than willing to share the chocolate and the orange and black peanut butter things with me).


I tried to keep Cody's costume as gore-free as possible (but you have to have a little gore, he was a zombie, ya know). We saw some cute costumes last night- one little girl was a cowgirl, complete with horse (her legs were the horse's back legs), we saw some cats, some witches, a Dumbo, a really cool alien costume, and lots of vampires and ninjas.

We saw some cool pumpkins, as well. I didn't take my camera, otherwise I would have gotten a picture- but this one house had turned their pumpkins into black cats. They painted the pumpkins black, and glued felt cat ears to the tops. I am so doing that one next year. I also have an idea for headstones for the front yard- a house down the street just made theirs, and I'm pretty sure that I have some plywood in the garage that I can use to make headstones next year.

Today, I'm taking down our decorations and throwing our pumpkins away. I don't have any Thanksgiving stuff (although I might have some out in the garage), but I'm not going to look for that stuff until this weekend, and besides- whatever I have are indoor decorations. It looks like my house will be holiday decoration free until after Thanksgiving, when I can start putting out our Christmas stuff.

Fright Night

(credits for the above picture: paint brushes by VBrush, swirly brushes by Truly Sara, banner by Jan Crowley, font is Porcelain)

Our pumpkins are carved, our costumes are done, I've got my bat tattoo on (see above), we have candy to hand out tonight (if we are home long enough to get any trick or treaters).

And wouldn't you know it- the time is just crawling by. I'm horrible about this- I love Halloween. It's such a fun night. And- to make it even better- this is the first year that I actually have a child wearing a truly scary costume.

My oldest is going as a zombie. We had fun making his costume yesterday- lots of dirt (because he just crawled out of the grave), lots of blood, we got to destroy a perfectly good shirt (I bought a cheap one for this).

Evan is going as Superman. No surprise there- he's still really into superheroes.

Dylan is going at Clark Kent- or, in his words, 'Superman's pahpa'.

Cody and I were looking at his make up for tonight. I told him that he'd have peeling skin and that he'd look really cool. I forget how literal he can be- he just looked at me with these huge eyes and said 'But I don't want you to peel my skin off.' Um, dude, it's all make up and it won't hurt you a bit.

We've all been sick and now we all have colds. And of course this is one of those weeks where Dylan and Evan can't stand each other and are fighting constantly, and over the silliest little things. Yesterday- they are argued over a MOUSEPAD! If they argue tonight, I'm cutting trick or treating short because I'm not dragging two whiny brats angels through the neighborhood tonight.

Loose Teeth, Birthday Butts, And He's Three!

Last night, while I was sitting on the couch, watching 'my shows', working a Suduko puzzle, and half listening to the kids' talk in the dining room, Cody shouted 'OW!'

There I was, thinking 'oh great, one of his brothers has hurt him and now he's going to come and tell me allll about it.' Well- he did come and tell me all about it, but the 'ow' didn't mean 'one of my brothers punched/pushed/kicked/bit/all of the above me', it was 'ow, my tooth is loose!' Cody's so excited- this is his very first loose tooth. It wasn't long before he showed up at my side again and showed me that another tooth was loose (I'm not sure if it's really loose or just loose because the actual loose tooth has given it some wiggle room, so we'll see).

I told Cody that if it falls out when I'm not around he needs to keep it. And Dylan, the four year old who doesn't go to school and hasn't lost any teeth, pipes up with 'Yeah, for the tooth fairy!' Cody's eyes glowed- I think that he just thought the fact that he had a lost tooth was amazingly cool enough, add in the excitement of actually losing that tooth, along with the promise of money from the tooth fairy and it became just The Coolest Thing Evah.

He thought that he'd lose the tooth last night- I had to tell him that sometimes it takes days for loose teeth to fall out and that he might have to wait awhile.

Evan has learned a new song- Happy Birthday. Yesterday, I overheard him singing Happy Birthday to Cody's butt, of all things.

Speaking of birthdays- today is Evan's Birthday. He's three years old today. The past few weeks we have talked about birthdays and how much fun they are. Today, he's wearing his new sweatshirt from Aunt Jess and his Birthday Boy ribbon. It's so hard to believe that he's actually three- the last three years have just flown right by. We're having cake tonight, but other than that, I don't really have much planned for today, except a quiet day at home.

Tagged by Justine- twice, in fact, lol!

I'm going to do the music one first, just because it's easier to narrow that list down than it is to narrow down the weird things about me or my pets.

1. Wings of a Butterfly by HIM
2. Sweet Sacrifice by Evanescence
3. Lips of an Angel by Hinder
4. Next Contestant by Nickelback
5. Control by Puddle of Mudd
6. Paint It Black by Rolling Stones
7. Ball and Biscuit by White Stripes

And now for the five weird things about me or my pets.

1. My cat, Monkey, is a blanket licker. Cats have ways to comfort themselves, just like people, and Monkey's way of comforting himself is to lick the nearest blanket.
   
2. I can't eat macaroni and cheese made by someone else. I have to make it, because I don't follow the directions on the box correctly and nobody else has been able to get my secret way of making mac and cheese right. Oh- and I won't eat any mac and cheese unless it uses the powdered cheese.
   
3. I'm obsessive over hanging underwear on the clothesline. You don't do it unless you have three lines. Underwear is hung on the middle line, with sheets and blankets hung on the outside lines. I've been tempted to go and change where people hang their underwear on their clothesline because it bugs me so much (not that I would ever want to touch some stranger's underwear, that's just, ew).
   
4. I only eat the pink and yellow Starburst.
   
5. I eat raw hot dogs (and didn't know that this was weird until my sil said something about it).
   

I can't think of anyone to tag, so- if you read this, consider yourself tagged. :D

Grasshoppers, Soccer, And The Playground

I haven't been around much lately. It seems like I've been on the go constantly, but when I look back at what I've done these last few weeks, it doesn't look like much.

So- today I'm sharing pictures. All but the first one were taken today. The first one was taken a few days ago- I'm sharing it because I think it's really cool.

This little guy lives in our backyard. He spends time sitting on our back fence (there was a pink blanket sitting on it when I took this picture), and he's been chased by Rosie. I love the contrast between the pink and the green in this picture and I'm loving the detail that I managed to get with my camera. Can I just tell you that it's so nice to have a really nice digital camera?

Now- for today's activities. Today Cody played his second game of soccer this season. We're back to where we were last fall- he doesn't want to run and play the game with the other kids. I have a ton of action shots of the other kids on his team, and him just moping along in the background. The thing is- he really likes soccer and really likes to play soccer. He's just too shy to actually play the game on the field. So- we're going to work on that.

I call this one 'Dazed.' Sometimes I wonder about my son... This one was taken right after this one...






I love this picture, however. I think it turned out great, and you can't tell that I was all the way across the field from him when it was taken. It also doesn't look like a soccer picture.

Sometimes, you just don't want to hear what they're saying... I'm not sure what she was saying, but I thought that this was hilarious, especially since Cody doesn't like girls (and apparently, this little girl has a crush on Cody).

He spent the entire game playing defense (can't imagine why....). He was even goalie during one quarter...

Yep- he spent most of his time as goalie inspecting the net.

After soccer, we played on the playground for awhile, which is where I got this shot of Dylan:

He surprised me with this one (because I'm not sure that I would have let him do it if I had caught him doing it in the first place).

He Said What?!?!

Be warned- there will be graphic language in this post. I'm sorry about that, but it's part of the story.

I picked Cody up from school yesterday like I do every Thursday. He gets in the car, and I asked if he had his spelling test back. He said 'You're not going to be happy with me.' So- I look in the bag, thinking that he failed his spelling test, while telling him that I'm not going to be mad if he got a bad grade, we'll just have to study harder. Sure enough- he did fail his spelling test (poor kid). But- that wasn't what he was talking about.

Yesterday, my normall sweet, somewhat angelic little heathen said 'fucker' in school.

Yes- you read that right. My six year old son said the f-word. I made him talk to Mike about it (because he certainly has never heard me say that word). Mike told Cody that he needed to think up a punishment for himself and he had six minutes to do it. Cody chose to give up the computer for a week. Mike added that he couldn't go to the carnival one day this weekend.

Evan's birthday is coming up. We've been talking about his birthday party and what he wants. While the boys were eating supper yesterday, Cody and Dylan started telling Evan what he should do for his birthday party. Cody wants a chocolate cake- but Evan's original vote was for a pumpkin cake. Dylan thinks that Evan needs to have a Spongebob birthday party- but Evan originally wanted a superhero birthday party. I finally had to tell the two of them that if they talk Evan out of whatever it is that he wants for his birthday party that I'm letting him plan their next birthdays (that shut them up, lol).

The First And Second Days of First Grade

Cody started school yesterday. His school has what they call a 'clap in' every year. On the first day, they line the halls with parents and teachers and everyone claps and cheers as the students walk to their classrooms. It's supposed to make them feel good about learning, I think that they just enjoy being cheered and applauded (at least, the first and second graders do, when this becomes boring, I don't know). It fits with the local parent mentality, but I'll get to that in a moment.

While doing this clap in, and the subsequent picture taking a few minutes later, I noticed something. You could tell the scrapbooker mom from the regular mom.

The regular mom- one or two pictures, taken in one or two places.

The scrapbooker mom- these are the moms that are saying 'ok, let's take a picture of you hanging up your backpack, let's take a picture of you sharpening your pencil, let's take a picture of you glaring at Mommy because you realized that you are the only child whose mother is still in the room and the teacher is waiting to start class....'

Growing up, I knew that the kids in this town were a little on the snobbish side. You get used to it, and figure that things will even out as you get older. Nope- wrong. What happens is that those kids I grew up with became the type of parents that I can not stand. And I had to deal with them today.

Our school has a circle drive, which is the only place where students can be picked up and dropped off (except for the bus riders). It's a huge pain in the read end to pick up or drop off students because it's very narrow and there aren't enough parking spots. Drop offs are hell. Literally. Because these parents, who believe that their children poop gold nuggets, can not let that precious child walk more than ten feet to the door. So- they sit and block traffic while they wait for one of the three prime drop off spots to open up. And then they nose in, take the spot, even though their mini van or SUV does not fit in that spot. Which means that they are still blocking traffic, and when it's time to leave, they can either a- back up into the passing lane or b- wait for the person ahead to pull out.

I droppped Cody off at 8 this morning. I didn't get home until 820. I live a half mile from the school. It took me twenty minutes to get out of the drive because people don't want to make their child walk. Tomorrow, I'm parking on the other side of the three prime spots to drop him off, at least then, when they're blocking traffic waiting for those spots to open, I'll be able to just get out and leave.

Yeah , Not Happening

I'm fickle that way. I love how Wordpress logs the IP addresses of commenters, but the few that comment on my blog are all really nice. I don't need to know that information, so- I'm staying here. :D

Besides, it would mean having to change my blog addy with every site that has it and that just ain't happening.

In other news- I will be away from my computer on Monday. My sister is having a baby! And I get to babysit! And yes, I'm excited! They're inducing, so yes, I know that she's having the baby on Monday (or Tuesday- but I don't want to scare her with 24 hour labor... not that I even know what that feels like...). Really, if her labor and delivery is anything like Cody's (and we can hope), then this baby will arrive that evening. Otherwise, I might have to have a little talk with him.

Be warned- I'm a proud aunt with a digital camera. Expect pictures.

Moving....

Not sure if this will be a permanent move or not, so don't update your address books or bloglines just yet.

At the moment, you can find dreaming in {digital} by clicking here: di{d}. I moved all of my old posts over there, but they are still available here, for now.

Ick

I've been spoiled these last six years.

Growing up, we didn't have central air. I remember nights of being unable to sleep and coming out to the living room to sleep, because we did, at least, have one monster of a window unit in there. When I moved out in 99, we still didn't have central air, but we did have an a/c in the bedroom. When we moved in 01, we had central air in our apartment. So nice. Cool, no matter where you were.

Then, we moved back into the house where I grew up. Still no central air. No shower, either. They are on our list of things to do around here. So that is why I'm up at 230 in the morning. It's freaking hot in the bedroom and I can't sleep on the couch because two of my boys are there already (smart kids, I tell ya).

We got a new camera a couple days ago. I'm so happy! This one is much better than our last one. It's not a digital SLR, like I really want, but for now- I'm happy with it.

For being so tired, and I'm actually in a pretty good mood. I ordered a pair of purple Crocs over the weekend- those should be here sometime in the next few days, Cody's scooter is en route to Chicago and we'll most likely have it this weekend, and he's well on his way to earning a snorkel like his cousin has, which means- he's picking up after himself. And I have a new designer sample in the TDC boutique:

So- stop by, check it out, and if you are so inclined- maybe buy one (or both) of the two new kits that were also released today, by me. :D









Dylan is a very interesting child. I laugh at him- sometimes, he's just hilarious. When he had his birthday back in May, he insisted that he was 2. He didn't want to be 4, he wanted to be 2. No amount of correcting helped- he was 2, and there was no changing that. Until today.

Enter Cody, who believes that it is the job of every older brother to torment the younger ones. Today, he was tormenting Dylan because Dylan is only 4, and 6 is better than 4. I had to sit down and talk to Dylan and explain why 4 is better than any other age.

4 is better than any other age because- you only need one hand to tell people how old you are. Cody, the resident six year old, needs two hands. Four year olds can pedal bikes. Four year olds use the potty. Four year olds get to go to car shows with Grandpa. Four year olds get to drive the Power Wheels. And four is a very good age because Dylan is FOUR.

He ran with it. He is no longer 2- he's now FOUR. I'm so happy. I no longer have to correct him when someone asks how old he is!

Of course, now that I've written that, he'll revert back to being 2 permanently. Some day, this will be a funny and embarassing story for me to tell his future wife and kids. Some day.

And with that- I think that I'm going to try to go back to sleep. I'll point the fan directly at me and see how that works.

My Lessons For The Week

First up- I finally got around to starting the photo blog. Yay me! It took my three days, but I finally found my memory stick (on the laundry room floor, of all places). Lesson learned: If your camera has no internal memory and therefore will not work without a memory stick, do not leave the camera within reach of your kids. Or just buy a camera with an internal memory.

Let's back up a few days. We had fun on Tuesday. We ate a lot, and we played a lot. We took the boys to see the fireworks that night. Dylan and Cody spent more time playing on the school's playground equipment than they did watching the fireworks, but that's ok. Evan, on the other hand, is terrified of fireworks. TERRIFIED. He spent the entire show with his head pressed up against my boob and his hands covering his ears. He didn't cry, but he refused to sit anywhere that wasn't Mommy's Lap. Lesson learned: Don't wear a white shirt around kids who are terrified of fireworks and who also have chocolate on their hands. Also- chocolate is a bitch to get out of white shirts.

On Wednesday, I fell. Hard. I slipped on a wet floor and landed on a tote. My back hurt, all day long. I had a hard time sleeping, because it hurt every time that I rolled over onto my right side. I woke up Thursday morning with a huge bruise on my right side from it. When I woke up Friday morning, that bruise was a dark red, almost black. It's still a dark red, and I keep telling myself that it's getting lighter. I think it's wishful thinking, though. Lesson learned: Crocs have no traction whatsoever on wet floors.

Yesterday, the cable guy came to replace our DVR. Yay! Now we are able to record two shows at once! And create series recordings! No more having to double check how long Lost is on, and miss the last five minutes of the show because I goofed! Lesson learned: The cable guy will make you wait all day long just to spite you, and they still won't have everything that you asked for ready. I think that they get a kick out of this...

This morning: After waiting all day for the cable guy to show up yesterday, I figured that it would be afternoon before he showed up with our new cable modem today. Yeah- it was 9am when he knocked on our door. NINE in the MORNING. Luckily, I was dressed, and I had just gotten the kids dressed. The desk hadn't been cleaned off, so it was still a mess from last night. Lesson learned: It costs $100 for the cable guy to come in, unhook your old modem, and hook up your new modem. Can we say RIP OFF? We could have done this ourselves!

Travels In A Small Town

I'm starting something new today- a photo blog. I'm attempting two things with this. Number one- to get in the habit of taking my camera everywhere and Number Two- to see how I like Wordpress. I may decide to move this blog over there, but for now- I'll just test drive it.

No pictures yet (I still need to take some today, lol), but the camera has brand new batteries and is already in my purse, ready to go. But you can check the blog out, if you want: Travels In A Small Town.

Ugh. It's going to be a LONG day. Seriously- LOOOOOOOONG. I'm looking forward to it, mostly because the boys have been up since 630 this morning and they've been WHINING and ARGUING the entire time.

Come on dryer, hurry up. I want to get these kids out of the house before they drive me insane...

So Easy, My Two Year Old Can Do It!

Ok, I'm seriously cracking up here. Linky poo. Read the directions. Oh, wait, they're short enough that I can post them here...

THEN follow our simple steps:

PLACE wiener in bread. Add 1 Tbsp. sauce and toppings.

Ah, the joys of simplicity. Or maybe that's joys of stupidity... (Thanks to Mimi Smartypants for pointing me in this direction. Hey, look at that! This blog addiction thing is good for something!)

I got a new Dover book in the mail this week. Not bad, except that I don't want to do anything but create papers with it and that's just not good.

I don't watch a lot of TV (ok, so I do- but I record it all and watch it on my own time, says she of the almost but not quite full DVR). I love good drama. Combine the two, and I'm in heaven (it's why I like Big Brother and Survivor- TV + Drama = Happiness). So when Veggieville starts buzzing with the Star Jones dramarama this week, I'm floored. There's drama? On daytime TV? That doesn't require watching soaps and Springer? I'm soooo there! So, like any good drama chaser, I break out my trusty Google, and find a video. I'm all excited, break out the pop corn and diet dr pepper, put my feet up, start the video....

And am instantly bored to tears, which happens right before I yak from the syrupy fake wishy washy 'It's been wonderful, the show's going in a new direction, I love you guys' crap. I was hoping for some patented Barbara Can of Whoop Ass action going on (you know that she has some serious Drama Queen potential, right there).

So- here I sit, my TV drama cravings going unsatisfied for at least another week (Big Brother starts next week- can't wait to see who made it in).

Where Has He Been?

The other day Mike comes up to me and says 'You have a blog?' I turn and look at him as if he has three heads and say 'Where the hell have you been for the last year?'

I know that I've mentioned it to him. I'm pretty sure that I told him that I had one, or mentioned it in passing, or something. He told me that he found out from his mom. I laughed at that one- Mike is the king of selective hearing, and he most likely selectively didn't hear 'I changed my blog template today' or 'I put an ad up on my blog for the CT call' or 'Let me finish this blog entry before....'

So- yeah. I'm thinking that he just doesn't pay attention to me or something...

So- I got paid and I bought those neato swirly brushes from 2peas on Tuesday. Oh my gosh, I love them! They're great! I'm horrible at making really cool chunky swirlies, so I have to rely on other people's really cool chunky swirlies.

Then- I hit Scrap Artist's sale. Picked up Carriage House and Redemption and Element Essentials by Iron Orchid Designs and Fresh Start Tool Kit by Dianne Rigdon (for the to die for gotta get my grubby little paws on it brush that she uses in her previews). Then I hit Jen Wilson and bought some element packs (don't ask me to remember their names- I didn't look, lol!). I spent the afternoon creating two new layouts with my schtuff. *So happy*

Look- I already use that to die for brush by Dianne.

I didn't know IOD before I lost my internet. What a nice little surprise to come back to. Really awesome papers, and I'm loving the Element Essentials pack thingy that I got today. But... for some odd reason, I keep getting their name wrong in my head. I don't say Iron Orchid, I say Iron Orchard. I'm kinda glad that I don't normally type out Iron Orchid Designs, because let's face it, it would be rather embarassing to type what my mind insists on saying. Orchid, Orchid, Orchid.

Oh- something else that I love about this layout. The title. I had bought this font awhile back and hadn't really played with it. The font is LHF Boston Truckstyle. And I just went to their site and saw a font that I really really really really really want to own and alas- it won't be available until July. *pout* So- while I'm waiting for English Rose, I'm going to oogle the fonts there. Like this one: Sarah Script. Would look good in chipboard... Or Sophia Script (a nice alternate for Susie's Hand on layouts). I love Letterhead fonts- so worth the money. But then again, I am a font addict. *big cheesy grin*

In my best Conan OBrien voice (I'm probably spelling his name wrong, but oh well): I'm agonna go to hell when I die. (unfortunately I can't do the amazing bouncing hair thing the same way that he does...)

Since I know that my mother in law reads this (Hi Vicky), I know that the next time that I see her, I'll be a dead woman. But- I don't care. I got a kick out of this layout. And, to be fair, she knew that I took her picture and knew that there was a possibility of this happening, so I'm not totally to blame here.

And with that- I say good night. It's so freaking hot in the bedroom and Mike is like a furnace that I had to get out of that room and sit in air conditioning for awhile. Hopefully I'm tired enough now that I'll get to sleep. So- I'm going to go point the fan directly at my side of the bed and try to fall asleep.

Tooting My Own Horn

I don't feel like working on any kits, but I can't keep Photoshop closed. So- I've been catching up on my scrapbooking. It's such a relief to be able to do something that I don't have to be perfect at. And, ok, I'll admit it- I'm still doing what I can to save my pen.

I love this picture of Cody and his brothers.












Yet another one, this one is about Cody's soccer coach.
















Another neat picture that I like a lot- Dylan eating his ice cream. I really like how this layout turned out, with the cicle and the strips of paper.

















Not my favorite, but I really like how the star turned out. When I saw the pictures a couple months ago, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at them. The best pictures of Cody really aren't the best pictures- but they are hilarious!














And- one about me. I laugh at the books in this picture- Elie Wiesel, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Janet Finch, and others share my nightstand. Yep- my taste in books is broad.

And look at those papers- love them! I went on a shopping spree last weekend. It's funny, really. I went in looking for one paper pack. Saw that she was having a sale and stocked up.

I'm loving the way that freestyle looks, but find that it's hard for me to use doodles all that often. That's what I'm working out right now. I have this cute idea for a layout that involves tons of flowers, but I can't seem to get it right. ARGH! Driving me nuts!

Veggieville has added a ton of new garden girls and I'm so excited to see what this means for the digital board there! I wonder if this means that we'll get more kits (or a wider variety of them). Oh- and speaking of Veggieville, can I just say that it sucks being broke? Check these out:












and...
Both of these have ended up in my Wish List. I'm thinking that with some cute swirly doodles like these I might actually be able to doodle more on my pages. Only a few more days until I get paid and you bet that I'm buying these cute brushes. Oh- and some others, because I love Rhonna's brushes. They're doodle-y without being 'doodle-y' (does that make any sense at all?).

I've probably bored you all to death by now. Mike has said that we might not be keeping another kitty besides Pumpkin, but we'll see about that. He asked me today which cat I'm taking out to my parents' tomorrow. I didn't know that I was taking a cat to my parents' tomorrow. It looks like Moo is moving tomorrow (that is- if I feel like taking a cat with me).

Pumpkin is definitely my kitty. I can't sit on the couch without him cuddling up to me. He comes to bed with me and cuddles next to me before I fall asleep and he begins his nightly prowls.

The Indianapolis 500 Was Held In My House Last Night

But before I get to that, I am going to address the chameleon. Yes- we have a chameleon. His (her? not about to figure out how to check that one out) name is Frankie and he's now back in his cage. Not happily, but he's there. I really have no problem holding or touching him, but he wasn't too happy with me when I found him the day after he escaped. Most likely because I was putting him back in his cage.

Now- on to the races. Mike has almost decided that we'll be keeping another kitten, as well as Pumpkin. This one is an almost all black cat (he has a teeny tiny white bib and his belly is white), and his name is Monkey. Mike won't let me name him Pie so that I can have a Pumpkin and a Pie, but oh well. Monkey is a good kitty name, too.

Anyway- there's also Moo (black and white) and Creamsicle (orange and white tabby). All boys. They sleep all day long, and then come evening, they start wrestling practice. It's funny to watch. I've seen Monkey stand up on his hind legs and actually leap into the air to land on top of one of the other two cats. I've seen Pumpkin, Creamsicle and Monkey wrestle each other... at the same time.

From wrestling practice, we move on to hide and seek. All but one will hide and as the one not hiding walks by these hiding places, he gets attacked by the ones hiding- or, if he's lucky, he'll see them before they see him and he'll attack.

From hide and seek, it's on to the Indianapolis 500, held in my very own house. They start in my bedroom, on my bed, jump off the bed, run out the door, go down the hallway, into the living room, jump on the couch, jump off the couch, go down the hallway, back to my room and up on my bed. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. If I didn't shut my door at night, they'd do this all night long.

I am becoming a crazy cat lady. I talk to the cats, get a huge kick out of them following me all around the house, and in the evenings, when I'm sitting on the couch watching tv, I usually have two on my lap, one at my shoulder, and one next to me on the couch.

My computer hasn't been fixed yet, I'm hoping for sometime in the next week or so. I miss my keyboard- the keys don't stick.

Just Because Jess Said So...

Apparently, I'm not updating enough for my sister, Jess. So- here's her update (even though she knows everything that has been happening around here).

Pumpkin is going to be one spoiled kitty. I went to Wal-Mart today and bought him a couple of catnip fish toys. He's also an attention hog- and definitely a mommy's kitty. I walk by- he will wake from a deep sleep and meow until I stop and scratch him behind his ears (he loves that).

My computer died. Nothing big- just needs a new motherboard and I didn't lose anything. Of course this happens right before I discover a new toy that I absolutely positively MUST HAVE. A wireless Wacom.

I need to replace my pen nib, and was looking at Wacom's website when I saw the Graphire 4 Bluetooth. Larger than what I already have (Graphire 2 4x5, the Bluetooth is 6x8), plus I'll be able to put my foot up and use it like a sketchbook- on my lap.

I just looked in our chameleon's cage and... he's missing! Ack! The last time that he got out, I saw him wandering on the desk and was able to grab him and put him away pretty quickly. Today- I didn't see him, and I just looked all over the dining room, and he's no where to be seen. Wonderful. Now I'm going to have to keep a look out for him. He'll probably freak me out in the bathroom or run over my foot or something.

But- back to my pen. It's funny. I was just noticing that I'm almost worn the nib down to the point of uselessness. I showed Mike and he said 'Well, I guess you do use your tablet.' Well, duh. So now I'm thinking that I can just simply make do with my pen, only use it when I need it, and once I have the money for the new tablet saved up, I'll buy a new one.

Mike wants me to get a better motherboard- to basically use this as an excuse to completely upgrade my computer. I'm not interested in that right now- I'd like to save my money until I can afford to buy a new laptop instead of worrying about upgrading everything.

Houston, We Have A Name

Yes, we do! But let's back up for a moment.

A few days ago, Mike told me that he was going to let my keep my kitty. Sil had originally named him Oliver- but I don't care for Oliver. I tried Ollie (yeah- not working), Monty (cute, but not really 'him'), Bonzai (too close to Bonsai Kitten- that site that had kitties in glass jars). This morning, I was reading a thread at Veggieville on kitty names, and came across...

Pumpkin! It's perfect! Yay! Yay! Yay!

Today, we are headed out to my parents' house for a cookout and bonfire. I've been looking forward to this for the last week, just a nice relaxing day at my parents' place. I'm bringing Rosie- this should be interesting! My parents are putting their dogs in a pen for the day, so it should be ok, but the last time that I took Rosie out there, Wilson terrorized her.

It could be a long day- my kids are already acting up.

Delightfully Sinful

I made a healthy supper last night- chicken cilantro and cucumber wraps. With fresh cucumber (I love fresh cucumber). Very good, and- amazingly- very filling. Then I went and ruined my nice healthy supper with these.

S'mores Dessert Squares from the Kraft website. Holy cow are they good! My dad will love this recipe. He believes that the only way to eat pudding is with Nilla Wafers. I agree (my mom thinks that we're both nuts). The toasted marshmallows, imho, are the best part of this dessert. I'm going to be making this for the Memorial Day cook out at my parents' place- two batches of it, because it didn't last long in our house.

Yesterday was a long, busy day for me. We went grocery shopping, and stocked up. It feels good to actually have food in this house again! Then- Mike took Cody and Dylan to the fish store to buy new fish for his fish tank. Now we have the 'I'm obnoxious' fish from Finding Nemo and a Snowflake Eel to go with the clownfish and gromma and starfish that we already have. Finally- Dylan and I took Rosie out to my parents' place to meet the dogs and see how they get along, as well as to do some laundry.

Yeah, it didn't go over too well. Poor Rosie- she's terrified of Wilson. They weren't hurting her, just barking at her and it scared her. Not sure if I'll bring her out on Sunday or not. Dad's building a pen for Asia and Pepper, and Wilson will be in the house, so I might just bring her out, anyway. Rosie will have to be tied up (I don't want her catching a scent and taking off).

We bought Dylan new shoes yesterday. We are now on our third pair of the exact same Thomas the Train shoes. He's so cute- he wore his shoes to bed, then slept with them beside him. As soon as he woke up this morning, he put them on.

There was something else that I was going to say, but I've only had one cup of coffee this morning and am still a little fuzzy. Oh, yeah- tomorrow is Cody's last day of school! Today is the End of Year party for the kindergarten classes, and Cody's looking forward to it. He's looking forward to summer, too. I'm looking forward to summer. I'm weird like that, I guess.

Cows, Train Whistles, And Birthday Party Strip Teases

Today started with a first.

My kids were dressed and ready to go before anyone arrived at our house. Because of this, we arrived at the restaurant a half hour early. But hey- that's ok. While we waited, we saw a cow in front of a nearby grocery store. Yes- a cow. Or rather, a woman dressed as a cow. Now- my mom loves cows. She collects them, moos at them, just all around loves cows. If it's cow print or has a cow on it somewhere, she has it. So you can imagine what we thought when we saw the woman dressed as a cow- we need to get Mom's picture taken with her.

She was raising money for the VFW (ya know, those poppy flowers), but the point is- she's dressed like a cow. Mom doesn't want her picture taken with the cow, but she wanted the kids to get their pictures taken with said cow. Except... the kids didn't want to do it unless Mom and Aunt Jess did as well.

So- we now have this picture of everyone with a cow (except me and my dad).

When it's time for his party, we go inside and the kids are in awe. There's a train set! There's a train going around the top of the room! Let's chase the train and see where it goes! Look! Video games! Let's play! Give me money, Grandpa! Look that the food! Look! There's a train on the counter! It has food on it! Look! They're getting their food on a train! Cool!

We get settled into the party room- and the kids don't want to stay in there. They want to play games, look at the trains, and eat. We order, sit down, and wait. The kids each got a free cup and a wooden train whistle. Imagine that- five train whistles. FIVE. All blowing at once. Luckily, every kid gets a free train whistle (regular customers get plastic- apparently, when you're spending so much on a birthday party, you get the wooden ones), so my kids really weren't bothering anyone. But still- five train whistles, going at the same time.

So- the kids ate. And they got a kick out of the train delivering their food. We decided to go and open presents next, and wait on the ice cream. Just easier that way. We get everyone inside the tiny little room (which was really the only bad part about this), and we start opening gifts. He gets pull back cars from the movie Cars, a glider that is longer than he is tall, a Thomas the Train bean bag chair (which, of course, he had to sit in while he opened the rest of his presents), Spongebob underwear (he was EXCITED about this), die cast cars from the movie Cars, a tackle box for his die cast cars, a Cars playset, a Spiderman inflatable tent, a bike, and a cool outfit with matching hat.

Dylan opens the bag with the outfit in it, and gets excited (I know that this is the last year that he'll be excited about getting clothes for his birthday). He then starts unbuttoning his shirt and tells me that he wants to wear his new shirt. Yep- my four year old son did a strip tease in the middle of his birthday party. Luckily, it was only the shirt and hat that he wanted to wear.

I got some cute pictures- but I think that my camera is on it's last leg. Even with the flash, the autofocus doesn't want to work all that well on it. So- I'm saving my pennies to get a new camera, all by myself.

I really like this one of Dylan with my dad, taken right before we opened presents. He's so happy to be wearing his conductor's hat and having his party at a train themed place.

Midnight

I'm contemplating a quiet house. I can hear the fish tank bubbling behind me, the hum of my computer, the buzzer on the dryer as it stops, Mike's occassional cough as he browses websites. The boys are sleeping, and I'm sitting here contemplating.

Four years ago, on this very night, I was packing my bag for the hospital. We had to get up early- I was being induced at 7 that morning. Dylan Thomas entered the world at 504pm, weighing 6lbs, 4oz. Today- he's a thriving four year old.

So- I've collected and interesting bunch of Dylan stories that I'm going to share.

First up- The Infamous Printer Story And How Dylan Got Locked In The Car Three Years Later. Yeah, that's an old blog of mine. And yes, I still deal with printer jokes on a regular basis.

Dylan has a slight speech delay. I'm the one that has to translate for him, because unless you've spent a lot of time around him, you can't understand a word that he's saying. Last Christmas, Mike made buckeyes- these really good peanut butter and chocolate candies that will add ten pounds just by looking at them. While Mike was making them, Dylan asked me if he was making 'buh heads'. I thought that it was funny- Dylan wanted to know if Daddy was making butt heads. So I sent him in there to ask Mike. He asked Mike. Mike told him that he was. So now- we have butt heads at Christmas and not buckeyes.

This is a new one- on Saturday, I was out at my parents', washing clothes. Mom and I are sitting at the table, talking. Dylan comes over to get some cookies from me. Dad walks into the room, leans down and says 'Tell Grandma that you're a boy and you pee standing up.' Dylan giggles, looks at me, looks at Grandpa, looks at Grandma. I tell him to go ahead and say it. He giggles some more and gets this evil look in his eye. I should have known what was coming, but I didn't.
Dylan looks at Grandma and says 'Grandpa says I a boy and he's a duh ass.' Translation: 'Grandpa says that I'm a boy and that he's a dumb ass.' I about fall out of my chair laughing, my mom- who didn't understand what he says 'you are? That's great!' I continue to laugh hysterically. Dad puffs out his chest and says 'Yes, you're a big boy and you pee standing up!' I'm still laughing. My parents are looking at me funny. It took me a few minutes, but finally, I was able to spit out, between giggles, that he did not say that. They ask what he said- and I told them that he called Dad a dumb ass. (in my best Conan voice: I'm gonna go to hell when I die). Yeah, great mommy moment there, especially when I had a hard time keeping from laughing when I tried to explain to him that we don't call our grandparents dumb asses.

Shortly after Dylan finally potty trained, my parents installed a new toilet in our bathroom. Dylan now swears up and down that this is HIS POTTY and he got is because he's a big boy. I hadn't heard much about it being his potty for a few weeks, until the other night. Mike's friend Ed had stopped by, and Dylan decided that he just had to show Ed his new potty. I'm watching TV in the living room, and hear from the bathroom: 'See! My potty!' 'Cool!' 'Wanna see me pee in it?' 'Uh, no, dude, you can pee by yourself.' Poor Ed.

Life with Dylan is pretty interesting. It can be trying at times (his favorite phrase lately is 'I no like you, Mommy' and usually comes when I tell him that he can't have a sucker, or he has to go to bed), but it's worth it when he decides that he needs a hug and a kiss. I take them while I can get them.

Check Out TDC Today!

Stop by TDC today for a sale, chats, crops, games, a Treasure Hunt, and Prizes!


Hope to see you there!

Announcing....

The newest members of my creative team!

*Drumroll*

Carla G.

Dorothy M.


Johanna B.


Justine H.


Marie D.


Traci B.

The decision wasn't easy- and I ended up taking six instead of the intended five. Thank you to all who applied- and congrats to the six that made it!

Seven Stitches And One Helluva Black Eye

Kindergarten brawl over the water fountain? Nope. What happens when you tackle a porcupine? Guess again. What happens when you smart mouth your mother? Ok, now that one was a little harsh, and NO it did not happen.

This is what happens when you add slip on wet floors at a fish store. You get seven stitches and one helluva black eye.

I knew- KNEW- that Cody was accident prone. The kid is just like me, in that aspect. I'm starting to understand why my mother didn't want to take me places when I was his age- she was afraid that someone would call DCFS on her.

I spent yesterday evening in a panic- I wanted to be there, but knew that it was ridiculous for me to even drive to the hospital (forty minutes away), when I knew that all that I would do is make him nervous. He did great- told them that it didn't hurt, even when they were putting the stitches in. He's just like his father- things like this don't bother him. Although I'm still trying to figure out the child that screams 'it's broken!' when he scrapes his knee, yet wasn't bothered by them putting stitches on his face (near his eye, no less).

But- he's fine. I'm keeping him home from school today, just because he had a hard day yesterday. Tomorrow, he'll go to school and then to Wal*mart with Aunt Sam. What is bothering him is two things- first, he wants to know why Daddy couldn't take Dylan with him to the pet store and second, he's upset that he might not get to play in his first soccer game on Saturday (we're still going). I told him that he's lucky. When I was his age, I stepped on a piece of glass and ended up with something like six stitches in the bottom of my foot. I couldn't walk, couldn't go to school, had to crawl to the bathroom. I spent a week on the couch, watching TV. I didn't bother to tell him that scars add character and it's quite possible that some girl is going to swoon over his scar (hey, I still think that Mike's scar on his eyebrow is sexy).

Other than that- things are ok. The Ultimate Digi Scrapper contest started last night. I have one layout done, but am working on another. I know that I can only submit one, but I'm going to go with the best out of the two. I couldn't choose between two pictures- so I'm doing them both. 370 some odd people signed up for this. Over 170 will be eliminated after the first round, leaving an even 200. I'm hoping that I'm one of those two hundred. Screw the challenge aspect- I want to win!

Pot, Meet Kettle

Let me introduce you to two of the men in my life.

First- there's my dad. I love my dad, I really do. But he has horrible follow through. It's an on going joke that when he says he'll do something, he means a week (or more) later. I know this. I understand this. I lived with that man for twenty years and am used to it.

Then- there's Mike. I love Mike, I really do. But he's about a reliable when it comes to following through on what he says he'll as my dad is. Mike is also easily distracted, which is why his family has gotten into the habit of telling us that something starts an hour before it actually does.

Remember my post from Thursday about being Supermom? Remember how Supermom was supposed to be learning how to put up drywall yesterday? Did I mention that it was my dad who was supposed to be helping me out with that? Yeah- I'm sure that you can see where this is going.

Saturday morning, I talked to my mom and she said that Dad wouldn't be able to do it because- and I quote- 'he's dragging today'. I was told that he'd do it today. I shrugged it off- I had a feeling that he would say something like that.

Mike came home last night and asked about it. I told him that it wasn't done. Mike got upset! Not pissed off upset, but huffy 'figures' upset. It was all that I could do to NOT laugh my ass off at him. I mean, hello?!? If Mike had, oh, I don't know, put the drywall up back in October, LIKE HE SHOULD HAVE, we wouldn't be sitting here in May with three very large sheets of drywall in the hallway. I can't wait for him to get home tonight, because he's going to say something about them being there still. *rolling my eyes in advance*

I have decided that I really don't like my wireless connection right now. It's driving me absolutely insane. I've spent most of the day trying to upload something that needs to be in the store tonight so that it can be in the boutique on Thursday and my damn connection keeps timing out on me. All because my wireless connection is acting screwy today. It's better now, at least I'm up to 37% uploaded instead of the one or two percent that it was timing out on earlier.

I'm tired. And I'm boring today. I want to go to sleep but can't until this freakin frackin file uploads. Is it possible to choke a computer?

Just Call Me Supermom.

Between the hours of 930am and 6pm, I was home for only about 15-20 minutes at any one time. Between those stops at home, I have been:

• to the local grocery store three times.
  
• to Wal*Mart.
• to the local laundromat.
• to Cody's school twice.
• to my parents' house twice.
• to the lumberyard.

Not necessarily in that order. It was more like laundromat, grocery store, grocery store, school, Wal*mart, school, my parents' house, the lumberyard, my parents' house, grocery store.

And even with all that, my kitchen still got cleaned. Oh- and let's not forget that for some odd reason, my normally independent two year old needed his mommy to the point that he screamed (and yes, I do mean SCREAMED) NO!!!! to his Aunt Sam and ran straight for me when he somehow hurt himself.

How does Supermom do it? Really simple, actually. I got my trusty sidekick, Dad, The Boy Wonder, to clean the kitchen for me. He also helped load the truck with the drywall. And on Saturday, Supermom is going to learn how to hang drywall.

Of course, Dad The Boy Wonder still has issues cleaning (how is it even possible that I have more work when he's done cleaning than I did before he started? How?), but the point is- he did clean something today.

Now, if only I could get Rosie The Wonder Puppy to quit jumped our fence, I'd be very happy.

Happy Birthday!

To me, that is. And to celebrate my birthday- I'm having a sale at TDC, and posting this little freebie here:

It's only available as a freebie for a few hours. I'll be killing the links in three hours- so, get the freebie now, while you can.

*Download Removed- thank you for stopping by! The Beach Bum paper pack, kit, and element pack will be available at TDC next week!*

Do I even need to say it? Please don't share this- as after I've removed the download link, I will be uploading it to TDC and the only way to get this kit will be to buy it after next week.



So- on to other, more important stuff. It's my birthday! And it was almost ruined by my dick of a husband (ooo- did I just say that?). I'm sorry that I'm not psychic and didn't KNOW that the dog pooped in the laundry room. The only time that I was in the laundry room this morning was when I let Rosie out and back in. Instead of calmly asking for the paper towels in order to clean it up, he proceeded to yell about how disgusting it was. Gee, ya think? Of course it's disgusting! It's dog poop! And it wasn't just that he was yelling- it's that he was yelling at me about it. As if I didn't let Rosie out this morning (which I did- but it was raining outside and Rosie has this thing about rain- she doesn't like it). So it was a not so wonderful start. I've just decided that the best thing to do would be to ignore him and get on with my day.

Which is exactly what it is- MY DAY. I'm making an apple cake with caramel sauce this afternoon- yummy. It's been a good birthday (minus the part about Mike freaking out of over dog poop). I got a iPod Nano from Mike, a bread machine and an electric skillet from my parents. And yes, I'm happy with my gifts. I asked my mom for one or the other, and she bought them both (I love my mom). I've decided that I'm only doing the bare minimum around here- no housework on my birthday (except what needs to be done- funny how people are so picky about clean underwear!).

I've been reading some good books lately. I read The Da Vinci Code over the weekend (good book), and then read The sacrifice by Barbara Lewis in two days, and am now reading The Prodigal (also by Lewis). I'm loving this series, and am kinda sad that once I've read The Prodigal, I'll only have one more book to read. My mom and I are reading them- she buys the books, reads them, then shares them with me. The series starts with The Covenant, then there's The Betrayal, then The sacrifice, The Prodigal, and The Revelation. The series is about an Amish family, set the late forties/early fifties. It's all that I can do to keep from curling up in bed and reading The Prodigal in one day (which is what I did with The Betrayal).

Otherwise- that's it. Enjoy your free kit, and happy birthday to me!

*Edited* I should have taken the link down a half hour ago, but decided to leave it up for another few hours because at least one person was having problems downloading. The link will be removed at 5pm Central. :)

I Don't Scrap Anymore

I spend just as much time on my computer as I did before, I check out the galleries, visit TDC and Veggieville as often as I did before, I'm constantly changing the batteries in my camera, my hard drive is going to burst if I add just one more kit to my collection, Photoshop is always open, but I don't scrap anymore.

I'm obsessed with glitter, rhinestones, colors. I adore ribbons, worship at the First Church of Wacom, look at fashion magazines not for the clothes, but the patterns and colors of the clothes. I subscribe to Memory Makers, and flip through each new magazine the first time looking for digital layouts, and buy any magazine issue with the word 'Digital' in the title. But I don't scrap anymore.

My husband doesn't understand it. When he asks to see my recent layouts, he's confused. If I'm spending all this time on the computer, then I should be productive and have created a multitude of layouts. But I don't scrap anymore.

I giggle when I see something new. I take mental notes. I subscribe to sites where I can learn how to do things better. But I don't scrap anymore.

I have fallen into a trap, and can't get out. I'm always on the look out for interesting patterns, colors, textures. I'm always looking for the new, the unique, the different. The thing is- I don't want to get out of this trap. I'm happy being stuck here, even if I don't scrap anymore.

I'm a designer and I don't scrap anymore.

Introductions All Around

We have a guest today at our house. He loves zippers, zebras, and zinnias. He can be found in Zurich, and loves to zap things.

He is...

The letter Z! Cody's class has met all of their 'letter friends' at school, and today is their party celebrating the fact that they have met all twenty six letters of the alphabet. All the kids are dressing up as their favorite letter friends- Cody chose 'Z' because Z has a lot of zippers.

Now- I don't sew. What you don't see in this picture is the many safety pins that is holding the felt and zippers on his shirt. Cody helped me design the shirt- he chose where all the zippers went and I pinned them on. He's excited- as is the rest of his class. They've been talking all week about what letters they were going to be- he told me yesterday that his friends are going to be R, N, and D.

I'm kicking myself right now. Tomorrow, my parents are having a cook out for my birthday. A couple weeks ago, my mil asked me if we had any plans for this weekend. At the time, we didn't. So I told her that yes, she could take Cody for the weekend so that they could take him to the zoo with his cousin Matthew. I completely and totally forgot about it. So when my mom said that she was cooking out this weekend, I told her 'great!'

Oops. This is only a problem because of my neice. It's hard for her- with her sister being special needs, and my younger two being too young to have the same interests as Jessie, the only person that she really plays with is Cody. So now I'm kicking myself for not remembering that Cody was going with my mil. Ugh, ugh, ugh. I feel horrible about this. Note to self: write everything down as soon as you hear about it.

I need to get my butt in gear today and clean my house. At the very least, I need to get my kitchen clean. And I have to do laundry today. And my laundry has to be done before five, because that is when mil will be here to pick up Cody. Oh- and let's not forget that I have complete a kit today, so that I can upload it by Sunday and won't be home tomorrow. Oh- and on top of all this, I promised the boys that I'd let them play outside in the sandbox this afternoon. Mom bought four bags of sand for them, and it's killing them that they haven't been out in the sandbox to play in it (well- Evan has been, but only because he was the only one home at the time).

He Did What?!?

I spent this afternoon cleaning up the fenced in part of our yard. I finally tossed all the junk that was back there (not including the boys' toys) that has been needing to go out with the trash for who knows how long. The good news is- the couch is finally (FINALLY) going away! Yay!

The tossing of the junk didn't take all that long. What took a long time was replacing all the bricks that the boys had somehow managed to pull up and move around the back yard. Years ago, my father had laid old bricks down to make a sort of patio back there. That's where the bricks came from- and today, that is where they returned. I'm not quite done yet- there's still some bricks that need to be replaced, and toys that need to be organized, but it feels good to actually be able to walk on my patio without tripping over something.

There is a tote sitting outside because my beautiful, wonderful, absolutely adorable child that I was praising for his potty training prowess did a very disgusting smelly thing with it.

For the last week or so, every time that I walked down the hallway, I was assaulted with the stench of urine. I blamed it on Rosie- and would put her in her crate if I happened to see a puddle on the floor. Then- today, while cleaning my hallway, I was putting toys in the totes that I keep in the hallway for that purpose. I filled up one tote, moved on to the next, filled that one, and moved on to the next. I went to put some toys inside it... and oh... Oh. My. God. I found where the stench was coming from.

The tote was nearly empty- it was holding hot wheels cars, legos, things about that size. They were swimming- yes, SWIMMING- in pee. Yuck. I picked the tote up and took it outside- tomorrow, the toys are going in the trash and I'm washing the tote out with bleach. It will now be their outdoor toy box. I go back inside, and continue to pick up toys. I then pick up a stuffed animal and it's soaked. I didn't even have to move it closer to my face to know what it was soaked in. Yuck, yuck, yuck. It went out in the trash. I had to go through the other totes to see if I put in anything that had pee on it- and also to see if there was pee in any of them. I found the toys (not many), took them outside to be taken care of, and proceeded to mop my hallway floor. Twice.

I asked Cody about it- he knows nothing. I asked Dylan about it- and my wonderful, beautiful, absolutely adorable child told me that he did it.

At least he was honest about it. When I asked him why, he calmly told me that he couldn't turn on the light in the bathroom, so he peed in the hallway. Oh my. I pointed out to him that at any time, he can ask Mommy or Daddy or Cody and we'd turn the light on for him. Let's hope that this is the last of my Hallway As A Bathroom episodes until it's Evan's turn to potty train. As for Rosie- she got extra cuddle time tonight and some of her favorite treats because I feel so bad that I blamed her for the puddles when it wasn't her at all (or at least, not all of them).

I'm trying to work on new kits- I really need to get my butt in gear, but lately- I've been too busy outside or trying to keep up with the mess inside or just wanting to sit and vegetate. Oh- and a new book doesn't help. I'm finally reading the Da Vinci Code. It's good- not what I expected, and it took a few chapters for me to get into it, but I like it.

I changed my template today, simply because I wanted to. I wanted a three column template and found one. Yeah, it's plain, but I can deal with that- for now. I still need to tweak it (I'm not liking the large font thing that's going on here), but it will work for now.

Lightbulb Moment

I get these lightbulb moments every once in awhile- I think that most people do. It's where you see something and *lightbulb* you realize something important that you should have known all along.

I walked Cody to school today. Nothing out of the ordinary, it's a nice day, I like walking, and besides- I don't have a car or any other way to get him to school (stupid gas prices forcing the school to cut back on the bus riders, grumble, grumble). So- we walk. Cody whines about it, I attempt to ignore him. For awhile, we raced on the way home. He almost always won (hey- it's hard to run when you're pushing a tandem stroller with two kids in it). Today- we walked. I said my typical goodbye ('Goodbye, love you, have fun, and for heaven's sake- please be good!'), and I turned that stroller around and headed home.

On the way, I just happened to glance down at my shadow. I studied it, looked up, attempted to ignore it. Couldn't do it- I had to look down. I stared. I stopped the stroller (not caring that people were driving by and most likely staring at me staring at my shadow), continued to look. Then it hit me.

My butt shadow is as wide as my stroller (which isn't one of those little itty bitty lightweight strollers, nor is it a side by side double stroller- my butt isn't that big, yet). It hit me again.

I. Am. Fat.

When I got home, I checked myself out in the mirror. I'm wearing my cute 3/4 sleeve button up white top, my Old Navy jeans, and my cute pink, blue and white striped slides. I check out my neck- hint of a double chin (not good). I look at the top half of my body- a little wider than I'd like to be (not good). I look at my butt.

I shouldn't have looked at my butt. No. Wait. If I hadn't have looked at my butt, that lightbulb moment would have been ignored and forgotten and I'd have gone on living my life the way that I have been living it.

I'm not liking my butt right now. I'm liking how my legs feel after walking just over a mile (I won't be liking how they feel later tonight, after walking 2.4 miles, but that is a necessary evil).

I realized today that I've been ignoring the problem. I've been pretending that I'm ok with the way that I look, when I'm not. I'm fat. I don't want to be fat. I don't want to pretend that I carry the weight well (when I know that I most definitely do NOT). I don't want to have to buy my Old Navy jeans off eBay or online. I want to be able to walk into any store at the mall and know that they have my size.

So- today I start. Healthy foods. Balanced meals. No more of this junk food. I'm limiting the amount of pop that I drink to two cans a day. More walking. More running with the boys instead of watching them run. We'll take more walks (poor Cody), be more active.

I'm starting small- with baby steps. Up for this week- healthy meals.

Egg Hunts, iPods, and Airbrushing

Yesterday, my parents and I took the boys to the local easter egg hunt at the local park. I hate going to this- have for years. Growing up, I hated it simply because it was highly unlikely that I would ever find an egg. Back then, I blamed the other kids- I thought them to be selfish, uncaring, and- most of all- unfair.

Now that I'm a parent and taking my kids to these things, I realize that it's not the kids that were being selfish, uncaring, and unfair.

It was the parents. It's amazing the number of parents who stand at the sidelines, or follow their kids around, pointing out all the eggs. Or how many people walk the grounds before the egg hunt, scoping for eggs and informing their children where to look. My younger two, they had a ball. They got two eggs each. But my oldest is disenchanted with the large town egg hunt already. It's frustrating for him, and I'm wondering how long before we won't go, at all.

Did I ever tell you that my father knows the Easter Bunny? Yep- he does. He used to travel a lot when my sister and I were little, and he used to say that he knew Santa Claus. I expanded it to where he knew the Easter Bunny, and told my boys last night that the Easter Bunny was planning a big surprise out at Grandma and Grandpa's. After Cody got home from church, we discovered that the surprise was an egg hunt! The boys had a ball- and Cody got so many eggs that we had to ask him to slow down so that Evan and Dylan had a chance to get some.

I got my iPod yesterday. I'm so happy. *Joys* Really not much more to it than that, just wanted to say... I got my iPod yesterday.

I needed to get a picture of myself with my mom today. I didn't tell her why or anything like that- just had Cody take a picture of the two of us. When I told her- she glared at me and asked me why I didn't give her any warning, she would have changed her shirt, brushed her hair, yadda yadda yadda. I just looked at her and told her 'that is what Photoshop is for.' Her eyes lit up- and she asked me if I would airbrush her, lol! So that's what I'm doing, right now. I'm 'fixing' us. Not that I think that we needed it, but because I had Cody take the picture. Let's just say that Cody's hand isn't all that steady and while we're recognizable, we're also too blurry. I'm having fun while doing it. We did get a great picture of the two of us- and I think that is the one that I'm going to use for this thing that we need it for.

Creative Team Call!

I'm looking to add five people to my creative team. The object of my creative team is to promote my kits by creating layouts and posting in galleries around the web.

Team requirements are simple. Team members will receive 2-8 kits a month (depending on how productive I am that month), FREE. They will be required to post two layouts total to the Digi Chick gallery, and then send me the link to the gallery post, via email. Team members may create as many layouts as they wish and post where they wish, after posting the two layouts to the Digi Chick gallery. Please note that my creative team members will NOT be part of The Digi Chick staff.

If you are interested, and think that you have what it takes, please send me an email at mydnyghtwhyspers@mchsi.com with the following information:

1. Your name and email address
2. Tell me about yourself- anything that you want me to know (no one will be judged on this- I just want to get to know people better).
3. If you are a Digi Chick member, your Digi Chick screen name
4. A sample layout, no smaller than 600px wide, using one of my kits. Don't have one yet? You may use my free sample mini kit, Denim Dreams, found in TDC's boutique.
5. A link to the online gallery that you post to the most.
6. Answer these questions: Why do you want to be on my creative team? Who or what is your favorite subject matter for layouts and why?

Please note that piracy will not be tolerated. I reserve the right to ask team members to leave should I find out that they are sharing my kits without my permission. If this is something that you can not do, please do not apply for my team.

Application deadline is Friday April 28^th 2006. Team members will be chosen and notified by May 1^st 2006, with a formal announcement on my blog made between May 3^rd and May 5^th. If you have any questions- please don't hesitate to ask.

Ventarama

I love Rosie, I really do. I love Mike, I really do.

Growing up, we had a dog that loved to run. He'd take any chance he could get to get out of my parents' fence or off his chain (before we had the fence- and no, he didn't spend all day on his chain), and he'd just run. He loved to feel the wind in his hair, to meet other dogs, to 'see the world' (or at least our town). I remember having to chase him and look for him in all sorts of weather- freezing cold, rain, boiling heat. Ugh- not fun. I told myself that as much as I loved Arly, I didn't want a runner when I grew up and got a dog.

What did we get? Rosie the Runner. I adore her- she's really cute and playful and generally a good dog. But- damn. I hate chasing her when she gets out. Last night, I told him to be careful to not let Rosie out of the fence. He claimed that she didn't get out with him there- she 'knew' that she couldn't do that. Guess what she did.

She got out. She didn't get far, Mike bent down and picked her up and handed her to me, but I still laughed at him. This morning- he claimed that he didn't know that she was in the fence and accidentally let her out- again. This time, he wasn't able to grab her and she ran. What did he do? He came back inside and told me that I had to go get her.

I grabbed a treat and her leash and went looking, while Mike got into his car to go to work. I'm walking, asking Rosie if she wants a treat, and she keeps looking at me and running away. I turn around to go grab her leash and the kids and put them in the stroller, because Mike is leaving and I'm not about to leave the kids home alone while I'm out chasing after the dog. He stops, gets out, crouches down, and says 'come here Rosie' and she comes to him.

If it was going to be so freaking easy for him in the first place, then why the hell couldn't he have done that when she got out? Oh- and to make matters worse, he scolds her! NO! You don't do that! Then she'll figure out 'I got out, I'm going to get in trouble, I'm not going to him'. UGH!

My house is a disaster- but it looks like rain today, so I'm probably going to be able to actually get something done. To look at my house, you wouldn't believe that two days ago, it was clean!

Last night, I learned something new about Rosie. She's a wimp about storms. We got the tail end of a really nasty storm last night. We had the thunder and lightening, and some of the wind. I was sitting on the couch, watching Survivor and CSI (recorded). When it would thunder, Rosie would lift her head and look at me- making sure that I was still there, I think. Then she'd go back to sleep. When there was on particularly loud clap of thunder- I found myself with a 20 ball of furry energy in my lap. Rosie had jumped up and ran for me- and when she figured out that it wasn't happening again, she climbed up on the back of the couch, and cuddled up against my neck. I laughed at her- apparently, she didn't want to seem like a wimp, but she also didn't want to go far from me.

And now I get to go clean my living room. *Joys*

I'm Going For It...

I have bad luck with contests. I think it's the whole deadline thing. That- or it could have something to do with my 'I'm not going to spam for votes' thing. I tried it once and felt so... dirty.

Anyway- I'm entering a contest just for the fun of it. Hey- it means that I'm going to be challenged in some shape or form and I'll get to have fun. The contest is The Ultimate Digi-Scrapper. I'll admit that I'm liking the prize options here. They said the magic 'c' word- CASH.

Seriously though, as much as I'd like to win and be considered the Ultimate Digi-Scrapper, I'm not doing it for the prizes or the recognition. It's the challenge of it. We need more large contests like these- ones that make us think outside the box.

Since yesterday was such a nice day, we spent some time outside in the front yard. The boys 'helped' me with some yard work. I've decided that I'm no longer going to buy them toys. I'll just get each of them their own barrel of dirt. All three had a ball digging holes and burying toys and cars in this old barrel full of dirt that sits in our front yard. I'd like to plant something in it- but heck, they probably wouldn't be able to keep their hands out of it long enough for something to actually grow there.

My tulips are coming up. They have buds on them and will soon be blooming. I have huge gaps that need to be filled in- that's my goal for this year, to get more tulip bulbs planted so that instead of having a tulip here and a tulip there I have a nice row of them lining the planter in the front yard.

I'm looking for things to plant inside the planter. There's a lilac bush and two other bushes (can't remember what they are- will have to ask my mom) in there already and I'd like some nice ground cover and maybe a few other types of flowers. Rocking chairs are a must have for our front porch- I'd like to be able to sit out there on summer evenings.

No sign of my iPod or purse yet, so I am still stalking the mailman. Mike got his new monitor and mouse today, so he's now done stalking Mr Mailman. It will be nice when I don't have to race him to get to the mail first anymore.

Beautiful Day

I'm loving this. It's bright and sunny, and 70 degrees outside right now. All of my windows are open, I'm wearing capris and sandals, and I'm planning on doing some yard work this afternoon.

I noticed last week that my tulips are up. Not blooming, yet, but the leaves are up and it's very noticable that there are tulips coming up. I love spring. I love looking out my dining room window and seeing budding leaves on the lilac bush planted tere, or the bright yellow new leaves on the bush in front of the picture window in the living room. Because it has been so nice out, I haven't wanted to stay inside and do anything. But I have to- I have to get my house cleaned before I even consider going out to do anything in the yard.

I have one new kit releasing tomorrow- Looking Back. This has to be one of my favorite kits to make so far.

I really need to work on more kits- but it's been so nice outside! If I'm going to make my goal for this month, I need to get my butt in gear and get something done.

My birthday is this month. I want to do something for it- but not sure what. I've considered a sale- but not sure if that's what I want to do just yet. But- speaking of my birthday, guess what my sexy, amazingly handsome, simply wonderful husband bought me for my birthday? A 4gig iPod Nano!

Yes- I'm getting an iPod for my birthday! Woohoo! He surprised me with it- he needed to new mouse for his computer (his cordless optical mouse went for a swim in a five gallon bucket of saltwater last week- don't ask), and he said 'here, I ordered these today' while handing me the invoices. I looked at the top one- a new mouse, plus a new monitor for his computer. Okay, thanks for telling me. Then I looked at the second page.

It was an invoice for the iPod. I looked at him, and said 'you ordered an iPod?' I figured that it was for his drive to work- he could plug it in to his car stereo. He said 'no, that's for you.' I jumped up and kissed him, and did my 'happy happy joy joy' dance. Now I have two to four weeks of stalking the UPS guy until it gets here. Yay!

What Do You Do When The Operator Won't Listen?

911.

My mother and I were talking about this today. We teach our children their address, their phone number, to find a policeman or store employee when they get lost, and to call 911 if something happens. We teach them to trust that the 911 operator is going to take them seriously, that the operator will hold their hand by staying on the phone, talking to them, until the police arrive.

But how do we combat this? What do we teach our children to do, should the 911 operator NOT believe them?

I'm angry at the operator. I'm upset for this little boy. He's the same age- THE SAME AGE- as my oldest son. This little boy's faith in the system has been shaken. Will he ever trust 911 again? I don't know. But I can't imagine that he'll forget the day that he watched his mother die while a voice on the phone told him that if he didn't stop playing pranks they'd call the cops on him.

Phones are interesting pieces of equipment. From the time that a child is born, they learn that the phone is something that takes the attention of their parents from them. They watch their parents answer the phone, and usually- they watch the happiness and joy spread across their parents' faces when they are talking. When they're older, they learn that if you push numbers, you can call someone else- even Grandma! Is it no wonder that kids are fascinated- and that it's entirely possible that they could easily dial 911 on the phone, on accident? It happens- sometimes, it's a mistake. Other times, it's a prank.

911 operators should never- NEVER- think that a five year old child calling to say that their mother just fell and that she's not getting up is purposely pranking them. Doesn't matter how old the child in question is- they should never ignore calls that might be pranks.

Because there's always the chance that it's not a prank.

Starting now, I'll be teaching my child the direct number of our police department. Just in case.

Mommy Moments

This morning- I had a proud Mommy Moment.

It actually started last night. Dylan has still been wearing pull ups at night, as a 'just in case'. I usually put him in a pull up around 8pm, and he falls asleep shortly after.

Last night- I told him that it was time to put his pull up on, and he told me that he was going to use the potty, even though he was wearing a pull up. And he did. Twice (then he fell asleep).

I woke up this morning, and Dylan's first words to me were: 'Mommy, I nee unner wear.' (translation: Mommy, I need underwear.)

After the shock wore off, I went looking for clean underwear for him. I was so proud of him! No arguing! No fighting with me about this! No insistance that he's still little!

Yay! Yay! Yay!

So- that's the story of my proud Mommy Moment. Want to hear the story of my not so proud Mommy Moment?

Cody and Dylan got into an arguement this morning (ok- so they get into quite a few every morning). This morning's arguement was over cars or something. I'm at my computer, drinking my morning coffee, half listening to what is going on in the living room, when I hear

'I'm going to hit you!' Uh oh. Mommy radar goes off, and I go to the living room to see what's up. I told Cody that he is not allowed to hit his brothers- that he needs to find some other way of dealing with them. Cody claims that Dylan threw something at him. I explain that unless both they both tell me the truth, I can't punish for what I didn't see happen. Since I got two stories at once- I told them that the only punishment that I can give is to separate them- Cody at one end of the room, Dylan at the other.

I go to get Evan some milk. Mommy radar goes off when I hear Dylan screaming in the living room. I look in- I ask him what happened- he said 'Cody hurt me'. I told Cody that Dylan doesn't lie about being hurt, and I want to know what he did to hurt him. Cody threw something at him (most likely because I didn't do anything to hurt Dylan when he hurt Cody). So I told Cody that he is not allowed to hurt his brother, and I told Dylan that he is not allowed to hurt his brother.

I go back to pouring Evan his milk, and go grab a pair of socks for Mike (because the man can't dress himself in the morning- what on earth did he do before I married him???). Dylan brings his cup to the gate in the doorway of the kitchen and tells me, matter of factly, that Cody is no longer his brother and that he'd like some milk, please.

Poor kid. I tried explaining to him that he will always have his brothers- but he kept insisting that no, Cody is no longer his brother, because he says so.

*Sigh* Boys.

Pirates Have Rights Too!

I'm willing to actually believe that, provided that said pirate is Johnny Depp as Captain Sparrow (such a hottie all dirtied up as a pirate- yummy).

But when it comes to stealing my stuff? No- I'm sorry, but you don't have any rights. Check this out: Scrap-Fanatics.

DO THE FACT THAT PAID DIGI COPS ARE HARRASSING EVERY SINGLE SCRAP MEMBER IN YAHOO OVER FREE KITS! THIS IS FREE KITS PEOPLE NOT PAID KITS.ALL OWNERS HAVE DONE THERE BEST TO FILTER OUT BUT ITS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THESE HARRASSING PEOPLE.

Oh, yippie. I'm a digi cop. Where's my badge? Not only am I a digi cop, I'm harassing these poor people. Owners filtering out? No. That's not good enough. Because all that they filter out are the kits of the people who complain to them- everything else is still 'fair game'.

THEY ALSO DONT WANT PSPERS TO MAKE SCRAPTAGS WITH ANY SCRAP EVEN IF THEY BUY THEIR KITS!! WHO ARE THEY TO TELL WHAT WE DO WITH OUT SCRAP KITS IF WE BUY IT...ITS OURS ISNT IT?

No- when you buy artwork, it isn't yours. This includes digital kits. If you want to make and hand out tags, then you need to get a commercial license. A commercial license will allow you to make your tags and hand them out in peace. Tags for personal use- ok. Tags for everyone else: not okay without a commercial license.

Oh- and read the terms. By reading them, you'd save yourselves a lot of time and quite possibly your groups. And the digi cops wouldn't have to 'harass' you for doing illegal stuff, in the first place.

THEY TOLD ME THAT THE FREE KITS ARE NOT FREE THEY ARE TO LURE PEOPLE INTO THEIR SITE TO BUY SOMETHING..WHA SOLICITORS WHAT CON ARTISTS..THEY ALL SHOULD BE BOYCOTTED THEY ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE ONLY OUT FOR MONEY. THEY DONT CARE ABOUT ANYONE BUT MAKING MONEY. AND HALF THERE CREATIONS ARE NO GOOD. THE ONLY REASON WHY THEY ARE GETTIN CUSTOMERS BECAUSE THE CUSTOMERS DONT KNOW THERE ARE ACTUALLY FREE SITES OUT THERE WHERE THEY CAN GET THE BEST KITS.

Yep- you caught us. We only give out free stuff to lure people to our sites. Boycott all you want- at least if you are boycotting, you're not sharing my stuff.

Oh- and if our stuff is 'no good', then why the hell are you sharing it??? This, I don't understand. You are willing to do something illegal for stuff that YOU DON'T EVEN LIKE? Mind boggling.

Can you share these free sites with the 'best' kits, please? I'd like to see where I'm going wrong. Maybe I'll just point my customers in their direction, because obviously my stuff is crap that isn't worthy of being pirated. (In case you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic.)

THERE ARE BETTER MORE TALENTED DIGI SCRAP DESIGNERS WHO DO THIS FOR THE PASSION FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF OTHERS THEY ARE NOT MONEY HUNGRY PEOPLE THEY WANT EVERYONE TO ENJOY WHAT THEY CREATE.

Digital design is my passion. I sell my designs because I'm a stay at home mom, and I'd feel guilty spending some of the money that my husband makes on the things that I really love- things that are related to my passion. Money hungry? Nope- not even close. I just want to make enough money to spend it on other kits, fonts, and computer hardware. That's it.

Someone who is passionate about this hobby is someone who is willing to take the time to learn how to do things, to learn how to make themselves better at it, is willing to take criticism. Got a problem with my designs? Bring it on!

READ MORE HERE
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=1687357

Go ahead. Read it.

I MYSELF AN BOYCOTTING ALL PAID SITES FOR THIS REASON

Yippie!

THEY ARE SENDING SPYS INTO YAHOO GROUPS "ENTRAMPING" PEOPLE TO DO SOMETHING WRONG SO THEY CAN RUN AND REPORT YOU. ISNT THAT ILLEGAL? ISNT HARRASSMENT ILLEGAL??
SOMETHING MUST BE DONE WITH THESE MONEY HUNGRY LYING PEOPLE..DONT GET SUCKED UP INTO THEIR OWN GLOREY AND DONT LET THEM SUCK UP YOUR MONEY EATHER!

Entrapment (no 'm', 'tramping' is a word, 'entramping' is not) is something that only a law enforcement official can do, and it only applies if the law enforcement officer has made you do something that you didn't want to do. Ask a lawyer- I'll wait.

Oh- and something else. GLORY. No 'e'. EITHER. The 'a' is an 'i'. You can spell harassment, but you can't spell something as simple as 'glory'?

Here are some links for you: Yahoo's Copyright Policy. Quoted from the policy:

It is Yahoo!’s policy, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, to disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who may infringe or repeatedly infringe the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of Yahoo! and/or others.

(which basically means- continue to share my kits and I have the legal right to shut you down).
and from Yahoo's Terms Of Service:

upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights ("Rights") of any party;

(like it or not, even free kits are copyrighted to the individual who created them. And since Yahoo's policy is to delete the accounts of copyright violaters, I still have the legal right to shut you down.)
And from my TOU, included in EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY KITS, free or not:

You may not offer any Tracey Lee/The DigiChick.com graphics on any website for download, send them through a list such as a news or Yahoo group or include them in
any graphics collection either on the internet or otherwise.

In other words- go ahead and contact your lawyer, attempt to file harassment charges against me. Think you'll win? Think again. You don't have a legal leg to stand on. Face it- what you are doing is ILLEGAL. Sue me? Try it. Let's see how fast I sue you for copyright infringment.

In other words: do not fuck with me.

Credits: The crazy posts come from the Scrap-Fanatic Yahoo Group home page. Anyone can read it there- I did not right it (I'm not insane, I swear). The pieces from Yahoo's copyright policy and terms of service comes from Yahoo. The last quote comes directly from my own terms of use, which is included in every single kit that I make.