Holiday

Today is another county holiday, this time for Rosh Hashana. Mini-me was very excited to have another day off. Our big plan for today involves a couple of errands (bank, library, etc) and then naps. Curly is a guest speaker at the Rotary tonight, so we can be relaxed about dinner as well.

Last night we had several strapping men over to help move office furnature into the attic. They worked quickly and were out of here by 8 pm. The space is really coming together. We have plans to move some things out of our bedroom and put them in the attic. Once they are gone, I really want this chair. I'm not sure why and I know it doesn't "go" with anything else we own, but I love monkeys! After all, I am a parent to 3 of them.

Patch

I love all my children equally, but Patch has such a special spot in my heart. He is such a love.



He likes to dress well. He also likes football. He is happiest when dressed well in a football sweater (thanks, Grandma Jeanne!).



He likes to eat donuts. I learned to take his shirt off while he eats donuts (which he pronounces "me-nuts").

He likes frosting. He is a messy eater.
He likes his cousins. He doesn't like his boy cousins to hug him.

I ask you, with a boy like this, could you get anything other than cuddles and kisses done?

Sunday Project

While Patch slept, Mini-me, Flower, and I made some doll quilts. I let them pick the fabric out of my stash. Flower went for a multi colored and patterned affect, Mini-me went mono-chromatic with blue.

Flower was a much better helper and doer than Mini-me. She laid out the pattern for her quilt and then would hand me the pieces to sew. She was very into it. Mini-me just wanted me to do it. That offended Flower, who insisted that I must be assisted.

For the back, I let them use some of my favorite fabrics, ice cream and cupcakes. Their dolls will now be warm and snug this winter!

Soon these will be added to my Molly Patch inventory. They would be the perfect Christmas gift for the little girl who loves baby dolls.

Photo Friday

Flower and Mini-me during Tropical Storm Hannah that came through a couple of weeks ago. Nothing says "fun" like frolicking in the rain and wind.

Weight Loss Wednesday

An alternate title for today would be "Booya!" I am down another 3 pounds. I am .4 pounds away from 10. Yahoo! I cannot say enough about what I love about Weight Watchers. I love the meetings, I love eating my own food, I love it I love it I love it!

Today's lesson was on dancing. I so love to dance! I wish I were famous so I could be on Dancing with the Stars. 15 minutes of vigorous dancing equals an extra 2 points a day. I need to get some curtains on my windows so I can boogie in private. Right now, I have no trouble with points. But as you lose the weight, you lose points. Every 10 pounds makes you lose a point. 10 pounds is a proverbial drop in the bucket for me, but it's still 10 pounds. It represents 3 weeks of careful planning and execution. Plus, it only took 3 weeks. Again, yahoo!

Shout Out

Happy Birthday to my brother Jon and his boy Jack. I know they don't read my blog (because Jon just doesn't and Jack can't read), but I thought I'd throw this out anyway. Have a great day, boys!

A Case of the Mondays

I have had a case of the Mondays all day today. And, I know, it's not Monday. It's Tuesday. Not even Zumba could put me in a chipper mood. The instructor even noticed that something was off. Apparently my booty rolls didn't have quite the same pop as usual. So I kind of sat and moped most of the day. I decided to turn on Oprah and see what inspiration she had to offer. Then I got mad. She sat there with Suze Orman acting like the queen of financial restraint. This from the woman whose "favorite things" shows send people into a lathering frenzy. So then I turned on Food Network and watched Tyler Florence make food I didn't like, namely shrimp bisque and fish and chips. All I could think about was how many points were in a bowl of that soup.

At least I have Cloris Leachman and Dancing with the Stars to cheer me. If that doesn't work, there's always tomorrow.

Songs

This morning, Patch is singing "Shake, Shake Senora." The song is featured in Beetlejuice, and recently in the new Little Mermaid. The only part he knows is "shake shake shake your body." It is too cute!

The View from Curly's Phone

The Great Frederick Fair

It's that time of year again! On Wednesday, I picked Flower up from school (with Patch and Mini-me in tow), and headed to the fairgrounds. We were just going to stay an hour, do one ride, grab a bite to eat, and head home. Curly was able to get off a couple of hours early and met us there, surprising the heck out of the kids.

There was a shockingly low number of cross stitch and quilting entries this year. I so could have won best of show again. Oh well. Next year. I am working on a few things now that I can submit for next year.

Patch loved the animals. We saw the pigs, including several sets of piglets, the sheep, the horses, and the cows. We got to see some calves be bottle fed. It was darling. And messy. But darling.

We briefly played the dime toss. I tossed 3 dimes and missed a mile wide. Curly tossed 5 dimes and missed. Flower missed her one try. Mini-me, the luckiest O'Kigin of us all, landed her dime squarely in the Speedy Gonzales cup. The guy running the attraction thought we were so cute (and he was right) that he gave Patch a pumpkin cup (appropriate) and Flower a Foghorn Leghorn cup. We now have 4 Looney Tunes cups won at the dime toss. I'm learning to manage my gambling addiction and think I can stop there. Until next year. I'm giving Mini-me all my dimes.

The kids got to do two rides each. They went on the Wheel of Death Farris Wheel while I stayed on terra firma. Then Flower and Curly went on the Sizzler, which made me hungry for steak, while I took Mini-me and Patch on the dragon ride. Patch did not care for either ride. On the Farris Wheel, he cried for me the whole time. On the dragons, he screamed "No ga-GUN! No ga-GUN!" When the ride ended, he yelled a very enthusiastic "Yea! Ga-GUN!" through his tears.

Friday is a county holiday, called, appropriately, Fair Day. Mini-me will be home from school and Curly just happens to have the day off. We'll be headed back for more fun.

Weight Loss Wednesday

A little late today, but it's still Wednesday. I always feel bad when I post late in the day, because I know my Grandma Jeanne (holla!) checks my blog several times a day. I don't want her to be disappointed!

This week was tough, because we were all sick. As the kids started to improve, I went downhill. It was not fun. Today I had a huge headache, but I still went to my meeting. I am down another pound and a half, which brings my two week total to 6.6 pounds. Woot woot! Next week, I hope to be down another 2-3 pounds, since I'll be adding exercise back into the picture.

The discussion topic this week was on changing our thinking from negative thoughts (ie I have so much to lose, why even bother?) to positive thoughts (I think I can, I think I can). Our leader today was a substitute, and she had lost 110 pounds. She was so tiny, she must have started out at about my size. I cannot even imagine getting that small, but she was very inspiring. I think I can, I think I can.

Payday

I just found $15 in the washer. I consider it my payment for washing Curly's socks. He has a lot of socks. Hardly any of them match. It's a little known fact that money is made of a paper/cotton blend, making it washable without disintegrating.

No Longer Dodging the Bullet

The kids succumbed to illness today. I had to make my first phone call to the school, excusing Mini-me from class today. They both have mild fevers, nothing really to worry about, but as the day has progressed, Patch's nose has run faster and nastier. Poor kid. Well, poor me, really. Curly and I had plans tonight. I'm now weighing my options on that. If I can get the fevers to go away through the magic of a Tylenol/Motrin cocktail, then we'll go.

Speaking of bullets, Curly has been hard at work on the attic. He borrowed a nail gun. You can see where this is going. It was just a minor injury. A flesh wound, really. He was quick to point out (several times) that he didn't even cry. He was holding a beam and wasn't watching the angle very much. So, the nail went into the tip of his finger. It's a little bruised, as is his ego from the lecture I gave him, but he's no worse for wear. Last night as I was "helping" him, he kept pointing out which nail it was. I really didn't want to know, because now every time I look at that wall, I will think of a bleeding finger.

The Tylenol seems to have kicked in for Mini-me, as she's making up a song and singing at the top of her lungs.

Weight Loss Wednesday

After seeing all the Weight Watchers commercials where they tell you to stop dieting and start living, I decided to give them a try. Last week was our first meeting. I was weighed, got my food guides and dining out companion, learned how to calculate points, and was sent on my way. I did not have a perfect week, but I did really well. I am down 5 pounds and won a gold star this week. I was the only one in my group to win a star. There are a couple of things that are making the difference (after week one). First, I can eat my own stuff. I don't need to buy special food. I can eat what I make for my family. It has made me so aware of my portion size. Second, I write down what I eat. There is something that connects the mental and physical part of weight loss when you see your food on paper. It works.

On an unrelated note, all you Stephenie Meyer fans will be sad to know that she's not going to publish Midnight Sun anytime soon. Apparently an advanced copy was leaked on the Internets, and she's pretty upset. Such a bummer.

Tuesday Ramblings

My toes are actually cold in the basement this morning. That is such a sign that fall is finally on its way. As I sit and type, Patch is bringing me every small toy from the playroom. So far, I have some chicken nuggets, a hot dog, some pickles, a tiny dog, a Barbie ball, and various other small things. He thinks he's so cute when he does it, too.

I haven't blogged in a while because I haven't had much to say. I'm not working on anything new and we have settled into a school routine that doesn't change much. Inspiration is bound to hit soon, and I will be blogging again with more regularity.

I need to take some photos of the attic. It's amazing. Last night, I helped Curly put in the insulation. We have to wait for Tall to come back this afternoon to finish it, since there are some tricky parts. Curly has today and tomorrow off, which is a nice bonus about working retail. They will get the drywall today and hopefully get most of it up by tomorrow night. Because the attic stairs are narrow with a sharp turn, they have to take the drywall in from the roof. Curly explained how that will happen, and it made me want to make plans for this afternoon so I don't have to see any injury as it happens. Flower is still holding out hope that we will be making one side of the attic a bedroom for her. It's like my mom on her 16th birthday, just sure she was going to get a car. That didn't happen either.

Tomorrow, Weight Loss Wednesday returns. It's about dang time!

Funny

Mini-me came home from school yesterday, talking up her friend "Jeff-er-ee." This is what she told me:

"Jeff-er-ee has brown skin. He likes it that way."

When I went to back to school night last night, I told Mini-me's teacher this too funny story. Funniest part? There is no Jeffery in her class!