What is the world coming to???

I have to wonder what kind of information people will be able to obtain next. Read on...

Hi Everyone...this is a public service notice...Your driver's license can be found online by going to this website. You can delete it from view to the general public if you go to the site and hit the "delete from view" icon. I deleted mine, but that doesn't delete it from the authorities, so I understand. It's always something, isn't it?? This website is good in all states. Let me know what you think about this absurd thing . We have to be so careful these days! You might want to share this...feel free to forward it. Click here: Drivers License Search - National Motor Vehicle License Bureau http://www.license.shorturl.com/

Blog Questions

Can anyone tell me why my bullets aren't showing up in my last post???? I thought I knew what to do and they showed up in the preview... Just like when I try to post pictures they never 'go' in the right spot. I guess I'm still learning here in blogworld.

Mindless Potpourri

• Yesterday I volunteered with a group thats here called CORE. They are here indefinately helping out with hurricane victims. Different groups come down from all over and help people tear parts of their houses and clean up debris. They have a big tent city set up. IT is truly amazing to see the selflessness of some of these men and women who are here helping, setting aside their own agenda to help those in need. I helped out in the office. I really enjoyed my time there and will be going back on Wednesday. It is nice to help out in some way. I feel I have been so blessed by such little storm damage that I need to do something to help those less fortunate.
• I totally got the wrong date for the hayride. We drove all the way out there (about 1/2 hour away) only to find out it was Friday night. I was a day late. The poor kiddos were so upset! I don't blame them. Zach told them we'd have a fire at home but I told him we have a burn ban here. Plus it was getting dark. So we just put a fire going in the fireplace, made hot dogs and ate picnic style on a blanket on the floor. That seemed to satisfy them. I was really looking forward to a hayride too. The date was right in the email I got about it, I just assumed it was Saturday. I don't know dates. I only know the day. So, I wonder if I'm not losing my mind. I seem to have been doing things like that lately. Looking for things in the wrong places, etc. I don't think I'm pregnant, but you really never know. And my SIL, Amie, emailed me and said she had a dream that I was!
• I watched a movie last night called, "The Other Side of Heaven". It was good, about a missionary, BUT he was a Mormon missionary. It was a clean movie, which is hard to come by nowadays.
• I just got back from watching the movie "Dreamer". It was VERY good. I think I will invest in it when it comes out on DVD. It was a wholesome, family movie. The little girl was such a good actress. I think H enjoyed it, but I also think it was a little over her head. But, we had mommy-daughter time, popcorn and pop! What more can we ask for?
• I will be having another Pampered Chef party in a couple of weeks. If you like Pampered Chef, that is the way to go. Last time I got over $100 in free products. If anybody is interested in ordering anything through me, let me know and I can email you the information. I am so excited...and its just in time for Christmas.

Tickle Test

If you go here, you too can discover what kind of movie parent you are most like. It's just for fun! Let me know if you do it and who they say you are like. Here are my results.

Jamie, you could star as a parent in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!

Buckle your seatbelts. We can see your mind at work already, strapping your kids to your back, or piling them into the car as you take off on your next adventure. Your parenting style is like the Marcia Strassman and Rick Moranis characters in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. You teach by example and bring your kids along for the ride. We can see your expectant face, waiting excitedly for your kids' first words, steps, or any other achievement. When your kids come to you with questions, you're likely to point them towards the dictionary or encyclopedia. It's important for them to learn on their own. And it wouldn't surprise us if you refused to raise your kids' allowances in the hopes that the entrepreneurial spirit might encourage them to set up a lemonade stand. Like the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids parents, you can sometimes become absorbed in your own life. But once you feel the tug on your sleeve, you snap back into being the creative parent your kids can rely on.

Having some F-U-N

Well, today is day 2 of letting the little man nap in his crib. Boy, is it hard. Yesterday he was sleeping standing up! I peeked in on him and he was snoring but standing up, about to topple over! Stinker! Today he is crying off and on and when I peeked in on him he was standing up. The boy is 14 months! I think its time I get him used to his crib, but it is so hard to let him cry. Oh well, we'll both get over it. I got a ton of Barbies, Barbie clothes and other Barbie items from eBay (only $20 total for a HUGE lot) for H and she is loving them. I loved Barbies, but I said my daughter was not going to have them. Well, she got sucked in. Oh well, now I can play Barbies again;) J is into destructing his toys. It gets very tiring. I swear all of his GI Joe's are missing a leg. So is Spiderman. Batman is missing his arms. Oh well, boys will be boys. I want to take H to see that movie "Dreamer" sometime this weekend. She has a birthday party to go to tomorrow and then we're going on a hayride with a homeschool group:) Hopefully I'll get to take some pictures. I am hoping to meet other homeschool moms too. I feel I know so few people around here. Most I know are older with older kids, which is fine, but it would be lovely to meet somebody my own age with kids the same ages as mine. Here's some pictures taken recently. Enjoy!
A Mommy & G Moment


What a Face!


Playing Star Wars


A brotherly-sisterly Moment


My Two Dudes

Life with Kirby

Meet Kirby. I met Kirby back in the spring sometime. One of those demonstrator people came to the door. I thought, "Sure, you can clean my carpet, but I won't buy your product". Zach happened to come home early from work that day. He got to meet Kirby also. He was hooked on it. Boy, did it suck the dirt out of our carpet! It sucked the dead skin out of our mattress. I thought, "It would be nice to have it, but I don't need it". We saw the price. Outrageous! Of course, we were offered a deal and we could trade in our Hoover. Zach really thought we should get it. It has a lifetime warranty. With all the children he would love to have, I guess it would be worth it. Now, I need to admit that my friend Sheri had told me she got a Kirby and how much she enjoyed it. Ever since she told me about hers I thought how nice it would be to have a vacuum like that. But it never went beyond a mere thought. Well, here I am about 6 months later with Kirby living in my closet. At first I thought we shouldn't have done it, but I am glad we did. He has been by my side through the thick of it. He shampoos my carpets. He turns into a leaf blower. He blows up the pool. He depleted our pocketbook and we were making payments on him. He cost more than my husband's truck (which is a whole different story)! But, he should be around for a lifetime. And if we're blessed with many more children it will be a lifesaver! All I need to do is drag him out of the closet and 'TaDa', the mess from dinner is cleaned up! It is so nice. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? You bet! I feel I use Kirby every day to clean up some sort of mess, but I really don't mind at all! I hate sweeping, so all I do is drag out Kirby to clean the carpet, tile, hardwood floors. It really is amazing! Maybe we're crazy for spending so much money on a vacuum, but oh well! We're enjoying it!

Beware of the following

Uhoh. This is so scary. I have known it for awhile, but it is getting scarier by the day. I am afraid to break the news of this disastrous phenomenon. In one of my previous posts you were probably thinking I was a bit picky about keeping the little ones cleaned up and all that. Yes, I like to have my house in order, everything in its place and a place for everything. But, over the past 5 years of being a mommy I have lightened up quite a bit. Really, I have. Somewhere between the time of March 2000 and now there has been a spy. In my house. Watching what I do. Every move I make. My responses, my idiosyncrasies, my good habits and bad habits. No, it is not the government. It is my daughter. She is like me. But worse. Way worse. I have known it for some time. She is 5. She cleans her own room. Everything has its certain spot. If you move anything, she knows. Even her doll house has to be set up just so. Sometimes we'd play doll house and I'd rearrange the furniture. She would later come and ask me, "Mommy, was the couch right there? For real?". It needed to be just so. Just like I had done it. She saves everything. Even used Kleenex. I will find wrappers to Princess snacks in her room at times. I am proud of her. I'm glad she likes to be clean and have a clean room. The thing is, she barely plays in there. She doesn't want to mess it. She can't even enjoy it!!! I tell her over and over again that it's ok, she can clean it up, but she needs to enjoy her things! We often have pandemonium in our home. Toys strewn all over the place. I used to follow the trail picking it up. Now I say, "It's ok, we'll get it later". Sometimes we need to just enjoy life and not worry about the crumbs amongst us. Well, H is getting a bit more particular. She likes to put her own clothes away. I don't even have to ask her to do it, she just takes them and does it. The past few times she will sit on her floor crying or throwing a fit. She doesn't remember if her yellow shirt was under her butterfly shirt. "Mommy, were these shorts right here?" It is scary. Very scary. I like neat, orderly drawers, but I don't color coordinate, nor do I put things in the exact spot they were in when I took them out. In fact, my drawers are rarely orderly anymore. Who has time with 3 children? Especially when the littlest one likes to go and empty them! What do I do? I have told her that it does not matter where or how her clothes go in the drawer. All that matters is that they are put away. I also have noticed it coming out in her schoolwork. She gets upset if her B doesn't look like it should, or if her 9 isn't right. I try to tell her it takes practice, and sometimes that suffices, but sometimes she is so upset. Have I created a perfectionist? I haven't intentionally been 'picky' so she picks up on it. I haven't been 'drilling' her with the routine of how everything needs to be just so. I just pray she lightens up. I am glad that she desires to have great organizational skills and wants to be clean and orderly, but there is a point when one becomes obsessed by it. Oh, please don't let her be one of those!

What's Your Ideal Career?

Your Career Type: Social

You are helpful, friendly, and trustworthy.Your talents lie in teaching, nursing, giving information, and solving social problems. You would make an excellent: Counselor - Dental Hygienist - LibrarianNurse - Parole Officer - Personal TrainerPhysical Therapist - Social Worker - Teacher The worst career options for your are realistic careers, like truck driver or farmer.

What's" Your Ideal Career?

Well, I have a Bachelor of Social work degree and I homeschool my children. Can we get any more accurate than this?

Picky, Picky, Picky

Last week the base had this picnic, sorta like a "Let's celebrate Katrina" thing. Well, when the kiddos heard the word 'picnic' they were all about it. So, Friday afternoon we picked Daddy up from work and checked out this shindig. It was at the Marina Park. Well, that is on the back bay of Biloxi which was real flooded and all. So, where there used to be grass it was all like dried up sludge/mud/muck, whatever you want to call it. A bit gross to me. We ate our hot dogs and hamburgers (which made my stomach hurt like nothin' else), and of course the kids wanted to play. They were going all out at this picnic- they had the blow-up climbing things, bouncing things, etc. They had a few different local bands. It was pretty decent. I guess we did it more for the kids than anything. Something different to do, something that seems a bit 'normal' to us all. BUT their feet got SO dirty from that nasty ground. I mean, I have NO idea what was all sitting on that ground from Miss Katrina. I wasn't going to take chances. Not when it comes to my children. So when we got home I threw them all in the tub and scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed. Like I said, I don't know how 'safe' that was. I feel like I am so darn picky and weird. Last week we also played at McDonald's and they had been running around bare-footed. Gross. I'm not big on indoor play places to begin with. So when we got home from there I scrubbed their feet and washed their hands. I'm not taking chances when it comes to my precious children and keeping them healthy. Who knows what may be breeding down here as far as germs and all. But sometimes I feel like I am utterly too picky and take the fun out of life. I will include some pictures from our times of playing (minus the clean-up).

Playing

Another Fun Thing

Here is another thing I found at Beth's site. She seems to always be doing neat things like this so I thought I'd try it. Pretty funny. Here's what you do. Google your name needs (like Jamie needs, only type your name instead of mine). Then blog the first 10 things that come up. I went to 15 only because it was pretty hilarious. Have fun! Here's my crazy results...

1. Jamie needs your vote (vote for what?).
2. Jamie needs Kelly's backing (I'm unsure who Kelly is, but sure, I'll take her help!).
3. Jamie needs a kid (well, that would add to the dozen that Zach wants to have, so why not;)).
4. Jamie needs amanuensis (I don't even want to know what this is...and it refers to a cat...do I really need it? I am not too fond of cats).
5. Jamie needs a nap (FINALLY, somebody sees the need for mama to get some rest!).
6. Jamie needs the Spur of a goal (yeah, sure, bring it on).
7. Jamie needs to find a witness (I didn't do it. I swear I didn't do it. It was the butler.)
8. Jamie needs a kid (Wow, another one!!!).
9. Jamie needs a liver transplant (Gee, I hope not).
10. Jamie might need security (Yeah, I need some emotional security at times).
11. Jamie needs our help (Are you sure you'd like to elicit my help?).
12. Jamie needs to radically improve (And you just asked for my help...).
13. Jamie needs a new home (Oh please, in a different state!).
14. Jamie needs to be the only or oldest child in the family (Weird, I am an only child).
15. Jamie needs to uncover the truth (The truth about what? I'll work on that and get back to you...).

The Three Little Lambs

H:
Yesterday while at Wal-Mart H asked me why some people were brown. Keep in mind we live in the South so there are many brown skinned people, one of which was in hearing distance. I explained to her that we all come in different colors...Then she asked if brown people go to heaven! I then told her Jesus was probably not white like we are and that it doesn't matter the color of your skin, what matters is a relationship with Jesus. Then, last night we sang some praise songs together and read a Bible story. We read about David and Bathsheba. We read about Nathan telling David a story about a rich and poor man. The rich man had many sheep, the poor man only one. We read how the rich man took the poor man's only sheep that he loved so much. After finishing the Bible story we prayed. H asked Jesus to give the poor man another sheep! It was too adorable!

J:
I have decided he is the BIGGEST wimp. That boy is afraid of everything. Last weekend we went to the mangled bridge to take pictures. He was afraid to go anywhere near it, much less on it. I thought he was going to wet his pants! Yesterday I took him to get his pictures taken (only 5 months late) and he freaked out about sitting up on the table. I never did get 2 year pictures of him because he hates to get his picture taken. Well the day before I had done G's so I thought for sure J would be ok with it seeing his little brother do it. Oh no! He sat at the very edge of the front of the table. I don't know if he thought he'd fall back or what, but nothing could convince him to scoot back. I sat on it, I had H sit on it, I went behind it. Nothing worked. Finally I told him Princess Leia was in the camera and to smile for her. I told him he was going to marry her. That got him to smile. I also had to tell him forget it, that I would just get H's pictures taken, and he was like, "NO!". Then I had to tell him Darth Vader was in the camera for another smile. We got about 5 pictures, but I only wanted the one for the package. It turned out well, considering. I don't know why he hates pictures so much. I was ready to cry trying to deal with it, especially after waiting for a half and hour. Today we went on a field trip to the post office. He was SO freaked out again, once we got behind the big huge door. I'm not sure what he thought, but he was crying about going home and not being there. Luckily it didn't take too long to get through it and I told him we were going to McDonald's afterwards. I am not sure why he is so scared of things. I hope it is just a stage he's going through. On another note, last night when we were singing he actually sang a bit too. It was SO cute that I started to cry. Lately he has been singing little phrases from church songs and it is so precious. Daddy gave him a hair cut the other night and he looks so handsome and clean cut.

G:
He has been really interested in books lately. He likes the board books with animals. He thinks every one of them is a dog. Then if I say cow he thinks I say car and he goes "Vroom, vroom". Many times a day I catch him sitting on the floor browsing through a book. He has to try to do everything his brother and sister do. Yesterday they were both sitting in their desks and so G went and sat on this one toy so he'd have somewhere to sit too. He likes to try to eat crayons and he bugs J like crazy when J tries to color. He's been doing this funny thing with his bottom lip after he says a word and the face it produces cracks me up.

Also, we made the paper back home this week. Front page too. They put an article and a picture of us about the hurricane. Such a small town...For they only go to press once a week! This is the family picture they used.

Our family in front of the destroyed Bridge between Ocean Springs & Biloxi

Something Different For Me

Beth had this on her blog and I thought I would try it. Hope I can figure it all out! I've never tried to put pictures from the web on here before so this may take me awhile! You should try it too!

Go to Google and click on the images link. Type in the following and post the first (or your favorite) picture the search engine finds.
* The name of the town where you grew up.
* The name of the town where you live now.
* Your name.
* Your Grandmother's name. (Pick one)
* Your favorite food.
* Your favorite drink.
* Your favorite song.
* Your favorite smell.

I grew up in a small town called Hancock and this picture on the left was the first picture that came up for Hancock, General Hancock.

I now live in Ocean Springs. The first pictures were maps and things relating to the hurricane so I bypassed those and picked this one on the right. This is a picture of the main street (called Washington St.) downtown, way back around 1903! I love our downtown area. Many of those trees are still there and even today when you drive down there you feel a bit pulled back into history.






Let's see what comes up for my name...I figured I'd find Jamie Lee Curtis. I was going to go with the first image but the model was a bit scantily dressed for my taste;) so I stuck with the famous Jamie.


I am going to pick my Grandmother named Gloria and see what I get. The other one is Mary and I'm sure I'd get many pictures of Mary, Jesus' mother. Hmmm...Sorry, grandma. Not sure if that is supposed to be a rabbit, a dog or what!












My favorite food is chocolate...pretty much anything chocolate. I know its not much of a healthy food, but I can't get enough of it. So, here's to chocolate.


My favorite drink is Cherry Pepsi or Cherry Coke.








It is really hard to pick a favorite song. There are SO many good ones. I guess I will choose "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me. That song makes me cry every time I hear it and it gives me goosebumps. And lastly, my favorite smell is babies. I love the way they smell. So fresh and clean (usually).
















Well, that wasn't too hard to figure out. Took out naptime for the day and gave me something to do.

Chocolate Cows

The setting: The kitchen

The time: 8:30 am

We just finish up breakfast.

H: I like white milk. We get milk from cows. I like cows milk.

Mommy: Some people drink milk from goats too.

H: Where does chocolate milk come from, chocolate cows?

Mommy tries to stifle a laugh and smiles sweetly: No, they come from the same cow as white milk. We add chocolate to make it chocolate milk.

One of those priceless moments with our children. Sometimes you just have to love those questions they ask;)

Baby's First Haircut

Here is G before his first hair cut. I finally broke down and got it done! His hair was growing in so weird. It was long by his ears and in the back but on the top of his head it wasn't very long and he had a hard time growing any hair on the sides. He reminded me of an old man! He did SO well. I took him to my neighbor who works at Regis. He sat still and didn't make a peep. He is the most well-mannered baby I have had and he listens so well. I was a bit sad to see his little locks being snipped off but I knew it was time. I did manage to save some of those locks though. Now that his hair is cut he looks so different to me. Like a totally different boy, a much bigger boy. H just asked me today when I'm going to have another baby. She must think he's growing up too!

And this is what he looks like after the fact!

Here's my boy on his way home...loving his new look;) 

H wearing her Police hat

Quiet Front

Well, things have been a bit quiet here. Nothing to write home about. I thought I broke my toe the other day. Somehow I hit my middle toe on the washing machine the wrong way (gosh, I am SOOO clumsy). It hurt so bad, but I always stub my toes or run into things so I didn't think much of it. But, it wouldn't stop hurting real bad. Then it was swelling up and bruising on the side. Then the back of the toe started to bruise. I knew there was nothing a doctor could do so didn't do much about it... Yesterday I asked my neighbor about it (she's a doctor) and she doesn't think its broken, thankfully! It sure is bruised though. It doesn't really hurt too bad anymore either. Then she commented on the callouses on my feet! How embarrassing! I never let people see my feet! I know I don't wear the right type of shoes though, I always wear sandals (its still 90 down here). Well, at least my toe isn't broken...

H has had a fever for the past couple of days. Must be what J had last week. He had no appetite though, and she's been eating so well lately. Her two bottom teeth are loose. She is reading really well and doing great in school. Here's what she read today: "In the Box. The candy is in it. The lighthouse is in it. Here is the box." The words box, candy and lighthouse had a picture of it with the word underneath it, so she read the picture. I am so proud of how well she is doing! It is such a joy teaching her!

G has had a runny nose too. When I am trying to do school he's been real clingy, but otherwise he's fine. He says so many words now! Dog, dada, mama, night, bear, no, stop, car. He seems to copy everything we say. I forget he's only 13.5 months because he acts so much older. I need to get his hair cut. I have been putting if off for so long because he's my baby and I can't imagine getting it cut!

J sometimes sits and listens to the school lessons. Sometimes he likes to write while we write. The only letter he really knows how to write is H (for H, his sister). But he has fun listening to the stories and songs we do. He was SO easy to potty train and is doing great with that! It already feels like eons ago that he wore diapers. He seems like such a big boy. He copies EVERYTHING his sister says and does...That gets annoying.

Other than that life has been pretty quiet. There's not much to do around here so we haven't been up to much. Finally our friends are starting to return to the area. Last week we went to Mobile, Alabama (it's only like 45 min. Away) and shopped there and ate at the Olive Garden. Other than that...Life is a bit like normal.

Mad Libs

Anyone ever play Mad Libs as a kid? Well, you can do it online... Here are the ones that I did. I loved Mad Libs as a kid.

Copernicus
Four hundred years ago people knew little about our sweet universe. They thought that the earth was the center of the entire fish and that the sun and all of the windows revolved around it. But then a/a Polish named Copernicus discovered the truth. The earth revolves around the apple 62 times a year.
Copernicus, whose last name was Johnson, was born in Warsaw, and he used one of the first hot telescopes, which was invented by Gabe. This primitive telescope was little more than two pieces of pickle stuck on each end of a/an dentist. In 1600 an Italian garbage man named Galileo expanded Copernicus's green theories, but during the Inquisition in Italy he was happily arrested. After peeing for six months in jail, Galileo was forced to eat.

And another one:

Father Goose Rhymes

Old Mother Hubbard went to the tooth

To get her stinky spider a bone.

When she got there, the elephant was lazy

And so her beautiful dog had none.

Jack and Jill went up the book to fetch a/an can of water.

Jack fell down and broke his bowl,

And Jill came tumbling after.

There was a little girl and she had a little curl

Right in the middle of her nose.

And when she was shiny, she was very, very fun,

And when she was bad, she was freaky.

There was a greasy woman who grieved in a shoe.

She had so many flowers

She didn't know what to do.

The last one:

Amusement Parks
An amusement park is always fun to visit on a hot summer bike. When you get there, you can rent a candle and go for a swim. And there are lots of glorious things to eat. You can start off with a hot dog on a/an desk with mustard, relish, and brooms on it. Then you can have a buttered ear of box with a nice fat slice of watermelon and a big bottle of cold lemonade. When you are full, it's time to go on the roller coaster, which should settle your underwear. Other amusement park rides are the Dodge-Em which has little shoes, that you drive and run into other cookies, and the Merry-Go-Round where you can sit on a big wagon and try to grab the gold rake as you ride past.

http://www.penguinputnam.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/madlibs/fun.html.

You can play too! Have fun!