Getting To Know Your Friends - Christmas Edition

Ok, ok, it is my turn...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real, although tempted by the fakes.

3. When do you put up the tree? It depends. Give or take a couple weeks after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? January 1st.

5. Do you like eggnog? Never tried it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? hmmmm, can't think of one.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, one porceline one that will stay in a box for a few years, and one Little People one that is on its way thanks to my Mother-In-Law.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad

9. Easiest person to buy for? Hubby, he gives me a very detailed list. 2nd, Princess.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Underware that was intended for my brother, my Mom has a habit of not putting names on things and assuming that she knows which one is which.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Rudolph

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Day after Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pie

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Both

17. Favorite Christmas song? Away in a Manger

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? nope

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Teddy Bear Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve with the In-Laws, Christmas morning with the fam.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? So this is going to sound awful, and I do give money to charities I know during the holidays, but the solicitation calls from Unknown numbers in the name of the holidays. Oh and the THOUSANDS of return address labels I get in the mail.

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? I like Erin's idea, $35,000. But other than that I wanted a cross necklace, and a PDA, and I got them. Oh and I need some bras for my post-second baby floppy boobs.

24. Favorite ornament theme or color? Ummmm, let's see, a little less than the Santa throwing up Christmas all over my tree theme.

25. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey, but I am starting to like this whole Prime Rib theme I see going on!

Join in the fun!!! Copy and post it on your blog too...

December Catch Up

Ok Ladies,
It has been awhile, and there is so much to tell! I am not feeling very creative so a list is in tow. Here is what has been happening in Hosmeritaville;

1. Went Christmas shopping with 2 different shoes on!
2. Got in BIG trouble when hubby read this blog.
3. Big apologies made on my part...
4. The kiddos are BOTH sick and on meds.
5. Got together with MOPS Steering Team the other night, I miss them all. I wonder if they will let me back in their club.
6. Opened 2 Christmas gifts from hubby already, in exchange for him getting to play with his Playstation 3. So I am now super organized with one of these, and loving it. And I now have a very pretty cross necklace that I have always wanted.
7. Oh yeah, and the main reason I got to open 2 gifts early is because... wait for it... a little longer...

I GOT STRAIGHT A'S FOR THE SECOND TERM IN A ROW!

Yay!

Ok,
I will try to be more creative next time.

Take Care,
Hosmerita

Elfin' Around

Ok,
Seriously my favorite thing about this is that my husband and son have boobs and my daughter and I do not!

Check out these moves!

Hey, I just made a total elf of myself. Check it out by clicking the link below.
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1120586613
This elfin' greeting brought to you by OfficeMax®.

What a way to send of NaBloMo whatever!

Fatty Friday - Philly Chocolate Cheescake

20 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, crushed (about 2 cups)
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
4 eggs
6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted, cooled


PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Mix cookie crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 min.


BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Remove 1 cup of the batter; set aside. Stir melted chocolate into remaining batter in large bowl; pour over crust. Top with spoonfuls of the remaining 1 cup plain batter; cut through batters with knife several times for swirled effect.


BAKE 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve. Store in refrigerator.

Not so thoughtful Thursday

I forgot this one last week, I must hav e posted something else...

"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life."

-- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign .



Genius!

Not so thoughtful Thursday

"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president."

-- Hillary Clinton commenting on the release of subpoenaed documents.



Scary...

Almost done

I bet you were thinking I was talking about this National Blog Posting thingie, nope I am talking about school.

1 class finished, awaiting my grade. I think I got like 426/400... that's an A right?

Religion class: one final paper to write.

Music: One concert to attend and write about, 1 final on Monday.

I am in the home stretch, and I am sooooooo looking forward to a much needed break. I might even go visit my favorite old folks at the gym during my break... maybe... although, if I am going to be as perfectly fit as Rachel with her cute shoes I better get in there!

Thank you

Thank you Becca and Stefanie for a great Blog night. It was so nice to put faces to the blogs!

Cookies and Homework - UPDATED

I have six more questions to go and I am done with one of the three classes I am taking this term! WoooHooo!
I am going to take a much needed break to go bake these cookies for our Blogger Party tomorrow.
I can't wait!!!

Ok Ladies, THESE cookie are starting to make me crazy! They aren't solidifying. 10 minutes is way to little time. Hopefully I will have some for you guys. I am trying!

What a day...

My mind is numb from two things, finals and smacking my head on the cupboard door this after noon. It was no normal smack it was one of those, have the medicine cupboard door open, drop something squat down to get it, come back up and hit the corner of the door and momentarily black out on the floor kind of smacks.
Not to mention, simultaneously Little Man proceeded to lean forward in his toddler rocker and fall face first on the floor while still in the darn thing.
He and I are both fine.
I thought the night was finally winding down, princess was in the tub, things are good. I am at the mirror picking at my grey hairs, when I hear her say, "uhoh, poopoo!" Greeeaaat.
Now let me tell you that my sweet little daughter has the most sensitive gag reflex known to man. She starts to gag and I barely get her out of tub and out of the view of the floater just barely missing my time constraint before she pukes. (She actually HAS puked from the sight of poop, he little boyfriend Chandler (Christa's P's son) went potty in our bathroom one time, she saw it and proceeded to puke on the floor.)
So here I am tired, with a numb brain and a bad headache, but now I have to bleach a tub.
Needless to say I am soooo looking forward to Tuesday night!
Goodnight.

What Kind of Tree?

In a few weekends we will be getting our tree. Year after year Hubby and I go back and forth o what kind of tree to get. Any suggestions? I love the Nobles, but they are so spendy! Also, where do y'all go to get your trees? I would love to find a place that doesn't gouge the Christmas budget too much.
Our first tree here we found the perfect tree, cut it down and when we got up there to pay for it they asked for $60! I couldn't believe it. Where I grew up they were $25 up to 6 feet. Then last year we found a very reasonably priced place, but I swear it resembled a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
Anyways, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Fatty Friday - Mint Thins

1 pkg. (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate


1/4 tsp. peppermint extract


1 sleeve RITZ Crackers (36 crackers)


1 peppermint candy cane (6 inch), crushed








MICROWAVE chocolate in small microwaveable bowl as directed on package. Stir until completely melted. Blend in extract.


DIP crackers in melted chocolate, completely coating crackers with chocolate. Carefully scrape off excess chocolate. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheets; sprinkle with crushed candy.


REFRIGERATE 30 min. or until chocolate is firm.

Whew - Again!

Happy Thanksgiving All! I am stuffed and looking forward to leftovers!

Not so perfect Husband...

So in order to not scream and yell at dear hubby, you all can hear about his oh so fantastic actions yesterday. I will start this with saying that on average he is fantastic, but yesterday... all bets are off on the fantasticness. I will give him a chance to redeam himself, and I am sure he will.

Let me give you a little synopsis for his day yesterday.
He went to work. Did some paperwork, finished some reports, talked to a few important people on the phone. After lunch he spent the remainder of the day at the shooting range. Tough day I am sure.

Here was my day.
Princess woke up to hubby leaving in the morning. She proceeded to cry because he was gone. I apparently looked like a climbing toy or at least a mother monkey because she wouldn't let go of me all day. Little man needed to take a nap but princess disagreed. So when I went to the bathroom the good idea fairy jumped on her shoulder and told her to go in and scare her brother half to death by waking him up. Lunch time came around and none of the 5 things she asked for would do. She discovered she knew where the juice boxes were and how to open them herself. She decided that she didn't need to take a nap and once again her brother didn't need to either. So once again, she went in and woke him up while I was peeing.
She then proceeded to get another juice box out but this time it was oh so imperative that she wash the coffee table with juice.
I was kicked, pinched, slapped and pushed. She got time outs and I remained calm throughout the day.
Hubby called to say he was going to be late and wanted to BBQ for dinner. BBQ? It is November for goodness sakes! Whatever.
Coals were lit, princess was mad, and I had just about had my limit.
I was trying to remain calm through dinner where she refused to eat anything, and she decided that uncooked mac and cheese is what she so desperately needed. I don't think so.

Bed time came around and it was like something from the Exorcist. 45 minutes of sheer terror. It finally ended with two fits, one from princess and one from my 2 year old in a 27 year old body (hubby), not helping the situation. After finally setting her in the shower and turning it on, she snaps out of it and apologises to Daddy.
What? Daddy gets the apology? What?!?!

So after she finally goes to bed he is sitting on the couch upset that it went one for the 2 hours he had been home. (Seriously?)

But here comes the icing on the cake, and I am actually quite proud of myself for biting my tongue and not completely losing it like I wanted to.

"You know honey that really isn't very pleasant to come home to. I was having a great day until I got home. I would really like it if the kids would be happy when I got here."

I didn't know whether to laugh or throw the recliner at him... I still don't think he knows just what he did to me with that. I will tell him when I am done wanting to shake him. So today, when he gets home, I am going to be showered, dressed, with make up on and a smile.

Not for his sake, but because I am going to leave the second he walks through the door, and go get my nails done...

P.S. Did I mention Princess was up until 1:30am? Yeah and by 11:30pm he was frustrated so he went out and slept in the man room.

I suppose people can't be perfect all the time but this one was a doozey! Needless to say I needed to read Alida's post yesterday. It calmed me down to the point where I didn't scream.
I love him to death but seriously....?
This is why God made mothers, because without us the world would be a scary place.

A Little Cup of Heaven

Money has been tight, and I have been restrained from drinking anything but a Hosmocha from my Senseo coffee machine, but this morning there was one problem...

NO MORE COFFEE PODS!!!

My next shipment comes in today, but the UPS man doesn't come until nap time (when he rings the doorbell and ends nap time!) so I needed some coffee. You know how you don't really appreciate something until you go without? Well hubby and I gave each other the go ahead for some guilt-free Dutch Bros.

Man I missed that place! It is a warm cup of chocolate goodness. I can now face the day. I fear that my princess is starting to get a pack a day cough.

Greeeeaaaaat....

Oh and I wanted to clarify a few things about yesterday's post:

1. $30 of the $34 went to the marriage licence.

2. That was only 3 years ago.

3. Yes I had braces.

4. No I was not 12.

5. And yes Valerie, I have aged, because I don't know that I have matured at all!

$34 Wedding

So I didn't post anything for our anniversary, it was in September, but I just found my wedding pics on my computer.

Here is a little background.

Got engaged on a Friday, found out we were pregnant the following Friday, got married the folowing Thursday, because hubby was leaving for 3 months. (He missed ALL of the morning sickness!)

So how do you throw together a wedding over the weekend?

You call friends and family, and your pastor, have them meet you at Bush Park at 9am, by flowers at Albertsons for $4, get married, try not to puke up your first communion as a married couple, live happily ever after.

Halloween Pics

I know, I know it has taken me forever to post these, but I couldn't remember where I put my camera!

Go Beavs!

WHEW!

I was laying in bed and realized I almost forgot to post!
So here is to the lamest post of the month, hopefully! Goodnight.

Fatty Friday - Marbled Chocolate Treats

8-1/2 HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, broken in half (17 squares)

6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3 squares BAKER'S Premium White Baking Chocolate

LINE 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Arrange grahams on bottom of pan, cutting as needed to completely cover bottom of pan; set aside.

MICROWAVE semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted when stirred, stirring every 30 sec. Stir until well blended. Pour over grahams; spread with spatula to cover completely.

REPEAT microwave melting steps with the white chocolate. Drop spoonfuls of the white chocolate over chocolate-covered grahams. Immediately cut through the chocolate mixtures with knife several times for tiger-stripe effect.

REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour or until firm. Use foil handles to remove dessert from pan. Peel off foil. Cut dessert into bars. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Not so thoughtful Thursday

So I received an e-mail from my sister that was a compiled list of stupid quotes from famous people. So from now unitl I run out of quotes, Thursday will be a laugh for you!




"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff." --Mariah Carey

And there you have it folks!

Cute Little Story Time

WET PANTS
Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.' He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap. The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie. She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!' Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.. Remember......Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another. The Prayer: Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their com ings. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Blog Party Homework

I took a break from my midterm essay on Buddhism to do some fun homework!

What is your motto?
Do what works best for you.

What superhuman power would you most like to have?
At first I thought I would want to be able to read people's minds, but then the movie What Women Want came to mind, and I decided against that. I want to be able to fly.

What makes you laugh?
My kids, everyday.

Cats or dogs?
DOGS, no litter boxes!

Would you rather be a little smarter or a little sexier?
Sexier. Come on, what woman wouldn't want to be a little sexier. I am already paying and working on the smarter thing.

What is the one thing you'll never understand?
MEN

My life would be simpler if?
I had a robot.

The big decision I'm currently wrestling with?
Hmmm, if I want to change Primary care doctors, yeah I know I'm lame.

The Name Bandwagon

Just because I couldn't come up with my own idea for today, here are mine and Richard's name game results; Mine is Pink, Richard's in Blue.

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Snowball Explorer / Boots Royal

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Vanilla Snickerdoodle / Rocky Road Peanut Butter

3.YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) K-Hos / R-Hos

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Pink Dog / Blue Dog

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Hoski / Hosri

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The") The Purple Mocha / The Green Coke

7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Charles Frank / Dick Dick

8. STRIPPER NAME : ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Halo Red Rope / Hugo Snickers

9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Ann David / Gary Jean

My favorite is Richard's Nascar name.

A Blessing

I have wonderful news.

My friend Julie is now 100% cancer free, and she got her chemo ports removed on Friday. Here is to a wonderful lady who I love so much.

Thank you Lord for curing my friend. Thank you friends for you prayers.

Bloggers Unite!

Since I know you all have been checking my blog to make sure I am doing better I thought I would take advantage of that and advertise for the blogger's coffee party coming up.


You can find details on A May Flower's Musings blog, as well as Glory Laine's blog. I hope to see all of you there!

Fatty Friday - Best darn Chocolate Cookies In the World!

I will be bringing these to the Blog Coffee Get Together, Yummy Yummy!

So this recipe came form my old college roommate's mom. Kristen and I would make these and eat the whole batch in one night, and not gain a pound. Oh to be 19 again! I might as well lick them and them immediately tape them to my thighs just to speed up the process!



4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil

4 oz. baking chocolate melted

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt





Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Melt chocolate and oil.

Add to all wet ingredients.

Add dry ingredients.

Chill dough until hard.

Form into small balls, and roll in powdered sugar.

Bake 9 - 10 minutes



Yeah, these are yummy. That is all I have to say.

Thursday Movie Review

So I realize that Movie Review has no T's in it, but hey oh well.
Lately I have been getting these great promo codes from Redbox, for a free night of rentals. I signed up online and presto a free night! The rental boxes are at McDonalds and it is $1 a night per rental, and you return them by 9pm the next day. Much better than blockbuster!

Anyways, last night we rented Spiderman 3. I would have to tell you all to skip it, unless you are a diehard Spiderman fan. It got really cheesy, and the parts where it should have elaborated we rushed through. Thankfully, it didn't leave room for a Spiderman 4, I think these movies have ran their course!

Yeah, Umm No thanks...

So after a night filled with dry heaves over the toilet, not being able to fall asleep because I couldn't get the thought formed to tell myself to sleep, and feeling like I was drugged all day, I am going to stop the medication.

I am all for it for all of you that are on it. I must need to find one that works better for me. I think I am going to try to ease my load, walk outside more, get more sleep, and going to the gym first. If that doesn't work I might give meds another try.

Today was awful. It is 9:30pm and the meds have finally worn off enough to do my homework and for me to be a normal person.

Take Care!

An update

Hi all,
Wow, and thank you is all I can say. I called my primary care doctor for a referral, and due to the fact that our lovely military insurance takes 2 weeks for a referral, he insisted on seeing me today. Him and I both decided that I should start an extremely low dose of anti depressant, so we will see how it goes. I start my first dose tonight, but wont see any real difference for a few weeks. I took a nice hot bubble bath (thanks Priscilla) tonight and am getting ready for bed. '

Thank you ladies for accepting my challenge to reach out, not just to me, but to many other people out there. It is important for us to reach out as well. If everyone is waiting for someone to make the first move we will all just be waiting!

So here is to God, my loving and adoring husband, good friends, hot baths, and medication!

A Challenge For All of You

Thank you friends for the kind words and phone calls. What would a girl do without you all. God put it on my heart to air out my dirty laundry and now I know why. Ladies, we are a group that has needs that aren't being met when it comes to friendship.

I think there is something that needs to be discussed. We have people in our group that do not feel included in our group. Do we have a group? Is it ok to just leave comments on each others blogs and leave it at that? What about when we see them in person?

At the moment my kids are sick, so I can't invite people over or even go to MOPS tomorrow. But I have a job for all of you, we were all armed with the knowledge needed to set a nice place setting at the last meeting, now lets put it to use.

I know that many of you get together with ladies from church as friends, you have their families over for dinner, you get together for lunch, your kids play. I have a challenge for every one of you. I want you all to invite someone that you have never invited over before to hang out, to have dinner, to go shopping, to have a play date.

It is all to easy to fall into patterns of people that you hang out with, I am guilty of it. WE need to open our arms to new people. I have spoken with a few people that called me to support me only to find out that they are just in need of friends and support as I am if not more. Do we really want to lose some fantastic MOPS ladies just because we aren't welcoming on a personal basis?
We are not perfect, there is not a perfect mother out there. We all sin, if there weren't any sinners in the world there wouldn't have been a need for Jesus.

So I know that schedules get busy, things come up, but the next time you are heading to the mall grab the MOPS phone list and make a call. If they say they can't, try again another time.

I know I am on a tangent, and maybe it doesn't make sense, but there is no reason for someone who makes the effort to come to our group not to feel like they belong. Let's be more welcoming. Let's talk about our faults more. We should talk about how our marriages aren't perfect, that our children make us crazy sometimes, that on any other day than Tuesday morning you can find us in sweats and a t-shirt, and that we have no idea where our 2 year old ran off to with our make-up.

If anything I would want our MOPS group to be known as that group of regular old moms. We need to be approachable, including myself.

So there is my tangent and my challenge. I hope you all have a great meeting, I will be here with green boogs, and fevers.

Postpartum Depression

Dear Friends,
Since I seem to be putting it all there lately, I need some help.
I am a self-diagnoser. The Internet does not help this, but in this case, I think it may be a blessing.
Last night I came to the realization that I am suffering from postpartum depression. I have not been happy for awhile now. It takes a lot to get out of bed, in fact if I didn't have kids I probably wouldn't. I am constantly on my husband's and daughter's case. I have no motivation to do anything. I have been blaming myself for my son's cold by thinking that it is my fault because I stopped breast feeding. I am overwhelmed and can hardly focus during the day. Yesterday I was sitting on the couch and just started sobbing. It happened to me in church a few weeks back too, Becca was witness to that.
Anyways, the second I said it out loud to my husband I felt better. It was like a large hurdle. I know I need help from a professional, I just don't know how to pick one, who to go to etc.
My family is suffering along side of me, I need to get help.
Have any of you been there? I know sometimes it is hard to admit, and you don't have to comment, but please give me a call or an e-mail. Be prepared for tears, that seems to be all I do lately.
Please pray.
I love you all,
Kim

I am not a perfect Mother

I found it very interesting that my sister and I started off the morning yesterday with a conversation about how neither of us are perfect mothers. Then it got more interesting, I went to Leslie's blog and found this post.

I think too often us mothers don't admit our faults. We are not perfect. This conversation with my sister made me think of a Desperate Housewives episode, (now don't tune out now, there is some validity in this one particular episode) One of the mothers Lynette decides that in order to handle her I believe four kids and get everything done that she needs to she takes her child's ADD medicine. This leads to a huge breakdown where she finds herself sitting in the middle of a soccer field all used up. Her friends find her there and it isn't until then that they all start to admit their parenting mistakes.

It is all to easy to keep our mistakes to ourselves, but what affect does that have on our fellow moms who are friends? If we think you are perfect then we will judge ourselves for not being as perfect as we think the rest of you are.

So here is to admitting our regrets. I am going to name a few of mine, it is up to you if you want to comment with a few of yours.



I have spanked my daughter once, and felt so bad that I cried with her. Only later to call a friend and hear that she has done the same.



I have not noticed a poopy diaper and it caused diaper rash.



I have started my son on formula because I can't handle the pressure of keeping my milk supply up.



I have forgotten to make dinner only to send my daughter to sleep on a meal of cheese, milk and goldfish.



I have gotten in the car in the garage, put my 2 year old in her seat, get ready to pull out when I remember that my infant is happily strapped into his infant carrier sitting in the middle if the kitchen.



I have yelled.



Given, none of these are serious mistakes, but they are there. I am not perfect. I do the best with what I have to work with. I love my children, and I know they know they are loved.



90% of the time I do a great job.

Fatty Friday

So I am not one to be original whatsoever. So, I too am trying to make up themes so that I can get through this month. Fridays will be fatty Fridays, in which I bestow you all with yummy fatty recipes for sweets! Yay! And it just so happens that Friday falls on the cusp of the weekend where I use my extra Weight Watchers points (like I am really counting, you all know me...)

So this Friday's Recipe is:



Gramby's Pecan Pie



1 premade pie crust

1 cup pecans

1cup sugar

1 cup Karo syrup (the light colored stuff)

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

place pie crust in pie pan

pour pecans in crust

mix eggs, Karo, vanilla and sugar well

Pour mixture over pecans

Bake for about an hour



And that is it.



To make it a super fatty recipe, add 1 cup of chocolate chips (that is if you haven't eaten them all like I have!)



TO DIE FOR!!!!!

Kick Off

Hello Blogger Family!

I am officially kicking off my National Blogger Month. I really have nothing exciting to share today, but I will have to dig deep every day this month for some good stuff! Why not start it up with my favorite cuties!!!!!

I Love, Love, Love them!!!!

Mamma's Boy

I just had to share this. He is so sweet I want to gobble him up!

Moses Needs a New Home

Hello All,

I am in desperate need for a wonderful new home for Moses the Wonder Cat. I have VERY bad asthma and can no longer deal with the allergies. Tonight we had to take our dog to the vet because him and Moses we playing and Moses' back claw scratched Gizmo's eye.He is a wonderful cat and I love him so much and I am sobbing as I write this, but I have truly hit a wall. He deserves to be in a wonderful home and I need your help.

He is so sweet and is so personable. He thinks he is a dog and loves his tummy scratched. He will want to snuggle.

Here are the facts of Moses:

He was hit by a car when he was 4 weeks old, so he has an amputated tail and a pin in his hip. (Neither of these hinder him whatsoever)

He has his tendons cut so he can't scratch up furniture, however this means that he can NEVER go outside.

He loves the window so access is a must.

But most of all he just wants to be loved. We would prefer if he went to a home without kids (Princess has put him through enough.) but if they are older and know not to sit on him or be mean to him(unlike Princess) then that is fine. We would also prefer a home without other animals, or at least ones who are open for a new friend.

With the fiding of a new home I will privide the following:

Litter Box

Littermate (Diaper Genie for cat poo)

20lb bag of food unopened

40lb box of litter unopened (maybe unopened, depends on how long it takes to find him a home)

Food and Water Dishes

If you can't take him in please pray that we will find him a new loving home. This is really heavy on my heart because he is a member of our family, and we love him, but want the best for him.

Thank You...

Clothe Yourselves With Love

This was written by my religion professor. I am so impressed that a professor in a public university would write this and post it publicly. I guess it helps that it is a religion class, but it gives me hope for our education system.

Clothe Yourselves With Love by Karyn Chambers
While driving home from Lebanon tonight after a particularly long teaching day, I pondered thoughts of clothing and our choices of what to wear. Actually, I thought about it earlier today as well driving "to" class--driving can sometimes be time for a meditation or a time of reflecting for me.

We Americans can get caught up with the fashion trends. I remember as a young person feeling especially upset because I wanted to fit in at school. I wanted more than anything to fit in though; I wanted more than that to be liked and have lots of friends. Well, the most popular girls wore the latest fashions, and it seemed to me, in my childish mind, that perhaps that was the key to everything. If one could wear the right clothes and be cute, the world would be open. Of course, my parents were struggling with money, so our clothes were often purchased at the Goodwill store--talk about a source of shame and embarrassment. What child, in our materialist society, wants the other kids to know his or her clothes came from a secondhand store?

So, what I was pondering today is a couple of things: Those who take monastic vows and the hippie movement. Is there any correlation? Yes, actually I believe there is. In all the world's monastic traditions, those who take vows of poverty give up all pride, material possessions, and vanity. The women shave their heads and wear no jewelry (except a crucifix) or make-up ever. The men also shave their heads. It is called tonsure: the bald center portion of the heads. Do you know why? (This is cool.) Because prisoners or slaves of Rome wore the same haircut--thus slaves of Christ. The Buddhist monks wear saffron robes--the color of prisoners. The Christian monks wore burlap--the clothing of the poorest in society to show humility and remain true to their vow of poverty and also to identify with those going through hard times.

What is the message or the symbolism of their clothing? We are all poor in Christ. We are slaves of sin and vice. It is an outward recognition of such, and thus what their vows are all about--becoming true seekers of God and renunciation of material or worldly pursuits in exchange for the spiritual path--the inward journey--not an easy path--the narrow one that's as sharp as the razor's edge, as the Upanishads state.

So why the hippie movement? Well, I was remembering how those caught up in the love and peace movement of the 60's and 70's also renounced materialism and wore clothes with holes or different from the general public to make a statement that spiritual things are of the highest most valuable acquisition, more important than materialism and being part of the crowd--the herd sucked in to believe that what we wear, where we live, or what we drive is the path to happiness and love..A similar message. Hippies were also ridiculed, scorned, and looked down upon as many of the saints, apostles, and other religious seekers...
I guess I was realizing a shift in myself and recognizing what matters most--not our outer clothes but our inner spirit, for that is what reveals who we truly are and what's in our hearts. That's not to say that there's not a time and place for presenting ourselves in the best way possible. I'm just trying to say when it becomes our focus and obsession, then perhaps we need to free ourselves from this distraction.

Amen, Lord, Jesus, let us clothe ourselves with humility, loving-kindness, and peace, for these are the most beautiful clothes of all. Also, let us not judge others by what they wear but see passed the outer appearances of others and into the heart. Thank you for this gift of insight today...Amen, Lord, come and fill my heart with your sweet gifts.

Written by Karyn Chambers

What a fantastic post this is, I just had to share with my blogger friends!

Tag you're it!

Ok, here are my 8 random Hosmeritaisms.

1. I was the captain of the cheer leading squad.
2. I have a few Musicals under my belt including my fave, Grease.
3. I eat the chocolate chips before they make it in the cookies.
4. I got purposed to in St. Maarten when I was 19 years old, by a man who called himself Loverboy Roy. Here is the proposal:
Loverboy: "Hey Baby, Are you American?"
Me (trying to run): "Yes"
Loverboy: "I'm looking for a wife."
Me (thinking to myself "greeeaaat"): "Oh yeah?"
Loverboy: "You'd be alright, you wanna marry me?"
Me (trying not to laugh outloud, but almost peeing myself): "No thanks."
Loverboy: "Ok"
He then proceeded to turn to my friend and start the same conversation.
5. I am supposed to wear glasses for an astigmatism, but they make my head hurt.
6. I am a 3/4 time student.
7. Hubby was my manager at a bar , that we both bar tended at.
8. I like walking in the rain. (I got used to it in college, walking 8 blocks to campus.)

Well that's all I can think of today! Off to do homework.
Tag, your turn...

My 6 month old the clean freak...

Ok, here is my little man. Is he laughing because the can really is all that funny? Or is he really laughing out of disbelief that I am actually cleaning? I think I should send this into AFV.

For Meghan... And anyone else feeling bad about their preggers bellies...

Ok Ladies,

Here it is. My roadmap of a belly. By the time I delivered my belly button had gone back in and was now the size of a Silver Dollar.

Now, feel better.

Laugh with me, not at me...

So the baby shower I threw the other day was my debut as an officer's wife. Let me tell you I pulled it off in true Hosmerita fashion.

The Good:

A nicely cleaned house

Fantastic cake made by my friend Christa

Yummy Costco Veggies and Fruit

Cute Plates

Only two games, and yummy smelling candles for prizes.

The Bad:

I forgot to serve beverages, they were nicely prepared in the fridge, lemonade, peach ice tea, sparkling mineral water. But no, everyone went thirsty. I didn't discover the lack of drinks until after everyone left.

The Ugly:

The three year old that split his head open on my coffee table.

Yep, that is it in a nut shell!

P.S. Did you know that Hydrogen Peroxide gets blood out of carpet pronto!

A Better Day...

A better day consists of the following...
Taking the advice of a friend and going to church just to be still.
Leftover cake from the baby shower. (there goes the diet!)
Lunch with family.
A Costco trip with help.
Buying myself a NICE new knife set that wont break in my hand while I am cooking.
A Large Dutch Bros. Almond Mocha w/whip (yup, diet is history, oh and this explains why I am writing this at 12:42am)
A nap thanks to Mom.
Knowing that Monday is the beginning of all the season premiers.
Only 18 days left to survive.
Ava sleeping through the night last night.
Time to breathe.
Knowing that I have friends out there who are super fab!

Not so great day...
I have a cold.

Oh well not too bad.

P.S. Valerie, it is officially Monday, why aren't you up to post the results...

Dear Kari,

Thanks for the rope. I needed it.
~Kim

Mommy needs some more rope.

I am at the end of my rope and I need some more. Can I borrow any of yours? I don't know when I will be able to get it back to you, but I promise I will.
It has been one of those weeks. Princesshas decided that while Daddy is gone she doesn't need to sleep, it is ok to throw applesauce at Mommy, and that the only way to get her way is to scream. Timeouts aren't working this morning. I just want to crawl into bed and go to sleep.
For whatever reason I agreed to host a baby shower at my house tomorrow and Princess is making it impossible to clean.
Coffee doesn't work.
I have had it. I want to have Hubby here to pass the torch to, but I can't. He didn't call on his lunch break, I really could have used that.
I need you all to pray for me.
Princess has to nap today, she just has to. Although if the past few weeks are any sign of how today will be, she will either decide not to take one or Little Man will wake up from his nap just after she goes to sleep.
I need to clean. I need to shop. I need a break. I need some space. I need a shower. I NEED TO BREATHE...

Happy Promotion and Anniversary

Well my hubby got his promotion, yay! Except for the fact that we wont see the much needed pay increase for like umm a year and the fact that there is a VERY large chance that he might get lost in the paperwork shuffle and we might not get payed at all for a month, we are excited. God provides, and we will wait patiently and appreciate his gift.


So after this promotion and my straight A's, did I mention that, oh yeah I did. (I only bring it up because I have NEVER ever done that before other than elementary school, and I did it with two munchkins running around)

Anyways...

Hubby asked me what I wanted as a gift to celebrate, I chose a massage and a shirt to wear to the promotion.



When I asked him what he wanted he said this (Ladies, he wanted me to have all of you call your husbands over to the computer to ooooh and awwww at his present, apparently the men are the only ones who can truly appreciate this gift)



My word, yes ladies it is legal, and yes it is real. No ladies, I don't know what he would ever need it for. Yes ladies, I bought it for him. No men, you can't have one too.

Soooo all I have to say is I feel a lot safer having this picture on my blog. Hmmm, yeah I will stick with that for now.

Becca, your NKOB and TIVO are safe (He really wanted Matt to see this pic, he thought he would see the value in it). Val, call me if the Repo man comes back. Solicitors, don't bother even knocking. He told me he would teach me to shoot it, I said umm yeah no thanks, I like my eardrums just fine.

So honey, here is your post. We love you and congrats. Thanks for loving me as much as worldly possible in these last three years, and thanks for even loving my wobbly parts.

Here is to a lifetime of fun memories and wacky gifts.

Sir Tim, the not so stuffy Professor

So I am done with my history class. I finished the final and got this response;

I enjoyed your final ~ Tim :)

Apparently I put enough exhaustive work into the class, because I got an A! Yaya! I am a 4.0 student, at least for this last term. 3 classes, all A's I am oh so happy. So now I have a two week break and I am back to three classes again.

I just needed to pat myself on the back.
Thanks for humoring me!

Sir Tim the Royal History Professor

Hello All,
I just had to share my e-mail form my oh so "intelligent" History Professor. Here is a little background. This class is History 201, kind of a basic American history class. There are 2 papers and a bunch of quizzes. When I started the class I knew I was in for an interesting ride. Usually a professor's syllabus is about a page or two. This man's is 7. He likes to hear himself write. (if that is possible)
So I wrote my midterm paper and got a 70%. So I did a rewrite, I added a little mush. When I was taught to write an essay I was taught that you state the facts and support them with quotes. Well apparently this is not how Sir Tim does things. He wants mush, he wants you to "exhaust" yourself in the book. My word! Oh well. So I rewrote it and turned it in.
He wrote back that I needed to highlight in yellow the things I added because he needed to be able to tell how I improved my paper. Are you kidding me! Can't you just read it and give it a grade!
So I followed his fierce rules and turned it in for the third time. Here is the response he sent;




Kimberly,
Thank you for doing the rewrite as requested. Your work still needs greater depth of thought as well as a greater evidence of exhaustive study. You have revealed a few more hours worth of additional study; this is still quite typical yet you have improved to an extent so I am inclined to give you a 83%
Tim

Ok, class now lets all say "STUFFY".

Yummy Yummy

So I am not the gourmet kind of cook, but give me a recipe and I can take a shot at it. Last night it was the mother of two, full time student trying to make dinner for the family bulls eye. This was my kind of recipe. It was rather tasty I must say! I loved that it wasn't fried and super fast and easy to make. So I thought I would share it.

Oven-Baked Chicken Parm Ragu Style
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 egg beaten
1 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 jar Ragu
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Makes 4 servings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Dip Chicken in egg, then bread crumbs coating well (kind of a gross step but super fast, I lined all the pans up touching each other so there was no spillover)

In a 13x9-inch glass baking dish, arrange chicken.

Bake UNCOVERED 20 minutes

Pour Ragu over chicken, then top with cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes (I did 15) or until chicken is no longer pink in the center (come on moms use your x-ray vision hence the 15 minutes)

Super fast took me 10 minutes if that to prep. And Richard thought I was some fab chef. Try it then let me know if you like it.

Awww My Lovies

Just a few of my most recent favorites.

ABC's of Me

Alphabet survey
1. A is for age: 24

2. B is for beer of choice: Hmmmm, ya no thanks.

3. C is for what you can't wait for right now: Summer term classes start on Monday! I am excited to feel like something more than a housewife.

4. D is for your dog's name: Gizmo the 13 pound Chihuahua

5. E is for essential item you use everyday: First off the top of my head, the coffee pot. Then next I second Angie - Deodorant

6. F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Grey's Anatomy (Night-smut) I do miss it terribly, oh September where are you?

7. G is for favorite game: The Game of Life, I will force you to play it over and over, second BINGO

8. H is for Home town: Hillsboro, Oregon

9. I is for instruments you play: My voice and Ava's Leapfrog drum.

10. J is for favorite juice: Guava

11. K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: I think that Valerie said it just fine..."My own. But my big thighs get in the way. One day, I will again be able to kick my own butt. Moving on..."

12. L is for last food you ate: Animal Cracker

13. M is for marriage: 3 years September 9th

14. N is for your name: Hosmerita

15. O is for overnight hospital stays: 1982 when I was born, 2005 when Ava was born, 2007 when Richie was born

16. P is for people you can't live without: My family and friends

17. Q is for quote: Set your goals sky high, cause if you miss you will still be amongst the stars.

18. R is for Biggest Regret: Not finishing college when it was payed for!!!!!.

19. S is for status: Military/housewife?????

20. T is for time you woke up today: 5:45am, yes that is right 5:45am, OUCH!!!

21. U is for underwear you have on now: Blue microfiber, cozy cozy

22. V is for vegetable you love: Carrots

23. W is for worst habit: Biting my nails, and aimlessly searching Amazon.com.

24. X is for x-rays you've had: collar bone, head, wrist, ankle, elbow

25. Y is for yummy food you ate today: The bowl of Rocky Road I am about to scoop up for myself.

26. Z is for the zodiac sign: Leo

Hmm that was fun, thanks Valerie.
P.S. Valerie, you are a hoot. Will you be my friend?

My path with God

I just got done reading Molly's post and was inspired to share my faith story. Growing up I have always had God in my life.
After attending Class 100 I realised that I had God in the back seat instead of the driver's seat. (thanks Pastor Ben for that perspective) I knew he existed, I prayed when I got a chance, usually praying for the wrong reasons. To be honest I didn't lead the most Christian life. I am sure He was disappointed with me, but I know he had a plan.
For four years I poured my heart and life into the wrong person. I ended up flunking out of college and losing a lot of my friends. The saying everything happens for a reason is an understatement though. If it had not been for my small obsession with this wrong person I would not have been sent into the path of my husband.
I too had a calling. God seems to speak to me in dreams, I think He figured out that that was the only place I would slow down enough to hear him. About a week before I found out I was pregnant with Ava I had a dream that God was handing out tickets for babies and I got one. Now picture this, I was 22 years old, madly in love with the man I knew I would marry some day absolutely not ready for a baby. I dismissed the dream, and went on with my life. But this dismissal was different, usually I dismiss a dream and never think about it again, but I couldn't forget it.
Now I know why. My dad came home from Texas for a two week vacation. Richard asked him permission to marry his daughter one Saturday. The next Friday we found out we were pregnant, the following Thursday we got married. When I found out I was pregnant I was at first ashamed. I thought my life was over, I thought I had ruined Hubby's life and I thought my father would disown me. I was wrong. after the initial shock Hubby got excited, my Dad forgave Hubby and I was now a wife and a mother to be.
I still had a lot of remorse that I had gotten the cart before the horse but my Pastor Mike at the time cured that. He told me to ask the Lord for forgiveness and then to put the shame out of my heart. I did this and then the Lord reminded me of my dream. I felt at ease. I was supposed to become a mother then. The circumstances were arranged how God wanted them. He arranged it so that my life of sin would be turned into a life lived for him.
Hubby and I decided that now that we were going to be parents we needed to attend church and become closer to God. Princess brought us closer to God. I started hearing him more and more. I still have a longing to be a minister, I just don't know how to go about it. I know in my heart that some day I will be preaching in front of a congregation. I don't know when, I will need a lot of guidance but I will be there.
Now here is the amazing miracle of this story. I mentioned that I lived a life of sin. Hubby and I were having sex before marriage and weren't using regular contraceptives. There is a pill called the morning after pill and it is an awful thing. I was young and didn't know the meaning of it or what it really did but let me tell you I know now and think that it should be banned.
What the morning after pill does is make the walls of your uterus so thin that an embryo can't attach to the lining. So pretty much you have already conceived the baby just doesn't have anywhere to attach to grow. This pill is 99% effective.
A year ago I found a piece of paper that knocked me to the floor. The week that I was told I conceived, I had a prescription filled for the morning after pill. I took the pills. Princess survived.
God wanted me to be a mother and made sure that I would be one. I cry every time I remind myself that. So when Princess is throwing a fit or I wonder what happened to my life. I too can look into my child's eyes and know that God has a plan for me and my family, and that he wont put us up against anything we can't handle.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Blogger's Block

Well,
It seems to be a common problem this week. I have blogger's block. To be completely honest I am downright dead tired. Princessyou know my newly independent, sleeps in a big girl bed, two year-old. Yeah her, she has been waking up at 5:30am the past few days and I have yet to recover. I have NEVER been an early riser. I am a true night owl. Well, that all has to change now. I must enter the realm of normalcy and become a morning person. Dutch Brothers be on the lookout, you have a new morning regular (or at least when I find $2.50 in spare change laying around.)
To give an update, hubby's medical waiver was approved, Yay! His interview is on Wednesday, and we will know by Thursday if he gets promoted or not. Keep us in you prayers. We will be happy either way.
Take Care all!
Hopefully my creative juices will start flowing again shortly.

A Big Girl Now

It started off as one of those days. Princess woke up in her occasional funk. Nothing was right. She wanted milk, no she wanted juice. She didn't want a waffle, she didn't want eggs. Nothing would do. We attempted to go to church, when we arrived at the childcare room there was no Dick or Jane to be found. Babbette was busy greeting, Princess was not having it. I have never seen her lose it like that! Needless to say we had to go home. By the time we got home it was nap time. Finally a break from the screaming. Little did I know that two and a half hours later my life would change drastically.
Like any other day Hubby went in to Princess' room to get her up from her nap. However this day was unlike any days that had come before. He walked in to quite the spectacle. With a smile from ear to ear, our tiny little 24 pound two-year old was balanced over the side of her crib. She wasn't stuck, she could get back into her crib and do it again. The decision was made then and there, it was time for a big girl bed.
Gone are the days of knowing that I could just stick her in her crib when she was tired. She is now a big girl, free to get in and out of her bed as she pleases.
So far tonight she has fallen asleep without moving from the spot we laid her. We will see how it goes from here. I will keep you posted.

An Ode to The Slush Puppie

Dear Pina Colada Slushie Puppie,
Thank you for all that you represent. On Friday the average slush puppie took on a new meaning. It now stands for friendship, laughter, fellowship, and sunshine. It is amazing how one slightly used slushy puppie machine has the capabilities to bring out even the most secluded of people. (me) It was so nice to be around adults as well as toddlers, and the service was more than anyone could ask for. Thank you to the Andersons who brought the slushie puppie back into my life. The event brought back many fond memories of throwing fits in K-Mart until I got one of my own. (Hmmmm... so that is where Ava gets it!) It was so nice to see all of you thanks for the fun!

My Ears Are Open

Have you ever been trying to tell someone something that you know will help them in the long run but they just don't listen? Imagine how God feels. I picture Him yelling down to us trying to get our attention but we just don't listen sometimes.
I have come to the conclusion that while I am a great listener in the physical world, I have been a terrible listener in my spiritual world. Let me tell you though God has gotten through.
My ears are open Lord!
It all started with that dream I had about going up against the devil. I think that was the clincher that got my attention.
Recently we have been waiting to see if my hubby will be getting a promotion. This promotion is a well deserved, long time coming opportunity for us. The thing is that it all depends on a waiver because hubby has Scoliosis. In planning for this promotion we have been talking about moving into a bigger house, paying off debt with this money and that, etc. We have been going a million miles an hour for the past few months planning on a future that is not yet secured.
I am jumping around but bear with me.
A few months back we made a commitment to tithe 10% of our income to the church. We would be giving in a lump sum with our tax return. However, in order to move into a bigger house we would have to manipulate the payments a bit. Hmmm, bad idea ya think!
Well I don't think that God was too happy with us taking the wheel away from him in our lives. It does not look too good for the waiver to go through and hubby to get his promotion. Not to mention that I had a devastating dream about moving into a big house and having it blow up and all I had left was my dog.
Today hubby and I decided to live life in the now. We will not move regardless of getting the promotion or not. We will keep our commitment to the church, and for once in a long time we feel at peace with our decision. Our house is a bundle of unfinished projects and we have decided not to bail on it for something bigger and better, but to work on making what we have better. Hmmm, could that and my dream be a symbol or what!
We will find out within a week or so about the final decision for the promotion.
This is just one more step for us to lead our lives the way God intends, humbly.
Our ears and hearts are open Lord, please do what you wish and we will follow without question.

My Addiction

I have an addiction. Don't worry it isn't life threatening, just pathetic.
My Name is Hosmerita, and I am addicted to laundry.
It all began in December.
We got a new washer and dryer. We had to get one because our washer was dying and well our dryer smelled like cat pee .(see post, "Moses the Wonder Kitty")
Well my husband is all about the go big or go home attitude and they had a financing special so we got one of those front loading washers, and I love it.
I hated laundry before, I would let it pile and pile. In fact when I was in college I worked at Nordstrom in the lingerie department (grrrrr), so I had mass quantities of little underwears. Anyways, I went a whole summer without doing laundry once. Yes I had that many pairs of underwear! It's too bad they don't fit anymore (that was 12 sizes ago, oh the horror).
I am getting sidetracked. Anyways, I hated laundry until last December. Now I can't get enough of it. If I wouldn't have already been pregnant in December I might have considered getting pregnant just for the added laundry!
However, as many of you know every addiction has it's drawbacks. I was so fascinated with the fact that my new washer could spin so fast that the clothes were virtually dry that I didn't notice that my lovely washer was tearing tiny little holes in all my clothes. Oooops! Apparently there are different settings to the spin cycle and I was using the one for large blankets on my regular clothes. Oh well lesson learned.
The moral of this story? Well, let's see. Addictions come in all shapes and sizes. The sooner you admit to them, the sooner you can get help. Or Not.

Princess has a boo-boo

A two-year-old's point of view:

"A terrible thing happened this morning and Mommy, I think you need to know about it. I have a boo-boo. It is right here on my hand. I don't think I can make it through the day. When the wind hits it ever so slightly I feel as if I will die. I must hold it out delicately and heaven forbid you or the dog should touch it.
Mommy, kisses will not heal this. I have been wounded and can not go on. Just to make sure it is still there I must touch it ever few seconds. This hurts so I cry and run to you.
Mommy this is no time to feed the baby! I have a boo-boo. I am not sure when this life ending thing happened but I think I need fruit snacks to make it better. Perhaps it needs to be amputated. No I think I need my hand to play.
A Band-aid will not help it is too terrible. It is awful Mommy, see right here isn't it horrible. I lay here sad and hurting oh whatever can I do. I think I need some chocolate milk it is the only thing that will do.

Please turn on some Dora to distract me from the pain. Ok, Mommy I am feeling much better now, I think I can face the day."

A Good Friend: defined

Over the years I have been trying to figure out what a real friend is. I have had my share of bad friends and decent friends, but I have only had a handful of good friends.
This is what I have so far;
A good friend is one that takes time out of her Chemo ridden day to read your blog and tell you that you are loved.
A good friend gives you a swift kick in the heinie and tells you that your life is full of love.
A good friend brings you pants when you don't fit in any of your own.
A good friend will tell you that you look like crap today but you are still beautiful.
A good friend will cherish your stretch marks.
A good friend stops by on her way out of town and watches smut with you while the kids sleep.
A good friend knows how to make you laugh.
A good friend has a cozy shoulder to cry on.
A good friend can pick up the where you guys left off after not talking for a long time.
Thank you to all my "good friends" out there. Without you I would be a lonely person.

Dear Cancer,

Dear Cancer,
I am writing you this letter to inform you that you being evicted from dwelling in the sweetest woman I know. You made a mistake when you made yourself at home in her cells. She may appear to be weak because she is young and she has a sweet demeanor, but she is one of the strongest women I know.
She has made it through an incredibly lame boyfriend and made her way to a wonderful husband.
She was challenged with the task of college and she answered the call with flying colors.
No, I am sorry cancer but you are not going to stay with my dear friend. You are on notice. She is backed by the best General known to man. God's army will prevail. It is made up of family and friends that will support her through every battle you throw at her. We come at you 1 million times stronger than you can ever be.
At her weakest moments in this battle she will still be stronger than you.
You may take her hair, but you will not take her spirit.
You may make her too tired to get up, but she will still be stronger than you.
Cancer, this is a battle you cannot and will not win, you might as well hit the road now.
I will be here watching you fail.

Sincerely,
One of her angels.

Thank you Lord for Coffee

I know that there are many more important things that I could write about, but right now I am going to write about my love for coffee.
I know that God gives us the tools to be successful in life and one of the best tools he has given us is coffee. I would not make it through the day with a newborn and a 2 year old without what I call a Hosmocha (yes, I have a strange fascination for combining our last name with other words for amusement. For example Hosmerita and Hosmeritaville. There is also a thing called a Hosmerism. I am a sick puppy I tell you). Anyways it is a poor man's or woman's mocha, 3 scoops of hot cocoa, coffee, hazelnut creamer and if you have it cool whip. Mmmmmm I can now face the day.
Another tool God gives me is a the gift of daydreaming. When the baby wont sleep or Princess is throwing a royal fit I have the amazing ability to tune it out and continue on.
The third gift is the gift of prayer. For the longest time I thought, "What's the point, he doesn't answer me." but oh was I wrong. I look into all three sets of blue eyes in my family and know that my prayers are answered every day. I pray every day for the strength to make it through another hectic day, and guess what I am still here!
Could it be that God has now sent me the Blog? I think so. My sister Kelly referred to it as a billboard asking for help, and it truly is. In a few short minutes I can write down my needs and the love of friends flow into my inbox.
There is nothing like knowing that someone out there cares.
I hope that my future posts amuse you all. I don't know that my life is really that interesting but it does have it's entertainment value. I have a newborn son, that should tell you I will have many more entertaining stories to come!
My MOPS sisters will be happy to hear that instead of watching my smut TV show Passions during nap time I am now writing blogs. I couldn't even tell you what is going on in the town of Harmony.

The Dream

I want to thank all of you for your kind words. I feel like God was speaking to me through Erin's Blog. I tend to be the same way as Erin. I tend to look at the negatives and forget about all that I do have. My dear friend Julie reminded me that it is better to have 2 or three really good friends than to have none. I didn't want her, Christa, and Jessica to feel that they weren't enough for me.
I too have my ungrateful moments. I have a wonderful home, a wonderful husband, two perfect gifts from God and I have my health.
I am sure that my blues are caused by hormones, but it so easy to reflect on things when you put your thoughts down on paper.
Please if any of you notice a sadness that doesn't stop in my posts please let me know. I have a fear of not noticing depression.
Just to let you all know I have arranged a play date for this morning with Erin and Ryland. Thank you Erin. I am very excited. I do realise that I am the one at fault for not having more of them. To be honest when she e-mailed me I almost put her off to another week. Something or someone ( I know perfectly well who was talking to me) was shouting in my head to make a date! Don't put it off.
I am trying to make a point of listening to what God is saying to me more. He usually makes his appearances in dreams.

Let me tell you all about a dream I had a month or so ago, and please give me some feedback.
In my dream I was with my High School Friends and we were all around my deck at my childhood home. We were being held captive my the devil and he was trying to get us to join him by eating dirt or something like that.
I decided that all we needed to do was to pray for God's help and we would all be fine. So I lead the group in prayer and we all made it through fine.
As I was praying the devil flew up in front of me and said the following:
"I knew you were going to be a challenge, but I didn't think you would win."
Then I woke up.
What on Earth did that mean?
Any Suggestions?

Moses the Wonder Cat

For those of you who know me well, you know I have a cat named Moses. He is not the brightest of creatures but he is a member of our family and we don't judge him for his shortcomings. I think that he thinks he is human, no scratch that I think that he thinks he is a dog that thinks he is human.

He tries to drive the car, dry the clothes and do various other things that get him into trouble therefor costing us (and my mother-in-law) a pretty penny.

Let me take you to the beginning of our life long journey with Moses. Let me remind you that I am NOT a cat person.

It was 9pm and hubby and I wanted ice cream. I told him to go to Winco because it was much cheaper, however as usual he did not listen and went to Roth's (he has some strange fancy for that way over priced store, I think he is a grocery snob.....). Anyways, on his way to Roths he found a kitten in a pool of blood. He called me up and explained the situation, he had thoughts of putting him out of his misery, but he couldn't do it. He took him to the ER for animals (yes there is a 24 hour ER for animals!) and they gave him pain meds and told hubby not to expect him to live through the night. Hubby kept him in a box and slept next to him on the couch all night giving him medicine every 3 hours or so. Moses lived, purring the whole time. My MIN said that she would pay his expenses so we fixed him up. $1000, a pin in his hip, an amputation of his tail and a neutering later, we have Moses the Wonder Kitty.

You would think this story got boring from here but oh it doesn't. I truly think that something got knocked loose in Moe's head that fretful night, because he continues to get himself in interesting situations.

See Moses likes to jump off things that are high. Any other cat that would be fine, but Moses has a pin in his leg that doesn't flex very well. Needless to say he often injures himself.

But the best story of all is his ride in the dryer.

Yes my cat took a ride in the dryer. Thank God I noticed within two or three tumbles. The extension of the story that many of you have heard is that we had to buy a new dryer. Apparently Moses was a little scared in the dryer and permanently "marked" the dryer forever.

I thought I would give you the history of Moses the Wonder Cat as well as a picture so you all could have a face to the name and story.