Help a Girl Out!

Okay, in two days, I have to start this "blog every day in November" challenge...

I haven't a CLUE what I'm going to post about every single day for a month, so I'm requesting that you readers out there leave me a comment on this post and give some ideas!! What do you want to hear me ramble about?? lol

At least this way, when I'm boring you to tears, I can say it's YOUR fault!!!!!!

TGITh! (and a small work rant)

Yes, I'm a little "off," but my Thursday is like the rest of the world's Friday.

Nick works a Sunday night through Thursday night schedule... so tonight is his last shift this work week, and it's always a huge relief to have him HERE for a couple of days, helping with his devil spawn... oops, i mean... angelic children!

I'm still buried under work... hellacious work... editing articles that technically can't be considered "articles" since they aren't made up of actual sentences or paragraphs. They're more like 20-page lists of fragments (and portions of them aren't even in English, go figure). I'm not at all sure how this batch of work even made it far enough to hit my desk... because, really, there is a whole list of people who are supposed to approve articles before they get to me. They must all be on vacation this month. That's the only explanation I can come up with, anyway.

It's All Angie's Fault!

As if I needed something else to deter me from my work, housework, children...

Angie just had to make a post on our Mom's Board about this super-cool Africam.

It's a live video of a watering hole in Africa... and it's highly addictive, I'm warning you!

I'm also convinced that part of its purpose is to make me feel extremely unintelligent. I've seen all sorts of creatures on there in the past two days that I can't identify. Yesterday, it was a deer-like creature... although, I'm quite certain it was no white-tail, lol. (Angie guessed it was a gazelle... do they have those in Africa? lol)

Today I HAVE recognized a really hideous hyena, with a gaping wound on its back. Yummy. And I keep getting reports from other Africam Addicts of zebra... but I haven't been lucky enough to catch one of those yet. I'll be looking, though, never fear!

Randomness (and a lot of *sighs*)

So, one of my Mommy Friends has issued a challenge for her blogging friends to post a blog entry every day in November... actually, she borrowed the challenge from this blog, and although I haven't quite figured out how to "officially" sign up for the challenge, I'm going to attempt it. It doesn't start until November 1st, but I figure I should get a head start, in an effort to make this part of my daily routine (routine?? what's that exactly?).

Which brings me to my next random thought for the day... apparently any semblance of a "routine" has flown right out of our window here lately. I'd like to blame it on Nick's ever-changing work schedule, but honestly, I should probably assume responsibilty (or irresponsibility) for this. Nick is working nights, which means there's noone here to encourage me to get to bed at a decent hour, which means that I'm resorting back to my "old school" night owl tendencies. Which means that every day is pretty much chaos around our house. *sigh*

I've never claimed to be a "model mom," but one thing I've always been proud of is the fact that my kids have a pretty set bedtime routine... and that they sleep in their own beds (as opposed to "the family bed," which kinda makes me nauseous). But this lack of a routine is also affecting bedtime, and is starting to make me a little crazy (as if I needed help in that department!). Avery has been a nightmare at bedtime lately... and, actually, ALL night. Even though I still insist that she go to sleep in HER bed, by morning, she's in MY bed (and most mornings, so is her brother)... and I can't quite figure out WHERE I went wrong, since I really tried to make sure this wouldn't happen. *sigh* Oh well... I'm sure there are worse things. It's just a little disheartening.

Also disheartening is the fact that, despite my husband landing a "dream job" and making decent money for a change, we're still struggling to make ends meet... actually, we're struggling to get the ends in the same time zone! For the past few days, my phone has been ringing OFF the hook... I'm talking every hour ON the hour. Who is calling, you ask? The bank that I have my car financed through. Why are they calling? Because I am FIVE DAYS late making my car payment this month. Five Days. I've never heard of such insanity. Luckily, Friday is Pay Day, and I can pay them and ease their worries, but geeeez... gimme a break already, Bank Which Shall Remain Nameless. I'm much further behind on other bills that have been piling up for months, and they don't harrass me nearly as much. *double sigh*

In an effort to help make the ends meet, I've taken on a lot of extra editing work this week. Actually, in the 7 years that I've been doing freelance work, I've never turned down an assignment... but those who dole out work to me have piled it on more than usual here lately. Apparently, there's a lot of pressure in the medical publishing world for doctors to get their articles in print before the end of the calendar year. Who knew?? I can't for the life of me begin to imagine why it matters whether your ingenius (*cough!*) research is published in December of one year or January of the following, but we go through this at the end of every year. *sigh*

On that note, I should probably return to my beloved editing... which is my excuse for being awake at 1am... And I'm sure, if you're reading this, you're glad that the whining and sighing is about to end! hmmm, maybe a daily blog challenge is NOT such a good idea... what do you think? One more for good measure... *sigh*

T-Ball Pics: better late than never!

Damon is now halfway through his very first T-Ball season, and I'm so ashamed that I've yet to post pics!!

These were taken last weekend, at the Pirates Saturday morning game:

My favorite "Pirate":

Damon charging for first base:

The Pirates' No. 1 Fans: Avery and Grandma

My favorite part of each game: "1...2...3..."

"GO PIRATES!" (how cute are they??)

"Spooktacular" Fun!

For all you scrapbookers out there, come join the fun at The Shaker Box, a super cool scrapping forum, this week.

They've having a Spooktacular Crop over there that runs until Oct. 22nd.

There are lots of fun challenges and some super sweet gals on board to chat with!

Family Photo Fun!

The kids and I had a mini-photo shoot before they went to bed tonight.
It's always a challenge to get a pic of me AND the kids, since I'm always the photographer... but I thought these turned out pretty cute! And, I was amazed how much we all look alike!!

To the Pumpkin Patch We Go!

I haven't posted this week, because truthfully, there's nothing exciting going on around these parts. We have just been settling back into our "routine" after our crazy weekend away from home.

Today, we have a bit of excitement, though. The kids and I are joining our playgroup friends for the afternoon at a local pumpkin patch! We've really been looking forward to this fun fall activity!

And, yes, I kept Damon home from school today so he could join us. I should probably have my hand slapped with a ruler for being such a "bad mom" and not sending him to school this morning. But, I decided that it was my right as his mother to make the management decision that a day at the pumpkin patch would be just as educational as a day at school. (Feel free to leave me a nasty comment about responsibility, etc. if you disagree!)

So, hopefully I will return later this afternoon with pics galore to share with our fans.

Tonight, I will be glued to my television, watching the next thrilling installment of my new favorite show, Grey's Anatomy. My children WILL be tucked into bed a good hour before the show starts, and I dare them to interrupt my one hour of indulgence this week. Double Dog Dare them.

An eventful weekend

My clan and I arrived home this afternoon from a whirlwind trip to Nick's hometown, for his little brother's wedding. AJ and Amber are now husband and wife (which sound really weird, even though I saw it happen right before my very eyes!).

The wedding was nice; the bride was gorgeous, of course! And so many tears were shed... I was wondering halfway through the ceremony if we weren't at a funeral! Everywhere I looked, people were breaking down and sobbing (and I was no exception, lol).

I'm so glad we were there for the big event... and I can't imagine NOT being there for that; Amber and AJ were not only "family," but our best friends for the few years that we lived there. Their wedding was bittersweet, not only because they were married, but because it was really the "end" of a chapter for that family. Now that AJ is "grown up" and moving on, there really is noone left in "the hometown." No reason to go back for holidays or "events." It's kinda sad... although I only lived there for a brief time, I really loved it there, and I know how special it is for Nick... it'll always be "home" for him, even if we have no reason to go back.

Another highlight of the weekend was that we all got to meet the newest (and tiniest!!) member of the family! Baby Hailey was there, and she is the littlest peanut I've ever laid eyes on! It's very sad to think that the next time we see her, she'll probably be walking, and maybe even talking!

I also got to spend a very brief time with two of my closest friends, Sarah and Kris. It was great to see them again and catch up.

All of this was crammed into about 24 hours, so you can imagine it was a very busy weekend... mostly filled with time in the car, which wasn't much fun (me, Nick, two cranky kids, and a crazy dog... ugh). Needless to say, it was a huge relief to finally make it home this afternoon! Nick and I have made a vow never to leave home again, lol. So how long do you think it'll be before we pack it up "hit the road??" Any bets?

The worst part of the weekend was that I FORGOT my blessed camera. Imagine that! Me, the camera fiend, left it behind. I was so upset with myself. Otherwise, I could torture everyone with pics from the weekend.

So, anyway, I'll make it official and say Congrats to Amber and AJ. We love you dearly and KNOW that you have a lifetime of love and happiness ahead of you. Thanks for letting us share your special day!

What Avery is Doing Right Now...