Work in progress...

I was so stressed by my friend Angie's comment on my last post, and the fact that half of the people who view my blog regularly don't see it correctly, that I went to work today on moving my blog to WordPress.

I love Blogger, for a lot of reasons... we go way back! But I also hate Blogger for a lot of reasons (like the fact that so many of you don't see the cute, little layout that I see!).

WordPress has a lot of cool features that I think I'll enjoy. But it's going to take me some time to figure out how to customize it to my liking (and I'm not sure I'll ever be satisfied, really, because they don't allow as much customization as Blogger, darn it!).

It's definitely a work in progress right now. But I wanted to go ahead and share the link for my Firefox and Mac friends now... at least you should see a halfway normal layout, for once!

So, click here to visit me at WordPress (and bookmark that link, if you're a fan).

I know you wanna know...

What I'm reading, what I plan to read next, and what I've read so far this year. Of course you do, who wouldn't want to know that fascinating information about me??

So check out my cute, new widgets (what the heck is a widget, exactly? I have no clue!) in my sidebar!

I've been wanting to keep track of my reading for some time now... and since a brand new year just started, I figured this was a good time to do it. I signed up for a nifty Shelfari account today and added those three lists. One of these days, maybe I'll go so far as to add some of the books I've read in the past, too... but that just makes my head swim; it's a pretty overwhelming task!

And now, I really need to step away from the blog (and the books) and get some work done. I keep saying that, don't I? I'm still waiting for that anti-procrastination pill... clearly, I could use a large dose!!

Made a few changes...

to my favorite blog, finally!

Last night, I made a new blog header and gave myself a new name. (I still need to play around and tweak the size of the header, I think... but at 3am this morning, I wasn't too concerned with that.) I also wrote a little blurb about my new name, but had to move the "About Me" section further down on the sidebar, so you have to search for it!

I had the "About Me" section up at the top of the sidebar, but found it really distracting to have that massive block of text right next to my latest blog entry... the font sizes are the same (or very close), so those two blocks of text together were hurting my head!

I looked and looked in my template (I still use the "old" style of Blogger) for the html coding that would let me change the font size in the profile blurb... but it escaped me. If anyone has a clue what I'm talking about, I welcome suggestions/tips!

For those of you who read via a feed (ha!), visit my actual blog and let me know what you think of the changes! And for those of you who use Firefox or a Mac and never see anything fun on my blog, here's an image of my new header (courtesy of Shabby Princess Designs, because I'm basically a lazy slug!)... I'll even be nice and copy my "About Me" blurb here for you. You're welcome!

The new title of my blog pretty much says it all... I'm a little bit crazy and happy pills get me through each day. I spend most of my time cursing authors who don't use commas correctly (and I really am crazy about serial commas). And, first and foremost, I'm a proud momma to two devilish angels who make my life worth living. I'm also a very lucky wife (but that didn't fit in my cute title). I love my blog; it's my therapy at the end of a long day. It's also my favorite way to procrastinate when a pesky work deadline is rapidly approaching!

And now, I'm returning to those pesky commas...

Sledding at Night, Part 2

My husband is truly an overgrown child. He took Comet outside to go potty this evening and came running back in, telling the kids to get dressed, get their boots, get their gloves, get their snowpants... and hurry!

So, Avery didn't have to wait 'til morning to try out her new sled after all...

They had an absolute blast sledding down the hill in our backyard... in the dark. Avery was howling with laughter as her saucer sled twirled her around in the circles the whole way down the hill. Nick had to literally tackle Avery and her saucer when they got to the bottom, to prevent them from continuing across the alley and into the yard of the house behind us (she took off once, in Damon's sled, before Daddy was ready... and she did, in fact, visit our neighbor's yard). When Avery got stopped, each and every time, she'd jump up screaming, "Dad! That was SWEET! That was soooo sweet, Daddy!"

She is such a maniac.

I only wish my family would decide to have this much fun during the day, when the sun is shining, so that I could manage to get some GOOD pics. Don't they know they aren't supposed to have fun when the lighting isn't optimal for picture-taking?? They must've missed that memo...

Let It Snow!

Tonight, we're expecting our first significant snowfall of the year. So, this afternoon Nick and I took the kids shopping for new sleds. These were supposed to be on Santa's shopping list for Christmas, but they must've slipped his mind! Ooops, Bad Santa!

When we got home from the store, it was almost dark, but Damon wanted to try out his new sled... so he took it for a few runs down the little hill in our front yard. And, of course, being the photo freak that I am, I went out to snap a few shots of him. I love pictures where you can actually see the snow falling (even if they are horrible, blurry, night photos!).

And here's Avery... having a fit because I wouldn't let her sled tonight... in the dark, in her SKIRT and short sleeves. I am a wicked momma.
By the time we wake up tomorrow, it should be a Winter Wonderland out there. So, never fear, Avery, you'll get your chance to sled to your little heart's content soon enough!

Back to Scouts

Last night was our first Cub Scout meeting since before the holidays. Scout meetings begin at 6:30 pm... and because my husband is soooo organized, he asked me at 5 pm if I had any ideas for something fun the boys could do at the meeting (if there was one thing I could change about my dear husband, it would be the fact that he can't think/plan ahead... ever... for anything!).


So, I did a quick search online and found a Scout Bingo game that I could prepare for in very little time (since I HAD very, very little time). A few pages through the printer and a quick stop at our local grocery store to grab some M&Ms to use as markers, and we were on our way!


I think the boys enjoyed playing Scout Bingo. Although, I'm learning that 7- and 8-year-old boys do NOT like to "lose." I always thought that was a shortcoming of Damon's... he's never been a very good sport. But last night, I realized it must be the age. I saw a few boys near tears when we'd called at least 10 numbers and they still only had their FREE spaces covered.


We played four riveting games of Scout Bingo... and I've promised to deliver prizes to the winners at next week's meeting (I'm not above bribing them to attend). Avery was one of the winners... she's not a second-grade boy, but she has become an honorary Wolf, it seems (and, not surprisingly, she's the best behaved Wolf in the pack!).


I think everyone's favorite part of the activity was when we finally let them eat their markers at the end. Here are Mason, Damon, and Avery enjoying their cups of M&Ms. Cheers!

Damon also brought along his football card collection to share with the group last night.

And the meeting ended with a little group cheer. "Pack 334!"

It's good to be back in the swing of things! Next up on the Scouting agenda is the infamous Pinewood Derby. The boys start working on their cars this weekend, and the big race is at the end of the month (on Damon's birthday, actually). January is going to be a busy month!

Procrastination at its finest

I have a massive work project sitting in front of me right now... one that I honestly don't think I'll survive (even though I begged for, and was granted, an extension!).

Yet, I'm sitting here doing everything BUT working.

I'm thinking about all the books I want to read... all the books I want to order from Amazon (if only I had unlimited funds to spend on books... and unlimited time with which to READ them!).

I'm thinking about scrapbooking... and the fact that I can't remember the last time I sat at my scrapping table and created something. I'm having some serious withdrawals from all things crafty. I'm thinking about all of the fun, new scrapping goodies that I'd love to buy (if only I had unlimited funds to spend on scrapbooking!).

I'm thinking about the fact that I only have 4 more glorious, kid-free hours left in my day... and wondering why the school day is so darn short!

I'm thinking about my blog... and that horrendous blog header featuring pics of my family in the POOL (when it's currently 30 degrees and snowing in my part of the world). I'm thinking I need
to do something about that one of these days...

I'm thinking it's 10am and the mailman should have been here by now. I'm thinking the mailman should make my day by bringing me a paycheck or two this morning (and I'm wondering if I dare "steal" some of that money to buy books... or scrapping goodies!).

And I'm even thinking about coffee. Yes, coffee. I love my morning coffee (which usually turns into afternoon and early evening coffee)... but I've yet to master the art of coffee-making. Maybe it's because I buy cheap Folger's coffee; maybe I haven't found the perfect combination of sugar and creamer (or the perfect flavor of creamer!); maybe I really don't like coffee as much as I like to think I do...

Can someone please tell me what's wrong with me? Is there a pill I can take for this? Surely there's a pill...

ETA: The mailman hates me. Hmpf.

Avery's new coat

I couldn't resist snapping some pics of Avery this morning, right before we headed out the door for school.

The child has been in desperate need of a new winter coat... and I almost got her one for Christmas, but didn't. Then, my dad came to visit for New Year's and brought a bag of fabulous hand-me-downs from my Aunt Linda (Linda's granddaughter Madison is a bit older than Avery and always gives us great stuff!). And lo and behold, on the top of the bag was a gorgeous winter coat, complete with matching hat and scarf!

So, here's Avery modeling her new winter gear for me this morning. Can you tell she was an unwilling model (for the first time in her life!)?? I love those evil looks she was giving me, lol.

Thanks Aunt Linda, Jennifer, and Madison for our bag of goodies... and thanks to Dad for delivering them! I know Avery doesn't look very pleased in these pics, but she really DOES love her new coat! ;)

Did somebody say "pictures?"

Just for you, Melanie!

I'm afraid I've really been slacking with the camera lately... I haven't taken many pics since Christmas morning. But I did manage to snap a few random shots of the kids yesterday afternoon.

Here's Damon, making himself a snack of peanut butter toast after school (it's so much fun when they become more independent and start waiting on themselves!):

And here's Avery (and those big blue eyes!), being the ham that she is... and showing off the Play-Doh mohawk she made for her baby doll (she's a strange kid!):

Back to school! YAY!

I have vague memories of the days when my kids were sweet-smelling babies and I couldn't imagine the day would ever come when they'd leave me and go off to school...

Fast forward several years to Christmas Break of 2008... two full weeks with both kids at home each and every day. Loooong days they were. I did enjoy not having to get up at the crack o' dawn, rushing around to get two kids dressed, bundled, and ferried off to two different schools. But... a few days into their break, and I was a frazzled mom, ready for a break from THEM! I'm sorry, I know that makes me a bad mom, but they aren't sweet-smelling babies anymore... At 5 and almost-8 years old, Avery and Damon are loud, dirty, bickering, mess-making machines. And I've grown to love my quiet days at home without them (and I figure I've earned a little peace and quiet over the past 8 years, so I don't allow myself to feel TOO guilty!).

So, today was their first day back at school. Hallelujah!

The day didn't start off quite the way I'd planned. Before I fell asleep last night, I made Nick promise to get me out of bed EARLY this morning (yes, he laughed at me). I had great intentions of getting up early, maybe even having a cup of coffee before I had to start wrestling with the kids. But, our alarm didn't wake us up, for some mysterious reason... so instead of waking up before 7am, with plenty of time, we bolted out of bed at 8:15 screaming, "Oh, $@#%!"

Somehow I still managed to get Damon to school on time at 8:35, and Nick was late to work anyway, so he offered to drop Avery at her school on his way in.

So, the day started with a little more chaos than I'd planned... but that's just my life, right? Chaos is definitely something I've grown used to since becoming a mom (and since marrying Nick)!

Still, I was back home, had already walked Comet, and was thoroughly enjoying a QUIET house (aside from Lizzie's snoring) by 8:45 this morning.

Life is still chaotic, but getting the kids back to school is certainly a step in the right direction... for my less-than-stable mental health, anyway. Now if I can conquer the malfunctioning alarm clock tomorrow morning, that'll be another victory!