Winding it down

Another day of the stomach flu.

Kids getting dressed up in costumes. Mr. Fantastic was a monster of sorts. Optimus Prime was Batman (because I couldn't find my safety pins for his ghost costume). Princess Monkey Eyes was a "princess witch". And Thor was a skeleton - riding in a stroller.

Walking for 1 1/2 hours.

Begging for candy.

Wanting more.

Starting to whine.

The wind is starting to chill little fingers.

But not willing to give up for that one. last. house.

Candy getting checked - one piece each.

And now they're all in bed.

Ghost Hunters is on. And I'm eating candy - and getting heartburn.

Stomach flu still causing turmoil.

Darn sweet tooth.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Baptism + stomach flu = not a fun day

While typically I enjoy my relationship with my plumbing, Sunday was not so enjoyable. I suffered from the stomach flu (which hit me during Gospel Doctrine). I prayed that it would subside long enough to enjoy Mr. Fantastic's baptism and that prayer was answered. During the baptism I felt 100% better. But as soon as I left the chapel to go get some "light refreshments", instead of turning toward the kitchen, I beelined straight to the bathroom again. Not fun. And I spent much of the rest of the day in my own bathroom or bed. Barfing just isn't fun.

But this isn't the purpose for this post. I wanted to share a few of the highlights of Mr. Fantastic's big day.

All week long it was one thing after another trying to keep the Spirit in our home. Satan was obviously at work extra hard trying to get us to cancel this big day. But we prevailed! Mr. Fantastic had a wonderful weekend! We went to the pumpkin patch on Saturday with Grammy & Papa and then went out to dinner and also swimming at the hotel. The kids had a great time and even said (on the way to the hotel), "Mom, this was the best, most fun day ever! We got to go to McDonald's for lunch and then to the pumpkin patch and then out to dinner and now we get to go swimming! It's just awesome!" And I agree, it was a lot of fun!

Then on Sunday morning we were all running late - which is totally unlike us. But all the kids' church clothes were pressed and we were out the door for our church meetings.

After a wonderful primary program, which I think all the kids (not just mine) did a great job, classes were held as I prepared for the baptism. Then the baptism took place after church.

My dad spoke on baptism and related it to a baseball team & how now Mr. Fantastic is part of Jesus' team.

Then after the baptism, which Mr. Fantastic had to be dunked twice because Popeye forgot to say 'amen' the first time, my mom spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost. And then Mr. Fantastic was confirmed a member of the Church. In the blessing I was especially touched by something Popeye said. He told Mr. Fantastic that the angels in heaven that are assigned to him were rejoicing because of his decision. Now, when Mr. Fantastic got sick over 5 years ago, he was given several blessings. In one of them he was told that angels were assigned to him to protect him. I was just touched that those angels are still with him, 5 years later.

So, Mr. Fantastic had a good day. I had a good day during the baptism, which I am eternally grateful for, and I'm so glad that some of our family members were able to come and participate.

Mr. Fantastic had handed out over 30 invitations to friends at school, and while some of them said that they would come, not one came. And Mr. Fantastic had been praying all week that one of Popeye's coworkers (who has been asking a lot of questions about the Church) would be able to come - wasn't able to make it, either. When we got home from church, Mr. Fantastic said, "I hate Satan! He stopped all of my friends and Trooper D from coming to my baptism!"

You know what? I hate Satan, too.

I'm feeling better today. Princess Monkey Eyes is feeling better today. Mr. Fantastic stayed home today from school with whatever we had, but is starting to feel a little better. Popeye called in sick tonight because he's not feeling well, either. But we're in good spirits and for now, all is well.

Here are some pics from Mr. F's baptism (and just for Maureen, I'm including a pic with me in it)!!

An ending to this madness

It's in sight. I can see it!

Today was better. WAY better. I know you all were just so concerned about my mental stability (as is my mother), so I thought I'd post to put your minds at ease.

This is the first time today (aside from dinner) that I've had the opportunity to sit down since 8:00 this morning. My feet and back ache and it's times like this that I wish Popeye hadn't torn out the bathtub without having a new one to install immediately. Did I mention it's been over a year since the tub was removed?

But yay! Mom and Dad are staying at a hotel tomorrow night. Double yay! The hotel has a hot tub - so I can soothe my achin' bones!!!

Mr. Fantastic had a wonderful day today. I managed to find some extra money in a not-maxed-out Line of Credit, so I was able to get some things at the store. On top of a plumbing snake - because they don't rent them here in Podunkville. Blessed me! I made a cake for his "party" and I'd post pics, but it has his real name on it and I'm not cool enough to know how to Photoshop it out of there. So just envision a 9-inch round, double layer, with pudding holes, funfetti cake with white icing, chocolate sprinkles & words on it. He was thrilled. It was fine for a last minute cake. But I'm used to going all out and making Barbie doll cakes or intricate three-D Thomas the Tank Engine cakes. He was also thrilled with the gifts he received and even remembered to thank me. Awwww! I know, I'm the best mom EVUH!!!

The upstairs is clean. The downstairs is clean (aside from my cluttered desk, but that will get tackled as soon as I post this). I think I might just watch a little eye candy tonight in the form of Gerard Butler while folding a bit of laundry.

He's soooo dreamy. Don't you think?

So I'm off to enjoy a weekend with my family, celebrating Mr. Fantastic, and just not worrying that the hard work of doing EVERYTHING on my to-do list will come undone in just 12 short hours. SERENITY NOW!!!

Oh yeah, and in my previous post I used the word 'dual' instead of 'duel'. It was a long day & I really appreciate none of you pointing out my grammatical flaw. Really, thank you!

This just bites.

And I'm not talking food, here (although it IS 10pm and I could really go for a juicy steak right about now).

Mr. Fantastic turned 8 today. That doesn't bite.

What bites is that I've managed to save up enough money for our electric bill so that it doesn't get shut off in the morning (seriously, I had until tomorrow to pay it) and we DID buy Mr. Fantastic a set of scriptures with his name on them. But he's EIGHT! That's a HUGE deal in LDS-world. He should be having a party with his friends. With cake. And ice cream. And presents. And his favorite foods.

But instead, he got his non-favorite food for dinner, waffles for breakfast made with apple-cherry juice instead of orange juice (to me it sounds nasty, but he loves 'em that way) and no presents. None. Instead we told him we'd celebrate tomorrow. I have a job in the morning so that will put another $60 in my pocket.

But wait. I need to pay tithing - and play catch-up from last week's work, too. So, um, yeah - that's $29 in my pocket. For cake (which I know I can make, and I will - but I still need some ingredients), ice cream (which I can't make), another gift because Optimus Prime REEEALLY wants to get him a light saber so they can dual, and supplies for dinner. Will $29 go that far?

Oh, I think I forgot to mention that the kitchen sink backed up today. So after removing all the pipes and seeing that they are all clear, I have realized that we need to rent a snake from the local hardware store. Does anyone know how much that will cost? Anyone? Will it factor into my $29 budget?

Oh yeah, and Mom & Dad, Sister in law (with 4 kids in tow) and Parents In-Law are all coming this weekend for the baptism. So I should probably have some food on hand to feed them, too, right? I mean, more than WIC Cheerios and Life cereals. The kids can get by with that, but not me. And DEFINITELY not my mother or father. (Dad doesn't DO breakfast for dinner.) And it's not like I can ask them to help out - they're all strapped for cash as it is...

So, because I'm pregnant - this is my post for the day. I am hormonal. Don't feel sorry for me. Just know that I'm pretty stressed out knowing that I can't provide the way I'd like to for my family. And I'm taking it out on my blog.

On a better note - I washed the dining room walls this evening, along with the floors and polished the table. I also got patches sewn onto Mr. Fantastic's cub scout shirt. The baseboards along the stairs have all been scrubbed down, as well as the banister, and the shower floor has been bleached and scrubbed and is a shade of white I didn't think was possible in that shower. (And I Lime Awayed the shower head!) The bathroom vanity has been decluttered & reorganized, and my sewing area is clear of a few more projects. AND the client that I cleaned for today should be MORE than thrilled with the way her house looked when she came home from work. I spent a LOT of time in her bathrooms getting the hard water off her tub, shower & toilets. Not something for the faint of heart, mind you.

I have about an hour and half until I crash and burn. Maybe I'll go clean up the popcorn from Mr. Fantastic's "movie night". I did buck up and rent him a movie from "The Red Box" tonight - afterall, I had a piddly $1.50 left over after paying for the electricity...

I really hope tomorrow is better.

*** Update since I originally posted this. I went upstairs to check and see why Thor was whimpering (instead of getting to the popcorn right away). Yeah, he puked - twice. So instead of spending the last hour and half cleaning the basement, I spent it cleaning up a sick 21 month old, who happened to puke on me. Twice. Good times. ***

Tuesday Tip!

Today's edition of Tuesday Tip is brought to you by Popeye.

If your daughter wakes up in the middle of the night with a nightmare about her little brother's head being cut off & blood all over his arms, please be sure NOT to dress said little brother in a turtle neck the next day as this will cause daughter to freak out.

Yes. This happened. And Princess Monkey Eyes wouldn't stop talking about it all. day. long.

Good thing she prayed to have happy dreams the next night & all was well and calm through the night.

Here's the latest

I know I said I'd stay away. I also said I'd try to check in. I have a few minutes, so read on & humor me, wontcha?

Popeye left to go fishing on Tuesday with his dad. We paid over $200 to get the truck fixed so he could go. The truck was running fine - until he pulled onto the off-ramp to get to his dad's house. The truck wouldn't accelerate past 23 mph. Oh joy. Over $200, his fishing limit caught, a good night's sleep & an engine tune-up later he was back on the road to come home. Until he got 2 miles past his dad's town on the interstate and the truck started acting up again. He was able to get it back to the shop & was told it would be another $700 to fix. Joy, again. Thankfully, his dad drove him home (2 hours one way) even though I was willing to pack all the kids up in the van to pick him up.

And luckily his dad DID bring him home. Because this morning while dropping the boys off at school, the van's dashboard started flashing, the radio turned off & all needles were going haywire. More Joy. We pulled over, said a quick prayer to get us all to our various destinations, and headed back to school. I got home to grab my supplies for work and asked Popeye to take a look. Yeah, the van died. No power whatsoever. Can I say OVER-Joyed? One broken vehicle in the driveway, the other one 2hours away broken in another driveway.

Needless to say, Cap'n came to my rescue to get me to VoldeMart to buy a new battery - twice. And twice the battery didn't fit. So Popeye will have to come up with a plan tomorrow because I am NOT walking to church on Sunday. I didn't go to work today but instead cleaned and organized the tools in the bathroom, ran around town in Cap'n's van and then walked to the elementary school to help in Optimus Prime's classroom - where we ended up taking a nature walk to the park. Lots of walking.

But if you've been wondering what I've been doing in my OFF time! Well, let me tell you - my to do list is getting smaller and smaller. 2 of the 4 items for the upstairs bathroom have been finished. All three hall closets have been cleaned out and organized. The super long list for the living room is almost done. The Cub Scout flag (that should've been done this last Wednesday) is almost done. I really HAVE been working on it. Just a few more letters & then to put on the backing... The kitchen is all done (minus the last cleaning it will need before family gets here). Blah blah blah. You get the picture, I've been busy.

And because I've been so busy, it's taken a toll on my body. Last night the baby hardly moved at all & I started worrying that she wasn't okay. I mean, when we saw her on the U.S, she had moved the umbilical cord from out of her face, so I started thinking back to that one "ER" episode when John Carter's girlfriend/wife (I don't remember) said she hadn't felt the baby move & she was 8+ months preggo and the cord was wrapped around his neck & she had to give birth to a still born baby.... Anyway - I started thinking of that episode & was really getting worried. So I asked Popeye for a blessing and he obliged. (I'm so thankful for him.) In it he told me that the baby is fine and the lack of movement is attributed to her little spirit floating back and forth between this world and the last (you know, that place called heaven). And he also warned me that I needed to not push my body too far. That I need to watch my limits. So I felt better after that and was able to watch "Speeders" in peace.

Other than all these little financial mishaps and this's and that's going on, life is boring. I'm going to go clean the kitchen now and then put Thor to bed. And then, because I woke up at 3am today and my nap was only 15 mintues long, I am going to go to bed, leaving Princess Monkey Eyes awake watching her movie for 'movie night'. Hopefully she'll fall asleep where she is...

And here's a picture of the AWESOME job my new degreaser did on my oven hood. (And if you're wondering what degreaser it is, well, it's some industrial strength stuff found at Sam's Club and it's AMAZING!!!!!!!!)


This is a before shot. Nasty, huh? Yeah, it pretty much grossed me out, too. EEEEEEEW!!!!






And this is the progress that I made with hardly any elbow grease involved. It is wonderful, isn't it? THESE are the kinds of tasks I've been doing this week.

Bye y'all!

So much to do, so little time

Mr. Fantastic is getting baptized in two weeks. Did you hear me people?! TWO WEEKS!!!! This completely snuck up on me. SOOOOOO - because of the sneakiness of this event & others, I will be taking a short hiatus while I play a little game of catch-up and catch-me-if-you-can!

This is a list of things that I need to accomplish within the next week or two. Most of it within the week.

~Finish the cub scout flag that I started but haven't touched in quite a while. Pack meeting is the 22nd. I've been requested to finish it by the 15th, though. Mr. Fantastic will be getting his Bobcat award. Woo Hoo, Buddy!

~Make and mail out invitations to the baptism. Lots of friends that Mr. Fantastic wants to invite.

~The extremely long list of "things to do" in each room before family comes for the baptism.

~Come up with a lesson plan for my sign language class for our mini enrichment meetings. (If you want to come, the first class is on Tuesday night at 7pm at the church. No, you don't have to be a member of the LDS church to come.) But I still need to prepare my lesson...

~Did I mention that I have lists in each room that need to be completed? Everything from "finish sewing place mats" to "Organize boys' computer desk" and detailed cleaning in between.

This is going to be a crazy two weeks. So, because I probably won't be on here much, here is Tuesday's Tip in advance. DON'T LEAVE THINGS TO THE LAST MINUTE! IT MAKES FOR ONE CRAZY MAMA AND CRANKY CHILDREN!!!

That being said, have a wonderful two weeks & I'll try to stop by on my breaks!!! :D