I'm so tired my teeth hurt

I went on a field trip with eighty third graders today. We rode the Three Rivers Rambler train, which turned into the Polar Express. They had hot chocolate and animal crackers and saw this guy:



The kids went mildly mental and the big man handled it as only a trained Jolly old elf can. The volume level was rather high which rattled the teachers and chaperones quickly. I will say that the kids were very well behaved for a mob. As always happens with a new place, everyone suddenly had bladder issues and needed to relieve themselves, because who wouldn't want to go to the bathroom on a train? Uh, me, but I don't count. After the train ride, the kids travel to an Applebee's for lunch. That place didn't know what firestorm was about to hit. The kids were fairly well behaved, although some did not have enough sense to realize that making a condiment slurpee in their cup and daring someone to drink it, in front of a teacher, might get them in a bit of trouble. The management did not have their ducks in a row and presented the teachers with a stack of 80ish individual checks, which then turned into one check but not the agreed price, which turned into the agreed price but no tax exempt, which turned into 50 minutes later and all of us leaving without resolution. The manager showed up at school 10 minutes later with a hangdog expression and the newest bill.

I am now at home with a clenched jaw and janked up head,but the kids had a good time. Applebee's will never be the same.
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Creepy treasures, thrift shopping and cool rooms

For the past several days, we have been working to try and get the girls' room transformed from cutesie nursery turned little girl room into an organized tween/middle schooler cool sleeping pod. Their room is quite compact, so the options were limited. First up, wallpaper removal. I have several wallpaper removal jobs under my belt, so I was up to the challenge. Actually, the kids peeled it off with almost no effort. Oh how wallpaper is a deceptive demon that fools the innocent. After feeling the wall, the hub determined that the adhesive was still hanging on for dear life and needed to be removed. Here I come, armed with our steamer ready to do battle. I started steaming and the adhesive turned from fuzzy dry wall covering to voodoo glue from Hades. A one foot wide, seven foot tall strip took 1.5 hours to somewhat clean. The next days involved scorching Downy water in a spray bottle, a scrub brush, a huge razor blade and the envisioning of future PT and chiropractic visits for "wallpaper shoulder". After the walls were cleaned, primed and repainted, the task became to "tween" the room up a bit. Where do you go to find decor on a limited budget? The Habitat Resale Store of course. We found a great Captain America pencil drawing, but I was too cheap to pay $20 and it didn't have pink, purple or green in it, so.... I found a whole section of Tom Jones LP's, but this trip was about the children, so.... The pictures were too big or tacky or kitchen decor or masculine. We gave up on decorating and thought we would have a "new" book for each of them on their bed. But what to my wandering eyes did appear, but:



Aaaccckk!! Dark Shadows is good campy fun, but this face is disturbing. But for those of you who who are fans of Barnabas Collins, go to the Resale and look for this:



A whole Kroger shopping cart full of vampire soap enjoyment. Not exactly kid bedroom friendly, but oh well. I did get a treasure, although not from Habitat but from my aunt. Hand me down sheets for the boy. Retro goodness at its best:



Sleep long and prosper everybody.
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Bloggin' back at ya

As I sit here watching the Duck Dynasty Christmas special and writing my musings for the day, my mind wanders to my friend and her little warrior baby. While so many of us are in the spirit, preparing and shopping for family, they are savoring every second of their time with him. Every day, every hour, is a gift to them and their faith is amazing. But even great faith does not stop the bills from coming and expenses from popping up. They have allowed their family to set up a website to help raise money to help them during this time. A friend and sister blogger, who can actually write, has set up an "Awesome junk prize BONANZA". When you hear "bonanza", you know things are getting exciting. I am not going to even try to describe the process for the bonanza, so I will let her. I will say that I contributed the saddest prize of all, but it is my crafty thing. I make creatures, so I put in a bear. This is what they kind of look like:



Unfortunately this one is spoken for, but the one in the prize bonanza is a tan and navy checked bear. He's pretty cute. Just an FYI, I also make sock creatures and dinobunnies:






Please forgive the classy table in my pictures. it is a table, circa 1968, that is in my sewing area. Kind of didn't class up the product too much. I would have put these in the bonanza, but they belong to young people in my home and are covered in various pajama fuzzies and drool from proper sleepy cuddles in the night. Dinobunny got in a tussle with a sock monkey and needs some repair work.

Anyhoo, go to the blog: www.meetthebuttrams.com and check out the bonanza. Read about baby Drew and look at his sweet little face. Even if you don't feel comfortable donating, send up a few prayers for the little guy. Thanks for reading. Tune in tomorrow to read about the grocery cart full of Dark Shadows episodes I discovered at the Habitat Resale Store. I know you can't wait.
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Learning from the little guys

I am biased. I'll admit it, but I admire my children...I admire children in general. Up to a certain age, they approach the world with a black and white attitude. They approach faith with a black and white attitude. There is little to question, they are sure about what they know. If you leave the "angel warning the shepherds" out of the Christmas story, they will point it out. They have something to say and a whole lot to teach me about letting go and going on faith.

I've heard a lot of discounting the importance of the role children play in our lives for too long. Are they just to be cute and "seen and not heard"? I think not. My children have profound things to say. They may not contain vocabulary that reads like a well written novel, but they make their points very clear. I am humbled by their absolute faith and certainty in their beliefs.

I'll stop now. Just a bad day that confirms my readiness for a break and some time with my children and husband. Twilight Zone marathons while playing Scrabble and wearing pajamas sound like Heaven right now.


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Über Intense Mom and Charger Dad...the Demonic Duo

So my friend E and I are sitting here at snobby soccer skills practice. Let me state once again, I have allowed my kids to do this so they have some physical activity during the winter months and can get some extra skills training from "expertly trained" people who are rabid about their soccer. I have no illusions that my children are going to grow up and be on the US team, but if they can parlay this sport into a cheaper college tuition, great. The funny thing about this field house where they play is that as soon as you walk in, the intensity level goes up 1000%. The majority of these parents think their 4 or 7 or 13 year old is going to be the next Solo or Hamm or Chastain. The sense of humor is gone. One father ended up moving away from us because we were chatting too much for him to keep up his stats on his 5 year old. Another mom, feeding her infant, went out on the field to yell at her 4 year old for playing instead of working on drills. Get a life people. If they are having fun, leave them alone. It has been said, those who can't play, coach. Not necessarily true, but you see lots of parental broken dreams being lived out in their 5 year old's life. Sad, really. I just like to watch their spazzy little bodies. It is just the best!


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Tabloids are making me explain everything

My oldest saw a tabloid tonight at the grocery store, I think it was the Star...do they still make that?...and it spoke of Tom and Suri. It asked "Will he leave the church since he cannot speak to anyone who doesn't believe in the Scientologist doctrine?". S asked if it came down to it, would I choose the church or her? I told her that I would never be asked by our church to never speak to her again, although I may have to explain my alien baby that I had with Burt Reynolds. Tabloids make such outrageous stories...totally would have been Tom Selleck. Because she is a sixth grader she is going though the confirmation process to decided if she wants to become a full member of the church. When I was a confirmand, we visited several other churches of differing religions just to hear what they had to say. They wanted us to be aware of other religions and fully weigh out our options. S asked me, after seeing that tabloid, if we visited a church of Scientology during that time. My answer was this...verbatim..."Uhhhh, no." The tabloids also allow me to explain how makeup can really make the stars look different, but so can photo editing.

So in summary, tabloids are entertaining. Our child's church journey is very sacred and important to us, and it is going to be a miracle if Suri doesn't grow up to be an ax murderer thanks to the Enquirerer.


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That boy is a fighter!

The selfish stuff first. Snobby soccer Saturday was exhausting. I am sure the are learning valuable skills, but it is nauseating to watch your children get purposely left out by coaches because they are only "Winter League" players and not "Academy" players. The boy's coach spoke to him like he had a traumatic brain injury that was contagious. G had the same coach who singled her out constantly. I keep telling myself that it is just for a few more weeks. This will build character. My oldest scored the winning goal in her game, but her coach was our friend and is a kind person. I despise snobbery...despise it.

Our soccer woes are a mere blip on the screen of importance compared to the heartache and worry that our friend L is experiencing with her baby boy. I have spoken about them several times before. He has defied all the odds against him thus far. What a little warrior he is! Yesterday and this morning/afternoon have been extremely scary. His levels have dropped and they have been afraid of losing him. The decision was finally made to put him back on the ECMO machine he had successfully been removed from several days ago. The odds were put at 25% for being put on the machine a second time. But he did it!! Now that he is on it, it is time to let his little body rest and for the docs and parents to decide their next steps. I truly believe God has big plans for this little warrior boy. I ask for all of you to pray, send positive thoughts and well wishes up for him. If you would like to follow his Caring Bridge page, let me know and I will give you his mom's name.

I'm now going to say a prayer for the boy and go to bed. God help him rest and gain some strength through the night.




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