Tracy's Totally Awesome Web Conversation Skills

My friend Taryn commented on my exciting web conversation prowess, and in an effort to make her really feel my knowledge, I am sharing it with her, and won't she know it all now? LOL

ROTFL=rolling on the floor laughing
LOL=laugh out loud
BRB=be right back
NP=no problem
CUL8R=see you later

Because I am so extremely talented, I will also reveal that I know a variety of cute little faces, and ok, I actually know some other completely inappropriate expressions (because of my friends, ok??? really!). But I didn't figure I should share those. *I* am an exceptionally good influence, of course.

Ok, I'm done now. Now you know.

Now, people, all I ask of you is to educate me (and Taryn) further by sharing with us all of your web prowess in the comment section (and Tiffany, I really promise not to pick on any comments this time). Hugs to all!

Christmas

I don't know how many of you know this, but I detest Christmas pictures. Why take pictures of us all being greedy guts? And even worse, the pictures are always really ... scary. Nobody ever has a nice expression on their face--natural, perhaps, but not nice! Of course, we took a lot of Christmas pics this year. I don't know why, by we did. I've picked my favorites of the kids.

Camo Kid

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cutie

Licorice Lady

Pirate Guy--Aaaarrr, Matey!

and...
the Ever Elusive Anti-Photo Woman
(who had just figured out she was getting the best present ever)

Overheard

In the car, on the way home from Dallas (please remember that we were all tired and worn out):

• Rex: I have a crush on all the girls in my class.
• Elisabeth: You can't have a crush on anyone until you're 16, Rex!
• Hannah: No! That's dating. No dating until you're 16.
• Daddy: No, I didn't say no crushes until you're 16. I said no crushes until after your missions.
• Hannah: Dad, what's the difference between a crush and dating?
• Elisabeth: There is no difference.
• Caleb: Right, no difference.
• Mom: Yes, there's a difference.
• Elisabeth: A crush is where you like someone a really really lot, and they don't like you back.
• Daddy: Weeeelll, whether they like you back or not doesn't really matter.
• Caleb: When do you get crushes?
• Daddy: Not until after your missions!
• Mom: When did you get your first crush, Dad?
• Daddy: I've never had crushes.
• Rex: But Dad, that's not true!! You have a crush. You're in crush with Mommy!

We can always rely on Rex to keep everything straight around here!

Resolutions, Part 2

So, I have read all of your input thus far, and my resolutions so far include: putting my husband in his place (and his anonymous friend, too), logging on to Crackbook ... er, Facebook only once a day (ROTFL), and setting a specific goal for blogging (it'll take me 6 months to come up with a realistic expectation). Thanks, you guys really are the best! (wink!)

New Year's Resolutions

So, it's 3 days before the New Year, and I've decided to contemplate my resolutions now--instead of on New Year's Day, when I inevitably decide I should have been thinking about this sooner, so I just give up all together. Yeah, me and resolutions don't typically go too well together. I can never keep them perfectly, so why bother at all? Yes, I am a closet perfectionist.

Anyhow, Mom asked me where my blog has been recently, and I had to admit my addiction to Facebook. Why make daily posts on your blog when you can make hourly or minute-ly posts on Facebook? Okay, okay, that's not an entirely valid argument, and I really do believe that a blog has more lasting significance than Facebook.

So, here I am. My first New Year's resolution will be to blog ... how often? I would say "daily," but that's like committing myself to the worst Blog Obstacle Course on Earth, so how 'bout more frequently, right?

What other New Year's resolutions should I make for 2009?

Reverse Crisis Management

So, last night, Hannah told me about her day at school. She was calm, cool, and collected--which is more than I wanted to be after I heard her out. Her recess yesterday included being bitten, so hard that there is a nice purple, mouth-shaped outline on her upper arm. What is this, like 1st grade? She's in middle school, people!

I talked to her principal this morning at length, in a very reasonable and satisfactory manner. I didn't want to either under- or overreact. The young man will be punished, and was quite remorseful, having not realized how hard he had bitten her (or apparently, as the principal pointed out, that he shouldn't have been biting anyone at all).

So, how did I stay cool enough to not overreact? Well, call it a ... presentiment. Of course, I didn't think whatever it was would come to pass before lunch, but alas, it did! All morning, I kept thinking that I needed to stay cool about the whole incident, because someday, just someday, I could be that poor young man's mother getting that phone call, knowing a certain little boy (or even two certain little boys).

And then the email came. Fighting at school. Playing at recess when not supposed to. Can't keep his hands to himself. Had to be separated and spend time in the office.

Whew! I'm glad I didn't get all worked up, as much as I wanted to for Hannah's sake. But really, did I really, really need to know both sides of the story?

Ho Ho Ho!

Or, as Hannah would say, "Duck, duck, duck!"

Sariah wasn't too sure about Santa this year.
Even if he was handing out candy canes.
But eventually, Cheyenne and Elisabeth convinced her it was ok to sit on his lap. But the girls have already taught her a key point about doing something you don't want to do: try not to look happy about it. Even after 6 or 7 candy canes.
And, remember: you're never too old for Santa.

Soldiering On

The 2nd grade recently put on "Marty the Moosical." As you can see, Caleb was a toy soldier, and he did a fabulous job. The music teachers at Washington do such an amazing job with all of the children; I am always impressed with their productions, and this time was no exception.

Teach Your Children Well

You know you've taught your children well when they try to teach another the lessons you have tried to instill in them, right?

So this morning at prayer time, Sariah helped her baby to fold her arms reverently for the entire prayer.

Good thing baby isn't real as her arms would now be disjointed and broken in more than one place.

But it's the thought that counts. :)

Thanksgiving '08, Part 3

And last, but not least, our family picture. It'll probably go in the Christmas cards this year.

But it was really hard not to choose the more ... realistic family photo....

Thanksgiving '08, Part 2

And now for the kiddos.

This is the only good picture I got of Caleb. He's up in the tree looking for that silly whiffle ball.
You'll notice in most of these pictures that Sariah was kind of all over the place. This was one of her few sitting-down moments. Go figure!
There are no pictures of Hannah by herself. She runs from the camera. Shocking, I know.
But here's my happy, willing model, Mr. Rex. He'll pose anyway I tell him to.
Elisabeth was too busy running around with Kenadie to pose for any pics, hence, the in-motion picture.
But wait, there are more pics to come. You have to see our family pics. Getting a family of 7 in a beautiful picture is ... possible ... but not probable. :)

Thanksgiving '08, Part 1

This year, we spent Thanksgiving with my family at my brother's house down in Plano. We had a lot of fun, and Grandma got her heart's desire in family pictures. Here we all are, lookin' fine!

This is me and my sister-in-law, Tricia. She makes really good cornbread stuffing, and she even cleaned her house for us all (wink!). She doesn't have zits, either, unlike me--I thought you were supposed to outgrow that in college, darn it.

This is my favorite Thanksgiving picture. It's my two favorite people!

And my fabulous parents. Aren't they gracious? The didn't want to have their pictures taken (after subjecting all of us to it), but they posed anyway. Ok, well, they didn't have a choice because Chad and I just started snapping away.

And this is what we spent a good portion of the afternoon doing. Caleb was playing baseball with a whiffle ball, and hit a pop fly up into Uncle Chad's Bradford pear tree. It apparently caught on a branch, and despite our best efforts (see below), it didn't come down until a cold front came through the next week, bringing with it 40 mph winds. Personally, I think my dad was the smartest of us, and probably got the most entertainment value out of the whole affair--don't you see him there, sitting on the porch, watching everyone else work away?

For Your Viewing Entertainment

Presenting my lil trampoline girls. The older, more mature model:

And the younger one:

Shoe Files

Wow! The shoes on the left lasted 4 whole months!!!! They had holes in the soles and the shoe laces were broken, but he was still wearing them. Now for this new pair....

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Hey, thanks to Allison over at mama dialogues for providing my entertainment for the day. She took the Belief-O-Matic Quiz at beliefnet.com, so I took it, too. And SURPRISE ... wait ... wait ... I know you all are going to be so flabbergasted ... I'm 100% Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/Mormon. I know. I know you all are amazed. But, just in case you're wondering, I'll post my results following. If you want to know more about my religion, you can go to mormon.org, to get straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, or you can leave me a comment (but only if you're going to be nice, because I'm such an incredible wimp). I love the list--I think it shows that, though we don't have everything in common, we all have more in common than we like to believe.

1. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (100%)
2. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (99%)
3. Orthodox Quaker (97%)
4. Baha'i Faith (95%)
5. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (91%)
6. Jehovah's Witness (78%)
7. Eastern Orthodox (77%)
8. Orthodox Judaism (77%)
9. Roman Catholic (77%)
10. Liberal Quakers (75%)
11. Seventh Day Adventist (74%)
12. Sikhism (71%)
13. Reform Judaism (67%)
14. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (65%)
15. Islam (63%)
16. Unitarian Universalism (63%)
17. Jainism (59%)
18. Hinduism (57%)
19. Mahayana Buddhism (55%)
20. Neo-Pagan (54%)
21. Theravada Buddhism (50%)
22. New Thought (45%)
23. New Age (40%)
24. Taoism (38%)
25. Scientology (35%)
26. Secular Humanism (32%)
27. Nontheist (24%)

BOOMER SOONER!

Book Meme

I've been slacking, really slacking. So in an effort to get back up and ride that horse again, I will start out easy. Melessa (sort of) tagged me for a book meme. And because it's books, well I just can't turn that down, right?

Here are the rules for this one:

Just select 4 books:


1. Fiction

2. Autobiography

3. Non-fiction

4. A fourth book of your choice from any genre


Explain why the books are essential reads in no more than 30 words per book (this part might not be so easy).


1. Fiction: The Tale of Desperaux, by Kate DiCamillo. A good, humorous children's fairy tale, satisfyingly concluded without the "fairy tale ending," about getting along with all the other people in your world, good, bad or in-between.

2. Autobiography: I'm bad about this category. No autobiography is essential. I'm not sure that I've completed an autobiography since high school. Is that bad? Maybe I should set a goal? Suggestions?

3. Non-fiction: A Framework for Understanding Poverty, by Ruth Payne. Wow! This taught me compassion and understanding, as well as why "fixing" poverty is so ... complex.

4. My Choice: Persuasion, by Jane Austen. (How could I not have a J.A.?) Simple, but emotionally mature, humorous, and ends with realistic redemption. My favorite Jane Austen.

Whew, that was hard. Narrowing my book choices down to so few. I changed my mind about 900 times. As Melessa said, I'm not going to actually tag anybody. But I'd really love to hear from you either in my comments or on your blogs. It'll give me future reading material (like my 3-foot-high to-be-read-pile needs any help). Yeah, I'm talking to you Allison, and you Karen, and you Taryn, and you Staci, and you Jenn.

AAAARRRGGHHH!

Sick again with a cold, which started first, and a stomach virus. Sorry if I don't facebook or respond to emails or post anything. I think we need some prayers, please, because this is getting really old.

Grateful

14 things I'm grateful for:

1. Stake Conference was very uplifting for me. I felt like I got a lot of ideas of what I need to work on, the encouragement to do so, and not a big guilt trip about being a slacker. Just enough guilt to make it better. :)
2. There are so many good people out there in the world, like I saw earlier this week: a woman's car stalled out on a right turn onto a busy street. Two male passengers in different cars jumped out and helped her. It was good to see.
3. My husband let me take a Sunday afternoon nap, even though he probably needed it worse than I did.
4. My Christmas shopping for my kids is decided and done. What a relief that is. Maybe now we can have a blessed season, instead of a really stressful one.
5. I got to talk to some friends I don't usually see at Conference today; I always really enjoy that. And I got to visit another old friend over the weekend.
6. My kids and I are having a blast reading The Tale of Desperaux... and the chapters aren't so long that I dread doing it (bonus!!).
7. My favorite jeans fit again!!!! (You knew I couldn't leave that one off.)
8. Rex's Kindermusik homework is actually done, and has been done for most of the week. This is as opposed to our regular routine, which is to do it in the car on our way to his class.
9. The election is over. After 2 years of campaigning. I can't be grateful enough for that. It was a long 2 years.
10. Several of my children voluntarily and independently read their scriptures tonight. I love it when they come up with these things on their own. Their hearts are pure and good (in spite of me).
11. Our tap water tastes ... normal ... again. Instead of like you're drinking pure mud.
12. I'm tired enough to sleep well tonight. Probably just jinxed myself there, but that's ok.
13. The food at choir practice pot luck tonight was yummy and I didn't have to cook all of it. (Nope, I don't sing in the choir. But there are perks that go with taking your two daughters and running an impromptu nursery while they're there!)
14. I am grateful that we have so many wonderful blessings. I almost hesitate to say that for a variety of reasons. But we are very blessed in very many different ways. I haven't done a lot to deserve it, and sometimes I don't recognize my blessings for being blessings, but I am grateful that we have been so blessed.

TMI

It was decided that my last post was incautious, so I have removed it. If you have known me personally, you can shoot me an email, and I will be happy to send a copy of it to you. Tracky751 AT gmail DOT com.

And for the record (for those of you who actually saw the post), Bob knew we wanted more kids, too. I offended him by writing the story the way I did, and I apologize for that.

Daddy's Home!!!!!

'Nuf said.

Odds and Ends

This is Hannah talking via webcam to her dad. They don't actually talk. They type messages to each other. Clickety clack, clickety clack. Bob reminds me of Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail. I thought it was a compliment.

This is the neighborhood mozzarella cheese stick dinner. After they raked 7 bags of leaves for me, I prepared them the healthiest meal ever: mozzarella cheese sticks, hot chocolate, and carrots with ranch dip. Just call me Mother of the Year. In the picture above, they were discussing Bob's imminent return, and decided to toast him. "Cheers!"

And lastly, why suction cup toothbrushes may not be such a brilliant idea. On the other hand, it certainly cuts down on the amount of reminders to put the seat down.

Remembrance

I don't want to let Veteran's Day go by without making note of it, and especially to thank all those who serve us or have served us in whatsoever way our country has asked of them.

As my children grow older, they begin to ask many questions about the world as we know it, and there is no doubt that it has been shaped by the generations gone before. To the Greatest Generation, I can't say enough words of appreciation. Both Bob's granddad and mine served in WWII, and I've heard both of them say that they just did what they had to do. That's pretty profound to someone like me, from Gen X, who pretty much thinks (rather erroneously) there's not anything that we have to do for anyone or any reason. When I explain to my kids the reasons that the USA was involved in WWII, I am more grateful every time for that generation, the world over, for their sacrifices for others, and for their examples of unity and working for a common cause.

I am grateful for my dad, who did not dodge the draft when he was called up during the Vietnam War. We are now in the midst of our own warfront situation, and I now can see how very tempting it could have been to not answer the call. But Dad did, and fortunately for my existence and my brother's, he did not go to Vietnam but to the safety of Germany (which sounds quite ironic in light of the WWII discussion above), and finished the tour that his country asked of him.

I am certain that my dad's military experiences have molded my life in more ways than I can see, but I am aware that just knowing that he went taught me about the obligations that I have to my country, to my family, to duty. I know that his and my grandfather's service taught me to value my country, to serve it, and to love it, even when things might seem confusing or less than perfect.

So I send a heartfelt thank you to the members of our armed forces, for doing what is asked of them, for making the sacrifices necessary, and for following their hearts to honor, serve, and protect.

This day also marks another day of remembrance for our family. Ten years ago, Bob's sister Lori died unexpectedly, and her funeral was held on Veteran's Day. I can still almost feel the wind on my cheeks that day in the cemetery, but that fades some, and I remember Lori. I didn't get the opportunity to know her for very long, but I love how she made me feel welcome, and I love seeing her smiling pictures with baby Hannah, and I love that she and Ang brought me back spoons from Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street for my collection, and I love that she convinced me I needed to try out Red Lobster--that forever influenced my taste for cheesy garlic biscuits--I'm still on the hunt for the perfect Weight Watchers adaptation, something that I think Lori would probably get a kick out of, because it's a completely hopeless cause. I wish I'd had more time to know her better.

Blessings

I hope everyone knows that in my tie post, I was referring to the ties when I said they were alike, conservative, and boring. I would never apply any of these adjectives to either of my boys. Especially boring. Neither of my boys are ever boring!

And yes, my dear friend, I do love those little angels, and I know you meant no harm with your comment. It just happened to strike a chord with my feelings about some of my worst flaws. One of the things that I really struggle with is exasperation with my kids. Sometimes I think it's because of my good friend/enemy, Depression; sometimes I think it's just the normal side effect of being a parent; and sometimes I think it's one of my "poor parenting skills" (is that psycho-babble for saying, "I was wrong and have no excuse; I shouldn't do that"?).

So, in my little ones' defense ... there was a reason I didn't blog yesterday, and that would be because I was spending time with my kids, and I was enjoying it!!!

I took Hannah to the dentist, and she and I spent a great deal of the time laughing at Sariah's antics. She freaked out when they took Hannah back for her cleaning, so we had to follow her back there. Then Sariah amused herself by repeatedly sliding down the base of the exam chair and shrieking, "Wheeeeeeeeeee!" Fortunately, all of the other patrons and dental staff found this as amusing as we did.

After school, Rex and I worked on his Kindermusik homework. We missed a bunch while I was sick, so we've had a lot of catching up to do. He loves Kindermusik, so it wasn't a hassle. While he was at his class, I spent my time talking with another mom about their hopes to adopt after already having 2 biological children. I talked about how hard that was for us, but that the blessings have been many and great. I realized anew how much I really mean that.

The girls and I spent the evening on a hunt for the Missing Cell Phone. But we had a ball tossing their room and the cars. Usually, cleaning their room means a terrible ordeal. But first, one of my neighbors came over and supervised the cleaning of the room by my girls and their 2 friends this weekend (I love my neighbor!!!!!), so the room wasn't so awful to search. And second, what can be more fun than dumping out a bunch of stuff and throwing it all back in without sorting it? Still no cell phone. Bummer.

Meanwhile, Elisabeth and Caleb, bless their hearts, caught up all their late or missing school work without argument, complaint, or under-the-breath murmuring. I am so proud of them for buckling down and getting it done, and it sure made our morning run more smoothly today.

And the blessing of all blessings: when I went to bed last night, I was too exhausted to lay awake or toss and turn. A good night's sleep does wonders for all sorts of things!

These Are the Ties

These are the ties that (un)bind. Every Sunday since I bought them, we have had a full-fledged brawl over these ties. I have no idea which one is the most desirable ... er, only desirable tie. Because they're so freaking alike, conservative, and boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're talking throwing punches here, people. Over. A. Tie. Whichever one it is.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my niece's 8th birthday! Since we can't be there, we want to wish her a happy, happy birthday, with lots of good times, good cake, and good fun!

Photography by Hannah

Hannah recently did an enrichment activity on digital camera photography. I thought the pictures she took were quite good, especially with our fancy dancy camera.






And of course one must include a picture of the artist to go with any collection. This one is courtesy of Daddy. I think he has as much fun as she does playing with the camera. But then, we all do.

On a Sunday Morning

Quirky

I think I've been tagged by Karen. Look out, you may be next ... so don't make too much fun of me. And since I'm never quirky, it took me all night to come up with my list, by the way.

6 Quirky Things about Tracy

1. Millipedes make my toes curl. I'd rather run into a centipede or a rat or a scorpion or a frog or a rabid dog or even a snake (this, from the woman who called a member of her bishopric at 6 am to remove a snake from her bathroom counter). Millipedes. Are. Gross.
2. The Backyardigans is my favorite TV show ever. Seriously. When the kids have it on, I must sit and watch from start to finish. My favorite episodes are Pirates' Treasire and The Key to the Nile. I even own Backyardigans CDs and listen to them regularly.
3. I pick my kids' toenails. Ew. I think it's because I run out of my own nails to pick. I know, I should probably join Toenail Pickers Anonymous. My kids tell me so frequently. They have also developed really creative evasion tactics, liking screaming abuse when I come near their toes.
4. I don't like hard candy. Or breath mints. Or chewy candy. Or anything like unto these things. It must be soft, gooey, really chocolatey or peanut buttery or both (my mouth waters just thinking about it), and highly fattening, or it's not worth my taste buds' investment of time and energy. A dish full of candy corn or peppermints can last in my presence for months. But not chocolate chips. Even when I was little, suckers and the like just didn't do anything for me.
5. I don't lose weight, no matter how hard I try, unless I'm daily studying my scriptures, too. It's some freaky weird thing Heavenly Father has to do to me to keep me in line. Yes, sometimes I must be compelled to do what's right. It's been that way since college. Of course, my candy preferences (see #4 above) also play a role in this.
6. I am grateful for my depression. It's not always fun to deal with when it's bad. It's probably not the trial that I would have handpicked. But it was handpicked for me, by the One who knows what's best for me, and it has taught me patience, compassion, perseverance, empathy for others' afflictions, and to judge less often (I wish I could say never, but I'm still a work in progress).

So, now you know that I'm a closet toenail-picker, openly mentally diseased, a millipede hater, Backyardigans-obsessed, and weight-challenged. You know the real me. What about you?

Hmm...whom should I tag? Tiffany, Christy, Staci, Allison, Melessa, and Sharon. Because I know you girls are eager to air your innermost quirks to the world.

I Have the Most Thoughtful Kids on Earth

My wonderful children made me breakfast in bed this morning (thank you, sister missionaries, for delivering a message on service). If I look partially made-up (which is as made-up as I ever bother to get) in this picture, it's because when I got out of bed, they told me I had to get back in, so I talked them into letting me use the restroom and taking a shower...if, and only if, I agreed to get back in bed afterward.

Here is a picture of the fine cuisine. Elisabeth says the pancakes look like meat, and Hannah called part of her scrambled eggs "burnt spinach" colored green. I thought it looked scrumptious--after all, somebody else cooked it! And what picture is complete without bunny ears, right?
I thought I smelled something burning while I was in the shower.... Why yes, that is a Tupperware plate melted to one of the elements on my stove! This was the only real casualty. Unless you count my freshly-mopped kitchen floor, and the kitchen cabinets that my mother cleaned in detail while she was here (sorry, Mom!). I think they had fun.

The food was delicious. I know this because I couldn't even bring myself to count the Weight Watchers points, it tasted so good! It was a much needed treat, and I was doubly grateful that part of the sister missionaries' lesson was that one aspect of service is receiving it gracefully.

A Good Man

Bob's paternal grandfather passed away last week. He had been extremely ill with a malignant brain tumor, so I think it's fair to say that it was a blessing that he could finally lay his mortal body to rest. I will post the link to his obituary here. I've also posted some pictures here (you'll need to know this: 73125). But I really would like to take a minute to pay tribute to the man with my blog.

What I know of Grandpa Haynes is that he was a family man. He and Grandmother have been down to see us for a variety of occasions--our wedding, Bob's graduation, the births of babies, the kids' birthday parties, even our housewarming party. Not a Christmas has gone by when they haven't sent something for our kids--all of them (which is quite an effort on their part, I must admit). Grandpa has sent all of us letters, emails, and pictures. And in all of those pictures, he has the biggest grin on his face. He would just love on our kids and listen to 'em talk. For all of that, I appreciate him so very much.

A story told at his funeral is worth repeating and recording. Bob and I have both heard it previously, but have never written it down or shared it. Bob and Dorothy were married on April 1. As they were walking up the steps to the courthouse, he turned to her and said, "April Fool's!" and turned around and walked back down. Well, he came back and they got married ... but she's still shaking her head about it, even at the funeral.

We also walked away from the services with one other nugget of information about Grandpa. We knew that he was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and that he served in the Pacific theater during WWII. For many years, Bob has been asking his grandpa to tell him about that, what ship he served on, where he went, etc. And all these years, Grandpa would tell him, "It's no big deal. We never saw very much action."

He's a true member of Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation. He was serving on the USS Missouri in 1945 when Japan surrendered, ending the war. But he never saw much action ... nope, just history in the making. Details, details.

For those of you who might be wondering, my boys were suitably impressed with this story. Of course, after they whooped and hollered ... I think they only grasped the words "war" and "surrender" ... they asked me "What war?" and "Who was fighting again?" and "Did they have guns?"

I love boys.

And thanks to Grandpa for giving his service to our country, and for sharing his love with all of us.

Hmmmmm....

I think we bought the wrong costume for Sariah.

Pat Me on the Back

I'm sorry to burden you all with my weight loss saga. Ok, I'm not really sorry. This is my blog, after all. So, if you're not interested, feel free to tune out now.

Meanwhile, I hit my all time high weight the week before my surgery. It was very depressing. Especially since the removal of 2 cysts big enough to be taken out and a few organs here and there really didn't do anything for my weight. That was disappointing. And there were only a few pounds separating me and Bob. That was exasperating.

Hey, you look for help wherever you can get it, if it looks like it isn't going to be any work, right?

Well, in the last month, I've brought my weight down 14 pounds, and my BMI down 2 points. Woohoo! Party on.

NO, there is absolutely NO need for you to point out that in those 4-5 weeks, I spent 2 weeks extremely ill with some freaky-weird gastrointestinal something, on an entirely liquid diet that didn't prevent me from becoming dehydrated. Just because I lost 10 pounds in those 2 weeks doesn't actually signify anything. There is no need to rain on my parade.

I mean, I gained 4 pounds back when I started eating again.

Like I said, you look for help wherever you can get it (particularly when you're feeling desperate).

Of course, be careful what you wish for. It seems to me that I once heard about a friend now living in South America who went from heavy to thin rather rapidly because of parasites in the water there that she wasn't accustomed to. It sounded appealing, losing weight quickly and without any effort (meaning self-control), right?

You know what? I don't think it could have been pleasant, and from now I'll stick to doing it the "old-fashioned" way: diet, exercise and self-control. (Not that I actually tried to do it the quickie way. Just thought to take advantage of an opportunity.) And I'm gonna be happy doing it.

I'll just pat myself on the back now, and let you get back to the more important details of your day.

Boo!

Well, I survived the pumpkin carving. I think I'll only need one dose of Benadryl to get me through. Pumpkin pie I can eat. Pumpkin seeds I can eat. Pumpkin scented candles I can burn. But pumpkin guts make my eyes itch, my nose run, and hives break out everywhere. It's totally nuts.

Tracy's guide to the picture:

• The really ferocious pumpkin to the right is Hannah's. Maybe the bed-head incident was still on her mind when she planned her blueprints.
• Cyclops Pumpkin up front is Elisabeth's, and yes, she knew who Cyclops was before she started carving.
• Teeny Tiny Pumpkin on top is, of course, Sariah's. See, we gave it one tooth because it's still a baby. Sariah has an entire mouthful of quite useful teeth, but that's entirely beside the point. Art doesn't necessarily have to parallel life.
• The happy-looking pumpkin with shark teeth to the left is Rex's design. He was very specific with me. And he only tried to carve his own pumpkin (without my permission) once.
• Center-stage is Caleb's pumpkin. I have no idea what the whisker-type things represent. Neither does he. I asked.
• And the deranged, completely frightened pumpkin is mine. It's how I felt by the time we were done. My mouth might have been open that big when I was ... er, requesting my children go to bed. Ok, ok, it really just signifies my big yawn. Honest.

Crazy Hair Day

It's Reb Ribbon week at school. Kind of like "Just Say No" to us Generation Xers, but it's ... Red Ribbon Week, which means that today they wear crazy hair ... because that helps you say no to drugs?

Anyway, like all the hair? Elisabeth's hair, fully conceived by herself, was a creation unto itself. It involved 4 rubber bands, 1 barette, 1 braid, 1 swoop-over in the back, and 3 different ponytails combined in 1 or 2 ways.

I think you could have bounced a football off of Caleb's head.

As for Rex, he wanted blue hair, but I wasn't prepared for that when I was confronted with the need for crazy hair 20 minutes before they were supposed to get on the bus. In any case, there's not much else you can do with hair that's less than a quarter of an inch long, but we gelled it, moussed it, and stuck it straight up. "Mom," he said, "I look like a poky-pine!" I loved it.

Then we all decided (much to her distress) that Hannah could have done Crazy Hair Day on the merits of her bed-head alone. Yeah, she didn't appreciate that very much.

Halloween Bash '08

Some friends from church throw a huge Halloween Bash, including a most awesome trunk-or-treat every year, and Saturday was the big day. We took some friends with us, and now you get the fab Halloween Preview.

The Ninja

The Midnight Angel

The Goth Witch

The Scary Skeleton Guy

If you're noticing a dark theme among my children's costumes this year...you might be right. Not sure what got into them. Please also notice Rex's black fingernails. Hannah asked for them with her costume. Then Rex thought they were a fabulous idea, and I was ok with that. The rest of my kids...not so much. But they were black, for heaven's sake. It wasn't like he wanted neon pink nails. And even so, it's Halloween! Ok. Sorry about that. Done raving now. And now may I present the star of the evening: The Super Amazing Giraffe!!

Why is everybody looking at me?

Hey, wait a minute!!!

Saying cheese now.

Ok, I'm totally done with this photo op.

I want to dance, baby!

Amazingly, my friend and I had no idea we had the same costume (from a few years ago) for our youngest babies to wear. They were a definite hit, as was Sariah's moving and grooving for 2 full hours.

Not enough Halloween pics for you? Have no fear, only 4 more days until Candy Blastoff. More pics coming soon to a blog you know.