Five Question Friday

1. What is your go to comfort food or sweet?
Stouffer's frozen mac & cheese. Oh my word.

2. What is the most romantic place you've ever been to?
Every single time that Larry & I take a weekend & go somewhere alone, it's the most romantic place I've ever been. Seriously, I am not a real picky girl. No high maintenance stuff here. Just take me somewhere, spend time with me, treat me like a queen for a couple days and I'm yours forever.

3. What is your favorite thing about fall/Halloween?
You know, 10 years ago my answer to this question would've been totally different. I would've told you all the reasons that I was anti-Halloween. And to be honest, I still am not a fan of the creepy, scary, bloody, gorey stuff. I still won't let my kids dress up like freaky-looking stuff. No eyeballs danging from a mask or costumes that would frighten little children! THAT is the stuff I was always "anti-Halloween" for!

But as the kids have gotten older, I've come to enjoy it. I like giving them 1 night a year to be silly & dress up in funny costumes for the sake of begging for candy. Whether we go trick or treating through a neighborhood or to a church carnival, it's a hoot to see them create costumes just for the sake of candy!

And the older I get, the more I become my mom! ha ha! When I was little, she was a dental assistant, so that means there were lots of candies I was never allowed to eat. Mom's basic rule was if you can't just chew it up & swallow it, it's bad for your teeth & you need to get rid of it. And I tend to cull out those same sorts of candies when the kids come home on Halloween night. We only save a few suckers, gummy things and hard candies.

4. How would you spend 24 hours alone?
I'd nap, get a massage (at least 2 hours!), get a pedicure, take another nap, eat all the things that I normally can't or won't cook because my family won't eat it, and spend a whole lot of time with Jesus!

5. Does you husband bring you flowers? Are you the bring-me-flowers type of girl?
We both enjoy getting gifts, but we are usually too broke for costly things like flowers. So I am happy when he comes home with a Dr. Pepper for me. :) But yes, I would love flowers any day!

Friday Phone Dump

It's Friday Phone Dump time! It's that time of the week when you can follow my through my week in pictures. If you'd like to join in on your blog, comment & link back here!

Last weekend, our family was hit with a stomach virus. After Sarah & I had it, we thought we were ALL done with it, so I began the process of washing everything in the house....bedding, stuffed animals, etc.....

And then it hit the boys!
After Sarah got better, she was looking through my People magazine & she thought I needed a picture of a sweet young thing. ha ha! Hello, Joe Jonas!

Four mornings a week, this is my view at about 7:40am. Well, ya know...if I look DOWN. It's sloooowwwwwlllllyyyyy paying off. I'm down 13 lbs since January. I'd love to see the scale move more quickly, but I will take it. It's 13 lbs better than it was a few months ago.

I started reading another "bad" book this week (my last book had the same "bad" word in the title & my family teased me about reading dirty books). I thought I was going to like it, but I've gotta say it's boringgggggg. I'm only about 4 chapters into it, but it's just way too dry & slow-moving to keep my attention. It'll be on my half.com site for sale by tomorrow.

I LOVE seeing this coupon. See the red bottle? That's CRANBERRY flavored Sierra Mist. And do you know what CRANBERRY flavored Sierra Mist means? It means cooler weather & Fall/Winter are just around the corner!!! I'm going to buy some of this tomorrow!!

My mom went dress shopping for Sarah this week & found her a few to try on at home. They came in a big plastic garment bag, which Sarah 'tried on' & announced "Mom! A body could fit in there!" ha ha!
So which is it? REAL cheese or pasteurized processed cheese?

There is only ONE reason that this tank of gas has lasted nearly a full week. And it's NOT because I haven't driven a lot. He is GOOD.

Moments before this, Sarah was screaming & arguing with her brother. I snuck up behind her with my phone camera turned on & squatted down beside her for a picture. She immediately posed for the picture. ha ha!!!! Sometimes a mama's gotta figure out a new way to break up fights. A camera or new shoes tend to work with this girl!

And for your last picture of the week, here's the weekly self-portrait. I was feeling a little silly when I took it.

Want to Know Wednesday

{1} If you had an extra hour to do ANYTHING for yourself each day what would you do?
And I assume this extra hour also includes money....because if we're adding an imaginary hour to the day, we might as well throw in imaginary money, right?

If so, I'd have a massage. Or take a nap. Or read. Or (grin) blog.

{2} Are you a morning person or a night owl?
I have to sort of be both.
I am a night owl by nature. I love that quiet, peaceful, sleepy time when everyone in the house is in bed, already asleep. It's like my little piece of serenity. I may be yawning, but it's my favorite time of the day to write, take a bubble bath, read a book, whatever....

But I am also the alarm setter, the wake up the children & cook everyone breakfast-er, the drag my husband out of bed & push him toward the shower-er, so I don't get the privilege of being one or the other. I am both the night owl & the morning person.

{3} How much sleep do you get on an average night?
Ha ha! Did you read my answer to question 2?
Seriously, during the week, I am usually in the bed, turning off my lamp by 11:30. (umm...it's 11:20 right now....might not make it tonight) And I get up at 6:05-6:10. But on the weekend, I almost always go to bed later and I always sleep later!

So I guess during the week it's about 6 1/2-7 hours on average. And on the weekend it's more like 8-9.

{4} When do you find the time to blog/surf the ol' interweb?
Scroll up to #2.

{5} What is the ONE thing you're never too busy for?
Going potty. :)
I think we're all 'too busy' for just about anything in our lives from time to time. Obviously if I'm too busy to spend time with my kids, I see that & make adjustments the next day. If I find that I'm too busy for some quiet time with my husband, I fix that. But there's always SOMETHING that has to be pushed aside every day and you adjust & fix that the next day.
But pottying? Yeah....I always make time for that. :)

Ten on Tuesday (oops...on Wednesday!)

1. How do you take your coffee?
In the most non-existent way possible!

2. Do you prefer soft or crispy chocolate chip cookies?
soft!

3. Do you wear a belt everyday?
No, but I did wear a belt for the first time in years a few weeks ago!

4. What is your favorite color combination?
red/navy, red/black, brown/pink, brown/blue

5. Do you like sour candy?
yes

6. How often do you do laundry?
I do a little bit every day---well, the washing/drying part anyway. This week I've tried a new system of folding everything but the towels/rags/socks as it comes out of the dryer. It's been OK. Usually I don't have time to deal with it & I just let it stack up til the weekend when I fold it all at one time.

7. Did you ever wear braces?
Oh yes. When I was 9, I started orthodontics, but it wasn't braces right away. I got to "enjoy" many years of appliances of one variety or another. My least favorite was the one you had to bite down into to keep it in place. It sat between my upper & lower teeth & was created to work on my bite because my lower jaw & upper jaw weren't lining up correctly. You couldn't talk (at all) with it in your mouth because it would flop between your teeth & string spit. Oh yeah, it was pretty.

Because a previous ortho had me get 8 baby teeth pulled, those "holes" were closing up with the remaining baby teeth and we had to deal with getting all THOSE teeth moved back into the right positions so that my adult teeth would have a place to come in at all. And then when they were all finally in, we could start with braces. I was in 6th or 7th grade (can't remember which) when I got my upper braces. The following year I got lower braces. I had the lower ones until I was 18!

Seriously, NINE years of orthodontic work in one form or fashion. So when my oldest child whined about 4 years in braces, I may or may not have played the world's tiniest violin for her.

8. Are you good at Roman Numerals?
Yes & no. I can do all of them up to 50, but then I start forgetting which numbers are represented by which letters. If you give me a cheat sheet for that, I can rock the roman numerals.

9. What is your favorite form of social media?
Facebook & blogging

10. How do you feel about chin dimples?
I just see John Travolta in Grease in my head when I think of chin dimples....and I loved him in that movie!

Stomach viruses suck.

They really do!

Yesterday I went to work like normal. All the kids went to school. No problems there....just the usual events of the day. After eating lunch, I felt like I had overeaten---like my tummy was way full! But I knew that wasn't the case. I ate a normal lunch. Since I have such a sensitive system anyway, I thought maybe something just didn't agree with me and umm....I'd know soon enough. It's not at all uncommon for me to have issues after eating, so I didn't think too much of it. But about 4:00, it hit. I had gotten the kids picked up for school & while I was still driving home from that, I started feeling nauseous. I was still feeling a little funky since lunch & began to feel like maybe something in the broccoli salad I had eaten was spoiled. Little did I know that was NOT the case.

By the time I took Samuel to his Boy Scout campout meeting location and Savannah to the school for her ride over to the football stadium with the band at 5:15, I was sick. I carried a trashcan with me in the car for that drive. I texted Larry & told him I would not be going to the football game... I was too sick! I curled up on the couch under a blanket & alternated between shivering and sweating while holding my stomach & my trash can all night. About 9:00, I went to bed. I woke up when they got home from the game & took my temperature. I had a low grade fever. I slept restlessly all night, sleeping off the fever, I believe. But I did sleep. This morning, I felt tired & weak, a little achy & my stomach wasn't totally perfect, but I felt more like myself. Whew! Another stomach virus over & done with.

And then.... about 6:45 am, Sarah yelled for me. She had just thrown up. And she's continued to have nausea/vomitting/diarrhea all day. She ended up with a little fever this evening, too. Sure enough...it's a virus, not just a spoiled broccoli salad! My poor baby girl has felt horrible all day long, but she was able to eat a little tonight. Hopefully she's on the mend now.

My 2 boys (the big one and the little one) are at a Scout camp out (Larry went & joined him today). Larry texted me tonight that Samuel had thrown up. Oh boy. I asked if they were heading home. He said no, that he'd just watch him & see if it was a fluke or if he was 'really' sick. I'm afraid I will see some weary scouts wandering in in the middle of the night when reality hits that he's SICK and they head home. From 50 miles away. That should be a fun drive home. (especially since Larry was beginning to have some symptoms, too!)

At this point, Savannah is still ok, but it will be a miracle if she doesn't get it. She helped me with Sarah today. I had to go to the grocery store to get some food for the week and to pick up more Gatorade & Immodium. She's such a good big sister. She even told me today that it really doesn't gross her out 'much'. She's going to be such a good mama one day!

So, pray for my family --- to stay healthy, to keep from choking on the Lysol.

I have found out today that this stomach virus is going around our little town like crazy....so we're certainly not alone. At least we're not the only miserable ones this weekend.

Friday Phone Dump...one day late

I got a stomach virus last night & went to bed at 9:15. So I'm a day late on the Friday Phone Dump. This is the time of the week that you can follow me through my week in pictures. I don't have many to share this time. I guess I wasn't doing a lot of picture taking this week! Join me over on your blog & link back here. If you do, comment so I can come check out your Friday Phone Dump post!

I've learned that with the boy child, it's often not worth asking 'why?'. I found this after he got out of the shower earlier this week. Do any of you drink a bottle of water while you shower?

I love how God so quickly provides. This morning we took a giant leap of faith & this afternoon in the mail, we got a 'safe driver check' from our insurance company! It's just a drop in the bucket, but I am excited by it! He amazes me every day!

This is the lunchbox Larry carries to work when he forgets to bring his lunchbox home. I'm kinda mean like that. (grin)

Will Fall ever come to Texas?

Do you recognize this perfume bottle? A few years ago, Sarah got a gift box full of little sample-sized bottles of perfumes from a lady at church. She's finished all the bottles off but this one smells SO good even now. I would love to figure out what kind of perfume this is & buy a bottle. Anyone know?

And this week's self portrait for ya!

Five Question Friday (on Saturday)

1. Do you apologize to your kids if you're wrong?
Yes. Even if it means swallowing my pride, I want them to know that it's important to admit when you're wrong, apologize for it & make things right.

2. Do you have a class ring, Letterman's jacket, or similar obscenely priced high school "must have"?
I had a letter jacket & a class ring & the big senior scrapbook thing when I was a senior. But I'm going to try to talk my kids out of buying a class ring. It's just silly to spend a ton of money on a ring you'll wear until the day you graduate & then put it into your jewelry box to sit for the rest of your life!

3. If you could be one age for the rest of your life, what age would you choose?
Too hard to pick! Every year I would say "this year!" or "this age!". Life just keeps on getting better.

4. What is your favorite (unused) baby name?
I assume the "unused" part means I can't select the names we chose for our kids. If so, I have lots of favorites. Since we went with all S names, I have quite a few other S names and other letter names that I like.

For a boy, I like Owen, Simon (that would've been our adopted boy's name if we'd adopted an infant!), Stephen/Steven (would've been Sarah's name if she was a boy), Luke (which would've been my name if I was a boy!) and Graham.

For a girl, I like Shaylee (tried to convince Larry of this one for Sarah), Molly, Claire, Audrey & Katherine.

5. If you could make your child(ren) like something what would it be?
Getting along with their siblings 24/7!