TGIF!

This week flew by!  I am so thankful that it did too.. Josh will be home tomorrow afternoon!!

Today is my last day of solitude..the kids get out of Summer School today.  Where did this month go?  There was so much more I wanted to get done while the kids were in school during the day.  But today I am going to enjoy the last kid free day I will have until school starts in the fall.  Peticure here I come!!! LOL  I have been waiting all month to have one.. yess.. I am going to get one.. NO.. I really mean it this time! LOL  I guess while I am at it I should pick up some more Veet and do my legs so I will be all smooth for Josh's home coming.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Weekend and flies the flag HIGH and remembers and enjoys the Freedom we have. 

 Besides Josh being home we don't have much planned.  We may get some fireworks, goodness there are firework tents all over the place.. they wont be all that hard to find here.  I am also in a skit that will be performed at church this Sunday. (YIKES)  I guess while I am getting my peticure I better go over my lines.

We have had VBS this week and I have been in the kitchen on snack duty.  Tonight is the last night.  So I better get myself in gear and get my house cleaning done and get to the store and enjoy the day before the tribe gets home.  I'll catch up with you all after the weekend.

Today it starts..

the next four months of Josh working out of town.  He packed up his car and left just a bit ago.  He said he will be back for the 4th Of July, it's only a week but I know it will be a short stay and back out he will go.  The next two jobs are big deals and good money with lots of over time... yet they take him away from us.  Will it be worth it?

So far my sanity is only frayed by just a few threads at the seems and my right eyes twitching isn't that bad but I was crazy like that before he left.  Don't worry.. I won't become all unraveled, I have a few things that help keep me from coming all undone.  Journal.. you are one of them : )

I know when my husband is home I almost all but abandon my online friends.  I know most of them understand and I will get caught up with all my blog hopping.. it is what keeps me warm at night and away from an empty bed.  That and friendly games of Scrabble with the girls " )

This is the last week of summer school.  All four of the kids will be at home all day when it is over.  I better enjoy the silence while I can.

Also I have to plan and get the house in shape for August.  Josh's sisters and their family are coming out for a week and his mother.  We are really looking forward to it.  Can't remember the last time we were all together.  Hoping maybe it can also be a congratulation celebration for Zane getting on Jeopardy (and no we still haven't heard anything from them) or a big good bye party for Josh since he will be leave early September for far away places.  Either way it will be a good time.

When the money starts to come back in I need to find a nice hide away bed couch (two if possible, one for the living room and one for the loft) and we are in desperate need of lamps.  I am also trying to think of some small projects I can do to keep myself busy and maybe let the kids help with.  I have promised myself that once I get the laundry room all squared away (all the laundry done haha) I will do something in there, paint the shelves or the walls.. something.  I'd also like to do some more with the yard.. but my thumb is brown.. not green LOL.  I think some party lights for the canopy will be cute if I can find some I like.  I did put a humming bird feeder out and have been getting visits from the tiny birds that are so cute (wish I could take pics of them.. gurr)

My efforts (not diet lol) kind of went out the window when we had the BBQ last week.  Since then I have not been very conscious of what I take in and have gone back to soda.  I haven't had the money to buy more Hoodia.  But today I will start over and keep trying.. plugging away.  My one friend who dropped ALOT of weight told me she mainly did it by cutting out soda, bread and white sugar.  She started getting that Splenda sugar blend for her cooking and baking. OMG>> it is soooo expensive though!  And didn't I read some where Sacrine is in those sugar substitutes and that helps to cause cancer?? Correct me if I am wrong.  Ofcourse I still smoke so I really can't say I am all that conscious of cancer causing agents. (one thing at a time)  I did tease Josh saying that by the time he comes home I will have us all eating soy products LOL.  No one thought it was funny but me.  Why does everyone wrinkle their nose at things made with soy?  Yes new things are scary.. anyone like that new soy milk, Silk?  I think the commercials with the cows drinking it are so stupid.

Pray for me! I think I am going to really need a lot of prayer this summer.

 

No one respects my stuff!!! Word of the day HOOSIERS!!!!

I love my children, I really do. But I am soooooooo pissed!!!  Another one bites the dust.. digital camera that is.  This is the second one that one of the kids have broken!!  First Sophia kills my digital videocam.  I don't think I will ever be able to get it fixed... and I sure wish I could watch  and edit the minDV's I had taken.  And now Lilly messed up the new digital camera Josh had gotten me to replace it that took video clips. 

What did I say when I got it.. loud and very clear and made them repeat.. This IS MOMMY'S and they are NOT allowed under any circumstances to touch it!

I was out in the yard the other day with Sophia.  I was in a bit of shock that one out of the three rose bushes I planted was actually thriving and getting ready to bloom.  I was so happy that I didn't kill them all and wanted to take a quick before picture before the bulbs opened up.  Sophia agreed that was a great idea but then said "But Lilly broke the camera mom"  I thought she was kidding, that she was doing that sibling thing trying to get Lilly in trouble or saying the last time I took a pic of Lilly she broke it with her goofy face lol and went in to get my camera.  The wind let out of my sails when I couldn't find it and I yelled for both Lilly and Sophia to come HERE.

Lilly knew exactly where the camera was.. because she had hid it under the green recliner!  It was bad enough that she broke it but to hide it.. that helped to light my fuse all the more (plus being on my period didn't help)  Apparently she was trying to take pics the other morning and when she went to turn it off.. she pushed the lens in.. jamming it!  Now it won't turn on at all and is basically a really EXPENSIVE paper weight!!!!!!!!!!  I tried not to explode on them.. and sent them to their rooms until I could calm down.

I did have a glimmer of hope because I remembered the day Josh brought it home.  It was after we got our taxes and he proudly gave it to me saying happy late Birthday and Valentines Day.  He had purchased the extended warranty on it and quoted the salesmen saying that if the kids did happen to break this one it was covered.  But do you think I put all that paper work in a safe handy place?? HA! I would take a pic of my unpacked, unorganized office/den but umm.. no camera.  Josh called the electronics store (Circuit City) he purchased it from and they referred him to an 800 number.  He told them he had dropped it and now it wont turn on. And they in turn told him the agreement he bought didn't cover that, it was only for normal wear and tear. WTF!  So not only did my kids break my camera.. my husband got SOLD.. I HATE it when sales ppl lie!  I am insisting he take it in anyways and be a bit more forceful.  It is a fricking $300 camera plus the extra he paid for the useless warranty.. ugh!!!!!

If it was just the camera I may not be so pissed.  But it has been a build up.  The dog ate.. yes ATE.. four pairs of shoes this week.  Lilly & Sophia's sandals, my tennies and my Favorite PAIR of sandals.  For a few days there I was wearing Annie's flip flops because I didn't have any shoes.  I bought a new pair yesterday and JUST caught the dog chewing on them.  Do you think she would understand if I spanked her if I caught her in the act of doing it???   And the kids can't seem to understand that if they don't put their dvd's away in the loft that the dog WILL chew on the cases and the disks! The dog also chewed up Zane's Boy Scout book because he didn't put it away!

The hall closet door is broke.. some one took it off it's tracks and bent the metal track holding it in place.. thus the dog can get in there and play in the shoes and chew to her delight!

And.. some one dropped a penny into the garbage disposal (it was me but it was an accident and should of been easy to get out but it wasn't and it jammed everything up) and it took Josh 3 days to get motivated to fix it (who told me that recliner was a bad idea??? LOL)

Some reason the kids don't get the concept of ONLY eating and drinking in the kitchen.  We need to clean the carpets AGAIN.

They keep going in my room.. watching tv in there and tearing up my bedroom and littering it with their pillows and sheets and toys. And they won't keep the dog out and she likes to drop turds in my closet!!

The cat chewed up the speaker cords for my computer and now I have to jiggle it to get sound.

The remotes to almost all the tv's are trashed, backs missing.. and need new batteries.

I am living with a bunch of HOOSIERS!!! (and for those of you who don't know.. Hoosier is slang in MO for white trash or ignorant people.. don't look at me I didn't make it up, and YES I know.. it also describes some one from Indiana lol humm wonder what the correlation is there LMBO)

I am getting sick of all my stuff being ruined.  I am not miss money bags that can afford to replace stuff on a whim.  And it is not fair!  Is this that stupid Grandparent's Curse rearing it's ugly head.. geee thanks MOM.. some how I know she is laughing her butt off and shaking her head yes!!!

New patio furniture, BBQ, and The Word Of The Day

The BBQ was alot of fun and busy Saturday.  It was funny how the men and women separated into groups lol but that is normal.  It was nice to see Kathy and her family, we haven't really seen them or talked since around Christmas.  Nancy & Bob are the sweetest ppl you will ever meet and I am glad they came.  I wish I could of sat and visited more with everyone but I was busy busy being hostess.  It was exhilarating showing off my new home and the oohh's and awws and complements from my friends and family.  But Next time I think we will shoot for just one or two families at a time lol. Audra was nice enough to take most of these snap shots for me but I did take the ones of the storm rolling by and Josh's big smile. 

Friday we had searched out for a patio set for this BBQ.  It was very frustrating.  If we found a set we liked it was too expensive and didn't come with an umbrella or if we found a set with in reason it did not come with enough chairs.  We opted to get these chairs from HomeDepo for $22 each and the canopy from Wal-Mart for around $80.  We will get a table or another set later when we can afford it but still this is nice.  We have seating and shade, that is what is important!

And that brings us to alphaDictionary.com Word Of The Day:  I will aestivate most of the summer in my back yard lounging on the gift my husband gave me for our 10th anniversary.

• aestivate •

Pronunciation: es-tê-vayt • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, intransitive

Meaning: 1. Spend the summer, to summer somewhere. 2. To spend the summer in a dormant state (antonym of hibernate). Bears hibernate through the winter to avoid the seasonal severity; desert amphibians aestivate in the summer for the same reason.

Notes: You may, if it pleases you, omit the initial A in today's Good Word: estivate is as good as aestivate. The ae ligature (æ) is a hold-over from Latin, probably indicating the same pronunciation as the A in bat ([bæt] in our pronunciation guide). The act of aestivating is aestivation and a more Latiny adjective for adjectival summer or summery is aestival. Aestival also forms a seasonal group with hibernal "winter(y)", autumnal "fall(-like)", and vernal "spring(-like)".

In Play: Does summer in the phrase, "I summer on the Côte d'Azur," strike you as beneath the dignity of Côte d'Azur—and the amount of money you spend there? Then try, "I aestivate each year on the Côte d'Azur" and impress your friends even more. If your school is out for the summer but you are the only one of your clique without a job, impress them with, "I will be aestivating this summer." Of course, unless you can aestivate on the Côte d'Azur, you should keep looking for a job.

Word History: Today's Good Word comes from Latin aestivare "to summer somewhere" from aestas "summer" with the same root as aestus "heat". Akin to Sanskrit inddhe "it ignites", Greek aithos "fire", and Old High German eiten "to heat", which gave Modern German Hitze "heat." The same Proto-Germanic root that produced German Hitze came up heat in English. (Speaking of which, we hope Katy Brezger keeps up the heat on finding words like today's for our Good Word series.)

Finnaly The Lazy Boy Arrives!

Yep.. I'm the queen!  No one takes care of my man like I can lol.  He better remember how comfortable his chair is when he is off working in obscure places like Nebraska, Mexico or Baghdad and that memory brings him home all the faster!!

 

Our anniversary was spent processing and talking about the prospect of Josh working outside the country this fall.  It really was a big dessission and too funny how it all worked out.  But I don't think I am going to talk too much about it until it actually comes about.  But he is scheduled to go out of town a week from Monday to Nebraska.. that job they say will last about 4 months!

Josh gave me a essay he wrote about our 10 yrs together!! It was still on his computer but he plans on getting it printed on pretty paper and framed.  As I was reading it he was embarrassed saying.. "Ya I know.. it's cheesy"  When I was done I was bawling my eyes out!!! It is the best gift he has EVER given me and I LOVE- LOVE- LOVE- IT!  It was from his heart, and how he felt about me and our life together.. that is all I could ever ask for.  He said that he has planned on sending me to the spa on pay day.. lol I asked if we could buy patio furniture instead.. I can go to the spa any time.. but we NEED patio furniture.

What started as just a few old friends coming over for BBQ and to see the new house this Saturday has blown out into a BIG 25 people guest list!  YIKES!!!  So today is going to be spent cleaning and shopping for food and hopful a nice but not too expensive patio set.  Ohh.. and we have to pick up after school the Go-Kart Zane built at summer school.  LOL Maybe Josh is right.. we need a truck.. NOT.. the seats come out of the Van lol we can live with that for now.

 

 

Surely the scale needs new batteries

Today is day 3 with my umm.. diet? No, I don't like that term.. diet.. maybe effort.. ya!.. Day 3 in my effort to slim down to a size 14.  I have been doing ok with the no soda aspect.  But did you ever notice that when you try and quit anything or are trying to focus on a goal, others will unconsciously sabotage you???  I told Josh Sunday morning what I was doing with the Hoodia ( he never heard of it lol) and drinking more water since we were broke and can't afford my IV bag worth of Diet Pepsi. By Sunday evening I was not even craving a soda and surprised that I didn't have any of the normal withdrawal head aches that I usually get when I haven't had at least one a day. I am sure Josh had only good intentions when he picked up at the gas station a 2 litter of Diet Pepsi and was looking for a big hero's welcome home with it lol but instead I snapped at him about trying to ruin me lol  Maybe PMS is also setting in????  I did share it with him.. ofcourse! LOL

I must tell you though that the Hooida has helped with protion control.  I do feel fuller longer.  I take 2 gel tabs with a big drink of water like 20 min before I know I am going to eat and some times right before I eat one more.   Saturday I did feel a bit "jittery" and maybe a bit hyper.. I was in total cleaning mode.. and that is not such a bad thing LOL but I promised myself if that kept up I was going to drop the pills.  But by Sunday and today that has stopped, as my messy house will testify to. UGH.. why is it what takes you all day to clean only takes children 1/2 an hour to trash???!!! 

I DID wake up this morning with a dream still fresh in my mind about deep fried powered donuts..mmmmmmmm donuutttttsss.. mmmmmmm LOL Wonder where that came from??   Sometimes it is good thing not to have money to buy the things that you are craving!

I stepped on the scale after my shower today.  According to it I have lost 5 pounds already!!! *looking over my flub.. but where did it go and when will it show outwardly that I have!!!*  That was a bit encouraging to see but I have the sneaky suspicion that the thing needs a new 9V battery. Either way, I will take it that I am progressing, that is pretty good for it only being Day 3.

Maybe it's time to add exercising????  Ya.. this is how much I like thatidea   

 

Day 1.. hoo-hoo Hoodia

I am not one who is obsessed with her weight or anything.. but I do like it when my clothes fit well.  I have a whole stack of size 14 in my closet that a friend gave me.. I was ALMOST at a 16 and thought I was on my way to fitting into them.. that was around Christmas.  I haven't been dieting or exercising or any of the good things you are supposed to do.. guess that is why I am still stuck in 18's.  And the scale! HA.. I don't do scales.. the last time I got the courage up to step on the one Josh insisted on putting in our bath room it read: Error Error.. I saw that as a sign that I just didn't really need to know.

Yesterday morning I had to take Sophia to school and get her a lunch to take with her.  We ran into Wal-Mart and got a lunchable for her and went rushing to get out at the check out.  And wouldn't you know it.. they had 10-DAY Hoodia Diet as an endcap.  I have been thinking and reading about Hoodia for a bit now.. and know one or two ppl who take it.  I gave in to my better judgment and picked a box up. 

I know my appetite is not all the problem.. shoot I hardly eat anyway.. dinner is my main meal and that may be one of my major probs.  But I also know I need to exercise and cut out the soda and make water have a come back in my daily intake of fluids.  But maybe this Hoodia diet can help me kick start. 

SOME ONE drank my LAST Diet Pepsi before I could get to it.. gurrrrrrrrrrrr.. and we are sooooo broke this week so I guess I don't really have a choice anyhow LMBO.

I did just take a stab at the bathroom scale.. not exactly happy with what it says.  I don't look or feel like I weight 200. Yes that is what the ******* thing said!  I am only putting what it said here for future refferances.. motivation. In 10 days or so I will go back to the scale and see if there is any difference in what it says.  I am sure just drinking water and not soda will make a bit of difference but let's see what happens when we throw Hoodia into the mix.

I took 2 gel tabs at 10 a.m. I was real hungry and was going to eat some breakfast.  The box recommends not exceeding 3 tabs and to take them before a meal with a full glass of water.  I got side tracked and haven't eaten yet but I am still a bit hungry.. not overly hungry but still could use something to eat.

Going to refill my water glass and maybe munch on an orange.  Please no lectures or wise cracks!

 

Word Of The Day: abide & an excuse to post more pics of the house

When I read in my e-mail what the good word was I had to smile.  It is one I know well and see everyday. It also gave me a wonerful excuse to take some pictuers to post.  I have been meaning to take some for awhile and show off the decorating we have done since we moved last summer and I know some of my friends have asked me to show case some more of the new house.  So enjoy seeing where I "abide" and learning the true definition and history of today's word.

• abide •

Pronunciation: ê-baid • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, intransitive & transitive

Meaning: 1. (Intransitive) To live in the sense of dwell, to reside. 2. (Intransitive) To continue in existence, to exist unchanged in some state. 3. (Transitive) To tolerate, put up with, endure.

Notes: Historically the past participle of this word was abidden but the past participle assimilated with the past tense a century or so ago, so now this verb is conjugated abide, abode, (has) abode. However, since this latter form is now used for the noun (an abode), the verb seems to be converting to a regular verb: abide, abided, (has) abided. This trend will continue if this seldom used verb itself survives.

In Play: Today's poetic word has pretty much been replaced by the simpler verb (to) live in colloquial speech but remains for those unafraid of touching up their conversations with a bit of poetry: "How Lester can abide in such a hovel as he inhabits is beyond explication." The transitive sense of this verb is a more fetching substitute for stand or tolerate: "I simply cannot abide the skimpy skirts girls wear to school these days; I wish they would return to uniforms!"

Word History: Today's Good Word is a rarity, indeed: a genuine unborrowed English word. It came to us from the Old English verb abidan, comprising a-, an intensifier prefix + bidan "to remain". The same root that came through the Germanic languages to English as bidan emerged in Latin as fidere "to trust, confide" and fidus "faithful (remain unchanged)". Words with the Latin root were borrowed en mass by English in words like fiancé, affidavit, fiduciary, and confide. (We simply could not abide forgetting to thank Jaime Jamison for suggesting today's Good Word.)

John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

And here is why he desreves that La-Z-Boy...

Remember that list I had posted last week of manly things that needed to be done around here???  Josh's first order was to get to work on the house stuff and even went the extra mile and put up shelving in the laundry room!!!  I just had to post the pictures to remember this.. lol who knows when it may happen again!

Oh Ya.. What says "I love you" better than a La-z-boy?!

My husband and I are so bad.. we can't keep a secret for nothing.. the excitement gets to us and we haveeeeee to tell.

Our 10th.. yes 10th.. the big 1 0 is June 15th and ofcourse you have to add Father's Day the Sunday after into the mix.  I wanted so badly to get Josh a wonderful gift.. one that says it all.. I love, Your a great husband, Your a good father, you are appreciated for all you do for this family and surprise him, catch him off guard. Somehow I didn't think the requested golf shoes and balls would say all that and he specificity said NO SOAP ON A ROPE! (aww but that is the tried and true Father's Gift isn't it??? LOL my Dad liked Brute.. LMBO)

I have wanted to get him a leather recliner forever but money has always been an issue and plus.. the man is picky!!  Yesterday I was just looking at them online.. wondering how I could swing it and decided to take the older two children with me to go and "have a look see" and price some out at La-Z-Boy.  Before we left Josh said.. ohh we should put a price limit on our gift giving to each other.. how about $100?? I laughed at him.. noooo.. that will not do dear, not for what I have in mind. He said..ok.. $150.  I laughed some more at him.. really I had like $300 in mind but was flexible.  Obviously I was neieve when it comes to leather furniture.

After sitting on the HWY for 2 HOURS!!! Yessss 2 HOURS (awful construction traffic) and listening to the kids whine and complain I was ready to turn around and go home but figured I didn't want to make it a wasted trip and went to the furniture store anyhow.  And you guessed it.. was right away approached by a bushy mustache salesmen.  I hate that!! Give me a chance to look will ya??!  But I was wore out from the heat and the drive so I told him "Leather Recliners" and he lead me to the ones they had on sale still from Memorial Day. Ohhhhh  A SALE.. you know us women are SUCKERS for a sale!! LOL

We tested them all out and owwwed and awwed over them.  I found one that was somewhat close to what Josh had in mind when we had talked about furniture and it just so happened to be one of the lest expensive ones.  How could I pass that up??!  You know.. I have said it before over and over.. I HATE SHOPPING!!  But it was really nice to say and be able to mean it, "We'll take it.. ring her up"  Delivery day is the 14th.. I was going to sooooo surprise him!!!  And I made the kids swear to not even so much as give him a hint! 

On the drive home I was in something of panic mode.. "Oh crap, what did I just do.. that was alot of money.. that was about as much as our mortgage payment.. how can I keep that from him? What if he doesn't like it? What if he makes me take it back.. ohh I am sooo stupid.. that was impulse shopping tissssssskkkkkkkk!!!!!!!"  Then when I got home I envisioned him reclining in HIS chair snoozing or watching the DIY network and knew it was perfect.  Then the hint and teasing started. hahaha

My husband was excited.. he could tell I got something big.  He was trying to leave it alone.. play it cool.. wait it out.  Then he started teasing.. oh I left something out in the van.. YA AS IF I would leave your gift out in the van.  Then he did the BIG NO NO for all men-kind.. he picked up my purse and acted like he was going in it!!! And what is worse.. as we struggled over my purse he knocked over my soda, spilling it all over the carpet.  Sheeeeeeshhhhhhh!!!!!  Then we calmed down and I said.. "well.. do your realy want to know??" Ofcourse he said NO.  I told him that he didn't have to make me that lobster dinner or get me a big gift.. lol and it was going to be a real nice Anniversary, Father's Day, Birthday, and maybe even Christmas gift.  His eyes got wide as he asked.. HOW MUCH did you spend?!  I said.. "let me put it this way.. DON'T LOOK AT OUR BANK ACCOUNT!"  That was it.. he had to know.

He asked if I could at least tell him what store it was from with out him guessing.. NOPE, that would be a dead give away. I told him, "If you tell me mine I'll tell you yours." (see what I am saying.. lol we are so bad at keeping secrets) I knew he had said he was getting two things for me so when he only coughed up the one I said ohhh no.. tell me both.  The first one was a day at a spa.. witch we may not be able to afford now (great.. I just shot myself in the foot huh! that would of been soooo awesome) and he said the second one was something he was getting for free but it was personal and he was Defiantly not going to give it up.  Aww.. so is he actually going to get me something he put thought and time and himself into?? We shall see.

So that buttered me up and I gave him my purse.  Hetook out the envelop with the recipe in it that said La-Z-Boy on it.  His jaw dropped!!! "No.. no... reallly?? A La-z-boy!!" A big sweet boyish grin light up his face.. he was just too cute. He was totally surprised and defiantly taken off guard!!

You've got to understand.. its not just the fact it is a leather recliner.. but that it's a real official La-Z-Boy.  I know that is something my own father always wished for and never got and I have an idea the same is true with Josh's.  It is like the Prada of recliners for men (I think that is the case but.. I don't own any Prada so I really can't say for sure LMBO)

Who's The Queen of gift giving now??? Ohhhh Ya!!  : )

 

 

Word Of The Day: Skinflint

• skinflint •

Pronunciation: skin-flint • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A miser, a niggardly person, a tightwad, a person so greedy he would try to get skin from a flint.

Notes: Today's Good Word may be the longest word in English that is pronounced the way it is spelled (see Pronunciation). The now famous poem by Gerald Trenite The Chaos reflects the more usual relationships between English pronunciation and spelling. In other respects, though, this word is not alone in the world; it possesses an adjective, skinflinty which boasts an adverb, skinflintily. and a noun, skinflintiness.

In Play: For some reason, skinflintiness is most often associated with old people: "That old skinflint has the first nickel he ever earned." That may be the result of the ability to manage money coming later in life. Whatever the reason, it is unfair; skinflints come in all sizes, genders, and ages: "Is my baby already such a skinflint that she won't share her cookie with her daddy?" You guess the age here.

 

I hope when he sees the gift I got him for our 10th anniversary the skinflint side of him won't make me take it back!

Word Of The Day: forthy

Word Of The Day brought to you by alphaDictionary.com

• forthy •

 Pronunciation: for-thee • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Open, affable, and forthcoming in nature. 2. Forward, frank, outspoken, or presumptuous in behavior.

Notes: No, today's Good Word is not a misspelling of frothy, but a distinct adjective based on forth (see Word History). It originates in southwest England, around Devon and Cornwall, but English is spoken there, too, so we are free to use vocabulary from there. The comparative would be forthier and the superlative forthiest, while forthiness would be the noun indicating the quality distinguishing a forthy person.

In Play: Today's word is a good substitute for forthcoming when you are in a hurry and want to shorten things: "I have always found Dorian Seaman forthy on the subject of his marriage—too forthy, if anything." This word is more often used in the pejorative sense of forwardness: "The forthy waster had the cheek to ask my wife for a dance before I had the chance to."

Word History: We can trace this Good Old Word back to a form *per in Proto-Indo-European (PIE), the language from which most Indian and European languages derive. Per meant "forward, before, in front of". It underlies English for and far, with its derivatives farther and further. It is also the origin of English fore found in foreground, foremost, and before. The same PIE root became Old Iranian pairi "around", visible in pairidaeza "a wall around (a garden)". Hebrew borrowed this word as its pardess "citrus orchard". The Greeks, however, wrote so ebulliently of the lushness of Persian gardens that the word entered Greek as paradeisos "paradise", the sense it had when English borrowed it.

 

My husband has not been forthy about my gift in the least. In fact he is having fun torturing me with the suspense.

What's a happy home look like?

A little bit like this!!!!

Daddy home and his babies falling asleep in his lap because they missed him sooooo much that they just had to snuggle on him all evening after dinner.

Say it with me.... awwwwwwwwwwww sweeeeeet!

Cry with me as we send off my baby to her first day of school and summer school

The day has finally come.  Who would of thought the years would go by this fast?!  All four of the children in school!!!  I know it is just summer fun school.. but it is Sophia's first time away for any kind of school and her first time on a school bus with out me.

Yessss.. I was chocking back tears as I waved them on to the bus!!  Sophia was not scared at all and was so excited.  She knew that her big sisters and brother were going to be around if she needed them and oh mom.. she has the dog and cat to keep her company lol.

And yessssss.. the house is eirly quiet.  The dog is mooping around and has a sad face.  We will get used to it and by the time we do, school will be over.

It's a big day for us.. and I am kind of tripping out.  All my babies are gone!  And they left me happily and willing, with out a second thought or a quick reassuring hug.  But aww.. I look forward to them coming home and hearing all about the games and friends they will meet.