Steph's Rules for FB

Rule #1 Please learn the diff between your and you're

Rule #2 If it's supposed to be a secret, don't post it on your status report

Rule #3 If you cuss on your status reports or posts more than a couple of times, I'll hide you...or delete you...that would make you sad

Rule #4 If your trying to tell someone off just give them a call. Don't make me suffer through your tirade

Rule #5 If you caught what I did in Rule #4 then I'll give you a high five

Rule #6 Please respect my FB minimalism...I don't farm, play Farkle, or collect treasure...I do love Jesus...but do not have to click "like" to prove it...

Rule #7 Please do not use pictures of body parts or tattoos as your profile pic...especially if I only vaguely remember you from high school or if your tats are ugly

Rule #8 Please don't write a novel in your status report. You'll know if it's too long if you have to use the "see more" option. I prefer Reader's Digest to War and Peace

Rule #9 Two, To, Too...See Rule #1

Rule #10 Their, There, They're...courtesy AHK

33 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

so...i turned 33 on monday. when i was younger, birthdays were a big deal. not so much anymore. they're just another ordinary day. i don't feel 33. i still feel 23! i guess that's good...

we've had a busy couple of weeks and it's not going to let up soon. we had a great easter. the in-laws and w's came over for dinner and egg hunting. fun was had by all.

b update: i had a conference with b's teacher yesterday. we're both so proud of him. he has really matured in the last several months. she says when he first started pre-k, he played by himself. now he interacts with the other kids. she said that he can be loud and squirmy but considering how he was earlier...loud and squirmy is a great improvement! he is really enjoying tee ball. last year he really held onto our pant's leg...now he runs right out to join the other players. he's doing a much better job of being "baseball ready"...no more building dirt towers or picking flowers! we're working with him on his batting and running. his catching is really going well. he is such a pleasant person to be around. i am excited to see him growing up. excited and sad! we're about 80% firm on our decision to send him to rg for kinder. i'm having a hard time relinquishing several things - him! and the control i have had over his education. need i remind you, dear readers, that he is one smart cookie...thank you very much. but i know that public school (at least for the first couple of years) will be more about social development than educational development. i look forward to seeing him excited about going to school.

m update: well, well, well. what can i say about m? she and i have our sweet moments...where she's cuddling, laughing...but...we also have our "i'm gonna scratch your eyes out if you don't give me what i want" moments. who knew that having a girl would be so difficult? she's very outgoing. afraid of nothing...especially throwing huge tantrums in public. last nite we went to dq for a blizzard...when it was time to go she threw a horrible fit! screaming, throwing herself onto the greasy floor...the whole nine yards! totally unashamed that chica. maria says that her espanol is coming along nicely. she is begining to sing the alphabet song and twinkle, twinkle. i hope to catch it on camera soon.

w update: contest is over! his symphonic band made 122 and 121...the honor band made 121, 111...yay! the rest of the school year is downhill. he played golf with his dad yesterday. he came home and told me about every single hole/stroke. i was riveted indeed.

well...lots of other things are going on. most i cannot blab about...b/c after all...one can never be totally honest on a blog, right? no one decent, anyway...

in summary:

1. 33...ho-hum.

2. contest is over...whew!

3. if you don't have anything nice to say, don't post a blog

March Madness

...it's been spring break this week. much was accomplished (except for re-caulking our tub...sigh)...we power washed all the concrete surfaces (which were quite slippery when humid and/or wet), put up a new fence...not to mention a multitude of cleaning chores - the blinds, the baseboards, cleaning out all closets, the windows inside and out, changing out the kids clothes for summer and bigger sizes, clean and wipe out all the kitchen cabinets, wash all the light fixtures, steam vac the beds, carpets, wash and air the pillows and comforters...you get the picture...i've been on a frenzied cleaning rampage of epic proportions.

so...may we get back to the power washer? i LOVED using it. i never expected to find this task so exciting...but just seeing all that crap powered away by that little stream was exhilarating! william kept trying to "take over" but i stood firm. our driveway, sidewalk, and patio are sparkling and i am contemplating an excuse to take a trip to the hardware store to rent that puppy again....

on wednesday, b and w were supposed to go camping with rw and bw...but alas...b awoke at 1:30AM wednesday puking...alot. anyway...m had runny poo all the next day (and i'm talking about the kind of runny poo that gets everywhere...we spent most of the day running bath water for her...i even threw away some pants.)...we've promised b that we will plan another camping trip soon.

b celebrated his 5th birthday on friday the 12th. i've noticed that he has gotten taller recently...he has also developed quite the snippy personality...and...he has started to lie. at first i didn't think he really understood what he was doing or comprehending what a lie was...UNTIL we were having boca burgers...he was halfway done and he asked for dessert...well...we told him that he would have to eat some more of his burger. in no time his plate was clean. so we said "great! dessert all around"...then w gets up to get something and sees that b had dropped most of what was left of his burger on the floor. i could tell by the look on his face that he knew exactly what he was doing...EGADS.

m has begun the pacifier rehab program...no more pacifiers during the day...only during nap and bedtime...it's been a loud day around here... she has also recently learned to count to 10 and she can id all the letters of the alphabet except Q and W...she loves her brother and follows him everywhere! i looked on several days ago as they were playing together to see b put his arm around her and say "i love you. you're my best friend"...ooooweeee do i love those two!

tomorrow i play bells for the installation of the new methodist superintendent...should be fun...maybe they'll feed us...

and so...in summation:
1. spring cleaning done...whoot!
2. b is 5? no way!
3. pacifier detox sucks!

Long Time, No Blog

so it's been a while, eh?

here are my excuses:

#1 MEDICAL

it's been a busy couple of weeks at the daniel casa. m began puking on a monday nite...then b got it tuesday nite...me wednesday nite (i mean i was really sick. moaning sick. just horrific...i digress) then finally w on friday nite. that was over then the next monday m woke up screaming her head off - turns out she had strep throat. so...antibiotic for 10 days (her first) and now she's back to her old self. b has some strange rash on his bum...he's had one there before and it turned out to be staph. it took us almost 3 months (that's right...months) to get rid of it. this rash doesn't look like that one. he's been a real butt scratcher the last couple of days. it is so funny to see him lying on his belly with his pants pulled down to his knees waiting for one of us to rub cortisone on his bum!!! hahahahaha! i've had a sore throat and wretched headache since friday. you know what i'm thinking right? well...i'm better today thank goodness so hopefully it's just sinus drainage and not strep. homey ain't got time for no strep.

#2 BUSY DAYS

i'm so excited about the number of students i have...eight! it does make for super busy afternoons tho. last wednesday was ash wednesday so we rushed after lessons to make it to the service. tmea was a couple of weeks ago. i got a set of bass bars for the church. they add so much to the ensemble. the kids were really excited to see and play them. i hope that v.w. can recover from the pricetag!

#3 MESSY HOUSE

i cannot stay on top of this housework! perhaps it is b/c i stay home or b/c i have two kids but i don't remember the house being this messy when it was just me, w, and b. i've got to become more disciplined in picking things up the night before. i hate cleaning up today's mess tomorrow.

#4 HELLO! I HAVE TWO SMALL CHILDREN!

you know i had to throw that one in.

so that's about it. had j and p over for dinner. they helped w decide where to put our new fruit trees - plum and lime. i'm excited about the spring planting season.

so...in summation:

#1 you know what they say excuses are like, right?
#2 butt rashes are inconvenient butt funny
#3 clean up, clean up everybody everywhere...

A Tirade for an Idiot

so...i was perusing FB this evening when i happened upon a friend announcing her pregnancy. i (along with about 30 others) offered her congratulations, whoots, way to gos, etc. however...one of her "friends" chose this forum to express her extreme disgust with procreation:



(name omitted...)Is blown away. Nothing in life is above being honest. So here goes. You are smart beautiful people whom i love as family. I am happy you are happy. I can not kindly express my disappointment in your decision to breed. 7 BILLION people... How many are too many? 125 MILLION ORPHANS!!! How many are too many? I know babies are beautiful and awesome. Yours will be blessed. You could have saved one. you chose to create one more. I think its very sad. Im sorry.



well...fortunately i have a filter which prohibits me from responding to this drivel in a public place. but since i am on my blog...i'll let you have it:

dear name omitted:

#1 so...how many children have you adopted?

#2 were you adopted? were all your brothers and sisters? were your parents adopted?

#3 sometimes there is something that's above honesty...it's called silence

#4 breeding is what is done in dog kennels

#5 i see that you surrounded your insults with positives (ie..."babies are beautiful and awesome"? these mundane adjectives lead me to believe that a - you've never used a thesaurus and 2 - you've never had a baby)...isn't this sort of like planting a rose in a steaming pile of cow poop?

#6 luckily, as those of us who have "bred" can tell you, pregnancy opens the floodgates of Idiotdom...congratulations...you were the first to swim thru...


#7 one consolation for me is that your comment was read by the other 30 people that commented...now 30 more people on the planet think you're an imbecile

#8 at the end of your tirade you say "i'm sorry"...sister...you certainly are.





no need for summaries here, dear reader...

Gifts and Sales and Attics Oh My!

so...we drove to petal on friday for christmas. when we arrived we opened gifts and began our mississippi diet (fried stuff, stuff with gravy, stuff with melted cheese, etc...).

on saturday brooke and i got up early (ahem...4:30) to hit the post-christmas sales. we went to walmart for christmas stuff marked down...we needed to replace all our lights and i needed to restock our wrapping and tissue paper stash. we went to shoe station where i got 2 pairs of boots and a pair of heels for $80! whoot! then on to new york and company where i got a sweatsuit, two shirts, and a pair of earrings form $62...whoot whoot! we were due at mamaw's for christmas breakfast at 8:30. we had the usual yummy cow patty biscuits with cane syrup and salt meat...my childhood FAV!!! brooke and i played scrabble and, as usual, i won handily...

today is sunday...it was a lazy day. momma had gone thru the attic and made a pile of things for me to go thru. my entire life of things, actually. so i went thru it and threw away alot. i'll also take home alot to go thru it more carefully. i'll probably just store it in a big bin in the attic to look at when i'm feeling nostalgic.

meredith has added to her vocab since my last post: tower, apple, banana, tree, nan, book, hi dad, hi chica, hi mom, more banana...starting to use two word phrases!

bennett has been really great the past couple of weeks. tonight we drove out to the gravel pit (daddy and william are camping out) and on the way home the song "fire fall down" was playing. he was singing at the top of his lungs. there is something very powerful about your child unashamedly singing the words "i know that you're alive, you came to fix my broken life, and i'll sing to glorify, your holy name Jesus Christ". AWESOME!

so...in summation:

1. pairs of shoes for $80...ace. 3

2. everything's better with cane syrup and salt meat

3. m = chatty cathy

Textasrophy

so...i have noticed an increasingly disturbing trend.

on friday nite, i went out with some friends for a girl's night. i'm at howl at the moon, sipping my gin and tonic, when suddenly i noticed that all the people i was with were all on there phones. texting. now...i'm all for technological advances...but at what expense. there i was...i was ready to converse...socialize...but everyone around me felt it necessary to be texting someone, updating their facebook, checking e-mail. don't get me wrong. i'm not mad...but my hide is a little chapped.

another example

after a concert last thursday, a group of us went out for some tortillas and margaritas when i look up from my chips and salsa and see that two of our tablemates were at their phones busily thumbing their way through various messages/e-mails/texts.

i've noticed in some rehearsals that when the conductor is working with another section, people drag out their phones and begin checking things...texting things...you get the idea.

does anyone else find this disturbing? i want to shake these people and say "EXCUSE ME. YOU ARE IN A SOCIAL SITUATION. THIS MEANS THAT YOU SHOULD BE COMMUNICATING AND INTERACTING WITH THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. PUT DOWN YOUR ELECTRONIC DEVICE."

that and something like: "HELLO. HELLO. I'M RIGHT HERE. YES. ME. I AM A REAL PERSON. YOUR E-MAIL CAN WAIT."

certainly i cannot be alone in feeling this way...right?

on a more important note: today was mamaw martin's wake. she looked really great. i am relieved that she is in heaven. lots of people, lots of beautiful flowers. the older i get the more thankful i am about people who send things, call, write, visit, etc. tomorrow is the funeral. i look forward to visiting more with "them martin's".

so dearest readers...i bid you good evening...but first...you know...

1. thank you Mamaw Martin for being a good example and for making the best scrambled eggs in the universe

2. applications are being accepted for my new "anti-text" task force.

3. do i have a legitimate compliant or is it just phone envy?