Farmer's Market Morning

The Princess and I have just returned from a wonderful trip to our local Farmer's market.

I brought home all of my favorites.

Sunflowers
Big, beautiful strawberries that tastes as wonderful as they look
Fresh cinnamon raisin bread to make French toast with, YUM!

(You all are invited to Sunday brunch tomorrow ")

Discipline when Daddy is a (former) teacher...

Have a nasty 'tude or bad behavior at my house and you will find yourself…

writing sentences

("There will be no more red ink in my binder reminder"=No more daily bad notes from teacher)

OR

writing an essay.
(I do not recall the infraction that this "S.A." was written for)

Wow, does it work magic. Things turn around pretty quickly!

Of course, my little angels are so wonderful that this rarely happens ;)

Do you have a special discipline trick up your sleeve?

*Parental Disclaimer: This fine tradition was started by fire hubby’s dad and did not scar him. Fire hubby went on to have such a love of writing that he got his Masters in English and became a professional writer!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me Monday. A blog carnival from MckMama @ my charming kids!

It's alot of fun, hop on over to her site and post your own!

First off, let me just say that after reading your comments on my use of the paper clamp to fix my hem, I did NOT use this

as a “temporary” fix. This did NOT buy me more time to get my butt and my beloved pants to the tailor!

And let me tell you, I did NOT have about 4 hours of insomnia the other night. If I did I would NOT have make things worse by laying in bed thinking of good nursing stories to share with you. Counting sheep may have been more relaxing!

Ok, before you go, you know how I said I was a “natural tooth fairy”…

Well, you be the judge…

My precious little children are not paid in ½ American coins and ½

foreign coins.

The children’s tooth fairy does not do this so they cannot compare their loot to their friends.

Cheap? Not Me! (I mean Not their Tooth Fairy!)

Okay, do NOT think less of me, but…

Once upon a time this tooth fairy did NOT fall asleep while waiting for the little cherub to fall asleep. I was NOT awakened in the morning by a sad little face at my bedside …oh no! what to say to this poor little kidling? what to say?…

I did NOT say…

“Oh sweetie, the tooth fairy did not forget you, no, it must be that special time of year, yep, it must be the… the… TOOTH FAIRY CONVENTION”

(Slight relief crosses child’s face…)

“Yes, sweetie, once a year the tooth fairies have a big convention and when that happens the tooth fairy comes the next night… and guess what?! … The tooth fairy pays double when they do come! Yeah!”

(Big smile on little darling’s face.)

Whew… wipe brow…dodged that bullet!

After that, I did not start doing a special little tooth fairy trick…

This tooth fairy does not go in for the good nights kiss and slip her hand under the pillow, grab the little tooth and then slip the coins under in return. No, not while my childen are awake!

No, that would be too risky! Not me, it would have crushed the wee ones to find out MOMMY was the tooth fairy! Not ME!

I am so excited to be off to see what you did NOT do again this week on “Not Me Monday”!

I never give advice, but…

Ladies, please hear this… avoid tummy tattoos before your child bearing years!

Years of experience in L&D have taught me that...

delicate rings of tiny flowers become…

Christmas wreaths!

tiny fluttering butterflies become…

hawks!

a simple little name becomes…

a billboard!

I think the look on her face says it all …

“My tats are going to be destroyed by this pregnancy!”

P.S. That tattoo of the little man mowing your... ehem... hair is funny, but you may find it a bit embarrassing when you go to have your baby!

P.P.S. I may be missing my target audience with this post ")

P.P.P.S. I actually have seen some amazing works of art, as I see a lot of "canvas" in my work ")

It wasn't there...

Oh, that tooth, that cute little tooth, the one that we took such good care of...


Scout didn't need it any more. You see, he is 11 and growing into a fine young man.


A few days ago that cute little tooth fell out...


I went to find it under the pillow...





It wasn't there!

I'm a natural tooth fairy, I can't give it up so easily...

hmm, if I up the ante will the princess keep playing along, hmmm?

How much does the tooth fairy pay at your house?

Do you remember how much your tooth fairy gave you for a tooth when you were little?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

The Good...

the Princess is practicing her flute without being reminded!



The Bad...

a hose from the the water heater in the garage leaked! Water damage in the garage and the adjoining wall in the house...


UGLY!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Ok, Stacey and Clinton, let me start by telling you that I did NOT use a

to hold up an unraveling hem on my dress pants for the past month. No way, that would be kinda, sorta tacky!

Then, when the hem went out all the way, there is absolutely no way I wore the pants again… TWICE! Are you kidding, I am so much more classy than that!

All right before I go on, you have to know that it absolutely is NOT sunny here in Southern California most of the time, even in winter! I am totally used to snow, sleet, ice storms. Oh yeah, totally used to it...

So, when I saw one piece of hail fall out of the sky and hit my hood as I was driving, I absolutely did NOT become so amazed and distracted that I almost crashed my car. I did NOT pull out in front of a car a bit too close and the other driver did NOT blare his horn at me. No way. And he did NOT angrily make a special waving hand at me. Oh, I think it was a finger.

(oops, not the real man, not the right finger)

No, that whole tale would be ridiculous if it really happened. And if I actually did do the above, I would NOT admit to it. To tell of such a moron thing to many of you readers who are having a nightmare winter would just be embarrassing.

Okay, just one last thing…

I did NOT have a major chocolate craving last week when my husband was gone to work. If I did, I would NOT have remembered that I had bought him green M& M's for Valentine’s day!

Oh, no, don’t even think that way… I did NOT eat them!

There is no way that I opened his gift and satisfied that chocolate craving. Not Me!

By the way, when I went to the gym I did NOT hope that:

+ =

I am really looking forward to hearing what you did NOT do this week at McMama's Blog on Not Me Monday!

Flashback Friday

A day at the beach... a cold winter's day.
Corona Del Mar, California
February, 2004
My little polar bears.
It really was cold!
Didn't keep them from having a lot of fun.
We love a quick drive to the beach in the winter.
Look at that beach...empty!

Valentines... not so traditional in 2009

This year will be different...

There will be no fabulous fragrance...

These are so very tempting, but not what I want...

Stunning red roses...so beautiful, but no thank you.




Tiffany?...oh so hard to say no to, but no.
(Get saving sweetie, I know what I want next year ;)




This part- time working girl has to work today,Valentines day...oh darn!


But, my sweetie is buying us tickets that come out on Valentines weekend, to see...

Keith Urban and Sugarland!

I am so excited!

My sweetie is the best!!!

If I had all of the time & energy in the world I would...

be a Pageant Mom!

And even learn to sew the fabulous dresses!







HA! I am so kidding!

I would love to take amazing photographs!
(Like so many of our fellow bloggers.)

Or make edible works of art like these...





I am a dreamer. Are you?

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Last Week on “Not Me Monday” I promised that I would not be working like a mad woman to get my house in order moments before fire hubby came back from Idaho.
Well of course, I did not do that. So, when my husband caught an EARLIER flight, I absolutely did not begin to run around the house with a basket gathering up this and that (do not think clutter here!). Not me!

I do not have a huge basket of “this and that” (no, not former clutter, gathered up 7 days ago) that is still hiding in the back of a closet waiting to be sorted and put away. I feel a need to remind you here, I am not that sort of a home maker, oh no, not me!

With Fire Hubby out of town, and in desperate need to work my shift, I did not drop my kids off at a dear friend’s house at 6AM last Sunday. Not me.
(Yes, that was 6 AM on a Sunday if you hadn’t noticed. I know, you all want to be my dear friends, don’t you!… don’t you?...silence…oh dear)

Yes, we are going to have to talk about how I am NOT absent minded at times…

When trying to get off to work last week, I did not:

Set the house alarm
Lock up
Drive half way down the street
Where is my purse?
Back to house.
Turn off alarm.
Get purse.
Turn on alarm.
Lock house.
Back in car- around block.
Where are those important papers?
Back to house.
Turn off alarm.
Find papers (Where can they be? Of course in huge basket of former clutter, dig,dig… FOUND).
Turn on alarm.
Lock house.
Drive around block.
Do I have Alzheimers? Where is my phone?
Back to house.
Turn off alarm.
Find phone next to computer… hmmm, I wonder if I have any new comments, look at blog-NOT ME!
Turn on alarm.
Lock house.
Back in car and off to work.
Not me, no, if this were possibly true, you might actually worry about me. No, NOT ME!

I am sure that I will not even be able to post next Not Me Monday, because I am just so in control of everything around me!

Crazy About my Fire Hubby

(There he is, my brave Fire Hubby, on top of the engine)

These past 2 weeks have taken a toll on my Fire Hubby. I want to take a moment to encourage him and to share with you some of the reasons I love him...

Here are some of the qualities that make my man special:

• He is a Believer

• He is a devoted husband and father
• His family comes first!

• He is a loyal brother
• Last week his oldest brother passed away and he sat vigil with him to the end, holding Gary's hand as he went to his Maker.

• He is a man of service
• Fire hubby used to be a professional writer. He left his career as a publicist in Hollywood so he could "do something that mattered, something to really help and serve people".

• He is so very intelligent
• He probably is one of only a handful of firefighters who have their Master's degree in English.
• He does not just simply blog, he often writes essays for his posts.
• Check out his blog Switch2PlanB
  

• He is a gifted musician
• Guitar playing is his passion.
• He loves to use this gift to worship the Lord.

• He is CUTE ")

I am so proud of my Fire Hubby!

*Love you, sweetie ;)

Flashback Friday

My first day of nurses training was almost my last.

This was the culprit:

OK, maybe not the bedpan, but what was in it.

Don’t be afraid, you can read on, I’m not going to be too graphic.

I was taking care of my first medical-surgical patient and it was bedpan time.

My patient needed to , eehem, used the bedpan and when it came time to empty it, I was overcome by the smell and I… I threw up, right after it, into the toilet.

Oh, was I distressed. It was my dream since I was a little girl to be a nurse and now it was over!

I went home in tears. I told my mom my sad story.

“Oh,” she said, “is that it?”

Then she told me the centuries old secret that many a smell-a-phobic nurse has tucked into her bag of tricks…


Now, I am about to entrust this secret to you…

“ Just don’t breathe through your nose”

That's it? Yep, that’s it.

Those 6 little words saved my dream of being a nurse.

Well, I actually overcompensated and pretty much any time I am in the hospital I “turn off my nose”. During my patient assessments, I actually have to deliberately breath through my nose to check for anything foul (ok, sorry, a bit gross here).

Now, you are going to have to believe me on this, but you can do this in a way so you do not sound like you have your nose in a finger pinch “)

That’s it for this Flashback Friday “)

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Well, I have NOT wanted to join in on "Not Me Monday" for a long time!

It is time for me to confess all the things, that I really did NOT do this week.

Here goes nothing:

1. First of all, I did NOT spend an obscene amount of time with my new blog. Blogging is NOT an appropriate distraction for a difficult week. Reading interesting blogs and meeting new people in the blog world did NOT brighten my days.

2. I absolutely was NOT so absent minded that would I put a bag with an open orange juice container on my car seat and have the whole thing spill. My front seat is in pristine condition and NOT a sticky mess!

3. If you were to go in my bedroom you would NOT find a pile of clean, but unfolded, laundry 3 feet high on the sofa. I am just NOT that kind of homemaker ;)

4. As noted above, my house is in perfect condition and it will NOT suddenly become amazingly immaculate the morning my husband is due to come home.

5. I did NOT get so caught up chatting with a friend in a store by the Beautiful Princess's dance studio that I was late picking her up. She did NOT have those sad eyes that said "how could you have abandoned me mommy". And I did not give her a huge hug, apologize, assure her that I would be picking her up "just on time" in the future.

Well, that was NOT fun at all, NOT cathartic, NOT kind of freeing... no, no, NOT at all.

I absolutely would NOT recommend that you pop on over to MckMama's website and join in "Not Me Monday" and join in the fun!