GIVING IT ANOTHER GO

OK, so I have ditched the "poor me" philosophy from yesterday and moved on to positive thinking. I've had the coffee and am feeling good. I could write an entire blog just about the coffee....

AHEM.

Change of scheduling plans today, as I am home with a sick kiddo. There's vomiting involved...my favorite. Looks like I will be staying home and unfortunately making the work day up tomorrow. The good news is the sun is shining and that always lifts the spirits. Darling son has had his eggs and waffles and we've had a practice spelling test which he's totally going to ace. Looks like a good day. (aside from the vomiting!)

THE SHOP-VAC

You, dear friends, may be saying to yourself "Why in the world does she have a picture of a shop-vac on her blog?" Well, my answer to that would actually be in the form of a question, which is "Why in the world has this shop-vac been sitting in the middle of my bedroom for 3 days?" Now, I DO KNOW WHY it has been sitting in my bedroom since Monday...that's because darling husband got a wild hair and shaved his head, and for whatever reason he chose the shop-vac to clean up after himself (gotta give him credit for that). Why he didn't use the good ol' dirt devil is beyond me.

Now, this is NOT a new occurrence in the Sutton household. Often projects present themselves, tools are needed (usually a new one that we don't have already), and then said tool remains in the vicinity for at least 1 week, until I strategically place said tool somewhere where it will either A) be tripped over in the wee hours of the night or B) be stacked on top of husband's car keys or cell phone in hopes that he will get the hint. Occassionally there is also option C) where I just put the stupid thing away myself due to total exasperation.

So, I ask you...is this normal? Is this a boy thing? Do they all do this? Because as much as I enjoy looking at this 5.0 hp, 12 gallon beauty in my bedroom, unless it serves another purpose such as teeth brushing, bathroom cleaning or massage giving, I would like to see it go away. Soon. Wish me luck.

P.S. No husbands were hurt in the creation of this posting. In no way is it meant to offend, poke fun of, disrespect, or otherwise make fun of darling husband. I do LOVE the guy, you know!

TIRED, DISCOURAGED AND PRETTY MUCH A BIG OLE' DOWNER

Yep, that pretty much describes me tonight. You didn't think all my blog entries were going to be smiley and happy, did you? Maybe its because I haven't slept well the past 3 nights, or maybe its the crappy weather. Or maybe its just that I have so much freakin stuff that I'm responsible for that I feel like just ditching it all, and plopping myself somewhere nice and warm and care-free. Of course, I can't do that, but oh, how I dream of it often! Yes, I will allow myself this evening to sulk and say "What if" and "If only",and "Why me" and then tomorrow will come and I will pick up where I left off, and press on because I have to. Yes, tomorrow morning will be better. Just wait and see.

THE POLLS ARE OPEN!

I am looking (possibly) for a new and improved name for my blog. I've compiled a list of suggestions I have received...all you have to do is look to the right hand column and vote in my poll. Come on, if you're even looking at this blog you probably don't have anything better to do right now, so why not take a sec and humor me!? Please?

POTTERY

One of my favorite pasttimes is painting pottery. My studio of choice is Polka Dot Pottery. I've got a link to their site on the bottom right hand side of the page.
A perfect afternoon for me is grabbing a coffee and meeting a friend or two to do a little painting and bellyaching about our lives....its the perfect therapy.

Cole, the OTHER guy who stole my heart

Yes, the title says it all! There is nothing like having a little boy who adores me and will always think I'm beautiful even on my un-beautiful days. He says his heart is always full of "Mom-Love"....I feel so thankful that he's mine.

NOT ME!

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.

So, with much trepidation, I give you my first ever "Not me! Monday" entry:

*I did NOT put the finishing touches of my makeup on while driving to work at 5:30am just so I could squeeze in a couple minutes on the computer before I left for work. That is completely unsafe, and I wouldn't dream of it! I'm WAYYY more responsible than that.

*I did NOT bribe my son with candy to get him to go to the grocery store with me so I wouldn't have to go alone. NOT ME! I also did not tell him I thought someone was at the door (great diversion tactic) when we were cleaning his bedroom so I could quickly throw a few things away without him noticing. That's a sneaky, low down, no good thing to do, and I would never sink to that level.

And I DEFINATELY did not weasel my way out of taking my son to math game night at school tonight by guilting my husband into doing it by looking reaaaally tired and worn out, and giving him my best exasperated face.

NOPE. NOT ME.

Hey, this IS fun! Check back next week for a new "Not me! Monday" to see what sorts of horrible things I may (or may not) confess to doing simply for the purpose of entertaining my family and friends. That's right, I'm giving you permission to hear about my deepest, darkest doings (well, not ALL of them, what kind of girl do you take me for?) for the sake of fun. Lucky you!

PARTY GIRL

Yesterday, both of the kids had birthday parties to attend. Gracie loves to get dressed up so we went all out and did her nails (complete with flower decals, because, geez....you might as well do it right), hair ( to the best of my ability), and make-up. We locked ourselves in the bathroom, told all boyfolk to keep out, turned on chick music and had a total girl-fest. She always likes to sit in the bathroom with me when I'm getting ready, but this time was all about her. Girls totally rock.

MR. HANDSOME

I took this photo on our trip to the Oregon Coast last year. I thought I was just documenting the fabulously handsome Mr. Sutton, but didn't realize that I caught the image of the sunset in his sunglasses. Cool, huh?

MESSY, MESSY, MESSY

So... my goal for this weekend was to help the kids clean their rooms. I mean REALLY clean their rooms. Normally, we keep up on their rooms on a daily basis to avoid what I had to suffer through this weekend. It's been about a week since we've done much in there and boy was that enough time for disaster to strike. Gracie's room is normally fairly easy, mainly because she's not a messy person. However, as with any 5 year old things eventually catch up to you. We were able to get rid of clothes that don't fit, toys that are broken or missing pieces, and socks without buddies. We organized the books and just for fun color coded her clothes in the closet. (No, I DONT expect it to stay that way). We even got ALL of the teeny tiny polly pocket accessories all in one place. Whoever invented Polly Pockets should be shot. They owe me 2 new vacuum cleaners already. Poor Polly, its not her fault.

Cole's room? Another story entirely. To Cole, EVERYTHING is a treasure. Every scrap of paper, plastic red robin cup, and every tag that comes off his new clothes. Worksheets from preschool (that was 2 years ago!), one particular go-gurt package (hey, it DID have a great joke on the back!), and the lid to a plastic tub that met its demise during Mom's LAST purging episode. He has a use for everything. I guess the environmental enthusiast in me would find this wonderful, that we re-use our garbage as bedroom artwork. We spent most of the morning with me putting things in bags and him taking them back out. I'm sure all you parents out there go through the same thing. Speaking of treasure, we find a virtual treasure trove in the back corner of his closet!! Apparently that is where all his clothes go when I ask him to hang them up. Sooo, 3 hours were devoted to this project and I am happy to say that HE is very happy with the results. He even took pictures on his camera. Now I remember why we keep up on things! Honestly, though, I do love his creative side! I think I read somewhere that a messy room helps foster creativity. Interesting theory. For me it just fosters insanity.

Yes, Yes, I can hear it from some of you...this is all part of parenthood. However, being an organized self proclaimed neat freak, its my worst nightmare! I love having places for things and knowing where they are when I need them. I've always been that way...its just me. I like that about myself, but it can also make me crazy!! Paco keeps reminding me that one day all the mess will be gone and I will be aching for my kids back...with their messes!