The C word...

Okay, so I got some pretty bad news yesterday. My mom called to let me know that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The dreaded "c" word...worse yet, it is inoperable. Reading up on pancreatic cancer, it does not look good, but I'm still waiting to hear back on more details. So, anyone who sees this, please say a prayer for my mom, Donna...and also for my dad! My mom is at least nominally Christian, but my dad isn't at all. They really don't have anything to hold on to during this suffering.

This is sooo COOL!!!

Check out what Danielle Bean is up to! What a great idea!!! A charity raffle for St. Gianna's Maternity Home near Fargo, ND. She's raised lots of money so far...

Being technologically behind, I don't know how to link in the post, but go to my link for Danielle Bean, and you'll find plenty more info there!

Dress update...

So, the girls and I went to a doctor's appointment with my MIL up in the city, and naturally we went shopping afterwards. I tried on all sorts of outfits at Kohls, and most of them were horrible, but I did find one dress that I really liked! It was black and white, and is very similar in style to the dress I bought this winter (which is black, white and red) and the price tag read $54...so, I thought that was a little pricey, and I was sad and about to put it back when I passed a price checker thing...the dress was on clearance for $16.20!!! So, cool!

I looked around some more and found the dress in two shades of blue, and even found it in my size. So, I ended up getting the dress in blue...and I thought with that good of a deal, maybe I'd buy a necklace to go with it...just costume jewelery, nothing that fancy. I found two great necklaces that I really liked with it, and since they were buy one get one half off, I got both...the sick part? The two necklaces together cost more than double the cost of the dress!

Also, I finally got a couple of doormats for the house, and got hubby two new shirts and ties (we can BOTH look classy for the upcoming wedding! Woo hoo!!!) And grandma of course got the girls some clothes (Charlotte cute part dress onesies, and Eva a t-shirt and two sets of PJs...she has a pajama fetish...) and Eva a little sports set (with a football, 2 baseballs, a soccer ball, a bat, and a glove) with Dora all over them, so Eva has some great outdoor toys to go with our great weather!

Our First Homeschooling Project!

So, on Sunday after church and lunch, we decided to go to the hardware store to price pavers, etc. for our landscaping woes (I am adamant that this year we WILL have a sidewalk to the front door rather than old boards placed over the dirt where said pavers will go!)

So, Eva pipes up that we need to get a birdhouse. No idea where this comes from...as I really don't like birds very much...they are noisy when I try to nap and they poop all over my car...(okay, likely this is some genetic thing from my mother that SKIPPED a generation!) So, I ended up talking her into a bird feeder, because I see no purpose for bird houses (isn't that what trees are for?)

At first I thought we might get something decorative to class up our yard, but after discovering that birdhouses start in the $20 range and go UP from there (to feed birds...I just don't get it!!!) we decided to instead go with the early homeschooler's model. A kit that had a base and suction cups that you attach a platic bottle to (20 oz soda bottle is what we used!) and fill up with bird seed. So, Eva and I put together the bird feeder, and she has been enjoying watching the birds come eat at the feeder.

So, as a Future Homeschooler of America, I diligently went on line to Paperback Swap and found children's books about birds. So, Eva will be getting a field guide to 24 common bird species in the mail before too long. I'm thinking that unschooling during preschool may be the way to go!

Another one that doesn't surprise me!

Your Dominant Intelligence is Musical Intelligence

Every part of your life has a beat, and you're often tapping your fingers or toes. You enjoy sounds of all types, but you also find sound can distract you at the wrong time. You are probably a gifted musician of some sort - even if you haven't realized it. Also a music lover, you tend to appreciate artists of all kinds. You would make a great musician, disc jockey, singer, or composer.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Okay, so we all know that I'm not normal...

You Are 30% Normal

You sure do march to your own beat... But you're so weird, people wonder if it's a beat at all You think on a totally different wavelength And it's often a chore to get people to understand you

How Normal Are You?

...but this particular quiz asked me for my views on spanking and living together before marriage, among other things that really didn't make me think one answer was normal and the other was not...oh yeah...and if I'm 30% normal and 60% weird...what's the other 10%????

Dress rant...

Okay, continuing my theme of ranting about clothing...today's topic is dresses.

So, in two weekends we are going to the wedding of a college friend who may be the world's most fashionable person...(okay, maybe I shouldn't go that far...but she is the most fashionable person either one of us knows!) Hubby is going to be a reader at the wedding, and I am having the dilemma of what I should wear...

You see, the last dress I bought was for Charlotte's baptism...I love the dress, but since I bought it to wear in DECEMBER...I'm thinking it might not work for a summer wedding. The last dress I bought before that was for my SILs wedding (and really, I just don't like the dress that much...a little more matronly than I want to look!) which was also in DECEMBER the year before...

Then my next newest dress is one that I bought before we last went to the Midwest Catholic Family Conference (which we will be attending again this year)...unfortunately, the last time we went was in 2002...the other two dresses that I have in my wardrobe were bought for me by my mom...probably in 1999 or 2000...

So, I went to every website I could think of that might sell plus sized women's clothing, and looked at every dress option...I found two "maybe" dresses...

The problem I seem to have is that dresses either scream "look at me!!! I'm a skank ho!!!" (and a FAT skank ho at that!) or "excuse me, I am on lunch break from my business casual office job."

Whatever happened to nice dresses for church or whatever?? I don't want to look like I'm in my 50s (my Catechism class this year guessed that I was almost 40...I'll be celebrating 28 this summer!) but I don't want to look like I'm trying to pick up Johns (with very bad eyesight and a thing for fat chicks, of course!)


So, still trying to figure out what to wear to above mentioned wedding...