It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Last week I went up to Oglebay Mansion with my three little darlings. It's an enormous and beautiful place and SANTA makes it one of his first stops of the season. The REAL santa. He told me so when I asked him for a new Lexus... and maybe an iHubs (shhhh!).

Really, the same nice man has been Santa at the mansion for something like 20 years. He really does seem like the REAL Santa! :)

Now, my two oldest, Sarah and Thomas were ADAMANTLY opposed to sitting on Santa's lap. Not so with Matt, age 7. He hopped right over to him. He was so cute. He got all embarrassed and couldn't think of a thing. I cleverly prompted him with several items I'd already purchased. :)



And then, before my wondering eyes, stood THOMAS wanting to tell Santa his wishes too! And when I glanced questioningly at SARAH, she blushed and nodded vigorously as well!

So, now I have this picture. Probably my last, of all three with Santa. I love it.

Clever Girl Goes Blog Has a New Invention

Oh. My. Gosh.

I just read one of my favorite blogs and she has come up with a new invention!

I WANT ONE!

It's called an iHubs.

Go ahead. Read it. Clever Girl Goes Blog: My Golden Ticket. She's hilarious.

Now, of course, I do not actually NEED a new husband. But, a SPARE for when this one is incapacitated sounds quite tempting! And HER iHubs model doesn't SNORE! She added apps like "Snore No More" and "Flowers for No Reason." She goes on and on and is so funny. I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did! :)

UPDATE: Rob arrived home that evening and sadly told me that he had called around various stores, checked online at Amazon and Circuit City... pretty much been a bloodhound over it... and was unable to find me an iHubs. He's so funny. He reads my blog before he comes home from work, you see. :)

Quote

"Life is short,
Break the rules,
Forgive quickly,
Kiss slowly,
Love truly,
Laugh uncontrollably,
And never regret anything that made you smile."

A Crazy Story

Let me just be clear, the STORY is crazy, not me. It's not up for debate, no matter what you think. :)

Yesterday, I posted about fearing mice in bonnets. I also mentioned my "bug dreams" and selling Boyds Bears online. In this story, all three come together in a terrifying manner.

Anyone who has owned their own business knows the stress of it. The long hours, paying your suppliers, dealing with customers, etc. etc. It's satisfying, but has real headaches attached as well. And on top of all that, I was working into the wee hours so I could take care of Sarah and Thomas (when they were babies) during the day.

So, here you'll see one of my fears:



Now, I did say mice in BONNETS and that mouse is not wearing a bonnet. Just be patient.

So, I was particularly stressed one Christmas season with getting Boyds Bears shipped out in time. Honestly, people always acted like I was shipping them emergency insulin not a stuffed animal. But, I digress.

Extreme stress brings on nightmares from which I cannot seem to wake up.

I was slumbering peacefully when across the bed came a FIELD MOUSE. And you know how FAST those things move. Well, I SHOT out of the covers and was standing on the bed screaming when Rob finally woke me up. I made him take all the covers off of the bed. Because that thing WAS THERE, I tell you!

The thing was, the mouse wasn't just any ordinary mouse. It must have had special powers or something because it was WEARING the BOYDS BUNNY TAMI'S HAT! A bonnet.

Here's Tami, still with her (soon-to-be-removed) bonnet:



Now, I don't want to know what that evil field mouse had to do to get Tami bunny's bonnet, but it can't have been good.

So, I've had a real aversion to mice in bonnets ever since. Wouldn't you? :)

I've Been TAGGED

I've been TAGGED by Summer to blog about 6 things you may or may not know about me. And I thought she liked me.

Gee. Thanks, Summer. Then I get to tag more people. Is this the way to make friends or enemies? I guess I'll be finding out! :) (Summer, you know I am teasing you, right?) :)

Here goes...

1) I was born in Los Angeles, California and adopted. My brother is adopted too.

2) I have TWO brothers named Scott. No, it is not because I live in West Virginia. :) One is my birth half-brother and one is my adopted brother. Both are the same age, height, coloring. It's kind of weird. I'm afraid one day I'll be somewhere with the two of them and be forced to say, "Hi, this is my brother Scott, and this is my other brother Scott."

3) I am hugely competitive at playing Euchre.

4) I used to run a retail website that kept me very busy selling Boyds Bears. It's still out there hogging up cyberspace, actually.

5) Someday, I want to open our home to foster children. For obvious reasons, I always wanted to adopt a child, but there is more need in the foster world.

6) Before kids, I was a sixth grade teacher of reading and language arts. I loved it. I can't wait to go back.

Those are the 6 kind of normal things. Now let's go for the more...unusual... :) (This isn't part of the tagging, I just think it's fun, see #1 below). :)

1) I always go overboard. And I don't mean out boating. I overdo everything. Just ask Rob.
2) I have irrational fears of vacuums, worms, and mice wearing bonnets.
3) My kids are both PK's and TK's. They are maimed for life.
4) I haven't had my hair cut professionally in 10 years. Now, that's scary!
5) I never go in bare feet. (My folks owned a shoe store, so why would I?) :) Probably because of this habit, I have very wimpy feet. Very.
6) When under undo stress, I often have "bug" dreams. I wake up screaming about some bug or rodent or snake in the bed. I'll say it for you, "Weird." And if Rob tries to wake me up, I kick him. Oh, I am SUCH a fun wife! :) I'll say this for him, though, he takes his life in his own hands and grabs me if I try to stand up on the bed to escape... especially if the ceiling fan is on. Yeah, it scares me too.
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The rules:

-You don't have to play if you don't want to.

- Pass this along to 6 other blogger buds (via a comment on their blog).

- List 6 things people may or may not know about you, providing you're okay with 6 other bloggers (and the rest of the blogosphere, potentially) knowing more about you.


I am tagging (and apologizing in advance):

Eric @ SPEEDCAT HOLLYDALE PAGE (and don't you dare tag me back!!!) lol
Beth at "A Mom's Life"
Tosca @ Perfect Tosca
Leslie Ruth @ Diary of a Southern Drama Queen
Lauren @ Must Love Dogs...and My Parakeet
Suburban Correspondent @ The More, The Messier