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Playing with my Daughter

stephanie — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:44:00 +0000

One of the most rewarding things in my life are my kids. It never ceases to amaze me as to how wonderful they are and how creative they can be. I try to be the best parent that I can, and therefore I try to make time for them every Sunday.

So, today I have been playing with my daughter and her dress up clothes. You see, we have a big chest full of play clothes for her so that she can let her imagination go wild. Truth be told, pretty much all of the clothing is second hand, but she loves it anyway.

Today, she decided that I was going to be film and video cameraman since she was going to be a movie star and producer. I guess we have let her watch a little too much TV, but a game like this was going to be harmless, right?

Well, she drew up some storyboards on the chalkboard in the basement, and we proceeded to record the movie. I used the digital camera, and she dressed up for the roles that our story had.

I think that after she goes to bed tonight that I will edit the video, and put the film together so that the whole family can watch it tomorrow. Needless to say, we had a great time and a lot of fun. I hope we do this again.

Technorati Tags: film and video cameraman, storyboards

The Terrible Ex, A Terrible Father, Should Lose Everything

TSJ — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:03:24 +0000

My ex husband is unbelievable. I should have seen the signs when we got married-too young, at 21 and 23. But he’d never been around the block. Still, he was responsible and a hard worker, though he didn’t really help with the yards or with home improvements; that was okay. Then with kids, he loved them but didn’t really know a lot about what to do with them. He just seemed to get bored with the whole family thing after six or seven years.

Plus, then his career took off and he was travelling all the time…just when the internet got big. He worked for TBS, so he had a lot of sports to cover. And in those hotel rooms, he found some online dates and well, you can guess the rest.

The worst thing is how he’s treated the boys since then. He never calls. No birthday cards. Never did see even one of my youngest son’s concerts nor did he even show up to his graduation. I think he’s being smote down by God or something because now he’s got this weird skin condition and he looks terrible. Well, he’s made some good money for his new wife, but I hope he eventually loses it all and has to end up doing shuffleboard maintenance or something.

Technorati Tags: shuffleboard maintenance, TBS

Taking My Role as Team Captain Seriously

Topper — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:23:08 +0000

For the last two years in high school, I have been dreaming of becoming the team captain for the football team. I have dedicated my time during school to focus on becoming the best player that I could be. This meant that I missed a lot of other activities since I spent so much time training instead of doing anything else. But I believed that the dedication would pay off, so I didn’t think that I was really missing anything.

And it did.

In my senior year, my dream came true and I found myself in the position where I was the captain. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life when they made the announcement as it meant all the hard work that I did was worth it.

I quickly realized though that there was more work involved in being the captain than I had thought. I wanted to make sure that I did the best job I could, so I found some team software that would help me with all the work I needed to do.

But I know that I will do what it takes to make our team the best - being team captain was the role I was born to be.

Technorati Tags: dedication, team captain, team software

Things You Save Even If They’re Not Keepsakes

TSJ — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:50:23 +0000

There are a lot of things that moms save from their babies. Locks of hair, their first shoes, a little onesie, etc. But don’t overlook some of the other items you’ll be able to use later!

First of all, think about saving their little blankets. Those things come around and have various uses later, including visiting babies, quilt squares or as toy blankets. Next, even if you didn’t use cloth diapers, get some! They make fantastic cleaning cloths! They are hard to find in discount stores, but you can find discount cloth diapers on the internet. Baby cradle bedding can also come in handy-even if you eventually sell it with your cradle. But little girls would love to play with those things, you might some day need it for your own grandchildren, and if none of these things occur, foster organizations can always use baby items.

We used to save the glass baby food jars for paints, beads, buttons and pins, but they don’t make jars like that anymore. Still, the small juice bottles with screw-on caps might be helpful. And for goodness sake, don’t get rid of the bottle brush or eye-droppers! There are a million uses for those. A very few toys can be saved for visiting children or even decorations sometimes. Wrapping paper is great to save even if just to look at 30 years from now. Otherwise, it’s pretty good shelf and drawer liners for while your kids are still messy. Using things over is the best kind of recycling!

Technorati Tags: baby cradle bedding, discount cloth diapers, foster organizations

Looking for Fun Cat Toys

Topper — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:17:23 +0000

Our family is home to three young cats who love to make every day as fun as they can manage. If they find a string or one of my son’s Legos on the ground they are ready to play. Unfortunately, if I allow all of their “make-shift” cat toys to remain on the floor I would have an unsightly mess. Therefore I wanted to find some fun cat toys that they could play with that wouldn’t cause me to step on something sharp in the middle of the night.

A friend of mine showed me a great site that revealed a variety of fun cat toys. I was also glad to find I was able to order the toys in bulk to save money. However, whether I order in bulk, or not, the toys are surprisingly reasonable. I really liked a line called zanies cat toys especially the zanies cheese wedge box which looks like a real piece of cheese and is filled with multi-colored toy mice.

I received the package today and I was really surprised at the high quality and the fast shipping. Although, the best part was watching my kitties battle over the toys they liked the most.

Technorati Tags: fun cat toys, play, zanies cat toys

Learning More

Topper — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:07:07 +0000

I have been dating Adam for sixteen months. He is a very chill guy and we have been having fun hanging out. I actually met his family in the summer and if the saying, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is accurate, that would be great with me since his family is very cool too.

I have been seriously considering joining Adam on Valentine’s Day for a couple’s tattoo. Together we have searched the internet for various design options. Before we started this process I thought that all tattoo artist performed freehand designs and if someone had amazing dragon tattoos it is because he went to a talented artist. I have since learned that the artist does need talent, skill, a steady hand, and a good eye for color; however the artist also can rely on a brilliant stencil which people can order from the internet.

I am so relieved to be able to shop for my design and sit with my choices for days or even weeks before I make that permanent decision. Instead of walking in and hoping the artist can capture my vision, I now can walk in with a pre-sketched plan. We are leaning toward getting Angel tattoos and will make our final decision soon.

Technorati Tags: angel tattoos, dragon tattoos, tattoo

Happily Ever After

Topper — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:26:28 +0000

My sister recently married a man who she thought was the perfect guy for her. He encouraged her to get life insurance soon after the wedding, which seemed strange to me but she told me not to worry so much. She did as he asked her to without hesitation. She did have some worries since collecting a huge court payoff from her previous husband who was not too happy about it but was so eager to please her new hubby that she pushed all her reservations aside.

It is unfortunate that no one had explained the concept of stranger owned life insurance or premium finance theft to her as she just found out she has been taken for a lot of money from her new husband’s shady dealings. He had suggested a specific company for her to deal with and she had no reason to not trust her new husband so she signed up with them right away.

With out her knowledge it was his company and it was secretly funneling her life insurance premiums into his private bank account. She was none the wiser till she discovered one evening he had left without saying goodbye and she was not really covered by life insurance at all.

Technorati Tags: life insurance premiums, premium finance theft, stranger owned life insurance

My Dad is Embarrassing Me

Topper — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:06:34 +0000

My dad is in his forties and has suddenly decided he want to be cool in front of my friends. I just started college this year, and honestly, I was really liking the idea of cutting the umbilical cord and getting away from the family, but money is tight and college is expensive, so I moved back in recently. For some reason, dad now wants to be buddies, one of the gang.

First he comes strolling out to where my friends and I are watching TV, and starts yammering on about some AnnaLynn McCord picture he saw recently. OK, yeah, I saw them too. She’s amazing. Great photos. I hear she even is pretty bright. Point taken. But then he goes on and says Kendra Wilkinson is probably the most beautiful woman out there right now: don’t we agree? Now, my friends are pretty laidback, but I think even they were feeling a little “weirded out” by the whole thing. My dad is what, 58? I’m not saying that’s too old to notice beautiful women. What I am saying is that it’s too old be rambling on about how beautiful they are and why didn’t the girls look like that when he was growing up. Seriously, he said that. To my friends. In my house. With my mom in the kitchen.

Technorati Tags: AnnaLynn McCord, Kenda Wilkinson

Thinking of Sprucing

Topper — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:02:38 +0000

I’ve been thinking about sprucing up the front porch a little. It’s just so drab now, it almost makes it look like the house is abandoned. With a few chairs, a table, some potted plants, and maybe even an outdoor wall fountain, I can really make the place look homey.

My friend who works at Wal-Mart (boy, do I feel sorry for him) might be able to get me a discount on a set of table and chairs, and I guess some flowers, too. I’m looking online for some wall water fountains, but it’s so hard to know how they would really look at my place.

And how do fountains even work, anyways? There’s a pump and water, and I guess. . . some kind of. . . motor?

How do other people do this? I mean, this seems like the kind of project everyday people do on the weekends, but I can’t seem to grasp anything about even basic plumbing. It would be funny if it weren’t so embarrassing.

I’ll have to talk this over with the ol’ ball and chain first to find out what we can afford and what would look best. She’s got the artistic sense while I’m just the grunt work.

Technorati Tags: outdoor wall fountain, plumbing, wall water fountains

Funny Costumes Are Always Popular at Costume Parties

Topper — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:52:14 +0000

Whether you’re going to a Halloween party or a costume party at some other time of year, it’s always a good idea to dress in funny Halloween costumes. Why? Because wearing funny outfits puts a smile on the face of anyone around you and just adds to the fun you’ll have. Personally, I think that funny costumes are great for couples costumes. For one thing, if you’re going to a party with people you don’t know very well, coming in funny outfits makes a great icebreaker because it gets people laughing.

Of course, if you do choose to wear something funny, you and your partner in crime need to agree on what you’re going to wear, and if your humor will be rated G, PG, or strictly for adults! It’s a good idea to know a little something about the party you’ll be attending before you pick out how outrageous or risqué your funny costumes will be. Will your adult Halloween costumes be only for grown-ups or will you choose some outfits that are clean and wholesome, just designed to appeal to an adult sensibility? Now go out there and make ‘em laugh!

Technorati Tags: adult Halloween costumes, couples costumes, funny Halloween costumes