I have a confession....

I love this book set.

Little Red got it from one of his grandma's for Christmas last year.  He loved it....but we didn't fully utilize it until a few months ago.  And now...we can't get enough of it.

It comes with 4 titled books....If you give a moose a muffin, If you give a mouse a cookie, If you give a pig a pancake and If you take a mouse to school.  The book is also jam packed with recipes, activities, science expiraments and a CD to boot.

The CD is our favorite.  It plays each narrated story, plus tons of fun songs.

I'll admit....I love to sing along with them.  They are fun and silly....and to my utter disbelief and surprise (I mean, really!)...not annoying.

This jewel has hardly left the player in our car for MONTHS!  (I say "hardly" because daddy is not as much of a fan as I am. he he he...He prefers Metallica or sports radio)

It perfect for long car rides, errands, and when I have to run into the house (with the engine off, of course) and take "so and so" potty, and then "so and so" has to go, and then I forgot this, and forgot that.....you get the idea.  Keeps them happy....and without complaint (mostly) when I am "stuck" talking to some other mama through the car window for hours on end.  :)

I HIGHLY recommend it.

Stocking Stuffer, maybe?  Or for the Grandkids Christmas or birthday?!?

I've seen them at Costco (a while ago) or you can find them at Amazon.com HERE.

Happy singing along y'all.

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This post may or may not contain affiliate links.

AND THE WINNER IS......

Announcing the winners of of the BLOGGING CHALLENGE/BIRTHDAY BASH GIVEAWAYS!

I'm SO excited to announce them.....

Winner of the Amazon.com gift card #1:

Lisa

Winner of the Amazon.com gift card #2:

 Mommy with Selective Memory

Winner of the Dancing Princess Designs $10 gift certificate:

 Meg

Jennifer at DPD also threw in a $2 off coupon for Grumpy Grateful Mom who said: "I love the She's Got Moxie set on GDS. :)"  Well, there you have it GGM...now you can go get that "She's Got Moxie" set....It's SUPER SUPER cute!

 Thanks from both Jennifer and I, for your participation in the Giveaways....it was a lot of fun for me to do and I'm glad to have y'all here with me.

Winners....you have 48 hours to email me at testosteroneoverloadXY at gmail dot com to claim your prizes (that would be 6:00PM PST Sunday, October 23rd...to be exact).  So don't delay!

YEAY!  

Now, Roberto and I are headed off to, yet another, bombers football game.  Darn it all, though.  I never did get out to Goodwill to get all decked out in my green and yellow.  Oh well...I will most likely visit the "students section" again.  It was just way too much fun last time!

Can't wait...

Just one easy click!

"It takes a village....."

Somehow when we went from three to four boys,we also went from "normal" to "side show".

And let me tell you....a trip out in public with my brood is never very far from just that.  

Let's just say that we attract A LOT of attention.

I'm not gonna lie.  When I see a mom walking through a store with a long line of duckling waddling behind, I stop and count them....doesn't everybody?  It just that because mine are all of the same gender....and BOYS in particular, we seem to turn a lot more heads.


I thought I would entertain you with a list of comments I frequently hear....and my responses:

Q:  "Are 'these' all yours?"
A:  "Yep"...or "Sure are"...or, more often than not, "(sigh)" (usually followed by a "get back here", "stop touching that"or "leave him alone.").  It all depends on the day, # of errands run, or the "time of the month".

Q:  "4 boys!?!?!" or "4 boys, huh?" (depending on the persons level of shock/disbelief)
A:  Again...."Yep ('unless I lost count somewhere back there', I think to myself)"

Which is almost ALWAYS followed by one or all of these: 
"Wow...you must be a busy mama"..."You've got your hands full".....or "God Bless You!"

To which I respond:
"I sure am"...."Yes, I do".....and either, "He sure does" or "He's gonna have to"

But my favorite is...

Q:  "HOW DO YOU DO IT!?!?!?"

The reason I love this one so much is because people are usually caught off guard by my answer.  Which is either...

"One day at a time"....or....."Not very well".....or, my usual "go to"......"I'm medicated."

This last one almost always sends the "questioneer" into a fit of nervous laughter.  Their not sure what to say, so they just laugh.  And I laugh right along with them.  When the laughter finally dies down, I usually follow up with a, "No seriously....(pause)....I am."   (then they are really at a loss for words.  I'm sure they are thinking....Did she really just say that?)


And this was true, until almost 2 months ago when I had the brilliant idea that maybe I should come off said medication.  3 long weeks later I was "free" from them....and now, four weeks after that, I am going back on.

Picked up my RX tonight....tomorrow's the day.

I'd like to say it's because I "need" them, or "can't cope" without them.

But, in reality, it's because I have missed using that particular comeback at the grocery store.  :)
 
hardy har har.....


Okay...no really....in all seriousness...it's just better this way.

I've decided that my boys deserve the "best" mommy possible....and unfortunately, this mommy needs a little help in order to be "on her best".

You know the old African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child"?

Well...it's true.....and it just so happens that in our village resides Mr. Anti Depressant and Mrs. Anti Anxiety, too.

And you know what....we like them and we are grateful for their contribution.

Here's to hoping that they are just as helpful as they were before.

Wish me luck!

 (for a more "in depth" and far less silly read about my decision to "go back on" anti-depressants, you can visit me at Methodical Musings of an Unbalanced Woman sometime tomorrow (no, I haven't posted it yet so you'll just have to stay tuned).

VOTE FOR T.O......click on the banner below! (ha ha...that rhymes)

L.I.C.E is a four letter word

I mean....literally....and figuratively, too.  At least it is in our house.

It's naughty....very, VERY naughty.  

Why?...because when you say it mommy get's all scared and anxious and starts hyperventilating.  And her head starts itching.....really bad.

At least that is what happened the day we found a little creepy, crawly, egg laying nasty in G-McBabe's hair about 18 months ago (just a few weeks after Mr. Golden Locks was born).

(see here)

 But let me tell you, things haven't changed a whole lot.

A few weeks after the start of school, we got the customary "lice" letter home one day.

You know, the "it's that time of year again when we typically see an increase in head lice" letter?

I hate that letter.

But....not more than I hate the "Nits (lice eggs) and/or lice have been found on a couple of students in the 3rd grade" letter.

That letter came home today.

For a few seconds I thought about falling apart.  (Breath, breath, breath).

Instead I just did a little scream inside......

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

Why now?  I'm not medicated (at least not for a few more days).

How do you expect a "sister" to deal with something like this unmedicated, y'all?

SO....NOT....COOL!"

I looked at the paper....I looked at G-McBabe.....and then I said,

"You do realize we are going to have to do a head check today, right?

"Yeah.....(sigh)....I know."

Poor kid....he knows his mama all too well.  Let's face it....she can be a little psycho.

We FINALLY got to it tonight just before bed....

Luckily....so far, so good (all heads checked, all heads cleared).....and I didn't even panic, at least not more than once.....or twice.  :)

We ended the day with the "do not share hats or coats or scarfs talk"....the "stuff your coat inside your backpack talk" (what are they thinking making kids share cubbies?)...the "I know you love your friends but just don't get too close to them" talk.

Oh....and I prayed.....HARD!

I think we have it all covered.

Did I miss anything?


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"My mom is named Melanie" and a plug for popularity....oh, and school pictures too.

Roberto took G-McBabe and Little Red to their school open house the other day.  He came home with a tale of G-McBabe's "funny MOM poster" but I had forgotten all about it until G brought it home from school the other day.

I had a good laugh all over again.  See for yourselves....

 Here's what it says:

My mom is named Melanie.  She has dark red hair.  She has blue eyes.  Her favorite color is pink.  She likes orange!  She likes to jump on the trampoline and read novel's.  I love her because she makes me do only one page off homework. at a time.  She also is in the top mommy blogs.  (She likes blogging.)

Isn't that awesome.  And check out this portrait, up close and personal.

 Sweet.....I had no idea I was that good looking.

Anyhow.  I have to say a few things about this.

I DO have red hair and I DO have blue eyes.  Pink IS (one of) my favorite color(s)  but I ONLY wear orange because of Owen (and G-Mcbabe has his opinion of me wearing Orange too).  I do LOVE to jump on the trampoline (although I can't do it right now with the blasted SI joint injury), I DO love my novels and  I'm grateful, I only make him do one page of homework at a time (since he seems to love me so much for it).

But this is the part I REALLY want to focus on here.

"She is also in the top mommy blogs.  (she likes blogging.)"

I promise...I did not put him up to this.  In fact, I had no idea he knew about it.   But, I thought I would use it as a plug to get some votes.  :)

So here is my plug.  VOTE FOR ME ON TOP MOMMY BLOGS! I need you, my friends, to vote for me so that I can climb the charts.  :)  (I joined TMB to try and spread the word about depression/anxiety with my other blog MMUW (totally not a popularity thing) but with this blog I joined to just feel "cool".)

So...if you like me, even a little bit, please click on this banner today....and any other day you come here to visit (you can vote 1 time in a 24 hour period).  THANK YOU!

Oh...and here are our "first day of school" pictures.  Yeah...I'm that slow....

Here's G-McBabe's 3rd Grade self.... in all his glory

 This picture is a "hurry-mom-the-whistle-just-blew-the-sun-is-in-my-eyes-my-glasses-are falling-down-do-I-HAVE-to-smile?-look-at-my-snaggle-teeth" kinda pictures.  

That, and he's a goofball...we hardly EVER get a "normal" picture our of him.  Ha ha ha ha.....

and

Little Red aka

Mr. Kindergarten

This photo was shot by our sweet neighbor's sweet mom, who insisted I be in the photos as well.  Fortunately for me I have editing software and although I don't know how to do a lot of things, I DO know how to crop.  Ha ha ha....

Isn't he adorable, though?

So...don't forget to vote....one click per day.....and  also...don't forget to enter into the HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY TESTOSTERONE OVERLOAD GIVEAWAYS!
Just one easy click!