For the last month or so I’ve been trying to capture one picture. one picture…
of my two Lummins together for the annual Christmas cards.

NOPE, not gonna happen.

here's my favorite attempt thus far...

I'm here.
But obviously, I haven't been.

It's been a blur of busy busy days.
Lots of work, some company, cooking, shopping, prepping, feasting, coffee drinking, wine tastings,
errand running, and many "sex and the city" nights. :)

I like the holiday season. but at the same time I despise it.
stress and more stress
the nagging pressure you feel everytime you walk into a store after halloween- decorated with christmas everythings everywhere, bombarding your mind with the songs, the flashy displays, and monster sales.
the lines and crowds at every corner you turn
the traveling about with two demanding young Lummins
getting my christmas cards out on time

what I cherish-
the smells,
the traditions,
being with family,
the food and drinks,
the young ones' faces on christmas morning :)

Happy Season Ya'll!

THE WEEKEND UPDATE AND WORD CHALLENGE

UPDATES
After a near two week excursion to Europe, traveling throughout London, Paris, and Germany, the Lum Man of the House returned home to an overly excited family. The Little Lummins were completely ecstatic, each vying for their spot in Daddy's arms and fist fighting for his attention. I waited patiently and got my piece of Dwayne too.

while Dwayne was abroad I was wondering why, WHY didn't I find a way to join him...I could have kept myself busy taking photograph after phtotograph throughout the foreign streets, parading through boutiques , museums, and streetside cafes while he worked.
kicking myself! Next year I'm gonna get smarter and drop off the kids at my parents if I get the opportunity to go.


WEEKEND WORD CHALLENGE
created by OddMix this week's words are conform and rebel.

conform

The leaves conform to the rules of the season, Fall. falling from the trees and lining up against the wall.

but Fall is deceivious in these parts. Even though we are now way into November the temperatures neared 90 degrees this past week...

rebels



Rebellious to the season,
the butterflies and bees covering the flowers- they're everywhere!
Not the usual symbols for Fall.
But we do live in Austin, Texas, so anything goes...

and at least it's not snowing here!


p.s. I cannot switch to Beta Blogger people. it says I can't.
know any tricks??

I'm walking up the stairs to go bed... Shit! was that a scorpion I just saw?
yep.
I run into the closet and grab the biggest stompin boot I can find.
Carefully stepping down the stairs I spy the evil beast and smash it to a pulp.
Or so I think. But the bastard slinks its body into the crevice of the stair and I can't reach it no matter how hard I smash.
I needed something to pry the sucker out. thinking thinking...SCISSORS! (I do belive the idea came from a TKW story)
My heart pounding and adrenaline pumping fast and furious I chop the mother fucker in half. chop chop. head still moving. chop.chop.chopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchop...
Dead!
and in a million pieces on the floor.

time out from blogging until the Lum man returns from his very long business trip...
no time to sit down.
...but come back and visit my Flickr page soon. I'll be updating with the photos from last weekend's baby shoot.

I'll be back soon.

AND ALL YOU BLOGGING BITCHES HAVE A DRINK FOR ME OVER BLOWOUT WEEKEND!!!!
:)

Look at this doll!

I was taking her picture, and stealing her away to snuggle and hold, and taking in deep breaths on the top of her itty bitty head to soak up that "baby" smell that I wish I could bottle and keep forever. i looooove that smell! I would take a sniff everyday.
ahhhh...
Her mama looks at me and asks "you gonna have anymore kids?"
NO. but I'll eat yours up as much as I can!!
And when the little one cried, I recorded the sound in my head to play over and over again so I can remember that I definitely positively don't want any more babies.

-------------

You wanna new poll yet?
I got one. GO CHECK IT OUT -------->

*just changed the poll answers...go vote again if you did before!

The results from the last poll told me that by a landslide most of you feel when it comes to love, permanence is more important than intensity.
I'm not sure what I think about that. I'm thinking most of my readers are married? And old.
Just kidding! but do ya think if I polled a bunch of 18-25 yr olds they'd go for permanence? uh uh.

-------------

I've so far, finished off two and a half bags of chocolate candy that were supposed to be for the Halloween trick-or-treaters (yeah, the 2 kids that might show up). yes finished off two and a half bags so far. yummy yummy little chocolates. they're so small you can't just have one and then you start to see nothing wrong with eating 8 or 10 in one sitting.

So today I got smarter and bought another bag of candy that I know I won't eat.
ok, and then I got just one more bag of chocolates.
:)

(Chris, don't read this)

I'm sad today and yesterday.
My sister called me in tears Tuesday afternoon (morning for her in Hawaii).
I prepared myself mentally. For I knew why she was in tears.
Someone had died.

My sister is a Marine's wife. She has three kids and lives out in the middle of the ocean. She is alone for the next 7 months while her husband fights in Iraq.
And she'd just learned that her neighbor and friend lost her husband. Her husband was in the same company as my sister's. and that news hit waaaay too close to home!
Her friend will now birth their second child in December as a widow.
It makes me sad, sad, sad, and sick, and so very mad.

It kills me that she lost her husband, that so many have lost their husbands, and sons, and fathers... for senseless and pointless reasons.
I do believe that the present state of Iraq, their government, and our presence there is COMPLETE MADNESS.
I do not care if you agree with me. Nor will I rant on and on about madness over there. or here. or everywhere...

No. But I will tell you it scares me sensleless to imagine this happening to my sister and her family.
How can she live with the constant ball of worry that her door may be the next knocked upon?
Does she plant that ball in the back of her brain and bury it over with the everyday routines and goings. with prayers. with love for a world full of baby bottoms and messy house...

PLEASE COME BACK SAFE AND ALIVE JOE!!!!

WEEKEND WORDS CHALLENGE

HELLO- Mr. Sunshine returns and starts to dry up all the rain.


GOODBYE rainy day

see that blue sky peekin through?

after the Sunday showers.

-HELLO and GOODBYE are the given words for this Weekend's Word Challenge -by OddMix.

I am a mother
And I am a wife
A daughter and sister
I am a friend
And I am me.

Me is someone who hides in these other roles much of the time, but needs to come out regularly for a breath of fresh air.
I like to take Me out. She’s usually a good fun time. She’s real. She’s good conversation and silliness too.

My Me:
Likes to cuss
Plays loud music
Smokes Marlboro UltraLights
Farts and then sniffs

This Mommy:
Loves to watch and guide her children as they discover and explore their world
Tries to make every outing an exciting adventure (even if it’s just a lame trip to the grocery store)
Is loving and giving
Is tired everyday

This Daughter/Sister:
Loves yakking on the phone
Keeps close
Shares funny and troubling stories about the kids
Thrives on their love and comfort

This Wife:
Is a hot lover
Sometimes nags and complains
Wants to be near her man

This Friend:
Talks sex, poop, and juicy gossip
Cries together
Listens to and shares the daily stresses and deepest troubles

These are not the only parts in my “role resume” but the most prominent on a daily going…
Together they form Me, but I also know that my Me is a separate entity that can sometimes collide with my other duties.
So I’m constantly aiming to achieve that golden balance where all my selves are evenly nurtured and played with. (I’m a Libra ya know…always trying balance those scales…)

I think it’s a shame when someone loses their Me. Whether driven down by being a constant mother/housekeeper, or when the powerhouse workaholics can’t detach from their jobs…
I’m just sayin- we must all take our ME out for spin every now and then!
(of course on the flip side we all know people that play a little too much with their Me and tend to forget about their other roles and responsibilities) …so don’t go overboard)

So I’m curious, is your Me just a configuration of your daily roles in life, or does your Me exist outside of your roles?

Do you let your Me out of the closet regularly for exercise?

Just in case you were wondering...

~We had a nice rain yesterday








~Sophie now has her own imaginary friend, Eddie.
I always knew Sophie would be the type of child to have an imaginary friend. It scares some people. but I just have fun and go with it...
Eddie likes to jump on the sofa a lot. He tells Sophie what to do, which is actually another way of Sophie trying to get away with shit... (like when Eddie says she doesn't have to eat her vegetables or clean up her toys, etc)
After inquiring, I've learned that Eddie is actually a toad.

~All it takes to keep Holden entertained is 4 beans and 2 plastic containers.
And he'll play for a good fifteen minutes (that's LONG TIME in toddler-time!)

back and forth, back and forth pouring the beans from container to container.

I'm also making Holden wash dishes now since he's quite content to play at a sink full of soapy water and dirty dishes for 20 minutes. Seriously. He just pours and pours from dish to dish over and over. It's mess afterward, but who cares it's only water!
Both great activities while I cook dinner.

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!
My girl carrie came in from houston to help celebrate the weekend, as well as my Lauren and weinie dog Oscar. And of course my Lummins and Dwayne!
Friday night we had a fun little celebration at home. with balloons to chase around, birthday hats to wear, and cake to eat (two of them!). singing, silliness, presents, beer...just good times.
Some pictures from Friday here.

And than Saturday was the big party downtown at the Belmont!! SO FUN!
pics from that night are here.

I am a quite proud of the fact that for being THIRTY years old now, for drinking all night and going to bed at 4am, and then awakening at 7:30am with the Lummins- I did very well!
not even a hangover. just verrrrrrry tired and slow.

I think the secret is:
gorge your face at Whataburger at 2am and eat til you run out of money.
then take two advil with a glass of water before passing out.

thankfully I don't get to put this into practice very much...
but you only turn thirty once!

Well today is the last day of my twenties!
I celebrated by getting my annual OBGYN exam. I know...such a treat for myself.
"please spread your legs so I can stick this cold, uncomfortably metal tool inside your ---"
Yes, fun. Even more fun was waiting an hour and half to actually see the doctor, which half of was spent shivering in a freezing cold exam room, covered only in goose bumps and the paper-thin gown they provided.

But my much better real birthday present...

new tattoo I've been wanting for months.

I wanted something to cover up that little sun I had done when I was 17- the WOOHOO! I'M ON SPRING BREAK IN PADRE LET'S ALL GET MATCHING TATTOOS thing.
I like this new one. It's colorful and swirly and will look even better as it heals!

Go on and have a drink with me for my 30th tomorrow!!

p.s. I do believe I was officially born at 10:29 am, so therefore you have my permission to crack open the beer and cocktails before noon!

Friday night was FUN with these bitches!

Nappy (right in the middle there) is havin a birthday soon and we helped her celebrate with cocktails, food, and one gay man dancing on stage in his underwear.
:) :) :) :) :)

Now, are you totally sick of seeing that same poll over there?
me too.
I put up a new one.
A question I've asked myself many times over, pondered and played out different scenarios for, and discussed with a variety of people...
In love, is INTENSITY or PERMANENCE more important?

Is it the heat and passion that drives a relationship, or a sweet rock-steady love?
Can you have both?
Will permanence lead to boredom? does passion lead to uphevel?
Do you prefer a short lived, but intensely hot relationship
over a long lasting and but less passionate partnership?

what works for you?

ssssnakey, snakey come here...

I'd like a snake for a pet.
Sophie told me not to let this one in the house though. because he's not a dog.
but Dwayne says we can't have a snake for a pet anyway. awwwww!

No joke- I once lived in a house with rattlesnakes and other various wild animals

I believe this is the complete list of animals kept in this wild house at one time:
2 dogs- Hendrix and Nip
2 kittens- Mary and Daisy
1 flying squirrel- Sampson was the best!
2 boa constrictors -Rosy and Lugwig
1 Cayman crocodile- named Oscar because he was a grouch!
1 tiny snapping turtle named Elvis
2 western diamondbacks rattlers- Bonnie and Clyde
1 eastern diamondback, and 1 massasauga rattler
2 puff adders
2 Colorado River Toads, they secrete venomous ooze from their pores, also used as a psychedelic drug. I know nothing about that.
3 free roaming iguanas, big fat ones, and 1 small caged iguana(as it turns out they will kill and eat mice)
2 free roaming geckos -to keep the bugs out of the house
1 monitor
1 king snake for a day- she was captured, she laid her eggs, and then she vanished. We incubated the eggs until 4 hatched and we later let them go.

WHY? you ask
I was living in a house with 3 other wild boys that wanted animals that you weren't supposed to keep as pets. I was just along for the ride.
Who the hell keeps rattlesnakes as pets?
Crazy, ex-marines (RECON boys) that's who- one was my fiancee and his best friend, and another granola boy. The boys even built a glass topped coffee table/cage for the rattlers...that way you could watch the whole show when the mice were dropped in.

It was a whole house full of animals, cages, lights and cords, and lots of POOP!
It was quite an experience learning about so many animals and their ways of survival though.

like when a monitor eats a mouse and doesn't pass it within a week, you have to force feed it castor oil. ewwwww!
and a cayman will bite the head off a mouse and leave it's decapitated body floating in the water for days. freaky
geckos can bite really HARD. they have clamp stronger than man.
you cannot find a boa that's hidden inside a car if it doesn't want to be found. boas can hide inside a car for a week and come back completely unscathed. and it comes back all, "What? What are you guys lookin at?? Now feed me!"

Dwayne went and had himself a birthday on Saturday.
offshoot- Sophie has been calling her dad "Dwayne" all weekend. She's done it so many times now it's become an unconscious act.
('cept when she's cryin. then it's all "daaddddddy!!")

So we surprised him with a delicious cake from Lucy's and a few gifts in the afternoon. although it wasn't much of a surprise because somebody I know doesn't know how to keep a secret. sophie.
"I can't tell you about the cake we ordered from Lucy's Daddy. It's a secret." (this was back when he was still called Daddy)


Sorry I didn't put all the candles on this year Dwayne,
but I'm cheap and didn't want to spend the money on all those packages of candles. and there wasn't enough room on the cake. and last year the smoke alarm went off in the house after you blew out the candles.
But wait till I get ya next year when you "officially" turn old...

Holden shocked me when he actually chose to use a fork over his preferred 10 little built-in utensils to eat his cake.


There are times when I think I can't stand another minute of this crappy 'motherhood' job, when the repeated visions of running away into the forrest and hitchiking back in time to the days of fun partying, sleeping in late, and few responsibilities take over my mind...
but then one of the kids goes and does something so cute and tender that motherhood reclaims it's place of being worthy.
This past week Holden has made me stop bitching and struggling with the everday tasks of rearing two small needy children, and made me remember to step back and enjoy these times. Their sweet smell, the snuggles and tender little toes to nibble on. Their innocence and fresh eyes on the world...precious little beings. (not to say that they can't be total snots sometimes too)

So one day last week, Holden's language exploded and it won't stop gushing. Everyday I'm struck by 2 or 3 new words he proudly announces to the world! It's not even the fact that he can say the words, but more the pride in his voice and smile when he realizes he's using big words to communicate with us. It's quite touching. sadly these endearing moments only happen once. Once. And I'm just glad I'm here now to enjoy them.
Sweet times and all, every mommy needs a break. And I can appreciate these tender moments the most when I've gotten a break from the mom job.


All of the sudden I blinked and my child grew up.
Sophie is a little big girl now.

~~~~~~
and then we got to be grownups for the evening...

sort of.

Our dear friend Lauren and her weinie dog Oscar came over and played with the kids while Dwayne and I escaped the mayhem. We enjoyed a quaint and pleasing meal out to the Cosmic Cafe. funky, but a good place to eat.
And later that evening I gave Dwayne his *real* birthday present from me...

39 BIG FAT SPANKINGS!!!

Last week I had a quick run to the mall with a one track mind. FREE!
I had a FREE PANTY coupon from Victorias Secret (Free, no purchase necc, no tax, nothin). And some coupon for a FREE rejuvenating serum by a dermashmologist at Bath Body Works. FREE was what I was going for and nothing else.
no room in the budget for shoes or anything.

The thing with the mall is, I always park in front of Nordstroms. I rarely shop there though. I like their nice clean family bathroom and their flirty piano tunes, and the overall atmosphere. But I can't afford Nordstroms.

Oh but sometimes just sometimes they have a great sale!
With lots of cute summer shoes in your size.
wanna see?

there just wasn't a better way to shoot these than up in the air!

These were the Steve Madden's for half the price.

Sophie gave them a try too.


here are the Seychelles (crappy picture),
half price as well



~Oddly enough, this week in the mail I received another free panty coupon and one more that came addressed to Dwayne. Two more free panties.
hmmmmmmmmm...

I am a lame blogger lately. I know.
I hate that I'm out of touch with my blogging amigos and the blogging world. But my time's eaten by other tasks and projects I've got going on right now.

So I did a photo shoot of Cara and her familia this weekend. so cute!
Whenever I download the pics after a photo shoot and start to browse through them there are immediately a few certain photos that pull at me.
This one took hold of my heart and wouldn't stop tugging.



So timeless and sweet.
Baby hands and feet (and their little tushies too) are some of the sweetest things in life!

2,996 people died in the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
One of them was a man called Richie…


Richard M. Caggiano was a son and a brother. A friend to many.
His childhood pals recall the fun times they spent together playing ball in the streets many years ago. They say they can still hear Richie's voice echoing down those Brooklyn streets...

He was a grown man at 25 years old, but Richie was still a kid at heart.
Most remember him for his great sense of humor. He always wore a smile and set out to make others cheerful as well. His witty wisecracks and endless pranks made people laugh and remember him fondly. Richie was the guy always having a good time and sharing his joy with those around him. But Richie was a tender heart as well, a kind soul who was loved and adored by all those he knew.

Richie lived at home with his father, mother, and younger brother. Proud of his blue collar roots, he also worked hard to acheive his long time goal of working in the finicial sector of NY.
At the start of 2001 Richie landed his first big job. He and his family were so very excited about the beginning of his new career working for Cantor Fitzgerald as a stock options trader in the World Trade Center.

But Richie-
at 25 years old you suddenly became a victim of a cruel and inconceivable terrorist attack at the World Trade Center. A day forever etched, manically carved into our memories.
Sept 11, 2001.

Richie will not be forgotten by those he left behind in this world. His spirit will live on in their hearts and memories forever.
And Richie- I will remember you.
Our entire country will remember you...

Five years later as the new skin begins to cover over the wounds and scars of that day,
we will remember and honor the 2,996 individuals that lost their lives.

Last weekend I had the priveledge of photographing TxMom and her little fam, and totally scaring the bees out of their little girl, Pooter. She cried and cried whenever I neared.
I was thinking oh no! for sure this isn't gonna work.
But after I put Nik away (he can be a little intimidating) and gave Pooter some of my Napoleon Dynamite lines, she warmed up a bit.




they're not Texas fans or anything...



You can see some of the other pics on my Flickr site.

I'm thrilled when I have the time to participate in the Weekend Word Challenge.
OddMix lends us the words for the week to photograph.

So this week I present,

DIVIDE

the excruciatingly slow divide.
The great divide between the ugly wallpaper and the bare wall beneath.
A scraper and hot steamy water are my tools of choice,
but the progress is painfully slow, stagnant at times.


UNITE

the beads

(and this was my alternate choice for DIVIDE after I captured my UNITE picture)


Happy Labor Day!

NEW POLL!
yes, I'm talking sex again. Specifically I'd like to know-
How old were you when you first had sex?

Last poll results:
Would you watch a public execution on tv?
17 of you responded yes; and 34 no

I wonder if the results would differ if I asked about a specific person...
say george w? osama bin laden? jeffrey dahmer? brittney spears?
I voted no. part of me might want to watch just to see if the image in my head was the same as the reality? would it not be as bad or would it be much, much worse?? I wouldn't want to watch the life of a person disappear forever in front of my face.
At the same time- if a crime were commited against my loved ones and the guilty party were sentenced to death, when the opportunity arouse to wacth their execution I would most probably definitely want to watch. For closure more than revenge though.

Rambling on... my tidbit of useless information for you this evening:
I ate 6 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies today in a matter of 6 hours. I'm averaging a cookie per hour...calculating ahead, I should have the whole plate conquered by this time tomorrow evening!
I figure it's just like eating a really big bowl of oatmeal (albeit one loaded with butter, brown sugar and chocolate chips) but oatmeal is healthy!

Ok, where did August go?



And today -mark it down in history- for the first time in nearly 4 months when I walked outside it felt COOL!
Cool meaning the temperature was BELOW 90 degrees.
ahhhh! we could actually walk down the driveway, take a stroll down the street without breaking into an immediate sweat and the overwhelming need to run back into the comforts of the air conditioning.

Our Canadian Oma (aka Dwayne's mum, Trudy) has been visiting us the last week and a half, gracing us all with her beautiful charismatic self! Her boundless energy and youth, and her genuine caring and interest leave an imprint in all those she encounters. And the lady knows how to have fun! She is a lovely person and we are so grateful for her and her abundant supply of love to us!

As for me, I CAN NOT wait til next week!! Kids start back to preschool.
That equals time. Time for me.
time to take a poop in peace. time to blog. time for photography. time for peace and quiet. time for solo Target shopping. time for cranking the volume on Eminem and singing "shake that ass for me!" and shouting all the curse words I want, if I want. time for appointments and errands. or time for nothing.
time. all mine.

The misery project I've begun...


Ridding our bathroom walls of the horrid mid-90s dark ugly green with gold diamondy shapes and stripes. yuck!
no offense if you like that stuff. But I’ve been staring at the ugliness for the last two half years. And although the corners are peeling the wallpaper will simply not remove itself!



So this weekend I grabbed my scraper and commenced stripping!
I stripped and peeled close to an hour and after stepping back to look at my progress I'm figuring I’ll be lucky to have this bathroom done in a year.

Plans are to paint the walls and perhaps one day replace the ugly outdated
brass hardware and cracked tiles. ahhh, a girl can dream... When we moved into this house we had a few rooms that we had planned to redecorate. After attempting to strip and rewallpaper the first room (one teeny tiny powder room), stepping waaaay over budget, and generally making a mess of things, I came to the conclusion that redecorating involves a lot of time and money (and skill).
But soon I was knocked up *Holden* and that seemed to be the end of any remodeling plans. Because babies too take a lot of time and money.

Now- no more babies and I can get back to my plans of a new bathroom!

OK,
So now I know that most of you masterbate a few times a week. That is, if you all played fairly and voted only once (why is it I keeping thinking Memphis Steve probably came and clicked more than a few times?)
But why not? It feels good. Nothin wrong with a little self-lovin.
What really puzzles me are the people who voted "I Don't."
Weirdos... or they're LYING!

Oh but instead of sex this week I'm asking about death.
More specifically,
If there was a public execution on tv would you watch?

You can vote over there on the right.

Well I've got a quasi-photo studio going on at home here and have been imploring the Lummins to be my subjects for awhile.
They suck at sitting still.
All I need is for them to sit still long enough for me to compose a photo, lock in the tripod, and take a few shots on different settings.
Yeah, that's pretty much near impossible. They cannot sit still for 2 SECONDS! All they wanna do is jump on the bed and act silly.
I know, that sounds like more fun to you too...

So far, THIS is what I got.

p.s. I'll be back later with a new poll question.

It's still blazing hot here and shall remain that way for quite some many months to come.
Nevertheless, OddMix has brought up the fact that the end of 'summer' vacation is drawing near. Summer Vacation? Very misleading if you ask me, if summer lasts from May to October 'round here then shouldn't summer vacation be that long??
I think the words for this Weekend's Word Challenge are REFRESH and RETURN. But I'm not sure I got the right words because I seem to be thouroughly scattered these days. The words could very well could be mope and frazzle, but that would have only left me taking self-portraits.


My RETURN picture was quite evident when someone finally returned home...


my one and only.


What REFRESHS me...

Nightfall.
The end of the day.
At last the temperature has fallen below 95.
Quiet. The children tucked in bed.
Perhaps a cocktail too.
Refreshing.

I think this might have been my parents best trip yet.
It was a few hours on a plane compared to the usual two days of driving (and they both survived the flight without medication or alcohol). They seemed very relaxed and enjoyed four days of Lummin lovins!
And we've begun to plan they're big move to AUSTIN!!! Hooray Hooray!


But now we're down to 3.
We dropped my parents off at the airport this evening and it wouldn't be normal these days if my husband weren't traveling.
I do believe I'll take the advice of my friend and schedule a "business trip" for myself soon. like to Cancun, or Jamaica perhaps...

Tonight it's just me and the Lummins and a good bottle of wine.

One of the coolest things I like about my new lens is that it lets me be a spy of sorts. hiding and watching. Catching the unsuspecting at play.
Feeling like I’m right in the middle of the scene, but yards away.











My biggest dilemma with the zoom lens is the weight. You’d THINK that carrying around, picking up and setting down, the two Lummins throughout the days would make me strong enough to hold a few pounds of lens. But it’s when I try to hold it perfectly steady for that NOW moment, I always seem to get the slightest shake.
argh!

Well I'm here... the headache finally left yesterday and I'm alive again!
Dwayne is traveling again this week and I'm back to single-mom mode.
But I have something to look forward to. my parents are coming down for a visit this weekend!
Both of them are getting on a plane -they don't fly- and taking their first plane ride together, a practice trip of sorts before they take that eventual big trip out to Hawaii to visit my sister.

Random thought:
How long do you think the Lummins would last if I ran away?
I was just thinking today... I mean just for fun.
Would Sophie really kill her brother if left without supervision? or would she take over being Mom? would the dogs take rein and rule the house? or would they all go mad and attack each other??

I'm not going anywhere.
today.

But I do have a new poll question.
Seeing that I'm a desperate housewife and all I'm curious about your sexual habits this week...

How often do you masterbate?

Now go over and vote!!

I'll fill you in on why I've not been here.
more sick kids, dwayne traveling, one root canal for me after cracking my tooth, and the past two days with a bitch of a migraine stopping me in my tracks. so I really haven't had a moment to catch my breath. But tonight my V friend is helping ease the pain and I'm able to function again.

I'll be back real soon with another intriguing poll question about poop or farts or the meaning of life or something.

First let's talk poop, shall we?
From the poll results it seems most of you poop on a daily basis.
I'm too embarrassed (yes Carrie I can get embarrassed) to tell you how much I poop a day. But let's just say men aren't the only ones that poop a few times a day ladies.
Poop is fun and all to talk about, but I much prefer to laugh over farts.
Sophie and I amused ourselves for a good 15 minutes with the Whoopee cushion in the aisles of Walgreens waiting for Holden's medicine Monday.
I like the loud farts the best. The Lummin farts can always make me laugh! Mine are the next funniest- especially when I blow a rare, long and loud one! dwayne's are only funny sometimes, more often very stinky. hi honey:)

But I decided not to ask about farts this week.
The new poll questionis: How often do you pray?
don't forget to go vote!

Now if I were to recap our last week it would be pages long and I'd probably put even myself to sleep. So here's a very brief update-
Holden is better. He had a viral infection that caused his little lung airways to swell and become inflamed (bronchiolitis), making it hard for him to breathe. had the fever, clingy crabbies, sleepies...the whole bit for the entire week.
He's all better now and we're getting back to normalcy after a week of rotating sick kids, dwayne traveling, doctor appointments... and now and I actually have time for myself tonight. My goal is to make my rounds through blog world and catch up tonight. don't hate me if I don't leave comments- I think my hands might fall off soon.
I had to take off my anonymous comments option because last week all of the sudden I was attacked by over 30 SPAM hits in a day! spam sucks.

I had a photo shoot with The Queen of Napville Thursday and her baby, Dulce.
I'm still working on the pictures, but here is the first one and so far my favorite.


Aren't they beautiful?!

Reasons I've been absent:

• preparing for Sophie's birthday party- shopping, prepping food, cleaning, baking and decorating too many cupcakes
• memorial service for Baby Reese (if I ever get time I do want to tell you about the beautiful service celebrating her life)
  
• tending to the sickly Sophie the day before her birthday party and hoping/praying she'd get better by the next day
  
• BIRTHDAY PARTY!! (she did get better)
  
• shooting pictures for our local library
• spending half a day at the ER- poor Holden was having difficulty breathing
  

I hope I can catch a few hours to myself this week (ha!) so I can share all the great stories and pictures...

We all think we’re so smart eh?
On the last poll ranking your intelligence relative to the population at large,
most people ranked themselves a 7 or 8.
I wonder what kind of results I’d get if I asked you to rate your driving skills relative to the population at large...
We'd all be 10's! I mean, I know for a fact that I’m a much better driver than most. It's all the other jack asses on the road that don’t know how to drive.
You think so too. Am I right?

If you took the last poll seriously then think about this:
What KIND of intelligence were you thinking about when you rated yourself?
Your mathematical/ logistical side? or are you a linguistical genius? a musical mastermind?
no one asked about that!
Surely if you people are all so smart you’d know about the Multiple Intelligences, Mr. Howard Gardner theorizes.

So what are your strongest and weakest intelligences?

*********
To keep it light hearted and immature this week, I'm asking
How often do you poop?

You can vote over to the side! ------>

I've sat down and tried writing a number of times the last few days.
I still haven't found the words I'm looking for. But I can't write about anything else until I write about this...
Our dear friends Sissy and Bud lost their precious baby girl this past weekend.
She was over five months old, a true fighter and a true miracle.
It’s too complicated for me to even begin to describe her condition. To be vague, she had a dysfunctional lymphatic system. But not a single other case exists like hers in this country.
I know it's been a painful past five months for sweet baby girl and her family. But I know they experienced joy and love together as well. And although it was much too short, she lived a life.
Here come the tears again...
Bud and Sissy will always have their sweet baby girl in the memories.

that's all I can say today

A little early,
but this photo perfectly fills the word for this Weekend's Word Challenge,

FULFILL

Meet Toni-
our loving female mutt we've had for over five years.
She was a wild thing from the animal shelter we adopted after she'd been dumped on the side of the road with her litter of pups.
After bringing Toni home we discovered she a had a black tattoo on her belly. How strange, I thought. Somebody had a sick idea of covering their dog's hide with their artwork.
But her tattoo makes her seem tough. I mean she's a bitch with a tattoo, yo!
Come to find out, maybe a year or so later after running into another dog with the same tattoo, all the dogs spayed at the animal shelter get one. It's like the female sign with a slash through it.
oooooooookay. got it.

Toni, for whatever reason, has been avoiding the camera ever since I got my Nik. She runs and hides as soon as Nik comes out of his bag. But this weekend camera-shy Toni didn't run and hide.
What I can't quite comprehend is why- this past weekend I got my new big daddy lens (so sweeeet), new flash, tripod, and a variety of other miscellaneous neccesities- now I'm walking around carrying an even bigger hunk of a camera. but Toni wasn't afraid.
Weirdo.

But FULFILL it is.
Nik and I finally got her!

Cheaters

After reviewing the poll results,

If you were having difficulty on an important test and could safely cheat by looking at someone else's paper, would you do so?
Yes= 18 people
Maybe= 9 people
No= 16 people

I have to say I'm not too surprised. I think the majority of us have probably cheated or considered cheating at some point in our lives.
But here's where I start stemming off...
If you replied yes- would it be ok for your child to do this?
Do you want to raise your children to think it's okay to cheat? Most parents would say no I'm sure.
As a first grade teacher, among other things I teach children that it is wrong to cheat. My rules were stated at the beginning of the year and I enforced them consistently. If ever I caught a student cheating I would pull he/she aside and talk to them about the incident. I would call their parents and let them know what had happened. Most of the time, their parents thanked me for the phone call because they didn't want their child to cheat on a test. Sometimes the child would get the chance to retake the test later.
I wasn't out to ridicule or admonish the child, but I as a teacher I felt I had a moral obligation. I couldn't condone cheating.

This is what astonishes me:
Apparently after talking with colleagues, some thought it was acceptable at times to let a student get away with cheating. I remember one particular instance I confided in a friend, also a parent, after catching a student cheating on his Friday test. She thought that I was wrong- I should not have called the student aside nor called his parents. She says, "you know he was probably really embarrassed anyway. It would only further lower his self-esteem..."
Friend thought it was completely ok to let the cheating student slide.
After all, we had cheated on high school tests together...

SO IS IT,
"Do as I say, not as I do????"

Please understand I'm not hear to call you cheaters out, I voted 'maybe' after all (and I no, I DON'T cheat on my sudoku), I'm not judging, I'm just sayin...
how do you teach children the right thing to do, if you yourself don't always do the right thing?


Now here's my new HAIRDO




And your new poll question for the week:
Relative to the population at large, how do you rate your intelligence?
On a scale of 1-10 (ten being the most intelligent).
GO VOTE!

Now that my headache hit the road and I chopped off 3 1/2 inches of my hair, my head is lighter and more clear. I can think again. And that means I'm blogging tonight. Probably many of you are out at holiday celebrations, parties, shows, family affairs...not me. I am at home on my mac. and I like it here.
Our big plans of spending the long weekend on the lake were spoiled with rainy weather.
Ah well, that's ok because summer lasts clear through til October here so that means plenty of other weekends for boating.
My other big plan this weekend is to get to the camera store and leave with a bag of loot!
So far all of my money-making plans for the phototgraphy biz have gotten me $43. (thanks Chris)
Oh yeah- and if anyone would like a gently used very expensive breastpump, baby swing, or even a cute Lummin- I'm willing to sell.
Perhaps after enough begging, pleading, and *convincing* I'll get Dwayne to throw some extra change my way...
:)


Look at this-
Isn't she beautiful?


(I had the pleasure of photographing Delaine's two adorable children last week.)