The story of the old shoes:

I never buy expensive shoes. Never. If they cost more than $30, they are not worth it. Sometime around 10 years ago, I bought these shoes, I think they cost about $25-


They were my favorites. They had just the right amount of heel to help me feel dressy, but it was wide enough not to feel clumsy. The straps made me feel feminine, which was a nice feeling after a long week of chasing kids. 2 months ago, the strap broke on one of the sandals. It was beyond repair and I was devastated. It was like losing an old friend. I then began my search for new black dress sandals. After searching online and finding nothing. I gave up the search for several weeks until my Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law took me shopping and were determined to find me some shoes. After 2 shoes stores, I think they realized that I had something very specific in mind and wasn't going to settle for anything less. That's right, I wanted MY black sandals. Some exactly like the ones that broke. We finally gave up the search after going into 4-5 stores. A few days later, I got back on the internet and found several pairs that were okay, all very expensive. I chose my favorite pair.

They were a pricey $75, which I was willing to pay if they fit well and if I thought they would last me awhile. So I bought them.
Here is the story of the new shoes:
First, I saw that they came in a very child-like box.

With cute little bears. I thought that was interesting, but that was it.
Then I opened the box, it slid open from the side, which was a very fancy way to do it. The shoes were covered in a beautiful tissue paper, which also made them seem fancy (I think everything seemed fancy because I had paid so much)
Next, I noticed the fancy shape holder inserts, they were very fancy with the printed bow on them (not the scrunched up paper that I normally see)

Then I started to turn them over...

... and found the most beautiful unicorn a girl could ever imagine!
And, yes! Their are 2 of them!!!
The artwork alone was worth the $75! Too bad they were a little tight and seemed a bit flimsy in construction. I had to send them back!

At least it made me laugh!

One of my favorite quotes...

What happens when you ask 6 year olds what they would transform into if they could be anything? Hilarity happens. Here is Spencer's response to his teacher's question of "What would you transform into?"

"I would transform into a bee because bumble bees can sting people."

(I noticed that some kids said their favorite foods, so they could eat themselves, i.e. ice cream or cookies... at least Spencer has some sense of self-preservation.)

Mob lynching, death to spiders...

So, there was a small house spider on our kitchen floor this morning. I don't like spiders and don't want them inside my house. I have adopted a friend's motto that if we are in their environment, we leave them alone (mostly) and if they are in our environment, I can do what I want with them... like smash them. Anyway, this morning, I got a shoe and smashed the spider, left the room to get toilet paper to clean him up off the floor and when I returned, I saw my 2 young children, each had a shoe in hand and were taking turns smashing the spider. Carter hit it, then Miana, then Carter, then Miana. That spider was dead, as dead as any one tiny creature could be. I almost felt sorry for it, falling victim to the mob like that, but then I remembered that I had smashed decently the first time, so it felt nothing of the other attacks... Fun times at our house!

Appreciation

First of all, for those of you who asked how you can get your own Miss Denise, here's the answer: There are tons of houses for sale in my neighborhood, buy one of those, move in, and I will be happy to share Miss Denise with you!

I have had various health problems lately (back problems, leg problems, nausea, seasonal allergies, a sinus infection, just to name a few) and so I have had to do a lot of "resting." (Yes, I used the quotes because those of you who have three or more children know that there is little time for actual rest.) I have, however, been unable to stand for long periods of time and for the majority of the last 3 weeks, I have not been able to sit at all. Which means I have spent most of the time lying down, either on the couch or on the floor. During this time, Miana has thought that I was down low so that I could play with her. When I am on the floor she climbs or sits on me, when I'm on the couch she brings me things. I have really come to appreciate her personality. She says and does the cutest things. I look at everything she does with wonder, amazement, and excitement. She, being the 3rd child, has often been overlooked because of all the hustle and bustle in our home. Early mornings are spent getting the boys ready for school, mornings are spent running errands, afternoons are her nap time, and evenings are for getting homework done. Notice in there I never mentioned housework or meals... Sometimes Miana doesn't even get a real breakfast because I am getting things done for the boys. She is often left to entertain herself. I have been grateful for the inability to do real housework the last couple of weeks because of the time it has given me to see who Miana is and spend time with her! I love my sweet little girl! Hooray for Sciatica!

Carter and the Green Tomato Relish

We have a wonderful neighbor who is amazing with my kids and takes care of me and my family. She is what the boys call, "our Miss Denise." Everyone should have a Miss Denise, really. She knows everything about everything and is always there to help. She has my kids help her in the garden and occassionally in the kitchen. She is the neighborhood "freezy pop" provider and you can often see her teaching all of the neighbor kids to stop, look, and listen before crossing the street. She teaches my kids to do their chores when I can't get them to pick up a single thing without a huge fight. She is a great blessing to me. This week she came over and picked the rest of my tomatoes (mostly green ones) and helped me pull my garden so it will be ready for a nice compost pile over the next few weeks and winter. She took the whole box of tomatoes home and then had Carter come and help her make Green Tomato Relish. Here are the pics she took and a couple that Carter took of our Miss Denise.

Journal Entry, Oct. 7, 2008

Today I got a note from Spencer's substitute teacher. He got in trouble because he peed on the wall outside at recess. Hummm, not sure how to handle that one, I never had the desire to pee on a wall. I have never wanted to pee in public, I have a hard enough time when there are other people in a public restroom who can hear me...
He informs me that he got sent to the principal's office and that he doesn't get to participate in recess tomorrow. I will suggest to the teacher that perhaps he can scrub the wall during recess... maybe not, he thinks cleaning stuff is fun... I'm not sure what to do.

Halloween Candy

We never seem to have enough and when I buy what seems to be enough, we end up with waaaayyyyy toooo much. I do usually end up buying extra the week of Halloween, just to make sure we are covered, but by then, all the good stuff is sold out and all that is left is the nasty stuff that no one wants (like little bags of pretzels, eye ball shaped candies, and generic stuff that tastes a bit like cardboard). So this year, I thought I would start early. I also knew that I would open it at some point before Halloween. I had intended to make it at least a week, possibly two before opening a bag. I bought several bags of candy this morning. I then left them in the car so I wouldn't be tempted this morning. I remained untempted as I got back in the car to pick up Carter. He got in the car and still, I thought nothing of the candy sitting in there. Carter asked about it and sat down. I explained that it was for Halloween and he seemed to accept that. As luck would have it, on the car ride home I begun to have an uncontrollable craving for a Kit Kat Bar. When we got home, Carter asked a simple question that led way to a moment of satisfaction and has caused me considerable guilt. He simply asked, "if I eat something healthy for lunch, can I have one candy?" What Mom is going to say no to that? It was insightful, well thought out, and precise. It was a good deal for me and for him. I agreed to one candy. I told him to please look for the red bag (the kit kats) and we were both happy. I have since eaten 4 of them (they were the little ones) and I have not yet had my "something healthy" at this rate I will need to eat a huge salad for lunch to make up for the little snacks... The "Halloween Candy" made it a whole 2 hours... (no, I didn't misuse the quotation marks)

Naked? Is that the right word?

This morning on the way to preschool, Carter was looking out the window. He commented on the different colors that the leaves are turning on the trees. He commented that some were yellow, some were red, some brown, and some still green. He then asked if sometimes they turn orange. I told him that that some trees do have leaves that turn orange in the Fall. He then listed all of the colors (the ones I just mentioned) and added at the end, "and blue, right Mom, sometimes they turn blue." I told him that I had never seen a blue leaf in the Fall, that mostly they are green and turn to red, orange, or yellow and eventually all turn brown. He then said, "In the Fall, the leaves are all the pretty colors and then in Winter, the trees are naked."

Well, um, yes, I suppose that is technically true.