The case of the missing birth control pills

It was a quiet Friday night. Farm Guy was out with some friends. Kids were in bed. I was enjoying the peace and quiet. It was about bedtime...9:30. Shut up. It was also time to take my pill. You know, the one that prevents more of these...

I go to get it and the pills are gone. What the hell?! I have kept those pills in the same spot for as long as I have lived here and they're gone. I look everywhere without any luck. I ask everyone who has been here. No one has seen them and they ALLEGEDLY did not take them to play a funny joke. Because that wouldn't be funny haha funny more like someone else would be raising this child kind of funny.

Yesterday morning I call the pharmacy in a panic. I was afraid insurance wouldn't pay for them yet because I wasn't done with the pack and apparently someone at the insurance company thinks I might open some black market birth control selling ring. No. I just do not want any more of these!

Thankfully insurance paid and I walked out of my favorite pharmacy, pills in hand. I would still like to know what happened to my old pack. I don't think the kids took them. They usually tell me if they take something and show me exactly where they put things.

Yesterday the kids and I went to a party complete with bounce house, trampoline, and swingset/sandbox combo. Let's just say the kids were quite happy. When we got home at 8:00 (way past bedtime for the kids) I was dreading walking into the house because we left it such a disaster in a hurry to get to the party on time. Yet, there was my kitchen completely cleaned. Dishwasher emptied, loaded, and a sink full of hand-washed dishes. 2 loads of laundry complete. Family room disaster of bales and tractors picked up. Trash emptied.

My husband had done it all when he got home from working. That is a VERY special treat around here and I couldn't have been happier.

Let's just say it's a good thing I got those pills.

What is UP with people who don't post all week?

Oh yeah. That would be me. Sorry. Things have been crazy busy. I sit down at the computer every night. Look at a blog or two. Glance at the clock. 9:20. Can't keep my eyes open....go to bed. Seriously. Every night. Tonight I got an early start thanks to my mom doing the dishes, Papa Murphy's for making a very delicious gourmet vegetarian take and bake pizza for us, and kids going to be early and without incident. Time to breathe. And drink.

Let's start with Jose. Yes, the name has kind of stuck. It's the name we started out using. I have been testing other names...but in the end, it's what we have all been calling him. So, Jose it is. Since my last post, Jose has been at our house all the time. There are some afternoons when he isn't here, but he always gets his little fuzzy butt here by dark. Many years ago, all the animals (all 7 cats and 3 dogs) were banished to the outdoors with the exception of Noodles. Now every once in awhile Bear is allowed in but only on the carpet in the family room. But Jose? Let's take a look, shall we?

That lump would be Jose.

Thankfully he has quit humping Jackie, but he still loves to cuddle.

Not only is he in the house, but he's on the furniture every single day. He also sleeps under the covers at Farm Guy's feet all night long. As a matter of fact, I get a dirty look if I disturb them in the mornings. I am pretty sure he is ours now.

School is going great. I was really pretty nervous about teaching the multi-age class, but I have absolutely no complaints. The kids are well behaved and work pretty independently when I am working with the other group. We have settled into a groove and things are moving along nicely.

The biggest stressor of the week has been daycare. There was a horrible accident involving one of Claire's little 2 year old friends. Only 4 kids were in the room when it happened; Claire being one of them. I had to take Claire to the police station for questioning by CPS. Let's just say that was about the most pointless thing I have ever done. A strange man questioning an almost 3 year old girl? The bulk of her answers went something like this:

CPS: "Claire, can you tell me what happened?"
Claire: "Momma, I want some candy."

Unfortunately for the CPS man, there were 3 candy machines at the entrance of the station. Once she spotted the candy, there was no changing the subject.

Things are very stressful and sad there right now. It's a horrible situation that makes me sad everyday. I get upset for the the little girl hoping she fully recovers, I get upset for the daycare ladies and what they are going though, and I get upset when I think how easily it could have been Claire. The kids are still going there. I don't feel unsafe there. It was a freak accident that could have happened to anyone at anytime. I am so thankful my kids were/are safe. And I pray (although not as much as my mom probably does as she has offered to watch the kids) that they don't close the daycare.

On a happier note, my IRL BFF, Deb, made me the cutest necklace pendant with her new crafty obsession. Head on over there to see it. I wore it today and got numerous compliments. So cute!

And last but not least, I am losing the SITS recipe contest. L.o.s.i.n.g. It's tough being up against other SITS gals, because I read so many of their blogs and consider many of them friends, but I could really use the new digital camera. So, if you haven't voted yet, head on over and check out my stuffed mushrooms.

OH MY GOSH!

My recipe for stuffed mushrooms made the semi-finals in the SITS recipe contest!!! Woo hoo! Here's the part where I beg and plead for your help. Please help a sista out (especially this one who TOTALLY needs the new digital camera. If I could take a picture of my camera to show you the patheticness, I would.) Please click here and vote for my stuffed mushrooms. And tell your friends!!

Juan Carlos Miguel Jesus Fernando Rodriguez

Farm Guy managed to get Jackie to the vet this morning. Surgery went well and I can pick her up tomorrow after school. All day I have wondered if Fernando would be here when I got home. I didn't expect him to be. After all, his humping buddy was gone.

The kids are I pulled into the driveway today to find Bear....and Jesus! I have to admit...I was secretly hoping he would still be here. Not only is he here but he has moved in. He's been inside all night. Like he is on the couch asleep on the blanket right now. And just before that, he was asleep on Farm Guy's lap on the recliner. And before that? Beneath the kitchen table cleaning up from supper. Hmmmm. We are such suckers. I have decided that if he sticks around this weekend, we will set up the appointment to take care of his little humping issue and keep him here. For good.

However, a farm dog he isn't. Remember yesterday when I said he wasn't here all afternoon, but showed up late last night? Get this. We keep live animal traps at the barn down the road to keep the critters away. The bait? Cat food. Guess who got stuck in the trap yesterday? Aaahahahahaha. Thankfully Uncle M checked the trap before heading home for the night. Poor little Tico.

Speaking of the barn...this barn (about 1/10 of a mile down the road) is where the grain bins, most of the cattle, and much of the farm equipment is kept. We have had issues with thieves going in and stealing cables and wires. So, the guys put a lock and cable across the entrance. Last night someone cut the lock, took the keys to one of the big grain trucks (probably tried to steal it but it's hard to start) and took the gas from the truck. Bastardos.

Tomorrow is Friday! Can I get an amen?! Jeesh this has been a long-a$$ week. SO looking forward to catching up on my blog-reading and relaxing at home with my babies. And Farm Guy. And Hernando.

Did you know that dogs read blogs? And that I'm a poet and didn't know it?

So. Jose and Jackie. Apparently they caught wind of the whole spaying and neutering conversation. Last night all three dogs were sleeping soundly in the "puppy room" which is actually our mudroom. I let them out to potty this morning. The kids and I left. When Farm Guy went to get Jackie to take her to the vet, she and Ricardo were nowhere to be found. Had to cancel the appointment. Hmpf.

Got home after school and 2 blankity blank meetings to find Bear and Jackie only. I must admit I was a teensy bit sad that Paco wasn't here. BUT...just this minute...well, maybe 3 minutes ago...I looked out the window to see Bear, Jackie, and Juan running up the driveway! My little illegal immigrant is back! :)

Now Jackie is rescheduled for tomorrow morning and I will NOT be letting her out until it's time to go to the vet. And now I don't know what to do about Eduardo. He has definitely been a house dog. I don't want to steal him and neuter him and keep him as my own if he belongs to someone. It just doesn't seem right to take another girl's dog's balls, does it? What's a dog loving girl to do?

Preschool update! Cole LOVED it! It went great. I couldn't wait to pick him up to find out all about it. They sang songs, had story time, drew some pictures, practiced writing his name, had play time, drank chocolate milk, and went to the gym pretending to be a choo-choo train. All in all, it sounded like a great day. Little Miss didn't even notice he wasn't there. She was otherwise occupied in the backyard of daycare playing house.

Speaking of Little Miss...she was feeling a little better today. Still stuffy, snotty, and hoarse, but her little eyes didn't look quite so sick and she seemed to be in a better mood.

And finally, would someone please explain to the federal and state governments that I would just like to teach, thank you?! Enough of the committees, programs, policies, rules, regulations, and general BS. Leave me alone. Let me teach. And I promise I will do a good job. Thank you.

Sick and Tired

Little Miss is sick. Stuffy nose, hoarse little voice. Coughing and sneezing. And she came home with a nasty little rash on her neck. She is still adorable though. And rather quite bossy and demanding. Some things never change.

I am tired. Trying to get back into the swing of teaching, cooking, raising kids, grading papers, planning lessons. And I am exhausted. I was in bed at 8:47 last night. And it's only Tuesday.

Tractor Boy starts preschool tomorrow. He is super excited. The bookbag is packed and ready to go. I am sure he will do great but I can't wait to get the full report when I pick him up after my 2 blankity blank meetings after school.

Jackie the Cow is going to the vet tomorrow. Diego is using his last evening wisely...humping Jackie's shoulder. Humping Jackie's hip. Humping Jackie's head. The poor little guy just can't reach. If Rico doesn't stay around when Jackie comes back, I might just miss the little guy. He is super cute and friendly. Except when he licks Jackie in the spot he can't reach and then tries to lick your face. That my friends is not so cute. If Paco does stay, we will probably get him neutered and keep him. Or give him to my mom. And then we will have to settle on a name. Poor little Jose.

No way, Jose

This is Jose. Jose appears to be a chihuahua/miniature doberman mix type dog. He is very petite....much smaller than any of our cats. Jose showed up at our house earlier this week right around the same time that Jackie the Cow became a woman. Coincidence? I think not. This is a rare shot of Jose's face as it is usually about 2 inches from Jackie's mommy parts.
Jackie, for those of you who are new here, has been here since her wayward mother showed up at our farm knocked up and homeless last summer. She is the only one that hasn't yet been "fixed." I guess it is high time to make that all important vet appointment. We have no idea where Jose (this is our name for him) came from. He certainly doesn't look like the typical farm dog that roams the countryside. He looks more like he should be in some prissy pet carrier heading to Taco Bell.

I just don't think this young couple is ready for the responsibility of parenting. Just look at them. The size difference alone is ridiculous. And Jose? I don't even think he has his green card. I have a feeling he is just using Jackie. And once he gets what he wants, he will be heading back home to Mexico tell all his amigos about his latest conquest. Poor Jackie. Poor naive Jackie.

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In other news...

School has begun. I had kids on Thursday and Friday. So far so good. I seem to have a great class.
Everyone here was absolutely exhausted by Friday. Even though I kept the kids on schedule during the summer for the most part, it was a tough week of getting up early, spending all day "going" at daycare. By the time bedtime rolled around this week, everyone was pretty fussy. This was Cole Thursday at 5:30. You know it's been a rough week when he falls asleep during "There Goes a Tractor."

The very best babysitter in the world came over Friday night (a 3 hour drive) to watch the monkeys. Grandma and Grandpa came over too. Farm Guy and I rarely go anywhere so it is always exciting when we get the chance. Here I am waiting for Farm Guy to get home so we could go.
I ended up waiting quite awhile as Farm Guy thought our date was Saturday so he was still at work. We eventually met up with my cousin and her husband at their house. Two daquiris later we headed out with a "to go" drink. Another blender full of daquiris for each of us. Had a great dinner at a steakhouse. Then we went to a new casino. I had never really been to a casino before. Let me tell you...I felt a bit out of place what with me being under the age of 65 and a non-smoker. Seriously. It was crazy. I've never seen so many old people smoking in my life. My eyes were burning and I could barely breathe. I managed to immediately lose $30.00. I gave Farm Guy my last $20.00 and he came back with $40.00. Woo hoo! So we ended up leaving $10.00 down which is fine with me. Another mixed drink later and we headed home smelling very much like the bottom of an ash tray.

Today we are going to a tractor show. Tractor Boy could NOT be more excited. Tomorrow will be another great day off, enjoying the beautiful weather, and putting off any hint of schoolwork until the last possible moment.

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Tip Junkie Photo Shop Contest

For those of you new here, I wrote this post about finding my daughter in a unique outfit, after getting dressed "all myself." Many people fell in love with my little Russian Peasant. Then I played around using Picnik to make the most of the Russian Peasant pic here.

The Russian Peasant truly came to life though in this pic.

After fleeing the communist Soviet Union in 1921, Russian immigrant Olga Ivanov arrives in the United States looking to start a new life.

I am entering this pic in the Tip Junkie Photo Shop contest. For more details, go here:

Must Sleep

First day is over and I am wiped out in a big, big way. The worst part? I haven't actually had students yet. Sigh. Thank heavens this is a 2 day kid week. I couldn't take much more.

Today was fairly productive. Had a great lunch with my IRL BFF Deb and crossed off all the things on my to-do list. But believe me...there will be a new list tomorrow.

Open House was 6:30-7:30 which got me home at 8:45. This is an hour and 45 minutes later than Little Miss normally goes to bed. Let's just go out on a limb here and say she will be a might cranky when I wake up her at 6:15 in the morning.

It is now 10:13. An hour past by bedtime and yet I JUST finished suppper and a big ol' glass of wine. I didn't sleep well last night but I am feeling so tired that I think I will tonight. Open House is always the biggest worry of the new school year. So glad that's over and hopefully I will be able to sleep well.

I had a bit of a hangnail on my middle finger. When I was getting pajamas on the kids tonight it got caught and ripped down to the sensitive under skin thingie. And bled. My finger bled lots and lots under my fingernail. I cried. I was tired and my finger hurt. :( So what with the wine and the bandaged fingernail, please excuse any spelling or punctuation mistakes. Thank you.

I have 2 chapters left in Twilight. I REALLY wanted to finish last night, but had to quit. I am not even going to start reading it tonight because I just need to sleep. Now.

The best appetizer you've never had

If you ask me what my favorite foods are, mushrooms will be at the top of the list. I LOVE mushrooms and don't discriminate against any: raw, canned, cooked, sauteed. I love them all. But my all time favorite mushroom dish has to be these stuffed mushrooms. I am submitting this recipe for the SITS recipe contest because it is DELICIOUS, easy, quick, and requires only a few ingredients....all things I look for in a recipe. Let's begin, shall we?

You need 12 portobello stuffer mushrooms (or 4 large cap mushrooms), mozzarella cheese, one small chopped onion, sage sausage, 8 ounce block of cream cheese, bread crumbs, and Italian seasoning. You with me so far?

First, brown the sausage with the chopped onion. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

While the sausage is browning, scoop out the stems and mushroom guts.
Once the sausage is browned, add the block of cream cheese.

Heat the cream cheese until soft and stir together.
Fill each mushroom with the sausage mixture.

Sprinkle each mushroom with mozzarella cheese.

Next, spoon some bread crumbs on top of the cheese. (I used Italian style bread crumbs.)

Drizzle melted butter or margarine on top of the bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. (The large caps take a little longer, about 20 minutes.) If you want to crisp the top, just put them under the broiler for about 5 minutes. Just look at these babies. Are they calling your name yet?

These go perfectly with any pasta dish, steak (which is how we ate them tonight) or you can eat them as they are. They are very filling and so delicious. I'd love to hear your verdict if you try them!

If you want to see more SITS recipe contest entries, click here. Wish me luck in becoming of the 5 finalists!

Gracias

You guys are so awesome! Thank you so much for your help in choosing a picture for the picture contest. I have it narrowed down to pic #2 (Cole on tractor with puppies) and #10 (Cole in front of corn.) Those seemed to be the top choices from your comments and I agree that they are great summer pics. So thanks again for your help!

After a rather depressing and exhausting day trying to get the kids to behave at a funeral yesterday, we enjoyed the fantastic weather in the afternoon/evening and played outside for hours. I sat on a blanket while the kids played and tried to soak up the last days of summer vacation. Little Miss spent most of the time swinging, sliding, and trying to tickle me while Cole learned to climb trees. He was so proud of himself.

We even let Jackie share our blanket. Believe it or not, I am now glad we have Jackie. Now that Daisy is gone, I am thankful that Bear has Jackie as a playmate. They are very close now and one is never far from the other. They even cuddle up together. Speaking of cuddling, must make vet appt. for Jackie. She became a woman this week. Blech. Bear is neutered, but I am sure there are other country dogs roaming around looking for an easy woman. And she's got "easy" written all over her...

The kids wanted a candelight dinner outside. So, that's what they got. Unfortunately the table is right in the sun so they donned sunglasses throughout the meal.I now sit drinking coffee and catching up on my blogs, trying to ignore the fact that I start school tomorrow. It's 9:03 at the moment. Tomorrow at this time I will be well into a staff meeting with the reality of the new school year slapping me in the face. It's not that I don't want to start teaching again. I do. There have been many days this summer when I thought, "I need to go back to school." But now that it is actually here, I start getting second thoughts. I hate having to get the kids up so early. I hate having to get myself up so early! Not to mention the fact that I am teaching a multi-age class this year and am nervous about making it work.

I am happy in the fact that I no longer need to pack and send a diaper bag. Cole will have his bacpack three days a week. Neither kid takes naps anymore, so I don't need to send the blankies. So cups, breakfast, and maybe a change of clothes for Little Miss is all I need. That will help cut down the stress of trying to get things packed and ready the night before.

Wish me luck this first week back. Kids start Thursday. I am glad to have a short kid week. It gives me a chance to get to know them without the pressure of starting curriculum Day 1. We can have a couple of easy, get to know you days and then jump into the nitty gritty next week.

Later today I am posting a recipe for the SITS recipe contest. I would eat this every single day for the rest of my life if I could. It's that good.

5 Minutes for Mom Photo Contest

This is one of my favorite summer pics of my little Tractor Boy. He lives, eats, and breathes John Deere. He LOVES to haul things in his wagon. Anything. Even puppies! They were amazingly cooperative as he man-handled them. When I saw this photo opportunity, I snapped about 100 pictures of him and his little puppies that we were "blessed" with.
I entered this photo in this contest. Wish me luck!

Help a girl out

I am planning to enter one of these pictures in a Summer Fun Photo Contest but can't decide which one to use. Will you help? Please leave a comment telling me which pic you like best. Please hurry! The deadline to enter the contest is Wednesday. Thanks!!
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Immigrant

After fleeing the communist Soviet Union in 1921, Russian immigrant Olga Ivanov arrives in the United States looking to start a new life.

Pain at the Pump

I drove by this on our way to the big city yesterday. And yes I stopped to take a picture all the while the kids were yelling, "THIS is the playground?!" They were less than impressed.
How I long for those days. Remember when $20 filled a tank? Now $20 barely gets me to 1/4 tank.

It also boggles my mind how much the price fluctuates these days. 3 weeks ago we were paying $4.19. Today? I filled up at the bargain price of $3.69.

So, tell me. What is the price of regular unleaded gas in your area today? Be sure to tell us where you are. Well, we don't need your address or anything, just a state or region will suffice.

And if you don't tell us, I'll sic this guy on you.

Busted!

I broke the law today. Twice. Okay, "law" is a bit strong. But I did break two rules today. And got into trouble.

The kids and I drove to the big city out of sheer boredom. I popped Cars into the one working car DVD player and the drive up was fairly smooth.

Got to the mall and hit a couple stores. Then we found one of those little coin operated ride on toys. This particular one was a little carousel with 3 separate "cars." One train, one boat, and one motorcycle. Fished the 75 cents out of my purse, got Cole into the train and Claire into the boat. Got the ride started.

Claire immediately panicked and was steering crazy carefully. It turns out she really thought she was steering the thing and thought she was going to crash horrifically if she stopped steering. It was way funny. Well, not to her. She will probably be traumatized and have a fear of boats for the rest of her life. But to me, funny. So what did I do? I grabbed my camera of course. Thus beginning my life of crime.

Do you see how Claire is looking just to my right? Yeah. I glanced over my shoulder to see what she was looking at. Turns out it was this.

Of course, this particular mall security man wasn't Kevin James. He was a 60 something man on a Segway with a helmet. A helmet, dear people. In the mall.

Anyway, he was all, "Ma'am. You can't take pictures in here." And I was all, "Seriously? Why not?" And he was all, "Ma'am. You need to put the camera away." And he waited as I put the weapon back into my bag. SERIOUSLY?

The man followed us the rest of the time. Now I ask you. Do I look like a hardended criminal? A menace to society?

Sure my forehead is a little oily. And I have some wild eyebrows. And there are a few hairs out of place. Okay, lots of hairs out of place. But really...do I look like threat?

Anyway, as much as I wanted to take my camera BACK out of my bag to snap him zipping around us the rest of the day, I didn't want to be hauled off to jail.

Shortly after the camera fiasco we headed for the play area so the kids could run off a little energy before lunch at CIP. I glanced at the sign and told the kids they had to keep their shoes on. I was much relieved because Cole had on his big ol' work boots and I really didn't feel like wrestling them off and on the child. So they played for awhile. I noticed so many kids were going barefoot. I found myself giving the moms dirty looks and staring at the kids and their law breaking feet. Many of them were young, just learning to toddlealong so I thought maybe that was it. But, still. There were a lot of barefeet running around that place.

*This is where I would normally post a picture of the law breakers and their barefeet.*

Anyway. I get tired of giving all the moms dirty looks and I am hungry! So we gather our stuff and head out. I glance at the sign again.

Wait, what's that say? "Shoes must be REMOVED before playing."

Oopsies.