Apparently I have too much time on my hands

Why is it that moms are supposed to know where every single item in the house is at all times? I can't tell you how many times my kids (and the husband, too) have asked me, "Where are my shoes? Where are these shorts? Where is my backpack?" Supposedly, moms have some sort of detector built into their brains that make them able to locate anything in the house at any time. Well, mine apparently is broken. So, of course, when I can't find what they are looking for, somehow that is my fault, too. Don't ask how that works. Maybe they think that I get bored and hide things? "Oh look! A pair of shoes! I think I'll take them out of this closet and hide them somewhere no one will find them! Because I LOVE hunting for shoes 5 minutes before the bus is supposed to be here!" I guess I take their homework out of their backpacks and put the papers in the middle of the floor. "I don't know how my homework got THERE. *I* didn't put it there!" Sure, son, sure.

10 Things I Like About You

My kindred friend, Sarah, posted on her blog "10 Reasons why my husband ROCKS" (her husband, not mine) and posted a challenge for her blog readers to do the same. So Sarah, this is for you.

10 Reasons I <3 My Hubby

10. He's easy on the eyes. I think he looks like Chris Daughtry. Chris Daughtry wasn't famous when we were dating. Oh well. He didn't look like Chris Daughtry when we started dating, anyway :)

9. His eccentric taste in music. I don't know anyone else who has loves country, I'm talking Johnny Cash and Hank Williams (Sr., not Jr.), along with music that's so heavy metal, I can't even understand what they say unless you look up the lyrics to the song.

8. His knowledge of vehicles. I'm not gonna lie. The man knows his cars. And he's saved us about a gazillion dollars in mechanic fees over the past 11 years. How can you not love someone who saved the family a GAZILLION dollars? He probably thinks the same thing about me when it comes to the kids' birthday cakes. Right, babe?
Right?

7. His love for peanut butter. Scott isn't much of a candy man. He can't stand chocolate. Mix the chocolate with some peanut butter, however, and you've officially won his heart. You can't be a Graham and not like peanut butter.

6. He's a great dad. He takes the kids fishing. He does a movie and pizza night with the kids every Friday night while I'm at work. Who cares if they don't clean up the dishes afterward?

5. His family. Seriously, his family ROCKS. Come over on family game night. They'll make you laugh until your cheeks hurt while simultaneously questioning your sanity. Just ask my father-in-law about Grandmas with Tongue Amputations. Or my mother-in-law about gypsies/pirates. Or my sister-in-law and my niece about those dang Chihuahuas that live in your walls and steal shiny things. Graham family + Balderdash = stories to tell for years.

4. His ability to recited lines from movies that he hasn't watched in months, even years. He did that to me the other day. He LOVES the movie Dumb and Dumber. Hasn't seen in in I can't tell you how long. Yet he can recite half the movie, and act out various scenes.

3. His love for the oddest movies. He's a self-proclaimed movie buff. Yeah, he likes gory movies. He loves action movies just as much as the next guy. HIS favorite movies include UHF, with Weird Al Yancovich, the Evil Dead series, Dumb and Dumber, Bubba Ho-Tep, or Cabin Boy. Yes, he's weird and goofy. We already covered that.

2. He loves a psycho. OK, I wouldn't call myself a psycho. I wouldn't call myself easy to live with, either. I have my moments, and I have my moods. Yet, he's been here for 11 years, and for some reason, he still kinda likes me.

1. His persistence. I first dated his friend in high school. When Scott pursued me, I resisted dating him. I resisted telling him "I love you" when he professed his love for me. I resisted when he announced he wanted to marry me one day. Man, I was a pain in the butt.

So, there you have it, folks. I'd love to hear some of my blog readers (do I have any??) Top 10 lists, too :)

Seriously slacking

It's amazing how life with 3 kids makes it difficult to do things like update your blog on a regular basis. So, I get the pleasure of trying to do about 6 months of updates in one blog post.

All 3 of my kids are in school now. Hunter is in his last year of elementary school and Arissa is in her first year. They are all doing great. Hunter had a rough start to the year-he got his first C's on his report card. Let's just say that long division is NOT his friend. Arissa is starting to read, and she's lost 2 of her bottom teeth.

This winter has been a BRUTAL one. The Farmer's Almanac said to expect a particularly cold one-what they didn't mention is that we have had more snow this winter than in the past 5 winters combined. Even my kids are asking, "Mom, are we going to go back to school soon?" You know it's bad when the kids are asking to go to school. I'm looking outside my window right now and all I see is a fresh blanket of snow and sleet coming down.

Older brothers

Thank the stars that my youngest child is a girl with 2 older brothers. Right now it might seem like a pain in my rear, because all 3 of them are intent on fighting with each other non-stop. But having 2 older brothers will come in handy one day...the day that my daughter starts bringing boys home. Not only will she have her father cleaning his shotgun on the front porch, but she'll have 2 older brothers to watch out for her, too. And possibly break the neck of any kid who tries to do anything stupid with my daughter.

Oh, the joys of parenting

How many people without kids can say:

-they had to wash paint off their dog's butt
-they had to mop up soapy water off the kitchen floor because the kids wanted to 'skate'
-they unclogged a toilet 4 times in one day
-they had to mop the basement becaus the toilet overflowed and went into the basement
-they had a kid who was wired from drinking chocolate syrup straight out of the bottle
-they had to buy toilet paper twice in one day because the first four-pack was unraveled and strewn all over the floor

Aint having kids fun?

My summer favorite

One of my favorite things to do during the summer is going to yard sales. My husband cannot for the life of him understand the appeal of driving around, looking at other people's junk. But I love it! I get clothes for super cheap, and some good books to boot. Would anyone really know that the American Eagle capris I am wearing, I bought at a yard sale for $2? (Well, you know now, but I've got more than one pair of AE capris, hahahaha). Or that some of my kids' clothes I bought at yard sales? I'd much rather pay .50 for a book, as opposed to $12-$15 for that same book brand-new (unless it's a book I really want, and will read over and over again, like the Twilight series!). I've gotten some killer deals at flea markets and yard sales. It's just another reason for me to go shopping :D

Shopping frenzy!

I'm a lover of coupons. I love me some coupons. I have a 3-ring binder chock full of coupons, clipped and sorted. I use them alllll the time. My kids make fun of me because I say, "We can't buy that, I don't have a coupon for it." They can make fun of me all they want, but I've brought my grocery bill down to about $70 a week for a family of 5. I usually save about $40-$50 a week. Impressive, no?

I went over my totals for the month of June. I've spent $358.72 on groceries this month. For FIVE people. That includes toiletries and household items. I've saved $252.66! To think that I would have spent over $600 on groceries if I paid full price makes my skin crawl!