I've Got a Bug

Seems like the most popular conversation between the moms at school has been whether or not they are going to get their kids vaccinated for the flu and H1N1. Many of the students have been out because they have had one bug strain or another.

It has been cause for alarm and confusion among these highly involved parents, as there are so many different reasonable arguments for and against these vaccines.

I, too, fall into the category of alarmed and confused mother, and I have come to the conclusion that I am fighting the confusion with a bug of my own.

I'm concerned that I have contracted a crafting/baking bug, being that all I can think about lately is crafting and baking. If the release of creative juices is a remedy for keeping viruses out of our home, we are completely covered for the next 3 flu seasons, for sure!

For the kid's school carnival cake walk... Mr. & Mrs. Frankenstein

The only creepy crawly creatures that are allowed within 100 feet of our house...Friendly Spider Hairbows

When my husband asked me to make a treat for him to share with his co-workers at the office, I went all out....Mummy Cookies, Festive Cake with Chocolate Ganache, & Candy Corn CookiesI'm thinking that Betty Crocker should stop sending me email updates with "Fun and Delicious Recipe Ideas." If she doesn't, I fear that my family will be busting the seams of their size 6 and 7 clothing. And I am not at all interested in gaining back the 40 pounds I lost over two-and-a-half years ago!

Little Jokestress

Sweet and innocent, wouldn't you say? Sugar and spice and everything nice, right? Oh, how I wish that were true.
In reality, Bella is my jokestress, (feminine for "jokester," of course).

Today our elementary school took part in a special fundraiser for Rady Children's Hospital. The students sold a special edition of the newspaper called, "Kid's News Day." It features articles about children who have overcome great odds and who have lived through serious trauma.

At the request of my children, I read to them numerous articles about children who experienced serious trauma. They were genuinely concerned about what happened to these kids. A number of relevant questions were asked. I felt quite proud that my children had such empathy for what these children were going through.

And then, mostly by accident, Bella threw in her humor.

Pointing to a picture of one of the patients and a woman, Bella questioned, "Is that the little girls' mom?"

After reading the caption below the picture, I answered, "No, it is her Occupational Therapist."

Without hesitation, she retorted, "Therapist? Is that something like, My dog pist?"

Leave it to Bella to lighten up a serious situation!

I'm Back!

For the first time since July 2, I am actually sitting down to my computer to type a post on my horribly neglected blog, and....I only have 14 minutes 32 seconds to do just that, because my kiddos would be mortified if I didn't pick them up from school.

Why does it seem that I have become a slave to a schedule? More than ever, it seems that I am barking a time frame to my kids.

"We're leaving in 6 minutes!"
"In 5 minutes we need to be downstairs eating breakfast!"
"It's 7:30! Time to strap in the car and leave for school!"
"Your soccer game is at 10:00! It's time to go!"

Notice the exclamation marks...those were not put there by mistake. Oh, quite the contrary. By the time I've repeated myself 5 times to 4 children, an exclamation is quite necessary! If you do the math, you will conclude, that I have repeated myself +/- 20 times.

What am I thinking? I forgot to include my darling husband. Nine times out of ten, he needs to hear the barks as well!

Now that I've got all that off my chest, I'll follow up soon with a post of substance! I'll even include some of the thousands of pictures that were taken during my sabbatical!

I've missed you blog world!!!