You gotta' make the best of things.....

when you're stranded in the house, sick. 

And frankly....I don't know about you....but a good dose of Matthew McConaughey makes anybody feel better. 

Stop laughing....and for heaven's sake don't judge me. 

It's just that....I never get to curl up on the couch and watch movies.  Ever. 

And since I'm suppose to be isolating myself from the rest of the world....what better thing to do, then to curl up with my favorite blanket and watch movies-that-have-been-out-forever-but-since-I-never-see-them-they're-new-to-me ?

Oh!  And you wanna' know something else?  They didn't cost me a dime.  Nope...not even a penny.  See...if you wait long enough....not only do they come out on DVD for rental, but the local library gets a copy, and you can borrow it from them for a couple of weeks for free...(unless of course you're like me and you end up owning the movies because of the late fees you have to pay because you forget the due date....but I'm sure that I'm the only one who has ever done that.)

Hey....that should have been one of the things on my list of things I would be better at this year. 

Moving on.....

So I've taken full advantage of "needing lots of rest"....and am ready to give you my review of the movies you have probably already seen. 

Julie & Julia.  If you like cooking...or blogs...or both...this is a must see.  Actually...I saw this LAST January when the men in my house were off on a hunting trip...but thankfully I wasn't sick...I just decided to watch it.  In fact....I blogged about it, but never published it....and in looking back over the draft...I think I'm going to.  Julie & Julia deserves a post all to itself.  And that way...this post can be all about Matthew other movies.

Failure to Launch (2006) - You wanna' know what's sad??  I saw the movie, and had forgotten I'd seen the movie!!!!  Pitiful...and I'm only forty.  Good grief!  At any rate....I had some good laughs, and thought it was a cute movie.  Love Kathy Bates too....

The Holiday (2006) - Not a Matthew movie, but there are exceptions to the rule.  I absolutely loved the adorable cottage in England and thought this was a really cute movie as well.  However...(and I don't mean to sound all motherly here, but I am the mother of teenagers here, and the sex in these movies is just....well...too much, frankly....but other than that...adorable movie)

The Wedding Planner (2001) - GEEZ where have I been??? That movie can't really be ten years old and I'm just now seeing it??  Ahem.  You need to feel sorry for me....really sorry for me.  That movie was adorable.  So much so....that I saw it a second time last night with my girls. 

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) - eh...I don't know.  It wasn't my favorite, but when one is sick on the couch....one doesn't get too picky.  Definitely not one of my favorites...some funny parts, but it won't stand out as a highlight of my weekend-with-the-flu.

A Time to Kill (1996) - No, silly....it's not the first time I've seen the movie.  Give me a break, would ya'?  I've seen it a couple of times, actually....and it just stands out as one of my favorite Matthew performances, and I felt the need to watch it again. 

So there you have it. 

When you're sick and have no other choice but to get lots of rest, drink lots of fluids and isolate yourself from the world, my prescription is to curl up on the couch and watch Matthew movies that make you smile. 

And just for the record....I'm madly in love with my husband....and just think that Matthew is an outstanding actor.  He feels the same way about Sandra Bullock.  And I get that.   

I'm just sayin'.

I'll admit it.....

I'm grouchy when I'm sick. 

And I really don't get sick that often....but when I do?  Why does it have to be the FLU?

I just knew it, too.  I started aching in my neck and shoulders, and something just told me that's what it was.  (I mean...not that it's flu season or anything...) But I never ran a fever....so it's easy to see how my husband was convinced it was something else....only for the doctor to come in after that horrific flu test and say, "Well....you're my first official case of the flu without a fever." 

Nice.  I feel so special.

And what was that?  Oh...you said I'm suppose to isolate myself for a week?  What????  Apparently he has forgotten that I have four children, a husband and not an oversized house. 

Sigh.

Yea...there's nothing like that feeling you get when your husband goes to the pharmacy to pick up the Tamiflu for the rest of the family to take to hopefully prevent getting it....and it's a meager $400.  Nah....nothin' like it.  It just really sets the mood.

And for the love of God, could someone please tell me why it is on these days....when I finally have all four children out the door and at school, I'm in my beloved pajamas, and I'm about to finally get to behave like sick people behave (you know...curled up on the couch watching a movie), does my daughter call me from school to inform me that she has yet AGAIN forgotten to take her much needed medicine. 

Are. You. Kidding. Me?????

Today?  Really??  Isn't this why I made your brothers ride the school bus this morning??  So I wouldn't have to get out while feeling like crap???

And you know what this means.....this could mean that the high school where I sub. could get a very scary view of me.  I mean...I don't know about you....but sick-with-the-flu-in-pajamas is not a pretty sight at my house. 

All I've got to say is...to my dear mother who I thought NEVER got sick my entire life....now I get it.  You got sick....you just didn't get to BE sick.  You had to keep pressing on....doing the things that moms do....in spite of how you felt.  Bless your heart.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

I'm just sayin'.

It's great to be.......

an AUBURN TIGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh.  My.  Word. 

Last night's game was absolutely incredible....and if you haven't figured out by now....we are AUBURN FANS!!!!!!!!!

WAR EAGLE!!!!! 

What?  You say you've never seen this "eagle"?  Well let me show you....it gives me chills every time I see it soar around the stadium as the crowd begins their, "Waaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrr" and then yells a loud "EAGLE, HEY!" when it attacks it's prey on the ground.

It's just the coolest thing ever. 

And if you don't agree....well....I hate that for you. 

I think I should note....that I have not always been such an avid football fan.  But I am now....and have been for the past few years, and man....I just didn't know what I was missing. 

I might just have to pack myself right along with Kaleigh when she heads up there to school this fall.  That campus is gorgeous....and a perfect place for snapping a few shots.

 Not sure what Karissa is gonna' do without her when she's gone....

 
Or me for that matter....but let's not get sappy....this is a happy day for Auburn fans everywhere!!
 
They are a class act....

And....why yes....that IS Cam Newton.....

And for those of you completely not understanding the excitement here.....you just gotta' understand that this has been a LONNNNGGGGGG time coming. 

And I think the tradition of "rolling" Toomer's Corner is so cool too!!!  We got to experience it first hand....yes...that's toilet paper!!



And I just couldn't let this blog post go without posting the "tunnel video"!  You just gotta' see it. 

WAR EAGLE!!!!!!! 

I'm just sayin'.



Remember the old song......

"Crackers" by Barbara Mandrell? 

You know the one...."you can eat crackers in my bed.....anytime."

I can still see her 1980's hair-do and the not-so-great accoustics when she sang it on Pop Goes the Country.  Or...wait a minute....was that Hee-Haw?  What was I thinking....she had her own show! 

Geez.  I think I'm dating myself here....but I was just a mere 10 years old in 1980....so cut me some slack. 

All of this is really besides the point. 

The point is.....I don't think she could have really sung that song with all of the gusto that she did.....if she had really ever had crackers in her bed.  (And I realize that she wasn't singing this song to her child....but you get the point.)

And if you have never experienced crackers in your bed....or salt, or popcorn kernels, or sand, or matchbox cars, or tiny plastic reptiles in-an-effort-to-scare-mom......you must not have children. 

But one would think, that by the time said children are teenagers, that one would not have to be fearful of what lies under the covers in their bed.  

One would be wrong.  

I'm not mentioning any names here.....but I think you can understand my frustration when I saw this....

Mmmmhmmmm.........that would be Pringles....in MY bed. 

To say that I was not happy....would be an understatement. 

To begin with....NO one eats is allowed to eat in my bed.....or in their beds, or any other room of the house but the kitchen at the table!!  That's my rule...always has been, always will be....it's just the way I roll. 

Okay....I do make an exception for popcorn during movies, but not in my bed....ever. 

So I think you can understand why I was absolutely shocked when I saw the incriminating evidence. 

And a certain older sister, felt as though her snack of nuts and dried fruit was a better of choice of "food-in-moms-bed-while-watching-a-movie".  I even caught her red-handed!!!

So let me set the record straight. 

I don't care how healthy the snack....you cannot eat crackers (or anything else) in my bed anytime....or ever. 

I'm just sayin'. 

The whole concept of the "onesie drawer"......

started back....oh probably about the time that baby number four came along.  That would be Jack....ya'll already knew that because of how hard I cried over my last post. 

Please don't get me started again. 

I mean...I don't know about you and your house, but let's do the math, here, shall we?? 

Okay.  Six people....seven days in a week....that's hopefully 42 pair of underwear in the laundry.  And....84 socks.  (Shout out to my friend Mary with 10 children....I can't even count that high!)

So...just to check my math....6 people with 2 feet each = 12 socks per day x 7 days in a week = 84 socks. 

This is just socks and underwear....and I'm gonna' stop here for a second.  That's a lotta' laundry.  I haven't even gotten to the number of towels, jeans, school uniform pants, scrubs, etc. that are in there.  And.....my girls have been doing their own laundry ever since they decided to get an attitude about when a certain shirt they loved wasn't clean for years now.  So truthfully, I have less now then I did back when this whole "onesie drawer" thing started. 

Oh yes....the "onesie drawer".  I've gotten all off track. 

So I finally decided one day, after much frustration with the ridiculous amount of laundry that I was doing...only to find mismatched socks throughout....that I would create the "onesie drawer" in an effort to give these socks a place to live until their mates were found. 

Every so often, I would dig everything out of the drawer and lay each sock out and begin the matching. 

And that's all fine and good, until you suddenly discover that you have this many socks in the "onesie drawer" and none of them have mates!!!! 

And you will notice....those are just the dark socks....

Not sure how I only had this small amount of white ones, except that I think I got mad one day over the Christmas break and decided to "pair up the onesie drawer socks"...it's a productive stress reliever at times.   

And you will notice....that some of the onesies actually had mates in the very same drawer with them....they just didn't know it!!!

And three of the same sock in the drawer??? 

No wonder Jack can never find any socks for school!!!  They're hiding in the drawer!

And I'm not sure why I even have any of the girls' socks in my possession, because we have already established that they are suppose to take care of their own laundry.  A certain oldest child got tired of fighting with her sister over who's socks were whose....so she resorted to buying LOUD colored socks so that she could tell hers apart!!!  Betcha' can't miss 'em.

And I know you aren't going to believe this....but after my little "sock photo shoot", I walked in here to sit down, upload the pictures and blog....and lo and behold what was staring me in the face??? 

Yep...you guessed it.  A laundry basket with MORE onesie socks.  I just couldn't believe my eyes. 

The washer and dryer must be eating the mates to all of these socks....or maybe, just maybe.....they've made their way into the wrong drawers....because look what I just captured on camera. 

If I'm not mistaken...I see three of my husband's socks in the BOYS sock/underwear drawer!!  Two of them are even paired up in a ball and one is loose....and that's just on the surface! 

I think I may be on to something here.....

I'm just sayin'.

So the "talk" didn't go quite like I had planned.....

Okay....that's totally an understatement. 

Oh stop getting nervous and clammy.....it wasn't the talk....it was just....well....

It went something like this.  (warning....this post is PG...just warning you before you let your preschoolers read it....cause you know I've got preschool aged fans everywhere I go - but seriously....you may want to read it through without any eyes looking over your shoulder)

Okay. 

So here's the scene.  (Gosh....just re-living it makes me sick.)

I'm about to throw on a dab of make-up as the boys and I are getting ready to head out to the beloved Bass Pro Shop to browse and think about how we the boys wanted to spend their gift cards my mom had sent them for Christmas. 

This was pretty darn exciting stuff (for them)....and to keep them out of trouble while I got ready this morning...I had them doing their usual chores....and they were chompin' at the bit.

Jack, in typical fashion, was so excited....and he was bouncing off the walls....and happened to see a little "hat light" in my purse that he had gotten from Santa, and it wasn't working properly.  I had it in there so we could exchange it at Bass Pro Shop. 

And everything was fine until......(this is where my post goes PG) I fuss at him to "put that back in my purse....I had it all ready to go with the receipt!"

I can still hear him now.

"Receipt?  Why would you have a re...... wait a minute....so Santa....(I think you get the idea)

Oh.  My.  Word. 

He took me so off guard.  He had asked a million questions throughout the holidays because some "bully" as he called him, decided it would be nice to tell 2nd graders that it was all simply not true.  He even informed Jack that it was your parents. 

So I knew it was only a matter of time....but this was my baby we're talking about here.  Yes....I did say baby....and yes....I know he's just turned eight. 

But he's my last one.

And I just wasn't prepared at that moment with a good cover up. 

And his reaction only made it worse....it was that look of disbelief and then tears. 

And then I started squawling.  Mmmmmhmmmm....sure did.  Right here with him. 

I mean really....I knew it was coming, but couldn't Kaleigh have left for college first before I had to deal with this??

And the reaction has been the same with all of them.....disbelief....but then the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny get involved and it just all heads south from there. 

Oh my goodness.  I just sat here crying.  And apologizing....

Not sure why....my checkbook is still feeling the pain of Christmas, but there's just something about it that just makes you almost feel like a kid again yourself.  The anticipation.....the lists....the.....

Sigh. 

And it all fell apart when he plopped down next to me on the couch and holds his sweet head in his hands and tearfully says, "I...I just don't know what to say....I feel so dumb." 

Could someone just pick me up off the floor now??????? 

Older brother had been sworn to secrecy as well....and when I saw a tear well up in his eye....I just about lost it completely. 

The rest of the day has been spent with comments like, "So what about....." and "You mean you did that?"

And then tonight....on his way home from basketball practice he says, "But mom....why would ya'll DO all that for me???"  That sweet child couldn't comprehend us giving him what Santa had brought. 

I think that's how we see God sometimes.  Wondering why He would send His Son to this world.....knowing that He would have to pay the ultimate sacrifice for us.  But He just loved us that much.  Wow...what a revelation through my child......

Please don't misunderstand my sadness....it's not about Santa....it's just hard to watch your babies grow up.

I'm just sayin'. 

How could I have forgotten???

You know....I knew when I posted my list of things I needed to be better about yesterday that I was forgetting some crucial things. 

And I was right. 

I did.

I was in the shower (and we established a long time ago...that's where I do my best thinking)....and thought about several more things I need to be better about in 2011.  

But the one that I thought you could appreciate the most was my purse.  Yes....I said my purse.  (So at this point, if you are a male reading this....you won't relate....and if you do....then that concerns me. ;-) I'm just sayin'.)

Back to my purse.    

Looks innocent enough, right??

But it is SO not!

You see....my purse tends to be a "catch all"....and when I say "catch all"....I mean it in the most literal sense of the words. 

Perhaps you need a visual. 

See....I was afraid of this.  A snapshot looking into my purse does not do this dysfunctional-issue-that-I-have  justice. 

So to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about here....I will remove all contents from my purse....and re-organize. 

This is where my last blog post comes in......

• I need to be better about keeping my purse cleaned out and organized instead of being a "catch all". 

Hopefully this will make you feel better about yourself if you struggle with the same type of purse dysfunction.

Yikes....I can't believe I just let you see this.  

Yep.  It was all in there.  Every last bit of it.  And right now I'm embarrassed....but if truth be known....someone reading this right now is relating.  I just know it.  And if you don't...please don't tell me....just let me go on thinking that I am not alone in this. 

You see....I think that what a girl has in her purse says a lot about her. 

Remember the whole "need to be better about planning meals and saving money"?  One of my bagillion menu/grocery lists that inadvertently got shoved in the purse. 

What's wrong?  Doesn't everyone have random plastic spoons floating around in their purse?

And you gotta' have a picture of your man in there....on the outside of the checkbook cover so everyone can be jealous when you break the checkbook out to write one! ;-)

Unless of course they aren't into hunting....and dead deer with their tongues hanging out.

And, why yes...that was deodorant you saw in the upper left hand corner of that picture.....doesn't everybody have OCD when it comes to not being sure if they put deodorant on??  For real?  Doesn't everyone panic if they think they forgot to put it on??

And I find it interesting to re-read the notes I took during church.  "How do we overcome fear?" 

And even more interesting to run across a sticky note with Bible verses I wrote for Karissa when she was going through some of the hardest times over the past year.....yet they wind up in my purse.  Notice any similarities in the content???

Hmmm......



And there's always random library cards floating around in there.  No wonder I could never find them....they were at the bottom of this abyss!!!

Along with an oversized bandage in case of a minor injury.  I'm a mother of four....two of them boys.  Need I say more??

And I'm thinkin' it's time to throw this coupon away?? 

And we can't overlook the sticky note list of The Pioneer Woman's husband's favorite recipes so that I can fix them for my man....along with a random recipe for canning jalapeno's.

And it might just be me....but I'm thinking it's time to "cash in" on the local grocery store's deal and redeem my cards that will get me a free washcloth that I have to pay tax on. 





Sorry...I guess that was ugly, but considering that each of those stamps represent $5 that I spent at an overpriced store because I didn't plan well enough ahead.....I just sort of feel like I shouldn't have to pay tax on a single washcloth that really cost me $50 in overpriced groceries.  I'm just sayin'. 

And from the looks of this stack of receipts....we should have a ton of groceries or Christmas presents....one or the other.

Can't forget the broken watch or "not purse sized" calculator.

And I know you're not going to believe this.....but after all of that....I only found 12 cents at the bottom of this purse. 

Pitiful.

And I know it's not perfect, but it definitely looks better than it did when I started.  

So. 

Now that I have been totally raw and unashamed about the unkempt state of my purse....how about you?  What does your purse say about you?

I think mine says I'm desperately trying to overcome the fear of spending too much money at the store??? 

Looks like I have my work cut out for me this year.  Lots of things to "do better" on. 

I'm just sayin'.