Weekly Photo Challenge: Someone You Love

I had no problem deciding what I would photograph for last week's photo challenge at A Step in the Journey.  The challenge was to shoot someone you love.  Okay, I just re-read that sentence and it sounds so morbid!  Haha!  Anyway,  you all know what I'm talking about.  :)

If you haven't yet guessed who I photographed then you are obviously new here...and you haven't read the title of my blog.  :)  Yup, I decided to snap Pacen!  Well, I had a hard time getting this done.  I wanted to get a shot of Pacen doing something he loves.  He loves to hunt and this past weekend was the last couple days of deer season (in Nebraska) and he was busy hunting.  So I drove on over to Harrison and spent the weekend with my family.  Well, Pacen and Gimpy were always gone by 5:30 in the morning so I had to wait til they came back for church to get a picture.  Pacen was in a silly mood so here is what I got.  Not great photos, but definitely Pacen.  :)

 

He looks pretty good in hunter orange, doesn't he?  Okay, okay, maybe I'm slightly biased.  :)  Here is a shot of Pacen and my dad aka Gimpy just before they headed back out after church:

It's amazing how quiet the house is when Pacen isn't around.  :)  Mom and I watched a movie and visited with my sisters and next thing we knew it was dark and almost 5:30.  Pacen had a science project due on Monday and hadn't even started it yet so we were beginning to get antsy.  About 6:00 some headlights started coming up the drive.  It was Pacen and Gimpy and that is when chaos broke loose!

Pacen had shot a doe literally three minutes before his time was up.  We had to hustle around to get pictures and call the check in point that was located 30 minutes away to make sure the guys had time to drive down and check the doe in that evening.

Meanwhile, Pacen somehow managed to get blood ALL OVER himself (except his face).  It almost looked like he had rolled in the darn thing!  He came in the house and Gammy aka my mom, about freaked.  Being a boy he always had to touch everything and she absolutely did not want blood all over her house.  I totally don't blame her.

Well, we finally got Pacen and Gimpy sent to Crawford to check in the deer and we sat down to experiment with Pacen's science project...NOT do it, just make sure his idea would work.  Then it happened.  Raine noticed that Jackson, mom and dad's Jack Russel Terrier, had blood on his head.  Well, Pacen had tossed a piece of gut onto the driveway and Jackson got into it and then he smeared blood all over the carpet!  What a mess!  So, needless to say, this could be Pacen's first AND last deer.  Haha!

Head over to A Step in the Journey and check out some of the other entries.  I highly doubt you see as much blood in other posts as you saw in this one, so go look at all the nice pictures and get this nasty bloody sight out of your minds!  :)

"This is a part of the country and a state where it's unusual if a child doesn't grow up going out with dad and granddad to hunt deer, using a very powerful weapon. It's unusual sometimes not to see kids out in a group that might be wearing camouflage." ~ Bill Sadler

Weekly Photo Challenge: What Makes You Smile?

This weeks photo challenge over at A Step in the Journey is "What Makes You Smile?".  This was a hard one for me because there are so many things that make me smile.  I'm talking thousands of things!  When I thought about what I would photograph for this topic I thought I would try to get a picture of Mad Morty Kidd, my Cockatiel.  He is a pretty funny bird.  He dances to pretty much one song and one song only.  "Get Up Offa That Thing" by James Brown.  :)  Well, Morty wouldn't cooperate with me so I went with the one thing that usually always manages to make me smile, Pacen. 

I know, I know.  Typical of a mother.  :)  I didn't take just any plain Jane photo of Pacen though.  I captured him in his "element".  At my Dad's cabin, playing in the pond.  He is my Steve Irwin.  He is fearless, especially in the water.  He sees a turtle or a frog and he dives in, under the moss and weeds, to grab it up.  Me, on the other hand, wouldn't jump into the moss for anything.  Okay, maybe to save Pacen, but that is it!  I need clean water.  Clear water.  I wasn't able to capture a picture of him "hunting", but I did get this:

 

He loves jumping off that thing!  I love trying to capture him in mid-air.  Sometime his expressions are hilarious!  

Go on over to A Step in the Journey and join the challenge.  Or just head on over and check out the awesome photos that people have been taking!

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight." ~ Author Unknown

Redneck Style

Last night Pacen grilled up some Polish Sausage and we ate at the picnic table in the backyard.  As we were eating I was telling him that I really need to get a run in.  Then the following conversation ensued:

"I know what you can do instead Mom."

"What's that?"

Then as he took a big bite of his "dog" he fanned his arm out in a motion as if indicating a large area of land and said, "Look at all this."  ("All this" meaning the 50' x 50' area of our backyard.  Size is approximation.)

"Well, I have things to do cause I have a meeting here at 7:00 so if you think it's bad then YOU mow it."

"Okay!  But I'm doing it redneck style!"

He then ran inside and put on his cowboy boots, which typically wouldn't be weird, but he was also wearing his swimming trunks.  Sure enough...he mowed the backyard "redneck style".  He cracks me up!

My redneck lawn boy!

Speaking of mowing.  I think the people who own the abandoned house on the corner should've mowed earlier in the season instead of this past Saturday.  You should've seen the smoke rollin' out of their mower!  Crazy!  Here is a picture of Pacen in their yard the day before they mowed...

Pacen is touching a piece of grass that is darn near as tall as him! 

In the picture of Pacen mowing you can almost catch a glimpse of my DIY yard project (behind him)!  I am getting close to revealing it!  I got a lot done on it this past weekend (between storms and dead drill batteries)!  Here's a picture of Pacen helping me with the very beginning stages of the project.  He is quite the helper, but he wears out fast!  :)

Helping remove a post. 

"I always thought a yard was three feet, then I started mowing the lawn. " ~ C. E. Cowman

Living With A Miniature Man

Tonight I had a few reminders of the fact that I do indeed live with a miniature man.  Normally Pacen is 110% boy, but tonight he was more like 150% boy. 

It rained most of the day and Pacen decided to go outside this evening to play around in the water.  I had told him if he found any worms to grab a couple for Bubba (our Garter Snake).  About an hour later he came back inside, soaking wet.

"I found some worms Mom."
"Oh yeah?  Where are they?"
"In my pocket."  

Yup, he had about ten worms in his pocket.  I asked him to go put them in a container and give a few to Bubba.  Later I was cleaning up the kitchen while Pacen practiced his guitar and guess what I found crawling on the floor?  You guessed right, a worm.  Apparently Pacen accidentally dropped one when he was putting them into a container.  He didn't even notice.

While I was finishing with the kitchen I noticed a drop of blood on the floor.  I didn't even know I had cut myself. 

"Oh crap!"
"What did you do mom?!"
"I cut myself and now there is blood on the floor."
"I want to see!!!!"

He ran from his room to the kitchen so fast that you would think a monster jumped out from under his bed.  Then he saw what he came to see and he didn't think there was enough blood.  Go figure. 

 

To top it all off, as I was tucking him into bed I leaned down to give him a kiss just as he flung his fist and screamed, "Cheese ball!"  It didn't take me long to figure out what a "cheese ball" was.  He threw a fart in my face. I don't know for sure who taught Pacen to do that, but he's almost 11 so I guess it's about that time in life that he starts learning stupid stuff. Ugh. 

"Boys are beyond the range of anybody’s sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years.” ~ James Thurber

Brutally Honest

Pacen has always been brutally honest with me. I prefer it that way and I hope he is always like that. Lately he has started this new "thing". He knows I have always obsessed about my weight. I am, by no means, obese or over-weight, but with the way society is about appearances I have always felt like my body isn't nice enough.  I feel I could be skinner, more tone, etc.  Anyway, lately if, for example, I grab a third slice of pizza or a cookie after dinner, Pacen looks at me and says, "You know that's how you get fat."  He's not trying to be mean.  He is just trying to get me to follow the rules I have for myself, cause I hate following them and he, apparently, hates to hear me complain about how I feel fat. :)

Look at this sweet face.  I don't think he would ever purposely hurt my feelings. :)

A while back I bought a new dress, a cute little red knit thing.  It was on super clearance so I didn't bother trying it on before I bought it.  When I got home I tried it on and realized it was probably a little tighter than it should be (to wear to most public events).  I asked Pacen if he thought I looked too fat in the dress and he said no.  I then asked him if it made my butt look big and I turned to the side.  He looked at me, his face scrunched up, his lips made the shape they do when he says "oooooooo" (like ewww, not oh.), and then he did that sucking air through the teeth thing.  He didn't have to say a word.  That expression and air sucking was enough.  Hahaha!

One more.  Another good one and, honestly, my favorite!  One day I tried on a new pair of workout pants.  They were tight, but that's how they are suppose to fit cause they are mostly spandex.  I don't care what I look like when I workout inside, but when I go running outdoors I am self-conscious about how big my butt and thighs look in my workout clothes.  I asked Pacen if the pants made me look fat.  He started to put his fingers together like he was showing me the size of something.  It looked like something small.  I started thinking this was good and then he said, "Mom, have you seen that Geico commercial with Abraham Lincoln?"  I busted out laughing.  How could I not laugh at that?!  Haha!  I'm sure everyone knows what commercial he was talking about, but just in case you don't, here you go:

So, I'm thinking I need to work on slimming my "ghetto booty" down or something and then maybe he would change his expressions and answers when I wear tighter clothes.  :) 

"Pretty much all the honest truth telling in the world is done by children." ~ Oliver Wendell

Rush, Rush, Rush...

Tonight I was reading before we had to leave for wrestling practice and all of a sudden Pacen says, "Oh crap! Mom! We have to go!" I looked at the clock and we still had 15 minutes left before practice. It takes us only about 3-4 minutes to get to the school so I said, "Pacen, we are fine. We have plenty of time." Meanwhile, he is racing around, throwing on gym clothes, telling me we have to hurry, and putting on his boots. (Yes, my son wears his cowboy boots with everything...even gym clothes.) :) He then runs out the door and yells, "I'll be in the car!" Obviously he wasn't listening when I told him we had plenty of time. As I was walking out the door Pacen started honking the horn. Good grief!

The whole way to the school he was fidgeting in his seat and I could tell he was thinking, "C'mon mom! Put the pedal to the metal." As soon as we pulled up he took off running.

I wish he was like this when I'm in a hurry. It never fails...if we're running late for something that is actually important (work, a wedding, etc.) he dinks around and focuses on things that have nothing to do with what is going on, but if he thinks we are running late for something he deems important then by golly I had better be ready right then.



His dinking around used to be so bad that one morning I told him he had one minute to be ready and in the car or I was headed to work without him and he could just walk to school. We only live 4 blocks from his school, but I work 2 miles out of town and I start work an hour before school starts, so he goes to work with me and rides the bus to school. It's a nice setup. Anyway, I got in the car and was backing out of the drive when he came flying out the front door screaming and crying for me to stop. He barely made it. He also learned his lesson. I still have to remind him to quit dinking around, but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be and, in all honesty, it's now usually me who is out the door last.  :)

"Better three hours too soon than a minute too late." ~ William Shakespeare

Braces, Puberty, TMI?

It seems like just yesterday I was going through the awkward pre-teen years. My boobs were developing...wait a minute...I'm STILL waiting for those girls to fully develop! :) I had acne and braces. My hair always seemed to be greasy even though I'm sure I washed it on an almost daily basis. I had no sense of fashion (and I probably still don't even though I pretend to think I do). Why do people have to go through all that? Those were some of the most embarrassing years of my life...and they stretched a couple years into my early teens. Good grief!

Well, now I have to watch Pacen go through those awkward years. He has just begun and things really aren't too bad...yet. He's had a random zit here and there...nothing major like I had. No big red zits the size of Texas and I HOPE WITH ALL MY BEING that he doesn't have to deal with bad acne. His first major step into the awkward pre-teen years is braces! He got braces on the 14th. Things have changed since I had braces. He only has to wear them for 1 1/2 years. I had to wear mine for three! He gets to choose fancy colors (for his first visit he chose blue glow-in-the-dark for the top and green for the bottom). I had plain ol' silver braces. His Orthodontist is a young pretty woman who makes the experience very fun! My Orthodontist was an old man who wasn't fun at all. The list just goes on and on.

Doesn't he make braces look good?!

I'm curious to see what Pacen's pre-teen and teen years are like. I hope to make them less awkward than they have to be. I won't let him have terrible fashion sense (cause, remember, I am a fashionista! *sarcasm*). I will make sure he washes his hair often so it doesn't look all greasy. I will tackle that acne problem if it surfaces (there have got to be way more medicines and such out there to help with this than when I was younger)! I will buy him a training bra jock strap...support cup...do boys need those?! OH! MY! GOD! I just realized that boys deal with a lot more different things than girls! Forget making the pre-teen/teen years great for Pacen! Who the hell is going to help ME through them?! Who is going to talk to him about "flogging the log"..."polishing the sword"..."yanking the crank"...okay, okay, I think you catch my drift! Do they need a talk about it?! Am I going to accidentally walk in on my son while he's taking care of business?! TOO! MANY! GROSS! THOUGHTS! I don't want my baby boy to grow up! Someone please save me from this insanity!!

LOOK! He is still so innocent and naive (I like to think)! Please don't grow up!!

"Puberty is the sickest joke God plays on us. So you're just noticing members of the sex: 'Girls, girls, ooo'. Naturally you want to look your best, and God says 'No! You will look the worst you've ever looked in your life!'" ~ Eddie Izzard

Luck O' The Irish

Okay, so...this post is a week late, but...ummmm...better late than never I guess. On St. Patrick's Day I wanted to surprise Pacen with a cool breakfast, even though he normally doesn't want anything to do with breakfast. So, I drug my sleepy butt out of bed at 6:00 so I could get ready for work and get this special breakfast done before it was time to head out. Mind you, I am NOT a morning person, but if I have something special to do then I will get up at any hour. What is this special breakfast, you may be asking. :) Well, it was rainbow pancakes with little gold coin pancakes. Haha! Yup! Easy really. All I had to do was add food coloring to the pancake batter.

Well, I finally got the pancakes done and when I woke Pacen I told him there was a surprise for him in the kitchen. He looked at me and said, "MOM! It's breakfast isn't it? I DON'T eat breakfast!" (Obviously he's not a morning person either.) Well, he could obviously tell that his remark "deflated" me so he went in the kitchen to see what his surprise was. He was actually pretty impressed and decided he'd try a couple. Then he said, "Wow, mom!! These are the best pancakes that you've ever made! They aren't crumbly like usual." Haha! He is right though...normally my pancakes crumble and these ones were actually thick and fluffy. Maybe the luck o' the Irish was with me...helping me make perfect pancakes. Haha!


About ten minutes before we were to leave for work Pacen informed me that we forgot to dye his hair green like we normally do for St. Patty's Day. So, in a hurry I grabbed the green paste food coloring, dipped my fingers in, and proceeded to run them through Pacen's hair. What a mess! Luckily it got the job done and we were only a couple minutes late for work. Ummm, did I mention that Pacen had a wrestling exhibition the night of St. Patty's? Haha! Maybe it was the color of his hair that caused him to win...or the luck o' the Irish was with him. :)


"May you die in bed at ninety-five years, shot by a jealous husband (or wife)." ~ Irish Toast

Pacen and Heroes and Snakes...Oh My!

Ever since my "baby" was itty bitty he has love snakes. I have no idea what, exactly, started his fascination with that particular animal, but he loves them...and honestly, I have no problem with that. When he was almost 2-years-old I took him to the St. Louis Zoo. Now, if you've ever been to the St. Louis Zoo you know there are life-like statues of animals all over the zoo. We wandered to a part of the zoo that had a very life-like statue of a snake coiled up around her eggs and in a somewhat "striking" position. She was pretty much as tall as Pacen and he wandered right up to her and put his little bitty hand on her head like it was no big deal. Okay, granted, the snake wasn't real, but it looked real and I would imagine most children would be scared of it. Maybe it was this moment with the snake statue that started his interest...I honestly don't know. All I know is that he went crazy for snakes. Anything that had to do with snakes grabbed his attention...books, clothes, movies, toys, etc. He soon began to like almost any reptile and amphibian.


I'm going to guess he was around 3 or 4-years-old when he discovered Steve Irwin. Steve quickly became Pacen's hero. Pacen was always watching The Crocodile Hunter. Pacen even dressed up as Steve for Halloween one year.


I'll never forget the day that Steve died. It was like a family member had passed away. It was so hard to tell Pacen that his hero was gone. He shed a few tears and became very quiet. Later in the day my dad noticed that Pacen was sitting on the front steps by himself (it's very unusual for Pacen to sit still and do nothing), so he went out to see how Pace was doing. He told us he sat down and asked Pacen how he was. Pacen told him he was doing okay. Dad asked, "Are you thinking about Steve?" Pacen responded in a sad little voice, "Yeah, Gimpy (that's what he calls my Dad). Do you think they'll put him on a paper plate?" Well, I guess, in the eyes of a child, a person should be memorialized by being printed on a Birthday paper plate. :) Sweet, sweet innocence.

After Steve passed away and his shows were aired less frequently, Pacen became interested in Jeff Corwin. Very similar to Steve, but yet so different. Jeff kind of became Pacen's new hero, although there is no way Steve will ever be completely replaced. Well, earlier this month Pacen got the chance to see a presentation put on by Jeff Corwin! My parents, Pacen, and I all went. During the show Jeff chose many people to help him with some animals on stage. I was hoping with every fiber of my being that Pacen would be chosen, but he wasn't. :( Maybe that was a good thing though, cause Pace wasn't feeling very well and I could just imagine him getting on stage and puking on Jeff. After the show Jeff did a book signing. Pacen and I got in line and I thought we'd end up waiting at least an hour, but...nope...Jeff whizzed right through the autographs. It took maybe ten minutes! Unfortunately he wasn't "posing" for any pictures so I had to hurry and get Pacen's picture with Jeff while Jeff was signing his book. At least Pacen got to see him in person and I'm sure that will be a memory he holds onto for the rest of his life.

Jeff signing Pacen's book

Oh, and if you don't already know (can't remember if I've ever posted anything about it) we are the happy owners of three, yes...3, snakes. Our first was a Garter Snake (common garden snake) that a friend caught. Pacen named him Bubba and he's been with us for I think 5 years. Our second snake is a Ball Python that I bought for Pacen on his 8th Birthday. Pace named him Bali. Our third snake was given to us last year by my friend who is a zoo keeper. The zoo was minimizing and got rid of some animals. It is a corn snake and "she" is gorgeous. Pacen named her Brooke. :)

"No, snakes are no problem. I'd go to any country, anywhere, any snakes, not a problem." ~ Steve Irwin

"As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary." ~ Ernest Hemingway

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Or in my case...Happy Singles Awareness Day! :) Just thought I'd share the Valentine's that Pacen gave to his teachers. Thanks to Eighteen25 for the idea! (She said she got it from here.) I thought it was so cute! Pacen even agreed that they were pretty awesome. We found these cool suckers at Wal-Mart. They are sign language suckers and we got "Peace" and "Rock On". :)


Hope you all have a fabulous day and may your hubbies/boyfriends/significant other remember you on this Hallmark Holiday. :)


"I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon." ~Author Unknown

Pumpkin Patch

Today I went on a field trip with the 4th graders. We went to the University of Wyoming Ag Research Center and the Harvest Home Pumpkin Patch. Pacen has been on a field trip to the pumpkin patch every year since 1st grade and I've never been able to join him. This year the field trip was on my Friday off so I jumped at the opportunity to go. I've never been to a pumpkin patch and I always thought it would be fun. The pumpkin patch that LEMS goes to also has a corn maze. This year the maze is a soldier with a flag and it says "We Support Our Troops". Last night Pacen said, "Mom. Last year I ran through the maze with Cole (running through the maze is not allowed). I'm not doing that this year because the maze is a soldier and that is disrespectful to soldiers." I asked him if a teacher told him that and he said, "No." I was so proud of him for wanting to (on his own accord) respect the military.

Pacen led Mrs. Wasserburger and I around the maze and then we got to choose our pumpkins. Pacen picked a pretty large one. Surprise, surprise. :) I picked a medium sized one and I also bought a few itty bitty white pumpkins, some tomatoes, and a few squash. I can't wait to eat the squash (with a little brown sugar and butter baked into it). All-in-all it was a good field trip. We learned quite a bit at the UW Ag Rearch Center, ate lunch in the park, and had fun at the pumpkin patch. I hope I get to go again next year.

Pacen with his pumpkin

"We fancy men are individuals; so are pumpkins; but every pumpkin in the field goes through every point of pumpkin history." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Busy, busy Summer

Oh my! I have been slacking on my blog this Summer! I've been busy. I spent most evenings this Summer either playing Softball or training for my first Triathlon. As far as weekends are concerned...c'mon, everyone knows how Summer weekends are...busy, busy, busy. I made it to the lake a couple of times, hung out with friends, enjoyed Rawhide, participated in the Sioux County Fair (my hometown fair), attended weddings, etc. Summers are crazy hectic and I'm ready for things to slow down. Unfortunately, I don't think they will. Pacen is going to be participating in a few more things during this school year so I have a feeling we'll be go, go, go all year. *sigh* Here are some pictures from this Summer

Pacen and I watching Fireworks on the 4th of July

The sisters and I at Rawhide

Pacen enjoying some lake fun!

Pig Wrestling

The sisters and I at the John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan Concert

Pacen's 10th Birthday Party

Busch Stadium!!

"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it." ~ Russel Baker

My Little Artist (ar-teest)

A while back Pacen told me he wants to start painting. It took me by surprise. My son is very outdoorsy...a rough, wild, dirty little boy who normally can't sit still for more than half a second. You don't believe me? Try sitting on the couch with him to watch a movie, or taking a road trip with him, or sleeping in the same bed as him (it is dangerous and harmful and I end up covered in bruises)! He seriously cannot sit still at all! It's just the way he is, and there is nothing I can do about it...well, maybe there is but it's not good practice to duct tape your children to a chair. :)

So, due to the fact that Pacen is so squirmy, I've never thought of him as being the kind to sit down and paint a picture. He likes to draw, but he does that at school, when he has to try and sit still. When he's home it's play time...not sit still time. Anyway, decided I would let him give painting a shot. Why not? It's good to feed the creativity of children. To help them use their imaginations and do something constructive with what is running around in their little heads. So, I bought Pacen an easel, some canvas, paints, brushes, and pretty much everything a little boy would need in order to paint a masterpiece.

All the supplies sat around for a bit due to the fact that Pacen and I have crazy schedules this time of year, but the time finally arrived...it was a beautiful evening and we didn't have anything going on, so I set everything up on the front porch and my little artist (I think I'll pronounce it ar-teest) painted his first masterpiece. He painted a picture of a motocross rider going up a hill. It turned out pretty good!

Such a serious little painter. (Ignore the x-mas lights...I took them down later that day.)

Wow! Such concentration! :) He's probably thinking, "Mom! Knock it off!"

The final product!

"The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself." ~ Alan Alda

My Little Knight in Shining Armor

This morning I was getting ready to take a shower and when I got to my nasty shower (more on that later) I discovered something that I don't ever want to find in my shower or, for that fact, anywhere in my home! Something I have been deathly afraid of pretty much my whole life! A spider! A huge, nasty, big-butted (I sometimes create words) spider! Luckily it was already dead. Many thoughts started running through my head. "Where did he come from?! Is my shower so nasty that it kills spiders the instant they crawl into it?! What am I going to do?!"

After sitting there for a bit I decided I would just wash the spider down the drain. I don't have a normal shower drain. You see, my shower is homemade. Constructed by someone who didn't put much thought into what they were doing, I might add. Someone who didn't want a nice, spa-like shower. The drain is a normal basement over-flow drain. It has pretty big holes. I figured the spider would easily wash down the drain. I was wrong.

Plan A was a failure so it was time for me to move on to Plan B. First I had to come up with a Plan B. I was so sure Plan A would work! Dang it! Okay, slowly Plan B is started coming together in my head. Aha! I decided it would be best to wake Pacen a whole half-hour before he normally wakes up so he could take care of the spider for me. Perfect! So I run back upstairs to get my knight in shining armor, knowing he is not going to be happy about this whole ordeal.

"Baby, I need you to do me a favor.", I say in my sweetest, most loving voice. :)

He stretches, yawns, and says, "What is it Mama?" (Yes, he calls me Mama and I love, love, love it!)

"There's a spider in the shower. Can you please get it for me?"

*Big Sigh* "Give me a minute."

So I wait...but not for very long cause I don't want the spider to miraculously come back to life and get me (it could happen...anything is possible). As we're walking downstairs I look at Pacen just as he runs his fingers through his hair in a rather frustrated manner with a rather frustrated look on his face. I knew he wouldn't be happy, but what else was I suppose to do?!

"Where is it Mama?"

I point towards the shower and after he finally focuses in on it he says in a very matter-of-fact tone, "I'm NOT picking that thing up!"

"Well what are we going to do?! I can't pick it up either!"

After a little thought he says, "We could vacuum it up. Go get the vacuum."

My son is so smart! Why didn't I think of the vacuum? So now we're on Plan C. I get the vacuum and hand him the hose (I can't touch anything that is touching a spider...it's a thing).

"Okay, turn it on!"

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR (my very loud vacuum sound)

After just a second or two he screams, "TURN IT OFF!"

"NO! WHAT IF IT'S NOT IN THE BAG YET?!"

"IT'S IN THE BAG MOM!" Oh my, he called me "Mom", he must be serious.

I turn off the vacuum, he complains about how loud it is, and then goes back upstairs. He just left me! With the vacuum that has a large spider in it! How could he do that to me?! Just to make sure the spider actually did make it to the bad I turn the vacuum back on for 30 seconds or so. Okay, I think it's safe now. I take a very fast shower...the whole time looking up, down, side-to-side, and everywhere for more spiders. *Shudder* I HATE spiders!

I do have to say, though, that I am much better about dealing with spiders than I used to be. When I lived in Harrison I had to face spiders a lot as I lived in a trailer house and trailer houses are so easy for mice and spiders to break in to. I would call my friend, Norm, who lived in Crawford. He would answer the phone to someone crying and hyper-ventilating. He always knew it was me and he always knew what was wrong.

"Brooke, it's not going to get you."

Between gasps for air and sobs, "Yes...it...is! It's...so...BIG...Norm!"

"Breathe Brooke. You'll be okay."

"No...I...won't!"

"Brooke, get a shoe and throw it at the spider."

"I...can't! If...I...go...get...a...shoe...it'll...crawl...away...and...I...won't...know...where...it...is...and...it'll...get...me...while...I...sleep!"

"No it won't, Brooke. Now go get a shoe."

"Okay."

"You got a shoe now?"

"Yes."

"Throw it at the spider."

"I...can't...Norm!"

"Yes you can, Brooke."

It usually took Norm about a half-hour or so to get me to the point where I would actually throw the shoe at the spider. More times than not I missed and the spider took off like a flash. I would then start freaking out again, jumping around the room I was in, and looking all around me like the spider was going to jump from some dark corner and attack me. It would then take Norm another half-hour or so to calm me down enough that we could both go on with our lives. I'm so glad Norm was always there for me in my time of need...even if it was just on the phone. Other people were not as patient as he was. My dad once told me I need psychiatric help for my arachnophobia. Wow Dad. Kind of harsh.

Quote time! The quote for this blog comes from the movie Arachnophobia, which my cousin forced me to watch when I was 10 or 11. He seriously made me sit on my hands and he held my eyelids open. Mean! Very mean! Maybe that was his way of helping me get over my fear. It didn't work.

Dr. Ross Jennings: Chris, I'm scared to death.
Collins: Yeah, we all are, but our brains secrete a neurotransmitter that enables us to deal with them.
Dr. Ross Jennings: I don't think I have that particular neurotransmitter.

I'm with you Dr. Jennings! I too do not have that particular neurotransmitter!

My little Pumpkin Carver

Halloween is over and today I took down all our spooky decorations. It was a good Halloween and the day was perfect for trick-or-treating. I was afraid it would be so cold, but it was actually pretty warm. The only problem was the slush! I can only imagine how wet all the little trick-or-treaters got. A few nights ago we carved pumpkins. I will admit at first I wasn't into it like I have been in the past. I wasn't looking forward to cleaning up the gooey, slimy, seedy mess. I was planning on doing a real simple design and at the last minute I got a little more excited about it and chose a design that was a slightly more difficult than I had planned.

Pacen, on the other hand, was very much into carving pumpkins this year. He carved an itty-bitty one and a very large one earlier in the month and this time he carved another large pumpkin. He carved a cute face into his itty-bitty pumpkin and a moose head into his first big pumpkin (I drew it and he cut it out). He turned his second big pumpkin into a murdered pumpkin. The funny thing about Pacen carving pumpkins is the fact that somehow he ends up in his boxers during the process. First the shirt comes off, next thing I know the pants come off, and a little later off come the socks, and then he's just carving away in his boxers! It's pretty funny. I guess real men carve pumpkins wearing only their underwear. :) I'm actually very grateful that I don't have to worry about washing pumpkin goop out of his clothes!

My Ghostly Lava Lamps

"Only the knife knows what goes on in the heart of a pumpkin." ~ Simone Schwarz-Bart

My Little Picky Eater

My son is probably the oddest picky eater ever! He is opposite of most picky eaters I have come across. He loves vegetables and salad and stuff like that and hates things such as spaghetti and macaroni & cheese! I thought all kids loved spaghetti and macaroni & cheese! Not mine! I am a total pasta person and if I want pasta I usually have to order it at a restaurant or make it while Pacen is gone...unless, of course, I want to hear a bunch of whining, which I don't!

Yesterday I was trying to decide what to fix for supper last night. I've been having major difficulties the past month because I have been oven-less! It has been dreadful! I always knew I used my oven a lot, but I guess I never realized just how much until mine died. Rest in peace old, ugly oven! I was suppose to have a new oven by now but there was an accident. My family owns two True Value stores...one in the town I grew up in and the other is in a town 30 miles from there. My dad drove to the other store, picked up my new oven, and on the way home a semi drove past him and blew my oven over (yes it was tied down) and broke the glass out of the door! It's my luck! Things like this always happen to me! I don't know what I ever did to deserve the luck I have, but I guess I just have to live with it. Maybe I can offer some sort of sacrifice to the gods/goddesses/higher beings/whatever so my luck will change. I offer my old oven! :) Okay, anyway...my new oven door has not arrived yet for my new oven so I am still oven-less!

Oh, I got really side tracked there. Sorry. So, I was searching for something to fix for supper, something that could be made on the stove top. That is when I came across a skillet recipe on this blog that I follow. I had almost all the ingredients and I had other things I could use to substitute for the ingredients I didn't have. No grocery store visit? Yay!!!! :) So, I fixed up the recipe when I got home from work and it looked nothing like the picture on the blog so I was a little leery about serving it to Pacen, but we have a rule in my house: I fix it, you eat it. Maybe I should make that rule with the pasta too, but I try to avoid making things that I know he absolutely does not like. Anyway, the time came to serve it up and he loved it! He had two huge servings and is excited that we are having it as leftovers tonight! Yahoo!!! I love it when I find a recipe that is easy and that Pacen likes! This recipe is definitely going in the "make again recipe box"!

So, without further adeu, here is the recipe (and my substitutions/changes):

Romano Ranch Chicken and Rice Skillet Dinner

- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 packet Ranch Dressing dry mix, divided
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced (I used a little onion powder)
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 6 cloves fresh garlic, minced (I used the pre-minced kind in the jar, which is the best thing since sliced bread)
- 6 cups fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped (I used about a 1/2 bag of frozen spinach, which I would guess was around 10 oz.)
- 1 small can diced carrots and peas, drained (I used a 15 oz. can of just peas)
- 2 cups steamed long grain brown rice (I used instant brown rice cooked in the microwave)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
-1/2 cup shredded Romano Cheese (I used Cheddar Cheese)

The first step is to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Ha! I ended up cooking my chicken in the skillet over medium heat, which was a lot faster than baking it in the oven anyway. While the chicken was cooking I diced the pepper and started the rice. When the chicken was done I removed it from the skillet and drained any juice that was left. I then added the olive oil and let it heat up. Next I added the green pepper, garlic, spinach, and onion powder and let saute for 6-10 minutes (until the spinach was heated through). While the veggies were sauteing I cut up the chicken. Next I added the peas, cooked rice, salt, pepper, garlic salt, and ranch mix. I stirred it up and let it sit for a few minutes to heat through. I then added the chicken and cheese and stirred again. Time to serve! Easy and pretty fast! (It just sounds more time consuming than it really is.)

(The lighting in my kitchen is dreadful!)

"When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste." ~ Laiko Bahrs