Update

We are still waiting in limbo to close on our house. It has been one delay after another. We finally got the papers to the finance company November 17th. Now we are waiting on the appraiser. Ugh!! We just want to close and get moved. Hopefully at this point we will be all moved in before Christmas. We have missed the original promise of Oct.31st and now we are about to surpass the 2nd promised date of Nov 28th.

Not only were we promised to have already been in our house, we were promised several remodels. We were told we could have a side by side refrigerator. We were told it won't happen they will only put a regular fridge in there. We were told they would paint all walls and the kitchen cabinets. We found out they won't paint one bathroom and the kitchen/dining/utility room. We were told they would paint the kitchen cabinets brown and now we find out they won't. Supposed they have to repaint them the original color of white. We were also told we could get a ceramic flat top stove

So now I will have to paint once we move in. The bathroom and kitchen/dining/utility room are a hideous pink flower wallpaper. Well I guess I could pick out my own wallpaper now.

Doesn't this look delicious?

Cool Whip Chocolate One Bowl Bliss Cake

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 2 hr 20 min
Makes: 16 servings

Ingredients

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix
5 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 tub (8 oz.) plus 1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar


Directions

HEAT oven 350F. Prepare cake batter, in 2-1/2-qt. ovenproof bowl, as directed on package; scrape side of bowl. Bake 1 hour 5 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake 10 min.; loosen from side of bowl with knife. Invert onto wire rack; remove bowl. Cool cake completely; cut into 3 layers.

MICROWAVE 4 chocolate squares in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min., stirring after 1 min. Cool. Add 1 tub COOL WHIP; whisk until blended. Stack and fill layers with chocolate mixture. Frost with remaining COOL WHIP.

MAKE curls from remaining chocolate square. (See Tip.) Arrange on cake; sprinkle with sugar. Keep refrigerated.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size-Wise
Sweets can be part of a balanced diet but remember to keep tabs on portions.


Source: KraftFoods
Found here

What is going on?

There has been so many tragedies effect the young families in Panola County in the last month. It started with a boy from Gary ISD being diagnosed with Leukemia, then Oct 9th, an 8th grader in Carthage was diagnosed with AML. A week later Cody B. (whose wife is a teacher at CJHS) was diagnosed with APL which is a form of AML. I heard two days ago that Rusty E. had a heart attack and this morning had a triple bypass. And just now I found out that Valerie Ritter, who graduated the year before me, passed away due to a long battle with Cancer.

Cancer is rampant in Panola County. I know it is everywhere but there are so many people that have had cancer from Panola County or the spouses of a Panola County resident has cancer. We have got to find a cure. Be sure to support the American Cancer Society and the Relay for Life. RFL is the largest fundraiser that ACS has each year.

Please respond to my blog with a small note of who you know has cancer and what kind of cancer.

These are the people that I know of that have either had cancer or have succomed to cancer.

• Sandra Weaver Hudson -- pancreatic cancer -- passed away in 2005
  
• Minnie Weaver -- melanoma --removed and in remission
• Leigh Anna Shubert -- AML -- in remission
  
• Mary Jo Shubert -- Ovarian Cancer -- removed and in remission
• Rebeka Shubert -- melanoma -- removed and in remission
  
• Alisha Shubert -- melanoma -- removed and in remission
• Tripp Penner -- AML -- in remission
  
• Cody Baldree -- APL (a form of AML) -- receiving treatment
  
• Jacob Boniol -- AML -- receiving treatment
  
• Mandy Davis' husband -- receiving treatment
  
• Ginger Gates' husband -- unsure of his status
  
• Valerie Ritter -- passed away due to a long battle with cancer -- 2008
  
• Roger Brightwell -- pancreatic cancer -- passed away due to cancer -- 2005 or 2006
  
• Macy Isbell -- AML -- considered cured 5 yrs in remission
• Gertie Denton -- ovarian cancer -- passed away due to cancer
• Allen Joe Hicks -- passed away due to long battle with cancer -- 2008
  
• Mozelle Bixler -- aggressive breast cancer -- passed away due to cancer -- 2006
  
• Ted Leach -- Liver Cancer --passed away due to cancer -- 2008
  
• Kenneth Owens -- lung cancer -- passed away due to cancer -- 2004
• Wanda Hanzen -- breast cancer -- receiving treatment
• Sallie Lipsey -- breast cancer -- receiving treatment
• Joni Reed -- breast cancer -- in remission
• Nicole Coleman -- in remission
• Shannon Ramage Knight -- thyroid cancer -- in remission/cured thyroid removed -- 1991
• Linda Murphy -- breast cancer -- receiving treatment
  

I know there are many more that I am forgetting. Please feel free to share your family or friends that have cancer currently or have passed on and I will add them so that others can pray for their family and them during treatments.

Ugh....my car

My car is messed up now because a college kid rear-ended me since a dumb shit was sitting still at a green light in front of me. I had already blew my horn at the man and eased up a bit before she hit me. She hit me hard enough to mess up my bumper and then push me into the car in front of me. Her car had to be towed because it messed up her front bumper and busted her radiator and crushed a hood like an accordian. My car probably had $600-$800 in damage. Her car probably has $4000 worth of damage. The car I bumped shouldn't have any damage at all because it just dented my license plate on the front.

Of course, I am now starting to get sore. Hopefully Adam won't be feeling any effects from it. He was rather upset that his Sonic drink spilled in the floor board. If I am too sore tomorrow I will go to the doc because there is no way I can work when my back is killing me.

New giveaway on Frugalmom.com

All you have to do is visit her blog for instructions on how to enter. She is giving away a $50 gift card to Coffeeforless.com. To enter, visit the Frugal Mom blog .

Wade's party

<----Here is a picture of the birthday boy.

We make it a tradition to let the boys choose where they want to eat or what they want me to fix for supper on their birthday. Wade chose Jalapeno Tree, which is a local Mexican restaurant. We weren't too satisfied with our service because our waitress was so busy that she kept forgetting us and she forgot that we told her it Wade's birthday so he didn't get his "treat" and they didn't sing to him. Needless to say, she didn't get a great tip.




We came home and Wade got his birthday cake and his gift. We only give the boys one gift on their actual birthday and hold the rest until their party. We are going to hold off on his party until we get moved into our new house, which should be within the next two weeks. Wade got money from my mom and the movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth with Brendan Frasier. Here is a picture of Wade's Bass fishing cake. I think The Bake Shoppe did a pretty awesome job with it. Definitely a better job that any cake I have ever received from Brookshire's or Wal-mart.



Of course, I can't leave off my other two boys....here is a picture them from tonight too.

Wade is 10 today

10 years ago today, I was on my way to the hospital. I had been scheduled for a c/s just a mere two days earlier. You see, the doc was concerned about Wade's size because I was only 38 weeks and was measuring 45 weeks. The doc decided to have an u/s done to check his size. It was discovered that the cord was floating below his head which could have been very dangerous for both of us had my water broke. It was also discovered that Wade weighed a whooping 10 lbs +/- 1/2 lb.

So on Thursday, Oct. 29th, 1998, I went into surgery with Damon by side at 7:30am and at 8:02 am, Derrick Wade was born. He weighed in at 9lbs 9oz and 21 inches long. His head was larger than the 10cm incision so the doc had to use the vacuum extractor to get him out. He had a bruise on his forehead for a few days.

We got to come home 2 days later on Halloween. I had been give a santa clause outfit by my Nov 98 cybershower buddy. Unfortunately, since Wade was large, the SC outfit would not fit by the time Christmas rolled around, so Wade was Santa Clause for his first Halloween. Yes just two days after a c/s I took my "santa clause" and "Darth Vader" trick-or-treating. Of course ,we only went to see family but Brian was only 3 so he didn't know the difference.

Wade is 10 today and he is active playing soccer and struggling through the 4th grade. We are holding off on his party until we get moved into our new house. I will post pictures later.

My baby got glasses today

Last week I received a letter from the school nurse stating Adam had failed his vision test and needed to be examined by an eye doctor. I called on Tuesday and the nurse stated that she had examined him twice (once in Sept. and once in Oct.) and he failed both times with 20/200 eyesight. I was really hoping he was having an off day.

I called to make an appointment with the local eye dr and explained the situation. They got us in on Thursday afternoon. We saw one of the new eye dr's, Dr. C. He was awesome. He had lots of patience with Adam which is a big plus because that made Adam tolerate the exam so much more. He did determine that Adam needed -3.75 in one eye and -3.50 in the other. So we found some cheap glasses and they said it would be Monday afternoon before we could pick them up. I went ahead and paid the extra to make sure they were shatterproof.

So after school today, Adam went and picked up his glasses. He wasn't too thrilled to have to wear them all the time. He is finding any excuse to take them off.

Here is my little ham in his new glasses.

Frugal Mom Giveaway

If you go to http://www.frugalmom.net/blog/ you will find all sorts of giveaways. Friday's giveaway is a $100 GC to Amazon.com and The Dotty Blossom Bag from Artsy-crafty Babe. So for your chance to win, please visit http://www.frugalmom.net/blog/.

The Pumpkin Patch

Adam's class went on their first field trip yesterday to the Pumpkin Patch. He was completely excited to pick out his "baby" pumpkin as the lady from FUMC called it. Adam was happy as a lark playing on the playground before hand but then he was less than thrilled when I offered to take individual pictures of the kids sitting on the hay bales with the scarecrow. His pictures tell it all. To the left is while playing on the playground. Notice he is happy because I am not paying attention to other children. To the right is his individual picture just like the other children. Now below is a picture of his baby pumpkin.

While he was there, every child received a bag with goodies in it and a flyer to tell how to keep their pumpkin's fresh. I never knew their was a way to keep them fresh so I will share the tip with you.

Keeping Jack Fresh

You can either purchase an anti-browning solution from the store of make your own. To make your own, you will need:

• 2 Tablespoons of Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1 quart of water

Now just mix ingredients together and brush over the carved areas.

Face Paint

• 1 teaspoon of cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon of cold cream
• food coloring
• small paintbrush or cotton swab

In small containers or a muffin tin, stir together the cornstarch and cold cream until thoroughly mixed. Add water and stir. Add food coloring one drop at a time until you get the color desired. Paint simple designs on face. Keep out of eyes. Remove with soap and water. Color mixing tips can be found on the food coloring box.

We're moving!!

Yeah!! We signed a contract on a house today. We are excited. We will close on it around the end of October beginning of November. So between working, soccer practice and games, I have to find time to start packing.


For those that have my sbcglobal email address please change that part to gmail.com and my email will continue to work once we get moved.

Dr's Offices

Ugh...what is the point of having an appointment? Seriously!! Lately, all I have done is wait when I go to see a dr. Today we had two appts. I had one at 10:10. I was there from 10am until 11:20 before they even took me to a room. I finally saw the dr about 11:45 and left at noon. Then that after noon Damon had an appt at 2:15 and it was 3:30 or 3:45 before he saw his dr. To make matters worse, we had Adam with us and he was antsy sitting in the small room. However, we did find a way to keep him entertained. The back of a guidepost had an advertisement for Aleve. See below:


Adam started trying to mimic these people. This kept him entertained for a good 30 minutes and of course on the two people letters I had to help out. I was so wishing I had my camera. LOL,

A Day at the Park

We went to park with my friend's kids today. I snapped a few shots of all the kids. I didn't really care for the pictures of my boys so I took some more of them when we got to the house.



These two pictures are Cody & Alyssa. Alyssa wasn't feeling too well but I think it still turned out pretty good. She is such a pretty girl. I'm going to try to do an actual photo shoot with her some time this fall.


Here are the pictures of Adam at the park. My focus was off so they aren't as sharp as they should have been.

Here are the pictures of my boys in there true element...the oldest and youngest avoiding the camera flash and Wade being the ham.

Sadie & Adam

Trying to catch Sadie in a decent photo is rare. She is a very spastic dog unless she is sleeping. So of course I caught her still while she was sleeping.

Of course, Adam is almost the same way. You practically have to bribe the child or catch him when he is not paying attention. I caught him while he was completely enthralled in a computer game.

Evacuees

The biggest problem evacuees are having in Carthage is finding shelter for their pets. I ran into these nice folks on the square today as they waited for Pretty Paws to open so that they could go check into their hotel room since the hotels would not allow pets.

These nice people were from Jasper and Hamshire, TX. They were only able to secure a room until Tuesday. Hopefully the hotel will allow them to stay longer.

Hurricane Gustav

Carthage is gearing up to help evacuee's that travel through our town. They have set up a refueling station for the buses that are transporting the evacuee's from down south. At around 12:30 today, the trucks were ready along with the National Guard and Sheriff's Office.

Troops line up for their orders.


Troops trying to find some shade.

Troops consult with Chief Bauske and Judge Anderson

The soccer field parking has turned into a make-shift evacuee area while the buses are refueling.

The truck is ready to refuel the first buses to arrive.

New pictures

So I decided to go take some random pictures this evening.


Here we have the old diving board or what used to be a diving board at the old swimming pool.


Then we have some fungus growing on a dead tree. It was actually really pretty.

And here we have a sink hole with caution tape around it.

And this...is thousands of tadpoles. It won't be long and we will have thousand of little frogs everywhere behind house. Oh boy, my boys will have a field day.

First day of school

Today was the first day of school. Everyone was up and dressed by 7:15am. So out the door we went to take the obligatory first day of school pictures.

1st pic...not quite what I had in mind.

Again...Ok guys...be serious.

And again, a little better but seriously Brian. One more time.

That is much better.

So off we go. We dropped Brian off. Then loop back around to drop Wade off. We finally made it to Adam's first day of Kindergarten. I think it was about 7:50 by the time we got to class. Of course we took a few pictures but Adam was being shy and didn't want to stay. We tried to get him to interact and he stuck to us like glue. He told me he wanted to go home. :( I almost cried at that point. Damon had to just get stern with him and tell him we had to go and he had to stay. He sat down and put his head on his desk.

Adam & Daddy Adam & Mama

He has yet to really say what he did today. I think he is mad at us for making him stay. He said he made two friends but he can't remember one of their names. So, we get to fight the horrible traffic again. Damon got in line at 2:30pm and he didn't get home until 3:30pm and we only live 5 minutes from the school. Thankfully, Brian and Wade walked home from school so we don't have to fight that traffic. Wade said he had fun. Brian said he is liking 8th grade already.