I know I don't talk a lot about friends on here, but I am grateful for each one of you (including my blogging friends)! Everyone has that friend that they meet at some point in their life that they love unconditionally, no matter what they do (even if you don't agree), you'll always be there for them. They tend to be catagorized as "best friends". My best friend (second to hubby) happens to lives miles away, and we haven't even seen eachother in years now (I miss him tons!), but we talk as much as time and our daily lives will allow.

He's been there for me through bad and good, heartbreak and love, downs and ups; and I've tried to do the same for him to the best of my ability. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for him, and I know there's not anything he wouldn't do for me. He's been going through some rough times, but now I think he's falling in love. He won't call it that, but says to me, "I don't know what is going on. I haven't ever felt this way, or had someone make me feel so alive, so important! And the things that are coming out of my mouth are about as goofy as they get!" LOL How cute is that! :) It's really good to hear that "happiness" and "giddyness" in his voice!

He asked me tonite if I would call and talk to her, because he wants my "stamp of aproval". LOL I told him that he might want to think about that a little more, and tell her a little more about me before he decides to give me her number, cuz ya just never know what might come flying out of my mouth at any given time. My sarcasm is a lot of times misconstruded, and taken as just plain rudeness! I know! You're shocked, right?! lol I was very flattered, to say the least, that my opinion matters so much to him, even though his opinion matters tons to me. You know what I mean.

I'm sure you don't really care to read about this, but I'm just beside myself happy, and had to share. He's a wonderful man, and person, that more than deserves this happiness in his life. I just wish I were there to share it more personally with him! She's a lucky girl, and will be spoiled beyond her wildest dreams by him!!

Ahhhhhh.. the memories of all the "firsts" and the "giddyness" of a new relationship! If only we could bottle that, and save it for those "bitchy days"! LOL

I know that I've been MIA for a day or two... Ok! Ok! So maybe more like 5 days!!! LOL But I've got a good excuse... Ok! OK!!!! So maybe I don't have a good excuse either! But it was T day, and since then I've just been hanging out enjoying my time with my hubby home from work for a change. So there! Things should be getting back to normal asap now.

I hope that everyone had a fantabulous Thanksgiving, and was able to reflect on their lives and see how many, many things there are to be thankful for! I know that I did, and WHEW! There's really tons when you step away from the day to day happenings of life and take the time to see them!

I'm really getting excited for Christmas this year..(the first time in about 6 years!) cuz for once I won't have to see & hear my kids tell me how it's ok that they don't get a lot for Christmas and how they understand. I think that Christmas will be a good one for us this year... YIPPIE! Please don't think that I'm ALL commercial... but when you hear words like that come out of a 5-6 year old child for a few years in a row, it's really, really nice to be able to afford to give them a nice Christmas. I'm really not a materialistic person, nor are my kids (as you can probably tell by their comments when they quite suddenly didn't get things at ALL for Christmas).

Well... enough of my rambling on! LOL I'm glad to be back! And I'm loving reading everyone's blogs! Each of you put a smile on my face with your posts. Thank you for allowing me into your lives! :)

Here's another new page! I'm telling ya... this shhhtuff is just too cool!!! I just had to share this with ya'll, and I just couldn't wait! LOL

Yes... I'm cheating and changing the date, since I probably will be stuffed like the turkey I am tomorrow, then shoveling my way to my car! Here's a Maxine in honor of "BLACK FRIDAY"! Enjoy your holidays!!

I've decided that what I'm going to do is find all my older kids pics from when they were a baby up until now, scan them into the computer, then page digital scrapbooks for each of them. I'll continue adding pages to CD until they get married, then give them each their CD's as part of a wedding gift. How cool is that!?! I also learned that a lot of people make these pages on the computer, then print them out to make physical scrapbooks, not sure that I'll do this or not. Anyway...here's my second page... and before ya'll freak, yes, it is from '05... but NOT this winter! lol It's from Jan of this year....

I've always thought scrapbooking was the coolest thing, but never had the time, money, or patience for it! LOL Then I stumbled across something last nite that's just the coolest thing!!! Digital Scrapbooking! And ya'll know how much I'm addicted to making graphics! Yes! I'm hooked! LOL They have websights that you can buy page kits from, just like regular scrapbooking, or if you know enough about say PSP (like me), you can just do your own thing!

I decided that I will start working on making digital scrapbooks for each of my kids. As I get pages done, I'll be sure to share 'em with ya'll! :) Since the only newborn picture I already had on the computer, I made my first page out of the lil one's newborn picture. Here it is....

Top 10 things that sound dirty at thanksgiving but aren't:

10. "Reach in and grab the giblets."
9. "Whew...that's one terrific spread!"
8. "I am in the mood for a little dark meat!"
7. "Tying the legs together will keep the inside moist."
6. "Talk about a HUGE breast!"
5. "And he forces his way into the end zone!"
4. "She's 5000 pounds fully inflated and it takes 15 men to hold her down."
3. "It's cool whip time!"
2. "If I don't unbutton my pants, I am going to burst!"

And the number one thing that sounds dirty at thanksgiving but isn't...

1. "It must be broken 'cause when I push on the tip, nothing squirts out.

Ran, ran, ran today! It didn't feel like there was a moment that we weren't running somewhere today, but it was a fantabulous day none the less! Day started out with all of us (Yeppers! Even dh & lil one) climbing our sorry butts outta bed and making it for mass this morning. Yippie! That always makes me feel like I've accomplished something in itself! LOL Then while the older two were in class after mass, the other three of us ran to Wally World to grab a gift, and a couple other things. Went back, picked up the older two, came back to the house, let Rach have her a lil nappy, and we were off again!

Hour drive north to my brother's house for my niece's Birthday. Fun was had by all there in the couple hours we spent there, then the treck back home. Even in the car, we all had fun... singing all sorts of silly songs mixed in with a few Christmas songs, too. Then just before we got home, my son whispers something into the lil one's ear for her to say to me... to which she says clear as a bell, "Momma? I have a cigarette?". UMMMMMMMMMMM...WHAT?! I flip around and look at my son, who's laughing histerically, and ask him, "What are you telling her?!" He just whispers something again in her lil ear, and she again asks the same question, getting more and more upset that I keep telling her no! Come to find out, he keep trying to get her to say "Turn on Christmas Music"! How in the sam hell did she turn that into the other! Ahhhh....from the mouth of a babe! LOL

We arrive back home, get everyone settle in jammies, and three of my kids... (Ok, ok! Two of my kids, and my hubby! LOL) decide to have play a war game of sorts with whatever soft objects they can get their hands on. Throwing these things back on forth at eachother. Yes. One of them was the lil one... go figure! LOL It was too amuzing watching them! :) I call the game on account of bedtimes, well lil ones at least, and the day begins to wind down. That's when Momma gets a couple minutes to herself. While in "my time", I mess around with some of the pics I snapped over the last couple days with my new digi! HE HE And here they are....

This one still has me "puzzled" (every pun intended! lol) as to how I actually got the pic...



Then there's this one that I just couldn't help but share with ya'll... aren't my kids....errrrr, and hubby... just adorable?!?!?! This was in a time out from the "War Game" last nite... they were just so bubbly! he he



And on those wonderful notes... I'm outta here to hopefully get a well deserved good nites rest! Here's to hoping anyways.....

Just a little something to think about on this fantabulous Friday!!! he he Enjoy your weekend! :)

November?? Ummmm yes! That's exactly what we had today! LOL I did find the things that I was looking for yesterday, today. And when my soon to be 13 yo came home from school and realized that somewhere in this house was her "big gift" from this year she thought and thought until she came up with a real good line for someone, anyone (which was hubby, LOL), to buy so that she could have it now. This is how it went...

Her: I know that Mom got a gift for all of us today.

Hubby: Yeah... and....??

Her: Well.. I was just thinking... I know how much you'd LOVE to have that Palm that Mom got for you now, instead of waiting another month for it...

**see the reverse sych she's using? Oh yeah! Got it from her Momma! LOL**

Hubby: Well, yeah, what about it?

Her: Why don't we all just have our "big gifts" today? Or give everyone the same opportunity to choose if they want it today, or to wait! That would be fair, wouldn't it?!

Hubby: (obviously drooling at the thought of holding that Palm in his very own hands)Well yeah... I think that would be a fair thing to do.

Her: COOL!!! **insert proud grin here** Then I'll go tell Mom that you said it was a good idea, and that we're going to do that!

So... we had part of our Christmas in November! LOL I'm not really complaining too awful much, cuz.... **drum roll** I GOT MY DIGI!!!!! Yippie!! I real camera to take pictures with! Watch out kids... Momma's armed with a digi!!!! LOL

And the kids got their DS's (special addition with the Nintendogs). Which I must admit, is pretty damn cool from what I've seen of it. I'm almost a tinge jealous! LOL But not enough to trade in my digi! **big fat grin**

So there ya have it... the excitement of the day, or probably month, until Christmas rolls around! LOL

is so damn frustrating! The years that I don't have a damn penny to my name, I can find every lil thing that I want for my kids. Right there! On the shelves! The year that I finally have the money, after four years of NOT, I can't find a damn thing that I want in stock! Not online, not at any of the stores, NO WHERE!

Now don't get me wrong, I know (and teach my kids) that Christmas is far more important than the gifts you may get! But dammit! For once I'd like to be able to get them some of the things the actually really want. I will find these things! Just mark my words... I WILL!

that seems to be the question! As it's been said already on a couple different blogs, all kinds of different people blog for all kinds of different reasons. Some people turn it into a popularity contest, some people are hoping to be discovered, some people use it as a personal diary, some people even use it as a tool for pictures and stories to keep connected to family and friends.

I started blogging more as a diary kinda thing, then I thought it was more of a tool to stay in touch with family and friends that are away, but now that I actually think about why I come here everyday... I think it's many things rolled up, yanno?

Blogging does relax me, if there is something really eating at me, I will write it down here for the world to see, so it's kinda a diary. I do use my blog as a tool to stay in touch with family and friends that are away. I even use my blog to get a chuckle (and hopefully provide one) here and there, but I think mostly I blog to reflect on the little things in life. Even if I don't actually write a post about those little things, when I open this up, I do think about them. I think about the simple things in life, that to me, make life worth living. The sleepy, gentle hug I get as I get my lil one up from her nap everyday. The "Hi, Mom!" I get when each of my kids walk through the door in the afternoon from school. The gentle kiss and "How was your day?" that I get from my hubby as he gets home everyday. The nudges that I get from each of my dogs just before they lay their head on my lap after they eat, they're little way of saying "Thanks for dinner!". Don't get me wrong, there are the days that I take those things for granted, probably more often than what I'd like to admit.

So I use this blog as a tool to keep myself in check. To take myself out of the hustle and bustle of everyday goings-on and make sure that I do reflect on those "little things", and stay thankful for them.