Reed Smith, Action Hero

Does anyone remember the Chuck Norris action show? There are action figures of the characters, and apparently there was a "Reed Smith" character. (this was before my time ;) Reed got his doll, which actually is blond and looks quite similar to him, and he still. has. it.
It cracks me up. I used it as a prop at our 80's party and people thought it was hysterical. My girlfriends love it, and have made this my avatar on a message board. Dorky, I know. But, who wouldn't want a hubby who came complete with karate chop action and their own numchucks? (sp?) He can save my day anytime...

Can you believe this?

Someone stumbled across my old website not too long ago, and apparently had uploaded a pic of a room sign I had done and saved it. They just ordered one for their daughter! It figures, I finally take the site down and get business. Anyway, the sign is this one "Kirby". Very Girly.





Reed wants me to do this one again for sale. I did this for Bon Bebe, but they didn't pay diddly. He refused to let me sell it. He doesn't realise that this is absolutely the easiest thing to do, ever. It requires no thinking. Well, very little. But at least he is looking out for me. The picture doesn't do it justice because the colors are much better in person, and it's pretty big, 11 X 14. Carson likes it, and that's who I had in mind in the first place.

Sick AGAIN?

it's just neverending around here. I thought we were finally back on track, the kids went to school on Monday, but lo and behold, daycare called while I was in class (they must have my cell number on speed dial!), the boys both had fevers. ENOUGH! I went to a new doc, and they were diagnosed with bronchitis and a sinus infection for Trevor. SHEW. But we finally got a diagnosis I like and good meds, and I really think this is the end. *praying the power of positive thought extends to toddlers health*

School is still going really well, despite the fact that I'm getting a bit behind because of all the missed days. We had to do a presentation for Art today, and the teacher seemed to like it. He asked me to join a group of students who are doing a mural this summer. You get some class credit, which I'm not sure I need, but if I need to stay full time that will help me get basic hours without killing my homework schedule for the other classes, so I may do it. I know I would enjoy it. I was pleased because I know my art is generally good for a total amateur, but it was nice to get some feedback from someone who knows what they are talking about. He gave me some constructive criticism as well, which I was badly in need of. I will post my pieces in a bit.
We just watched Lord of War with Nicholas Cage, and it was disturbing. You're meant to sympathise in some places with his character, who is a drug runner. I found that hard to do despite the fact that I really like Nic Cage. I think choosing him for the part was pretty deliberate, as he's generally liked in his movies but has that dark side that helped you believe it. What it did was make me pissed off and feeling impotent...which I guess is pretty powerful for a 2 hour Hollywood creation. Watch it, you'll see. The message at the end is also pretty bleak in that "This is how it is, everyone does it, you can't change it". I'm not so sure, but it would take a lot. And people would lose money, which they are loathe to do. It all comes down to weighing your soul against your wallet, which leaves me glad I'm just a little peon who doesn't have to use those scales.
I'm reading Trinity by Leon Uris right now, on reccomendation from Reed's Uncle Lou, in his blog. It's just mentioned as a great book, and so far it is. It took awhile to get deep into it, and there is a lot of history that would bore some, but Ireland has always fascinated me. It started with Gone with the Wind, was compounded in Scarlett (girly, I know!), and took off from there. Reed and I would really like to visit there as our next "big" trip. I've been all over Europe but never made it past Scotland. Anyway, it's a really great read and the librarian at school almost cried when she told me about reading it, which I assume means it really moved her, rather than something negative.

Fun Time at Harrah's

"We're going to win big money! Uh, how do you play craps again?"

We went to Harrah's Casino last weekend and had a pretty good time. At least we didn't lose too much. It was so smoky, though! It was really disgusting. I'm not really a smoke nazi (okay, I am) but this was ridiculous. As soon as you walked in, your eyes were clouded by the haze of Marlboros. Slot machines are fairly close together, so you inevitably had to sit next to a chain smoker who held their Lucky Strike 4 inches from your face and then blew in your direction at every spin. No fun for the rest of us! They had a tiny No Smoking room, but unfortunately, it was dull city. The games in there weren't as fun, the few games they had were mostly occupied, and we were just tired (and bleary eyed) by the time we found it. Reed ended up snoring so loud because of the smoke accumulation, he kept the rest of us up all night long. Every 10 minutes I'd hear Bret yell "REED!!!!", who would partially awake and stop snoring for about 10 minutes. At one point he yelled "Reed, the room's on fire!!!" which made no sense but I definitely didn't dream because Hayley heard it too. LOL We were all exhausted.
"Uncle Bret" and Hayley
Trevor is finally on the road to recovery. It was a long week. He had the Super Titanic Strength Bubonic Flu, which means we were all miserable. He lost 3 pounds in as many weeks, which is freaky for a baby that size. But I know he'll chunk back up, especially given the way he's been eating the past 2 days.
this was the face I saw every day the past few weeks. Poor thing was miserable! It's kind of a funny face, though.

To keep Marie from being bored...

I figured I had a few minutes and could add something so she has something to do, besides actually work. :)~ If you're bored with the NY Times crossword, or just a masochist, check out this site Sodoku Online. You can do these math puzzles online or print them out. My mother in law loves 'em.

And here is your daily dose of cute...Carson and Trevor and I painted finger paintings the other day, and well, more paint ended up on them than on the paper.

Oh what a weekend!

Thank goodness it's over. Trevor had the beginnings of strep (from kissing girls at day care, I'm sure) and went to the doctor on Friday with a 104 fever. As I was leaving the doctor, daycare called and said Carson had a fever of 103. UGH. I raced over and got him, got them some medicines, and we spent the rest of the day in hibernation. Savannah was with us since last wednesday while her mom was out of state, and was also in a mood. We've never had many problems with her but this weekend was just one after the other. I don't know how non custodial parents do it! You can't change too many ingrained habits because you have them for such a short time before they go home, but you can't allow bad behavior to go on in front of your other children for fear they will learn from them. It's just exasperating. Maybe there are some books out there that have some ideas on how to deal with this--if anyone knows any, let me know!
My boys are going to my dad and Jaime's this weekend so I can take a class, and Reed and I plan to go to Cherokee on Saturday night. I think it will be really fun. We need a bit of a break. Bret and Hayley are going with us, and I think we'll get a room.
School is going really well, despite my stress. I've so far got perfect A's in each one. :) I really have to have perfect grades since I have no nursing work experience. We get points for each thing we do that's related, and the more points you have, the higher you are ranked. So the better my grades are...the higher my rank.
I'm in love with this stuff right now. Naked Juice it sounds really naughty and it is! it's sinfully good. It feels like eating ice cream. Well, okay, yogurt from TCBY, but that's pretty good itself, right? I have it for breakfast now instead of bad carbs like bread. The promo is this: "Naked Juice is a line of delicious, all-natural 100% juices, 100% juice smoothies and protein smoothies made from the best bare-naked fruits. Naked Juice never adds sugar, preservatives, artificial colors or flavors." and the truth is that it's just plain yummy, and keeps me away from McD's in the morning. And I've lost a pound or two by doing so. ;)

New Job for Reed!

This week Reed accepted a position at a new/old dealership, Hunter Chevrolet. I say old because he worked there briefly just before we moved to Florida. They liked him and when the Finance Manager position opened up, they contacted him, and he started right away! His old company was happy he had the opportunity and everyone is happy. He's already very busy at work, and very tired when he comes home because he's still learning the ropes, but he's excited about this opportunity and is happy with his choice to accept it. We are so proud of him!

Because of his new position, he can no longer be available to help watch the kids during my classes, so sadly...the boys are starting day care. I am the only sad one about it though. The boys went today to check things out and did not want to leave! The director is Miss Amanda, who was the director of the Morning Preschool in Charlotte that Carson attended, and he was "her boy", so they have a bond. And she'll be his teacher! Trevor actually cried when we left. I can see that I won't be missed. I'm only a little bittersweet, I know this will be better for everyone, and they will learn alot and get to interact more with other kids. It will take a huge load off Reed and I, also, and I can spend more time on schoolwork instead of rushing through things at night when they are in bed. Wish us luck!