Not that I'm superstitious or anything...

But, if you pray, would you say a prayer, please?

If you chant, would you chant for us, please?

If you worship baby poop green four-door cars on the first and last Monday of the month, would ya throw one in for us, please???

However you ask your "Higher Power" for favors, would ya mind throwin' in an extra-special teensy-eensy favor for me 'n The Limey and all of our offspring, please?

Don't want to jinx it, so I promise... I'll spill the beans (hopefully) soon, m'kay??

Oh... and THANKS!

I stand corrected

so THIS is my 100th post.*

And today is my One Year Blogiversary!

*I was just going by the post counter in my dashboard. Waaaay down the list of posts, is a draft that I never published (and probably won't, now). It was counted in my number by Blogger, but actually doesn't count towards number of real posts. Thank you, Xbox4NappyRash, for pointing that out, but dude! countin' my archives??? ;) )

So Productive (and my 100th post)

Things I planned to do over Spring Break:

1) Clean out all of our closets – mine & Steve’s, Mac’s, the Diva & Mic’s, the coat closet, the linen closet

2) Piddle (not the puppy kind) out in the back yard picking up all of the crap the kids dragged out over the winter and getting it ready for the coop and pool.

3) Organize the living room

4) Get the kids’ spring / summer clothes washed and put in dressers / closets and get winter clothes out

5) Catch up on some reading

6) Go visit my sister and parents

7) Get a haircut and ahem… ‘refresh’ my color

8) Catch up on all my shows on the DVR and finally clean-up the damn thing

Things I have done (thus far) over Spring Break:

1) eat myself into oblivion

2) hang out with Steve and stay up way too late every night and sleep waaaay too late every day

3) play on the internet

The kids left Monday morning for vacation with their Dad. Last weekend was our weekend, so we spent the time just hanging out since they were going to be leaving. We won’t see them until next Monday, after school (unless Mic plays his soccer game on Saturday, then we might see them for about an hour). My parents came up on Saturday. Weather was beautiful, so the kids spent a lot of time out side. Sunday, some friends came over for a couple of hours – kids had a blast playing with each other and the adults got in some good chatting time. Steve and I stayed up until about three a.m. Monday morning, only to get about 4-5 hours of sleep before we were up, getting the kids ready for their big send off. They were so excited… up and dressed before we even tried to pry our eyes open. Hustle and bustle for about an hour, their Dad arrived and they were off.

We spent most of Monday being slugs because we were so tired from the night before. We ran a couple of errands, came home and collapsed. The webcam arrived and Steve promptly spent the next eight hours trying to get it to work. I sat here, staying out of his way being ever so supportive (because he tends to get a little grumpy after, oh, about the sixth hour of fiddling) until it finally sprang to life. Well, then, we of course had to play around with it which tortured the poor chicks. I don’t yet have my Cheep to English dictionary, but I’m pretty sure they were saying, “Would you two mind? Please leave us alone and Go. To. Bed. already?!?!?!” (because they are English chicks, you know… and they have that knack for telling you to flick off ever-so-politely)

So, after rising at the crack of noon yesterday, we slugged around again waiting for the first three cups of coffee to wake us up, then finally got out for yet more errands (we are the errand-est running people!). One of which was to stop by the health food store to have a poke around. We were in the egg section, scoping out and reading the cartons because that is our new obsession after all… eggs and chickens – I tell ya, it’s never ending excitement around here! Steve finds one brand of organic eggs marked “Fertile”, grabs ‘em and says, “Let’s put some in the incubator.” Just like that. What??? Doesn’t everyone’s trip to the grocery store end with coming home and incubating dinner (because what were supposed to be six eggs in the incubator and six eggs set aside for feeding us breakfast for dinner, turned out to be all twelve incubating). I’m sure you’ll get updates on those soon, but really, incubating is so last Tuesday!

It was cloudy, cold and rained the entire day yesterday, so what else could we do, but stay inside once we got back home (that really sounds pretty stupid and like I’m stating the bleeding obvious when I read that back… oh, well – work with me, m’kay?) So, being the sloths that we are, and since dinner was now approaching the embryonic stage, we headed out to the all-you-can-eat buffet down the street.

I told you I ate myself into oblivion. Came home, collapsed on the bed because I just couldn’t move. At that point, I should have just pulled the covers up over my head and called it a night. But, no. Once I finally felt semi-human again, we watched American Idol (recorded, because really… why would anybody sit through those commercials when you just don’t have to?). I agree with Simon about last night, by the way… they should have just called it ‘good’ last week and let The Beatles rest while the contestants were still on top. Last night really did seem like a mess.

Off to bed, where we inevitably find ourselves laying there and chatting for hours… before we know it, it’s five o’clock. Another day of accomplishing absolutely nothing and not having the sense that God gave a goat to just go to sleep at a reasonable hour.

So, when the slits in our head that house our eyeballs were trying to focus on the clock that read 11:30 this morning, as we were coming to life, I tell Steve that I just can’t do this. I’m going to have a real hard time when Monday rolls around and I will be expected to arrive at work before noon (how dare they!?!). So, you might think that I’ll be sensible and get to bed earlier the rest of the week, right?

Wrong. Tonight and tomorrow night, Steve will be working. And I do like going to work with him… it is, after all, sitting around, drinking half-priced alcoholic beverages and chatting to friends that I don’t get much of a chance to see often. But, it means that we’ll certainly be up until 2:30, if not later. Which means, sleep ‘till noon again, only to do the whole thing over tomorrow night.

I shouldn’t complain, really… it’s like leading the life of a college kid again, only with stability and a home and (even if it is only a tiny amount) money in the checking account. The best of both worlds.

I’m staring at the bags of clothes I need to go through for Mic and the Diva. So, at least, I’ve moved them inside from storage in the garage. That’s progress, right?????

Also... this is my 100th post!!! Grab a beer and some chips, sit back and celebrate with me, won't ya?

see our chicks LIVE

As I was typing out that title, I realize that it could read with a short "i" (in the word LIVE), as if there was an alternative :p (well... we just won't go there right now, will we???)

It should be read as "See our chicks, LIVE!" (long "i") as in "see what our chicks are doing right now, this very minute, in real time", because we (read: Steve) got a new webcam that is just the coolest! You can pan and tilt and zoom and move it around... yes, you! can do all that from the comfort of your easy chair!

Eventually, we'll set it up in the coop (oh! have I not mentioned the coop?? talk about the coolest!?!?!?!), which will become their brooder in the next week or so, as they have just about outgrown the tub they have called home their entire lives (there's that word again...!!).

Anyway... go here to see what they are up to, because (almost) three-week-old chickens are just so fascinating and I know you have absolutely nothing else to do with your time than watch our chicks, right???

Can't. Stop.

The linky luv is everywhere! My friend, Mrs. Yammering, has tagged me with a "7 Weird Things About Me Meme". What this means, is that I'm supposed to tell you seven weird things about me, then I have to call out five people to pay-it-forward...

I'll confess here... Mrs. Y actually tagged me last June with what was my first-ever blog tag and should have been my first meme, but being the shy person that I am, I just couldn't muster the confidence to go through with it (if you're not laughing by now, go ahead... no, really!). So, if this "seven things" thing hasn't completely sucked the life outta me, I just might hold up my end of my inaugural meme... we'll see.

1) I really am a very shy person. If ever I'm guilty of thinking myself the center of attention, it's only that I'm thinking people are thinking horrible, rotten things about me. My self-confidence is zero, zilch, nada. Logically, I may know that I a good person and am good at some things, but actually feeling it... well, that's next to impossible for me. Growing up, I was often perceived as a snob, which I always thought a bit funny, as it couldn't have been further from the truth!

2) I am completely repulsed by feet. Yep, repulsed. In a really strange, can't look away from a train wreck sort of way, I can't take my eyes off of them sometimes, either. I should say that I think I have pretty decent feet and I do my best to keep them pretty, especially during summer, when people are most likely to see them. At the same time, I expect that others should do the same. I nearly vomit when I see feet with layers upon layers of dead, scales which are usually partnered with thick, yellow nasty, funky toenails that are only half polished. Don't worry, I'm absolutely positive it is in no way a fetish, I'm sure. And I hate to have mine touched. Even if it's touching in a nice way... Steve has tried to rub my feet before and I just can't stand it. Never mind that the slightest graze will send me into a tickled frenzy, even the firm kind of touches that don't tickle at all make my skin crawl. However, throw me some baby feet and I am all about ‘em! I’ll kiss ‘em, munch on ‘em, rub, tickle, whatever… I love me some baby feet! Especially my babies’ feet! Even now, with the oldest being nine, I’ve not become the slightest bit turned off of them, yet. And, in the last year or so, I’ve warmed to Steve’s feet a bit (he has really nice feet)… he’s often begging for foot rubs, and recently, I’ve even initiated, where used to, I’d only touch them if they were under a blanket or something.

3) I only passed my driving test by two points. Yep. Nearly failed the damn thing. This kinda goes back to #1 somewhat... see, I just knew the test administrator was sitting over thinking awful things about me like, "Why in the hell does she think she's worthy of a driver's license?" or "OMG! She's really got some nerve, coming down here, wasting my time, asking for permission to drive! Fail!" So, I was a wee bit nervous, you could say. I was nearly side-swiped pulling out from parallel parking because I forgot to look in my side mirror to see if anyone was coming. I suppose the fact that I passed is what matters.

4) I have this thing about socks (ask Mrs. Y!). Generally speaking, I have three rules about socks… 1-your socks must match, or at very least coordinate with, your shirt. Steve refuses to go along with me here, so, given the chance, I’ll ‘help’ him grab his clothes for the day. He’s happy to grab the next t-shirt off the stack (which is fine), but then he goes on to simply grab whatever pair of socks his hand blindly falls on when he reaches into the drawer. He can often be seen wearing maroon socks with a green sweatshirt. If it ain’t Christmas, that’s just wrong!!! I’ve learned to just not look anymore. 2-always, always, always wear white socks when wearing sneakers. Another ack! when this one is broken!!! Wrong, wrong, wrong! And 3-never, ever, ever wear white socks with black shoes. Again… wrong… just wrong! Rules 2 and 3 trump rule number 1 when conflicts occur.

5) I always have gum on me, usually in my mouth. I go into a kind of panic if I’m out, so I often stock pile packs and packs of it so that I never run out. I put this one in the ‘weird’ category because, as a teacher, I don’t allow it in my classroom. Hypocrite? Maybe. But, I’m a very polite chewer… often, people don’t even know I’m chewing it. Besides, being the teacher has to have some perks, right?

6) I *have* to lay out clothes for my two youngest kids the night before (not so weird, right?) and for myself. I absolutely will not sleep if I haven’t picked out everything, laid it out just right (over the treadmill – ha!), so that I can swoop it up in my still-asleep stupor on my way out of the bedroom headed to the bathroom. Along with this, I must have my shoes out in the living room so that I do not have to find one single thing in my bedroom in the morning. Mostly, this would be so that I don’t risk waking Steve up on those mornings he doesn’t have to get up early (how nice am I???), but even on the mornings he wakes up with me, if I haven’t organized my outfit for the next day, I will not sleep until it’s done.

7) I have a pen and post-it fetish. Seriously! I am completely and utterly obsessed with finding that just right pen (my quest continues) and I love any and all post-its. I can’t exactly tell you what constitutes the just right pen, as the requirements may change from day to day, project to project. Some days, it’s gel… others it may be rollerball. And, depending on the surface on which the paper I’m writing on is placed, it can get totally changed up. You should so see my desk drawer at school. I can’t bring them home, ‘cuz Steve steals them from me. All the while he’s making fun of me and my pen-thang, he’s secretly in awe at my pen-choosing ability… he totally gets it, but will never admit it! As for the post-its, well, YES, please!

Ok… so that’s it. That was harder than I thought it would be! I’m tuckered out and don’t think I can manage the other meme I thought I’d be able to tackle. I promise I’ll get it on my to-do list for another day.

Now, for the five lucky contestants who get to keep it goin’ (If they so chose)…

SteveB (I know he’ll never do these, but doesn’t stop me from tryin’!)

Magneto Bold Too! (although, she just sorted through a bunch of fodder, so she may be plum worn out with memes)

Canape (who just has tons and tons of spare time lately, what with just having what might quite possibly be the cutest baby on the planet)

WhyMommy (‘cuz, yeah, right… she’s got nothin’ else to do :p)

Skschein (my school bud… who doesn’t actually have her own blog, yet, but certainly has a place to put it and is dipping her toes in slowly!!)

Linky LUV

BetteJo at A Bead A Day had sympathy for my, ahem, affliction the other day and bless her heart... to help me in my restless state, tagged me in an attempt to give me something to do to occupy my mind (thanks, heaps, BetteJo!!! I LOVE having new places to go check out / spy on! :) )

It's called "Links Around the World" and the idea is to help people increase the readership of their blogs, while giving yours a lil' jump, as well.

The instructions:

1. Place your link at the end of the list. If you have more than 1 blog, feel free to add them all here!

2. After placing your blog’s address, you must tag 5 or more bloggers that are not yet on the list, this is to keep the ball rolling. (Please remember to let the bloggers know they've been tagged!)

The Strategist Notebook ~ Link Addiction ~ Ardour of the Heart ~ When Life Becomes a Book ~ The Malaysian Life ~ Yogatta.com ~ What goes under the sun ~ Roshidan’s Cyber Station ~ Sasha says ~ Arts of Physics ~ And the legend lives ~ My View, My Life ~ A Simple Life ~ Juliana RW ~ Mom Knows Everything ~ Beth & Cory’s Mom ~ A Mind Forever Voyaging~ enjoying the ride ~ Jennifer’s thoughts ~ Mom of 3 Girls ~ Amanda ~ Don’t Make Me Get The Flying Monkeys ~ ExPat Mom ~ Just Jessie ~ Wilson Six ~Krisitn ~ Nuttier Than You ~ Shonnte ~ Summer’s Nook ~ Laura Williams Musings ~ Sher ~ Shanda ~ Seven QTPies ~ Mel ~ Skittles ~ Lady Banana ~ Momhood Moments ~ Business Mars ~ A Simple life ~ moms….. check nyo ~ Mommy’s Little Corner ~ Pampered ~ HappyHeart ~ Make Every Day Your Lucky Day ~ Thumbelina Creations ~ Ivonnardona's Creations ~ Jewellery Craft ~ A Bead a Day~ Useless Ramblings ~


Now, I tag more people to keep it going:

Doodaddy
Candid Yammering
Steve's Journal

There ya go... Hey, BetteJo!!! This was my first tag that I actually followed through on!!! (I was tagged right after I started blogging, but was too much of a virgin to give it a whirl!) You took my "tag cherry" ;)

Have fun, y'all!

Itchy

Ever feel restless, like there's something that you want to do or say, but you just can't figure out what it is?

Itchy. And not the kind that Benadryl or Calamine Lotion will take care of.

That's me today. I don't know why... everything's ok. Nothing's 'festering' or brewing. No major changes.

Maybe it's just the upcoming (and much needed) Spring Break.

:: sigh ::

:: shrug ::

I'll just sit here and scratch. (ew!?!)

Chick update

It's late. I'm sleepy. And very lazy.

We ended up with ten beautiful little chicks and some very happy kids.

I'll post more of the "birth story" and more recent pics soon, until then, read the exciting conclusion here.