that's my boy

Here's a picture of my son taken this afternoon.

Yes, that's a tribal armband temporary tattoo on his arm.

Yes, he's wearing a wife-beater.

And yes, he's digging in the trashcan.

p.s. There's another one of those tattoos on his other arm. I can't wait to take him to church in the morning.

catching the bus

This year, Logan gets to ride the bus home from school. Thursday was his first day, and although he was a little bit scared when I dropped him off, he was all smiles when he got home.

I've been really, really resistant to this although I knew it would be something he'd enjoy. Don't ask me why, but I hate for him to ride with others.

Doesn't make a lot of sense; I'm not such a great driver myself, so it's doubtful he's safer just because he's with me.

Anyway, he loved his first bus ride and can't wait to go back Tuesday so he can do it again.

picture day

Today was picture day at Logan's school. I tried to get a photo before we left this morning but the little stinker wouldn't stand for me to get a shot of his full outfit.

I had to take what I could get, which is a picture of him sitting in the minivan.

time's a-wastin'

I have a story to write for my side job at the newspaper.

There's a lesson to prepare for tomorrow morning's Sunday School class.

Everyone around here is hungry; the husband, kid and animals. Our refrigerator looks like a ghost town because I need to go shopping.

There are three calls to return from family members that are probably ready to write me off.

And my house is a wreck.

So how am I spending my evening hours? Most productively, I assure you. See for yourself.

My dearly departed Aunt Marie sported this hairstyle in the 50s. She was quite a dish. But on me? I'd have spent most of my Saturday nights at home with my parents watching Leave it to Beaver.

This looks so much like my Grandma Donaghue that it's a little scary. I doubt she had that wayward lock of hair hanging down the side of her face, though.

I never had a hairdo like this, but if it would've been popular in the 80s, you can bet I'd have been sporting it. It looks like it requires lots of time and hairspray, a combo I embraced back then.

Hmm. This doesn't look like such a far cry from my current mom-do.

Oh boy. I don't know about this one.

And this looks like my senior picture. Do you think the bangs look like a waterfall? That was my intent when I had a hairstyle like this. Mom's still scraping the White Rain off the bathroom walls.

And because I haven't sufficiently wasted enough time, here's dear old Dad. I just happened to have a photo nearby that was begging to be scanned and desecrated.

He had this hairstyle in '98. Only difference was that he embellished it with a perm. Actually, his was a bodywave.

and that's a wrap

Is it just me, or did this summer fly by?

night owl

I've been burning the midnight oil lately, sometimes staying up three or four hours after Todd goes to bed. I do this so that I can surf the Internet, shop on ebay and play computer games take care of important household responsibilities.

Until recently, Todd would take Logan to bed and they'd fall asleep together, allowing me to goof off complete tasks without interruption.

But in the week and a half since we've been back from Texas, Logan refuses to go down without a fight. He wants to stay up with me and get in on the fun.

His insomnia isn't quite as well-developed as mine, though. So at the end of the night, this is what we have.

The photos were taken on two different nights this week, by the way.

"Bejeweled totally wears me out."

This is SO MUCH more comfortable than my bed.

there's a mouse in the house

This hood for Logan's Mickey Mouse costume is giving me fits. It's a little closer to being finished, thank goodness.

I just have to put the lining in, which I'll do once I remember to buy the correct amount of fabric. I've made two trips to the store and have yet to come back with enough.

Good thing I started early.

late summer sky

The moon was just gorgeous Saturday night. Seems like everything gets prettier toward the end of summer.

how's this possible?

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. He's drinking a soda and sucking his thumb at the same time.

hello from a not-so-feathered friend

"Howdy!"

I haven't posted a photo of the flying rat in quite awhile. She's glad we're back from Texas; Logan keeps her fortified with almonds and cashews.

looking ahead to halloween

I'm making Logan's costume this year, and I'm determined to do a better job than I did two years ago when our family dressed up as a pack of hippies. I still feel guilty about putting that big afro on the kid.



He's going as Mickey Mouse this year that is, if I don't screw up the costume...if that happens, I'm getting out the afro again, and here's what we have so far.

The shirt came from Walmart and I made the pants. Now, I have to figure out what to do about the ears and puffy white gloves.

too tired to go to bed

I do this all the time...stay up late when I should be in bed. Tonight's one of those nights.

I'm too tired to get up from the couch, wash my face, then hit the sack. So instead, I'll stay up and play around on the computer and build up my strength with butter cookies.

We're back from Texas, by the way. The trip home wasn't bad at all.

On the drive, I listened to an Oak Ridge Boys tape for at least 10 hours. It looped all the way through the upper part of Texas, lower Missouri and the entire state of Arkansas.

The Boys were in a closet at Mom's where they'd been sequestered since 1984, just waiting to be rescued.

Aren't you glad you weren't with me? You'd still be whistling "Elvira." And you'd finally know all the words to "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight."

Here are a couple of shots from the trip. By the way, Carie, I swear I'll get those Disney World pictures up one of these days.

This is outside of my old elementary school. Logan's eye is swollen, as you can probably tell. A mosquito bit him. At least that's what I'll tell CPS.

Logan and Mom inside the planet's best burger joint.

time to head home

We've had a wonderful two weeks in Texas, but the time has come to head home.

Logan, Aunt Barb and I will hit the road at 8 a.m. tomorrow. We'll drive to Aunt Barb's, spend two nights, then travel the rest of the way Friday. It's about 20 hours, so if you're the praying type, please send one up for us.

heaven on a bun

Here's what it looked like seconds before I slammed it down my gullet. I'm getting another one (or two) today.