My title for this would actually be easier to deal with than real life right now. Yes, running away from life again today...

The family (us, Honey's parents, a cousin who is visiting) made arrangements to go out for the day yesterday. It was a really tough day. Actually, it was just one of THOSE days where all good intentions backfired, where anything you touched had the opposite reaction of what you were trying to do and tempers seethed, only under the surface.... I'm trying really hard to let go of the negativity of yesterday, but it keeps trying to SUCK ME BACK IN!!!

Honey and I have noticed a pattern of Monkey's where once she comes away from her grandmother's influence, she's REALLY unruly. I mean, last night she HIT Honey over a glass of water!!!! This morning she screamed and then hit him because one of her sisters was sitting in the chair she wanted and he asked her to choose another one (our chairs were needed last night as a family we all ate together and those chairs hadn't come back....).

You know, sometimes it feels as if parenthood is much more of a trial than a joy....

So now, he left it to me to decide if the girls are going to go with their grandmother when she takes our cousin home. The other factor in this equation is the fact that we got a call this weekend asking how much we were selling our old trailer for. Yesterday when I popped in there, it was so gross that I had planned to go over there today while the girls were with their grandmother. Parrot is so allergic to mold and dust and such that I just don't think it is a good environment for her there anymore. She is also mildly allergic to cats and there are still two over there. Don't even get me started on that situation. Honey promised me and promised me that they would be gone when we first moved over here.... It's been all summer and he still hasn't kept his promise. It is true that in the beginning of the summer the no-kill shelter wasn't accepting cats at that time. We hated to see them go elsewhere. But now, they have to go somewhere for the winter... Plus, they have discovered that it's a lot of fun to bring birds through the cat door.... THAT certainly doesn't add sell appeal...

Mostly, I'm trying to figure out what the best thing is for Monkey. Is it REALLY going to hurt for the girls to go out with her today??? At this point, is it really going to make a difference or am I being selfish for time alone (even if it is to go over to clean that rotten old trailer...)??? I mean, it's not as if Monkey doesn't see her all the time... there's only the sunroom that connects the two houses..... (oh, I can't wait to start building on our own property.. can't WAIT!!!!) To see Monkey act that way makes me feel like the worst parent in the world because surely she wouldn't act that way if I was giving her the support that she needs??? What happens when it just isn't enough??? These last two weeks she really has been quite a mystery to me. I've been trying to figure out what's going on. I've been trying to see the world through her eyes and how she interact with it to gain clues, but just when I think I see a shimmer of light, she changes directions again and I'm lost.

arrrgghhhhh.... Not even writing about it today is helping. RATS... so much for hoped for clarity.... Anxious energy is catching up to me so I'm going to go scrub down the shower or strip the beds or start scrubbing walls before I start falling into that really dark place of negative thinking that's tickling my brain already....

Can we just skip over this Monday?????
~MacKenzie

CLASSIC MONSTER MASH:



Okay.... the above is for Pumpkin. We were watching a little bit of TV this morning and a picture of the old black and white Frankenstein came on, and she didn't know who he was!!!! So, I brought her onto the internet so that we could do a little research together. Eventually, youtube found us and she didn't know this song! Wow... I though she knew this very IMPORTANT STUFF!!! So... I'm putting this on here for her because knowing her as I do, she's going to want to see it again and this is the easiest way for me to find it!!!! So tell me, now many do you recognize???



Introducing, my REAL song for Saturday night!
Now, I have to admit, I'm really not into the heavy metal sound, but there are DEFINITELY exceptions to every rule. All three girls and I sat here and really enjoyed this video...







Cheers! ~MacKenzie

You Are a Werewolf

You're unpredictable, moody, and downright freaky. You seem sweet and harmless, until you snap. Then you're a total monster. Very few people can predict if you're going to be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde. But for you, all your transformations seem perfectly natural. Your greatest power: Your ability to tap into nature Your greatest weakness: Lack of self control You play well with: Vampires

tee hee.... I like it!!!! I mean, sort of...I mean, so THAT'S why I find myself naked in the woods once a month, I mean... no, ... I mean... hey! Wait a minute... A TOTAL Monster??? Surely I can't be THAT bad... okay, maybe I can...











Monster, monster, come out to play....
Put aside your boundaries for another day...
(which will be soon after you take this quiz because, you know... real life and all.... )

~MacKenzie

I had so much to write about yesterday, but I purposely for the most part ignored my blog because I really needed to attend to home things. As it is, my house is fairly decently clean once again, with the exception of the corner of the living room that I am sitting in. This is sort of the catch-all spot of the house and Honey and I attempt to try and use it as writing space, computer space, craft space, office space, and storage space for all of those activities above.... Yes, it gets very messy very quickly. So, we're trying to sort through what can go downstairs in the basement in totes and what we really want to keep up here. Unfortunately, we need a few more totes to complete the project, but couldn't afford to get them....

Yay!!!! It's payday for us!!! Made it through with $42 in the account to spare!!!! Of course, we WOULD HAVE had close to $115 if we didn't go shopping twice..... We kept the washer and dryer that was here when we moved in last spring. I thought I would really like a front load washer, and in some ways, I do.... but I quickly discovered that some of the less expensive liquid laundry detergent (where I used powered before) just didn't do very well and even left stains. We worked our way up the laundry detergent chain and finally discovered that Cheer meets all requirements. Unfortunately, around here it costs $10 for only 64 loads. (YUCK) The twinadoes really need pj's but I couldn't buy them something without Pumpkin. And then I found cotton tights which were the first I had found for the season, so I stocked up on them as best I could. Trash bags, dish soap, shampoo, all those little things plus impulse buys later, and we're down to $42. Could have been better, but I remember a time when it would have been MUCH worse... At one time, it would have been pleasure first and bills, well, whenever we got around to it... Progress is Good!!! The middle two weeks in the month are the toughest ones for us as we have 2 vehicle payments and now with the colder weather, we've started our heating plan. With our less hectic weeks, we are working towards building up that savings account!!!! Of course, by Christmas it will be depleated again, but we won't be starting the new year with credit card debt....

I also have to figure out what I'm going to do for Honey's birthday this year which is coming up in November. I did find two nice shirts for him for work as he really needs them and since the girls helped pick them out, they'll probably give them to him. I will say I did put those on my credit card. Honey has a tendency to leave a paper trail when he shops for my birthday, as I took over the bills and see the stores, I can get a good idea of what I'm getting. Sometimes, I've even found the receipts that he's left in his jeans pocket... tee hee!!! I'm much more careful. Everything is safely hidden away and I have my own private card which is what I put his shirts on (no balance and I haven't used it in close to a year or so. Actually, I think the last time I used it was.. for his birthday!!!) Now I may be taking a chance by talking about his birthday, but he never reads my blog. I've told him he could if he wants to. In fact, sometimes I WISH HE WOULD!!! But he doesn't... So I feel I can say with confidence that I may attempt to make him a scarf, although I'll have to hide it from him. And of course, I have to find JUST the right yarn....

Oh my, how did THAT get on there... that's a project I'm hoping to tackle for myself someday.... tee hee ... anywhoooo....

Well, the breakfast dishes aren't getting done by themselves. (I was hoping they'd just hop right on in there and get themselves clean, but it hasn't happened yet!!!) And then I think I'm making a hamburger stew for supper tonight so I'd rather get the prep work done now so it will be easier to put together during the more hectic afternoon hours....


Cheers! ~MacKenzie