{ Tired, creepy noises and what is going on? }

I am so incredibly tired right now, I don't know how I even got the energy to get my workout done today, but I did it.

Didn't get a chance to come in yesterday for a post, had a busy day organizing and unpacking the last few office boxes, but was also chit chatting back and forth with my sister in law.

By the time I stopped, I had to get dinner in the oven, I just made a simple chicken and potatoes dish, and then cleaned the kitchen, took my shower and took my allergy meds.  I laid down in bed with hubby to watch an episode of our show and within 5 minutes I was fast asleep.  Bummer, I wanted to watch that episode but those little pink allergy pills really pack a whallop at times.

Now where does the tired come in, well, it was one of those nights where Bella was very restless and she got us up quite a few times, and the times we were laying down we weren't able to sleep because she was running around the bedroom whining and wanting company.

To say hubby and I are exhausted this morning, would be a total understatement.  It was definitely one of those mornings where the alarm clock went off and I wanted to smash it Hahaha

But, last night, one of the times she had us up, we found our kids walking around the house quite scared and freaked out.

They both said that around 1:45am they both heard a very loud sound, like the chiming of a grandfather clock that reverberated through the whole house.  My husband and I didn't hear it, and the strange thing is that we don't even own a grandfather clock or a clock of any kind that would make that kind of sound and that loud.

We looked everywhere, and tried to understand where that sound would have come from, but with no luck.  I'm completely confused.

I've talked a little here on the blog, about experiences I've had as a child, where I always felt like I was the target, not my brothers, but me, constantly hounding me and scaring me.  I saw strange things, I felt strange things and I spent most nights wide awake with the lights on, waiting for morning light to come so I could get maybe an hour or two of sleep before having to go to school.

I'm the type of person that if I walk into a house, I can usually tell if something is off.  I haven't felt that in this house at all, and I don't think there's anything here, but there have been a few sounds that we haven't been able to understand and have found quite creepy.

One of the times we were all in the kitchen, me, my husband the two kids.  This was shortly after moving into this house.  We were standing there getting a drink and snacks and talking and the next thing we started hearing what sounded like a musical box or toy going off, but not like the proper sound, more like when the batteries are going.

It played for a few seconds then stopped.  We searched everywhere but couldn't locate where it was coming from, then it did it again.  It happened a few times but we've never heard it again after that day.

The kids bedrooms are on the opposite side of the house to ours, and they have on a few occasions mentioned some sounds that they heard.

I really don't know what is going on, like I said, I haven't felt anything and I don't think there's anything here, but I have a very strong faith and have already asked the Lord to protect us and told whatever it is, or whoever it is, if there's anything here, to leave.

It's one thing to freak me out, but when my children are involved, mama bear is going to come out fighting.

I mean, this is an old house, it was built in 1969, and there are a few thumps here and there, but the chiming the kids heard, they say was loud enough that it drowned out the sound on their laptops.  Not cool, not cool at all!!!

So yeah, a little weird.

Anyway, with all this nightly excitement, I'm exhausted but I haven't let that hold me back, I did my Day 3 workout for today.  I have to tell you that my legs are killing me so bad, but I'm loving it, I think I'm one of the few people who love exercising.

Got the dishes all done, the kitchen clean, laundry going and now I'm going to sit down for a bit before lunch, and watch a show and work on joining my 4th row of my crochet blanket.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday :)

There should be a law against waking up early

on the weekends. Is there one that I can use against the kids???

I'm telling you, it's hard enough being up early during the week when there's school and work and errands etc, but where does it state that on saturday and sunday mornings, that schedule is to be maintained STARTING with waking up at 6:30am. Do these kids NOT know that they're supposed to sleep in???

Anyway, come on in and have some coffee with me, there's PLENTY to go around.

The time is flying by so we're running around trying to get everything ready for the move....school is finally over so we're done with that, but this week we have to go back on thursday to pick up the report cards, then friday morning we're flying to Oklahoma for my Mother in Law's wedding, we won't be back until Monday night.

The movers are coming the 26th of June, so it's really time to crank it up. I just wish that when you got orders, they let you go ahead and pack up and leave....this thing of "here's your orders, now you're leaving in 6 months" is just so frustrating...I don't like waiting, I'm impatient and just want to get to my new base and settle in.

Yesterday we had a yard sale and pretty much sold everything, by the end I was giving away things for free, that's how desperately I wanted to get rid of things, whatever wasn't picked up went to the Airman's Attic.

The kids had been asking for McDonald's for the past week, so we took them there to eat and actually went inside, not the drive-thru. We usually don't do that because honestly, it's so much of a pain in the behind with the kids fighting and yelling and screeching, it's downright embarassing to me so I just get the drive-thru and let them duke it out in the car LOL

By the time we got back home, I was tired and just wanted to sit down and watch a movie, the kids were happy playing with Curt so I got to lay down on my bed and just watch tv. I watched "Because I said So" which I really really enjoyed.

A meddling mother (Diane Keaton) tries to set her daughter up with the right man so her kid won't follow in her footsteps.

Then I got to watch "Shakespeare in Love"...amazing, truly enjoyed it. Not only is it pretty much the story of how Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, which is a classic, but Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes were brilliant.

A young and broke Shakespeare falls in love with a woman, inspiring him to write "Romeo and Juliet."

So what am I doing today you may ask? Well, Curt has weekend duty so he's at work right now and it's just me and kiddos....they're both playing games on the computer and I think I'm going to watch some more movies in between doing laundry and cleaning the house....here's what I have in my TBW (to be watched) pile.

Marie Antoinette

Oscar® winner Sofia Coppola brings to the screen a fresh interpretation of the life of France's legendary teenage queen MARIE ANTOINETTE.

The Queen

Full of wit, humor, and pathos, Stephen Frears’ moving portrait of the British royals during the period after Princess Diana's death features not one but two remarkable performances, that of Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II and Michael Sheen as the newly-ordained Prime Minister Tony Blair. They embody their characters and lay bare the motivations behind these prominent people, giving viewers a glimpse into the inner workings of the British monarchy.

I'm also starting a new book by Jennifer Crusie called "Manhunting" which I'm really looking forward to, Ms Crusie is hilarious. The first book I read by her was "Bet Me" and it quickly became an all time favorite of mine, it's just one of those you can't put down :)

Now I need to get going but I wanted to leave you with some links to what is being discussed in blogland today, I have to tell you, I'm extremely lucky in the sense that my favorite blogs are by some amazing women, and I wanted you all to get to know them too.

Sarah is talking about True Beauty, it's an awesome post so go on over and read it.

Barb has her Sunday Meanderings up and I just LOVE LOVE them, I try not to miss them every week.

Annie is sharing her weekend reflections and posting loads of photos, some look SO yummy.

Andrea is sharing photos from the Memorial Day Parade her family attended, go take a look.

Jill is one of my new favorite bloggers, she's talking about Meat today, LOL, yeah you heard me, Meat....she just cracks me up.

And that's it, I've truly gotta get a move on, the laundry pile won't wash itself, no matter how much I ask it to.

Have a blessed Memorial Day Weekend!

I'm Cranky today.....

Boy I tell you, just when you think you've got this being a mom thing down, you're hit with a night of running between two rooms and stepping on dog poop. Yeah, if nothing else, THAT will wake you up!

Since hubby left, Lola has been acting up, she's used to hubby and being his girl, so I guess it's her way of missing him, but every once in a while she'll leave me a little present. Usually I get annoyed but it's during the day and I can see it and SMELL it a mile away.....at night is another thing, I'm not fully awake and I am not one to turn on all the lights in the house just to go to the bathroom or to one of the kids.

So anyway, Jasmine spent the night crying about having bad dreams.....Nicholas spent the night tossing and turning and whining because his nose was congested. Then I have Pugs....I love them to death but they have this thing (must have been in their Pug Memo), that every time someone lays on the bed, it means they are to come and lay ON TOP of you. Not next to you or at the feet....ON.TOP.OF.YOU...preferably as close to your head as possible. What the heck is up with that??? Last thing I need at 4 am is a Pug Butt on my face.

Well between running the two rooms, I stepped on it. The "dreaded poop" and at first I went into denial, but really what else could it have been??? So I hopped into the bathroom (what a wonderful visual) turned on the light which blinds me because I'm now in night vision mode, and there it is. Yep, in all it's smelly glory!! I had to wash my feet at 4am, I'm all for being clean all the time but this is ridiculous.

Anyway, I finally managed to fall asleep around 5 am, but the alarm goes off at 5:45 though I did switch it to 6:30 am which is pushing it already.......did I get to sleep until then??? Nope, because a few minutes after, the dogs needed to go out and Jasmine was up. HOW?!?!?!? That's all I ask, HOW do they do that?!?!?! How can they be up all night and then be ready to get up so early?!?!?! If I could just have a tenth of their daily energy I could get so much more done.

Needless to say, I have a HUGE cup of coffee in my hand and I'm savoring every sip, it's helping clear the cobwebs up there. OH and I did remember to set my car to defrost so I can actually see where I'm driving this morning LOL
Thank you Morning Glory for the tip too, I lived most of my life in South Africa and winters for us are like the spring here, it's not cold at all, in fact the first winter I spent here I thought I was going to die LOL

There's not much going on here in my corner of the world. I do have some new faces popping in, so I'm going to talk about them of course, that way you can all meet them and go say hi.

Doing My Best to Save a Buck - A SAHM, homeschooling mom who has recently started living frugally....go on over and say hi and see the ways in which they're saving money :)

In Season - Well it's always wonderful when I get to meet another book lover, this is her second blog, but you can also find her book blog here. Can't wait to read about her books :)

Sweetnicks - OK calling all FOOD LOVERS....if you love food and recipes and great food pictures, you have GOT to run over to Sweetnicks...what a great blog :)

So go on, don't mind me, just go say hi but be sure to come right back OK??? I really don't like being alone here, I get bored easily.

Last night I was thinking about blogging and my favorite blogs, what draws me to them and what it is about a certain blog that makes me go "Oh I really like it", compared to some that I will just take a glance and decide it's just not for me.

Have you ever gone back and read people's first blog entries??? The very first ones they right all seem to have come from a "Blogging Memo", they start pretty much the same way "OK so after months of lurking I decided to take a crack at this, ummm I don't know if this will work, but here we go".....within a few weeks you start seeing a change, the way they write, they way they interact with other blogs, and you watch this growth.

Really for me it's almost as if I'm watching a Caterpillar develop into a beautiful butterfly, not that we weren't beautiful before, you know what I mean, don't get snippy at me LOL

But I really enjoy some blogs, and you will usually find them on my sidebar, though some are in my Bloglines, but nonetheless, still my favorites. I like reading an entry and thinking "Wow, what an inspiration, wish I was like her" or "she's going through so much, wish I was there to give her a hug" or "OMG, she is hilarious". And I have to say that some of my favorites are those that just talk about the day to day, I do occasionally enjoy deep and profound posts, but I tend to loose concentration when I'm reading those.

I often read someone's blog where they say "Oh I don't know how to write, I wish I could be as funny or intelligent as some of the known bloggers". That annoys me, really, and if you're one of them, I'm telling you...ANNOYING!!! LOL
Know why???? Because blogging is not supposed to be a contest for the most popular of funnier, blogging is about YOU and that is what I love about my favorite blogs....down to earth, wonderful ladies and gent, who talk about themselves and their families, their days, their struggles and their thoughts and their successes and disappointments. I don't care if you have 50 or more comments or just in the teens like me....it's not what matters, really.

What matters is that you're writing for yourself, and if along the way it touches someones life or they can relate to you and find some comfort in knowing that others go through the same daily struggles, then great :)

So anyway, write as you would be talking to me, or anyone actually, I don't meant just ME, per say. Don't try to write as a WRITER, just write as you would have a conversation with a friend...believe it helps a lot!!!

And that's it for me this morning, I need an other cup of coffee or I may just end up falling asleep on the couch.

Have a great day everyone!!!

Boy I can't wait until hubby is home so I can start using my stove again, I miss it dearly. Tonight we're having Ham and Cheese Quesadillas, nothing fancy but the kids seem to be enjoying these kid friendly meals :)

Rachael Ray - *New*- The CW- 12pm

General Hospital - *New* -ABC- 1:00 pm

The Biggest Looser - *New* - NBC - 8pm

Ghost Hunters - *New* - Scifi - 9pm

Airman's Attic to donate clothes
Cleaning Living Room
Hopefully getting a little nap