We had dinner with my Aunt, Uncle, Gram, Zaide, and the eight of us. My Aunt & Uncle got the kids gifts. Mal got visibly upset because he got a smaller bag than the other two. He is quiet enough and was talking into my neck enough that we passed it off as him being tired. Poor guy. He got over it quick enough (he got a very cool card game, as did Eshiva, but hers was packaged in a bigger box, and Dor got a ball that was not inflated, but it was packaged bigger too) but we felt bad for him. I remember how I felt getting a gift that I thought sucked when everyone else got cool stuff.

We bought boxes today. I am packing up our breakfront full of crap so I can get rid of the breakfront and sub out something much smaller. All the “crap” in there were my folks wedding fits, my moms owl collection, our “Jew” stuff and some misc. tchotchkes. Dad is asking why I am keeping it. I can’t bear to tell him it’s because I’m a girl and I am emotionally attached to anything that I feel still reminds me of mom. It’s getting better, I’m not saving *everything* some of it really is crap.

I told Michael to box up the tattoo stuff and take what he can to work – I haven’t drawn in over six months, and I haven’t set up the machines in almost as long. I went as far as looking through the stencils today and I just wasn’t feeling it.

My uncle is trying to find a cheap way to send me his studio lights, and we’re going to build a backdrop stand from PVC sometime soon after they arrive. I’m pretty excited about that. I also hinted that I’d be happy to take any other old equipment he isn’t using off his hands and give it a good home (he said he’d like to see his lights get some use in a good home) so maybe I’ll get some other surprise goodies too

I think I might branch out into printing some general greeting cards and stuff. Nothing in big batches, little micro batches I can list at my leisure to sell.

Cliff Bar brand put out organic twisted fruit leather things – I picked up a box on impulse today. They worked out to about fifty cents a package and the kids love them. One full fruit serving in there! Score!

I am back on my “mostly raw” raw diet. I put on a pair of size 10s this morning. I got them on, and had disgusting muffin top BUT I got them on and buttoned. I could not do that even last week. I took them off and put on a comfy pair of size 16s that fall off unless I belt them down. A few more weeks, I think, and I can dig out at least six pair of pants that I haven’t been able to wear for longer than I care to admit.

I’ve been food shopping at the WalMart food store. This should go in confess I guess, but I spent 200$ where I’d normally have spent over 300$ so I don’t care that bad. It’s not like they are putting Publix out of business or anything.

I <3 my dreads. I feel bad putting wax and crap in them, but I need them to look good and not like I am wearing a rabid mop on my head. All in all, it’s working and I am pleased with them and have not threatened to brush them out or cut them off. Yay!

I think that’s it. I am feeling restless and I want to be doing all these things and I just can’t pick one to focus on, so I am kind of doing like, 5 – 10 minutes of a lot of things. It sucks.

The 21st is the first night. We’ll be at shul for a bit for their festival, and my Gram & Aunt are coming over for dinner that night. The next night my Gram & Zaide are coming over. Busy week ahead! I need to make sure we have candles, and the menorah is clean, not to mention the house. We need to make latkes. Fresh or from a mix? I don’t know yet.

The kids are out of school the 2oth – 4th. We’ll go up to LCS I think, and the park, and some other stuff. Michael has some bowling coupons, so that’ll be fun.

I had this huge, actual post planned out, but it left. Maybe it iwll come back later.

Sorry if you can’t vote quite yet – I just grabbed my entire address book. I also apologize if you get this multiple times!

It is so important this year. I don’t care who you vote for (that’s a lie, I do care, but let’s pretend I don’t) either way it’s history in the making and don’t you want to be a part of that?

We’ve voted already (early voting) but if you were not able to take advantage of early voting or absentee voting, please make sure you take the time to go vote today.

Many places are offering voting incentives! StarBucks is offering a free cappuccino if you bring in your “I voted” sticker, my kids school is offering the class with the most “I voted” stickers a party of some sort, and I’ve heard many other businesses are offering goodies as well.

So quit reading your email (well, your blog list), go vote!

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We want to have this created and ready for download and distro at the beginning of November for those who like to do their holiday shopping early! As long as the ads are in it will go out on time!

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Malachai wanted SpongeBob Operation.

Eshiva doesn’t care (though she wants everything lol)

I did my holiday shopping for my kids today. Dorian is getting a digital camera. My dad got it from work for his 10 years anniversary. He opened it, took two photos, and put it back in the box. He has offered it to me to repackage and wrap and re-gift. Good stuff! It’s a nice camera, and will be the first one D has that isn’t a hand-me-down because I’ve replaced an old one. I plan to get him a nice case for it, and maybe some photo paper for the printer. I’ve got some spare SD cards laying around, so we can hook him up with one of those as well. My dad picked up a cheap (20$) telescope for him as well, and I bought him an origami kit for about 8$ (on sale too!), so other than a few small (5$ or less) items we’re all done.

Malachai did indeed get SpongeBob Operation – we picked it up at Target a few weeks ago for ten bucks! Yay for clearance items!  We also got him a Radio Flyer Big Wheel (his “big” gift) to replace his bike. He wont get on the bik, even with both training wheels on, so we are thinking low and stable is the way to go. This one is adjustable and he should be able to use it for a good while (a few years at the least). Again, a fer 5$ or less goodies and he’ll be done too.

Eshiva got dollhouse furniture. I need to find dolls to go with it, but I have some people she can use until I find better ones.

In addition to that haul, I got a 60 piece wooden block set, a box of dinner games/questions (instead of us eating and running), and a Channukah book I had wanted to get last year but couldn’t find. I picked up one or two other books but I need to keep them a surprise.

We’re going Black Friday shopping for my Dad, Michael and Sara. Dad is funding their stuff, but in exchange of getting up at the asscrack of dawn to get it, we get to put our names on it lol  Oh, I’ll get them some stuff too, but that sutff is their “big” stuff. I need to find something for Dad…

Channukah is Dec 4 this year, so I am about out of time.

My birthday just passed. I got breakfast in bed, lunch and Makinos and dinner at The Melting Pot. Michael was trying to surprise me with La Vie en Rose, but they are closed on Mondays (which, I suspect, is why after years of wanting to go there, we still haven’t). My entire day was lovely. I bought myself those new earrings, which arrived last week, and I got some goodies from Sephora which will arrive tomorrow.

Today the schools were all put on lock down due to a police shooting. I’m not exactly sure what that has to do with the schools being on lock down, however, it’s been lifted.  I have to pick Malachai up at 2:30, rush to pick up Michael from work, and head down to Dorian’s school for his parent-teacher conferance about his work. Nothing bad (I hope!), just that time of year.

Malachai has decided it’s time to stop doing his work, which is aggravating. When I ask him why, he tells me he is bored. He is way too young to heap more work on to combat the boredom, so I’m not exactly sure what to do just yet.

I bought a lot of 45 books for Dorian to read. We have a metric ton of books, but most jump from baby to just past early reading. So I bought this huge lot of early reading books. Not bad, even after shipping they were less than a buck a book (compared to 5$ – 25$ a book).

Hm, that’s all I have right now.

KAOS clear silicone eyelets in 3/4 inch

Silicone Earskin in Olive 3/4 inch

Horn eyelets 3/4 inch

And if any of my friends want to surprise me, here’s my jewelry wishlist from BodyArtForms.com

I’m not begging for birthday presents, but some people have asked. There is a good range of price on there, from cheap to stupidly expensive.

Michael bought himself some new shelving for his movies (our local Hollywood Video’s are going out of business so we bought some of their movie shelving) and is putting it together now. We’ll move the bookcases upstairs for *gasp* books! Yay!

Went food shopping today, got lots of goodies. Also got two new pillows, some more John Freida for my hair, and some misc. other stuff. I still have a ton of stuff to do tomorrow. My day got eaten up food shopping. Seriously. Thank goodness I have stew and chicken soup on the stove, because I don’t have to make dinner.

Got my food delivery last night and some stuff was missing. It was a total fluke, and Jack (one of the companies owners) brought it out at 10:30 last night. I’ve been missing an item here or there before, no big deal, they make it up in the next order, but half my order was missing. I was shocked he brought it out so late, but it is appreciated. I have oodles of goodies, I am really excited about it all *laughs* Yah, I am excited about food. I’m gonna make some pear sauce today, and I have some beets to do something with. More stuff, more stuff, it’ll be good.

I drew yesterday… ok, I traced. It’s gonna sound stupid, but I never learned how to trace. I need someone to sit down with me and tell me why it’s wrong. Someone is downstairs, and I’m sure we’ll have this conversation today.

Been listening to Stranger From A Strange Land on my iPod. I forgot how much I like that book. Michael suggested I get GROK on the otherside of my wrist (I want to find the Latin for Familiarity Breeds Contempt for my other wrist – I already have Tempus Edax Rerum on the right one) and I said I am not that much of a geek. He said you are that much of a Heinlein geek. I said true. So it’s on my mind too. I had been planning on getting Tempus Fugit on the other wrist, before I changed my mind. The phrase I want now will probably go all the way around. I think GROK would be cute on the inside. Cute little inside joke type of piece.

He also had a cute idea for my hands. I wanted some light (like grey wash) swirlies on my hands and fingers. He suggested getting a chai on the backs, with tendrils coming out and down, and having HOLD FAST across my fingers (it’s a Jew thing). Cute idea! Maybe the chai’s in script, not block. It’s something to think about. Not like I am getting that work done anytime soon anyway, but I really like the idea of it.

Seriously though, I am the parent of a 2.5 year old, and 5 year and a 6 year old (who is going to turn 7 in just a month now!). Can I rip my hair out now?

What happened to my babies?

I woke up this morning after having spent the night in more or less the same position, as I had one to my left and one at my feet all night long. I stretched. I turned this way and that. I dropped a kiss on his head, gently so he didn’t wake up.

I smiled.

I complain about having everyone in my bed. We just purchased four 2x4s to put under our bed for support, because the three skimpy supports were busted or breaking. We just regularly have too much weight on the bed, and that’s just DH & I. Add in the 70 – 110 extra pounds a night in kid and hell yah it’s too heavy for my three measly supports that came with the bed.

Let me tell you, waking up and having the people I love the most in this world around me is great. I suspect I am going to miss it when they are too old to come cuddle with me. I should stop complaining about it.

Malachai is by far my most difficult child. I don’t know if it is a product of being the middle, or just who he is. I was difficult (that’s an understatement!) and I am the oldest, so who knows. I wish he was easier, but then, I suppose, he wouldn’t be my Malachai.

So five years. My first (and only) water birth. My first time breastfeeding successfully. My first completely cloth diapered child. So many firsts, with that second child of mine.

We’re going to have some breakfast today, and head over to the party store so he can pick out some goodies. We’ll have cake and whatnot tonight, and again on Sunday (I’m inviting some family over on Sunday). We got him a Spongebob game for the Wii (it’s a GameCube game) which is what he wanted. We’re going to wait till Sunday when he gets his birthday money to get him anything else. I am on a buying strike for the kids, spoiled little things.