Happy Thanksgiving!

What a beautiful Tuesday morning! I've been feeling sluggish lately . . a little sick but hey, its a brand new day today! :) I hope everyone is doing lovely.

This week I've started a Flu Prevention Guide to get some information out there on how you and your family can increase your chances of not catching the flu this year. Plus there are some facts about the influenza virus and the United States. The first two articles are up with more to follow throughout the week.

I've also started a new column, for those not yet aware: Paranormal Entertainment. Hopefully you'll check that one out to if the topic interests you. It's a National edition so I'm not limited to El Paso coverage. This week is all about The Twilight Saga: New Moon with other bits thrown in.

Stretching my legs and Flexing my fingers

Wow its been almost two months since I last wrote here. Not that I haven't been busy writing . . . just busy with other stuff as well. You know how it is. The babies and I are getting over what seems to have been the flu. A fairly mild one compared to the last time we got sick, so I'm grateful.

I'm literally stretching in between paragraphs as I write this. It's National Novel Writing Month and I'm already behind. (Hey, I was out sick.) So I have some make up work to do. But never fear, I'm ready for the challenge. How about it, do you NaNo? LOL and is that a proper way to phrase that question?

Well, the babes are down for a nap now, so here's my chance to get started. In the meantime, if you have looked yet . . . I have a new column at Examiner.com. I'm still the El Paso Motherhood Examiner, but I've also gone National with the new one: Paranormal Entertainment Examiner. It's right up my alley.

So here's the contact info up-to-date:
L. Clark aka ELLE SEA
Paranormal Entertainment Examiner
El Paso Motherhood Examiner
Twitter: EPMotherhood and Occult101
NaNo Page: www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/258737
Wanna be friends? Share your blog with me . . .

An I Love My Babies Moment: I kissed my little man on the forehead this morning. We've been sick recently and are just now starting to feel better and get back into the groove of things. Well, he wiped it off! LOL typical guy! So I snatched Sunshine up and smooshed my lips to his forehead again and told him "There, now that's never ever gonna wipe off again!" He laughed and rubbed and rubbed his forehead and took off to the bathroom. (Probably trying to figure out how to get it off.) I went back to work on the computer when he showed up again and half jerked me off the chair and smashed his mouth to my cheek, just laughing and slobbering and laughing because he was slobbering. Finally he turned me loose and said "Now that one's gonna be there forever!" I'm dying, looking around for something to wipe my cheek off with. (Okay, I get it lil man, I get it.) Halfway down the hall, he turns back shaking his finger at me. "Next time, I'm gonna put it aaaallllll- everywhere -your face." LOL, just like that.
What I'm listening to now: Everything is Everything by Lauryn Hill
What I'm reading: Little EarthQuakes by Jennifer Weiner

9-9-9

Tomorrow is September 9, 2009 or 09/09/09. This will be the last time we have repeating single-digits on the calendar until 2101. Hey it's only 92 years . . . we can make it. :) Well, maybe our kids and/or grandkids, eh?

Check out this interesting article I found at Yahoo!: Why 09/09/09 is So Special

Well, that's about it for today. . .I'm off to pick up my new glasses.

What I'm listening to now: Love In This Club PT. II by Usher, featuring Beyonce and Lil Wayne
An I Love My Babies Moment: I was walking my kids home from school today when my son noticed I had a new cell phone strapped to my wrist. He asked me where my old one was and I told him I left it at home because it was broken. He thought about this for a moment before he tells me he'll fix it. He was going to get some tape and fix my phone for me so I can use it today . . . "Okay, mom?" he says. I smile. I wish it was so easy. It'd be nice to know you could count on good ol' Scotch tape to fix anything. Kitchen drawer, stems on the house plants, broken hearts . . .the possibilities would be endless. LOL. The simplicity of children is so refreshing.

Catching up

Wow! Can't believe it's been so long since I've had some real computer time. The babies started school last week and since then its been a rush of activity. I added some new articles to the column including:

Top 10 T.V. shows for kids aged 3-7
Dinosaur Train: new PBS shows starts this fall

Coming up next is a second article on Time Management and what to do with your kids' school work that comes home.

We celebrated my lil man's birthday last week with a trip to the Incredible Pizza Company - which by the way, was great! They had fun on the go karts the most . . . LOL And of course, the buffet was Hubby's favorite. Sunshine got some new additions for his growing Thomas collection, a new Sonic game - which was promptly lost. :( That's really too bad, but he forgot all about it when we went to see Up in 3D. It was funny when we saw the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs preview and the meatball swung out from the screen (LOL, Don't you love 3D?) and Sunshine goes, "Wow! Momma, that thing flew out and hit me in the forehead!" We (the other adults and I) had a good laugh off that one. He actually grabbed his forehead too.

Meanwhile, we're gearing up for the second birthday - Rain is turning 6! I know she's excited. We're getting them bikes this year, plus we're thinking some Curious George gear since he's her favorite everything. Maybe dinner at Chucky Cheese, or the Incredible Pizza Company. Man, I haven't been to Chucky's since I was a kid. I can't wait to see my baby's face when we bring the cake out. She's been itching to blow some candles out!

Their birthday's are only two weeks apart so we celebrate them together. This is the first year where we did separate activities and cakes, but we get them both presents.

What I'm listening to: Too Close by Next
An I Love My Babies moment: This one happened a couple of months ago. We had recently purchased the live movie, Peter Pan. My daughter, Rain, and I were the only ones up watching it. (It was summer time, but still a work week for the hubby.) There's a part on the movie where Tinkerbell is dying, or died. And Peter Pan is crying. An idea comes to him and he starts chanting "I DO believe in fairies. I do. I do." He's saying it over and over. "I DO believe in fairies. I do. I do." The Lost Boys and Wendy and her brothers are off somewhere fighting the pirates. The Lost Boys feel something in the air and they start chanting too: "I DO believe in fairies. I do. I do." "I DO believe in fairies. I do. I do." Then Wendy and her brothers: "I DO believe in fairies. I do. I do." Even the pirates, except Hook, join in: "I DO believe in fairies. I do. I do.""I DO believe in fairies. I do. I do." It's gaining momentum and then all start shouting it. Finally, Tinkerbell starts to glow again and she's alive and flying.

Okay now, my daughter and I are quietly watching all this transpire in the movie. It's about 10:30 at night. She's seated on the floor a few feet from my spot on the couch and we're watching the movie. All of a sudden Rain stands up. She doesn't say anything and when I see she's walking over to toward the balcony, I assume she's going to peek out and see what's going on. Nothing unusual. I'm watching as Peter flies off to join the fight against the pirates when Rain slides the blinds to the side and flings open the balcony door. My eyes widen like, What?! (She surprised me) She goes to the balcony guard and yells at the top of her lungs, "I DO BEWEAVE IN FAIRWEES!"

I jumped up and pulled her back inside and she was just giggling like crazy! I had to laugh too . . . but I did close the door and blinds quick! Imagine hearing that when you're trying to get some sleep. The whole neighborhood was quiet up until that. Ahhh these little off-the-wall moments are what I live for. LOL Too bad I didn't have forewarning, I would like to have gotten that on camera.

Oh the Anticipation!

Around El Paso Momma's house, things are going to be all about school tomorrow. It's a Tax-Free Weekend in Texas for clothing, shoes, and select school supplies under $100. Yay! LOL Okay so it's not a HUGE savings unless you plan to spend hundreds of dollars . . . but, every little bit helps. Seriously it adds up. It is the reason I put off clothes shopping until now. Well, technically I have been shopping as I've gone through the past month doing the regular household shopping, but I haven't bought anything yet.

I actually hate shopping - LOL unless it is for books or writing supplies (I can't help myself!) So I'm glad I did do a little browsing here and there for some items my babies will need for school. On a side note, this is mentioned in one of my articles on back to school at Examiner. I know where to go to get in and out -hopefully without gaining any blisters or fatigue in the process. I'm excited about it, although the husband is probably grateful this once to be on call this weekend. I don't blame him. So, the babies and I are going to make a day of it.

I just checked on my babies again and had to laugh. My Sunshine is sleeping with his new swim goggles on! So funny. We went out to eat earlier after the kids and I hung out at the mall. I bought these little swim goggles for them both. At the restaurant they both wore them inside. Ahh my babies make me laugh - they are so funny sometimes. LOL Remind me to tell you about my experience with the Pre-School disciplinary system earlier this year.

What I'm listening to now: Here We Go Again by Trina featuring Kelly Rowland
An I Love My Babies moment: This one happened a week or so ago when my kids and I walked to the department store down the street to browse and kill time. I had just registered them for school so we were talking about that and how exciting and fun it was going to be to see all their friends again and meet the new teacher and blah blah blah . . . you know trying to get them excited about school. Well on the way home we really got going and both Rain and Sunshine started naming off all their friends and stuff. I said "yeah, it's pretty cool, huh? You'll get to wear your new Spiderman backpack and take all your crayons and pencils . . ." "And my pencil box!" Sunshine chimes in. I smile and keep it going "yeah!" I say "we're going to have to get up early to get ready and . . ." Then Sunshine shouts, "And I gotta shave!" I almost choked on my drink. I asked him "what?" He said again . . . "I gotta shave . . . for school." I couldn't help it, I laughed so hard and he was looking at me like his momma lost her mind. So I asked him, "what do you mean shave?" He proceeded to demonstrate a shaving motion with his hands to his face. That was too much. He said "like daddy!" Oh my little ones bring such joy!
So come Monday, I'm going to hide all the shaving items in the house - just in case.

One more week til school starts!

Wow what a long week this has been, without the internet. My computer had to be taken to the shop, hence the delay since my last post. But it has been a great week. Finished the back to school shopping . . . except for a backpack for my Rain. I need to find one her size that will fit her folder.

We just came back from a camping trip in Ruidoso, NM this past weekend. We only stayed overnight, but it was soooooooo relaxing. The babies had a blast running around over grass and through bushes. In El Paso, there is no grass and there are no bushes. LOL Well, at least not much. I love that we bring that camp fire smell back home with us. That way I can lift the lid on my trunk and go back to the mountains. I'll have to dig through my photos to pick some out to post here.

We also tried out the Grand China Buffet and Mongolian Grill restaurant in east-central El Paso and they are great. Loved the spread! We had to go back again the next day.

So that's the update. The kids are looking forward to going back to school. My little man tried packed up his backpack with his school supplies. LOL He sits with it on during the day. I think he's most excited about seeing his friends again, so I'm hoping a few of them end up in his class this year.

What I'm listening to now: Clumsy by Fergie
An I love my babies moment: If you know my husband, you know he LOVES food. So Thursday, we're driving around running errands and discussing what to eat for lunch, when hubby says to me: "Look, I'll make you a deal. Take us out to eat Chinese food and I'll clean the whole house for you." I looked at him like he was crazy and then said that out loud. "You must be crazy." He laughs and says "No for real, I'll do it." It's my turn to laugh now, "Yeah, right." This back and forth goes on for a few minutes before I finally agree. Since one of our errands was to check up on our computer (remember it was in the shop last week), I suggested the Grand China Buffet because it was in the same complex. It turned out to be great. LOL getting him to hold up his end of the bargain was not.

I didn't really expect him to do it, because if you know my husband, you also know he does not like housework. (No surprise there.) So I wasn't going to make a big deal out of the house cleaning. He did start to deep clean the livingroom, but keeled over and went to sleep a quarter of the way through. I hate stepping around clutter, so I finished the job.

He did make up for it though. After the weekend, I got a new bookshelf, a new computer desk, and a night out by myself. . . three things I've been after for a while now. :) He also cooked and did the laundry. (I'm so happy I was not up at midnight waiting to take the clothes out of the dryer!) So now I know where to take him to eat when I'm ready to take that road-trip vacation I've been dreaming about!

The Boy who woke early

The past two days were spent enjoying family time. Sometimes, in the busy buzzing of every day goings on, I sometimes lose sight of the small things that contribute to my overall happiness and spiritual growth. As a reminder to myself of these small things, I've added an end section to each blog entry which includes what music I'm listening to as I type each entry and an important piece that begins "An 'I love my babies' moment" (LOL sometimes my hubby is my baby too). This piece is meant for me to acknowledge and remember the little things in life that make my family so great. Trust me, when you're up at midnight doing laundry because hubby told you at the last possible minute that he needed a certain uniform or piece of the uniform clean (my hubby is a soldier at Fort Bliss) - remembering these little moments really drives home the love. I also write it to give my readers a peak into my life and hey there dear reader, if you can relate, I'd love to read about it.

Most of today was spent at home lounging around in one area or another. AND IT WAS GREAT! Sometimes we tend to run around on the weekends because there are so many things the family wants to get done or visit that we end up rushing through the weekend. Today we chilled most of the day and that was a nice change.

What I'm listening to now: Doing Too Much by Paul DeAnda
An I love my babies moment: Friday morning I lay in bed later than usual . . . it must have been about 8:30 or 9:00. My daughter, Rain, was next to me in bed as she so often ends up if she wakes up in the middle of the night or earlier than me. My boy, Sunshine, was nudging me because he was up by himself and he just loves talking. So, I'm half out of it trying to keep up the conversation with him while trying to squeeze the last few drops of sleep out of my eyes. He decides since we're all in bed that he would like to tell me a bed-time story. "I'm gonna read this story to you Momma," he says. I mumble something like, "mmm hmm" and concentrate on stretching my back and legs awake. "Okay here we go," he continues in his best impersonation of me. I smile on the inside while trying to adjust my brain to actually focus on the world around. Now somewhere in the back of my mind I'm aware that he does have something in his hand so based on his words, I assume its a book. Turns out I assumed correctly. Next, he said something that really brought me to wakefulness with laughter. He said - so seriously. "Momma. um, this story . . . this story is called 'The Boy with the Apple in His Hand". As soon as he said that I instantly knew what he was talking about and couldn't help the laughter that followed. Even now, I chuckle.

Here's the book:

(Twilight by Stephenie Meyer)

Another day in the life . . .

This has been a pretty good week. Everything has been pretty smooth, even with the hubby gone over night once. I've been hard at work trying to get my magazine website updated and the colors right. Sometimes its fun doing a site designing by yourself . . . and then sometimes, grrrr.

Been taking it easy with the back to school shopping - got a few good deals at Kmart last week ($0.20 Crayola 24ct, $0.33 12pk no.2 pencils, and $0.50 pencil pouch). At Walmart I found some washable markers for $0.70 each and $0.10 wide-ruled notebooks. Not bad so far, I've spent less than $5.00 on school supplies.

I've written a couple of Back to School articles for my column. Check it out if you get the chance - loved some feedback or new ideas. (Especially if you have some good back to school ideas for older kids.)


Currently listening to: Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Rivival
An "I love my babies" moment:
I did some back to school browsing at Target the evening before last. I bought two kindergarten workbooks I thought Sunshine and Rain would like that came with stickers. After putting my little ones to bed, I hit the computer for a late night typing extravaganza. When I had one of those moments where I thought the kids were up to something. I paused a moment, but shrugged it off - hey it must've been quiet because they were asleep already, right?

Well after another minute I get up to check on them. Only Sunshine (my boy) is in bed. I make the loop around the house looking for Rain (my girl, 5 yrs old) and find her in the bathroom like this:

Discovered some very cool and unique jewelry

I did an interview with Dora Barragan of Wickedgems for an El Paso Motherhood column and came away with some great insight into business decision-making from a self-employed local mother. But what's equally great is the actual artwork she does. Although not the reason for the interview, I found the pieces she's designed to be right up my alley. Seriously, I'm only debating right now if I want a personalized piece or one she's designed already. LOL maybe both!

Anyway, you should stop by and check her out. You can click here for my article "Crafty Adornment: The Wickedgems story" which has a list of several of the websites she sells her jewelry at, or you can go directly to her main site at wickedgems.com. If you like what you see or buy a piece - let her know who sent ya. :)

Below, a sample of some of her more popular pieces.

The Popsicle

This is the popsicle I mentioned in the previous post. LOL. Today Sunshine's Great Popsicle Experiment dabbled in milk and orange juice popsicles - he recycles the corndog sticks. Funny. Well, that's one way to get him to drink his milk I guess.

Corndogs and Laundry

Hope everyone reading this is having a lovely lovely day! I'm busy with laundry . . . which is turning out to be an all-day event in the El Paso Momma's house - er, apartment, rather.

Meanwhile I am trying to get my babies (let's call them Sunshine and Rain - LOL it's pretty close to their real names and definitely reflective of their personalities) to clean their room. I hear it's a good thing to try and condition your kids at a young age for just about everything and well, since cleanliness is near the top of my list . . . . "Put your toys away" is the mantra of the day. :)

Earlier today my son, Sunshine, stops me as I'm typing away at the computer. He tells me "Momma, I know how to make popsicles, you should try it." Hmm? I'm thinking. He continues, "Yeah, a popsicle it's the purple stuff with the stick inside." Hmm? I think again. I tell him, "Okay baby, yeah that does sound like a popsicle." He's 4 which means as soon as I start talking he losing all interest in the conversation and runs off to amuse himself with a new bouncy ball he got the night before last.

Okay so later after I return from tossing the clothes in the dryer, I turn the T.V. on to let the kids watch Curious George. I go check around the house for stuff I may have missed (the kids are 4 and 5 years old so you'd be surprised the stuff that turns up or disappears magically). I find my ice/heat pack on the livingroom floor and go to the kitchen to return it to the freezer. This is where I did the double-take. In my freezer is a 16 oz plastic tumbler filled with Minute Maid Pomegranate-Blueberry juice. Stuck inside the frozen juice are two used corndog sticks!

I laugh. Inventive, my little man is.

Aaah the little joys of motherhood. I might just try that oversized popsicle of his . . . if I can scrape the rest of that corndog breading off the stick.

Rubbing my hands with glee

K so I've known for a while now that Whitney Houston is going to make her comeback. I visited her site today and it sunk in. I'm so excited I can hardly wait another month. Growing up she was my favorite singer. Yay! Can't wait!

Fort Bliss Soldier Accepts Fate

I was just thinking about this recent article I published in my column, "Post-traumatic Stress takes its toll on soldiers" and the recent headlines made here in El Paso regarding a soldier stationed at Fort Bliss.

Staff Sgt. Edison Bayas was sentenced to 15 years in prison and a fine of $10,000 after pleading guilty to intoxicated manslaughter. To summarize the incident, on December 29, 2007 Staff Sgt. Bayas crashed into a car that was waiting at the intersection of Montana Blvd. and Hawkins. The crash killed Valerie Talamantes (19 yrs) who was driving the car on her way home.

Now Bayas told authorities that he was having a flashback from his the time he spent in Iraq. I just wanted to let you in on what prompted the article in the El Paso Motherhood column.

There was another article about several soldiers from Fort Carson involved in different incidents that many suspect is a result of PTSD. For more information on the topic check out my article .. . there are links to additional news stories as well.

Fort Bliss Expects to Treat even more soldiers with PTSD

Welcome to My New Blog

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to thank you for stopping by my mommy blog. Being a mother has been one of the most exciting and humorous and inspiring things that has happened in my life. (Don't most mommas think so?)

I decided to start this blog as a supplement to my column with Examiner.com, El Paso Motherhood. I've lived in El Paso since the beginning of summer 2008 and was lucky enough to visit several times before the physical move. I know how it is to be a mom with young children living in El Paso, TX and I'd like to share my experience.

I also happen to be married to an Army soldier, hence the move to El Paso. So, I am also very interested in happenings at Fort Bliss,too.

Here you will find the normal every day type of stuff that is more personal commentary than what I would add to my column. I'll be included personal reviews, events, headlines, and other items of interest with a focus on motherhood.

Thanks again for visiting, and please stop by again soon.