Saturday Centus Egg Frying Contest

This week for Saturday Centus there are no words prompts only a picture. This picture.

My question "Is it possible to fry an egg on a sidewalk if it is hot enough?"

Every July 4th, the town of Oatman, Arizona hosts a solar egg frying contest. Each contestant has 15 minutes to attempt to fry an egg using solar power. The contest costs nothing to enter and the winner wins nothing except 15 minutes of small town fame.

So if you happen to be in Oatman on July 4th, why not see for yourself if you can actually fry an egg on the sidewalk if it's hot enough. Everyone deserves 15 minutes of fame, right?

linking up to Jenny Matlock

O is For Orange Bridesmaid's Dress

Yes you read that title right. O is for Orange Bridesmaids Dress. When I was 14, my older sister JoAnna got married. There was no room in the budget to go to an actual boutique so we ended up at the local thrift store. My other sister got a rose colored dress, the other bridesmaid got a green one and I ended up with ORANGE. Jo said it was peach but I knew better.

This was the 80's Don't judge!

Not only was I wearing an ORANGE dress but said dress was about one size too small. If I had let out my breath, that dress would have split like Bruce Baxter's clothing in the Incredible Hulk. So what could be worse than wearing an ORANGE dress that is one size too small? How about having ORANGE hair to match it. Yes, this was the era of bad DIY hair coloring and I was the said recipient of such one. My sister's future MIL asked if I wanted a new hairdo for the wedding. Sure I thought why not. At the time I did not realize I would be the guinea pig in this horrific experiment.

So now we are at bad dress, bad hair. Anything else that could go wrong? Yup. my sister had me stand up with a guy I had a crush on. and she told him!!! How mortifying is that?

My sister is renewing her vows this summer. I wonder if she wants me to wear that ORANGE dress??? I hope not!

linking up to Jenny Matlock

Wordless Wednesday

An Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

5 seconds later, the tears began to flow and he did not even get a shot. At 19 months, he weighs 31 pounds and is 34 inches tall.

Saturday Centus

Before I die I want to undo a wrong,
truly forgive and forget,
and find real happiness.


linked to Jenny Matlock

N is for Normal

You see the cracks but I see the light that shines through them.

What is normal? Webster's dictionary defines normal as A: of, relating to, or characterized by average intelligence or development B: free from mental disorder, sane. How would you define normal?

13 years ago, I gave birth to a baby boy. We named him Robert after my uncle. Nothing was normal about his birth. We barely made it to the hospital. When he was born, I did not get to hold him. The nurses whisked him away and put him in one of those oxygen tents. He wasn't a premie but only weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces. My older children were both over 8 pounds. A few hours later, I got to hold him but something was wrong. He did not look normal and I could not get him to take a bottle. He was also covered in little red spots. Later on, we were told he had congetial cytomegalovirus (CMV).  He was taken to another hospital, the one we were at did not have a neonatal intensive care unit, where he stayed for 5 days.

Robbie at about 1 month

The last 13 years have not been normal. The first few years of Robbie's life were spent taking him to therapy (physical, occupational, and speech) He did not follow the normal timeline of most children. For example, he did not start to walk until he was 3 1/2 years old. That was a major accomplishment. Since the infection caused hearing loss as well, he hasn't learned to talk. He makes some gutteral noises like an infant and uses sign language to communicate but it is very limited.

No, Robbie is not your normal teenager. You can not leave him home alone or send him outside to play. You can not leave matches around or he will start a fire. You have to hold his hand while crossing the street. He doesn't play video games. He still plays with little kid toys but he can figure out stuff on the computer better than I can. No, Robbie is not your normal teenager but if he was, then he wouldn't be Robbie now would he?

linked to Jenny Matlock Alphabe Thursday Letter N

Wordless Wednesday

Try cleaning the flippin garage!!

Getting my DH to do anything around the house is damm near impossible. I'm better off trying to do it myself. For instance, we have been living here for over 2 years, yet we still do not have curtains up in the living room. Oh I tried to put them up, but the minute I put the curtains on the rods, the rods fell off the wall. Yes, I'm not really handy. I also have to live with the air conditioner unit in the window all year long because he is too lazy to remove it in the winter. However, last winter I had my oldest help me take it out, but since he no longer lives with us, it will most likely stay in.

This is our garage. I couldn't get the whole picture but I think you get the point. See that kitchen sink sitting on the table. (where arrow is pointing) It has been sitting there since February. I'm beginning to think it will never be put in.

click to enlarge

Anyways two months ago I asked him to anchor the curio cabinet to the wall so Ryker would not pull it down on himself. Ryker likes to hide in the bottom of it. He finally got around to doing this today.

Whenever my DH can not find something, it is always my fault. Doesn't matter whether I even know what the hell he is talking about, if it's missing, I moved it. Granted he has somewhat of a point. I tried to clean up the clutter HE created in the bedroom by taking all the tools out to the garage. Whatever I found, I put on that table. So if the item was actually in the house it should be on the table. Nope. He couldn't find the drill bit which btw was never attached to the drill when I moved it. So of course that was my fault. And then he said I lost the charger for the drill. Well, that was never in the house. He did manage to anchor the cabinet but next time I won't even bother asking. I'll figure it out myself.

Hide And Seek Ryker

Little Ryker Games

Ryker has found a new game: turn off the air conditioner, laugh an evil laugh and run away.

When it is this hot outside, 90% + you need that air on at all times.

This game has replaced the turn off the t.v., laugh an evil laugh and run away game.

Nothing better than watching cartoons 24/7

Saturday Centus

I'm not getting any younger I thought while waiting in line at Walmart. Ryker decides to help by throwing groceries out of the cart. Why are cashiers so slow?

Ways to annoy your brother

Love is a battlefield...

especially when you are raising a toddler. Everything is a battle, from the moment he wakes up until the moment he crashes at night. Want him to get dressed? Nope, not going to happen. Want him to eat breakfast? Nope, not gonna happen. Want him to pick up his toys? Nope, not going to happen. Want him to take a nap? Nope, not going to happen. You get my point right? Since when did my sweet angelic baby become so defiant?

I can't tell you the exact day and time but I can tell you I am so over this. I wish this stage would pass but I know it is just the beginning of long days of power struggles, nos and down right naughtiness. Was I this bad as a child? No wonder my dad has no hair. He probably pulled it all out dealing with me. And since I am a twin, it probably went twice as fast.

I love my Ryker with all my heart but man is his behavior trying. I'm not even sure how to deal with it. Yes, I have raised 3 other boys but I don't remember it being this hard. Maybe because I am older, worn down and just plain tired.

I try to pick my battles. If he doesn't want to get dressed, that's fine. We are not going anywhere. If he doesn't eat breakfast, we just try again later. And the picking up the toys? I have yet to meet a toddler willing to do that. and eventually at naptime, he wears himself down and falls asleep. The one battle I can not ignore is his hitting, pulling my hair and throwing toys. When he does this, I tell him no and put him in his room on Robbie's bed. He hates being in time out but I have no other solutions. How do you deal with your child's bad behavior?

Wordless Wednesday

Going for a walk

Whenever my younger two boys drive me crazy, we go for a walk. Yup, we go for alot of walks in this household.

Today was no exception. Since we were already out, I wanted to stop by the consignment store that is by my house to see if the building blocks I saw there last week were still for sale. Ryker needed a set of building blocks. Imagine his horror if all the other children in his preschool class could build towers and he could not! To save him from future embarassment, I plucked down the $3 and some odd change and got him the blocks. See how happy he is?

Walmart: the 10th Level of Hell

I dislike going to Walmart. It's always crowded, the cashiers are slow ass and you can never find the one last item on your list. But I had to go. Their prices can't be beat. That should be their slogan. Walmart: Over Crowded with slow ass cashiers but our prices can't be beat. That's better than: Save money. Live Better. or their previous slogan: Always Low Prices. But I digress. Today was the day I needed to go. I had avoided it long enough and we were out of food. (Teenagers, especially teenage boys, can eat a lot.) So off we went.

First stop, the Pharmacy. This line is almost as bad as the post office. And of course when I get up there, Bill's prescription is not ready. (note to self: make Bill get his own meds) I'm on a time limit here. Robert will be home from summer school in an hour and I have a weeks worth of food to get. I simply can't wait. Plus Ryker is with me and he has about 20 minutes before he breaks down and everything goes to hell.

Next stop the vegetable and fruit aisle. I pick up some grapes, carrots, potatoes and bananas. At the sight of the bananas, Ryker freaks the fuck out. He wants one and he wants it now! I'm not about to give in, so on to the next aisle. I put some chicken nuggets into the cart. 5 seconds later, they are flying through the air and land at my feet. We have only been in the store 10 minutes! I pick them up and tell Ryker NO! More groceries go in, more get thrown out. Ryker is quite happy with himself. What am I to do? I simply ignore it and keep retrieving the groceries. My patience is wearing thin and once again a package of noodles flies out of the cart. This lands at the feet of Mr. Abercrombie and Fitch. Mr. AF says "Thats the second time I saw him throw something out of the cart."  I mumble an apology and grab the tossed noodles. Yeah, you're lucky I'm not throwing anything. It would have been heavier and I have better aim. At this point, I am done. I still haven't got half my items on my list but we need to get the hell out of there.

I find the check out with 99 customers and not 100 and wait patiently in line. Again, I get the slow ass checker. I start feeding Ryker some Nutter Butter cookies and get a dirty look from the cashier. Hey I'm paying for these, so don't judge me. You try shopping with a 19 month old.

Next time, I'm leaving Ryker in the car... Just kidding.

Meet My family

I am a mother to 4 holy terrors beautiful boys. Ben is my oldest at 18. He no longer lives with me but I am sure some of my posts will revolve around his crazy ass. William is my second child. He is 16. Next is Robert. He is 13 and has special needs. Last is my little monkey, Ryker. He is 19 months old and quite a handful.

Raising a toddler is hard work but not as hard as living with a husband who acts like a toddler. That would be Bill. I met him when I was 22 and stupid. We have been married 16 years but for a few years 2004 -2008 we were separated. Yeah, we are both big procrastinators but I guess it's a good thing we never went through with a divorce. Little monkey wouldn't be here if we had.

Finally to complete my family we have a large ass dog. We call him Garret. He is a German Shepherd with some weight issues and I swear he is schizo.