Another week gone by....

I've made it to another Friday... in another busy week. I've had to be at the dentist with kids by 7am twice this week... I think I'm too old to get up at 5:30am anymore... but I still have to repeat it twice next week - yahoo! LOL

We've got a few people showing up tomorrow to pay & pick up things that they've bought from us... that's a happy thing. We're trying really hard to set aside enough money to buy a van. With 5 kids, it takes a big vehicle to get us all anywhere... and we currently have to take two vehicles to get us all anywhere. With these gas prices, that's just killer!

In other news, (can I use that here?) it's been nice to be back to normal with schoolwork. I do enjoy having at least a remnant of a schedule to follow... even if it does have interruptions caused by life on occasion.

Here in Houston, (speaking of "in the news") the building where the voting machines were housed went up in flames today... over 40,000 machines are now melted into blobs, with early voting scheduled to start in just over a month. Speculation has begun over how they'll handle voting this year. The current discussion is that they'll encourage the early voters to utilize the option of mailing in their votes, but there's still much talking to be done with the "powers that be." Talk about throwing a wrench in the normal routine of life, huh?

Vicki was able to get an upgraded cell phone this week - waaaay early thanks to Andrew letting her have HIS upgrade. Vicki passed her "old" (less than 6 months old) phone down to Brittani. Of course, Brittani wouldn't have needed a phone if she hadn't left hers on the floor for the dog to get to. The Brittany Spaniel took off with it and hid it, and since Brittani leaves it on silent, calling the phone does NOT find it! At least Victoria seems happy with the current phone - she didn't like the one that she had. She started out with an LG Neon, which kept giving her trouble. After AT&T replaced it a couple of times, they offered a choice between two phones... she chose the lesser of the two evils, but was never really happy... so I'm glad she was able to have an opportunity to get one that she likes :-)

Another note - anyone with netflix... and a wii... the kids are TOTALLY enjoying being able to watch the netflix instant movies & television shows on the wii. You'd think it was better than strawberry banana smoothies (which are HUGELY popular at our house... Brittani makes them so yummy!).

I'm on a hunt for yummy chili recipes... I'm looking forward to winter getting here, and being able to enjoy soups and stews again, but would really like to have some absolutely fabulous chili recipes to add to the menu. If you have a favorite recipe, I'd love it if you'd post it... Of course, it's also time to start planning what baked items that I want to make this year for the holidays. I try to come up with new ones to add to the favorite ones every year... the pumpkin pie is mandatory, as are the pumpkin cupcakes and cookies... chocolate chip cookies, chocolate macaroons, and sopapilla cheesecake (although I did pass that one off to Andrew's cousin last year - I enjoyed being able to cross it off my list, and still be able to enjoy eating it ) That was definitely a happy thing! LOL  Anyhow, new ideas with tried & true recipes would definitely be enjoyed if you have them... 

It's time for me to settle down for the night... my eyelids are getting tired, and I know I never make it to bed without doing about 20 things before I get there... hope everyone is doing well! Good night!