The oddly normal life of Clorie

   I was wondering around flickr and noticed someone adding a texture (and sharing textures) I wanted to see if I could figure out how to do a texture. GUESS WHAT??? I did! I taught myself (with the help of online tutorials) how to apply textures (which are LAYERS) onto my photos!  I have not had much time to play, go figure but here is one that I have done just playing around....  A picture I took of a pear :) My dinner actually :OP  A  free texture I found to use online  And said pear with texture added :)  I know it might not "GO" with that photo, but like I said I was just playing. I am SO looking forward to playing some more. Its pretty cool!!!

 I wanted to blog this month with what I was thankful for. Then I go and get busy and don't blog. Figures.  So i will just name a few things I am thankful for in one blog, to make up for days missed.  I am so very thankful that my son has fought leukemia and has won.  I am thankful for the seldom moments when all of my kids get along.  I am thankful for bedtime.  I am thankful for my friends, my family and my husbands family, they are always there for us.  I am thankful for my home, and for the fact that I was able to even BUY a home!  I am thankful for tax time when we get to catch up on all the bills we owe!  I am thankful for my camera, and the time to take photographs and memories of the kids  I am thankful that I am someone my kids can look up to, and love.  So there is much more but that is what comes to mind this sleepy evening. Kids are in bed, and its just so quiet in the house. I am thankful for the quiet.

 Today as many are. I am thankful for our Veteran's, past present and future. I can not even begin to imagine what they go through day to day. Away from home, away from family and friends, hearing guns and seeing horrible things... I don't want to be there, and I know for a fact I could not make the sacrifices needed to do it. So I am thankful, so very thankful for those that have, and do, and will. Thank you!  So of course, I had to do a little something special for my very own vet. My hubby. I love him. I am thankful for him. So very thankful. Even though he drives me ABSOLUTELY nuts a lot of the time, and even though 50% of the time I wonder if I have a husband, or a 5th child... I Love him and I could not do what I do without him in my life.  I love that on Sundays, he reads me the funny part of the comics, and the cool police reports. I love that he clips coupons and talks about how "WERE" Going to save money at the grocery store.  I love that he tells me

 That was our dinner tonight. Well it was the "little kids" dinner. Destiny and I are both normal enough that we enjoy or spaghetti, NOT in a shell.  My kids like to watch I carly and on Icarly her brother makes a dish called spaghetti tacos. Tim worked this evening so I found it my special chance to make spaghetti and not hear him complain about it... I had some taco shells in the cabinet so I put it in them. Silly right? But hey, the kids ate it! I did not take a picture of my adventure with dinner. So I googled "Spaghetti taco's" in images and found this moms blog  All credit on the photo goes to her. Mine looked similar. I put noodles in, topped with sauce instead of premixing though.  Ok I must admit I did try a bite, and it was not so bad. I prefer my spaghetti on its own, but this taco idea is not half bad!  So tonight, since I remembered to blog, I am thankful for creativity. For the ability to try new things and be adventurous. I am thankful fo

 So the study time has been an adjustment, but I must admit, its not as much time as I thought it was. It does not seem to take much out of the day at all. I think maybe the kids realize that as well. I had much less fighting over today's time. Of course we did not go to the library today as we have Monday and Tuesday. Promise had an orthodontist appointment and so we were pressed for time.  I had started dinner before I ever got the kids, so that was ready to go and even EARLY in time for Awana's Even though it was a busy day I seemed to get everything done, keep the whole house fairly happy and feel happy myself. Life was good today.  Got a trampoline off Craigslist. I love that site! Anyway we go pick it up Saturday, hopefully, after taking it apart we can figure out how to get it back together!!! The kids cannot wait, me either. I could use the giggles. I cannot jump on a trampoline without giggling.  Oh and another plus, Promise had math today, fractions even and I

 Someone posted on facebook something they were thankful for and then said to do that every day. Make your status something that your thankful for.  So today. Today went okay. Kids complained about study time. No. Not the kids. Just Destiny, but she complained enough to equal all four doing so. I dealt with it, trying to not be irritated by it. Study time is study time and were going to do just that. Once she gets that, it will go better.  Well then came tonight. I was on the computer when she told me she had to study for her math quiz. There was something she didn't understand. Well go figure, I did not understand either. So I got online learned how, again, and then helped her! I think she gets it now. Will she remember it tomorrow for the quiz? I hope so. Either way this was an improvement, and it felt good to see. She also showed me a paper she did, that she got a B on and she seemed to be "proud". Im not going to push it though, its not even been a full week of th

This is what I do on weekends. We got a trampoline and then every kid I know came to stay the night... Okay not every kid I know, and Destiny left and is staying the night out, so its just about as stressful as having just my own four home. Trampoline is fun and you could not have asked for a better day than today was!!!!

 Oh boy. So yesterday was a day. I had parent conferences with Destiny's teachers in the morning. Not just the homeroom teacher, but EVERY. CORE. TEACHER. She has, and also one of the school counselors. We started off with them telling me how Destiny is all about the social aspect of school. She comes in to class ready to chit chat and be seen and heard. Funny how she's become this social butterfly. I remember in kindergarten when I was thinking of switching schools, my biggest problem with doing so was that she had JUST made friends and i would be taking that away from her. Or in preschool when she would not even PLAY with other children for at least 3 months. The first month she did nothing but cry and for the next 2, she stuck close by the teachers, until finally she made a friend, and learned to spell the friends name, before her own.  Back then she was so willing to learn. I could get her a workbook and she would finish it within that day. Front to back. Where did things