Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Sidebar and Sale

In case you all hadn't noticed, I added a little doo-dad to my sidebar a while back. It is for a store called C28. I don't know if C28 has made it to your neck of the woods just yet, but it is one seriously C-O-O-L store. They sell fierce clothing, jewelry, shoes, stickers, cd's, etc. The best part....they're all Christian themed. Not to mention, they have joined in on the Thanksgiving shopping tradition. They have a SERIOUS sale going on. I just bought...

4 Layering Tanks (juniors)
1 Zip-up Hoodie Sweatshirt (mens)
1 Ca-ute T-shirt (juniors)
2 Pairs of Slip on Flats (womens)

.....for $109.82. That includes tax and $0 shipping. The sale goes on until Monday, 11/26. Don't forget to click the link on my sidebar. Happy Shopping!!!!!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Blogger's Bill of Rights

After some rather chaotic happenings here at the 5McCKid blog over the last couple weeks, I have decided to post my version of The Blogger's Bill of Rights. So, here it goes...

1. I have the right to use, or misuse, any word I choose to; or for that matter, make it up out of thin air.

2. I have the right to say something, whether I believe in it or not. This does not condone lying or impersonating an individual. As we are all aware, the children (and friends and family) are reading. However, for entertainment's sake, some things just might need to be included.

3. I have the right to give random facts about myself, such as I'm 5'7", live in So Cal and am Mom to five pretty great kids; but not include any details I see fit to keep to myself. Frankly, it's none of your business if my kids were naughty, or if my husband and I disagreed about something.

4. I hold my right to refuse to use restraint in situations where you show up, on my blog, and say something that doesn't make much sense, close to my heart. Who are you, and why are you wasting your time (as unwelcome as it is) on my blog?

5. I do not need to subject myself, or my readers, to obnoxious and disrespectful comments; even when they are said "In the name of God".

6. I reserve the right to eliminate all "Anonymous" comments. If the thing you have to say is worth saying, surely the act of including your name is trivial at best. Please be proud enough of your statement to sign your name. Otherwise, you will be deleted.

7. I am a dedicated, Christian, stay-at-home Mom. You don't have to agree with all of my thoughts or points of view, but if you publicly question them in a disrespectful manner, you should remove me from your reading list. If you choose to disregard this piece of advice, your comments will be deleted.

8. I believe that if you don’t vote, you need to strongly consider your right to complain. You might disagree with the current/future administration, but where were you when it came time to decide?!

9. I, even if intending to make a list of ten things, might through lack of creativity, end up with only nine and then stop writing. Too Bad!! I do intend, however, to write all of my posts in English. Hopefully that will be fine with all of you.

10. I also reserve the right to intend to stop my list at ten, and then decide later to add to that list as I see fit. Hey, does anyone else have inspiration come to them in the shower/bathroom/while working out, etc.? Some things just MUST be included.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

From July, but SOOOO Beautiful!!

Grace-Ethiopian Dress 2
Slide shows and scrapbooks - Powered by Smilebox


PS Stick around long enough to listen to the lyrics to the song. It is from the movie "The Prince of Egypt", and the words are powerful. Enjoy!

The Latest (Again)

My sweet bloggy friend, Perri, emailed to see how things are going. Long about the time those kinds of emails start coming in, I start cluing in that it's time for an update. So here it goes...

Mostly, we're all doing a lot better. The colds are lingering a bit, but that really just means we are going through extra Kleenex. No one is sick enough to not function normally....PRAISE GOD!!! My ankle is on the mend. I am supposed to start physical therapy this next week. I know that will help a lot because I can really tell that it is weak. Will has a little discomfort from his shingles still, but is feeling pretty good. The liver enlargement isn't gone, but the GI doc said he expected it to take a few months to resolve.

My Mom is doing great. She finished her last Herceptin treatment a month or so ago. She is working on losing some weight so she can get her reconstruction done soon after the Holidays. The surgeon told her that she would be happier with the long term results if she started at a healthier weight. The word is that she's doing a good job so far.

One thing that hasn't made it to blog world yet is that my Step-Dad (Grandpa John) has prostate cancer. They caught it early, but with his family history and the type he has, he has to treat it fairly aggressively. He started radiation therapy and hormone treatments a few days ago, and will have radioactive "seeds" implanted after the new year. So far, he seems to be tolerating the therapies very well, and they are planning to come out to spend Christmas with us. Hopefully that will continue to go well. 8^)

For now, I am doing my best to wrap my brain around the idea of the upcoming holiday season. There's lots to do to prepare for it, but since it is pleasant stuff I am looking forward to it.

So what's happening with all of you?

Monday, November 12, 2007

Slight Change of Plans

Originally Will and I had talked about taking advantage of the extra day that we all had off to get the garage cleaned out. That was before we all decided to pass a cold around. In light of all the kleenex, saline spray, Mucinex, hot chocolate, thermometers, etc. that we have been going through this weekend, that was the right call. So, what does the 5McCKid family do on a lazy, sick, blah kind of day? That would depend on which one of us you ask. Tyler (feeling much better in the tummy department, BTW) has been glued to the GameCube controller. Justin and Grace have been fascinated by the SpongeBob Z to A Marathon on Nickelodeon. Justin is a tad disappointed that he has to go to bed before they get to A, as that will be the All New, 1st Evah, Made for TV Movie....Atlantis SquarePantis!!!! We'll fill him in on the fact that we will record it before he goes to sleep. Will and I have taken turns dealing with various kid related maintenance, and I have done a couple loads of laundry. So, that leaves us with Kayla and Daniel. Unfortunately, these are not my two kiddos that typically get along the best. Today, however, was a BIG exception. They spent hours together, in complete peace and harmony, putting together a puzzle. Daniel even photographed it for me so I could put it on the blog. Yippee for feeling sick, blah and/or lazy enough to put away sibling rivalry for a day!!!









Oh, I almost forgot to mention......

The Chargers whooped the Colts yesterday!!!!

Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!


Monday, November 05, 2007

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Done

OK Folks.....the free-for-all is officially over. I will be deleting all "anonymous" comments (past, present and future) that don't include a name in the end. I blog for the purpose of sharing our lives with family and friends, and to spread the occasional entertaining or thought provoking piece. People will need to save their "flaming" for another venue. My blog has always been a kind, family friendly, welcoming place. I have no problem with someone disagreeing with my point of view on any post, but I do take issue with attacks; especially anonymous ones. I will choose to leave the option of using the "anonymous" button in my comments section, but this is simply for the convenience of our friends and family that are not bloggers, or do not have a Google account. Those folks are welcome to leave their thoughts at any time, and will have no issue with including their identity.

While this is MY blog, and I have the right to post whatever I choose on it, I do want to take this opportunity to offer a brief explanation of my thought process behind
the post that has stirred up such controversy. It was intended to be rather lighthearted and un-noteworthy. It included a silly link showing Barrack Obama and Ellen dancing around on her show. I found it funny and entertaining....period. I now see that some might have taken the fact that he happened to be on the Ellen show as me somehow endorsing a pro-homosexual stance. I can honestly say that the thought never crossed my mind. Perhaps this fact has been lost on some of my more inflammatory readers, but I have never mentioned gay marriage or abortion on this blog. That is not because I am without opinion on these issues, but simply because this is not the venue where I wish to discuss those matters..

I started reading blogs about two years ago. During that time, I have read plenty of posts that I disagreed with. In most cases, I just ignored them. As much as we grow to feel like we really "know" other bloggers; in truth, we only know the little bits and pieces that they choose to share with us. If I find that I regularly disagree with a particular blog, I just remove it from my reading list. After all, it is that person's right to say whatever they want on THEIR blog, and my right not to read it if it offends me. On the rare occasion that I have found it necessary to voice my contrary opinion, I have NEVER hidden behind anonymity. If my opinion was important enough to share, it was also worth signing my name to.

For the record, I am more than happy to have you all participate in lively discussion on my blog. I strongly believe that all Americans/Christians have the right to their own opinions, and that is one of the things I appreciate most about the country we live in. However, there are times and places that are more/less appropriate to get on our soapboxes. This particular incident took me by surprise, and I am grateful for my husband (Will), Dad (Tim) and cousin (Julie) for jumping in to defend me. I hope that the same would be true on any of your blogs as well, if you were subject to a similar attack. And for the record, I appreciate my friend Christy's comments too. We might have some different opinions in some areas, but I love her, and her willingness to stand firm in her beliefs.