Ouija Boards: My Awful Experiences

I have been MIA for like 2 weeks and I have reasonable explanations, I swear, but I am just going to cut to the chase and get to the spooky stuff. This being the month of October, I decided that I am going to fill all of your noggins with my scary shenanigans for the next few posts! But I do plan on showing everyone my final living room makeover eventually-- it has taken long enough, right? Now, before getting down to it let me just say that I have reached over 10,000 views on my blog. That is amazing to me. I have always, always loved to write and share stories and the fact that people have actually addressed me in public telling me they love to read my blog -- it is great. So, thank you. Truly.

My stories today are going to revolve around my interactions with an Ouija board. I have had many but a few stand out to me and I would like to share them. Some of these stories involve two friends of mine that have actually passed away. If you are easily offended by the talk of paranormal correlations with death and things like that... please don't read any further. I will say that my stories are told to the best of my ability and are 100% honest. I know that ghost stories like these are fun to read and laugh about, but these are actually some of the scariest moments of my life. I will only share stories that include friends and people that can back them up. 

If you aren't familiar with what an Ouija board is I will give you a small history lesson. In the mid 19th century, a new movement was created in America: Spiritualism. People began to question what happened after death and pressed for ways to communicate with loved ones after their passing. Many sought out spiritualists that possessed methods of breaking the barrier between our world and the afterlife. Spiritualism was heavily frowned upon but famous people throughout America's history relied on mediums to communicate with their loved ones. One person that I found interesting was Mary Todd Lincoln. After the passing of her 11 year old son, she sought out mediums often and conducted many séances in the White House. In the 1880's, a "game" was developed that really gripped the attention of Americans. They called it the "talking board." The origin of the board is unclear, and it was usually made by hand. People used paper with the alphabet written on it and usually a drinking glass as a planchette. The popularity of this game spread by word of mouth and soon a businessman known as Charles Kennard saw an opportunity to make a lot of money. What I found interesting was that Kennard actually turned to his sister, who was a very well-known medium, in hopes that she would help him develop the feel of the board. Here is the creepy part: the first edition of boards that were made were actually made from recycled wood. Do you know where that wood came from? Coffins. Mhmm. Nastaaay. It is said that the name of the board originated from the French and German word for "yes" which is "Oui" and "Ja" but it is also said that Ouija is the ancient Egyptian term for "Good luck." So the boards began to sell like crazy and now they're actually available in toy stores! I actually bought mine at Books-A-Million for like $30.00. So, if you're trying to summon Satan, it costs less than a meal at Olive Garden, I'm just sayin'! But don't do that, ok? It's just not cool.

This bad boy is a First Edition.

The first time I ever saw an Ouija board was when I was around 6 or so. The memories of that night are actually fuzzy because it was so long ago but I recall my older sister having a sleepover and she and her friends were playing with it in the hallway of our parents' house. I remember that my mom had told me that I couldn't go near it. I guess if you had a bedtime before 10:00 pm then you couldn't talk to the dead. My loss, right? I just remember being fascinated with it, but being too young to play with them... I just watched from a distance secretly hoping that I would witness a possession so I could get out of my bath time. I don't remember any questions asked or any responses or even how legit those responses were. All I know is that some terrible things happened that night. After playing with it for a while, my mom asked the girls if they would like to ride with her to pick up the pizza. On the way back from getting the food, the entire back glass of my mom's car shattered. Yes. Just completely shattered for no reason. After that, I was never quick to want to play with a board or even look at one. An Ouija board was actually never "allowed" in our house so I don't know who that particular board belonged to but needless to say it was never on our Christmas lists.

A few years later, I was probably around 13 when I was introduced to the board again. My best friend, Bethany, had one and shared some positive experiences that she had had with it. She was more familiar with the way that it worked and me being the eager little shit that I was, I was ready to learn! We messed around with it a few times, but nothing ever happened other than a few knocks and bumps here or there but I was intrigued and it wasn't enough for me. Not long after that, I had a sleepover with Bethany and another best friend of mine, Alayna. Now, if you are familiar with Alayna and uneasy about stories about her, like I mentioned before, please don't read any further. However, she was a huge part of my life and so are our memories so I am going to share this story. If you did not know her, she was a very silly, likable person. She loved to laugh and make others laugh. It was one of my favorite qualities in her. However, on this particular night, Bethany had explained to her that the Ouija board was no laughing matter. That it was actually a portal to the "other side" and that her jokes would not be taken lightly. If you don't know, there are unspoken rules to the board. Never ask questions that you don't want to know the answers to. For example: never, ever ask "When am I going to die?" This was explained and we were all aware of this rule. We began playing... asking silly questions that preteens would ask. "Who am I going to marry?" (By the way, my answer was "Cody" who was my middle school crush at the time so I find that pretty interesting) "When will I lose my virginity?" We won't go into those responses. "What am I going to be when I grow up?" "What will I have for dinner tomorrow night?" And then Alayna did it. She blurted out the question "How old will I be when I die??" The room fell silent and there was a sudden shift. Something that I could not explain. I remember completely taking my hand off of the planchette because this cold chill came over me and I wanted to be done. Jokingly, Alayna kept her hand on and it slowly went to the numbers "1" and then "8." I remember looking at Bethany, who removed her hand as well, and had a very uncomfortable look on her face. Alayna quickly laughed this off and assured us that it was all pretend and that we were taking it too seriously. After sitting in a few seconds of silence, my dog began to go crazy. She was downstairs at the time and we were there alone while my parents went out to dinner. The three of us made our way down the stairs, practically joined at the hip and to the kitchen. When the dog saw us she immediately turned towards us and began barking and growling. It was something I had never seen her do and it scared me beyond belief. She cornered us against the cabinets and would not stop. She wouldn't let me touch her or let us move around her. This went on for about 15 minutes and finally she stopped, stared at us for a second, and walked away. And though we shrugged it off, I remember lying in bed that night and not being able to get my mind off of it. Did we really let something in? We didn't speak of it much after that.

The Ouija board sort of became a sleepover tradition. It was a way to break the ice and get a few laughs out of some silly questions. One night, the three of us stayed at another friend's house, Whitney, and introduced her to the game. It started out funny as usual and the rules were explained to everyone once again. We went around and took turns asking questions and actually did not get much activity that night. When it came to Alayna's turn she asked "You told me how old I will be when I die, tell me how?" Suddenly I became furious. I quickly turned to her and scolded her, telling her to stop asking questions like that. I remember her laughing at the fact that it upset me and hugging me, telling me that I was being ridiculous and that I was taking it too seriously. The planchette began to move. C-R-A-S-H. We stopped playing it for the night. For a while, actually.

Now, whether or not this has anything to do with Alayna's accident, I would not be able to tell you. Could it be coincidence? Yes. She was a prankster and it is possible that she could have been trying to spook us. All I know is, when I received the call that she was gone, at the age of 18, that was the first thing that came to mind. And I think back to that night often and still get one of the most uncomfortable feelings. I miss her dearly and mean no disrespect with these stories of her. Bethany and I don't actually share these stories often, but it is something that lingers still in our friendship and something that we have yet to be able to explain.

A couple of years later, in High School, we played it with a larger group of friends. We told them of our past experiences and the answers we'd gotten. It was around Halloween, so everyone was pretty stoked and in the paranormal spirit. For some reason, I cannot remember a lot about this night. I remember the board giving us very vivid answers. I remember us asking the name and it was very clear with a first name, although I cannot remember what it was. I do remember that it was a girl. When we asked how she died it spelled "DIRT" which was weird but we continued. We then asked where she lived when she was alive and it actually spelled out "Florida." We had a few guys in the group that were skeptical. This could have been anyone moving it, which was true. So I went to my laptop and started googling. Sure enough, there was a story from a small town in Florida where a little girl was actually taken out of her room in the middle of the night, strangled, and buried while she was still alive. Once again, this could very well be coincidence or someone already aware of this story. But from the looks of the stories we found, it didn't seem like it had made national news. Everyone's reaction seemed pretty genuine at the time. So whether or not this was real, I really don't know. But I know it terrified me to the point that I told myself I was done with the board. 

And for a few years, I was. However, I had a friend (and I am not going to actually share his real name for personal reasons) that I really began to get close to. I was 18 at the time and just coming out of a horrid break-up. For a short while, he was my very best friend. We did spontaneous things together and had frequent sleepovers. (He was very respectful, so don't get the wrong idea!) One night, we began swapping paranormal stories. He had had a lot of experiences similar to mine but had never played with an Ouija board. I told him about my experiences with it and that I wasn't entirely comfortable playing. But of course, I was easily persuaded and we actually went and purchased one that night. He did not believe that someone could actually communicate with the dead through something that could be purchased at Toys-R-Us. We pulled it out of the package and I immediately got a weird feeling. I felt cold all over and was no longer into playing with it. I told him that I would participate but that I did not want to ask questions. So he asked all of the questions. He first asked, "Does Amber secretly love me?" It answered "No." And we had a good laugh. He continued with questions like this and the answers were getting funnier and funnier. And then he asked "When am I going to die?" I remember jerking my hands from the board and telling him that he was NOT supposed to ask that question. "Ohhh nooo," he joked. His hands remained on the board and it responded slowly. "12" We both just looked at each other. I assumed he did it because my hands weren't touching it. Neither one of us could think of the significance of the number. So we brushed it off and eventually put the board up for the night.

I regret saying that about 4 years later, my friend was killed in a very bad accident. I actually did not correlate the incident with board answers until a few months later. He died on the 12th of September. 

I do own my own Ouija board. My husband and I actually bought one a couple of years ago for fun. I mostly use it for Halloween decor but do not allow my children to touch it. Even though most only see it as a toy, I firmly believe that any object can be used as a portal to darker worlds. Being such small pieces of such a large universe, we really cannot say why things happen the way that they do. I actually put my board out on the kitchen table a couple of days ago before a Halloween party. I just wanted it there for decoration. When Cody saw it, he made a comment about not having it out since we had been having a lot of paranormal activity going on in the house. I told him that no one was going to touch it that it was just for the party. He mentioned the planchette being on a certain letter during our conversation. A little later he came back through the kitchen as I was getting food and drinks out. He asked if I moved the planchette. Knowing that I hadn't even been over to table, I told him no. As I looked over, though, the planchette had been moved to the word "Yes." I can't explain how this happened, I was in the kitchen the entire time by myself so I honestly don't know. Needless to say, the board was tossed to the side and no longer a center piece for the night!

Thanks for reading, guys! If you have any Ouija board stories, please share them with me!

Until next time -- Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to.

Haunted Apartment or Haunted Tenant?

** I just want to say before you start reading this blog that I had this entire blog typed, saved, and ready to publish. I did the same thing I always do. I proof read to the best of my ability and then published it. I always save as I go along so that I don't lose any material but as soon as I clicked publish, it took me to the dashboard of my blog like it normally does but the entry wasn't posted. At all. Even though I had saved it multiple times -- it was just gone. Not saying this is paranormal, I just find it odd that this happened when it never has before. Either way, I'm going to need you to go into this blog with more appreciation because I literally typed all of this twice. Carpal tunnel? Yep. 

As much as I love to blame my house for being haunted, I am seriously considering the possibility that it is most likely just me. I am sure everyone has paranormal experiences but it seems like I have enough to, well, blog about. And that is strange. Before we bought our house we rented a two bedroom apartment in the center of our town. If anyone is familiar with the town that I live in, they know that one of the most haunted and well-known attractions has always been a theater downtown. Actually rated one of the most haunted buildings in SC. There are many stories and legends about the theater but none that I have ever taken to heart or feared. It was actually a tradition when I was little that my grandmother take my cousins and me to the performances there. We always had front row seats and I have always believed this contributed to my love for the arts. I never felt uncomfortable there, although it was always freezing cold. Looking back, it is one of the most memorable things about the theater and there is probably a logical reason behind it, it is just always something that stuck out to me.

The alleyway to the right is the one that we shared with the theater. Our windows looked

out onto the murals painted on the walls. And they were way creepy, by the way. 

The apartment that we rented was amazing. It was huge, with extremely tall ceilings, and interior brick walls. By the time we moved in, Maycen was not even a year old yet. The only downfall to this apartment was that we shared an alleyway with the theater. We had 2 windows in the entire apartment. One window was in Maycen's room and one in ours. The set up was strange and I will try to explain it the best way that I can. Since the ceilings were really high, the windows were huge. However, the bottom of the window started at about eye-level for me, as well as the ground outside. So, when you looked out the windows and someone was standing in the alley, you basically had to look up because we were like street level. It's very hard to describe but hopefully you get the picture. For this reason, I kept the blinds closed. If someone was standing outside of our window, they could literally look down and see everything in our bedrooms and that creeped me out. Also, because of the lack of windows in the other rooms in the apartment, if you turned out the lights it was completely black. As in I could not see my hand in front of my face. Even in the middle of the day it could be pitch black, which was amazing for afternoon movie time but creepy when it came to bedtime. And I still have a strong fear of the dark which was inconvenient but every night I made sure Mayce had a night-light and that the lamp in our bedroom stayed on.

After a couple of months of being there, I started to get really uneasy feelings. It always seemed like someone was on my heels when I walked around or watching me, I guess. And then the nightmares started.

I have always had crazy dreams since I was little but usually within a few moments of waking up, I would have forgotten details of it or not given it much thought. But when the nightmares started in the apartment, they mentally kicked my ass. They were so vivid and so detailed that I would wake up sweating and sometimes crying. It started happening so frequently that I feared bedtime. I would get really anxious and find reasons to stay up. One of the dreams I remember vividly and it started in the apartment. I was in bed and I hear the water running in the bathroom. I sat up on the side of the bed and stared at the bathroom door. It was almost like something was pushing me to open the door but I was still so terrified, even in my dream, that I kept resisting but I could not look away. And then on the brick wall beside the bathroom door, which was painted white, a girl's face starts slowly coming through the wall. YES! Creepiest site ever and I still get goosebumps thinking about it. And it isn't some creepy looking girl, it is just a small girl (maybe around 6 or 7) and her face, and then slowly her body, is just manifesting out of this wall. And I want to scream but I still can't look away. So she materializes in front of the wall and she is standing there in the cliche white little gown with the ribbon in her hair and she just stares. So, dream Amber asks, "What do you want?" and she stares for a minute and then suddenly flashes and she is two inches from my face and says, "I'm here." And I wake up  jump up screaming. It doesn't sound as scary in writing, and even explaining it to Cody that night I remember thinking that it sounded silly. It was just one of those things where you had to experience it to know how intense and terrifying it actually was. And I felt that every time I looked at that wall, I could see her face coming through it for the longest time. Another odd thing about this experience was that when I woke up, the lamp in my room was off. I was way too terrified to get up and check it out but I realized the next morning that the bulb was fine and it was still plugged into the outlet. Coincidence? 

The nightmares began to intensify and I was get an average of 4 to 5 hours of sleep each night. I was miserable. And each one was completely different and unrelated. Every time I tried to talk about it I would get the same responses. People would tell me that I needed to stop watching scary movies or that my diet could affect my dreams. But here is what I learned: If your mind is telling you that you are uncomfortable and that something is wrong -- listen. I have never been one for horror films, especially before bed and I am not a midnight snacker but I still made excuses for way too long.

I started to realize that something was wrong when I awoke to a baby crying over Maycen's monitor. The weird part was that it was not his cry. It almost sounded like a newborn. I listened for a second and then got up to make his bottle. When I opened his door, he was sound asleep. I could still hear the crying on the monitor. There had to be a reasonable explanation. Maybe the monitor was getting crossed with someone else's. I moved Maycen into our bed and turned the monitor off. The next morning I ran into our neighbor taking his trash out when I asked who else in the building had a baby. He quickly responded that there were no other children in the building and that he had known the other tenants for years. I didn't tell him the real reason why I was curious because after all of the nightmares I'd been having... I was starting to believe that I was starting to lose my mind.

A picture that I found of our bedroom in the apartment.

A couple of weeks later I was awaken by one of the scariest sounds I had ever heard in my life. I was 100% sure that someone had broken into our apartment. Over the monitor, it sounded like someone was destroying Maycen's room. It took me a second to process what I was hearing but when I fully came to I could certainly make out the sound of the drawers in his changing table being pulled out and thrown onto the floor. Knowing that my child was in that room, something came over me and I ran. Looking back, I don't know why I didn't wake Cody. And if it were a real invasion, I probably would not be here today. In that moment, though, I didn't care. I just wanted my child. I threw open his door and saw... nothing out of place. Not one thing. And he was sound asleep. I was in some state of shock. I just stood there like a deer in headlights. I checked his closet, the window, everything. I had fully prepared myself to walk in on a trashed room with an intruder still in it and the fact that nothing had been touched and my child was sleeping peacefully... it still baffles me. I was so shaken up that Maycen actually slept in our room for a few weeks afterward.

And this was not the first time that the presence was so real that I felt someone had broken in. One afternoon, it was around the time Cody was supposed to come home from work and I decided to jump in the shower while Mayce was napping. I left the bathroom door open and hopped in to quickly wash my hair. While rinsing, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a dark figure quickly "walk" past the door. I assumed Cody had just gotten home from work and was making his way to the other bathroom. I finished up and was drying off when the figure went past again very quickly. I called out for Cody and got no answer. I knew at this point, knowing what I had experienced, Cody wouldn't be trying to prank me so I just made a dash for Maycen's room and locked the door. I called Cody on his cell and he just so happened to be pulling into the parking lot. He rushed in and told me that the door was still locked when he came in and that he didn't see anyone or anything. 

You know the part in the horror films where the character comes to the realization that what has been going on is actually paranormal and they can no longer make excuses for it? Even though you've been yelling at the screen for the past 30 minutes that something is seriously wrong! Yes, this was that moment for me. I could no longer come up with a reasonable explanation for what was happening. It was the most helpless feeling having something harassing you that may not even be real, and if it was... who would believe?

Cody was becoming genuinely concerned about me. At this point I was a few weeks into my pregnancy with Oliver and I was hardly sleeping. I got a job as a waitress, working mostly night shifts, to earn some extra cash and take my mind off of things. For a while, it worked. I was so exhausted by the end of the night that I was sleeping a little better and since my shifts were late, I wasn't spending a lot of spare time around the apartment at night. A few days passed and I was beginning to feel like my old self. But, of course, that quickly changed.

The head of our bed was positioned below the ledge of the large window. When I would read at night, I could prop my head against it and the street light in the alleyway would come through the blinds. This particular night, Cody was watching TV in the living room while I read. It was fairly late and I was finishing up a chapter when the street light shining on my pages was interrupted by a shadow. I only had on a small lamp, the rest of the room being lit by the light outside, so the room got dark very quickly. I turned to look up and saw this dark figure almost pressed up against the glass of the window. Because the blinds were opened slightly I could make out the body of a man, but no features. Just a large, shadowed figure. I backed up quickly into the center of the bed and was unable to take my eyes off of the window. I was petrified. Was this a person? Was this a ghost? All I can remember was that it fell completely silent in the room. It was like I could no longer hear the TV in the living room, only ringing in my ears it was so quiet. And then I heard what sounded like an old hymn. Whatever this thing was standing up against the glass of the window was singing! And this is the part where I lose most people when I tell this story. It sounds insane. But yes, they were singing. It was a very low, sad voice but the words were clear. All of this happened within a matter of seconds and all I could do was scream. The singing would not stop and I jumped off of the bed (fell off of the bed, actually) and ran for the living room. The only word that I could manage to form was "outside" and Cody was already out the door. The singing came to a complete stop and all fell silent again. Cody returned saying that there was no one in the alleyway or the parking lot. I honestly don't know if this was paranormal or if someone was just messing with me. All I know is that it was one of the weirdest experiences of my life and that to this day, I still have nightmares about it. The sound of the voice and song alone was scary, but one of my deepest fears is someone being outside my window -- so this hit home for me. I was done. 

At this point, Cody assured me he didn't think I was crazy but even I felt ridiculous. I was experiencing these things that I really had no way of proving and if I were him... I wouldn't have believed it. I think that he most likely thought that it was an actual person harassing me from outside rather than something paranormal, but he never said that out loud.


And then finally, Cody had his experience. I was on the way home from a later shift when Cody called. His voice was really shaky and I could definitely tell something was wrong. He said that he had gotten up to get something to drink and was leaning over looking into the fridge when all of a sudden it sounded like something came running down the hall, across the tile kitchen floor and up behind him. He said that he could actually feel it on his neck and that it felt so real he actually thought he was about to be attacked by something or someone. At the time, he was not one to admit that he felt like it was a ghostly experience, but after that I think that he was on my team. 

The discussion of moving was already in the works. I was stressed, little things were beginning to happen around the apartment more often, I was hearing weird sounds... I was just ready to go. It just so happened the apartment across the hall was available. We spoke to the landlord who said that he had no issue with us just switching apartments. As soon as I received that news, pregnant and all, I began moving our things across the hall. It is so odd to think that even though it was the same building, our next apartment had a completely different vibe. We stayed there for the next year and I don't think I can name one paranormal experience. I was back to my old self. I was sleeping through the night. It was such a relieving difference. All was well.

I eventually had my friend, Bethany, over to go walking downtown with me. Like me, she is a firm believer in the paranormal because she has had experiences of her own. She has also been an actress in that particular theater for years in the past. As we walked past it, we got on the subject of the theater and its history. Before I told her any of my own paranormal experiences, she began sharing some that she had had in the theater years prior. She said that during a lot of their rehearsals the people that were in control of the sound would stop the production from time to time because they would hear the sound of a baby crying in their headphones. Mhmmm... you read right. A baby crying. I can't remember in detail the rest of our conversation but there was mention of the entrance of the theater being almost like a passageway to a morgue at somepoint. I will have to actually do research to back that up but it was something that she had heard and I had also heard from other people in the past. We talked about her experiences in the theater and things that would happen and we got on the subject of the alleyway. Now, I don't know how accurate this is but there were rumors that there was an actual murder in that very alleyway involving a pregnant woman. I honestly don't know how true that is but it is very creepy to think that maybe those are the cries heard over the headphones and the monitor. 

Needless to say, it wasn't much longer before we moved and even though it was a terrifying chapter in my life, it is always interesting to talk about. 

I hope you enjoyed the stories! Please comment and let me know which one you thought was the creepiest. Remember to share your spooky stories with me so that I can put them in my upcoming blog!!

Thanks for reading and make sure the closet door is all the way closed before going to sleep.

How We Make It Work, Work, Work, Work, Work.

I ran into an old friend in Wal-Mart today. And yes, I am ALWAYS in Wal-Mart, Judgey Judy but it is either 1. because I forgot something I was supposed to get the day before or 2. I just thought of a spontaneous crafty craft and have to go before my husband tries to stop me. I should just get a job as the greeter. "Hi, welcome to Wal-Mart, hope you're having a lovely day. Hey, if you find yourself in the back of the store could you grab me some hot glue sticks and glitter? Great. Happy shopping!" I mean, it has seriously gotten to a point where if I am there and I don't have my kids... the employees ask where and how my kids are doing. We are two visits from having the greeter over for Thanksgiving, I kid you not. So anyway, I am in the store looking for all things Halloween and I run into a friend from high school. We are talking about our kids and how it is crazy being old now and whatnot and she says, "You and your husband are the perfect couple. I love looking at your pictures and seeing how far you have come! You just look so happy!" As much as I love compliments like that, it made me cringe a little. Not because I didn't want to hear that but because I felt like I was one of those people that made everything seem perfect on social media. And I guess it is easy to because no one wants to post the bad stuff or dramatic stuff but also, no relationship or life is perfect. And if perfection is what you are searching for, please holla at ya girl when you find it.


I will say that I am lucky. Sometimes I forget that I have someone that is willing to work extremely hard for his family, to put in time and effort with his children, and to choose us over everything. I forget this because we get caught up in work, school, dinner, bath time.. and sometimes we lose track of what is important. And though he is awesome, he is not perfect. Neither am I. The reason that I wanted to share this post is because I find that so many people are so caught up in finding a perfect, happy ending that they don't realize when they already are living in a version of that most of the time. And when I accepted this, it truly strengthened our marriage. So, I am by far no expert, but I wanted to share some of our little tips and I would love if you have some to share with me!

Marriage is not easy. And there has actually been over a 50% decline of marriages since 1970! Why? My theory is because times are changing. The economy isn't tiptop, only putting financial stress on more marriages (specifically young marriages) and I am not a believer that money mends the broken or leads to happiness, but in all honesty -- it certainly does help. When you and your spouse both have to work in order to cover just bills, it puts a strain on a marriage. You work hard to and spend less time with each other only to pay bills and have hardly any money left to do anything fun. We have personally been trapped in this cycle in the past.That in itself is enough to put a wedge in any marriage.

We don't have all of the answers but here are some of the things that have proven successful in our marriage and I hope that they may help someone else out there.

Keep It Private. Your fights and disagreements do not belong on social media or in the ear of family/friends. Although it does not hurt to vent to loved ones, keep in mind that they won't forgive as quickly as you do and it will only cause tension in the future. If you need space, you can simply say "We are having a disagreement and I need some time to clear my head." They should have no reason to pry any further into your business. This prevents you from having to go back on your words or having to explain yourself any further than necessary. 

Understand Personal Space. Just because you're a couple does not mean that every interest has to be in common. Understand that sometimes they can do their thing and you can do yours. And that does not mean that they want to spend less time with you. It is actually healthy! In the beginning, we struggled with this one but over time we were able to say, "Hey, go do your thing -- we can do something later." Trying to force someone to like what you like never goes well. This helps me to stay true to myself and the things that I love. 

Don't Take Away Friends. This one is very important to me. I go through phases where I am a complete homebody. I love the blog, write in my journal, Netflix binge, paint... you get the picture. And then some days I wake up and I desperately want to see my friends! Cody is the same way. He loves being at home, watching movies, hanging out... and then some nights he will decide to go out bowling with the guys. ALWAYS encourage this. Sometimes I have to push Cody out the door but he always thanks me for it later. Everyone needs time to find their old selves even if only for a few hours. Everyone deserves to laugh and be silly with old/new friends. And then you and your spouse have something to talk about when you return!




Sometimes You Just Have to Go to Bed Mad. This one sounds crazy, right? I have always been told to never go to bed angry at someone, but sometimes it just isn't realistic. We have solved more issues after getting a good night's rest compared to any other method. Even if you have to sleep separately (which never works for us because I'm a scaredy cat) Yes, I have literally said, "I'm still mad at you, so don't think otherwise... but I need you to get back in the bed because I am scared something is going to get me." Yep, sometimes pride has to be swallowed to save you from the creatures under the bed. And if anything, it'll just get him first. And that is a chance I am willing to take. Anyway, so yeah -- if you need to sleep on it, just sleep on it. Don't force a fake reconciliation because you don't want to go to bed angry. Get your beauty sleep, so you'll be cute in the morning and he'll be forced to say sorry! ;)





Be Considerate. This one makes me proud because this is one that I can honestly say we are good at, if nothing else. We are always there to back one another and help each other out. Cody has a strenuous job, that relies on him to be outside for hours in harsh weather conditions. Rain, shine, snow. So, usually in the summer/spring -- I cut the grass. We have a push mower and live on a slope so it is difficult, but I consider the fact that I have the luxury of being inside all day and he doesn't. So I put in my earbuds and get it done! I have truly come to enjoy it and he is always appreciative. He is always good about running me a bubble bath randomly and letting me enjoy one of my books! The point I am trying to make is that the more acts of kindness you perform for them, the more they will want to return!






Learn to Laugh at One Another. Know what argument NEEDS to happen and which is ridiculous. Learn to laugh at those ridiculous ones. One of my favorite things about Cody is his ability to make me laugh. So a lot of our arguments end with laughter. It is beautifully annoying. 

So these are just a few that I wanted to share with you. And I would LOVE to hear some guidelines that you and your spouse go by to make a smoother relationship! I think that every relationship has room for improvement and growth. We learn as we go and right now.. that works for us!

As stated before, I am aware that we aren't perfect. But in this time, in this reality, we have to learn to hold on to one another and fix what is broken instead of just throwing it away. There have been so many times where I have wanted to throw in the towel, but then I realize that that is the easy route. It is harder to mend it day by day but once the past is in the past I am always thankful that I didn't give up.

Wishing you all happily ever afters!

Haunting on Hillcrest: Video Proof?!

It is officially Fall. Did you hear me? Read me? FALL! My Halloween decorations are out and the house smells like a Starbucks on steroids (Yasssss!) Of course, my husband thinks I am ridiculous, and if you saw me yesterday hanging zombies in the tree in our front yard with a fishing rod... you would probably agree. But you know, I don't need that kind of negativity in my life, so if you aren't feeling festive... move along, party pooper!

Now, keeping the Halloween vibe rolling...

I have loved hearing all of your feedback on my previous ghosty posts! Most of you have asked the history of our property and unfortunately, I cannot find anything! So if anyone has an idea of where I can search... please let me know! Another idea that someone suggested was setting up a camera so that is what I did! We do have a video camera, however, it has been dead for like 3 months and I am way too lazy to search for the charger and too impatient to wait for it to charge! So, with the help of my handy dandy Macbook I have just periodically turned on the webcam and let it record. I try to do this when we are out of the house just to prevent any noises that we may make being confused with something paranormal. I have done this for the past week. I have not recorded longer than 20-30 minute intervals because I am usually not out of the house any longer than to pick drop off/pick up Maycen from school or make a quick trip to the store *cough* Dollar Tree *cough*. I will say that I am not familiar with any editing applications on this laptop, so the only thing I can do to the video is trim it so that you don't have to watch the full 30 minutes of silence while I was grocery shopping! I would eventually like to find a way to enhance it and I am sure that I can figure that out if I take the time to look over the programs... IF I find the time.

I aimed the webcam at the toy room today because that is the typical paranormal hot spot. Like, if there were a new night club in the ghost world, the toy room is poppin' for sure. Surprisingly, from what I can make out in this particular video... it doesn't seem like the noise is coming from that room but behind the camera maybe? You will also hear a noise that sounds like something dropped or moved, and I will say that I cannot find anything on the floor that I can confirm made the noise or had fallen. 

So, I want you to take a look at this video. Listen closely and tell me what you think the noise is. Can it be debunked? Do you think I am making something out of nothing? Please follow up with me and let me know how you feel about it!

xoxo.

Amber

Ding-Dong! Anyone There?

Vacation is sadly over. I will admit that it was awesome being able to step away from our busy life to get a few minutes of sandy peace and sunshine! It was definitely needed. Now that I am back, I have been itching to share a few more scary stories with you! Mostly because I was able to speak with my neighbor directly about things that have been happening around the house. And I mean that literally. Apparently, things have been happening outside of our home as well. Now, prior to my blog post about the hauntings, she and I have never spoken about it. After reading my blog, however, it was brought up casually in our conversation the other day.

One thing I haven't mentioned in prior posts is something that happens pretty regularly. Cody gets up for work around 5:30 every morning. He is usually pulling out of the driveway no later than 5:45. I know right, it only takes him 15 minutes to get ready, it is ridiculous. Anyway, so I can hear his work truck pull out because our driveway ends right beside our bedroom window. It is actually quite annoying because it wakes me up every morning, but it is a sound that I am used to. Not everyday, but a few times a week I hear the familiar sound of Cody getting into his truck, starting it, and backing out of the driveway. About two minutes later, it sounds like he is coming back into the house. I can hear a bump, as if the front door is being closed, and then it sounds like someone is pacing or walking in circles looking for something. On occasion, it has been so distinct that I have gotten up to help him search for whatever "he" is looking for... only to find an empty house. One morning, about two months ago, it happened. I heard him leave and then I heard the pacing foot steps. I sat up and called out his name. Even though it was morning, it was still dark out, which left me feeling a little vulnerable and spooked. The footsteps stopped immediately after I called his name but no answer. Thinking I had somehow dreamt it, I laid back down and tried to go back to sleep. Nope. There they were again. Pacing. And then a drawer opened. The drawer to the table by the front door. I then heard muttering, like he was talking to himself, and it was low but it was clearly Cody's voice. Maybe he hadn't heard me or maybe he didn't want to yell back because he was by the boys' room. I texted him, "What are you looking for?" and waited. About one minute later, Cody called me. When I answered he asked, "What are you talking about?" I continued to tell him that I had heard him looking for something in the drawer and asked if he had lost his keys. "Honey, I am on the interstate right now, I left about 30 minutes ago." He replied. My heart sank. Then I realized, I didn't hear the footsteps anymore. Needless to say, I couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and turned on every light and started to research what I had heard. Now, I don't know how true this is, but it was actually a very common thing in the paranormal world. It is something called a "Spirit Mimic." It is a spirit's ability to mock sounds that we are familiar with, such as a person's voice, a door (or drawer) shutting, footsteps, etc. The reason behind spirits doing this is to mostly get your attention. Apparently, a lot of entities want acknowledgement because they thrive on energy. Whether it is good or bad. Have you ever thought someone called your name but they didn't? Or heard footsteps when no one was there? Or a doorbell, perhaps? This leads me to my next story. 

Just a little fact about me: I will not come to the door if you come to my house unannounced. Sorry, but it just is not going to happen. I have seen way too many Lifetime movies where that ends badly for the housewife. It is sad that that is how the world works, that we are scared to go to our own front doors, but unfortunately that is just how it is. But on this particular day, I was expecting a package. A book that I had been dying to read so I was anxiously awaiting and my UPS app had anticipated its arrival that day. In the middle of doing dishes, the doorbell rang. I did my little happy dance all the way to the door, only to realize that no one was there. I opened the door hoping that they'd left the package but nothing was there. I thought it was strange but went back to my dishes. The doorbell rang again. This time twice. I peeked through the blinds and didn't see a car, UPS truck, mail truck, or anything in the driveway. So of course I think, what moronic child is playing ding-dong-ditch in the middle of the afternoon? And this mama was not about to be played. I posted up by one of the windows that actually looks out onto our front porch. I stayed very still (thankfully Oliver was napping or this stakeout would not have been so quiet). I waited about 15 minutes and nothing happened. Realizing how silly I looked, I went back to cleaning. And there it was again. Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong. This time, I happened to be picking up shoes from the front door and quickly jumped to the window on our door. No one there. Unless this child was invisible or a track star, I don't know how they would've gotten away so quickly without me seeing part of them. It was a little annoying, but I honestly did not think much of it. Even though we don't have many young kids in our neighborhood, it was something that could be shaken off as a prank and I left it at that. 

I actually have not thought much else about that story until we arrived home from our vacation a couple of hours ago. My neighbor and I look out for one another's homes and I went over to speak with her when we returned. As stated earlier, before my blog -- I had never mentioned any of these stories to her. Not to many people, actually. Mostly because people are so quick to call you crazy when something is out of the ordinary. And some will only assume you're making it up because honestly, some are very hard to believe. Anyway, since she has read my blog we have spoken about our different experiences and it turns out... a lot of them are similar.  Apparently, while we were gone she had almost the same doorbell experience I had had. She said that she and her dad were home a couple of days ago when her doorbell went crazy. It started to ring over and over and over and there was no sign of a car in her driveway or anyone outside. Just like I did, she assumed she was going crazy -- until her dad confirmed that he heard it as well and that they had gotten to the door quickly enough to see someone if they had been there. This verified that something was definitely going on between our homes and though we don't know what it is, it seems to enjoy the attention it is getting. And from what I can collect, it definitely sounds like this is Spirit Mimicking. 

As I was speaking with her this evening, I asked her what type of vibe she gets when stuff happens. And oddly enough, she said that she gets a very "childish" vibe. That whatever this is, seems like child-like behavior. She also mentioned that she hears what seems to be small, quick footsteps, as well as laughing. Even though it is an uncomfortable thing to hear or discuss, it gives me comfort to know that I am not insane and that someone is actually on the same page. My goal over the next few days is to look for history of this land. Maybe something goes further back before the house was even built? Or maybe it is just me that is haunted? Have you ever had an experience with a Spirit Mimic? Or thought you had? Please share your story in the comments below and always check under the bed before turning out the lights. 

Fall Mantel Decor: On A Budget!

It's Fall! Well, almost. So I decided to get into the spirit with a DIY! I wanted to do something a little different this year and stray away from the typical fall colors. As much as I love them... the orange, reds, and yellows didn't blend too well with the earthy vibe I am going for in my new living room! All the more reason to go to Dollar Tree! And we all know I am always looking for a reason to shop there. One of my favorite things to do is find something cheap and make it look expensive and Dollar Tree is just the place to do it! So, here it is! My fall mantel decor for under $10.00... cause this mama is on a budget, y'all.

Honestly, it isn't EXACTLY how I want it to be yet... I'm still debating on what I should add. Possibly more ivy? But for less than $10.00, I think it is pretty cute. So let me show you how I did it!

These foam carving pumpkins are the cutest and only $1.00 a piece. I grabbed five of these and then made my way to the floral section and grabbed three strands of faux ivy, also $1.00 a piece!

I didn't get a picture of the painting process, however, I will give props to Cody and Maycen for helping me cover the bright orange punkins with some white acrylic paint! And last minute, I found some twine in one of my craft drawers! Now, if you don't already have this you can find it at Wal-Mart. Mine still had the price on it ($1.00) and I am pretty sure it was in the craft section. 

This was the fun part! I basically just spiraled the string around the tip of the pumpkin, hot gluing as I went further up. On some of the stems I went further up with the string, giving it a more whimsical look. 

And that was it! It took me maybe an hour total, including the paint drying time! It was super fun and I was able to include the boys in this one. Let me know what you think about it -- or if there is anything you think that I should add to it! If you decide to try it, show me! I would love to see how it turns out or the twists that you'd put on it! Happy Fall, Y'all!

Homemade Ghost Stories

Grab your flashlights -- it is time for some ghost stories! I wish I could say that some of these weren't true, however, sadly... this is my creepy little life. So, I have been thinking about what other stories I should share with you and I had good ones that I had planned to share in this entry but it seems as though my "visitors" had something else in mind. In one of my previous entries I mentioned that Cody would be going out of town for work soon. What I didn't mention is that he has actually been out of town the past couple of days. The reasons for me not posting that I was home alone, with two children, on the internet should be obvious but now that he is back in town I can say that! Under those circumstances I had some odd experiences over the last few days that I would like to share. Paranormal? You decide. 


The first night that Cody was out of town was actually Wednesday night. The boys and I went about our normal routine and I was actually starting to relax. Most of the day was over, it was almost bedtime, and nothing had happened so far -- we were in the clear. *Buzzer sound* Wrong. The boys obviously sleep with me when Cody is away. I pretend its for them but honestly, I am a chicken shit and don't like to sleep alone. So we had just finished video chatting with Dad and I begin to walk around, locking doors, checking windows, and turning off lights. Now, if you can imagine, my house is a complete circle on the inside. When you walk into my front door you have the option to go left into the hallway or if you go straight it takes you through the living room, into "the office" or what is now the playroom, through the kitchen, through the bonus room and then back into the hallway that leads to our bedrooms and that goes back into the living room. That was probably the worst explanation but you get it, it's a circle. So I start in the kitchen and make my way through the office and living room turning off lights. After I check the door and step back into the hallway I noticed by looking into the kitchen that the light was still on in the office/playroom. Maybe I forgot to hit the switch. I go back into the office, turn the light out, walk through the living room and step back into the hallway. And what do ya know? The office light is on... again. Maybe I'm not doing something right? I am trying, at all costs, to avoid the possibility that this is something paranormal. That maybe my light switches are jacked up somehow. I stand in the hallway for a minute, trying to get my life together, and I am staring into the kitchen where the office light can be seen. I stand there for about 30 seconds and then "click" the office light turns off. So after changing my underwear, I climb into bed. The boys are enjoying their 15 minutes of electronic time and are not the slightest bit concerned that their mother has just suffered 3 mini strokes, a heart attack, and a possible ankle fracture. So, it takes me forever to get adjusted and clear my head and thankfully nothing else happened that night. 

The next day, in broad daylight, my curiosity gets the best of me. I turned the switch on and off, walked in and out of the room, talked to myself way too much, and come to actually no reasonable conclusion. We have never had any electrical problems. Being married to a very particular electrician, that wouldn't be a possibility anyway. So I have no idea what it could have been. Hopefully, it was some kind of glitch and I just scared myself to death over nothing.

That night, I tried to keep my mind occupied. We played games, read stories, and watched a movie. All seemed well until it was bath time. The boys were in their bubble bath and I was running around trying to make the house look like humans lived there (not wild animals) when one of Oliver's trains went off in the playroom. (The office and the playroom are the same room, I apologize if I am extremely confusing.) So, that is not incredibly uncommon. Sometimes when the boys are responsible for cleaning their playroom, things get shoved and crammed any kind of way in their toy bins, so this didn't startle me too much at first. So I find the train and take it out of the bin completely. I place it on top of the shelf/organizer and proceed to my chores. Everything seems to be going smoothly, I get the boys in pj's and in bed. By the way, I was KILLING that single mom life. Like a boss. I'm just saying. So the boys instantly pass out because it had been a long day and I'm excited because that means I get to watch an episode of Weeds. If you don't know what that show is, I don't know what you're doing with your life. Anyway, mid-episode I hear that stupid train again. And this isn't the first time I have had an experience with that specific train, might I add. So I get up and walk back into the playroom. And what do ya know, the light was back on... and there sits that happy little train just choo-chooing away in all its creepiness. Needless to say, that light stayed on and that train sat right there because I was not setting foot in that room. And that train chooed for 20 minutes, by the way! If I haven't ever had faith in Duracell batteries, I did Thursday night! 

My final experience actually happened a couple of hours ago. Which is the whole reason I started on this entry. Now, I don't really know how to describe this one. It makes me seem a little bonkers but my story must live on. So, I was actually curling my hair in my bedroom and Mayce walks in and asks if he can run outside and grab a ball from their playhouse. Oliver is lying on his bed in his bedroom, which is directly next to ours so I can hear him interacting with an app on his iPad, answering questions that it asks him. I tell Mayce to let me finish with my hair and I will walk out with him. "Moooooom! It'll take me two seconds -- I'll be right back!" So I tell him it's fine but to leave the front door open and that I was counting to five! Side note: Our front door is a little wide for its opening, so when you open it you have to tug pretty hard and when you close it you have to put your back into it. And it is loud! So I heard him open the door and push the storm door and the storm door close behind him. Oliver is still yelling at his iPad. I count to five out loud. I am still curling my hair, staring directly into the mirror, when out of the corner of my eye I see Maycen come into my bedroom, pick up something, and run back out. And I thought to myself I didn't hear the storm door open back up and I didn't hear the front door close. "Did you close the front door?" I asked. No answer. "Mayce! Did you close the front door?" Nothing. I walk into their bedroom to find Ollie in the same spot he was minutes before and then I hear "Mom!!" from outside. The front door is still opened and the storm door is still closed. I step out on the porch to find Maycen standing on top of his playhouse. "There are ants all over the ground, I'm scared that if I get down they will bite me!" I asked him if he had been out there the whole time. He nodded. I asked him if he had come in and gone into my room. He shook his head no. Of course I asked him a few more times because I KNOW that I saw someone about his size slip into my room and back out. Maycen is not one to lie, even if he knows it will get him in trouble, so I usually take his word for it. Oliver had not moved but I asked him anyway. Of course, he said no. So.. that left me wondering.. who came into my room? Or, should I say, what came into my room?

Any ideas? Let me know in the comments below what you think it could be! Also, I have looked into the history of our house and could not find anything out of the ordinary so I am kind of at a stand still right now. If any of you know how I could get more information outside of just a Google search -- fill me in! And why is it, do you think, that "they" like to mess with me when I am alone? Should I set up a camera?! You tell me. Be safe and always check under the bed.

Is My House Haunted: Take 2

So, I honestly had no idea that so many people were that interested in the paranormal activity of our home! I have received some of the funniest messages and comments with a lot of requests to keep posting so here it is: Part 2.

Now, I thought about this a lot last night and a part of me wonders if the house is haunted.. or if it is just me! I have read that entities can latch on to people just as well as places and this would not be my first experience with ghosts. I do have many possibilities as to who these beings could be as during my childhood I endured several deaths in my family, as well as friends. In the course of 5 years or so, my family suffered terrible losses starting with my 22 year old brother in 2003. Following him over the next few years were two of my uncles, a family friend, my grandpa, and two great grandparents. By the time I was a teenager I then lost one of my oldest friends and then one of my newer friends on my birthday in 2013. Obviously, I have suffered great losses, but death is not something that I fear or that I am unfamiliar with. I think that most of my generation in my family can relate to feeling like we were in a funeral home every few months. We actually grew very close with the funeral directors as to where they knew us all by name. Weird, right? I can say that it was hard and that my childhood was probably different than most, but having suffered so much loss you begin to appreciate people while they are here. It made me love my husband and children deeper, as well as acknowledge the people who mean the most to me in my life. We never know when our last day will be and I try to be forgiving and let go of meaningless grudges. Life is seriously too short.

So now that you have a little back story you can see why I am probably surrounded by all kinda paranormal activity. Although we have experienced the most in our current home its probably because we are so aware of our surroundings here that we are able to tell if something is off or if the house feels different. A lot of times I can actually feel when something is about to happen. There will be a certain smell or a feeling that someone is watching me. In saying that, one incident comes to mind and it is probably the scariest of them all. Mostly because I was alone.

So, I have been blessed with a husband that is a homebody. He honestly prefers to be at home with his family to pretty much anything. So when the opportunity came up for a guys trip to Myrtle Beach I basically had to talk him into going. Now this was in the midst of everything going on in the house and it was becoming pretty regular so he was very hesitant about leaving. But silly me, I urged him to go because he seriously needed a break. I began to regret that decision about 5 minutes after he walked out of the door. The boys went to visit their grandparents for the night and I was totally A-L-O-N-E. It was about 5:00 that evening and I was trying to occupy myself with Netflix when my cellphone started ringing. When I picked it up it read the numbers "111-111-1111" on the screen. I answered the call and it was nothing. I was half expecting some cliche heavy breathing on the line but no, just silence, and then it hung up from the other end. About 10 minutes later, it did it again. "111-111-1111". I answered and it was nothing on the other line. Starting to get a little anxious, I called Cody and spoke with him for a little while to make myself feel better. He assured me it was probably someone pranking me or a telemarketer at some point. By the way, who gave them access to cell phone numbers? Jeez! Anyway, so this happens 2 more times. Finally, I call my mom and I am talking to her about it and she says, "That's so strange because a few months after your brother died, we started getting calls like that every once in a while. No one was ever on the other end but I just always told myself it was him trying to reach out and let us know he was okay." This should have comforted me but no, it gave me the heebie jeebies and I wanted my husband back home asap! I continued my Netflix scrolling and it called AGAIN! Finally when I answered it was a lot of white noise. Just heavy static. So in my cliche, horror movie victim voice I yelled "WHO IS THIS!?" And it was the CREEPIEST effing laugh on the other end. And I seriously just got cold chills even typing it. It sounded like a really young little girl and then the call ended. I was done. I called Cody, who was now 3 hours away at this point and he suggested that I call a friend over to keep me company. And you always see these scenarios in horror films and you're like "Why doesn't she just leave the house?" but truth is I didn't feel like getting dressed, I just needed to be in my fat pants and I had just rented a movie that I REALLY wanted to watch. So if this little girl was going to get me... she was taking me out in a messy bun and yoga pants. So, I called my friend Tray. He came over, very hesitantly, and stayed for about an hour before hearing a noise in another room and then bailing on me! Once again I was alone. So, what do you do? You lock yourself in your room and watch Disney Channel. Duh. I finally convinced myself to just stick it out and suck it up. And I am actually sort of glad that the boys weren't home. I was so jumpy that I would have seriously freaked them out. It was just a heaviness in the house. A feeling where you know you aren't alone and I wasn't diggin' it. The best way that I usually occupy myself is writing in my journal. Yes, I know, I'm 12.  So by 10:00 pm that's what I had tried to do to keep my mind off of things. About 20 minutes into it, I heard a sound in the kitchen. It sounded like something had hit the countertop or fallen over but I could not think of what it could have been. And do you think that I was going to check? Uh, no. So I brushed it off. A few minutes later, it was the same sound but a little louder. Something wanted my attention and whatever it was -- it was a brat. So I hyped myself up and decided to check it out. Now, just to give you a visual I am going to include a picture of the two frames that were on my kitchen counter.

I just snapped this picture, it wasn't taken that night or anything but I just wanted you to get an idea of how the frames were positioned. This is how they are aways positioned. When I came into the kitchen both frames were facedown and if you zoom in on the yellow picture frame you can see that it hit the counter so hard that it actually broke in two places. The lower left corner and the right side have cracks in the frame. I was really freaked out. Now some would say that it was coincidence, that maybe the frames weren't positioned right and they fell. But both of them? Within minutes of each other? Others might say it was the wind. Well, others, its not the 50's and we don't keep our windows open around here. So, there is no logic that I can find as to what may have caused it. But if you have any guesses -- let me know!

So, thankfully, nothing else happened while he was away. Whatever was scaring me obviously could tell I had had my feel for the night. I didn't mention ANY of this to Cody while he was gone. He was expected home late the next evening so we went about our usual schedule and was in bed by 10 or so. Cody still hadn't gotten home and I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer so I passed out. The next morning, as we were talking over breakfast, he mentioned something that really spooked me. He said that he made it home about 2 am or so and noticed that I was sleeping. He said that he didn't even really walk into the bedroom that he jumped straight into the shower to avoid waking me. As he was in the shower he said he could hear music playing in the bedroom. He assumed that he had woke me up and that I was watching videos on my phone. When he got out of the shower, he still heard the same music. When he opened the bedroom door, I was still asleep in the same position. The Pandora app was opened on my phone and a Secondhand Serenade song "Your Call" was playing. Now, if anyone knows of a glitch or something where this has happened or is common please let me know, but as long as I have had Pandora it has never opened on its own or chosen its own station randomly. I have also not heard that song in years so it was odd that it had played, it wasn't one that I commonly listened to on the regular. So I filled him in on everything that had happened while he was gone and we just concluded that something or someone was trying to get a message across but what that message is, I have no idea. It is still extremely difficult for me to listen to that song, I have tried to analyze the lyrics to see if there is some sort of message that was trying to be conveyed but I ultimately end up turning it off. 


Now, a lot of people have asked how this has affected the boys. And yes, it has. However, we try not to bring too much attention to it. Both of them have said very uneasy things and we try to stray their mind away from it. I think Maycen has been affected the most. Mostly because he is a lot more verbal than Oliver. One night, we were lying in bed and I was flipping through albums on my phone to show Cody a picture of something. I flashed by a picture of my brother. Maycen was about 3 at the time and he asked me to stop on that picture. Obviously, Maycen has never met my brother and was really too young to understand any stories that I would have told about him. He stared at the picture for a few seconds and said "That's him." I looked over at Cody and then turned to Mayce. "That's who?" That's the boy that comes in my room. I calmly asked him what he meant and he replied, "That's the boy that comes in my room sometimes when you're sleeping. Always when you're sleeping." He was speaking about it so casually that I couldn't quite tell if he was being silly. And I asked, "Does he scare you? Why does he come into your room?" He said "No! We roll the ball. On Fridays." At this point I am in a state of shock. I ask him multiple times if he is playing with me, but at the age of 3 I don't think his sense of humor was developed enough for him to understand why that would be funny. He answered every question that I had very calmly and then climbed down from the bed and went into his room. That was the last I heard about that. 

The experience with Oliver was not so pleasant. It was in the middle of the afternoon, I was off from work and Mayce was in preschool so it was just Oliver and myself home for the day. I was trying to coax him into taking a nap, which was not working, and so we were lying in my bed together. I was singing one of his favorite songs and just as he started to doze off, he opened his eyes wide and said "Mommy, look!" And pointed to the ceiling. I asked, "What is it?" He said "Do you see the shadows?" Now, this was in the middle of the day so I wasn't necessarily as frightened as I was frustrated because it honestly seemed like something he was saying to get out of a nap. "No, I don't see any shadows." He kept pointing and said "Yes you do." I said "No, I don't see anything. Are they good shadows or bad shadows?" He whispered "Bad." Now the door to the bedroom was cracked slightly and as soon as that word left his mouth the door clicked shut and then it honestly sounded like something with very tiny feet and short steps did a lap around the house. It scared me so badly that I called Cody at work and made him leave early. I was so shaken up and the footsteps were so loud that my first actual thought was that someone was REALLY in my house. Like, a living person. But then all went quiet again. Oliver bursts into tears and all I wanted to do was leave but I was terrified to leave the bedroom. That was also probably one of my scariest encounters, I don't like to talk about it much. I still get cold chills. 

Cody and I try not to verbalize about these things out loud. The boys are still mostly unaware that something is going on and we would like to keep it that way. They have no issues sleeping in their room at night, and this also had a lot to do with why I put them in a room together. It brought me more comfort that way. So those are the stories that I have for today, and there are plenty more that I would love to share if you guys are interested! Please keep commenting and messaging me, I love to hear others' thoughts on the paranormal! Also, I have noticed that more activity happens when I am alone... Cody will be out of town for work soon, any ideas on what I should do when I am here alone?! Let me know. Until next time -- Check behind the shower curtain before you pee. :)