HA!

Have you ever watched a music video and wondered "What in the world does this crazy guy running around have to do with this song???"

Well I have... and apparently I'm not the only one. I present to you "Total Eclipse of the Heart". That 80's hit by Bonnie Tyler... but now the lyrics match the video... and you will laugh. I promise. You. Will. Laugh.

Enjoy!

Small Gripe
Its the end of the school year and I'm once again faced with the task of getting gifts for teachers, aides, therapists, bus drivers and so on and so forth. I really do appreciate all that these people do for my kids. I am so thankful that there are people out there willing to be teachers! Let's give it up for the educators! WOOOHOOOO!!

And now... for the gripe. I've been looking for something to do for everyone and my creative juices have run dry. So, what did I do? I did what any other self respecting (read: a little desperate) parent would do... I Googled "gifts for teachers". Oh how I love Google! Anyway, I got some good ideas but I also read a few things that really irked me.

I came across articles written by teachers about how much they hated lotions, candles, coffee mugs etc. and wished for things like a day at the SPA or season tickets to a local venue... WHAT THE CRAP!?! I'm sorry but be a little thankful that anyone took the time to give you ANYTHING. Teaching is your PROFESSION. That means you get PAID to do it and that we (the parents) don't have to GIVE you anything. I give you something because I want to show you that I appreciate what you've done... but I can't afford a day at the spa or season tickets to anything!

I don't owe you a gift, dear teachers. I give you one because I like you. I try to take the time to make it something worth while that you will like. I may miss the mark, but at least I try.

I do have to say that my kids teachers this year have been really gracious and sweet. Sending home thank you notes and showing they are really grateful for our little gifts. But if we ever end up with one of these "Gimme a spa day" types... well, that will be the year we stop giving gifts!

Do you give gifts for the end of the school year? What are your kids teacher like? Do they seem to expect a gift? Are they appreciative of the things you do? Or do they grump and groan about getting ANOTHER candle? I'm curious...

Anyway.... rant over. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program...

She's Baaaaaaaaack....
So, MARISSA wanted me to share another little story with you. Do you remember Marissa? If not, you must go read about her here. Laugh like a maniac and then come back. Don't worry. We'll wait for you.
Anyway, Marissa has learned another great life lesson and thought she'd share it with you all. As you remember, the last lesson was "Go to the bathroom before you leave the house... no matter what." Today's lesson is "Don't ever, ever, ever, ever try to quadruple a recipe when you are...
a. really tired
b. in a big hurry
c. your children are awake
d. you're just not good at math
e. all of the above"
Unfortunately, Marissa falls into the "e" category.
She was up late last night and then didn't sleep well (stupid neighbor dogs).
She hadn't left herself enough time to really undertake a baking project this morning.
Her children kept running in and asking life or death questions such as "Can we watch the Gummi Bears?" (do you remember that show?) or "Do I have to shower today?".
And let's face it - Marissa is really bad at math. Basic addition still stumps her.
All of these factors should have been clues for Marissa to forget the whole idea, but she REALLY wanted zucchini bread. So, she ignored all the warning signs and went blazing ahead.
She was supposed to add 2 cups of the following ingredients: sugar, brown sugar, and oil. In her hurried state she added 4 cups of each of those ingredients. ACK! On top of that, she didn't add enough baking soda or flour.
Do you know what happens when you do such a thing? Neither do I. But MARISSA DOES! You end up with bricks. Sugary, nasty, burnt on the outside, gooey and gloppy on the inside, bricks.
And the extra batter that was thrown in the freezer? Well it won't freeze. Why? BECAUSE IT'S GOT TOO MUCH DARN OIL IN IT!!
Marissa is a tad frustrated and really annoyed that she didn't get any zucchini bread today. But I told her she probably wasn't alone in her baking mishap. I'm sure there are others out there who have had troubles of their own... right? Um... anyone? Please... feel free to share...

STRETCH
First off, I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.
Second, I decided that Mother's DAY just isn't long enough. Which is why I insisted that we have Mother's Day Weekend in our home this year.
It started Saturday morning. Hubby took the kids out shopping - I stayed home and sewed on a new skirt. Something that I just can't seem to do when the kids need my attention. They brought home a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for me. Then we went to Subway for lunch because there was NO WAY I was cooking on MY weekend. After that we needed to do grocery shopping... but I bailed out and sent the kids and Hubby packing. I had two BLISSFUL hours of UNINTERRUPTED reading time! It was like heaven had opened its pearly gates and let me enter for a moment. Ahhh... After that, Hubby fed the kids and got them in bed while I continued reading. Then I picked a movie for us to watch... it was stupid. But it didn't matter - it was my choice. After the movie was over, I finished reading my book (it was the 5th book in the Percy Jackson series and it was so good!).
Today I got to sleep in. Baby Girl snuck into my room and whispered "Happy Mother's Day. I love you momma." I love it when she calls me "momma". Hubby made me breakfast and got the kids ready for church. I opened some fun gifts and then got myself ready for the day. At church I got to hear some fantastic talks - especially the first speaker. It was a young woman from our ward and she spoke about how it takes courage to raise a family. It was a fantastic and left me feeling so uplifted. The men and all the children sang in a special choir for the moms. It was fabulous! Then, all the women were given brownies as a gift. You can never go wrong with chocolate. After church I relaxed and talked to my parents on the phone. Hubby and the kids made dinner (rib-eye steak and garlic Parmesan potato wedges) and dessert (no idea what it's called, but it involves a peanut butter mixture, cocoa krispies and vanilla ice cream). Then Hubby put the kids to bed AGAIN while I played the piano! Now I'm eating my second helping of dessert and blogging.
I feel rested and relaxed and loved. Does it get any better than that?
I hereby declare Mother's Day Weekend a success and proclaim that it will be carried out every year from now through eternity. Actually... can I proclaim a Mother's Day Weekend once a month? I like that idea... I like it a lot!

Oink
The swine flu has decided to make an appearance in my little valley. I can't tell you how thrilled I am. I've always wanted to be part of a pandemic and now it looks like I just might get my chance! YES!! I will be part of history... gotta love that, right?
Okay, not really. I'm not freaking out yet, but I am concerned. After all, I have a child who can't talk. If he gets this, he won't be able to tell me. We'll just have to wait for him to be completely miserable before we will know that he needs help. Sigh. So, we are taking a few precautions...
Hand sanitizer was sent with Red to school along with instructions for him to use it, especially before he eats, and share it with anyone who wants some. Little Bug's class already uses hand sanitizer, but I'm going to buy more to send for the class. We will also be bathing in the stuff once or twice a day.
The everyone will change clothes when they get home from school/work/shopping... wherever they could be exposed to the flu (ugh! I don't even want to think about the mountains of laundry I am creating for myself here :S). If we find out that someone from the family HAS been exposed, their clothes will be burned.
Clorox wipes are now in my purse to wipe down shopping carts, door handles, and anyone who sneezes or coughs in my general direction.
My Mom is sending us some masks to wear if someone does get sick. If no one gets sick then we just might wear them anyway and pretend to be Michael Jackson.
Hand washing will be required throughout the day. I'm even thinking of waking everyone up in the night to make them wash...
And we will be staying home unless there is a really good sale somewhere. Then, I'll take my chances.
Not a lot of changes but it should be fun, don't you think?
There is a silver lining in all this though... we already have a subscription to Netflix. So, if we do get sick, we will still be entertained. Can't ask for more than that... right?
(Please recognize a healthy dose of sarcasm in this post... I'm not that crazy. Not yet anyway...)

Decisions, Decisions
I have a dilemma. And so, as usual, I'm turning to you, bloggernauts, for your guidance and inspiration.
I have a membership to Barnes and Noble. So, every time I order a book, I get a discount between 10-40% off. On top of that, every so often they send an email with an extra discount code in it. So, I have an additional 20% off one item (oh, how I love discounts!).
And that's where my dilemma comes in. I can't decide what to use it on! I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to books. I love getting new books... but (there's always a "but" isn't there?) I'm also hesitant. I don't like reading books that are gory,vulgar (language or sexual content) or just plain boring! And so, I always worry about spending money on a book I haven't read before. What if it's nasty? What if it's foul? Or what if it is so stinking boring that my brain turns to mush and leaks out my ears? See? This is a big deal!
And this is where you can help. What have you read recently that you've liked? And, if you had a 20% off coupon for Barnes and Noble, what book would you buy? Or would you use it on a game? DVD? CD? What would you get?

Oh, and one more thing... Barnes and Noble has just opened an Audio Bookstore. You can download over 10,000 books. I've done a few price checks and B&N is anywhere from $5-15 less than what I found on iTunes... I've only looked at a few books, but what I've seen has been encouraging! We listen to audio books whenever we travel... so this is a great thing for us! Just thought I'd give a heads up in case anyone else out there loves this format as well. (And no, I don't work for Barnes and Noble and this is not a paid blog spot... I just really love buying things from them!)

Liquid Refreshment?
Several of you have commented or contacted me in some way asking if I've dropped off the face of the earth. I haven't... and I'm here to explain where I have been...
The other day I was feeling rather worn out but couldn't really put my finger on why. I had slept well, had a good breakfast, and I had even exercised. But I was exhausted. I started looking around online and found that fatigue can be caused by dehydration. So, I went on a quest to figure out just how much liquid is recommended in a day...
They say that you should get between 8-10 8oz. glasses of water every day. That's 64-80 ounces to stay healthy and hydrated.
8 oz. of pomegranate juice
Then we have milk... 3-4 8oz. glasses each day to get the calcium you need.
Grape juice is next on the list (full of all those great antioxidants, ya know) 1-2 glasses at about 5oz. each.
You should have about about 8 oz. of cranberry juice each day.
Another 8 oz. of grapefruit juice should also be consumed.
Then there are all sorts of herbal teas, protein shakes, health drinks and a myriad of other juices. The list goes on and on.
Basically what I'm saying is that I haven't been blogging because I've been living in the bathroom. I no longer feel tired... quite the opposite actually. I haven't felt this lively or done this much running in a long time!
Okay... not really. But it was funny, right? (Oh, and just so you know, you really shouldn't drink that much liquid. It's around 64 to 80 oz. total liquid intake. I know all my readers are smart, but I don't want some stranger stumbling onto my blog and start drinking a couple of gallons of beverages every day... I think that would be a bad thing and I don't want to be held responsible. Anyway...)
I haven't been blogging lately because I just don't feel like I have much to say right now - not even in comments. I seem to go through spurts like this every now and again. Hopefully inspiration will hit and I'll be writing up a storm and keeping up with all y'all again soon.
Thanks for checking up on me!