Idaho
Beautiful scenery, vast wilderness, awesome lakes and rivers - this is how you could describe Idaho. Unless you are there in March/April. Then the descriptive words would be more like: frigid arctic winds, massive mud holes, occasional snow and freezing temperatures. After hearing that description, some of you may question my motive for heading in that general direction tomorrow. Yes, I'm leaving my balmy 80 degree temps, palm trees and blue skies to head to the cloudy, windy, cold state of Idaho. Go ahead. Say it. "CRAZY!!" But really, there is a method to my madness. You see, next week is spring break and unfortunately, hubby is looking at lots of meetings, long days and no time off to go do anything fun. Which means I will be here pretty much on my own with the kids. Which isn't a big deal, but I'd rather have a little help. Enter my master plan. Most of our family lives in Idaho. In fact, within a 2 hour radius, you will find all of our immediate family - hubby's and mine. They are all there. So, I will have two days that will be painful - the 14 hour drive there and the 14 hour drive back (ouch). But then, I will have 5 days of grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends a plenty to help entertain the rug rats. Sounds like a fairly decent trade to me. Of course, the tricky part is surviving the drive there. I'll check in a few times next week to let you know if the plan is working or not. Wish me luck!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Puppy Love
I understand how pets are part of the family. I really do. I still miss our own Maggie and Maya. What I don't understand is people who allow their pets to behave badly. Now, I know that pets, like kids, will sometimes do as they please. But that doesn't mean it should be ignored. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate my point. Our neighbors have two dogs. We refer to them as "The Mops" because they look like the dogs you always see on America's Funniest Home Videos hanging on to the dust mops. These dogs bark. A lot. During the day I don't really mind. It's annoying, but whatever. But they barked for 2 hours the other night. 1:30-3:30 in the morning. It woke myself, my hubby and one of the kids up. And the owners did nothing. This happens a lot. I'm not sure what to do about it. When we had our dogs, if they barked, we went and checked it out. Then we stopped them from continuing on with the midnight alarm. Just seems like common sense to me.
My other example makes me mad every time I think about it. We went to Lowes the other day and this woman had her dog in the store with her. It was on a leash but it was barking and growling at everyone that walked past and she just stood there and visited with her friend! This dog was leaping at people going totally crazy and she did nothing. It was scaring some of the kids in the store and some of the adults didn't look to comfortable either. Then, she went and sat at a table in the doorway of the exit and let her dog bark at everyone as they left! To me, this is like letting a child yell and scream at a stranger. I'm still baffled by the owners complete lack of caring. It didn't bother her one bit. Tell me, what would you have done? I wanted to walk up to her and ask her to control her dog... but I didn't want her to let it loose on me either!
I understand how pets are part of the family. I really do. I still miss our own Maggie and Maya. What I don't understand is people who allow their pets to behave badly. Now, I know that pets, like kids, will sometimes do as they please. But that doesn't mean it should be ignored. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate my point. Our neighbors have two dogs. We refer to them as "The Mops" because they look like the dogs you always see on America's Funniest Home Videos hanging on to the dust mops. These dogs bark. A lot. During the day I don't really mind. It's annoying, but whatever. But they barked for 2 hours the other night. 1:30-3:30 in the morning. It woke myself, my hubby and one of the kids up. And the owners did nothing. This happens a lot. I'm not sure what to do about it. When we had our dogs, if they barked, we went and checked it out. Then we stopped them from continuing on with the midnight alarm. Just seems like common sense to me.
My other example makes me mad every time I think about it. We went to Lowes the other day and this woman had her dog in the store with her. It was on a leash but it was barking and growling at everyone that walked past and she just stood there and visited with her friend! This dog was leaping at people going totally crazy and she did nothing. It was scaring some of the kids in the store and some of the adults didn't look to comfortable either. Then, she went and sat at a table in the doorway of the exit and let her dog bark at everyone as they left! To me, this is like letting a child yell and scream at a stranger. I'm still baffled by the owners complete lack of caring. It didn't bother her one bit. Tell me, what would you have done? I wanted to walk up to her and ask her to control her dog... but I didn't want her to let it loose on me either!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Elephant Boy
Little Bug loves elephants. It is one of his new words and adores saying it and hearing others say it. When you walk through my house you can see signs of his new love everywhere... by the piano in the Lion King books ...
(the elephants are hard to see in this second picture... they are kind of blurry in the actual book and my camera didn't help any...)
...we find elephants in the bathroom on the shower curtain that he loves so much...
... in Baby Girl's room we find two books open to pages with elephants ...
...in Little Bugs room we find two toy elephants and a book on his bed called "But No Elephants". He loves this book and will say it with me as we read it.
It's so fun to watch him smile and giggle when we say "elephant" and then make a trumpeting noise. There are more elephants around the house, but they are hidden at this time. You see, Baby Girl loves nothing more than to hear her brother scream. And the best way to do that right now, is to take one of his precious elephants. So, he hides them. Smart kid. Maybe I need to start doing that with some of my things....
Little Bug loves elephants. It is one of his new words and adores saying it and hearing others say it. When you walk through my house you can see signs of his new love everywhere... by the piano in the Lion King books ...
(the elephants are hard to see in this second picture... they are kind of blurry in the actual book and my camera didn't help any...)
...we find elephants in the bathroom on the shower curtain that he loves so much...
... in Baby Girl's room we find two books open to pages with elephants ...
...in Little Bugs room we find two toy elephants and a book on his bed called "But No Elephants". He loves this book and will say it with me as we read it. It's so fun to watch him smile and giggle when we say "elephant" and then make a trumpeting noise. There are more elephants around the house, but they are hidden at this time. You see, Baby Girl loves nothing more than to hear her brother scream. And the best way to do that right now, is to take one of his precious elephants. So, he hides them. Smart kid. Maybe I need to start doing that with some of my things....
Monday, March 26, 2007
Rats!
I was so excited this morning. Baby Girl came and cuddled up with me around 6:30 this morning and slept by my side. It was so fun to curl up with her. She is not a cuddly little thing, so I was loving this time to just hold her. Then she started to say she was cold. So, I pulled a little more blanket over her, and held her a little closer. A little later she started to cry and told me she wanted cereal. So, I took her to the table and sat her down, got out the cereal of choice, turned around and she was asleep, sitting up, in her chair. She woke up to tell me that she was cold again. I gave her a little juice and then trotted her back to bed. I think she's sick. Sigh. She was so pale and miserable :S Rats...it seems like we've been sick a lot lately. Hopefully she just needed a little more sleep and she'll feel better in awhile.
On a lighter note, Red had quite the day at church yesterday. He got the hiccups right in the middle of our main meeting. I tried to help him get rid of them, but the results were less than desirable. He got the giggles. Then Little Bug, who is always up for a good laugh, started in. Then Baby Girl, who was sitting on my lap, leaned forward to see what was so funny and passed a little gas... that made a big noise. Well, about that time hubby and I started in. Everyone had the giggles. It should have made me feel horrible, but really, it was funny. I know, I'm terrible to think it was fun to get the giggles in church. It's a good thing we were on the back row... a very good thing!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Gotta love a chocolate malt from Carl's Jr.Thursday, March 22, 2007
Way Behind
Hubby and I aren't movie goers. Every now and then we will go see a movie, but it's pretty rare. We try to rent the ones that we didn't see, but we hadn't really done that in awhile. Till now. Maybe there was a reason we never saw these movies. Maybe it was my 6th sense telling me "Stay away..." but in the last week we rented "Superman Returns" and "King Kong". To say that I was bored by them both would be an understatement. Last night while hubby watched King Kong, I left. I wanted to see what was happening on "Lost". Didn't even bother me that I missed more than an hour of the movie. When I came back, Kong and the girl... whatever her name is... were sliding around on a pond. Seriously, that girl's neck should have been snapped from being whipped around so much in this flick. And Superman was just boring. Too much drama and not enough super hero action. So, we are now 0-2 for our movie choices. Although, we did watch "How to Eat Fried Worms" with the kids. Major gross out movie, but it made me laugh. It was pretty good. Tonight we are watching another one with the kids called "Everyone's Hero" or something like that. And tomorrow we are going to watch "Flight Plan". See, we are WAY behind. But slowly, and in an excruciatingly painful way, we are catching up on all these shows. The only thing I can say is that I'm glad I didn't shell out big bucks to go see these things in the theater!
Hubby and I aren't movie goers. Every now and then we will go see a movie, but it's pretty rare. We try to rent the ones that we didn't see, but we hadn't really done that in awhile. Till now. Maybe there was a reason we never saw these movies. Maybe it was my 6th sense telling me "Stay away..." but in the last week we rented "Superman Returns" and "King Kong". To say that I was bored by them both would be an understatement. Last night while hubby watched King Kong, I left. I wanted to see what was happening on "Lost". Didn't even bother me that I missed more than an hour of the movie. When I came back, Kong and the girl... whatever her name is... were sliding around on a pond. Seriously, that girl's neck should have been snapped from being whipped around so much in this flick. And Superman was just boring. Too much drama and not enough super hero action. So, we are now 0-2 for our movie choices. Although, we did watch "How to Eat Fried Worms" with the kids. Major gross out movie, but it made me laugh. It was pretty good. Tonight we are watching another one with the kids called "Everyone's Hero" or something like that. And tomorrow we are going to watch "Flight Plan". See, we are WAY behind. But slowly, and in an excruciatingly painful way, we are catching up on all these shows. The only thing I can say is that I'm glad I didn't shell out big bucks to go see these things in the theater!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Bee's House
Baby girl loves to pick the flowers. It doesn't matter where we are or whose flowers they are. To her, all flowers are fair game. Usually, it wouldn't a big deal for her to pick the flowers in our own yard. But she brings them in the house, pulls them apart and smears the pollen on the walls and floor. Did you know that pollen doesn't come out of beige carpet very well?? It leaves a kind of yellow/orange tint to it. And since we are renting, this is a very bad thing. Goodbye deposit money. So, whenever she picks a flower I scold her just a tad. I'm not sure how many times I've asked her not to pick the flowers.
Today, before she went out, I told her not to pick any flowers. Then I let her outside. In the time it took me to grab my book and get back outside, she had picked this...
Me - just a tad exasperated: Baby Girl! Didn't I tell you not to pick the flowers???
Baby Girl - standing with a HUGE HOT PINK hibiscus in her hands: I didn't pick a flower.
Me - even more exasperated: Well, what is that you're holding?
Baby Girl - sounding a little miffed: It's a bee house MOM!
Me: Don't pick any more bee houses, okay?
Baby Girl: Okay. Can I pick the flowers?
Maybe I need to use reverse psychology. Maybe if I told her to pick all the flowers, then she wouldn't want to do it. Or, the more likely scenario, the bushes and plants would be bare and my carpet would be lovely shades of green, yellow, orange, pink....
Baby girl loves to pick the flowers. It doesn't matter where we are or whose flowers they are. To her, all flowers are fair game. Usually, it wouldn't a big deal for her to pick the flowers in our own yard. But she brings them in the house, pulls them apart and smears the pollen on the walls and floor. Did you know that pollen doesn't come out of beige carpet very well?? It leaves a kind of yellow/orange tint to it. And since we are renting, this is a very bad thing. Goodbye deposit money. So, whenever she picks a flower I scold her just a tad. I'm not sure how many times I've asked her not to pick the flowers.
Today, before she went out, I told her not to pick any flowers. Then I let her outside. In the time it took me to grab my book and get back outside, she had picked this...
Me - just a tad exasperated: Baby Girl! Didn't I tell you not to pick the flowers???
Baby Girl - standing with a HUGE HOT PINK hibiscus in her hands: I didn't pick a flower.
Me - even more exasperated: Well, what is that you're holding?
Baby Girl - sounding a little miffed: It's a bee house MOM!
Me: Don't pick any more bee houses, okay?
Baby Girl: Okay. Can I pick the flowers?
Maybe I need to use reverse psychology. Maybe if I told her to pick all the flowers, then she wouldn't want to do it. Or, the more likely scenario, the bushes and plants would be bare and my carpet would be lovely shades of green, yellow, orange, pink....
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
March Madness
Every year my cousin has an online basketball contest for the NCAA Championships. Everyone picks their teams all the way down to the final two before the first game is played. When one of the teams you picked wins, you get a point. When a team looses, no points. Pretty simple. Unless you are a moron, like myself. I look at those teams and think, "I have no idea who is good, bad or ugly". You see, I'm not a sporty person. I don't participate in team sports because I am uncoordinated and run like a duck. No, really, it's true. My toes point out just a tad. So, any sport that needs me to run hard is a bad thing because my heels catch on each other. Which usually results in a face plant. Sad really. ANYWAY, I don't watch a lot of sports either. Every once in awhile I'll watch a little football with hubby. That's about it for me and team sports. But, I do enjoy making my picks each year. This year was more random than usual because there were several teams that I had never heard of. Ever. So, I went with the teams that I kind of knew. And if, by some odd chance, there were two teams playing against each other that I did know, I used a very scientific calculation to make my pick. It went something like this... "Eenie, meanie, miney, moe, catch a mascot by the toe...." And it appears to be working for me! I have 40 points and the leader has 50. I don't think I can catch him, but you never know - this is March Madness after all!
Every year my cousin has an online basketball contest for the NCAA Championships. Everyone picks their teams all the way down to the final two before the first game is played. When one of the teams you picked wins, you get a point. When a team looses, no points. Pretty simple. Unless you are a moron, like myself. I look at those teams and think, "I have no idea who is good, bad or ugly". You see, I'm not a sporty person. I don't participate in team sports because I am uncoordinated and run like a duck. No, really, it's true. My toes point out just a tad. So, any sport that needs me to run hard is a bad thing because my heels catch on each other. Which usually results in a face plant. Sad really. ANYWAY, I don't watch a lot of sports either. Every once in awhile I'll watch a little football with hubby. That's about it for me and team sports. But, I do enjoy making my picks each year. This year was more random than usual because there were several teams that I had never heard of. Ever. So, I went with the teams that I kind of knew. And if, by some odd chance, there were two teams playing against each other that I did know, I used a very scientific calculation to make my pick. It went something like this... "Eenie, meanie, miney, moe, catch a mascot by the toe...." And it appears to be working for me! I have 40 points and the leader has 50. I don't think I can catch him, but you never know - this is March Madness after all!
Repeat Repeat Repeat
I repeat the things I say to my kids three times. Why, you may ask? Because they don't respond till the third time. Let me give you examples from this morning.
With Little Bug it was "Please get your socks and shoes on." - one sock on, then wandering. "Socks and shoes on", I remind him. He puts one shoe on and the other sock. The third time, "SOCKS, SHOES". Complete compliance. Socks and shoes are on. With Red it was "Would you go brush your teeth?" - aimless wandering. "Brush your teeth please" - goes into bathroom, admires himself in the mirror for awhile. "BRUSH TEETH" and the foaming of the mouth commences. With Baby Girl it was during our morning jog/bike ride. She tends to drift while she is riding and has run over my toes several times. "Scoot over by the grass please" - moves closer to my feet. "Move over by the grass" - inches just a bit closer to my tender tootsies. "OVER" - she swerves violently and the training wheel nicks my shoe.
They always follow the last command. I'm not sure if it's because it's finally sunk in or if it's because I've simplified it to one or two words. None of the nonsense words like "Please" or "Would you..." just straight commands. Maybe I should just give short commands from the very beginning? Or maybe it's just a matter of third time's the charm... the world may never know!
I repeat the things I say to my kids three times. Why, you may ask? Because they don't respond till the third time. Let me give you examples from this morning.
With Little Bug it was "Please get your socks and shoes on." - one sock on, then wandering. "Socks and shoes on", I remind him. He puts one shoe on and the other sock. The third time, "SOCKS, SHOES". Complete compliance. Socks and shoes are on. With Red it was "Would you go brush your teeth?" - aimless wandering. "Brush your teeth please" - goes into bathroom, admires himself in the mirror for awhile. "BRUSH TEETH" and the foaming of the mouth commences. With Baby Girl it was during our morning jog/bike ride. She tends to drift while she is riding and has run over my toes several times. "Scoot over by the grass please" - moves closer to my feet. "Move over by the grass" - inches just a bit closer to my tender tootsies. "OVER" - she swerves violently and the training wheel nicks my shoe.
They always follow the last command. I'm not sure if it's because it's finally sunk in or if it's because I've simplified it to one or two words. None of the nonsense words like "Please" or "Would you..." just straight commands. Maybe I should just give short commands from the very beginning? Or maybe it's just a matter of third time's the charm... the world may never know!
Monday, March 19, 2007
A Love/Hate Thing
Ah, Monday. I have a plethora of feelings for this day. On one hand, I hate it. You see, over the weekend I'm usually spending time with dh and the kids. On Saturday we watched a movie, went shopping, picked minneolas, made juice from the minneolas, and then after the kids were in bed, dh and I watched "Superman Returns". I try really hard to rest on Sunday. I don't make huge meals, no major cleaning, no laundry and so on. So, Mondays are always a mess. The house is dirty. Laundry is piled up. Everything is in a general state of chaos. Which means a bit of work for me. Hubby is pretty good about keeping up with the dishes and helping to keep toys and such picked up, but there is still a lot to catch up on because, let's face it, I like to be lazy on the weekend.
On the other hand, I love Mondays. The boys go back to school and I get to put the house back in order. I'm not a super clean kind of person, but it's nice to only have one kiddo following me around undoing everything I'm trying to get done. And she's still small. So, I can usually keep her occupied with puzzles or play doh or something of that nature. And it always feels good to look around and see a clean house. Mondays are also the day when I try to call friends and catch up on their lives. It doesn't always happen, but I try.
My opinion for this particular Monday isn't a great one. My head hurts. I've taken some Advil, but I think this may be a sinus thing... so the Advil has only helped just a tiny bit. Today will probably be a hateful Monday because I don't think I'll get much done. Maybe it will feel better a little later on. I can always hope!
Ah, Monday. I have a plethora of feelings for this day. On one hand, I hate it. You see, over the weekend I'm usually spending time with dh and the kids. On Saturday we watched a movie, went shopping, picked minneolas, made juice from the minneolas, and then after the kids were in bed, dh and I watched "Superman Returns". I try really hard to rest on Sunday. I don't make huge meals, no major cleaning, no laundry and so on. So, Mondays are always a mess. The house is dirty. Laundry is piled up. Everything is in a general state of chaos. Which means a bit of work for me. Hubby is pretty good about keeping up with the dishes and helping to keep toys and such picked up, but there is still a lot to catch up on because, let's face it, I like to be lazy on the weekend.
On the other hand, I love Mondays. The boys go back to school and I get to put the house back in order. I'm not a super clean kind of person, but it's nice to only have one kiddo following me around undoing everything I'm trying to get done. And she's still small. So, I can usually keep her occupied with puzzles or play doh or something of that nature. And it always feels good to look around and see a clean house. Mondays are also the day when I try to call friends and catch up on their lives. It doesn't always happen, but I try.
My opinion for this particular Monday isn't a great one. My head hurts. I've taken some Advil, but I think this may be a sinus thing... so the Advil has only helped just a tiny bit. Today will probably be a hateful Monday because I don't think I'll get much done. Maybe it will feel better a little later on. I can always hope!
Friday, March 16, 2007
I'm posting early... we have a really busy day tomorrow and I don't know if I'll get a chance to post. So, here we go! This week's theme is "Drink". If you'd like to participate you can go to TNChick's site and get signed up! So, here's the picture I picked for drink.
Is there anything more refreshing than a drink from the hose on a hot summer day? (It's supposed to be 96 here today... so it is summer to us!)
Changes
First off, I've decided to change my photo journal blog to a fitness blog. You guys don't want to hear me whine about how much pain I'm in each day. But, if you do relish hearing about other peoples agony, you can check out the blog here. I know that the web address says mejojacsphotos.com or something like that. Just ignore that. I'm sure I could change it, but I'm lazy! Also, I think I've found someone that can hopefully do the changes to this blog. I've decided to keep the name as it is. I was going to change it, but I just can't come up with something really good. Unless some of you have a great idea for me!
And now I'll leave you with one last thought. I think Baby Girl is plotting against me. She has scared the crud out of me twice today. First, this morning, she tip toed into my bedroom while I was still asleep. Then she just sat there with her face up next to mine. Those big eyes just staring at me. So, when I peeked my eyes open, there were those eyes. And then I screamed and jumped a mile out of bed. What did she do, you may ask? She laughed. A lot. Later, I was coming out of the bathroom and she was hiding behind the door. Scared me again. More squeals of delight. She's trying to make me a nervous wreck. I'm just sure of it! I'd better go study my evasive maneuvers before she has time to plot another attack!
First off, I've decided to change my photo journal blog to a fitness blog. You guys don't want to hear me whine about how much pain I'm in each day. But, if you do relish hearing about other peoples agony, you can check out the blog here. I know that the web address says mejojacsphotos.com or something like that. Just ignore that. I'm sure I could change it, but I'm lazy! Also, I think I've found someone that can hopefully do the changes to this blog. I've decided to keep the name as it is. I was going to change it, but I just can't come up with something really good. Unless some of you have a great idea for me!
And now I'll leave you with one last thought. I think Baby Girl is plotting against me. She has scared the crud out of me twice today. First, this morning, she tip toed into my bedroom while I was still asleep. Then she just sat there with her face up next to mine. Those big eyes just staring at me. So, when I peeked my eyes open, there were those eyes. And then I screamed and jumped a mile out of bed. What did she do, you may ask? She laughed. A lot. Later, I was coming out of the bathroom and she was hiding behind the door. Scared me again. More squeals of delight. She's trying to make me a nervous wreck. I'm just sure of it! I'd better go study my evasive maneuvers before she has time to plot another attack!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Ouch
Remind me... why do I want to be healthy? Healthy hurts. My muscles ache from Pilates. My shins are killing me from running. Who decided this was a good idea? Because we're all gonna die anyway, right? I remember my Mom telling me she'd rather die with an Oreo in her mouth. I think she was kidding, but I am starting to see the wisdom in this sentiment. I am quite pleased with myself today. Even though I could barely walk, I got up and ran this morning. And of course, this is the day that Baby Girl decided to see how fast she could go. Yesterday it took us 25 minutes to make the loop. Today it was just under 20. I think she's trying to kill me...
I am hoping to try and find some of the local pools. I really enjoy water aerobics and I would love to start swimming laps. And it's hot enough to do it too. It's supposed to be 96 tomorrow. 96... in MARCH!! SO WEIRD!! I grew up in Idaho. I have a very vivid memory of snow on the 4th of July one year. It just doesn't feel like March down here.
I did find something that I love about Southern California today. Jasmine. If you've never smelled it, you are missing out. It is in bloom right now and it permeates the air. And even though I know I will be in pain again tomorrow, I can't wait to run past the Jasmine. At least I have one thing to look forward to!
Remind me... why do I want to be healthy? Healthy hurts. My muscles ache from Pilates. My shins are killing me from running. Who decided this was a good idea? Because we're all gonna die anyway, right? I remember my Mom telling me she'd rather die with an Oreo in her mouth. I think she was kidding, but I am starting to see the wisdom in this sentiment. I am quite pleased with myself today. Even though I could barely walk, I got up and ran this morning. And of course, this is the day that Baby Girl decided to see how fast she could go. Yesterday it took us 25 minutes to make the loop. Today it was just under 20. I think she's trying to kill me...
I am hoping to try and find some of the local pools. I really enjoy water aerobics and I would love to start swimming laps. And it's hot enough to do it too. It's supposed to be 96 tomorrow. 96... in MARCH!! SO WEIRD!! I grew up in Idaho. I have a very vivid memory of snow on the 4th of July one year. It just doesn't feel like March down here.
I did find something that I love about Southern California today. Jasmine. If you've never smelled it, you are missing out. It is in bloom right now and it permeates the air. And even though I know I will be in pain again tomorrow, I can't wait to run past the Jasmine. At least I have one thing to look forward to!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Pilates = finding muscles you never knew you had
I had forgotten how difficult Pilates can be. I thought, heck, I can do that again. I had actually gotten to a fairly decent level a few years ago. Of course, this was all in my home with a video, but I could follow along without a problem and I felt like it was really helping. Tonight, I did Pilates again for the first time in months. This exercise stuff is gonna kill me! Luckily, you're only supposed to do Pilates 3-4 times a week. I'm gonna try for 3 - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Ouch... just the thought of it makes my abdominal muscles quiver with fear. Of course, it doesn't take much to make my tummy quiver... kind of like jell-o. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to hobble to bed now. I just need to wake hubby up so he can pull me out of this chair...
Oh, one more thing. I've made a few changes to the site... is any of it hard to read? I really want to keep the fonts plain and the colors easy to look at. Be brutally honest, but remember, I did try to fix all of this after 11:00 pm . Which means that my brain function wasn't very reliable. I'm still hoping to learn how to insert a graphic into the header. Anyway... thanks for your thoughts and opinions!
I had forgotten how difficult Pilates can be. I thought, heck, I can do that again. I had actually gotten to a fairly decent level a few years ago. Of course, this was all in my home with a video, but I could follow along without a problem and I felt like it was really helping. Tonight, I did Pilates again for the first time in months. This exercise stuff is gonna kill me! Luckily, you're only supposed to do Pilates 3-4 times a week. I'm gonna try for 3 - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Ouch... just the thought of it makes my abdominal muscles quiver with fear. Of course, it doesn't take much to make my tummy quiver... kind of like jell-o. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to hobble to bed now. I just need to wake hubby up so he can pull me out of this chair...
Oh, one more thing. I've made a few changes to the site... is any of it hard to read? I really want to keep the fonts plain and the colors easy to look at. Be brutally honest, but remember, I did try to fix all of this after 11:00 pm . Which means that my brain function wasn't very reliable. I'm still hoping to learn how to insert a graphic into the header. Anyway... thanks for your thoughts and opinions!
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Our master bathroom is kinda strange. There is no door between it and the master bedroom. The toilet has it's own little room, but the shower is just kinda... out there. So, today when I got out of the shower, Baby Girl was standing there. I pulled my towel around me and this was the conversation that followed:
Baby Girl : Hee hee
Me: What do you need?
Baby Girl: Your body is bumpy. That's pretty funny.
Me: Thank you. Go do your puzzles.
Sigh. It's a good thing I went running again this morning. I'm going to do Pilates today too. Hopefully it will be a good way to tone my muscles. Now I just need to work on my healthy eating. I'm a snacker - so I need good healthy snack ideas. Any thoughts? Also, I'm looking for a really good smoothie recipe... if anyone is willing to share, it would be much appreciated. Well, I'm gonna take my bumpy body go do some laundry.
Our master bathroom is kinda strange. There is no door between it and the master bedroom. The toilet has it's own little room, but the shower is just kinda... out there. So, today when I got out of the shower, Baby Girl was standing there. I pulled my towel around me and this was the conversation that followed:
Baby Girl : Hee hee
Me: What do you need?
Baby Girl: Your body is bumpy. That's pretty funny.
Me: Thank you. Go do your puzzles.
Sigh. It's a good thing I went running again this morning. I'm going to do Pilates today too. Hopefully it will be a good way to tone my muscles. Now I just need to work on my healthy eating. I'm a snacker - so I need good healthy snack ideas. Any thoughts? Also, I'm looking for a really good smoothie recipe... if anyone is willing to share, it would be much appreciated. Well, I'm gonna take my bumpy body go do some laundry.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Today's Post Was Brought to You by the Number 100
This is officially my 100th post! YEAH!! I know that other people have done a "100 Things About Me" type of post, but I'm just not that interesting. So I thought I'd type "100 Memories"... but then I realized that it would take FOREVER to type all the details so that you would understand the story behind each memory and I just don't have that kind of time and I'm sure you don't either! What about "100 Pictures"? But, really, my Mom is the only one that would love that. Then I thought I could do "100 Things that I love" - but that sounded too boring for me to type and even more so for you to read. So let's do the flip of that... "100 Pet Peeves". That sounded too negative. "100 Ways I think the World Should be Run" - too bossy. "100 Times I've Been Embarrassed" - too embarrassing ;) "100 Books/Movies/Songs I Love" - too monotonous. "100 Things That Make Me Scream" - too crazy and making the list would probably end up on the list. "100 Things That Make me Sad " - too depressing. You know, if I keep going, I'll have a list of "100 Reasons Why I Won't Make a 100 List"!
This is officially my 100th post! YEAH!! I know that other people have done a "100 Things About Me" type of post, but I'm just not that interesting. So I thought I'd type "100 Memories"... but then I realized that it would take FOREVER to type all the details so that you would understand the story behind each memory and I just don't have that kind of time and I'm sure you don't either! What about "100 Pictures"? But, really, my Mom is the only one that would love that. Then I thought I could do "100 Things that I love" - but that sounded too boring for me to type and even more so for you to read. So let's do the flip of that... "100 Pet Peeves". That sounded too negative. "100 Ways I think the World Should be Run" - too bossy. "100 Times I've Been Embarrassed" - too embarrassing ;) "100 Books/Movies/Songs I Love" - too monotonous. "100 Things That Make Me Scream" - too crazy and making the list would probably end up on the list. "100 Things That Make me Sad " - too depressing. You know, if I keep going, I'll have a list of "100 Reasons Why I Won't Make a 100 List"!
Running
Since I'm going to Portland in a little less than 2 months, I've decided that I need to loose a little weight and get a tan. Why do I need to do these things, you may ask? Well, because I've gained 10 lbs since we moved down here. And I've noticed that I am always tired. Getting in shape will be a good thing. But mostly I want to look the same as I did before we moved. I know. I'm pathetic and vain. But whatever. The tan? Well, that will just be fun! Anyway, this morning I took Baby Girl to the park. We don't live too far, so I put her on her bike and I jogged beside her. Discovery of the day: I AM OUT OF SHAPE!! We didn't get 50 yards from our home and I was panting and wishing that she would SLOW DOWN! Man! 3 year old legs can move fast. When we got to the park I got a little bit of a break because it's mostly uphill. WHEW. I was about to fall over and we hadn't even gone 1/2 a mile. Got to the park and I rested while Baby Girl played on the slides and swings. Then it was time to head home. Now, if going to the park is uphill, going home is down... my legs were throbbing by the time we got home and Baby Girl just laughed as she left me in her dust along the park walk way. I don't think I ran for even 15 minutes today. But I ache. I am out of shape. This is going to be A LOT harder than I thought. Wish me luck. Oh, and if you see a crumpled shape on the ground, and a three year old speeding off on her bike, cackling as she goes, please call an ambulance. Thanks.
Since I'm going to Portland in a little less than 2 months, I've decided that I need to loose a little weight and get a tan. Why do I need to do these things, you may ask? Well, because I've gained 10 lbs since we moved down here. And I've noticed that I am always tired. Getting in shape will be a good thing. But mostly I want to look the same as I did before we moved. I know. I'm pathetic and vain. But whatever. The tan? Well, that will just be fun! Anyway, this morning I took Baby Girl to the park. We don't live too far, so I put her on her bike and I jogged beside her. Discovery of the day: I AM OUT OF SHAPE!! We didn't get 50 yards from our home and I was panting and wishing that she would SLOW DOWN! Man! 3 year old legs can move fast. When we got to the park I got a little bit of a break because it's mostly uphill. WHEW. I was about to fall over and we hadn't even gone 1/2 a mile. Got to the park and I rested while Baby Girl played on the slides and swings. Then it was time to head home. Now, if going to the park is uphill, going home is down... my legs were throbbing by the time we got home and Baby Girl just laughed as she left me in her dust along the park walk way. I don't think I ran for even 15 minutes today. But I ache. I am out of shape. This is going to be A LOT harder than I thought. Wish me luck. Oh, and if you see a crumpled shape on the ground, and a three year old speeding off on her bike, cackling as she goes, please call an ambulance. Thanks.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Sleepless
I'm exhausted. I have had several nights of little to no sleep. My brain just won't shut off and the neighbor dogs won't shut up. It's a bad combo for me. Hopefully I will take a little nap today. And I hope I can find something to do before bed so that my brain is relaxed and ready to BE QUIET! lol Wish me luck!
I'm exhausted. I have had several nights of little to no sleep. My brain just won't shut off and the neighbor dogs won't shut up. It's a bad combo for me. Hopefully I will take a little nap today. And I hope I can find something to do before bed so that my brain is relaxed and ready to BE QUIET! lol Wish me luck!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
A HUGE
Man of the Year
My hubby loves me. I've always known this. He has always shown me love in wonderful ways - doing the dishes, letting me sleep in, making a meal, folding the laundry etc. But yesterday he really blew me away! Many of you know that we moved to Southern California from Eastern Oregon in September. It was a hard move. I had made some friends in Oregon that are like family. It was so hard to leave and I have been "home sick" for the people for the last six months. About a week ago I learned that a group of friends was going to go to Portland for a Conference for LDS women, but anyone can attend. I wanted to go. So I started checking airline tickets. They were too much. It made me sad. I wanted to go so badly and be with these women. And a few days from home wouldn't hurt either :) Yesterday my awesome husband brought me into the computer and told me "Pick your seat". On the screen was a seating chart of an airplane. The one that will fly me to Seattle. Then the one that will fly me to Pasco, WA where my friends will pick me up. I will spend a few days in Hermiston, OR with friends who feel more like family and a few days in Portland at a conference which I know will leave me feeling rejuvenated and ready for life back here. I've cried several times yesterday and today. I'm so overwhelmed by his love and generosity for me. I am so blessed to have this man in my life.
My hubby loves me. I've always known this. He has always shown me love in wonderful ways - doing the dishes, letting me sleep in, making a meal, folding the laundry etc. But yesterday he really blew me away! Many of you know that we moved to Southern California from Eastern Oregon in September. It was a hard move. I had made some friends in Oregon that are like family. It was so hard to leave and I have been "home sick" for the people for the last six months. About a week ago I learned that a group of friends was going to go to Portland for a Conference for LDS women, but anyone can attend. I wanted to go. So I started checking airline tickets. They were too much. It made me sad. I wanted to go so badly and be with these women. And a few days from home wouldn't hurt either :) Yesterday my awesome husband brought me into the computer and told me "Pick your seat". On the screen was a seating chart of an airplane. The one that will fly me to Seattle. Then the one that will fly me to Pasco, WA where my friends will pick me up. I will spend a few days in Hermiston, OR with friends who feel more like family and a few days in Portland at a conference which I know will leave me feeling rejuvenated and ready for life back here. I've cried several times yesterday and today. I'm so overwhelmed by his love and generosity for me. I am so blessed to have this man in my life.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
We were supposed to go to San Diego today, but Little Bug got sick last night. So, we cancelled plans. Of course, he was fine all day today... :S Anyway, I was going through my photos looking for something that would fit with this week's Photo Hunters Theme of architecture when I came across these...
They are located in Cabazon, CA. They are HUGE! You can walk inside each one and the "long-neck" actually contains a gift shop. Friday, March 09, 2007
I Guess
Have you ever seen The Red Green Show on PBS? It's pretty funny. I won't go into great detail about the show, but at the end they always say "The Man's Prayer". Have you heard it? It's perfect. They all bow their heads and say...
"I'm a man.
But I can change.
If I have to.
I guess."
Have you ever seen The Red Green Show on PBS? It's pretty funny. I won't go into great detail about the show, but at the end they always say "The Man's Prayer". Have you heard it? It's perfect. They all bow their heads and say...
"I'm a man.
But I can change.
If I have to.
I guess."
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Funny
I'm thinking about changing the look of my site and the name (any suggestions for a new name?). I was thinking of putting "Peep" in the title... like "Hangin with my peeps" or "A Plethora of Peeps" and so on and so forth... so I decided to Google "marshmallow peeps" and see what it brought up. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'm insanely tired. Maybe I'm a little twisted. Or maybe my obsession with peeps has finally taken over my life. Whatever the reason, this was the funniest thing I have read in a VERY long time... Peep Research I literally had tears in my eyes. Sad, I know, but it felt so good to laugh that hard! Here's hoping you too will get that endorphin rush from a good, long laugh!
I'm thinking about changing the look of my site and the name (any suggestions for a new name?). I was thinking of putting "Peep" in the title... like "Hangin with my peeps" or "A Plethora of Peeps" and so on and so forth... so I decided to Google "marshmallow peeps" and see what it brought up. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'm insanely tired. Maybe I'm a little twisted. Or maybe my obsession with peeps has finally taken over my life. Whatever the reason, this was the funniest thing I have read in a VERY long time... Peep Research I literally had tears in my eyes. Sad, I know, but it felt so good to laugh that hard! Here's hoping you too will get that endorphin rush from a good, long laugh!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Noisy Night
I am exhausted today. My neighbors like to throw parties. Which is fine, except they are loud. And they don't get done till after midnight most of the time. And they throw them way too often. Last night was one of those parties. Who has a party on a Tuesday night?? I can totally see the Friday/Saturday thing, but don't these people have to function the next day for family or work or something?? ANYWAY, not sure what time they ended - I fell asleep around midnight to the sounds of their lovely laughter :P
The other noise last night kind of freaked me out because I couldn't figure out what it was. It was almost midnight and the party was still going, so at first, I thought it had to do with the party. But it sounded like someone was rattling something in the back yard. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. I finally figured it out... it was raining! Since we have moved to the California Desert it has rained 2 times that I am aware of. And each time it lasted for less than 5 minutes and was really more of a sprinkling, rather than a really good rainfall. Last night, it really rained. The sound was wonderful. It took me back to Oregon, a place I still really miss and after the rain had stopped I thought.... "You are psychotic! Go to sleep already!" :)
I am exhausted today. My neighbors like to throw parties. Which is fine, except they are loud. And they don't get done till after midnight most of the time. And they throw them way too often. Last night was one of those parties. Who has a party on a Tuesday night?? I can totally see the Friday/Saturday thing, but don't these people have to function the next day for family or work or something?? ANYWAY, not sure what time they ended - I fell asleep around midnight to the sounds of their lovely laughter :P
The other noise last night kind of freaked me out because I couldn't figure out what it was. It was almost midnight and the party was still going, so at first, I thought it had to do with the party. But it sounded like someone was rattling something in the back yard. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. I finally figured it out... it was raining! Since we have moved to the California Desert it has rained 2 times that I am aware of. And each time it lasted for less than 5 minutes and was really more of a sprinkling, rather than a really good rainfall. Last night, it really rained. The sound was wonderful. It took me back to Oregon, a place I still really miss and after the rain had stopped I thought.... "You are psychotic! Go to sleep already!" :)
Okay - I don't know how to do the HTML and regular composing in one post. Forgive me. I'm trying... so, scroll down to the lovely photo of myself... I found this site on another blog and decided to give it a whirl. You put a photo of yourself in and then it does a Celebrity Photo Match Sigh.... I did this with SEVERAL different photos. I even put a little make up on and put my hair down and took a couple of shots to try. It was almost the same every time - not the same faces, but there were an OVERWHELMING amount of men on my list and very few females. Now, I know that Brad Pitt has been named People's Sexiest Man Alive, but, as a woman, do I really want to look like him? I really don't see a resemblance anyway... on one of my other photos the top match was Hugh Grant. The next one... ADAM ANT. SIGH SIGH SIGH. So, I decided to go back to this photo. Embrace my masculinity and hope ya'll will laugh with me! Scroll down to see the photo matches...
Update - I just had to run my kids through here too...
Red's top 3 - Judy Garland, Oprah Winfrey, and Shirley Temple umm... all of the photos were of girls... I guess he's my feminine one... :S Oprah? Really??I ran it again with another photo. A little better... Ernst Mach(who in the world?? I'm gonna have to Google this guy), Niel Armstrong and Alan Alda were the top 3. Hmmm... I don't think any of them are even close. But whatever...
Little Bug's top 3 - now, I have a heck of a time getting this little guy to even look at the camera... and since you are supposed to have a good face forward shot... his was kinda hard - the first photo I tried actually told me that there was no face in the photo to recognize... Wha...?? The second time, it locked up... sigh... one more try...and we have Evander Holyfield, Jodie Sweetin (think Full House), and Gareth Gates... Shirley Temple also showed up here as well as Bon Jovi :)
Baby Girl's top 3 - Dakota Fanning, Daveigh Chase, and Hayden Pannettiere (and all the other's were GIRLS!! YES!!) The photo I used was from before I got her hair cut... so I did a second one with the short hair... we got Christina Aguilera, Charisma Carpenter (who??) and Jared Leto... lol... Meg Ryan and Emma Watson were also on this list...
Dh's top 3 - hmm... maybe I'll just tell him. He doesn't really like being "blogged" about (hee hee). I will tell you that it's all men... except one :)
Update - I just had to run my kids through here too...
Red's top 3 - Judy Garland, Oprah Winfrey, and Shirley Temple umm... all of the photos were of girls... I guess he's my feminine one... :S Oprah? Really??I ran it again with another photo. A little better... Ernst Mach(who in the world?? I'm gonna have to Google this guy), Niel Armstrong and Alan Alda were the top 3. Hmmm... I don't think any of them are even close. But whatever...
Little Bug's top 3 - now, I have a heck of a time getting this little guy to even look at the camera... and since you are supposed to have a good face forward shot... his was kinda hard - the first photo I tried actually told me that there was no face in the photo to recognize... Wha...?? The second time, it locked up... sigh... one more try...and we have Evander Holyfield, Jodie Sweetin (think Full House), and Gareth Gates... Shirley Temple also showed up here as well as Bon Jovi :)
Baby Girl's top 3 - Dakota Fanning, Daveigh Chase, and Hayden Pannettiere (and all the other's were GIRLS!! YES!!) The photo I used was from before I got her hair cut... so I did a second one with the short hair... we got Christina Aguilera, Charisma Carpenter (who??) and Jared Leto... lol... Meg Ryan and Emma Watson were also on this list...
Dh's top 3 - hmm... maybe I'll just tell him. He doesn't really like being "blogged" about (hee hee). I will tell you that it's all men... except one :)
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The Mallow
What a horrid picture of myself... oh well... the point of the picture is the MALLOWS. Not the fact that I look like an insane mother of three. Oh wait, that's what I am. :) I did rediscover that there is ONE way that I won't eat mallows....
That's right folks - I won't eat my mallows TORCHED! Hubby loves them to taste like the charcoal we cooked them over... not sure why the burnt taste is so appealing, but hey - to each his own. So, how do you like your mallows? Chocolate covered? Sugar coated? Plain? Golden and gooey? Or fried to a crisp? OR ::GASP:: do you NOT LIKE THEM??
Tonight we cooked steak and I roasted some potato wedges that I had covered in a butter, garlic powder, onion salt, parsley, pepper, and Parmesan. Can I just say... those tatos were GOOD! Anyhoo... when we were done we got the kids in bed and I remembered that we have a bag of marshmallows in the pantry. So, I start to toast a few. Man - I'd forgotten how much I love that gooey warm goodness! Anyone who knows me, already knows of my obsession... er... I mean great appreciation for marshmallow peeps. Apparently, I just love marshmallows. Give em' to me chocolate covered, sugar coated, or crisped over an open flame.
What a horrid picture of myself... oh well... the point of the picture is the MALLOWS. Not the fact that I look like an insane mother of three. Oh wait, that's what I am. :) I did rediscover that there is ONE way that I won't eat mallows....
That's right folks - I won't eat my mallows TORCHED! Hubby loves them to taste like the charcoal we cooked them over... not sure why the burnt taste is so appealing, but hey - to each his own. So, how do you like your mallows? Chocolate covered? Sugar coated? Plain? Golden and gooey? Or fried to a crisp? OR ::GASP:: do you NOT LIKE THEM??
Kailani over at An Island Life is having a photo contest of what inspires you. I looked at a few photos and decided this just had to be the one... 
This is a picture of my kids... the fog had just rolled in. Each of them teaches me something new each day. This day, on the beach, my oldest, Red, the one furthest out in the water, taught me to run right in and have a ball. Head out as far as you can and see what might come. My middle child, Little Bug, taught me that sometimes you're gonna get knocked over and if you aren't careful, you can get pulled into some scary situations. But, that you should get back up and try again. Baby girl taught me that at times, it's okay to be cautious. Sometimes, you aren't big enough to tackle something on your own. And it's okay to hold back and wait for a hand to hold. I love this picture. It makes me marvel at my kids each time I look at it. Okay... we were only supposed to give a short reason why the picture inspires you, but you know me... I'm a talker. Sorry! Head on over to An Island Life and enter the contest and vote for your favorite. It should be fun!
I Won??
I don't usually enter contests... because I rarely win. There were two exceptions to this... we won a John Deere pedal tractor at a county fair one time! That was very fun. Dh didn't want to enter, but I begged... I just felt good about it :) I also won some Panda Express (Chinese food) gift cards and LegoLand tickets from a local radio station after we moved down here. And... that's about it. UNTIL TODAY!!! Linda, over at Ribbon Rock Star, had a drawing for the Ultimate Blog Party. It was for a DANG cute bag... and I won!! I was going to steal the pic and post it on here, but that's naughty. So, I won't. Go to her site and check out this post to see the bag. I am so excited! Thanks so much Linda! Maybe I should have given away prizes too? Not that I have anything anyone would want... but ya never know... perhaps I should put up that extra sock we got from WalMart... hmmm... I'll have to give that some serious consideration!
I don't usually enter contests... because I rarely win. There were two exceptions to this... we won a John Deere pedal tractor at a county fair one time! That was very fun. Dh didn't want to enter, but I begged... I just felt good about it :) I also won some Panda Express (Chinese food) gift cards and LegoLand tickets from a local radio station after we moved down here. And... that's about it. UNTIL TODAY!!! Linda, over at Ribbon Rock Star, had a drawing for the Ultimate Blog Party. It was for a DANG cute bag... and I won!! I was going to steal the pic and post it on here, but that's naughty. So, I won't. Go to her site and check out this post to see the bag. I am so excited! Thanks so much Linda! Maybe I should have given away prizes too? Not that I have anything anyone would want... but ya never know... perhaps I should put up that extra sock we got from WalMart... hmmm... I'll have to give that some serious consideration!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Reason #10,957,341 Why I Shouldn't Shop at WalMart
There were five and A HALF pairs of socks in this package. There are 11 socks. Sigh. I would take them back, but that would mean standing in the line that never ends with the customer service people that would treat me like it was MY FAULT. Normally, I would blame Hanes... the maker of the socks. But, this package had been ripped open (something I didn't notice when Red grabbed them) and then taped shut. So, this is CLEARLY THEIR FAULT. But I won't take them back. Anyone want to come over and make sock puppets?
There were five and A HALF pairs of socks in this package. There are 11 socks. Sigh. I would take them back, but that would mean standing in the line that never ends with the customer service people that would treat me like it was MY FAULT. Normally, I would blame Hanes... the maker of the socks. But, this package had been ripped open (something I didn't notice when Red grabbed them) and then taped shut. So, this is CLEARLY THEIR FAULT. But I won't take them back. Anyone want to come over and make sock puppets?
Episode #81 - The Tantrums
Hubby and I like to get together with other people. We enjoy getting to know them and their families. So, when a family from our church invited us to a waffle dinner, we were excited! Our first dinner invitation since we moved here! So, we got the kids all loaded up and headed over for a fun filled evening getting to know some new people. There were a total of 4 families and everyone had at least 2 kids, so it was a houseful! Most of the kids went outside to play and most of the dads followed them out. Poor hubby. I didn't realize how horrible my kids were being. I was inside, ignorantly chatting away, while he was outside keeping the kids from stepping in the dog poop, taking toys from the other kids, throwing sand and other objects, and in general pushing and shoving to get their way. I'm sorry, where did my kids go? Who are these maniacs? Little Bug is bringing all the inside toys outside. Baby Girl keeps pulling the other kids out of the motorized car and Red is HITTING THE HOUSE AND WINDOWS with some kind of toy. I'm mortified. The other parents are smiling politely as we reprimand the kids and hope they will do better. They didn't. But I'll spare you the gory details and skip to our good-byes. We had the kids help put the toys away. Little Bug was VERY upset. These kids had some COOL toys! I'm sure he wanted to take them home. So, he screamed. He has this really high pitched scream that we have nicknamed "spiraling" because that's what it sounds like. He fluctuates up and down and up and down in this really loud scream. So fun. Again, polite smiles from all. Baby Girl is also screaming, kicking and trying to pull my hair out. I finally have to literally throw her over my shoulder and pack her out the door. More polite smiles. The straw that broke the camels back... the 8 year old acting like his little sister. Throwing a fit. Refusing to thank our hosts for a fun time. Polite smiles are starting to look a little horrified by this display of children throwing themselves all over the place. Sigh. My kids have somehow turned into ungrateful little monsters. We've never really dealt with this before and now it's hitting us full force! Any thoughts or ideas? We came home and they went to bed - it was 7:00. And I fumed over the fact that our first dinner invitation would probably be our last.
Hubby and I like to get together with other people. We enjoy getting to know them and their families. So, when a family from our church invited us to a waffle dinner, we were excited! Our first dinner invitation since we moved here! So, we got the kids all loaded up and headed over for a fun filled evening getting to know some new people. There were a total of 4 families and everyone had at least 2 kids, so it was a houseful! Most of the kids went outside to play and most of the dads followed them out. Poor hubby. I didn't realize how horrible my kids were being. I was inside, ignorantly chatting away, while he was outside keeping the kids from stepping in the dog poop, taking toys from the other kids, throwing sand and other objects, and in general pushing and shoving to get their way. I'm sorry, where did my kids go? Who are these maniacs? Little Bug is bringing all the inside toys outside. Baby Girl keeps pulling the other kids out of the motorized car and Red is HITTING THE HOUSE AND WINDOWS with some kind of toy. I'm mortified. The other parents are smiling politely as we reprimand the kids and hope they will do better. They didn't. But I'll spare you the gory details and skip to our good-byes. We had the kids help put the toys away. Little Bug was VERY upset. These kids had some COOL toys! I'm sure he wanted to take them home. So, he screamed. He has this really high pitched scream that we have nicknamed "spiraling" because that's what it sounds like. He fluctuates up and down and up and down in this really loud scream. So fun. Again, polite smiles from all. Baby Girl is also screaming, kicking and trying to pull my hair out. I finally have to literally throw her over my shoulder and pack her out the door. More polite smiles. The straw that broke the camels back... the 8 year old acting like his little sister. Throwing a fit. Refusing to thank our hosts for a fun time. Polite smiles are starting to look a little horrified by this display of children throwing themselves all over the place. Sigh. My kids have somehow turned into ungrateful little monsters. We've never really dealt with this before and now it's hitting us full force! Any thoughts or ideas? We came home and they went to bed - it was 7:00. And I fumed over the fact that our first dinner invitation would probably be our last.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
The Adventure
I know that a lot of people are leaving their Ultimate Blog Party invites as their first post for the week. I've decided not to do this. Why, you may ask? Partly because I just want to keep on blogging in my crazy way... but mostly, I made this decision on the fact that I have no idea how to keep the original post at the top of my blog! So, now you know that I'm computer illiterate. On to the adventure!
Today hubby said that he wanted to go for a drive. He and I have very different ideas about "going for a drive". He wants to wander aimlessly. Take unknown roads and see where it leads us. Me? I want to get online, read what others have done and then follow the well known path. I know, I know... "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...blah blah blah.... whatever whatever... and Melissa took the path that everyone else was taking". I know that I'm not daring. I would rather wander with a purpose. Which, I guess, really isn't wandering. I like to know that there is something wonderful at the end. If I'm going to lock myself in the car with three kids and drive for hours and hours, then I want a reward. And I want it to be a darn good one! I want to end up in a location so spectacular that my children will say "Three cheers for Mom! This was the best day ever!" So far, that hasn't happened when I've planned everything out. But today, I let hubby have his way. He looked at a map and got a general idea of where we were going and then off we went. Turning this way and that. We went past some amazing vineyards for table grapes. Drove past the stinky, yet pretty from a distance, Salton Sea. We wandered around a "mall" in a town of about 2,000 people. Their version of a mall was much different from mine, but it was still nice to look around a bit. We drove through an area with sand dunes... we think it might have been Heber Dunes, but we aren't sure. Then we went up over the mountains. Amazing views (see above picture) and really pretty flora (I always want to say Flora, Fauna and Merryweather - the fairies from Sleeping Beauty) ANYWAY... we stopped and bought some peanuts from a roadside stand and then ended up in Temecula. Hubby decided that I had been a good sport so he took me to my favorite restaurant, Johnny Carino's, and then let me go into JoAnn Fabric ALONE!! I love that man! We listened to the Chronicles of Narnia as we drove. When we pulled into town and Red said, "This was the best day ever!" So, I guess everyone got what they wanted. He got to wander, the kids had a great time and I got my reward! Who says you can't have it all?
Friday, March 02, 2007
The Party
Okay... so I've been checking out some of the other party blogs (if you don't know what I'm talking about, click here) and so many of these awesome people have been much better party hosts than I have been... sharing recipes, giving a little info about themselves... man, I'm a pretty cruddy hostess! So, let me try this again!
Welcome to the party! My name is Melissa and I'm a stay at home mom to three crazy kids : Red age 8, Little Bug age 6, and Baby Girl age 3. Now, before any of you think that I'm completely psychotic, those are not my children's real names. I am paranoid and so I try not to use their real names on the Internet. :) I've been married for 9 years to an amazing man who takes care of me and who is so sweet to me even after he's had to eat chicken nuggets or fish sticks for two weeks because I've been sick! Thanks sweetie! We have moved 12 times in the last 9 years. Our last move brought us to the desert in Southern California. Call me crazy, but I'm having a hard time down here! I miss the seasons... we moved here in September... at the beginning of the "hot season"... now we are in the "warm season" moving back into the "other hot season" which will be followed by "don't go outside unless you want to boil your brains". Should be fun. So, come on in. Ignore the mess and the children cackling over their latest escapades - relax and enjoy the California sunshine before it gets too hot!
Okay... so I've been checking out some of the other party blogs (if you don't know what I'm talking about, click here) and so many of these awesome people have been much better party hosts than I have been... sharing recipes, giving a little info about themselves... man, I'm a pretty cruddy hostess! So, let me try this again!
Welcome to the party! My name is Melissa and I'm a stay at home mom to three crazy kids : Red age 8, Little Bug age 6, and Baby Girl age 3. Now, before any of you think that I'm completely psychotic, those are not my children's real names. I am paranoid and so I try not to use their real names on the Internet. :) I've been married for 9 years to an amazing man who takes care of me and who is so sweet to me even after he's had to eat chicken nuggets or fish sticks for two weeks because I've been sick! Thanks sweetie! We have moved 12 times in the last 9 years. Our last move brought us to the desert in Southern California. Call me crazy, but I'm having a hard time down here! I miss the seasons... we moved here in September... at the beginning of the "hot season"... now we are in the "warm season" moving back into the "other hot season" which will be followed by "don't go outside unless you want to boil your brains". Should be fun. So, come on in. Ignore the mess and the children cackling over their latest escapades - relax and enjoy the California sunshine before it gets too hot!
Ultimate Blog Party
I'd like to officially invite you to the 5 Minutes for Mom blog where the Ultimate Blog Party is happening. There will be games and food and spa treatments... okay, so maybe not, but there will be prizes and its a great way to meet new people and who knows? You might even make a friend or two! So, go on! Click the link just off to the right... you know you want to :)
I'd like to officially invite you to the 5 Minutes for Mom blog where the Ultimate Blog Party is happening. There will be games and food and spa treatments... okay, so maybe not, but there will be prizes and its a great way to meet new people and who knows? You might even make a friend or two! So, go on! Click the link just off to the right... you know you want to :)
Seussentenial
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! In honor of the AWESOME Dr. Seuss, I will compose today's blog in the "Green Eggs and Ham" format. Thank you.
I am Mel
Mel I am
I kinda like green eggs and ham
But I do not like that Malta Drink
It puts out quite a stink!
It looks good, you might think
Stand Back! I say - dump it in the sink!
What does it taste like, you may say
Kinda like soy sauce on a really bad day.
The kiddos are making me real crazy
Will I ever have a chance to just be lazy?
Red wants to play on a football team
The thought of that makes me scream.
Little Bug is talking more
I'm sure that he's got more in store.
Baby girl is my bossy one
But she's sure lovin' the California sun.
DH is the one who brought home the Malta
This horrid after-taste is all his fault-a (STRETCH)
Me? I'm tired. I'd rather be in bed.
Sigh, I guess I'll scrub the floors instead.
Okay... so I'm no Dr. Seuss, but that was kinda fun! :) Yes, the Malta tastes like a weird soy sauce. Sorry to ya'll who might like it. But it's not for me. Now, I am off to sign up Red for Flag Football and to get my house cleaned up. It never ends... maybe I'll make a cake for Dr. Seuss. And then eat it all. That might cheer me up ;)
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Tunnel Vision
Sometimes I get way too focused on one thing. It consumes me. For example - when I start reading a book, I have a hard time putting it down. Even if I've read it before or if it's not that great. I just have to finish it. It's the same with craft projects. If it's something that I'm really into or really excited about, I work on it non stop. Unfortunately, this extends to other things too. Like the computer. I tend to check out of life while I'm typing away. The kids are going crazy and I'm blogging. It's like I turn my ears off till someone lets out a bloodcurdling scream or informs me that they have to go to the bathroom - NOW! That will always wake me from a trance. I'm not very fond of cleaning the floor after an accident. Especially if it's my own darn fault for telling them to wait "just a sec". But usually, I pry my hand off the mouse and help them out. I've even noticed that when my right hand is relaxed, my pinkie finger doesn't sit next to the others. When I'm on the computer, my baby finger is usually hanging over the edge of the mouse. So now I've got mouse-itis. I think that in the future, our hands will actually evolve to be more adept to holding a mouse and typing on a keyboard... ANYWAY... I've been trying to be better about pulling myself away from the computer. Hopefully I will be able to get out of tunnel vision and focus on the things that are more important... and I will start as soon as I spell check and publish this blog... ready... set...go...
Sometimes I get way too focused on one thing. It consumes me. For example - when I start reading a book, I have a hard time putting it down. Even if I've read it before or if it's not that great. I just have to finish it. It's the same with craft projects. If it's something that I'm really into or really excited about, I work on it non stop. Unfortunately, this extends to other things too. Like the computer. I tend to check out of life while I'm typing away. The kids are going crazy and I'm blogging. It's like I turn my ears off till someone lets out a bloodcurdling scream or informs me that they have to go to the bathroom - NOW! That will always wake me from a trance. I'm not very fond of cleaning the floor after an accident. Especially if it's my own darn fault for telling them to wait "just a sec". But usually, I pry my hand off the mouse and help them out. I've even noticed that when my right hand is relaxed, my pinkie finger doesn't sit next to the others. When I'm on the computer, my baby finger is usually hanging over the edge of the mouse. So now I've got mouse-itis. I think that in the future, our hands will actually evolve to be more adept to holding a mouse and typing on a keyboard... ANYWAY... I've been trying to be better about pulling myself away from the computer. Hopefully I will be able to get out of tunnel vision and focus on the things that are more important... and I will start as soon as I spell check and publish this blog... ready... set...go...
Life is Like a Hurricane
Whatever happened to the good kids shows? I watch some of the shows today and the characters are obnoxious and constantly whining. There are very few that I want my kids to watch. What happened to the Smurfs? The Chipmunks? Fraggle Rock? The Muppet Show? DuckTales? These were the cartoons that I grew up with and loved! They were cute and fun to watch. You didn't have to wonder what the political propaganda was behind the show. So, when I found out that I could purchase DuckTales, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Gummi Bears, and other fun cartoons, I did it. I bought them all. We don't have cable t.v., so I didn't feel too guilty buying shows that I knew were clean and fun. They have saved me over the last 2 weeks. I am still battling this horrible chest cold. I am doing a little better each day. But I'm still exhausted. And an hour of t.v. won't kill Baby Girl while I rest and try to recuperate and she loves to watch these funny cartoons. And I love to watch with her! Our "life is like a hurricane, here in Duckburg", but having some clean entertainment in our home certainly seems to help calm the storm!
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