This week is "sweet" and I have this big white bucket in my pantry. I love this bucket. Why? You ask? Well...

Cause it's filled with M&M's, skittles, nerds, licorice, smarties... you name it, it's probably in there.

Now, you may be asking yourself : WHY?? Why in the world do you have a big ol bucket filled with THAT MUCH CANDY?? My answer: We just don't eat a lot of candy. So, we buy some, eat a little and then it just sits around. Eventually, I throw it in the bucket. Then, when we need a little sugar high, we pull it out. Sometimes I will pull it out to decorate a cake or something like that. But mostly, the big, white bucket just sits in the pantry. "Sweet" don't ya think?

We're Back
You didn't even know we were gone, did ya? :) Hubby's brother and his family came down to spend a little time in Southern California. They had the opportunity to stay in a house overlooking the ocean in Oceanside. And lucky us, they invited us along! The first night the kids wanted to do this... rather than play in this... Crazy kids. It was a little cool, but really, the water felt great! This was the view from the front window... I wanted a shot without the cars, but they were there all day. Baby Girl did not want to be in the water AT ALL. Last time we went there was a rip tide. She was knocked down by a big wave - which had happened several times that day, but this wave drug her out a little ways. It scared her and it scared me. A few minutes later the life guards came and asked everyone to move to a different part of the beach. Anyway, I think she remembers that experience -vividly- she screamed every time we tried to get her near the water... so... she did this all day long....(I know there's a sunbather in the back ground... you should have seen the lady that would have been in the pic if I had taken it from another angle... she had almost taken her top off...not what I was looking for in a picture of Baby Girl...) Little Bug played in the water, but then he went and wrapped himself in a towel, curled up on a chair and sat there. We couldn't get him to play in the water again or get in the sand. I don't have a picture of that... but, I do have a picture of myself I'd like to share. First, you need to know that I am TERRIFIED of the ocean. I'm afraid of the rip tides (especially after feeling how hard they pull on you) and I am terribly terribly afraid of sharks. I'm just sure that they are lurking in the water waiting just for me... ready for a little snack. I know... I'm paranoid. I don't REALLY believe that they have a personal vendetta against me, but you never know. Well, I decided to try and conquer that fear just a tad... That's me on the boogie board riding the wave in! I had so much fun! I spend almost 4 hours in the water. When I first got in I was scared out of my ever lovin mind. But, I got past it, a little. Of course, it came with a penalty of learning that the sunscreen we used was NOT waterproof. I got something called "sun poisoning". Ever heard of it? It's where the body is exposed to too many UV rays and it causes a bad sunburn, dizziness, fatigue and fever. Last night I had all the symptoms including a HORRIBLE fever... it was not good. It felt like someone was shaking me. I just couldn't stop. I'm better today though. ANYWAY, I would love to say that I conquered my fear of the ocean completely, but that's not true. I still freaked out every time I got to a spot that I couldn't touch, but for the most part I had a great time. And I might even do it again... as soon as this sunburn heals up just a tad.

Random Conversations with Baby Girl
Baby Girl: Will you get my toys out?
Me: Just a minute

Baby Girl: But I want the horses and pigs. Please Mom?
I cringe - the farm box has lots and lots of little animals... I offer an alternative.
Me: How about getting out the Weebles?
Baby Girl: Evils??

Me: No babe. The Weebles.

Baby Girl: Weevils???
Me: Sigh.
Baby Girl: Can I have the horses and pigs now?

Later in the day...

Baby Girl: Daddy and I are going to go feed the ducks. You ... stay... right... there... (as she slowly backs out of the room)

Just a few minutes ago...

Me: We get to go to the beach tonight and play in the ocean! Won't that be fun?

Baby Girl: AWWW!! I want to feed the ducks! I don't want to go to the ocean!

Just now...

Baby Girl: We are going to the ocean? Do they have ducks there?

Me: I don't think so babe

Baby Girl: But there are ducks in the desert and they want to share my muffin (speaking of the muffin she requested for lunch) I can't eat my muffin or there won't be any left for the ducks.

Me: Go eat your muffin.

Baby Girl: Alright, but there won't be any left for the ducks...

Whose child is this???

Bloggy Goodness
So, I've been the recipient of some Good Mail and I haven't blogged about it yet. But today is the day I share my goodies with you (aren't you THRILLED!?!)
First, I took part of a Great Gift Exchange that Kailani, over at An Island Life, organized. There was an odd number of people, so I did two exchanges. I did one with Kailani and I got this amazing package in the mail full of all things Hawaiian. Good treats, a mug, some super smelling soap and the most adorable hot pad! Baby Girl thinks she should have the mug... but I'm gonna put up a good fight! Thanks so much Kailani!!!

My other Great Gift Exchange was with Laura at The Seabird Chronicles. Again filled with yummy treats, a bath fizz ball (that I can't wait to try), some lotion, and some little tissues with flip flops on them! Such a fun yummy package! Thanks again Laura!!!

I actually don't have all of this next one because I drank part of it... :) From the Good Mail Girls, Amber at Crazy Bloggin Canuck sent me a pack of gum (that's actually the empty box in the picture), 2 packages of Crystal Light Lemonade (um... yeah, the kids and I loved it) a sweet little note card, and a letter just reminding me that she can escape to the nice cool mountains and I'm boiling my brains out here in the desert. Such a sweetie :) Thanks Amber!!

Next on the list is another sweet treat from Kathleen at So Grateful to be Mormon. She sent me peanut M&M's (which were consumed in about 10 seconds FLAT!) and a funny card! So sweet!! :) Thanks again Kathleen (hope you're enjoying your trip)

And last, but not least, another Good Mail Girl, SoDak Angel at Can't ya just. It had CUTE address labels, directions for folding a whale out of paper and paper to do it with, a heart she had folded out of paper (SO CUTE!), a little notebook to help me get organized, a cute little note and feathers :) So much fun!! Thank you!

So, there you have it. Good mail abounds at my house! I have really enjoyed being part of the Good Mail Girls! So nice to open the mailbox and see notes, letters and packages mixed in with the bills, credit card applications and letters from some guy who wants to buy our land (not sure what that's all about since we're RENTING... but the letters keep coming). Anyway, thanks again girls! You guys are the greatest!!!

I'm a Big Kid Now
Baby Girl doesn't want to grow up. She wants me to do everything for her for the rest of eternity. From feeding her to dressing her to chewing her food for her - she wants it all. I've decided that if I can't have a personal servant, neither can she. So, I'm forcing a little independence. Now, she's not quite 4, so, after much deliberation, I've decided not to make her move out, yet. What I did decide is that she can do a few simple things - like scrubbing herself in the tub, drying off after baths, getting herself dressed, and, of course, chewing her own food. You see, I've been an enabler. She will most likely be my last child. I thought I wanted her to be little for a long time. So, I was doing everything for her. And she was enjoying having her own little Mommy slave. But, I've changed my mind. I'm just gonna let her figure a few things out on her own. So far, she's not enjoying her new found independence. Poor kid. Life is tough. Even when you're 3 1/2.
(PS - for those of you who are a little too literal... I don't REALLY chew her food for her)

It's a HP Kinda Thing
So, y'all know that I'm crazy. But do you really know how crazy I am? Let me give you a small example : I looked at my side bar today and saw how many days are left till the new Harry Potter book comes out. My heart did a little happy dance and I smiled... a strange sort of smile that will probably be on my face for the next 25 days... yes. I'm crazy. Crazy about Harry Potter. Anyone else out their counting down the days? Or is it just me? (I know it can't be JUST me... I didn't order 500,000 copies from Barnes and Noble... what I'm really asking is : Are you willing to ADMIT that you're counting down the days?)

So tell me, if your blog were a movie, what would be the rating?

I had a tough time finding something "shiny" for this week. I thought of a few different things, but didn't really feel like it fit what I was looking for. At first I thought of mirrors, cars, lights, water.... but nothing really hit me as "shiny" Would you like to know what did come to mind when I thought of "shiny"?


Yep. Shiny Happy People laughing. So, here are my pictures for "shiny" -


Well, maybe they aren't shiny, but they are laughing :)

The AC is fixed - YEAH!! My kids are more than excited... the grumpy momma has vanished and is replaced by a much cooler one ;)

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! You cursed brat!
Look what you've done!! I'm melting, melting.
Ohhhhh, what a world, what a world.
Who would have thought that some little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness.
OHHHHHHH!!! NO!!! I'm going...ohhhhhhh..ohhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Still can't get ahold of the land lord. Can't have any work ordered till we do. Oh what a world!

Inconceivable
Do you remember the guy in the "Princess Bride" who said that everything was inconceivable? Every time something went wrong you could hear him say the word. Well, today was a day of things going wrong over and over and now... for the icing on the cake. Murphy's law is in full effect tonight. Some of you will remember that we lost our A/C back in May. It was only in the 90's in May and cooling down into the 70's during the night. Today it was 114 and is supposed to cool down to 90. And guess what? The A/C went out again. We can't reach the land lord. We have company coming next week! Sigh... honestly, I'm in tears. Hot, miserable, sticky tears. I'm afraid that the landlord will be on vacation or something. You know, just to make Murphy's law complete. There were so many things that made today a bad day, but I think tomorrow will be worse. I don't mind the heat... but 114 is a little much... even for me. Inconceivable.

Cranker Sore
Do you ever get sores in your mouth? Every time I bite my lip I get a cold sore or a canker sore. And sometimes, they just appear of their own free will. But, we don't call them cold or canker sores. We call them "cranker sores" because whenever someone has one it turns them into a cranky beast. And who can blame them? They sting almost constantly. They make talking and eating almost impossible. They take forever to go away. And, if you are part of this family, cranker sores show up ALL THE TIME. And usually they manifest themselves as twins or triplets. At Thanksgiving time I had at least 7 sores in my mouth. Cranker doesn't even begin to cover it. Right now I have two on my bottom lip. They have gotten so big that it looks like one big sore. And it feels like someone it jabbing a hot poker into my lip. Am I in the best mood at this moment? I would have to say, "No." The Cranker strikes again.

More Decor

Okay - I have this fabric in my collection that might work in here... I would make another panel and just take the center pink one out?? Would that work? And Tammy asked for a few more pictures of Baby Girl's room. It's small... so I can't get a lot in each pic... I had to lay on the bed to get the window in... and there is another window in here that I will probably replicate the exact same look on... once I decide what that look will be.

This first picture is of her bed, then a chair that I got at a yard sale. I'm going to repaint it in white and it will go with the little table (that I'm also going to paint). The next picture is all the odds and ends I'm wanting to find spots for and the last picture is some hooks in her room. Lots of pink, purple and green in the room. The colors look lighter on her quilt on her bed, but they are really bright and vibrant. So, thoughts now? Any more ideas??


So, tell me... is it a lost cause? Have I tried to pull too many things into the room and now it's just a crazy mess? What do you think?

It's Curtains for You!

Okay, now before you start thinking "This girl needs to learn to IRON!" I haven't ironed the curtains because I might be taking some of them back. And I hate to iron. Almost as much as folding laundry. Anyway, I need your help! These are the darling curtains I got for Baby Girl's room. I was going to do either pink, purple, pink, purple, pink OR pink, green, pink, green, pink. But now I can't decide which I like better. And the longer I leave it up there the more I like it just as it is... but is it too weird? I don't want her room to look like a circus... even though that's what it usually is. Help bloggin buddies! I need your opinions and thoughts FAST! The curtains are on clearance at Lowes... and if I need to go back and get more of one color or another, I should do it soon! Thoughts, comments, ideas? They don't even have to be relevant to this post :)

Shout Out
Gotta give a shout out to my cousin Mandy! She's just started her own blog and you really should check it out. She's very creative and just all around awesome. And her girls are darling! So, my friends, go give her some bloggity love. You know you wanna...

Quick Recap & Pics
I'm not gonna talk too much about the trip... mostly pictures in this post. And since it's my blog, you'll just have to put up with it :) We got to St. George and I went to the wedding in the LDS Temple (the tall white building against the red rock...)

Went to the reception and had lovely food

My friend was BEAUTIFUL!! So glad we made it!They had the reception at this amazing house - Baby Girl decided to take a dip in the pool... Hubby grabbed her before she made too much of a scene.

Because of child induced craziness, we left before the dessert... so we stopped at Arctic Circle for ice cream.

Played at the park the next morning for awhile and then dropped Red off with friends. He's now in Idaho with family for the next month!!

Then we went to Zion's. Beautiful. Fun hikes. Lots of water for the kids to throw rocks in. Great scenery. Long tiring days!

We did have a few troubles with a pinched nerve in the neck (Hubby - you know, I could make a lot of "pain in the neck" jokes here, but he was hurting to bad it just wasn't funny) a tick bite (me) and all around crankiness from lack of sleep (everyone). But the ride home was uneventful and pretty calm. We just played around and listened to "Charlie and the Glass Elevator". Baby Girl started to recognize a few things as we got closer to home and she said, "Oh! We're almost ready to find my bed and my pillow!" Yeah. We were all pretty tired!

We're glad to be home. We have family coming next week and possibly a day on the beach with them. Should be a lot of fun!

I'm BACK!
Hey y'all! How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun? I'm looking forward to catching up on blogs... don't know how long it will take me, but I promise to get around to it soon! Thought I'd break the trip bloggy stuff up into 3-4 parts... start with the drive there. First of all, I'm a moron. I'm not sure how many times I've said that here, but it's still true. You see, I had it all planned out - we would leave at 5:30a.m. and get there around 12:00 - wedding is at 2:00. So, we'd have plenty of time to eat some lunch, hopefully get situated in the hotel and then get me to the Temple on time. So, um, here's the part where I'm a total dork - we are in California - Pacific time. The wedding was in Utah - Mountain time... so, it was 6:30 their time when we left. There is a reason there are no pictures of our trip there. I was crying too hard. I was a horrible Mom and an even worse spouse on the trip there. One of my children has the smallest bladder on the earth. Another one threw up all over. Stop after stop was made and I freaked out a little more each time. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE NEED GAS??" "YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM AGAIN!?!" "WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA THROWING UP BACK HERE"... oh, it was horrible. I was horrible. I've known the gal who was getting married for 26 years. I was NOT going to miss this. We got there in time because Hubby put the pedal to the metal. We stopped at Wendy's really quick for food and then off I went. I got there on time. And then the ceremony actually ended up being delayed for awhile. It was stressful, but it all worked out. I'll post more tomorrow. Right now my eyes are being sucked into my brain :)

Why Every Girl Should Have a Bead Stash
Okay - I'm taking a quick break to show you what I did today. I wanted to have some fun bracelets to wear with my new skirt, but I really didn't have anything that matched. Bring out the beads! I pulled out my bead kit - found 2 bracelets in there that might work, but not quite. So, I spent 45 minutes and made 3 others that work really well! I might actually end up wearing all 5 just to mix things up a little. Every girl needs a stash of beads so that she can accessorize at a moments notice!

Another "What was I thinking" Moment
AACK! Do you remember how I said I wanted to get gift cards for my kid's teachers, but was afraid it would be too spendy? Well I could have done it! For the last couple of years I have been involved in a thing called MyPoints. They send me emails for different retailers and if I visit the site in the email, I get 5 points. I don't have to buy anything, don't even have to spend a lot of time on the site. Just visit and the points are mine. I can also buy things from a list of retailers and get points. And guess what you redeem those points for? GIFT CARDS! They have gift cards for all kinds of places! I wanted to do cards from Barnes and Noble and guess what... they have them. It wouldn't have cost me a thing! Sigh... well, maybe I'll redeem my points for Hubby's birthday or for Christmas. I've got almost 10,000 points... so I should be able to get some pretty decent gift cards. That's almost $75 at Barnes and Noble. If you're interested in signing up, let me know! Email me and I'll send you the info. I think my email address is in my profile... It's an easy way to earn gift cards for yourself or friends and family. And, if you use me as a reference when you sign up, I get points too! It's win/win I tell ya! ;)
Oh, and thank y'all for your fashion advice on the skirt... looks SO much better now! I'm done bloggin till Tuesday - then I'll be back with lots and lots of pictures... aren't you excited? Enjoy your weekend!

Help!

I am about to exhibit how fashion backwards I am...sigh. I bought this skirt at WalMart today - cute, eh?

It's not really that pink... it's a cream back ground... not a great shot, but I'm in the middle of packing so I have to hurry... ANYWAY, at the bottom of each pleat is a stitch....Is that some kind of decoration? Or do they just put those in to keep the pleats looking nice during shipping? I'm such a dork. HELP!

Have You Ever...
known someone on drugs? Have you ever watched them kind of disappear? I have. It's scary and so sad and you feel so helpless. You wait and watch and hope that they will clean up, but you don't dare confront them because they are in a very frightening place and you're never quite sure what to do. I have a nephew that was in this place. I don't know all the details of what he did or didn't do. I don't want to know. All I know is that he was a mess. And then he got help. And now, well, now you wouldn't even recognize him. He is on a mission for our church and he is amazing! But back in the day I wish I would have maybe stepped up my game a little. Helped him find some kind of drug treatment, but I wasn't sure how to help. I hope to never be confronted with a loved one with this problem again. But, if I am, I hope I will be braver and step up sooner. This story had a happy ending, but it could have been so different. So very different.

What Was I thinking?
So, I've had a lot of these moments today... moments where you just stand back and think "WHAT THE HECK?" So... for your reading pleasure, my "What Was I Thinking List"

1 - I decided to make a billion little paper stars for my friend that's getting married. I saw them on Depsonq Path and he talked about how each star represented something to you. Usually a wish or a dream. They are COOL little things and I thought it would be fun to fill up a gift bag with these awesome little stars and give them to my friend and her new hubby with a little note about making their dreams come true. Awww, so sweet, right? Yeah. Except I didn't expect my hands to cramp up. Also, I didn't take into account that these things are about 1/2 to 3/4 an inch, so filling a bag would take a year or two. Since the wedding is on Saturday, we are not filling the bag. We are just going to put a few into the mixing bowl that I got her...kind of like packing peanuts, except cuter. Only a few hundred more to go by Friday... sigh... the picture doesn't even show half of what we've already done... and yes - we made them! Crazy, eh?

2 - I just drank .5 L (1PT. 0.9 FL OZ) of water. It's 11:50 p.m. Now I'm gonna have to pee in the middle of the night.

3 - Hubby and Red both needed new shoes. So, instead of doing the smart thing and only sending Hubby and Red, I drug the whole family out to Target tonight. Screaming, crying, begging and pleading ensued and that was just from me. The kids were unfortunately 10 times worse. You know the people that you see in the stores and think "Why do they come out in public?" Yeah. That was us. But, on a very happy Target note... I got these CUTE shoes for $4.98 WAHOO!! On the other hand, I don't do well when my shoes have a big heel. And these aren't huge, but I'm a klutz. Big time. I usually fall and mutilate my feet. Hmmm... well, they are darn cute. So, I think they are worth the risk!

4 - The last thing on my "what was I thinking" list... why did I start writing this so late? Now I'm gonna have to proof read it 100 times (remember, I'm a tad obsessive about that). Well, this was supposed to be a Wednesday post, but it's 12:08... so, it is now my Thursday post :) Well, gotta go... literally...

Woozy
I'm feeling a tad lightheaded. The world is starting to spin. I'm dizzy. I'm afraid that I might be coming down with what Hubby and Baby Girl have had. No no no... this can't be happening! Not now! We are going on vacation in a few days! Sigh...oh, wait. Let me think... this MIGHT have something to do with the fact that I have only had peanut M&M's to eat today... maybe. Why have I only had peanut M&M's today? Well, first of all, THEY'RE GOOD! Second, I'm self medicating. We are headed to St. George this weekend for my friend's wedding. I have known this girl for roughly 26 years. She is having a slumber party for all the gals on Friday night. Movies, swimming, food, lots of laughter... it sounds like a blast. The problem? We won't get there till around noon on Saturday. Slumber party over. Can someone pass me the M&M's?

Good Tuesday
So, how good is your Tuesday so far? Mine is going fairly well... I finally decided on gifts for the teachers, bus drivers, aides, therapists, principals and any other person who I can think of. Candy. Lots of candy. With a note that will say "Thanks for such a SWEET year". Yeah. Simple, yet delicious. I even made an extra one... FOR ME! Cause these teachers, aides, bus drivers, therapists and principals weren't the ones helping with homework and crazy weird projects. They weren't up at night with Little Bug when he couldn't sleep because he was in sensory overload from school. They didn't have to deal with all the craziness that came into my home because of school. I get a goody bag too gosh darn it!
And I have been meaning to blog about this for a week... I got good mail! I was so excited! I signed up to be part of a good mail group and a couple of days later I got this super sweet card and Hollyhock seeds from Heather at A Daily Dose of Mischief! Can I just tell you how big my smile was? Super huge doesn't even quite cover it! Thank you Heather! You ROCK!!
AND THEN! Yesterday, I got MORE good mail! Come on now! Y'all are spoiling me! Kathleen over at So Grateful to be Mormon sent me a card and a wonderful book! Thank you so much! So super sweet! And now my smile is even super-er huge-er! If you can even imagine that! Such a sweet heart!!! THANK YOU!

And to top it off - there were no misspellings in this post! That always makes me happy... it means that the mommy brain rot hasn't totally consumed me. So, how is your Tuesday?

Random Thoughts for Your Monday

• Have you noticed that I keep changing my profile picture? First I had a picture of three monkeys. One had it's hands over it's eyes, the next had his hands over it's ears, the last, over his mouth... you know "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" or however it goes? Anyway, from there I went to a vase of Gerber daisies. Very pretty. Then I got my new blog design and I had a picture of a pair of p.j.'s that I own that actually were the inspiration for the blog. Now, I have a picture of a frog. I think I'm going to change it back to the p.j. shot though... why? Well, Hubby asked me why I had picked a poisonous frog to represent myself? BECAUSE IT'S CUTE! And it matches the blog... but, I suppose a picture of a tiny poisonous amphibian really isn't a good portrayal. I need a much larger venomous creature for my picture...


• It's already in the 90's for today... but Baby Girl keeps telling me she's cold. Hubby was really sick on Saturday. Kept getting really dizzy and almost blacking out. :S He had a fever and felt really nauseated. Looks like he might have shared. As long as everyone is healthy by Saturday... they have to be well by Saturday!
• Saturday is our trip to St. George. It is going to be a lot of fun. Red will head off to Idaho to have a fantastic time. I'm a tad jealous. Okay, more than a tad. It's not so hot, he's going to sleep in, play, goof off, have other people prepare his food... is it too late for me to go too?
• I did a dumb thing last night. Well, actually I did a couple of dumb things. First, I bought the bag of M&M's at Costco... 56 oz. XXL size... this is a bad thing. The second dumb thing, I ate some for breakfast. Third dumb thing... well, let me give you a little back story on this one. When we lived in Oregon I had a friend that lived just a few doors down. She and I would get together, watch girlie movies, eat peanut M&M's and just laugh and talk. Last night, I got out the mondo mega bag of M&M's, put "Pride and Prejudice" in the DVD player and then sat there. Alone. (Hubby was on the phone with family) It made me so sad. So frustrated. So homesick. Sigh... and to top it off, I consumed an insane amount of M&M's. I started with the little blue container and thought... that's not big enough... found another... still not quite enough... ah... the last container was just right. I felt like Goldilocks!

So there you have it. Totally random ramblings for your Monday morning! Now, I'm off to do laundry... :S

Lightening Never Strikes the Same Place Twice (we hope)

You poor unfortunate souls... I was digging through a bunch of old photos and found a TON that I think will be fun to share over the next little while. So, you get to suffer whilst I reminisce.

Our little family used to live in a tiny little town in Idaho called Murtaugh. I would tell you how to pronounce the name, but I don't think you really care ;) ANYWAY, we had previously lived 10 hours away from family and now we were only 2. So, we went home quite often to visit and let the kids get spoiled rotten by grandparents. One day when we came back we found this....

There was a tree in the back of our truck, a nice round hole in the ground where the tree had been, and the back window on the truck was shattered. We were a tad flabbergasted at the sight. We called the people we were renting from and asked them if they had any idea what could have happened. They told us that a storm had come through with TONS of lightening. We started looking at the end of the tree and sure enough, it was a tad charred. Some of the other trees round about had big branches torn off of them too. But to have the tree blown out of the ground and land in the back of the truck? It was just crazy!

So, there you have it. Story number one from my endless supply of photos. Be prepared. I will continue with this for as long as my heart desires. After all, it is my blog ;)

This week's theme is "shoes". I have a picture of Red and I in our matching Converse high tops somewhere, but I couldn't find it! :S He was only 2-3 months old and Hubby's brother and his wife got us these teeny tiny shoes that looked just like mine! So fun... sigh... but I did come across this one. This is Red at age 2 and if you'll look closely, he is wearing a lovely pair of tan heels. AND he has his shoes on too... the boy loves his shoes, what can I say? ;)

R.O.U.S.'s
Okay... so there is a creature chewing on something in our attic. It sounds big. Hubby is asleep. I wake him to inform him that I fear we have "rodents of unusual size" roaming in our fire swamp. My dear sweet Wesley looks at the ceiling and says, "I'm going back to bed. They don't bother you so much when you're asleep" So, while he's sleeping, the R.O.U.S.'s are gnawing on my feet. Someone hand me a stick so that I can feebly poke at them. You know... just like Princess Buttercup in this clip...

I always hated this part of the movie. First of all she stands there FOREVER watching her "True Love" get eaten. But if you'll notice, she's got some killer boots on! She should use em! A few karate kicks to the face ought to do it. Then, she gets knocked over. She's got a big ol' stick in her hand and what does she do? She tickles the rodent of unusual size with it. Poking is just not gonna do it! SMACK THE DARN THING! I know there's a guy in that there nasty rat suit and they've probably told her to go easy on him, but COME ON GIRL!! Defend yourself! Defend your MAN!! What can I say? I love a kick butt heroine. Hm... so, maybe, instead of waiting for my hero to come save me (after a good 8 hours of sleep) I should venture into the fire swamp myself. Or, maybe Hubby has the right idea... it won't bother me so much when I'm asleep... if I can get to sleep! If I don't post a blog in the next 48 hours, send someone into the swamp after me! And if Hubby tells you that the R.O.U.S.'s don't exist and to just take a nap, don't believe him! Time is of the essence...

Take the Quiz here!

"I do not attempt to deny that I think very highly of him - that I greatly esteem him... I like him."
So, which Jane Austen heroine are you?

Return of the Return
I have a bad habit. If I buy an object at the store and then something is wrong with it, or it just isn't what I needed, I hate returning it. I hate explaining the problem to an employee that will look at me like I'm some kind of moron and sigh while rolling their eyes. Some of you may remember the 11 sock pack... I never did return them. We just have a roving sock somewhere in the house. Today, my loathing of returning an item will be tested. I bought a container to put my craft items in at Lowes. It's one of those boxes that has lots of little drawers... usually it's used for nails and such. It works great for beads, sequins, buttons and other small craft items. I got the one at Lowes and then went to Target and found one that was bigger for about $6 less... so I got it. I don't need two. The problem - when I bought the one at Lowes she asked "Do you think you will be returning this?" I said "No" because at the time I knew it was an item that I needed and I really didn't think I would return it. Silly me. I've checked the receipt to see if there is some kind of "NEENER NEENER NEENER YOU CAN'T RETURN THIS" on there, but I don't see anything. It's probably written in some kind of strange numeric code. So, wish me luck. I don't want to do it, but I'm going to. You'd think having kids would brace me for all kinds of eye rolling and sighing and looks that say "Idiot..."

Morning Pop Quiz
So, I have a Jeopardy style quiz for you... remember, your answer must be in the form of a question ;)

Answer: WalMart
Question: What is the place where your money disappears into some sort of alternate universe vacuum?

Answer: 5
Question: What is the number of crazy people living in my zoo...er... I mean...home?

Answer: 5
Question: What is the number of donuts purchased at the money sucker store?

Answer: 3
Question: What is the number of people who actually got to eat a donut?

Answer: 3
Question: What is the number of donuts that Melissa personally consumed?

Yes, I admit it. I bought enough donuts for everyone to each get one. Baby Girl got one (I HAD to give her one, she saw me buy them... no getting out of that one - otherwise I would have consumed her confection too) Hubby had one last night as part of his "I'm trying to loose 15lbs by the middle of July" weight loss plan. And I had 3. Yes, 3. Am I trying to loose weight? Um... no. Not at the moment. Right now I'm eating a donut. Now, you might be thinking, "What about her boys? They didn't get one!" All I have to say is that what they don't know won't hurt them, right?

Squeak
I am just a bloggy fool today. So, here's a question for you - what do you do when your child is doing something that annoys the heck out of you and now matter what you do, they just keep doing it? Baby girl must be part dolphin. She is talking in squeaks. She sounds like a little lost puppy half the time and it is driving me bonkers. I even had her go to her room till she could talk like a big girl, but it didn't help! She just came out and started it all over again! Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas?? I'm about ready to loose my mind...

Happiness in a Box
Isn't it funny the things that bring us joy? The smallest things can make you smile. Most often I'm smiling at my kids - usually because they are doing something really fun or totally insane. I TRY to laugh either way. But my joy today comes from a totally inanimate object. I get giddy just looking at it. The smile on my face is ridiculous. And yet, I'm totally and completely in love with my most recent Costco purchase. Why does it give me such a thrill? Maybe because it only cost me $6. Or maybe because I love the colors. Or maybe because it stands about 6' high. Curious?
Who knew that nesting boxes could make you feel so exhilarated? Even Baby Girl is shocked by the joy they bring!

Whirling Vortex of Terror
Have you ever made a decision and then regretted it later? When I had my idea I thought, "Hey! That will be great! I think I'll head off and do that right now!" I was excited. I was sure that this was going to be a wonderful thing. Yeah, I was wrong. What was this wonderful thing, you ask? Well, I decided to take a nap. On a weekend. With all my kids home. Unsupervised. Because, you see, hubby fell asleep too. The children saw their opportunity and attacked. Their tactical maneuvers are unprecedented. They are cunning, stealthy, and, when they know they are getting away with something, they are quiet. Unnaturally silent. You see, all of our toys are separated into different boxes. You want dinosaurs, here's the box! Animals? No problem - check out this tub here! So, while hubby and I were comatose they opened every stinkin box of toys in the house. They didn't play with any of them. Just got each container ajar and removed the contents. Because that's what they do. Now, I would love to say that we have very few toys. But that is a total fib. We have lots. I had a missionary in my home one time who asked if we ran a daycare. Yeah. I have my reasons for the toys. You see, Little Bug doesn't really play with toys. He drags them around the house stimming (shaking them in front of his face). So, I'm always searching for that magical toy. The one that he will play with appropriately. The one that will encourage him to speak more. The one that will change our lives forever. Okay, so, maybe that's a little much to expect from a toy. But, I still continue to search for something that he will actually play with. Needless to say, we have boxes and boxes of failed attempts. I have a hard time getting rid of anything because they were EXPENSIVE!! Gosh darn it! And who knows? Maybe someday he will be interested... ANYWAY, the afore mentioned boxes are empty. K-NEX, Littlest Pets, play food, balls, Weebles, horses, dinosaurs, animals, super heroes... you name it... it's on my floor. That nap cost me dearly. So, I may have to just throw everything away. It will be easier than sorting and getting everything back in the right boxes. So, if you're in to dumpster diving, Thursday is our garbage day. There should be a fairly decent selection of toys in there. Have at it!

Saturday
So, how was your Saturday? Did you do anything fun? Did you do yard work? Clean your house? Do a little laundry? Or did you play? Go somewhere fun with your family? Or maybe, you did what I did. You opened your front door to find two police officers pointing their guns at you. Cause that's what I did today. I guess there was someone jumping fences and entering houses. They were going house to house checking things out. No one was here except my little brood, so they moved on. Then we heard someone wiggle the handle on the back door. Not sure if it was an officer or what. Whoever it was took off and a moment later the cops were in their cars traveling at warp speed to their next destination. There is a cop parked at the end of the road at an angle right now - not letting anyone in or out. So, tell me, did you do what I did today? I hope not. Between the earthquake last night and the manhunt today, I may never sleep again!

I feel the earth move under my feet...
I love the sun. I love the palm trees. I love that we can go to the beach for the day and be home that night. I love that we live in a fairly good neighborhood :) I love that my kids go to good schools. I love the mountains in my back yard. I love that Hubby brings home grapes, oranges, bell peppers, and strawberries from work. I love where we are right now.
BUT....
I hate earthquakes. Every time we get one of these little tremors I lose my mind. We haven't had anything big. Tonight there was a 4.2. Just enough to get my heart moving a little faster and move my paranoia up a notch (or 10). It's not a fun feeling. And I don't think I'll ever get used to it. It fascinates Hubby. He is amazed by the movement and the sounds. Me? I just freak out. There are lots of things that I love about California, but this isn't one of them!

The theme this week is "Art". Now, I know that this isn't really art to most people... but I love this photo. I know... I'm crazy. This is one of my favorites. Why is it my favorite? Because I'm weird that way :) Seriously though... I love black and whites. I love that it's kind of blurry (something that I didn't intend, but it works). AND... have you ever canned beans? It is a fun process. Something that I enjoy. But it takes a few hours to accomplish the task. So, when I look at bottled fruit or veggies I can see the sacrifice of time and patience that went into it. So, not only is the picture art, but the actual process of canning is an art form to me!