I had NEVER heard this term until I caught a small portion of the prime-time re-run of Oprah last night. There is no way in a million years I could do this. I couldn't find a code to embed it, so you'll just have to follow the the link when I post it (after I'm done rambling! LOL). The first 15 seconds are a commercial and then it gets into the Lisa Ling report. Now, I'm allllll for saving a buck when I can, but to literally DIG THROUGH THE GARBAGE for food is something I would only do as a last resort. You seriously see them taking bagels out of a black trash bag and dividing up who gets what, and their are packages of unopened fish people were taking (WHO KNOWS HOW LONG IT HAD BEEN SITTING IN THE TRASH!!!!!!!). I'm sure there are parts of the Freegan lifestyle I could try to adopt but after watching the dumpster diving in action, I have to say I'm honestly WAY too disturbed at this point to find out anymore of what being a Freegan is all about. I seriously almost lost my dinner at the idea of eating food out of the trash. Call me judgemental, but that is DISGUSTING!!
(you really should watch this though, you don't SEE them eating it, you just know they WILL)
Freegan Trash Tour
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Another Letter of Great Importance
(you know there's a problem when your clothes come out of the wash dirtier than they went in)
Dear Darling Child (whichever of the three of you is repsonsible),
It's NOT okay to stick crayons in your pants pockets. There are times when mommy is doing laundry LATE AT NIGHT, and is too tired to remember to check said pockets. Are you aware of what a MESS a crayon makes once it's been through the dyer? Shall I explain to you how panicked I was for about two seconds upon seeing red SOMETHING splattered all over my blue shirt (which, I might add, LOOKED LIKE BLOOD, and I was worried some little critter got tumbled to death ... and HOW was I going to talk myself into digging through the dryer to find it??...). I might also remind you that mommy only has a few shirts (because nothing ever fits right, or it costs WAY too much money, and I don't enjoy shopping for myself) and I can't afford to be one shirt short at this point? What will I wear?
Love, The woman who should really blame herself for not checking POCKETS before doing the laundry, but will instead lay the blame on the darling child who put the crayon in the pocket in the first place.
PS I might add in that EVERYTHING ELSE in the dryer was covered in red crayon as well. But luckily for YOU (whichever child this applies to), a second run through the washer and dryer got the red crayon off of everything but the blue shirt (most of it came out though). The blue shirt is currently enjoying a THIRD spin through the wash and we'll see what happens
PPS Here's a visual reminder of why you shouldn't put crayons in your pocket (The damage is much more RED in real life)
front
back
close-up of back
THE CRAYON (what's left of it)
Dear Darling Child (whichever of the three of you is repsonsible),
It's NOT okay to stick crayons in your pants pockets. There are times when mommy is doing laundry LATE AT NIGHT, and is too tired to remember to check said pockets. Are you aware of what a MESS a crayon makes once it's been through the dyer? Shall I explain to you how panicked I was for about two seconds upon seeing red SOMETHING splattered all over my blue shirt (which, I might add, LOOKED LIKE BLOOD, and I was worried some little critter got tumbled to death ... and HOW was I going to talk myself into digging through the dryer to find it??...). I might also remind you that mommy only has a few shirts (because nothing ever fits right, or it costs WAY too much money, and I don't enjoy shopping for myself) and I can't afford to be one shirt short at this point? What will I wear?
Love, The woman who should really blame herself for not checking POCKETS before doing the laundry, but will instead lay the blame on the darling child who put the crayon in the pocket in the first place.
PS I might add in that EVERYTHING ELSE in the dryer was covered in red crayon as well. But luckily for YOU (whichever child this applies to), a second run through the washer and dryer got the red crayon off of everything but the blue shirt (most of it came out though). The blue shirt is currently enjoying a THIRD spin through the wash and we'll see what happens
PPS Here's a visual reminder of why you shouldn't put crayons in your pocket (The damage is much more RED in real life)
front
back
close-up of back
THE CRAYON (what's left of it)
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
"Should I get the yankers?"
WAY back in JULY, we realized Emily's bottom front two teeth were getting wiggly. I figured they'd be out in no time. It was early October before the left one actually fell out, at which point I figured the right one would not be far behind. HOWEVER, it took until SUNDAY before it finally did. The adult tooth is more than halfway grown in BEHIND the missing baby tooth (the other adult tooth came in the exact same way and has since moved itself forward into the correct spot, so I'm not overly worried). Over the week prior to actually losing the tooth, Emily had been complaining about how it was hard to bite her food, and how she couldn't stop playing with it with her tongue, and how she just wanted it OUT. Remembering a Berenstain Bears book we have where Brother Bear tells Sister Bear the dentist will use the yankers to pull out her loose tooth (to which we've giggled with Emily about several times), I decided to be silly and ask Emily, "Should I get the yankers?" And she said, "Will it hurt?" She really wanted that tooth out! It was really rather wiggly at that point (kind of just flopping around, really), so Dan got some dental floss, tied it around the tooth, and yanked. The tooth flew out (literally, we had to search for it) and Em was BEAMING. I thought about pictures belatedly, so all I have to share is a picture from this morning!
Nothing quite so family-involved and creative as THIS little boy's lost tooth:
PS MRS. Toothfairy REALLY dropped the ball on bringing money for the tooth, but MR. Toothfairy noticed her slip-up at approx 4am as he was preparing to make his rounds of tooth collecting and rectified the problem before Little Girl even knew what was up. And MRS. Toothfairy came out and saw the toothfairy pillow on the table and nearly had a heart-attack from panic that Little Girl was only five steps behind her, until MRS. Toothfairy saw money peeking out from the little pocket, and knew she owed MR. Toothfairy big-time.
Nothing quite so family-involved and creative as THIS little boy's lost tooth:
PS MRS. Toothfairy REALLY dropped the ball on bringing money for the tooth, but MR. Toothfairy noticed her slip-up at approx 4am as he was preparing to make his rounds of tooth collecting and rectified the problem before Little Girl even knew what was up. And MRS. Toothfairy came out and saw the toothfairy pillow on the table and nearly had a heart-attack from panic that Little Girl was only five steps behind her, until MRS. Toothfairy saw money peeking out from the little pocket, and knew she owed MR. Toothfairy big-time.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Quote of the Week
“The Law of Reality”: Never get into fights with ugly people, they have nothing to lose.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
And Where the Heck Were You?
I know that's what you're asking of me as you view the picture ABOVE. Well, I'll tell you. I was sweeping up the mess you see in the picture BELOW:
And where I was for that one, you ask? Helping Jared in the bathroom! I swear, I'm an attentive parent. The problem is that Connor is FAST. And SLY. And SMART. He knows the very second my attention is turned and then zips around the house at lightning speed creating pure chaos (and then some). I shouldn't even mention that I later found cat food all over in the laundry room (where we keep the bin of cat food), meaning at some point, my attention must have been averted from him for two seconds and he used that time-frame to figure out how to open the bin and attempt to feed the cat. Bella kitty was probably very grateful.
I am starting to think Connor needs to wear a large bell around his neck so I can always hear where he's at. And I need some sort of home monitoring system that follows Connor around and I can have a visual of him as well. Short of strapping him to me the entire day, I suspect these aren't the last pics of this style you'll be seeing.
You should also know the little girl was LESS THAN PLEASED when I washed Connor's face less than a minute after taking the picture BECAUSE IT WAS HIS NAPTIME (and he's a boy, and he's only a baby, and about a million other reasons). She should have been a twin and then she'd have a live-in girl of the appropriate age (and sex) to be messing around with make-up. (Except I never would have survived the experience of NEEDY baby Emily as a twin).
PS That picture of Cheerios is only a small portion of the actual mess. The chip clip I was using to close the top of the bag broke, so I folded the top down several times tightly and tucked it under the bag in the drawer it was being kept in. When Connor opened the drawer and grabbed out the bag, he grabbed it by the bottom and walked off. Leaving a trail of Cheerios as the bag started unfolding and more and more could come out, until they all finally swooshed out onto the floor in the diningroom.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Letters of Great Importance
Dear Fish tank Filter,
In case you didn't get the same memo I received, I wanted to make it clear that you are NOT supposed to overflow out your top and sneakily soak the floor over the course of a day (Dear Nearby Wall, it's not a good idea to then SOAK UP said water). You are supposed to make life easier and make the fish tank much cleaner. Can I remind you that you are NOT supposed to overflow? And in doing so, shall I remind you that we had to unplug you, at which point further disaster struck and one of my fish died, and that the entire supply of water in the tank turned a funny cloudy-ish color, and even though you've since been turned back on, the water is still a funny cloudy-ish color? What happened to making life easier? HUH HUH? If I had the money, I'd replace you with a model more willing and able to follow the rules and get the job done. Keep that in mind, will ya?
Sincerely, Wife to the man who wants to flush the fish down the toilet and get a turtle instead, but who is holding firm in her conviction that LIVE FISH DON'T GET FLUSHED DOWN TOILETS, and turtles are boring and smelly
-------------------------------------------
Dear Jared,
Shall I remind you yet again that what Mommy says, GOES? My requests are not open invitations to argue, or whine, or throw tantrums. I might also remind you that arguing/whining even louder will DEFINITELY result in unfavorable consequences on your behalf. Behavior like that will MOST LIKELY result in the loss of Snowy (prized stuffed animal), and if this behavior continues, Snowy may just have to permanently move out. Are we clear here? My requests are not unreasonable. You're part of our family, and as such, you're part of our TEAM, and teams work TOGETHER. No free rides, pal, sorry.
Love, Mommy (the woman who loves you dearly, but isn't sure how much more of this defiant and argumentative behavior she can take)
PS I can't tell you how good it did my heart when you jumped out of your seat in the waiting room today, grabbed up a section of the newspaper off the "coffee table" and walked over and handed it to a lonely old lady, telling her, "I got this for you so you don't have to be bored by yourself, okay?" And when she thanked you politely, but didn't open it, you said, "Here, you're supposed to do THIS so you can see the words." and proceeded to open it for her, then patted her arm and sat back down in your seat. SHE may not have been overly appreciative of your attention, but I was very proud of your empathy for her sitting all by herself, and your desire to make sure she was comfortable and had some entertainment.
-------------------------------------------
Dear Connor,
GONE are the days of eating separate meals at dinnertime. I'm not sure you really grasped that concept last night when I finally decided I'd had enough, but it's been put into effect and we'll be sticking to the rules, like it or not. NO MORE making you PBJ, or toast, or cereal. You eat what we're eating, or you wait until breakfast. Daddy says we should wait until you're two before we implement this new rule, but I can already see how you EXPECT to get something else and you've been pooh-poohing food without even tasting it lately. I refuse to be a short-order cook. And you know what? I noticed you survived not eating dinner last night just FINE and dandy! And you know what else? Instead of throwing your breakfast all over the floor and/or finger painting in the slobbery mess of it, YOU ATE IT. What a concept. Call me mean, but I've got enough to do without fixing you a separate meal when you decide you don't like what I've given you. Starving kids in China would LOVE to have some of that home-made cream of potato soup. Everyone else liked it. Get with the program, okay?
Love, No-longer-a-short-order-cook Mommy (who loves you dearly and will happily feed you three meals a day, plus a snack or two, and will always make sure you have plenty to drink, but you must eat what's offered, or get nothing at all)
PS You'll never know how much that signed "thank you" yesterday meant to me. I've been waiting for some sort of gratitude from you for 20 months now. Now, if only you'd repeat it.
PPS Keep up the GREAT "loves"! It's amazingly satisfying and calming and wonderful and (insert word for the BEST FEELING EVER here) to have you randomly walk over and hug my leg, or to have you wrap those little arms around my head and actually squeeze me back. Oh, and those kisses you blow me at night just melt my heart.
-------------------------------------------
Dear Despised GERMS,
GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW! You're evil and hateful and UNWANTED. You moved in back in November, and you think it's sooooooooooo funny to hop around from one family member to the next, BUT IT'S NOT. We're tired of colds, we're tired of the flu, we're tired of ear infections, we're tired of CROUP. You must have something better to do by now. You've long overstayed your welcome and I'm serving you your eviction notice, effective LAST WEEK (so get a move on it, ya hear?)
Hatefully yours, The one who has to deal with all the germ infested family members, even when she's one of them, and she's sick of it (no pun intended)
-------------------------------------------
Dear Emily and Jared,
In case you forgot, mommy's tape is not a free-for-all. It's also not intended to be wound many times around random toys. It's not intended to be any sort of tow strap. It's not intended for decorating pieces of construction paper. It's MOST DEFINITELY not intended to decorate the floors, or the counter tops (or your clothes). It also shouldn't be wound around fingers, stuck in hair, attached over chapped lips, strung out for a jump rope, or left laying around for baby brothers to find.
Love you, Mommy (who should really just give up and take the tape out of the "junk" drawer and PUT IT UP HIGH)
-------------------------------------------
Dear Outlook Express,
This may come as a complete surprise to you, but I need to inform you that it's REALLY a nasty trick to claim the ability to compress a person's email files, and turn them into "corrupt" and "unreadable" files. You might not realize this, but those were important emails! You'll claim to have just been doing your job, but you must NOT have taken the proper training courses, because those files were supposed to have been easy to access. Please know that all potential victims of your dirty deeds have been warned and won't be so easily duped into pressing that "okay" button.
Resentfully yours, The woman who is now short 22 emails
-------------------------------------------
Dear MIL and FIL,
When my children spend the night on the 29th, I expect they be properly spoiled and loved. They're allowed to eat whatever you choose to feed them. They're allowed to stay up late (ish) and snack on junk. However, I respectfully request you keep whatever over-induldged, overfed, underslept GRUMPIES that may appear as a result, AT YOUR HOUSE, and please send me home with three very well-behaved children. We plan to be out late and plan to party hard (ha ha! yeah right) and I won't have it in me to deal with GRUMPIES.
Love, the DIL who is looking forward to a childless night, but is already missing her "babies"
In case you didn't get the same memo I received, I wanted to make it clear that you are NOT supposed to overflow out your top and sneakily soak the floor over the course of a day (Dear Nearby Wall, it's not a good idea to then SOAK UP said water). You are supposed to make life easier and make the fish tank much cleaner. Can I remind you that you are NOT supposed to overflow? And in doing so, shall I remind you that we had to unplug you, at which point further disaster struck and one of my fish died, and that the entire supply of water in the tank turned a funny cloudy-ish color, and even though you've since been turned back on, the water is still a funny cloudy-ish color? What happened to making life easier? HUH HUH? If I had the money, I'd replace you with a model more willing and able to follow the rules and get the job done. Keep that in mind, will ya?
Sincerely, Wife to the man who wants to flush the fish down the toilet and get a turtle instead, but who is holding firm in her conviction that LIVE FISH DON'T GET FLUSHED DOWN TOILETS, and turtles are boring and smelly
-------------------------------------------
Dear Jared,
Shall I remind you yet again that what Mommy says, GOES? My requests are not open invitations to argue, or whine, or throw tantrums. I might also remind you that arguing/whining even louder will DEFINITELY result in unfavorable consequences on your behalf. Behavior like that will MOST LIKELY result in the loss of Snowy (prized stuffed animal), and if this behavior continues, Snowy may just have to permanently move out. Are we clear here? My requests are not unreasonable. You're part of our family, and as such, you're part of our TEAM, and teams work TOGETHER. No free rides, pal, sorry.
Love, Mommy (the woman who loves you dearly, but isn't sure how much more of this defiant and argumentative behavior she can take)
PS I can't tell you how good it did my heart when you jumped out of your seat in the waiting room today, grabbed up a section of the newspaper off the "coffee table" and walked over and handed it to a lonely old lady, telling her, "I got this for you so you don't have to be bored by yourself, okay?" And when she thanked you politely, but didn't open it, you said, "Here, you're supposed to do THIS so you can see the words." and proceeded to open it for her, then patted her arm and sat back down in your seat. SHE may not have been overly appreciative of your attention, but I was very proud of your empathy for her sitting all by herself, and your desire to make sure she was comfortable and had some entertainment.
-------------------------------------------
Dear Connor,
GONE are the days of eating separate meals at dinnertime. I'm not sure you really grasped that concept last night when I finally decided I'd had enough, but it's been put into effect and we'll be sticking to the rules, like it or not. NO MORE making you PBJ, or toast, or cereal. You eat what we're eating, or you wait until breakfast. Daddy says we should wait until you're two before we implement this new rule, but I can already see how you EXPECT to get something else and you've been pooh-poohing food without even tasting it lately. I refuse to be a short-order cook. And you know what? I noticed you survived not eating dinner last night just FINE and dandy! And you know what else? Instead of throwing your breakfast all over the floor and/or finger painting in the slobbery mess of it, YOU ATE IT. What a concept. Call me mean, but I've got enough to do without fixing you a separate meal when you decide you don't like what I've given you. Starving kids in China would LOVE to have some of that home-made cream of potato soup. Everyone else liked it. Get with the program, okay?
Love, No-longer-a-short-order-cook Mommy (who loves you dearly and will happily feed you three meals a day, plus a snack or two, and will always make sure you have plenty to drink, but you must eat what's offered, or get nothing at all)
PS You'll never know how much that signed "thank you" yesterday meant to me. I've been waiting for some sort of gratitude from you for 20 months now. Now, if only you'd repeat it.
PPS Keep up the GREAT "loves"! It's amazingly satisfying and calming and wonderful and (insert word for the BEST FEELING EVER here) to have you randomly walk over and hug my leg, or to have you wrap those little arms around my head and actually squeeze me back. Oh, and those kisses you blow me at night just melt my heart.
-------------------------------------------
Dear Despised GERMS,
GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW! You're evil and hateful and UNWANTED. You moved in back in November, and you think it's sooooooooooo funny to hop around from one family member to the next, BUT IT'S NOT. We're tired of colds, we're tired of the flu, we're tired of ear infections, we're tired of CROUP. You must have something better to do by now. You've long overstayed your welcome and I'm serving you your eviction notice, effective LAST WEEK (so get a move on it, ya hear?)
Hatefully yours, The one who has to deal with all the germ infested family members, even when she's one of them, and she's sick of it (no pun intended)
-------------------------------------------
Dear Emily and Jared,
In case you forgot, mommy's tape is not a free-for-all. It's also not intended to be wound many times around random toys. It's not intended to be any sort of tow strap. It's not intended for decorating pieces of construction paper. It's MOST DEFINITELY not intended to decorate the floors, or the counter tops (or your clothes). It also shouldn't be wound around fingers, stuck in hair, attached over chapped lips, strung out for a jump rope, or left laying around for baby brothers to find.
Love you, Mommy (who should really just give up and take the tape out of the "junk" drawer and PUT IT UP HIGH)
-------------------------------------------
Dear Outlook Express,
This may come as a complete surprise to you, but I need to inform you that it's REALLY a nasty trick to claim the ability to compress a person's email files, and turn them into "corrupt" and "unreadable" files. You might not realize this, but those were important emails! You'll claim to have just been doing your job, but you must NOT have taken the proper training courses, because those files were supposed to have been easy to access. Please know that all potential victims of your dirty deeds have been warned and won't be so easily duped into pressing that "okay" button.
Resentfully yours, The woman who is now short 22 emails
-------------------------------------------
Dear MIL and FIL,
When my children spend the night on the 29th, I expect they be properly spoiled and loved. They're allowed to eat whatever you choose to feed them. They're allowed to stay up late (ish) and snack on junk. However, I respectfully request you keep whatever over-induldged, overfed, underslept GRUMPIES that may appear as a result, AT YOUR HOUSE, and please send me home with three very well-behaved children. We plan to be out late and plan to party hard (ha ha! yeah right) and I won't have it in me to deal with GRUMPIES.
Love, the DIL who is looking forward to a childless night, but is already missing her "babies"
I'm currently in love with this song
It's off the Curious George soundtrack and I just love it!
PS Please be thinking of my friend Jen, a pipe just burst in her kitchen and there's water everywhere (AND the cordless phone was drowned in flood, which is the second or third one that's lost it's life at her house in the recent past...)
HUGS JEN!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Introducing Grace
We FINALLY kicked all our germs and got to meet my cousin Christopher's new daughter, Grace (who I made that pink/brown scrapbook for). Mommy Jessica brought her by for a visit and my children and I just ate her up! Isn't she adorable??? (She looks sooooooooo much like my cousin, by the way!!)
I got a SHORT turn holding her before Emily took over. She could barely take her eyes off Grace!
Grace woke up for the briefest bit, peeked at Emily, squawked a bit (mildly), drank a tish of a bottle and went back to sleep. LOL
FOREVER later, I finally got my hands on the little darling, only to be confronted by a rather perturbed Jared that he hadn't had HIS turn yet.
Em had to hover to make sure he was doing things JUST RIGHT
Connor was VERY interested in Grace, and pointed at her, touched her, kept taking me over to show her to me, etc, so I let him have a turn at holding her as well (odd picture angle and she's really still in my left arm as I hold her up close to Connor, but he actually had hit little arms wrapped up nice and tightly the best he could, it was sooooo sweet!)
Connor starting making attempts at getting up, so I moved the baby back up against my own body and he got up on his feet and was acting very disturbed and upset and I wasn't sure what was wrong with him until he marched over, wrapped his little arms around Grace again and tried to take her back! Considering it's not very appropriate to let a 20 month old BABY (I can still call him that for another four months!) hold a three week old baby on his own WHILE STANDING UP, I kept a good hold of her, and Connor was MAD! He made a few attempts and then threw himself down on the ground and cried! He tried to give her a dolly bottle at one point, as well, but I was on top of him around her so he didn't get as far as he would have preferred.
We're so excited to welcome Grace into our family and Em's THRILLED there's another girl. On that side of the family, she's the only girl KID. So although there's almost a full six years age difference between Emily Grace and Grace (that's the other thing Em's THRILLED about!! notice the names???), I'm sure Em will be quite the doting 2nd cousin and they'll be fast friends in no time.
I got a SHORT turn holding her before Emily took over. She could barely take her eyes off Grace!
Grace woke up for the briefest bit, peeked at Emily, squawked a bit (mildly), drank a tish of a bottle and went back to sleep. LOL
FOREVER later, I finally got my hands on the little darling, only to be confronted by a rather perturbed Jared that he hadn't had HIS turn yet.
Em had to hover to make sure he was doing things JUST RIGHT
Connor was VERY interested in Grace, and pointed at her, touched her, kept taking me over to show her to me, etc, so I let him have a turn at holding her as well (odd picture angle and she's really still in my left arm as I hold her up close to Connor, but he actually had hit little arms wrapped up nice and tightly the best he could, it was sooooo sweet!)
Connor starting making attempts at getting up, so I moved the baby back up against my own body and he got up on his feet and was acting very disturbed and upset and I wasn't sure what was wrong with him until he marched over, wrapped his little arms around Grace again and tried to take her back! Considering it's not very appropriate to let a 20 month old BABY (I can still call him that for another four months!) hold a three week old baby on his own WHILE STANDING UP, I kept a good hold of her, and Connor was MAD! He made a few attempts and then threw himself down on the ground and cried! He tried to give her a dolly bottle at one point, as well, but I was on top of him around her so he didn't get as far as he would have preferred.
We're so excited to welcome Grace into our family and Em's THRILLED there's another girl. On that side of the family, she's the only girl KID. So although there's almost a full six years age difference between Emily Grace and Grace (that's the other thing Em's THRILLED about!! notice the names???), I'm sure Em will be quite the doting 2nd cousin and they'll be fast friends in no time.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Jen, I accept your challenge!
My friend Jen decided she needed a new profile pic for her blog and decided to include one of her three children in the picture with her. She posted the adorably funny outtakes here. THEN, she challenged ME to do the same. I picked Connor figuring he'd be the most challenging and uncooperative (to really make it fun) and I was laughing soooo hard by the end! Connor was crying by the end, but that's beside the point. LOL Enjoy!
Let's just say the biggest part of the challenge was trying to get us centered in the pictures as I was taking them (and as you can see, I didn't master it yet!!).
It was also rather challenging to balance Connor on my lap, holding the camera out in front of me, and getting Connor to LOOK!
It's just an empty bowl buddy...
And then Connor got into the silliness off things and kept trying to shove off my lap, and I'm desperately trying to keep ahold of him (all the while still trying to keep my balance and hold the camera out in front of me)
And then... I guess it just wasn't as much fun for one of us any longer
(notice the new profile pic?)
I challenge VALARIE because she's got four little darlings to choose from and I'm interested to see what comes of it. LOL Have fun Valarie!
Let's just say the biggest part of the challenge was trying to get us centered in the pictures as I was taking them (and as you can see, I didn't master it yet!!).
It was also rather challenging to balance Connor on my lap, holding the camera out in front of me, and getting Connor to LOOK!
It's just an empty bowl buddy...
And then Connor got into the silliness off things and kept trying to shove off my lap, and I'm desperately trying to keep ahold of him (all the while still trying to keep my balance and hold the camera out in front of me)
And then... I guess it just wasn't as much fun for one of us any longer
(notice the new profile pic?)
I challenge VALARIE because she's got four little darlings to choose from and I'm interested to see what comes of it. LOL Have fun Valarie!
Monday, February 18, 2008
DON'T ASK
those little marks heading left across the picture are his big toe and the toe next to his big toe from his left foot. LOL Turquoise big toe, blue toe next to it. ha ha
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Quote of the Week
"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh man....I could be eating a slow learner."
~Lyndon B. Johnson~
~Lyndon B. Johnson~
Saturday, February 16, 2008
DESPERATE PLEA FOR HELP
I was prompted by a pop-up to compress my email files this morning, so I agreed, ASSUMING (stupidly) that it would create a separate folder for easy access of the compressed files. HOWEVER, 22 emails in my Outlook Express inbox folder DISAPPEARED and I can't find them ANYWHERE on my computer. If ANYONE has ANY idea how to find these files, I BEG YOU to give me detailed instructions on how to get them back!!!!!! Any computer geeks out there reading this??? Anyone know any computer geeks??? PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need those emails back!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Valentines Cards
Here are the cards I made for the kids for Valentines Day:
Emily's
Jared's
Connor's
This is a picture my friend Kaci sent me. Hilarious!! LOL
Emily's
Jared's
Connor's
This is a picture my friend Kaci sent me. Hilarious!! LOL
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Jared's Big Accomplishment
Mr. Jared has been working really hard the last few weeks practicing writing his name, in order to be able to sign the valentine's to his friends all by himself. The child barely draws beyond scribbles, so I have to say I'm SUPER impressed and proud of his attempts thus far:
Of course the one he did the very best on is the one he wrote it on the "to" side instead of the "from" side. LOL
Today, I'll be baking cookies and decorating them, to be able to include one cookie per goody bag for each kid in his class AND Em's class, along with a pencil and little notebook and tiny box of nerds (and the valentine card).
Of course the one he did the very best on is the one he wrote it on the "to" side instead of the "from" side. LOL
Today, I'll be baking cookies and decorating them, to be able to include one cookie per goody bag for each kid in his class AND Em's class, along with a pencil and little notebook and tiny box of nerds (and the valentine card).
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
How Embarrassing!
A recent posting over at Confessions of a Pioneer Woman requested we share our most embarrassing moments so she didn't feel alone. I got several new viewers out of posting mine in a comment, so I thought it worth posting HERE as well. But the rule is, if you take the time to read about mine, you must must MUST be prepared to share YOURS as well. It's only fair, right?
here goes:
When Emily had just BARELY turned two, she and I were at one of my OBGYN appointments. They were running extremely behind schedule and the snacks and toys and books I'd brought along to entertain Emily had long since lost their appeal and she was slowly but surely turning into a MONSTER. This was like a week or two before Jared was born, so I was HEAVILY pregnant. They sent me back to leave a urine sample, and while we were in the bathroom, Emily was doing her best to make a royal pest out of herself. Trying to unroll the toilet paper, trying to dig through the garbage, messing around with the stack of little cups they had sitting on the counter (for said urine samples), rifling around through the basket of feminine pads they had set out for "your convenience", etc etc etc. I was batting her hands away as best I could, all the while giving a urine sample. Just as I was finishing up, she made one last mad dash for the garbage, so I hauled up my elastic-waisted maternity pants as fast as possible, flushed the toilet in the same motion, then washed my hands and hauled the screaming child out of the bathroom (she was VERY upset I was foiling her plans of destruction and exploration). I had to go back out in the waiting room to continue waiting for a room to open up for us, and I had to walk alllllll the way to the back of the room to get an empty seat. I collapsed into the seat and heard a weird crinkling sound and stood back up expecting to see a magazine or something. Nothing there. Little feelings of dread began oozing into me at that point and I reached behind me, desperately hoping I was wrong. But alas, I was right, and there, hanging out of my elastic-waisted maternity pants, was the toilet seat cover, which in my rush to pull my pants up, I had grabbed up as well. And the whole room FULL of people had seen my walk by. And several people were giggling and pointing. I grabbed it out, stuffed it into the diaper bag, forced Emily onto my lap and opened up one of the books we'd brought and desperately hid behind it until they called me back for my actual appointment. I can laugh about it NOW, but at the time, it was all I could do not to cry from being so embarrassed!!!!
here goes:
When Emily had just BARELY turned two, she and I were at one of my OBGYN appointments. They were running extremely behind schedule and the snacks and toys and books I'd brought along to entertain Emily had long since lost their appeal and she was slowly but surely turning into a MONSTER. This was like a week or two before Jared was born, so I was HEAVILY pregnant. They sent me back to leave a urine sample, and while we were in the bathroom, Emily was doing her best to make a royal pest out of herself. Trying to unroll the toilet paper, trying to dig through the garbage, messing around with the stack of little cups they had sitting on the counter (for said urine samples), rifling around through the basket of feminine pads they had set out for "your convenience", etc etc etc. I was batting her hands away as best I could, all the while giving a urine sample. Just as I was finishing up, she made one last mad dash for the garbage, so I hauled up my elastic-waisted maternity pants as fast as possible, flushed the toilet in the same motion, then washed my hands and hauled the screaming child out of the bathroom (she was VERY upset I was foiling her plans of destruction and exploration). I had to go back out in the waiting room to continue waiting for a room to open up for us, and I had to walk alllllll the way to the back of the room to get an empty seat. I collapsed into the seat and heard a weird crinkling sound and stood back up expecting to see a magazine or something. Nothing there. Little feelings of dread began oozing into me at that point and I reached behind me, desperately hoping I was wrong. But alas, I was right, and there, hanging out of my elastic-waisted maternity pants, was the toilet seat cover, which in my rush to pull my pants up, I had grabbed up as well. And the whole room FULL of people had seen my walk by. And several people were giggling and pointing. I grabbed it out, stuffed it into the diaper bag, forced Emily onto my lap and opened up one of the books we'd brought and desperately hid behind it until they called me back for my actual appointment. I can laugh about it NOW, but at the time, it was all I could do not to cry from being so embarrassed!!!!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Quote of the Week
Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Wounded Wing
Just before noon yesterday, I was taking Connor back for another diaper change and was holding onto him by his wrist and he was running along (he loves to take my hand and run back to his room). He lost his footing and started to fall, so I grabbed him more tightly by the wrist to keep him from falling, and then set him back down on his feet again. He started crying and I squatted down next to him to check him out and he smiled at me and ran off, so I figured the big tears were more just because he was mad he almost fell. Got him back to his room and laid him down and started changing his diaper and he started crying again. He cries often when I change his diaper because he's mister busy-body and how dare I pin him down to change him.... LOL So I still didn't think much of it. But at lunch time a few minutes later when I looked over and saw him shoveling food into his mouth with the fork in his left hand instead of his right, I started to wonder. So then I went over and started lightly touching his arm (right) and he immediately burst into tears. And as soon as I'd stop touching it, he'd stop crying. Tested up by his elbow and down by his wrist, same thing each time. No swelling, no bruising, but obviously tender to being touched or moved, and he wasn't using it, AT ALL. I called Dan at work and we decided we should probably take him in to be seen since he can't really communicate exactly what was going on. I took him to the Prompt Care in our area instead of making the further drive to the hospital. I know it would have taken four times longer going to the hospital. I expected x-rays first thing, but the doctor came in and said based on the explanation of the injury, he was rather certain it wasn't broken and that it was a radial ulna subuxxation (I made him right it down for me!), which basically means the muscle got pulled too far and the bone was able to slip out of place a bit, causing pain, but only when moved. Which explains why the kid was running around happy as a clam, but unwilling to move the arm. I assumed it was more his wrist, but the doc said it's the elbow area that gets messed up. He did something he called a reduction, which was pretty much twisting and shoving CJ's arm against his chest (Connor's chest) to get everything back in place. He said kids are fine 10-15 minutes later, almost as a rule. SO, he left us alone for 15 minutes, came back in and Connor was still refusing to use the arm, so he did the reduction again and checked on us 15 minutes later (more like 20, though! lol) and Connor STILL wasn't using the arm, and was still crying TONS when they'd move it or touch it, so then he ordered x-rays to double check nothing was broken. X-rays came back fine. They put him in a sling in case the arm still hurts because the bone is shifting around in place too much. With the arm bent, the bone has a better chance of being in the correct place as the muscles firm back up around the area. With his arm hanging straight, it puts pressure on the bone to possibly shift it out of place. NORMALLY, they don't have to sling because kids are fine right away. He was a little concerned that Connor was still favoring it so heavily, but with x-rays ruling out breaks (I should add a radiologist still has to view them, but from the docs view, the x-rays look fine), there was nothing more to do at that point, but wait. If CJ was still favoring the arm on Monday, we were supposed to go back to try another reduction and possibly another round of x-rays and if he was STILL favoring the arm and x-rays STILL don't show anything, we'd have had to meet with an orthopedic surgeon to try and figure out what's going on. HOWEVER, I'm happy to announce that right about 5:30pm last night he started using the arm and you'd never know anything happened to him yesterday.
Here he is in the little sling:
Here he is in the little sling:
Friday, February 8, 2008
More?
Sometimes you just like to take advantage of mommy making some important phone calls...
Sometimes you just like to throw toys all over the floor...
Sometimes you just like more than one spot to call your own...
Sometimes you're just too stinkin' cute for your own good and it's a lucky thing or your mommy would GIVE YOU AWAY... (not really)
Sometimes it's lucky you're a good helper at cleaning up...
(this is the bottom section of a two-tier stackable "shelving" unit that was previously FULL of random little toys and books from in the livingroom. He's sitting in it in the DININGROOM, and there's a trail of "evidence" between the two rooms, and he IS helping clean up!)
Sometimes you just like to throw toys all over the floor...
Sometimes you just like more than one spot to call your own...
Sometimes you're just too stinkin' cute for your own good and it's a lucky thing or your mommy would GIVE YOU AWAY... (not really)
Sometimes it's lucky you're a good helper at cleaning up...
(this is the bottom section of a two-tier stackable "shelving" unit that was previously FULL of random little toys and books from in the livingroom. He's sitting in it in the DININGROOM, and there's a trail of "evidence" between the two rooms, and he IS helping clean up!)
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Sometimes...
Sometimes you just need a little space to call your own...
Sometimes you just want to make your brother and sister laugh hysterically...
Sometimes you just think you own the world...
Sometimes you just have to climb right into the bin of blocks to find the piece you need...
Sometimes you just want to make your brother and sister laugh hysterically...
Sometimes you just think you own the world...
Sometimes you just have to climb right into the bin of blocks to find the piece you need...
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Oregon Trail
I remember when I was in 6th grade and had to take a computer class, there were certain time-frames we were allowed to play Oregon Trail. Back then, it was on the Apple computers, the screen was black and the graphics were green and very very basic. You got to choose what time of year to leave, and how much food to eat each day (I think?), and you had zero control over treating sick wagon members. You also had to just buy as much food as possible at the beginning because it was nearly impossible to hunt.
NOW, however, Oregon Trail has come a long way! In the facebook version, if you have enough money, you can buy lots of medicine to dose up sick wagon members and keep everyone happy and healthy. But if you don't have enough money to purhcase the meds you're trying to buy, you get this message:
Notice that the button that SHOULD say "okay" says something entirely different (cracked me up!):
And in this version, it's very very very easy to hunt, so you don't need to waste money BUYING food. But if, for some reason, you run out of food and have no ammo to hunt, you can always eat a wagon member (no joke):
NO, I did not decide to eat Kaci. LOL!!
You can also steal from other wagons you're a member of to try and get money and medicine and bullets, or food. It's no Nintendo Wii (like I'd know, having never played one, but they seem to be all the rage right now!), but Oregon Trail's been keeping a group of us busy the last couple of weeks!!
NOW, however, Oregon Trail has come a long way! In the facebook version, if you have enough money, you can buy lots of medicine to dose up sick wagon members and keep everyone happy and healthy. But if you don't have enough money to purhcase the meds you're trying to buy, you get this message:
Notice that the button that SHOULD say "okay" says something entirely different (cracked me up!):
And in this version, it's very very very easy to hunt, so you don't need to waste money BUYING food. But if, for some reason, you run out of food and have no ammo to hunt, you can always eat a wagon member (no joke):
NO, I did not decide to eat Kaci. LOL!!
You can also steal from other wagons you're a member of to try and get money and medicine and bullets, or food. It's no Nintendo Wii (like I'd know, having never played one, but they seem to be all the rage right now!), but Oregon Trail's been keeping a group of us busy the last couple of weeks!!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Driving Miss Daisy
I drove Little Miss Daisy Girl Scout Emily to her Investiture Ceremony last night. The girls received their official Girl Scout pins and were welcomed in as official Daisy Girl Scouts.
They started by having each girl place one of the ten colored daisy petals up on the white board, while Miss Rebecca (one of our two leaders) talked about which part of the Girl Scout Law the petal represented. Emily put up the yellow petal, which stands for "Be friendly and helful", and the rose (pink) petal, which stands for "Make the world a better place." Here she is putting up the pink petal: (don't you just love the nicely spaced/arranged petals!! They did it perfectly during the practice LOL)
Then each girl received her official Girl Scout pin, and little bouquet of daisies and posed for a picture.
Mrs. Lily is on the left, Miss Rebecca is on the right
Afterwards, we had some refreshments and visited and then headed home. I told Emily to leave all her stuff on as we were arriving home so I could get a better picture of her, but when I went back to deal with Connor, she stripped herself down and THAT WAS THAT. Always nice to know people are listening to what I have to say... (Can anyone hear me???? LOL!)
Em's pretty excited about the whole thing and I think this should be a pretty fun experience for her.
They started by having each girl place one of the ten colored daisy petals up on the white board, while Miss Rebecca (one of our two leaders) talked about which part of the Girl Scout Law the petal represented. Emily put up the yellow petal, which stands for "Be friendly and helful", and the rose (pink) petal, which stands for "Make the world a better place." Here she is putting up the pink petal: (don't you just love the nicely spaced/arranged petals!! They did it perfectly during the practice LOL)
Then each girl received her official Girl Scout pin, and little bouquet of daisies and posed for a picture.
Mrs. Lily is on the left, Miss Rebecca is on the right
Afterwards, we had some refreshments and visited and then headed home. I told Emily to leave all her stuff on as we were arriving home so I could get a better picture of her, but when I went back to deal with Connor, she stripped herself down and THAT WAS THAT. Always nice to know people are listening to what I have to say... (Can anyone hear me???? LOL!)
Em's pretty excited about the whole thing and I think this should be a pretty fun experience for her.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Muddy Socks, Crazy lighters, and Multiple Ads, OH MY!
Em's been home sick almost this entire week, so I had her working on some writing exercises like they do in class so her brain doesn't turn to mush. While she was working, I picked up a Parents magazine and skimmed through. I haven't read through one in a good year, for pure lack of time, but I'd paid for the subscriction for years in advance (super cheap!) so it keeps coming anyway. LOL I almost NEVER even look twice at the ads, but a few caught my eye yesterday.
The first one, while at a first glance seems like a very good idea, upon a split second further thought, seems really ridiculous! I mean, SERIOUSLY, how lame are we that we have to buy a bendy-head lighter instead of just lifting up our arm an extra four inches to aim a straight-head lighter down into a jar candle?
The second one, I laughed briefly at, thinking, "How often are kids running around outside in their socks, and what lame mother wouldn't notice her kids heading out the door that way?" But then I remembered that not too many months ago, we'd babysat my friend's 2.5 year old overnight. She arrived to pick him up the next morning and about 15 minutes after she arrived, we realized that David wasn't playing in the same room as the other kids. Upon further investigation, we discovered him running around in the backyard in just his socks. And it had recently been raining. So, thank goodness for Clorox Bleach, and you just never know when this ad might apply to you, too! (and I claim "off the clock!" since his mom had arrived!! LOL)
The last one has four parts, so I'll show the picture first:
1. I laughed at bit at the ad labled (1) because it seemed like a waste of money. It's a window-cling that is temperature sensitive and the little person is shown wearing the appropriate clothing for what the temperature outside is. HOWEVER, I started thinking about all the times my older two have come and asked me if it's a cold day or a warm day, so they'd know what sort of clothes to choose to wear. If a window-cling will show them what style of clothing they should wear for the day, and give them that independence of not having to ask me all the time, I'm all for it (assuming it works, that is...)
2. I get REALLY carsick 9 times out of 10 when I'm the passenger in a vehicle, so those "pretty" motion-sickness wristband things sound pretty neat. I wonder if they come in adult sizes? And I wonder if they actually work? LOL
3. Butt Paste! We have that stuff! The packaging says something about a pleasent smell, and I'm here to say, it really does have a pleasent smell! Seems to work pretty darn well, too.
4. Notice the peacefully sleeping baby on the package for the swaddle blanket? Then notice the expression on the baby's face demonstrating the use of the swaddle blanket. His/her expression clearly says, "what the heck are you doing to me?", in my opinion, anyway...
The first one, while at a first glance seems like a very good idea, upon a split second further thought, seems really ridiculous! I mean, SERIOUSLY, how lame are we that we have to buy a bendy-head lighter instead of just lifting up our arm an extra four inches to aim a straight-head lighter down into a jar candle?
The second one, I laughed briefly at, thinking, "How often are kids running around outside in their socks, and what lame mother wouldn't notice her kids heading out the door that way?" But then I remembered that not too many months ago, we'd babysat my friend's 2.5 year old overnight. She arrived to pick him up the next morning and about 15 minutes after she arrived, we realized that David wasn't playing in the same room as the other kids. Upon further investigation, we discovered him running around in the backyard in just his socks. And it had recently been raining. So, thank goodness for Clorox Bleach, and you just never know when this ad might apply to you, too! (and I claim "off the clock!" since his mom had arrived!! LOL)
The last one has four parts, so I'll show the picture first:
1. I laughed at bit at the ad labled (1) because it seemed like a waste of money. It's a window-cling that is temperature sensitive and the little person is shown wearing the appropriate clothing for what the temperature outside is. HOWEVER, I started thinking about all the times my older two have come and asked me if it's a cold day or a warm day, so they'd know what sort of clothes to choose to wear. If a window-cling will show them what style of clothing they should wear for the day, and give them that independence of not having to ask me all the time, I'm all for it (assuming it works, that is...)
2. I get REALLY carsick 9 times out of 10 when I'm the passenger in a vehicle, so those "pretty" motion-sickness wristband things sound pretty neat. I wonder if they come in adult sizes? And I wonder if they actually work? LOL
3. Butt Paste! We have that stuff! The packaging says something about a pleasent smell, and I'm here to say, it really does have a pleasent smell! Seems to work pretty darn well, too.
4. Notice the peacefully sleeping baby on the package for the swaddle blanket? Then notice the expression on the baby's face demonstrating the use of the swaddle blanket. His/her expression clearly says, "what the heck are you doing to me?", in my opinion, anyway...
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