The family bed...

about once a month or so it seems like everyone ends up in our bed. I don't know how it happens. There must be some kind of family ESP that travels through the house. This morning was a Family Bed day. Everyone was there, the HotY, Alex, Syd, Lauren, myself, the dog AND the cat! Let's just say it is very cozy - and no one EVER wants to leave. Ummm, excuse me, it's morning, there are things to do, let's get out of bed people. But no one listens to me - and you won't find me kicking and screaming to be let out either. Sure one or two of them may take off for a minute or two - but then they are back, crawling and kicking and trying to find their way into the middle of the heap - since that seems to be the coveted spot - right in the middle. It's like the Holy Grail of the family bed.

So even though it is very cozy and every once in a while someone takes a jab from an elbow and the cat isn't super crazy about the entire arrangement I secretly wish every morning was a family bed morning. All snuggled together, laughing and tickling and fighting for the middle. BUT it's one of those things that just happens, and if it happened every day the magic of the moment might be lost. So I'll take the family bed mornings when I get them - pets and all!

TTFN

Two words...

I have two words for last night's male performances on Dancing with the Stars - "Model Man"! Is his name Ryan? I can't remember, and at this point - names - not that important - I'm still being wooed. So did you see him? Not only is he somewhat adorable in an almost geeky kind of way but he is funny (haven't I told you this is a big thing with me???) AND that boy can move! WOW!

Regarding the other contenders. Well, I'm not sure what to say but I would like to know why they pick competitors who are geriatric, have been injured, or are recovering from some kind of surgery or trauma. Please explain this to me. Is it sympathy? Is it the Heather Mills complex? Is it fair? I mean really WHAT IS THE POINT! This makes me a little crabby. I hate it when things don't make sense to me :-) So if you have the answer please enlighten me because right now it's all a mystery and I don't like mystery any better than I like surprise!

Before we get into the obvious topic...

I need to discuss something. On pre-school days the HotY works from home until drop-off time. That means that the girls are usually still sleeping when I leave for work and are in his hands to get ready for school. And he does a fine job of it - seriously. But this morning as I was picking out outfits for the day I realized that having him dress the girls in new clothing (the previously worn stuff - not such a big deal) causes me great distress. What if adjustments need to be made? What if he doesn't know what needs to be tucked or untucked? What if, heaven forbid, the girls decide to make a change to the previously arranged wardrobe? And accessories - what about accessories??? I know I know but really what is the point of cute clothes if dad doesn't know what he is doing? Yes, I know this sounds incredibly shallow - and on this one point you are probably right. BUT I have a thing for clothes. And when you have little girls - well it is like having your own lifesize Barbies without having to pick up all those annoying little shoes . So if you see my girls and they don't look quite as put together as you would expect - if the shoes they are wearing are screaming out "take off the socks" you know it was a dad day - really!

Okay so I guess I have procrastinated long enough (alright fine, I just didn't want to be too predictable and lead off with TV news - I mean really you would have expected that).

I'm not even sure what to say about DWTS (Dancing with the Stars) except Jane Seymour and Marie Osmond need to GO! I don't mean to be a wench, but really if I wanted to see that kind of dancing I'd just head down to the senior citizen center. Don't get me wrong I appreciate what they are doing but, um, did you check out that Cheetah girl chick? They think they are going to win over that???? I'm just saying... And don't try to pretend you weren't thinking the same thing :-) Personally I really like Jennie Garth. She is a little stiff but I think she is a sweet person and surprisingly not full of herself. Well see how it all shakes out in the next couple of weeks.

And The Bachelor. Oh man. My feelings about the entire night can be summed up in six words - THIS SHOW MAKES WOMEN LOOK BAD! Seriously. I mean, fine, I may have been known to wear my heart on my sleeve a time or two, but I have NEVER stripped down to a bikini and taken a little dip in the pool while everyone else was parading around in their evening gowns. Holy Bananas woman. But I see she did get a rose so maybe her tactics weren't totally in vain. WOW. As for Brad Womack - he looks vaguely familiar and his name sounds familiar too. Was he in Cosmo or Glamour or something as an eligible bachelor? Why do I know this man??? I haven't totally made up my mind about him. He could win me over yet. I did give him a few more points when he recognized how hysterically funny it was that some chick thought her greatest asset was her webbed toes. That sense of humor will get me every time - and those pecs - well that didn't hurt.

Oh and one last note on the Bachelor. Did you see that one chick that got a rose. She had an off-white short dress on with spangles hanging on it. Did you see her? Okay did you see the dress? LOVED that dress. I want that dress. If this dieting thing keeps paying off, I'm getting that dress. Seriously!

It is almost obscene...

how excited I am about the new season of TV beginning this week. And it all starts tonight with Dancing with the Stars. Who will be my dancing diva this year? I don't even know who the contestants are. I know I know - but I'm not so much on the background details until I know what it is I want to know. KWIM? I'll be sure to get back to you on my initial favorites tomorrow - of course my favorite NEVER wins but still I keep hoping (and really, I'm not bitter - it's not like they hip-hopped right over my Rob Lowe).

And then as if that weren't enough for a Monday Dancing with the Stars is followed by The Bachelor. This season they have the sexiest bachelor yet - or so the hype goes. Every season it is something - and every season I am disappointed (well except for Andrew Firestone - now that Bachelor - he was - something. I might have to add him to the list, I wonder what is happening with Andrew? Is he still making wine? Living on his 15 minutes of fame? Trying to find the true love of his life? Anyone???). ANYWAY, we'll see what happens this season - the previews I have seen - I'm not thinking sexy but I'll give him a chance. I'd hate to make a snap decision.

And if my excitement over the upcoming week in TV is not proof enough of the sad and boring suburban life I lead this will seal the deal. Friday night the HotY and I had to attend a wake (this has been happening all too often lately - at one time in our lives it was weddings and then baptisms but lately it has been wakes and funerals as the parents of our friends are aging - I have a lot more fun at weddings). After the wake we went on a "date". Out to dinner at a very nice, local Italian restaurant (and NO I'm not talking about Olive Garden) to be followed by an evening out. Well after dinner the HotY looked at me and said what do you want to do? Go out for drinks? Go for a walk downtown? Sit by Silver Lake and watch the moon reflect off the water? Dancing? Shopping? The world is your oyster. Do you want to know what we did - my choice of oyster? We went HOME! To our nice quiet, clean, temporarily kidless house where we lit some candles, poured some wine, read our books and, ummmmm took a little cat nap! I KNOW! But really at that moment in time there was not one thing I would rather have done. I don't know if it was the carb overload at dinner, or the night air, or just the end of a long week but regardless of the reason I think it was just what was needed...

Maybe this should be my mantra....

I saw this in my Oprah magazine last night. It really struck me...

"I must learn to love the fool in me - the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool". -Theodore I. Rubin, MD-

It's an extravagenza...

A layout plethora for your viewing pleasure :-)

And now for the photos

The wedding portrait!




Will you take these flowers?



The blushing "bride"



The Happy Couple



Exchanging of "vows"



The "traditional" apple slice toast!

Wait a minute, I'm too young for this...

or at least I am in "Angie's World".

The girls are staying with my parents until Saturday (my dad is doing much better, he still needs to use a walker but he's getting there - go dad!!!!). The girls got there last night and were very excited that Jordan and Austin (my nephews) did not have school today so they would be around to grant their every wish and command. Sydney is especially fond of her "VERY handsome Jordan". This morning I got this email from my mom:

Sydney is marrying Jordan today. She wants everyone to come because this
is real and you have to dress up. She is already dressed and has Jordan's
clothes laid out for him. Lauren said she is not going to the wedding. I'll send pictures.

So apparently, my daughter married her first cousin in an outdoor, barefoot ceremony. Wedding guests were wearing crocs - it must have been a black tie only event! I will post pictures tomorrow. Oh and I'm now an aunt to my son-in-law. Should I be moving to Arkansas?

But the fun was only beginning. Tonight when I got home from work there were a couple of hang ups on our answering machine and the CID identified someone I had never heard of - well shortly after that the phone rang and it is a girl - asking to talk to Alex. Well me, being the mother I am, said who is this and she told me her name and that she was in Alex's class at school and wanted to talk to him so I handed the phone over (oh I did ask to talk to her mom or dad but she said WHY? pretty adamantly so I just let it go). Alex talked for about 2 minutes and then said "I'm done" and handed me the phone. I tried to get him to chat a bit more but he wasn't having any of it. So I gently told the girl caller that Alex was getting ready to eat and couldn't talk any longer. I did get him to say good bye, which amounted to just that "bye" click... I think we need to talk about how to treat girls :-)

So that was my day. Love is blooming in the cupcake house. I thought I had a few years before I had to deal with this stuff but apparently I'm wrong. Seriously, I hope the girl calling thing doesn't become regular. Alex isn't a huge phone talker and I really don't want to become his appointment secretary - but it is a good thing - really.

Pictures of the wedding tomorrow.

TTFN

I don't get it...

I live fairly close to my place of employment, and yet, every day it seems to take longer than I had anticipated to drive from my garage to the parking lot. I mean really, one song, that is all it should take, one song and MAYBE some news or a quick commercial but that should be it. Instead it seems to take more like two songs - which is fine if they are two good songs but sometimes they play that dang Sheryl Crowe song and two songs seems like twenty. If the drive had taken the one song + commercial that it should have I would not have had to endure the torture known as "All I wanna do is have some fun". Really all I wanna do is ask you to shut up!

So tomorrow my goal - one song and some news. I'm not being nice and letting anyone merge in front of me. I'm not going to come to a nice rolling stop at the light, I'm not going to be an Iowa driver. Nope tomorrow I am getting to work in one song - of course that is just a guarantee that song two will be good but that is a chance I'm willing to take because there is always the danger of Sheryl Crowe...

TTFN

The click heard around the world...

Did you hear it this morning? That very distinct, very deliberate, very firm click? That was me, locking the bathroom door for myself and every other mother on the face of the earth.

It is a well known and documented fact that children and spouses suddenly cannot fathom life without the woman who holds it all together the minute she steps into the bathroom. REALLY!

I simply wanted to take a shower in peace. I didn't plan to deprive them of my presence for the rest of their natural lives - all I wanted was twenty minutes, to myself, just me and a hot steamy shower. But after no less than a dozen interruptions I did it - I locked the door - and life as my family knew it failed to exist. There was much knocking on the door and jiggling of the doorknob and plaintive cries of "mom". I ignored it all because really I just wanted fifteen minutes - I planned on unlocking the door in fifteen minutes. Yes, I would have come out for something really important like a potty accident or a ringing phone or Rob Lowe at the door - but I needed to keep it all in perspective.

So I got my fifteen minutes, and when I opened the door I found, amazingly enough to others, that despite cries and disclaimers to the contrary, no one's life had fallen apart. All had managed just fine without me for those fifteen minutes. And more importantly once everyone had a chance to tell me about all of their life's big moments from the past fifteen minutes and assured themselves that I had not been sucked down the drain they left me alone. And I got ready AND we made it to church on time. Ahhhh - so thankful for the lock.

So for those of you that weren't quick enough to get to the lock before the door was barricaded with human life, (or heaven forbid those WITHOUT a lock on the bathroom door) the click was for you. Seriously, I don't know one mom/wife who doesn't deserved 15 minutes of alone time, I hope you enjoyed it :-)

TTFN

It was a great Fall "Vegetable"...

and no I'm not talking about zucchini. We went to a Fall Festival today at a local nature park. For some reason Lauren thought it was called a Fall Vegetable. So we had a great time at the Vegetable. There were snakes and fish and turtles to see, cookies to make, necklaces to string, faces to paint and pumpkins to color - and really a pumpkin is a vegetable right - and if that isn't a great fall vegetable I don't know what is...

It was a good day. The kids had fun, the weather was perfect, the sky was that great clear blue that only comes in early autumn and I felt like I did my share of tree hugging for the day - and usually I'm not big on that tree hugging stuff - it reminds me too much of camping :-)

Here are the highlights.

Make it about the good things...

I just read an article about turning 9-11 into a day of kindness and good deeds and I like this idea. Instead of focusing on the evil that immortalized the day that will live on in history I am going to focus on appreciating the good things in my life. Things like family and friends and goodness in the world. I challenge you to do the same (and seriously, this is one challenge that I will follow through - REALLY!)

Take a minute and tell the people that make a difference in your life how much they mean to you. Write a letter, make a phone call, send an email, give your spouse, children, partner, etc. special attention. Do something - make a difference - make it about good. SERIOUSLY!

Sometimes it isn't just about looks...

at least in the world of home appliances and ease of cleaning. Seriously!

Now if you have been paying any attention at all you realize I have children. Three children. Three children who don't know the meaning of "please don't make a mess" - it's true. I know, so hard to believe there are children in this world who have total disregard for the sacred shrine known as a clean house. BUT that would be my children. ANYWAY, one day I decided new appliances - we need new appliances and I got them. Stainless Steel. I loved them. I adored the way they sparkled in the sunshine, and looked so clean and nice and lovely and new. And then they moved to my house and met the children and soon my appliances didn't look so bright and shiny. They had finger prints and drips. But no big deal, I mean, I got the Windex and sprayed and wiped and and and YUCK they looked worse than ever. Enter the HotY who was quick to inform me that the appliances needed special cleaners (I mean really are you surprised he knew? Remember this is a man who seriously has the oil changed every 3000 miles) - cleaners that would restore their former beauty - but at a cost. First there is not a"one cleaner does all" in the world of flat top stoves and stainless steel appliances. Nope the top takes one cleaner and the body takes another. Sure the other appliances can use the body cleaner but still how many cleaners does a person need to clean four appliances? So the cleaners were purchased. But again, it wasn't so easy. First you have to wax the flat top like a car, wax on - wax off, and really I don't mind that part so much. But the stainless steel cleaner part - well if you are a straight and narrow person this cleaner may be right up your alley, but if you are an all over the place, circle around, jump right in and then figure out how to swim girl like me than it is a bit of a challenge since when cleaning the appliance you must remember to always wipe in the same direction. Really it shouldn't be that hard but it ticks me off every time because there is always something just taunting me to give it a good back and forth, round and round scrub, but it just can't be done - not if you want the beauty of a shiny reflective surface gleaming in your kitchen.

So what is this all about - well I just got done cleaning the appliances and realized that I learned a great lesson - Do not be lured by the outer beauty of bright and shiny because just beneath the surface lurks high maintenance. Trust me, I know - not only do I have stainless steel appliances but I own a black vehicle. That dang "pretty face" gets me every time...

Big things...

tomorrow is full of big things. I'm shopping with friends - and not just any shopping but scrapbook shopping. I know I know what can I say, it is exciting. Every color looks good on me, every size fits, I don't have to try anything on and I can purchase more than one item. Really, could there be a more perfect shopping experience? Even shoes have their limitations!

So we'll browse and buy and lunch and chat. I'm looking forward to it. I mean I love my kids, I love the HotY, but sometimes, sometimes a girl just NEEDS her girlfriends. Seriously!

Have a fabulous Friday - I know I will.

TTFN

Another year has begun...

the kids are back in school. Dance classes have started. Newsletters and art work are starting to clutter the refrigerator. Autumn is just around the corner.

I'm not a big fan of Autumn. It's not that I don't think it is beautiful because it is. And it isn't that the weather isn't fabulous because it is. It isn't even the start of school and the end of the carefree days of summer. I don't know what it is. It just seems like such a melancholy time of year for me. Maybe it is winter just a few short months away. I'm certainly not ready to go there yet. Regardless of the reason for the late autumn angst I'm not there yet, for these first few weeks of the beginning of the season I like the hustle and bustle and return to schedules so I'm going to enjoy it for now - seriously!

Here are my monkeys on their first day of school. Enjoy!

I'm a Stepford Wife!

CRUM CRUM CRUM CRUM CRUM. I had an entire entry written. I was glorifying in my accomplishments of the day. My clean house, my organized closets, my freshly ironed (yes I did say ironed) clothing, my first day of school readiness and then it happened. I hit a button. I don't even know what button, but one of those buttons at the top and poof - it disappeared, the entire post, gone, vanished, kaput. And now I've got to try to recreate the wonder that was today's entry. I'm not good at the do-over. If it's not right the first time around I'm not too keen to do it all again so I'm not gonna. You'll just have to trust me when I say it was a wonderous entry :-)

But tomorrow, tomorrow I'm not going to hit any funky buttons and then I'll be able to write - really.

TTFN