And I thought Sheryl Crowe was annoying...

with her chronic complaining about wanting to have some fun (remember – I wrote about it – HERE). NOW there is this song – YUCK. I hate this song. To be honest I’m not a fan of the Black Eyed Peas in any form – but this song – it can put me in a bad mood. I know, there are much more important things to put my energy into but sometimes you just have to get the little things off your chest. And this is one little thing that I would like to get off my chest, out of my radio listening area and into the graveyards of music. I can only hope the popularity of this annoying little tune is short-lived. Sorry to all you Black Eyed Peas but it’s a fact – they are even more annoying than Sheryl Crowe – and to be honest I’m not even that sorry. I just don’t like them. There I said it and I’m sticking by it. HA!

TTFN… I’m off to find a happy place – some place where only good songs play – some place called land of the iPod.

but... I'm feeling likeable today...

People may not realize it but I am actually a glass half-full kind of person - about most things anyway - and just to prove it to those who may doubt I'm full of all kinds of like love today - really I am. Listen - here's the list of what I like - right now at this moment - seriously.

I like Finger Paints Finger Nail Polish. I happened upon it by accident. Syd actually wanted it so I bought it for her and then it was just setting there in the bathroom one morning so I tried it and I LOVE it. It dries fast and resists chips pretty well. I used to be a finger polish girl but then kids and no drying time entered my life and I sort of forgot how much I like polished fingernails. But I think it is time to remember.

I like Fingerzilla on the iPad. After I posted about this in the post where I talked about the iPad (which I have also decided I really like) I received a comment from Tom of Fingerzilla offering to send me to code to get Fingerzilla for the iPad. How cool is that? See the world is full of nice people and I really like that - and Fingerzilla. Doom and destruction with a tiny tap of the finger - really it's the little things that entertain me.

I like The Avett Brothers especially I and Love and You. Have you heard this song? Click the link - it's a little country but it's so good. I've been listening to it over and over.

I like thinking about the day my daughters were born as tonight is the eve of their 7th birthday. It was kind of a scary day and it wasn't supposed to be their birthday - it was supposed to be an ultrasound day - the birthday wasn't supposed to happen until July. BUT during that ultrasound the Chief OB guy decided I should have a couple of babies. I argued. I told the doctor on call in labor and delivery that I was going home. She called the Chief of OB (she was a tattle tale), who then came to my room and told me in no uncertain terms that no matter what I may have thought I WAS going to be having babies that day - hmmm guess he told me. He got over it but that doctor on-call - not so much. Really, it was an innocent mistake I thought I was being monitored I didn't think I was REALLY going to deliver. Who knew? Regardless by 7:30 that evening I had babies :-) Sweet, sweet baby girls. Sydney was 3lbs 8oz and Lauren was 4lbs 8oz.

I like summer. But I think I've been over this before. Anyone who knows me knows summer is when I truly shine. Sun, sun Mr. Golden Sun...

I like knowing when I've been self-indulgent enough and need to say good-bye.

So without further ado - TTFN... Tomorrow is birthday day. To say spirits were running high would be an understatement.

Well, I hadn't thought about it...

We had a meeting with Alex's teacher a couple of weeks ago. During the course of the meeting she asked what we thought of Alex going to Prom. I was okay with it, although I really hadn't thought much about it before she said something. I figured we would definitely want him to attend next year but I just hadn't given much thought to this year. But before we knew it Alex was going to prom. There were a couple of girls in his regular ed art class that were excited Alex would be attending and included him in their group. Nice nice girls (the girl in the dark blue dress is Grace, who was the organizer and is amazing and beautiful - I'll be forever grateful to Grace).

Alex had a great time. The group of kids were wonderful and he looked like such a gentleman, although I have to admit, to me he looked like my little boy playing dress-up. I'm not sure my heart understands that he is a man (note to self - must let children grow up).

So here are the pictures (most of them straight from the camera so don't expect any superior camera skills).

Think - Think - Think...

and then when it all gets to be too much go and crawl into a honey pot – at least that’s how it works for Pooh Bear (aka Winnie the Pooh). Since I’m trying to steer clear of honey pots and chocolate pots and cookie, cake and chip pots too I’m left with the thinking.


I’ve mostly been thinking about what to do about this darn dog. She really is the nicest dog ever – when she isn’t busy jumping up on people, stealing napkins and food from the dinner table and trying to eat her leash instead of walking on it.
I was home the other day and if she hadn’t been sleeping right at my feet I never would have known she was around except for the occasional hand nudge for a pet. BUT when we do know she is around she is impossible to ignore. When she gets excited she can run over a full grown adult without a second glance. She’s strong and she’s fast and she’s big. I can barely think about giving her away but she really does need some place where she has room to run and roam. Logically I know this would be the best option for everyone - but then my heart gets involved and I just don’t know if I can walk away and never look back. She loves us so much. The kids are ambivalent about her too. I just don’t know what to do. Oh great and here I am crying now because I’m thinking of life without Autumn. I mean really how do you turn your back on your heart???

But what do I do with it???

We have an iPad. I know there are people out there who would be as happy as clams to say they have one of these things and it’s not that I’m not happy but I’m not sure what to do with it to make sure I get the full benefit of this oversized iTouch – KWIM?

The good news is the iPad was a gift. But still I feel a need to justify the cost. I mean really, we’ve got an invisible fence system in the yard that the darn dog completely ignores – so since that hasn’t exactly turned out to be a wise investment - I’m all about value for the dollar lately. I know SOME of you who may be reading right now are thinking “hmmmmm, when has SHE ever been overly concerned about cost or value????” But - IT’S TRUE – sometimes things seem completely frivolous - even to me. I KNOW!
Anyway, the iPad is fun. And you don’t have to be so darn careful when using those pesky fingers on the touch screen. AND there are some fun games – like Traffic Jam (???). But it seems to be missing Fingerzilla - at least I haven’t found it yet. HotY – are you listening – the Fingerzilla application – can you get it? Sorry just a little personal note.
The HotY is using it for reading books (me I like to hold the real things in my hands – hard cover is the best). The kids want to use it for games. David Letterman recently pointed out that it makes a great portable picture frame. All uses well worth the price tag (please envision me rolling my eyes). But it’s a toy so it doesn’t have to have a real purpose right????

Terror at PetCo...

The dog went to the groomers at PetCo today. She had a few areas of matted fur. They said they thought they would have to shave her a bit. I said okay do what you have to do.


On the way back home from our various Wednesday night activities we stopped to pick up the dog. The kids and I waited in the car - all of them anxiosly peering out the back window waiting for our beloved Autumn to appear. And then it all broke loose. There was screaming and crying. I thought someone had slammed their finger in the door or some other tragic accident - and then I saw this...



And this:



Our dog. Our fluffy, happy, people loving puppy is is is - a weasel??? A rat? I just don't even know. The girls were seriously hysterical when they saw her. Lauren cries and carries on every time she looks at Autumn.

Oh Autumn, we are soooo sorry. But it will grow and you'll be all fluffy again soon. And I promise I'll never complain about your poodle cut again. You were a beauty with that look compared to the skin head "do" you're sporting now. Poor puppy...

Easter Egg Hunt - take two...

Same concept different day and location.
That's what happens when your two sets of grandparents live in different places - double the fun - just ask me - I'll tell you - really it's double the fun :-) Oh did I mention I'm super tired and feeling a little punchy? I've been so tired lately I've fallen asleep every night this week before I've finished my prayers (yes, I say my prayers at night - it's in my head and I guess I'd say it's more of a conversation - but still I count it as prayers - THERE now you know another little secret - man you people are nosey ;-))

More pictures.













There are frogs in that pond and they were determined to catch one - they didn't and that's a good thing because I'm sure it would have just led to screaming and really some days there is more than enough screaming (it's all good of course - but still - it's enough).

A fabulous day for an Easter egg hunt...

Our Easter routine was a little different this year. Instead of spending the day with my family (who we will see this weekend) we spent the day with the HotY's family. The location was different but the egg hunt was the same - well not exactly the same since it was in a different yard with different grandparents and cousins but there was an egg hunt and as far as my kids are concerned that's good enough!

Here are some highlights of the day (absent pictures of Alex - who once again was not having much to do with the camera - who knows what that kid is thinking about some days).








Before heading to the hunt there were bunny treats to check out in our own home. The bunny was a little bit restrained this year (that bunny, he's getting smart since Easter candy has been known to hang around until the 4th of July)!



Alex's basket - minus Alex. At least he is represented :-)



TTFN... word has it that those Reeses Peanut Butter eggs are on sale at Target...

Empty nest...

I miss them...






They are visiting the grandparents this week.



I don't miss this one...



She's still at home.

One thing leads to another...

Last week we replaced the downstairs carpet. It needed it - BAD - besides Alex flooded the bathroom to finalize the deal. While sopping up water I thought "you know what - this is never going to get dry" so I started pulling up carpet, and the pad and then it was a done deal (remember the wallpaper deal - started picking off a little edge - pretty soon the whole room is bare - I can be kind of spontaneous like that). By the time the HotY got home from work my job was done and I was thinking about new carpet. So we picked out carpet - and if you pick out new carpet you might as well do the tile in the bathroom before the carpet because we all know how messy laying tile can be. And once you have everything cleared out of the rooms to make way for the new carpet and new tile you realize some of it just isn't worth putting back in place so you need new furniture and once you have new carpet and new furniture you realize how dingy your walls are so you need new paint to match the new carpet, new tile and new furniture. And once you have new carpet, new tile, new furniture and new paint you realize that the upstairs really needs some work. And so it goes. In reality the furniture isn't new - the living room furniture got moved to the family room and now the living room needs the new stuff - but not until the new carpet and new painting and new flooring in the kitchen are complete. And as long as I'm getting new flooring I might want to think about some remodeling in the kitchen and granite countertops. See one things leads to another. The upstairs work hasn't started yet and will probably be a couple months before it does but the seed has been planted.

Oh and about the kitchen flooring - we have a big patio door in the kitchen with a southern exposure. It gets HOT - so hot that it brings the glue from the current flooring to the surface. YUCK. So what to do? I'm worried about doing hardwood in the kitchen because I'm just not sure it holds up to the wear, the spills, the kids and the dog. I'm afraid to do a Prego type product because of the hot southern exposure. What about tile? I've heard negative things about tile in the kitchen, it's hard on your back, anything that drops is toast, and it's cold unless you are doing heated floors. So what do I do? Suggestions???? Experience? Please feel free to share your thoughts.

TTFN...

Let's not mince words...

So I don't typically write a lot about Alex - I'm not any less proud of him but Alex is a creature of habit and a man of few words. A typical conversation with him goes something like this: "Hi Alex. Hi Mom. How was school? Good How was lunch? Good. What did you have? Baked Potato. What do you want for supper? McDonalds No. What else do you want for supper? McDonalds. Alex we aren't having McDonalds. What about chicken? McDonalds. Alex. Yes mom. I love you. Oh mom. Silence and then McDonalds". As you can see he is a man who does not see the value of idle chit chat, say what you mean and move on. BUT last night I asked him to clear the table (I KNOW - what terrible parents - we give our kids jobs) and handed him my plate. He looked at the plate, looked at me, looked at the plate again and then looked me straight in the eye and said Pain in THE butt. Took the plate and walked away. I looked at Dennis, Dennis looked at me and I really could not help but laugh - which I did not want Alex to see because I didn't want to encourage him to call people a pain in the butt but really it was so darn funny. I guess maybe you had to be there - but really, funny. It was funny stuff - trust me.

TTFN... and I don't care what Alex says I am NOT a pain in the butt :-)

So they say it's your birthday...

Today's the day - for those of you who did not bother to Google Barbie's B-day :-) So far the day has begun well. The HotY wished me a Happy Birthday as soon as I got up, Alex gave me a great birthday hug and kiss and the girls sang me a wonderful birthday duet (they are more excited about the day than I am) and I had a nice birthday greeting on my desk when I arrived this morning. Oh and I stopped at Panera and picked up treats to share the love :-) I don't know that even that doll Barbie could have had such a great day so far.

So here's to a wonderful day and melting snow (because really nothing signifies the beginning of spring to me like my birthday).

TTFN... be happy - eat cake!

It's getting closer...

Barbie (as in Doll - significant other of Ken - sister of Skipper - beloved friend of girls everywhere) and I have a momentous day coming up (I'll let you figure it out). I don't know what big plans Ken has in store for his girl but I'm sure he has nothing on the HotY :-) (I'm still really missing that smilie emoticon - it's been at least two years since I first mentioned this affront and yet has Blogger listened? I think not). Regardless the day is coming. I don't have any big expectations. Truthfully I'd really just like the house cleaning and laundry doing fairy to show up. Now that would be a wonderful gift. If anyone knows where I might find that just let me know - I'm all over it.


So that's it - let the big week begin.

TTFN... and just for the record Barbie is older than me - much older :-)

Panic attack...

I think I can understand panic attacks. I don't know that I have ever had one but this morning I got myself so worked up over "what could happen" that I couldn't move for five minutes. I could just sit there and breathe DEEPLY. I think that may have been close to a panic attack.

I have a friend who is struggling with a very difficult time in her life right now. One night she went to bed and less than 24 hours later her life had drastically changed. She had no idea what was coming when she woke up on that last day of the life she knew - it just happened. Thinking about my friend and how fast life can change - THAT is what can immobilize me for five minutes in the morning.

A lot of the time we have absolutely no warning what life has in store for us on any given day. Just because my kids are getting up and starting their day just like any other day is not a guarantee that tomorrow will begin exactly the same way. That's scary. I know chances are great that tomorrow will be just like today (or even better) but what if it's not? What if something happens to my kids or the HotY or even that dang dog? I hate that about life - that unknown thing. BUT, as I understand it, there is nothing that can be done to prevent things from happening - unless you are willing to stop living. I thought about it for five minutes this morning (cocooning my family, my loved ones and myself) but then I realized the alternative of not living life completely and staying on the safe side isn't really living life. So here I go (just like everyone else) living another day and hoping for the best.

TTFN... go, live life - sometimes it all turns out much better than we expected - and sometimes it doesn't but at least we are living.

Well....

I could talk about the excellent presentation I attended earlier tonight by Dr. David Walsh about saying No to your children (seriously this was an excellent investment of my time - Say Yes to No is the name of his book - look it up). Yep, I could talk about that, BUT really there are other things to discuss. Other things like the pathetic bachelor (ummm let's see how long that lasts - my money says two weeks - and that is optimistic) and how pathetic it is that the pathetic bachelor is going to be on Dancing with the Stars. COME ON! Of all the pseudo celebrities in the world you people picked the bachelor, that John and Kate chick and Pamela Sue big boobs? Really that's who you picked? I don't even remember the rest of the cast because I was too busy checking out this sad group. I'm thinking the bottom of the barrel has been hit. Every event has a beginning, a peak, and an ending (can you say bell curve) - guess where I think DWTS is on the curve. Yep, BOTTOM OUT! I think I may be out this season - oh wait who am I kidding? I'll so be there but really only to see the train wreck - seriously...

TTFN... Oh and in between the dancing I'll be reading my book and learning to say no to my kids - really, trust me.

There were five in the bed...

and the mama one said Roll Over Roll Over so they all rolled over and NO ONE fell out... That's what it was like in our bed this morning. Two little girls and one big dog plus the HotY and I. It was cozy to say the least. I'm just thankful Alex didn't decide to come in and flop down in the middle - it would certainly have been a full house. Did I mention I'm tired this morning - I can't imagine why ;-)

Girl Scout cookies are in the house. The girls each sold 100 boxes but all are sorted and ready to deliver. I like a good organization project (don't tell anyone).

So there you go - short and sweet for a Monday. I'll save the story of our church going Sunday for later in the week. Let's just say it's never simple...

TTFN... let's hear it for having the bed to yourself!

Does Lauren lick dogs?

I've been finding these little notes from Syd all over the house. I guess the girl has a lot to say. But this note about Lauren cracked me up.



It was actually supposed to say "Does Lauren like dogs?" but she had a small spelling error which totally changed the sentence. Lauren and I thought it was very funny but Syd not so much. Poor girl, but we teased her anyway - Bad mom - I know I know. We weren't relentless but we had fun asking her about things she might "lick" like school, and recess and ice cream (which she really does like to lick).

Anyway, just thought I'd share because I want to document this stuff and you all are the lucky recipients :-)

TTFN... Oh and No Lauren does not lick dogs but she does LIKE them a lot.

Bring on the Saturday...

It has been a long week. Seriously, I can't even tell you. To say I was looking forward to Saturday would be a HUGE understatement. AND I'm very sorry to say the week concluded with me being the worst mom ever by yelling at the girls on the drive from school to dance. By the time we got to the dance studio we were all crying - great job mom :-(

But that was the past and this is the present and the present is Saturday and that's a good thing. I mean it isn't like the Say Yes to the Dress marathon wasn't enough but there was also valentine's mailbox painting and sledding. Did I mention Saturday is a good thing.

So here you go - sledding pictures for you viewing enjoyment.

I think this girl is destined to have a snowboard in her hands - this picture looks a little bit too natural for an over-protective mom's comfort level.

Oh and notice all that dirty snow in the background - it's a way of life this time of year. To say I'm ready for spring is an even bigger understatement than the previous one about looking forward to Saturday. I washed snow pants and coats Thursday night - I actually had a cramp in my hand from the Spray and Wash bottle which was premanently attached to my hand for 45 minutes while pre-treating the winter wear before throwing it in the washer - SERIOUSLY!

I STINK!

Seriously. The HotY bought me new perfume for Christmas. Romance by Ralph Lauren to be exact and I just can't fall in love with the scent. The funny thing is this isn't really a new perfume for me - I've worn it in the past but then changed to Style by Ralph Lauren (which I really really love but it is hard to find - thus the HotY's purchase of Romance) because as much as I liked Romance it just didn't seem to have any staying power. I don't know if this was a universal problem or what because "staying power" is no longer an issue. This new bottle stays and stays and stays with just a little spritz and I'm not crazy about how it smells anymore. Did they change the ingredients? Did I just get used to the other perfume? Has my nose changed? I don't know what the problem is but in my eternal quest to try to find the silver lining and not give up I keep trying to give Romance a chance to smell good again - so far it's not working, I can barely stand to smell myself. Grrrrr. That's $85 we'll never see again - DANG!

TTFN - and that smell in the room - you know that mix of too much, possibly bad, perfume, yes it's me - I'm sorry I'll try not to move and waft the scent around the room.

It's a party...

it's a dog party. Call in the hounds - the NaughtyDoodle turned one today. Yes, it's true, Autumn is celebrating her birthday and in a big way. She snatched two sticks of string cheese and a chocolate chip cookie. When the kids asked what she was getting for her birthday I said "she gets to stay here" that's her present. And after today that is a pretty big deal. So now that she is officially out of puppyhood it gets better from here - right???

The HotY and I are heading for the big city tomorrow to get his new car - I think - assuming everything goes as planned and the car checks out in person. CarFacts says it is a good one. I'm hoping the drivers on the road tomorrow are better than the Walmart drivers I encountered on my way to work this morning. Crabby and frustrated before 8:00 a.m. and on a Monday - oh and did I mention it snowed??? I won't even get into all the happy wonder that made up my day today, seriously consider yourself lucky you didn't cross my path. Hey, they don't call me crabby for nothin' :-)

Okay, TTFN. Things to do places to go - well things to do anyway...