- Unruly Locks -

Letters in the Sand

2012-01-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

I'm not really a needy,

clingy,

insecure,

pda-ing,

can't breathe without you, kind of girl.

Yeah, I like my man and all.

But, I also like my space too.

Which makes ours quite the perfect union,

because John is the same way.

That said, I really and truly appreciate the occasional blatant display of love.

Yes,

he carved his love into the sand.

It makes me feel special,

and needy,

and clingy,

and insecure,

and want to pda all the time,

and realize I can't breathe without you,

and. . .

its probably a good thing blatant, for the world to see,

proclamations of love,

only happen occasionally.

I might become a raving lunatic.

And needy, and clingy, and insecure, and pda-ing. . .

And frankly, no one wants that.

Peg Leg

2012-01-25T11:15:00.000-08:00

This is Triton showing me his peg leg

This is Milana doing a very thorough job

of picking her nose

while Triton shows me his peg leg.

She's got a very bright future ahead of her I'm sure.

The lake, the sky, the mountains, and me

2012-01-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

Maybe its just me,

but while driving down the hill last week,

I saw this scene before me, and just thought it was beautiful.

The mountains reflecting on the lake,

the sky a dark and looming grey,

a rim of light, that seems to just perfectly frame the mountain peaks.

You'd think it was evening,

but no, the day was only beginning.

Just beautiful.

I love it here.

A Confessional of a Sleeper Shooter

2012-01-19T11:08:00.000-08:00

Dear World,

I'm afraid I have an addiction.

I just can't seem to help myself.

Whenever my kids might happen to fall asleep in the car,

I simply have to take their picture.

Seriously, is there anything better than a slack jawed, mouth breathing sleeper?

I think not.

Its especially funny when you happen to snatch two in the same pose.

I think they both might have had slobber trails in this one.

And there you have it.

I've confessed.

Though I doubt my confession will stop me from taking pictures in the future.

I'm just not that kind of girl.

If I see something that amuses me, I'm gunna take a picture of it.

So it should go without saying, that if I happen to see you sleeping,

and you look funny,

chances are I'll take your picture,

and more than likely post it on my blog.

And who would really want that?

Consider yourselves warned.

Florida in 3 days

2012-01-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

Wow.

That's all I can say.

In a trip that seemed to contain more than I ever thought possible,

John and I visited Virginia and Florida.

It was full of fun,

full of many new experiences,

and also,

exhausting.

We stayed with some of John's esteemed colleagues from Harvard.

Sadly I was a slacker, and didn't take a single picture of them,

but I did get picture of one of their backyards,

which had me fantasizing about living in a scene from The Last of the Mohicans.

Florida has quite the spectrum of wildlife.

Horseshoe crabs,

Spiders the size of softballs,

Raccoons,

and crocodiles and gators.

Oh yes, we can't forget the gators.

John and I stumbled onto the Misukee Indian Reservation

in the everglades and had quite the time.

It was there that we met our personal tour guide,

who will remain nameless because he asked really nicely.

Who took us on a fan boat in search of gators,

And who also taught us how to drive one.

A fan boat, not a gator.

That's right people,

I drove a fanboat,

and I believe it may be my calling in life.

Our new friend also taught us that gators LOVE marshmallows and french bread

Who knew!?

The Cuban food was exceptional.

As was the fresh seafood -

which looks like crap in this picture,

but actually tasted amazing.

We cruised around the Keys.

Though I still can't figure out what all the hype is about.

In the end, we discovered we preferred low-key Hollywood Beach

to the oh-so-popular Miami and South Beach.

And, that we love cruising the boardwalk by the various means offered by different vendors.

Piggies

2012-01-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

Today, a monumental occasion occurred.

Milana had her hair in "full piggies"

for the first time ever.

t took a lot of pulling and twisting,

and probably a head ache on her part.

But lo, they are still there!

On a side note, I can't believe I just used the word, "lo."

For the time being, please forgive my Elizabethan language,

I'm presently heavily entrenched in a Shakespeare course,

and can't seem to find words other than "the master's"

to express myself.
Seriously, you should read my papers.

I pity my teacher.

Our New Thing

2012-01-04T07:25:00.001-08:00

We have a new hobby.

We be telescopin'.

Santa brought Triton a telescope for Christmas.

I always knew the heavens were beautiful and fascinating,

but really???

Having our own telescope has made them remarkable!

I mean the moon is great and all,

but instead of it just being a vague white rock in the sky,

it looks like this-

I'm in awe.

So, if you happen to drop by on any given night,

this is what you'll probably find us doing.

Though, we love sharing the joy, so you'll probably have to join us.

The Insensitive One

2012-01-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

I doubt any of you will know what this is

at first sight.

But for me, it was quite a sight to see.

Bronze, my seemingly insensitive child,

has secretly proven this past week that he is in fact quite concerned about the things he cares about the most.

Case in point,

"Puppy."

John and I entered his room last week only to find this -

Puppy "sleeping" on his very own bed

while Bronze was sleeping the night away in his.

Now, if only I could get him to treat me like this when I'm ready for bed.

But, I suppose that will take more training on my part.

I'm quite finicky about my pillows.

Good Riddance

2012-01-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

One of my bestest friends ever,

happens to believe that each new year

should be accompanied with an overall

theme or idea.

Past phrases have been:

"Come what may, and love it."

and,

"Enjoy the journey."

Since I spent New Years Eve with my

Aussie Annie,

I couldn't help but think,

"What should my theme be?"

And then, horror of all horrors, she asked me what mine was.

I was royally perplexed.

I could think of nothing good.

I heard nothing but the fictional chirp of crickets in my ears.

So, I did the thing I always do when stumped -

I asked John.

John's lovely and singular input was this:

"Same Shiz, different year."

Less than motivating. . .

I know.

But, it got me thinking.

He's right you know.

Same old junk,

just a different year.

Fact is, I cannot feel a difference between today

January 1st,

and yesterday,

December 31st.

Its just the same old, same old.

And then it hit me - I already have my single goal for the whole entire year picked out.

Finish my Bachelor's Degree.

17 credits left.

I can do it.

And then, I'll be free to let my mind wander as it pleases.

It sounds heavenly to me.

So, there you have it,

my goal of 2012.

Walk across the stage, shake hands with dean and accept diploma,

and throw my hat in the air with good riddance.

Oh, and John to take me to Tucano's in celebration when I'm done.

Cheese is Evil

2011-12-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

As I've mentioned before, there is one

creature upon this vast planet

that I actual hate.

As it turns out,

that also happens to be the one

animal that my Man insists

should be a member of our household.

If you haven't guessed it yet,

I suppose I should do the introducing.

World, meet "Cheese"

my kiddos' guinea pig.

Yes, fate has laughed in my face,

and has forced the most vile creature ever made,

to be a feature of my household.

It was John's doing.

I put up a good fight.

And, just so you know, both boys pray every night,

"that mom will like my guinea pig."

So far, it hasn't worked. . .and I'm hoping it stays that way.

Nasty little thing.

Holiday Bling

2011-12-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

This is the most beautiful
piece of jewelry I have ever seen.

Bronze made it for me.
He insists I wear it everyday.

I'm afraid to rip an antler off,
so I only wear it on special occasions.

Merry Christmas to Me!

2011-12-14T11:21:00.001-08:00

Its time again for me to take to

shameless boasting

about a wondrous thing that

that wonderful man of mine has done - for me.

I had a dream.

I suppose it always existed.

I dreamed of having a library

housing hundreds of books

in my very own house.

Suddenly,

I find myself to be the possessor

of just such -

with the potential to acquire even more books

adding a lovely glimmer to my eyes.

Yes, John is the bomb.

He knew my passion, books,

and my dream, personal library,

and made it happen.

He's pretty awesome.

Pretty effin' awesome.

I think I might just love him.

The Lights in the Chilling Night Air

2011-12-12T08:38:00.001-08:00

No Christmas time in the Salt Lake City area,

could be complete without a visit to

Temple Square to see the lights.

This year,

we went with the Kimmings-Karr family.

Aussi Annie, who is one of my favorite Australians

on the planet,

had never been.

I think she enjoyed it.

Milana wore MY coat from when I was a wee lass.

I'm grateful for a mother who saved this kind of stuff.

We all bundled up snug and warm,

and enjoyed the lights,

great company,

and exceptional mall food court food -

really, I was surprised,

it was actually pretty dang good.

All and all, the night was a success.

the Mailbox for Santa

2011-12-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

Is it wrong of me to have my kids write letters to Santa,

if I've been made well aware,

that the shopping is already done?

I mean, totally, completely, and thoroughly done -

to the point that I,

I mean Santa,

might just be shopped out.

I think that might be a first for me.

Upon further thought,

I think I'll still let the kids write letters to Santa today,

and then actually put them in a mailbox.

Because I've been informed,

there is a certain mailbox up where we live

where Santa actually writes back.

What kind of mother would I be,

if I did not take advantage of that!?

I leave you with a picture of myself,

in a pie-induced drunken stupor,

on Thanksgiving.

Which I think actually better depicts my current state of

anti-shopping-ness.

My eyes look exhausted, no?

Decked the halls, and all

2011-12-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

Ah, December 2nd,

cant say its really significant,

other than that

the Christmas season has officially begun.

We've already decked the halls,

and started our chocolate advent calendars.

The only downside to this spirit of excitement, joy, and well excitement,

is that my boys feel

that everything should be decorated.

Even defenseless little sisters,

who are strapped into their carseats,

with no means of escaping.

It took 3 days to get that ink off.

Poor, pitiful creature.

Before that though, it all just smeared and left her a

festive shade of green.

Merry Christmas!

Tree Huntin' Bazaar

2011-11-30T12:05:00.000-08:00

I kid you not,

I just heard my son yell,

"Holy Crap Balls!"

from the other room.

Since I'm on the computer,

and not in the same room,

I can toothily smile,

and even laugh - silently,

and thoroughly enjoy the moment.

Really, where do they come up with this stuff??

Granted, its Bronze,

so its bound to be more crude than the,

"Holy Love Heart!"

Triton came up with a few weeks ago.

Now, on to business-

As is a well known fact,

we head down to Monticello to get our

Christmas Tree every year.

Its tradition - and its free.

So, really it is something that will probably always continue to happen.

This year however,

was something truly special.

John actually came with me

for his first attempt at "tree huntin."

It is a very, very, very, important fact to remember,

that the trees always look smaller in the field

than what they actually are.

Since John is still an amateur in this sport,

we overlooked his choice of a 20 foot round ball,

he believed would look perfect in the house,

and instead, settled on this beauty here -

Which looks to be maybe

6 feet tall on a good day,

but in the house,

is just a wee bit over 9.

Funny thing, those trees.

I'm quite lucky,

and had no part in actually sawing the thing.

Fact is,

I can't say that I've ever really sawed a tree down before.

I've learned, it pays off to appear weak, and feeble,

and let husbands, fathers, or lumberjack resembling brothers take care of it every time.

Now, before I get all judged and stuff,

and labeled as lazy, manipulative, or a blatant user of brute strength,

it would do well to say that,

I picked out the tree.

And, I carried the saw all the way back to the truck all by myself.

And most importantly of all,

made sure that the BEST DONUTS in the WHOLE WORLD,

were on hand in plenty.

My personal favorite

happens to be maple with walnuts.

I assure you,

you'll never have donut quite as good as this one, ever.

The babiest of all.

2011-11-28T10:01:00.000-08:00

At what point are baby brothers,

no longer babies?

My babyiest brother turned 14 -

I should be referring to him as a man or something,

but let's face it,

he'll probably always be referred to as "my baby brother "

no matter how old he is.

So, on Saturday, My Baby Brother

turned 14!

Supposedly it took the baker,

10 minutes to write this horrible mess of his name.

I wish it had been a little worse so I could submit it to cakewrecks.

Still it was entertaining.

Especially since anytime I saw it I had to do a growly monster voice saying "MATT."

Woman of multi-talents there.

To celebrate, John took Matty to ride the waverider.

I think they both suck.

And, I wish I had been there to show them

how to wreck properly.

But, let's face it,

not everyone can be as royally wrecktacular as myself

Except this video. . . .

in this video, my brother does me proud.

A Very Special Occasion

2011-11-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

This past weekend,

we all gathered in Monticello for a

very special occasion.

My grandmother was baptized.

It was an experience I will cherish forever.

It was short, and sweet -

filled only with her family and close friends.

Uncle Doug did the baptizing,

or rather pushing her down since she forgot to bend her knees,

and she has to be completely submerged - or she'd have to have a re-do,

my dad gave her the Holy Ghost,

and I played an arrangement of "How Great Thou Art"

on the piano.

It all went perfectly.

We did some other fun stuff too - which I'll share soon.

Carrot Nog

2011-11-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

Dear Cliffbar -

Today my son chose your "carrot cake" bar

over a candy bar.

I was so proud.

Sadly, your carrot cake bar

tasted like egg nog,

and was immediately spat out,

and declared to be

"BISGUSTING!" and indefinitely inedible.

Seriously, Bronze, it can't be that bad....

can it?

Why, yes, yes it can.

Drinking egg nog is bad enough,

but chewing egg nog. . . . . .

with chunks,

will probably haunt me for years.

Sincerely,

A non-nog fan who will probably never be able to eat carrot cake again,

without thinking it probably tastes like egg nog, first.

one of those kind of days

2011-11-14T14:13:00.001-08:00

Today is one of those days.

Its not that I'm lazy,

well.....maybe a little bit,

but I just cant see any reason as to why

I should get out of my jammies.

Fact is, its sometime after 3pm, and

all three of my children are still in their jammies too.

Sometimes a girl just has to have

those kind of days.

Now, if only I'd planned ahead for a day like today,

I'd have thrown something in the crock pot to make it complete.

my stockinged feet -

clad in my dad's socks from way back when

An Inferno in a tub

2011-11-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

I think I've done it.

I think I've finally succeeded in

making salsa that could easily qualify for inferno status.

So hot, my lips feel like they're melting off my face.

So hot, my taste buds may be burned off.

So hot, it makes one's tummy rumble.

And as my brother says,

"when your tummy stops a rumblin',

you better start a runnin'."

Can't say it applies here - but Dang, its Hot!

And, what's worse,

I just can't stop myself.

Too Early

2011-11-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

Today, after I picked the boys up from school and was driving home,

I stumbled upon a radio station playing

CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

It wasn't just one song either.

It was all Christmas music,

all the time.

Now, I'm all for the holiday spirit.

It is one of my favorite times of the year.

But still,

Its not even Thanksgiving yet!

I can handle the stores fully embracing

the Christmas spirit.

They have to make money after all.

I can handle my favorite restaurant

having a fully decorated and lighted tree.

But, the radio

having all Christmas all the time,

already. . . . .just seems a bit much.

I listened to it.

I didn't even change the channel.

I sang the songs and did a jig with the steering wheel.

I listened to it for 2o minutes strait

before realizing,

it isn't even Thanksgiving yet.

Pie

2011-11-04T08:56:00.001-07:00

My cousin's coming this week.

She's newly pregnant,

and has made her demands very clear -

"Me Want PIE!"

So, naturally, I'm making pies.

Have a happy weekend!

The Halloween Post

2011-11-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

Is Halloween not the best holiday ever!?

You get to dress up,

jay walk,

and get mountains of candy while you're at it.

I'm sad its already over.

I carved pumpkins the day of -

biggest slacker ever.

This year included a turtle, a knight, and a shark.

And a cat.

We can't forget the cat.

Sunset

2011-10-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

Is there anything more glorious than mountains in the fall?

Well, yes, there is -

sunsets in the fall.

I think they might just be the ultimate of ultimates.

Especially with a dash of snow.

Ah, I love the sun setting on mountains in the fall.

A Keeper

2011-10-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

I knew it was love at first sight,

when in 7th grade French class

we were put on a two person team,

competing against other class teams

in naming food vocabulary,

and we both indefinitely decided escargot

could classify as a meat -

It was an animal after all,

and because of that wave length of thinking, we won.

I knew it was a match made in heaven,

when she got boosted to a higher level of french in junior high,

and yet the friendship remained.

And then, in high school when I tested up to her level,

for the sole purpose of not having to endure

Mme. Touati's most horrid class alone,

and then she transferred out of the class the next day

because the class was soooooo horrendous,

and left me alone.....

with brilliant people I actually had to speak French to.....

and I could have killed her for leaving me alone in there.....

I didn't.

And we are still besties.

So much so, that last night, despite a complete aversion to all

things containing the word "Footloose,"

I went and endured the most awful movie I think I've ever seen - ever.

All for the sake of spending a moment with that dear girl.

But yet again, you know its love,

when you are the only two people in the theater

laughing hysterically at something,

that the rest just doesn't find that funny.

When eating tasteless pizza,

and in an effort of enhancing its flavor,

my slice,

inadvertently had an entire bottle of crushed

red pepper flakes dumped on top of it.

Then, when the excess is removed, you can still eat it,

bathed in a gaze of love, horror, disgust, humor, and acceptance,

and know that she will still claim you as her friend in the morning.

And finally,

you know you've found a true friend,

when she, basking in the glorious glow of pregnancy,

promises to "think" about the naming her

unborn child Agathar,

just because it will make you happy.

The Hunt 2011

2011-10-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

It should be expected, that if you put in for a deer tag,

there is a chance you'll get one.

Small detail I seemed to overlook

when my dad told me he'd put me in for the hunt.

So of course, it came as no surprise,

when I,

much to the disgust of my brothers -

especially considering I

don't like to hunt,

drew out for a deer tag.

That's where the kids and I were this weekend.

In grand ol'Monticello

deer hunting.

Sadly, we succeeded. . . twice.

(I'll save you the blood and gore photos, and only show this)

But the trip wasn't all that bad.

It featured the world's best donuts - ever!

Watching my baby brother attempt to dislocate his jaw

in order to eat a mammoth size cheeseburger.

Waiting patiently, and quietly,

for hours on end,

in hopes of being able to snag

one of the four kittens that have taken up residence under

my grandma's playhouse.

With no luck.

Which is for the best,

because then I would have had to bring it home,

and John would have been very, very upset with me right now.

4-wheeler rides.

And, lots, and lots, of laughing.

So, the trip was a success.

I'll have venison in the freezer.

But more importantly, I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

a weird psyche thing

2011-10-20T13:47:00.001-07:00

Somehow, I manage to go through most

days without ever realizing that

1) I am a mom

and as such,

2) I have kids.

I'm not kidding either.

Perhaps its a weird psyche thing,

but it is a fact I generally choose to overlook.

But then,

quite suddenly,

I'll notice things here and there

that remind me that these children who

I happen to co-habitate with

day and night

are in fact mine,

and probably aren't going to go anywhere

for quite some time.

You know you're a parent when:

1) Billy the Buffalo, and other such literature,

is featured as an offering

of your living room coffee table

2) Chuck-e-Cheese is considered a favorable dining option

3) Power Rangers Turbo is the background

music of your life

4) Your pantry features 9 different kinds of cereal.

5) While bathing you get the feelings you're being watched,

only to notice

Iron Man, the Green Goblin, and a large mutant spider

are all, in fact, staring at you.

Perhaps the Mutant Spider while in the tub

is enough reason

for me to yet again forget

that I am in fact

1) a mom,

and as such,

2) have kids.

Breathing Room

2011-10-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my very, very sweet,

merciful,

kind,

loving,

gracious,

awesome mother,

(Thanks Mom!)

John and I were able to get-away

to Park City this weekend.

Is there anything more wonderful than

Park City?
I'm starting to believe there may not be.

I want to live there one day.

But for now,

I'm content with living 30 minutes away and visiting.

Anyway, it was glorious.

We had a lot of fun,

met some friends for dinner,

and soaked in the hot tub.

It was perfect.

Gil A. Teen

2011-10-13T09:26:00.001-07:00

You know those moments in life

where you just can't help but

show the world you're great

accomplishments?

This is one of those moments.

Halloween is my favorite holiday.

I love the decorations,

the weather,

dressing up,

and the junk.

I love it all.

Since I love Halloween so much,

I decided that I had better,

actually, for once,

decorate the yard.

I mean, seriously, you'd think I

didn't care at all by looking at my house.

But I DO!

Store bought decorations just wouldn't do,

as they are expensive and break easily.

So, I made my own.

That't right world,

I MADE these!

I'm simply bursting with pride.

And, I'm happy to say, there will be more coming soon....

Oklahoma comes a-callin'

2011-10-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Friday night my father informed me,

that we'd be

hosting a dinner for 30 or so,

obscure and not,

relatives on Saturday night.

My reaction was much like Emperor Kuzco

when strapped to a log

careening over a rolling river of death,

about to go over a huge waterfall

with undoubtedly sharp rocks at the bottom,

"[pause] Bring it on. [yells as they go over] BOOOOOO-YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

And so we hosted it,

I cooked up a storm,

And everything turned out awesome!

This is my cousin Steve with his wife Debbie,

and my pistol wielding grandmother.

The cousins from Oklahoma, who aren't so obscure anymore.

Theatrics

2011-10-07T10:28:00.001-07:00

I have a problem.

Her name is Milana.

I just can't figure out how

so much DRAMA

could possibly contained

in such a little package.

Like yesterday,

where you threw a royal fit

complete with weeping,

wailing, and much gnashing of teeth,

all because your shoe fell off.

Seriously, I'm sorry your shoe fell off,

but was all that really necessary?

If you weren't so cute,

I think I'd sell you to the gypsies.

Snow is in the air, and everywhere I look around

2011-10-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

Ah, the first snowfall of the season.

I would be lying if I didn't admit that

I am excited

and happy,

and jubilant,

all at the same time.

Finally, I can snuggle in my bed at night

and sleep in snuggled up comfort.

It is also an indication

that soon,

oh so soon,

the ski resorts will be opening their lifts,

for my snowboard induced bliss.

Ah, yes, the first snowfall is

most definitely a wonderful occasion.

Somewhere in his brain,

Bronze decided it would be absolutely

wonderful to ride his bike

in the snow.

He tried his best for 10 minutes,

and then decided he needed

some "sliders" on the bottom of his wheels

to make it work.

Meanwhile, Triton galloped across the yard

overjoyed with the prospect

of not being able to feel his fingers.

I'm beginning to think that maybe,

just maybe,

our family might belong in Norway.

Trolls - they're always with you

2011-09-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

This whole,

"being a mom while trying to go to school" thing,

is difficult at best.

There I was,

scrounging up a moment to possibly study

the notion of perceived metaphysical reality,

when what should my eyes perceive,

but a troll,

hell-bent on ruining my moment of mental expansion.

I applaud her use of extreme theatrics.

As soon as she was picked up,

no bit of death-like-misery exuded

from this once pitiful creature.

Drama, drama, drama.

Sure enough,

within literally a second,

two more trolls made their appearance.

And that was it.

My moment of perceived solitude

was gone as quickly as it came.

Needless to say,

I got nothing done.

SD day 4

2011-09-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach again....

but this time it was warm,

but not until after hitting up the

Mormon Battalion Museum in Old Town San Diego.

Pretty awesome stuff.

At least,

that is what I heard.

I happen to be the caretaker of a

completely, totally, horrid,

rotten duck,

and was unable to attend the presentation.

Still, it was worth going.

And then, we went to Laguna Beach.

Sadly, my mom took most of the pictures,

and has yet to pass them my way,

so you're stuck with the joy that was

Papa and Triton.

Having sufficiently exhausted ourselves,

it was time to come home,

and so the next day we did.

Thank you San Diego

for giving us a wonderful getaway.

SD day 3

2011-09-26T09:37:00.001-07:00

I don't know what it is,

but when I look at this picture

that "bad boys" song pops into my head.

You know that one that's like,

"bad boys, bad boys,

whatcha gonna do-

whatcha gonna do when they come for you"

Yeah, that one.

Bet its in your head now too.

And here we are,

without my mother,

she refused to send a picture with her in it,

on a chilly day

at Mission Beach in San Deigo.

Day 3 was spent at the beach,

and because it was too cold to be at the beach,

the hot tub,

and at the family tradition,

Casa de Pico with the Smiths.

I promise, the vacation pictures are almost over,

and then we'll get on to more interesting things

like my ever dramatic life.

I know..... I know.....you can hardly wait.

SD day 2

2011-09-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

On day two, my brothers and I took my boys to Disneyland

....the most joyous place on the planet.

Milana stayed home with Papa and Meme.

The day was bliss,

we even got away with taking Bronze on Splash Mountain by putting

rolled socks in the bottom of his shoes

to give him an extra half inch.

Did he enjoy it?

It took him about 45 seconds after the sheer horror of

"the waterfall" to scream his screams of almost certain death.

The rest of the day, he remarked,

"Mom, that was so not awesome!"

We took Triton on Thunder Mountain Railroad.

He screamed like a terrified Japanese woman the whole time-

And he's not too proud to admit that he cried too.

It should come as no surprise,

that the Matterhorn was not appreciated.

Their most favorite rides of all,

were the Jungle Cruise, and the the Flying Dumbos -

Ones that required little to no screaming.

No trip would be complete,

without a stop at the Blue Bayou for Monte Cristos.

Which are essentially deep fried cheese heaven.

After dinning quite thoroughly, we attempted our best stoned pirate faces.

Craig won.

Hands down.

While distracted by our best drunken sailor faces,

Triton found a sword he simply had to have

Said sword was stolen by a rather large duck wearing blue

After a serious battle,

and a kick to the shin,

the duck decided he'd better be nice,

and gave the sword back.

He was even nice enough to pose for a shot

with the uncles.

We went to Toon-Town

It was the first time we'd been there

since it opened way back when.

I'm pretty sure this same picture of my brother exists,

but just with him in 4 year old form.

Somethings never change.

We finished out our glorious day on the carousel,

and then contentedly ate

ice cream cones as we exited the magical place.

I'll have you know Disneyland has the best

Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream

on the planet.

I'm still dreaming of it.

And that, was day 2.

SD day 1

2011-09-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

We just got back from frickin' San Diego.

Why is it frickin'?

Well, because its like 12 frickin' hours away,

that's why.

But, really, it was an awesome trip...

once I'm able to put aside my exhaustion from car driving.

It wasn't even the kids who were the problem.

It was me.

Bad me.

I was the worst one of them all.

I am.....ashamed.

But, perhaps you would be too, if you

personally drove 12 strait hours.

I have to use whatever justification I can on this one.

It makes me feel better about being a total snot.

Now on to the narrative -

We left the house at 3:30am,

just my brother, kids, and me.

The morning was cool,

my favorite kind of weather.

We listened to "The 99 darkest songs of classical music."

My most recent purchase on Amazon.

It was worth it.

The kids wore their jammies the entire ride down.

I was jealous.

I found the best Greek food I've ever had.

Mad Greek Cafe in Baker, California.

It comes complete with Greek flags, blue and white bedazzleness, and

millions of naked plastic statues.

Speaking of which,

I've never really understood why the

female statues are so much

better endowed than the male ones.

I mean, if all the sculptors were male,

wouldn't they both be amply possessing?

Anyway,

The food was good.

Really, exceptionally, heavenly good.

If you happen to drive through.

Its across the street from the

World's Biggest Thermometer.

A few hours later,

we'd made it.

John had a fruit tray

and chocolate shells awaiting our arrival.

They didn't last 5 minutes.

Our hotel was directly on Mission Bay,

but the brother, kids, and I

decided to walk two blocks to mission beach.

Fabulous.

And day 1 was then almost complete,

and the vacation was off to a great start.

Science Rules

2011-09-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

Do you know who this is?

Maybe this one will help you guess

Okay, so maybe my pictures aren't so great.

But that skeleton faced looking man,

happens to be none other than

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Oh yeah.

I'm cool like that.

Its not everyday a girl has a chance to brush up against

science glory.

And when I found out that the man was coming,

I knew I simply must be there.

I mean, come on.

Without Bill Nye,

I never would have known that

"inertia was a property of matter,"

Or that skin was the largest organ in the body.

Or, as I learned today,

that depending upon where an object's shadow is cast (ie. earth, mars, etc.)

it will have a different tint depending upon the atmosphere in which the object resides.

Seriously.

I also would have never known that

those different shadow tints had yet to be named,

and Bill Nye took it upon himself to

name them as such:

Cerulesence - blue tint

Xenoesence - yellow tint

Arangiaesence - orange tint.

Oh yes, life just wouldn't be complete

without Bill Nye the Science Guy.

A special thanks to Kevin who waited for 3 hours to save us seats.

Yeah, you're cool like that.

And, a special 'I "Heart" You!' to my bff Whitney

who patiently endured Bill's environmentalist propaganda

without a single complaint.

Yeah, she's cool like that too.

Secret desires

2011-09-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Secretly, I've been waiting for an event to happen ever since I found out, that very first time, that the creature developing in my uterus was pronounced to be a boy.

And low and behold,

its finally happened.

I am a soccer mom.

A soccer mom of the most aggressive player on the field.

A soccer mom of the sort,

that my man told me to "quiet down a bit" because my shouting and cheering was drawing too much attention to myself.

Yeah, that kind.

I'm not sure if I should be proud of this or not.

Still, I pride myself in the fact that Triton wants me there despite my craziness.

And, I refuse to drive a minivan.

Life is good.

A known Vice

2011-09-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

We all have our vices I suppose.

Though, is it really a vice if you are completely powerless

against an object's powers of ultimate mind control,

domination, and supremacy.....

so much so that you don't even stand a chance -

nor can you muster the least bit of resistance when its presence is known?

Its that time of year again.

The time of year when I loose any and all self-possession I possess.

The time of year when the most evil object on the planet

becomes customary,

and somehow registers in my brain as being essential to life.

The Pumpkin Cookie.

A thing so evil, that it is only permitted to be allowed in society's graces around the time of All Hallows Eve.

So evil in fact, it has the ability to enslave the wills of every human being in its presence, simply by allowing them to smell it.

I am its devoted slave.

I can't stop myself from partaking.

I pretend that because its got "pumpkin" in it's name, its healthy. . .

though, I suppose its lost its healthful advantages

when I don't stand a chance-

nor can I muster the least bit of resistance when its presence is known.

Off the Radar

2011-09-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

I have officially fallen off the radar,

and I don't know that I care enough to get back on.

Its kinda nice flying low sometimes.

1

2011-08-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday,

Milana turned 1!

Do you realize how significant that is?

Our last baby is out of the baby phase!

I am overjoyed.

I hate babies...

seriously.

I much prefer my children interactive and independent.

Life is glorious in case you didn't know.

She rocked a Bob Marley shirt and tutu,

And we all dined on a lemon cherry cake made by yours truly.

She definitely felt the love by being cuddled by all her favorite people.

Happy Birthday Miloshavitchenstein III!

FREEDOM!

2011-08-24T08:17:00.001-07:00

Screw Women's Liberation!

Its all about Mother's Liberation!

And if you didn't know that,

well that's because you don't know any better,

and you're forgiven-

but only this once.

Yesterday the boys started school.

As I walked out of their school,

a strange realization over came me.

I realized that for the next two and a half hours,

it was just me and Milana.

It stopped me in my tracks.

Seriously, there was no one to chase,

no three kids to corral,

and a greatly reduced potential

that I wouldn't have to threaten anyone with being sold to the gypsies if they didn't stop fighting.

It was BLISS.

I called everyone I could think of,

I even told random people I met,

told them that this was the most magical time of my life!

Milana and I went to the grocery store.

It was amazing!

Triton also started soccer.

It shocked us when our generally uncoordinated kid was surprisingly good, and did better than any of his fellow team-mates.

He told me he wants to be the "star of the team."

I'd say he actually has a pretty good shot of doing that.

And just to show you that I love my boys,

most of the time,

here are a few more pictures of them in their before school photo shoot.

Bronze's favorite color is green if you can't tell.

Fishing 101

2011-08-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

I am back to the land of the living.

I wont lie, there were a few days of immense sadness following the death of Chug.

But now I can say, we are all moving forward.

We took the kids fishing.

Well, John made good on his promise to Bronze and took him fishing,

while Triton, Milana, and I hiked around.

And so, they set out,

Two adventurers seeking some adventure.

They hiked up over some rocks

they found a quiet cove...

they hunkered down for what was sure to be a trial of their patience.

The fish were extremely intelligent,

and so,

they caught nothing.

But that's not to say they didn't enjoy

lounging around and eating their chips.

All the while, unbeknownst to them,

three other adventurers set off to find their own adventure.

The youngest was a complete witch the entire time.

So much so, that her pack mule was sore tempted to throw her into the lake.

And the eldest of the smallest,

found a smelly treasure along their path -

horse poo.

The End.

Grief

2011-08-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of the saddest days of my life.

Chug passed away.

Saturday afternoon he got sick, and by Monday he was gone.

The vet could do nothing for him.

Saddest day ever.

I cried. . . a lot.

I'll still probably cry a lot.

He was the best dog ever.

This is the video I took of my behemothic monster last week.

he loved to chase the water from the hose.

It looks like I'm peeing into the pool

but since i'm a girl that would be pretty much impossible

without surgery of sorts.

Which is a road I don't really want to think about.

So, instead, we'll focus on the love that was Chug,

and never think of filling up a kiddie pool the same way again.

Before and After

2011-08-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those months that make you feel as though you're caught up in a whirlwind??

That is what the past month at our house has been like.

The good news is,

Our downstairs is finally finished!

John is a brilliant designer,

and I am here and now, taking absolutely no credit for how beautifully it turned out.

Before and After:

Family Room

Before and After:

Bathroom

Now, all of this is well and good.

We love it, don't get me wrong.

But, it has lead us both to the conclusion

that building our own house one day

is just not for us.

Way too much work.

I about gave myself an ulcer choosing a carpet color for Pete's sake.

So, hopefully this will be the last time we ever revamp something from scratch, and if not, well then heaven help us all.

Visit from the Lowerys

2011-08-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

The Lowerys came to Utah.

The Lowerys being John sister Sherri, her husband Tom, and their 4 children.

Its been forever since we've seen them,

and it was the first time our kids got to meet their cousins.

Fun Stuff.

So, I didn't get pictures of the big bbq at our house,

complete with Triton nailing Henry in the lip with a

tractor and almost causing Henry to have to get some stitches,

medical grade superglue sufficed,

but I did get pictures of a little cookout in the canyon

the next day.

As a farewell, the Lowerys provided us with some excellent dinner.

When not eating, Triton could be found climbing trees,

I think Henry was trying to avoid him and his pointy cooking tool,

and roasting everything in sight.

The goggles he says protect him from the smoke.

Smart Boy.

Bronze drank everything in sight and then peed in the river...at least twice.

And Milosh tried to figure out what the heck was in her mouth.

It was a marshmallow.

can't say she liked it much.

I seriously didn't hear anything you just said.

2011-08-03T13:18:00.001-07:00

Aren't they sweet?

I keep telling John he can't let her get away with everything.

He has yet to listen to me.

Lid Switch

2011-07-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

What in Tarnation is that!!??

That my friends is a lid switch -

a device essential to washing machine function - at all.

Ours broke.

So, of course, me being me,

rather than pay someone else to do what I could figure out myself,

or buy a new washing machine,

I had to fix it.

And so, I did.

The washing machine now works better than what it did before - go figure,

and I have the privilege of adding

washing machine repair to my ever growing repitoire of home repairs.

I think my husband should totally pay me for this or something.

A day like most others

2011-07-27T20:38:00.001-07:00

I'd just like to let you all know, that in the last 4 days I have put 400 miles on my car.

I didn't go on a spectacular cross-state vacation either.....

Oh no, that wouldn't do.

This was all done around town.

It rocked.

Its been one of those weeks.

Need I say more?

We're in the final stages of basement completion!

Today featured John and I driving to, and looking at, at least a billion different carpet samples.

Does anyone else akin picking a carpet to deciding whether to have another child or not?

It was like a life altering decision.

I had major stress.

My hair fell out....more than usual.

I suffered mad bouts of insomnia.

I think we may have finally decided what to go with.

I'm hoping that I might be able to finally sleep tonight.

After being gone most of the day, we rushed home to make some dinner.

The kids dined on 3 cheese maccaroni & cheese, from a box,

and John and I had chicken kebabs.

John was kind enough to mind the grilling, while I cleaned up the kitchen.

All the while, the feral wolves happily frolicked in the yard

And, Chug tried to find sneaky ways to get some kebabs when he thought no one might be looking.

He's sneaky like that you know.

A little while later, Chug and I went for a run.

There was a horrible incident in which he ate a dead mouse.

And so, rather than look at his rot dotted tongue,

I focused on the road before me.

While averting my eyes, I noticed this strange rock formation on the mountain up ahead.

Anyone else think that giant boulder to the right of the steeple

looks quite a bit like a creature's face pushing its way to the surface of the mountain side,

after being entombed for eons beneath countless tons of nearly impenetrable granite rock,

while the world simple went-on, unawares, of the sleeping monster hidden within?

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" just started

playing in my head.

Hopefully I'm not the only one who can see this.

Seriously people.

I've always found my over-active imagination absolutely exhausting.

So, I made some hot chocolate while the Man and I

watched something on the tube.

This wasn't just any hot cocoa though.

Oh no, that wouldn't do.

This was cocoa featuring cinnamon and almond butter.

Which came together in perfectly, comforting, bliss.

And to end this post, a bunch-a-videos of getting "battacked" as Triton and Bronze

like to say. They add a "b" in front of about every word:

And they called it. . . Puppy Love

2011-07-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

My baby is no longer a baby

....but he IS!

Yester'eve I pinched a nerve in my back

when I stupidly attempted to find out how much he weighed.

This all started when I decided to

1) pick him up all by myself,

2) laboriously walk toward the scale with him dangling from my arms;

He bit me repeatedly - it hurt

3) struggle to make out the numbers on the scale between arm chomps, violent dog twisting - with claws I might add, and the pain of my strained to the max muscles.

All this,

and I was able to find out that he weighs

85 POUNDS!

He's only 5 months old.

Costco brand puppy food apparently

does a puppy good.

John Went to Chicago

2011-07-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

John went to Chicago last week

and asked me to write a post about his trip.

Anyone else find that funny?

Anyway, since I wasn't there,

and have never met the people he was with,

and since they are people he works with on a regular

basis ...

He gets a post set to the lyrics of

"All That Jazz," from the musical, "Chicago."

Seems fitting right?

I've had the song stuck in my head for days.

I suppose there are worse things though.

Such as the lecture I would have received

for writing humiliating captions

for these pictures of John and his associates

like I wanted to.

Now if you haven't heard this song, you simply must.

Youtube it.

Then you too can have it stuck in your head for days on end.

Lucky you.

"Come on babe why don't we paint the town

And all that jazz

I'm gonna rouge my knees
and roll my stockings down
and all that jazz

Start the car I know a whoopee spot

Where the gin is cold
but the piano's hot!

It's justy a noisy hall
Where there's a nightly brawl
And all that jazz

Slick your hair
And wear your buckle shoes
And all that Jazz

I hear that Father Dip
Is gonna blow the blues

And all that Jazz

Hold on, hon
We're gonna bunny hug
I bought some aspirin
Down at United Drug
I case you shake apart
And want a brand new start
To do that...

that

JAZZ!"

Jazz hands, Jazz hands.

Ba dum dum

and we're through.

Ice Cream Feind

2011-07-20T11:26:00.001-07:00

Milana loves Ice Cream.

She goes crazy for it.

She twirls her little feet,

while blissfully squealing

squeals of joy.

She loves it so much,

that we get her

her very own cone.

And I wish you luck in

taking it away from her once

she's got it.

Stock Room

2011-07-12T13:51:00.001-07:00

Throughout the history of my life, I've always heard, and been told, that the job of a mother is crucial, god given, and infinitely impacting in the life of her children.

It is vital that a mother nurture, love, teach, develop, strengthen, and know her children individually.

There is no more important job than that of a mother.

I've been mislead.

Its taken me 5 years to learn this, but I've finally found out what the most important job in a household is. . .

toilet paper stocker.

Who would have thought keeping a house in toilet tissue could be a full-time job?

Now, normally I would have accompanied this post with a picture of the toilet filled with three rolls of unrolled paper, which had been attempted to be flushed down into the abyss,

but I was too livid at that moment to take a picture of said circumstance,

and the mayhem that followed.

So, you get left with a picture my mom has on her computer,

which just about sums up how I feel right now.

Excuses

2011-07-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

So far, my favorite things of summer are?

1) Having an excuse to wear practically nothing,

because we're going to the pool

2) Having the excuse to go to the ice cream shop,

because its too dang hot,

and nothing else sounds good to eat.

And,

3) Putting the kids in their rooms at 7pm for bed

because after a day of playing in the heat,

they are exhausted,

and simply can't go on.

Yes, summer has been very good to me so far.

Weddings, Fireworks, Evah, and Stink bombs

2011-07-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

Wow!

Our weekend was

jammed packed with excellent friends, lovely family, and celebrations!

We are exhausted.

First off, one of our closest friends, Annie got married!

She was such a beautiful bride.

Congratulations Annie & Trent!

Milana was the flower girl, and the boys were the ring bearers, so I'm sure we'll have plenty of pictures of the actual event soon.

John had the honor of giving the wedding toast, and of being the MC... he did a fabulous job!

And my most favorite person in the whole world, Abby, brought her boyfriend James all the way from Australia with her.

Aren't they just the cutest things evah?!

That's how they say 'ever' in Australian you know.

Ah, I simply love her!

Abby you are my favorite thing Evah!

My parents had their yearly 4th of July celebration.

This year they not only had the 50ft. balloon slide,

but also a set of bashers.

Annie hit John in the face.

Abby hit me in the face.

I hit no one in the face,

but it was still fun.

I MADE this unbelievably adorable dress for Milana for the party.

Which, she wore here.

I should start a clothing company or something,

because it was so stinkin' cute!

And, the boys lit sparklers and stink bombs in the backyard.

It was a great Independence Day Weekend!

New York Trip

2011-06-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

We were only there 4 days, but it felt like eternity, and momentary, both at the same time.
I went to every burrough, and am pretty sure I walked at least 18 miles a day
- but that's what you do when you're traveling I guess -
and satisfied almost all of my food cravings - Dang you Chicken & Waffles in Harlem!After taking a red eye flight, we immediately fell back into the swing of things, dropped our luggage off at our hotel, we only took trains I might add, and headed uptown for this breakfast joint John insisted we eat at.Sadly, the food was crap.
But the hot chocolate and pain au chocolat were the bomb John told me.
I was left to nosh on my plain old baguette,
And I was happy to have it.From 90th street, we casually strolled up to our old place at 113th
I actually missed it!
But, this is probably the one and only time I'll ever admit it.
So, savor it people.We continued our stroll down memory lane,
and rounded the corner to Columbia University It hasn't changed a bit.Just a few blocks down from school,
is a place I'll probably always refer to as "my cathedral."
This is the place where John and I went and heard/watched Handel's Messiah our first married Christmas together.We headed to Times Square/Rockefeller Center/Avenue of the Americas to find a chicken gyro. Have you ever had one?
They are unbelievably good.We stayed in the Financial District - right across from the construction zone of the
World Trade Center monuments.On a rainy Thursday in June, I took a stroll through Central Park.
John was in business meetings, and so,
I was alone.
I loved it, and cherished every moment I was given.
I had a single destination in mind - The Met.I spent seven hours there.
That's right,
Seven.
I was in heaven.
I'll spare you the picture of a penis shaped perfume vial,
which I find hilarious,
and instead share a few pictures John took when I dragged him back a few days later.
Teeny tiny miniatures of actors, which came from Greece, and were constructed
about 1000 years B.C.
The detail on these bad boys is incredible.
I look at them, and can't help but wonder who made them, and what this person was like. History, art, artifacts do that to me.
Should have been an archeologist.

My favorite painting in the whole place -
which was used in some rich Frenchman's bathroom in the 1700's.
Seriously.And a completely original, fabric and all, chair from that same Frenchman's house.
It happened to be displayed under my favorite painting.
Love it.

We ventured to Soho.
It was our first time there.
For $60, I know where you can get the most amazing eggplant parmigiana of your life. That price is per plate my friends.
It was absolutely worth it.

For $6 I know where you can get some of the prettiest cupcakes you've ever seen-
which happen to taste like cardboard.
Which were completely not worth it.
And,
for $24, I know where you can go in Chinatown to have an
80 year old woman
straddle you,
use her boney knees on your back,
use her skeletal bum to bounce up and down your body,
and have it be called a "massage."

This actually happened to me.
I'll laugh about it until the day I die.
Not all Chinatown massages are created equally.
John happened to get an amazing one, I'm told, from another place.
Actually, for some reason, he took one look at the place I was in, and turned and walked out.

I was a total Bitty about the whole experience afterward,
so we hung out in Little Italy
Where, after walking up and down a three block length comprised entirely
of different Italian restaurants,
We decided on La Nonna
Which was like heaven
And featured this dessert,
which is quite possibly too otherworldly to describe with words.On our final day there,
we had brunch with our friend Trent, (wish you were in town Sabrina!)
strolled through Central Park again,
and watched Kung Fu Panda II in Times Square.
Our children were mildly happy to see us when we got home.
Triton, who thanks to Buddy the Elf has learned that New York is a "magical place,"
wanted some goggles from New York.
Don't ask me why, but he did.
So, that's just what he got.
And, so did Bronze.
And now, we're back in the swing of things, and are happy to be home.

Unparallelled lung capacity

2011-06-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to John laughing.

He does this like giggle/blocked nasal passages/belly laugh when something's really funny.
He was doing that,
and told me I HAD to see this....

so, I did.

And I laughed.....hard.

I guess you have to have a certain humor to love this,
but I can't get enough.
Hope you love it too.

Possible Adventure??

2011-06-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow John and I are off to New York City.....

without the kids.

Believe me, I'm overjoyed.

I've often wondered what it might feel like
to sleep until
I feel like waking up.
The things I took for granted before kids. . . sheesh.

So, maybe this kid-less adventure
will leave me with many pictures to share
and crazy stories to tell.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the both of us.

I'm in desperate need of some adventure in this life of mine.

The week of Whirlwind

2011-06-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Its a miracle - my computer has been returned from the near-dead!
I thought it was a goner for sure.

This week has been an eventful one.
One of the kind that seem to be a whirlwind, but not at the same time.
Yeah, that kind.
The kind that makes no sense.
The kind that seems to fit my brain status at the moment.
This is how it all went down -

First, a cookout in the canyon.Mischievous to the core...a royal thorn in the side,But we'll get on to that one later.The Kastelers joined us, complete with a commie shirt...or maybe just Macy's shirt?
Either way, communist or an advertisement, its just bad.You know what else is bad??
Triton.
He's bad to the bone.
Here he is channeling his inner Emo - I knew I passed it on to someone.
For the past two years, I've begged, pleaded, and whined to go to the Scottish Festival -
it never happened.
This year was FINALLY my year, and it was a blast!
John may have even enjoyed it, a teeny-tiny bit.
Maybe.
Not.

Did you know I'm Scottish?
And, Irish?

I didn't either until I recently did my genealogy.

Yes, eons of Celtic blood run through these veins.The men checkin' out some guns.

I shamelessly checked out guns of another sort while watching the 'highland games.'
Throwing 50 pound rocks into the air develops quite the muscle tone.

But, we should probably not discuss that further.
I learned how to sword fight.
Don't know how I ended up with a latino celt for a teacher, but I did.
He even added in some samurai fighting techniques.
Special.
Then, later in the day when we were all home and content,
this farthead had to thrust his face upon the corner of a drawer,
and well,
he got to eat a popcicle while his dad rushed to Walgreen's to get some hydrogen peroxide and superglue.Superglue. . .the redneck's stitches.
The boys started swimming lessons Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, you can find them blue lipped, teeth chattering, and goosebumped, learning how to swim in the steamy 60 degree morning air.
Bad to the bone,
like I said. And finally, my baby brother, Iggy Pop, turned 21!
We celebrated with a fishing pole, steaks, and Mississippi mud pie.
It was yummy.

Brandon joined the festivities,
and gave Craig a kiss on the cheek and a bite of his steak.
He's married...
to a girl...
but likes to embarrass Igg with extreme displays of male bonding.
I just take the pictures, and pretend not to notice too much.

Though considering we were seated by a 57 year old woman who sat on and scooted a saddle across the floor, I'm pretty sure cheek kissin' was no big deal.

Memory Cells

2011-06-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of memory cells?

Memory cells are what their name denotes - cells that contain memories. Now, the interesting thing about memory cells, is that they are passed on to an individual's children, etc. etc. So, a person who had a difficult time with, say, heights, could potentially pass his or her memories on, through cells, to future generations. These subsequent generations who have these memory cells will then have no real reason to be afraid of heights, but just are terrified of them.

Memory cells can also be passed on from one individual to the next. A heart transplant recipient may suddenly have a profound love for classical music which never existed before receiving his/her new heart. Come to find out, the organ donor was a master violinist.

Makes one wonder what on earth you might have inherited, and also what you might pass on, does it not?

Anyway, it seems I have inherited a few strange memory cells from my sombrero wearing, long haired, weed smoking grandfather. He's crazy - really, he is - and its entirely possible he may have burnt his brain completely to ash in the 70's.

Now, if I start building staircases to heaven in my shed, like Grandpa, someone please have me committed - Immediately! (That is actually true, and not said as an emphasis point)

Aside from a random love for carpentry, it seems I have inherited the belief that modern day foods are killing us. You know, those processed, artificially flavored, chemically infused things that we ingest everyday, which are supposed to be "food"... those things that abound on every isle in the grocery store and contain more processing than whole ingredients. . . just make me angry.

Grandpa is totally right about some things, you know.

Food documentaries on Netflix are just making it worse.

I wont laden your minds with scientific findings supporting my beliefs, so I'll just say,

We've gone organic.

And, I'm loving it.

Not everything, just the core things, such as meat, eggs, milk, fruits and vegetables that we eat the skin as well as the fruit (i.e. apples), and whatever else might be on sale. This whole organic business is expensive.

Its been a week, and you know what, I do actually feel different. Its a very small change, but its there. I wonder what I might feel like in a month.

On a side note, my computer has caught a boot-up virus and is ill at the moment. Which means, my posting will be rare until I can have it fixed.

task master

2011-06-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is me
This is me on CrackCrack is bad.

"Crack" is what I call my task master.
I have my very own you know-
You probably do too.

Crack is bad because HE causes me to do things that I wouldn't normally do.Lately, its involved climbing to the very tippy-top of a 24 foot ladder,
praying to the Almighty that a very strong wind doesn't suddenly start to blow,
and painting ALL of the exterior wood on the house.
It has not been over quickly,
and I have not enjoyed it.

At this point, I'd happily pay someone else
a child, a kidney, a dog,
really, the sky's the limit.
Just so long as Crack can be appeased and
I can stop swaying in the breeze.

Can you spot what's wrong here?

2011-05-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Does anyone see anything wrong with this picture?

May 29th, and we have snow.
Boo.

I think Hell may have seriously frozen over this time.

At the break of dawn,
I sprinted outside in my unmentionables
to rescue my flowers from the freeze.
I hope my sacrifice, and laundry room, will save them.

Boo.

The Judgeful Samaritan

2011-05-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my dad's birthday.

We went to my youngest brother's choir concert - it was HORRIBLE!
Made me miss my choir teacher,
Mr. Blackburn was the shiz man.My other brother was totally loving it.
(Make the picture bigger so you can see his face, hilarious.)
Though, this pissed off brother has a sweet side-
No,
not sweet,
a MANLY side.
He has a thoughtfully sentimental MANLY side,
and bought my dad the gun he's been wanting for next to forever,
"The Judge."

Just look at that face...
Daddy was so very, very happy.

Supposedly this gun shoots two different bullets,
a shot gun shell, as well as a standard whatever size shell,
all in a compact handgun form.

I personally think it very closely resembles Hellboy's gun,
The Samaritan.Which means, my dad probably wont have to worry about
resurrected demons very much.
On that note, Hellboy is awesome!
Something about those sawed off horns,
red skin,
and his hand of stone
just gets to me.
I love him almost as much as Chuglas. . . almost.

Lucky Me

2011-05-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

The day started out as any other day,

Except I had to go pick up my boys from my parents house.
They had a sleep-over.
Lucky me.

Anyway, I HAD to take Chug with me.
He just does this lone wolf howl that I cant refuse...
he knows its my weakness
and does it all the time.

Everything was fine and good.
But,
What's This?!!Seriously, What is that?

Oh, of course he had to do that.
He had to go and get a sticky mouse trap stuck to his neck.

I tried to pull it off,
and soon discovered there was a dead mouse attached to it.
Said mouse, was punctured by my finger,
and was soon erupting its rotting mouse guts
upon my bare fingers.

Mama called the brother, who donned gloves
(would have been nice to have Mother)
and ripped it off,
while I held the Chugacus down
and received a bite on my arm.

Lucky me.

The Horsemen's Mark

2011-05-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

In an act of desperation...

well, honestly it wasn't desperation

It was RAGE!

Rage concentrate,
Rage to the millionth power,

Rage as the full embodiment of War - the red horseman of the Apocalypse.I hacked out every single plant in my front yard.

Earth exploded, the sky sobbed its cataclysm of tears, the plants screamed their planty death screams as I mercilessly cleaved them into unrecognizable bits.

I was cloaked in mud, drenched to the bone from the continuous onslaught of rain,

and for the first time in months,
completely at ease.The continual reminder of the havoc those other horsemen,
pestilence, famine, and death,
had delivered upon my innocent shrubs,
seems to have gotten the best of me.
Pots seem to be the best solution.
Until that other unrecognized horseman, Deer,
happens to find out where I live
and decides to multiply and replenish in my yard
and sustain its ever increasing population
upon the succulent sustenance contained said pots.

At which point, War will probably reclaim my body
and begin its second reign of terror within the borders of my property.

Arizonia

2011-05-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

We did it.

We drove about a bazillion miles and back again,
and the kids didn't fuss a bit the entire trip -
no kidding.

It all started last Monday evening, when John randomly said, "Hey, let's go to Phoenix."

And I was like,"Okay, When?"

"Now."

So we did.

First day:
Driving (I'm a freak who thoroughly enjoys looking at rock formations and was in heaven the whole drive down), Pterodactyls, a dam (seen in our jammies of course),
The Little America Hotel in Flagstaff...In which we stayed in the largest hotel room I've ever stayed in.
Two bedrooms, large living room, full-size kitchen, and 3 tvs.
Oh, and a park for the kids.
Smartest thing I've ever seen a hotel ever do. And then, Café Ole in downtown Flagstaff for dinner.Then day one was complete and we slept like babies all night long.

Day two:

It was my birthday.
I was treated to the best breakfast ever at Little America
Saw some giant cactuses.Did some outlet shopping,
Saw The Phoenix Science Center (not recommended for kids...boring)

And then, got the best birthday present ever!
I got to spend the day with one of my besties from San Francisco
Katy Springer.(Shown here with Triton the day after he was born.)
Who is like my favoritest person on the face of the planet.
And you know what she gave me for my birthday?
The most memorable experience of my life -
Scorpion Hunting.
Blacklight and a blowtorch are all you need for this sport.
It was creepy beyond belief.
I killed one, and then had to relinquish the torch back to Katy.
I had nightmares of mutant glowing scorpions being in my bed with me.
Not fun.

Katy fed me a double chocolate cake, and I was content.

We spent the night at her house.

Day three:

Woke up in the Springer home, and had cake for breakfast.

I took the kids to the Phoenix Zoo.
It was fun,
but HOT!
98 degrees is too hot for a zoo trip.
Triton exclaimed, "Mom! I'm Melting! I didn't know humans could melt!"
I took the hint and took them to our hotel.

At dinnertime, the Springers brought a babysitter who was brave enough to watch our SIX kids in a hotel room while the adults went to dinner.

We went to La Grande Orange.
Who's logo looks like this-I'm still kicking myself over not buying the t-shirt with it on there.
Love It!
Dinner was good, but we enjoyed the company a bazillion times more.

Day four:

We left Phoenix and journeyed toward home.
We ate yummy, yummy pizza in Page

We thought of staying at a hotel at Wahweep Marina in Lake PowellBut decided it felt like a retirement home,
and settled for a drive through instead.
Have I mentioned how AMAZING my kids are??
Not an upset moment the whole trip.
And this guy is Amazing too.
Love you Boo.

After passing on lodgings in Lake Powell, we decided to just keep driving,
and see where we made it.
We made it home at 3:30 am
John made beds for the kids in various parts of the car.
It was a FABULOUS trip.

Quarter Mark

2011-05-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Twenty years ago today, I turned 5.

The whole "Quarter of a Century" thing is not something Im exactly pleased about.

For my birthday, John and I decided to get the heck out of Dodge so to speak,
And drove to Phoenix.
We are currently in Flagstaff.
I've been a very spoiled girl.
Pictures to follow later.

Much,
much,
later

If I can help it.

Shared Housework

2011-05-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quite like the satisfaction to be had from a hard day's work.

You just feel so...so...accomplished.

I've recently found that this feeling is exponentially multiplied,

when one discovers the joy

of having your kids do some of the work for you.
Ahhh! Bliss.

Since this moment,
Triton has decided it is most definitely NOT okay to let Chug eat graham crackers on the carpet.

Fishillow

2011-05-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

Poor Chuglas has been using a fish as a pillow.

Perhaps its time for an upgrade

The Spaniard

2011-05-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

Channeling his inner Spaniard. . .

Beags turns 3

2011-04-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

Today Bronze turned 3!

It was possibly the best day of his life -just look at that face.

His day was filled with Tucano's,

lots of family,

Tonka Trucks,

a scooter,

and a green football cake made by yours truly.Order yours today!

Seriously. Don't. I think I'd want to die if you did.

Happy Birthday Bronze!

Behemothic

2011-04-26T08:09:00.001-07:00

What would you do,

if your 10 week old baby weighed more than your eldest born,

was as long as your 5'9'' torso,

and had paws the size of your palms?
I'm still absolutely smitten.

I told John I want another one,

He said No.

But maybe, just maybe, next spring we'll not give him a choice in the matter.

Hoppy Easter

2011-04-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Today you get to have some Easter over-load. Don't worry, it will pass soon enough.

Easter weekend has been a good one for us.

It all started with Miss Mila getting her own personal hot tub.

John even made sure it had a waterfall.

Don't think workout gray is really my color...

Did I ever mention how absolutely smitten John is with his little girl?

L-O-V-E-S Her!

And, as all daddy's should be,
he is always the first on the scene to rescue her from drowning.

No weekend would be complete without Sponge Bob Square Pants -
which we simply can't live without.

After all, F is for friends who do stuff together,
U is for You and Me,
N is for Anywhere and Anything at all. . .
Down here in the deep blue sea.

I personally prefer Plankton's version.
Look it up, you'll love it.

Chuglas would absolutely agree with me.
He is my baby chug-chug after all.

Have I ever mentioned how much John Loves Milana?

I don't think anyone can ever compare.

He's especially fond of her ice cream eating habits.

John was happy.And I was totally exhausted.

I made Tweet-Tweet cookies,
Which I happen to think look more like Pea-fowl
than Chicks or Ducks.
Pea-fowl are Easterish, right?

After a day of chaos,
Bronze simply couldn't go on and slept - and peed - in my bed,Triton, Emmercyn, and Emmett dyed Easter Eggs.Triton was overcome with joy.
It was his first time.

Negligent parent...
I know.

Thanks to her Daddy and Aunti Annie,
Milana learned a new appreciation for bunnies.

Her Daddy got her a stuffed bunny whom she loves to hold,
And Annie gave her chocolate,
Which she loves to manically devour.See that coco-lust in her eyes?
One bunny just wasn't enough.
The poor thing didn't even know what was coming.
Luckily it was all over quickly.

We hunted for eggs.
And played with toys.

THE END

The Rusted Wardrobe

2011-04-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

My mother's created a blog.

Its pretty good,

I check it almost everyday.

Check it out.

You'll be happy you did.

www.therustedwardrobe.blogspot.com

Church

2011-04-18T07:41:00.001-07:00

This is Milana and I during church services yesterday.I think she loves me.

Habitat Mix-up

2011-04-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

A lone crocodile spends his time contentedly watching The Sword in the Stone,

unaware

that he is being stalked

...by a lone wolf

...who's starving for his crocodile flesh.

Without warning, the wolf attacks

The battle is fierce.
The crocodile and the wolf both take several large chomps from each other.

The crocodile fights to retain his position on top.

Just when all hope seemed to be lost,
the wolf gave up.

The crocodile went back to watching The Sword in the Stone.

The battle began again 6 minutes later.

Bestest

2011-04-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

If I was to ever have a BFF, it would be this chica here who's been my bestest since like 7th grade -Ms. Whitney. She doesn't care if I'm "yay" taller than her.Or if I do, or don't, maybe kneel on my dog to keep him in place sometimes.

And doesn't flaunt the fact that her rack is bigger than mine...Even when my mother implied that I may just pop her a good one in her slightly larger protuberances.

Seriously, I would never.

Though I have been known to give my brothers some vice-like twisters.

A girl has to protect herself you know.

And then we laughed.

And Whitney pinched my bum

So then we giggled some more.And that is why she's been my bestest since the 7th grade.

Uncanny

2011-04-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

When Milana was first born I looked at her and thought,
"huh, she looks like my dad."

Let's just say, I'm not the only one who thinks so.There's just something about them that is just perfectly identical.Doesn't hurt that they are both built practically the same,

And both find it extremely difficult to bend over after eating.

April 8th

2011-04-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

Some years ago, if I mention how many I suspect I'll probably get spanked,
something happened that changed the world forever.

For better? For worse?
...

Today is my Schmooder's birthday.

We kidnapped her and took her to breakfast.

I went to Wal-mart at 6:03am and got her a cake, and
found its the best time to be in Wal-mart ever.

Despite totally craptacular weather,
It ended up being a really quite wonderful day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

We love you, and think you're like exceptionally awesome!

Another Time

2011-04-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

Do you ever think that maybe, just maybe you were born at the wrong time??Unkempt, overly long hair with an orange sweat band is how I roll.

Triton thinks I'm the coolest.

Having a personal photographer, who can so perfectly capture the essence of the moment, is just awesome.
Triton, I think I can see your calling in life.

In closing, I leave you with one of the greatest contributions of the 60's

This has been an anthem of mine for a while now.
This video cracks me up.

Moral Support

2011-04-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

There was once a point in time when Triton looked like this -Ah, I just want to squeeze him!

He was too sweet, just look at that chunk of a boy.

Now, he's all grown up, and plays laser tag all by himself.When I heard that his dad let him play by himself, I kind of freaked.
I mean, he's not old enough to do that, is he?Apparently he is, and has a great time doing it too.

He's also big enough to ride a crazy 3D ghost train by himself too.

He's in the back left, all alone.

I guess the ride was pretty scary becuase the little girl in the front center was wearing a skirt and decided to wrap her legs around her chair for moral support.
So glad I don't my oldest boy is not a sissy little girl.

A Father's Love

2011-04-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

No greater love does man have, than for his only daughter.

Seriously.

He's completely and totally smitten.

It makes me happy.

Shepherd's Pie done right

2011-03-31T08:11:00.001-07:00

Alright, so I didn't make anything last night because it was one of those nights. But, I did make this last week, and it was Awesome! Here's my take on Shepherd's Pie. Added a gravy, which just makes the potatoes so happy. Hope you enjoy it.

Shepherd's Pie

5-6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons butter
Milk, enough to make your potatoes creamy
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
8 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon of butter
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
garlic powder
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
8-10 oz. frozen peas, can use canned
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender. Drain and mash. Mix in butter, milk, finely chopped onion and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until tender and clear. Add ground beef, sprinkle with garlic powder, and cook until well browned. Add Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, brown gravy packet, and water. Stir until combined. Add peas. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until peas are thawed and gravy is thick.
Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of mashed carrots. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

To cook, or not to cook?

2011-03-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

What does one do when one's role has been so unchangeably defined?

In addition to be a mother, wife, pet-owner, and all around awesome person, I've been made the official family "cooker."

It is so extreme, that NO-ONE and I mean no one, cooks anything, and rarely eats anything, unless I've made it.

Proof in the pudding -

This morning, John asked Triton, "Triton, I think I need some breakfast, can you make me some?"
To which, Triton quickly shook his head, while noshing on his recently prepared toast, and with a full arm extension, pointed at me.
I guess its time to simply embrace, that I am the family's cooker.

Well, why doesn't John step up and cook?

The truth of the matter is that, well....he can't. Really. If he makes it you, don't want to eat it. Once upon a time, about 8 years ago, he made me a pizza from scratch - it was like trying to eat a food challenge on Fear Factor. Horribly, rotten, disgustingly, bad. I give him points for trying.

Now, I could be sad at this recent realization of mine. But really, why should I be? I enjoy cooking, obviously I haven't killed anyone yet, and my family thinks I'm pretty good.

So, I've decided to periodically share some things that are being mixed up in my kitchen.

Hopefully, I'll have something up tomorrow.

Chugacus

2011-03-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

Ever since 2002, I've been waiting, eagerly, for an opportunity to say something to anyone who might just be in the perfect situation to say it to. . .

John: "Ah! What is this!?"

Lauren: "Relax, its just urine."

And then I continued emptying the dishwasher, while John removed his sock and exhaled smoke from his nostrils while shooting lasers from his eyeballs.

Orange County, one of the best movies, Ever.

For the last 10 days, I have been a mother of 4. Its been hard, but not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

In other words, Chug has arrived!Chug prior to both his ears standing up

Everyone should have a timber wolf pup - they're practically perfect in every way.
And, he even likes Tuna.
Pretty sure I've found my new best friend forever.

Tuna is for Patriots!

2011-03-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

A recent conversation with my grandmother, who is 83, resulted in her telling me that I was un-American because I did not eat tuna.

The truth of the matter is that I do eat tuna, quite frequently really , and I really, really like it. I was the kid in elementary school who would proudly say that I did like tuna, when everyone else was saying how gross it was. Yes, I am a true blooded American if that is the guage of patriotism.

Again, I have to point to the truth of this situation.

When my grandma makes tuna, bad things happen. Granted, the bad scale is weighing heavily in my favor. Most of you know my distaste for the abominable mayonnaise, a product she uses all too liberally for anyone's taste but her own. (There is a hyperlink there to my anti-mayonnaise post)

FYI - John had me gagging last week as I watched him put mayonnaise on a roll and then add some tuna to it. My heaves and near vomiting were so intense that he couldn't eat it himself and promptly tossed the offending sandwich in the proper receptacle.

Oh, and of course there is that little incident with the fly crisped to perfection on the grilled tuna sandwich she made a while back. (link here too)

Not to mention the fact that she occasionally butters her bread before making a plain old tuna sandwich. Weird, I know, and its absolutely as disgusting as you're thinking it is.

Just why does she do this?? Well, because if you butter your bread with a little butter before adding your tuna, then your bread doesn't get soggy when you're ready to eat it after driving the tractor all morning. Now, if anyone is actually going to go and drive the tractor all morning and then have tuna for lunch, you now know what to do to keep your sandwich bread dry.

So, anyway, rather than offend my dear, sweet, grandma by pointing out how disgusting she is, I thought it was just easier to tell her that I don't eat tuna.

Though, I do at least 3 times a week.

I think she may have disowned me. She hasn't called me in weeks.

Favorite thing: The best tuna sandwich on the face of the planet is one that has a mountain of Doritos placed on top of the tuna in between the slices of bread.

I'll be having this for lunch now that I think of it.

Chilly Saturday Lunch

2011-03-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your Saturday plans end up taking a lot less time than you'd planned?

Here's what we did.We went up into the canyon, on a dewy 42 degree afternoon.

My husband, bless his heart, is impervious to the weather. Since he is "blessed" with this "attribute" he cheerfully suggested we have a bbq while we were up there.

I agreed. Though I was a royal bey-otch for at least half of it.So, there we were, with the constant threat of rain rumbling in the sky, shivering in thin jackets. Another family had decided to get out too, and in the campsite next to ours were greedily enjoying Little Caesars around a blazing fire. Their fire mocked us while, somehow we lucked out and our "quick light" charcoal, refused to live up to its name and required 45 minutes of constant attention, paper, kindling, and a whole book of matches to simply be warm enough to give up a little heat over just about two and a half coals.
This of course meant that if we wanted to eat, we had to put the grill rack practically on top of the coals.

I think I was burping lighter fluid the rest of the day.

Chemical poisoning aside, once I allowed myself to enjoy the experience, it was really pretty fun. The hamburgers were actually decently great - the charcoal fumes enhanced the flavor perfectly.
Plus, I got to spend the afternoon with this handsome guy...who was awesome for putting up with my crappy attitude without a single word of complaint.

Once the eating was done, we allowed the boys to get in the river. Triton jumped in to about mid-thigh, and decided it was time to go home. And so, we did.

Milana was there too, though she was happily snuggled into her stroller snoozing away.

40:50

2011-03-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

40:50 - just what exactly does it mean?

That's how many hours I've spent attempting to beat "Zelda: The Twilight Princess."

40 hours and 50 minutes of my life

Gone

just like that.

I feel no remorse

Its been worth it.

The boys like to watch while I play.
Truthfully, I just don't see anything wrong with this picture.

I play, while they contentedly watch, shout at me - loudly I might add, and tell me where to go... usually they're right, which shows that they are abnormally intelligent, or I am unusually stupid for not being able to figure this thing out.

Lucky Me.

Signage

2011-03-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

Look what I made -
all by myself!It says, "Confiserie des Marseilles * PROVENCE * XXIV"

Which translates into Sweet Shop of Marseilles, Provence (the region), and 24 - because I was 24 when I made it.

I was going to make it say Sweet Shop of the Plochers, or of Lauren, but that just didn't sound "frenchy" enough.
Even if the our name was pronounced with the French pronunciation of Plo-Shay, its just too dang German of a name to make it look or sound right.

So, John and I chose one of our favorite cities in France and used that instead.

And so now, the wall in my kitchen above my cabinets is adorned by a sign that looks as though it was stolen about 100 years ago;
which, makes me feel warm and tingly inside every time I see it.

ç'y est!

Portrait of a Chipmunk

2011-03-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

For about a month now, Triton has been convinced that he is a chipmunk.

It all started when he happened to watch "Alvin and the Chipmunks" one snowy day. Ever since then, he's been positive that he is actually Simon the chipmunk. As such, Milana is Theodore, Bronze was Alvin - but after protesting that he was Spiderman, Alvin was dropped and he has just been addressed as Spiderman - I am Mama Chipmunk, and John is Dad Chipmunk. He also refers to our house as his "tree."

He did a self portrait, would you like to see it??
Eyes with eyelashes, a smile, and abundant facial hair - its all there. He's taken to eating nuts, and hides possessions in his burrow, or bed.

Not worried about it yet.

Today he also drew a picture of his "woof", or Chug as he's known around here. Clicking on it should enlarge the explanations.

I don't know about you, but this totally reminds me of Anasazi pictographs or something. Personally, I think its pretty good.

The Fever

2011-03-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

It took until March, but finally the boys got cabin fever.

I have to say, for the first time in my life, I've had it badly too. With the rapidly approaching arrival of our Chugacus I check the weather reports everyday to see if it will be warm enough to have some of this snow melt.

Saying that is a first for me - ever - I mean, in my entire life - my mom will probably not know what to do with herself after she reads it.

Anyway, back to the boys...

They have it bad. Even Bronze is willing to brave the 4 feet of snow in our backyard.

That's not an exaggeration either. Yesterday I went out there to rescue my children from a drift and stood at least 3.64152379 feet over the top of our 6 foot fence.
Triton tirelessly climbed to the top of our hill to slide down.
While Bronze chose to risk life and limb by sliding into the very rim of the window well.

Just who was braver, or stupider, I can't really say at this point. I feel its enough to say they didn't get it from me.

Conquering

2011-03-07T08:30:00.001-08:00

I came, I saw, I conquered.

After a year and a half of a piecer of a kitchen faucet, we FINALLY got a new one.

Being the "Why Pay Someone Else When I Can Do It Myself" type of girl that I am, I dove under the abyss that was inhabiting the cabinet under my sink, and set out to remove the old one.

With LOTS, and Lots, and lots, of help from my husband, fact is he pretty much did it himself while I "supervised," an hour and a half later, the old one was removed.

Once the hard part was done, 15 minutes later the new faucet graced my countertop - which I installed myself.
I had forgotten what it was like to have a kitchen faucet that actually turned off when the lever was flicked.

I am still in sink heaven.

L-O-V-E

2011-03-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

I know, I KNOW!

I'm obsessed. I can't help it.
How could I be expected to be anything less when the object of my affection has a face like this -Love may be spelled L-O-V-E for most people, but for me its spelled C-H-U-G.

I wish the end of March would hurry up and get here already.

Love

2011-03-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

Motherhood has taught me quite a few things.

Its taught me how 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep can feel like 10 hours of the deepest sleep you've ever had in your life; that everything I own will be inspected, and most likely grubbified; and, that it is possible to dream in cartoon after watching too many of them.

Its also taught me patience, how to not take things too seriously, and to slow down and enjoy the moment.

I am a truly blessed woman to have the kids that I do.

I have a boy who gives me everything that he finds beautiful. Anytime I'm sick, he insists on getting me flowers to make me feel better. Rocks that he finds remarkable are given to me as presents. Almost daily, he gives me icecicles to put in vases, and, he's willing to use all that he has to give me something he thinks I'll love. Yesterday, while waiting in the customer service line at the grocery store, Triton disappeared and showed up again about 3 minutes later - simply beaming and holding his hand behind his back.

"Mom! I got you something!" I could see his excitement and enthusiastically asked him what it was. He opened his hand to reveal a plastic ring with a plastic emerald on it the size of China. I gushed at his find, while inside wondering who on earth would buy this thing.

Triton then asked, "Mom, can we buy this for you?" I asked the customer service woman to check how much it was. $3 was its price. If it had been a dollar, then I'd have probably agreed, but in my mind I couldn't justify 3. I told Triton, "Oh Triton, I'm sorry, but we don't have enough money for this right now."

To this I was told, "But Mom, I want you to have this beautiful ring. If I give you all my moneys, will we have enough?" I was touched. But, instead of caving in, I told him to come back with his dad and surprise me with it. He got a gleam in his eye, jumped and threw his arms around my neck and said, "Mom, I love you!" and was content with the new plan.

Now Bronze, Bronze is a different kid entirely. The other day, Triton walked up to him and said, "Bronze, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." Bronze responds, "Shut up! I'm trying to kill this dragon!" But, he still calls me "Mama," and is sweet in his own way.Last night at 2:35am, I heard the rapid thump of little feet making their way to my room. The door opened, and in hurried Bronze to stand beside my bed. He then matter-of-a-factly stated, "Mama, there's lightning bolts in my bed."

Apparently flannel pj pants are statically charged when rubbed against race car printed sheets.

Today, while we played Zelda on the wii, Bronze suddenly said, "Mama, I smell sumfen!" He then stuck his little nose in the air and sniffed around, drawing his nose ever closer to his arm. He then lifted up his arm pit, sniffed, and yelled, "Mama! I stink!" and walked into the bathroom to start the tub.

I think he was using stink as an excuse to get in the tub and play with his toy boat.

And this is only a insignificant part of why I'm so lucky to have the family that I do.

The Battle

2011-02-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

In an unadulterated battle of good vs. evil,

my shoulder angels went to war.The victor is still unknown at this time.

I, and I say I becuase John is not exactly thrilled about this.

See his face on the side bar?

That is what he looked like the entire time after. . . well, after it

---

Now, for the unveiling:

I am

the

unbelievably

euphoric

owner

of a

Timber Wolf Pup!!

Yes, a timber wolf

The kind that run through the woods and howl at the moon

The very same one who was the subject of my previous blog post

The very one who will probably look quite a big like this when he grows up

Just how on earth did I swing that one?

Well, it took a few tears, some accusatory names directed at my undeserving man, and downright stubborn determination.

John,was equally as stubborn in his opposition -

but it seems he has a soft spot for me.

Our pup will be joining our family at the end of March.

John wants to name him "Chug."

Chug is a morbidly obese milk chugger at the moment.

Really, he is.

I think the name is going to stick.

Here are some of my favorites for what chug could be short for:

Chugraham Lincoln

Chugasaurus Rex

Chugster

The Chuginator

Chugga-Chugga-Choo-Choo

Chugithor

Chugbacca

Lord Chugsomemore

and, Chugstanbul.

P.S. - John is the one who added his picture to our family pictures on the side bar.

Secret Exploits

2011-02-24T10:31:00.000-08:00

Today I was a very, very, very naughty girl.

And this was all before 10 in the morning.

Just why was I naughty?

Well, becuase I went and met a special, secret someone.

Who is that special someone?

If I told, it wouldn't be secret anymore, now would it.

. . .

But, just so you don't think that I was sneaking around

I was. . .

just not with whom people may be thinking.

I went and met this handsome fellowA precious two and a half week old baby.

Love. At. First. Sight.

What more can I say?

Will he be joining our family? I don't really know yet - its not up to me.

I will say though, that I quite enjoy driving my husband crazy with my "secret" exploits, bombarding him with billions of pictures, and throwing a royal fit if he doesn't take me seriously.

Now you know what I do when no one's asking where I am.

Singled out

2011-02-22T07:38:00.001-08:00

There is something special about being the only girl in a family. I experienced it thoroughly, and now, it's Milana's turn.

This is what happens when Grandmas get a hold of you.I painted her toenails once, and tried a second time - which ended up smeared all over her bouncy chair. I expect nothing less from any of my efforts.
But, when a Grandma does it, of course its perfect.The final result is a little girl who seems perfectly pleased with herself, and likes to admire her fingernails while chewing on toys.