A blast from the past!

The Grocery Store
Then: Giggling and blushing over the hot guy who winked at me by the tampon aisle.

Now: Tears of joy and excitement over a sale on organic produce.

The Stop Light
Then: Throwing my blond tresses over my shoulder, cruising Main Street with a car full of giggling teenagers, jamming to the blasting music.

Now: Retrieving lost binkies, brushing my greasy, unwashed hair back into a ponytail, turning up the radio to drown out the screaming from the backseat.

The Library
Then: Looking through the dictionary to see what "sex" meant, then giggling hysterically with my grade school friends.

Now: Paying fifteen dollars in late fines for children's books. Partly because I kept forgetting to take them back, and partly because my toddler loved them so much I didn't want to take them away.

The Park
Then: Scratching "JB + RS = LUV" into a picnic table with a pen.

Now: Frowning at the graffiti on the picnic tables.

The Public Bathroom
Then: Going to the restroom with a group of giggling teenage girlfriends to reapply makeup, fluff hair, and gossip.

Now: Trying not to pee on myself while holding a baby, trying to keep a toddler in the stall, and using every muscle in my body to hover a few inches above the germ infested seat.

The Bedroom
Then: Trying out kinky new moves, staying up all night talking and laughing.

Now: Collapsing into bed exhausted, staying up all night feeding and rocking, forgetting to brush my teeth.

The Night Out
Then: Spending hours perfecting my makeup and hair. Getting dressed in a hot outfit, going dancing, having a few drinks, stumbling in late.

Now: Having the husband watch the kids so I can run to the store in my sweatpants to buy diapers.

My how things change!

How did I get so lucky?

So last night was pretty eventful. I ended up opening up the door to get some fresh air, and catching two men breaking into cars in our parking lot. It ended up being a chase, with my hubby right on the guy's heels, lots of cops, a car chase, jumping fences, tackling, etc. It was pretty intense! The dumbasses got away though. :(

Anyway, I didn't get to bed until 3 AM. And got up at 6 AM with the baby. Then Tony comes into the bedroom and asks me to get the girls ready. His dad wanted to go fishing, so he was taking the girls to the in laws' house so my mother in law and sister in law could watch the girls while the guys fished.

This was so needed, as yesterday I had a major meltdown. I just had SO much anxiety and stress and I was upset with my husband and felt like I was going to pull all of my hair out, strand by strand. I am glad he recognized that I need a break desperately! They are going to be gone all day, so I am settling in for a day of NOTHING. No cleaning or anything, just relaxing, vegging out, taking a long nap and loooong hot bath. Aren't you jealous? :) If you want a break too, all you have to do is go crazy and stare at him with that desperate, bugged out, whacked, psycho look. It's easy!

How AWESOME is this?

What a sweet contest! Pinks and Blues hosts the most amazing giveaways! Right now they have an adorable Dooney and Burke handbag, and a bottle of yummy VS perfume that they are giving away. You can check out their website here. The deadline is next Friday, so run over and enter everyone!

I also signed up for their daily emails, called the Lucky Loop. Very cool stuff!

Thank GOD!

I am so unbelievably glad this week is OVER. What a miserable one!

With the flu, Chloe's fall down the stairs, Ali and I teething (her first ones, my wisdoms), horrible insomnia, it's just been a nightmare.

But hopefully this long weekend will be nice and relaxing, and next week will be much better!

Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend and super-dee-duper week!

My Friendly Friday!

So I had a bit of a rough day. I started out so ambitious and thought of all kinds of good things I could do today, but I slacked! So I ended up writing out a few cards to some online Mommy friends and mailing them off.

My Chloe has been cracking me up all day. That girl is helpful in a not so helpful way! Alivia often rolls over onto her tummy, then after a few seconds gets mad, so we have to roll her back over. Now, the second she rolls over, Chloe comes running to flip her over to her back. Sometimes it is in a gentle way, sometimes not.

Then today, we had just walked in the door from running errands, and Ali was halfway asleep in her carseat. So I set her down and left her for a minute to see if she would put herself to sleep. Chloe said "Baby seep!" and I said "Is baby tired?" She walks up to her, sticks her face right next to the almost asleep Ali, and yells "Are tired baby?" Or if Ali cries and I am busy, I'll ask Chloe to bring a toy to the baby. So she'll run up and chuck a stuffed animal at her. :o The rest of the time though, she really loves her sissy and is really gentle with her.

I have a busy few weeks coming up. I am co hosting a baby shower for a close friend, then I have a bachelorette party, then a wedding, then the birth of above friend's baby! I am so so so excited, and crossing my fingers that I'll be able to make it for the birth (she's about two hours away) but since it is her first, it will probably be awhile. I almost miss that feeling of anticipation when I was pregnant with Chloe. Not knowing what was coming, being scared, but also feeling so anxious. Wanting the last few weeks of my pregnancy to speed along, but wanting to stay pregnant forever at the same time! I miss the freedom of pre baby life too. Taking a nap whenever I felt like it, eating ice cream without having to share, wearing clothes not covered in spit up, long showers, throwing a few things in a bag and just going on a trip on a whim, peeing in peace and quiet. I better stop now or else I'll be tempted to sell my kids. I'd probably get a decent price out of 'em though, with the unique hair. Hmm...that's tempting!

Friendly Friday!!!

I am doing something new on Fridays, just for a change of pace and something to write about!

I am going to do at least one good deed every Friday. Something little, or something big, for a stranger, myself, my family, etc. Maybe it will set the tone for the weekend and I'll be a super citizen through the next week. Here are a few ideas I brainstormed...

For the hubs:
-Give him a back/foot rub just to be nice.
-Make him a fabulous dinner, complete with candelight and fancy plates.
-Do that one thing in bed that you never want to do, but would make him SO happy! ;)

For your friends/family
-Send out a card to someone thanking them for being so great
-Send a friend some flowers at work
-Bake something yummy for a neighbor/friend
-cut your neighbor's grass
-If the weather is nice, go out and wash your car, your neighbor's car, your friend's car, etc just for fun
-Offer to babysit a friend's kids for free while she gets a few hours of Mommy time

For your community:
-Donate something to a local Salvation Army/charity
-Volunteer your time
-Take a garbage bag and some gloves and go pick up trash at the park
-Put extra money in the needy jar on the counter at the gas station

For a stranger:
-Give a homeless person an extra buck
-Help an elderly person out to the car with their groceries
-Be an extra polite driver and let people cut in front of you
-Take your kids with you to go visit an elderly home. They love visitors!

For your planet:
-Plant a tree
-Go buy some cloth grocery bags
-Go through your house and recycle as much as possible
-Ride your bike somewhere instead of drive
-Switch to organic produce

That's just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many things you can do to be a good citizen, helpful friend, or loving family member. So do something good for someone today! And post about it on your blog if you want. I bet you will feel all warm and fuzzy like inside! I'll post later today about my good deed. It still feels like Thursday, so I probably need to go to bed first!

My poor icky sissy!

I know, I know, my third post today! I just have a lot to say I guess!

I used to call my sister my "icky sissy" when I was little. She's 5 1/2 years older than me. As kids we weren't all *that* close, but mostly because there was such an age gap. As adults though, we are tighter than lug nuts.

So, to say she is accident prone is quite the understatement. She is constantly stubbing her pinky toe on her right foot. As a family, we tend to be over-exaggeraters, so she is always calling me telling me she broke her toe, when in fact it is more like a small, albeit painful, stub.

So tonight I get a frantic phone call from her, she is practically hysterical and yells into the phone to meet her at the ER to pick up the kids. I throw on some clothes (I wasn't nakey, but I didn't want to be seen in public sporting spit up covered sweat pants), and race to the hospital. It's only a few blocks away luckily. I get to the waiting room to find my sister checking in. She is sitting in a wheelchair, in horrible pain, and one look at her toe makes me retch. Her pinky toe was completely horizontal, perpendicular to her other toes. *gag* I take her kids (3 and 6) and take them back home to hang out.

When she came to pick them up, she was nice and happy from all the mind numbing drugs. They had to stick a needle and do all kinds of unmentionable things to her toe to get it to go straight, so they had to really drug her up. I'm sure she'll be feeling it in the morning though, poor girl. :( She's in a walking cast now, which is not so good for her waitressing job.

As a kid, I was the one who was so accident prone. I ran into a tree on our fifth grade skiing field trip and had to be ambulanced to the hospital. On my 8th grade field trip, we went rock climbing. It was a hot afternoon, and after climbing all day we were exhausted. I plopped down on the ground to listen to the park ranger give a lecture and sat right in the middle of a cactus. I had to have my friend pull cactus needles out of my rear, then we ran off to climb up a tall rock. I got to the top of the rock and stood up, got really dizzy headed and passed out. I fell a few feet and hit my head. I had to be lifeflighted off of the summit. Shortly after that, I was voted Most Likely To Wreck the Driver's Ed Car. Which I did a few months later.

But since then I've only had a few minor bumps. I must have passed it on to my sister, the poor girl!

Betty and Duncan

I just had this conversation with my two year old.

C: (picking at bandaid on her banged up knee) Mom, hepp (help)!
M: Do you want Mom to take off your bandaid?
C: Yeah, hepp.
M: (reaching towards her knee)
C: NOOOOOO! No hepp!
M: Ok, you do it.
C: Hepp Mom!

And she's also learning that Mama's version of sharing is a bit different than hers. I made homemade cinnamon swirl cupcakes, with a white chocolate almond frosting yesterday. It was so much work, but they turned out delicious. Of course, when I say homemade, I mean I made them at home out of a box and a can, but it's nearly the same thing, right?

So after breakfast C-Lo was already asking for a "cuppy cike". So I complied and said that we could share one. I tore off a miniscule chunk for her, and was about to pop the other 3/4 of the sweet yumminess in my mouth when Chloe pointed to mine and yelled "NO! Dats mine!" I showed her the piece I had torn off for her and explained that it was hers and she was sharing with Mommy. The little smarty pants refused to give up until I gave her my bigger piece. So I ate the small piece and gave her the big one. Of course, when she turned her back, I ripped the paper off of another one and shoved it in my mouth quickly. By the time she turned around to see what the paper crinkling was all about, the cuppy cike was gone. I tried to chew quickly and not spew crumbs at her as she stared at me suspiciously. In my haste, I didn't get all of the paper cup off of the cupcake, so I got an extra dose of fiber today. I couldn't pull it out of my mouth, I knew she'd bust me!

A fun contest!

Check out this fun contest from Adventures in Babywearing. And thanks to Megan for directing me there! I've just spent way too much time perusing the Mason & Matisse website. I can't believe all the amazing stuff they have! Of course I always love me some Babylegs and this positively adorable froggie bath pod and these Dado cubes would be great for the monster!

The contest looks so fun, you can win a ton of shibby things! I will be so excited if I win, I never win anything! Wait, strike that. I won a two year supply of poopy diapers recently. What a find!

I did it!

One tiny tiptoe for me, one giant leap for the planet!!!

I bought cloth grocery bags today! I always reuse my plastic grocery bags, but they have been accumulating for years and the space underneath my sink is overflowing with Earth-destroying plastic. My new bags are nice and sturdy with long handles, they were crazy cheap and I am giddy with excitement!!! They will come in handy when I am leaving the library as well. Juggling a giant stack of books and two children is no easy feat!

In other news, it is nearly 3 AM and I am wiiiiiide awake. I've tried EVERYTHING for my insomnia in the past month, but I just can't kick it. I've tried sitting in a dark room doing absolutely nothing. I've tried laying down. I've tried a long relaxing bath. I've tried exercise to tire myself out. Reading a boring book, the list goes on and on.

I just got done going through my finances and paying bills. The stack of mail is sitting by the door ready to go. Writing out checks makes me feel so grown up! And poor. :(

It's gonna be a long day!

Chloe woke up this morning saying "Yip, hurt! Oww" Her poor lip looks awful.

And we had Ali's four month check up this morning. She is doing fantastic, but she had three shots. So I have a cranky baby, hurt toddler, and I still have this bug. My wisdom teeth are getting worse too, the pain is radiating up through my face, and my ears and cheeks hurt now. Not to mention the raging headache, nausea, dizziness, and achy tummy.

Sigh. Who takes care of the Mama when she is sick?

In happier news, my daughter has been cracking me up lately. Today I asked her if she wanted a PB&J and she said "G-G-and G? OK!" Or she grabs unopened cans and boxes of food from a low cupboard, puts them in her little purse and says "Go store? Need juice? K, be back" Then she'll go the bedroom and walk back out and hand me a can of corn and say "Here juice. Say takes (thanks)!" She also clops around in her play high heels (she walks better in heels than I do!) thirty necklaces, sparkly purses, and clip on earrings. She likes to wear her tutu as well, and say "I princess!" Although princess sounds like "Pcheshesh" Her speech is still coming along, and every day she'll repeat something new, or string more words together. She still doesn't talk as much as other two year olds though.

Ali is asleep now, Chloe is eating her GG&G, and I am getting ready to collapse on the couch. Not to fall asleep, but just to wallow in my misery. I'm sure it's going to be one of those days where Chloe watches too many cartoons, but I don't feel that guilty.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very MISERABLE Day!

Yeah, today goes down in history as being the worst day, like, EVER!

First off, I have an ingrown toenail. Normally I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing that disgusting detail with my thousands of readers, but I feel it's necessary. Yeah, that mofo is painful. And I am still nursing my stubbed toe from yesterday. My stumps are throbbing.

And my wisdom teeth are making their presence known. I haven't had a problem with them for four years, and all of a sudden I am in major pain. Oh..and FYI...Baby Orajel doesn't do much for wisdom teeth pain.

So I didn't even attempt to lay down until 4 AM last night because I knew I'd toss and turn all evening. I got about 4 hours of sleep.

And then I wake up this morning with a horrible flu bug. I've spent the entire day stumbling between the couch and the bathroom. Hubby let me squeeze in a nap earlier, but I still felt like I'd been run over by a Mack truck.

Then hubby had to go to sleep before he had to leave for work. I had to run to the store as we ahem...ran out of toilet paper. And I felt the need to chug some Pepto. So I bundled the girls up because Idaho is confused and thinks it is WINTER and it is freezing cold out. I was holding Alivia's carseat, diaper bag, and my purse. Chloe was walking down our ten wooden steps right in front of me. All of a sudden she trips and falls head first down the flight of stairs, head over heels, bumping into each hard stair, then slamming into the concrete at the bottom. My heart literally stopped. I set Ali down and ran down the stairs, scared to death because she was laying there at the bottom of the stairs not moving and I don't even want to type what ran through my head at that moment.

I picked her up, she had the wind knocked out of her, but then she caught her breath and started screaming. Her face had blood all over it. :(

So I run Chloe inside, set her on a kitchen chair then run back out to bring Alivia in. I wet down a washcloth and started wiping off blood, as I wasn't sure where it was coming from. Her nose was bleeding a little, but her mouth was bleeding a LOT. Once I was able to clean her up and calm her down a bit, I pulled her lip down. She must have bitten down hard, she had teeth marks and the inside of her lip is terribly cut up. She has a few other bumps and bruises. Her eyes are such a dark shade of brown, that I couldn't tell if her pupils were dilated at all.

I would have taken her to the ER, but once I got her cleaned up and calmed down, she was acting fine. So I settled her on the couch with her blankies and a popsicle and Happy Feet. I watched her closely the rest of the evening, and she seemed completely normal. I had called our nurse's emergency line and she said if Chloe threw up, acted dizzy, or was lethargic, we should go in.

I feel so sorry for the poor girl. Her lip is SO swollen and huge, I told Tony that she looks like Bubba off of Forrest Gump. I have my alarm set for every hour so I can check on her. I am still sick to my stomach with this stupid flu though. I just took a long hot bath and I am sitting here in my towel because I feel too weak to even get dressed!

So, now that you guys all know WAY too many gross details about my horrid day, I'll leave you with this piece of golden advice.

Stock up on toilet paper. You can never have too much.

Watch your mouth!

Chloe took a long bubble bath tonight. After draining the water and helping her climb out, I started to grab a towel to dry her off, but she took off running. She started running through the house yelling "I nakey! I nakey!" I finally caught up to her and laughed because she had bubbles all over her hiney. I swiped at her with the towel and told her she had bubbles on her butt.

So of course all evening I kept hearing "Mama, you a bubble butt!" Giggle, giggle.

Sigh. Yes, I know dear. My bubbles aren't quite as cute as yours though sweetie!

So, that was the cute thing she repeated. The not so cute thing...that was my fault again.

The four of us were laying on the bed. Chloe was blowing raspberries on Alivia's tummy and they were laughing. I got up to go get a burp cloth and stubbed my toe HARD on the dresser. I couldn't help it, I yelled out "Son of a monkey's ass!" while hopping up and down holding my poor toe.

I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing now when Chloe hops around and says "Uh oh mokey's ass!" *blush* I really need to watch it!

A chish!

Chloe caught her first fish today. We went to a stream that is in walking distance to our house. I strapped Alivia into our beautiful Mei Tei, and Tony and Chloe walked along in front of me. She was hurrying along in excitement, holding on to his hand, and he had his pole slung over his shoulder. Put that image in black and white, and you have a Hallmark card for sure! Seeing those two together made me so happy my heart physically hurt.

Down by the stream, Tony knelt down, and Chloe stood in front of him. They held the pole together, with his large, callused hand over her tiny, smooth one. She was yelling at the stream "Come on chish! Where are you???" I stood back and rubbed the little red peach fuzz on the top of Ali's head and watched them fish. Within minutes Tony yelled out and I heard Chloe yelling in excitement. Tony guided her hand in reeling in the line. Then a small squirming fish popped out of the water on the end of the line. It's very appropriate that it was a teeny baby fish. Tony held it, pulled the hook out of it's mouth and let Chloe touch it. She laughed and said "Ewww iss goss!" Then we all said bye to the fish and Chloe helped throw it back in the water. She was a little sad that she didn't get to keep her new little friend. We talked about the fish needing to go back to it's mommy and play in the water.

Back at home that evening, Chloe couldn't stop talking about her 'chish'. She was so proud! I asked her where the chish was and she said "Chish went home! Chish need mommy and daddy!"

It was so very sweet. I know sometimes Tony feels sad that he doesn't have his little boy to teach. But being able to play wrestle with Chloe, and help her reel in a fish, or teach her to swing a bat, that makes it all okay. It's the moments when he is laughing and high fiving a two year old over her catch of the day that make both of their eyes shine. I've always thought the most influential person in a girl's life is her Daddy. She will learn so many valuable lessons from him, way more important than her ABCs, manners, or following directions. Or going to bed on time, or eating her veggies, or using her inside voice. Or not poking her sister in the eyes, or dumping the bath water on the floor, or writing on the walls. Way more important than that!

Mosquitoes, Lawn Mowers, and Whip-Its, Oh My!

Tonight we went to my parent's house to celebrate Mother's Day. I really love my parents, and I especially love that they have been married for 27 years. It seems like that is almost hard to find these days. Of course, they are constantly criticizing each other or snapping each other's heads off (Not THAT serving dish, jeez! Do you REALLY have to cook the chicken first????? Etc, etc, etc). It gets annoying, but two minutes later they are laughing and have forgotten all about it.

It was a perfect evening, warm enough that we could hang out outdoors, but not hot enough to be uncomfortable. My dad worked the grill, my nephew rode his miniature four wheeler all over the yard and orchard, and my 3 year old niece and Chloe rode around in their pink power wheels jeep. My mom, sister, brother in law, Tony, and I relaxed in the lounge chairs, drinking Coronas with lime, and snacking on fresh pineapple. The kids took turns cruising on the riding lawn mower with grandma.

While everyone was occupied outside, my sister and I snuck inside to prepare strawberry shortcake desserts for everyone. But not before doing a few Whip Its with the can of whip cream. If you aren't familiar with whip its, it is basically sucking the aerosol out of the can, sending it straight to your brain and giving you a nice fuzzy feeling. The glorious high lasts for 2.3 seconds, and probably depletes a hundred brain cells each time. Who needs those silly brain cells anyway!
We felt so naughty and put the whip cream back in the fridge and quietly snuck back outside giggling to ourselves. Ahhh...to be 13 again!

The sun started to set and the mosquitoes came calling. After a major West Nile scare last year (Idaho had the highest number of West Nile deaths in the US), we weren't taking any chances, and we headed inside. But not before the nasty buggers had their feast. I am currently scratching at about 8 skeeto bites. :(

We stayed quite a while, playing an entertaining geography game (How many states in the US? What, 52? WRONG! Chug, chug, chug!) I was the designated globe holder and my mom, sister and brother in law had fun yelling out incorrect answers and making each other drink. It was the most G rated drinking game I've ever played!!!! I must also mention my mom rarely imbibes. And if she does it is the occasional glass of vino. So it was fun to see her kick back and get a teensy bit snockered.

But now we are back home and I am ACHING. My back is positively killing me. I did have to drive almost two hours, and sitting in the same position like that just makes me miserable. I am about to run off to bed and cuddle up to my beautiful snuggle bunny. Speaking of bed...Chloe is now in a big girl bed, and doing wonderfully!!! She goes straight to sleep as soon as she gets tucked in. It's glorious!

Weird with a capital P

My dear amiga Corey has tagged me. I now must bestow upon you seven weird things about me.

1. I have a fear of spiders. Not just an, "eww creepy!" fear. A hyperventalating, panicky, blood runs cold, sheer terror, heart stopping, throat closing up, fear. I can't even kill them, I'm afraid to get close. In the pre-arachnaphobia (that word alone gives me chill bumps) days, I could just swat them with a flimsy flip flop, or *shudder* squish them with a bunched up tissue and flush 'em away. Now I can't even look at the creepy crawler for fear it will turn it's multiple beady eyes on me and take a flying leap toward me. I can't look at pictures of the small monsters, if I see them on TV, I have to slink low in my seat and cover my eyes with my hands like a child. The weirdest thing....my fear extends to all crawlies. Even ants and roly poly's. All insects creep me the hell out! Or creep the hell out of me. Or creep me out of hell...something like that. Just writing this post has made my skin crawl.

2. I hate pickles with a passion. My dad used to drink pickle juice out of the jar. I can't even stand the smell, it is bile inducing. I remember going to the movies with a friend who was about to have her baby. She was about to pop any day, and her cravings were at the intense grape-jelly-and-sardine-sandwich-NOW stage. I was eager to get into the theater and grab some good seats, but she wanted to stop at the concession stand. I nearly balked until I noticed she was salivating and looking a bit like a deranged wild animal. She asked the young teen behind the counter for one of those giant, rather vulgar looking, pimply pickles. I started to complain, but one look at her puffed up face, cankles, and that insane end of pregnancy glint in her eyes made me bite my tongue. Throughout the movie, I was trying to supress my gag reflux and bury my face in the giant bucket o' popcorn to fill my nostrils with the smell of artificial butter rather than the scent oozing off of her pickle. The sight of the pickle juice running down her chin and her glazed over giant-pickle-orgasm eyes made my stomach roll. Yeah, I hate pickles.

3. I rub my feet together to fall asleep. I'm sure this is a common practice. But I suffer from insomnia, and often spend hours upon long endless hours laying in bed trying to shut my brain off. As a result of grinding my feet together in the same spot for several hours each night for multiple years, I have whittled myself from a size 9 shoe to a size 7.

4. I ate my first steak at age 19. My father was a hunter and oft cooked up a tantalizing, sizzling, tender strip of delicious....wait, is that deer??? The thought of consuming Bambi's cousin with a side of A1 just seemed so wrong. Then when it came time to eat real steak, I just couldn't do it. After getting married and becoming great with child, I went out to dinner with my husband. I perused the menu for about 13 minutes, each time the server came by to see if we were ready to order yet, I snapped at him. The bright picture of the steak on the menu looked pretty delicious, and my iron was low, so I figured, why not? I ordered the steak (extremely well done, mind you) and when it came I stared at it for a moment. I poked it with my steak knife, almost expecting it to jump up and scramble across the table, mooing in a panicked state and knocking over my water glass before jumping to the floor to make an escape. I gingerly cut a teensy corner piece off, examined it for any pinkness, traces of blood or eyeballs, or vessels of *gag* blubber running through it. I nibbled a miniscule bite off of the corner of the piece and immediately sank into my chair. An involuntary groan came out of my mouth and I started cutting furiously at the slab of meat and shoving it in my mouth faster than I could chew. My husband just stared, his fork and knife in mid air. He knew better than to say anything to the hormonal pregnant lady, but I was starting to elicit stares and whispers. The other patrons were staring at me with open mouths. But I didn't care. I was in the middle of a meat induced coma and nothing mattered but the juiciness that is animal flesh. Thus my love affair with steak began. Like a crack junkie, I'll always be chasing after that first high, that moment when I first sank my teeth into meaty perfection.

5. I like cleaning the bathroom. It is such a small room, and I can get it done so quickly. Then it is nice and shiny and clean. I can never get the living room or kitchen to gleam like that, and it always takes forever to clean those rooms. Plus I get a great sense of joy in providing my family with a spic n' span toilet to rest their hineys upon.

6. This is hard! Seven things, really? Oooh, I know one. I love the smell of skunk. I do! Not stale skunk that has been run over a multitude of times and needs scraped off the highway. But a live one, who has just sprayed his munky scent upon an innocent victim. I love it! Everyone else holds their nose and complains loudly, but I take in deep sniffs of the odor! I also love the smell of gasoline, especially diesel, spray paint, and rubber cement. Yeah, I was the weird kid in kindy garten who was sniffing the paste (well, and eating it too. You know you tried it!!!).

7. I can do complicated math problems in my head, including long division. I hear a song once, and I can memorize the majority of the lyrics, I retain tons of useless random trivia, and I am fairly smart. But I get left and right mixed up all the time, I have a hard time following simple written directions, and I have to drive the same route at least 20 times before I remember it. I can hardly hold a map the right way, and when it comes to technology, I'm completely lost. When Tony is telling me how something works I lose him around "Ok, this is how..." I just kind of zone out and mindlessly nod as he speaks what sounds like Swahili. I just don't get it.

Ok, now here is the part where I tag seven other people and hear about how crazy they are, right? Well, the majority of my blogging buddies have friends lists that are nearly identical to mine, so we could go in circles forever! Instead I'll make up something new, since I'm cool like that and all!

So I want to hear about ten things that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside from....(drumroll please).....

Meghan
Corey
Ingrid
Keara
Megan

Then of course you pick five more people to hear from after you post!

This sums up the post that reveals I have stayed up way too late exposing my oddities to you all!

Sweet, sweet summer

Today was a flurry of activity. I was on the move all day long, and got a ton accomplished. I am paying for it now with an aching back. It is so terrible I had to take a pain pill and I can still barely move. :(

Around 7:30 Chloe was getting restless, so we went outside to play. It was such a beautiful evening. I strapped Alivia into my favorite carrier, a Hideabug Skytai Mei Tai. Check them out here..... http://hideabugskytai.googlepages.com/ . These ladies are SO talented, they do amazing work. I absolutely love my carrier, it gets used at least once a day. It is a total lifesaver when I am shopping. If I don't have the mei tai, I have to take the whole car seat in and put it in the back of the cart, Chloe goes in the front of the cart, and where the heck do all the groceries go??? It is so convenient, and Alivia always snuggles up to me and falls right asleep.

Anyway, I strapped Ali into the carrier and we watched Chloe ride her trike. We talked to the horses that are in a corral by our apartment. Chloe wanted me to lift her up so she could touch the "Poke E Tree". It was the most beautiful evening. The temperature was perfect, we had on a light jacket for those slight breezes, but we probably didn't need it. The sun was sinking low in the sky, and casting a gorgeous light over everything. We went on a walk down the street, just for something to do. My girl is so well behaved. She listens so well. She held my hand the entire time, and if I let her walk ahead of me, she never got more than one or two steps away. And if I asked her to stop, she obeyed right away.

As we walked I was amazed at the sensory overload. Several of our neighbors had recently cut their grass, and the sweet tangy smell of the freshly mowed lawn permeated the air. One of our neighbors was having a barbecue, and the smell of the charcoal and smoke was tantalizing. The glasses of their guests clinked, and their laughter filled the air. A few streets over, several dogs were barking at each other. A group of kids were chasing each other with their brightly colored bikes and laughing. Two preschool aged girls were drawing on the sidewalk with flourescent chalk as their mothers watched on. An elderly couple lazily rocked on a porch swing, with glasses of ice cold sweet tea. A girl squealed as her brother chased her and squirted her with a water gun. A woman headed towards us, holding the leashes of two large dogs. The dogs sniffed Chloe and she tightened her grip on my hand in nervousness. The woman laughed and knelt down, giving Chloe the okay to pet the dogs. Chloe giggled as the dog's rough tongue tickled the palm of her tiny hand.

It does sound a bit Leave it to Beaver-ish. Our neighborhood isn't always so perfect, although it is generally a pretty safe place.

We stayed outside and played until nearly 9:30. It was past Chloe's bedtime, but the amazing weather, beautiful sunset, and summery atmosphere lightened my mood. It reminded me of my school aged years. Riding my bike with my friends, and racing inside at the very last second before my curfew was up. Getting up at the crack of dawn on Saturdays to go play. Swimming in the canals (which now make me shudder in disgust!) with my friends. Befriending the new neighbors and going on summer evening adventures. Exploring an abandoned barn and saving up our own money to build a tree house with our own hands. Sleeping underneath the stars on the trampoline with a group of my giggly, boy-crazed friends. The countdown to the end of school, and the beginning of three months of fun. The anticipation of a summer vacation. Stealing a cigarette and hiding in an alfafa field to take my first drag (fire hazard much?) with my best friend. To this day the smell of alfafa reminds me of my first cigarette (I never inhaled, I promise!). I was a book nerd, and I would climb into one of our orchard trees with a pillow, perch in the branches, and lose myself in the pages of a book. As I got older, summer nights meant outdoor parties. Camping trips, bonfires, hikes, sneaking out, late parties. Skinny dipping, cruising, the county fair, laying on my back in the grass and staring at the stars, wondering what was out there.

It's so amazing how the smells and sounds of summer can bring back so many memories. I had some of the best times of my life during the summer season. It's only May, and our Idaho weather is so unpredictable, tomorrow may be gray and stormy. But tonight I got a little sneak peek of the sweet, sweet summer nights ahead.

If I hit the big one...

The big lottery, of course. The big payout. The massive buckaroonies, the cool millions. I suffer from major insomnia, and often when I am trying to sleep, I lay in bed and think about rolling in the dough. Instead of counting sheep, I become a designer. I close my eyes and picture a gigantic mansion with gleaming hardwood floors and huge bay windows and french doors. Then I go through each room and fill it with imaginary furnishings, beautiful wall hangings, luxurious rugs, and walk in closets full of designer shoes and handbags.

I don't look over any details, and I usually fall asleep in the middle of furnishing the den. Sometimes I make it usptairs to the bedrooms if it is a particularly rough night.

I know it sounds silly. But it works for me. And I am able to erase all the distractions and stresses out of my mind and focus on one thing.

Anyhoo, I love to fantasize about hitting the big payout. I recently watched a documentary on previous lottery winners who spent their way through their money in record speed. Most ended up with foreclosed homes, drug addictions, and animosity among family members.

But that would never happen to me! Upon collecting my check, I'd immediately set the vast majority of it aside. I'd get a trusted team of financial advisors and invest my money wisely. Put aside a large amount for my kiddos, money they won't be able to touch until graduating college, or at age 27. I'd also put aside money for my niece and nephew.

Move the hell out of this tiny apartment, get a beautiful house and furnish it just like I've imagined hundreds of times. Get a great car, a big beefy gas guzzling truck for Tony. Get some lipo, go on a shopping spree, buy some fun toys for the family. I'm sure I'd spend a good chunk, finally having a bit of fun. But then I'd stay here in small town Idaho, shop at Target, stalk the dollar store, and buy 2 for $5 flip flops at Old Navy. We'd have some great family vacations, and I'd finally be able to relax and enjoy staying at home without worrying about finances.

But more importantly...I think I'd have more kids. Yeah, my pregnancies suck, big time. But I just love my kids. And the main reason we aren't having more is financial. Children are God's great gifts, so miraculous and full of life. Kids keep us young! If for some reason I wasn't able to have more, or if the physical problems got worse, I'd either adopt or become a foster parent. There are so many kids out there who need a loving home, even if only briefly. I'd love to open my arms and doors to other children to show them love and affection. It would be hard to be a foster parent though, I get so emotionally attached, I'd have the hardest time letting go when the time came.

I love thinking about hitting it big. But I have to remember to keep myself grounded, and realistic. Odds are...it ain't gonna happen! But I still buy that one dollar ticket every Wednesday and Saturday. It's only 2 bucks a week. Eight dollars a month, $104 dollars a year. And if it takes me 10 years to win, I'll only have spent a grand on little pieces of paper!

Come on baby! Make me a winnah! Mama needs shoes, baby needs diapers!

What would you do with your millions?

BO-RING!

Man, today is a boring day. The hubby is out getting his fish on, Alivia is sleeping on my bed, Chloe is next to me watching the Berenstain Bears, and I am bored to tears. There is plenty to do of course, I need to get rid of half of Chloe's toys that she doesn't play with. I have an entire house to clean, and a laundry pile to work through. But I'm just having one of those days where I don't want to do anything but lay around.

Sigh. I need to get off my rear though and stop eating Pirate's Booty. That stuff is fantastic, but so addictive!

Bye Trash Boy! and other random musings

I was surfing the internet, looking through blogs. It's fun to look at someone's blog, then click on a linkie to one of their friend's blogs, then randomly click five or six more times until you get to an interesting looking one. It's like the six degrees of seperation (spelling?) only weirder.

I have come to the realization that there are some CRAZY ASS PEOPLE out there!

As I was perusing, Chloe yells "Bye Trash Boy!" Proper pronunciation would be closer to "Bye Chash bo-ee!" I had no idea what she was talking about until I saw she was watching Sesame Street, and Oscar the Grouch had just shut himself inside his garbage can. My little stinker is so smart! She also calls Play Dough "Squishies!" My other favorite words of hers are...

Pockels (popsicles)
Paw-kern (pop corn)
Chockit (chocolate)
Melmo (elmo)
Wain (rain)
Chish (fish)
Eh-tant (Elephant)
Bobber (water)
Jaf (giraffe)
Mo-mote (remote)
Kucker (sucker)
Keam (ice cream)
Gog (dog)

That's just a few. I love that half the time she says something people stare at her like she is speaking Swahili, but Mama knows just what she is saying!

Also, whenever you ask where something went she always says "Went home!" Even for the pee going down the toilet. :) Or if you ask where something is it is always "hidin!"

This girl keeps me laughing all day long. Half the time I am snorting coke all over the place. That would be DIET coke, and it is spewing OUT of my nose, not in! :) Speaking of Diet Coke, I'm loving the new Diet Coke Plus with vitamins and minerals. Tastes just like normal DC. Plus now I can justify my diet soda addictions since it is now perfectly healthy. *roll eyes*

In other news, I have a baby dinosaur in my house and she is shaking the walls with her ear splitting shreaks and squeals and yells and screams. She is SOOO noisy! But happy noisy.

In other randomness, can I just say that I am infatuated with the dollar store? Tony doesn't understand the fascination, it's all junk to him. But it's really the only place that I can go on a massive shopping spree and not damage the checkbook too badly. Plus I love our dollar store's gift section. You can buy gift bags, tissue paper, wrapping paper for, like, only a buck! :) It's genius!

And I usually stock up on a bunch of toys and books and flash cards and art supplies to store as bribery and gifts for Chloe. She doesn't know the difference between Crayola crayons, and the cheapie brand. They all write on the wall equally well!

The dollar store also had a ton of summer stuff out. So I stocked up on sidewalk chalk, frisbees, balls, bubbles galore, water guns, and even a hula hoop!

I had a heaping cart full, and it only costed me forty buckaroonies! Try that at Target!

SHUT UP!

Anyone catch CSI tonight?

I am a proud CSI geek! I've seen every episode, I swear! I thought Grissom was the miniature killer, and tonight's episode totally confirmed that!

And all of the spoilers say that Sara is going to get killed off in the season finale on the 17th. How can it be?????

This show just keeps me guessing all the time. I love love love it!

Man, my insomnia is out of control lately. Even though I had NO sleep last night, 1 AM is creeping up very quickly and I am wide awake!

Off to go lay in bed and stare at the ceiling for a few hours..........................Night!

A big scare today!

I was busy making Alivia a bottle and getting her a clean diaper. I turned around to find Chloe sitting on the kitchen floor with the bottle of 400 count Flinstone vitamins, and a full mouth. I had to pry open her mouth and sweep the vitamins out (she had at least 10 in there) without choking her! She was putting up a huge fuss too.

So as I am counting the vitamins in the bottle, I call poison control. Since the vitamins don't have added iron, there wasn't too much of a danger, unless she ate more than a hundred, according to the poison control specialist. Fortunately only 60 were gone, and I guessed we'd used about 30 before. So she probably ate about 20-30.

I have no idea why she did that. Or how she got the child proof cap off. She knows they are vitamins (she calls them bite-uns) and that she only gets one a day.

This is actually our fifth call into poison control. Last time she ate dishwasher soap. Yum!

So make sure ALL of your pill bottles are WAAAY up out of reach, locked up if you can. The little stinkers are surprising with how quick they can climb and pop off child proof tops.

And I think we should all write letters to vitamin companies persuading them to flavor their vitamins like spinach and stop making them look like candy! Maybe they wouldn't be so appealing to little hands!

Two year old play

I get such joy watching my toddler play. She is amazing in that she will entertain herself for HOURS without any adult prompting. I used to work with toddlers in a daycare, and it was rare that they would be content to play on their own for long periods of time.

The first two years of her life, her words were few and far between. She is starting to talk a lot more, but she really only talks when she is at home. She rarely talks in front of family members or strangers.

I love watching her when she doesn't know I am watching. I know I am a bit partial, but I think she is the most imaginative two year old in the world! She is so creative and funny!

The other day Chloe was in my bedroom and I snuck up to the door and was watching her. She was looking at herself in the full length mirror and this was her exact conversation..

"Hi me!"
"Bye me!"
(then she moved to the side so she couldn't see herself)
"Hey me, where doe?"
"Meeee? Are you???"
"Me hidin!"(moving back in front of the mirror)
"Oh hey me, der are!"

I couldn't hold it in anymore, I bursted out laughing so hard! She cracks me up! She also has the little people zoo, and a lot of little people's. The other day she was sitting on the floor with the giraffe and a little people boy. She was making a chomping noise and saying "No, no! No eat me!" "Giraffe (sounds like Jaf) eat boy, oh no! Boy yummy!"

And she likes to read books to herself, but it sounds like complete jibberish! She also has word books, with big pictures of stuff. On the food page she'll point to the apple and say "Dat nana (banana)? Noooooo!" then point to the grapes "Dat nana? Noooooo!" etc. Or on her animal book she points to the monkey and says "Mokey go woof woof? Nooooo! Mokey go meow? Nooooo!" And she cracks up at herself like she just told a joke.

She also entertains herself with the most random things. She'll play for a good twenty minutes with my deodorant, scooting it on the floor and saying "Go twain! Choo choo!" Or she'll set a penny on it and say "Money go ridin!" (which sounds a lot like Muh-wee doe widin!)

Watching her play, and hearing her giggle at herself brings me so much joy. She is so easy to entertain.

It seems like wherever you go, kids are whining about being bored. They have to bring their handheld video games to the doctor's office, because the ten minute wait is too long and painful. DVD players have become standard in new cars. There are hundreds of video games, movies, high tech toys, electronics..the list goes on and on. It seems as if all of these products are hitting the shelves faster than we can scoop them up for a pretty penny. Why are we so fascinated with things that keep US fascinated? Whatever happened with entertaining ourselves?

I remember playing car games when we went on road trips as a child. We would yell out the states from license plates, name things that we saw in alphabetical order, make lists and see if the next person could memorize them. We laughed a lot. We challenged each other mentally. We created memories. We didn't stare mindlessly at a TV screen, or put on headphones and tune each other out for the whole ride.

I also remember playing board games all of the time with my family. My dad was the Monopoly King, until we found out one day he had taped some 500 dollar Monopoly bills under the table and was dipping into the supply each time we played. But we got a great laugh out of that. We played card games, and NOT for money. We didn't spend every evening glued to the boob tube.

I think we need to go back to the basics. Forget about the high tech stuff. Take a big box, label it "Distractions" and throw in our computers, TVs, video games, headphones, cell phones, and movies. (It'd have to be a BIG box!) Sit down with our families and make up funny stories. Make dinner together, eat it together, wash dishes together. Go on hikes, go fishing, go on nature walks, go roller skating. Play hide and seek, blow the dust off of the old board games. Turn off the distracting TV shows and talk to each other. Find out what your seven year old wants to be when they grow up. Ask your little girl what she would do with a hundred dollars. Have your husband tell the kids about his favorite memory as a child.

I sometimes get a mini panic attack over the state of the country. Middle school children are getting pregnant, seven year olds are doing drugs, high schoolers are bringing guns to class. I don't know the exact statistics, but I bet most of those kids come from a home where the love and affection is hard to come by.

(cue cheesy music)

If we go back to the very root of family, being together, getting to know each other, open lines of communication, trust, compassion, helping each other out, and true, real, raw love, the world would be a better place.

I just don't understand why people have kids and don't make changes to their lifestyle. Having a kid changes everything (yeah, I made that up myself!).

(End cheesy music)

Sorry, went off on a tangent there. I'll climb off my soapbox now. The whole point of this post was to say that I supremely enjoy watching my two year old play and entertain herself. And I hope that as she grows up she will still have a passion for creative play, reading, and outdoor activities, rather than TV and computer games. (I say this as I am listening to music on my headphones, typing on the computer, and watching my TIVO'd shows out of the corner of my eye. *blush blush*. But hey, the kids are in bed at least!)