Cocktails on Me!

Every once in awhile I get the urge to organize my cupboards. This urge usually coincides with having my mother-in-law over or being in the nesting stage of pregnancy. However, the urge came rather spontaneously last weekend.
I love the feeling of getting rid of things. Plus there's that extra selfish feeling of service as you are giving all the stuff that is not good enough for your family to someone who will actually pay money for it at DI! However, in my euphoria of cleaning I made the mistake of consulting Hub on a matter. It was a crazy impulse--he is not in charge of the cupboards, I am! So why did I go to him? It probably came from someone telling me about an Oprah episode about including your husband in the day-to-day household items or some such similar Oprah-ish topic. So I blame any of you Oprah watchers on why Hub didn't let me put this in the DI pile:

the pineapple was my artistic touch, nice eh?

Yes, it is a wine cooler. It was a wedding gift from some funny friend. Or some not-so-funny friend. Or some old lady who was just trying to get rid of it herself. I don't know how we let it follow us for the last ten years as we've moved, but I know that we have never USED it. And barring any drastic changes of lifestyle will probably not use it for the next ten years. But upon asking Hub if it was alright to put it in the DI pile (maybe the Oprah episode was on not giving gifts away?) he said no! He thinks we will use it sometime! That it would be fun to have on hand! For what? All those nights we have a toast of champagne once the kids are in bed?
I didn't argue too much with him (probably another Oprah episode on keeping harmony in the home) and just silently dusted the box off and put it back in the back of the cupboard.

I guess if we were really fun we could just keep a bottle of Martinelli's chilled while we watch the kids in the sandbox? Or maybe just stock it full of juice boxes? Any better ideas?

So sorry, DI shoppers, you will have to wait awhile before this find makes it down aisle 9.

That Stingy Tooth Fairy

This is a lovely picture of my vampire, Mitchell. He bravely had 4 (FOUR) of his top teeth 'extracted'. Which is the expensive way of saying the dentist pulled them out with a pair of pliers like the kind you would find in your garage. But if you said it like that the dentist couldn't charge as much, I think.
Mitch's front teeth have not been pretty for awhile. Perhaps it was the fact that we let him sleep with a baby bottle full of root beer for the last five years. What's wrong with that?! Actually he just has crappy teeth. Pardon my French. He already has fillings on his back teeth and the dentist wanted to crown his front teeth but then we couldn't afford the next several decades of Christmas and opted to go for the gap tooth look. But that isn't the point of this post. Here is the point: How much moolah does the Tooth Fairy leave at your house?


As a young child I recall several Tooth Fairy deposits. And let me tell you that none of them consisted of anything over a dollar. They were usually just random coins TF probably found in the couch cushions. But did I mind?? No sirree! Money is money, right? So I have attempted to emulate that. Ike has lost 3 teeth thus far and each time received a nice variety of coins. And he's been OK with that. But now I hear from other kids and parents and the dentist how huge amounts of cash are being left on pillows. What if my kids get wind of how they are being discriminated against? That their teeth are worth less than other children's? (well, Mitch's probably are..)
And we did have the dilemma with Mitch having 4 teeth in one night. I hated to actually go over the dollar limit and even tried to persuade hub that the kids' math skills weren't at a level where they could divide by 4 and realize how little each tooth was getting. But thankfully for our children, he is a little more generous and convinced me to up the ante. The compromise was that we still used coins but Mitch got 2 gold dollars and a quarter.
Be honest. Am I too cheap? Or was I just really deprived as a child? Or is there a different amount for each tooth? And in case you were worried about my other children's dental health--Ike and Ethan have consistently cavity-free dental visits. They must not drink Root Beer at night.

The difference between boys and girls

This is what boys do on Sundays:

And yes, Ethan is wearing his bike helmet. He is a smart boy and knows that as the smallest one in the dogpile he is most likely to be injured.

And this is what girls do on Sundays:

Noelle is so righteous that she even keeps her reading material Sunday appropriate.

And this is where I want to be on Sundays:

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My first tag! 49 Things You Didn't Care to Know About Me

This breaks my #1 rule about blogging---no long entries! But it will not be me who breaks the chain-letter mentality of tagging. And I'm OK if my mom is the only one who is still reading by #49.

1. What time did you get up this morning? I'm slightly embarrassed to say 7:30. Hey, I've pulled enough all nighters and am sure to pull in more. We're just going through a good phase right now.
2. What was the last movie you saw? 15 minutes of Hitch when it was on TV last week. Kevin James is so dreamy. Does that count as a movie if it's on TV?
3. Where is the most beautiful place you've ever been? I love the expansiveness of the ocean
4. What do you usually have for breakfast? Honey Bunches of Oats if it was on sale recently
5. What is your favorite food? fresh rolls, string cheese and Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix
6. What food do you dislike? Do you have awhile? I've been known to be pretty picky. Generally don't like any green vegetable, or brown vegetable, or brightly colored vegetable or cream cheese desserts, or sausage, or any food with beans in it, or curry dishes or........
7. What is your favorite CD lately?I Like lots of different songs by lots of different groups. Except country ones. Don't do country.
9. What characteristics do you despise? Evilness
10. Favorite item of clothing? My black patterned tights. Makes me feel like a schoolgirl again
11. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? China
12. What color is your bathroom? Navy, cream and cluttered
13. Favorite brand of clothing? Chanel, D&G, Marc Jacobs, who am I kidding? I don't buy anything over 20 bucks.
14. What was your most memorable birthday? the one where hub surprised me with plane ticket to NY
15. Favorite sport to watch? football in the stadium, tennis, my kids playing soccer and T-ball
16. Favorite saying? 'That is not appropriate.' Not really my favorite, but I say it about 98 times a day.
18. Pets? The ones that don't shed, urinate, eat, require attention or die. If you know what this is let me know so I can get one for my kids.
19. What did you want to be when you were little? Nancy Drew
20. What are you today? freezing
21. What is your favorite candy? sour watermelons
22. What is your favorite flower? Daisies--simple and sweet just like me
23. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Last day of school and conversely the first day of school
24. What are you listening to right now? Some awesome sound effects of ninjas and spaceships and power rangers (involving lots of spittle) provided by my 5-year-old
25. What was the last thing you ate? string cheese
26. Do you believe in Angels? Don't you?
27. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? brick red
28. Pet Peeves? loud eaters, finger lickers, loud talkers in public places, the cost of food at the movie theatres, fake laughter. And I'd best stop.
30. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Steph
31. Do you like the person who sent you this? Most of the time
32. Favorite soft drink? Mt. Dew--it makes me be a better mom
34. Favorite restaurant? China Lily
36. What was your favorite toy as a child? I did love my Kimberly the Cheerleader doll
37. Summer or Winter? summer
38. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs
39. Chocolate or vanilla? such a silly question. Only boring people would say vanilla. Sorry hub.
40. What is under your bed? monsters
41. When was the last time you cried? Since I'm not pregnant and nobody has died--I can't remember.
42. Who is the friend you've had the longest? Andrea would get mad if I didn't say her, but lots of my friends I've known since Sunbeam days
43. What did you do last night for dinner? Made Grandma's enchilada casserole for the 5th time this month
44. Favorite smell? Anything lemon fresh
45. What are you most afraid of? Pain and people hiding in my house. Not good people, bad people. But I don't want good people hiding either.
46. Favorite day of the week? Any night after 8 pm
47. How many towns have you lived in? Three--all in the same county. I know I get around.
48. Do you make friend easily? Making friends is the easy part. It's keeping them that's hard.
49. Are you happy? Maniacally so!

That was it. Except somehow I just noticed #35 got lost in translation. I'm sure we'll find a way to survive. As far as tagging next, I haven't checked anyone's archives recently enough to know if you've been tortured by this same list lately. So I'll say Cold Cocoa, Rhonda, Renee, Summer and JW. I think that pretty much covers my blogging list. I need to find some more blogging friends.....

A post about Gary Coleman because he lives in Utah now

In the middle of January I noticed a very strange ad in our local paper. And by local paper, I mean the local local paper. The paper that has a total of two people working there and will print anything you want them to---like a picture of Grandma's quilt or a piece mom submitted about Jr.'s third place ribbon in the school science fair. So imagine my surprise to see a picture of GARY COLEMAN in the ads! And not just Gary----his WIFE too! Who knew he was married?

Anyway, he and his wife were inviting me (maybe not personally, but since I think I might be the only one who looks at those ads I'll treat it as such) to check out their boutique of 'holiday items'. Even better, this was no storefront on Rodeo Drive. They sell from their garage! In Santaquin, Utah! How exciting it would be to go to Gary Coleman's garage and buy holiday items. However, two things held me back. The first being it was not a holiday season and I cannot buy things 11 months in advance. The other thing was that I am afraid of Gary Coleman. He is not the Arnold of my youth. He gets in fights with people. He gets really mad if people say, 'What you talking about Willis?" So I won't go to his boutique in his garage. But I really wish somebody more brave than I would go and tell me all about it.

Tic-Tac-Toe

Maybe it's because I am one of those hip 'green' moms who teach their children about recycling and conserving resources. Or maybe it's because Isaac is slightly strange. But lately he has been on a tic-tac-toe binge and will try to play the game on any unconventional surface he can find.

Often, as I am just getting into a great op-ed piece in the paper, he will have defaced the very page I'm reading.

Then, there was the box of Kleenex, which was a challenging surface and therefore made the game more exciting.

And for all those boring dinnertime conversations he can always talk Mitch into a round or two.

But hands down, the most creative place I've seen him play was on Noelle. Poor girl didn't know what hit her..........

Kitchen Duty

I don't enjoy hanging out in the kitchen. I like to eat, don't get me wrong, but not when it's me putting in all the effort. But since I am a proud Mormon it is my duty to serve by baking/cooking. New babes, new neighbors, sick friends---it doesn't matter. We show our love by slavin' by the stove. Throw on top of that hub's Birthday and his professed love of my chicken enchiladas (really not that rave-worthy, trust me) I have spent too much time creating this:

And as a result my house looks like this:

And lest you think I actually cooked anybody a turkey dinner, of course not! My own dishes weren't pretty enough to photograph so I had to steal some pix from the web. One day when my taste buds are feeling really grown up I will buy seasonings in addition to the ones that say 'salt' and 'pepper' and 'Italian Seasoning' and serve up a dish that tastes exotic and looks pretty too.

Our Monkey Ancestors

I swear my boys need their hair cut every week in the winter. I finally have reached the scientific conclusion that their bodies are simply not that far removed from our animal cousins (their wild behaviors have been proof of this for awhile). I shouldn't complain that their bodies are just going into survival mode of retaining head heat. The evidence of this is much worse in the morning as you can see from these glamour shots:

Ethan is by far the winner of the Biggest Hair contest.

I wish they could wear hats to school.

And goofy Mitch always knows when a camera is on him.

Thank goodness spring is around the corner and with it shearing season.

BYE BYE MITT!

What an exciting week of political events. I had the privilege of being a poll worker on Super Tuesday. I can't completely call it service since I did get a paycheck, but as it turns out to be about $5.55 per hour, I think I'll still refer to it as service.

I made some great new friends over the age of 70 and saw a wide range of political interests. Some voters were very testy with having to affiliate with the Republican party to vote on the Republican ticket (Utah primary election rules). Some voters don't bathe as often as other voters. Some voters had not been citizens for very long. Lots of voters had to wait in line for a long time. No matter the age, gender, birth nationality, or economic bracket everyone who voted became united as citizens of a free nation. Isn't that wonderful?

Enough of that. After garnering a 90% from Utahns, Mitt announced the 'suspension' of his candidacy today. Bummer.

And on the way home from the polls I was driving on a flat tire and decided to just get home faster instead of stopping to assess the damage or pretend to change it. Kudos to hubby for staying home all day with the kids and double kudos for not freaking out when he saw the shredded tire on our car. And shame on me for not being a good enough blogger to take a picture of my fellow poll workers Rex, Thora, Norma and Linda (the names alone indicate age, don't they?) and of the tire that is no more.

Misc. Monday

My use of terms of endearment are fairly limited. I refer to my children with lots of tender nicknames like 'sweetie' and 'muffin' and 'chicken nugget'. That last one may not sound so tender but it is said with lots of love. My husband will occasionally be the recipient of other sweet nicknames that I'd better not say. However, it pretty much stops there. I don't call my friends and extended family by sugary names. So I'm always surprised when complete strangers will call me hon'. "Here's your receipt, hon'" or "Thanks for coming in, hon'." And where does that leave me? It's just like the feeling of rejection when you say you love someone and you're answered with silence. You have to return an endearment with another endearment! So I have to say, "Thank you, chicken nugget, for your excellent bagging skills." OK, I've never said that but it seems like I should.

I know there are worse things to complain about and maybe the world would be a better place if we started treating everyone like a cutie-pie. Maybe the auto mechanic would respond better to complaints of your high bill if you started off the conversation with, "Sweet buns, I didn't authorize you to flush the fluids.." But it's just not for me. If I didn't birth you then I feel no urge to bestow upon you the status of chicken nugget!

And on a completely different track: Will you please tell me why someone put a pen in the sippy cup of milk?