I'm hungry. Do you have any cake?

The 9-month sickness

2008-04-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

I have been away for awhile. Yes. I have a good reason. Jason calls it "the 9-month sickness," and he ain't exaggerating too much. I am pregnant. I am sick. Very sick.

All this said, we are very happy. Or at least Jason is. I will be happy when I am not so sick anymore. Posts may be fewer and farther between for another month or two; usually by about 20 weeks I feel pretty good. And I usually want to sit down a lot, which is conducive to blogging.

Don't worry, I already have stories cataloged to write once I get back in the grove=)

Crocs

2008-03-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

I have been debating buying Crocs for myself for quite a while. (I'm talking real Crocs here) My mom swears by them, I believe she has them in every color. The girls each have a pair, Jason has a pair, and they all LOVE them. It's hard to get Brooke to wear anything else.

Finally, after about 8 months of going back and forth I found some on the website that I liked. I don't know if y'all know this, but there are so many more styles than just the traditional holey crocs. I'm not really a fan of that style anyway.

Here they are:

All I have to say is that I wish I had gotten them 8 moths ago. I justify the cost because I think these are the only shoes I will wear this summer.

The Wine Rack Continued....

2008-03-06T11:45:00.001-08:00

As per request.....

Watch out rogue dogs, watch out!

The Wine Rack

2008-03-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know this is a little late (like two weeks) but I will finally tell the story of 'The Wine Rack.'

So, we finally got a shelf that is a multi-functional wine rack. Well, multi-functional may be stretching it a bit. It is big enough to hold the stash of alcohol, all two bottles of it, but most important it holds all the wine, beer, and cordial glasses in our house. It is made of dark wood, has a couple shelves, and actually looks very elegant.

So guess what is on top of our oh-so-elegant wine rack? An air rifle.

(A gun people, a gun)

Sophistication meets Dade County. We truly belong here now.

Coming soon...

2008-02-18T19:44:00.000-08:00

Sophistication meets Dade County. Wednesday on....I'm Hungry. Do you have any cake?

The Flu

2008-02-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

It is horrible. The Flu. I am seriously re-thinking my whole "the flu shot is worthless" attitude. I didn't even REALLY have it. Two in my household did. I have remnants of it, and Brooke, as far as I know, didn't have any of it.

One word:Tamiflu. It must work. Two of us tested positive for the Flu. Some of us were on Tamiflu, some not, and the ones who weren't got the whole shebang, fever, chills, headache, cough, tiredness, etc. The person who happened to get it NEVER gets sick. I mean like this was the sickness for a couple years.

So to sum up: The Flu sucks, get Tamiflu if you have been exposed, and get the Flu shot if you want to prevent it.

And that's what I have to say about that.

Ugh

2008-02-14T17:03:00.001-08:00

I ate way too much today. Most of it chocolate. Anyone else?

Principles and Methods

2008-02-12T17:23:00.000-08:00

As a preface, reading this post by my friend would be helpful. Realization

(Before I really start, these things aren't a criticism against the post referenced above, just about the the discussion in general. Also, the example is not about anyone who reads this blog, so ITS NOT YOU!)

As to the discussion of Principles vs Methods. I think others have plenty to say about this topic, and if you have finished the post above then we can continue.

I think the whole principle/method discussion thing is very interesting. The underlying supposition is that even if the methods are different, the principles are still observed (hence, feeding the children. They must be fed, yet we all go about it differently.)

I think some things are overlooked in this particular discussion. People get so wrapped up in defending their methods that they often lose sight of the Principles.

For my example we look at Discipline in terms of the Principle: Obeying.

(I'm not proposing to be an expert, just stating what I have had experience with.)

Parents have plenty of different strategies for discipline. Some parents discipline more, some less. Our overall method is very much different from our close friends, but in the end, our children (by the grace of God) often come out with the same principles.

Methods can be different as long as the outcome is the same. Let me repeat that:

Methods can be different as long as the outcome is the same.

What I am concerned with is when the parents defend their method as being different, yet claim that the principle is the same, when the principle is not even remotely being followed. Confused yet? Here is an example:

Once we were visiting someone's house with another family. It was made clear to a certain child from the other family (I think this child was around 2) that the kitchen was off limits due to the fact of overcrowding and the oven frequently being opened. This child repeatedly ran into the kitchen. The first time the parent scolded the child, removed him, and repeated that the kitchen was 'NO' (from experience, I know for a fact that this child knew what NO meant)

This happened over and over. At least 6 or 7 times. Each time the parent picked the child up, repeated the instructions, and less than 2 minutes later, that child was right back there again. The child was choosing not to listen to the parent, and directly disobeying what he was being told.

Later that night, my husband confronted the father (by confront I mean he casually asked what happened, why the child wasn't disciplined for not obeying) and the father, while he didn't take offense, basically said "just because our method is different than yours doesn't mean it is wrong."

Now, here is my problem with the situation. The method WAS wrong because the principle wasn't being followed.

Principle: Obeying.

Let me be clear, the method was not wrong just because it was different than what we might have done.

If the child had stopped running into the kitchen after the first time or even the second, we would have not mentioned the method at all. If the principle had been followed, the method would have been a moot point.

As long as the children obey, each set of parents get there differently, and each child has different flexibility than another. Some need strict discipline, and some get the idea with just a stern look. I have two of such in my own family.

However, in the example case, the method wasn't working to promote the principle

By approaching the parent, we were not actually disagreeing with the method, but reminding them of the principle. Children need to heed their parents word. Especially given the situation:

1. They were in someone else's house
2. The host specifically asked that the child be kept out of the kitchen

We were simply trying to remind the parent that by allowing their child to not obey, they WERE in fact being inconsistent. Something should have been done about the child's repeated entering the kitchen. Let me repeat the mantra of my post

Methods can be different as long as the outcome is the same.

In this case, the outcome needed to be that the child was kept out of the kitchen. The method should have been adjusted to make sure that the principle (obeying) was in fact being promoted. To me, adjusting your method when it is not working is the definition of flexibility.

Fortunately, we have plenty of Biblical guidelines for principles, and a lot for methods too. Every single situation is not addressed, and therefore that is why parenting often looks so different. However we do need to keep in mind the principles we HAVE been given. We can't rearrange our principles to fit our methods. It MUST be the other way around.

One of those days..............

2008-02-07T06:41:00.000-08:00

I bought 3 dozen doughnuts at WalMart Yesterday.

Not just Glazed.

Not just chocolate.

Oh yes, glazed doughnuts with chocolate icing.

To tell the truth, I had a plan for each one of them. One dozen went to school with my daughter today. I'm sure the teacher appreciated that. Can we say: Sugar High?

The rest were supposed to go with my husband to work today. To be fair, some made it. I got some lovely 'i love you's' from the guys my husband works with. Totally platonic of course.

The rest were, shall we say...............waylaid.

I think 18 doughnuts of the 24 made it. One was eaten by my daughter.

The rest...........well..............let's just say I will be working out extra today =)

Taxes

2008-02-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, whose taxes are done already?

Mine are effectively in the hands of my accountant. Yes, we have an accountant. We got complicated a few years ago due to business, rentals, children, buying selling property, you know..... complicated. Turbo tax ain't cuttin it anymore.

If I had Turbo Tax however, the taxes would have been submitted about 4 hours after we received the last W2. If you aren't complicated, use it, it works.

Self Medicating

2008-01-31T14:39:00.000-08:00

One piece of advice: Don't Do It!

Or in my case, decide yourself not to do it.

I had been on a particular medicine for my thyroid for about 2 years. It is a pretty small dose, and so I decided about 2 months ago that I didn't need it anymore. It does cost money every month. Why should we spend that $10 on medicine when I could go to Subway or something?

It seems like a harmless idea, yet with so many bad consequences.

Lately I have been gaining weight, feeling tired, and having headaches, among other things. I finally decided to go to the doctor today because the tips of my fingers have been going numb at random intervals.

It's all connected to the 50 micrograms of medicine I am not taking anymore.

As of today, I am back on the medicine.

I'll still go to Subway =)

The six year old

2008-01-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

I realized today that my six year old is smarter than I am. Not in everything, she can't run Quickbooks or anything. Come to think of it, she might could now that I think of it. I've just never let her try.

Anyway, back on topic here, she is learning quite a lot at school these days. I was talking to her yesterday and she says out of the blue, "Hey mom, did you know we conjugate Latin in opening exercises? Amo Amas Aman Amamos Amantis Amant. At least I think that's what she said, I don't actually know Latin. She then proceeded to conjugate 4 or 5 other verbs and ended saying "we say more but I can't remember them right now."

I'm thinking: 'Is she kidding? I don't even remember the ones she just conjugated 5 seconds ago.'
But of course I say, "That's great honey. Keep practicing."

It's not just Latin.

She dissected an english sentence the other day. Now, english just may have been my weakest subject in school, but she's 6 people. Can she really know more than me in this subject too?

Oh Yes. The answer is resoundingly Yes.

The Sentence: The small puppy ran fast in the sun.

The breakdown. From the 6 uear old.

"The small puppy ran fast in the sun.
Who or What ran fast? The puppy. Subject noun SN.
The puppy did what? Ran. Verb V.
How did the puppy run? Fast. Adverb. AV.
What describes the puppy? Small. Adjective. ADJ.
Where did the puppy run? In the sun. In. Preposition prep. Sun. Object of the Preposition. OP.
The. Article Adjective. A.
The small puppy ran fast in the sun. Declaritive. Period.

At least I think that is what she said. Do you know what's really sad? I had to use her homework to re-create this blog post.

WalMart woes

2008-01-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

So I went to WalMart today. Saturday.

Big Mistake.

I am a capitalist. Therefore, I am generally not one of the "WalMart Haters." You know, the ones who say WalMart is everything that is wrong with America because it is putting the little guy out of business. I believe that if people really wanted to shop somewhere else, they would. Sam Walton isn't holding a gun to anyone's head (that I am aware of, I don't actually know him.) I have had the "WalMart-is-satan-incarnate" discussion with people that say in the very next breath "but you know, its cheaper, so I just ran in to get a few things." ?????????????? I tell you what, that's standing up for what you believe in.

Anyway, I drift away from the main point. What was it again? Oh yeah.....

So I pull into the parking lot. I think I count a bizillion cars, only 152 of which are parked. The others are driving slowly down each and every lane. I assume that this is so they can get the parking spot that requires a 5 foot walk to the door. Never mind that the store itself is two football fields long.

Being one of those people who doesn't mind walking (let's burn the cookie off I had last night) I hurry into the store. Oh, I forgot to mention I was in a hurry.

BIG BIG mistake. Never go to WalMart if you are in a hurry. On Saturday.

I think that everyone in Chattanooga was inside that store (except the people searching for parking spots of course) So I hurry off to find my 4 list items. They were all in the same general section.

25 minutes later.....(seriously) I am standing at the checkout. People really need to learn what "get the he** out of my way" means. (Ha ha, I of course would never say that, it is an old Friends flashback......that I would remember....if I watched that show....which of course I don't. =)

20 minutes after that.....(really, I'm not joking) I am checking out. It didn't help that they only had 3 checkout lanes open. Why is it that when I am in there at 10 am on Wednesday every freaking checkout is open? It must be one of those oddities of nature.

Finally, nearly 1 hour after entering the store, for 4 items remember, I am finished. I actually felt like I needed a nap.

I am currently rehashing my decision about not hating WalMart. But you know, it is cheaper.....

Dogs

2008-01-18T06:14:00.000-08:00

WARNING: Don't read this is if you are eating, I will get a bit graphic.

Let's talk about dogs for a few minutes. I like dogs as well as the next girl. Wait, scratch that. I like well behaved dogs as much as the next girl. I am particularly attracted to the smallish, yap dogs because, well, they are not scary. The most they can do is bite your ankle. There is absolutely no chance of a chihuahua mauling you to death. It just doesn't happen.

For those of you out there who have big dogs, that is great. On your own property, I don't really care if your dog is as big as a horse and as mean as an angry pitbull. The problem comes when your dog leaves your property and gets onto my property. Huge problem.

We own a little over 3 acres in a semi-populated area. For some reason, the neighborhood dogs seem to congregate on our property.

We have talked to the owners, pleaded with the owners, and have generally been diplomatic about it. Until now.

The dogs frequently get into our trash; that we can handle. What we can't handle is them tearing our two ducks to pieces. Literally. Like we found the pieces, in a direct path to the house of the "non-violent" dogs.

From now on our property is "NO DOGS ALLOWED." Any dog who violates this will be swiftly taken care of. You know what I mean. If you know dog sign-language, please let them know.

For any bleeding hearts out there, I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I'm really not. We are just protecting our property, and making sure our children are safe, not in pieces.

Children or dogs.

Doesn't seem that hard of a choice when you put it like that, does it.

(Don't worry, the next post will be much lighter in nature=)

I'm My Own Grandpa

2008-01-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

I laughed for quite a long time. It helps if you live in rural Georgia. Things like this are actually commonplace. It also refers back to one of my very first posts entitled 'Dade County'.

The Silver Lining

2008-01-11T17:41:00.001-08:00

So I took the christmas tree down yesterday. Translation: I drug the 7ft tall christmas tree outside on the porch while still in the base. There it sits waiting for someone masculine to do something about it.

The kids were a bit sad. Then I had a GENIUS idea. (When you are a mom, genius ideas come about all the time because that is how you survive. Plus, looking like a genius to a 6 year old is much easier than, say, to a 20 year old.)

To lead up to my genius idea, I had to give the bad news first. I told the kids we had to burn the Christmas tree.

Very quickly I exclaimed "But guess what!" in a high sing-songy type voice .

(mom's also find that using the high sing-songy type voice can make anything more interesting to a 3 year old)

So here it comes....

"When we burn the Christmas Tree," I said, "we can roast marshmallows and have S'MORES"!!!!!

What were we talking about again????? A tree of some sort??? All I heard was S'MORES.

Brooke and the Prince Part II

2008-01-11T17:27:00.001-08:00

It started with one...

....and now she has a crowd!!! No Barbie in this house ever has to go to the ball alone!

Brooke and The Prince

2008-01-09T16:52:00.001-08:00

Background:

Brooke is a normal, 3 year old child. She runs, swings, plays etc. She does, however, have an interesting choice of favorite toys. She is frequently to be seen carrying around a prince doll. You know, like Cinderella and the Prince? Well, it is her absolute favorite. Don't get me wrong, she likes the princesses just as much as the next girl, but given the choice between say a Barbie, and a Ken, she will choose the Ken doll 100% of the time.

Story:

We went to Disney the second week of December 2007. On Brooke's birthday, we decided to go a dinner where Cinderella makes an appearance. Little did we know that *GASP* the prince would also be in attendance. I think the picture says everything.

Finally!!!

2008-01-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

I've had some requests to begin blogging again. In deference to my numerous fans, I will comply. Yep, thats it for this one =)

What kind of Candy am I

2007-11-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Very popular, one of you is not enough.

What Kind of Candy Are You?

Funny enough, this is my favorite candy!!!

Just so Trendy

2007-10-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had the feeling that you are just so Trendy that no one even knows you are Trendy? I'll explain.

Last spring I bought one of those 3/4 sleeve coats (sort of like a cape, but with one button at the top) that I had seen on some TV show. FYI, clothes trends you see on TV take about 6 to 18 months to filter down to the public, except in CA because the Stars just take home the clothes they wear on TV.

I wore it last spring, and people kind of looked at me funny. Georgia is not exactly on the cutting edge of fashion. I wore it the other day and got literally 3 compliments on it. I also saw said coats in every store I walked into. In every color.

The same thing happened to me with Capri pants. In 1999, I was looking EVERYWHERE for a pair of capri pants I had seen on TV. I only found them one place, The Limited, and in two colors. The following summer they were the hottest trend. Every store, every color, every length.

ALso happened to me with High Boots and Birkenstocks

Hence, I am so Trendy that no one even knows I'm Trendy. I think that actually means that I look stupid to others until the trend actually filters through.

Stupid or Trendy. It's a fine line =)

October 26th Newsflash : 2 year old goes drinking at at local Restaurant

2007-10-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, before you judge me, read the story. It's actually hilarious since no harm was done.

I think Jason and I both had an out-of-reality experience last night. We had been out shopping for, among other things, metal cookie cutters (do they make these, people? Couldn't fine a one. Maybe they are a myth.) We got done around 9pm, and Jason goes:

"Hey, let's go to the restaurant for a drink and appetizers."

Keep in mind we have a 5 and a 2 year old whose regular bedtime is 8:30pm. My response:

"Sure."

The temporary insanity has set in already. A) we have no money. B) we have two children nearing the expiration point. C) Re-read A and B. It's enough.

SO we get to the restaurant, and we decide to order Shirley Temples for the girls, rationizing that it will keep them occupied while we try to eat something. For those of you who don't know, Shirley Temples are Sprite and some sort of red flavoring. This is a real treat, especially for Brooke, cause I think she has had pop about 2 times in her life ("It's Spicy," she says)

I decide to get a mommy drink: A Wild Night Out. Tequila, cranberry juice and various other flavorings and alcohol. It was great, and I didn't mind that it was a strong drink because I actually like the taste of Tequila. Brooke, it seems, does not. You'll understand in a minute.

So, at some point, Brooke decides to sit on my lap. My drink is now sitting in front of her. In her defense, it was the same color as hers, and in a similar glass. It didn't have the carbonation bubbles, but you know, she's two, not Einstein.

She grabs for the glass and all I see is Jason mounthing "NO" and grabbing it from her. She literally had it for less than a second. At first I thought he got it in time, but no, her face crumbled and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Mommy, my drink tastes yucky." She sobbed. I comforted. I'm actually glad she hated it. Maybe that will last til she's like 25.

I'm also glad Jason was on the ball. I obviously had too much of our "wild night out" to notice the tiny little thing of our 2 year old drinking tequila. We actually didn't even leave the restaurant until 11pm. We were all expired by that point.

Today I said to Jason "Last night we were 'those people'."

"What people?" he asked.

I said: "The people we used to judge when we were out on a date at 11pm and our children were home asleep with a babysitter. You remember, we would say 'why in the world are those children not in bed?' Last night, were were those people."

Everything comes full circle folks, everything comes full circle.

Crazy Busy

2007-10-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

WE have been crazy busy these last couple of weeks. In addition to being sick, I have been working about 30 hours a week, for the record that is 20 hours a week more than usual.

Let's talk about how it is only October, and we have already had all the winter sicknesses. Here is the low down:

9/20 - Jordan 104 fever for 4 days. Never found out why

9/21 - Kalyndra fever for 3 days. Felt like the real flu.

Same day - Kalyndra comes down with Poison Ivy (or oak or sumac, whatever)

One week later - Poison Ivy has now taken over Kalyndra's body. Didn't know it could get in your blood stream. THis only happens to a very small percentage of people. Kalyndra is put on 12 days of steroids.

2 days later - Jordan gets stomach flu. Doesn't go away for 4 days.

10/16 - Kalyndra gets stomach flu. Throws up on and off for pretty much 6 days.

10/18 - Brooke gets a bad cold and goes 3 night without sleep. Translation: Kalyndra also goes 3 days with out sleep.

10/23 - Everyone is FINALLY well, over a month after it began.

Hopefully we are done with the sickness for the winter. Somehow I think it is just beginning.

Chuck

2007-10-06T18:36:00.001-07:00

I am currently at home watching the new show Chuck. It is on ABC at 8pm on Monday's, and apparerntly re-runs Saturday's at 9. I am giving free advertisment because the show is GREAT. It is as funny as The Office, and if you don't like The Office, I shun you.

Another GREAT show is 30 Rock. Alec Baldwin is hilarious and the story lines are so outrageous.

By reading this post, I bet some of you are thinking "how much TV does this chick watch? Answer: the shows I've mentioned in this blog. That's it. We literally get five stations, so there isn't much choice.

And to all of you who are laughing that I am watching TV on Saturday night, I say....well....ok....I am a loser =-) But I did have yummy Blue Moon Beer and Oreos. (It's a better combination than one would think, and I am one).

AGAIN

2007-09-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

Reading the previous post will help you understand this little story.

Ok, I am totally serious when I say that the printer problem is back, with a vengence.

After shipping two useless printers back to HP a week and a half ago, the new one seemed to be working pretty nicely. There was the delay time on the faxing, but that cleared up with about 3 tests.

Now, the printer has an incurable paper jam. Every time I print something, I get the old "paper jam" message. When I take the time to open up the back to check, there is, of course, no paper jam. However, removing the back panel seemed to be triggering the anit-paper-jam sensor, and fixed the problem.

Until the other day.

My boss was waiting for an important fax about a job he was doing, you know, the time-sensitive type, and couldn't get the printer to work because of - guess what? - a paper jam. It didn't fix itself this time. The fax was not printed until about 2 days later. Not a good situation.

Long story longer, I will now be on the phone all day Tuesday trying to get them to give us a refund on the endless stream of non-working printers.

LOL! I wish =(

Customer Service

2007-09-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know why businesses have customer service phone numbers. They are completely useless. To get anything done, you have to ask for the manager, and then that person's manager, so maybe they should just give out THAT direct line. Save me some time people. Example:

Our printer has not been able to send faxes for about 2 months. After contacting Customer MalService about 4 times, they decided it was a hardware problem and they would replace the thing. They sent out a new one that actually arrived before they said it would. I was shocked.

So I come into the office this morning, and the new printer has arrived. I follow the instructions perfectly and, guess what, it doesn't work. It doesn't print, copy, scan or receive faxes. Huh, I believe it is even more useless than the first one. Oh, but to complete the irony, it CAN in fact send faxes.

After 2 hours on the phone, the third technician I talked to decided that we had ANOTHER defective printer. 1 in 10,000 are defective and we got two. Odds anyone?

So, to sum up, I now have two defective printers in my office with a third on the way. One won't fax, but will print, scan and copy. The other won't print, scan or copy, but will send faxes.

I am not making this up, I swear. This actually is my life.

Moms Work Too

2007-08-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

You know, I should probably be over this by now, but I'm not and I'll just let you all know it. I HATE when people hear that I am a stay at home mom and I get the 'oh-what-do-you-do-with-yourself-all-day' look. Example:

7:30 am Lowe's calls to tell me that they will NOT be delivering our rental house
appliances this morning. Cross that off the list
7:45 am Add 4 more phone calls to the list to re-schedule everything so they can
deliver them tomorrow
8:00 am Pay bills
8:30 am Children wake up
8:35 am Get children dressed and make breakfast
9 am Take shower
10:30 am Leave for errands
11 am Drop off tuition at church
11:15am Drop off Ballet tuition
11:30 am Post office to buy stamps and mail about 15 bills.
11:45 am Bank to deposit money to pay for above three items
12:30 am WalMart - while sounding like one task, it is actually 4 - Grocery
shopping, Mean mom (SIT DOWN OBEY), accountant (making sure we don't go one
penny over grocery budget, and avoiding all the "lookers"(if you have ever
been to WalMart in the south, you know who I am talking about, the ones who
go to WalMart to walk up and down every aisle at 1/3 the speed of a normal
human)
1:39 exactly. Back in car to drive home
2:20 pm Get home, unload groceries-in the rain by the way
2:30 pm Get lunch
3:00 pm Do 3 loads of laundry - this acutally doesn't get fully accomplished until
10:30 pm
3:30 pm Workout - cause stay at home moms don't just eat bon-bons all day
4:00 pm Make 4 phone calls regarding our Disney Vacation (think December people,
stuff was already booked up. Craziness)
5:30pm Start dinner; luckily Jason is going to be late
5:45 pm Comfort child who wakes up crying; get snacks
6:15 pm Laundry again
6:45pm Go to gym to workout more
7-8pm Workout like crazy. Got to lose the last 5 pounds.
8:15pm Clean up from dinner
8:45pm Fold 2nd load of Laundry
9:30pm Pay rest of bills and order ballet uniform online
10:15pm Finish Laundry
11pm GO TO BED

I believe the only time I sat down this particular day was driving the car, and when I got online around, oh, 10pm. Just FYI, this day was considered "normal" in the grand scope of days in general. Just wait until I post a schedule of my crazy days.

GO MOM'S! Hardest job there is!

Sometimes Girls Just Need....

2007-08-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

...to have a tea party.

In my defense, I only had about 20 minutes of lead time to find proper tea food

What kind of Breakfast I am.

2007-08-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

You Are Cereal

Playful and lighthearted, breakfast is likely your favorite meal of the day.(In fact, you're probably the type who sneaks cereal as a midnight snack.)Your culinary skills are probably a bit lacking... and you are a sucker for junk food.Some people accuse you of eating like a kid, but you prefer to think of yourself as low maintenance.

What Kind of Breakfast Are You?

I beg to differ on the culinary comment....everything else is shockingly accurate.

The Dexter Bakery

2007-08-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

I'm starting with a funny vacation story about me because I don't want everyone to think I am picking on the rest of my family. Those stories will come later.

For all of you who live in the south, you are missing out on something very important. Great Bakeries! (and no, Krispy Kreme doesn't count) . The bakeries up North, I have to admit, are awesome. Almost every small town has one, and because they are family owned they are all different.

My favorite happens to be the Dexter Bakery in Dexter, MI. Maybe I am partial seeing as how it is the town where I went to school, but I believe it to be the best bakery I have ever eaten at. They have every pastry you could imagine, but it gets better. They also have these soft pretzels that are to DIE for. They have pretzel sticks (about 1 1/2" wide by about 10" long.) which are my favorite, but they also have the cheese filled variety, which are also my favorite.

The following story is told in the third person simply because it is funnier that way.

So one morning on vacation Kalyndra gets up (around 10am, because monther let her sleep in) and says "Hey, lets go to the bakery today." Knowing that bakery foods are pretty high in calories, Kalyndra decides to exercise first. So she rides her bike for about 9 miles. She was done by 10:45 or so.

Since Kalyndra was going to the bakery, she decided to save up all her calorie eating glory for bakery food and not eat breakfast after the bike ride.

Kalyndra, mom, and the girls finally left the house around 12pm. You wouldn't think it takes that long to get two little girls ready to go, but it does. Between going potty, finding shoes (who would think a flip flop could end up in the birdfeeder 5ft off the ground) picking out one toy to take in the car, and getting buckled in, Kalyndra thought they might never get there.

Finally, everyone is on the way to the bakery. It is then that mom says, "Hey I want to get my haricut today. Let's swing by on the way. We can even get the girls hair trimmed too!"

Now Kalyndra is torn. Kalyndra wants the girl's haircut done by a professional, because, let's face it, Kalyndra is lousy at cutting hair. However, Kalyndra has also been up 3 hours and expended calories on a bike ride. She is starting to get hungry. Let's just say that Mom wins.

After the three haricuts, which look very nice but also took 90 minutes, Kalyndra is ravenous. Remember, she still hasn't eaten anything today and it is almost 2pm. They finally make it to the bakery. The order:

12 soft pretzels
2 sprinkle doughnuts
2 custard filled long johns
2 cream filled pastries
and
2 regular chocolate doughnuts.

In our defense, we needed breakfast for the next day too.....

On the way home, Kalyndra downs 4 pretzels and one chocolate doughnut.

When they get home, Kalyndra eats a custard filled long john and 2 more pretzels.

At 3:30 pm Kalyndra takes a nap because she is sick.

She doesn't eat anything the rest of the day because she does not feel well.

Kalyndra still can't wait until next summer's trip to the Dexter Bakery ;)

Vaca...

2007-08-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lapse in updates, I was on vacation. The only computer around might just have had the slowest dial-up internet ever.

I'll be posting pics and funny vacation stories today or tomorrow.

Decoding "kid speak"

2007-07-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

A funny incident happened at our house just the other day. Funny instances seem to happen a lot here, I think it is because children are, simply put, funny.

Our neighbors live about 100 yards up hill from us. The distance is such that you can tell who is outside at their house, and if it is an adult or a child, but that is about all. It is not usually a good distance to hold conversations, seeing as how nothing can be heard.

So we get out of our car Monday and one of their kids is outside. He proceeds to start yelling at our girls. I heard:

WA-wah-wa-wah-wa.

Think Charlie Brown's teacher.

So then Brooke yells:

-Oh, OK!!

And Jordan comes up to me and says:

-They are going to set up fireworks tonight, and wants to know if we can come and watch.

???????????

My children must have the best ears on the planet. The neighbors did in fact do fireworks. One point for Jordan and Brooke, 50,467 for me.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (no spoilers)

2007-07-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

I won't spoil the end of the series for anyone, but I read the 7th book on Saturday and it is a great end to the series. Permit me to say, however, that the 7th book is much different from the others in the series. Darker and such. If you haven't read them, please do. All seven books together make for a great story.

Newspsper Ads

2007-07-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

I put an Ad in the newspaper because are selling our van. Long story. Anyway, this is what the ad says:

" '06 Dodge Caravan 15k miles. Owned less than one year! $13,000/best offer" then our phone #.

The AD came out today, and this is how my day started. Someone calls about the ad and the first question he asks is "How many miles does it have on it" Second question is "how long have you had it"

Did he even read the ad?

The second call was from a lady. First question was "How many miles does it have on it?" Second was "How much do you want for it?"

Seriously?????

Chocolate

2007-07-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

Does anyone ever have Chocolate for breakfast? I did today. It was good. I am trying not to feel guilty about it. I figure if I don't eat anything until about 2pm it will all even out!

A Sad Day....

2007-07-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

I know that the NY Times will print anything that sells even one more copy of their paper, however they have surpassed even themselves by scraping the bottom of the barrel.

The Times has written an article about supposed pictures of every page of the new Harry Potter book not due to come out until Saturday (three days away). I would expect this of them. However, instead of reporting that there are pictures of the book on the web and leaving it at that, they actually print the websites that the book can be downloaded from!

Not only are they alerting millions of people that there are copies out there, they are basically saying "Hey, why pay for it when you can download it. Here is how to do it."

JK should sue the NY Times, as well as the people who leaked the book. It is America after all. People have sued for quite a lot less.

I know that this whole situation is very minutae in the grand scheme of things, but it is just one more example of why the NY Times is essentially Morally Bankrupt. I will not post the link to the article. That would be free advertising.

Gardening

2007-07-12T06:14:00.001-07:00

We have a community garden. By this I mean we enjoy the fruits of the garden without doing much work. The people we share the garden with have spent about 150 hours planting, weeding, etc and I have spent a sum total of 3 1/4 hours picking the yummy vegetables.

Well, yesterday I was summoned to the garden with a plea for more WalMart bags, since there was so much to pick. They just picked 4 days ago(as usual, I did not help that day), and it is amazing that you can fill 6 WalMart bags with produce after that short of time. Farmers should be making a killing.

Anyway, when I got to the garden, my friend started by saying "I just picked a huge zucchini. It's the size of your leg."

I thought she was exaggerating. I guess not.

Boot Camp

2007-07-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

This one's for you, Mark.

Ok, so I am doing this exercise regime called "Boot Camp." The name pretty much says it all. Push up's, situps, running, jumping jacks etc. It is from 6-7am down in Chattanooga. I get up at 5am on weekday mornings to get there on time. If you know me at all, I know you are in disbelief right now, but I swear this is all true.

I am doing this for a few reasons, but the reason that matters for this story is that I want to lose those last couple of pounds because I have a few weddings to go to this summer, and I want the dresses to look just right.

Having said that, let me explain what we did yesterday. It was "team" day. "Team" in boot camp is translated "hauled a log around." Literally, a log. We carried the log to the park, we carried the log while doing lunges, and we carried the log all the way across the Walking Bridge and back. It's pretty far.

So the goal is to look good in the dress for the weddings right? Well now I have a huge bruise on my shoulder from THE STUPID LOG, which, by the way, will show so very nicely in my sleeveless dress at the wedding on Friday Night.

THIS STUFF CAN'T BE MADE UP, PEOPLE!

People will probably think I am a battered wife. Think about it, will the cop really believe me when I say "No, my husband doesn't hit me, it's from carrying a log in my aerobics class."

Oh, did I mention that I pay for all this? I may in fact be going crazy.

At least it is better than paying and not coming (you know who you are, ATL!)

Owls

2007-07-07T17:05:00.000-07:00

Our house is most certainly becoming number 4 Privet Drive. (If you don't know where that is from, I suggest you start reading Harry Potter NOW!) Every night around dusk, our yard becomes the hunting ground for 5-6 owls. I don't mean the little hold-them-in-your-hand owls. I mean the huge I-will-eat-your-full-grown-cat owls.

They are very pretty, and they are getting used to us quickly. One flew and landed on the corner of the roof when Jason was about 6 feet away. However, Brooke is still small so we don't let her out after dusk anymore lest an owl carry her away.(kidding of course) We even have a lamp post that one landed on. Is that straight out of Sorcerer's Stone or what!! Jason took this picture the first night we spotted them.

A Funny Conversation

2007-07-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

One lovely Wednesday I was taking my 2 kids and my friends 2 kids to a movie. (a free movie, in case anyone was under the impression we actually have $100 to spend on a real movie). Caroline and Brooke were in the middle seat of the minivan, and Jordan and Morgan were in the very back. I overheard this particular conversation between Caroline (3 1/2 years old) and Brooke (2 1/2 years old). That's them all dolled up in the picture
Caroline: Where should we play Brooke?

Brooke: Let's go to the museum. I love the museum.

Caroline: You're a GENIUS!!!

Brooke: No Caroline, I'm Brooke, the little sister.

I broke down laughing after Caroline proclaimed Brooke "a genuis" because what 3 year old knows what that word means. I practically cried when Brooke responded. It made my day a little happier, I must admit.

Pictures

2007-07-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

Just photos of the girls.

Dade County

2007-07-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

If you are not familliar with the infamous Dade County, Georgia, let me clue you in. This is the county that was actually succeeded from the United States until like 1948. No joke. It was the Independent state of Dade until 60 years ago. Let me tell you, it is so backwards here that I am not at all surprised.

Back when Jason and I were getting married we had a few funny instances. First of all, they require a blood test, and yet legally you can be first cousins and still get married. Can that be more ironic?

Anyway, in this story we went to get our marriage license. Jason didn't have his social security card. He had about 16 other forms of identification, including a US passport. A US Passort which, I will remind you, is valid in any country in the world. Apparently not in the Independent State of Dade. They would not accept his passport as a valid form of identification.

So to get our marriage license, we had to drive up to Covenant College and get a copy of his transcript. A COPY. Not a notorized copy, just a plain old piece of paper that could have been typed up on my computer in about 5 minutes.

Copy of paper or US Passport. You choose.

ATV's

2007-07-06T06:12:00.001-07:00

OK, I am sure that is soooooo fun to ride around on an ATV but PLEASE don't do it in my yard. Especially at 10:30 at night when I have to get up at 5am. Yes, we called the cops, but since everyone in Dade County is apparently related, nothing was done. Hmmmm, Dade County, the subject of my next post?

Opening Thoughts

2007-07-06T05:44:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my friend(yes you Moriah), I am now going to be recording my thoughts for everyone to read. I think this will keep all the out-of-town friends in touch with our lives. Plus, whenever anyone asks what I have been up to all I can think of saying is "Oh, not much. We're doing fine." Henceforth, this will be my proof that I actually do have a life.