Friday, November 30, 2007

feeling happy

Rain rain, don't go away.
Stay for a few more days.

We just got done baking some chocolate chip cookies. The house smells great, it's nice and cozy inside. We're going to put jammies on in a bit and watch Polar Express and drink hot chocolate.

The boys have been obsessed with Shrek the Halls for the last 2 days. I'm ready to watch something else!

The Christmas season is so much fun. It can get stressful sometimes, but it also brings out kindness in people and togetherness and all that fun stuff. Plus, there's all that good food :)

I'm glad it's Friday. Tomorrow lights go up on the house.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

teeth

McKay has been on the verge of losing his two front teeth for some time now. In the last 2 days it seems that almost all of our conversation somehow get rerouted to the subject of the tooth fairy. This is very important business, clearly. This was the conversation tonight at dinner...

Gentry: "Where does the tooth fairy get the money that she leaves under your pillow?"

Me: "um, I'm not sure exactly"

McKay: "maybe she sells the teeth she collects to God for new babies to use"

Gentry: "When Tessa gets teeth we should look and see if they are our old teeth"

McKay: "yeah, we would have to look really careful. Like with a telescope."

Gentry: "no, a magnifying glass"

Me: "sounds like a plan"

Gentry: "Maybe the tooth fairy just gets her money from having lemonade sales"

McKay; "Can we have a lemonade sale?"

Me: "sure, but you can't use the earnings to buy old teeth from people. Deal?"

Both boys: "deal."



They make me smile.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

I am

so full...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Thanks

In case I don't post anything tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving!

I can't believe the holidays are already here...it's seems like I was just complaining about people putting up their Christmas decorations way too early, and now it's just about appropriate!

I posted a while back about some things that I was thankful for, and while they were all very true...many were just random conveniences in my life, some were even plain silly. In the spirit of why we are celebrating tomorrow I just wanted to say that in all honesty and sincerity I am very grateful for so many things.

It's overwhelming sometimes to think about all of the things that I take for granted. It's hard to comprehend the circumstances that people in other countries (or other parts of this country, even) are faced with every single day. I complain about traffic, and bills, and not having enough time in the day...and in fact I am extremely blessed to drive a safe car and have electricity and running water.

I'm grateful for my education and for the the choices that my parents made while I was growing up. I'm grateful for my friends and my family because I have people that support me and care about me and that is priceless.

I couldn't possibly even begin to say all of the things that I am thankful for...I have so much more than so many people both tangible and non, and while I also have a lot less than some...I feel very blessed at this point in my life to be where I am.


I'm excited to spend the day tomorrow with people that I care about, laughing and cooking and especially eating! I'm going to try a few new recipes and hope that I don't make a fool out of myself :) (I'm certainly not the best in the kitchen!)

And if I can con anyone into going with me, I'll be shopping on Friday! For some sick reason I love the madness of Black Friday. Not even so much for the savings but just for the energy that people give it and for the fact that it means that Christmas is near!

Now, I've been neglecting my Tivo this week...and it's calling out to me...so I'm off to catch up on all of the nonsense that I find so enjoyable!

Goodnight, and gobble gobble!

Monday, November 19, 2007

I'm expecting social services any minute.

I was playing soccer in our front yard with the boys and the ball went under a rose bush. McKay went to grab it and got a thorn in his finger.

And thus began 45 freaking minutes of screaming and yelling and carrying on. This wasn't even one of those splinters that's stuck way deep in your skin. There was plenty of it sticking out so that if he would just have held his finger still I could have grabbed it with the tweezers and it would have been out in 10 seconds. But he was having none of that.

His first reaction to seeing the tweezers was to high tail it out the front door and announce that he was running away from home! I was able to coax him home eventually and almost immediately began to rethink that idea. I have never in my entire life seen a child so out of control. He was kicking and screaming and flailing about and turning all sorts of shades of red and purple. It got to a point where I wouldn't have been shocked if his head spun right around.

"STOPITSTOPITSTOPITYOURHURTINGMEAHHHHHHITBURNSSTOOOPPP!!!" And I kid you not I was not even touching him yet! I started out nice and calm, trying to talk to him and even let him try to get it himself. But after a half hour I was getting so frustrated and starting to lose my temper because he was being so unreasonable. I was going to let him keep the darn thing in his finger, except that he had a splinter in his foot once that I didn't know about and it got infected. So I figured we should remove it. Besides, give me a break kid...it's a thorn. Stop freaking out and lets get this over with.

I'm sure the neighbors think someone was being mistreated. I almost wish someone would have come knocking...I would have welcomed the help!

Anyway, we did get the silly little thing out and he calmed down but I'm so drained! I'm not a drinker, but tonight almost changed that. Man oh man. I may keep him inside for the rest of his life just to prevent him from ever getting another splinter.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

like Christmas morning.

It wasn't gone by morning (the sore throat that is...). It wasn't worse at least. But I've developed a cough. McKay thinks I have Pneumonia (I don't, but he's cute).

Anyway, so I did what most people do when they aren't feeling well. I gutted the garage. But not all by myself, Gentry helped. Which meant that it took hours longer than it should have! But that's ok.

When we moved in May we left a few boxes of toys in the garage. I was planning the let the kids trade out some toys every couple of months to avoid the black abyss of toys everywhere...

This plan didn't work for two reasons.
1. they each had a birthday since then, which meant presents, which meant things were no less cluttered without the garage toys. and
2. The boxes of toys got buried behind other boxes, camping gear, furniture etc. They would ask periodically about certain things that they remembered were in those boxes and for months I've been saying that I would dig them out.

Today it finally happened. It was like Christmas morning for Gentry. There were toys in these boxes that I would just as soon throw away, but he hugged each one and was so excited to see his old "friends". It was cute. It almost made cleaning out the garage not suck. Almost.

So we put the boxes aside and continued to get out Christmas decorations and some of McKay's winter clothes from last year for Gentry When McKay got home from school we made a deal that they could bring in any toy that they wanted, but for every one that was rescued they'd have to replace it with something from their room. An even switch. And any toy that they didn't want anymore would get donated.

Oh my gosh. This process took forever. They pondered and went back and forth and tried to decide what would stay and what would go...oh, and they got distracted every 5 minutes and played with their "new" toys. I finally had to set a time limit because it was getting dark.

I'm proud of each of them though because they didn't try to bend the rules and they actually willingly gave up some toys and threw some broken ones away. In all it was a success.

This garage thing has been looming over my head for awhile. I'm glad that it is done. But I'm exhausted.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

don't want it.

Ugh, I do not feel well. I've been trying to ignore this sore throat all day...but it's only 8:30 and I'm totally ready to be in bed, not a good sign. I have no time to be sick. I hope it's gone by morning.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

wow.

It doesn't matter what your thoughts are on the war, this is so sad.

Monday, November 12, 2007

dinner

We had ribs for dinner (so delicious!) and I'm going to spend the rest of the night paying the price. Dental floss here I come...

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Control your kids

We took the kids to see the Bee movie. That's 2 movies in 2 days. It might be a record! Well, for me anyway...considering that I can't remember the last movie I saw in the theater before yesterday. It was good movie weather today because it was kind of rainy all day. I thought it was pretty cute, except that the whole bee+human romantic relationship was a bit bizarre. The boys liked it. Come to think of it, they like every movie they see in the theater because it tends to include popcorn and candy!

The only problem was that we had to sit in the third row even though we got there 20 minutes early. That coupled with the fact that we happened to be sitting in front of the 4 most obnoxious kids in the universe kinda put a damper on things. I don't expect to sit through a kids movie without hearing kids talking or babies crying. It comes with the territory. But, I don't think you should let your kids talk through the ENTIRE movie like they are in their freaking living room. And you definitely shouldn't allow them to kick the seats in front of them repeatedly. And most of all...please don't let your kids hit people with their stuffed animals. At least attempt to stop them. Oh, and pulling people's hair...NOT OK.

Other than that though, it was an enjoyable time.

Tomorrow we will either go to the Children's Museum or clean out the garage. Funny thing is, I'm not sure which the kids would prefer.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Here's a picture of the hair. If you hate it, keep your opinion to yourself. :)

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Saturday, November 10, 2007

Free and girly

Before I cut my hair I wore it in a ponytail every day (for years). No matter what. Even if I took the time to do it in the morning (instead of the shower and go thing that happens way to often!), even if I thought it looked cute down...without fail it would be in a ponytail within an hour. It was kind of ridiculous, really.

On the rare occasion that I would accidentally leave the house without a rubber band, I would would be frantically looking for one under the seats in the car, in my purse, my pockets etc...I've actually stopped to buy one when my searches were unproductive. It was borderline psychotic.

Now it's too short for a pony tail. In fact that was my only request to the girl that cut it. NO PONY TAIL. I'm not completely sure that I love the haircut itself, but it's freeing not to rely on a rubber band to keep me sane.

Plus, it has some style now which has prompted me to wear a little more make-up, buy some new earrings and care a bit more about my appearance.

It feels good to be a little girly.

Maybe I'll post a picture tomorrow.


In some totally unrelated news:

I spent way too much money at Target today.

Saw Dan In Real Life tonight. I enjoyed it. It's been awhile since I've gone to a movie. I had fun.

I'm trying to figure out something fun to do with the kids on Monday since there is no school...

Friday, November 9, 2007

feelin the love

So my friends don't suck after all!

I was going about my normal business today at about 4:30 and Carrie called and said get dressed. we're leaving in 45 minutes.

Leaving for what??

She wouldn't say. But it turned out we were going to Micelli's in Hollywood for dinner with a bunch of friends.

It was a blast. I had a feeling we would do something this weekend. But I was expecting some of the people that showed up and then there were some that I really was surprised to see (I guess not all surprises are bad). Some people drove hours to be there. Very sweet.

The food was excellent, the company was terrific, and I got some great gifts. I'm feeling very loved.

So far 28 isn't too bad!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Happy Thursday

I've been in a funk lately. I don't know why. But I can feel it and I don't like it. My attitude has been very negative, I've been complaining a lot, nothing seems to make me happy. It's ugly.

I've decided that it has to stop. Instead of trying to figure out where it's coming from I'm just going to work on changing it.

So, I cute off all of my hair. I'm not really sure how that will help, but it feels like a change might help drive the funk out of town.

And in an effort to look at things on the bright side, here are some things that I'm thankful for...

1. Not being lactose intolerant.
2. Having all of my teeth.
3. Literacy
4. Being an American
5. Not having cancer
6. Both of my parents are still alive
7. The boys never have to go to bed hungry
8. Parks
9. Public libraries
10. good friends
11. the internet
12. health insurance
13. Nobody in our family has a major food allergy
14. having a reliable car
15. feeling loved
16. my camera
17. my gym membership
18. McKay and Gentry are kind, loving kids (for the most part!)
19. not having to use a laundry mat
20. being able to be home during the day
21. Both kids are potty trained
22. Our dog doesn't bite, or bark unnecesarilly, or run off when the front door opens
23. I don't know anybody in jail
24. the kids artwork
25. unexpected hugs and "ilove you"'s
26. my dishwasher
27. sarcasm
28. positive childhood memories
29. family vacations
30. my home

This is just a random list off of the top of my head and I'm grateful for being able to think of 30 things in 2 minutes to be thankful for. I have a blessed life.

Funk be gone!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

28 years later

Ok, this may come across as being bitchy, but it's my birthday and I'll bitch if I want to.

I hate surprises.

Unless they are well planned and executed. Suprising someone by planning something for them and getting yourself all stressed out and thus making the surpisee miserable is not fun. Yes, the end result may be fun...but the process sucks.

For example, the age old situation where people act like they forgot your birthday because they have a suprise party planned and they think it'll be funny to make you sad/mad/disapointed all day long and it'll all be worth it in the end.

It's not all worth it. Yes, surprises can be fun...but they don't erase all of those emotions you had whilest you thought your family/friends forgot your birthday. You realize in the end, of course, that they hadn't forgotten at all. But you still spent the day in a shitty mood. And then you're a bitch for not being appreciative. Is that fun? No it's not.

That being said, in case you're wondering...nobody had a surprise party for me today and most of my loved ones remembered my birthday. But something is in the works and I can tell because people are being vague about things and not answering questions directly. Nobody seems to be able to go out to celebrate this weekend and they're all being buttheads.

Surprises are better than crappy friends. Someone better be planning some sort of surprise!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

to whom it may concern

Dear naked women in the gym locker room,

I appreciate the confidence you possess and your willingness to let it all hang out regardless of your size, age, and skin elasticity (or lack thereof). It's perfectly fine with me if you don't want to use the changing rooms or bathroom stalls to dress yourself. More power to you, really. But here are some activities that I feel are more appropriate after you have dressed yourself (or there's a technique for wrapping towels around one's body, it quite simply...it would suffice). These activities include but are not limited to:

1. blow drying your hair.
2. carrying on 15 minute long conversations with strangers
3. rearranging your gym bag
4. stretching
5. putting on your make-up
6. bending over (for any reason)

To those of you who have mastered the art of undressing and dressing in a timely fashion, please know that you are appreciated. I thank you. My eyes thank you.

sincerely,
Modest me.

Monday, November 5, 2007

fog, a sweatshirt, and a booger

Mother Nature obviously heard me complaining about the unseasonable weather, because we woke up this morning to a chill in the air and a ton of fog.

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In fact, I wore a sweatshirt to drop McKay off at school! It was lovely.

The fog didn't last too long, probably just long enough to cause a headache for people driving to work...so it was nice and clear for the rest of the day. Still, I don't think we saw 80 degrees. Much better, mother nature. I thank you.

I took the boys and Oakley (our dog) to the park after school to try and get some pictures of them. Gentry was being a pill and acted exactly like a 4 year old (which is exactly what he is). Without fail, every time I took a shot he'd make a face.

This is just a small sample of what he gave me to work with.

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BOOGER.

It wasn't a complete loss though because I kinda like this one.
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Plus they played on the playground for awhile and that meant that I was avoiding all of the things that I needed to be doing which was quite enjoyable. Of course, that means that I'll be doing them tomorrow. But I'll worry about that tomorrow.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Time.

One of the downsides to daylight saving time is that the kids were half asleep at 6:30 tonight. It was all I could do to stretch bedtime to 7:10. Bedtime stories were a little more animated than usual, because otherwise neither of them would have made it past the first page. This of course means that they will be up extra early tomorrow. Oh joy.

Also, on a totally unrelated topic...I went to visit some friends last night and on the way home I passed a house that had. wait. It's hard for me to type this.

Ok.

They had Christmas Decorations out.

C'mon people. Time is already flying by. Please don't help it by getting ready for Christmas weeks before we've even made ourselves sick on turkey and pie. Please. I'm all for holiday decorations, so fly a pilgrim flag or put together a cornacopia or hang a turkey made from your kids handprint somewhere. But please please please don't put out your Christmas decorations just yet. The Halloween Candy isn't even gone yet. And that's not for lack of trying, let me remind you.

And with that another weekend is behind us.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Fall, why have you foresaken me?

Everyone expects California to have fairly mild weather year round. It's one of the perks in many people's minds...

But today is November 3. NOVEMBER. And it's in the upper 80's. The leaves haven't really even started changing. It doesn't feel right.

While I was talking to a friend who lives in Albuquerque yesterday I asked how their halloween was. Apparently they cut their trick-or-treating short because it was too cold. I can't even imagine it. It was so warm here that McKay spent most of the night without his mask on because he was so sweaty.

I'm not asking for below zero temperatures...I'd be happy if it appropriate to wear a sweatshirt outside. We haven't even put the boys shorts away to make room for pants because it's still short weather. In November.

I don't like it.

Friday, November 2, 2007

evil.

As much as I look forward to Halloween, for the excitement in the kids faces, for the fun of thinking up costumes and carving pumpkins and taking tractor rides at the pumpkin patch and hearing Gentry's little voice at each and every door Trick or treat. Thank you. Happy Halloween!! And watching the joy as they both run from one door to the next....there is one thing that I absolutely despise about this particular holiday.

ALL OF THE CANDY IN MY HOUSE.

Of course it's here so I eat it, sometimes without thinking about it even. And eat it. And eat it.

Until I want to vomit.

I know what you are thinking, have some self control. Yeah, there's none of that around here.

All I can say is thank God this only happens once a year.

Of course there's Easter, but that brings mostly jelly beans which I don't enjoy so it's safer.

Ooh, but on the bright side, when Halloween has passed I can always count on my birthday to be right around the corner.

Hope I'm not in a sugar coma by then.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

just a thought

I wish music played in the background of real life situations like it does in the movies. That would be fun.