It's getting better all the time

Better, better, better.
Getting so much better all the time.
(love those Beatles!)

To all of you who commented in my last post; You are so great!!! Seriously, each of you got me teary eyed in gratitude. It's wonderful to know that I am not alone (as I always feel on days like that), I have great friends that will lift me in prayer when I'm in need, and that I don't need to be sent to a loony bin! }:0)
I just can't say enough how much I appreciate your heartfelt words to me, they make all the difference.
I also want you to know that the very next day was SO much better & I know that was a direct result of your prayers.
I goofed around with the twins, we made cookies (and a huge mess, and ate way too many) and when Sam got home we watched Ratatouille together. Chris came home early & we had Sam's parent/teacher conference which went very well. Then we had dinner & just hung out together. That's pretty much how the weekend has gone, hanging out and enjoying each other.
So I seem to be back to normal, whatever normal actually is. :)

Sam's on spring break this week so I'm taking the kids to visit my parents. I'm not sure If I will have time to blog or not. I'm going to visit a couple of old friends while I'm there so I'm looking forward to that & just hanging out at my old home. They've lived there for about 42 years, when we visit the kids sleep in my old room & I use my sisters room. The rooms have long since been converted to guest rooms but it's still fun for the kids to think they are in 'my room'. I love that all my memories are in that house, I know the neighborhood like the back of my hand & I'm completely at home there. Plus it's almost like a vacation from the kids when we go there. I get to sleep in, the kids want to hang out with g'ma & pa so I'm virtually ignored - darn!
Poor Chris will be left at home cos he has to work. He very grudgingly agreed to us going, he hates missing out on time with any of us. I'm making a big meal tonight & will put a soup in the crock-pot for him in the morning. What a good lil wifey I am (HA!) I'm sure he will find something to putter with to pass the time in the evenings. Maybe he'll even get a project or 2 done (could be wishful thinking but I can always hope.)

A parting gift of thanks to my friends






And 2 more just cos they make me smile :)





Have a fabulous week everyone!!

Compys, baby birds & me

Do you remember in Jurassic park when the compeys show up? You know, they are small & look kinda cute? Then they start getting closer, making chirpy sounds & looking at the guy curiously...and then one jumps up & takes a bite. Then another, and another and soon they are swarming all over him & he goes down screaming, being eaten alive one tiny bite at a time?

Yeah well instead of the guy it's me & instead of the compeys it's my kids.





My other favorite analogy is baby birds in a nest when the momma comes home. She's tired from flying around finding food for everyone & just wants a break. But all she gets is a bunch of screeching beaks demanding more, more, MORE!




Obviously I'm not doing so great right now.
I hate feeling like this. I get so overwhelmed by it all that I just want to disappear.

Every time I hear "mom" I want to hide. I've been known to throw a blanket over my head & sit there, hoping nobody will notice me. You know, the I-can't-see-you-you-can't-see-me delusion that kids have? Yeah, that's rubbed off on me.



There's laundry all over the house. My kitchen is a disaster area. The kids have been super grumpy. (Eli in particular has been extra aggressive.) And I'm PMS'ing which exacerbates my depression. Mrfph!! (don't know what that means, it just felt like the thing to write)



I'm having a very hard time getting anything done. I'm having a hard time not screaming at the kids every 10 minutes. And I don't mean the "I told you to pick up your ___ 3 times!" kind of screaming. I mean "Why do you do this to me?" "Why can't you just leave me alone?" "I wish I could go back in time 6 years!" "Don't touch me, don't talk to me, don't look at me, I don't want to know you are here!!!" kind of screaming. Sometimes I really think like that & frankly it freaks me out. I don't want to be this kind of mom. I want to be the one who sees the teachable moments in situations & calmly takes advantage of them. I want to be the one who can be an example of how to react well to difficult situations.



I have a friend at my old church that I was jealous of before I met her. Gorgeous woman, skinny, curvy, great hair, loves the lord, nice hubby...she's got it made right?

Wrong. She was actually in a huge battle with depression during the time I was envious of her. She was going through absolute hell everyday. Sometimes it would get so bad she'd curl up in a ball, rocking in a corner & wouldn't talk for days.

After I got to know her I was amazed at all this & felt sorry for her. What a hard thing to go through! And all that time I thought she had it all.

A few years later she had a little boy - not too long after I started on my depression meds. And now it's come full circle & I'm envious of her again. Not like last time, I'm not guessing her life is fan-fiddily-tastic or anything but I wish my depression & having my kids had happened in the same order hers did.

You see, she got her issues worked out before she had children. I didn't even know about mine until after the twins were born. Having kids makes depression so much harder, more complicated. It's not just you to worry about, you've got these little people depending on you & the pressure is enormous. My funks usually don't last more than a couple of days but it's so hard on my kids. Sam especially, my sensitive boy, gets hurt so easily by the things I say.

And then there's the guilt. I think of those families who are have kids with cancer or other rotten diseases. Why can't I see my kids as the blessings that they are? Why can't I be happy with healthy, normal kids? Why can't I treasure every moment with them like I should? No I am resentful & think of them like compys or baby birds. How sad is that?



All that rambling to say I've had a crappy day.



So, how was yours?

Snappy me

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

Vote Vote Vote!!

Ok y'all, time to head over to My Semblance of Sanity to vote for one of the many qualified entries MY entry in her photo-caption contest. I reeeeeeally want to win this one so go already will ya? I mean, it's not like you've got anything better to do, sheesh! (clean toenails, pluck ear-hair, pick nose...)
BUT I DIGRESS
So anyway go give her a visit, she's so dang funny all the scary freakish completely normal bloggers check her out several times a day. (a'hem)
Happy voting (Me!Me!Me!)

A real life love story

So yeah, like I was going to write this great post on Friday about one of my favorite blogs to read & I totally bombed (sigh). Friday was chaotic, Saturday was nuts & Sunday I got sick. Need I say more?? Didn't think so! Anyway sorry I didn't come through with it, I shall make amends today.

~~~~~~~~~~

One of my absolute favorite blogs is Confessions of a CF Husband. It's written by Nathan, husband to Tricia & father of Gwenneth Rose. Tricia has Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and is waiting for a double lung transplant to prolong her life.
Theirs is one of the most inspiring stories of love & faith I've ever heard. Tricia was about to be listed for a transplant when they discovered that she was pregnant. They made the decision to follow Gods plan & keep the baby, despite the risk to Tricia & against the advice of the doctors. Tricia's health slowly deteriorated during her pregnancy & at 24 weeks Gwenneth was born via emergency c-section - she weighed just under 1 lb 6 oz. Tricia was placed in a drug-induced coma for several weeks & Gwenneth was whisked away to the NICU. They have both come a long way since then. Tricia has surprised her doctors by recovering much faster than they thought & is now back on the transplant list. Gwenneth is now over 2 pounds (yay Gwenneth!) and has not had any major complications so far.
Nate has had a very hard road to walk through all this. His wife & baby on different floors, both in incredibly fragile conditions. He could be angry - he could be bitter. A lot of people would say he has the right to feel that way. But he chooses to follow Christ and be blessed instead. He is not perfect, he has bad days just like the rest of us but he relies in the Lord to get him through.

So please, go check them out, see how cute Gwenneth is & learn what life with CF is like - I'm confident you will be blessed!

Something new

Hi y'all!

If you look to the right of your screen, under my stinky lovely feet you will see a new feature; Worthy Websites. Two of them give info on how you can give the gift of life to others & the rest are great ways to protect your family - especially if you have children. I've added a short descriptive blurb with each one but I'm going to elaborate on them here, in hopes that more of you will check them out & sign up if so led.


1. American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) - This link was inspired by Manic Mommy's blood donation contest she had awhile back. I've given you the link to their Where to Donate page in an effort to make it easier for you to donate blood. But please look around the site to learn about them & about donating blood. It's so easy to do & helps so many, please consider it!!


2. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) - You know all those pesky recalls we are supposed to keep on top of? Well at this site you can sign up to have recall alerts sent to you by email. This way you can be sure to get them all, instead of relying on magazines & news shows, which only alert you to a select few. Just click on the bright yellow box, give em' your info & presto - you are in the know. How easy is that??

3. Donate Life America - Organ donation is a topic close to my heart. I learned of this site from Nate, hubby of Tricia, who has Cystic Fibrosis & needs a double lung transplant. (See below for info on their story.) On this site you can find out all kinds of information about Organ Donation & how you can give others the gift of life. Did you know that one organ and tissue donor can save or enhance the lives of over 50 people? I think that's just incredible! Please, please check this out & consider signing up to ensure your wishes are carried out.

4. Family Watchdog - This is the National Sex Offender Registry site, with what I consider vital information for families & women. If you enter your address in the space provided, you can download a map of your area with locations of the registered offenders. Just click on the color coded square & you will get detailed information on the offender, including a picture!

5. Plugged in online - This is a web site of Focus on the Family that reviews movies, video/DVD, music, television, and games. The movie reviews are very detailed & helpful for families. They do an overview of the film & then give you the positive elements, spiritual content, sexual content, violent content, crude or profane language, drug and alcohol content, other negative elements & then wrap up with their conclusion. I have not yet personally used the music, television or games reviews but the kids are getting older fast so it's only a matter of time.

I hope you find these links helpful & if you have any I should add, please let me know!

~~~~~~~~~~

I was going to write about Nate & Tricia today (as referenced above) but I seem to have run out of steam. I started writing this post at 8:48 AM & it's now 8:45 PM. Between kids, a trip to the store, kids, sick hubby and kids I've been interrupted approximately 12,364 times today. Did I mention kids? So you will just have to tune in tomorrow to get the goods on them.

G'night everybody!

It's not easy being green

Ok this is so stinkin funny I watched it like 5 times. Chris started out laughing at the frog but ended up just laughing at me. I just might be a dork...ya think?



Hahahaha!!

Phunny Photos

Michelle at My Semblance of Sanity is having another of her dandy contests so go on over and check it out.

Contest Rules:
1. Post a photo with a hysterical caption on your blog.
2. Link back to My Semblance so your readers can join in on the fun and enter the contest, too!
3. Leave a comment in this post (THIS ONE!) with a link to your entry so we can all enjoy (and giggle, of course!).
4. Stay tuned for next Thursday's video announcement of our 5 (?) finalists.

Here are my FABULOUS entries for your viewing pleasure.

~~~~~~~~~~

Can you believe they do this even before they're born?

Hey, quit squishing me.

Get off me!

Mom, she's touching me!!

~~~~~~~~~~

big head

big head

BIG HEAD!!

(Seriously though, he had a huge noggin!)

Burrrrrritos baby

Easy Cheesy Bean Burritos (created by Alane)

2 cans fat free refried beans
1 can (4oz) diced green chilies
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can black olives, chopped or sliced
A few dashes of cumin (to taste)
A few dashes of garlic powder (to taste)
1 jar mild enchilada sauce
Shredded cheddar cheese, enough to cover the top (we like lots)
1-package whole-wheat tortillas (or whatever kind you like best)

Preheat oven to 350
Mix refried beans, chilies, corn, tomatoes, olives, cumin & garlic powder in a large saucepan over medium high heat until heated through; stir occasionally
Heat tortillas in microwave for about 1 minute
Place a cup or so of bean mixture on each tortilla, roll up & place in 15 X 10 Pyrex baking dish, overlapping them so they will fit (the last 2 will go along the side)
Cover with enchilada sauce & sprinkle with cheese
Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted & sauce is bubbly

Notes
You can use a 13 X 9 baking dish but you will not use all the tortillas or filling. If you do this, I would suggest making chips out of the extra tortillas & use the extra filling as dip. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges & place on a baking sheet. Bake @ 350 for 5 to 10 minutes or until dry & crisp. Mix your favorite hot sauce or salsa into filling (kind of bland otherwise, the enchilada sauce provides the spice for the burritos) & enjoy.


I don't use spicy ingredients because the kids & I are sensitive to spicy food. Please feel free to change this to your tastes - I'd rather you make it right for your family than say "ewww! What was she thinking?"


I came up with this recipe because I like the texture of tortillas when they are coated with something. At restaurants they have a special grill they use to heat them & make them pliable & I like that but it’s hard to copy at home. So, I decided to do burritos in a baking dish so I could cover them in sauce. I got lucky with this one, it was pretty much right on the first try. Chris loves these & it provides lots of leftovers, which I love with my busy schedule. We usually just cut them up like you would a Lasagna. If you want to eat them burrito style I would suggest not layering them in the pan so you can tell where one ends and the other begins.


I hope you love them as much as we do!

always have, always will

This song always strikes me when I hear it. I guess I just identify with it so much. Tried to find a video out there in web-land but it's an oldie so I guess I'm outa luck there.

always have, always will - Avalon

Part of me is the prodigal
Part of me is the other brother
But I think the heart of me
Is somewhere between them
Some days I'm running wild
Some days we're reconciled
But I wonder all the while
Why you put up with me, when
I wrestle most days
To find ways to do as I please
I always have, I always will
you saved me once, You save me still
My longing heart, Your love alone can fill
You always have, always will
I was born with a wayward heart
Still I live with a restless spirit
My soul is so well worn
You'd think I'd have arrived by now
I'm caught in the trappings of
My search for lasting love
I've made mistakes enough
To last me a lifetime
I still slip, I still fall
But I'll always run back to You
I always have, I always will
you saved me once, You save me still
My longing heart, Your love alone can fill
You always have, always will
I'm gonna keep trusting You
I see what You've seen me through
I'm goin' where You have gone
I'm letting you lead me on
All my days...always and forever
Never far...never leave me never
Here I'll stay...ever love me ever
Here's my heart
I'll always love you
I always have, I always will
you saved me once, You save me still
My longing heart, Your love alone can fill
You always have, always will


Like I said I just identify with this. I'm always running back & forth trying to do it on my own & then running back to Him when I fall. And I always fall (lol) and He is ALWAYS there to catch me & set me on my feet again. I do get spanked from time to time. Ok ok, I'll be honest, yes I get spanked often. Are you happy now? Geez!

So do you identify with this song? If so how? Got any stories of getting spanked? I'd love to hear them...maybe you could blog about it & I'll link to you.

I'm all about being honest & admitting when I've screwed up or fallen on my big behind. Lately I have not been getting up to read my bible & pray. Chris & I read a chapter every night & pray before we go to sleep but that's no substitute for time alone in the Word. And guess what? I've been having lots of bad days - go figure! But do I get up the next day? Nope.

Another biggie of mine is not realizing that my kids are a blessing. Easy enough to say but on those bad days (and we have previously established that I've had a few of those) it's very hard to do. Why do I put myself first? Why do I tell them that I'm busy when it would only take a little more time to involve them in whatever I'm doing? Why do they make me so mad when they are just being kids? You can see my pattern.

So...wanna share?

And now for something completely different

I don't know what that title is about, it has nothing to do with what I'm blogging about here. Just a wild hair I guess.

A.N.Y.W.A.Y...

This is something that ticks me off. I'll wait for you to go read the story (if you even need to) & look at the top picture, you need to see it before I go on. You might want to click on that picture to get the full impact.

Does that look like a happy woman? I don't think so! The way I see it that's a clear (insert explative of your choice) #%$&-you look. (Sorry, that's not a very Christian thing to say but I'm going with my raw thoughts here) Now why on earth do they make the wives stand there next to the husband looser that just betrayed her & the entire state (or whatever)? I don't understand why she is expected to 'stand by your man' when clearly she'd rather be shooting darts at his picture or something of that nature. SO WRONG!!!

And what is in this idot's head. How could he think he would get away with it? I heard on All Things Considered yesterday that he virtually caught himself. After 9-11 he insisted that the software program which flags transactions for suspicious activity was made much stronger. It used to flag only transactions over 10,000 but now it looks for patterns of transactions that could be suspicious. He was doing exactly that, transfering the money in 2,000 incriments & got flagged. Ummm, whoops!! (to hear the story click here then click on listen now, it's quite interesting)

Sorry for going off on this but I'm just mad about it. It's not fair that she has to put on her game face & stand next to him when it's nothing but his fault. How embarasing.
PLEASE pray for his wife & kids. I'm sure they are in a huge amount of pain right now. And remember, as I clearly need to, look at the plank in your eye before you bug someone else about their speck (cringe).

I give up

Ok so reality is setting in & I am forced to face the fact that I will not be posting a list every day. This is a very me thing to do. Get all gung-ho on an idea & then after a week or so I fizzle out & feel guilty. But I've decided to change one thing...not guilt myself to death about it. I shall go on my merry way, skipping & carefree, free to be you and me... Ok not so much the skipping & carefree. I'm a mom for gosh sakes & we are required to worry! I will post lists again but only when the spirit moves me. That one a day thing was just too much like homework & I'm like, allergic to homework! I mean , geez, what was I thinking!?!

And now, for your watching pleasure...

Hope you enjoyed your trip down memory lane, I sure did!

I are a bookworm

Listie, listie, I've got a(nother) listie!

My father was a teacher for 35 years & most of those were spent as an elementary school librarian. I think the love of books might just be inherited because I was a born reader. From the time I read my first chapter book (Charlotte's Web I believe, at the age of about 5 or 6...with help) I have always had some kind of book going. I was the kid hiding with a flashlight under the covers...pretty much every night. I've been known to spend an entire Saturday in bed, reading a book from cover to cover, only getting up for bathroom breaks & food.

Therefore I give you...a list of (some of) my favorite books

1. Anne of Green Gables series. My grandmother gave these to me when I was a girl & I love them still. It's wonderful to pull one off the shelf & get lost in the world of Anne's adventures in beautiful PEI.

2. A Prayer for Owen Meany. This is one of the best stories I've ever read. However, I cannot recommend any of John Irving's other books. I read more of his after I finished A Prayer for Owen Meany and they were all vulgar, carnal books about sex & crazy relationships. Not great reading for a Christian person IMHO. Not a very good advertisement for this book I'm afraid, but it really is a good read.

3.Mistress Masham's repose. This is a wonderful story about a mistreated girl in England who encounters some leftover Lilliputians. Well written & with wonderful characters - a must read for any girl (young and old :)) who loves books.

4. Get out of That Pit. I love Beth Moore. She has some of the greatest Bible studies around & this book is no exception. Although not actually a bible study, it takes the reader on a healing journey. Anyone who has ever been in a dark place (and I think most of us have) will benefit from reading this book.

5. Lord of the Rings trilogy. Great writing, great characters, great story. Nuff said!

6. The Hobbit. See above :)

And some favorite authors

1. John Gresham
2. Anne Tyler
3. Michael Crighton
4. James Mitchner
5. L.M. Montgomery
6. Beth Moore

This is what I can think of for now. I remember many books I've read & loved but can't remember either title or author. This drives me nuts!! There is one especially I would love to find again...a coming of age story about best friends in a boarding school. One is jealous & ends up badly hurting his friend (named Phineas) by making him loose his balance on the limb of a tree. I read this in High School for an English class & if this jogs anyone's memory (Kate??) I would love to learn the author &/or title.

I wish I had more Christian fiction on this list but I've not had much opportunity to delve into that genre. Any recommendations would be welcomed.

Have a great Monday everybody!

Oops!

Dag nab it, I forgot to post a list yesterday - girrr!

Today has been a tough day...and it's only 2 pm...not good. I feel like that great children's book, Alexander and his terrible horrible no good very bad day.

So without further ado, my list-o-the-day is;
Reasons this has been a bad day (and what blessings I should have been seeing, but didn't)

1. Not enough sleep. Unfortunately, this is a recurring theme in my life.
Blessing I should see: Having a warm comfy bed to sleep in when so many don't even have a roof over their heads!

2. Waking up to my kids jumping (literally) on my bed & crashing onto me. Ok so I heard them come in but I wasn't expecting the great crash - omph!
Blessing I should see: That I didn't get hurt in the great crash. And I spoze I should be happy that none of the kids did either :)

3. Chris is working overtime today. This is the proverbial two edged sword. We desperately need the money but I hate missing out on time together. Plus having to deal with all 3 kids all day by myself. I've gotten very spoiled since Sam started school!
Blessing I should see: this is an easy one...the extra $$ - duh!! Oh and I guess the fact that his bosses like his work & need him to help get the job done.

4. It's a gloomy rainy day. I was going to take a walk with the kids & dog today but the gloomy skies are keeping us in. I guess I could drag us all out there & get wet but I can't walk fast enough with them to keep warm.
Blessing I should see: That our snow is melted & we have had weather warm enough to walk in this past week. And that we live in a walking friendly small town where we don't have to stick to the sidewalks. Heck, most of the town does not even have sidewalks!

5. The kids have been either grumpy, whining & fighting or manically running around yelling & screaming. There seems to be no middle ground today, it's one extreme or the other.
Blessing I should see: I have 3 normal, healthy kids.

6. The kids all screamed bloody murder when I announced they were all napping today. I mean, they sounded like I was going to rip off a limb or something, geez!
Blessing I should see: THEY ARE ALL ASLEEP RIGHT NOW...AT THE SAME TIME!!!

Things are looking up around here...at least for the next couple of hours...

And the sun just came out, yippee! Maybe we'll get that walk after all.

Have a fabulous weekend everybody :)

This is SO me!

The Recipe For ALANE

3 parts Vigor 2 parts Silliness 1 part Craftiness Splash of Impishness Finish off with an olive

What's" the Recipe for Your Personality?

Our house

The moment you've all been waiting for...my next list! (thunderous applause)
HA!

Projects needed on our 100+ year old house
1. All new windows (including slider door & side doors)
2. Front porch & steps torn out & replaced
3. Fence the yard
4. Tear down & replace original brick
5. Install stove insert to replace fireplace
6. New wiring
7. New flooring downstairs
8. Restore original flooring upstairs
9. Repair plaster on staircase wall

Desired/dream remodels & projects
1. Paint & decorate all downstairs rooms
2. Convert extra bedroom upstairs to a bathroom
3. Tear out & replace (very badly done) enclosed back porch
4. Convert back porch to laundry room/pantry
5. Extend downstairs bath into old laundry area - install tub, new shower stall, toilet & sink/vanity
6. Add banister to front porch & railings for steps - add porch swing

I think that's it. At least that's all I can think of for now. We lovingly refer to this place as our lifetime project...which we hope it will be. I love it because of all it's possibilities & I hate it cos we'll be working on it forever!! It really is a wonderful house & we hope to be here for a long time. I'll include a very good pic taken by my Dad...he's our family photographer & a dang good one.

It's the red house - you can't really see it all, it's partly shaded by the tree. The spire you see is our town's beautiful Catholic church, we have a great view of the steeple from a window in our living room. I posted another pictue of it here, with Sam in the foreground - you can kind of see Eli in the upper left on the lawn.

~~~~~~~~~~

Update on Sam's lying/sneaking issue. He's gotten much better. I started giving him snacks with more protein & it's seemed to make a difference. I guess the poor guy was just starving...he had bad leg pains the week before so it's my bad I spoze. Now if I could just keep them from fighting...yeah right!

Have a wonderful day y'all!

The L word

So I know that title got you thinking but really the l stands for LIST! You were thinking I was gonna post on that show didn't you...HA!

(Yeah, yeah. I know I'm the only one who fall's for that kind of thing, (sigh).)



In keeping with yesterday's list (drumroll please) Foods I hate.

1. Peanut butter. Yes I know that everyone else in the known world loves this foul paste but I'm not one of them! I loved it as a kid & my Mom thinks I like, OD'd on the stuff when my sisters were born. This was back in the day when mom's stayed in the hospital for at least 3 days so my Dad was in charge of feeding my 3 yo self. I'm sure you can get the picture - all pbj all the time.

2. Monster cookies. This goes along with #1. These are cookies which have a HUGE amount of #1 in them & to me they smell hideous. I used to hide in my room with a towel under the door to keep from gagging. Yes, I'm serious - I would actually gag!

3. Chipped beef on toast. Again, a food I loved as a kid but as an adult, ewwwwww!!

4. Liver & onions. I don't even need to comment on this one...yuck, yuck & double yuck! (although Chris loves the stuff - what is wrong with that man?)

5. Giblets. I hate heart, liver, pancreous, intestines & whatever other icky organs they can pull out of a bird. (Yes, I know pancreous & intestines aren't in there, but they might as well be ;) To this day my Mom hates my stuffing & I hate hers, nuff said.

6. Eggnog. Not technically a food but it is something ingestible that I can't stand. Of course, the rest of my family loves it...thankfully for me it's only around during the holidays.

7. Anything involving insects. Not likely to come by in the US - but wait...



I KNOW - Guh-ross!!

Toilets & disposals - urgh!

I needed my man today but alas, he was at work.
He used to be an apartment maintenance tech so he's very handy & can fix just about anything.
Me? Not so much. Actually not at all.
So our dumb toilet got clogged today, not once but twice. Technically this would not be considered a difficult thing to fix, but I have an aversion to anything gross. Not good in this situation which was indeed, very gross. But I sucked it up & fixed said toilet the required 2 times. A very important task as we only have 1 bathroom to serve our household of 5 people.
Then.
I was working on the dishes with the 'help' of the twins. The sink was full to the brim & they love to share the task of fight over rinsing the cups & bowls. We got done with that & Eli was turning the disposal on & off at my direction, when it made a different sound for a second & then stopped altogether. And the sink stopped draining. And started filling with water from the dishwasher.
Uh, oh!
My dishwasher was already running by that time & I couldn't stop it - we needed those dishes to use for lunch & dinner. (Did I mention that the sink had been full?) So I grabbed a plastic bucket & bailed out the sink when it got too full, crossing the house to the bathroom & emptying the icky water into the shower.
Fun.
Mr fixit called to tell me he's on his way home. I told him about the fun awaiting him. He asked me to describe what happened. Then tells me to feel under the disposal. Under it??? Ewwww! I do it and to my surprise it wasn't gross and there was a button that when pushed, presto, made the disposal work again. Mr fixit will put his hand IN the disposal later & clean it out (you will NOT see me doing that, I'm sure some kitchen gremlin will turn it on when my hand is down there) and we'll be good to go again.
From time to time I complain about him but...
Dang, I got me a great man!

Edited to add:
Forgot to mention the saucer my daughter broke in the kitchen.
And my oldest just clogged the toilet. Yes, AGAIN!

List -o- the day

Foods I love & the restaraunts in which I love them

1. Greek - spanikopita & dolmatas anyone? George's place, Kirkland WA & my new fave, The Pita Pit, Cheney, WA
2. Chinese - cashew prawns is my fave dish. Chan's place, Kirkland WA
3. Mexican - cheese & beans & tortillas & cheese & guacamole &...cheese! Mmmm good. Los Cabos, Cle Elum WA, Azteca, anywhere they've got one.

Short list today...but if I got in depth on this topic I'd never get it done!

Always check it out

One of my favorite bloggy mommas wrote an awesome post on something all parents need to know about...icky song lyrics.
Read her blog here, be aware & please protect your kids from those who wish to snatch away their innocence!

Too much stuff

Ok installment 2 of list-a-day.

I went to Costco & Safeway with the twins today & did not stick to my list...girrrr! I hate it when I do that - the extras from Costco are things I use frequently so they weren't so bad. Some of the stuff from Safeway however, were mostly crap I don't need. I had to pick up a prescription & it wasn't ready so I wandered around finding things I could, a'hem, use.

From Costco

1. Black olives

2. Canned mushrooms

3. Vitamin C (which I just discovered have sugar substitute in them, which I hate. I now have 500 of them to get through - wonderful!)

4. Bananas

5. Kleenex

From Safeway

1. Graham crackers

2. Mac & cheese

3. Tea

4. Whole wheat tortillas

5. Dog toy

6. Easter cookie cutters

7. 3 kids toothbrushes

8. Adhesive putty

9. Pencil erasers

10. People magazine - this one is totally embarrassing to me. I have a weakness for gossip rags, I love looking at the clothes & this issue has new baby pix in it. I don't care anything for the celebrity mommy but must see those pictures. I hate it when I give in to my desire, in principal I'm against them but now and then I just can't resist.

So there you go, my list of extras & unnecessary purchases.

A great daughter

I am not!

It was all planned. I was going to call Dad in the morning & have the kids sing him happy birthday. I did it for mom just 2 days ago, how could I get his wrong?
But I did & I have been doing it for years.
I simply cannot get it into my head that Dad's birthday is on March 2nd, not March 3rd. I even have it on the calandar.
I feel so bad!
Mom called tonight & said "well, get the kids together so they can sing to Grandpa."
Huh???
Oh crap I did it again.
(Sigh)
Good thing he loves me!

Happy Birthday Dad, I love you!!!

Cars

So bug tries again turned me on to this month of lists thing from this site. Well, it's really 12 months of topics but this month's topic is lists. So I'm going to join in although I'm already a day late. Hope this isn't too boring - I had to think of something that would be quick.



Car's I've owned



1. AMC Matador early 70's - this was really owned by my parents but I was the sole driver of it. It was poop brown (no, I'm not kidding!), ugggggly and a great first car. Dents? They just add character. I named it bbps (big brown piece of s***) & had great fun piling all my friends in & hanging out in my beast.



2. Chevy Citation ??- the worst car I've ever owned. This thing had so many problems, I hated it! It died every time you slowed down - at stop lights I had to put one foot on the brake & one on the gas to keep it from dying. It would also surge at inconvient times & you had to stand on the brake or it would take off on you. Then the hood wouldn't open...then it wouldn't close. Then the hood flipped up while I was on a highway...I'm sure you can imageine how much fun that was!



3. Honda Civic 1989 - this was my first good car. It was a hatchback that I got in 1991 & I had it for almost 10 years. I put a ton of miles on it & it was in at least 3 accidents but it kept on going like the energizer bunny. However, in the end it had lots of problems (go figure) and my mechanic thanked me when we finally got rid of it. To this day late 80's civics bring up feelings of nastolga in me.



4. Geo Metro 1996 - I inherited this when I married Chris. It was a gutless wonder & we were not sad to see it go!



5. Honda Accord 1996- good car, boring, dependable...my first 'grown up' car.



6. Dodge Caravan 2001 - this is the car I drive to this day. My parents bought it for us when we found out that we were having twins. The Accord would no longer cut it for us, we needed more room for the car seats. It's carried our family faithfully for the past 5 years & I love it still.



7. Big ole beater truck late 70's - My hubby bought this baby for hauling stuff. It didn't last us long, we had it less than a year & it died on us.



8. Chevey 3/4 ton pickup late 70's - big, loud manly truck. Similar to the above truck but in much better shape. We still have this but only use it when necessary - hideous mileage as you can imagine but much fun to drive out in the sticks.



9. Toyota Celica 1996 - This is a cheap commuter car for Chris. Worked great for almost a year. We had some work done on it then discovered it needed a new engine - poop! It's now sitting in the driveway waiting to be donated.



10. Chevy Caviler 2004 - Chris's new commuter car, gets great gas mileage, hooray!! However, I'm not crazy about having a car payment again - we've not had one for about 5 years. I guess it's the price you pay for a car that won't break down 9 months after you buy it. (knock on wood!!)



So there you go, all the car's I've owned. Now don't you feel like you've learned something? Yeah, not my most inspiring post by a long shot.