Wordless Wednesday

Smoochy face for Mommy:

A Strange Request

This is my "Peanut". He's 7 and getting ready to turn 8 in June. Since the boys' birthdays are all in the summertime, once spring starts rolling around, the discussion of "what I want for my birthday" begins.

We made a short run to Wal-mart Friday night and he says, "Mom, can we go to the Garden Center and buy some plants?" I said, "Not tonight buddy, it's supposed to snow all weekend long." He says, "Well that's what I want for my birthday." I was distracted and trying to get what we needed and get out and said, "You want what for your birthday?" (thinking he was looking at a toy or something in passing) He says, "Plants. I want plants for my birthday." All righty then...

He does love working outside in the yard with me and here's a picture of him planting some mums in the fall. He loves digging in the dirt. One year I got him his own little set of gardening tools and he LOVED them.



Granted, I'd love to get some new plants for the yard and such but it seems kind of like cheating him if he gets them for his birthday so I thought maybe something like a mini terrarium or something for his room? If anyone has any great ideas, I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Easter is coming...

Every year I try to avoid the cheesy stuffed rabbit to put in the kids' baskets...in fact I try to avoid baskets in general. Usually a bucket or a bag or something they might actually play with later on...

Last year I took the little ones to church for the Easter egg hunt. They avoided the candy route for the eggs, which made me happy, however, they put little toys inside the eggs. Good deal right? Right. Until....my daughter opens a plastic egg and there is a little fluffy baby chick toy inside. She throws the egg and lets out a blood curdling scream.

My daughter is not a fan of these:


It's a baby chick for pete's sake. Seems innocuous enough. Yet if she sees one, she will run in the opposite direction, screaming at the top of her lungs. I have no idea where this fear came from either...

And it's not just chicks she is scared of...she doesn't like these either:


Who doesn't like baby ducks? My little princess, that's who. She is not a fan of birds in general. We tried to look at a couple of bird exhibits at the zoo last year, which went really well - until she realized there were real birds in there. At the mall one day in the parking lot, a flock of birds flew over and she's screaming, "No birds! No birds!"

My neighbors have pet birds and we've tried "making friends" and showing her that they aren't scary to no avail, she isn't having any of it.

She is, however, going to look adorable in her Easter dress that her Uncle Shawn bought her, don't you think?

Dinner Tonight...FAIL

WARNING: This post is not for the weak of stomach - if you gag easily (umm Jeni this means you), do not proceed to read any further.

Still reading? OK, don't say I didn't warn you.

I spent around 30 minutes in the kitchen tonight whipping up some awesome cheeseburgers with the onion soup packet mixed in the meat along with a side of Green Giant pasta/cheese/veggie combo, because my little ones are not huge veggie fans unless they are mixed in something else.

I get everything on the plates and we get ready to sit down and eat. The daughterling announces suddenly she has to go to the bathroom and gets up from the table. No one has taken a bite of their food yet and then it starts....

Barf....exorcist style...for like five minutes straight...on the floor next to the dining room table.

Yep just like that...

Hubs grabs a towel and announces that he will gag if he has to clean it up. I'm already wearing my fair share, so I grab the towel and clean it all up and clean her up. I grab the mop and clean up the floor. Then I haul her upstairs and put her in the bathtub to get her all cleaned up. I came back downstairs and hubs managed to choke one of his cheeseburgers down but had a look on his face like it wasn't going well... I tried to take a bite or two of mine and finally said "Forget it, just give it all to the dogs." Dinner = FAIL due to unforeseen circumstances.

I hope this is just a fluke "something she ate" issue and not the beginning of a household flu epidemic. Now I get to go start the laundry associated with the whole fiasco.

The dogs aren't complaining tonight, they ate like kings.

Dear Mother Nature:

Dear Mother Nature:

Today is the first day of spring...This is what I SHOULD be seeing:



In anticipation of this, we got out the summer ride on toys the other day and put them in the back yard, all ready to go.


However, on this first day of spring, this is what I am ACTUALLY seeing:



I request a redo and the immediate cessation of this white crap that I hate.

Sincerely yours,
Ready For Summer

Is That a Pitbull in a Tutu??

Today the UPS man showed up to drop off a box. I have to block the dogs inside because they aren't very stranger-friendly. I went out to the screened in front porch and the dogs immediately jumped up on the couch to see who was at the door.

I'm signing for the package and the UPS guy looks up and says "Ummm ma'am, is that a pitbull in a pink tutu?"

I said, "No, that's a boxer in a tutu." He looks at me quizzically and I said, "I have a 3-year-old daughter." He shook his head and said, "OK that explains it, have a nice day." LOL
Poor Buster...he's very tolerant though, don't you think?? LOL

A Prequel to Summer Festivals...

Summer is right around the corner. That means it's time for outdoor concerts, festivals and the like. I love summer and everything outdoors, so the thought improves my mood exponentially.

We will be attending Rockfest at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City again this year. Yes, I'm a mom and yes I still enjoy rock music and yes I think that's ok and no, I don't think that makes me a crappy role model. Moms enjoy a little fun too now and then... The lineup is going to be good and they are having it earlier in the season, which hopefully means we won't die from heat exhaustion out there this year. :)

However, the parts I am not looking forward to are the people stomping all over me as I try to enjoy the show, pot smoke floating through the air (gross), and the general nonsense that comes with dealing with a show of this type. Last year I ended up with a giant gash on my neck that almost makes me want to reconsider going this year.

You have to excuse the lack of makeup and flat, sweat-soaked hair - hey, it was like 95 degrees out there, you wouldn't look like a million bucks either...

Hubby was not a happy camper after that happened...
In thinking about the summer concerts, it brought to mind a post I wrote on my Myspace blog (I know, Myspace is so last week and I never use it but I keep it around because I have pics on there I haven't saved yet, lol) so I thought I'd recycle the post and bring it back to my new blog for others to enjoy.

OUTDOOR CONCERT ETIQUETTE

"After attending Rockfest yesterday, I feel the need to express to the masses a few little points on what I feel should be necessary outdoor concert etiquette. Let me start off by saying that Rockfest was awesome and the bands were great. Seeing STP reunited was an experience that I wouldn't trade for all of the nonsense that went on throughout the day.

When attending an all day, outdoor festival, there are people that are smart bring a blanket to sit on and place their things. Those that aren't so smart go wandering through the crowd stepping on whatever is in their path including blankets, bags, food, drinks, and people. Sometimes the occasional blanket step is unavoidable and must be excused, especially when the offender is at least making an attempt not to step on you or the rest of your stuff. "Excuse me" can be pretty powerful words, people, USE THEM. There were also major offenders. People who would step on your blanket or you or even OVER you when they can see you sitting right there. Obviously their mothers did not teach them any manners either because there was no "excuse me" forthcoming. To these people I issue a warning: if you are going to come trampling over me and my stuff and step in my nachos or knock over my $5 beer and I happen to have a lit cigarette in my hand, expect to be tagged with a small reminder on your leg of why you should not step over or on people at concerts. I counted yesterday and there are 7 people out there with a small circular burn mark on their leg as a reminder from me to them not to step on me when there is a perfectly reasonable grass path in which they could have gone around. The people on the blanket behind me offered to take up smoking and follow the same practice, as they were getting pissed off from being stepped all over by offenders also.

Secondly, when attending an outdoor festival such as Rockfest and you intend to partake in alcoholic beverages, PACE YOURSELVES, PEOPLE! There were a ton of people that 2 hours into the festival yesterday that were passed out and ended up being carried out of the place by their friends at the end of the night. You paid $30 a ticket and $30 in beer probably to see one band for an hour, smart move. And a side note to the guy who was passed out face down in a puddle of his own puke before the concerts even started: First rule is PACE YOURSELF and second rule is GET NEW FRIENDS. If you are friends with a bunch of assholes who amuse themselves by kicking the crap out of you while you are face down in the ground in a puddle of your own puke, it's time to trade up and get new friends, man. Especially in 90-something degree weather where you could have alcohol poisoning and die of heat exhaustion and your friends' concern is kicking you in the kidneys and laughing and the people that actually go to get some help to assist you don't even know you, I see this as a problem and it's time for a trade in.

My third and fourth concert etiquette issues are a little controversial and touchy for some. The third is going to address weed. Let me start off by saying that I am not a weed smoker, but you wouldn't know if by the bloodshot eyes I have from inhaling second hand smoke out there. This, however, is not my complaint. If you want to smoke weed, that's entirely up to you; however, to those that got asked to leave the concert yesterday or got arrested because of weed, here is a piece of advice that may apply to you: WEED IS STILL ILLEGAL, people! If you know this and choose to do it anyway, certainly it's your deal, but then don't bother being indignant when you get busted. You would have been better off taking the money you wasted on frying your brain cells and put it in the Bikers for Babies fundraising cans and enjoying the concert in its entirety. Note to these people: $30 for a concert ticket, plus whatever weed goes for these days (I have no clue) to see a band or two for a couple hours and then get kicked out or arrested? Probably not economically feasible...especially if you were one that got arrested and had to come up with bail money also.

The fourth issue regarding concert etiquette is also a little sensitive for some, including myself but I am proud to say I was not an offender. This is wardrobe, especially for the larger folks. To the women, if you have 3 spare tires where abs used to be, a bikini is NOT a good choice for you. It's not cute or sexy and trust me, NO ONE wants to see this. I know, it's hot outside, but there are plenty of other appropriate cool-to-wear objects that do not subject others to their eyeballs burning for having viewed you in this state. If it is a tan you are trying to achieve, your back yard might be a better venue for this. Case in point:

I don't know any of these women but let's just say it and put it out there - Good Lord! And I'm going to go equal opportunity on the sexes here to be fair. Men, if we cannot see your belt from your gut hanging over it, there is no reason on earth to remove your shirt. Try a loose tank top to stay cooler for future events. Everyone will be happier for it. Keep in mind that as I write this, I am fully aware that I have five children and that no one wants to see my stomach, therefore a camisole that covered it was satisfactory temperature wise and pleasing to the eyes of others in mixed company.

Another side note to the men....those of you that scream for chicks to take their shirts off at concerts are the ones I am addressing here. Are you really that lame that you can't get some action at home and have never laid eyes on a set of boobs before? However, to the ladies, if you've got a great set and feel the need to show them off, go for it. However, if you are like me and have had five kids and they aren't where they used to be or weigh 300+ pounds, if you hear a man hollering to see tits, it's probably not at you, keep them put away.

My last concern is purely a safety issue. By the end of the night people were launching full water bottles through the air. Granted the mist from the water flying through the evening air was cooling, but did any of you think about the poor sucker that got whacked in the back of the head by the half full water bottle coming down? I counted probably 30 water bottles spinning gracefully through the air shooting water last night and with the crowd as packed as it was, I have to believe that there were at least 25 people who went home with a huge bump and bruise on their head. So last etiquette rule on my little diatribe here: WATER BOTTLES ARE FOR DRINKING AND SHOULDN'T BE LAUNCHED IN THE AIR AS MISSLES.

However, like I said at the beginning of this little editorial, Rockfest on the whole was a great time. The weather was fantastic, spending the day with Paul, and the rest of our group made for great company. The people on the blankets sitting around us were all great and I ran into some old friends, which was great also. The music was good and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience as a whole. And my wonderful guy Paul, who in general refuses to buy concert t-shirts, bought me a concert t-shirt. :) I hope all of the others that attended had as good a time as I did and got home safely."

A couple more pictures for your perusal....this is what being mixed up in a crowd of 50,000 people looks like during the day...

And at night....

End rant...errrr, blog....

Potty Training

The littlest has been going through a phase of streaking here lately....I cannot get him to leave clothes nor a diaper on lately. Thank goodness it's getting warmer outside or he might freeze!

Last night Daddy made a Wal-mart run and picked up a package of size 2T Nickolodeon big boy underpants. He was pretty jazzed when he got up this morning and we had Diego, Spongebob and Wonderpets underwear to choose from. He looks so cute in them and if there weren't a ton of creepos on the internet, I'd probably add pictures to this post, so I'll just put a funny picture for aesthetic purposes instead:

First we started off with the Diego underpants and he decided those were not the deal and he needed to move on to Wonderpets.... Then Wonderpets weren't good either and we needed to check out the Spongebob pants.

He has expressed interest in sitting on the potty chair and one day he climbed up on the big toilet and went #2....with the lid down....what a mess but I at least made a big deal out of the fact that he tried. :)

Since potty training the daughterling, our diaper expense has gone down about $40 a month...I could be saving DOUBLE that if I could get him trained too!! Maybe I could get a monthly massage at the day spa?? Or pay extra on some bills, which would be the most likely solution...dangit. I think I should get the massage as an award for potty training two toddlers in the course of a year, right?

The Spongebob pants lasted a total of a few minutes and he's back to streaking again... Do you think it's prohibitive to the cause if I duct tape the darn things on him??

A Social Experiment...

I have picky eaters...little picky eaters that every night at dinner, it doesn't matter WHAT I fix, they go "Ewww gross!" I could fix something they like and they STILL complain...The older boys are great eaters no matter what but the little ones are not. I think they get it from their father personally...

Tonight we ordered Chinese food for delivery. The kids sat up and happily ate everything on their plates, even the vegetables in the lo mein, cabbage in the egg rolls and crab rangoon.

Hubby and I sat and discussed how they will eat anything on their plates and not complain when we go out to a restaurant and they will eat anything that comes in a takeout bag; however, they won't eat a decent home cooked meal. And before anyone decides to be cute...I CAN cook. LOL

I think I'm going to try an at-home social experiment. I'm going to the store and buying some kind of "to-go" containers. Then I'm going to make dinner, pack it up in the to-go containers and have hubby carry it out the back door, around the front of the house and walk in the front door and announce that he brought dinner home and we're going to see if they eat it.

Anyone wanna make bets?? LOL

The Story of a Peep Peep

Once upon a time, my little angel turned one year old...

Her Grandma LuAnn and Pawpaw Pat bought her this pink teddy bear as part of her birthday gift. Who knew it was going to be love at first sight??

Originally this bear started off as "Pinky Bear" but as her owner got older and talked better, she became "Peep Peep" and she was very well loved.

She was so loved, in fact, that she became seriously ratty...no amount of washing has restored the original bright pink color and we've been left with a grayish pink bear.

Grandma Bronna (the neat freak of the family) decided that a replacement Peep Peep was in order, so she found an exact replica and brought it for Christmas when she was 2....alas, Original Peep Peep was not to be replaced and Replacement Peep Peep got put in the top of the closet with the other stuffed animals. If we tried to convince our dear princess to switch, she adamantly replied, "That bear is NOT Peep Peep!"

She sleeps with Peep Peep every night and at every nap and it's a very rare occasion that we make it out of the house without Peep Peep in tow. Here she is asleep standing up but still has Peep Peep tucked under her arm.

Peep Peep even goes to the zoo with us when we go. Poor Replacement Peep Peep has sat up in the top of the closet, neglected and unloved. However, I got a message from a good friend that is helping a family member out and keeping their little girl for a while and she had asked me if I had any hand me down clothes and things they could use. I said that I was sure we had some things and took a bag upstairs to dear daughter's room this morning.

My kid is a total clothes horse and had a meltdown over every piece of clothing I put in the bag, even though I explained to her, "This stuff doesn't even FIT you anymore!" Finally I tried the tactic, "There's a little girl that needs these things that doesn't have nice things like you do, so we need to be nice and share with her, okay?" You could see the wheels really turning as she thought this over and then she pointed up to the closet and said, "Mommy, can you get me that pink bear?"

I pulled down Replacement Peep Peep and handed it to my sweet daughter who then patted her and placed her gently in the bag and said, "We need to send this too, Mommy. Every little girl needs a Peep Peep."

And she's right, every little girl DEFINITELY needs a Peep Peep and I hope Replacement Peep Peep ends up as well loved as the original.

Wordless Wednesday

Here's the gang finally getting to go outside and play on a spring day!

Jaiden cruising on his bike.

Liam thinks if Mommy is calling him to get his picture taken, that means he has to come inside and he's not happy...

Here comes the tattler - "Mommy, the brothers won't play with me!!"

Isn't he handsome? You'd never believe he was once a preemie...

Anyone else notice that my oldest is always conspicuously absent from all my Wordless Wednesdays?

Yeah...me too. :(

What I'm Reading Now...

I just finished up "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines. It's a classic and never fails to bring tears to my eyes. I've read it before, but every now and again I love to get an old tried and true classic out and read it again.



This is my current "fun" book...I am loving it so far. I haven't seen the movie yet because I hate seeing the movie without reading the book first. Hopefully I will have the time to finish it up this week.



I got this book for free and I decided to sit down and see what it's about. It really has pulled me in more so than I thought it would. Having had past credit issues (thanks jerkface ex) and living on a limited budget, it's really given me some great ideas on how we can manage things and get things paid down by making a plan. I don't buy into everything that Dave Ramsey says but the book does have some solid ideas that I believe are worth following through on. Once I finish the book, I plan to sit down and write out said plan and will probably blog about it too, so look for future postings on this.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week! Mine is off to a rough start but I am hoping it will smooth out before long. I think zoning off into some reading could be a great cure!

Monday Mayhem - Weekend Recap

Mondays always make me feel out of sorts. It seems like the weekend is total chaos around here, especially on the "all kid" weekends.

Friday we took our first trip to the zoo...I would post pictures but after we got halfway there, I realized that I forgot my camera and hubby refused to turn around and go back to get it...meanie. We decided last year that it would be nice for grandma to do a "group birthday" present for everyone and so we asked for a Friends of the Zoo membership to the Kansas City Zoo. If you have the opportunity in your area to do something like that and especially if you have toddlers that get totally worn out and crabby a few hours into a day-long trip, I definitely recommend this. We can go for a few hours, spend some time really SEEING a few animals and talking about them rather than pushing through and glancing at things on the way by. It's been a great learning experience for all the kids and we see a section at a time and go home and can come back another day to do something else, so we don't feel like we're doing the same thing every time we go. This year we got something called the "Family Gold" membership, which is AWESOME and almost negates our need for a stroller. It includes admission to the zoo for the whole family and free train, tram and carousel rides for everyone - for our family of 7, that saves us a TON of money and we can ride the train or tram to different areas of the zoo and the little ones are at the age where they want out of the stroller every two seconds to look at the animals so we left it at home this last time and it worked out just fine. I love the zoo and the kids love it too so it's a great family outing that we all enjoy together. If you have a zoo and the opportunity for a family membership wherever you are, I definitely recommend it.

In other news...I actually saw TWO ROBINS in the front yard Friday morning...I think that means that spring must be near (let me pause and do my hallelujah dance real quick - - - wait for it - - - okay done). The weather was GORGEOUS this weekend and we got to play outside quite a bit which is awesome for the kids and awesome for mom's nerves when everyone doesn't have to be piled on top of each other in the house because it's too cold and nasty to be outside.

Friday night was Wii night for Paul and the kids (and his friend Nick, who is also a big kid, lol). I got to spend some time with my friend Sherri, whom I hadn't seen in AGES, and she was nice enough to color my hair. By the way friends, Sally's Beauty Supply closes at 8:00 pm, which is helpful to know when you decide you want to color your hair at 7:40 pm and have to take a flying run up there to get the stuff before they close. :) I got rid of my grays and got a good visit in, so I consider that a darn good evening.

Saturday, we went outside and got the bikes out and I took my laptop out to the front porch so I could supervise the festivities. The 8-year-old and I went to the grocery store and I spent $56 on a bunch of crap...he wanted fully loaded nachos for dinner, which were yummy but not $56 worth in my opinion. I need to start being a better coupon shopper. It's on my list of things to do...

Sunday was more playing outside, the sun was out and it was in the high 50s. I also love the playing outside for the "wearing kids out" factor...they have been going to bed and sleeping like little angels at night, which is great for Mommy.

However, the little angels are awake and being crazy this morning, so I'd better wrap this up and go back to Mommy duties. Hope everyone has a fantastic Monday!

Wordless Wednesday

This picture was taken after she had danced the night away at my cousin's wedding reception. I wish I had some video of the dancing...she was really shaking her booty. :) She was also very disappointed that she didn't catch the bouquet so my other cousin was nice enough to give her the flowers that she had used. She was totally crashed out here but wasn't letting go of those flowers. Aren't they sweet when they're sleeping??