Green Monsters

(Miles)

(Dexter)

These are pictures of the boys on St. Patty's day. Thanks to their Oma and Opa- they had green shirts to wear... although I can't say that they didn't get pinched, with cheekers like those, how can you resist pinching them?! Seriously peeps.

Can you believe that these boys are already 10 months old?! TEN MONTHS! Only two months left until Chip and I can have our survivor celebration. Ya know... that wonderful celebration where we can proudly wear our matching shirts that proclaim "WE SURVIVED OUR FIRST YEAR OF BEING PARENTS OF TWINS!" Sigh..... if only we were cool enough to have such magical shirts....

On Saturday as I was walking in the door after being at a Scrapbook Expo (squeal!!) the boys both looked at me and instantly started fussing, crying, and crawling towards me. I looked at them and exclaimed "Why do you two always start fussing whenever you see me?!" To which Alli replied "Did you ever stop to think that maybe they just don't like you?" Later that night as the babies were biting my toes with their razor sharp teeth and clawing my face with their talons, I am beginning to think she might have been onto something....

At least they are cute little monsters, and I am legally required to love them until they are 18. Even if they don't love me back.





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(Just FYI.... I know I'm the babies favoritest person- like eva'. They told me so..... they just don't want anyone else to know they play favorites, so they have to play it cool and fuss at me.
They are such smart babies.)

Wii're Having Fun

The past few weeks the boys have been telling Chip that they want him to play the Star Wars game on the Wii. Or at least, that's Chip's story.

Funny thing though- the minute the boys hear that famous Star Wars intro they instantly look at the TV. Even if the music just comes from your mouth and not from the TV- they still look at the boob tube.

Miles likes to crawl over to the TV cabinet, get on his knees and bounce up and down a little. It's hilarious.



Dexter also likes to get in on the action too. (yeah... that pile behind the boys is my ironing, you're jealous, aren't you?) Dexter is the closest one to the basket full of fun....


I officially feel out numbered in this household now. I am the only one who doesn't give a rats about Star Wars.............

Parkin' it.

I'm a little behind on blog posts.... Please forgive me. I know my happenings in my life is super important to you, and I don't ever want to make you sad or cry for slacking off on my duty to entertain you. HA!

About 2 weeks ago we were blessed with super duper wuper warm weather. It was frickin' awesome, peeps. It was in the 70's. Yeah... 70's!!! We took advantage of every-single-minute of it. (which I'm super happy we did, because now it's like back into the 40's again. Boo.)

Last Monday we took the kiddos to the park for our Family Home Evening.

We decided to put the babies in the swing for the first time. They both LOVED it!
This is Miles flyin' high. That swing dwarfed him. It was hilarious.

Maggie decided she wanted to push Miles, instead of play herself.
Whateva' she wants.

Dexter loved looking down at the ground (and talking to it) while he was swinging....

Alli totally loved the slides and climbing on every structure available to her grubby little hands.

And Chip.... he just loved stopping work long enough to get out of the house and see our children BEFORE he put them to bed.

(Miles in blue and Dexter in white)

It was a great F.H.E. together. It was great to get out of the house, see some blue skies (I'm sooooo tired of these lousy grey skies that make me want to sleep all day), and have some giggles.


Let's all do an Indian Sun Dance -or something like that, to get the warm weather back again.

Deal? Deal.

Yes, Alli exists.

It has come to my attention that some people don't think Alli is real. Yeah... I hardly ever post anything on my blog about her. There's a few different reasons:

1) Alli goes to school at 8am and doesn't get home until almost 4. It's during those hours that I take 99% of my pictures. Mostly because after 4pm it's dinner/bath/bed time.

2) Our photo secessions go something like this:

Me: Hey Alli! Can I take your picture??
Alli: Please do it quickly, so I can go and play!
Me: Okay. *click*

Me: Alli, that picture made you look like you were constipated. Plus you had wild hair.
Alli: So?!
Me: Let me take another one.
Alli: But MOOOooooommmmM!?!?!!!!!!!
Me: *click*
Alli: I just want to go and play!

Me: Alli, that one you were shouting 'Mooooooommmmmmm"
Alli: Bye! I'm going to play.
Me: I'll just follow you around until you actually give me a good smile.
Alli: Fine. How's this.
Me: *click* better.

Me: But how about a real smile Alli. Not one of your fake cheesy ones.
Alli: Like this?!
Me: *click* That will do.

Alli: Now can you go away so I can play now?!?


Alli is such a funny kid. Love that girl to death.
And now you know.. .....my 8 year old exists.

Clear as Mud

Okay, so apparently I have rubbed people wrong with my comments- so let me just clear this up. I'm sorry for anyone who felt like I as attacking them personally for having the right to drink. I wasn't aiming to do so.

#1- I don't drink.
There are a few reasons why too.
- it's against my religious beliefs.
- I know that alcoholism runs in my family. I have an extremely addictive personality, and pretty much decided not to get on the boat of drinking.
- I've seen alcohol destroy families. Families close to my heart have been broken up because of excessive drinking.
- I got to watch my grandfather & great grandmother (different sides of the family) die of liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver. Alcohol did that. It killed them.

#2- I don't care if YOU drink as long as you don't do the following:
- drink and drive- thus putting me and my family in harm's way because of your choice.
-request that I pay for the alcohol.

That pretty much sums it up. I don't care if anyone drinks (of legal age). It doesn't offend me. It's your choice. I don't want anyone to get 'weirded out' that I don't drink or feel uncomfortable if I attend something in which you choose to drink alcohol.


Next:
I really do like my twins club and what they stand for. They do tons of charitable work- which is completely awesome sauce. The one event that I didn't enjoy going to was the Christmas party, for which I explained my reasons in that last venting post. Every other activity I have gone to has been very well planned, and my family and I really like going to them. I am trying to get "in" the group- which is always a little difficult considering it's a group of 500+ women, most of whom already have their 'group of friends' in place. It's just hard trying to find where you fit in. (It feels like the first day of HS- only you see these women once or twice a month....)

Next up:
I actually really like my chiropractor. When I first started going to him, he was just the guy my insurance company told me to go to- as he was the closest chiro to my house. After my first visit, he made phone calls to me to see how I was doing, if I was sore, if I needed my back to be tweaked anymore before my next scheduled visit. He is a very good chiropractor. He gets the job done right the first time. He remembers all of your 'trouble spots' without you having to remind him. It's his job to know that kind of stuff. His assistants are really nice- in fact, I never have to worry about my kids while I'm there getting adjusted or getting the therapies done. The girls behind the desk hold the babies and entertain them, and Dr. Ryan's two (very well mannered) puppies entertain Maggie- and she's usually nervous around dogs. He also has a toy room for kids too.
Dr. Ryan is a body builder. He cares about that stuff- which is why he's got tons of muscles. I mean... hey, he's on the board for the Arnold Fitness Expo for Pete's sake.... so he needs those muscles to look good in pictures that he's standing next to Arnold Schwarzenegger in (which are posted all over his hallways in his office, btw.)
I recommend Dr. Ryan to everyone who needs a good chiropractor.


And Finally:
If you don't know me. I'm kind of sarcastic. Sarcasm doesn't translate very well in print, unfortunately. It's one of those traits that you kind of have to know the person and hear their voice speaking as you are reading the words. While some people I know can get away with this- I'm realizing that it just makes me sound like a big ol' witch.... which I'm really not. Really.

Maybe I should start doing Vlogs. Ya know... video-blogs. That way people can see what I'm saying and hear how I'm saying it.... instead of actually having people interpret the 'feel' of my post. <- perfect example of my sarcasm.


Alright my follower/reader friends. That is all for now.
Enjoy your weekend.
I'm going to go and eat ice cream and watch a movie with the Chipster.
Yummy. (on both accounts.)

Winner, Winner.

And from our random generator friend: The winner of the contest is......

Drumroll........


#5!!

Brittney!!!!



Thank you to all who helped us promote Telesaur! It really means a lot to us.

So Brittney- All you need to do is send me your address (either e-mail or FB it to me...) and pick if you want a dozen handmade cards or a table runner. :D (and now you can cross off having the worst luck ever..... because you won!)

My Job

(I just thought I'd post a picture of what happens when you sit down with a plate of food where the babies can reach you. They both perk up and climb over to you to investigate what you have to offer them. In some respects, they are a lot like my cat.)
{{FYI: Dexter in stripes- Miles in white Spider Man shirt}}

I have a job.

My job is being a stay at home mom. My mission: Not to be 'one of those moms'... you know.. .that frumpy, disheveled, woman who looks as though she was mauled by a bear (or 5)-

I feel that motherhood is such a divine calling and I am so, so, so very blessed to be able to stay at home and raise these little cherubs. (I'm not saying that some days I don't want to box said cherubs up and ship them off to some foreign country... like Zimbabwe.... but for the most part, it truly is a joy to be with the kids.)

Most of the women who I've talked to that work outside of the home feel like their career is their 'calling in life' or 'they would go crazy staying at home all day long with a bunch of kids'.... (my secret to sanity: I'm rarely at home... I go out A.LOT. Parks/zoo/walking/errands/whatev... I'm just not usually at home.) A lot of these career women think that housewives just sit on their bumbums in their pj's and blog all day.. (wait a minute.....) To combat that accusation, I have made it a point to never be frump mom... especially out in public. I'm not saying that I don't usually have some sort of food article on my clothing- but I always have make up on, hair up, earrings in, necklace on, and always freshly showered, and unlike Maggie, my outfits usually match. Don't get me wrong, Even in an office- people have dress down days... and like once a month, I'll wear sweats around the house instead of jeans. Ta-da. Dress down day. But I never go out of the house like that.

I fear that I may have had an impression on the workers at my chiropractor's office. (you remember him right? This guy...... ohh how I never get tired of that picture. It just makes me giggle so.) Yesterday as I went to my monthly appointment, one of the gals there said "I just don't know how you do it. All of your kids are presentable and ready for the day,& you're always dressed up.... you are what my grandmother would call a true lady." I'm not kidding. She totally said that. She called me a LADY! HA!!! I started laughing (as anyone who really new me would never call me a "lady".... with all that that implies.). I couldn't help it.

I was giggling the entire time she was hooking those little massaging electrode thingies on my back... and even when she put the hot pad on my back, I was still giggling.

As I was starting to get relaxed while my back was getting massaged... I accidentally let out a huge smelly TOOT! (I said I was relaxed.)

That made me laugh even harder.

She called me a "lady".

That'll teach her.

Past Week

When I get a bug up my bum- Or get a soapbox to stand on- or well.... anything that really bothers me, I just can't seem to break free of it, get off of it, or just plain old get over it for quite some time. It literally absorbs every waking minute of my life.
If I talk to you while I'm on one of my 'kicks', you'll hear about whatever is my current bother.
I just can't help it.

This past week I had a few things that were just rocking me to my core:

1) Our van was sideswiped by our neighbors.... and they never fessed up to us about it! I noticed it, I noticed their car had a HUGE scratch at the exact height that our scratch was at.... Ohh how it made me mad. We are actually pretty good friends with these neighbors, and it really hurt our feelings that they didn't say anything to us. We were trying to figure out their reasoning on why they didn't tell us. Our neighbor recently got laid off from his job, so were they embarrassed that they couldn't afford to fix our car, so opted not to say anything? or do they even have insurance? or I donno... did they not realize they put a seriously huge scratch in our car??
I was fuming. But I didn't know what to do.... I mean, our neighbor IS unemployed- why add one more stress to their family by demanding them to fix it? *sigh*.
A few days after it happened Chip finally confronted our neighbor. As it turns out, after a huge long explanation, their nephew was the one that was driving their car- and hit our car with it. Or so the story goes. Supposedly they are going to get it fixed.... we shall see.

2) Chip went on a business trip. His company made their employees share rooms with complete strangers..... Chip got an extra awesome-sauce roomie. He kept trying to talk Chip into getting prostitutes with him. Lovely person, right? Over and over and over again he would ask Chip to go get the girls. WHAT-THE-WHAT?!? (I guess I should high-five Chip for saying no... right?... )

3) Back in December, my twins club had a Christmas party. The cost was $10 to go... which I assumed went to the cost of the venue and food. WRONG. It went to the venue, a handful of mediocre appetizers and a table full to the brim of alcohol. I was so disappointed. #1- I don't drink. #2- It's against my religion to drink. I was so disgusted that I was basically paying for other people to drink up. (If you didn't want the alcohol, the only other beverage offered was 2 half gallon cartons of egg nog or water with lemon in it.... please don't get me started on fruit in water. It'll be another soapbox issue... so let's just say "It's soooo wrong.") When the twins club has other things that are against my religious beliefs- such as activities on Sunday's.... it's so easy to not do it. Ya just don't go. Or- like after every twins club meeting the majority of us go to Applebee's and get some appetizers and just talk and giggle... it's tons of fun- granted the majority of the moms grab an alcoholic drink (or 4)... but I'm fine with it,- because I'm not paying for it- it's not effecting me in any way (well... I guess the ladies drinking are a little louder... which means I laugh a little bit more.... so I guess it does effect me. In a good way ;D)
Okay, onto the point of this story: The Twins club is having their annual 'mother of the year' award banquet in a few weeks. {I guess when you have twins you can actually qualify for that.... who knew?!?}. The cost: $20. The menu: a buffet and all you can drink wine. After the Christmas party zonker..... I just don't think I should be paying, again, for other people to get that warm fuzzy feeling that alcohol provides. It's just really been bothering me. It's supposed to be such a fun event, but the whole "I'm buying alcohol" thing is just off putting.
Why am I dealing with situations like this as an adult?! Isn't it supposed to be smooth sailing after you turn like 21?
I've decided not to go to the banquet. Which still makes me sad. I really wanted to go...... *sigh* Stupid soapbox of morals.

There were some other hiccups of life that happened in between all of that.... but those were the highlights.


In other news: I finished the table runner. It looks better in person, I promise. I just have super crappy lighting in here. So.... just picture it in your mind with the colors 'singing'.

So without further adieu:


Fun right?!?
(If you don't like it.... and you win the contest, you can also choose a dozen handmade cards... :D)


And on other fun news: I got a package from my mommy this week. It made me happy. She finished quilting one of the quilts I made, and also made a little surprise for me too:

A CHICKEN OVEN MIT!! AGKKK!!!! Could you just die of cuteness overload?!?
I wouldn't mind being pecked to death by this cutie. Nope, not at all.

Peck.Peck.Peck.

Convinced

There are a few things that I'm convinced of:

1) This is Maggie's world. She's just tolerating the rest of us living here.
2) Maggie's got more personality in her left pinky than most people have in their whole bodies.
3) People must think I'm nuts by letting Maggie dress herself. I pick my battles. Obviously I'm losing this one. (All these pictures taken in the last 6 days..... stunning, right?)




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Can't believe it's been almost a week since I've posted something on here! What-the-What?!? It's kinda been moody around here. (when I say " around here" I mean "in my head") I'll have to post more later.... ya know... like how cute the rest of my kids are......

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You only have 2.5 more days to post for my give-away! Get crackin'. Seriously, I'm awesome-sauce, why wouldn't you want something I made? Especially when what you're going to be doing is for a great cause... like Telesaur.... and..... sending some aid to Japan? :D

Changing Luck and a Surprise Ending

Nobody, and I really do mean nobody, had ever said "Wow... That girl has all the luck!" when it comes to me.

I never win anything- and usually awesome things just don't 'happen' to me.

Instead I end up tripping on air in the mall and falling on my bum, or biffing it big time during the poise and composure part of my Jr. Miss pageant and bloodying up my knees (true story), or getting our car broken into like no fewer than 10 times, or ripping my new shirts, or when the twins were born- delivering one baby naturally and one baby c-section...... yeah... the list really goes on.

You do not want to rub this girl for luck.

BUT.....

Oddly enough, I think my luck might be changing.

Within the past 2-3 months I have won THREE things!! Can I get a woot woot!! (I better be hearing you say 'woot, woot' in my honor.)

I won this super darling book 'Interrupting Chicken' from my friend Amy over at Cup of Comprehension. Amy is in my twins club, and although I have never personally met her- I stalk her. (well, her blog, anyway.... which she's got a personal blog too.) She's got some cutie- patootie- squishy- cheekers 5 month old twins Bennett and Kate. I'm going to see if Kate wants to hook up with one of the boys. I think they'd be a perfect match. ;D
(Amy, I think I probably should have warned you before hand, but now you know my real intentions ;D)
Then I won this awesome-possum magnetic kitchen timer from Anthropolgie from my friend Candace, over at The Story of Us. I have also never met Candace in person, but I'm pretty sure we'd be besties if she lived near me. She has to super adorable-wanna-squeeze-to-death-because-they-are-so-cotton-pickin-cute kiddos too. Candace is fabulous at whatever she does, knitting, photography, and mommy-hood. I'm a little jealous of her mad talent... (I said a little, but I really meant a lot. I'm a lot jealous.)



And last (well, I hope not really last, because I really like winning..... ) I won $75 of F-R-E-E wonderful stuff from L'Bri for doing a testimonial of their products and winning their contest. (Okay, I really didn't write it just for them. I copied it straight from my blog-which I told them about- when I did the give-away). Seriously peeps, These products are awesome-sauce. I'm not just saying it because I'd be scared of Kezia beating me up with her goats if I say something bad about L'Bri.... I'm saying it because I'm for real.
If you have any skin issues, sensitive skin, whatev- this stuff is awesome. Their #1 ingredient is Aloe- In.Every.Product.They.Make! If you ever wanna try it, they have free samples (you just have to pay s&h)... just go to Kezia's website (here) She'll hook-a-sista'(-or-brotha')-up.

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AND just to help you improve your luck (if you wanna play it that way....)
YOU have a chance to win too.
Here's the deal: If you BLOG about Telesaur donating funds to Japan like I did in this post, or do (2) TWEETS or (2) FB posts {two because it's easier than posting a blog.... so you get to do it twice ;D) leave me a comment and you will be entered in to win a handmade, quilted table runner (I'm starting it tonight..... so I can't show you pictures......yet.) or a dozen handmade cards.... {winner's choice}

AND as a bonus chance to win: You can enter multiple times... if you do all three, you get put into the bucket THREE times! How-dy-Do!
(be sure to leave separate comments..... I'll be using random.org to choose the winner.)

*be sure to show Telesaur's link http://www.telesaur.com
and/or our press release: http://www.telesaur.com/blog/2011/03/15/help-telesaur-help-japan/

It's all about gettin' our name out there, peeps. (well... not my name... but Telesaur's name.)


Alright. High-Five... Game on.


P.S. Contest Ends Friday, March 25 at 11:59pm (I'll be nice and say PST... even though I live in EST... ;D)

Giving Help to Japan

When Chip and I first had the beginning thoughts of Telesaur, one of the things we wanted to stress is charity and helping other people. We wanted to be the company that gives hand ups- not necessarily hand outs. We want to help build up communities, help build up people, and just generally... be nice. :D

We are so excited to announce that for this month we are going to donate 100% of sales to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

If you are an employer who has telecommuting jobs available, be sure to post on our website. If you don't own a business and can't post a job, you can still help. Spread the word!(Facebook, tweet, or blog about this!) We'd love to aid and give some relief to our friends in Japan. We just can't do it alone.

Here is our press release:
http://www.telesaur.com/blog/2011/03/15/help-telesaur-help-japan/

And again, here is our Telesaur link, so you can spread it along:
http://www.telesaur.com

Thanks!!
(with a big ol' hug)

On Restrooms......

Today as I was sitting with a friend at a restaurant it came to my nose's attention that Miles needed a diaper change.

I went into the restroom, changed Miles, and got the sudden emergency rush that I needed to use the restroom too..... Like. Now. (My bladder hasn't been kind to me since I had children...) Sensing there was no time to drop Miles back off with my friend and then run back to the restroom without having an accident I chose the lesser of two evils- I put Miles on the public bathroom floor.

Gross. I know.

In my defense, I put him in the farthest place from the toilet.- which happened to be by the bathroom door.

While doing my business- I had some unexpected business pop up.... diarrhea. Awesome.

Just as this was happening, Miles took the opportunity to look at me, and upon realizing that I couldn't do anything about it ..... he crawled under the stall, into the public area, and he began licking the drainage cover. He also took the container of wipes with him.

I was hurrying as fast as I could to finish up, so I could grab him, when I realized that my stall was completely out of toilet paper. Like... not even the last square was hanging onto the roll.

I was starting to panic. I didn't have my cell phone with me to call my friend at the table, who would have come to my aid by throwing a roll of toilet paper over the stall..... So I did some thinking. I hadn't heard anyone coming into the restroom, and was 99% sure that nobody was in there with me. I made a mental list of what to do- so that way it'd become a reflex and hopefully would be lightening fast. I jumped off the seat, opened the door, swiped Miles and the the container of wipes off the floor with one grab, dragged them back into the stall,closed the stall, opened the package of wipes to take the place of the toilet paper, finished up my business, zipped up my pants and TA-DA! All under 30 seconds.

I felt triumphant- and I wanted to throw my hands up in the air and shout "YES!"...... but then I realized... I needed to wash my hands first.





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So what do YOU do in public restrooms when an emergency strikes and you have a little one who isn't in a carrier?

On Cleaning.

(Image from http://www.simpsoncrazy.com)

Once, sometime twice a month I become a giant monster (and no, I don't mean during that time of the month). Even though nobody's behavior changes except for my own- I become extremely aggravated that the members of my family aren't stepping it up.

I'm talking about becoming the Cleaning Monster.

When Heavenly Father blessed me with 4 children, he somehow forgot to bless me with extra hours in the day. Rude, right? It would be so helpful to have some extra hours to keep on top of things so the Cleaning Monster doesn't even have to show it's ugly face.

It bothers me that no matter how hard I try and teach my children to clean up after themselves, toothpaste is still smeared on the wall, toys are shoved under the bed, and dirty underwear lay scattered around the floor. Shreds of paper ripped from art notepads, broken crayons, and yogurt containers are located in odd places (Yeah... I found an empty yogurt container and a crusty spoon behind my toilet..... that Nobody ate,... and Notme hid broken crayons in with my cookie cutters,.... and Idonno put ripped shreds of paper in my make-up box. )

During that time of month, I instantly become the mother of three more children- Notme, Nobody, and Idonno always show up. I don't like those children at all. I am thinking of putting them up for adoption.

I think what aggravates me the most when I become the Cleaning Monster, is that not a single person in my family steps it up to help ease my burden. In fact, the messes become bigger... not smaller... that people create. To help me from not killing anyone during this time, I usually try and clean after all the kids are in bed. It's saved their lives so far.

On Monday I had become the Cleaning Monster. After everyone under the age of 8 was in bed, I started attacking my house with bleach. While I was scrubbing down the kitchen- I asked Chip if he wouldn't mind taking the clothes out of the dryer..... and then I added for good measure (just so I didn't have to rip off his head if he didn't do it.....) for him to rotate the clothes that were in the washer to the dryer, and add more dirty clothes to the washer. He very sarcastically said "I think I would have figured all of that out".....

We inherited our dryer from a family in our church who moved.... and they had it for a good 10-15 years before we got it. It's an oldie.... so it takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R {are you saying that the same way the kids in The Sandlot say it? because that's what I'm doing} to dry a load (like at least 2 hours...) But it was free, so who am I to complain?

Tuesday Morning when I went to switch loads again, I noticed a slight problem.

Yes- the clothes in the dryer were dry. Yes- there were clothes in the washer. Yes- there was detergent in the washer...... but Chip has forgotten to start the washer.

He's sooooooo not living that one down next time Cleaning Monster comes around.

Make Up

Well, Maggie strikes again.

If you remember THIS POST, you know that Maggie is no stranger to the marker.


Today after I went grocery shopping with my friend Michelle- we struck up a bargain. I took Geneva home to play with Maggie, and Michelle would pick Alli up from school.

The girls were playing fantastically.
Playing nicely, using manners, and being all sorts of sweet.

I should have known something naughty was afoot.

Not 10 minutes before Michelle came to drop off Alli/pick up Geneva, I gave the girls some yogurt as a snack. They ate it, and went back upstairs to finish playing.

After Michelle got here..... the little girls came coming down the stairs... Very proudly, (and I do mean, proudly) showing off their make-up skills:


Yep. Maggie drew all over Geneva's face with a marker (or 10).

I died.
First: I died of embarrassment that my child did this to her friend.
Second: I died laughing.
And third: I died when I realized these markers weren't labeled 'washable'.


I owe Michelle some soap and a Brillo pad at the very least.



Anyone else want to send their child over for a play-date with Maggie??
Slots are opening up by the minute!

On Being Good at Stuff

One of my major downfalls in life is that I hate trying to do new things unless I know I'll be awesome at it.

Example: My mother paid for me to have 12 years of piano lessons. I fought it. I hated it. I didn't work at it at all, because it didn't come naturally to me...... and the result: I kinda really stink at playing the piano.

Example: The German language never was something I was able to instantly pick up- despite having a German grandpa. Two frustrating years of German class (that I totally barely passed.... and that was mandatory by the school, otherwise I would have quit after the first week) and 6 months living in Germany later.... the result: I stink at understanding or saying anything in German.

Example: When it comes to friend making- I am so scared of rejection or saying something stupid, that if we don't have an "insta-connection" - I'm not going to try hard to be your friend. I am just so scared. I usually wait for the other person to invite me to do something first..... and then I'll try a friendship. (is that weird?)... the result: I have lots of friendly acquaintances, but only a few friends. (which is really sad... because there are so many cool people to be friends with!)

Example: I don't like to sew clothing. I am scared to do it. I tried it a few times and completely bombed. I don't like following patterns..... the result: You don't want me to make you a shirt.

Example: For the first um... 9 years of our marriage Chip had the same haircut. It was a short buzz cut. (He had some MAJOR 'ear-pockets' for a long time... but I learned to fix that.)- it wasn't until around Thanksgiving I tried to scissor cut his hair and now he has a more flattering hair style (This was a necessity- the whole hair cutting thing- we were so poor that I had to learn to cut Chip's hair... otherwise, he'd have found a real barber. I still do it now out of tradition.).... the result: I can cut boys hair really well.... as long as you want a buzz cut.

Example: I never wanted to try doing fondant cakes because I didn't want to mess up- or waste my time/energy on something just for it to turn out bad. When my mom came in December, she showed me how to do it- and guess what? It's super easy!...... the result: Fondant isn't scary! It's fun! Why was I waiting?

Example: I don't like playing video games, because I can't win right away. I hate dying in the game. It really bothers me..... the result: I stink at playing video games (Unless it's Wii sports... because I can totally bowl the pants off of people.)

I fear my downfalls at not wanting try something for fear of failing has rubbed off on my children.

Alli and Maggie don't try doing sports- because they want to win/be awesome the first time.

Alli fought learning how to read, because she didn't instantly know how to do it. I think she'd be illiterate to this day if it wasn't school mandated that she knew how to read.

Alli and Maggie also don't want to play most of the games on our Wii, because they want to win the first time.

This is how a night of Wii playing goes at our family:

Chip: Let's play the Wii together!
Alli, Maggie, and Breezi: We'll just watch YOU play it.

And so we do. We sit there and watch Chip play the Wii. We cheer him on.




Sigh...

I think I need to make a major fail at something so my kids can see it's okay not to be awesome the first time.....

But then again- I do like being perfect....


What's a girl to do?




-------------------------------------
(p.s. before you think I over react to failing at stuff... I totally don't. I tell my kids I think it's okay if they try and fail and blah blah blah... I encourage them to try new stuff. They just don't like to.)

Haircuts!

Today was a drizzly, yucky, gray day- it was time for a little sun and change.

Sun- came in the form of a new surrounding with bright lights.
Change- came in the form of a haircut.

When my mom came to visit back in December, one of the first things she said was "Oh, You're growing your hair out again!" and I said "No, I just haven't had the time to go get a haircut."
Which is true- when do I have time to get a haircut? Um.. Like.... never?

Maggie has been begging to get her hair cut "like this short" (her putting her hands above her ears...) Then she'd flip flop and want her hair as long as Rapunzel's. We compromised.

Alli just likes getting hair cuts.


Maggie got about 6 inches cut off of hers.

Alli got about 2 inches cut off.

and I forgot to get a 'before' shot, but I did get 7 inches cut off.

Keep in mind- all of these pictures were at the salon- and our hair was just blow dried- not styled. I'm sure our hair will look much cuter once we can actually 'DO' them.

It was a bonus day to get our hair cut too-
The salon was boasting $5 haircuts! Can I get a woot, woot!?

I saved so much, that I even sprung for an eyebrow wax for myself. You're welcome, world.
I was starting to look like the this guy:

(image source unknown)

Which, as it turns out- is not an attractive look on a female.

Pitter Patter.... Announcing.......

Alright my peeps. I have an exciting announcement. We have a NEW ADDITION to our family.

All around the house we've been hearing the pitter patter of little fins.

Yes.

We got a fish.

(Although a week or so ago, I played a trick on Chip and told him there would be a different kind of pitter patter joining our family.... I wish you were all here to see his face drop. It was amazingly funny. Not funny enough for it to be real... but you get the point. I think the poor man had the shakes for a few days after that little joke.)


I'd like to introduce you all to Jewel.
(Say Hi to Jewel!)
Jewel says "hi" back.

Jewel has to be the most energetic Betta fish I've ever seen. And I should know. I'm an expert at Betta's. (okay, not really.) I had a Betta when I was a nanny. He was a bump on a log. I never saw that fish move except to eat...... and then finally when he floated to the top belly up.
His name was Speedy. I digress.... Jewels swims around his/her tank all the time- really fast. He/she is also really bold and goes right up to the side of the tank- face first and stares at you. It's pretty funny. (Crap... did I just admit that staring at a fish is my new form of entertainment? And that I actually am amused by the 'blub, blub' way his lips move.... and that sometimes I put words in his mouth? )

The girls have been begging us for a fish for quite a while. I guess we finally decided to take the plunge after getting an e-mail from my twins club's classifieds where someone had posted a free tank. I wrote back and said SOLD! (I'm a sucker for free stuff.)

I figure a Betta would be easy enough- and hey, if it croaks, I'm only out $4. (OR if it does die within the next 2 days... I'd get a replacement for free....)

Jewel also has some friends. The ugliest/scariest Sandy statue in the history of the world- and a blue "diamond". (I wish it were a real diamond. That Hope diamond could kiss my... um... fish.)

So what does Finn the cat think about Jewel the fish?
Meh. I think he's going blind... because he didn't even look when I pointed the fish out to him. In fact, he twisted and squirmed to get down and away from the tank. In hind sight he might have been assuming that we wanted HIM to be our new fish and live in the water. His name IS Finn, after all.

But I have a feeling they'll be great friends. Finn is a Siamese cat, and Jewel is a Siamese fighting fish. Them Siamese stick together.


The girls are SOOOOO excited about Jewel. We've had to expressly say that nobody can pet the fish.... and I think I heard "thank you" come out of the tank. The girls would just love this fish to death.

He's currently perched in his new home on Alli's dresser.

Welcome to our family, Jewel. You are a colorful addition.


--------------------------
Other names that Jewels might have been called by:
-Rose Beauty
-Eggplant
-Brunhilda

Can you guess who suggest which name? And who's suggestion won?
(Hint: Each member of our (speaking) family got to say a name and we voted on which one the fish would be called by)

Musical Couch

This past week our couch has become very musical.

Every time you sit in the middle seat-ish, little bursts of kid music comes soaring out from your bottom. The first few times it was humorous. The next 100 times weren't so funny.

It was decided that one of the babies' toys was stuck somewhere within the couch.


I mean, the toy is amusing.- and it boasts that it plays 18 awesome and riveting songs.... like:

She'll be Coming Around The Mountain When She Comes
ABC's (or Twinkle Twinkle... depending on your mood)
This Old Man
Here We Are Together
B-I-N-G-O
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Do Your Ears Hang Low
(just to name a few)

I lifted up our couch cushions and did the sweep to see where the stupid toy was.... but there was nothing there to see (aside from a ton of crumbs, broken crayons, and some hair clips). I pushed all over the couch while the cushions were off to see EXACTLY where I needed to be looking to get the missing toy - to no avail. Every time I would try and single out the precise point of the object, it wouldn't play a single note. You can see how this would be very annoying.

Finally last night after I was trying to watch "Better Off Ted" (Which is a super funny show, by the way... and I can't figure out how it didn't catch on and they had to quit after 2 seasons....) and the stupid musical butterfly was singing "Hi Ho The Dairy O" while I had officially had it. I was going to find the stupid light up toy- or rip the couch apart trying.

I noticed that deep within the abyss of the couch there was a small tear between the bottom coils and the back of the couch.... I reached my hand in and got three surprises.

1) a missing sock.
2) the stupid musical butterfly toy
3) a library book that we had lost 2 years ago.



I remember being so mad at Alli for losing this book. The library made me pay almost $20 for it and it's all of 24 pages long- if you include every single page in the book.
We sternly talked about responsibility and blah blah blah... I made her feel really bad for losing it. Now I feel bad that she got in trouble when the couch ate it. Naughty Couch.

At least now we own such treasures as this joke:

Knock knock.
Who's there.
Candy
Candy who?
Candy Easter bunny carry all those treats in one basket?

And this one too:

Which colonists told the most jokes?
Punsylvanians.


Wheee!!!!.........

I think we can call this adventure a success. Don't you?