Monday, November 24, 2008

The Boo Boy is 6!

Another example of my fine parenting. Harrison turned six years old last Tuesday, and I'm just now getting around to posting about it. I would like to say my delay is because I've just been so busy spending quality time with my kids, giving them such an outstanding home school education, or that all this housekeeping I do takes up all my time. Or even that it's because I've started working outside the home and boy-howdy how to these working moms do it. But no, I just don't think it was that stellar of a birthday, so really, there is not much to report. Since his birthday fell on a Tuesday it was pretty much business as usual around here. I did give him the day off school, I was feeling generous I guess. Sophia promptly reminded me that I made her do her schoolwork on her birthday last year. So I told her she would get this year off. Then she figured out that her birthday falls on a Saturday this year anyway, and she was totally being jipped. So Harrison got to play all day, and when Vince got off work, we met him at the mall so daddy could take him to Build-A-Bear. Harrison has been wanting to go to Build-A-Bear for eleven months now, so it has been a long time coming. Build-A-Bear is what Sophia chose to do for her birthday last year, and ever since she came back with her kitty, Harrison has been chomping at the bit to go build himself a dinosaur. So he happily came home with Rexi the T-Rex. While he was gone I fixed up his bedroom with a new comforter, new drapes, and hung a couple of pictures in his room. So now at least one room in our house doesn't look like the person living there is living out of a box. His Grandma Dee Dee sent him the coolest zero gravity car that runs on the walls, and even on the ceiling. But there was a warning that if driving the car on the ceiling to be careful to not stand directly under it, in case is falls. Too funny. I think Vince had just as much fun with that toy as Harrison did. For dinner he requested pasta, so Spaghetti Bolognase it was with garlic bread and fresh baked ciabatta. That boy can put away the carbs. And since I still stink at decorating cakes, I made him Boston Cream Cupcakes.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Five Things meme Tag

I've been tagged by my friend Lena, so here I go . . .

Five Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago:
1. Waiting for Sophia to be born.
2. Getting our new home liveable.
3. Working for Garden Fresh.
4. Getting ready for Christmas.
5. Taking it one day at a time.

Five Things On My To Do List:
1. Return call from photographer regarding family portrait.
2. Make appointments for Sophia and Harrison's annual check-ups.
3. Cut down old tablecloth and sew into table runner for Thanksgiving.
4. Call in refills on my prescriptions.
5. Type up Sophia's 1st Quarter book report.

Five Things I Like To Snack On:
1. Tortilla Chips and Salsa
2. Cheese & Crackers
3. Potato Chips
4. Pita Chips & Hummus
5. Popcorn

Five Things I Would Do If I Was A Millionaire:
1.
Buy acreage and build new house.
2. Pay off mortgage then rent this place out.
3. Buy new vehicles.
4. Tithe my 10%
5. Sock the rest away somewhere safe.

Five Places I Have Lived:
1. Gardena, California (Los Angeles)
2. Fairfax, Virginia (Northern VA, ~16 mi. SW of Washington DC)
3. Escondido, California (San Diego)
4. Frisco, Texas (North Dallas)
5. Azle, Texas (North Fort Worth)

Five Jobs I Have Had:
1. Store Manager for Godiva Chocolatier
2. Reservation agent for Pan American Airlines
3. Research Associate (Automated DNA sequencing)
4. Human Resource Manager (Travel & Event Planning)
5. Business Owner / Caterer

Five People I Am Tagging:
None, but if you'd like to do your own list, let me know so I can check it out.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Coincidence?

I received these photos in an e-mail with a question whether the similarities were an omen of things to come.
I laughed out loud.

Friday, November 14, 2008

The Great Muppet Conspiracy

A while back I was talking with my mom about my crazy cousin. Among various other examples, I was telling my mom that she didn't let her children watch television, not even Sesame Street. Now don't get me wrong, in my opinion, not letting your kids watch TV doesn't make you crazy, that was just one of many, many examples. My cousin told me that she thought Sesame Street was trying to brain wash her children. "What is the Cookie Monster about anyway?", she asked me. I asked her what she was talking about, and she said she didn't like the way Cookie Monster behaved. Like he was teaching her children how to be hyper and use bad table manners. Hmmn. I cocked one eyebrow, looked at her and said I never really put too much thought into it, I just thought kids thought he was funny. Then she lowered her eyes, mumbled something, and dropped the subject. So the other day I get this video e-mail from my mom with the comment, "Now I know why **** doesn't let her kids watch Sesame Street."



Now is it just me, or does The Count look like Jamie Farr (Klinger) from M*A*S*H to anyone else?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Feeling Accomplished

Look at what I did yesterday . . .


Are you impressed? I am. I know it's not a good thing to be impressed with one's self, but honestly I didn't think I had it in me. I'm not exactly the outdoorsy type. I'm allergic to nature in general. But my beautiful new wood pile started out as two jumbled piles of lumber, and an empty space between two trees on the edge of our property. Francesca tried to help, but at two years of age, really, how much help could she be? She's a trooper though and I admire that. Annamaria was too concerned with the possibility of bugs to be of any help. I tell you, that one is all girl. But I enjoyed the physical labor, God knows I need it. I was concerned that I would be hating life today, unable to move, and would return to my normal sluggishness. Surprisingly I feel just fine today. So fine, that we got the kids school work done by noon. I cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast. And again after lunch. Did some general picking up around the house. Have a load of laundry going as I type this. And vacuumed the master bedroom and living/family room. Should all this housekeeping include dusting? Certainly. But hey, let's not get crazy here.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Just a Little Suspicious

I'm not a big conspiracy theory fan. I don't think "The Man" is out to get me, or even out to pull the wool over my eyes. I did enjoy the movie Wag The Dog very much, but mainly for it's humor and Dustin Hoffman, not because I thought it was real or anything resembling reality. But today a couple of things have made me wonder. Today I paid $1.98 per gallon for gas. A $1.98! I never thought I would ever see gasoline under $2.00 a gallon again. And the fact that I now think $1.98 a gallon is a bargain, makes me realize just how brainwashed I've become. Also, I've been hearing/reading about these terrible lines at the polls. Yahoo news was reporting lines at the polls being over five hours long, and that was even before the polls were open for five hours. Are they trying to discourage people from voting? And if they are, why? And where are they getting their information? Pulling it out of their @ss? Because when I went to vote . . . not a line in sight. Walked right in. Walked right out. Maybe those crazy paranoid conspiracy theorists aren't all that crazy after all.