Waiting on the World to Change

Sometimes I'm reminded how innocent a child can be.

Today we were on the way home from a birthday party. Jak fell asleep and Paige and I were listening to music while she rummaged through her Pump it Up goody bag. John Mayer's song "waiting on the world to change" was on. Paige has heard it a hundred times but she asks me "mom, why is he waiting on the world to change?" At this moment I'm stumped. I've been getting used to answering her constant queries about what things are and what words mean but this one seemed very profound. So I thought for a moment and told her that he was waiting for the other people in the world to understand that being nice is better than being mean. I probably could have thought of a better explanation but this seemed to settle her curiosity because a few moments later she said "hey, where did my Nerds go?". And that was that. She moved on and I'm left thinking - wow she has no idea what's out there and what is waiting for her as she grows older. I can only hope that the world becomes a better place as the years go on. I feel slightly better knowing in my heart that the generations after us do live in a much different mindset than my generation and the ones before me. So enjoy your children now while they are sweet and innocent...well, most of the time!

Stains the Dog

Hi! It's been awhile. The dreary days of January and February in Chicago have sent me to the pit of despair. I can't wait for spring! I apologize for the lack of posts but really there just hasn't been much to talk about except for...

Stains the dog!

I watched The Soup a few weeks ago and saw the most hilarious clip evah! I finally decided to check our youtube to see if it was there because I deleted the episode from my DVR. Watch it and enjoy. The kids haven't seen it. I'm afraid it will make them frightened of dogs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUbsc_a-e3g

Sorry for the Delay

Sorry for the long pause in posts dear readers. Be assured several posts are on their way!

The dress patterns of nurses

I was recently reading an old blog of Kerri's friend Cassie who experienced the joy of grown adults in holiday sweaters. Here's a little sample from her post "Was the message somehow passed on to teachers that they must wear the ugliest, brightest and gaudiest sweaters and accessories for every holiday? Is there research out there that says students will learn better if their teacher's attire is crazy bright and busy? It was bad enough for Halloween that almost every teacher (well, usually the ones over 40) walked around for weeks before in orange and black. But now I have seen bad taste gone overboard. Giant snowmen, snowflakes, Christmas trees adorn many a teacher's upper body. One of my superiors was wearing a blood-red sweater with matching tie with Santas on it. How can I take him seriously? "
Well recently the dress code wars have reared their ugly head at my office and I wanted to let Cassie know she was not alone. It isn't just teachers that seem to have gotten some memo to dress in an ugly juvenile fashion. It's also nurses. Once a nurse over 40 is taken out of the hospital and no longer has to wear scrubs their take take on business casual is just horrifying. not only did we go through the ugly holiday top period which I believe Cassie described beautifully, nut we are now back into the usual pattern of dress like your in kindergarten. The ways grown women accomplish this is by wearing turtlenecks with little animals all over them. Or tiny seasonal patterns on the turtle necks, like fall leaves, or little hearts, or snowflakes.
Or when the dress code says no t-shirts they assume it doesn't mean no t-shirts that someone has thrown glitter on. We actually had a woman who came to work one day in coral corduroy pants, I didn't know they made those for people over 10.
Or my favorite happened the other day when on of the old women said to one of the 30 somethings "we have this dress code because your not dressed appropriately when you wear cargo pants". The punchline to this was that the older co-worker was wearing a brown velour track suit with fall colored leaves on the jacket part and she thought her outfit was totally appropriate.
Another thing I really liked was our new dress code had to specify no skorts. Skorts were actually a problem at our office. (By the way skort isn't even in spellcheck which proves people shouldn't be wearing them!) 60 yr old women walking around in floral skorts. I really never thought I would see those again once I was out of grade school.
So just know I too work with the fashion challenged and the next holiday is Valentine's day which is another experience in scary clothing at my office. I wonder if I sneak a camera in if I can get pictures without getting caught. I have to think about that.
R.

Censorship of Classic Songs

I was driving to work the other day when i heard a song i have always been very fond of "Take A Walk On The Wild Side". They actually eliminated a line from a song that has been on the radio since 1972. After all these years of airplay they now feel they have the write to remove a phrase from the sons. The phrase in question "and she never lost her head even when she was giving head" They eliminated "she was giving head" there are no bad word in that, yes it's sexually suggestive, but the censures approved it in 1972.
So what has changed now. Why is the FCC ruining perfectly good song. If anyone has other experiences of censorship gone wrong I would love to here them.
Hope everyone stays warm!
R

Cute and Evil

Cute and Evil is the name of the blog that my neighbor and friend, Cassie, writes. Recently she did a post about Juice saving the world. Basically she has started buying juice in frozen concentrate form. It's much cheaper, less packaging, etc. etc. I started doing this based on her suggestion about a month ago and it has been working out great. When I first thought about it I could only imagine orange juice since that was the only thing we drank from concentrate when I was a kid. But I found some yummy flavors at the store - pomegranate/blueberry, Apple/Passion/Mango. There are also plenty of organic juice concentrates too. If only they had V-8 fusion in concentrate. mmmmm. Here's a link to her post. Be sure to check out her recent post about HGTV's dream home as well. Something to think about.
http://cuteandevil.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-juice-can-save-world.html

This challange is just baiting me to insult someone!

In my opinion there are different levels of breastfeeding in public. There are the women who discreetly feed there infants (emphasis on infant) usually under cover of a loose top or light blanket and I have no problem with that.
There are even those women who feed there infants (emphasis on infant) not so discreetly, say they just whip out the boob and attach the infant. A little disturbing but hey the infant (emphasis on infant) has to eat, so I will say that is fine also.
Then there are the women whose children have teeth and can ask to have mommy's boob. That is unacceptable. Those children need to be eating real food. No one wants to watch a 3 yr old breast feed, that's just wrong. I know there is the "there's no more perfect food then breast milk" argument. But really once you can chew I'm sure there must be a suitable alternative. Also doesn't that hurt once those little suckers can bite.
As far as the big deal on facebook with the photos of the women breastfeeding, that was way blown out of proportion. It's a boob. And here comes the part where I offend people. We don't object to photos of cows being milked.
Now that I have probably offended everyone that reads this I will thank Kerri for bringing up this topic and have a goodnight.
R.

Challenge Topic - Public Display of Mammary Glands

Talked to a friend today. She is pregnant with her second child. With each pregnancy she gets Weezy Jefferson boobs. Her quote - "Cool thing is that they stand up on their own. Bad news- can't put my arms down." I thought this was priceless. Good thing she's a funny girl and has a sense of humor.

This reminds me of a topic I've been wanting to blog-challenge Rachel on for a long time. I'll post my feelings on the subject later. What's the subject you ask?

Breastfeeding in public. enough said. Rachel, your thoughts?

p.s. I found an article that there was some kind of hubbub on Facebook about a picture of a mom breastfeeding. Facebook is taking over!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28433838/

Best and Worst Toys of Christmas 2008

So I thought I would do a quick post of some of our toys from 2008. Both kids got a ton of stuff and it's like being a kid again because I get to play with it too! There was so much I can hardly remember it all. I'm sure I'll be editing this list as I see something I totally forgot about.

Most engaging toy award goes to - Vtech Helicopter. Jimmy got this from my aunt and he plays with it for hours. Of course it makes tons of noise so be prepared.

Most fun we can't have with yet toy - The Butterfly House. A pop-up tent in which you watch larvae pupate into butterflies. You send away for the larvae, watch them build a chrysalid and then hatch. Of course we can't do this until spring when we can release them. Of course we could do it now and let them live in the house and then watch them wither and die in 2 weeks but that wouldn't be too much fun for the kids.

Most wished for toy - Wowee Alive cub. Very cute and kinda cool. Paige would not stop talking about this cub. That being said she doesn't play with it as much as I thought she would.

Most branded toy - Tinkerbell and pixie hollow EVERYTHING!

Everything old is new again toy - Our old Kitchen set which I moved from the office into the corner of our living room, now both kids play with it all day!

Worst toy ever - Tinkerbell Pixie Dist Magic Arrival Playset - UG! where do I start? First I guess, sorry to Grandma because she is the one who bought this. The gimmick is that you put glue on Tink's wings (you get 4 sets), then you place her in the "pod" and shower glitter down upon her and her wings. First, the glue runs everywhere even if you let it dry to tacky for a while. Then the glitter WILL NOT come down no matter how much you pump. We ended up just doing it by hand and the glitter is super fine so it gets everywhere. Today Paige showed me her tink and how all the glitter fell off of one of the wings already. She was really disappointed but I think playing with the glitter in her hands made up for it. Steer clear of this one. there are better fairy toys out there if you kid is into this latest Disney craze.

Best "toy" not used for it's intended purpose - Tinkerbell Fancy Pajama outfit Paige uses for dress up instead of for sleeping. nice and cozy instead of itchy like most of the play dresses are. Tip - get old pajamas from friends or yard sales for dress up. They're just as good and much more comfortable not to mention cheaper.

Best toy mommy had more fun with than Jak - Fisher Price Clipo. He loves this, throwing the pieces, carrying them around, snapping a few together. But I love building things with it and Paige loves playing with it too. The set we got even comes with 2 heads so you can build people.

Toy I can't wait to start buying for my kids as they get older - anything from the Discovery Store - Science is cool man!

Toy list would not be complete without mentioning - My Little Pony Ponyville toys (which go along perfectly with Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop)

Last, the moms out there really need the link below. It's a service that will email you information for any recalled item out there, not only toys. I get an e-mail whenever there is some rogue toy out there harming small children. It's a great service and every parent should sign up so they are aware.
https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx

A New Year = A New You?

Yikes! Rachel has been running amok hasn't she? That's ok, I always enjoy the ravings of a mad lunatic. Strangely enough her latest post doesn't surprise me. I get calls from her all the time with tales of odd happenings or just things dumb people do. The home cremation still may have shocked me a bit. But I will file that in my need to know file in case I ever need it. You can never be too prepared.

So I'm blogging late into the night because I have to before Rachel strikes again. As long as I'm in bed by midnight I should be ok. Which makes me think of coffee. Throughout my life I never drank coffee and I didn't depend on caffeine for a pick-me-up. I was just usually able to muster up energy all on my own. I never understood people when they had to have their coffee and couldn't live without it. Then I had children and I tried coffee. I must applaud my friend Amy for my first taste of a cappuccino one night at her house. It was delicious and I talked late into the night leaving her and her husband yawning because I was so wound up from it. Now I drink 1 cup every day. I need it and I crave it. Not only for a little boost but because I savor my coffee time. When I have coffee I sit down and relax for a bit. I might talk on the phone with a friend, watch the kids play, read a magazine. as long as it's not work. I now highly recommend coffee to my mommy friends. and if you don't drink coffee then try to find something else like a cup of tea, a crossword or sudoku (I love both), whatever you can do for a few minutes each day to just stop and relax for even a short moment. mmmm coffee. Can't wait for my coffee tomorrow.

I don't know about you readers but I'm thrilled for tomorrow and the tomorrow after that and the whole new year. I'm feeling good and hopeful and energized. My biggest thing this year is "No more waste". meaning time, money, whatever. I have a lot to do that I have been putting off for some time and this is my year to put behind the old list and get on with some new stuff. Including but not limited to blogging more. I sometimes wonder though about resolutions. Why do we feel the need to change ourselves or promise to change ourselves every year? Weren't we fine just as we were? Nope apparently not. I'm always trying to improve something and I hope this does not rub off negatively on my children. I think it's great to want to constantly progress but I think we do that at the price of appearing that we are then never good enough. So what can I do? Sorry readers but I don't think I have the answer to that just yet. Maybe I'll tackle it and say I'm "learning" or "trying something new". That seems more positive. I'll let you know.

2008 Kerri was not so bad but I sure do miss 2002 Kerri. She was at her best! and 1996 kerri was totally awesome. I hope 2009 Kerri is cool. Happy new year!!!

I'm not being watched

It has to be said that I have posted three, now four, blog entrees since Kerri's last one. That means I am totally unsupervised and I can say whatever I want, she isn't watching.
Since I was talking about end of the year lists in my last post but that one got way too serious I thought I would lighten the mood with MSN's 20 stranger than fiction stories of the year and point out my favorites.
I like #1 about the woman who sat on her boyfriends toilet for 2 years just for the ick factor, and the fact that no one thought this was odd enough behavior to call someone for 2 years.
#3 mans coffin kills wife on the way to the cemetery. To summarize there was a car accident and the coffin was pushed forward and hit her in the back of the neck killing her. The best part of this story is that the hearse was being driven buy the dead person's son. He needs a Darwin award.
#6 family cremated mom on barbecue. Not exactly it was more of a fire pit and then they planted a tree on the site. Home cremation could become popular if the economy keeps tanking.
#15 This is the Goldilocks robber. A man was charged with burglary after he allegedly broke into a home, ate cheese from the refrigerator, made a mess in a bathroom and fell asleep on a child's bed.
#17 Rescue crews had to cut apart a portable toilet to rescue a man who got stuck naked inside the potty. Authorities say the 31-year-old man used his cell phone to call 911 on Sunday from inside a portable toilet.
Police say the man had been drinking and had taken off his clothes. Somehow, he immersed himself in the holding tank. He also needs a Darwin award.
So those are my favorite off the list. I hope they brought a smile to your face. I think the one about home cremation will have Kerri monitoring my posts more closely.
Have a day and a Happy New Year!
R.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year! Since we are coming to the end of another year I've begun to notice that every newspaper, website, radio station, and TV stations are making lists. Lists of the bests, worsts, most popular, things we will never see again (like zima which I think everyone is happy about).
So because I have entirely to much time to spend on the internet I've been looking at these lists and one thing on one list really screamed out at me. On Newsweek's website the 8th most viewed story of the year was an article about how ugly crocs are. For anyone who lives under a rock crocs are those rubber dishwasher safe shoes not large reptiles. It doesn't bother me that this article was written, it doesn't bother me that there are a lot of people who want to defend their right to wear dishwasher safe shoes. Like this one who must really like her crocs
"I read this article on the paper Newsweek, and I was disgusted. Newsweek, I can't believe you published this offensive and self-centered article. Very disappointing. If you hate crocs, don't buy them, ignore them, or just write about your hatred on your little blog. Don't just attack them on a world-wide, influential and renowned publication like that" To write something this serious about a pair of shoes this person must have stock in the company.
No matter what you think of the footwear the sad thing is that this article was viewed more times then almost anything else on Newsweek's website this whole year. The few articles that beat is included the Obama election and the religious fanatics in Texas. After it was an article on the religious case for gay marriage and the american girl who committed murder in Italy. These articles sound more important to me but they were not read as many times as the fashion article.
So here is my idea. Next year perhaps we can all try a little harder to read the actual news articles on the web sites in addition to the ones that are funny and maybe we can avoid this happening again. Thank you for your co-operation and Merry Christmas.
R.

Continued Moms - Can't live with them, can't tie a cement block to their legs and throw them in the lake

My mom called back. So I asked if she wanted to be discussed on our little blog and Kerri would you believe her answer was "No, because I'm afraid what the two of you might say". Ha at least she included you also.
have a day!
R

Moms - Can't live with them, can't tie a cement block to their legs and throw them in the lake

Kerri I think this is a problem unique to you. I'm pretty sure my mom doesn't want me talking about her on this site. Just to be sure I'm gonna ask. Pick up cell phone *ring* *ring* *ring* voicemail. Crap I have to try later. I'm pretty sure her answer is going to be along the lines of - God you better not be writing about me where everyone can read it, have you lost your mind. But I will get back to you with an exact quote.
As far as at home dog grooming goes I feel the need to mention that I have had the doggy dremmel for almost 2 months now and Wolfgang seems to have no problem with it and Nikki believes it to be an alien device sent to kill her. I still can't get near her feet with it turned on. I hope your having better luck at your house Kerri.
R.

Mommy Dearest

Hello readers. I was on the phone chatting with my mom the other day and she mentioned she sent the link for this blog to some of her friends mostly so they could see pictures of the kids (I attached some recent pics of the kids just for her enjoyment). During the conversation she mentioned that she was sad because I never talk about her in my blog posts. I guess I was trying to spare her feelings :) but if she wants me to talk about her and she requested it then I feel she is now fair game. Hey, she asked for it. Seriously, what mother in her right mind actually requests her daughter to talk about her? Does she think I'll blog about how super wonderful she is and how she hasn't aged in years? Doubt it. So be warned mom (I know you're reading this) everything you now say or do can be potential fodder for my blog. muah hahahahahaha. Let me explain how crazy she can be. Just now as I'm writing she called and I told her I was writing about her request to be written about. She then begins to tell me about pictures I can include and things I can say about her. She actually trying to dictate my potential mom posts. She really does want me to turn this into a blog about her. Hey, just hold your horses there lady - Get your own blog!

On another note...I found a link for the word of the day on merriam-webster online. Today's word is undulant • \UN-juh-lunt\. What a lovely word. Rising and falling in waves. in contrast the word of the day for the new york times is progenitor. perfect for a blog about my mom. Progenitor \prō-ˈje-nə-tər, prə-\ · (noun) 1 a : an ancestor in the direct line : b : a biologically ancestral form.

Coming soon, a post about grooming my dogs myself. an adventure in torture and humiliation. to be posted in Rachel's honor for all dog moms out there.

peace out,
k

Paige is doing yoga in the background

just thought the world should meet my favorite dog

This is my tough dog Nikki under her favorite Christmas quilt. She loves it so much that she will stay in this position for hours. I really have nothing interesting to say at the moment. I'll write more when i do

Birthday Parties

Wow! Sorry readers, it's been a long time since our last post. Personally I have been uber-busy with the usual and in addition both of the kid's birthdays. Jak just turned 1 and Paige turned 4. Let's just say that when you have 2 kids' birthdays within 10 days of each other it's like the birthday party that will never end. Cake on one birthday, a holiday, a party, cake on another birthday, a party. Paige has no clue that her birthday really is only one day :)

I would like to talk about birthdays. As a friend and reader, Emily, wrote,
"Oh PLEASE tell me you will write about children's b-day parties. Is it me or are there a lot of people out there who think that their little angel's 3rd b-day necessitates a party with engraved invitations where you make people who only see you quarterly hang out at "go Bananas" until you want to "go postal"?

I will admit, we had a big party for Paige's 1st birthday at a pizza banquet room. Mostly because we simply could not fit everyone in our house. It turned out looking much fancier than it actually was. I really got my money's worth. Poor Jak did not get the same treatment. the second kid really does get the shaft. Anyway since then I have had one other actual "party" for Paige and that was last year at our local Park Rec center. I did it because Jak was just born and I wanted her birthday to feel special and not like she was forgotten because of a new baby. So this year I thought hmmmm I'll just have a little party at home with pizza and cake, no big thing just a get together, a joint party for both kids. Boy, am I crazy! Let's just say that no party with just friends and family is ever small. It was a great time and I'm glad we did it but I have decided that now there will be no big parties except on the "big birthdays". It's too much with both birthdays so close and thanksgiving and christmas thrown in there too. This was my first year with both kids having birthdays so I guess it's a learning curve. Even though it was crazy, it was fun. Paige loved every minute and Jak was totally thrilled with all the attention. Note to self - make the kids happy but don't go crazy doing it!

Since we usually have our neighbor buddies over for cake on the actual birthday from now on we will just do that and maybe a play date with the closest friends. I think that was my favorite part of the birthday madness this year. I did a small tea party after school with her class buddies (as a mom suggested) just have a few friends, more like a play date. Tiny sandwiches and snacks and treats, apple juice in tea cups. Lots of "please" and "thank you ma'am", so super cutie!

The worst thing about a big birthday party every year is that you really are setting the bar pretty high early on. People go to great lengths now for fantastic parties at fun places. If I did that every year what is my kid going to expect on her 10th birthday? A private circus show with gifts for everyone and a 8 tier cake? I just can't keep up with it. I have seen it getting really competitive. So who are we having these parties for, the kids or us? I know they enjoy it but let's be serious, don't kids like just about any kind of attention? I know my kid would be just as happy with a few of her friends as she would be in a big party.

I say all this now and I know the readers with older kids are saying "just you wait, just you wait until your kid is whining for that super expensive cell phone/ipod/navigation/book-reader/bottle-opener and huge party at some fancy place because all her friends are doing it". Ug, I guess I'll just wait and hope for the best!

The Squirrels Have Declared War!

I'm an indoor kind of person. I don't camp, I don't go walking in the forest preserves, I do not feel the need to be outside infringing on the space of wildlife. So why do they feel the need to infringe on mine. There are three places that I consider to be my space, my car, where I work and my home. It's bad enough that lately on the way to and from work I have had to deal wit suicidal deer who stand a foot or two off a busy street and look like they could jump out at any moment. But I am once again under attack from squirrels.

This is not the first time these fuzzy tailed rats have staged an attack on me. Two years ago after Rob put the air conditioners in I woke up to a loud crash in my house. When I came out of the bedroom there was a squirrel staring up at me from my dining room floor. It took two of us to chase the little flea infested devil out of the house. But this seemed like one isolated sneak attack from a rogue squirrel.

Now it seems that the fluffy tailed rats have declared war. About two weeks ago I was trying to walk from my car into my office and this brave little squirrel got between me and the exit of the garage and refused to move. Eventually I managed t sneak past him after several minutes of evasive maneuvers. Then yesterday a kamikaze squirrel crashed into our dining room window. At this point I should have known something was terribly wrong. Today one of the little rats has once again infiltrated my homes perimeter. I went to take my dogs outside this morning and a squirrel was on my enclosed back porch. It's sudden movements scared me and brought out the instinct to chase small game in the larger of my two dogs.

Since the squirrels have started this fight I see no other option then to retaliate. I don't see it as an unreasonable request that I give these animals the entire outside world and all I ask in return is that they don't come inside. I now need to find a way to remove the squirrel from my home either by humane or inhumane ways since I have very little sympathy for the flea infested possibly rabid little animal who started this fight. If anyone has any suggestions for squirrel removal please let me know. If no good suggestions come soon I feel I will need to go to extreme measures. Thanks in advance for any help that you may be able provide in this squirrel war.

No serious topics...just a Wordle

So I was actually working on jewelry and paused for a moment to check my e-mail and close down the computer when I happened upon a Wordle. A product from a cool website http://www.wordle.net/. It takes any text you paste in or feed from your blog and creates a "wordle". A graphic image of your words. I created a few using text from previous posts. It randomizes the content and you can further tweak it if you like. I did not purposely put the words "ass" and "jim" right by each other in the wordle above. It did that. Sorry honey.

Also, I just couldn't help myself. I did another wordle using an excerpt from a monumental speech given not so long ago.

"And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

...

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America."

Comment re: dog suicide attempt

See, Rachel's house is not even dog proofed much less child proofed, another reason she does not have children :)

Wolfgang the amazing dog that can't be killed by ordinary means!

I'm home from work today because my car broke down and Rob is nice enough to be fixing it. But that is not important. What is important is that my dog Wolfgang apparently survived another suicide attempt!
Some background on Wolfie for anyone who isn't familiar. He was half price at a pet store when he was six months old because he was already a 10lbs Pomeranian, which is huge. He is now 13yrs old and 16lbs. He is beautiful and fluffy and he bites. He bites me, he bite our other dog Nikki who is 4 times his size, he has bitten my brother, snapped at little children, he's a rotten dog, and Rob loves him. This dog is also too mean to die. He has gotten his head stuck in a radiator, chewed a razor, ate several packs of cigarettes, frequently eats chocolate, drank an entire jack and coke then fell over and passed out in our living room, drank a guests glass of wine, knocked several teeth out trying to bite me through his crate, escaped into the west side of Chicago for a month and was found in excellent condition, and ate rancid ham.
So what was the new suicide attempt after all of this that would even be worth mentioning you may be wondering? He tried to hang himself. Yep, he has now survived hanging. (Damn it, he really will live to be 20.) Rob took him to the local coffee shop yesterday, this is their normal pattern, and when he went inside he tied Wolfgang to the chair outside. Not on the ground mind you because according to Rob Wolfgang normally sits on the seat of the chair and waits for him. Well yesterday he jumped. Of course there wasn't that much slack in the leash and his paws barely hit the ground as the choke chain tightened on his neck. Wolfie is fine after this, no harm done, but Rob is babying him even more, he tucked him in on the couch surrounded by pillows when he went to the store today.
So Wolfgang truly will live forever in spite of himself and in spite of Rob. I hope this brightens every one's day!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hey everyone. I'm posting because Rachel is threatening to put up a 3rd post before I can get one in...and then the earth shall cease to revolve and we will all wither away. So here I am. I'm going to briefly talk about Halloween. not too much to say. Awesome weather, lots of fun, a really great time. I have been eating candy for 4 days straight. eeehhhhh. Now to the topic at hand. catching some zzzzz's. I was talking to a good friend today and realized how important sleep can be. I'm one of "those" people that's bright and shiny most of the time but catch me when I have had little sleep or I'm hungry and watch out. I'm pure evil straight outta hell. As a parent I have realized that sleep is probably the thing other than total spontaneous sex that I miss deep down to my bones. Oh my god I miss it! It has been 4 years since I was able to go to bed as early as I want, wake when I want, nap when I want. I'm not saying I don't get enough. I do okay. my kids are really good nappers and sleepers (except for baby Jimmy who has been a tool for the past 3-4 weeks since he started walking. I hope it passes SOON). most times I'm up till 1am trying to get all the things done that I want to do, like blog. In the morning it's straight into the day. You can't lay around. there are mouths to be fed, animal and otherwise. There is no rest for the weary. I don't think this is news to any of you readers. you've probably heard it so many times before. And I'm so extremely super jealous of my childless friends that can sleep till 11 on a Sunday if they choose. Not that they do but they can.

what become so clear to me today is how much losing some sleep can totally affect every other thing going on. Really truly mess with your emotional state. make you cranky. not have enough energy to do the things you want to do so then you feel even worse because you're getting nothing done including sleeping. You feel like crap because you have bags under your eyes and it reminds you of how hot you used to be before the sleep stealers shot out of your womb. Or your thyroid takes a crap on you and then life REALLY sucks (more on that some other time).

But what can really be done? The early child rearing years will be and are some of the most wonderful years of my life but they are also the hardest. They take a toll. I'm always last on the list of the person who gets the attention in my house. and I think it goes - baby, daughter, dad, dogs and THEN me. Then again, I created this scenario and the reason is most likely because I'm the only one in my household who can take such abuse and still love everyone and put on a happy face. It's much easier for me to do without than for Jim who has to go to work everyday and run a business or my children to not have the things that I think they need. the good news is that this too shall pass and as the saying goes, some day I'll wish my kids would need me.

and I truly hope that Jim can see past my bitchiness and realize that if he just let me sleep in this Sunday he would truly benefit. wink wink. happy wife = happy life.

what I really want to say is "Hey, childless friends/relatives/concerned citizens, get your ass over to my house so I can take a frick'en nap!" teehee

Dear childless readers, please hit the snooze button just one more time for me. I'll just dream of sleep and maybe try to not do the dishes or run one last load of laundry and go to bed. and with that I say good night.

Maybe Kerri Is Right And Silence Is Golden

So today I was over at Kerri's house working on the jewelry project. I think things are coming along quite nicely so far. We went to a bead store with Paige which included the phrase "don't touch" a lot. But it was still a successful trip. The problem was after we got back to Kerri's house. So picture this, it's getting close to dinner time and Kerri is cooking. I am trying to look some things up on the internet and then I hear a baby Einstein DVD on a loop, because the viewing part is over it is stuck on the start screen. It's playing the same song over and over. Layer that noise with one of the children riding on a push car thing that has a popcorn popper thing on it. Also add in the other child pushing a toy car that sounds like a machine gun while it moves. On top of all this background noise Paige is attempting to carry on a conversation with anyone who will listen to her and the little boy is carrying on a conversation with himself. I feel the need to point out here that they weren't being bad kids, they are actually great kids, but they are still kids. So I decide I need to get away from the noise so I go outside for fresh air. Bad idea. A church not far from them has some bells going off but they aren't typical bell they play a whole song, those things were going for 5 minutes. This is total chaos as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure all of you parents reading this are going "ahh, typical day". Well not typical for me. By this point I am twitching, if people wouldn't think I had totally lost it I would sit down suck my thumb and rock. If there is too much noise in my house I either turn off the T.V. or ask Rob to turn down what he is working on. As you can tell I'm used to quite being very easy to achieve. I would like to end this with a compliment to all of the parents that you have much stronger ears then I do and you need to be applauded for that. I also wish all of you parents at least 15 minutes of silence a day because I'm sure you need it. I will continue to live in my quite and easy to control environment which doesn't make me twitch only venturing out as needed into the world of children. And to Paige and little Jimmy if you ever read this when you grow up if by some chance this internet stuff really is around forever, I'm sorry I'm picking on you but your the kids I see the most.