Manic Monday - Pride

This week's Manic Monday word is Pride. As a mom, who doesn't think of their kids as their Pride and Joy? Well, a couple of years ago when I was at a wedding, the bride's father came up to me and said, "Do you want to see a picture of my pride and joy?" I said sure, expecting to see a picture of the bride as a little girl. This is the picture he pulled out.


Okay, when you are really tipsy on wedding champagne, that is incredibly funny!

I got to thinking about my pride and joy today. If you're a mom, you think about your beautiful children with an extreme level of pride, and I know that all of us moms love our children more than anything in the world. Yet the second you take the little buggers out in public, they embarrass the hell out of you. Why is that?

My current favorite commercial is the Gerber commercial where the mom is at the park and shouts, "Big boys don't pull their pants down in public!" (You can see it here on Gerber's Web site. Just click on "The Park" commercial.) I shouted that just yesterday at Eli when he decided that he had to pee during Georgia's birthday party. About twenty guests were congregated in the back yard, and Eli apparently didn't want to miss any of the fun. So, he strolled over to the side of the yard, pulled is pants down around his ankles and let loose right there. *sigh* At least he had the sense to halfway conceal himself behind a bush.

That got me thinking about some funny youtube clips I've seen. It always makes me feel better when I see other kids throwing a fit because I know that mine aren't the only ones. Does that make me twisted?

Anyway, here is a great commercial, especially if you have a kid who has ever thrown a public tantrum. I'm not sure what country it is from, but it is absolutely hysterical. Just watch:

Here is another great one - a tactic I have not yet tried with Georgia. This mom is a true pro:




And finally, as a tribute to all of us moms, this is a brilliant take on Momsense by Anita Renfroe. If you have not seen this clip, it is a must must see. Absolutely hysterical!

Great Summer Tips from MommyDocs!

As a kid, I loved summer so much, and I still do. My kids are a lot like I was as a child, and as soon as the weather turns nice, they practically live outside whether it’s in the backyard or at the pool.

Since I have fair skin, I know a few of the dangers that can lurk in the summer sun. My husband thinks I’m crazy when it comes to summer safety, but this is a man who has never had a sunburn so bad that he blistered!

I am very happy to take part in Mom Central’s newest blog tour. Mom Central has teamed up with the Clorox Company and MommyDocs to help spread the word about some important summer safety tips that we can all use!

- Have a Sun Protection Strategy: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends sunscreen with a minimum Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15. In addition, look for products that protect against both UVA and UVB rays. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside and reapply every two hours (or sooner if swimming, toweling off, or sweating). Also, a wide brim hat, sun protective clothing and sunglasses with 99-100% UVA/UVB protection are also important in protecting your kids against those harmful rays.

- Keep Pests Off Your Child: My children get eaten alive when they go outside if I don’t use protection. To keep away the pesky mosquitoes and ticks, use a DEET containing insect repellant. Apply sparingly to exposed skin and/or clothing once a day (avoiding sensitive areas like eyes, mouth and backs of hands). Personally, I use the wipes – they work great for small kids! To prevent unnecessary exposure, use the lowest percentage of DEET that will last for your planned outdoor time. Never go above 30 percent or use on children under 2 months old.

- Keep the Pool Cool and Clean: Small yard pools are fun, but they can also harbor harmful germs and bacteria. To prevent unwanted germies, disinfect your pool after each use by cleaning it with a solution of ¾ cup regular bleach to one gallon of water, then rinse and dry thoroughly. Remember to be safe around pools! Always supervise your children regardless of their age when they are around water, whether it’s a bucket, a backyard pool or a community pool.

- High Heat Means Hydrate: Excessive heat exposure can cause heat-related illnesses such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heat stroke. This is more prevalent in children because their body temperature rises faster than an adult’s. Prevent prolonged exposure by taking breaks in the shade, avoid playing outside during peak sun exposure hours, and drink, drink, drink!!! Make sure your child is getting plenty of fluids before he or she becomes thirsty!

- Rid Rashes and Relieve Itchies: I have a friend who has already contracted a severe case of poison ivy this summer. Although running around barefoot and taking nature walks can be fun, remember that outdoor activities can expose your child to plants including poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac. If your child experiences an allergic reaction, ask your pediatrician about an oral antihistamine and/or a topical skin care product such as a steroid cream or calamine lotion. If the rash is extensive, looks infected or does not get better, call your doctor immediately.

Visit MommyDocs.com for more great safety tips and expert pediatric information!!
MommyDocs is a great educational site that features practical pediatric information for moms by moms (who also happen to be doctors). MommyDocs features a podcast, informational blog, videos, Q&A’s, and informative articles that give you access to expert medical information with the click of a mouse.

My Boobs Hurt!

I had my first mammogram today. I have heard horror stories about the damn things for approximately the last 20 years, and today I finally had one. I specifically remember the first time my mom had a mammogram and afterward, her explaining in vivid detail how they “squeeze your tit in a vice.” Yeah, that’s exactly what they do.

I’m telling you, I was nervous. VERY nervous. Except that everyone had told me that it’s much easier with women who have larger breasts. Apparently, women with small breasts have it bad because the technician has to pinch and pull you a lot more. I think this may have been the first time in my life that I was happy I have giant chabangas.

Anyway, I went to the imaging center, and the nurse took me back. I changed into my open-in-the-front gown and sat in the little waiting room. Right away, I was amused because they seemed to be going for that spa feel. Apparently, they think if you sit in a pastel room with Enya playing, you will calm down. Unfortunately, you could see right down the little hall into all of the rooms with the big vice-like machines. Plus, the women who come out of the rooms when they’re finished just look at you as they’re heading back to the changing room and say things like, “You’re next. Ha. Ha. Ha.”

Dude! WTF is that all about?! Not cool! Fucking sadists.

They finally called me in, and I felt a little better because the technician was very nice. Then I got a good look at the vice-like machine that would be squeezing the hell out of my boob. Yikes! The lady explained exactly what she would be doing and how the machine worked. Just when I was getting a little more comfortable with the idea, she said, “and then we’ll do this,” and the machine tilted diagonally in a very weird position.

In horror, I said, “You’re going to put my boob in that thing and twist it?!” She said no – they turn the machine and then put my boob in from the side. Okay, that’s still not good. I finally took a deep breath and we got started. I think I was still a little nervous because I couldn’t stop giggling. This woman probably thought I was a psycho. But if you can appreciate the absurdity of the situation when a tiny little woman is squeezing your boob and putting it in a vice while telling you a cute story about her niece – I’m sorry, it was funny!

All in all, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But I am awfully damn glad I don’t have to do that again until I’m 40.

13 Things That Wore Me Out This Week

1. My first mammogram. (Oh, don’t you worry. There’s a whole blog post coming about that one.)

2. Continuously making dinner for children who refuse to eat. In the words of Eli, “Do you honestly expect me to eat this?”

3. Three trips to Costco – One to order cake, one to get stuff for Georgia’s party, one to pick up the cake.

4. Staining the deck. Okay, Eric actually did the staining part, but I assisted.

5. Getting the kids’ pictures taken. Yes, the yearly photos were today. The photographer and I went to the park and she started snapping pictures. Hopefully she got some decent shots since Eli refused to smile or look at the camera.

6. Cleaning the house for Georgia’s upcoming party on Saturday. (This is difficult considering my house doesn’t stay clean for more than 10 minutes at a time.)

7. Staying up too late – If I want “me time”, it has to be after 10 p.m. when the kids are in bed. Therefore, I stay up way too late and I’m exhausted the next day.

8. Taking Eli to swimming lessons – You’d be amazed at how emotionally draining this is. Eli has now taken the same swim class three times, and he still refuses to jump in the pool by himself.

9. Trying to make sure Eli doesn’t watch too much TV – Oh, you can’t imagine how well that kid can argue. He must get that from me.

10. Grocery shopping – Georgia refuses to sit in the cart, which makes my life much more difficult.

11. Potty training – If I let Georgia go pantless, she will use the potty every time. If I put underwear on her, she will not do it. I am at a loss on what to do next.

12. Cleaning up cat throw-up – Many times, this is at 4 a.m. The cats like to throw up in the door on the way to the bathroom so I step in it when I get up in the middle of the night. You really can’t get to sleep after that.

13. PMS – There’s nothing like bloating and back cramps to make everything else a little more fun.

Lock It Up!

If you read my blog regularly, you probably read about the ton of locks I received from Schlage. Now that UPS has come and gone, taking all the extra boxes away, I can enjoy the one remaining lock.

Remember, I am the woman who locked herself out of the house twice in one week last year, so when I heard about a new electronic lock that doesn’t require keys, I jumped at the chance to try it out! If you have lived in your house for a few years, you know how many keys to your home end up floating around. Just off the top of my head, I can think of five different people who have access to our house.

With the Schlage lock, you don’t have to worry about how many people have access to your home because you control it. We received the electronic deadbolt for our front door, but you can also get an electronic lock for the interior of your house. Each lock has an electronic keypad, on which you program a 4-digit code to gain access. You don’t even have to carry a house key anymore!

The best part is that you can program up to 19 codes into the keypad, and you can deactivate codes if you don’t want a certain person to have access to your home anymore. You can have separate codes for you, your spouse, your kids, guests, family members, nannies, service providers, etc. Then, if you decide the plumber doesn’t need access to your house after one visit or you discover your nanny is secretly evil, simply deactivate their codes.

Like I said, I have the new lock on the front door, and I love it! It comes ready to use, and it is fairly simple to install (and I’m not that handy). There are so many benefits to the electronic lock, and it’s nice not to have to worry about locking myself out of the house anymore or having to keep a spare key under a fake rock on the front porch.

Visit Schlage’s Web site to read more about their new electronic locks which, in addition to being very popular with moms, are also winning awards! The locks come in several different finishes, so you can find one that goes perfectly with whichever door you choose. I really think you will love the electronic lock as much as I do!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday - Aren't We Festive?

Georgia's Birthday Lunch at Fritz's, where your food is delivered by small trains. The kids LOVE it!

Happy Birthday, Georgia!

Today, my baby turns three! *sniff* I cannot quite believe how quickly she is growing up! In honor of her birthay, I made the photo montage below. I'm going to show it at her birthday party on Saturday. So if you're attending her party, don't watch it! If you're not, then please enjoy. I still can't watch it without tearing up!

Manic Monday - Night

This week’s Manic Monday word is Night. When it came to night, this was one of those weeks that I was overwhelmed by things to write about. I vaguely remember back in the day when my friends and I would go out at night. Dude! Do you remember a time when you didn’t even leave the house to go out until 9:30 or 10:00 p.m.? I can’t even fathom the thought now. Or remember when you would pull all-nighters when you had a final the next day? I don’t know how I ever did that without collapsing in the middle of an exam due to exhaustion.

When you’re a mom, you develop a completely different connection with the night. When Eli was a baby, I developed a whole new relationship with Conan O’Brien, and I was pleased to discover that they re-run the Tonight Show at 3 a.m. (I had no idea!)

I’ve always been a bit of a night owl. There was the partying in college, and then I must have actually slept at night during my 20’s. In my 30’s, I have embraced the night once more because let me tell you, once the kids are in bed, the “me time” starts. Plus, after 10 p.m. seems to be about the only time you can get anything remotely productive accomplished. Here are just a few things I often do at night.

** Have sex – Oh, come on! You were all thinking it. No matter how tired Eric is, he has informed me that I am always allowed to wake him up if I want a little nookie.

** Go shopping – Yes, the grocery store is open 24 hours a day, and you can zoom right through if you go around 12:30 a.m. when no one else is there.

** Watch movies – I don’t think I have had one Netflix movie that we have begun before 9:30 p.m.

** Work – It’s much easier to write freelance articles or work on WikiAnswers when I don’t have children sitting on my lap.

** Read – I am notorious for staying up all night to finish a book.

** Wrap gifts – There are a lot of late nights around Christmas. And since Tuesday is Georgia’s birthday, tonight will probably be a late night, too.

** Special projects - Last night, I made a photo DVD for Georgia’s birthday, which I will post tomorrow on my blog.

** Bake – I am crazy. I always get cravings for homemade cookies at 11 p.m.

** Laundry – I’ll bet I’m not the only one who’s been switching laundry at midnight.

** Play computer games – I do this when I should be working. Damn Facebook!

Sadly, I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Embrace the night, everyone! And if ever you find yourself up at 2 a.m. and want to talk, give me a call. I will probably be baking cookies.

Freedom!!

Today was the first day of parents day out. Holla! That’s right, today was the first day in six years that I did not have children with me. Parents day out is every Thursday for the next six weeks. Originally, I justified it because I thought I could get so much work done if I had one day a week all to myself. That was a great idea . . . in theory.

However, when I was actually presented with a day all to myself, these are a few of the productive things I got accomplished:

** I got a spa pedicure! Woo hoo! I didn’t even have an appointment, but luckily they’re not that busy at 10 a.m. on a Thursday, so they got me right in.

** I went shopping. I went to the mall to get one pair of shorts. Except, I had a coupon. If I spent $150, I got $60 off. Dude! That’s a good deal. So I bought two pairs of shorts, three tops and five pairs of panties. Woo hoo!

** I had lunch with a friend . . . with no kids. That one was a first!

** I went shopping for chic head bands.

After all of that, I just had time to drop all my purchases off at home before picking up the kids. I think since it was my first day of freedom, I went a little crazy with excitement. Next week, I’ll stay home and work. Seriously.

13 Interesting Tourist Attractions on the Way to Western Kansas

1. Grandma Hoerner’s, Alma, KS – Natural and organic jams, jellies and wines.

2. Museum of Independent Telephony, Abilene, KS – Interactive exhibits in telephone history.

3. Eisenhower Presidential Center, Abiline, KS – Family home of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

4. Smoky Hills Winery, Salina, KS – They have good wine. I got drunk on it at the Kansas State Fair.

5. Sternberg Museum of Natural History – They have dinosaur bones.

6. Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure, Salina, KS – Cool zoo and wildlife museum.

7. Giant Van Gogh painting of sunflowers, Goodland, KS – and it’s on an 80-foot easel.

8. World’s Largest Ball of Twine, Cawker City, KS – 17,320 pounds, to be exact.

9. Garden of Eden, Lucas, KS – This place is just downright creepy.

10. World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things, Lucas, KS – Traveling roadside attraction and museum.

11. C.W. Parker’s 100-year-old Carousel, Kinsley, KS – Part of the National Center for Carnival Heritage.

12. World’s Largest Prairie Dog, Oakley, KS – They’re cheating – it’s made of stone.

13. Gallery of Presidential Also-Rans, Norton, KS – Celebrates the people who have ran for president . . . and lost.

Wordless Wednesday - Bowling Excitement

How slimming!

Last week, I took the kids shopping for a Father’s Day gift for Eric. We went into a store that happened to have Crocs. While I was checking out, Georgia proceeded to plop down and start trying the Crocs on over her shoes.

After a couple of minutes, she realized that her shoes were stuck and she couldn’t get the Crocs off. Screaming ensued. The sales lady and I got the Crocs off of her finally. The lady looked at her Dora shoes and said, “I like your shoes better anyway. They’re so pretty.”

With this comment, Eli looked down at the black sandals he was wearing. He said, “Well, I like my shoes better because they’re black. And black is very slimming.”

I about peed myself, I was laughing so hard. I also think it’s hysterical when Eli doesn’t realize when he has said anything funny. He just looked at me and said, “Well, it is.”

Manic Monday - Will

This week’s Manic Monday word is Will. I thought I could easily tell you about our weekend because my mantra was ‘We will celebrate a successful Father’s Day.’

Eric recently had a death in the family, and we will be going out of town for a funeral this week, so I thought we could at least have a fun day on Sunday. Well, that started off with severe thunderstorm warnings and the weather radio going off very loudly in the morning. Why does it have to rain every other freaking day?

But, where there’s a will, there’s a way. We trekked out into the storm to take Eric out to lunch. First, we went to Cracker Barrel, which was packed. We decided not to wait for an hour and went to Ruby Tuesday’s instead. Georgia slipped and skinned her knee running into the restaurant in the rain, so I know all the people around us were thrilled when we brought a screaming child in.

We finally calmed her down (all it took was crayons and a Sprite), when Eli decided that it would be more fun to crawl under the table and make animal noises. I gritted my teeth and said, “Eli! Get in your seat.” He responded, “You have to push the ‘get in your seat’ button.” So, I pressed a pretend button. Eli said, “That’s not the right one.” Grrrrr! I said, “ELI!” He said, “Press the other button.” *sigh* I pressed another pretend button. Then, Eli started to shake uncontrollably. “Mama!” he said. “You pressed the shake button!”

That’s about the time I started mentally repeating to myself, “I will not smack my kid in public.” Finally, I pressed the correct pretend button, and Eli backed up into his seat (complete with back-up beeping noises).

Then, we went to Target because Georgia needed a new dress to wear to the funeral. You would be amazed at how loud Georgia’s screaming is when echoing in the fitting room. After chasing her around the dressing room for five minutes, I said, “Look, Georgia. Here’s the deal. If you let me try this dress on you, I will give you a lollipop.” So she walked over to me and let me put the dress on her. As soon as it was over her head, she said, “Give me my lollipop.” *sigh*

After we made it out of Target, we took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda because we promised. We all seemed to enjoy it except for one small incident. Georgia climbed up to sit on my lap and somehow, her Pull-Up had shifted so it wasn’t quite covering her properly. I didn’t notice this until she peed. There’s nothing like having a child sitting on your lap when all of a sudden you feel that telltale warmth spread over your legs. So, I had to sit through the rest of the movie covered in Georgia’s pee. Luckily, the movie wasn’t that long. But I will tell you one thing. We will be getting potty-trained. SOON!

Locked Up!

I mentioned briefly yesterday in my blog how I was deluged with a plethora of locks. I was supposed to do a product review for a Schlage lock (as were some of you other mommy bloggers out there). Yesterday, instead of one lock, I received 40. Yes, 40! At first, I thought it was just me, but today I found out that Schlage sent 40 locks to everyone! So, there are roughly 20 mommy bloggers out there who have 20 big boxes sitting on their front porch.

I immediately contacted Mom Central to say, “Dude! Come and take them away!” I called them yesterday morning. They called back yesterday afternoon at 4 pm and said they were looking into it. They sent me an email this morning that said they had contacted Schlage and would let me know when they heard something. I received an email this evening that said they still haven’t heard back from Schlage.

Why do I get the feeling that these boxes are going to be sitting on my porch until next week sometime?

Meanwhile, we had out-of-town company today. What I found really amusing was that after they bypassed the mounds of locks on our front porch to get to the door, they never once asked why the hell there were 20 boxes on our porch.

Now, I’m looking outside and we are in the middle of a torrential downpour. There are tornado warnings all around us, and the only thing I can think of is, “Crap! What if the locks get picked up in a whirlwind!" I just haven’t wanted to drag all the boxes into the garage, just to drag them all back out when the UPS man comes back. And he better come back.

I will tell you this. If those locks are still here at this time next week, I am totally selling them on ebay!

13 Random Things About My Week

1. We bought a new DVD player from Walmart, and when we got it home and opened it, there was someone’s old, used DVD player in the box.

2. Luckily Walmart easily lets you return things. Walmart employees do, however, treat you like a criminal when you go through the self check lane. Apparently, they were afraid I was trying to smuggle out popcorn chicken.

3. Today, Eli called me "Dude." It was bound to happen.

4. Eli has all of a sudden decided that it’s fun to try to scare me.

5. He’s annoyingly good at it.

6. I was supposed to review a Schlage lock for Mom Central. It arrived today. The only problem is that they didn’t send me one, they sent me 40. I’m still trying to get someone to come and take away all the boxes that are sitting on my front porch.

7. I don’t understand the universe. I was running late for a hair appointment, and on the way there, two buses stopped in front of me, one UPS truck, and a stalled car. Dude!

8. When I take the kids into a Hallmark store, they are not happy until they play every single musical card in the store.

9. I learned that people will practically shove me in front of them in line to get me and my kids out of the store faster.

10. The threat of losing all screen time and being grounded forever still won’t make Eli pick up his toys.

11. It will make him roll around on the floor (amidst all of the non-picked up toys) and whine, “I’m boooooored!”

12. Taking TV away from the kids is really more of a punishment for me.

13. Georgia can tell the difference between real milk and soy milk. When I tried to subtly switch her to soy milk, she loudly pronounced, “EWWWWW! That tastes yucky!”

Wordless Wednesday - Bath Time

"No, mom! I can wash my own hair!"

Georgia - The Career Woman

I absolutely love it when kids are at the age when they are very into pretend play. It’s also interesting because whatever they pretend seems to be taken directly from mom and dad.

When Eli was in the age 2 or 3 range, he would build a coffeehouse (Starbucks or Scooters) on his Lego table. Then, he would get on his Little Tikes car and ride by like he was going to the drive-thru to get coffee. After that, he would go to his play computer and pretend to check his email.

I remember Eric saying, “Well, now I know how you spend your day.”

Georgia is now in that same stage, and she is hilarious. This morning, she was on her toy cell phone and she was yelling, “Can you hear me?! Yes! Am I on speaker?!” Then, she went and put her Cinderella ‘high-heeled’ shoes on, grabbed her purse and announced, “I’m off to work!”

I said, “Bye, Georgia! Have a good day!” She yelled back, “I will. Love you, mama! See you later alligator.”

Then she pretended to go out the front door and come back in again. “I’m home! Yes, I did have a good day!”

Dude! This is hysterical, considering that she’s not even 3 yet!

Anyway, I just had to share. I know the kids can drive me crazy, but I always love it when they do cute stuff to remind me why I love them so much!

Manic Monday - Under

After last week’s Manic Monday word of over, I should have been under the assumption that this week’s word would be Under. This is one of those words that has me a little troubled because I thought of lots of little things to write about, but it was hard to come up with one main thing.

Eric and I went to a movie this weekend. Yes, I finally managed to drag him to see The Strangers. (Score for me!) I thought it was f*cking scary, and Eric has my claw marks on his hand to prove it. Next time, I really need to file down my nails before I take him to a scary movie. I am glad that he went with me instead of my friend Stacey because she seriously would have been hiding under her seat.

Eric thought the end of the movie was a little gruesome, but up until then it scared the crap out of me. You know how a lot of scary movies create the build-up of suspense only to have a cat jump out at you from under the bed? Well, not this damn movie. Every time there was a build-up of suspense, it was because there was someone in a mask right f*cking there ready to pop out! So, a definite thumbs up from me! If you want to be scared, go see The Strangers.

But, here is my issue. I was under the impression that kids can’t see an R-rated movie if they are under 18. Dude! How do so many kids get into these R-rated movies? Don’t they card people anymore? WTF?! That is not cool.

Then, I have the problem with all of the PG-13 movies being marketed to young children, like all the Pirate movies, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, etc. Twice now, I have told Eli “No” to movies he has wanted to see because, Hello! He’s not even 6 yet! I really don’t think children under 10 need to see PG-13 movies. Yet, Eli has a friend who is younger than he is whose parents take him to see all these movies. Eli came to me the other day and said, “J saw Iron Man! You told me it wasn’t appropriate for children!” I said, “It’s NOT!” Now, I have to figure out how to handle this because apparently I am stricter than other parents. Where do you all stand on this issue?

As a mom, this issue leaves me under a lot of pressure:

We're Gonna Scooooore Tonight!

Today was Eric’s birthday, and it was a very busy day. Eli has been asking for months to go bowling, so today for the very first time, we took him bowling. Dude! He holds the ball over his head and throws it down the lane! Every time it was his turn, I think the people in the lanes around us stepped back and ducked.

Even if Eli did make his mark on the bowling alley, everyone had a lot of fun. I was even better than I remembered. I scored over 100, which is really good for me! Anyway, I have some pictures that I will post next week.

And by the way, can anyone else think of bowling with out thinking of this song from Grease 2? That song is going to be stuck in my head for a week.

After bowling, we played miniature golf in the Tiki Hut Putt Putt. Eli really treats it more like shuffleboard than golf, but it works for him.

Next, we went out to lunch and then came home to rest for a little bit before Eric’s parents came over to watch the kids. Eric and I immediately drove someplace with alcohol and downed a couple of Long Island Iced Teas before heading off to the movies.

Now, I am all about action movies. I like all the superhero movies – Spiderman, Batman, Incredible Hulk, etc. Eric will never go see any of those movies with me because “they’re not realistic.” That’s right, he can’t suspend his disbelief for two hours to enjoy Spiderman. Whatever.

Tonight, he got to choose the movie. He chose the new Indiana Jones movie. Dude! Seriously! It had aliens! And the special effects? Come on! Shia Labouff swinging through the vines? A boat going over waterfalls that made Niagra Falls look tame, yet everyone popped up just fine?!

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed it! But I am sooooo making Eric go see The Incredible Hulk with me. And if he uses his whole unrealistic argument, I just might have to smack him.

Now we’re going to enjoy some carrot cake and hopefully get Eli to sleep so Eric can pull out the new little toy I gave him for a birthday present. Yes, I shopped at Passion Parties. ;-)

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy Birthday today to my wonderful husband Eric! He is *cough, cough* years old today!

For the first week in a long time, I'm not doing a Thursday Thirteen. I will be too busy today eating carrot cake, playing miniature golf and enjoying the new Indiana Jones movie!

Happy Anniversary to me!

Today is my 14th wedding anniversary! I take this opportunity to congratulate my husband for putting up with me for so long!

Here is a picture from 14 years ago today - Eric and I with my parents. As you can see, it took me awhile to let go of the big hair. Jeez! It's almost as big as my bouquet.

Wordless Wednesday - Peace

My Friends Are Wussies!

If you’ve read my blog in the past, you know how much I LOVE scary movies! Love them! When I saw the trailer a couple of months ago for the new movie The Strangers, I couldn’t wait!! If you’re a fan of scary movies, you know that a good scary movie is hard to find. I’ve recently been turning to foreign films to find a good scary movie like Ils (Them). Thank God for Netflix!

Today’s movies are more gore and torture porn, which I seriously cannot stomach. I almost tossed my cookies after I saw Hostel. Maybe it’s just me, but sitting there watching someone hack a person up or ripping their eyeballs out is not fun. I mean what the heck is scary about that?

For a good movie, I need suspense! I want to jump out of my skin! Rarely do you get a good suspenseful film. If you look at the first Halloween (my favorite scary movie), there is no gore, but due to wide camera angles, well-placed shadows and freaky-ass music, that movie continues to scare the crap out of me 30 years later.

Anyway, this new movie The Strangers looks like it has potential. When I first saw the trailer two months ago, I sent emails to everyone saying that we were going on May 30 when it came out. Everyone said okay.

Then, I recently had Heather inform me that she doesn’t do scary movies. At all. Okay, fine. I can respect that. Then, Amy, who will see any horror movie including all the Saw movies, said “no”. I was starting to get peeved. Then, I was at a different movie a couple of weeks ago with Stacey when The Strangers preview came on and scared the crap out of her. She leaned over and said, “There is no way in hell I am seeing that f*cking movie!”

That left Andrea who said she would go. We were planning to go this weekend until she called on Friday and said, “I really really really really do NOT want to see this movie. I’ll go if you want me to. But I really don’t want to see it.” She claims she’s not into mental torture. Mental torture? WTF? It’s called suspense! Anyway, Andrea claimed that she heard it was “too scary”. Too scary? Are you freaking kidding me? I just really liked how I kept getting, “I’ll go if you really want me to. . . but I don’t want to go . . . and I have a lot to do. But if you want me to go, I’ll go.”

Dude! How am I supposed to work with that? Force her to go and then feel guilty? Crap! So, I didn’t get to see my movie this weekend, and I am left with the option of going to see it alone (which even though I love scary movies, I don’t know if I’m that brave), or making Eric go see it with me. Eric, BTW, said he would go see it with me because he loves me . . . but he really doesn’t want to see it. I don’t think he really thinks I’ll make him go see it. Well, he’s wrong! Damn it, I want to see my movie, and he’s going!

If anyone has seen it, please share your thoughts. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch the trailer below.

Manic Monday - I'm Over It!

When I saw that this week’s Manic Monday word was Over, I was overwhelmed with things to write about. But the main thing I thought about is how I am tired of being overweight. I am one of those people who can smell a piece of chocolate and gain 5 pounds. God forbid I should walk by a doughnut shop. The site of Krispy Kreme alone makes my waistband get tight!

I’ve tried all different kinds of things until it hit me that I was coming at it from all the wrong directions. I visited my hypnotherapist last week and discovered that she has recently become certified in holistic nutrition. Over the next few months, I will be going in for a series of holistic nutrition and hypnotherapy sessions that will help me focus on looking at food from a healthier standpoint and lose weight without focusing on dieting. Because, let me tell you, I am OVER diets!

So far, I have taken steps to cut out gluten and dairy from my diet, which are two of the most harmful things you can put in your body. I really thought giving up gluten would be hard until I discovered that you can find gluten-free everything! Dude! They even have gluten-free beer. (Suweet!)

But giving up the dairy is proving to be a bitch. I have switched to a soy creamer – which is a super big deal for me because I usually put Half and Half in my coffee. I have been making coffee with Silk or Almond Breeze instead of milk, and I’m not quite used to that yet. Maybe that’s because we’ve only bought vanilla. I think plain might not have such a funky flavor in a latte.

So, everybody cross your fingers for me as I focus on holistic nutrition. Being overweight will soon be a thing of the past!