Closet confession

Can I just say how much I hate cleaning out closets? And the problem (yes, it is a problem) is that this house has too many of them. It is just way too easy to shove stuff in the ultra-organized closet system that the previous owners installed. Today I decided it was time to tackle the craft room black hole. 5 hours and 3 full trash bags later, I feel like I've done nothing.

ARRRRRGGGGGGGG...

Oh well, let's see if I can find a picture to add to this post so we don't have to look at the Hoff any longer. Oh yes, much better. This little Thing is much easier on the eyes.

A little photoshop funny

I'm not good at photoshoping pictures. Which given my twisted sense of humor, me thinks this is probably a good thing. A very good thing indeed. Imagine the trouble I could get in if I knew how to create such totally tasteless and truly goofy pictures as this?

The Power of Words

After a brief hiatus, my source for blog challenges, Cowtown Stacy, challenged us with this:

• Words can be powerful. Think of an occasion when someone blessed you with their words. (Conversely, words can be powerfully hurtful, too. Write about one of those instances if you must, but try to think of a positive memory instead.) Describe the circumstances surrounding the words that were powerful to you. Who said it? How did you react? How does it afffect you today?

12..14.01: Thing One is starting to use his own name. It doesn't sound like I'd expected it to, but oh my, to hear him say it just melts my heart.

I found this in one of Thing One's old school journals (a back and forth book for special ed. students and their parents). Yep, go ahead, do the math. He was 3.5yrs old when he first started to speak his own name. A few months later he was working on stringing three words together. Dune-Beaches-Boardwalk. Who cares that is was "story speak" and he was copying dialogue from Dora the Explorer. I didn't. I was just thrilled to hear him string those three words together.

Pretty much most of our circle of friends know the chatty version of Thing One. It is hard to imagine his voice was once a heart breaking silent nothing. With endless worries of whether he'd speak, and once he started to speak, was this just a fluke, would he stop suddenly or even regress.

I have to remind myself on the days where he is talking non-stop, that this was once (and actually still is) a blessing. Words are indeed powerful and such a welcome sound! May I always be open to hearing the beauty of his voice: whether it be in joyful excitement or a foul mood pout. He's using his words to communicate and that indeed is something to celebrate!

Blog It Blog It Blog It...

I think the Things are starting to catch on to this blog. They've noticed when Mommy laughs at something they've said or done, chances are she'll be blogging it.

And today, I'm not sure what was funnier...the initial exchange or their chanting afterwards "Blog It Blog It Blog It".

We'd headed out to the airport this morning to pick up my dad. We'd made one loop, no signs of him. (we were a few minutes early). We make our second loop, when Thing Two says "is that him?"

"Nope," replies Thing One "That's Business Grandpa!" (it was an older gentleman but wearing a suit coat and talking on a cell phone).

"And Besides, he's missing the belly!" he finished his thought. (yes, my dad carries some extra weight around his mid-section).

I started to laugh because well...it was funny.
And that was their cue to start in on the Blog It Blog It chant...

But, first we had to make one more loop to find OUR grandpa (which we did on the next loop)

Appearance of Clean

Thing Two comes downstairs, dressed and ready to start the day. Now I know he likes his brown t-shirts, but the one he had on this morning looked suspiciously familiar. Like maybe he'd worn it recently, maybe even as recent as yesterday. So, I asked him "Son, isn't that the shirt you wore yesterday?" He pulls it to his nose, sniffs it and remarks "Yeah, but it looked clean sitting on the floor!"

Dude...followed by a motherly heavy sigh.

You see, I've spent the better part of the last couple of days getting the house in tip-top Martha shape. Why? Of course, I haven't turned to the neat-freak side of the world, but instead my dad is arriving tomorrow morning. I want the house to look perfect. Or as close to perfect as possible when there are kids around. And me for that matter! Consistent neatness is not my forte! And yet, I ask myself, why bother? Dad of all people is well aware of my very messy nature. I guess I just want to show him that I am indeed all grown up now..

But you know, what, he probably knows that whether the house is clean or not!

Ask a stupid question..

Expect either an honest or stupid answer.

We'd just finished dancing to some tune on the radio (don't ask, remember, I"m challenged when it comes to knowing who sings what, but it had a fun beat to it).

I asked Thing Two: Who are you going to take to the prom?
"Well, Not you Mom!"

Ok, I deserved that one.

Thing One chimes in "But I'll take you Mom!"

Yes, son, sadly that is my worry.

I ended up getting a fair amount done. The teacher appreciation cards are made and I even went ahead and made a little 5x7 brag book for the first grade teacher. The room mom is making some other crafty item from the class and I thought it would make a nice compliment to that project. Funny how a random conversation here and there can start to change one's opinion about the person educating your child. Recently, I've found myself realizing that just maybe she knows my child better than I gave her credit for. Yikes...don't go letting that one get around, ok? I mean come on, she's got that reputation. I don't want to be the one that ruins those rumors!

The source of it all

I borrowed this coaster making kit from school. Yes, it is only on loan. I'm way to much of a "Martha" to deal with my family room being converted into coaster city indefinitely. Play with it all you want, on Monday it goes back to school.

But it is the reason for

• Thing Two wanting to know Pony Girl's name. The boys were naming their marbles. First there was Mrs. S &S (the principal and assistant principal), Mrs. G and D (their teachers) and then they starting naming families. Yep, they even had some girl marbles, and thus the need to know the girls names.
• It is also the reason for Thing One being sent to his room. He misplaced one of his marbles and wanted to steal (under the disguise of borrow with no intention of returning) his brother's. He got caught, got angry and got sent to time out.
  
  All hubby heard was me hollering at Thing One. He made the mistake of asking Thing Two "what made your brother so angry?".
  
  Oh Dad, he just lost his marbles and wanted mine!
  *yep, classic Thing Two.
  What a thought: we lose our marbles and we could borrow someone else's? First I'd ask Bill Gates for some of his. Then a couple extra Martha marbles wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. I'd round it out by asking for some from Oprah. Most people like Oprah, right?
  
  So, if you could, whose marbles would you want to borrow?
  

What's her name?

Thing Two, shouting across the family room..asks me What's Katie's sister's name?
*?Emily
NO, the other Katie? (he's getting annoyed with his mom)
*she doesn't have a sister, just two brothers, Austin and Matthew
NO, mom, the one in my class.. (we're past annoyed in the tone, now we're at impatient, about to cross over into total disgust)
*Oh, Abbie?
NO, mom, that's Pony Girl...yeah Katie's sister's name is Pony Girl. Thanks Mom. (my status is restored to pretty smart mom after all)

(technically the last Katie is spelled different. And to think, we would have added to this Katie Conspiracy had Thing Two been born with girl parts!)

I should be...

* unloading the dishwasher
*putting away laundry from 3 days ago
*starting new loads 1, 2, and 3
* sweeping the kitchen floor
*mopping the kitchen floor
*run the vacuum over pretty much every carpeted service in this 2200 sq. ft. house
*finish up some craft projects I started last week
*fix some breakfast for my loving family
*take a shower
*work on some cards for Teacher Appreciation Week (grateful that technically it runs Wed.-Wed. which annoys some people, but since I'm so behind on all sorts of tasks, it works for me)
*collect all the library books, scattered throughout the house that were due yesterday
*file away business paperwork
*balance the check book
*hit the party store for birthday supplies for friend 40th birthday next week
*look some more for the perfect book case for the family room. Kind of hard since I haven't really decided which book case style I want.
*wipe down some bathrooms
*windex some windows
*pull a few weeds in the garden
*clean out the Mystery Van

And yet instead, what am I doing? Sitting here, sipping coffee, watching my boys play with the roller coaster kit I borrowed from work.

Maybe tomorrow I"ll get serious about this to do list!

Open Letter time

Dear Mr. Wind:
You are driving me insane with all your huffing and puffing. Go away. All you do is stir up pollen and make it all but impossible for me to do my job.

Dear Missionaries:
Please, when I say not interested, that is your key to leave. Yes, leave. If I need a book of Mormon, I can get one from one of the numerous families I know who practice your faith but surprisingly enough leave me alone. (Heck, Thing Two attended a birthday party at one of the up and coming leaders of the local stake house. And that goodie bag did not contain a book Mormon.) But just like I don't buy magazines from scruffy looking types trying to earn a scholarship (or pay off their drug debt), I don't really care to buy your religion because you took the time to ring my doorbell.

Neighbor Boys:
Yeah, I know we've got the motherload of a Nerf arsenal. But, today my boys are playing nicely inside with each other. Come back another day. ANOTHER DAY. Not, wait 10 minutes and ring the bell again. Because if you do, trust me, next time them lovely latter day saint chickies come calling , I"ll give them your Momma's phone number (home, work and cell) along with your home address.

Creative yet chaotic types:
Much as I appreciate your easy going attitude towards life, once in awhile, can you meet me half way and be a little bit ready for 18 tracked off kids we've got coming to class? Especially if the class involves mud, paint and my nemesis Mr. Wind?

And finally, Nielson Survey Creators:
Are you high? Do you really expect me to fill out the page that says "List all channels your system receives". Hello, we have like a 300 station satellite dish. And then you want me to note whether I'm watching something from TiVo or regular TV and you want me to note what I am watching in a separate journal for each TV in the house? Forgettabout it! For the week of May 3-10th: we watched The Weather Chanel (so I can know exactly how much Mr. Wind is blowing) over and over and over, pausing only to tune into the Mormon News because man we are so becoming latter day saints thanks to the door to door approach that I'm sure converts millions of us heathens ever stinking day!

Meet the Nielsens

About a month ago, I got a phone call, asking if we would be a Nielsen rating family. So starting tonight, we will log what shows we watch for the next week. Having a written record of exactly how much tv we watch might just earn us the award for America's most boring family. Now accepting kickbacks to ensure that your favorite show gets listed on OUR log. Ah, feel that ego trip taking off.

Priceless

Eye Exam and Glasses: $129.99
The Simpsons Graphic Novel: $7.50 (for those not familiar, it is newest trend in comic books)
Having Thing Two, my reluctant reader, ask to keep reading for just a few more minutes...

PRICELESS!!!!

Suppose I should mop more often..

Been in a funk this week, so domestic duties got put to the side (or skipped all together). Thursday was given the green light to quit my worrying, so I had no excuse for behaving so un-Martha like. Procrastinated a little bit Friday morning (great talking with ya, TZ, CFD and sis).
And then, faced the mess on the kitchen floor.

Swept, mopped and yes, it did look very good. And yes, I wondered again, why do I put off doing this? I get such a surge of domestic goodness when the floor is clean. (I guess because it doesn't stay clean for very long).

Thing Two got home from school, took off his shoes (he's so well trained, better than I am) and said "Mom, it feels so good, all I feel on the floor are my socks!"

OK, now...was that a compliment or a slam?
Doesn't matter...it is Saturday morning and I've got a desk piled high with craft stuff just waiting for me to come over and play. Film at 11 (a phrase our family uses to say, check in later for more exciting news and maybe even some pics)

Poof: Where did that week go?

Yikes. This past week just flew by. Where did it go? Here's a brief recap.

Monday: Tracked down the Tax Man. He had good news, sort of. We paid a bit too much estimated tax last year so we get to skip estimated tax for the first quarter of this year. Thing Two also joined the glasses gang and we are now 75% vision impaired here at the House of Chang. You got a problem with that?

Tuesday: Back to school and work. Cursive is now required for all written work in 3rd grade so there was a bit of cursing going on come homework time. But, sometimes Thing One is just too honest for his own good. I asked him what he does in school and he said "well, I just do what Mrs. D. tells me, I write in cursive." OK, Bud, then you get to do it at home as well. No pulling the special ed card for you my friend. You can do it...you just admitted you could.

Wednesday: Meet this year's recipient of the Wendy DeBell Award for Exceptional Volunteer Service. Yep, all that I did over at the school was noticed and I was named Volunteer of the year for our school and was recognized along with 56 other worthy individuals at a district wide ceremony. I admit, it was very nice to be noticed. Now we return my ego back to its humble self.

Thursday: The Mystery Van has been riding more like an old pick up truck in need of new shocks so we took her in for some work. Sadly, it was more than just shocks that is causing her problem. Expensive yet non-essential repairs (got to love an honest mechanic). So, for now, we'll continue to ride in the rough van until she expires and we get something new.

Friday: Back to have those cysts looked at. And they have left the building, Thank you very much. What a relief. I admit I was a bit more worried about it than I realized. I'm so happy to know for sure now that they were all of the "no big deal" variety.

And here we are to the weekend. If I can get my work space sorted out (paperwork on every surface, Fly Lady would so not be happy with me), I plan to play with my new CTMH stuff that arrived on Thursday.

As busy as the week was, I"m grateful for the news that it brought our way.

-ong words

A little bit of history, might help with this one. Growing up, my mom made it her mission to find a knickname for whatever fella we either were dating or had our eye on. There was "Nebraska Pig Farmer" for me and "Howdy Doody" for my sister. Unfortuantely (at least I think this is unfortunate, who knows, maybe it was a good thing in this case?) , Mom had already passed before we met our husbands so we'll never know what their knicknames would have been.

I've decided to continue this tradition now that my friend Judy's daughters (at least the oldest two) are dating. We've already had Rock Boy and Thong Boy.

Yep, Thong Boy. Thing Two who is always listening overheard us and saw me just laughing like a crazy woman. He asked what was so funny about this word. So, yep, he now knows what kind of thong we were talking about (not the type that goes on your feet in the summer).

So yesterday, he was beaming. Apparently, the word family this week is -ong words. I'm guessing the teacher was hoping to hear words like song, wrong, long. Nope, my little guy raised his hand with gusto and said "THONG!". I asked him, did Mrs. G. laugh? "Nah," he said, "but I was laughing inside really loud Mom!".

That's my boy: anyway you say it, underwear is just plain funny.

Rally of Support

Yesterday, the Things were asking about summer vacation (yep, barely finished with this track off, they are already counting down the 10 weeks until their next break. Fellow blogger Colleen will be oh so very proud of them as she's always counting towards something! ).

Thing One wants to go back to the mountains. Thing Two just wants to be along for the ride. I told them that one place we are definitely going is to Wisconsin. Not only is there a plethora of my people to visit, but Hubby plans to attend the National Rally (OK, maybe it is even international. I admit, I don't pay that close of attention to his hobby) for his motorcycle group.

I used the word rally. And, I think they sort of understood the word but maybe not. Here's what they had to say.

Thing One: Well, who are you going to cheer for Mom? I"m going to only cheer for the guy in first place.

Thing Two: I'm going to cheer for Dad. He's a really good motorcycle rider, isn't he mom? He'll probably get like second or third place, don't you think?

So, not only is it apparent they don't understand the concept of a rally, but from the sound of it, we need to work a little bit more on being a supportive motorcycle family. Cheer for Dad, because he's number one (Yes, I remain the lone kiss-up in the family, as I know who allocates the fun money here in the House of Chang!)

Since I'm not single

Thing Two figured I must be a double. Or so he said as we were leaving the library and his older brother remarked again how my now having a good book to read is a good thing because it is a "single girl's best friend" (as I pointed out to him, it was funny the first time. Not so funny over and over.) Thing Two stood up for me and emphatically announced "P, She's NOT single. She's married to dad. That makes her a double!".

Take note older son, that was funny...

It's a wrap...

21 pages. In one week. Might just be a personal best. (not including crop weekends, that's a whole different setting and productivity is much better when you are surrounded by inspiring people and layouts). And, I've reached a good stopping point. Not to mention, the Things return to school on Tuesday and I return to work so I need to focus on some other things so that re-entry isn't quite so painful for all of us. Yeah, we've gotten a bit too casual in our routine. But we have had a relaxing and fun time.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you'll recognize these pictures. They were some of the first pictures I used when I started blogging. So, I decided to journal about how I've enjoyed my blogging experience thus far. The layout isn't anything too unique but in a way, it marks a milestone. Pretty much everything that I crop from here on out, is from a post-blog era which makes remembering when for the journaling so much easier. Yahoo...now if I can only remember to blog, I"ll be all set.

Waiting...

*Thing Two is waiting and more than ready should any aliens invade. He also tells me he was waiting to wedgie his brother. (he's 7 what can I say, he doesn't always make sense)

*Hubby and I are both waiting to hear from the accountant. This late in the game can only mean we owe, and the quieter he remains, the more worried I am getting.

* I've also been waiting for the weathermen to make up their minds. Lots of snow forecasted. Oh wait, nope, now just a little bit. Nope, now it looks like it is going to the south, might be a wet commute. Uh, our bad, storm missed us, not even a wet commute. Now, I'm not complaining about snow and bad weather missing us. But, I wish they wouldn't tease me with the prospects of being snowed in. (I wanted to stay in my jammies all day without even a moment of guilt)

*Still waiting for this cold of mine to do something. Or maybe it is allergies. Either/or, I'm tired of feeling like I've got Irish step dancers doing the River Dance show on my sinus cavities

*And finally, I"m waiting for some new craft stuff that I ordered to be shipped. It's gonna feel like Christmas in April when it gets here and I'm so excited. But, it really was too good of a deal to pass up on, eh my fellow Close to My Heart enthusiasts?

So, while I've spent the day waiting, I decided to work on that stash from 2005. (see, TZ, it has taken me almost a week, not your predicted 5 minutes). I got 6 pages done today...all while waiting. Hope you enjoy them. I know I feel good about getting them scrapbooked finally!

Mystery solved

So, I asked Thing One "how'd you decide what a single girl's best friend is?"
"DUH Mom, I heard it on the Shaggy Dog!"

Oh well.. even if he was scripting at least he figured out the right time for such a statement!

Where does he come up with this stuff?

I told the boys I'd take them to lunch today. At first they asked to go to Village Inn. My initial response was "OK" but then I said "nah, what would I do while I wait for our food. You guys have your game boys. I don't have anything". When Thing One quickly notes: "Mom, you should have brought a book. It is a single girl's best friend!". (with just enough annoyance to his voice to make me realize those pre-teen attitude years are approaching just a bit too quickly).

Granted, I'm not single but he does have a point about books being good companions...certainly explains why he's always got his nose in a book (when his eyes aren't on some electronic gadget).

Where is he from?

So last night we were at the eye doctor's, picking out frames for Thing Two (yep, now he'll definitely be looking like a Hubby clone!). The man helping us asked me "where's your son from". It was all I could do to not say my vajayjay. I know that he didn't mean to be rude with his inquiry but it just irks me whenever I get asked this (sadly, he wasn't the first nor will he be the last one). I get that Thing Two looks more like his dad's people than mine. But, come on, surely he has just a hint of Norwegian Cheese head in his genetic make up? Come on folks, humor me at least...

Martha's Mojo

Colleen asked that I share my secret source for SB mojo. So, having completed 3 layouts today, I snapped this picture of my latest creation. See if you can spot where my mojo comes from?

Since the wine of the month delivery guy finally caught me at home (after 4 months of me not being home to sign for our stuff), I'm predicting many more inspiring layouts.

I mean, come on without a little Mommy juice, do you think I'd have had the guts to include me in a layout in a swim suit? Sheesh, it's hard enough for me to agree to a picture when I'm having a perfect hair day and have make up on. But the picture was too good not to use and well, they don't call it liquid courage for nothing!

Adventure is just a page away...

This past week I've discovered two great books. The first one, Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews is a chick lit book. While on vacation, I had it with me but was determined to finish the book I had started before leaving. I dragged that first book along with me all week and every time I opened it, my eyes would get heavy and I'd feel very sleepy. At first I figured it was the sun or the jet lag. When I got to the airport at the end of our trip, I decided enough and switched books. I pulled this one out of my luggage and immediately found myself absorbed in the tale.

Set in Savannah, the star of the story is BeBe Loudermilk (with a main character name like that, you just know it's gonna be a fun story). She finds herself in a heap of trouble and has to work her way outof this problem . The story unfolds quickly. Although the storyline is sort of predictable (isn't all chick lit predictable) I found the characters engaging enough and funny enough to keep going. By the time my flight landed in CO, I was more than half way finished. And on Friday night, while the men in the house were bonding over Homer and Bart, I crawled under the covers and finished the book . I'm thinking I might just have to check out some of the other books written by Ms. Andrews.

The next book I discovered has been part of my craft collection for months now. Cherish is a layout idea book. Originally, I poured over it, oohed and ah'd over the pages and used it only occasionally. But, now that I"m starting to use more of the patterned paper made by Basic Grey and such, I find this book to be a great reference tool for learning how to use the bold papers without overpowering your pictures. Some scrapbookers might consider the detailed instructions to be a bit much. They'd rather create on their own. But, I'm a firm believe in why re-invent the wheel. And with the layout ideas in this book along with the cutting directions for your complimentary paper, it has been a very productive weekend here in my craft shack. I just finished up my 7th page since yesterday. Trust me, with the way and rate I scrap, that's a very good weekend indeed. And I owe a large amount of my inspiration to the great ideas found in Cherish.

Now I'd better wrap it all up and go check on the Things. They've been a bit too quiet if you know what I mean...and since Auntie Terri was over yesterday leaving them candy and tattoo stuff, who knows what I'll find when I go upstairs.

Good thing we didn't have much planned...

Because Mother Nature has decided to bless us with a White Easter! Sleet and occasional flurries yesterday and this morning real actual snow that is sticking. Gotta love Colorado Spring time. NOT!

We've enjoyed a quiet weekend. I took TZ's suggestion and am working on pictures that got forgotten from 2005. With snow falling on and off since Friday, imagine my delight to discover these pictures on top of the stack. It made the transition from one project to the next go much smoother. Well, at least that's my spin and I"m sticking too it!

That's a wrap

This layout marks the end of updating my family Christmas album. Yahoo! I don't remember when I have gotten the Christmas album updated this early in the year. But it also means the end of this project. Grrr...now to figure out what to scrap next?

How about if you all help me decide. Do I go back and work on that stack of 2005 pictures I found when reorganizing. Or, do I work on the Jan 2007 vacation to CA or do I go all "alpha scrapper" and start working on stuff from last week's vacation to FL? What do you think? Help me get inspired.

See Ya Later

Gotta go get ready as the coven is meeting this morning to discuss the state of our economy, world politics and global warming. Yeah right. We'll more than likely stick to our favorite topics: gossip and giggles. Stop on by and sit a spell, ok?

Belated Pics

Now that I"m back home, surrounded by all things good (loving Hubby, comfy bed, high speed Internet, TiVo), I shall try to add a couple pictures from our trip.

The purpose of this FL adventure was to visit family. Sis and nephew from MI flew in and we stayed at a timeshare condo outside of Disney.

We also spent a couple days "camping" with my dad at his trailer park. Calling it camping was the only way I could sleep at night and use the bathhouse across the road without getting totally creeped out. Yes, go ahead an call me a sissy girl when it comes to prefering my home comforts and bug free environment. Technically he lives in a "fixed park model" but for those of us accustomed to more spacious quarters, camping is a better way to describe it.

All in all, it was a good trip. There was swimming in the pool and the Gulf, golfing and rides in golf carts, and even a chance to learn the art of shuffle board. We took a boat ride in search of gators. Didn't really need to board the boat to spot the gators as one was sunning himself right next to my uncle's boat. Ewww: a little close for comfort. The boys had fun and I enjoyed the slower pace of life. But, I'm ever so happy to be back home where I sleep without wondering if that gator has decided to make a house call!

Homeward Bound...

We're leaving on the jet plane later this evening and assuming all goes well with our trip, I"ll be sleeping in my own bed tonight.

All in all, it has been a good trip. But no matter where one roams, home is always the best place to be. I"ll post some pictures once I get back home to my reliable and high speed connection.

Until then, I"m off to soak up a little more Florida sunshine. Both boys have a good start on their Jamican pool boy loook and me, well, I"m still as pale as can be but I've been toasty warm which has felt good after our cold Colorado winter.

Ok, so maybe I"m not soo spoiled...

Yep, I'm resorting to a dial up connection to check in online. Freely admitting now I've got me an addiction problem when it comes to all things gadgetry! While the condo has an Internet cafe, they charge an arm, a leg and might even want to hold a kid as a deposit to use this service. So, instead, I"ll give ole dial up a try. Gotta save my money for those $8 margaritas ya know (served in a lovely plastic cup, with only a hint of booze noted in the entire thing).

Seriously, we're having a lovely time. The trip out here was uneventful. Except that the movie they were showing was Happy Feet. Hello: it is a nighttime flight, filled with kids who not only want to sleep, they need to sleep. And yet, United offers this very kid friendly movie for free. Luckily, Thing One didn't realize he needed to change the channel to hear it in English so he gave up and went to sleep when he realized his Spanish wasn't good enough to appreciate this movie. We did manage to all catch a couple snoozes.

The vacation is going great. The cousins have just picked up where they left off and are playing like great pals. They've played mini golf, shot a few water basketballs hoops, checked out the Lazy River and watched fireworks at night (we're on the back end of Magic Kingdom, so we are enjoying a very obstructed but totally free show). Yesterday, we visited Grandpa's house. House is a term used very loosely but luckily he's decided to move on up to a bigger place so just maybe this will be our last visit to his winter "campground". (for those who love camping, I do to, but just not all the time). We also checked out a Carriage museum where Gramps works as a docent. He gave the kids a very nice personalized tour and we all learned a thing or two about horse drawn carriages (who knew there were so many types?).

But without a doubt, the highlight of the trip has had to be the Hippo. A giant inflatable water slide. The boys just can't get enough of this thing...

Here I go, try to upload a photo. Do I have enough patience to wait? Fingers crossed...Sorry for the tease, Blogger isn't cooperating with my attempts to load my large images at such a slow pace. Will try later on.

And now I"m off to get ready for another day of soaking up the sunshine...

The Red Eye

The Things and I are flying out tonight to spend a week with family in FL. I need to file this under the "what was I thinking?". In theory it should be fine. In reality: well, since Thing Two is just like his momma when he gets tired, it could get ugly. When he's ready to sleep, he's ready to sleep and any attempts to tell him otherwise will be greeted with loud sounds of frustration.
Fingers crossed that it all goes well.

But, if you hear of some middle aged woman getting kicked off a flight because of a cranky thing, it might be me.

In my usual pre-trip frenzy to try and catch up on all unrelated tasks, I looked down at the boys yesterday and realized they were looking rather shaggy. Not totally over due for haircuts, but if we go to the ocean (which is part of the general plan), we could find ourselves dealing with lots of sand in their hair. So,we made a quick trip to the hair cut place for their buzz.

Thing Two announced to the lady, "Give me my summer buzz, not my winter one, OK?".
Ah, he's his daddy's son after all!

Not making any promises about updating the blog. I'll have the stuff do it but timeshares are notorious for having limited Internet access. And I'm way to spoiled to put up with dial up unless it is a true emergency.

So for now, I'll sign off and catch ya'll when I can....

Seeing Double

I get asked a fair amount if the Things are twins. Between their genetics (one is blessed with his mother's short stature, while the other one we're hoping has inherited his dad's genes for at least average guy height) and my habits (might as well out myself, because if I don't, Hubby will: but yes, I often dress them similar if not identical and they sport the same haircut), I understand why people get confused.

No, they aren't twins but they sure look like they could be is my standard reply. People don't like learning their guess was wrong so I've learned over time to reassure them that their vision isn't failing them.

Today was our track off day and as is school tradition, we had the awards assembly for quarterly achievements in math and reading. Thing One knew he'd earned the final math prize: a t-shirt. Poor fella had been stuck on that last test for weeks!

But Thing Two: well, as a first grader, this whole math master stuff is still a mystery to him. Imagine my delight (along with his older brother's) when we learned he too had reached the final prize.

And of course, I was there with camera in hand to capture it all. Because well, sometimes a post is worthless without pictures, eh?

Yep, they sure could pass for twins today...

And then there was one...

*One day until Spring Break starts

*One lone daffodil announcing it is Spring Time in the Rockies. Will he remain alone? One doesn't know here in Colorado. Mother Nature can turn on us in a moment, and dump loads of white wet stuff. But for today, we enjoy.

*One clean house. I'm going through my pre-trip cleaning frenzy. So, the floor has been mopped, the basement carpet has been steam cleaned (no more smells like wet garbage), the craft room straightened up and well...that's good enough for today.

Speaking of craft room: I've had my altered art up on the wall for a couple weeks now. But, I keep forgetting to snap a picture when the lightening is right. I'm rather pleased with how it all turned out. I plan to add a couple more items to this wall grouping but it is a good start. I forget how good it feels to do just a few different things now and then to the home decor.

My turn for a pet peeve...

She sends me an email with a smidgen of gossip in it...and then doesn't reply to my request for more information. Or even validation that the people sharing the gossip are the ones that I'd guessed. What's up with that? Doesn't everyone know I am the Park View Woman in the Know? How can I maintain this role without all the details?

You'd think she has a life or something...
Maybe after we track off...which is in just 3 short days! (because another pet peeve, someone who starts something fun like a countdown and then BOOM...fails to finish. Leaves us hanging...just like with that juicy morsel of gossip).

Giggle Giggle...if you read this locally and see yourself in this post, you betcha I'm blogging about you! And it really all is in good fun. I'll keep my own personal rants to myself, thank you very much.

Pet Peeves

My good pal and fellow blogger Colleen recently posted a great rant. After I got over the initial moment of panic that she was talking about me, I thought "hey, that bugs me too!". Why is that? One moment, it isn't my pet peeve, and next thing you know, I'm noticing this bad habit in everyone and getting annoyed with them right along with Colleen. Go Figure!

She who laughs...

This week's blog challenge:

• write about the last time you had a really good laugh. A belly laugh. A laugh that took your breath away. A laugh that starved you of oxygen and gave you a headache. A laugh where you tossed your head back and really let 'er rip.If you can't recall a time when you've laughed that hard, then figure out WHY NOT, and write about that.Laughter.It's good for the soul.If only it burned more calories

At first I thought, hmmm...when did I laugh last? I snicker, giggle and smile more often than belly laugh. And when I do go for the belly laugh, well chances are alcohol was involved. My hubby and Thing Two are the Laugh out Loud laughers. Thing One is the social laugher. Half the time he has not a clue as to why everyone is laughing but he's right alongside them all, laughing it up.

Yet sadly, every little laugh I've enjoyed these past couple days just doesn't make it to the written word as well as being there. There were the jokes about my friend's teenaged daughters and their beaus (making up knicknames for their boyfriends based on their personality quirks). There were the jokes shared between Husband and Wife that probably don't need to be broadcasted on the world wide web. There were the snickers as the kids in the cul de sac performed a little play for us grownups this evening.

Without a doubt, there is always something worth laughing about. I even noticed the neighbors outside Sunday evening, sitting around their table, laughing. Seeing them return home in the funeral limos, it looked like laughter was the last thing on their minds. But as with everything in life, once you take time to laugh, you know that happier days have got to be ahead.

Top of the Morning to you all from the O'Changs..

It is indeed a lovely day here in the land of sunshine. Yet despite the warmer days and little hints of Spring popping through the brown earth, there isn't a whole lot green to be seen. It could also be that I did a really crappy job of putting my backyard to rest last Fall. All the debris from last year needs to be cleaned up I suppose.

As for us, well Thing One, whose real name might suggest he REALLY would like today, has decided he hates it. He said that people pinch you which is mean, they drink too much and do silly stuff and he doesn't like being named after such a day. He's also most upset with us for naming him after that stupid guy on Sponge Bob. I keep telling him he was named first as we wouldn't have intentionally done that to him. But, he's not buying it. (I just looked it up on wiki, the show premiered a full 2 years after he made his debut into this world. Thank heavens, or else I might have just a hint of guilt!).

Thing Two on the other hand is all about the mischief that comes into play on this St. Paddy's Day. He wondered last night if the leprechauns would visit his room while he was sleeping. I remarked it would be hard to tell because the state of his room is currently in chaos. Wishful thinking on my part that this might inspire him to clean up his room. He's dressed in green from head to toe and even has loaned his stuffed Homer Simpson dude (my son doesn't play with dolls I'll have you know) a bathrobe belt that is green because he doesn't want Homer to get pinched.

Ah yes indeed, there are those days when the Chang boys are indeed ying and yang...
As for us grownups, we're hoping to enjoy a wee bit of Irish cheer over at some neighbors house later on this afternoon.

So until next time I leave you with this Irish Toast...

• May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead .
  

According to Thing Two...

"Brother, you don't know anything! You can only call it snuggling if you have someone with you!"

Our evening bedtime routine is to "talk about the day". I snuggle in with Thing Two and we chat about what the favorite part of his day was. Thing One is usually not interested. But tonight, he decided he'd go for the snuggle. Only problem was, he announced in his overtired grouchy voice "alone!".

That's when his younger, yet perhaps wiser brother pointed out the flaw in his plan.

Oh how I wish I could bottle up his sincerity and kindness so when he hits that next stage, I'll be able to remember the time when he was my sweet little snuggling pal~

On a much more somber note: all you mommas out there: no matter what: cuddle up and snuggle with your children whenever you get the chance! For tonight we learned that the neighbor kid (a 20 something college kid, living with his sister while going to school) was not able to overcome the serious injuries he sustained in a car accident almost 2 weeks ago. I can only imagine the heartache his family is feeling tonight and for many nights to come.

Gotta celebrate these little moments for sadly we never know when that's all we'll have left of our loved ones...is the memory of it all.

The Flying Finger...

*this post is dedicated to CFD. She's feeling all "Barb-ish" in that she's usually the last to update her blog but today she's the first to update. So, yeah, this one's for you, sister wife.

As I escorted my students to the cafeteria, my own son, Thing One, comes searching for me. Just barely holding in the tears, he said "Mom, I've got to tell you something". OK, walk with me...talk to me.

It seems as if he was sitting in class, listening to his teacher, with his head nestled in his hands. He had a finger from each hand stretched out, touching his cheek. But sadly, it wasn't just any finger. Yeah, it was THAT finger. He of course is clueless. He's just listening. Well, mostly listening, with a dash of cutting up sprinkled on top.

But a couple of his classmates noticed and they knew which finger that was. So, they started to giggle. And the more they laughed, the happier this made him feel, so he started to ham it up.

That's when his teacher stepped in. She pointed out that this was an action requiring immediate contact of a parent. Did he want her to call me? Oh no, he was scared. A phone call to mom means no special lunch delivered on Friday. I could tell he was still rather dazed and confused by it all but took it like a man, and stopped the action. But, he wanted to tell me before I got the message from Mrs. D. (have I told you how much I love his honesty?)

Of course, I didn't get the full version from him. All I got from him was the choked back sobs that he was doing something that made his teacher angry and he felt really bad. I told him "just be sure to apologize and we'll figure the rest out later on".

Later in the day, I ran into his teacher and she kindly filled me in on the details. She of course agreed he had no clue what he was doing was wrong in the first place ( well, except that he shouldn't be acting like the class clown. But as for flying the finger: totally clueless! Yeah, that's my boy!). Yet at the same time, the gesture is inappropriate whether you are clueless or not.

So, today my son learned that there are ways to call someone a bad name without ever opening your mouth. Hopefully, it will be years before he learns what that really translates to.

And I learned that we've all made a lot of progress this year...and for that I'm most grateful.

Where did that extra hour go?

Cowtown Stacy challenges us this week with: We had an "extra hour" of daylight today. How'd you spend it? Any regrets? If so, describe how you'd spend it differently, given the chance. ('Cause you have another chance tomorrow!)

Extra hour my buttocks! I'm a morning person. I found little to celebrate with this time change. In fact, if anything I found myself frustrated.

My most productive time of the day is in the morning: I thought I was making great progress yesterday when I realized "It's 0900 already? Seems like it is only 0800"

And if you are early eaters like we are, dinner time arrived just too darn soon. What? Time to fix dinner already? But, it seems like only 4pm.

And if you are a control freak who likes her boys washed, jammied and in bed by 7:30pm, all that extra evening daylight just does nothing for you!

And well this morning, was just rough getting my morning boys up and moving and still have time for them to do the things they like to do before school.

And as I was starting to grumble to my walking Buddy she shared with me "if you think you had it rough, try having a night owl! He did not want to go to bed last night. No how No Way!"

So there ya have it, we both agreed Springing Forward provides us with little added joy...at least as long as school is in session and routines must be followed.

Now what has put a smile on my face is the clear blue skies and the windless 70 degrees out there. But, I'd be enjoying that just as much without the added hour to go with it.

Crop Crashers

Yesterday my friend and I decided to crash a scrapbooking retreat that TZ (my friend and fellow blogger) was attending. I mean: come on, how dare she go somewhere without bringing the entire neighborhood gang along? (just kidding, I seriously think it is neat that she makes time to spend with one of her dearest friends. You know that whole girl scout motto of make new friends but keep the old. See, already I 'm learning from my son).

As we are visiting with the two croppers, we start grilling The New Girl. Where are you from, where did you grow up. All those initial chick conversations. Hoping to find some common connection (which we already had because well, she's a mom, who scrapbooks and loves Big Love.) Next thing you know, we've moved on to her husband's bio. When she said where he went to high school, Carol and I both chirped in "I wonder if he knows Allison" (a neighbor who has since moved away but another real fun friend).

Well, we call up hubby and sure enough he knows her. In fact, had dated her for awhile back in the mid 1980s when they were both in high school (yeah, I know I was hanging out with kids yesterday). Imagine the odds? I mean, we do live in a rather large metro area and on the other side of town from where these newly minted friends grew up.

So, now everybody join in the chorus...It's a Small World After All...

To thine ownself be true

I'm joining Thing One for lunch on Friday. His buddy Ry-guy sits with him. We're chatting and I notice he is rolling his eyes. I thought only 9 year old girls did that, but apparently boys do it to. So, I asked him "what's up". He said "Oh Park is mad at me because I"m eating with Thing One". In my innocent mom voice I said "well, he can certainly join us". To which he answered "No, you see Mrs. C, he doesn't like Thing One".

Now, I'm fighting back the tears, with Thing One sitting right next to me. How could anyone NOT like my very lovable child?

When suddenly Thing One enters the conversation with the very proud proclamation "Yep, that's right, he doesn't like me because I chat chat chat. That's me, Mr. Chatty". Not even the slightest glimmer of disappointment with the reality that not everybody is his friend.

Yeah, us moms could learn a thing or two from our kids, couldn't we?

Life is in the details...

A few little things to be happy about this morning. (gotta find the positive since my cold is still lingering).

• There are little tips of green poking their heads out around my Aspen tree. Could it really be possible that tulips and or daffodils will be arriving soon? Gosh I hope so.
• It was warm enough this morning that the Things rode their bikes to school. The weather man said that yesterday's temp above 60 was the first time we've reached that level since early December. Gotta love the warmer weather that is finally starting to become more frequent.
• Walking home, I heard the birds chirping and the knocking of a woodpecker somewhere off in the distance.

Spring: I can see it, I can feel it and I can even hear it. By golly, she's on her way! Yahoo...

Other good news to report in the tooth department: Thing Two conquered his fear and wiggled that tooth right out of its double parked spot. Bless his heart: he didn't want the dentist to help him with his special tools so he kept working it last night until finally he started to grin from ear to ear. He barely freaked when he noticed the blood that came with it. I too am over the moon and gladly paid on my promise of $10 if he pulled it himself. I figure the dentist would have charged me ten times that amount AND I'd have had to endure the pain and suffering of taking Mr. Anxiety in for the removal. Yep, priceless I tell ya!

So, what little detail today put a smile on your face?

Just one word

This week's blog challenge

• Have you ever tried to describe yourself in one word? One word that sort of sums up who you are, what makes you tick, what sets you apart. It's not as easy as you think. As women, we need to spend more time recognizing and celebrating the talents and positive traits we've been adorned with. Whether we're suburban upper-middle class moms or urban, poor, living-the-moment teens - we all have one thing in common: we're beautiful women with amazing talents, unbridled potential... and we're fabulous, baby. Fabulous.Go ahead. Describe yourself with one word. Then ask three other people to describe you, too. Celebrate yourself. I dare you!

Kind. Yep, I'm a kind hearted person. Although it isn't always easy, it is what comes most natural. I feel gifted in being able to read the cues of others and find ways to be helpful. Helping others makes me feel good about myself. Now one should note that being helpful is totally on my terms. I'm pretty good about setting boundaries and establishing limits (at least eventually I figure that part out). I will be your go-to girl for only so long and then....well, times up, you've exhausted your limits of Martha kindness.

So even on those rough days when I really want to give someone an earful or a dose of their own medicine, I find myself choosing the safer approach and just "smile and wave". It just isn't worth getting all worked up about...because well, my kindness ends up making me feel bad for spouting off. Even if they deserved it in the first place.

OK, now the rest is up to you all...using just one word, describe me. But remember, be kind!

Even if I can't hear you...

I still love you! That's what Thing One told me this morning. How sweet is that? Yeah, he knows tomorrow is allowance day, he'd better start "kissing up!".

I've caught the neighborhood crud and although I don't feel all that terrible, I sound horrific and that's what prompted his comments.

On another note, a shout out of thanks to my sister. She sent Hubby a care package and he remarked "see, she loves me, she takes care of me!". That's because apparently, they still sell Twisted Cheetos in Michigan. What a special treat for him and it arrived on a day when he most needed a treat (working on a problematic server for one of his customers). Thanks again, Laura!

Yesterday marked Dr. Seuss's 103rd birthday and we celebrated by going to see the area high school perform Seussical the Musical. Thing One was fascinated by it all. Thing Two is more like his dad and not all that into the musical theatre. He announced there was "too much singing". But, he hung in there until intermission when his kind and caring father rescued him. Of course, it doesn't help that Thing Two is very much like his mother and enjoys and prefers his early bedtime. He was tired on top of having to sit through a bunch of singing. All in all, it was a good evening.

I'm predicting it will be a quiet weekend here for me but hopefully a little bit productive.
Stay Warm and germ free...

February Round Up

I saw this idea on another blog (http://scrapbooklady.typepad.com/ )and thought I'd give it a try. She calls it her monthly Round Up and it looks like a good strategy to use and might help with the issue of memory fatigue (doesn't that sound better than can't remember crap?). So, here it goes. Sadly, it shows what a boring family we are!

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

• For books, I managed to finish Full House and Full Tilt by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughs. Not really great works of literature, but fast and fun reads. Sometimes that is all you need/want when it comes to reading. People gets read weekly because I just really like my celebrity gossip.

What movies and/or TV shows did I watch this month?

• You've gotta love that February is sweeps time on TV ! Our TiVo list always had something new to watch. I got my fill of my favorite shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives (although that show is getting tiresome), CSI (all three versions) along with House and 2 1/2 Men. I didn't take in any movies at the theatre, but watched a couple DVDs (I, Robot and Garfield with the guys in my life) and of course Big Love. I even found a couple afternoons to catch the Ellen Show and I try to get my morning fix of The View (at least the first 15 minutes of Hot Topics. Yeah, I know...just more signs of my addiction to celebrity snark).

What special days did I celebrate and how?
What gifts did I give and/or receive?

• I"ll group these two together because A: Blogger is being difficult this morning and I just want to get on with some other tasks. And B: they sort of go together. We celebrated Chinese New Year and Valentines Day although neither holiday resulted in gift exchanging. We've never really done presents for Valentines Day. Most years, we go out for dinner for Chinese New Year, but this year, the Visa bill from our January spending spree (vacation and a fancy snow blower) came that same week. Spending more money just didn't make sense, ya know?
  

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

• Well, of course there was that issue with the cysts. That was more than enough medical excitement for all of us.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

• We managed to get the gang of Merry Wives together for an evening of crafting. That's always a fun time. Got together with a couple friends for after school play dates and coffee. But not much beyond that. With continued winter weather, we are still pretty much in hibernation mode and don't get out and about as much as we really should.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

• Thing One tried and liked lasagna. Well, not loved, but he's making continued good progress in his willingness to try new foods. Can't say I tried anything new this month but did pull out the crock pot for a few old favorites meals that I hadn't fixed in awhile. Gotta love smelling dinner simmer all day long. Yum Yum.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

• Actually been sluggish on the spending. Between vacation in January and Spring break later this month, it seems prudent to put retail therapy on a hold for now.

What were this month's disappointments?

• There will always be those little disappointments in life. I prefer not to dwell on them in a blog format.

What were my accomplishments this month?

• In crafting, I managed to help the Things make over 50 valentines. I tried my hand at Altered Art (and once it gets hung up I'll share pictures with you). Scrapbooked about 6 pages and managed to get the pictures from last month's vacation printed. In home stuff, not so productive. Just more of that hibernation excuse I suppose.

Anything else noteworthy to record?

• Not really. Just ready to say goodbye to winter. I had hoped to head out and get some errands accomplished. But, it is cold outside and the coffee is warm in here. Whatever is on today's list can easily wait another day or so. Sadly, that's been a theme for more than the month of February.

Our morning surprise...

A Delayed start to school!!!! YAHOO...
I just hopped onto the computer just to see. Thinking maybe but probably not.
There, in bright big red letters: Delayed Start...

Yeah...I think I will have that extra cup of coffee...

Good News/Bad News..

Good: Finally found Hubby some gray crew socks. Had checked Kohls and Target over the weekend and they had nada. Super Walmart had many to choose from. We'll see if this brand lasts a little longer than the last type I bought for him.

Bad: Super Walmart didn't have Hubby's favorite snack, Twisted Cheetos, in stock. This made the 3rd place I've looked and found none to be had. Was there some big Twisted convention that we missed out on? Is a cheeto blizzard coming through and folks are stocking up? So, I asked the man that was re-stocking all the FritoLay products...and get this...

They've been discontinued!
Aw Man...bummer...because well, they are also one of my favorite snacks too! (you really didn't think I'd be this bummed if it were say, Pork rinds that had been discontinued did you?)

Now...off to break the news to Hubby. I'm wondering if his friend, Andy still works for Frito Lay? If he does...then we'll be letting him know about our disapproval with this change...Bad Frito Lay...Bad!!!!

Playing Favorites

This week's blog challenge looks easy enough I might be able to complete it.
10Favorites

1. Color: Green
2. Food: Chocolate, d'uh
3. Month:October
4. Song: All You Need is Love
5. Movie: Love Actually
6. Sport: I am so not into sports. Neither participating or spectating.
7. Season: Fall
8. Day of the Week: Friday
9. Ice Cream Flavor: Chocolate
10. Time of Day: the morning (go ahead, and hate me, yes, I'm a morning person)

9 Currents

1. Mood: Happy
2. Clothes: my mom uniform: jeans, tshirt, fleece vest
3. Taste: ?coffee breath
4. Desktop: The Things at DisneyWorld with Mike and Sully (Feb. 05)
5. Toenail Color: nada. Not into the whole polish look
6. Time: 9:40 am
7. Surroundings: Family room, watching the View
8. Thoughts: Is Thing Two getting hungry (I found his breakfast pretty much untouched), Will my jacket be dry before I have to go to work (it was dirtier than my van was, long overdue to be washed)
9. Wonderings: At my age, thoughts and wonderings sort of all blend together. Will people think I'm very lame with my answers to this meme?

8 Firsts

1. Best Friend: Heidi C. (and yes, I still consider her a great friend)
2. Kiss: Must not have been very memorable, still can't remember who or when
3. Screen Name: Marty (which is so odd because I hate that as a knickname for Martha)
4. Pet: Max our schnauzer
5. Piercing: My ears (and that's the only pierced part and I rarely wear earings).
6. Crush: Tom Cruise (I'm talking the young cute, non freaky one from Top Gun and Risky Business)
7. Computer: Don't remember the name or the brand but Hubby deemed it pathetic when he saw it when we started dating back in ?94)
8. Home Location: I'm assuming not an apartment rental? Well, I guess that would be our townhouse in VA.

7 Lasts

1. Cigarette: never even had a first (with no plans to change this)
2. Drink: Coffee (Creme Brulee, of course)
3. Kiss: Thing Two as he marched off to school (probably with tummy rumbling)
4. Movie seen at the theater: Casino Royale with Hubby (a date no less!)
5. Phone Call: Kelly N.
6. CD played: Nora Jones Feels like Home
7. Gift received: Christmas presents (we skip the whole Valentines experience)

6 Have You Evers

1. Dated One Of Your Best Friends: Well, I did marry my best friend. But no, haven't dated someone who was a friend first
2. Broken the Law: A speeding ticket some 20 years ago.
3. Been Arrested: Nope
4. Skinny Dipped: Um, maybe? :)
5. Been on TV: Don't think so.
6. Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: Not that I remember.

5 Things

1. You've Eaten Today: Bagel and cream cheese, (and since it is still early, that's about it so far).
2. You've Done Today: Showered, made breakfast, delivered Things to school, one load of laundry, disassembled the Things Fort in the basement
3. You Can Hear Right Now: The dryer buzzing, the chatter of The View, that little voice saying I really should vacuum, and that's about it.
4. You Can't Live Without: My family, my friends, TiVo, High Speed Internet and a climate controlled environment.
5. You Do When You're Bored: boredom is not allowed or tolerated here in the House of Chang and that's my story and I'm sticking to it. But seriously, procrastinate, channel surf, tap my toes, doodle and blob-blogging (just click on random blogs and play voyeur into their lives).

4 places you've been today

1. Potty
2. School
3. the Basement
4. the kitchen

3 people you can tell anything to

1. Hubby
2. Sherri R.
3. Terri K.

2 Choices:

1. Black or White: black
2. 2. Hot or Cold: Hot

1 thing you wanna do before you die: Visit Italy and this time take the Gondola ride!

Garfield: A Tale of 2 Kitties

At least our boys have declared this movie a two thumbs (or would it be paws?) up.

I requested it from our Blockbuster Home delivery service. And since it arrived, we've watched it...well, if I tell you the exact number you will realize what TV junkies we all are, and what a limited social life we really have. Suffice to say, it has been watched so much that they are quoting lines from it (Mi Castle es su castle).

But the best outcome? Thing 1, our perpetual picky eater announced today he wants to try lasagna. Like he said, if Garfield likes it, it must be good. And if he ends up liking it, well, I too will have to give this movie the Martha seal of approval!

About this picture: I know this picture has nothing to do with the topic I've blogged about, but it was from last week and I realized I forgot to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Welcome to the Year of the Pig!

Snowy Saturday

They warned us. But, I was living in denial. I was certain they were just bored after getting to report on warming trends, clear skies, snow less days for a week or so. Nope, they were right. We woke up to about 3 inches of snow on the ground. Right now, it looks like the storm has passed us and this is the most we'll see. And really, after all we've had this winter, 3 inches is no big deal.

But it is a big deal in that I've been a very bad Martha these days. My pantry is about 2 days beyond pathetic. Hubby is in need of some new britches that I promised to pick up for him. I've got checks to deposit and library books to return. Oh, and the toilet paper situation is reaching critical point of being extinct.

In a nutshell, it is not a good day to just stay home and enjoy the weather. I have got places to go and errands to run. This weather is not helping one bit.

Come on Sunshine, get out there and melt this stuff away...

I must be feeling better...

I'm cranky as all get out! I was feeling rather poorly over the weekend. So bad that on Monday I hauled my hiney into the doctor's office to get things checked out. Turns out I have 3 cysts down there. Yeah, us Martha's we tend to overachieve. One just wouldn't have been enough...

I've not heard the final report but since the sonographer didn't excuse herself from the room and go find a doctor, I'm confident it should be ok. Being a nurse, you get pretty good at reading the body language of the provider.

And, although the Things know all the correct names for their parts, when it comes to girl parts, we've pretty much kept them in the dark. We just told them that Mom's tummy hurt. They didn't need to know more than that.

So on Monday night, Thing Two announced that he had caught my sickness and could he please borrow the heating pad. Sure enough, he put it "down there" and announced it felt much better. Oh yeah, I'm sure it did. Wink wink

Then last night, Hubby was feeling a bit nauseated. I doubt it was my cooking because I hadn't fed him yet. But before I knew it, Thing Two had the problem diagnosed "I bet he caught your sickness mom".

Um...lets hope not, or else we have a whole lot more to worry about than Mommy's little ole cysts!

I should be...

cleaning the kitchen, doing 2,000 loads of laundry, scrubbing a bathroom (or two or four), mopping a kitchen floor, forcing the Things to be picking up the Lego explosion here in the basement, working on pulling together tax paperwork, paying bills, vacuuming, making a menu for next week, balancing the check book, cleaning the craft room, making the beds, dusting the family room.

Well...seriously, the list is endless and yet here I sit. Sipping my coffee, waiting for the morning sinus congestion to move on out, hoping that there is some motivation to be had.

Fear not, it will get done (maybe not all of it, but enough to keep up the appearance of having my act together) by at least tomorrow. That's when we have our gathering of hens, convening of the neighborhood coven, or the Sorority of Sister Wives. We say we're gonna scrapbook or craft...but as usual I think we're just gonna chat, gossip and analyze Big Love as if it really is happening next door (well, the new neighbor does wear her hair in a braid a lot...)

To further prolong my procrastination efforts, here's a couple pics from this week here at the House of Chang...

TGIF

And, we're looking forward to a 4 day weekend. Yes!!!!
It's been a long week. Thing Two is going through one of his episodic spells of not liking school. He does it about twice a year and his protest is so dramatic and convincing that initially I'm certain something is causing his dislike for school. There has to be a reason why my sweet baby hates school: the teacher is evil, the bully has found him, he's got some undiagnosed learning disability. Whatever...my mind races with reasons for what is causing the meltdown. But, this time, I'm seeing the pattern and realizing he's just in a funk and not wanting to do his job. We've all been there and realize this too shall pass. It still makes my job as Mom that much harder.

But, we made it to Friday and that is worth noting. Yep, even at 7 he appreciates the gift that is called Friday!

Perplexing Thoughts

• Club Penguin: what is it about this website that has both Things not only mesmerized but on their best behavior for fear I'll get mad and cancel their membership? They have spent the better part of the weekend playing games, earning points and oh no...buying outfits for their characters. I don't get it: it is just an online game site. Oh well, the plus side is they've played nicely with each other and I've got a fresh currency to encourage continued cooperation.
• Big Love: What is it about this show that has me unable to turn it off? I started watching it last weekend and am just about half way through Season 1. Yeah, that's a lot of TV watching. On one level, I'm totally disgusted by the idea. Like Hubby said "it is wrong on SO many levels". But, can I walk away and return the DVDs without watching the entire stinking' show? No. And the more I watch the more questions I have: what is the benefit of multiple wives? All I see is headache and confusion. Does it really occur beyond the compound style of polygamy that you hear about on the news from time to time. Could it really be possible that polygamists live within a regular community. I really must get a life when it comes to being obsessed by this show.

And well, that about sums up our weekend. Pretty exciting family that we are...boys obsessed by penguins, mom obsessed by polygamy and Hubby...well, he worked half the night and spent the day in a sleep deprived fog. He was too tired to even go for a motorcycle ride. And since his motorcycle is his obsession, that is pretty darn tired.

Telephone Training

Thing One and a couple of his classmates have discovered this place called Club Penguin. As best I can figure out, it is sort of like a "my space" for the very young. They have a character that can visit various areas and they can invite each other to race and play other online games. Safety is maintained by limiting the messages that can be sent to pre-written basic responses. I'm not real excited to see my baby moving toward this pre-teen world of chatting online, but he seems to enjoy it.

The other night a classmate called and asked for Patrick to sign on. We forgot to find out this friend's user id, so I suggested he call T back. I dialed the number and handed the phone to Thing One. He became alarmed and said "Mom, it is making some weird noise". I listened and said "Silly, that's the other phone ringing!".

Wondering what he'll think when he hears a busy signal?

And yes, the picture taken below is of Thing One. He is my less cooperative child when it comes to taking his picture. But, I've figured a way around that. I put the zoom lens on the camera, and just stand off to the side and wait to snap his picture when he forgets I'm there. It is why "studio" shots never turn out of him. But, man I do love catching him choosing Joy! Itr shows the real side of his personality. Perpetually happy (well, except when things aren't going his way).

Firsts: another blog challenge.

This week's blog challenge is sort of long. I was going to skip it completely as these types of lists aren't really my thing. But then I thought...well, maybe I"ll try a couple of them. So, here I am tweaking assignments to suit my needs. That is so very Martha, wouldn't you agree?

Firsts, When is the first time you...

fell in love ? ...believe it or not, with Hubby. Sure, I'd had boyfriends before him, even ones I thought I was serious about. But, when he came along I realized, this is real love. And as sappy as this sounds, that love continues to grow and grow. (yeah, kiss up I know, Valentine's Day is coming!)

lost someone close to you?...I'm guessing it would be my paternal grandfather. He passed away after a relatively short battle with cancer (compared to my mom's marathon battle). I was probably in Jr. High. I was too young to appreciate the serious nature of it all but in hindsight I realize that Grandpa had a wicked sense of humor that complimented my Grandmother's more serious nature very nicely. With his passing, well, it changed so many things, ya know?

drank alcohol?...well, I'm pretty sure I got to sip some wine/champagne with the folks but really drinking didn't start until college. And even then, I was slow to warm up to the entire concept of alcohol.

went to the hospital?...hm, let's see to work or to seek treatment? Hospitalized only to have babies but spent way too many hours working in them and visiting family.

lost a pet?....Maxwell von Lautenbach (our schnauzer named after my other grandma) got run over by a car when we were still living in GA. So, I must have been no older than 5th grade. I remember my mom, who was SO not the dog person in the family, cried the most.

smoked a cigarette?...nerd that I am, never.

broke a bone?....June 1999, one just wasn't enough, decided to go for multiple breaks in my right foot while 32 weeks pregnant with Thing Two. Yeah, that was a summer I'll never forget.

got a job?...college. Washing dishes at the school cafeteria.

Met someone famous?...The summer I worked as a waitress at the hotel where all the big stars stay during Frontier Days. That summer I had to inform Mr. Strait we did not have his favorite flavor of preserves to put on his English muffin, Mr. Pride sang Happy Birthday to me and I met some new fella named Chris LeDoux. Other brushes with famous folk came as young as age 4 when my parents befriended another young couple who would later go on to write many parenting books (Dr. Lehman, he writes a lot about birth order). Yeah, my folks knew him back before he knew anything about kids (according to my slightly less successful father).

dyed your hair?...late 20s. The gray just go to be too much. Now I just have to color it more often as the gray is determined to win the battle.

snuck out the house?....so you think you know my answer to this one, eh? Nerd that I am. Well, I"ll have you know, in the Summer of '86 I snuck out quite a few times. Oh no, wait that was I snuck back into the house because I didn't want to walk up my folks. When Dad noticed the broken screen on the basement bedroom window he said "next time, just use the damn door! That's my dad, ever the practical one.

got your own digital camera?....November 2002. Hubby had one even before that but I was determined to stick with film. Sheesh, I look back and think what took me so long to embrace new stuff? Now I can't imagine heading out without my digital camera in tow (a Nikon D50).

how old are you now?...41 (I think...I'm starting to lose track of such trivial matters as age).

Warming Trend

Yahoo...let the thaw begin. For the past week or so, I've done without my boots. And today, I was even able to head out without my winter coat. Yes, it is warming up with even warmer days on the future forecast. THIS is how CO winters are supposed to be: snow on Thursday, and by Saturday we're out soaking up the sunshine.

Today, we all found time for our happy pursuits. Hubby got to ride his motorcycle this morning. The boys went sledding and Thing Two finished decorating his Valentine mailbox for school. I took off for the library late this afternoon and spent close to an hour just wandering around. I've picked up 3 books and my fingers are crossed that at least one of them will capture my interest. I've been such a picky reader lately that next to nothing appeals to me or sustains my interest long enough to finish the book.

But, now with the sun finally warming us a bit, perhaps it will also melt away my reading blahs. We shall see...

A matter of preference

This morning, I woke up earlier than my body was ready. So, after Hubby woke up, I went back to bed for a couple more hours of sleep.

After I got up for the second time that day, Thing Two asks me why I took a nap. I explained to him, I wasn't feeling so good this morning so that rather than risk throwing up, I thought I'd take a nap in hopes that I would wake up feeling better (which I did).

He thought for just that short pause he's famous for, before he said "I'd rather have thrown up than take a nap during the day!"

Yep, a matter of preference indeed. And it explains why he quit taking naps way too early in my opinion. He really hates them!

A Slow Week

Thus, not much happening worth blogging about.

I could blog about Thing Two's teeth trouble. He's double parked on the front row. Yep, that top permanent tooth is starting to drop down while the baby tooth is firmly in place in the back row. We're off to the dentist next week. He thinks just for a cleaning, but I'm thinking a little assistance may be needed to tow out that tooth with the expired tags.

I could blog about Thing One who this week, took his first round of state mandated tests. Out here, we call them CSAPs and this one was in reading. He'll do a math, and I think a writing one later on in the Spring. He thought it was lots of fun. Why? Because the kid loves to read AND they had no homework because of the testing. And although I view homework as a "necessary evil" I must admit, it has been a quiet week without a packet of homework needing our attention. Yep, I could get used to a homework free way of life.

I could blog about how exciting it was to note that he was taking this test with next to no modifications or accomodations. Given where he started, well, he's done a heck of lot of catching up to get to this point. Way to go, son, we're proud of ya!

I could blog about the weather. Snow and cold. Big surprise there, eh? Does this make the 7th straight week of fresh falling snow or the 8th? I've lost track. SSDD: Same Snow, different day.

I could blog about Grey's Anatomy. But, I"ve not watched it yet (will wait until it is completely TiVo'd so I can skip the commercials). I could blog about this week's episode of House, MD. But, we had technical TiVo difficulties and thus can only comment on the first 18 minutes. Grrrrrrrr...I fear I've become too dependent on the technology.

I could blog about...nah, I'm all blogged out...