Tales of an attempted dinner.

Dinner time is by far the. Most. Chaotic. Time. Of. Day. I think family dinners are very important, but boy, can we say craziness?! Kyle is gone 2-3 nights of the week at school so that definitely adds to the chaos, but even when he is home it's nothing but pure insanity. For example...

4:30-4:45ishpm - Ally starts to get hungry for dinner. As mentioned before, I can feed her a snack at 4:00 and she STILL is ready for dinner no later than 4:45 and occasionally 5:00. If I try and delay her she will follow me around crawling and crying at the top of her lungs. So dinner at 4:45 it is! I feed her and fortunately that busies her enough to get dinner made for the rest of us.

5:15ishpm - The other two kids are "starving" (again, snacks seem to make no difference in their time frame). I usually have dinner ready by then, so in scenario number one where Kyle is gone for the night, I go ahead and feed them. However, usually the second I put plates down in front of the kids, Ally is done. Done eating, done drinking, done being in the high chair. And she is usually in need of a bath since I have yet to see a bib created for a baby that covers their hair. She just LOVES to rub food all over her head. So I leave Janelle and Spencer to their own stimulating dinner conversations while I bathe Ally and then wrestle lotion, a diaper and clothes on her.

In scenario number two (where Kyle IS home) I plan on dinner for everyone sans Ally at 6:00pm (when Kyle gets home). Usually the older kiddos particularly, ahem, Janelle, is whining from about 5:15 until we sit down, "When is dinner going to be ready? I'm SO hungry!" Or, "Mom it smells so good, when are we going to eat?" Or just plain ol' crying, "Mom, I'm STARVING." We finally sit down at 6:00. Sometimes we attempt to put Ally in the high chair and hope that she entertains herself with cheerios. Usually she's not in the mood for that and is ready for a bottle and bed. So we make her a bottle and have a happy peaceful dinner for about 4 minutes. Of course by "happy and peaceful" I mean encouraging Spencer (the one who would be happy on a liquid diet) to take a bite of SOMETHING, answering Janelle's inquisitive questions, asking, "Who can drink their milk the fastest?" which is followed by crying by the person who didn't drink their milk the fastest, a little fighting, a little laughter.... And then Ally is done with her bottle. Now she wants to sit on someone's lap or climb on the table and grab at your plate, fork, place mat and drink. We can't put her to bed before 6:45 or she wakes up insanely early. The verdict is down to Kyle or I shoveling food down our throats so one of us can hold her while the other finishes up or just letting her scream right by your chair as you slowly go deaf day after day. Usually the shoveling wins.

In scenario number three (on the days that I'm most tired), I just feed the kids at five, put them all to bed and then Kyle and I eat at 7:30 or 8:00 (if he's home). Of course by this time Kyle and I are starving.

By 6:30 dinner is usually over, I feel like I've just sprinted 5 miles and am winded, out of patience, we're all tired and then............the bedtime routine commences. But THAT is a whole other story.

Post Turtle

This was TOO funny to just delete from my email inbox. I received this from my aunt today and couldn't stop laughing!

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year-old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be our President.

The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Obama is a 'post turtle.'

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was.

The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'.

The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain, "You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up there, and you just wonder what kind of idiot put him up there in the first place."

No offense to you Obama fans out there.

My how the time flies!

I'll bet you thought I was going to leave my Private Blog announcement up all week without posting anything new, huh? That wasn't exactly my intention. This picture has nothing to do with this post because I haven't taken any pictures since Easter, I just thought I'd show you what my kids looked like exactly a year ago. It's amazing how much they change in a year!

In other "news"...nothing at all has been going on lately worth blogging about. Absolutely nothing. For example, let me tell you about my day today.

I can never make it to the gym without my kids on Mondays because Kyle leaves really early for school and then works really late. So I had to watch my niece for a few hours this morning, but I had big plans to hit the gym after she was picked up. I fed the kids a late morning snack and then we headed out the door at 11:30am. We get to the gym 10 minutes later where I find not only have I forgotten my id card, but I have also forgotten my wallet. So I have absolutely no form of identification on me to get me in. Back into the car the kids go and we head home. I decide to feed the kids lunch really quick before we head out the door again...but of course by the time they're done eating, Spencer is everything but asking for a nap. Sighing, I lay him down vowing to race out the door the second Kyle gets home around 2:30ish. Kyle doesn't get home until a little after 3, so it's too late to run out before my sister comes over to give Janelle a piano lesson at 3:45. I finally give up all hopes of making it to the gym for the day with a new vow to go the following morning while Janelle is at preschool.

Ring, ring! That's my friend calling to ask me if we can switch teaching preschool weeks because her son just came down with pink eye. (That means teaching tomorrow.) No big deal, my topic was easy to figure a lesson out for. Plus I'm all for just getting my week over with! But there goes my leisurely workout plans in the morning.

It's still okay, if I get up early I can get in and out of the gym by 7:30. I WILL make it!

After getting Kyle off to work at 5:00, feeding the kids dinner, squeezing in a quick FHE lesson, I decide to gamble and go for a quick walk around the neighborhood before the kids go to bed. We make it a few streets away before Janelle's whining turns us back home. We get home, I put the kids in bed, and I start putting some things away in my closet. With a quick glance in the mirror I realize I'm wearing my pants inside out. How embarrassing! Fortunately they're just black workout capris, so it wasn't THAT obvious. But, really. Who puts their pants on inside out? Just lovely.

I finish printing things out for my preschool lesson, pick the house up a little, have a little snack, watch a little tv, and do a little blogging. It is now 10:17pm and my pants are still inside out. What a day.

See? Not much worth blogging about lately.

P.S. Don't forget to leave your name in the post below if you would like an invite to our blog in about a week.

Education Tangent

Slowly over the last 6 1/2 years Kyle has broadened my radio horizons to talk radio. When there's nothing on the radio, I switch to Kyle's preset AM stations to catch up on any obvious news I might be missing (I don't have to watch the news much since Kyle keeps me updated on pretty much everything). So this morning on the way home from the gym, I tuned into Glenn Beck. I caught the last part of his comments on the founding fathers and their reaction to the second amendment, when Glenn went off on a tangent about Benjamin Franklin and his incredible contribution to American history. He went on to relay his disgust in the portrayal of our founding fathers in our kids' schools due to the written progressive interpretations of history - also known as our kids' history textbooks. He then proceeded to say that if we want our kids to learn about history, we (as parents) have got to do it ourselves.

This statement really got me thinking.

I was raised with a pessimistic view of public education to begin with. Now don't just blame my parents...this opinion goes generations back. In my opinion, teachers are extremely underpaid, are put in charge of too many children per classroom, and are stuck in this "No Child Left Behind" rut having to focus solely on their students passing standardized tests rather than being able to exercise any creativity in education. I'm not blaming teachers by any means. If anything, I look up to them in admiration for putting up with the above mentioned things. Clearly a teacher chooses such a career because they are passionate about teaching, and not because of its perks.

We send our kids to school hoping they'll learn the things they're supposed to in order to be successful in their education. The idea is that our schools can teach our children the basics, and the involved parent is supposed to supplement what they are learning. That's my philosophy anyway. But too many times I'm hearing that school just isn't enough to even learn the basics. Why is it that it is becoming more and more obvious that the basics need to come from the parent and then the school can supplement that? Now I'm not thoroughly opposed to being the main source of education to my children's education. My mom home-schooled all five of her kids for 3 years each in order to set the correct foundations in our educations. Because of my mom's example that I have tried to follow, Janelle can read and do 1st grade math. And after Glenn Beck's comment I heard earlier this morning, I'm wondering if I should start her on the basics of American history.

Now I'm not saying that all public education is worthless. Most kids make it through public elementary, middle, and high school just fine. I think it's just in my roots that I'm so avid in ensuring a successful education - making sure Janelle is as prepared for kindergarten as she can possibly be by the fall.

You are welcome to agree or disagree with me, but that is my tangent of the day.

Naw...

Too squishy....my blog, that is. Good thing I decided that after I added all those darn widgets. I'm done for the night. Anyone willing to come over and fix my cursed blog, please give me a call.

And here's a picture for your enjoyment (sorry it's a little out of focus). Our spiritual little Janelle, falling asleep reading her scriptures.

The funny thing is, the next night Kyle and I caught her with her light on and the second Kyle walked in there to investigate, Janelle goes,

"Don't be TOO mad, I was just reading my scriptures!" Ummm...sure, Janelle, why don't you read me a verse?

***Please endure the squishiness a bit longer.

A little bit of randomness...

Warning: This blog post just might put you to sleep. In order to avoid any kind of damage that can happen to you at your computer desk, do not read if you are drowsy, on allergy or cold medicine, or suffering from lack of sleep.

Just in case you were REALLY bored and were wondering, "Hmmm...I wonder what Laura's thinking about today?" Here ya go, a little random thought that is going on in my mind right now:

I have a love-hate relationship with our dishwasher. I pride myself on how full I am able to get it. It's a challenge getting as many dishes in it as I can in order to save a few bucks on our water bill. A few years ago we had to replace our dishwasher and this one does a semi-decent job. So it actually cleans the dishes even if it's a little full.

......................................

However, once they're all clean I hate unloading them. Hate, hate, hate it. Good thing I have such a dishwasher unloading enthusiast, aka: Spence, even if he does just unload them to the floor.

My apologies to those of you who did not make it through this post and have, despite my warning, fallen asleep.

Done for the day.

That's right. Mommy is leavin' early for the day. Bring on the tv and snacks. I've had about all that I can take for now. This little kid (shown left), though he looks completely innocent, has proven that he has it in for my washing machine. Remember that little $180 bite out of my washing machine? Well, today he broke the knob off of it. Not just pulled it off, actually broke part of it off so that it won't stay on anymore. I am SO MAD! So cliche, but why is it that I can't have anything nice in this house?

Have I mentioned that this kid gets into everything??? I'm not kidding. EVERYTHING. He likes to pull stuff out and just leave it on the floor. This drives me crazy because I'm picking up toys and clothes and books and Janelle's hair stuff and DVDs and cars and pillows all day long! And if you know me at all, you know that I am a major clean freak. Yes, he's learned to clean up as a result of all his messes, but it's still an effort on my part to get it all cleaned up.

Besides the washing machine and picking up all day long, I am just plain tired of feeding this child. He is incredibly picky. The only vegetables he'll eat are the baby food ones...yes, he's 17 months and I'm still buying baby food. He refuses to try anything new. Seriously. If I put something in front of him that he's never seen before he won't touch it, even if I know he'll like it. Sometimes he won't even touch foods that he's eaten before and liked. I can't tell you how many bowls of food I have cleaned up off the floor lately. Although I have to mention that I actually do make him clean his messes up off of the floor if he throws food down there. (Even though I still have to clean up the majority of the mess.) I'm starting to think that I should just feed him outside from now on. At least I wouldn't have to mop every single day! Usually if he won't eat something I try to find at least something that he'll eat. But not today. I'd had it. After dumping chicken noodle o's all over his high chair and the floor I just stuck him in bed. Maybe if he wakes up starving he'll actually eat something other than cereal and crackers.

Am I being mean? I know he still doesn't understand a lot of things, but at the same time I don't want to promote bad behavior. And I've realized that he understands a whole lot more than most people give him credit for. Please, send me your ideas on disciplining an 18-month-old. 'Cause I sure as heck don't know what I'm doing! You'd think the second time around I'd be a little more experienced. Ha ha! Guess not. I remember Janelle being a stinker at about 18 months too. I'm starting to think that I don't like this toddler stage.

Now that I've ranted on long enough about how frustrated I am with my "sweet" little boy, you should know that I love this little boy like crazy. He's a major momma's boy, and I know he doesn't mean to create such chaos for me. So when he wakes up and I go to get him out of his crib and hear his sweet little, "Hi Momma," attached with a cuddly hug, I will focus on that moment to get me through the rest of today. Until then...thank heavens it's nap time!

Behind the Computer Screen...

Sometimes when you're looking at people's blogs, all you can see is the good stuff. Right? You think,

"Wow, her kids are so smart!"
or
"That child seems so well-behaved."
or
"That family does such fun things."
or
"I wish I was motivated enough to do that."
Obviously we all have our trials and tribulations even if they're not out in the open for all to see. So this blog is dedicated to all you bloggers out there who have ever thought any of the above things (because I know I have!). Now you can think,
"Man, I'm glad my kids aren't like that."
or
"At least my house is cleaner than that!"
or
"At least I can cook better than that."
or
"I'm glad I don't have that."
etc., etc., etc.....

Here are a few of the things that are a little off in my life today:

1. I love Janelle to pieces, but she is one major whiner. It drives me CRAZY. My parents tell me it's a mother-like-daughter thing because I was the same way when I was her age, but I'm not quite sure I believe that. Boy, does she try my patience sometimes!

She also doesn't mind throwing little tantrums in public if something has gotten out of her control. She doesn't care that people are looking at her, despite the fact that I've told her over and over that she's acting like a baby. For goodness sake, she's almost 5!!!

2. I also love my little man, Spencer. He is my pride and joy, however if something doesn't go the way he thinks it will go he can scream like a banshee...or a Lord of the Rings Ringwraith to more accurately describe it. It's not just a little cry of frustration it's a full on "AAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!" at the very tip top of his lungs. It's rather embarrassing when we're in public.

Spencer also gets into everything. Janelle wasn't ever really like that. I knew I could just leave her with a bunch of toys and she would stay there perfectly content. Spencer, on the other hand, has to be watched every second of the day. For example, this morning I turned the tv on for the kids in my room so I could take a shower. I left the door open to the bathroom so I could hear any screams and rushed to get in for 5 minutes. In those 5 minutes Spencer wandered into my bathroom and started playing with the plunger (which Janelle took away from him and stuck in my bathtub so he wouldn't get it), then he got the toilet scrubber (which Janelle also took away), and THEN he went back and picked up the trash can and started carrying it into my bedroom. Ewww!!! By this point I was done showering and quickly got ready so I could make him lunch and put him to bed. This kid is busy ALL the time!

3. Usually I really enjoy exercising and am good about doing it. It makes me feel good about myself and gives me the extra energy I need to chase my kids around. However, this week, I have been a major bum. Why? I'm not sure. Hopefully by next week (or tomorrow even!) I'll be a little more motivated before I gain 50 lbs.

4. On some days I've just had it with kids by about 5:30pm and it's all I can do to just get them in bed. On one of these nights this week this is what Janelle had for dinner:

Corn, olives, and cereal.

She thought I was the best mom ever when I said, "You can pick whatever you want for dinner as long as it's healthy." I felt a little guilty when I saw her entree all together, but at least it wasn't too bad for her!

5. My kids' bathroom is a wreck. It never stays clean for more than a day. Ergh.

6. I think I might have a cavity and we don't have dental insurance. There goes my kitchen table for 3 more months.

So there you have it six things that aren't perfect in my life that I'm sure some of you might be able to relate to. I didn't post this blog to get pity because I don't feel sorry for myself for having them, nor did I post them simply to complain. I just wanted to let the world know that behind all the cute pictures, lies a completely somewhat normal somewhat dysfunctional family! Despite these little trials, I love my kids, I love my husband, I love my house, I have great friends, and I'm actually having a fairly good week! Hope everyone has a good weekend!

No Disney pictures yet, but I'll be getting them this weekend!

RUDE!!!

Today we had Stake Conference, and knowing our stake was being divided Kyle and I stretched our kids to the ultimate limit to sit still just 2 more hours after a 10-hour drive yesterday. I admit, it was a huge mistake, only one of us should have gone. One or both of us ended up in the hall the whole time with our kids. So here's the story:

During the first 15 minutes of the meeting I was already in the hall with Spencer. He just couldn't sit still any longer (we'd arrived 30 minutes earlier). I didn't blame him. We'd finally made it home after 2 days in the car and we wanted him to be still and quiet again??? I didn't mind taking him out to the hall and letting him walk around as long as we were in the foyer so I could hear the speaker and our new stake boundaries. The hall situation was pretty clear at this point, since most kids were still being good. So it was nice to have a little room for him to walk around. He was being his normal one-year-old self, jabbering away and walking up and down the hall, but he was behaving much better than he had been inside the meeting.

Sitting in one of the seats in the foyer was this lady probably in her late 40's. She didn't have any kids with her, she had just chosen her seat in the foyer, and was sewing while listening to the speaker. From the beginning she did not have a pleasant look on her face. After Spencer and I had been in the hall 2 minutes, she looks up crossly, shushes Spencer, looks back down at her sewing and starts shaking her head as if to say, "I can't believe this mom is letting her kid walk around so noisily at church."

Holy cow, I almost exploded with outrage at her. First of all, if she wants to hear the speaker, choose a seat inside the chapel. Second of all, the hall is a place of refuge for small children who can't control their wiggles during a church meeting. Sure, if they're screaming take them outside for a minute. But that is WHY the hall is there! I thought I was doing the people in the congregation a service by taking Spencer out, but apparently, the entirety of the church building is off limits to noisy children.

I decided to control my temper and let it pass. (Yes, I should qualify for sainthood....hee hee, just kidding!) However, if she shushed my baby again she was definitely going to have it from me. A few minutes later I was pleased to find the hall slowly filling with noisy and crying children....WAY louder than Spencer had been. And by the end of the meeting it was a zoo out there, yet that lady still sat there sewing her little quilting pieces.

I probably should have given her the benefit of the doubt - maybe she had a medical condition that prevented her from going inside the chapel...maybe her hearing was extra sensitive...maybe a baby bit her once upon a time so she hates kids. I don't know. Whatever the case, her attitude towards my sweet baby boy got me a little riled up! (Hence the blog entry about it!)

My Friend Harry

I did it. After four straight weeks of reading

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,

and of course,

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,

I am happy to report that I've finished! It was a bittersweet experience finishing the book, not because of how it ended, but because I've had my nose buried in a Harry Potter book at every available waking moment for the last four weeks, and then I finished the final book. No more waiting for the next book in anticipation for the climactic ending. (sigh) However, I loved the last book. For those of you that have complaints about it I have no clue what you're talking about, I LOVED it!

It's funny, I seem to forget how much I love reading when I'm not reading. I was a major bookworm as a kid, and since life has somehow gotten busier I don't seem to get in as much reading time as I'd like. So in order to avoid a reading lull, I've decided to always keep a book on hand to turn to during my much-craved free time.

I've found that the best way to find good books is by word of mouth. I don't really like perusing the library or book store in search of books because I never know if they're going to turn out terribly boring or raunchy or simply beyond me.

Therefore, my question to you:

Do you have any book title suggestions for me???

I especially like young adult fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy, but I'll pretty much give any book a try if someone recommends one to me. I was reading the second Fablehaven book before I took a Harry Potter detour but left it sitting on my nightstand at home (we're still in Utah), and I'd like a book to take to Lake Powell next week. So let me know if you've got any suggestions for me! (I'm headed to the BYU bookstore on Friday!!!!)

Thanks!

The Year of Broken Things

There was a curse placed on the Mammens starting in 2007. It's the Brakerius Curse. I'm not quite sure who is out to get us, but if you have any anonymous tips, counter curses, or any helpful repair info, I'd really appreciate them. So far the anonymous villain has cursed...

• our computer
• the engine in our Pacifica
• the muffler in our Pacifica
• 1 tire in March and 7 tires now amidst our 2 cars
• the kids' bathroom toilet
• our garage door
• our lawn mower
• my cell phone
  
• a glass bowl
• a few toys
• my blow dryer
• our satellite dish
• and very recently our digital camera display.
  

Lucky for our villain, our camera is still under warranty. Unfortunately, that means no pictures for about a month.

Happy 7-11-07!!!

I just wanted to wish all you Harry Potter fans a happy movie watching weekend! Did anyone go last night at midnight?? Kyle and I are going tomorrow night for my birthday. Can't wait! We watched the 4th movie last night and I realized I really wanted to read the 5th book again before watching the movie. So at 10:30 last night my nose was in the book. Obviously there is no way I'll finish it before we see the movie, but at least I'll have started it again. Plus, I want to finish book 5 and re-read 6 before I read 7. In order to avoid any fighting over the book, I am kindly going to let Kyle read it first with the condition that he shows no emotion whatsoever when reading it. I also am going to avoid the media probably for the next month until the Harry Potter hype dies down so it doesn't give anything away. Conveniently, my brother gets home from his mission at 12:30am next Saturday, which makes it easy for us to make it to one of the many Harry Potter book parties, how nerdy am I???

In other well-wishings, I just thought I'd mention that today is 7-11 meaning that you can get a free 7 oz. slurpy at 7/11 (the gas station) all day. After a hard morning of pulling weeds, you can bet you'll find Janelle and I stopping by for the icy, cold, sweet treat!

And for those of you who have crazy Simpson fan husbands, you can go to the 7/11 near the Northpark mall which is temporarily serving as a Kwik-E-Mart and get a "squishy." Kyle and I are conveniently seeing "Harry Potter" at the Northpark Mall in order to make a special trip to the "Kwik-E-Mart" just for my Simpson-fanatic husband. It is one of the 12 temporarily refaced 7/11's in the country, so of course we have to go see it. (Keep checking for upcoming pictures!) What a nice wife I am!

P.S. Thank you to all you well-wishers for Spencer. His lip is doing much better. The swelling is gone and it's now a nice shade of purple, but it doesn't seem to bother him much anymore. I'm just happy his teeth are okay!

Really?

I decided to name this week, Laura Mammen national disaster week. First, the computer. Then the phone. Then the drama of Spencer's radiology test FOLLOWED by an afternoon of cleaning up throw up. That's right. At 4pm yesterday Spencer threw up ALL over my bed, all over me, and all over himself. And it wasn't just a little bit, it was disgustingly a lot. Fortunately I was able to quickly get over my shock of the incident and play clean up crew ASAP! My poor baby! He's never thrown up before (well, other than a little spit up here and there), so he really had no idea what was going on. First I stuck him on a blanket on the floor where he just laid there while I dashed to change my clothes, then I threw the blankets, sheets, AND mattress pad onto the floor so it wouldn't soak into our mattress. Then I ran Spencer to the bathtub to clean him off and make sure he wasn't going to puke again. When he was finally clean I sat him down in front of his favorite DVD so I could start the long process of washing all my contaminated bedding. It was a very long afternoon, but fortunately Spencer was fine after his big incident. He even ate a little oatmeal for dinner. I'm still befuddled as to why he got so sick. Was it somehow related to his radiology test? Did he eat something bad for lunch? Did he have the flu? Today he seemed pretty normal, so I'm ruling out the flu.

Anyway, now that I've grossed you out by talking about throw up for a very long paragraph, I'd just like to say, that quite honestly this week is already making me laugh. It's been a very eventful week (especially with Janelle's continual melt downs all day long today), but it's been a pretty funny week with all the things that have happened one after the other. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! (Knock on wood!)

Broken, Broken, Broken!!!!

When it rains, it pours, right? So far in the day and a half that have passed this week, I have lost my computer as well as my cell phone.

Yesterday afternoon we got a CD stuck in our iMac computer and had to take it to the store to get it out. It was SO stuck that they had to send it out to replace the CD drive. Fortunately it was under warranty so it won't cost us anything to get it fixed. UNfortunately our computer won't be back until Thursday, so no new pictures 'til then (it's not worth downloading them on Kyle's laptop).

Today Spencer laid in his bed a good hour this afternoon not going to sleep. After an hour of crying, I finally decided to just let him get up and play for a little bit. One huge mistake. He first broke one of Janelle's beaded necklaces (SO fun to clean up) and THEN he threw my cell phone on our kitchen floor and it literally broke in half. Normally that wouldn't be that big of a deal, except that we don't have a land line, so my cell phone is my only phone. Ergh. Needless to say, my mischievous little Spencer went back to bed. So you may all wish me happy new cell phone or land line shopping!

How many pillows are on YOUR bed?

Every time I make our bed, I wonder this about people. It's weird, I know, but my mind always wanders to weird things when I'm cleaning.

We have 8 pillows on our bed. I sleep with a body pillow (something I grew attached to since I was pregnant with Janelle) and one regular pillow. Kyle bought me a new body pillow when I was pregnant with Spencer because my other one was getting a little flat. So he took over the old body pillow and also sleeps with two regular-sized pillows. Since we can't have an odd number of pillows on our bed, I just stick an extra one on my side. Plus there are the decorative pillows that match our bedspread for a whopping total of 8.

D*** BIRD

Dear Mr. Dove-

PLEASE fly elsewhere to find a girlfriend. You've been sitting on top of my roof for almost 2 months now cooing straight into my chimney 14 of 24 hours day after day after day after day. At first I didn't mind your echoing love song, I even thought you were an owl with your misleading "Whoo, whooo," but you're just an ordinary dove looking for love on top of my chimney. Though a very tolerant and non-violent person, my sanity is beginning to be challenged. I recently told my husband out of frustration that if you didn't leave I might come home one day with a fatal weapon. Being the bird lover he is he talked me into a less violent solution. So if you don't want to be scared out of your silly mind by a fake Home Depot owl, you might want to consider taking your love interests elsewhere. I know you appreciate our quaint little neighborhood, but the neighbors are starting to complain. A park, VERY FAR AWAY from my chimney would be a lovely home for you. Clearly there aren't any available female doves in this part of the neighborhood or you would have found her by now. Goodbye Mr. Dove, please, PLEASE, fly AWAY!!!

Sincerely,
Your Frustrated Out-of-Her-Mind Neighbor down the Chimney

Here are some pictures from our trip to our roof to find that, ahem, darn bird:

Picture 1: A view from atop of our neighborhood
Picture 2: Me...in a skirt...on top of the roof (not a good idea).
Picture 3: Our lovely skylight my extremely talented father-in-law installed, I'd never seen it this close before!

P.S. Weeknight Favorite Recipes are now posted at E's Recipe Corner

Frazzled...

I have the worst luck with blow dryers. My blow dryer died on Saturday and I swear it was less than a year old. Shouldn't they last longer than that? And the one I had before that didn't last very long either. I'm not sure if it's just bad luck or my hair is just too thick so I keep it on extra long... But it's getting quite frustrating! I would greatly appreciate any consumer advice from all you dear bloggers (even if I don't know you!) on good blow dryers since I am now in the market for one...AGAIN.

EWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(This first part isn't the gross part, keep reading to the bottom to get grossed out!) Tonight my sweet husband handed me my purse and sent me out the door to go shopping. It was a VERY nice evening to be out all alone without any kids and look at whatever I wanted. I went to Old Navy, Belk, and Target and came home with 2 shirts, some earrings, a black and white Italian framed photograph - that I fell in love with when I saw it and couldn't pass it up (good ol' Target), and dinosaur capsules (Target dollar section). Anyway, as I was driving home I was listening to the radio and they were talking about this new study that was done that basically proved that your cell phone could be dirtier than your toilet and the bottom of your shoe. (Here's the whole story if you want to read it.) That totally GROSSED ME OUT!! Now, being the OCD cleaner I am and being terrified of germs I actually clean my cell phone every few weeks with those Clorox wipes, but now I'm going to start doing it EVERYDAY (I love it when they come up with these studies that make me even more paranoid about germs than I already am). Just think, your last cold could have come from your cell phone. Ugh.

Washing Machine Story (Unabridged)

About 8 days ago I found this little rubber piece underneath our couch while I was vacuuming. I couldn't figure out what in the world it went to until I saw my washing machine the next day (which is a front loader so the door is in the front instead of on top). So apparently Spencer had taken a bite right out of the seal sometime when I wasn't looking and the washing machine door was open. To this day I can't figure out when that was because it's never open unless I'm putting clothes in it. Plus this was before I even knew his top teeth were coming in - which still haven't broken through his gums yet. But I guess he had a good enough bite to actually bite through the rubber. (Never underestimate the sharpness of baby teeth!) I actually did a few loads of clothes before I realized the washer was actually leaking because of that little bite. So we called a repairman who told us the part was easily replaced because people often leave pens in their pant pockets that end up in the wash damaging the rubber seal. However he said he'd never seen a bite taken out of one! Anyway, we are STILL waiting for the part to come in after being told they were out of them and had to order one. My mom has graciously let me do a few loads of clothes at her house, however the laundry continues to slowly pile up. Ugh.

My night at the gym

So tonight I went to exercise after Kyle got home and it must have been high school night at the gym. There were teenagers EVERYWHERE! Little twelve-year-old boys and girls mostly there with their parents all the way up to seniors there with their boyfriends and girlfriends. There were the teeny tiny girls working out in their little sports bras showing off their tan bellies. And the buff jocks all trying to lift more than they probably should.

My favorite was this girl who was obviously there with her boyfriend. She was just standing next to him while he was lifting weights. But every time he took a little break from lifting she would massage his shoulders. Awww, how sweet! Oh wait, GAG ME!! Honestly, did she really think she was helping him out by doing that?

Teenagers are so crazy! Was I really ever one of them? The weirdest thing is that I felt I wasn't that much older than most of them. (Even though I'm 9+ years older than most of them, was there working off my "baby fat belly," and had a ring on my left finger.) Wasn't I just 16? Time sure knows how to fly!


All I have to say...Janelle better not be like that!

I'm not one to stereotype though. There are definitely less-weird nice teenagers out there. For example, my sister, Erin. She's 16 and seems to be nice to everybody she meets. I'm pretty sure she doesn't work out at the gym half naked. There are also the teenagers that Kyle works with who are all nice people. Among all the crazy teenagers at the gym tonight , I did see a few non-showy, nice looking ones who seemed genuinely interested in exercising rather than standing at weight machines to socialize. So I give credit to all you teenagers out there who are nice to everybody, wear clothes when you exercise, and don't succumb to the cheerleader/jock image.