Attack of the Cheese Zombies

Did I catch your attention? I just get tired of my boring blog titles! I had to ask the girls last night if they still loved me even though I totally forgot to make their lunches. The one school lunch both girls absolutely can't stand is Cheese Zombies. Sorry kiddos! I'll make it up to you...tonight is fast food night! Also known as "Thursday".

So, what's new, what's new......

Oh yeah. We're moving! Yup, back to Bow. Justin has accepted a fantabulous new job with an amazing company in Anacortes. So we get to move back to the land of trees. And mud. Not looking forward to a muddy dog again. But looking forward to not having to dust every time I turn around. I'm hoping that everything will work perfectly: our house will sell, but we won't have to be out until the end of August. Why is that, you ask? Well, because the summer in Ephrata is hot, hot, hot. (and by that I mean the temperature) I want the girls to enjoy the pool every day (and I get to enjoy my new lounge chair and many many books). Also, we don't have a house to move into in Bow yet. Our renters will be done building their house in mid-late-August. Uh, yeah, that's cutting it a bit close. But I'm just certain it will all work out! Right??!!?? Justin isn't so sure about my plans. He wants to get over there and start working. Well that's just fine. The girls and I are used to spending the weeks alone. And it's going to be much easier for Justin to find a place to live for a month or so than for our whole family including a dog! It'll all work. Yep.

Only about 13 days until school gets out. Zowie! I'm Field Trip Goddess the next two Fridays. Tomorrow I'll be with the 1st graders when they go to the library (my favorite place) and to the Ag Extravaganza sponsored by Ephrata FFA (my favorite organization) (well, not that particular chapter per se, but as a National Association). Whee! Then next Friday I get to go to Grand Coulee Dam with the third graders. Last time I was there was probably....1982 maybe? I hope I don't get bus sick.

We went to the races at Ephrata Raceway Park Saturday night. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I didn't dislike it. A couple of the drivers work with Justin, so it was fun to feel like we "knew" some of the people on the track. Of course the two guys raced against each other (and a school bus---that was Auds and Ems favorite) so I didn't know who to cheer for.

We had hot weather last Saturday. Nearly 100 I think. So we put up the pool. Of course you know what that means.....the hot weather is gone! The girls went in the pool on Sunday--it was around 85 out, but breezy so didn't feel as nice. Since then it hasn't been much above 72. Of course we have the whole "if you build it they will come" phenomena occurring. Sorry daughters and neighbor kids, just because the pool is up and full of water does not mean it is automatically warm enough to swim! Nor is it warm enough for Joy to sit near the pool and watch you. And no, Audrey, adding together the ages of Emma and Alexis does not make them an adult.

You know, if I were to ever actually put my mind to something and work I could actually accomplish things. Crazy concept I realize, but still..... With that said, er, written, I shall now take a shower and continue the decluttering of the house. Can't sell a messy house, right?


Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. ~Charlie McCarthy

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm just going to play with my Webkinz that Audrey gave me for Mother's Day. I have so much sense! And absolutely no ambition...

Fun in the sun

Well, we seem to have finally gotten over winter. It's 84 degrees right now and I have a sunburn. I helped with the bike rodeo at school this morning. It was fun and very easy. The hardest part was driving Justin's truck there with the bikes, then knowing I need to go back at 2:45 to take the girls and bikes home.

There's some serious nest-building going on at our house. I'm watching birds with beaks stuffed full of grass and weeds and who knows what.

I really don't know that I have much to say today. I just knew it'd been a while since I last updated this blog. Other than my book list--I've been trying to stay on top of that. Hmmm...speaking of books.....I think I'll eat some lunch and read!

Heat, ma'am! it was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones. ~Sydney Smith, Lady Holland's Memoir

What? Wednesday?

Is it really Wednesday already? Tomorrow I will take Justin to the Tri-Cities (or one of them anyway, I guess I'll find out which one tomorrow) so he can have LASIK eye surgery. I know.... ewww! They even have a viewing area. Blech. Yes, I will have a book with me.

But which book shall I take? I've been reading kind of a weird genre of books lately. I'm not embarrassed by my book choices, per se. I guess it's sort of a guilty pleasure. I suppose paranormal romance could be the category. I've always liked ghosty stories, but now I seem to have made the leap to vampires, half-demons, werewolves, guardians of the Goblet of Eternal Life, dragons and their slayers, etc etc. Actually, I think Justin is the one who is embarrassed! One of the books in my "to be read" pile has a manly, naked chest on the front. Maybe that's the book I should take tomorrow! Actually, I'll probably still be trudging my way through Love and Other Near-Death Experiences. This author was recommended on the website of Christopher Moore (absolutely the funniest author ever) as one to read while waiting (impatiently) for another Christopher Moore book to be published. It's a good book, but I've been in a rut of quick, funny, weird, romantic books so it's hard to read a "real" book. Hmmm....how many authors could I offend with that statement? Um, none since they don't read this blog.

The WASL is over so I go back to helping in Emma's "class" on Wednesday mornings. I'm not really in the classroom, I usually make copies, grade papers, or work one-on-one with students who need more help. This means most of the kids in Emma's class know me, but I can't put names with their faces most of the time. Audrey's classmates on the other hand....I definitely know them!

Audrey lost another tooth. She finally fulfilled her dream of having Mr. White pull it. Well, it sounds like "flick" is more accurate than "pull".

I'd better start getting ready if I'm going to make it to Emma's class at 8:30. I'm also hoping to put in an hour or so at the library. Otherwise I won't be in until Monday or Tuesday and my basket will definitely be full! I've barcoded all the adult and teen paperbacks and yesterday I started on the children's paperbacks. The end is in sight! I also need to make sure I have enough time at home to straighten up before Justin's mom comes this afternoon. She'll be here to take care of the girls and get them to school tomorrow so Justin and I can leave in time. There's just nobody here that I feel I know well enough to ask for help with this. But you know back home I'd have no trouble! (this is where Kristi and Nancy sigh with relief that we aren't there right now)

Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. ~P.J. O'Rourke

(I don't think that'll happen with me)

Just another entry

Take a look at the date on this photo. What's with snow in April????

The snow is gone and today we have rain. Wow, it could almost feel like we're back "on the coast". Except for the lack of trees.

Last weekend we went to an auction. I bought a Bunco Party for 20 couples. I don't even know 20 couples around here! I'll definitely need to import some when the time comes for the party. It's one of those things that sound like it would be a lot of fun, but then when I really start thinking about it (after I buy it of course) it doesn't look quite as good.... Where could I host an event with that many people? We would need some tables. And who the heck could I invite? And what would we do with the kids while it's going on if we have it here? Oh well. It's not like I have to figure it out right away.

Emma and I had a difficult morning. Audrey got up first and was in the tub. I finally roused Emma and told her to get her clothes together, brush her teeth, etc while Audrey finished and then she could take a shower. Of course I had a screaming urge to use the bathroom, so wasn't around to supervise. I came out and Emma is lying on the couch with the flashing Rudolph nose on (Justin found it in the pocket of the coat he's wearing in the picture---wonder when he last wore it) (the jacket, not the nose). I started pulling the nose off her and the strap must have caught on her earring and she started yelling that it hurt. She took it the rest of the way off and it went (further) downhill after that. Tears, yelling, "you're mean", "I want to go back to Bay View so I don't have to get up at 6" --um, you didn't get up at six it was after 6:40-- "well, in the sixes", begging for forgiveness, hugs and I love yous on the porch. Hopefully she'll feel better.

So a couple of weekends ago I had a breakdown. I have no idea what triggered it, but Justin found me in the back of the closet curled up on shoes. As you can imagine, it freaked him out considerably. Also our two friends who were over are now afraid to come back to our house. Of course Justin tried to talk to me about it the next day. He knows me better than that. Even if I knew what was wrong I probably wouldn't tell him. Because that would make it too real. And once something is said to another person I know that someone else knows, and I then have to try and go through life knowing that someone else knows something negative about me and I have to wonder how much that will color their perception of me and whether or not that knowledge will come back to bite me. This is why I chose to not confront or talk about a problem I have with somebody directly to that person. If we don't talk about it, I can assume that they are over it or were never bothered by it in the first place. Right? Completely screwed up thinking, I know. But it's the only thought I have.

Anyway, the other day it dawned on me that a large part of why I behaved the way I did was hormonal. There still must have been something to trigger it, but I haven't remembered that. (And no, I'm not trying to.) I miss the days when I was on The Pill. My body just chugging right along. Then after Justin had the Big V I stopped taking them. And I discovered ovulation. And it hurt!! Well, it no longer hurts, but looking back over the past few months I realized that my "PMS" feelings occur during ovulation. Not always to that awful extent Thank God, but at least I can warn Justin ahead of time.

OK, so has there been anything good lately? I guess I'm just feeling bogged down in the bad stuff right now. I really should blog when I have something good happen. How many times have I thought, "ooh, I need to write about that in my blog" and then by the time I do, I've forgotten what it wanted to share.

We went to a movie last Sunday. Nim's Island. It was pretty good. There was a lot of information and character development in the beginning. And then it felt like the director decided that they needed to hurry up and end the movie because it's a kid's film and they can only hold their attention for so long. So the end seemed a bit abrupt. But by then Audrey was squirming in my lap and saying she wanted to go home so it was OK to end. We very rarely go to movies. The last one we saw with the girls was The Game Plan, I went to a movie with a friend a while ago (I haven't done that in nearly 20 years---I've never really had the "let's go to a movie" friendship I guess), and I have no clue what the last movie was that Justin and I saw in the theater. There are a few out or coming soon that look good. Maybe I can convince Justin to take me to one. Ooh, maybe this weekend! I'll have to see. Wish me luck.

I got a call last night asking if I would help serve lunch at school today. Normally lunch is served by 3rd and 4th graders, but since they are taking the WASL this week the parents are stepping in. I signed up to help tomorrow, but was also a fill-in last Wednesday. I should probably work on taking a shower and getting dressed. But my robe is just so darn comfy! I don't need to be there until 11. Plenty of time!

No matter where you go or what you do, you live your entire life within the confines of your head. ~Terry Josephson

Spring Break pictures 4

Is this a Bad Mommy Moment?? A stormy morning. But the last morning, so we have to let the girls boogie board. Right? What an amazing sky and surf!

Audrey rides the wave!

And she rides it a bit farther.

And all the way to the end!!!

Spring Break pictures 3

This doesn't need a caption, does it?

A boy and his dog.

The Crab!!! The Crab who likes to buy souvenirs. Really really really likes to buy them....

OK, and so Mom likes a big sale at the Claire's Outlet in Lincoln City. But who can pass up a purple fancy mask for 50 cents????

Spring Break pictures 2

See that second house up the hill? The brown-looking one above the one with the green roof? That's where we stayed! Umm...angle down to the right to the base of the trail we took to the beach.

Remember the kid-sized wet suits I mentioned? Here are the girls wearing them. Justin didn't have a wet suit, but did have his rubber boots on. So when Audrey "almost drownded six times" he was there at the ready to get her.

I have the camera. Therefore, I get to take pictures of the weird stuff I draw in the sand. I just need to figure out how to turn this kind of drawing into my tattoo. Help.

Why is it that we visit the tidepools on the chilliest day of our vacation?? Well, the chilliest other than the last day that is. We had fun checking out all the cool creatures in the tidepools. Mostly anenomes---green and a couple of pinkish-purple. Also a couple sea stars and a sea urchin among the mussels. Lots of wet feet and fur.

Spring Break pictures 1

We bought the kites at Costco a while ago. It was driving the girls crazy that we were "saving" them for our vacation. Justin put them all together. We eased our way down the trail to the beach to fly the kites. We had lift-off!

And less than ten minutes later Justin and I are holdng the kite strings because the girls are bored.

See this rock climbing?? That is exactly why Joy held the camera all week! Hmm...climb the slippery rocks or stand on the beach with a camera in my pocket. Yep. I know which one I'm choosing.

Audrey had a great time wading in the surf. Up to her ankles. In her shoes. Hey!! That's my hat!

OK. So it's not exactly an artsy fartsy shot, but I just really like this picture of Emma drawing in the wet sand.


I'm pretty sure I can't post too terribly many pictures at a time. So I'll do four at a time until I feel I'm done. Is that OK with everyone?

Break's over

We're home! We had an absolutely wonderful trip to the Oregon Coast. I uploaded my (188) pictures yesterday, so I'm hoping to take the time today to go through them and post some on this blog. We'll see if it happens today....

Hi-lights:

the girls boogie-boarding (the house we rented had kid sized wet suits)
tide pools
generally deserted beaches
the aquarium in Newport (and running into our neighbors there!! bizarre!)
no internet access & hardly any work calls for Justin
just finally getting to spend a lot of time all together as a family


Now I need to get ready to head to school, then grocery shop. We have no food! Audrey's wigging out without her milk! Then pick up the girls from school and take Emma to piano lessons. I might find enough time to post pictures..... But don't hold me to that!

Lists

We leave tomorrow!! So of course I have a big list next to me. The most satisfying aspect of a list is the crossing off of completed items and tasks. And since that crossing out is so pleasurable, I make sure to have lots of little things to cross off.

For example, instead of "change guest bed sheets" I wrote "wash guest bed sheets", then crossed it off when completed. And I had written "make guest bed"--so two crossed off items for essentially one task. Yee-haw! I've been known to write:
wash
dry
fold
put-away

for each load of laundry (listing whites, jeans, reds, etc). Yup. I'm a dork.

Of course my list isn't quite done. I still have:
laundry
pack
balance checkbook

Y'know. Just the little things. Luckily laundry is almost done and I can get packing later today.

Hay!

Sorry. Just saw a truck of hay go by. Justin likes saying that when he sees hay as we're driving. One day last summer he said it, we laughed, and Audrey said, "that just never gets old". Seriously! So that's why I say it and why I giggle a little.

Emma will attend the Math is Cool Competition in Wenatchee today. She's pretty nervous, but as a third grader her role is fairly small. This is more for them to see what it's like so they'll be ready for next year. I hope we aren't the only parents not going tonight. I can't see that there is much for us to watch. There is a Math Bowl or something, but it sounds like Emma is really only doing a written test. So of course I'll spend all evening stressed that I'm the horrible parent that didn't go. And Emma will be the only child riding the bus home. Oh yeah. I think that way.

There is a possibility that I could get called to the school to help Audrey with her Accelerated Reader test, so I should get showered and dressed. Audrey finished a Junie B. Jones book last night--her first true chapter book (82 pages). When she told her teacher she was reading it, Mrs. Jones said that I would probably have to come in and help with the computerized AR test. We'll see what she decides today. I need to run into town and get a spare key replaced anyway. I finally had spare house keys made for the girls, and one extra one for the neighbors or a hide-a-key kind of thing. The one I had made for Audrey (meaning the blue one rather than red or plain ol' silver) doesn't work. Bummer.

Off to start the day!

Oh, why can't we break away from all this, just you and I, and lodge with my fleas in the hills? I mean, flee to my lodge in the hills. ~S.J. Perelman, Will B. Johnstone, and Arthur Sheekman, Monkey Business

What shall I write about today?

Well, it hasn't been a whole month since I last wrote on this. And I know I should post some pictures on this blog. But I won't be doing that right now. First, I have to take them off the camera and put them on the computer. I'm so bad about doing that! But I do have some (hopefully) good pictures to post later.

Last Saturday we had our cat Smokey put to sleep. Last week she was vomiting like crazy, so I took her to the vet on Thursday--and again on Friday. Not sure why she was vomiting, but after I put her in her carrier she urinated. And it wasn't the usual smell! Believe it or not, this was worse..... So the vet took x-rays and found she had something in her bladder. Couldn't tell what exactly without an ultrasound. Poor kitty. The vet suggested that my family really talk about this before referring us to a vet with an ultrasound. We talked. That afternoon Smokey ate some food. That evening she threw it all up. And that night she vomited harder than ever---of course with nothing to come up. The vet said we made the right decision. She probably wasn't going to get better. Of course the girls are already asking when we are going to get a new kitten. Not for a long long long time.....

What else? I got a "new" car. That's been exciting. I think Justin heard me say too many times that if we didn't have renters in our other house the girls and I would move back. I guess this is his bribe to keep me here. I can accept that. My 2007 Tahoe has more bells and whistles than I could ever imagine. Justin drove it for only the third time last night and was trying to figure out all the buttons. He sounded a bit surprised when he turned off the ignition and his seat started moving back. I think he's looking forward to driving it when we go to the Oregon Coast for Spring Break!

I've been volunteering more at the library. They hosted a big meeting for all the local libraries to talk about the Summer Reading Program and wanted the library looking great. Poor Kay, the head librarian, was just in a panic over getting it done in time. So I came in more often and helped decorate. But now that that is over I can go in and play with my books! I'm trying to make the adult paperbacks look better. I'm separating the categories more and alphabetizing. A few of the people think I'm crazy and are convinced that it won't stay like that and that the library patrons will just stick the book back wherever they want, just like they always have. Well of course they did. It's not like there was any order to it! My hope is by opening it up more, people will notice that there is some sort of order. Hey, they said it couldn't be done with the juvenile paperbacks and it's stayed nice for months now! Granted, the adult paperbacks do get more use so might be tougher. But I'm sure I can make it work. I'll be going in again today to work on it. A lot.

When I looked at my blog today I was disappointed at how far back my Books I've Read list was. I figured there was no way I'd remember everything I've read since I last updated it. I came up with as many as I could but knew I was still missing a bunch. Then I realized that I had listed eight books and I last updated it just over two weeks ago. A book every couple of days? I still don't think my list is complete, but it's all I could think of. I think I'll take my copies of the Demon Hunting Soccer Mom books with me when we go to the Coast. So I'd better be quick and read all the other books I have checked out from the library!

The girls and I went to a Girl Scout event in Spokane a couple of weekends ago. It was Hina Matsuri. It's a Doll Festival/Girl's Day in Japan. The Girl Scouts got to dress in the yukata, try they hand at origami and calligraphy, and play with some Japanese toys and games. The Japanese students (all girls) were wonderful. I had a great time! Emma and Audrey enjoyed it too--their favorite part was playing with the toys. My mom got to come with us too and she had a good time as well. Hopefully I have some decent pictures on my camera that I can later post here.

Speaking of my camera....no, I'm still not completely happy with it. It's great for outdoor pictures, but indoor leaves something to be desired. I just don't understand the science of photography enough to figure out who I need to set everything. I do love the big viewing screen though!

Back to Spokane....Justin didn't go with us (he went back to Bow instead and brought the boat back here). The girls and I got to see everybody except Andrew and Grandma M. Andrew was at his dad's that weekend. After the long day on Saturday we decided not to travel to Colfax on top of it all. I need to go over sometime just to visit family---not when we have an event and then shopping all afternoon (I'd already planned on taking the girls shopping in Spokane and it worked out to combine it with the GS thing). Wes, Sara, Amelia, and Gus came for dinner Saturday night. As usual we didn't see much of Laura--too much working! But we did stop by Wal-Mart on our way home to say good-bye to her. Emma had so much fun taking care of Madelyn. She's two months old now. When we first saw her she was only a few days old and Audrey was the one who liked holding her. This time it was Emma who wanted to play with her. Audrey did too of course, but Emma just couldn't get enough! Heck, she even changed diapers. (with Kara's help of course) On Sunday we met Dad and Grandma S. for lunch. Dad didn't tell Grandma we were coming. She was pleasantly surprised!

I don't really think there's been much else of note lately. The girls are doing well in school. As usual. Audrey was getting a sticker at the office for Being a Good Friend (she volunteered to take another girl to the office) when I came to pick her up and yesterday she receive an Above and Beyond ticket for something. Can't remember what... She also has over 20 Accelerated Reader (AR) points for reading books and taking tests on them. Now she's reading a Junie B. Jones book. Sound like when she's finished and ready to take the test I'm supposed to go in and help her with it. Hmmm....Maybe I should read it first.....

Emma has completed her multiplication facts through 12s. They've been taking WASL practice tests lately. A bit stressful! Emma is used to getting top grades, but with something timed like this she isn't always able to finish. Her teacher had me grade the tests one day. I hated reading the tests and seeing that nobody did well. Only a couple people answered all the questions, and often they didn't answer them completely enough to get full credit. At least Emma is excited about getting "breakfast" on WASL days. I think they start in mid-April. Guess we should take a bunch of practice tests with us during Spring Break. ha ha ha ha

I've written enough and I'm sure you're tired of reading it. Time for me to shower and dress. And look up remedies for canker sores. I have one under my tongue. Those are awful! Makes it very difficult to talk.

No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch. ~Leo Dworken

I really need to keep my list of books I've read updated. I know I'm missing a couple.... I've wished many times that the library system or Library Elf would keep track of books I've checked out. Yesterday I was helping out at the library and finding even more books to check out! Dangerous.....

I stayed up way too late the night before last. I decided to take a bath, so instead of reading the hardback I was borrowing from the library I took with me the mass market paperback of The Undead Next Door by Kerrelyn Sparks that I had just received from half.com. That was at 9. Eventually I got into bed. And at 2:30 I finished the book and went to sleep. Aaarrrgghhh! Not easy to wake up later that morning! But I so enjoy the Love at Stake series. Too bad I have to wait so long for the next one. At least I bought the first four so I can read them again. However, I also need to read the Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom books by Julie Kenner. I've read the first one, Carpe Demon, and recently bought it and the next two. Maybe after I finish the four library books I currenly have I can start on those. But first I need to finish another Kasey Michaels book in her Maggie Kelly series.

Ack! I need to get moving. I still have to shower and I'm supposed to be helping in Emma's class in half an hour. Plus I took home some cutting and pasting from the library so I could have it all done before I get there today. And as we all know, I didn't do it. Such is the life of Joy.

bleah

The Bunny Vampire

She no longer looks like a mutant bunny rabbit! Now she's a bit more like a vampire. Audrey is way cute with those missing teeth!

Justin was one of many children who went sledding down the roof of the shed next to the house our group rented. Let's see....that's Emma with the pink hat. And it looks like Chad is getting ready to toss Audrey and her sled across the gap between the snow bank and the roof.

The snowmobilers! And look, nobody is pushing anyone else in the snow....no snowballs being hurled....a rare photo op!


So what has been happening lately? Well, I'm convinced that Ephrata is cursed. Two big bouts of stomach bug, a round of pinkeye for each girl, lice lice and more lice, and colds that don't ever stop. All that since we moved here in July. The girls brought home their report cards a couple weeks ago (excellent grades of course) and they had 4 or 5 absences each. Emma has a cough and a headache today. Gave her some Tylenol and sent her whining butt to school! Oh I hope she feels better! You know how you always feel worse first thing in the morning. By the time I get out of bed it's about 30 minutes before the bus comes. So by the time I get the girls out of bed they have about 20 minutes to do everything. Including whine about how I'm the worst mother in the world becasue I won't drive them to school. I can live with that.

Audrey will be seven years old in only one week! Wow. Hmm...guess I should maybe plan her party. Justin's mom is coming over this weekend and so is Nancy. So we'll have Audrey's party the Saturday after her birthday. Just a little party at the house.

There's really not much else to say. Guess now is a good time to stop.

Politics

Justin's dad threw his hat in the Idaho ring! Uh-oh, I hope that doesn't mean I have to pay attention to politics.....

Rawls for Idaho



The politicians were talking themselves red, white and blue in the face. ~Clare Boothe Luce

Short, sweet, and long overdue

I don't have much time this morning, but I figured I should at least write a line or two. (yes, we all know how that is going to turn out!) This way, if you are someone who peeks at my blog every once in a while to see what we are up to you can see that I'm still around.

What's new?

Audrey looks like a mutant bunny. Her top two teeth are loose and one is loose enough that it hasn't been aligned with the rest of her teeth in quite a while, and it kind of sticks out at an angle. Of course I'm completely and utterly grossed out by the protuberance and it's wiggly-ness.

A couple weekends ago we went to a "cabin" in Plain (near Leavenworth) for two nights with a bunch of people Justin works with. There were a total of 12 of us (including the four kids). We kept saying the word "cabin", but it was really a big house. I have some pictures of the kids (and yes, that does include those male children over the age of 30) sledding down the shed roof. Also a couple pictures of the group during our snowmobile ride. The weekend was a lot of fun. The only downside was the dinner. Holy cow!! $160 for the four of us to have below average buffet, two hot chocolates, a glass of wine, and a beer. So if you are ever in Plain, don't have dinner at Mountain Springs Lodge. Yikes!!

We starting to plan our Spring Break trip. Of course the girls were begging for Disneyland, until we explained that Daddy just needs a relaxing time, and spending hours in line with thousands of people just to ride a ride is not his idea of relaxing. The girls have taken this very well. We are currently considering the Oregon Coast. I wanted to go back to Jerome, Arizona but I looked at flights and they were around $700 each. We could drive, but it is just far enough, that with kids the travel time would eat into our "vacation" time a lot. So I guess we'll have to forget about a warm vacation spot and go for pretty and closer to home. We'll see where this takes us. We're thinking that Spring Break 2009 will be somewhere like Jamaica. That gives us a year to save, plan, and diet.

I discovered yesterday that the people who used to have our phone number not only didn't change their number with the school, credit card companies, emergency contacts, but they are also using it to order stuff online. I looked at my phone bill yesterday and it was double the normal amount. There were two charges on it for third party companies. I finally got through to one of them. I told her I had a charge I was unsure about and so she told me that their company provided Internet voicemail, etc etc. I had already been wondering if this was some scam to either get people to blindly pay or to sell them services when they call to dispute it. I said something like that to this woman but she told me that it had been ordered. She told me the name and I came unglued. So that one is cancelled and I'll deal with the other one today---I'm sure it's the same kind of deal. Every once in a while I read through the Ephrata High School bulletin online (I started doing that after the big Orange E Carnival---one of those fun things that doesn't get advertised because it's a tradition that has survived for eons and therefore everybody knows about it) and noticed that in the announcement that if any parents want to help plan the Senior Trip they should contact a certain person via email. Guess who? Yep, the same woman I keep getting phone calls for. I may just have to send her a little email. If only I had just gone ahead and picked up her check at H&R Block after they called.....maybe then she'd figure out what needed to be done.

Speaking of Ephrata High School.....Emma and Audrey performed at half-time of the boys' basketball game last Saturday. They had attended a Cheer Camp that morning and learned a dance and two cheers. So all 50 or so kids performed that night. They split the kids into K-2 and 3-6 to learn different dances, but they all did the two cheers together. They had props for the dances and got to keep them. They had a good time and Justin and I enjoyed watching them. Of course, halfway there I realized my camera was still in the house. Not that I could have gotten very good pictures anyway.

Ohhhkaaayyy....there goes "short and sweet"! But we all knew that would happen, right? Time to shower and head to the school.

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? ~Stephen Levine

Look out---you may not have their updated number!

Nancy!! Avoid this movie!!!!

Zoom: Academy for Superheroes

It was a decent movie, but it made Audrey barf. Not in the "ewww it makes me want to barf" way but in the "Mommy, I threw up" way.

In the movie "the powers that be" (Rip Torn among them so y'know it's gotta be good) are trying to get together a Superhero Team. Of course there has to be auditions (even though we've already been "introduced" to those who will make it onto the team). One of the kids blows a booger out of one nostril and it explodes onto the scientist's (Chevy Chase) face. Completely and utterly gross. I'm surprised I didn't barf. Not at all surprised Audrey did. But oh so glad we didn't ever see it in the theater!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not exactly enough to get me to write my first epinions.com review in well over a year. But enough to write in my blog late(-ish) at night. Blech.

On to my photomosaic puzzle!!! Maybe that will be epinion.com-able.

Finally getting around to posting pix

Santa put a Google in Audrey's stocking. This was a good thing. Can't you tell???


Christmas afternoon chaos.......

The Singing Vegetable Heads! Justin's mom and stepdad gave us a karaoke machine for Christmas. It's been a hit! Especially since they included a karaoke CD--High School Musical 2. I'm not sure which song the girls are singing right now, but they were having fun. Despite the fact that they had vegetable oil smothering the remaining lice on their heads.

It looks like we are done with lice. For now...... Damn things. It's so hard to get rid of them, I just feel like they are going to try and come back another time. But to help matters I'll often be doing my now-nearly-perfected imitation of a mother gorilla. Except I don't eat the nits and lice!

Justin bought me a new camera for Christmas. The first picture was taken with my old camera and the other with my new one. The new pictures seem very grainy. (I've learned that that is called "noise" in photography.) I read online that other people have the same problem and one suggestion was to lower the ISO. Really, that should be a task left to people who actually know what the heck ISO is! I was experimenting yesterday with different ISO settings and other various settings. But it may have to go back (if they'll take it back that is). I'm not much into taking pictures to begin with, I definitely don't need a camera that makes me have to think before taking a picture!

This is my first day sans kids in a while. Woo-hoo! I'd better get moving. Library and grocery store. I have a big day ahead!

Is it over yet???

Today is December 28 and my Christmas tree is still up. That's kind of a long time for us! As you all know, I am in no way a clean freak or at all organized (unless it's totally unnecessary things like Polly Pocket shoes) and my house always looks messy (uh, 'cause it is?!?) it just seems like the Christmas tree makes the house look even more cluttered. Maybe because as long as the tree is up the gifts will stay scattered under it instead of put away. "Put away"? Like anything around me ever gets put away. I actually asked Justin if he'd hidden one of my shopping bags to teach me a lesson about putting things away instead of letting them sit out. (Actually, I accidentally left that bag at Wal-Mart.)

You wanna know what I'm really, really, really ready to be done with?? Lice!! No clue where they actually came from, but Audrey's head was infested!!! Emma had them too, but not to the extent Audrey did. Dang it, now my head is itching. Ha! I'll bet yours is too now!! It's been nine days since we discovered them (a real Bad Mommy moment for me, I won't go into it) and they've been treated with Nix twice. I look forward to not washing sheets every single day. Oh what am I saying? Justin's done most of the work the past few days.

My fingernails are too long to comfortably type on the laptop. And anyway, Christmas pictures are on the other computer. So I'll post again later. With pictures!!

I can understand people simply fleeing the mountainous effort Christmas has become... but there are always a few saving graces and finally they make up for all the bother and distress. ~May Sarton

A child is born!

No, this isn't some big theological posting regarding Jesus and the Christmas season. It's just announcing that my sister Kara had a baby this morning!

December 21st is:
Forefathers Day
Humbug Day
Phileas Fogg Win a Wager Day
Underdog Day

and now....Madelyn's birthday!

I'm feeling very......done

I...uh....bluh....erk......eep.....gah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just...

I can't....

Oh geez.....

What else can be piled on top!!??!!??

Two-legged creatures we are supposed to love as we love ourselves. The four-legged, also, can come to seem pretty important. But six legs are too many from the human standpoint. ~Joseph W. Krutch