Hubby Tag

Thanks Nat for the tag! What a fun one! I am tagging Julie, Brittany, Allison, Chelsa, Emily and Ashley! Come on ladies, do it with us!!!

What is his name? Eric Turley Wimmer but every few days he comes up with new names that he wants me to call him. He's been Burt Corcoran, Bert Martinez, Professor Sungglesworth, Beefcake....I could go on and on but you get the picture.
How long have you been together? Married for six years and one month
How long did you date? We started dating in summer 1998 but weren't really serious till spring 2000 we did the whole on and off thing for a couple of years.
How old his he? 40! What an old man!
Who eats more? Probably Eric. I graze all day and don't really eat a lot at meals.
Who said I love you first? I'm pretty sure it was Eric. It's sad that I don't remember the situation.
Who is taller? Eric. But when I'm wearing heals I give him a run for his money. He's 6'1" and I'm 5'9".
Who can sing better? Eric. I don't know if it's actual talent or just the willingness. He sings all day, every day. He's very happy.
Who is smarter? ME! He has a college degree and a paying job, so he could easily argue this - but I'm sticking with my answer!
Who does the laundry? Me. Eric will do it every once in a while, but I'm very territorial about the laundry. I want things done a certain way and I don't want anyone messing up the system.
Who pays the bills? Me. I'm trying to get Eric to take that over, but it's not looking good.
Who sleeps in the right side? I do. I like to be closest to the door when I have to get screaming kids in the night.
Who mows the lawn? For the most part Eric does - but I do it a few times a summer too. I'm terrified of the edger thing so I won't touch that (but neither does Eric).
Who cooks dinner? Nobody. I'm trying to do better about cooking, I promise.
Who drives? Usually Eric. I am a very nervous passenger and it makes him nuts!
Who is more stubborn? For sure me. Eric is laid back and rarely gets upset.
Who kissed who first? Eric kissed me in the parking lot of ACS. Romantic huh??
Who asked who out first? I'm still not sure if our first date was actually a date. We went to a Jazz game with a bunch of people from work.
Who proposed? Eric - the day after Valentine's Day, 2001. He went to a lot of work!! It was so much fun. He sent me on a day-long treasure hunt with clues sending me from Salt Lake to Provo and I ended up on the side of the road where he changed my tire the first time we met.
Who has more friends? I think I probably do. Maybe that's just because I hang out with my friends more.
Who is more sensitive? I don't know. We might be equal on this one. Neither of us is overly sensitive.
Who has more siblings? Me. I have seven and he has four.
Who wears the pants? Me. It's embarrassing, but I guess I've turned into one of those girls.

Left to Tell

I have been reading this book for my book club and I love it. (Good choice, Betty!) It is a true story that everyone should read about the Rwandan genocide in 1994. I'm still shocked that all of it took place at the very same summer that I was getting ready to start high school. It seems unreal that mass murders can still take place in our world. I guess if I watched a little more CNN and read a little less Us Weekly I'd wouldn't be so shocked. This woman was in hiding in a bathroom with seven other women for weeks, fearing for her life. It makes me feel ungrateful and petty for all my complaining. If you haven't read it, do!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas,

when all through the house

not a creature was sane, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung, til the kids ripped them down.

The holiday decor makes a grand new playground.

The children were running around acting wild,

"Maybe life would be easier if we just had one child."

With Mom in an old t-shirt and sweatpants of blue,

she starts making lists of the many things to do.

When up on the roof there rose such a clatter,

Dad was fixing the lights with an old, rusty ladder.

Away from the door we flew like a flash,

another charity group is looking for cash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

makes the desire for a much needed sleep start to grow.

Crazy traffic, long lines and people who are rude,

even 'Jingle Bells' can't lighten the mood.

When will the end of the shopping appear?

With our Leapster in hand we have nothing to fear.

"Now Cameron, now Adam, now Eric, now Luke! Oh my!"

Load our crap in the van before Mom starts to cry.

To the parties, to preschool, the office, the mall,

now dash away, dash away, dash away all!

And then in a twinkling the snow starts to fly,

sweet dreams of a snow blower rise to the sky.

The cookies, the candy and goodies galore -

everyone saying, "please, please have some more."

Trying to hide the waistline is getting to be a trick.

It seems in a moment we'll look just like St. Nick.

Colds and infections, the doctor, how merry!

Possible Chicken Pox make Mom's skin look scary.

In the midst of the madness one thing still rings true,

We are grateful for family and friends - that means you.

The reason and meaning of Christmas are clear.

The blessings and spirit of the Savior are near.

We hope that your holidays are happy and bright!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

******

(I totally ripped this off my friend Becca Winegar and adapted it for my own use.)

Big boys??? Almost.

As we were leaving the gym today, Adam told me that he was such a big boy because he went potty all by himself in the daycare. I said all the right proud parent things and didn't notice till we got home.... Look closely.

Yup, his pants are on backwards. He was so proud of his new big boy status that I didn't have the heart to tell him to change them. So he wore them all day like that.

Tonight I was so bored that I took the kids to McDonald's for dinner. (One of the really nice things about a traveling husband.) I ran into Becky there and she told me a great story. (Becky is in my ward and is in charge of the nursery classes.) She and Martha were with all the three year-olds on Sunday when Luke had to use the bathroom. I won't draw out the story anymore. I'll just say that Luke pooped in the urinal instead of the toilet. WHY IS IT ALWAYS MY KIDS??? When Cameron was in nursery, she once took off all her clothes and soaped down her whole body. I really owe all the nursery leaders lunch or something.

So I just want to give a big shout out to all the nursery leaders my kids have ever had. THANK YOU AND I'M SORRY! (Yea, Wade and BreAnne, I know you're reading...)

Memory Monday

Please pay no attention to the fact that it's Tuesday. I'm still trying to do Heather's Memory Mondays and here is the memory this week:

DESCRIBE ONE OF YOUR ROOMMATES FROM YOUR YOUNG ADULT YEARS. DO YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THAT PERSON?

I have two roommates that I remain close to. They were both bridesmaids at my wedding and still best friends of mine. The first is Ashley. She and I met in Mrs. Shipley's class in the fifth grade. She was my ally in the constant battles against the evil Troy Bovo who was forever chasing us around the playground. We were BFF for several years and although we went to the same high school, we didn't remain close. A month or two after high school graduation I moved into an apartment with a friend from work and we needed another roommate. Ashley was looking for roommates too and the rest is ancient history.

This is Ash and me cruising around in her fancy car.

She looks perfect and you're looking up my nose.

Then there was Julie. She and I moved to Orem to go to UVSC. She went to school and I didn't. Not too bright on my part. But I did write a couple of papers as a trade for laundry service. (I hadn't done one single batch of laundry till I moved out of my mom's house. I was a mess.) She and I had become friends during our senior year of high school. Whenever Julie was there, I knew it was going to be a good time! We would dress up all in black, turn on Beastie Boys and go spy on the boy de jour. We went to Cabo San Lucas, Hawaii, St. George, Las Vegas and Logan. We did love a good road trip. I remember once driving home from St. George in the middle of the night listening to Alanis Morrisett screaming our guts out for hours. We both lost our voices. Mature, I know.

This is Julie and me getting ready to go spy on boys.

Another not-so-flattering picture of me.

I also got to live with my aunt Puffy and my cousin Alison for a year before I got married. Those were some of my very favorite times. Alison and I would exchange clothes, dress up and do makeup like a couple of five year-olds. We watched endless hours of Friends on tv. I helped Puffy correct papers (she was a school teacher) and Eric would help Alison with her homework. We still have amazingly funny inside jokes, which I'll spare you all. (But I am wondering if ya'll lit another Jesus candle??? It is Christmas you know.)

I don't have a picture to post yet. I need to get a good one of the three of us! All the pictures that I have aren't digital.

Knock knock.....

Knock, knock at my door.

Stranger Lady: "Um you don't know me. I was just driving past your house and saw your boys up in the window leaning against the screen. It scared me to death and I thought if it were my kids, I'd want to know."

Me: "Thank you for stopping."

Yes, this really happened. My boys were in their room with the window open, leaning against the screen. The screen is ripped, but thanks to the stranger driving by, they didn't fall to their death. Can this possibly be my life? That Mother of the Year award is just around the corner.

* * * * *

Adam: "Do ghosts marry zombies?"

6 years

6 years ago today....

October 17, 2002

Summer 2003

July 14, 2004

August 12, 2005

October 31, 2005

July 2006

November 2006
Happy anniversary!

Home again

I've spent a lot of time thinking of how I could best describe the marathon. I spent five months training. I'd found all the dry-fit shirts, socks, shorts and hats that money could buy to make sure that I stay comfortably dry and blister free. Now imagine that I put on all my expensive gear at 3:30 am and get into the shower for an hour, fully dressed, and then I walked 1.5 miles to the starting line of the race and then run 26.2 miles. Soaking wet.

I feel pretty darn confident in saying that I never want to run another marathon. I'm done.

Yes, I'm a total dork and carried my cell phone with me while I ran. I snapped this picture at mile 16. I was wet, tired, sick of hearing Japanese (I swear I was the only American for miles). I thought, "Wow I only have another ten miles! Yuck!" I just had to get that picture. I'm realizing now that you can't even tell what it is. Just a 16 mile sign.

I called Eric as I crossed the finish line. Yes, my finisher pictures were all of me talking on the phone. I just had to have someone to share it with. I'd been pretending that he was actually there the whole run.

My shoes were so gross that I left them in Hawaii. I wanted to throw them in the ocean, but I was scared of the $1500 littering ticket. All in all, the trip was a major success! I hated the marathon, but really, only complete nut-heads enjoy that masochist crap anyway. I was in HAWAII! Here are a couple of the pictures I took. Some of them are pretty bad because I had to take them with my cell phone.

This was the beach where we went to watch the Billibong Surf Competition. We were late and missed the whole thing, but it was still fun to see the crowds and beaches along the North Shore. We stopped for some killer shaved ice from Motsumoto's. Looks like regular shaved ice, but it's not. There's a scoop of vanilla ice cream underneath. Yummmmm....

This was the view from my lounge chair yesterday afternoon. I had on my headphones and was listening to Jimmy Buffett's song, Boat Drinks, smiling my guts out. It was one of those moments I want to remember forever, to look back on while at the dentist or shoveling the driveway.

I could not be happier about our trip. I finished a marathon. I relaxed. I bonded with some of my best friends. I came home happy to see my kids and they were happy to see me. Life is good....for today.

ALOHA!

Greetings from Waikiki! We're here and having a really good time. Despite the rain. Hawaii has been having record rainfall in the last few days and there are downed trees and power-outages all over the islands. We could not care less. We went out to breakfast, got a hot stone massage, went shopping, went by the convention center buy marathon goodies and then had a late lunch at Cheesecake Factory. We've been parked in bed, watching tv and reading books since then. I'm not complaining. Neither Kayley or Jenna has needed my assistance in wiping their noses or making food yet. It's a great break.
We're trying hard to not think about the impeding doom that is Sunday. It will likely be raining and we're trying to come up with ways to make our shoes waterproof. Duct tape seems to be the best option yet.
Anyway, we're doing great! I wanted to post a picture, but you can use your imagination and envision us in our jammies, eating junk, watching tv.
Peace out!

Catching up

Cameron was in rare form this morning. I guess it's not all that rare, but noteworthy just the same. I told everyone to get ready to go to Home Depot and get in the car. I wasn't really paying any attention to Cameron since she's able to get shoes on and buckled into her seat belt on her own. We were cruising down the freeway when Cameron says, "Tell me when we get to New York."

I glanced in the rear view mirror and said, "American Fork Cameron, not New York. Home Depot is in American Fork." She was wearing a pillow case over her head. It covered most of her little body. I started laughing and asked her what she was doing and she calmly explained (from underneath her pillow case) that she didn't want to wear a coat and the pillow case keeps her warm. Makes sense I guess.

When we got to Home Depot she took off her pillow case to reveal an amazing ensemble. She had a headband wrapped around her head like a hippie, sparkly cat eye sunglasses and white satin gloves up to her armpits. Did I let her go into the store like this? You betcha!

I have been so busy with projects the last few days. I painted my guest bedroom and the kids' bathroom, sewed a quilt for Cam's bed and I'm trying to get ready for Hawaii!! We leave on Thursday and the marathon is on Sunday. Wahoo! I'm ready to have this thing over with.

I got a couple cute pictures of the kids on Saturday. They wanted to try playing in the snow again. Adam lasted about a minute and a half, Luke for about three minutes and Cam was out maybe five. But they sure looked cute.

Before snot Adam

After snot Cameron

Also after snot Luke

This is the sad little snowman that Eric built for the kids. He was appalled that we didn't have carrots, coal and a top hat on hand for snowman building. Our snowman had Cheezits for eyes and a nose. We're ghetto. We pulled gumdrops off a gingerbread house for buttons and used Luke's hat. Luke was definately not happy about that.

Old Photos

Last night I was digging through stacks of old photos to find pictures of my crush and found so many other gems. Like this one of my mom, Lacey and me from 1980. I'm the baby. You know the picture on the left side of my blog of my kids and me? Kind of similar, huh?

And this one of my really fat brother, Eric. This picture kind of looks like his head has been cut and pasted, but it's not. It's actually him! What a fatty!

And this one is Paige and me when we were 14 years old.

This one is Julie and me in Hawaii when we were 19. I'm on the left and Julie is on the right.

I've decided to scan all of my old photographs from the olden days of film. It is so much fun to look through them! I'll leave you with one last picture. This one is of Eric and me in 2000 when we worked together.

Just another day

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks to a crappy camera, here goes my thousand words to describe my day. It's really sad about no camera because the kids were so dang cute all bundled up to play in the snow this morning. I got the boots, gloves, snow pants, hats, coats and scarves on all three of them in 40 minutes flat - that's got to be some kind of sad world record. They waddled up the street to collect friends and were back home with snot frozen to their little faces within minutes, needing hot chocolate. I wished I could have a before and after picture. (before and after the snot) It is so frustrating to see them taking off all the gear before I've even stopped sweating from putting it all on them!
After we got Cameron on the bus I was changing Luke's clothes and heard Adam come tearing down the hall. I heard his feet slip and his head bang on the wood floor. Then, being the caring mom that I am, said (without looking), "Adam! It's hard to feel sorry for you when you fall every thirty seconds!"
Then I turn around to see Adam holding his hand to his head and blood everywhere. I'm not really sure how he manages it, but that kid looks like he gets beat up on a daily basis. I don't even know how he cut it open hitting his head on the floor. Is that possible? Apparently so.
I cleaned up the mess and checked out the cut. He probably needed one or two stitches, but I'm not really up for the emergency room, ever. So I super glued it. That's right. Dr. Laurie on the scene. I'm my own McDreamy.
It's probably best that I don't have a photographic blog. You don't have to endure pictures of my kids covered in snot and blood.

Tagged

Melissa just tagged me, so here it goes:

Here are the rules: A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning. B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asks them to read your blog.

1. I hate animals wearing clothes. It is my biggest peeve. There is never a circumstance in which animals need clothes. It's ridiculous and I hate it. Mostly I hate it in association with Easter. Rabbits wearing vests and bow ties creep me out!

2. While we're talking about peeves....I also hate Shane Co. commercials. If you don't live in Utah, you probably don't know what I'm talking about. Trust me, those stinking radio commercials are the WORST! I would drop-kick Tom Shane if I could. (Shane Co. is a jewelry store, in case you're wondering.) I also hate Low Book Sales commercials. (Low Book is a used car dealership.)

3. I have insomnia. I haven't slept a whole night without sleeping pills in probably 3 years. If I run out of sleeping pills, I could stay awake for days at a time. Which leads me to my next one...

4. Last spring I crashed my car in my garage and have no memory of it. While taking Ambien.

5. I eat popcorn and watch my Tivo'd shows every night before bed. Those 100 calorie packs are AMAZING! It is my favorite guilty pleasure.

6. Someday I want to write a book. I don't even know what about. I love to write and I have a million ideas that come to me all day long. I guess that's why I like blogging so much - a creative outlet for me.

So there you go! Six more useless facts about me (as though you needed more). Okay now I'm tagging Suzanne, Emily, Lindsay, Brittany, Allison, Julie and Ashley. And anyone who wants to do it!

Honest

I have been told several times that the nice thing about my blog is that it's honest. This morning as I was talking to Aunt Puffy on the phone, I went upstairs to find that my kids had emptied their dressers and closets and made a giant clothes pile on the floor in the hallway. Puffy got an earful as I started directing traffic for time-outs and cleanup efforts amid screaming "What were you thinking?"
She was laughing and said, "From your blog, you'd think it was just a delight to be with them. You know, the perfect day at Sea World and all."
It seems that I have forgotten to mention the fatal five minutes that made my mind up that we were leaving San Diego on Friday instead of Saturday like we'd planned. So, in an effort to remain brutally honest, here's the truth.
Friday morning at Brett and Melissa's house was going along nicely until I went upstairs and discovered that my boys had red rings around their mouths and a nearly empty bottle of NyQuil. I went into full-blown freak out mode. I went into the guest room to see that luckily a good portion on the medicine was spilled on the rug and carpet. (Not sure if that's considered lucky, but at least all of it wasn't in their tummy.) I ran to the bathroom to get a wet towel to start scrubbing the carpet and found my boys had already thought to get a towel, and in their haste, pulled down the towel rack. Yes, pulled it off the wall. Then I saw Melissa come around the corner holding up a fish bowl for inspection. Dead fish. Missing fins. Very morbid.
I'm not kidding when I say that all of this happened in about 4 minutes. That's when I decided that we'd all had enough vacationing and it was time to go home. I was tired anyway, but this all pushed me over the edge. Besides, when better to start on a LONG drive than right after your kids take loads of NyQuil?

We're Baaaaaaack!

I remember watching a Simpsons episode where they go on vacation and Bart and Lisa are sitting in the back asking, "are we there yet?" every thirty seconds. I thought they were just playing it up for TV. Turns out that's exactly how is works with kids. But driving aside, it was the best trip ever!

We got to hang out with Brett and Melissa and the kids. It's really strange how our kids only see their cousins once a year, but that bond is strong! To watch them, you'd think they lived together all the time. We did lots of fun things, but the kids were content just to hang out and play at the house together. They watched lots of movies and spent hours at the park.

We went to Sea World on Tuesday. I've never seen Adam so excited. I loved just watching his face at the Shamu show. Pure delight! Luke was most excited about the sharks. Cameron's favorite part was feeding the dolphins. We got to pet them and everything. The kids were the perfect age for it. Nobody even got lost this time! (Cameron disappeared twice last year.)

The best thing about San Diego is Brett and Melissa. I could do without Brett, but I positively LOVE Melissa! (Just kidding Brett!) Here are my Top Ten favorite things about Melissa:

1. Thanksgiving squash to die for
2. Shopping sprees to Target and Home Goods
3. "Tell me what you want, what you really really want! I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want...."
4. Phase 10
5. Star, US and People magazines
6. Hot chocolate
7. Pie in the face planning
8. "Crate and Barrel!"
9. The quest for chunky shoes
10. "The holidays are so stressful for women."

We have such a good time! I only wish that I got better pictures. My camera is crappy and I didn't get one good picture. Luckily, there will always be next year! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I hope I still have some readers out there after such a long break!

San Diego or bust!

We'll have to save all your praise of my impressive running till later. And yes, I looked fabulous, just ask Jenna and Kayley about my very scary hat head. I didn't think we could still laugh after such a long run, but my hair was almost as gross as my feet. Too much detail? Sorry.

We're leaving today to see Brett and Melissa for Thanksgiving. Brett is Eric's brother and they live in San Diego. We seem to have invited ourselves to dinner for the last few years and now it feels a little like tradition. We don't get to see them nearly enough because at Christmas when they're here in Utah, they get a busy schedule trying to see everyone. But when we impose ourselves on them, they're trapped! Anyway, we're really excited for the trip and I'll post pictures when I can.

TTFN!

nerves not-so-much of steel

I am sick to death with nerves right now. I have to get up at 5:00 am to go running for 20 miles. In case we don't make it back, I want it to be documented that we are starting at the top of Vivian Park (canyon) around 6:00 am. Then we are following the Provo River Parkway to Utah Lake. We should be done around 10 if you want to decorate a float and bring us trophies. I will gladly accept compliments of "you're fabulous" and "you look like you just walked down the hall not down a mountain to the lake" and "You look like you could use a nap, let me watch your kids." These are all acceptable conversations for tomorrow. If you have something to say to me that doesn't fall in this category, try back Saturday.

Memory Monday

I've decided to do Heather's Memory Monday in an effort to keep my blog somewhat of a journal rather than just airing of grievances. So this week's memory is:

DO YOU HAVE ANY NICKNAMES? WHO CALLS YOU THOSE NAMES? DO YOU LIKE THE NICKNAMES?

As I thought about it, it's frightening how many nicknames I have. Everyone seems to call me something different. But here's my best attempt at naming them.

Yowie - Aunt Puffy is really the only one who calls me that anymore. When Lacey and I were kids she used to call me Yowie and it stuck. (Hey at least I didn't get stuck with 'Puffy')

Larry - Most of the kids in my neighborhood growing up called me that. Then Paige's husband turned it into Scary Larry or Hairy Larry (both very flattering).

Lardo - This is by far the worst nickname ever. Thanks Dad.

Laur Laur - My mom and sisters call me that.

Laur - Paige calls me that. And some of my other friends too.

Larry Mullin - My brother, Robby, is the only one who calls me that. Larry Mullin Jr. is the drummer for U2 and I had a sick obsession as a teenager.

Laurlie - All small kids call me this. Apparently my name is hard to say when you're first learning to talk.

Laurinda T - Eric calls me this. I think he still believes that every one's middle initial is T just because his is.

L-Train - All of Eric's friends call me this. They got sick of getting yelled at whenever they called me Lori. It was just easier that way.

The Most Stunning Girl Ever - I call myself this....he he he.

I think that's about it. If you think of something else, feel free to comment.

In memorandum

Our beloved Lola has returned to her running wheel in the sky this afternoon. She was survived by Cameron, her caretaker, best friend and best sister ever (Cam's words exactly). She was also survived by the torturous duo who doused her with hand sanitizer and squeezed her till her eyes bugged out, the Catless Witch (Laurie) and the only one who loved to hear the running wheel in the middle of the night (Eric).

Lola was a good hamster. She filled her days with lazing around the cage and her nights were busy running and running and running and running. And running. She had lived upstairs on the desk for 10 days and at a Sandy PetSmart before that.

You will be missed, Lola.

Pornographic Lizard

That title kinda sounds like the name of a band, huh?? Just a few funny things that the kids said today:

(Singing a High School Musical song. The actual words are 'iced tea imported from England'.)
Cameron: "Iced tea and porn from England..."

Luke: "I want to watch The Lizard of Oz!"

Blogger Lunch

Top row: Martha, Me, Heather & Laurie
Bottom row: Leslee, Annemarie & Lia

We had such a good time on Saturday! Laurie and Lisa were in town and decided to get everyone together. They brought their friend Melissa, who doesn't blog...yet!

It was kind of weird to meet these ladies for the first time and yet feel like I know them already. Of course I had old friends there too. Martha, Heather and Leslee were there. And another Utah girl, Annemarie was there too! We had a really good time laughing and comparing stories. I know that pretty much all of these girls are going to blog about it too - so read theirs. I have a mountain of laundry waiting for me!

Thanks ladies for the great time!

Hamster bath

I thought my kids were being unusually quiet this afternoon so I went to investigate. I found poor Lola soaking wet. The kids decided to drench her with hand sanitizer. Poor Lola.

I have hit a wall

A couple of years ago my little brother had a good friend who was an amazing pianist. This kid's mom made him practice all the time. He really was AMAZING, especially for a teenage kid. He got so sick of the pressure from his mom that he took a hammer and smashed his own fingers to get a break from playing the piano.
As I was running this morning, all I could think about was that story. I was contemplating ways to sprain my ankle so that I could get out of running this marathon. I have less than a month to go and I really want to quit. I hate running now. The only thing keeping running is knowing how many people would think I was a quitter if I didn't finish. So please, if you have any inspiring music, words of advice or movies that could rejuvenate me, pass it along. I have hit a wall.

Dynamic Trio

The neighborhood is a lot safer with these three on the case.


Spiderman - Adam, Superman - Luke, Batman - Riley

mad

Paige and I went to IKEA today. She was wanting to look at furniture so we decided to put our kids in the daycare so we could shop in peace. We waited in line at the daycare for a few minutes and got a buzzer/pager thing to let us know when there would be an opening. So we strolled around the marketplace for 45 minutes when the buzzer buzzed. We waited in another line for 10 minutes to check the kids in. Their shoes were off and they were ready to play!
The girl working the counter (with a disgusting facial piercing) then said she doesn't think our kids are tall enough. She came around the corner with a measuring tape. Abbie and Luke were both tall enough, but not Adam. I told her that he has a spinal defect (congenital scoliosis) that makes him shorter than his identical twin brother. She said that Abbie and Luke could come in, but not Adam. I explained it again because surely if she understood the birth defect, she would not deny him. Nope, she had already turned to the next person in line. I wanted to reach across the counter and strangle her. "Thanks for wasting an hour of our time," I practically yelled at her.
I realize that it's free daycare at IKEA. Probably not much to get all hot under the collar about. I doesn't change the fact that it is discrimination! Am I being overly dramatic about this?

Pet adoption

When Eric and I were engaged, we were out shopping one day when we saw a local pet adoption agency selling cats. I'm not a cat person (or an animal person) but I was so deliriously in love that I thought I could handle a cat because Eric wanted one. They had a cat that looked just like Robert, his cat from childhood. He really wanted this cat, so we filled out the paperwork and thought we were going to take home a little, grey kitty. The paperwork was about 10 pages of crazy questions that I am positive they don't even ask if you're adopting a child. The woman working there took her time looking over our application while we went around the store gathering a litter box, collar and goofy toys. When we went back to the counter to get the kitty the woman told us that she needed to think about it some more and could we come back in two hours. We thought she was weird, but left and came back two hours later. Then she told us that she wanted to come to our house and check out the living environment. What on Earth? Eric and I weren't living together (not married yet) but we still agreed she could come check out Eric's townhouse. She called us back the next day to tell us that we had been denied. Denied a cat!
Eric and I just sat there in shock. Of course we were laughing our heads off, but how could we have kids if we were unfit to have a cat!? Hind sight is 20/20 and I know that lady saved my life by not giving us that cat, but I would like to have the option available to me. My brother in-law started calling me the Catless Witch. He was sure I was the reason we were denied, because Eric had already owned a cat.
You can imagine how nervous I was when we went to buy the hamster. I was scared to tell my kids that we were actually getting one until we got to the car. Even then, I was half expecting the sales clerk to chase us saying there had been a terrible mistake and we'd been red-flagged by all the PetSmarts as unfit pet owners.
Maybe the crazy cat lady was right, I really don't like animals. My hands are cracked and knuckles bleeding from washing my hands so much in the last few days. I'm positive that Lola has cooties. I'm not sure how long the hamster thing is going to last. Luckily for me, my kids seem to be taking care of the problem themselves. All the shaking and squeezing can't be good.

Catching up

I had a couple of pictures on my camera that I thought were worth sharing. This first one is Cameron getting ready to have a sleepover at Aunt Puffy's house. Keep in mind that she's only staying for one night and yet feels the need to pack her intire dresser of clothes. It's a girl thing.



This is the one and only picture I got of Halloween. Adam made the cutest dang skeleton I've ever seen!



Meet Lola.

It's a boy!!

My sister had a baby yesterday! He was 7lbs. 3oz. and 20 inches long. His name is Tyler Paul. He's pretty cute! I'm a proud auntie. They live on the east coast, so I can't even run to the hospital to hold him. So I'm posting a couple of pictures. I'm missing them.

It's a girl!

We are going to be a family of six from now on. Cameron decided that we needed to even the score so that we have three boys and three girls in our family. So now we have Lola the hamster. The kids have long wanted a cat (gross) and from time to time I have a weakness for puppies. We decided to start small and see how it goes for a few months. They've been visiting their favorite cat, Bogart, at PetSmart for a couple of months and he finally found a home (a sucker mom who probably caved) and not there anymore. It's time for a pet. I wanted to post a picture of Lola but my camera died the other day. (Eric, that's a direct hint for a Christmas present!)
Welcome to our family Lola!!

conversation

Cameron was playing with Mason the other day...

Cameron: "Mom, we're playing that we're married. I'm Ariel and Mason is Prince Eric."

Mason: "Yea, but we play for the 49ers, right Cam?"

Cameron: "The pink 49ers!"

I think it's so funny how they're both getting what they want out of playing with each other. (Game on, Duncan!)

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Cameron: "Mom, I wish my tongue could wrap around the whole earth to protect it from the rain. And I wish that my eyeballs could come out so I could look for stuff under my bed without getting on the floor."

Bad Mom

Let me tell you about last Friday. Cameron's school decided to celebrate Halloween last Friday with a parade and a little class party. She had picked out her Ariel costume weeks ago. It is way too big for her so Friday morning I tried to pin it and realized that the pins I had were too small. So I used document clips (so creative, I know). We had bought her an Ariel wig, but in her words, "it's too wiggy." So the fight about her hair started and I gave up and let her just wear her stringy hair down. Then she found a halo, a boa and a wand to add to the outfit. It was Halloween and I didn't want a fight - so she was some kind of Ariel-diva-angel-fairy.
The parade started at 1:20. My boys get out of preschool at 1:30 and the schools are about 10 minutes away from each other. Do the math, it doesn't work out. (I keep telling myself that is why I couldn't stay for the whole parade, not the fact that I don't really care about kids I don't know in costume.)
Anyway, I went over to the school at 1:00 and helped the teacher get all the kids ready for the parade. I just wanted to make an appearance and get out quickly. When I saw the three other little girls in the class dressed as princesses and fairies I wanted to cry. Their dresses and wings definitely weren't from Target. Their hair was done and set for the prom. And then there was Cameron, tripping over her cheap costume with document clips holding the sides and her hair looked like she just woke up after a sweaty nap. I had a lump in my throat and was fighting tears as I left the school.
When I got home and let the tears fly telling Eric about the other girls' beautiful dresses. He didn't understand why I was so upset. I felt terrible that all the other parents were going to see Cameron looking like a rag-muffin and think I'm a crappy mom. He just sat there looking at me like I was nuts. He made a good point that Cameron felt beautiful and I was upset because of what people might think of me. It was true, none of it had to do with Cam. Just me.
But that didn't stop me from telling JP (Jenna) all about it. She made me feel better by pointing out that Cameron has such a strong sense of independence and it's good to let her have her way with things like costumes. Really, who cares? (me)
And I still couldn't leave it alone and talked it over with my mom. We had a long talk about parents who do their kid's homework.... it opened a whole new can of worms. So I had all of this on my mind when I went to a family session at my little brother's rehab clinic on Tuesday night.
The topic was co-dependency. What does that mean? Well, when you're talking about addiction rehab, there are two types of people who are treated - the addict and the co-dependent. The co-dependent is the mother, friend, spouse, sibling, child of the addict that has let the addicts behaviors rule their lives. (In case you're wondering, none of this applied to my brother and me. I was there for moral support because my mom was out of town.) So basically, picture a mother who is constantly bailing her son out of trouble by paying his bills when he can't, hiring a lawyer for DUIs and basically thinking only of her son, every second of every day. She is the enabler of the behavior, never letting her son feel the full consequences of his actions. So when the son finally gets help and moves on, the mother has no life of her own. That's the hope, that the addict will get help and move on, but he probably has no skills to do it because his mom has done everything in his life for him.
Sitting there, in rehab, I had a huge 'a-ha' moment! By letting Cameron wear her sad, little costume, I was letting her make choices and see consequences. (FYI, there are NO consequences of nutso costumes when you're five.) Once again, it really has nothing to do with Cameron. Just me. I'm really learning. I'm sorry if none of this makes any sense. It does to me. That rehab session was full of people of all ages, from all walks of life (I sat behind a guy with a green Mohawk and next to a couple that looked like they could be Mr. & Mrs. Normal from Anytown, USA). But they had all gotten to a point where they needed help, and it took me seeing all of that and listening to the (really bad) videos to learn that Cameron needs to learn her independence. I feel like a smarter mom today. I know, I'm ridiculous.

Be nice

Yes, this does hang on the wall in my kitchen. I originally bought it for the playroom in the basement, but I hadn't figured out just where and needed it off the table and there was a nail already on the wall so I just hung it and it's now been there for over a year. I like it.

So many things have been on my mind lately and I've had no time at all to blog about it. First of all, I talked to Val and Ali (the cleaning ladies). I was nervous to ask them about anything, but true to my nature and inability to keep my mouth shut, when I opened the door Tuesday morning, the first thing to come out was, "Oh my gosh! You were on Oprah!" I guess that's one way to broach the subject.
I found out that they are sister-wives. I didn't realize that before. They were both so eager to talk about all of it. Val told me that she had been married in a plural marriage before and it didn't work out and she left that marriage and joined her sister and Ali with their husband. Pretty interesting to have a kind of divorce situation in polygamy - not something you'd ever hear about.
They talked about how hard it can be for parents to seek medical help when their kids are sick or hurt. When they go to the hospital and administrators see the polygamist name, the immediately call CPS to do an 'investigation'. Kids are removed from the homes while they 'investigate'. (Understand that I lived in fear of CPS from my boys both falling off bar stools within weeks of each other last summer.)
Ali told me that she had a five-month old daughter die from a heart condition. Two weeks after they had to bury their daughter, CPS showed up to 'investigate'. She was terrified of them taking her kids away from her. They didn't end up taking them, but she was living with that fear and trying to cope with the death of a child.
Both Ali and Val love their lives. I know they are great mothers. They do make a good point that with all the alternative life-styles out there, this is what they have chosen for themselves. They are not followers of Warren Jeffs. They believe in prosecuting child abusers. Both of them are great examples to their children (and others) of standing up for your beliefs.
I am not a polygamist. I don't want my blog to turn into a plight for something that I am not. I just believe in standing up for my friends. When they told me that there are people out there who throw rocks at their kids and devote their lives to tearing them down, I was furious. This is America, where we have religious freedom. Be nice to others!

Ellsbury pie anybody??

Ellsbury pie anybody? (Suzanne, you are the only one who knows what the heck I'm talking about!) The Sox won the world series last night. I have a big crush on Ellsbury! It was a big night at our house! Can you all do me a favor and visit Eric's blog and post comments?? http://thecommishreport.blogspot.com
Thank you! He's complaining that nobody reads his blog....Oh geez.

My new lean, green machine

The fabulously romantic affair that I've been carrying on for the last 16 months has been fizzling out over the last few weeks and came to an abrupt end today. It was love at first sight back in July 2006, when my dad gave me an iPod Nano for my birthday. Nano was my best buddy. A few weeks ago, I was seven miles into a sixteen mile run when his little battery just couldn't go on. I need music to run! I was angry, sad and mostly, depressed. I tried resuscitation for a couple of weeks and decided to get a new battery for him today. Off to the Apple store I went.

I felt like a cheating girlfriend when I started to eye the new Nanos at the Apple store. The new ones have 8GB and can play video! And they come in cool colors! "Oh Nano, my man, I'm so sorry... You've been replaced by a newer, slimmer, greener little guy. Farewell my friend."

I got over the initial sadness at the loss of my old-time running buddy in a hurry. My cheeks hurt from smiling. I've been grinning like an idiot all the way home! With my new iPod, I can download movies and tv shows and play them on my tv!!! (Just try and tell me that wouldn't make you grin like an idiot!) I'm in the process of downloading season 1 of Friday Night Lights so that I can start watching tonight.



**********

Yesterday I had a conversation that I would be willing to bet none of you have ever had. My neighbor, Julie, called me.

Julie: "Does your cleaning lady have blond hair?"

Me: "Yes."

Julie: "What's her name?"

Me: "Valerie. Why? Do you know her?"

Julie: "She's on Oprah right now."

Yes, that would be my cleaning lady on Oprah yesterday talking about her plural marriage. (I learned that 'plural marriage' is the politically correct term for polygamists.) She made several good points about it being an alternative lifestyle. I also learned that she's not a Warren Jeffs follower (I've been curious, but never dared to ask). I'm interested to hear if ya'll saw it - what did you think? And if you have it Tivo'd, go watch it! Tell me what you think.

I'm not sure if any of you realize the stress that has been in our home lately. The constant roller coaster of emotion for a last couple of weeks has been nearly unbearable. The heartache, elation, nerves and now the waiting.... I haven't gotten the clearance from Eric to talk about it publicly yet. You know, talking about things that still have yet to pan out is bad karma. Or a curse. Especially when we're talking about the beloved Red Sox. Keep us in your prayers.

Sharpie

Note to Cameron: Next time you want to blame someone else for writing on your bedroom wall with a Sharpie, don't sign your name!

Early morning orange

I've been up since 4 this morning. We're supposedly going running at 7. It's snowing. I don't want to go back to sleep. I did this fun thing from Laurie's (not me - a different one) blog.

You are Apricot

Soft and sweet, over time you let your provocative nature shine through.You are definitely unconventional, but you don't broadcast it.You offer people a fresh perspective on life - so fresh that it can be shocking!

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolororangeareyouquiz/"
What Color Orange Are You?

Five year-old fashion

Aren't those the cutest, dang jeans you've ever seen on a five year-old? (Yes, I do realize she's striking a pose.) So tell me, why do I go to all the trouble of buying her designer jeans when she insists on wearing her High School Musical 2 t-shirt? Remember the days when I swore my kids would never wear character clothes?

Thanks a lot Lizzy!

Diary of a birthday

The birthday girl was so excited for her big day that she couldn't sleep at all the night before. She was more than a little dazed.

Eric loves birthdays. We always have to decorate the whole house for the big day. A couple of years ago, Eric was in decorating mode while I was out getting balloons for Cam's b-day. I got home to find that he'd taped all the cute princess paper plates to the wall thinking they were just decoration. I thought it was funny that he didn't recognize a plate when he saw one - like anyone would tape a plate to a wall.... It is now tradition. We buy paper plates of whatever is the favorite thing of the moment. We had High School Musical 2 and princess plates all over the place.

We had a breakfast party, complete with Popeye pancakes and a few presents. Cameron got a bunch of the High School Musical dolls, Ponyvilles and a CD player with microphones.

And a Tinkerbell dress up.

I totally forgot to get pictures of Cameron with any of her grandparents, but I got a few cute ones of some friends.

This is Lizzy, Cam and Duncan.

After all the chaos, Luke and Adam thought they's sneak some cake.