thunder dip.

Diet Dr. Thunder and Fun Dip is a deadly combination. Especially, for a soon-to-be 2-year-old.

Thank you, Mrs. Lewis.

Bad. Good.

image from alphadogwalkingservice.com

I picked up dog poop today.

I hate that job, but I love my pups.

But, I still hate that job.

It could have very well ruined my day.

But then,

I got my license renewed, and the picture turned out pretty good.

So, it is hard to let a little dog poop bring me down.

Plus, the weather was awesome today, and the kids got to play outside.

And,

it's Jake's 32nd birthday!

Lasagna and chocolate cake with raspberry sauce.

Yum!

image from smeatherscakes.com

Happy Birthday, good man!

I love you!

Toodles!

Tutu fabulous.

I love etsy, but sometimes the things that I like I am determined to make myself. It is self-gratifying and easier on the pocket book.

Lil' Ro's birthday party is Saturday morning at Build-a-Bear Workshop, and I wanted her to look like an urban princess. I am pleased with the results. Rosie thinks that the Tutu Fairies have bestowed one of their greatest gifts onto her. It's a win, win.

Now, I just have to finish the applique.

I was pretty confident that I knew how to assemble the tutu, but I did lean on the detailed instructions from DesignMom.com, here, just to be sure. So, I hope you enjoy, and I will post pics of Betsy's digs when they're finished. She has to look glam, too.

Happy tutu making!

My honesty philosophy.

I am not an idiot. Really. I know that, all too often, honest people are thought of as abrasive or bit*#y people. I, however, respect and admire honest individuals. There is integrity attached to honesty. I am honest. I am not truthful to the point of meanness or insults. I would not come out and tell you that your outfit is ugly or that you slurp soup like a cow, but I do tell the truth when asked, or if you have a piece of spinach in your teeth or your skirt is tucked into the back of your underpants. I do not bother myself with people that I don't click with. Life is, certainly, too short. (For what it's worth, I don't think I've ever HATED anyone in my whole life.)

However, I am always cordial and have no problem with being in social situations with people I do not, particularly, care for. First and foremost, it is polite. It is the classy thing to do. I was raised right. AND, I have never read a rule or law written that says we all have to be best friends. Furthermore, I would not want someone who didn't have fond feelings for me to force themselves to like me. Just as there are people I don't mesh with, I am certain, without a doubt, that there are people who find me off putting. That is life. I am okay with that.

Ignoring the truth doesn't make it any LESS true. Pretending there are no unpleasantries in the world does not make them go away. In fact, I think the opposite. When no one practices honesty, to simply declare the truth out loud, I think the truth festers and becomes infectious in a disastrous way. Cataclysmic. Explosive. Damaging. Additionally, what appears to be a truth for one person, is not the same truth for another. Isn't it Philosophy 101 that says there are no absolute truths (unchanging in all times and places)? As a Catholic, I disagree, but we are talking philosophy here. This is where honesty is vital. Airing out the dirty business. More often than not, a simple exchange of personal truths clears the air.

But...
some people continue to avoid. Avoiders are in constant mistrust of others, paranoid that they are disliked, they need to be certain that they will be accepted in order to join in social activities, they are hypersensitive to criticism or rejection, they have problems in occupational settings, and live in a fixed fantasy. Avoiders like to be enabled, so they feel safe and loved.Hey, if you don't believe me, go here. Avoidance is usually a disguise for underlying problems, but that is a topic for another day and time. Sadly, I think avoiders of honesty, of unpleasantness, miss out on a true life experience. They are setting themselves up for more disappointment than necessary.

And, believe you me, disappointment happens. Honest.

PS I am thinking about teaching philosophy or psychology, what do you think?

Paging Dr. Grebe, Dr. Grebe...

Nancy...

...for you!

Hope you like it! There is definitely more where this came from!

Buh-bye, all!

Orange ya happy?

It must have been awhile since I have given the girls an orange, because you would have thought I served them 17 chocolate bars on a platter for lunch, instead of PBJs and goldfish crackers with a side of orange slices. WOWZA! The sheer joy that a piece fruit can bring!

It's the simple things.

Peace Out!

Blast from the past.

My babies, circa July 2007.

I am one lucky girl.

TGIF!

a couple things...

I found the blog of my dreams. The whole reason I started this craziness in the first place. You can find it here. It's a place full of other mommies who know just what I feel like some days. The trials, the rewards. It is won-der-ful. I have also been asked by its creator, Tara, (read about her little princess, Chloe, here) to share Betsy's story. I am not sure when it will be posted, but add the link to your favorites and keep an eye out. Yea!

I 'heart' bloggers!

Reminder to myself & promise to my lil' happy girl.

Imagine, for a moment, that the only way you could communicate was using a machine or simple signs. Now, imagine that you had trouble controlling your fine motor movements. That means that even though you may know what button you want/need to push or what sign you would like to show, you sometimes can't because your darn brain has difficulty sending the message to those hands. Stupid brain. Right? Well, that's what our sweet, little Betsy deals with every day of her life.

Now, that she is 4 1/2, and becoming quite an independent spirit, it is getting more difficult to endure her fits of frustration because it is so hard for her to tell us what she wants to tell us. Difficult for her, difficult for her siblings, difficult for innocent by-standards, difficult for Jake and I. Just difficult. There is a lot of crying, a lot of grabbing, a lot of hitting (herself), a lot of scratching (herself AND us), and a lot of hurt feelings. Not hurt feelings, like, when someone calls you a name or insults you, but hurt feelings, like, you were sucker punched in the core of your being, like, your spirit has been defeated. I feel helpless, sometimes hopeless (I cannot lie), I feel sorry for myself and Jake, but mostly I feel sorry for her.

So, this is my public promise that I will remind myself and my (most often) happy little girl, no matter how frustrated I get, that Betsy is probably
4, 584, 937, 658 times MORE frustrated. And, I just need to COOL IT! And, upon reflection, Betsy is really a genius. Her brain isn't connected to the rest of her, like "normal", yet she has accomplished soooo much. She has to work that much harder to do what is second nature to you or I. So, I'm thinkin' she has like a gagillion times more brain power than we do. I know someday, someway, she will be able to "say" whatever it is she wants.

Thank you, God, for the gift of Betsy Jane!

It's a messy world.

photo from photosbyceline.com

today walking out of Betsy's preschool:

random little boy: (to his mom) Momma? The world is a mess!

random mom: What, honey? Did you just say, "The world is a mess?".

random little boy: Yeah, Momma! The world's is just a mess!

random mom: (chuckling) Oh, well, why is the world a mess?

random little boy: Because it's all dark with clouds and rainy and windy and cold!

~~~

Well, little dude, that's one way to articulate it!

Until the sun is shining again...

Babies and fingernails.

Okay...

so, we all know the name Nadya Suleman, and if you don't, you have been living under a rock. The lady with fourteen children under the age of 7. The woman who collected over $150,000 in disability because of a back injury that was completely debilitating. So, debilitating that she went on to have 6 pregnancies, including twins and octuplets. WOW! Her back must have REALLY hurt after that. The same woman who has no job, no husband or partner with a job, no home, no income, is living off of loans that should be used to pay off her schooling, AND the woman who is collecting disability for 3 of her children AND receiving food stamps, AND, obviously, Medicaid. All the while, seemingly having enough dispensable cash to get a full set of acrylic nails, and, allegedly, lip injections. (Am I the only one who noticed?) That woman shouldn't even be able to purchase Lee Press-Ons, baby.

As a taxpayer, I would like to tell Nadya, "You're welcome!".

Actually, it is not the amount of children she has. I mean, hey, if you can responsibly and reasonably care for the humans you bring into the world, GREAT! Otherwise, cool it! Seriously! I love the Duggars. They have, like, 18 rug rats. Children that are well-adjusted, kind, loving, respectful, etc. Children that are cared for by parents who have an income, a clean, organized home, structure, and discipline.

Then, there is the whole argument about the remaining embryos, and how leaving them in the freezer would have been sinful. And, personally, I couldn't agree more. (Donating them to women who cannot have children of their own seems like a good idea!) HOWEVER, reasonably, they should have never been created in the first place. The whole situation is sad, irresponsible (on many peoples' parts), and wrong on so many levels.

All I can say is, it makes me even more grateful for the life Jake and I have built for our family. I may not get paid for what I do (Jake does, woo-woo), but we both work very hard to have the life we have. We depend on no one, but ourselves, and God willing, we will never have to. Each child was delivered using our insurance (we continue to use our insurance, that Jake works for, for all of our medical care needs), dentist bills are payed for with saved cash because we do not have a dental plan, our food is bought with a debit card, our bills are payed with OUR money from OUR checking account. Mostly, we feel like we are deserving of NOTHING, other than, what we have EARNED through hard work and saving.

Oh well, I'm just going to keep on livin'. The world is full of people like Nadya. We all have rolls to play, I suppose. But, that roll is not for me. I want to be accountable for my life, self-sustaining. You know, so I can get to sleep at night.

PEACE OUT!

Guys and chicken.

I love that guy, up there. ^^^^^^^^^ Go here , here, here, here, here, here, here or here and you will, too.

And, seriously, that is just a speck of that handsome, Irishman's talent. Seriously.

(I'll even include some Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears covers for you pop fans.)

BUT,

I love that guy below, even more. A lot, a lot more.

A lot.

Love you, Jake!

Incidentally, I also love fried chicken. So, that's what we're having for dinner.

Happy Prez Day!

Those darn kids.

Betsy took a cat-nap, or shall we say 'dog-nap', with one of her favorite canines, Teddy. Betsy has a special connection to her puppies. I can't imagine not having doggies around, particularly, for Miss Bets.

My girls are rarely dressed at home. It may sound weird, but they love to run around in their skivvies or even nakie. Friday, when my momma watched the Grebe gals while I was at Pete's Valentine Party at school, was certainly no exception. After I got home, and my mom was leaving, Betsy stood in the doorway waving and holding her baggy 'o snacks until she could no longer see her Grandma's car anymore. Sooo, cute!


This is the little piece of pottery that Jake made for me at school. Aside from it being made by my first born's little hands, it melts my heart because he told me that he chose the colors he did because they matched the house. How cute is that? I know, I know, it's a little twisted that he knows how OCD I am, but it was so touching that he knew just what I would like. That little rascal could have painted it red with purple polka-dots, and I still would have displayed it proudly.


Pete had to fill out a worksheet all about him at school the other day. The last line reads, "One thing I would like to tell you is...". Well, you can read the rest. How funny is that? At least, he is in touch with all aspects of his personality, AND he is honest.

Finally, we come to Rosie. Her new favorite book is the toddler Bible above. The cutest thing ever is that she goes through the book and finds the pictures of Jesus, and says, "Momma, Dee-Zhus!". With the emphasis on the 'zhus'. She even finds the babies in the book and says, "Baby Dee-Zhus". There are no words!



Okay, so, now that I have just wrote the most "Mommy" post ever. I apologize. But sometimes, those darn kids just yank my heartstrings. And, it's my blog, so there.

Ta-ta, for now!

I won, I won, I won.

Well, kind of.
I took 8th place in iheartfaces.com weekly photo contest.
I entered a picture of my cousin (and God-daughter), Lindsey, in the adult category.
Check it out in all it's glory here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

~~~

Believe it or not...St. Valentine was an actual person. Actually, there are several St. Valentines. Read more about them here. After reading up on it, I now am certain that the traditions associated with Valentine's Day were totally contrived. But, it is still fun, especially for the kids. I, myself, do not do the wine, the dining, the flowers, nor do I expect them to be done for me. A card is nice, a hug, maybe a back-rub after the kiddies go to bed (hint, hint). I know that Jake loves and appreciates me by his actions on a daily basis, and because the things he does for me and the kids are done so full of his love that we can all feel it. I couldn't ask for more.

~~~

PS

We both chose cards about

being soul mates!

Creepy, huh?

I'm talkin' Twilight Zone material.

Geez, I love that man!

Happy Heart Day!

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Some of you asked to see my new do, so here ya go!
It's...okay. It's certainly easy.
The downside: all my gray hair popped out, BIG TIME!
Geez, 31 and grays...a lot!
Thanks, Dad. The genes you have passed onto me are very much appreciated.
The common sense, intelligence, and smashing good looks I can handle.
The white hair already sproutin' out, not so much!
Now, if I get those big bushy eyebrows...

ps The flower in my hair I made, but if you would like one that looks much nicer and is made with way more attention to detail, go here. Better yet, if you click on the pink button on the left, you can view many etsy items whose proceeds go directly to 'Cora's Playground'. To learn more about 'Cora's Playground' click here, here, here, here, and here (to name a few).

Go hug your kids or dogs or both!

Forgetting and sharing.

I am fully aware that is not Wednesday. It is Thursday. I also realize I forgot about 'Watcha wearing Wednesday?' I really had three things on yesterday. I spent most of the day in jammies because Miss Betsy is still under the weather. Next, I tried on my bridesmaid dress for my cousin, Mel's, wedding. I had to see if it still fit, ya' know, after the holidays and Super Bowl. All I can say is, "Whew!". It fits like a glove. A tight, custom made-for-you glove. A glove that you cannot bend your fingers in for fear of ripping a seam. That kind of glove. Lovely. I, also, would secretly love to wear my sneaks. But, I don't think that's appropriate. Finally, I wore jeans and a cardi to get my hair cut, but, alas, I did not take a picture. These will have to do.

~~~

Also, below, is the fab birthday present Mrs. Lewis made for me. We saw these on 'whatever' here, originally made by meg ('whatever' is her blog), and Mrs. Lewis thought she would give it a go. I think she did a great job, and I am sure I will be the envy of every customer at the grocery store and Target when I whip that bad boy out full of coupons and my lists. To personalize it a bit, she added a cute picture of us from Saturday night in the little pocket of the notebook. Cute, huh?

See ya!

Funny story.

I have been asking a girl I went to high-school with to be my friend on facebook for about 1-2 weeks, now. However, this said girl had other plans for our facebook future. She kept ignoring my request.

I know, I know. It is difficult to imagine. I am VERY likable. I am VERY generous. I am VERY fun. I am VERY loyal. I am H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S. But, if you read this, you all ready know that. I am THE BEAST. (Did I just write beast? I, totally, meant BEST! Weird how that happened, huh?)

Anywho, I decided to take a stand. I did what any reasonable, adult person would do. I sent her a perfectly private message asking her why she was being so adamant about pretending I didn't exist. I should have just let it go, and, normally I would have, but, for some reason, it was really bothering me. I mean who doesn't accept someone's friend request on facebook. A total stranger? Maybe. Someone you spent years of you educational career with? No! She's friends with many of my friends, and, for the life of me, I cannot understand why she has been giving me the axe.

And then, it happened.

Mrs. Lewis called me to tell me that this girl, let's call her X, updated her status. It said something along the lines of..."X says if someone is ignoring your friend request there's a reason...move on." I mean, honestly. Who does this? I was discreet and contacted her via her inbox and she straight up writes a nasty status concerning the situation.

Now, I am normally NOT someone to take action in situations like these. Normally, I would just, oh, I don't know, "move on" as X put it. But, I am 31, and it is time I start standing up for myself. So, I responded. Again, I did it privately, but, nonetheless, I gave her a piece of my mind. It seems so easy to do over the world wide web, doesn't it?

Here's the problem:

In order to view X's status, Mrs. Lewis had me log into facebook under her name. (We are bestie's, after all.) But, I had two tabs open. One tab was logged into my facebook account, and one was logged into Mrs. Lewises'.

Are you still with me? Because it's going to get confusing.

Under my account, I composed the message, and sent it to Mrs. Lewis, so, she was aware of what I was sending. I clicked to send, and continued to send it to X. But, facebook is stupid lately, and a window popped up saying it was unable to send my message at this time. At this point, I decided to do other things on the computer and give facebook a rest. When I came back, the message was gone. Dang it! So, I went back into Mrs. Lewises' account and just copied the same message I sent to her, and was going to just copy and paste. Uh, hello, I didn't want to type the whole thing over, and besides it was kind of long, and I didn't remember exactly what I wrote. Somewhere in the confusion of tabs, windows, different accounts, copying, and pasting, I sent the message to X, but under Mrs. Lewises' account.

OUCH!

But, we all know, ya' win some, ya' lose some. Mrs. Lewis has forgiven me, I have forgiven myself.

So, the moral of the story is: don't let your friends use your facebook account. Actually, that's not really the moral. Because, I think it's nice when friends have such open and honest relationships. Nothing to hide. No, the REAL moral, is just, be nice. Would it kill anyone to just let the past go? Particularly, if your not even sure why your past has made others so angry. I am a very intuitive, intelligent person, a person who is not afraid of honesty, no matter how painful, and I just can't figure this one out.

Oh, well.

Nighty-night!

I 'heart' faces, adult entry.

This is my cousin, Lindsey. She received a packange of 'silly' gifts on Christmas after a mean game of Rob-Your-Neighbor. I captured this while she was making good use of her 'silly' string, and thought I'd give it a go for the adult category on Iheartfaces.com. The theme this week is 'silly', so, the pictures should be entertaining. Go check them out here.

Bye!

Incredible.

Do you know what this crazy 'sport', shall we call it, is?
It freakin' awesome/unbelievable. That's what it is!
Seriously.
The click-clack the cups make. The speed and precision. For real.
I, for one, think that kids should be able to get college scholarships for such a skill.
It is crazy to watch. Your mind is tricked into thinking your watching in fast forward.
But, you're not. How cool is that?
Watch it here.
My mind was blown, but when it comes to kids, it doesn't take much to amaze me.
Geez, between Guitar Hero & World Sport Stacking, I'm starting to feel like my childhood was severely lacking in certain areas!
Nonetheless, memories were certainly made with our lousy boom boxes and four square tournaments.
Now, there is a sport I could've gotten a full ride on.

Start stackin'!

31.

photo Paul Mutton for Intershot, Ltd.

today is my birthday.
in 31 years, i have:
learned.
taught.
tried.
accomplished.
built.
demolished.
lost.
found.
cried.
laughed.
created.
destroyed.
prettied.
tarnished.
danced.
stood.
mended.
cut.
fallen.
risen.
forged.
severed.
cursed.
praised.
attended.
ignored.
succeeded.
failed.
hated.
loved.

and, God willing, there is much more to add to this list.

Birthdays Rock!

Surpassing all human understanding.

photo by Meg Duerksen of 'Whatever'

That beautiful little girl above is Cora.

I do not personally know her or her family.

But, I know her story, as told by her parents here.

It broke my heart and will break yours too.

Please pray for sweet Cora as she begins

a glorious eternity with Jesus free from all cancer.

And, please be kind enough to extend your prayers

to include her parents and family,

so that they may find some peace.

Until,

they meet her again...

Thanks!

Shorter.

Should I or shouldn't I?

collage of images from aaa-fashion.com

It's a risky move for me to go even shorter than it already is...

'cause I'm in a wedding in 4 weeks. Yikes!

Plus, and this needs to be said, I look nothing like the women above.

But...

it's only hair, after all. It will always grow back, right?

Toodles!