The Darndest Things Happen at 2 am

Like posing for a picture with no make up on between these two hotties... We officially inaugurated the menfolk into Wegman's club when they stayed up to an unkind hour with us. Look for purple undereye circles in the next set of pix...

Fear and (Self-)Loathing in Dallas Texas

Not that I ever saw the Fear and Loathing movie, but the title always stuck with me...and for good reason after watching my scale climb. More on that later.

While I contemplated a lovely Christmas letter, I realized that it would only capture the highlights that I've already posted this year. So: Merry Christmas. And then there's the loathing post title overshadowing all that's merry right now...

While I have been (way over-) indulging in the spirit (read: carbs and fat) of the season, I've watched the scale go up and up and up. I have worked way too hard for this to just 'happen' (such the victim, right?). I contemplated where exactly my self-control may have been misplaced...perhaps somewhere between my fondness for my homemade artichoke dip or my weakness for any chocolatey candy that comes in a wrapper. Not very bougie; I'm a cheap date. Not even a steady stream of visits to the gym has compensated for the massive increase in junk or newly discoverd love of Elke's http://elkesmarkecafe.com. So, I'm feeling a bit like Adam Sandler's character when he discovers his 'tongue'.

I'm Straight (and so is My Hair)

I FINALLY DID SOMETHING WITH MY HAIR! Granted, I didn't cut it off or anything creative (see former blog with hairstyle poll), but I got it STRAIGHTENED! It's a step in the right direction! Here's the proof! Notice the lack of CURL (and the super cute orange zebra stripe cardi that should be under the Christmas tree marked "Merry Christmas to me")!

ANYWAY...

Guess who is coming to town? The Hendricks and the VanDerWerkens! There will be a convergence of former Virginians at our house over New Year's! Jodie and Steve are coming down for the Air Force game, and I think that Angela is responding to the invitation I sent her last week for my pity party. Any other takers?!

Also, based on poll results, some were wondering what 'Smart Discipline' is all about. I'm no expert, but from what I've read, the author encourages boundaries/rules, privileges, revocation of priveleges, and the healthy nurturing of children's self-esteem. Sounds like a lot of other parenting books? I wouldn't know because I rarely finish any: they usually bore me to death or make me feel so guilty about what I'm doing wrong that I don't want to read anymore. Not so with this book. I read it over a couple of days (and laughed as I did so) and am currently implementing with Lucy and Mackey. Calvin has the funny misfortune of standing in the corner for his 'offenses': standing on the counter, barstool, table, or other object over 3 feet tall and hitting. I should get a picture of that...it's hilarious. The corner, not the hitting. I've really liked that the author supplies some 'dialogue', behavioral lists, sample privelege lists, and valuable self-esteem building formulas to help get started. Implementation really is 'turn key'. So far, with Lucy and Mackey, I've seen improved response time to requests, chores getting done without reminding (after initial daily decree), increased unsolicited help (Mackey), and less complaining (Lucy). They also catch themselves more often before they start fighting. Downsides: I foolishly picked a couple of rules that were a little too much to start with, and I'm having a hard time prioritizing priveleges. I've hated seeing them suffer over the consequences of their negative decisions, but hopefully they'll learn to make better choices over time. Rightly so, the author is huge into not giving second chances or letting kids 'earn back' lost priveleges. Anyway, I give it a thumbs up - I've learned a lot.

Hitting Stuff in Style

Do you ever just have a bad...driving day? I, who pride myself on being far more attentive at the wheel than my husband, had a bad driving day today. And for clarification purposes, the reason I drive everywhere is this: Jon was driving my mom and I somewhere in DC Beltway traffic when I was like 9 months pregnant. I'm yappin' with my mom when I turn to face front and get an eyeful of bumper coming at us pretty quickly. I "rouse Jon from his slumber" in time for him to hit the brakes. So, I'm a bit of a control freak in a car. Or we might just say he's narcoleptic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcolepsy, but then Jon said he'd use that line in church.

I can actually say that I hit stuff (yes, in the plural) today with my car. And not in my "I want a Hummer with concrete bumpers so I can hit stuff" or 'towanda' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101921/quotes kind of way. More in an "oooops! Was that a boulder?" and "huh, I didn't think that the car had the turning radius to hit the fence" kind of way. (And, off the record, and I can write this cuz my husband never reads this blog, I drove over two curbs to boot! Today!) Seriously. And this is how I know my husband loves me (or still can tolerate me): he just laughed, asked the kids if mommy's license should be revoked, and apologized to the car for the abuse she was suffering at my hands. To the tune of a scratch and dent and possible damage to transmission and muffler. I haven't had the time to check out these minor details yet...

Just to complete my moronification? I couldn't even drive the stupid cart in Lowe's today. We took down a small display of tile. Who does that? It was okay, though, cuz the guy who helped clear a...wider path?...for us had told me minutes before that he "liked my style". It's the hats; I don't leave home without one.

Or maybe he meant my parenting style? Ok, ok, catch your breath; I was only kidding. But we are 'T minus 2" and counting on trying out the Smart Discipline approach http://smartdiscipline.com/. Wish us the best.

Happy (or Sappy) Christmas

I will occasionally wax philosophic or political...depending on how often I get to the gym to watch the news. On this occasion of occasions, I would LOVE to share a letter that my brother wrote (for the congregation at church) for Christmas. Being the punk sister that I am, I would love to take credit for the insight and genius, but then I'd have to own all those grammatical errors, too. I just don't think the A/R - OCD part of me could do it...

The Sacrament of His Birth:
As the season of Christmas draws nearer we cannot help having it enter into our lives. Too often it makes its first appearance in the stores right next to the Halloween displays. I recall standing in Wal-Mart a month or so ago staring at a Jack-O-Lantern display collapsed against a display of Santa, and a heaviness seemed to rest upon me as I looked and could not find the Christ child.
Several weeks later as I settled into my car to drive to work the radio began to play my favorite Christmas Hymn, “Oh Holy Night,” and tears filled my eyes as the sweet spirit of the Christmas season seemed to rush in. On that short drive to work I reflected upon the power and impact music and song has upon each of us, especially during the Christmas season.
Profiteers and the politically correct can do all that they may to corrupt or take away every righteous tradition surrounding the concept and celebration of Christ’s birth. However, I believe it is music and song that does and will endure, lingering, remaining the constant, finding its way through an increasingly twisted society to rehearse and play it’s familiar melodies in our minds and in our hearts bringing us home and to our knees filling our hearts with gratitude.
What is it about music and song that fills our hearts so full of emotion? Is it the sound of the piano or other instruments with their cadence and beat; or could it be the words and meaning found in song; the voices in harmony? I don’t know the answer to these questions. But my heart tells me that we have all sung such songs with great passion and a full heart in a distant place prior to birth. So cherished are these veiled memories of celebration and praise that our hearts are quick to remember them; the familiar feelings of our heavenly home.
Which of us sang with the multitude of heavenly angels at our Saviors birth? Who of us witnessed that great and holy day? Perhaps we all did. Yes, I would like to think so. I would like to believe we were all there as witnesses and partakers of that holy event. It seems to be music and song that plays a critical part in holding dear in our hearts our Saviors birth and what it represents; “a thrill of hope,” a “law of love,” a “time foretold.” “And in His name all oppression shall cease,” and it was and is “light and life to all He brings.” For a “wondrous gift is given,” the “Son of God, love’s pure light,” “now in flesh appearing.” Echoing forward from that day is “a new and glorious morn,” “with the dawn of redeeming grace.” And to all He becomes joy; yes, “joy to [and for] the world.”
Our Savior was born, as all babies are, pure and innocent. But as a grown man He was laid upon the cross as a babe in the manger, pure and as innocent as He came, a sacrifice, a lamb, an offering for our sins. With no more clothing then when he entered this world he left. Do we not celebrate his birth for the life, teachings, sufferings and sacrifices that were His to offer?
Does not the spirit whisper to each of us the year through, bidding us to remember and to renew each week? As we rally around the sacrament table in music, song and prayer, that moment becomes more than a time of recommitting and affirming ones allegiance but a celebration; not only of His conquest over death and sin but of His birth as well. Just as a child so easily finds a way into our hearts, so may our hearts and minds be more opened to the Christ Child through what He represents; not only during this time of the year but always, as we are found weekly to be partakers of His life and His offering. We are all indebted to our Lord Jesus Christ for His willingness to come and take upon Himself flesh and be as man, almost. He is the Christ child; He is and can be found in our hearts though the Sacrament of His birth, keeping the spirit of Christmas with us throughout the year; if we will only embrace Him each week as the Christ Child as well as the Redeemer of Men. In His most sacred name, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Antonio Antonelli - November 2007

"Mom, My Bathroom Doesn't Smell Like a Urinal Anymore"

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh...what mother wouldn't long to hear the words: "Mom! My bathroom doesn't smell like a urinal anymore!" Which is actually a better statement than what I THOUGHT he said at first: "Mom! My bathroom doesn't smell like your 'a' anymore!" And if that was the case, the daddy, obviously, was going to have a 'talking-to'. Saturday is a major cleaning day (if you're under 5 feet tall) in our house. If you're over 5 feet tall, that'd be Everyday...but that's neither here nor there. And Mackey is 'responsible' for 'cleaning' his bathroom. I try to limit my ventures in there, and when I have to go in, I try to keep my mouth shut about the smell. But on Friday...I usually can't help 'remark' on the 'condition' and caustic odor...with perhaps a comparison to public toilets or outhouses or Chernobyl. Ergo, his comment.

Evolution of Dance

This cracked me up!

Midnight Madness and Gratitude

Yes, it's 3 am, and I want EVERYONE to know what in the world I'm doing up so late... I just got back from the outlet mall up the street! They opened at 12:01 am on Black Friday, and it was a nut house! Unlike anything I've ever seen. Everyone told me about how Dallas loves her shopping - well OHMYGOSH! Families milling around...at 3 am. Crazy. I thought I was the only nutjob!

And onto the things that I am grateful for (besides easy access to an all-night shopping frenzy):

1. Health insurance: Calvin has picked up a new sport, and it's called chair-diving.

2. Place mats: Mackey, apparently, doesn't love my sweet potatoe casserole (which is killer - he's got 'issues'), and he proceeded to VOMIT the contents of his stomach onto said placemat during Thanksgiving dinner - protecting most of my new table.

3. Jon: He's got grit because before my not-so-mommy-like gag reflex could even kick in, Jon was over there cleaning up what had so uncerimoniously missed the aforementioned placemat.

4. Dickey's BBQ: They did a great job preparing the ham that we ate instead of turkey, thus maintaining my 14 year streak of NEVER having prepared a turkey at Thanksgiving...or ever for that matter.

5. Diet Dr. Pepper: Without which, most of the above wouldn't have been possible or bearable, and it is sooooo much better than Diet Coke.

6. Chiropractors: Without whom, again, none of the above would have been possible this week.

7. School projects: School projects make me happy! I'm not cleaning up the glue, and I probably wouldn't have come up with a papersack vest on my own.

8. Lifetime Fitness: For being open today - my first day back at the gym since the other, not-so-happy Friday - giving me the illusion of health maintenance during a time of "therapeutic" eating.

9. My wonderful children: If it weren't for them, I wouldn't need the chiropractor, the Diet DP, or many of the other things I'm grateful for. Mostly, though, I'm thankful for their wonderfully unique contributions to our family; their humor; their generosity and kindness towards others; and their flexibility in so many things...particularly because mommy said that she would make them pasta for Thanksgiving, forgot, and got away with popcorn as a substitute.

Another Krispy Kreme Post

ReBecca, I think of (blame) you whenever I eat a do(zen)nut(s). More free food tonight. I feel like a junkie; but is it the AMAZING amount of sugar and deep-fried goodness in those tasty morsels or is it the fun of free food? And it's always the same guy: Keith. Yes, the alliteration is lovely. He recognizes me, which I love and hate, and might as well call me "Norm".

Krispy Kreme Komes (K)through, Divalicious, Calvin's New Babysitter

Ok, so I scored another free dozen donuts. 'Nuff said. No, I didn't eat them ALL by myself. But I'm lovin' that I can still score free food! It's so strangely rewarding for me.

So, the whole thing that set the Friday Night Donut Splurge in motion was Lucy's Girl Scout Diva night last week. She had a great time, and I have the gravity-defying pictures to prove it. As some of you may know, Lucy inherited her mother's (ahem) grace, and she's lucky to have survived the night in those heels without a trip to the ER. And, by the way, NO, I didn't just start dressing my daughter like an underage...well, anyway...those outfits were part of the dress up trunk the lady had there. After she changed back into her regular, age-appropriate clothes, she told me that she didn't like being so immodest. Whew! Hold that thought another 8-9 years...Needless to say, after FIVE hours, I needed a little pick-me-up, and who doesn't need donuts? So, I thought if I was going to JUMP OFF THE SOUTH BEACH WAGON, jump big!

Lastly, I was doing some work on the computer yesterday, and I was having a hard time ignoring the din of Calvin's squawk. When I got up to see what was the matter, this is what I found...Calvin's new babysitter.

Life isn't Always Better at the Beach

Ok, not better at the South Beach, that is http://southbeachdiet.com . So, when Jon drags his foot off the wagon a little, I feel the compulsion not to simply "fall off the wagon" but to jump off head first into a sea of Krispy Kremes. And you know what? I hate when companies change the spelling of things - thinking they're clever. Spell one thing different for the sake of visual alliteration. Ok. But butcher two things for the heck of it? UGH. But it's ok, KK, you still have my business.

Confessions

I have a dirty secret...I don't think anyone else I know does this...but I let my kids, ok, just Mackey, dress himself. Unless you've spent time around him, you couldn't possibly get his flair for drama (total Fisher trait, right?). It's just not the battle I'm going down for. And if I weren't such a techno peasant (new phrase totally ripped off from Amy Foulger!), I'd figure out how to scan Mackey's preschool picture. Wouldn't you know - it's the best picture that cute little boy has ever taken - and he's wearing a t-shirt with a tie painted on with his mis-matched camo shorts. When my husband saw the pix, he was mortified. I giggled. I'm reminded of my friend Jenn Mangum's comments one time about a less than perfect school picture a child of hers got back; she said that it captured his essence during that time of his life. So, Jason, since my husband won't get around to helping me on this, would you please walk me through "Scanning: 101"? Or anyone else for that matter?

On a different note, this is what my kids look like when IIIIIIIII dress them...

Ok, I'm in total responsibility avoidance mode...I have a mountain of paperwork to do, and I wrote this random post instead.

Crazy Eyes, Jerry Seinfeld, and Poor Me

These were just funny pictures. When ReBecca came to visit, she brought funny glasses for the kids to sport. They were a huge hit! And as a worthy side note, ReBecca has a GREAT picture of her grandmother wearing them.

Also noteworthy - my most recent reason for having to scoot out of a restaurant in a hurry? No, not because Calvin was crying, but because he was doing a GREAT Jerry Seinfeld impression from the belly that says "heeeeellllloooooooooooo" episode aka The Voice Episode http://www.tv.com/seinfeld/the-voice/episode/2398/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;157. Loud but good. He does it whenever he is feeling ignored or wants a laugh. He's a total character. Calvin, not Jerry. Although, he's funny, too. Jerry, not Calvin. Has anyone seen the Bee Movie?

Yeah, so I'm writing in the middle of the day because I'm all laid up in bed. Trying to do Day 1 of the South Beach diet to boot. Yes, I would like some cheese with my whine. I hurt my back on Friday, and I'm not healing like some mythical mommy creature. Huge slant on mythical creatures lately thanks to a book called The Lightening Theif http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lightning_Thief. Fun way to introduce Greek/Roman mythology to kids, but beware if "idiot", "stupid", and "dumb" are no-nos in your reading. I digress...but I can right? CUZ I'VE GOT NOTHING BETTER TO DO! I'M STUCK IN BED!

Thank GOODNESS my husband has been around this weekend and is taking great care of me and the family. He is SOOO THAT guy. Which is funny, because we're both youngest kids in our families. (You KNOW how I love birth order studies...http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1672715,00.html). I'm the stereotype, and my husband is uber-responsible and considerate. Hmm...happy sigh. Oh. Oh, yeah...violin in background...poor me.

MMMMMMMMMMM...Donuts

(Think Homer Simpson...donuts...) A quick shout out to Krispy Kreme...for giving me a free dozen donuts. I think that people can smell the glucose on my skin or sense how excited I get about food. Seriously? I have not met ANYONE who gets as excited (singing, dancing, giddy) about food as I do. Ok, possibly Dawn and ReBecca, my fellow foodies. But I've never seen one of them dance in their seats... I love to be fed. Either way, I scored a free dozen donuts! I haven't done that since BYU!!! Wahoo!!!!

Big Diva, Lemonade, and a One-Eighty

As I prepare for a Girl Scout Diva Night tonight, I'm reminded that I have been an absolute diva myself...and not in the best way http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diva. So, if I use my blog to vent my frustrations (which will usually be about public education - anyone who has known me for any length of time knows this is always a hot point for me), I will use my blog to admit when I am wrong or particularly, if my frustrations are ill-placed.

**Sigh**

My child was not "left behind" as previously referenced in another post because of a particular class. I think I was just grumpy. Very grumpy. I will never love how public education has difficulty addressing multiple skill levels in one classroom. But that's not TX; that's the US. Anyway, suffice it say, we are making lemonade out of lemons, and it tastes great. Begrudgingly I will admit that more than academics can be taught at school, and public education doesn't have to break a child's individuality (not always, at least). What?! It's my inner hippie!

Lucy's teacher really adores her, gives her lattitude to spread her wings, and provides her opportunities to develop goodness and character. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, (ok, who am I kidding? I don't think I have any 'gentlmen' readers! Wait, Jason, do you still check in?) this would be a 180 degree turn about.

Never in a Million Years

I never thought that I would be singing the accolades of any French politico. Ever. Meet Nicolas Sarkozy. My friend Jessica told me about the Laura Ingraham show http://lauraingraham.com/ (yipee! Another talk radio show to stalk since I don't have Chris Corr http://www.wmal.com/sectional.asp?ID=18474 anymore!) and she played soundbytes from yesterday's visit from French President Sarkozy. I found bits and pieces of his speech, none of which do the full speech justice, but it was moving. Thought I'd share: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071107/ts_afp/usfrancepolitics_071107192856. What I found particularly stirring was the reference to American veterans who died liberating France. Especially as we are at war...so I thought that I'd pass this along, too. My very good friend, Valerie, is married to a WWII vet; so she has particular insight as to how we can be kind to our troops. Here's an attachment of what she recently sent me:
A Great Idea!!!
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, Please include the following:

A Recovering American soldier
C/O Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

I'm THAT Mom

So, I stink at cameras. This was made ABUNDANTLY clear to me over the past week (imagine the cartoon harps playing to signify 'the flashback' sequence)...

Imagine, if you will, that your friend has flown to see you, Halloween's coming, there's a lot going on, etc. One of those things would be Mackey's Halloween parade at his rockin' preschool. So, he's all dressed up, I take pix before we leave AND video! We get to school, they parade, and cameras are flashing like paparazzi around...well...a certain indiscreet starlet. The class goes back to the classroom to pose for a class picture. More parental paparazzi. And then, Mackey looks at me and asks, rather loudly (of course): "Hey, mom, where's your camera? Why didn't you bring your camera?" Um, yeah, no Mother of the Year Awards here. My response? "Um, heh, um, uh, I took all your pictures before we got here! With video!" I felt terrible - what a witch, right? - poor middle kid! I should have thrown Jon under the bus (since he was there, too) and said, "Ugh! That was dad's job!"

Further evidence of my general suckiness with a camera? Said friend to visit? Wanna see the ONLY picture I got to document her visit? Yeah, that's ReBecca BEHIND the skivvies-only candy-sorter, Mackey.

Bad picture-taking aside, Halloween was fine. Lucy was a witch, in spite of my near begging her to be Princess Leah. Calvin was Yoda because we can still boss him around. And with his litle wobble-walk, he was perfect. He was the perfect candy con, too. When he finally figured what was going on, he'd mosey up to the door and stand there with his hand out. People would give him candy, and since 'thank you' is one of his words, they'd just keep giving him more and more.

It was funny, though; we wound up walking quite far away to trick or treat because we only have one neighbor on our street!

Just Say No to Nicole (and That Really Cool Guy from Casino Royale)

I felt morally obligated to post this; so instead of cluttering your inboxes, I posted in hopes that your inner activists would take notice...and peacefully protest. Which is usually how I refer to my children in full riot mode, but that's another story... The following is from a dear friend. I checked out the snopes link and hope that you do, too. I think that religious moderates, like myself, get lost in political positioning because we don't support blowing up clinics http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_viol.htm nor do we support violent anti-anything demonstrations . Hopefully, a financial protest from quiet masses will discontinue the making of such movies. I know, it's weird getting so political on my blog, huh. Had I not checkked this out, I probably would've thought it looked interesting.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
There will be a new Children's movie out in December called THE GOLDEN COMPASS. It is written by Phillip Pullman, a proud atheist who belongs to secular humanist societies. He hates C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and has written a trilogy to show the other side. The movie has been dumbed down to fool kids and their parents in the hope that they will buy his trilogy where in the end, the children kill God and everyone can do as they please.Nicole Kidman stars in the movie so it will probably be advertised a lot.This is just a friendly warning that you probably won't hear on regular tv.

Knife Wielding and Girl Scouts

I promised you a knife-wielding Calvin... My boys and knives seems to be a common theme. Hmmm...I hope that this doesn't become a problem...Future incarceration concerns aside...
So, here's the kids carving pumpkins!
Also, Lucy attended her first Brownie meeting today. Oh, what fun! She had a wonderful time! And, so did I. The other moms are great, Mackey's friend from preschool was there, and it was nice enough for all of them to run around outside. Calvin even had a good time mooching snacks from the girls and scavenging discarded M&Ms off the ground. We all have to be good at something. I was happy to have another mom there who had at least 3 kids and understood that the way the third is raised is quite different from the way the first and even second are raised.

What Makes My Brother (and his family) Cool

This is my brother and his family for Halloween. Every year, they pick a theme and take it to the nines. I love it! I can't manage to wear orange and black on the same day, let alone don a wicked cool costume. For you youngins that read this, they're the Adams Family...

The Kindness of (Relative) Strangers

I've been sitting on this one for a while because I wanted to do it justice...

There is this lovely woman, Lori, that I'd met through Mackey's preschool http://http//fumc-allentx.org/ChildrenEd/Playday.html. Her son and Mackey are in the same class and get along famously. Several weeks ago, I was chatting in the hallway (me, chatting?) with another mom when Lori overheard me talking about my daughter Lucy at Norton Elementary. Yada yada yada, we figured out that it was the same Lucy that her daughter had (pleasantly) told her about from school. Over the next few weeks, we chat from time to time and talk about getting the kids together to play. How nice, right? It gets better. Fast forward a couple of weeks, and recall that aside from all of the good things happening down here in TX, there have also been a few challenges. Without going into the gory details, suffice it to say that Lucy's 2nd grade class is definitely, definitely not a good fit for her. Poor Lori happened to ask me, after a horrible couple of days with Lucy's class, how Lucy was adjusting. She got more than she bargained for (also recall how my shut up button doesn't always work). The long and the short of the sitch is that she gave me some great ideas for working things out at school and TOTALLY hooked Lucy up in her daughter's Girl Scout troop that had been full. All in the most helpful, genuine way.

It has made all the difference in the world. Lucy actually has something to look forward to and the opportunity to meet other good little girls that go to her school. One of the things that makes this particularly interesting is that Lucy was going to join another GS troop where none of the girls went to her school, and I would have felt obligated to be a co-leader. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I just didn't feel right about it. In fact, I was getting ready to call my friend, Kory, to ask her about Achievement Days (church program for 8-11 year old girls) and Girl Scouts when a woman from church called me. We wound up discussing GS, and it really solidified my decision to stay away from the original troop. Truly, where a door shuts, a window opens!

Uh, I Think I Know What I Believe, Thank You

Poor you guys, my 6 readers. You will get the brunt of rant and rave about a dicey article I heard about tonight. It was about a prominent minister in the Dallas area calling Mormons out as not being Christian in general and presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, specifically. I know. I was warned that some people, surely not many though!, haven't quite embraced the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) as Christian down here in the Bible belt. It still baffles me though. Baffles me. LOOK AT THE NAME OF THE CHURCH. Anyway, enjoy this link (and yes, I'm using the word enjoy quite sarcastically - think Dr. Cox on Scrubs): http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/101807dnnatromney.340675e.html. Now, let's say after reading that article, you might wonder what on earth I do believe that would cause such a stir? Here's a link that I sincerely hope you enjoy (and I'm being sincere - think Snow White or Cinderella): http://mormon.org.
Ok, back to our regular programming...which will include uploads of Calvin wielding a knife.

Soundtrack of our Lives or Torture Device

This past Saturday saw our little Fisher clan at the not-so-local library. It was pleasant enough until Calvin had to be carried off the library lawn like a not-so-peaceful protestor. Like when you see pictures of rallies during the mid '60s when the police have to carry a protestor out with an officer on each side - each carrying an arm and a leg? Just close your eyes a moment and imagine my 7 year old and I with Calvin between us.
As you can imagine, it takes some effort to get the crew in the car. And that is when the soundtrack of our lives pushed PLAY...
Lucy: "Does anyone want to hear the story I made up? We can pretend that I'm like the book on CD that mom isn't letting us listen to right now because she thinks it making me sassy. Anyone want to hear me? Huh? Huh? I can read the whole way home?" (for a really long time)
AND...
Calvin (still a little bitter about his carseat confinement after the protest): "WAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" (for a really long time)
AND...
Mackey: "My SHOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS aren't TIIIIIIGHTTTT enough! MooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooommmmmm-uh!" (for a really long time)
Jon just looks at me - shock, horror, and dismay evident on his handsome features - and says: "What is this? If they had this noise in Guantanamo, those terrorists would crack in a minute! I would! I'd tell them whatever they wanted to know!"
Rachael - barely registering the noise he is talking about: "Honey, honey...this is just the soundtrack to our lives..."

The Virginians are Coming! The Virginians are Coming!

Two of my most wonderful friends are coming to visit me in Texas!!! Here's the funny thing: they made their plans independently, and they planned their trips so that one leaves the same day the other arrives! Isn't that funny? I couldn't be more thrilled!

Um, No Child Left Behind?

Irony always pleases me. I don't know why, but I love finding it in various situations...except this one. Here is a link to an article about the school Lucy is attending from which I am considering her withdrawl for homeschool. http://www.allenisd.org/aisdweb.nsf/Content/NR100307?OpenDocument

Suburban Refugees 2

This is how we've been living...on the outside, it looks like we're livin' large...on the inside, refugees in suburbia.

A cardboard box served for a kitchen table for 2 weeks...and it served us well. For instance: I can't even tell you how many times I sang the song of (enter violins): "I have three little, little kids and we haven't had (FILL IN THE BLANK) for a couple of weeks now. I'm sure I don't need to tell YOU how crazy this all is...We're using a moving box as a kitchen table! Is there anything you can do to help us out?" I got my fridge installed for free; my washer and dryer installed for free; free shipping from several of my favorite online retailers; my phone, tv, and internet rushed. People would see that cardboard box (or I would tell them about it) and just have PITY on us. There's the closet...anyone who knows me knows that I'm a girl that likes to arrange her closet by color and sleeve length with matching hangers...thank you very much. This was...ugh! Messin' with my mojo!

Oh...that picture of Calvin's naked booty? Who doesn't enjoy seeing dimples on someone else's behiney??? Did I mention that he's walking...scratch that...running (like a drunken sailor)?

If I can figure out how they do the virtual tours for real estate, I'll try that for the new house. Just keep in mind the beige warning!