Leighton's New Trick

This is something that Leighton and I can both do! She is very proud!!

WARNING***RANT***WARNING

I see them in carpool line at school-their children are jumping around the back of their minivan.
I see them on the beltline-their five year old is in the front seat.
I see them in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot-their child is simply sitting in their car seat with the large armrest pulled over their head.
I see them in Taco Bell-placing their infant in the carrier and simply walking out and putting them in the car without buckling them in.

In the last week alone, I have seen 4 different sets of children either not properly buckled or not in a car seat at all! THIS INFURIATES ME! Not because I care so much about the law or someone else's child, but because I don't want MY life ruined. Your life, you say!
Think about this. You have all of your children buckled up properly, in car seats. You also wear your seat belt. Then a mother who chooses to NOT buckle up her children crosses your path. Be it her fault or yours, you get in an accident. Her children are seriously hurt, or worse, killed. You have to live with that the REST OF YOUR LIFE!! If her children were in car seats, they would have been fine.

PLEASE PEOPLE!!! BUCKLE UP YOUR CHILDREN PROPERLY!!! It only takes a minute!!!

8 Things

I was tagged by Tia. It is my first tag. I can't decide if I am excited or not.

Here are the rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2)Answer the six "8" items

8 Favorite Shows:
1. Sesame Street
2. Dora the Explorer
3. Miss BG
4. My Friend Rabbit
5. Elliot Moose
6. Maisy
7. Dragon
8. CSI (the others I love because my children will watch them and leave me alone.)


8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Ran the school store.
2. Counted money for the Spring Candy Sale.
3. Cleaned my nasty house from one end to the other with the help of Dee and Leighton and NO help from #3.
4. Finished Animal Farm. (never read it, saw it on the shelf and figured why not?)
5. Talked to my favorite sister (hopefully I made her day a little better. Love you Coree!)
6. Helped Carly with TOO much homework for second grade
7. Watched Steve-O's very painful Lindy Hop.
8. Fought with #3 for at least an hour to GO TO BED!

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Warmer weather (I stole this from Tia)
2. Our trip to Utah.
3. Dee finding a job.
4. Not having to worry that everything I eat or drink affects my child. (NEVER AGAIN)
5. The Easter Bunny's arrival (my kids are so fun!)
6. Leighton starting kindergarten. (at least I am now, probably not when it actually happens)
7. Stepping down as PTO President.
8. Having a clean attic.

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. El Perico
2. Olive Garden (slowly falling out of favor, not so good the last couple of times)
3. Chili's
4. Any pizza joint.
I am not a go out to eat girl. I would much prefer to stay at home, so I can't think of the required 8.

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. Nice body with no work.
2. New furniture throughout my house.
3. Pool
4. Healthy children, always.
5. TONS of money
6. Teleporter for dinner at my mom's.
7. Wonderful job for Dee, that he loves, with great benefits.
8. Perfectly behaved children (it did say wish list)

8 People I Tag:
1. Vanessa
2. Megan
3. Becca- I think she has already done this one.
4. Mary-A nice way to get back into blogging, no?
5. Courtney
6. Coree
7. Jen
8. I think that is all my blogging friends that have not already been tagged.

You have got to love this kid!

I got the new issue of Family Fun in the mail yesterday. Leighton and I were looking through it to find some fun things to do this month. Carly came home from school and immediately picked it up and started thumbing through it as well. She stopped on a page and said "Wow, this is what I want for my birthday!!!" I figured it was some advertisement for Disneyland or a new playground. She brought the magazine to me. There is a section where parents write in and tell their great ideas. One mother had taken empty packages from crackers, milk, fish sticks, etc. She cleaned them out and taped them shut. Her daughter could then 'shop' at the store. There was a picture of her daughter with a toy shopping cart 'shopping' at the bookcase full of 'food'. This is what my child wanted for her birthday. EMPTY PACKAGING!!

I told her that looked like fun, and reminded her that her birthday is not until the end of July. She ran to show Dee. He told her that we don't play with trash and that empty boxes were trash. She was very angry and insisted that she wanted these packages for her birthday. They argued back and forth for a couple of minutes.
Dee saying, "They are trash"
Carly pointing at the magazine countering, "They are not trash. I want them for my birthday."
He finally grabbed the magazine from her and put it up where she couldn't reach it. She crossed her arms across her chest, puffed out a big breath of air and said,

"My birthday is ruined!!!"

Note to my family: I have never told her the 'My Christmas is ruined' story of the daylily stamp for Mom, so she did NOT get it from me.

Another Music Critic

Carly and I were driving down the VERY long driveway from her horseback riding barn. At the bottom of the hill, next to the pond was a goose.....
I stopped and rolled down the window, so Carly could get a closer look. The goose immediately started honking.

Carly: Mom, he's not saying honk, he is saying yuck, yuck.

Me: Why would he say yuck?

Carly: He doesn't like your music!

Sure enough as soon as I turned off the music, he was silent.

Homeward Bound

We have scheduled our trip to Utah. We have not been back to Utah for about 2 years. We will get there on June 16th and come home July 8th. We will be visiting lots of friends and family with a trip camping up Greysriver. The girls are very excited. Dee thinks I can't handle the three girls on the plane by myself. Oh, those of little faith. I AM supermom and I can do anything. He doesn't have to know that the last trip our flight was delayed, the kids were mean and I broke down and had an adult beverage at 10:00 a.m in Skyharbor Airport. I am sure I have matured since then. (I'll wait until noon.)

After a phone call from my mother, I must post that the above comment concerning the consumption of alcoholic beverages while responsible for the care of my two small children was a JOKE, only a JOKE.

We would love to see you all and will try to work as many of you in as possible,

Utah here we come! Thanks, Mom!

Look-a-like or Not?!?

Jensyn has these little curls right above her ears. I think they look like Grandpa Munster's. I tinted her face, so you can really see the resemblance.
Well, What do you think?

Open Wide!

Jensyn LOVES food. If you have, are near, or talk about food she is interested. As I have posted before, she eats a LOT. She opens her mouth incredibly wide to let in as much food as possible.

Just an example of the vast expanse that is her mouth.

It can't get much bigger.

Here is a video of the cave.

I pulled it out!!

I get a call today at work.

Dee: How loose was Carly's tooth?"
Me: Not very.
Dee: Well, she pulled it out.
Me: Really?
Dee: Yep.

This is not the first time she has pulled out a sort of loose tooth. I am not sure why she does it. It is not for the money, she usually ends up giving it to Leighton. Maybe it is just for the attention.

Anyway, here is her toothless grin.

Better picture of the teeth, worse picture of Carly.

Yes, I know her lips need chapstick.

But, Blondes Have More Fun..

Leighton was playing a game online. You can make a person who looks like you. Leighton always chooses the blonde hair. It is nearly white. I told her that she doesn't really have blonde hair and that as she gets older it will darken until it is probably the same color as mine or Dee's. She looked at me with sheer terror. Her eyes began to fill with tears and between sobs she cried "I don't want brown hair!"

I told my sister, Coree, this story and she quickly pointed out -
That's why they have bleach!

Thank goodness for Leighton!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

The girls were very excited for St. Patrick's Day and the wearing of the green. I thought it would be fun to put a green streak in their hair for the occasion. Here are the results.

Leighton's showed up well.

Carly's is a little harder to see, she was NOT happy that Leighton's was so much greener.

Here is my green.

I thought food coloring washed off fairly easily, apparently NOT.

Update on the Breakfast Cookies

Leighton has watched Carly eating breakfast cookies all week. She was adamant that she hated them until.........this morning she finally broke down and tried them again. She loves them and I am making another batch tonight. So, there is hope out there for all those picky eaters.

We are in the midst of a celebrity!

Carly is on the front page, above the fold, of the newspaper. They had a nutrition fair at her school. The kids were doing the hokey-pokey when the picture was taken. We couldn't even get down the hall this morning without several teachers and students telling us they saw Carly in the paper. Dee ran out and got a couple of copies to save for posterity. She is in the back row the second from the right. Carly is thrilled with her new found fame! Watch out Hollywood!

I can't use this!?!

Carly has started putting things on the grocery list. If she uses the last sandwich bag, she will put it on the list. If we are getting low on her favorite cereal, it will appear on the list. Earlier this week, she came downstairs and put toothpaste on the list. I saw it and told her if she was completely out of toothpaste she could use mine. She went into my bathroom, picked up the toothpaste, turned around, looked at me with a disgusted look and said, "I can't use THIS, it's low-fat!"

It's amazing the things my kids will do to avoid brushing their teeth!

Breakfast Cookies

My children LOVE the Quaker Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies. I have been looking for a recipe so I could make them at home. They go through a box in a couple of days. I found this recipe and tried it out this morning. Carly and I love them, Leighton says that they would be better without the carrots. Those of you who know Leighton, know that she is EXTREMELY picky about her food.

I thought I would share:

4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
8 oz. carrots, grated (2 cups)
1 3/4 c. flour
3 c. rolled oats
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c, chopped walnuts or additional chocolate chips
3/4 c. dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease cookie sheets.
Combine cream cheese, butter, sugars. Beat until light and fluffy
Add eggs, vanilla, salt and soda. Mix well.
Add applesauce and carrots. Mix well.
Add flour, oatmeal, chocolate chips, nuts and dried fruit, mixing after each.
Make into small balls, press down lightly with back of spoon.
Bake 12-14 minutes or until just beginning to brown
Store in covered container.
Makes 100 cookies.
One cookie provides:
45 calories, 1.5 g fat, 1g protein, 7g carbs, 0g cholesterol, and .5g fiber.

I made my cookies bigger, replaced nuts with chocolate chips and did not use dried fruit. After these are gone, I am going to try a batch substituting zucchini for the carrots. I think that if Leighton didn't see the carrots she would not know they were there, maybe the zucchini will be more camouflaged. I will let you know if it passes the test.

I am a horrible mother!

Yesterday it was about 75 degrees. We were invited by Lisa and Avery to go on a picnic. The girls were soooo excited. We got up, got ready, made the lunch, packed water and met at a park #1. We then proceeded to park #2 where there were empty parking spots and the playground didn't look like 'ants on a sugar cube.' (to quote Lisa)

We had a great time playing, eating and jumping (the track team had left their high jump mat out.) After we had been there a couple of hours, Lisa looked at me and said, "Did you put sunscreen on the girls?" To which I replied, "No, I didn't even think about it. But, the girls usually don't burn, they have Dee's coloring. Even if they do burn, it is tan the next morning."

Well, we play a little more and then head home. We get home, I take Jensyn out of her carseat and ...............

Poor Burnt Baby!
Sorry for the messy face.

Her little arms are the worst.

I feel awful. I thought I had her in her stroller with the canopy up most of the time. I am usually diligent about sunscreen. But, as I wrote above, my girls rarely burn, so if I forget now and again, I don't usually worry about it too much, unless we are at the beach or in the pool.

The only thing making me not feel like a total jerk, is the fact that the burn doesn't seem to bother Jensyn at all.

So, all of you moms out there feeling like you don't measure up to the the ideal-this should make you feel better- at least you didn't cause your baby to have a horrible sunburn.

Application to Date my Daughter

One of my girlfriends sent this to me. I thought I would pass it on to those of you with daughters. (We have already sent ours to the printer.)

APPLICATION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER

NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your doctor.

NAME_____________________________________
DATE OF BIRTH_____________
HEIGHT___________ WEIGHT____________
IQ__________ GPA_____________
SOCIAL SECURITY #_________________
DRIVERS LICENSE #________________
BOY SCOUT RANK AND BADGES_________________
HOME ADDRESS_______________________
CITY/STATE___________ ZIP______
Do you have parents? ___Yes ___No
Is one male and the other female? ___Yes ___No If No, explain: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Number of years they have been married ___If less than your age, explain __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

ACCESSORIES SECTION:
A. Do you own or have access to a van? __Yes __No
B. A truck with oversized tires? __Yes __No
C. A waterbed? __Yes __No
D. A pickup with a mattress in the back? __Yes __No
E. A tattoo? __Yes __No
F. Do you have an earring, nose ring, pierced tongue, pierced cheek or a belly button ring? __Yes __No
(IF YOU ANSWERED 'YES' TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, DISCONTINUE APPLICATION AND LEAVE THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY. I SUGGEST RUNNING.)

ESSAY SECTION:
In 50 words or less, what does 'LATE' mean to you? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
In 50 words or less, what does 'DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER' mean to you? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
In 50 words or less, what does 'ABSTINENCE' mean to you? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

REFERENCES SECTION:
Church you attend _______________________________________
How often you attend _____________________________________
When would be the best time to interview your:

father? _____________
mother? _____________

pastor? _____________

SHORT-ANSWER SECTION:
Answer by filling in the blank. Please answer freely all answers are confidential.
A: If I were shot, the last place I would want shot would be:___________
B: If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my:__________
C: A woman's place is in the:_________________________________
D: The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is:_______
E. What do you want to do IF you grow up? ______________________
F. When I meet a girl, the thing I always notice about her first is:_______

I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT, NATIVE AMERICAN ANT TORTURE, CRUCIFIXION, ELECTROCUTION, AND RED HOT POKERS. _____________________________________________
Applicant's Signature (that means sign your name, moron!)
_____________________________________________
Mother's Signature
_____________________________________________
Father's Signature
_____________________________________________
Pastor/Priest/Rabbi/State Representative/Congressman

Thank you for your interest, and it had better be genuine and non-sexual. Please allow four to six years for processing. You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Please do not try to call or write (since you probably can't, and it would cause you injury). If your application is rejected, you will be notified by two gentleman wearing white ties carrying violin cases.

They cancelled school for this!?!?

Let me start by saying that I am not speaking as the PTO President, but as a parent. (Just in case it gets to school administration.)


We had a snow day yesterday. I completely understand, we got three inches of snow and as I have posted before, that shuts down the Old North State. We had a two hour delay scheduled for this morning. Also, understandable, because of the threat of black ice. At 7:30 this morning, I was watching the news and they announced our county had cancelled school. I figured it was a mistake. Then it came across the crawl. I jumped online and sure enough, they said that road conditions were worse than expected and school had been cancelled.

Check out the roads!

As you can see, we don't live on a well traveled road.

(There are only four houses in our neighborhood and one is empty.)

I am not sure where the danger lies in a

COMPLETELY DRY ROAD!!!

By the way, we ventured out on said treacherous roads. They ALL looked exactly like this.

It's all Dee's fault.

I can't seem to get anything done lately. I can't blame a new baby or even three kids. My children play well together and alone. Carly is in school all day, Leighton will play Polly Pockets upstairs for hours and Jensyn is happy rolling around the floor.

I think I have finally figured it out. It is Dee's fault, kinda.

I always spent the weekends doing nothing. Dee cooked and the girls trashed the house. I let the dishes and laundry pile up and most weekends never got dressed. (At least not in anything I wanted anyone to see me wearing.) Come Monday, Carly was off to school and Dee was off to work. I cleaned the house, did the laundry, and planned my week. Now, come Monday, Carly is off to school and Dee is NOT off to work. This leaves me thinking it is still the weekend and I don't have to do anything.

Don't get me wrong, Dee still cooks and has taken to cleaning the dishes and washing the laundry. ( not folding or putting away) That should leave me plenty of time to get the rest done. I even have a babysitter (as long as he is not on a job interview) that is always here. I have no excuses.

Except, in my mind it is the weekend and.....

I don't do anything on the weekends.

Nut-Cracks!!

I bought Dee a workbench last Christmas (2007). We are just now getting around to putting it together. Dee was moving the car out of the garage, so we had room to work. Leighton wanted to ride in the front seat during the move. I had grabbed a few peanuts on our way out of Five Guys and left the shells in the armrest of the passenger seat. Leighton noticed the shells and disgustedly asked "Nut-cracks!?!" Dee got out of the car laughing hysterically. Sometimes I wonder what amused us before we had kids.