Out of the Mouths of Babes (Part II)

So --- my daughter comes up to me last night, put her hands on her hips and says (and I quote):

"Hush, girl, shut your lips... do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips."

Anyone recognize this?? Yes indeedy-- my daughter was quoting a song whose chorus is "Don't Trust a Ho".

Niiiiiice.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. After all- we ARE pretty gangsta.

Oh wait. That's me. My bad, homie.

Grateful Sunday

After my totally self-indulgent post yesterday, I thought it would serve me well to put myself in check and list things I'm grateful for on this Sunday. Thus begins the perspective:

1. I'm glad Jalyn is feeling better. She spent the majority of today throwing up (obviously had the same thing that Jaxen was plagued with last night), but as of about seven p.m., she bounced back to her normal self. Fed her a light dinner and it seems to be staying put. Thank God!

2. Farkle. I've resisted playing Farkle on Facebook for some time now, simply because I knew I would love it. I'm a huge Yahtzee fan, and Farkle has many similarities. But today I broke down and gave it a whirl. I lost some hours of my life that I'll never be able to get back... but that's okay. I had fun and so did the kids. They enjoy playing it as well, so I don't feel quite as guilty sitting with my laptop all day:)

3. My Dad. I'm such a Daddy's girl, and as soon as he read my post from yesterday, he called to check on me and cheer me up. (Sorry I couldn't chat longer, Dad, the kids have a problem with me talking on the phone. They don't like it when they don't have my undivided attention, LOL).

4. My new lime green nail polish. I know, I know... I'm such a dork. But you all know how much I love my green and it just makes me smile when I look at it:) And as an added bonus, I haven't been biting my nails! The only time during my life when I didn't bite my nails was when I had braces and literally couldn't do it. But as soon as I raise my nails to my mouth, I see the bright green and it triggers a little alarm bell in my head-- resist the temptation!!

5. Wasabi & Soy Sauce Almonds by Blue Diamond. I've been avoiding these at the quick-stop for the same reason I've been avoiding Farkle- I knew I would get addicted. But I broke down last night and tried some, and Lord have mercy, are they good! Almonds are my favorite nut (also my snack of choice if given the option), so when you add a little kick to them as well-- match made in heaven if you ask me.

So there it is. Just a few things that are making me happy today. Hey, it's the little things, right??

Great Expectations

Disclaimer: I'm feeling really sorry for myself today. So let me preface this post by saying that whining, bitching and moping are about to occur, so if any of these offend you, you probably want to leave before reading any further. That being said...

There is very little that displeases me more than my expectations not being met, for things to not go as I plan (in my head). I had such high hopes for this weekend-- I was looking forward to enjoying some fun times with the kids & hubby, doing some swimming, seeing some friend-- just relaxing in general. I should have known better.

Driving home Friday evening, my phone just totally dies. It was fully charged, so I'm assuming it's a battery problem. I've never been one that cares about having a top of the line phone, or whatever new thing is popular. I just want something that I can take pictures with and text easily. I've had my phone for three years, problem free, so it has served me well. I bundle up the kids and go over to my local T-Mobile store, stand in the tiniest space ever (full of about fifteen people--seriously, you couldn't even move), with two kids mind you, for an hour-- and then they tell me that the can't give me the advertised price. Apparently, you only qualify for a decent price on a phone if you're a new customer. They could care less if you are an longtime customer who pays their bill on time, and has never even had an upgrade. I had found a phone that I truly loved and was actually excited about, but I refused to write a check that was almost the equivalent of a car payment for a phone. Thus began the weekend.

Cuddled up in bed last night with my baby girl, giving her a back rub when she starts complaining that her head itches. And there it is again...the lice that we just dealt with a month or so ago. Are you f'ing kidding me?? I gave her a bath Thursday night, there was nothing there, and then she comes home from daycare on Friday with this shit again. Don't get me wrong... I don't blame the daycare in any way. I know that this is an unavoidable problem when you get that many kids in one location. But I DO blame some parent who is obviously continuously sending their child to daycare when they should have them at home treating them!! Thus began another weekend totally shot to hell spent disinfecting and washing every item of fabric in the house and giving both kids RID treatments. Jaxen hasn't been hit with it, but I see no sense in not treating him at the same time, just in case.

Wake up in the middle of the night with a lovely monthly visitor. I have such painful cycles that I knew this pretty much meant I was out of commission today. And I was right. I've hurt like crazy all day-- which always annoys Jr. to no end and makes him all short tempered and irritated with me. He doesn't understand it all of course, because he's ... well... a man. Kind of like trying to make them understand what labor pains feel like. He still thinks they were all in my head. (I'll just pause here for a moment while every female reading this gets angry over that statement.)

We sit down to dinner tonight and Jaxen was whining about the fact that we're having spaghetti for dinner, saying that it hurts his stomach. I have no idea where this began. He used to love spaghetti. So of course Jr. is telling him to just eat his damn food, when Jaxen starts to gag. Jr. thought he was faking and tells him he better not even think about acting like he's gagging on the dinner I've made. Well, when J-Bo got up and ran to the restroom, I knew we were in trouble. He didn't even make it. Threw up all over the hallway and the bathroom. Obviously, he really didn't feel good, and then I felt like crap for not believing him.

I just feel like crying. I'm not normally a crying type of person--it usually only happens when I'm really tired and/or frustrated, but I can feel the waterworks coming on. I am feeling crampy, bloated, irritated, like things are totally out of my control. *sigh* Damn those expectations that didn't get met.

Wordy Wednesday: Summer Books of 2009

Since I've already contributed my Wordless Wednesday post for the day, I thought I would now share a Wordy Wednesday post. I have been reading a LOT lately... I mean, really, what else is there to do when it's so godforsaken hot that you sweat just sitting still? In front of a fan? With no clothes on?

I won't bore you all with lengthy reviews of all the titles I've devoured lately ( at least I'll try not to... I tend to get a little, well, wordy when talking books,, LOL!). I thought I would just do a quick little bulletpoint list and share a few brief thoughts and opinions of each.

Let's the bookishness begin!

• Austenland by Shannon Hale: I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I have never even read Pride & Prejudice (or any other of Jane Austen's works). I've just never felt that compulsion, which is odd, since I do rather enjoy an occasional historical romance, and P&P has oft been touted as the best one ever. I have a friend who absolutely adores all things Austen, so I thought I would read this one, based on her high recommendation. I'm pleased to say that I wasn't disappointed. A very small book, which I easily read in two evenings of leisure on the porch, I was especially happy with the ending. And I'm now not only looking forward to Shannon Hale's newest release, The Actor and the Housewife, but I'm also contemplating diving into P&P!
• Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner: I first encountered this book probably a year and a half ago while browsing at Borders, but totally forgot to ever check and see if the library had it in stock. This past Monday I went to my favorite new place on earth (Half Price Books) and stumbled across it there for a mere $2.00. Knowing that I was going to be spending a couple hours waiting on hubby to go thru surgery the next morning, I went ahead and picked it up. And if I must be honest, I haven't put it down since. Except to go to work today. And even that was painful. I desperately wanted to be reading, which to me, is a sign that I am truly enjoying a book. Light-hearted, but still well written, Julie Kenner has taken a genre of books that seems to be really overdone these days and done the unexpected-- made it fresh & fun. I highly recommended this one, and can't wait to read the next installment in the series.
• With a Twist by Deirdre Martin: The first in her new Wild Hart saga, I loved how it combined food & romance. Two of my favorite things. I discovered Deirdre Martin a few months ago by reading a recommendation of another series of hers on Sassymonkey Reads. Looking forward to the next in this series as well.
• Not Becoming My Mother by Ruth Reichl: Simply put, I adore Ruth Reichl. I want to be her when I grow up. A huge thank you to my best friend Heather for giving me a RR book for Christmas many years ago, or else I would have likely never encountered the greatness that is Ruth's food writing. This small volume (and I literally mean small, it is tiny) was not what I expected. It veers very far away from her normal writing, and is instead a tribute to her mother. A beautiful, moving tribute to a mother that she strived her entire life to be nothing like-- I can't imagine a single woman reading this and not being struck with the urgent need to call their own mother and thank them for all their sacrifices.
• The Bookman's Promise by John Dunning: If you have not read the Cliff Janeway novels by John Dunning--- go. Go RIGHT now and buy Booked to Die, the first in the series. Set in the world of antiquarian and collectible books, they are a must for any lover of books. Add an insanely well written mystery plot line, and John Dunning can do no wrong. I'm currently re-reading the series, although I can find no hints or clues anywhere that a new one is in the works:( Boo.

Whew. There it is -- a brief sampling of what I've been up to... when I've not been blogging. Or cleaning. Or balancing my checkbook. (You get the drift:)). So now... what about you? I'd love to hear what you've been reading!

Wordless Wednesday

And yes. He is asleep.

Priceless

Cost of undergrad degree: $30,000.

Cost of medical school: $100,000.

Knowing that your dr. needs to write this on your knee, so they don't "accidentally" operate in the wrong place: Priceless.

I'm Melting!!

I keep getting on here and starting a post...and then never finishing. I'm going to blame it on the heat. It's totally sucking the life out of me!! I can't even remember the last time it was under 100 degrees. The new forecast is that we may hit the 90s sometime next week. And I find it so incredibly sad that I'm excited about that!!!



And in closing, I thought I'd give you all a giggle for the day.

This is what I normally look like:


Here I am with the big sunburn circa '09- Courtesy of Lake Draper, OKC, OK.


But at least it's faded into this... I don't look quite so much like a tomato. *And yes, I'm rocking a nametag. Don't be jealous.*

Grateful Sunday

Five Things I'm Grateful for on this Sunday:

1. Cool summer evenings. We had a torrential downpour yesterday (yes, it resulted in the cancelling of most of our local fireworks shows. But no fear...they plan to release them next Friday, LOL. How's that for... Happy Tenth of July!), so today has been relatively cool compared to the last week. I'm enjoying sitting on the porch and NOT having sweat roll down my back. Ahhh.. it's the little things in life.

2. 7-layer bean dip. My sis-in-law made a delicious dish of it for yesterday's festivities and my belly is still doing a happy dance. The only thing she should do differently next year is MAKE MORE!!:)

3. Funny pronunciations of words by my kids. My husband has been trying to teach my six year old son how to say dwarf (sidenote: there is a dwarf as a character on a video game they are playing- that's where that came from). Jaxen is having difficulty putting the d and the w sounds together so he's going around saying "dorf". Hehehehe....

4. Restraint. Right at this EXACT moment in time, I'm grateful for my ability to hold my tongue when my husband acts like an a**.

5. My bed. It's calling my name, and I can't wait to jump in it!

Happy (Belated) Fourth to everyone! Hope you had a wonderful holiday... and got to see some fireworks:)