Funny HA HA

So, after working the last two nights then running up to Provo after a very short 4 hours of sleep, getting this email cracked me up. Had to share...

A very tired nurse walks into a bank,
Totally exhausted after an 18-hour shift.
Preparing to write a check,

She pulls a rectal thermometer out of her purse
And tries to write with it.

When she realizes her mistake,
She looks at the flabbergasted teller
And without missing a beat, she says:

'Well, that's great....that's just great....
Some asshole's got my pen!'

Welcome to my life! But, on a happier note...look what Mommy got at Costco! (Happy Late Mother's Day to me...or Happy Father's Day to Hubby...)


Now a quick sad note, too. We just looked outside and saw the nest we've been watching for over a month now on the GROUND! A wind just blew it off the beam it was on and two of the four baby birdies died on scene. This is a pic of the last remaining two. I scooped them up and put them back in the nest, so now I'm afraid the momma won't take them. We just put it back up, so we'll see. I'm just glad the boys found it and not the little girl. She'd be traumatized!

Sea World Pictures 2008

Disneyland Pics

Hang on to your panties...I'm back!

No pictures or catchy quips...just me! I've missed the blog world, trying to get my life ORGANIZED for once, but am trying an occasional post again. And no...I'm no more organized than when I left. My list just keeps growing.
I have to give a shout out to the Blogapalooza. I saw a couple of updates this morning on various blogs and am sad that I was out of the loop during the reunion. Hopefully I'll make it next year!
As for things around here...a quick recap (in no particular order):

• School ends in a week and a day. In the meantime, I have 2 fieldtrips, 2 class parties and a preschool graduation to attend. I can't wait to have my kids home all summer. I'm putting the cleaning ladies on hiatus and putting the minions to work. They're not very happy. I'm giddy with anticipation.
• The cat had kittens 7 weeks ago. I wasn't happy. Hubby wanted them born inside. Said it wasn't humane to leave them outside to the elements. Lucky for both of us, she gave birth inside...under our bed...on top of his white baseball uniforms. Saved my carpet, taught him a lesson. Way to go kitty! (anyone need a kitty? They're long haired, adorable and litter trained...come and get 'em!)
• #4 turned 3 and got a new purple princess room. We moved her into #1 and #2's old room...much bigger closet.
• #1 and #2 got banished to the loft amid love sacs, foos ball tables, treadmills, etc. They can barely walk around their beds. We're hoping to move them to the basement by the end of the month.
• We're finishing the basement. It sucks. My house is perpetually covered in a 6 inch layer of dust. I have construction workers here at very odd hours...their favorites being early morning when I'm sleeping after a night shift. It was supposed to be done 3 weeks ago. We're hoping to be done 2 weeks from now.
  
• I found mold in #4's old bedroom closet. I had a nervous breakdown. Need I say more? It's fixed now and under the threat of a lawsuit, should never happen again.
• #4's bedroom now only houses "Sneaky", the gecko #2 got for his 8th birthday. Once the basement is finished, Sneaky will move downstairs with #2 and his room will become the guest room. Feel free to stop by and use it!
• #4's hair has grown out enough to pull her bangs back. However, she fell on our tile and hit her front tooth and now it's black. The dentist says no need to pull it unless it gets infected. I'm starting to think she's fond of looking like white trash...she makes such an effort.
• #2 got baptized in the hot springs. #1 did it there a couple of years ago because our date didn't coincide with Stake Baptism Day so we had to make other arrangements. #2 thought is was very cool and wanted the same thing. It was really neat. It's all redrock and trees and feels very Jerusalem-ish. Not to mention naturally warm water. We had to kick out a group of hippies to do it. They were very kind and took a front row seat to watch the whole thing. It was interesting...
• #3 got hit in the back by a line drive at the State Baseball Playoff games. It dropped him like a sack of potatoes. Hubby thought he was dead and took off on a dead run right through the game to get to him. Lucky for us it hit his shoulder blade and only left a small bruise. The Deseret News ran a story about it and he was an instant celebrity around here. I think he took off his shirt a hundred different times at the request of his fans. He really enjoyed stardom...even if it was just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time!
  
• We leave for Disneyland in 13 days. We're very excited. I found another family in Utah that wanted to split a 5 day park hopper pass with us and it saved us $270!! I think that's what I'm the most excited about! #4 can't wait to meet the princesses in real life. I can't wait to see her face when she does.
• #3's last day of preschool is today. Hubby wants to boycott graduation because we're holding him back next year due to his summer birthday. I don't want to hold him back and feel like two preschool graduations isn't torture enough for Hubby. He'll get to endure both.
• #1 does still live here. He's just not done anything noteworthy recently except get in a fight at school and get sent to the principal's office. Not a shining moment. But hey, it got him mentioned here.
  

That about sums it up...at least what comes to mind immediately. I'm hoping for at least a bi-weekly visit to my blog...we'll see if it happens! I keep telling myself when this happens or that gets done, I'll have more time, but more things pop up. So...WHATEVER! If you happen to visit...thanks for not giving up on me!

Sunday Synopsis (of the last 3 weeks!)

First of all...thanks to all my friends for continuing to check my blog and comment during my little hiatus. Life got so crazy as we got closer to Christmas and something had to give. This was it! But things are settling and I've missed all of you and so here we go. My last three weeks...
First of all, many thanks to The Kirnancrib for my white elephant gift. Her poem indicated it would help to clean up a stained reputation and boy does it ever! Nothing says Merry Christmas like a Tide Stain Roller. Thanks and let's be sure to do that again next year. It was a blast!
I also got to do a gift exchange with Adrianne who lives in Argentina. I was SOOOO excited to get authentic Dulce de Leche from her! I LOVE Dulce de Leche ice cream and hot chocolate, etc. and am thrilled to have the real stuff! Thank you Adrianne!!

Now for a quick recap of my crazy life.

• Shortly after my last post, #3 cut #4's hair for the SECOND time. Yes, you read that right. This time, he took off all the hair on the top of her head along her part. She has a cowlick on that side so her hair always parts right there. I would have gotten a pic but 1.)I was too furious to even think about a photo-op and 2.)her hair is so fine I don't think a camera would pick it up. From a distance, you can't tell. I didn't notice until I found the pile of hair in the kitchen. #3 got in enough trouble this time. I'm pretty sure he won't be doing that again. (Not to mention he'd need some serious scaffolding to get to the scissors now.)
• #1 had 3 different concerts with his band. He's really getting into it and even sings backup loud enough to be heard! I am the dorkiest mom sitting there with my perma-grin on. I'm glad there's lights in his eyes so he can't see me. He'd be so embarrassed! Although he's amazing on the guitar, we need to work on his moves a little bit. He wasn't born to dance.

• Christmas was wonderful. I don't know what I'd do without my kids. They make the holiday. #4 was everything a child should be at Christmas. My boys get excited but are pretty restrained in showing their emotion most of the time. #4 was excited about everything from the biggest gifts to the smallest chapsticks in her stocking and wasn't afraid to show it. As much as she tries me, I'm so grateful for that little girl!

• My parents came down and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with us. Our parents take turns coming for our Christmas Eve tradition and this year was their turn. I love having the grandparents with us on Christmas morning! I worked a few hours Christmas Day and then we headed south to the in-laws.
• We spent almost a week at the in-laws which is quite a long time for us these days. When our kids were babies we'd stay with our parents most of the holiday but the last few years we've kept our visits pretty short so the kids can enjoy some of their break with their friends, too. It was really nice to stay down there this year. Life runs at a slower pace when we visit. They don't have internet access at their house though which is another reason for my hiatus.
• While at the in-laws I got a crazy stomach bug that lasted two days and ended up in the ER for 3 liters of fluid and anti-nausea meds. On the plus side, I consider everything I ate over the week between Christmas and New Years to be negative calories!
• I got to spend my birthday in St. George where the weather was a balmy 53 degrees. Hubby followed me up and down every aisle at Target and never complained. He also followed me around the mall and let me buy TWO pair of shoes when I'd only planned on one. He didn't say a word when we went into AE for a pair of jeans for him and walked out with a cute little sweat suit for me (and no jeans). He even let me pick Cold Stone for lunch and didn't crack any jokes when I got the big size. It was a good day.
  
• The last two days of Christmas break I cleaned out and organized my basement. Without hubby. The WHOLE thing. He's tired of me reminding him of this little detail so I'll throw it in here (he'll read this and get one last jab). My dad helped me a TON the first day. I think it would have been way too overwhelming to even start if he hadn't jumped in and got to work. I'm happy to say my basement ROCKS! I finally have my food storage out of boxes!! (And realized most of it expired two years ago. Bummer.)
• In Hubby's defense, Bowl Week has always been recognized as a sacred holiday at our house and asking him to be secluded in the basement without a TV would be like asking him to cut off his balls and hang them from a necklace around his neck.
• I got my new King Size bed set up with my new comforter set (that I bought in June in anticipation of my new bed this Christmas!). It's the first time we've owned a King. And I'm thrilled to report that Hubby has yet to smack me in the face in the middle of the night during one of his sleep adventures. It's been heaven.

Thanks for sticking around and reading all of this (if you made it!) I know a lot of it is mundane and incredibly uninteresting for most of you but I justify this little hobby (obsession) by calling it my journal and most of that is relevant in journal-land.

Happy New Year!!

White Elephant

For those of you who don't visit Pick Your Poison's page yet, I gotta say, you're missing out. Spammon's got it going on. Anyway, he started a blogger's white elephant gift exchange and we're supposed to post them on our pages today.

Don't be fooled by the shape of the box...
A shirt or a book, this gift is not.
I heard as you sat on Santa's lap for your wish-
All you want for Christmas is a nice, new fish.
I can't tell you anymore of what this gift's about,
I just hope you enjoy your beautiful new trout.

Rock It!

I'm getting a wee bit sluggish on my treadmill. For the last couple of months I've been catching up on all my DVR'd shows to keep me motivated but it's starting to lose it's appeal. I'm not the most coordinated of runners (or, sadly, walkers for that matter...if I was home with a camera I would totally take a pic of all my running/walking battle scars to prove it) and therefore a little hesitant to take to the dark, icy roads just yet. But if I'm going to be able to stand my dreadmill for very much longer, I'm going to need a serious boost. I decided I need a whole new mix for the iPod and I'm going for some oldies but goodies. While there are days that a girl's just gotta have her Akon and Flavor Flav (NOT), I feel the need to get back to my roots.


So far, I've got:
Poison: Nothin' But A Good Time and Unskinny Bop
Def Leppard: Pour Some Sugar On Me
AC/DC: You Shook Me All Night Long and Back in Black




However, it's now 3:48am and I'm drawing a SERIOUS blank. Please help me remember what songs I HAVE to have on my new running mix.

As a token of my appreciation, I'll even burn a copy for anyone who wants one. (But only if you contribute legitimate "runnin' rock". If you send me Milli Vanilli, you're off the list.)

Mommy-Self-Confidence and Other Fun Mommy Stuff

I wasn't a particularly easy child. I was the oldest, the rebel, the one with MAJOR attitude, the trial. I tested my parents at every corner until the day I got married. I'm sure that's one of the reasons my dad let me do everything he did...just to get me out of the house. He let me move to the Bay Area with my best friend when I was 18 (and only half way through my senior year in high school) to sell pest control door to door. He was more than happy to send me to Russia for six months after that to teach English although I never made it because I got engaged to Hubby, whom I'd met while selling pest control. To be fair, he warned Hubby about marrying me, I think so he could have a clear conscience, but then pushed me out the door and out of his house forever when Hubby didn't listen.

That all being said, he's always warned me that my time would come; that God is just and would never put him through all that without some kind of reward in the end. You would think that as a righteous father, seeing me all grown up with a happy family of my own would be reward enough. Oh no. Watching me raise my daughter, on the other hand, has brought him tremendous joy. Joy that radiates from every pore. (Joy that I'd like to smack right off his face every time he witnesses a choice moment with my daughter.)

Anyway, this treasure of mine (that I, for the life of me, cannot remember why I wanted so bad) has outdone herself again. The last couple of days she's been mumbling a new phrase. A phrase that up until now has been foreign to this household; a phrase I am certain she doesn't really understand but insists on using nonetheless. Case in point, a couple of days ago:
"#4, it's time for a nap."
"I ate you, mommy."
"What?" (she ate me?)
Louder: "I ATE you, mommy."
Did she really just mean what I think she meant? She's TWO for crying out loud. So I test the waters for the next couple of days.
"#4, let's get in the bath."
"I ate you, mommy."
"#4, it's time to do your hair."
"I ATE you, mommy."
"#4, if you say that again I'm gonna smack your bum."
Quieter and slower, for effect, I guess, "I ate you , mommy."
Light little tap on the butt from me and then...
"I ATE YOU MOMMY! (sobs) I want my Daddy!"
"If you can find him, you can have him." (Heehee...he's off at work where all the perfect parents hide until the end of the day when they can come home and rescue the poor abused children.)

I haven't shared this jewel with my dad, yet. I'm waiting for Christmas. It will be his favorite gift.

#3 gave me another Mommy-Self-Confidence boost today as well. We were getting dressed for pre-school and I had brought down an undershirt to wear, well, under his shirt. We fought about this little detail for 5 whole minutes as he insisted on wearing it over his shirt. He wears undershirts to bed, afterall, without anything else over them. He finally conceded but not before yelling, "You don't know ANYFING, mom."
No kidding, kid.

Now for some happier news. #2 is the shortest in his class. It's official. They all lined up and measured for class pictures so the taller kids would not hide the shrimps. He's the shrimpiest of the shrimps. Even the shrimpiest girl beat him that day. I tried to tell him she was probably wearing thick soled boots or something but he didn't buy it.
"Nope. Sorry, mom."
"But you're the fastest."
"Yeah." (big grin) "I am the fastest."
Being short has it's advantages.

#2 was also the last kid in his class to lose a tooth. We're half way through second grade and he barely lost his first tooth about 2 months ago. But happy day...a couple of days ago he lost his second tooth. Thanks to a swift fist from his older brother (not sure I'm so happy about that one, although I'm told it was an accident) he is officially toothless for Christmas. And we couldn't be happier about it. Hubby was wise enough to click a picture of the snaggle tooth right after fist contact and right before extraction. I thought I'd post it here. #2 is quite proud of his gnarly grin.



#2 is a poser by nature. In honor of his "Toothless for Christmas Status", I will post a couple
more pictures of his sweetness.

Even at the tender age of 3, the kid loved the camera. Especially when wearing a plastic bum.

Boredom at work = Mutant Christmas Projects

It's a general rule at work that you never say things like "It's been slow today" or "Mighty quiet around here" or yadda, yadda, yadda. But, my gosh...it's been slow lately. (I want all of you to know that by saying/typing this outloud I have just cursed myself with 17 rollover accidents, 3 heart attacks, 4 broken bones and 47 "I've had a cold for 6 weeks but tonight, at 2am, I decided to come in and be seen.")
Anyway, on Thursday night we were slow/quiet/bored and got looking at fun Christmas project. I was showing the girls the baggie wreaths and one of our doctors said something about the cool "plastic cup globe light" that his neighbors gave him last year. Of course, we had to see it, so we googled it for hours (it was only about 6.5 minutes but when you're bored it feels like that long) and decided we would each make a couple to take home and surprise our kids with. We sent the most bored nurse out to gather supplies (OK, she wasn't the most bored...she's the only one with access to a dremel tool so she won by default) and anxiously awaited project hour.
She returned slightly less successful than we'd hoped. The project calls for 9 oz. cups but apparently everyone in town decided to make the same ball because there wasn't a single package of 9 oz. cups in all of Wal-Mart. She's quite the crafty thing so she settled on what had to be 2 oz. cups and just figured our balls would be smaller than the average balls. (heehee...I have to laugh a little at that one)
The original directions we were following said to connect 9 cups in a circle for the first layer. Our first layer ended up with something like 24 cups. Seeing as how the supply list had only called for 50 lights for the ENTIRE ball, we knew we were in trouble. We kept plugging away and ended up with what looked an awful lot like this sweet lamp my mom had in the late 70's.
Long story short, our lamp mutated. It's officially 4 times bigger than it was supposed to be (we used 200 cups and 200 lights) and therefore bigger than any one of us wanted hanging in our homes (we have standards, ya know?).
It is now the Nurse's Station Ball. It's big, a little awkward, looks more like an egg than a ball and required some serious reinforcing to ensure it didn't pull the ceiling tiles off but I LOVE IT. I'm so proud of my little 3am project even though everyone that walks by it looks at it with a little sideways glance, unsure of what, exactly, it's supposed to be.
Please enjoy my pics and THEN take a look at this website to see how cute they could be. There's even instructions (although we didn't use the soldering iron or whatever it is they suggest, we just stapled the cups together - perhaps another factor in the mutany???).

My odd shaped, tenticle growing sparkle ball. (Notice the 'N' in tenticle, not 'S')

Me, so very proud of my tenticle growing sparkle ball.

By the way, I thought I should mention, that due to the making of this entry, I have had elbow pain, hand lacerations, chest pain and croup walk through my door at an otherwise "dead" hour. I'm telling you, the curse lives.

79 Today

Today would have been my Grandpa's 79th birthday. I haven't posted in a couple of days and had several other ideas for posts until midnight when I instantly realized today was his birthday. Grandpa died a year ago July 1st. I feel pretty lucky to say he was the first person I ever lost that really devastated me.

Growing up, Grandpa lived in the same town as us so we saw him regularly. I had two cousins older than me but they were military brats so they never lived close, making me the first grandkid Grandpa really spent time with. I was the favorite. I spent my whole life knowing I was his favorite. He made no bones about hiding it from anyone. He was a little rough around the edges, stubborn and cynical, and we got along better than anyone. I think I understood him from the time I was itty bitty. We just had that connection.

Grandpa was divorced and loved his space. He and my grandma split when my dad was 14 and he lived alone after that. He tried marriage once when I was in elementary school but I think it lasted less than a year. He was way too independant to ever sacrifice for a woman again. That being said, he let us intrude any time we wanted. He had a swimming pool (TOO COOL!) that we spent our summers at. He had an endless supply of Sprite in his fridge for us (only place I ever got soda as a kid). He let us ride pillows down his stairs (we always lived in one-story houses so stairs were the best) and let us dance in front of his projection TV (it was the biggest screen I'd ever seen outside a movie theater). Grandpa was the coolest.

Grandpa bought me my first Cabbage Patch Kid when my parents said they were overrated and overpriced. He bought me my first big boombox when being cool was more important to me than anything. He let me have sleepovers at his house when I knew I couldn't spend one more minute at home. He paid off two different cars for me, financed my first house and never quit asking if I needed help with anything.

Grandpa taught me (inadvertantly) that "shit, damn and hell" are not swear words. He gave me my first taste of alcohol hoping it would gross me out enough to sway me from ever drinking again (not so effective). The smell of cigarette smoke still gives me warm and fuzzies and reminds me of Grandpa, who smoked until he had to choose between cigarettes and breathing. He hated every boy I ever dated, most especially the one I chose to marry, and warned me about the dangers of sex (it leads to babies). Grandpa taught me that someone can believe and act very differently from you but still be an amazing person.

Right before I started high school, Grandpa sold the business. We moved to Utah and he moved to a secluded little town in Oregon. It was one of the hardest times of my life. I hated living so far from him and called him all the time. Every summer we would spend a week with him and till I die, it will be one of my all-time favorite memories. He brought me out a month before my wedding so we could have one last one-on-one and I bawled when I left...knowing our relationship would change a little bit.

My kids still talk about our vacations to Oregon. Grandpa paid to bring us out every year until my Dad insisted on footing the bill. Last year was the first year we didn't go out. He died before we could get there. Grandpa insisted on being cremated and refused any kind of funeral so my parents were the only ones who went out after he died. I struggled with that until this summer when my cousin got married and my sister, dad and I went out to the wedding. I got to see where his ashes had been spread and got to touch the time capsule my uncle made with some of his things. It's the closest thing to a gravesite that we have. I'm not sure if I'll ever get back there but I'm grateful that I finally had that closure.

Grandpa and I talked once a month until he died. He had an 800 number for me so I wouldn't have to pay but I never used it. We would laugh and joke like old friends, never like a 70 year old and a 20 year old. I'd always end the conversation with an "I love you" and he'd always say "You, too" because if he said any more than that he'd cry (and Grandpa didn't cry).

A year or two before he died he promised me he would come back and visit me when he died. He said it as a joke because he always said he wasn't sure there was a heaven or an afterlife anyway. I'd tease him that he was in for the shock of his life because Joseph Smith was going to be standing there with an autographed copy of the Book of Mormon and my Grandma (who died a few years after their divorce) would be there with a couple of missionaries waiting to pounce on him. The night he died, I laid awake all night waiting for him to come, but he still hasn't. I'm hoping it's because he's just too dang busy; although, every now and then, I pray and ask God to tell him hello. I'm hoping he's getting my messages.

Humorless Artichoke Dip

Although I have not had any major disasters or mishaps in my life in the last 12 hours or so, I am still recuperating from recent events (see previous post) and therefore short on wit. (As in witty, wit's end, etc.)
But in an effort to brighten someone else's day today (I'm all about thinkin' of others, after all...) I will post one of my favorite (especially this time of year) recipes.
(Please do not shudder or guffaw ((really always wanted to use that word)) at the thought of a tricky or complicated recipe. This is coming from someone whose idea of "cooking" involves a box of Hamburger Helper and a can of corn.)
This recipe is best made in a large pot on the stove, then transferred to a crock pot for serving.

• Start by sauteing a family size bag of chopped, frozen spinach in butter and garlic. You can also add shallots, but seeing as how I didn't even know what a shallot was when I first started making this stuff, I never have and I like it just the same.

• Add two cans of artichoke hearts. (I like to chop mine before I add them as they're pretty large.)

• When the green stuff is warm, add a package of soft garlic and herb cheese. I prefer Alouette brand. (I've found it at Wal-Mart and Albertsons.)
  

• Stir it all together until the cheese is melted. Add a pint of heavy whipping cream and a 6 oz. bag of shredded parmesan cheese. Stir until the parmesan is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to a crock pot and serve with your favorite tortilla chips or toast. This recipe makes a TON. Plenty for a large party, or, if you're like me, lunch everyday for a month.

WARNING: Do not attempt to figure the calorie/fat content of this recipe as there is no calculator sophisticated enough to handle these types of numbers.
WARNING PART 2: Excessive consumption of this recipe has been known to cause wretched gas. Use in moderation.

A Penny For Your Thoughts, A Dollar For Your Potty Mouth

I'm trying to be a better mom. I'm trying to be more patient and really listen to my kids when they have something to say, instead of the absent-minded "uh-huh" I tend to answer them with. I know someday, not too far off, they will stop talking to me and I'll be wishing I could get back to the time when they used to ramble on endlessly.

That being said, yesterday was not one of my finest. We woke up with #3 and #4's eyes glued shut with Pink Eye, a raging ear infection in #3's left ear, and the flu from head to toe for #1. #2 was the only one who escaped unscathed, but considering he's still trying to get his hearing back 100% from the ruptured ear drum, he deserved the break.

We skipped church (Hubby went to teach our Primary class but since only Bella showed, they stuck her in another class so as not to have the one-on-one with a male teacher, so Hubby came home) and played hospital all afternoon. It wasn't the worst day ever. In fact, it was nice that all of it hit on a Sunday so that Hubby was home to help. But, by the time 7pm rolled around, the kids were bouncing off the walls from being sequestered and I'd had it. I stuck the younger three in the bath while Hubby worked on his football highlight film.

I got the kids out of the bath and #3 and 4 ran around the house like a couple of banshees while I tried to round up their jammies. I was just about to get #4 dressed when I noticed an icky brown substance streaming down her leg. I did a quick scan around the family room and found the rest of the icky brown substance...all over my carpet. I yelled for Hubby to help while I stuck #4 on the potty to finish what she'd started. Hubby cleaned up the "chunks" then appointed himself Bum-Wiper, leaving me to scrub the rest of the icky brown substance out of the carpet.

When I finished scrubbing the carpet, I yelled various threats upstairs to the older kids about brushing their teeth, cleaning their rooms and getting to bed, etc. I asked Hubby to brush #4's teeth (to which he turned to #4 and said, "Go brush your teeth." and then sat back down to work on the highlight film. Thanks...very helpful.) I finished cleaning teeth, hanging up towels, washing icky brown substance stained towels and threw #3 and 4 in bed with a quick peck and a mumbled "I love you."

I went to get #1 and 2 in bed and totally lost it when I found #1 playing jam ball in his room instead of getting ready for bed. I yelled something to the effect of "If you can play basketball like this after laying around the house 'sick' all day you can damn well get yourself to school tomorrow. Don't even ask to stay home in the morning!!" To which #2 quickly chimed in "You owe me a dollar!"

I've always had a little bit of a potty mouth and have tried really hard not to use it anymore. I made a deal with the older two about a month ago that if they ever caught me swearing, I'd give them each a dollar. Pretty good lesson for both of us, I thought (and I hadn't had to pay up once).

This, however, was not the happy little teaching moment I'd envisioned when I made the deal. "It doesn't count when one of you guys is screwing around!" I yelled back, slamming the door behind me.

Short story long, after a long, hot bath, I snuck back into their rooms with a dollar and a Post-It note apology to both of them. I mean, what is the point of the rule if it doesn't count when I'm mad? When else do I ever swear? What lesson would that teach them? You shouldn't swear, unless of course you're upset, in which case it doesn't count. Hmmm. Not so much.

On a lighter note...(my week just keeps getting better, and it's only Monday!)

This is what I woke up to this morning:
You may not be able to tell, but she is missing the entire front half of her hair. This is what she looked like last time I saw her:
A cute little A-line hair cut with NO BANGS. Thanks to #3, this morning her bangs start half-way back on her head and are barely long enough to be classified as bangs. Not to mention the fist size chunk he took right off the back of her head at the crown. I tried to get a pic of that one but her hair is so fine and so blonde that the flash just drowned it out. Anyway, this is what we're left with after I tried to blend it all in:
She, of course, is thrilled. She LOVES getting "Peety Hair-tuts". I'm trying not to cry as I wonder how I'm going to keep the clump in the back from standing straight up. (Notice her poor little swollen pink eyes!)

Hey, it can't get any worse today, right?