B.M.

I'd like to pretend that "B.M." stands for "book of mormon" or some other lofty and important item. But not today.

Today is stands for Bowel Movement.

BOWEL MOVEMENT.

That's what my mom called it growing up. She's way to classy to call it something crass like POO. She wouldn't use the full correct term, just the initials. You, know, "do you need to go B.M. in the potty, Tyler?" or, "Good job going B.M. in the big girl potty Missy!".

Sorry Ty and Miss. I don't have any vivid memories of my own potty training days. I can only assume I was awesome at it.

I digress.

We are on day NINE of potty-training Libby. Nine. I employed the same method that I used on both of my other kids. The same method my saintly mother successfully used on all SEVEN of her children. It's basically potty-training in a day, and it works. By nap-time the first day they're basically good to go. We haven't used diapers since the first night, and Libbs hasn't had an accident since day ONE. (she unfortunately copped a squat on her dance teacher's floor that day...sorry Heid and Mekall! May santa bring you a Swiffer for Christmas!)

She's awesome. She's a pro. She can hold it. She can go by herself. She adores flushing.

UNLESS...and that is a HUGE UNLEEEEEEES...

...we are talking about poo.

She hasn't peed herself for 8 days. EIGHT NIGHTS AND NINE NAPS...true enough...


but she's pooped herself everyday for nine days. Most days multiple times. MULTIPLE TIMES. What can I say. She's her father's child. She's pooped in the potty twice. TWICE. And I do believe those were OOPSIE POOPSIES.

I'm done. No amount of YOU HURT SNOW WHITE'S FEELINGS WHEN YOU POOP ON HER FACE, or, TINKERBELL FEELS SAD THAT YOU GOT POO AAAALLL OVER HER PRETTY DRESS, or DORA IS CRYING BECAUSE YOU POOPED ON HER AND WE HAD TO THROW HER IN THE GARBAGE seems to matter to my head strong 3 yr. old. I've threatened that Santa will be a no show and she feigns understanding and cooperation...up until she lays her next load.

HELP ME.

Training underwear (we do NOT use the *P* word here...the result is sudden, intense pain and instant humiliation if anyone slips...for the LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY I HATE THAT WORD!)
Anyway....training underwear is disposable. I will NOT scrub, dig, spoon my 3 yr. old's feces out of underwear. I refuse. They are thrown away immediately. No questions asked. No guilt. (sorry all my frugal, poo loving friends, it AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN). But my baby-poops-a-lot daughter is starting to deplete our resources. I may have to go donate plasma to keep up with her bowels, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Please. PLEASE. Please.

If you have any advice, I'd be a grateful recipient.

Me Thinks...

...that the only people who bowl at noon on a Tuesday are the AARP crowd and those of us with off-track kids. I took a picture of all of the old beavers (it's league day, apparently) but it was blurry. Better luck next time!

...that I love days that I don't see anyone I know...because it allows me to re-wear outfits that work. Putting together outfits that work (ie...that I can move in/shop in/EAT IN/not show butt-crack and/or cleavage in) takes some effort. And we all know how I feel about things that take effort...and cleavage run-a-muck.

...that I love having friends that are nicer mom's than I am. It means that my kids get to do fun things whist off track. Things that I am way to lazy/mean to do without some outside pressure. Bowling, Classic skating, late-nights, whatever. I personally think that having the privilege of enjoying the gift that is their mother for EVERYDAY ALL DAY FOR THREE STRAIGHT WEEKS is gift enough, but whatevs.

...that falling down the stairs in 3 inch boots, and a skirt, and chanelling my inner wookie yell while doing so does NOT make you cool with your kid's friends. It makes them scared.

...that you should never, NEVER let your kids beat you on purpose. I don't care if it's mini-golf, hand and foot, bowling, burping, WHATEVER. I think beating them and beating them HARD teaches them valuable lessons early in life. Lessons like IT SUCKS TO LOSE, and MY MOM IS AWESOME.

...that if it's this cold, mother-freaking-nature should just do me a solid and LET IT SNOW.

...that we need to beef up the outside this year for Christmas. Half of our outside decor blew away last year and by the time we found it (in FEBRUARY...IN AN EMPTY LOT around the corner) we were way to embarrassed to reclaim all the shiz.

...that if anyone can give me ONE GOOD REASON to NOT get a Endometrial Ablation speak now or forever hold your peace. I'm SOOOOO over being in that delicate lady state every 26 days. I'm done. CAUTION: for you faint of heart readers (MEN), if you click on that link you'll see horrifying lady words like PERIOD, and HEAVY, and BLEEDING...in every sentence. Don't say I didn't warn you.

...that something is UP with my man Tiger. (Woods, obviously). Please let him not be part of the scum of the earth that are professional athletes. He's my guy. My DUDE. But only with his hat on. He just looks weird and bald without it.

Have a splendid Tuesday people. I'm off to trim the bangs.

Julia Shmooliah

BAKED POTATO SOUP


Due to the HUNDREDS of requests for my Baked Potato Soup recipe (and by HUNDREDS I mean 12), I have finally succumbed to the pressure to reveal this little gem. It's a goodie, for certain. People LOVE this soup. They just do!



Find it HERE

A few tips:

*I've used boiled potatoes and baked potatoes. The BAKED POTATOES are far superior. Actually, truth be told, I soften them in the microwave for a few minutes and then throw them in the oven to bake. I'm a busy, busy, sought after woman. I don't have all blasted day to bake potatoes. (right).

*Double this recipe, if not triple or more. It really doesn't make that much and it's just as good (even better?) the next day. Just be careful with the hot pepper sauce. It gets hotter the longer it sits in your fridge. I don't use the full amount. But, let the record state that I am a heat wuss. I eat cinnamon bears one little tiny foot at a time. Just a heads up.

*I double (tripple?) the bacon and DON'T ADD IT beforehand. It is MUCH better/crispier when you let people add it as a garnish instead of letting it cook in the soup. Just make sure you save some of the bacon grease for your onions and garlic. It's kick-A.

*I double the garlic. You can never have to much garlic. Unless you are my friend Jen who sweats garlic for a week after any amount of consumption. So, double the garlic-excepting Jen.


Side note:
This IS indeed the recipe that nearly brought the house down last Christmas Eve. I forgot about the bacon and got on the computer. BAD BAD BAD!! 2 lbs. of bacon up in smoke. BAD NEWS. The horror. The SMELL. I then started a small kitchen fire by letting the printed recipe get too close to the open flame whilst cooking the bacon (the 2nd batch). So, don't be an idiot and your soup and house should be OFF THE CHAIN.

BAKED ZITI WITH SPINACH, TOMATOS + SAUSAGE

While I'm in the sharing mood, this is another AWESOME recipe I tried a few weeks ago. It is seriously KICK A.


Find it HERE

(image via stephmodo)

I used ALL of her suggestions and wouldn't have changed ONE DARN THING. Oh, I used all MILD sausage (see my aversion to SPICY above) and maybe added a bit more than it called for. Jeff LOVED it. The kids LOVED it, and it was stupendous the next day as well.

Good day.

Tidbits

*random photo for a random post*

*Be careful whilst typing "titbits". This here blog became X-rated quicker than you can shout POLE!!

*I'm on the hunt for the worlds most perfect bra.
I understand that the feat of engineering I'm expecting it to undertake is mind blowing, but I pray there exists some wondrous combination of hooks and industrial fabric that is up to the task.

*My mouth tastes like old cheese. (because I ate a piece of cheese 20 minutes ago, not because I'm disgusting (mostly).

*I've enjoyed not having to prepare a lesson for YW for the past 3 weeks FAR. TOO. MUCH.

*I wept the day I had to pull out my crusty frozen grape tomato plant. That day was Saturday and it sucked. ( a word I reserve only for extreme situations...that's how verclempt I am).

*I am happy that I had the good sense to NOT PURCHASE a few items of clothing last week that I thought made me look like a desperate 34 yr. old woman trying in vain to grasp the lasts strands of her fading youth.

*I can't decide whether I really HATE leggings on grown women or really LIKE leggings on grown women.

* I do know that I am in love with skinny jeans.

*I'm P.O.'ed that Zupas forgot my bread and strawberries TWICE in the last month. TWICE. It's got me all worked up. REAL BAD.

*I can't decide what to do with MY HAIR. Bangs? No bangs? Color? I hate decisions. I cheated on my hair girl and I'm afraid I may need to cheat again. I feel so dirty. Mostly because of the cheese taste in my mouth.

*I created an etsy account and purchased something today. For the first time. EVER. That probably only makes me half-female.

*David Letterman is a tool. And a loser. My adoration has officially faded and died.

* Sue's "Dear Journal" segment on GLEE last week was the best piece of comedy I'VE seen on T.V. in FOR-EV-ER. I actually paused it to write down a few gut-busting lines while catching up last night.
"Scab-eating-mouth-breathers"? Seriously? Well done Glee insult writers. I'm envious of your talent.

*be careful typing "gut-busting". (but-gusting?...seriously?)

good day!

Daddy-O

To the man I love above all others,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!



If you know Jeff, you know just how much there is to appreciate about this man.

I love you babe.

And just to prove my adoration I will NOT spoil this lovely tribute to him with a naked cruise/teletubbie/speedo picture. Besides, if you REALLY know Jeff, you've already seen enough of him in his infamous speedo to last a lifetime.

I love you THAT much.

And more.

If you see the birthday boy soon make sure you give him giant hug and a kiss on the cheek (either "cheek" will do). He really loves people invading his personal space:).

HAPPY 35th babe! Hope the next 35 are equally as fulfilling and entertaining as the the first 35.

I love you.

Heaven HELP ME

Today I finished ANOTHER super book.

Two enthusiastic THUMBS WAY UP!

It is completely deserving of the FIVE gold shiny stars ***** I gave it on GOODREADS.

I actually put off finishing because I did NOT want it to end. EVER.

It's one of those, or at least it was for me.




I believe that sums it up.

*available at Costco, naturally. Barnes & Noble will bend you over and ROB YOU...which is of course where I purchased my copy*

Baby Mine

Wow. Today was going to be a pretty low key day for me. I'd been thinking and looking forward to today knowing that for the first time in weeks there was nary a kids activity on the books. hooray. Well, cavities appear, schedules change, and mothers adapt:

Will's first cavity filled 7:00 am
*The hygienist thought he needed gas for his nerves. I acquiesced...after all, his father has been known to beg, cry, and curse in that torture chair...as an adult. Dental fear is inherited.

Flew home, fed kids and shewed them out the door to school.

Detailed the kitchen.
Wiped down cabinets, vacuumed drawers, vents, and base boards, de-germed sinks, counter-tops, and chairs, vacuumed floor and rugs, polished appliances, and mopped.

Currently on the 4th batch of laundry (washed, not folded...I'm only human).

Sorted Libby's new clothes/old clothes.

Gave potty training another valiant effort.

I figured that while I was toiling away in the kitchen, it would be a super time to throw some dora underwear on Libby and let her watch her shows in the family room with her books and her potty.



I had to take 4 shots before she'd quit flashing her little lady bits for the camera. That is not an inherited trait.

She DID keep her dora underwears dry for a few hours...but no amount of book reading, bribes of chocolate donuts and reeses, or trips to Target could elicit a single tinkle.

She begged and BEGGED to finally put her diaper back on, even though I warned her that diapers are only for babies, and certainly SHE is a big girl, and WON'T YOU BE SAD TO NOT GET THE DONUT OR THE CHOCOLATE OR THE TOYS?

I made her wait a few minutes longer and ran outside to pick some tomatoes.
When I came back in I found Libby waiting for me with a diaper in hand.
Since it was close to nap time I gave in and put back on the diaper.

Shortly thereafter I found this...



What is that? Well, THAT is her bribery treat bowl. It contained ONE chocolate donut and ONE wrapped reeses peanut butter cup BEFORE I went outside. It NOW contains ONE chocolate covered donut, and ONE reeses peanut butter cup WRAPPER, and ONE reeses stacked carefully on top of the donut.

Now THAT melts my heart. I'd like to think she chose to not eat the candy because she loves and wants to please her sweet, kind, patient mother, not because she's afraid her Nazi mother would EAT the donut AND the reeses while she looked on in horror JUST TO PROVE A POINT.

I'll take it, either way.

She's not ready. And you know what? It's okay. It's OKAY. We'll try again in a week or so. She's my baby. My baby. Who is finally entered a stage I don't want her to leave. I've probably NEVER said that before. About any child. I just could not manage to enjoy the moment enough. Always anxious and excited to see what came next. Wanted them to be more independent. But now I watch these big, busy, mess-making kids and wish they'd need me a little more.
(for something not related to housekeeping or taxi service)

So what if her poopy diapers are worse than that of a full grown nasty man, and that she waited all of 3 minutes after I put her diaper on to lay some cable. I am cherishing this time we have alone together during the day. She entertains me. She aggravates me at time, but I love her.

I'm feeling it...

I am. It's true. I think I may be back in the "mode" . What mode is that, you ask? The blogging mode. I'll make no apologies, because when I'm not feeling it, I'm SOOOOO not feeling it. I lost that loving feeling, if you will, albeit temporarily.

What HAS the D family been DOING all of this time? Well, pretty much the same shiz we we've always been doing. Eating food. Lazing around. Making fun of each other...only we've been doing it...ON WATER!! That's right. We bought a boat. A BOAT I SAY!

This I can tell you for certain. If you want to feel every single year of your 34 years buy a boat. And then ski/tube/knee board/wake board with the wild abandon of youth. I trust you"ll not be able to relieve yourself comfortably when nature calls for 3 days. Minimum.



We are having a freaking BLAST. It's officially kicking our butts, but I'm not opposed to a little healthy butt kicking for a good cause.

Now that the kids are back in school and Libby has learned to not graffiti any and all surfaces when left unattended temporarily, I hope my blogging mojo will stick around for awhile! I do miss it.

By the by...CATCHING FIRE (from my post below) is tremendous, if not ANNOYING. The ending barely constitutes an ENDING. The cliffhanger is unREAL!!. I may have liked #2 even a TEEENSY bit better than #1. March on out and get both books in this series and have yourself a fabulous reading binge.

OOOOOOOH YEEEEAAAAAHHHH

Wanna know what's even better than stocking up on winder cleaner, paper towels, beef jerky, 3 cases of water and world famous Cosctocookthemupyourself tortillas?

Finding a LOOONG anticipated sequel calling my name!!! It hadn't even been put on the shelf yet and you better believe I SNATCHED it up and hid it under my strawberries next to the frozen Kirkland chicken and paper towels just in case it isn't kosher to take things off the cart.




RUN over to your favorite bulk warehouse COSCTO and do yourself a solid by picking up this diddy for less than 10 BUCKS! (seriously). If I were you I'd also get some miralax and a churro, but that's probably just me.

*If this books STINKS don't blame me. I'm basing my pre-reading recommendation solidly on how kick-A the first book was. *

3rd grade english lesson

Ladies and gents:

If I am to be expected to continue on FACEBOOK there must be a few changes.

Or an elementary English exam.


YOU ARE = YOU'RE not YOUR

There ( a place)

Their (possessive....it is THEIR house, THEIR car...)

They're (short for THEY ARE)

If i start to take one more quiz that has one of these errors in the FREAKING TITLE I might punch my computer screen.

Now, if you (and all FB users) will kindly ignore my egregious spelling and misuse of big smart sounding words we should be good.

thanks kindly.

For Posterity's Sake...

I snapped this video the other night while the Mr. was goofing off with the Pibbs after paying some bills in the office. Now while the video is adorable and precious and heartwarming and all that jazz, the best part truly came after I ceased filming. When Jeff picked her up to go get her jammies on, she'd left a little nightcap for him. That's right, poo. Libby poo-ed. All over the paid bills. Way to stick it to the man libb!

And THAT, well, THAT I want to go down in D family history.

For time and all eternity.

luaghy libbs from tara daivs on Vimeo.

Let's get re-acquainted

Good afternoon ladies and gents!! It's truly sublime to be back with you at this juncture. I will attempt to play catch up via a bit of COLLAGE MAGIC. This is sure to blow your mind.


* Mothers Day wonderfulness
*Grace's first talent show. She sang Raindrops and Roses and she brought the HOUSE DOWN. And by "brought the house down" I mean "was scared spitless...didn't dare to move a fraction of an inch".. SHE WAS AWESOME:) GOOD JOB LU! SOOOO proud of you:)
*Piano recital-both kids were FANTASTIC. So was I...but then, level one primer material was always my strength.
*Family movie night. (Paul Blart-MALL COP did have a certain appeal. Jeff thought it was the most lamespice thing he's ever seen, but perhaps he is too highbrow for the common man.)


*Easter
*Will's birthday


*Pib and Lu getting their Picasso on.


WOW! that was FASCINATING, no?

What else...
*FUN biking adventure to Subway in the hail/rain/wind. Lu is still not convinced it was "FUN", but it was an adventure.
*Frying myself up LOBSTER STYLE every Saturday at the kid's soccer games. Can you say FARMER TAN? it's wicked.
*All FOUR of us speaking in church two weeks ago. We were so good it's probably time to go pro.
*Kicking our yard into shape. Looks GOOOOOOOOD.
*Planted pots-o-plenty. It brings me an unhealthy amount of pleasure.
*Planted the very lst D family garden. And if 5 plants constitutes a garden then by all means I'm a freaking farmer.

HAPPY TO BE BACK!!!!!

GLEE-RIFFIC!

every GLEE clip i see makes me even MORE interested. it will hold a temporary spot on the DVR until it passes closer scrutiny. check it out.
(bonus...the teacher is FINE...seriously)

Are you kidding me?

Watch the story here.

total and complete IDIOCY.


unbelievably stupid.

Scrubs - Musical Poop Song

I can think of no better way to usher in HUMP day.

take 2 minutes and ENJOY the crap out of this little masterpiece.

you'll thank me later.

enjoy:)

pssssst,,,

THIS little blogger is off track again and bringing her A game.

Just so you know:)

Pushing Daisies

Jeff surprised me this morning with a BEAUTIFUL new coffee table delivered right to my front door.

Isn't she loverly?


Less than ONE HOUR later Libby went freaking PICASSO all over it.

with dark blue semi-permanent marker.

One magic eraser (thanks shelley!), a mind blowing amount of elbow-grease, and ONE HOUR later she is now back to her pre-libby state.

minus the finish that the magic eraser removed.

Libby best be thanking her lucky stars that Grace had a friend over...because if the heavens had not smiled down on her in that one special moment and placed a WITNESS at my kitchen bar, the nap she is currently enjoying would haven been of the dirt variety.

Twilight Trailer Spoof!!!! Hummpy!!!!

I flat out STOLE this from my girl Kristi W. It does lose it the last 10 seconds (in my opinion), but he rest is GLORIOUSLY funny. WATCH IT!

happy monday

hump it up

HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!
It's Wednesday. It's 1:50 pm. I am in my sweats. I'm on day FIVE hair. Will is upstairs entertaining himself with light sabers and pokeman cards. Libby needs a nap but is watching "STREET" (as in SESAME street) so quietly (comatosely) right now that I dare not disturb a rare moment of PEACE such as this. And so I blog.

I've typed and retyped this post three times. Too serious. To random. Too lame. I'm in that sort of mood today. I'm all buffed and polished thanks to a late night pampering session (and by late night, I mean 10:30! call the cops!!) and I fear some of the fumes my have affected my logical thinking today. Whitening and waxing are not for the faint of heart. unless they are really hairy coffee drinkers.

D family happenings:

Libby discovered she has a love of all things syrup-y. Thus the puddles on my coffee table below. The peanut butter was not merely a prop. It had a minor yet substantial role.

Libby falls head over heals for toothpaste and floss. Displays her artwork on my bed. (luckily, the comforter was already at the dry cleaners due to an unfortunate sippy cup malfunction...leak proof MY ARSE!)



W scores big time at the history fair! Going to District Friday! Nicely done dude. He chose Elvis Presley for his "Important person in history" topic. nice. I campaigned HARD for Ronald Regan but ultimately had to let him select the King of Rock. He didn't understand my hard sell for the champion of the free market and capitalism. poo.




W's finished product. Here he is giving the other 5th graders the 411 on the KING.

G asked for "Benjamin waffles" the other day. ha. Benjamin/Belgium...same diff.

Re-did G's room. New bed and and all that shaz. No more guests having to slum it in a nasty dirty boy's bunk bed. Very cute indeed. Paint coming soon.

Prepping for L's room makeover. Rearranged and positioned yesterday. Big girl bed, paint, and bookcases coming soon. She's been in boxes since we moved here. darn near neglectful.

Quick trip to St. G over the weekend. Overly accommodating friends who really were beyond hospitable. Kids LIVED IT UP. Saw people I love and miss oh so very, very much.

FINALLY got "the wall" done. Pictures selected, framed and properly displayed. Good gravy. This little lady knows how to capture the fruit of my loins on camera. This collage does not even BEGIN to capture this space. I'm CLEARLY NOT the photog in the family.

( I have since fixed the spacing...rest assured)


Have the rest of a splendid week. I'm off to catch up on Dancing. GREAT season, no? impossible for me to pick a favorite as of yet.

Why yes, yes you are

Your mother was right...

poor saps can't DVR through commercials like the rest of America

These two are funny. and BORED. I think their vocals are just as entertaining as the "choreography".

pibbs

My life at this juncture is pretty repetitive. I suppose most parents of a toddler would agree.
She's messy.
She's curious.
She LOVES"Geowge" (curious george-the tv show).
She ADORES books books and books.
She LOVES to hear herself sing.
She loves twinkle twinkle and the ABC's
She thinks bubbles are heaven sent.
She's a MONSTER when tired.
She's bossy.
She loves chocwhat (chocolate) and shredded cheese.
She's always constipated (see above:).
She's a flirt and a tease.
She loves to "play" the "pwaaana" (piano) and Will's harmonica. (eww)
She loves to play "howsie" and yell "yee-ha".
She just started saying "jus kiddin'" and we laugh everytime.
She thinks everything is "scawwwy" (scary).
She sets the tone for the entire household. Ornery Libby=ornery house.
She insists on wearing a "hat" in the shower (shower cap...she DOES have impeccable taste:).
She still loves coloring. Especially on her person.
She orders me away from the computer so she can have a go.







Two year olds are bipolar. Of that I am quite certain.

She's had her first official time in the "corner" (see pics below) and LOVED every minute of it.

crap.



I don't recall life with a two yr. old very cleary from the last 2 rodeos- it's just been too long.

But we love our little pibbs, pibby, dibby, dibbs, libbs...Libby.

* I do realize there are a few extraneous pictures of G-lu but Satan himself could not force me to re-do that collage...so...be a lamb and suck it, won't you? :)*

Do I smell...

...SMOKE?

that was the question Jeff posed as he stepped out of the shower, just as I was opening the blinds in our bedroom at 6:15 this morning. The flashing lights and sirens had woken me. This is what we found upon closer inspection out the FRONT of the house:

4 ALARM FIRE:
9 fire trucks/four ladder trucks/3 billions other fire-emergency trucks/3 paramedics




Holy smokes batman!!! I must say, it was a bit creepy. Especially before the sun came up. I've never seen anything like it. Firefighters scaling the ladders into the top of that house. Smoke. Holy cow...the SMOKE billowing out of that poor house. It was under construction and they were going gangbusters on it. They had just poured cement and loaded tile into the garage. uggg. those poor owners.

The firefighters put on a show...that much is true. But the MEDIA circus was equally crazy. We certainly had the birds-eye view. EIGHT news media trucks parked in front of my house for HOURS. We watched all the live interviews, the set up, the HOOP-LA and the chaos. They interviewed my neighbor shoveling his walks. I kept a low profile since I'm wearing "ho-ho-ho" red Christmas socks and am currently on day-4 hair.




The dude below was the source of the FIRST embarrassing moment of the day. We didn't realize for over an hour that there were actually TWO houses burning. The second was RIGHT NEXT DOOR. I ran to my bedroom and opened the side blinds to find this:


Tell you what. I felt like a peeping-tom moron. He totally CAUGHT us taking his picture. But when we passed him a little later while taking the kids to school he smiled and waved to the kids. stupid curious civilians!!

An (extremely handsome) fireman/ fire investigator came to my door a while ago to see if we had heard/seen/smelled anything suspicious. We hadn't. Jeff was in the shower and I was dreaming of cake, at the time in question. I was still in my red ho-ho socks. And it's still day four- just for the record.

It's arson, according to handsome fire investigator. And apparently these A HOLES like to come back around and survey the damage they have caused, so best be keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. Who new owning opera glasses(tiny binocuars, for those non-artsy/nerdy) would come in handy OUTSIDE of the theater? I'll be getting my Nancy Drew on.

I heart Guernsey

You MUST read this book. I don't do the book thing here on Anyhoodle much these days, thanks to the convenience of Goodreads (which is AWESOME, by the by...go join today!!!), but I had to make my adoration for this little book public.

I knew NOTHING about this book before I turned the first page. I did not want it to end. I am in love with these characters. It was enjoyable on EVERY LEVEL. It's delightfully witty. Charming, even. Touching, unexpected, insightful...name your adjective. I'll tell you nothing about it other than it now resides SOLIDLY in my top 5. Forever. Trust me. I'm doing you a solid. Don't wait at the library (I was number 187!) so I finally bought it myself and will re-read and re-read this little piece of literary bliss.
Buy it here.

thankyou Kristi and Daisy for the recommendation. I owe you.

Merry Merry Ho Ho.

Well well well!!! What better way to wipe away the bitter January doldrums than an unexpected Christmas recap? Well, as always, I am here to serve YOU.

Christmas was WONDERFUL. You can see all the highlights below in the super duper hand crafted collages:) Libby hated Santa BOTH times their paths had the unfortunate opportunity of crossing. We LOVED being with our families. We played hand and foot till our eyes popped out. We reenacted the nativity (but of course!), we all enjoyed Steph's incredible "Watch the Lamb" guitar/vocal masterpiece (nary a dry eye in the room...even the chitlins...if you haven't heard her do this song, you really really are missing out on a genuine pleasure), I escaped a small kitchen fire, obliterated 3 lbs of bacon (the SHAME!), and certain death while preparing my baked potato soup, laid out the treats and COKE for the FAT MAN (coke is his preference, so we've been told), and watched the happy wonder enfold on Christmas morning. The FAT MAN totally delivered. He's magic, don't you know!?!



Better late than never, I always say:)

The HFAV (H family adventures) clan also added a snow shoeing expedition to it's fine tradition of exercise fun. This was my first outing as an active participant, and actually, it was rather enjoyable. Beautiful too. But, due to an unfortunate career ending groin-pull, it may just be my last. I'm a girl who know her limits.


Thanks for keeping me company on the way back to the car Alisa.

oh, and the, uhh...."injury" is healing up nicley, thankyouverymuch.

FYI...

...if the ONLY uploads you have to photobucket proudly portray naked kids and their body art, or your gloriously happily-naked, smiling hubby in Cabo, (or both!) they will FLAG your account and FLAG YOU HARD.


oh, and remove your photos and leave this little reprimand in their place.

you best believe I spent the better part of today uploading rainbows, unicorns, and kittens to photobucket, lest the perve police come a'knocking.

consider yourself warned.

LuLu

This little 8 yr old started a blog today! Being as I AM her mother I thought she deserved a proper WELCOME!!!

Check her out HERE:)

Have fun Gracie Lu!

Happy New Year To Me

I am a cleaner. It's true. I loathe clutter and openly embrace organization. It's a well inherited trait from my mother and her mother before her. I have relaxed with time, for sure, and that's a good thing. I've gotten lazier. I no longer know exactly which barbie shoe belongs with which barbie. I don't go all OCD IN YOUR FACE like I used to. I can live with a dirty shower and laundry unfolded STILL SITTING IN THE BASKET !!!! gasp! (or basketS...which is usually the case).

One thing I DO hate is MOPPING. I do believe I've documented this before. Floors have been my bitter ugly enemy since the dawn of time, and this house has been no flipping exception. These porous travertine floors are just as annoying as every other flooring I have loathed in the past.

UNTIL NOW!!!!

I was glued to an infomercial for THIS wonder product for a solid HOUR late Saturday night. I even got OUT OF BED to find a pen. I was nearly giddy with the possibilities, and have been on a MISSION to obtain this product since.


Target better deliver this gorgeous piece of genius to my front door in 3 DAYS or I'll leave the UPS man his own little treasure on the front stoop.

(don't waste your time driving two TWO different Targets AND BedBath&Beyond. They are only carried on the website, as it is clearly noted....not that I would ever be that stupid....I'm just saying...)

Oh boy

Libby has tapped into a knew part of her personality and I'm not exactly sure I approve. But then, exhibitionism, body art, and nudity were never high on my list.

help me!