What time is it?

I am so glad that last night was Dr. Heskett's last night of nights until next year. I have been having a really hard time sleeping at night and it has been kicking my butt lately. So per Dr. Heskett's advice I took a Tylenol PM a couple of nights ago and it totally knocked me on my ass. So last night I decided to try half a Tylenol PM thinking that it would be just enough to help me sleep soundly but not so much that I would not be able to get my butt out of bed in the morning.

So this morning seemed to come awfully early anyways. I don't remember hearing the alarm but standing in front of me crying is my two year old Palmer. I am beyond groggy trying to figure out why he is crying. Usually early in the morning he is crying because he wants something to eat. It is still REALLY dark outside and I really don't remember hearing the alarm go off but Emily is in the living room watching TV already. So I get up and start to head to the kitchen when I glance at the cable box. I have VERY poor eye sight and usually wear contacts during the day. I adjust my glasses because surely I did not just read that time right. I am still delirious. IT'S 2:30 IN THE MORNING!! WHAT?!?!

So I start yelling b/c I can't believe that I am up starting to get ready for the day and I should still be sleeping. We should all still be sleeping. Emily runs to her bed crying b/c I am the mean mommy who makes her sleep in the wee hours of the morning, and Palmer seems relieved and just flops down on his bed (most likely the reason he was crying to begin with). I go back to bed and am still dazed that we were all up at the butt crack of dawn. Needless to say 4 hours later I was kind of glad to be the mean mommy waking Emily back up. "Still tired" she dares to tell me. "Maybe you shouldn't have woken everyone up before the crack of dawn then huh?" What a way to start off your Friday...at least it wasn't Monday.

SNOW DAY!

Although there are many things that I love about working in higher education one of the top three is that sometimes we get snow days. Yesterday was such a day. It is like being a kid all over again. Walking up early to watch the news and then finding out that you get to go back to bed. AWESOME. It' s not just that you get an extra day off from work but the everything that goes into it too. It is a day to stay home in your PJ's and just bum. Too yucky to go anywhere.

So yesterday me and the two kids made a big breakfast (waffles..yum), went outside to play in the snow, drank hot chocolate with marshmallows, played board games, watched a movie, and made cookies. How perfect of a day is that? These are the same things I did as a kid when we had snow days too. Yes the house could be cleaned and laundry could be done. I have a ton of thank you cards to write and I could always find a million other things that NEED to be done. On snow days though we just hang out and spend time together.

Say Cheese

The school I work at has this campaign going on called "faces". Essentially what they are trying to do is show that they are a small and intimate campus. We want new students to feel like they know the people who work here. So to help with this process we have pictures of our staff and students EVERYWHERE. They are on our website, on posters, and around campus. We even have our pictures posted outside our office doors next to our name. I LOVE this idea. I think it is neat that we have awesome pictures of people everywhere. The downside is that I too have to have my picture taken and posted.

The good news is that one of our best history teachers is also a photographer on the side. So every week he has a couple of hours set up to stop by and have your picture taken. I have seen so many people's pictures turn out awesome. In fact I haven't really seen a bad picture of anyone yet. So last week I was told that I could delay the inevitable no more. In the past he had been set up for pictures on Tuesday so I planned to have my picture taken that day. I had my hair fixed super cute and wore one of my favorite outfits. Except he didn't send out his email stating where he was going to be that day. I figured oh well maybe next week. The next day we got the email. My hair was not as fabulous and I was not thrilled with what I had on. The response from my boss was that if I didn't like the pictures I could get them retaken as many times as I wanted to later. For now I must go and get it over with. So I went and here is the results. They are OK. I do plan to go back b/c in all it took less than 10 minutes and it was kind of fun. Just one of the many perks of working in higher education (it is definitely not the pay).

Totally Awkward Tuesdays- Tale of Amazon Woman and Cheating Jackass

You too could participate in Totally Awkward Tuesdays...check out Tova Darling.
Funny thing about my college friends and I is that we make up nick names for people and rarely refer to them by anything else.


I worked in the financial aid office as a student worker my entire undergrad year. Here I met the fabulous Tracey and some of her close girlfriends. These girls were a blast to hang out with/go to the bars with because they were 1) hot thus free drinks 2) loved to dance and 3) where way wilder than I ever was and therefore so much fun to party with. One of the friends Tracey introduced me to was nick named Floyd (not as original as you would think b/c that is her last name but hey go with it). Floyd had a much hated ex-boyfriend that apparently cheated on her and they lovingly referred to him as Cheating Jackass. Apparently Cheating Jackass was a guy that wooed her and left her for another girl that they all equally hated. I think secretly she was just heartbroken and really would have taken him back given the opportunity.


About the same time my roommate had a guy friend, Crow that hung around the apartment all the time. He had recently gone through a break up with a crazy nympho who was totally obsessive and crazily jealous. She was also SUPER tall so we called her Amazon Woman. Because this is a family site I will not go into some of the OUTRAGEOUS stories that he told about and the things that she wanted them to do. I will say GROSS.


Anyhoo we (the girls and I) were all out at the bars one night and were having a very good time. At our last stop of the evening Floyd came over and was totally stressed because Cheating Jackass just walking in with one of his super flake girls. At that moment I turned to get a good look at Cheating Jackass to give him a super dirty look for being such a given jerk. When looking in the pointed direction I saw Crow and my roommate walking into the bar. Yep Amazon woman is Floyd and Cheating Jackass is Crow. The funny thing is that in all of my drunken stupor I couldn't really put into words the rushing amount of thoughts going through my head. All of the disgusting freaky stories kept flying through my head and I realized that I knew WAY to much about both of these two people for my own good. So like a person with turrets syndrome I could only say OMG Amazon woman is Floyd and Cheating Jackass is Crow which meant absolutely nothing to anyone because no one but me hung out with both groups of people and knew what nicknames I was referring to. At about this time I decided that I needed to go home pronto. I am pretty sure this is exactly what compartmentalizing is for as I stopped hanging with Floyd and Crow was no longer my favorite guy either.

Book Sharing Monday

I totally almost forgot to share a book today. Today's book is one from a favorite author, Jodi Picoult. I heard her speak a few months ago and she is fabulous.

The book is called The Pact. I can't really explain the way she draws you into this sad story about a couple of young teenagers who fall in love. The two are hanging out, one gets shot, and the other is charged with the murder. Figuring out what really happened and hearing the anguish of this tragedy from all sides is heart rendering. Although not one of her most famous books it is one of my favorite. I love this book and recommend it to everyone.

Aftermath

Palmer's birthday went off without a hitch this weekend. It was fun and not that stressful. He loved it and I think everyone had a good time. There was plenty of food and train cake decorating was a hit for everyone.

It always cracks me up that you spend a ton of time cleaning to get ready for people to come over and trash the place. The kids room is a tornado. The dishes are piled up and everything needs to be cleaned again. The good news is that since the party was on Saturday I had all day yesterday to clean the place back up. Things are 95% back to normal. I don't mind messy. I understand that where there are new toys kids tend to go into overload. What does bother me is when the break/destroy things.

Palmer got a new train table and set for Christmas and there are no two pieces still together. I know that kids just play different but man. What is the purpose of taking everything apart? Poor Palmer tried to put some of it back together so he could run his trains but couldn't even do that. It would take me months to put it all back together so luckily Dr. Heskett doesn't mind that sort of thing. Needless to say as I was cleaning up yesterday I was heartbroken to find pieces of broken toys and toys that are now spread out all over the place. My kids are much gentler on toys (at least I think so) and tend to want things to stick together. In fact I would argue that Palmer is super OCD in that he likes everything organized and lined up. When he plays with his cars he first lines them all up and then pushes them one at a time. Even the farm animals from his barn tend to be in specific place.

I got to thinking about parent manners 101. I am not the best at remembering these things always but I try. When we go somewhere else and the kids are playing I try to always remember to have the kids help pick up the toys that they play with. Emily is the best little cleaner and it is always just a given that when you finish playing with something you pick it up. Kids get that. If you teach them from a young age it becomes somewhat routine. My kids know that shoes go in the cubby holes in their closet, coats go on the hooks in their room, dirty clothes go into the laundry hamper, and toys go back into the bins that they came from. Dr. Heskett and I are not the tidiest of people but I think that living in such tight quarters have helped us with this. There is no room to let your crap sit everywhere.

Then I thought even further out and wondered what kind of adult guest we were. Do you take your dishes to the sink and rinse them out and do you help clear the table after dinner? We have this unspoken rule at our apartment complex. Because there is no dish washer if you cooked then you don't do the dishes. I LOVE THIS RULE. It is so nice to just help put clean dishes away and put things back into the fridge. I also don't mind doing someone else's dishes when finishing a fantastic meal. We have done this so many times that we don't argue about it any more ("oh no you don't have to do that") and just get to work.

Anyways I am glad to get back to normalcy and we don't have anything really going on for quite sometime which is nice. This is Dr. Heskett's last week of nights (yeah) but then he goes onto a days rotation (boo).

Palmer James Heskett

Dear Palmer,

Today you are two years old. Where did the time go? You are the best little boy any mom could ever ask for. I love the quirkiness of your ways and how you have always acted like a little old man in a little boy's body. When you do accomplish something you clasp your hands behind your back and roll back on your heals just like your great grandfather did. I love your squishy cheeks and how your eyes light up when something occurs to you, or you figure something out, or when you just think something is funny.

It makes me smile when I see how much you adore your father and follow him around EVERYWHERE. I don't mind answering you 1209854p987 times a day when you ask where he is even though it is always the same....at work. You were an answer to his prayers and the perfect choice to carry on the Heskett legacy. Leonard would be proud.

Even though your sister acts like you drive her crazy she relishes the fact that you worship her. I am comforted to know that she feels safe in your bed with you when she has had a bad dream and that you both think I don't know. I know that she gets you involved in crazy activities that she assures you is OK with mom and dad and otherwise safe. Don't worry someday I am sure that this role will be reserved.

I am always fascinated at how you eat a banana a day and never get bored or tired of it and NEVER want anything else for a snack. I love that 5 out of your first 10 words were some how communicating that you were hungry (snack, hungry, cracker, bite, and food) and that the rest were your family (mommy, daddy, Emily, Palmer) and Please.

Even though your kisses are usually kind of gross (open mouth and snot) I love that you give them out freely. It warms my heart when I am holding you and you wrap your arms around my neck to plant one on me. Your adorable little songs and goofy little dances make us all laugh daily. People think I am crazy for wanting a bunch more kids but I have to say that if I could be sure that they were going to be as good of babies and toddlers as you have been I would have 5 more.

Happy Birthday Palmer,

Love, Mom

Traditions of the popcorn cake

When I was a kid growing up we would get to pick where we wanted to go out for our birthday dinner on our actual birthday. Of course we always had parties with friends and sometimes one with family too. My parents were not the homemaker type people so it was out to eat and store bought cakes, etc, etc. I never really noticed as a kid and it definitely didn't bother me either. Dr. Heskett's family is the exact opposite. They NEVER ate out and his mom ALWAYS made his cake. In fact there was a very specific type of cake that he got EVERY year. This is no ordinary cake mind you. This is the infamous popcorn cake. You read that right. His cake (which I must admit is fantastic) is unforgettable and every child's favorite. So in the honor of tradition what else could we take to school tomorrow for Palmer's 2nd birthday but the same cake his daddy took to school since Kindergarten (minus the peanuts b/c of allergies).

Popcorn Cake:

4 quarts of popcorn

1 lb of M&M candy

1 c of peanuts

1/3 c vegetable oil

1/2 c butter

1 lb marshmallows

Mix candy, popcorn, and peanuts in a large bowel. Melt marshmallows, butter, and vegetable oil in sauce pan until smooth. Poor melted marshmallows over the popcorn and stir until coated. Spray an angel food cake pan. Press popcorn mixture into angel food cake pan. Let sit until set up. Turn cake pan over onto a plate until it drops out. Whala you have the infamous popcorn cake pan.

Shed A Tear

Call it that time of the month, winter blues, stress, or just not feeling well. Whatever you call it I have been feeling kind of down lately. Not depressed just a little low. I go through this every now and then and one of the ways that I cope with it is to cry. For some reason I can't just cry for no reason (ok, that is not true sometimes I do) so I like to find a reason to cry that isn't really the reason I am sad about. Lost yet? What I mean is that I feel a little less crazy if I cry because I read a sad book or my favorite saw a sad movie. I have several of these movies that no matter how many times I have seen the movie I. ALWAYS. CRY. Dr. Heskett has even come to recognize these issues about me. (I don't cry with anyone else either...it is something that I do alone). If he sees that any of the movies listed below have been recently watched he knows that I have been feeling blue. Let me tell you that during the first few months after having both of my kids these movies were watched regularly. I feel more normal crying about someone dying or losing a loved one on TV than the milk I spilt.

So I thought I would share some of my all time favorite tear jerker movies and ask is any of you have other movies that get you every time.

10. Big Fish- I know that this is not that sad of a movie but for me I cried (more like sobbed) all the way out to the car after seeing this movie in the theater. The movie hits so close to home and reminds me so much of my father that it breaks my heart. My dad is famous for his crazy stories and I have always felt more like I was lied to rather than entertained. Love Love this movie.

9. Philadelphia- Tom Hanks was stellar and Denzel Washington should have gotten an Oscar...need I say more.

8. What Dreams May Come- The pain that the mom goes through is unbearable. I am not a fan of suicide for her you almost feel relief. I love the fact that he literally goes through hell and back to find her and fight for her. I love the images of what Heaven is like and although I shed a few tears I finish the movie with hope and reassurance.

7. My Girl- Of course the scene where she sees her friend during his funeral is killer. I felt like trying to find the little boys glasses so that he could see. Ever since that movie I have sworn that 1) we would have closed casket funerals and 2) If they worn glasses during their life they would be buried in them

6. Hope Floats- Her heartbreak and her struggles were real to me. I loved her grace and dignity and I loved that her mom was the one to make her fight to pick herself up and dust herself off. The scene in this movie is the one where she goes to visit her dad. He can't remember anything but he remembers her when she was a child. The comfort in his face when he recalls this memory is priceless and her dancing with him tears me up typing about it.

5. Steel Magnolias- I love this movie. It is funny and witty and so sad. I understand Shelby's desire to have a baby. I understand her selfishness in wanting what everyone else has and I understand her mom's wish in having only her daughter. It is a story about family and the commitment you make to supporting them no matter what. I love it when Miranda gets mad and how her friends are just there to bear witness. They can't fix it, they can't make it better, but they can be there.

4. The Passion of Christ- I knew this movie was going to be sad. What I didn't know was that the movie would be so real to me. My favorite scenes in the movie were the ones that were made up but made him seem more human (I love the table scene with his mom). I also felt more pain that I had ever really thought about for his mom. I can't imagine the pain she went through bearing witness to her son.

3. The Notebook- I love this movie and I loved the book (I will do a post on saddest books sometime). I fought for Noah from day one and I loved how he fought for Allie until the end. I told Dr. Heskett that that was the way I wanted it...I wanted us to die in each others arms together when we are both very old.

2. PS I love You- When Dr. Heskett and I were engaged one of the things we talked about was dying. I made him promise that I would die first. I know what a crazy thing to promise but the thought of living without him is so terrifying to me that it is more scary than dying myself. (I also made him promise to go to a psychic if there was a way to you know like John Edward or something...he said that if there was a way...and I NEEDED him to he would..and I believe him) When I saw this movie I saw Dr. Heskett and I. I could see her heal with something to focus on besides that she was alone. I think that because I have two kids to think about I would have something else to focus on but what if I didn't? I love that their love was unconventional and hard and not perfect. Love never is.

1. Beaches- I know that this is probably not the saddest movie on anyone else's list but for me it is my favorite. I have loved this movie FOREVER. I only have it on tape so I haven't watched it forever. I love the little girl in this movie and how she only wants to know if she can bring her cat. The struggle that this mom goes through letting go of her child and the desire to live is tough for even the non-cryer. Gets me every time.

So what is your favorite sad movie? What do you do when you are sad? I wish I could grab a bottle of liquor and dance it out like Grey's but I am not sure it would do it for me.

But What Will I DO?

Yesterday Dr. Heskett and I had a lengthy discussion about our finances. We have always done OK on the money side of our lives. There has never been "enough" but there was always "enough"...if you know what I mean. However the move from Kansas was definitely a big test. Not only did it cost a lot to to make some repairs to the house before we sold it but the move itself cost quite a bit. Add that to me staying home for almost a year and whala...we have a bit more credit card debt that what we feel comfortable carrying. On the horizon we are hoping to have another baby sometime in the next year or two which means added daycare and the need for a bigger vehicle. So thus the want to try and get all of our debt paid off.

We are not elaborate spenders. Sometimes we indulge our children and sometimes we eat out a few times a week but when push comes to shove for the most part we are reasonable spenders. So when we took a long hard look at our budget there wasn't a lot of room to trim fat from. Besides the promise to cut our grocery bill a little and eat home more often that didn't leave much to add to our "pay off debt" campaign. Then Dr. Heskett said something I was totally unprepared for. His suggestion was to turn off our Comcast services. This mean no TV, Internet, or land line phone. The phone I could care less about and the Internet would stink a little but my palms started to sweat as I contemplated going without TV.

I have mentioned before that TV is my one vice. I love my DVR, On Demand, and Pay per View. The worst of it is that the timing couldn't be worse. Lost premiers this week as did a few other Showtime and HBO shows that I watch...not to mention May finales. I can't imagine not being able to tun the TV to the Sprout channel for those few much needed minutes to get dinner on the table not to mention our morning routine of the kids watching TV while we sleep for a few extra minutes on weekends. Who am I kidding I would really miss, Grey's, Desperate, Gossip Girl, 90210, Private Practice, Biggest Loser, Big Love, Entourage, Lost, Privileged, The L Word, and many many more.

Dr. Heskett's response was yeah it would suck. He would miss sports and the Internet. The problem is that Dr. Heskett watches TV not shows. He likes to see what is on and usually ends up with a movie that he hasn't seen a million times or something on the history/discover/war/etc channel. This is totally different. He could fill that gap with something else...like a book. I would miss the action of what is happening...what if one of the characters that I love would die? I would totally miss it until this summer sometime when I could maybe rent the season. I panic just thinking about it.

Then reality hit me. I am addicted and I am letting my kids get addicted. That is precious time that can be spent doing something else and the payoff is huge. I have to admit that our bill has gotten a little (maybe a lot) out of control. We pay $190 a month to Comcast. This includes our land line phone (unlimited long distance), Internet, and cable (DVR, big Cable package, sports tier, HD, etc, etc, etc). If we added $190 a month to one of our credit card bills we would make an impact. It would also solidify our commitment to pay it off for good. I think that debt is like weight in that the harder you work at paying it off the longer it will stay off....at least I hope.

So here were my terms of agreement. Dr. Heskett has to start running with me. It is something that he dreads/hates a much as it kills me to not watch TV. We also have to sign up for Netflix. I am crazy but not that crazy. We can't watch TV but we have to have something to kill quite afternoons at home on the weekends. We are going to talk about it again tonight because I want to know exactly when we can turn it back on and how exactly we are going to tackle this debt. I will keep you posted on how this goes and just so you know I may have to stop by for a quick fix sometime.

Totally Awkward Tuesdays

For rules and to participate check out Tova Darling's blog.

Dr. Heskett and I started dating our freshman year. This means that almost all of my best drunken college stories involve him or he was witness or he was the source of the hilarious situation.

Dr. Heskett had 9 people in his high school graduating class and they to this day are all very close. Most of the guys went to a small state school that was renowned for the parties. Several times a year we would all (everyone from the small town that went to KSU) road trip to this college for a weekend of drunken fun and rampant with our friends.

A few weeks after we got engaged we had such a weekend and it did not disappoint. Dr. Heskett is many things but keeping up with his high school buddies in a weekend marathon of drinking is not always one of them. So after the big party that the friends were hosting started to die down the remaining crew (minus Dr. Heskett who went upstairs to pass out) decided to head to a local bar to continue the fun.

Side note: the bar (still there today) is named the Sip 'n Spin. You guessed it...it is a bar/dance club and attached to it is a laundry mat (by attached I mean in the next room). Ah, how I miss Kansas.

These friends that we hung out with were more like family as their girlfriends and I were very close and we had spent countless evenings and weekends together. We went on vacations together and everyone's parents were close friends as well. I preface this because while at the bar we were continuing to drink and we were dancing. By dancing I mean we were drunk and having a good time dancing. I think dancing is something that can be intended to be very innocent but from the outside can look like something completely different. So during one of these dances I had a cute blond guy who was there with his friends come up to me with a very pissed off look on his face.

Hot guy: "Nice ring"

Me: "Thanks" who are you and what do you want?

Hot guy: "Where is your fiance" with a disgusted attitude

Me: (very drunk and feisty) "none of your F**%ing business...what do you care"

Hot guy: "I bet he would care if he saw you out here acting like this"

Me: "What the hell...actually I don't think he would care but you can go ask him if you want to..who are you anyways and why do you care?"

By this time the two guys that I was dancing with started to circle and so did the girlfriends that were there too.

Hot guy: "I'm Landon...his cousin? Where is Bret?"

Me: Recognition of who this person was and why he was freaking out b/c of what it really looked like to him...awkward..."Oh Landon...hey how is it going? Bret is back at the house passed out. These are his classmates and their girlfriends...we were just dancing and having some fun.

Landon: Awkward pause and looking around for confirmation also feeling like an ass...he too had been drinking. Luckily we are all friendly drunks and preceded to continue drinking and then he and I danced and we met him the next morning over breakfast and laughed about it.

I did notice the next day that Dr. Heskett had several missed calls from Landon that night. I thought it was pretty sweet that he was looking out for his cousin and really Dr. Heskett could give a crap less. He was pretty bummed that his missed the rest of the party.

Oh, yeah and I forgot awkward moment number two of the night. When I got back to the house I went up to room and left the lights off b/c there was an outside light that left just enough to see. As I was stripping off my clothes and changing into my PJ's I realized that another friend was in the room sleeping on the floor on the other side of the bed.

Me: "Good night Stover"

Stover: "snicker snicker...night Adriana"

Who knows who cares...ah the joys of being young and drunk

*This is a pretty mild drunk story b/c we are a family friendly site (not to mention I am pretty sure my MIL reads it sometimes)

Book Sharing Mondays

I used to go to the library with the kids at least once a week when I was staying home. Because I was reading so much I had to reach out and find books that I would not have otherwise picked up. Dr. Heskett and I both share a love of reading although almost always very different types of books. In fact there are less than a handful of books that we have both read (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc). One book that we both could not put down though was Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth. This book was one of Oprah's bookclub books and although I was sceptical at first (not to mention the shear size of it is quite daunting) I fell in love after only a few chapters. This is one of the biggest fast reads I have ever experienced. It is a tale that takes place in 12th century Europe. It is about the building of a Cathedral and the people involved. It involved knights, a monastery and it's prior, a builder and his family, and all of the love, drama, and war that inspires true classics.

Don't forget to check out Gaining Wisdom's post about Book Sharing Mondays.

Better Mental Health

I had a great weekend. We had nothing planned and just spent some time getting errands ran and hanging out as a fam. It was really nice. One thing that I did do this weekend was scrapbook for the first time since we moved to PA. I used to scrapbook all the time. Me and some of my friends would get together with a few bottles of wine and scrapbook into the wee hours of the morning. It was fabulous. I haven't really met ANYONE who scrapbooks here in PA. I am sure that I could find a group but it is much better if you are just friends with someone who scrapbooks and you decided to do that together rather than see a movie or something. Anyways since we didn't have anything going on Sat afternoon and everyone else was taking a nap I decided to pull my stuff out and see what I could get through.

It was awesome and I totally got lost in my task. I got a lot done and it was so much fun. I scrapbooked for 4 hours and it felt like five minutes.

I tagged this post mental health because last year was really rough for me and I feel like I have come full circle. A year ago Palmer was in the hospital, I wasn't working, I was super depressed, money was awful, and we were desperately searching for a way to move back to KS. There were days where I would sit on the couch and cry for no reason other than I was just that miserable. (I wonder what that did to my kids' mental health).

Staying home was never really the source of my depression. I loved staying home with my kids and some days that fun was all that I had getting me out of bed everyday. Emily and I are closer than we have ever been and I am extremely thankful that I have that. However, not having any money and not being able to find a job since I was looking was part of the issue. The other part of the issue was loneliness and homesickness. Interns work so much that it literally felt like me and the kids were dropped on this new planet.

Although we are still searching for close friends we have made great lengths at meeting new people. I have been back to work for 9 months and while money is not great it is much better. The kids are happy and healthy and Bret's hours are slowly but surely getting better. It's funny that something as simple as getting out an old hobby of mine reminded me of how far we have come. People always told us that moving away from family would make our family closer and for a LONG time I thought they were crazy but in reality they were really right.

Controversy

I am reading the latest Ann Coulter book, Guilty: Liberal 'Victims' and Their Assault on America. I know how controversial some of her books are and this is no exception. Already she has had several heated discussions with some of the liberal talk shows and it has been interesting.

There is no question that I am a pretty conservative political person. Which is funny because I tend to be the minority with my friends and even family. I tend to keep my mouth shut because I truly don't want to hurt people's feelings and conservative viewpoints don't always come off as unoffensive. I am not judgemental and the struggle that I find myself when I read her books is that she puts harsh criticism and blame on "someone". While I don't always agree that putting blame somewhere is productive I DO agree with some of her points.

In her latest book her argument is the most liberal people in our country make being a victim something heroic. Rather than try to prevent them from getting into these situations (by choice, fate, poor circumstances, etc) we enable them. Particularly in this book she focuses on single mothers. I am very torn on this subject because I do admire single mothers. It is a tough load to haul. I am not sure that I could ever mange it. On the other hand no other classification can be so clearly pointed to as the one common thread for a long strew of social issues in our country.

"By 1996, 70 percent of inmates in state juvenile detention centers serving long-term sentences were raised by single mothers. Seventy percent of teenage births, dropouts, suicides, runaways, juvenile delinquents and child murderers involve children raised by single mothers. Girls raised without fathers are more sexually promiscuous and more likely to end up divorced. A 1990 study by the left-wing Progressive Policy Institute showed that, after controlling for single motherhood, the difference in black and white crime disappeared. Various studies come up with slightly different numbers, but all the figures are grim. A study cited in the far left-wing Village Voice found that children brought up in single-mother homes "are five times more likely to commit suicide, nine times more likely to drop out of high school, 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances, 14 times more likely to commit rape (for the boys), 20 times more likely to end up in prison, and 32 times more likely to run away from home." "

I wish that Ann and others would spend less time criticizing the mothers and more time working on finding solutions to help curve this issue. I also wish that more time was spent criticizing the fathers that for whatever reason are no longer around. I wish for everyone to stop taking offense and accept the harsh reality. Instead we argue and throw blame.

The Winner is....

Thanks to everyone who participated in my vote for Palmer's birthday party theme. The votes were split evenly after I voted. So... I picked trains. (Don't worry there is always next year for dinosaurs) I choose trains mostly because I found the most awesome train cake pan from Williams Sonoma (no I did not spend $56 on a cake pan, I bought it on ebay instead). So not to spoil the surprise for any of you who will be coming to the party I won't tell all until after the party which is next weekend. Just the main activity which is the reason for the cake pan...the kids will each get their own train car to decorate using frosting bags with fun tips and candy. I got this idea when the kids and I were working on a gingerbread house together. Palmer really liked putting the candy on the house and I think he will enjoy decorating a train too. This weekend I have to pick up all of the last minute supplies like the cups, plates, napkins, etc. It should be a lot of fun.



Speaking of winning....Tova Darling is giving away some very cool jewelry (button pendants) that she made to people who post about her contest. I like everyone else love winning free stuff so check out her site and leave a post about your favorite choice so that you can be entered too!

GM

Today is my grandmother's birthday. I believe she is 92 or 93 (I know it is terrible that I don't remember exactly how old she is but after 90 the years sort of run together). So even though she has NEVER even seen a computer other than at someone elses house, this post is in her honor.

My grandmother, Frances, was by far the most influential woman in my life. Not that my mom didn't have a big impact on me but the reverence that I had for my grandmother could not be matched. My dad was the youngest child by over 10 years and thus my next closest cousin in age is 12 years older than me and lived in Texas most of his life. So when my sister and I were born it was almost like being the only grandkids and we were spoiled rotten. My cousins and I have always referred to our grandparents by GM & GP.

I say that GM was the most influential woman in my life because to me she was the example. She has always been a quiet and reserved woman. She was a devoted wife, mother, Catholic, daughter, sister, and friend. She ALWAYS believed the best of everyone. She was married to my grandfather for 60 years before he passed. Their marriage was one of love, compassion, and a deep mutual respect. GM doted on GP but GP respected her and even when I was a small child I saw and understood that.

As a mother she was loving but firm. She raised her children to be respectful and to find their place in the world. As a Catholic she never missed church and feel asleep every night holding her rosary which she prayed faithfully. She taught me to let God, which I think is one of the hardest lessons I have ever had to learn. Although I never met her mother I have heard stories about how she brought her FIL in to live with them so they could take care of him and of how she visited her mother several times a week. Her relationship with her siblings have been rocky over the years but she was the one who throughout the disagreements worked to find peace and bring them closer together again. As a friend she was one of the best. Taking care of them when they were sick or down, always inviting in the outcast. There was a woman in town that smelled so bad and was so dirty that all of us had to swallow down bile to be near her. She was known for lifting her dress and squatting right there in GM's yard. Yet GM never let her know that she knew and never thought twice about offering her a cup of tea and to sit in her kitchen to visit (even though it would take the rest of the day to air out). She did always refuse the coffee or cookies that the woman offered us (she wasn't that nice and knew that the woman had over 20 cats living with her).

GM was a fabulous cook and used food to soothe the soul. She has more patience than anyone I know. She always took the time to get me an apron and let me help with everything she did. The weeks I would spend at her house in the summers were some of the happiest in my life. They lived on a tiny farm in a tiny town in Kansas. While there we would make cookies, she taught me to cross stitch and crochet, we pumped water from the well to water the flowers, weeded the garden, fed and gather eggs from the chickens, hung the laundry on the line to dry, and walked to church and back every Sunday. Their home was safe and warm place where everyone was welcome.

When our family would all gather for the holidays a favorite quote always came to mind.."Because two people fell in love". To me that was the story line. GM & GP fell in love and together they created this family with many generations to come. Not only did she create this family but she nurtured it too. I remember when my cousin at the tender age of 20 moved to Alaska with her husband and 4 month old baby my grandmother dried her tears and wrote to her weekly to soothe homesickness that followed. On my wedding day she told my husband that he was a good man and that GP would be proud to call him his grandson. When I shocking found out I was pregnant she was the first person I told (after Bret) and she cried tears of joy and eased some of my deepest fears of motherhood.

GM was not famous. In fact very few people outside her family and the small town that she lived in her whole life had ever heard of her. She was also not outspoken or one to lecture. Instead she set the example with her own actions and made me want to make her proud. I hope that I lead a life as honorable as hers. I strive to be the things that she was and will always be.

Totally Awkward Tuesdays

Once again it is Tuesday which means therapy day otherwise known as Totally Awkward Tuesdays. For today's story I had to dig deep into the pit of things I would have rather forgotten for a story that will keep you entertained. Little known fact about me is that I had 3 wedding dresses. You got that right...3 wedding dresses.

The first wedding dress that my mom and I bought was at a Tuxedo rental shop in little old Topeka Kansas that was getting out of the bridal portion. The dress was beautiful. It was a candle light white color, strapless and PERFECT. Not only did this off the rack dress fit me (shocking I know) but it was on such a clearance that we got the dress for $300. We took the dress to my aunt's house because she was going to keep it for me. Mind you we jumped the gun a little here by buying the dress almost a year before the actual wedding. The plan was just to keep the dress at her house until closer to the wedding and then we would take and get it cleaned, etc. Crisis #1 was that a main water line in her house burst and low and behold my perfect dress was ruined with water stains that don't do well with silk. We were all heart broken. Little known fact was that my aunt had taken pictures of the dress and when she talked to her home insurance guy they went ahead and gave her replacement money for the wedding dress....cha-ching we had three times the original amount of money to buy a new dress with. Nothing soothes a broken heart like the sound of money.

Dress number two is where the awkward part comes in. We went to a shop that was very well known in Kansas and were looking through the catalogs for a new "perfect" dress. All of a sudden I turned the page and found MY DRESS. My mom, aunt, and I were shocked and needless to say that was the fastest shopping experience I have ever had. Not only did I find my dress but I also got to order it in white and the detachable train too. Crisis solved right?

A few months later I came back to the shop with mom, aunt, dad, sister, etc in tow for the big first fitting. I can't explain how excited I was and how anxious I felt about "the feeling" that was supposed to come when you find the one. So here I am in the waiting room with the ugly strapless bra they let you borrow and the slip that helps to make the dress poofy and the girl comes in to help me into the dress. It is really snug. Not just really snug but it barely fits over my head and there is no way in hell that it is going to zip shut. The girl helping me doesn't really say anything just sits there looking at me trying to figure out how we are going to shut the dress. I am not sure what is going on but I know that there is no way that the dress is going to fit. The girl tells me that she is going to go get her manager. At this point awkward is the word I am looking for to describe how I feel sitting here in my skimpies waiting. The manager is also the owner and is a seasoned bridal expert. She comes in with something that to this day makes me nauseous to even look at...her measuring tape. She quietly but very seriously asks me "have you put on any weight recently?" Horrified I want to be honest and I tell her that it is possible but I don't think I had gained THAT. MUCH. WEIGHT. She tells me that they are going to remeasure me and if my sizes have changed then the store is not responsible for the dress not fitting. HOLY. COWS. All I can think about at this point is that my parents are going to have to buy another dress because their lousy excuse for a daughter is a gigantic COW. She writes down all of the measurements and says "I'll be right back". I start to lose it at this point. My mom finally comes back to find out what the heck is taking so long. I start to put my clothes back on and by this time I am crying so hard that all I can tell her is that I am too fat to fit into my dress and that I want to go home. My mom is heart broken looking at me this way and goes to sick my dad on someone. Nobody should be crying on what is supposed to be a happy day. So my dad goes to find the manager and he is ticked. Long story short the girl who ordered my dress forgot the 1 that goes in front of this size dress they ordered for me. The dress was 5 sizes TOO SMALL and I had actually lost weight since the last time I was measured. The manager was horrified and my parents were ticked. I almost felt bad for the lady as my dad laid into her and I sat there with tears stained on my cheeks. Needless to say it was a weird sort of situation. They ordered me a new dress and had to have it rushed. They gave us a discount on the dress, a free veil, and gloves and even though I was sick to my stomach terrified to try on the third dress it was perfect.

Book Sharing Monday

I read a post at Gaining Wisdom about book sharing Mondays. I love books and I love the idea of posting about some of my all time favorite books. While I read all of the popular books that everyone knows about (Twilight, Jodi Picoult, Nicholas Sparks, John Grisham, Harry Potter, etc) there are a few that are less heard of that I think are a great find. So for today I am posting about my favorite love story of all time. This is a book that broke my heart and made me realize that you can find and marry your soul mate. The book is called My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva.

Ekaterina and Sergei were pared as ice skating partners at the tender ages of 11 and 14 for the Soviet Union. The book is about their life together and how over time they fell in a deep and passionate love for each other. Sergei died in 1995 suddenly of a heart attack..he was only 28 (my age). While most of the book is deeply moving and heart wrenching there is a chapter that talks about the first time she skated by herself after he died. Her fear of being alone was beautifully displayed in a form of art in her skating piece dedicated to him. I read this book in high school but have since read it again and I still think it is one of the greatest love stories ever and it is true which to me makes it all the better.

Flying Mouse

I loath doing laundry. I really loath doing it since to get to the old quarter style machines in our building you have to go outside and into the basement..in the cold. Emily has this little Rose Petal cottage that has a little play washing machine and one time I found it in the middle of the hallway. I asked her what it was doing there and with a completely straight face she told me "mom, washing machines don't go in the house"...like duh?

So last night I had about five loads of laundry to do. Bret had left for work and I only had one load of whites left in the dryer that I needed to go get. Of course I flipped on the outside light and I started down the first step and I thought I saw something scurry. There are not a lot of things that freak me out but scurrying things do. More importantly mice do. I know how silly it must sound for a grown person to be afraid of a tiny mouse. My husband once asked me what was the worst that it could do. In my mind touching me or biting me is my paralyzing fear.

So last night I told myself that it was nothing and took another step. Just as this happened the little sucker came straight for me and jumped over a step and was almost touching me. Needless to say I was back in my house with the door shut and bolted so fast that I didn't even have time to scream. I had no idea that mice could jump like that and so fast. My heart was racing and I was trying not to panic as I paged Dr. Heskett at the hospital (yes paging is for emergencies and yes this was an emergency). He just laughed and tried to tell me that he was sure it was gone by now. I was wondering to myself how I was going to sleep by myself that night. Dr. Heskett finally agreed to get the laundry in the morning when he got home from work. It was good thing I had my book to fall asleep reading too (I heart you Eric) because I can only imagine the nightmares I might have had otherwise about the flying mouse that was going to get me in my sleep.

Sorry Edward you have been replaced

Ok not really..I still love you but my new love is just....more. More sexy, more mysterious, more make me blush. As mentioned in my Christmas wish list post I wanted new books. Specifically I wanted the Sookie Stackhouse series books. These books are a Vampire series for adults (very much adult ;) Being the good husband that Dr. Heskett is he took my list with him (literally on his iphone he was looking for the pictures I posted) and got me the series (minus the last book but that wasn't his fault because it was not listed in all of the books cover) and I finished 6 of the 8 books.

I. LOVE. THEM. The books became popular because HBO started a new series this past fall called True Blood. The show is OK. I like it but some of the characters are annoying in my opinion and the lead hot guy (or at least in the beginning) is not as HOT as I would have dreamed him to be. This OK though because my heart strings are pulled by Eric.

Back story: In the books/show the Japanese invent synthetic blood intended to be used for trauma patients in ambulances. Low and behold that in addition to this use the Vampire community comes out of the closet because they are no longer a threat to humans because the synthetic blood satisfies their needs (sort of). Anyhoo, Eric is a Viking with long blond hair (never thought I would think that was sexy), piercing blue eyes, a sexual appetite that cannot be satisfied, and this bad boy attitude that has a strange and perplexing softness for the lead lady, Sookie. Problem is that this has never happened to him, she is kind of with Bill who works for him, and thus you see the crazy love triangle that has yet to really develop on the show.

I think the funny thing for me is that I almost never root for anyone but the main character. I never thought twice that Bella should be with Eric, in the notebook I was rooting for Noah since the beginning, and in every other love story that I have loved I didn't care who would be hurt as long as they ended up together. In this case I loath Bill and cheer for Eric. I love the electric connection between the two of them and I hope for Bill to do something wrong so that Sookie will find her way to Eric. OK, enough of my filling in spaces with my own hopes. I have started to slow in my reading of the final books because I am starting to worry that my hopes of them ending up together are starting to look dashed at best. I will always hold on to my own ending and hope that in this one case the movie will agree with me and choose Eric (who knows maybe the author came to her senses and some crazy plot change will push them together). In the meantime you should really check out the books or at least the series...although I must warn you that the books don't get GREAT, FANTASTIC, BEST EVER until book 3. Up until then they are just good.

Preschool Birthday Politics

We had drama at preschool yesterday. A little girl in Emily's class had handed out invitations in cubby holes at school. The drama came when some of the little girls realized that not everyone was invited. Emily was one of the girls that didn't get invited. Surprisingly the school does not have a policy on this issue. In my experience most schools have a policy that it is all or nothing with bringing invitations to school.

I understand the need/want to not invite 17 four years olds to a birthday party. We neither have the money or the space to do so (but we probably will anyways with a July bday we can have it outside but that is beside the point). However we (the mighty PTA) created a contact sheet for the entire school for situations like this. If you do only want to invite close friends you should mail the invitation to the home and speak to the parents invited directly to make sure that they too are aware of limited number of invitations.

It really is sad. Emily searched HIGH and low for this invitation that she was sure would be in her box SOMEWHERE. I too thought of course no mom would only bring invitations to a select few so I asked the teacher and her response was "yes, unfortunately that has been happening a lot more lately". UGH.

This is not the first time this has happened to Emily. Last year Emily had a very close friend at her school. Her mom was very reserved and quiet and not very "hey, how ya doin?" sort of person. Emily came home for a week telling me about this little girls princess birthday party that was coming up and I had no idea what she was talking about. We never got an invitation but Emily had so many details about what was going to happen that even I started to wonder if maybe an invite got lost. So I called another mommy from the class that is a good friend and asked her if her daughter got invited (I know this is a lot of running around for a silly birthday but you have to understand that a birthday party is almost as good as going to Disney to a 4 year old little girl...this is serious people). This mommy said that yes her daughter got invited but that she knew that only one other little boy from the class was invited and that was because the mom's were all old friends. While this made me feel a little better (it wasn't that most of the girls got invited and Em didn't) I still wasn't sure how to explain the situation to Emily.

I don't like to explain to my child the unfairness of life at such a young age. I teach her that everyone is her friend and that it is not nice to exclude people. I am not sure if I would even let her choose one friend at this age because I don't want her to think that hurting other people's feelings is not nice either. I learned this direct. When I was 3rd grade I wanted to have a sleep over for a bunch of girls. I went to a pretty small school and I wanted to invite all of the girls except one. (I think there were 9 girls in my class). The girl I didn't want to invite was very poor and worse yet she smelled. My mom was adamant that everyone or no one was to be invited. The only compromise my mom gave me was I could have one girl over instead. I really wanted a real slumber party (and one friend was not going to cut it) so I invited everyone and hoped for all that was holy that the one girl couldn't come.

Much to my dismay she came. I. WAS. HORRIFIED. Third grade is a rough year and I just knew that this was going to ruin me. Long story short I realized that the girl was nice and SUPER quiet/shy. I felt sorry for her and so did a couple of the other girls. Don't get me wrong in no way did she become my BFF and I am sure that this was not a life changing event for her but it made me a better person and taught me that as a mom it is our job to teach our kids to be considerate. As I step down from my soapbox I digress.

Luckily I am an active member of the school's mighty PTA and you better believe that this will be a subject we talk about. We have new students to add to the contact roster and there will be a note addressing the new invitation policy. Who knew that it would start this soon? Sometime I will tell you about a little girl that brought another little girl in the class to tears talking about how fat she was. I am not sure that Emily even knows what fat means.

Don't forget to vote for your birthday party theme. One of the activities planned for the dinosaur party would be to decorate papermache eggs (that are stuffed with their goodie bag stuff) and for the train party they will get to decorate a train shaped cupcakes with frosting and candy and things.

Also in light of my birthday post a fellow PA blogger is celebrating his birthday today and his only wish (probably not his only but...) is for some crazy traffic on his blog. So stop by Dr. Zibb's blog That Blue Yak and wish him a happy birthday from the fans of From KS to PA (all two of you :).

Hey there Mr. Grumpy Fins

Just keep swimming...just keep swimming. UGH. I have yet to recover from our trip back to Kansas and it is starting to take it's toll. The weather here is just awful (rain/sleet/slush) and it is starting to reflect in my mood.

Dr. Heskett is on a nights rotation and after this month goes straight to days. I knew all year that these two months would the hardest of the year but knowing doesn't really prepare you the way you would hope. Not only are we (me and the kids) trying to get back into a routine we are just worn out. I know that things like the house being a disaster, the laundry that needs to be done, groceries need to be bought, holiday decorations that need to be put away, and the shortage of cash from the trip and holidays are not helping either.

I feel awful when I am so short with the kids. They are hard to get up and around in the morning and I am not giving them enough time because I am not getting up and around early enough either. In the evenings we are scraping something together for dinner watching some TV and trying to go to bed early. On top of it all I have been trying to watch what I eat and start exercising more regularly. Since I let our gym membership go and Dr. Heskett is working nights I have been going on my lunch hour to a fitness class at the school gym (I know that is commitment right?). So as my favorite little Dory says...just keep swimming...just keep swimming. If I keep going this too shall pass and before I know it the awful rotations will be over and spring will be here soon.

In the meantime in an effort to be not so gloomy I have been working on Palmer's 2nd birthday party. I have narrowed my ideas down to two themes to choose from both of which are his all time favorite things to play with. As mentioned before I love birthdays and themes. So I sat down and planned out both of my themes to try and lean towards one idea or the other and I am just stuck. So I am looking for help. My ideas are either dinosaurs or trains. Both are pretty typical little boy parties but I love my favor/activity ideas for the dinosaurs and my cake idea for the trains party. Which one do you like better..I set up a vote so you can let me know.

Totally Awkward Tuesdays

So I know that I missed last week but I was out of town, etc and I have a really good story to make up for it this week.



For those of you who haven't read already about our ridiculously long drive back to Kansas that we make regularly because we can't afford four plane tickets...catch up.



Dr. Heskett is a great person to travel with except for one thing. He is a Nazi when it comes to stops. Even if you don't have to pee you should try because it doesn't matter what you promise, plead, or how many tears you shed he is not going to stop until the next designated stop. Emily and I have learned to accept this and usually don't bother to ask anything except when the next stop is going to be. A tank of gas is usually our determinate as to when we are going to stop next and that usually tends to be about four hours. Sometimes this is a little bit of a challenge but one that both Emily and I can usually manage pretty well although sometimes we are running to the bathroom by the time we finally stop.



This weekend we were on our trip home and about six hours from home (it is a 17 hour drive) I had to pee. I asked Dr. Heskett about how long until our next stop. One hour. No problem...it was going to be one of those run to the bathroom moments and I mentally cut myself off from diet coke but I wasn't panicking yet.



As the hour started to dwindle I saw relief in the last sign that said 10 miles until our stop. As we rounded the corner we were passed by a fire truck and ambulance and Bret said..."oh no". Still keeping my cool I turned to him to ask "what?". Without looking at me Bret said "I bet there is a bad accident ahead" and at that moment we came to a stand still behind a ton of cars that we backed up farther than we could see. With panic just under the surface I told myself that it was a slight delay and we were going to inch towards the exit that was only 9 miles away. WE. DIDN'T. MOVE. Bret put the truck into park and I looked at him with terror in my eyes. My bladder was literally starting to cramp. I looked around me and there was NO. WHERE. TO. GO. It was about 6 am and starting to get light outside so sneaking off to the shoulder was out of the question. I just tried to focus on something else and that was just not working.



We sat there for an hour and finally I looked at Bret and said..."I can't hold it any longer". Bret rolled down the window and poured out the last of his large diet coke and handed me the cup. I just sat there and stared at him. It took me a moment to realize that he thought I should pee in the cup. I was horrified. I am no city girl and have squat and peed my far share in the woods but this was completely different. Some how I was supposed to pull my pants down without mooning the world with my whiter than white butt in the front passenger seat of a pick up that was packed to absolute max with my husband sitting next to me and my two kids in the back seat wide awake. Are you kidding me????



As bad as I had to pee it was the longest it has ever taken me to get started. I can't begin to detail my embarrassment and awkwardness at this moment. It was even weird afterwards as we sat there for another 30 minutes before we finally got moving with a cup of my pee sitting in the cup holder of the console because I'll be damned if I was going to roll down my window and dump the pee in front of everyone on the side of the road. UGH. Happy Totally Awkward Tuesdays!

Cheers to 2009!

So I know that I have been very MIA lately. With Christmas and our long trip to Kansas things have been a little crazy. After being in the car for 18 hours and then unpacking a ridiculous amount of clothes and new Christmas gifts brought back from Kansas I am exhausted. So for now I am simply going to promise a load of new posts about the holidays our little one's upcoming birthday party plans, etc and in the mean time I was nominated for an award and have the joy of passing it on as well.


Let's start with the rules: The honorees are to: A) first list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep! B) pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap


1. I obsessively over analyze the meaning of people's comments, emails, etc. I worry that I upset them, that they don't like me, etc until I stay up at night wondering if I should have tried to be nicer to someone or if when Bret said he didn't care if that really meant that he was disappointed in what I choose but didn't really have any way of changing it now so he might as well simply tell me that he didn't care.


2. I have an estranged brother that I rarely talk to or have anything to do with and I prefer it this way.


3. I feel guilty if I have dreams/fantasies where my husband is not the lead role to the point where I have an internal debates in my sleep that wake me up feeling like I was cheating or something. When I mentioned this to Dr. Heskett he told me I was weird....what does that really mean?


4. Even though my wedding was the one of the greatest days of my life I have no desire to ever go through it again...it was so much work and stress leading up to one day. I would rather just have the cake and dancing instead.


5. I am a total TV junkie. I have about 10 shows that I watch religiously. DVR was one of the best things that have ever happened in our marriage since Bret could watch football when my shows were recording and we didn't have to have a Jeopardy Rain Man melt down.


6. Speaking of TV, Bret and I have a strong disagreement over having a TV in our bedroom. He believes that the bedroom is good for two things.....sleeping and.....changing clothes...haha bad joke I know but it is what he always says. The argument has gotten to a point that he emails and clips me articles that prove that not having a TV in the bedroom is better for a marriage and their sex lives. I just want to be able to lay in bed and watch TV...is that too much to ask?


7. My daughter Emily slept in bed with Bret and I until she was 4 months old and then both he and the pediatrician said that I need to transition her to her crib. Although I agreed I was terrified that I wasn't going to hear her through the baby monitor even though her room was right next to mine so I would go to her room in the middle of the night and sleep next her crib and try to wake up and sneak back into bed so Bret wouldn't tell me that I was nuts or something.


8. Although I know that we have agreed on two more kids (four total) I would totally have more if Bret wanted them...in other words he wouldn't have to twist my arm very hard if he decided to have one or two more after the two more we plan to have. For some reason though I am too chicken to try and convince him to have four more kids because really I am not sure I could handle it all anyways.


9. I obsessively check my email and back account everyday..sometimes 3-6 times a day on my bank account and I just leave my email open all day.


10. Besides laundry the house chore that I loathe the most is cleaning the bath tub. I just don't like it.


Now to pass on the award:



1. Chris at Christensen8
2. Angie at Collum Family Fun
3. Angel at Floating Through Time
4. Rose at Rosiesmrtiepants
5. Kim at Antisdel Abstract
6. Cora at Love Letters by Cora
7. Julia at Sometimes Lucid