A Midsummer Friday's Feast

Appetizer: On average, approximately how many times per day do you yawn?
Millions! Millions and millions and millions of times each day! No seriously, it is really too many to keep track of (who does keep track of that?) because I'm so tired!

Soup: What was your most memorable school field trip?
Does an eighth grade class trip count? Remember going to Epcot and Universal Studios Katie? Good times! (I sat with Ben Parker the entire way back--wooohoooo!)

Salad: Fill in the blank: I was extremely __________________ this week.
Confused. You know when you come back from vacation in the middle of the week and you have no idea what day it is until you get "reset" over the weekend? That's me.

Main Course: Which color do you think of when you hear the word "soothing"?
Light blue.

Dessert: What is something that, if you had to, you could save up the money to buy within one month?
A day alone at the spa...I think I have to!

Why pets are better than kids...

Thanks to Jennifer for sending me this in an e-mail and making me laugh out loud!

1. Eat less.
2. Don't ask for money all the time.
3. Are easier to train.
4. Usually come when called.
5. Never drive your car.
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends.
7. Don't smoke or drink.
8. Don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions.
9. Don't wear your clothes.
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children!

Weekend at the Lake

Well, we are back from our little vacation at the lake. It was very good, lots of eating and swimming and eating and hiking and eating and fishing and eating and sunning and eating. I really did eat way more than I should have, but who can resist a good barbeque four nights in a row?

Here are my three boys "in profile":

My handsome hubby enjoying some early-morning fishing. The picture's a little blurry because he was on the dock and I was on the deck and I had to zoom and crop like crazy. I don't know why it looks like he has a goatee--he does NOT have facial hair...

Little Ben spent much of his time down at the dock snoozing in his grandmother's arms!

Patrick loved to stand on the deck and watch the boats go by with his binoculars. Well, that's what he said anyway--I think he was on the lookout for cute 3-year-old girls!

And no, I'm not mad that Shannon was the only one of my blogging gals that bothered to shout out some blog birthday wishes...even though I made special posts for the other two on their birthdays. Thanks Shannon, glad to know you've got my back! I do appreciate the suggestions for my new blog title--was hoping for a little more input though--and will continue to mull it over.

Be Back Tuesday

To all my legions of fans, just a note to tell you that I won't be blogging until Tuesday because we are going to the lake for vacation! There might be a computer there, I don't know, but it doesn't matter because this is going to be a blog-free vacation! Hopefully, with the family in tow, I will get some good material to put up when I get back.


Now there is the small matter of my birthday. My bloggin' sisters know that it's on Sunday and all I'm asking from you gals (and anyone else who cares to join in) is to put on your thinking caps and come up with a new title for my blog. I am sick of the one I have and Luke hardly ever stars in the blog anyway. You guys know what I like--flip flops and the beach. Now get to it!

Fun Friday's Feast

Appetizer: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you like your job?
10! I love my job because my boss is so nice to me and she lets me work around my own schedule.

Soup: When was the last time you think you were lied to?
When the salesman at Lowe's told us that sure, Luke could proabably install the new sliding glass door himself. Thankfully, we didn't listen to him!

Salad: Share some lyrics from one of your favorite songs.
So smooth and so smart,
He's abducted my heart!
And I'm falling apart,
From those looks I receive,
From those eyes I can't leave.
Well you can say I'm naive,
But he told me to believe.
And I can't wait anymore
For him to discover me.
I've got it bad for David Duchovny.
David Duchovny, why won't you love me?
Why won't you love me?

Go here for all the lyrics to this awesome song by Bree Sharp.

Main Course: What do you do/take when you are in pain?
When I'm not pregnant or nursing I take Advil. Otherwise it's extra-strength Tylenol.

Dessert: Fill in the blanks: My __________ is very __________.
My blog is very temperamental.

My Naturally Awesome Brother

I was just having a little conversation on the comment section of the previous post and a thought occurred to me: Why have I never done a post on my incredibly awesome brother? And then of course, the answer came to me: Because I have been trying to get his wife Sandi to start a blog for quite some time now and I don't want to spoil her material. Well, too bad Sandi! Here's a post on you, my bro, and your pweshus baby boy.

David (my brother) and his wife Sandi have a sweet little (big!) 18-month old boy named Matthew. It has been heavily debated who Matthew looks like. Apparently he is the spitting image of both David and Sandi as kids. Go figure. They also have a Shi-Tzu named Schaeffer, who has only one eye--yikes! They had another Shi-Tzu named Heidi, but she passed away recently R.I.P.
Sandi is very crafty. She makes INCREDIBLE scrapbooks and is actually doing it for business now. If you are like me and are too lazy to organize your own precious memories and are interested in getting her help, check out her web page here.
David is a brilliant professor of statistics at a big university and he pretty much ties with my own hubby as the greatest guy ever. What else can I say? You can read more about his wonderfullness in that comment section I was talking about before...

Anyway, Blogger is beng a meanie again (I know, that's not going to help my case with Sandi) and I once again can't post pictures. But you can go here if you want to see a picture of the clan and their very nice lawn. They're the best! Miss you guys!

Just a Walk in the Park

Yesterday I was on my was to the park with the boys and I had to swing by work for a second. Luke's mom had Rebeckah there with her and also a boy named Connor who has gone camping with Patrick before. They were just sitting in the conference room watching movies so I offered to take them along to the park with us. It was fun, but HOT. The highs have been reaching 99-101 every day this week. Ben and I camped put in the shade while the big kids worked up a sweat.

Rebeckah, Patrick and Connor

Connor helping Patrick build a sandcastle for me. He is really nice to my Patrick. I always appreciate it when big kids have patience with him...he's still so little and sometimes can't keep up with the conversation! They are fixing the road that goes by the park, so it's also a major construction site...all Patrick wanted to talk about were the dump trucks and the excavators! It's nice for him when someone actually wants to talk back about it!!!

My First eBay Purchase

Yes, I've finally come into the 21st century!

Patrick is in heaven! So am I...his new comforter actually keeps him in his bed a good ten minutes past wake-up time. I'll take what I can get! Of course this means I will now have to do what I've been putting off since we moved here 18 months ago...decorate his room. If you're looking to get rich quick then hurry up and buy stock in the "things that go" industry...we are going to be elbow-deep in trucks, trucks, and more trucks in about a week or so.

The Circus Comes to Town

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus came to town this past week. Since we are a smallish town, it was a only a one-ring circus, kind of a "minor league" circus, if you will. But that was good for us. I am not sure Patrick could've handled more excitement than that! As it was, he loved the horses and dogs and elephants, so we didn't really need to see lions and tigers and bears oh my!

Before it started, they did activities for all the kids in the ring. One of them was a little "hokey-pokey"-like dance. We encouraged him to join in, but as you can see from the picture, he wasn't feeling like gettin' his groove on.

The elephants were his favorite. I don't know why they look so far away in this picture. Wierd camera angle I guess, because they looked pretty close and huge in real life! My favorite part was when a trapeze artist missed her mark and got flung into the net at 75 mph, shrieking like a crazy lady. Then the ringmaster had to get the drumroll going and say she was going to attempt this "extremely difficult" manuever again like we were all simple, ignorant fools from the nineteenth century. It's funny how the circus has literally not changed in one hundred years. And I know it sounds cliche, but circus performers really are freaky.

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family in need.
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew his masterpiece was complete,
And so He called it...Dad.

Author Unknown


Luke with his kids:
Ben, Savannah, Wilson and Patrick

Happy Fathers Day!

The Moth, Part III

Here's the latest in what's shaping up to be the story of the summer:

Yesterday morning Patrick was playing in the yard and he called me over to see "the butterfly". Knowing better, I gingerly crept over and was greeted by yet another hideous, beastly giant moth. This one had seen better days; its wings were chewed half off (probably by some other wicked creature of the night), rendering it flightless...but that didn't stop it from furiously flapping at me and making my skin crawl from head to toe. I know you can't see how big it is, but I'm not kidding, the body was almost four inches long! UGGGHHHHHHH! Why are these things so horrible, and more importantly, why are they congregating in my backyard??? In case you're wondering, yes, I disposed of it (to keep Patrick from playing with it) and yes, I looked it up. It's called a Regal moth or a Royal Walnut moth.

A Forgettable Feast

Appetizer: What is a word that you use that would not be considered common?
Because of work, I use the word "query" a lot.

Soup: What theme of calendar do you have on your wall this year?
That would be the classroom calendar from Patrick's preschool. We don't have one for the summer.

Salad: Name 3 people you speak with by telephone a regular basis.
Luke, my mom and my boss Stephanie.

Main Course: If you could buy a new outfit for someone you know - who would it be and what would you purchase for them?
I guess it would be for Jennifer, and it would be teeny tiny newborn baby clothes!

Dessert: What is the last beverage you drank?
Does this mean alcoholic beverage? If not, then it would be the milk I had with dinner last night. If so, then it would be a gin and tonic I had a couple weeks ago.

The Princess and the Pauper

This is Luke's little princess, Savannah. She has lived a privledged life from day one. Luke got her about a year before we got married; she was a squirming fat little bundle of yellow sausage-y love. He had big plans to make her sleep in the kitchen, but from the first night on she has shared his pillow. She chewed up the remote, the furniture, the house, pooped and peed all over the carpet, and ran away a few times, but in his mind she is the perfect dog. Thank God I potty trained her and imposed some rules and spankings or who knows what kind of terror she would be today? She is a fairly good dog now except, she can't swim, she's scared of her own shadow and barks at anything. She's beautiful, I admit, even though she has managed to break her ear and her tail (don't ask), but that doesn't hide the fact that she's dumb as a box of rocks.

Then there's Wilson. I guess I'm a sucker for hard-luck cases, because he's my favorite. Mandy and I found him about a year after I'd gotten married, at the tennis courts. He was about seven inches long, covered in fleas, starving and less than eight weeks old. He walked up to Mandy, curled up in her arms and fell asleep instantly. That did it...I was gone! It was touch and go with his health for a week or so, but after that, he was so great. He was trained in less than three days, has never chewed on anything except his toys and is incredibly smart and athletic. Also, even though he is a mix, he loves me with the true loyalty of a labrador (unlike the catty treatment I get from our purebred) and is very protective of our children. He also loves to play with Patrick while Savannah prefers to lick the stupid patio.

The moral of the story? Looks aren't everything and nice guys don't always finish last!

What is UP with Blogger lately?

All I can think of is that the 14-year-old boy that runs Blogger out of his parents' basement must've gotten a girlfriend, because he has had no time to keep the blogs working properly!!!! Everyone I know has had problems and today it's back to me. I'm not even going to attempt a real post. You'll just have to be satisfied with this rant. See ya tomorrow.

Knock on wood...

...but I think--I think--we are potty trained!

Bedhead

Even on a bad hair day, mine's still cuter.

"Swimming"

You know, I took Patrick in for his three year check-up this week and the doctor said he was completely normal...

Yesterday he put on these "goggles" (Ben's baby sunglasses) and a Pull-Up and stood at the headboard of my bed, then proceeded to "dive" (see above) into the "pool" and "swim laps" (wriggle around the bed making flailing swimming motions). He did this ALL MORNING. Whatever. At least he was out of my hair.

Friday's (Yawn) Feast

Appetizer: About how much money did you spend on gas this week?
$35. Thankfully, I do not use a lot of gas during the summer.

Soup: What is your favortite brand of toilet paper?
I like Quilted Northern because our toilet doesn't have great suction and it is heavy enough to go down. Cheap brands just float around on top forever.

Salad: When was the last time you discovered something that you thought was pure genius?
TiVo is pure genius. We got it about a year ago.

Main Course: What is the least amount of sleep you can get by on per night?
Six hours--otherwise I'm drowsy and woozy the entire day (not fun with two kids).

Dessert: June is a popular month for weddings. Do you know anyone who is getting married this month?
Ummm...nope! Do I not get any dessert?

SHILOH AIN'T GOT NOTHIN' ON THIS KID!!!!!

Sorry Brad and Angelina, you'll just have to live with second best.

Live and let live...or not!

You know I love a good nature post...especially when it's GRUESOME!!!!

Before...

...and AFTER!!!!!

By the way, I never thought I'd say this, but God Bless Pakistan.

The Four Horsemen of The Ablogalypse

I hosted my first Pampered Chef party last night...oh my, what a disaster!!!! I don't know if I am nice or just insane, but since 70% of the people invited have toddlers, I planned a patio party and told them to bring the kiddies. Well, good old Mother Nature sure thought that was funny. Let me tell you that it has not rained here for literally 25 days straight. But of course 30 min. before the party started, the sky opened up and made up for those 25 dry days. So in everything goes, to my teeny tiny living room, and when I mean everything, I do not just mean food and drinks and stuff...I also mean six kids ages 3 and under! Our poor consultant Jessica still did a great job, but she had to put on her show while certain things were happening all around...specifically: ice cream being stuffed into the guests' purses, kids sneaking out to play in the downpour, and best of all, Patrick's "manhood" making a few guest appearances. Yes, he pretty much ran around naked the entire night, but mommy was too busy to do anything about it, okay? At least nobody was peed on. See? I always look on the bright side!

However, the four bloggers (L-R: Mandy, Shannon, Katie and me) finally converged in a place other than cyberspace, so we documented the occasion with photos. I managed to get some of the mad streaker as well, but obviously I'm not putting naked pictures of my kid on the internet!! It would have been really nice to get a pic of the whole delectable-looking spread, but alas, there was no time for that!

One more thing. Shannon brought a sweet little innocent pregnant gal named Stephanie with her. Stephanie spent a lot of time watching the kids play. When I say play, I mean Joe and Patrick tore through the house, screaming and wrestling and causing the house to tremble from its foundation. The little girls, Molly and Samantha, sat in their mommies' laps. At some point, we asked Stephanie what she was having, which she answered in a whisper "I'm having a...gulp...boy." Dear sweet Stephanie...enjoy your last two months of sanity.

Friday's Feast...Hold the Appetizer

Appetizer: On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how funny do you think you are?
I don't know! I hate these kinds of questions! How about 4?

Soup: Name a local restaurant would you recommend to a visitor to your town or city.
I love Gondolier Pizza. I don't know if it's local. I know there's one in a nearby town, but I don't know of any past that.

Salad: What's a lesson you were lucky enough to learn the easy way?
Don't buy a house in a new neighborhood unless the subdivision is almost finished.

Main Course: Where would you like to be 5 years from now?
Greece!

Dessert: If you could see the front page of a newspaper from June 2, 2106, what would you imagine the headline might be?
"Gas prices hit $45/gallon for summer travel season."

Happy birthday to you!

How awesome is this? Google, I love thee. Yes people, Mandy turns the big 2-9 today! Mandy, my bestest bud, one of my favorite people despite not having done any of these things: had a part in creating me, married me, or emerged from my body after nine miserable months.
Instead, the connections that Mandy and I share are: one year of living in a cold, rat-infested hell, three years of Early Childhood Education (aka Bulletin Board Building 101), and seven good years of loafing and hashing about celebrities, pet peeves and responsibilites. These two keep me pretty busy these days, but Mandy is still right by my side (via Blogger), keeping me constantly entertained. Well, every three or four days anyway. Yep, she's a good friend...always babysits for me in a pinch, supports and joins me in my addiction to Old Navy, and tolerates my extreme aversion to soup that you hold in your hand.

Happy Birthday Mandy! Hope 29 is the best one yet!