This post is about my son’s birthday party. (more…)

I don’t remember praying for patience recently.  I’ve learned that that only causes trouble.  So when this week turned into day after day of little patience exercises I began to scratch my head.  My practices in patience ranged from driving 30 minutes to get something only to find out when I got there the store no longer had that item to being repeatedly awakened pre-dawn by a monster who is inhabiting the body of my preschooler to circling a crowded block for over an hour with said monster protesting the entire time.  None of them were life threatening or a big deal.  Just annoying.  So I’m not angry or bitter, I’m just a bit frayed.
The one that sticks out in my mind and still has me wondering if there was a hidden camera somewhere was the car wash.  (more…)

And I just can’t really figure out who the bad guy is. (more…)

And of course, I’m sobbing for more than one reason. (more…)

I’m a long way from being Becky Bloomwood, but when life gets in a rut…I buy new laundry detergent. (more…)

Ok, then, I have officially reached the “old” mark, and not in years, per se, but in the fact that the new technology has outpaced me and I look at it and go “sigh.”

Of course I am referring to Twitter.  Duh. (more…)

For staying home with Little Sister last night and cleaning off the encrusted poop from her legs and putting her down in a fluffy clean sleeper and then cleaning up the poop trail she left on the staircase on every. single. stair and the poopy footprints she left in the bedroom while I took J to a fitness event at his school.

Jumping rope with a child who can wipe his own bum has never been so fun.

Thanks, babe. Love you.

I receive regular emails with an inspirational thought that sometimes really does inspire at a needed moment.  I thought I’d share with you the most recent one which I really liked:

Make up your mind to be happy-even when you don’t have money, even when you don’t have a clear complexion, even when you don’t have the Nobel Prize. Some of the happiest people I know have none of these things the world insists are necessary for satisfaction and joy. Why are they happy? I suppose it is because they don’t listen very well. Or they listen too well-to the things their hearts tell them. They glory in the beauty of the earth. They glory in the rivers and the canyons and the call of the meadowlark. They glory in the love of their families, the stumbling steps of a toddler, the wise and tender smile of the elderly. They glory in honest labor. They glory in the scriptures. They glory in the presence of the Holy Ghost. One thing I know for certain: the time we have here goes by far too quickly. Don’t waste any more time sitting on the bench watching life pass you by.

Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Lessons Learned in the Journey of Life.” Ensign, May 2001, 35.

I have been slacking around here lately.  Mostly because I can.  Ah, the beauty of a group blog.  Also, because I have newly diagnosed diabetes, and that has been taking up much of my thoughts and actions lately, and I don’t want to post about diabetes constantly, because, really, who wants to hear that?  Heather thinks I should start a diabetes blog like her PKD one, but 2 blogs?  Oh, the exhaustion!  Just THINK of how that would cut into my Facebook time. (more…)

Life is funny.

Sometimes it’s funny in a Gilmore Girls, witty dialogue, boy that Lorelei makes me giggle kind of way.

And sometimes it’s funny in a “I can’t believe this is happening to me and man, I think this kind of stinks” kind of way. (more…)

Gwyneth Paltrow has gone domestic diva on us and started a new website called GOOP (subtitled:  Nourish the Inner Aspect).  I thought goop was found at the bottom of your garbage can or in your kid’s ears, but I guess Gwyn (now that I’ve been to her website, I feel like I can call her Gwyn) thinks GOOP is an appealing word that will make women across the globe hit her website.  A Toronto newpaper wrote of Gwyn’s new website name, “Perhaps, ‘Any Old Load of Rubbish’ and ‘Learn from me, Ungrateful Peasant’ were both taken.” (more…)

We have a new warrior! Please welcome Melissa Mc, who is one of my favorite people in the whole universe. She and I shared the inauguration together, and I don’t think we stopped laughing the entire time, it was such a blast. She’s smart, funny, insightful, and has some of the most gorgeous children known to man. I’ve been trying to get her to join MMW since we began this crazy thing, and she’s finally been worn down and agreed to be a part of the circus. So please read her favorite things, and enjoy!

And once again, for the thousandth time since she agreed to come on, woo–HOO!

I’m the new girl at MMW so I thought I would share with you some of my FAVORITE THINGS.  But please don’t tattle to Oprah – she’s got a much bigger budget & legal department than I do:

Dove Go Fresh products:  especially their grapefruit & lemongrass soap.  A great shower pick me up!

Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal:  I have been eating it for breakfast everyday for 10 yrs.

Burt’s Bees lip balm and hand salve:   couldn’t live without either of them – I have lip balm in every pocket, bag, drawer and glove compartment.

Baggu reusable shopping bags:  they are huge and come in fabulous colors.  My grocery cart looks like a rainbow when I leave the store.

Maybelline Volume Express Mascara:  better than their original PINK great lash mascara.

NPR:   my day is not complete without The Diane Rehm Show and Terri Gross’ Fresh Air.

Mrs. Meyers cleaning products:      they are a splurge and smell fabulous!  Normally I use cheap chemicals.

Classico Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Sauce:  We eat TONS of pasta for dinner (my husband served his mission in Rome) but cream sauces are not my specialty.  This is great with leftover chicken and fresh or frozen broccoli.  A three ingredient meal in no time. (oh, and only 5g of fat). The roasted garlic alfredo is good too, as is the pesto.

Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup with CALCIUM:  so I can rationalize that ice cream sundaes are GOOD for me!

People Magazine :  totally indulgent bathroom trash!

Goodreads.com:  my favorite website (other than Facebook and MMW of course!)

Stonewall Kitchen’s Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam:  Makes any sandwich taste gourmet.

Crabtree and Evelyn scented drawer liners:  I’m not much of a girly-girl – but these make me feel like a princess.

Used book stores:  I could spend hours at my local used book store – I think I could be happy shelving books for the rest of my life. 

whatserbucket creeps into the room quietly, stepping over the young bodies strewn about.  Waiting for the breathing to once again regain the steady rhythm only deep sleep can bring, she fills her own lungs and with all the energy she can muster and screams,

“HEY TWILIGHT FANS - WHATCHYA GONNA DO FOR THE DVD RELEASE????”

Amidst the ensuing frenzy, whatserbucket craftily withdraws from the room, giggling under her breath.

But seriously… it’s only a month away.

I don’t know why, but it just made me sort of happy when they called that Dharma station, ‘The Lamppost’. Nice little nod to C.S. Lewis, there, and further evidence that they’ve ditched the whole reality of the island completely, and that now, we’re all in Narnia. (more…)

Can I just say that I think crawfish are really strange looking creatures?  I mean, I don’t look at them and go mmmm…..tasty.  But I know a lot of people do, and hey, I’ve never actually tried them, so I can’t say if they’re really tasty or not.  But they are weird looking little bugs. (more…)

Me too. Come share.

This is a guest post by Julie

My dryer was having issues. It was taking 2 cycles on high to get anything dry, which worked out to be about 3 hours. Way too much of a hassle. So, I called and made an appointment to have somebody from a to-not-be-named retailer, but a well-known store that has a fairly good reputation, come by and check my dryer. The repair guy comes, charges me $65, and tells me I have a three-fold problem: (more…)

And I’m on my way to Target. Hit me with your best chocolate advice, ladies.

Anybody else feel like the months of January to March are just a blur of Children’s Motrin, ear infections, endless snotty noses, time spent rocking a child (or two) in the bathroom with the shower on full blast to make their breathing easier, humidifiers, wiping feverish brows at 3am, trips to the pharmacy and constantly looking for the thermometer?

Yeah. Me too.