When I was newly married, my DH and I were, for some reason, hanging out in Utah, and, for some reason, had to bunk in the same room as my nephew. He was a toddler, and we snuck into the room after he was asleep in his crib. At the crack of dawn, he noticed we were there. And he made sure we noticed him. (more…)

Oh, I’m so excited.  I thought, and I don’t really know why, that “champions round” meant that all 6 winners would compete this round, and by the end of last night, we would have a winner.  My husband was like “um, no.  Eliminations one by one begin now.”  He refrained from saying “d-uh”, which was nice of him. (more…)

I had a hard time sleeping last night. It was too hot, I was too uncomfortable, I had to pee, then the dog had to pee, then I got a drink, and then had to give the dog a drink, and suddenly I’m all wide awake and staring at the ceiling thinking about nothing and everything. So, I started to blog in my head. (more…)

We’ve gone strawberry picking, blueberry picking, peach picking, and corn picking. I’ve made cobbler and shucked the corn and frozen it. We have a bazillion grape tomatoes exploding all over our garden, and cucumbers as big as my arm (not ideal, by the way. Gotta get to them sooner). We’ve been to museums and barbecues and fireworks and summer camps. J has swum his last swim meet, taking heat winner prizes in all three events, and he’s been to the library at least half a dozen times.

That’s it. We’ve done it all. I declare summer over. (more…)

The email said, “I really enjoyed your lesson yesterday.  Amazing how sometimes the slightest thing will just get people going.  Thanks.  Susan” (more…)

OK, people.  I know, I know.  I’ve missed the last 2 episodes.  Well, I’ve actually watched them by now, but you know what I mean.

Reality TV is far more fun when you have someone to root for.  And while it is very fun to watch these masters compete, and they aren’t out to get each other, if I don’t know any of the contestants, (like 2 weeks ago) it’s less fun.  Still fun, mind you.  Just….less. (more…)

Little Sister has learned to climb out of her crib AND open her bedroom door. Now what?

I drink Diet Coke. (Also Diet Dr. Pepper). I have no problem fulfilling that particular stereotype of Mormon women. So sue me.

I am currently drinking one sweetened with Splenda. I don’t think it’s as good. It tastes more like regular Coke (ew!) and I’m not sure I’m a fan. It’s the first time I’ve tried it, although it’s possible this is what I was given once at Wendy’s at a drive thru. I took one sip and tossed it, sure I had been given the regular Coke, and cursed the worker for messing with my blood sugars. Funnily enough, my sugars were fine. (I did only have one sip, though).

I like Diet Coke with vanilla, lemon, or lime, but I think the original is still the best.

Discuss. Which Diet Coke do you love?

I went to my PCP today to have a physical and talk about my “issues.”  Bad news:  I’ve gained 15 lbs since January.  I’m still walking 3.5/4 miles a day, but, wow, that’s a lot!  Must be all the chocolate I’m eating to fend off my demons.  (more…)

Remember Heather’s cleaning tip?  Would you like to know what happened to me oh, about 2 hours ago?

This is my laundry room.  See the broken bottle of detergent behind the hamper?  It’s Heather’s fault. (more…)

I have to first apologize to my fellow bloggers for being such a slacker the last few months.  No dramatic excuses, just the day to day life stuff that’s been a non-stop whirlwind of busy.  My DH, an undercover policeman assigned to a drug task force, has been gone all summer on assignment.  My work has been averaging 50+ hours a week just to keep my head above water.  I begged my girlfriend Julie, who moved to Vegas last year, to come back just for the summer to be nanny for my children so that they would have at least some sort of consistent parental contact as I breeze in and out of their lives for 3 months, and last week I had the “joy” of attending girls camp.  Need I say more? (more…)

Put in a load of clothes. Pick up a full, unopened bottle of laundry detergent. Realize that it’s unopened, reach for the other one, leave the unopened one on the top of the washing machine. Leave the room. Listen as the older, slightly schizophrenic washing machine has a seizure because you overloaded it. Ignore the big bang you hear, thinking that it’s just the mentally ill washing machine. Find the very large blue puddle of laundry detergent that has spilled out of the broken laundry detergent bottle that has fallen from the washing machine during the seizure. Call DH with pleas for advice. Spend 15 minutes cleaning up blue goo. Have your toddler help. Watch her cry as you throw away her blue paper towels. Ruin a towel, mopping up the rest. Enjoy your clean floor that smells like country breeze.

I checked online reservations – one night, $84 with an AAA discount and continental breakfast. 

How long could I stay?  One night? Two nights?  Until they noticed I was gone?  Until the money ran out of our checking account?  Until I could walk back thru the front door? (more…)

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

34

Timestamp: 2009-07-17 17:03:15 UTC

Comment #34 was…..amelia bedelia!  Congrats. E-mail Heather to get your stuff.  She had me put up the winner because, well, she wants to take a nap.

Some things are normal:  we are discussing Peace Like A River, and general friend gossip; eating orange poppy seed pound cake, spinach dip, ooey-gooey bars, and whatever the rest of the group decides to bring.  Not so normal:  coming to terms with one of our original book group member’s recent diagnosis of stage 4 liver cancer.  Can’t even fathom it.  How do I discuss a book about miracles, when we are so desperate for one in our own little circle?  Wish me luck, off I go…

This time, it’s living room furniture. Living Rooms direct is offering a $60.00 gift certificate for any of their products. So, visit their site, come back and leave a comment. I will leave the comments open until tomorrow night at 6pm, Eastern standard time, then use the random number generator to pick a winner. Happy shopping!

As if I hadn’t noticed the clothing industry was playing tricks on me, it has now been confirmed that I’m not really the number that I wear. 

(more…)

Frankly, I’m surprised that a post about circumcision gets way more comments than a review of Top Chef that I half watched.  Surprised and hurt, people.  (more…)

Guest post by anonymous.

During the process of adopting a little boy, the last concern I had was about circumcision.  But, it seems to be on other people’s mind because I’ve had several ask me if we were going to have him circumcised.  He’s not, and at this point he would have to go under to have the surgery (he’s just under 1).  Plus, it’s not recommended by pediatricians. 
 
Initially, I didn’t think it was a big deal.  Until I began to realize that people have very strong feelings about the entire thing.  Still to a certain extent I wonder why we would go to all the trouble.  But, I’m curious to know what all of you think (and I have a friend who is curious too… she is in the same situation with two little adopted boys and they are on the fence about it).
 
So what would you do?