I clean in the Nude and other Confessions of a Boring Housewife

Well, first of all, let me clarify...my blog title, like a lot of what you read on the internet, is only partially based in fact. Yes, I clean in the nude...when I'm cleaning the shower — it's a two-fer. Well, okay, another confession...I am GOING to be cleaning in the nude on a more regular basis because I let it go far too long in the shower and the soap scum/hard water combination was kind of a disaster. It almost defeated me until I read on-line to use Oven Cleaner! Who knew?? So from now on the sponge is coming with me in the shower, sorry sweetie!

Another confession I have is that I'm really not boring at all...but I live in Boring, so technically I am a Boring housewife, no? Honestly I hate that the place I call home is named Boring. Well, not HATE, I''ll reserve that term for another one of my confessions, but I strongly dislike it...and after 5 years of living here, I still tell people I live in Damascus or "the Portland area."

I'd also like to confess that I have a serious obsession with taking pictures of my food. Whether we are out to eat or eating in, I love to style food for pictures. When I am making a new recipe for the blog and I style the step-by-step how-to pictures it takes me twice as long to fininsh the recipe. Case in point, this morning, my poor kids didn't eat their breakfast streusel Lemon-Blueberry muffins until almost lunch time! (I dare say, they were worth the wait!) See for yourself with the recipe found here.

I'm not sure if this is a confession or just something weird that I do (or both), but for years now I have this inner dialogue that runs through my head and phrases my thoughts as facebook status updates! Before FB, I would have entire blog posts spinning around in my head. (today's post was concocted entirely in the aforementioned shower/nude cleaning session this very morning. Should I be embarrassed? Seek medical attention? Oh, come on...you know you do it too!

Not really a confession, but more of a realization on my part that I have really missed blogging! I can hardly believe it, but I really didn't post for 2 years...yikes! I used to post on a regular basis and now with Hayden going to school full time next year I'm really hoping the creative "me" will come out of hiding again! I'm just bursting with ideas of how to spend my long-lost "free" time.

My last confession...hmmm. I'm not even sure how to put this. I've lived in the "country" for 5 years now, so I should be used to "country folk." Right?? nope! At first there was a lot of adjustments, but the one thing that I still can't stand is...wait for it...Truck Nutz!!! Yep, Rednecks unite!!! I HATE THESE THINGS (and this time I mean hate!) Who on God's green earth would ever buy these things? Barf! When I am cruising down Hwy 212 in my Honda, singing to Beyoncé, the last thing I want to see in front of me is chrome nutters swaying off yer truck!

Another Year to ponder

I have really been avoiding blogging for some reason...I am like this with my journal too. If I get too far behind, I feel like I need to catch up before I can jump back in again...this becomes too overwhelming in my mind, so I put it off which puts me even more behind.

Well, this year, one of my resolutions is to live life in the moment, so here I sit on Dan's laptop writing the first blog entry in a long time. I really want to make life more of a priority this year. My kids are growing before my eyes and I feel far too often that I am just a spectator. Yes I plan fun experiences and capture it all nicely with my camera, but this year I really want to just be a mom and live in the moment...even if it means not capturing everything on "film." 

It really hit me after Natalie's birthday party that I need to have more fun with the kids instead of just planning picture perfect little cameos here and there...I want to get down on the floor with them and play more before they don't want to play anymore. I also need to work on my patience and try to teach them more. One area in particular that I need to work on is teaching them things in the kitchen. For some reason, it's hard for me to let them cook/bake with me. It just takes so much longer with their "help" that I find myself just rushing through things. Hayden especially loves to help me stir and pour things and Natalie is at the age where she can really help make meals now and Zander is more than willing to help too.

Same goes for chores around here. I certainly can use the help, I just have to get over my tendencies to want them done they way I do it...so what if their shirts aren't folded right!!! Even when I fold them, they get all wadded up in their drawers within a few days, so what could it hurt having the kids help with the laundry??? I can make myself crazy trying to figure out the best chore system. I  spend time investigating chore charts, making custom charts and then not following through with the kids...so it's all a big waste of time. I have found an online chore tracking program called Handipoints that is wonderful (www.handipoints.com). Zander loves using it...and it's free!

Another resolution I have is to get to bed earlier...like by 10. I have been a night owl for as long as I can remember...the night time is MY time and I like it that way, but it makes my day time less effective. I am already a really low energy person, so to get to bed earlier can only benefit me...and my family.

I'm hoping by getting more sleep, it will force me to be more organized, cause I will have less time in my day to do things. It would be great if I could pack the lunches and put out the kids' clothes the night before...who knows, the kids might even get to school early instead of just on time.

I've been working really hard in the gym for 8 of the past 10 days in preparation for our trip to Disneyland. (We leave on Thursday). I've worked up to 50 minutes of cardio which gets me just over 4.5 miles and 500 calories burned!!! I'm really trying to get rid of the last 10-15ish pounds. Last night I looked into tummy tucks to get rid of the loose skin around my tummy (thanks to 3 kiddos). I just about passed out after looking at the big scar though...it's in a spot that won't really be noticed, kind of like a c-section...but it is a scar none the less. I think I will re-evaluate this after spending some time with a personal trainer at the gym first. Once I get more weight off, I may not feel as desperate. As it is, my tummy is all wrinkled and gross...not sure that losing fat is going to smooth that out though. At any rate, it will be nice to be trim for our trip to Hawaii in a few months.

Well, on that note, I'm going to jump in the shower...still sweaty after today's morning workout.

It wasn't supposed to be like this!

Well, I just saw that Andrea wrote in her blog today, so I better get on the ball too! Things have been crazy here, really crazy since school has started. I feel like I just can't catch my breath and that I am always falling behind on things. This morning I was greeted by a sink full of dishes, there are clothes waiting to be ironed and folded all over my bedroom and the painting in the kitchen is only half way finished.  I have projects all over the place that are in various stages of completion and my office, well, it's a wonder the children haven't gone missing in there. It wasn't supposed to be like this. 

Waaaay back when I was in school, I had other ideas of what it would be like to be a mom. I couldn't wait to be a grown-up, with all that free time to do whatever I wanted...it was going to be great! But the sad reality is that by the time all the kids are in bed and I actually have "free time" I am sooo tired I just want to sit on the couch and watch a show...or fall asleep like I did last night.

I'm not even sure where I'm going with this, it's just that I'm so frustrated by all of my obligations and feel like I'm always letting someone down, first and foremost, myself. Dan was raised in a nice house where messes were rare. For the past 13+ years I have tried to live up to that image of a house where "everything is in it's place," but I'm really starting to go a little crazy over the whole thing. I will be the first to admit that I'm not a super tidy person, but I am able to whip things into shape and make them look nice...I just can't seem to keep them that way. I have tried different systems for cleaning, but then I find I get OCD about the whole organizational part of it all which in turn makes a bigger mess than what I had to start with. 

ugg...this is turning into a lame blog post. I guess that's what I get for blogging on a Thursday at 7:30 in the evening after a full day with kids, schedule mess ups and a sore throat. Maybe tonight I will fall asleep in my own bed instead of on the couch. Let's see if a full night's rest will change my perspective...I'm guessing it will.

Keeping Busy

I've been thinking about posting the past couple days, but I've been so busy I just haven't done it.

January is a time for returning to order and reflecting on my goals for the year. Like most of America, I am back in weight loss mode again. I've been working out at the gym on a more regular schedule (something I haven't been doing since my surgeries in October). I feel great when I am done, but it does take a lot of my reserve energy from me.

Out of pure desperation, I have started taking a metabolism booster as it seems I have a very slow metabolism. One night when I was wide awake at 12:30 I asked Dan "do you think those pills have caffeine in them?" Well, sure enough they do! I don't drink coffee on a regular basis, but I can really see why people do...I have gotten so much more done around here since I started taking the metabolism boosters!

For example, on Tuesday after dropping Natalie off at school I made a large dish of enchiladas and a layered bean dip for dinner, then I made bran muffins, 2 loaves of banana bread and rice crispy treats. (trying to clean out the pantry too). Then I took down and sorted all the Christmas decorations, cleaned the kitchen and family rooms and vacuumed downstairs. Just before dinner I made homemade salsa. We had company for dinner, I put the kids in bed afterwards and I was hopping around here, wide awake until after midnight!

Amazing!!! Now I know how the other half live...it's great having so much energy...I hardly know what to do with myself!

Too Many Photos!

Well, it's been a while since I have updated my blog. I have some fun photos from New Year's Eve that I am unable to upload because my hard drive is too full...do you think this could be attributed to the 21,000 photos I have stored already on the hard drive? Yes, thanks the digital camera age, I have more photos than ever.

So what have I been up to this past week? Mostly just trying to get the house back in order from all the festivities last month. I think I did 8 loads of laundry yesterday!!! A few days before that I completely cleaned the play room...and ya wanna know the best part? It has been staying clean thanks to the new LOCK we installed!!! It's one of the best things we've done to the house so far. By having the playroom door locked most of the time, the constant flow of toys has really come to a screeching halt! They are all trapped in the playroom and the kids, who are missing their toys, really appreciate them more and have done a great job at keeping them put back when they are done...because they know we won't let them play unless everything is put away afterwards...it's quite a monumental turning point in my housekeeping!

I've also been having fun with a site meter I installed on my paper capers blog. It allows me to see how many visitors are checking out my site. I've got visitors from all over the United States and Canada (represented by the colored dots):


...and even some in the Dominican Republic, England, France and Australia! I can track how long they have been on the paper capers blog and how they found the blog (google search engine, or links from other blogs etc.) It also shows how many pages they have looked at and where they are located. I thought it was pretty cool to see so many different locations listed in just the three days since I set up the meter.

Here's a what a referral looks like from Google:
Someone left a nice comment on the penguin party post and it (the meta tags) were picked up by Google! I've actually generated quite a lot of hits from people looking for party ideas. The penguin party has been the most popular so far.

Added Saturday morning. Just got visits from the Netherlands, Korea and Hawaii since I posted last night.

The Ernstopia blog is set to private for our friends and family, so I doubt there are too many viewers from other countries.

At any rate, I hope to download some photos on to Dan's computer and update my blog soon. I also hope to get an external hard drive to relieve some of the storage taken up by all my photos!

Serious problems with plumbing here at Ernstopia

Man...I love our home, but sometimes it feels like a huge money pit. Here's what has gone wrong in the past 24 hours:

• Last night we realized that the small trickle of water under our kitchen sink is now a constant drip and has leaked all over everything under the sink. Upon closer inspection it seems the pipes have rusted all the way through leaving holes in the pipe where water can leak out anytime the kitchen sink is used.
• For some reason all the water downstairs is ice cold. Dan thinks it could be the pilot light in the hot water heater that has gone out. An easy fix...I think.
  
• This morning the toilet in our master bath overflowed all over the floor before church.
  
• And then after coming home from a Christmas party at our next door neighbors, Dan discovered that our basement was completely flooded...about 4" of standing water...EVERYWHERE! With all the rain we've been having, water has been building up.
  

When I got home from the gym this evening, Dan was under the sink trying to fix the leak.

Here's Dan trying to rescue the insulation from the wet basement floor.

As you can see, it's all the way to the stairs! See the mop we bought today at Home Depot (on the bottom step). At the time I thought it would be a good thing to have to mop up the puddles...little did we know we should have been buying a sump-pump!!!

Our friend Scott called sometime after 10:30 pm and offered to come over and help with our flooded basement. I went to find Dan to see what help he needed, but he was no where to be found. About 15-20 minutes later Dan knocks on the door with this. He pulled it out of the drainage pipes down where the driveway meets the road.

It appears to be some kind of root system all matted up with other organic matter.

Dan thought it would make a nice hair piece. I had to agree, but told him it couldn't come in the house!!!

I guess we were just spoiled in our first home which was only 2 years old when we bought it. In the short time we've lived here, we've been faced with some pretty costly issues to fix. Remember our major ant infestation? It cost several hundreds of dollars just to minimize (yes they are still getting in). Our central vac began not working over a year ago, but it's not real high on our list of things to fix. During the winter months we have a horrible draft coming from about 90% of the windows in the house causing the house (especially the floors) to be super cold until about noon (when the heat has been on a while). Windows are not in our budget right now either, so Dan bought that plastic film (you use a hair dryer to seal up your window) and I hope it does the trick. Between the damp basement and the drafty windows it's no wonder we've been so sick since we've moved here.

I am trying to look at the bright side of this...I mean, at least we didn't have anything on the floor of the basement. And hey if it gets cold enough, we could have our own ice skating rink! Maybe if we charge admission we can come up with enough money to repair all the water damage!

Sorry this was such a bummer of a post. I'm sure I'll be better by tomorrow. I just really needed to vent...carry on!

Do you realize how much salt is in your food?

A LOT!!! Just for fun try finding something in your pantry that isn't loaded with salt. I think this is going to be harder than I thought. At first when the doctor said to avoid salt/sodium I just nodded my head and thought "okay great...no more crackers and chips, reduce my cheese intake, okay...I get it." No problem, right?

Then today I had a bit of trouble finding food to eat for lunch. Normally I would have a weight watchers meal or a diet bagel, toasted with ham and cheese, v-8 or low cal yogurt and carrots or apple...most of these are now off limits... To the pantry I go. Soup...no, risotto...no, sandwich...without cheese and cold cuts, what's the point? Weight watchers frozen meals...oh, my no...salt, salt, salt. I ended up making a rolled whole wheat tortilla with a small amount of peanut butter and dried cranberries. Not filling, so I am in the kitchen again looking for food. Carrots, yes, banana bread...kind of okay, and lots and lots of water!

All day I have been thinking about how I love to cook and how that will all change...or at least how I will be cooking will change. I was also thinking about all the salty foods I have eaten lately...Thanksgiving (gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole), Chinese food (soy sauce, fried rice), Olive Garden (soup and bread sticks) even some salads with the dressings and sunflower seeds.

I'm not really even in mourning about reducing my dairy (yet) because I am so overwhelmed by checking the labels for sodium. I spoke with my Nephrologist on the phone today and he told me my blood work came back fine (checking for abnormal parathyroid). I asked to be referred to a dietitian to help sort this all out and he was going to get back to me. Until then, I feel like I am just not sure what is really "safe" to eat. This frustration is all very much compounded by my on-going quest to "eat right" and loose weight.

Really it all boils down to this...I'm going to have to make most of my food from scratch. Packaged food is made up of so much chemical garbage and TONS of sodium... and I'm going to have to eat more fruits and veggies for crunchy snacks instead of crackers or popcorn.

Sorry I am rambling on tonight...this was mostly intended to be therapeutic for me. Kudos to you if you have actually read this whole mess!!!

Welcome to the end of the Oregon Trail!

No, it's not really a covered wagon, but it may as well be.

Actually, I would rather it was a covered wagon, because then I could hold on to hope that someday it would move. But alas, this greenhouse isn't going anywhere... Instead we are stuck with this GIANT eyesore which now blocks the natural scenery in our front yard.

Our neighbors are really smart, very considerate people, that's why it baffles me that in all their 13+ acres, they chose the front corner that meets up with our yard. In all fairness, our neighbor did call the day after it went up to apologize, saying he didn't realize it would be this obtrusive. In hindsight, Dan and I are kicking ourselves for not speaking up when they broke ground...but I guess we didn't realize the impact until it was too late.


Here is our new view just steps from our front door...every time we see it, we get a little miffed inside.

Update: I just had a talk with one of the neighbors (who brought over pumpkin bread too!!) and she said they plan to plant a hedge to block the view...so that will help out a lot, I think.

The most expensive Jessie Doll Evah!

Here's a little background info: A few Christmases ago Natalie got a Jessie doll, but it didn't come with her trademark red hat. Natalie loved her Jessie doll very much but mentioned that next year all she was going to ask of Santa was a red hat for her Jessie doll. Fast forward to Zander's last birthday when he got the Woody and Jessie set as a gift. Natalie was thrilled because this Jessie had a hat. Needless to say, the hat was a big deal to her.

Okay, so last Sunday when we went out to dinner, Natalie asked if she could bring her Jessie doll. I told her to leave it at home, but for some reason I agreed to let her bring it. Jessie came in to eat with Natalie. We enjoyed our meal, paid and left. It wasn't until we got home that she realized she didn't have the red cowgirl hat. Dan called the restaurant and they didn't have it either.

So I asked Dan if he would put the kids to bed so I could drive back to the parking lot and look for the hat. It was 20 minutes away, but it would save me a lot of anxiety if I knew it was or wasn't sitting there in the parking lot. I quickly zoomed out, driving Dan's car (the Honda). I was driving cautiously because it was dark and I wasn't 100% sure how to get there as Dan drove the first time and I wasn't really paying attention to how he got there. Then to add to my stress, a cop pulls up behind me. I am very aware he is there and hoping he turns soon. Just then his lights go on and I quickly move to the right to let him pass...only he didn't pass, he pulled up behind me!

As it turns out the plates are expired and have been since July! I quickly rummage through the glove box for the registration and proof of insurance. I hand him the registration, but cannot find the insurance card...or at least not a current one. The best I could do was a card that expired in 2005. Embarrassed as all get out I apologized to the officer and explained to him that this was my husband's car. He said other officers would tow my car away, but he would let me off with a citation. A $97 citation...Grrr Grrr Grrr! Needless to say, I was a little miffed at the thought that we have been driving illegally for 2 years...

Anyway I get to the parking lot of the restaurant and look around with only the street lights to help me see in the dark. No hat. It was nowhere to be found. So I drove home. The very next day Zander found the hat in his room. I don't even want to know how it got there!

So now that the kids are back in school, what are you doing with all your time?

If you would have asked me this question last year, I would have just laughed. At best I had about an hour and a half of free time between drop offs and pick ups at the two schools.

This year however, I have a good solid block of time...and since Natalie is now riding the bus home, I don't have to load up the boys and haul them over to the school to pick up Natalie...It has been soooo heavenly!

Although this first week of school is starting to take it's toll on me in the evenings especially, I have to say that I'm better off than I was last year. Last year at this time I had the stress of learning the routine of 2 different schools, 2 different teachers, all just months after moving to our new home.


So that brings me to the question...what are you doing with all your free time? Well, this week has been fairly productive. I've managed to mop the kitchen, go grocery shopping (where I saved $185 with my coupons), clean out both the kitchen refrigerator and the garage refrigerator (to accommodate all the new groceries) and I've gone on a walk with the boys (which took twice as long as going solo, but it was good to get out!). I've also had the usual house work to do which may actually get done this year!!! It's amazing how much more you can do when you aren't interrupted all day long. Ahhh...just sitting here enjoying my last 30 minutes before the bus arrives.
_____________________

I just wanted to let everyone know that Natalie's school is offering Entertainment books for $20 this week (sorry I realize it's already Thursday). If you are interested I can get one for you.

Dramatic!

Do you see it? I found the word DRAMATIC while playing Boggle yesterday. Start at the bottom right corner, go up to the top then cut diagonal down to the bottom left corner. It gave me a whopping 7 points!!! Do you think this extra 7 points helped me beat Dan?....

NO!

Yeah...Chris posted on my blog!

So, it may not surprise you that I am a blog addict. I take photos of everything to share with you all, because I know you really are interested in seeing every last detail of our vacations played out in a blog post with 53 beach photos!!! It's just like the old days when your neighbor would invite you over to see reel after reel of their slide show to Mt. Rushmore...meanwhile you are drooling on the arm of the couch about to fall asleep at any given minute.

Anyway, hope I am not that boring! I know I can take the abuse from those who think I take too many pictures...family and friends laugh at me (lovingly) but it won't stop me...oh, no! I'm very committed to spending my day uploading my life for all to see...who needs to put the laundry away when you can blog about how addicting blogging has become? (Dan need not comment).

Actually my blog is not only therapeutic for me, but it also helps me keep track of what's going on in our lives (for scrapbooking and just plain old reminiscing). That and I love to write...and take pictures, so you are just stuck with me...cause I know you are addicted too!

Thanks for the inspiration Chris...Now you too can take the blogging quiz here.

Catching up

I have been busy this week, but that's not really why I haven't blogged. You see... my camera broke. I am lost without it. It just won't turn on.

I do have photos I need to post of the pool party this past Tuesday. I invited the whole kindergarten class, and although not everyone could make it, we had about 20 kids when you count all the siblings. I may post those this weekend, but tomorrow is our 12th wedding anniversary and we may be "out on the town," so maybe Monday.

Today I took the kids to the Gresham Farmer's market. We got veggies, apricots and peaches. the kids scored some snow cones and I got a great deal on fresh-caught Pacific salmon...which I barbecued for lunch when we got home.

Tonight I went to the wedding of Dan's cousin Raelynn. Her sister Allison was our flower girl. Anyway, Raelynn married a guy named Anthony who is the cousin of one of my best friends from back in the school days...Shawnie. So I guess, technically, now we are related too! Weird hu!

Oh, for those who haven't heard...I had a CT scan last Sunday which confirmed that I do in fact have a kidney stone. There was some question about whether not it could be a Gall stone, but alas, it's a kidney stone. I meet with the urologist this coming Thursday.

Well I hope to catch up with some more photos soon...hope everyone is having a great summer!

Remember this place?

...It seems our old Troutdale home is for sale. It was fun looking at the photos on the realty website. How often do you get a chance to see what someone has done to "your house" after you move out of it? Maybe I am just biased or whatever, but they didn't really do a very good job staging the house to sell it. Here are some things I noticed:

• The clover is back all over the front lawn (don't tell Dan!)
  
• The shrubs in the front need pruning
• roses need to be pruned
• decks need to be stained
• can't even see the gazebo in the back yard as the photo is so dark.
• The photos don't really capture the great qualities of this house. Don't get me started on the ugly chairs!!!
  

It was nice to see that she didn't paint over any of the walls or stenciling that I did. She did add hardwoods which is something I wanted to do, but we never got around to it. I did notice that the curtains were missing in the window near the dining table. After seeing the garage with all the cupboards we installed I was wishing we could have stayed long enough to really enjoy them, but I'm really glad we moved when we did.

Oh, how much easier it was to have less yard to maintain. Looking around this place, our shrubs need to be pruned and the gardens need to be weeded too. Guess it will have to wait for one more week as we are headed to the coast!

What...Do I smell or something?

I must have a serious case of blogger B.O. or something,
cause in the past week there have only been 2 comments (thanks Dad and Andrea). Okay! I know that was random, but it's been a busy week for me and I'm plum out of things to say...for tonight anyway. Hope everyone is having a good week.

Lessons Learned from Watching the Brady Bunch

There is no show I watched more growing up than the Brady Bunch. We used to see who could be the first to guess which episode it was going to be. Name that episode. I could usually tell within the first 20-30 seconds...To this day I still love the show...in all it's cheezy Brady goodness! Just last night I caught a few minutes of the TV Land Awards where the Brady Bunch received the Pop Culture award. I must admit, I almost teared up when Ann B. Davis (Alice) got a really long standing O. What can you say about the Brady's they taught us so many valuable life lessons. Here are a few (well 120 to be exact) lessons ...these should bring back some memories and put a smile on your face. Unless you are my husband who just doesn't appreciate pop culture like I do. By the way, can you believe "Marcia" is 50!!!


Lessons Learned from Watching the Brady Bunch

1. Mom always said, don't play ball in the house.
2. Lemon juice does not remove freckles.
3. Always wear your glasses especially when having a family photograph done.
4. Brush your hair 100 strokes each night
5. It's bad karma to say, "Something suddenly came up."
6. Always remember that big sister will be prettier and more popular than you.
7. All of life's problems and disasters can be fixed in 30 minutes!!!
8. Do not open an umbrella when the car top is down.
9. Don't borrow your Mom's 'Cleopatra" earrings
10. When serving pork chops, applesauce makes a lovely side dish
11. Never lie and say youre dying of a dreaded disease just to get Joe Namath's autograph
12. If you want Davy Jones to come to your house, just tell him
13. When in Hawaii, best to leave that little carved tiki god where you found it. Don't pick it up!
14. Any major family disagreement or dispute can be settled with either a card house building contest or a potato sack race.
15. Sometimes when it's time to change, you've got to rearrange.
16. Do not hide a fragile present in the garage.
17. Don't trust your kids with your important work documents...especially at amusement parks.
18. If you get hit in the face with a football, your nose WILL be flattened
19. hiding the school mascot live goat in your attic bedroom is not such a good idea.
20. Be yourself.. don't buy big black frizzy wigs
21. Always test the volcano around your sister's snobby friends!
22. If you go to the Grand Canyon, don't let the kids wander off alone
23. If you save someone and become a local hero, don't go around telling everyone. They won't like you!
24. It's not good to idolize Jesse James.
25. that you only need a little bit of soap in the washing machine...
26. engraving is 15 cents PER LETTER..not for the whole silver platter
27. Carol singing on christmas morning will heal the world
28. a pay phone in the house could be cool
29. a house of cards will eventually fall (thank you tiger)
30. Astroturf is much better than grass in the backyard.
31. Six kids CAN share two bedrooms, one bath, one TV and one phone... and still live harmoniously at the end of the half hour.
32. When I feel left out I can make up a boyfriend named George uh, Glass. George Glass. He'll carry my books and think I'm super cool!
33. I learned that a flashlight makes an excellent hiding place for hot dogs and some baked beans.
34. Don't get yourself locked in an old jail cell in a ghost town!
35. I learned that when a bully picks on your little sister for her "lisp" problem....you just punch the bully in the mouth and then he will have a "lisp" too!
36. Hanging upside down on the swingset will not make you taller!
37. Never have both the cat and the dog at the wedding. It's either one or the other!
38. When you have an allergic reaction, don't always blame the dog.
39. Sometimes you have to compromise when deciding what to get with your trading stamps.
40. Never sleep with your locket on. It may fall out the window.
41. It's not easy making a film about pilgrims.
42. Peter makes a cute Sunflower Girl.
43. Make sure that you get plenty of rest before attempting to set a new teeter totter record.
44. If you have to go to court due to a fender bender, throw your brief case on the floor to see if the other person really has whiplash.
45. The safety monitor is usually a very unpopular person.
46. Just because your dentist asks if you are free on Friday night, it does not mean he is asking you out for a date.
47. Never judge a cheerleading competition if your sister is a contestant.
48. One kiss from Millicent does not give you the mumps.
49. You can always use an egg to determine who the better driver is.
50. Your cousin Oliver may not really be the jinx that you think he is.
51. Never buy hair tonic from your brother.
52. When going on a trip, always wear a belt and socks, never know when you will need to tie them together to escape out of jail
53. Don't call some NASA expert even if you're SURE there's a UFO outside.
54. If you're the hall monitor at school, DON'T take you're work home with you.
55. Frogs and pizza don't mix.
56. And no matter how many times you practice, "Hark!" "Who goes there!?" you're going to screw it up on opening night...
57. Before signing a record deal, find out if you're only there because you "fit the suit"
58. Dressing up like Shirley Temple is a dumb idea.
59. Making a Thanksgiving play with your family is fun.
60. It is okay to wear your glasses, it keeps you from wrecking your bike.
61. If you get fired from the bicycle shop, you should tell your family, not keep faking like you are going to work.
62. If you don't want your parents to sell your house, then lead potential buyers into thinking it is haunted.
63. If your voice is changing, you should record a song about it.
64. Dad's office can be transformed into a groovy pad man.
65. If you don't have a date for Saturday night, you can always square dance with your family in the living room.
66. Don't get all snobby when they pick you to play Juliet.
67. Don't make election promises you can't keep.
68. When on vacation, families always sing "My Darling Clementine" in the car.
69. Sometimes if you are really cute, mommy AND Daddy can see your class play in a special performance.
70. Any school election called "Most Popular Girl" and "Most Popular Boy" can never have nice consequences!
71. If you're going to be a Women's Libber, be prepared to hike with the Boy Scouts!
72. If you have an ugly teacher, don't sketch the picture of George Washington on the wall.
73. If you ever get in front of a tv camera, never look directly at the little red light
74. If you get picked to do a television commercial, don't act like a bunch of 'squares' .....and don't take acting lessons from Myrna.
75. It's okay to grow up and look like Aunt Jenny. Beauty is on the inside.
76. Pie in the face can be a real career killer. Just ask cousin Oliver.
77. One is never too young to set a world record. Especially the see-saw record. Oh, and throw in some big yawns for extra cuteness.
78. Don't forget to bring a cut-out of a bear when you're camping, just in case you want to scare your brothers.
79. If the city is going to build something on your park, just interrupt years of research and development by proposing to put it at the city dump. They'll go for the idea in a second!
80. Want to stand out from your pretty older and younger sister? Wear a funky wig!
81. If you're eavesdropping on your housekeeper, make sure you know who's really engaged before throwing a surprize party. She really might be bowling that night.
82. If you save a little girl and get rewarded, don't throw a party if you've spent all the time bragging about it. No one will come.
83. Make friends with the Dittmyers. They just might invite you to their barbeque.
84. Don't be afraid to have braces at the school dance. The cutest guy in school will fly off the handle bars of his bike and will need them too.
85. The capital of Lousiana is Baton Rouge
86. A poster of Yogi Bear does not make a good architectural presentation.
87. If you don't win the ice cream eating contest and get ice cream for a whole YUUUUUMMMY Year, your family will give you a pity prize trophy and a large ice cream sundae.
88. You can buy your little sister a secret admirer for just a real Kennedy half dollar! He'll do anything for it!!!!
89. Ask Santa for a miracle and it will happen!
90. Always take your kids on your honeymoon!
91. Sometimes it's better to just paint the backdrops.
92. Never date, "the big man on campus!" He is shallow and will dump you if your nose gets a little swollen and bruised
93. Never stop in a ghost town on your way to the Grand Canyon....Mr. Howell from Gilligan's Island might lock you up in jail for tying to steal his claim!
94. F-F-FIL-L-L-LMO-O-O-ORE FILMORE JR. HIGH!
95. If you're putting on a play of Snow White in your backyard, better get a permit in case some random cop at the grocery store asks you about it.
96. Everyone wants to be Dopey.
97. Listen closely to the Department store guy. He charges PER LETTER, Jan!
98. If you hide your diary in the garage behind the old books and it gets donated to charity you just might get to meet Desi Arnez Jr.!
99. Never date the football player of the rival team...he'll try to steal your brother's play book!!
100. Don't try to get your random freak twin named Arthur to help you date two different girls on the same night.
101. If you try to woo a girl the way Cyrano did, it's only going to backfire and she'll really just want Greg instead.
102. When you grow up, you get to move into the attic, but check with your sister first because she may have the same idea.
103. It would be an engineering nightmare to build a cosmetics factory that opened up like a compact.
104. Always carry your macrame handbag with you on tours of old ghost towns. You can always use it to get the key to the jail and free your family.
105. - Don't forget the apple for the Snow White play in your backyard.
106. - "The only steps in this house are those....leading right up to your room, Bobby."
107. - You can save your football team by blowing up the pictures you took on the sideline in your bathroom photo lab.
108. - You can make your housekeeper really happy by taking a picture of her near her recipe written on the chalkboard.
109. - Don't say nasty things about Mr. Phillips' boat when he calls after you've had your tonsils out.
110. Never, ever wear your charm bracelet while building a house of cards
111. No one likes a tattletale!!!
112. Never bet on how many chin ups you can do!
113. When you kiss you can see fireworks and possibly get the mumps.
114. Grandpa Brady and Grandma Hutchins make a cute couple.
115. It's not a good idea to idolize a cold blooded gun totin gangster
116. If Kitty Carry All turns up missing, check the dog house.
117. When your sisters are having a slumber party, itching powder in the sleeping bags is good for a few laughs
118. Never trust anyone who tells you that you are "groovy from all angles."
119. All the super glue in the world won't fix mom's favorite vase.
120. The more fringe on your dance costume the better...oh and beaded headbands.

Little bits of info for you

Well I have been meaning to blog for a few days now. Got a few ideas in my head, but haven't really sat down to formulate anything. Here are some things I've been meaning to tell you:

Happy Earth Day! As you may know, yesterday was Earth day. Normally I don't get all excited about holidays based on political agendas, but this year I am a little excited. You see I just learned our local recycling company is now accepting those plastic tubs. You know, the kind you buy yogurt, cottage cheese and sour cream in.

Growing up, recycling was our secondary religion thanks to my very responsible dad who would scour our garbage cans and remove any potentially recyclable material and place them in the proper container to either recycle at the curb or at a local drop off. No empty toilet paper roll was over looked. Now as an adult I do the same thing...Dan throws a cereal box in the garbage, I secretly dig it out and put it in our recycling bin. So you can guess it just kills me to throw away those plastic tubs. I don't even like watching other people do it...yes, I am THAT weird, okay! Anyway, I refuse to throw them in the garbage, so for the past year since we've moved here I have been storing them, cleaned out, under the sink until I could take them to the proper recylcing facility. Then the other day I read in the local paper that I could now add them to the recycle bin...I was so excited. Now I have so much room under the kitchen sink, I think I might store something useful under there now.

Thanks to pressure from consumers, big companies like Starbucks and Safeway are no longer going to sell dairy products made with rBST, a growth hormone found in non-organic milk. I also heard that California dairy farmers have until August to stop using the hormone or risk a high penalty to have their milk shipped to alternate markets. I tend to buy organic milk anyway, but at least now it will be easier to find. It is also worth mentioning that our own Tillamook dairy hasn't used hormones in their cows for a while now.
Speaking of dairy products...mark your calendars for May 2...Baskin and Robins is having a 31 cent scoop night from 5 pm to 10 pm.

That's all for now!

Good News, Bad News

Good News: our best friends just adopted their second baby boy! Hooray!!!
Bad News: they have to stay in a hotel until Tuesday when all the paperwork is finalized.

Good News: My dad finished his radiation treatments a month ago.
Bad News: his PSA tests are still high, so he may not be done fighting cancer. Another test on Monday will tell the doctors how to proceed. Please be in prayer for my dad as he isn't feeling well through all of this.

Good News: After working really hard to lose 10 pounds before our trip to Disneyland, I only gained a couple back after our vacation!!!
Bad News: I made up for it over the Easter holiday!

Good News: Our ant guy came back out to spray for ants.
Bad News: We still have ants.

Good News: Dan turned off the water.
Bad News: Our upstairs toilet leaked and it is now coming through the living room ceiling!

Disney tips for parents with young kiddos

I am writing this post as requested by my friends Debbie, Katie and Sophie who are going to Disneyland with their families next month. (They were smart and didn't book their trips during spring break!) I hope my information is helpful to them and anyone else who reads this. BTW this might end up being a very long post as there is so much to cover, so bear with me as I motor through all my thoughts and ideas.

You can save a ton of money by NOT booking a Disney hotel. Instead book a Good neighbor hotel. They are usually within walking distance and also offer early entry for one day with purchase of 3 day park hopper pass. We also got a deal with Alaskan airlines where the kids fly free...and we got all our Disney tickets at the children's rate. We used River City Travel to book our trip, but I'm sure any travel agent can help get you the best deal. We stayed at the Anaheim Fairfield and thought it was great. Close to the park, friendly people and they upgraded our room upon arrival for no extra fee when they realized we had 3 kids. They also have pack and play cribs, so we didn't have to pack one along for Hayden.

Try to get a room that faces the park. We really enjoyed watching the fireworks every night from our hotel.

Bring your own snacks into the park. I packed a whole suitcase of snacks and distributed them as needed each day. They will let you in to the park with snacks as long as it doesn't appear that you are planning for a whole picnic. Granola bars, fruit snacks, fruit roll ups, cookies, crackers etc are fine. You will be glad you did. Our kids worked up quite an appetite and you can't really find much of anything in the parks for less than 3.95 + tax. We used these snacks for breakfast rather than wasting precious time sitting down for a meal. I also packed extras for times through out the day when the kids get the munchies.

Fruit snacks are also great to give kids on the plane to aid in popping their ears when the pressure from the plane taking off and landing can cause little ones to complain.

Bring your own water into the park...unless you like to pay for your water. I got dehydrated on our second day because we never really stopped long enough to get something to drink. I brought water in for the kids, but didn't drink enough myself. Not only was I not drinking as much liquid as usual, but I was active all day, walking and carrying the kids around. I got a pounding headache and just felt a bit off all day, so take it from me, bring lots of water to drink. (Since you can't bring water on the plane, unless you check it in your luggage, I packed empty water bottles and we filled them up at the hotel and at the drinking fountains inside the park.

Wear comfortable shoes. Preferably, tennis shoes/running shoes. Don't even think about heels!!! We didn't run into problems with blisters, but I brought band aids just in case.

Grab a schedule and a map at the gate when you enter. They have them at California Adventure too and it was helpful to confirm how we wanted to plan our day. You can find a calendar with a semi-reliable schedule on the Disney website, which is how we knew when the shows and parades were ahead of time.

Plan to take a break in the middle of the day to go back to your hotel and give your kids and you a break. You will be glad you did. After a few hours the kids will be charged up and ready to go back again.

Break up your week. We had a 3 day park hopper, so we took our break after day 2 in Disneyland. We still went out to eat and shopped in Downtown Disney...and went swimming at our hotel, but the pace was much slower. No real agenda.

Bring a Neat sheet for sitting on during parades and fireworks. We used ours at least 3 times and I'm glad we had it along. They fold up really small, so you won't need much space to pack one.

Bring a poncho. It might rain...it did while we were there, but most of all , bring it if you don't want to get wet on the Grizzly river run. You can get disposable ponchos at Walmart for 88 cents. I also found glow sticks at Walmart for 88 cents. The kids loved them at night.

Bring sunscreen, hats and sunglasses for everyone. It would be a shame to get burnt, or worse your kids to get burnt.

Other things to pack: Extra, extra large Ziploc bags to store all lotions, hair gel, spray...basically anything you don't want to find spilled all over your clothes. I also packed a few empty bags so I could keep all the dirty clothes in these. Disposable cameras for the kids...you may get lots of pictures of legs and hotel wall paintings, but the kids enjoy being photographers too. At least one hooded sweatshirt or light jacket per person...it gets cold at times. A small backpack to throw stuff in (camera, snacks, money, sunglasses) Not too big that you can't bring it on rides or too heavy that you hate lugging it around. A double stroller if you have or can borrow one. If you have more than 2 kids under 8 it will really come in handy. You can also rent single strollers for $10 a day, but if your kids fall asleep, you have to wake them up and return the stroller before returning to your hotel.

I brought my stash of quarters and pennies for the squished penny machines that are all over the park. You can find them in most gift shops, but there are a lot of them in the penny arcade on Main street.

Wish I would have brought Icy Hot or Bengay type topical muscle ache reliever. My quads were so sore from walking non-stop.

Use the Fast passes. I was surprised at how many people were standing in lines with a 45 minute wait. Find out what rides you are most interested in and plan accordingly. The rides with the fast pass option are the most popular, so don't even bother standing in line when you can use your fast pass. Note, some rides (tower of terror, soaring over California, and others "sell out" of fast passes, so punch your favorites early in the day.) You have to wait 2-3 hours before you can punch for another fast pass, so plan your day with things to fill your time while you wait to use your fast pass.

Early entry. When you purchase a 3 day park hopper, you can get in one hour early (8 am) to Fantasyland . You used to be able to get into the whole park, but now it's just Fantasyland. There are certain days when this option is available, so find out ahead of time. If you have early entry at Fantasy land, go to Dumbo or Peter Pan first. There are no fast passes in Fantasyland and the wait for these rides is usually very long. We rode It's a small world late in the evening and got in right away, but there seemed to be a line during the day.

Wait at the gates at 10 am for Toontown to open. Trust me, we did and we still had to stand in line 30 minutes to go through Mickey's house to meet and get pictures with Mickey. Minnie on the other hand is usually not in her house, but rather on the street and the line seemed to move faster.

Princess Fantasy Fair opens at 10 am. This is great for girls (but even Zander had a good time). You can hear stories read by princesses, decorate a princess/prince crown, learn how to be a good princess/prince, go through the coronation, learn dances and wait in line to meet the princesses (usually 3 or so princesses). Since we already had plans for a princess lunch, we didn't stand in line to meet them, but we did everything else. There is a Jedi training (in Tomorrowland I think), but we never made it over for that.

Make character dining reservations 3-4 weeks before you go. I was surprised by this, but so glad I knew to do so. There were many an upset guest at Disneyland when they found out there were absolutely no tables available. When I reserved our lunch at Ariel's Grotto 3 weeks prior, all the inside seating was booked, so we ate outside (which is fine BTW, because it's covered and they have heaters above each table).

When making reservations, milk it for all it's worth. When making the reservation for Ariel's Grotto, I told them that we were celebrating Natalie's birthday...all the kids got a special crown and a special pin featuring the princesses and Natalie got a special dessert. I also told them Ariel was her favorite princess...to my surprise, Ariel spent quite a bit more time paying special attention to Natalie. She danced with her and talked to her and flat out made her day. FYI it is a spendy meal, however at Ariel's grotto, Hayden ate for free. They told us if the park doesn't require a ticket for him, they don't charge for his meal. Unfortunately, not every restaurant has this policy.

Blue Bayou. When I booked the Blue Bayou, I told them we were celebrating my MIL's birthday which was the week before. She also got a special dessert and a card signed by the workers. If you are going for lunch reservations, get the first seating, which I think is 11:30 and you are almost guaranteed to sit by the water. We had 11:40 reservations and got second row. It is dark in there, but I already knew what I was going to order ahead of time, so reading the menu wasn't an issue. You can Google words like "Disney restaurant menus" and find out what to expect, just make sure you are looking at a current menu or the selections and pricing may have changed. By the way the Monte Cristo is to die for! It is also a lot to eat, so even with my "I want to eat the whole thing" mentality, I opted to split it with my mother in law and it was more than enough food. I even passed on dessert, which I was fully prepared to order before my meal came. You will be charged $4 to split a meal, but it is a lot less than buying 2 meals, plus you still get all the sides, salad and bread, so not a bad deal in my mind.

Cafe Orleans is right across the street from Blue Bayou and has many of the same things on their menu for a bit less money. We ate dinner there the first night...they have kid's menus that fold into pirate hats too! Beware, their prices are not posted outside. Dinner prices start at the $10-$13 range for adults. I had a salad that was very filling. At the end of your meal they bring you gold pirate chocolate coins which the kids thought were cool.

Taste Pilots (in California Adventure) is located next to Soarin' over California. They serve Chicken and burgers mostly and have great cris-cross fries and onion rings. Lunch starts at $5-$6. I had a crispy chicken salad and we got fries and onion rings to share.

Shows are a great way to get off your feet and keep the kids entertained away from the hot sun or rain whichever the case may be. Shows we loved in Disneyland: Parade of a million Dreams, Fireworks, Princess Fantasy Faire storytime. Shows we liked at California Adventure: Aladdin, Bear and the Big Blue House (Playhouse Disney), Muppets 3-D movie, Turtle Talk with Crush and Electric Parade. I was really only disappointed with the Block party parade.

Meeting Characters. I found this link to be extremely helpful regarding tips for meeting characters. Here are just a few of the suggestions. Bring an autograph book, or buy one at DL. Have your book turned to the page where you want them to sign. By doing this, you avoid ink bleeding through and showing through your other autographs. Some people use their autograph books as photo albums (placing photo next to autograph) so it is helpful to leave enough space for this ahead of time. Also, bring large pens, not skinny ball point type as some of the costumes have big hands which make gripping a pen difficult. The most valuable piece of information I read was have your kid color a picture for his/her favorite character. This gives them more time to be doted on and the characters really love it. Worked like a charm for us...so don't forget to pack your crayons and paper.

Also if any of your kids are into the movie cars, Lightening and Mator come out twice a day by the pier in Disney California, you can also get the times the daily schedule.

Kodak Moments. As any good scrapbooker will tell you, sometimes you have to create a good photo. Don't be afraid to set up your photos a little. I do this on vacation by planning outfits that look good together. One day we did all blue. Don't be afraid to have someone take a picture of your whole family, otherwise you may never get photographed! There are Disney photographers positioned all over the park who will take photos to add to your photo pass. Give them your camera as well, they don't mind taking photos with your camera too. I found the castle photo is best in the morning and later in the afternoon, but mid day to about 4 or 5 when the sun is directly above, the colors tend to be washed out and the subjects tend to squint more when the sun is in their eyes. Another good place for a group photo is the staircase in the ally near Blue Bayou. Don't just take photos of your kids posing with the characters, get them talking and interacting with them too. These are some of the better pictures from our trip.

Just a few ideas to make the magic even more magical: Pack a special gift for your kids and then when you have a special interaction with a character, put the gift beside there bed and write a note from the character about the incident. Mail a post card from the park to your house so that a couple days after we get home you kids get mail from Minnie and Mickey telling them how much fun they had and hope they come back real soon.

Face Painting. You can do it in Downtown Disney or there is an area over by It's a small world close to where they sell Turkey Legs. The cost varies but for a scroll on one side and Tinkerbell on the other with a scroll was only $7. You can also do it at the princess area but the wait is longer.

My online friend works as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise and she said to stop by the jungle cruise and be sure to ask your skipper for a jungle map!
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That is enough for now. Please feel free to ask questions.

Disney Dilema

Today I was researching some of the menus for the restaurants we have reservations for. The one that has me concerned is the Blue Bayou. It's always been too expensive, but when Dan gave me the green light to make the reservation, I was excited to finally get to eat there. Come to find out there are a lot of bad reviews for the Blue Bayou. I was a little surprised since this is a place I had always wanted to try, but the two times we've been to Disneyland it has been hard to get in to.

Anyway I posted a poll on my favorite message board and here are the results:

You can click on the "poll" and it will link you to the actual poll. Here is a negative review that has me worried. I don't want to spend all that hard earned money and be disappointed. Here is another one. You may have to scroll down a bit as there are interesting comments from other people further down on the page(s).

So what would you do? Comments welcome!