A Welcome to our Newest Additions

GranmaR hit the jackpot with her Bday gifts to SuperStar and Spidey. She was in this past weekend and gave each of them $20 to spend purchasing Hammies. They were both so terribly excited that they were actually very very quiet about it........right up until we left to go to PetSmart and first stopped at Hancock Fabrics......

"What are we doing here?" SuperStar whined.
"This isn't where you buy hamsters.........is it? Mom?" chimed in Spidey.

And the newest Family Members were brought home...right after a fabric run.

















Raven Titan........SuperStar's baby hammie.

















Oreo Cookie........Spidey's baby hammie.

And yes, I know that within a few weeks the LOVE they feel will wear off just a tiny bit in the "taking care of them" department and I will most likely end up doing this.....but honestly I love the hammies too so I don't mind at all.

Funny Shower Sayings

TheKing is always causing chaos lately. He has very little in the way of an "off" button. I think every 15 minutes someone in the family (minus BigGuy who can usually handle things himself) is coming around the corner with, "TheKing just........fill in the blank!" Poor TheKing - the only thing that settles him way way down is a snuggle - or - a bath. TheKing loves water. He prefers a bath, but on quick occassions will settle for a shower - although coaxing must be involved.

Now one of his favorite bath things is this yellow container we have. You know the saying.........buy a kid a really expensive educational toy and they will play with the box it came in. This is kinda like that - only it is a plastic yellow container that used to be a Nesquik chocolate milk powder mix holder. SuperStar and Spidey first used this container in the bath Oh So So So Many Years Ago!! It came with us from STL even. It was a bathtub toy favorite. Now about a month ago the yellow bathtub favorite just disappeared. We looked everywhere - in the kids bathroom, our bathroom, TheKing's bedroom, SuperStar's bedroom (because she does un-authorized experiments with water in her room) and in the backyard (no explanation needed right?). No where to be found. Lost. Longed for every single bath TheKing took - even Spidey requested it.

Course did they help look? Not!

Then this weekend I was looking for something. Slowly TheKing has been shoving things under my bed. I have no idea why he does this - but his things are under there - and my things - and just really random things. So I was looking for MY own thing and guess what I found?! Yep - the Yellow Bathtub toy container. And guess who needed to take a quickie shower that morning? Yep - TheKing. So to coax him into the shower I showed him my new Under The Bed Find. I suggested to him that even though he can't dip it into the tub to get water he can collect it from the water that was falling down in the shower.........and he bite at the bait and jumped
in the shower.

I wasn't showering with him - I was in the bathroom though getting ready too. And I hear this...........

"Stop it TheKing. Stop it. Stop Harvesting My Butt Water!"

Bet you never heard that in your bathroom!

My Suggestion.........Next Time Eat The Ice Cream

How cool is this picture? I really love Shredded Wheat. The kind that is brand name is good - the Aldi brand is good - Kashi is good - I just like mine to have a smidge of sweet to the tasted. Right now a favorite is the Vanilla Almond Shredded Wheat. Yum - with a little big of Vanilla Soy Milk in it. Tasty. Perfect with a sliced banana at breakfast. But not at night.

Why do I say that? Well the other day - rather, night - I was craving a snack late in the evening. I have promised myself to try very hard not to snack past 8pm. BigGuy was out of town though - the kids were still awake and I was trying to wait them out - and it got late - and I got hungry - and I wanted some Ice Cream. I reasoned with myself that some low fat ice cream would be acceptable. Went to the freezer and found that apparently someone else had that same thought..........so no ice cream - oh wait..........in the back there was some full fat ice cream.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm............I could eat that - only I really have been trying to make good choices......then I remembered that I had some Vanilla Almond Shredded Wheat. So to the cabinet I went. Poured a bowl.....added some soy milk......ate it. And then I thought - well if I was counting Weight Watcher points I could have 4 bowls of this stuff to one serving of full fat ice cream. So I could have another half a bowl and still have eaten less then half a serving of the ice cream. So I did.

Only my stomach isn't used to eating that late anymore. And.......my stomach and intestines apparently are not used to eating that much shredded wheat at one time either. I felt like something was expanding in my stomach. I felt a bit yucky. Kids were finally asleep so I decided to go to bed.

The next morning I still felt as though I had eating an entire loaf of bread. In fact........I had a few almonds, an apple, a side salad and some vegetables for dinner through the entire day........and still felt like I had eaten a Thanksgiving meal. All because of one and a half bowls of shredded wheat late at night - trying to make the healthier choice.

Next time I am going to save myself the healthy choice and I am eating the ice cream.

Happy Birthday Spidey!!

Can You BELIEVE That The Baby on the Top is the Spidey We All Know and LOVE Below? Happy 8th Birthday Spidey!!!

What Would Jesus Recommend?

I always think it is funny when friends or family (who are not Catholic) do not want to attend a service at our church (which is Catholic). Like their churches are sooooo much easier to follow. Well of course they are easier to follow - they are YOUR church - a place that You are used to, feel comfortable in and really enjoy the people around you. For us - well we are more comfortable at OUR church - we don't much understand karaoke hymm singing - is that to save money on books? Where is the bouncing ball? Sorry - tangent.

My point though is - of course people are comfortable in their own church - it is what they are used to and what they enjoy. We feel the same exact way. And going to one Catholic church is in no way like going to EVERY Catholic church. We have tried just about every Catholic church in the area. There is one that we did not go to because we heard it was kinda very conservative. So we knew we would not fit. In STL we went to a very old and established BEAUTIFUL church. Very liberal Catholic church. We loved our church. We loved the people there.

The whole thing was hard to replace. And it took us a bit over two years to pick one here for good. But we have. And the very first day we decided to go there - see we had been there before we moved and loved the people, but it was huge and new and someone who worked there admitted they had very little diversity - so we didn't go back until recently - anyway..........the very first day that we went to mass we walked into the church - the Nave (look it up) - the Holy Water is located on the left of the entrance in a very large pool - it resembles a wishing well really - a large square pool with 4 divits that flow water down kind of like a waterfall and then goes under and back into the main pool to be waterfalled back out. Is that confusing? Anyway........it is a giant wishing well looking Holy Water pool. Got it? So we walk into the Nave and Spidey looks at the Holy Water pool and sinks BOTH - not a finger, not a hand, but BOTH his arms all the way up to the middle of his forearm - into the Holy Water.

Now, at the time I wanted to be mad at him for so carelessly splashing a third of his body into the Holy Water.......however, in our church in STL the Holy Water was kept in small little fonts attached to the wall and you dipped your finger in..........the Holy Water was easy to see. This really looked like a Wishing Well - so it was more funny then horrendous - aside from the fact that the others people (whom we were making an impression on) didn't seem to be thinking the same thing - at least not by their facial expressions. So I yank Spidey back out of the Holy Water and initially say, "Shake your arms to get some of the water off" and just before he does this.........because I immediately thought "bad idea" - not because he could get people wet (which would have been smart)...........but because I thought "What Would Jesus Recommend?".........and it dawned on me Jesus would think, "That boy needs as much Holy Water as he can get on his body." and I changed my instructions to, "Rub that Holy Water all over your face and body." Spidey looked at me like I was nutso......but he didn't question me and rubbed the water all over his body. Problem solved. On lookers stunned a second time. First Impression made. We are totally joining that church now - if for nothing else - comedic assistance. Tah Dah!!

So needless to say.......Catholic churches aren't any more simple for Catholics then they are for those visiting from other religions - granted you don't have to karaoke, but you can easily be tripped up by the Holy Water.

What do you think Jesus would have Recommended?

Boy Scout Popcorn Time!!

Spidey is Taking Aim at anyone interested in buying some Deliciously Yummy Boy Scout Popcorn.

Now I am not just trying to get you all to buy popcorn - personally I was a bit skeptical at how tasty it might be.............I mean it comes in a tin that has been sitting around for who knows how long...........but I was TOTALLY WRONG!!

This stuff is really really Great! Especially Mud Puddles.......caramel popcorn covered with chocolate..........yum!!

Want Some? Just let me know and we will let you know the choices and place an order. Help a BoyScout out!!

Bike On Baby

I am guessing that those of you who follow me here are also my friends on facebook - although I do know a few of you who read here that don't read there - so this won't be too much of a repeat and then again even if you do follow facebook posts you aren't completely privy to the "little" pieces of this adventure I went on.

I went Biking!

Yeah, yeah, biking - BIG DEAL. You have been biking on and off for years now. True. I have. At one point BL and I were biking almost daily and I had gotten SO SOO SOOO SOOOO good that I actually was able to beat men up Skinker Blvd - I mean from the Bottom to the Top - not from the Top to the Bottom. For those of you not from STL and/or not familiar with Forest Park - Skinker is a Big Ass hill if you aren't riding down it.

And NO the men weren't on three wheeler bikes. And NO they also were not under the age of 5 years old. They were real men that were within my health category and one of them even stopped me after we made it to the top and congratulated me.

That said - my biking isn't new - it is just new here in Central IL - where everything is supposed to be Flat as a pancake (lies lies lies).

Recently - about 2 months ago, after working out at the gym for a month and doing pilates to strengthen my core muscles again (otherwise it is really hard to sit on a bike bent over for extended periods of time) - I started biking. At first it was just 10 miles at a time - then 12 - then 15 - and then I kinda stopped at 17 miles and just made that my cycle. And then..........BigGuy sent home a form about a Bike Ride hosted by his employer. See they are promoting healthy lifestyles - which makes sense since they are an insurance company. They had 3 routes set up - 20 mile, 32 mile and 50 mile. I wanted the whole family to do it - TheKing in the bike trailer behind BigGuy - Spidey on the trailer bike (I would borrow it back was the plan) behind me - and SuperStar on her own. BigGuy sent home the application - I talked to the kids and found out

Not a Single One of Them Wanted to Go.

Totally unaffected I decided it would be an exercise date for BigGuy and I - and I found friends to take the kids for 5 hours. Surprisingly easy. We picked a route - 32 miles. Scared me a bit, but I was half way there already and BigGuy had a month to prepare. And I started - 20 miles a weekend in one ride - then 22 miles a weekend 2x's - and lots of eliptical and pilates time. I was pretty sure 32 miles would be a breeze.

Then a neighbor ran into me at the grocery store. He and I bump into each other (not literally) when we are biking around the 5 mile loop - he asked if I was riding and I mentioned the planned adventure. He immediately got excited and asked to come along - see he didn't work for the insurance company and you had to be a member or friend. So he was in..............only he came with fear of the SAG wagon people - whom I had no knowledge of. To me the SAG wagon was the car that would come to help me if I had a problem.........to him the SAG wagon was the car that would scream LOSER if they had to come get you. He thought 32 miles might kill us and we would be embarassed by the SAG wagon. Hmmmmmm................now I had some fear - kinda.

So back to biking, eliptical and pilates. In the process I dropped 18lbs. Can't complain about that. Then 2 weeks prior to the ride BigGuy hurt his knee. Keep in mind he had NOT done a dog gone thing to prep for the ride. So his hurt knee pretty much solidified he would not be riding. We waited to see. Did I want to go without him? Who would I complain to? The neighbor? Would he mind my cursing as we went up the hills (we pre-drove it and 12 miles of the ride was just hills - really sucky hills)? And honestly - when I was actually riding all I could think was "who the fucks idea was this?" I think I even said it outloud.........although there wasn't enough breath in my lungs to make it very loud.

Thursday before the ride on Saturday BigGuy says, "Well my knee feels okay. I am going to ride the loop around the neighborhood to see if I can bike." And he was off. About 5 minutes later he came back in, "Yeah, it should be good." It takes me 20 minutes to do the 5 mile loop so I had to ask.........."Did you do the full 5 miles that fast?"....."No, just 1 mile.".........."And you are sure you can do 32?"........."Well I will finish my training up tomorrow, but I think I am good."

Really? Like really really?

And that is what he did.........if his training on Friday included doing absolutely NOT A DAMB THING! Saturday morning we were off. Dropped the kids off. Met up with the neighbor. Signed in. Decided to do the 20 miles because of knees and SAG wagon fears - with an option to do 32. Did the first 10 miles in 35 minutes and decided to go 32. The next 12 was ALL HILLS. And I am not being a baby - I was practicing hills to prep - these hills were hills and hills and hills - then a long stretch going up - slight stretch down AGAINST wind so that there was no rest - then a big dip down...........only to go right back up. It really stunk. But we did it. BigGuy was even in front of me most of the time. Probably because his legs are two times the length of mine. We made it that 12 miles in just about 80 minutes. Then the last 10 miles home. Which were up inclines a bit - but pretty easy really. Except that is when BigGuy started to really look not so good. At first I thought he was just being sweet staying back with me, but then it started to dawn on me that I could easily pass him and keep going. This last stretch was hard for him.

The neighbor did absolutely great. He kept saying "I'm 52 so you guys will do so much better." and stuff similar before the race - so I told him I never wanted to hear that crap again. 52 my ass.

Now here is what confused me............we made it to the end and they fed us lunch. This was all about Healthy Lifestyle Choices. Here is what we were given for our lunch:
Choice -
* Hamburger - Hotdog - or Steamed Chicken Breast - all served with a white hamburger bun
* Full Fat Cheese Slice
* Full Fat Mayo, Mustard, Pickles
* Choice of 3 types of chips (potato, bbq or Doritos)
* Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ahhhhhhhhhhh...............where is the health there?

So I asked if the closed container held fruits or veggies. And it DID!!! Only I couldn't have it because I didn't check Vegetarian Option. Which leads me to believe that the only way you get fruits or veggies is if you don't eat meat? Huh?

Of course as I complained to the guys their response was, "Do you realize how many calories we just burned? It doesn't matter what we eat." Really? Well for me it was more that the food we were served was going to make me barf because of mixing it with the ride. Plus........honestly my tush was in such pain I couldn't sit to eat anyway.

What happened to BigGuy? He pretty much passed out when we got home. He looked green and sick sick sick. But the next day he was just fine. So not fair.

Does This Gross You Out?

Recently I have been teasing a Single Dad Friend about his meal planning for his girls. Not that he does a poor job by any means - just that he often times confuses starches for vegetables. Course - so many people do. He and I debate weather Corn and Potatoes served at the same meal with a meat really does cover all the basic food groups. He swears it does - and if the potatoes have cheese on them..........well that gives you dairy too.

And since I have been bugging him about it (in a nice way) I have also been paying attention to the veggies we eat - not that I am worried we are covering them correctly - just that I want to make sure my kids get the "fun" and "useless" vegetables like Corn too. Because even though I see them as a waste of my eating time - they LOVE them.

Yet at the same time I try to add in vegetables made in a way that might confuse my kids (and BigGuy) into thinking that they are eating the "fun" veggies - when they aren't. Like Faux Mashed Potato - or Mashed Cauliflower. Does that gross you out?
It is really easy to make:
1 head Cauliflower
1 steamer (I love my Pampered Chef Microwave cook pot)
a few Tbs of Butter (we use Smart Beat - which isn't butter, but they don't know that)
Salt or Pepper to taste
4oz of FF Cream Cheese (if you want - we don't actually add this every time)
Mixer or Food Processor (or you can probably smash them by hand too)
** Whatever other seasoning you want - we have done Hidden Valley packets, Tastefully Simple Dried Tomato Basil Pesto mix - whatever you like.

1) Steam the Cauliflower
2) Dump them into the food processor and process them until they are smooth - adding in butter and seasons as you go along
3) Serve - Ohmigoodness it is THAT SIMPLE!!

The other night I made these - then sliced up a few Summer Squash, an Onion and a Turkey Kielbasa - sauteed the Onion in Olive Oil until kinda softish - added in the Kielbasa & Summer Squash - cooked until they were hot, but the squash wasn't squish - and then served it on top of a scoop of Mashed Cauliflower -
YUM!!!

We have also done this thing where we use the Mashed Cauliflower in place of potato and make a Shepperd's Pie - again - YUM!!

SuperStar knows what she is eating, but I am not concerned because she is a 3rd generation Cauliflower lover - every time my mom is in town she asks us to make the Mashed Cauliflower. Yum!

Does it gross you out though?

Speaking of Inappropriate Peeing Problems

We were speaking about inappropriate peeing problems - weren't we? Hhmmm.......well maybe that was a few blogs back......or maybe it is just me talking to myself - regardless at this point if you continue reading you will be too.

So TheKing has pretty much COMPLETELY (angels singing and a high pitched choir say......."aaaaaahhhhhhhh") mastered the art of the Potty. He can pee in the potty whenever he wants - opens the door himself - flushes - even has the nerve to wash his hands until caught (no one is going to blame H1N1 on him). Same can pretty much be said for his Pooping on the potty - opens the door himself - pulls his pants down himself - does the business - wipes (kinda successfully) and then washes his hands for an hour. The only real difference between the two acts is that he always is certain to announce the pooping one because he is certain he deserves a treat.

Honesty - I can not blame him - I wish someone gave me a treat everytime I pooped. Shoot I would be happy getting a treat everyday I was having my "Mothers Nature Visit" - wait.......who am I kidding - I do give myself a treat every day I am having my "Time". Really it is completely necessary for me to have those treats because it keeps everyone else in the house alive.

"Where is the problem?" you may be asking yourself at this point. Well....I know there are accidents and that they are to be expected this early in the game of Being Successful Using the Potty - however, me thinks that the accidents happening around here are not the "usual" kind. Like the other day..........

"Time to take a nap TheKing. Do you need to go to the potty first?" I asked as we walked into his room to change into a pull up for sleeping.
"No I peed on that book." and he pointed to the book laying on the floor.
"You what?" I said thinking he was kidding or I was not understanding his words correctly.
"I peed on that book." he said yet again pointing at the same book.
The book was a big chunky board book and it didn't look at all wet - so I picked it up and found out just how wrong I could be as pee dripped on me - and in reflex I dropped it, "ewwwww that is just gross!"

Carpet cleaned up we talked about it and forged forward....and a few days later we went through the same type of thing......
"Time to take a nap TheKing. Do you need to go to the potty first?"
"No I peed on the floor."
"You what?" Looking around....."where on the floor?"
"Downstairs in the living room."
I put him to bed and checked - sure enough he had pee'd on the floor in the piano room. So I cleaned that up. We had a talk about it later - and he said he "just felt it coming" and so he pee'd on the floor!!

What is he thinking? Oh, he is 3 so I guess he isn't really thinking at all.

Old Enough for Boxers

This is Spidey's impression of Michael Jackson - yeah yeah I know it isn't nice to make fun of Those Who Have Passed Before Us - but honestly, when he first did this he didn't say "Hey, look I am Michael Jackson." - BigGuy and I said it - "Hey you look like Michael Jackson." Really Spidey didn't have a clue what we were talking about until we showed him a picture and then he did it a few more times and moved on to another trick. But really he did look like him - only I think Spidey is has a darker skin tone.

And yes.........this blog is about Spidey. See he is now Old Enough for Boxers.

The other day my mother in law phoned to ask what size Spidey is wearing these days because she was shopping for him at the store. I have to stop here and say I Love My Mother In Law. There are so many friends of mine who would rather volunteer to be the director of a weekend daycare program for kids with ADHD then spend time with their MIL - not me - I Love My Mother In Law!!

So she is shopping - and she phones to check sizes - see what Spidey might need (and since we have bought him NOTHING she had really no obstacles) - see if he wanted some underwear and what kind - and to this I did get specific because Spidey wears Tidy Whities and/or the hybrid Boxer Briefs. Always has. Never has asked for anything else - and we get them in dark colors (not white - not EVER white) for obvious reasons (can you say not always fast enough to the bathroom?). And it was done. The box from Macy's came about a week later..........and Spidey was Beside Himself with Excitement over EVERY Little Thing in the box..........and the underwear were.......Traditional Boxers. And I thought "dang it.....now I will have to make a return". I really really do not care a lot to go shopping - returning things.....ack that is even worse!

And then I heard..........

"Oh man Nanny gave me Boxers just like Dad wears!!" and he immediately started stipping down to his birthday suit to put on the boxers! Glad we didn't have friends over because I don't think their presence would have really mattered to Spidey - he was diving into his boxers right at that moment - no hesitation.

And he wore Boxers (there were only 2 pairs in the package) for the next FIVE days!! Gross I know.......but what are you going to do when your 7 year blatantly does not listen to you and wears them again and again?

What? Discipline him so that when he is a teenager he pays attention to you the first time you tell him to do something? Oh shoot.......did that wrong then because I bought 6 additional pairs. I mean come on he was soooo cute..........

"I have waited my whole life to be old enough for boxers!"

Now the easy access for "reaching in" and messing with his equipment did have to stop though........so I do have lines that need to be paid attention to. Course even then - we are still working with BigGuy on that one too. (what TMI? - come on your husband does it too!).

I Hate SSs Phone and thereby The Economy Too

First of all - did I spell Thereby wrong? Now I can spell check it.

Secondly - I Hate SS's Phone. See........SS and I have a very tight relationship........used to be at least. We USED to talk on the phone 2 or 3 times a week for about 40 minutes to an hour each call. On some days (when one of us needed extra Hurrah'ing) we would find that we had talked for upwards of 2 hours - but those were not frequent - however, we NEVER had to worry 1 little Iota about anyway...........because we both had Unlimited Long Distance.

Let's say that lovely phrase again - Unlimited Long Distance - beautiful.

Now the Old Ugly Economy has screwed our Phone Affair all up! See SS's husband is working on his thesis paper - or doctorite something or another - whatever they call those things that take FOREVER to write and seem to cause my friends (whose husbands are doing them) to complain (you know who you are MO and SS) about the moments when their husbands are not working on said thesis papers. With JS working on his paper they are being more frugal about their bills. With them being more frugal about their bills they are being more creative about the phone and have decided to follow so many other families and ditch the land line.............wah!!!!!! Because now SS has to manage her cell phone "minutes" in order to talk to me because I don't have a cell phone that will allow us to talk to each other endlessly like we have always done (okay, I haven't known her from birth - but at least for 5 years - 6 years? - no, 5 years I think).

Have I thought about getting a cell phone with the same company? Heck yeah! But BigGuy says that it doesn't make sense for us to increase our cell phone bill just so I can talk to SS. And SS's husband says that SS and I should talk at night or on weekends............Wah!!!!!

So now I can't talk to SS about every bleeping problem I have - and that is hard! Because when I need someone to listen to the most ridiculous thing ever to be bothered by - I can always count on SS to say, "Oh I totally understand what you mean" and not think "damb she is one gigantic loony bird"............wah!!!!

Why does this have to do with the Economy? Well.......I am not exactly certain - but I think it is because if the economy were not a mess then we would be able to talk on the phone because JS would be able to get more funding through the college he is finishing his degree with and they would never have needed to be creative with their land line. Maybe. Regardless.........I have the economy problems for the other things out there too.

So if anyone wants to donate to my SS Needs Funding For a Years Worth of LandLine Phone Bills So I Don't Go Crazy Or Get Called a Gigantic Loony Bird By Someone Else I Make Listen To My Rantings Fund - please leave a message.

Things I am learning in Pilates class

Just before school started I began going to a pilates class at the gym. This of course distressed Spidey a great deal because it meant an extra 30 minutes at the gym for him in the Kids Fun room (which he does not find fun at all). SuperStar didn't mind because we had been made aware of the fact that as a 10 year old she was allowed free reign of the gym after 10am. So I could sign her into the Kids Fun program and also out at 10am and then she could play basketball, run track, volleyball or swim - whatever she wanted - which of course is also why Spidey began to DREAD going to the gym. So I reasoned with Spidey that he wanted to go do ALL the MILLIONS of things that are on his "fun" list and when we do those things I am sitting and waiting for him - and even if I exercised for 2 hours M, T, W, Th & F - I still wouldn't use up as many sitting and waiting minutes from him as he does from me.

Of course this never helped to keep him from going "not the gym" - to which I eventually reminded him that he was the one who told his friend (in my ear shot) that I had to take pills because I was fat (which isn't true - I mean that I take pills, because I don't - I am simply fat without help of pills) and that because he brought this to my attention I was now taking better care of myself and going to the gym to do a pilates class was part of that. Then I think I added something about "aren't you proud of me?" to which of course he had to say "yes" and all was done.................until the next time I was dragging him to the gym.

Swear to goodness one day I found him calling neighbor friends parents to see if he could stay with them so he didn't have to go to the gym with us!! Had to give him creativity points for that.

But this blog is not about why Spidey hates the gym..............it is about things that I have learned in Pilates class - which I wish I could say are many - but really it isn't -

I have Learned -
* That people with rear ends at least as large as mine and larger - should not wear tight yoga pants that have horizontal stripes - NOT EVER - because it is okay looking until you bend over and then it just looks awful!! I mean seriously.......I am there to relax and those giant wide stripes are very distracting and cause me stress.......so I promise never to wear horizontal striped pants (unless I become a stick - which isn't likely because I really do love ice cream).
* That doing a pilates Roll Over is very very cool (pictured above) - but really it has no bearing in the world. I mean let's be realistic......I am excited that I can now lay flat on the ground and then - keeping my legs straight - can lift my legs up and over touching the floor above my head (well.......hovering just above touching - give me another month and maybe I can touch), but what bearing does that have? Yes, it is helping my lower back by stretching...........however it is kinda like really hard math in highschool - great you have that ability.....but later who cares that you can lift your rear end up and over your head? I mean really?
* That you should not do any pilates or yoga with socks on. I know that people do it all the time - for the many years I have taken this type of class (on and off) I see those men and women with their socks on - and then I watch them eventually go crashing into the floor onto their ass (if they are lucky - one guy smashed into his face - ouch!).
* That passing gas while twisted up in a funny position can not be done delicately or quietly - not that this has happened to me personally - but people talk (and giggle - I mean sheesh we are all grown up!).
* That Plank sucks. Really - front plank, backward plank, side planks - they totally and absolutely do - but I still love doing them because they make my shoulders and arms stronger.
* That instructors have to be funny - if they aren't then you get bored - and they CAN NOT play Kenny G elevator music to motivate you - I never went back to that class again............made my stomach hurt.
* And that all those silly things aside..........pilates and yoga really really are good for your body.....I can tell an emence difference between doing them and not.

Science in the House - Third Times a Charm

Just for fun - and because these are things I would have liked to have done when I was a kid - and because my friend CK introduced me to the cool idea - we are doing some science in the house. One day we were driving home from going to coffee and giving the boys some time at a local park to pee on trees (potty training sometimes has to be creative - and if the novelty of peeing on a tree will get them excited about keeping their undies (do boys wear undies?) then I say - let's go pee on trees baby!) - anyway, we were driving home and CK was mentioning that she needed to find a milkweed patch to get some leaves for their caterpillar. As we rounded State Farm's campus we saw them - tons and tons of milkweed plants. CK said when she was little her mom would bring a caterpillar in - put it in between the window and the screen - feed it milkweed and watch it chrysalis and turn into a butterfly. How Cool Is That?


And as we searched the weeds for some food we also found a few more monarch caterpillars. The boys stayed in the car - as they could not be bothered with our adventures apparently - too many bugs. Sheesh - boys! However, once we produced a few milkweed plants and 2 more caterpillars they were all about "can I see him" (assuming the larvae were boys - sheesh - boys!). And home we went. Immediately TheKing and I placed our caterpillar between the screen and window - and TheKing kept asking "Is He Not Dead Yet?" - like he was going to die any moment. When I asked what his name would be it turned out Ishenotdeadyet was his name. Aptly named I must say - because Ishenotdeadyet promptly died. I suspect the spider that showed up on the scene the next day.

One caterpillar down.

Thinking we would try again we went out and found Sally - also named by TheKing. Sally lived a smidgie longer - we put her in a different window just in case the sun fried Ishenotdeadyet. See we have those idiotic windows that crank out - the screen is on the inside - so I thought perhaps the glass being on the outside might have caused a baking effect on our first larvae pet. This time Sally was placed in a window that had little sun. Didn't help her much though - well........she did live 3 days. Then she died too. How were CK's doing? They had 2 after our trip to the milkweed. Diego and Dora. Dora and Diego ate and ate and ate - she documented it on her facebook. And then Dora went to Chrysalis and croaked - they think a spider got her. Diego however turned into a really really pretty chrysalis.

Two caterpillars down.

And honestly I figured we had killed enough butterflies. So we were stopping. Did I mention I have been biking a lot lately? A lot A lot. And each morning (or afternoon) that I did bike I noticed that there were tons and tons of caterpillars to dodge. They were making pilgrimages across the roads. So once day I decided to take one home. This one was much fuzzier then the other two. This one was much more active. This one was NOT placed in a window. Instead we looked him up on the computer to see what to do. There are few instructions outside of "buying" a kit. So we made our own caterpillar apartment out of an old tupperware cereal container. Wrapped an opening with plastic and then poked holes. This way we could see what was going on. SuperStar named this one - Fuzzy - Sheesh - girls - so original that it is retro really. And so far - 4 days in - Fuzzy lives. Fuzzy likes potato vine - so we gave him some - a lot really - and he seems happy. TheKing has taken him to school and we will have him go back again when he cocoons. See Fuzzy will not chrysalis. We have learned a ton of things from this experience - besides our windows are crap for raising butterflies. We have learned the following:
* Fuzzy caterpillars are always Moths
* Hairless caterpillars are always Butterflies
* Caterpillars don't actually eat fruit or veggies like Carle suggests in his book
* Moths Cocoon
* Butterflies Chrysalis
~ that last bit was fun to learn because BigGuy mentioned that he thought chrysalis was the "cool" way to say cocoon these days - but turns out there are really 2 different processes.
* Some cocoons are done on the ground - which is what Fuzzy is working on now - I thought perhaps he had died, but he reared his head up in his tangle of silk and leaves - he is actually going to live long enough to cocoon!! How totally cool is that?

And - it embraces the idea - Third Time Is a Charm

Don't Get Me Wrong

Please do not misunderstand - I am still very happy with BigGuy & Mr. Gosling.....but dang Eion is really really cute - and I thought perhaps it would be nice of me to share a photo with all you lovely readers (since most of you are women).

Oops I Did It Again..........

When was Sept. 2nd? Wait...........what is today? September 11th right - shoot I forgot that today was a significant day too! Well...........my blog has been lacking a bit because I am still adjusting to the new schedule and my newest duties - and - I have actually been doing things with FRIENDS! Gasp - I know..........it is just incredibly crazy to think that instead of sulking at home I am initiating contact with other people during the day and not just in the evening. Yet I have.

Oh, you guessed that because I had not been whining about being lonely? Huh - funny - I am still bored to tears - busy as a bunny, but bored a bit - yet it hasn't a thing to do with friendship. So I guess I could blog about that.

Needless to say - now is not the time to blog. 48 minutes to bus time - 1 hour to shower time - 1.5 hours until Preschool drop off (remember to be thankful for the small and wonderful things - oh, yeah I meant TheKing not preschool (fibbing - kinda)) - then the gym - then pickup - then home - then groceries - then.........well you see how this has been going. Basically - doing things with friends and going to the gym has skewed my blog time. So I will work on that.

And get back on track with the crazy things I have in my head. And the sad things too - because there are some. And the inspiring things - because let's face it - our family inspires people with its actions (even if it is only to not have more then 1 child).

Promise - update - real one - very soon.

And So The Year Begins..........

School Has Started!! We have officially finished off our First Full Week of School.

Both SuperStar and Spidey LOVE their new classrooms and their teachers - and honestly I do too!! We got the exact teacher I hoped for in SuperStar's grade and in Spidey's grade - so let the learning begin!

Everyone of course says to the parents of school aged kids - "Bet you were happy to see school start again"................ah....well....er....kinda...and NO.

For the Volunteer-A-Holic the start of school is also the start of all the millions of things that you can volunteer for.........and the sick feeling of an overwhelming pressure.

However, I am learning each year that I can CONTROL this volunteering problem I have....and I have even said "Not right now" to many opportunities that have come my way.

On top of that!!! I have started taking time each day to do something for me. Right now it is primarily a trip to the gym. Although I did invite a woman to lunch the other day - she is my esthetician (did I spell that right? not feeling like googling) - first she ripped the hair out of my face.....then we went for a nice leisurely lunch - it was actually really nice!

So at this point the list of things I have volunteered for includes:
* PTO Treasurer for our elementary
* Girl Scout Leader
* School Girl Scout Coordinator
* CAC Rep for our elementary
* Room treats - but not room parent coordinator (because they were already taken - so honestly I can't take credit for not volunteering for that because I might have)
* Preschool room cleaning
* Preschool Website Support (although Dave is taking the lead on this he says)

That list isn't so bad - right?

Oh Crap!!

Shoot - I am so sorry...........I worked really really hard on the post that was up this morning and when I went in to write a few more for future dates I deleted it accidentally..........and the next 3 days too!!

Rats - apparently there is no way to get it back either. I had this happen one other time only it was Mother Nature that messed it up................I worked on a blog for a bit over an hour - checking spelling - grammar - many things that I hardly ever do........and then just as I was clicking "publish" - the electricity went out due to the wind storm that was going on..........and I lost the whole thing.

I won't try to recreate this one.....it was long......hard to write......and yet uplifting. I will simply say.......it was about friendship - that there are some great people who embraced us when we moved here - we are thankful for them - and continue to figure out where we fit - that is way condenced.........but true anyway.