A Glimpse into the Future

In case you were wondering, in 100 years, according to Cassie: 

"they used to make their own clothes and they switched to making orange juice."  You might want to prepare now.

What Am I?

We did a personality quiz at work. Apparently I am an amiable who has surrounded myself with drivers. With an analytical thrown in just to mix things up!

Am I Alan?

Analytical - Analytical people are known for being systematic, well organized and deliberate. These individuals appreciate facts and information presented in a logical manner as documentation of truth. They enjoy organization and completion of detailed tasks. Others may see him at times as being too cautious, overly structured, someone who does things too much 'by the book'.
• controlled (sometimes)
• orderly (ditto)
• precise (nope)
• disciplined (I wish)
• deliberate (deliberately lazy)
• cautious (I am cautious)
• diplomatic (YES!)
• systematic (at times, when systems are important)
• logical (at work, yes)
• conventional (oh heavens no)

Am I Oprah?

Driver - They thrive on the thrill of the challenge and the internal motivation to succeed. Drivers are practical folks who focus on getting results. They can do a lot in a very short time. They usually talk fast, direct and to the point. Often viewed as decisive, direct and pragmatic.
• action-orientated (when not sleep-orientated)
• decisive (yes, well no, yes, no)
• problem solver (YES! You've got problems?  I've got answers!)
• direct (no, not really)
• assertive (no, not really)
• demanding (only of my husband)
• risk taker (no, not really)
• forceful (um, no)
• competitive (OK, you got me on that one!!  I WIN!)
• independent (YES!)
• determined (no, not really)
• results-orientated (only when necessary)

Am I Tom?

Expressive - Very outgoing and enthusiastic, with a high energy level. They are also great idea generators, but usually do not have the ability to see the idea through to completion. They enjoy helping others and are particularly fond of socializing. They are usually slow to reach a decision. Often thought of as a talker, overly dramatic, impulsive, and manipulative.
• verbal (oh, yes!)
• motivating (I can be)
• enthusiastic (only when it's good)
• convincing (no I can convince no one of nothing)
• impulsive (are you crazy?  Things must be planned!)
• influential (no influence at all)
• charming (nope)
• confident (I am confident at work)
• dramatic (I can be a bit of a drama queen)
• optimistic (Oh yes! )
• animated (Yes!  I have the frown lines to prove it!)

No! I am a wishy-washy amiable! (With desires to be an analytical, driving, expressive!)

Amiable - They are dependable, loyal and easygoing. They like things that are non-threatening and friendly. They hate dealing with impersonal details and cold hard facts. They are usually quick to reach a decision. Often described as a warm person and sensitive to the feelings of others but at the same time wishy-washy.
• patient
• loyal
• sympathetic
• team person
• relaxed
• mature
• supportive
• stable
• considerate
• empathetic
• persevering
• trusting
• congenial

What are you?

Organic, Natural... Gourmet?

Have you seen those sites where delicious food is laid out beautifully on plates with very detailed recipes accompanying them?  Well, this is not one of those sites.  While we try to eat healthy, there are nights when cooking becomes reheating and the microwave becomes my best friend. 

One of our recipes:

1.  Remove Hot Pocket from freezer.

2.  Remove plastic wrap from Hot Pocket. 

3.  Place on plate.

4.  Heat in microwave for 3 minutes.

5.  For the sake of presentation remove cardboard (use this tip for all reheating!)

Don't judge me, at least we eat our junk food dinners together!  

Letter of Apology

Dear Hannah,

I am so sorry.  Even though it looks easy, cutting hair is actually quite tricky.  I thought I was doing the right thing by getting rid of your achy-breaky mullet, but now you look like a boy.  A boy who has a drunk uncle who cuts his hair.

  I promise that hair grows back and that you are too young to be permanently scarred by this incident.

Love,

Mommy

Exploitation

Have you ever taught your children things just so that you can make fun of them later? I taught Hannah to walk like a zombie:

Paul taught her to do "the lizard."  We are quite proud.  It helps with winter boredom.
  

Hives: Not so Pretty, Very Itchy

I seem to have gotten "the hives". It may have been because I ate a boatload of these:

Of course, it could have been because of this:

I also ate these:

But probably it's because I had to do this:

Bath Time (includes a bonus track!)

Cassie loves to take a bath with Hannah, but truly, Hannah does just fine occupying herself. Note how Holly has taken over the high squeaky mommy voice. She'll be a perfect mommy!

The Worst E.R. Ever

Just a tip, never, ever go to an E.R. that uses oven mitts and aprons.

France!

Oh yes, did I forget to mention that I'm going to FRANCE????? That's right, France. I'm going to visit my dear friend and previous boss, Theresa and her husband Joe. They transferred to Chateauneuf sur Loire (just an hour from Paris.) Paul, silly man, has no desire to see France, so Libby is going with me. We will be gone only one week in March, but I'm pretty sure that I can eat plenty of food during that time.

Are you Smarter than a 6th Grader?

Here was Holly's homework question:
Name 24 attributes of a square. What? There are 24? Are you sure? Then we had to find 24 attributes of a rhombus. Again, I ask, WHAT? I can't even remember what a rhombus is. Apparently it doesn't come up in my daily life. I am not smarter than a 6th grader and I don't need Jeff Foxworthy to tell me so.

Swimming Pool Update

The outside of the pool house is almost done! Inside, Paul is finishing up the drywall, then will build the upstairs bedroom. He is planning a rock climbing wall coming out of the water as well. We are all so excited!

The Destruction of MY Room!

I've been trying for months to find a room of my own in this house. Just a small corner of space that I can sit some things on and call it MY OWN. Not that I can't share or anything, but come on people, I need SOME SPACE! It doesn't even matter if I use the space or not, just knowing that it is there is nice. Sometimes I peek my head in just to look at it. In this room I have my head vase collection: (strange, but true,) my wonderful antique walnut desk, and pictures from my travels. Some might refer to it as a dining room, but whatever. Now, as of today, with one quick trip to Sam's, it has been reverted to a game room. Not just any game, a loud, crashing, banging, whooping and hollering game. It is temporary, until the pool is finished, but still... I am not happy about the bad mojo going on in my room!
My wonderful bloggy friend, Mrs. G, has decided to take over her laundry room as her space, I might join her! By the way, she's asking for decorating tips (Candy, I'm looking at YOU!)

Weight Watchers

Here we go! It seems that there is a bit more of me to love than I would like. I can no longer use a 2 year old child as an excuse (although I did get a lot of miles out of that one!) It's time to do something. I did some research but can't seem to find a Starbucks/Snickers bar diet so I must go another route. I'm definitely not down with the meetings and the weigh-ins of the traditional Weight Watchers, so I joined the online version. I love the accountability and the online resources. I like message boards that have helpful hints and inspiration. My goal is to lose 25 pounds by April 1st. It's been 2 weeks and so far I have lost 4.5. Yay me! Now, if only I could get someone to come to my house, pull me out of bed and demand that I exercise with them, I'd be all set!

MVP

Christian at his game on Saturday (he's player #1!) They lost, but he played great.

Hannah's Quiet Book

Here are the pages from Hannah's Quiet Book. She knows how to tie her shoes and tell time now.  OK, not really, but it does work wonders and can keep her busy for many minutes in a row. (That's almost long enough to get the dishwasher loaded without help!)  I made this from a few different patterns that I found online.  Most of it was done without a stitch (which is good for the craftily challenged.)

Exercise Plan

It's simple, really:
I have found that if you don't do this...




You will have these kinds of issues....





I just wish that I could be as excited about the treadmill as Cassie (although maybe not quite so loony.)

Planner Problems Solved!

For those of you that were kept awake at night wondering how in the world I was going to make it through another January without a suitable planner, rest assured. Holly and I put our creative talents together and solved my dilemma. I used my creative talent of going to Staples and making copies of a calendar. Oh yeah, then stapling it. Holly colored each page for me and then designed the cover. Beautiful!

The Best Birthday Present Ever!!!

I had a wonderful birthday this year! The kids all made me special cards. Paul got me gift cards to the SPA (I'm going tomorrow).  My mother-in-law made me delicious Rouladen. I don't know if this is her recipe, but it looks pretty close, except instead of an onion she uses an egg, and she serves hers over rice. YUM!
My birthday was once again hosted by Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest. The kids made a fort of sheets and blankets in which to watch the ball drop. 2 out of 7 were actually awake long enough to see the ball drop and I wasn't one of them (by a long shot!)

Christmas with Zackie!

This is Zackie. You may have seen him at keepingupwithzackie 

Zackie and his mom invited us to their house for a play date. It was great fun!

Hannah and Zackie were very busy! They exchanged shoes...

then modeled them.

They read a few books.

The mommies took video and pictures for their blog because they have become huge nerds and the shopping and drinking play dates of the past are now gone forever.

For about 15 seconds the babies took their respective "night-nights" and "boos" and relaxed.

Oh yeah, and they exchanged awesome gifts, and ate goldfish and cheese, they shared sippy cups, they played the GIGANTIC walkable piano, they drew, they beat up on the big Bozo, they shared well and then did not share well, then shared well again. And by the way, real men ROCK black patent leather shoes with bows.

I Could Tell You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

Sister's Secret Handshake
It goes: High five, knocks, high five, lizard. I'm not sure where the lizard part came from, but whatever. Feel free to adapt this for your own use.