Can Someone Please Remind Me...

*Exhibit A.

... why the heck I so badly wanted kittens? Because I'm having a very hard time remembering, especially when it comes to Somersault, our resident pain-in-the-arse.

Somer is our attack cat.

She

• attacks rolls of toilet paper - ALL rolls of toilet paper *see Exhibit A
  
• attacks the curtains - rips them, and the rods straight out of the walls
  
• attacks the water going down the drain
• attacks paper towel rolls - ALL paper towel rolls
  
• attacks the dog
• attacks the cat food bag - even when her food dish is full **see Exhibit B
• attacks glasses of water left on the kitchen table - lots of broken glass for me to clean up
  
• attacks my colored pencils - BAD BAD KITTY!
• attacks my children - actually, this one is kind of funny

AND she purrs as if she's being adorable whenever I shout at her.

(NOTE: she is not adorable. She is a pest)

** Exhibit B.
(kitty food. nom nom nom)

At least Somersault has one (almost) redeeming quality. She has spaghetti bones and will go limp anytime the kids are near her, allowing them to stuff her anywhere they want. Shopping carts (***see Exhibit C), shoe boxes, doll houses, paper grocery bags, laundry baskets, handbags, you name it.

And she likes it.

*** Exhibit C.

But other than that... please remind me just why I wanted kittens so badly?

'Cause I'm having a very, very hard time remembering.

xoxo,

Different Parenting Philosophies...

Hey! I'm over here, at The Mama Dramalogues today!
Cupcakes, eating lunch, baby dolls and
different parenting philosophies are all involved, so come on by!

www.themamadramalogues.blogspot.com

xoxo,

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Every Sunday, this song gets stuck in my head for hours and hours and hours...



So here you go... now it can be stuck in your head, too!

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Friday Flashback: O'Malley

O'Malley
7/12/96 - 8/31/97
best cat ever

Today is Friday, which means a flashback. Tia picked pets as a theme for the day, so naturally I thought of O'Malley, my favorite of all my childhood cats. O'Malley died when I was 16, and I ended up writing a little paper about his death a few months after he died, for a school report about an obstacle I overcame that influenced my life. So here it is.

But first - A disclaimer: This paper is sweet at times, but mostly just filled with ridiculous descriptions (especially in paragraph 3) as I pretended I was a talented writer. Don't judge.

But I think its kind of funny that I still write the same, 13 years later. And when I say funny, I mostly mean pathetic, because shouldn't I have evolved as a writer after 13 years? Especially as I was a Creative Arts major with an emphasis in English? Yeah... embarrassing. Okay, lets get on with it...

O'Malley

O'Malley was my best friend. I know that is kind of weird. I mean, not everyone has an orange, furry feline as their best friend, but O'Malley was special. I could not help loving him. He was my waltzing partner, he ate breakfast with me (using his paw as a spoon), we watched documentaries together, and when I told him all of my secrets, he never repeated them.

My friends thought I was insane. "A cat is your best friend? Get a life!" But I honestly didn't care when they thought. O'Malley loved me for who I was, even when I accidentally stepped on his tail. He forgave me after two seconds, while my other cats would complain for hours.

Living in Saratoga, California is like living in a bubble, the glycerin walls reflecting only rainbows. Tragic events were non-existent in my life, so when O'Malley was hit by a speeding car as he was crossing the street, the world as I knew it, was kicked from its axis and knocked into a depressing void. I'd only had him for a year, but his death affected me as if I'd had him all my life. I cried for days. It felt like each tear was a piece of me, and I cried until there was none left.

When I couldn't cry anymore, because I was completely empty inside, I started thinking. I thought of all the time I spent with O'Malley and all the wonderful things about him. All the things that made him my best friend. How he'd stick his paw underneath my bedroom door and wait for me to open it and play with him, how he'd always have to sleep half on me and half off, and how he made a certain meow when he was looking for me. Then I stopped being so sad. Sometimes I still cry for my kitten, but I know the time I spent with him was never wasted. I loved him so much and I'm glad I got to be with him for a year.

I learned an important lesson from my cat. A lot of lessons, actually. I learned to love people, no matter what (even if they step on your tail), I learned that you have to share with everybody (O'Malley always shared his toys with me), but the most important lesson, I learned after he died. I learned never to take anything for granted. Sometimes you have really special things for only a short while, so you've got to make the most of every moment. Live life to its fullest every day.

O'Malley sure was a smart cat for teaching me such a valuable lesson.

---------

I really did love that cat!

Have a flashback of your own to share? Head on over to Tia's blog and join us!

xoxo,

Outta the Mouths of Babes.2

Another Wendiwinn-inspired snippets post...

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Setting: In Gracie's bedroom, putting together her new bed. Will, who is using the electric drill on all the screws, holds the drill up and presses the trigger in the air, causing the drill to 'whirrrr' in Gracie's direction.

Gracie: Don't do that to me!

Will: What?

Gracie: Don't screw me!

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Setting: Dinner table.

Annelie: I'm all done!

Me: You finished everything?

Annelie: Yup. I ate my pizza. It went down my tummy and all the way to my foot.

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Setting: Me in my studio, listening. Annelie in her room, playing with her dolls.

Annelie (to dolls in most dramatic voice possible) : You're ruining my LIFE!

--------

Setting: Kitchen.

Gracie: I have an itch on my back.

Me: I have a twitch on my back.

Gracie: Hey! Itch and twitch rhyme!

Me: Yup.

Gracie: And bitch also rhymes!

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Okay, that's all for this week, folks!

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Birthday SURPRISE! and the Adoration of Jenni

Its funny how I have been dreading my birthday so darned much these last few weeks, only to end up with the best birthday celebration of my life. But that's life, isn't it? Just when you think things are no good at all, you find that cloud has a silver lining. Yeah, I'm still one year older, but ringing in year 29 with the biggest surprise of my life (no, I'm not pregnant) was absolutely perfect!

Here's how it all went down... on Friday night, Will told me a pizza delivery guy was on his way (Yay, pizza!) and when he had me go and answer the door, it was none other than the sister of my soul, my best friend since my high school and college days, Jennifer, and her boyfriend John - and they were holding two boxes of pizza (Yay, lots of pizza!).

The last time Jenni and I were able to get together, was two and a half years ago, when Annelie was only six months old. As you might imagine, my shock when I saw her at my door was pretty intense. Yeah, I basically stood there with my jaw dropped for about two minutes, then walked around with a dopey grin for the rest of the weekend.

My birthday day was supposed to go like this:

1. Wake up
2. Make coffee
   
3. Give the kids breakfast
   
4. Kiss my hubs goodbye as he goes off to work
   
5. Putter around the house all day in my pajamas
   
6. Make dinner
   
7. Put kids in bed and sulk that I didn't have an ounce of adult conversation all day long
   
8. The end, day over
   

But instead, it went like this:

1. Wake up to the girls freaking out with excitement because their Auntie Jenni is here (she came while they were sleeping)
2. Eat leftover pizza for breakfast
3. Feel like a princess as Jenni treats me to a shopping day
4. Smile at my cute new shoes

*smile!*

5. Go out to lunch
6. Snap a billion photos during "Cooking with Jenni" class, in which Jenni teaches the girls to make Valentine's Day cupcakes

7. Eat more cupcakes than I should in one sitting and justify every bite because its my birthday
8. Go out to our favorite restaurant for dinner
9. Reminisce about the good ole days of our youth

Like, when we met at age 14

(she'll hate me for posting this picture, but I think its funny.)

10. Listen to lots of music that makes me want to put on a peasant dress and frolic through a field of flowers - such as Mykonos by Fleet Foxes


Jenni has been there for every major event in my life:

• In high school, we were cheerleaders together - me the flier, she the base. My life was literally in her hands and the trust built as a result was huge. I trusted her chuck me in the air as high as my 95lb body could go (pretty high) and still catch me. And she trusted me to not kick her in the face as I came down (in case you are wondering, she dropped me once and I kicked her in the face once... but that's all)
• In college, we had classes together and instead of studying, we planned a trip to Mexico.
• When she moved from California to Okahoma I was devastated to see her go... but we planned a road trip along Route 66 together to turn the move into a happy memory.
• When I studied abroad in England, she flew out to visit, and the two of us traveled through the UK and Europe.
• When I got married, she was my Maid of Honor.
• When she got married, I was her Matron of Honor.
• She's been there through the births of my girls...

• And even though we haven't seen each other for two and a half years, she was even there for us as we bought our first house in September... as our mortgage consultant.

Though I don't do fun stuff for holidays like Valentine's Day... Jenni spoiled us all with heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.

(like my plate? I got a new set of dishes from Will for my birthday!)

I honestly can't imagine a better way to celebrate my birthday. Thank you Will for inviting Jenni and John to stay! Thank you Jenni and John for driving in from out of state to make the start of my year 29 the most memorable birthday ever!

xoxo,

Wacky West Texas Weather

Remember how it was snowing yesterday, and I said I was ready for Spring?

Well... here's West Texas weather for ya.

Time lapse: 24 hours

Yup, today was hot enough to melt about 4 inches of snow COMPLETELY.

Aside from poor Frosty, here, we have absolutely no snow in our yard. Not a single speck!

Yay! I'm ready for Spring!

xoxo,

Friday Flashback: Heart-Shaped Boxes of Chocolatey Goodness

(This isn't a Valentine's Day picture... its an old Father/Daughter
dance picture (of me and my Grampa) from my high school days.
Just letting you know...)

I am of the philosophy that Valentine's Day is over-rated, and the lovey-dovey, sentimental person in me doesn't really feel like celebrating an overly commercialized day of love.

Yeah, I'm one of those people. A bah-humbug type, who ruins the fun for everyone.

Just kidding, I don't really ruin anyone's fun... at least I don't think I do... but truth be told, I'm not really into Valentine's Day. At all. Plus, my birthday is the day before Valentine's Day, and I'd rather just celebrate ME, rather than love. Yeah, I'm one of those self-absorbed-when-its-by-birthday types, too. Like a dodecahedron, I have many sides...

But I digress, because this post isn't about me... its about Valentine's Day, and so, for me, its about my Grampa.

If you can imagine (based on previous Flashback Friday posts, in which I shared that I was a complete and total dork during my school days) I didn't get a lot of valentines as a kid. At least not besides the punch-out-and-sign-your-name cards that we were required to give to our entire class from 1st through 6th grade. But every year without fail, I got a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a card from my Grampa.

He is the best valentine ever. I love chocolates. And I always looked forward to the tradition he started - him giving me chocolates, and me eating those chocolates. That's a pretty awesome tradition, if you ask me.

I don't live in the same city as my Grampa anymore, as we moved a year and a half ago, but I know absolutely, that if we did live near him, I'd be getting that heart shaped box, filled with chocolatey goodness, just like always. And not only that, but my girls would get their own mini heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, too.

Valentine's Day just isn't Valentine's Day without my Grampa!

----

Have a flashback of your own to share? Head on over to Tia's blog and join in!

xoxo,

I'm Ready For Spring...

But West Texas obviously has other ideas...

Days like today make me so homesick for California... but I can't deny how happy it makes me to see my girls enjoy the snow so much!

PS, this is Gracie's very first snowman. His name is... are you ready for this?

..

..

..


FROSTY! (bet you didn't see that one coming...)

xoxo,

Outta the Mouths of Babes

Fellow blogger Wendiwinn does Sunday Snippets each week, and they always crack me up... so this is my copy-cat post. Only, instead of doing it on Sunday, I'm behind in life again, and now its late Monday evening.

Hey, at least I have the date right... sometimes I find that a whole week has gone by and I've missed it.

--------

Setting: Kitchen

Me: Gracie, do you want some milk?

Gracie: Ooooh, yes please! Is is hot chocolate?

Me: ???

- time lapse: 2 minutes -

Gracie: Can I dunk my cookies in my milk?

Me: You don't have any cookies.

Gracie: Can I have some, then?

--------

Setting: My Studio

Me [to Gracie]: I don't want to hear any tattling or complaining.

Gracie: You don't want me to do any cleaning?

--------

Setting: Me - in my studio, Annelie - in the kitchen, eating a banana

Annelie: Banana! Come back!

Me: ??

Annelie's Banana (as played by Annelie): I can't! I'm stuck inside Annelie's mouth!

--------

Setting: Me - in my studio, Annelie - in the kitchen

Annelie: AYUDAME! Can anyone help me? The cookies are eating me!

--------

Okay, that's all for now. Happy Monday.

xoxo,

Friday Flashback: Remember the 80's - Smurf Edition

Me, circa 1984 - playing with my favorite Smurfette tea pot

The Smurfs... *sigh* Oh how I loved that show. Smurfette was just so beautiful, with her long blonde hair and cute little dress. Who cares that she was blue -- I'm tolerant of gnomes of all colors and, as far as I was concerned, she was beautiful and I loved her and all of her smurfy adventures, with my entire three/four-year-old heart.

Its funny, I have always had a fondness for early 80's cartoons as they are the cartoons that my early 80's self loved oh-so-very-much. Not to mention, I've always had it in my mind that 80's cartoons are FAR superior than the crap that my kids watch on TV now. This past week, I DVR'd a couple of episodes of the Smurfs for my kids and let me just tell ya, I was SO excited to share the show I loved when I was little with my own children. Something about the warm fuzzies it gives you when the opening notes and the lalalalalalaaaaaa's begin while a new generation of kids looks on... there is no other feeling like it.

However, since re-watching the Smurfs and the Snorks, old episodes of Strawberry Shortcake and He-Man, even... I've come to a shocking realization: the shows I loved when I was four are just as crap as the shows my four year old loves now.

Yeah, I said it. Crap. Move over Smurfs... Dora and Diego are just as crap as you are!

Wait, take that back... Dora and Diego are actually less crap than the Smurfs, because at least my kids are learning how to dangle themselves off the side of the couch and shriek AYUDAME! at the top of their lungs until someone rescues them (while singing and dancing RESCUE PACK! Comin' to the rescue - al rescate!) ... Its peppy! And bilingual. And, though I cannot tolerate Dora or Diego for longer than a nanosecond, at least its less crap than the Smurfs.

When you look back at the shows you loved when you were young, and then see them again as an adult, do those warm fuzzies stick, or do you turn the TV off and sit there in a daze, feeling like you just wasted precious minutes of your life?

I don't know... is it just me?

-----------

Do you have a flashback of your own to share? Head on over to TIA's blog for a totally stupendous meme - www.ChristopherandTia.blogspot.com

xoxo,

Pssssst!

I'm over at The Mama Dramalogues today, posting about what it means to be a mom (okay, so I know that is a loaded topic... I just covered one little (BIG) aspect of being a mom!

Come on by! {HERE}

xoxo,

Blogging, and Birthdays, and Blogging about Birthdays

Annelie in Black and White - by Tia

I was going to blog today... but I really wasn't feelin' it. What to blog about, what to blog about? I wondered for most of the morning. No inspiration... my brain is still recovering from 3 year old birthday parties - too tired to be inspired.

Oh, I could blog about Annelie's birthday, I thought. Then I took a look at my pictures and they all turned out pretty darned terrible. Bummer.

But then, as I sipped my coffee and grabbed a minute to read my most favorite blogs this morning, I came across Tia's post from today and LOW AND BEHOLD, she blogged about Annelie's 3rd birthday party... and her photos are FANTASTIC (Tia is an excellent photographer)!

So, everyone RUSH over to Tia's blog and marvel at how lovely her photos made Annelie's birthday look! You can find it {HERE}

P.S. Yes, those cupcakes tasted as good as they look!

xoxo,