Unexpected Dieting Success

Me: Well, what does it say?

Annelie: You weigh 8 lbs.


Not quite the answer I expected... but I'll take it!

xoxo,

A Case of the Mondays

I was going to blog about something sweet today.

With sweet pictures.

But I'm in a funk.

So instead, I'm going to post a list:

The Top Ten Things That Annoy Marisa
(Specifically, Before Noon On April 5th 2010)

1. Waking up to two whiny, demanding kids, whining in my ear, for anything and everything under the sun.
   
2. Emptying the litter box. Yes it needs to be done, but it still annoys me. Plus, I'm allergic to litter deodorizer.
   
3. When I tell Annelie to stop helping herself to the food in the fridge, but every time I turn my head, there she is, rooting through the cheese drawer.
4. Finding that all the clean clothes have been removed from the dryer and are now sitting on top of the dirty laundry pile. Thanks, honey. What a lovely treat.
   
5. My rotten stinkin' allergies.
   
6. The fact that Spring lasted for only one week, and the summer humidity has officially begun.
7. Having to tell the kids 300 times, before 10 am, that they better get the cat out of the cardboard box and stop shutting her - er... HIM - inside it.
   
8. Discovering that Annelie has pulled all the curtains down from my bedroom windows in a fit of destructiveness.
9. Needing to say, on repeat, for a good two hours, "Put the cat down. Annelie, put the cat down. I said, put the cat down. Stop picking up the cat. I SAID put the cat down. If you pick up the cat one more time, you will be on time out for the rest of your life."
   
10. Finishing my 4th cup of coffee, having an extreme case of the shakes as a result, and STILL being tired.

I could probably list about 20 more... but this was the top ten. So now I am done.

Also, I heart this song, and have been listening to it on repeat to get out of my funky mood. My sources say the afternoon will be less funky.



And if its not... well I may just have to raid the kid's Easter baskets for a chocolate fix.

Actually, I might just do that anyway.

Have a lovely day!

xoxo,

Friday Flashback: Easter

Look at that groovy striped egg... screams 1987, doesn't it?

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: My favorite thing about Easter is the Easter Bunny. Call me materialistic, but as far as I'm concerned, there is nothing better than waking up on Easter morning, running to the living room and checking my basket to find it stuffed to the brim with toys and candy. The Easter Bunny never disappoints.

Granted, my basket isn't getting stuffed anymore (no, that is not a euphemism... get your mind out of the gutter)... but that's okay because the Easter Bunny is, and will always be, awesome.

The above picture is an illustration from a book I wrote in first grade, called THINGS I LIKE. It goes a little something like this:

This is an Easter Bunny.

I like the Easter Bunny
because she gave me candy
last year in my Easter Basket.
I got a toy lamb and a lot of candy
and the year before that year
I got a toy bunny.
I ate too much candy and I got a
stomach ache.

(For the record, the Easter Bunny didn't disappoint that year I got sick... my six year old stomach just couldn't handle the mass quantities of candy I ate that morning. Turns out, eating enormous amounts of chocolate before 6 am isn't the world's greatest idea, no matter how fantastic it sounds)

And last, a Flashback Friday post just isn't complete without a photo of moi for you all to snicker over. Here I am, circa 1989 (I was eight), dressed in my Easter finest. The hair-do is of course, inspired by the movie version of Anne of Green Gables. I wanted to be Anne (with an E) very badly.

Will saw this picture and said I looked like a little doll whose arms had been ripped off, and legs replaced with matchsticks. Aw... thanks, honey. So sweet.

Have a flashback of your own to share with the world? Head on over to Tia's blog at www.christopherandtia.blogspot.com and join in the fun.

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Anyway, have a great weekend, everyone! And if you are Easter celebrators, I hope you have a wonderful Sunday! And if you aren't Easter celebrators, I hope your day is fantastic as well.

xoxo,

TMD's Cookie Jar

*click the above image to go to TMD's Cookie Jar *

HEY PEOPLE! - Exciting news for mamas who love to buy and/sell handmade items!

The Mama Dramalogues is getting ready to launch The Cookie Jar, which is a monthly limited sampler box of handmade goodness, all made for moms (and their tots), by moms.

Put together by the fabulous Holly (aka Winklepots), these boxes are filled with sheer awesomeness. They'll be going on sale April first, so get ready to grab one fast!

Here are some of the items that will be found in the April box:

*be sure to read the FAQ's (here) for more details*

Chocolate Cashew Clusters

Nicole's Homemade Treats

"I Heart You!" Series 5x7 Print

(HEY! That's me!)

Elegant Snobbery

*****

Crocheted Sandals, Booties or Beanie

Crochele Handcrafted

*****

Felt Flower Embellishment

Stitch N Stones

*****

Bzzz Off! All Natural Insect Repellent

Teddy Started It!

*****

Ribbon Trimmed Burp Cloth

Tiny Stitches by Kathleen Gordon-Ross

*****

Wooden Doll Pendant

The Peanut Butter Bandit

*****

Sock Monkey Card

Aunty Ann Designs

*****

Big Sis Bracelet

Monkeys N Munchkins

*****

Lip Balm or Perfume Solid

Suds & Scrubs Bath and Body

*****

Korker Pony-o Bow

Winklepots Clothing & Accessories

*****

I know, right? Awesome.

Have questions? Send an email to Holly at cookiejarcontact@mamadramalogues.com

xoxo,

Outta the Mouths of Babes: The Frustrated Mom Edition

Annelie, holding out the ginormous bouquet of allergies
she gathered just for me, despite knowing my house rule:
All Nature Stays Outside
I admit this bouquet is kinda cute though...
even if it did leave me sneezing and scratching at my eyeballs for ages.

Okay, so I know that being a mom is super rewarding and all that... but honestly, I don't get paid enough sometimes. Here are our snippets from this morning, inspired by Wendiwinn and her Sunday Snippets hilarity. Only mine aren't so much hilarious as they are unbelievable.

Setting: Me in living room listening to 4-year old Gracie and 3-year old Annelie playing in bedroom

Gracie [to Annelie]: Open your mouth and you're dead.

Me: WHAT?? Where did you hear that?

Gracie: We're playing Snow White.

Me [muttering to self]: I do not remember that part of the Disney movie. Holy {enter colorful word}, I'm raising a psychopath.

--------

Setting - Kitchen, just after lunch. I'm staring at the floor, eyes bugged out of my head.

Annelie [smiling sweetly]: Can I have a donut?

Me: No, of course you don't get a donut.

Annelie: Aw! You're really mean!

Me: I'm not mean. I told you to eat your lunch and instead you smashed it into the floor with your tap shoes.

Annelie [pouting]: I don't love you anymore.

Me [muttering to self]: Fantastic. And she's not even a teenager yet.

Life is fun.

Hope you're having an enjoyable weekend!

xoxo,

Friday Flashback: Two Girl Kittens

Today's Flashback Friday post is... well, actually a flashback to yesterday, and the last few months when I was of the belief (thanks to what the shelter and vet told me) that we adopted two little girl kittens.

Because REALITY CHECK, we do not have two little girl kittens. Nope. Somersault, my frisky, destructive baby girl... now has testicles.

SURPRISE!

Um, where the heck did they come from? I do not know. But they are there, and mating season is in full swing, and though we were scheduled for a kitty fixin' session next month, things are gonna happen ASAP because life with mating cats is not fun.

Ah, remember the good ole days of yesterday, when life was simpler, and kittens were baby girls and the calico wasn't glaring at you with a look like, "Get this effing orange cat off my back right NOW, Mom, before I punish you all, by spraying your favorite couch." ??

I do. But it is quickly becoming a distant memory.

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Have a flashback to share? Head on over to Tia's blog and join in the Flashback Friday awesomeness.

xoxo,

Out with the Slime, In with the Rainbows, Butterflies, Kittens and Beth Orton

Butterfly Collection - Digital Collage
by Thompson Designs

Some days suck. Like, really suck. And sometimes the suckage lasts and lasts until I'm ready to rip out all my hair in frustration and cry.

These past few days, my allergies have been terrible, my kids have been whiny, the weather has been cruddy, the cats have been destructive, I'm hormonal (ie really scary - think Wicked Witch of the West) the house needs cleaning, the book I'm slowly but surely writing unexpectedly hit a very, very bad slime patch and I spent the last few days deleting 15,000 words (which is approximately sixty pages) and writing approximately nothing...

BUT THEN, days like today appear, straight out of nowhere, and butterflies and rainbows and fluffy kittens and bunnies frolic in the imaginary garden that is my life, and I wake up to a message from my awesome friend Betty who has the Superpinkymandy album by Beth Orton (love!) for me - which I have wanted for AGES but cannot find without dropping a starting bid of $300 on eBay for (ew, seriously, who has that kind of money for one CD?)(Even if it is a rare CD by Beth Orton).

And so now, not only have my allergies taken a rest, but my kids have stopped whining, the sun is shining, my house... well, that still needs help, but most importantly, I fixed the slime that is my book, and I am ready to try rewriting it - this time listening to Superpinkymandy on my iPod, which was what my book needed in order to survive (Yes, I am that neurotic).

So here's my song obsession:



Yay! And Betty, you are the epitome of all things awesome!

Happy Monday to all, and I hope your day is filled with butterflies and rainbows and kittens and fluffy bunnies, too!

xoxo,