tomcat, the next generation

Our own little version of TomCat


kind of like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

but way cuter

There is that one little problem though.

Cate is already betrothed to Tommy's big brother.

Funny thing about that arranged marriage.


My little Catie Bug
{Catherine}

and Tommy's big brother
{Will}

Catherine and Will

It'll be a royal wedding.

It's meant to be.

friday night videos

February 2010, The Great Light Saber Battle

Danny won.

Cate cried.

Dan died.

Just pretend though.

when will I learn to keep my big mouth shut?

I was feeling pretty good Saturday night.

And then I posted all that stuff about Easter prep and jinxed it all.

Allow me to explain.

I went to the gym while Dan put kids to bed on Saturday night. I got an anonymous (since I don't have that number saved in my phone and I don't know who it was...but I have an idea) text from someone jealous of my relaxing Easter eve. To increase the envy, I let the texter know that I was on my way to the gym (since the texter was at Walmart looking for Easter basket stuff).

I ran 4 miles without stopping. I've never done that before. I came home and did some math. If I had been running at that same pace in a marathon, I would have finished in 4.8 hours. Wowzers! I guess I'm no speed demon on the treadmill. It felt good anyway.

Cate was asleep when I got home. Danny wasn't. He was playing in his room. He was still not asleep at midnight. He had fallen asleep on the couch earlier in the day so I'm pretty sure that's what gave him the extra energy he needed to not go to sleep, but stay awake and torture his poor tired mother instead.

Easter morning dawned with Cate crying in her room around 7:30. That's a good hour and a half (maybe 2 hours) earlier than her normal wake up time. She's a beast if she gets up early. It's not pretty. I usually just ignore the crying and hope she'll go back to sleep. Most of the time she does. She cried for a while and I eventually told Dan to just go get her and bring her into our bed.

She stayed there for a good 45 minutes while Dan went back to sleep and I tried to keep her happy watching clips of Dora and Wubbzy on my phone. I was very tempted to just put in my earplugs and go back to sleep too. I couldn't though. Cate knows how to call people on my phone. I'm pretty sure none of my frequent contacts wanted a wake-up call at 7:45 on Easter morning.



Around 8:15 I decided I'd had enough. I left her with Dan and went to see if Danny was awake yet. He was playing with his Legos in his room. Hallelujah! We did the Easter stuff together and ate the bunny rolls. Dan got ready and left for his church meetings. I took a shower and got ready too. Everybody was happy-ish.

And then it was time to get the kids ready for church. I chose Danny first since Cate was a bit off (from losing those 2 hours of sleep). She'd been a little whiny all morning but nothing I can't handle (with a few sips of Diet Pepsi...for me, not her).

I asked Danny to go pose in front of the window after I got him ready. Here's what he chose to do.



Looks like he needs to take a trip to the restroom but whatever. He's still handsome. After a few attempts at getting him to stop crossing his legs and give me a non-fake looking smile, here's what I got:



And then Cate came over. I pretty much count this as the point at which everything started to spiral down into the never-ending abyss of tantrum, tears and overall grouchiness.



Sure, they're cute. But she's not in her Easter dress. He's done with pictures and does not want his sister putting her arm around him. Oh, the weeping and wailing that occurred (a little bit of that came from me, sorry to say).

Dan came home in time to help me get Cate dressed. I can't remember if she was already crying or not. Probably. She didn't want her nightgown off. She didn't want her underwear changed (since the blue fishy ones were showing through the white dress and I don't have a slip her size...it's on my to-buy list now though). She didn't want her socks on. She didn't want her shoes on. She didn't want me to do her hair. All the while crying hysterically. Oh, it was lovely.

At some point the gathering on the front of her dress came all undone. It was loose and weird looking so off it came. I think that's when I had to really hold back my tears. It was so cute and matched Danny's tie. I'll see if I have any kind neighbors willing to try to fix it for me and maybe they can be cute together for Mother's day. They owe me.



I found a cute Plan B Easter dress in Cate's stash. Grama Bama had bought it for her a few weeks ago when she was here. It's still cute, just not what I had planned. I guess it was meant to be since the dress had polka dots just like Danny's tie. Not that it matters. It's just frustrating when I try and things don't go the way I want.

How do you like our family picture?



We managed to get Cate dressed and calmed down enough to snap a few pictures before leaving for church. These are the best of the bunch.



I'm just going to pretend that some day I'll look back at all this and laugh. That's what gets me through.



Plus the fact that they are so dang cute, even when they're tired and fed up with pictures. Cate liked the bunny rolls so much that she held on to that last piece and let it be in all the pictures with her. How sweet.



It's a good thing the true meaning of Easter is not a cute picture of little angel children standing together in their carefully selected coordinating outfits showing love to each other. If it was, I'd be a big fat failure indeed.

Cate cried most of the way to church. Good thing it's a quick trip.

She bonked her head on the door on the way into the chapel because she was busy not looking in front of her.

We made it home and Danny went with Dan to Grandma's house.

Cate fell asleep on the chair. Bad news.

Monday morning they both slept in past 9:30. I like to count that as my reward for surviving the shenanigans of the day before.

Here's the deal.

I'm trying to be happy and positive and hopeful. It's not my strong suit.

I've been feeling kind of blah and not very bloggy. Hence, no posting for a few days.

I want to remember the good stuff. I want to brag about it and show off my cute kids. Look at the fun stuff we do. Look at the wonderful things I'm teaching them. Aren't we all so wonderful? Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

Sometimes I think that if I admit to the bad stuff (like how Cate threw her toothpaste laden toothbrush at me on Monday night and I put her in her room and she cried and cried and cried until she was asleep and how she pitched a royal fit at the end of a princess birthday party yesterday afternoon because the birthday girl was actually going to keep the baby doll that she had given her and how I had to give someone an enema last night), then all the good stuff is that much more worth it.

It's the bad stuff that makes me feel like I'm doing a pretty crappy job at this whole mothering gig (because I'm the one who is supposed to teach those kids to not throw toothbrushes, that the gift stays at the house of the person you give it to and you should be happy about it and to not hold in your poop).

It's the good stuff that makes me forget (at least temporarily) about it. Or not. I don't really forget any of it. I just really like the good stuff a whole lot more than the bad.

* * * * * * *

How about I go ahead and end all this late night rambling with a few positives?

Grama Bama and Grandpa survived the tornadoes in Alabama. They're fine and their house is fine.

Cate and Danny both slept in until 9:30 this morning.

I pulled lots of dandelions in the back yard this afternoon (much to Danny's disappointment since he thinks the bees need them to make their honey).

I ate taquitos at Cocolito's for dinner tonight.

On the trip to Target last night to procure the aforementioned poop problem solver, I tried on a pair of summery pants in a size 6 just to see if they'd fit.

And last but not least, the enema got the job done.

It may have been a long, crappy week but everything worked out in the end.

(Don't tell me that Thursday night isn't the end because I'm just going to go to bed and pretend that it is.)

Easter prep

eggs boiled and prettied up

(Cate thinks she'll crack one open in the morning and a baby bird will come out.)

plastic eggs filled

baskets ready and waiting

adorable coordinating outfits ready for church

tube of orange rolls in the fridge so we can eat bunny rolls for breakfast

video camera charging

dinner dishes washed
(because the Easter bunny might skip our house if there's a sink full of mess)

kids bathed and smelling much better than before the bath

paper and pen ready to jot down where the really hidden eggs get hidden
(because I can't be expected to remember everything)

We had a special Saturday session of family home evening tonight.

I read The Story of Easter.

Then we watched this video together (3 times).

If you've got kids, click on it.
Watch it with them.
It's a good one.
(and only 3 minutes long)

We're ready for a beautiful day tomorrow.

friday night videos

Remember when we used to stay up late on Friday nights to watch Friday Night Videos on MTV?

And we were so excited when Thriller came on?

That was my favorite.

Dan took Cate to see Gnomeo and Juliet at the dollar theater tonight.

It's her first trip to the movies.

I'm tending kidlets at Aunt Judy's house and worrying about how Cate is doing at the movies (since I remember all too well Danny's first trip to the theater).

And since I'm missing her and worrying about her, here's a Friday night video to help me feel better.

Please excuse my lousy singing voice.

I never pretended to be anything above average in that department (or even slightly average for that matter).

Cate, on the other hand, is a musical genius.

War Eagle and Go Cougars!

weird bunny curls

Danny came home from preschool yesterday with this adorable bunny that he made.

Don't you just love seeing your little kid's hand prints? I sure do.

Later, as he was washing his hands before bed, he told me that the teachers painted his hands at school.

I told him that I saw his bunny ear hand prints and that I thought they were very cool (not cute because cute is for girls).

I said, "Did it feel weird when they painted your hands?"

He replied, "Yeah! Weird! Like you!"

I'm going to just go ahead and take that in the nicest way possible and not have my feelings hurt.

He's only 4, after all.

Maybe he was just trying to be funny, not share his true feelings about his dear mother.

When he's 14 and tells me I'm weird, then I'll be totally offended.

* * * * * * *

On a totally unrelated note (but too cute to not share):

This kid turned 9 months old yesterday and I'm in love with his curls.

vintage must haves

I went on a bit of a scanning spree yesterday afternoon. The kids were happily watching Tangled (for the nine billionth time) and the dishes were done so I hung out in my room looking through Grandma's old pictures.

I came to the conclusion that they had some pretty neat stuff back in the day. Maybe that's why it's all the rage to go to thrift stores, label your finds as vintage (even if they were sunglasses from the 1980's) and show off to your friends that you found some old lady's dress and it's so very in fashion this season (I guess so, if you enjoy looking like your grandma).

So here's the vintage must haves from Grandma's pictures.

Wicker baby buggy: (the picture at the top) That's my dad. I think Baby Raymond looks like him. I think I want that buggy. I don't think it's up in the attic still but I wish it was.



Push along bike: I'm not sure what the real name is but I've seen the plastic version out there these days. Sure wish I could have told Grandma to save that for my kids.

Another picture of the same bike. I love my dad's curls in this picture.



Double lamp: I'm assuming there's a light bulb under that big shade and another one in the side. I think my dad would love to have this lamp in his bedroom right now. He loves a good reading lamp.



Couch with fringe on the bottom: How could you not love a couch with a row of fringe on the bottom? I have no idea. Look at my big dad and his tiny baby brother. That's vintage cuteness right there.



Matching wooden high chairs: My dad is the baby on the right. Look at those little trays that pull out for their feet to rest on. Adorable.



Radio Flyer wagon: To drag around the neighborhood kids.



A tricycle with a big front wheel: To ride on with your buddy. Any locals might recognize that little kid in the front. It's Merrill.



That was fun. I just wish I had found these pictures when Grandma was still around so I could ask her where all these treasures were hiding.

Maybe it's time to clean out the attic and see what else I can find.

Play dough eggs

This year Mr. Easter Bunny will be leaving play dough filled plastic eggs in Cate's basket. He's a clever fellow.

He knows how much she loves her play dough.

You might be thinking it could get a little messy, lots of egg halves with play dough falling out.

It's ok though.

Mr. Easter Bunny knows that I have lots of containers to store that play dough in. He also knows that I'm very good at supervising potentially messy situations. Sometimes it's worth the risk (at least that's what I'm hoping for).

I'd love for Mr. Easter Bunny to leave Lego Star Wars guys in Danny's plastic eggs. I'm not sure that's going to happen. If it did, I'd have to suggest Mace Windu (because I like his purple light saber), Count Dooku (because he's a mean looking bad guy), Paploo (because Danny doesn't have any Ewoks yet), Boba Fett (because he's cool) and Princess Leia (but not this Princess Leia because lego lady in a bikini top is not something I want my child looking at).



Remember that helpful tip in the kitchen I shared a few months ago? The one about checking your pantry before you go to the store to buy stuff for a new recipe. Same thing applies when you're planning on making your own play dough. Turns out I had these three at home when I was at the store buying another one, even bigger than these. It's ok though. I'm pretty sure cream of tartar doesn't expire.

Here's my recipe. I have no idea who deserves the credit. It's not me. I don't invent recipes. I've had this recipe in my pile for many years. It's written on a sheet taken out of my Franklin planner. Remember those? I loved mine. Green suede with brown leather down the side. I was so cool.

Scented Play Dough

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup salt
1 small package unsweetened Kool-Aid
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water

Mix all ingredients together over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture forms a dough. Let the dough cool. Roll into balls, kneading in a little more flour if necessary.

I decided to add a little of my gel food coloring to make brighter colors. A word of caution if you choose to do the same: your hands and counter top might get tinted along with the play dough. Oops.

A few things I like about this recipe:

It's fast.
It's easy.
The play dough smells fruity.
It lasts for a long time without getting gray and yucky and hard.

* * * * * * * * * * *

If I was a super clever crafty party planning mom here's what I'd do.

Plan an Easter egg hunt in my back yard (the grass is long enough that I could just stand on the porch and toss out the eggs and they'd instantly be hidden).

Invite all the neighborhood kids over (there's actually only 3 on my block and for quite a way down the street so I'd have to round up a few more).

The party favor would be a few of these play dough filled eggs, nestled in a little basket with plastic grass (I hate that stuff), a few mini cookie cutters in the shapes of eggs, chicks and bunnies and a kid-sized rolling pin like this one I gave to my nephews at Christmas.



Cute right?

Only in my dreams though.

The reality is that I am not a super clever crafty party planning mom and I like it that way. There will be no egg hunt in my back yard.

Cate will be getting play dough eggs in her basket. Danny's eggs will most likely contain some kind of mini dinosaurs or some other equally tiny doo-dads that the Easter Bunny can find at the party store.

He knows lots of candy is not appreciated around here. Not because I'm a meanie and don't allow it. My kids don't really love it. They prefer gum. I don't love the messy hands and fingers that result in holding the chocolate too long before sticking it in their mouths and then deciding that they don't like it and spitting it in the trash.

That's why play dough eggs work just fine around here.

As I sit here and type, Cate is playing with her play dough right beside me.


Making dreidels (which she calls kites) and putting on her best happy face.

chocolate chip cookie dough bars

Hello, sugar. I've missed you so.

I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough bars last night.

Candis made me do it.

I ate some.

I shared lots with her.

She practically skipped over to my house when I called her to come get them.

I watched her out my front window so I know.

Don't try to deny it, my friend.



I ate some for breakfast today.

And some more for lunch.

This is why I have to say no sugar. I can't control myself.

Here's how I prefer to eat them.



And a view from the top.



Everybody knows long and skinny has fewer calories than short and fat.

Plus, if you slice slivers off the big hunk every time, it's less obvious to the other people living in the house that you've been eating it.

I think that's a trick I learned in college in order to eat my roommate's brownies without her knowing.

Pretty sneaky.

Next time I make chocolate chip cookie dough bars I'll spread them in a bigger pan and double the top layer. It's the best part.

And there will be a next time.

I think I'll be making another trip to the gym tonight. Two trips in one day.

It's ok though.

They were worth it.

what's up with danny?

One night when Grama Bama was here, we were sitting in the front room. It was right before bedtime. Danny said, "So, what do you know about Jesus?" And then he wanted us to all take turns telling things that we know about Jesus. That was kind of random but turned out to be a fun little game.

* * * * * * *

I took Danny to the dentist in February. He was a gem for the lady who polished and flossed his teeth. Then the dentist came in. Danny's mouth shut tight and refused to open. All I can think is that it has a mind of its own. No way my precious boy would be so stubborn and defiant towards the nice dentist (although I'm tempted to do the same when I'm in the same chair).

I was embarrassed. I contemplated sitting on him and prying his mouth open. Eventually the dentist was able to pull Danny's lips open enough to get the pokey instrument in there.

When we got home I made Danny write an apology note to the dentist. I made him help me. I said, "Dear Dr. Gardner, sorry for..." and then Danny said, "not opening my mouth." Then I said, "Next time I will..." and Danny added, "open my mouth." Then me again, "Thank you for..." to which Danny replied, "keeping my teeth safe." And then Danny signed his name.

Maybe that's the first apology note Dr. Gardner's ever received. I'm hoping it's the last one Danny ever has to write.

* * * * * * *

Cate enjoys tackling Danny. She grabs him and attempts to push him to the floor. Sometimes she even tortures him further by trying to smother his face with kisses. One day Danny responded by yelling, "Cate! You're no match for me!" He's right. She's not. But it's hilarious to watch.

* * * * * * *

Aunt Judy had some cinder blocks sitting on her curb a few weeks ago. She was leaving them there in hopes that someone would just come take them. Danny saw them and wondered why they were there. "Maybe they're having a jam party." I asked him exactly what you do at a jam party. He said it's where you have music and everybody dances and eats sandwiches. Ummm. Ok. So cinder blocks on the curb is the signal to the neighborhood to get ready to dance and eat sandwiches.

* * * * * * *

Danny asked for some wipes one day when I was in the kitchen. He wanted to clean the floor. Of course, I gave him some and he got busy wiping (heaven knows somebody should be cleaning that floor because it certainly hasn't been me). I asked him why he wanted to clean the floor and he said it was so we could have a dance party.

Danny said, "Ah ah ah ah chooo. I'm allergic to guh-wurls." You know, girls. They can have that effect on boys sometimes.

* * * * * * *

Danny: Mom, did you know I actually have the force.

Me: Cool. How do you do that?

Danny: By squeezing my hands really hard.

Me: Cool.

* * * * * * *

Danny hates it when Cate cries. I mean really really hates it. One day she was pitching a fit in the truck on the way home from somewhere. Danny was very frustrated and said, "She makes me have to plug my ears all the way to my eyeballs!"

* * * * * * *

Danny was on the couch one night before bedtime. I told him it was time to go to bed. He wanted me to carry him. I told him I couldn't because I'm too old (it's a valid excuse...I am old). He replied, "But you're not ugly. Ugly is when you're old."

Another day he wanted me to do something (I can't remember what it was now because my memory is leaving...I am old). Again I told him I couldn't because I'm old. His reply this time (after examining my face) was, "I don't see different skin. Bumpy green polka dot is old skin."

It's nice to know that even though I feel old, I don't look it (at least not to my four-year-old).

* * * * * * *

Danny has a version of sign language that he does sometimes. He just waves his fingers around and makes big movements with his mouth. It's quite amusing. Too bad I have no idea what he really wants.

Danny was the spotlight kid in Primary. I have no idea when it was. Of course he didn't say a word about it to me. This is the picture of him that was hanging in the hallway on the Primary bulletin board. Lovely, right? Would it kill him to just act like he's happy to be at church once in a while?



I love the picture but my favorite part is his answers to the spotlight questions. Dan and I read them and wondered if maybe they just put the wrong picture on some other kid's answers. I'm pretty sure Danny wouldn't talk when the teacher asked him the questions. He probably just sat there all grumpy and when the teacher suggested an answer, Danny probably shrugged and said I guess.

Favorite subject in school is recess? He doesn't have recess in preschool and I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know what recess means.

Favorite book is Batman? We don't even own a Batman book.

Favorite movie is Spiderman? I don't think so.

Favorite food is candy cane? No way.

Favorite game to play is army? I'm pretty sure he would have answered Star Wars to that one.

When I grow up I want to be a teacher? That's the first I've ever heard of that. I asked him just now and he said he wants to be a bad pirate when he grows up. Lovely.



Danny wanted me to draw a race track for him a few days ago. Then he wanted me to draw stuff on the track to get in the way. I drew some blue puddles of water, some green grass and some red bombs. He drew some blobs of red fire. Then he requested that I draw a tomp. After several times of repeating tomp and him getting really frustrated that I couldn't understand what he wanted I asked him to explain it to me. Where is it? What does it look like?

Here's what he said. "You know when R2D2 fell off Luke's spaceship and landed in the dirty water? The deen tomp!" Oh! The green swamp! Thank goodness for Star Wars.

* * * * * * *

I sure love that kid. He's a keeper.

nine on the ninth on the twelfth

Woke up to snow

April showers bring May flowers. Sometimes the showers are rain and sometimes they're snow. I happen to love the showers, however they come.

Took my big ol' horse pill

I finally went to the doctor on Friday morning. It was the eleventh day of me feeling cruddy so I figured it was time. I was a new patient so I had to fill out some forms before my appointment. I had to laugh when I came to the question "Do you wake tired?" Seriously? Who doesn't wake tired? People whose kids take naps during the day and sleep through the night that's who. Sadly, that's not me. Here's another good one. "Do you have unusual stress?" Well, I don't know for sure. I usually feel this much stress so I guess it isn't unusual stress, just usual stress. What kind of dumb question is that? Maybe they should have separate questions for mothers of small children.

The nurse walked me back when it was my turn. As we approached the scale in the hallway, I said a big "oh, crap" in my head. I took off my shoes, put down my phone, wallet and keys and told the nurse that I would be closing my eyes and to please not say my weight out loud. Not something I want to hear after a week and a half of no exercise. When I got off the scale she asked me how tall I am. I told her 5'11'' and she said, "That's a great weight for your height!" Bless you, nurse lady. Bless you.

Rockin' out in the truck

Cousin Jarrett got baptized Saturday morning. We made it back from the church before his family did. I didn't have my keys to their house so we just sat in the truck and waited. We cranked up the music and Dan busted out his fancy dance moves. The song: Kodachrome.

Spending time with the fam

After the baptism, we spent time with the family and ate yummy food at Aunt Judy's house (including some dip of the musical fruit variety).

Snail mail

I filled out the registration form for my high school reunion. I hear there's going to be karaoke on the Friday night get-together. Dan and I need to start practicing. I'm thinking Islands in the Stream and I Got You, Babe.

Tangled

I watched a movie while I whittled down the ironing pile to zero shirts. It's gone! Too bad Dan keeps wearing shirts to work and then I keep washing them and the pile just keeps growing all over again. Why can't he just wear t-shirts every day? Some teachers do that right?

Independent play time

Cate was playing with Grandpa while I did the ironing. She brought out lots of toys from Danny's room (since Danny was still at Jarrett's house and not there to stop her like he usually does). I think Grandpa was getting tired of helping her figure out how the train tracks were supposed to link together. He said, "Don't you have a doll you could play with?" It was funny. She went off to her room and played for a long time. All by herself. That almost never happens. It was lovely. Seriously almost brought a tear of happiness to my eye.

A New Countdown

Danny loves a countdown. I'm not sure if Dan is excited about being reminded daily how close he's getting to 41 but oh well.

Silly Faces

I figured it was time to take a few pictures with Grandpa since he'd be leaving the next morning. This is the best one. I told them to make silly faces. Grandpa just smiled a tiny bit and said, "This is my silly face." Cate's got a pretty good one though.

ten things late at night

I'm not sure I have anything nice to say yet but I've got stuff on my mind that wants to get out. Here it comes. Brace yourself. It's going to be boring. You might want to just skim.

1. My kids are adorable. That's their "pose in front of the window before church because Grama Bama thinks Cate is so cute in green" picture. I bribed Danny with two pieces of gum to put his arm around his sister. Cate didn't need any bribing.

2. I've decided that it feels weird to blog when my parents are here. (My dad flew home today. He's been here since Wednesday. My mom's leaving on Tuesday. She's been here almost two weeks.) I don't really know why it feels that way. It just does. Not in a bad way. I don't want them to read this and stop visiting though. Don't get any ideas, parents. You still need to come back soon.

3. Cate has stopped napping. The last time I put her down for a nap she slept from 2:00 until 6:00 and then was up until 11:30. That is not ok. She has fallen asleep on the couch a few times. That's not good either because it happens in the late afternoon when I'm trying to prepare dinner stuff. I'm feeling sad just writing this. I miss my two hours (sometimes more) in the afternoon when children sleep and I sit on the couch watching my shows and dinking around on the computer.

4. I've been wondering a lot lately why some moms get sad when their kids go to school. What are they thinking? Really. What? My kids are going to be one grade apart in school and I could not be happier about it. There. I said it. Go ahead and judge me.

5. I'm wondering when this is going to get easier. Babies are hard work. One baby and one toddler is tough. Two little kids that don't nap is the hardest by far. I miss my ME time. It's gone. I have to stay up late just so I can hear the peace and quiet that's never here during the day.

6. It's been nice to have my mom here. She's taken the kids to my sister's house a few times in the mornings and I've heard that peace and quiet. It sounds like heaven.

7. I don't know how much longer I can do this no sugar thing. It's not feeling good. I miss baking chocolate goodies. I miss taking them to the neighbors with my kids. I miss having a taste and feeling like I accomplished something besides washing dishes, folding laundry and showering for the day. I miss having my house smell yummy.

8. I don't even know if I've lost any weight since starting the no sugar a few weeks ago. My initial plan was to give myself a week of no sugar before weighing myself. After that week off sugar I started not feeling very good. Then I stopped going to the gym because it's hard to get a good workout when your head feels like it's going to explode. No way I'm weighing myself now after almost two weeks of no exercise (except that one Thursday night when I was feeling better).

9. I took loads of pictures yesterday for my nine on the ninth post and then Dan and I went on a date to Walmart last night and it plum wore me out. I swear if Dan had just proposed by saying, "Marry me, Cathy, and I promise to show you a good time at Walmart when we're old and tired" I might have said yes sooner. Now I've stayed up too late writing a bunch of nothing (after watching some tv with my mother...well, she was in the room but I'm not sure how much of it she actually saw with her eyes closed) and still no nine on the ninth. I'll try to not let it bother me too much that I didn't post it on the ninth. As long as it's before the next ninth I think I'm ok.

10. My leg hurts when I sneeze.

thumper was right

If you can't say something nice,
don't say nothin' at all.


I'm going to just go ahead and follow Thumper's advice and keep my trap shut for a few days.

Or longer.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Don't you just love it when I use pictures that have nothing to do with the post?
Me too.

This one was taken around this time last year.
On the back porch.
My kids and their cousin with bubble juice in their hair.

Pretty sure I had nothing nice to say about that little incident at the time.
Or right now for that matter.

That is all.

a helpful tip in the backyard

My sister-in-law shared this tip with me last year. It's a good one. So is she.

Maybe you've got super duper obedient kids and when you're out in the backyard and they try to play with the water faucet and you tell them to leave the water alone, they leave it alone.

I like to believe that my kids are super duper obedient (because if not then I'm a bad mom). They just need reminders because their ears are indeed painted on. They just can't hear me every time I tell them to leave the water alone. Don't turn it on. Stop touching it!

The poor dears with painted ears. Life can be so hard.

The genius solution is to put one of those door knob thingees on the faucet handle. So clever.

That way, when the kids are outside and happy (which better be happening with much more consistency really soon) and one of the kids (the littler one) is playing with the hose, the other kid (the bigger one) can't go over and turn the water up full blast and cause the littler kid to become soaking wet and extremely unhappy.

Plus with all that water splashing around you run the risk of those painted on ears just washing right off. Then what would we do?


In other news (kind of related to the backyard but not especially), it snowed yesterday.

The day before that it was sunny and warm. And then we woke up to snow. I'm not surprised though.

It snowed on the first Sunday in April last year too. Know how I can remember such things? It was Easter Sunday 2010. I made my kids sit on the ottoman under the window to pose for a picture after the front room Easter basket festivities. They were still wearing their jammies. The ones they wore on Christmas morning too. I didn't plan for them both to be wearing their Christmas jammies on Easter Eve but that's just what happened.

Out the window behind them I could see snow on the hedge.



I'll for sure need to be writing the date on the back of this picture if it ever gets printed and stuck in a book.

Christmas jammies. New toys. Snow on the hedge. Painted on ears. Must be Easter.

nonsense on a saturday night

Aunt Nancy came into town this afternoon for a little visit. We went out to eat and then ditched Dan and the kids to do a little shopping.

I saw this rodeo sign at one of the shops we stopped at. I have no idea what bulldogging is.

I have been to the Lehi Roundup Rodeo once in my life. I was 9. From what I can remember, I had to pee. My mom was there. So were some of my sisters. I guess there was no way my mom could take me to the bathroom (who knows if there were even bathrooms at the rodeo back in 1982) so she told me to just pee in my pants. And I did. I had on really dark jeans. They must have been even darker after I peed in them. I don't blame my mom. I'm sure it was crowded there and the thought of dragging me and my sisters to the bathroom (if there even was one) was probably quite overwhelming. I think I probably should have at least slipped under the bleachers and done my business there.

That might be why I haven't been to the rodeo since. Peeing my pants there must have scarred me for life. Or maybe it's because I don't understand why people ride on bulls and rope small animals for fun. I think we need to take Danny this summer though. I will not be encouraging him to pee his pants.

* * * * * * * * * *

I'm on day 4 of not feeling so hot. I think I have a sinus infection. I probably should have gone to the doctor a few days ago. I haven't been to a doctor (other than the kind that specializes in female parts) in several years. I usually just wait it out and feel better sooner or later. I'm kind of worried that some kind of infection is now in my teeth though because my molars hurt when I bend over. I'm avoiding any bending over for the next few days.

* * * * * * * * * *

Since I don't feel good, I've just been laying in bed tonight. Grama Bama and Danny are playing some kind of Mario video game. He recently came in and told me that Grama Bama had zero points. I believe him.

Cate came in and got under the covers next to me. I was clicking around the internet and had stopped on a recipe for chocolate cupcakes with raspberry butter cream. The pictures must have looked quite scrumptious to my little girl because she immediately pointed to them and said something along the lines of yummy yummy yum yum yum yum yummy yummy yum yummy yummy!! Then she said, "My want you to make some of dat cuz it weely weely is yum yum yummy yummy yum yum yum yummy!"

After the cupcakes were gone from the screen, she proceeded to play This Little Piggy on her toes. Her version went something like this: Dis piggy go to Beeees Mah-kit (that's Fresh Market, the grocery store we frequent), Dis piggy go to Beeees Mah-kit, Dis piggy go to Beeees Mah-kit, Dis piggy go to wah wah wah and go to her bed and didn't get out of her bed going to sleep Mommy Mommy there's no mommies only daddies. You go to Uncle Tony's house? He will tickle you.

Then I told her to get off my bed and go bother Daddy.

And she's right, Uncle Tony does like to tickle.

* * * * * * * * * *

Dan put a serious dent in the Shirts that Need to Be Ironed pile today. I'm proud of him.

* * * * * * * * * *

Danny asked me yesterday what month it was. I told him April. He said, "Then where's the rain?" I can hear lots of wind outside right now so maybe it's coming soon. I'm thinking they've been learning about April showers bring May flowers in preschool this week.

* * * * * * * * * *

Someone commented on my facebook post that buttermilk doesn't expire. That just seems really gross to me. Of course I had to do a little research to find out if this was true or not. I came across this article that states buttermilk doesn't have an expiration date. It's true. You can freeze it for up to two months even. I think that's what I'll do with the rest of my buttermilk. Either that or just pour it down the drain and next time I find a recipe that calls for 1 cup of buttermilk, just make my own (you can learn how somewhere in the middle of this recipe).

* * * * * * * * * *

Other stuff I found on the internet tonight while laying (or lying...I don't really care but I know Dan will correct me if I use the wrong one) on my bed tonight waiting for my head to explode:

80's Vintage Eyeglasses (stuff from the 80's is vintage??? Vintage? VINTAGE? That causes me serious feelings of oldness because I wasn't even a baby in the 80's. I spent a good part of high school in the 80's.)

A fun way to store chalk (this will come in handy since I have a plan to build a giant chalkboard on my kitchen wall)

How to make a super bouncy ball (I'm totally trying this one soon!)

Dark Chocolate Caramel Nutella Twix Bars (makes me want to lick the screen...they're sugar free that way)

* * * * * * * * * *

I took a little break from writing the nonsense you see above to help with putting kids to bed. I spent the last 40 minutes (but it felt like waaaaaay longer) reading Star Wars chapter books to Danny. I wondered why he hadn't fallen asleep after the first 10 minutes. Then I remembered that he fell asleep in the car today after we went to Beeees Mah-kit. Stupid car naps totally ruin bed time.

* * * * * * * * * *

And that's the end of this nonsense on a Saturday night. My head has not exploded yet. I just might live to see another day.

too much buttermilk

I've got almost a quart of buttermilk in my fridge.

It expires in 5 days.

I bought it so I could make the blue velvet Jimmer cakes a few weekends ago.

The recipe only called for one cup.

Now I've got one quart minus one cup left over.

If I was a smart cookie I would have pulled some kind of evil April Fool's prank on Dan this morning and poured out the regular milk and replaced it with buttermilk.

I wonder if he would have even noticed his Lucky Charms with buttermilk instead of 1%.

Maybe next year.

We're probably going to Grandma's house on Sunday.

I could make a cake to bring with us.

I'm thinking maybe the best chocolate sheet cake ever (which is quite tasty but uses only 1/2 cup of buttermilk) or a batch of Paula Deen's red velvet cupcakes (y'all know I love Paula so I'm leaning towards the cupcakes...plus the recipe calls for a whole cup of buttermilk and I really need to use it up).

So I'm asking you...

family who might be at Grandma's on Sunday?

other family who live in the same city as me?

friends and/or neighbors who enjoy receiving baked goods from my kitchen?

What'll it be?

Looks like I've got enough buttermilk to make several cakes and a few batches of cupcakes.

Not sure if that will happen.

I might just save some for Dan after all.

You've been warned, my dear.


p.s. Here I sit, second day in a row that my kids are elsewhere and I have the quiet house all to myself and I am blogging instead of ironing. I've got my priorities in order. That's for sure.