Sunday, December 25, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Fantabulous Festivity results...
WHEW!
I did it!! I survived this weekend! The Fantabulous Festivity of Christmas Cheer was a huge success. The room was completely at capacity.
Here are some pics...
The stage. See my "Merry Merry" signs?
Serving up some reindeer cheer!
I rewrote the lyrics of "I Love Rock N Roll" to "I love Acronyms" for my pastor to sing (he is ALWAYS coming up with acronyms in his sermons) I'll have to post the lyrics - it was quite funny.
Here's our family doing a Jackson 5 song.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now I am working on writing a "Christmas themed" stand-up act for our church's Women's Christmas Dessert. Thankfully I only need about 10 minutes worth of material. Thankfully my kids provide about 10 HOURS of material...daily...
Terror at Register #7...
I was looking through all of my old diary entries from the past couple of years trying to get inspiration for my comedy act & came across some entries that just CRACKED ME UP! Here is an entry I posted a little over 2 years ago. Reliving the memory of this was just cracking me up tonight:
It`s as if I`m a magnet for trouble. I SWEAR I don`t do anything different than Joe Average to bring these upon myself. Really. I don`t. I swear.
The lead in...
Tuesday night 10:30pm:
Me: Oh no! It`s Tuesday night & the sale on ground beef ends today. I don`t want to go to the store now. I`m going to regret not going if I have nothing for dinner tomorrow night, aren`t I?!
Hubby: I`ll go, I still have my shoes on. Do you trust me to get the right thing?
Me: I`m wary. Here is the ad - its buy one get one free. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT ONE so we get the discount! You can`t just grab ANY ground beef - it HAS to be the one on sale! In fact - take your phone & call me from the store.
Hubby: Ok.
~ 10 minutes later ~
ring ring
Me: Hello?
Hubby: I`m in the store but the phone is on "roaming" mode. They don`t have the macaroni & cheese you wanted.
Me: AAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGHHH!! HANG UP! HANG UP! ROAMING MODE IS .79 CENTS A MINUTE!!!
Hubby: Ok, bye.
~ 2 minutes later ~
ring ring
Me: Hello?
Hubby: They are out of the ground beef, but they are going to give me a rain check.
ME: AAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!! .79 CENTS A MINUTES!! .79 CENTS A MINUTE!! WE JUST SPENT $1.58 ON ROAMING CHARGES - IT TOTALLY NEGATES THE SAVINGS ON THE GROUND BEEF!!!! HANG UP!! HANG UP!!
Wednesday:
The plan was to do some errands with the kids & then come home & make dinner & eat at 6pm when hubby got home from work & then make an appetizer to take to a going-away-party that we were supposed to be at by 7pm. Dach was in need of some serious nappage in the morning - so we pushed our errands into the afternoon. We ran around & got some stuff done & then everyone wanted to go to the park. Since it was bright & sunny (with a slight arctic breeze), I had no excuse to say no. At 3:30pm (when my ear was sufficiently throbbing - due to the cold wind) we left the park & headed for Albertson`s. I had my stack of coupons, my ground beef rain check & my mental list. The 2 younger kids were already crying before we even entered the store (lack of nap issues).
The kids were begging for their "free" cookie so we headed back to the bakery. [FYI: grocery stores usually give out a free cookie to kids while you shop. It buys about 42 seconds of silence.] I saw that they had a package of Halloween sugar cookies open behind the counter. I asked the gal if I could grab a cookie for each of the kids. "Oh, I just put out treats on the counter over there." I look over to see a container of powdered sugar donut pieces. *blink*
She wants me to hand them something covered in powdered sugar? While you`re at it - could I get a side of maple syrup to go with that?! Alrighty-then - buh-bye somewhat clean clothing. *mental note: add laundry detergent to list*
What was going to be a quick “in & out” shopping trip turned into 35 minutes of flustered wandering. I circled that store so many times that I’m sure they must’ve thought I was casing the joint!
GEORGIA was spinning in circles with no hint of awareness that there might be anyone in the store that had a desire to be able to occupy the same aisle as her twirling.
ZANE’S legs were “tired”, so he was in the large part of the cart sitting on the milk, busy commentating every item I put in the cart, crying about how thirsty he was & trying to get the cap off the vinegar. *nightcap anyone?*
MAISIE was sitting in the “extra seats” portion of the cart [we had the extra long cart that seated 3] alternating “I NEED water!” with “I wanna go home” and “Where’s my binky?!” She was also grabbing anything off the shelf that was within reach & perpetually touching Dach, causing him to cry.
Dach was tired & sobbing. He spent much of the shopping trip leaning forward & trying to suck on the metal bar in front of him. *barf*
Why do I take them to the store? Why do I take them to the store at naptime? Why can’t I think clearly enough to get what I need & get out when they are all crying & arguing?
I went to the butcher dept. to get my buy one get one free on the ground beef. The butcher said “Why don’t you just give me your rain check & I’ll mark the beef at half price since the register doesn’t automatically ring up the free one?” That’s fine, it works out the same.
I finally made it to the register, with both little kids in full meltdown mode. There were 5 people behind me to watch the show. The gal rang up my whole order & hit total.
TERROR AT REGISTER #7!!!
It`s as if I`m a magnet for trouble. I SWEAR I don`t do anything different than Joe Average to bring these upon myself. Really. I don`t. I swear.
The lead in...
Tuesday night 10:30pm:
Me: Oh no! It`s Tuesday night & the sale on ground beef ends today. I don`t want to go to the store now. I`m going to regret not going if I have nothing for dinner tomorrow night, aren`t I?!
Hubby: I`ll go, I still have my shoes on. Do you trust me to get the right thing?
Me: I`m wary. Here is the ad - its buy one get one free. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT ONE so we get the discount! You can`t just grab ANY ground beef - it HAS to be the one on sale! In fact - take your phone & call me from the store.
Hubby: Ok.
~ 10 minutes later ~
ring ring
Me: Hello?
Hubby: I`m in the store but the phone is on "roaming" mode. They don`t have the macaroni & cheese you wanted.
Me: AAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGHHH!! HANG UP! HANG UP! ROAMING MODE IS .79 CENTS A MINUTE!!!
Hubby: Ok, bye.
~ 2 minutes later ~
ring ring
Me: Hello?
Hubby: They are out of the ground beef, but they are going to give me a rain check.
ME: AAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!! .79 CENTS A MINUTES!! .79 CENTS A MINUTE!! WE JUST SPENT $1.58 ON ROAMING CHARGES - IT TOTALLY NEGATES THE SAVINGS ON THE GROUND BEEF!!!! HANG UP!! HANG UP!!
Wednesday:
The plan was to do some errands with the kids & then come home & make dinner & eat at 6pm when hubby got home from work & then make an appetizer to take to a going-away-party that we were supposed to be at by 7pm. Dach was in need of some serious nappage in the morning - so we pushed our errands into the afternoon. We ran around & got some stuff done & then everyone wanted to go to the park. Since it was bright & sunny (with a slight arctic breeze), I had no excuse to say no. At 3:30pm (when my ear was sufficiently throbbing - due to the cold wind) we left the park & headed for Albertson`s. I had my stack of coupons, my ground beef rain check & my mental list. The 2 younger kids were already crying before we even entered the store (lack of nap issues).
The kids were begging for their "free" cookie so we headed back to the bakery. [FYI: grocery stores usually give out a free cookie to kids while you shop. It buys about 42 seconds of silence.] I saw that they had a package of Halloween sugar cookies open behind the counter. I asked the gal if I could grab a cookie for each of the kids. "Oh, I just put out treats on the counter over there." I look over to see a container of powdered sugar donut pieces. *blink*
She wants me to hand them something covered in powdered sugar? While you`re at it - could I get a side of maple syrup to go with that?! Alrighty-then - buh-bye somewhat clean clothing. *mental note: add laundry detergent to list*
What was going to be a quick “in & out” shopping trip turned into 35 minutes of flustered wandering. I circled that store so many times that I’m sure they must’ve thought I was casing the joint!
GEORGIA was spinning in circles with no hint of awareness that there might be anyone in the store that had a desire to be able to occupy the same aisle as her twirling.
ZANE’S legs were “tired”, so he was in the large part of the cart sitting on the milk, busy commentating every item I put in the cart, crying about how thirsty he was & trying to get the cap off the vinegar. *nightcap anyone?*
MAISIE was sitting in the “extra seats” portion of the cart [we had the extra long cart that seated 3] alternating “I NEED water!” with “I wanna go home” and “Where’s my binky?!” She was also grabbing anything off the shelf that was within reach & perpetually touching Dach, causing him to cry.
Dach was tired & sobbing. He spent much of the shopping trip leaning forward & trying to suck on the metal bar in front of him. *barf*
Why do I take them to the store? Why do I take them to the store at naptime? Why can’t I think clearly enough to get what I need & get out when they are all crying & arguing?
I went to the butcher dept. to get my buy one get one free on the ground beef. The butcher said “Why don’t you just give me your rain check & I’ll mark the beef at half price since the register doesn’t automatically ring up the free one?” That’s fine, it works out the same.
I finally made it to the register, with both little kids in full meltdown mode. There were 5 people behind me to watch the show. The gal rang up my whole order & hit total.
At that moment - the register went nuts.
It started ringing up “free ground beef” credits at $4.69 each (the price of the first package of beef that I had bought). It just kept ringing up these credits. Nobody could shut the thing off! $200 in credit...$300 in credit...$500 in credit... It kept on going. People were starting to move out of the line, the kids were crying, & the lady behind me abandoned her groceries & walked out of the store.
“Did I mention I’m a magnet for trouble at the register?”
The checker looked at me & said “Then WHY did you come to MY register?!?!”
“Hey - I just figured your tape would run out or the person in front of me would pay in pennies.”
$600 in credit...$700 in credit...$800 in credit... Still going...
“Wow, I bet my savings percentage is through the ROOF!!!!!”
Un-amused look from checker.
Everyone had been cleared from my line & my children were in full breakdown mode. Finally when it hit $1009 in credit...it stopped. *dreams - what I could’ve bought with $1009...*
The checkers all just stood there. I think they were afraid to touch it. They managed to keep the register at bay & pulled out the 3 ft? (4 ft?) receipt.
After some discussion with the other checkers, my checker looked at me & announced, “We need to move to another register & re-ring your entire order!” Mind you - that it was already all bagged & in the cart with the screaming duo! “Dinner may be slightly late tonight due to unforeseen circumstances!” (Of course, I wasn’t ABOUT to call hubby at .79 cents a minute (for some reason - our phones are only in roaming mode at that store) to inform him!)
We headed over to a new register & they took everything out of all 5 bags & started over. She hit total - it deducted the meat again...once. A “free ground beef” credit of $4.69. I wrote her a check & left. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the free beef sale had ended yesterday...
“Did I mention I’m a magnet for trouble at the register?”
The checker looked at me & said “Then WHY did you come to MY register?!?!”
“Hey - I just figured your tape would run out or the person in front of me would pay in pennies.”
$600 in credit...$700 in credit...$800 in credit... Still going...
“Wow, I bet my savings percentage is through the ROOF!!!!!”
Un-amused look from checker.
Everyone had been cleared from my line & my children were in full breakdown mode. Finally when it hit $1009 in credit...it stopped. *dreams - what I could’ve bought with $1009...*
The checkers all just stood there. I think they were afraid to touch it. They managed to keep the register at bay & pulled out the 3 ft? (4 ft?) receipt.
After some discussion with the other checkers, my checker looked at me & announced, “We need to move to another register & re-ring your entire order!” Mind you - that it was already all bagged & in the cart with the screaming duo! “Dinner may be slightly late tonight due to unforeseen circumstances!” (Of course, I wasn’t ABOUT to call hubby at .79 cents a minute (for some reason - our phones are only in roaming mode at that store) to inform him!)
We headed over to a new register & they took everything out of all 5 bags & started over. She hit total - it deducted the meat again...once. A “free ground beef” credit of $4.69. I wrote her a check & left. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the free beef sale had ended yesterday...
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Contrary to popular belief...I AM still alive!
Just busy, busy...
Claire and I are almost single-handedly putting on an all-church Christmas Party for 135 people. I was at my girlfriend's house till 4am on Sunday night (Mon morning?) making decorations.
Shoot. Me. Now.
I have managed to go to bed slightly earlier with each night that goes by. 3:00am on Monday night & 2:00am last night. Perhaps tonight I'll be in bed by 1:00am!!
We named the party the "Fantabulous Festivity of Christmas Cheer" and it has a "Dr. Suess" whimsical theme.
Here is a pic of one of the things I've been working on:
A sign to go over the stage. There is an identical one in mint green for the entryway.
I must go now.
I have about 20 more hours of decorations to create in the next 3 days.
PLUS - our family is performing in the talent show portion of the party, which means I need to locate 6 matching choir robes & 3 more black afros for our song that we are doing. (We are doing a lipsinc to the Jackson 5's song "Hallelujah Day"). Yes - my kids are THRILLED *insert sarcasm* to be dragged into doing this!
Ok - back to work...
PS - My sinus infection is finally gone!! >>>>THANKYOUJESUS!!!<<<<
Friday, October 28, 2005
It's my bday, I'll cry if I want to...multiple x's
My birthday was the 18th.
Pathetic was the theme.
I was still sick & my kids were mean to me.
Need I say more?
It was the first year in a long time that I was at home with kids & no party planned.
Last year hubby had the day off.
The year before that we went to the pumpkin patch with Jen's family.
The year before that I had just given birth 6 days before & hubby was home & took me out to dinner.
The year before that I got tickets to a Mariner's play-off game.
The year before that I got tickets to a Mariner's play-off game.
The year before that hubby threw me an 80's themed party.
The year before that I only had 2 children & life was easy as pie...I'm quite sure I put them down for a nap & pampered myself lavishly...
Hubby & the kids had bible study in the evening so Jen had offered to go out to dinner with me. Here is a pic of Jen & I after a relaxing meal, right before the theraputic shopping trip at Ross:
Doesn't Jen look just like a rock star in that shirt?!
I bought myself 2 coats at Ross. A cool one with fur trim & a suede one that was originally $140 (for just just $20.99!!)
Gotta love that!
Birthday bash number 2 (or lack thereof)...
Hubby's birthday came 9 days after Georgia's & we got a sitter for the kids & went on a double date out to Tony Roma's and then out to a movie.
2 days later, Dach was next on the docket for birthday bliss.
But because Mommy was out of town twice in 10 days, and was completely sick - the party never got planned & the invites never went out - thus our first ever dreaded *family party* for one of the kids.
No theme party.
No nothing.
In fact, there was BARELY a cake.
The party consisted of last minute take out teriyaki chicken and the kids gathered around a cake that was frosted a little prematurely during the cooling process.
SAD.
A pathetic excuse for a party.
Zane comes in when I'm frosting the cake & says "When are the kids getting here for the party?"
"Well, there are no kids. Just our family. It's a family party."
"WHAT. IS. A. FAMILY. PARTY?!?!"
"That's when you just celebrate with your family & a cake!"
"WHAT!?!?! That's awful!! Don't do that to ME on my birthday!!!"
And that is what happens folks when you ONLY throw over-the-top ridiculously themed parties for your children. That becomes their norm. No room for slacking. Here are the pics, maybe next year I'll get it together...
The cake
The cake after sitting for a few minutes. "Here's your Happy P Day cake!!" *Cool, then frost...*
That's ok buddy, you're only 3 - you'll have no recollection of this...
Georgia's Birthday Bash...
Because I had only been home for 72 hours from the first conference & I was leaving in 36 hours for the next one, not to mention the fact that we were spending the better part of her birthday at a wedding...Georgia's sleep-over birthday party became a "mock" sleep-over party. We made water /sparkle bracelets out of aquarium tubing, painted nightshirts and watched "Because of Winn-Dixie".
The cake was a giant bed with girls in sleeping bags. Simple but fun. Oddly enough - not usually a part of my party-throwing philosophy - "simple". Because it's 1am & I'm not getting any healthier sitting here, a photo montage of the event...
The cake
The girls
Business Time...
On September 26-28 Hubby & I went away to a pastor's conference. It was a really sweet time for us.
The most hilarious thing about the conference was a video that a friend showed us while we were there called "Business Time":
Totally. Hilarious.
"Awww girl...it's business time!"
The most hilarious thing about the conference was a video that a friend showed us while we were there called "Business Time":
Totally. Hilarious.
"Awww girl...it's business time!"
Sinusitis is my middle name...
Sinusitis: The inflammation/infection of 1 or more paranasal sinuses that occurs with obstruction of the normal drainage mechanism.
Day 27.
Let's start with the facts:
1. I don't GET sick.
2. I am NOT a sick person.
3. I NE-VER get sick. E-VER.
Until October 2nd. That would be the day after a dear friend's all-day wedding plus a 3 hour birthday party for Georgia. Perhaps I was a bit run down. Anyway - I woke up that Sunday morning with a slight feeling of a cold coming on. No problem - just do what I always do: pop an echinacea & a couple of vitamin C tablets and it will go away completely within a few hours. Never mind that I had to be at the airport the next morning by 5:30am and ended up sleeping only 4 hours.
It turned into a cold, which after 3 weeks of coughing till I threw up at least once or twice a day - I went to the Dr. Turns out I have a sinus infection. Excuse me? I don't even know what that is! I don't get sick. Well, folks apparently I do. I have now had 6 doses of amoxicillian and although the constant stream of mucus down my throat has ceased (thus - I'm throw-up free) my sinuses are still so blocked up that I can't smell or taste a thing! I've tried steam, vapor rub, decongestant...
Did you know that the human body produces a quart of mucus a day?
A QUART.
I got online today and googled "regain sense of smell". Turns out you can make a homemade recipe of saline & perform a "saline wash" of your sinuses.
Who knew?
So 4 cups of saline later, my sinus cavity is so clean you could eat off of it - but still little to no smell.
Every 10 or 20 tissues I get a "glimpse" and regain just a few moments of smell. Claire gave me a recipe called "Knock the snot out of you". It's 2 garlic cloves and 1/2 an onion juiced & mixed with orange juice. I'm currently out of orange juice otherwise I would try this delightful concoction. So I lie in wait for my smell to return...(but not flat - must keep propped up on a couple of pillows to keep airflow in the passages...)
Day 27.
Let's start with the facts:
1. I don't GET sick.
2. I am NOT a sick person.
3. I NE-VER get sick. E-VER.
Until October 2nd. That would be the day after a dear friend's all-day wedding plus a 3 hour birthday party for Georgia. Perhaps I was a bit run down. Anyway - I woke up that Sunday morning with a slight feeling of a cold coming on. No problem - just do what I always do: pop an echinacea & a couple of vitamin C tablets and it will go away completely within a few hours. Never mind that I had to be at the airport the next morning by 5:30am and ended up sleeping only 4 hours.
It turned into a cold, which after 3 weeks of coughing till I threw up at least once or twice a day - I went to the Dr. Turns out I have a sinus infection. Excuse me? I don't even know what that is! I don't get sick. Well, folks apparently I do. I have now had 6 doses of amoxicillian and although the constant stream of mucus down my throat has ceased (thus - I'm throw-up free) my sinuses are still so blocked up that I can't smell or taste a thing! I've tried steam, vapor rub, decongestant...
Did you know that the human body produces a quart of mucus a day?
A QUART.
I got online today and googled "regain sense of smell". Turns out you can make a homemade recipe of saline & perform a "saline wash" of your sinuses.
Who knew?
So 4 cups of saline later, my sinus cavity is so clean you could eat off of it - but still little to no smell.
Every 10 or 20 tissues I get a "glimpse" and regain just a few moments of smell. Claire gave me a recipe called "Knock the snot out of you". It's 2 garlic cloves and 1/2 an onion juiced & mixed with orange juice. I'm currently out of orange juice otherwise I would try this delightful concoction. So I lie in wait for my smell to return...(but not flat - must keep propped up on a couple of pillows to keep airflow in the passages...)
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Saturday, September 17, 2005
6th entry of the day - stop the insanity! (pics)
Zane's before & afters...
This is the "unbrushed" straight out of bed "BEFORE" picture
(How did I ever let it get that bad?!?!)
And "AFTER"
And Dach's...
As you can see - he's very excited about getting his hair cut! (Actually, he's showing me his owie - you evil, evil people!) I think this should be our Christmas card this year.
The "after" pic
This is the "unbrushed" straight out of bed "BEFORE" picture
(How did I ever let it get that bad?!?!)
And "AFTER"
And Dach's...
As you can see - he's very excited about getting his hair cut! (Actually, he's showing me his owie - you evil, evil people!) I think this should be our Christmas card this year.
The "after" pic
More, more recent pics (aka: Entry #5 of the day)
These are some that I snapped after cutting the boys' hair the other day. I'll have to post the "before" haircut pics too...
Maisie & Dach
Dach
Dach
Recent Pics...
Then of course there are all of the pics I have been meaning to post. Even as abstract/random as I am, I have this hang-up about posting everything in the correct chronological order. "I can't post these pics because first I have to write out this particular story because it happened first. If I skip it, I may never come back to it & then I'll have a gap in my life." ~~ I have many disorders - this is merely one of them...
So, here are pics I've been meaning to post:
Maisie sporting a new wig I found at the local thrift store
I have a thing with wigs this year - I'm trying to build up a supply for possible skit opportunities.
The kids at a local parade
Maisie at her little girlfriend's birthday party
Maisie & her friend practicing the hula
Maisie after an unfortunate collision with the "Body Glitter Truck"
Maisie - body glitter clean-up
more pics to come...
Montana part 2 - The Visit...
We caught our flight the next morning with no problems and arrived in Spokane within about 45 minutes. It was then another 3 hour drive to Missoula (we caught a ride from my sister-in-law’s father-in-law). On Saturday, I slept in till 9:30am – which was quite fantastical! Then I pretty much spent the day cooking freezer meals. I had gone grocery shopping the night before & was determined to try & make them a month’s worth of meals. By 6:30pm I had made 13 large dinners (which should each be good for 2 nights), so almost a month’s worth.
All of this made me wonder why I don’t do this at home – how much better would it be to simply take dinner out of the freezer & stick it in the oven every night? Of course I’d need 6-8 hours -kid free- on a Saturday once a month to be able to do this! I treated myself to a little shopping that evening – found a couple of cute matching twins outfits for my sister’s impending baby girls!
All of this made me wonder why I don’t do this at home – how much better would it be to simply take dinner out of the freezer & stick it in the oven every night? Of course I’d need 6-8 hours -kid free- on a Saturday once a month to be able to do this! I treated myself to a little shopping that evening – found a couple of cute matching twins outfits for my sister’s impending baby girls!
The next day (Sunday) was the baby shower, so we spent all morning/early afternoon decorating & getting ready for it. It was so much fun – she had a great turnout, I think we had between 25-28 women come! Here are some pics:
This is the “Diaper Cake” I made as a centerpiece. It’s made out of rolled up diapers & wrapped in ribbon. I threw on the flowers to dress it up & match the table decorations. I am IN LOVE with diaper cakes lately! It’s my new obsession!
Table decorations. I love the hanging flowers!
This is my sister-in-law & her hubby (being a little spazzy)
We spent Sunday evening playing board games. Have you played “Imagine if…”? SO MUCH FUN!! I must buy this!
Sadly – we had to leave on Monday morning to come home! On the way out of town I begged my sister-in-law’s father-in-law (our ride once again) to stop at Target & let me buy a blender. Montana is tax free, you know!! I got my blender & put it in the now empty extra duffle bag we had brought baby clothes over in. We also stopped to get some Montana souvenirs for the kids & I threw those in there too.
We made it to the Spokane Airport with time to spare. We made our flight & I was so exhausted that as soon as the plane became airborne, I fell asleep! I groggily heard a couple of announcements over the intercom a couple of times – something about turbulence & “expect bumps”.
"BOOM!!"
My eyes flew open & my heart beat faster than it ever has in my life!!!!!
“OH MY GOODNESS - WE ARE GOING TO DIE!!!!!!”
“OH MY GOODNESS - WE ARE GOING TO DIE!!!!!!”
Hubby grabbed my arm “We’re just landing!! Its okay – we are just landing!!” Is anyone aware of the fact that being woken up by an airplane landing feels much more like waking up to the feeling of falling from the sky to a fiery death? I would strongly recommend being conscious during the landing process…
Montana part 1 - "Getting out of town"...
After spending 4 days in Montana, I came back to “real life”. My children were feverishly training for the “Whine, Cry & Pout Triathlon” all day, my very 1st day back. “Thanks for saving that up all weekend kids – you must be simply exhausted from being nice for four whole days!!” We did a 3-way split with the kids: one friend took Georgia, another took Dach, and Zane & Maisie both went with ‘Saint Jen’.
We had to be at the airport by 7am, (aka: “the crack of dawn” for those of us who are NOT morning people) so the plan was to spend Thursday night at Jen’s & she would drive us to the airport in the morning. As we were packing on Thursday, hubby says “I was thinking about going to a movie with (insert Jen’s husband’s name) tonight.”
*blink*
“Do you think this may not be the best time to entertain yourself since we will still officially have 2 of the kids tonight (at Jen’s house with us) & we are leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow?” He had apparently switched gears into “vacation mode” whereas I was still somewhere between “frantically pack mode” & “what 12 freezer meals am I going to cook for your sister in 8 hours mode.”
About 10 minutes before we were planning on leaving, I decided to make a quick mocha frappuccino in the blender. Hubby was outside watering the tomato plants & I figured I’d better make the frappes fast rather than have him come in & see me starting this & say “Why are you making these NOW?!?! We are trying to get out of here!”
As I was rushing to make it, Zane was standing next to me:
“Can I have a dollar? You said I could have a dollar! I’ve been waiting for hours for a dollar!! When can I have a dollar?! Could you just get it right now?!?! Can I have a dollar? Can I have a dollar? Can I have a dollar? Can I have a dollar …”
You can imagine the “top-notch” condition of my concentration level at this point! I poured everything in the blender & said “FINE! I’ll get you the dollar now!!” and hit the on button on the blender & started to walk out of the kitchen...
As I was rushing to make it, Zane was standing next to me:
“Can I have a dollar? You said I could have a dollar! I’ve been waiting for hours for a dollar!! When can I have a dollar?! Could you just get it right now?!?! Can I have a dollar? Can I have a dollar? Can I have a dollar? Can I have a dollar …”
You can imagine the “top-notch” condition of my concentration level at this point! I poured everything in the blender & said “FINE! I’ll get you the dollar now!!” and hit the on button on the blender & started to walk out of the kitchen...
“KA-BOOM!!!!!”
Are you aware of the fact that if a glass blender jar is not securely fastened to the base of the blender & is turned on to the highest possible setting - that there is a strong possibility that the blender jar could tip just slightly enough for the blade to hit the side of it and cause a rather loud explosion as it shatters into a million pieces & spews 48 ounces of mocha liquid & ice cubes into a rather extensive mess throughout the entire kitchen radius. Perhaps a warning label would be in order regarding this.
Shards of mocha laced glass were everywhere! It managed to hit BOTH walls, the ceiling & everything in between! This was about the time my girlfriend showed up to pick up Georgia for the weekend. We were in total chaos trying to get it cleaned up. The entire countertop & stovetop were completely swimming in it.
*As in: “get on your goggles & your fins” swimming*
And because we were leaving for 4 days – we wanted to make sure every drop got cleaned up & didn’t get left to stink up the house & attract bugs. It took us at least 30 minutes to get the whole thing cleaned up & we ended up just throwing the clean-up towels away being that they had glass shards all in them.
*As in: “get on your goggles & your fins” swimming*
And because we were leaving for 4 days – we wanted to make sure every drop got cleaned up & didn’t get left to stink up the house & attract bugs. It took us at least 30 minutes to get the whole thing cleaned up & we ended up just throwing the clean-up towels away being that they had glass shards all in them.
After we were all cleaned up I realized I had never put the milk away from the frappes – but when I opened the door to the fridge, the light didn’t come on. “Now the light burns out on the fridge? Nice timing.” But then we figured out that it wasn’t the light – the fridge motor wasn’t even running! I thought it must’ve had something to do with a power surge relating to the blender –never mind that the blender had been plugged in across the room—so hubby went to check & see if a fuse had blown/been tripped. The fuses were fine but the outlet wouldn’t work. It had somehow been fried.
Go figure, that 1932 original wiring job wasn’t holding up!
We ended up pulling the fridge out & plugging it in across the room. Refrigerators are the new “centerpiece” of the kitchen you know! Get out some extra tall stools & heck – it even doubles as a kitchen island!
Go figure, that 1932 original wiring job wasn’t holding up!
We ended up pulling the fridge out & plugging it in across the room. Refrigerators are the new “centerpiece” of the kitchen you know! Get out some extra tall stools & heck – it even doubles as a kitchen island!
It was somewhere around this point that hubby mentioned something about being late for his movie.
“Men are from Mars…Women are from Venus…Men are from Mars… Women are from Venus…”
We FI-NA-LLY got out of there some 30+ minutes behind schedule & went to drop off Dach.
This is how the phone call from the car went to my girlfriend:
“Hi! We just left. Sorry, we had a little accident – no, just with a blender. We’ll be there soon. Oh wait! I’ve never been to your house before & I just realized that I don’t even have your address. Where do you live? Oh, and I didn’t feed Dach yet – should I stop & grab something for him? No? Oh, thank you!!”
Of course when we got there – I realized that all of medical release form, important phone numbers list and instructions for Dach were still sitting on my kitchen table! I had to re-write everything down for them. Finally, we left there & raced down toward Jen’s house.
Hubby miraculously was able to make it to his movie (since I dropped him off directly at the theatre) at which point I realized I was out of gas & had to stop.
*Have you ever had one of those dreams where you keep trying to get somewhere, but never make it? Welcome to life with Natalie Johnson!*
“Men are from Mars…Women are from Venus…Men are from Mars… Women are from Venus…”
We FI-NA-LLY got out of there some 30+ minutes behind schedule & went to drop off Dach.
This is how the phone call from the car went to my girlfriend:
“Hi! We just left. Sorry, we had a little accident – no, just with a blender. We’ll be there soon. Oh wait! I’ve never been to your house before & I just realized that I don’t even have your address. Where do you live? Oh, and I didn’t feed Dach yet – should I stop & grab something for him? No? Oh, thank you!!”
Of course when we got there – I realized that all of medical release form, important phone numbers list and instructions for Dach were still sitting on my kitchen table! I had to re-write everything down for them. Finally, we left there & raced down toward Jen’s house.
Hubby miraculously was able to make it to his movie (since I dropped him off directly at the theatre) at which point I realized I was out of gas & had to stop.
*Have you ever had one of those dreams where you keep trying to get somewhere, but never make it? Welcome to life with Natalie Johnson!*
The rest of the night went MUCH more smoothly – especially the part where Jen & I hung out in her hot tub for about an hour!!
Hmmnn, this entry is longer than I expected - I'll have to finish it in a "part 2"...
Monday, August 22, 2005
Retreat pics...
Georgia & Zane have both been telling me they want to get baptized. Here are some pics from our all-church retreat including a couple of them getting baptized in the lake at the retreat. It was a sweet moment!
Here is Georgia, right before she went under:
Zane right as he hit the water:
Here is a couple pics that I took of a guy that goes to our church & his daughter - I like the lighting in these:
Maisie playing the big field:
Campfire...my favorite! I could sit around a campfire singing songs ALL. NITE. LONG.
This is a photo of our senior pastor's wife after she got launched off a huge floating thing in the water called "The Blob". I blurred out the background in my beloved photoshop & I think we might be using this for all of the brochures for next year's retreat:
The kids LOVED the retreat & would like to live there. I'll have to sit down & write real entries about all of this at some point!
Our "holy" photoshoot...
We were able to take the kids to a really great play at a local amphitheatre. The play is called "Jesus of Nazareth" and it runs every Friday & Saturday night during July & August. I actually became a Christian there 18 years ago. It was an amazing experience. Somehow, seeing it all acted out live made everything just "click" for me that night. I had read all the bible stories & the term "Jesus hung on a cross & died for you" had become more of a cliche to me. But somehow - to actually get to SEE it - made it all real for me. It was the single biggest turning point of my life.
Anyway - I have always wanted to take the kids there but wanted to wait until they could understand it &handle it (the cross part). We decided this was the year & we actually ended up getting tickets for half off because of the night that we chose which worked out great! The kids loved it (Dach was a little restless). They have a cast of a couple hundred people & have horses, charriots, camels, sheep, sword fights etc... It's pretty amazing! Here are some pics from it:
This is the beginning where John the Baptist is about to start baptizing people. The pond on the lower left side is actually where I got baptized (after the show) 18 yrs ago!
This part was a Jewish wedding
The Roman Soldiers rolling into town
Jesus riding in on the donkey
Our family during the intermission
After the play, people were allowed to come up on the set & talk to the actors. Dach said "I want to go meet God" We ended up talking to the actor who played Jesus & getting a photo with him. Can you say -2006 Christmas Card?!?!- "This year little Johnny got his molars in & and oh yes...we had a photoshoot with The Messiah!"
Note that my boys were so awestruck by
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)