Guaranteed to make him cry....

He cried. I didn't expect him to, but he did.

Men are generally the stronger species. At least they are emotionally. Of course there are times when it is understandable when they do cry....

...their wedding day.
...the birth of their child.
...death of a loved one.
...kidney stones.

But in general, they don't cry over the simple stuff.

So you can imagine my shock when he opened his birthday gift....and he cried. So what was this amazing gift? What did I give him that touched him to the core?

Some men are just sentimental about their kitchen appliances.

Burn, Baby, Burn

Did I ever tell you about the time my parents tried to kill me? No? Really? How did this never come up? I guess most people try to hide those type of family secrets. Not me. I post 'em for all the world to see.

I was about 3 years old. I was little. I was cute. Pretty much everyone loved me. You know the type.

My parents had been pulling weeds all day. This totally proves premeditation, if you ask me. Who pulls weeds on a nice warm spring afternoon? I mean, really? And to make it worse, they put them all into one pile. One very large, pile of home grown weeds.

They pulled out the jug of gasoline and began dowsing the pile. I should have run the other direction. I should have called 911...only there was no such thing as 911. Well, there were 9's and 1's, of course. I am not that old. But if you dialed them together no-one would come to your rescue. Also, I was 3 years old.

Oh, they did all the things they should have done. You know, like lining all of us kids up against the house and saying very sternly, "Stay there. This is going to be very hot and very dangerous. So just stay there."

But, again,  I was three. And wild horses couldn't have kept me from my mommy. And so the minute they lit the match and threw it on the soaked weeds was the same minute I decided I could not spend one more minute on the wall.

"Poof!" went the weeds. "Poof!!" went my leg.

First I was taken to the bathtub...an ice cold tub. Then rushed to the doctor and given some type of wrapping. I healed. There are no visible scars. 

But to this day, the smell of burning weeds is one of the worst smells in the world. I hate it. It makes me sick.

Maybe because it reminds me of the day my parents tried to kill me...

Get a whiff....

What does your hometown smell like?
Some people live the middle of a city, where cars and buses and taxis busy the streets. I can imagine that place smells quite exhaust-y.

Others live on the beach, where sand and waves and tourists frequent. I assume that place smells ocean-y.

Still others live on or near farms, where cows and horses and pigs and other animals roam freely. Surely that place smells...manure-y.

In the mountains, pine-y.
In hospital, disinfected-y.
In the dessert, dry-y.
In Alaska, snow-y.
In the sewer....er...who lives there?? Ninja turtles! Hello!!

Tonight, as I stepped out of the door at my work, I smelled this:

or maybe it was....

but I wouldn't rule out....

Sometimes the air is just plain....delicious. Living near a General Mills plant has it's benefits.

However, finding this stuck to one of your marshmellows isn't one of them.

Ugh!

As long as they know...

So how was your Valentine's Day?

Are you amazing and make homemade gifts/cards for your kids' class parties? Do you make red pancakes in the shape of a heart and put strawberries and whipped cream on top? Do you make something totally fantastic for each of your children so they know you love them?

If you do, you are amazing.

Me? I bought Lucky Charms and Reece's Puffs for breakfast...because that totally says "I love you" in a big way.

I went to Target yesterday (Feb 13) and let me kids choose the cheapo valentine's cards....we got two Power Rangers packs, and two Spy Decoder packs. I think I spent $8. Awesome.

I gave my kids orange Crush for their valentine and told them "I have a Crush on you in a big way." That's as creative as I get.

You know what I have discovered? It really doesn't matter how you tell your family that you love them. Whether it is big and extravagant or small and simple, it mattereth not. The important thing is that they know you love them.

And love my family, I do. They are a bit crazy at times and somewhat loud most the time. We laugh and play, argue and fight. But in the end we're family.

And even when it's hard...

...we love.

Instagram post

I love Instagram. It's like a picture journal. So, because I have nothing else prepared to share with you, I thought I would post pictures.


Don't you think that every post should start with something chocolate? Totally, right? This was the Chocolate Potato Cake I made for our recipe group. It was so moist. You can find the recipe here.

"...because sometimes sorry looks like this." My Brody. I love him so much. This is the child that brings me to my knees...often. I just haven't quite figured out how to help him know and feel that I love him dearly. Sigh. Why don't they just come with instructions, I will never know.

Kobe. He loves sports. He tries real hard. He has made so much improvement. Unfortunately for him, he inherited his parents' lack of tall. He's going through a hard time trying to figure out what he likes and what he's good at. As a mother, it's tough to just let him figure things out.

I'm head over heals for this one. We had a special date to the mall. I had totally forgotten that they have these play areas there. It kind of made me feel bad, because when we lived in AZ we spend many a morning in the mall play areas. Mostly because it was too hot by 8am to go. I think being the last child has it's disadvantages...not going to the mall is one of them. I mean, look how happy he is the be there!

I went to career day with my first grader. It's so fun to watch these little ones be so facinated by the simplest things. Of course I think Camden is the cutest one there. So here's the question. It doesn't matter the situation, whenever I go into my kids class, I always get all teary-eyed. Do you do that?

This is just a picture of the book I am reading this month. It's pretty good. I can totally relate to some of the things that this boy talks about. I would recommend it if you are looking for a good read.

Not bad for a 4 year old, right?

I just think it is really attractive when he plays with our kids. Don't you?

This is one of our family's favorite games. "The Sock Game." (orignal, aren't we.) Everyone has on two pairs of socks. The goal is to be the last one with a sock on your foot. You try to get everyone else's socks off their feet while at the same time protecting your own. There are rules: no standing up, no pulling your sock back up, no leaving the room, and no hurting other people. Eventually, that last rule is broken, but it is still one of the funnest games we have played.

Kyla is really coming into herself. She is quite witty. I love that her funny side is showing itself more and more. I love her to death!

Our one snow day that was really only a two hour delay and probably shouldn't have even been that. But at least we got one. Yay!

I'm sorry. That's just weird

I was listening to the radio this evening and heard an advertisement for a huge valentine bear. "Make her Valentine's big with this huge stuffed Valentines Day bear."

Really? An over-sized, stuffed, Valentines Day bear?

 I am just curious...do you know any grown woman who is just hoping that her significant other is going to buy her an enormous stuffed bear?

Are you that woman? If you are, you should probably stop following me. Kidding. Really. Don't do that.

But seriously. What do you do with it? Surely he wouldn't have given it to you so that you could cuddle up to it instead of him. I am pretty sure that would defeat his purpose completely. Do you place it on your freshly made bed every morning? Do you get professional pictures with it and then frame it and give it to him next year?

Seriously. What would a grown woman do with a huge stuffed bear? I mean don't most women want some nice flowers, a nice dinner, maybe some chocolate (Maybe? Okay, "You're dead to me if I don't get chocolate" is slightly more accurate) and time with their special person? Isn't that the norm?

But a bear? The only thing that I can think I would do with something like that is terrorize my children. Now that would be fun.

"Time for bed kids!"
"Ahhh, Mom. Can't we please watch a movie."
"Nope. Bed time. Skidattle."
"Please......."
Deep growly, slightly disturbing voice, "I said...'GET IN BED!!'"
"...oh no. Not that. RUN! It's Scary Bear!!!!"

He would come in handy when there were disobedient children. Great for kids who refuse to eat the veggies. Definitely handy for those times when the whining just won't stop. Oh, yes. Scary bear would be perfect for any mother with more than one child.

But as a turn on....not so much.

This may be why Hubs has never gotten me an over-sized stuffed bear for Valentine's Day.

He knows I have a dark side.

So I Married a Deaf Man: Super cool specs

I love going to the movies. Especially the 3D ones.

Okay, that's a lie.

I don't love 3D movies. I'm not impressed with them at all. If I am going to pay and arm and a leg to watch a 3D movie, I want to feel the wind in my face, the water in my hair, the sand in my toes, a breath on my cheek. I want to weave and bob in the action scenes. I want to flinch at the explosions. I want to actually feel like I am there.

In my opinion, 3D movies are overrated and overpriced. But then again I am a tightwad and a cheapskate. Anyone with me on this one?

That being said, you do get to sit in a movie theatre full of people wearing interesting glasses. That's the only plus side for me.

Except, I get that no matter what movie I go to. At least I do if Hubs comes with me. You see, they now have some pretty amazing glasses for Deaf people who go to the movies.

They look like this:



What happens is the words are shown across the glasses. So instead of having to look down at the captioning device that hooks into the drink holder, he can look directly at the screen and watch the movie while reading the captioning.

Convenient, right? Plus he gets to look hot in these super cool, ever-coveted, slightly larger than life glasses. Bet you wish you had a pair of these.

Ummm....ahem....yeah...me too.

But at least I'm not interpreting movies anymore.