Wonderful Wonderland

Well, we think so anyhow.
Saw this in 3D with the little ones and it got 2 thumbs up from everybody.
Is it the movie of the year? Probably not, but if you love your storybook adventures like we do, then you will enjoy it.

And, well, you know that no amount of make-up can make Johnny go wrong for me.

I have seen it 3 times.

No shame.

P.S. When did the scrappy blue-red 3D glasses get the upgrade to plastic ones that actually work and wear well? I was dreading the 3D until I got a pair of those bad boys - now I am all about it!
See it in 3D with the fancy glasses!

All Hail The King!

King of my heart.

King of the TV remote control.

King of the chocolate milk. And don't you forget that. Because if you dare touch the king's chocolate milk,

then off with your head.

And, King of Getting Into Everything.

Seriously, he gets into everything.

Like the bathroom cupboards.

It brings the king great joy to host his own private q-tip and cottonball snowdays right here in Arizona.

And also the freezer.

Because cool things happen to things from the freezer that you hide in other places, like the clothes dryer.

Especially bags of frozen chicken breasts in the clothes dryer.

Great fun.

And my secret stash of Hot Tamales.

(Sorry about that one Your Highness... if I had known the King was so adept at maneuvering counter height stools to upper kitchen cabinets I may have chosen to crave a less spicy treat. Or hide it better...)

And, today,

Ah, yes,

today he was the king of getting into the teensy space between the driver's seat of my car and the console, from which he extracted my cell phone so that he could call Dora the Explorer.

(!)

Yep, the same cell phone that has been missing for about 4 days.

Royal treatment earned.

The End.

O' Cell Phone, Where Art Thou?

Ever lose your cell phone, but not realize it until the battery had run down?

Stinks to be me right now.

P.S. If you need me, don't call my cell phone.

(Until further notice.)

(Hopefully nearer than further notice.)

If I used swear words, I would cut one loose right now.

I DO NOT Like Green Eggs & Ham...

And you shouldn't either. 

For example:

IF your family decided to go on a 4 day roadtrip,

and IFduring the early morning hours on the first day of the roadtrip your parents bought 6 Breakfast Jack sandwiches from Jack in the Box for breakfast-on-the-go,

and IF only five of the six sandwiches were eaten that morning because your little sister wasn't really hungry that morning...

I'm just saying...

IF, on the way home from your roadtrip during the evening hours of day four you discover that your sister had stashed her Breakfast Jack from day number one under the seat of the car,

and IF you realized that dinner time was nearing and you were feeling quite hungry,

IF this happened to you,

I would still recommend that you pass on eating the 4-day-old Breakfast Jack.

Strongly.

And,

had he asked,

I would have advised my eldest son the same thing.

And now he knows why.

Shortly after arriving home from seven hours on the road, my son experienced several rounds of the most spastic hurling he had ever known.

And I experienced the cleaning up of the first several rounds of it.

Once color returned to his face, my son recounted a not-so-hypothetical story about a boy and a petrified Breakfast Jack very similar to the example I just shared with you.

Very, very similar.

I would be a little grumpy right now except for the part at the end, when my son says to me "Mom, I am so sorry, you probably would have told me not to eat it.  I should listen to you more."

And then the angels started singing.

You can't buy that kind of education.

The End.

Buzz...

Merry Christmas!!

I have missed you! 
I hope that you are making wonderful moments with your friends and family like I am.

I am looking forward to spending more time with you in the New Year.  Until then, well, my holiday hiatus continues while I eat pie, then go to the gym to work off the pie... play with my kids, then hide the toys without volume control... make lovely meals presented on lovely tables to serve to lovely people... lovely lovely lovely... 

Be back soon!!
X's and O's

My Theme For The Week:

And I just love this one...

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

-Scholar, Joseph Campbell

It's All About the Ice Addiction...

The hundreds of naughty late-night runs to Sonic...

The gallons of Diet Dr. Pepper consumed...

(Be honest - Diet Dr. Pepper does not truly capture the essense of  "The Original Taste That I Love So".)

What keeps us running out at 10:38 P.M.

on nights when we really should be sleeping

because tomorrow is a holiday which means no school

which means all kids at home

which means I will need energy

and therefore sleep...

What keeps us running out to Sonic

paying for AND drinking soda that I do not love

on nights like tonight

is crunchy ice balls.

And large red straws.

But mostly the ice balls.

(I come from a lineage of notorious ice-chompers.)
(We promise not to do it if we are out to eat with you.)

I chug down soda after soda as a necessary evil to get to the ice.

Sonic + Ice Balls = Genius.

I would give up my car if I could have a freezer that made ice like Sonic.

I wouldn't need it anymore because perfect little ice balls would already be in my house 

(chilling every drink and not just bad soda)

negating any need for late night Sonic runs.

Is there a 12-Step Program for my ice addiction?

Happy Birthdays!

Two people I love are celebrating today!
You know who you are.

I Love you!

Love, Me.

Tricked-Out for Treats!

Happy Halloween!

Our family is still recovering from a weekend of sugar highs and subsequent crashes.  It is a lovely thing when Halloween  falls on a weekend.  I don't feel the need to pin disclaimer notes to my childrens' backpacks for what their teachers are about to experience...

For Example:

**Teacher Beware!**

Kids + Holiday + Sugar + Lack of Sleep + School = Disaster

I would keep my children home after holidays like these, except for that teensy part of me that considers these times payback for randomly scheduled half-days and teacher development vacations.

Ah well, this year we all got off easy. 

About The Costumes:

Grandma Loree decided to have a "Choose your own costume" theme party at her home, where the kids got to assemble costumes out of stuff she had "around". 

I am big enough to admit that I did not even need to see the costumes and I was already a little scared.

I am also big enough to admit when I am wrong.

(This time.) 

(Don't get used to it.)

The home-grown costumes were GREAT!

Have a look-see:

Secret Agent J

Dancing Queen:

My Mini Wahine.

Grandma Loree:

I thank you. 
My pocketbook thanks you.
Yay for grandmas!

Isaac adhered himself to this little lion costume during a trip to Old Navy a couple of months ago:

Little Lion

And I, I opted for the cop-out of diving into my dance gear for a costume. 

I love that I have several feet worth of hair, fake eyelashes, and flamenco roses at my daily disposal around the house. 

Note to self: Authentic flameco shoes are not designed for walking miles and miles while trick-or-treating with the kids.

The night ended with an intense round of commodity trading. 

.

Also, there were the customary parental fees and losses.

Especially Tootsie Rolls and Laffy Taffy which I convinced the children would cure my aching feet. 

(Okay, they weren't wholly convinced.)

(But I actually did feel better after eating a pound of Tootsie Rolls & Laffy Taffy.) 

(Try it.)