Wish Kristin Happy Birthday.

Wish Kristin Happy Birthday.

Today is my best friend from high school's 28th birthday. I have a tradition of thoroughly embarassing her for her birthday--gifts given at school that were wrapped nicely and ripped open in front of a crowd only to be packaged again in feminine product boxes, envelopes sent in the mail with pictures of her in her skimmies on the outside--I was a great friend like that. We live across the country from each other and I so rarely get to see her and miss her tons, but this year I decided a photo tribute on my blog would still keep the tradition in place.

Happy Birthday, KristOn!

Send swap package.

Send swap package.

I signed up for this swap a few weeks ago--the idea behind it was basically, you find 3 "mellow" (this is up to interpretation) items in the same color family, send them to a stranger you are assigned who also signed up for the swap, and receive a package of the like in return.

What's not cool about sending gifts to/receiving gifts from a stranger?

My stranger was particularly cool and I received the nicest package full of pink hues! She was even thoughtful enough to include a little something for my kiddos, which they were, and still are, thrilled about.

We must have been on the same wave length because I sent her pinks too! Here is the pic she took when she received it--to my relief, (as far as I can tell) nothing is broken!

Thanks again so much, Laura! Check out all the swap photos on Flickr here.

Play Guitar Hero.

Play Guitar Hero.

I knew I would love this game.

What I didn't know was I would love "kickin' my husband's trash" in a video game even more.

Our friends came over and introduced us to the phenomenon last night, inspiring my husband to buy one (well, two) first thing this morning for our house (no doubt so he can practice, beat me, and reclaim his video game supremacy), and also inspiring my friend to start her own sure-to-be awesome blog, "Sue's Fun In the Sun", here.

Vote for American Idol.

Vote for American Idol.

American Idol finally convinced me to vote last night by promising to donate money for my votes. Blake Lewis all the way baby!

Then the fine representations of my southern homeland on the show tonight convinced me to make my own donation.

Well it was either them or Jack Black's awesome rendition of Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" and the reaction of Black's biggest fan in the audience who was crying, holding his own rose. Classic.

Throw big party.

Throw big party.

I've been wanting to throw a big party and I pulled the "birthday card" to guilt Jake into agreeing to an 80's-Themed Murder Mystery this past weekend.

How can 30 people decked out in neon colors, jelly bracelets, acid wash jean jackets, biker shorts, and crimped side ponytails NOT have a good time?

Add to that a little role-playing, murder solving, and of course breaking out the running man to Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now"--it doesn't get much better than that.

These pictures are courtesy of the awesome looking friends pictured in the second photo. I thought my camera was broken so I didn't take any pictures. Turns out I had just put the batteries in wrong (those AA batteries are complicated) but that's another story. . .

Lenny and Linda . . . er, My hubby and I . . . we were characters in an 80s band Jake named "Crying Heart" (you can't see it but those are tears and a heart scrawled on his face).

"Mark" and "Maria" in their like, totally awesome outfits!

They look innocent enough, but the two assasins on the left (even the one on crutches) murdered about half the party before it was over. And stole their victim's loot, giving them the most money at the end and winning them the acclaimed DVD "Teen Wolf". Oh yeah, Michael J. Fox at his best.

I wish I had pictures of everyone. Mostly so I could use them later as blackmail.

Rock on Crying Heart!

Watch TiVo-ed comedy.

Watch TiVo-ed comedy.

When events of the world hit me strongly, I think it's healthy to release some of that stress through laughter. You probably already know this, but in case you don't, these are the 3 best laugh-out-loud shows on TV to do so:

Doogie Howser --as he will always be known to me--totally makes this show. We watched the re-run episode with Lily as the hunchback stalker last night, seriously, so funny.

Buy mullet wig.

Buy mullet wig.

I bought this new mullet wig on eBay and really, really hope it arrives in time for Jake to wear to our 80's party Saturday.

Download songs.

Download songs.

My own tiny little shuffle (perfect for running with- I don't do arm straps) was finally delivered (blue was totally the right color-choice) and I am especially happy with my engraving word-choice on the back :

"michelle rocks"

(get it? get it?)

I am now faced with the impossible quandry of which song to honor by downloading it first- Suggestions?

Throw out mouthwash.

Throw out mouthwash.

Coincidence the three of us using this product were sick the entire month we were using it? Guess not.

Thanks, Doc, for recommending I poison my kids.

Play with Kids.

Play with Kids.

The Easter Bunny brought each of my kids a great toy.

My favorite is this Barbie.

Taylor saw an advertisement on TV and loved it. It crossed my mind to consider whether it was some kind of SNL commercial. Alas, it was not.

Let me tell you how it works. You open the dog's mouth by lifting its tail and feed him the tiny magnetic "treats". You then push down his tail and the "treats" come out the other end.

That's right. But the good times don't end there.

Barbie, the community-conscious diva she is, then properly scoops up the mess with her magnetic pooper scooper rod, and deposits it in the doggy trash. The treat-turned-mess then falls through the trash into the conveniently located doggy treat box, ready to be recycled again for hours of pooper-scooping fun.

After viewing the commercial, I told Taylor is was kind of weird. She said, "yeah, but I really want it."

And after playing with her all morning, I admit it is strangely entertaining. Good call, Easter Bunny.

Work out.

Work out.

Not being able to run on this sprained ankle is driving me crazy.

Does anyone know of a worthwhile workout I can do?

Ice Foot.

Ice Foot.

A friend invited me to meet her with my kids at the gymnastics gym for "open gym" yesterday. My kids needed to exude some energy so 15 minutes later, I was out the door, kids in tow.

I was excited for my kids as I took off their shoes and socks and they looked wide-eyes in anticipation at the rock climbing wall, padded obstacle course, trampoline, and of course, the foam pit.

Then it happened. One of the instructors said to me, with way too much nonchalance for my reaction, "Adults are allowed to play on all the equipment too."

I held back for a bit. I bounced with my kids on the trampoline. I hung on the rings. I walked on the balance beam. But two things were calling me. The open spring floor and the climbing rope/foam pit.

I haven't done a roundoff backhandspring since my cheerleading days and even then, it wasn't all that pretty. But I have been dreaming of the chance to try it again on a spring floor for years. So I did it. Twice. And landed on my feet, (thank you, thank you), which was my only goal.

Up next: Climbing rope and foam pit.

I waited in line with the 6-year olds for my turn on the rope. I was pretty sure my weak arms would merit me, at most, two hefts up before I plunged in the soft foam below. But what I had forgotten was the techique involved of using your lower body as well. When those elementary school contest-winning skills came back to me, I was up the rope in no time.

Then came the fall into the soft foam below.

. . .Or the not so soft foam. Seems I weigh a BIT more than the 8-year old I saw do this before me and more weight=more momentum=more force=sprained ankle.

The doctor put it in a splint and I'm just hoping it heals in time for me to at least jog the 5K in two weeks I've paid for.

But I'm told the fall was really cool looking and I totally showed up those other 6-year olds.

Water plants.

Water plants.

My father-in-law and his wife asked if we would keep their plants when they moved to another, hotter, state last month. I warned them that, no doubt about it, they would be dead when they returned for them.

I was not joking even a little.

I cannot keep plants alive for the life of me. I either forget about them and they die or I worry about them to much and overcare for them and they die. I have killed bamboo before and that's pretty hard to do.

But, as most kids are, my children are fascinated by seeds and plants. I taught Taylor the process of photosynthesis (and the intellectual-sounding words that come along with it) when she was only two. So, conceding to their begging, I allowed them to pick out a seed packet at the store and we came home and planted them and placed them in the kichen windowsill. At the kids' persuasion, I even picked a packet for myself. We put them in color-coordinated cups so we would know whose was whose.

Over the past three days, two of the colored cups have begun to sprout beautifully.

One shows no sign of life. Any guess whose cup that is?

Go on a cruise.

Go on a cruise.

My mother-in-law called us from the Gulf of Mexico Sunday to wish my hubby a happy birthday (Happy Birthday, hun) and to tell us about what happened that day on her cruise.

Buy new stroller.

Buy new stroller.


Since the mouse ate through our double stroller and I promptly disposed of it, I was on the prowl for a new one. Not just any double stroller, but the perfect double stroller.

I was looking for something that wasn't too big for small aisles at the malls (like my jogging stroller), something that could still handle long casual strolls outdoors (like the zoo), but something that was comfortable enough the kids would actually stay put in it (unlike my Sit-N-Stand stroller, where I end up pushing the stroller, holding one kid, and holding the other's hand).

I was at Toys-R-Us when unexpectedly, I found it-- The Fisher-Price Kid Utility Vehicle. The name alone is so cool I knew I had to have it. But when my kids saw it and went crazy for it, I was certain it was the stroller for us. Since I eventually bought it online, and will not be returning it, I have to like it. So I do. And here are my reasons why:

The kids sit facing each other, which keeps them entertained, the seats are super-padded and comfortable, it has off-road wheels, and it pulls like a wagon (which is perfect for me as I am one of those people who pulls the grocery cart from the front at the grocery store because pushing it just isn't comfortable, and certainly doesn't look as cool).

I think it will be the perfect stroller for Disneyland. So now I suppose we have to go.

The Cons:

It is hard to take downhill, so it is not a stroller for say, my neighborhood which consists solely of steep hills. I was going to take the kids to the park in it. I turned around half-way.

It folds up compactly and simply, but it is much more complicated and time-comsuming than flipping a latch and pushing it together.

I guess there's always a price that comes, though, with being cool.

Do Laundry.

Do Laundry.

It was a good thing the family had so much fun at the birthday party because that night was spent cleaning up round after round of kid vomit.

I spent the entirety of that night holding towels under Chase's mouth (a method my hubby was skeptical of but, as I saw it, my only option as my 2-year old refused to use a bowl).

The next day was my turn. Then my daughter's.

Needless to say we had a LOT of laundry piled up on the laundry room. I was once again self-assured I made the right decision on splurging for my new washer and dryer, which are AWEsome and (yay!) I finally get a chance to blog about.

The washer holds 23 towels! So freakin' awesome. (It is the set pictured above, though this is not my photo as my washer and dryer are not displayed in my living room. But how cool is it that they could be?)

I still had to do like 6 rounds of laundry to catch up. Now I just need a machine that folds and puts away . . .

Have more fun.

Have more fun.


We went to a birthday party last week for a friend's daughter at Bouncin' off the Walls --basically a huge warehouse filled with gianormous inflatable slides and obstacle courses . . . so pretty much heaven on earth for any kid.

The best part is adults are allowed to play too. The kids all had a blast but I'm pretty sure Jake and I had more fun (and made bigger fools of ourselves) than any kid there. Thanks, Mark and Amy!

Set Clocks Forward.

Set Clocks Forward.




Best idea ever. If it was so easy to change the law to give us even more daily sunlight, why oh why wasn't this done decades ago?





My only, ONLY concern is the affect this will have on the glow-in-the-dark costume industry for Halloween trick-or-treating, now that there will be less hours of candy gathering in the darkness.





Is it because of all the talk about global warming and saving energy?





And the even bigger question: Is Al Gore going to take credit now for inventing this too?

Brush kids' teeth better.

Brush kids' teeth better.

When I took Taylor in for her Kindergarten doctor's exam (yikes!), the doctor asked me if she brushed her teeth by herself. I laughed and told him my kids will be teenagers before I trust them to brush their own teeth.

He recommended this new product I hadn't heard of yet. It's a listerine mouth wash that tastes good, has all the benefits of listerine, and coolest part--it tints the plaque in your mouth blue.

Remember those red tabs from 80's elementary school dental care assemblies (or was that just my school who had those every year)? Same principle but with a way cooler name and color.

Now, my kids are going on 3 and 5 and turns out the process of rinshing your mouth and spitting is still too abtract for them, but I think it's a great idea for older kids. And I found myself using it for kicks too. Pretty cool stuff.

Catch Mouse!

Catch Mouse!

When we moved into our new house last fall, we were told all the new home construction in the mountains had stirred the field mouse population and to expect to run across one in our garage or basement.

We did see a little one in our garage when we were moving in. He ran away before we could catch him and seen from a distance, the little thing was kinda cute.

When I realized this weekend there was one living in my CAR, totally creeped out, any memories I had involving cuteness towards the nasty creatures vanished.

We suspect he made his way into my car from the field, to our garage, to the stroller (which we sometimes store in the garage), to the car. I became aware of his presence when I found my half-marathon training schedule, which I had left in the backseat, chewed into suspiciously-looking nest-like shreds.

I went to the store and purchased every kind of mouse trap they had. I then left it to my hubby to rid my car of the beast.

My hubby had a preference for the traditional snapping mouse trap so he dotted two of these traps with the suggested peanut butter, set the triggers, and placed them in my car.

The next morning he checked the traps. The traps remained un-triggered, sitting exactly as before. With one exception. The peanut butter was licked clean.

Tricky little devil. I might expect such advanced thinking from a more experienced rodent, such as, say, a city rat. But a field mouse? My hatred toward the creature, now a clever adversary, grew stronger.

I took it into my own hands to dot two of the sticky traps from my mouse trap collection with peanut butter and place them strategically in the car. And I waited.

About 10 o'clock last night Jake checked on the traps. A little confused, he came in and asked me where I had placed them. I told him. He said one was still there, but the other was missing. Completely gone.

Back into the car and armed with only a flashlight, my hubby,and manly hunter, found the mouse. With its front paws stuck to the trap, he was under the driver's seat desperately trying to flee using only his hind legs.

Jake put him in a cardboard box, still stuck to the trap, while we tried to figure out what to do with him. We laughed when we noticed that although stuck and desperately fleeing for his life, the mouse had still taken advantage of his position and licked the peanut butter clean. We battled our sudden feelings of humanity toward the creature and our more dominent feelings of disgust.

Disgust won. He won't be coming back.