Uh Wow. That's All I'm Going To Say About This.

Okay, that and this is way more than mildly disturbing.

My genetic defects

Yes, it's true. I'm defective. What's worse is that I passed it along to my children.

Nicole's toes aren't as bad as the other two, so maybe she has a chance of normalcy.
Hopefully they'll be such great swimmers that no one will make fun of them for it.

Neutrality Day

On the radio this morning I heard someone say that it was National Neutrality Day. I haven't seen anything else to say that it is or isn't, but it got me thinking. They had people calling in to talk about what they are completely neutral about. Here's some of the things I really don't have any opinion about:
French fries vs. Steak fries
Fishnet tights
Clear nail polish
Ponchos
Organic anything
Caesar salad
Wool socks
Japanese vs. American Cars
The color Green
Nintendo vs. PlayStation vs. any other video game system
Honeydew Melon
Yearly check-ups at the doctor (for me, not the kids - that's a must)
Gloves vs. Mittens
Refried beans with Nachos
Homeschooling
Hamsters
Turkey on Thanksgiving
and...
what brand of paper towels I use.
So, if you know me at all, you probably know that I am not a terribly opinionated person. There are a few things that I am very opinionated and passionate about and I'll defend them to the death, but for the most part, I could go either way with stuff. If you don't know me that well, now you know me a little better. :-)

I smell like chickens

We went to the pumpkin patch today and spent a lot of time by the chickens. I didn't come near them, but I swear, I can still smell them. Chickens stink. Speaking of stinking, the pictures I took at the pumpkin patch really sucked. Here's some of my favorite bad shots.



There's also a few shots that turned out pretty well. They were so cute. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed having an afternoon out in the sun.

Twilight Party

If you want to see Twilight opening day (November 21) with a bunch of friends, please let me know! My mom is going to rent a whole theater at Cinetopia and have everyone we know there! I think it will be fun to see a movie and know most of the people in the theater. Anyway, it's in the Living Room at Cinetopia and that means lots of leg room, huge comfortable chairs with ottomans and gourmet popcorn. Tickets are $14.25 and I know that sounds like a lot for a movie, but that includes soda and popcorn, so it's really about the same as any other movie. So, if you want to come with us, please let me know so that I can reserve a ticket for you. Hope to see you there!!!!

The Wall is Complete!

For those of you who have been to my house, you may have noticed that I have pictures of my kids with very dirty faces above the high chair. I love these pictures! Now that Tori is eating solid food, I thought it was about time to add her to the "wall of fame". She is such a neat eater! I NEVER use a bib when I feed her because she doesn't spit her food out! Sometimes I put a bib on her after she eats because she likes to spit up, but even that is getting better. So I fed her and then I just gave her the tub of food and the spoon. Now I have a picture of her with a messy face to add to my collection. Here are the pictures of my children (Tyler has carrots on his face, Nicole was eating licorice, and Tori had apples & blueberry baby food).



In other news, Tori got her first tooth! We are very excited. I feel horrible saying this because I know I should be enjoying every day of her baby-hood, but I am so glad she's getting bigger. Soon she'll be crawling and can do a few things for herself. I think she'll be happier then. (I certainly HOPE she'll be happier, I guess only time will tell...)

I got the big snip-snip!

I did it! I chopped off 2/3 of my hair! It feels so good to have all that weight off. I feel like stepping on the scale to see if I actually lost weight or if I just feel lighter! It could be the boot camp class I went to last night (I can barely walk today because of it). Anyway, I feel a little strange because every time I walk past a window or mirror or catch my reflection in something, I am a little startled because I don't really recognize myself yet. I really do like it, even though it looks a little more Katie Holmes-ish than I wanted. You can't really see the back in the pictures, but it's really short and I left it curly. So, basically, I look completely different front to back. From the back you'd never guess that the front is straight, and from the front, you'd never guess that the back is curly! It's nice because I did my hair last night and it still looked good when I woke up this morning! Just a little fluffing and off I went. And the most important thing is I didn't put my hair up for the first time in many, many moons.



In other news, Tori had her first taste of chocolate cake. Let me tell you all a little secret: I'm 27 years old and JUST began my love affair with chocolate cake. Up until now, I really wasn't a fan of the stuff. I'm not sure what changed, but I am basically obsessed with chocolate cake now. All I want to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is cake. Ben made a cake last week that basically sent my mouth on a trip to heaven and back. I left the last slice on the counter and Tori was sitting up there while I was busy doing something in there (don't worry, I kept a close eye on her) when I found her destroying the last piece of cake!!! She loved it, so I couldn't get mad. I guess my waist is a little happier without those calories too.

The weather is getting cooler and I actually had to turn on the heater today. It was so cold in my house that Tyler wouldn't take off his coat when we got home from preschool! So, I broke down and turned on the heater. The kids ran over to the "hot air blower" and sat on the vent. They took turns putting their bare feet on it while "ooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" it was really cute. They also felt the need to recite the pledge of allegiance while they were sitting there (random, I know). They both put their hands on their hearts and recited the whole thing! It looks like they actually learn something at school! It's hard to tell in the picture, but they are sitting on the vent. When the air turned off, they just hopped up and went back to the toy room. Life's simple pleasures....

My Life is Good

It seems like everyone is going through some major crisis right now. People's marriages are falling apart, kids are in treatment centers or running away from home, cheating husbands, financial catastrophes, depression/anxiety/self-loathing (take your pick), and a thousand other things. I don't want to name names, but three of my friends/relatives are having serious marital problems. I know two people who have children in treatment centers, one who has run away from home, one who has gone completely broke because of legal fees, and several people on antidepressants because they just can't handle themselves anymore. (note: sometimes I think antidepressants sound pretty dang good because we all have those days where we'd like a little help being happier. This is not a criticism for people on medication.) To keep this short and sweet, I just want to say that seeing all of these problems has made me realize that my life is pretty dang good right now. Don't worry, I have my own set of problems that you don't want to hear about. But I have a husband who loves me and he does everything in his power to make and keep me happy. He would rather live in California. But guess what! We live here! Why? Because that's where I want to live. He does everything I ask him to do and (almost) never complains. He's very low maintenance, supportive, a great father, and my best friend. I am a very lucky woman to have such a great husband. Imaluvu Benamin.

THIS is why I don't buy school pictures

Okay, the kids had picture day at preschool this week and I didn't buy any. I felt a little bad, but I took pictures of them just before they went to school and I reaffirmed my position that it would have been a waste of money to buy those pictures! I tried my darndest to get those two to smile nicely and look at the camera (at the same time) and this is the best I could do.

Don't get me wrong. I love Tyler's smile, but this isn't his real smile. His real smile is the sweetest thing I've ever seen. It lights up his whole face and he looks so happy, there couldn't possibly be any problems in his life. But this is his "posing face" and it's just not the same.

When you tell Nicole to look at the camera, she does a "posing face" too and she opens her eyes as wide as she can. Again, it's just not the same as her real smile which absolutely melts my heart.
I seriously doubt a school photographer could have gotten them to do any better.

This week

Pretty boring and uneventful week so far. I got peed on twice today, that's pretty awesome. Tyler's teacher looked at me like I was a monster today when I told her I wasn't going to buy any of the school pictures (today was picture day) because they are too expensive. Besides, every picture of Tyler looks exactly the same. So, I wasn't about to spend $80 on mediocre pictures, because, undoubtedly, they wouldn't turn out very well. Also, I got to sleep through the night! That was pretty fantabulous. Tori's crying (big surprise, I know) and Tyler and Nicole are playing princesses. My poor soon-to-be-gay son. (not that there's anything wrong with that)
Anyway, I took some cute pictures of Tyler and Nicole climbing the tree in our front yard. I thought they were so cute up there. Way better than some dumb preschool pictures.




Also, Tori has finally mastered the "stand on Daddy's hand" trick. It's sort of a must in this family. I think at least 1/3 of my baby pictures are of me on my dad's hands. It used to freak me out a little, but I'm over it. I guess that's to be expected since this is my third baby.