Come Find Me

smooch

Movie Quote Monday

Last night we (Laurie, all the kids except Ethan, and I) watched The Lady in the Water. That was the last of our Mid Night Sham fest. Has anyone seen The Happening yet? I'd be interested to know what you think about it.
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"I draw... people smiling, dogs running, rainbows. They don't have meetings about rainbows."
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"Some magic's real."
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"Stop looking at me. I don't like people looking at me like that."
And, of course: "I see dead people"

smooch

They Say It's Your Birthday

Today, I packed the kids in the car and headed up to Fry Road's Northwest Park, which boasts a rough and rumble type of playground, hiking trails, and picnic shelter with ample seating for all your skeletons in the closet. This is My Mama (with my cheesy father and nephew Josiah). She just turned 54 on Wednesday. She was 20 when she gave birth to me. You do the math. Can we count that as a school day?
Annie is so good at coupons. Yesterday she bought $197 worth of groceries for $7. Joni and I tried to listen up close like and glean from her knowledge. I'm learning. I think it looks fun, but time consuming. I'll keep you posted on my new hobby and we'll see if I can be as cool as her.

"Are you really taking another picture of me, Mom?" Isn't she pretty? Hopefully this will make up for the "Dr. Calla" picture.

This is Joni's oldest son, my nephew, Sammy. He had just bit his tongue and was speechless. Looks like an up and coming GAP model if you ask me."Hi there, tomatoes. My name's Katie. Whadda ya say we get to know each other a little better over a ranch cocktail?""I prefer to do everything backwards." Teige loves climbing up the slide this way. It's much more rewarding that using the ladder and less scary.

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No pics Molly, Becky, and Abbie. The find one another and it's a hidden gigglefest. You can hear them, but you can't see them.

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Below is a video of my brother-in-law, Brian, telling Katie a story about a cracker and it was really cute. So, I decided to film it and he started getting more "hammy". Try not to get distracted by my laughing or my Dad's chitter chatter in the background. Press pause on the playlist at the bottom of the page and join my followers list on the sidebar =>, if you haven't already done so, before watching.

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Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.

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smooch

Cute Shirts and Dr. Calla

This is the beginning of the meltdown that cuppycake experienced last week. I just love this shirt. Katie is almost two. Molly got it for a third birthday present - shown below with the tags still on it.

Isn't amazing how much the two of them look a like? Isn't also amazing how clean and new my sofa looks here.

My Uncle David was in town a few years back (like 4) and Calla was hamming it up as usual to win his affections. She'll kill me when she finds I've posted this, so it's been nice knowing you. I doubt she'll ever become a doctor. She leans more toward the talents of flipping quarters off her elbow like our friend Paul.

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This day has grabbed me and dragged me along. I had a nice break this morning before work grabbing breakfast with Jeff. I'm now waiting for Molly to get off the bus so that I can pick Calla up from art lessons so that I can take them to dance lessons so that I can come home and make dinner so that I can wash dishes. Yay! Dishes.

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Annie~I'll post your hand tomorrow if I can.

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smooch

Mama, my e-awk is broken

Below is a picture of Teige's first fohawk. The boy had crazy hair from the beginning and it was good. He has always been very sensitive about his hair. When he was two months old, anytime there was made mention of his hair being anything but pristine, he would bawl like a...well, like a baby, of course. Here is Teige's latest mohawk. Last November, I remember we were getting ready to give him his first "real" mohawk after we got our family portrait done. We had set a date have them taken and it got cancelled. The following day, Teige cut a huge chunk his bangs and our plans were dashed. Not to mention, he sported a spiffy bur in our portrait (see right).

Teige loves mohawks. He calls them "e-awks". When in need of some product, he'll come up to me, tug on my jeans, and say "Mama, my e-awk is broken." Just about breaks your heart, I tell ya.

smooch

Movie Quote Monday

"What a deeply scandalous thing to say. I insist you take that back."

"Sometimes we don't do things we want to do so that others won't know that we want to do them."

"Do you wonder what your color is? Well, I won't tell you. It's not lady like to speak of such things. You shouldn't have even asked."

Ivy: "...When we are married, will you dance with me? I find dancing very agreeable. Why can you not say what is in your head?"

Lucius: "Why can you not stop saying what is in yours? Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance I will ask you to dance. If I want to speak I will open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak further. Why? What good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come from my saying that I sometimes cannot think clearly or do my work properly? What gain can rise of my telling you the only time I feel fear as others do is when I think of you in harm? That is why I am on this porch, Ivy Walker. I fear for your safety before all others. And yes, I will dance with you on our wedding night. "

This movie has recently made it's way into my heart and onto my top 10 list. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.

smooch

Eye Splinters

Thursday, I had a visit with my hair artist, Stephanie. When we do this hair cut she razors the ends and then blows it out. She usually says, "Close your eyes." She didn't, so I didn't. I ended up with tons of teeny tiny hairs in my eyeballs which has resulted in major irritation and a mild infection. Let's see, Friday, the kids and I hung out. Jeff and I watched Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightly version, not the Collin Firth one, which I'm told is also good.)

My kiddos spent the rest of the weekend with the exes. Saturday morning I was up bright and early to watch Jeff run in a 15K. I forgot the camera. Lost some brownie points there. Hmmm. I stole a picture of him running a different race off of Laurie's blog. You'll have to picture him like this, but covered in blood and mud, because it was a trail race. It rained pretty much all of Friday here in Indy, so Saturday morning found the trails a slippery pudding-like mess. Here's a more recent photo of Jeff during his trip to Oregon, this past summerSaturday night, I went to Patria and then watched The Village with friends. Tonight the kids are home safe and snug, where they belong. I miss them when they are gone and am always relieved when they are within these four walls again. (Well there's like 40 walls within our home, but you get the picture).

Anyway, great weekend for all here. Hope you enjoyed yours as well.

smooch

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

It's autumn. Contrary to the popular Christmas song, I believe the fall is the most wonderful time of the year. And while I LOVE Christmas, Thanksgiving holds it's own in our family. My mom makes everything special. She is an advocate of the Norman Rockwell way of life. It's not only about looking good with her, though. We MUST have fun.

This is a picture of my Grandpa Reneer. Oh, how I miss him. In the case that you are wondering, yes that is a bingo card. Mom made up this game a really long time ago called Turkey Bingo. She wraps up all these presents and stacks them just out of reach. Really, it looks like Christmas has come early! When you call "Bingo" you get to pick a present. Some of the gifts have a turkey in them or a turkey sticker on them somewhere. If you get a turkey, you get to "steal" another gift that you've been coveting in your sister's pile. You know the one that she's trying futilely to hide under her chair. This is the one time of the year that my ex came in handy. He ALWAYS got the turkeys and he always let me choose how he would "spend" the turkey. (It's good to remember the good times, too.) My brother-laws-can get quite obnoxious, but no one is more competitive than me when it comes to this game. We all kiss and make up in the end, though. It kind of makes you want to be part of my family, doesn't it?
This was 2004, we had just bought the house and Mom and Dad where living an apartment while their house was being finished. So, I got to host. I had fun being an amateur Martha Stewart, but Mom's shoes are HARD to fill. She always makes it look so easy. (I'm sitting here crying as I type. Calla just came in and asked if I needed a hug.) I'm kind of a neurotic control freak when I'm in charge of doing stuff like this. If I remember correctly, Brian (my ex) spent the day in bed puking. I think he was probably sick of me bossing him around. I never said I was perfect. This is Molly at age 3. She still missed her old house at this point. I loved this outfit from Target. Once she grew hair, she was the cutest thing ever. She's probably sitting here thinking, "My mom is a control freak. I hope I don't spill anything today."

My beautiful, blogging, coupon cutting, sister, Annie, sitting here with

her hubby Brian.Here's Joni, the Arlene of this trio of sisters (if you get that one, let me know). She's always the fashion icon at our gatherings, even in jeans and a tee. She drives a Ford-F350 with a gun rack in the back. Don't mess with this debutante.

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I'm looking forward to the fall and winter with my kids, my family and friends, new and old.

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9/11

Seven years ago today, we were eating leftover chili in our pajamas, with our eyes glued to the tele. Calla's soccer game got cancelled and Brian didn't have to go to work. I still can't go downtown without seeing a plane running into a building. That day was one of the worst days of my life. More foundations than those of the twin towers where obliterated that day.

smooch

Super Powers

Just a thought that crossed my mind today:

Wouldn't it be nice if your words had sonar attached to them so that you could "feel" what other people felt when they heard them? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone else had this same ability? I'm guessing that wouldn't make a very interesting super hero, though. What are your favorite super heroes?

Mine are:

1) Wolverine
2) Robbin (Never given the credit truly due to him)
3) Batman
4) Elastigirl
5) Magneto (Although, he's a super villain. I keep praying for him to get saved-snicker)

Do you know there are actually quacks out there who DO pray for people on Soap Operas to get saved, get healed, get back together with their spouses, etc...? I saw it on Dr. Phil once, so it must be true.

Okay, I know these are some random thoughts. If you only knew some of the ones that I'm not typing...

smooch

Movie Quote Monday

"We are men of action. Lies do not become us"

Did I ever mention that I love movie lines? I'm sure if you know me at all, you have experienced a time when I have interjected a random line into a conversation. You're looking at me like, "I don't get it." I'm looking at you like, "Why are looking at me like that. That was completely pertinent." Note to you: Just smile and ask, "What movie was that from?"

Here are some more lines from this particular movie:

"I don't think that means what you think it means."

"...and I mean it, anybody have peanut?"


"As you wish."


A waiting to exhale kind of moment, huh?

Okay, for the weekend updates. Friday evening, the kids and I went to a pitch-in, get-to-know-you sort of thing with our new homeschool group. It was quite uneventful (snicker). Then I headed down to D & L's house to watch Signs. I can't say I retained any quotes from that movie. Which is sad because Mel Gibson has some really good dry humor. I may have been tired or distracted or both.

Then Saturday, I spent most of the day on the phone. I colored my hair. Some would say it's too dark. I tried to take a pic of it. I hate pictures of myself. Anyhoo (not a spell check recognizable word)...Sunday I visited Horizon and then had "date" time with Molly and Calla. After we got the babies down, we watched The Princess Bride and then I spent the rest of the evening talking on the phone.

There you go. Have a blessed week.

smooch

Losing it!

Not my mind, my waist. Woo Hoo. Day 11 of my pilates plight. An inch and a half off my waist. The next time I'm complaining about my gut, you have my permission to slap me upside the head and say go get back on the plan. Gently, please. Each time I have started this routine back up, I have always reaped immediate results.

Today, I was rushing around trying to get ready to see Mary Beth, and I thought I was about 15 minutes late. Turns out I was 10065 minutes early. My appointment isn't until next Tuesday. Is it possible that I have beaten Sherry's record for being early here?

This morning as I awoke to three-year-old knees and elbows stabbing my ribs and stomach. Teige crawled up on the bed and laid his head on my belly, grabbed my hand and laid it across his cheek, and said "My Mama" Besides the immense pain, it was a great way to start my day.

Did you ever have a swatch watch?
Smooch.