Gone Fishin'

Hello. My name is Jamie and I'm a Bloga-holic.

Well, you know I have a wee bit of a blogging problem when I'm sitting in the hotel room on a GORGEOUS day checking blogs. Actually, I'm just letting my breakfast settle, and last night's wine.

Quick recap/highlights of the trip so far.

* Sat next to youngish, normalish, cutish, looking guy on plane. I'm in middle seat so my hubby could have the aisle. Guess what said youngish not so cute-anymore-guy does on flight? PUKES in the BARF bag? Right.Next.To.Me. Are you kidding me? I desperately try to make eye contact with a flight attendant to say HELP! But Flight attendant must think I just have an eye twitch or that I'm flirting with her starchy shirt and feathered bangs. Damn it. Thank God it was a 45 minute flight because I was feeling pretty green after getting out of there.

* Let's just say cold beer and drinks with umbrellas ... as I FLOAT around the LAZY RIVER. Aw-yeah! Need I say more?

* My kids don't miss me. Tatum is in HEAVEN getting all doted on by her Nana (and Pop) and Aunt Linda. Chase has been coined "Barnacle Boy" because he's so attached to Gran. The thing is ... I miss them.

It's funny how we fantasize about getting nights alone from our kids. Then I sit at the pool and spy on the other pre-schoolers wishing I could give mine a cuddle.

Okay, back to vacation mode....the sun and cocktails beckon (like that happens just on vacation).

Good News

I'm feeling rather blessed these days.  The first bit of good news rolled in in the form of our offer being accepted on this house.  Cool.  Given my track record this year with moving (it will be 4 times in 12 months after this one...), I will be so happy to unpack for the last time.  

The next bit of good news comes in the form of a vacation for Patrick and myself.  We're thrilled to have some time to catch up, have an entire conversation uninterrupted, and sleep without a 3-year-old kicking us at night.  

It's not so bad for the munchkins either.  Tatum gets a special trip to Nana's house, and Chase gets a special trip to Gran and Henry's.  Divide and Conquer.  

Hopefully we'll all come back refreshed, with a new appreciation for our family unit.  

I considered not bringing my laptop along, but I think I'd miss you all too much.  So I'll be catching up on your stories as the vacation commences on Friday!  

Meme Rhymes with Theme

(It took me a while to learn that.  I thought it was a me-me, because isn't everything all about ME?  No.  Oh.  Damn-it.  Well, it is here.)

Lori at Teacher Turned Mommy tagged me with this Meme.  The thing is, I suck at memes.  

Here are the rules (WARNING:  I'm not good at playing by the rules.)

a.  Link the person who tagged you.  (I did that.)

b.  Post the rules on your blog. (I'm two for two now.)

c.  Write six random things about yourself. (This is where the rules get foggy.)

d.  Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.   (How random?  Like, totally random, with no thought on my part at all.... okay.)

e.  Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.  (No can do.)

f.  Let your tagger know when your entry is up.  (What do you take me for?  A total slacker?)

Here are SIX places that I've been blessed enough to visit.  Although I'm all for bragging, this isn't to brag, just to document.  Before my Mommy brain cells are all used up.  And I forget.  

Where was I?

Paris, France

London, England

Florence, Italy

Venice, Italy

Rome, Italy

(Orange hair?  WTF?)

New York, NY

Munich, Germany (That's my cute Mom)

(I'm not that skinny.  The beers were just freakishly proportioned.)

(Pretzels and Beers)

Amsterdam, Holland

And now I'm tagging 6 "random" people:  If your name is Susan, Martha, Hannah, George, Adele, or Ian I tag you.  (Totally random.  I don't think I know them.  In fact, I know I don't.  But, it's a good way to get to know you if that's your name.)

Lori also bestowed this beauty on my.  Although I'm totally unworthy because I just screwed up your meme.  But thank you.  Check Lori out.  She is a Teacher turned Mommy just like me.  Her son is adorable.  She does digital scrap-booking.  She's about to pop out baby boy #2.  And she's great at leaving comments.  

I love this flowery award because it proclaims friendship in this cyber world.  I've come to LOVE all of you in this blog land.  So again, I'm cheating on the rules.  If you and I read one another's blog (that's a lot of you lovely people out there), I give this Blog Friend Award to you.  Yes, YOU!  Take it.  Share it.

And CC over at If I Only Had SuperPowers gave this sweet one to me.  The story goes that it's a "laugh, cry, think, or sigh" award.  CC says I make her laugh.  Are you good in math?  That means I got one quarter of this award.  THAT'S sayin' something.  What's it saying?  Please check out CC for her expertise in Speech and Language, her What Works For Me ideas, and her general KICK-A** approach at helping the world one teaching tip at a time.  I think she really does have Superpowers!

I'm passing along this one to Burgh Baby's Mom because I have a blog crush on her.  She was just on her local news bragging about how great her blog was, drumming up AdSense and all, so I figure I'd help her out.  Nah, she really does make me "laugh, cry, think, or sigh," especially when she puts those creepy dolls on her site.

I Almost Became A Republican

This week I had a nice surprise in the mail.  It was addressed to me.  My name.  My address.  Me.  Me.  Me.  It looked  a little something like this:

That's right.  Four thousand dollars for me.  Pretty good tax return for a Stay At Home Mom (See how I did that?  I used capital letters to show my important title).  Well, maybe that g.w. guy (See how I did that?  No capital letters there sucka) isn't so bad after all.  He might just be coming around.  Four thousand dollars for my extremely important and effective efforts as Commander In Chief at home (sorry, honey, I don't see your name on the check).  

I was all geared up for an extra special Mother's Day treat.  Maybe a new camera lens.  Maybe a day at the Spa.  Maybe that iPhone I've been whining about.

And then this came:

In case you can't read the fine print, allow me:

"We found credits erroneously applied to your account in the amount of $ 4,000.00"

Really?

See my new balance to to the IRS:

$ 4,009.19

What the eff?  I owe YOU interest for YOUR mistake.  Penis head Bush Administration.  Yeah, you know it's his fault.  

Okay, so I maybe  would have done the right thing anyways and returned the money. But come on. With interest?

In other news... have you ever read the side of your tampon box?  I don't really have to apologize to my male readers because I'm pretty sure I have none (do I?).  

Check this out:

It reads:

"Select the minimal absorbency needed to control your menstrual flow in order to reduce the risk of getting TSS."

(I know, gross.  But it gets worse.)

So, how many grams is your output my friend?  See the handy chart?  Oh, of course.  Allow me to get out my test tubes and measuring cups ... maybe add a little baking soda and WHAM!  

Anyways, today I'm just feeling all confused about the IRS and Tampons.  You?

A Look Back

[Note to reader:  There are an obnoxious amount of photos ahead...]

Burgh Baby's Mom reminded me about why I blog.  To borrow from her, she says, "I blog about my daughter for my daughter."  And that's just it.  I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you, right?

I've got some Mom guilt.  It started when the Baby books weren't filled in with every detail of first poop, first fingernail clippings, and first time baby touched left elbow while wiggling right toes.  So I abandoned the formality of baby books, and opted for an old-fashioned journal which I plan to give each  kiddo at a later date.  Well, that went a little better, but right around the time I started blogging, the journals took a back seat.

So in a perfect world, this glorious format will be bestowed upon my munchkins to show them a snip of who their Mom was in a time of pure, sweet chaos.

And because I can't believe I don't have babies anymore, here are some of my favorite moments (in random order because my GAWD, does it have to take that long to upload photos?):

Pyramid Schmyramid

Dear Tatum,

  Thank goodness you are a great eater.  You often wake up and ask for salad for breakfast.  Yes salad.  You request this wholesome meal with red peppers and tomatoes.  It's music to my ears.  When I make your school lunch, you request edamame, "cut apples," and a turkey sandwich (on whole wheat bread).  You're a delight a restaurants because you eat whatever Mommy and Daddy order for you, even if it's fish tacos or turkey meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  Although you like desserts, your don't devour them.  You daintily eat a few bites of sprinkles, or frosting, and go on your way (allowing me to finish it thankyouverymuch).  It's delightful to feed you.

Dear Chase,

  Although Costco would like to personally thank you for depleting their Dinosaur Chicken Nugget section week after week, you need to know about food diversity.  Annie's Mac n' Cheese and Dinosaur Nuggets for 2 and a half years straight does not exactly constitute as a balanced diet.  Of course when you pair these things with your other favorites, Hawaiian rolls, muffins, cereal, and Goldfish well ... someone just might want to call CPS on Mommy.  You're soon going to turn into a walking Carbohydrate, for your matter is made up of strictly carb particles I'm sure.  PLEASE try some new foods.  There are plenty of kids who actually entertain the crazy concept of a quesadilla, a grilled cheese sandwich, turkey, MEAT of any kind, spaghetti, or soup.  If I don't figure this out soon, you might turn into a Chase-muffin, and although that would be very delicious, I'd rather have a healthy boy to enjoy.

So, I'm asking for help.  Here are a list of things that Chase will eat.  What recipes or hints do you have that could get some PROTEIN in the kid?  He gets cranky without it so we often give him Odwalla (or home-made) protein shakes ... but I'm running short on ideas.

Among his carb-loading goodies, he eats:

*  scrambled eggs

*  broccoli

*  chicken nuggets (just the damn dinosaurs which have about ZERO nutritional value)

*  Mac n' cheese (I've started putting tofu into this)

*  sometimes the occasional meatball

*  protein shakes

HELP.  The kid needs variety.  Ideas?

Sorry Ladies, He's Taken

For as long as I've known my husband, he has traveled for work.  In the early days of courting me, he would often come home with goodies he picked up along his travels.  A guy who can shop for his woman is pretty hard to beat.

Then, the kids came along.  The shopping breaks went on.  His good excuse is that he tries to fly home sooner to see the family, so there's been no time for shopping.  Okay, okay.  I guess I'll buy that.

So when a recent snaffoo in travel arrangements left him stuck in Portland for many extra hours, guess what he did?

Bingo.  And there's no sales tax, so he was extra giddy.

He brought these lovely purchases home for his wife:

3 dresses (which look cuter on, than on the hanger):

A (bumblebee) top

A pair of camouflage bermuda shorts

And he didn't forget the kids...how cute are these?

And my new FAVORITES ...

I'm feeling lucky today.  He'll probably be feeling lucky tonight too.  ;)  So, can you guess where he shopped?