might be quiet for a while

Sorry for all the posts today, but I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas before I go silent. I probably won't post over the next couple of weeks - we will have a house full of family for a few days and then a little bit of a break right at Christmas. We will actually spend Christmas Eve & Christmas day at home, but it will be quiet and David's mom will still be here. But David will also be off work, so it's just going to be family time. I'm going to try to stay away from the computer. :)

Then after Christmas we are heading south to visit more family, so I'm just not gonna be around. By choice, but anyway, I'm sure I'll be back in January with lots to share! Unless I kill my MIL, since we will be spending over a week together! Then I'll be locked up somewhere. I'll try to restrain myself.

he's 3 today

My baby, my first baby, is three today. I can't believe it's been three years ago that I was in labor & delivery, just waiting out contractions. I can't believe that just a few short hours away was the most perfect baby boy I'd ever seen. I can't believe how far we've come.

Matthew is such a boy, but he's so sweet too. He gives the best hugs I've ever had. I don't know where he learned those. He is such a great brother - he tells me frequently that he loves Scarlett, and he always hugs and kisses her before naps & bed. He talks so much about so many things. He amazes me with his memory. Before we put up the Christmas tree this year he asked if we were putting it "there" and pointed to the spot it was last year. We asked if he remembered the tree and he said "yeah, we put it there and it went round & around." We have a rotating stand, so he did remember. He is such a trooper when it comes to his "bedtime shoes" - he has never once complained about them, well not since he has been able to talk. Those first couple of months in the shoes were rough, but even then he was a trooper. Now he walks in them and gets around great, and I think he realizes it is special. I worried that he would complain about them once Scarlett got here and he has to wear them but she doesn't, but still, no complaints!

He has grown leaps & bounds, and has such an awesome personality. He is sweet and loving, but has bit of rascal in him also. He frequently "teases" us about things, and then laughs and laughs that he tricked us. He loves corn, only he says "par" instead of "car" so I'll let you figure out what he says for "corn" - we can't help but laugh when he asks for "more corn" or says "I love corn." He will randomly say "I love you" or "we are so happy" and I've noticed that if I'm upset with him he'll quickly say "we are so happy mommy" just to try to cheer me up.

He loves to play rough - we frequently play football in the middle of the family room. He likes to jump from one piece of furniture to another, and tries to see how far apart he can move them between jumps. But he also loves to sit down & cuddle with his milk & let me read to him. He wants to know "what does that word say?" and he often wants to read to me when I'm finished reading to him. Lately I've seen him reading to Scarlett when I've been out of the room. A few minutes after that he might push her down...you have to take the bad with the good, right? (Obviously we try to correct the bad, but I still know it's gonna happen sometimes!)

It's hard to believe that once upon a time I didn't want children. Until I met David I didn't see myself with children at all. Meeting David changed my heart in such ways that once I knew we would be together I couldn't imagine not having children. I longed for children with him. Once Matthew came into our lives I definitely couldn't imagine it any other way.

I love you little guy! :)

Girdle Busters

Base:

• 1 box yellow cake mix with pudding
  
• 1 stick butter, melted
  
• 1 cup nuts (I use pecans)
  
• 1 egg, beaten

Mix & pat in 9x13 pan.

Topping:

• 2 eggs
  
• 8 oz cream cheese
  
• 1 box powdered sugar

Beat together & spread on top. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.

Note: May add chocolate chips to topping if you like. I usually use half a small bag, but you can adjust to taste.

busy busy

I think everyone is busy this time of year, huh? This will be our busy week, as David's mom's side of the family will start arriving Wednesday, more Thursday, and the last ones Friday morning. We have a busy few days to finish preparing for their arrival, and somewhere in there I need to bake a cake for Matthew's birthday and wrap his birthday presents. I am planning to bake the cake tomorrow and decorate it Wednesday. He wants an airplane cake. I hear that request several times a week. He also wants to blow out the candles, and Scarlett can help. Then, he wants to lick the icing off the candles and put them back in the cake! I don't know where that idea came from!

We will wait on my mother-in-law and brother-in-law to actually eat cake and open birthday presents. When I told Matthew that Uncle C was visiting on his birthday he said "oh and bringing me a present?" That kid. So I warned Uncle C that he might want to let Matthew open his Christmas present early.

I will spend a lot of the week cooking, especially Thursday. I will do as much make ahead for Christmas dinner as I can. We'll eat Christmas dinner Friday. And in our family, Christmas dinner is very similar to Thanksgiving dinner. Our menu:

• Turkey
  
• Dressing
  
• Ham
  
• Sweet potatoes
  
• Green beans
  
• Macaroni & cheese
  
• Hashbrown casserole
  
• Cheesy broccoli & cauliflower bake
  
• Cranberry sauce
  
• Rolls
  
• Brownies
  
• Girdle Busters
  
• Pound Cake
  
• Pumpkin Cheesecake
  

I will also be making a chocolate pound cake, but I won't serve it until Saturday since the 20th is MIL's birthday & I'm going to let that be her birthday cake.

I'm also making cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, and a really nice spread for breakfast one morning. And of course dinner the other nights everyone is here, but David is taking Saturday off my hands by grilling.

So you can see, all bets are off for weight watchers this holiday season. I'm planning a lot of activities too, and my goal is to "just maintain". Then I'll hit the gym & diet hard come 2009.

I love planning things like this and getting it all done. I just wish I loved cleaning house as much as I love the rest of it. I swear I'm always saying I have cleaning to do. I just can't seem to get it caught up. Off to clean!

TGIF anyone?

This week has gone pretty fast but I'm still glad it's Friday. I haven't written about my mother-in-law's visit last weekend, but it went well. That probably means when she's here for Christmas it will be a disaster. We can't have too many good visits in a row. David & I were able to get a lot of stuff done around the house in preparation for company coming while she entertained the short people. Maybe it was a pleasant visit because I wasn't in the room with her very much?

This weekend will be busy - we still haven't started Christmas shopping. Well, I take that back, I have gotten one thing for David and he has gotten "a few small things for me", or at least that's what he told me when he said I shouldn't open any packages addressed to him. We also ordered Matthew's first toy last night. We also are doing a joint gift to my parents with my sisters and their families, and baby sis took care of that. But still, we have 25 people on our list that we need to shop for and that's not counting Matthew, Scarlett, or each other. So I'd say we have to shop this weekend, since family will start arriving Wednesday. Plus I need to do major grocery shopping, since I'll have a house full of people mid-week. I want to buy everything for Christmas dinner since we'll be eating that next weekend. I'm excited about everyone coming & being here but I am stressed out about shopping. I hate to shop.

Oh yeah, we have to finish getting our decorations up too. So far we've only gotten the 2 trees up & decorated, and some lights up outside. We still need to hang garland, put the nativity scene and christmas village out, and get out my dishes. Plus MIL asked for a scarf for Christmas so I have to knit. I know most knitters could finish a scarf in a couple of days, but I'm still pretty new and slow. I don't know if I'll have time to complete it or not. I've decided to start it and if it's not finished by the time I need to give it to her, I'll wrap it on the needles. Then I'll finish it before she leaves, since I can work on it in front of her once she opens it. Is that awful?

pet peeves

ARGH! I have a lot of them but today I'll share just my top 5.

5. One-uppers - you know, those people who always have the same problem or even good thing that you do, only magnified by 10. For example, one friend says she was in labor for 30 hours and pushed for 4, the one-upper will then share that she was in labor for 40 hours and pushed for 6. You know the type.

4. Disposable diapers - now that I've been using cloth for a while, I hate having to use sposies. I do still use them occasionally, but the last 2 times Scarlett has pooped in one, it's been a blowout. The crib sheet, blanket, and bumper pad are in the washer now. And ok, this one is my fault because I ~forgot~ to wash the cloth last night, but still...ICK!

3. Bad drivers - there are so many ways this could be broken down into multiple pet peeves, but I'll leave it at that.

2. Idiots - another broad one. I had a stressful night last night, and while I was sitting on the road (yes, blocking a lane of traffic) waiting on the tow truck, with my hazards flashing, I couldn't believe the number of cars that pulled rightuponmybumper and then blew their horns at me! HELLO! Can you not see the lights flashing?!?!?! Trust me, I'd move if I could!

and now, my number one pet peeve:
People who leave shopping carts anywhere & everywhere in the parking lot. It drives me nuts. I understand, it's freaking cold and snowy, but if you're already out, does it really hurt you to walk the buggy to a buggy corral? Seriously, I think even in the farthest spot away from them, I can get there & back to my car in less than a minute.

Sunday I was at the grocery store and saw a man shove his buggy up toward the front of his car, then he opened the door and got in. When he started to back out, the front corner of his car caught the buggy and the buggy stuck somehow. This guy keeps backing up and was eventually blocking the whole freaking aisle, with the buggy still attached to his bumper. Here I am trying to get to my car and he's blocking the aisle. I'm shooting him my best mean girl look and he gets out to remove the buggy from his bumper and has the gall to say "I couldn't help it."

I, with the politest smile, replied "Sure you could. If you had put it away, that never would have happened."

So, what's your biggest pet peeve? (or 2 or 3 or...however many you want to share!)

I am such a dork

We got an early Christmas gift this weekend. My mother-in-law visited and brought several gifts with her, and she had Matthew hand David a box. It was a Wii. I'm not too big into video games but had told David just last week I thought I would like a Wii because of Wii Fit. We opened it & have been playing, and here's where the dorky part comes in....my right tricep is sore! I am sure it is from bowling or tennis, as those are the things we're playing the most, but geeze louise - how bad are my muscles if playing a video game makes me sore?

I thought I had been doing the right things, exercise wise. I am not doing them as often as I'd like, but I am hitting the gym, usually a few times a week, doing a combination of cardio & weights. I guess I need to ramp up the gym time. David did tell me last night that he thinks I'm "putting too much into my swing" on tennis. He informed me I don't need to swing like it's a real racquet. This was said after I took off my sweatshirt (I was wearing a tee underneath) because I was working up a sweat.

I ate a flamingo

Yep, I ate a flamingo, and it was fun. :)

I'm still sick so I'm not up for a post, but someone emailed this to me and some of the people's responses have been downright hilarious. Mine wasn't so much, but what the heh? Share your results if you'd like.

Find your birth month...

January: I partied with
February: I had babies with
March: I felt up
April: I messed around with
May: I peed on
June: I robbed
July: I ate
August: I shot
September: I beat up
October: I dressed up as
November: I got married to
December: I had drunken sex with

Find the day of your birthday...

1: George Bush
2: Michael Jackson
3: some random guy
4: a book
5: Frankenstein
6: Martha Stewart
7: a bottle of Hennesse
8: a flamingo
9: a bag of chips
10: a chair
11: Dick Cheney
12: my English teacher
13: a Teletubby
14: myself
15: a ninja
16: a penguin
17: a pole
18: an apple
19: a box
20: my finger
21: some random girl
22: a cell phone
23: Ron Jeremy
24: a statue
25: a gnome
26: a hippo
27: my shoes
28: a prostitute
29: a porn star
30: my best friend
31: a cat

Find the FIRST letter of your FIRST name...

A: for the money
B: for the hell of it
C: and it sucked
D: to be cool
E: to be naked
F: to eat cheese
G: but my mom told me to
H: for my boy friend
I: for my girlfriend
J: to be sexy
K: and it was fun
L: at school
M: and I had twins
N: and I got sick
O: and I threw up
P: and something shrank
Q: in the pool
R: and then I streaked
S: and it was boring
T: because I was drunk
U: for a shopping spree
V: and I liked it
W: in the dark
X: and I had a sex change
Y: under the sheets
Z: in a laundry mat

The math just doesn't work

I have a nasty cold. At least I'm convinced it's *just* a cold. I'm a medicine wimp - almost everything puts me to sleep, even extra strength tylenol. Therefore, I didn't take anything during the day yesterday because well, I couldn't go to sleep until David got home. When he got home I reached for something that I remembered taking in the past and was pretty sure it didn't make me sleep, but found I only had one dose left. I searched the medicine cabinet and found some other drugs that had the same ingredients, with the same quantities, just a different brand. So I took the dose and knew if it worked & I stayed awake that the other stuff would be safe to take today.

This morning I opened the box of new stuff and realized it had a night time and a day time formula. Orange pills for day, blue pills for night. (No, not those blue pills!) I read the directions and I'm supposed to take 2 pills every 4 hours. There are 2 problems with this.

1. the box has 15 pills of each formula. So even though the box has 15 doses, it only has 7 complete doses of day time pills and 7 complete doses of night time pills. I'll end up taking 1 day time pill and 1 night time pill just to use them, I guess. The only difference seems to be the night time pills have an antihistamine. No caffiene or anything in the day version.
   
2. The bigger problem, to me, is that I never take more than 1 dose of night time medicine per night, unless I'm feeling really really crappy. So taking 2 pills every 4 hours, I'll take either 3 or 4 doses of the day formula and 1 dose of the night formula in a 24 hour period. That means the day pills will last 2 days, and the night ones will last 7. Wouldn't it be better if they put more day pills than night pills in the box? Since they are freaking packaged together!?! Ok, next time I'll pay closer attention & buy separate boxes of day & night formulas, lesson learned.

tidbits

Things are rolling pretty smooth at our house lately. Here are some tidbits:

• Potty training - Matthew is day trained, even for naps. He's woken up a few mornings totally dry, a LOT of mornings just a teensy bit wet, and several mornings soaked. Not ready to go diaperless at night just yet. He woke me up at 5:30 one morning on our trip needing to potty. I so badly wanted to tell him to go in his diaper, but I dragged my ass out of bed and took him.
  
• Scarlett is so expressive - I know I've said it before, but she makes the cutest faces. Lately she has this perplexed look that she'll give us. I have tried taking a picture but she gives a big grin and says cheese every time.
  
• Knitting - I'm working on one last pair of longies for a while. Then I have a baby blanket, a hat, and maybe a scarf to do. Not necessarily in that order.
  
• I know, that last bit was a fragment.
  
• Matthew had a full on tantrum last night, over socks. He took his sock off, then wanted it back on. Oh yeah, this was at supper. We didn't put it back on & he had a fit. David took him to the tub for his bath and he was flailing around like a crazy kid. If he hadn't really needed the bath, his butt would have gone straight to bed. I was afraid he was gonna hurt himself in the tub - that's how wild he was being.
  
• Matthew says the darndest things and I forget to write them down. Things I really want to remember, and I swear a day later I've forgotten. I suck.
  
• Scarlett says "noooo" and it's so darn cute. She also says "uh-huh" but we hear "nooo" a lot more often. This morning I even got a "no no nooooo."
  
• Scarlett also said "jonah" only it sounded more like "nonah" but she said it when we were getting milk out of the fridge - and she pointed at his birth announcement. I wasn't sure I heard her right so I asked "what?" and she repeated. David heard her from the family room too.
  
• I need to start Christmas shopping. We'll have a house full of guests in 2 weeks, and I haven't bought the first gift, not even for my kiddos.
  
• I'm looking forward to the weekend, even though I need to clean house NOW! MIL is visiting, I'm getting a massage, and we're probably going out with friends. I'll also be trying to get my Christmas decorations up.
  
• Where do you put your tree when you have kids? I love seeing it all the time, but they won't keep their hands off it. I know they won't because my mom already had her trees up. One of them wasn't totally decorated but the kids took a lot of ornaments off the others.
  
• I swear I have writer's block. I seriously had a ton of cute things to share and when I sat down I went blank. Sorry

a great week

I never realized how quiet our house is. LOL - after spending a week on the road I am thankful to be tucked safely away in our quiet home. We spent the early part of the week at David's mema's house. Her totally not child friendly house. You know the one, with rocks in flower pots sitting on the floor. Yeah, the one with a glass topped coffee table, pictures/frames, all sorts of knick knacks on a low shelf in the entertainment center. Let's not forget the small hard candies sitting in dishes scattered about the room, the fake fruit on the table, and the cleaning products under the kitchen sink with a cabinet door that won't even close. Matthew is usually really good about understanding what is off limits, but Scarlett is not. I was exhausted within 30 minutes of waking up our first day there. I tried to let David sleep in, but finally after an hour and a half I went and told him I could *not* supervise both of them by myself. Seriously, while it's nice to visit mema, she doesn't seem to understand that it's not good for Scarlett to put rocks in her mouth. We decided to try to hang out at David's brother & SIL's house as much as possible. It's much more toddler friendly. Matthew loves playing with his cousin, and Rhett is great about tolerating him. They were wrestling and Rhett told his mom "For him to be so little, he sure is strong." I thought that was cute.

We spend Tuesday on the road to my parents' house. We took it slow, stopped and shopped along the way. David needed new shoes so we were especially looking for those. We went to an outlet mall and he bought a pair for around $50. We thought that was a great deal but then as we were leaving we walked to let Matthew & Scarlett ride one of the rides and noticed another little store. It was a shoe store that we didn't realize was there. David went in there & they were having a huge sale. He bought the same pair of shoes for $30. They had another brand that looked nice but we'd never heard of. I went and did a quick search and found them on Nordstrom's website for $250, and Amazon for $195. David went and returned the first pair he bought and we got him 2 new pair at the second store, for $60. AMAZING deal! So amazing that we wondered if the store was legit...

We stopped off to visit my former coworkers. My old boss and his wife just had a baby so I had a gift for them, and I thought it would be fun to see everyone. Turns out there were 2 other people with newborns too. I felt a little like a putz not having gifts for them too, but oh well, they didn't let me know about the babies, how could I know?

Got to my parents' house late Tuesday night and crashed. My older sister and her girls came over to play Wednesday - Matthew & Belle were SO happy to see each other. They get along great and seem to always remember each other, no matter how long it's been between visits. Scarlett tries to keep up with them and does pretty well.

Thursday was nice & quiet - both my sisters were at their in-laws for Thanksgiving, so we had a calm day. My mom was cooking Friday, so I helped her do some prep work Thursday. Friday was wild. A house full of people, from 4 months to 83 years. Fun but wild. My older sister said she hates leaving when we are all there and maybe we should all spend the night! Not sure where we would all sleep, but it might be fun. I'm not sure the kids would ever settle in for the night though.

My parents house is pretty child-friendly, but Matthew and Belle somehow managed to get into the neosporin. They tried to wash their hair with it. Not fun. They also found a small pair of very sharp scissors, and mostly used it to cut paper. Somehow Matthew cut his finger too, but he wouldn't cry about it because he didn't want us to know he had the scissors!

Scarlett was very loving to Jonah this time. She seemed to accept me holding him more this time - in the past she has fussed and tried to push him away but this time she just loved him whenever I held him. She was pretty funny watching him nurse. I've weaned her to only nursing once a day, but I think she would nurse more if I let her. One time when he was eating she was rubbing his head and then noticed my sister's boob, and then came running to me pulling on my shirt. She was satisfied with her cup though, thank goodness. I don't want her to be unhappy so I'm glad she didn't fuss over it - I would have probably given her the boob if she had fussed much.

We left Saturday night, in the rain, to drive home. We made it in less than 14.5 hours - I think a record for us on that trip! It rained and/or snowed the whole way, so it meant quick stops with no playing. Poor David drove the whole way - the last few times I have driven the bulk of the night but somehow he wasn't sleepy at all until 6am, and by then it was almost light out and time for breakfast so he didn't want to try to sleep.

And oh yeah, GT beat UGA 45-42. Woohoo! Great win guys!

GO Jackets!

Today is the day of the "big game". I know, lots of big games in college football today, but where I come from, the only one that matters is the one between the hedges. Georgia vs. Georgia Tech. We had quite a win streak going before we hired a sucky coach. Now we've lost 7 straight but of course, this could be the year.

Back when we hired the sucky coach, I told a few people "I sure wish we could have hired Paul Johnson." The timing didn't work, and I'm not sure the powers-at-be at GT would have given him a thought anyway, but I am happy to say that last year, when we got rid of that sucky coach, we DID hire Paul Johnson. Better late than never I suppose?

People predicted we would have an awful season, as he needed time to rebuild the program and recruit athletes that fit his system. I told David "I hope the fans will be patient. He's good." Well, here we sit today, 8-3. Not super, but really good, especially considering a lot of people said we'd only win 3-4 games. And last week, we played Thursday night. Big game, Miami was ranked, and we KILLED. We really opened up a can of whoop ass last Thursday. UGA started the season ranked #1 but it didn't take them long to fall. Now, people who wouldn't have given us a chance at the beginning of the season are saying we might be able to pull out a win.

If the same team that played last week shows up today, we should be able to pull it off. I'll be watching the game, wearing my white & gold proudly. Scarlett will be in her yellow GT dress, and Matthew will have his jersey on. He might even pull out the helmet. We'll cheer and yell "GO Jackets" and Scarlett will pump her arm to the beat of the fight song. It will be a fun day :)

Sting'em!

sweet potatoes

Since I'm not around this week, I thought I would share one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. It's something we have pretty often at our house (well not so much since we started Weight Watchers, but I don't save it just for Thanksgiving). I LOVE sweet potatoes. Earlier this year I shared one of my favorite ways to prepare them - Sweet Potato Casserole. I also shared this tip that will make your casserole pretty & orange, not brown.

So if you're planning to serve sweet potatoes this Thanksgiving and need a recipe, give this a try. If you already have a recipe you love, that's ok, but keep the potatoes orange with my trick.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Who am I?

I got this from Nancy's blog. I think it's pretty accurate.

If you want to know who you are, take the quiz.


You are a Bette -- "I must be strong"

Bettes are direct, self-reliant, self-confident, and protective.

How to Get Along with Me
* Stand up for yourself... and me.
* Be confident, strong, and direct.
* Don't gossip about me or betray my trust.
* Be vulnerable and share your feelings. See and acknowledge my tender, vulnerable side.
* Give me space to be alone.
* Acknowledge the contributions I make, but don't flatter me.
* I often speak in an assertive way. Don't automatically assume it's a personal attack.
* When I scream, curse, and stomp around, try to remember that's just the way I am.

What I Like About Being a Bette
* being independent and self-reliant
* being able to take charge and meet challenges head on
* being courageous, straightforward, and honest
* getting all the enjoyment I can out of life
* supporting, empowering, and protecting those close to me
* upholding just causes

What's Hard About Being a Bette
* overwhelming people with my bluntness; scaring them away when I don't intend to
* being restless and impatient with others' incompetence
* sticking my neck out for people and receiving no appreciation for it
* never forgetting injuries or injustices
* putting too much pressure on myself
* getting high blood pressure when people don't obey the rules or when things don't go right

Bettes as Children Often
* are independent; have an inner strength and a fighting spirit
* are sometimes loners
* seize control so they won't be controlled
* figure out others' weaknesses
* attack verbally or physically when provoked
* take charge in the family because they perceive themselves as the strongest, or grow up in difficult or abusive surroundings

Bettes as Parents
* are often loyal, caring, involved, and devoted
* are sometimes overprotective
* can be demanding, controlling, and rigid

Heading out of town....again

Tonight we will be packing up the car & first thing tomorrow we'll head south again. We're planning to spend a few days in Tennessee visiting David's side of the family and then (probably Tuesday) we will leave there & go to Georgia to spend Thanksgiving with my family. I'm excited to be visiting again, even though we were just there a month ago. At least this time the visit will be for happy reasons.

We will actually have our Thanksgiving dinner either Friday or Saturday because both of my sisters will be with their in-laws on Thanksgiving Day. But that's ok, no biggie. My family is very much of the "it's not the day that counts, it's the occasion" mindset. I remember one year, long time ago, when David & I were dating. Just dating, not engaged. His mom planned a cruise for their family and invited me to go. Problem was, it was over Christmas. I had always wanted to go on a cruise, and when I talked to my parents about it, they were SO cool. Granted, I was old enough I didn't need their permission, but I was really struggling with what to do - I had never spent a Christmas away from my family and those traditions. My mom quickly said "you know Kaci, December 25th is just a day on the calendar. We can celebrate Christmas any day. You've always wanted to go on a cruise. You should go." I really appreciated that, and now whenever I can't (or chose not to) spend a specific holiday with family, I remember those words. I know we will celebrate and honor the occasion, no matter what day we happen to choose.

I probably won't post much while I'm gone, but I'll try to at least pop on a couple of times. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

frustration, decisions, and other news

This whole weight loss thing is getting frustrating. It doesn't help that the more frustrated I get, the more I eat, and the less I exercise. Eating too much is what got me fat in the first place, I don't want to be there again. Yet I'm somehow unwilling to keep myself on the right path. So I've decided to take a semi-break. Seeing as how I've fluctuated between 138-142 since early September, I don't know that I'm really taking much of a break. I'm just going to try not to worry much about it until January. We are going to be on the road a lot over the next month and we will have family visiting here too. Between now & January 4, we will only be home "just us" for 14 days. That's 14 days that I would definitely eat healthy, but when we have family here from out of town, I LIKE to cook for them, I ENJOY it, but that pleasure comes mainly from baking, and that's not healthy eating. And let's face it, I'm not strong enough to bake it & not eat it! Then when we are not home, it's even harder.

So I'll do the best I can, I'll eat as well as I can, and I'll try not to overeat. That has been a big problem for me in the past, but I've noticed I've gotten a lot better. Yesterday I didn't even come close to finishing the box lunch we had at the seminar I attended. A year ago I would have wolfed down the whole thing, but then a year ago I was exclusively breastfeeding and starving all the time...maybe that's not a good comparison.

In other news, yesterday I went to a seminar that will hopefully be a first step in our little foursome relocating to Georgia. I'm excited about the possibility, but nervous too. I'm rarely away for a full day and last night when I got home Matthew walked into the dining room and I would have sworn he grew overnight (he was still in bed when I left yesterday morning.) David mentioned that they'd gone for haircuts that morning and I know he always looks older after a trim.

Matthew is still doing great with potty training. He has had a couple of accidents but at least one of them was his daddy's fault. He is staying dry at naps and even sometimes overnight. (He gets underwear for naps but a diaper overnight.) Scarlett asks to sit on the potty too, and we are encouraging that. I'd love it if I had her potty trained soon too.

The interaction between Matthew & Scarlett continues to amaze me. They play together really well. A popular evening activity has been football. Scarlett likes to run around with her doll in one arm and the ball in the other. I have tried to get a picture of this but she usually drops one when she sees the camera - too busy cheesing it up!

WFMW: eating out for less

12/3 edited - I scheduled this post and then forgot to share my link, so I'm sharing the link in today's WFMW. The original coupon code I included expired, but if you use "JOY" it will save you 40%. Act fast, it expires Dec 4.

Saturday night was date night. We didn't have anything planned but we had a sitter coming. There weren't any movies out that looked great so we just went to the mall for a while and then to dinner. We decided Saturday morning where to go for dinner and looked on restaurant.com to see if we could get a gift certificate. Normally you can buy $25 certificates for $10, but we also did a google search for deals and found a coupon code for $7 off. We got a $25 certificate for $3! Printed it at home, went to dinner. There were some restrictions on the coupon use, but nothing that was bad for us. We had to spend at least $35 and buy two entrees, but we would have done that anyway. If you want to take advantage of this deal, you can use coupon code "SURPRISE" to get a $25 certificate for $2 (or a $10 certificate for $0.60). It expires tomorrow, so hurry! (But please check the terms & conditions before buying. A lot of restaurants here exclude game nights or theater nights, so just know what your restrictions are!)

Saving $22 on a dinner out works for me. To find more great tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

something that stuck with me

At my uncle's funeral a couple of weeks ago, there were a couple of things the minister said that really stuck with me. First, he had a prayer with the family before we entered church for the service. During that prayer, he thanked God for "being there for all of us to lean on during these times" and for "taking control from us for a few days so we could grieve" but then said "but as the weeks go by Lord, we will take that control back." As disrespectful as this sounds, I almost giggled. Isn't part of being a believer always letting God have control? Don't get me wrong, I struggle like crazy with that. I'm a control freak, I admit it. But I know deep down, ultimately I'm not in control. There's really not much, even in my little corner of the universe, that is in my control. But by golly I'll still try to control it all! I just thought it was funny that a preacher was talking about taking control from God.

Another thing, much more serious, that really stuck with me from the funeral, was when the minister talked about my uncle not being afraid of dying. He mentioned that because of my uncle's strong faith, he didn't have any reason to be afraid of dying. He talked about how most people are afraid of dying. It got me thinking, and I don't think I'm afraid of dying because of *me* but because of the people I would leave behind. I hate to think about causing them pain and grief. I can handle the "what about me?" part of me dying, but I don't like to think about "what about" for David, Matthew, Scarlett, my parents, my sisters, etc. if I die.

Maybe Kenny's right - Everybody want to go to heaven
But nobody want to go now

randomness and a potty training update

Scarlett loves to be naked. She would run around all the time without a stitch on, if I would let her. But we keep our house a little too cool for that, so I try to keep her clothes on her. To do that, I brag as I dress her about what a pretty girl she is. Now she will pat herself on the chest and say "preteeeee". If we play "where's your nose? your ears? your eyes?" I can ask "where's a pretty girl?" and she pats herself. She knows she's the pretty one.

Well Matthew decided one day he should be pretty too, so I had to tell him he was handsome. I said "Boys aren't pretty. They're handsome." We were shopping a few days later and he was wearing his pumpkin hat. (It was before Halloween, I'm just slow in sharing.) The clerk in one store was complimenting the hats and she told Matthew "it's very pretty," to which he quickly said "oh no, I'm handsome. Scarlett is pretty."

Today I took the kiddos to the pedi for follow-up flu shots. This was the first time either of them had one so they had to have 2 doses. I was trying to get Matthew prepared for it as he got dressed and I told him he was going to get a shot like last time we were at the doctor's office. He said "oh and then I can get a zebra sticker on my leg?" I had forgotten he got a zebra print bandaid last time, but he remembered. He did great with the shot, not even a flinch this time. He was too busy eyeing the bandaids the nurse brought in. Scarlett didn't do as well, she cried as soon as they started wiping her leg to prep her. She did get over it quickly though.

While we were in the waiting room there was an expectant couple sitting there. Matthew went right up to the man with a book and asked the man to read to him. The man did. Well it happened to be a fire truck book and the man is a firefighter. So then he told Matthew that he drives those trucks and Matthew wanted to go for a ride. I think when we go to Georgia for Thanksgiving I will be able to arrange a ride, as my hometown has a small volunteer department and my family is close with a lot of them. :)

Potty training is going much much better. Tuesday Matthew pooped in the potty just a little bit, and we had to call his Momma Joy to tell her. The phone got passed around there - his Aunt Ashlei & Uncle Marty were visiting, so he told Momma Joy, Aunt Ashlei, and then got Uncle Marty on the phone. He told his Uncle Marty that he was using the potty and that he holds his winkie to potty. Marty thought he said he goes "wee wee" and I couldn't control my laughter. He has not had a single accident since Monday until today at naptime. He called to me that he needed to potty (after being down for about 30 minutes) and had pooped just a tiny bit in his undies. He went on the potty & pooped a LOT. Maybe he's getting it, but I'm also practicing my patience!

Friendships and pain

When David & I decided it was time for us to "try" to have a baby, I snooped around the internet and discovered the WebMD message boards, mainly the TTC:JSO board. I lurked for a while, then jumped in and started posting. I met a LOT of wonderful wonderful ladies there, and a pretty large group of us eventually moved on to chatting in Yahoo. That group has dwindled down a bit for various reasons, but there's a group of us that is still there - we chat, we talk on the phone, we try to get together anytime we can. Even though we live far apart and I haven't met all of them, these girls are some of my best friends. I am so blessed to have these girls in my life. More blessed than I can even express.

Of this group, most of us have had babies in the time that we've known each other. Some had children already and have added to their families. Many of us have had more than one baby. Of this group, there are only a few left that haven't had children. One of these is the girl who lives closest to me. She's one of the 12.5% of Americans who suffers from infertility (I'm pretty sure that's the right number, but then again who really knows??). She's been through hell TTC, and my heart aches for her. There have been a lot of "hope this is it" moments, and nada. I can't even imagine the pain she and her hubby must feel, not when I think of how much I hurt when things don't work for her, and I know that what I feel can't possibly compare to what it must do to her.

Through it all, she's been a great friend to me. Supporting me when I wasn't planning to be pregnant and was, watching Matthew when we had Scarlett, watching both kidlets so David & I could have couple time, and let's not forget the time she & her hubby helped us paint our house! She's the best aunt my kids could ask for - the bond between her & Matthew is amazing really.

While friendship isn't about keeping score, I don't feel like I am half the friend to her that she is to me. It's hard, and I try but I feel I come short. I will continue to try, I hope she always knows I'm there for her, even when I don't have the words, I'm there.

The point of my post isn't really about all that, it's just the background. Two weeks ago, this friend lost her father. I went over to visit, planning to only stay a few minutes, but ended up staying longer. I had Matthew & Scarlett with me, and it was an eye-opening experience. I've been around her & her hubby a good bit, but never at their house with my kids. Here I am, I've gone there to offer condolences on the loss of her father, and maybe provide a distraction from the grief, and suddenly I'm overwhelmed with physical hurt because she has been unable to have children. I watch her, her hubby, their dog, and my kiddos, and think what a perfect world it would be, if only that was their world. After I got over the initial hurt, I got pissed off. But it still hurts, and I know the hurt for her must be a million times greater. If I could change it I would. Meanwhile, all I can do is offer my support, friendship, and love. But how?

You know who you are, and I'm so sorry for all the shit life has handed you. You're an amazing woman and I'm sorry life is so unfair. Thanks for being my friend. You've taught me so much. I wish I wish I wish...

it's about time

I decided it's about time I get busy writing. It's been a busy two weeks. There was a death in my family so we had a sudden trip to Georgia. Overall it was a good trip and I'll share more about it in the coming days. Today I want to focus on the present.

It seems my present is consumed with potty training. Yes, I feel like we should have conquered this long ago, but frankly I was lazy and didn't push it much. Matthew has shown interest but never seemed to show many of the readiness signs that you always hear. I finally decided to bite the bullet and just put him in big boy undies. I bought Thomas the Tank Engine ones and Lightning McQueen ones. I let him pick which kind he wanted to wear (he picked the car, I was surprised!) and we talked about how he should let me know when he needed to potty. This was Wednesday (last week). I asked him periodically if he needed to potty and he said no. I didn't push. A little later, I realized he was wet. I changed him and just said that he needed to let me know when he needed to go. A little later, wet again. I decided then to make him sit on the potty every so often. That worked much better. No more accidents. When David got home from work he was greeted by a yell of "Daddy I am wearing underwear just like you!"

Thursday was day 2 - Only one accident that day, and it was a poop. The boy does not want to poop in the potty.

Friday, day 3 - No accidents. He pooped in his diaper first thing in the morning and after his nap. We went out Friday evening for a few hours, still no accidents. We took his little potty in the car, and then at the mall he even stood up to pee in the little toilet in the family bathroom.

Saturday, day 4 - No accidents. He asked to nap without a diaper. We told him if he stayed dry for the nap that day then tomorrow he could nap in his undies. To our amazement he woke up dry.

Sunday, day 5 - No accidents. We were out and about almost all day and he did great. He napped in his undies and woke up dry. We're proud and starting to brag.

Monday, day 6 - That bragging thing seems to have backfired. He usually poops either first thing in the morning or right after his nap, but this morning I noticed him start to grunt a little, so I asked him if he wanted to potty and he said yes. I ran him to the potty (he can't get to it on his own yet because our whole house isn't scarlett proofed). He sat there for about 2 seconds and said he didn't need to go. I knew he needed to go, so I encouraged and finally told him he had to sit there for a while. He finally pooped and got to play with his trains as a reward. An hour or so later he told me he didn't have poop in his underwear. That meant he did. I reminded him that he should always tell me so he could put his poop in the potty. A little later he told me that Scarlett needed to poop and I should put her on the potty. She was in fact working on a nice messy diaper for me, but that's beside the point - the boy needs to worry about when he needs to potty, not when she needs to! About that time I realized he had pooped in his undies again. ARGH! So today he's in a diaper for naptime and he wasn't happy about it. I told him if he had accidents during the day he couldn't wear his underwear for naptime, so we'll see how that works.

So I bragged too soon, and it's driving me crazy that he just doesn't want to poop in the potty. Really why would you want to sit in that shit? (literally) I'm trying to be patient, and remind myself that it's been remarkably easy until today, but patience is not one of my virtues.

Enough potty talk, later I'll try to be more interesting.

can it get any sweeter?

We had a really good weekend. I'm trying to force myself to be happy because I've read that there are studies out there showing that if you act happy you usually become happier. So I'll test it. Whatever. I'm trying people!

Saturday was a pretty lazy day because the weather was supposed to be crappy and we didn't want to get out. Sunday we went to the fire station to get a pumpkin. They do a pumpkin patch as a charity fundraiser and we thought Matthew would enjoy seeing the firetrucks and firefighters up close. Plus, all their pumpkins were $5 so you can't beat that. They had other things too - facepainting, some games, cider, donuts, and hot dogs. It made for a nice outing. Matthew loved climbing in & driving the firetruck.

Afterwards we went to Meijer, where it still only costs a penny to ride the horse. You know, the mechanical horses that you put money in. As soon as we pulled up Matthew asked to ride. We went in and shopped, then got ready to head to the check out. David mentioned that he didn't see the horse. Matthew was still asking to ride (we usually take him while we are checking out - this makes sure he'll behave for shopping). We asked the cashier and she said they got rid of the horse because it was a hazard. Oh geeze - it's not the horse that's the problem - it's the parents not watching their children, but don't get me started on that. We had something to do at customer service so David kind of complained about them getting rid of the horse. The manager was there and told us the horse just needed some work & would be back. Meanwhile, Matthew is still asking for the horse. One of the customer service girls told him that the horsey had to go to the doctor but would be back soon. He got so upset at that point his eyes welled up with tears and he had such a frown. It almost made ME cry looking at him.

Matthew is also such a sweet boy. He always wants to help, even when I change Scarlett's diaper. Since I like to be at her feet when I've used a snappi, I ask him to hold her head in his lap. Today as I changed her he kept loving on her, and he would say "Scarlett's the sweetest sister." and "She's the cutest baby in the whole wide world." While I am sure he's right, I don't say that, at least not phrased like that. I don't know where he gets these things, but I'm so glad they love each other.

Christmas plans

I can't believe there are only 2 months until Christmas! Where has this year gone? Since we've been married, David & I have alternated holidays with our families, going to his for Thanksgiving/mine for Christmas, or vice versa. We usually manage to see both sides of the family at Christmas, but for christmas day we alternate. We said when we had children we would add a year at home to that, since it will be nice to stay home some years. Technically this would be our stay home year, but we felt like Matthew still isn't quite old enough that he'll care, and Scarlett definitely won't. So we weren't sure what we would do. On our old rotation, we would spend Christmas Day with his family, so earlier this week he asked his mom what her plans were. She hemmed & hawed and didn't know, so he said "we could have everyone here" - and she thought it was a great idea! Putting it into motion, my BIL & SIL would rather be home on Christmas Eve & Day, but I understand that - they have a 5 year old and almost all of their family lives in the area and will be together those days. So we are having Christmas here the weekend before Christmas. David's whole family (well his mother's side) is coming HERE!

I am really excited - I love hosting big Christmas stuff! I am not sure where everyone will sleep, but that's not too important...we'll find a spot for everyone! We may need some more air mattresses, but we'll manage.

Now I have to get & keep my house clean!!! That pile of laundry on my table that keeps growing has to disappear. I've got to go through the closets & put the clothes that fit in MY room so I don't have to digging through the extra bedroom while we have guests. I need to work on my funk so I can get it all done without making myself insane because I really am glad they'll be here. I just can't let it stress me out as it gets closer. I'll let it stress me out now instead :)

I'm normal

Well, according to my BMI anyway. I think we'd all agree that I'm probably not so normal in lots of ways. This morning I hopped on the scale, like I always do on Thursdays, and was surprised to see I've lost weight this week. I'm still not tracking/journaling like I should be, but hopefully seeing the numbers go down will help me get motivated again. I am still frustrated with myself - I've been hovering between 140.5 & 142 the last 6 weeks. But today, I dropped below 140, and I'm determined NOT to go back there.

According to my BMI, I'm a normal weight. I still think I'm overweight, but according to that math, I'm not. To think, I've only got about 15 lbs to go to be truly happy with my weight!

can't do cloth?

This is for anyone who says I just can't do cloth diapers. You know those people - the thought of dealing with cloth diapers totally grosses them out. They think getting the poop off the diaper would be awful, the worst thing ever. Well, Matthew & Scarlett were both up most of the night puking. Cleaning up poopy cloth diapers pales in comparison to cleaning up toddler puke off the sheets, the pillow, the stuffed animals he insists on sleeping with every night, the wall, the...you get the idea. So yeah, if you hear someone say they can't do cloth because it's disgusting, well you might just tell them to not have children.

I know they can't help it, and can't stress how much it hurt me to watch them be this sick. Neither of them had any idea what was happening, they both just wanted to sleep, but we wanted to keep an eye on them for a while. Scarlett was especially bad because she would fight us as we tried to help her. I think she was scared. Matthew didn't understand what was going on but he did finally understand that he should ask for the bucket to get sick in. So my poor babies were up most of the night sick, and all I wanted was to be sick in their place. Today they seem fine - we think it's something they ate. I hope so, I hope it's all done. I felt so so sorry for both of them.

I had something else I wanted to say but I can't remember what it was. Bah.

oh the funk

I've been feeling a definite funk lately. I posted about the whole roller coaster feeling, and then we had a great weekend, but even with a wonderful weekend, it seemed like I was right back into the funk once we were back home. I have been so excited about my weight loss, and it's been easy, but now I'm just kinda like eh, whatever. I could count on one hand the times I've been to the gym in the last month, and I have completely stopped tracking what I eat. Mentally part of it is still tracked, but I'm not doing it like I should. Somehow in this time I've gained 0.5 pounds - I'm surprised it isn't more. I've said the last 2 Mondays "ok, diet is back on" but then Monday rolls around & I just can't make myself eat better. Is this normal for dieting? I want to lose the other 15 lbs and KEEP THEM OFF, so I need help. I don't know what to do to get back in the groove.

And the kids - they are wonderful. They are true blessings but I don't appreciate them as much as I should. Lately I feel like I'm just looking forward to nap and bed times so I can rest. I *do* enjoy the time I have with them, but I'm not taking them to the park, or the library, or the pool, or anything fun out of the house. We're just retreating in our little shell during the week. We play, I read them stories, I take care of them, we give hugs & kisses, but most days it's like my heart isn't in it. And they deserve better than that. Maybe they deserve better than me.

I've got 2 loads of laundry that need washing, another 3 that need folding, and another 1 that needs to be put away. The dishwasher needs to be unloaded, and I have a few things in the sink that need to be washed. The dining room floor needs sweeping, the kitchen needs mopping, the bathrooms need cleaning. I feel like I get it all done & then it just needs to be redone. I can't keep up with it, and I can't understand why it's so hard. It shouldn't be hard, right? I have plenty of time to sit on my ass & watch tv, so why can't I find time to keep the house comfortable?

I'm just hoping to come out of this funk before long - my children and husband deserve better than they are getting.

a lovely weekend

Last weekend we planned to visit an apple orchard, take in some of Michigan's lovely fall color, and maybe camp. I was pretty hesitant about the idea of camping because I just didn't think Matthew and Scarlett would cooperate. But I finally decided, what the heck? If things really went bad, we could always go find a hotel somewhere. Ha! I'm forgetting who I married!

Saturday morning we ate breakfast, then got everything (seems like we sure took a lot to be gone just one night!) packed and loaded, and off we went. We got to the apple orchard around lunchtime. We bought some sandwiches for lunch, then when we finished those we bought fresh kettle corn, some donuts, and apple cider. YUMMMY! I love all those things. And um no, none of them are very diet friendly. But um, it's only fall once a year. ;) Once we finished our lunch we went off to play at the orchard. Matthew enjoyed climbing on and "driving" one of their antique tractors. We took a hayride to the orchard and picked a peck of apples. We got a few different varieties, some for baking and some for eating. Matthew and Scarlett enjoyed picking the apples, but it was hard to keep Scarlett from biting every one that she could get her hands on!

We visited the petting farm and Matthew rode a pony. We tried to take their pictures in front of the apple growth chart they have, so you can compare size from one year to the next. It so happens my kids just won't stand still for that sort of thing! After that, it was more tractors. That was definitely Matthew's favorite part.

Once we were tired of playing at the orchard, we headed off for a drive. We found a campground in the national forest and picked a site. David & I used to camp and we would usually just find an out of the way spot, not in a campground, but it was getting dark so we decided to take the easy way out. David got the fire going (really quick - I was impressed) and lit the lantern so we could see to set up camp. He did most of the camp work while I kept the kids out of the fire. We started cooking hot dogs so we could eat. It's all about the food. Matthew seemed to really enjoy cooking over the fire and while he usually won't eat hot dogs, he wolfed that one down & asked for another! After hot dogs were eaten we roasted some marshmallows. Matthew really liked those, and while Scarlett wasn't too sure at first, she quickly learned that they were gooey and messy so she enjoyed them too. We got the kids ready for bed and laid down in the tent with them. They went to sleep and we got up and sat around the campfire, even enjoyed a couple of s'mores. Haven't had those in ages.

Sunday we spent the day driving around looking at leaves, with me making a lot of stops to practice the things I've learned in photography class. It was a lovely weekend and I couldn't decide what pictures to share. Here are a couple, and if you want to see more check out my other pictures:

Friday ramblings

What a week! I'm glad it's Friday. It's been a hard week, but hopefully that means next week will be a good one.

Let's see, I'll start with today. We had Scarlett's 15 month check up this morning. We had to wait a long time, both in the waiting room & the exam room. Matthew & Scarlett were very good though, playing quietly with other kids in the waiting room, and then they went a little wild in the exam room, but the door was closed so they weren't bothering anyone. They danced around on the table, tearing all the paper and throwing it around the room. They had fun! Oh, and the check up - we saw a different doctor today and she was very nice. She adored Scarlett and seemed amazed by everything Scarlett did. She told us Scarlett is very advanced for her age and at one point said "I just love her." Scarlett weighed in at 21 lb 12 oz and was 31" long, which is right on the curve she's been on on the charts. She had 3 shots, 2 normal vaccines + a flu shot. Matthew also got a flu shot and was such a big boy. He didn't cry at all and barely flinched. He loved the zebra 'sticker' they put on his leg and asked for more. Scarlett did cry but as soon as the shots were over she went right back to playing & dancing.

Oh, then, then, we went to lunch at a little deli. And I, yes I, drove the Bronco! I forgot to mention that David has driven the Bronco to work & back (and on whatever errands he's run) every day this week (except Monday). It hasn't stalled or refused to start up a single time. Ok, now that I've said that, it probably won't start when he tries to come home today. I hope I didn't jinx him. But yeah, I drove it from the doc's office to the deli. Not very far, but it's a 3 speed, with the shifter on the steering column instead of the floor. And it's got NO power ANYTHING. So totally different than anything I've ever driven. Even my sister's old VW bug has the shifter in the floor. But yeah, I drove it. And boy did I get stares. I think when you live in the Motor City & drive something like that, you can't help but get them, but it was kinda interesting. I was a nervous wreck driving it because I didn't want it to break down on me! Even thought it wouldn't be my fault. I'm amazed it's run all week! (Side note: while this was going to be an ongoing project, David hasn't spent a lot of time on it. He has started spending at least a couple of hours each week tinkering on it though, so hopefully we'll see good results.)

As hard as this week has been, we've had several good moments. Wednesday night as I put Matthew to bed, he said "Thank you for cooking me a good supper tonight, mommy." Totally out of the blue. How sweet was that?

I sing "skinamarink" to Scarlett a lot, and now when I start singing it to her, she will sing "I uuuhhh OOOOO" and point at me. (That's "I love you" for those of you who can't sound out my 'scarlett spelling' and maybe don't know the song.) I know she's just responding to the song, but it's still sweet.

Scarlett is still showing a lot of interest in pottying, so I'm letting her sit on it as often as she wants to, and for as long as she wants to. She doesn't actually use it very much, but maybe she's making the connection.

And Matthew, I don't think he means to be funny sometimes, but he is. David was getting him ready for bed & Matthew was talking & suddenly burped mid-sentence. I didn't notice the burp, it was a quiet one. But David said "what do you say?" and Matthew burped a HUGE burp. I couldn't help but laugh - it was a response you'd expect from a teenager. I KNOW it wasn't on purpose, but it was still funny. So, David's trying to teach him manners and I am just laughing. Matthew did say excuse me once I turned my head away though! Maybe the manners will win out!

Have a great weekend :) We're hoping to go to an apple orchard and do some leaf viewing. Might try camping with the kiddos. Not sure on that yet - I'm not sure I want to worry about keeping them warm in a tent!

what a roller coaster

I've always loved roller coasters, when I was in college David & I used to travel the country to ride them. We'd take a long weekend and drive all day/night Friday to get somewhere, go to a park Saturday, drive Saturday night to another city, spend Sunday at a park, and drive all night Sunday night to get back to school/work on Monday. It was fun, and I'm sure there were worse things we could have been doing. What a thrilling ride. Ups & downs, highs & lows, such a rush.

So I figure parenting is a lot like riding a roller coaster, right? You have definite high points, with some low points thrown in for good measure, and a lot of little bumps along the way. This week has been one heck of a ride. Monday night was SO nice, the kiddos ate a good supper without being bribed prodded, then they played in the family room with David while I had clean-up duty. They were quiet, took turns, and all around great. I came in and played for a while before we got them ready for bed. I said to David "I sure wish it was like this all the time."

Then yesterday, oh my gosh, yesterday...neither of them would go down for a nap, after almost 2 hours Scarlett finally went to sleep. Matthew never fell asleep, but he did finally play quietly in his room. I probably made 20 trips up the stairs in that time, trying to get one or the other of them to lay down. I was so frustrated. I hate myself when I get frustrated with them. By the time David got home last night I was exhausted and didn't want to deal with them at all. Suppertime came and Scarlett dumped her plate on the floor. Matthew didn't do much better. After I finished eating I told David I was going to veg for a while, and let him take care of feeding them and bathing them. I just needed a break, and didn't want to wait until they were in bed to have it.

Unfortunately that break didn't help my mood. I was a grouch all night, and being really hard on myself about the kind of mother I am. David assures me I'm a good mom, and most of the time I believe it, but yesterday was not a good day. I was not a good mom. I've got to work on patience. Today has been, oh, better, but naptime for Scarlett was another battle.

Surely the good parts of the coaster will come back soon.

Sick blech

I overslept Saturday and woke up with a bloody awful headache. I slept late enough that I missed bootcamp, which makes me really sad, but I didn't feel up to it anyway. I ended up nursing Scarlett and going right back to bed - David was a sweetheart and took care of the short people all day. I did get out of bed around lunch time, only to eat and fall asleep on the couch. Yeah, I was useless. And I couldn't find my ibuprofen or my tylenol! We've recently moved all the medicine and somehow those got misplaced while we moved them I guess. By Saturday night I decided it wasn't "just a headache" since I was starting to have other crappy symptoms, so I took some cold/sinus medicine and slept great. Yesterday I got up with the short ones so David could rest and I managed to function most of the day. I'm feeling better today so hopefully the worst is past. I hate miserable weekends!

Knitting

My newest hobby is knitting. So far I've knit a few wool soakers (diaper covers), a pair of longies (long pants that will work as a diaper cover), a pair of 'panties' for one of Scarlett's dolls (am I the only one that can't stand a naked doll butt under a dress?), and a matching pair for Scarlett...since she has a matching dress (eyeroll - while I like for Matthew & Scarlett to match sometimes, I'm not so into her matching her doll). Oh yeah, I also made a scarf with some leftover yarn, and while I think the pattern is really cute I made it way too short. I didn't check my gauge and I should have. Then I could have calculated and added some extra pattern repeats to make it long enough. Oh well, it was good practice and I learned some new stitches. I can't complain...maybe someday Matthew or Scarlett will wear it!

I've also knit 4 pumpkin hats in the last week. They turned out pretty cute, and I think I might knit one for myself to wear when we take the short people trick or treating. Just for kicks. I told David I'd whip him one up too, but he said he wouldn't wear it. Stick in the mud! I haven't taken pics of the wool stuff, but I used a picture of one of the hats for part of my photography class homework, so I can share it easily.

TADA! I wish I had taken the picture with something besides a tree in the background, so you could see the stem a little better - I think that's what makes the hat. Oh well, that's why I'm taking the class!

more about the FIL

Nancy asked why FIL is partial to Scarlett. The short answer is I have no clue. I could give a dozen or so reasons of how he has shown he's partial, but I still can't figure out why. My main thought is that maybe he's just one of those people who prefers girls. That sounds kind of creepy, but you know a lot of people have a preference as to gender when they are having a baby. It's totally normal for women to "care" what gender their baby is, and pretty normal for men to want a son. But now that I say I think he prefers girls it does seem creepy. He's totally not creepy though. If he was I wouldn't let him around her!

FIL has 5 children, 3 boys and 2 girls. I've never noticed that he treats them with any preference, but he was only around for 100% of the time with the youngest daughter. He & David's mom were together until David was around 10, but I don't think he was a real hands-on dad during that time. I don't think he was the "go outside & play ball" type of dad, but I don't know why. Maybe I'll ask David. I can't remember him ever talking about memories of his dad from when he was young, other than shooting pool and playing video games. His dad owned a game room type place, so I think they spent a lot of time there. Maybe not so much outside, doing more typical father/son activities. But FIL lived with his youngest (girl) from pretty soon after she was born until she graduated from high school and went away to college. So I'm guessing he's just more comfortable with girls? I really don't know.

And Nancy, great game last night. I actually kinda like Boston, since during my Georgia Tech days I watched many games with Garciaparra and Varitek. The Braves will always be my #1 MLB team though.

diapers!!!

I totally forgot to mention that my diapers came Saturday! I opened up the box hoping to see lots of beautiful squishy diapers and was actually disappointed in the fabrics. You see, I ordered a "bundle" of prints, which meant that I had no say in what prints I received. I looked through the past prints available and almost all of them were really cute and then in early September she posted a picture of *some* of the prints that were shipping. There were a few in it that I knew if I received I would have a hard time selling, yes, they were that cute. But of course, murphy took effect and I received none of those ultra cute prints. Mine were pretty boring. I got these:
Fairy Dress Up
Cabbage Rose
Poetry
Best Friend
Sassenach
Queen Anne

I will take pictures & share when I'm not feeling lazy, so if you're curious but don't want to click the links, you can see them later. But really, I don't LOVE any of these. I would have much rather gotten these:
Paislig
Skull Candy
Concentric
Swirly Twirly

I think it's good I didn't get Skull Candy. I've seen it auction for ~$200 and I would have wanted to keep it, but there's no way I could keep a diaper that's "worth" $200. What would you do with a $200 diaper? Would you put it on your baby to pee & poop in? I've seen people use the "Victoria's Secret" argument...they buy "nice" panties for themselves so their babies should have "the best" too. But people, I don't pee and poop in my panties!

So, back to my original plan...I'm going to try to sell 5 of these diapers & keep one. While I wasn't crazy about any of the prints, the diapers are soft and squishy and feel much better than any others I've bought. I still simply have to try them out of curiousity! Give me opinions - which one would you keep?

weekend update

This weekend David's dad came for a visit. The kiddos seemed to enjoy his company, but it drives me nuts that he is so partial to Scarlett. I hope it changes as they get older, but if it doesn't I am afraid it will mess up his relationship with Matthew. Time will tell, and I don't guess I can let it worry me now.

Saturday night we went to the Tigers/Rays baseball game. The Rays clinched their division Friday night (thanks to a Boston loss) so the outcome of the game didn't matter. I had sworn off the Tigers a couple of years ago but because David's dad is a Rays fan and David bought tickets from a season ticket holder (so we weren't giving the Tigers any money...they already made their buck off the tickets), I agreed we would go. Our seats were 8 rows behind the Rays dugout, and during the breaks between innings, we watched all the kids go down to try go get balls. Finally David's dad took Matthew down for their chance. They went down a few times with no luck, but then David's dad came back and said one of the pitchers promised to get them a ball at the next break. We were hoping it would be signed, but when they got it it was not. Oh well, it's still really awesome to have a ball, right? The people around us were all really nice too - the people behind us gave us tickets to ride the carousel and ferris wheel. We took Matthew on them & he had a blast. We got back to our seats and thanked the people again, then Matthew turned around and started telling them all about riding the tiger and riding in the baseballs. (The carousel has tigers on it, and the ferris wheel is all baseballs.) I think they enjoyed hearing from him how much he enjoyed it. The Tigers won the game and we all had a good time. There were fireworks after the game, and Scarlett LOVED the fireworks. She sat there and pointed and clapped - it was so cute!

Off to knit :)

and another little whine - **edited

I don't know what the heck people are walking for today, but there's been a lot of screaming & yelling & horn honking going on all afternoon. It's disturbing Scarlett's nap! and you know when babies don't nap, they are cranky. And when babies are cranky, mommies have to try really hard not to be cranky. I finally went & looked and there are a lot of people wearing bright yellow t-shirts walking by in groups. Even if this is some great fundraiser/awareness thing, shouldn't most of them have gone by now? This thing shouldn't be lasting over 2 hours, should it? Not in front of MY house anyway, right? ARGHGHGHGH!! Maybe I need to volunteer on the committee...I'll suggest that next year the walk take place in the business part of town, not the residential area! ;)

** Edited to say that I'm guessing Beth was right, this weekend IS the Michigan 3-Day and the route is probably going by my house. So now I feel like a total putz for complaining. It's a great cause. But why were they wearing YELLOW? Last weekend when we were in Atlanta we crossed the path of their 3-Day and it was obgvious from their t-shirts.

potty talk

I've been kinda trying to potty train Matthew. Since our last trip to Georgia he has shown more interest. I think because my niece is potty trained and they are best buddies. But he's very back & forth...one day he'll always want to go and the next day he fusses every time I mention it. So I dunno - he's also not showing a lot of the classic readiness signs. BUT I think to myself, he's almost 3, he SHOULD be ready!

Well, Scarlett has been saying "potty" and patting her lower belly every time I change her diaper lately. She also runs to the gate whenever I ask Matthew if he needs to potty. So I kinda thought she might be interested & understand a bit about it so we started putting her on the potty occasionally. Well this morning David let me sleep in and he said she & Matthew were playing & suddenly she stood up & said "potty" and went to the gate. He asked her if she needed to potty and she grabbed the gate and said potty again. So he took her & she peed! So maybe I will get her & Matthew both trained at the same time. Is it even possible to train one this young?

If anyone has tips on getting her or Matthew trained, let me know. I know there's tons of theories out there, but I'd love to know what worked for you. Do you leave them in diapers while you're training them, or do you put them in underwear/panties? Do you pump them full of liquid and take them to sit on it, or follow their normal eat/drink routine and just take them regularly? Do you take them if they don't want to go? Help me out here folks!

my own time whine

Sometimes I don't feel like I have any time that is my own. I know that comes with the whole motherhood territory, but I don't think I was really prepared for just how little time I would have that was my own. I have actually gotten spoiled this week because Scarlett has not taken a morning nap, she has only napped in the afternoon, which puts her & Matthew napping at the same time. I have a clean house, supper ready, and time left over to do what I want. Even if it's just an hour, I have time for me. Pretty sweet. It was obvious by 9 o'clock this morning that Scarlett wasn't going to make it to lunch time without a nap. So I put her down for a morning nap, which means she won't nap again until around 3:30-4:00 this afternoon. Matthew will probably wake up around 4, so I won't really have time to myself. It's bad that over the last 2 days I've allowed myself to enjoy knitting after lunch, and now today I'm sad that I can't knit!

Don't get me wrong, I'm always thrilled to have one on one time with the kids, and actually haven't pushed Scarlett to one nap a day even though so many people tell me how much easier it will be when she & Matthew are on the "same schedule." I love having time with him in the morning & with her in the afternoon. Or I thought I loved it, until this week when I discovered I love knitting after lunch. I think part of it is that last night I got almost finished with my latest project and thought to myself "I'll finish this up easily at naptime tomorrow" but folks that ain't happening! I thought it would be nice to have a finished project and then start another tonight. But now I'll finish one & immediately start another...somehow it just doesn't feel as good to know I have unfinished work.

I also have to add this disclaimer - don't take my complaining about lack of my own time as an indicator of what time I do have. I am lucky to have a husband who doesn't complain a bit when I take much needed me time on the weekends, or even during the week once he's home from work. He doesn't even complain when I tell him I'm going out as soon as he walks in the door. And I know it's important for him to have some time off too. When we first got married I hated it if he beat me home from work because I felt like that was my wind down time, so I try to be considerate of that with him. Everyone needs a chance to wind down, and sometimes I need it at 6:00 other days it can wait until 8:00. But David is wonderful about giving me that.

life is good

We had a great weekend. Busy but great. We flew to Atlanta Friday evening, took the train to our hotel, and finally got settled in around 10pm. The kids were pretty good on the flight - we fed them supper so that took a decent part of the trip and then they enjoyed looking around and playing with the window shade. Matthew has always enjoyed putting the shade up & down. He was so much fun getting around Friday - he loves everything transportation related, so he loved that we rode a bus, plane, and train. (We used a park & ride lot near the airport here so we took a bus from the car to the airport.) He told everyone that asked that we rode a bus and we were going to ride a plane and go to Georgia Tech to see Buzz and football. He was so excited and just seemed to really soak it all in.

When we got on the elevator to get to the train, he loudly exclaimed "it stinks" - which it did! I swear everything Marta related smells like urine but some stations and trains are definitely worse than others. Gag.

Saturday we had a busy day. David had his recruiting event most of the morning, so he headed to campus around 9. I stayed at the hotel with the kiddos and some friends came over to visit. We sat around the room so Scarlett could nap and just visited. I had taken toys and my former boss played football with Matthew. Matthew loved it. We usually don't let him throw balls in the house, but I had taken a nerf football and moved all the lamps in the hotel room. When I got Matthew dressed for the game he wanted to know where his football helmet was and I told him I left it home. He told me he would just play without it. When it got near kickoff time, we told my friends goodbye and I packed up the kiddos to walk to the stadium. We met up with David and went to the game. It is a different experience watching a game with kids than without. And the older they get the more rambunctious they are, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to the game. I did enjoy watching Matthew as he played and watched for Buzz. Near the end of the game Buzz came over to our section of the stands and Matthew went down to say hi. I didn't get a good picture because as soon as Matthew got to Buzz we scored another touchdown and Buzz had to go to pushups. Fortunately Buzz high-fived Matthew and rubbed his head before heading off. That was the highlight of Matthew's day.

Scarlett was pretty oblivious to it all. She liked climbing around the bleachers and trying to see what was in people's cups! We entertained her most of the game with a big cup of ice.

After the game we went back to the hotel for naps, but Scarlett wasn't cooperative. We then met up with more friends for dinner. It was a good time.

All was well until Scarlett woke up screaming around 3:45 Sunday morning. Neither David nor I could settle her, so I finally offered the boob. That did the job, until she was full and spit it all up! I had to change both of us, then I put her back down. Ten minutes later she was screaming again. I decided to let her fuss for a few minutes (yeah go ahead, bash me, whatever) even though she was in the room with Matthew. We realized he had woken up because he started singing to her, trying to settle her down. Melt. That boy is just so sweet (most of the time!). Scarlett finally went back to sleep a little after 6. David & I were exhausted.

Sunday morning we met an online friend for breakfast. Unfortunately we were all tired and not very talkative. Scarlett was disagreeable about everything and all my attention had to be on her. After breakfast we went to the Georgia Aquarium. Scarlett took a quick catnap on the train and was in a better mood once we got there. Matthew also cheered up when we saw the fish. Then it was back to the airport and home again! We all crashed pretty early and slept late yesterday!

Yesterday was a rough day and I thought I was about to hit the breaking point, but we survived. Today has been great! Matthew & Scarlett have been loving on each other a lot - it is so sweet. Life is good.

random tidbits

• I'm down another pound this week. Yay me! It's coming off, slowly but surely. I also think I've developed habits that will help me keep it off.
• I mentioned developing good habits - I just LOVE the boot camp class at my gym. It is hard, really really hard, but I always feel so good afterwards. I also feel great when I realize how much better I keep up now than when I first went! If there's a boot camp style class near you, I highly recommend it.
• The weight loss thing is going well for David too. He weighs less now than when we got married! I won't mention how good the weight loss has been for our sex life. It's a matter of being in better shape. With both of us going to the gym several times a week, we both have more energy. But I said I wouldn't talk about that.
• Scarlett is getting sweeter every day it seems. She's getting so free with hugs and kisses - she just randomly walks up to me smacking her lips and then holds her face up towards me until I lean down and kiss her.
• Matthew is growing up so much - he's such a little boy now, wanting to play with matchbox cars, airplanes, and rocket ships. His imagination continues to amaze me.
• My pc crapped out on me Monday. I think it got a virus, but whatever happened it decided to do a system restore all on its own. Getting programs installed and all is a complete pain in the ass. I keep running into things I can't do because I don't have the right software. And while I think the computer is clean and virus-free now, any webpage I try to view is taking forever to load, if it loads at all. I *think* this might be a provider issue though.
• Tonight I go to photography class again. I skipped the last few classes over the summer because of our trip to Georgia. I'm cheating though & not doing the homework - I'm just going to take in the same pics I took last class.
• Tomorrow night we're going back to Georgia, but we're flying this time. It's a quick weekend trip. David is working with a recruiting group from his company. They are having a tailgate at Georgia Tech Saturday and we're all going to the game. Matthew is excited to fly on a place and see Buzz, but has no concept of "tomorrow".
• On our AFI list, we still haven't watched #94(Pulp Fiction), but we've seen it a lot - we are just waiting on the library copy on DVD to be available. We did wtach #93 - The French Connection, last weekend. I didn't care for it. Just not my type of movie. It was boring. Not worth its own post.

whew

I'm exhausted. See, I have this crazy thing - I can't go to sleep in our bed at our house if David's not there with me. Well, I exaggerate - i can go to sleep but it takes forever! Normally if he's home I don't even try. He's been having to work a lot of extra hours lately. This is his busy time of year due to certain annual reports they do, so combining that with the recent layoffs and reduced staff means a lot of extra work for everyone. He's pulled at least 3 all nighters in the last 2 weeks, and several other nights where he worked until 2-3am and then was back up at 6 or 7. Most of these nights I stay downstairs with him and fall asleep on the couch. Last night I got wrapped up in a "new" tv series that we dvr'd last fall and never watched. I was also knitting. I ended up watching 8 of the shows (one hour shows) and finally at 3am told him I was going to bed. He said he wasn't. I went up and it took me an hour to fall asleep even though I was so tired. So today I'm living on caffiene and still having trouble keeping my eyes open. I hope this crazy work schedule ends soon.

It is insane that I can't sleep without him in our bed. I've been this way since we got married. Even though I travelled for work almost every week for 6 years, and I never had trouble sleeping alone in a hotel room, I can't do it at home. ARGH! I need to get over this huh?

where to begin

This weekend was somewhat chaotic, but it couldn't have been more perfect. We decided pretty late Friday afternoon to do our grocery shopping after dinner Friday night. It worked out pretty well, even though I missed the yoga/pilates class I normally go to on Friday nights. I decided I just didn't have time for 2 trips to the gym over the weekend, and I prefer the Saturday boot camp to the Friday yogalates.

As for boot camp, I am finally getting to a point that I can *almost* keep up with everyone else, and I don't feel utterly exhausted after class. I also don't feel that I *must* get in the hot tub before bed to ensure that I can move the next day. That's a good thing, but I did like having an excuse to get in the hot tub every weekend! Although it's been good I didn't have to, since the last 2 Saturday nights it's been raining.

Then most of the rest of the weekend was spent cleaning. You see, I am a horrible housekeeper. I know a lot of people say this, but I really mean it. Anyway, Saturday, we got the kitchen really clean. I mean sparkly, eat off the floor clean. We also made progress in other rooms, but the kitchen was the only room I felt was truly clean. Sunday we finished the rest of the downstairs....and yes, it's all eat off the floor clean. (Mind you we wouldn't really eat off the floor, but it's super clean!)

Saturday night we watched an AFI film, but not Pulp Fiction (which was next on the list). We have it on VHS but want to get the DVD from the library & it's checked out. I'll post about the movie we watched later. While we watched the movie, I folded & put away all the laundry that I had let pile up. Again, NOT a housekeeper...I don't mind washing the clothes, but getting them put away is a real thorn in my side!

The weather all weekend was awful and the Sunday evening forecast was even worse. 80% chance of rain, cool, and strong winds, with possible tornadoes! EEK! We had concert tickets, for an outdoor venue, in the lawn area (which is uncovered, unassigned, grass). I told David that no matter how much I was looking forward to the show, if the weather was as bad as they predicted we should find something else to do. I wasn't going to pass up the chance to get out of the house, since we had a sitter lined up & we desperately need to find someone willing to sit for us on a regular basis.

The sitter showed up right on time, and we were surprised to see she brought another girl with her. The sitter was a girl from the daycare center Matthew & Scarlett used to go to, and the other girl was another teacher there. Fine by us, we had actually called her before we called the girl who was available. I had been telling Matthew all day that "Miss J" was coming to play with him. He ran to her & gave her a big hug, and then ran to Miss A and gave her one too. Scarlett was even agreeable about them being there. I think being at home put her at ease with them. We left for the concert - the rain was seeming to hold off, but who knew what the next few hours would bring!

Let me just say Toby Keith puts on a great show! We missed most of the opening acts, but saw Montgomery Gentry (also great) and I don't think it could have rained hard enough to tear me away once Toby was on stage. I heart him. But fortunately, the rain was light & the wind was not as bad as they'd said. Oh but the hill...quite muddy. Lots of accidental slips & falls that resulted in people sliding all the way down. I almost fell as we were trying to find a spot to enjoy the show. Thankfully I was holding the hand of my big strong hubby and he rescued me. While they were getting the stage set for Toby, a lot of people just started sliding down the hill on purpose. That kept the rest of the crowd entertained during the break! But oh Toby - he rocked! His new album isn't coming out until the end of October so he sang mostly 'old' songs, it was pretty much a performance of greatest hits. Sweet! I hate when I go to a concert and they sing a lot of stuff off their new upcoming album and I don't know any of it.

We got home & Miss J and Miss A told us how great Matthew & Scarlett were. They hung out with us for a while, talking about our kids & the center. They talked about how Scarlett is a "real pistol" and "into everything" and that Matthew is "so laid back and sweet" - sounds like the kiddos showed their true colors! After they left I went in the kitchen & realized these girls also emptied the dishwasher & cleaned up all the supper dishes! I told David we didn't pay them enough! :)

I feel gypped

I'm frugal, most of you know that by now. And I grew up on $8 haircuts. BUT, I grew up in a small town where everyone charged $8, and most of them did a really good job. Most of them also owned their own little shops, so I went, got a cut, gave them $8 and left. No tipping, no fancy salons, no wine & fruit, just give me a haircut & I'm outta there. When I went to college I stayed faithful to my "back home" hairdresser and got my hair cut when I went home for visits. Sometimes I even planned visits home because I needed a trim. Since I stayed in Atlanta for a long time after college, I continued to plan visits home regularly enough to get my hair trimmed, but eventually that became difficult and inconvenient. So I went through the process of finding a stylist in Atlanta that I liked. I quickly realized I wasn't going to pay a bargain $8 and get a good cut. I wasn't going to get a good cut for $40, much less 8. And then, there's the whole tipping thing. But alas, it's worth it to have a stylist I like and who can cut my hair so that I'm satisfied.

I finally found someone here that I thought I liked, but really I don't like her, but she does a good job on my hair. I don't like her because she is bland, she has no personality that is obvious, or either we just don't click. I've never had a stylist that didn't chitter chatter the whole time they were cutting, but this chick struggles to put together 3 sentences. So I sit and babble, and eventually decide to STFU cuz I'm tired of hearing myself talk. But that's beside the point - she does a decent job on my hair. I just had a cut and feel totally gipped though. I go in, discuss what I want changed from the way it looks right then, and we head over to the shampoo chair. She wets my hair, says oh it is so clean, let's go back to the chair. What? Huh? You mean you're not going to wash my hair with the yummy smelling shampoo that you sell for $20+ a bottle? (Again, I'm frugal, the only time my hair sees $20+ shampoo and conditioner is at the salon.) But I don't say anything, because frankly I'm stunned. (And in case you're wondering I had washed my hair at 10am and the haircut was at 6pm...more time between washings than a lot of days I get it cut.)

Of course my bill at checkout still came to $53, even though she didn't wash my hair and it took a lot less time than normal. And I tipped my normal $10, even though I was annoyed. I scheduled my next appointment, but now that I still feel annoyed over this I don't know if I'll go back or find someone else.

Would you be annoyed if you didn't get the shampoo?

the best kids

I guess every parent thinks they have the best kids. If not the smartest, maybe sweetest, the funniest, the prettiest, or the best singer, best dancer, best baseball player, whatever, but the best at something. Mine are pretty much the best to me. :)

Scarlett is so happy. She wakes up and when I get to her crib she flashes a huge smile and reaches her arms up to me. She often does the same thing when I walk in the room that she's in. She will stop playing and look up and smile or laugh. She's just delightful. She's also really good at entertaining herself. She will sit and play alone for a long time, but then suddenly decide she wants a little momma lovin' and she climbs up in my lap to hug and kiss me. Then she goes right back to playing. Could it get any better?

But it does! Matthew is such a sweet boy. He's rough & tumble too, he plays hard and likes to be rough, but he also gives the absolute best hugs I've ever had. That little guy will wrap his arms around you in a way that I can't even put words to. He's so cuddly and it's just so real. He's full of love.

I can't count the blessings when it comes to these kids - I'm so lucky to be their mom. Even on days that don't go like I want them to, or days I'm not feeling up to being a mom, they make me realize how good I have it.

#95: The Last Picture Show

Sunday night we watched The Last Picture Show, #95 on the AFI Top 100 list. I couldn't figure out what put this movie on the list, I just didn't get it. I suppose it's about teenage love and angst, and relationships, and trying to find the perfect match, but some of the scenes had me rolling my eyes big time. I told David that maybe we should watch the movie again, so I could see if I missed something, but honestly I think I'd just be wasting another couple of hours.

I did go read reviews on IMDB, to see if I could figure out WHY this was in the top 100, and I still don't get it. I am totally missing something. Anyone want to clue me in?

Next up: Pulp Fiction (seen it a gazillion times, but we'll watch it again)

#96: Do The Right Thing

I'm behind on my AFI Top 100 List updates! Oops! We actually watched #96, Do The Right Thing, before our family visit. I don't think I've ever watched a Spike Lee movie before...if I have I didn't realize it was Spike Lee, ya know? I actually commented to David in the early part of the movie that at the very least, watching the top 100 list was making me watch movies that I never before would have watched.

You see, Do The Right Thing starts off as a "day in the life" sort of movie. It's set in a Brooklyn neighborhood that is mostly black, with a pizza place owned by an Italian family and a grocery store owned by Koreans. There's a bit of plot built around the relationships between the community & the shop owners, but the movie starts off as an easy plot. Then it builds, with seemingly small things that happen or are said, and more and more of these, until things escalate to a point where you can feel the tension, you can feel the anger, you can feel the hurt. And then it explodes.

One might think with a title like this, the movie would *tell* the viewer what the right thing is, but it leaves that question open. What is an appropriate way to deal with racism? Is it ok to use violence to end violence? The movie ends with two conflicting quotes on violence, one from Martin Luther King Jr. and the other from Malcolm X. With these conflicting quotes, it is definitely left wide open. Maybe there is no right thing? Maybe the right thing for one person isn't the right thing for another? It's easy for me to sit here & say that it's never acceptable to use violence as a response to racism, but I've never been a victim of racism. I still can't support responding with violence, but I can understand it.

Up next: The Last Picture Show