I'm finally ready for Christmas! Almost.

It's the end of January already? How did that happen?

I have my Christmas cards half done now and I just ordered a Christmas gift. Guess it could be a birthday gift. No, that was a few weeks ago for the little recipient... Valentine gift?

Have you ever made a photo book?  I thought it would be quick and easy, but it's really not like that.  The layouts are all premade, but then they gave me options to change them.  I did, over and over again.  The book only has 20 pages unless I pay for more but I figured if I added one or two more pages, I would decide to just add one or two more and so on.  I decided not to tempt myself and just stuck to the minimum number of pages. I didn't need to go broke making a photo book!

There really weren't enough spots on each page for the multitude of photos I have.  So many adorable pictures and only one, two or three photos per page.  On the last page of the book, I chose a layout that looks like a checkerboard of photos.  I can't wait to see it all printed and bound in my hands!

Luckily, I thought about myself when I ordered the photo book. It is just too cute to give away, so I ordered two!

The photo book is for a little girl who just turned two years old. I'm sure she will appreciate all the thought that went into the picking and choosing of the photos.  She is my toddler's best little baby buddy.  It was decided before they were born that they would be best little buddies and have lots of playtime together. And, that's exactly how it was. The girls really did bond and form a loving friendship even though they are so little. Libby's little friend moved away recently and though the girls don't know how far apart they are geographically, they do know that they miss playing together.  So I thought the photo book would be nice for both girls, pictures of them together.

I can't believe it took me two months to put the photo book together.  But, it did.  First I had to go through two years worth of photos on my computer and select all of the possible pictures that I might use.  After building a photo folder of copied pictures, I had to sort and select the ones I wanted. Still had way too many.  Then I needed to arrange them in the book.  Some were too big, some too small, a few off centered, some needed a bit of color correction... there was just a lot of tiny touches to be done on photoshop.  I arranged the photos, changed my mind and started over again a hundred times or more. I had 55 photo spaces to fill with two years worth of total cuteness.

My intention was to get this done in one sitting and order it as a Christmas gift.  Then I decided maybe it should be a birthday gift for a January birthday.  Now, it will be a Valentine. (I hope). I was able to include a few pictures that have never been seen yet!  I think the girls will enjoy those pictures the most.  I'm very excited to see the end result!

Now, to finish those Christmas cards and get them in the mail.  February is still included in "the Christmas season", isn't it?

Happy Coincidence, Again!

Once was weird, twice is bizarre!  Good thing this coincidence is such a good one!

Today the girls wanted to go to the park; they requested a sand filled park with swings.  Hmmm... ok, let's go to Cal Oaks, no? ok, Antelope Hills Park, whoops, I turned the wrong way.... ok, we'll go to Meadowlark... no, wait, that one has wood chip fill... hmmm.... well, since I'm headed this way we can go to the one on Whitewood Ave that we've never been to, ohhhhh no, there it is and it's wood chip filled with no swings.  Sigh.  Fine, we'll just go to Firefighter Park which I know has everything they love, but it's always so darn busy.  I pulled into the driveway and got the girls out. They were hopping and dancing around with excitement.

I was leading them in the direction of the toddler equipment (even though they prefer to play on the big-kid structure) and I heard my name.  I ignored it of course, because who would holler for me? And then Gracie ran ahead of me and hugged this adorable little girl like a long lost teddy bear.  I swung around to see who is still yelling my name and it was my friend Elizabeth!  Gracie was hugging the stuffing out of her daughter!

How exciting!

This is the one friend of mine who I do not have facebook or cell phone contact. We email on occasion, but not often enough. She babysat Gracie for me while I finished college, and she loves Gracie dearly.

One other day just a couple of weeks ago we met up the same way, only I was the one at the park first.  We spontaneously went to the same park (not this particular one) on the same day at the same time.  This just doesn't happen!

We decided we need to plan some playdates since we just love getting together.  Although, we don't really need to plan them since we obviously think alike, or we have divine playdate intervention. The three girls sure had a fun time playing together!

Not Napping Today! Guest Blog Post

Sometimes moms of two-year-olds just have to laugh!  My friend wrote this letter to her 2 yr old toddler and I am sharing it with you today. 

Dear Catherine,

It's very sad that you did not want to take a nap today - especially after suffering from the flu this week. I admit I was slightly entertained listening to the monitor until you somehow whacked your head. That happened right after the mysterious jackhammer sounds.

I ran, tripping on two dachshunds, to your rescue (as any loving mother would).  After many hugs, kisses, and a few books, I thought you'd sleep - either from a concussion or fatigue. No luck.

After the final bout of high-pitched screams, now 1 1/2 hours into your so-called nap, I was surprised with your choice of entertainment as I entered the room a second time.  By tossing every single blanket and stuffed animal from your bed, I'm guessing you were thinking that you would like to be the first female replacement for Brady on the Patriots.  Some of your throws were so far that I thought you were trying for your own version of a Hail Mary pass.  Impressive indeed. 

Your throwing skills aside, I'm most impressed with your ability to remove your clothes and DRY diaper so that you could pee standing up all over the side of your crib aiming every so slightly left and then right so that you could pee between the slats of your crib making the hot urine contaminate the stuffed animals and linens you threw to the floor.  HOT?  Yes.  I believe that is the exact word you used to describe the pee, making me realize I ran upstairs only moments too late for the pee party.

I'm sure our adventures would have continued had Baby T not started screaming from her own crib, bringing our fun in your bedroom to an end.

But WAIT!  Since I couldn't take the time to wipe the urine off of you in your room, I thought it best to take you to T's room to wipe you down.  I never realized that you had grown quite fond of me taking your temperature all week.  I was  further impressed with your ability to lube up the thermometer that was sitting next to T's changing pad and attempt to take your own temperature where the sun doesn't shine - just like mommy does. This time your aim wasn't the best.  I hope you did not cause any internal damage in the moments it took me to grab a screaming Theresa from her crib. 

I suppose we can try for another nap this afternoon.  On second thought, maybe we'll just skip it.

Yes, I carried a potty chair all around Disneyland.

Yup, I did! I toted a potty chair all around Disneyland and California Adventure last Wednesday.

It was Libby's 2 week anniversary of being diaper-free. Two weeks isn't very long! I've taken her for a few outings without diapers, but I've been nervous and haven't ventured too far away from home.  I've also been carting around a supply of clothing and kept a potty chair in the van.

The potty in the van is a red one, which matches our red gingham picnic blanket.  Libby dubbed it the "picnic potty".  So far, she's used it in the Walmart parking lot, church parking lot, at the park and in the driveway.  It's very handy!  Her favorite potty chair is the pink one though. Pink is just better for everything.

For a day at Disneyland, I packed up the pink potty, baby wipes, plenty of extra panties and leggins, an extra pair of shoes, some socks, and three or four plastic bags.  In addition to all of the new potty items I was bringing along, I also packed up the rest of our Disneyland baggage: sunscreen, snacks, ears, blanket, jackets, water, camera and purse items....  Toting the bag with the potty chair in it really seemed to add a lot to my load.  Plus the week's worth of clothing really filled up my diaper bag which I like to keep packed lightly. There comes a time during the day, twice actually, when I need to carry everything I brought with me, plus carry the stroller and herd the children. I now had two large tote bags stuffed full and a backpack, also jam packed, double stroller, kids.  I put the ears on my head to at least get something out of my hands; ok so that only helped a wee bit.

As I passed through the Disneyland security checkpoint, I laid all my bags on the table and unzipped everything.  I was using a Minnie Mouse reusable grocery tote bag for the potty chair, so it was wide open already.  The security lady peeked in all of my bags and when she saw the potty she kind of snickered to herself.  I heard her!

She said to me, "You didn't need to bring that, there is a child sized toilet in the baby center" and I said, "Yes, I know, but it's the only tiny toilet and if I'm in Toon Town or Critter Country, there's no way I can get back to Main Street to the tiny toilet in time. So, I thought I would just run her to the nearest ladies' room and set her potty on the floor for her, then I can clean it there and hopefully we can avoid an accident. She's only two."  Security lady smiled and said, "Good idea". And off I went.

I heard giggling as I walked away.  I'll bet we were the talk of the security checkpoint people when they met around the water cooler that day!

Throughout the day, we stopped in every rest room we passed by and I took out her pink pot and set it on the floor. And, every time she refused to use it. She told me, "No, not that one!  The Dizzyland one!" I held her and she went on the big giant handicapped toilets!  They are huge!  Well, compared to my itty bitty girl they really are big.  But, they are Disneyland fixtures, so who am I to argue?  I carted that pink potty around all day long and she didn't piddle in it once.

That's ok though, because she didn't have one single potty accident all day long!  That was the goal, after all.  Ah, the magic that is Disneyland!  Love it!

Gracie had a close call.  This girl has a bladder of steel.

She told me she wanted to be brave like her friend, Paige.  Paige can ride the Pirates of the Caribbean ride without being scared at all. She's just fine. She doesn't scream or hide or cry.  She doesn't have to hold hands or anything!  She's amazing!  And Gracie wants to be brave like Paige.  Gracie gets scared, but not too bad.  This time, she was determined to be free of fear.

I took the girls to the bathroom before we got on the ride and Libby went, but Gracie wouldn't go.  Nope. Don't need to.  Nope.  Don't have to go.  Nope.  I'm fine, Mom, I'm fine.   Well, all right then, off we went.

As soon as that girl saw the water, she started dancing around.  Ohhhhhh No!  We were next in line for a boat and she's hopping around and  holding herself.  "Mom!  I gotta go potty RIGHT NOW!"  Oh, child of mine.  We walked right onto the ride, there wasn't a line at all, and now you have to go?  Not two minutes ago in the rest room?  Can you hold it till the ride is over?  "Maybe I can".

My choices are  1.  Take her out of the que and find a restroom or 2. make her wait and hope she learns that she should go potty when she has the opportunity.   Hmmmm.  Choice number one is much safer.  Choice number two is very risky, but the ride isn't all that long and she does have a bladder of steel.  She's probably just nervous, plus the water is powerfully suggestive, I'll bet she has a gallon in her because she drank a couple of juices and she hasn't gone since we left the house.  What to do, what to do?  She's hopping furiously.  It's our turn to board!

I opted to make her hold it, er, hoped she would hold it. The boats are rows of bench seats and Gracie got in the middle.  Great.  She better hold it or we'll all be sitting in a puddle. She was really wiggling as we went down the waterfalls.  Oy.  Waterfalls and a full bladder in a frightened four year old.  This is not good!

Did you know the Pirate ride is 14.5 minutes long?  Plus getting in and out of the boat adds valuable time, very precious seconds.  She made it.  She didn't flood the boat!  She wasn't brave either, but that wasn't nearly as important as the potty emergency.  Once the ride ended, I grabbed that child by the hand and stuck the other one on my hip and we RAN to the nearest rest room I knew of - at the train station in New Orleans' Square.

I shoved her in the first stall and praised the girl for being so strong and not having a potty accident!  Thank you again, Disneyland Magic! Now, here I am in the rest room without the pink potty for Libby.  Oh well.  I put her on the big toilet and she was just fine.

What an unbelievable day!  No potty accidents from either child!  Most people think Disneyland magic is all about the rides or the characters or the decorations... it's also a very magical place to go potty!

I am in Love!

I am in love with this house!

We have been flirting with the idea of upgrading for a few years now, but we just never find "the house".  We have a pretty nice house now, so it is hard to find one bigger and better in a great neighborhood, then we give up looking.  Recently, my husband started looking again.  I gave him my typical response, the eyeroll.

But this time he did it.  He found a wonderful house on a wonderful street and it is just all sorts of wonderful!  Now comes the  hard part... buying it.  It costs money. There's always a catch isn't there?

We got pre-approved for a loan on the assumption that my husband won't ever get a pink slip. Maybe he should start teaching math! Math teachers never get fired! Then we put an offer on the house. We made the first offer and there haven't been any others, so hopefully the seller's bank will accept it. It is a short sale so negotiations are at the mercy of the bank.

It's such a rigged game.  Buying a house, especially a short sale house, is really tricky.  You have to have your timing just right, have just the right realtor and listing agent pairing, and you have to remember that not all houses on the market are really up for sale.  A lot of realtors and/or banks have the buyers hand picked already.  We're just hoping that we finally are the chosen ones.  Time will tell.

Apparently, with a short sale, waiting is something we'll have to learn how to do well. Not sure why they take so darn long, but it is common for a short sale to take 6 - 8 months to change hands. Let's just keep hoping that we'll be moving into that beautiful house in 6 months or so!

The house is a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom with a beautiful back yard.  The back and one side is bordered with a wooded walking path. Very nice!  The kitchen has the worst countertop, ugh, the popular small white tiles.  I have no idea why that style countertop is so popular for kitchens around here.  Who wants a zillion grout lines in their kitchen?  Not me!  I spill my coffee once in a while!  I got new countertops, stovetop, sink and faucet for Mother's Day and I told my husband if we get this  house we'll have to have Mother's Day again.  Otherwise, I love it.

The part of the house that was really important to me is the laundry room.  Who would have ever thought that a laundry room would be so darn important?  But, it is. Right now my washer and dryer sit in a small breezeway between the house and garage, which is very close to the front door.  When I do laundry (daily) I am in this tiny little space with the machines, the two doors both open into the laundry area, and my mountain of dirty laundry is piled right by the front door.  It never fails, someone will knock on my door the day I decide to catch up on laundry.  Knock. Knock.  Hello, come in. This is my pile of dirty laundry.  ugh, drives me crazy!  And this is why I want a laundry area that has elbow room and isn't right by the front door or in the busy traffic lane.

The house is only a mile and a half from where we currently live. Wish us luck!  I have no idea when we'll know anything other than "maybe" which is all we know now.  The realtor said not to get my hopes up too much and to have a plan B.  Ummm, did you see that place?  My hopes are UP, baby, UP! 

7 Diaperless Days!

7 Diaperless Day and doing Doing GREAT!

Last Wednesday evening, we were all sitting at the dining room table doing puzzles and Libby hopped down off of her chair and said "I gotta go potty!"  Her pink potty was in the living room and she yanked off her jammies and her pull-up (aka diaper, those aren't fooling anybody!) and peed on her pink potty! Ever since that moment, she's been "potty trained"!

Today, Libby told me "diapers are for babies". She's doing so wonderfully! We've been on several outings without diapers too.

This isn't to say we've not had any accidents, but for the most part she is doing really well! She hasn't figured out pooping yet. I am praying she does that soon. I'm sneaking a diaper on her after she falls asleep at night and she takes it off first thing in the morning. It's wet though so I'm not ready to give that up just yet. Especially because she sleeps with me!

She refuses to go on the white Baby Bjorn potty that we have at home. I have been carrying the little Ikea pink potty around with me everywhere, up and down the stairs, in the van, in the stroller basket, etc. Also carting around a bag full of panties, leggings, dresses, socks, shoes, and baby wipes.

I went to Ikea to buy more pink potty chairs, but that didn't work out as planned. She is partial to pink. Ikea now has green and red potties. What were they thinking!!! The green is the ugliest color of green too. Uggghhhhh. After I stifled my mini-meltdown in front of the potty display, I got one of each and hoped they would catch pee as good as a pink one. Turns out, they both work fine. Right after we paid for the potties I took her to the restroom in the store and placed them on the floor. She planted herself on the green potty and went! The green one came into the house and became the upstairs potty chair. The red one stayed in the van and became the picnic potty. She used that one at the park. Today she went potty on the tiny baby flush toilet at the mall in the family bathroom. That little toilet is just the cutest! Wish we had a tiny flush toilet in the house, wouldn't that be nice?

Now that she is wearing panties, her pants don't fit. Her jeans sag like a wanna-be toddler gangster. Not cool. So, we are sticking with dresses and leggins. I had to stock up on tiny panties and the smallest I can find are 2T. They are a little large on her but after I wash and dry them, they shrink to the right size.

I find it just amazing that she just decided to be potty trained and that was that.  I'm really happy about it though! Goodbye, Diapers!

I Should Find Something to Do

I love the lull of January.  Holidays are over, and there's nothing to do.  So relaxing!

I promised myself I would read 12 books this year.  I really let that go in 2010 and I miss my lone reading time.  So far, I've read three pages in two different books. I don't have anything else to do so I should be able to finish a book soon and get back into the swing of things.

I have my serger packed up and ready to haul across town to have it looked at.  I don't think there is anything wrong with it; I think it's me.  I have no idea what I'm doing. The ladies in the store told me to bring it in and they will help me decide if the machine needs repair or if the operator needs lessons.  I keep thinking I will get around to taking it in. One of these days when I have nothing to do, I will.

I want to finish the denim quilt I started a year ago.  It is growing, but it's just not big enough yet.  Once I get the top done, I can tie it to a flannel flat sheet and it'll be an awesome camping quilt!  It's an easy quilt since it is just squares being sewn together. Pretty sure we won't be camping until summer, so I have plenty of time. But, it's January and there isn't anything else to do.

I need to finish the Jessie costumes for the girls before they outgrow them!  I finished the pants, now to sew the embelishments onto the shirts and fix up the belts and hats, we'll be set!  Since I don't have anything to do, I'll do that.

As soon as those sewing projects are done, I can start Belle dresses and a quilt made from baby clothes.  I also have lots of sewing to do for my new grandson who will be arriving in May!

I am cleaning too.  Not sure how the garage fills up with so many boxes of random crazy mixed up stuff. But, they all need to be sorted and cleaned up. But first, I've emptied out a closet and tossed it all into boxes (which I have stacked it the garage because that's where I keep my boxes of random junk).  I can go through those boxes first and then tackle the older stack.  I'm sure most of it is trash or something for the donation bags. I wonder when the charity truck is coming around to pick up donations.  Hmmm... Probably soon and I don't have anything to do in January, so I'll get right to it.

Cleaning closets always takes a backseat to cleaning the main areas of the house.  Right now I've got my stovetop covered in soap and ready for a good scrub down.  My sink is full of dishes, the dishwasher if full too, the broom is begging to come out of the corner and the vacuum needs a good run.  Laundry is going and the trash is full.  Normal every day tidying up to do.  I will get to my other January projects when I finish my daily grind.

I also have some bills to pay, errands to run, should get to the post office and pick up a package, mail a package, shoot, I should mail my Christmas cards too before it's too late.  I have a rebate to send in, and I forgot to pay the preschool, I better do that.  We have some paperwork to do for the foreign exchange student company, oh wait, no we don't, just got off the phone with the lady and she says they've updated all of their forms and we need to redo everything we've completed thus far and fill in more forms. She says we can wait another month or two.  Cool, mark that off my list!  

I'm trying to finish up some photo projects that I started weeks ago.  I just went shopping and got a bunch of white photo frames for the girls' room.  I will fill them up with photos of the girls with Disney characters and hang them up in their room.  Poor girls have had bare walls for a long time and I really want to cheer up their room. I think that will look pretty and it'll be very cute and cheerful. I am also working on a project that will be a gift.  I promise to finish that and get it sent soon.  In fact, it's so adorable that I will get one for myself!  But first, I must sort through thousands of photos and pick just the right ones, arrange them, change my mind, begin again.  It's a fun but tedious task.  Good thing I don't have anything else to do!

I love all of this idle January time.  I've been relaxing more and playing around on Facebook, reading blogs and catching up with my favorites, and playing games.  My husband got me started with his recurring obsession, looking at local real estate. It is kind of fun to look at houses for sale. In fact, we fell in love with one that is nice and close to the high school, a hidden gem. It's just over four million dollars! Sitting in front of the computer sure makes a couple of hours pass by quickly! 

We are also going out and playing at the various parks in town.  This time of year is great for exploring the parks and playgrounds. It's not too hot to play in the parks that don't have shade.  Plus, the girls got bikes from Santa and they need good smooth flat wide sidewalks to ride on since they are new to riding.  Once they acquire some skill, they can ride on the sidewalk in front of the house, but for now the driveway approaches will knock them over, and the curbs pose a danger since the girls have not mastered steering.  Good thing we have lots of spare time.

I know, I'm just not very exciting lately.  But, that's because it is January and there is a lull in the activities of life.  We're just chillin'.  Happy New Year, everyone.  Hope you find something to do, and if you have any ideas for me to fill my idle time - keep 'em to yourself!

Old Voicemail

Every 90 days or so, my cell phone tells me to delete or save my old voicemail messages.  I usually choose to save a few gems.  Here are some of my old voicemail messages that I just can't part with:

Message from Katie Schu! Hey! Umm, yeah, its Katie. It's like right after 11 and um I just wanted to let you know that ummm  I don't think the ant guy came but I might have missed him cuz um  Me and Gracie were waiting for him at like 10:15 or 10:20   and she like exploded with poop so I had to take her upstairs and change her and it took a while and the I had to give her a bath and I kinda forgot cuz I was occupied so think I missed him but anyway call me back bye.

Message from Katie Schu! (and Gracie)
Hi Mom.
Tell her you love her.
I wuv her.

Message from Katie Schu! Hey Happy Birthday! Ummm I hope you're having fun at Disneyland right now with the girls, I'm sure you are. Ummmm I have work later today but if you get a change you can call me back before two. And ummm yeah. I just wanted to say Happy Birthday. I am waiting for the post office to open cuz they don't open here till two o'clock it's kinda ridiculous. Anyway, ummm I love you very much. Happy Birthday.  Bye.

Message from unknown caller: Hello Ms Schumacher this is ah Giovani Binae assistant principal at Mira Loma Middle School. Ahh,I was ah just told shortly ago ah that Keith was being hospitalized ah so I just wanted to call and see how he's doing and um just wanted to see if everything is ok. Um Let us know if there's anything you need. The school number is ... Thank you
(to clarify, my husband was home sick with a cold but he was not in the hospital and I was at Disneyland, not sure where this guy got his information or my cell phone number)

Message from Keith: Hey, heh, after school we had a Code Red. I wound up sitting on the floor in the library listening to dumbasses giggling. Ohhh God! Talk to ya later. Goodbye.

Message from Katie Dwyer: Heeeey!  Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,  You're not an old lady yet, Happy Birthday to you!  Ok. It's Katie! Andrew says Happy Birthday too. And we love you hope you're having a fun time at Disneyland right now. Umm and keep those little girls happy. Give 'em kisses.  Bye!

Message from Keith:  Ok, ah, little punky song, here we go, just the chorus and just part of it:Well, I'm gonna go to school right now, I'm getting on the bus and I'm thinking of us....
Here we go, I got a chorus and now I gotta record it. Buh Bye!

Message from Katie Dwyer:  Hey!  Um, I just got done at the Fashion Valley Super Target. Oh My Gawsh! You were right, it's two stories, it has a cart escalator, ha! And it's pretty amazing. Um yeah. They didn't really have much for produce which is fine but um yeah, they pretty much had everything so yeah. I'm  heading back home now and I need to get gas. Ummm and I'll talk to you later, bye.

Toilet Paper Snowballs

She's four, she's fun, she's creative, Gracie has some great ideas sometimes. This wasn't one of them. 

They are old enough now where I can sort of wander around a bit upstairs between the bathroom and the bedrooms while they take a bath.  We just leave the bathroom door open and I'm pretty close, or I sit in the hallway (where it is carpeted and easier to sit on than the bathroom tile) and read a book. 

Last night while they took their bath I put laundry away in their room which is directly across the hall from the bathroom.  I got their room all cleaned up and by then bathtime was over.  The mermaids were all finished with their daily swim, Dora and Boots had gone down the slide in their castle, all of the dolls were clean.  Kids too.

I took the girls out of the tub and to their room to dry off and get jammies. I got panties on them, picked out their jammies and left them to put them on. I went down the hall to my room and was putting away laundry, and I can hear them giggling and playing... no big deal, right? They must be playing with the toys I just rotated to their room and they haven't seen them for months. Then I got to a good stopping spot (cuz putting away laundry is never done) and go see about getting their pajamas on them.

And that's when I find them in the bathroom in nothing but panties, the tub still had water in it (oops) and it was filled with toilet paper. The girls are covered in wet TP, walls are spotted with "snowballs" and dripping to the floor, which is soaked with water and TP, tub is full of dissolving TP, and the girls are smiling from ear to ear. We had a good idea! Toilet Paper Snowballs! It's so much fun!

The entire bathroom is wet and coated with wads of mushy toilet paper. The tub is too. There is soaking wet tp on the walls, mirror, vanity, toilet, door.... I got it toweled off of the kids pretty well, and what stuck to them has since dried up and fallen off. I didn't wash them off again.

I decided to let it dry a bit before I going up and tackle cleaning it all up. I'm going to have to pour a bunch of bleach in the tub drain so it doesn't clog. I didn't even let the water out yet. The more is dissolves the better I guess. I finally did let the water drain, now the tub and all of the barbies and toys are covered in toilet paper mush.

Today, I've been avoiding that bathroom. I just don't even want to deal with the "snow"!  I suppose I should go in there and finish cleaning it up.  Sigh.  Their room is a disaster now too.  Clothes and toys everywhere!  They are very fun little girls, but they sure are messy and they don't clean up after themselves!

They have a lot of their dad in them. I'm sure he was like this as a child. God knows, I was an angel!

Wish me luck - I'm trying to win!

I wanted to win the lottery, but that didn't work out.  Something about having to buy a ticket first.  Details!

Since that didn't pan out, I'm trying to win a contest that will give us two free tickets to Disneyland.  Wouldn't it be fun to take someone along who never gets to go?  Or go on a weekend when we are always blocked out?  I think so!  I entered to win a 2 day ticket worth $99.  Wish me luck!

I had some trouble understanding the rules though.  It says to identify the 5 new features, which are written on signs next to Mickey Mouse.  There are five of them.  But did I do that?  Nooooo...  I thought it said to identify everything.  There are 99 tiny video snippets and I was trying to name the characters, rides, exact locations of the photos... it was hard but I had 3/4ths of it!

And then I reread the rules, just to make sure I was identifying each of the 99 things in the right way.  That's when I figured out I didn't need to identify all 99 clips.  Oh Lordy.  How embarrassing! I quickly deleted everything except for hat it said on the 5 Mickey Mouse signs and hit send.  

The contest lasted for 90 minutes, ending at 6:30 and I sent my entry in at 6:20. The first 99 correct responses win. I have a Fat chance.  Actually, not a fat chance, pretty slim.  But, hey, if they offer a bonus for identifying all 99 scenes,  I might throw my hat in the ring for it! I only have a few I couldn't place (which is odd because I can't take the little kids on most of the rides).

It was fun anyway.  I had a whole hour of fun with the Disney quiz.  Since it was fun, I challenge you to do it too!  No fair cheating either!  Well, ok, some cheating, just don't overdo it.  

You can find the contest rules and the video here:
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/01/so-cal-residents-enter-the-2-day-ticket-for-99-contest/

Happy New Year - 2011 Resolutions

Hmmm... what sort of empty promises shall I make to myself this year?  Lose weight? Get in shape?  Not buy any more strollers?  Oh, who knows!

I think I'll stick to resolutions that I can actually see through to the end.  Therefore....

I resolve in a conservative manner thus leaving room for chaos and craziness...

1. Read 12 books this year. 

2.  Do more sewing and get my serger fixed (or me, one of us isn't doing it right).  I'd like to end 2011 with my current PHDs (projects half done) all finished! 

3. Get my kids to school on time (most of the time).

4. Potty train and wean Libby, yes, folks, I promise to quit breastfeeding after nearly 5 years

5. Get my money's worth out of our Disneyland and Zoo passes (meaning lots of fun!).  Might even get a SeaWorld pass this year!

6. Send my 2011 Christmas cards out before Christmas

7. Do something with all of my photos and videos.  Print them, back them up, put them on dvd, make photo books, I don't know, but something!

8. Keep blogging.  I would like to archive my Momathon blog since I kept it up for three years, and I'll have to keep this one alive. Often times, I just blog mentally and never get around to actually posting.

9. I will try not to destroy or lose any of my electronic devices.  You heard that right!  Cell phone, bluetooth, camera, laptop.... I wish you all the best of health and happiness in the new year. And may you all stay out of the crevices of the furniture and survive the year! Good Luck.

10.  I can't think of anything else.  Nine resolutions is more than enough anyway.  We'll see if I can keep one or two of them.  Happy New Year, Everyone!

2008 Resolutions
2009 Resolutions