Flu Shots aka WWF Smackdown

Normally, we aren't the flu shot type. This year with the H1N1 virus and complications with Mr. Boy's asthma, our very conservative doc said, "Shots for everyone!" The kids do not love shots, in fact they are terrified of them. If I want them to stop doing something I tell them, "You are going to get hurt and have to get a shot if you keep doing that." I'm an evil mom, but whatever makes them obey. First round was the regular flu shot. I decided to keep silent and then just surprise them with a visit to the doctor so "Mom can get a shot." That plan backfired quickly, they soon realized we were all getting shots. The kids show off their battle wounds.

They escorted us back to the little triage area behind a flimsy curtain. I plopped both kids on the exam table while they wept, wailed, and thrashed about. I went first and put on my bravest face. Then they did AK, while Mr. Boy watched in terror as they "STABBED MY SISTER WITH THE POINTY THING!" AK starts screaming hysterically. Mr. Boy fearing that he was about to meet certain death by hypodermic needle, went hysterical. He started thrashing around doing the alligator death roll . He is yelling at the top of his lungs, "NO NO NO NO" and a whole group of nurses comes running in.

With 10 people crammed into a little triage area, Mr. Boy decides to make his move. He falls straight out of the curtain and takes off running down the hallway, with three nurses chasing him down. Our very favorite Nurse, Nurse Gloria, is exiting an exam room and sees Mr. Boy streak by, and joins in the chase. She tackles him to the ground and gets a good grip on him. It is mad chaos by now, patients all along the hallways are peeking out the exam room doors to find out what the commotion is.

Nurse Gloria scoops Mr. Boy up, walks him to the exam room holding him in a tight hug, even as he screams bloody murder. She barks "EVERYONE OUT. This is my patient." She whispers in Mr. Boys ear the entire time, "It will pinch for 3 seconds, and then it's done, count with me." Another nurse quickly administers the shot, and Mr. Boy barely had time to count to two.

He looks up at Nurse Gloria and says, "That's it!? It didn't even hurt." I collapse on the ground because I feel as though I have just endured a WWII sized battle over something that "didn't even hurt." Mr. Man who didn't believe this story, got his shot the following Monday. The triage nurse looked at his chart and said, "Oh boy, your family was in on Friday, that was something else I tell ya. I needed a stiff drink and a nap after their visit. I've never had to chase after a patient before." Good times.

Cousins?

Here the kids pet a loveable pig from the petting zoo.. And here a kid pets the adorable pig that resides at our house... Am I the only one who sees the resemblance?

Happy Birthday Mr. Man & Sandy

Dear Mr. Man & Sandy, On the occassion of your shared birthdayI write a note to let you know how much I love each of you. Mr. Man, holy smokes what a year it's been. I have typed out paragraph after paragraph, but all much too personal for cyberspace. However, I want to acknowledge that last year at this time you were so sick. It took a few months for you to get better, and I am so grateful for your good health. It is something I don't take for granted and I want the universe to know it. There is a lot to celebrate this month, and I'm excited to spend the next year working on projects together. I'm grateful for the amazing dad that you are, and for the fabulous husband you are. Even in one of the worst economies you have been an excellent provider, working hard to provide for our family. Being around you makes me want to be a better person, and I love being with you. Oh Sandy the Wonder Dog, What a year you have had! Twice this year, I have taken you to the vet to be told you had days left. There is something in you that just won't quit, and you have stunned the vets with a remarkable turnaround. You have lost 15 pounds due to illness, your hips are stiff, and we have to help you stand up in the morning, but I wouldn't change a thing. Sandy, for the past fourteen years you have greeted me with exuberance and treated me like I was the best thing to walk in the room. You've done wonders for my self esteem.

You are the best family dog. The kids lay on you, bury you in stuffed animals, pull your ears, and you just wag your tail and nuzzle them. The kids love to sit in your spot on the couch, and watch you try to tell them to move. You nudge them over, snorting and grunting to show your dissapproval, while they happily oblige with giggles. Sitting in "your spot" is a sure fire way of getting to snuggle with you. The kids love to lay on you while they watch a movie.

You snore, and you snore LOUDLY, so you have been banished to a bed in the kitchen at night so we can have a peaceful slumber. For two years, you have protested this by whining and banging on the dog gate. Every night you try to tug at our heartstrings. You have been losing some of your vision, and I am convinced you are going deaf. The vet proved to me that your hearing loss was selective. You can hear a piece of food drop 100 feet away, but can not hear us calling you to come inside the house. Don't even get me started on your sneaking out.You have never been the type of dog to bolt out the door. Then eighteen months ago you started sneaking out to taunt the neighbor cats and dogs. I don't like you wandering outside by yourself. You slip out every chance you get, sniff the neighbors lawns and then come home to bark and scratch at the front door. Sandy, you have more personality in one paw than most dogs have in their entire body. I know, I know, you are just a dog... There are a million labradors named Sandy in the world, but none are as unique as you. Even the vet has acknowledged your personality is not the personality of a dog and your intelligence is off the charts.

Mr. Boy's birthday wish was for you to live forever. It broke my heart that I had to tell him that I didn't know if that was possible. You might just prove me wrong, you stubborn dog. I told Mr. Boy that during the puppy days, we were told you were not likely to make it. Sandy, you beat all the odds then and I want you beat the odds now. If I had one wish I'd wish for you to outlive us all.

Happy Birthday & Much Love,

Moi

Haircut Time

Mr. Boy has this lucious blond hair that is soft as silk. I love having it long. The bowl cut is great on toddlers... not so cool on elementary kids. This kid is resistant to change... wonder where he gets that from... :) I tried pointing out that he could pick any haircut he wanted, even a mohawk. He chose the bowl cut again.

PS Mr. Man who once had a roommate who was a hair stylist... which makes Mr. Man a hair stylists by osmosis or something, cuts Mr. Boy's hair. He wants me to make it clear we actually don't use a bowl, because he is wayyyyyy more talented than that. Mr. Boy also doesn't want anyone but Mr. Man to cut his hair. The whole thing is a little embarrassing, so I'm gonna pretend I don't know these guys when out in public.

Hello Gorgeous!

Mr. Man came home after a long week away for a 26 hour pit stop. Instead of flowers, he brought me the phone I'd been longing for, but couldn't justify buying. Then he said, "I'll put the kids to bed, why don't you go shopping." My intent was to get a head start on some Christmas shopping, but I got distracted by this sparkly bag. After all, my new phone deserves a nice case... right?

Back to School Feast *a flashback*

Totally stole this idea from Nie Nie . A back to school feast to ring in the new school year, done in a much smaller scale as Nie's. First things first, everyone got baths where every last bit of summer beach sand was scrubbed off. AK wanted makeup for a special treat "to get pretty for dinner". Mr. Boy put it on her, and then let AK do it to him. It was hilarious.

For dinner, they wore crowns they had decorated themselves. We ate out on the deck, with candles and linens, which the kids picked out. Notice Baby Roller Hand attended too. (PS.. don't ask your kids to say "Muppet" instead of "Cheese" because their smiles look like this. )
On the table was a sparkly bag covered in jewels. Inside it was the secret to a successful life that would unlock the world's riches. With their eyes as big as saucers, I let Mr. Boy pull it out and read it. The note said, "Be Nice." I'm not gonna lie, Mr. Boy looked a little dissappointed. I think he was hoping the secret to life's riches was a pirates treasure map. However, I want my children to remember it is nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. All in all, a great tradition, one I hope to repeat for years to come.

*If I call this a flashback, does it hide the fact I'm posting about something that has been in my drafts folder for 3 months, waiting to be blogged?

Cure for the Mommy Blahs

For the last two months I've been feeling really "Blah". All is well, life is good. In fact it's fine... For my 4 & 6 year old kids, it is totally awesome. We've been very family focused for the last two months. Mr. Man is working a TON, so it's me and the kids hanging out all the time. And when he is off of work, we are cramming in all the family fun we can handle. It's enjoyable, but I feel a bit like I'm losing my personality. "What have you been up to?" is a dreaded question. Let's see, I feel like I am constantly involved in meal prep or cleanup all day long. I have put Barbies dress on 100 times today. Instead of raving about some fabulous new restaurant or talking about the season's must have fashion item, I'm talking about how grateful I am the Icee machine wasn't broken at Target, because I just couldn't handle one more whine from the kiddos. Things are a little mundane around here.They are great kids and I know when they read this one day they are going to be rolling their eyes when I say, "No, look you guys weren't the problem, it was me." Really, it is me, I just need some adult time. Evenings spent on the couch watching the latest reality show by myself isn't helping my intelligence, I need conversation with an adult. Mr. Man is apolegetic, "I promise after this phase is finished of the project, we will go out, I'll cook, you go off somewhere with your friends, I promise." However, we are still a few weeks off from that point. This is where Cinnamon comes into the picture. (literally... ha!) I told her in the most whiney voice that my life is drab, and I am turning into one of those mums who has nothing to talk about. Cinnamon was quick to spring into action, "Come out with me for so and so's birthday, you love her, and we will have a good time. I promise it will be worth whatever crazy sitter scenario you have to come up with." Six minutes into dinner, I felt like myself again. My brain which felt like it had been slowly melting, was working again. Even better, we got to the point where we laughed so hard we couldn't walk straight. To top it all off, Auntie Laura was there too, laughing it up. (She was sans new Cinderella Barbie, does she not realize what the role of an Auntie is?) Might I also add she was using that Cheshire Cat smile and flirting her way through the evening. The next morning, when I woke up I happily greeted my troops and got busy with feeding them breakfast, this time with a smile on my face. Life is good.

Dear Auntie Laura

Send one Cinderella Barbie STAT.
Love, AK

Brilliance Meets Stupidity

Sheer Brilliance: Taking a your kiddos and their friends to the drive thru car wash. Eleven minutes of pure joy as the car gets scrubbed with giant brushes while you watch from inside the car. Meet Stupidity: Lost items make me batty. I will tear the house apart looking for something insignificant. For two weeks I scoured the house looking for this phone. We have other cordless phones, but the fact that one just simply dissappeared... it just HAD to be found. For fourteen days I opened the fridge 4,000 times a day to feed the masses and never noticed my phone was hanging out with the condiments. Even worse... putting the phone in there it's totally something I would do, I'm sure I was the culprit. And lastly a gripe... my smartphone got amnesia. Lost all my phone numbers, my appointments, my to-do lists. Argghh! If you haven't heard from me, it's because I have no contact info for you. It's like I'm back in the 20th century, pulling out a paper calendar and a giant phone. It's awesome, makes me want to throw on some flannel & Nirvana and dance in a mosh pit.

Happy Halloween

Any guesses on what these guys are? I'll give you a hint, each of the dogs "goes" with one of the kids. I'm not gonna lie... the dogs were a stretch this year. I thought I was being clever, but it really didn't translate to anyone who doesn't live inside my head. Notice Sandy is having a good time, and Skoopi is about to drop dead from humiliation. Answer is below. Mr. Man shows off his skillz and his pumpkin which kind of resembles him... don't you think?
AK as Little Red Riding Hood. I made this costume from scratch, no pattern and LOVE how it turned out. I was shocked when AK suggested it, she has been talking about being a Star Wars character or a princess all year. I jumped all over the idea and bought the fabric 10 minutes later.
I made this outfit for AK last year and was thrilled that it still fits. AK wore it everyday this week.
So if you guessed AK was Little Red Riding Hood and Sandy is the Big Bad Wolf you are correct! Shhh... The costume tag actually says, "Lion" which I didn't realize until I brought it home, but if you squint real hard she kind of looks like a wolf.
Mr. Boy was boycotting Halloween because I refused to buy him a billion dollar Boba Fett costume. The kid had 2 costumes last year, and yet wore his Batman Pajamas for most of the festivities, so I put my foot down on a new costume this year. At the last minute, he negotiated a compromise, ended the boycott and decided he wanted to be a pirate. Some scrounging around produced a decent costume, and Skoopi is a Crocodile, specifically, the one from Peter Pan who taunted Captain Hook. The crocodile costume was Nathan's idea and there is a green cape on Skoopi that isn't pictured that gives the "full effect" of "kind of, sort of, looking like a crocodile".

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I won! I won! I won! Thanks to all my pals and pals of my pals who voted, I won the Just Spotted Disneyland Holiday Giveaway!

Other than this... I've never won anything else in my life! I'm not a lucky person, and let's just say I wasn't voted "Most Popular" in high school. So this is a big deal.
So how does a winner spend the day... After perusing my tax return to analyze if the win is going to throw me into a new tax bracket. (And you wonder why I wasn't voted Most Popular!) I decided to share my good news with the residents of my 2nd home aka Nordstroms. Met up with "my shoe guy" who hooked me up with these bad boys. I wanted these boots since I first visited the Harley Davidson shop at the age of 14. For my 15th birthday I had the tough decision of deciding between these and cowboy boots. I chose cowboy boots, but for years I have pined after these. I decided to celebrate my good fortune by turning a gift card into boots. Now... If I could just talk Mr. Man into buying that Harley I've had my eye on!

On Raising AK...

She wants everything pink... Yet she can make the most scary faces... When it's time to get dressed up for picture day, she can wear the sweetest outfit.... but doesn't feel complete... unless she's toting a weapon.

Love it... LOVE HER.

Sweet Fancy Moses... I'm a Finalist!

I'm not a winner, my previous post about being one of the nerdy loser moms should be evidence. So imagine my shock and surprise when I found out that I'm a finalist in a contest.

One of my favorite local blogs is hosting a Holidays at Disneyland Giveaway! So vote for me, by clicking here. Click on Qwendykay!

You can read the finalists stories here. Mine is all about my fortunate experience at Disneyland introducing the children to Tinkerbell aka my archenemy, and how she shrieked when she saw me.

Thank you!!

Halloween is coming.

After the Halloween boxes were brought down... I walked by the window to see this in my backyard. A goblin child contemplating his next spell.

And I'm loving these vintage Halloween plastic plates, along with several other sets that I inherited when some family friends moved. The price tag says 45cents!

This giant creepy thing keeps showing up, and it freaks me out. However, we are knee deep in reading Charlotte's Web and the kids think this is Charlotte. So we have to let her stay. It's the time of year for Petting Zoos and Pony Rides. AK showing a "little baby doat" some love. "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" has been on playing on repeat at our house. The best part is watching the kids double over laughing when Lucy yanks the football away from Charlie Brown. AK has picked her costume, and then changed her mind 72 times. Mr. Boy can't decide because after buying him the 40 billion dollar Flash Costume last year to have him only wear it for an hour... I have put my foot down on buying him a new costume. It makes me feel like a giant Scrooge. Oh well. We've had a blast making homemade Halloween Decorations, and plastering the kids art all over the wall. Such a fun and festive time of year.

Once a Loser... always a loser.

Mr. Boy is at a new school, and while he is adjusting well... I am not. After being at the same darling little school for a few years, I knew the drill. This new school is big and full of new rules. Even worse, no one else is new, they've all been doing this for at least one year. I have NO IDEA what I am doing half the time. An insane amount of paper comes home, some in folders that have to be signed, there are shortened days, PTO nights, Family Activities, and more fundraisers than I can count.

I've been late for pick up twice by 6 minutes, and gotten lectured. You can park there.. but not here. Mr. Boy wants to buy lunch and I have NO CLUE how he would do that. Do I send him with money? A check? Does he buy a ticket? I have relied on my neighbor friend who I adore to help me navigate. She is an angel. Then there are the other mom's. The mom's who all have coffee twice a week together, who chat in the pick up line, who are in the PTO. These mom's have like a billion kids that attend this school and have been doing "this" forever. Supermom's who have time in the morning to make French Toast, pack lunches, and sew 20 costumes for the school pagaent all before it's time to take their kids to school. I am not one of them, and I feel totally intimidated when I watch them chat every morning. I'm sure they are nice people, they just seem to have it "all pulled together". With all the emotions I am feeling, imagine my anxiety when Mr. Boy's weekly homework packet came home the first time. The first letter of all the spelling words were cut off. Even worse, they were all "-at" words. Fat, hat, pat, cat... etc. So I had NO idea what they were, I just had a list that said "at" 10 times. Sight Word list B was on the schedule, but I had Sight Word list 21 in the folder. Math sheet 11 was nowhere to be found. Nothing matched up.

The next morning, I took the homework folder over to the "cool supermom's" and said, " Hey, um... did your spelling list look like this?" *holding up my list of "at"s* I felt there eyes look me over, and one of them said, "Yeah.. like we toooootally don't like, look at the like, homework until Thursday just before it's like, totally due." *

And then my fellow nerds and I retired to the nerdery with our calculators. (name the movie... win a prize!)

Being a mom to a gradeschooler... just like high school, except your car has more cupholders.

*maybe exaggerated for emphasis

Harvest Festival

It was 9 years ago that we moved into this little house. Mr. Man went ahead with the dogs and the moving van, and I was a couple minutes behind. Mr. Man called me and said, "Um... the freeway offramp is closed for a parade." A few minutes later, I got another call, "Um.. the streets are blocked off the house... due to a festival." We love this harvest festival... it reminds me that in the midst of this suburban sprawl... we live in a town with a long history and a deep community spirit. The kids had a blast on the rides. Poor AK wasn't tall enough AGAIN this year to go on much, but she took it in stride! She was tall enough to go on this little rollercoaster, which she LOVED and begged to go again and again.Mr. Boy loves this ride... and I love this expression. This ride has captured my heart. I learned last year that it is an antique belonging to one of the old great "carnie" families. It was a gift to his wife for her birthday back in the day. It made an appearance at Neverland Ranch, and then the carnival family bought it back. It is GORGEOUS and SOOO FUN. I hopped on it with Mr. Boy and it felt so liberating to fly through the air. I loved it! The best was watching Mr. Man trying to capture a pic of Mr. Boy and I from the ground. He was watching intently but couldn't spot us. Miss AK waved at me EVERY single time I went around, she had no trouble spotting me. I laughed and smiled so big my face hurt by the end.

I'm totally asking Santa for one of these this year.

Princess-Dinosaur-Butterfly-Star Wars Birthday Party

Remember ages ago, Miss AK had a birthday. Summer birthday's are tough, and so we experimented with having her party in the fall after she started school. AK could not pick a party theme, so I had her narrow it down to four. Even picking just four was ridiculously hard for her, she wanted a Dinosaur-Princess-Star Wars-Butterfly-Pokemon-Pony-Wonder Woman-Dog-Supergirl-Kitten-Cooking Party. I fully believe my kids are the hosts of the party, they pitched in and AK help decorate the cupcakes. AK picked out the world's largest bouncehouse, fit for a princess... and her entire kingdom. The kids helped me decorate, and I loved how girly it turned out... If you look a little closer, you'll see there is dinosaurs mixed in, attacking the princesses. Minutes before the party, AK decided she wanted a superhero party instead.... *sigh* When I popped a crown on her head, we were back into Princess-Dinosaur-Butterfly-Star Wars Party mode, and Superheros were stashed for next years party. Everyone got a light saber upon arrival, which was a big hit. Everyone had a good time playing Princess and Star Wars. All was well, lunch was served, a small fire extinguished, served cake, and opened presents. Oh, did I gloss over lunch? We had sandwiches cut out in dinosaur and butterfly shapes. Are you still obsessing about the fire? Oh, small detail. I had a citronella candle out by the food, and Mr. Man moved it right next to the napkins. A small breeze... poof the napkins caught on fire. Awesome! My favorite was stamping the fire out with my fabulous sparkly shoes and turning around to see Eight 4 year olds staring with wide eyes. Quickly I turned into a teaching moment, "Fire is hot, Stop, Drop, and Roll.. Yadda Yadda" Secretly, I hoped the kids would forget by party's end. AK told me at the end of the day, "It's so fun being Four, am I Four now, or do we have to eat more cake?" Her favorite part of the day was "having my class over to eat cupcakes and play Star Wars".