My kids can be such good eaters

I had bought some orange roughy fillets a while back (frozen) and I hadn't used them. And since I have no creativity when it has come to dinner recently, I thought I would just bake them (in my polish pottery of course), bake some sweet potatoes and steam some broccoli. Pretty lame dinner in my opinion. It was a hit! My kids ate up that fish and wanted more. Not too excited about the broccoli, but they ate it. (I have finally learned how to steam broccoli without making it a mush) And Lucy couldn't get enough of the sweet potatoes. Both my kids loved dinner, and even Matt said that it was really good. My lame dinner turned out better than expected. I love those surprises. (another surprise is that I decluttered most of my kitchen today. and cleaned my counter tops.)

My DWTS thoughts for the week (well, at least for tonight)

~Does anyone else not see any connection between the cast of High School Musical 3 (why do they keep making these?? it's just Grease without the sex.) and Sara Lee bread??? It is just strange to me.

~Why is Cloris still there???? Why??? Are there that many people that know who she is that know how to get on the internet? Or use a cell phone to text their vote? And her partners name (Corky) just doesn't seem to match him. And his makeup for the dance tonight was a bit much.

~Warren Sapp rocks. He just does.

~Susan Lucci is irritating me. Can't put my finger on it yet why she does.

~Lance and Lacy should have left out that kiss. Seriously.

~I know they need two hosts, but Samantha's comments are kind of dumb. But I would say dumber things if it were me. I wonder if she gets to keep all those dresses?

~I hated Toni Braxtons outfit.

~I realize that I don't like the rhumba. Most of the time. Probably because it is so unrealistic. At least for me and most of the people I know. I think you know what I mean.

~I want a makeup artist and hairstylist and a dancing wardrobe like these dancers have. I would look really awesome.

Did you watch? What did you think??

I feel so crippled by this

So, my house is getting better and better by the day. Even yesterday, when I try my best to not "work" on the sabbath, I did a bit of picking up in the kids room. But I was thinking about how to not just allow this to overwhelm me, and I had a thought. I need someone to tell me what to do first, and then next, and then next. How sad is that? But honestly, that was how I was taught. I didn't really get to have much of a choice over how or what I did. And not only that, but whatever it was, it had to be perfect. Now that I've been married for a while, I don't have anyone telling me how, when, and where. (I was rarely told why) Which leaves me looking at the disaster of my house and feeling so overwhelmed, not knowing where to start, and I just sit down with my head swimming. I have such a hard time figuring out what to do first, what is most important, and I end up going from room to room picking up a bit here and there, but not really accomplishing the entire task. Does anyone else feel like this?? On a regular basis? Some days I feel like I'm losing my mind......

I need.....

To borrow someones magic wand. I know some of you have them. For some reason, I was not issued one. My floors need to be swept and mopped, kitchen needs to be cleaned up, and my kids bedroom is a complete and utter disaster. And it is all so overwhelming that I can't do anything but look at it and sit down because I'm tired. So. I need your magic wand. Either that or find me some roaches that will clean my bathrooms.

Lets play a game. Figure out why....

I am tired.

What does the winner get??? I don't know. There might be more clues later.

I love Jack McCoy

I know, he's just a fictional character. So, maybe it should say I love Sam Waterston.

I have been watching Law and Order for at least five years. I don't know how I missed it before then. I've seen so many now. When I heard that Jack McCoy was no longer the ADA, but now the DA, I was a bit sad. I was going to miss his intensity in the court room, his bushy eyebrows going a bit crazy as he addressed the jury. But that guy is still there. I think he is one great actor. The emotion in his eyes sometimes.....I'm just glad to know that Jack is still there and kicking. Not just sitting in that DA office.

Who's doing the selling?

A week or so ago, I got a phone call and two emails from my father in law. He has two small daughters (I know, that sounds crazy, but whatever. They are 7 and 5. Whats that, you say? I have a 5 year old too??? That is a whole other post.....) that both are going to school. Apparently, the new thing is to send email links to these school fundraiser websites, along with the link for them specifically (so the student gets credit for it) and for a small fee (about $5) they will ship it to you. Here is part of my problem. Yes, my sister in laws are young, but they can talk to me and ask me to buy something so that they can "earn" a limo ride to Chuckie Cheese. But it wasn't them that called, it was my father in law. He sent this email out to a lot of people. So, if they aren't the ones at least calling (obviously email is out) and if they aren't going "door to door" like we used to do when we were kids (for obvious reasons. safety being the biggest one) how the heck are they "earning" this limo ride???

I had a knock on my door about a week ago, and a young guy from church was at my door. He was selling chocolate bars for his school fundraiser. Granted, he is around 13 or 14 (Monica, how old is A??) and so he can go around to homes where he knows who lives there and sell his candy. But he is the one hoofing it around the neighborhood, not his mom. Not his dad. He is. If there is anything for him to "earn", he will be earning it. But my little sisters in law, how are they earning this? Yeah, it would be fun for them to go to Chuckie Cheese, in a limo, but it is supposed to be something they earn. As a kid, I earned the lamest things because I wasn't willing to sell my cuteness to get a cheap trip to Chuckie Cheese. Or whatever the big prize was.

So, did I buy anything from them? No. I haven't, and I don't know if I will. Unfortunately, it isn't solely on principle. In the last month we've had to put out somewhere near $600 into our van. And if I have to put out shipping for each item, and if the one item I buy from each of them isn't even something that I would actually use......total waste. I guess I could say it is to support the school. But we don't make that much money.

Where do you stand? Do you buy things that you would never use? How do you feel about when the parents do most of the work to help their kids "earn" stuff? (I don't consider writing on a piece of paper the details and then leaving it in the office lounge as a lot of work. my dad would do that with our girl scout cookie order forms, and sometimes for other stuff we had to sell. but we still made the phone calls and hit the road)

Last night and this morning

Last night was a difficult night. Not only was I ticked at my husband, but BOTH kids came into our room last night. Andrew twice, and the second time I must have been out because I woke up squished between him and Matt. I hate being squished in bed. I need my space, hence our cal king bed. Lucy came in somewhere around 2ish and said something but I told her to turn on the light in her room and go back to bed. Woke up Andrew and told him to go back to bed. (I still don't understand why they always come to me in the night. Matt is closer and last night I didn't have much room around me.) I woke up before 7, but I refuse to get out of bed before then. I think because Andrew woke up. But Lucy didn't wake up like she normally does. So I called up a friend to see if they could walk Andrew to school. Andrew was unusually good this morning and didn't spend 10 minutes in the bathroom "brushing his teeth". Which really means "making a mess". After he left, I had almost half an hour of quiet time this morning. Which was strangely nice. Usually my quiet time is at night, when everyone is asleep, when I don't have to share the TV or the computer. It was a nice change. And it was nice to not have to walk to the school this morning. No real point to this post. Just the niceness of having quiet time, having a daughter who got enough sleep, and a little boy who happily got himself ready for school. (And I get my car back today. We weren't able to take it in until yesterday, and it is already done!!! Thanks again Jessica for letting us use your van. Again....)

Omnivore's 100

I got this meme from here, via here. I thought it was more interesting than most meme's I've seen. And it's kind of fun to see what I have tried and what I haven't (which I think is more than I have.) My stuff is in purple.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos Rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush.
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13.PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (Umeshu!)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava (from a greek stand at a bazaar in germany. best stuff ever)
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42.Whole Insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frog legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (never had the rose kind, just the regular)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake


Since I don't drink, I guess it's not really 100 for me. But my list is very very sad. Since I went on my mission I have tried many many new things. But considering I grew up eating hot dogs and fish sticks, with the occasional random asian food that my mom thought we would like (most of it was soggy because my mom didn't and still doesn't understand that veggies need to be a bit crispy) and mostly cassaroles. And a lot of stuff that was cooked in the microwave. And having six kids made it very expensive to go out to eat. I try to expand the things my kids will eat as much as I can. What have you had???? Let me know if you do it.

DWTS

I find it interesting, as I was fast forwarding through the commercials, watching Dancing With the Stars, how in less than five minutes, they showed a Victorias Secret commercial, and then a Leapster one. You can always tell what kind of people are watching a show by watching the commercials. Kind of like when I'm watching Spike (watching CSI Vegas of course) how they always have those Viagra commercials. And the Girls Gone Wild commercials. Thank goodness for DVR and fast forward.

I really enjoyed it tonight. I forget how low the scores are on the first show. Cloris was a bit much after her dance. Poor guy that had to spend the last five weeks having to deal with that. But she did do a decent job considering how old she is. Brooke Burke was the only stand out, other than Warren Sapps. They were both awesome. Anyone else watch? What did you think?

Expanding on my (wannabe) Frenchness and a little of my Mormon-ness

I'm sure some of you have noticed under the title for my blog the words "mais une vrai française". And some of you that don't know me probably wonder what that has to do with being a military wife. Honestly, it has nothing to do with it. Nothing at all. It just happens to be that I love France and I'm a military wife at the same time.

Back when I was about to finish 8th grade, we got to choose our classes for our first year as a freshman in high school. At that time, I was planning on going to college, (I think I still liked BYU at the time) and was trying to take classes that would get me there. Living in Southern California, the logical choice of a language would have been Spanish. But talking to a few friends that were already in high school, they suggested taking french. The teacher was great, and the Spanish teachers weren't that great. So, it sounded cool. I signed up for french.

It was the best decision I made at the very young age of 14. Well, other than signing up for a typing class. I LOVED french. I LOVED my teacher. And it was easy for me. Sentence structure, verb conjugations, making our nouns agree with the subject pronoun, all so easy for me!!! Everything about the country was fascinating to me. It became a goal for me to get there.

I didn't really have the funds for me to get there, nor did my parents. But I KNEW somehow I would get there.

Fastforward through the rest of high school, a few boyfriends, and a couple of jobs.....I decided to go on a mission for my church. It wasn't something that I had ever thought of before. But it sure felt like the right thing to do. So I did what I needed to do, and when I got my papers back...I was going to France. TO FRANCE!!!!!!!!!! It was like I was MEANT to go. (as a side note, almost all of my siblings took french from that same teacher and out of the four of us that have served missions, 3 have been to France. how freakin awesome is that.)

As with any language, it took me a while getting used to actually speaking it and using it. And understanding what these amazingly fast french speakers were saying. (joe, I'm sure you have some memories of me whining about it) By the time I left, it felt like home. It was killing me to have to leave and go home. I wept about it. I really did. I was terrified to go home, to that "foreign" place where no one spoke french, where I had to have a life, where I had to get a job and interact with the opposite sex on a more intimate basis. Where I had to deal with my mother, and the most difficult thing was that the day after I came home my sister got married. It was not planned this way. They said, "here is the day we're getting married, hope you can be there" and it ended up I flew back the night before. I swear that was one of the longest days of my life.

So, then Matt joined the military and our first post was Heidelberg, Germany. I was so tickled to go I could hardly stand it. Not just for Germany, but because we weren't that far from France!!! And I could go as often as I liked!! And boy did I go. I felt so "at home" there. The language would always take me a bit to really get warmed up with, but once I was warm, I was good.

I just love France. I love their candy, their food, the history, and yes even the people. Because they don't all hate Americans. They really don't. Ask anyone old enough to have been around during WWII and they have nothing but wonderful things to say. Go to an American Cemetery. Get away from the touristy places (although those are fun too) and you will find that people want to know everything about where you live. I've been told I look French. HA!! I don't look French at all. Few people, including men, are as tall as I am. But I kind of like it. I have a very European home. Between my polish pottery, the prints my Grandma bought in Paris in the 60's that are hanging on my wall, my Eiffel tower bookends with my Europe books between them, and my hand embroidered small table cloth with my hand painted Bavarian style German mugs that sit on my dining room table. While I am mostly French, I welcome other European countries too. I just love it.

So, THAT is a little story about my Frenchness and a tiny bit of my Mormon-ness.

This day......

Today started out OK. Well, kind of. Yesterday afternoon and all night we had a lot of rain. At about 0300 or thereabouts, a COCKROACH fell on my FACE in my bed. Seriously. So what if his house is rained out DO NOT COME IN MINE AND LAND ON MY FACE. I woke up this morning with a renewed desire to CLEAN!!!!! I have no idea where that little bugger went. He will regret seeing me again as I am ready with my can of raid. (we have windows that are above our head, but fairly high up. I'm assuming that is how he landed on me.)

I asked a friend to watch Lucy so that I could clean and not have a little girl destroy it right behind me. She had a great time, and I did get quite a bit done. It was a bit warm in the car, but not enough to turn on the AC. So, I decided to roll down the passenger side window to let a bit of breeze in on our very short drive home. I had barely touched the button to make it go down when that window went down so fast I barely saw it. And then I knew. It wasn't coming up. How is this possible? Both windows in less than a month? At almost $300 each they are not cheap. And the guy can't see our car until tomorrow. Which is just as well because Matt has to spend the night at the hospital tonight to be on call. Which I didn't know until about 1800. Which is fine.

I also forgot that Wednesday is early release day for Andrews school. So I get a phone call from the teacher reminding me. Geez. 20 minutes late to pick up my kindergartner. He wasn't upset though. Luckily we live just down the street.

And nothing sounded good for dinner, and it felt like I didn't have anything in the house to make. But I managed meatloaf, mashed potatoes and broccoli. And I make some good mashed potatoes. Just add whipping cream. Seriously. So good. It is almost bedtime, so I will get some quiet time very soon. My robe is coming out earlier and earlier every night. In fact, I think I'm going to go put it on now. I just feel better in my robe. Here's to hoping tomorrow goes a bit better.......

Je sais......

I got the picture from here.

Success!!!!!!!

I do not sweat a lot. I mean, I get sweaty when I'm exercising. I get sweaty when the humidity is 90% and it is 90 degrees outside. I'm pretty average. What I HATE is when I can smell myself. I know, you're thinking "whoa, Terina, TMI". But here is the thing. I think more of us have this problem than we realize. But people don't want to talk about it because it is embarrassing. Well, I have yet to find something that I am embarrassed to talk about.

I have stopped using antipersperiants for a really long time. Nothing good comes out of blocking your body'ssweat glands. And recently I have switched to a more "natural" type of deodorant. But the smell was still there. Some would attribute that to the fact that I have a super smeller right now. But that doesn't matter. I could still smell it.

A few months ago, Matt wanted to find something that would allow him to ride his bike to work, but take care of any "scent" so that he wouldn't have to take another shower once he got to work 15 minutes after he left the house. He found this. He started telling me about it, and I wasn't terribly excited about it. I mean, what deodorant could really take care of the scent of a really sweaty guy in all this humidity?? He ordered it online and was excited to try it when it came. And I was the doubting Thomas of the two. And I just have to say, I used to smell him when he came in the door. But no more. He might be super sweaty, but nary a stink to him. So when I began to experience my smell, I thought, what the heck. I'll give it a try. I went out to the local Harris Teeter not even a week ago. It is $6 there. Boy does this stuff work. It looks so unassuming. But it works I tell you. You still sweat. (everybody sweats just like everybody poops) It just works. I can't say it enough. And it is worth every penny.

Why I hate peaches

Since it is almost the end of summer and of lots and lots of really good fruit, I thought I would share my story of why I hate peaches. Most don't believe me when I tell them I don't like peaches. What is so bad about a peach??? Oh, just wait.

Every summer, the first weekend in August, our family of six kids plus two parents would pile in our dodge ram van (well, first it was a gold station wagon, but my mom destroyed that one around my fifth grade year) and drive up to Clovis CA for our family reunion. I LOVED this reunion. It was always a ton of fun. Unlimited food. Everyone had a tub of red vines to share. Homemade everything. Fruit that was awesome. Peaches that were huge, red onions bigger than peaches, watermelon to die for, and cantaloupe and honeydew that would make you gleek all over the place because you had so much saliva in your mouth. We got to sleep outside in sleeping bags on tarps. We went to the lake on Fridays (not sure what lake) and rode around on the boats, went swimming and watched our parents water ski. Saturdays were full of swimming in a pool, watching the adults play volleyball, sitting around, slapping mosquito's...great fun. Saturday nights were when each family would put on a skit (you didn't HAVE to, but most of the time we did) and people got pretty creative. Usually someone would get thrown into the pool. (it was usually one of my aunts) This reunion was of my grandpa's brothers and sisters. He was the youngest of about 5 or 6 kids maybe more. (LeeElle, help me out with this one) So, all of his siblings, their spouses and children, plus their spouses and children, plus......you get the picture. Lots of fun.

Clovis CA is near Fresno CA. Which is in the center of our state. Which is full of farms. Tons and tons of farms. Hence all the fresh fruit right from the farmer. My parents would buy tomatoes and peaches to bring home so that my mom could can them so we could eat them all year. Which seems like such a great idea. Economical, great for food storage.......

As the oldest child, I got to help. Yay for me. One particular year, I remember her bringing at least 5 or more lugs of peaches home. So, six kids and all our stuff, plus at least 5 lugs of peaches in the beginning of August in one car that didn't have that great of AC. Fun times. Fast forward a few days.....the kitchen sink is full of warm to hot water to soak the peaches in. Which helps the peels to come off easier. Picture a stove going for hours boiling peaches, sterilizing mason lids and jars. Also imagine no AC. In August. In the Inland Empire of Los Angeles County. We're talking at least 90 degree's outside, if not more.

My hands, clothes, hair all stunk of peaches. I spent HOURS pealing and slicing peaches. HOURS I TELL YOU!!! I never wanted to even touch another peach. No peach pie, no fresh peaches. No peaches and cream with sugar sprinkles on top. No peach cobbler. Nothing to do even remotely with peaches. (oddly enough I do like the candy peach rings. probably because there isn't a real peach in them)

I have had very few peaches since that day. I don't even buy them. Although the smell of fresh fruit in the summer has an odd way of transporting me back to that time when we would be at the reunion all helping to get the food ready. Just keep me away from the peaches.

Dip

First, somehow I managed to miss my 500th post. Strange. (this is #512)

I am loving dips right now. Loving. I hit our local Harris Teeter (such a weird name) and found me some hummus and some pita chips. So stinking good. At the same time I found papaya-mango salsa. Oh heaven in a small plastic tub. So yummy. I just ate it for my dinner. There is something about the sweet and the spicy together along with being super cold......just yum. Someday I'll live where the mangos are worth buying and make me some myself.

Lowering Expectations

I know, strange title. But let me give you a little bit of background, and then I'll explain. Promise.

I had grandparents that were very involved in our lives. Even the ones in Utah. They would come to basketball games, baptisms, baby blessings, band competitions, little league games, swim meets, graduations, everything. And not just those things. They would come over sometimes for no reason. My Utah grandparents would show up unannounced at our house many times, usually bearing a big gift, and it was always something super useful like an awesome new vacuum or a huge freezer. They knew what was going on in our lives. And not just my grandparents. My aunts and uncles, mostly on my dads side, were there with my grandparents at meets, games and things like that. And we were there for my cousins. This is what I am accustomed to. And my parents follow right along. Since we live 3,000 miles from them, they will call and ask to talk to the kids. They are planning on coming to visit soon. Last year, they came and watched my kids while I went to Girls Camp. In my family (even on my moms side) we don't wait to be invited to someones house. If we want to go and visit them, we give them a call to make sure they are home and that we can come. Or if we want to come and visit for a few days, we make the phone call.

So, that is what I am used to. What I expect. And when I married Matt, I think I just assumed his family would be somewhere around the same. Boy was I wrong.......

Seven years later, I am still getting irritated. Because I expect them to make an effort. To not only keep up with us, but to want to get to know my kids. To talk to them, to want to try and come visit to spend time with them. And unfortunately, that is way off.

And it just kills me. Seriously. What are these peoples problems? Why don't they make any effort? To me, Love is a verb. You have to do things if you love someone. I guess for my MIL sending a card with a check for their birthdays says I love you. Never mind she never calls and talks to them. Or makes any plans to come and visit us. And neither does his dad. Which makes me sad. (his dad only calls when he wants to talk about his migraines with Matt)

So, back to lowering expectations. So, I have been having the expectation that Matts parents will do things to get to know my kids, to make efforts. And the reality is that they won't. They won't call us weekly or even monthly. They won't save up their money to come and visit us. They just won't. His mom wouldn't even drive an hour and a half to go and see her grand daughters soccer games. I don't think she saw maybe more than one or two. I have to suggest them coming to my parents house, because otherwise they will just sit at their houses waiting for me to drive to them. After I have already driven 1400 miles just to get that close. This is just the way they are. And I can't change it. So, now I just have to accept it. They will never change. My kids won't know them very well. (and I've discussed this with Matt and he isn't bothered by the fact his parents don't make much of an effort. he assumes that they will when the kids get older. I don't agree......) I have lowered my expectations. And it's going to take some getting used to. But I can do it. And in the end, I won't be so frustrated, so angry and so irritated. And I could sure use less of those things in my life.

Rain

Today we woke up to a thunderstorm. I was a little irritated as I do enjoy sleeping. But since Andrew had a bad dream, he joined us in our bed last night. I was sandwiched between my husband and my son. Not my favorite place to be as I need my space. (and I find it funny that every time the kids need "us" they always come and get in on my side of the bed even though I'm the furthest away.....hmmm) So I've been up for longer than I wanted to today. And it is still raining. Without the thunder and lightning.

It rains very rarely where I grew up. And when it did rain, we didn't do much of anything. When I worked at a restaurant, the weekends that it rained, few people would show up. There were fewer people at the stores and on the roads. And those that were on the roads drove like crazy people in the rain because it just never rains and there are always a ton of accidents on the freeway. On my mission in France, I had a very rude awakening to rain. It rained all the time. A lot. No matter what time of year. Eventually I got used to it, but it was always extra hard to get out and work that day because I just really wanted to stay home, stay dry, and eat cookies and watch movies all day. I have many memories of getting drenched while riding my bike. When we moved to Germany, I knew it would be like that, but it was still difficult. I find that I get a bit of seasonal depression and between the gray clouds and the rain, my winters were not terribly productive. But I got better. But that first day when the sun came out and it was above 60 degrees was a great day!!!!

Today I'm trying to decide if I'll exercise or not. If I'll go out to Walmart to pick up the few things I need from there. Or if I'll just stay home because it's raining. Maybe someday I'll get used to this rain or if I'll always be a So Cal girl no matter where I live. Maybe I'll have to invest in one of those lights that is like the sun so that I get that energy to do what needs to be done no matter what the weather.

Maybe I'll make these. Yum.

Divide and conquer

We are starting Andrews third week in school, and I've noticed something interesting about some of the other parents. There are these same parents that always walk their kids to school together. Or they pick them up together. Or both. I kind of think it's funny. There could be a ton of different reasons why they do it. Perhaps one of them just got back from deployment and they just really want to be with their family all the time. Or maybe one doesn't have to be to work until later, so it's a family thing that everyone walks to school together. I don't really know why it is funny to me, but it just is. I've noticed the same thing at the grocery store. All these couples, with children or not, that grocery shop together. Once or twice I've been a little jealous. Because it really has been years since we've done that together. And if they don't have kids, I can see why they would both go. But the couples that have kids with them baffle me a bit. Yes, it is much easier to grocery shop with two parents to take care of the kids. But wouldn't it be a better idea to have the dad just stay home with the kids and give that mom some quiet time at the store?

In our family, we are firmly on the side of divide and conquer. I will not bring my kids with me unless Matt isn't home. Sometimes we do things all together, but even in Walmart or another type of store, we each take one kid with us, and split up. At home, he does one kids bedtime and I do the other. Or I finish up making dinner, and he gets the kids up to the table. Matt isn't always home to do these things, so a lot of the time, it is just me. And sometimes the one has to make up for the other, especially when the one has had a long tiring day. Or doesn't feel good.

So, what do you think? Do you divide and conquer, or do you a lot together?

Hanna, Ike and Josephine

It looks as if Hanna won't be as bad as I thought. But Ike is totally freaking me out. I am compulsively checking the hurricane tracker to find out where it is, and how fast the winds are. I have bought water, lots of batteries, and today is clean out the hall closet day. I have some food that I can throw into a duffel bag to put in the closet with us. And Lucy's mattress is the easiest one to grab. I've even thought of putting their bike helmets in with us to help protect their heads. If there were any way for all of us to jump in our car and head west, without Matt getting in trouble at work, I would totally do it. Also today I'm going to find all of our picture DVD's and make sure they are with me. Along with our birth certificates and passports. Am I going over the edge?? A bit. But when people don't take these warnings seriously, bad things like Katrina happen. My ideal place to go would be the basement of the hospital. But I have a feeling that they wouldn't let me stay there. I wish I had a basement here. The one we had in Texas flooded like crazy, so it wouldn't have been a good spot for us to go. Although it had these really really heavy doors. I am learning from all this that I really do not want to live in this part of the world ever again. I know that every part of the world has some kind of thing that it has to deal with. But these days of anticipation just about kill me. I would much rather deal with an earthquake (which you have to be ready for all the time) and just get under a table. Most of the buildings in So Cal are earthquake ready. And there isn't any anticipation. It just happens. I cannot wait until we move from here!!!!! Just a few more months....thank goodness.

Crazy stuff that happens at home

Read this story this morning. Smart girl to jump out of the trunk. Although the 57 freeway isn't exactly the best place. So, moral of the story is to not leave with strange people after a really really late party.

I would LOVE to do this

I saw this story today. If I had money to do repairs, I would totally do this. Too bad I don't have rich friends that want to have a villa in Italy. I mean, I'm sure I do. Just none that could afford repairs on ruined-by-earthquake homes.

I just told Matt about it. He said lets go and buy one. :)

Oh no!! Here comes Hannah

So, after last week, I thought we were good to go. And then I watched the news today. I have a friend that just doesn't listen or watch the weather at all. I think she is crazy. But anyway.....
Hannah is coming. And she is supposed to land somewhere in SC, and then head on up here. Great. Fabulous. And it's supposed to hit us sometime on Friday. Andrew might not make it to school that day. I will want him here with me. We will wait and see how things go for the rest of the week. If I had it my way, I would pack the car Thursday afternoon, drive down to some friends in Georgia and stay with them and come back Saturday afternoon. But Matt will have to work. I don't think I can convince him to miss it. Maybe we'll just go with him and hang out in the basement of the hospital. With all of my personal, irreplaceable things. And my kids. Yuck yuck yuck. So not looking forward to the end of the week. I guess I'll start emptying out the hall closet just in case we have to sit in there for a while......more yuck.