we dyed on our anniversary

yes, today is our anniversary! and what are we doing?? thankfully, not paying taxes... we've got a couple more days this year to think about writing THOSE checks. no, we are dyeing our eggs for easter instead of frolicking at a planned easter egg hunt because the girlie one is still sick. we're all pretty tired, too, after a long night last night. but i digress. the egg process went fairly smoothly this year, each year it gets easier and easier to do these projects as the children get older and older. we did some wax-resist eggs, and some two tone eggs. now we will be eating egg salad and casseroles with eggs for the next week. and that's OKAY!

we did have a minor explosion earlier... s came in from outside --after being TOLD not to touch the bug repellant-- screaming that she had gotten some in her eyes. i panicked and flushed them thoroughly with water, then put her on the bed to rest her eyes for a minute. still shaking, i came downstairs to check on the boy, and immediately we heard hysterical, maniacal, panicked screaming from back upstairs. i honestly thought my daughter was in the throes of a painful and agonizing death from the tone of her voice. i dropped everything and bolted up the stairs as fast as i could... all the possible scenarios flashing through my brain as i skipped 2 stairs at a time. dog bit her face off? electrocution? black widow spider bite?????? man, the multitude of horrors that can go through your mind in that split-second when you think your kid is in danger! i found her in her room, and there was a bug in the window. that was it. all that screaming panic for a little bug. i almost lost it at her. seems we have a cry wolf problem in our family.

hopefully t and i will be able to get out and celebrate 11 years of wedded bliss tonight. heather is maybe going to come watch the kids and then i can decompress with a niiiiice glass of mommy juice. won't that be niiiice?

misc friday photos

my boy, not doing a very good job in front of the camera

jane trying to get the tennis ball from my hand

sick cat princess sleeping the hot summer day away

evil bipolar tibby looking more gorgeous than he acts on top of the latest house industries mailer

Darling Mummy

on the left is only an example of ONE of the adorable tees and accessories at Darling Mummy. i had to buy this t-shirt, it's just too appropriate for words!

if you order and enter the coupon code uump, they'll ship free (although only in the us, i think).

check out some of the sassy sayings, stylish belts, and cool bags on their site. i'm so impressed, i wish i would have thought of this stuff!

i've been needing lots and lots of mommy juice lately while slogging through the remainder of tax season, pta meetings, and deadlines. it's one of those times when i'm trying to get all the things that have been weighing on me FINISHED so they'll be out of my brain forever (to be replaced by other pressing things, i'm sure) rather than procrastinating. today is the last of my intermediate dog obedience sessions, so i'll be able to take a big red marker and put a CHECK next to "TRAIN DOG" on my list of things to do. and boy, does that feel good. liberation, here i come!!!! oh, wait... next week is spring break! well, maybe by the time we head to england i'll have the weight off my shoulders.

muddy buddies

there is nothing, absolutely nothing, as perfect for a kid after school as a warm spring day, a big puddle of mud, a swimsuit, and some friends. bliss, joy, satisfaction... you name it. it was amazing to watch. ah, to be a kid!

true colors

Thanks, sruthi, for the diversion.

it turns out i'm brown. find your color!

You're brown, a credible, stable color that's reminiscent of fine wood, rich leather, and wistful melancholy. Most likely, you're a logical, practical person ruled more by your head than your heart. With your inquisitive mind and insatiable curiosity, you're probably a great problem solver. And you always gather all of the facts before coming to a timely, informed decision. Easily intrigued, you're constantly finding new ways to challenge your mind, whether it's by reading the newspaper, playing a trivia game, or composing a piece of music. Brown is an impartial, neutral color, which means you tend to see the difference between fact and opinion easily and are open to many points of view. Trustworthy and steady, you really are a brown at heart.

brown like poop and dirt.

sigh.

sunrise

here's a lovely shot of the sunrise off the side porch for you this morning. it was even lovelier in real life, with the crisp morning air and my breath coming out in steamy puffs. after this i had to face real life again, but it certainly makes a monday morning a little nicer. i need to pay bills today and if i don't get back to the gym my stress level is going to cause an implosion in my brain. so there you have it.



my loving husband's stress is significantly decreased over the purchase of his new baby. he's so phenomenally over-excited about this silly thing with two wheels... it might be catching if i weren't stewing over the impracticality of it all. his argument was gas mileage. you know, with gas prices being so high. my comeback was what you save in gas you make up for in insurance and property tax! but whatever. he's in heaven and promises to get healthier within the next year or i can put the bike on ebay. and this is written proof of the agreement! right?

conversing

the following is an actual conversation between me and my 4 year old daughter today in the car. we were discussing safety, and the subject of strangers came up.

me: are your teachers strangers?

her: no!

me: is daddy a stranger?

her: no!

me: is austin's mommy a stranger?

her: no!

me: am i a stranger?

her: sometimes!

and here i thought i was hiding my dr jekyll and mrs hyde personality SO WELL.

i'm a mess

some of you may want to dim your monitors for this post which is dedicated to BETH who actually had to see me like this a few hours ago (the image is burned into her brain forever). and of course, she was wearing an adorable matching track suit.

we'll start at the top of the heap of the mess that is me.

Hair: short hair and bedhead DO NOT MIX. take precautionary measures.

Face: indecipherable in this photo (courtesy t) are the splotches of smeared mascara under each eye and the big bulbous zit on the bridge of my nose, right between my eyes.

Shirt: everyone needs a supergirl jammie shirt in pink. plus, it hides the sunburn (yes, SUNBURN. in april.) that i got on my back & shoulders at the park on sunday.

Track jacket: that still smells like the dog treats that were in the pocket for a training session. it's also never been anywhere near an actual track.

Pants: navy blue terry cloth, need i say more?

Shoes: brown suede gap flats with little tassels that really tie the whole look together, don't they? whatever's sitting by the front door is whatever goes.

i'm missing my customary hand-painted coffee mug, i guess i already drank it. i'm also missing my big magenta polarfleece bathrobe. the newspaper is partially chewed by the dog "helping" me get it each morning. it's a comedy of errors each day getting jane to "drop it" and "leave it" before the news is in shreds.

in my defense, i'm really only grabbing for whatever clothing may still be on the bedroom floor each morning in the dark. you really can't blame me for not turning on the light. but the poor bus driver! she sees me in some semblance of this outfit every morning. when i show up to school looking NORMAL, she kind of looks creeped out, like, 'i know what you REALLY look like.' either that or she doesn't even recognize me.

just life.

oh, i was doing SO well for a while there, wasn't i? a post every day or every other day! sorry it's been AAAAAALLLLLLLLLL weekend since i've posted, i've fallen off the blog wagon.

maybe that's just because there isn't too much to discuss in my life that's of any interest in the blogosphere. would you like to hear the one about how i spent all day saturday with my friend beth on the neighborhood petition to fight redistricting? we drove around the 'hood, gathering data... figuring out which volunteer would get which houses to sign the petition... BLAH!

or perhaps the one about how i shirked my petition duty on sunday to go to the park with my children for a birthday gathering? NAAAAHH!

and today is the most INTERESTING of all my busy days. accountant's office, kinko's, dry mounting place, DMV. the best part of this is i stood in line at the dmv until i couldn't wait any longer to go to the bathroom, thus losing my place in line. i didn't have the heart to stand there AGAIN. and i went to walmart! ohh, what a life of interestingness.

hair today, gone tomorrow

hair today... well, actually yesterday (photo courtesy s, age 4.5)

and...

gone tomorrow... well, actually today (photo courtesy h, age 7)

do we need an editorial or do the images speak for themselves? i was so sick of my hair, and that pile on the floor made me sooooo happy.

sushi night

me, katy (of 40th birthday fame), chi, andrea

went out for sushi last night with some friends. didn't have a chance to change or anything after canine obedience class (for jane, y'all! i already know how to behave) and my appearance shows it. and just look at the loveliness of my sushi-mates. i am shamed.

it was bogo night, so we all got cheap sushi. unfortunately, sashimi was not included on the list so i had to get nigiri-- the kind with the fish on top of little rice balls for those of you not familiar. it's funny how all i want when i get sushi is just the slabs o' raw fish. forget all the accoutrements. chop off the fish's head and serve it up on a platter. my favorites are salmon roe and mackerel, both very 'fishy' tasting. not for everyone, i know.

in other news, my friend from high school (and beyond), jill, just ahd a baby girl last night! soooo exciting! she has a 2 year old little boy also. must go find baby gift. as long as i already have to go to the tax man's office and the dmv, i might as well do a little fun baby shopping, too. i love to buy baby gifts. everything so small and cute. it plays into my obsession with miniature things i guess.

breakfast of champions

oh. hello. this is my second try at this post... the first one is forever lost and i'm afraid try two won't be as fresh and original as... say... a bowl of special k red berries!

i'm admitting to an addiction here, people! at least it's a healthy addiction unless you're an obsessive carb-counter (are there any more of those left?). special k red berries is the thing i crave at inappropriate times of day when breakfast food is entirely uncalled-for. have you ever tried it? do you feel the same??

if you haven't tried it, here's the lowdown. the lightly sweet and crunchalicious flakes that almost never get soggy in milk are interspersed with dehydrated strawberry slices that *POOF!* magically reconstitute when milk is added. it all adds up to a big bowl of berry goodness of which i cannot get enough.

on my current box (one of many many many) it claims that one can lose inches off the waist by eating it for two weeks! i'm sure this could only be accomplished by willful folks eating controlled portions of the stuff instead of the bucketfuls that i eat.

i am not a celebrity endorser for kellogg's. i just play one on the blogosphere.

t is on his way home from the beauty shop. i'm wondering if his shoulder-length, highlighted, wavy locks will still be there when he gets back. my appointment is on friday, and i'm wondering if i'll come home with any hair at all. after all the hair fuss on fussy and MIM i figured it's about time to create some of my own. i'll keep you posted. get it??! POSTED! blow me down, i crack myself up.

the never's cd release party!

my honey (left) with ari (right)

"The Never has just released their fourth album called ANTARCTICA. It's a storybook album: a full length CD literally coupled with a fully illustrated storybook by Noah Smith! The story is centered around a young, naive, boy named Paul and his journey to find the owner of a large grey object he found behind his home in the country. Antarctica is a plea for everyone young and old to remember the simple things of childhood. The book also serves as a reminder to appreciate the world and the beauty it has to offer."

okay, there's my plug for the band, the album, the guys. if i knew how to put an audio clip on this blog, then there might be one. but since i don't, if you'd like to listen, you'll have to go to their website.

the show was really really well done, they had lots of "support" musicians playing violin, banjo, cello, and other various instruments. the images from the book were projected in time to the songs. very cool and the kids loved it. i'm just sitting back waiting for them to be "discovered"... they are all so very talented.

got to talk to loads of interesting people at the reception-- the band, their families, their friends. so many people came back from their respective schools and colleges to support the show, and it was great to see all of them.

and what would a fun and relaxing night BE without a healthy dose of chatham politics??? i wanted to pick the brains of johnny and joah's older brother ken and his wife debbie as i know that they are fellow concerned chathamites but have been involved for far longer than i have. they introduced me to another woman and before the night was over i had taken over the duties of canvassing my neighborhood for the upcoming election and was a bumper-sticker-toting activist. i am so unpolitical it's not funny. but everyone must do what they can when the issues affect us directly, right? .......RIGHT?? or am i just crazy?

mad cow

driving home last night from my friend katy's 40th birthday bash, i saw a large black shape looming on the edge of the road. these old back country roads are riddled with deer, rabbits, fox, and the occasional bobcat, so at night it's a virtual obstacle course. my eyes were peeled... but what WAS the big black shape? as i approached i saw... it was... A COW. an escaped black cow, madly munching forbidden greens with a crazed look in it's eye. it started at the passing car, and walked into the road right in front of me. honestly.

the party was fun, saw lots of good friends and talked to lots of good company. and a party just isn't a party until somebody hurls. thankfully that someone wasn't me... although i did do a couple of jagermeister shots. blecch!

i'm about halfway through 'junebug' and all i can say is... OH MY GOD IT'S WHERE I LIVE.

tonight is the cd release party for the never's new storybook album 'antarctica.' as soon as t gets back from his motorcycle safety course, the whole family is gonna go see the show and support our friends. and yes, t IS taking a motorcycle class although he has no motorcycle. wishful thinking much?

movie night

we sat and watched the netflix 'house of flying daggers (shi mian mai fu)' last night. man, i love netflix! the only thing i don't like about it is when i don't yet have a new film to watch and have nothing to do on a particular night. unfortunately, it's cutting into my reading time. right now, i'm not particularly enthralled with either of my books. i'm almost done with 'the life of pi' by yann martel, but couldn't hack being so bored, so picked up 'confessions of an ugly stepsister' by gregory maguire which isn't exactly piquing my interest either.

but i digress.

'daggers' was not so much stunning for it's story or acting, but for the bold visuals. t and i were both reminded of 1950's technicolor cinemascope movies-- bold color juxtapositions and flat lighting. the above scene of the echo game had us both with our jaws on the floor. there is alot of wire-work in this movie, but if you are bothered by that, this scene does it artfully, almost like a ballet.

the love story is okay, with some good twists and turns, but overall i would recommend this film for anyone who loves gorgeous color, great cinematography, tactile costumes, and eye-popping choreography. makes me want to watch 'crouching tiger, hidden dragon' again!