No to the sleepover

I have never been a fan of the "sleepover." Even as a little girl I would be invited to parties and if they included a sleepover, it was a no-go for me. I just always felt obviously more comfortable in my own house. I decided to just try the whole sleepover deal ONE unfortunate time in the 2nd grade. Natasha had been inviting me for weeks and I finally decided to go for it. My mom had given me every lecture and pep talk and I felt ready. All I remember was eating an enormous amount of skittles (her dad was a candy machine vendor and had had a jackpot at the skittle convention or something) and her ...brothers..grumpy, rude, yucky older brothers!

They were mean boys..old mean boys about 13 and 15....old. They reminded me of Eddie Haskel...smirky like that too. I was scared of them (being 8) and I didn't want them around. I remember walking down the hall past their room and saw lady posters...in ...bikinis. Even at 8 I gave a huge eyeroll at their lameness and walked on..still scared. We tucked into their hide-away-bed (remember those?-so cool) so we could watch movies and I remember Travis came out and sneered at us with a warning that if anyone touches his alarm clock...all he-- would break loose.
Two things- why his alarm clock was in the family room, I don't know. And yes, In the wee hours of oh, say 11:00, I tripped over the cord and the alarm clock came out of the wall. Yes, I know, a catastrophe. Well, her brother stormed out and gave me (freaked out 8 year old) the business and I burst into tears. I summoned for Natasha's mom to take me home and yes, my sweet mom was waiting with open arms and a swift kick in the rear for Natasha's meany of a brother. I was done with sleepovers.

Why do I share this story...well, my Jack thinks maybe it's time to do sleepovers. He casually invited himself to a classmate's house to play so now I'm daily discussing playdate etiquette and cons of sleepovers. Unless it is with cousins or g-parents..not gonna happen. I just don't see the need to send my sweet boy to an unfamiliar house where bikini pictures, mean brothers, and skittles by the dozens are sure to be there.

Tag..I'm it?

O.k, so I have to preface this "tagging" with the reality that I have no one to "pass on" the tag to. Was that a run-on sentence? I'm a pro at reading other people's blogs, but my own....total newbie. Anyhoo, as thrilled as I am to share ( I really am) , the good times will probably/sadly end here. But hey- here's some juicy tidbits on me, I know ....., anticipation is high...o.k., here goes:

What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was living in Logan Utah finishing my BS degree. I loved Logan, would move there now if my husband didn't have our whole lives methodically planned out here in Washington for the next 20 years or so, which is good, jobs are good! I had fantastic roommates and met some of the greatest friends there. I loved the campus, my classes, the canyon, 2 of my cute brothers were there as well, cousins a plenty, just good times. My sweet grandparents lived 30 minutes away and so I saw them all the time as well. Great memories and I accomplished my degree..with a pretty decent GPA if I remember correctly..I don't really remember but I'm imagining high marks!

5 things on my to-do list today:

1. workout-check
2. grocery store- after Brody's nap
3.load of sheets/towels-check
4.have the boys play outside-check...hence the blogging
5. didn't get there yet

Snacks I enjoy:

Oh where to begin: I enjoy quite a few things. Anything with dark chocolate. Individual Dove chocolates are my weakness. I'll have 2 or 3 of them for dessert just to get my fix in. My favorite creation is the teddy graham (only original flavor) Dove choc. smore w/o the mallow part. I'll have a handful of teddy grahams and a few Dove treats and just eating them together is a smore in your mouth minus the mess, and campfire, and well, marshmallow.

I've learned to love blueberries. I've never been a fan of anything blueberry. It could be traced back to my toddler years when I blew up like a blueberry (kinda like Violet Beurigarde on Charlie and the Chocolate factory) and the dr. informed my mom that many kids are allergic to things like blueberries, and fish. She did feel a little silly feeding me fish sticks and blueberry muffins that night for dinner. I've however grown to love them, especially for their health benefits. They don't however taste better than chocolate.

baked tortilla dipped in hummus:
I love hummus, so tasty! My amazing sister even MADE hummus. I haven't ventured to make my own but buy it and love it I do. I like to bake a regular low fat tortilla for about 10 minutes on each side at 400 or so, just so it's nice and crispy. Another little weird snack I've grown to appreciate. Is it pathetic that I love thinking about what I love to eat? I could go on and on but I'll stop there:)

What would I do if I became a millionaire?
We are just about ready to build our own house. We being..my husband. Our paper work is at the county, KING county (for all you non Washingtonians, it's the county where all the madness and liberal poo originates from...Seattle baby!) Anyway, we have to meet their guidelines and ridiculous restricitons so my point is, if I were a millionaire, I would have someone ELSE besides my husband build our dream house and deal with every detail with the county and everything else that comes with personally building your own house. blah blah blah. I shouldn't complain, I'm excited and thankful we have this chance...blah blah blah

3 bad habits:
1. I love to sing aloud to any song I know..which is a lot, it's actaully quite an impressive talent. I don't know why I remember song lyrics but I do. My hubby is a good sport cause song lyric memorization is not one of his top priorities...good thing he has me. Bad for those of you who don't want to hear.
2. Buying at least 1 nonessential at Target pretty much everytime I enter those big red doors.-oops
3. Reading the stupid TMZ website. I know, I know, still like me?

5 places I've lived:
Kennewick Wa-grew up there
Kent Wa- kinda grew up there too
Rexburg Id-Ricks College
Logan Ut- Utah State
Enumclaw Wa-Where I currently reside

5 jobs I've had:
busser at Red Robin-high school
Einstein Bagel shop-Logan
After school program at elem. school-Logan
2 grade teacher's aide-Logan
4th / 5th grade teacher-Auburn Wa, I taught school the first few years of married life. Once the boys came, I stopped teaching. Loved it though.. I'll go back in some capacity when the fellas are out of school.

5 things people don't know about me:
1.I really enjoy a good reality show-personal favorites- 1.So you think you can dance...love it, love it, love it..once a year is not enough. Anything on food network especially Iron Chef America...Kyle and I love Sunday nights for that reason. The challenge shows are great too...how in the world people can make frosting do the things they do....I dunno? Scott Baio is 45 and single/pregnant on Vh1..I can't believe I'm divulging this info. but give it a try..so funny, oh and the Biggest Loser, love it.
2. BBQ sauce is my condiment of choice. Love it on just about anything.
3.I'm a political junkie- I read political books, I have my favorite blogs I check daily, Brit Hume is quite attractive to me, my kids know the difference between Limbaugh, Medved and Hannity. I feel it's very important to know what is going on in the news. And yes as the political scene is juicy everyday with preseidential ...stuff.....I am totally dreading November. My candidate of choice is no longer in the mix so enthusiasm is low. I'll tell you this much, the thought of Clinton or Obama makes my political savy stomach turn....UGH! Rough times ahead.
4. I love the smell of coffee- Working at Einsteins bagel shop must have sealed the deal. I had to learn how to make double shot latte, mochachino, frapachinno,hoppachino?? drinks each day. You add a shot of hazelnut or almond to that...ah gees! No I don't remember how to make anything. However, I can make a mean almond hot cocoa.
5.I love old school R&B music..anything from Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson to personal favorites like Al. B. Sure (You know what I'm talking about Kir)and SWV. Just back in the day when the lyrics were clean and the beats were groovin. Yes, my Ipod holds the classics.

So there it is, that's me. O.k. just in case someone does read this I'm going to tag Jen (sis-in-law), Kir (when ever she starts a blog...it will be worth the wait) and..Lorri ( sis in law) This was fun. Thanks for reading!

week/end review

This week-end we:

-Played an intense game of "let's go fishing" to keep the mind off being sick.
-Found out that not only are 100 calorie wheat thins packs yummy and good for you, they also make a fantastic head piece.
-I was reminded once again why I love and adore Kyle..and Tulips!
-Attended a fantastic night of "love music" courtesy of the kindergarten and 1st graders at Jack's school. Suckers provided by gramma Jan..good call.
-Ate delicious dinners made with tons of love by their beautiful mother, and enjoyed every bite.

-Played in the SUNSHINE!!!!

-Was a self admitted Grumpy dump most of the weekend. Yea, I know he was sick but Cole is my sweet sweet happy guy so when I asked him if he was going to be a grumpy dump all day and he said ,"yes I am" I just shrugged my shoulders and let him fall asleep in whatever was the most comfortable position for a grumpy dump.

So now that it's mid winter break and Jack is out of school all week, we'll cross our fingers that all children involved will be healthy and happy. We've made our list of "to-dos" this week to keep us busy and Happy, and obedient and Happy! Todays adventure...Costco, check! So tomorrow...well, it looks like Target is a great place to start.
Happy President's Day!

We're done

Last week, snow day..again! Valient effort in the backyard for a good 23 minutes or so!

What I love today

This has been a great Valentines day. Just a few things I love, especially today:

My boys; hilarious, handsome, clever, and just good! They all three willingly (especially the little guy) wore red and white and have wished me a happy valentines day no less than 5 times today, so cute!

Hubby- 2 dozen red and white tulips delivered on my doorstep! -sigh

Dark chocolate covered almonds- no need to mess around with milk chocolate, these are a major diet downfall, but worth every calorie.

Sunshine- especially today, heavy clouds but NO rain-thanks Sting :)

easy on the eyes?

So do I go with this calming blue hue? Does the green font work?? This blog thing is a bit tricky for me. After months of reading other people's blogs... I had no idea how much work went into to navigating these things. How do you make them so cute and fun and readable? And to think, I want to post a picture or two....how the???

o.k., after months of blog stalking (which has been quite enjoyable) I'm feeling like I may want to try this out as well. This is just a test to see how computer illiterate I am.