NICU Playlists

I feel like my version of nesting is clearing out all of the things that are rattling around in my brain.  Hence all the posts.

21 weeks, which means that if history is to be repeated, I have eleven weeks before this kid gets yanked out of my gigantic, this-close-to-having-a-stroke body.  I haven't bought anything because I have learned the hard way that a preemie is ridiculous to prepare for--nothing fits, they don't come home for a while, and all you really need is a camera.  (Although I DID just see this on Pinterest and I feel like it will be 9000% appropriate for this sure-to-be-neglected fourth child.)

So how do I prepare for a preemie and a NICU stay?  I practice songs.  Studies have shown that crying releases hormones, and NOTHING makes me shoot hormones out of my eyes more than singing sappy/maudlin/borderline child abusive songs to a tiny, wired-up little ball of Galan.  There are certain ones that are standards for all of the kids, but each kid also gets their own anthem.  (Well, not Jooj.  Because she got ALL of the songs.)

Songs All of My Babies Hear

• Old Shep--Everything you love will die.  Heads up.
• Poor Babes in the Woods--learn about dying because you ran away from home early, kid.
• Little Boy Bubble--A family favorite.  I have not met anyone else who sings it, but I learned it from my grandpa.
• My Pigeon House--I recently learned that MY grandpa learned it from HIS grandma.  I thought that he just sort of made it up, or something.  No one dies in this one.  
• Johnny Verbeck--A cautionary tale about lunch meats.  This one is good to sing while they are burping.  It has a nice patting rhythm.
• There is a Reason.  This is more for my heart than theirs, to be honest.  The NICU is tough, y'all.

Buster's Special Songs

• Loving You--from Passion.  Super maudlin.  
• I Will--The Beatles.  Fun Fact--I originally learned this from The Chipmunks.  Keeping it Classy, y'all

Jody's Special Songs

• All About Your Heart--Mindy Gledhill.  
• Anchor--Mindy Gledhill (I was kind of on a kick.  Who am I kidding?  I'm always on a kick.)
•  Mary's Lullaby--It was Christmas, you know.

I don't know what I will sing to this one, yet.  Probably Go Back Home, a la Audra McDonald will be in the rotation because I sing it every day anyway. Maybe Eidelweiss because I love me some Christopher Plummer.  And Germans.  Any suggestions?  I have eleven weeks to learn...

Linking, Linking, and More Linking

Buster weighs 15 pounds now! He is half the size and twice the age of FattyFatFat!

Man. Things have been busy here in El Paso! First we had that thing, then that other thing, then napping. Man. Busy!

In the meantime, here are some random bits and pieces I keep wanting to tell you about but haven't, due to the Busy.

1. I have found the PERFECT laundry concoction, in terms of smells and washingness. First, Method detergent in Clean Linen Scent. It comes in a pump and you use four squirts for your load. No drippy cups or measuring things or spouts. Also, refillable. THEN ADD THE SECRET INGREDIENT: Purex Crystals. They look like rock salt but smell like Lavender (in the scent I get, which is what you should get) and you put them in the wash and they sniff up your laundry in a serious fashion. Like, the other day I was lounging in bed and noticed a lovely scent and sniffed my undershirt and was all "Hey! Lavender!" and we all know I had been wearing it for, like, twelve days due to the Busy. If you go to Facebook and search for Purex and Like them they will give you a buck off. Which I am all about because I am a pimp for Facebook coupons.

2. Did you watch Downton Abbey this January? No? How about Upstairs Downstairs? No? You are dead to me. Go watch Upstairs Downstairs until May 24 on PBS.org. I am re-watching UD after refreshing myself on the politics of abdication and all the back-players in the British fascist regime. ARE YOU HAPPY, CARINA?

3. Nick Jr and the like need to stop importing shows from Canada. Aside from Kids in the Hall and the original, non-soft-core Degrassi Canada shows are crap. I point to Dino Dan if you need proof. I am not linking because I hate it that much.

4. I signed up for this site that gives me free stuff if I blog about it or whatever, and I haven't done much with it because I haven't been thrilled with the things. But then they sent me the L'oreal Double Extend Mascara Of The Gods and now I am telling you that you need to get it. It is amazing. And I am a High-Ticket Mascara purchaser. The also sent me the L'oreal One Sweep Eye Shadow and it is pretty rad, too, but I am not as fanatic about eye shadow as I am about mascara, so it is not as exciting to me. But this mascara, freaking awesome. My lashes look really really really really long. And SPARKLY.

5. Six more weeks of kindergarten. We had to order a cap and gown for Jooj. Really.

Back soon with more things. And Buster. Which I know is all anyone wants to see. And Jooj, for Continuity and Sass.


I was sent the L'oreal makeup to review, but the opinions are mine. If Purex or Method or PBS or England or Wallis Simpson or Fascism want to send me anything, I would totally take it. Canada, please stop sending me your television shows.

Wherein W Missed a Crowning Achievement Because He was at Home Getting My Lesson that I Forgot to Bring Because I Have Pregnant Brain

Jooj bore her testimony in church yesterday. It was a total surprise. And completely unencouraged.

For the record, I hate it when kids bear their testimonies in Sacrament Meeting. I know, you probably love it, but I don't. It stirs up all sorts of anger and irritation and issues in me. All of which, I'm going to tell you 'bout, right now!

I don't think the kids know what they are saying.
It sounds brainwashy.
It sounds manipulative.
I don't think it is cute.
If your mom or dad has to tell you what to say, it is not a testimony.
I don't like the sound of breathing in the microphone.
I believe it to often be more about a desire to receive public praise from adults and family members than about a sincere desire to state the love of God and the knowledge of His true church.

~J and I have talked at length about how I hate this. She has told me that, in her family, when the kids decide they want to say their testimonies they start practicing at home. They learn what a testimony is, what they can say, and what they cannot say. They are encouraged to practice during Primary. They know that mom is not going to accompany them to the pulpit and whisper in their ears; they will be on their own. They are not going to get a reward for venturing to the front of the room and breathing in the microphone. I had absolutely planned on doing this one day. Because she is only five. She has had zero interest in this. She is only five.

And then, yesterday, after watching the parade of children, coached by their parents, saying the exact litany of phrases as the first child, she announced to me that she wanted to do it, too.

I told her no.*

And someone whispered inside of me "Wait, let her try."

Hurriedly I asked her what she wanted to say. She told me three sentences.

I told her I was not going up there with her. She said that was just fine.

I asked her what she was going to say again--she repeated her previous three sentences, but with more irritation and an eye roll.**

I moved aside.

She marched up. Marched. Stood at the podium and in a clear, sweet voice said

"I know the church is true. I know Jesus loves me. I know he watches over me. In Jesus' name, amen."

Then she marched back down to our pew and resumed coloring.

And--here is the thing--I know she knows that. It wasn't manipulative or brainwashy. I know she actually knows those things. Within her limited experience and frame of reference, she knows that the church is true. She has had numerous experiences where she has learned beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus loves her, and she knows that He watches over her. She knows that. It is a part of her life. And she recognizes that she knows those truths. She was able to pick out three things that she knows, process them, and express them to the entire congregation without coaching or fear. Just some marching. Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good. Because she knows those things. And I know that she knows.

And something inside of my ice-cold, child-hating heart melted a little.

Don't get me wrong, I still hate it when kids bear their testimonies in sacrament meeting. But I hate it a tiny*** bit less.





*This is the same child that was not allowed (by me) to participate in the Primary Program last year because she refused to say her part without exclaiming "Boobies!" at the end. And I will not be that family.

**It is to her great luck that the first time she rolled her eyes at me we were in a public place in a state where I didn't know the child abuse laws; I was unaware as to what would get me reported to the authorities and so did not throw her through a window, as was my first inclination. Now I have gotten used to it and she is safe in her sass. Also, I have no idea where she learned to do it. Cram it, W.

*** 1/100000000000

Positively Happy Wednesday is Over.

Yesterday was hard to think about in a positive fashion. But here you go:

1. I talked to one of my favorite people in the world, our bishop's wife. She is rad. And she told me that when she was on Zofran for her chemo it made her really, really, high, just like me. This is positive on two fronts: I am on Zofran because of pregnancy, not cancer; I can now picture the bishop's wife stoned.

2. W got home really late, but just in time to clean up the dog vomit, which saved us from having to burn down the house or move. (Dog vomit is my mouse in the laundry room.)

3. I got to whine to ~J. She always lets me whine and interrupt and then her kids say something really funny or loud and I feel better.

4. Planner told me to clean the toilets, and I didn't. But this was okay, because I only had to see the filthy toilets up close in my face ONE time! (This is a major positive.)

5. W has some soldiers that are making his life miserable. But that allowed me to make the following segue: "Speaking of soldiers screwing things (up), the President is going to ask Congress to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell!" ZING! You can't buy that kind of set-up, folks.

*********************************************************************************
For Shar:
This is how I made yogurt:
I bought this yogurt maker.
I put milk and base in it.
I let it cook overnight.
I ate yogurt with jam and fruit and granola.

Accentuate the Positive

I won something awesome from Light Refreshments Served:

The Woman's Success Planner.

Now, let me begin by saying that I am a planner addict. I used to spend so much time and money at the Franklin Covey store that I should have been part of their sales team. I love to write things down and check things off. I make lists and check them twice.

And this planner FAR exceeds anything I have ever used.

It is like it was made for my brain.

Example:

Monthly, pre-made lists of things to do. In February, for example, it reminds me that I need to change the furnace filters (never been done in the life of the house) and rotate the tires (do people actually do that?).

Weekly, pre-made lists of things to do--changing the sheets and sweeping the porch and cleaning out the fridge--and then a spot that says "Delegated to." It absolutely gives me permission to NOT do all of these things myself! And says "delegate" instead of "nag and whine!"

It has a focus for each month, and gives me ideas about meeting that focus. Like ways to connect with my kid, ideas for service, and things to pamper myself.

I freaking love this planner.

And even better? I am using it. Today and yesterday were as bad as it has been, nausea-wise, but Planner reminded me that I needed to make the bed. And I got to check it off by filling in a circle. (I LOVE filling in circles.) So I made the bed. And when I felt better for about ten minutes, I saw that I had designated "Plan FHE" as the number-one priority for the day. And that it was a task that could be done quickly (Planner made me note which tasks could be done quickly). So I planned it. And checked it off.

Did I get everything done today? No. But I got more than normal done. (Pregnancy normal. Not regular, functioning person normal.)

Planner also told me to come up with a major purpose for the week. I decided on "Staying Positive." Mindy Gledhill, who many of you know and I just stalk, has been posting five successes a day on her blog. I am totally stealing that. But because I am staying positive, I call it "learning from others."

1. Planned FHE with an activity
2. Made bed.
3. Did some laundry.
4. Made dinner, INCLUDING vegetables.
5. Got dressed, INCLUDING bra.


Dear internet police: I won this. I didn't have to like it. But I do. And I don't get anything for encouraging other people to buy it. But I should. Because I would like free things for telling people what to do. This is why I am looking into a career as an evil dictator.

School Days Seminar Assignment 1

Assignment for the day: Write a blog about why you have a blog

I am not good at making friends. Not even a little. Mostly I have W make friends for me, and then take over from there. My best friend is no exception. She and W went to EFY together, and she has the honorable distinction of being the only girl at the camp that did not make out with my husband-to-be, who was a notorious man-whore. I think God knew that I needed her more than his lips did.

We met randomly, when he introduced me to her at UVCC/SC/U as she happened to pass by. We were in the dining hall, which was the only place he frequented during his first year there. I was visiting from The Lord's University (slumming) as the introductions were made. I didn't think too much about it.

Then, randomly (but not really, I think) she and her husband moved in next door. And after a few weeks I left my husband for her. And her Hawaiian Haystacks.

Later, after I moved from West Pro to EP she sent an email saying that she had started a blog. So I started one, too, because I thought hers was awesome. And I am a copier ALL THE WAY.

And from there, ran into another friend from college that W made for me. And another friend that ~J made for me. And another. And another. More and more and more and more and more friends. More than I have ever had.

And I found myself surrounded by these women on the internet. And when I visit I am surrounded by these women in person. And I love them more than most things in my life. And I want them to love me. And know about me. And that is why I have a blog.

Also, because I sometimes like to post letters to children's characters. (Stay tuned for that collaborative gem...)

What HAVEN'T We Been Up To?

We won an awesome sun hat from Sew Fierce


Played with "Bumbaroos"

Learned how to make bubble snakes

Got and mauled a new puppy

And had some picnics with Papi when he could sneak away from work and meet us at the pool.

Pretty good July.

A Brief Interlude Between Decent Posts

Check out the button on the right-hand-side (or below for your Google Readers). It is for Swagbucks. Which is an awesome internet search engine. Download the toolbar (or just go to the site) to search, like you normally would, but for every few searches you earn Swagbucks--which can be redeemed for all sorts of things. Like Amazon giftcards, Delta miles, and cash. Serio. Three Christmas presents already paid for. Just from searching! I love it. And so should you.

What I Made for W's Homecoming Meal

Pulpeta, recipe over at Serrano.

I would have taken a picture, but we ate it too fast.

I will post pictures of the reunion later, but now Jooj and I are watching Jack Black on Yo Gabba Gabba, in between dancing to Beyonce. Because W is back at work. I think one day off for fifteen months of work is enough, don't you? And a 5:30 am formation is effective.

Why Must You Turn My Kitchen Into a House of Lies?

The other day I went to Marshall's, because I needed some new running shoes. Because I am SO active, you know. What with my mile a day. Or not. And while I was there, I found a copy of the Jessica Seinfeld book about hiding vegetables in your carbs. It was $6.99, which is what I would spend in late fees if I were to borrow it from la biblioteca, so I ponied up.

Let me preface this by saying that, for all her nakedness and sass, Jooj will eat veggies like a champ. A cham-peen, if you will. I bought it mostly for me. Because I am lazy. (Have we discussed how I am lazy? Yes? Good.) I love veggies. I will eat them all day. If someone else makes them. I just can't be bothered. I would rather spend my energy eating cereal and sammies. So, I thought, if I can just thrown them in something, I will eat them, right?

Now, I know I have been forewarned. Lisa and Topher attempted this last year. It did not turn out well, from all I have heard. Still, $6.99, so I thought I would try.

Tonight is temple night, so I have to make an actual dinner for Jooj so the babysitter doesn't know how crappy my parenting is, and I always make some snacks to eat in the car on the way to Mexico. What better time than to try out some mac and cheese and especial brownies?

This particular recipe involves spinach and carrots. And margarine. Already I am skeptical. Because I haven't used margarine in a recipe since twelfth grade. Because I believe in butter. Plus, In the notes it says "Be sure to let them cool completely or the spinach taste won't go away."

As a side note, Jooj is watching season three of "Muffins." So I have to keep telling her "That is Fozzie Bear. That is Dr. Teeth." I don't know which is more disheartening: the reminder that the 1970s were absolute crap, complete with Jazz Ensemble Dancing, or the smell of these brownies. And segue!

This brownie batter smells jank. JANK, I tell you. And it looks EXACTLY like my poop. FYI: I have a VERY healthy colon. If you were building a person from scratch, you would want to use my colon as a base for the rest of the colons in the new race you were forming. It is highly effective. Want to know what your poop should look like? Make these brownies.

Gravy, I love that Swedish Chef. Bork Bork Bork!

Okay, the brownies are out of the oven. Don't they look, um, EXACTLY LIKE A BUFFALO CHIP?

Maybe I will frost them? After they cool so they no longer taste like spinach?

While they cool, enjoy this picture of the kitchen towel I made.


Meanwhile, I am making the macaroni and cheese with the hidden cauliflower. It starts off circumspect: A roux made from olive oil, not butter, and ZERO Grueyere. Plus cauliflower.

Here are four things I will only eat if I am on the Amazing Race and have to ingest for a million dollars:
Mangos
Boiled Carrots Mashed With Turnips
Orange Creamsicles
Cauliflower

So the roux actually thickens in a pretty way, and then I add some cream cheese and some sharp cheddar. And the cauliflower puree. Ew. The thick roux now looks like, um, creamsicles. Great.

I add the pasta to the cauliflower-sicle sauce. Jooj proclaims "I don't want macamookie, I want PASTA." She spits it out.

But, actually, it is not bad. Kind of good, actually. I mean, it is not Kraft Dinner with Ketchup, but it is good. I can't taste the cauliflower. You can trust me on this, because if I could taste it I would be throwing up. But I am writing a blog post, not choking on my face.

Brownies are cool. In temperature, not awesomeness. Gravy, they are nasty. The only way people would think this "brownie" is a dessert is if they are jerk-faces. There is no way those Seinfeld kids are falling for that. Unless, of course, they are jerk-faces. Not even frosting will save these. Maybe Jooj will eat them, but probably not. Because she is not a jerk-face. Oh, these are gross. I need to go eat some cauliflower to take the taste out of my mouth.

To wrap up:
1. Celebrities are not chefs. We need to never listen to them again.
2. My colon rules
3. W calls my poop bionic. ( I forgot to tell you that up there.)
4. Don't eat things that are for jerk-faces.
5. Now I have to find a new treat for the drive to Mexico.

You are welcome.

Isn't it cute when old people get technology?

(Answer: No.)

We have some old people in our ward. About twelve that qualify as old, and ten that qualify as old and crochety. One that carries a briefcase.

And they ALL have gotten technology.

As a result, I get the following things every week:

1. e-cards

2. forwards in Spanish

3. forwards in English

4. a ward bulletin created using Corel-soft, I think.

5. plants/cookies/hugs/guilt on facebook.

Now, I love these old people, many of whom are Jooj's adopted grandparents. One in particular, she decided "She is SO cute! She gives me candy. She will be me NEW grandma." (Note to actual Grandmas: get on the candy stick if you want to stay in the game.) But in my world, I don't really understand how to fit these tech-savvy (ish) oldsters in to a pigeon-hole. I am not against them like CJane, but I do fear the power they may wield in, say, a Sidekick. Or a Twitter account. (New tweets: I like fiber! Viagra is awesome! I am old! Bill O Reilly is hot! I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids!)

I have been reading Reader's Digest to figure out their motives in techno-knowledgey, but all I am learning is that I need to speak to my doctor before I start a hormone replacement therapy regime, and that old people, apparently, have sex. Ew. Dad. EW.

There are things that I believe that old people need computers and gadgets and things for:

Family History.
Keeping recipes.
Receiving jokes and emails that they must then print out because they can't comprehend the fact that the interwebs will save them indefinitely.

But all of this can be done without me finding out that my friend's mom is now a doula and wants to invite me to join a group of some kind that saves whales when I receive a virtual gnome and then send a virtual gnome in return. Right?

Still Alive

I mostly credit Dalene.

While waiting to die I did the following things:
Westward 3
Purchased this--who needs bookplates? Step right up!
Freaked out from this
Geeked out at this.


In addition, I forgot that you didn't know I got new hair.
It is hard to suck in and hold still and press a button.

Will brave the store to get cough suppressants today.

I like to Win Stuff

And it would make me feel better to win all of this at Design Mom this weekend. So please don't enter. Just root for me.

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!

PS: Jooj told me today "I am six. Or Fourteen." A truer statement was never uttered.

I Make Toys, But I've Got Aspirations.

So, one of the few benefits to having W gone for the holidays is that I can Grizwold up the place as early as I want. Being a Holiday Traditionalist by religion, though, I have put off the decorating until as close to Thanksgiving as I can without needing to go to a Christmas Confessional. The music, on the other hand? Since September.

Here are my favorite holiday albums:

Barenaked for the Holidays--Barenaked Ladies. This is truly my current favorite. Probably because I have been on a BNL kick lately (don't blame it on Yokie.) and have been filling the ipod with all of the albums. But this one has just the right amount of pathos mixed with whimsy mixed with Judaica.

Sufjan Stevens: Songs for Christmas. I like this one because it makes me want to slit my wrists a little bit, and then drink some cocoa. Which is really appropriate for the holiday season, if you are being truly honest with yourself and your experience. Also because the whole album flows together from front to start, like those old Beach Boys studio albums. But without the wierd animal sounds.

Gifts--Cherie Call. Part of my new lease on life involves no longer trying to be cool. So I admit I like me some sappy Mo Music. But Cherie Call is a gifted folk-singer in her own right, which makes this less guilty than, say,

Home For Christmas--Amy Grant. Yes, I know she thinks I am going to Hell. Even though SHE is an adulteress and I am just someone who believes that you need faith AND works. But that Breath of Heaven gets me every time. And the heavily abridged Handel's Messiah? Great to sing along with in the car.

Mary's Lullaby: Christmas Songs for Bedtime. We have actually not stopped listening to this since ~J gave it to us two Christmases (or one?) ago. I really want Scott Wiley to put out a lullaby album in the Espanish. Someone put a bug in his ear. Tell him it would make dinero.

December--George Winston. This one just reminds me of growing up Johnson in the YL before the fires. I love it. As does...

The Christmas Song: Nat King Cole.

What's on your holiday play list? Anything good?

"For the Temple is a House of God; a Place of Love and Beauty"

**All Pictures from www.lds.org.

Twelve Years and Five Days ago I was in Boca Raton Florida, on my way to the Orlando Temple with my future in-laws and my future husband. It was a long, long drive, and it was really, really early. I remember eating a bagel. And being kind of nervous to enter the temple--a place I had been preparing to go my entire life.

I was the only newcomer during that temple time, and the matrons were so excited and cute--they let me put on a fancy dress and gave me a hand-made holder for my temple recommend.

I think that I disappointed CayCay a little because I didn't cry. But I was just so Happy To Be that I didn't have room for tears. She didn't know me well enough then to know that I only cry out of sadness/anger/mushy movies/and, apparently, adopting a baby.


In Twelve Days it will be three years since we were in Provo, Utah on our way to the Provo Temple with our newly-adopted, officially OURS daughter. It had been a long, long, time coming, and we were surrounded by family, friends, and birth-families and friends. I remember being nervous about time constraints, and relieved that she would finally be sealed to me forever.

We were the only family during that temple time, and the matrons in the nursery were so excited and cute--they fussed over Jooj and put her in her fancy dress and gave me a little card with the date and their names (Kay Frisby and Arlene Smith) to keep.

When they brought Jooj into the sealing room she was just happy as a clam. I started to cry--relief and happiness and joy. But there was some sadness, too. In the room with us were her dear, dear birth-grandparents who I know were thrilled for us, but with a breaking heart. I felt such love and gratitude for them and for her sweet birthmother who was waiting in the garden outside for us to meet her after the ceremony.

When they told us that we were officially sealed, Jooj blew a huge raspberry. It couldn't have been more Official after that.


Yesterday I went to the Ciudad Juarez, Mexico temple. It was a pretty quick ride, no traffic, and not too many crazy drivers. Only two guys juggling fire on the side of the road. I was not special, I was not alone, and I was not fawned over.

And yet, the Spirit testified to me, just as has happened three years ago, that I would be soon starting this cycle again. And that I would be ready, and that it would be good. That the road would be hard but, by the time I could celebrate anniversaries, I would remember the good and the joy and the tears. And I would be in the temple.



If you want to know more about the temples of the LDS church, or how we are, as a family, able to be together after we die, I encourage you to visit Mormon.org. It is all true. Serio. And if you want to listen to a living Prophet of God, check out our General Conference Broadcast this weekend. It will be the heat! (And if you are in the EP area, we will be eating brownie pancakes while we watch. Stop by!)

Isabelle has a kindred spirit in Albany

Check out the sign here.

(And this is one of the many reasons we love DaStew and DaWife.)

Things That Rule My World

Thanks to my crack, I am able to write a blog post. Don't expect much, because I am not capable of delivering. Keep lowering that bar, and then read on...

When I am trying to fall asleep (after the battery has died on Compy) I have conversations with myself. Usually I play both the role of admiring fan and La Yen. (Although sometimes I play role of La Yen in High School doing some revisionist social networking and preemptive breaking up, but that is another story for another day...) Sometimes I ask myself "La Yen, HOW do you get through the day? You are so poised and pulled-together, and those additional pounds are not even showing. How DO you do it?"

Well, Biggest Fan, here you go. My list of awesomeness

It's a Bam Bam Diddly by Father Goose

Jooj can't help dancing to this, and it is hard for me to beat her when she is dancing. Ergo, we dance a lot to save her from beatings.

Passions

I know I have spoken at length about Passions, but I don't think anyone understands how completely awesome it is. The Jolly Porter hooked me, and he is almost a PhD. DR. Jolly Porter. Do you know the kind of legitimacy that lends this show? Enough to make the plotline that revolves around a weenus-ectimy and backwards/upside-down reattachment almost tasteful.

Mini Corn Dogs

Honey in the batter, and in our bellies. Grain, check. Protein, check.

Go Fug Yourself

There are days when I need a belly laugh. And this site ALWAYS delivers. I love it. I need it. And, Peldons, please show yourselves again. Please.

Farm 51

This game is completely pointless. And addicting. I play it when I need a break. Which is all of the time.

Banana Split Ice Cream

Somehow, Somewhere, there's a place for us, slight flavor of maraschino cherry.

Getting ready for W to come home.

Three weeks until his 20-day vacation. We are meeting our favorite Stew and Wife for a week of fun and games. We may also be bringing a babysitter so that we can play after 6 pm. Here's hoping her mom says yes!

Advantium Over-The-Range Oven.

See Mini Corn Dogs above

Living vicariously through Wee Wonderfuls and Angry Chicken

They make things look pretty. And so I, for a minute, think that my house is all pretty and vintage and that I have the attention span to make lots of crafty things.

Jooj singing ABCs

"A B C B LNNOP Essa Essa Essa You Come Sing With Me."

So there you have it, biggest fan. I must go put on some music so I don't beat the kid while we pick up 8500 fuse beads and put them back in the bucket.

It's there choice, you no.

~J and Beans, this one's for you.

W to the Infinite Power

So, W recently discovered our dopplegangers.

Spooky, huh?

Making Up My Mind

Well, in Texas we don't get to vote until a month after Super Tuesday. Which means I still have some time to decide.

I asked DaStew about why I should vote for Obama. He said, essentially, because O is a socialist, and not crazy, as opposed to the other three choices.

I asked Azucar if she thought Romney would get a VP nom, and she said no.

I would have asked Ames' mom, but I think she is still in mourning over her boyfriend.

Cjane and the Legislators say to go with His Royal Crap-Dancingness.

I found this article, which I like. I am still on stage one. Don't expect to get much further...

So, what should I do?