I'm sure there will come a day when I miss those gentle tugs at the pants and a sweet little voice saying, "Mommy, hold me." But I am quite certain I will never miss dragging around the dead weight of a toddler wrapped around one leg, who's screaming in anger (for no apparent reason) as I'm throwing a roll of paper towels down on the THIRD cup of spilled milk of the day. This of course happens as I'm trying to make dinner, fold my 5th load of laundry, and help with homework. Talk about multitasking. Most days I handle these situations fairly gracefully. There are even some days when I say, "Bring it on! SURE, I'll take dinner to so and so, SURE I would love to volunteer at Family Fun Night. And SURE, I'll get the oil changed and even take the kids with me!"

Then there are OTHER days. Those days when I think, "If I have to change one more disgusting diaper, I'm making you live in the bathtub for the rest of the day." Or those days when the mere sound of my children (who I love) saying, "Mom, I'm hungry," makes me want to scream and run out the door. Or those days when I tell myself, "If I can just make it till bedtime...then I can sit and do nothing except watch American Idol."


What is it that makes our moods so changing? I'm sure it can't always be blamed on hormones. Why can't we all be superpeople - every day? We know there must always be opposition, so maybe it's because if we were always "supers" then there would have to be those people who were destined to be supervillans. And then we'd go around hating them for being so mean and they'd hate us for being so NICE. And that doesn't sound nice at all.

So, as much as I'd love to be SuperME around the clock, day after day, it makes sense that we'd all have to take our turn at being really rotten every now and then. And since we all know what it feels like to be grumpy, tired, impatient, or whatever else we might be feeling, then maybe we can all be a little more understanding of when someone else is struggling to overcome his supervillan self.

So, if your feeling like SuperYou today, enjoy it and let your family enjoy YOU! Maybe you could even flash a smile to the mean cashier at Wal-Mart. And if you're right in the middle of a supervillan day, don't worry - there's always tomorrow, and you can choose to make it SUPER!

A few days ago Reas was checking out my blog and made the observation that people might think I was a single mom. Well now, we wouldn't want that, so I thought I'd better add some pics of him too. Problem. We are terrible, and I mean HORRIFIC at taking pictures of each other - the kids are way cuter photo subjects. So we don't really have a big selection of recent pictures of ourselves - actually, it's quite pathetic. But that's okay. This will be more fun anyway. I dug out some old ones to share (ooooooh, he's gonna just LOVE this)!

SO... here we are as young lovebirds in highschool.

We went to Disneyland just a few weeks before his mission.

Check out those overalls - and the HAT! The sad thing - I remember feeling SOOOO cute that day.

Senior Prom.

The theme - "Underneath the Stars"

Is that romantic, or what!

So there you have it. A glimpse into our past. And it seems like only yesterday...

Last Saturday was Christmas all over again for me. My parents drove up from Lancaster to bring us their old piano! They've had it forever and they weren't the first owners, so it's pretty old, but it's the one that I learned to play on, so it feels like home! Reas and I haven't ever had our own piano - just lots of different keyboards that have served me well, but not quite like the real thing. When we lived in Salinas, CA, we had this small apartment where there wasn't even enough room to leave my tiny keyboard set up. It would stay in the closet and when I wanted to play I'd have to set it on the dining room table - not the best arrangement. Last December, when we were house hunting and we walked into what's now our house I saw the PIANO WALL and knew that's where I'd have a piano someday. Little did I know that "someday" wasn't so far off after all.

There's one fact that's easy to see. Maggie's got BIG hair. Not only is it big, but it's poofy, staticky, and curly in some spots and straight in others.





There are some days when the poofiness isn't so bad, but the static is what's out of control. If she brushes up next to anything at all, it sticks out straight in every direction.










It works beautifully with sponge curlers, but I can't do that EVERY night.

When it rains, Maggie's hair size nearly doubles. Fortunately for her we live in the desert.

P.S. Sorry about Ty. The rain drops must have been getting to him.






She has great Halloween hair, but she can't dress up as a witch every day of the year.








So, here's my question to all of you. I'm pretty sure the answer is product - but what to buy? I don't have curls, waves, or poofs, and have never had to deal with them, and I think she'll thank me for posting this very personal matter some day. She always wants to wear her hair down, but I try to talk her out of it for fear of her getting teased. Yesterday she convinced me to leave it down. When I picked her up from school I noticed that she had put it in a pony. She told me it was because the kids always tell her that her hair tickles their faces when they have to stand behind her in line! I seriously almost busted up laughing, but held it in, so as to not do any permanent damage to her 6 year-old ego. So to any of you big haired bloggers out there - HELP!!!! How do I tame the mane?

We finally did it! Claire's beloved "wah wah" (meaning pacifier - yeah I don't know where that one came from) which has been her best friend since day one is GONE for good. She's been a closet pacifier sucker for at least 6 months, meaning only at naptime and bedtime. That went reasonably well, but I've been dreading thinking about how to cut her off completely. Afterall, it just made her SO happy. It was worth giving it to her just to see her huge smile and watch her lurch for her bed because there, was her peaceful refuge from all the stress and pressure that comes with being almost 2. We all need a little happy place, don't we? So, we've been putting off the cold turkey thing for too long, until opportunity came knocking at our door and I jumped at the chance...

Tuesday morning she woke up with the flu, the nasty throw up kind. During one of her episodes, she happened to have the pacifier in her mouth and well...I'll leave it at that. We don't need too many details here. Anyway, right then and there I decided to tell her that her pacifier is yucky now and she won't want it because it will taste really gross. Fortunately, this was good enough to convince her that it would have to all be over. It helps that we only had one pacifier in the house and I don't think she knows how readily available hundreds more would be. SO, we're now on day 3 of a no pacifier life and things are sailing smoothly. So good in fact, when I went to put her down for her nap earlier today she looked at me and said, "Wah wah's yucky now," and rolled over and went to sleep. Ahhh..what a girl!

Project complete! Maggie, Ty, and Claire all pitched in to make our bird feeder one that the birds will be talking about. They love it (the birds AND the kids).

We started out with 5 inexpensive flower pots we stumbled across at the dollar spot in Target. Then stacked them upside down, rightside up, upside down, rightside up style.

We topped it with a plastic serving platter, which just so happened to be shaped like a flower and had little divided sections. Glued it down nice and snug, and voila! Of course, we had to paint for a little added beauty. We like to treat our pets right around here.

The morning after completion, we woke up to happy little birds bathing and feasting.

On the first day of first grade Maggie came home sporting a lovely beaded necklace she had made. She proudly announced that the necklace told all about HER. Each color represented something different. Pink meant she had a sister, blue - she had a brother, white - she liked to read, etc. She told me that she was able to put every color bead on her necklace, except one - orange. So, of course I then asked her what an orange bead meant. With obvious disappointment, she said, "It means I have a pet." Oh, no. She's finally noticed. Ugh...



On occasion, I've been ridden with guilt over the fact that my children don't have a pet. But obviously not guilty enough to run out to the nearest pet store to buy a kitten, hamster, or even a goldfish (puppies, as cute as they are, are simply out of the question at the present time. I already do enough feeding, watering, cleaning up after, and yes, even poop scooping although of a different sort). Some of you may call me lazy, mean, an insensitive mom, or a bad citizen for my selfish stand. But as of today, I call myself BRILLIANT!!



For all you moms that may have similar feelings as mine, I have come up with the perfect solution to the parent-child pet problem. The best part - everyone ends up happy! The kids get their pet (so they think) and the mom has very little, if any, added responsibilities. Now that you're on the edge of your seat in anticipation, here it is...the solution to one of life's most frequently unsolved dilemmas...and it should have been so obvious before now... drumroll... A BIRD BATH/FEEDER. It's easy as that. My kids will get the pleasure of being able to daily feed and water their 5,000 new feathered friends and I get the pleasure of doing NOTHING!! Except maybe buy an occasional bag of birdseed which I believe should be cheaper than dog food, treats, toys, collars and accessories, puppy shots, and having the fluffy guy spayed or neutered (I can't say those two words together without thinking of Bob Barker).



Thanks to my friends at HGTV (they really do feel like my friends. Is that bad?) my kids and I are currently building our own birdbath and feeder. It's cute, quick, and inexpensive - my three requirements for a great family project. So, give us a day or two to complete our project, only because that's how long it will take me to post anything again, and then check back to see pictures of our creation and Maggie's and Ty's smiling faces because they will soon have more pets than any other kid they know. Man, I'm smart.