How to Pump Gas in Style

I stopped at a gas station a few days ago that I've not been to before. What a surprise it was to catch the news, weather, and a brief bit on sports all while I was pumping gas. How cool is that? It made me not really mind that it was about 30 degrees outside, or that the pump was running slower than molasses. It was a cool thing to occupy the four minutes or so that it took to fill the tank, but thinking about it, is that really necessary? Do I need to fill every waking minute with news, weather, and sports? Hmmm...maybe I won't head back there anytime soon...I really do enjoy my free time...then again I'm an information junkie, but that's a discussion for another day.

Nasty Kitchen Chairs

We need new kitchen chairs - desperately. I'm not kidding - take a peek:

We've tried recovering them, and while that works for a bit, the kids are , well, kids, and the chairs will continue looking like they do. I'm hesitant to recover them again as they look kinda gross now, but I need to mention one other thing. The chairs are hard as rock uncomfortable. The cheapo bench (I should call it a good looking bench because it is) is even more comfortable than these chairs. You see, the last time we recovered them several years ago - before we had any kiddos actually - and we mad a mistake. We used MDF for the seats as one had a friends foot go through it right before we replaced it, and another was cracked and I'm certain that the next time I sat on it it surely would have broken. So, we grabbed a stronger board for the seat thinking not at all that a stronger board is a harder board, and a harder board would hurt your butt if you sat on it more than a few minutes. Now, we did use a cushion under than once beautiful fabric, but even a few inches of cushion won't combat MDF.

So, we're in the midst of the discussion about what to do. Seeing as how we're not big purchasers of furniture - we didn't actually purchase the beautiful table that these chairs sit at - and we don't really want to buy new chairs, we're torn. Do we spend a few bucks and take the time to recover them, this time replacing the MDF with something a big softer / more flexible? Or do we drop $100-$300 PER CHAIR for some nice looking teak chairs that compliment our table? Or do we just toss it all out and get a picnic table in the kitchen? (Oh, I need to delete that part as that's Tom's first choice and not really an option.) Yeah, nice new fabric and three kiddos? What the heck would do the trick here? Vinyl is a bit too sticky, and 70's for me. Any fabric runs the risk of being stained almost instantly upon deposit on one of our chairs. And those kids? They are just 7 , 5, and 5, so it's not really an option to wait until they are a bit older - you see them - they are gross! So, what to do, what to do? Maybe Tom's idea about the picnic table isn't such a bad one. No, I'll stick to my guns and we'll get something figured out here, but it's gotta be soon..

I have PINK Hair, it that so wrong?

Apparently not! And that's certainly a pleasant surprise. I thought for sure that I'd get some not so nice looks, but it just didn't happen. People impress me sometimes when I least expect it, and this is one of those times. My hubby wonders what took me so long, my kids request colors, and lots of people smile. I don't mean a few people, but LOTS and LOTS. It seems that when confronted with a regular looking woman with pink hair (read that as one that's not covered in tattoos or wearing all black or pierced everywhere), it makes you smile to think that she'd dye her hair pink. After you've taken that second look at her hair you just have to make eye contact, and then you run across my big grin. Occasionally people look away, but generally people smile back. Can't beat that with a stick.

But like I said, Tom wondered what took me so long. I've never dyed my hair before, and you see, I am a chicken. After talking to my stylist about it, I hunted up another expert trained in the field - my cousin who does this professionally. She's a few years younger and kinda laughed when I asked her about it, but she too said to go for it. So, off I went and bleached out my hair then dyed it pink. Now, I didn't do this myself - that's just crazy talk. But voila! Here I am with pink hair:


It's subtle - in case you were concerned I really didn't dye the whole thing pink and can cover most of it - here it's just peeking out but there's a bit more underneath if I'm feeling wild! And no weird looks from the pre-school moms, the PTA parents, or the teachers. The students in my scrapbooking class just chalk it up to the fact that I'm an artist, and the kiddos love it. I mean really, they dig it. When I pick the boys up from pre-school we all stand around visiting while the kids run outside one last time. Three or four little boys stood about 10 feet away from me kind of giggling and pointing. One boy smiled and said "It IS pink." Another smiled back at the first and after a quick glance said, "I think it looks pretty." And then they all ran off to bigger and better things. So I guess I have won over the four and five year old crowd. Now I'm old hat at school and the kids don't even give me a second glance. Too bad for the next pre-school mom that wants to get herself some attention I've blown it for you - and sorry about that. But you will get lots of smiles and grins from jsut about everyone else you run across.

You have GOT to be kidding

A lady and gentleman over in London are divorcing and fighting over divvying up the pot of money from their marriage - the HUGE pot of money - $1.6 billion. It's probably mostly his in the first place, but she's not happy with the $50 million that he was willing to cough up. He said that it was her fault the marriage dissolved because of her "unreasonable behavior." Are you kidding me? Someone is unhappy wiht $50 million? How much did she come into the marriage with, and why the heck is she entitled to that much? Then again, why doesn't he just give her some more to get rid of her? Maybe giving her $100 million, still a drop in the bucket (a mere 6.25% of the huge pot) will placate her and just have the whole thing go away. For god's sake - it was a4 year marriage and she didn't have a whole lot in the first place. Did I mention the gentleman was a Beatle? Some people just don't get it.

January 25th

So here's one video of our adventures on January 25th. It's all fun and games until someone hits themselves in the head with a hammer...



By the way, no one was harmed in the making of this video - well, maybe a few nails were bent, but no people were harmed.

How Cold Is It?

It's cold enough that the stuffed animals don gloves...

But not cold enough for the kiddos to wear gloves...or a hat...or even a coat...

Blogger is ticking me off here today (and the past few days as well). I have several posts in the queue waiting to be published and it either won't let me attach the image or it won't let me spell check and save. I have no idea if the word QUEUE is even spelled right???!!!! Dangit Blogger - I want to share my insights, as insane or lame as they might be, but you aren't being nice.

So, here's a post that isn't spell checked, has no picture, and sounds kinda whiney. Hoopfuly ereything is spulled wright so I don't lok likee a creazy purson, and thiers no pikture to boott.
Sorry - had to go there...

Stove Dreams

Should I be concerned

that I'm having dreams

of my stove on fire?

Yea! Lunch Bunch!

I am a SAHM to three wonderful little men. Understand that I think that beating on your brother, yelling, fighting (we call it wrestling here), leaving messes all over the house, and generally destroying things is wonderful. Doesn't sound so good when it is put like that, but they are boys and there are three of them, so I've learned to accept some of what being a boy is all about. I digress. I am a SAHM, which means that for the past seven years I have been home with one, two, or three kids at a time - all day, every day. The oldest is now in second grade, and the younger two started preschool this past fall, which gave me a whopping two hours for four days a week of "free time" (by the time I dropped them off and picked them up that's all that was left).

Today the little guys are starting "Lunch Bunch" once a week to get a feel for what it will be like when school starts in the fall. They are heading to Kindergarten then, and unlike lots of other moms out there, I can't wait. I love my children very deeply and couldn't imagine life without them, but the messes, the wrestling, the yelling, the whole boy thing in general would get to anyone after a while. So today is the first day of Lunch Bunch, where I will drop them off at 9am, and not pick them up until 2:30pm. That means that I will have a full 5 1/2 hours of time all for myself. So what am I going to do you ask? I could catch up on cleaning but that seems like a complete waste of my first huge chunk of free time in years. Besides, I can clean and do laundry while they are here - and sometimes they even offer to help. I could catch up on organizing my digital pictures, but that sounds so un-fun at the moment. I could call some friends and set up a lunch, but they all have kids at home and while it would probably be a fun and also a diversion, I want some kid-free time.

I think instead what I'll do is something that I've been waiting years to be able to do in the quiet of my own home - I think I'll nap. I can nap in the morning, or nap in the afternoon. I have options for the first time ever. I do nap some when the kids are home (the little two are almost five and the oldest is seven), but it's not a restful nap as I have to keep one ear up and running just in case. And getting back to the beginning, they are loud - very loud. They come by that honestly though - I'm loud too. So, just for today, please don't call me - I'll probably be sleeping.

Cross posted over at DC Metro Moms Blog - where parenting and politics make for an interesting mix.

Individually. Wrapped. Potatoes.

Yes, you read that correctly, and when I saw them today I could hardly believe my eyes. I pointed out the potatoes wrapped in clear plastic shrink wrap to my hubby, who simply shrugged his shoulders.

Why on earth does a vegetable that growns in the ground - the dirt even - need a plastic wrap? I even verified that they do grow in the ground - in case I've been misled my entire life. And yes, they are a popular food - "the potato is the second most consumed food in the United States. An average American eats 135 pounds of potatoes a year, which is equal to about a one potato per day average. " - National Potato Council's Website.

But still - shrink wrap? Come on. They are potatoes. Am I missing something here? These even come with an easy pull, zip off wrapper. Huh? What the heck is going on here?

The Super Bowl is BANNED at Churches.

You have got to be kidding me. Churches are not allowed to broadcast the Super Bowl? They are not allowed to broadcast the big game on their screens, so they are having to revert to hosting home parties instead. Now, I'm not religious, but this isn't a religious thing. No one should be denied the right to watch the big game with their friends - 5 of them or 300 of them. These churches aren't charging, just showing the game on their big screens. What genius decided that this was a good idea?

The NFL said, however, that the copyright law on its games is long-standing and the language read at the end of each game is well known: "This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience. Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited."

The league bans public exhibitions of its games on TV sets or screens larger than 55 inches because smaller sets limit the audience size. The section of federal copyright law giving the NFL protection over the content of its programming exempts sports bars, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. -Washington Post 2/1/08

So it ISN'T just for churches. It is for anyone who has a TV over 55" and shares with their friends in a public place. Guess they shouldn't come to my house and watch the big game with me then. Hey NFL - if you are listening, I occassionally watch the games that you broadcast ON MY BIGGER THAN 55" TV. Go ahead - sue me for owning a TV larger than 55". If I have some friends over (as we did at our Super Bowl party a few years ago) does this count as a public exhibition? No, you say? Well, if I show it in the back yard will you come after me and my projector?

You NFL guys really need to rethink the whole "You can't watch TV with your church friends thing." Again, not religious here, but man, this is wrong. So a pastor or minister, rabbi or whomever wants to share the love with the football fans in their group and build some community in the process - they CAN'T without the threat of a lawsuit. So come on NFL, get your act together and change up the rules. If you are exempting sports bars, think about adding churches and backyard BBQ's, or changing up those antiquated size rules. Come on, I'm sure I'm not the only rabid football fan that has a big TV.