I got the dryer blues

I've taken the past week off from doing laundry. Not sure if it was a bit of rebellion, a bit of tired, or a bit of lazy that overcame me, but I took the week off and only did one load that had Max's gym clothes in there. Poor kid - just couldn't do that to him. So of course today, when I start back in on the piles of laundry that we have sitting in each of our rooms does the dryer start to make this horrible, awful, terrible noise. It wasn't just a squeak, but a bit of a grind, squeak, squeal. So, Tom popped it open, he found the part that wasn't doing it's job, and we hunted it up. So either tomorrow, or int he next three to five business days, we will be the proud new owner of a drum slide. Problem is, I have one load sitting in the dryer not quite half dry, and another load in the washer completely wet. And the piles? Well, they are all still sitting here, waiting to be washed. Go figure. Then again, wonder if I should take a run to the laundromat? Last time was oh so much fun and beyond satisfying. Guess it depends on whether or not they have the part locally and we can drop it in tomorrow, or whether it takes a few days to arrive and these clothes need to be piled into the van.

Then we can all be jealous over laundry rooms like this one:

Or even this one:

Sigh.

Images from: http://homes-interior.com/2010/06/10/laundry-rooms-design.html

Here's to the Crazy Ones

It's been one of those years. Time and time again there have been missteps, problems, and setbacks. But all are very, very minor in the scheme of things. I realize that it's time to let go and just be. Do good, go forward with crazy plans, explore, and be ambitious. And maybe one day, even one days soon, it will make a difference.



Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them; disagree with them; glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. - Apple Inc.

Now it's your turn. Think different, act, and you just might surprise yourself.

Love Netflix Instant!

The other day I was sitting and listening to five kids laugh and giggle as they watched Home Alone 2. After about 10 minutes I had to walk away - can't stand that movie. But what I really liked was that the kiddo that was staying over mentioned the movie, two of my kids asked if we could watch it, and I could say Yes because it was on Netflix and I could stream it instantly. How cool is that.

Later on I was sitting at my computer looking up a few TV shows that I wanted to catch in the past, and noticed that Netflix made a few recommendations for me. That made ME laugh and giggle - this is why:

The Scorpion King

Veronica Mars

Gavin & Stacey

Psych

Best in Show

Assassins in Love

Black Hawk Down

Dora the Explorer Season 2

The Taking of Pelham 123

Saturday Night Live Season 31

Yes, these are the things that Netflix suggests that I watch based on what I have in my queue. Here's what they say:

How these are chosen for you:
We create this list based on your recent rental and watching history, ratings, queue adds and taste preference settings.
We try to present a regularly updated selection of titles chosen specifically for you -- older titles that you may have missed and new releases.

Huh. Dora and Taking of Pelham 123? Yeah. Best in Show and Psych? LOVE them! But Veronica Mars, Assassins in Love? Just don't get it. I guess they think I'm all about British comedies/children's cartoons/adventures/teen dramas/dark humor. Never thought about it like that, but they aren't too far off.

Hang in there!

Found the doll this way a few weeks ago - just hanging on by her...head. Reminds me of that "Hang in there" kitty picture that we all know and *ahem* love.

Oscar Snubs

Bet you thought this was all about these actors who didn't get the nomination. Nope, not at all. This is all about the fact that I see so few movies each year (and it's getting worse) that for the first time ever I haven't seen a single movie that's up for any of the Oscars in ANY of the main categories. It's all about me snubbing the Oscars.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Black Swan

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech

127 Hours

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Javier Bardem, Biutiful

Jeff Bridges, True Grit

Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Colin Firth, The King's Speech

James Franco, 127 Hours

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale, The Fighter

John Hawkes, Winter's Bone

Jeremy Renner, The Town

Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Michelle Wiliams, Blue Valentine

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

In fact, I haven't even seen any of the flicks nominated for Best Animation:

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

How to Train Your Dragon

The Illusionist

Toy Story 3

And those animated flicks are the ones I usually catch. In face, you have to go all the way down to Original Song, Achievement in Art Direction, and Achievement in Visual Effects to catch the TWO movies that I've seen this year that even show up on this list. Tangled (we LOVED Tangled) and Alice in Wonderland (GREAT film) show up in some of those categories, but at what point did I lose complete touch with movieland?

I've never been one to catch all the "great" films that get the nod, but up until this year I at least knew the names of the films that got Best Picture nominations, and for the most part could tell you what they are about. But this year, not so much. Let's see -True Grit? Remake of a John Wayne Movie, and I'm not really a fan of his. Black Swan? Stars Queen Amidala I think - she's one of my favorites. What else do we have - Oh! 127 hours. That's the one that's making folk sick when they watch it. An the rest, well, not a clue (Except for Toy Story 3, of course, but can't tell you a thing about it other than it's a sequel and I believe it's in 3D). You see, clearly out of touch with movieland here - not intentionally though I'm not meaning to snub movieland, but somehow this year it just happened. Maybe this is a sign that I need more movie date nights with Tom...

*Thanks E Online for filling me in on the complete list of nominees again this year!

Sailed right through Black Friday

Yes, you read that right - we sailed right through Black Friday without purchasing a thing. Then we hit Saturday and realized that we didn't have a single gift for anyone for the holidays. Not a one. So, in the span of about 12 hours, we fixed that problem. A quick trip to Target (a date really but didn't want to get into that right now), and a few clicks online, and we're almost done! Found some cool things for the family gift exchange, grabbed a few things for the boys and the little miss, and stumbled on a new microwave in the process. Didn't know we needed a new microwave, but at $33, who could pass it up???!!!

It's a cute little 700 watt microwave that will supplement our other workhorse (and will cover us temporarily if it craps out). Up until the past year we've always had two microwaves. When we moved into this house there wasn't one installed, and at first we thought we'd be fine with it. Then we saw the $33 option and thought that it would make a great addition to our family. So I guess we did partake of Black Friday totally on a whim (and the shocker - it was Tom's whim!).

Stormy Weather

Cool storm clouds that rolled in with a front a few days back

Chilean Miner Rescue

I am sitting here watching the miners in Chile come up from thousands of feet underground one by one - they are being rescued and are being returned back to their loved ones. It is striking me in an odd way - tension for those remaining, grief that they lost these past two and a half months and have had to endure such an event, and relief that at least three of them have been rescued. I can't even begin to imagine what they have gone through, what their families have gone through, or how this profound event will change their lives. I understand only a tiny bit of what the rescuers are discussing in Spanish - what they are sending back down as they prepare the capsule for the next descent into the cave that these miners have called home for 68 days. But what I do understand is how far we've come from writing these men off year ago - trapped so far underground. Technology has allowed us to not only rescue them, but discover that they were alive in the first place, then communicate with them from the get go. This has allowed professionals to help them at each and every step of the way, assessing and building plans for their safe return to the surface. This has allowed their family members to communicate with them as they are trapped down there, giving them hope. And this has allowed all of us to watch and wait and participate in a way that we never could before.

Yet there are 30 men still down there, and it will take hours, even days until we see them all emerge. I guess the feeling is a little overwhelming - technology has brought us right up to the rescue site and we will all sit and wait now to see the safe return of all of these men - these total strangers who have become a part of our lives. Safe journeys to all of you.

Lucy's Lost Pet

Apparently when you don't feed your pet rock/bunny/dog/cat/penguin it runs away. when knew? Lucy found out the hard way when her mom didn't feed her pet rock/bunny/dog/cat/penguin for the span of a week and her pet disappeared. But this nice iPhone App let me get her another pet rock/bunny/dog/cat/penguin and she was happy once again.

Breakfast Club - A Classic??!!??

No way that it's been 25 years since this came out:

"But what we found out that each of us is a brain

...and an athlete

...and a basket case

...a princess

...and a criminal."

What a fantastic movie.

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday from us!

Haiti

To all of those

we have lost

over the past few days,

may you

find peace

in the remainder

of your journey.

And to all of those

who have lost

everything,

you are in our thoughts

and prayers.

Are we missing out on vacations?

I often wonder if I'm missing the boat here by not taking more vacations. Granted, we generally sneak away once a year to Disney, but we don't go on all of those other fun trips that I so often read about on friends' blogs, in their holiday letters, or even on Facebook. One friend was even trying to decide this afternoon if she was taking her kids skiing tomorrow. And there's not nearly enough snow on the ground here to go skiing, so I assume that she's hauling them off somewhere.

So are we missing out by NOT taking vacations more often? I certainly don't feel like it all. I'm sort of a homebody these days, and would rather hang out here with the family than pack it in and trek across the state/county/world to see some sight. And doesn't everyone (well, except the kids) know that vacations are ten times the work for moms? It's not only getting ready for the vacation, but it's wrangling the little kids the entire time - being hyper vigilant because you never know what they'll get into in new surroundings - and thus it's ten times more stressful than a romantic getaway for two. Can't even remember what those things are like though - it's been years.

So I guess I'm looking over that fence, and while the grass is greener, it's still not enough to get me off the couch. Then again maybe when the kids are older it won't seem like such a daunting task.

Finally coming out of the fog

For the past two months, someone has been sick every week. For the first 6 weeks it was one kid, for 12 hours, with a low grade fever. Of course the fever was high enough to be sent home from school, so it meant that they had to stay home the next day when they were perfectly fine, but hey, no biggie. It was only 12 hours and no vomiting or any other gross bodily functions were involved. It was my kind of sick.

As I was counting my blessings that neither Tom nor I were catching anything that the kids were bringing home and sharing, I noticed a tickle in my throat. Now, for me this normally means that I'm getting a "sinus" - you know - upper respiratory thing that lingers. But this time it went straight to a cough, lost my voice, and then I felt like I was run over. Problem was - I looked over at Tom and he looked about the same. It was all we could do to drag our butts out of bed and barely function. And here I am almost three weeks later, finally getting back to where I can say that I'm healthy. There were days that I didn't (couldn't) eat, days that I didn't shower, and a few days that I didn't get out of bed until 1pm. Tom would take the morning then crash, and I'd sleep and take the afternoon. He missed a full week's worth of work. He went in one day for a critical meeting, but came crawling back home as soon as he can. So now he's playing catch up. Which means, at 9:45pm as I type this, he's still at work. And this was like two weeks ago that he was out from work. And a friend of mine noticed the drop off in my online presence - not as many e-mails she said. The computer was not the absolute lowest priority, but it was certainly way down the list, so for some we did completely disappear.

But here I am, three weeks later, healthy. There I said it. Now does this mean that I catch the swine flu, or the plague, Ebola? Yikes. Hope I didn't just jinx myself. But it does beg the question - who will take care of us if we both get sick again? It's something that I pondered over at DC Metro Moms. Hope that as I finish this up that little tickle in my throat isn't the "sinus" coming back to kick my butt again...

One year ago today

It was a Tuesday. Lucy was a mere smiley babe:

Sam has enjoyed his Thanksgiving Feast at school:

And Ian enjoyed the company at his Feast:
Max was on his way to being toothless.

And Tom and I were coming of of a high from FSU beating Maryland (and an in person viewing in the freezing cold!)

Pink Glove Dance

Take a peek at this - it will make you smile:

My Ride

So I ran into a neighbor's mailbox, needed a 30,000 mile check up on my van, and am driving a teeny tiny car. I'll explain the mailbox later because there's actually a funny story about that. The van, well, it's not quite at 30K, but I figure that since we need to repair the mirror that we can jump the gun a bit on that. And the car, well, it's cute and all:

but it surely won't fit my four kids and all of their car seats. Probably won't even fit the four kids without the car seats! So, the dealer promised me the van back by 1:30, but I'm not holding my breath. I plan on arriving at 1:30 (unless I get a call sooner) and waiting around until they give m something large enough to haul these kids around - be it my own vehicle, or some larger rental. In the meantime I get to zip around in this cute little car. Lucy was digging it at first because she can see out the back window (she's still rear facing until she's 2 - new recommendations), but then the reality that the rear window wasn't that exciting set in and she started objecting. So, we will tootle around today for a bit in this mini version of a car, free of chicken nuggets, soccer balls, and stinky boys, and hopefully will get our own car back all in one piece, all tuned up, and get on with our day.

Maurice Sendak

From the day I remember first reading this book (having it read to me actually) I have loved it. And now to see that the author of the book embraces the movie in the same way that children around the world have embraced the book for decades, well, that blows my socks off:

We might just have to make a run to the theater with the whole family, drop the equivalent of one child's college education, and see this movie before too long. Because, honestly, we are all really looking to make sense of the world around us, inside all of us htere really is hope, and Max might just help us all see that. Thanks Spike Jonze, and thanks Maurice Sendak - you've done a great thing here.

Lights

At some point it happens to the best of us - the fridge light burns out. And we dilly dally to replace it. And since it's so dark in there when we dig around, we tend not to notice (or ignore - I'll be honest here) the fact that there's no food in there. And the kids complain and grumble that they are hungry and that we don't have any food...blah, blah, blah. But, the light is still burnt out.
But we soon discover (after a mere three months in the house) that there's a light in the DRYER of all places. After literally two loads a day for the past two months, the light turned on and off every time and never ONCE did I suspect that such a thing even existed. So *PPPHHHTTTT* to you burnt out fridge light. The dryer has a light and it works.

The day my world got smaller

It's an interesting day today. Not getting the paper and no longer watching the daily or nightly news I was only slightly aware of the date today. And this meant that I was completely unaware of the date's importance. I realized a short while ago that it was 9/11. And this only after reading the article about the Coast Guard storming down the Potomac and creating a stir in the DC area. In past years I've marked this day mostly by myself. Max was a wee one, and Ian and Sam weren't even born yet, so they can't really appreciate the sacrifices that were made by some that terrible day. nor do they really understand the implications of what happened. We drive past the Pentagon regularly, and we often talk about what happened there, but it isn't real to them.

To me it is still pretty frightening. Back in 2001 we didn't live in the DC area. We were solidly in Central Texas. Tom worked at UT Austin and I was a stay at home mom. But Tom travelled - to DC - pretty regularly. He was scheduled to fly to DC that very afternoon - 9/11. His boss was in the air when the terrorists struck and it took several hours for folks to hunt him up, and it took him a few days to get back home. I turned the TV on and saw the plane hit the tower - live - and I was completely beside myself. The I saw the towers fall, and my world got smaller. Tom was standing beside me safe and sound, but for me it instilled in me a fear of vulnerability. We have grown up in a country that is and has been basically free of war. War is something that happens elsewhere - not on our soil. Even though I grew up in the middle of a city with SEVEN military bases, I was never really struck by the idea that there were people dying for our country. It just wasn't real to me - even on Sept 10, 2001 it wasn't real. The hurricanes that hit South Texas, now those were scary. But terrorists? Not so much.

But early that morning my idea of safe came to a screeching halt. I suddenly felt vulnerable. I watched with terror as some unknown entity took control of these massive airplanes full of folks that I could have know, and turned them towards buildings full of people, some of whom I also might have known. I was gasping for an logic in this - but there was none. We were attacked by terrorists in our own front yard, and the world got a bit smaller for me. It wasn't me watching images of massacres in other countries. It wasn't me reading about genocide in a place that was thousands of miles away. It was me watching some people that hated us so much that they were determined to kill as many of us at home as possible. The fear that surfaced in me was a complete surprise. Later I would be able to process what had just happened, but at that exact moment I grabbed my one year old and held him tightly. I hunted up my husband, who was packing his bag to catch a plane to DC, and I begged him not only to no get on the plane, but also not to go to work. I was utterly freaked out. Tom held me close and of course, didn't go anywhere. It took me several weeks to even begin to process what had happened. Some people, especially those in the military and law enforcement, have a better grasp on the world outside their doors. I did not.

I'm finally in a place where looking back isn't so scary, and there's no daily fear that something terrible will happen. I carried that around with me for a very long time. I was nervous every time Tom got on a plane, which he did shortly after they opened up the skies again, and I waited for him to walk in the door every single time he flew. I couldn't imagine anything like that happening again, but I could never have imagined it happening in the first place.

So, thank you to all the men and women who gave their lives in 9/11. I hope that everyone who lost someone in 9/11 has been able to find some peace in their passing. Thank you to all of the thousands of people who stepped up to help after 9/11 in all kinds of capacities all over the country, and all over the world. And I hope that we never do forget what happened that day, but along with the tragedies, I want to remember the weeks and months after - the generosity, caring, and compassion that we saw from people from all walks of life.