Speedy.

Where did the week go? It's Friday?? Wow.

Thing One is FINALLY over her nasty sunburn. I love her, but the whining and her flair for the dramatic were both getting to me. ;-)

Hubby is leaving for NYC on Sunday, and will be gone all week, and I've decided it will be "get ready for school" week. We will buy all the school supplies we need and get them all ready to take to the Open House.

Am I alone in feeling like this summer went by too fast? I know, we still have a month before school starts, but then it's Fall and I just don't think I'm ready for Holiday Mode yet.

I don't know. I guess 2009 will be the "Year that Got Away" or something crazy like that. It's honestly how I feel! This year is ZINGING by!

I have to mow the lawn today. It rained a lot yesterday, so I'm sure I'll be mowing it TWICE because the bagging unit always gets stuck when the grass is wet. So, I mow the lawn and leave all the grass on it (looks awful) and un-stick the bagging unit one more time, and mow AGAIN, to get all the grass clippings up. Thrillsville.

And I hope the weather stays nice for Saturday, because I want to grill! We haven't grilled in forever!

Here's to a Sunny weekend!

Well, THAT was Interesting...

I got on a kick yesterday. We have these particle board bookcases I bought in Denver in 2005, and we currently have our DVDs stacked on them. The only problem? They're this tacky light oak color, and everything in our basement is either dark wood or black.

SO--I decided to buy some black glossy spray paint, and I lugged them out to the garage and sprayed them down. The first time, I didn't wear gloves, and I don't think my right index finger has recovered, yet. The second time I WORE gloves, and after about a half hour total of spraying I was feeling...funky.

Granted my garage was well-ventilated, I had all the doors open and I was rushing outside every time I shook the can to take gulps of fresh air, but I started feeling light-headed and woozy.

SO woozy, in fact, that I had to lie down. And I passed out for two hours. My kids were all running around me on the sofa, even making themselves lunch (thank heaven I have an older daughter who took care of the two-year old) and I didn't even wake up.

Niice. Anyway, I lugged them back downstairs and they look INFINITELY better:

Although now I'm thinking we need to rethink the red color of our basement. It was pretty cool three years ago, and now...not so sure. Eh. I'm not touching that one with a ten-foot pole. The rest of our basement is in toast colors, but the main family area is "Maharaja Ruby Red" or some name like that.

Yeah, my life is boring. But it's my life. And if I want to do a project and accidentally get high, so be it.

I have church visits today (yes, I put them off until the end of the month, I'm SO bad!) and then I need to tackle Mount Vesuvius in the laundry room. But at least I get to go to Home Depot today!

Happy Thursday!

Divine Intervention.

Seriously. That's what it was, yesterday. Intervention in what, you ask?

The fact that we hiked in the mountains for two hours yesterday and I only got ONE (Yes, UNO) mosquito bite!

Divine Intervention.

Normally, mosqitoes love me. As in, (this said in the little high-pitched annoying mosquito-speak)"Oh, look, it's the Lara Smorgasbord! ATTACK!
I might as well smother myself in honey and sugar and serve myself up with a side of blackberries--because they love my blood, for some reason.

Anyway, I put on the SUPER DEET Deep Woods Off last night. Twice. You know, the kind that is as potent as you can get without being poisonous to humans.
It was quite humorous watching (and feeling) literally thousands of mosquitoes bounce off my body during the hike. And the one bite I got? Through my shirt, in my lower back. Probably the only spot I couldn't reach with repellent.

The boys didn't get any either. I sprayed them good. Hooray!
We hiked through the woods and saw a large doe right off the path, just lying down, looking at us. We saw hawks, and squirrels, and a butterfly garden. Then we hiked up a huge tower--the highest point of the forest. I got pictures but all you can see (since my dumb cell phone camera won't zoom) is a tower with unidentifiable blobs and arms sticking out at the top. Oh well.

It was a workout, and fun. And my boys got to burn off a lot of energy. Whew!

Did I mention I only got one mosquito bite? ;-)

Today we're cleaning the basement. But maybe we'll take a break and have lunch at the park. It's so nice outside!

I Get to Go on a Hike.

Not that I mind hiking. I actually LOVED to go backpacking through Yellowstone and Grand Teton with my roomies in college...

My boys' Cub Scout pack meeting is tonight, and Fearless Den Leader (she really is!) has decided we are all going to a national park for a hike. Which, actually works for me because Thing Two couldn't do his three-mile hike during Scout camp, with it being 150 degrees outside, and 85% humidity...so they nixed the hike. But he still has to do one, for his Webelos requirements.

ANYWAY, we're all going on a hike. Only it will be 80 degrees, with SWARMS of mosquitoes, and I will be lugging my two-year old along on an all-terrain stroller. So, that should be interesting. Yes, I love nature. I really do. I just don't like...bugs. I don't mind the dirt and the sweat and the general "outdoorsiness" of it all---I just don't like bugs.

I know. I KNOW! Shut up!!!

Poor Thing One. She slept over at her friend's house last night, and they spent SIX hours in the swimming pool. SIX. She's red as a lobster. I had to apply copious amounts of Aloe (I have a HUGE plant at my disposal) and vinegar last night. She smelled like a stinky pickle, but it helped. She insists she applied sunscreen not once, but twice, but she "forgot" to put it on the back of her shoulders. Ouch. I can so relate.

Well, time to clean toilets! I have an exciting life!

Kids are Funny.

My kids are SOOOO predictable. They announced (for the first time this summer, so I guess that's an accomplishment) that they were "bored" last Thursday, so, we went to Barnes & Noble on Friday afternoon. Usually they're pretty pricey but I had a big giftcard to spend and frankly, I don't have time to read much. So, I told them they could spend $20 each, on books they would READ. Not any other type of books.

Thing Three found a couple of books right away, and I immediately had him put them back, because they were Pokemon Card Encyclopedias. He had to get books he would READ. As in, CHAPTER books. Thing Two, my ten-year old son, couldn't find ANYTHING. He likes to read, but he's more into video games. And of course he was looking for a video-game themed book.

Um, NO.

Thing One, who is eleven, was the worst. She's begged and begged to read the TWILIGHT series, and I've let her read the first TWO books only, and she hung around the Twilight series table, making doe eyes at me and I kept shaking my head. NOT. HAPPENING. Not until she's older. Sorry.

Anyway, I took Thing Four with me in the stroller and we went on our merry way, abandoning the kids to the kids section. I tried to find a certain research book, but they only had it online. (Darn it!) So, I browsed the new fiction shelves, and didn't find anything that jumped out at me. Twenty minutes had passed, so I went back, and my kids were STILL moping around, empty-handed!

I figured it was the whole "too many choices" dilemma. So, I took my daughter over to the teen section, and picked out books 1 and 2 of Ally Carter's Gallagher girl's series. She rolled her eyes even though I promised she'd love them and I told her to trust me. Of course she pouted over it but I held firm. Then, for the boys, I picked out books 1-4 of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Let me tell you, I almost had an all-out mutiny over those choices. I told them to "not judge books by their covers" (which frankly, were pretty cool looking!) and we went downstairs and bought the books.

They pouted most of the way home, and I told them they were a bunch of ninnies. AND I informed Thing Two that he had to read "The Lightning Thief" (book one of the Percy Jackson series) before he could play even one more video game. NO Wii, no Gamecube, DS, NES, Atari, NADA, NOTHING.

Serious almost-mutiny. What frustrated me, is I KNOW my kids! They get lost in stories, just like I did! They've all read the Harry Potter series, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder series (well, my daughter has) and they LOVE to read!

I set the books down and threw up my hands and went downstairs to the office. Checked email. Fumed a bit. Came back upstairs, and the sight that met my eyes made me laugh! Thing One and Thing Two were sitting quietly in the living room, devouring the books with greedy eyes. Thing One was already on chapter Six of "I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You" and Thing Two hardly looked up from his book when I tried to gloat.

Yeah, score one for Mom!

Of course when Thing Two finally put down The Lightning Thief I started scanning it and couldn't put it down. Rick Riordan is AWESOME! Why can't I write like that? *sigh*

Score: Summer Boredom: 0 Mom: 1

Hooray!

Typing with One Eye Open...

I am a zombie. ZERO sleep last night. Around 8pm I started getting a bad headache. Not a migraine, but a right-between-the-eyes thudding pain. Took some stuff to get rid of it. Didn't really work.

So, at one a.m in the morning, Thing One came stumbling downstairs because she'd had a nightmare. She woke me up so suddenly, the headache came RUSHING back. I got her sorted out and tried to sleep, but an hour later she was back downstairs, asking for a Pepcid because her tummy was upset. (Code for "I ate too many Quepapas at dinner!") I grumblingly gave her what she needed and tried to go back to bed, head pounding. And pounding. And pounding.

Finally, at 4am, I sat up, ran and got FOUR Advil (Couldn't take my normal Excedrin Migraine because it has CAFFEINE) and waited for the pain to go away. It finally did around 5am, and Hubby woke up 45 minutes later.

Just Shoot me.

He asked me if I would help him with something, and I told him no. He asked again, and I told him no way. Too tired. Then I heard Thing Four talking in his crib and had to go get him.

After Hubby left for work, Thing One (since she was the main culprit of my sleepless night) told me she would watch her brother while I went back to bed for an hour. Zzzzzzzz.....

I'm still exhausted, but that hour helped. Except for the phone ringing three times very loud in my ear and at one point Thing Three decided to come into my room and "see" if I was really asleep. Grrrrrrr.

Give me patience. I promised the kids a trip to the bookstore today, and they won't let me off the hook. It's almost ten. I guess I'd better get some breakfast. Further proof that I am getting OLD!!!

Have a happy weekend, everyone!

Target is EVIL. And I LOVE it.

The weather finally broke--looks like if the lawn dries out I can mow it today. It's getting dangerously close to looking "too" long. Hubby likes to mow it down to a 4---which I think is a bit short for summer, but he says it looks "manicured" and so 4 it is. Even when I mow it too.

And I hate that part of me agrees it looks pretty dang good at a 4. Bah.

And yes, Devon, Target really is just like an amusement park! It's bright and shiny and appealing, and they have SO many cute things that you just don't need, it's scandalous. Take these plastic orange and blue-patterned plates in coordinating patterns and solids that I absolutely STOPPED and STARED at on an end cap. I was all set to pick out the blue plates and matching bowls, and I said to myself, "Lara, what are you DOING??? You don't need more dishes!"

And yes, I put them back. And I did that with a few shirts. And a DVD or two. And some towels. URGH.

It's actually a blessing the closest Target to me is 15 minutes away. When we lived in Denver, and I had a super Target literally a half mile from my house. I was there several times a week. Hubby loved that, heh heh.

I do enough damage at the Walmart that is literally 5 minutes away. I'm not really into their clothes or house stuff, but they have a craft department and electronics and lots of cool office stuff. I walked in there this week and gasped at all the beautiful back-to-school aisles. I get all giddy when I see well-merchandised office supplies. Tingly.

Okay, fun's over. Got to get to Boston Store and pick up some moisturizer and... socks. Because Hubby can't have enough socks.

I Survived The Dentist.

Don't get me wrong, I have a very jovial, personable dentist. I just don't like the drilling. He was quick, it was painless (just a few cold stabs) and voila--done.

I'm a wuss, I know. I need to get over myself.

I took the kids to Target yesterday just to get out of the house. This weather has been sucking big time. And I am amazed and astounded to report that I made it out of Target only having spent $50. Yes, people, I actually controlled myself.

Granted, we made a killing at the Dollar Spot, but I only needed to buy deoderant for Thing Two (who is ten and informed me the other day that his armpits have started "smelling like onions") and I was very very good and didn't buy a book. Besides, I still have a Barnes & Noble Giftcard from Mother's day I need to spend. So, why would I buy books at Target?

This morning we were all startled awake around 6am with The. Loudest. Thunder Clap. Ever. I thought the house had been wrenched apart. You know that Japanese show where they sneak a cannon into the sleeping person's hotel room and set it off right above them?

Yeah, that was us, this morning. LOUD. And it's raining. And cold. And we watered our lawn for six hours last night. D'OH!

At least we have a very green lawn. Hubby is happy.

Well, time to end my random stream of consciousness and get going. I have half a dozen toilets that need some attention. THRILLSVILLE.

I Loathe the Dentist.

I really loathe the dentist. Granted, I have pretty healthy teeth, and I've even had one dentist tell me I have "nice choppers." But I just HATE going. It's the films, the gloved hands in my mouth, the chapped lips, the smell, the DRILL...

Since I've had all my babies, my teeth aren't as impervious as they were before. I actually have a tiny cavity I need to get filled tomorrow. UGH. The dentist has assured me that it's so small I won't need anesthesia, but he did say once he opens it up, if it's bigger than he thought, he'll have to give me the shots and take care of it.

DOUBLE Ugh.

I am thinking I need to give up one of my favorite vices: Everlasting Gobstoppers. You know, those little jawbreakers (which, I SWEAR have shrunk in size since the 80's) made by Willy Wonka. I keep a jar of them on my desk, and when I write, I pop them in my mouth. And of course, I can't just suck on them, I have to crunch them up.

Horrible for my teeth, I know. But I really like them! But now that I'm late thirties, I probably have to start thinking about my teeth, and taking better care of them. I don't need to be chowing down on a jawbreaker only to swallow half a molar. :-)

So, I'm still cleaning my house. You can now "walk" into my walk-in closet. Today's project is to clean the guest room out. (Yes, it's become the multi-purpose room again.) Onwards and upwards!

The Harry Potter movie was SO worth it. Of course I was dismayed (as usual) at all the plot changes/storyline exclusions, as I am with most HP movies, but the acting was excellent, and everything was stellar. Highly worth it. Although it seemed to me (spoilers ahead!) that the Half Blood Prince revealing at the end was HIGHLY anti-climactic, and, to my disappointment, Harry's feelings for Ginny seemed lukewarm, as opposed to strong, in the book. Frankly, as pretty as Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) is, she has zero chemistry with Dan Radcliffe. And I mean ZERO. He has more chemistry with Hermione. Maybe it's because the screenwriter only gave Ginny one liners. I spent most of the movie thinking she sounded like a cyborg rather than...well...Ginny. The Ginny in the books is spunky and animated and feisty. They just didn't give the movie Ginny much material to work with, which resulted in her lines being wooden and melodramatic.

Either that, or she just isn't that great of an actress??? I wonder...I haven't seen her in anything else...


ANYWAY, the movie was worth it. I will see it again with my kids. But I'm nervous--the images (especially the Gollum-like Inferi, ick) were creepy and scary. I hope they don't get nightmares! They are all under twelve, remember. So, I need to be careful.

The weekend was good. Hubby and I got to the temple on Saturday (we have to drive two hours to Chicago) but it was nice. And we pretty much lazed around the house the rest of the weekend because it was BUTT COLD, and overcast. The high was 63.

I was wondering why I was wearing a hoody in the middle of JULY. C'mon Mother Nature!!!

Today I am making the kids DEEP clean their rooms. They hate me. I don't give a crap.

Have a happy Monday!

I Am Sooooo Bad...

Hubby and I are selfish. Why, you ask? Because we have reserved seat tickets to see Harry Potter tonight, and we are going sans kids.

Initially, we thought the movie was PG-13. Whenever that happens, we have to "see it first" to make sure we know when to cover our kids' eyes/tell them to look at their popcorn, etc.. But to our surprise, this latest installment is only rated PG.

And we're still going without the kids. Yeah, we're bad! :-)

Oh well. We'll take them next weekend, when it isn't completely sold out. We've already told them, and they're OK with it.

This week has flown by. I had a small computer debacle, where I thought my laptop had finally bit it. Since I'm in Query Mode, I need a good computer. So, I took the kids' desktop and made it mine, temporarily. But now, I really like their computer (it has Windows Vista and mine only has XP) and theirs is much faster. Turns out the laptop is fine, the wireless mouse was acting up and finally going out, so I replaced the mouse and the kids like my laptop, so we're all happy. Only I had to waste an entire day wiping/loading my software and files onto the new computer. Can you say S-L-O-W and tedious?

Soccer camp, Volleyball camp, Basketball camp and swimming lessons are over. I guess I sort of planned things wrong, the front of Summer was heavy with sports and lessons, now the back half is relatively unscheduled. So, I've promised my kids I will take them to the pool at least twice a week (brrrr--we're in Wisconsin, remember) and we will go on a long walk every morning. And make some trips to Half Price Books. And maybe the Zoo.

They need to be kids, after all, you know. I am a firm believer in summers where you don't have to wake up at 6:30 am.

Have a happy weekend, all!

YES! YES! YES!!!

So, I'm at the grocery store, and what do I see at the checkout? Juicy Fruit Gum!!! You have no idea how many childhood memories that gum holds for me. But, alas, I haven't chewed it in AGES. Why?

Sugar, for one thing. Also, the flavor, although delish, only lasts for about 45 seconds, and then it turns into a piece of flavorless rubber in your mouth and must be spit out.


So, imagine my joy, when I see THIS:~

I love those big E-paks of gum anyway. And It's my beloved Juicy Fruit! AND IT'S SUGAR FREE!!!! THAT is the kicker! I am ecstatic! And yes, it tastes just as good as the original. And it lasts a lot longer flavorwise. Seriously! You must run out to Walmart right now and buy this gum! Woooo!!!

Not that I'm EXCITED, or anything... ;-)

The Big "D."

Poor Thing Four. Road trip food does NOT agree with him. For example, we pulled into West Yellowstone three nights ago, and when we got into the hotel, we realized he had pooped so much it had run down his legs and into his shoes and all over the floor.

Yeah, THAT was a fun cleanup.

And the road trip home, we had two more "incidents" just like it.

And this morning. I drop the kids off at volleyball/soccer camps and run home, and just as I'm pulling him out of his car seat he says to me:

"I don't have Diarrhea, Mom."

So, I ranlikehell into the house and got him on a towel, and it was EVERYWHERE. ICK.

I am getting a little tired of getting poop everywhere when I change him, and having to throw him in the tub more than once a day. It's dang inconvenient. He's a sweetheart about it, and for heaven's sake he's not potty trained, so I can't get mad at him. But I've learned to recognize the signs--he asks for a "cuppy" (that means he pooped and his bum hurts and he needs a sippy cup to make him feel better) and he walks up to me and says "I don't have poop, Mom." So, if he does either of those, I know to change him immediately.

Yeah, I'm sure you really wanted to know about all this. I just feel bad for him.

I accomplished a lot yesterday, and today I have a lot more to knock out. At least we're unpacked, that has to be some sort of record or something. Usually my suitcases sit in the living room for at least a day or two before I even touch them. Nope, not this time. I got them emptied and put away.

I promise I will post vacation pics at some point, I just need to garner the energy.

I'm BACK!!!!

We got back from vacation last night. On the road, with hardly any cell service through Yellowstone and the Badlands, it was a blast. But we are T-I-R-E-D. Hubby and I went to bed at 8pm last night, right after we tucked in the kids. After driving 28 hours, we were beat.

I will post some pics tomorrow, and tell all about vacation. Today, I have about 832527 places to run and things to do. I've already dropped Thing One off at her Volleyball camp and Thing Three off at his Soccer camp. Now I need to make thing Two help me get the garbage out and pick up the mail. Off I go!

Oh, and we have a new car, now! Gone is the Expedition. Hello Sequoia:I've always like white. I begged Hubby for white. He thought I was weird, but now I have my white SUV like I've always wanted! Woo! It's a little like being in an airplane cockpit, but it's nice and big and I love it. The new family bus has arrived!

Murphy's Law Number 84736:

When visiting family you haven't seen in over a year, you will get the stomach flu and not be able to actually DO anything with said family...

Yep, that was me yesterday. I flew into Spokane Sunday, and at least got to spend a lovely evening with the family. But in the morning...yuck. I don't know what I ate, or if it was such an intense migraine that I was violently sick, but I was out for the count yesterday. But it was nice to be curled up with dad's blanket on the sofa (he wasn't too happy about that) all day and watch movies.

Now I'm getting ready to head out for a pedicure, then it's downtown to meet bro and sis for lunch. Hubby and kids are all back in Idaho, and I miss them, but it's been a nice break. They will be on the lake all day anyway today, and I am so fair skinned I always get a burn. Although I will say Hubby's tan looks pretty sexy! Woo! ;-)

ANYWAY, our Fourth of July was funny. Grandpa and the Uncles spent hundreds of $$ on fireworks, and we started setting them off in front of the driveway, with all the cousins and kids lined up to watch. My two-year old insisted on holding a sparkler, so I held it for him, and he grabbed it (of course) so we had an intense moment where we had to run inside and treat a nasty burn streak on his thumb.

So, we start setting of the fireworks, and they're fun, but you can see so many multi-colored fountains and after a while it's not that exciting. And of course we had neighbhors on BOTH sides who had the fireworks they'd bought on the Indian reservation--the almost/slighly illegal ones that are HUGE and shoot into the sky, so the kids were looking at those and they pretty much stole our thunder. But we had fun, the mosquitoes didn't eat us up too much, and then it was banana splits and watching Transformers. (the first one, because it was 12:30 am and we had lots of little kids).

I love being with family for the holidays. Yeah, we have drama, and it makes things...interesting sometimes, but your family is your family. Hubby and I can't wait to get back home, though, and get some rest from our vacation. Yeah, I wrote that correctly! ;-)

Have a happy Tuesday, all!

Note to self: When planning to be on the lake for an entire day in a boat, when applying copious amounts of sunscreen, DO NOT FORGET THE PART IN YOUR HAIR.

Yeah, I found that out. The next day, I was fresh out of the shower and running a comb through my hair, and I SCREAMED. My scalp was burned from where I'd parted my hair--really burned. PAIN. AGONY.

Now it's just peeling. Yeah. I have dark brown hair. Lovely. I look like I have lice.

It's Hot.

My vacation so far has been...HOT. Thing Three got drafted to play on his cousin's baseball team last night, and we sat in the boiling sun in 100 degree weather for two hours. Thing Three did awesome, he had base hits every time and he had a key play, so it was a boost for him. And he doesn't even play baseball! But the baby had HAD IT by seven pm and we had to leave a little early, and get him into some air conditioning.

Then it was off to Mexican food at this dive no one has ever been to, and I wish I could say it was good (most dive-ey places have really great food) but the food was gross.

We're back to the lake again today, and I am going to simply ride on a TUBE behind the boat. And wear SPF 99735473, because I am scared of melanoma.

Cross your fingers for me!