For Greg

A few weeks ago I posted one of the old Disney short cartoons, and now it's time for another one. This goes out to my brother-in-law Greg (whom I work with). He sent me a Powerpoint today with a flow chart full of squiggly lines and arrows. It totally reminded me of this cartoon (at the 2 minute mark) that I hadn't seen in 20 years - it's funny what you remember from your childhood.

Blah diddy blah

Alex likes to stand to pee now (he's such a boy!) and one of the first times he did this he looked up at me, mid-stream, and said, "That's fun to watch!". His father is SO proud!

Ice Road Truckers is my new favorite show. I think it comes on the History channel and it is fabulous. I'm thinking of getting my CDL, growing out my chin hair, buying some plaid and steel-toe boots and joining their ranks.

I had 3 break downs yesterday. Count them, 1, 2, 3. Does anyone else feel that is whole mothering thing is the hardest thing ever??

I want everyone on So You Think You Can Dance to win!! Although, the last 2 performances were my least favorite, so I'm cool with either of those couples going home. Go Thayne!!

And, a very random picture for your entertainment.......
Me shooting an Uzi in Israel in 2004. I tore that paper guy to shreds!!

Stephen Colbert for President!

I am currently watching The Colbert Report during my afternoon break from the kids (ie. they're in bed) and although I've always known Stephen Colbert makes me laugh, he just hit the nail on the head with his last guest!! This guy, I don't know his name because I wasn't that interested in him, was on for an article he wrote in New York magazine about the secret life of married men. His view is that we aren't made to be monogamous and therefore, a little slip up (having an affair) here and there is okay! He said he relates to people like Elliott Spitzer and because of our nature we shouldn't be chastised for once in a while having an affair. That was basically what I got from his interview. I did however write down word for word what Stephen Colbert said. And I quote, "Don't you think maybe this is just a sophisticated rationalization for being an ass-hole?". BAM!!! There it is!!! Once again, Stephen Colbert for President!!

Secret Formula

I've discovered that if I add "daddy's special" to anything, the kids suddenly perk up and become interested. Samantha asked for soda because she napped (praise heaven!), I told her she could have "daddy's special" juice instead and she was cool with that. Daddy's special pillow when you're sick. Daddy's special sauce to dip food in to make it taste better. Anything I think the kids might fight me about I just make it sound like it's daddy's special something and BAM, the kids are totally into it. Next I am going to try "daddy's special leave mommy alone time so she can nap in peace and, by the way, clean the house while you're at it". We'll see how that goes.

Blushing Brides!

All of us Loveridge girls got married in the Salt Lake temple (as did our parents) and here are our first pictures as husbands and wives coming out of the same door at the temple. Just thought I'd post these for fun.

First Tag I've done.

My friend Ashly tagged me and this one is much easier because it's about Andy mostly! And since I take every available opportunity to embarrass my husband, here we go!!!

1. What is his name? Andrew Christopher Higham

2. How long have you been together? Since 2001

3. How long did you date? 1 year

4. Who eats more? Andy, but I could probably kick his butt in the sweets department.

5. Who said 'I love you' first? Andy. I followed a month or so later.

6. Who is taller? Andy by 5 inches

7. Who sings better? We're both pretty okay singers.

8. Who is smarter? Andy for sure.

9. Who does the laundry? Me, but Andy's not afraid to help out.

10. Who does the dishes? Both. I stink at loading a dishwasher, so he does that part.

11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Andy

12.Who pays the bills? Me

13. Who mows the lawn? Andy

14. Who cooks dinner? Andy for sure. I take care of dessert.

15. Who drives when you are together? Andy

16. Who is more stubborn? I think we're equally stubborn.

17. Who kissed who first? Andy kissed me after I gave him "the look" for a while.

18. Who asked who out first? I asked Andy to the U2 concert. I'd heard he was a nice guy but mostly I just wanted a ride to Salt Lake to the concert. Worked out well if you ask me!

19. Who proposed? Andy, on his birthday, while he was deathly ill.

20. Who is more sensitive? Me, me and me

21. Who has more friends? We're both pretty slim in the friend department, but probably me.

22. Who has more siblings? Andy (2 sisters, 1 brother)

23. Who wears the pants in the family? The kids.

I tag the McLay sisters and Maile.

Ta Na!! (Samantha used to say Ta Na! instead of Ta Da)

Before

After

Andy's beautiful new teeth! This was just the day after so his gums were still a little inflamed and red but I still think they look great.

I wanna go back to bed.

Every morning it's the same crap! I go get Samantha from bed and she seems me and screams, "I wanted Daddy!! I called for Daddy! I don't want you!!". I ignore her as I lift up her curtains, "I don't want my curtains up! I want it dark!! I don't want my curtains up!". All of this after she woke up at 11.30 screaming because Daddy came in and she wanted Momma at the time and so Daddy put her in time out (go Daddy!). Yeah......these are our nights and mornings with this diva. I'm not sure how much more I can take. I guess a lot since I have no other choice!! I am going to choose to have the Pollyanna attitude that my friend Florrie talked about in her blog. Here goes..........at least I know she's not dead in her sleep (I know every parent worries about that, though it's usually when they're babies, but still) because she calls out a few times a night!! I think Pollyanna would be proud!!

The CLAW!

I had my hair pulled up into a "claw" today because I was lazy. I think all of the women out there know what I'm talking about but basically it's a claw device to keep your hair in place. Anywho, the kids decided to brush and play with my hair today and Alex grabbed the claw first and started to play with it. Once he figured out how it worked he was having a great time. I warned him that it could pinch and hurt so to be careful. He caught his fingers in it first and whined a little but kept it together. A few minutes later I watched him get it a little too close to his body and it clawed onto his little baby nipple!! And he let go. And it hung there. Just hangin'. Hangin' on his little boobie. I SO badly wanted to grab the camera but he started to cry and I figured it would be irresponsible of me to get up, go into the kitchen, get the camera all while he was crying. Still though, it would have made this post SO much better!!

A video of Alex's sweet lisp before he grows out of it.

A bunch of random thoughts from my VERY random mind.

1. This keeps my kids busy for at least 10 minutes which can be HUGE sometimes. You say "Give me 5 (kid gives you 5), on the side (5 on the side), way up high (you see where I'm going with this), way down low (hurry and pull your hand away before they can slap it), you're too slow". Alex cracks up every time which, if you've heard his laugh, is totally worth it.

2. When Alex forgets something he slaps his head and says "Oh no!" with such enthusiasm I'm afraid he's going to leave a mark. The other day he reminded me that we forgot to cut his fingernails with a quick slap to the head and a hilarious "Oh no!". I'm going to try and get it on film someday.

3. The best way to get kids to play with forgotten toys is to rearrange the location of the toys and POOF, they're suddenly interesting to play with again!

4. If parenting were like high school I'd get a 4.0! I've found a way to get in my "spa" treatments AND entertain the kids. Kids love to play with lotion, kids love to play with soap. Sooooooooo, I sit on the reclining chair with my legs up, grab a bottle of lotion and let the kids rub the lotion all over my feet. They love it, and if they aren't too rough, I love it too. This also works in the bathtub. I sit on the toilet and dangle my legs in the water, give the kids some soap and they wash my legs and feet (in fact, we did this last night and Samantha told me I had "gorgeous toes"). It's genius!!!

Vanilla

On one of the food blogs that I read (I know, you're shocked that Andy reads about food), the author talked about buying cheap saffron and vanilla from saffron.com. I can't remember what prompted me to do it, but I decided to buy some vanilla to see what all the fuss is really about. If you buy it at the grocery store in the spice section, you'll pay anywhere from $10 - $15 for 2 beans. I got mine here for $15 (they have a $12 min. order) for a 1/2 pound. The website says that's 80-92 beans. That's as good as 16 cents / bean instead of $7.50!!! And I have to say, this stuff makes the BEST vanilla ice cream you've ever had. It is absolutely incredible, and the recipe is so simple, I've actually memorized it. It's Alton' Brown's Supreme Vanilla Ice Cream recipe, or something like that. You can find the original on www.foodnetwork.com. I've modified it a bit - it's better, but takes a bit more effort.

1/2 pint whipping cream (small container)
1 pint half & half (normal size container)
1 cup minus 2 Tbs sugar
A splash of Egg Beaters, or some other egg substitute
1 Vanilla bean

Put the cream, half & half, sugar and egg beater in a pot. Split the bean, scrape the seeds, and add the seeds and bean to the pot. Turn on the heat to medium-low and heat, stirring, until a thermometer reads 170 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, go until you start to see small bubbles form around the side. DON'T LET IT BOIL. You'll know you're getting close because it will start to get thicker, kind of like custard. I don't actually stand there stirring the whole time, I just mess with it every once in a while. When it hits 170, pull it off the heat, and let it cool enough so you can pour it into some kind of Gladware-like vessel. Into the fridge for a few hours. I usually make it early in the morning so I can pull it out of the fridge mid-afternoon. Or do it the night before. Then throw it in your ice cream maker, and let it work its magic. You'll probably want to put the finished ice cream in the freezer, as this stuff sets up really soft.

Kristi likes to eat it with smushed up strawberries poured on top. I made a batch with malted milk mix. I made another one with smushed up raspberries. That was tasty, but I should have run the raspberries through the blender first - I just mashed them with the fork, and the little frozen pods were really cold.

I've also used the beans to make vanilla milk (awesome), and I'm hoping that Kristi will find a way to put them into her chocolate chip cookies, which are the BEST in the world. Seriously, you should try them some time.

I want this on my grave!

"Oh squiggly line in my eye fluid. I see you lurking there on the peripherie of my vision. But when I try to look at you, you scurry away. Are you shy, squiggly line? Why only when I ignore you, do you return to the center of my eye? Oh, squiggly line, it's alright, you are forgiven."

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/oh-squiggly-line/3907746179

Funniest thing I've ever seen on TV!

Sign ups start today....

Andy is going to be gone for about 10 random days throughout the month of June for business (2 trips to San Francisco, 1 to New York, 1 to Philadelphia and a possible 2nd one to NY). I will be posting a sign up sheet so you can all participate in keeping me and the kids sane. Anyone who wants to take the kids for dinner and ice cream may do so. Anyone who wants to take me to dinner and ice cream may do so as well.

Random

I'm sitting here doing homework (again), and watching Kristi work on a blog post and watch So You Think You Can Dance at the same time. She watched it last week for the first time, and was so impressed with some of the dancing that she called me upstairs twice to watch a couple of dances. I figured I'd share the best of them with you, assuming that you don't watch the show. This guy was the last one of the night, and he was freakishly amazing. It's a bit long, but you won't be disappointed if you watch it all the way through - his interaction with the judges is hysterical.

Oh well, at least he makes good money!

Tonight I stumbled upon a hilarious scene. Andy was in Samantha's room reading her a bedtime story.....but this was no ordinary bedtime story. This was My Little Pony. Andy couldn't read about Rainbow Dash and Sparkleworks trying to find "the coolest place in Ponyville" without a little help from his, ahem, shall we say, feminine voice. The problem was he did the voice a little TOO well. Samantha was cracking up! I don't think she's ever heard her dad like that before and she'll never forget it I'm sure. I sure won't.

Boys are Stinky!

Potty training Alex is proving much harder than I had anticipated. I know that Samantha was ridiculously easy to potty train and I was prepared for Alex to be a normal kid, but man this is frustrating!! He's had more accidents in the past 2 weeks than Samantha has had in over a year. He does have many victories and I have been proud of him a lot but when he does so well only to suddenly have a big poop sitting in his underwear, it gets frustrating. I know the poor kid is trying his best and I know that yelling doesn't help with this kind of thing so I am just trying to be patient. And may the gods of clean underwear smile down on us in the near future!!

These pictures are a little far away but you can still sense the absolute adorableness of Samantha at her dance recital! Her recital was Friday night at the local Jr. High and it was almost too cute for words. In the duck outfit she is 3rd from the left, in case you couldn't tell. In the purple outfit she is 2nd from the right being extremely sassy!! Which I appreciate in dance, NOT so much with me at home when I'm trying to discipline her. Both sets of grandparents were able to attend which trilled Samantha. We got video as well but have yet to figure out how to get it off the camera and onto the computer! It's my sister's camera, so we'll have to have her figure it out for us. Anywho, enjoy the sweet pictures!!

Another Flashback

What Samantha is thinking : "I'm giving you cancer with my mind!!!!"

What Alex is thinking :

Scrumptious

Don't even try to tell me you don't want to eat this face right up!!!
Or this one....

Makes me a tiny bit sad they are growing up.....
But mostly I think "Hot diggity I've got cute kids". Samantha with her little elf ears and Alex's massive blue eyes.......sigh, and oh so innocent!