my adventures in minutia

For several hours, today I carried a small, plastic jar containing puppy poo in my purse.
The vet wanted a sample for routine testing, but I had some errands to run first. So, everywhere I went, I thought, “I have poo in my purse.”
It was like a special little secret.
Kinda like when I first found out I was going to have a baby. I would walk around all day thinking, “I have a baby growing inside me, and people don’t even know.”
Well, so the poo is not quite that same caliber of secret, but secret just the same.

#20 Katie who said:

Katie Warner { 03.03.10 at 9:59 pm }
Oh I really want to win! (And I am a first timer so I get three chances!)

Hi Katie! Have a look through the shop and e-mail me your selection and the address you want it sent to.
Thanks for entering everyone! As always, there will be another drawing next month.

It was a fairly nice morning for early March, so I decided to get some work done outside. I don’t trim my perennials in the fall, because every year around this time without fail, I get an itch to be in the garden, and leaving the trimming gives me something to do when it’s too early to plant.

I also thought it would be nice to let Penelope run around without supervision and let her poop wherever and whenever the mood should strike.

Speaking of Penelope, we are still getting to know each other. I miss my Molly still ever so much. Last night Kelly D. asked me if I’m glad to have a dog to snuggle with in bed again, and I burst into tears. I told him that it’s not the same. Our relationship is still superficial. It’s based on appearance and puppy breath.
She’s very sweet though, and the cutest little thing. Anyway. Where was I? Oh, yes. The back yard…

I cleared out my herb garden and the little area where the log chairs are. It was awesome to be outside getting my hands dirty again. But, man, that puppy wasn’t making anything easy. The other day, Beck asked me why I picked a biting dog. I told him they all start out that way, but today I was wondering the same thing.
Exhibit A:

That’s my camera strap she’s latched onto. I was trying to get a few pictures of her cuteness chewing on sticks, but as soon as I whipped out my camera she about yanked it out of my hand.

Exhibit B:

My gloved hands were irresistable to her. She just couldn’t stay away. Even when I’d fling her off into the dirt, she jumped up and pounced again and again.

Exhibit C:

Can you see how sharp those puppy teeth are? I have wounds all over my forearms too. Speaking of forearms, look at the size of mine! The wide-angle lens makes me look like Popeye! In fact….

See? Popeye.

The only time she left me alone was when Beck brought out a broom.

Two hours into the morning, she’d tired herself out and laid down in the Lamb’s ear. Which is where I would choose to lay if I were going to do any lying around outdoors.

She looks tired here. Can’t…. keep….. puppy eyes….. open……

And…. she’s out.

I’m too busy keeping the new puppy from peeing on my floor to choose/photograph/post about an item for this month’s giveaway, so I’m hitting the easy button and letting you choose.
The prize is a $35 credit toward anything in my shop your heart desires.
A comment is an entry. A link to my shop is another entry. And, just for kicks, if you are a new commenter, your entry counts for three!

Contest ends Friday.

Heaven help us, here we go again.

When I was a little girl, I remember going to Las Vegas with my family. We were probably just passing through on our way somewhere else, but that is the only part I remember about that trip. I was dazzled.
The lights! All the flashing lights! The way the street looked like midday even when it was dark outside. The people everywhere. The warmth. The lively atmosphere.
I said to my dad, “When I grow up, I’m going to live here.” I remember him telling me that I would change my mind, but I was positive then. I was going to live in Vegas.

Today as we were driving home from California, the boys and I were playing travel Bingo. It’s a fun little road trip edition of Bingo that I picked up just before we left. It has pictures of various things you’ll find on a road trip, with a few strange items as well. Like, one of them was a profile of a dude and beneath it said, ‘mullet’. So, we’re driving past car after car looking for dudes sporting mullets, when The Fish says, “Mom kinda has a mullet.”
Well that’s just lovely. Car trips are hard on anyone’s appearance. Cut me a break.

Anyway, one of the items we were looking for in our Bingo game was a billboard. As we approached Las Vegas, I was sure we would see tons of them. And, sure enough, billboards-a-plenty. But geez! As soon as I noticed the….ahem…..type of billboards that we were encountering, I was all, “Boys! The billboard square is a freebie. Everyone cease looking at these billboard immediately! KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BINGO CARDS BOYS!”
I’ve never seen so much scattered booty in a two-mile stretch of freeway in all my life. I don’t remember that part of Vegas from when I was a kid. Signs that were even making me blush. (me!) They said things like, “All Nude, All day!” or “Sin” spelled out with tangled female body parts.
Not to sound all old and stodgy, but, Vegas is just gross.

Today was supposed to be the nicest day of our trip weather-wise, so we decided to go to the beach.
The boys played in the sand and surf.

Beck decided it was cold as soon as he got out of the water.

We collected seashells…

We relaxed and took in the sounds and sights. It was nice to do something different than theme parks today. Mellow, calming and peaceful.
I loved watching the seagulls fly in the wind. They would just hover right above us not having to flap their wings at all. They just rode the strong winds coming off the ocean like a kite.
I sometimes have dreams that I’m flying. They’re my favorite.

As I was laying in the sun thinking, something funny that Kelly D. did while we were at California Adventure kept popping in my head and making me laugh out loud.
I wrote about how we broke the boys’ spirits with the aptly-named Tower of Terror. Shortly after that ride, while we were on the super-snoozer ferris wheel, we kept having to talk the boys out of their fears. They were worried that at any moment, the ferris wheel gondola was going to plunge downward into a free-fall and drown us in the water below.
We told them over and over again that the ride wasn’t going to get any faster or scarier than it already was. But, we just weren’t convincing them.
So, Kelly D. pulls Tate’s head to his chest and says, “Here, T, why don’t you suckle my nipple for a while to comfort yourself.”
Is that funny? Because I gotta say… I was cracking up.
Maybe you had to be there.

What did we do today? Well, let’s see…..
Oh, right!
We totally destroyed any parent/child trust that existed between us and our children.

When we went to DisneyWorld a couple of years ago, both Fish and T went on the Tower of Terror ride and while they were scared, they loved it. Fish even went for a second turn. So, today when we arrived at California Adventure, the Tower of Terror was the first order of business.
Lucky for us, Beck was tall enough too. Fun for the whole family! (or not)

Here we are just prior. Don’t we look happy?

No pics of the scene afterward. Fish and T were shaken but fine, Beck was another story. Tears? Check. Sobbing? Check. Loud complaints about how it just kept dropping down and up and then down again! ? Check.
All three of them were afraid to go on any other good rides after that. They wouldn’t believe us when we told them they weren’t scary.
Trust=gone.
So, we spent the day going on things like the merry-go-round…

Getting pictures taken…

and some ferris wheel that was so slow and un-thrilling, we joked that we could be doing something productive while we were on it. Like, our taxes, or making lunch. As it was, Kelly got in a few winks.

Not that I’m complaining or anything. We still had lots of fun. But, it took the whole day to earn back a bit of trust. Un-scary ride after un-scary ride, they started feeling more and more brave. We finally got them on some small roller coasters.

I even got The Fish to go on the big one. The California Screamer. (it goes upside down and everything!) He was very hesitant, but after a few minutes of begging and $15 of bribe money, I had myself a coaster partner.
It was F-U-N. And! The Fish thought so too.

Too tired for cleverness. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

I will say something about this last picture. I hate how when I laugh my mouth swallows up my face, but this Space Mountain ride was so much fun. It was pretty scary even for me, and every time a new thrill came, I kept thinking, I cannot believe we brought our 4 year old on this ride, and I would just crack up all over again. After it was over, Beck said, “That was not fun! My tummy didn’t think that was fun!”

Good day today. We took the boys to Hollywood. We walked the walk of fame, saw a bunch of stuff they recognized from tv, watched street performers and had pictures taken with random people wearing costumes and asking for money.

This was something I saw a lot of. It’s Kelly telling those crazy kids to quit running around like monkeys. He says, “Boys! Look into my eyes! If you don’t stop (insert bad behavior) then I’m going to (insert threat)”

After that, we drove to the Santa Monica Pier.

Beck wouldn’t believe we were in California till we showed him the ocean. And, WOW. He was stoked to see it.
As soon as we hit the sand, the boys took off running. they couldn’t wait to get their feet in the water.

The Fish spent most of the time trying to get close to seagulls.

The other two spent the entire time running away from the waves.

They didn’t seem to mind that it was windy and actually pretty cold.

They didn’t seem to mind when their pants got wet.

Beck didn’t even seem to mind when he fell face first into the water. Several times.

When it was time to leave, however, he did seem to mind walking back to the car in dripping wet clothes and sand in every crevice in his little body.

I am a brave person, but not brave enough to take all the boys to Disneyland by myself. So, while Kelly was shooting his wedding, we hung out at Downtown Disney…

Had lunch in the lovely weather,

and saw a movie, during which, I fell asleep and a nap was just what I needed.

We’re in California! Kelly D. has a wedding in San Diego tomorrow, so we packed up the circus and took it on the road. We’re hitting Disneyland, the beach, and the mothership for our boys….LegoLand.
We packed up last night, woke the boys up at 4 am and hit the road early. They were so good in the car. I was pleasantly surprised.
As soon as we got to the motel, though, they were dying to expel some of their energy…

As they jumped on the bed they sang, “M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E”

Kelly was the driver for entire trip, so to give him some quiet time after all our stuff was unloaded, we had Lego building competitions. There were three winners. Prizes: $1 each.

When it was time to go get dinner, I sent Tate down to the car to retrieve my bra which came off somewhere between Beaver, UT and Baker, CA.

Nice.

As I write this post, everyone is in bed. Tate and Beck won’t stop playing around, so I’m shushing them every five minutes.
I think the light of my laptop is keeping them awake, so this concludes my report.

Yesterday, I was at the post office. I spend a lot more time there than I like, but I have packages to ship from Etsy sales, so it’s a good thing.
I have gotten friendly with one of the postal workers there. You know… I noticed her new hair cut, I ask about her new baby and whatnot. Yesterday, she asked me about my frequent shipping, what I sell, where I sell it, etc.
When I said that I have an Etsy shop, she looked at me like I was speaking in tongues.
Has everyone in the world not yet discovered the wonder that is Etsy?

If not, please, let me introduce you to your new favorite place to shop online.

There are so many creative and talented people in the world, and Etsy is a place where they all come together to share their creations.
As you may have already noticed, I have an Etsy shop. I sell jewelry there mostly, but every spring I make and sell bird feeders from dried gourds too. I have sold photography and a few other things as well.
It’s such a great feeling when someone in the world buys something I made with my own two hands.

It’s the best place to shop for unique gifts and artisan made anything.

Here are some of the treasures I found today:

This hat.

This bird.

This journal.

This tea pot.

This box which I have no idea what I would do with it, but I want it anyway.

This pillow. (I really love this)

…just to name a few.

We’re going to California on Friday and for the last couple of months I keep telling the boys they should do some extra chores to earn money to spend while we’re there. They nod their heads enthusiastically and tell me that for sure when they get home from school they’ll do some work. But, then when the time comes, they both just say they’re too tired or maybe tomorrow. And any money they already had is spent the second we enter a store that sells any form of Legos.
Yesterday, since there was no school, I decided to do an all-day cleaning fest over here. They agreed that it was the perfect day to earn some extra money.
I made a list of jobs that I’ve been wanting to have done and assigned each of them a dollar (or cents) value.
They got to choose what they wanted to do, and we worked all morning until lunch time.
I took everyone out to lunch and treated them to a Lemon Meltaway cookie from Cutlers. (HEAVEN!)
Then it was back to work. But to make it more fun, this time we played a game called ‘double or nothing’ and even though that title makes no sense, it works like this: You pick your job first, then you draw a paper out of a bowl upon which I have written things like, Double the value, Mom helps, chew bubble gum while you work, pick the music while you work, high five when you’re done… you get the idea.
If you draw a double the value, a job worth two dollars is suddenly worth four. Nobody really wanted the high five, or the paper that said, “Big kiss from Mom” but when The Fish got that one, he took the kiss anyway and went to work.
It was a fun day for a day filled with nothing but cleaning. We worked until dinner time and man, my house is so clean.
So, what I’m saying is, if you ever wanted to stop by for a visit, now is the time. We are accepting visitors with open arms.

Yes, another birthday post. If you think you’re birthday’d out, well, imagine how I feel. They come at us rapid-fire this time of year.

But this day was the day that seven years ago, number two was born. He is right in the middle- right where he should be. He’s the peacemaker, the boy that can get along with anyone. He is funny and full of energy. (so much energy!) He loves Legos and reading. He is a sponge for learning, and is always paying attention, even when you think he’s not. (this can be a bad thing sometimes.)

He has such a tender heart and when I do something to hurt his feelings, he has an expression that kills me. The guilt that expression can cause is indescribable, so I won’t even try. When he smiles, he does so with his entire face. He looks exactly like his dad, but has the disposition of his mother. (heaven help us)

Every morning, he comes upstairs, climbs into my bed and snuggles right up next to me. My wish is that this is how I wake up every morning for the rest of my life.

To celebrate the day, we had a Lego themed birthday party here which included various Lego building competitions, pizza, birthday cake and lots of loud and crazy 7 year old boys.
Beck was trying to talk over the noise and yelled, “Mom, tell them to be quiet, it’s annoying!”

Kelly D. was shooting a wedding during the kid party today, so I enlisted the help of my parents. May I introduce my dad…

Seriously though, they were a huge help. I think the kids had fun, and I’ve got the headache to prove it. It was worth it though. I just love this little boy.