Birthday Nightmares

It us upon us...Birthday Season. March is when we sing that happy song to my sister Sara, Chris' Mom, Chris and Gunnar.

In our little clan, we begin having "friend parties" in Kindergarten, and then every other year the kids can have one, and then "just family parties" on the years in between.

I asked Gunnar yesterday what he thinks would be fun for his 1st friend party this year. I was thinking a Pirate Treasure Hunt, or something to do with Space, Volcanoes, Flesh Eating Plants....all favs of his.

But what does his little "almost 6-yr-old" heart desire??

Chuck E. Cheese.

REALLY? Why does every child like this place? Do they not realize that the pizza tastes like salted cardboard? Germs multiply at rates not known to mankind in any other corner of the world? Pedophiles like to stalk the bathrooms? Really? This is my worst nightmare....He may as well have asked for a CHUCKY themed party...it's the same degree of heinousness IMHO.

So after hmmming and hawing I suggested another place that has pizza AND games AND mini golf, among other things...AND the staff actually keeps the place pretty clean....and makes a decent pizza. Boondocks, the anti-Chuck E. Cheese. He agreed! I'm saved from the ravages of the Giant Mouse and his evil Robot Friends...for at least a couple of years, anyway. Whew.

Now on to the reservations and invitations.

It's Just Another Manic Monday

Whoa, Whoa...I wish it were a Sunday
Whoa, Whoa...'Cuz that's my FunDay..

That little song has been going through my head all day. What is it about MONDAYS lately? Last Monday I spent the day taking G to the Dr to diagnose Strep and get antibiotics in him and nurse him back to health. That is definitely NOT what I would choose to do with a Monday, if given the choice, which apparently I wasn't. But, I suppose it could've been worse.

This Monday started OK. There's the whole DST issue, where you are all sleepy, and the kids don't believe you when you say it's time to get up for school. Because it's too incredibly dark for it to possibly be close to the time they need to get up. THEN, you get the kids into the FREEZING car and turn the ignition, and CLICK, CLICK, CLICK...nothing. The battery is dead. This is the 3rd time within the last 2 months and I'm biting my tongue to keep from screaming at the kids about leaving the lights on in the car...

"OK, kids, I guess we're walking".....so we start walking down the street, with only 5 minutes until school starts (and Mom is only in a sweatshirt, no jacket, BRILLIANT). Luckily our neighbor, who is on his way to drop his kids at the school sees us and offers to take the kids the rest of the way. Nice neighbor! Crisis averted.

I head home, and call my LIFESAVER, Liz, who has jumped me within the last month when the car died at the sledding hill because the power door was opened and closed over and over and over....but I digress. SO, Lifesaver Liz comes over and gives me a jump. I run the car for at least 30 minutes (while we chat in the driveway, and then I actually drove around the neighborhood too)....turn it off, go inside and get showered and the baby dressed. This takes less than an hour. We go get in the car because it is my turn to pick up kindergarten carpool. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK....DEAD. Okay, I guess nobody left a light on, it's just REALLLLLY dead.

Another call to Liz, she picks up carpool and comes to jump me again. I drive straight to Costco only to find out they will not install their own batteries! What EVA. Luckily the car started again since it had only been 10 minutes before we figured this out. Went to Walmart, and they were happy to sell me a battery AND install it. Will wonders never cease?

I so don't BIG RED PUFFY HEART Costco today.

I did go back after the battery was installed though, because I did have a list of other things to pick up, AND Liz asked if I could pick some eggs up for her. It was the least I could do, after she's saved me TWICE today. I showed up on her doorstep, eggs in hand, "Here are some eggs. Thanks for saving my bacon!"

All's well that ends well and all that crap, but if things happen in 3s...I think I'll just stay in bed next Monday!

Thursday's Good Things

After 2 1/2 days of hurricane force winds, the snow came and silenced our little corner of the world. Sweet silence. I was SO TIRED (because the whipping wind was constantly beating at our house, not too conducive to sleep) last night and it was much needed.We woke up to 5-6 inches of the BEST kind of snow! The kind that doesn't require shoveling. The temps had been in the 60's and quickly plunged to the 20's...so it didn't stick on the roads, sidewalks or driveways!

The trees didn't escape it though, they are pretty heavy-laden.

Notice how much it stacked up on the rails of the deck.

Ahhhh, the blue sky is back! Yesterday, you couldn't see past your nose for all the brown dust that the winds had been kicking up..


More good things:

Kids who can self-serve their snacks...

Open-faced Omelets for lunch (and Danimals to counteract the negative effects of antibiotics on the digestive system)...

Gargantuan Lime... get a load of him!Big Lime + Diet Pepsi = True Love 4EVA

What are some of your GOOD THINGS?

Redbox Love

Redblog Free Movie Wednesday Code

"Hump Day" just got a little better with redblog and Free Movie Wednesdays!

Every Wednesday in March, visit redblog to get a code for a free night's rental, good for that day only.

March 4th Free Movie Wednesday Code* Stop by a redbox near you and enter code: 75EA16

Want a free redbox rental every Monday?Sign up for Free Movie Mondays with redbox SMS alerts and get a free code sent to your mobile phone every Monday!

*Good for one free night's rental. Code expires at midnight Central Time.

6th and 6th Photo Tag

One of my bestest buddies tagged me on this one. Pretty fun, actually. Here are the rules of the game:
1. Go to your my documents/my pictures
2. Go to your sixth file
3. Go to your sixth picture
4. Blog about it
5. Tag six people

This is 4th of July 2004. We are on the lawn of Sandy City Hall. They do a carnival, parade, live entertainment all day leading up to the finale, a fireworks show.

You have to get there early, so we loaded up our stroller with snacks, blankets, and games to keep the kids entertained and stake out a prime spot! I think that was also the year that as Savannah was gazing up at the fireworks, a piece of ash fell from the sky, right into her eye! She was a little traumatized after that...

Gunnar was about 15 months old, and had recently recovered from a 6 week bout with Mono...that is why he looks a little weak and pale. (We spent $400 (after what insurance would cover) in blood tests in the month of May that year to find out WHY in the world he was running a fever with no other apparent symptoms...Savannah was too).

Now I tag, Lenice, Liz, Kasey, Kari, Shelley and Sheena.

Mr. Strep, your time is short

Dear Strep,

You've had your fun. You showed up on a Sunday, with your throat searing, head exploding, body aching fury. You gave my little guy a fever that knocked him flat. And that's not an easy thing to do. Have you met him when he's healthy? No, I guess not.

He was too sapped of energy to change the channel on the TV from a news talk show to his beloved Qubo cartoons. That's saying alot. He was just laying there, face down, on the couch, in his attempt to start the normal routine.

You knew you had a full 24 hours before I would decide to take him to the Dr....but that time is up now. Yesterday we went, we swabbed at your germiness. The test confirmed that you were there. We know what your Kryptonite is. OMNICEF. Kinda scary huh? Yeah, it's kicking your butt. My little guy no longer has a fever. And we're gonna keep socking it to you. For 9 more days. See ya! Don't come back now, y'hear?

Of Four Legged Friends

It seems lately that my kids have been doing a lot of beggin' for one of these furry little guys....Chris likes cats. I hate them. And no, hate is not a strong word in this case. It's not gonna happen....EVA! I think I might be agreeable to one of these cute dogs pictured below....I've always loved Chocolate Labs. Chris is not such a fan of dogs. He doesn't like the barking, etc. It would have to be inside quite a bit of the time....since we live in Utah. Maybe if we lived in California, it wouldn't be such an issue. But, I digress..
So, Mom could handle a dog. Dad could handle a cat. Neither is willing to compromise. So we don't. We just remain a petless family who oohs and ahhs and cuddles other people's animals. That's been working out for us. Remember that it took the kids about 3 weeks to notice when their fish died? Yeah....

Fast-forward to last week. Chris begins asking the kids if they would like a skunk for a pet. WHAT? Yes, he informs us, they remove the glands that produce the stinky spray, and you can have one in your very own home! Since we can't agree on cat v. dog....we'll just get a little Pepe Le Peu of our very own!
Ummmm.....Daddy, have you done your research? Are they even LEGAL in Utah...or any other state besides West Virginia???? Surely no one in their right mind would sign up for this....right?

Thank you Wikipedia. I hopped on and quickly discovered that not only are they ILLEGAL in our state, but they are also one of the hardest domesticated animals to train and care for....let alone finding a vet who knows what to do if something were to go wrong.

I'll take a dog over a skunk any day, thank you very much. But maybe we'll have to wait until we live in a more hospitable climate so it can be an "outside" dog.