Crack

I have a little bit of an addiction problem.

There. I said it.

Don't judge me for it.

Some of you may remember the post that I wrote over a year ago to my new love Pine-Sol and how I had just discovered the powers of it to my advantage. I loved how clean it made my house smell......how I could fool just about anyone into thinking that my house was immaculately clean just by having a sink full of this stuff marinating all day long! (That's right people....I said marinating......sitting in my sink all day long.....getting cold until I ran more warm water in it to bring back that smell. I know it's sick. I never said it was normal......But addicts will often do abnormal things....It's true.)

Well......since them the problem has deepened. The addiction has grabbed a hold on me and won't let go. I MUST have that "powerful scent of clean" on a daily basis or I WILL GO CRAZY. I will go into withdrawals, get the shakes, get sick to my stomach and all that jazz. I NEED the pine-sol. Just give me the pine-sol and no one gets hurt. It has gotten out of hand.....

It has become "my crack."

Well......fed up of buying tiny bottle after tiny bottle and constantly running out and having to make emergency runs to my "dealer" (aka Wal-Mart......that crack ho) I stumbled across the Holy Grail of disinfectants........at my new BFF (and new dealer......take that Wal-mart) COSTCO. Because really? Everyone needs a jug of pine-sol that is larger than a small child. Everyone.

So seriously.....don't judge. I know I have a problem. I know that I buy Pine-sol in mass quantities. I know that your average housewife is most likely not stocking up on Pine-Sol at a Warehouse.....but I am not your average housewife, people......I am DESPERATE! And I need my crack.....er.....Pine-Sol. So just give me the Pine-Sol and NO ONE gets hurt.

Does anyone know of a 12-Step program for Pine-Sol addicts?

Child Abuse

Once, many years back, me my siblings were looking at pictures from "back in the day" when we were wee little kids. My brother John, being the funny person that he is, commented to my Mom that the way she used to dress us could be considered a form of child abuse. At the time my Mom just laughed it off.....it was FUNNY. And really? Who dresses their kids like that anyway? Plaids and Polyesters and short shorts. It is only now, that I have little wee ones of my own, that I am realizing that my Mom most likely didn't dress us at all. I mean, just because you have cute kids, and you buy them 100's of dollars worth of really cute and stylish clothes, doesn't mean they're going to wear them. Who are we kidding? Most days, the kids dress themselves. And most days? It's not pretty. Case in point:

This is how my kids went to the grocery store today.

At first glance: Not so bad. Just a slight kool-aid moustache and crusted boogies under the nose.

Wait a minute. Are those the basketball shorts that B wore yesterday? And paired with a non-matching basketball shirt that we got in the mail today? Sweet Mother of Mary.

Yep. This boy looks pretty stylin'...... And pretty WT.

Oh look. A cute new hoodie from Old Navy on a cute little girl.

What the???? Is this for real?. Hearts, paired with polka dots, paired with cowboy boots? Whose child is this and where is her Mother?

And you wanna know the sad thing? Everything that Savy is wearing is brand new. Hence her deep desire to wear everything at once. If you took the hoodie off you would see a pink and white striped shirt. It's quite the ensemble.

So there it is. You be the judge? Abuse or not? I think I'll opt for the "Mom -who -picks -her -battles- and -decided -that- this- was- one -battle -that -was- not- worth- fighting" option.

But seriously? Can you believe I took them to the store like that? That's just messed up.

Shameless self-promotion

Hiya peeps,

I started a new blog....so if you have some time check it out and drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Thanks tons, turkey buns.

Florrie

http://365daysofthegoodthebadtheugly.blogspot.com/

Son.....today you are a man.

Well.....yesterday I took all FOUR kids to the dreaded hair cut appointment. It was a joy, let me tell ya. And apparently, someones MOTHER did not wash their son's face beforehand. Who could that be? Oh....I know. Maybe it was the MOM who has had four kids BY HERSELF all week and is slowly starting to shut down. Face washing, schmase washing.....that's what I always say. So as they continued to cut Braden's hair, and more and more fell down on his face and stuck there....I had to grab my camera to document this priceless photo.

Is it just me....or does my 2 year old look like he's got a five o'clock shadow??

Want to know the real irony? Before I took him to get his haircut, Lewis tried to talk me into getting it buzzed. But I protested. He's just too young. He'd look too old. Um yeah. Not quite as old as a two year old with some sweet facial hair. Gotta love it!

Idaho. No wait....you da hoe. No.....you da man!

Redemption.


That's what this post is about. You might remember a couple of months ago I posted this as a tribute to my dear husband and his awesome accomplishment. Well, what you don't know is that shortly after the fact, my dear old brother-in-law, (who you can partially see in the picture) told me that I had cut him "real deep" when I failed to mention his awesome accomplishment as well. (Well, that and the obvious fact that I had to do some serious cropping to edit him out of the photo.) So, after I asked him why he was pms'ing and if he needed to borrow a little gyne lotrimin or a tampon, I decided to write this little post to redeem myself as the favored sister-in-law.....(and don't you forget it!)

This past weekend the fam loaded in the car to take a nice little jaunt to Idaho. Besides the fact that I LOVE me some potatoes.....there really isn't much to see in Idaho. But, we were there as the support team for my most awesomest brother-in-law Todd who competed in his very first (but definitely not last....I'm sure) HALF IRON MAN! People, people, people.....I am not a triathlete by any means. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I won't be in my lifetime, but do you realize what a half iron man is? Well, let me break it down for you.

Swim: 1.2 miles
Bike: 56 miles

Run 13.1 miles

(And holy shiester......If that doesn't make you want to vomit.....then I don't know what does.)

Now, I'm not gonna lie. We stood outside in the pouring rain for hours waiting for him to finish. And again.....not gonna lie when I say I'm pretty sure that I had a little tear in my eye when he crossed the finish line. It was worth every second of torturous, hellish, wet rain....with four kids, mind you.....and I'd do it all over again. (And I say this in all honesty because I'm 100% sure that we'll be in Boise again next year so that Lewis can say he did it too.) Somehow, I will never forget how Todd ran beside me for those last few miles of the St. George marathon....just when I thought I wanted to die.....and gave me the encouragement I needed to finish the dang thing! So there, Todd. Oops....I mean Mr. Iron man. This post is for you. Congrats on your major accomplishment, although, I just have one more thing to say. Since you only finished a HALF iron man, does this only make you half a man? Ponder on that for awhile.

And just in case this post bored you to tears....and also, just in case you were wondering if all family functions are all about Todd ( Jeesh Todd.....get over yourself. Everything is not about you.) We did some other things in Boise that were noteworthy as well.

We went to the Zoo. And by dang if it wasn't one of the better zoos we've been too. In fact, it kinda kicked Hogle Zoo's butt. What it lacked in size ( it really was quite compact) it made up for in animal activity! I will swear to my dying day that Hogle Zoo sedates its animals. Every time I go there I end up never seeing any animals or pointing out sleeping animals to my children. Well....this zoo was a hoppin'. The penguins were swimming, the lion was pacing, the bobcat was licking it's chops and eying my kiddos down, and the monkeys were swinging around like it was no body's business. ( And all would be amiss if I also didn't mention that one of the monkeys flipped my mother-in-law off.....I am crappin' you not! You can even ask her.) A fine day was had by all until a torrential downpour rolled on in and we made a hasty exit from the zoo into our cars.






Also.....seriously....have you ever seen a cuter picture than this one? We told Braden and his cousin, Claire, to pose together and wouldn't you know it....it looks just like an engagement picture. Funniest. Dang. Thing. Ever. Have you ever seen such stunning children in your life?

Also, just in case I didn't mention it......it rained. A lot. A literal downpour of soaking wetness. These pictures don't do it justice as to just how wet we all were. But we had a ball cheering Todd on, and I just have to say, again......Todd, you may just have the best family in the world. That's for dang sure!

So there you have it. Again, my dearest brother-in-law, congrats on the incredible feat of strength that you just pulled off. You are my hero and the second coolest person I know.

Love ya.

Hello Summer.....

Long time, no see. We've missed you.

Can't wait to play with you for the next three months. Let's be BFF's, okay?

Zachary and Kylie on the LAST day of school. Can't you just see the excitement in their faces....oh wait.....that's just the sun. My bad.

Two Wheelin' it!

I had a dream.....a dream that one day, all my children, no matter what age, would learn to ride a bike...... No seriously, I did have this dream. Way back in the day before I actually birthed my children I had this preconceived notion about what it would be like to be a Mom. I would play with my kids and read them books all day long. I would have hot cookies waiting for them when they got home from school. I would take walks around the block with them every day and point out all the interesting things along the way. I would teach them to ride a bike. The proper way. By holding on to the back of their little seat and running along side them until they yelled "Let go Mom...." and I would let go and off they would fly.

This is NOT what happened. What happened is this: Savannah hopped on a bike (our neighbor's bike by the by) and just took off. No warning. No teaching. Just doing. (That independent little bugger.) She was riding like a pro.....with no help or warning whatsoever. And now her life has changed.....because riding a bike without training wheels is just SO MUCH cooler than riding a bike with training wheels....DUH! Doesn't everybody know this?






A few things I love about this video. First, see that cute little blond boy skipping beside her? That's her best friend/boyfriend/neighbor/whipping boy....Wyatt. His brother's bike is the one Savy is riding. She says she is going to marry him one day. I say watch out Wyatt.....she's kind of a bossy britches! Second, I love how Savy says to Lewis, "Dad....let go....."and then she turns back around and Lewis is no where to be found. Who needs parents to help anyway? Not my gal, Sav.

And not even two days later.....she was like a professional bike rider! I'm not kidding. Have you ever seen a four year old stand up when they're riding their bike? Such ease....such grace...for the moment anyway. Good thing the first fall has already happened.

**Disclaimer** I KNOW....she is not wearing a helmet in either of these videos. I know you're probably wondering what kind of Mom let's their daughter ride around in her nightgown and flip flops....Well just shush....I will MAKE her wear a helmet from now on. In fact, if I could wrap her in bubble wrap and duct tape her I would. (She definitely is my accident prone one.) Also, the second video was taken at 8:30 in the morning, so a nightgown would be an obvious choice of attire. And flip flops? Well, they're the summer footwear staple....of course! I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get her to wear tennis shoes any time soon.