F.A.V. The Day After

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can tell you what I'm really thankful for....

John Stamos.
Cocktails.
The Beach Boys.
NOT Tom Cruise.
Getting there fast and taking it slow......Yup.

You got it.

Kokomo.



Happy Black Friday. Hope your digestion is going well, and that no one trampled you at JC Penney this morning....

Looking For Something?

That Island of Lost Toys?



I'm pretty sure it's in my playroom.

O, Christmas. Tree.

Last Sunday night we put up our Christmas tree.

What?

Yes, that's right. Screw the turkey. Give me the manger.

Wait...that came off kind of blasphemous....

What I meant to say was I don't have 8 boxes of turkey stuff in my garage. I have a shortage of pilgrims. And I don't like scarecrows.

Instead my garage is half-full of tinsel, trees, ornaments, wreaths, advent calendars, garlands and glitter. Lots and lots of glitter.

The Christmas season in our house so busy, with us usually being out of town for at least 2 weeks, that I like get our decorations up early, so we can enjoy them. Who cares if it was only the third week of November?

The boys were eager to help out. In fact as soon as I brought all the boxes out of the garage, they got to work without even asking.

Cash took it upon himself to open all the new boxes of lights I'd bought after Christmas last year. I didn't pay much attention to what he was doing, until I found myself hearing the familiar clinkity-clink-clink of light bulbs. I turned around from the tree and saw this...



He'd had trouble getting the lights out of the cardboard they came in [which you can see in the background], so he came up with a solution.

Unscrew every bulb.

*Ahem*

How could you be mad at that ingenious? I certainly couldn't. After all, there was no whining involved, so I have to admit I was filled with more pride then I was disgust.

He even helped me screw all the bulbs back in and put the finishing touches on the tree. A tree which he remarked looked like "Christmas exploded on it".

I'm just going to go ahead and accept that as a compliment. He is a boy, and in a boy's vocabulary, 'explosion' is pretty much synonymous with 'awesome'. So, obviously, my tree must look awesome.

I think Hayden agrees as well. Just yesterday morning he said "I hope that tree doesn't fall over, because it looks like a mess already."

Uh, yeah. Just like I said. Looks awesome.

F.A.V. Awesome

Last night, I was getting ready to go out and see a band that my husband is working with [Tommy and the Whale. Way worth your next 5 minutes. Please check them out!].

I was in my room, and the boys were out in the hall. Wrestling. Singing. Spitting. Reading. Doing anything but sleeping, which is what they were supposed to be doing.

They were pretty amusing, what with their alphabet-themed renditions of Who Let the Dogs Out and all, but I'll admit, I was on the edge of irritation. Just as I was put the finishing touches on my evening attire, and just as I was about to threaten to turn out all the lights, I turned toward the boys, who said this [I made them recreate it, just for you]:


Awesome from emily hartley on Vimeo.

And that just melted my cold mean-mommy-get-me-the-hell-out-of-this-house heart. What little darlings I have. They're totally getting Leapsters for Christmas.

So since its obvious that I'm awesome. And that my children are awesome. I picked you an awesome video. I figured this one pretty much sums up my night last night, because I totally wore the same outfit this girl is wearing. And yes, its true that sometimes I pretend Aaron is Huey.


Huey Lewis and the News - Heart and Soul


Its Friday. Show me your awesome.

Just a Bunch of Winners

I'm a winner.

A few weeks ago I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Rock and Roll Mama, by the ever-awesome Lindsay Maines, who writes beautifully about both music and mommyhood. She writes one of the few blogs I actually ever comment on and you'll never believe what happened.

Apparently, my comments? They were soooo riveting that I actually won an award! Yes, it is totally true, I really won something!

Ok, well, maybe it was more like she awarded a Starbucks Card to the fifth commenter, who I just happened to be, but whatever, Y'all! I. Am. A. Winner! [Did I really just TYPE y'all? Oh yes, I did.] Here's the proof:



You'll be happy to know I spent it wisely. On something warm and all mocha-like. A long time ago. With this gal.

Yummy.

And It appears this winning streak has rubbed off on my kiddos too.

I took the boys to an after-school activity this afternoon at their school library put on by Read to Succeed. There was a craft, a story, games, snacks, and a drawing for a prize. 3 prizes actually.

I figured we had a pretty good chance of winning, considering I had one more kid there then every other parent. I can't tell you what kind of winning percentage that would give me of course, because I'm no good at the math stuff. But that's not important anyway.

What IS important is that we won. Well, at least Cash did. We are now the proud owners of a lovely, fluffy, Build-A-Bear brand dog.

[be sure to note the conflicting expressions on my children's faces...]

A dog now affectionately known as "Fluffy Doggie" partly because we're obviously super creative with our stuffed animal names around here [like Deer, Catty and Black Doggie, for instance] and partly because I think Cash is deliberately trying to rub his winnings in Hayden's face by constantly remarking on the furry texture of his new best friend.

I'd be lying if I told you all was well in our house after this big win. Suddenly, and for Hayden at least, every toy we already own paled in comparison to the Mighty Fluffy One. This included both of the Build-A-Bears we already had, anything with a remote and even *gasp* the Bat Cave.

I feel bad for Hayden, I really do. I know it has to suck to watch your brother win, while you get nothing but the two free books everybody else got. But at the same time, losing is a part of life that we all have to get used to, and I don't want to sugar-coat this experience so much that we miss the life-lesson entirely.

So what's a mom to do? I did what any mom would, I entered another contest to win a $25 Build-A-Bear gift card.

Problem solved. Sorta.

C'mon Lady Luck! Momma needs a new pair of uh.....paws? Preferably ones that can fit in a pair of bear-sized sneakers?

F.A.V. Whatever

It's a busy week this week. My mom's in town, I got a substitute teaching job, we attended the ever-exciting CMA Awards and tomorrow, my nieces and nephew are coming so we can make a valiant attempt at a Christmas card picture for my mother-in-law.

For once, I woke up this morning with no idea what video I was feeling today. With so much going on, I had a few themes in mind, but I finally settled on maybe picking something teacher or job related since I'd signed up for substituting this week. I thought maybe "Hot for Teacher" , but, wow, that would have been wildly inappropriate, and kind of gross, and maybe just a little self-centered.

Somehow my train of thought led me to 'Particle Man' by They Might Be Giants. I thought, 'Hmmm, Particle Man. That's kind of science-y.' The last time I felt science-y was school, and school=teacher, so, hey. There's my theme.

When I started to search for the video however, so many great TMBG songs came up that I found it increasingly hard to choose which one was my favorite. Maybe I'll put up "Never Go To Work" because lets face it, I love that I can actually go to work now, but does anyone ever really want to go to work? Besides, my kids love that one - you just gotta love a band that can span the generations.

Still, my initial gut feeling was to pick something older, more classic TMBG, and when I saw this video in the list and listened to the song, it all came rushing back. Screw my theme, I felt like I was sitting in my high school cafeteria, dipping my pretzels in cream cheese and stapling the hem on my uniform all over again.

So enjoy it. And don't forget to let me know your pick, either.


They Might Be Giants - The Statue Got Me High

Reason #373 Why Having Twins is STILL Awesome

Because even though the school photographer seriously screwed up your kids school pictures the first time around [mistaking your two children for JUST ONE CHILD] you sucked it up and ordered the pictures anyway.

Last week we got the pictures back.

Here's what they looked like:


Ahem.

Talk about identical. Right down to the allergy eyes, the parts in their hair and the wrinkles in their shirts.

Man. I had no idea my kids looked that much alike. I mean I know they're twins and all, but c'mon now! This is kind of eerie.

Its almost like they're the same per---oh wait.

They are the same person. These are both pictures of Cash.

Way to go Mr. School Photographer, you did it again. You've managed to take my kids from two children to one and then back again. I have to say I really admire your consistency.

Sigh......at least I have enough pictures of Cash now to wrap all our Christmas presents with.

F.A.V. Flip-Out

This feels a little cheesy. Maybe a little cliche.

And maybe completely embarrassing too.

But screw it, I'm gonna do it anyway.

I'm a mom you know, and I have a temper.

And I lose it. A lot. So much, that I shouldn't be able to find it anymore.

I lose it over lame stuff, like missed baths or a sticky floor. You could even say that I'm better at throwing a temper tantrum than the two five year olds I live with.

Its getting old, really. And I'm tired of it, I'm tired of pretending its something I don't do, and I'm tired of making excuses about it.

I'm tired of having to apologize to my kids for my inappropriate actions.

I'm embarrassed that some days my priorities are so skewed that I'm more consumed by my mounting to-do's than I am by all those I-love-you's my little ones so selflessly shower me with.

Precious moments are flying by faster than I can keep up with and I can't afford to waste any more of my time worrying endlessly about how many grams of sugar are in those granola bars, or how looming my recycling pile might be, or how many toys are carpeting my floor.

In five minutes, five days, or five years, it simply wont matter if we skipped our bath three days in a row that first week of November, if I cant remember what the carpet looked like in the playroom, or what the sink looked like when it was empty, once.

As long as my family is basking in the kind of love that they deserve, nothing else matters.

So.....

What better way to acknowledge these statements than with the crankiest band of all time?

In the spirit of letting go, moving on, and tempering down I dedicate today's video to me.

Here's to less yells and more giggles, and my crush on James Hetfield that will NEVER die.



[Did you see that date at the beginning? 1992! not only am I angry, I also feel old]

It's your turn now....how are you feeling today???

About Last Night...

I'm not really one to go all political on you, but I think it would be a crime not to mention how last night made me feel.

What an awesome historical moment it was to see Barack Obama capture the presidency. So many amazing milestones were reached in just one night, from the amazing voter turnout [14 million more people than in the last election!] to the choice of our first African-American president.

But I must admit, what I was most proud of was my generation and the younger generations that have come after me....Barack said it best when he described the unlikely success of his campaign, “It grew strength from the young people, who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.”

We do have a voice, and we made ourselves heard. We are a force to be reckoned with.

I know this road will not be easy, and that the journey ahead will be difficult, and I know that Barack will not be the answer to all our problems.

But I am truly excited about is that I FINALLY have a president who empowers and inspires me to WANT to support my country, to WANT to do my part to make America a better place to live. I truly believe that is a change I can and will believe in.

I am excited to be raising my children in a country where all things truly are possible, a place where we can judge on character and not on color. My friend Jennifer from momslikeme summed it up beautifully this morning with this statement, "The best part of the Obama victory is the renewal of the spirit of millions of Americans who can truly believe their children can grow up to be President."

Amen.

We have lived so long under the politics of fear, I look forward to a future fueled by the politics of hope.

“This is our time to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.”

And to Ohio, my home state, I am so very proud of you...

Out of the Office

So, if you need me today....


...i'll be in the BatCave.