29 Things About Me

Saturday was my: brace yourself here, wait for it, wait for it: 29th birthday. 29 is ancient. Almost anyway. Its one step closer to the dreaded age to end all ages: 30.

I am entirely convinced the world will end when I turn 30. Here are the reasons: 1) it will be in the year 2012, Haven't you seen that movie? It could happen. B) I will be old. 3) I will be old. 4). My 81 year old grandpa said that he felt old when he turned 30. No problems with any other age. Just 30. Did I mention he's 81?

Birthdays aren't really my cup of tea. They suck. You get older. The magnifying mirror at the hotel on your vacation reveals to you all of your wrinkles. Its so scary that you turn it around and push it so you don't see yourself when you pass by.

After 21 birthdays are downhill anyway. You have nothing to anticipate. Okay, so you're not old enough to rent a car, but you're old enough to do everything else. You are now old enough to do anything that's fun, and your lost youth isn't coming back. I may not have lost my youth, but I may have misplaced it. Has anyone seen it? Its carefree and during it I could frequently sleep past 8 am. Also, it had no stretch marks and owned various 2-piece bathing suits.

In honor of me, and my large number of years, I would like to share some undeniably true facts about me. Fascinating, yes. False, no.

1. I'm always hot in the summer and constantly cold in the winter. But I love spring and fall.
2. I sort of hate my birthday. I may have mentioned this previously, but it is undeniable.
3. I rode the bus my senior year of high school. Very uncool.
4. I require chapstick on my lips at all times. I wake up in the middle of the night for the sole purpose of applying chapstick.
5. My husband keeps asking me what I'm blogging about. Me!
6. I have been married for 4 1/2 years but still haven't changed my last name. I'm just lazy.
7. I prefer my own cooking to almost all other food. I'm not picky. Okay I am. Bland or overcooked food will not be tolerated.
8. I'm only on number eight but I'm already trying to figure out what the heck I'm gonna put on this list.
9. I like my bath water so hot it turns my skin red, but then I get out fairly quickly because I'm hot.
10. I'm in month six of Operation Grow Out My Hair Instead of Dying It, and for awhile there I didn't know if I was gonna make it. If I don't wash my hair everyday it looks gross because of the color difference, but I'm determined to never dye it again.
11. I'm a TV snob. I judge the dumb shows other people watch, ahem The Bachelor. I'm not saying everything I watch is good, I do watch Teen Mom 2 after all. But because I watch it its automatically cooler than other shows.
12. I love Disneyland. Its a magical place. I feel like a kid again when I go there.
13. I used to watch Unsolved Mysteries or America's Most Wanted as a kid, then I would become convinced that all of those bad guys were in the immediate vicinity of my house. Every creak, or dog barking, or loud noise was those bad guys coming to get me.
14. I love to snack. I'm a snack-a-holic. That is one of the dangers of being a stay at home mom, constant access to the pantry and all of its contents. The trail mix is constantly calling my name.
15. Typos are amusing to me, but only in moderation. When I see a sign at a restaurant by my house, advertising menudo on Wensdays, I laugh. But if I'm trying to stumble my way through a blog post filled with typos and bad grammar, I can't do it.
16. I still have all of my wisdom teeth. They cause one annoying problem: food gets stuck in between my teeth way in the back of my mouth and annoys the heck out of me. Floss picks must be used frequently if I eat chicken, granola or popcorn.
17. I cannot eat yogurt without something to chew. I must add granola, fruit or cottage cheese.
18. How I Met Your Mother is my newest favorite show. It is legen....wait for it....dary. Virtual high-five.
19. I'm scared beyond words of the eventual day Alana starts kindergarten. She's a social butterfly so I know she'll love it, but I'm gonna miss her.
20. Chipped nail polish annoys me. I never paint my fingernails because I cannot stand one little chip, which is inevitable. I only paint my toenails, and only in summer.
21. Pear jellybeans are delicious. Not just my opinion, but also a fact.
22. I gave my iPod to Alana, who uses it way more than I ever have. It was totally worth it just to hear her singing off key to the Tangled soundtrack.
23. I vacuum my house everyday. Sometimes more than once in the living room, depending on whether my ladies have been eating popcorn, because its messy.
24. I've had some blog related writers block lately. My posts don't have their usual zing, but I'll get back on track soon. Hopefully.
25. Alana says I'm the best. Suck it everyone else.
26. I used to try to eat a perfect hole out of the center of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, but I never succeeded.
27. Since I was pregnant with Alana I haven't used scented lotion or perfume once. They give me a headache.
28. Ice cream tastes better on a cone.
29. I seldom call my kids by their actual names. Nicknames are more convenient and can be changed frequently according to my mood.

Next year I think I'm not going to acknowledge my birthday, cause that way I won't get any older. Right?

We Woke Up to Snow!

You've Got a Friend in Me

My two girls were on their best behavior at Disneyland. Or not. Alana was good, mostly. Ava, not so much. She boycotted the stroller, except for a few brief periods where we let her sit next to Alana. She wouldn't even tolerate the stroller when she was asleep. I know because everytime she fell asleep I tried to put her in it and she woke up pissed off. 

I do have to thank her for sleeping soundly, in the stroller, through World of Color. It was a miracle. My arms suddenly felt so free! Until I had to hold Alana so she could see.

There were a few events that made me rethink a repeat Disney vacation next year. Who am I kidding? We'll go again if the opportunity arises!

Alana had the worst timing ever when it came to peeing. Thirty seconds before World of Color was about to start she had to pee. We'd been sitting on the same spot of ground for an hour, and all of a sudden when they turned the lights off and announced the show was starting Alana had to pee. So we sprinted to the nearest bathroom and back as quickly as possible. Alana was out of breath when we got back, but we only missed a minute or two. Sprinting to the bathroom right before a show is still better than the two times she peed in her pants, right before going on a ride and right before David took her to watch World of Color a second time. We went on the ride anyway, otherwise those thirty minutes spent waiting would've been wasted.

It rained, more like misted, off and on all day Wednesday, which was miserable. I'd left my umbrella in the car, which was parked like a mile away. So I had a few choices. Walk around in the rain all day. Walk, in the rain, to the car to get my umbrella. Or buy a new umbrella. Thirty dollars later I had two new Disneyland umbrellas. I'll consider them a souvenir.

Ava's insistence that she was a grown woman didn't stop at refusing to ride in a stroller. I could've predicted this, since this wasn't my first time taking a one and a half year old to Disneyland. What can I say, I only remember the good parts looking back. She also never sat in her high chair at any restaurant for more than ten minutes. This meant she sat on my lap at every meal. At the end of vacation I really missed eating with two hands. It was like a distant memory. Part of it was the characters at some of the meals, which scared her. The other part was just pure stubbornness.

I nearly shoplifted once, which I probably could've gotten away with. Alana stood in the sit and stand, while David was pushing it, and fell down in the middle of the store. I heard her crying so I rushed outside to see what happened. I was holding Ava, my little cling-on, who happened to be holding two stuffed Chip and Dale toys. Ship and Dale, as Alana would say. We'd left the store, with the toys, and no one had noticed. Ava wanted to keep her stolen treasure, so I had to go back in and pay. I was framed!

At the end of the week, despite having so many toys I didn't know if all of our stuff would fit in our car for the return trip and really tired arms, I still had fun. Till the ride home. Ava's not a big fan of long car rides, and her sensitive gag reflex makes sure to punish me for things I did long ago. Like with Funyun puke 30 miles from home, that I barely shampooed out of the seat of the car yesterday. At least our DVD player and Wow Wow Wubbzy kept her entertained most of the time.

We barely stuffed all of our stuff into our car, partly because double strollers are so freaking bulky. Then when we got home and unpacked we realized we were missing a bag. A bad of overpriced souvenir cups that we'd paid extra for on numerous occasions. There were six of them, so by my calculations we lost $30 worth of cups. I still have no idea what the heck happened to them. The bellhop picked up our bags while I was still in the room, then I walked to the car with him and we both loaded the car. My only possible explanation is that they maybe got left in a corner of the room, even though I'd piled everything up in plain sight so nothing would get left behind. This ends my streak of never having forgotten anything in a hotel room.

Next year I think I will have forgotten about all the pain in the butt things about this year. Why else would we keep going every year?

A Sneak Peek at Disneyland

 I've put off doing this post since I got home on Friday. We'll call it one part laziness, one part lack of motivation and one part being completely overwhelmed by the amount of pictures I needed to sort through.

We had a great time. Exhausting, but great. There is nothing relaxing about vacation with your kids, but that's not really the point. The point of it, for us at least, is to squeeze in as many fun Disney trips as possible before our kids grow up and don't want to go on vacation with us anymore. Then we can say Look, I don't care if you like it or not, you're having breakfast with Minnie Mouse, and that's final!

Here's just a few, ok its more than a few, but its less than half of the pics I took, pictures to document our fun time. Maybe tomorrow or sometime I'll get around to putting up more and writing about our adventures.

In case you were wondering, Ava fell asleep on Pirates of the Caribbean and refused to ride in a stroller the whole trip. David wanted to eat pizza for every meal. Alana loved every character she met, but especially Rapunzel. And I just took tons of pics and tried to eat as many cookies and ice cream cones as possible.

Valentines Greetings from Disneyland

I'm at Disneyland. I know you're jealous. You can come next time. This how we've been spending our time.

We only waited in line like an hour for this pic.

Alana loves the characters. She always has, even as a baby. Ava, not so much.

Ready for a Road Trip

My bags are packed. I'm ready to go. I have my road trip essentials. Now I'm off.

Of course I packed my necessary road trip things: laptop, atlas, magazines, a new book, and kleenex for when that book probably makes me cry. See you all next week!

The Importance of Being Ava

February 14th, 2011: an important day to be Ava. The first day of her second trip to Disneyland, but even more importantly, the day this little devil girl turns 18 months. One and a half people. I just had her yesterday.

This little girl has been ahead of herself from day one. She feels that its important to keep up with her big sister, so she has discarded all baby like toys in favor of baby dolls. Kids having kids. She wants to be on Toddler Mom. She also loves to play with Barbies and read lots of books. That's my girl.

She is so insistent on using silverware that she wants to use it for everything she eats. Not just yogurt that she steals from me, but I swear she just made me give her a spoon to eat a bowl of candy corn.

She is rocking a baby mullet. Oh yeah. Its stylish. Its cute. Its longer in the back than in the front. And I'm not cutting it anytime soon.

She loves loves loves Wow Wow Wubbzy. In case you're not familiar with him, he lives in a tree, he likes to play play play, he's got a bendy tail and he likes it that way. He's also a little ambiguous. The first few times I saw that show I was unsure of his gender. The theme song is the only thing that clarified it for me. He wears no clothes people!

She gives slobbery baby kisses and really big baby hugs. Mostly to her mommy. I'm one lucky lady.

She thinks Alana is the funniest person who ever lived. Knock knock jokes that don't make sense? Hilarious. Stupid running around and talking in a weird voice? Cracks her up everytime.

She is the sweetest most perfect baby I could ever imagine. I'm lucky to have her.

Living in the Moment

Alana is a very spur of the moment kind of lady. If its not happening in the next thirty seconds, then it may as well be one thousand years away.

She does things on a whim. Just decides to bring every toy she owns into the living room and line them up on the couch, just because. Gets out all of the books from the cupboard, just to find that one special book she's looking for. Who cares if there's books all over the floor?

She prefers to do things exactly when she decides that they sound like fun. Playdoh must be played with immediately. Waiting ten minutes for something to bake in her easy bake oven seems like an eternity. Movies must be viewed right after taken from the cupboard. But picking up toys can wait till later. Wait long enough and sometimes Mommy does it instead!

This morning easy bake donuts sounded good to her. So they were made. Easy to bake, not so easy to eat. At least Alana thought they were delicious. I almost gagged from one small bite. They did smell good when they were baking though. That whole long ten minutes.

This Time Next Week

In anticipation of vacation each year David and I like to play a game where we count down the days.

We started yesterday when we woke up. This time next week we'll be driving to Disneyland. This time next week we'll be in California. This time next week we'll be at our hotel.

Then right before bed we ended it for the day. This time next week we'll be really tired from driving 500 miles. This time next week we'll probably get woken up by the fireworks.

Then today we picked it up again. This time next week we'll be having breakfast with Minnie Mouse. I'm ready for some bacon and french toast, cooked by somebody else, then the dishes will be washed by somebody else too!

We'll continue for the rest of the week, getting more excited as days pass slowly and eagerly awaited events get closer and closer. I'm ready for character breakfasts, the awesome new World of Color show that we haven't seen before, Dumbo, riding the fish merry go round at least ten times, riding both Toy Story shooting rides even more, seeing beloved characters and having tons of fun with my family.

Six more days, approximately 18 times of washing the dishes and 9 loads of laundry, six more times of vacuuming my living room daily, six more dinners cooked and cleaned up by me. I also have about 5 discussion posts and 8 algebra problems to check off my list. Maybe these tasks will help time pass faster, but probably not. It will pass eventually either way.

This time next week I'll be here:

Pucker Up!

If you're in need of some pre-valentines day lovin', this baby is the place to start. For a limited time only she is giving away big slobbery kisses. Wet, slobbery, and with the subtle smell of potato chips.

The only catch is I'm the one and only recipient. She doesn't give away her kisses to anyone but her mommy. Even Daddy gets his kisses promptly wiped off, because everyone knows that's the best way to remove an unwanted kiss.

So today while its cold outside I'll be inside basking in the wet kisses of my bratty toddler.

H2O Challenged

Here in sunny AZ its just a little bit cold. We're not draped in a giant blanket of snow like some parts of the country. In fact, if you look out the window it looks like a typical mild February day. Sun is shining. Sky is clear and blue. Trees are moving ever so slightly in the breeze. But if you venture out the door you will be greeted with a bitter cold that will surprise you. Take your breath away. Make you run back inside to grab a warmer jacket.

Yesterday, my normal shopping day, I declared it to be too cold to buy groceries. Instead David ran to the store after work for bread and milk. This morning I covered our drafty old back door with a blanket, because everytime I came within three feet of it I could feel all the freezing cold air that is causing my heater to run constantly. Then something very rare happened, David wore a jacket to work. David, who wears shorts 365 days a year, got a jacket out of the closet before going to work. Not just a sweater. A jacket.

All of these things are fine and normal and tolerable. The one thing that is annoying me beyond anything is beyond my control. The pipes are frozen. The pipes in this house have never frozen in the six+ years since we've lived here. My hair is a disaster, my kids have cheetos on their face, I'd like to brush my teeth and I'm thirsty. Thawing takes time. Luckily I don't have a job or anywhere to be. Not that I was planning on washing my hair today anyway.

****Post edit: I just decided that if I'm forced to do without water for the day then the rumors about a gas outage better not come true. Then I'd have no heat, and if the water does come back on, no hot water. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all utilities remain intact.
Cheeto face #1:

Cheeto, or funyun, face #2:

I'm Getting My Money's Worth

 I've managed to squeeze in some homework, but other than that all I've done since yesterday is play with my new camera. Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I"m gonna go ahead and use my impending vacation and the desire to properly use my camera on it as my excuse for my obsession. I'm using it on manual and Av, so I really want to know as much as possible before Disneyland. Plus I hate using a flash, its gross, so lots of experimentation is needed.