Dear Mama Willy,

Remember that time you crashed into the wall at the institute building? It was a slow little bump as you pulled into the parking spot, but still...totally Willy...and totally "Animony" of you :)

So, we've got another "Animony" incident going on. Your babies (Dillio & myself) are currently on the BLOCKED list for your blog. You gotta INVITE us to view it Mama! And we somehow don't have an email address or other way of contacting you! So unless you want the two of us beating down your door there in WA (we may have to do that anyway), please invite us to be readers of your blog...then we can reciprocate the love you give.

Love,
Sister C

(sorry all you other readers...this was the only way)

It's not a Mullet

Check out the new do. For almost 10 years now I've been "all talk" and no "sit down, let me get my scissors." I think I've been complaining about my hair...ever since I've had hair! In my younger years I had "gorgeous wavy curls" which grew out into long straight stringy locks to about my butt, which eventually got up to around shoulder length, and stayed there...for too long. The thing is, I'm not a "girly" girl. I don't enjoy painting my toenails, I'm not into pretty pink bows and I hate, hate, hate styling my hair. So technically I'm the kind of girl who needs a "get up and go" haircut, but my fear of looking like a boy (or worse) always stood in my way. I wondered if I'd be able figure out how to style it once it was cut (I honestly can't work a curling iron), and worried about freakish things like "what if my hair bugs out into crazy curls!" So needless to say, it took a lot of courage to sit down in a hair salon and say the words, "I want a pixie cut."...but as my luck would have it I happened to get the one stylist in the salon (a place carefully selected and recommended by two separate friends) with whom I had a slight language barrier...she was Mexican...I was not. I got a blank stare and a "huh?" response. After recovering from my urge to run screaming through the plate glass window, I did my best to describe what I wanted, only to realize later, as I gave the descriptoin to my friends, that it sure sounded like I wanted a totally rockin' mullet --->

So it turns out the language barrier helped the situation...or possibly this nice stylist couldn't bring herself to admit that she did understand what I was describing - so as to save me from myself! Anyway, I must say I'm pleased with the result. It's very easy to style...almost wash and go...no blow dryer, and no curling brush. It's certainly not as short on top as I really wanted, but this is a big step for me, and this will allow me to work my way up to the actual pixie cut. But I think next time I'll go in with a picture to aid me in my description because, though I love it and all, the whole mullet thing...ain't my thing.

They keep growing and growing and...

These kids are growing so fast I have to be careful not to blink, so I figured it must be time for another update so the grandma's and the grandpa's etc. etc. can keep up with us!

Sir Snackie is my energizer bunny these days. He goes and goes and never seems to loose the wiggles. We enjoyed a slight cool down out here and started getting outside on some walks again so he's been enjoying some "cruisin' fun" on his "motorcycle." He's my biggest helper around the house - helping clean tubs and "fold" laundry, and my best helper with Baby O - always watching out for her safety and making sure she's happy. He tolerates her pulling his hair and loves it when she "hugs" him, always calling out to me, "she loves me mommy, she loves me!" His sense of humor is also developing quite well, he loves to quote, "There are no spices, where are the chips" (Nacho Libre) when I hand him his lunch, and it seems he is destined for greatness musically, "playing" his guitar and learning new songs with Bryce all the time.

Baby O is my little angel. A sweet little girl who only needs the simple things in life to make her happy (too bad some of those "simple" things are needed at odd hours of the night like 2am and 4am). She is not at all interested in any form of spoon feeding yet (she reacts to a spoon coming toward her like a pencil headed for her eye) but she is very interested in "going places." She gets around in a variety of ways, her latest skill is getting up on all fours and rocking back-and-forth then sort of face planting it - which gets her a few inches forward - then going at it again. Bryce loves to place toys just out of her reach to see her work at getting them, and of course we all cheer and chant for her as she struggles...and eventually achieves her goal! She's turning out to be a very social, smart and inquisitive little girl, happiest when there are people around to squeal at with delight, and always interested in studying new things very carefully...before chewing on them!

it's my birthday and I'll eat what I want to, eat what I want to...

...you would cry too if it happened to you. Ok...so I'm not exactly crying about all the wonderful treatment (and treats) I received for my birthday, but come scale time and I might start! This year brought a feeling of elderly-ness and a lot terrific foods, here's how it went:

• Made from scratch chocolate cupcakes with a heavenly frosting, from a friend
• Lunch with the girls at Fuddruckers (heavy on the dippin' sauces & soda mix-ins)
• Bryce's marvelous dinner of Carbonarra, Caesar salad, and fresh strawberry's & kiwi (topped with a sugar glaze of course!)
• A strawberry's and red velvet ice cream cake from Cold Stone
• A gift of "Sublime" white chocolate candies
• 2 inch thick homemade brownies with Milky Way's melted inside, from another friend

...and the scale says, "ouch, they may love you - but I sure don't! Go take a walk...or two."

thirty...one

Pictured LtoR: Shaka, Laurel(age..4?), Jar-head

This little girl aint so little anymore. Why does 31 seem soooo much older than 30?

LiFe uNsCRIpteD tAg

I was double teamed here - both Kara as well as Shaka tagged me with this one. For some reason they want to know exactly how messy I am in my every day life ;)

So here's how it works. You cannot clean, straighten, or prep. You must grab the camera and start snapping pics of specific places (it's amazing how much of a mess can be hidden simply by angling the camera one way or another). So behold...my life:

1. The kitchen sinkWe were at an art show last night, so dinner didn't happen until around 8pm...that's a pretty good excuse for dirty dishes this morning...right?

2. Fridge

3. Laundry room

not much to see here...just my 25 year old washer (note my dryer in number 5)

4. Bathrooms/toilets

it's usually not a good idea to get too close to my toilets

5. Favorite room

this is where we spend the most time, that little couch is also my favorite place to take a cat nap...whenever I can (ha ha ha)

6. Bedroom

Yes...I actually do make my bed most days. I find that doing so makes my day run smoother...go figure.

7. Closet

8. Favorite pair of shoes

I'm a super picky shoe shopper! So when I fell in love with these at first sight I knew I had to buy them. They're perfect for me.

9. My kids/hubby

10. Me

When I remembered about doing this tag I was actually standing in the bathroom doing my hair. As you can see I got a little carried away with the camera, but I was having so much fun I couldn't stop (I was actually taking pictures of myself as I made fun of myself in the mirror...the dirty, spotted, streaky mirror).