Three for Thursday

Things happen in 3s. Here are mine.

Here's my list of 3 things I learned from watching 1 episode of "So You Think You Can Dance."

1. People who think they can dance and can't are probably more disillusioned than people who think they can sing and can't.

2. Moving your knees back and forth really fast while wiggling your arms is not dancing. Thank you, SYTYCD, I stand corrected.

3. Never talk back to the judge. Never have your mom in the audience so that she can talk back to the judge after you talk back to the judge. Never give yourself a nickname, like T-Bone, because it will only be used to mock, probably by said judge after you have finished talking back.

Weight Loss Wednesday

Oh goodness. This was Virginia's last day. I cried. A lot. I felt silly for crying a lot. But it's all good. New counselor, new motivation. This week, Curly and I have a contest for who can lose the most weight. He will win, he's a man. I will come in a close second. But it's all in the name of fun and sticking with the program. Come back next Wednesday and see how we did.

Falling

Falling is embarassing. Mini-me falls all the time and breaks her promise. It makes her cry. On my first day in the MTC, I fell while helping my new companion, Sister Jones from Wales, carry her uber-heavy luggage down the stairs. My dress flew up. I wanted to die. She laughed at me. Nothing can quite compare, however, to falling on international television. I don't know how many people tune in to Miss Universe, but those of us who did got a treat. Poor Miss USA.

Memorial Day

I don't know what Memorial Day means to all of you, but to me, it means manual labor. Growing up in the Lee household, 3-day weekends were only good for yard work. I don't know when I first began to dread school holidays, but I know I did. I wasn't even that good at yard work. I complained, I was hot, I complained some more, I was tired, I complained one more time, and usually my dad would dismiss me in frustration. If I was lucky, all of this would happen before noon. After that experience, you wouldn't think I would make my family work in the yard on a 3-day weekend, would you? You would think that I would say "Hey! Let's all go to Kings Dominion!" But no. Todays job was to plant roses in the front. We worked our kids pretty hard, too. Patch was the foreman and Mini-me got to use a shovel. Unfortunately, the shovel bonked her head twice, so she got laid off. Maybe by Independence Day she'll be reinstated and put to work again. Those roses aren't going to weed themselves...

Photo Friday

Three for Thursday

Things happen in 3s. Here are mine.

Here is a list of 3 things I don't like about summer on the east coast (holla!).

1. Sticky clothes. The humidity makes them cling and get heavy.

2. Sticky kids. After a full day of playing and errands, my kids were gross tonight.

3. Sticky bugs. I hate bugs.

Harry Potter

Normally I discuss my weight loss on Wednesdays. With the wedding over the weekend, I didn't lose any, so instead, I'd like to discuss Harry Potter. My cousin posted a list of her favorite characters on her blog today, and it got me thinking: Is Snape good or bad? Most optimists, like Curly and Linz, view him as good. I am a realist (not a pessimist...), so I think he's still bad. Only time will tell. Time, and nearly 1,000 pages...While I like to speculate on what will happen, I don't like to know ahead of time. It ruins the book for me. JK Rowling has a great statement about that on her site.

I haven't even ordered the book yet. I am still trying to decide which midnight party to join. For the last book, we were in Cape Cod on a family reunion. Curly and I left the kids with his sister (they all slept) and we drove around until we found a bookstore. There was a bookstore next to the hotel, but she hadn't ordered any of copies of the book. So, we drove around until we found a mall that had a Barnes and Noble in it. I think it was the only mall and the only Barnes and Noble on Cape Cod...This year, however, with 3 different parties to choose from, there will be no driving around at 11:45, desperately searching for the book. However, there may be a fight as to who gets to read it first.

My Son, the Thief

This morning, I spent some quality time at the store that quite frankly is what makes America great: The Wal-Mart Supercenter. Where else can you get some green beans and a flat-screen plasma tv, all at the low Wal-Mart price? It was a happy day when the supercenter opened it's doors, not even a year ago. Before Frederick got one (a supercenter), I drove to Hagerstown, or even Charlestown, WV, to get the goods. The supercenter really can save you money, but only if you stick to the list. Otherwise, you can wander for hours and come home with a bunch of stuff you don't really need. Today, I stuck to my list and got my two-weeks worth of groceries for our family for under $100. Not too shabby. Unfortunately, Patch didn't know Wal-Mart is a steal. He thought you went there to steal. I came home, took him out of his infant seat (which he rode in while I shopped, since he fell asleep on arrival, but then woke up in the produce aisle), and found a shoplifted package of baby sweet potatoes. Oh dear. Please don't call the cops. I promise I will go back and pay the cashier 98 cents. He felt a little sheepish and went to sleep from shame. I hope this doesn't go on his permanent record.

Lesson Learned

This past weekend, as we travelled to SLC for Melden's wedding, we learned a valuable lesson. Always keep a list. I did really well packing up. I made a list. Then I packed the car. I made no list. I forgot the hanging bag, and didn't remember it until en route (late) to the airport. Did I learn my lesson then? Not so much. On the day of the wedding, I walked out of the hotel room without my quilts that I was presenting to Melden at the reception. Again, I didn't learn my lesson because I also walked out of the reception without my purse. On the way home, we got all the way to Baltimore without forgetting a thing. We got to the remote parking lot and realized we had forgotten the car seat back at the arrival area. From now on, I am making a list and checking it thrice.

Say What?

I have to say, I am shocked by the American Idol results show. First of all, Elliot Yamin has teeth? And hair? If he had these last season, he probably would have one.

Secondly, Melinda. Melinda, Melinda, Melinda. How could she get voted off? Seriously. HOW??? She was the best one in the competition. I was all set for a Melinda/Blake showdown. You know, traditional vocals vs. modern beat boxing. It would have been amazing. But now, we have awesome Blake vs. Jordin. High school girl Jordin. Curly loves Jordin. I love Blake. Whoever controls the phone Tuesday night gets to vote for her favorite. Or his. But it will be hers. Good luck to Blake and Jordin; the best one was already voted off.

We head out this afternoon to Melden's wedding. I am not looking forward to the trip. I feel a little panicky inside when I think about it. I am looking forward to the wedding. Maybe if everyone could just come here for the wedding, that would be great. I make a great cake. No? Are you sure? In that case, does anyone have any anti-anxiety pills?

Weight Loss Wednesday

Despite my best efforts this week, I didn't lose a single ounce. Curly, in the past few days, has lost 4 pounds. Men.

What's on tap for the rest of the day? Packing and cleaning. Our flight leaves tomorrow afternoon at about 5, so I still have some time in the morning to get a few things done. That time will speed by quickly, so I want to have it done by close of business today ;)

The Day After

I tried to post yesterday. I really did. I came down to the computer and tried to write about mothers. And Mother's Day. It really didn't come out right. I love being a mom. I love staying at home. When I wrote about it, I sounded like I didn't like it. Huh. I really do. Really. Do. I even like being a stepmom. I am very comfortable with my role. I'm even comfortable with The Ex. We had some good chats on Saturday. She even wished me a Happy Mother's Day. She's never done that before.

In our house, we refer to the holiday as "Freakin' Mother's Day." That's because, in years past, the holiday seemed to implode around us. From floods to forgetting to locking keys in the car, it hasn't been a successful day. Refusing to accept another Freakin' Mother's Day, I took matters into my own hands. I went shopping for a few things I knew I wanted: two books (Nineteen Minutes and the new Elm Creek Quilts book), some fabric for a new quilt and the pattern, and a couple of pink screw drivers found on ebay. Saturday afternoon, I displayed the items on the bed, added some ribbon, scissors, and wrapping paper and opened Mommy's Store. I acted very surprised when I opened the gifts, because Mini-me and Patch didn't know I had bought them for myself. Mini-me was so excited to give me the screwdrivers. Curly even surprised me with a little something. He is going to join me for Jenny. It's so much easier to do it together. Watch out family, we are going to be hot in Sun Valley this summer.

Hope you had a Happy Freakin' Mother's Day. I sure did.

My Man Mitt

Last night as I quilted until my eyes crossed, I listened to all the hub-bub surrounding the Reverend Al Sharpton's comments about Mormons. In case you haven't heard, or don't want to go to the link, he basically said that Mormon's don't really believe in God. The Reverend is an idiot. He has never had credibility in my book. The man is one big walking contradiction.

But I digress. This post is not about him. I don't want to talk about contradictions in this country, like how you can't say "I would never vote for a black man," but you can say "I would never vote for a Mormon." I don't want to talk about horrible documentaries on my faith, which are so terribly one sided and happen to air at the beginning of election season with a member of my faith running for President (thanks, government sponsored tv). No, I don't want to talk about that.

Today, the CSDQ wants to publicly endorse a candidate. I am throwing all my political and popular clout behind Mitt Romney. I don't like him just because he's a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don't like him just because he's good looking, or even just because he's a republican. I like him because he actually makes sense. I like his stance on stem-cell research. I like his track record as a governor, how he was able to turn a deficit into a surplus without raising taxes. This Tuesday I hope to hold a party in his honor while watching the debates. I hope Curly will let me. I hope you'll join us, and donate a buck or two to help this great man get the Republican nomination, and then the Presidency.

The Molly Patch

Here's my official logo. Thanks to my friend Kim at Yellow Brick Road Designs. My website isn't up and running fully yet, but look for it soon. Also, I have been looking for a place to make labels for me, and I stumbled upon this site. They are sending me samples as we speak. The Molly Patch is officially open for business!

Weight Loss Wednesday

Who cares what the scale says today, I put on a pair of shorts in a smaller size last night. Woohoo! The dress I got for Melden's wedding is still iffy, but at least I can be casual in a more sassy size.

Surprise!

Right after opening this itunes gift card and snapping this picture, Flower said "What is it?"

Doing it for Themselves

There's been something on my mind for the past week or so. I thought I would get it out here. When do we let kids do things for themselves? I'll give some examples here so you can know what I'm talking about.

Flower just turned 8. She's small for her age, but she's still 8. Curly and her mom want her to hold hands while crossing the street. I think she could probably do without that, as long as she had someone close by her. We live on a busy street, and I don't want anyone under the age of 12 crossing alone. Is she old enough to drop the hands, or should we still have her do that? When is she old enough to go it alone?

Mini-me likes me to help her go potty. She can do it on her own, but she doesn't like to. At one point do I let her wet her pants until she just does it on her own?

Patch still can't drink from a cup. Shocking, I know. I've had very well meaning parents give me tips and hints to get him using a sippy cup. Never mind that I have 2 older girls who somehow managed to drink from a cup. He's only 9 months. He doesn't feed himself yet. I still hold his spoon. He can feed himself crackers and peas and things like that, but he doesn't maneuver a spoon. Am I stunting growth?

Am I holding my kids back? I sure hope not. I think a lot of kids are made into mini adults too soon. I don't want them having myspace pages or cell phones. I want them to be little kids. I know someday I'm going to have to let go, and let them do it on their own, but for now, they're just my kids.

Photo Friday

Photo Friday

Three for Thursday

Things happen in 3s. Here are mine.

When I first met Curly, his little girl was turning 3. This weekend she turns 8. Here is my list of 3 things I love most about Flower.

1. Her love of all people. She is everyone's friend. She doesn't think anyone in her class is weird, even the weird ones.

2. Her love of God. I don't know if it's a function of going to a Christian school, or if that is how she is naturally. Either way, she loves to "let Jesus into my heart."

3. Her creativity. That girl can draw and imagine and sing and dance and craft like it's nobody's business. I think she gets that from my side of the family.

Frederick Finds

I have been to several new places in the past week, along with my new house-frau sidekick, Rebeccah. Saturday when we were downtown for a stroll and some lunch, we went into Two Paws Up, the pet supply store. It has everything you need for a dog or cat. They had chew toys that promised to be "virtually indestructable." Gracie eats all of her toys, so I decided to give these a try. Not only has she been unable to eat them, they also release a pleasant, minty smell when chewed. That feature benefits the entire family. They also had a wide selection of treats. I picked up a few and have used them to teach Gracie to sit. Frederick is definitely a dog town. People have their dogs everywhere. In fact, when we have Patch and Gracie somewhere together, people don't even notice Patch. It's a great store, and a very entertaining website, featuring a pin-up of the month. Hubba hubba. So come on up to Frederick, bring your dog, and eat on the patio of Brewer's Alley. It's totally allowed.