You know its a rough day when...

You are waiting in line at the bank during the lunch time rush AND the Registry of Motor Vehicles...all in the same day. To add to the fun, I had to go directly to work afterwards.

I think that both establishments have sucked some cells out of my brain, because for the life of me I can't think of anything else to say...further more, why would anyone want me to elaborate on my excursion to either one of these places? I fear it might zone you out too.

Back from hiatus

A few weeks mental break from posting all my pet peeves and whining. After losing my Mom things seem to have taken a different direction than I thought.

No worries, I will probably still complain and share my pet peeves, and I am 100% sure that I will end up having those weird random things happen to me, because they seem to happen to me more often than not. But I guess now I take it more with a sense of humor than I do with a sense of foreboding. Life is too short to be unhappy. Enjoy every minute of it I say...

Don't people have anything better to do?

I guess I can say the same thing about what Jessica Simpson went through, but Kelly Clarkson is one of my favorite people. I like her music and think she's awesome. How about you give her a break and leave her alone, sheesh!

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/stopthepresses/87112/the-buzz-log-kelly-clarkson-cover-controversy-rocks-the-web/

If you dare wear short shorts...

The infamous tag line of Nair. Well, let me say this about that:

I have never used this product. At work one day a co-worker/friend of mine goes off on a tangent about how wonderful it is, and I should try it, that I would be crazy not to.

I buckle under the pressure and buy it. I follow the directions step by step, exactly. It worked, however...I have to say that I will never use it again. I think I would prefer dowsing my legs in gasoline and lighting them on fire. I believe that is equivalent to what I felt when I used it. My experience only, maybe its just not for me? Definately not!

My review, Harry Potter

You might think I am going to review the movie, however I am not. I am not too big on giving my two cents on movies, I think everybody has a different take on a movie, what I like some people may hate. (unless you review Gigli, then I think we are all on the same page) Anywho...my review is not of the movie, but my experience at the theatre.

It was pretty obvious that since the movie had just premiered there was going to be a big crowd. We had to get there 2 hours early to get tickets, and we were able to get in the theatre an hour early. My husband did his thing, analyzing every ratio of the theatre in order to select the absolute perfect seats, dead in the center. Once he was was finished with his song and dance we were seated, happily eating our snacks, (which cost more than the damn tickets).

The place starts to fill up, and there is an empty seat on either side of my husband and I. Then, as usual, the last few stragglers come in five minutes before the lights go down. This (I am being polite) overly-generous-sized man comes in, (ok, he was a cothundra) and he wants to sit next to me. I don't judge, maybe he has a thyroid problem or something. Does that excuse the fact that he doesn't think he needs to wear deodorant? Now I'm skeeved, and to add insult to injury, this guy sits down and knocks my box of candy out of my hands, and it spills onto the floor, leaving me with 4 measly Milk Duds.

I'm fuming, my husband is doubling over in laughter (he is so sweet) and I am about to cry because my movie experience is getting ruined by this guy. (people tell me that I have a tendency to be overly-dramatic)

No apologies from my new friend...no...now he wants to talk to me. He starts asking me about the weather, and he has informed that it will be raining when we leave the theatre. I am about the thank him for officially creeping me out when my husband decides he has tortured me enough, and comes to my rescue by pretending to ask me a really important question. So the movie? Two thumbs up, four stars, yadda, yadda, that's my review and I'm sticking with it...

Half Blood Prince

The huz & I are going to the movies tonight, sans kids. We are going to see the new Harry Potter movie, and the inner dork in me is so excited, I cannot wait to go.

I haven't read any reviews, and will not talk about it with any of my friends. I don't want to have any pre-conceived notions about this one. All I can say is I REALLY hope that it is good, and will discuss when I get back. If you've seen it, I hope that you are reading this thinking to yourself that I will be pleased. Mostly I've gotten giggles and winks from my friends...not sure what that means, but what the hell...

Back from vacation!

We had a great time on vacation. The girls had fun swimming and playing with all their cousins. We hiked up a really cool trail and found a waterfall. Of course half the places we went I forgot my camera, which ticked me off. Sadly, I wasn't able to take a picture of the waterfall because when we got up there I realized the camera was sitting in the car. One hike is enough for me.

Here is one picture I did take, it is where we stayed, so pretty! I wish I were still there sitting by pool, but alas, I am here, and back to work and all that fun stuff. Fun stuff? I think not...

Happy 4th and Happy Birthday!

...to...ME!

I turned the big 3-1 on July 3rd, god help me.

I celebrated by having a wonderful dinner with family and friends, and can't thank everyone enough for coming along to enjoy my birthday. I have to share one gift, however, because its one of the best ones I received. I didn't have time to take a picture of it, so I just snagged one from google. The image is the same, but the style of the one I received is a little different. You can never get enough of Edward Cullen.

Thank you Dena!

I will be on blogging hiatus for the week, my family and I are traveling with my husband's extended family on vacation. I can't wait, it should be a wonderful time! I'll miss you all, and I'll be back in a week!

Medieval Weaponry for toddlers

I'm sorry, but when I see this....

(http://www.thelittlelasso.com/)

It makes me think of this:

Because, ultimately, that is what it would end up being used as (at least in my house)...just sayin'...

It wasn't me!

This post is work related, my advice is not to do this, unless you are feeling particularly daring, or you know you can get away with it.


Last night at work I was having one heck of a time. I worked the night shift, and that day I was running around like a mad person trying to get about a million things done before I had to leave for work. Needless to say, my brain was already fried, I had put in my shift with the girls, who seemed to know I had all this stuff to do, so they decided to make it challenging for me by being in horrible moods...my cherubs.


As soon as I got to work the trouble began. I kept making mistakes left and right, and I had to do so many reprints (I'm a photo technician/pharmacy tech, tonight I was in the photo lab) because my mind was off in the clouds. Honestly, you know what I was thinking about? Cole Hauser...yes indeed, I watched a movie with him in it this weekend and he is fine.


I'm on my deserted island with Cole, my boss comes into the photo lab and asks me what the heck is going on. First of all, I am irritated he's snapped me out of my fantasy with Cole, and secondly, he caught me off guard I had no excuse lined up, so I said the first thing that came out to my mind.


"The equipment is on the fritz, that's the problem." My boss tells me to call the company our equipment is from and trouble shoot. Oops!


Now I'm like a cat on roller skates trying to scramble for an excuse not to call and trouble shoot a system that has nothing wrong with it. My brilliant answer?


"I'll just shut it down and re-boot it, and if that doesn't work, I'll call." Phew! Nice, Kelly...my boss seemed satisfied with that.


I broke the news to Cole that he had to wait for me on that tropical paradise and give me my massage later, which he was not too happy about. I got my ass in gear and decided to actually pay attention and get my work done, before I got into some real trouble. The rest of the night was uneventful. Thank goodness for that, because Mr. Hauser was impatient for me to get back.


I guess what I'm trying to say is, when your goofing off at work, make sure you can back it up, and it sounds legit...I wasn't on my game last night.
In closing, I know this post turned out to be really long, but for those of you who don't know who Cole Hauser is and your too lazy to Google him, here he is...totally worth being irresponsible at work for? Absolutely!

Indoor Voices!

Unforeseen family issues caused my absence...sometimes its just no fun being a grown up!

Here's one:

My girls were fighting the other day over a Barbie (we only have about ten of them, and they all look the same, by they both wanted this Barbie). They are yelling and screaming at each other.

I'm pretty much already a head case, because at this particular point in time life is pretty stressful, I'm juggling work, family stuff, and these two precious cherubs.

I pipe up and shout, "Stop yelling!"

My 4 year old looks at me and says, "Momma your yelling."

Good point, probably not the best way to dissolve the situation. I know, I know, stoop down to their level, re-direct the behavior, blah, blah, blah. I was impulsive, and I yelled, my mistake, whatever. I think we're all allowed to slip up every now and then, it just pissed me off that my 4 year old called me on it. I had nothing to back it up afterwards. She is so lucky she's adorable.

On a completely separate note, today is my brother's birthday, so Happy Birthday Brad!

I accept the challenge

Have you ever tried to get a splinter out of the palm of a two year old's hand?

I compare it to this:

Wrestling small cattle combined with dismantling a bomb.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but there was only one winner in this situation, and that was me. Persistence is key...

I would totally do this...

I got nothin' today, friends...but I saw this commercial and maybe its my mood, I am not sure, I cannot stop laughing at it. The link is below, I can't figure out how to just post the entire thing, maybe someone can educate me on that, for I ride the short bus when it comes to computers.

Oh, and on a personal note, I have seen this commercial before, and I have done this to my husband because I think of it when I walk out of a store. Yeah, he doesn't like it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C7oqXewyCE

Price Check!

I found it interesting today at work when I was asked to do price changes for condoms. Most of the time my job is pretty mundane, but today I was intrigued by my task.

I get all my little papers and new price tags, and I make my way to the "Family Planning" aisle.

Two hours later....

Seriously! It took me 2 hours to change the prices, there are that many condoms out there. The variety is insane! Not only that, after spending 2 hours with a bunch of condoms, there is only one thing on your mind.

Well...ok, my mind is a filthy trip and a half anyways, so I guess I can't really argue my case. Those of you that know me get what I'm trying to say...I think? *giggle*

Get in and get out

I think I might have mentioned in passing before that I hate my car. I currently rock it in a minivan, but it has so many problems that my husband and I aren't particularly a fan of the ride.

One of the problems it has is the driver's side window does not go down. Its a power window, and the motor is broken, so its been up for about 6 months now. This is where it gets good.

I was a Sociology major in college, and I can't help but love these little social experiments. Since the window is broken, if I ever want to make use of the drive through option at a fast food place or ATM machine, I have to get out of the car and order.

Why would I do that when my window is broken and look silly you ask? Well, when you have two kids in the car, at some point, almost always, one of them falls asleep. The last thing I want to do is wake her up. Why would I ever do that? The draw to look foolish and get out of the car is still more convenient than hauling the kids out for a grand total of 5 minutes.

I've been doing this for months now, so I find it not-so-weird that I get out of the car at these places. I became used to the weird looks from the people behind me and the person at the window, until I explained to them why I was getting out of the car. However, I had a good one the other day...

I went to a drive through at a fast food place, and I ordered, then when I pulled up to the window to get my food, I got out of the car and the guy at window freaked on me. He thought I was going to rob him!

He said, "Whoa lady! What are you doing?" I explained to him that my window was broken, and I needed to open the door to get my food. He told me he thought I was going to rob him!!!

Me, little ol' me? I didn't realize that I looked like a shady character in my super cool minivan that screams total mom ride, minus the "baby on board" sticker....which by the way, I HATE...but that's for another time...

After months of amusement at seeing the look on people's faces, I am sad to report that my fun has come to an end. My husband informed me that he found an affordable motor to replace our window with, and that it will be fixed this week. It was fun while it lasted...

Happy Mother's Day!!!

To all the Mom's out there, I hope your Mother's Day is fabulous!

Sweet Dreams

Allergies have made for uncomfortable sleeping for my 4 year old as of late, and now it seems that my youngest, who is almost 2, is now having the same problem.

Last night the girls went to bed at their usual time, and she started waking up, crying, whimpering about her nose. She was congested and coughing. After getting up to tend to her for the 8th time, I just gave up and put her in bed to sleep with me, it would be easier, and I was too lazy to be getting up to go in her room all night.

I have an issue with my girls sleeping in bed with me: They drive me crazy.

My daughter gets in my bed and she is asleep, yet she's all over the place, moving non-stop. It only takes 5 minutes for me to get irritated, because I cannot sleep with the constant movement. Seriously, she's rolling all over the place, grunting, and making all these weird toddler noises. Its like some insane subconscious game of Twister she's doing.

At one point I did fall asleep, but this I remember, I had a foot in my arm pit, and she had a fist full of my hair. She was sleeping soundly, and the last few moments before I drifted off, I was glaring at her, having visions of her "accidentally" falling off the bed.

OMG! It was one of those crazy mommy moments, the ones that have been coined by some parenting author as a "mommy misdemeanor". Of course I would never push her off the bed! I was exhausted, (it was quite a day) and sometimes those thoughts pop into my mind, but only for a second!

When I saw her sleeping peacefully and not bothered by the coughing and the runny nose, she looked so darn cute, I couldn't possibly kick her out of my bed...this time at least...*wink*

Its hot, no...its cold...

I'm willing to put myself out there for the embarrassment, because I just don't know if crap like this happens to anyone else.

In my defense, I was VERY tired...exhausted, actually. My youngest was up 3 or 4 times the night before, and my 4 year old, who does sleep through the night, decided she would join in on the fun, and wake up at 1:00am, and cry for about 2 hours (allergies made for uncomfortable sleeping). So I was tired, so very tired, the next day.

The girls and I are hanging out, and as an after dinner treat, I told them we were going to have ice cream. I got a big bowl for us all to share. I stick the spoon in and scoop up a nice big glob of ice cream, and I am about to offer it to my almost-two-year-old, and what do I do? God help me, I blew on the ice cream, as if it were hot and I had to cool it off.

Now I am rather indifferent in my own right, and there have been a few times where I've referred to myself as a psycho, and quirky, but I'm not stupid. I reiterate, I was just so very tired. I realized what I was doing, so I nixed the ice cream and we all went to bed.

I figured I'd share this insane incident because I know that there are a lot of moms out there that can probably relate, and have their own candid stories of things they have done due to sleep deprivation. If not, well, then feel free to laugh at me.

No pets allowed

My 4 year seems to be the inspiration of the majority of my posts, and I think that's because she comes out with some whoppers. She has quite the imagination, and also, she's just as quirky as her mother. (thank you, genetics)

The latest is that she wants a pet. Most children ask for a dog, or a cat, but my daughter decided to tell me today that she "bought" a pet, and that it has come to live with us. This is her pet:

Yes, a gummy worm.

At work today I bought a bag of gummy worms, I thought they would be a nice treat. It turns out neither one of my girls likes the gummy worms to eat...only for pets. Does anyone know the shelf life of a gummy worm?

She is brave, for the most part

My husband & I decide we're going to attempt to take the girls to a "zoo".

In "quotes" b/c this place wasn't what I would call a zoo. More of a farmhouse with a couple of animals...and for $36, we probably could have gotten more bang for our buck some where else, but I digress...

My 4 year old is afraid of animals. Where she gets it from, I don't know. It could be that she inherited some type of weird phobia/fear from her mom, who has an inexplicable fright of birds, or maybe her mom is just a psycho? I haven't figured that one out yet, but we decide that we're going to go see all the animals. Maybe even touch one?

I am prepped for this trip, ready to haul ass out of there because my daughter is going to have a coronary when she sees what's in store for her. We get there, and this little bugger is in heaven, loving every minute of it.

We took the guided tour, and she touched and held every animal/reptile we saw. I was amazed at how brave she was, and how much she actually liked it. I was so happy I brought my camera, not only to capture the childhood memories, but for proof, this kid actually liked the animals and didn't run from the joint kicking and screaming.

(Similar to the way her mom felt when we entered the land of our feathered friends along the tour. I kept it together, I swear. I may have repressed the memory to the point where I've created an alter ego, but I survived it.)

The point to this story? The next day, after holding an alligator, a snake, a rabbit, and a chinchilla, we are outside playing, and an ant scampers up over her foot. She completely loses it and screams her head off.

Anyone that can crack the mind of a 4 year old, please, I am all ears...

Writer's block...look at this!

I haven't posted in awhile, and am suffering from a bought of writer's block.

Since the majority of the people that I know read my blog are fans of Twilight and Rob Pattinson, I will divert your attention to this, a lovely shot of Edward Cullen.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience, then again, looking at Edward Cullen might be alot more interesting than anything I have to say...

Ostriches? No thanks...

I think that by now the people that have told me they read my blog know about my affliction with birds.

I am, quite literally, terrified of them. I have absolutely no idea why, I cannot explain my phobia, or where it came from, because I just don't know. I've felt this way ever since I can remember. Anywho...on with the story.

My husband, who is absolutely sweet in his own right, suggests that tonight we watch a show about the most outrageous videos and animal attacks. I'm all aboard for this, because I love watching insane garbage like that. However...it said animal attack, not bird attack, so I settle down to watch.

What do I see? This huge friggin' ostrich attacks these people in a safari, and actually starts pecking and biting them. I'm watching this saga unfold, completely catatonic on the couch, and my husband is hooting (forgive the bird sound effect) and howling at the television, thinking this is the greatest thing he's ever seen.

I have seen an ostrich in person, not up close, because I don't trust fences or cages with any type of bird in them worth a damn, but on television, this bird was big....it was HUGE. So maybe I'm embellishing by saying HUGE, actually, no I'm not, that was a big bird, and I suggested we watch something else.

My husband, bless his heart, turns to me after the horrifying ostrich attack, and sees the look on my face. I swear I saw the light come on in the attic, he said, "Oh yeah..."

I knew it!

Today was a little overkill with the Twilight stuff, but this is the last thing, for awhile, I promise. I have Twilight on the brain because a few of my friends have gotten me hooked on the fan-fiction extravaganza and then I found this graphic. OK, enough of Edward for one day...

Can't Wait!

The movie New Moon is coming out November 20, 2009. Its still a long time away, but I was reading about it, and honestly, I'll just make any excuse I can to post a pic of Edward.

If your not a fan of the Twilight series, or think its stupid, too bad (you don't know what your missing!) I love it, and well, I just thought this pic was pretty hot.

Hamsters, new cars, and mouses, yes, mouses...

My husband and I were talking about paying off our car (which we hate, but that's another story) so I've been looking around online at cars, just for kicks, because its going to be ages before we purchase a brand spanking new car. I figure why not torture myself a little.

While I'm doing this, the commercial for Kia's new car, the Kia Soul, comes on TV. My girls literally stop what they are doing and watch this commercial, completely engrossed in it. I posted a link to view the commercial below, in case you haven't seen it.

I said, "Do you like that car?"

Emily, (who is 4) said, "I like it can we get it?"

I said, "Maybe, but not for a long time."

Her response? "Can we get the mouses (yes her version of plural for mice) too? They can come live with us."

I didn't answer that question for 2 reasons:

First of all, they are hamsters, not mice, and I didn't want to try and explain the difference between the two to a 4 year old. Second, eewww, no, they cannot come live with us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYOX5eYcViw

How dare to say I do not sparkle!

A friend of mine made fun of my screen name, Sparklemama. How dare he!

Tsk...Tsk...

I couldn't use dazzle, because that was taken, by this hottie, so take a moment to swoon, because I just really, really, really, wanted to put up a pic of Edward Cullen.

In closing, I'd like to dedicate this post to you know who, because my screen name ROCKS!!! :)

Easter or Christmas?

I'm not sure which, but of this I am certain, my girls are spoiled! Two baskets this year, the Easter Bunny also made a pit stop at my Dad's house a day early, and the baskets were re-routed to my house, along with Kung Fu Panda...

Happy Easter!

I'm taking the girls on their very first Easter egg hunt.

I got all the stuff to fill their Easter baskets last night, and I think I bought too much candy: 2 chocolate rabbits, chocolate covered peanut butter eggs, chocolate crispy eggs...2 bags of each! So yeah, I guess I was thinking some candy for them, and some candy for me.

This year we are nixing the traditional Easter dresses, my girls don't really wear dresses, never have, so why spend the money on a dress they are going to wear once, and complain the entire time? Instead they have cute matching outfits, that correspond with Easter colors. Tomorrow is dinner with the family, followed by yet another egg hunt. That one will be with the oodles of cousins the girls have, 15+ kids, today its just the 3 of us (Daddy committed to help building a stone wall today with his cousin, he's going to miss it!)

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Hug, kiss, & a squeeze

My 4 year old is so damn cute I can't stand it. During bed time she has added a routine to the final goodnight, meaning, "lights-out-go-to-bed-now".

I put her in her bed, tuck her in, and she yells, (she can't use her indoor voice) she has to yell, "Hug, kiss, and a squeeze, Mama!"

I give her a hug, a kiss, and then she wants me to squeeze her, literally squeeze her. I have no idea where this has come from, but its so cute, and she laughs like crazy when I do it. She cannot go to bed without these 3 things.

One time I forgot the squeeze, and you would have thought I told her that there was never going to be a Christmas...again...ever.

Ding! Ding!

This random thing is not something that you would think could bother a person this much, given how trivial it is. The problem I have is that it occurs on a daily basis, multiple times, and it has pushed me to a level of annoyance I never thought I was capable of.

We have a sign, a large 8x10 sigh, that says in bright red letters, "Ring Bell for Service" at work. It means exactly what it says, ring the bell, and someone will come to the counter to assist you. You can't miss the bell, its the size of a grapefruit.

My question is, why don't people ring the bell? I love the ones that come to the counter, place all their merchandise for purchase in front of the sign, and then stand there waiting impatiently for someone to come and help them.

The really depressing thing is, there have been a handful of occasions where I have seen someone go to the counter, and wait, so I will just walk over to help them. When they see me they ring the bell, and stand there staring, waiting for something to happen. Maybe they think I'm going to break into song or a jig or something. Am I missing something here?

Just ring the damn bell!

Silence is never golden when you have an almost 2 year old

She swears she didn't do it...

Showin' off my bling

I went to a jewelry party by Lia Sophia that was hosted by a friend of mine. Since I never splurge and buy anything remotely expensive for myself, I thought it was time:

When I say expensive, I don't mean that expensive, just more than $20, but less that $50. (hey, that's splurging for me!) I got some pretty earrings, and am saving up for that bracelet I really, really, want.

Two Things...

There were two things that took my by the seat of my pants today.

1) Today was a kid-free day, my girls spent Friday night and Saturday with their grandfather (god bless him!). I was able to sit down and dig into the book I'm currently reading, "Master of the Game". At first I was chipping away at this book, waiting for it to get good, as was promised to me by a good friend.

I managed to get to that point today and I could not put the darn thing down! I believe I read it for almost the entire day. This book is a great read, and I recommend it, but I am throwing it out there, its slow to start, and picks up towards the middle. Its worth the wait, believe me.

2) My husband and I put the kids to bed early, and settled ourselves down to watch the movie, "Australia".

All I can say is, "Wow."

The movie was excellent, absolutely beautiful, dramatic, and humorous, all in its own right. If you haven't seen it yet, I think you should. Not only for that, but Hugh Jackman is quite the eye candy in this flick. The muscles on this man...my goodness...

Define Irony

In my quest for a better job, more exciting career, better pay and benefits, blah, blah, blah...I posted my resume on Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com.

This morning I get an email with possible job matches, and there are over 10 of them. At least 8 of those matches were for the current position I am holding right now, at the same exact company I work for, just in different locations all over my state!

So I ask again, define irony....

A little about me...

I have been a member of Blogger since June, 2008, and it has been sitting here, pretty much stagnant since then. I finally had the time to sit myself down and look at this thing, and it was completely blank, so here we go...

I am a mom of 2 precious little girls, both of which are adventurous and exciting to be around. They are curious, creative, and can have fun for hours playing with any type of cardboard box you give them. It helps on the days when the laundry piles up or there is housework to be done.

I recently went back to work, after establishing a career as a stay-at-home-mom for about 4 years. I discovered that the theory that all moms who stay home with their children to raise them, truly, do NOT sit on the couch and eat bon bons all day. That is a myth, I can testify to that. The work is 24/7, with no vacation or sick pay, and the rewards of the job are beyond compare. I wouldn't change my decision to do so for anything, having the opportunity to spend that time with my kids in their younger years has been one of the most fulfilling things I have ever been able to do.

A new chapter of my life has begun, where I am slowly but surely joining the working world, once again, and to be honest it freaks me out a little. After 4 years of being home, it has been a bit intimidating to pick up where I left off. I am still working in retail, just for a different company, a smaller chain...baby steps...and I am happy with where I'm at right now. Of course, this is all still fairly new to me, so ask me that question again in about a year or 2, and I might have a different answer...