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...