I've been horribly negligent about updating my blog, but I haven't really felt like I've had all that much to share. There certainly isn't anything witty to write about and in any case my witticism died many years ago along with my creativity. Nonetheless, I feel the need to do a little writing and maybe just a little venting.
On Monday Mailee had her preschool Christmas concert. She goes to Bethel Baptist preschool on 291. It's a nice preschool, a little religious, of course, but not overly Baptisty and we really like it. She routinely brings home nativity pictures and sheets that say "God created Heaven and Earth," and the Bible verse for the month but she hasn't brought home any crosses, so its actually pretty nice. Anyway, the concert was awesome. It lasted for maybe 20 minutes, which is the perfect length for kids that age and it was only weird when they sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Then yesterday they had their "Jesus Birthday Party" at school. She came home with a lot of stuff, including a slide whistle that says "Happy Birthday Jesus" on it and a jingle bell bracelet that says "Jingle for Jesus." I kid you not. Protestants are weird.
Not that our own ward doesn't get a little protestanty from time to time. They always want Mark to sing in church, which is great, but it is rarely just a straight up song from the hymn book, which bothers him because he prefers hymns. For the Christmas Sacrament Program they were trying to get approval from the stake for Mark to sing and play his classical guitar which he was a little uncomfortable with, but what can he do. Approval did not come through so now he is just singing (thankfully). Now lets just hope it is a nice song from the hymnbook and not a more protestant Christmas song like "Shepherd Boy" or "Mary did you know?" Not that there is anything wrong with that.
In other news, I'm pregnant (like any of you could forget) and I hate it. I complain enough that I don't think anyone could ever forget. I am enormously grateful to be pregnant, I just don't like it. I also feel so tricked. My pregnancy with Brick wasn't the greatest( I had those stomach muscle problems towards the end and then the slight preclampsia), but energy wise I felt like it was just fine. Then I spent the last two years eating right and exercising all in preparation for the next pregnancy. I figured if I really got healthy and strong the next pregnancy would be so much easier. Plus I lost all my extra weight. I had really high hopes. So I got pregnant. The first trimester was hard because I was nauseous and tired and then I thought it would get better. Well, now I'm not nauseous anymore, but I just don't have any energy. It's like my fibromyalgia has come back full strength. Walking across the house wears me out and forget shopping. The baby is already so heavy and I can feel the stress on my muscles. I'm completely useless to my family. Mark has to do literally everything when he gets home and he is so tired. I'm just wondering when it will end and I will be able to pull my weight again. I'm sorry to complain. It is just so emotionally overwhelming. I don't do well mentally when I don't feel well.
Anyway, that is the latest for us.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
My Son is Smart
Today is kind of a lazy day. It is cold and wet outside and Brick is congested so we are staying in. I'm trying to catch up on my internet stuff and teach Mailee to sew with a needle and thread. A pretty relaxed day.
Well, I was laying on the couch downstairs reading my book while Mailee sewed, when Brick came up and handed me two trains. "Stay there," he said, and walked off. "Ok. I'll stay here," I said. I thought he wanted me to watch his trains while he went to find more.
A minute later I heard a rustling noise. I sat up and looked into the kitchen and there was Brick with his hand in the Splenda bag! Smart little thing had handed me his trains to distract me while he went for the good stuff! All I could really do was laugh and clean up the mess.
It's when they do stuff like that that I'm reminded of how special they are. It make me love them more. Now, if Mailee had done the same thing I'm not sure I would have found it so funny, but there is a big difference between a two year old tricking you and a 4 and a half year old doing it. In any case, I do love my kids.
Well, I was laying on the couch downstairs reading my book while Mailee sewed, when Brick came up and handed me two trains. "Stay there," he said, and walked off. "Ok. I'll stay here," I said. I thought he wanted me to watch his trains while he went to find more.
A minute later I heard a rustling noise. I sat up and looked into the kitchen and there was Brick with his hand in the Splenda bag! Smart little thing had handed me his trains to distract me while he went for the good stuff! All I could really do was laugh and clean up the mess.
It's when they do stuff like that that I'm reminded of how special they are. It make me love them more. Now, if Mailee had done the same thing I'm not sure I would have found it so funny, but there is a big difference between a two year old tricking you and a 4 and a half year old doing it. In any case, I do love my kids.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Nobel Joke
I got up this morning and poured cereal for the kids then sat down in front of the computer with my own bowl to read Fark and catch up on the world "not news." Imagine my surprise and HORROR when I read that Obama has been awarded the Nobel Prize! For what, I ask. For his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Are you freaking kidding me? I do this everyday when I pull my kids off each other and admonish them to be nice to each other and their friends. I absolutely cannot believe this sack of crap has been given the Nobel prize for incessantly running his gaping hole of a mouth.
The prize committee admits that they gave him the award in hopes that it would encourage him to achieve peace in the Middle East. Again, are you kidding me? Those people have been fighting for thousands of years. I seriously doubt an over-privileged socialist with a horse for a wife is going to achieve what millions of men have struggled for over the centuries. Again, I would like to mention that he has of yet accomplished nothing except for being adept with rhetoric.
The deadline to submit the nominations for the prize was February 1st, not even two weeks after Obama went into office. The committee began accepting nominations back in September of 08. This is completely absurd. The man had done NOTHING when he was nominated.
I think most will agree with me when I say this was the most undeserved award ever awarded. Except maybe for Taylor Swift's VMA because Beyonce had the best video of all time. All time.
The prize committee admits that they gave him the award in hopes that it would encourage him to achieve peace in the Middle East. Again, are you kidding me? Those people have been fighting for thousands of years. I seriously doubt an over-privileged socialist with a horse for a wife is going to achieve what millions of men have struggled for over the centuries. Again, I would like to mention that he has of yet accomplished nothing except for being adept with rhetoric.
The deadline to submit the nominations for the prize was February 1st, not even two weeks after Obama went into office. The committee began accepting nominations back in September of 08. This is completely absurd. The man had done NOTHING when he was nominated.
I think most will agree with me when I say this was the most undeserved award ever awarded. Except maybe for Taylor Swift's VMA because Beyonce had the best video of all time. All time.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Disney is responsible for PETA
Since the kids woke me up before the crack of dawn this morning and I needed to calm my rage, we are watching "Finding Nemo" while I blog. During the scene where they go to the Sharks Anonymous meeting I came to the conclusion that Disney should be held responsible for all the bleeding hearts out there who refuse to eat meat.
Disney takes animals, who in all actuality probably aren't that smart or self aware and gives them human personalities and traits. After 90 minutes of watching this we all get caught up in the poor animal and it's struggle to survive while evil humans everywhere are plotting to destroy it.
Case in point: "Finding Nemo." This has PETA written all over it. First of all, we are supposed to believe that fish live in little families and go to school and purchase real estate. Secondly, we are supposed to buy that it is in any way feasible that a group of sharks would decide to stop eating fish out of some kind of awareness that fish have thoughts and feelings and lives. 1. No they don't, and 2. what else are sharks supposed to eat? Thirdly, the evil human diver takes the fish away from his family and his environment thereby causing heartache. Again, it is a FISH! Some wacko scientists out there (http://www.fishinghurts.com/feat-hiddenfish.asp cut and paste it, okay) say that fish are highly intelligent and that they work well with others, but I just don't think that means they sit around all day analyzing their feelings. I mean, if you put certain ones in a tank with any others they start eating their tank mates!
Second case: "Bambi" PETA strikes again. I don't actually care too much for Bambi. I don't know why. Once again we have to watch a bunch of animals frolicking around and being human like. Then the big bad evil hunter who just likes to watch things bleed shoots Bambi's mom for no good reason. It certainly couldn't have been because he and his family were hungry! Now I feel bad because Bambi is an orphan and because I had a hamburger last night (which I know isn't deer meat, but that's not the point). I'm personally convinced that Bambi is responsible for all people who are vegetarians.
This applies to nearly all Disney movies. Even the ones with human main characters follow the formula of giving said human an animal sidekick who acts human. Examples: Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White. And what is the result of all this personification of animals. No kid, after realizing that he is actually eating one of Nemo's friends will ever eat fish again. And they are FISH!
Mission accomplished, PETA.
Disney takes animals, who in all actuality probably aren't that smart or self aware and gives them human personalities and traits. After 90 minutes of watching this we all get caught up in the poor animal and it's struggle to survive while evil humans everywhere are plotting to destroy it.
Case in point: "Finding Nemo." This has PETA written all over it. First of all, we are supposed to believe that fish live in little families and go to school and purchase real estate. Secondly, we are supposed to buy that it is in any way feasible that a group of sharks would decide to stop eating fish out of some kind of awareness that fish have thoughts and feelings and lives. 1. No they don't, and 2. what else are sharks supposed to eat? Thirdly, the evil human diver takes the fish away from his family and his environment thereby causing heartache. Again, it is a FISH! Some wacko scientists out there (http://www.fishinghurts.com/feat-hiddenfish.asp cut and paste it, okay) say that fish are highly intelligent and that they work well with others, but I just don't think that means they sit around all day analyzing their feelings. I mean, if you put certain ones in a tank with any others they start eating their tank mates!
Second case: "Bambi" PETA strikes again. I don't actually care too much for Bambi. I don't know why. Once again we have to watch a bunch of animals frolicking around and being human like. Then the big bad evil hunter who just likes to watch things bleed shoots Bambi's mom for no good reason. It certainly couldn't have been because he and his family were hungry! Now I feel bad because Bambi is an orphan and because I had a hamburger last night (which I know isn't deer meat, but that's not the point). I'm personally convinced that Bambi is responsible for all people who are vegetarians.
This applies to nearly all Disney movies. Even the ones with human main characters follow the formula of giving said human an animal sidekick who acts human. Examples: Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White. And what is the result of all this personification of animals. No kid, after realizing that he is actually eating one of Nemo's friends will ever eat fish again. And they are FISH!
Mission accomplished, PETA.
Mommy Drinks Because of You!
Korynn and I were talking about this the other day after Glenn Beck said it and it is so true.
I don't consider myself a bad person. At least, people keep telling me I'm not a bad person. I try really hard to be a good mom. I love my kids. I want them to be happy. I worry constantly about whether or not I am damaging them psychologically. I really really try.
So, that's why when the kids climbed into my bed at 6:30 this morning and started wrestling I wondered if I was being tested or just punished. If I was being tested I think I failed. No one got beat (yet) so that's good, but I wonder if they will ever recover from the psychological damage inflicted after being told that they were going to have the worst day ever for waking me up.
If I am being punished, I wonder what for. Is it for spanking Mailee yesterday after she woke Brick up early from his nap. I think she totally deserved that.
If I am being tested, then why the constant tests? One of these days I am going to fail miserably and completely destroy the childrens' psyches and then I will really be punished, presumably by never being allowed to sleep again. In any case, I've already popped open a Dr. Pepper, cause you know, that's why mommy drinks.
I don't consider myself a bad person. At least, people keep telling me I'm not a bad person. I try really hard to be a good mom. I love my kids. I want them to be happy. I worry constantly about whether or not I am damaging them psychologically. I really really try.
So, that's why when the kids climbed into my bed at 6:30 this morning and started wrestling I wondered if I was being tested or just punished. If I was being tested I think I failed. No one got beat (yet) so that's good, but I wonder if they will ever recover from the psychological damage inflicted after being told that they were going to have the worst day ever for waking me up.
If I am being punished, I wonder what for. Is it for spanking Mailee yesterday after she woke Brick up early from his nap. I think she totally deserved that.
If I am being tested, then why the constant tests? One of these days I am going to fail miserably and completely destroy the childrens' psyches and then I will really be punished, presumably by never being allowed to sleep again. In any case, I've already popped open a Dr. Pepper, cause you know, that's why mommy drinks.
Monday, August 17, 2009
"Knowing." Dumbest. Movie. Ever.
Mark and I did the redbox thing the other night for the first time and we picked up "Knowing." I knew this was risky since half of Nicholas Cage's movies are good and the other half make starving children in Africa weep at their awfulness. Nonetheless, we got it and settled in for a nice evening of movie watching.
SPOILER ALERT (although, really, if any of you go see this movie after I finish telling you how awful it is than I am going to have to punch you in the face):
The movie starts out in 1959 at an elementary school dedication. This creepy little girl named Lucinda comes up with the idea to bury a time capsule and all the children are supposed to draw a picture of what they think the future will look like. Instead of drawing a picture, Lucinda covers a page with a sequence of numbers and the teacher has to take the page away from her before she is finished. Then Lucinda gets lost and the teacher finds her in a closet at the school scratching numbers on the back of the door. So far so good.
Fast forward 50 years and Nic Cage's kid gets Lucinda's page when they open the time capsule and he starts hearing people whispering. Kinda creepy. Nic Cage is conveniently an astrophysicist who teaches at MIT and doesn't believe that anything happens for a reason. He thinks everything is random, and conveniently, does not believe in God. Also, conveniently, his father is a pastor and they are estranged. He figures out the numbers are dates of a disaster, number of people killed and latitude and longitude of said disaster. There are only 3 disasters left.
He spends the next half hour trying to stop the disasters and it is actually pretty cool. A plane crashes and people stumble around on fire screaming. A train derails and we get to watch it crush a hundred people. Very entertaining. It seems like the rest of the movie will be fairly promising. Nic's son keeps being visited by these creepy guys dressed in black and he starts having visions of things on fire. Cool, right. So wrong.
Turns out, the last date on the list is the end of the world and everyone is going to die. The sun is going to vaporize everything. They start talking about Bible prophesies and Ezekial. Here it starts to get less cool. 1. Nobody knows when the end of the world will be. 2. Isn't this a little convenient since Nic Cage's character doesn't believe in God.
The rest of the movie consists of Nic Cage and this woman he picked up (cause you have to have a love interest even if they don't get to any loving) trying to figure out where they can go to escape the burning of the earth. In the end he gets his son and her daughter to this place that is supposed to be safe and the men dressed in black show up. Here is where it gets really stupid. The creepy guys are aliens. Not angels. Not demons. Not the four horseman of the Apocalypse. Aliens. They take the two kids up in their space ship and deposit them on a new world along with a pair of bunnies so they can start all over. Nic Cage and the rest of the world, including his pastor father are incinerated by the rays of the sun.
Now I want my dollar and the last two hours of my life back.
Peace. 90210 is on and Brandon and Donna are just about to blow the whistle on a sweatshop Steve's father is involved with!
SPOILER ALERT (although, really, if any of you go see this movie after I finish telling you how awful it is than I am going to have to punch you in the face):
The movie starts out in 1959 at an elementary school dedication. This creepy little girl named Lucinda comes up with the idea to bury a time capsule and all the children are supposed to draw a picture of what they think the future will look like. Instead of drawing a picture, Lucinda covers a page with a sequence of numbers and the teacher has to take the page away from her before she is finished. Then Lucinda gets lost and the teacher finds her in a closet at the school scratching numbers on the back of the door. So far so good.
Fast forward 50 years and Nic Cage's kid gets Lucinda's page when they open the time capsule and he starts hearing people whispering. Kinda creepy. Nic Cage is conveniently an astrophysicist who teaches at MIT and doesn't believe that anything happens for a reason. He thinks everything is random, and conveniently, does not believe in God. Also, conveniently, his father is a pastor and they are estranged. He figures out the numbers are dates of a disaster, number of people killed and latitude and longitude of said disaster. There are only 3 disasters left.
He spends the next half hour trying to stop the disasters and it is actually pretty cool. A plane crashes and people stumble around on fire screaming. A train derails and we get to watch it crush a hundred people. Very entertaining. It seems like the rest of the movie will be fairly promising. Nic's son keeps being visited by these creepy guys dressed in black and he starts having visions of things on fire. Cool, right. So wrong.
Turns out, the last date on the list is the end of the world and everyone is going to die. The sun is going to vaporize everything. They start talking about Bible prophesies and Ezekial. Here it starts to get less cool. 1. Nobody knows when the end of the world will be. 2. Isn't this a little convenient since Nic Cage's character doesn't believe in God.
The rest of the movie consists of Nic Cage and this woman he picked up (cause you have to have a love interest even if they don't get to any loving) trying to figure out where they can go to escape the burning of the earth. In the end he gets his son and her daughter to this place that is supposed to be safe and the men dressed in black show up. Here is where it gets really stupid. The creepy guys are aliens. Not angels. Not demons. Not the four horseman of the Apocalypse. Aliens. They take the two kids up in their space ship and deposit them on a new world along with a pair of bunnies so they can start all over. Nic Cage and the rest of the world, including his pastor father are incinerated by the rays of the sun.
Now I want my dollar and the last two hours of my life back.
Peace. 90210 is on and Brandon and Donna are just about to blow the whistle on a sweatshop Steve's father is involved with!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
An Open Letter
Dear Cyclists on Necessary and RD Mize Rds,
I've been searching my soul for awhile and I have come to a decision. I hate you. I hate your shiny little outfits that you zip half way down in front so I can see your sweaty chests. I hate your tight shiny pants (to be fair, some of you actually have nice legs, but some of you should not be wearing them). I hate your helmets with rear view mirror attached, your built in fanny packs and your fancy bicycles. But most of all, I hate that you insist on riding in packs of twenty down a two lane road with no shoulder.
You are always making me late for ballet as I am forced to crawl behind you at 15 miles per hour until I can safely pass you. I think I hate you more than that idiot who drives the Smartcar and refuses to accelerate past 25. I hate the smug looks you give me as you cycle by, secure in the belief that you have reduced your carbon footprint by parking your car at the Methodist church and cycling to the hallowed ground of Casey's General Store where your friends will give you a lift back to your SUV. If you are exceptionally self-righteous you will cycle all the way to the new golf course and the Blue Springs city limit. You look at me with disdain in your eyes, but I would like to see you transport 65 lbs worth of children with just your bicycle.
Bravo! Your recreational cycling is saving the fragile environment while I drive by glibly in my gas guzzling earth killer. Good for you! Your $1000 hobby puts the hardcore hippies of San Francisco to shame. You should all be given medals for your selfless examples.
You may be training for some sort of marathon, but you would not dream of cycling down the fine gravel path of the 11 mile Little Blue Trace. That would be an insult to the great sport of cycling.
In short, I hate you. I've tried to be civil and share the road with you, but after 12 months of co-existing with you I have had enough. Please DIAF, or at least find a road with a bike path to cycle on.
Sincerely,
Merilee
I've been searching my soul for awhile and I have come to a decision. I hate you. I hate your shiny little outfits that you zip half way down in front so I can see your sweaty chests. I hate your tight shiny pants (to be fair, some of you actually have nice legs, but some of you should not be wearing them). I hate your helmets with rear view mirror attached, your built in fanny packs and your fancy bicycles. But most of all, I hate that you insist on riding in packs of twenty down a two lane road with no shoulder.
You are always making me late for ballet as I am forced to crawl behind you at 15 miles per hour until I can safely pass you. I think I hate you more than that idiot who drives the Smartcar and refuses to accelerate past 25. I hate the smug looks you give me as you cycle by, secure in the belief that you have reduced your carbon footprint by parking your car at the Methodist church and cycling to the hallowed ground of Casey's General Store where your friends will give you a lift back to your SUV. If you are exceptionally self-righteous you will cycle all the way to the new golf course and the Blue Springs city limit. You look at me with disdain in your eyes, but I would like to see you transport 65 lbs worth of children with just your bicycle.
Bravo! Your recreational cycling is saving the fragile environment while I drive by glibly in my gas guzzling earth killer. Good for you! Your $1000 hobby puts the hardcore hippies of San Francisco to shame. You should all be given medals for your selfless examples.
You may be training for some sort of marathon, but you would not dream of cycling down the fine gravel path of the 11 mile Little Blue Trace. That would be an insult to the great sport of cycling.
In short, I hate you. I've tried to be civil and share the road with you, but after 12 months of co-existing with you I have had enough. Please DIAF, or at least find a road with a bike path to cycle on.
Sincerely,
Merilee
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