Makeup

I told Ashley that I would give her some info about my makeup, Everyday Minerals, and I thought I'd just stick it on here for all to see.

Anyway, my mother in law was using Bare Minerals and wanted me to try it, so she bought me the starter kit at Ulta last year. I loved the idea and was super excited.

Although I love the products, turns out I am not able to wear their foundation. It really causes me to itch, and I have since learned that it contains bismuth and some people are sensitive to that.

I also thought that the blush colors included in the kit (warmth and glee) were a bit dark for me. I did love the Mineral Veil.

Being a Bargain Momma, I frequent the BBC bargain board and read about Everyday Minerals, which costs a fraction of the price of BE. They even offer a sample kit with 3 foundations, one concealer, and one blush for about $4, which is for the shipping.

I was instantly hooked. Now, I still love some of the Bare Minerals products, I just can't wear their foundation.

So here's my EDM routine:

1. Apply EDM Tinted Silk Dust as a primer, using BE foundation brush from original kit
2. Apply EDM Golden Fair Matte foundation using BE's full flawless face brush.
3. Apply EDM Finishing Dust (identical to BE's Mineral Veil) with EDM powder brush
4. Apply blush (I have various blushes and I like BE and EDM equally)
5. Apply eye makeup (various- EDM and BE and Clinique)

So here's my suggestions:

Order a sample kit from the Custom Kits page. First decide what formula you want. I went with matte since I tend to have oily skin. Then, decide on the colors you want to try. This color guide is kinda hidden on their site, but I think it's very helpful. I'd been wearing Fawn, but I recently decided it was too yellow, so I switched to Golden Fair and it's a perfect match.

I don't use concealer, so I'm not much help on what to pick there. As for the blush, the sort of hidden blush color guide is helpful too. I like Plum Dust, Soft Touch, and Nick Nack.

Anyway, once you've figured out your shades, the kits are the way to go. You can get 6 full sized products (including brushes) for the insane price of $32. Crazy cheap!

Let me know if you have questions. I've ordered from them a million times and have always been happy. And at their prices, you can experiment.

Dear Dora,

There's something we need to chat about. To me, you ought to be a wholesome show, full of fun, lighthearted stories that kids can enjoy, and oh, bonus, learn some Spanish too!

But my Tivo has picked up some epis that don't quite fit that mold. What's up with "Dora and the Missing Babies" and "Dora and the Missing Puppies"? You are scaring the hell out of The Politician, and I'm even having to pre-screen your show because sometime the titles don't sufficiently warn me about the scary content. One epi had an innocent title, but when I looked at the description, there was "a mean man" so that had to be deleted too.

Just yesterday, P left the room in tears when the dog catcher was taking all the dogs in the missing puppies epi, and missing babies? Seriously? Are you guys running out of ideas?

Also, Swiper is a bit too menacing sometimes. Tone that down too while you're at it.

Your friend,

That Was Not Fun

Back from the Urgent Care Center, where I took WC after daycare called me at 10:15 am suspecting she had pink eye. I knew she had a pretty bad cold, but wasn't sure about the pink eye part.

So an hour and a half of chasing her around the waiting room (Don't touch that baby! Stay away from that trash can! Come back here!) I find out she does in fact have an eye infection (caused by the cold) and an ear infection to boot. Who knew? Seriously, how many other kids never get fevers???? (Jinxing it, I know.)

Just put her down for a nap because I got tired of her spitting on me because the eye drops royally pissed her off. Yeah, yeah, sucks to be 2.

Big Ole Messy Mess

So I pretty much let my kids have the run of the house (shut up, you do it too). I figure everything is pretty much child-proofed and we've even tethered their furniture to the walls in their room so it can't come crashing down on them. I think it's all because The Politician was pretty much a dream child. Not a climber, not an explorer, not too big into making messes.

But oh, my, have things changed.

If I just look away for 10 seconds, something like this happens.

The Wild Child opened up the pantry (hindsight: I should not have had Mr. Sasha WD-40 the pantry door hinges because now I can't hear when the pantry is opened), got out a relatively new box of Fruity Cheerios, made herself at home on the sofa inside a pop-up toy chest, and promptly emptied the entire box into the toy chest.

I will admit to putting the cereal back in the box to serve later. (You know you'd do that too.)

Yet Another Red-Light Food

Well, that settles it. I have to stop grocery shopping. Because I am super-good at finding new stuff to try, and these Cinnamon Sun Chips jumped in my cart last week. And I just ate half a bag. At one time. After getting off the treadmill.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

Did you ever eat at Taco Tico? They had these awesome Cinnamon Crispitos (or something like that- give me a break, it's been 20+ years since they closed) and these chips taste identical! Please don't get mad at me, but I need someone to share this sickness with me.

I'm so sorry.

Minivan Monograms

Several people have asked about the car monograms. Mine was made by a friend, but Clemsongirl said she purchased her here.

Get one and be cool like us!

The Box on the Front Porch

So yesterday when I got home, I saw that there was a box on the front porch. I thought maybe it was my shoe order from Target.

It was not.

It was a box with the words "Magic Circle" on the side in big letters, addressed to Mr. Sasha.

And the return address was from Stamina Products.

You can see where my mind went.

I was thinking, now, this isn't very discreet packaging. And also, if Mr. Sasha did order such products, should I be concerned that I didn't know about said product order?

Turns out it was a new electrical panel for his broken elliptical. Nutty packaging and store name, but I suppose no one ask me.

How Cool Am I?

The Fan (Family Van) is now suitably pimped out (and quite dirty from the recent snow). Thanks Kate! I asked Mr. Sasha if he wanted one for the Accord, and he said no thanks. Party pooper! I think I'm actually the first in my town to get one of these, so I am super-cool and everyone is going to want to be like me. Or else make fun of me, it's still a toss-up. But I don't care- I love it!

We also appear to let our kids drive tricycles around the house. Actually, this was right after Mr. Sasha got it put together a second time since I had to take it home because I found it on the playground not working properly. The kiddos were just giving it a test drive to make sure it was correctly assembled before we took it back to the school.

And also, I am raising a chocoholic. Maybe it's because I kept it away from her until age 2, but WC loves her some chocolate.

Alas, year-end journal entries await. Hope I can get it all done and be back to post soon!

Plea for More Time

Does anyone have an extra 4 hours a day lying around somewhere? I could really use it...

My laundry is piling up, I have been blindly paying my credit card bills with no regard to actually verifying the charges on there (so NOT CPA-like), my kids have had chicken nuggets from the freezer 5 night in a row for dinner, I have 5 million shirts in the Fan that need to go to the cleaners, we need milk, I need some more Afrin (shut up), and by God, I really just need some "me" time.

A new Sophie Kinsella book is coming out soon, so I've really got to figure this out soon. I can't tell you the last book I read that was not related to raising children or didn't contain colorful pictures.

Ideas seriously appreciated.

Damn Damn Damn

Just spoke with the secretary at our desired Kindergarten- they also have Pre-K there, but we were going to leave The Politician at his current school through Pre-K so that both kids would be at the same spot for another year.

However, it looks like we may have trouble getting a spot if we wait until Fall 09 to enter the school. She said they will fill up the Pre-K this year and then those kids will move up to K, so there won't be any added spots.... But we are definitely in for Pre-K if we want to take it....

I'm so torn. I don't have a back-up K plan. I won't be ready for public school and really wanted him to attend this private K. Hmmm... Mr. Sasha and I will have to discuss tonight.

Also, P vetoed karate last night. He had a rough day at school (didn't like the snack and didn't want to watch a movie) and was in generally a bad mood when I picked him up. I certainly wouldn't have been the night to teach him self defense moves, seeing as how he wasn't very agreeable to any of my instructions, and he certainly didn't need to know any methods of defending himself. Hopefully tonight will go better.

I Give Up

I'm finally on board with the ballet flats. I was totally against them because I thought it would make me look shorter, and since I'm barely 5'2", I wasn't really excited about that.

Two more broken toes later, I decided I don't care. I'm now all about them and considering wearing this style every day. I've decided they are fabulous.

Got the above shoes at Target- aren't they cute? I have them on today with khakis and a white long sleeved oxford. I feel quite fashionable.

I also picked these up at lunch there and think they will look cute with capris once it warms up for good. I might return them, because I'm not sure I love them yet. We shall see.

I am currently on target.com going crazy with these ballet flats because I desperately want these and it's free shipping over $50, and you know how I get about free shipping- by golly, I'll spend until I get there. It's a sickness.

Tonight Mr. Sasha is going to take The Politician to check out karate. (I always think of Ross and his kay-RAH-tay when I say that). His best bud, A, goes and loves it. Of course, her dad is a policeman, so I imagine he thinks it's a good idea for his precious little girl to learn how to protect herself.

At any rate, P didn't seem to excited about it last night, so who know how tonight will go. Mr. Sasha hasn't actually said it outright, but I think he thinks it's time to macho-ify P since he's developed an appreciation for lip balm and my Sugar hand lotion. In his defense, it does smell like lemonade, which is his most favorite beverage, but that fact is lost on Mr. Sasha and I've seen him wrinkle his nose quite a few times when P asks for hand lotion before bed.

I guess he'll just have the softest hands and lips at the martial arts studio. Nothing wrong with that, right?

If You Got an Email From Me About the C25K

and it ended with this line:

I think the duct tape is our next option! She is quite a rascally rabbit and I think that might be the solution! Glad to hear it works for you.

I'm sorry.

I should really try to slow down a little. In my haste to try to email the spreadsheet out quickly, I've been cutting and pasting from previous emails. So this little note that was supposed to go to one mom who commiserated on WC's undressing/peeing in bed, ended up going to who knows how many unsuspecting people.

So lest you think I am totally crazy (which I am by the way), that last sentence should not have been there!

Need for Speed

Friday night Mr. Sasha and I were in two separate cars on our way to a friend's house. The kids were with me. The Politician said, "Momma, can your turn on your speed? I wanna beat Daddy there."

And on the way home, I had to pull over because my little Houdini, The Wild Child, managed to get the plastic wrap off a bottle of bubbles and had poured the whole bottle on herself (and her Britax seat) and the wand was en route to her mouth.

Also, the Suzy Bogguss CD is getting put away today. P will be crushed, but I just cannot listen to "Two Step Round the Christmas Tree" any more. And I might put it away so well that it is not findable come November.....

I'm Tired Ya'll!

I got in a good run this morning and watched the Miss America reality show. I'm not sure what I think about it, but I suppose I'll keep watching.

This afternoon I managed to get out for a bit and do some shopping.

I can't believe how crazy I am going with the makeup these days- I swear I hardly wear any, but I just can't stop buying!

I got this Best Of Stila set at Ulta for $40. Awesome deal. I will report back later on each product. I know I'll love the eyeliner- I've used it before and it rocks.

Made a stop at Walgreen's to get in on their Loreal Skin Genesis deal. Buy a moisturizer, get the serum free. Plus, the products are normally on $25 and were on sale for $20, and I had a $5 coupon. So I got 2 products for $15. I love the way this stuff smells. This is my night routine right now.

I didn't find anything worth standing in line for at Old Navy, but I had a $20 Children's Place gift card burning a hold in my pocket, so I stopped in there and I got 2 pair of PJs for WC for next year, and a cute pink/white velour outfit for next year too.

A stop at the Gap where an awesome sale clerk let me use my expired birthday $15 off $60. She also broke up my order so that I could use a $10 reward card too. So two pair of very cool jeans, and it looks they have gotten on the bandwagon with vanity sizing, because I wore a size smaller than usual. I am totally cool with that, by the way. Totally fine with wearing a smaller size. No heartache at all there.

My best purchase, though was the $50 navy velvet dress I got for WC to wear next Christmas. After using a $10 Gymboree Visa reward and getting 5% off for using my card, I only paid $7! It is beautiful. Pic here, but seriously, it doesn't do it justice.

Tonight, one of my besties from absolutely the beginning of time (Hey Slim!) came over with her little girl for dinner and playing. One of my most favorite people in the world ever. MYM!

Hope you had a fun day too!

Couch to 5K Check In

How is everyone doing with the Couch to 5K? I am dying to know. Between here and the bargain board and my birth board, I bet I've emailed it out 100 times over the past two weeks.

Post a comment and let me know how it's going. Or if you have questions...

Edited: Oh- and feel free to snag the "Running Mom" graphic from above for your blog!

By George, I Think She Got It

Yesterday afternoon The Wild Child's teacher called my cell about 3:00.

Turns out she got bitten yesterday on the back during Spanish class. And it was a pretty bad bite and broke the skin, although it did not bleed.

I held my breath as she was telling me this story, sure that WC did something to retaliate.

But no, she just shook her finger at the biter and said "No biting Twos!!!!". It seems she also told everyone she came into contact with for the next hour that he had bitten her and he wasn't supposed to, because "No biting Twos!!!".

That's my girl.

Note to those with Comcast email addresses

I don't think Comcast likes Sasha. I sent out two copies of the running spreadsheet to two sweet girlies who requested it recently. And Comcast took their sweet time, and just now bounced them back to me.

So if that's you, please don't think I was ignoring you! I have replied to every single request (at least I think I have!).

Just send me a non-Comcast email address and I'll be sure and send it your way!

Tuesday night

Tuesday night was fun at the Sasha house. About a week ago, I had finally collected enough Pampers Points (400!) to order the Kettler Oceana tricycle for the school. It was delivered yesterday and Mr. Sasha sat down to put it together so I could take it in this morning. I laughed hysterically at the notation of "minimal parental assembly required" on the box, because it took Mr. Sasha over an hour. He spent quite a while trying to figure out how to release the swivel lock on the front wheel. I glanced at the instructions for about 2 seconds and pointed out to him the little black box on the front that serves as the release. Tee hee. It's a fab tricycle and The Politician was so proud to drive it into the school this AM.

The Wild Child insisted on sleeping in her new Cotton Candy Pink Crocs that her Mimi got her for her birthday. She was also clutching her Dora house shoes in one arm and my old Ironman watch in the other. Who knows?

Good deal alert: In the Smart Source insert from last Sunday (there were two, but in my area it's in the one with Champion Windows on the front) there is a coupon for $2.25 off a pack of Electrasol 3 in 1 Powerball Tabs or 2 in 1 Gelpacks or Dual Action Tabs. My Target has them on sale for $2.66 this week, making them only $0.41 each. If you run your dishwasher as much as I do, you'll love this deal. I have several coworkers who bring me their coupon inserts, and I get two papers each Sunday, so I'll be stocking up. Mr. Sasha calls it my Y2K stash.

One more thing-- my Coach earrings came in! They are so pretty and I've worn them the last two days. They hang down a little bit more than a huggie style would, but not so far that I look hooker-ish. Perfect!

Just Call Me Valerie Highsmith

That's a really obscure reference, but I think it was the name of the girl in an early 90s Martin Short movie who was really clumsy and generally unlucky. (Dude! I am totally right- I just imdb'd it and it was called Pure Luck.)

Anyway, I believe I broke two toes last night- two of the middle-ish ones on my right foot. Now, I have broken toes before, but I was drunk both times, and I am embarrassed to say I don't even have an excuse this time. Just misjudged the door frame. And it wasn't even in the dark. Good Lord.

Right now

The Politician is playing with his train table naked. He, of course, stripped his clothes off to go to the bathroom a bit ago, and can't be bothered to put them back on.

And I am waiting on The Wild Child to finally finish eating since she's been at the table for 45 minutes.

I am looking at a little gift catalog and just saw my new motto: "I used to care, but now I take a pill for that."

True that.

That was fun!

I just placed an order from Sephora, my most favorite online store ever.

I got Bare Essentuals Buxom Lips in

Candi, and

Brandi

Per Sephora: Naturally creates the look of fuller, more voluptuous lips. This mineral-infused polish imparts a luminous high shine with no sticky or tacky feeling. A deep infusion of antioxidant vitamins A and E help keep lips soft, smooth, and protected, while the tingly and cooling sensation reminds you that your lips are getting an immediate increase in fullness.

Per Sasha: I have this in Dominique (shimmery clear), and I lurve it. Tastes good, stays put, and makes my lips feel good.

NARS Lip Stain Gloss in Sayanora. Per Sephora: Soft shine and sheer color that lasts all day. Slightly less shiny than traditional glosses, each of these emollient shades gently stain the lips with a hint of color. Shades can be layered for added intensity. The reviews on Makeup Alley suggest dabbing a drop on your lip and applying with a lip brush or your finger. I'm excited to try this!

Dior Diorshow Mascara in Black. Per Sephora: Dior's cult-fave, super volumizing, lengthening, and curling mascara. And Traci gives it the highest recommendation (first on her Sephora list for me!), so I must try it.

Now, of course I went through Ebates, so I'll be getting 4% back. (My referral email address is sasha2599@yahoo.com.) And here is what I chose for my 3 free samples:

1. Samples - DKNY Be Delicious Body Lotion - 0.23 oz
2. Samples - Bare Escentuals bareVitamins Prime Time - 0.03 oz
3. Samples - Philosophy Hope In A Tube And Eye Believe - 2 x 0.067 oz

It also prompted me to choose a deluxe sample, so I chose: Deluxe Samples - Kinerase C6 Peptide Intensive Treatment - 0.25 oz.

And then I entered Kinerase in the Promotion Code field and got: A free deluxe sample of Kinerase Brightening Face serum, a brightening, anti-aging formula containing a luxurious pearl extract, which instantly leaves the skin with a luminous, glamorous finish, while supplies last.

I am just going to be beautiful! I have a friend who swears by the Kinerase products, so I am anxious to see what they are all about. If they make my skin look like Courteney Cox Arquette's, fine by me.

Friday Funny

So Friday I ran The Politician by the ped's office because I noticed his ears were almost glued shut with wax, and surely that's the reason he is acting like he doesn't hear me when I say it's time for bed.

The doc cleaned them out for us, and we had a good discussion on nutrition and she assured me that P wasn't going to waste away and she totally made me feel better about the whole "refusing to eat school food" thing. We also discussed chewable vitamins and she asked about WC's arm.

At the end, she said, "Well, is there anything else we need to talk about?"

Without missing a beat, P said, "Well, what about my Smarties?????"

The doc laughed and said, "Don't worry, I won't forget to give you Smarties on your way out."

On another note, I have had some awesome new commenters lately, and I can't wait to check out all your blogs and update my blogroll, and I swear that will happen soon. Well, maybe not soon looking at my to-do list for this week, but I promise it will happen!

Today

I have:

1. Heard The Wild Child saying "Naked Jaybird" over the monitor this AM and got scared that she was naked and had wet the bed
2. Said "Phew" when Mr. Sasha went to investigate and reported that she was fully clothed and dry
3. Ran 3 miles
4. Showered and got myself and The Politician dressed
5. Took The Politician by Wal-Mart to pick out a birthday gift for #6 because I am all about the procrastination this week
6. Took P to the birthday party at the local inflatable gym and gossiped with some fun parents. Also, had cake eating experience #1 of the day.
7. Came home and got some presents ready for a birthday party The Wild Child was going to this afternoon
8. Washed all of her bedding, including her bumper, because she de-clothed herself during nap today and wet the bed
9. Griped at Mr. Sasha because he dripped pee pee all through the house carrying the soaking wet bedding to the laundry room
10. Reluctantly took WC to a birthday party at an indoor splash pad, which turned out to be so much cooler than I thought, and we both had a fab time. Had cake eating experience #2 of the day.
11. Came home to find that Mr. Sasha did not transfer the bedding from the washer to the dryer (and was pissed off, duh!)
12. Was working on the that when I noticed WC was being quiet and so I went looking and found her in my bathroom rubbing her liquid soap all over her arms and legs, saying "Lotion"
13. Tossed her in the tub to wash off said soap and also chlorine smell
14. Put her bed back together
15. Texted a friend to see if she was still up for a pitcher of margs at Taco Cabana later tonight (She is! Yay!!!!!)
16. Came on here to tell you about my crazy day

Treadmill Running

If you reached me via ClemsonGirl and are looking for the Couch to 5K running spreadsheet, email me at barelytogether@yahoo.com and I'll be glad to send it to you!

Let's take the world by storm and start a running revolution! Let's get such a big group of moms together doing the C25K that the Wall Street Journal does an article on us! If I can do it, so can you! See my post Run Like the Wind to see the transformation of Mr. Sasha.

2 Years Ago Today

On January 3, 2006, my second child was born. Although I had another totally un-fun pregnancy, and a failed epidural, I got a fabulous reward that has been a bright part of my life for the past two years. Our family would certainly not be complete without The Wild Child.

I've been thinking a lot about how blessed my family is, and I hope you know that when I post all the nutty things that happen around the Sasha house, I'm just hoping someone will laugh with me. I wouldn't change a thing.

Back from Lasik

Ya'll. Mr. Sasha is The. Worst. Patient. Evah.

He's currently napping, courtesy of Vallium. I'm headed to pick up a few things for The Wild Child's par-tays (she gets two! buddies and family) and then to pick up the kids and see what clever notes the teachers have left me today. Any predictions? Bathroom antics? Lunchroom drama? Carnivore commotion? Only time will tell....

Poor Mr. Sasha. On the way up to The Big City, I immediately made two changes in his car. Before we left the driveway. 1. Turned off the Sports Talk Radio, because it makes me nauseous, almost like when I walk through the door at the airport, and 2. Switched his heat from console/floor to floor only, because console heat is like the breath of a dragon on my face! Of course after my explanations, he's all "You totally need to do stand-up, like The Working Mom Comedy Show." Shut up and be logical. We all know heat rises and now that the season is finally o-ver, what's the need in rehasing what's already happened? I know you all agree with me. High five me.

A Few Clarifications

1. I am totally cool with The Wild Child not being ready to potty train. In fact, I am all about waiting until age 3, which is what we did with The Politician. I am just super-tired of finding discarded diapers all around the house and Mr. Sasha was none too happy about cleaning up pee in the Rose Petal Cottage, and she peed (diaperless because she removed it herself) not once, but twice, in her crib this week while sleeping.

2. Mr. Sasha and I both actually took longer than 9 weeks to complete the Couch to 5K Plan. When you read about the plan at www.coolrunning.com, they say that it's OK to repeat weeks if you don't feel ready to move on. So I have to admit that we did that several times, and I think we both got stuck around week 5, and I may or may not have repeated said week for 2 months or so. I think it really took him about 5-6 months to lose the total 60 pounds. But. Still. It's awesome. Promise. Get on the bandwagon and be cool like me.

And this is not a clarification, but just an FYI- I am having a weird allergic reaction to God knows what because I woke up with the left side of my face swollen and red and my eyes were not agreeable to contacts. Not sure what's up, but this is not a good day for random problems. Mr. Sasha is scheduled for Lasik surgery in a bit, and I totally planned on doing lots of magazine reading in the waiting room while he recovers (he's quite the baby so I imagine he'll be in recovery for longer than the normal person). I did not plan on having to relive yesterday in my brain to figure out what's going on with my face. Hopefully this will be short-lived. I mean, I've got a new Us Weekly to read- I need to read "Destroyed By Mama: Shame on Lynne Spears"!

The Politician's Teacher Is Quite the Comedian

Note from school yesterday: "The Politician had a good day. He is very helpful by tell me if his friends are not behaving. Ha!"

Yeah, I can totally see this happening. I have heard that I did the same thing myself.....

Don't Shoot The Messenger

Found these Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Chips Ahoy! Candy Bites (along with the Oreo ones) at Wally World over the weekend, and they are a huge hit. An even bigger hit because my box of Oreo ones had 7 packs instead of 6! Extra for me! Really, they are awesome and kind of whoppery. The Politician and two of my coworkers declare them a success.

I love the 100 calorie packs because I am the worst at portion control, so these are no-brainers for me. In WW speak, most sweets are my "red light food", but these packs makes sweets doable. My personal favorite of the 100 cal packs are the Lorna Doones.

OK, so I haven't tried these Hershey's Trio Kisses, and Walgreens was stupid enough to block out part of the package in their Sunday ad, so I can't even tell what the third thing is (dark chocolate? peanut butter? coca cola?), but I bet they are rockin' awesome. I ran to Walgreens yesterday to try to find them, but they didn't have them yet (then why did you have them in your ad?), so I will try again tomorrow and report back to you.

So I really feel it's my duty to try out new products and report to my friends what I think. I mean, there's no sense in you buying something I've already tried and know sucks, right? I totally think one day some big-wig at some food/candy/makeup company will run across this blog and say, "Hey, this chick totally has her finger on the pulse of America's young moms- we totally need to pay her for her services." So I'm just putting that out there- I'd love to!

Run Like the Wind!

Mr. Sasha "before" the Couch to 5K Plan

Mr. Sasha "after" the Couch to 5K Plan

You may have noticed my little graphic on the side that says "Running Mom". After The Politician was born in 2003, I needed something to help me lose that pesky baby weight. Mr. Sasha (former college football player) suggested running and I reluctantly agreed to give it a try. Someone on the bargain board posted about the Couch to 5K plan from http://www.coolrunning.com/, where you go from being a couch potato to running a 5K, and I gave it a try.

I am telling you, it is the best! I am a former smoker (I know, I know, but it was so cool in the early 90s and honestly I still miss it terribly to this day, but I swear I'll never smoke again) and my chest would always feel like it was going to EXPLODE when I tried to run. But the C25K really really really teaches the beginner how to run. You have to take it slowly, and not get frustrated and quit. I promise this plan can teach anyone how to run.

I lost all my baby weight, plus about 10 pounds. Mr. Sasha did the plan along with me, and as you can see from the above photos, lost about 60 pounds.

Being an accountant, I felt it necessary to create a spreadsheet to help me keep track of the running intervals. I watch TV while I run on the treadmill, and I found myself getting confused about when I was supposed run and walk. So I have a trusty little spreadsheet that I will be glad to email anyone who is interested. Just shoot me an email at barelytogether@yahoo.com and I'll send it your way. And I hereby volunteer to be your running coach. Any questions you have, any motivation you need, you can count on Sasha!

Available for loan

Available for loan: One extremely precious almost 2 year-old. I will take her back once you've got her potty trained, though.

Seriously, I much preferred The Politician's method of training. He simply refused to even sit on the potty, until right before his third bday, when he totally changed his mind and fully day-trained within 1 week.

The Wild Child is wearing me out and I am not at all ready for this. She took off her diaper and peed in her bed at nap again today, although she did pull up her pants after removing her diaper rather than sleep nekkid. My friend Slim has suggested duct tape, and by God, I'll be trying that.

All day I've been finding her discarded diapers on the floor and frantically searching for her, praying that she hasn't decided to pee on the carpet, because she sure as hell doesn't want to pee on the potty. We've tried an Elmo insert on our big potty, and even the little "Royal Potty" that is just her size. She may sit on there for a sec, but she's off in a flash, her bare little bottom running away from me as fast as she can, laughing hysterically at me.

Mercy. Uncle. Seriously. I don't know what to do but laugh.


Here's that shot I've been promising of my little rock star. Watch for him- he'll be big one day. Hope he can sing better than Mr. Sasha and I can.

Oh- I want to do some online shopping at Sephora since I didn't make it up there on Monday. Any ideas on new products to try? I want to get to $75 to get free shipping. (Isn't that logical?) Traci, this is your bag- ideas for me?

A Day to Myself!!!!!!

So I had one day of vacation left, which I could carry over to 2008, but hell, I'm not going to leave anything on the table, so here I am at home, ALL BY MYSELF!!!!!!! I am so excited for a Sasha day!

Here's what I have planned for today:

1. Polish off next to the last Aunt Luanne Christmas Cookie, washed down with full-sugar Coke
2. Run 4.5 miles on the treadmill, while watching last night's Amazing Race (that will negate the cookie and coke)
3. Shower
4. Do some laundry (loves it!)
5. Return stuff to Walmart, Target, Best Buy, TRU, Kohl's (because I tend to overbuy and return later)
6. Go to Sam's and do some shopping (beer, chicken wings)
7. Go by the bank and deposit some birthday money
8. Go by the tag office
9. Go to Sephora!!!!!!
10. Possibly drive to Ann Taylor Loft
11. Go to Coach and order those damn earrings no one got me (although Mr. Sasha totally redeemed himself forever because he got me the black Carly I wanted!)

Yay for today!

Text Messages

Text messages I received from Mr. Sasha today while gone for 3 hours visiting with 5 sorority sisters I don't get to see very often:

1. The Wild Child just took off her pants and diaper and peed in the floor of the Rose Petal Cottage. What do I clean it with?

My text back: Clorox Anywhere Spray

2. I assume you ate one of my trees? (he is talking about the two Reese's Peanut Butter Trees I brought home to him from work outage food two weeks ago)

My text back: You snooze, you lose.

3. Your daughter pulled her diaper off while sleeping and peed all over her pink blanket. At least she was aware enough to throw her wet blanket and bunny out of the crib and go back to sleep naked.

My text back: Wow.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Today's note from school #1: The Wild Child had a very good day. She practiced using her words instead of biting!

Today's note from school #2: The Politician had a hard day today, but made some very good choices to correct/apologize for his mistakes.

Tall Tales

So last night about 9:30 I was in my room catching up on Crowned, which by the way, you should totally be watching (Carson Kressley! Shanna Moakler! Trashy plastic-surgeried moms and snotty daughters compete!), and The Politician came into my room and said, "Momma, Sissy came into my room and spilled water in my bed."

I said, "Hmm.. I don't think that's possible, seeing as how she's asleep in her crib and can't get out."

"Well, I think she did it before she went to sleep."

"Yeah, I don't think so, P. I think you must have done it yourself. Now get back in bed and go to sleep."

So the tall tales begin.

About time for chores

Last night, unloading the kids from the van after school/work:

The Politician says, "Momma, I think it's time to wash your van."

OK, P, why don't you take care of that since you have so much time on your hands......

Holiday Recap, Part 2

My MIL got me this awesome Bare Minerals kit and I am so excited to use it! This AM I used the gloss over my Stainiac in Beauty Queen, and it is so pretty and smells divine!

She also got me the above key chain in mahogany to match my Carly- so pretty!

And my SIL got me a Clinique kit similar to this one above. So fun!!!!!

Mr. Sasha is currently in route to the Coach store in The Big City, seeing as how the navy earrings were huDge (tm Ashley) and totally not huggies as the manager assured Mr. Sasha over the phone. I was disappointed when I opened them and saw how big they were, but hey I hid it well, because it's the thought that counts and he was totally trying to get me something he knew I wanted. But bonus, the original earrings I really wanted are now back in stock and back on their website, so hopefully they can send some our way.

I need to figure out what Mr. Sasha and I are going to do on my birthday Saturday. I was thinking dinner and the movies, since the only times have been to the movie theater in recent years were to see Alvin and the Chipmunks and Cars. Any ideas? We have pretty much all the big name chain restaurants around here, and I like comedies/chick flicks, most dramas and spy thriller type movies. We have a sitter all lined up, so it's a night on the town for the Sashas!

Holiday Recap

Oh, ya'll. It seems like so many funny things happened over the awesome holiday weekend, but I am getting old (34 on Saturday!) and forgetful and I bet I forget to tell you a lot of things. So you may get a holiday recap that has installments for a few days.

1. The Politician is totally uninterested in his V.Smile Pocket. An excellent use of $49. I am thinking of taking back the 2 un-opened games that I paid full price for. I totally should have known better- he likes to play with "stuff" like construction vehicles and trains and I just don't think he'll be a video game kind of kid.

2. He totally did not notice that there was no yellow fire truck. I had this big story concocted that Santa ran out of yellow paint, but didn't have to go there. He did get a red fire truck at his great-grandmother's, so that makes about 7 fire trucks in his possession.

3. The Wild Child dis-robed not one, not twice, but three times during various present openings. Once when my fam was here to put on a new t shirt, ones at the great-grandmother's to put on some Dora PJs, and one last night at Mr. Sasha's family Christmas, when she opened her stocking and found PullUps. She dropped her drawers, pulled off her diaper and tossed it aside, and handed me a PullUp. Everyone in the room was dying laughing at the bare-bottomed little turkey waiting patiently for me to help her into the PullUp.

4. All she really needed for Christmas was Dora house shoes, because she put them on yesterday morning and refused to take them off (except for bath last night) and even slept in them last night!

5. I can't believe I forgot to bring my camera to work today, because he was totally jamming out last night with his new guitar, and it was precious. I'm telling you guys, he's going to be a major rock star and I'm going to be his cool mom who travels with the band.

Gotta go print some paychecks, but I bet I think of more later! Hope your holiday was merry! On a side note, Lexapro is my best friend and I totally did not have the usual anxiety attack at Mr. Sasha's family Christmas celebrations! Yay me!

My son the comedian

Last night on the way home from Christmas celebration #4:

Momma, so when will it be Christmas again?

Birthdays and Cookies

This morning, Mr. Sasha went to get The Wild Child out of bed and he said "Good morning! It's Christmas Eve!"

The Wild Child said, "Cookies!"

I am so pumped because my aunt was just here and brought me her world-famous (well, famous to Sasha) decorated sugar cookies, which are 100 times yummier than those pictured above. These are so good, that Mr. Sasha didn't even know about them for the first few years of our marriage because I hid them from him and rationed them out, having one for breakfast with my Coke in the laundry room with the door shut for about 2 weeks. I'm really stingy with them and they are quite important to me. I share a few now, but still hide some (shh!).

If you are in my neighborhood, stop by because I have an large amount of ham, potato casserole and about 15 Santa Fe rolls left from Christmas Eve lunch. One of my aunts and her Mr. and her boys and their wives totally punked out on us and didn't show. Told you I have a nutty family. Just more cookies for me!

The real meaning of the season: My kiddos have been walking around singing "Happy Birthday Jesus!" which they totally learned at church and I am just so proud. I am trying to raise some thoughtful, kind, reverent children who understand what's it's all really about and I think I'm doing a damn good job.

Today, I'm feeling pretty good, almost like I've got it all together! I imagine this feeling won't last long, so I'll just enjoy while I can.
Merry Christmas to you all! Now quit reading my blog and go hang with your fam!

Two "Oops"

1. Poor Mr. Sasha. I opened up my email on Friday morning to read this from Coach: "Dear Mr. Sasha. Thanks for purchasing these earrings. They have shipped today. Thanks for your business!" Gee, Coach, thanks for emailing the gift recipient so she'll know what her present is.

The only thing we can come up with is that they tied the mailing address he gave to my account, which has my email address on it. I ended up telling him and he was pretty crushed. If you've been following my blog, you may have noticed that those aren't the exact earrings I requested. Seems Mr. Sasha waited a little too long, and the plain silver were out of stock. Actually, there's a much longer story that involves a new employee at the Coach store in The Big City losing his order and CC number, but I won't bore you with that.

The navy really looks pretty, and my watch face is navy, and navy is actually my all-time favorite color, so no big. But I do feel bad for Mr. Sasha.

2. And The Politician- he just about spoiled his whole Christmas this afternoon. He was supposed to be taking a nap.... I waited until he was in his room about 20 minutes, then started unpacking Mr. Sasha's trunk, which has been the hiding spot of all the gifts since Black Friday. I just brought the last load into the kitchen, turned around, and there was P! The gifts were pretty much all in sacks, so I don't think he saw much, but he was confused about what it all was, and wanted to make sure all his presents had gotten loaded on Santa's sleigh. I covered by saying some of it was for his cousins, and some for grandparents. Whew.

I better go check on The Wild Child- she is playing play dough in the dining room all by herself, and I just noticed it's gotten kind of quiet, so there's no telling what's going on in there. Mr. Sasha and P went to The Big City to do some sledding on the man-made mountain.

Oh, and I never did find a yellow fire truck. I did find "a helicopter with a man inside and a hook on the bottom" so hopefully that and the V.Smile and a million games will do.

More later!

How many more days until we can take them back to school?

5 minutes before The Wild Child was going to go to bed, she and The Politician disappeared. (Actually, Mr. Sasha was engrossed in Sports Center or some such and didn't notice them leave the living room.)

Their destination was the bathroom and The Politician decided to "clean her hair" and rubbed a whole bunch of shampoo in the front of her nice already-clean dry hair. Nice. So let's just do the bath all over again.

It's starting out to be a spectacular Christmas break.

An Ode to "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead"

The presents are done, man! (just like the dishes)

Off to have a drink.....

A Real Dear Santa Letter

Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.

Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

I totally can't claim this... got it in an email today and wanted to share.

Should you be feeling generous

I only need 2.5 Pampers Points to order the Kettler Tricycle for our preschool.

I need about 100 Coke Points to order a $50 gift card (full disclosure, that is for myself.)

Should you feel like sharing, or have some lying around not getting used.....

Email me at barelytogether@yahoo.com.

Love ya!

Dec 20th- seriously?

If you lived close to us, The Politician and I would share our pretzel goodies with you! We need to whip up some more and take some to some friends. Excuse the big white block on there, had to remove some personal info.

Had to share this pic taken the day of the Christmas program at school. The Wild Child loves to dress up and twirled around saying "Pretty!" after she had her dress on. I got her a Barbie dress-up outfit for her birthday and can't wait to see what she thinks. Mr. Sasha thinks she will want to wear it 24-7.

I have so much to do that it's not even funny. What I am doing blogging??????

I did get my ham ordered yesterday, although they didn't want my name and said all I needed was to bring in the confirmation number they gave me over the phone. Only problem- I can't seem to locate that. Hope that it turns up before tomorrow.

Also, totally lost my blackjack on the way to work today. I heard it ringing, but couldn't find it. I actually had to borrow a co-worker's phone once I got here and go out to my van and call myself to find it via sound! Hey, it worked!

Raindrops on Roses

and whiskers on kittens... blah blah blah.... these are a few of my favorite things.

Orly Bonder simply rocks. I always use this before my basecoat and my nail polish never chips off. Seriously. My pedicure will last a month and I have to take my polish off because of new growth, not because my polish looks bad.

Clinique Cream Shaper for Eyes in Chocolate Luster. Smudgable. Smooth.

Have I told you I can't wear perfume? I get sick to my stomach smelling the same smell for any length of time. But this is nice and light and fresh smelling, and totally doable.

Oh, now here's the best. Saved it for last. This is the best. lipbalm. ever. If you've never tried it, get in your car and drive to your nearest Sephora and fork over $22 or whatever it costs because you will love me for it.

5 days????

I am super stressing out. I am hosting Christmas Eve at our house for my side of the fam, and I have a lot to do. I need to get off the computer and call Honey Baked Ham right now and hope that it's not too late to order a ham to be picked up on Friday afternoon. My mom is insisting on a ham from there, and even gave me money for it, so I better make it happen. Plus I haven't finished shopping, and Mr. Sasha hasn't actually looked through all the stuff I've purchased for the kids, so I'm not sure how that's going to go. I think I went overboard, but we shall see what he says. I still have two BILs and four dirty santa gifts to get, along with a gift card from somewhere (thanks Tina!) for my 16 year old cousin. Damn, damn, damn. I so need to plan better.

Note from school yesterday: "The Politician did so well in PE. He ran so fast that everyone clapped for him and yelled 'Yeah Politician!".

So glad my lunch-stealing, spitting bully is speedy.

And yup, that's Blake Shelton. We went to the same high school and actually drank many a beer together back in the day. Super guy- seriously.

One More Present Down, A Million More To Go

Mr. Sasha ordered his own Christmas present yesterday- yay for me! It's some fancy-schmancy golf bag with dividers to keep all his million dollar clubs separate, which is very important for some reason. So that's one thing done. One I am really having trouble with: my 16 year old cousin.

Mr. Sasha took The Politician with him to a family birthday dinner last night, and I kept The Wild Child home with me, because the prospect of her in a steak house was not pleasant. The ILs and everyone else dining at Salt Grass should totally thank me for that.

I pretty much spent the evening: searching for her diaper that she had taken off, convincing her to put it back on if she didn't want to sit on the potty, following her around while she moved the Elmo potty seat from bathroom to bathroom, following her back to her room when she said "Come on!" and then getting the door slammed in my face as she died laughing. Oh, it was a riot for sure.

Her pronunciation is flippin' hilarious right now. She is just trying so hard to saying everything I say. She had an eczema outbreak, and I told her I was going to put some cream on her "itchy spot". She repeated "pitchy pot". So stinkin' cute.

A Trip to the Dentist

You Veronica Mars fans will recognize the title, but alas, I must change it to "A Trip to the Office".

On The Politician's sheet today: "The Politician has to go to the office today for spitting on a friend in Spanish class, and on a teacher in the bathroom hall." (The italics were a Sasha touch so you'll take special notice of his completely inappropriate target.)

Lest you think there was one office visit, please note that there were two. This must be some kind of record. Now he has only been to the office one other time (the Mashed Potato Incident), so the asst director said it was not that big of a deal. But still... am I raising a future bully? He better gain a little weight if he's going that route. I don't know of many bullies in the single digit percentiles for weight.

Oh..... and be sure and watch Clash of the Choirs this week- it starts tonight.... someone I went to high school with is directing a choir...... yes, he's a star! Guess who?

Something for your viewing pleasure

Oh, ya'll. I noticed last night that my Tivo picked up a little gem for me- my very most favorite show from Summer 2006, that was, of course, cancelled.

And I'm sure you didn't see it, because no one did! (besides me!)

It's called Lovespring International and is a mock dating agency show, with a little improv thrown in. It's absolutely perfect humor. Of course, Mr. Sasha did not get it, but he sometimes did not get Arrested Development either. You have to be as cool as me to understand it, I suppose.

I just found out that all the epis are online. It's Required Viewing, as far as I'm concerned.

Check it out here and let me know what you think. It's under "Full Episodes" on the left hand side navigation bar.

A Crash Course in Meteorology

...FREEZING FOG ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY...

WTF is "freezing fog"????? I am learning all kinds of new terms this week... snow showers... freezing fog... what's next? Stay tuned for more crazy weather from the southwest!

Two Guys and a Saw

..... and no insurance, I'd imagine.

No way in hell I'm letting "Two Guys and a Saw" clear limbs out of my yard. I can just see the lawsuit from them getting injured working on my property. I am 100% sure they weren't bonded, seeing as how they looked homeless and I can only assume unemployed.

Seriously, no less than 6 people have rang our doorbell or left us fliers offering their services to clean up our yard. The ice really brings out the crazies.

Waiting on the snow to fall tonight. We still have some of our customers without power, and the local IOU still has over 100,000 out of power. The local schools are still closed, but my wonderful daycare has been open since Wednesday. Love them love them love them. Although The Politician is having some lunch issues there, which I will post about once I sort out my opinion on the whole deal and how I plan to handle it.

And holy cow, I still haven't done any more Christmas shopping. They have been brining us lunch in so we can just work through our lunch hours, so no shopping for me (Target, have you noticed?). I fully expect Visa to call me and ask about the unusual activity on my cards (none!). Still have no ideas for Mr. Sasha.....

You've Got To Be Kidding Me

My local forecast:

Tomorrow night: Rain and snow in the evening, becoming all snow late. Low 27F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 90%.

Saturday: Snow showers in the morning. Highs in the mid 30s and lows in the low 20s.


Just asking: What's a "snow shower"? I assume it will be raining snow? Like snow so fast and so much that it looks like rain?

Dear Santa,

We love you so much, we even let you come take a picture with us.

A guitar and fire truck (yellow) and a helicopter with a man inside and a hook on the bottom. That’s only what I want for Christmas.

I have been a good boy, but Sis has been biting someone.

Sissy wants an Elmo with a guitar. And she needs a green balloon, her favorite color.

Daddy wants a shirt like my PJs that I have on right now.

Momma wants a girl guitar.

Our neighbor L needs two fire trucks (his favorite color red) and M needs a girl guitar.

That’s it.

Love, The Politician, age 4 1/3

The Sasha Family has power

Well, thank goodness we only had to spend one night at the ILs. Cause as much as I appreciate their hospitality, my kids ate way too many M&M while there were there. Plus they have a super-annoying Grandfather clock that chimes every 15 minutes. Right outside the bedrooms where our whole fam damily was sleeping. I just don't get g-father clocks. Who wants a constant reminder that time is passing by? Yeah, yeah, I know all about it- I swear The Politician was just born yesterday, and he is already 4 and back-talking me.

I'll try to post a pic of our street later- so very sad. Lots of beautiful trees that probably can't be saved. We'll have to call our tree man, who is normally shirtless and smoking a cig, all while manning large cutting apparatuses. Wonder what he wears when it's 32 degrees?????

Ice Storm Hell

Ya'll, it's bad here. The worst ice storm since The Ice Storm of '87. The Sasha family was without power, so we drove to Mr. Sasha's parents for the night. I am back at work this AM. The IOU that serves my home had over half a million customers without power as of last night.
The crazy thing is the road are fine, it's just the ice on the power lines and trees. Our street looks terrible- our house is about 35 years old and our street has lots of beautiful established trees. The are all broken to shit. So sad.

The real problem here is that I was going to bid on a black Coach Carly that ended on ebay last night, but since the power was out and we were at the ILs, that didn't happen. Damn. I really have my priorities in order, don't I?

A Note of Congrats

Just wanted to write a little note of congrats to a dear friend (you know who you are!) who got a BFP over the weekend! I had the greatest pic of her tests in my inbox this AM. What an exciting holiday surprise! You are a wonderful mom and I am so excited for you to experience that second child, and also to see if your second is as much of a hell-raiser as my second is!

If we were closer, I'd run over and give you a big hug! Since we're not, I guess I'll settle for this little post, addressed directly to you! Hugs!

"Wintry Mix" my ass

Yeah, it's straight ice.

Good thing I only needed to turn right out of my driveway this AM, because turning left would not have been possible. Lots and lots of trees broken and down because of the heavy ice we got yesterday and last night. I have a million things to do today, but most of my town does not have power. Luckily, our trees look OK.

Schools are closed here today, so daycare is closed too, so Mr. Sasha is home with the kiddos today. Nice thing about being self-employed. He went down to his office before I came to work to get his laptop so he could get some work done from home today, but the power was out so he had to go back to the car and pray that at some point when it was my car, maybe I might have put a flashlight in there. And of course since I am Safety Patrol, there was one in the glove box. Score one for me!

Hope your weather is better than ours. Snow is pretty, but ice is nasty.

Have I told you my new theory about "plans"?

So I've come to the realization, maybe due to Lexapro, that "plans" simply suck. You've really just got to roll with it, change your plans as necessary, and just let go of your expectations. It's really refreshing to have this outlook, which is so different than how I lived the first 33 1/2 years of my life.

Anyway, Mr. Sasha started telling me last Wednesday that he wanted to take the kids to look at Christmas lights on Friday night. I told him it had been a busy week, I would have to make my NMB on Friday night, and hey, let's just see how things go and not try to make any plans right now.

FF to Friday, and Mr. Sasha is pretty insistent that he wants to start this new "eating out and looking at lights tradition". But he's also running late, and doesn't get home with the kids until 5:40. By this time, they are hungry and rummanging through the pantry pulling out whatever they can find. Mr. Sasha is just insistent that we go out to eat, so I tell him it's got to be quick because the kids are hungry. After finishing dinner at a fast food restaurant, we head over to the ritzies to see their beautiful lights. About 5 minutes in, The Wild Child starts crying and saying "Home. Home. Home." Then The Politician chimes in "Yeah, I just want to go home please."

Tee hee. I just knew the night wasn't meant to be. Mr. Sasha needs some Lexapro.

WC Update

Chompy McChomperson did great in the Twos yesterday. They said she was wide-eyed all day and had a great time with all the new toys and such. *sigh* I can't believe my little girl is almost two..... And I also can't believe that I haven't even THOUGHT about her birthday and if we are going to have a party, etc. Damn these Christmas bdays (mine is the 29th....)

When we picked up The Politician yesterday, Mr. Sasha said, "Hey, your sissy is in a new room now! The Twos!" and P said, "Yeah, dad, I already heard." Funny how word gets around a preschool so fast.

Tomorrow is going to be C-razy. The Christmas program at the school is at 8:45 am, then the Christmas parade downtown at 10 am, then my work's childrens Christmas party at a local family fun place after naps, then we have a progressive dinner for our new Sunday school class tomorrow night. I am making the fabulous Neiman Marcus bars and I can't wait to eat one. Or 10. And to introduce them to new people. Who will be asking me for the recipe, so I will make sure to have copies in my purse.

I still haven't gotten a Christmas gift for The Hardest Person Ever to Buy For (aka Mr. Sasha) so I am constantly thinking about that. I did get him John Grisham's new football book and season 1 and 2 of The Office, but I need something "big".

And crap, I also have to get birthday presents for WC.

Wow, can't believe how fast December is going by. Tina, your Christmas ticker just keeps pissing me off because I realize just how much I have left to do and how little time there is.

Are you done shopping?

As of 10 am this morning

My little piranha has been moved up to the next classroom - the "Twos" because we can't get her to stop chomping on the "1 1/2s".

If that doesn't stop the behavior I totally understand if they have to suspend her- I can't imagine there's anything left to try....

So please, dear blog readers, cross all your fingers, toes, and whatever else you got because Momma's pretty much out of vacation time until Jan 1 and it would be super-hard to line up childcare for WC for an entire week.....

My Little Troublemaker

was involved in a little incident at school yesterday- a group of ornery little boys decided to stop up one of the sinks and flood the bathroom, and yes, The Politician was involved. Whether he was an instigator or a just participant, I don't know, but he was definitely involved. Gee.

Also, I'd been telling him for about 2 months that the grocery store was all out of Fruit Loops (little white lie in order to push the somewhat healthier Cherrios), but he of course spied them when he tagged along to the store with me last night. "Momma, they finally have fruit loops!!!!!!" he said as he was tossing boxes of them into our cart. Oh well, 2 months of not having super-sugared up cereal in the pantry is better than nothing.

Name Game

I was just tagged by ElleBee so here goes! I do reserve the right to substitute because I am a little leery of stalkers.....

1. Witness Protection Name (mother's and father's middle names): Kay Jordan

2. NASCAR Name (first name of your mother's dad and father's dad): Jack Harvey

3. Star Wars Name (first three letters of your last name, two of your first): Lamsa (small substitution here)

4. Detective Name (favorite color, favorite animal): Blue Monkey

5. Soap Opera Name (middle name, city where you were born): Lyn Small Town

6. Superhero Name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink, add "the" to the beginning): The Pink Whisky Sour

7. Fly Girl/Guy Name (1st two letters of your first name, last two of your last): Sart (another sub)

8. Gangsta Name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Chocolate Aunt Luanne's Christmas Cookies

9. Rock Star Name (first pet's name, childhood street name): Velvet Place

10. Stripper Name (favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy): Happy Skittles

I tag: Kate because she loves being tagged and Traci because she probably needs a break from unpacking.

My little helper

Last night, The Politician said, "Momma, the laundry in the dirty clothes basket is getting really tall!"

Yes, I know, why don't you start a load of darks?

My Inner Slut

evidently does not exist. Even after an Italian Marg (Bartender: So just a margarita with amaretto subbed for the triple sec? Me: I don't know, that's what I'm paying you for!) and a few diet coke and vanilla rums at the lesson place, I still had trouble letting loose. Really, I had quite a bit of trouble "getting it" since I just don't have any upper body strength (cause running builds no arm muscles...) and although there was one "turn" I could sorta do... I just wasn't as good as....

My sister in law and the birthday girl! Seriously, they were awesome. Not as great as our obvs professional instructor (I bet she had another job to get to after we left at 9:30 pm), but they totally got it and were spinning all around that pole. I told Mr. Sasha his sister was seriously good and maybe she has her own pole in her bedroom and he said "Yeah, I don't want to think about that."

The instructor ("Ebony") was actually pretty cool, but I was put off by some of her wording: "Shake your cookies, girls!" and "Now stick your girls out and shimmy down the pole." I have several bruises on my knees and even on the top of my feet (???) and I was absolutely painfully sore yesterday and Sunday and that's why I couldn't update you any sooner. No, actually Mr. Sasha hooked up his new laptop in place of my desktop and I lost all patience figuring out Windows Vista and how to freakin' get on the Internet, so I had to wait until I got to work today to blog.

Political funnies: "Momma, my belly button looks like a cinnamon roll." (and it kinda does!)

Also, he was helping me make some Reese's Peanut Butter Bars (don't get all excited and ask for the recipe, it was totally a kit from Sam's) and I gave him a bowl to stir and he said, "Actually, momma, I'm not really able to do that."

The Wild Child absolutely wore me out at the Advent Festival at church last night. I literally chased her around the church for 2 hours and oh my God, she's almost 2!!!!! I totally don't have control and I don't know what to do about it. She just looks at me and laughs and runs away from me as fast as she can! But she's learned how to say "I wuv ew" and my heart totally melts and I just snuggle her tighter and thank God for all my blessings. Now wipe that tear away!

Well, I guess I'd better get to work since I have 100-eleventy (tm Tigger) things to do today. Have a great one!