Owner: Lit and Laundry URL:http://litandlaundry.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:45:08 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Once upon a time I had 3 kids under the age of two. Now it's 3 kids under 12 but it's just too much work to keep changing my handle. Drama Girl is now 11, and twins Wasabi Girl and Jungle Boy are 10. I started a blog so I can look back on my lif Site statistics:Click here
No title 2008-06-27 08:00:05 I got tagged for this from Catholic Teacher Musings.
A is for age: 46, although My Wii Fit tells me I'm anywhere between 28 and 52, depending on how clumsy I am on any given day.
*B is for burger of choice: Bacon avocado, quite pink inside. And a side of defibrillators.
*C is for what kind of car you drive: A '98 Toyota Sienna minivan that is about as tired of driving around as I am.
*D is for y
Vintage Thingies Thursday: I'm a Little Teapot 2008-06-26 08:06:33
Doesn't this make you want to sing that song? I love this teapot. The fact that he has a matching mug is just icing on the cake. He reminds me of those old dish towels with anthropomorphic dancing dishes and cutlery. I'm pretty sure these guys sprout legs and play with the fiestaware when I'm not looking.
If anyone knows his history, let me know. He's a beautiful fire-king green, but no mar Read more:Teapot
, Thursday
, Vintage
How to Make Chex Mix 2008-06-25 08:05:37 Take twins grocery shopping. When they suddenly ask if they can make Chex Mix, remember that you thought it would be a great idea to teach them some more cooking skills this summer. Send them to go get Chex -- "the one with the recipe on the box" and tell them to meet you back in your aisle as you continue shopping.
Tell them not to run as they take off in gleeful independence. Watch them run a
How I Met My Husband (at the Insane Asylum) 2008-06-24 08:00:00 I met my husband at a mental hospital. A branch of the VA that is a large teaching hospital affiliated with a University. We both worked in the psychiatry department which was a great job, once you got past the fact that some of the psychiatrists seemed a lot nuttier than the patients.
I was working as a psych tech, coordinating research protocols for an Alzheimer's Research Center. It was fa Read more:Asylum
, Husband
Meme-ing 2008-06-23 08:06:16 Here I am, coffee cup by my side, computer fired up, checking my stats, as I love to do, when I click on my Technorati backlinks (nerd heaven). I am always surprised by what I find, and today especially, since I see that I was tagged for a meme a few days ago by What a Card. I'm late, but here it is in its glory:
Four jobs I've had:
Ballet teacher to the UNLV football team. I think I can still
Beach Day 2008-06-22 08:19:36 My husband and I had our first date at the beach. Saturday was our anniversary (16 years!) so we took a trip to the beach with the kids. It's only about 40 minutes away and it was wonderfully cool compared to our house.
We found an ancient carving in a rock. I believe it is a pelican. OK, maybe not too ancient.
Jungle Boy and Drama Girl had an astounding original idea. "Mom! We're going Read more:Beach
Conversations at my house 2008-06-21 08:00:00 "Mom, can I go to this party at LaserQuest?"
"Who's throwing it?"
"Joey"
"Wow, he's on the basketball team and the track team - he's going to really be good at Laser Quest"
"Don't worry mom, I know how to play; just team up with a partner then turn on them. Shoot them in the back a lot when they're not looking."
"Whoa. Just like in real life."
************
"Mom! There's no peanut butter! We'
It's My Birthday Today! Gifts for me and you. 2008-06-20 08:00:02 Today I am 46 years old. The family is going to celebrate by going to see "Kung Fu Panda" and then going to my favorite Chinese restaurant.
In the inevitable fashion of the blogosphere, I'll bet that some of you want to wish me a happy birthday. Thank you very much in advance.
I'd like you to give me a gift (aren't I greedy?). I'm hoping that you'll enjoy giving it to me.
Please, can you gi Read more:Birthday
, Gifts
, Today
Wasabi Girl Throws A Tea Party 2008-06-19 08:04:19 She decides to put on her pioneer costume from her 4th grade living history project [I made it]. She decides this will be a Raggedy Ann tea party so she gets her Raggedy Ann [I made Raggedy Ann too]. She remembers that pioneers didn't smile in pictures, so she pulls a straight face for my camera. Maybe this is all influenced by the Laura Ingalls Wilder books we're reading.
She spreads out her Read more:Party
, Tea Party
Haiku Wednesday IV 2008-06-18 08:15:46
Needed a racket
Husband bought the whole outfit
Overkill, daddy.
************
It's called risotto
That delicious creamy rice
Not "bunch of maggots."
************
Can't stand wii "Boogie"
Daughter always sings same song;
"I'm Fergalicious!"
************
Ballet recital
"Hurry up mom! Have to change!"
Only got one shot.
Read more:Haiku
, Wednesday
The Undertwo kids Recommended Reading List 2008-06-16 09:38:01 They keep telling me more, so check back. I've included a link on the sidebar under my own reading list.
Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians
The Anybodies
The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain) Series
The City of Ember (The First Book of Ember) Series
Eragon (Inheritance) Series
Fablehaven Series
The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1) Series
The Field Guide (The Spid Read more:Reading
, Reading List
Move Over Baryshnikov! 2008-06-16 08:00:03 If it is possible to actually burst with pride, I think I'm at that bursting point. Last night my son performed in his first ballet recital. He only began taking lessons about five months ago.
The whole event was a land mine of potential disasters. He had three complete costume changes. *Complete* costume changes -- pants, socks, shirt, jacket, shoes, hat. This is my son, who is about as ind
Summer Reading for Overachievers 2008-06-15 12:54:29 Summer's here, and my book-buying disease has flared up to meet it. I'm a bargain-hunter, and lucky to live in a neighborhood where my neighbors read good books and instantly drop them off at the local thrift store. Their $26 investment is my $1 steal. The stack in the picture doesn't look too bad, unless I tell you that it's only the overflow from a long shelf of unread books. I intend to rea Read more:Reading
, Summer
How to Get Free Wii Games 2008-06-15 10:24:52 We have six new free wii games in our house today.
Before last Christmas, the only game system this family had was an Atari Flashback 2.0 that I got my husband for a joke.
Then Santa brought us a wii and our lives haven't been the same.
We live near Electronic Arts, in fact my husband used to do some contract work there. A few months ago I found an ad on Craigslist asking for game testers. Read more:Games
, Wii
Elementary School: Our Parting Shot 2008-06-13 08:00:03 School
's finally out for the year. The twins said farewell to their elementary days and I almost didn't cry. Just like I almost didn't cry on their first day of kindergarten there.
It's hard to leave a place we've loved so well. The little school down the street will always be a fond memory. Except for one little thing, for which I got my revenge today.
Thursday is our day to be "morning gr Read more:Elementary
Sometimes Moms Get Report Cards Too 2008-06-12 08:00:04 It's almost the last day of school and on Wednesday Wasabi Girl brought home a huge bag of accumulated school work. She had me sit on the couch with her as she proudly displayed each of the hundreds of items one by one. Tests, art projects, spelling sheets. My eyes were glazing over a bit, but then something caught my eye. An essay. Since she typed it at school I asked her if I could have it Read more:Cards
, Sometimes
Haiku Wednesday III 2008-06-11 08:03:32
"Thanks for breakfast dear!"
said she, silently vowing
To post egg mess on blog.
Need to clean out car
kids drink up bottled water
Then they roll around.
Sex in the City
Another party invite
I've never seen show.
Kids found a dead rat
"Mommy can you clean it up?"
"No, that's Daddy's job"
If my cat could talk
She'd say "Thanks for the skylight!
I can has sunbeam!" Read more:Haiku
, Wednesday
Rest In Peace, Papou 2008-06-10 08:34:58
I'm writing this before the funeral today.
Papou is the Greek word for grandfather. It's a perfect word for small mouths to make as they are learning to talk. It matches the big smiling funny guy who wears it. My kids were lucky to know their Papou for as long as they did, and so was I.
He was old country and old school. What he believed became truth and anyone who disagreed with him just Read more:Peace
Too Much Laundry, Not Enough Lit 2008-06-09 08:00:03 Everything at our house has been off-kilter this week. Some of us have been grieving my father-in-law's death, some of us have been cooking. Some of us have not been in the mood to cook. My husband has taken the week off work to help my mother-in-law settle arrangements. It's usually fun when he's home, but there are dark clouds of sadness around him now. We've made a lot of phone calls to o Read more:Enough
, Laundry
That's Me: Lone Beacon of Reason in a Sea of Ridiculousness 2008-06-08 08:17:35
Take the Quiz here!
You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you ha Read more:Beacon
, Reason
Things My Husband Says While Reading My Blog 2008-06-07 08:03:03 "Heh heh, that's something you'd say. . .hey wait, did you start a blog? Is this your blog?"
"Are those our roses?" (Yes, and if you'd turn your chair you'd see them out the window)
"Why do you call her Wasabi Girl?" (She is a gastronomic daredevil. Once when she was about 2 we went to a party where the host had a bowl of those Japanese snacks that included wasabi-covered peas. She stood the Read more:Husband
, Reading
Ballet Class 9 Times a Week 2008-06-06 09:02:01 I'm always kidding around, especially when I'm trying to get the kids' attention. One morning in late January, Jungle Boy was spinning around the house. And I mean spinning. I could see an accident waiting to happen. So being a smarty-mouth mom, I said "If you don't stop that, I'm going to enroll you in ballet!"
[brief pause, as he stopped spinning and thought a moment] "Why not?"
"I was jo Read more:Ballet
, Times
I think I feel a Pride and Prejudice evening coming on 2008-06-05 20:02:22 My husband just shakes his head. He'll never understand
Sometimes, a woman just has to put the kids to bed and spend some quality time with Mr. Darcy.
I know I'm not alone.
You too, are a fan, if you know exactly what they're saying here:
Read more:evening
, Prejudice
, Pride
, think
Cookie Therapy and Something to Laugh About 2008-06-04 08:00:03 (written Tuesday night)
Drama Girl didn't make it to school today. God bless her, she had some cry time up in her private spot on her top bunk. Broke my heart but we all have to go through it.
When she showed up later in the kitchen, she decided she just really wanted to bake cookies. She's never made cookies before but she insisted she wanted to do it all by herself. Is there some gene that Read more:Cookie
, Therapy
Vintage Thingies Thursday: Johnny Gruelle Books 2008-07-10 06:30:00 This lovely book was published in 1929. Johnny
Gruelle was a talented political cartoonist who created a character based on a rag doll his daughter Marcella found in the attic. He observed how she would talk to her dolls as if they were alive and created a series of books based on these adventures. Sadly, Marcella died in 1929 at age 13 from complications of a vaccination. That same month, th Read more:Books
, Thursday
, Vintage
Sibling Rivalry? Where? 2008-07-09 08:00:01 Revenge is Sweet by threeundertwo related [litandlaundry.blogspot.com]Jungle boy offered to write an essay about his big sister Drama Girl for today's post. I think the first line says it all. I only edited the name of his twin to "Wasabi Girl."My Sisterby Jungle BoyWhen I think about my sister, I think of one word, evil. First of all, if you ever see me, you will notice my unusually large ears Read more:Rivalry
, Sibling
Ever support a lemonade stand? 2008-07-08 07:24:43 It's the time of year when industrious entrepreneurs all over America are setting up little tables by the street to entice passers-by to buy some lemonade. If you have one of these at your house, you've probably invested a little money for cups and other supplies. It's all worth it, because after all, isn't it important to teach our kids the value of working to earn money?What if I told you that
We're Going to Disneyland! 2008-07-06 08:00:02 Last night I made reservations for our annual pilgrimage to the Happiest Place on Earth. We first took the kids when they were 3 and 4 years old, and at this point, we have as many traditions about going to Disneyland
as Mr. Disney had ideas for characters.We've got a jar with change we've been saving up for souvenirs. The kids have already rolled most of it. Sometimes grandparents contribute. Read more:Going