Happy Leap Day

Happy Leap Day, Everyone! And Happy Birthday to anyone out there who was unfortunate enough to be born on February 29th. Seriously, how crappy must that be for a child? You only have a birthday every four years, maybe, depending on what year you were born in.

Yeah, that's right, Leap Day doesn't necessarily arrive every four years. The rule is there will be a leap day during every year that is divisible by four, except for years ending in "00," unless that year is also divisible by 400. For example, there was a Leap Day in the year 2000, but not in 1900, and there won't be one in 2100, 2200, or 2300. So, if you were born on February 29, 2000 (like my step-son's half-sister) and you are lucky enough to live for 100 years, you won't have an actual 100th birthday to celebrate. Kinda makes it not worth holding out for, huh?

Goodbye, RSM

One of my most favoritest blogs is going away. RockStar Mommy has decided to close up shop forever. She wants to live a REAL life.

Click here to read her swan song. Hurry before she takes that down, too.

Good luck, RSM. I'll miss you. =(

Jury Summons

I have been a registered voter and licensed driver in this state since before I was a legal adult. That's nearly seventeen years, people. And I have never, ever been summoned for jury duty. That is, until today.


I received this in the mail today. I've always wanted to serve on a jury, since I know everything and like to tell people what to do. Oh, and I'm always right.

Unfortunately, I can't do it this time. I have a toddler. And they don't pay enough for me to hire a babysitter for her.

Hopefully, my name will come up again in a few years when Katie is in school. And hopefully then, I can get a juicy murder case.

Fake Lips

What is up with all of these women getting injections in their lips? Don't they know how rediculous they look? Seriously, you are not fooling anybody with those things.

Yesterday, Courtney Cox was on the Today show with her new lips. They barely moved and you could hardly understand what she was saying because of it.

Now, I'm watching Days of our Lives (on DVR) and they brought back an old character for a funeral (as soaps tend to do), and the actress has obviously had her lips done since the last time she was on the show. Doesn't she know how fake they look?

Now, I'm not one who is against plastic surgery to make you look better. But, these people DO NOT look better. It just makes them look stupid for doing it.

Fashion Show

A couple of days ago, Katie and I went to Super Target to buy diapers. Of course, when you go to Super Target, it's nearly impossible to just buy what you went there for. Katie and I spent two hours there, and no, we did not just buy diapers.


You see, to get to the diaper department, you have to pass the baby clothes department. That's how they get you. So, after going through all of the cute clothes, Katie and I headed to the fitting rooms to try everything on. While we were in there I pulled out my camera for a little fashion show.


We bought the first dress, but not the second dress. While it looked really cute on her, it just wasn't appropriate for everyday wear, or even for Sunday Mass, and we already have an Easter dress for Katie. Maybe if we had a wedding or something coming up, I would've bought it.


When I pulled the second dress up over Katie's head to take it off of her, the static in the air caused her hair to stand on end.


After the dresses, we tried on some shorts and t-shirts. With the exception of yesterday and today, it's been getting pretty warm around here, and Katie didn't have any shorts to wear.


I couldn't believe it when she fit into the size 2T shorts! They were a little loose on her, but the size 18 months were definitely too tight. Target must be making their shorts smaller this year, because there is NO WAY that my skinny-minny 18 month old daughter truly wears a 2T. The 18 month bottoms at TCP are still a little loose on Katie, and she has a couple of 18 months skorts from Carters that are way too big for her. The kid only weighs 22 pounds! Soaking wet!

Amazed

Look at how gorgeous my daughter is! She's so beautiful!


Okay, so you probably think I'm bragging or something, but I'm just so amazed when I see photos like these. It always takes me by surprise when I see how truly gorgeous my daughter can be.

It's not that I don't think she's a pretty girl. What mother doesn't find her child beautiful? It's just that I am more used to seeing Emily looking like this...


Actually, she looks pretty good in this photo, too, since she had just brushed her hair. Her hair usually looks more like this.


Totally not kidding about this, either.

Power Outage

So, today I was just sitting at home in my own little world, just minding my own business, and completely oblivious to the outside world. Then I got a call from the school nurse that Emily is sick and needs to be picked up from school. Perfect timing, I thought, because I had just laid Katie down for a nap, but she had not fallen asleep yet.

So, out into the world we go to get Emily from school. At first, everything seemed just fine - completely normal. And then I come to an intersection and the lights are out. Not much of a problem, though, because it was a small intersection and it seemed that everyone was smart enough to treat it as a four-way stop (as required by law), except for the idiot behind me who almost slammed into me when I stopped.

But then the lights were out at the next intersection, and then next, and the next, and on and on for a couple of miles. Then I knew something was wrong, but I still thought it was maybe just a local problem, especially since on my return trip, half of the lights that had been out before were already back on.

Of course, when I got home and checked my email, there was a CNN alert that there was a major power outage in Florida. Then I read this article about the issue. I couldn't believe what a huge problem it was. And I was even more shocked that such a widespread problem, that reached into my area, managed to leave me completely unscathed. Had it not been for my trip to pick Emily up from school, I might not have had a clue about it.

Visitors

Phil's dad and his wife are in town this week. They came over last night after dinner to visit with the girls for a little while.


Katie really likes Phil's dad. She loves to sit on his lap and have him hold her.


When the grandparents weren't paying as much attention to Katie as she would have liked, she decided to climb up onto the coffee table to perform some of her tricks for them.


Hey, guys! Watch me jump from this coffee table onto the couch. 1, 2, 3, GO!

Comments

Why aren't you people leaving me any comments? I know you are reading. My little hit counter down there on the bottom right tells me that you are. So, why can't you show me a little love? You're making me feel bad. Shame on you.

Dead

The batteries in my camera are dead. So dead, in fact, that when my camera died, it didn't even have enough power left to pull the lens in and close. I use rechargable batteries, but when I sent Phil to retrieve more from the charger, it was completely empty. So, now I have to locate the missing batteries so I can charge them. Only then will I be able to resume picture taking.

So, don't expect much in the way of picture posts from me anytime soon.

Crabby Baby

Katie has been in a rotten mood since last night. Last night, she just wouldn't stop whining and crying and yelling, "NO!" over and over again. This morning has been pretty much the same way, except for the fact that she calms down for a bit when I put one of her favorite shows on the TV for her. Thank goodness for Ni Hao, Kailan and Yo Gabba Gabba.

Does putting the TV on to shut her up make me a bad parent? It's not like I didn't try everything else first.

Yuck!

I went out to dinner yesterday with Phil, Katie, and my father-in-law. We went to Carrabba's, and Phil and his dad ordered mussels for an appetizer. Phil's dad gave one to Katie to see if she'd eat it. At first, she took it back out of her mouth like she didn't like it. But then she put it back into her mouth and ate it. Then she said, "Mmmm," and begged for more. I was mortified. I get grossed out just watching others eat mussels because I dislike them so much. Ewww!

Leaves

My yard has been taken over by leaves. First, it was bombarded with acorns. It was so bad that I literally thought that the squirrels were sitting up in the trees throwing acorns at me because I got hit by at least one every time I walked outside.

Once the acorns had all fallen, the leaves took over. We have a gazillion oak trees in our yard, and so it is completely covered in leaves. I decided to uncover our walkway this morning so my father-in-law would be able to find his way to our front door when he came to visit us.

Before:

After:



By the way, it started raining shortly after my FIL got here, so my walkway is covered in leaves again already. I've got to do something about all of these damn trees!

Fun Friday

I had quite the fun filled day today. I felt like I was going non-stop. I'm finally home now and ready to crash.

This morning, after driving Emily to school, I gave Katie a bath and got both of us ready for a playdate at Karlise's house. We made a pit-stop at Super Target to pick up some refreshments for the playdate just in case they were needed. Then, we headed out to Karlise's house for a mom-centered playdate.

At the playdate, there were a couple of CPSTs (child passenger safety technicians) there to give us information about child safety and answer any questions that we had. I didn't think I'd be interested in what they had to say, but I was totally wrong about that.

I found out that the laws in this state regarding child safety are very lax, to say the least. As far as child restraints in cars go, the only law is that children age four and under must be somehow restrained. That means that I could have Katie in a booster seat that doesn't even come close to fitting her and that would be okay under the law. I also learned that there is no law regarding a minimum age at which you can leave your child at home alone. So, apparently, if I wanted to go to the grocery store while Katie was taking a nap, I could, and I wouldn't be breaking the law. Absolutely rediculous!

After the playdate, a few of us decided to take our little ones out to the Parke Hydro Farm to pick strawberries. I really wish I'd brought my camera with me because all of the kids were just so cute. Stacy brought Stella, Heather brought Tyler, and Michelle brought Lauren. Katie loves her little friends and they all had such a good time together. Katie wasn't really interested in helping me pick the strawberries, though. She mostly wanted to just run around and play in the puddles and with her friends.

By the time we left the farm, it was past lunch time and Katie and I were ready to eat. Since it was also creeping up on time to pick Emily up from school, Katie and I stopped in at Wendy's for a nice little lunch. I was hoping she'd be finished eating early enough for us to stop in at Target to do some quick shopping, but she wasn't, so we didn't.

After we picked Emily up from school, we finally headed home. When we got there Phil was home waiting for us. He had to drive down to Sarasota for work, and wanted to take Emily with him because he knew she'd enjoy it. I was hoping that while Phil and Emily were gone that Katie would take a little nap, but apparently, the 20 minutes she slept in the car on our way home was enough for her.

Shortly after Sarah got home from school, I got a phone call from her Girl Scout Cookie Mom that she had Sarah's cookie order ready for me to pick up. So, back into the car we went to go pick up the cookies. Since my friend Heather is pregnant and in desperate need of Girl Scout cookies, I stopped by her house to deliver her cookies on our way home from picking them up. She was very grateful.

Then from Heather's, we headed up to Olive Garden to meet Phil and Emily for dinner. Our meal was nice and uneventful - just the way I like it. Sarah and Emily's bio-dad met us up there when we were finished so they could go spend the weekend with him.

We're finally home now, and I am ready to fall asleep. I doubt I'll even make it to ten o'clock tonight.

The End of an Era

One of the things I have always loved about The Children's Place was the fact that I could always get cute little matching or coordinating outfits for Sarah and Emily to wear. Sometimes, for holidays, I would even get my neice and nephew matching outfits, too.


I'd even get the girls coordinating pajamas quite often, too. I'd get them each the same style, but in a different color scheme.


Then, when Katie came along, I was so happy to find that I could get them all three matching or coordinating outfits for special occasions. I loved being able to buy these cute Christmas outfits for my three girls, my neices, and my nephew.


This past Christmas, I was especially thrilled with the matching outfits I bought for all of the children. I know that some people despise Christmas plaids, but I just loved the way these outfits all came together.


A couple of weeks ago, Phil and I bought this Easter dress for Katie. Then yesterday, I was on The Children's Place website and I found some cute matching outfits that I was hoping would work for Sarah and Emily.

So, I took the girls up to the mall last night to try them on for size. While the outfits definitely fit the girls, they are just way too old now to pull off the little girl styles. My days of putting all three of my girls in matching outfits is finally over. I've accepted it, but I'm not happy about it.

Need a Nap

Do you remember my post the other day about how the weather was bringing me down and even Katie wanted to sleep more than usual? Well, she made up for all of that sleep by refusing to take even the tiniest of naps yesterday. Which meant that I did not get to take a nap yesterday, either.

So, today, I really need to get my nap in. Whether she likes it or not, this kid is taking a nap today. Period.

Retarded

So, there's this controversy surrounding the latest Big Brother show on CBS. I don't watch the show, but I heard about it on the radio this morning. I found this article about it when I got home.

If you don't feel like reading the article to know what I am talking about, I'll sum it up for you. Basically, one of the contestants on the show refered to mentally disabled people as "retards." Then he followed that up by claiming that since he works with autistic children, he has the right to call them anything he wants, including "retards." And some autism group is demanding an apology from CBS.

Now, I'm not one of those "PC people," and I do think that some people take all of this political correctness way too far. I don't have a problem with the use of the adjective "retarded" to describe a person who is, in fact, mentally retarded. I have a friend who will gladly tell you that her mentally retarded daughter is retarded. It's much more specific than saying she "has special needs," since that can mean a large variety of things. When you say someone is "retarded," you know that it means a mental handicap.

However, I do have a problem with the noun "retard." In our popular culture, the noun "retard" has become a derogatory term synonymous with "idiot" or "moron." When you call someone a "retard," you are basically making fun of them. And, in my opinion, it is unacceptable to make fun of someone for a handicap that they have no control over.

In my opinion, this guy on the show was out of line refering to the mentally challenged kids as "retards." As for whether or not CBS should apologize, I think that's up to them. The guy who made the remarks should absolutely apologize, but by airing his comments on TV, CBS wasn't exactly condoning his comments, only showing their viewers what a dumbass this guy really is. And hopefully, he'll get kicked off of the show because of it.

Down

The weather today has got me feeling down. The skies have been gray for most of the day, and right when Katie decided that she wanted to go outside to play, the rain started coming down.

I think the weather has even gotten Katie down. Even though Katie had a good long nap this afternoon, once it started raining, she asked to go lay down for another nap. Of course, I don't really blame her - I feel like taking a nap, too.

Peek-A-Boo

Katie loves playing peek-a-boo. She'll put anything over her head and then pull it off and say, "Peek-a-boo!" Her favorite song to sing lately is the Peek-A-Boo song from Yo Gabba Gabba.


So, last night when we opened up her new shoes that we received in the mail, what was the first thing that she did?


Yep. She put the Priority Mail envelope/bag over her head and then pulled it off and said, "Peek-a-boo!"

Great Balls of Fire

Emily played her final two games of the soccer tournament this afternoon and evening. Her first game today was at two o'clock when it was terribly hot. The temperature was in the low 80s and in full sun. It was hot and sweaty just watching the game and the girls had to run around in that same heat.

They also were short a couple of players today, so they only had one substitute on the sidelines. With only one sub, the girls had to play virtually the entire game. Needless to say, Emily's team did not win this game. As a matter of fact, they lost - big time! I think the score was something like 7 or 8 to 1. It was really pathetic and we were just praying for the game to be over.

In between the two games today, the team had their end-of-season trophy party at CiCi's Pizza. Even though the girls were tired, they quite enjoyed themselves at the party. The coach handed out the team's trophies and gave a little speech about each girl's performance this season along with her personal nickname for the girl.


Emily was given the nickname "Dive Master." Coach chose this name for Emily because she loves to dive for the ball, whether she needs to or not, when she is playing goalie.

After our party, we all headed back to the fields to play our final game of the tournament. After that first game today, none of us were looking forward to this final game. However, what we thought was going to be another catastrophe, turned into the team's best game of the season.

The game was AMAZING! Emily's team won 9-6. At one point we were even ahead 8-3. And Emily, who hadn't scored a goal all season (mostly because she was usually playing defense or goalie), scored THREE of their nine goals.

I am hoarse from screaming so much during the game. I'll more than likely not be able to speak tomorrow morning when I wake up.


Congratulations, Fireballs, on a great season!

Soccer, Soccer, & More Soccer

Emily's soccer team is playing in a tournament this weekend. Her first game was played tonight. She has two more games tomorrow afternoon, and if her team does very well, a final game on Sunday. So basically, we are going to eat, sleep, and breathe soccer all weekend.

The game tonight was a really good game. Unfortunately, Emily's team lost 4-2. Emily did a great job as goalie and only allowed one goal to be scored on her. Her teammate, Brandy, kicked in both of their team's goals, and came close to scoring a couple more.

I'll update you on the rest of the games tomorrow night. Hopefully, I'll remember to bring my camera and take some pictures.

You Made Me Do It

I have decided to disallow anonymous comments on my blog for the time being. It may or may not be permanent.

Lately, I have received a few anonymous comments from some pretty nasty people. Of course, as we all know, its only the nasty people who don't have the balls to own up to their pathetic comments. Unfortunately, I have wasted my own precious time responding to these losers, and that has to stop.

So from now on, you'll need a Google account to leave me a comment. Or if you're not willing to set one up, you can always just shoot me an email.

Happy Valentine's Day

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I stayed up late Tuesday night and then got up early Wednesday morning to make Rice Crispy treats for my playgroup's Valentine's Playdate, which I held at my house because the park got rained out. (I forgot to take any pictures, but Heather took some cute ones of the kids having a tea party in Katie's room. You can view them here.)

Then last night, I stayed up late again baking and decorating cupcakes for Emily's class. Phil wanted some, too, so I had to make an extra batch for him to take to work today. I ended up making it to bed at roughly 2:30 this morning. Needless to say, I desperately needed a nap this morning. So, I closed Katie in the living room with the baby gate, put Nick Jr. on for her, and curled up on the couch for my nap.

This is what I found when I woke up.


Yes, those are marshmallows and cupcake crumbs. She climbed up to the kitchen counter and got the last cupcake (which was not decorated, thankfully) and the rest of the bag of marshmallows that were not used to make the Rice Krispy Treats.

We seriously need to get a dog around here to clean up after her.

Cascade

How many bottles of Cascade dishwasher detergent does one family need? One? Maybe a second for when the first one runs out? That's sounds reasonable, right?


Apparently, reason has left my husband. When I opened up the cabinet under the sink this morning to look for some window cleaner, this is what I saw:




Apparently, he thinks that our family needs FIVE bottles of Cascade dishwasher detergent. I have no idea why, either.

What's Cookin'?

Guess what I did last night? It's something that I don't normally do. Give up? Okay, I'll tell you. I cooked dinner. No, really, I did. I made my Souper-Easy Beef Vegetable Soup. Want to know how? Okay, here it goes.

First, you have to get all of your ingredients together. Everything here is optional, but I use the following: 1 pound ground beef, 2-3 pototoes, 1 can each corn, peas, green beans, and a can of Tomato Juice. I made a double batch, so you'll see twice as much in the photo.


You can add other vegetables (carrots, lima beans, etc.) if you like, or remove any that you don't like. It's completely up to you. Vegetarian? Take out the beef.

To prepare this soup, first you'll need to peel, cube and cook the potatoes. If you're in a hurry to eat, go ahead and cook the potatoes all the way through, being careful to not overcook them. If you're not in a hurry, cook the potatoes only about half way.


Next, you'll brown your ground beef just until there is no more red color left. Then drain off the grease.


In a large pot, dump in the potatoes and the beef. Ooh! Look at that steam!


Next, dump in your vegetables and tomato juice. Stir it all together and simmer until potatoes are cooked through.


Now, grab yourself a big bowl and enjoy! Mmmmm...

Lifetouch Update

You may remember my post from last week about Emily's class photo. Well, tonight I received a lovely email from someone at Lifetouch.

Hi Melodie,

I read your blog concerning your daughter's school classroom group picture. In viewing your scanned copy of the picture I would agree it's not an acceptable portrait. I apologize for that. This is not the typical Lifetouch experience. We try our best to always take an excellent portrait but once in awhile one gets by that is less than perfect. Lifetouch offers an unconditional refund guarantee. I would be glad to take care of this for you. Please contact me by email or call the office or my mobile number.

Thank you,

Sue

Sue Fountas
Sales & Service
Lifetouch National School Studios

So, I responded that while a refund would be great, I had not already asked for one because I did not want to give up the photo of Emily's classmates. I received another email shortly afterward.

Melodie,

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

I can understand you wanting some memory of your child's year, even if it's not perfect. I can offer to get you a refund and you can keep the picture you have.

If you provide me with your full name and your mailing address I will have the office process a refund for you as soon as possible.

Thank you,

Sue

Sue Fountas
Sales & Service
Lifetouch National School Studios

Isn't that great? I certainly didn't expect anything like this when I wrote that blog post. It's refreshing to know that there are still some good people out there.

Thanks again, Sue!

Bathtime for Baby... & Doggie?

Maggie, my mother's dog, spent the night with us on Saturday night because my mom was going out, Maggie gets lonely, and Katie wanted to bring her home with us. My mother came over last night to reclaim her dog, and since Katie needed a bath, she decided to give her one. And since I had been complaining about Maggie "smelling like a dog," I guess my mother decided to give Maggie a bath, as well. So, she gave them a bath together.


Katie quite enjoyed her bath with Maggie. She especially enjoyed washing Maggie with her washcloth.


Don't forget to wash behind the ears.


Katie had a blast taking a bath with Maggie. I just hope that she doesn't think that she's going to be taking all of her baths with Maggie.

A Little Thievery

While at a playdate a couple of days ago, we were discussing how people borrow ideas for their own blogs from other people's blogs. It was at that time that I decided that I would steal ideas from my friend's blogs for a few of my own. Today, I am stealing from Holly.

So, here is your quiz for the day: Which movie mom are you?

Here's my match:

Melodie, your movie mom match is My Big Fat Greek Wedding's Maria Portokalos
Maria Portokalos may not have been the focus of the movie, but that's the only way she would have had it. You, like Maria, are the backbone of your family, but you do it without ever wanting to be the center of attention. You know what we're talking about — your kids always seek out your well-thought-out and sincere advice, and your husband knows who really wears the pants in your house.

You consider motherhood a delicate balancing act — you're strong and tough when necessary, but it's tempered with love and respect. Fiercely loyal, you always act with your family's best interest at heart. And that's just the way you want it.

So which movie mom are you? Find out here.

To Hell and Back

Phil and I decided to go to Walmart this afternoon. We didn't realize how much time we had been in there until my mother, who was watching Katie for us, called to find out where we were. We had spent over two hours in Walmart!!

Our cart was so full that I couldn't continue pushing it long before we were finished shopping. AND, we ended up needing TWO carts to get everything out to the car!!

Now I have to go back there, too. While we were in the pet department, I got a cute little dress for my mother's daschund, Maggie, who likes to dress up. Unfortunately, she is fatter than I thought she was and I have to exchange the dress for a larger size.


Isn't she cute in it anyway?



P.S.
I forgot to mention that we didn't even get any meat or produce at Walmart. Phil went to Publix for that.

Bag Lady

So, I got my order of Discovery Toys this afternoon. I was so excited to play with them with Katie. Guess what Katie was excited to play with?


Yep. Katie wanted to play with the Olive Garden bag.


She sure did have a good time with it, too.

10 Million Smackeroos

Julie tagged me with another meme and this one has taken quite some thought. Basically, I'm supposed to list ten things I'd buy (or spend money to do) if "that Big Ed guy shows up at [my] door" and gives me 10 million dollars. And supposedly I can't give it away to charity or save it all for my children's college education. I'm supposed to be selfish, so here goes...

1. Three words - LASER HAIR REMOVAL.

2. Plastic Surgery - Liposuction, tummy tuck, and a nice pair of breasts.

3. Build a new, much bigger house. It would need to have at least seven bedrooms (one for each of the kids, two guest rooms, and a large master suite for Phil and me), seven baths, a large play/rec room, a media room, a mammoth kitchen, formal living room, dining room, and big comfy family room. It would need to be on a large chunk of land because there would be a barn for the horses and cows.

4. I would hire landscapers to take care of my perfectly manicured lawn, a housekeeper (or two) to clean my large house and do my laundry, a pool boy, and a part-time nanny.

5. New wardrobes for the entire family.

6. New automobiles. I'd get a loaded new minivan, a Suburban for Phil, and maybe a small sportscar for when the kids aren't with us.

7. Excercise equipment and a personal trainer for Phil. I might occasionally use the stuff, too.

8. Vacations to Ireland, Italy & the Vatican, the carribbean, & Australia.

9. I can't not spend some money on college for the kids. I'd at least buy them each a Florida Pre-paid College plan.

10. Buy some stock in Exxon-Mobile (since that seems to be the only company making any kind of profit these days) and live off of the dividends.

So, there you have it, folks. My wish list for if I end up with an extra $10 million dollars in my bank account. What would you do?


P.S.
For those of you who don't know where that quote is from, it's from the movie "Heathers."

Bad Mommy

I just grounded my (almost) 18 month old. I told her not to mess with something, and she not only didn't listen to me, but she went about trying to completely destroy it and then brought me some of the pieces just to rub it in my face.

So, I yelled (more like spoke sternly at a slightly louder volume) at her, grounded her, and put said item up in the top of her closet where she can never get to it. Then I left her in her room.

Well, she's full of ATTITUDE this morning, so she decided to slam her bedroom door behind me. I guess she showed me - NOT! Little did she realize that by closing me out of her room, she was also closing herself IN her room.

She just realized what she did and is now in there crying about it. She probably blames me for this, too.

I guess I'll go let her out and maybe comfort her a bit, too. Maybe.

Farewell, My Sweet

Today is Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, the day before Lent begins. After great thought, I have decided to give up my current vice for Lent. So, today is the last day that I can consume...


That's right, I have decided to give up the yummy-yummy, melt-in-your-mouth goodness that is Krispy Kreme doughnuts.


Since today is my last day to have these wonderful round pieces of Heaven for the next forty days, I made a stop at the KK drive-thru on my way home from taking Emily to school.

My sweet Katie is also a HUGE fan of these fabulous sweet treats, so of course she had one for breakfast, too.


Katie really loves her Krispy Kreme donuts. I feel a bit bad that because I am giving KK up for Lent she is not going to be able to have any during Lent either. But, I'm certainly not going to temp myself by bringing donuts into the house. Sorry, Katie!


Goodbye, my beloved Krispy Kreme. I'll see you on Easter Sunday.

Dear Lifetouch Photographer,

I realize that you are probably not the greatest photographer in the world. If you were, you probably would not be working for a company that specializes in school portraits. However, I would expect that you could at least adhere to the minimum standards expected in a school portrait. You know, like making sure that every member of a group portrait can be seen.


Let's take a closer look here; Shall we? Do you see that lovely blond girl in the back row? Third from the right? No? Now, that's the problem I'm talking about. I can't see her either. At least, I can't see anything more than her forehead and her eyes. Would it really have been that difficult to have her change places with one of the taller girls to her left? Or maybe just shift her over a bit to where she wasn't hidden by some other kid's giant head?


I paid good money for this class portrait and I expected to be able to see my child's face somewhere in there. Thanks alot for wasting my money, F*cktard!