Photo Tag Thing

My friend Angela tagged me on this and it looked intriguing. Will I honestly post the correct picture? Hmmm...maybe not since they are all out of focus. But it will be the 10th picture in the first of my photo folders that isn't blurry!

Here are the rules:
1. Open your first photo folder
2. Scroll to the 10th photo.
3. Post the photo & the story behind it.
4. Tag 5 or more people.

These are my siblings. Clearly in this picture, my brother is expecting his first baby and we are all have very mixed emotions about it. Sari and Nikki are excited, Steven is...creepy, Derek is contemplative, and I am nostalgic. Yes, 2006 was a great year for the Wamsley family.

Sometimes we take normal pictures too.

Just look at those square smiles. Such a strong family resemblance no?

Okay, here I go.
1. Nikki
2. Leisa
3. Mary (I just started reading her blog and I highly recommend it.)
4. Derek
5. Alicia

I'm very pretty.

Today while in line at Costco for hot dogs, a very stooped, very old man walked up behind me. He glanced at me, did a double take, and then said, "Well, you're very pretty!" I thanked him, probably blushed, and then...didn't know what to do. For the next 10 minutes I stared straight ahead and felt awkward while he snorted, grunted, and sounded like he was having trouble breathing behind me. Poor guy...

I have to admit, it kind of made my day in a weird sort of way. I mean of course "J" tell me I'm pretty but he's my husband, I think he sort of has to right? I mean I know he means it but still, he would probably tell me I'm pretty even if I wasn't. (Thanks honey!) But coming from a stranger, even an old man, was surprisingly flattering.

Thank you Old Costco Man!

Alstroemeria anyone?

My son "S" will not eat. He is my runt of my litter of boys. They all came out the same, all 8 lbs. and some odd ounces. But my older two were HUGE babies. See? Just look at "T"'s chubs!

Then there's my baby "S". He won't eat any of the foods that most 2 1/2 year olds like. No chicken nuggets, no mac n' cheese, no pizza! No PB&J sandwiches, no spaghetti, no hot dogs, no meat of any kind, and nothing with bread. Seriously, this kid drives me crazy.

He will eat: applesauce, yogurt, some dry cereal, crackers, pretzels, bananas, and raisins. That's pretty much it. Oh yes and let's not forget chips and candy, he LOVES that junk. Mean old mom won't let him have that though.

So imagine my surprise when today while I was loading my groceries on the belt at the checkout line, when I turn around and see him happily eating this:
"S" was happily plucking the petals off an alstroemeria flower bunch and eating them like candy. Hopefully it's not poisonous. I caught him with one petal hanging out of his mouth and tried to pull it out and he was like a pit bull with that flower petal! Would NOT let it go.

So anyway, I guess I have one more thing I can add to his daily menu.

I live to disappoint!

Yesterday on the way to T-Ball practice:

B: Mommy, what is that fun store! It says "Kids, Inc." on it! Can we go?
Me: No. It's not a store, it's a daycare.
B: Oh. What's a daycare?
Me: Well, you know how Mommy works at home on the computer every day?
B: Yeah.
Me: I do that so I can stay home with you guys. Some mommies and daddies can't work at home, so they have to take their kids to daycare to be taken care of while they're at work.
B: You mean they get to go there everyday?
Me: Yup.
B: Oh... Wow, they're so lucky!!!

I'm so happy that my sacrifices are being appreciated. After all, who cares that my college degree is completely wasted and I'm working a menial low-paying job at home? My reward is that I'm keeping my kids from having FUN at daycare! mwahahaha...

Do this:

Go here and do what she tells you, and you might win a $100 GC to Target! I'll do just about anything to win a GC to Target.

My Life is a Joke

Let me tell you a tale...sadly, a tale that has been told before.

Once upon a time, there was a mother of 3 boys. She had been sick all day, hadn't eaten since the night before. She had a lot on her plate, always does. After a crazy busy day, she had 3 things left to do. Pick up a prescription at Target, get gas in the van, and take her son "B" to T-Ball practice.

So she rushed rushed rushed out the door, like she always does. Made pretty good time too! Was happy to see she was leaving Target a little after 5:00 with prescription in hand, and had just enough time to stop by Costco for gas, which was literally ONE MILE away. For once, she was going to make it to T-Ball in plenty of time. Even more miraculous, all 3 boys were behaving.

Then...something happened. Something that had happened to this mother before. Something she swore would never happen again. Something that made her feel TOTALLY and COMPLETELY stupid. She ran...out...of...gas. Ran out of gas, WITHIN SIGHT of Costco. Literally, a 3 minute walk away from Costco.

Poor harried mother steered her sad minivan over and drifted to the side of the road. She turned off the engine and thought, "My life is a joke." But then she realized, she had no time to ponder her predicament. Action is what was needed! She had 3 boys in a vehicle on the side of a busy road! She said, "Boys! Get out. We're walking to Costco!" She put her hazards on, got out, and resisted the urge to flip off stupid careless drivers whizzing past her and her 3 children outside of her obviously disabled minivan. After all, who could be bothered to at least pull over and see if she needed help? She grabbed her stroller and took off towards the Costco, kids in tow.

About halfway there, what should happen, but a policeman pulled over.

Policeman: Ma'am, is that your minivan back there?

Mom: Yes, it is.

Policeman: Well, you can't leave it there.

Mom: (resisting urge to be a smart mouth) Yes I know, it ran out of gas. I pulled it over as far as I could and put the hazards on. I'm heading to Costco to see what I can do.

Policeman: Well, you need to push the van off the road.

Mom: I can't, it's heavy and it's just me and my 3 boys. (gestures, as if this weren't obvious?) Nobody was pulling over to help and I figured I needed to do something, so I'm walking to Costco.

Policeman: Do you have a Costco card?

Mom: Yes.

Policeman: Well, we need to go back to the van and I'll help you push it off.

Mom: Okay. (gritting teeth...thinking about T-Ball practice that starts in 20 minutes. Wonders WHY she is still worrying about T-Ball practice when she's in this predicament?)

After returning to the van, the nice policeman realizes there IS nowhere to push the van further off the road, something that our little mother already knew but nicely bit her tongue to avoid pointing out. The policeman then pulled his cruiser behind the minivan with his overheads on, and informed this poor mother that he had radioed the fire department. Mother is wishing the ground would swallow her whole at this point. Police? Fire Department? Could this GET any more ridiculous?! Mother wonders, when will she learn to just fill up her gas tank and avoid this situation?

Our mom then spends 45 minutes entertaining her boys by playing "hide the toy plastic lizard in the desert landscaping and find it". The fire truck arrives! Her boys are bursting with little boy excitement. It's not a big engine (thank goodness), but a small "connector" truck. The nice fire fighters put a gallon in the tank, hand out stickers and water bottles to the boys, and send poor mother on her way. Mother makes beeline for Costco and fills up gas tank. (There's no line! It's a miracle!)

Mother drives to T-Ball practice. "B" makes it for the last 10 minutes. Mother comes home, serves boys Chef Boyardee and toast for dinner.

The End.

Green Green and more Green

Yesterday was a major holiday in the Larsen household, St. Patrick's Day. As B told me, "I'm so happy today because it's a holiday!"

We did the usual, green waffles, green milk, wearing green head to toe, playing with all green toys. Each of the boys also grew their own clovers, which unfortunately did not reach full clover status by St. Patrick's Day, but are lucky nonetheless!
Even the biggest leprechaun got in on the action! I got pinched while I was making the waffles because I hadn't had time to change from my PJ's. Apparently having green eyes does NOT save you from St. Patty's Day pinching.

RIP Gov. Hunt

Yes he died 75 years ago, but that doesn't mean that a certain 6 yr. old boy can't be totally and completely enthralled with his death!
From the PHX Zoo, you can see Governor Hunt's tomb up on a hill in Papago Park. They point this out on the train tour at the zoo. As soon as I heard them mention it and saw B's little head snap around and his eyes fixate on this mini-pyramid, I knew we were in trouble.
The rest of the day I was bombarded with questions about Governor Hunt and why in the world is he buried under a mini-pyramid. When we got home, we looked him up on Wikipedia and learned all about Governor Hunt, his 7 non-consecutive terms as Arizona Governor, and his apparent obsession with Egypt.
The next morning, the boys were playing with Moon Sand. And this was B's creation:
That my friends, is Moon Sand Governor Hunt, buried underneath his Moon Sand Pyramid.
RIP Governor Hunt, you may have died 75 years ago but you will never be forgotten.

Spring non-Break

Once again, blogging without pictures. Oh well. I have a bunch of posts I want to do but don't want to do them without pictures. Still need to do the Valentine's post and after tomorrow, will need to do my St. Patrick's Day post. I like celebrating stupid holidays, especially with the boys. I also need to do a little post on the complete comedy that WAS Trey's entire soccer season. That kid is hilarious! My little space cadet. I probably have some good footage for America's Funniest Home Videos.

Well, it's Spring Break right now, which I think was invented to give mothers everywhere a TEENY glimpse of what Summer vacation is going to be like with all their children home all day long. A big THANK YOU to school districts everywhere for this reminder. Summer will be long and frustrating, and I am now accepting ANY ideas on how to keep a 6, 4(almost 5) and 2 year old entertained. There will be swimming lessons of course, that is a given.

This week I've racked my brain for ideas and came up with a few good ones. I got a bunch of cheap junky toys in the dollar section at Target to hand out randomly when they are driving me crazy. Also we are taking trips to the library, the dollar movies, the zoo, and possibly the park. We will have a sidewalk chalk extravaganza at some point as well. The weather is already getting hot, supposed to be in the 80's around these parts.

Remind me next year to take Spring Break off of work. Working at home while all 3 kids are home all day is NOT my idea of a "break" at all!

A post about nothing and Craigslist.

I really don't have anything specific to blog about today. A lot is going on but nothing I feel like writing about. At least not in a blog where people I actually know are going to be reading it. Sometimes I feel like it would be fun to have a totally anonymous blog, where I could REALLY let loose.

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to make sure I blog for this week. I'm still working on my NYR goals I set. I kinda fell of my running, only ran once the last 10 days. But tomorrow I'm determined to get back into it.

Wow, I really have nothing to say. I have resorted to writing about my running, which is even boring me. I want to do a post on our Valentine's Day and the cute things I did for the boys but I can't find the cord to download the pics and well...it's a post that needs pictures.

Oh I know one thing I really want to get off my chest. I HATE CRAIGSLIST BUYERS. That's right, those fickle stupid people who SAY they want to buy something, set up a time and price, and you might even speak to them on the phone. Meanwhile, other people message you expressing interest in your item, but you tell them it's already been sold. Then the idiot buyer NO SHOWS. Not only no shows, but doesn't send you a message saying, "I changed my mind," or even answer their freaking phone when you call them asking why they are an hour late to pick up their item. And when you leave a message saying, "Hey, just wondering where you are, it's 5:30 and you said you'd pick it up at 4:30. Just give me a call and let me know. If you changed your mind that's fine too, just let me know so I can sell it to someone else!" How about you freaking ANSWER YOUR PHONE, or call back. Inconsiderate idiots.

Yup, guess I do have something to blog about after all.