The Rat that was NOT a Cat.

As we left yesterday morning to head off to Kid 3's surgery at 5:30 in the morning, my husband saw something moving in the gutter in front of our house. After pointing it out and both of us making an assessment we decided it was a RAT. A HUGE UGLY HAIRY RAT. We were both so shocked that we even turned the car around to find the little creature again and see where it was heading. It just hung out in the gutter and wasn't very afraid of us. I told a few people in the neighborhood and they weren't so convinced and kept asking me if was a cat. Unless cats have a long skinny hairless tail, it definitely was a RAT. I didn't know we had them here in Utah like that, not to mention in my own front yard. I am only disappointed in the fact that I didn't get a picture, but then again, maybe not.

Tubes

It was definetly time to give in and get my little one ear tubes. She did great and we were out of there about 30 minutes after the procedure. She is sleeping alright and eating great and even hearing things I know she wasn't hearing before. After the 8th ear infection and countless numbers of sleepless nights, I am hoping for more uninterrupted sleep and a happier baby. I hope my expectations aren't set to high. Only time will tell.

The Bunny that Kept On Hopping

I have to admit that the Easter Bunny didn't come to my house growing up. I have asked my mom about it a few times and she said every now and then he brought a basket or something, but I don't remember it. I can remember dyeing eggs and hiding them ourselves throughout the house and then trying to find them. I am pretty sure a few times we found a random egg months later hidden remotely behind some book or decoration. I don't remember ever using kits, I think we would make our own with food coloring and vinegar. Having said this, I don't know what the Easter Bunny is supposed to do. This year he was a little late. The weekend started with the city Easter egg hunt. It was very crowded and fun. They had age divisions for 2 and under and then 3-5, etc. I took Kid 3 to the 2 and under and sat her there and let her try to figure out what she was supposed to do. I was shocked to see other kids make out of there with baskets overflowing. Yeah right. It makes me laugh to watch parents, I mean the kids, fly through the hunt so quickly and aptly. The next day we headed to church and after I was trying to get some pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes. Being the mean mom I am, I quickly hurt Kid 1's little heart and had a hard time getting him to smile after I asked him to stop moving. We then dyed some eggs after we all took a much needed nap. All this time the kids kept on asking when the Easter Bunny was coming. They had it in their head that little bunny footprints would mark the way to the eggs or basket or whatever they were hoping for. We then went to grandma and grandpa's and participated in yet another Easter egg hung, but this time the adults could join in. We escaped with a few movies and some gift certificates to a few of our favorite restaurants. This is my type of hunt. Since we didn't get home until late we decided that the Easter bunny would have to come in the morning. I was a whole day late!!!! Then, to top it all off, we didn't even hide our eggs until the next night, somehow mysteriously while I was cleaning up dinner, the Easter bunny snuck upstairs to hide the eggs. The kids were excited he finally found our house. And I decided I either need to learn how to do Easter right, or just not do it at all.

Flyin Follow-up

I have been shocked to learn that there are many of you out there who have gave "flying" a try and even know what I am talking about when I say Flylady. I must say, I have tried a few things, but I don't put on my shoes. I don't like to wear shoes, so why would I want to wear them in my house. I may have to figure something else out. It must be time to go swish and swipe, or hit one of my hot spots, gotta run.

The Negative Power of "No"

I have an 11 month old who can throw a tantrum like no other. She flails herself on the floor and starts rolling around and can cover the whole floor of a room in about 3 seconds flat. It makes me laugh every time. But the amazing thing is, it is most often when I tell her "NO" or take something away from her. I have been thinking about the belief of Scientologists of not telling others "NO" because of the negative energy it creates. I have to agree. The demeanor of my little girl changes so quickly when she is told no. I understand that TomKat do this with Suri. I don't understand how, and it scares me a little to think of what kind of girl she might become, but they must have some way of diverting attention or behavior without just giving in every time. I wish I could find some way when my girl is trying to stick her finger in the light socket to not create "negative energy" but even telling her "danger" sends her into one of her fits. She really is tenderhearted. So, I guess I am open to suggestions of ways to avoid creating negative energy while not spoiling my children in the process.

The Flylady

I have faced the daunting task of getting my house back into shape after a trip. It really is one of the most painful experiences I have had to face. I am sure many can relate. I was in my closet today and thinking of how I needed to get rid of so many things. I am one of those who holds on to "that shirt" just in case I need it that ONE DAY that never comes around. I decided to get rid of a few things, but not all (obviously, no one would want to see the results of an empty closet from me). As I was doing this, I realized how I am in the mood for some good old fashioned spring cleaning. But, I have a hard time doing any of this and keeping up on just my regular cleaning. Some day, maybe someday. My sister has sworn for years by The Flylady and I have peeked at the website before http://www.theflylady.com. But, it really looked overwhelming for just tackling some basic organizing and cleaning tasks. I decided to take a look at it after our visit to Cali and talking with my sister about it again. Still looks overwhelming - especially since the site informed me I could expect about 10 emails a day, which is scaled back from before-yikes. Some of the testimonials swear by it and some of it is things I already do. Afterall, if I can have my cleaning made easier, why not?

Just a Few More

Southern Cali

It's true. We gave in to the kids and took Disneyland and California Adventure by storm this last week. We toured the LA Zoo and hit the beach, but more like the beach hit us. We made it back safely, and very tired, and now have to get back to reality and the cold weather.

BEWARE: There are Spys Out There

This doesn't have anything to do with one of the latest books I have read. This has to do with you and your computer, and me and mine.
I have a number of brothers who will cringe at this confession. I have a certain degree of naivety and lack of forward thinking when it comes to computers. I don't think I am completely inept though. I can figure a few things out on my own. I just don't know the "whole picture". I have a few brothers who are true computer geeks. A couple of them even went into computer programming. So, when I say they will cringe and shudder when they read this, I am not joking. That is, IF they read this.
I was talking to one of them (one of the computer geeks) yesterday, telling him I needed him to come and clean up my computer. He asked me if I was going to "pay" him. He then suggested I install a SPYBOT. Ok, don't get me wrong, I have heard of spyware. I just didn't understand why I would have any SPYS. But he told me to go do a free download of Spybot Search and Destroy. This sounded like a fun mission that I was willing to accept.
I downloaded the program and learned a few things about it. Spyware is a new threat that most of our anti-virus programs don't detect. It tracks our computer behavior-what and where we surf, and creates a marketing profile of us to sell to companies. Spyware has gotten so good that most of it can track us "silently".
I was getting really bugged that some one or some thing could SNOOP on me so indiscreetly. I decided to "Search and Destroy". The first time I scanned my system, there were at least 15 different threats, one of which had 26 entries alone. I was not so thrilled. I quickly DESTROYED my little spys and did a scan a few hours later. Again, 3 threats. Wow. That was fast. DESTROYED, again.
My mission to all of you, if you choose to accept, is to SEARCH AND DESTROY. My computer already seems to be functioning at a higher capacity. Maybe yours will too.
My brothers should be so proud. Look at all that I have learned. But I do have to say it makes me laugh, because sure, they know all they need to know about computers, that is their job. How much do they know about medicine, my line of work??? Jabberwock, have you figured out the best way to get popcorn out of your little ones nose? I might have been able to take care of that for you, but only for a small fee, of course.

Refinished

I can't believe we have been in our house for over a year!!! Time sure does fly. So, the company we bought our house from has a one year warranty on little home repairs. In January, I made a bunch of requests for things to get fixed. This has required me to sit at home from an allotted amount of time a number of mornings until the repair person arrives. My favorite is "Can we come around 8 am to 12 pm?". I usually have nothing better to do with my time than to wait, and then to wait some more when they are late. The best thing that we got them to do was refinish our floors!!! I was so excited to have them refinished because I really thought they did a horrible job the first time. The floors seemed to scratch really easily and then once they scratched you could flake off the finish. I didn't try this very often, but this is what finally got them to agree to refinish them. Not to mention the number of dents we have managed to create over the last year. Anyway, it was the messiest project ever. I came home Saturday and dusted, dusted some more, and dusted some more. We had to be out of our home 2 whole, not consecutive days, which really made the kids all messed up. Life is finally getting back to our routine. My floors look a lot better, and don't seem to scratch as easily. I hope we don't have to do it again anytime soon, because I already have done my spring cleaning for the year.

Computer Blunders

I have had the worst luck with my PC lately. I don't know what I have done to make it so extremly volatile, but I feel like getting back at it by throwing it out the window. I finally went through and deleted some programs I don't use very often that take up to much memory, and I am hoping this does the trick. I have the hardest time getting on my computer lately because it tends to freeze up on me and make things take longer than they should. It must be time for a new one. Any suggestions on a computer that you just love will be gladly accepted.