Guess what this is....

Yep. It's an X-ray.

Why, you ask?

Well, because Barrett decided it would be a good idea to swallow a magnet.

And, not just any magnet, but a magnet with a Bakugan picture mounted on top of it. The nifty white circle is the magnet.

Yay.

So, today we spent an afternoon at the emergency room. They were concerned because of the size of the magnet, and because he was gagging, and throwing up. Apparently, swallowing a magnet the diameter of a quarter, and the thickness of about three quarters is a bad thing to do!

They were worried it was lodged somewhere in his throat, or in his stomach tube, or something.

Anyway, Barrett was actually pretty awesome at the hospital.

He liked getting X-rays, and he liked the "cool hospital shirt" they had him wear.

But, the magnet had made it's way into his stomach already, so now, we just wait.

That's right, we are on Poop Patrol for about a week.

Hurray.

He is amazing...

He probably will not ever see this, because he is not a big fan of modern technological advances, such as computers, cell phones, fax machines, etc.

However, I must say it anyway-

I love my Daddy.

He is truly amazing.

Love you, Dad.

Thank you for everything that you do for me, and for my little family.

Where would we be without you?

Everything I am that is good or positive or in any way beneficial,

I owe to you.

Because warm is better...

Hey, crappy winter-like weather,

I have a brilliant idea:

GET LOST!!!

Warm weather...

It's getting warm outside. The sun is shining, my kids are begging to ride bikes and scooters, I am happily wearing flip-flops, and the surest sign that springy and summery weather is approaching.... Every single dog in the neighborhood is outside. All of them barking like maniacs. Sigh. I am SUCH a cat person. I love my awesome, quiet, 100% indoor kitties. Nothing personal against all you dog lovers, but... I LOVE my cats. Cats rock.

It's Almost Time!!!!!!

So, we have only 18 more days until.....
That's right! Just under three weeks until the very reason for living commences!
Only 18 more days, and then no more "what should we watch on TV tonight?"
Because, in only 18 more days, we will be able to see this......

this glorious sight on our TV several days a week!
In only 18 more days, we can watch our beloved
Boston Red Sox play baseball in the grand and wonderful Fenway Park.
Only 18 more days.....
I think we can make it!!!

Maybe it's just us...

Tell me that we aren't the only ones who have stayed up way too late because we were totally enthralled with I-Tunes.
Yep, those darn I-Tunes Essentials lists are sooooo much fun!
They really enable us to wallow and almost drown in nostalgia.
Listening to 90 second snippets of songs we haven't heard in more than twenty years, and really laughing and having a good time!
Really, does anyone else ever do this?
Yeah, it's probably just us!

Saturday....in what feels like the Antarctic

Welcome to the Polar Ice Cap!! At least that's how it feels to me.

I don't really love the snow that much, anyway, and I was really hoping winter was winding down. So, I was definitely NOT excited to wake up this morning to about a foot of snow. Ugh.

This is how the kids reacted to the snow:Charlotte decided to play as much island music as she could find, dress as "hula" as possible, and put a "hula dancer flower" in her hair. She made me take a picture of this lovely flower.
Charlotte showing off her hula moves. At least her version of hula dancing, anyway. Cute as ever. She has become quite the fan of anything Hawaiian or island-ish. But, that's not really shocking, does anyone remember when Charlotte was about 2, and decided her name was Surfer Girl?
Savannah and Barrett decided to go out and play in the cold freezing snow while Colby shoveled a bunch of driveways. I had a hard time getting a picture of them, they wouldn't sit still long enough. They were having a blast!

My new favorite...

Honestly, I may never, ever again buy a bag of chips.
I LOVE these croutons.
I am a fan of croutons, in general, but these particular croutons...
ARE. SIMPLY. DIVINE!

Seriously, I have eaten almost one whole bag of these. Just like I would a bag of chips.
Yum.
And, Costco sells these in a huge bag.
I am in heaven.

Poached...

I poured myself a nice, hot, relaxing bath today.

In the 2.5 seconds it took me to get a new bottle of shampoo from the closet,

my dear Barrett had managed to strip off his clothes,

and poach my bath.

Unforgivable...

if he wasn't sooooo flippin' adorable, which he is.

So, I let him steal my bath, and after he was done playing in

the water and making more splashes than Disneyland's Splash Mountain,

I poured another bath for me.

Not as hot.....

not as long and relaxing......

and it still had a few of his toy soldiers in the water.

Good thing, too.

They could protect me from any further bath poachers....

like my cat.

Who, immediately upon hearing the bath water start pouring again,

made his way to the bathtub and tried to drink all the water.

Next time, I'll wait until all the kids are in bed, and Smokey is locked up

before I take a nice, hot, relaxing bath.

But, by then, I'll probably be too tired to wait for the bath to fill up,

and I'll probably fall asleep before I have a chance to relax in the

nice, hot, relaxing bath.

Grrrrr.

Cleaning up....

The soundtrack for today's clean up is...BLONDIE!!!

Charlotte's new favorite. Move over, Lady Gaga, you've been dethroned!
Just in case you were curious...

Charlotte's favorite Blondie song: "The Tide Is High"
Savannah's favorite Blondie song: "Heart of Glass" and "The Tide Is High"
(she couldn't pick between the two...it's a first-place tie.)
Dani's favorite Blondie song: "Atomic."

Come on over next time, you can dance with us while we pretend we're cleaning!!
Well, we usually start out cleaning, but by the end of it, it's more like a disco hall. Straight out of 1978.
Bring your own disco ball!!

14 Years!!!

Even after all these years, I still see fireworks whenever I think of you,

whenever I talk to you,

whenever I see you.

I love you.

I adore you.

Happy Anniversary, Colby!

You're my favorite!

And now...Charlotte's photo session!

Don't you just L-O-V-E powdered doughnuts!!! Charlotte does!

Showing off her "powdered up" hands.

Look at my "powdered up" face!

And how about a close-up of all that yummy doughnut powder!

The rest of these pictures are from Charlotte's own photo session. She picked up my camera, and just went to town.

Her first picture- her yummy cup of milk, because after all, she is, in her own words, a "milkaholic."

Her blankie. Yep, we still have one of those...

Hmmm, Mom's shoes. Wow.

And another picture of milk, but this time, the whole dang gallon! For the record, we buy "blue" milk because it matches Charlotte's blue eyes. At least, that's why we buy it according to Charlotte.

(but seriously, why do I buy "blue" milk? I like "red" milk better. Of course, if I could somehow manage to have a dairy cow in my backyard, that's what I'd want! YUM! Thick and frothy milk. Dang it, now I wish I had some half-and-half to drink. Dratted "blue" milk...)

And a (slightly blurry) picture of Barrett's blankie. He LOVES this thing. It is starting to unravel and come apart from being washed and dragged everywhere for the last 4 years. Thank you, Judy and Shirley for making him this blankie! He is very attached to it!

Barrett's newest favorite toy- a rocket ship. Complete with a green alien, too. Awesome.

The I-pod dock. We were listening to "Girls and Boys" by Blur. Just in case you were curious. Great tune. Pretty much the only one of their's that I like. Charlotte loves it too. Guaranteed to make her (and me) dance around.

Poor Savannah. Charlotte accosted her the instant she came out of the bathroom. Surprise!!

My kitchen floor. I have decided I LOVE this picture. It is practically impossible to see just how icky and dirty and badly-in-need-of-a-mop it is. Yeah.

Charlotte's Princess Ballerina book.

Charlotte taking a picture of her own feet. Honestly, she must LOVE her feet. This is only one of SEVENTEEN pictures she took of her feet. In various poses, and with random props. I only included this one. And, no matter how many times I tried, blogger refused to load it with the correct rotation. Sorry.

Charlotte's "school work" magnet.

An extreme close-up of the camera bag. Not sure why. Just because.

A coaster. A christmas coaster.

So, there you have it, Charlotte's first official photo session. She had so much fun, and I just laughed watching her take the pictures.

She is such a riot!

Ralph the Night Hair Dresser Invades...

Or, in related news...

It is actually...

Crazy Hair Day at school today.

Angry Birds

So you know that infuriatingly addicting game Angry Birds? The game where I have been stuck on the same blasted level for days?

DONE!! LEVEL COMPLETED!!!

But let me tell you how-

I let Barrett play.
Yep.
He beat that stupid level on his third try.
In about three minutes flat.
Grrr.

I wish I could....

Figure out how to work the camcorder...

or figure out where I put the blasted camera...

or figure out how to take a picture with my cell phone.

Because Charlotte is seriously about the cutest, funniest thing I have ever seen right now!!!

She is wearing the shoes I wore at my wedding, holding one of Barrett's racecar track pieces and using it as a microphone, and dancing around the room as if she was on stage.

And singing.

Singing her heart out.

This is the song she is singing... Man, why am I so technologically challenged!!!!