MamaDB's mother-in-law is in town, so we weren't able to do another snippet of "How Not To Cook" this week.

Seeing as how I was off the hook for cooking tonight, I decided to rummage around in My Mukor's photo file to see what he had in there. I found a bunch of photos I had completely forgotten about.

Here is BoopaLoop at age 4-5 months. I remember feeling like a bad mother for taking her picture when she was so visably upset at me about something.

Here is LittleMan at 2 1/2 years. He loved his Lamby and his pacifiers which we called 'Binkies'. Fortunately, we got rid of the pacifiers when he turned 3. But that was a long 3 nights.

This picture was taken soon after we returned home from the hospital. It took a little longer for me to bond with BoopaLoop since she looked so much like my mom. I love my Mom, but I didn't expect to give birth to her! :)

BoopaLoop old enough to pull Mommy's hair.

My Mukor makes video games. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Which way did he go?

The other day, LittleMan came wandering in from the backyard.

LittleMan:  Mom? Which way is Las Vegas?

Me: Las Vegas?!

LittleMan: Yeah, which way is it?

MamaDB: (In the background breaks out into song) Viva Las Vegas

Me: How do you know about Las Vegas? Nevermind, it is in Nevada. (Seeing LittleMan's impatience) It is north.

LittleMan: Thank you, Momma.

The following morning, I see this written in chalk on our backyard sidewalk:

(translation: Las Vegas north / Texas south)

I love it! Who needs Maps.Google when you have this?

BoopaLoop's Perspective

As with any 4-year old girl who loves to wear the clothes she loves to wear (dirty or clean) and dislikes clothes she does NOT like to wear, BoopaLoop wanted to wear a skort, and more importantly, she wanted to dress herself. I told her that she could wear a skort as long as it was clean, and considering the cold weather, she had to wear them with leggings.

With these simple instructions, BoopaLoop emerged wearing the following:

Mission accomplished.

After I picked her up from pre-school, we decided to treat ourselves to Taco Bell for lunch. The drive-thru line was a little longer than I had expected, so to keep BoopaLoop's mind off her rumbling belly, I gave her my camera to take some pictures.

I love this picture of her leg. I especially love that her photo helped to illustrate that I don't clean underneath my cup holder often enough. Thank you for THAT, BoopaLoop.

You belong in the zoo

I confiscated MamaDB's son, Charlie Brown, to take to the zoo with me and BoopaLoop.  We had a blast!

Everything Was Going So Well UNTIL...

Here is the latest installment of cooking with MamaDB. This time we tried to make sushi, and I have to say that the results were pretty incredible and delicious. However, getting to that point was pure accident since we did a LOT wrong.

If you are interested in seeing the ingredients we used to make our California Rolls, Ebi Sushi and Salmon Egg Rolls, please take a gander over at MamaDB's blog.

Let's review:

1. In the event the knife slips, you probably don't want your hand under the avocado.

2. Fan the rice while fluffing with a fork BEFORE adding the Seasoned Rice Vinegar

3. Please put the seaweed on the bamboo BEFORE you pick up a huge handful of sticky rice.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

I arrived to pick up BoopaLoop from pre-school today, and she immediately greeted me with, "Mommy, look what I made!"

I looked at what she was showing me.

Me - Uh...

I had no idea what this was. Of course, I was completely worried that I would crush her little artistic spirit by not immediately recognizing what it was she had created. I'm certain in her head it was obvious, but the first words that came to my head (graveyard, yellow disk of death) were probably NOT remotely close to what it was.

Me - That is really beautiful honey.

This is a generic response I often use in the hopes that flattery will prompt her to rattle off more details about her creation to help me figure out what in heaven's name is going on.

BoopaLoop - It is a garden.

Me - Oh, wow! Of course it is, look at all the lovely things growing in it!

My daughter is looking at me strangely.

BoopaLoop - There is nothing growing IN it. It is a pretend garden.

My mistake. Evidently I wasn't fooling anyone with my mad acting skillz.

All That Was Missing Were The Margaritas...

for us Moms, of course.

LittleMan received this impressive slide for Christmas from the help of grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, friends, and Santa. Thanks to the aberration that is two-days of 85+ degree weather in the middle of spring before returning to 65 degree weather, we were able to take this bad-boy out for a trial run, and boy, oh BOY did the kids love this!

LittleMan beginning his ascent to the top of the "death spiral".

The slide in all of its glory. The kids were playing on this for about 2 hours straight.

You can barely see LittleMan in the shadows going down the little slide that runs underneath the stairs. It really is a crazy-fun apparatus.

On Friday, I was a bad parent.

I was exhausted! I can always tell when I'm tired. I snap at the kids, I find myself sighing instead of laughing at their antics, and I can't seem to string together the proper words to form a cohesive thought.

So, Friday, I took a nap. My kids were awake, my door was open, but I was still able to take a nap.

It was lovely.

When I woke up an hour and a half later (that's right!), I was immediately inundated with horrible thoughts: were my kids safe, did they start a fire, did the house collapse on top of them?!

Hurrying out (but trying to act cool, calm, collected in case I was over-reacting) I found my kids drawing quietly. They weren't using permanent markers. They weren't drawing on my floor. They weren't fighting! They weren't... destroying.

I was so relieved and puzzled that all I could think to ask was if they had eaten a snack yet. Yes, they said.  They gestured to a chair nearby without looking up from their drawings. Here is what they had put together:

Apples and bananas with plastic forks and knives.

Seriously, who are these children?

How NOT To Handle Salmon

... or a knife, for that matter.

I had every intention of getting a shot of MamaDB looking like a fool (like she did to me and the onion incident), but it would appear that I really have NO idea what I'm doing in the kitchen.

I would like to dedicate this video to my mother - who did the smart and brave thing and gave up trying to show me how to do anything in the kitchen. I love you, Mom!

Let's review:

1. Never handle raw fish unless you have a plan for where you intent to put it down to cut.

2. It is more efficient to cut French Bread horizontally rather than vertically.

3. Is there a point to using salted butter versus unsalted butter?

The salmon turned out beautifully, and the meal was delicious - so there!

Fashionista!

Over at AllThingsBD, my sister-in-law has posted Loodle, their youngest girl, wearing various fashion... uh... art.

Well, we recently returned from visiting them in Texas, and I believe my BoopaLoop has learned a thing or two from her cousin, Loodle. Here is what she decided to wear.

Cause, nothing says fashion like jeans worn with a skort.

And, this is what happens when I ask her to pose. To bad she didn't learn some better techniques from Loodle.

Because it is AWESOME!

Today is Thursday! Woo-hoo!! Finally, some part of my home will sparkle thanks to the clean swapping-deal I've made with MamaDB.

I know I have mentioned in the past that she and I dedicate Thursdays for cleaning. Why spend money having someone else clean the house (when I'm home for most of the cleaning anyway) when I can convince a friend to come over to clean it with me - as long as we clean her house the following week? Am I right?!

So far, this has proven to be a very fun and hilarious venture.

The guest cleaner gets for their time and troubles a home-cooked meal for their family. Last week, we cleaned MamaDB's home, and we made a delicious soup. Unbeknownst to me, MamaDB had used her digital camera to record my onion tirade. Here it is... it is AWESOME.

Don't worry.  I'll get her back.

Can you hear me now?

One of the various landmines I believe I, as a mom, have to circumvent is being the mediator of every SINGLE ARGUMENT between my two kids. I have to teach them to do it themselves - not use me.

In order to find peace help my children resolve their differences themselves, I try to recommend some... discussion strategies for them to use.

I was really feeling confident about my progress with this - until this conversation with LittleMan.

LittleMan - (Comes running to the room I am in) Mom, BoopaLoop won't play my game. She wants to play puppies, but I don't like that game!

Me - Why don't you tell her that you will play her game for a little while, say 15 minutes, and that you two will then switch to your game for 15 minutes. You can alternate.

LittleMan - Okay. (He marches off)

A few seconds pass.

LittleMan - BoopaLoop?!

BoopaLoop - Yeah!

LittleMan - Uh... why don't we... wait. (Giggling) I forgot.

Me - (I put my head in my hands and laugh)

Yes, LittleMan came back to me. Yes, I repeated myself. Yes, LittleMan got it right, and it all worked out, but I am so very curious to know exactly what he heard me say the first time.

Here are a couple of pictures that LittleMan took on Easter.

Seriously, what is his fascination with patterns? Perhaps he is a true artist and ahead of his time.

Technical difficulties resolved

Apparently, I posted my Happy Easter blog, but it didn't take. Then, I couldn't sign into Blogger to figure out what the problem was.

So, this morning I log on to see if I can, and voila! There is a saying among my friends that goes like this, "If the car doesn't work, try getting out of the car and back in again." Sometimes that's all it takes.

Easter egg hunt at church

LittleMan at Easter lunch with friends

BoopaLoop and MyMukor waiting for their food to arrive

MyMukor and I at home

Happy Easter! -- Love, Us

I desperately need counseling

I don't need marriage counseling.

I don't need family counseling.

I don't need personal counseling.

... or maybe I do, but let's not pull at that thread right now.

The counseling I might be willing to accept that I need is to repair the relationship between my Wii Fit and myself.

We had a beautiful beginning. It was love at first sight. We had a connection. Granted, that connection was with my brother's Wii Fit, but that's not the point. The point is that I wanted one. And I wanted one NOW.

I came home from my brief affair with the Wii Fit in Texas, and I immediately demanded one of my very own. When My Mukor arrived with it, it was just as beautiful as I remembered it being: the sleek design, the mutual respect, the fact that it made me want to be a better person.

Then I started to use it.

That is when it let me down.

I mean, I EXCEL at the balance sports. My Mukor refuses to even challenge my dominance in this area. (My highest score on the soccer game is 555.) But this beautiful piece of machinery continually makes demands on me that I can't meet. At all. Not even a little.

Let me give you an example. It wants me to do the Yoga Tree Pose. Seriously. For those of you unfamiliar with this position, let me show you a picture of what I'm supposed to look like.

Well guess what, I don't look anything like that. Tilt this picture 90 degrees to the right, and THAT'S what I look like. I would have taken a picture of me attempting to do this pose, but I don't stay vertical long enough to take a blasted picture!

It doesn't look hard, does it? I mean, it is just one little leg resting on another. But, I, for the life of me, can't figure out a way to stay balanced like this.

It is maddening, and it is beginning to hurt my relationship with my Wii Fit.

I tried NOT doing the pose, but then it just sits there... in the options menu... looking at me. I refuse to give up on something that I KNOW I can do. For crying out loud, it isn't that hard!!

Except it is the one pose that eludes me. It is frustrating. And I won't stand for it!

...

... and I'm going to go try again right now.

What have I created?!

LittleMan is growing up too fast. Okay, he's growing up too fast FOR ME. This is the conversation I had with him yesterday that I wasn't expecting yet:

Setting - LittleMan and I were in the living room waiting for BoopaLoop to come out of the bathroom. I heard what I thought was BoopaLoop brushing her teeth.

Me - BoopaLoop, please bring me your hairbrush, so we can brush your hair.

LittleMan - She's going potty.

Me - Oh. (Trying to figure out what it is I heard since BoopaLoop wasn't brushing her teeth.)

LittleMan - What do you expect her to do? (He's smiling now.) Use the force (He is now pantomiming.) and float over to you in her chair and hand you the hairbrush so you can brush her hair?!

Me - (Shocked at the sarcasm and joy he was having at this ridiculous idea. - I LAUGHED!)

LittleMan - (Laughing too.)

It was quite a moment for me. LittleMan was actually funny - on PURPOSE! He still doesn't get how to make 'Knock Knock' jokes funny - but he gets sarcasm.

I don't know if this is a good thing.

Also, in an earlier blog I mentioned that I let the kids borrow my new digital camera to entertain themselves. Well, LittleMan asks to borrow the camera all the time now.

Here are a few pictures he has taken over the past week.

This photo collection is brought you by the letter "W" for... LittleMan.

LittleMan is fascinated by textures and "patterns" as he calls it. And his pediatrician still declared him perfectly healthy.

LittleMan noticed this car seat in some random vehicle and said, "Cool!".  I guess he likes car seat covers.

We were over at MamaDB's house, and Lucy, her daughter, helped LittleMan to capture this hedgehog in action!

And finally, a picture of LittleMan's favorite subject, his little sister BoopaLoop. He got her to do poses I have to bribe her to even come remotely CLOSE to these he got her to do naturally.

Get dirty (grubby, grubby)!

Anyone recognize the title?  Talk about obscure references. It is the beginning of an 80's jingle for Lava Soap. "Get dirty (grubby, grubby) we'll Lava ya clean!"

That's all I remember of the commercial.

And I couldn't find any reference to this jingle on YouTube. So, it probably doesn't exist, right?

Too bad. This is my blog, and I say it existed... and if you happen to remember it too, I'd really appreciate your telling me that.

Anyway, I was reminded of this jingle while MamaDB and I were cleaning my living room yesterday. I don't remember the last time I really dusted this room. So, I took a couple of pictures to show who was stuck with the pleasant job of unearthing the grime.

Thanks, MamaDB!

Of course, looking at these pictures, I'm reminded of how much of a disaster our backyard is. I mean, why haven't we thrown away those blue gym squares? And what is all over the top of that wooden tray table? Is it really that dirty?!

Unfortunately, BoopaLoop came home from school yesterday with a fever. (I KNOW! She's been sick off and on for about 1 month now!) So, MamaDB wasn't able to come back over to play RockBand begin another cleaning project.

This morning BoopaLoop woke up feeling high spirited, but she still has a fever. I asked her if anything hurt, and she said no. I'm hoping this really is one of those 24 hour fever-things.

I'll keep you posted.

At least we know she's not sick from a dusty house.

Photos of Disneyland

As promised, here are some of the pictures taken at Disneyland yesterday.

One side note:  My feet are still killing me from running all around two parks, and I am physically exhausted still, but it was SO MUCH FUN!

MamaDB scored us some strollers to use for the duration of our time at Disneyland and California Adventure. While she was waiting in line, I watched the children entertain themselves by climbing along the rail.  The only child I was truly worried about was Charlie Brown in the orange, but he proved to be surer-footed than BoopaLoop, so I stopped worrying.

The new Toy Story ride is very entertaining, but the line for the ride is excessively long. To help keep the children entertained, I mistakenly gave them my camera to enjoy. Here is BoopaLoop from LittleMan's perspective.

This is LittleMan from BoopaLoop's perspective.

Here are the children from my perspective.

I took the bigger kids on Star Tours while MamaDB took the younger ones on the rocket ships. Everyone was happy!

Afterwards, we decided to eat at a restaurant outside of the Disney-expensive-land.

It was delicious, especially the margaritas!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to drink much of this girly drink - I was driving. At least MamaDB was strong enough to order a real drink. I'm still stuck in my college years.

I went to bed at 9 PM. It was lovely!