Ok, this is just weird!

We have been thinking about taking our house off the market for 2 weeks now because no one has even looked at it in over a month. Our agent hasn't done much for us, just one open house,and has showed the house herself only twice. She went on vacation for a month and didn't even tell us she was going until 2 days before. In that time, the agent filling in for her was not very helpful either, as a matter of fact she actually helped the sellers of the house we had put an offer on and many times took their side. If only we had stood our ground and did For Sale By Owner, instead of being the gullible push overs, we probably could have sold our house by now. GAH!

A few nights ago we had a rep from a window and siding company come by to give us an estimate on our attic space. Since we have had our house on the market for 4 months, we really haven't had any bites.The fact that the price of houses are dropping for the first time in 8 years, and that we aren't asking much more than we owe... well we are coming to terms with the fact that we are stuck with old , bitter, *b* of a house. We have sunk a lot of money into this hag, and as charming as she may appear on the outside she is very demanding. It's never enough, she just wants more.

Anyway we were planning on adding a 3rd bedroom up in our massive attic, but that would require that we replace the original 1930's windows , add moisture barrier to the siding up there, then new siding. (The rest of the house is brick) Later on , we had planned to tear off our laundry room and add a second bathroom/laundry room.

The couple that came the other night are in the market for a house, and just couldn't believe their eyes. So instead of showing them the siding and windows we need replaced, we ended up giving them a tour of our completely messy house. He called back and wants to see the house in day light, and put earnest money down, but without a realtor.

We called out agent and told her we want to cancel our contract, she says she understands so hopefully we can have that done soon. Seen as our agent sucks at her job, we don't feel guilty about not telling her that we have a potential buyer outside of her realm. We had already pretty much decided that our house was going to come off the market. Our original contract said if we cancelled, we would still owe her 6%, but she told John that she would waive it. Now we just have to contact our lawyer, and sit back and see if this is for real.

The buyer called me the next day and asked what we had thought. I figured I wouldn't beat around the bush since he could have been talking about either siding or buying our house. I told him we are interested, our initial reaction was that this too good to be true. I also told him that I want our lawyer to draw up the papers. He said that this is for real, and he fully expected a lawyer to be involved. He wants to come back to look at our house during the day, and to sign a contract while putting earnest money down if they still like it. We'll see I guess

The best part is this... remember my post about the poops that were giving us so much trouble about buying their house? They have reduced their asking price another 12 thousand, and even though we no longer have a contract to buy their house, their agent is once again knocking at our door. Hurumphhh! I am interested in the house, but not really interested in those knuckleheads getting any of my money... so again, we will see how things work out. I am praying that the Lord is still saving a house for us, and when we first started all of this I was certain that He was saying this is the house, after praying a bit about it. So maybe, like I said in the post linked above, this house will be ours after all. Not to be cocky, but this is what I posted:

Finally their agent told them it would be in their best interest to bide their time until our contract expired on August 24th (meaning that we will not have sold our house by then), in which case we would get our earnest money back, and our contract would be null and void.

I almost would rather just do that and find another house. I think though, that our contract might expire, they will have no other buyers lined up. We will find another house, and they will be knocking our door down, begging us to reconsider. We might, but it's going to cost them another 7-10 grand. I don't like mind games, and all the drama is really wearing on me. I deserve a little compensation for my trauma, don't I?

I dread starting the house hunting process over, so we will wait until we have earnest money and a signed contract in hand. Here we go again!

Yesterday my MIL talked to a co-worker who said she might know a lady who is interested in Sasha. We told her to let the lady know that she cannot be returned to us or taken to a shelter, so we will see. Yesterday, being that I am incapable of making a decision and sticking to it for more than 30 minutes at a time (under stressful circumstances, mind you), I flip-flopped back and forth about whether or not to try to keep her. Just when I thought there was hope, she would become a raging ball of fur again, and I would have to put her back in the laundry room. She bit Emma's hand 3 times in a matter of a minute yesterday. No broken skin, but still- all Hope shot in the back. Last night John took her out while I was putting Emma down for bed, and the second I came down she went berserk. No word on the potential buyer for the dog yet, if we don't hear back from my MIL's friend by tonight, we are going to take Sasha back. I think she is determined to go out with bang, fart and a whistle because she has pooped and peed in my living room this morning. *Sigh* I am still going to miss her.

13 reasons why I could never be on Survivor, TT#4

Not that this is appropriate considering my earlier post today, but I already had it saved as a draft, so here it is. Might as well post it.

13 reasons why Mary could never be on Survivor 1. I hate bugs! 2. I like my personal space, so snuggling with strangers for body heat seems like a bad idea. 3. Couple #2 with the lack of deodorant. 4. I would end up maiming Probst because sometimes, just sometimes he can be a little too snarky. 5. No chocolate, except for maybe chocolate covered bugs. Ummm... OK, yeah. No chocolate. 6. I dislike sweating unless it is absolutely necessary. 7. If you read my TT # 2, you might have read that I am particular about my bathroom facilities... so the lack there of would kind of be a problem. 8. Based on the preview for tonight's show... I would rather not be eaten by an octopus. 9. I would miss Survivor, of course! 10. I could never knowingly compromise my morals for money. Sure, a million bucks would be nice, but I don't think I could live with myself. 11. There would be no cat hair to season my food. :OP 12. The absence of all things Internet related. 13.And lastly: Ummmm... Sand in uncomfortable places, enough said. ;O) Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

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Sad

Well, Sasha is going back to the people we bought her from. I had no choice but to use a crate because I couldn't chase her around all day cleaning up pee.I could take her out every hour but she sometimes wouldn't go, then come in and pee on the floor. I couldn't keep her locked in the kitchen with a gate because this where my cats go through to the garage to their litter. They are too old to jump over gates. For the most part when I wasn't on the floor with Sasha, she would have to be in the laundry room.

It would seem that since she was an outside dog who was used to all day socialization with her litter mates the whole 4 months of her life... Staying in a laundry room and crate when I was not able to supervise her every move has made her hyperactivity worse. The more hyper she is, the harder she bites and the more she knocks Emma down and freaks Anna out. She is so hyper that the word NO has lost it's meaning to her.

Last night was the last straw, no matter how I tried to calm her down, she would run back and forth trying to bite me as she passed. She has only been with us for a little over a week, so I don't know how much of this is her shedding her quiet depression (like when we first got her, but even then she was pretty hyper when we would try to have family time with her) and showing us her true colors, or how much of it is my fault. Again, she was pretty hyper when we got her, and has only gotten worse. She bit me so hard last night that I knew I couldn't trust her around Emma. The more she acts this way, the more I have to put her in the laundry room, (and from previous comments on posts that I deleted last night because I was so freaking depressed about the whole thing) from what I understand crating can make dogs hyper because they are so excited from being let out. It's going to be a horrible cycle, getting worse and worse until she maims one of my kids. then she will have to go anyway.

After a tearful one sided talk with my husband , I told him that I knew he didn't want to deal with the seller BUT the fact that crating her has made her hyperactivity worse, what would it do to her to have her stuck in a box at a shelter? Surely it would make an already bad situation much worse. What chance would she have to be adopted then? I would rather eat 175$ in hopes that she can have a somewhat normal life with her litter mates and the family she knows then to live with the guilt that she is stuck in a box somewhere with no hope.

Anyway, we are going to eat the 175$ and take her back on Saturday. the seller has a viewing today, and a funeral to go to on Friday, so Sasha will be going back Saturday. It's very frustrating but I guess it's 175$ worth of valuable experience for me. Yeah, it's an expensive lesson to learn but maybe I have realized I may not be capable of raising a dog. I don't know, I really don't like myself very much right now and I am very confused as to what kind of person I am right now. I feel really bad that it has turned out this way. I had thought last night that I felt nothing for her because this situation is so difficult, but the fact that I am getting teary thinking about giving her up tells me that isn't so.

We won't ever adopt a dog that old again, that's for sure. I read that at 12 weeks their personality is already fully developed and that teaching a dog certain things should happen before then. She was 17 weeks when we got her. I think that since she was an outside dog, lived with 4 other litter mates in a pen, and the fact that she was an older puppy made this a tough situation. Couple that with my situation and not being able to supervise her every second and needing to gate her in a laundry room more than I wanted... We aren't even talking about how freaked out Anna was about her. A smaller puppy would have been better, and if I had just waited another week I could have adopted a 8 week old puppy. But NO, I just had to go get a dog that very second.

I most likely won't ever get a dog again, maybe I'm just a cat person, I don't know. Maybe with my current circumstances, I just don't have what it takes. I am saddened by all of this, and I am not at all happy about taking her back. It has nothing to do with the money. I am so bummed I figured that people who read my blog would really dislike me for all of this, I almost deleted my blog last night. I just want to crawl into bed and forget about it, I feel like I am giving one of my kids up or something. I feel really bad.

Also, let me just say that no offense to those who were kind enough to post on my puppy blues ( I really do appreciate the input, I do, thanks very much... PLEASE PLEASE don't be offended), BUT I have discovered that having a puppy is a lot like having a baby. All the advice in the world including the books I have read on both babies and puppies that have given me and other readers conflicting information, doesn't amount to much in some circumstances. Dogs, like babies have their own distinct personalities, you can't have a blanket statement for either, as in This is how you do x, y, and z for all babies/dogs. They aren't cookies, all cut from from the same cookie cutter. What is good for one, isn't necessarily good for another, so before you take a book as scripture and follow it completely, know that it may not work. If a book claims to be written by a Beagle expert, don't expect that it will absolutely work. I certainly learned the hard way with my first kid that you can't follow these books like they are recipes, as we know external circumstances may affect how your cake comes out. I don't know why I expected to be able to follow a book for dogs after all of that.

I guess what I am trying to say is that you have to trust your instincts sometimes, and my only instinct is that she is untrainable, and has to go back.

Sorry, there is nothing positive at all about this post.

WFMW

I am posting AGAIN about the URL icon from last Friday, only because I am overwhelmed with puppiness. I have a 17 month old and a 4 month old beagle that I now refer to as the twins.*wink* well, that and the fact that I can't think of anything else right now.

Anyway, I know a lot of people haven't seen it, so I thought others might like to see how I did it. I should have a butterfly next to my web address in the URL bar. If you would like to see how I did it, you can go to my other blog, Keyboard Transgressions. Don't be frightened by the appearance of my other blog, it is the yin to this blog's yang. :oD

Url Icon

Ok, I just figured out how to this today. If you look in the url bar, next to mine should be a butterfly like this.


If you want to check out how I did this, go to my new blog for techie stuff,
here.

13 things that annoy me, Thursday 13 #2

Thirteen Things that annoy Mary 1. People that consistantly interrupt, especially people in the media. 2. People that talk so loudly on their cell phones, you can't hear yourself think. 3. When I run out of and forget to buy my sweet elixer of life, coffee. 4. When someone refuses to take the last of something to be polite, but put their hands all over it in the process of breaking it in half. Why bother, just eat it already! 5. Creep crawly critters in my house. 6. A daily occurrance for me- dropping something on my boob region, causing a stain. 7. The accidental or purposed lack of chocolate options. 8. Speaking of lack... the fact that most stores carry a limited amount of plus sized clothing, and sometimes none at all. 9. People that spam your in box, but don't take the time to actually email you anything but jokes. 10. Local Real Estate Agents. I don't think I have had an honest one yet. 11. Rude cutomer service representatives. * OK, the next few are delicate in nature, stop reading here if you don't like those sort of things* 12. Grown people who pee on the toilet seat, especially women. I mean- your closer to the pot, right? Women should at least be able to make the shot. ;O) And lastly, one of my least favorite things of all... 13. The dreaded "back splash" while using public toilets. Who knows who used the potty before you... I just want to hose myself off with hand sanitizer! Ok, now I am going to go take like 4 showers. Be sure to check out some of the other entries. Happy Thursday! Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Works for me: Cheap decorative pillows

I hate it that you have to pay $20 a piece for a decent pillow, and even then you end up compromising because you can't find the exact look you want. I discovered recently that instead of paying that much, I could find a place mat from the same decorative line and pay 3.99 per pillow. I didn't even use a sewing machine, just a needle a thread... it was so easy!


All you are going to need is as many place mats as you wish to make into pillows, matching thread, a needle, pillow stuffing and a seam ripper.


To use place mats, you need to find some that aren't just a single piece of material. Find place mats that have 2 pieces of material sewn together. I used the matching place mats to this table runner, for example. I lucked out, because the color of the fabric on the back side of the place mat matched the color of the decorated side. This is not really that important, unless you are particular in which case you should go ahead and spend the money to get the perfect pillow. *wink*



On the outer edge you will usually find a finishing stitch ( an extra row of stitching, not that actual stitching that sews the front and back together) , all the way around the place mat. You are going to rip that out using a seam ripper.


After you have done that, there should be a side somewhere on the place mat that has an opening; this is where you are going to put the stuffing in. Once you have the stuffing in, all you need to do is sew that opening shut... and that's it! You'll have a pillow for a fourth of the price. :o) Here's what my pillows look like:


Works for me!

If you would like to browse more Works For Me Wednesday tips, you can check them out at Rocks In My Dryer.

A glimpse of things to come (I hope)

Yesterday we decided to try to get 17 month old Emma to transition from her crib to her bed. There is a little history here, so bear with me.

Emma has slept with us from day one, right smack dab in the middle of John and I. We had a little set up so that we were sure to not roll over on her, and slept in sweats to avoid the need for blankets that could possibly smother her. She eventually got used to sleeping in her crib during the day for naps, but absolutely refused to sleep in it at night. At 4 months she was smart enough to feel that her rightful place was snuggled between mom and dad at night.

At about a year we decided to have Em share a room with Anna until we could find a bigger house. This involved taking Anna's bed off the frame, and putting both of their mattresses on the floor, and making sure that everything was still baby proof in Anna's room. Our plan was to have Anna go to bed at night in our room, so that Emma's talking didn't keep her awake on school nights.

Since 12 months, Emma will go to sleep in her own bed, but one of us has to lie down with her until she falls asleep. Sometimes she wakes up, and one of us goes to bed with her. So, for the last 5 months, she continued to sleep in her crib during the day, but still slept with mom or dad at night.

I know, I know, I have read The Baby Whisperer. Her catch phrase was something like "start as you mean to go on", meaning you basically have to teach your children good sleep habits and keep a routine. Sounds Good in theory, until you are up for the 20th time at 3:30 am trying to get you very stubborn child back to sleep.

Anyway, to make a short story long... My dilemma was this: if I had Emma sleep on her own in her bed just as I did when she slept in her crib (which means keeping the same routine of closing the curtains, turning on the white noise and her birdie night light, and singing Twinkle Twinkle), would she be confused that I didn't lie down with her during the day, but did at night? Would that make the transition more difficult? Or would completely cutting her off from bed time snuggles be worse?

In all honesty, Anna didn't start sleeping by herself, or putting herself to bed without prolonged snuggling until she turned 4. We didn't have a choice since Emma was on the way, and it was a good excuse to try. Anna resisted, but with a lot of bribery *snort*, we succeeded.

I was torn. last night I realized that even though we have two children, I still have no idea of what the heck I am doing as a parent. Yesterday at nap time was a little rocky, but with a lot of hugs, and the fact that Emma could see me sitting at the computer from her bedroom door upstairs helped. I sang to her from downstairs, and told her I was here if she needed me.

Last night however... She was grieved. I mean this in every possible context of the word. To hear my child sob desperately, no matter how many times I tried to comfort her was heart breaking. During those 20 odd minutes, I doubted myself in so many ways. I wasn't a good parent. I am a failure. I should never have had kids, that's how much I completely and utterly suck.

*I am getting to a point, I promise!* Ten minutes into the sobbing, Anna emerged from our room to tell a teary me that she wanted to talk to me. Emma, of course reached for her sister from between the safety gate rungs, pleading for help.

This made Anna very upset. "Momma, can't you see that she needs you? She is upset, she wants you!"

I tried to explain as best as I could, but Anna wasn't having it. I started to cry, and asked John to please handle the situation with Anna, because though I knew she was so upset, I just couldn't do it. Poor John, three weeping women under one roof... John managed to drag Anna to bed, wailing and yelling that I should be doing something to help her sister.

Emma made it to bed by herself, while I continued to go over my self doubts in a teary manner. Was it fair to Emma, since her sister got 4 whole years of bed time snuggles? Shoot, she still wakes John up in the wee hours to have him sleep with her,to this day. By cutting out Emma's and Anna's snuggle time ( Anna was told that to be fair to her sister, snuggle time would be cut down to a few minutes), John would be denied precious time that he missed with the girls because he had to work... Were my motives pure? Was I doing this because I didn't want to have to put Em to bed anymore, to the tune of at least an hour every night? Am I really that selfish?

I realized that as horrible as I felt, my motives were pure. I know that if I had to lie down with Emma during nap time, that wouldn't be fair to Anna. I didn't want to leave her on her own while I tried to put her sister down for a nap, even thought that is how we did it with Anna 4 1/2 years ago. But it's different now. I have two to care for. A compromise was in order! Good news, bed time snuggling is back on. Hopefully, since Emma has known the difference between nap time and bed time since 4 months of age, things will go smoothly.

Today, She has gone down for 2 naps with almost no tears, with lots of hugs and kisses, by herself! But that's not really the thing I am most excited about. My oldest has discovered compassion, love, and selflessness. Even though she knew it was possible that she could get into trouble for getting out of bed (one of our rules, unless a potty break is needed), she "saw a need and filled it". I am hoping that despite the past aggravations, tauntings, teasings, "accidental head kicking" *LOL*, and general "I am the big sister, you must bow to my every whim"-ness, that this is a glimpse of things to come.

Trouble with a Capital T

Last night was Kindergarten Night at Anna's school. Being that we are new to the whole school thing, we, of course, did not bring her. Standing there like a couple of idiots and thinking that it was an actual meeting of sorts for the parents, we stood out from the crowd. Yup, we were the only adult folk there sans ankle biters.

Her teacher asked where she was, and we said, "Well, at home with her nana."

"Too bad, she would have loved to have shown you around."

John and I gave each other simultaneous idiot looks in a Doublemint Twins sort of way, and John whisked off to get her. As if I didn't stand out enough, now I was without a Male Income Support Unit. I stood out in the hall looking at the art work made by Anna's class, probably looking a little like a stalker because another teacher came up and asked me if I could be helped. I assured her that there was no help to be had, that yes I had been abandoned, no I wasn't lost, and yes they were coming back. I waited uncomfortably out in the muggy hallway.

John and Anna finally arrived, and the three of us went back in to the suffocating heat of her classroom. Anna beamed as John and I pretended not to know which of the drawings were hers; and she made sure to show us all of the different areas of the classroom she liked the most, including a table with live "calla-pitters".

John and I mingled a bit,and we got to talking with a couple who's daughter is also an Anna. Oddly enough, her last name ends with the same letter as ours. Anna and Anna had fun playing together and tickling each other. A few minutes later, we hear maniacal laughter from the corner of the room. Since I am familiar with that laugh, I didn't need to look in that direction to know it was my child; but since I know what usually follows that particular laugh... I looked.

In that corner, the teacher has a behaviour board. Each child has their own pocket with 4 different colored cards:
Green is for good behaviour
Yellow is for minor mishaps
Orange is for bad behaviour, but fixable
Red is for disasters!

So, of course my kid was playing a trick on one of her classmates and put a red card next to her name. The other Anna joined in, and soon 2 more kids joined in the fun. As we were getting ready to leave the teacher asked the Annas nicely if they could put everyone back in the green, so that no one would throw a clot the next day at school. As they switched the cards around, I began to blush ( and probably sweat) profusely.

I pointed at John," Great, looks like she inherited the prank gene from the both of us." John laughed and shook his head, while I confided that I used to Super Glue the teacher's chalk to the chalk board. To which John gave me a startled look, as if to say, "Now, why would you choose to share that particular tidbit, today of all days?"

I responded in kind with a guilty look that said, " How the heck should I know?You know I say ridiculously stupid things when I am nervous! Stop me before I ask her teacher if she wants to see my c-section scar."

Her teacher shushed me, and chuckled, then said It was probably not a good idea to say that within hearing distance of 5 year olds. *gulp* Taking my gulp as a cue, Anna practically shouted, "It was all my idea!" ...followed by more maniacal laughter.

Anna 2 chimed in." Yeah, I helped!" We grabbed our kids and shoved them out the door, laughing nervously. Anna 2's dad made a comment about the Annas, and how they were going to keep the teacher on her toes.

I continued to turn 32 Flavors of red, while leaving the school via the exit that was conveniently located closest to the school office. As I was walking out I had visions of visiting that office, often. *cringe* Ahhhh, memories.

When we got home, Anna referred to her little card trick as her evil plan. Shortly there after, I began to wonder if it was a good idea for me to have taught her speak at an early age after all. They say what goes around, comes around. *thinks back on all the teen-aged stuff I did, all the pranks I pulled* If what they say is true, we are in deep kimchee. That's just my stuff, don't even get me started on her dad. ;o)

This just in...

It's carnival time, the Family life variety. If you are interested in reading funny stories, learning something new, or enjoying heartfelt moments, this is the carnival for you. This week it is being hosted at Ramblings from the not-so typical Stay at Home Mom Want to ride over with me? I'm bringing cheesecake... ;o)

Speaking of cheesecake... The votes are in!

25% thought that cheesecake is technically a pie since it has a crust


25% thought that cheesecake and all it's cheesy-cake goodness should be considered it's own food group.

And 50% of us thought Who cares? Stop talkin' and give me a slice!

Thanks to all of you who voted. :O) There is a new poll up, if you would like to check it out.

Finally, I have a few more Blogging chicks graphics...





To see more, you can go to photobucket and right click to save. Saving the images from the front page will give the smaller version, clicking on each of those on the fron page will take you to the larger, original version. You can save that one if you would prefer.:O)

Oh, what are the chances?

I tried the Cyborg Name Decoder that I saw linked at Dreaming What Ifs... and this is what I got.

M.A.R.Y.: Mechanical Android Responsible for Yelling

*Gasp!* I about spit my drink all over my monitor. What's funny about it is that I just made a comment on Robin's post about words of encouragement over at Pensieve.

I am hoping that that is the before mugshot, and that the one under the poll is the after.

Uh, wha? Say that again?

My very talented brother sent me an email titled Guess what I did?. If you have a younger brother as I do, this statement may bring back a primal fear; a certainty that the incident he is about describe involves a cat, super glue, and a skate board.

Oh, but wait... He's an adult now, so maybe just the cat and skate board. I opened the email, and this is what it said:

Mary,

Guess what? I don't know if I told you- but I put
in an application to be on the next Hell's
Kitchen... and ... I was picked for a casting
call... pretty cool, huh?

My brother Ben has been working in the food industry off and on for about 15 years or more, and has such amazing knowledge about food and food service that he often was promoted to a semi-managerial if not managerial position within 6 months of being hired. Not only that, this man know his way around a kitchen, and can whip a wonderfully delicious meal out of almost nothing.

His interest in food started at a very young age, and he and I would make odd concoctions with what ever we could find in the fridge for after school snacks. Many times we didn't have the staples such as milk, bread, and eggs; but when he had at least one of those there was no stopping us. We invented cream cheese and salsa sandwiches, grilled cheese and onion sandwiches cooked with Italian dressing instead of butter, and we liked to experiment with a variety of spices to liven up scrambled eggs. One weekend, I remember he made us apple pancakes. They were so good, and he was probably only 7 or 8.

He took classes himself, about 12 years ago when he was in the Navy, but actually has had no more formal training than that. With that knowledge, a friend of his invited him to to teach cooking classes at a local college. How cool is that?

Anyway, I know I am gushing... but my brother has an awesome opportunity here. Often in tough situations, he can see something humorous, and he loves to make people laugh. He and I always end up with stomach aches from laughing so hard, and usually I can hardly keep up with him. I think because of his personality, his wit , charm , and big brown eyes (sorry gals, he is taken!), he has a really good chance of getting on the show.

So... I was wondering if you guys wouldn't mind, send some good thoughts, vibes and prayers his way. This is a chance of a lifetime for him. OK, I'll stop gushing now. ;O)

As far as the title of this post concerning me... Anna had me in stitches last night. For some reason, Anna has developed this dislike for me washing her hair. It started about 17 months ago when John and I agreed that I would wash Em, and he could take care of Anna. Since then, she cries whenever I even mention it. Last night it was bath night, and John had to help a friend put together their new Mac. Anna refused to let me wash her hair, but finally relented when she realized daddy wasn't around to do it.

I took my time and was very careful about the hair business, and we made it through the whole ordeal without the shedding of tears.

Being very proud of myself, I said, "See! I think I did a really good job..." To which she replied, "Yeah, this time." Then she gives a subtle roll of the eyes (if there is such a thing).

A few minutes later, while scrubbing her feet, she told me that her kindergarten teacher gave her a test. She explained that Mrs. Thompson had her name the alphabet and give the phonetic sound for each letter.

"Mom, I think I really kicked butt. I only missed 2 letters! Mrs. Thompson said to Ms. Cook (the trainee) that I was probably ahead of the rest of the class!" Of course I barely heard the last part because I was mortified, I didn't know whether to laugh or chide her for doing- unfortunately- exactly what she has learned from me for the last 5 1/2 years, talking in slang.

Oh, yeah. Did I mention that Emma heard me call John DUDE? Now she walks around saying doooooooooo-duh. Priceless.

And although I know you may have trouble believing that an almost 37 year old, Mexican/Caucasian woman living in Iowa might occasionally include this in an everyday conversation, I am dreading the day that she she says to her teacher, "Fo' shizzle, my dizzle." It's an unfortunate inevitability, I'll let you know how it goes. :o\