Category Archives: Life

Mc-Christmas-isms

I realize it is January, but amidst all the posts about resolutions being broken, I thought you all could use a little more Christmas cheer!

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Jimmy (in a Grinch-ish mood): I hate the wreath on the front door.  All it does is get in my way.  I hate real trees too.  I think I’m allergic.

Eric:  Did you just say you hate grilled trees???

Jimmy:  Yes, I said I hate GRILLED trees.  I prefer my trees lightly broiled.

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While playing a little Christmas trivia with Jake…

Me: “Fill in the blank for the Grinch lyric.  You’re a bad _____ with a greasy black peel.”

Jake: “Ummm…give me a hint.”

Me: “They always show people slipping on it in cartoons.”

Jake: “Ummm…give me another hint.”

Me: “It is something monkeys eat.”

Jake: “FECES!”

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Jake was wearing a new shirt and realized he hadn’t taken the size sticker off.

Eric was in an extra chatty mood during a car ride and his noise level was annoying his brothers.

Jake: “Eric needs this XL sticker for his mouth!”

I’m not sure if Jake meant because Eric was being Extra Loud or if he wanted to actually use the sticker to cover Eric’s mouth.

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After making at least 4 shopping trips to Dick’s sporting goods during the holiday season, we realized we still needed to buy a gift card from there for our nephew.  Of course, it is at the mall.  The dreaded mall.  There wasn’t a parking space in sight so Jim decided to pull up in front of the store and run in while the rest of us waited in the car.

Thirty seconds later I see flashing lights behind our car.  Busted by mall security.  I instinctively grabbed for my license as he approached the window, but stopped myself.  Before he could even say a word, I blurted out “I’m sorry sir.  We are just waiting for my husband to come out with our merchandise so we can load it into the car.”

Yes, I blatantly and remorselessly lied in front of my children.  Well, technically I didn’t lie.  I just didn’t tell him what our “merchandise” was.  But I just KNOW the mall cop watched Jim walk out with nothing but a tiny little card and hop in the car.

When we arrived at my in-laws, Jake announces “Mom, tell everyone how you got pulled over on the way here!”

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Jimmy’s #1 item on his Christmas list was a game called “Far Cry.”    Jake used an old game case and Google images to make this…

Far Cry fake out 1

Jimmy didn’t realize it was a prank until he opened it and saw this…

Far Cry fake out 2

(He DID get the actual game later.)

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We don’t put any wrapped gifts under the tree until after the kids go to bed Christmas Eve.  Initially, the reason was to keep curious toddlers from tearing off the pretty shiny paper before Christmas.  Now that they are old enough to know better (in theory), we still don’t put them out until Christmas Eve so the nosey dogs and cats don’t mess them up.

Actually, we don’t put them out until then because I am always up wrapping into the wee hours of Christmas Eve/Morn, but the dog and cat excuse makes me sound less disorganized.

When it is time, I arrange the presents in a beautiful, colorful display under the real (grilled) tree in our family room.  We also have a fake tree in our (never lived in) living room.  This year, when the boys came downstairs Christmas morning, I told them we had decided to put he gifts under the fake tree for a change.  They walked in the living room to find only this…

Naughty tree

They weren’t amused.  Well, Greg was.  Until he realized it wasn’t even real coal in the bag.  Getting coal for Christmas is one thing.  Getting PLASTIC coal is just downright insulting.

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During Christmas break, my blog (lovingly, of course) became the butt of all jokes.  No matter what happened, the response would be “I’m TOTALLY going to blog about that.”

Jimmy enjoyed poking fun at my blog so much, he said he is going to start his own…

MOCKOPOLIZE!

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Have you helped me get to #1?

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Going to the Elfing Mall

We have an awful, horrible family tradition of going to the mall to see Santa…on Christmas Eve.  To avoid standing in line for hours, we have to get there by 8am.  Now that we have two teens in the house…let’s just say they are less than thrilled about this tradition.

Me: “I know you don’t want to go but I just want a photo of all 4 of you.  You don’t have to sit on Santa’s lap.  Just stand next to the chair.”

Jimmy: “No, I’m sitting ON his lap.  I’m going to make this as uncomfortable for him as it is for me.”

Santa Starbucks bribe
How to get teens to agree to visit Santa at the mall?
Bribery.

Since I didn’t send Christmas cards this year (or last…or the year before…),

here is our Christmas Eve in photos:

Waiting for Santa 1
Me: Greg, scoot closer to Jimmy. Closer. Closer.
Jimmy: Why am I here?
Jake and Eric: GREG!!! MOVE!!!
Waiting for Santa 3
Greg: Why the heck are you yelling at me???
(The finger sticking up is a coincidence.
I think.)
Jimmy: Why. Am. I. Here?
Waiting for Santa 4
Greg: Why is everyone in that huge long line behind us staring?
Jimmy: Because we are freaks.
Waiting for Santa 5
The perfect, happy family.
For a second…
Waiting for Santa 6
Uh. Oh.
Jake has that look in his eye…
Waiting for Santa 7
Jake: Stop what? It’s just a hug.
Jimmy: No. I am NOT hiding a smile.
Waiting for Santa 8
Jimmy (in his best Mom voice): Now boys. This is not a wrestling mat.
Waiting for Santa 9
Greg: And THAT is for yelling at me!
Me: I’m totally blogging about this.
Santa blue background 3
Me: Greg looks like the Peanuts kids when they are singing.
Jake: Yeah, the dirty one!

Charlie Brown Christmas singing

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all the evil glares, Jimmy appears to be the happiest of all to see Santa!
After all the evil glares, Jimmy appears to be the happiest of all to see Santa!

 

Santa Redskins Jerseys
Eric: Hey Greg, wouldn’t it be cool to have a jersey of someone who actually still plays on the team???
Santa after photo 1
All smiles on the way out…
Santa after photo 2
…and then back to life as usual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santa Lost His Head. Or Was It Stolen?

One day last week, I spent the day running around like a chicken with my head cut off,  finishing last minute Christmas prep.  I must admit I was so stressed by my to-do list that what I saw when I got home made me lose my head.  And I wasn’t the only one.  I walked in to find this…

Santa destroyed

And this…

Santa peek a boo guilty dogs

I was 100% sure the guilty looking one – Brownie –  was innocent.  I’d have bet money it was Cookie that beheaded my “peek-a-boo Santa.”

I told the kids not to eat Santa’s cookies while I was gone but didn’t think I needed to tell Cookie not to eat Santa.  Lesson learned.

I attempted to prop the head back on…

Santa peekaboo

But kept finding this…

Santa headless

Even when Cookie wasn’t around.

A little research uncovered a disturbing find…SANTA HAS BEEN LOSING HIS HEAD A LOT!

Maybe Cookie really was as innocent as her expression.

I always visualized Santa as calm, cool and collected.  Not rattled by anything.  But, perhaps, he gets just as frazzled as the rest of us.  And loses his head.

Photos on Flickr* show this shocking proof…

Santa lost his head 6     Santa lost his head 1     Santa lost his head 5     Santa lost his head 7     Santa lost his head 2

Apparently he occasionally loses his pants too…

Santa lost his head 3

Sometimes he can be hot headed…

Santa hot headed

Other times he blows his top…

Santa lost his head blew his stack

So does Santa just have a short fuse like the rest of us?

Or is there a dog conspiracy to steal Santa’s head?

Santa lost his head dog 1

Photo: janebretl.com
Photo: janebretl.com

Perhaps we’ll never know for sure…

But I will remind you that Brownie and Cookie are known felons.

Does the photo of them in this post remind you of something you’ve seen before?  (If not, you need to read “To Catch A Thief…Again.”)

Santa peek a boo guilty dogsdogmugshot

<—beheaded Santa

From “To Catch A Thief…Again”—>

P.S.  You can also find videos on You Tube of Santa sans noggin.  But I wouldn’t suggest searching for “Santa Lost His Head” there.  You get some unexpected results.  Including a case of someone who decapitated a man in Santa Maria.  And a video about two turtles humping.  I don’t even want to know WHY that showed up as a match.

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*Photo credit:  All photos not taken by me that don’t have a photo credit listed as a caption can be found on flickr.com on the first page of search results for “Santa lost his head” or “hot headed Santa.”

Fake Interview with a Real Housewife

One week from today we take off for our “Housewife Heroes” excursion to New York City, including lunch with Melissa Gorga and a session with her make-up artist.

As I made plans for the trip, it made me wonder what would happen if a Real Housewife of New Jersey (RHONJ) and a Real Housewife of Boring-town Suburbia (RHOBS, yes the “BS” was intentional) were both asked the same questions in an interview.  This is what I imagine their answers would be…

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Interviewer: Tell us about the car you drive?RHONJ car

RHONJ: I have a convertible and I just love the Italian Leather seats and feeling the wind blow through my hair when I put the top down.

RHOBS: I have an SUV with Italian spaghetti sauce stains on my leather seats.  Or is it ketchup?  Maybe I should pick up one of those old French fries on the floor and find out.  The wind blows my hair in my eyes but I can’t roll up the windows because the car smells like spoiled milk.  They really shouldn’t call those cups “spill-proof.”

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Interviewer: Where is your favorite place to shop?

RHONJ: The best shopping is in NYC, so I usually dash up there for a shopping spree.  I RHONJ targetcan’t say which boutique is my favorite, because of the paparazzi.

RHOBS:  Target!  You can get a new outfit, groceries, laundry detergent and kitty litter – all in one stop.  Best.  Idea.  Ever.

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Interviewer: What do you wear when having lunch with friends?

RHONJ clothesRHONJ:  I love a splash of color.  And heels and some bling are a must.

RHOBS: I wear whichever yoga pants are clean.  If I can find the matching shirt, that’s a plus.

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Interviewer: Speaking of Yoga, have you tried the new craze, Hot Yoga?RHONJ hot yoga

RHONJ: Oh yes, I go to a hot yoga class at my gym 3 times a week.

RHOBS: Sort of.  One time when I was doing yoga at home, the air conditioning was broken.  Does that count?

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Interviewer: When you’ve had a stressful week, how do you relax?

RHONJ: A day at the spa for an appointment with my favorite masseuse, a caviar facial and time in the jacuzzi.

RHONJ facialRHOBS: Well, last week I decided to try the green tea mud mask that I received as a gift two years ago. The doorbell rang after I applied the mask.  When I answered the door, it was a neighborhood kid who ran away screaming something about an alien.  I started to draw a bath before the doorbell rang but forgot to put the stopper in the tub. By the time I got back to the bathroom, there was no hot water left.  And I think the mud mask was past its expiration date because my face still has a greenish hue.

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melissa gorga cd
Photo: www.melissagorga.com

Interviewer: I was just listening to the new single “I Just Wanna.”  How do feel about the new song?

RHONJ: I love it!  The press has been hounding me since the release.

RHOBS: I love it!  When I try to sing, it makes my dog just wanna howl.

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Interviewer: What is your favorite quote?

RHONJ: “I never throw the first punch, but I’m always a knock out.”

RHOBS: “If I get knocked down, I will probably just lay there and take a nap”

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Interviewer:  How would others describe your life?

RHONJ: I live a life that most girls only dream of.

RHOBS: I live a life that most girls only have nightmares about.

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Interview: What is your favorite mixed drink?

RHONJ: Voli’s “Mango Coconut”

RHOBS: Voli’s “Mango Coco-My-Kids-Make-Me-Nuts”

RHONJ voli

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While there may be many differences between the lifestyles of The Housewives on TV and regular housewives, they all are real women, real Moms – and real housewives!  So when Melissa Gorga and I meet for lunch, hopefully we will have plenty to talk about while having a cocktail.  And maybe some “whine.”

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Have any questions you want me to ask Melissa???  Leave them in a comment and I’ll try my best to get the answers!

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No Jacket Required

My new computer

I won’t be needing any more coats to warm up my computer.

Either my family has high hopes for Momopolize, or they were just tired of listening to me Freezing outsidecomplain about my old piece of junk computer.  Regardless of the reason, the only thing freezing here today is the road.  (Drive carefully if your roads are icy too!)

My new computer even has a fingerprint recognition thingy (official name).  It makes me feel so Jane Bond.  Even though I’m more of an “I Spy With My Little Eye” type of gal.

I guess I better start working on advertising deals to get Momopolize in the black.  (Can I count the NYC trip to get me out of the red??)   I feel like I should end every post with a current total like they do on the “Two Broke Girls” show.

two broke girls current total

I know I don’t deserve another present, but clicking the link below would be a great gift.  It would make my competitive side very happy.  I’m in 3rd but 1st would make potential advertisers happy also.  And then I could take away the negative sign for my current total. 🙂  Just click and voila.  Done.

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Tomorrow I will post about our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day shenanigans.  Whenever all 6 of us are together for many hours at a time, you can count on some really good blog material. 

Muzilla, no Snowzilla and I Don’t Sound Like The Chipmunks

I should have known better than to try to set up a cute little light-up village in a house with cats…

Muzilla

I may have Muzilla in my house, but at least there was no Snowzilla around my house to cancel “Jolly Old Saint Nick Or Treat, Give Me Something Good To Eat” yesterday.  Will write more about that soon when I have time for something other than “quick and easy” posts!

Since Mushu was so afraid of that cat Halloween decoration, maybe I need to pull that out as a “scare-crow”  or, in this case, a “scare-cat” or a “scare-d-cat?”

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I attended my first twitter blog party last night.  It was quite fun and I enjoyed meeting some other bloggers.  I’m really trying to get with the times on this whole social media thing. What happened to the “good old days” where everyone was just on Facebook and you actually decided which posts you want to see instead of Facebook selecting for you???

The blog party was to celebrate the launch of the eBook “Bloggy Moms Guide To A Better Blog” by Tiffany Noth.  I don’t know what the rules are for posting excerpts (need to get with the times on that also) so to avoid any violations, I “x’d” out all but one part (yeah, I need to get with the times and get a good photo editor too).

Recognize any names??

ebook Bloggy Moms Guide To A Better Blog

I’m so happy my voice is authentic.  Wouldn’t want to sound like Alvin.  But I will do my best Chipmunk impersonation to say “time for joy and time for cheer!”

Honestly I am honored to be one of only12 blogs mentioned in the book as examples!  And I’m so happy that others view what I write as the real deal, and not fake.   That is a huge compliment in my book (no pun intended).

Thanks Bloggy Moms for the mention!  Can I say I’ve been published now??

I feel like I’ve been so fortunate lately (in the blogging world, at least), that I almost didn’t write about this.  I didn’t want to cross the brag line.  But I’m excited…and I write about things I’m excited about.  So if I didn’t write about it, that would be fake.  And they’d have to take me out of the book.  So there you have it.

If you would like to read what is crossed out, head over to bloggymoms.com to purchase and download the ebook.  No, I was not compensated for, nor asked to promote sales in exchange for being named in the book.  Just want to help Tiffany and…I want people to buy since I’m in it! 😉

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Time for a daily click.  Thanks to everyone that clicked theses banners in my other posts.  I tried to be all computer savvy and put them at the end of each post (instead of the side bar, where WordPress does the coding for me) but I didn’t do the link properly so none of those clicks counted.  Story of my life…  So much for that college degree in computers (that I haven’t used for 10+ years).  I *think* I have the links correct now.  Time will tell…

(P.S. After I hit publish, I realized the link was still incorrect.  I think I need to give my diploma back.  So you should REALLY click on the buttons below.  You just don’t know WHAT surprise you may get since I obviously don’t have a clue what I’m doing.  Maybe a cute little animated snowman will pop up.)

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Close (the) Windows, It’s Cold In Here

I suppose Eric heard me complaining about my “computer freezing” one time too many.  I came into the office to find this…

computer frozen jacket

That’s his jacket.  To “warm” it up.  My smart-assalec kids.

The weird thing though?  It hasn’t frozen once since then.

So many times I’ve yelled that my computer is toast and told it to go to hell…maybe I was on the right track.  I know it will be a cold day in hell if this computer ever functions properly again.

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As an added bonus, you get to see my Halloween cactus in bloom.  Yes, I said Halloween.  I had a big, beautiful cactus for many years that was always in full bloom on October 31.  So we no longer refer to this particular species as a Christmas cactus.  I just received this plant a few days ago so haven’t had a chance to screw up its bloom cycle yet.

(No need to comment about the instructions to keep it blooming in December, like putting it in a dark, cold room at night.  Plants in this house consider themselves lucky when I remember to water them.  And half the time I don’t even put myself in a dark room at night…if I crash on the couch.

Christmas Presence

My kids’ wish lists are, frankly, very boring this year.  Video games and legos.  Blah.  So I’ve decided instead to just wrap this…

its not your birthday riverroadumcorg

…with a note inside saying “Better luck getting gifts on the day YOU were born.”

When they ask why it is empty under the tree, I will play dumb (I’m good at that) and say “Ooohhhh, it is presents with a TS.  My bad.”Christmas presence2013 mayan calendar

<— I can get a really good deal on a case of these for everyone else on my shopping list.

Or an even easier way to avoid the mall…

Christmas blame the mayans

If you are finished shopping, I suggest adding this to the first package opened to set a festive mood…

Jesus birthdayAt least our pets are really into gift-giving this year…

cat Christmas present

In all seriousness, I truly am looking forward to being in the presence of all my loved ones this Christmas.  That is a priceless gift.

 

 

Hi De Ho-Ho-Ho

See?  Like I said in yesterday’s post…Heidi Klum and I are meant to be BFFs.

Heidi Klum Halloween Christmas modified

Heidi Heidi Heidi Hi

Ho De Ho De Ho-Ho-Ho

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In case you don’t know the Hi De Ho song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esnDnIK2v1g

I’m not sure why so many of my posts have had song titles recently.  I guess it is like my string of “sweet” posts a while back, only now I guess I’m on a music kick.  At least I spared you my lame attempt at re-writing lyrics this time, right Christine? 😉

The Hi De Ho Man is Cab Calloway.  The Heidi Ho Woman blabs all day.

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Modified photo from eonline.com.

Heidi Klum and I Are So Much Alike, We Should Be BFFs!

Heidi Klum Halloween Christmas

  1. Heidi hosts an annual Halloween bash.  I organized “Trick or Treat, Give Me Something Good To Eat.
  2. Frankenstorm postponed both of our functions.
  3. Heidi rescheduled for December 3rd and arrived in full Halloween costume with Santa escorting her.  I revamped the idea into “Jolly Old Saint Nick Or Treat, Give Me Something Good To Eat” and rescheduled for December 18.
  4. Heidi’s party was held in New York and was sponsored by a vodka company.  I won a trip to New York sponsored by Voli Light vodka company, partly because they read about my idea.
  5. Heidi’s party was full of Hollywood superstars.  Mine will be full of real superstars (kids in need).
  6. Heidi’s Hollywood superstar community donated to the Red Cross.  My neighborhood community donated to the real superstars.
  7. Heidi is a famous supermodel.  I am a…ummmm…well…hmmmm….

OK, maybe lunch with another celebrity isn’t in my future.  But we both DO agree that Christmas in July is sooooo yesterday’s news.  Halloween in December is the next big thing!

Now let’s just hope Mother Nature cooperates this time…

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Click here to read more about Heidi’s party.

(Photo credit: article link above)