You're a [expletive] Mormon....compared to you, everyone has a drinking problem!!

Favorite quote of the year...from Burn After Reading.

The nekkid drunken rooster that would never die....

Tomorrow is my birthday and Wed is my mom's birthday, so we decided this year to do something nice for just the two of us. We spent the morning on broadway, had breakfast at a local coffee shop and then strolled through the farmers market type set up that's going on downtown. We then hit a thrift mall and a beautiful antique store that's housed in a mansion built back in 1884. While we were driving around, my aunt called to see how our birthday celebration day was going and to wish me a happy birthday since they won't see me tomorrow. She recounted me being born and how happy my mom was, and how much trouble I gave her growing up. She did end with what a great person i've grown up to be and that i am a great mom (which is always appreciated after hearing a recount of the wild child i used to be). We were talking about how she was 5 mths pregnant with my cousin kimberly when i was born and how she had hated to tell my mom every time she got pregnant because she knew how much it hurt for my mom to not have a baby. She reminded me of the times I wouldn't leave her house because I was having fun playing with 'the gang' and would freak out as i was carried kicking and screaming in to the car. I told her that today that is called 'slow to transition'. She has always said that God gave me to my mom because anyone else would have killed me early on. I believe that's true. I am glad that abby's temperament has been greatly tempered by chris, but i am also glad that i am like abby so that i can appreciate and find humor in her a little more than maybe my mom did me. Mainly I think she thought next time she'd be more careful what she wished for. When pam got off the phone mom and i were talking about my temper(ment) as a child and how i would NEVER let things go and never back down, even in the face of total and complete rage from my dad. She said I always had to have the last word and was never scared of whatever punishment would come. She told me i always reminded her of the story of the rooster that would never die. I had never heard the story, so she told it to me like this.....

"When I was growing up, we had some neighbor boys who were really mean/rambunctious. They often told us of the time they took this rooster and got him really drunk by pouring beer into his mouth, then plucked all his feathers, then tossed him out in the woods behind their house to die. They said the next morning, sure enough, they heard 'cock-a-doodle-doooooo'. And wouldn't you know, but that old nekkid plucked rooster had sobered up, lived and come back to fight another day."

Mom said that I was a lot like the rooster. Do what you want to me, but I was always coming back for a fight. It was the funniest story i'd ever heard - and i can't believe it took 33 years for her to tell me.

Back to reflection...I can't believe my aunt had 3 kids in 2 1/2 years...she was 23. By the time she was my age she had 5 kids. When my mom was my age I was 11. Kimberly is my age and her kids are 12 and 9. Last weekend Kimberly and the girls were at mom and dad's and aunt pam was fussing at us because abby and anna were outside with out shoes on. We were like, "if their feet hurt bad enough, they'll come in for their shoes". Aunt pam said she was glad she was done raising kids and that she wasn't the momma. I looked at kimberly and said, "OH MY GOSH - those are OUR kids - who thought it was a good idea to let us be parents?!!? I still feel like a teenager sometimes, especially around kimberly because i remember all the mischief we used to get in to - nothing bad by most standards, but we were always up to something.

When I got home chris had roses and a HUGE mum for the outside. Mom and Dad are coming soon to get abby and chris and i are going on a date. Then tomorrow is my favorite meal - country fried steak and we are heading over to warm springs to walk around and enjoy the beautiful weather.

I love chris and i love my family. Even though abby thinks it's her birthday, i love her too:-)

i won't sleep, and you can't make me!

It's almost 11pm and we have been home for about two hours. Normally abby falls asleep on the way home from my parents, but tonight she was playing in the car with a doll my mom gave her and she didn't fall asleep. When we got home we put her down (with the doll that she wouldn't let go of) and thought "she's exhausted, she'll be asleep in no time" (this was about 9:15). Chris and I then went back in the office and were listening to her on the monitor. I heard a noise from the monitor and asked him if he thought she had gotten up. He said no and I didn't really think more about it. I went into the kitchen to watch tv and work on an abby project (world's most out of control tutu) and after a while chris went to go do laundry (he just got in from south dakota). He walks to the laundry room and then turns around and tells me to come over to where he is. I don't want to - don't want to see a mouse that he's found or whatever it might be, don't want to get off the couch, etc. But I get up and he says, "guess she did get up". Abby was passed out cold on the floor in front of the pantry. She has gotten up before and played in the living room until we catch her - but she's never fallen asleep. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen and of course my first thought was "where's the camera!?!". We had a great day today and this evening got to feed the monster catfish and took a ranger ride in the dark while the beautiful full moon played peek-a-boo with us. It was cool and we loved being together with just the 3 of us. We laughed and let the wind blow in our hair. It was a nice night and I am glad abby is FINALLY asleep so we can start again tomorrow.

where have all the good ones gone?

I was reading a friend's blog about how she was trying to get ready for her kid's Halloween costume for this year and I felt vindicated that I wasn't the only one who felt the need to have the costume picked out and bought before Sept 1st. Well....for the past 2 years the Children's Place has not let us down for cute cute costumes that fit well, looked like the age they were intended and weren't over $40. This year I am sad to say, they have let me down big time. Every little girl's costume I can find ANYWHERE is some disney marketed princess, way too hot animal fleece deal, or something so slutty even Brittney Spears would be embarassed to wear it. I mean - give me a break people!!! My only real option this year is the cute fairy costume from Gymboree, but give me a break - I am not paying $70 for that outfit!! Ughhh....abby loves anything involving a tutu and still wears last year's tutu and waves the wand around. The issue is that it's so hot at Halloween...i did end up @ CP the day before Hllwn last year and got her one of the warm costumes for like $10, but for daytime dress up events she wore the princess/fairy something or other from CP...she loved it. She wore the skunk costume only on Hllwn night cause it ended up being kind of cold. I am thinking of skipping the costume all together, making her an awsome tutu and putting her in her gymnastics leotard. Add a crown and a wand and she will be in heaven! Even if she ends up trick or treating at the medical center:-( I love the fall and I love all the different events surrounding Halloween. Hopefully she'll get to participate in lots of things this year and won't miss out due to Libby.