Frog Sitting On A Bench Like A Human

"Oh my goodness!" I squeal. "Look at this frog."

"Is that a real frog?" asks Hubby.

 "It looks real," I say. "I wonder who that frog was in his last life?"

 "An old fisherman who liked to hang out," answers Hubby.

Maybe, and when I watch the video "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay," plays in my mind.

Hugo

Last night the whole family watched the movie, Hugo. We all enjoyed it.

Hooray!

More than a children's movie, Hugo is inspiring for all ages. Hugo is based on the award winning, historical fiction book, The Invention Of Hugo Cabret, which uses both pictures and words to tell the story.

 Both Vinny and Hubby have read the book.

 "The movie pretty much follows the book," says Hubby.

Which lead me to ask, "Oh my gosh, is he going to be okay?" and "Is the father gonna die now?" and "Was that in the book?!" amongst other interrupting questions throughout the movie.

Watching Hugo, who is orphaned and lonely may be stressful, but it is worth viewing. The message of Hugo, is timeless. Our greatest strengths come from unlocking the mystery of that which pains us most in life. And when we decode and heal our lives,we inspire others to do the same.

And that, Internet is a Happy Ending!

Busted!

Before Smart Phones

Before there were smart phones, B.S.P. there were smart rocks.

Growing Avocados From Seeds

With the help of YouTube I am sprouting avocado pits in the greenhouse. It's been like three days and nothing has happened.

How much longer til I have avocados??? This is taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r.
I would also like to add, "Mom, help, please!"

Fart App

LOL!

After 20 minutes of listening to, "FFFFSSSHHHH," and "pfffffffffffft," and "toooooot," I'd had enough of the fart app.

The boys, however could have listened to gas passing the rest of the day.

Fortunately, the iTouch's battery pooped out.

Pheeeeeeew!

Surf Art

I happened upon this piece of art at the beach today! Life is amazing. On the other side of this log is a piece of art I posted a few years ago. Surprisingly, the painting has held up through the trials of the sea. Enjoy.

Kitten Hugs Teddy Bear

Internet, this video of a kitten hugging his teddy bear is sure to make your day even better!

Happy Earth Day 2012

Use The Force, Luke

Spy Kids 4

Internet, it's family movie night and we're watching," Spy Kids 4."

The first "Spy Kids," was fairly entertaining, I think,but how good could the fourth movie be?  Probably not very good, possibly horrible, but who cares it got me out of movie night at the boy's school.

As far as I'm concerned any movie that can do that deserves an Academy Award. 

Two Hours Later

"Spy Kids 4," was a lot better than I thought it would be, and the kids loved it.

"Can we watch Spy Kids 2 and 3 next?" asks Gio.

Eye Wash

"Mom!" shouts Gio. "There's something in my eye!"

"Don't rub it, whatever you do," I say. "That will just make it worse, and you can damage your eye."

"It hurts," says Gio crying while simultaneously freaking out.

"Do you want me to get the eye wash?" I ask.

"Yes!" says Gio.

This should be fun.

"Should I keep my eye open?" asks Gio.

"That would be helpful," I say.

"Are you ready?" I ask, holding the eye wash above Gio's eye.

"Yes," answers Gio, convincingly.

But every time I tried to rinse his eye with the wash he screams, "Ahhhhhhhhhh," closes his eyes and wriggles away from me.

"Hold still," I say trying to keep his eyelid open.

Unfortunately, all I manage in four or fives attempts is to squirt his face.

"Sorry, I can't get the eyewash in your eye, try not to rub it," I remind him.

Five minutes later.

"Mom, my eye feels better," says Gio."I think the eyewash on my face really helped."

Hot Turtles

The Water Bottle Avenger

Who is that masked man???

He's the Water Bottle Avenger that's who! And he's able to recycle plastic in a single recycling bin...........

G-Male and Siri: A Love Story

G-Male and Siri: A Love Story is yet another blow to boring television programming. Are there more than two or three shows on TV that are even remote worthy these days?

The Internet is full of creative people, who with the world wide web, have a medium to share their talents with the world.

Goodbye Spring Break

Internet I just got back from a one week stay on the beach in Oceanside, California.

During the entire week I was the first person up and out on the surf everyday.  It's easy to do when the waves are a 6 minute walk from the bedroom.

While it is good to be home, I have to admit I'm missing my beach bungaloo right now.

Sigh.

Spring Break at the Beach

I ♥ The Beach

The Harbor

The Beach

If You Need Me

Pictures to follow.

The Sunset View

Hoppy Easter

The View

Texts From Hillary

Today I read about a blog, "Texts From Hillary," that provides some consolation for Hillary Clinton losing her presidential bid in 2008.

The tumblr blog has gone viral. Let's face it who can resist Hillary Clinton parody texts with President Obama, Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, Ryan Gosling, Joe Biden and Anthony Weiner.

I heart Hillary. Follow Texts From Hillary on Twitter here.

And while we're on the subject of Hillary


Hillary2016!

Houston, We Have Water!

Sure one wall is still purple, and all the walls need to be painted. Yes, the bathtub/shower lacks plumbing.

But the sink and toilet are hooked up and ready to flush!

Mathematically speaking that's twice as many toilets and bathroom sinks as there were yesterday.

Woot! Woot!

We've Come So Far

Hello Internet. I've spent the better part of the day sealing grout in the front bathroom. Sealing grout is a long, slow process. What should seemingly take a couple hours, ends up taking 8 or 9 hours.

Phew. I'm exhausted, especially after being awake since 4:30, with special thanks to the geriatric dog with the incredible shrinking bladder.

It's as if I'm stuck in the movie, "Honey, I Shrunk The Dog's Bladder."

Anyways, I am feeling pretty happy about my sealed grout. But my body is feeling tense. I grab the foam roller, and go into the boys' room to roll out my sore muscles.

Breathing in and out, I'm quickly relaxing. But then I notice SOMETHING on the ceiling.

Water is on the ceiling.

"WATER!" screams my Nervous System. "Alert, alert, alert!"

Water is dripping into the house from the roof, transforming the American Dream of home ownership into the ongoing American Nightmare. So while the bathroom is nearly complete, the roof has got so far to go................

Rinsing Dishes 2.0

Internet, sometimes life calls for change. But the only person who can change our lives is ourselves. That's why I've made a new house rule: RINSE YOUR GOSH DARN DISHES, PLEASE.


"There's a new rule in the house, effective immediately," I inform my roommates Friday after school.

"Uh oh," says Hubby.

"Everyone has to rinse their own dishes," I say. "I'm tired of spending my life rinsing everyone's dishes. Some days it seems like all I do is wash dishes."

"Uh, huh," listens Hubby attentively.

"Why should I spend an hour a day washing everyone else's dishes, when they can do their own dishes in a few minutes?" I explain the reasoning for the new rule. "It's inefficient. Besides, who do you think I am, the Maid?"

"Okay," agrees Hubby quickly.

"But I can't reach the sink," whines Gio."

"No problem," I say walking out of the room to grab a stool for the kitchen. "You can use a stool."

"Hmfph," says Gio.

"After rinsing your dishes, please, put them in the dishwasher, without food on them," I instruct clearly.


"Yes, Mom," says Vinny obediently.

But fake obedience does not translate into compliance, becauseI had to remind Vinny 1,876,999 times on Saturday alone, to, "rinse your dishes and put them in the dishwasher, please."

Employment of the Broken Record Technique is my only hope in implementing and enforcing the RINSE YOUR GOSH DARN DISHES, PLEASE, Rule, and it's a love hate relationship. Someone needs to update the technique, please.

Maybe I should record the , RINSE YOUR GOSH DARN DISHES, PLEASE Rule, then I can just press play? Hmmmmmm, maybe there's an app for that?

Overall, I felt the RINSE YOUR GOSH DARN DISHES, PLEASE Rule was a success, allotting more time for laundry, vacuuming and dusting, cleaning toilets and sinks, bill paying and organizing. Yes, I live the life of a rock star's maid...

However, there were a few glitches.

"Wait, how come you didn't rinse your own dishes?" asks Hubby.

"There was a line at the sink, so I put my dirty dish on the counter until it was my turn to rinse," I say in defense.

And when the neighbor came over to play and eat.

"Make sure you rinse your dish, Gavin," bosses Gio, delighted with his new found power.

"But I dunno know how to rinse dishes?" answers 4-year-old Gavin. "My Mommy doesn't teach me that."

"Well, it's time to learn," says Hubby.

"Maybe guests shouldn't have to rinse their dishes?" I ponder.

Though he is here a lot. Obviously, the RINSE YOUR GOSH DARN DISHES, PLEASE, Rule already needs an update.

Then this morning, Gio says, "I need a break."

"A break from what?" I ask.

"From rinsing dishes," answers Gio.

"Thanks for letting me know, now rinse your dishes, please," I say.

Now I need a MAKE YOUR GOSH DARN BEDS Rule..........

Readathon

"Tomorrow's the last day of the Readathon," says Gio.

"How do you feel about that?" I ask.

"Sad," answers.

"Why are you sad?" I ask. "You can still read when it ends."

"You get to read more during the Readathon," says Gio.

"You can read as much as you want," I say.

"I know," says Gio. "But I'm still sad."

Both boys read a lot. Gio reads 30-60 minutes a day, and Vinny probably gets in a few hours of reading on school days, and more on the weekend. But something about the Readathon inspires them to read even more.

Maybe Readathons should be held at every school in the country. Readathons make reading cool and fun, instead of making it a chore and hard work.

If a kid can read, then she can learn.

The End

Internet, I've come to a crossroads in life. Sadly, I've made a difficult decision. One of which I have thought about for a long time.

I'm going to stop publishing the blog. Though I feel writing and posting pictures daily is an amazing creative outlet for me, and chronicler of our family, I find it impossible to surf and post a daily blog.

I hope everyone understands and doesn't think less of me. I know I do.

Sob.

April Fools!