It's Not THAT Far...

This is a conversation I had with Caitlin on the way home from school today...

Caitlin: "Hey Momma, can I ride my bike to school Monday?"
Me: "No Cait. It's way too far. It takes me 10 minutes just to drive there at 55mph. If you rode your bike, you would have to get up in the middle of the night to make it to school on time."
Caitlin: "Nuh-Uh. It's not THAT far. All I would have to do is drive, drive, drive...turn, drive, drive, drive...stop at the stoplight...drive, drive, drive...and I would be there. See? It would be very easy!"
Me: "Is that all you would have to do? Well, sweety let me tell you something. It's not that easy."
Caitlin: "Ok, let's make a bet that I can make it on time, and I can test it out tomorrow."
Me: "Cait, you don't have enough money to make a bet that would convince me to let you try."
Caitlin: "Uh-huh! I do too! I have 2 quarters!"

The Car Nazi

On our way to drop Caitlin and her friend Mariah off at the skating rink (it was a church sponsored skate night), we had a "Christian funny" occur. He is the biggest romancer on the planet, so naturally when Mariah got into the car he turned the charm up about 100 notches. He was giggling, outright cackling, and calling her name every5 minutes. He would bat his big long eyelashes at her and would not stay turned around in his seat. Finally, John had had enough.
"Christian! Turn around and sit up straight. Leave those girls alone please sir," he said.
Christian did as he was told with a pouty face and crossed arms. The girls continued to chatter and giggle in the very back seat. As we were approaching the skating rink, Christian turned around and said, "KIDS! That's enough! You need to be quiet right now!"
John and I had a very hard time containing our laughter. He continued to gripe at them until they exited the vehicle, making sure they were as properly punished as he was. With the girls gone, he turned his attention to Caroline who was cooing and screaching at her feet.
"Carowine (as he calls her)! That's enough! You be quiet too," he said. Poor Caroline just looked at him. That boy cracks me up!

Mighty Morphin' Time!

Just some more fun with this website...now I'm being morphed into a movie star. :)

Me to Julianne Moore
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Me to Jessica Alba
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Look A Likes

I got this from a friend of mine (her myspace page actually) and thought I'd give it a try. Obviously this site meter has no clue...see my results!!

Busybody With An Attitude

Caroline is getting so big! *deep sigh* She is into EVERYTHING, and multiple times a day for that matter. She knows just how to push Momma's buttons too. :) Here are some actions shots from the first half of her day.
It's no fun unless you're IN the toy box
Discovering Momma has a camera on her
Now on to re-arranging the tupperware drawer
A trip to the kitchen isn't complete until she's attempted to play in the dog's water
Time to steal the phone and make some calls
And this is what happens when Momma takes the phone away :)

Keep 'Em Comin'

This is just a thank you note to Grandma C and Grandpa Haskell for sending such fun, informative, and funny letters/cards to the kids. They really enjoy getting their mail, so please keep sending them! We love you!

I know I look young, but come on...

You know what really annoys me in life? Rude people. I can handle just about anything, but rude people can get under my skin quicker than anything.
Back to the subject at hand...
Sadly, Wal-Mart seems to be the breeding grounds for rude people, and a lot of times its the cashiers--yeah, the ones with smiley-face buttons.
Now, I must confess I like to buy a pack of wine coolers every now and then. A pack will last me a LONG time, and I really like the taste. Not a wine-o, just like them now and then ok? :) On this certain Wal-Mart trip (about a month ago), I had a pack of wine coolers in our cart of groceries. The routine is as follows: Momma unloads all groceries onto belt and Christian and Caitlin hand the full sacks to Daddy who is standing near the sack station. Fairly easy routine--until a certain cashier decides to mess it all up. I was standing in front her watching the grocery bill add up when she scanned my wine coolers.
"I need to see your i.d., " she growls. Well, I left my purse in the car, so I turned to John and asked for him to show her his i.d.
"Ma'am, I need to see YOUR i.d. since you are paying for it." No need to be so rude lady!
"I am paying for this," John said politely. "You can check MY i.d."
Grumbling to herself, the cashier checked his and continued to scan our items. Suddenly, I hear her yelling at Caitlin. "Hey!! Don't touch that sack! No one under 21 is allowed to touch that sack! You let your Daddy get it!"
Oh no she didn't.
By this time, John is rolling his eyes, making comments about 8 year olds getting drunk under his breath, and the cashier is back to scanning. Sadly, I couldn't go without responding.
"It would be terribly sad if I had an 8 year old and 2 other small children if I was under 21, don't you think!?! And, what kind of mom would I be if I let her touch my alcohol?"

Wal-Mart trip #2: Yesterday, we went to pick up a couple of necessities and a few grocery items. Since I was in the mood for a wine cooler again, I bought a small pack. It's so frustrating when you can't find a single checkout lane that isn't 10 people deep, but that's another post. :) We went for the "20 items or less" line, which only had 5 people ahead of us. After waiting 20 or more minutes, we come up on another rude cashier. Oh great. Put the wine coolers back, Mel. This could be a re-run of the other time. I decided to continue with my purchase, only to discover I left my wallet in the car--AGAIN.
Sweet fancy moses.
To avoid the same confrontation as last time, I switched places with John and went to the sacking area so he could pay and show his i.d. Well devised plan until John got tangled up with the children and didn't hear the cashier ask to see his i.d. She then turned to me and asked for mine.
Of course she would huh.
I yelled at John, pointed to his wallet, and he hurridly pulled it out and showed her. She didn't say anything, but her eyes were fixed on me the rest of the time. Get this: she even made sure I didn't touch the "alcohol sack" as if I was a child or something. SHEESH!!
That's right ma'am...I'm gonna borrow someone else's 3 children, stand in line at Wal-Mart for 20-30 minutes, just to try to fake you out and get alcohol when I'm really underage.
Makes total sense!

Eavesdropping

Caitlin was quizzing Christian in the car yesterday on the way to the gym. Grandma C sent her some jokes about the states (VERY funny by the way!) and she was testing his knowledge. Mind you, he has heard her tell me and John these jokes on a daily basis. Anyway, here is how it went:

Caitlin: "Hey brother, what state has 2,000 pounds of laundry?"
Christian: "Washing-McQueen?"
Caitlin: "No! WashingTON!! Get it?"
Christian: *deep sigh*

Nothing like getting your states and movies intertwined! Bet you can guess what was on his mind at the time. LOL

Fair, Part 1

Christian, Caroline, and I got a chance to go to the Tri-State Fair this afternoon. It was such a blast! Thanks to Keri for inviting us! The crew consisted of us, Keri and her sons Mason and Cannon, Keri's sister Renay and her twins Marlee and Maggie, and Renay's friend Jennifer and her son Caden. It was SO WINDY, but we found many ways to have fun. Of course no fair trip is complete without a stroll down the Midway of deep-fried food. From foot long corndogs to fried banana splits, we tried it all. Caroline and I got a tad pink from lack of sunscreen (gee...how smart was I?!?), but I was so glad we went. We took the kids through the petting zoo, which was a riot in itself. They had llamas, goats, deer, baby donkeys, and a baby zebra. Christian loved being able to chase the animals around. I am pretty sure we will be going back Wednesday night so Daddy and some other of our friends can go too.
Side Note: We met Caitlin and her class as they were leaving the fair and we were coming in. Her teacher told me a funny story from their fieldtrip that I have to share. Apparently, Mrs. Smith, the other 3rd grade teacher, was carrying around the schedule of events that Arbor Academy had planned for the kids while they were there. Mrs. Smith had this schedule in her hands when they were all walking through the petting zoo, and a deer stole and ate it right out of her hands! After that, the teachers weren't sure what to do...LOL
Also, Keri was so kind to order a sling from me. I totally love the gingham she picked out, and Mason seemed to be content inside of it. :)
The Crew (L to R) Christian, Caroline, Keri, Mason (in sling), Renay holding Maggie (Marlee was asleep in stroller behind her), Cannon (in stroller), Caden, and Jennifer
Keri and Mason modeling their sling
A really cool cake in one of the exhibit buildings
The deer tried to eat us alive. They literally chewed our clothing and ate the plastic cups that had food in them. Sheesh!
Caroline loving on a very friendly deer
Posing for a quick pic
Isn't this an adorable pic?!?

It's A Man Thing

I rarely get to post about John, so I am going to take the opportunity to do so today. As most of you know, he recently got a Volkwagen Passat. He really likes it, and he treats it like his baby. It even gets washed more than mine, but that's ok. :)
On Saturday, John decided that the Passat needed its oil changed. Instead of paying someone to do this, he made up his mind to do it himself--in our garage. Normally I'm cool with stuff like that, but it's a foreign car, and it has proved to be very different from anything else he has tackled before. Even though I was hesitant, we went ahead and bought the oil and filter.
Let's just say the rest of Saturday evening was blown. John spent a total of 3 hours in the garage with the Passat up on ramps trying to figure out how to get to the oil filter. He read and re-read his computer program on it, fiddled with it, and finally gave up and came in the house.
During church on Sunday, I made a comment that maybe we could just take it to Kwik Kar or something and go ahead and let them do the oil change. After all, it isn't THAT expensive. That conversation passed and went to another subject without him making a comment on my suggestion. In fact, he held his comment until we were on our way to eat after church. While driving, he turned to me out of the blue and said, "Mel, you don't think I can change the oil in that car? Do you not have any faith in me?"
Oh good grief. Now what?
So instead of paying someone to do this oil change, he was bound and determined to do it. He took the kids to AutoZone and spent a good 2 hours in the garage finally getting everything taken off and put back together. I came out to check his progress, and he told me to watch the engine while he started it up. It all sounded good and looked good----for the first 10 seconds. Next thing I know, there's a HUGE oil spill in my garage.
Yup, the oil filter was the wrong size, so every bit of oil he put in was now on the garage floor. After much debate, we discovered that we had been given the wrong filter, so John and the kids had to go BACK to the store. I came in to the house and did the calculations...it cost us TWICE as much for John to change the oil as it would have cost us to have someone else do it. The way he saw it, it was a learning experience. He now knows how to do it, so it will save us money in the future. Oh well, guess it's a man thing...

There's A Party In My Tummy

I know when reading that title, some strange thoughts come to your mind. No, I didn't have bad sushi. No strong drink either. This post would happen to be about a children's television show. It's annoying, wonderful, and scary all in one package deal. The show's title? Yo Gabba Gabba. Yup, very interesting huh. I saw this show for the first time a few weeks ago when pigs flew and we got extended cable channels. Christian now watches it faithfully everyday at 12pm, just before going down for his nap. The routine is as follows:
Christian: at 11:45am, dig whole wheat tortillas and cheese package out of fridge and throw them in Mom's lap
Momma: put cheese slices inside tortillas and nuke until melted--cut into little triangles and put on plate--pour "juicy" into sippy and hand it all to small child waiting anxiously across the bar on a stool
Christian: hop down from stool with plate and sippy in hand--plop skinny self down in front of large television (stomach on floor, chin on hands) with plate and sippy next to him
Momma: turn on to Nick Jr., sit in recliner, brace self for 30 minutes of complete goofiness
Christian: stare wide-eyed at the boob tube and watch the very creative characters of Yo Gabba Gabba "do their thing"
And there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Yo Gabba Gabba has become as big as the Doodlebops around here. Note: if you don't know about the Doodlebops, too bad. I have no time to explain their antics. Tune into Nick Jr. (channel 34) at 9am for further details.
I am telling you all about Yo Gabba Gabba because I want to share yet another youtube.com video with you. I know, you are rolling your eyes as you read this---do we SERIOUSLY have to see another video? The answer is YES!!
I want you to see what I go through on a daily basis with this television show. As you watch, keep in mind that it has revolutionized the Haskell household. Yo Gabba Gabba has taught Christian to try new food and LIKE it, share toys with both sisters as well as friends, take turns, say he's sorry for things---all the little "hidden" messages that this show has. :)

Can You Hear God?

On the drive home from Pappaw and Mimi's house, the kids and I were having a conversation about God and how we can pray and ask for the desires of our hearts.
We passed by Caitlin's school and she said, "Momma, I want to go Trinity (aka Arbor Academy) forever!"
"Well, Caitlin, if that's how you really feel, then you need to ask God for the money to do so," I responded. It was silent in the car for a few minutes until Christian blurted out, "Momma, I hear God!"
"Oh do you? That's awesome!" I said, "What did He say?"
"He say I can go to Twinity too!" he said.
I LOVE the innocence of children!

Pattycake And Then Some

I went out shopping with Misty and her girls Jacey and Phoenix yesterday. It is so nice to get out and visit with her when we have the time, and Christian really enjoys hanging out with Jacey. They were just being so darn cute that I had to take a video of it. Enjoy!

What's For Dinner?

John bought me a new crock pot the other day, and I am so excited! I had an old one, but it was a piece of you-know-what in that it didn't have but 2 settings and the inner cooking pot was not removable. If I ever did use it (and that was rare), it would sit dirty on the counter for up to 2 weeks since it was such a pain in the rump to clean.
I made one of those Crock Pot Classics dinners in it and it turned out WONDERFUL!! Love the whole "set it and forget it" kind of dinner. :)
Isn't she a beauty? :) Yes, it IS sad that I took a picture of a crock pot.
Mmmmmm, roast with all the fixins...can't you just smell that?!?!

Speaking of dinner, my good friend Lindsay Schumacher is starting her own business called Dinnerthyme Meals. She has a God-given talent of cooking and wants to share it with the world (or at least Amarillo for now). She had a taste-testing of sorts a few weeks ago where she supplied us with a meal that feeds 4-6 people for a very reasonable price. Let me just tell you, she is an amazing cook! I scarfed everything down in record time, and even the kids at a great dinner.
Lindsay will be cooking hot meals and delivering them on Thursdays. The full portion (feeds 4-6 people) is $35, and the 1/2 portion (feeds 2-3 people) is $20. You can contact her to see what is on the menu each week and even be part of her weekly emailing of menus.
Also, she will be providing frozen casseroles for $20 (feeds 8) or $12 (feeds 4). Those are available anytime. The casseroles she has available are Italian Sausage Lasagna, King Ranch Chicken, and Chicken Tetrazzini.
Her contact information is: dinnerthyme@yahoo.com or 584-6801. I think this would be a great service for someone that has had a baby, a funeral, surgery, a big get-together, or something of that sort.

Florentino The Cable Guy

A day at the Haskell household is not without drama, and today is no exception.
About 2 weeks ago, we ordered cable everything--extended basic cable, cable phone, and of course cable internet. We decided that having a combined bill for all services, as well as paying less, was a deal we couldn't refuse. The only hangup at the time was that we would have to wait to have the cable phone installed--today was the day for that.
The phone rang at 10am, and a man from the cable company said he'd be here in about 10 minutes. When he arrived, he rang the doorbell. Little did he know that he had just awakened Caroline and interrupted some heavy sewing. :) His last name was Florentino, so I will refer to him as such. He asked to go upstairs to where the cable box for the internet was. No problem, right? Hmmmm.....
So the upstairs was a wreck. I began to furiously clean while he inspected the cable box behind our extremely heavy dresser. After breaking a sweat by helping him move it, I continued to clean, change diapers/clothing, and tell Christian to stay out of Florentino's tool bag. Just when I thought I had it all under control, he asked if we had an attic.
Oh for the love of Pete!
What we have is an "access" to the attic, not a true one since it's a 2 story--or at least that's what the realtor and inspector told us. He needed to see it anyway, and he also needed a ladder. Somehow, going downstairs and fetching mine saved him 10 steps to his truck to get his. Whatever.
Florentino came back with my ladder (let me interject that he was about 3 inches shorter than me and had already given me a complex), attempted to look, and realized it was too short--or he was too short--whatever the case was. He was then off to his truck to fetch his ladder...which was also too short...so he had to go back AGAIN and get the tall ladder...sheesh!! He came out of the messy closet (I'm almost certain he saw the horendous pile of laundry) and began to tell me that I indeed have a nice-sized attic...and someone else's crap was stored up there. Get this: the ORIGINAL owners left about 5 boxes!!! I crawled up there and discovered a box of t-shirts, boxes of bank statements/used up checkbooks, yearbooks and college stuff, etc. It was truly amazing!
By this time, Florentino was trying to tell me that he would have to switch out my phones--the one downstairs with the answering machine would have to sit on the dresser and the little one in the bedroom would have to go downstairs.
Ummmm, no. Not happening. My dresser is NOT for stuff like that! :)
He decided that since I had a sour look on my face, he'd try another route. He got up in the attic and attempted to drop a cable down the wall behind the dresser--only after he'd punched a nice-sized hole in my wall. After 30 minutes of me helping him try to locate it in the wall with a little stick that had a magnet on the end (I'm leaving it at that, ok) he had it and was finally in the installation process. All the while, he was saying that he'd wished he'd kept his big mouth shut and just MADE me do the phone switcharoo.
Not happening dude!
Florentino finally finished the installation, and I was downstairs making grilled cheese sandwiches for Christian and Caroline. It was 12pm. He came into the kitchen and proceeded to tell me that he had lost the backup battery to the cable box--and he "assumed" Christian had swiped it and it was somewhere upstairs.
Man, are you kidding me?!?
We tore the upstairs apart, and it looked worse than it had before I furiously cleaned. No battery. I told him to forget it, and he went to his truck to see if he had a spare. 10 minutes later, he came back with the stupid battery--it had fallen in the yard when he brought the box in. Oy!
The funniest part of the visit was when he showed me the battery and jokingly said, "Man, what a day this is going to be! I thought this job would take like 30 minutes, but NNNOOOO. Heck, right now I could be in an alley somewhere relaxing."
So that's what they do when they are supposed to be busy!
Needless to say, I signed the papers he had and gave him a swift kick in the rear as he walked out the door---ok, maybe not a kick, but I really wanted to! :)

Badger, Badger, Badger...

Ok everyone. Your IQ is about to drop several points after viewing this. :) Josh, my darling younger brother, turned me on to this website about a year ago. I watched it until I heard it in my sleep--EVERY night. Caitlin repeated it for months on end. She would randomly begin singing, and it became a very huge earworm. The reason for my posting it now you ask? Well, John and I are watching the Discovery Channel, and a badger came on the scene. John turned to me and said, "Badger, badger, badger.." Nuff said. I immediately googled that very phrase, wondering if the site still existed. Of course it does! lol Anywho, enough drama for your mama---just watch and enjoy!

Badger, Badger, Badger

A Few More Poses

Like my friend Misty, I got a coupon for a free 8x10 picture at Glamour Shots. I went and got a group pic, and then Mom was kind enough to purchase a few more poses. I loved them all and wished I had the money to purchase EVERY single one of them! *sigh* :)

Playdate with the Crums

Early this week, Jill and I had a chance to eat lunch at Chick-Fil-A with the girls. It is so funny to see them interact now. They hug each other, play toys together, and babble back and forth. I tried to make a video of them playing so hopefully it comes out right. Also, I have some cute still shots!
Look at them!! "Two" cute!!
Just chillin' :)

Ok, here is the video! Poor Alexis--Caroline kept taking her Gigi doll. Thank goodness Jill had a couple of extra toys! :)

Grandma C and Grandpa Haskell Come To Visit

That's right! John's parents got to come down from Colorado for a few days, and it was nice to spend time with them. We had them over for a hamburger/hotdog cookout, played indoor miniature golf, and just hung out at the house. It was a relaxing and fun time. Here are some pics from the past few days with them.
Christian gettin' his golf groove on
Cait doing the same...
John having fun--and of course he won :)
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for playing in the sand, playing golf, bringing gifts, and just hanging out with us! We love you!

Loot & Robum

This is the new nickname for Toot & Totum. Sad, but true! Can you believe that Amarillo gas prices are $.30 higher than anywhere else in the state? I DO NOT shop or give business to Toot & Totum (Greg Mitchell) simply because I believe we should be able to keep money in our own pockets and out of his. I really wish there was a way to get rid of his monopoly of gas stations...possibly put him behind bars for robbing us all of our hard-earned money. I am putting a link to a myspace page created by someone (name unkown) here in Amarillo that is sick and tired of "taking it in the gas" from Toot & Totum. I think he has a lot of valid points, and some of the stories in his myspace blog are interesting. I guess I'll continue to buy gas from Sam's until someone comes up with a way to change the current situation...

AmarilloGasPrices Myspace

The Art Of Negotiation

While talking with Misty a few days ago on the Yahoo Instant Messenger (if you don't have this, it is SO COOL...I can talk to her and do other things at the same time!), she was desperately trying to find her seam ripper. She finally gave up and told her daughter Jazmin that she'd pay her to find it. After a few minutes, Jazmin had it in hand and walked away with her payment. Misty and I were laughing that children will do just about anything for money.
That brings us to today.
John, the kids, and I went to Target last night, and the kids got to pick out a toy from the $1 spot. Note to all new moms---the $1 spot is the PERFECT place to get cheap but fun little toys, and it's way less expensive than letting them take you down the "real" toy aisles. :) Anywho, so they both picked out big bouncy balls with little plastic animals imbedded inside. Christian's was a tiger and Caitlin's was a panther. If any of you "truly" know my sweet Christian, then you know just how horribly anal he is about things. He carried the ball ALL evening, and of course he had to sleep with it. This morning, when Christian woke up next to me in my bed, he was frantic. He had lost his tiger ball! We searched high and low. We tore apart his bed and mine. No section of the floors in either room was not searched.
No ball to be found. I was convinced it fell into the same vortex that sucks up random socks--you know, the ones you never find the mate to? Ok, back to the subject at hand...
We came downstairs, had breakfast, and all the while Caitlin and I had to listen to the poor boy whine and cry about his missing ball. Caitlin even tried to pull a fast one and give him her ball---that was a BIG no-go.
I decided to try another route. Remembering what Misty had told me, I offered to pay Caitlin $1 if she'd find the stupid ball. She made a snorting sound, turned to me, and said, "I don't need $1. I already have $10."
Fine then Miss Attitude!!
By this time, Christian was jumping up and down asking if I'd pay him $1 to find his ball. Well sure! What the heck do I have to lose? He ran upstairs, and about 15 minutes later came down empty-handed.
Still no ball, darn it! Christian then turned to me and said, "Momma, if you find my ball, I give you one hundwed dowwers!!" Now that's a deal no one can refuse! LOL
2 hours later, while vacuuming the upstairs, I found that darn ball in my stash of sewing stuff. I took it to him, and he said, "Oh Mamma! It's my precious ball!! Do I get my $1 now?"
LOL, yeah right! I told him he doesn't get paid for ME finding it. He hung his head, and with a very deep sigh, he said, "Ok, ok. I give you a hundwed dowwers now." :)

Put Another Candle On Your Birthday Cake

*Singing*

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Biiiiirrrrrtttthhhhhddddaaaayyy Steve & Celia....
Haaaappppyyyyy Biiiirrttthhhddaaaayyyy toooooooo yoooooouuuuu!

Today is Celia's birthday, and Steve's was August 29th. Happy Birthday to you both, and we are looking forward to your visit! :)
Love you!