New Blog

Okay, for all those that have been reading our blog we have combined a few blogs together under the following address. We will no longer be posting on this blog but please join us at the following address:

http://3giraffes.blogspot.com/

I am sorry but my lame brain can't figure out how to make this a link. You'll have to copy and paste. Thanks so much for your continued interest.

Saturday at Our House

Today was spent rearranging our children's rooms. Yesterday, the girls and I went to Pottery Barn Kids and bought new lines, curtains and lamps for each of their rooms. They are so excited. Last night, I took down the bunk beds. I was dreading this task considering it had taken a handyman four hours to put them together. It sucked as much as I thought it would. Afterwards, I was able to put the queen bed in daughter #1's room and adorn it with the linens. She slept there last night despite the entire room looking light a fucking bomb went off. Today, I reassembled the bunk beds as separate twins in daughter #2's room. I succeeded after two trips to the hardware store and wood gluing the portion I broke when slamming the mattress down in despair. I am happy with the way the little one's room looks and even happier when she proclaimed "I just love it, I just love it..I am going to sleep here all night!" Yeah, right. She hasn't slept alone for nine years except when she was left with a friend during the death of my father in-law. In fact, I am sure she didn't sleep alone then. If I remember she crawled in bed with Heather.

Well, before I could get to daughter #1's room I had to move the extra bed from the hallway downstairs to the spare room. For this, I needed help. I called upon my husband who had just come back from a bike ride. Now, let me paint you a picture..my husband doesn't do much manual labor. I was holding the bed frame waiting for him to help and he rounds the corner in his black jockey underwear. He is fully intent on moving the bed frame three floors in his underwear. I couldn't stop laughing. I have posted a picture of him so you can get a feel what I endured. Now, this picture isn't of him in his tidy blackies but it is of him getting ready to board a small water slide. This photo makes me laugh, who wears goggles on a water slide? Who flexes their muscles like that that isn't into bodybuilding? I guess the point is that through this work, yes it was work, my husband never ceases to surprise me and make me laugh.

I Can't Believe...

..I missed this attraction in Cle Elum. I was up for an afternoon of fun but my family put the kibosh on my excitement. I think they still have a bad taste in their mouths when I dragged them to The Science Museum in Florence. Can you believe that the excitement of Galileo's finger didn't hold their attention? Hence, their reluctance to join me in an afternoon of fun at the...

Typical Friday Night

Friday night is movie night at our house. I made a great dinner but because our TV has a funky color when playing a DVD my family loses interest. Maddie is on the computer, Leah has downloaded some craft and Tom is talking to his mother..wait it is ma..the (in a drawn out sorta way). Luckily, I have had a few glasses of wine and am headed to bed soon. I am reading the greatest book and can't wait to snuggle in and read a few more chapters. Have you ever started a fabulous book and then not wanted to finish it? That is how I feel about The Book Thief, I love it. I can't believe it for young adults. Wait, maybe I fall into that category by virtue of my maturity. I'll post more tomorrow.

Friday Nooner

Hello everyone, it's been a while. Again. But, here I am and I am so very very happy that it is Friday. A big round of applause for Fridays! (I'll wait. Go ahead and clap.) Despite the fact that I've been in the office since 6 am, it's been a good day. I wonder how much that has to do with the fact that it is almost sunny out? I hear that we may even hit 70 degrees tomorrow. OM-fucking-G. Tomorrow is a busy day of kid crap and errands but at least it should be sunny and, throwing caution to the wind, I am planning on NOT wearing a coat. Gasp. I am even planning on doing some much needed yard work tomorrow. And buying some wine. Need some more wine in the house. I guess one has nothing to do with the other but, stay with me people, my brain works in weird ways.

What else? Oh, Kim, you'll love this. Guess who just was tasked with ANOTHER presentation? Dammit. This one is in-house so I'll survive with just a teensy less stress than usual. Plus, it's on an area of law that I am pretty comfortable with so it's not like I have to be an expert on something brand new. No, that special task is reserved for the BIG SHITTY PRESENTATION.

Hey- I may actually get to see Kim this weekend. When was the last time we even saw each other, Kim? Do you remember? I think it's after our trip to Palm Springs at the BEGINNING of February. Maybe? Maybe not. That's ridiculous. We live in the same zip code for God's sake. Good times on the schedule for tomorrow. Time with Kim is something to look forward to. That, and almost 70 degrees.

This post brought to you by the SHIFT key.

Okay, I am Alone

Wait, I am alone at the moment and it is greatttttttttttt. Isn't that what the Frosted Flakes tiger said. I love being alone. I just finished watching my new favorite vice, Housewives of New York, and am enjoying being alone. I am so tired of hearing "mom, MOm, MOMMY". My great grandmother said she was going to change her name to SHIT so her children wouldn't call her so often. If that strategy worked, I change my name to booger, phlegm, acne or butt wipe. Too bad it doesn't work, my children don't ever leave me alone...they seek me out and find me no matter where I am. I stumble on the question"mama, what do you think?" I love being called mama, in a Little House on the Prairie kinda way, but I also wanta make a dumpster dive and scream "can't you fuckin' decide for yourself!" I guess the bottom line is I need parenting classes, CP wanta join me?

Northern Exposure Anyone

For those of you that were Northern Exposure fans behold these pictures. We ate at the Roslyn Cafe for lunch today with our friends before they left. It was by far the best meal we have had. I did not run into Chris, Holling or Joel....bummer! A little bit of trivia, a passing hippie painted the mural on the Roslyn Cafe. Now, don't you wanta come here?

Great Wolf

Now for the best of America, can you believe I spent two nights at this place and I wasn't too grossed out. I did have to come home and take a nap. Can you imagine that I might be exhausted after enduring this much stimulation, the human brain isn't meant to take this much in at once. The people watching alone was too much for me. It was like a car accident that I couldn't take my eyes off and all the while I was aware of what I actually looked like in my Miracle Suit that has one boobie bleached out after it fell off my mother's deck and I forgot about it. This picture is like a Where's Waldo game, can you find me? No, just look for the woman in the bleached boobie suit with her thighs sticking together - that be me.

*Sorry, I still can't figure out how to work these damn photos. They never show up where I want. I need a tutorial from Chris.

WooHoo - Found the Camera!

After leaving the lovely snow-ridden resort of Suncadia where the pool isn't open, there are no amenities and it is a whopping 33 degrees but feels like 28, we went to dinner. I scoured my car to find the camera and there it was along a few french fries and M&Ms, thank god. By finding the camera I am able to bless you with the pictures I took riding to Suncadia. My only question after you have viewed these is....don't you wish you were here?

Muffy vs. Paula Abdul

Those of you who have children, and let them watch TV, know about Arthur. One of his friends is named Muffy. In the car yesterday on the way up Leah informed us that Muffy looks a lot like Paula Abdul. I've posted pictures and you tell me, is there a resemblance? It made me laugh!

Again, my lame brain can't figure out how to make Muffy bigger.

I Am So Lame

My god, somewhere between my car and the room I have misplaced my camera. I even took pictures of the ride up to show you how bad the weather has been. It actually snowed on the ride and then it rained. If and when I find my camera I will post pictures. I am sending Tom down as he has risen to the challenge of taking my car apart. We will see if he is triumphant.

The resort we are staying in charges a resort fee of $20. Now I am all for the fair resort charge if includes all facilities. I understand the need to make rooms feel more affordable. However, I do have a beef when there is a resort charge and the pool has been closed, there are no bikes, spa is closed and there is a virtual village. There is really nothing to do here except eat, drink and then eat and drink some more. This would be more palatable if there was an open pool and I wouldn't have to move to the restaurant/bar to eat and drink.

Suncadia

We are off to Suncadia until Thursday. Leah woke up this morning and said "Isn't it supposed to be SUNNY in SUNcadia?" Well, you'd think so but we live in Washington and the temperature is currently 42, but feels like 39 and mostly cloudy with a chance of snow. Yippee! Oh yeah, and the pool and slides are closed.

Lastly, I am going to take my laptop and try to update our Great Wolf adventure complete with pictures. I would have posted them last night but those that know me will understand that my camera was dead. I am a person who allows my phone, ipod and camera to completely die before charging them. I believe in sucking the energy out of everything before charging. I don't think I will ever change my ways, I am lazy!

Happy Monday and I'll try and post more tonight.

Monday mornings are a bitch.

OK OK, despite the title, my mood has actually improved a little since my post last night. Although, I did decide to leave it up. One thing (of many, I assure you) that bothers me is when people complain about the very same thing they do. Now, am I guilty of doing that as well? Of course. But, I do try to own up to my own irony/hypocrisy in those moments. Anyway, moving on.

So, there is something wrong with our spam filter at work and all of our junk mail is getting through to our inboxes. I just spent 15 minutes deleting crap from my Blackberry inbox as every email that hits my work inbox also goes to my Blackberry. At least it's not just me. I wonder what the lost productivity/billable time will be for today as there are currently a butt load of lawyers (now THAT's a funny statement) sitting in their offices, deleting email from their laptops. desk tops AND crackberries.

What else did you all miss out on last week? I did, in fact, give my presentation on Tuesday, complete with handouts and everything. No, I did not suffer a heart attack from my public speaking phobia. But, I DID NOT HAVE FUN PEOPLE. Oh, and it does NOT get easier with time so you can all shove that little nugget of non-wisdom where the sun does not shine. Which is apparently Seattle as we are now in the second week of April and still in winter conditions. I am so so tired of being cold all of the damn time.

That's about all I've got for Monday morning. Here's to hoping Kim had a good weekend and can share some happy thoughts with all of us. I seem to have cornered the market on the negative ones.

Sunday Afternoon.

So, it's been a while since I posted. Why? Nothing too significant; just a crazy workload for most of the week and not much to say. I still don't feel like I have all that much to say. Perhaps the newness of the blog has worn off and, since we have little traffic and all of one comment, the whole blogosphere seems to be nonexistent for us. I don't know.
I guess I don't really get it. I visit other blogs and, since I've started this blog, I comment. I was diligent about commenting for 2 weeks and not one of those bloggers came by to see us. I'm a bit disillusioned by this fact. So many bloggers that complain on their blogs about "comment comment comment" and "I'll come by and do the same" and zilch. There is one blogger who took a bit of a much needed break, came back and said exactly that: please leave a comment and I promise to come by your blog and do the same. Yeah, not so much. I don't really want to turn into a 2 year old but I can't help but feel a little excluded from the whole blogging community right now. Sigh. Funny again, that's exactly what these same empty promise bloggers have said as well.
Well, that was a downer. Maybe it's PMS, maybe it's work exhaustion, maybe it's a little bit of frustration. Or all 3. Who knows? But, there you go. I don't know if I'll leave this up or not. Maybe Kim will bring me to my senses.

Weekend Plans

We are off to the Great Wolf Lodge for two nights. Washingtonians with TV will recognize the commercial that comes on every other minute. My girls can't wait. I'll provide an update on Sunday.

Andy Rooney

This was forwarded by a friend and since I am almost 40 I loved it!



In case you missed it on 60 Minutes, this is what Andy Rooney thinks about women over 40: 60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney (CBS) As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why: A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think. If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting. Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it. Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated. Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40. Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart. Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her! .. Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize. Fo r all those men who say, 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?', here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Back From The Dead

Damn, that gecko is alive.  As I reached in to get her and put her in a ziploc bag, she moved.  I don't like reptiles of any kind so it freaked me out a bit.  I am a little sorry she isn't dead because now I have to go back to mixing baby food and gecko vitamins together.  Bummer!

Lydia Is Dead

Lydia was 3 year 2 months old. Her lovely scamper will be greatly missed. She provided those around her with hours of entertainment. She could jump like no other and her tongue was wicked. She only escaped once and otherwise was a good and faithful servant. Lydia will be greatly missed and our family continues to mourn her passing. Please join us in a moment of silence tomorrow at 9 PM. In lieu of flowers please make donations to The International Reptile Association, fighting for equal rights for every reptile. Thank you.

I love this video

Okay, again my lame brain cannot figure out the technology.  YouTube is not letting me embed the song and whenever I copy and paste it doesn't show up.  Please go to YouTube and search Matt Costa + Mr. Pitiful.  It is one of the best videos I have seen in a long time.  Enjoy!  

How my Day Started

My dog wet the bed.  My bed while I was in it.  That is all, it went downhill from there.

Funniest Moment of the Day

While I was waiting for the game to start today I got this frantic email from a friend of mine....

Fuck.Stupid hotmail. I was replying to your email and must have clicked something?????before I hit send. SHIT.

Okay, I had to scroll down to understand the reason for such an email. I will share with you who actually received the email she intended for me. The gentleman who received the email is someone who we both know and is quite reserved and I cannot imagine anything inappropriate ever coming out of his mouth. He is, most likely, as anal as an accountant. Get the picture? Behold the following email which was intended for me but was actually sent to this reserved, anal and lovely middle aged man......

I hate my body and my job. I am so fat. My chin is like a disgusting triple chin these days.

Now, this might not seem like a big deal to some of you but I thought I would wet my pants. I am still laughing. She called me immediately and I couldn't even talk to her because I was laughing so hard. The moral of this story, it is better to drink and email than to use Hotmail.

Opening Day

Can you tell what she is doing? Look closely! Today was Opening Day for our national past time, baseball. My husband has season tickets and begs me every year to go to this momentous event. I gave in and went this year and I am not a fan of baseball. If you know me than you will know it is all about the food. I love popcorn! The lines were too long and my patience too short to purchase my beloved kettle corn. On top of that, the weather stunk and therefore the roof was closed. I did take this great picture while I was there and I think I need to take some pointers from this 8 year old girl to get through another game. I found this so funny! Yes, the Mariners won!

Am I a Princess?

Okay, I am totally addicted to this Blog thing or maybe it is that I have so much useless information in my head that I just need to get it out. In many ways, I feel like my life is a Seinfeld episode. It is full of useless information.

Here is my latest useless info, we went to a wedding last night for our old nanny. She was with us for a couple of years and we, of course, love her. In some ways, I envy her. She has always been stick thin, stylish and beautiful inside and outside. She was way gooder, yes I know that isn't a word, than I ever was. Now, I had a lot of fun in college, my parents would say too much fun. I was never like her, I could never have nannied anyone's children. I could barely take care of myself. Okay, so my point is that last night at her wedding she came to our table and I said.....

"You look like a Disney Princess" and I meant it, I really meant it. She was Ariel, all perfect and everything with a perfect sing song voice and I actually hated her for just a moment. Why couldn't I be that good? Wait, I never tried to be that good. I've slept with too many men, been drunk too many times and basically cuss too much to be considered a Disney Princess. Of course, who knows how much those princesses cuss, or what else, in that underground tunnel below Main Street.

Just sayin' Maybe I could be a princess one day except I could never fit into that damn gown!

My New Favorite Song

I thought after that last post I should put something a bit uplifting. Enjoy!

Sunday Morning

Since I can't figure out how to get my Twitter on the screen at the moment I will give you my Twitter updates in a post.

1.  Rolled out of bed at 9:30 and it is 37 degrees, isn't it spring?

2.  Loved, loved my coffee this morning.  Cafe Umbria, you rock!

3.  Still in my nightgown at 11:10, yes I wear a nightgown.

4.  Husband is doing the dishes, love that!

Figured It Out

I am beginning to figure out how to add pictures.  Here is my most favorite calcium supplement.

Great Wedding Idea

Tonight we went to our old nanny's wedding and it was really beautiful.  Besides the lovely church, beautiful music and her most stunning gown there was, brace yourself........A CANDY BAR!  Does it get better?  She found all of these enormous vases and filled them with different candies.  There were tall ones, fat ones, round and flat ones and they were all filled with candy.  Then she provided little cellophane gift bags to fill to your heart's delight and sealed with a ribbon and note that simply said "Thank You".   It was heavenly.  My girls shoved their mouths full of hot tamales, M &Ms, little tiny mints, malted milk balls and hershey kisses and now they have a stomach ache.  Do you think it will keep them from filling themselves with so much sugar next time?  My guess is not a chance.

The picture on the left is kinda what it looked like.  I'd like to take off the shoe picture but so far I am not computer savvy enough.

Love/Hate Target

OK, so we all love Target with a fiery hot passion, yes? But, seriously, do they have a special brand of stupidness reserved just for those that work there on Saturday afternoons? The checker girl thought it was a good idea to put several boxes of cereal and crackers into one bag and then stuff 4 bottles of wine (shut up, not the point here) into the same bag. And then hand it to me. I explained THREE times that the bag was going to rip, that it was too heavy, that it was too full, to double bag it, anyone home in there? Can you hear me? I finally re-bagged the items myself while she stood there, at a complete loss as to what the problem was. I did remain polite though, until I got outside. Then I called Kim and had to bitch about all the stupid people who are let out on Saturdays to roam free.

Deep(ish) Thoughts.

So, I was working late last night and my mind was wandering from what I was supposed to be doing. I started thinking about a conversation I had with client/fellow mom at lunch about how we parent the best that we can, even though sometimes we realize we aren't the parent we thought we would be. I started thinking about how I really am not the parent I wanted to be. I wish I was more fun, more creative, more nurturing and less controlling. I demand a lot from my kids in terms of behavior and helping out. They really are great kids. I can take them anywhere at any time of the day and I don't worry about- will they sit still, with they be quiet, will they be patient, etc. They know how to behave in public and what is expected of them. Now, they don't act like that all the time. At home, sometimes my ears ring from the noise of three kids running around, playing, etc. But, that's OK. So, where was I going with this post? Oh yes, my thoughts last night. Anyway, I was wondering if its too late to be the parent I want to be? Did I miss the boat, especially with the older 2 kids? This is not a practice life; I don't get to do this over. Those thoughts led me to- is this the life I want to be living? Is it everything I want it to be? Do I need to make changes so that I don't feel as though I'm just trying to make it through each week, day, hour? Am I really living in the moment or am I too wrapped up in all that I "have to do" that I am missing out on life, my life, the only life I get? How does this affect my children and husband?

I was talking to Kim earlier today and we were discussing this same topic. We really didin't have the time to delve too deep into it, but I do know that Kim is an extremely thoughtful and insightful person and I will value any and all thoughts she may have on this topic. Heather as well but Heather is busy these days so we'll have to wait to hear from her.

Things That Piss Me Off

These are a few of the things that really piss me off:

1. Picking a child up from a sleepover party.

2. Being yelled at by child who is behind on homework.

3. Child that will not let you read a fucking sentence in a book before cutting you off.

4. Husband who is always on the bike exercising to avoid anything that maight have to do with child rearing.

Yes, I am bitter this morning.

Things that piss me off.

1. Twitter will not let Kim and I both post our Twitters, even though we have two different accounts. WTF?

2. It has been snowing all day. In Seattle. The last week of March. I am done with the cold.

3. The people who owned our house before us. Seriously people, did you not exercise one ounce of common sense when you lived here? I am sick of ripping out every single thing you did and doing it correctly. At least I use professionals who bring a clue with them.

4. I had to get a box to put all of my files in to bring home over the weekend. I have that much work to do by Monday morning.

5. Yet another public speaking event foisted on me by people at work. Kim- why do people do this? You know how I love public speaking!

Elizabeth Hasselbeck

Elizabeth Hasselbeck is a moron.  I like to watch The View while I am sitting at my computer all day but I have to say SHE IS A MORON.  Just sayin'

Calcium Supplement

Okay, some of you may suffer from low calcium levels like me. Not only do I have low calcium but I have always hated taking the supplement because, to be honest, I don't like straining so hard on the potty. I found the perfect supplement. All hail the best calcium supplment ever:

FLORADIX CALCIUM -MAGNESIUM
for those that never take calcium due to the unplesant side effects

Okay I am having trouble uploading the image. It'll have to come later.

The taste isn't great, they say fruity but I found it more like a too ripe fruity fruit. You'll get used to it.

Here's to strong bones and regular bowel movements.

Daily Dose of Heather- Part Deux

Shhh- I'm posting from work so this will be quick. Brief background of one thing I did at work yesterday that I bitterly complained to Heather about- I was doing some research on the legislative history of a state statute (boring all by itself) and could not find what I was looking for so I downloaded the audio recordings from legislative sessions from 1999 and 2000 AND LISTENED TO THEM. Still did not find what I was looking for.

Recap of a voice mail from Heather this morning:

Heather: "I have a BRILLIANT idea for you."

CP (thinking): "For me? Uh oh, wtf is it going to be?"

Heather: "When you have to do things like sit and listen to audio recordings from state legislative sessions, you should get to charge a "boredom surcharge" to your hourly rate. Just like Jamaba Juice charged a surcharge on their orange juice last winter and like airplanes charge a surcharge on the exit row seats."

CP (thinking): "Now included in my billing policy- a boredom surcharge."

Introduction

I thought I should introduce myself. My name is Kim, I am married and have two girls ages 9 and 11. My life is pretty boring, actually very boring. I sit around all day playing with my computer and wondering whether I have the energy to take a shower. My two best friends are Chris and Heather, they are amazing and keep me from becoming a hermit who never bathes, brushes her teeth or wears deodorant. That is all for now. You'll get to know me better and probably wish you hadn't.

Email and WIne - Not a Good Combo

This is my recent response to an email from Chris after several glasses of wine:


fi you get my second email pertainignt ot his? It dispeared when i was writing it.

Now, you might ask..what was she trying to say? The truth is I really have no idea. If I could figure it out I could call my new language Kimbonics.

Daily Dose of Heather

Okay, I just got my second call from Heather this morning. Her first was on the way to work to report that it was raining. Actually, this morning she was rather calm, the word FUCK only came out of her mouth once when she complained about the weather.

Our second conversation went like this:

Heather: Oh My God, talk about boobs. I was just in the coffee shop and the barista had boobs bigger than yours, mine and Chris' put together.

Me: Wow.

Heather: She was wearing a lacy tank top that barley covered her nipples. I couldn't take my eyes off her cleavage.

Me: Did you like it?

Heather: It was like a car accident.

Me: Was your coffee good?

Heather: What?

Another update in an hour when she calls back to tell me about a lady screaming on the corner. Do you think she really has a job?

R.I.P.

My laptop has bit the dust. I'm going to have to hand it off to K until I can either revive the poor thing or afford to buy a new one. So sad today.

Happy Easter/Sunday Morning

Hmmm, awfully quiet around here, isn't it? I seem to be sitting in this room all by myself. So how was Easter morning for everyone? Ours was as low key as it can get. Baskets for the kids and now I'm going to go make coffee. The kids have already dispersed to whatever it is they are up to. The 2 oldest kids already know I'm the Easter Bunny so it's just the youngest who is still into it.

It's been quite a few days since I last posted. Work has essentially crushed me each and every day. It's already Sunday, I've been working on and off since I got home Friday night and I have a pile of work to be done before Monday morning. No wonder I have a headache and just want to crawl back in bed!

Let's get this blog started!

Time to jump start this blog of ours. I'm C, a mom of 3 and friends to K and H, both moms of 2. Between the 3 of us, we have 7 kids. Let me repeat that- 7 LOUD kids. And, we definitely have a lot to whine about and we also know how to consume a lot of wine. K and H are 2 of the most amazing women I have ever met. I'm excited for you all to get to know them.

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