5 o' clock Shadow

According to my doctors, I have a unexplained dramatic hormonal shift that is causing a wide variety of symptoms. They don't know exactly what it is, or how to fix it, so I get to experiment with different things and take lots of tests. They have ruled out cancer (sigh of relief), pregnancy (which I thought was impossible but apparently not), and menopause. Two of the more unpleasant, noticeable side effects are that I am losing my hair and I am growing a beard. Okay, so maybe not a full beard, but I have all these gross whiskers on my chin. Now I know most of us females usually have one or two annoying little hairs that grow occasionally on our face that are unwanted, but I am talking like 30 on a daily basis. I am getting so desperate I have actually considered shaving. I have tried waxing, which led to a sticky mess, and hair remover which smells so disgusting you would think it would work but it doesn't. I am considering trying Rogaine for women but am fearful of putting anything on my head that would cause more hair growth because with my luck I would end up with 12 inch long eyebrows. Now I don't have a lot to work with in the "naturally good looking" department, so you can understand why this situation isn't ideal. I am fearful that one of these days Matt is going to come home to a bald and bearded woman and run screaming into the night. It's too bad animal rights activists have all but shut down the circus business otherwise I could at least make some money from this situation ;) At least when guys lose their hair they can try and do the comb-over; that doesn't really work for me. I guess I just need to invest in a good pair of tweezers and continue to try and hide my bald patches with a ponytail. Wish me luck!

Catching Up

What a busy week! Full of fun and lots of activities for all. Bennett had his first oral report this week, a presentation on Australia. He has been working SO hard, definitely not the procrastinator that his parents are. He even brought Vegimite for his class to try. Word to the wise, it looks like chocolate but tastes like something you scraped off your shoe.
Kendall lost her first tooth today! It has been wiggly for months and all of her classmates have already lost teeth. She decided to pull it herself - such a brave girl! Very un-Kendall like, but I think she wanted to be in control of her own pain. She is very excited to have her first visit from the tooth fairy tonight - as long as the tooth fairy isn't too tired to remember. Maybe I should write her a note....
KJ also got to go to the American Girl Doll Store in Los Angeles for her best friend's birthday. I think they should rename it the Heaven-on-earth-for-little-girls-and-mommies-store. It is incredible! And incredibly expensive! The marketing group for American Girl must be made up of mommies because somehow in the midst of a down economy with only 3 stores nationwide and outrageously overpriced items people like me manage to save my pennies to buy my daughter something there. Geniuses I tell you, and if I could buy stock in their company I would!
Last but not least we went to Chuck E Cheese today. Normally I avoid that place with a ten foot pole because the thought of all the germies there gives me the creeps, but we lathered up in antibacterial lotion and went for it to treat the kids. The best part of the day was when Camden accidentally referred to it as "Chuck E Jesus". I could not stop laughing!
Hope you all had a great Valentine's, Chinese New Year, and President's Day!

Recent Pics

This picture was taken at Camden's birthday party. Despite the cheesy grin he really did have a great time. I know the cake looks a little like a bunny but it is supposed to be Bolt. Much harder to make than you would think! Eyeballs are tricky! Camden has, of course, already started to talk about his next birthday. We haven't even put away all his gifts yet, crazy kid :)
Below is a pick of the kiddos during STORM WATCH 2010! Isn't it amazing how our newscasters can get so excited over a little rain? Anyway, we tried to head up the back hills of Santa Barbara to find some snow but didn't make it in time. It was still a beautiful drive and the kids had fun, although they keep asking when we can try again. If I could make it snow I would, but that is not exactly in mommy's skill set.

Happy Birthday Camden!

Today is my baby's 4th birthday. I am both excited and sad, kind of a weird mix of emotions going on. I feel like he is getting to the age where I can't really call him my baby anymore!
Whether on purpose or not, I ended up wearing my "maternity" shirt today. No, it is not really a maternity shirt, I did stop wearing those probably 2 years ago. Even though they aren't the most fashionable things in the world they are definitely comfortable :) So even though my shirt today wasn't maternity wear, it did give me that "pregnant" look. Normally this is something that any sane person would try to avoid, but for some crazy reason I didn't mind today. I even thought to myself what kind of responses I might give someone if they asked how far along I was; sad, I know. Even though I am totally content with my family size and love my kiddos to death, there will definitely always be a part of me that wants to be preggers again and have another little monkey. I just need to keep reminding myself of the sleepless nights, throwing up for nine months, whining (which is still heard far too often), and endless diapers. It's hard to remember those things when your kids crawl in your lap and just want to snuggle and tell you they love you!

A Tale of Two Balls

For those of you who normally read my blog you know that it is usually clean, fluffy, family fun. This, however, is an exception. Please be forewarned that the following post will contain some graphic language and subject matter not suitable to young children. You have been officially warned!
Last Thursday I was getting off of the freeway to go to Costco when I noticed the truck in front of me had a pair of testicles hanging off of the underneath of the bumper. Now I know that many people feel it important to plaster their cars with bumper stickers, or some truckers feel the need to belittle women by placing sexual silhouettes on their mud flaps, but seriously when did it become okay to hang your balls off you truck? I have actually seen this once before, thankfully neither time did I have my older children with me. I can only imagine the conversation that would have to occur after that! I couldn't help but wonder why on earth someone would do this, but I came up with three reasonable explanations.
1. The driver/owner did not actually do this, but rather it was a sick (and admittedly incredibly funny if this is the case) practical joke. Only this can explain why he doesn't mind a pair of oversize pale testicles swaying flimsily in the wind behind him.
2. The driver/owner has very low self esteem and is somewhat cowardly and placed the item on his truck so that upon entering and exiting his vehicle he could remind himself that he does have balls and he can face the day. If this is the case, I feel incredibly sorry for you little truck driver and hope that you can find some self help tapes to encourage your spirit rather than balls that hang off of your truck that make you look like you are greatly overcompensating for your own lack of balls.
3. The driver/owner of the truck fears that some day he may lose his balls, and therefore needs to continuously have an extra pair on hand. And, bonus, by hanging them off the back of his truck he knows they will be nice and dry if ever he needs to switch them out.
I wish that I had had the balls to follow this driver and give him a piece of my mind. Maybe I could have borrowed his?

The 34 year old 3rd Grader

I loved third grade, and I am loving being back in third grade with my oldest son. I love the math drills and adventurous books, the fun field trips and science experiments. Third grade really is awesome. Bennett has a project right now on Australia and I have to keep reminding myself to let him do it, because I am so excited about it! Kind of sad, I know. The great thing is he is excited about school and loves these projects too, and thankfully he lets me help. Projects and presentations are kind of my thing. I love all the detail and making things look polished. I thought for a brief moment in the shower this morning that I should maybe try and find a job that entails those kinds of things. I have a feeling it wouldn't be as much fun as returning to third grade though. I wish I could impress upon Bennett the importance of enjoying this time, of not caring what other people think but embracing who he is and having fun, and not worry about the future but cherish the day to day. I wish I could but I know I can't, because it will simply go in one ear and out the other like it did when I was little and grown-ups told me those things. I guess I could try reverse psychology but I am very afraid of what the outcome might be for that. For now I will just sit back and enjoy third grade with him, and hope that someday he can enjoy it with his son.

The Monday Tuesday

It feels like a monday today. I am not sure how days can have feelings but it totally does. I decided to make homemade muffins this morning at Kendall's request. Of course, as soon as Camden realized what we were having he was in tears. Seriously, you are going to cry over food? I feel like he cries over everything lately. You think he had an over emotional mother or something. Anyway, he asked what kind of muffins they were and was sad because apparently he only likes banana muffins and not berry ones. He actually asked me if I could pick the blueberries out of his muffin; it took everything in me not to drop kick him back to his room. And we all know that if I had made banana muffins he probably would have complained about those, too. I know that when Matt is gone the kids get extra needy but it has only been one day, come on people! I know daddy is great but is it really that bad being home alone with mommy?
So, in case you didn't notice by the above paragraph I am going to attempt to blog again. How sad is it that it has been nearly a year? No promises this time, but I will do my best :)