a super weird story for you to read today

We'll start with Charlie's school picture from last year.And then we'll get weird. Below is a picture Charlie found in one of his thrift store books Grandma Cheryl picked up for him. I like to call it CHARLIE FROM THE FUTURE!


Freckles, brown hair, a button up shirt. It's got to be him. I think this is proof that in 7 - 8 years time travel will be a real thing. And Charlie will use the time travel device to go back to 2012 to place his school picture in a book that he knows his Grandma will buy him.

You're welcome for the weird story.

And on another weird note I'd like to share that I recently discovered that I like gin. Last night I liked it so much that I didn't quit when I should have quit and I puked it all back up college style. Even managed to get some (barf not gin) in my eye as I was leaning over the toilet puking with such force that it came splashing back up at my face.

It's possible the strange after-gin feeling I'm experiencing today has something to do with why I believe my son is a time traveler.

Oh and I'd also like to share that I no longer like gin.

Then and NOW

Oh dear. As I write this I know its a bad idea. I have that much blogging and Internets wisdom to know that and yet here I am, on my tablet, hunting and pecking on the weird keyboard just to write a post about how old I tuned today. Midnight blogging after 5 Blue Moons is never good.

Today my sister and I went to see the Clumsy Lovers.

When I first loved this band I was 22'ish and living in the greater Seattle area surrounded by friends who loved nothing more than hitting up the local bar (what up Tractor Tavern!?), drinking Bud Light, and dancing! I have no idea how many times we went to Ballard to see them play. Maybe it was more than I remember, maybe it was less. Somehow 11 years later I still know all the words to their songs and I still swoon over their lead Trevor.

Now the venue is better and I'm fortunate enough to have the connections that get me into the VIP section where we have actual chairs, drink service, and close bathrooms.

Then we had no seats. We were forced to stand (which forced us to dance, you're welcome Ballard!), wait in line for our Buds, and use super dirty bar bathrooms.. BUT we didn't CARE!

From our fancy seats in the balcony tonight we were able to look down on all the "regular" people out on the floor and oh man how it brought me back! I Do love my life and my kids/husband/job/fam/etc but I also loved being 22 and free of obligation! As all this was flooding my head I was also thinking about how, with Matt in Seattle for the weekend, I needed to get home because I told the babysitter 11 and I have no idea if 12 is going to be a problem. I remember babysitting and not caring if the parents were late but now that I'm on the other side it feels different. And I know I'm switching between past and present tense which is why the Internet needs a breathalyzer.

I'm home and I'm still smiling about getting to see an old favorite band. Even if I did come home to a child who had wet the top bunk and probably ruined yet another mattress. On a totally unrelated note: who wants to come to the Rings garage sale this summer?!

Biz E!

Seriously. December is practically gone and we've packed so much in and I feel like I've totally neglected the world by not telling them every fun detail on my bloggy blog. Next week the kids are out of school and I'm working less hours so I promise a real post will come soon.

For now though please enjoy my darling kids:
And their crazy mom!
I'll maybe tell you the story behind this adventurous outfit next time I turn on the blog if I still find it funny and not retarded in my head. Right now I still remember the night as being fun and there's pretty much nothing I like looking at more than my bony right shoulder, especially since I re-dedicated my life to Weight Watchers for like the billionth time last week due to the spare time that has grown to the size of an actual full sized tire (don't let the bony should fool you, nothing else is bony on this body), so I may find it necessary to put up more pictures from this night (my office Christmas party). You know how around Christmas time there's always an article in the paper about how you should act at an office Christmas party and how it's never appropriate to drink too much and act foolish in front of people you need respect from Monday thru Friday? It was one of those Christmas parties that make people write those articles. Probably enough said on the topic.

And with that my friends I'm done for the night!

Tumble Bugs!

Charlie, Cousin Caden, and Annie just started a session of Tumble Bugs at the Y and I thought I should share some pictures of them stretching. They're all very proud of the skills they're learning, stretching being one of them.

I signed Charlie up because it's for ages 3 - 5 and I figured he'd rather participate than sit with me on the sidelines every week and just watch Annie and Caden. After the first class he absolutley loved it, couldn't stop talking about how he learned to skin-the-cat on the bars.

We're all looking forward to next week's class!

How much do I love Shutterfly?

So much!!!

They have so many great Christmas cards to choose from! Last year we used them for our Christmas cards and our annual calendars we make for everyone in the family. I love the calendars because you can personalize them with birthdays and events important to just your family. They make fantastic gifts (assuming your giftees like looking at your kids for 12 months which mine do thankyouverymuch!).


I'm hoping this year they choose me to receive some of their cards for free for blogging about them. Wish me luck and you may receive a pretty card like this one, only it will be filled with precious Disneyland photos of the Ring kids!

Vegas Baby!

Every trip to Vegas is fun and every trip is a little different. This one was with 2 fun co-workers who were up for whatever I wanted to do (hear that husband?!). The first night we hit the free happy hour at the Westin where we were staying. Managed to drink 4 beers during the free hour thankyouverymuch.

Next we hopped on the Deuce and headed down to Fremont Street to try out the new zip line. As far as zip lines go it wasn't really that exciting, however it was pretty fun to get to zip line at the same time as 2 other people and to do it in such a cool setting.
While at the Fremont Street Experience we experienced this lady with ginormous breasts. All real and on display for the world to enjoy.
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Then we went to our conference the next day. In the evening the software company whose conference we were attending hosted a social evening. Managed to drink 4 free beers there too, nothing makes me happier than saying free and saying beer in the same sentence.
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After the social we headed over to the strip and ate at this yummy little French restaurant across from the Bellagio. We got to watch the fountain show from our seats on their outdoor patio. Another thing that makes me happy is ordering really expensive food when someone else is paying (the firm pays for our meals on educational trips like this), so like the pig that I am I ordered the lamb. The lamb turned out to be the biggest portion of lamb I've ever seen and I ate every bite of it...then went into the casino and threw it up. Dumb, but pretty standard Jeannette.
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The we had one more day of learning and we were off to the airport.

We had about an hour to kill before airport so we hit the mall so my co-worker could enjoy 36 ounces of margarita while I enjoyed the Gap.
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And that's the story of Vegas 2011.

Slightly too much for a FaceBook status.

Afternoon kindergarten gives me exactly enough time to:

• make a homemade peach (some from our tree), raspberry (all from our garden) pie
• clean the kid's bathroom
• do 1 load of laundry
• wash dishes from said pie
• dance to toddler tunes with 3 year old
• paint a 3 year old's finger AND toenails
  

And I know this because I accomplished all of these things while Charlie was at his 2 1/2 hour school today! Who's the greatest adult in Spokane today?!

phone dump

A friend of mine just put up all these random pictures on her blog as she was backing up the pictures on her phone. Which reminds me, I should back these up, some of them are fun.

I don't remember where we were going or what we were doing but Charlie concocted this sweet outfit all by himself.
Red Robin on Charlie's 5th birthday.
Charlie jumping on the trampoline at Discovery Park (today).
Wrestling at Discovery Park (also today).
Me, my lazy eye, Annie, and our secret dog Brutacus that I don't think I ever blogged about because I couldn't spell his name right and we only kept him for 24 hours and I didn't want all the dog lovers in the world to call me an awful person for giving him back.
Our basement every. single. day. Girl toys meet boy toys and have to figure out how to get along. This day it worked.
Annie being awesome.
Annie, Caden and Charlie playing Twister.

How's that for random? Now back to my Showtime free preview. Only 3 months left, what am I going to do?

I heard you.

Dear Dave,

I had a thought, wanted to blog it for you. Oh wait, I lost it.

No here it is: thanks for telling Matt to buy me a new computer. He's not going to listen, but thank you.

Jeannette

Celebrate however you want!

What better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus than with free wings?!

Not sure why I felt like sharing this. I don't even really like wings. Or Hooters.

Spo Dis

Nothing makes me happier than a bargain. Today at Spokane Discount was a good day. Let me draw it out for you people who relate to my cheapness:

• Key Lime Cheesecake Bar mix $4.50
• 3 reusable ceramic coffee cups with silicone lids and sleeves $9
• 3-pack of Calvin Klein wife beaters $9.50
• Men's short sleeve Nautica dress shirt $6
• Little girls snow pants for next year $2.80 (originally $40!)
• Little girls Baby Lulu dress $1.05
• Women's Evie pink tank top $1.40
• Women's Jantzen tankini top $1.40

Total with tax: $39

• 

Snow pants for $2.80! Let me say it again: SNOW PANTS FOR $2.80!

Roller derby try-outs here we come!

Actually, forget roller derby. We're going to invent a new sport. It's going to involve roller skating and softball into one game. Stay tuned.

Cat Tales

On Friday Charlie's class went to the closest thing Spokane has to a zoo - Cat Tales. I volunteered to chaperone so that Annie could come too.

It was raining. The cats didn't really want to come out of their huts. Annie wanted to leave after 2 minutes. Annie had her first experience with an outhouse since being potty trained. Kind of a wet and dirty day for me and Annie.

At least Charlie enjoyed himself.

Guess who's almost 3?!

I've become the most horrible blogger lately. I think it has to do with a number of factors. A new system at work that doesn't allow me to use my work computer for personal gain, my iPhone that I can't blog from but can do lots of other fun stuff with, the fact that I've been doing this for almost 5 years and am getting tired of my own typed version of my voice.

HOWEVER.

Both kids have birthdays coming up so I gotta get this thing going again. I'm planning great cakes for both of them that will surely need blog appearances. I'm considering really telling the world how insanely smart they are and listing their accomplishments to date. I should probably put together some kind of montage of their past birthdays for the blog. Lots to do, lots to do.

First things first though. Isn't the New Bambino of old growing in to a super cute little girl? She might be chock full of sass and attitude but at least we've got cute on our side.

found this...

...on my phone and it made me chuckle. Caden and Annie are kind of making the same crazy face and for some reason both have their hands on their hips. Probably just giddy because they were headed out to Grandpa's hot tub.

Gotta love Idaho.

On my way home today I heard the best thing I've heard in a long time on the radio. Lookout Pass Ski Area is having a Winter Carnival this weekend.

Their featured event? A wife carrying contest.

The prize? Your wife's weight in cash.

So as a wife (who does not plan to go not because I don't think my husband can lift me but because I have other plans that don't involve my husband truly knowing how lumpy I got over the holidays) isn't sure how one would strategize for such an event. Do you pack on the pounds before the carrying contest so your husband wins more money? Or would that only hinder your chances of winning in the first place.

Do you go on a strict diet before the event to make it easier for your husband to run faster even if it would mean you would win less money?

Idaho is really making me scratch my head on this one.

I work hard for my money. Ooh ooh.

We're having the inside of the house painted next week so we spent today taking everything off the walls and moving our clutter around. We put Charlie to work with the screwdriver taking the outlet covers off.

He did about 5 of them, needed a 20 minute rest (play-break), and then did about 5 more. We paid him in Halloween candy. He earned every bite!

hockey-no-fun-for-mommy

We've been so spoiled with Matt working at the bank, the only way we see hockey games anymore is if we get free tickets to sit in the bank's suite.

It's so great for the kids since they don't have to stay in their seats. The have the freedom to stand up and "hug". Or do a "double-face-punch" without blocking anyone's view.

It's great for the big kids too. We can fill up our wine without missing any of the game.

One of Matt's co-workers last night asked me how Disneyland was with 3 kids. He called me brave. At first I was so confused, since I thought I only had 2 kids. Then I caught on that he knows what a handful Matt is.

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Last night was another one of those nights where I felt like I had 3 kids to take care of. While I appreciate that Matt's boss stocked the suite with beer and wine, it would have been nice if he'd have warned me so I could have hidden half of it from Matt. Something about free drinks makes him totally lose control.

being awesome

I'm in Vegas at an accounting conference. Before I left I said to more than 1 person: accountants totally know how to party. That's why we do our conferences in Vegas. Yeah. That's a cool thing to say. You want the truth though? Because you can't see any flaws in that statement right? It's super weird to be 32 and alone in Vegas, there's no partying going on here. Unless you count the Blue Moon I had with my club sandwich at the Flamingo's diner while eating dinner alone. I'm counting it.
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So I'm sitting in my hotel room watching the Bellagio water show out my window while catching up on work emails.
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Tomorrow things should improve though. Matt flies in at 12, the conference ends at 3, 1 have 2 free drink coupons I need to cash in before I leave the Flamingo and 2 more waiting for us for when we check in to the MGM.
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Before I sign off here's a top 5 list of awesome stuff I've seen in Vegas while walking around alone, observing the world this week:

5. School aged kids.
4. Donny Osmond.
3. An adult man dressed as Spider man.
2. School aged kids.
1. A woman in an electric wheelchair wheeling through the casino with a cigarette in 1 hand and a beer in the other. Driving, not straight, with the palm of her hand.

Quiet

The upside of no naps? 7:45 bed time. Add to that a husband with a night class. Ahhhh....quiet.

The wine's about to make an appearance too. (slow motion fist pump)