On the way to church last night:

Anna: Can we turn off all our lights tonight for one minute to celebrate Earth Day?

Tony: Remember the ice storm year before last? I think we did our share of conserving energy, a lifetime worth of celebrating Earth Day.



Eight days without electricity in 20 degree weather was our contribution, not that I would have hugged a tree anyway just happy I am off the hook.

Remember back in February when I wrote about my cousins and my aunt and uncle coming to live with us from California? (If not they did, on Super Bowl Sunday they arrived) They have moved out. The grand exodus was not under the best of circumstances. Nothing terribly ugly, but not any hugs and kisses either. In fact, only my uncle said good-bye and thank you to Tony and I.

I learned a lot about hospitality, boundaries, and what I consider important to run a smooth home. There were a few things but two instances stood out and became the turning point.

First, we had great weather one weekend and we asked the boys to help move some of the stumps leftover from the 2007 ice storm. They asked if they could do it on Monday or Tuesday because they didn't want to do anything on the weekend. They worked all week and wanted to be lazy on the weekends. Uh, let's just say that did not go over too well with me. I said something along the lines of, you worked all week, you? After a few choice words, they helped Tony move the trunks.

The second instance, a week later, and the one that spurred the decision for them to all move out and go to my mother's 800 square foot home, happened the next Saturday morning. Our kids had no milk for breakfast. I had made it very clear the weekend before, the tree stump weekend, that they were to supply their own food and use the full size fridge in the garage. I even set up a pantry for them. Our grocery bill went from$350-$400 per month to $750 and instead of giving me money for food I asked that they just supply their own. If I made dinner I would still make enough for them but other than that they were on their own.

So when our kids went pour milk over their cereal and there was no said milk, I put my foot down. It was not ugly, at all, but I was very clear that I was upset and that they had crossed the line. The next morning, Sunday, my uncle came to me while I was having my first cup of coffee and told me they were moving to my mom's. They quickly packed up their stuff and left, very yucky-I can't think of the right words to use.

BUT....

Our living room got painted.

Hello. Remember me? Tired of the Boston Butt yet? I have been tired, very tired or as Tony’s ex-wife has on her MySpace page, tried because she is smart like that.

Things have been happening since I posted last. My job has completely changed and now I am busy. Too busy to write a blog post and after being on the computer all day, too tried tired (he married up) to access my laptop. After I get home I haven't got the will power to do anything else while keeping my butt planted on the couch in front of the TV. My lovely husband is making my home life too easy I guess. He has taken care of everything by the time I get home and I have been taking advantage of having a stay-at-home dad. Love it!

The best part about him becoming a SAHD is that my daughter is different. Not so different that I can pinpoint exactly what it is, but different enough that after I put her to bed I realize we haven’t argued the whole night. She has loved being able to come home right after school. Tony says that she won’t walk next to him when he picks her up but he can tell she totally digs not going to daycare anymore. And Tony has loved seeing all the mom cliques when he goes into the school to wait for Anna. Goes into the school!! Is that not awesome or what? Her own mother drops her off on the corner across from the school because I am too lazy to find a parking spot. Dude, I am so lucky it almost negates the powerlessness I feel when dealing with his ex-wife, almost.

My step kids will soon be coming home right after school too. Just as soon as his 30 day notice at the sitter's is up. What a cluster that turned out to be, which could have filled many blog posts, and probably will. They will all be home with their dad for the entire summer. You would think that would make the ex happy but uh, no you would be wrong. Hello, family court. Good times, good times.

One of the biggest changes in our family has been in my extended family, my family from California. We have had a Grapes of Wrath, in reverse, and now two of my cousins, 21 and 24 year old male cousins, are living with us. My uncle is staying with my mother 45 minutes away but in March, when my aunt leaves California, they will both be moving into our house. The boys each have their own rooms; one is in the guest bedroom downstairs, and the other in my sewing room-that never was sewn in-upstairs. I think my aunt and uncle will stay in our living room that we currently use as the kids playroom/Wii area/storage dump/just go put it in the living room, room. We are going to paint it this weekend and I will have to clean the carpet due to all the kids that have eaten in that room.

With all the changes we have not gone out to dinner once, lunch yes but dinner no. Since this was suppose to be a cooking blog I am going to list links to some of the recipes that were in constant rotation around this here boarding house. Personally, I have loved all the changes, all except the divorce saga drama, but that is another post all together. (If I had time, and wasn’t so angry right now, I could really tell a story but I have horrible grammar anyway much less if I was/were to write while pissed off)

The Best Stroganoff Evah

Tri-Tip in the Crockpot

Creamy Chicken and Noodles (kids and cousins LOVED)

The soup that brings 50 hits a day, Taco Soup

Sunday dinner with family has been the traditional Pot Roast with my mashed potatoes that are better than my grandma's or aunt's according to my cousins. Someday I will share my secret.

Simple, easy, no brainer, Crockpot Chicken Burritos

My cousin heard me say I was going to make this and he told Tony that he doesn't think he will like it and is afraid I will get mad but he doesn't like beans and he for sure hasn't ever had a lentil, Moroccan Lentil Soup. Oh, he will eat it because I have found out that if they are hungry enough they will eat anything and man, oh man can they put away some milk.

Before I get any emails about how unsafe a trampoline is without the safety net let me just say this. I don't care. I am heartless, mean, and do not care about the safety of my children, because if I did I would have a net, helmets, knee pads, and a first alert necklace portrayed in the picture. But they had the best time! Tony and I watched from the warmth of our living room while Anna and the neighborhood kids tried to jump in the snow and ice that had accumulated on our trampoline. They decided to do this after walking the creek behind our neighborhood and trying to use a sled on our street's 20 degree incline.

They had to work together to get into an upright position because if one person stood up the ice would make the other two slide toward the middle. They were falling, screaming, and laughing the entire time while I just silently prayed no one got hurt.

Every once in a while the three of them would get up and there would be a couple of quick jumps. I found out later they also had the feeling of suspense hinking the trampoline was going to break through. But they spent the majority of the time rolling around and while trying to keep the snow and ice from going down their pants.

My husband lost his job today. His company had a major layoff today, laying off 187 employees out of the remaining 225 from the previous lay-offs. I think everything will be fine and I am channeling Scarlett O'Hara because I will think about it tomorrow, tomorrow meaning this weekend. We have been waiting for his company to close and he has been looking for a job since last May. The leads and interviews he has had have been put on hold until sometime in 2009, if the open positions make the budget cuts. We will see and we will pray and Tony will find something.

Then, this afternoon while returning from lunch, one of my co-workers called my cell to tell me they were reducing employees at my place of business. Supposedly, 35 were to be let go and 12 had been fired so far. They also asked some long time employees to take early retirement. Within minutes I lost my lunch, what a waste of $8 that I might not have again. I was scared, really scared.

At 3 o'clock we had a company-wide meeting. It looks like, for now, I still have my job. Things will be changing and there will be mandatory vacation days but at this time my department is safe. Our 14% sales growth last year will not be rewarded with a profit sharing check.

I thought my next post might be about my job and my new position back to international buying. However, I had no idea that today, January 9th, my family will be doing its own re-organization.

We had a great New Years Eve Party. We had twelve kids. Are you jealous? It was actually very smooth. At my twentieth high school reunion I reconnected with Sherry, my friend since fourth grade. During the reconnection I found out that she comes back to Oklahoma every year after Christmas. Well hello! We had to get together, with everyone. Well, most of us made it some could not come due to family obligations and just plain old life. But we had a great time.

Tony, took this picture and I was trying a new pose that I read about to be more attractive in photos. Instructions were to pose to the side, chin down, eyes up, shoulders back, and chest out. I think I nailed it. I might not be a model but I tried, and he noticed, wondering out loud, what the hell was that look? But of course there is always the one person that is not ready so in the above photo I cropped her out and I think she would thank me. (love you!)

Here is the second picture taken after my husband asked who I was trying to impress with the first photo. Uh, him of course. Our kids had a great time eating, playing the Wii, playing hida and seek, and generally running through the house. Sherry has four boys and Cheryl has two. My stepson is in heaven when Cheryl's kids come over and our girls think they are Brittany Spears/Hannah Montana/ICarly/Zoey101 when Sherry's boys are around.

I have fully recovered from my night of wrapping presents and the Big Mac was a huge help. Now I am gearing up for all my baking, Christmas dinner at our house with the In-Laws, wrapping and packaging all the goodies I will have made for co-workers, neighbors, child care takers, and friends.

We had a great time Thursday night with my dad and his wife. They made reservations at a nice restaurant, The Polo Grill, and we had a private room so the kids were able to move around a bit. I would love to have the same room for a night with a group of friends. I think the food was fine, but the atmosphere was perfect.

After dinner we came back to our house to open presents. My dad's wife does such a tremendous job buying the gifts for our family. She literally gets exactly what you ask for. I have no idea how she has time for all of this with her job, her volunteering, her own family, and taking care of my dad. It is just amazing. Her attention to detail and her desire to make things so perfect and pleasant is really appreciated, especially taking into consideration that my dad is not really a joy to be around at the holidays. I am not sure why, he just seems to retreat into himself every year and the ones closest to him pay the price. He has great intentions and wants to use this time to express how much he loves us but somehow the actual celebration is too stressful for him. But after 38 years I have learned to accept it and not try and change or bring him out of his shell but to think of his intentions instead.

Anyway, my stepmom did GREAT! but the most hilarious thing happened. I really hope it is not embarrassing to her for me to tell, though I don't think she has read my blog but once or twice. But in telling this story it explains how much she tries to get every little thing on our wish list. BTW, I got a Cuisinart Food Processor and blender, waa-hoo!!

Okay, she sent an email wanting to know what place our girls would like a gift certificate to and the sizes for our kids. She also wanted to know what small gift my husband would want because they already bought him a handgun. The day I got the email I was in a hurry so I forwarded to my husband. He responded to me what he thought the kids would like and in his usual wise-cracking way he said, and I quote, "for me, a beret and parachute pants".

When I got it I sent it on without instructions to my stepmom, who reads it on her blackberry, while in the midst of shopping.

While opening my presents Thursday night, I opened a package that was from Banana Republic, in it was a beautiful cream cashmere beret. I thought how lovely I think I can make this work with all my black coats.

My stepmom was watching me and said very quizzically, you said you wanted a beret and this was all I could find. I looked at her like she was crazy, beret? Yes, she said, in your email but I looked everywhere and I could not find the parachute pants. They do not make them anymore.

OH NO! she didn't get Tony's joke. But the very first thing I thought of, and had to asked her, was if she had actually told anyone that I wanted parachute pants. I have my reputation to think of.

This Christmas we are not going anywhere but to our church and to our house. We are so committed to being at home for Christmas this year that we have invited my husband's ex-wife and all of her family over for Christmas Eve. But this Thanksgiving we did the holiday shuffle and by God we loved it! (Now stop touching her/him and if you don't shut it you can hand over your DS) Driving at night after a full day of school will help and bringing an entire laundry basket full of DVDs. We stopped in St.Louis, halfway between here and there. Our kids had never seen The Arch up close and personal.

Their father will never see the actual inside of The Arch because he is a chicken deathly afraid of heights. I will not be able to ride to the top ever again because it was there in The Arch, halfway up, that I became acutely aware that I was claustrophobic. The rocking back and forth in an enclosed cage much like a ferris wheel basket was more than I could handle. When my cage reached the top I almost trampled over the three ninety year old tourists that had ridden with me in my effort to get out to finally breathe and stand up straight.

Our kids didn't seem to mind that their parents were going to deny them the opportunity to reach the top of The Arch. They were too busy freezing. But what is the best way to warm a body up?

Racing to the car!

We had Anna's birthday party last weekend. We rented a room at the Embassy Suites and invited some girls from her school and her day care. The birthday package included swimming, pizza, pop, movie rental, popcorn, a disposable camera, and a made to order breakfast for everyone. All I had to bring was the cake, perfect.

The girls loved swimming, and so did the birthday girl's parents. The water was warm and the kids had a blast.

Anna had asked for a cupcake cake. I checked with a brand new cupcake shop in town and they do not make one. I checked with a very popular bakery and they make one but it is just one giant cupcake not individual cupcakes. So I did some internet searching and was able to find several pictures of cupcake cakes.

I used a boxed cake mix and filled the cupcakes all the way to the top of the wrapper because I wanted a slight overflow, similar to a muffin. There were seven people all together so a flower design worked perfect.

I found this frosting recipe on line. It was delicious and super easy to spread but not too thin because it held together perfect where there were slight gaps between the cupcakes. I found some cake decorations that I think I bought when I hosted a shower in, get this, 1994! Thank goodness I have a little bit of my mom's pack rat gene in me. I let Anna tell me how to decorate the flower design and she put on the sprinkles.

After swimming and eating and then swimming again, the girls decided they wanted to get ready for bed and watch a movie. I said goodbye to my husband and stepson and braced myself for the slumbering part of the party. It was not bad at all. The girls all slept in the two double beds in the bedroom and I slept on the pull-out in the living area. At eleven o'clock I had to tell them to quit jumping and banging on the the walls. (I actually have no idea what they were banging on, I just kept telling myself that it was not my home so who cares) Apparently, jumping and banging around was what kept them awake because in just a few minutes I heard nothing. The birthday revelry had come to an end.

My Daughter is seven. Seven. She has been working to master the art of hair brushing, pony-tails, teeth brushing, using soap not just water when showering, just the basic hygiene and grooming skills. Our deal is once she is able to take care the basics, without nagging prompting and help from me, but especially without nagging prompting, she can then get her ears pierced. No age requirement for this rite of passage, just independence and responsibility.

Most days she does a pretty darn good job of pulling her hair back and brushing her teeth. She sometimes skips a step in the process, like forgetting to brush her hair before pulling it back, or forgetting to actually brush her teeth once she puts the toothpaste on the toothbrush.

Last weekend I figured out how to motivate her toward good hygiene and independence.


Sunday, before Sherry and her family of four boys came over, Anna had hastily pulled her hair back in a pony-tail and added a headband to catch all the stray hairs that failed to make it into the rubber band. She looked like she had just rolled out of bed but I did not nag say a word.

Within fifteen minutes of meeting Jensen, Walker, Hunter, and Dawson, Anna went back upstairs. The next time I saw her my heart skipped a beat and I started to panic that I was going to be raising one of "those girls", the too young to be boy crazy, girls.

Her naturally curly hair had been brushed as straight as she could make it. Her dress-up makeup had been applied to her eyelids and cheeks, her face was as reflective as a disco ball with all the glitter. Her lips were protected from drying out and cracking due to the careful application of Hello Kitty sparkle lip gloss. She was a picture of beauty and perfectly made up to be a light reflector for a late night bike ride. But I don't think bike safety was on her mind.

Did I mention she was seven.....

Meet Millie, name subject to change, our new puppy. She is a seven week old, 8 pound, green-eyed, chocolate lab. Isn't she the cutest thing? Look at her, fall in love with her, help me raise her, tell me I am going to be so happy with our new addition because I am scared. But isn't she so adorable? I need to sear this image in my brain for when she is 150 pounds and knocking off my knick-knacks with her mammoth tail.

My mom called on Sunday, while I was rushing around getting ready for our cookout, to tell me that a friend of hers was giving away lab puppies and they were soooo cute. I immediately said, "No mom. We do not have time to train a puppy. We need to finish the remodeling before we think about getting a puppy." She said that she knows but that they are so incredibly cute and sweet.

My mom called me at work on Monday asking if I was positive that we didn't want a dog. She was so sure we would change our mind that she took one of the puppies home anyway! Looks like my mother really does know me.

Last weekend we went to see Wall E at one of America's oldest operating Drive-In. We went with my high school friend Cheryl and her family. None of our kids had ever been to a drive-in before and I thought they would really enjoy the experience. The only other time I had been to a drive-in movie was in the early 70's to see Benji but I still remembered sitting in the back of my dad's pickup and eating snacks my mom had brought.

The movie started at 9:15 pm and the kids were excited, I think more for the popcorn, roll-ups, dipping sticks, homemade ice cream, and capri suns. At least that is what it seemed like since we went through the stash in the first 15 minutes. The boys were in one vehicle and the girls in another.

The four adults had adult beverages and just like the kids we started to partake before the sun was fully set.

As the night wore on there was bickering to break up, whining to hush, and repeated movement from car to car. We are not sure anyone, adults included, really watched more than 15 minutes uninterrupted.

But as the sun completely went down and the novelty of gorging on snacks wore off the movie began to take center stage.

Everyone had a great time and I was so glad we were able to do this. Though next time it looks like the adults might need to take a nap beforehand to make it through the credits.

I thought I had a solution to keep the cat from peeing and crapping in my house plant. I had randomly placed long skewers into the dirt around the plant and the edges of the pot. I also stupidly held her in my arms over the plant and poured a glass of water on her. Understandably she frrreeeaaaked out. Good! A few scratches on my chest and arms were worth it if she would stop her nasty new habit of using my Peace Lily plant as a litter box.

His Our cat is seven years old and has never had any problems before but this winter she started peeing in this particular plant in our dining room. She does use her litter box and she also goes outside whenever she wants through her THREE cat doors. (Well, not at night because a neighborhood cat keeps coming in and hanging out, but that is another story.)

I googled "cat peeing in plants" and most suggestions were for moth balls in the dirt and coffee grinds, which grow green fuzzy mold by the way. I did that. I hated it too. Our dining room started to smell like an old folks home break room. But when she started getting even more comfortable and moved up to doing her #2 business in the plant I wanted a more lethal deterrent.
I finally found a use for those skewers that you have to buy in bulk for that one cookout where you served kabobs? Yea, those. But apparently I didn't use enough skewers. Not anymore. After TD cleaned up all of his cat's our cat's lincoln logs out of the dirt and the two on the floor I went to town.

Welcome to our miniature Viet-Cong deathtrap. Suggestions welcome, especially if they are leaning toward giving his the cat to the ex-wife.

My younger sister is in the area visiting her friends and staying with my mom who lives only five blocks from my dad's house. The same house my parents remodeled, downsized, and moved to while preparing to build on their lake property. Before they divorced after 36 years of marriage.

My dad and sister are finally on cordial speaking terms since my parents divorce 3 years ago. Now my sister can no longer avoid visiting my dad in the house he shared with our mom. Something I tried to do for as long as possible but since I live only 45 minutes away I ran out of excuses.

My dad and his wife have invited her and her daughter for dinner. They have asked my family to join them. At their house. For dinner. At the antique table that always wobbled a bit until my dad fixed it after my mom moved out. The table that will be set with plates my mom bought to match the kitchen. Prepared on the same island counter that I sat around watching my mom as she cooked. Things sitting on the stainless steel countertops my mom loved but that I thought were a pain to keep clean yet now realize how great they would be in my own home.

Even though it is not something I look forward to, going to the house my parents lived in together, I actually like the place better now. Without my mom my dad has less "stuff" and it looks more like a model home you can tour in a new suburban development. My dad's wife has a great sense of style different from my mother's but nice and comfortable all the same. She has made it feel open and airy.

It is just very hard to spend time in that house. It is the place where the arguments ended in apathy more than a true compromise. Where my dad spent his time in his office and my mother in the kitchen or sun room. Away from each other. It is where I spent my pregnancy crying over my divorce and the place I was sleeping the night I went into labor.

Watching my step mom cook using the pans and utensils my mother left for my dad is hard. Actually gut wrenching since it makes me physically clench my stomach and will the hard knot in my throat to go away so I won't cry. Much like watching Little House on the Prairie when I was younger.

Everyone means well. No one is intentionally trying to wound anyone. We are all just dealing with the reality like it is all normal and has always been this way. My dad is proud of what the place looks like and what they have done to it. They spend most of their time in San Antonio at his wife's house but for business reasons my dad has to come back to Oklahoma during the mid week. This is the first time in his life he has had to clean up after himself and he has done a great job. I think he is lonely too. I think he misses having us in the house. But it is hard. Very hard.

The eggshells we walked on while my parents were married have, for the most part, been swept away. There is no longer this undercurrent of tension and anger charging the house. That is nice.

But the memories are still there, and to be polite and kind to my dad's wife, my sister and our families will be having dinner tonight at my dad's. Steak. Divorce sucks. As a kid and as an adult. I think, like everything, time is the only thing that can help. Or a restaurant.......

Milo, our cat loves to bring us dead or semi-conscious nature specimens presents. Most of the time she only catches small mice and will carry them through the cat door in her mouth with their tail whipping about her face. Many times the kids will let us know that Milo has something in her mouth by ominously calling their dad's name to come here fast. However, if she is able to make it through the house undeterred her favorite spot to kill and maim play with her gift for us is in our bedroom. She likes to let the mouse go and watch it scurry under our dresser, chest, chair, and bed while she chases it about. Eventually my strong brave husband will respond to my hysteria using a Wal-mart sack and his hand as the weapon of choice. If the rodent of the day is in good shape and has the chance of a full life rooting around in our garbage then he lets it go. If it looks like it might not make it and the DNR is in order he "takes care of it".

On Mother's Day we were sitting around the dining room table when TD spotted Milo coming through the dining room. He thought he saw something in her mouth but he wasn't going to say anything to entice the pandemonium that was sure to ensue. But when the cat came around my mother's chair and he saw four legs kicking he knew he had to act fast before Milo laid her Mother's Day present on my pillow. TD calmly got up from the head of the table grabbed Milo in the foyer at the base of the stairs and wrenched her prey from her mouth.

IT WAS A BUNNY RABBIT!!!

She freaking had a bunny! How in the world she did that I do not know. She only has about four teeth and she is de-clawed in the front. What a huntress!

Man, I am so thankful she was caught. When she caught a dove last summer it suffered its untimely death in our bedroom and that was pretty gross to clean up. Feathers were everywhere.

It is wonderful to know that your pet loves you and wanted to be a part of the Mother's Day celebration but if I thought cleaning up pee from the Chihuahua was bad I would have had a complete mind snap cleaning up Little Bunny Foo Foo.

First grade is probably not a pivotal moment in the education process. I have come to terms with that long ago. I read Love and Logic and I was happy to hand over the responsibility of learning to a teacher. Have at it! If the teacher can get her to second grade then I will be happy. It is already apparent that she will exceed my math skills in two short years. Not hard to do since I somehow got a Bachelors degree with only taking one math elective.

She has ten spelling words every week. By the end of the year she will know enough of the basic words to read and understand at her grade level. She has been writing her spelling words 5x every night to prepare for her test on Friday. This is not required by her teacher but it is something I think is important and I think fundamental, correct spelling leads to understanding phonics, leads to reading, which leads to comprehension. I could be wrong but it is my theory and I am sticking to it.

The first month of school Anna was getting 100% on each test. I was not sure this was possible having quizzed her Friday morning on the way to school. She does like to push buttons but I was pretty sure she should have missed a couple spelling words. When the third perfect test came home I asked her about it. She told me completely innocent like that she was looking at the spelling words that are put in her agenda each week. "All the other kids were doing it. "

I explained that this was called cheating and it was not right and a form of lying. I truly think she had no idea of the concept of cheating. First graders buying tests on the sly? writing answers on their shoes? doubt it but they are maturing faster. Anna and I went in and talked to her teacher and she learned a valuable lesson, early.

Because she has had 16 spelling test in a row with a perfect score I have let her off the hook with the whole writing the words 5x each night. I had noticed an improvement with her reading and thought she didn't need the extra non-assigned work.

Fast forward to this Friday morning. I am driving her to her bus while holding the list of spelling words in my hand. She got the first few perfect, I was all about the positive praise. But then came the word 'FIRST' not a hard word considering that is the grade she is in all flippin year.

Me: Spell FIRST
Her: f-i-r-s
Me: FIRST
Her: f-i-s-t
Me: You spelled fist not first try again.
Her: f-r-s-t
Me: what's the vowel? come on pay attention
Her: f-i-r-t
Me: Are you kidding me?!! How can you not know this?!! You are in FIRST grade!!
Her: f-r-i-t
Me: FIRST, FIRST like FIRST grade THE ONE YOU ARE IN and have been ALL YEAR!!

The bus is ready to leave and she is ignoring me and getting her backpack. As she is closing the door I yell:

YOU BETTER NOT MAKE 100% OR I WILL TELL YOUR TEACHER YOU CHEATED!

Yea, that is some great parenting, I was telling my own kid to throw the test.

Step families are quite common now days and if you don't actually live in one you at least have contact with one. I know when I was growing up in the 80's our town did not have many step families but there were a few. There was one family in particular that blended the mother's three teenager girls with the father's teenage sons (I think he had three too). I was always curious how things worked in their family, in particular sharing the bathroom and getting ready in the morning.

I had enough trouble with my younger sisters trying to embarrass me in front of friends and family and I will never forget the huge fights we had over who was in the kids bathroom the longest. When you are a teenager appearance is everything and secrets were not exactly padlocked and kept in a vault. Clearasil and Oxy were big in the 80's and they had yet to invent the disappearing formula. And who can forget the required head braces that last year of teeth straightening. How did this small town Brady Bunch family maintain their privacy? These kids all went to the same high school together and all the girls were absolutely beautiful and the boys were pretty hot too.

Well I am now livin' the dream! We all grew up wanting to be step parents right? No? That wasn't part of ya'lls future plans? Those fairy tale stories about the wonders and magical life of being a stepmother didn't make you yearn to be Cinderella's nemesis?

There is something that is inherent in our step family and that is modesty and the complete clothing of ones self when you open your bedroom door. And we have little kids 9, 7, and 4. But even during a storm when one of the kids knocks on the door TD pulls on a T-shirt before opening the door. If his kids are at our house I put my robe on over my pajamas. The kids do too. (Well mine is suddenly coming downstairs in underwear and a T-shirt which is what prompted this post)

It is not that we would be running around willy nilly in our birthday suits if we were a biological family, I seriously doubt that. But I have noticed differences in our behavior if just our bio kids are in the house. For instance, if Anna is the only kid for the weekend I will run upstairs and change clothes without shutting my bedroom door. If my step kids were there and even if they were outside playing I would shut the door just in case they came upstairs. A little over a month ago Anna was gone and we just had my step kids. TD did something I had never seen him do. He went out into the hall in just his boxers! No T-shirt and shorts. I do not think we consciously think about it. Like I said it is just this inherent thing we do, do not expose skin to steps.

This is just a tiny little peek into step life that sets us apart from biological families. Not that I ever, and I stress ever saw my mother naked. OH no! But my dad occasionally came out into the hall in his boxers to tell all three of us to quit fighting or else! But I think there is a more freedom--not quite the right word--with various stages of dress inside of a biological family.

But like I said I am livin' the dream and so far so good. And when we have a moment without any children........TOGA! TOGA! TOGA!

Last June we agreed to take Lola as our pet. She was two years old and she came with a wardrobe for all seasons what could possibly be bad about that? My husband was not thrilled but I think because we are still in the newlywed stage of our marriage he let me have my way after only ten minutes of begging.

During the first week of ownership he caught me holding her and whispering what a sweet girl she was and that I just loved her loved her loved her. He was all, you don't even know her?! Incredulous that I could fall in love with something so fast. While holding my little preemie baby close and whispering sweet nothings in her ear I listened to the warnings of not getting too attached, ya da ya da and then he used a big vocabulary word to throw me off, anthropomorphism. Huh? what? Whatever Mr. PhD, I love her.

She needs us, mostly to just stay warm, feed her and dress her. She cuddles and give hugs when you sit down on the couch by putting her head right under your chin and her paws on your shoulders. Who wouldn't love that? She goes to bed on her own. The minute she hears the TV turn off she is booking it to her crate - if only our kids did that.

But she has outlived her welcome. After spending over an hour on my hands and knees Sunday cleaning the game room floor with Clorox and soap I decided no more. We have three doggy doors that she uses every. single. day. and yet she has been using the far corner of the rug as her own personal toilet, unbeknowest to any of us. DONE!

The baby gate is coming down, the kitchen door is going to stay open, I can open the french doors to the living room, our family will be free to roam our own house. Amazing! This little 5 lb 1 oz dog has had us barricaded downstairs in the carpet free zone. She managed to get upstairs a couple of months ago and the first thing she did was pee on the carpet.

We have tried to re-train her to go outside. I have caged her up in a 4x4 area right at the back door with doggy door in her face. We did this for two full weeks and have gone back to this several times when she has been caught. We have given treats when she goes out in the snow and rain. We push her out the opening if we think she hasn't gone in a while. She goes out on her own to bark at our neighbor's dog and to chase our cat. But no more. Her determination has lost her a place in our household.

Poor baby-yea, yea Anthro-shmatho, she is a sweet little girl and I will miss her but I am sure the rescue foundation in our area will find someone perfectly matched for her.

The kids however have already moved on. We told them on Sunday that we were going to have to get rid of her. At first there was shock and then immediately asking for another dog, a real one this time (had TD been coaching them?)

On Monday morning the 4 year old saw Lola and asked his dad "What is she still doing here?" No worries of anthropomorphism there.

We went to Anna's first grade Alphabet Play last night. She was the letter I. It was really cute and each kid had a speaking part. Four first grade classes, 18-20 kids in each, so yea, it was not exactly a short play but it was pretty cool that they could pull it off.

Anna had been telling me everyday how she was the loudest one (remember) and that the whole gym could hear her. Believe me I had no doubt she was right.

However, I was not prepared for the ear piercing, bone crunching, sound that came when she grabbed the microphone, rammed it into her mouth and yelled, "Wait, I have something I need to get straight!!" At once, the entire audience sucked all the air out of the gym. The shock of having their breath knocked out through their eardrums was more than some infants and toddlers in the audience could bear.

One of the parents turned back to look at me and I just smiled and said, "She is ALL mine and and I love her! Hasn't your baby ever heard a police siren? Gosh!" Well, I didn't say that but I sure was thinking it. We loud ones have to stick together.

We are all recovering from the storms last night. Tornado sirens went off a little after 2 a.m. and there were several thunderstorms throughout the night and morning. We are all walking zombies in my office. Some people had to wait a few hours to come in due to flash flooding a.k.a. sleeping in. (I kid)

The kids knocked on our door a few hundred times last night, just in case we didn't hear the thunder that turned our house into a Sub-Woofer. When the tornado sirens went off we had them all go downstairs to wait it out and watch the news. At 3 a.m. the tornado warning was over for our area and we had the kids go back upstairs to bed. We let them all sleep together with the lights on thinking at least we could get some sleep. The last time they knocked on our bedroom door (#101), the girls told TD that their 4 year old brother was scared. TD said yea that's because it's loud and closed the door. My immense capacity for sensitivity and compassion is rubbing off on him. LOL! The pink elixer benadryl will be flowing tonight.

Have you seen this? So incredible even if their country makes poison tainted consumables.