I'm Trying...

Jeremy and I are going to Las Vegas on Friday night... and I'm incredibly nervous. I'm so anxious that I am not excited.  The kids are staying with the in-laws from Friday night through Monday night.  I keep telling myself that they are very capable people -- they've already raised two entire kids for cripes sake -- but I can't help but imagine every terrible scenario. What if this or what if that?

I am just hoping that once the day comes, and we get on the plane, that the excitement can start.

Do You Remember....

Last week I was shopping for backpacks with my baby, er, 4 year-old for preschool.  She quickly zeroed in on one plastered with princesses and began perusing the aisles.  She found a Barbie folder and thought she might need it. I questioned her thought process --"Do you think that you're going to have lots of important papers to put in there? Do you really think you need this??"  Her reply, "Yes Mommy. I'm going to have lots of 'portant papers."  So, as my eyes got teary at my not-a-baby-anymore, we agreed to purchase the folder.

The next item she requested, however, had me baffled and I couldn't agree to it...mostly because I had no idea what it was. She wanted it because it was Strawberry Shortcake, but she also had no clue what it was. Here is an example:

We agreed that a slushee would be better than the $4.00 package of confusing bands that lacked any directions or indication of what their purpose might be. (I now see these things everywhere, EVERYWHERE.)  I inquired with a coworker and she quickly informed me that these are all the current rage and the kids wear them as bracelets. There are usually multiple bands per fashionable child's arm.  (For the financially impaired fashion-forward child, a person could buy a value-pack of "Bandz" at a large retail chain.)

This got me thinking of all the cool things that I just HAD to have when I was a tween/teenager.

1) The ESPRIT jean loafer. This was huge when I was in second grade. All the cool-kids had them -- so naturally, I didn't.  I remember that I finally got a pair around Winter time (when they were getting clearanced out, I'm sure) and they weren't so cool anymore.  I searched and searched and could not find the elusive loafer, but here is a picture of a similar style:

2) The Slap-Bracelet. Oh the fun!! 

3) Zubaz baby!! (The company is still in operation and you can order your very own pair for the bargain price of $30.00)  (Sidenote: the Zubaz company is out of its mind)

4) Envelope pants. I searched and searched for a picture, but to no avail.  They folded in the front (like an envelope) and were fashionably wild, much like the Zubaz. 

5)The french-roll. Or the tight-roll. Or the peg-roll. 

This is a very "not-fashionable" photo. The person is most likely mocking the seriousness and the dedication required to properly french-roll your jeans.  I also remember that the trend started to involve requiring the person to wear lacy leggings underneath the jeans so that the lace would show when the pants were rolled.... and then a person had to spend the rest of the day re-rolling the jeans because they would slip down and cover the lace.

6) The Hypercolor shirts ... that let everybody know when you were sweating...

And the one trend, that never began but that I desperately wanted to lead -- the red boot brigade. I begged my mom to find me red boots -- nada. I never got the red boots.  I wonder why I wanted those...

I know I missed a ton, but this is what I remember from my days.  What do you remember from your fashion-frenzy-bandwagon days?  And, what is your plan for when your child begs you for the $5 bag of rubber bands that he/she just HAS to have??

Cursing Oprah.

I finished this book last night, or more correctly, this morning.  It was approximately 1 a.m. when I read the last of the 624 pages. I felt disgusted and sick and terrible.  I soon remembered another of Oprah's books that made me feel this way. The House of Sand and Fog also left me feeling so pukey that I refused to watch the movie when it was made.  (I think I actually threw that book out, rather than try to sell it on a rummage sale.)

So, A Fine Balance, was difficult to get into, and then I got hooked (just like I assumed that I would).  I started to like Dina, Om, Ishvar, Manek, and heck, I even liked Shankar the Beggar even though there was brief talk of his exposed testicles. And then, when we found out that Beggarmaster was Shankar's long lost half brother!! Oh the drama!!

And then all hell broke loose. The tailors went back to their village to get married and disgusting things happened.  Maneck went to Dubai basically never to return again. Dina got evicted after Shankar and Beggarmaster were killed.

YUCK.

And then the book fast-forwarded 8 years (a la Will & Grace finale style, which I HATED) and we get to learn that everything is terrible. Everybody is unhappy and poor and deflated.

So, conclusion, I hate this book.

My caveat is this: I know nothing of Indian history.  This book took place during a time period in India known as "The Emergency" -- where there was much corruptness in the government, and intense differences existed amongst the different castes.  So, in that regard, I definitely learned about a period in history that was never taught to me in school, and I'm quite sure that all the events that occurred in the book did indeed happen to actual people trying to survive during this period -- which only leads to me feeling even sicker.  I keep comparing it to the Holocaust -- and I woudn't caution anybody against learning about that.... I just wasn't prepared for this book, or the ending.

So, if you read this book -- let's talk afterwards so we can process it together, eh?

Road Trip: Family Style (Part Two)

Okay, so the rest of the times are all made-up because I was driving and didn't want to tell Husband to write down everything that was annoying/pleasing to me because 1) I would look super crazy and I like to limit that and 2) He totally would not have cooperated.... But you know what?? It totally didn't matter.  The kids were awesome and well-behaved (Can I get a "Whoop-Whoop"??).  We arrived in Jamestown around 11am.  Brandon woke up as we neared the Buffalo...

Here's my girl -- she dressed herself today and put on boatloads of jewelry, so she could be pretty for "Grandma 'Raine."  I thought the sign was hilarious.

Brandon thought it was funny too.  Here he is holding Rufus the Puppy.

I had only been to Frontiervillage (Frontier Village?) once before. I remember it not being spectacular, but I definitely did NOT remember it being CREEPY.  Please check out the tranny mannequins that my family is posing next to...

One cool thing was that there were HUGE horses giving rides down and around the buffaloes.  We didn't go on those, but Brynn did give the little ponies a whirl.  We paid our $3 to have her walk in a circle for 2 minutes --- she walked to the pony, freaked out and refused to go on.  Then a girl about 1/2 her size got up there and put B to shame. She then decided that she could do this, and she got up there with her fatherly escort. 

Here's my girl, already turning heads... (immediately following this picture, Jeremy felt the need to confirm that it is indeed a boy buffalo).

Brando got a bit fussy at this point as it was time to eat.  We met my mom and stepdad at McD's for lunch (they got on the road a full hour after us, but had miraculously caught up) and Brando had his first chicken nugget. I was pleased and grossed out at the same time.

After lunch, I remember saying "OMG -- we only have 99 miles to go! Even if the kids start to freak out now, we only have to listen to it for an hour!!"  Luckily, it was not a jinx and all family members (except for yours truly) ended up napping until Bismarck.  Yippee!!

We rolled into the capitol city about 2:30 pm on Saturday and stayed until Monday morning. 

Here are some "bonus-pics" from our return trip through Jamestown on Monday:

I told Brynn to stand by her brother and smile.  She immediately went to sit down and struck a pose. Um, okay...

She wasn't scared of the ponies this time!

We had to tell Brynn that this was a girl cut-out for her to pose...

One of my favorite pictures... Jeremy was trying to hold up both kids, and I kept waiting for Brynn's head to get stuck, but we just HAD to have this picture. I'm not sure why...

Brando's reaction after we told him we had to get back in the car for another hour...

Road Trip: Family Style. (Part One)

Last weekend, our little family joined my larger, extended family, and ventured down I-94 to visit even more of our family that was descending upon Bismarck.  This was to be the baby's first long car trip, and Brynn's first long car trip since she was a baby.  I had visions of screaming children, multiple potty breaks, more screaming children, and spilled beverages all over my already messy, sticky car interior.

I spent much of Friday night packing, as well as Saturday morning.  The plan was to leave Saturday around 9am, when Brandon usually goes down for a nap.  (Sidenote: I cannot believe how much C-R-A-P you need to pack for children. I had to make several confirmatory calls to my mother and a friend to determine if I was overpacking. They confirmed that I was.)

As I truly was expecting the worst, I decided to keep a log of Saturday's activities:

5:45 a.m. - Brandon wakes up. Good Morning Buddy!!

6:04 a.m. - Brynn wakes up. This is alarming on many levels. First level: It is a chore to get her out of bed at 7 a.m. during the week, and that's when she goes to bed at a reasonable time.  She was up late last night, so I was planning on her sleeping in, so I could finish packing...

6:06 a.m. -- Brynn starts screaming and crying over a blanket or a Barbie -- I can't really understand her.  Brandon empathizes and chimes in.

6:09 a.m. -- Brynn is sent back to bed.

6:10 a.m. -- Brynn promises she's done crying and she wants to wake up.  She agrees to lay on the floor and watch a movie.

6:42 a.m. -- Brandon is playing with cat toys and is enjoying himself. Meow to you.

7:35 a.m. -- I took an extremely long shower to avoid the family for awhile. I think I only had 2 visitors while I was in the shower. I "love" when my family thinks that they are somehow in my inner circle enough to come visit me while I'm showering and how unlocking a bathroom door is simply a required step to begin a family shower pow-wow.

8:15 a.m. -- I found Brynn disassembling her father's earphones. Luckily he was in the shower and still does not know about this...

8:23 a.m. -- Husband starts complaining of stomach cramps. I immediately confirm my fears of a late departure and multiple bathroom stops. I ponder cancelling the trip, and silently curse my spouse for assumedly eating something inapropriate

8:45 a.m. -- Tell Husband that he does NOT need to pack 2 pairs of shoes for the trip, as nobody else is.  I pack the car and let him deal with the children (whom I love dearly, but ... you know.. I've already been up for 3 hours and our fridge was Red Bull-less)

9:15 a.m. -- Get everybody in the car. We stop at the gas station and at the bank.

9:36 a.m. -- We're on the ROAD!!! I tell Brynn that she is not going to watch a movie until it's at least 10:30 am.

9:37 a.m. - Brynn starts watching a movie.

10:03 a.m. - Jeremy acts legitimately surprised that I am not planning on driving straight through. I want to smack him, but refrain. Apparently, he has not been listening to me at all these past weeks as I have been discussing this trip and detailing our stop in Jamestown. Eh.

10:07 a.m. -- Brynn is wondering if we're there yet.

Motivational Issues.

• I've wanted to blog about our family adventure last weekend, but the post will be much more effective (and entertaining) with pictures -- which means I need to boot up the ol' personal laptop and download the pictures (as I refuse to keep anything personal on my work laptop, as this allows me to abandon ship at a moment's notice).  I have not yet done this, but here's a hint about where we went: Top-Secret Location

• I am now on the ND Supreme Court's roster for Parenting Investigators!! YIPPEE!! However, I do not have any clients yet as I have yet to announce this fact to the local courts, attorneys, etc.  So, blog readers, um, if you are getting divorced or have custody issues, uhhh-yeaah, I'm available to investigate you! (and your family and friends) (for a fee).

• I'm assuming Brando has a doctor appointment coming up as he is turning 1 in FIFTEEN days. I don't know when the appointment is though, but I do know that Dr. Lovely will be there.. I should really call and find out.

• I was highly motivated last night which is possibly, but probably not, why I'm so lackadaisical today.  I made 2 new cucumber recipes as I have so many cucumbers that I am leaving them on people's cars.  I made "Sweet & Spicy Cucumber Slices" and "Tzatziki* Sauce." Both were super good and easy.  I then followed this up by making some falafels, drinking an adult beverage, and watching a movie.... by myself. It was the most lovely date that I've ever had.

• OMG I'm so worn out from being bored and lazy that I can't write anymore. This is pitiful, and of that fact I am aware, so let me leave you with a link to Brynn's music video that she was included in this winter (she's in there twice -- can you find her??) Best Country Video Ever

*the spell check wanted me to change this to "Testis" -- and that would not be correct, nor would my husband appreciate that.