Quiz.

Why are my hands purple?

A. I'm super cold and my hands are suffering from an extreme case of frostbite.

B. I am slowly turning into Larry Boy to impress my boyfriend.

C. I have a mysterious skin disease and I will soon be a walking rainbow.

D. I have spent the day tie-dyeing an elephant.

Well, maybe not an elephant. Just 20 shirts for a retro, groovy 70's bowling party. The darn gloves they give you are completely useless. I gave up trying to be neat during the first shirt.

But you know what? She is totally worth it!

A HUGE THANKS!!!

A huge overdue thanks to a sweet blogger who passed on an award to little ole me. Isn't is a pretty one, too? Thank you , Nicole for such a fun surprise (and thank you for being patient while I figured out how to post this pic!)


Go and visit her at Sanity check, one two... It doesn't look like life is dull around her house!

Here are the steps to passing this award on to much more deserving bloggers. I need to tell you 6 things about myself that you don't already know. Then pick someone to share it with.

1. I should be doing something else right now. Otherwise known as chores.

2. My dog eats socks.

3. I have freakishly thick glasses. Thank goodness for modern technology that can widdle those down to notsofreakish width.

4. I sunburn easily.

5. I really dislike decorating for Christmas. !!GASP!! I know some of your hearts just stopped beating on that one. I like it when it's done but despise the process. Don't judge me.

6. In my head, I am convinced I am 27.

Now for the fun part! I get to pass this cute little award on to someone much more deserving. There are so many to choose from. I love you all! Keep blogging because we have such a neat community around here!

But for this award, I am going to choose one.

I pick Bee at Will Blog for Shoes! Her hair alone would sell that blog! And her kids are cute!!

Politics Smolitics

Politics just ain't my thing. Now don't misunderstand, I have a team. I hope they win. Period. End of story.

But what I overheard in carpool yesterday made me want to believe in the political system, of which I have little faith.

Friend of Z-man: "I am so glad a girl doesn't rule the country."

Z-Man: "Why?"

Friend: "If a girl was in charge there wouldn't be any sports, at least not football."

Z-Man: "If there weren't any sports, I would be so mad."

Friend: "Yeah, no sports and nothing dangerous like motorcycles and stuff."

Z-Man: "And we would probably have to wear dresses and fancy shoes all day."

Lots of giggling from both the backseat and the front.

You bet I would vote for the girl who could put an end to all things dangerous.

Fourth.

A You're Adorable by Martha Alexander


A you're adorable
B you're so beautiful
C you're a cutie full of charms

D you're a darling
E you're exciting and
F you're a feather in my arms

G you look good to me

H you're so heavenly
I you're the one I idolize
J we're like Jack and Jill

K you're so kissable

L is the lovelight in your eyes

M-N-O-P I could go on all day
Q-R-S-T alphabetically speaking, you're okay
U made my life complete

V means you're very sweet

W-X-Y and Z

It's fun to wander through the alphabet with you to tell you what you mean to me!

Big brother, big brother. What do you see?

I see a baby drooling on me.

Mommy, mommy. What do you see?

I see my boys sweet as can be.

It's 2:40am.

And I can't sleep.

Too many things rattling around in my brain.

I am going to hurt tomorrow.

We are more Snot than Kisses these days.

We now have the trifecta of contagiousness here at Snot and Kisses. Three kids, three different illnesses, 1 week.

Sunday...I kept Wingman home from church because he had a little cough. Cute really. Plus, it afforded me a glorious morning of sleep.

Monday...Loulabelle came home from school BURNING up. My apologies to all you other preschool families that were exposed during that 2 hours. If your child does come down with with a horrible sore throat, don't bother with the doctor. "It's just a virus!!"

Tuesday...Full blown ickiness. Lou's fever never broke 102. She was miserable. She was too hot to even snuggle. Her skin hurt.

Wednesday...Early morning trip to the doctor. Lovely diagnosis that made me so happy. On a whim, I had the doc look at Wingman. Wouldn't you know it? Double ear infection for him. Pat myself on the back and call me Mother Of The Year. Oh, the doc's office was VERY appreciative. Two kids, two co-pays.

Thursday...Things were looking up. Lou was feeling better, more like her spunky self. Wingman doing great. He never really acted sick. The part that makes me grumpy is that he hates the medicine. Big mess. Big, pink, sticky mess all over baby and mommy.

Friday...Everyone great and out the door this morning. Big smile on my face as I head to my weekly scrapbook date. I knew it was too good to be true. Skip called from the school where he was the Mystery Reader. Z-Man had the throw-ups. Twice. Everywhere.

So now I am holding my breath. Here's what I am afraid of...

Z-Man could still catch the viral sore throat, or the double ear infection.
Loulabelle could catch the ear infection or the stomach crud.
Wingman could catch the viral sore throat or the throw ups.

While you run along and enjoy this wonderful Friday, say a little prayer that our Lysol doesn't run out.

**********UPDATED***********************

NO need to worry anymore. He is now wearing his underwear on his head and singing "Dontcha wish your girlfriend is hot like me." Thank you for that, Alvin and the Chipmunks.

I think the crisis is over. For now.

Translation.

The dreaded phrase a sleep-deprived, frumpy mommy never wants to hear.

"It's just a virus."

Translation:

"Thank you for choosing to drive up here this morning at the crack of dawn. You don't look THAT bad. I see here that your co-pay is $25 whether we find something wrong with your child, or not. Please pay at the end of the visit.

There is really nothing we can do with a viral infection except wait it out. She should be good in 2-3 days, leaving you completely sleepless and ugly until then.

Now here is the carrot that I am going to dangle so you don't scratch my eyes out...There is a slight (minute, actually) possibility that her strep culture will show positive in a couple of days (don't hold your breath) and if so, we will call a prescription in for you. In the meantime, you WILL use up the entire bottles of both Motrin and Tylenol with your alternate usage in order to (maintain sanity) keep her comfortable. You might even slip some for yourself. It's your call.

Just look on the bright side, you can stay in your jammies the rest of the day to snuggle. Isn't that what all parents really want? And gas is $0.35 cents cheaper here than where you live. (Not that you need even one drop of it because your tank is completely full of $3.45 gas.)

Don't forget the cashier on the way out. Thank you and have a nice day."

Practice.

Dolls of all shapes and sizes lined my bedroom walls. They were all my babies and they would each have their turn as my favorite. I was their mommy. I dressed them, fed them. rocked them, loved them. Even through several misguided attempts to cut and style their hair, they trusted me. They were mine.

Years went by and my friends were getting interested in different things, but I still played with my babies. Something in me couldn't turn away. I loved the role play and comfort that it brought me.

I don't know exactly when and how I left them behind, but eventually I was busy doing other things...playing sports (which I hated) or reading Nancy Drew. My obsession with dolls became a distant memory.

Until last night.

My boys were in the living room watching Star Wars so Loulabelle and I curled up in my bed with her American Girl catalog. We poured over each page and talked about each outfit and doll. The familiar satisfaction of playing with my babies swelled in me.

It was then I realized that all those years were spent in practice for this moment. In an instant, I realized that all my dreams have come true. I spent my childhood practicing for them, for my boys and my girl.

I scooped her up in my arms and let that realization sink deep into my heart. As I held her, I whispered in her ear that I hope her dolls mean as much to her as mine did to me. That she will be using them as practice for her real babies someday. I kissed her sweet cheeks and told her that she was going to be the best mommy in the whole world.

And don't want to miss a moment in between.