RTT: Disney is clueless, and Mother Nature is a tease

I wasn't going to participate in Random Tuesday Thoughts this week because Keely from The Un Mom has gone on hiatus, but apparently Stacy at Stacy Uncorked is picking up the torch until Keely decides to return.

Stacy Uncorked

Is anyone else upset over the fact that Jennifer Garner has been cast to play Agatha Christie's iconic Miss Marple? Apparently Disney is in the works to "reboot" the character to give her "youthful and more modern spin". Bad idea? I think so. The age of the character matters because it is what makes Miss Marple such a success. Her years of experience in St. Mary Mead and the time that she has spent observing human nature is what makes her so successful at what she does. (That coupled with the folks who underestimate mental abilities and view her as a batty old lady who knows nothing). If they were going to “reboot” the character, then why not just create an entirely new character altogether? Am I the only one who feels this way?

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Owen just called me into Ben's room. He and Ben are sitting in the glider chair together, cuddling. (Awwww). But then he tells me that Ben is picking his nose. No. That Owen used Ben's finger to pick his nose. Gross. Boys will be boys. 

If I Only Had a Girl.... Or Money.

Earlier today, Jenny from Babblings of a Mommy shared with her readers some great items that she picked up this weekend. Although they were all clothing for little girls, and I haven't a single one, I couldn't resist checking out her list. She shared this cute zebra print dress from Gymboree...

 
...which led me straight to the site to see more. Here are some of my favorite baby girl items (click on the images to learn more). A mommy of boys can dream, right?:

Gymboree: Baby Girl by Betty1940 on Polyvore.com

Then she shared a few items from Kohl's. So I wandered over there to check out the selection. These are my faves:

Kohl's: Baby Girl by Betty1940 featuring floral print dresses

And of course, no "window shopping" wishlist can be complete without a visit to Old Navy:

Old Navy: Baby Girl by Betty1940 featuring old navy dresses

I was actually surprised at how many non "girlie-girl" items are available right now, (by my definition of girlie, that is). What do you think? Any favorite items?

Nail Biters

Owen has been a nail biter for a while now, and I haven't really thought anything of it. It seems like a normal habit for a young kid to develop, so I wasn't concerned. Until I walked into the living room yesterday and caught him chewing hie toenails! That's right. He was chewing his toenails.  Ew. Yuck. Blech. Nastiness. And he had chewed the darn things as far down as he could (on his big toes). So of course this had me worried.

Source

I did a little research and here are a few facts that I unearthed about nail biters:

• About 30%-60% of children and teens chew their fingernails (with the occasional toenail biters). 

•  As they get older, boys are more likely to be nail biters than girls.

• Nail biting is the most common "nervous" habit.

Little Benny Boo-Boo Hopping Through the Forest...

For my 100th post, I was going to post "100 Things About Us", but then I figured that it would have been too long of a post and no one would have read the entire thing. So instead, I'm going to split it up into separate posts. Let's hear it for Ben today!

(Previous "100 Things": Owen and Daddio).

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1. Ben was born in Plattsburgh, NY at 3:12 PM (yes, I had to look it up). He weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 inches long. Like Owen, Ben was also born on his due date, however, his was an induced labor, (because I was about 2 hours away from the hospital where I was going to deliver). Compared to Owen, Ben's delivery was a walk in the park. Thank goodness for epidurals!

2. Ben's name was a mutual choice between Daddio and myself. It was a name that had appeared on both of our name lists for Owen, and one of the only ones that we both liked. His middle name, Ryan, is the same as Daddio's.

3. Ben had really dark hair when he was born. His hair is now blond.

Please, Do Not Feed the Animals!

And by the animals, I mean my kids.

Image Source: ClipartHeaven.com

I'm probably going to come off as being one of those moms after this post, but I'll take my chances with that one.

I get so annoyed when people feed my kids something that they shouldn't be eating, or that I wouldn't normally feed them. Now don't get me wrong here, I understand that when they are visiting someone else's house, they are probably going to be eating food that I don't regularly stock. Grandma S. is sure to serve Owen five pieces of sausage, two glasses of orange juice for breakfast, and no milk. Grandma B. will always have fruit snacks and chocolate treats on hand. And it's a good possibility that Owen will have dessert instead of dinner while at his "girlfriend's" house. Which is fine. I understand that while they are out of the house, I have no control over what they eat. However, when I am in the same room, or when I have left specific instructions, then that's a different story. 

Wordless Wednesday: Every. Single. Time.

Image Source

*Toothpaste for Dinner

RTT: John Lithgow, Muffins, and Cops, Oh My!

It's another Random Tuesday! Brought to you by Keely from The Un Mom.

Did anyone happen to catch How I Met Your Mother last night? (If not, then be prepared for a minor spoiler). I was excited to learn that Barney would finally be meeting his dad! And after all of the drama and hype surrounding his father, how utterly disappointing to see that John Lithgow was cast as his father. I have never been a fan of his, especially when he starred on 3rd Rock from the Sun, but I did not mind him as Lord Farquaad in Shrek But casting aside, this storyline provided Barney with several touching scenes as he came to terms with reconnecting with his father. I just about bawled when he confronts his dad with the fact that yes, he is now a "Suburban Dad", but why couldn't he be that for Barney? I think it was also great that the viewers were given a chance to see through some of the cracks in Barney's shell and get a glimpse of the pain he feels. But I still don't like John Lithgow, even though he admittedly did a fantastic job with the role. (Click here for a much better recap than I was able to produce).

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Lesson learned this week, if a recipes states to bake muffins at 400 for 18-22 minutes, DO NOT listen! The last two recipes I've used have both directed this, and both times, the darn things burned on the bottom. From now on, I'm sticking to the usual 375 for 20-25 minutes. I really don't know what else could have been the problem. I have not moved my bottom rack at all, so they should not have been too low. Who knows.

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You Like Me! You Really Like Me!

Or at least Vandy from The Testosterone Three and Me does because she's given me another award! Yay Vandy! Thanks a million! This time it's the Cherry on Top Award:

The rules for accepting this award (because there are always rules) are to list three things that I love about myself, share a picture of me, and nominate five other blogs for this award. I'm not quite sure which of these three is going to be the most difficult for me to complete! But here goes:

1. I love that I am really good with remembering names. This is especially helpful as a substitute teacher. It always freaks out the kids when they discover that I know their names, even if I haven't been their sub in two years. I can also remember every single name of anyone who has ever been a fellow classmate of mine, from Kindergarten through our senior year. Whether the person was in our class for one year, three months, or five years, I can probably tell you his or her name. I'm told that it's a special talent. If only I could get paid to remember names!

2. I love that I am such a perfectionist about certain things. If I am doing something that will reflect on me and my skills, (i.e. scrap booking, editing student writing, blogging, baking etc.), then I have to make sure that it is perfect (or at least nearly perfect), before presenting it to the rest of the world. I think that this is a positive thing because it helps to show me in a more professional light and shows that I care about my work. However, it can also be a negative as it often takes me that much longer just to get something simple finished! (Like this post!)

3. I love that I have the ability to laugh at myself and my goofy quirks. I sing and dance like a fool, especially with my boys. I trip up the stairs. I run into walls. I make silly faces and produce the most random of thoughts. How can I not laugh at myself for any of that?

And now a photo of me, which will be difficult to track down because I'm usually the one behind the camera:

I don't really have demon eyes in person.

It's not of excellent quality, but it's the most recent photo of myself that I have (taken on St. Patrick's Day, to be exact).


And now, five blogs that deserve this award:

1. Amber from Airing My Dirty Laundry, One Sock at a Time (Not only is her blog beautiful, but so is her family).

2. Erin from Things I've Learned Talking to Myself (One of the most open and honest bloggers I have encountered. And that's a beautiful thing).

3. Shannon from Welcome to the Nuthouse! (A fellow Jane Austen fanatic. She also shares a love for handbags and shoes).

4. TB from Year 31 (A woman who is just as obsessed with The MMC as I am, and in my book, that's an automatic win. And if you have to ask what "The MMC" is, then you obviously didn't deserve this award. :-))

5. And last but not least, The Bittersweet Blonde (Although slacking off as of late, she has a knack for finding some beautiful household (etc.) items to share).


Congratulations, ladies! Be sure to the share the love!

Happy St. Daddy's Day

For my 100th post, I was going to post "100 Things About Us", but then I figured that it would have been too long of a post and no one would have read the entire thing. So instead, I'm going to split it up into separate posts.

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As we all know, today is St. Patrick's Day, but it is also Daddio's birthday (who coincidentally, happens to be part Irish). So in honor of that, today's post is All About Daddio, who is currently out of town taking the boys for an overnight at an indoor water park. Never in my wildest dreams would I attempt to take all three boys to something like that by myself! He's a brave man.

Source

1. Okay, so that's not really Daddio, as if you actually believed it was. But he has often been told that he bears a striking resemblance to Matt Damon (usually by family members). Here's the real Daddio:

Not So Wordless Wednesday

It's really awful what is happening in Japan right now. I'm not going to mention too much about it because everyone else is already talking about it much better than I probably could, but I did want to share this photo:

Source: AP

It just brought tears to my eyes when I read in this article that this four-month-old baby girl, who was found among the rubble, was reunited with her father who thought that she had been washed away in the waves. It is awful how many people have died as a result of the tsunami, but when I think about all of the helpless babies lost, who really had no help at all, it breaks my heart. At least most adults and older children have a fighting chance at surviving this, basically due to the fact that they can use their bodies to try to escape. But a baby has no chance at all, unless aided by someone else. Just thinking about how many young children were probably lost to the waves hits me pretty hard. I am so glad that this lucky little girl made it through and was reunited with her father. (I have not seen any word about her mother).  

I couldn't imagine what I would do, how I would react, if anything like this were to happen to my family. It's during times like this when we should be truly grateful for the people we have in our lives.