Satan Created Angry Birds--I Can Prove It.

I am nearly certain Satan himself invented Angry Birds.

"Dixie," you say, "That is simply not possible."

Ohhhh, but it is.

"You are being unreasonable."

Am I?

Those cute little birds suck me in to a crazed mental state with their sweet little faces and simple tricks. And then I keep wondering what special NEW bird will I unlock next?!

Boom-A-Rang Bird, are you serious?!?!  It's so cool!

I also care for Big Fat Bird a great deal. (I don't think that's the real name, but that's what I call it).

And if I could just get a whole slew of Bomb Birds I could do just about anything.

(Just don't give me any of that plain little red bird.  He's useless I tell you, USELESS!)

Then they create these clever levels with all kinds of fun stuff, (including bouncy beach balls for pete's sake!) and before I know it I'm sneaking the iPad around, trying to play Angry Birds in dark corners so the kids can't see because....well,  I'm addicted to it!

And I think we all know: addiction=Satan.

So clearly, Angry Birds was created by Satan.

I rest my case.

A Dreamer I Am Not...

Shane and I just spent the morning discussing the fact that I am not a dreamer.

I'm a realist.

I have always thought of this as a good thing, which it is in many ways, but Shane really helped me to see why it's not so great at times. (Kudos honey, kudos).

So here's how it came about...

We were discussing my sweet brother Porter who is the ultimate dreamer.  It's one of his most endearing qualities.

For example, when Dara Torres won the silver medal at the Olympics at age 43 my brother Porter called me up and said, "Do you want to swim train with me?  I want to make the next Olympics.  If Dara Torres can do it, so can I."  (I promise you I am not joking about this).

I laughed.  Not because I wouldn't love to be in the next Olympics too and be a national sensation, but because I couldn't even see the dream.  What I saw was 8 hour training sessions, trying to juggle babysitting for three kids, and trying to get a husband on board with this idea.  The dream never even had a chance because I smashed it to pieces before it could even take root.

For as long as I have known Porter, which is my whole life, every time after a summer Olympics airs he has decided he wants to be in the Olympics the next time around.  I love this about him.  As kids I used to get on board with this and dream about it a little, but at some point I lost that ability to dream and think big... for anything.  Everything became: responsibilities, logistics, reality, etc.  No room for dreaming.

Shane asked me why I refuse to dream.  When I thought about it, aside from worrying about all the logistics of getting there, I told him my two biggest reasons are:

1. I don't want to be disappointed.
2. I don't want to disappoint others.

Even as I said it it sounded dumb.

Really?  Disappointment?  This one little word (well, okay, it's kind of a long word) is stopping me from dreaming big and possibly realizing some of those big dreams?

Lame.

This needs to change. (and pointers from "dreamers" would be much appreciated).

Maybe I can be a Realist with a minor in Dreaming. :)

Marketing Madness

Don't even worry about it.  I'm totally writing a blog post.

So the other day I said something in passing to Shane that went like this, "Yeah, Owen wants to have Scott over for Friendly Friday so I had to...."

Shane: "Wait. What? Friendly Friday?  What the heck is that?"

And so I had to explain, not just "Friendly Friday", but what I have figured out works wonders with my kids...for them and for me.

I market everything to them.

Yep. I've become a marketing whiz.  Does anyone want to hire me?  I have some really fabulous ideas. :)

I think it started with swim skillz.  We gave it a name.  It became an actual "thing", so if we missed it we didn't just miss going to the YMCA to work on our swimming, we missed SWIM SKILLZ.  It was a real thing and we didn't want to miss it.  In the simple act of naming it became more important, more significant.  And suddenly I was understanding marketing a little bit more.  Why iPads/iPhones/iPods etc are so cool, in part, is because of the name.  It's not just a small little computer, it's an iPad.  Bam!

So I have developed names for real things we do and suddenly they become more real, cool, important and fun.  That's how "Friendly Friday" came to be.

Play dates these days are no longer an easy affair.  Gone are the days of living in the neighborhood with all the kids you go to school with.  We are blessed with cousins close by so we can play with them, but I want the kids to know how to make friends with other people too.  We live a good 8.5 miles away from the school and any neighborhoods that feed into it.  So play dates require me tracking down the mom of the child my child has selected as their "Friendly Friday Friend", getting a phone number, actually connecting with them on the phone, and then working out the details of pick ups and drop offs.  It's no easy feat to say the least.  It usually takes a few days to actually speak to the mom.  And I have to do this for all three kids.  It's awesome.  I do feel it is important for them to connect with their peers outside of school.  But I also know that the headache of doing all of this calling and setting up is annoying and just the thought of it makes me want to take a nap on the couch.  So for my own sake I gave it a name and a place: Friendly Friday, every other friday.  This did two things: 1. It made me feel like I have to follow through and 2. It gave the kids something they really look forward to.

Now my kids tell me who they want to have over for Friendly Friday like it's every day phraseology--catchy isn't it?

It's ok.  You can use it too. :)

First Day of School--for everyone!!!

Well, the day has arrived that I never thought would.  I can remember having Olivia, and then Owen, and then Morgan and then thinking, it is going to be FOREVER until they are all in school. 

Well forever came today.

ONE.

TWO.

THREE.

Just like that, they are all in school.

All three of my beautiful children started school today and I can hardly believe it.  It's weird.  It's exciting.  And, well, it's mostly exciting.

Morgan woke up this morning and exclaimed happily, "I finally get to be a big kid!"  

We pulled up right behind Lana and Dana, what are the odds?  So we snapped a quick cousin pic. (Brooklyn is also going to Zaharis but wasn't there for this picture).

First Day of School 2011.  

It's gonna be a great year! :)

Cool! Double Prizes!!!

At the beginning of this year, if you'll recall, I became Chinese.

One of the big parts of my new-found Chinese parenting was "swim skills".  Twice a week I'd take the kids to the YMCA and work them out, teach them how to swim their strokes better, and really help them learn how to work hard.  It definitely wasn't easy... for them or me.  However, I could see right away the benefits it was having in other areas of their life. (especially Owen).

If you'll recall, back in February I was cussed out by some guy at the pool for pushing my kids too hard.  If you need a refresher click HERE.  But I knew why I was doing this, and it had nothing to do with swimming.

As time went on and the kids were getting better and faster I said to Shane, "Oh my gosh, they actually might have a chance to win trophies in city swim this year."  I wasn't sure, I just thought it might be a possibility.  Maybe.

As they started swim team and came home meet after meet with mostly blue ribbons I thought the reality of getting a trophy was within our reach, and then, I'll admit, it became a little about swimming. :)  But still, more than anything, I wanted them to learn that hard work and discipline pays off.

Well, it does.

Last night we didn't walk away with just one High Point trophy, but two!  Olivia & Owen both won first place in their age groups and I couldn't be a more proud Mama. :)

 (Body marking is all the rage these days at swim meets. Who were we to buck the trend?) :)

They didn't win because they are naturally strong or talented, in fact they are both on the small side of things and their strokes were atrocious when we started, but they worked harder than anyone else and that's what makes me proud.  They spent most of the season working out with the 9-10 year olds and even Owen out-swam most of those kids at practice.

(This is Olivia with cousin Tatum (left) and friend Haylee Haynes (right) who got the runner up trophy. More on that later.  Olivia is standing on her tip toes because both these girls have about 4-5 inches on her!)

When you work that hard you get to walk away with these:

When I see those trophies I nearly cry because I know what went into getting them.  One of my mom's favorite quotes is this:

"The greatest reward for man's toil is not what he gets from it, but what he becomes by it."

That's what I see when I see those trophies...what those kids have become.  They know how to push and work hard and want something and go after it and not give up and be disciplined and work past fears and get over disappointments and be their best.  And in an age where most kids don't know how to do any of those things, I find that to be a major accomplishment.

When we started swim skills I truly never intended or even believed that this would be our outcome, but I am pretty proud and happy that it was.

A quick side-note about Olivia beating Haylee Haynes.  When I was eight I got the runner up trophy and a girl named Nancy Haynes got the High Point.  Nancy is Haylee's aunt.  What are the odds?!  When we figured that out I told Olivia she had to avenge my loss. :)  And so she did.  She and Haylee are so cute together.  They are great friends and Olivia went back and forth from being excited to feeling bad about winning.  But mostly she was just excited.  She said Haylee told her she is just here to have fun and if she wins, then great.  Olivia told us she liked that attitude and decided to take it on.  Pretty cute wisdom for little eight year olds.  I'm glad they were there to push each other to be their best.

(Olivia & Haylee after the meet--proud owners of their trophies.)

I'd like to give a special shout out to my mini-me coach Morgan.  She's been by my side at every swim skills.  She yells at the kids to go faster, she corrects them on their strokes, and tells them all the things they are doing wrong.  She's quite the professional at age 4.  She really has been such a great sport throughout all this and has picked up some swim skills of her own.  I'm excited to throw her into the swimming mix next year!

Anyway, this post is much longer than I ever like to do but for the record here are their best times on each event (some of Owen's divisional times were faster) and if you want to see what awesome little swimmers they are you can follow this youtube link.  It's a straight run-through of each of their events and them getting their trophies.  Just mute your volume because I scream like a crazy lady. :)  I know they can't hear me, but it makes me feel better.  Also, I was shaking and cheering so it may not be the best video. :)

OWEN:

freestyle: 18.59 (1st)

backstroke: 25.98 (3rd)--had a bad race, he's gotten 1st at the last two meets)

butterfly: 24.42 (1st)

OLIVIA: (she was 1 second off the city record for every one of these)

freestyle: 15.64 (2nd)--she and Haylee really pushed each other. best time for both of them.)

backstroke: 19.52 (1st)--she is such a great backstroker)

butterfly: 17.50 (1st)

SWIMMING VIDEO LINK:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSTiZD4j1E0

Avert Your Eyes...

My kids almost never see me without make-up on.

I'm one of those people that get ready and wear make-up every day.

I don't wash my face at night. (gasp! I know, no need to tell me how horrible this is, but it's not going to change the fact that I don't and I won't.  I used to and it didn't work out for me, so I don't.)


I wash it in the shower after I've worked out in the morning and then I get ready immediately.  If they come ask me a question or something in that period of time they will see me, but other than that, not really.

But I never, and I mean NEVER, go about my day without some form of make-up on...especially eye make-up.  There's just something glorious about putting black stuff all around my eyes. :)

Today, however, I had showered a little later than normal and I needed to get lunch ready for the kids.  So I just threw my clothes on after the shower and pulled my hair back and came out WITHOUT MAKE-UP ON!  I know, can you believe it.

Nobody said anything and all seemed to be going fine.  But I did get the distinct impression that Owen was sort of avoiding me.

After about 20 minutes or so I had the food ready and called Owen over to come eat.

As he sat down he said as politely as he could, "Mom, I like it when you have your make-up on." He made eye contact with me for about point five seconds and then quickly glanced down at his macaroni and cheese because looking at me was just too scary.  Seriously, he AVERTED HIS EYES!!!!

I know son, I am a hideous creature without make-up on.  I am sorry you had to witness this.

When I tell people this they never believe me, but I really am one of those people that you don't know how they can look so different with or without make-up.  It's kind of crazy.  I would post a picture but you'd never look at me the same. (and I don't think I've ever allowed anybody to take one of me without make-up since I was 12)

I used to have nightmares in Jr. High that the boy I liked would show up at my house and I wouldn't be wearing make-up and then what would I do?!?!?!  Really, I worried more about this than I care to admit.

Once or twice in high school I decided to just try going to school sans make-up and try the au naturale look, but everyone just asked me all day if I was sick.  Lovely.

Every guy I ever dated had to pass the "Here I am without make-up on, are you sure you want to keep dating me?" test.  Of course they were all kind and told me I looked just fine (they had to say that), but I think secretly they were just praying that I would never remove the make-up from my face in their presence ever again.

So my dear sweet Owen, with two sisters who will wear make-up someday, and a mother who wears it, you get an early taste of the hideous creatures that lie beneath these make-uped faces.

Our beauty is only as deep as our eyeliner can go.

Holy Cow!

I live in a neighborhood.

Suburbia.

Granted, there is a deserty field just to the side of my house, but it's just a bunch of sage brush and dirt.

So you can imagine our surprise when this morning Shane left for work and came back in two seconds later saying, "Come here, you've got to see this!  There are cows and a donkey in our front yard."

What?!

So out we went to view the spectacle.

Sure enough there was this guy:

and this guy:

and all of these guys:

this is a view from my driveway:

Right now I can hear cows mooing outside my window.  

And now the police have shown up beeping their sirens at the cows.

Half our neighborhood was standing outside, gawking at this.

I couldn't help but think how funny this would be to a rancher or cattle farmer, us all standing there like: "Oh my gosh, look at the cows!" 

But I suppose it wasn't because they were cows, but cows in an unusual place.

Morgan just keeps saying how awesome it was and that maybe Jersey could go out since maybe she would just look like a cow to them (since she's a cow dog), but she also mentioned we would need to paint her paws to look like hooves and they might notice her dog nose, so we'd need to do something about that.

She's got it all figured out.

Anyway, you can't really beat a day where you wake up to cows.

Yee-haw!