I've Changed My Name To Mommy

The Who What Now?

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:10:00 +0000

Apparently somebody won the Super Bowl yesterday. Uh...woo? Or not woo. Whichever way you feel I'm on your side. I mean, why not? I couldn't care less and here's the thing-I don't have to. Hubby has absolutely zero interest in sports of any kind including but not limited to football. I learned more about sports in 9th grade gym than Hubby has ever bothered to learn in his entire life-if it were possible to have negative interest in it he would-so I am never subjected to sports fanaticism, and for that I am truly grateful.

Actually, I have never been forced to "watch the game". I think the closest anyone in my family ever got to a sports team was when my sister played in the high school marching band. We're not against physical activity (not that there is really any activity involved in watching someone else play sports), and it's not like we don't have interests. My dad is fanatical about World War II planes. He watches History Channel like a fiend. My step mom is really into ancient Egypt and could literally bury you alive in the books she has about Pharaohs and mummies and stuff. Hubby loves LOVES cars and drawing (and drawing cars) and his sketch pad is never far away from him. Hubby and I both are into politics-we discuss political history, law, and current affairs on an almost daily basis. As for my own personal obsession, I'm a word nerd. I am interested in everything from classic lit to research papers to Scrabble, and I consider Googling to be a past time. We understand getting excited.

We just don't understand getting excited about sports.

We have gained a fanatic in my brother in law. He is genuinely interested in sports-and considering that he is 6'7 and has been playing sports since he was a kid there's really little doubt as to why. He watches and actively cares about every sport on the planet all the way down to ping pong, which I wasn't even aware counted as a sport. Naturally, my sister now does a lot of sitting and nodding. Sometimes she'll call and will tell me about it and I'll be honest-I get bored just hearing about other people watching sports...that's why Hubby's lack of sports team loyalty is just one of the million things I love about him.

I am thinking a lot about love lately, what with Valentine's Day coming up on Sunday, so I've decided that this week I am going to blog something on the topic of love every day. Today it's all about my love for my husband's NON love of sports.

Ours is a match made in nerd heaven.

Sunday Ten Spot: Leading Women

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:40:00 +0000

The Ten Best Female Characters of All Time [according to me]

10-9. Rory and Lorelei of Gilmore Girls
Separately as characters they were pretty good but not nearly as good as they were together. Together they created a back-and-forth pop reference based relationship that was almost a character in and of itself.

8. Kat of 10 Things I Hate About You
Yes I know this is based on Taming of the Shrew, and nine times out of ten I side with the Bard over remakes, but I'm going to have to go with modern society on this one. This 90s retelling paints a portrait of Kat (the shrew) that is just so honest and colorful and is, even to this Shakespeare-lover, so much more compelling than her paper counterpart. So sue me.
7.Carmen (of the Opera by the same name)
This fiery, fickle, femme fatale is one of the great female characters. Not great because she possesses much virtue, but she is certainly larger than life and she paints a portrait of the negative side of femininity taken to the extreme.

6. Buffy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Just the idea of Buffy is awesome-what would happen if a valley girl teenager was suddenly The Chosen Vampire Slayer? See-it even sounds funny. Managing to be quirky, witty, and girly while being complex, poignant, and sympathetic is not an easy feat for one character, but I think she manages to do it.

5. Jo March of Little Women
One of the major reasons why I wanted to grow up to be a writer (mission...kind of accomplished?), Josephine March is a dynamic and charismatic female character who, despite her dreadful dreadful actions toward Laurie, we can all love.

4. Temperance Brennan of Bones
Calculating genius Bones solves super complicated murder cases with her logic and still manages to turn up the temp with Hottie McHotterson Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) proving that smart chicks can be sexy too.

3. Scout Finch of To Kill A Mockingbird
One of the best, most human narrators in all of fiction Scout both tells of and embodies the reality of growing up and the struggle to believe in the goodness of people while facing some of the most ugly things that people have ever done.

2. Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice
One of my very favorite female characters, she was definitely ahead of her time. Head strong, independent, and witty to boot she was feminist before it was popular and yet not afraid to love Darcy with her whole heart (in the end).

1. Scarlet O'Hara of Gone With the Wind
How could she not be on this list? How could she not be number one? Scarlett O'Hara is a legendary female character-I would even go so far as to say she herself is the epic of this story. Determined, shrewd, and brutally cold hearted she is not a particularly likeable character in my opinion, but she is still written in such a way that you can absolutely understand all of her many dimensions, and so frankly my dear I don't give a damn.

The Deep End

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 04:51:00 +0000

I am very, very bitter today. I shouldn't even be blogging-you won't like me much. Stupid resolution. Stupid everything. Today almost as awesome as getting hit by a water truck in the middle of the desert in that it is so horrible it kinda makes you laugh in a dark, hysterical kinda way. I think I may have lost the last single shred of my sanity. Yep, that must be it.

Want to know what I got to do today? Well, let's see. We got served for small claims court. Yep, apparently there is a mountain of debt litigation hanging over our heads and it's all comin' down the mountain. After going in circles we realized that the only way to fix any of this really is to file for bankruptcy.

BUT WAIT! That's not the worst part of the day. What is worse than being 24 years old and having to file Chapter 7? How about your car being repo'd just hours later. Yeah, THANKS F'N B of A.

After the joy of all of that today culminated in me having to walk three miles in the dark rainy night (literally) to go get baby formula. I really do think that I'm hysterical or having a nervous break down or something...and I'm bitter about it. I'm just furiously, blindly, bitter. I really do try in the face of everything to be patient and faithful. I do. I try to be long suffering but really how long IS long suffering?! I personally think I've suffered quite enough. I'm not comparing, or acting like a victim, I'm just saying-if there is a suffering quota I've freaking reached it. Surpassed it even. I'm just so done.

To add onto all of it my dad was kind enough to inform me that everything is all my fault. Somehow, in some indescribable way, I live my life in such a way that I deserve for things like this to happen. When pressed for details he can't give examples of course, but he DID manage to tell me that "people who hang out with gang bangers shouldn't be surprised when they go to jail" and make a loose tie in to our decision to homeschool saying that I was "literally the last person on the face of the planet that should be homeschooling children-better a homeless bum do it" than me. He actually SAID THAT.

Doesn't that just make the sun shine outta your butt?

Talking to my sister is no better. Her response is "Well you know, if you owe people money they're allowed to do things like that. You really shouldn't owe people money." Really? I shouldn't? Well that's news to me because I, apparently, am a gang banging idiot. Of course I shouldn't owe people money. I never intended to, and if I had the money to pay them I would. It's not like we have plenty of money and just blow it all on my Faberge egg collection. Or like my debts are credit cards and department stores. I owe the power company, the phone company, the hospital, old apartments...those aren't people you refuse to pay just for the hell of it. Still she gets all superior because she has great credit and she went to college and she has a government job and a trust fund baby for a husband and her first house already. Well F'n super for her, but I DON'T. I was too busy being a homeless 16 year old, or a pregnant teenager, or a working mom, or a homeschooling stay at home mom of three kids five and under to care about credit or college or marrying for money. Too busy working my butt off with Hubby trying desperately to stretch every dollar to fit five people on a budget made for one or two people. Obviously the only real solution here is "don't be poor". Well....My freakin' bad. I can't seem to help it.

I wish that I could say that I feel better after my rant and have renewed faith, but I think that's going to take a lot longer than it normally does. I think I've just reached that line in the sand where my faith in good people being blessed doesn't carry me any farther. Maybe my dad's right and I'm not a good person, and that's why all of these terrible things happen to me. Or maybe I am a good person and secretly that's the blessing in and of itself that I just have to learn to appreciate it or something zen like that. I don't even know anymore. All I know is that I have to end my nervous breakdown before 5:30am when the kidlets wake up and I get to put on the happy mommy face again-anybody got a Mai Tai I could cry into?

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:22:00 +0000

On my mind today...

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move." Matthew 17:20

Too Cool For School

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000

As you can tell from yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post, we are unschoolers. You could also probably tell that we are learning Chinese by immersion...and that's just one of the jǐng rén (exciting/fascinating) things we get to do with the kids because we have decided to unschool.

I've written about this before, but for those of you who haven't read my previous posts unschooling is like homeschooling, in that it takes place at home and I am the kid's "teacher" but after that the similarities pretty much stop. We don't have curriculum, we don't have text books or tests (except as according to all applicable laws), we don't have desks or scheduled 'learning time'. So what is it, you might ask, that my kids learn?

Well, Chinese for one. We incorporate Chinese language into our every day lives, from zǎoshang hǎo (good morning) when we wake up to wǎnshang hǎo (good night/evening) when we go to bed. If you want to know what the definition of cute is, you should see little Baby Bug grab her bottle and look up at you with her big bambi eyes and say xiè xie ni (thank you) in her little pixie voice-it's the cutest thing you'll ever see.

We've also learned a lot about the human body. Monkey can name every major bone in the body, and he's showing signs that he's interested in the brain and it's functions so I think we'll be moving onto the nervous system next.

I know that there are a lot of skeptics out there (our parents-even my in laws who do traditional homeschool among them) who wonder how we cover "the basics" through child lead learning. Don't worry, we also learn "the boring stuff" like reading and writing and math, but you know what? I still don't have to make the kids learn them. I have never once sat Monkey down and forced him to write or read or calculate anything. One day he decided he wanted to write something, so he sat down and started scribbling his version of letters. Then natural curiosity came along and he wanted to learn how to write even more letters and numbers and symbols. Now as he gets older he wants to learn to write better, so I got him the Spiderman penmanship workbook that he asked for. It's the same way with reading. When he was a baby he wanted to "read" books like mommy so he grabbed them and thumbed through them and talked to himself. Eventually he wanted to know what the books actually said so he brought them to me so that I could read to him. As he got older he started recognizing small words and he would half sight read and half make things up. Now just recently he has been asking me to help him sound out words and about a month ago read his first beginner book all by himself. Math is a recent upstart in the house-when we saw the Spiderman penmanship work book there was a Spiderman math work book right next to it. He asked me what it was and I told him and he said that he'd always wanted to learn about plus-ing and minus-ing and could we please get that book too? The work book wasn't home two minutes before he dove into it and he's already through nearly half of the work book.

There is no big secret here. I don't have a college degree. Despite the fact that I of course think that our son is a prodigy in all things, Monkey is a pretty average child. All I had to do was introduce him to new things to learn, answer his questions, help when asked, and provide resources for him. I just drove the cart down the isle (and put the book in the house, wrote notes and lists in front of him, found language games when he decided he wanted to learn Chinese)-I didn't have to make him do school work. I didn't have to beg him to put in the time. I didn't have to set up an elaborate system of punishments and rewards, and do you want to know why? Because kids, left to themselves, LOVE LEARNING. Before kids are taught that learning is work, kids are naturally curious enough to learn everything they need to know and more-more like Chinese. More like the skeletal and nervous systems. More like making paper cranes, and bird watching, and plant life cycles, and butterfly metamorphosis, and world geography, and baking skills-with the wide open minds of children as the base, the possibilities are endless.

For us the whole world is school-and it's way too big, and way too cool for a tiny building.

I realize of course that not everyone can/wants to homeschool and that's absolutely fine. I would never butt in on someone else's parenting-as long as everyone is doing what they believe is in their child's best interest I say more power to them. I would however just encourage everyone to find out what their child is passionate about and show them how fun learning can be. Does your child love Diego and Dora? That's an easy gateway to learning Spanish-try tossing a few "buenos dias"es into your day and build from there. Does your child love cars? You can pick up a solar-powered race car kit at Frys for about $15 and build it together. Does your child love dinosaurs? Buy a model dinosaur, but before you build it bury the pieces in the back yard and have an excavation! Even if your child already does all of their schooling in a different building, there is nothing more rewarding than nurturing your child's passion and planting that seed for a life long love of learning.

Happy learning adventures everyone!

[Picture: Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss, Art by Theodore Geisel]

Wordless Wednesday: All Aboard!

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:39:00 +0000

On tomorrow's post I'm going to be talking about what exactly we do when we're UNschooling, so stay tuned. Until then, zhù fú!

You Get What You Pay For

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:53:00 +0000

Good news: We found cheaper internet. Bad news: It runs like cheap internet. I just tested my download speed-my DOWNLOAD speed mind you-and it's .22 Mb/M. To put that into translation it would take approximately 3 WHOLE MINUTES to download a 5Mb song (which is, like nothing). Or, from another perspective, like a FULL FREAKIN' HOUR to get onto Blogger. My internet connection is compromised.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Do not panic.

I'm kinda panicking.

Grrrrrr stupid bank. I hope that your internet connection goes down to my new level.

Oh PS, for those of you that have asked the bank that royally...well, you know...was Bank of America. I don't recommend putting your money there. I wasn't going to tell you that, but now that they've affected my beloved internet they deserve it.

St. Landlord

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:46:00 +0000

I have a legitimate reason for posting so late tonight. We've been trying to wrap up the loose ends of our bank troubles. On the bank's side everything is still a royal disaster-they are now citing "credit problems"-even though I have always had bad credit, including the entire time the bank account has been open-as the reason for closing my account, and have informed me that notification of their right to close my account on basically any and/or no grounds with no notice and with hold funds while assessing an undisclosed amount of fees is in the bank agreement that I signed when I opened the account (over the phone). Yeah I can't find that, but if they say it's there it probably is...I have no doubt that they've been through this song and dance before, probably with people who actually have lawyers.

The bottom line is, we eat it.

The next step was to figure out what the hell we're going to do about all of this. We're more than two grand in the hole if you count all of the bills that we're not paying right now due to our money being held hostage. One month of rent alone is more than a grand. We talked to Hubby's work to try to get on a special program for employees who need financial help, but they decided that because the bank said the problem was caused by my credit that the situation is our fault. Goodie. So we talked to Hubby's mom who reached into her deep pockets and pulled out less than half of our rent alone. Not because she doesn't have the money-that would be understandable-but because she "doesn't feel comfortable loaning us more money than that". Oh yeah, you caught that-LOANING. I could go on a huge rant about loaning money to family, but I'll skip it for now. The bottom line is that sure, I'm glad we were able to borrow 1/4 of the money for our bills at an excruciatingly high emotional cost, but that still leaves us up poo creek.

The good news is that even though we will still owe the money and a LOT of stuff is going to get shut off, we do get to stay in our home because our landlord is a SAINT. He has always been super great if we've had to pay a few days late. He was super great about moving us in at all considering my credit history (you know, the one the bank closed me down for). Hubby called him a couple of days ago and set up an appointment to meet with him on Friday and talk. By then, with two paychecks of Hubby's plus his Mother's money we'll be able to pay the January rent (which didn't clear before they shut down our account and now WON'T clear). Hubby already went over the basics with the landlord-you know, the fact that the January check would bounce and that we didn't know how we were going to pay for that and February in two weeks-and our kind, generous landlord's response was appearantly,

"I understand. We'll talk more on Friday-try not to worry too much about it until then."

I'd say to call the Pope and nominate him for canonization, except I'm pretty certain our landlord is Mormon. Do Mormons have saints? Or a Pope-type-guy? Really I'm just happy knowing that no matter what religious structure he follows God is seeing all the good things he does for us and, I hope, is blessing him for it.

That's all we got for now-none of the rest of our bills are paid, and we now owe $400 and emotional penance to Hubby's mother, but we get to keep our home-and for the thousandth time by grace and faith are we saved.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? (Matthew 6:25)

Sunday Ten Spot: Leading Men

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:14:00 +0000

The Ten Best Male Characters of All Time [according to me]

10. Booth of Bones
I love love love this character. He is the ultimate man's man, but with a squishy underbelly of romanticism. He's the ultimate in tough with a heart of gold. Plus David Boreanaz? Seriously people.

9. Hamlet
The true Great Dane, Hamlet captures the epitome of angst and the contradictions of the human condition. Shakespeare sure knows how to write 'em.

8. Sherlock Holmes
A pretentious, ill tempered, insecure genius. He's a complex character that I always love to hate.

7. Soames Forsyte of the Forsyte Saga
Is he a bad guy, or is he a victim of a disintegrating Victorian society which no longer has a place for him? I can read this book a thousand times and never quite picture him the same way.

6. Sidney Carton of A Tale of Two Cities
A very dynamically written character, I always start out irritated with Carton and yet by the time he sacrifices himself for Lucie's sake I never fail to be convinced of his virtue.

5. Mal of Firefly/Serenity
Yep, he's on the list. You're probably going to wonder why...and why he's ranked so high-between Carton and Winston Smith. The reason is because he's actually a supremely developed character. Yes, he seems shallow and sarcastic on the surface, but between Joss Whedon and Nathon Fillion the character of Mal developed into a 'modern day' knight/cowboy character that I really love.

4. Winston Smith of 1984
I don't think I have ever felt as badly for another character as I do for Smith. His plight is so tragic, and the humanity of this character is what makes this novel brilliant and gut wrenching.

3. Mr. Darcy
Oh noble, intelligent, forthright Darcy. Oh superior, snooty, human Darcy. I personally find him the most swoon-worthy fictional person ever.

2. Sir Percy of The Scarlet Pimpernel
The fop who-underneath it all-turns out to be the most heroic, intelligent, dashing, romantic character. To the best of my knowledge he was one of modern literature's first "undercover heros" and he certainly sets that bar high.

1. Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights
If you read this book you WILL feel intensely about Heathcliff. You will think that he is the most evil character ever written, or the most wonderful tortured romantic character ever written, but you won't be able to push him aside or only think about him for a minute. Books have been written on the subject of Heathcliff, and the truth is that you will see what you want to see in him because he is just as multidimensional as an actual human-if not more so.

So what do you think are the ten best male characters of all time? Weigh in~if you leave a link I'll come visit!

Sorry this is so late-I thought I set this for today, but apparently I set it for next Sunday-aaaah! Good think I checked before midnight!

Saturday Night, Saturday Night

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 06:38:00 +0000

I could go out and party, in theory. That's what other twenty four year old people do on Saturday nights, and I've been told that even includes people with kids. Problem is that even before the kidlets were born I was never an out-on-the-town kinda gal. I don't drink more than a glass or two of girlie drinks a year, I don't dance, I don't like dark areas or small spaces or loud music-so yeah. I've never been inside a bar, or to a concert, or to a club and I have no intention of starting now.

What can I say? Always been boring, probably always will be.

So what is it that boring people do on Saturday nights? Sometimes it's books by the fireplace. Sometimes it's couch cuddling with Hubby, if he has the night off. I like playing games-I've been known to rock out on Guitar Hero, I love Brain Challenge and Sonic on the XBox, and I play a mean online Scrabble game. Tonight's agenda-bubble baths and a Buffy marathon. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh nerdy home-bunny relaxation bliss.

What do you guys do on Saturday nights? Do you go out? Do you stay in? I'm off for more soaking and Vampire Slaying.

300th Post & Vlog!

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:21:00 +0000

Thank you so much for hanging out with me for three hundred posts guys-here's to 300 more!

Vlog
Uploaded by thelittlemrs. - Explore international webcam videos.

Remember Remember!

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:19:00 +0000

My 300th post is TOMORROW! I'm recording my first-ever vlog RIGHT NOW, so you have until midnight PST to send in a question and be entered to win my Spoil Yourself Giveaway! If you're already entered to win, don't forget to watch my vlog tomorrow so that you can see if you won. Have a good night everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: Cats + Computers

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:13:00 +0000

I like cats. I like computers. It only makes sense. None of these cats are mine, but they're all LOL cats.

[ALSO, DON'T FORGET TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY TO SEND IN Q'S FOR MY FIRST VLOG CELEBRATING MY 300TH POST! COMMENT OR EMAIL ME!]

Just Keep Swimming

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:51:00 +0000

We have $14 and rent is due on Saturday.

This is the joyous news of the day. It all started when I went to check my bank account balance and discovered that the online banking system didn't recognize my account number. I figured there must be an outage (it happens alot) so I tried to get my balance via the phone...which still didn't recognize my account number. So I talked to a person who told me my bank account had been closed.

UH WTF?!

After talking to that person's supervisor, who sent me to another department, which sent me to another department, which continued the finger pointing to yet another department, no one could tell me why my account was closed. The closest explanation I've gotten was "there are a number of reasons why your account would be closed, but I don't want to speculate".

Why should they have to speculate?! They're the ones that closed it-presumably they have a reason. Right? RIGHT?

I can only think of two reasons that the account would have closed. I was in Check Systems five years ago, which prevented me from getting a bank account for a long time, but they opened the account knowing that and it's already been open for two months. The other reason I can think of would be that something went wrong with the check I deposited from my employer (you know the work at home thing I've been doing) last Friday. Still, I've already deposited one check from them and everything went through fine. And the check from them is written on the same bank I go through-so you would think that if there was a problem they wouldn't have cashed it to begin with. Right?

I am at a total loss. We make "too much" to get rent assistance and our families are as (un)helpful as they've always been. The bank did manage to say that they would mail us whatever was left in our account after fees for our unknown transgression-in SIXTY DAYS. I just don't see how this is going to work out and I'm pretty sure my head is going to explode.

I'm just trying to keep my head above water. I'm trying to remember that so many people are living in a lot worse situations right now. I'm trying to remember that I am blessed with three beautiful children and a loving husband and we all have an amazing home life. Personally, when it comes to love, I am blessed to overflowing.

If only love really was all you need.

The Day Has Come

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:14:00 +0000

I have joined the 21st century and have finally gotten a cell phone.

It is neato cool, and I wish I could tell you more, but I'm going to back into my dark cave with my searing migraine now. I might edit this post with more details tomorrow.

So there you have it. News passed on. New Year's Resolution in tact (remember I told you not all of the posts would be good). Now I'm going to get some extra strength Tylenol and go sleepy night night time. The laptop light is burning my eyes.

Nothing Special

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:59:00 +0000

Nothing really happened. We didn't do anything big, none of the kids reached any new milestones (although The Bean has definitely perfected the art of saying "Dada" and meaning it), and I can't exactly pinpoint anything that was especially fabulous-still, we had a really good day. The kids were so great today-funny, loving, laughing, playing nicely-and I got to share that with my parents who stopped by for a visit.

Not every day is this good, and sometimes it is so easy for me to get overwhelmed in the amount of work that three small kids require that I forget how wonderful they really are. I'm glad days like this come around to remind me. I always love my family, but today Hubby and the kidlets and I just felt really close. Today was filled with hugs and snuggles, tickles and toys, laughs and a whole lot of love-even if "nothing" happened, it's been a very nice reminder of why I love being a mommy.

I hope you all had a good day.

Victoria's Real Secret

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:57:00 +0000

My last bra finally bit the dust, literally snapping in half right down the front and center. Obviously the bra was too small but it was much better than nothing and I'm waaay too cheap to just go buy a bra if I don't absolutely need one. I must face facts though-unless I want to be wearing my boobs as an anklet by the time I'm forty I MUST go buy a new bra right now. There is just one teensy-weensy (giant) problem. Where the heck can I find a bra my size? According to my measurements I am now a 40G. I have giganto boobs-and that is not nearly as good as it sounds.

The problem is this-most bra stores like Victoria's Secret do NOT carry anything over a D (a DD if you're SUPER lucky), but at the plus sized stores (ack!) they don't carry a band size smaller than 42 on a G cup bra. Oh bother.

I know what I have to do of course. As it has been nearly my whole life, people who have boobs as big as mine are either bigger around than I am or got them Pam Anderson-style. If you bought them you have the money to pay for special custom made bras. I however do not have that kind of money so I'm going to have to get a bigger band size with a smaller cup size-aka a bra that doesn't really fit me so that it can fit into my budget. I will also be forced to get a bra that is ugly and looks like something made for my Husband's 90 year old grandmother...back when she was my age. Big bras are never pretty. They come in three colors-black, white, and tan. They are purely functional in nature with no extra embellishments-kinda like a rain tarp.

Le Sigh.

Oh well, I'm off to try to find a ~~tent~~ bra....Wish me luck!

Mommy's Fabulous Find Friday:Nicolasa of Low Expectations

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0000

It's back! Fab Find Friday is back...YAY! I'm so glad to get back into the groove of featuring one of YOU, my lovely followers, each Friday. I love meeting all of you and being able to share you and your blog with everyone here. This week Random.Org has chosen my friend

Nicolasa of Low Expectations

Let's get to know her a little better, shall we....

So, tell us about yourself Nicolasa (Family/friends/pets? Career/hobbies? Fun facts? Hidden talents? Medical oddities?)...

I come from a family of 4 and am happy to report that my parents are still married and will celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary in March. My sister is 4 years younger than I am, yet we look like we could be twins. When people we don't know ask us if we are twins we sometimes lie and say yes and then run away and giggle about it.

I am married to an amazing man who co-owns a construction company. He is so handy and thanks to him we have been able to do a million projects in our house. We have a dog named Daisy who we adore and treat like our child. We also have a demon cat named Ruby who will hiss and scratch you for no reason at all, so we tell our house guests not to make eye contact with her, however, she will snuggle on her terms and her terms only!

I currently teach the 4th grade. Right now I have a love/hate relationship with my job. For the most part I love it but it is very challenging in ways that you wouldn't want a job to be challenging. I won't bore with the details because, not only do they get me riled up, they might take up this whole post. I am also working on finishing up my Masters of Education and will be done in June! WOO HOO!

For fun I love to take pictures. I have always enjoyed taking pictures but last year photography took me to another level. I feel so peaceful and zen-like when behind the lens. I hope to take a photography class sometime this summer and until then I practice my skills with my project 365. I also love to read, I always have and always will. Reading is something I grew up doing and something I won't ever stop. My favorite authors include Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah and Nicholas Sparks. Another hobby I recently picked up is quilting/sewing. I am loving it so far!
The one weird, or not-so-weird, thing on my body is my birth mark. It is on my right leg, dead center between my knee and ankle on my shin bone. It is much lighter in color than my normal skin tone. It is a little smaller than the size of a post-it note, yet oval and kind of jagged like it's a continent. I love it.

And of course everyone wants to know where we can find your writing... Low Expectations

Curious minds want to know-who and/or what inspires you to blog?

I read a lot of things out there about directing our blogs to a single certain topic or two and I am not sure I entirely agree with that... I have to say mine is just about my life... things that bring me joy, things that bring me heartache and pain, things that made me laugh. Of course, I write a lot about teaching and how I see students these days, but I also share a lot of pictures of our dog Daisy and just write about whatever flows from my head on that given day. I like to keep it real and honest and true to who I am as a person.

Please share with us your favorite posts so far!

This one is about some of the work I am doing in my classroom
Post number two will give you a look at how 2009 was for me and will give you a peek into my world
These three will show you about the man I love, my high school sweetheart

What writers (and/or bloggers) do you read regularly?

5 blogs that I read every. single. day (or when they have posts) are:
Katie at Sneaker Teacher
Amber at .{aeflikins}.
Kari at p.s. love.love
New England Girl
Laura at Life Happens

What are your future plans for your writing/blog?

I'd like to get on more of a routine schedule with my writing, just so I can utilize my time at home more wisely...Hubs says I play on the computer too much! Since I am working on my Masters and have a huge project that is coming up time will be precious. Like I said earlier, I write about what is going on with me and sometimes that makes scheduling my writing difficult because if something is bothering me then I really need to write about it.

And now, for something completely different.......

Which are cuter-puppies or kittens? Puppies for sure! How can you resist their sweet little kisses?

How long do you think you would last on Survivor? Honestly, when I first think about it I'd say about a week, but when it comes to thinking about the prize at the end I could become pretty determined to stay there so I'd bet I surprise myself and everyone else that knows me!

When I was a kid my favorite TV show was Full House because Uncle Jessie was cute! AND it was part of TGIF... remember that on Friday nights?!

What would you do with a million dollars? I bet everyone says this but, I would definitely pay off my student loans and any other debt we had and then buy a house and a new car. Oh and, go on a vacation to Aruba and put the rest in savings. Oh yeah, and I'd buy my first ever Coach handbag!

Thanks so much Mrs. M for hosting me- it's been a blast! Thank you Nicolasa for following me and for participating in Fab Friday! Now everybody~go check out our fab friend's blog and get to know her even better!

[Remember, if you want a chance to be my featured follower on Mommy's Fabulous Find Friday all you have to do is be a follower! If you choose to subscribe in a reader or bookmark my page, you'll have to make sure to leave a comment so that I can include you in the drawing.]

[Oooh, also remember my 300th-post-vlog is coming up, so ask a burning (or not so burning) question gain an entry to the giveaway and I'll answer question on video!

I Heart Conan

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:20:00 +0000

Who HASN'T wanted to do something like this to their ex-employer?

Wordless Wednesday: Helpful

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:48:00 +0000

This is one of the best reasons for Wordless Wednesday....

Since you're here though I want to remind you that I'll be doing my first ever vlog on the 29th to celebrate my 300th post! During my Vlog I will be announcing the winner for my custom spa package giveaway--so hurry over to THIS POST to leave a question for me to answer during my Vlog and gain an entry for the giveaway (your odds are good there are only TWO entries so far!).

Memories

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:19:00 +0000

I was talking (or typing, whatever) with Angela today and I mentioned that my dad's birthday is coming up on the 27th. I told her that my dad is going to be 44 this year and her reaction was "wow he's so young!" I guess that's true, though I don't think about it often. More often than not I think about how old my dad is getting.

Now before you comment-stone-me-to-death I'm not saying that 44 is old. It's just that when I think of my dad I always picture him in my head like he was when I was a little girl. My first crystal clear memories of him are from when I was about three or four and my dad was either 22 or 23...he might not be old now, but he has definitely gotten a LOT older since then.

When I was a kid my dad was a rocker. He used to wear tight t-shirts with holes in them and leather vests and jeans that were so ripped it was only the reinforced seams that held them together. My dad had long, shaggy hair and an earring (I guess he still technically does though I can't remember seeing him wear it for years). He used to drive 85 miles an hour in his 300z with the moon roof off. By the time I was 9 years old I had still never heard of Raffi but I knew all of the lyrics to Cheap Trick, Ozzy, Nirvana, Blue Oyster Cult, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, The Breeders, and Alanis Morisette. My dad was saving up for two things-a Harley-Davidson and a huge Celtic back tattoo.

Don't misunderstand me, my dad was a responsible parent. He paid his child support and drove from Arizona to Washington every other weekend for visitation. He listened to me talk, and taught me how to be well behaved, and blew bubbles with me in the yard...but he was still very young. A rock-n-roller at heart-this is still how I picture him in my head whenever I talk about him, and that's why it's so surprising every time I see him and I see how much older he is.

My dad has his Harley now and he rides it often during the summer, but he does it wearing his Levis and cowboy boots. His hair is short and is graying in a very distinguished way around his temples and in his goatee. Tired of putting contacts in and out, my dad wears his thick, oval, wire rimmed glasses nearly all the time now. He still wears t-shirts and a leather jacket-he bought them at JC Penny-but he is just as likely to wear a button down shirt. He listens mostly to jazz and country, though I've heard him break out the BOC every once in a while, and drives a big pick up when he's not on the bike.

Even more than what he wears and listens to, my dad's attitude has mellowed so much-especially since he turned forty. My dad may still go to the gym four days a week, but he also naps on the couch in the afternoons. He has gone from being weary of the word "grandpa" to actively attempting to train the children to make that be their first word. He's so much more open and affectionate now, and a lot less pig headed and grumpy (though I still wouldn't let him carry a concealed hand gun in traffic).

My dad has always been a good guy, but in the last twenty years he has grown. I suppose that's only natural of course-twenty years will change anybody. Still I will always picture him in my head as the Metallica-blaring butt rocker he once was. That's why it's so shocking to me to see him as he is now...why he seems so old-compared to how he is in my head.

I wonder if the kidlets will think of me that way. When I think about it I'm sure they will-If Monkey remembers me how I was when he was three that means I will be permanently burned into his brain at the age of 21. I'm not sure how I feel about that, though I certainly hope that he'll look back on me as fondly (and as kindly) as I look back on my dad in his youth. We all get older, and we'll all change, but what matters I think is making good memories with our loved ones no matter what stage of our lives we are in.

Friend Makin' Monday: Projecting

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:42:00 +0000

Today is Friend Makin' Monday (hi visitors from Amber's neck of the woods!) and I'm excited about the topic-projects! I think we've all thought about projects recently, what with the New Year and all, and I love hearing what everyone is up to.

I'm taking on a couple projects myself this year. My first project is my blog-I've resolved that I am going to blog every single day this year. Yep-Every. Single. Day. This is day eighteen and so far so good--but I'd be lying by omission if I didn't tell you that I've already cut it really close making several posts literally in the 11th hour. But I'm going to keep on keepin' on. I can do it! Or at least I can do my best.

This year I have also been working on work. I'm doing some work from home, hoping to make a little more money (aren't we all?). So far it's going okay-though it's definitely hard going. Hubby works at night and I'm up all night with the baby, then I'm busy with all three kids during the day while Hubby rests from work and then sleeps, so work...well I fit it in when I can. What can I say, it's a long term project.

The other project I'm undertaking is developing a real routine. A real REAL routine with like solid times and everything. Having been pregnant/had infants for the last nearly three years our routine has pretty much been "survive until bedtime" with a loose order of things (first we wake up, then we eat breakfast, then we play etc). I'd like to run a tighter ship...but you know, baby steps.

What projects are you all doing this year? Join in the Friend Makin' fun over at {aefilkins}!

Find A Cause

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:32:00 +0000

I haven't gotten any suggestions yet for good charities and/or causes to promote, so I don't have anything to pass on from yesterday's post-however I have found a really great site that might help you find a charity in your area and for a cause that you believe in. Go check out Global Giving and find out what you can do to help others!

Give A Little Bit

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:57:00 +0000

There are needs in every community, in every country, every minute of every day. Right now I think for good reason the focus for most charitable giving is disaster relief in Haiti, however after yesterday's post I felt like it would be a good idea to list some places where we can all give back within our communities if we ever find ourselves so inclined. Of course there is no absolute comprehensive list of good charities-there are many that I have not listed here which are very worthy causes-but here are a few of my personal favorite places to donate.

Good places to donate money:

St. Jude Children's Hospital
St. Jude's is a research facility and treatment center for children with chronic illnesses, and they treat all children regardless of their family's ability to pay. In these difficult economic times a hospital that helps low income families with chronically ill children is indispensable.

To A Maternity Home
There are many maternity homes in this country. For those of you who don't know, a maternity home is a place where young pregnant women with no support or resources can go. They give these young women a stable environment and help them get prenatal care, find jobs, and learn to take care of themselves and their child. They also, for those interested, help with the adoption process. You can go here to find a pretty comprehensive list of maternity homes state-by-state.

Good Places to Donate Time

Volunteer with a Foster Care Program
There are more than half a million children in the foster care system of the United States, and a fantastic way to help them is to volunteer! Especially by mentoring, you can forever affect the life of a child who probably doesn't have the love of a stable, caring adult.

Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen via The Salvation Army
The price of food has gone up. Hubby works in a grocery so I can say this with absolute fact backing me up. I can also tell you that the food given out by food pantries, while given with the best of intentions, is often (a)already expired (b)completely random food that people gave because they don't want to eat it themselves [what do you do with a can of pickled beats? Most people give them to a food pantry to get free concert tickets] and (c)something that homeless people cannot actually use [you can't cook expired hamburger helper without a stove to cook on]. Soup kitchens are absolutely vital to homeless people who truly need a hot, unexpired meal-and volunteering to help provide that meal is a priceless gift that you can give the less fortunate in your community.

Causes that Need a Voice
Sometimes we don't have money or time to give-but there is always one thing we can do-we can use our voices to support our causes. As bloggers we have an even better opportunity to spread the word about issues and causes that are important to us-here are two causes that are important to me.

Homeless Teens
For obvious reasons, this issue is close to my heart. We can never truly know how many homeless teens there are in this country because many of them are completely cut off from services, but it is estimated that there are as many as 750,000 chronically homeless minors in the streets of our nation. There are not enough services to attend to the needs of all of these homeless youth-as many as 22% of homeless teens are turned away from shelters and charities for lack of space or funding.

One of the biggest ways to help homeless teens is actually very simple-talk to your congressperson. Changing the laws so that homeless minors can obtain full time jobs and contract for living services such as rental properties and utilities can open doors for young people who are willing to work very hard but are legally barred from providing for themselves. Some states already have 'independent minor' laws in place to help remove the roadblocks to self sufficiency-check your local laws and talk to your representatives to find out more.

Joint Custody Laws
According the US Census Bureau, women are granted sole legal and physical custody in 90% of all custody cases and 70% of contested cases. From my own personal experience living with an abusive mother while my dad fought against a system that routinely adheres to the belief that "children are better off with their mother" for no other reason that pure gender bias, I can tell you that the laws regarding joint custody need to be changed. They are heading in the direction of equality-the fact that 30% of men are now winning contested custody cases is actually an improvement-but in the interests of children this process needs to go faster. Children need both a mother AND a father-this is just as true even after parents separate/divorce as it ever was. Maybe even more so.

A few states already have 'default joint custody laws' meaning that unless it can be proven to be harmful parents will be granted joint legal custody. This is an important step, and it is a step that needs to be taken farther to include default joint physical custody as well. Children with two loving parents should be able to spend equal time with both of their loving parents-talk to your representatives about the laws in your state and what you can do to help.

What charities, organizations, and causes are close to your heart? I'd love to hear about them. Because this post is so late (11pm! I'm really pushing my resolution aren't I?) instead of posting an entirely new post tomorrow I am going to post a new link to this post as well as links to YOUR favorite charities/causes-so comment here and let me know what they are and why you love them!

Cry Me a River

contact.mrsm@gmail.com (MrsM) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:29:00 +0000

Dear Crazy,

You think you can sit around and cry foul all the time-like other people are doing you wrong and all you can do is whine about it. Sure, everyone has problems sometimes and it's okay to rant a little or get a little down. Happens to all of us. But the time has come to build a bridge and get over it. Seriously.

Let me tell you about one of my biggest pet peeves-people who are full of self pity. I'm not talking about people who want an ear to listen to them talk about their bad day once in a while...I mean people like you who expect others to feel sorry for them because they believe their whole life is so much "harder" than everyone else's. The truth is everyone's life is hard-it's all a matter of perspective.

There is always someone that appears to be better off than you are, but you can't know what personal struggles they have. Sure, it's easy to not feel sympathy for someone who crashes their beamer, but try to think about where that person might be coming from. What if they had dreamed their whole life about owning that car? What if they had worked from the ground up and that car was a symbol to them of their success? What if they built that car with their dad who passed away? You never know where someone is coming from.

Let's take it one step futher-let's say that someone has had a relatively easy life. They've never really had to deal with anything difficult, but then something bad happens. Maybe they just got a traffic ticket-but to someone who has never had to deal with anything before the process of getting and paying a traffic ticket could be just as difficult any other problem-though to many people it would seem like 'no big deal'. It's all relative.

Now let's look at things from another perspective. I don't care WHO you are or WHAT has happened to you, there is always someone who has it worse. ALWAYS. I have been homeless. At one point in my life I was sleeping on the bus during the day and spending the few dollars I had on a soda so that I would be allowed to sit in a booth at Denny's all night where it was safe and warm. I have gone weeks living off the water in drinking fountains and not sleeping because there was no place safe to lay my head and you know what? I don't allow people to feel sorry for me, I have never been sorry for myself, and I still don't feel any pity for my previous situation. There were people who had it a lot worse than I did. I wasn't being abused. I didn't have a mental or physical disability that prevented me from working to better my situation. I didn't feel forced into drugs, prostitution, or gang life to survive. When I needed it most there were always kind strangers who were willing to help how they could-like the waitress who noticed me sleeping on the bus and brought me to work with her to feed me kitchen leftovers. I had occasional work, and I was grateful for the $50 a week I had when I had it-some people didn't even have that, so I shared what I had with those who had less.

That's the real trick to avoiding self pity-find someone who needs your help and give what you are able. Find that person who makes less than you do, or doesn't have a home, or is another survivor of something you have gone through and help them in any way you can. You might be surprised to realize that you are not only helping them but you are also healing your own wounds. Also, appreciate what you have. REALLY appreciate it. True you don't have x, y, z that you feel you should but what DO you have? A loving husband? Beautiful children? Wise parents? An iron will and personal strength? A loving God? No one has nothing. Reflect on the good that is in your life, and give of that good to those who have less-then you will find your self pity mysteriously missing and you will be a stronger person for it.

Still, in the end if you can't get over yourself and do something besides whine about how "hard" your life is I really don't want to hear from you. Call me back when you realize that you have the same pants to get glad in.

MrsM