Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The bun in the oven

Well, now that its becoming common knowledge I thought I'd better post it here and let the rest of the world in on it....

John and I have a bun in the oven. :O)

Its 9 weeks and 3 days old today and about the size of a grape. Due on 12/1/2008...A thanksgiving baby!

We actually found out on April Fools day and posted it here, but nobody believed us. HAHAHA.

I started a new blog that day called Baby Chuckleheads and you can find it here if you are interested in the baby drama: http://babychucklehead.blogspot.com/

Woohoo!!

We've told our families for the most part...or they should be getting the notice really soon. We had planned on waiting a little while longer, but the cat got let out of the bag sooner than expected so here we are making the big announcement!

Anyhow...yeah for us! We've got a BABY coming!!!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Our version of the idol show...

Miss 17-year old superstar tried out for the Portland Teen Idol contest. She did really great. Made it all the way to the top 25. I guess there were a couple of hundred kids that tried out so to be in the top 25 is really a great honor...

We went and watched her sing last night...unfortunately we couldn't stay for the whole show...it started at 6:30 and went for 4 hours and we had the little kids.

We did stay for the first half and watched her sing one of the two songs she would perform. She did FANTASTIC. She was animated and had a great stage presence and her voice is beautiful. We were really proud of her.

Unfortunately she didn't make the cut to the top 10...The top 10 do a whole summer tour thing...but she has next year and I think she's taking this as having been a really great experience overall.

Congratulations Lexi Loo! We are so proud of you!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Get excited...its on its way

I worked on the UniViper video last night. Its HILARIOUS....well, at least I think its hilarious. Last steps are to put the music to the video. You will all be amazed.

I'm just getting you all excited for the big day when its finished and I can post it on here...lets just say its the stuff that continues to be talked about for years to come.

Plus - what do you get for the birthday of Grandpa Johnnie whose got everything? You make a crazy video reenactment of the univiper story...thats what.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Gay T-Shirt Poker Night

A monthly event - Mr. C goes out to play poker with some of his Army buddies... Because Mr. C dared wear a Donnie Wahlberg NKOTB t-shirt last month they declared this month to be gay t-shirt poker night.

I couldn't resist taking these photos as he tried on my t-shirts for his various outfits.

Believe it or not...he claims he was UNDERDRESSED for the event!!



SNOW in April in Oregon?



Thursday, April 17, 2008

Cat and squirrel game

I've been working all day long here in my home office. Its been a busy last few days and I'm pretty exhausted right now. My break times today were spent staring out the window and watching the neighborhood cats and my friendly backyard squirrel.

Just as a sidetrack...I really need to come up with a name for this squirrel. Its so amusing to watch and I know its the same one because he has a routine. Its the fattest squirrel you've ever seen too.

So, anyhow...the neighborhood cats like to prowl around and stalk this squirrel but he's too smart for them. Really, in my mind, I like to think that he's playing a little game with them. He comes down the tree and munches on things on the ground while they are far enough away...

They come creeping closer and he goes 1/2 way up the tree. By the time they are close to the tree he's teasing them by dangling from branches and appearing to have near miss falls where he'll catch himself just at the right time.

Its making the neighborhood cats neurotic and (I'm sad to say) is a highlight of my day now. I love watching this darn squirrel get the best of them.

Today, the squirrel actuall drops a tree blossom on the head of the cat and it swatted at it. FUNNY.

Is it sounding like I need more stimulation during my day?! :)

Monday, April 14, 2008

Nachoooooo #2

I finally got it to work.

Uni-Viper

We've now got a snaggletooth. Poor little chortle took a tumble on his scooter and broke his two front teeth. Yes, the PERMANENT teeth.

It took an emergency weekend trip to the dentist to get it sealed since the nerves were exposed and he's sitting back in the dental chair today to get the right tooth fixed. He's also got a big fat lip about the size of a hotdog. Poor kid. He says it doesn't hurt anymore, but feels weird to feel the sharp teeth in front.

The best part...before leaving for the dentist today he said, "Hey! When I get home I'll be a uni-viper! I'll have one sharp pointy tooth!"

For anyone unfamiliar with the univiper story its a Grandpa Johnnie classic full of terror and horror at the one-fanged viper that bit him when I was a kid and punctured a single hole in his thumb and caused it to turn black. A favorite for storytelling time with Chortle and Little Giggle, he is REALLY excited that he gets to BE a univiper.

Watch for an upcoming video of the univiper reenactment featuring Mr. C and Chortle later this evening as a special skit for Family Home Evening.


Saturday, April 12, 2008

Bzzzzzzzzzzz

Weather in Portland today is sunny and 80 degrees.

Almost too hot to play outside. It was glorious...flowers busting open, birds chirping and bees humming.

Little giggle got a "bee sting"...she just got soo worked up over bees flying around her that she imagined a bee sting on her thumb. She showed it to us....we couldn't see anything so into the bathroom to clean her and and put on a bandaid and she hands us her other hand...

Mr. C - "Thats not the thumb you showed me before."

LG - "Its not?"

Mr. C - "No, maybe you didn't really get a bee sting?"

Switches hands quickly and holds out thumb...

LG - "Oh yeeeaaaaaaaahhhhh...it WAS this thumb. I forgot."

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Real life just slammed me in the face...

Real life just slammed me in the face today...

1. What is it with kids these days? I sent at least 3 reminders to Gag about calling her dad on his birthday...we had it all planned she was calling in the AM with chortle and little giggle so they didn't have to leave a message and could actually talk to him...and its now been a full day AFTER his birthday and we have yet to hear anything from her. Not even a voice mail.

He feels awful.

It makes me so mad.

At 17 and 1/2 you should be able to think about other people, right? I want to say something to her, but it won't be very nice....so I better keep my mouth shut...isn't that how that saying goes? If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all?

How about if I just leave her a message on MySpace checking in to see if her busy life has settled down enough to be able to wish her dad a happy birthday this century? Or maybe I can post it on my page under the folder, PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO THINK ABOUT ANYONE BUT THEMSELVES...or maybe I'll just keep my mouth shut....

2. Gag's madre....Cruella DeVille...is whining about how she has "extended the olive branch" and why can't we all be friends...

I'm so confused...was it just last week I wrote about the pictures on her MySpace page? Was it just a couple of months ago that she told Mr. C that if "that woman ever comes near her or her children she'll...."

Well....I guess my old brain is falling apart because according to HER she has done nothing but go out of her way to make it easy for us....she even said in her email that she has no longer been "trying to make things difficult for our relationship." Well, not only do I take that as admission of guilt in that area, but she makes all these comments due to the fact that she has found someone else...Her new boyfriend has apparently made life blissful for her. Now she wants to sit together at concerts and sporting events. She wants to be more friendly and be invited into our house and have herself invited into ours. UGH...I'm getting sick just thinking about it.

My response....No thanks, Cruella. As soon as your boyfriend dumps you (heaven forbid) it will be back to the old times...I'd much rather just not having anything to do with you at all....

Am I being petty? Am I making the wrong decision? Should I actually try to have a FRIENDSHIP of sorts with Cruella DeVille? (She kills little dalmations for a fur coat....is that what I want in my life?)

Real life sucks some days....I want to throw my 17 and 1/2 year old stepdaughter over my knee and spank her and I want to throw up on her mother...

I need another vacation.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Happy 40th Birthday!

Mr. C is 40 years old today! Wooooohooooo! We are still in Arizona so we celebrated last night with Ray/Steph and family and friend.

Army guys on the cake were Johnnie's idea...it was a perfect addition to the Lemon Mousse Cake!
Getting ready for presents!
Notice everyone is wearing black?
Happy Birthday Uncle John says Lizzie!
We sat around outside and ate the yummy dinner Stephanie made.
Ray cooked up a delicious BBQ!
We all went geocaching and found 3 caches in the dark!
Silly String spray is a must for Birthdays!
Thats right...40 years old is older than dirt.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Frontier Days

Proud to be an American!
Riata Ranch Girls showing off.
The grand finale.
Mr. C on a ride?! This one didn't make him sick at least!
Up on the ferris wheel.

What NOT to wear

Three simple rules for all women to follow:

1. Belly shirts are a bad idea at any time, however, old women wearing a belly shirt is like a double thumbs down.

2. Its great to wear a belt, but please be sure to loop all the loops. Ask your husband to double check your work if needed.

3. I abhor the "show your underwear" trend thats been going on, but I've never seen it displayed with light blue granny panties. I just don't think this works.

Photograph courtesy of Mr. Chucklehead taken this weekend at Sierra Vista Frontier Days.

Thoughts on Sierra Vista

Well, we've been here a couple of days now...

I thought it would be like Beaverton...my brother told me it would be like Ontario. I think its a little like Madras or Bend. Its a nice city. Its small...you can drive around the whole thing in less than an hour. The base surrounds it...there are basically three main roads that go through it.

We went to the seedy part of town....it was pretty scary looking. :)

Its not been too hot...80 degrees...this is their spring...and they say they get all 4 seasons and the hottest is about 100 degrees.

We did sit in a realtors office yesterday and checked out his "bugs in formaldehyde" collection. Ewwwwwwwwwww....they were all "local critters" that he'd found on his property...a scorpion, a gigantic spider, a tarantula, an enormous centipede...they say that the houses and complexes that back up into the desert have the worst of it with bugs like this.

We're living in the middle of town. :)

We drove out to Bisbee yesterday. LOVED the old town. I had no idea it was so cool looking...this mining town that goes straight up the side of the hill...narrow streets and a very eclectic group of shops.

We "saw" mexico from a distance, but probably won't be going there this trip.

We drove through Tombstone...not as exciting, but I did at least see boot hill. :) We've decided thats a later date saturday trip back to watch the gun fights and all that.

Overall...its a nice place to live. I'm excited to be coming here for a longer stay sometime soon.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Crappy showers

I've stayed in Army lodging a few times and have never been impressed, but the shower today takes the cake.

First its a light mist that barely wets my hair and body...so I mess with the showerhead trying to get a stronger spray...

out shoots the hardest stream of water...it was like a knife...or an icepick because it was so thin and hard...battered my poor body.

I had to holler for Mr. C to fix it...luckily he got it back to the fine mist.

Crappy showers do NOT help me with having a great day.

Grump!

Friday, April 04, 2008

Nachooooooooooooooo

Mr. C and I are in Arizona right now...checking out the potential new housing situation. We stayed last night with my brother and his family. What a beautiful family! It was so much fun to see them all.

Mr. C wowed the little ones with his magic trick (he can take his finger off!), got up at 5:30 to play b-ball with 10 yr old Johnnie and Uncle Ray where he earned the nickname chonchito....AND we went geocaching...all within about a 14 hour time period!

While there we discovered that they love the movie Nacho Libre as much as we do and if I could ever get the video to post I'd show you the cutest video of Little Lizzie singing the Incarnacion song.

Until then...

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

April Fools

Wide awake

Couldn't sleep...

Found this survey...

50 QUIRKS ABOUT ME

1.Initials:
ADL

2.Name someone with the same birthday as you:
Rick Springfield

3.Last thing you ate:
Cabbage soup

4.Someone you'd like to meet:
Oprah

5.I say Shotgun! You say?
Wedding?

6.Last person you hugged?
My husband

7.Do you believe in God?
Definately

8. How many U.S. states have you been to?
Thirty-Two

9. How many of the U.S. states have you lived in:
Four

10.Ever lived outside of the US:
Yes - Italy and Switzerland

11. Name something you like physically about yourself:
My eyes

12. Something non-physical you like about yourself:
Ability to organize and delegate. :)

13.Who is your best friend(s)?
My husband and stephiloulou and you.

14.Why are you still up?
I can't sleep...its awful...can't sleep...need sleep....

15. Who made you angry today?
Nobody

16.Favorite type of Food?:
Italiano

17.Favorite holiday:
CHRISTMAS!

18.Do you download music:
errr...not really? Who cares?

19. What illegal things have you done?
Any enumeration on my illegal activities would be self incriminating. I plead the 5th. Besides...I hear my mom reads this.

20. Would you date the person that posted this?
Yeah...I think I'm hot.

21. What is your wildest dream?
Whirled peas


22.Do you love anyone?
Oh yeah...lots of anyones.

23.Do you like Bush:
As in George I, George II or Barbara or another one of them? I'll skip the answer to this as its probably not flattering to any of them and say that I like sea animals a lot.

24. Have you ever bungee jumped:
Heck no...too close to the ground for me. I'd rather skydive.

25.Have you ever gone white-water rafting:
Unfortunately not. Only tubing....but family o mine...do you remember that tubing trip we took? maybe it was just Sarah, dad and me...and we went over that WATERFALL cuz the guy didn't tell us when to pull out? I consider that white water innertube rafting.

26. How much money ya got?
I got a dollar.

27.Have you met a real redneck?
I'm married to one. Whoops...did I say that with my outside voice? (just kidding) The real answer is YES. I grew up in Vale, Oregon...every one of my childhood crushes could be considered a "real" redneck.

27.How is the weather right now:
Its pitch black outside...no clue

29.What are you listening to right now:
the clock ticking

30.What is your current fav song:
Right Stuff - NKOTB

31.What was the last movie you watched?
LittleMan...don't even ask...soooo stupid.

32.Do you wear contacts?
No

33.Where was the last place you went besides your house?
Salem for work.

34.What are you afraid of?:
spiders

35.How many piercings and tattoo's do you have?:
two pierced ears and thats all.

36.How many pets do you have:
zippo...I have stepchildren...do they count?

37.Have you ever loved someone:
Uh - yeah...didn't they already ask this question?

39.What turns you on?
cold feet.

40.What do you usually order from Starbucks?
Double tall latter frappucino with skim milk, two shots of hazelnut in a grande supertall mocha. (Can you hear the sarcasm? I don't drink coffee and I don't like starbucks.)

41.Have you ever fired a gun:
Yes.

42.Favorite TV show?
CSI

43.Do you have an ipod?:
I own an MP3 player not of the IPOD brand.

44. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb?
Yes. Brittney Spears. We have the same outfits.

45. Do you like Michael Jackson?
Hey...Billie Jean...not my lover.

46.Who would you like to see right now?
My husband.

47.Favorite movie of all time?
Sneakers

48. Do you find yourself loved?:
They keep asking these kinds of questions I'm going to start to feel insecure.

49.Have you ever regretted something you didn't do?
yes...and something I did do too.


50.Favorite flower:
Tulip.