The Manly Smell of Christmas

Yesterday morning there was a little bit of this happening at my house

Followed by hugs like this one - when Thomas opened his gift from Katarina 

After I opened this book, I did not want to put it down. Katarina caught me reading it while I was supposed to be watching Thomas open a present.

This was probably the best box of the morning

But I'm not sure if Katarina was very impressed by the manly smell of manliness. 

(that is the deodorant lid in his mouth - not a giant pacifier)

The rest of the day we had family time (cuddling - watching movies and reading) and talked with far away friends.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas!

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Kissing Problems at Rosemount Pep Rally

Rosemount High School had a pep rally earlier this month. Athletes were lined up, blindfolded, and told each of them would be kissed by another student. Instead, once those blindfolds were on, the athlete's parents came out to do the kissing. This is a video from the event...

I honestly would not have been okay with students being blindfolded and kissed by other students they did not specifically consent to kiss. There are some serious flaws with that plan.

But this? These parent's kisses? Inappropriate on a whole new level.

Especially the mom in the green shirt starting at second 29 - the one who takes her son's hand, and places it on her butt.

The principal, John Wollersheim, said this is a clip taken from an activity that went on for nearly half an hour. It is just a portion of what happened.

As if it should matter to us that before blindfolded students were kissed inappropriately by their parents in the school gym, they were able to listen to the band play the fight song and watch some cheerleaders dance.

What do you think about this pep rally activity - inappropriate or silly fun? 

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Menopause Is Calling Me

There is something wrong with my tongue. You know the feeling when you drink something too hot, and it burns a spot on your tongue, feeling weird for a couple of hours? My entire tongue has felt like that for four days.

This makes eating so much fun.

Except for ice cream. Ice cream isn't too bad.

Last night I turned to Dr. Internet for answers (that worked so well the last time I tried it).

I now know about all of the interesting, and by interesting I mean gross, tongue conditions that are possible:

• Hairy Leukoplakia
• Hairy Tongue
• Black Hairy Tongue (for the first time in my life, I find myself being thankful my tongue doesn't have hair growing on it)
• Geographic Tongue (with my directional skills, I'm pretty sure I don't have any condition with the word "geographic" in it)
• Burning Tongue Syndrome

The last one had possibilities, and no mention of hair, so I decided to do more research.

Burning Tongue Syndrome.
I read the information quickly. There was a lot of stuff about nerve damage and cutting out stress, and then I saw it...

"After menopause, some women have a sudden feeling that their tongue has been burned. This is called burning tongue syndrome."

I have menopause. Clearly this is the answer, because going through menopause at 28 is exactly what I need in my life.

I told Thomas about my self-diagnosis. We had a good laugh, and I ate a cup of ice before going to bed.

When I woke up this morning, my tongue was still burning. I turned on the computer to find a notification email from twitter. During the night, I had been followed by @DONTmenoPAUSE - "a natural menopause supplement helping and relieving menopause symptoms."

Apparently menopause is calling me.

I'm not answering, because I'm too busy eating another bowl of ice cream...for medical purposes.

*I have no idea if DONTmenoPAUSE works, or not. This mention is in no way an endorsement or recommendation. I am only relaying the sick joke that the universe is playing on me - not dispensing medical advice or information.

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If You Teach A Kid How To Write

If you teach a kid how to write, she will want to write all day - notes, and stories, lists, and things she can't just say.

If you let a kid write, and write, and write, it won't be long before - she notices you like to type and wants to learn some more.

If you teach a kid how to type, she will want to type all day - emails, games, fun, and homework; typing all the way.

If you let a kid type, and type, and type, it won't be long before - she notices you like to blog; that's what your typing is for.

If you teach a kid how to blog, she will want to blog all day - stories, book reviews, lists, and more; so many things she wants to say.

If you let a kid start to blog and blog and blog, very soon you will observe - she wants to type and blog and write; all the words she can preserve.

Katarina writing her first blog post

As my little story suggested, Katarina has entered the blogging world! 

At this moment, I feel like this blogging and writing thing (which has touched my life so much in the last few years) has really come full circle. 

*shout out to Laura Numeroff for figuring out what will happen If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. All the time spent reading with Katarina when she was little has touched my writing today.  

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My Husband is Off Work Today....Yay?

When Thomas is home for the day, he never:

• renames Katarina's stuffed animals.
• folds all the blankets differently.
• eats all our snack food.
• reorganizes....everything.
• watches movies like Pan's Labyrinth.
• claims that Pan's Labyrinth is a kid's movie.
• claims Young Guns is educational, and Blair Witch Project is okay for Katarina to watch because there are no monsters in it.
• rearranges the Christmas cards on the door.
• eats all our candy.
• asks me to explain things on the computer.
• reads the first 25 pages of the Hobbit (again).
• makes us watch shows, like Weird True and Freaky, with real videos of alligators biting off people's arms.
• changes clothes three times.
• sprays perfume on everyone...and everything.
• offers suggestions for my hairstyle (and tries to give Katarina a ponytail).
• makes us watch Rush videos from the 80s, while sharing trivia valuable information about every band member and song.
• asks me to update his facebook status because he likes the way my typing sounds.
• has a contest with Katarina to see who can make the best fake puking noises.
• talks while we are trying to read.
• asks me to trim his toenails.

....and at the end of the day after not doing all of these things, 

he NEVER sleeps with my box of cookies.....

So, Thomas was off work today...how was your Monday?

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