Can You Hear the People Sing

Did you know that Arizona was the 48 state to enter the union? That it became a state on Valentine's Day? Did you know that Wyatt Earp's Great Grand Nephew looks exactly like him? Did you know that all houses were adobe in Arizona until the railroad was brought in and with it lumber to build houses? Did you know that a senator from Minnesota 98 years ago did not want Arizona to become a state in the union because he said "all they got is Mormons and Mexicans?" I didn't know any of these things until last Saturday when we went to Pioneer Village for a performance of mine. It is a 28000 acre recreated village from Arizona at the turn of the century.

We learned a lot that day...

1. When you are singing on risers and end up on the back row, you really need to pay attention to the drop behind you.

2. Don't refer to the likeness of Wyatt Earp's nephew as creepy during his leading of the pledge of allegiance and the Arizona State Proclamation. Both the nephew and the microphones are sensitive.

3. When your son says "look mom, she looks like Sacajawea," don't think American History is being taught younger, be grateful for the $8 you spent to see Night at the Museum three years ago.

4. When a miner hands each of your children a bag of gold, tell them it's probably not real gold before they try to spend it at the gift shop.

5. When a pioneer teaches you how to knit off of a spool and says that children a hundred years ago did it for fun, don't believe her...it's not.

6. Penmanship was better and more fancy a hundred years ago because there was nothing else to do. It was knit or write pretty.

7. Homes were a lot smaller a hundred years ago. A three bedroom, 800 square foot house house held 6 people and still had a parlor for the piano. I probably don't really need much more when I think about it.

8. Wildlife is a lot closer to us than we probably want to admit. Like the mountain lion that lives on the mountain next to us, or the bats the we catch glimpses of in the car headlights at night, or the scorpions that scale the stucco beams on the front porch.

9. DO NOT stand too close to the pig pen, it is a decision that will cost you a shot of pig poo and mud to the eye, cheek, mouth and shirt.

10. I am so grateful I was born in the 20th century and not the 19th. I was not cut out to be a farm girl, or live off the land with the animals. If anyone doubts this, please refer to the incident in number 9.

Wasting Time...

Pick the month you were born:

January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March--------I karate chopped
April----------I licked
May----------I jumped on
June----------I smelled
July-----------I did the Macarena With
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7-------my mobile phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbour
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------ - a smurf
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a homeless guy
31-------a llama

What is the last number of the year you were born:
1--------- In my car
2 --------- On your car
3 ----------- In a hole
4 ----------- Under your bed
5 ----------- Riding a Motorcycle
6 --------- sliding down a hill
7 --------- in an elevator
8---------- at the dinner table
9 -------- In line at the bank
0 -------- in your bathroom

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:

White---------because I'm cool like that
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink-----------because I'm NOT crazy.
Red-----------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple---------because I'm AWESOME!
Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange--------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown---------because I can.Other----------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself

Now type out the sentence you made and post it in the comments below

Good Night My Angel

I am by nature, not a cuddle machine. It is a flaw that drives my husband, who is by nature a cuddler, insane. I can't help it, I enjoy my space. Unlike a cow in the chute of a slaughterhouse, when pressure is applied to me, most often in the form of a hug, it neither calms me down, nor soothes me. So imagine my dismay when sometimes all three of the kids end up in my bed on any given night. I often wake up to a foot in my rib or a hand on my face. But most nights I find Reagan in the crook of my arm about 3:00am. I have finally gone on strike. Nathan wants his wife back, and I want my bed back.

So we hatched a plan. We believed it to be fool proof. It was only going to take a few days...we would put Reagan in with Caitlyn and then Reagan would have someone to sleep with, and Caitlyn wouldn't be scared - because someone else would be in her room with her. No more tears and a full night's rest, is there anything better?

Well a few days has turned into a few weeks, and things are not going according to plan. We have had to take shifts laying down in the girls room getting them to fall asleep, Nathan has taken the last few nights, and well, laying down turned into sleeping there. Tonight, I went to check on them and found Reagan's new cuddle buddy. So much for plans...

When You Wish Upon A Star...

When we found out that we were pregnant with Reagan, we decided not to find out what we were having. I wanted that magical moment in the delivery room when they hand your beautiful baby to you and say "here is your little..." Needless to say our magical moment in the delivery room wasn't exactly magical. In fact it wasn't even in the delivery room, we never actually made it there. Our magical moment occurred in a hallway when they cut Reagan out of my pant leg. I asked what we had just before I fainted from the pain of childbirth.

So here we are now two years later, and that little baby who rushed her way into this world, is still on the go. Her "art work" adorns the walls in the hallway and up the stairs. Her babies and "melmo" are "riding" in every stroller, car, shopping cart, and inchworm that is mobile. The teak table is covered in bubble juice, and the porch resembles the beach, a result of her frog sandbox sharing it's contents. My floors are covered in mashed strawberries, and her face is a mesh of crackers and juice. That is, when it is not beatified with $20 lipstick and blush from my make up bag. I have gone through three tubes of mascara this month. The dogs have a hearty diet of corn dog left overs and carrot sticks for lunch, they have gained 10 pounds each. There are days I think she may make me lose -my- mind. But then she says "Hi mom, lub you." Some day I know I will miss all of the chaos created by this little whirl wind of girl. Today, I will try to enjoy it.