Can Calgon Really Take You Away?

Not really an age-old question, but a good question just the same.

Can Calgon really take you away?

Sometimes, one just needs to get away and be by themselves for some quiet, calming time.

If you are like me, you slip off to the bathroom for a hot bath or a hot shower (I'd love to say long hot shower or bath but that's just crazy talking) only to be interrupted every 10-30 seconds with reports, tattles, whines, complaints, requests, announcements, etc. My interruptions often sound something like this (make sure to read these comments with a long, whiney drawn out Texas accent OR imagine it in a yell), "Mom, Brother just called me poopooshutupbutt." or "Mom, Sister is making me be like her slave." or "Mom, someone just called you. I told them you were naked!" There are way more, but I won't bore you with them. I think you get the idea. This kind of shower or bath is not what I would consider to be the Calgon taking you away type.

Tonight, there was great need for Calgon to take someone (me) away. Usually I announce this event and try to get the kids to understand that I need them to avoid burning the house down or painting each other, but this evening I just snuck off without saying a word. The whole time I'm in the shower I kept waiting for the intrusions. There were a couple of times that I think I even imagined their little voices calling me. Low and behold, I finished my shower and realized that a record had been set! I took about a 10 minute shower with NO interruptions. Count them...NONE! NADA! ZERO! ZIPPITY DO DA! What's even better than that? The house was not destroyed (any more than normal that is) after that 10 minutes.

So to answer the question early asked, can Calgon really take you away? My answer today would be...

YES...if Wii Mario Cart is played...and if two out of three are sick and feeling not quite themselves...and if new movies are available for viewing...and if all the planets are perfectly aligned.

Thank you Calgon!

Ella & Brennan's "Real" Party at Chuck E. Cheese

Okay, so how many of you feel like the birthdays are never ending? Oh, so it's just me then? Anyway, here's a slideshow from Ella & Brennan's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. There were about 27 kids at the party and I hope we got pictures of everyone. My sister, Chelle, was kind enough to take pictures while I was being social.

Now, for the last time this go around...Happy Birthday Ella & Brennan!

Happy 5th Birthday Ella!

Ella and Brennan have been having fun being four years old together for the past three days, but today Ella turned 5. Being the resident "Drama Queen" she went hysterical when I told her I had a doctor's appointment this morning. The wailing sounded something like, "It's my birthday! You'll miss it! What about my pancakes!?! Waaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" She calmed down a little when I told her I'd only be gone a few hours first thing in the morning and that Nana was coming over to make her pancakes for breakfast. Nana made some ginormous (Anna's new word that she enjoys telling me is now an actual real word according to the dictionary) pancakes. I had about half of one when I got back from my appointment. The kids spent most of the day playing with a neighbor friend. They spent time riding ripsticks, scooters, a razor and playing the wii. After Brennan had a nap we got ready and went to see The Tale of Despereaux. After the movie Ella kept saying that we missed her birthday cake. Nana to the rescue again. Once we got to my mom's house Ella helped put her birthday cake together. We sang happy birthday. She blew out the candles. All three of the kids are now outside playing with the candles and fire. What is it about nanas that they let their grandkids do things their kids weren't even allowed to do? I guess they just love them more! Check out my mom's blog for some pictures of the pyromaniacs and their nana. Even though Ella opened all her birthday presents on Brennan's birthday, she still wants to know if she'll have any to open when she gets home. What is that called...being a child of excess...caused by parents overindulgence...yep I think it is. Anyway, she'll have a little to open. A new toothbrush, Tinkerbell body spray, and some candy. She'll love all of it and ooh and aah appropriately because she's my Ella and that's what she does. 

Happy Birthday Ella!

Happy 4th Birthday Brennan!

December 28, 2004, just three days after that great white Christmas, Brennan was born. Today was his fourth birthday. Earlier this week Brennan (and Ella but I'll get to her in a couple of days) received several cards wishing him a happy birthday. He also received early birthday presents from Grandma and Grandpa Greene when they visited in November. Ella and I started off the day singing Happy Birthday to Brennan. Then I told him I would make him whatever he wanted for breakfast. What did he want you ask? Macaroni and cheese. What did he get you ask? Macaroni and cheese. He and Anna ate that while Ella and I chose oatmeal. I told Brennan that I was going to make him a walnut banana cake with cream cheese frosting. He said he didn't want that kind of cake. He wanted a strawberry cake. Thankfully, I had all the ingredients to make his cake wish come true. After breakfast I let them open their gift. Since Ella's birthday is three days after Brennan's birthday, I let her open her gift to. The other reason I let her open it was because they were receiving the same gifts. Plasma cars! They were very excited until they realized I couldn't get them put together. We had to wait until later in the afternoon when my uncle could put them together for me. They were all pretty happy to play with the wii until I was ready for church. At church, Ella told everyone that would listen that it was Brennan's birthday. She would say, "Today is my brother's birthday. He's four. I'm four too." It would take them a second before they realized what she was saying and it took each person by surprise. They thought she was mistaken. She's not mistaken. Each year, Ella and Brennan are the same age for three day and they love that. When we were through with church we went over to my mom's. We ate butter beans, spinach salad, rolls and of course...strawberry birthday cake. My uncle managed to get the plasma cars together. Brennan got a Thomas the Train DVD and a remote control car from my mom. As I'm blogging all three of the kids have figured out how to make it run along the hoola hoop and are playing very happy together. What a rare occasion!

This morning I held Brennan like a baby and said, "I can't believe that four years ago you were saying goo-goo, ga-ga." He was pretty tickled with that. Although he claims he's not my baby, I continue to assure him that he will always be my baby.

**Revision: Right before I put the two little ones to bed tonight I remembered the gifts that were sent from Jon's brother, Brad and his wife Erica. The kids loved the monogrammed backpacks.**

Happy Birthday Brennan!

Princess Needs Pepto-Bismol

Driving over to my mom's to print up some letters (my printer is broken) I stopped off to get the mail. There was a Netflix movie!! Yeah-I instantly had some incentive for the kids (at least two of them) to take a nap. Opening up the envelope I found the movie, Robots. I told Brennan, "Hey, guess what? After your nap I have the movie Robots for." He was happy about that. Ella said, "What movie do you have for me?" You see, usually we have at least 2 and sometimes even 3 movies and I try to rotate them between the kids likes and dislikes. I told Ella, "Robots is all we have today." Brennan turned to Ella and said, "Maybe you can get Princess Diarrheas." 

Christmas Day

As with every day, there is an enormous hole in our lives that can't be filled with presents, food, family or friends. Jon was missed as much on Christmas Day as he has been missed every day that he's been gone. Even though it was our first Christmas without him, Christmas at the Greene house was quite merry.

I Just THOUGHT The Pistacio Incident Was Embarrassing!

Imagine...Christmas Eve, shopping for last minute items...with a three year old...standing in line at the photo center of Walgreens...visiting with an acquaintance...three year old hanging on to you...wiggling...hanging on...asking for Sonic The Hedgehog Christmas video...wiggling...hanging on...oops...there go the elastic waist shorts (mine, not his!!) down...down...down. Amazingly, graciously, thankfully, my hands weren't too full and I could yank them up quickly before too many people saw my behind. Before you go thinking, "Well, it couldn't have been that bad." think again. The shorts didn't just fall a little and of course I couldn't have been wearing one of my long old t-shirts. No, today's shirt wasn't one of those. My acquaintance didn't even try to make me feel better. Her comment, through her laughter, "Oh, I know you're embarrassed, but you've just made my day. I won't use your name when I retell your story!" The man behind me was left speechless.

By the way, can you give a three year old Ambien? The Bren man just dozed off and that is why I'm still awake at nearly one o'clock in the morning. I tried to explain to him that Santa wouldn't come if he was still awake. His reply, "I don't want any toys...oh, never mind...I was just kidding...uhhhh...I want to talk to Santa...can we call him?"