Complaining

Liam has only been sick a handful of times, but 100% of the time he gets sick on a Wednesday. Yesterday he came down with his fourth or fifth cold, and I’m wondering how coincidental it is that Wednesday comes three days after he goes to nursery.

This should make me happy that Liam doesn't go to daycare or preschool or have any friends, but instead I'm just feeling bitter.

Just Wondering

Do you think that when Johnny Depp goes to a Halloween party, he dresses up like Jack Sparrow? And if he goes to a Halloween party with Orlando Bloom, do you think they both go as pirates or do you think Orlando goes as Legolas?

I hope Orlando goes as Legolas.

Tall, Tall, Really Tall

Remember my nephew, Jacob? He’s hoping to be a rock star someday, so his dad took him to the recording studio to see what the little guy could do. Jacob came up with this fabulous rendition of “Once There Was a Snowman,” which Liam has listened to no less than 200 times in the last 24 hours.



Liam stands here staring at the computer screen with a huge grin on his face, and as soon as the song is over he says, “Again!”

Is it just Liam, or do all two-year-olds worship five-year-olds?

Hoping I Live to Be 240 Years Old

When Ben and I got married, we decided to start saving all of our loose change and storing it in a bucket. We called the bucket our “Europe Fund” and hoped that someday we would have enough money for a trip to Europe.

Today I decided it was time to cash in the Europe Fund so we could get an idea of how long we’re going to have to save our pennies before we plan our trip. Do you want to guess how much five years’ worth of loose change adds up to?

$71.04.

Seriously? A bucket of coins that probably weighs 40 pounds is only worth $71.04? I guess this means we’ll be able to go to Europe in just over 211 years.

My Version of Heaven

My favorite thing about hosting Book Club is that when it’s over, I’m left with extra treats and a clean house.

Experimenting with Red

I read somewhere that almost anyone could be a redhead, and that I just had to find the right shade of red for my skin. After my last two attempts, though, I was pretty convinced that no shade of red would ever be right for me. My skin was too pink, I decided. I was destined to be a brunette for the rest of my life.

I gave it one last chance yesterday, and I think I might have found my color. I call it “darker, more subtle red with black underneath.” Liam calls it "black and o-jange." Ben thinks it's hot, and that's really all that matters.

Now if I could just figure out what to do with all of these bangs…

New Year's Resolutions

1. Exercise three times per week. Last year’s no sugar on weekdays resolution didn’t really help, so it’s time to get serious about exercise. Maybe three times a week doesn’t sound serious, but it’s about 250% more than I’m doing now, so cut me some slack.
2. Wake up before 8:00 a.m. How come Ben can function on six hours of sleep, but I need eight or nine? I should treasure my alone time before Liam wakes up—not sleep it away. Plus, what better time to exercise than when Liam’s sleeping?
3. Pay my bills on time. Do you think the fact that I pay the bills late every month is affecting my credit score? I would hate to hurt my precious credit score.

Wish me luck!

10 Cool Things About My Christmas Vacation

1. Liam fell off the bed in our hotel room on the way to Colorado. It didn’t matter that we had put huge pillows all down the sides of the bed. He fell off the bottom. That’s good news for us because we can feel less guilty about keeping him in a crib until he starts Kindergarten.
2. Liam had lots of fun hanging out with his favorite cousin, Tyson.


3. Ben got to play Rock Band all day, every day.
4. Since he stayed home playing video games, I got to go shopping with the girls every day.
5. Liam went sledding for the first time.


6. Let me introduce you to Dingo Sledding. That's a fun game where you sled behind Ben’s dad’s Durango.


7. We created the world’s best gingerbread houses.


8. We also created the world’s best nativity reenactment. Just check out these hard core wise men.


9. I had my very first white Christmas.
10. I have the best in-laws ever. You know I’m telling the truth because they don’t even read this website.
    

Merry Merry

Merry Christmas from all of us here at the Split End Cafe.


Also, you should know that Rock Band is SO much cooler than Guitar Hero.

Future Christmas Shopping Just Got Easier

A few years ago, Ben told me he wanted a mixer for his turntables for Christmas. He did all of the research and then sent me a link to an e-bay auction. Being the good wife that I am, I made up a new e-bay user name so he wouldn’t suspect me, and I won the auction. A few weeks later, Ben told me that he had done some more research, realized exactly what he was looking for, and found a more perfect e-bay auction.

One or two years after that, Ben told me he wanted a snowskate for Christmas. He looked around, found exactly what he wanted, and told me where I could find it online. So I bought it, had it delivered to our house, wrapped it, and hid it. A few weeks later, Ben found out that it was better for the bottom board of a snowskate to be longer than the top board—something he hadn’t realized earlier. The one I had ordered was totally wrong.

Anyone see a trend?

This year Ben has been asking for Guitar Hero for the past two months. I don’t know if you know this or not, but Guitar Hero III for Xbox 360 is nearly impossible to find in Utah. After going to Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Wal-Mart, and Costco, and then repeatedly calling each of those stores to find out if they knew when they would be getting any in, I had pretty much given up on Guitar Hero. Then one day, I casually walked by the electronics department of Wal-Mart and they had it! I couldn’t believe it. I bought it, wrapped it, hid it, and smiled to myself for almost a month because all of my hard work had finally paid off.

That's when Ben decided he didn’t want Guitar Hero after all. He wanted Rock Band.

I think I have a pretty good reason to never buy him anything again, don't you?