Twilight- the movie!

So, what did you think of the movie? I went last night at 9:45 with an amazing group of girls who ALL LOVE EDWARD (except one Jacob fan). We were in line with mostly 12 years-olds, but there were a few groups of old mamas like us there too! I went into the movie knowing that it wouldn't be nearly as good as the book, not expecting much, and just for fun... and it was a lot of fun! I thought they did great. Sure there were a few little cheesy parts and awkward tension. But it was great! I wasn't sure about the cast for Edward, but I am sold now. He was really great and "smoldering", right?! But I did wish he would smile a little more, that made me happy when he did the few times... but I guess he was a pretty tortured character and all. And I felt so bad for Charlie when Bella yelled at him before she left Forks! Bella was a perfect cast. James was scarey/sexy/evil and the effects weren't too bad! Jacob's nose was a little too big for me, but hopefully he'll grow on me. Tell me what you think! I want to hear from my Carolina "Twilight" fans! I miss you guys!

Potty trained!

Dare I say it? Dare I use the word in past tense as if it was DONE? Well, after 2 1/2 weeks and no accidents, I think I can safely say Ebay did it! I was just telling Clark that the two happiest moments in a parent's life are when your baby is born and then when they're potty trained!.. I'm sure there are other cool times like missions, marriage,... blah blah blah- potty training is DEFINITELY top ten, right?! :) So, three weeks ago I was just sick and tired of changing his big ol' bootie and said, "it's time". I was really worried about him because he is a very particular boy and likes things done a certain way. He also really loves cartoons and soda (both of which are kept to a minimum). That was the key with E. I bought him a little potty and sat him there in front of the TV ALL DAY LONG with soda and treats. Yes, I was a bad Mom for two days, but it was only two days of pure cartoon enjoyment and sugar! By then he got it. He understood when I about had a heart-attack of joy when he went in the potty for the first time!! We made a "potty cake" that day to celebrate and he even got a phone call from Lightning McQueen (my brother) and Chick the "naughty car" as he calls it. Since then it's been done. It was so easy. About a million times easier than Lils who took 6 months. I guess there's something to say for experience, cartoons, and soda! Thank you "Yo Gabba Gabba" and "Diego" for seeing me through, I owe you one!

Am I 5??!

So.. I feel like a five year old. Let me start by a little story from Clark's life. He was around 5 or 6 and thought "Slugger" was a really cool nickname and wanted everyone to call him "slugger"! So he would tell everybody to call him Slugger and his sisters and friends just made fun of him! And rightly so! :) I remember wanting everyone to call me "Sam". I think it was the girl's name from "Charles in Charge". I thought it was so cool that a girl could have a boy's name. I tried to drop hints throughout a few weeks, and it never caught on. Point is, while we are trying to use nicknames on our blog, I feel like a 5 year old trying to come up with my own nickname! Nicknames are given by others and are from special moments or a funny story! You can't give yourself your own!

Clark calls me "Cakes" all the time, more often than he uses my own name. Actually when he calls me by my real name, I get nervous b/c it's usually something serious! I got the name "Cakes" on our first date when we went bowling and he put "baby cakes" as my bowling name. It just stuck! He even engraved it on my wedding ring. He's the best. Anyways- Clark got his name from our first year of marriage, it's really a lame story with a movie I think only my siblings have seen with a dancing musical mouse (Lorel knows)... blah blah blah... so that's where Clark's name originated.

But Cakes is a special name only Dave calls me. Lola was a nickname some guys in college called me. So I had to make up my own! I am using my middle name, Catharine (I'm named after my Grammy), and shortening it. She was always "Aunt Cat". So I'll just be Cat. I hope that sticks! But then again, you can't give yourself your own nickname! :)

The Joy of Pressure Washers!

This weekend I learned a valuable lesson. OCD people should NEVER use a pressure washer! I'm not usually OCD about everything, but certain things make me really thorough. And now I've learned that a pressure washer is one of them! For a job that would take some (*clear throat*, Clark) maybe an hour, took me 3+! It was WAY too much fun! 1/2 of our yard is concrete anyway, and some of it was growing moss! Well, not anymore. Our concrete is the cleanest, spiffiest on the block. There was crud all up in the cracks that was growing weeds. I took care of that! Plus the house looks like it just got a fresh coat of paint. I was very happy this weekend. Some may say it's dumb to clean outside concrete, but the kids and I are outside in bare feet half the day! At least now there's no nasty mossy, moldy stuff sticking to our feet! Yay! Pressure washers are the best!Speaking of amazing gizmos... Clark is a woot.com nerd and is always checking for deals on electronic stuff, plus he thinks the writers on the site are hilarious. So he ended up buying us a Dyson vacuum for HALF the price of retail. (It is also refurb) But it looks brand new and works amazing! I never thought I'd be so excited about a vacuum, but this thing is a miracle of science! We vacuumed our first room and filled up the collection/container thingy TWICE! We're not dirty people, it's just our lame previous vacuum was, well... lame. That Dyson got everything out of the carpet, from Daisy's cat hair to the spek of cheese that's been there since the carpet guy layed down said carpet in 2005 while chowing on his Big Mac. Everytime we use it we just marvel and say, "it's a miracle of science"! We can never say it enough. Good times, as always, here.

The Death of Special Moments - By Capt. Chunder

I decided it was my turn to get back into the blog - it has become uncontrollably frilly and filled with flowers, laces, and sacred nicknames. Can it be saved with a manly story? Not quite - here is a sad tale of one Father trying to enjoy a special moment with his son.

Sometimes Ebay is a Bear. Imagine one that just woke up from hibernation with its face on fire and dementor-like breath (heck yes that was a Harry-Potter reference). Imagine the "I-haven't-eaten-in-46-months-and-I-am-ridiculously-constipated" type of Bear. I think you get what I am saying. Otherwise, he is a good kid. :)

I try to enjoy the special moments - ones that appear suddenly like an unexpected compliment. The other day I decided I hadn't had enough "moments" with my son - so I sought out to create one. It was 9:00 PM, and the kids had been out for for a while. I peered into E-bombs room, and laughed at his pretzel-like sleeping position. I stood there for a minute, allowing myself to forgive him for the lightning bolts of carnage and destruction he ZEUSED upon our home that day. Suddenly a book came into my mind..."I'll love you forever". For those unfamiliar with this book - a Mother sneaks into her son's room throughout his life and rocks him in her arms, singing a little song of uber-lovey tenderness. I thought to myself - "maybe I could create this same tradition - how fantastic would that be! I could capture him in his comma of peace and quietly bond..." It felt and appeared so perfect.

I snuck over to his bed, my innards giggling with fatherly joy. I scooped him up ever so gently and began to rock him in my arms. I wasn't going to sing...I was just going to enjoy this momen...SMACK! He began to writhe and twist and I caught a right-handed hook to the temple (the only semi spirtual part of this story). He cried out..."SLEEP IN BED!!!!" and I did my best to get the greased pig back into his sleeping Mecca.

I'll take this time to say that this story is slightly embellshed and exagerrated - not the part about the botched bonding momment (that is rediculously true) but that Big E is mostly a Bear. He really is a sweet kid...if and only if you are watching him sleep from the doorway.