Retraction

Remember the post where I recommended you buy this candle?



Hopefully you didn't run out and buy it.

I lit mine for the SECOND time today, and get this: it wouldn't burn. It had gone all the way down to the bottom, and I only burned it once for like maybe 6 hours. Hello! I thought soy was supposed to burn slower/longer than parafin? Or whatever other candles are made from.

I was very disappointed. So, although I love the citrusy cilantro smell (so subtle! so fresh!), at 7.99 a pop, I can't afford to buy any more of them. That's nearly $2 every time hour of burn time. So Yankee Candle Company, you've got me back. I just discovered they now have an all natural soy line. Hopefully I like some of the smells. (Pumpkin? Yes. I love pumpkin.)

And in case the above paragraph didn't tip you off, a budget post is in the works. Just a little something to whet your appetite!

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In other news, I've decided to go back to using capitals. I've always used them when I type blog posts or journal entries, but never when I'm on Facebook or emailing. I thought it was cute and fast and figured since I KNEW the rules (oh, do I know the rules) I was allowed to break them. Well, I had a change of heart tonight and decided to take capitalization back by storm. Shift key, here I come.

Is it totally retarded that I posted about this? If so, keep it to yourself.

Barf-o-rama

The title of this post says it all. If you are a queasy person, I highly suggest you NOT read this post. Mom, that means you.

The other night, Oz was acting rather odd. He wanted nothing to do with dinner and was fussy... I thought it was because he was overwhelmed by all the people we had over for dinner. Then when I was trying to give him his bottle, he was very squirrely and only drank half of it.

I put him to bed where he proceeded to make this sound: RAAAR RAAAR RAAAAAAR for like an hour. He does that a lot, but I knew when it turned into crying things weren't going well (he NEVER cries when I put him in his bed. I think he got that from me!) so I went and got him some Motrin, assuming he had the same sore throat I did. Then I brought him into our room, planning on giving him more milk on our bed. Suddenly, PROJECTIVE VOMITING EVERYWHERE! Argh. All over the [freshly washed] down comforter, our blanket, the floor, my socks and pants, everywhere. It was so super nasty. He puked again and then we just sat there while Travis jumped up and tried to clean it up.

Travis is not known for having a strong stomach. He can barely abide diaper changes, and I knew this wasn't going to be good. As he valiantly cleaned up the puke, he was plugging his nose and moaning. I think I said a few times [at least]:
"Hey, don't worry about it! I can get it. Just go get the baby some gatorade." But he wanted to help, which was so sweet... until he started to gag.

By this time I had gotten the baby in clean PJs, and was rinsing stuff off in the bathtub. Travis came barreling in and barfed ALL OVER the bathroom. I mean, it was everywhere. And all over me, wiping out the rest of my clothes that hadn't been tainted by Oz. He nailed the sink, the toilet, the floor, the cabinet, the radiator... you get the picture. At this point it was so ridiculous, all we could do was laugh. He had a beard of vomit.

Cleaning it up was one of the worst things I've ever had to do. We've had several conversations since about it, analyzing the puke and why it was so much gnarlier than regular puke. Was it the key lime pie? The whipped cream? The mashed potatoes? I'm shivering now with dread just thinking about it.

We also established some rules as well. The first rule is: If you are cleaning up vomit and feel the need to vomit, stay and puke there. Do NOT head to a new location! Good rule of thumb to all of you out there.

It's been a long week here. Today it was coming out the other end of Cros, just as damaging. He went through 4 outfits in one day, a full set of bedding, and two pairs of shoes. I think I've done more laundry this week than in my entire life. I really really hope the big kids don't get it tonight!!!

6 months

My baby is officially 0.5 years old.

Weird.
Really, really, weird.


He is 50% in height.
He is 50% in weight.
His head...well, what do you expect? A solid 90%.

So it isn't just my imagination that it is nearly impossible to get onesies over his head.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this baby?

Winter Tubing

This is how the Denhams roll...






Is your tubing hill not fast enough? This problem is easily solved. Just rally a large group of people willing to trek up the hill, in the middle of the night, in sub-Arctic temperatures, with 2 large coolers filled with boiling hot water, and a big wok, so you can dispense and spread the hot water, creating a thin layer of ice over the entire sledding track.

Yes, they are hard core. It made for one sweet ride.

Disconnected

Well, it is official. As of today, I no longer have a working cell phone. The service on my phone has expired. I am officially disconnected.

What happens when I'm in the car and need to call Dave for directions?
What happens when I need to make a long distance call?
What happens when I'm at the grocery store and can't remember the ingredients in my mom's granola?
What happens when Dave and I get separated in Home Depot and I can't find him?

I feel so 1990 (probably similar to how Sara feels with her Rachel haircut.)

How did I get here you may wonder? Well it all began with a boy and a dream.

Dave likes electronic toys. When we first got married he really wanted an i-pod. i-pod i-pod i-pod. But $400? It seemed so excessive especially when talk radio was his go to form of entertainment. So I stalled. "Maybe for your a Christmas gift!" "Maybe when they release the next generation i-pod with more storage." One day my stalling lost all power. They had just released the video i-pod and he wanted one, very badly. He was heading to the store that weekend when luck struck. My work awarded me a video i-pod for a successfully completed project. So Dave commandeered my engraved I-pod ("Thanks Carrie") and I was free from Apple purchase pressure for several years.

Then came the i-phone.

Dave started talking about the i-phone a full year ago. i-phone i-phone i-phone. The worst part was he literally used my i-pod everyday, for at least 3 hours a day...so I couldn't really point to it as an example of waste. I knew there was an i-phone in our future. Sometime in September I casually mentioned that an i-phone might make a nice 2008 Christmas/birthday gift. He was thrilled!

Then the set back.

Neither of us had any idea that the monthly expenses to maintain an i-phone were nothing short of highway robbery. More than double our current cell phone bill? What a rip off! I could see pain and defeat in Dave's eyes. He knew the i-phone was dying a slow and painful death. But Dave isn't one to give up easily. So for the next 24 hours I fielded the following ideas from Dave:

You don't really use your cell phone. The individual plan is only slightly more expensive than our current family plan. Let's just cancel your phone and then I can get an i-phone.
No?
Ok then, well maybe we could get you on my parent's cell phone plan. That would only be an extra $10 a month. I'm sure they would be happy to have you. You are so fun to be around you know. You just can't make too many calls because they don't have that many minutes...and you can't send text messages...or not very many anyway...
No?
I know it is more expensive, but I need to be more professional. And a lot of being perceived as professional by your work peers is associated with image. If I have an i-phone, I will appear more experienced and qualified at work.
No?
It is so obvious! I just need to get a new job. There are tons of companies that pay for cell phones. If they won't pay for the entire bill, I'm sure they would be willing to subsidize it. I wonder how I can figure out what companies pay for cell phones
No?
Ok scratch that. I'm the financial clerk at church. Just think how much more effective I would be if I had an i-phone. I could save the church leaders tons of time an money! Surly they could send $50 a month my way? Or maybe we could just deduct it from our tithing bill?
No?
Hey Carrie, come check this out! Post office workers get 25% off AT&T bills! Do we know anyone who works for the post office? Have you ever talked to our guy? Maybe they have a part time gig?

Do you see where this is going? The poor guy wanted it so bad - how could I say no?

So Dave got an i-phone and cancelled our family plan. He found a 10% discount associated with the Air-force (a bit of a stretch...but he does consult with the Air-force) and I was going to join Dave's brother's family plan. Even as I type this I feel ridiculous. So I had 30 days to pick a new phone. Guess who hasn't done that yet?

The best part is 3 days after Dave bought his i-phone we were at lunch with some of my co-workers. Dave pulled out his i-phone and my co-worker said "Oh cool, are you using the 21% discount AT&T gives Avaya employees?." I thought Dave was going to kill me. Can you imagine if he had gotten a night job at the post office? How was I to know? I mean really - who ever reads those mass emails they send to everyone?

So I don't have a cell phone. Which is a real shame. Because the best way to get Dave's attention these days, even when he is sitting right next to me, is to call his i-phone. But the good news is, he loves it. I think he would sleep with it if I let him.

Haircut report

I hate getting my hair cut.

I always try to avoid the inevitable trauma by being prepared. I gather pictures of potential hair styles. I ask everyone I know which one they like best. I stew about it for months before I finally make the appointment and get my hair done. And 9 times out of 10, I'm very sad after.

I swear this time is worse though. I think 6-8 inches of my hair was cut off... NOT the TWO INCHES I asked for. Look at the photos below, readers. Do I exaggerate? The hat photo was taken Saturday morning before S's basketball game (where it appears she has a wedgie or something odd going on) and the other I just took 2 seconds ago.





My hair looks nothing like the three photos I brought in to show the stylist. I don't have pictures of it "styled", but basically straightened it's the Rachel haircut circa 1993 (yes... again. Why do people keep giving me this awful hair cut?) and curly, it's total mom hair.

I'm never getting my hair cut again.

Just so Brooke doesn't feel alone...

here is a picture of me, probably from 4th or 5th grade.

Yes, about 80% of the hair on my head is bangs. I know, totally hot.

Best Comment Award

There's a first time for everything, and today I decided to give Brooke an impromptu award for having the Best Comment on yesterday's vote post.

Not only was the comment hilarious (Brooke, I know what you mean about bangs being in magazines. I swear, Newsweek and the New Yorker are FILLED with pictures of women sporting bangs...) but then, right before I went to bed, she emailed me this picture of her at age 16:



I laughed myself to sleep. And Katie had crazy dreams about Brooke and her bangs watching me get my haircut.

Well done, B. Well done!

VOTE!

All right kids. I've broken down and made an appointment to get my hair cut.

What? But it's only been six months since my last one! I know. Time flies.

I'd post a current photo, but I don't have any. Just picture a mass of split-ended hair, curling crazily everywhere, frizz frizz and more frizz. It's all quite out of hand which is probably why it ends up in a pony tail about 20 second after I'm out of the shower.

As per usual, I've selected a variety of different looks I like, most of them worn by Rachel Bilson. Every time I take a picture of her into a hair stylist, we have identical conversations. They always go like this:

"This is the hair cut I want."

"Oh yeah, this is super cute. Although Rachel Bilson has STRAIGHT hair, and you actually have quite CURLY hair."

"I know it looks like she has straight hair, but there was this one episode of the OC where it's raining, and you can see that actually, her hair is kind of curly! Just like mine!"

"Okay, but she also probably has a professional hair stylist that does her hair every time she's in a movie, or has her picture taken. See where I'm going with this, Sara?"

"Well, can't you just cut it so that it looks like that for today? I really really want to look like (but I'm thinking BE) Rachel Bilson."

And the stylist sighs and says, "Look... these are scissors, not a magic wand."

So... I know what you're thinking. But basically I always like her hair, and yes, I want to look like her. So the real issue here is: Bangs vs. No Bangs.

Travis says No Bangs.

What's your vote, dear readers? I'm so very tempted to get them again, but I will probably regret it after I've straightened them for the 10th time on a rainy day.

Here are your images. Which do you like best (for me)?

Dear Method

I love you.

No really, I love you.

xo,
sara



I've been using Method products for a long time now. I first discovered it when I was living in Brooklyn... I saw an ad in one of my magazines and got a great deal when I ordered a "starter pack" that came with about 7 different products. I wasn't super impressed with their cleaning capabilities (the 409 I was raised..er...REARED on, left less streaks) but the smells were amazing. I used them intermittently from then on, finding that the hand soap was great on my eczema prone skin, and the bathroom cleaner worked well and I loved the smell. I was a fan long before I went to the Method Party and got even more Method product.

Then for Christmas Gabby gave me the Method book... squeaky clean. I read it in a day, and revamped my life. I'm a somewhat unsuccessful environmentalist (such as, I have yet to remember to take the reusable cloth bags I bought myself for Christmas into the grocery store with me)... but I try. Suddenly, now, some of the cleaning products in my home freak me out. So I'm going all toxic-free from here on out. My first purchase was the oMop kit (got it from HSN for 19.99).

Today I used my oMop kit for the 2nd time. This kit is similar to a Swiffer, but better. It has a microfiber cloth you wash after you use, and it's so easy and quick to clean the floors. Plus, they GLEAM when you're done. And smell awesome. And they won't poison Oz when he drops a toy on the floor and then puts it in his mouth. Usually when I'm finished cleaning the floors, I'm sweaty and tired and there are still footprints all over the place from my many trips to and from the sink. Not anymore.

Plus, the entire day I've had my citrus cilantro soy candle burning, and it's light, sunny fragrance is making me so happy. Nothing overpowering like other candles I've owned (you know who you are, Yankee Candle Company).




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In other news (but still cleaning related), you know how you have those days when you realize you're a genius? I had one today. My spiral staircase has been a challenge. It always looks kind of grimy and is hard to vacuum... I haven't even attempted to mop it. Today, while I was walking down it to take the oMop cloth to the laundry room, I realized it still had solution on it. So as I walked down the stairs, I wiped off the ones behind me. I didn't even have to bend over! And they look 10,000 times better.

Like I said, I'm a genius.

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**Spoiler alert:
If you're a good friend of mine and live close by, or you're in my family, don't buy the Method book. There is an excellent chance you'll receive it for your birthday this year.

Has anyone...

Seen or heard from Carrie Sue master of blog posting disaster Denham lately? What, she thinks that working full time while nurturing and naturing Boo exempts her from her posting duties? Last week along she

1. fed the missionaries
2. took dinner to a family with a newborn
3. went snowboarding
4. worked
5. attended her niece's 2nd birthday party
6. sang in church in Boulder and
7. hosted a playgroup for which she made salad, caramel rolls and muffins [to which everyone bailed at the last minute due to a skiff of snow]

My comments are the following:

We miss you Carrie and I can't believe you didn't freshly squeeze orange juice for #7.

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Guess what Scout bought with the $10 she found in her backpack?

Yep. It's a leash... for guinea pigs and ferrets.



It was too cold to take Winny outside, so she decided they'd go for a walk on the treadmill instead.



Too bad Winny refuses to move with the leash on. In fact, the only walking she does with the leash is backing up, so she can wriggle out of it. That's 10 bucks down the drain... but an awesome photo op, no?