There's a Pokemon for Everything!

I don't suppose anyone will find this funny unless their kids are avid Pokemon fans. Adreine and Jacob can not only draw almost every Pokemon creature, they can also tell you its name, what it evolved from, and what's its special power is. They are even better than the kids in the cartoon. Even Ash has to carry around his pocket computer to keep track of them all. (Adreine is watching me type this, and she just corrected me, "It's not a pocket computer, Mom, it's a Poke-Dex!")

See what I mean?

Adam and I chuckle and roll our eyes at the corny names and obvious puns as each new critter is introduced in the Pokemon episodes. There's Geo-Dude who is just a rock with eyes. Psy-Duck who, you guessed it, is a duck with psychic powers.

But I think the one we saw today has got to be the most ridiculous. Wait for it...


Meet Pinecone Pokemon!!!

And if that wasn't silly enough, the sound he makes in battle is a low, growling, "PIIIINE COOOOOOOONNNEEEE!!!!"

Adam and I looked at each other from across the living room with a 'WTH' expression on our faces. The kids are already at the kitchen table drawing it for their collection. When they want to play with a new toy they don't have yet, they draw it and play with the drawing instead. Yeah, I know, right?

You'll have to excuse me. I am still getting over this flu crud and it hurts to laugh.

Now everytime Adam can catch me off guard, he's gonna sneak up behind me and say, "PIIIIIINE COOOOONNE!!!"

Mom Sick Leave

One of the certainties of parenthood is that right after your child is all well and better, that's when MOM gets sick! And there's no such thing as a day off. You just groan and hand the kids a box of pop tarts for breakfast and hope for the best. That's exactly what I did this morning.

Jacob's strep throat germ seems to have moved on to me. When the alarm went off this morning, I tried to swallow and thought my neck was filled with needles. Everything hurt; my back, my head, my butt (is strep even supposed to make your butt hurt?). I laid there in bed, hoping like hell Adam would decide to get up before me. When he didn't, I half walked, half crawled to get the kids out of bed for school.

I drove them to school in a fog. When I got back, I crawled right back into bed. I don't remember much of the morning. I vaguely remember Adam saying we needed to make a grocery run, but I didn't think I could move to even get dressed.

Sometime around noon, the school nurse called to tell us that Adreine has a fever. Figures! Adam went to pick her up, and she got in bed with me.

Jacob was happy though. With Adreine whining alongside me, he had the living room, TV, and Nintendo all to himself. At some point Adam fed him supper and cleaned the house. I could hear Jacob following him around, chattering to him excitedly. Thank goodness for caring husbands!

So after having slept most of the day, I decided to write this post. I regret starting it though, because the Tylenol is wearing off and my head feels like a throbbing balloon. I feel guilty for not being at my best at taking care of Adreine while she's sick like I did for Jacob. I did manage to make her a bowl of jello.

I guess it's up to Adam to keep us alive this weekend. As long as the house doesn't collapse and Jacob's not running naked in the streets, I won't complain at all.

I hate being sick.

Chicago Vacation Rentals

Have you ever been to the Windy City? Chicago is one of the best cities in the world to visit for a vacation.

If you go there and you don’t have any friends or family to stay with, hotels can get expensive. But vacation rentals in chicago can save you money and give you a lot more freedom than any hotel would because the place is practically yours for your vacation. It's like having your own home away from home.

If you are planning to vacation in Chicago, be sure to check out chicago vacation rentals.

vacation rentals chicago

Payment Proof from December

Here is a payment proof from Social Spark. I received it in December 2011, but I spent it so fast on Christmas that I forgot to post about it.

I was quite busy last week, but had to take a break this weekend because Jacob is sick with strep throat :-(. Then again, that's the good thing about working from home. I can take time off whenever I need to.

Happy Presidents Day everyone.

New Blog Design Finished!

And it's all here! I just spent SIX HOURS updating my blog template - actually FOUR hours were spent trying to fix the shit I did wrong. I estimate that only TWO hours were spent going in the right direction.

Considering I know absolutely nothing about CSS, I think I did a decent job. And I didn't have to read a book or take college classes ;-)

What I'm still trying to figure out though is why I decided to change my design in the first place. Maybe I wanted something different. Maybe I was tired of the same old graphics or color scheme. I don't know.

There was a lot I didn't like about the old layout, but I was too afraid of my own ignorance to try to change it before now. I was afraid I would mess it up and my posts would be gone forever. I'm jealous of people with Wordpress blogs. They make it look so easy.

I know I must have saved my old template file 3 or 4 times to make sure I wouldn't lose it. When I uploaded the new template, the editor told me my widgets would have to be deleted. I got up from the computer and drank a shot of vodka before clicking 'OK'.

After that came the hours of tweaking, copy/pasting, messing it up, going back to do it again, calling my computer names that made me glad the kids are sound asleep. The slider on the homepage took awhile because I've never set one up before.

I'm still not completely satisfied with it. Maybe I need some time to get used to it. But it's 3:19 am and I am DONE for tonight.

Goodnight fellow bloggers, hello aspirin and pillow!

Under Construction

If you're just joining me and things look a little funky, it's because I'm in the middle of screwing things up updating my blog's template.

Wish me luck...

Clipix: Making Browser Bookmarks Obsolete!

As a busy blogging mom, I search online a lot! In fact, I think my brain has become dependent on it. I can barely remember anything on my own these days. I search when I want to find information, ideas, inspiration, or how-to's. It's not just a work tool, it's also a hobby.

I come across a lot of things I want to read later, videos I want to watch, things I want to check out, and gossip I want to catch up on. Since I'm usually pressed for time (my to-do list extends to the end of the block), I normally add things to my browser's bookmarks. You know how that goes! Out of sight, out of mind. I couldn't tell you what most of my bookmarked pages are for or why I even saved them. Add to that the fact that I use multiple devices for the internet, and I have a cluttered bookmark list on every one of them.

But I think I may have found a new way to organize my online searches. clipix is a free web service that lets you organize your bookmarks into neat, customizable collections.

 

 

All you have to do is set up your free account and drag the little 'Clip' button to your bookmark toolbar. Then whenever you come across something you want to save for later, you click the button to 'Clip' that webpage.

What I think is unique about it is that you can customize your clipboards however you like. I can arrange my clips according to blog posts I want to read or new project ideas I want to work on. You can even make some of your clipboards private so no one else can see them. On the other hand, you can share clips with friends and followers.

But my favorite thing of all about it is that because it's web-based, I can clip something on my laptop, then read it on my iPad later just by visiting my clipboard page. There's even on iPhone/iPad app available to keep everything synced between my PC and Apple devices.

I can see where this could help me a lot. The more I play with it, the more ways I think of to use it. No more pit of forgotten bookmarks!

So how do you think Clipix could help you? Comment and let me know how you would use it? Sign up and try it out today.

Promoted Post

First Spring Flowers 2012

The azaleas and sweet olive bushes are already blooming. The sweet olive makes our front porch smell really good.

I'm very glad for the fact that all the bushes and trees are well rooted and established. When we moved here, there was barely grass. It's fun to watch our yard grow and change every year.

Happy Arbor Day

The kids both brought home a tree seedling from school today for Arbor Day.





They were very excited to get started planting them.





We planted Jacob's behind the shed next to the grape vines.





Adreine wanted hers further back past the butterfly bush.

It will be interesting to see how fast they grow. Adreine seems sure hers will grow the fastest because she will water it every day.

I predict she will water it for a couple of days. It'll be up to me and Adam after that...

The Fridge of Honor

I'm so amazed at my little overachievers. Every week one or both of them bring home a grade, award, or project that just makes us beam with pride.

When I think of all the sweat and frustration that goes along with homework time every afternoon (mostly due to trying to get Jacob to sit still), I know how hard they work for it.

First I see the looks on their faces when they proudly bring us their report card. It's that look that they know they nailed it, and they nailed it good. Someday they will be all grown up and these little papers so proudly displayed on the fridge will be just a speck in their memories.

They will be on to bigger things and I will still remember standing in the kitchen, looking to their little ribbons, smileys, & stickers. I'll remember how my breath caught in my chest as the emotion welled up and the realization sank in.

"These are MY children! I really am a parent to these AWESOME children..."