"I Know Seymour's the greatest, but I'm dating a semi-sadist."

It's not very often in musical theater that you get to sing a ballad containing THAT particular rhyme. However, I get to do just that as Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors," now playing at the Hale Center Theater in Orem.


As a kid, I watched the movie version with Rick Moranis and Steve Martin. I thought it was funny and quirky and altogether entertaining. Imagine my surprise when I was 15 and my mom took me to see a live theatrical production starring a friend of hers. I had no idea it was an actual musical that real people could be in! I enjoyed it all the more and fell in love with the music and characters. It has remained on my top five list of musicals since that time.

So, now I have to thank Ben for letting me check off one of my dream roles by participating in this production. And what, you ask, is all that desirable about a man-eating plant in New York City in 1960? And my answer would be, why don't you come and find out for yourself? If, for nothing else, just to hear the Doo-Wop girls tear it up in their AMAZING songs. (I might just have to lock one of them in a closet one night and go on in their place, but I think that my pasty white skin would be a major give-away.) I will be performing in the show on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights (with the exception of Oct. 1st) from now until November 21. Go here to get tickets. Disclaimer: This show does deal with domestic abuse and plants eating people, so you might want to leave the kids at home. My kids, upon viewing a preliminary run-through, just wanted to climb inside the plant, and make it chew up each other. I totally let them.

Most of the Time I'm the Mom

But sometimes, and by sometimes, I mean about every two years, I get paid to be somebody else for a day. This time around, my friend Brett wrote some funny scripts for Xango, and he recommended me for auditions.

I played a blindfolded speed chess champion, so it was clearly typecasting. No, but seriously, I used to know how to play chess pretty well, but I really embarrassed myself that day. They would set up the chess moves every time and I memorized my moves, but then sometimes, they wouldn't reset them and so I'd have to come up with new, real moves. At one point, that 9-year old kid was killing me. I only had one guy left and he was totally talking trash! They were all pretty much making fun of me--whatever, it's fine. I have other talents, right? I don't have to be the best chess player in the room, right?

Although it was a relatively long day of shooting, and I experienced some anxiety over my abandoned children, I had a really fun time and am relieved that everyone involved seems pleased with the final product. And many MANY thanks to Rachel, who watched the twins for 8 HOURS (if that's not love, I don't know what is-maybe you should buy one of her awesome Halloween skirts to thank her for me), and Lisa, who stepped in at the last minute to take Mila and Ethan after school. Living across the street from the school is both a blessing and a curse, eh Lisa? I also learned that day that a lot of times, when you think the camera is off, they are actually rolling, and will actually use your "I'm-going-to-make-these-guys-laugh-because-we've-been-here-awhile" shtick in the final cut. In my defense, I was blindfolded!

This one's about the Twins

Remember when your daughter was little, and she had a cute little friend over, and they played really nicely some of the time, but most of the time they just fought over toys and screamed a lot, and you thought to yourself, "Is this play date really worth it?" and just couldn't wait for the little friend to leave so you could get back to normal? OK, well take that scenario, and imagine that the friend never leaves, and you have what it's like to have 2-year-old twin girls.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that I want one of my girls to leave, or that one is more my daughter and one is the friend. They're both the daughter and they're both the friend. The point is, it's a never-ending play date from you know where. Having said that, it could be a lot worse. They could be two 2-year-old boys and spend all day playing in the dirt and mud in the empty lot next door. At least, that's what Ethan and his bestie did when they were two. Wait. Maybe that IS better. I'll get back to you on that. (Unrelated question: You know when your son and his gang of friends storm into your house and they all reek? What IS that smell and where does it come from? And should a 6-year-old start wearing deodorant?)

A lot of the time, Lane will give in and give Lucy whatever it is she wants. The problem is, Lucy wants EVERYTHING. She sees herself as the sole proprietor of everything in our entire house, and I bet she would kick all of us out, if she could. The girl shares NO thing. Just this morning, I caught her screaming about Lane being in "MY ROOM," and so I had to remind her that there were two cribs and two names hanging over the cribs. She was not happy about that, that's for sure. Lucy is grumpy a lot. I'm allowed to say that, because I'm the mom. If someone else starts calling her "Lucy the grump," we might not be friends.

Lane spends most of her day walking around the house, saying that the blue towels are "beautiful," and her breakfast is "perfect," and that I am "so pretty." She is a super-princess-diva who still refers to herself as "Honey." She will not pray, though. Lucy folds her arms right away and bows her head and everything. Lane just says, "No! I NOT pray!" and keeps on eating. Sometimes, I suspect that Lane takes things away from Lucy just to see her have a meltdown, which is super uncool.

After everyone screams long enough, and we can't come to any solution, we put on Dora, and then everyone wins. How do you think I'm writing this right now?

Also, both girls are super shy (anti-social), and get very upset when I dare to take them in public. Just last week, we went to a free hot dog party for mayoral candidate Steve Clark, and Lucy spent the entire time sitting on the grass hunched over, with her hands over her eyes. Occasionally, she would peek up at me and give me the evil eye, then go back to hiding. They don't really want to play with other kids and mostly tell them to "Go away!" Although, if you think about it, the novelty of having another person around that's your age has LONG worn off. They are so over it.

There ARE the times when they kiss and hug each other, or hold hands at the gym, or walk around the house calling for each other, and that makes up for pretty much everything. I would endure ten tantrums a day just to see one tender sisterly moment, and so it is definitely worth it.

Maybe this is all sort of a disclaimer for my family, before we have our family reunion in less than two weeks. At that time, we will have seven two and three-year-olds together in the same house, and mine are the only girls. And since I am not really big on apologizing for a child's inherent nature, I probably won't be giving them time-outs for being loud. If my child hits another child, they will get a time-out. If they rip something out of their hands, I will make them give it back. But my children have inherited the Cannon-Jones lungs, and there ain't nothing to be done about it. I guess what I'm trying to say is: bring earplugs! There WILL be screaming! The trade-off? Mila, one of the loudest toddlers in the history of time, is now quite the little belter.

A Hug

The beach in Massachusetts

Divalicious

Don't you dare take our picture while we're camping!

This video of them dancing on the 4th of July shows their personalities quite well. Lucy is in white, and is very Mia Michaels with her emotional writhing from her center. Lane is more Sonya Tayeh with her arms extended and her quirky twirling. I have to apologize for my voice when it's recorded, which automatically becomes Ms. Utah Supreme. Please tell me it doesn't sound like that in real life. Please. Also, notice the reaction to the gunshot at the end.

It's WAY Too Quiet Around Here (I Love It!)

I should totally be doing Thrillionaires contracts or something boring like that, but today is my first REAL quiet time since May and so I am taking it all in. I got to eat leftover Massaman curry with my friend Tivo and it was magical. Except for the part when the show I was watching made me uncomfortable. But that's another story. Anyway, so yes, my kids started school today. Here they are:


Mila is wearing pretty much the only two new things that I let her pick out: her pink Converse and that Old Navy t-shirt. You may think I'm a mean mom, but the girl doesn't grow, bless her heart, and so I'm not buying new clothes when she has 400 shirts in her drawer that fit her, size 6x or no. And Ethan has nothing new on--he could care less and he has more clothes than anyone in the house due to hand-me-downs from my friend's son and my brother. Call me crazy, but I call me practical.

I made whole wheat crepes in honor of Ethan starting the French immersion program today. Well, I actually didn't do that on purpose at all, I made crepes because my kids love them and I was out of white flour so I had to use whole wheat. I just remembered halfway through eating them about the French thing. Whatev. Still counts in hindsight.

Ethan was super nervous about only hearing French for half the day and so I tried to role play what it might be like. "Prenez votre papier et ecrivez un A," I said, and then I asked him if he wanted some "jus d'orange." He was not amused one bit. I think I made it worse. Why did I sign him up for this French thing again? I don't know, I'll give you an update in about eight months. Or maybe 20 minutes, when I go to pick him up and he yells at me.

Mila was super excited for school, of course. That girl is a ball of sunshine and joy and I told her teacher that very thing at back to school night. Best student ever. So, I'm expecting glowing girl and fuming boy, and in the meantime, enjoy this awesome picture of Ethan and the twins at the Squaw Peak overlook after our camping adventure last Saturday. Note to self: toddlers are very, very bad at sleeping in tents. Must not repeat.

Feels Like the Homecoming Queen Days All Over Again

Except this time, I think I have a shot! My improv troupe, the Thrillionaires, have been nominated for a Salt Lake City Weekly ARTY award for best improv troupe. It is the first time we've been nominated for anything, and we are thrilled!


So, if you live in Utah, please vote for us here. You have to register, but it doesn't take long, and then you have to vote in at least three categories to make it count. Since I hadn't seen any of the other nominees, I wrote in "As You Like It" for best play and "Brett Merritt" in "As You Like It" for best performance. Feel free to copy me. And yes, shameless to vote for a play I was in, but I couldn't think of any other show I enjoyed watching more. You have until August 25th to vote!

And after you vote, reward yourself for your good deed by going to see this:


It's funny, it's smart, it's real, it's well-acted, and it has awesome music. What more could you want? Best movie I've seen this year and certainly the best I've seen in the indie-love story genre since this:


VOTE. WATCH. LOVE.

I want to eat those babies!

Just came across this and almost died. Those toes! Those cheeks! Somebody get me a time machine STAT!

Christa and Lovies by Bubbie Blue!

Once upon a time, I started my freshman year in high school in Claremont, CA, and I didn't know anyone because I had just moved there from Winnetka, IL (incidentally, the movie Home Alone was shot in Winnetka while I lived there and the snow is fake, but that's neither here nor there.)

Not too far into the year, I met a girl named Christa. Christa was wearing the same black and white houndstooth Esprit pants that I owned, and she loved to perform, and she was the skinniest person in the world. Fast forward eighteen years, and Christa has an adorable, curly-haired baby boy and her own business, called Bubbie Blue. Because today is Christa's birthday, and because I adore her so, I wanted to make sure everyone knew about Christa's handmade lovies.

The following is from the Bubbie Blue website, where Christa describes how she came up with her idea:

"After our son was born in 2007, I started paying closer attention to the kinds of products and materials that came into our home, and began “greening” our family as much as possible.

As "the Bub" grew older, we decided that something had to be done about our continued lack of sleep.

I read almost every book on the market, and with my husband's help, set to work sleep-training our little guy. For us, the trick was in what the experts called a “transitional object” and experienced moms called a “lovie”.

I searched boutiques, bargain stores, and the Internet for a lovie that we felt comfortable leaving in our guy's crib, but the products I found were bulky, difficult to wash, and inevitably, made of synthetic materials. Frustrated, I decided to take matters into my own hands. A friend offered a
lightweight, organic swaddling blanket, which I cut into two small squares and hemmed, adding a border of ribbons… and they were a hit! They were just the right size and our baby loved playing with the ribbons. Plus, we were relieved that the materials that were so often pressed up against that little face were free of any yucky synthetics!"

Christa and "the Bub"

I think it's a fabulous idea and I only wish I hadn't had a million kids already when she came up with this! Ethan and the twins have all had stuffed animal lovies but they are difficult to replace and get kind of gross, so a little blankie would have been perfect! And Mila was obsessed with the tag on her blanket so the little ribbon tags are ingenious!

The best part? For the month of August, all lovies are 20% off! I'm planning on getting some for the new and upcoming babies in my life (not my own, mind you)--I think it's the perfect gift! And no guilt, because it's GREEN!

And now, because I've got Christa on my mind, I'd like to continue waxing sentimental...

During our four years at Claremont High, we had all sorts of adventures together. Fortunately Unfortunately, I couldn't find many pictures of those awkward, early high school days, so here are a few from our senior year:

This was before a Preference Dance. Christa is in silver, I am in pink (I was going for Veronica Lake hair, but it was pouring rain, so my finger waves lasted 3.5 seconds.) The other people, l-r, are Eddie, Heidi, Richard, Mark, Puja, and Brandon. We were in Puja's mansion.

This was when Christa starred in the Dinner Theater show. She was the cutest flapper EVER. Also pictured, Ben and Joel.

Our Choir Awards Party. Now you know that my efforts to be THE whitest person on the planet began years ago. Also pictured, Mario and Heidi.

Graduation Day. It poured rain again. And I chopped off my hair a couple of days before.

After high school, we continued to live it up, 90's style. And I mean, 90's style:

I think somebody watched Clueless a few too many times. Not you, Christa, you look cute.

In the fall, poor Christa went to live in this awful place called Malibu so that she could attend Pepperdine, while I headed off to Utah. After that, we saw each other at holidays and over summer break.


Then, the summer after our sophomore year at college, we actually decided to live together in my step-dad's house. Don't worry, my step-dad, Bret, didn't live there--he lived with my mom, of course! But he just happened to not want to give up his cute little house (with no A/C) in South Pasadena, so Christa and I moved right in! I have a lot of good memories of that summer. We shared a room and went shopping for groceries, and bought a couch together, and did chores, like putting Bret's dogs out in the morning and sweeping up the dog hair before breakfast, you know, stuff like that!

We made a list of all of the fun things we wanted to do that summer, which I believe we called "Hailey and Christa's List of Fun." It listed activities such as, "Go to the beach," and "Go to Disneyland," and "Be awesome!" Probably not that last one, but you know that's the kind of list it was, us being 20 and all. We got jobs as waitresses at The Valley Hunt Club in Pasadena. "Oh, is that the country club famous for starting the Rose Parade?" you ask. Why, yes, yes it is, now don't be jealous that you didn't get to wear a horrific forest green waitress dress (we lovingly called the "green meanie) and serve marmalade to old rich men by the name of Guglielmo. We had some good times at the VHC, but mostly we enjoyed smuggling home VHC chocolates in our green meanie pockets. They were to die for. (Christa, I could not find the picture of you in the green meanie anywhere!)

In the afternoon, if we didn't have to work, we had "nap time" in our room, and if it was 114 degrees outside, we had nap time all day long. We listened to music and sat on our front porch and played with my cat, "Kitty." We also spent part of the summer trying to think of things to say to the cute boys that lived next door to and behind our house. One night, we heard them outside and we casually walked by and said, "Hey... how's it going?" and nothing else, and kept walking. It was not our proudest flirting moment. By the end of the summer, we had become friends with them and we'd walk to Trader Joe's and watch "Strange Brew," and one of them was in love with Christa, and she went back to Malibu and broke his heart, so I'd say our job was done there.

Here is proof that I am not making all of this up:

This is our little house, while some skinny guy is roofing it. I ended up having that guy's four children. I guess I liked that roof job. Just kidding, I knew him before he roofed my house.

Christa actually worked at Disneyland at one point, so we sneaked in for free.

This is when we dressed up and went to the Renaissance Festival. We ate meat and we liked it!

After the Renaissance festival, Christa's parents took us to dinner. We had no normal clothes with us, so we borrowed some from Christa's brother.

Christa and Kitty, on our couch that we bought.

One of our beach trips, this time to our friend Ben's beach house. Not the roofer Ben.

Like I said, it was an amazing summer. The next summer, I got married and stayed in Utah permanently, and Christa graduated from college and taught school, and stayed awesome. This is when I got to fly down to go to Christa's beautiful wedding to Mike:

Happy Birthday, Christa! You are still one of the sweetest, most adorable people I have ever met and I love you!

"Heaven on a Bun"

Sometimes, when Ben is fishing and the oldest is at day camp, and I take the boy child and the twinsies to Five Guys Burgers and Fries, I ache for my grandma because I think she would have really loved that place, and the company even more.

She would have totally gotten a kick out of the fact that Lane chose to wear her pink, sparkly shoes, a special, beaded orange necklace, and a pink purse, while Lucy opted to accessorize with a more conservative pair of white sandals and a Dora backpack.

She would have really loved the following things that the kids said:

Ethan (scowling): "Dora is totally spoiled. If she needs anything, it's bam! Right there in her backpack! SO SPOILED." Upon further thought, I have to agree.

Lucy (in her quiet, high voice, while pointing at the moon): "Yook, Mommy, it's a planet in da sky!" I have no idea where she learned about planets, but I suspect Dora.

Lane (in her exact-opposite-of-quiet voice, after I asked her if she wanted to go home and swim): "No, I no swim, I go to BEACH! BEACH, YAY!"

Grandma also would have laughed with me when I walked outside and the wind blew my dress WAY up and I was holding a little hand in each of my hands! Boy, those moments are MUCH better shared!

It was her birthday on Sunday, and she would have been 82. Grandma, I still miss you tons, and I REALLY hope you get to enjoy a bacon cheeseburger every now and then!

Just Call Me Superlative Jones

I'm not one to give something or someone more praise than it/he/she deserves. But I know something that lights my fire when I read/hear/wear/taste it, and then I want to spread the good word. It's the least I can do.

*I just got this swimsuit top (in brown) in the mail today.


I have to admit, I bought it because I saw a picture of Jenny wearing it. I felt a little guilty for copying her, until I tried it on. It is THE cutest swimsuit top I have ever worn in my ENTIRE life. It makes me forget that I'm wearing a swimsuit, which is pretty much an impossible feat, and hides everything that I have (and don't have.) Brilliant. So, dear Jenny, please forgive me. You can find it here, although maybe you should not get it if you think you will be swimming with Jenny and I. Awkward.

*Yesterday, while on a Target run, I stopped by the bakery to grab something since I had not eaten breakfast. I saw this intriguing confection called an "iced cinnamon roll," although it just looked like a big, tall, glazed donut. I don't know why I got it, because I don't even love cinnamon rolls. However, I'm so glad I did because it was the BEST cinnamon roll on the PLANET. Sorry, Rachel, but it might even be better than your homemade ones back in the day. I ate it so fast that I had frosting all over my face when I got to Lisa's to get my kids. Kind of embarrassing, but Lisa understood. I really hope your Target has a bakery and that it has those things, because dang!

*While in New York a few weeks ago, I went to Chinatown with my in-laws. Ben had recommended that we grab some "pork bons" while there. Ben, I will LOVE you forever for that suggestion. They were like a sweet, steamy, doughy, savory, meaty party in my mouth, and pretty much changed my LIFE. I asked my mother-in-law, Sherry, to take this picture of me eating a pork bon so I would never forget this life-changing moment, and she didn't even bat an eye because I've been in the family for eleven years and she is totally accustomed to my dramatics by now.


Finally, a few more recommendations that may not be the MOST amazing things in the UNIVERSE, but they sure are awesome:

1) The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I have thought about this book every day since I finished it two weeks ago. I had the most difficult time putting it down, and that almost never happens to me. I found out that it's actually teen sci-fi, but hey, even better, because the heroine in THIS book actually has passions and perspective and is a fascinating, complex character. Can't wait for the sequel in the Fall. Disclaimer: Do NOT read this if you prefer light-hearted, escapist literature. Definitely not for you. DO read it if you loved The Road. I also recommend The Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale. Thanks to my wonderful mom who gave me both books to devour when I was "vacationing" in Boston!

2) If you are not watching SYTYCD, you must start NOW. Tomorrow night is the 100th episode and they will showcase some of the most famous routines ever. I'm not sure I will even be able to sleep tonight in anticipation. And if you missed it, please youtube Mia Michael's routine from this season about addiction set to my personal favorite song, Sara Bareilles' "Gravity." It was powerfully danced by Kayla and Kuponu. Also, thanks to Nap and Tab for that killer group routine set to The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," one of my new favorite songs-to-do-dishes-to-while-Ethan-dances.

Excuse Shopping

I need a new one. My standby for the past two and a half years has been, "I can't. I have twins." It's been awesome. I use it for everything:

"Mom, can I have friends over?"
"I have twins, sorry."

"Can you be a soccer coach/room mom/playgroup coordinator?"
"Well, I sure would, if I didn't have these twins."

"Honey, you're looking hot tonight..."
"Um, twins..."

It's gotten out of hand recently.

"Can you make me a sandwich?"
"No, I have twins."

"I can't find my shoes!"
"Twins!"

"Mom, why can't I go further out into the ocean?"
"BECAUSE I HAVE TWINS!"

The last exchange happened only yesterday. Pathetic, I know, but valid, right? If Ethan started drowning and I went to save him, who would hold the clingy twins on their lap?

So, I'm thinking that when the twins hit three in November, people are not going to let me get away with my favorite excuse any more. Any ideas of what I can say to get out of the next three years? Otherwise, skeptics or no, I'm sticking with this one, at least until they're 18.

"There's always money in the Banana Stand."*

If you happen to be at Provo's Farmers Market on a summer Saturday, and you also happen to have a hankering for a chocolate-dipped frozen banana, well then you are in luck, my friend! "The Banana Stand" is open for business this summer, and it will make all of your chocolate banana dreams come true! If you do stop by, this is what you might see:

The awesome homemade sign.

The products, brought to you in three mouthwatering varieties.**

The help, wearing awesome banana aprons.**

A little girl with glasses, earning the bananas her mom eats.

Some of us just sit around and eat sandwiches because we're grumpy.

Others dance in the rain wearing awesome banana skirts.

Some of us are smokin' hot and model Banana Stand tie-dyed t-shirts.

While others found a "Secret Sauce" booth with steak Shish Kabobs...

...and can't stop eating them.

Seriously, help me, because I'm addicted.

That is one satisfied customer (of the bananas, not the meat, cuz I'm not sharing, are you crazy?!)

So stop on by and if you say, "Hailey sent me here to get my banana on," I'm pretty sure you could get a dollar off! I don't know if that's true, but wouldn't it be funny if you went there and said that? I would totally give you a discount...

*If you know what unparalleled television comedy this line comes from, it would be worth a frozen banana, on me!

**Photography by Travis

Pigtails and Single Ladies

It's harder than you would think to get them to sit still that long.

This video makes me happy because it's filled with people I love:

We Thrillionaires enjoy ALL the performing arts. Maclain's level of commitment is stellar. Unfortunately, I just barely missed their rendition of "Poker Face."

Thursday Morning Confession

I haven't seen my laundry room floor in over six months.

What's one of your dirty little secrets?

"Send" and "Don't Die"

These videos are from our Thrillionaires show last Saturday night. The first one is Scott Champion and Julia Jolley singing "Send," a completely improvised song that is also an instant message conversation. It is amazingly brilliant, and pretty much why I do improv (you might recognize Scott as "Jonathan" from this.) The second clip is me singing "Don't Die" to Brett Merritt. This was a song title the audience gave us and we had to incorporate it somewhere in the musical. You can see more of our songs from the night on youtube. Just search under "Thrillionaires." I have to admit, after watching myself in these videos, I realize that a) It looks like I am ALWAYS laughing (I kind of am, although, in my defense, I really thought Brigham was going to start playing right after I yelled, "You have to get better for us!") and b) My speaking voice is really kind of aggravating. I think I need to use my "man" voice because what I think is my normal voice is actually painfully silly sounding. Oh well.

Keeping the Blues Away...

'Nuff said.


I am constantly thinking about cheeseburgers for some reason. Maybe it's because my dad told me In-N-Out is coming my way soon. Also, Five Guys, Chadder's, and some place called Stumpy's have all already moved in to the neighborhood.

Our extended family is obsessed with a game called "Werewolf." I recently taught it to my friends and created lots of new addicts to come play with me! (Too bad it takes me three days to recover from the loss of sleep.)

This show IS summer to me. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Finally, this video has kept me laughing all week:

I'm a good daughter...

VOTE for my mom's blog! It is not hard to do, and it will make her very happy which, in turn, will make me happier when I go visit her for two weeks in July and she can talk about how many people were nice enough to vote for her, instead of how I was a bad daughter by not telling my friends to vote for my mom. We all win! So vote for Swaneesinger! (That's her blog.)

See? She's used to winning stuff! (Don't make her mad!)

Sti-sti-sti-sticker Face, Sti-sti-sticker Face!

At a Loss

Here's the scenario: it's 11:30 PM, everyone's asleep but me, when all of a sudden both twins begin screaming at the top of their lungs. I rush into the room and am not sure what to do. I go back and forth between each screaming girl and find nothing noticeably wrong. The diapers are dry, it's not too hot or cold, no one's leg is caught in the crib slat. They are both half asleep and just happen to be experiencing the same nightmare at the same time. Normally, in this circumstance, Ben takes one baby and I take the other and the problem is solved. However, each time I go to comfort one girl, the neglected one cries even harder. I even try taking them both out to sit on the couch with me, but that fails miserably. So what in the world do I do? I finally had to leave the room and I just turned off the monitor. I can hear the screams and thumps upstairs and I'm just hoping it subsides. Seriously, does anyone have any suggestions? I've got 8 weeks to go and it's bound to happen again!

This single mom gig is a bit out of control. I don't think mixing it with twins necessarily makes the best formula for a sane person. Please try to avoid it. And please let the girls not learn to climb out of their cribs until Ben comes home again.

Wish me luck...

P.S. Ethan begged to sleep in my bed and so I finally gave in. About an hour ago, I hear a loud thump and he has fallen out of the bed on to the hardwood floor. He doesn't cry but is incredibly disoriented and keeps walking around in circles and making jerky movements. Not only that, but I find that he has peed in my bed. He is so banished back to his own room, and could this night BE any more awesome? Mila just needs to have to throw up, and it will be one for the record books. Sidenote: Mila is hilarious when she throws up, screaming "Oh no! I can't take this! Anything but this! I've got to do this alone, Mom!!" DRAMA EXTRAORDINAIRE. I think the whole neighborhood wakes up.

Good night?

The Awesomeness of May

Yeah, so I'm not good at blogging these days. I'm starting to put it into the same category as sending out cards and making crafts and doing kids' hairdos, that category having the title "Things I am Horrible at Doing." I don't even make comments any more--too much work. And remember when I said I was going to make my blog private? Yeah, WAY too much work. I still might, some day...

You know who is a serial blogger? My mom. She wrote this in honor of me being born and she has tons of comments from strangers who now know really random things about me. She LOVES leaving comments and I admire her passion. I do! I just live in the blog world vicariously through her. It's much easier and just as exciting. None of the work and all of the glory!

But, blogging or no, May is still awesome (except for the part that I am a single mom for 10 weeks-blergh.)

Here are some exciting pictures for your May viewing pleasure:

When the kids had a day off of school, we headed to the zoo, of course! The Demings were there as well.

Extreme Giraffe Close-up

The Elephant Show

A giant elephant sculpture

Mila and Ethan, on the train

Lucy found this turtle shell and took it as her own. She actually manhandled some older children who tried to play in it.

Partying at the Clarks. I believe this was taken while "Poker Face" was playing...

My favorite new shoes. I had my toes painted to match them, natch.

Birthday dinner at Bangkok Grill--I ate Thai food for 24 hours straight--heaven!

Breakfast on the patio. Lane's the nudie.

Tanya and I as Rosalind and Celia. Our costumes are to die for. And yet quite heavy and cumbersome. I've stepped on Tanya's train and ripped it more than once. Clumsy!

April and I--she plays my evil mother in the show. Her wig is a character all on its own.

Pagey and I as smokin' shepherdesses.

With Cody, in our wedding get-up.

Blushing brides.

The whole gang. Love them! Only one more show to go!