Potty Talk

What a whirlwind of a month! Two deaths and two funerals certainly put a freeze on my "normal" life. The last thing I needed was that dang cold I had. From what I heard, it's supposedly this flu that's going around. It starts with serious pain in the throat and chest. I struggled with that thing for a week and a half. Makes me feel like a big baby. The cough didn't turn out to be the big problem. My body has changed. I'm feeling older. Feeling like I might be needing to buy myself some Depends. Every time I cough, I pee my pants! Oh hell, is really all I can say about it. I'm at work, my bladder is full, I don't really feel it yet, and BAM, I cough. How do you think I look every time I cough and have to cross my legs? I'm not really accepting of this problem but there's not much I can do about it, except get some diapers. Perhaps, surgery will be a part of my future but I'll put that on hold. (hold, get it?)

Speaking of diapers, Claire has been going potty on the toilet. I've worked on it for about 5 days now. I still don't think she "gets it", meaning she can't feel like she's gotta go and then just tell me. I still remind her all day long. The first day I started, I wanted to put the diaper back on about 50 times but then I remembered that I am so tired of diapers. I am tired of wet beds. I'm ready for a raise. So we just keep plugging along. Kate isn't close to potty training. Once I've got Claire down, I'll work on her.
So much excitement around here. Feel free to come over and join me.

I See France

In France, we stayed at the Hotel Lotti. We took the Eurostar from London to Paris. When I first got into our taxi, I was in culture shock. The apartments in the city looked similar to this:

It was almost like a dream to me. I've only seen buildings like this in movies and maybe a theme park? But this was the real deal. It was amazing. In fact, my favorite thing about Europe was it's charm.

Culture shock again. The Eiffel Tower was HUGE! Only in pictures had I seen it. I took a picture of it from this angle for size effect.


Oh my gosh. This had to be the best bread and butter EVER!!! I have never enjoyed slabbing the whole entire chunk of butter on a roll, but I could have even eaten it raw!



The Sacre Coeur. Though our trip in France started getting "churchie" as Gretchen put it, the churches were phenomenal! Highlights of this church was hearing the nuns sing and giving their sermon in French. Also, inside joke with Gretchen, free babysitting and free wifi. At the Sacre Coeur we watched the sunset on the Eiffel Tower. I loved watching the lights sparkle on the hour. I wonder how much it costs to light that gigantic thing. I googled and and have yet to find out.



Ahh..Notre Dame. My favorite part of visiting this church was watching my mom study it. It was a dream come true for her. She studied this building when she was younger. She knew everything about it and I tried to get as much information from her as I could.



Another shocker for me....no, not the nude statue, well..maybe the nude statue. It's the fact that there are statues all over Paris. You go through the parks and it's full of statues. The park I go to has a slide and a swing.

The McCafe. I went in to get a diet coke at McDonald's and I passed this bakery section of McDonald's. Wow, we only have hot fudge sundaes and apple pies at my local McDonald's.

Another highlight was going to the Monet display at the Grand Palais. Just clicking on my link and going through the online tour is incredible. (Note to Katy, since you have high speed internet and a new MacBook, you can watch it too!)

Last but not least, here's a picture of "the tunnel". You know what I'm talking about right? Give it your best shot.

A Friendly Reminder

My favorite show is on TV tonight! Remember how I begged my friend, Celeste, to watch it? After sending a text to remind her, she finally watched the 2nd season on demand. This is the text she sent me: Ok, finished them all. I tear up at least once on every single episode. Thanksgiving by far the best one. This show is the best Christmas/Bday gift you have ever given me!

Um.... I told you so!

It's Not Always About Maggie....Well...

Tonight at dinner...

Me: Who wants to the say the prayer?

Maggie: Me!!! Heavenly Father, we're grateful for this day. Please bless that Michael be put in a box and mailed away....

I Can Spell!

Maggie: Mom, I learned to spell some new words!

Me: (very excited to hear her) Oh, what are they?

Maggie: B-O-O-B! That spells boob!

Me: Uh, yes that's right. Where did you learn that?

Maggie: I dunno. K, here's the other one but I don't know what is spells... P-O-O-P!

Me: That spells poop. Maggie, where did you learn these words?

Maggie: In the slide at McDonald's!

20 + Years Later!

Denise and I at Blenheim Palace.

Freezing cold with the London Eye in the background

Eating, one of our favorite things to do!

It all started on the first day of school when I was in 4th grade. I walked to my classroom and there was Denise and her mother, waiting for school to begin. This was Denise's first day of school at Walt Disney Elementary. We became the best of friends. We've been friends ever since. One day we were walking home from school and, for some reason, we had our fingers pricked. I don't know if we poked them ourselves or if we did some type of project with blood at school. I clearly remember the day and place. We stopped in front of the fence that lead to Pebble Place and we pressed our bloody fingers up to each other and became "blood sisters". Denise moved to South Africa after 6th grade. Then she moved to Germany. She came back to visit two summers when we were in high school. Then I went to Germany to see her after high school. We kept in touch with letters and when technology stepped up a few notches, we kept in touch via email. She still lives in Germany with her husband and two beautiful daughters.

When I learned I was going to London, I shot Denise an email. I said I'd be in London and if she happen to be in the area, let me know. Next thing I know, her plane ticket is bought, hotel is booked and I would be seeing my friend Denise!

I wondered what it would be like when I met up with my friend again. Heck, I'd had 5 kids and lived a conservative lifestyle. What if she was all wild and totally different? Only time would tell.

To sum things up, I had THE BEST time with Denise!!! We stayed up late talking, we hit London like a hurricane, and we LAUGHED. We laughed and laughed and laughed. It seemed like we had only been apart for a year, not 20 years. Time went by too fast, I wanted to spend more time together. When I said good bye I kept my composure, but when she was gone, I got a bit teary. We didn't have our kids with us, we didn't have any responsibilities, this was our time to have fun. I loved it! I hope I can see my blood sister again soon. It can't be another 20 years.

I Told You So!

I remember when Gilmore Girls ended. Something was missing. I loved that show. It was simple, not raunchy, just a great story. A few shows have replaced my love for Gilmore Girls. One of those was Glee. Made my day to watch that show until it decided to turn into a trashy-slut-of-a- show. SERIOUSLY, I was so disappointed. I even tried to watch just the singing parts of the show but it just didn't cut it. It was one sad day when I changed the recording option of my DVR. No more Glee, good bye. One show, this one show, has me excited.... Parenthood. It is fabulous. I keep telling my friends to watch it. Particularly my friend Celeste. We use to watch Gilmore Girls and call each other the next day to give our opinion of the episode. Now, I sit and watch Parenthood and think that I would love to discuss the story lines with my friends but no one seems to care. Come on peeps, this is a GREAT SHOW!!!! It really is. Start with the first season and catch up. Celeste, how many times do I have to remind you about this show? There will be a day when someone comes up to me and says, "Alison, you were right about Parenthood." What will my response be? "Duh, I told you so!"