The Husband Survey

My dear Stacey tagged me for this a while ago and I almost forgot!

HUSBAND SURVEY
What is his name?
Michael Sheldon (I know, I know...I've seen When Harry Met Sally)
How long have you been married?
10 years
How long did you date?
8 months until we got engaged
How old is he?
37
Who eats more?
My Michael
Who said "I love you" first?
He did!!
Who gave the 1st kiss?
He did. I was turned away from him and looking down--doing all I could to give the signal NOT to kiss me. To this day I refer to the incident as "lip rape."
Who sings better?
That would be me.
Who is smarter?
I'm sure here is where he would start reminding me about his giant brain and how he knows billions of things...But seriously, he is really smart, but I'm not stupid. We both have our smarts.
Whose temper is worse?
Now, this one I'll give entirely to him.
Who does the laundry?
See, now this one is all me--that's what it's about, right? The give-and-take? Wait...
Who does the dishes?
I do them probably over 90% of the time.
Who pays the bills?
Me!
Who mows the lawn?
Look, I have never mowed a lawn in my life and I don't plan on starting.
Who cooks dinner?
This one, again, goes to me. When we were newlyweds and I was the breadwinner he was the cook, but now we've switched. Sometimes I declare Saturday his dinner night and he goes along with it.
Who drives when you are together?
That depends, but it's usually him.
Who is more stubborn?
That would be the love 'o my life.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
Me. I don't even care if I don't think I was wrong. I don't like to fight; I want the argument over and done.
Whose parents do we see the most?
We see mine a little more, but in recent months we've seen his mom monthly as well. His dad just moved to Maryland so we will see him more now, hopefully.
Who has more friends?
I guess I do because I care more about having friends.
Who proposed?
My Michael
Who has more siblings?
We are both from families of eight children.
Who wears the pants?
I guess he lets me wear them most of the time; he's more comfortable when he's pants-less :)

I will tag Chica and Quita for this one.

I Spy, Teensy Style

Lately, Teensy and I have been doing some cuddling on the couch and playing that age-old classic, "I Spy." Some of our games have cracked me up. Here are the highlights:

We were facing the living room window
Teensy: I spy with my little eye...something green.
Me: Oh, wow, this is a tough one...
Teensy: I'll give you a clue, Mom. They're green and long and go down the walls on both sides of the window.
Me: The curtains?
Teensy: (thrilled) Yes! You got it!

See what a genius I am? But wait, things got even trickier...

Teensy: I spy with my little eye...something orange.
Me: (initially, genuinely stumped as there is a shortage of orange in my living room) Wow, let me see...
Teensy: Okay, okay, I'll give you a clue. It's orange and tall and a light and has a circle on it.
Me: The light?
Teensy: You got it, Mom! Good job!

Wow--with a clue like "a light" how did I ever guess that it was, in fact, a light? Call Mensa. Teensy, herself, is quite the guesser and doesn't require nearly as many clues as her dear old mom.

Me: I spy with my little eye...something beautiful.
Teensy: ME! (elated giggling)

Anyway, it's apparently her new favorite game. I guess I don't need to act like her things are too hard to guess. She's just as happy when I correctly guess as when I act like she's stumped me.

Move Over Mary Kay

There's a new cosmetics diva in town...


This is what happens when you leave your purse down where a two year-old can get it. Holy makeover nightmare! Reminds me of a time I went to the Clinique counter at ZCMI.

Anyway, I love the lipstick mustache and the bold use of mascara. She even gave herself lowlights with the mascara. Wonderful!

Mason's Science Fair

Mason asked to participate in his school's science fair this year. I kind of cringed and said yes. Then I had the genius plan of having it be a fabulous father/son activity. Michael agreed and I was off the hook!

Mason wanted to do something with magnets so the two of them devised an experiment to test three different magnets to see which one was the strongest. Mason really enjoyed all the time he spend with his dad while doing the experiment, writing the report, and making the display board.

When it came time to go to the actual Science Fair at school, my boy got a little nervous. He was worried about what questions people would ask. In the end, he had a great time. I mean, it's not like people off the street are coming to the elementary school Science Fair. The room was packed, but it was primarily attended, of course, by families of the other participants. No one was really stumping him with deep probing questions. I could tell as the evening went on that Buddy was more confident as he demonstrated his experiment repeatedly. And I know we'll be back next year...

Ward Talent Show

So this year I participated in the Ward Talent Show (I've never signed up to participate before; I like to think of the Ward Halloween Party as my Ward Talent Show, but I digress...). A small group of friends re-did "The Worst Music Video Ever" of You-Tube fame. I don't know how to do that whole You-Tube thing, but if you click on my friend Cami's blog, you can catch the You-Tube version of us imitating the video. I was concerned that people would think that we were trying to be serious with our act, but when I heard laughter coming from the audience during our performance I knew they knew we weren't taking ourselves seriously. Anyway, enjoy!

Let There Be Light

Today I did a little fix-it project that was long overdue. I fixed the overhead light in Maia and Teensy's room. It's been broken for years. I'm not proud of that, but it's a fact. Someone in my house had a slight temper tantrum and pulled the pull cord right out of the ceiling fan so that there was no longer a way to turn the light off and on. I thought that someone should be the one to fix it. Well, that never happened and who were the losers in this power struggle? My poor girls (although it only really gets dark when they are in their room in the winter). Anyway, today I was feeling like some things in my life were uncontrollable (i.e. Mackenna Rose) and I looked at that stupid light and just couldn't take it anymore so I fixed it. I'm handy like that.

I got out my trusty power screwdriver and took the light fixture off the ceiling fan and took the whole shebang to The Home Depot. In my mind, visits to The Home Depot are just like the commercials. You're met at the door by a smiling apron-clad employee who is a general contractor/master electrician/master carpenter--you know, the whole nine yards--who just happens to want to work at a home improvement store. Then, the jack-of-all-trades sweeps you to the exact location of exactly what you need whilst telling you the three simple steps it will take to get your job done. Well, my visit didn't quite go exactly like that, since I was accompanied by Teensy and said uncontrollable two year-old. I knew where the lighting section was without an escort but then had to hunt down a worker. She/he (Teensy and I are at odds as to which this particular employee was) was as friendly as the ones on the commercials, but certainly not as knowledgeable. While I was busy threatening Kennna she/he looked through the fan light switches and grabbed one for me. Then she/he proceeded to tell me that "whoever took this part off" (holding the piece of the light I'd brought in with me) would know how to put the new part in. When I said, "Oh, I took it apart," she/he looked duly impressed and muttered something about how I sure knew what I was doing. Sure?!? (Side note: the part she/he gave me wasn't right and I ended up running back there to exchange it, sans assistance from an orange aproned friend.)

I did hit one little snafu when I discovered that the wires on the new part weren't compatible with the old light socket, itself, but it wasn't insurmountable. In the end, I changed that light socket, too, as well as the original fan light switch. Then I cut the power to the upstairs, reattached the necessary wires, turned the breaker back on and... voila! There was light! And Michael thinks I waste my time watching all that HGTV. I think this little payoff speaks for itself.

I am rather pleased with myself, in case you couldn't tell. The whole project cost under $6 and took about a half hour (plus four years, but who's counting?). I should have done it ages ago. Maia is tickled to have a light again; she seriously does not remember a time when her room had a light.

New Meme

Tracy tagged me for this so here goes:


What time did you get up this morning?
7:03 a.m.
Diamonds or pearls?
Pearls
What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Juno
What is your favorite TV show?
Designed to Sell, The Office
What do you usually have for breakfast?
Cold cereal
What food do you dislike?
Rice
What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Enchanted soundtrack
What kind of car do you drive?
Toyota Sienna (love it!)
Favorite Sandwich
PB&J with Martin's chips smashed inside
Favorite item of clothing?
"Favorite Chino" pants from GAP (I have 4 different colors!)
If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Disneyworld with my kids
Favorite Brand of clothing
Anything that fits well
Where would you retire to?
Near my kids
What is your most recent memorable birthday?
This year--many dear friends showered me with attention and gifts

Favorite sport to watch
Football
When is your birthday?
January 3
Are you a morning person or a night person?
Depends on when I went to bed the night before
What is your shoe size?
10
Pets?
Not yet. I'm too mean.
Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I now have two blogging sisters-in-law and two blogging sisters. How fun is that? (Check them out on my sidebar!)
What did you want to be when you were little?
Mom
How are you today?
Just wonderful!
What is your favorite candy?
M&M's, Snickers
What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
Feb 26th--new Sophie Kinsella book comes out and my sister had it shipped to me for my birthday!
What are you listening to right now?
Mackenna rant about her Dora pajamas
What is the last thing you ate?
Orange
Do you wish on stars?
No
If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Red
How is the weather right now?
Very cold--winter mix is a-brewin'
Last person you spoke to on the phone.
Tracy
Favorite Soft Drink
Gingerale
Favorite Restaurant
Red, Hot & Blue or Ram's Head
Hair color
Brown
What was your favorite toy as a child?
My sisters' and my Barbie House (my dad made it and it is AWESOME!)
Summer or winter
Summer, but Fall is my favorite
Hugs or kisses
Both
Chocolate or vanilla
Chocolate, no question
When was the last time you cried?
Today, I am one to cry.
What is under your bed?
Scary thought--some boxes of stuff, old backpacks, probably stray solo socks...
What did you do last night?
I did some laundry, read a little and watched Project Runway.
What are you a afraid of?
Death of one of my children
Salty or sweet
Sweet
Favorite day of the week?
I guess Saturday
How many towns have you lived in?
8--Glen Rock, Hoffman Estates, Shrewsbury, Provo, Bucuresti, Ploiesti, Brasov, Laurel
Do you make friends easily?
Yes

I'd love to hear from Sally, Wendy, and Whitney.