Yeah, so I should be taking a nap

...but instead I am posting like a crazy woman. I'll go nap in a second because I am, confessedly, FATIGUED. Super J got "The White Giant" (aka: his big ol' truck) this afternoon (hallelujah!) from the body shop, and they had it all washed and polished up. It looked very nice.

But I doubt it was as nice as "The Red Rocket" (aka: the red minivan...the girls named the vehicles, btw, but the names have totally stuck and that is what we refer to them by). Just before Super J came home to go pick up The White Giant, he took the Red Rocket (which he's been using this week) through the car wash and filled it up with gas and got the oil changed. Then, he came home, wiped down the insides and cleaned the windows and vacuumed the thing out--and even cleaned the carpets using our beloved Steam "I am a better mother because of this machine" Cleaner (which I had out anyway because I'd cleaned up a spot or two in our living room just this morning).

The Red Rocket looks and smells fantastic.

I helped out with the wiping down and vacuuming and carpet cleaning (as much as I could...bending over for extended periods of times is a real pain, literally), as did Miss O, and we worked up quite a little sweat. But Super J did the bulk of the work, and I really appreciate(d) all his efforts. Who KNEW how filthy that poor car had gotten. Yeeps. When I went to change the water after cleaning the little floor board carpets, it was nasty dirty black. Go ahead, say it with me: Ewwwwwww. Unsightly. And I think to myself, why do we not do this more often???? Because it is glorious to ride around in a car that is clean!

Anywhoooo, it totally reminded me of this Zima Production (why do so many alcohol based companies create such funny commercials?) and had to share.

It's embarrassing to confess how many "dead" french fries and goldfish crackers (oh, and let's not forget dum-dum lollipop sticks) we pitched from the backseats, but there were lots. Ugh. Again, oh so nasty.

So, thanks, Honey, for your labor of love. I LURVES me a clean car, and now I don't have to be jealous of Kristan's beautifully tidy minivan any more. :)

Ooooooo Miss O and Miss Grumpy Pants

I gotta say with lots of love, Miss O is at that age where sometimes, honestly, she is a very trying little girl.

We have been up since about 8:00. So far, "we" have dumped water not once, not twice, but THREE times. Gosh! Maybe even four times, because at one point, she was pouring water from one cup to another...so I lose count. But it's definitely more than once. All while I am trying to get Miss E's cake done for her birthday. GRRRRRR. She's also gotten into all the wipes, and then found all the empty boxes of wipes and brought them all out (don't ask why I haven't pitched these empty containers. I'm sure I read about some fabulous storage idea in "Real Simple" magazine). She's currently carrying the boxes from one room to the next and trying to sit on them.

I am 100% sure that if I wasn't trying to get stuff done, none of this would bother me. Okay. I lie. All the water dumping would and does bother me. But the wipe thing...I'm kinda used to that by now, as it seems to be a rite of passage when you are in your (near) two's. But right now, I'm so dang grumpy it's not even funny.

Hmmmmm...did I mention I just got back from a great getaway with Super J? Yes. It only took 24 hours for me to snap like a crazed thing at my kids yesterday...around 5:47ish. I know because I looked at the clock, having realized I'd just done it. How sad is that?

UPDATE 1: Just had to put Miss O in time out because she was pitching a fit concerning moving chairs and touching the computer's on/off button. She keeps telling me "NO! NO! NO!" and I keep telling her, "I know! That's what I'm saying, too." So, to the step she went and I sat by her and waxed eloquent to my 22 month old about how frustrating it is not to get our own way, etc. etc. She is continuing to cry during my little sermon. Then all of a sudden, she stops. She looks at me and I swear, she says, "I feel better, Momma." We hug and she gets up, fit over. Bizarre.

UPDATE 2: 10 minutes later. Keep in mind, I'm still in my pajama's and didn't bother with a bath yesterday. Thus, I look pretty darn scary. There is a knock at the door. I make a mad dash to put something more appropriate on (pants verses pj shorts) and answer it. Two sweet Jehovah's Witnesses are there. They ask how I feel about the current state of the world, bringing up the scary things that are going on, including how terrible gas prices are, and I tell them that I am LDS and that we need to be wise, not panic, but realize that there is hope and that all this is part of a plan. They share a scripture out of Revelations and agree that there is hope. They leave a pamphlet (it will refer me to scriptures from my own Bible...loved that) and I ask if they need water or anything. Nope. They've just started out and are doing well. I wish them luck and share that I did this when I was 21 and know it's not the easiest thing sharing messages of hope, and they depart with smiles and waves from the girls.

And guess who doesn't feel quite so grumpy. :)

From the Bottom of My Heart...

For anyone who sent good thoughts for me yesterday, this is for you (and I hope it works...I was trying to just download the video of it, but clearly this is not up to my technical level yet, so I just have the link...for now!):

http://www.hallmark.com/ECardWeb/ECV.jsp?a=EG5604772792761M255657245Y&product_id=

:) Laurenda