Top 11, Take 2

Elton John Night: For those of you that are new around here, I feel like I have to say that Elton is one of my all time favorite artists. I knew the words to his songs when I was a young child and am very critical of anyone messing with these songs. Let's see how they do, shall we?

Scotty-Country Comfort- I know that I must have heard this song before...I used to pour over every EJ album in my dad's collection...but I can't recall it at all. Maybe Scotty is just singing it differently. Whatever, it's really good. Perfectly suited for his country voice and grandma in the audience! So darn cute!

Naima- I'm Still Standing- I totally think that this worked perfectly, and I think that Sir Elton is digging it. I completely disagree with Jennifer and Randy....I didn't think it was corny at all. She looked great and the reggae feel was perfect for the song and for her.

Paul- Rocket Man- Ick. HB #2 even said "He annoys me." Heh. I just don't get Paul At.All. I thought the song was terrible. Could someone please explain him to me because I've tried and I just don't get it. Bottom of the night for sure.

Pia- Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me- While she could have done something else, I think that this was the perfect song for her. Chills. 'Nuff said. But she'd better step it up next week. (so there)

Stefano- Tiny Dancer-I have tried to like him. I even closed my eyes for part of this, but no. His phrasing is off of the beat and and it ruins the song. If there is something I'm missing, let me know, but I think he's in the bottom this week.

Lauren- Candle In The Wind-I love that Lauren doesn't seem to take herself too seriously. Do you think that she's the joker of the group? This performance was UNBELIEVABLE. Unmatched. The Best of the Night. (See? Even Jen thinks so!)

James- Saturday Nights' Alright for Fighting- James did a great job, unfortunately he had to follow Lauren's perfect performance so I'm probably rating him a little lower than he deserves. Yes, I think he did a great job and did more than enough to stay.

Thia-Daniel- Not so great. Yes, she sounded nice, but she just doesn't have any excitement factor at all. I think that she is at risk tonight.

Casey- Your Song- Beautiful. Yes, I'm a Casey fan, and this may have been his best performance to date. And the falsetto (or whatever that note was) ending was brilliant. Nicely done. (Sidenote: wth about last week and Casey? Yes, this is the week that we all learned our lesson. Vote!)

Jacob-Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word- He sounds like he's got a mouth full of marbles but his end note was pretty great. I do feel, however, that he is over-emotional.

Haley- (My word, is she still here?) Bennie and the Jets- This doesn't suit her like Motown did last week. I still think she's awkward in her movements and she should have slurred some of the words more-she was a little too perfect in her enunciation and I don't think it worked. Obviously I disagree with the judges.

*****

Best of the night: Lauren, hands down.

Safe: Scotty, Naima, Pia, James, Casey.

Not great, but still probably safe: Jacob, Haley

Bottom three: Paul, Stefano, Thia.

*****

What say you, Headless friends?

Just A Note

...or 2.

First, I wrote about Guilty Pleasures on Monday and the photo that I found for the post is really beautiful. I mean, the post is good, but the picture is really great. Not mine. I'm still thinking about it 3 days later. Check it out. Oh, and go ahead and leave a a comment there and tell me your favorite guilty pleasure!

Second, our new 'baby' is coming home this week. No, not a baby-baby. My good friend Carrie, who is an amazing artist, journalist, and blogger, had an art show this month and we bought an original painting. I can't wait to get it home and find it a home somewhere. Her blog is My Studio 13, and she recently started a Zazzle store where you can buy custom iPad and iPhone cases. If I had an iPhone I'd totally get one. Drool over this:

 

My crappy photography doesn't do it justice.

It's not officially baseball season until after Spring Break

OK, the season can start now. 

Post-game talk. 9:15 on a school night. I know.

Yes, there are many, many more nights like this in my future.

Check out their curls coming out of the back of their caps... I love it!

Doesn't everyone hate the way they sound?

I promised about a dozen people that I would do this, so here it is. Ignore the bags under my eyes, won't you?

So. How do I sound? Did I sound like you thought I would? I maybe should have had a drink of water before I started, but oh well. I will say that trying to talk quieter than usual helped me like it a little better. Some of the words were obviously hard for me since I can turn on my Memphis in about 1.2 seconds. Maybe someday I'll do it when I have heavy southern influences around me and you'll notice a BIG difference, guaranteed!

Here is the list of words and questions:


Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

• What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
• What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
• What do you call gym shoes?
• What do you say to address a group of people?
• What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
• What do you call your grandparents?
• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
• What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Have you been considering doing this? Make sure you link to your post here for me so I can come make fun of listen to you, too!

Motown-Top 11

Motown needs no introduction. As Ryan would say, Let's get right to it!

Casey-Heard It Through The Grapevine- Casey-Style, raspy-cool, different, definitely his own. An early favorite, and still in my top 4. Nice way to start the show!

Thia- Heatwave- Good tone, nice to see her with more energy, but it still wasn't exciting. I'm actually surprised that she isn't doing better. Her voice is pitch-perfect, but each performance could have been so much better.

Jacob-You're All I Need to Get By- I really loved his control tonight. Nicely done.

(Jennifer. What have you done with your look tonight? Is it for the season that you look like an Easter Egg? The blue eyes and the pink dress? Not a fan.)

Lauren- You Keep Me Hanging On- I had to take a phone call during this song (which made me laugh, by the way. How often can you say that?) but the Headless Family, HG and HD, gave it a big thumbs up, so I'll take it.

Stefano- Hello- Hello? Blech. He is so awkward with his hand gestures and stage movements. Ryan, he is no David Cook, let's just get that out of the way. I don't really like his voice...is there something that I'm missing here? The judges continue to like him and I just don't get it.

Haley-You Really Got a Hold On Me- Her voice is much more suited to this blusey/soul/Motown sound. She still isn't one of my favorites but did enough to stay.

Scotty- For Once In My Life- Knocked it out of the park! This song could go on an album and be released as a single RIGHT NOW. Seriously, one of my favorites of the night.

Pia- All In Love Is Fair- (Another ballad? I think that she needs to break out of that.) Pia killed, as usual. Beautiful. I agree with Jennifer, though, that she needs to move more and maybe try something with a little more energy. (Thanks Randy, but I said it first. Hmph.)

Paul- Tracks of My Tears- I'm not a fan of Paul, and I didn't like this at all. Yes, he is unique, but I don't get it and I don't think that this song suited him.

Naima- Dancing in the Streets- Oh yeah! This is perfectly suited to her. She finally nailed the song and the dancing. If she can keep this up then I may add her to my top 4.

James- Livin' for the City- I'm not a fan of this song but he did really well. He controlled the scream when he needed to and belted it when he needed to.

Best of the night: Casey, Jacob, Lauren, Scotty, Pia, Naima, James.

Did enough to stay: Haley,

Bottom three: Thia, Stefano, Paul.

Who will go: Thia or Stefano.

Who do you think will go home?

Know What?

My kids rock.

We have had a great Tuesday around here despite the train wreck that was Monday. It's so nice to have them around, including the girl who will be in and out this week, on spring break from college.

I have some fantastic friends.

Including one that always seems to be available to chat just when I need her, and a few that calm my fears and make me laugh.

My husband?

He knows just how to talk me off of the ledge and knows when going out to get Chinese is the best dinner idea of all.

Know what? Right now, in this very moment, I am happier than I've been in a long time.

And that feels very, very good.

The Best Laid Plans

You know how when you have a free Monday after a kinda busy weekend and so you plan a bunch of stuff to do? Your mental to do list is a mile long but you're prioritizing! And planning to get the worst of the  projects out of the way first so you can feel accomplished? So you start a load of laundry and get on the phone since that is your most dreaded task, checking off phone calls and starting to feel so great about your progress. Then the sh** hits the fan, almost literally, with one child telling you he got sick again. So you hang up the first load of laundry since your dryer died last week and say to yourself "It's OK! I can get all of these phone calls done and move on to other cleaning!" But then you realize that you have to cancel an afternoon appointment because of the sick kid and cancel the dinner that you've been planning to cook because it's too rich for the sick kid and you can't really get to the grocery store anyway with a cranky sick kid. Then you realize that you've had enough of the television and video games, (enough to last a lifetime, really,) and have a screen-time ban and send the kids to their rooms so you can get chicken soup started. There is so much going on while you're trying to cook that you don't realize until hours later that you've forgotten to put the carrots in the soup and the homemade biscuits you thought you had perfected were much more sticky than they should be, and damn if you weren't looking forward to those biscuits. When your husband walks in he helps you to realize that one boy is still staring at the ceiling of his room so you end his no-screen exile to realize that the other finally took a nap and slept for 2 1/2 hours. How is he going to sleep tonight?! Then your husband has an impromptu business meeting exactly when you are putting dinner on the table and getting the unruined biscuits out of the oven and by the time he gets to sit down and eat the soup is cold and the biscuits need to be reheated and he decides to take this minute to tell you that he doesn't like tomatoes in the soup anyway. And it's raining again and since I didn't leave the house all day I don't have shoes on and ask him to take out the trash and somehow it's 3 hours later and the trash is still in the middle of the kitchen.

So, yeah, that was my day. How was yours?

How The Government Should Spend Money

I've not gotten political much in this space but I suspect that if you've been reading me for any amount of time you can guess which way I lean. With so many things going on in our country and around the world it's not hard to get frustrated and throw your hands up. Which I actually do. Often.

But here's the thing. When it comes to federal, state, and local budgets it should be easy. Guess what? No money? No budget increases. No raises. No increases in benefits on any level. Every department should be cut by a certain percentage. Across the board, no playing favorites or listening to lobbyists. Furlough days should not be met with lawsuits; at least those jobs have been saved.

Probably unpopular with some of my readers but here's some more... Prove that you've paid taxes in this country before you receive free government services, including free public schools and hospital services, as well as things like unemployment, disability, and government food programs.

Research should be largely privately funded, whether it is by the drug companies, private universities, or wealthy individuals subsidizing their personal interests. Not only would that save money that governments are spending but it would eliminate public red tape. It would create more private sector jobs, leaving people to rely less on the government and be at it's whims.

It really just comes down to responsibility. If I don't have money I can't spend it. Why should the government be any different? That's just how I see it.

Floors. It Never Ends.

So you've see the wood. You've seen the carpet. Have I mentioned that we're not done yet?

Trying to find tile to put in the bathroom, laundry room and my giant new closet, has been so, so difficult. The first thing that we thought we liked we decided to wait on because we didn't feel like we'd seen enough. So we went to a big box home improvement store. Found something we liked. Bought it. Got it home and it was AWFUL. Mistake thanks to the terrible lighting: the tile that we chose ended up being a putty with pink, rather than a taupe/brown and hideous with the granite. Returned.

One day last week I dragged my mom around some tile places and after the first 2 our heads were swimming. Do you know how many types, colors, styles and sizes of tile there are out there? I swear we didn't see the same one twice. Anyway, we decided to take home a few samples to see the color in the space, lighting, and with the cabinet and countertop. It took all of two seconds to choose. Oddly enough, it was the very first tile that HD and I chose that made the cut. Darker color, but same tile.

All that wasted time. Now, if we can just get our contractor here to get it in!

American Idol-Birth Year Songs

I always find it interesting what the contestants choose to sing from the year they were born. It's obviously not the year that they love most musically, and HOLY COW I am old enough to be these kid's mother.

That's enough of that. I like to live in a bubble where I'm perpetually about 19. Ahem.

Naima-(Tina Turner)- I found it flat and agree with Jennifer that if she doesn't find her notes, she'll be gone soon.

Paul-I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues- I found this to be completely horrible. I am not a fan of Paul's and I disagree with the judges: cold or not it pretty much sucked. Don't mess with my Elton, baby.

Thia-Colors of the Wind- Her voice is very smooth. It was boring and I also agree with the judges that she needs to do something a little more upbeat and current if she wants to hang around longer.'

*What is up with the feathers this year? OK, I know that Steven is wearing them but it is NOT a fashion statement and you should only be wearing them if they are currently serving a second recreational purpose, if you know what I mean.

James-I'll Be There For You- Unfortunately I didn't get to see this one but HB#1 told me that he really liked it and would give it a 9 out of 10. HD agreed, so I'll trust them!

Haley-I'm Your Baby Tonight- Sorry, but all I got around here was big groans. I really think she's a mess: vocally and performing. She won't be around for long.

Stefano- If You Don't Know Me By Now- The Simply Red version of this song is one of my all time favorites. I can remember belting it out on my drive to and from college. Unfortunately, I vehemently disagree with Randy and don't think that it was anywhere CLOSE to the best of the night. If you ask me it was closer to one of the worst of the night. Also? The basketball shoes were stupid. Even #1 said so.

Pia-Where Do Broken Hearts Go?- I think that Pia is the only contestant that has ever been able to pull off Whitney with reasonable success. That's not to say that I loved it--I actually didn't like the dance mix version that she did--but she's got pipes and vocally sounded like one of the best. As for the satin jumpsuit? Poor choice. HD said that she looked pregnant, which I doubt was the look that she was going for.

Scotty-Can I Trust You With My Heart?- I love Scotty, love his low, melodic voice, but I really think that it's time to do something a little different. He should choose an 'adult contemporary' song and put his country twist on it, but singing it straight is getting boring.

Karen- Love Will Lead You Back- I think that she has once again over sung and over performed. There were bad notes all the way through, she tries to bring too much power to the whole song, and really? who is approving her hair styles? The giant bunslashsecondhead was wildly distracting. Confession: I'm not a fan of the Spanish in every song. I realize that it is obviously her heritage, but I find the switching back and forth between languages takes away from the continuity of the songs. I find myself thinking that she all of a sudden has marbles in her mouth. Is this just me?

Casey-Smells Like Teen Spirit- Casey nailed it. I loved it. Wanted to get up and jump around my living room and swing my hair like I was in a mosh pit. Not that I've ever been in a mosh pit, but you know what I mean. Right? {crickets} Oh come on!

Lauren-I'm The Only One- I've loved Lauren since her audition (did I say that last week?,) and think that she did really, really well tonight. Flu or no, she really came back strong after last week.

Jacob-Alone- He sounded really good....like, better than he's sounded since voting started. The only problem that I have with Jacob is that I can't watch him when he sings because of his bounce. It's quite distracting.

*****

Honestly, I'm not sure that we need to do all of the weeks between now and the top 4. I'll go ahead and say it. There are only 4 people that can win this: James, Pia, Casey, and Lauren. (Should I take my prediction to Vegas?)

The Meh-Middle: Jacob, Scotty Thia, Naima, (if she can get her notes back. If not then she falls in the bottom group.).

Will go, sooner rather than later: Paul, Haley, Stefano, Karen.

Am I right? What do you think? Who was your favorite of the night?

Wordless Wednesday- Dance Central

Headless Boy #1 Bustin' a move.

Grandma getting her groove on.

Headless Girl shakin' her groove thang.

Headless Boy #2 going for the victory.

Tilapia-the Headless Way

A few weeks ago I was looking for something new and different to cook and made up my own recipe. While we all loved it, the biggest surprise was HB#1 who actually ate it all and asked for more!

To Start: buy approx. 4 oz of tilapia per person. Our grocery store carries 4 oz packets for $1. Yes, I said $1. So I ended up using about 6 packets for the 4 of us. These fillets are perfectly cut and defrost quickly, so they can even be used on busy days.

Next: I used 1/2 cup of garlic and herb bread crumbs (because I had a can in the cupboard. You could just use regular bread crumbs. Either way.) Mix with 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, and a sprinkle of salt and fresh ground pepper.  Dredge the fish in the dry mixture until each piece is well coated.

Finally: I heated a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet and fried each piece for a few minutes per side, until they are flaky and brown. We prefer them on the 'more brown' side for the taste. (You can also bake them in the oven.)

You should drain them on a paper towel. (I didn't the first time and learned my lesson.)


My husband and #2 eat these with tartar sauce, #1 used ranch (eew!), and I didn't use any sauce and they were really yummy.

Side dish ideas: salad, almond rice pilaf, peas, spinach.




Enjoy!

Bits and Pieces

• Something that we've waited a long time for happened last Monday which gets a big YAY!! (Sorry to be so vague but it's not my story to tell. I'm sharing because it's a BIG YAY for our family in general. You'll have to trust me on this one.)
• My HB#1 got on the scale last Monday morning. Not a big deal until you hear that at 11 years and 4 months, he has FINALLY gone over 70 lbs. 72 to be exact....
• It was yet another whirlwind visit with my parents.
• My #1 made High Honor roll...with his first set of straight A's! His teacher also gave him a Summa Cume Laude award for perfect scores on his trimester benchmark tests in math and language arts. Him iz smart.
• #2 iz smart too. He seems to be following in his brother and sister's footsteps with equally as awesome grades on his report card. They don't start honor roll until 4th grade. But still awesome!
• Saturday was filled with baseball, pancakes, and more baseball. Good news? The Phillies won their first game on Saturday night, 3-2. 
• If you are in the Inland Empire and will be in town on March 25, I'm giving away a four pack of tickets to Nuclear Cowboyz over at IEF. Come on. You know you want to win!
• My parents were supposed to go home today but couldn't get on their flight....so regular posting will resume tomorrow. Yay! an extra day with the grandparents!

March Madness brought to you by Draft Day Suit and Yahoo

You don't have to be a basketball fan to join. Just join!

 

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All Draft Day Suit writers and fans are eligible to join, so enter here! There isn't much time before the tournament starts, so get movin'!

Top 13-Personal Idol

This week the contestants are doing songs from their personal idols, which I think is a great idea. Here we go!

1-Lauren Alaina- Shania Twain "Any Man Of Mine"- Lauren is one of my favorites, since the auditions. While I agree with the judges that it sounded good, what I thought that she should have had more energy. That song lends itself to lots of dancing and jumping around on the stage and she just didn't work it like she could have.

2-Casey Abrams- Joe Cocker "With A Little Help From My Friends"- I'm not a fan of Joe Cocker, but I LOVED that!!! He sounded a MILLION times better than Joe ever did. All the judges loved it, and so did I. Dang if he isn't cute too!

3-Ashton Jones-Diana Ross "When You Tell Me That You Love Me"-It was good, but not great. There were some not so great notes, but all in all it was a'ight. The judges agree with me. Heh.

4- Paul McDonald -Ryan Adams (I don't know the name of this.?????)- Um, He's gotta go. Even though I don't know the song it was pitchy for me, and whatever raspy voice wasn't working for us.

5-Pia Toscano- Celine Dion "All by Myself"- Yeah, Pia's got it. Headless Boy #1 says "Thumbs Up!" (Steven Tyler is drooling. Did you see it?) As good as this week was for her? Last week was better. We'll be seeing lots of Pia this season.

6- James Durbin- Paul McCartney "Maybe I'm Amazed"- HB#1 says 5 stars! Yes, James really did a great job with this one. Smooth, heart-felt, comfortable.

7-Haley Reinhart - LeAnne Rimes "Blue"- I haven't been much of a Hailey fan but she really sounded great tonight to the ear. I don't really like her physical movements, though, so in the end I kind of agree with Randy.

8- Jacob Lusk- R. Kelly "I Can Fly"- The judges loved it. (I missed the whole thing since I was putting the boys to bed and only caught the last note.) On the one hand I'm rooting for him, on the other, I don't think he can go the distance because I haven't always loved him, (like last week. I thought it was awful last week. Oh well.)

9-Thia Megia- Michael Jackson "Smile"- She is pitch-perfect, but when the song sped up it got boring. Meh.

10- Stefano Langone- Stevie Wonder "Lately"- This started really bad, and was a poor song choice. And? Dude has white-guy dance moves. While the judges liked it, we did not.

11- Karen Rodriguez- Selena "I Could Fall In Love"- I really thought that she would kill it and she didn't.

12- Scotty McCreery - Garth Brooks "The River"-  OMG this is my FAVORITE GB SONG, EVAH. He did awesome!!!!! And how cute is he???

13- Naima Adedapo- Rhiana "Umbrella"- She's having a great time up on the stage tonight. While I'm not fond of that song I do think she did a good job.

Best of the night: Casey, Pia, James, Scotty.
Will make it: Lauren, Haley, Jacob, Naima.
Questionable: Ashton, Paul, Thia, Stefano, Karen.

What did you think?

Tease

See what I did? Posted several days in a row, sucked you all back in to my crazy, and POOF! I disappear again. Suckers.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I answered some questions from Headless Girl? Well, my friend Karen answered tehm on her blog, too, and her answers are so sweet that you must go read them right.now. and leave her a comment to let her know how cute she and her family are. Go on....then come on back, ya hear?

Some of you know that I also write for a local website here in California, Inland Empire Family. Well, they also have a print magazine and I'm their featured blogger this month! So, yes, this means that today I will be driving around my fair city trying to scare up some copies to hang on to. (Shut up. So would you.) (You can see it online if you go to the above link. The print magazine is in the top right hand corner.) (My new articles will now go up every Monday so you'll know when to find me there. But don't stop with just me, there are great bloggers to read so check them all out.)

If you've been paying attention you'll know that my parents will be here this week and I'm so excited. We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving, which is a pretty long time. We're going to do all manner of fun things like dusting and laundry and cleaning chandeliers. Should be a blast for them, no? Kidding, Mom and Dad! We're actually going to start the baseball season off with a bang on Saturday with Opening Day ceremonies and a game at 7:30 pm. Hopefully the scheduling gods will shine on Headless Dad, and he and my dad can get in a round of golf this week, too. (I think it's been a year and a half since they have played golf together. That is just crazy!) So if I'm a little scarce this week, now you know why.

Well, I guess that's all the updates you need for today. Seriously, I know the excitement is killing you.

Bucket List

from Facebook:

(X ) Gone on a blind date.
(X) Skipped school
(  ) Watched someone die
(X ) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(X) Been to Hawaii
(X) Been on a plane
(  ) Been on a helicopter
(  ) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(  ) Played cops and robbers
(  ) Recently colored with crayons
(  ) Sang Karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
(  ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(  ) Danced in the rain-naked
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
(X) Been deep sea fishing
(X) Driven across the United States
(X) Been in a hot air balloon
(  ) Been hangliding
(  ) Been sky diving
(  ) Gone snowmobiling
(  ) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
(  ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(X) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(  ) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horseback riding
(X) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
(X) Been to Disneyland
(X) Been to Disney World
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(  ) Been in a rain forest
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
(  ) Ridden on an elephant
(  ) Swam with dolphins
(  ) Been to the Olympics
(  ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(  ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
(  ) Been spinnaker flying
(X) Been water-skiing
(X) Been snow-skiing
(  ) Been snowboarding
(X) Been to Westminster Abbey
(  ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(X) Been to a National Football League game

Copy and paste to play along. 

A Day in the Life

I've never done one of these, so I'm going to give it a shot. Play along if you're so inclined. The Mrs. is doing it right now. Check her out while you're at it!

5:50 Smack alarm clock
6:00 Smack alarm clock
6:10 Smack alarm clock
6:20 Jump out of bed thinking it's 6:30, start waking kids up.
6:30 Pour coffee, start breakfast for HB#2.
6:35 Sit down at the computer to check e-mail and start writing this post. Check Facebook and Google Reader.
6:40 Realize it's a friend's birthday. Make a note to get something for her. Call to HB#1 to see if he's dressed yet and ready for breakfast.
6:47 Untie #1's shoes for him.
6:48 Mediate the first fight of the day.
6:50 Hustle #2 upstairs to get dressed.
6:56 He finally goes.
6:57 HB#1 Begins eating. I finish reading a blog post that I have been working on since 6:47.
7:00 Finish reading ONE blog post, comment. Get 2nd cup of coffee and head upstairs to make sure #2 is getting dressed.
7:04 OK, NOW I'm going upstairs.
7:25 Make lunch for one who won't be buying lunch. Sign weekly update sheet for #1, who forgot to pull it out on Friday.
7:33 One carpoolee arrives. I'm brushing #2's hair.
7:36 Head out to car, load the charges.
7:40 Pick up 4th child.
7:49 Return home, heat up 2nd cup of coffee. *sigh of relief* I can relax for a few minutes, check email, Facebook and blogs.
9:14 Publish a post and realize "Oh crap! It's already 9:15!"
9:15 Start ridding my bladder of my morning coffee.
9:53 OK, I really need to get something done. Closing computer now to make shopping list, shower, and go to the grocery.
10:21 Decide to eat before shower. Read blogs as I eat.
11:49 List made, off to the store.
11:49-1:27 Grocery shopped, dropped off flowers to a friend for her birthday, put away groceries, started dinner in crockpot. Now off to have lunch and watch the end of Days of Our Lives. What?
2:00-2:45 Finishing touches on dinner. Contemplate starting a load of laundry and/or do the sink full of dishes. Not sure yet.
2:45 Kids get home from school. Do homework, have snack (kids, not me.) Mediate 2nd fight of the day. Get boys ready for baseball practice. I'll exercise while they are practicing.
3:50 Leave for practice.
5:50 Return from practice. Finish dinner.
7:00 Done with dinner and dishes. Sit down to check Facebook and check and reply to a TON of emails.
8:50 Get the kids in bed. Learn that #2 doesn't feel well. (Pleasenopukefest, Pleasenopukefest.)
9:10 Back on the couch with the laptop.
10:09 I'm shuttin' it down. Good night!

(OK, y'all, this was an a-typical day. It looks like I was on the computer all day. I kinda was, but I was catching up after the weekend and will probably not be on like that again all week. I'm totally not a psycho. I did however comment on over ten blogs today just like I said I would. So there.)