Are You Happy?

I'm a optimistic gal, I really am.  I'm not just saying that so you'll like me.  I think it comes to me genetically.  My mom is a happy lady.  And I contribute a lot of it to my strong faith. Having a strong faith in God--even when things aren't going well--makes all the difference and provides me peace.

That being said, I have to say that I'm a wee bit cynical and have a very dry sense of humor.  A lot of things that other people don't think are funny at all, I think are hilarious.  People like David Letterman crack me up.  So when my friend Susie posted this video I was laughing SO hard.  "Eureka!!--someone finally put into words what I think on an almost daily basis."  This guy is so right on.

I hope that you are one of the people who realize how great we have it.  Enjoy your life--it's amazing.  If you're not, take a step back and look at the big picture.  Life is good--God is good.

I hope you have a great Friday--be happy!

Random Acts of Kindness

I have to tell you I love Random Acts of Kindness (RAK), or Pay-it-Forward things.  There's so much yuck out in the world that these small acts mean so much and can really make a person's day.  Last Friday I got to experience TWO Random Acts of Kindness.  But probably not the kind you are thinking...

RAK #1:  The Dry Cleaners--I have finally found a dry cleaners that I love and trust.  They don't write on my clothes, or ask me to come in and look for my clothes or lose my clothes or turn my white items grey or yellow or shrink my pants 4 sizes (yes, all of these things have happened).  I love my dry cleaner--they know my car when we pull up and call me by name.  So when I went to pick up my cleaning last Friday, I was pleasantly surprise that they had kindly given me and extra shirt.  

Here it is:

Back of shirt (it says "headstrong")

Front of shirt

Not exactly my style and most definitely not WM's style--his really quite ultra conservative in his attire. I don't think "Headstrong" down his back would fly at his office.  It just made me chuckle because this shirt--while very cool in an artistic sort of way--obviously didn't belong with my black pants and pink cable knit sweater.  But, my goodness, it was so super kind of them to give it to me.  

RAK #2:  Later that day Patrick and Baby Lam and I were out running errands and I did something we don't do very often, we went through the McDonald's drive thru.  But we were out and they were getting hungry.  So I ordered two Happy Meals and a chicken sandwich.  By the time I got to handing out the food we were a good 4-5 miles from the McDonald's.  But those kind souls at McDonalds had given us...

2 Happy Meals

2 Chicken Sandwiches

1 Double Cheeseburger

3 French Fries

Hmmm...that sure was nice of them to give us all that food (for free--they didn't charge me), but what in heaven's name was I to do with it???? Secretly I wanted to eat all of it.  Wasn't that a nice random act of kindness?  Gosh--those McDonald's folks, bless their kind hearts.

Somehow as nice as these things were, I'm wondering why I never get RAK's at the ATM..."oh, an extra $100 came out for no charge!"  Or at the jewelry store "Look--a pair of diamond earrings somehow got in my bag!"  Why do these things only happen at McDonalds...or the dry cleaners??

Oh--and I took that shirt back to the dry cleaner.  I'm sure it's owner was missing it...I looked it up online...it cost about $101.

Fat Tuesday

"GET IN MY BELLY!"

Today is Fat Tuesday--actually everyday is Fat Tuesday at our house--because Baby Lam is fat (ok, let's call her plump, she's a girl after all and no girl likes to be called 'fat' no matter what age she is).  Until Baby Lam isn't in the 95% in weight for an 18 month old, I think it's safe to say we've got the Fat Tuesday title wrapped up.  (We went to the pediatrician yesterday for our 18 month check up--that's how I know she's in the 95th percentile).

So...from our home to yours....enjoy Fat Tuesday--indulge...eat your sweets, drink your coffee, inhale your Girl Scout cookies---enjoy whatever vice it is that you are planning on giving up for Lent.  I have to confess that I haven't decided what I'm giving up yet.  I've narrowed it down to these:

1.  Sprite--did this one last year and it was tough, but I did it--probably should come up with something different.

2.  Girl Scout cookies--hmmmm, that would be REALLY hard, which I think is the purpose of giving something up.  I mean, God gave up His son for us, surely I could pass on Thin Mints for 40 days.  We'll see...it's an option.

3.  Starbucks--WHAT?!?!?!  Are you kidding me?????  Who typed that?

4.  Working out--I'm not talking about giving it up, I'm talking about doing it.  That might be a good Lenten promise to keep.  And trust me, I need to do this (or I'll give 'Fat' Tuesday a new meaning).

I'll let you know what I come up with...I've only got a few hours to come up with something.  What should I do?  Let me know even if you comment after Fat Tuesday (which you will because I'm posting this so late.

From our home to yours...Happy Fat Tuesday.

Crunch, Slurp, Mmmmm....

I've been meaning to post something new, but the Girl Scout cookies arrived several hours ago and I haven't been able to quit eating long enough to type something.  So as soon as I can come down from my Samoa and Tag-a-long high I'll post something.  But it might have something to do with my serious addiction to Girl Scout cookies and how it's not good that I have 10--TEN--cases (not boxes--cases) sitting on my dining room table.  

OH, OH, OH--I just saw the Thin Mints...I'll be right back... 

(Maybe next year I shouldn't encourage Katie to be a Girl Scout...really, this could get ugly).

Our Trip

I've promised that I'd post pics from our recent trip to Cozumel, so here they are. This was the first time that WM and I have left the kids so I was a wee bit nervous about leaving them (I use the term "wee bit" loosely...I was extremely nervous about it). But we packed our bags, got on a jet plane and went. We had a really nice time.

The view from our room

Me at the market place in San Miguel...a place where no visitor leaves without her/his fairshare of Mexican junk. But it was fun...the bartering and all (which I was really bad at and WM was even worse).

Me and WM at the beach outside Coconuts...totally fun place. Go there if you go to Cozumel. It was our fav place on the island.
We got serenaded by a 6 piece Mariachi band...not sure WM was as thrilled about it as I was by the look on his face.

This little bugger was MEAN. He's an attack parrot...who has strategically built his nest on the path to the bathroom. So you better have to go bad...or take a big stick with ya.


We came back to our room to find this on our bed. A little tip for the maids goes a long way...keep that in mind next time you travel to our neighbor to the south.
Here's our friend Cheap-o Philip-o, he got this poncho stuck on his head. Man, he must have a big brain!Here's my girls in their Mexican dresses we brought them. They LOVE them and want to wear them all the time.And Patrick in his Mexican soccer player outfit which I have had to hide from him because he wants to wear it everyday, too. Patrick LOVES soccer and when he put this little outfit on he said "I look like a 'Mexico soccer boy'!" Um, no, not really Patrick, you look like a pasty-white Irish boy dressed in a Mexican soccer outfit...but whatever floats your boat, little guy. :)

All in all we had a great time. It was awesome to get away and relax. Here's what I took away from this trip:
1. The most beautiful ocean--like a postcard
2. Mexico can send a germ-a-phob like me over the edge
3. You can only take Mexico on small spurts (5 days was plenty).
4. Bartering is not for me.
5. But you can get a lot for a little if you work at it.
6. Sunscreen doesn't work down there (actually, it probably does just double your normal dosage).
7. The poverty depressed me.
8. Venture out--get out of the resort--rent a jeep and go to places unknown or a lot less traveled. That's where you'll find the most beautiful beaches and oceans.
9. Don't spend all your time worrying about your kiddos, they are having a blast with grandma.
10. Rediscover your spouse and rekindle your marriage, even if it just involves sitting next to him/her on the beach holding hands or talking without interruption.

Potty Training 103

Baby Lam turned 18 months yesterday.

And boy, is she ever acting like an 18-month-old. I remember Katie and Patrick being difficult at this age, but I think Baby Lam is taking it to a whole other level. We'll see what these next 6 months bring (I actually think 18 months is hard than the so-called 'terrible twos').

Baby Lam did something yesterday that kind of threw me. She told me (in her little kind-of words and actions) that she needed to go pee pee in the potty. WHAT? She did. WHAT? I'm not ready for this!! I'm not ready for potty training!!! That's will require WAY too much effort on my part. I thought I had at least 6 more months before we started this most unliked tasks of motherhood! Now, I'm not saying that Katie or Patrick were difficult to train...they were actually quite easy. Katie was encouraged by 1 week of stickers on her chart and that's all it took. And Patrick...well, that little dude woke up one more and said "I'm going to wear underwear today." And that was it. I'm not kidding...no accidents, nothing...not even at night, from that day on. (that's actually a little wierd, don't you think)?

So deep down I'm fearing that my little firecracker is going to make this difficult. I guess I'm being lazy-mom, but geesh...potty training...the thought of it wears me out. Plus I've changed diapers everyday for 5 1/2 years, what will I do with all the extra time? And I'm not sure if I can go to the grocery store or Target without buying a box of Huggies. There's a magnetic force that pulls me into the diaper aisle. On a side note: have you ever noticed that the cookies/crackers are in the same aisle with the diapers? At least at my store they are...that's brilliant product placement! There's no mom out there that can pick up a package of diapers and pass up those Oreos or Pecan Sandies that are staring them straight in the face.

Anyway...back to the subject...

Maybe yesterday was just a fluke.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

I doubt it.

I'll keep you updated...

So here's what I need to know from all of you, because I haven't been able to process this or brought it to the front of the mommy file in my brain. What do I do now? Encourage her? Think of it as a fluke and ignore it. What should I do?

I'm Here...I'm Alive

I know you all have been on the edge of your seats waiting for the next installment of Out on a Lam.  Sorry, you're going to have to wait a little longer.  I've been gone for awhile and it's taking me longer than I expected to catch up.  So until I can get my thoughts organized, take a look at this photo and enjoy.  I'll be back soon.  Maybe if you're lucky, tonight! But for now...

For your viewing pleasure.

Silly Sally

I'm going to give it another shot and enter another photo in the contest. This week's subject is "eyes" and "pets". Oh boy, did they open a can of worms by opening up a pets catagory. I've got all sorts of photos of Silly Sally and Lazy Lucy. (By the way, Silly Sally is on my list...she barked non-stop until midnight last night. Was there a full moon or something)? Anyway...she's still cute and we still love her, and she is still has way too much puppy in her and there have been many more backyard casualties...footballs, baseball bats, dog food bowls, snow boots, etc.


This is the photo of Sally that I'm entering on this website:

Click here to go to the website to see some more awesome photos!


WM doesn't like this photo of Sally, but I love it because of the circumstances surrounding it. She had just gotten in trouble for chewing up something and she was giving me the "I'm innocent" look. Darn it, she's such a cutie pie!

That Cute Baby Strikes Again

I didn't watch any...not one minute...of the Super Bowl.  Usually I do, but just for the commercials (since Kansas City never has any possibility of ever, EVER getting in the Super Bowl).  I like watching the ads because that's the line of work I've always been in.  The creativity (or lack of) always amazes me.  That and the cost of the ads.  Man, what I would do to have a budget that allows me to place ONE ad that costs $3 million.

Anyway...this year I was busy with the kids, so I didn't watch any of the game.  Too bad, I hear it was a good.  

I heard that the E*Trade Baby is back.  I LOVE those ads and that baby!!!   So I You Tubed him and watched all his videos.  I love that little guy...he's so funny.  Well...actually his writers are, but whatever, right.  

Since I can't come up with anything intelligent to write about today, I thought I'd leave you with this.  Again, I have a weird, dry sense of humor, so not everyone probably thinks this is funny.

Oh, and this one I just think is funny since I live with a golfaholic.

Shankopotamus!