We Saw Some Balloons Grandma!

We drove up towards the balloon festival and there were tons of hot air balloons in the sky. It was really cool. It is a serene spectical to behold. Raef was really excited at looking at all of them and Zach was very ambivalent to the whole affair. We were up on a hill in a parking lot near the launch pad and the balloons were flying over us to the other side of the road. Raef got very concerned because it looked like the balloons were crashing into the street. I assured him that it was not the case. He seemed to believe me.

After we took a look at the balloons, we headed over to the aquarium/botanical gardens/train/zoo. It is quite a deal for all of these things, only $22 for all of us. It was money well spent. The gardens were quite lovely and the kids had a lot of fun looking around. Raef always wanted to stop and pose for a picture. He likes taking pictures and Zach doesn't object to the sport either. We got some cute ones, but these were a few of my favorites.

In order to get to the zoo, you take an old, rickety train that goes about 5 mph. The kids loved it and since we were in no hurry whatsoever, I didn't care.

Albuquerque, NM...We Are Here

The temperature is a lot cooler here, than in Las Vegas. When we got off the plane on Saturday night, it was raining fairly steady. Hence, the temperature dropped quite a bit. I don't think we were prepared for colder weather.

Today was our first day to do any real activities. There was nothing going on today at the Balloon Festival, so I decided to take the kids to the Museum of Natural History. They had quite a few dinosaur bones. It was fun to look at and the kids seemed to enjoy everything. There was an entire section on rocks and minerals. It was cool because they had the chemical formula for each rock and we were able to talk about what atoms made the molecules, which goes nicely with what we are learning in our chemistry class.

A nice museum volunteer showed my kids lots of different dinosaur things.

After the museum, we headed over to the National Petroglyph Monument. It is on the outskirts of town. Since I didn't have any kind of backpack to carry Eli in for the trails, I made an impromptu sling from Raef's blanket. It worked pretty well and we were able to walk a couple of short trails. There were tons of petroglyphs everywhere. Those were the first petroglyphs I have ever seen. All these years I have lived in the west and I had never seen one. I finally got that off my back.

For dinner we went to a total dive called the Monte Carlo Steak House. I had seen it on an episode of "Diner's, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and I finally got to go. I ordered a steak and it was delicious. We enjoyed it. Eli especially enjoyed all of the soda crackers. He must have eaten 5-6, then some fries, and finally some Texas Toast.

An American Carol -- MUST SEE!

I just saw An American Carol and let me just say...

I LOVED IT!!!

Caution: This movie is rated PG-13 for some swearing and other silly things.

It is satire at its best. If you are up on current events and can see the blatant hypocrisy of the media and Hollywood elite, this will really appeal to you. I guess that is why it was so appealing to me. There are so many great spoofs, I am going to have to see it again so that I can remember it all.

It starts out with terrorists in Afghanistan that are all named Mohammed Hussein. I was laughing really hard from the beginning. Some other highlights include...

1. ACLU lawyers as zombies
2. College professors stripping down into their 1968 garb singing about indoctrination
3. Students ignorantly chanting ignorance
4. Michael Moore getting slapped, kicked, stepped on about 200 hundred times
5. A touching tribute to our American troops past and present

These are just a few of the things I remember. The story is a bit contrived and silly and it is really just an excuse to do endless skits that scathingly rebuke Hollywood and liberal ideology. Don't go for a plot-driven show, because you will be disappointed. However, it is just laugh out-loud funny. As Rush Limbaugh pointed out on his radio show today, some of it is not funny because it is true. An American Carol is able to bring into focus the importance of the War on Terror and why it is so vitally important and it shows how people like Michael Moore are trying to destroy America.

Did I mention that Michael Moore gets slapped around a whole bunch?

This is just the kind of boost I needed for the next month leading up to the Presidential election. When I get depressed by the barrage of Barack Obama media mania, I will have to go see this movie again.

It gives me hope.

Adddicted to BRAVO

I have a television confession.


I am ADDICTED to BRAVO.

I first got roped into it with Project Runway. It is a great show: watching someone create beautiful designs or create disasters in one episode. Plus, Tim Gunn is a total stud. I really like him. He is intelligent and kind. At least, that is the way he appears on the show. I love to listen to his input on stuff.

But now there is so much more than Project Runway.

Since my husband is out of town most weekdays, I get to fill my head with silly shows about over-indulgent snobs and all of their silliness. The funny thing is, these people actually think this kind of stuff is important.

Pretentious, ostentatious, pompous, bombastic, delusional, cold-hearted, materialistic: that is how you can sum up Real Housewives and the Rachel Zoe Project. It makes you want to gag, but you just can't stop watching it.



Housewives now is featuring women from Atlanta. They actually think they are successful because they have the ability to spend outrageous sums of money. This takes an incredible amount of talent and intellectual ability, apparently. Let's just forget the fact that these women married their money. This lady is Deshawn Snow and she is married to an NBA player. She met with a designer for 3 hours and then 2 years later they stepped through the front door of their new home in Atlanta; her new estate. Now if you have a 15,000+ square foot home, you have to have a staff. Deshawn has a house manager that hires and oversees the maids, chef, chaffeur, etc. This way Deshawn does not have to actually talk to any of those little people. She even had her manager call her parents (or in-laws, I can't remember which) to find out what accomodations they will need when they come to visit. WOW!!!! I just can't believe this, but I really can.



But doesn't she look fabulous.





And speaking of fabulous... I mean, Rachel Zoe is like totally BANANAS! And she dresses the stars, so she must be very important. They drive her around in limos and
Escalades, she has a blackberry thingey, fur coats, hideously large, dangly bracelets and over-sized rings. Plus, she always has a front seat at Bryant Park (I learned about this on Project Runway), and the papparazzi take her picture.

And Rachel knows what a disaster is. Oh no...not that little tsunamai a few years ago that killed over 200,000 people, or that silly earthquake in China. Don't be ridiculous. Disaster is when you have to pull together 8 outfits for Kate Hudson and have it on a plane to London by 5pm AND you have to go to an art show in 10 minutes and you are not even dressed yet. NOW, THAT IS A DISASTER!!!

I know this is total junk television. I am completely guilty of partaking in all of this bologna, but it is like watching a train wreck. You just have to watch all of the boom-boom-booms.


Yet, when I see these women regaling in all of their petty ridiculousness, I can't help but think of this scripture...



Isaiah 3:16-24



Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
21 The rings, and nose jewels,
22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

My Baby is Beautiful...OF COURSE!

For all of you moms out there...

I just love people so much more when they tell me how beautiful my baby is. I mean, isn't it totally obvious that MY baby is the most gorgeous, cute, adorable baby out there. Please!

I ran some errands today with Eli. The twins were home with the babysitter. I took him to the Post Office and as we were waiting in line to get stamps, several people in front of us were just staring at Eli in complete adoration. He made them all smile. Needless to say... OF COURSE. I mean, when you have the most beautiful baby on the planet, the whole world stops and smiles, right? At least, they better.

Then we went to an outdoor mall called Town Square and I was enjoying some frozen yogurt with Eli. He was in his stroller and I had just given him a Lorna Doone and it was all over his face and clothes. He was a wreck, but it goes without saying that all of his gorgeousness just radiated through the slobbery cookie.

A man named Brian came up to me and told me he was from a talent agency and he told me I had a beautiful baby (DUH!). Then he asked me if Eli has done any modelling. I told him that he has not. Then Brian gave me his card and asked me for my phone number. I gave him my number. I was about to give him my social security number and credit card information, but he didn't ask for them. Brian told me he would call me next week.

Soon Eli will be so famous and you will see him on every Gerber label they sell at fine retail markets. I mean, when you have the most beautiful baby on the planet, these things are just inevitable.

There is absolutely no way that I could ever get manipulated by anyone through my kids. Uh huh, no way. I am much smarter than that.

Hold on a second, the phone is ringing...

Okay, so that was Brian and I just had to run and get my wallet. What do you expect? Golly. I don't have my credit card number memorized...yet.

Leave a Comment...It's Easy!

Now it is easier than ever to leave a comment on my blog. Shanna, I think you will be very happy. Please say hi if you have stopped by.

Progress

It is the last day of September. March and September always seem to disappear for me. Zoom.... gone. I can't believe how many entries I made in my blog this month. I thought I would round it out with an even nineteen, the most ever.

The kids must have had a hard day yesterday, because all three of them slept longer than usual today. I was surprised, but definitely not disappointed. We did several subjects today for school. I actually did a history unit today: the Assyrians. It was interesting. We talked about Gilgamesh and they really like that story. It is the oldest known myth in existence and has interesting twists and turns in it. I had checked out some books at the library last week and we read the stories with pictures and everything. So, when I read it today they kept chiming in, while they were coloring, saying that they remembered this or that. It was great.

Raef is now officially done with his McGuffey's Primer and now gets to move on to the first book. Hallelujiah! Progress. It is great. We also played a math game from Family Math. It involved colored marshmallows and adding. Doesn't that sound like fun? It took them a few tries to get the hang of it, but it really started to click. I made them build all of their numbers with their Math-U-See blocks and it really helped them to see why the numbers were what they were. Hence, there was a lot of practice carrying the sums. It was great.

We wrapped up a little early, once Eli woke up from his nap, and headed to the park. This week we went to Discovery Park and they had so much fun. There is a wonderful group of kids they play with, heavily-laden with boys. All of the kids are under 10. The group leader Kristina always brings cookies she makes and drinks. She is very generous and a wonderful host. It is fun to visit and meet new women. I just love it.

When we got home from the park, Raef started throwing up. He did it on and off until he went to bed. He had no other symptoms like a fever, lethargy, nothing. His stomach hurt and he kept having to vomit. This has been happening a lot. I would say a little less than once a month. It lasts about 12 hours and then he is fine. I am wondering if he is allergic to something. I don't have a darn clue what is going on and I don't know if I should be worried.

Therefore, Raef stayed home with the Marriotti's while I took Zach to group violin. Rinar picked him up about an hour later and we both got home about the same time. I had hoped Rinar would be able to start something for dinner. But he just ran out of time and it was 7pm when we both got in, so I decided to just go out somewhere.

We ate pizza. It was great and Eli really likes bread.