IS IT LATER YET, MOM?

Everyone together now: Cross your fingers to de-curse this blog.

YAY!

This Is My Favorite

Nestea Plunge, Anyone?

Grandmother Eye Candy

For Memaw & Papa

Heartbreaker, Curly, In My Favorite Tree

(He Hates That Name)

Finally, For Zac, The Patient Model

I think it's time to de-fragment our hard drive and documents...again.

It took me 30 minutes, five chocolate-marshmallow Easter eggs (b/c I'll be down in the mouth during Easter, people) and all the patience I could muster to bring you this most excellent blog.

I may soon not only wear, but coin a new term: Blogger's Butt.

I have to go walk now.

SPRING BREAK DRAMA

Spring Break is officially over as of this past Monday and things never did slow down. Some break!

We had visitors the weekend before Spring Break that left on Monday and then Dad and Mom pulled in Tuesday night.

The official "Porter Curse" wreaked havoc all week long, starting with Gerald's car breaking down on Wednesday, so into the shop it went. At least, we had Dad and Mom's car so that if we all wanted to venture out to eat or to see a local site, we could.

Wrong!

Thursday afternoon the air conditioner went out in their car, so into the shop it went.

Unfortunately for Dad and Mom, it was NOT an inexpensive fix.

Wednesday, we decided to turn on the air conditioner to make Dad and Mom more comfortable; you guessed it, the just-a-year-old air conditioner did not want to comply.

It tried but failed miserably.

Sniffles and sneezes were all around as trees and flowers were budding everywhere and pollen was leaving it's fine, yellow mist on anything and everything.

After two tries on two different days, the repairman decided that it was simply our thermostat and temporarily hooked up a plain old thermostat to replace the fancy-schmancy thermostat. We could turn on the air, hallelujah!

We're still waiting on our new fancy-schmancy thermostat that will hopefully run our air AND heat, not just one or the other. Such complications!

So, the air was up and running and, so far, it had cost us nothing but runny noses, swollen sinuses, red itchy eyes and a few, small grump-arguments.

Dad and Mom's car was fixed on Friday, as was Gerald's, and so we all ventured out legally restrained. I won't tell you what we did the previous two days.

Saturday dawned bright, sunny and weepy(Dad) as my parents headed back to Kansas City for much-needed rest before the Monday morning rat race.

Gerald tried catching up on some homework, then went and mowed the lawn of a friend that we help out. NCAA was on, so the weekend was pretty much shot.

Gerald and kids went back to school on Monday with a softball tournament, track and indoor soccer practices, newly assigned book reports and Band Camp looming on the horizon.

Oh yeah and I'm having my wisdom teeth taken out Easter weekend. Woohoo! Bah Humbug.

We're hosting a family again this weekend so I'm beginning to spruce up the house a bit; however, I was able to venture outside today to catch a few pictures while the trees and flowers are in full bloom.

And, try as I might, Blogger is not willing right now to upload the images so you'll have to check back later this evening to see the pictures.

Just another affirmation of the Porter Curse.

KIDSPEAK

I wasn't going to post a blog until later today but I HAD to post this before I set off on a bus ride to Band Camp with a bunch of Pre-Mids (5th and 6th graders). Woohoo!

I've been checking my email, stalking some blogs and posting snide comments to Tammi and Katie while Zac was in the bathtub playing-washing. Playing-washing? Moms know what I'm talking about, right?

Put some liquid soap in the bathtub and stick them in and while they play, they get washed.

It's some scientific phenomenon...really, it is.

I'm just about to close out for the morning and hop in the shower myself when Zac comes in, all wrapped in a towel, asking me to get his clothes out so he can get dressed; it's a new habit he's picked up lately that I'm thoroughly enjoying.

So, I'm wiping his nose and I casually say, did you get your hair wet?

I'm expecting a "yes" or "no".

This is what he said,

"I did a water fawt."

"What? You mean you were blowing water with your face and got your hair wet?"

"No, I fawted in the bathtub."

THAT was his answer. No real explanation for his wet hair.

I sat bewildered, trying to figure out what he meant while he walked over, turned on the TV, stuck his thumb in his mouth and got dressed like a good mesmerized TV-zombie child.

So much for Dora, Baby Einstein and Harry's Bucket of Dinosaurs teaching my child intelligent things--what's wrong with these TV shows?!? Don't they know that us mothers count on them to teach our children respectable manners?

I'd have his father have a talk with him about this sordid behavior but...

POPPING BUBBLES ERROR

I started a summary of a blog about three days ago and ran out of time; therefore, I saved it as a draft.

Then I published a few quick blogs over the next few days.

Last night, I had time to come back, put my thoughts in order and finish the draft but when I clicked "Publish," it placed the blog two or three days back.

So, if you'd like to read a little more about Popping Bubbles, scroll down a couple of blogs; if not, that's cool.

I don't consider myself THAT important but I also don't write a log on the web to be ignored; I believe most bloggers, in general, thrive on feedback.

Please, read my lost blog!

UNEXPLAINED MYSTERY

We have this phenomenon occasionally at our home that I call Wet Dog Dishwasher.

Wet Dog is what our dishwasher sometimes smells like after it's run through a complete wash/rinse/sanitize/dry cycle. I open the dishwasher, poof, steam facial, wet dog smell.

UGH!

Drinking from a glass that smells like wet dog is not very appealing to me, let alone guests that may happen by.

It hasn't been confined to just our current home, it has happened in EVERY home we've ever lived that had a dishwasher.

And, it's an equal opportunity smell. Old dishwasher, new dishwasher, doesn't matter.

I've even tried different liquid scents thinking maybe one scent has a weird after-smell. Original dishwasher liquid, Berry dishwasher liquid, Citrus dishwasher liquid; yes, even powdered detergent.

Nothing takes the disgusting smell away except running the whole load through again! Who has time for that? Certainly, not I! I've actually resorted to throwing cut up lemons in the rinse cycle and/or white vinegar in hopes that the smell will be obliterated.

Still, wet dog. Run the dishes through another cycle.

It has, until today, driven me to the brink of insanity. Well, maybe not that far but it really, REALLY bothers me!

I have, at last, devised a plausible theory--follow along, please:

The horrid entity only makes the NON-POROUS dishes smell like wet dog; plastic never has the smell, even though plastic absorbs smells.

WHY DOESN'T THE PLASTIC SMELL?!? It drives me nuts because that's so nonsensical.

So....

I think the plastic dishware may bring about this smell; maybe some chemical reaction?

I'm testing my theory right now as I had a load of Wet Dog Dishes today.

I'm only running through nonporous dishes. Of course, if the smell disappears, it will not actually support my theory because the answer could be just rewashing the dishes.

Of course, neither will it disprove my theory :0)

I need to do a controlled study but have neither the time nor patience for such frivolities.

I just hope somebody out there reading this has experienced the same phenomenon.

Maybe I'm just CRI-ZA-ZY!

Sidebar: Mark, I was cleaning out the fridge today and buried in the bottom of the "snack" drawer was some cheese bars you all brought with you at Thanksgiving. Would you like me to save them for you? I could have Mom and Dad bring them back to K.C. after Spring Break.