I stole this from another blog who stole it from someone else and so the cycle goes.  Feel free to steal it from me.  I guess “steal” is a harsh word……Copy?  Use?  Borrow?  Yea, let’s go with borrow.

Below are a list of 100 suggested titles that a “well read” person in their life have picked up and actually read.  I have “picked up” almost all of these, thumbed through them and imagined myself in a burgandy leather chair sipping brandy in my private library next to a brass desk light with a green shade on it.  My fantasy library shelves are lined with these and many other classic novels as well as my trophy from my appearance on Jeopardy.  I have no idea if Jeopardy gives trophies but it’s my vision so leave alone.

In the below list the books I have actually picked up and read are in bold.  Those I began to read but never finish (promising myself I would some day) are in RED and my favorites are underlined.

1. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

2. The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien  (just don’t think this is my style)

3. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

4. Harry Potter series – JK Rowling (Listened to the whole series while commuting to work).

5. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

6. The Bible –I have read a good portion, but not all.

7. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

8. Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell

9. His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

10. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

11. Little Women – Louisa M Alcott

12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy

13. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller

14. Complete Works of Shakespeare (haven’t read the ENTIRE thing enough in college!)

15. Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

16. The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien

17. Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks

18. Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger  (My best friend in high school did a book report on this book 3 times in 4 years.  I feel like I’ve read it!)

19. The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger

20. Middlemarch – George Eliot

21. Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell

22. The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald

23. Bleak House – Charles Dickens

24. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

26. Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh

27. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28. Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

29. Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

30. The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame

31. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

32. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens

33. Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis

34. Emma - Jane Austen

35. Persuasion – Jane Austen

36. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – CS Lewis

37. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres

39. Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

40. Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne  (I don’t know of anyone with kids who has not read this to their kids)

41. Animal Farm – George Orwell

42. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

43. One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44. A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving

45. The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins

46. Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery

47. Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy

48. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

49. Lord of the Flies – William Golding

50. Atonement – Ian McEwan

51. Life of Pi – Yann Martel

52. Dune – Frank Herbert

53. Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons

54. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

55. A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth

56. The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

58. A Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

60. Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62. Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

63. The Secret History – Donna Tartt

64. The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold

65. Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

66. On The Road – Jack Kerouac

67. Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy

68. Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding

69. Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie

70. Moby Dick – Herman Melville

71. Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

72. Dracula – Bram Stoker

73. The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett  (I’ve read “MY Secret Garden” does that count?)

74. Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson

75. Ulysses – James Joyce

76. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

77. Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome

78. Germinal – Emile Zola

79. Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray

80. Possession – AS Byatt

81. A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

82. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell

83. The Color Purple – Alice Walker

84. The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro

85. Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert

86. A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry

87. Charlotte’s Web – EB White

88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom

89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90. In Cold Blood – Truman Capote

91. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad

92. The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93. The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks

94. Watership Down – Richard Adams

95. A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole

96. A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute

97. The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas

98. Hamlet - William Shakespear

99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

100. Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

Wow!  I feel this self investigation did nothing to boost my ego.  I really am a hill billy ain’t I?

I think it took a while to set in….in about a month the breadwinner in this household will be without a job.  Yikes!  It’s not like I don’t believe he will get another one right away.  He is so smart and such a good salesperson I know we will land on our feet.  What is scary for me is the unknown.  Will we move?  If so, where?  Closer to my hometown?  Farther away?  In this state?  Will our house sell?  What if it doesn’t?  Can we afford to pay for two houses?  What will he do for a living?  Will he be able to find something he loves to do or is he going to have to “settle” for something he would rather not do?  Will we regret this decision later?  If we have to move, I will have to go about the arduous task of finding a new group of friends (a nightmare!)  Will he make as much as he is making now?  Will our way of life have to change?  Will we drain his 401K and ruin our hopes of him retiring early so we could home school the kids together and traveling?

These are the fears and questions I have swirling through my head. Plus about a thousand more. One thing I am not questioning is whether our marriage will be able to survive this trying time.  That I have no question about.  There is no one else on this Earth I would rather go through a trying time with than Jim.

2003-2004 were years of hard times as we were wondering and asking questions relating to if we would ever be parents.  Now look at us!  We have two beautiful, perfect children (a boy and a girl no less – how perfect is that?) that are only a year and 4 days apart.  I have faith in God that he will continue to surprise us and deliver us from our fears.  I also have faith that the flip side of this coin will be even greater than where we are now.  That’s my prayer anyway.

In about a month, my husband has told me, he is quitting his job.  He’s been with this company for almost 6 and a half years.  We actually used to work together at this company and were a great team (no we did not meet at work – we were a couple before we started).  It used to be a great living, wonderful recognition, and a rewarding experience for my husband.  It has been reduced to a panic mode of resource preservation as the stock prices dip below $3.50 a share.  He is mentally checked out and ready to move on and the last “event” (long story) was the proverbial straw on his back and I support his decision.

So, like my subject line says – I should be more stressed but I just feel like everything is going to be OK.  I think Mr. Tolerable feels the same because when he called me to tell me of his decision the normal level of stress I have been hearing in his voice was gone.  I heard his old bouncy voice on the other end of the phone.  He told me he feels like a weight has just been taken off of his shoulders after having made this decision.  I feel that same lightness.

So, yes, he’s quitting his job and No, he doesn’t have another one lined up.  But, we will be OK.  I love, trust and believe in him so much that I know he will find something that can both pay the bills and be something he loves doing again.  I would rather live in a box with him and the kids with him doing something that makes him feel appreciated and like he’s contributing something than to have him just stay where he is out of fear.

So, any of you lurkers out there have a position open for a highly intelligent (seriously, he has been tested and found to be a genius), computer geek who has exceptional writing, communicating, management, problem solving, and sales skills?  Email me at mandy@theycallmebobby.com !  I’ll have him send you a resume!

Yesterday the kids and I went to work with Daddy.  Daddy works for a new home builder in a beautifully decorated 5000 square foot home.  I found myself salivating over the Corian countertops, tray ceilings, spacious rooms, and especially the WALK-IN closets!  The green-eyed monster came bubbling up inside and I was thinking, “Man I need a house like this!”  I think one of the closets was as big as one of my kids’ room…maybe I’m exaggerating but you get the idea of how the devil was just sitting on my shoulder whispering in my ear, “You deserve better…you should have a bigger house…”  It was indeed huge, beautiful and brand spanking new.  The smell of Benjamin Franklin paint was still fresh in the air.  It was perfect in every way.  The nic-nacs were dusted and perfectly placed. Coordinating bed linens, curtains and even the wall hangings complete a look of elegance and class.  The master bathroom was out of a Calgon commercial.  Whirlpool tub surrounded with vanilla candles and a luffa bar (I would actually use a luffa bar if I had a bathroom like that, honest!) Not a wrinkle, spec of dust, or clutter to be seen.  The company spared no expense when decorating and furnishing this home.  Everything has a place and everything was in it.  It was oddly refreshing and depressing at the same time.  I thought to myself, “if only….”

Then I returned to my home.  Toys scattered about, dishes in the sink, clutter on the TV, stacks of magazines next to the love seat, dirty clothes piled on the bedroom floors, beds unmade, paw prints showing on the hard wood floors, dust bunnies peaking out from under the sofa, and the list goes on.

I stood in the middle of the disarray envisioning myself in that model home, angels serenading me in the background but was snapped back to reality when my son ran over my foot with his monster truck.

I laughed and thought, “This is what a real home looks like.”

The toys are a constant reminder that I have two beautiful, happy-go-lucky toddlers who enjoy life, playing and of course their toys. Their laughter and pitter-patter fill this house with warmth.

The dishes were still laying in the sink because last night after supper we decided to go outside and take advantage of what was left of the daylight and have a family water gun fight.  A decision I will make every time and never regret.

The clutter on the TV isn’t really clutter..it’s just a landing point for things we love.  Family portrait, other pictures of the kids, my Christmas present from Mr. Tolerable (a hand-drawn picture of the kids I need to order a frame for), and the kids DVD’s which have to stay out of reach or they will be scratched beyond repair.

The stack of Blood-Horse Magazine, The Outdoor Photographer, Trailer Life Magazine and Musician’s Friend are a sampling of my husband’s hobbies, loves, and passions.  He is the most eclectic and interesting person I have ever met and broad range of magazines showcases that .  Often at night, after the kids are in bed and I am lost in the blogasphere, Jim will flip through some of the glossy pages and read aloud an article he finds interesting, sparking a conversation.

Because of a play date we had yesterday, the laundry didn’t get done (well, that and the fact that I HATE TO DO LAUNDRY – IT IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE).  We went outside and played in the sandbox and the pool with our friends.  We are blessed to have great friends to fill our days with fun and laughter.

The paw prints and dust bunnies are from our two wonderful, kid-friendly, gentle golden retrievers, Senna and Ripley.  They were the first “people” I told I was pregnant BOTH TIMES. They don’t mind acting as a furry bean bag for Jackson while he is watching Go Diego Go.  They really are members of this family.

Jim and I had a rare morning nap while the kids ate their breakfast and watch TV in their high chairs.  It was some of the most relaxing and restful sleep either of us have had in a while.  We have no idea how or why the kids let us sleep for almost an hour and forty-five minutes but we were beyond grateful for the sleep we were granted.  Because of this wonderful nap, we had to rush out of the house, leaving beds unmade to get to Jim’s work on time.

I would take my house, complete with clutter, toys, and general messiness over an empty, perfect house any day.  I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams.  From now on when that little devil sits on my shoulder and tells me I need more I will just flip him off (my shoulder).

You may know….or not but now you do.  Moosh in Indy is having a “Let the Moosh whoorl your hair” contest extravaganza in conjunction with Hair Thursday.  I am going to stick my name in the hat so I no longer have to put my hair in one (hopefully)!

Let me introduce you to my hair.  It is a love/hate relationship between he and I.  Yes, it is a male.  (His name is Hairy). It is the only thing that makes sense with all the lazy, limp, lying around he does.  If I’m lucky he will go easy on me and do something like this:

A good Hairy day

Or this:

Sexy Hairy Day

But me and Hairy go way back.  Here we are at one of our down moments.  This was early 90′s perm with wave bangs.  Not our best day:

Aqua Net has nothing on me!

But usually I try to just pretend he is not there and ignore him.  See:

Just cover it up!

I do have hair - promise

So, if the stars are with me I might just be able to win a totally rad due by Sarah from Whoorl.  I want to be a hot Mamma again. Oh, and Hairy, it’s time we break up! I need a more dependable partner with a good body!

PICK ME!!!!

I had my first official yard sale this weekend.  I was a little worried that with it being the 4th of July weekend I wouldn’t do well.  Boy, was I wrong.  I was open on both Friday (4th) and Saturday.  My hours were posted as 8am-1pm.  But, when I opened the garage at 7:30am on Friday there were flocks of people waiting.  “Seriously?” I thought.  It was a steady stream of people pretty much all day.  I had people coming up after I had closed.  We were trying to get over to my brother’s house for the party but evidently people in this town cannot read.  On the first day I made just shy of $400!  I thought to myself again, “Seriously?”  Today I made $120 for a grand total of $520!

This sale was the “Get my kids a wooden swing set” fund raiser and I seem to have done it!  What is funny is on Thursday Mr. Tolerable told me he would match me dollar for dollar what I make on the yard sale to put towards the set.  After the first day he was regretting those words.  He (and I honestly) had no idea we would make this much.  But, my husband is a man true to his word and says he will still match me but I “don’t have to spend that much.”  I am thinking I can get the kids a pretty awesome play area for that much!

I made a few observations while having my sale.  I think I would like to spread the knowledge;

1.) If you have uncomfortable, plastic-looking, high heel type shoes Hispanic women will buy them all!

2.) Men don’t like yard sales.

3.)  Evidently, 10 cents is too expensive for a pair of baby socks but if you mark them down to 5 cents they fly off the shelf.

4.)  If you put up a sign that says “Not Responsible for Accidents” you are covered legally if someone comes to your sale and breaks their leg…..or so people think.  (I didn’t have one by the way).

5.)  If you don’t cover up the junk you don’t want to sell (and I mean JUNK) SOMEONE will ask you how much you want for it.

6.)  Make sure you stay with a child who you let in to your home to use the restroom or he may wander around your house and barge in on your naked husband in the OTHER restroom.  (hehehehe).

7.)  If you have a child outside with you during your sale – no less than 50% of the patrons will ask you “How much you want for that one?”

8.)  People really do not try to bargain all that much.  A shocker for me because when I go to yard sales I very rarely pay sticker price for things.

9.)  No one seems to want one of these (I think its uber-cool):

10.  IT IS A LOT OF WORK!

I had a wonderful day today.  It was a lazy day of sorts, although by the end of it I was exhausted.  I think that just goes with the “being a mom of two toddlers” territory. 

For lunch, the kids and I met up with two of my other “Mommy” friends – Joanna and Tess.  Between the three of us we have 7 kids from the age of one to five.  Where else would we go with that many kids but McD’s.  Jackson has finally started actually playing in the tunnels.  In the past he would just run around he dining room and try to shake salt all over the tables.  It was a nightmare for me.  I was actually able to sit down and have a conversation!  What a great lunch. 

After lunch I drove around to some yard sales.  I did not have a paper with me, I was simply driving around and looking for signs.  But, I was in no hurry to get home so what the hell,right?  Plus, I had an alterier motive.  I was trying to get the kids to sleep.  Alex went out like a light but of course my little insomniac boy was wide awake even when we finally pulled up to the house.  I did manage to get him to take a nap when we got home for about an hour and a half.  Awesome!

Then we went outside to play.  I sat on a swing and read a magazine while the kids played.  Very relaxing.  Off in the distance I hear a band.  Being the nosey person I am, I packed the kids in the double stroller (it pulls to the left so hard – I need a new one bad!) and headed in the direction of the noise.  We get to the park and there is a local church worship band playing music.  Not really my style and the patrons seemed to be of the “jump around and raise your hands” denomination but from a distance it wasn’t bad.  The kids seemed to like it.  And I almost won a bike! 

After the band wrapped up their show with “Hallelujahs” and “Praise the Lord.” I heard what sounded like an announcer of a sport over a different loud speaker in the distance.  In keeping with the theme of the day I tuned my sonar into the waves and headed  in that direction.  At the top of the hill we see little girls and boy (9-14ish) on horses.  They were having barrel “type” races.  I say “type” because one of the challenges was to run to the end of the arena, jump off your horse, crawl through a large black tube and then touch your horse.  It was entertaining to say the least.

My super sonic hearing heard one more sound that interested me…thunder.  We took off towards home and made it just in time before a shower.  On my way home I was thinking about how much I absolutely LOVE where I live.  Today was just an example of it.  Living this close to the towns epicenter (so to speak) means we always have something close enough to walk to for entertainment.  The playground is great.  There is a stage for entertainment.  The 4H building is right next to it.  They sell ice cream out of a little concession stand at the park for Pete’s Sake!  It really is a perfect place to live.  The reason I even thought about this though is because Mr. Tolerable is thinking that in the future (how near we don’t know) we may have to move for employment.  The whole idea makes me excited and sad at the same time.  I am so happy here I just wonder if I could be this happy, have access to so much, great neighbors, great yard, great view of a lake, etc somewhere else.  Then I rememeber that so long as my family is with me, I will be happy. 

It sometimes happens at the most unlikely of moments.  LIke now, for instance, when I was just checking my comments to see who (if) anyone was actually reading my blog.  I found a comment from Kate from www.sweetsalty.com .  I had gone to her blog before but had not had the time or luxury to actually pour over it and read it in chronological order.  I was taken on a journey…a heart-wrenching journey that I have to say, I was happy I was reading as an outsider.  Her writing is so captivating that I could feel my heart physically getting heavier as each day went on because unlike the author, I already knew the end of the story….Liam dies.  As I read the posts about the NICU I remember my own experience in the NICU with my daughter.  My experience is such a cake-walk compared to the 6 weeks Kate went through (and still deals will on a daily basis). 

I feel guilty.  Guilty for ever complaining about Jackson’s antics and him disobeying me.  Guilty for wishing I could have just one more hour of sleep and turning on the TV to act as babysitter for me.  Guilty for ever thinking my preemie was ever REALLY a preemie (and vowing right now never to refer to her as that again).  Guilty for having such a flawless life – full of laughter, joy, healthy babies, a great marriage and wonderful days followed by sunshine (chime the chorus of angels).  I don’t see why I would deserve this and other people in this world suffer.  Why am I special?  I have a hard time believing that God sits on his trown and deems certain people worthy of happiness and others a life of pain.  For whatever reason, I have been blessed and my journey tonight has made me remember this…do I say “Thank you” for such a thing?

Today I took the kids to a local splash park.  You know, one of those places with streams of water shooting up from the concrete.  Water rushing over a large mushroom.  Come to think of it, it really is not a good design.  Excited kids + bare feet + water+ concrete = cracked skulls.  In the hour and a half we were there I witnessed 3 kids slip and hit their head on the concrete.  Oh my goodness, why did I put my kids in that environment?  I may as well have given them scissors and sent them on a 5K run.  We somehow managed to evade the inevitable-this time.   

We met three other moms there who make up our regular play dates.  In total there were 9 kids.  The three other mothers sat on the bench by the park, watching their children play, occasionally steering a child away from the road.  But, in general they could sit, relax, and have conversations.  Something so precious to the stay-at-home-mom.  This one entirely included.  Where was I?  Chasing Jackson.  He found his way on the other side of the bathroom area a couple times.  He liked getting the reaction of the woman by running towards the road.  He climbed on the half-wall surrounding the park and played balance beam.  The stairs seemed to be his catnip and he went to them no less than 5 times.  I know, I know – most of you reading this are probably saying, “Why do you let him get away with it that many times?”  I don’t LET him get away with anything.  The second time behind the bathrooms he got a stern talking to and a spanking.  That was the last time that happened.  The 3rd and final time he got on the wall he receive, you guessed it, a spanking.  I don’t know if by the time he got to the stairs his butt was just numb or what but the spankings didn’t seem to phase him. 

Why is he so difficult?  I looked around me at the park and saw 3 boys within a couple month of exactly the same age as Jackson just playing.  All of them staying in the splash area or around their Moms.  I can’t tell you how many times I said, “Where’s Jackson?”  I would attempt to join in the conversation but inevitably in the split second I am able to say, “We just got back from a 6 day vacation without kids.” he was gone.  I know he’s smart, heck brilliant but he’s also exhausting.  I love him more than life itself but the selfish side of me comes out sometimes and I think to myself, “Why can’t he just be normal?”  Is that bad to say this about your own child? 

Being the wannabe crafty, hip, recycling Momma I am, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea.  I would take the empty diaper box that I would otherwise have collapsed and thrown in the trash, paint it, and let the kids help me, creating a cute, home-made toy box!  We would have time outside during a glorious day, get all covered in paint (all of which I’d capture on my Sony digital of course) and have an item we could desperately use (until we get a “real” one) in the living room. 

So, I get Jackson in his “I’d never take you out in this outfit” clothes and Alex down to a onesie and changed into my painting clothes.  Once outside all Jackson wanted to do was take the spray bottle full of water and spray the concrete, shed, fence, me, Alex, etc.  Alex was only interested in the ant farm sand box.  Never deturred once I have something in my mind, I commence to painting this box.  Red would work.  As I said previously, I am a “wannabe” crafty mamma so I didn’t have a real paint brush.  I was using a sponge brush that was several years old and pieces of it came off onto the box making the paint look more like that of a drop paint ceiling.  I decided just to ditch the whole project and chase Jackson around with my own spray bottle.  Way more fun.