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Thursday, September 20, 2007
Mmmmm Spam Cordon Bleu
No day would be complete without finding some sort of food item lying around the house. Here we have a waffle triangle on the book shelf. This waffle was from dinner. Last night. I didn't even notice the red bottle until I loaded this picture on my blog. Duh. I went back and grabbed it off the shelf. It was filled with little game pieces. What else would be in a bottle on a bookshelf?
Speaking of books.... I made the mistake of letting Clay play in the bathtub as it drained while I got Brooklyn ready for bed. My husband got home from work right at that moment, walked into the bathroom and discovered an inch of water on the floor. This library book was in the water because, you know, I've taught the kids to read in the bathtub just for fun. It looks like we've bought yet another library book. I'm pretty sure between all our mishaps and overdue fines, we've financed a new wing at our local library.
Yep, the last page is as wet as the first page. I think the mom in this picture is looking at her son and thinking, "Yay, the Benedryl just kicked in! Whew!"
Ok, to all you folks from Minnesota, yes I know that Spam is made in your great state. It's really not something I'd brag about, however. Think about it. And although I'm usually confused and don't know what I'm talking about, I really did mean Spamarama in Austin, TX. Seriously, they have a Spam Ball, Spamalympics, and a Spam cook-off. Some of the winning recipes were Spam Cordon Bleu, the French way to enjoy a potted pork meat-like product, Pirates Deadman Spam, I think the name says it all, and Velvet Hotdog Wedding Cake, can you just envision the folks who would celebrate their wedding with this cake?
Speaking of Minnesota, we took a little trip there in November with some friends a couple years ago. I suggest if you visit Minnesota in November, you be prepared for temperatures of negative 40 degrees or so. We paid a visit to the Mall of America which was really insanely huge! I stopped at a grocery store during the trip to buy some ice cream (because the negative 40 degree temps just weren't quite cold enough). The ice cream cost $2.95. I stood there waiting for the cashier to tell me my total, but he just said, "$2.95." I waited patiently for him to figure out that he hadn't totaled it and added the tax. He waited there not so patiently for me to pay him already! I had no idea there were states out there that don't pay tax on food! Incredible. Of course this is also a state that had a sign in a restaurant stating something along the lines of, "Guns are not permitted in this restaurant. Please leave any guns outside." Too bad because I was looking forward to being held up while eating my soup.
Jackson informed me a couple hours ago that Clay had made a hole in the wall of their bedroom.
A hole? What do you mean - a hole?
Come see!
Sure enough there was a hole in the drywall. It wasn't that large, but it was fairly deep. I suspect he was trying to dig his way out much like Andy in Shawshank Redemption. His mistake was not putting a Farrah Fawcett poster over the hole. Tomorrow he's busted. I can just see him trying to fill the hole with chewed gum or yogurt or something.
150 comments:
I lived in MN for awhile somewhat near to the MOA. The sales tax thing messed me up when I lived there, too. Actually, people writing checks for a $0.39 ice cream cone at McDonalds messed me up more ($0.39 for a cone! That tells you how long ago that was...).
The deal on sales tax in MN: no tax on any "necessity" which includes clothes and food. Whenever I go back to visit friends and fam, I stock up since that's an automatic 8% savings (or 6.5% if I manage to shop where the local tax is lower). However, if you're in the market for a fur coat, you're out of luck as they don't consider that a necessity in MN and tax is charged. Hey, given the weather, I think they're wrong, but maybe their brains got frozen when they approved that part of the law.
Good luck with the book and getting it published. I'll definitely be reading it and passing along to my best friend who just got engaged and well wants kids but doesn't quite realize what she's in for!
- September 20, 2007 at 11:17 PM
- Shelly said...
hey, at least your bookshelf is well organized!!
- September 20, 2007 at 11:20 PM
- Matchbox Mom said...
Oh man, another hole in the wall?! That sucks. Maybe he needs Karate so he can bust things...lol
Oh well, maybe he'll find some money in those walls someday that he would want to donate to me.
- September 20, 2007 at 11:21 PM
No taxes on clothing in Minnesota either!
- September 20, 2007 at 11:21 PM
- Carissa said...
Thanks for the laughs! I have to read your post before bed!
- September 20, 2007 at 11:23 PM
- A Whole Lot of Nothing said...
Food is now banned from our house. We'll eat out from now own - even more than we already do. I'm tired of finding food and old milk in the cushions and behind books.
- September 20, 2007 at 11:24 PM
- stephanie said...
Hey dawn im the first one :) I just wanna say Kudos! I love your blog its the best! ;)
- September 20, 2007 at 11:28 PM
oh yes no sales tax is wonderful
Oregon is another wonderful state without a tax like that
it's also beautiful and green
okay, enough about Oregon
you are awesome and I love reading your blog
- September 20, 2007 at 11:29 PM
- Tara said...
My sons put holes (yes, plural) in our bedroom wall yesterday. They were making their spaceship "fly"... directly into my wall. Over and over again. The holes were not very deep but it is still annoying.
And really, what is with the food left all over the house? I am beginning to think my kids are putting things in weird places on purpose and saving it for some imagined famine or natural disaster. Like if we are buried alive by some huge blizzard (we have minus 40 weather here too) we can survive for weeks on dried up bits of toast under the bookshelf, cheerios from under the couch, crunched up crackers from between the couch cushions, and old fermented juice in the bottom of sippy cups found in the toy box.
Enjoy your waffle. Tee hee.
- September 20, 2007 at 11:30 PM
- I_Am_Who_I_Am said...
I have 9 kids; I love knowing that I'm not the only one with kids who leave food all over the house!
BTW, I get asked if I'm LDS(Mormon) all the time because of my clan of kidlets trailing behind me; my answer, "Why yes... YES I AM!" The odd thing is, I live in UTAH; do they really have to ask?! DUH!
- September 20, 2007 at 11:37 PM
I live in WAY north minnesota. at negative 40 degrees my butt was sitting angrily at the bus stop because school was not canceled :) Isn't it great to live in the frozen tundra of America?
- September 20, 2007 at 11:44 PM
Wow. The inch of water in the bathroom really hit home. No matter how many times i tell my two youngest not to splash, they flood the bathroom every time. And of course I'm too tired/busy/lazy to sit there and make sure they play nicely.
I could definitely relate to the library fines too. I just balanced my checkbook and found a check for $17.50 in fines and replacements. D'OH. And i just had to order a new CD to go with a book before I returned it, because someone sat on the library's CD and it broke in half. Oops. But at least the CD only cost $6 on eBay, and the replacement cost was $40. I have learned the hard way to never check out hardcovers.
BTW, I loved this post about so many every day things.
- September 20, 2007 at 11:47 PM
- Mollie said...
As a Mom of 4 adult children and grandma of 5 I read your blog and think Thank God I am not the only one who lived this life. You are the first to make me feel like this since Erma Bombeck. Enjoy it all as it passes way faster than you think it is going to. I love being a Mom more than anything in the whole world and just know if continues to be wonderful. Mollie
- September 20, 2007 at 11:47 PM
- Elizabeth said...
ROFL... How do you do it?? I would go insane! LOL. My 2 year old has yet to put holes in my walls, but I am sure he will follow his daddy's example and do it someday.
Yep... my DH kicked a hole in my wall... goofing around with his dad in the hallway. Sometimes...:)
- September 20, 2007 at 11:50 PM
- tAnYeTTa said...
the mom in this picture is looking at her son and thinking, "Yay, the Benedryl just kicked in! Whew!"
p.s. SPAM is famous in Hawaii too. They were celebrating it full force when I was there in 2001. FULL FORCE festival and all. They are serious about their spam there. I've never had spam the food but, spam in my email all the time. *sigh*
- September 21, 2007 at 12:07 AM
- ztoamom said...
Oh you're in top form again - the casual reference to yogurt in the last line is precisely spot on writing!
- September 21, 2007 at 12:17 AM
- Kila said...
Those things happen here, too. I have strict rules about food Staying In The Kitchen, yet I find pieces of food behind the rocking chair, on end tables, etc. Ugh.
We don't have any walls that look decent. Lots of holes here.
- September 21, 2007 at 12:18 AM
mmm, holes in walls. The joys! My favourite hole is the one (or two, as the case may be) where they drilled through one sheet of drywall, then right through to the next wall of their adjoining bedrooms so they could talk to each whilst in bed. Charming creatures!!!
My most hated food find is apple cores stuffed under the couch. Urgh!
- September 21, 2007 at 12:39 AM
- lisa's chaos said...
Am I the only one who has time to go make a sandwich (NOT spam-wich) while I wait for your page to load? So I usually read you in bloglines then just don't comment.
Anyway, I live in WI and we too have no sales tax on food (and -40 degrees). But the thing I love about visiting MN is that there's no sales tax on clothes. MOA makes fun Christmas shopping, yeah.
I really think you should start a shadowbox of all the petrified foods you find. It would be a great conversation starter.
- September 21, 2007 at 12:40 AM
I have only 2 boys (14&4)but regularly find 'things' in both their rooms. Once when sorting out the eldest's wardrobe, in the hunt for dirty laundry (another story entirely!)I picked up a shoe only to have a dried, dead-as-a-door stop orange chested newt land in my lap. I almost fainted! It had somehow ("I didn't know - wasn't my fault - must have been Alexander") escaped from the tank in his room and sought solace in a stinking shoe where it slowly dried (oops I meant died!)
Wishing you lots of luck for the teenage years! - I so hope you are still writing then.
You're great!
- September 21, 2007 at 12:57 AM
- Rick said...
Not only do they not have sales tax in Oregon, but they won't let you pump your own gas either. Come and see...
- September 21, 2007 at 1:00 AM
Our wonderful state of California, home to Rancho Cucamonga!!, is another great state with no sales tax on food!
- September 21, 2007 at 1:10 AM
- Jenn loves Derek said...
I know, those darn bookshelves at our house also collect the oddest things.
Glad to know I am the only person who has taken a "Free Service" (The Library) and now wonders if I can just talk the Librarian into letting us have "Direct Deposit".
A hole in the wall, huh? Yeah, I have 4 boys. I so get it!
- September 21, 2007 at 1:12 AM
- Michelle said...
Half the time I find the food my son has "stored" because he is re-eating it...gross!!!! Thanks for all the great posts!
- September 21, 2007 at 1:32 AM
- mbrassfield said...
I agree Oregon is beautiful, green, with no sales tax. Also we do not have to get out of our car to pump gas. We can blissfully sit in our car, with our children screaming from the backseat (why is it that regular automobiles do not come with privacy glass option) and let someone else stand in the rain and pump it for us. Dawn have you ever been to Oregon?
- September 21, 2007 at 1:48 AM
A few weeks after we moved into our new house, my son decided that he wanted to hang a picture on the living room wall, so he took a pair of needle nosed pliers, and proceeded to bore a 1 " wide hole in the wall. I asked him which picture he wanted to hang, and he had no clue. Unfortunatley, the hole is only a few inches above the back of the couch, so I can't even hang a picture over it.
The same week, he also managed to color on the celing with crayons. I'm not sure how he did this, and pretty sure I don't want to know.
My friend's son bored a hole through his bedroom wall, next to his bed, and into the bathroom closet. He would leave the bathroom light on at night and have it shine into his room so he could read in bed.
I love reading your blog because it keeps reminding me of many things my children have done that I have forgotten (or blocked from my memory;-) I am now writing them down, and will give these to my kids when they have their own kids.
Thanks for helping me feel a little less insane!
- September 21, 2007 at 3:05 AM
- Becky said...
ROFL! Funny stuff, Dawn. Can't wait for the book!
Our toddler recently hammered several dents into our wall with a hammer I'd [i]just[/i] laid down so I could hang up a picture. HUGE dents that will require some serious patching. Because thats what you do with hammers, after all...in a huge cluster on the wall just about toddler level. I'm just glad he didn't decide to do it on the nearby window! LOL. Kids...you gotta love 'em! There is no better source of entertainment in my book!
- September 21, 2007 at 3:47 AM
- Bloggers said...
This really made my day to read this. I thought my kids were the only ones to hide food around the house.
No taxes on clothes, hmmmm , hunny can we move??
I have 3 kids (18,14,1)(yes I have a 1 year old) and I can hardly run after all of them how do you run after 6?? I will have you in my daily prayers!
Working At Home Mom
- September 21, 2007 at 5:47 AM
I just LOVE your Blog...First thing I read when I get in to work in the morning.
We have no sales tax on necessities over in Canada. :-)
- September 21, 2007 at 6:08 AM
- PermagrinGirl said...
I've only got one kiddo so far, but I work from home full-time and he's at home with me, so between the job and the child, housework comes in second place. As a result I'm always finding bits of food he's cached for later use. Most frustrating was the baby corn I tried to feed him one day, which he would not touch; wanted nothing to do with it. He launched every single dainty little ear across the kitchen and since we have an open floor-plan, he was able to cover a lot of territory. Two days later I pick him up to take whatever he's chewing on this time out of his mouth to find it's a browned and shriveled ear of baby corn I'd missed. Yecch. If he likes that 'old' taste to his vegetables that much, maybe I should switch to canned.
- September 21, 2007 at 6:19 AM
- Sila Lumenn said...
Hey! No sales tax on food here in Texas, too. Minnesota sounds a lot like Texas in the gun department, as well. We Texans take our guns everywhere; they're as ubiquitous as cell phones. Those signs are a must in places where no guns are allowed!
- September 21, 2007 at 6:41 AM
I am sure you have heard this gazillion times, I love your blog!! I am your faithful reader who kept forgetting to use nature calls before reading your blog.
There is no tax on foods in Michigan either. Unless you buy prepared foods from the deli, you would be hit with 6% tax. But if you buy bakery foods like bagel from Panera Bread or Big Apple Bagel, no tax... Unless it's prepared like adding cream cheese-tax it....
- September 21, 2007 at 6:42 AM
- kimikki said...
I live in Minnesota. Northern Minnesota at that. We don't typically hit the 40 below temperature until more like January, maybe February. I remember in years past, having snow up to my waist in our front yard. Not so much any more.
I've been to the MOA over and over again, and still haven't seen the whole place. It is huge!
I've eaten Spam, and it's not so bad. "Mystery meat". In gradeschool, we had "flying saucers", ground up (!?) Spam, mixed with tomato sauce, spooned onto openface hamburger buns and baked. They were actually pretty good!
- September 21, 2007 at 6:46 AM
- laurac19 said...
Thanks for starting my day out with laughter. Know that you're not alone out there with children who sneak food to mysterious places only to be found later on.
It's great to find states that don't tax you for necessary items. I live in Ohio, but do make trips to PA now and then to buy clothings since they don't tax you there. Also, Ohio doesn't tax you for food. Always a good thing.
- September 21, 2007 at 6:47 AM
- nutralady2001 said...
LOL Dawn.....have to drop in and see what you've been up to, or rather what the kids have been up to. food?.....UGH !.... petrified school lunches anyone? Yes I would find them at the end of the summer holidays, where they'd disappeared into a wardrobe or down the back of or under the bed
The best one was when the kids were little we'd visit my Mum interstate every couple of years. One year about 6 months after we'd been to see her, she picked up an ornamental fish she had, it was glass and was hollow with an open mouth. She heard something inside so tipped it up and a piece of peanut butter toast fell out, quite petrified. She figured one of the kids decided to feed the fish
- September 21, 2007 at 6:54 AM
- suburbancorrespondent said...
Don't ask me about the time my 13-year-old daughter kicked a hole in her bedroom ceiling. Just don't ask.
And I'm glad you found that waffle right away. I still can't deal with avocados after finding a month-old one under the couch in the family room (that's what you get when you let the kids help to put away the groceries).
- September 21, 2007 at 7:03 AM
- The Rocking Pony said...
In PA we don't pay tax on food or clothing. I didn't know there were states that DID charge on these items. And I thought I got out on occasion. In Alaska (and a few other states) they have no tax on anything. We loved living there.
And I so would not have guessed Minnesota was a no-guns-in-restaurant state. Texas perhaps, but not Minnesota. And Texas would be the one to sport the spam wedding cake. Complete with guns.
- September 21, 2007 at 7:15 AM
- AKB said...
My kids have never made a hole in one of my walls but I know all about moldy food all over the house, under the bed, spoiled milk congealed to the bottom of the glass. Yummy!! My house goes through more cups in a day than I have fingers on both hands, and there are only two of them, (kids, that is, I have 10 fingers) lol!
I will definitely read the book and make my friends buy it so you reap the benefits.
You're wonderful. Oh, there are mormon moms (ME) who could only handle 2-3 kids and am very happy that I am done having more. My SIL has 5, homeschools, and now has a teenager talking back. She can't wait until he is grown out of that stage. And he is the oldest. We love our kids, but there are days...It's cool to read you, and your fan comments to see that we are all in this thing called motherhood together. Isn't it great?? Makes me know there is a shoulder to cry on when those days hit! Either that, or a swift kick in the pants saying "Get over it, we're all miserable!"
Have fun!
- September 21, 2007 at 7:16 AM
In PA, no tax on food (bought in grocery stores, but yes on restaurant food) or clothing. In Delaware, no sales tax on ANYTHING.
You're gonna learn so much about the sales tax laws of the states.
- September 21, 2007 at 7:32 AM
- erinve said...
Just wanted you to know that the Tribune article was reprinted in the Memphis Commercial Appeal yesterday! My husband brought me a section of yesterday's paper with your article, telling me he had found this blog I needed to read. It was great telling him that I had already been reading it for more than a month! Thanks for helping me start my day with a smile-
- September 21, 2007 at 7:33 AM
You mean there are states that charge tax on food in a grocery store? Who knew?
- September 21, 2007 at 7:41 AM
- The Father of Five said...
Hi Dawn,
Dave a Father of Five from Minnesota here - and a "lurker" on your blog.
I had to comment on this entry! November? November is still "play outside" weather for us native Minnesotans! We are out hunting until mid November.
Come join us on a few frosty days in January! Days that get so cold cars wont start, or will just start dying on the side of the road! Ahhh... You get used to it!
Also, The Mall... I grew up in Bloomington, and I am a Police Dispatcher for Bloomington - that means any 911 calls from that behemoth come to me! Overall, it's not that bad of a place for shoppers to visit. There is a lot of crime there, but it is more about shoplifting than anything else...
Also - you don't see this much in the national news, but the Mall is planning on an expansion! It will almost double in size! Mall of America Phase II (as it is called) will host another (more than) 5 million square feet...
If you are interested, you can find info plans, conceptual drawings, etc HERE.
Good luck with the book - and I will resume my regular scheduled "lurking" again.
- September 21, 2007 at 7:42 AM
- daisydap said...
kids never grow out of leaving holes in the wall, i have recently moved house, when i went back to my old house to clean it up, i took off a poster on the wardrobe door of my 16 year old son, yup underneath was a massive hole, he had done it about 6 months previously whilst in a temper and never told me about it. what really got me was that the house had been on the market for 4 months and he still hadnt said anything, its a good job i found it before any unsuspecting buyer had.
- September 21, 2007 at 7:48 AM
I'm in Iowa and we don't pay tax on food either. I guess I didn't realize other states had to pay tax on food. I should really get out more.
Ahhh yes the hole in the wall.. I am a mother of 2 1/2 I would say. A 1 year old a 10 year old and a 15 year old who only lives with us part time. A while back she went into her room and found a very large hole in the wall, (this after not being at our house for a week) So I go to inspect the hole, it was filled, you know, with dirty socks and shirts, apparently when you put a hole in the wall thats how you fix it... As I was pulling the soxs out and Yelling at the top of my lungs, Jaaacccooob get up here. He comes up and looks at me and says, I didn't do that. My responce, So your dirty clothes just came over here and put themselves into the wall huh? Wow I wish they would put them selves into the washer and dryier that same way...
Well after deciding that clothes are not magical he came clean, Jacob was watching TV in his sisters room, (which he wasn't suppose to be doing) and jummping on the bed (which he wasn't to be doing) and slipped and fell and the large hole was the imprint of his head! Apparently signing No More Monekys Jumpping On The Bed! as a young child sounded fun?
- September 21, 2007 at 7:48 AM
- otter said...
Canada has a 'food' called Klik, it is 3 steps below Spam. MN can hold their heads high, there is a more disgusting product out there!
- September 21, 2007 at 7:49 AM
I really don't think it's a good idea to let the kids watch "The Shawshank Redemption." You really should consider getting some children's DVDs. I'd suggest checking them out from the library, but you may as well buy them outright--they'll be cheaper that way. ;)
- September 21, 2007 at 7:50 AM
Dawn, as one of 5 children I think I have an explanation of why your children MIGHT be leaving food all over the place. When I was much younger I would be watch TV and eating a snack. One of my a brother (all larger than me) would turn the channel and thus chaos would ensue and the food place where ever and then be forgotten after the chaos has dissipated. Thus the food ending up in the strangest of places, bookshelves, under clothes and what not.
- September 21, 2007 at 7:59 AM
- Jenny said...
"He was trying to dig his way out much like Andy in Shawshank Redemption".
That is quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever read. You totally made my morning with that one!
- September 21, 2007 at 8:09 AM
- The Hotfessional said...
I think the mom in this picture is looking at her son and thinking, "Yay, the Benedryl just kicked in! Whew!"
Ahhahahhahahaha. I read so many of these books when Shortman was young. That was too funny.
- September 21, 2007 at 8:17 AM
- DelawareQuilts said...
There is no sales tax in Delaware, my home sweet home, and I'm always confused when I shop elsewhere and people try to charge me more than the shelf price.
My first encounter with sales tax was at the NY World's Fair when I had just enough money for my meal, until they threw in that tax. I stood at the register and cried couldn't pay for my meal…I'd never heard of taxes before. (I was a sheltered child I guess)
Thanks for writing everything you write, it's made my morning coffee ritual a delight!
- September 21, 2007 at 8:17 AM
- Carla said...
Love the MOA! While you were shivering and eating ice cream did you happen to notice the fall leaves changing? So so perty.
I am looking forward to the book and also seeing you on tv!! I can say I knew you when.....
- September 21, 2007 at 8:41 AM
The state of MA also does not charge tax on food and clothing that costs less than $250, because they are considered neccessities. (Clothing that costs more $250 is only taxed on the portion above $250, so $260 item gets a $0.50 tax (5% of $10).)
Spam has such an awful image to many people, but I always wonder how many folks have actually tried it. I grew up with my mother occasionally making it by frying slices of it in butter and brown sugar (think candied Spam). I loved it as a kid and still enjoy it every once in a while. Spam cooked that way with mac-n-cheese (from a box) is one of our favorite meals to have when camping - fast, yummy, satisfying and only takes one pot and one frying pan to make.
Ultimately, Spam is cheap fatty meat. Which is largely what hotdogs and sausages age. If you're the sort of person who enjoys a good hotdog , bratwurst or similar sausage every once in a while, you'd probably enjoy Spam, too. The smell of most cheap fatty meat frying up is usually wonderful.
Cindy from the suburbs of Boston
- September 21, 2007 at 8:46 AM
- Ella said...
Love your blog! Take that library book, let it dry with the pages fanned if it isn't dry yet, then very very carefully iron the pages. Fiddle with the heat until you get it just right. The pages usually come out looking good enough that you can slip it back into the library without issue. Of course, with all that "spare time" you've got on your hands, it might just be easier to cough up the $25 bucks.
- September 21, 2007 at 8:48 AM
Pennsylvannia doesn't tax food either...it's a good thing!
Reading your blog is like a day in our home....except not enough bathroom mishaps. We've had holes galore...we are thinking of going into the spackle/paint business. One of the best food finds....a petrified burger under a chair....ugh! Well gotta run my daughter's head is stuck under the couch.
- September 21, 2007 at 8:55 AM
- Zoanna said...
Okay, here's my theory on why Minneotans brag about Spam: it has kept them alive for centuries.
The stuff if full of fat (read: body heat), tastes like chicken parts (I won't say which parts; this is a family blog) and never digests, so a person can live in the tundra on one can of Spam for, oh, I dunno, six weeks. And being tax-free, what more could you ask for?
- September 21, 2007 at 9:06 AM
Your stories about your children crack me up. I have much respect for a mother who can find the humor in the things their kids do everyday. I'm almost inspired to have 6 kids.... almost....
- September 21, 2007 at 9:08 AM
- Kristy said...
The neatness of your bookshelf is ticking me off. Six kids and your books are lined up pretty? That's just evil and wrong. Four kids and a hubby and we can't keep our books looking pretty for more than five minutes. I don't love you anymore. ;)
- September 21, 2007 at 9:12 AM
- sue said...
Love the blog!
With four kids there was always food somewhere in our house... except, of course, where it belonged! There were always bowls and spoons in the chicken house because the girls had to go out and "feed the kitties" ...which entailed the girls eating ice cream while watching the kitties eat. :)
The drywall? Well, the kids were pretty good about that, but I do remember being a child myself and peeling wallpaper off a whole wall of my grandmother's house when I was "napping", so I can't say much...
Looking forward to the interview and your book!
- September 21, 2007 at 9:20 AM
- Wildsissy said...
Yay, the Benedryl just kicked in! Whew!"
OMG you don't know how many times I my sister had to give her son the YELLOW sippie cup on road trips between Chicago and Cincinnatti! She always had that sucker spiked just waiting in the front seat until he started freaking out about being in the car too long (normally around Indianapolis) FREAKIN HALARIOUS.. maybe it has something to do with Fremd students (she graduated in '90)!!
- September 21, 2007 at 9:31 AM
Hilarious. We almost moved to MN this summer (from sunny FL!). Who wants to put 15 layers of clothing on 3 little kids to go to the grocery store? I'm sure they'd be real happy sweltering in their clothes for an entire shopping trip.
Holes in the wall?! Talented child! My kids are great at picking at the nail pops that never get fixed, and pulling at the frayed carpet edges during time-out. Pick pick pick. At least it's not a body part this time.
Do you have nail biters? Finger chewers? TOE chewers? Do you recommend any particular deterrent, or are they a pointless waste of energy?
- September 21, 2007 at 9:39 AM
- Qtpies7 said...
LOL, yep, I find food all over, too. I don't know what it is with that, they can't get enough food to eat, but they can leave it all over the place uneaten. I really love the chicken bones in the couch cushions. And it has happened more than once, and more than twice. I don't even know how many times I've found bones in my couch.
I do love the yogurt painted on the walls, though. That's happened twice with different kids.
The worst thing for me ever was yesterday I walked in the bathroom and found my almost 4yo sitting on a stool in front of the toillette like she was puking, but really she was scooping water out of the bowl with her hands and drinking it. Joyfully. I got the spiciest cinnamon toothpaste and scrubbed her mouth raw with hit! Ugh!!!!
There is always something crazy going on with a houseful of kids. Keeps life interesting.
- September 21, 2007 at 9:40 AM
- Tess said...
I can't tell you how much I've come to enjoy reading your Blog. I have a 4 month old, so she's not leaving food around the house, or putting holes in walls yet but you definitely make me 'look forward' to such things! LOL.
Thanks for making me laugh!
- September 21, 2007 at 9:45 AM
- Trish Berg said...
Supper Swap UPDATE -
Happy Friday!!! Today is the last day of the blook tour for The Great American Supper Swap. You have until midnight tonight to post a comment on the supper swap blog (scroll down) to enter your name in the drawing.
We are up to 8 FREE BOOKS RIGHT NOW since there are over 800 COMMENTS!! YEA!
You guys are the BEST!!!
I am not home at the moment, but had to check in with you all.
Hey, Dawn. How are you? Have you recovered frmo the ABC taping?
Right now, I am with 5,000 other moms at the MOPS International Convention in Orlando, and will be speaking to these mom about supper swappnig at 2:00 TODAY! Please pray for me....my shoe, the only pair I brought, tore, and with only hours to go, I am stuck with them. I hope they don't look too, well, torn.) I feel a lot like alost puppy down here with all these professional speakers, and well....plain old torn-shoe-me!
But it has been a blast! Last night I got sit in the 3rd row and hear GO FISH sing and Salvador! They weer incredible. If you have never heard GO FISH - Check them out! They wrote a new song about moms! It is a HOOT and a half!(Just Google Go Fish)
And today, Christian singer Sarah Groves sang and spoke to us about shopping for her post partum body at Old Navy, and is LOVING the new tent dreses there!
I have updates and photos on my blog at www.simplifyingmotherhood.blogspot.com
Ok - I have to go a prepare for my talk. I'll read over your supper swap coments tonight and answer all your questions that I have missed...
And please know that whether you win the book or not, you can always e-mail me your supper swap questions and I can help you get started swappnig!
Most of all, whatever happens today, Enjoy the journey - Trish
- September 21, 2007 at 9:48 AM
Hi Dawn, You just reminded me of something my son did when we were remodeling our family room. Before my hubby put the drywall up my son put a pair of his power ranger unddies in the wall. I think he was thinking somday someone will find them. I wonder (bet) power rangers will still exsist then! Also do post when your interview with Charles Gibson is going to air ok? =^..^= Kris in Michigan
- September 21, 2007 at 9:53 AM
Huh, so Clay made a hole in the wall...maybe he should use, well, "clay" to plug it...
If I could pass a message to him, I'd say that pastey kind of toothpast makes great filler for hoes if they aren't too big (and it leaves the room smelling minty fresh. True, it's not very permanent, but it'll get yu your deposit back on your dorm room.
- September 21, 2007 at 10:18 AM
- Theresa said...
It could be so much worse, Mexico has a 17% IVA tax on everything! You don't notice because almost all prices include it, except some big ticket items are quoted before tax to make you think they are cheaper.
When I was 5 or 6, I borrowed my grandfather's handdrill and made a hole in the floor, next to the wall. I wanted to see what was underneath the floor. We lived in a basement apartment in NYC at the time. I am alive to tell the tale because I was never caught.
I used to routinely pull all the cushions off my couches when my kids were living at home, the worse was the half eaten sandwiches. I also found lots of change that way.
- September 21, 2007 at 10:47 AM
- All moments remembered said...
OHHHHH my little ones are starting to seem like Angels! LOL!!! No holes here yet! In Oregon we have no sales tax either!! BUT we have very high property tax so they still get us. But it is cool to know exactly what you are paying. I am sooo jealous about the Mall of America trip. I have always always wanted to see it without kids of course!! OH and did I mention I would love to have unlimited money to shop while there too?
Still loving your blogs!! Had a scapbook class last night and was sharing your story with the few who live under a rock and did not know your story. I had them peeing their pants.
Have a super weekend!!!
- September 21, 2007 at 10:58 AM
- Melissa said...
I live in Oregon (no sales tax on anything) so it's the exact opposite for us when we go out of town... We expect to spend exactly 2.95 for ice cream and then they say 3.01 or whatever and being the wife of a full time student with 4 kids and living off financial aid making sure everything is lagit question why its more... And then feel stupid when they say there's tax... :)
- September 21, 2007 at 11:27 AM
- Britt- Sparkled Vintage Charm said...
lol! you are sooo funny! :-) great post!
- September 21, 2007 at 11:29 AM
Another MN-ite here. Novemeber is definately "play outside" weather yet. January and February can be the deep freeze. When school is cancelled so children don't freeze or get frostbite walking from their house to the bus, you know it's cold.
For all of you unwilling to brave all 4 of our seasons, you don't know what you're missing. As a friend of mine once told a co-worker, the cold weather "keeps the riff-raff out". :p
- September 21, 2007 at 11:52 AM
- Meadow Walk said...
Last night I was just about to drift of to sleep when a thought burst into my brain and jolted me awake.
The thought was:
"What in the world is wrong with CHARLOTTE?"
And then I kept thinking, it's a lovely girl's name AND it's a lovely town. Why not Charlotte? Why a name after a NY burrough [we don't care how the do it in NYC!] when Charlotte is perfectly lovely???
Then I started thinking...Madison...Cheyenne.... I think they are pretentious but they do work as girls' names... and they are towns...
ARGH! I was trying to go to sleep!!!!
- September 21, 2007 at 11:58 AM
- Shellie said...
Oh, yes, the holes! We had one right under the basement window they kept working on till they almost got through to the other side, but then they realized they could just climb out the window. Then we had the "black hole". It was towards the top of the stairwell. It was quite big and was stuffed with all kinds of stuff. Then the boys had the great idea to use it as a urinal. I was afraid the whole thing was going to catch fire someday, so we had to make a hole under the stairwell to clean it all out and then we poured febreze down it and then patched up both ends. Somehow, things still keep disappearing, though. There's a new black hole somewhere!
- September 21, 2007 at 11:58 AM
You should sell something on ebay that Jackson used to dig the drywall hole... that made me laugh!!
- September 21, 2007 at 12:07 PM
- Lucinda Naia said...
I love reading the comments and knowing that other people also think you're like Erma Bombeck!
Oh, I so enjoy reading your blog every day! Even if I don't comment every time, I love laughing & you make me laugh.
- September 21, 2007 at 12:10 PM
- mnhyrkas said...
I can tell you've never been to visit us in MN during early August when it is HOT and muggy. I'm not a fan of the extreme cold that we get in Jan/Feb, but it keeps the undesirables out :wink:
- September 21, 2007 at 12:15 PM
- Chelf said...
SPAM... Stuff Posing As Meat.
- September 21, 2007 at 12:16 PM
- kimbalaya said...
Shady Cove, Oregon, has an annual Spam-o-rama event as well. With a parade and everything.
I haven't had the "privilege" of attending.
- September 21, 2007 at 12:31 PM
- kimbalaya said...
Oh, and another thing Oregon has... er, doesn't have... is sales tax. Not on clothes, food, anything. There are a couple of cities who have exceptions to that, because they're so close to the California border that they started charging a city sales tax due to all the people crossing the border to shop. But generally, there's no sales tax.
When we first moved here, I used to be surprised when they told me the price because I expected it to be more than the price tag said. Now when I visit other states, I'm surprised because the price IS more than the price tag, lol.
- September 21, 2007 at 12:35 PM
"Yay, the Benedryl just kicked in! Whew!"
For this comment alone I love you! Not love, love you, but love you as one mother with Nice and Easy Hair to another who is well on her way! (sorry it's a reality that we must endure)
- September 21, 2007 at 12:40 PM
I just moved to MN from Texas (I married a Yank! What was I thinking!) and it threw me off no tax on clothing! I thought they did tax food though, I must have 'mommy brain' and have not caught onto it. Can you tell what I shop for the most? HA! Their garage sales up here are awesome too, they even have boxes of FREE stuff at the end of their driveways. And it's not just junk in them too! I'm on a tangent...
- September 21, 2007 at 1:03 PM
- T with Honey said...
If the hole is small enough a little bit of toothpaste will do the trick. We used to use Colgate back in college to fill the holes in the wall at the end of the year. It works just as good a spackle.
- September 21, 2007 at 1:05 PM
I enjoy your blog quite a bit. I'm probably one of the few who read it, who not only have no children, but is an only child as well -- so I have no clue what siblings are like either.
I enjoy the humor and the truthfulness of many of your statements, whether one has children or not. I still keep a home and my elderly mother lives with me (try that for a while, when the argument comes as to how to do something).
Enjoy your kiddos. Maybe you should let the ones who read/write do the blog some day?
- September 21, 2007 at 1:41 PM
- Megster67 said...
PA and MD are the same as far as tax on food - none on "necessities." PA has no sales tax on clothing either, so I'm always driving an hour to cross the border and hit the outlet mall outside of Gettysburg PA. My mother-in-law who lives in PA was STUNNED and a little miffed when a purchase at one of our Maryland malls included 5% sales tax! She really groused about it. All in what you're used to.
BTW, the constant home issues you report (such as the hole in the drywall) make me feel so much better about the bifold closet doors that keep coming off their hinges and really need to be fixed or replaced. So thanks for that!
- September 21, 2007 at 2:33 PM
- sahmto2 said...
My 4 year old son STUFFED about 30 matchbox cars, a Superman, a pewter music box, a baby doll bottle, 4 Thomas Takealong trains, and about 20 puzzle pieces in a hole in the drywall in his room. Just so you know what all can fit...
At least it wasn't food.
- September 21, 2007 at 2:33 PM
- Nicki said...
That's pretty funny. I just threw out one of our books because my 2 year old was playing with it in the tub. Maybe he was reading?? Yeah right!
- September 21, 2007 at 2:35 PM
- Leayellowrose said...
The Shawshank redemption , that is like one of my favorite movie, or rather a movie I am addicted to.Everytime it is on TV I HAVE to watch it!!! And SPAM , well it isnt that bad...Remember I am french and we eat stuff better/worse than that on a daily basis!!!!
Lots of hugs
Mimi (www.carepages.com juliansworld )
- September 21, 2007 at 2:36 PM
- Penny Raine said...
when my oldest son was 3 he not only poked a hole in the drywall (with the doorknob no less) but he then proceded to stuff socks in it, uuuggghh! I love him so much but boy did he give me a headache or two :) , anyway over the years I ended up with so many orphan socks that now I am selling them on ebay, if it turns out to be sucessful maybe I will take him out to supper! my ebay name is holy-olga and you can see my weird auction here
blessings Dawn!
Penny Raine
- September 21, 2007 at 2:47 PM
- AZMom said...
My daughter, 7, has also been picking at a spot on her wall like she is trying to dig her way out. It's not real big nor is it real deep but it is going to have to be repaired and repainted. What are these kids thinking?
- September 21, 2007 at 2:56 PM
Love your blog. You've become my new therapist because I can now see that my child is SOOOOO normal. All the hidden food, sloshing through the bathroom after bath time, mystery holes in the wall -- it all makes sense now. Thank you. I'm not crazy and neither is my kid.
- September 21, 2007 at 3:08 PM
My son used to hide sandwich ingredients. I once found an entire package of lunch-meat opened and stuffed into the corner of the sofa. Another time, I was watering a house plant, only to discover a treasure trove of cheese wrappers stuffed in between the leaves. Last month, I found 2 unopened (thank goodness) slices of cheese being used as a bookmark in his bedside table drawer. He's like a little squirrel hiding food all over the house. Heaven help me the day we go to move!
- September 21, 2007 at 3:09 PM
One hole? My son put 6 holes before his sisters thought it was a good idea to tell me about it. What where they thinking? Anyway glad someone's kids do this stuff. I get a kick of reading what yours are doing, because mine have already pulled most of that. LOL... Keep it up.. Dede
- September 21, 2007 at 3:10 PM
- Kandy Seaton Smith said...
I love your posts...they always crack me up :)
Speaking of which, I passed on the "You Make Me Smile Award" to you...on my blog. I'm sure you've already won it, but well you DO make me smile and yours was the first blog that popped into my head when I was trying to figure out who to pass it on to. Keep up the good work...I need my daily "fix" after all ;)
- September 21, 2007 at 3:14 PM
My sons' room (they share a room) always has some kind of food leftovers in it. They are 5 and 2 and the sneak food into their rooms instead of asking. Of course they usually do this in the middle of the night. The list of items includes yogurt and pudding cups and spoons, Daddy's lunch cooler, cheese crackers, banana peels, bread...
My 5yo also dug a hole in the wall above his bunk when he was four. The hole is about two inches in diameter and is in a plaster wall.
We were told to cover nail holes with toothpaste by one of our previous landlords.
When we first moved into our house, some of my kids decided they wanted a pool on their hardwood bedroom floor (upstairs). The ceiling of the boys' room still has the damage from that incident.
Ohio taxes pop (and bottled water) and candy, but not other foods. There is no tax for take-out food or drive-thru food (except for the pop). There is an eat-in tax though. Indiana taxes their food.
We were over there for DH's work and were glad to get back to Ohio for food.
My mom used to slice Spam and make sandwiches out of it. She liked it but I still can't stand it.
- September 21, 2007 at 3:15 PM
Ahhhh, dear heart , look to the future. There is the possibility of retaliation. When my middle aged son told me he had just drywalled his second floor room, I asked if I could come over and dig a hole in the wall. He knew EXACTLY what I was talking about. He did it in a rented flat when he was five, and I didn't find it until we were moving. Incidentally, he said I couldn't. They never get over being selfish, do they?
Hey, I grew up in the northwestest corner of Wisconsin, and you haven't experienced truly cold weather unless you live in that climate and have an outdoor toilet.
- September 21, 2007 at 3:18 PM
You don't have to worry about saving the "good material" for your book. You are so naturally funny. Everything you write rocks. Thanks for the daily giggles and LOLs!
Tara in Alpine TX
- September 21, 2007 at 3:37 PM
- Rae said...
LOL... Man, the joys of kids! Your book title better have the word Yogart in it, otherwise we might not know that it's yours - :)
BTW, Delaware has NO sales tax either.
- September 21, 2007 at 3:41 PM
Spam is 70!!! You don't get to be that old without moving some product off the shelves. I love the cans but haven't made it... maybe one of those recipes will get me to try it. I DID have it a lot in Korea - they put it in their noodle dishes instead of more expensive meats.
Thanks for your funnies - I always look forward to them!
Tory in Florida
- September 21, 2007 at 3:53 PM
- ashley nicole said...
I never realized that there were states that placed sales tax on food...and states that exempt clothes. Huh...learn something new everyday.
Have a great day!!
- September 21, 2007 at 4:00 PM
You should head over to Oregon where there is no sales tax, it doesn't get 40 below 0 and the shopping is still great. I live up in WA and as used to always do all our back to school shopping in OR as a kid.
- September 21, 2007 at 4:00 PM
Come on now ...... did you straighten up that book shelf before you took that picture?
I wish I could take a picture of what my bookshelf looks like ..... and it's only my husband and I now!
- September 21, 2007 at 4:08 PM
- gianna said...
I love reading your blog. I am born and raised and still living in MN as well as raising my kids here (so far only 2 but I'm working my way to 4--I just have to convince my husband--also known as the best husband in the world. You can check out my blog). I have MN questions from a Minnesotan--why are we so quick to claim SPAM as ours? How come we complain about the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter when we know what happens EVERY year? Why do we go shopping in other states when the things we purchase the most (food and clothes) are cheaper here?
I love my state and will defend it to the end, but there will always be questions.
- September 21, 2007 at 4:12 PM
- The Montee's said...
I recently forged another $20 for an already waaay overused library book. My new puppy ate it. I would have rather gone out and bought the book for $7 and taken it to the library...but then they couldn't afford the new "wing" (as you have also, apparently, purchased for your local reading spot).
Have a great w/end!
- September 21, 2007 at 4:23 PM
Dawn, I enjoy your blog! I would like to share a few stories with you about my child. School has been in session since Aug.1. He had visited the office appro. 6 times. The reason vary from marking on a classmate with a pencil,at a girls tattoo to having his head down in class. About a week ago on a Sunday he and a friend were on their way to soccer practice and he flipped a penny out of a car window at a stop sign hitting a vehicle. How the penny got out the window, I really don't know. Anyway, 3 police cars and 5 officers show up at practice. His soccer coach come running out to see what is going on. Seems the vehicle he hit belonged to a man training to be a police officer. On Friday of the same week he was at my office before school, and was pulled over for speeding in a school zone, he also wasn't wearing his seatbelt which is a law in Kentucky. The school is 1 block from my office. I still haven't figured out how his car picked up that much speed is such a short distance. Thankgoodness there were angels looking after him, and the officer gave him a warning. Anyway, the life and times on my 1 and only!
- September 21, 2007 at 4:34 PM
Oh yes, the food around the house. I soooo get this. I really don't see the need to go to my kitchen to snack, when my children leave everthing at all corners of our dwelling. Nice to know I'm not the only mom who has this problem.
And about the minus 40 degree weather in Minnesota. I have relatives there and we visit every November. It SUCKS trying to figure clothing. Its the 1st weekend of the month and some years we drive through snow storms and others, the guys go out to the golf course in short sleeves. Huh? Yeah and the Mall is enormous, but the tax thing makes everything bright and shiny :o)
- September 21, 2007 at 5:12 PM
- lori said...
i'm an austinite, and i had not heard about the spamarama! thanks for the education!
-lori who is apparently not doing her part to help keep austin weird :-)
- September 21, 2007 at 5:33 PM
- Mom said...
Hey I didnt know about the tax either so your not alone !
Hey atleast your cup only had puzzle pieces ..I wrote in my blog yesterday about a cup .
Here it is:
I reached up in the cabinet , grabbed one of those dollar general blue plastic 16 oz cups (You know the ONLY kind to have with kids) I found a rubber band, toddler sock, penny ,fork and some grass in the cup ..and no one did it ! I guess I must be losing my memory because I really don't remember doing it ..My 3yo said sissy did it , my 5 yo said she didn't do it maybe my 10 yo did it ,my 10 yo said it was probably one of the girls and he was snickering ,I never got around to asking the older kids im sure it wasn't them.
I knew to never ask who did it , because the answers always going to be someone else !
I really have a suspicion one of the girls was probably trying to make some homemade stew and wanted to put it up where no one could find it !(Not that its happened millions ..wait ..no zillions of times before.)
Got to love kids !
- September 21, 2007 at 5:48 PM
- Leslie said...
Hi There-
Loved the entry - the bookcase looks so familiar. So does the Little Critter book - not that ours have gotten so damp, just that every time we enter our favorite HUGE bookstore, my son can find the Little Critter books.
No sales tax can be confusing for some. When I lived in Colorado I tried to explain to a coworker that it was cheaper to shop for Christmas when I got home to Oregon as I automatically saved 8-9% since there was no sales tax. This concept was beyond her. Her job was beyond her too - she didn't do to well there...
Have a great weekend!
- September 21, 2007 at 6:02 PM
I just had to tell you - I've felt like you all day today! First, the entire two-box-full container of Fruit Loops - dumped on the floor by my 18mo old, then jumped in like it was a pile of leaves. My 4yo spilled her HUGE cup of milk all over the table at lunch time. And to top it all off, as they were all carrying groceries in with me this afternoon (after I thought of you the whole time I toted the four of them around the store), a full gallon of sweet tea was pulled off the table where it was left in the living room, and it EXPLODED! Thanks for reminding me to LAUGH at these moments (not that I did *every* time today :). I did chuckle a little though as I mopped up the tea - my son is SO helpful; we always *have* wanted a pool! :)
I told them they're all going to bed early to lessen the chances of something else getting spilled. :) So off I go...!
Hope you & Brooklyn are feeling better today.
- September 21, 2007 at 6:05 PM
I'm appalled that there are states out there that have sales tax on food....I had no idea!!! I live In Pennsylvania and have not traveled much.
Holes in the wall are perfectly normal...we have a big one in our hallway because our 3 year old locked herself in her bedroom, we couldn't find the key and my husband tried to recreate a scene from a movie by busting the door open. Don't try this at home...he bounced off the door and hit the wall on the opposite side putting a lovely hole into it. He eventually ended up kicking the door opened, which worked thank goodness.
Do you seriously read ALL these comments? It must take you forever because people love you and so many of us have something to say that we can relate to. I get a kick out of reading all the comments myself because apparently there are alot of us out there that deal with the joys of parenting and I love reading of others escapades as well.
- September 21, 2007 at 6:08 PM
- Norkio said...
As a teenager I made lots of holes in my bedroom walls and one of my teenager cohorts advised me to use Liquid Paper to fill them. Some of the holes took a long time and many coats of LP but it worked and you would never know they were there! You may not want to approve this one so your kids won't find out about that...
- September 21, 2007 at 6:13 PM
When damaging library books, its sometimes cheaper to buy one online and negotiate with the library for the replacement. Just keep renewing til you get the other book. Or till the book dries out. Did you try pressing it between towels?
I had a daughter that put a hole in the wall too. We patched it and later let her draw all over it for art therapy. They were gorgeous!
- September 21, 2007 at 6:18 PM
- dorothy said...
Little boys are weird. They always come up with the strangest ideas and you are left wondering, "what were they thinking"? That strange smell in the hallway near the hole the boys and dog made in the drywall? That's the raw eggs, socks, apple core as well as no smell creating small toys, crayons, etc. they dropped in inside the wall. I tore the drywall off, scraped the whole mess into the garbage and bleached the 2 by 4's to finally get rid of it.
- September 21, 2007 at 6:26 PM
- nutralady2001 said...
Jen Cox, Dawn never said she let the kids watch "The Shawshank Redemption" lol, ahe just compared Clay's digging as being LIKE Andy's in The Shawshank Redemption"
- September 21, 2007 at 6:26 PM
Love the reference to the Shawshank Redemption, it's one of my favorite movies! Keep up the good work :)
- September 21, 2007 at 6:34 PM
Hey I saw a thing on food network about the spam cook off, man the things they can do with it! Thanks so much for sharing your blog with everyone, I sure get a kick outta knowing my kids arent the only crazy ones lol
- September 21, 2007 at 6:45 PM
Dawn, I have been reading for ages now, but this is my first time posting. I had to post about the hole in the wall - my 3 year old decided to put the plug in the bathroom sink the other day, which coincidentally had a leaking tap. Well, we went out for a few hours & came home to a 'flood' (of course I didn't know about the plug!)
About 9.pm that night, our ceiling downstairs started to leak. We thought we had a leaking pipe, so the plumber spent 5 hours here yesterday, making holes in the ceiling trying to find the leaking pipe.
It was only when he asked me if anything unusual happened in the bathroom upstairs the day before, that everything clicked!! The sink had been filling for so long, that the water found its way into every crevice & crack, other than down the drain!!
We will be keeping the bill for the plumber and the repairs to the ceiling for his 21st birhtday!! :o)
Karen, from Sydney Australia
- September 21, 2007 at 6:54 PM
- Webb Family said...
That is so funny about the waffle! Just last week my two year old was watching tv and eating something. I got closer to see what it was it was old pizza from two nights before. It didn't seem to bother him at all!
- September 21, 2007 at 7:39 PM
I know there's no way you can get to all these comments, but I absolutely HAVE to leave one because I want to tell you that I have NOT laughed this hard in YEARS! Someone just sent me your ebay ad for Pokemon cards and I am eternally grateful to the person who had the presence of mind to ask about a blog. I looked at the bookshelf picture and read the line about the waffle and it took me 5 minutes to get it together enough to read any further (my son thought I was having a seizure). I suddenly remembered pulling the dried out skin from a chicken thigh out of the pocket of a jacket once when my kids were little (they're 15 16 & 16 now). I am an instant fan and I will be a constant reader. Have you given any thought to upgrading your server??? I hsve a feeling it's only getting crazier from here...
Miette (Illinois)
- September 21, 2007 at 7:44 PM
Love your blog..you ARE the new Erma!
I am from IL also, they tax everything and anything they can think of in this state...moving to Iowa in two weeks. I have really had it with IL.
Spam...dog food for people
- September 21, 2007 at 8:08 PM
- erarein63 said...
OMG, the first time I moved out of Texas I was at the grocery story in Oklahoma and was shocked to see that they taxed groceries. I just stood there in absolute shock! I finally found my voice and I said, "hey, isn't it illegal to tax groceries?" Then it was the cashiers turn to look shocked, lol. De ;)
- September 21, 2007 at 8:29 PM
- Theresa said...
Oh, I forgot, I once got the mother of all library fines, $350 but they reduced it to $125.And at the time I was a single mother with 3 kids, and very broke. My middle daughter, who was then in high school, couldn't find her library card, so she borrowed some books using mine, then she loaned those books to her friends! And no one returned them! I found out when I went to check out some books and I had something like 5 "lost books", and the replacement was $350!!! I got after her, and all but one got returned, so I had to pay the maximim over due book fine and one lost book fine. I gave my daughter the library receipt for Christmas,as her only gift, she was not amused.
- September 21, 2007 at 8:47 PM
We don't have holes in our walls... just huge spackled splotches. Apparently, having a hole in a wall is unacceptable to hubby...but the wall looking like it has leperousy is just fine...
He still doesn't believe you can use a little toothpaste to fill a nail hole... and we have the mudded up walls to prove it.
- September 21, 2007 at 9:35 PM
- Barry and Shannon said...
You think a Spam festival is bad, go to Montana where they have a "testy-festy". I'm not even kidding about the quoted phrase. They have t-shirts that say, "Testy-festy, we're havin' a ball!" You should get one of those shirts. You might turn a few heads!
- September 21, 2007 at 9:47 PM
- houseofdanes said...
Hey der from Oshkosh, WI. Dawn I love your blogs and though my three boys are all in their 20's and my daughter is rounding the corner to her 18th bday I so vividly recall the same things you're going through... guess there is nothing new under the sun. I now have replaced my empty nest with my three great danes... one is knocked up ( yeah) and I came home from work today.. mind you they were alone 90 minutes from when my husband went to work and I came home... guess I'm buying another Netflix movie.. Dixie decided to munch on Pursuit of Happiness so it has some nice doggie teeth marks on it and the envelope is shredded..... so some of us traded our two legged children for four legged children and it's the same fiasco!
Hang in there.
- September 21, 2007 at 9:48 PM
- Amy said...
There is no tax on anything in Oregon and Montana. Not sure about the other states...I haven't lived in those.
- September 21, 2007 at 9:54 PM
The best holes at my house came from my then 3 year old he used a screw driver to kill the flys that landed on the kitchen wall. Another funny hole in my house actual came from my husband. He tripped going down the stairs carrying a bucket. The wall braced his fall there is a hole from his shoulder and from the bucket of mud. The screw driver holes are gone but the shoulder hole is still there. He was texturing the laundry room before taking me to the hospital (yes I was in labor) our daughter turned five in June!
I say unscuffed walls are over rated, I think holes,crayons and makers make a house a home!
Just be glad he's not a nose picker and trys to fill the hole with hum those special treats!
- September 21, 2007 at 10:42 PM
- steveh said...
November?? It doesn't get cold here in MN until Mid January! November is still outdoor play time
- September 21, 2007 at 10:57 PM
My little kiddo just picked up a Cheerio off the floor yesterday, said, "Mmm, Cheerio!" and popped it in his mouth. I can't even remember the last time I bought Cheerios:(! The least he could have done was knocked some of the dog hair off first.
By the way, Montana has no sales tax at all!
- September 21, 2007 at 11:00 PM
- stephanie said...
LOL!!! you are so funny dawn! once my sister was trying to be jackie chan by climbing up the wall and she kicked a huge hole in it. its still there from when i was about 7:)(really its still there i nknow because my sister lives there now!(yes the one who made the hole)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- September 21, 2007 at 11:14 PM
- daisyaday said...
Okay, I live in MN, and I'm sure you're just teasing. It doesn't get cold here...just a little chilly. You see, you just eat the Spam (fried in butter is best) and you build up that extra layer--you'll never feel the cold, I mean chill.
Last October we cruised up to the North Shore (that's Lake Superior to non-MN people) about the middle of the month, and we slept with the windows open. Truly.
And apparently our brains have been chilled enough that we need those signs to remind us to leave our guns at the door. Churches, banks, print shops, you name it. They all need a sign. Otherwise the guy who forgets and keeps his gun tucked inside his belt with his permit-to-carry can just say, "Well, nobody told me I couldn't bring it in here..."
We have eleven kids ourselves and I love reminiscing about the good ol' days when they were small. I have a few stories that would curl your hair, too, like the one about our twelve-year-old driving the new van through the garage door with all the kids buckled in the car.
Thanks for writing!
- September 21, 2007 at 11:28 PM
Living in Hawaii for 4 years we were surprised to find out that Hawaiians Love their Spam so much that for breakfast you can get spam and eggs with rice at Mikey D's...seriously. Also the state government has a wharehouse full of Spam in case of emergency... not even a joke. Ask any Hawaiian. so Austin and Minnisota have some catching up to do.
I am also glad that I am not the only one whose child hides food for bugs and other critters. After seeing my husband and I put mouse poisen in a hole in the laundry room, my 6 year old thought throwing food at the hole would help the mouse come out faster like on Tom $ Jerry... moldy cheese behind a wall, not good. Keep up the great work.
- September 21, 2007 at 11:34 PM
Dawn, keep up the good work! Just had to tell you about my matching holes in the wall. My twins, who are now 10, when they were about 4, decided to burrow through to one another through their joining bedroom walls one day! The amazing thing-is when they got through-the holes actually lined up!
Jeffie Kopp
- September 21, 2007 at 11:56 PM
I must say, I love your blog! Thanks so much for the laughs.
BTW-Ohio is another state with no sales tax on food (but clothing does)
- September 22, 2007 at 12:38 AM
The biggest question that I have and I have been waiting for all the "hoopla" to die down. I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon. So here it is..... How in the world did you manage to go to the grocery store and fill up TWO carts and pay less than 300 dollars?? I only have a family of 4, 5 if you want to count my 44 year old sister who came to live with us. And my walmart bill averages 400 for every 2 weeks! Please Please tell your secret!
Love your blog,
- September 22, 2007 at 3:28 AM
- Lisa said...
I'm glad to see that I am not the only one to find random particles of food lying around my house. Just yesterday when I opened the dishwasher I found a music box!!!! I have no idea how it got there but I suspect it was one of two little munchkins who run around this land of OZ!
Love your blog! Congratulations on your success! I wish you much good fortune as you continue to "change lives, one diaper at a time!" I love it!
- September 22, 2007 at 7:23 AM
- Tiff said...
your house is like mine. I found a cheese quesadilla on the sit n spin in the playroom!! YUCK!!!
- September 22, 2007 at 7:34 AM
Love your Blog. When I can't get to sleep, I go down your kids names.(proper first) Then down to their nick-names. I'm pretty much asleep after spaz. I wonder why his nick-name is spaz ?? Being in MN, there is a city named "Crystal".I live next door in "New Hope" nick-named "No Hope"
Huuum, pondering makes me tired :)
- September 22, 2007 at 8:26 AM
- stephanie said...
maybe i did'nt catch the sarcasam but do you really tell your kids to read in the bathtub? please answer me in your blog
- September 22, 2007 at 9:53 AM
Hey! I accidentally clicked on your library picture and noticed that you have an apparently well-read collection of Junie B. Jones!
Now there's another writer, like yourself, with a FOR REAL voice, only in her case she gives it to a child! Glad to have a chance to give Barbara Park a global plug. I haven't read Junie B. Jones and her Big Fat Mouth yet, but that will be next. I'm intrigued by the title.
- September 22, 2007 at 11:36 AM
No sales tax on anything in NH either, except for "prepared meals (i.e. restaurants) and rooms" BUT people in NH are so used to being tax free, that back in the days when I scooped ice cream, I would often have an angry customer whenever a cone wasn't $1.39 as the menu board claimed and, of course, it was my fault. So we NH-ites are often surprised by sales taxes.
To solve the hot dog / waffle problem, have you considered a dog? Then you have the hair-all-over-the-place problem, but at least petrified hot dogs would no longer be abundant.
When I was little I took a leftover chicken drumstick out of the fridge and ate it in my room as a snack so my mother wouldn't catch me. What did I do with the bone, you wonder? Why put it in a toy cabinet, of course! The source of the smell was discovered quite some time later and I sure did get a lecture. That toy cabinet was never the same.
~Molly in NH
- September 22, 2007 at 12:27 PM
- Tish said...
I just discovered you blog. You're so funny! I have 4 children, the oldest being 5. I'm learning very fast what Motherhood is like!
By the way, I live in Oregon and we have not sales tax at all. It's great! I really get messed up when I visit other states. It's really embarrassing to find out that I don't have enough money to pay for the items I brought to the check out. Of course, now I mostly use my debit card.
Anyway, I just recently started my blog page. Feel free to drop by anytime!
- September 22, 2007 at 12:31 PM
- Nancy said...
Love your blog. Good luck on mudding in the hole in the drywall.
- September 22, 2007 at 2:29 PM
- Lori's Light Extemporanea said...
Sadly I must say that we also heavily subsidize (I CAN'T SPELL THAT WORD!)our local library too. I need a budget line for library fines.
I don't remember paying taxes on food (meaning not fast food but food you carry out and presumably prepare at home, which was how it was explained to me when I worked at a grocery store) in TX, MO, KY, or OH.
- September 22, 2007 at 3:52 PM
- Alicia said...
Hey, I was born in Austin, MN and my parents both worked at Hormel. I have heard many great and gruesome Spam stories. I'll keep them to myself though, lest I be burned at the stake by the die hard Minnesotans. ;)
- September 22, 2007 at 8:52 PM
- Charmingdesigns said...
Hey, Im from Oregon too. Whats really bad is when you drive to Washington and sit there at the gas station waiting and waiting then having someone come up and say..Hey lady...pump your own gas! Love your blog!!I also enjoy reading everyones comments ! Laurie
- September 22, 2007 at 11:49 PM
- Connie said...
Just a word of advice DON'T ever give your children a wood burning kit for Christmas. My brother got one, once. My cousins, my brothers, and I proceeded to wood burn in the oak table in Grandma's family room. "Not me" couldn't take the blame for this one because, the smart children we were, had burned our names in the table.
I have 5 daughters and you would think we wouldn't have had holes in the walls! But we had screwdriver holes in one wall as #3 was trying to get into a room that #1 and #2 were in locking her out of, and a foot hole in a closet door as #3 was doing a hand stand, fell over backwards and put her foot through! She has always been a tough nut!
Love and laughter to you!
- September 23, 2007 at 12:58 AM
- Annie said...
I once found a petrified hot dog behind the movie shelf in our family room. Can you say yum? I'm an LDS reader of yours, and I'm glad to know that I am not learning disabled, either.
- September 23, 2007 at 2:11 PM
You've made me curious about the food tax. I've only lived in two states, neither of which is MN, and we've never had a tax on food. Clothes, yes, but not food. Interesting. I thought only the touristy places where we vacation taxed food. Ya learn somethin' every day!
- September 24, 2007 at 7:42 AM
Oh...gotta love the Spam. Actually I had "Spam Nuggets" at the Minnesota State Fair this year. Let me just say that they were less than desirable. I think they were cheese infused spam dipped in a crunchy breading, deep fried (like everyhting else at the fair) and served with a side of ranch. I think the ranch would have been better without the Spam nuggets!
- September 24, 2007 at 1:35 PM
- Rick said...
No guy names in your list of winners.
(Just thought I would pull the "What-About-Men card" and see if it got me any where.)
P.S. My real name is Richard. That name means "rich, powerful, ruler." In a house with a wife and three daughters I am neither rich, nor power, and certainly not a ruler. Even the dog is a girl, and I have my suspicions about the fish.
- September 25, 2007 at 10:04 AM


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