I blame Star Wars

Recognize this?

....no?

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Now do you see it?

Yeah...(sigh) starwars burnt the pizza.

Baby M&M's

Sunday Morning

Everyone was ready and we still had a half an hour till church! Aren't the so stinkin' cute! Too bad Owen cant do the same pose. That would have been fun. But still adorable anyway.Ok so we weren't totally ready. None of us had shoes on, my hair wasn't done, and the diaper bag wasn't packed. That last half hour went by REAL quick. We ended up being about 15 minutes late. But that was better than last week. Hey, we can't all immediately be perfect. Next week should be better.

sad day for the dyson lovers

well...it happened. After almost 2 years the first part of my dyson broke. So I'll be calling them in the morning. I have the dyson ball (DC24) and it comes with a 5 year warranty. Mike actually pointed out to me that this particular part should have been made of metal, when in fact it was made of plastic. And yes...he was right, it broke. Though I do believe If I turned it on right now it would still work because I cleaned out the plastic (but that can wait till tomorrow for fear of waking up 4 sleeping boys). All in all I have been extremely pleased with my little vacuum. That little sucker takes a beating from us, and gets used multiple times a day for a vacuum and also, when moms not looking, a ninja sword. (the part that's broken is the circle on the left. there should be 3 tabs in the center, but one broke off and now there are only 2 to hold the bristles in place)

~Reasons why I wanted this vacuum~
1. Five year warranty (them backing it means it can take a beating and they'll stand by their product. Very good thing!)
2. 12 lbs total weight. (makes it easier for the kids to vacuum when they can actually lift it...plus doy, who wants to push a heavy vacuum? lighter with the same suction... yes yes, double yes.)
3. Lifetime Filters (totally re-usable, just run it under water, let it dry and pop it back in the vacuum. Vola!)
4. Electric yellow! (ok yeah, so what I bought it for the color. If I have to use it almost all day every day I want it to look sharp. And boy does it. Yes, color is a contributing factor. But for the record, I still would have bought it had it been poop brown.)
5. The removable brush has its own motor (meaning I can turn the brush off and vacuum my kitchen TILE and the crumbs on my floor don't go flying because of a spinning brush. It all just gets sucked into the vacuum. Boo Ya!)

6. bottom emptying pail (when you're done vacuuming, you take your cup to the garbage, push a button, the floor of the cup falls to the side, and all the dirt comes out the bottom. Hence, no dust in your face, meaning less dust in the air, and less sneezing.)

7. Bag-less (yes another thing to make your job easy, no buying bags EVER!)
8. Cool ball instead of wheels (yes...it's cool, totally necessary...no, makes it easier...yes. I don't have to move my piano bench to vacuum under it, and it makes spot vacuuming a breeze. Yes, I said SPOT vacuuming. In my book...total plus.)
9. It's a dyson (a brand that is notorious for sucking...dirt)
10. I heard it pulled up hair from carpets better than any vacuum (very necessary for my house. Being a girl...my hair always sheds. And we watched a friend's indoor cat for a few months...yes the vacuum saved my sanity, and for that matter probably the cats life. No, I will never have another indoor pet. Yes, if I have to I would TOTALLY buy another dyson.)
11.  It's only 30 inches tall with the handle collapsed. (when you live in a small house with 4 children, anything that collapses is a must have)

~Things I found out about my vacuum~
+ The hair thing. Totally true! Now I always cut my kids hair on the carpet and then just roll my vacuum over it ONCE and it's GONE. Yeah, it works way better than I could have dreamed.
-  The cord winds around the back of the vacuum, onto the "wand." In other words, if I just want to get my wand out for a quick clean, I have to unwind the cord completely before I can used the hose. (that gets really tedious)
-  The cup is small, if I had a big livingroom I'd have to empty it when i was 1/2 way through the job. As it stands my livingroom is quite little and I can empty it once after the whole room is done. (unless, like today, I had to vacuum up a whole bag of Raisin Bran) So for quick reference, the cup will hold less than a bag of cereal.
+/- The wand handle took some time to get used to. I found it awkward to hold it, and that didn't just go away. It took a few months to really get the feel for it. It wasn't difficult to use, just felt weird. But now, after 2 years, it's very ergonomic and I don't even realize the way I'm holding it.

-  The brush height is NOT adjustable. I like to vacuum up spills that my 2 year old is consistently making. Usually he opens a box of whatever he can find and proceeds to dump it on my carpet. Mostly it's cereal. This is a problem as the pieces are a little big and the vacuum pushes around most of it. But you get the wand out and it does the job...just not quite the way I wanted it to be. (or you just lift up the vacuum on top of the crumbs....which is usually what I resort to)
-  When you clean your filters you have to wait 24hours for them to dry. I don't know about you, but my house can get pretty gross without a vacuum for 24 hours.
+  The filters are totally stupid proof. There is only one way to take them out, and only one way to put them in.

-  The brush is short. With the convenience that the ball gives you, it also gives you less range. you can only go under your couch as far as the brush is wide. Then you hit the ball...kind of annoying.
+  When something gets stuck around the brush, the independent motor turns off so it doesn't get ruined. I can pull the brush out of the vacuum, remove the hair/ruberband/shoelace/tie/blanket that is stuck around it and turn it back on again.
+/- Only comes with one attachment. But it is a "universal" one that has retractable bristles.

~Final Consensus~
Really this is a glorious vacuum. I was at my sisters house and vacuumed her (rather large) livingroom with her vacuum, and it was HEAVY! After using a typical vacuum again it made me REALLY appreciate my little 12 lb one (and my small livingroom!). Also, I can't live without the ball anymore. It really does make it that much more agreeable to vacuum. Less turning means it gets the job done quicker. Mostly, out of all the negatives I noticed, the only one I notice anymore is the cord. It really is a bit of a neusance to have to unwind it. And, they really should put a clip on the vacuum for the wand. Sometimes I just put the attachment directly on the hose...but then there is no spot for the wand to go...just lay it on the floor. Not a good idea with little boys who think every "stick" is a sword. And it's very petulant to unwind, and re-wind the cord for every little mess that I use the hose for.

But really everything else trumps that (major) flaw. The bottom opening dust cup, the reusable filters, the super suction (really it's amazing, just cleaning up hair is awesome...and dare I say, FUN), the super light 12 lbs, compact design, ball technology, bag-less, the independent motor for the brush, all of it makes this a total gem of a vacuum. Please dyson...return it to me quickly. I fear we'll be piled in crumbs when it gets back.

One Foot In Narnia

This past week I have taken it upon myself to read the Chronicles of Narnia. Each book as exciting as the next, I read my way from the birth of a world to the end of it's mortal days. I found as I read, that I couldn't put it down and that I was drawn in by the parallels the book drew. Though I had read some of these books when I was younger, the entire series took on a new meaning reading it as an adult. Aslan, the creator of the world, was gentile, fierce, and untamable. When you saw Him, though you were afraid, you were drawn to him.

In one of the books, a great king died, and Aslan himself wept. Then he told a Son of Adam (a human boy from our world) to pierce his paw. And with a drop of his blood, brought the king to life into Aslan's country. Aslan was always guiding the children of Adam and Eve. Whether in their dreams, or by signs or by coming himself. At the end of all things, the last king of Narnia stood against an evil worse than any that had been on their world before. And when finally he had crossed through the door into Asland's land, the world came to an end. Aslan comanded Father Time to wake. He blew his horn and all the stars came out of the heavens to be with Aslan. Then every creature on their world came to Aslan's door, even those killed in the last battle were there. All had to look into the face of Aslan before they entered the door. Some looked into his face and felt anger and turned themselves into his shadow on the left and never came into Aslan's country. Others looked into his face and felt fear, and joy and entered the door on his right. Then when all had entered or refused to enter, the greenery of the earth was swallowed by dragons, then the Oceans and streams and rivers rose, and covered the whole earth. Then Father Time was commanded by Aslan to make an end. He took the blood red sun and squeezed it in his hand, and instantly there was darkness. High King Peter was commanded to shut the door to where the world Narnia had been.

Each of the creatures who had passed through the door ran further up and further into Aslan's country. The further they went the bigger the land got. Then they realized this was Narnia, but a brighter more beautiful Narnia. Aslan explained that the Narnia they were on was only a shadow of what was here in his land. As they went further up and further in, they came to Aslan's Garden, which was entered in by a golden gate. By invitation, the gates were opened and everyone invited in was greeted by those whom they had known before but had passed on. And each ate fruit that was in the garden. And then they proceeded to go further up and further in.

In reading the last book there was no doubt in my mind what C.S. Lewis had done. He had written these books so beautifully to reflect the life of our Savior Jesus Christ. Reading the last chapters of the last book I was moved to joyful tears at the reuniting with Aslan, and with those who had passed on. The grace and virtue of the Great Lion illuminated my heart. Those who seek for good, whether they know it or not, seek for Him. And he stands, waiting to be reunited with us.

Screwy Ideas

give a laptop

For $199, you can give a laptop to a child in the developing world. When you donate in someone's name, they receive a card honoring the donation

What? Seriously? This is the donation site that was advertised to me by hulu while I was watching Stargate. Seriously? does anyone else think this is the lamest thing ever heard of? Why in the world would these kids need laptops when most of them have no clean water or indoor toilets? GET REAL! They want to buy laptops for children when they have other MUCH more important needs. If you want to spend $200 on giving, give someone something they could use.

There is an article about India and how the majority of the people there defecate (poo) in public. There is an "estimated 100,000 tons of human excrement that Indians leave each day in fields of potatoes, carrots, and spinach, on banks that line rivers used for drinking and bathing along roads jammed with scooters trucks and pedestrians." They are all in a perpetual state of diarrhea because most of their drinking water comes from the river in which their poo drains into. If you really want to do some good, donate to the World Toilet Organization. Yes that is actually an origination.

Beware, the following video is a clip from Vanguard and has a few curse words in it. Most the the s word as the video has to do with feces. It may be a little uncouth, but I do believe this documentary is trying to do a good thing. If I could have found the whole thing I would have shown it to you. I've watched it and it is VERY informative. Here is what they call "the gross out factor"