Thanksgiving

Had a wonderful and full (our stomachs too) day. Started out early with my friend visiting from New York.  Too bad we didn't take any pictures.  But we had german pancakes together and was so happy to see her and her family today.  Then we went to Julie's house for dinner, where the typical Thanksgiving activities ensued.  Eating, what else?

 I'm thankful for this group of people.

 Macie loved her pie.  and singing "jingle bells"a hundred times in a row (just the first line.)

I wish you were a queen and I was a princess and we had maids to clean our rooms!
                -Chloe Mortensen

Me too.
             -Melissa Mortensen

 (I would also like Princess Kate's hair.)

So I decided to try again with my couch.  And I can't believe it, but I actually got most of it out.

My biggest success came from the "goof off." I sprayed it and really let it soak in.  Then I scrubbed with a magic eraser.  I repeated the process I trillion times.

And to get the blue tint stain out I found that mixing the "goof off" with baking soda and then scrubbing with a toothbrush, really helped.

So basically I did everything to it that every leather cleaning website said not to do.

So I probably ruined the leather.

Oh well!  at least I got it off!

It's not like I could have made it any worse, right?

 Well. I have decided to forgive Macie.  Mostly because she looks like this.  I woke up after "the incident" and had a little kinder head on my shoulders (sleep does that for a person).  And I just put a blanket over the ottoman and so in my mind, it never happened!
Don asked me in the morning if I would like to have a burial ceremony for the ottoman, if that would help me heal.
Don doesn't think it is quite the tragedy that I do.
But if you know me very well, you will know that my white leather couch is almost as important to me as my children.
I'm kidding.
But. I really, really, really love my white leather couch.
And with that, I will no longer speak of this.  (Unless you ask me, and then I will likely speak of it for the next uninterrupted 15 minutes.)

So I was so upset about...well you know...that I just skipped over "The Lion King."
Which is a funny and very typical family story.
A week prior, my brother told me my Dad had bought us tickets to see the Broadway show,"The Lion King."  And by "us" I mean Chloe, and either my sister Liz OR me. I didn't bother to write it on my calendar because:
1. How could I forget? It's not like we go to Broadway shows every day.
2. I figured there would be some sort of communication prior to the event.

And I was wrong on both accounts.

So my Dad shows up at my house on Wednesday night, 7:00 P.M.
And I think he has just come over to say hello, which he frequently does.
And then in dawns on both of us that I had no idea the show was happening tonight, as in 30 minutes.
So I said, just a minute! I'll get Chloe changed!
And he says, "Well aren't you coming?"
To which I replied, "Uh....I thought Liz was going."
I figured since I had neither been reminded nor told I got the ticket, that Liz was going.  (*I take full responsibility for the fact that I forget and that I am an idiot.  However, a phone call an hour before, might have been helpful.)
So...I frantically showered and put on real human clothes (because I had not bothered to do either on Wednesday). And I called Don to say he was needed at home pronto!
And the miracle of it all is we actually made it to the show before it started.
And I was even wearing makeup.

And Chelsey wore a large orange shirt with a flowered purple skirt.
And loafers and white socks.
So we were all looking pretty classy.

The show was great. The costumes were amazing.  I loved sitting next to Chloe to witness her reactions, she was captivated the whole time.  It is amazing to me how much she is growing up and how I can take her to a show now and she will actually sit there and be involved.
It was such a lovely evening.
And then we arrived home to the incident that I promised I would not talk about anymore.
It's funny how life has a way of evening things out, doesn't it?
Wow, we made the show on time! Wow. my leather ottoman is ruined.
(Sorry, I talked about it.)

I am so angry that I cannot go to sleep.  Usually my kid's messes are fixable, they may require time to clean up, but things are not ruined.
This time something is ruined. And I feel so ill about it I want to hurl.
This afternoon Macie took a pen and scribbled a circle on my ottoman. I freaked out about it and spent 3 hours trying to get it out.  After 3 hours it was still there, but much less noticeable.
That seems petty compared to what I came home to tonight. She had scribbled over pretty much half of the ottoman. And it is ruined.  There is no salvaging it.  Any cleaning attempts have just made it worse.
I know it is just a stupid couch. And we are all still alive so I should just count my blessings, but I feel livid.
This all happened while Chloe, me, my Dad and Chelsey went to "The lion King."  It was a good show and we had fun.  But I think I would rather have my couch.

This was the day that I inadvertently dressed us all in coordinating outfits.  But in reality, I have this unconscious habit of doing it every Sunday.  For example, one Sunday I noticed we all had red shoes on.  I think I get in a color mood and than dress everyone accordingly.  This is neither interesting nor pertinent.

Butterfly "Wonderland"

So a few months ago I saw that there was a new place opening up called "Butterfly Wonderland."  I was pretty excited because Chloe loves butterflies.   Almost as much as unicorns.  Well I thought today would be an opportune time to go, being that she had no school due to Veterans Day.  I knew the price was not cheap, so I expected something akin to a miniature Disneyland.  I had very high expectations.  I was a little worried that we would not have enough time to take in all the attractions since we got there at 3 PM and it closed at 5 PM.  

Let me tell you about Butterfly "Wonderland."

First you arrive at the ticket center, and fork out your weekly grocery budget for tickets.

$20 for adults.  $10 for children 3-11

Then they make you watch a 15 minute 3-D movie about butterflies.

And I was feeling pretty excited, like the movie was preparing us for something truly awe inspiring.  

(Macie kept trying to touch the 3D butterflies and saying she wanted to touch "real" butterflies.)

I kept telling her with anticipation, "just wait!! We are almost ready to seem them!"

Again, I am not sure what I was expecting.

Maybe a choreographed butterfly routine to  Chopin?

Afterall, it was $20.

After the movie we are led into another room where we got to see some paltry display of some cocoons and what not.

Then we were led to a special holding room where we were instructed how to treat the butterflies and their environment and finally the doors swung open and butterfly paradise awaited us!

We walked in to some measly sized atrium that instantly made me want to tear off all my clothes.

No, not because I had a sudden urge to become a flower child, and prance around naked with the butterflies.

It was because it was 90 degrees and 90% humidity in that room. 

And I was wearing a sweater.

In the movie, part of the migration was the butterflies ending up on a mountain in Canada.

I wanted to visit that habitat.

Not a sweltering rain forest.

I can't even imagine how they could get anyone in there in July!

I kept asking myself, is this all there is to see?

Alas, it was.(Unless you count the small room of Petco Fish and the plastic box with a tarantula and a scorpion.)

And Chloe screamed in horror if a butterfly even got close to her.  So much for enjoying the feeling of soft butterfly tickles on her shoulder.

The only way I could get her to stay in the room was to tell her if she twitched incessantly, the butterflies would not land on her.

And so she did just that.

 macie, surprisingly, was much more calm about the whole experience.  Except for when I told her I was not going to buy her a $4 hot dog from the snack bar.

Luckily they also had a gift shop that was probably larger than the actual butterfly exhibit.  They had some terrific things there.  Like this wind up turtle.  They were being sold for $5 which made me laugh out loud.  Even Disneyland doesn't have such insane markups, and Disney can get away with it.  However I don't see tour buses stopping off at Butterfly Wonderland any time soon.

 I went to Time Out For Women this weekend.  I was gifted a ticket (thank you!).  And Chloe gave me this note when I got home.  It made me feel guilty and happy all at the same time.

Today we finally got rid of this ugly, spiky old thing. I hate cactus.  I know that Arizona is known for the Saguaro cactus, and some people think they are awesome, but I hate them.  Here are some of the following reasons:

1. They are ugly

2. They are spiky.

3. They provide no shade.

4.  Just looking at them makes me feel hot.

In conclusion, I hate them.

so why is it that seeing the cactus ready to be hauled away, did my heart feel a small little twinge?

It didn't last long as visions of grass and trees danced in my head.  I do feel a little like a traitor though.  But hopefully Mr. Cactus can go somewhere where his weird arms and thorns are appreciated.  

And can you believe that you actually have to get government approval to remove your cactus and put them somewhere else?   Cause lots of people want to go out to the desert and steal Saguaro cacti?

I say, if someone is willing to risk their life trying to move one of these 1000 pound Brier patches, than by golly, they deserve to do whatever they want with it.

Like use it for a bonfire.

In conclusion...again....I hate cactus.

 In other news:

Chloe and I drove an hour out to the church farm to do some "work."  Chloe reminded me of that movie "Holes."  I don't know how the farm would keep functioning without our valuable contributions.

also, Macie's new most often repeated phrases are "You are the best Mom."  And "what are you talking about?" I never tire of being told I am the best.

All Hollows' Eve

The day after Halloween, and we are recuperating.  Macie has already had several meltdowns and it is only 10:00. I am trying to decide what to do with all the candy since my kids think it should be served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and for 24 hour snacking.  

This was the first year that Chloe really lasted from start until finish.  She filled her pumpkin up to the brim with candy, heaven help me.  Macie was a typical 2 year old and tuckered out pretty quickly.  Although I don't know why, since I basically carried her the entire time. 

We did a lot of Halloween yesterday.  In the morning we went to Music Makers, just Macie and I, where we had a nice little party for a group of really cute toddlers.

In the afternoon I went to Chloe's class and played some Halloween songs for them on my guitar.  Chloe wanted me to come in and play for her class. (I love Chloe).  Her class was so polite and cute.  Her teacher is great at rewarding the kids and likes parties, so she gets an A+ in my book.  I really love her teacher.  

This year Macie was Minnie Mouse, like every other 2 year old girl I know.  

and Chloe wanted to be Ariel again.  I searched far and wide for a costume and in the end, I forked over too much cash for an overpriced costume from the Disney store.  But she looked really pretty.  And she wore her Ariel necklace that sings her famous "Aaaaaaaaa"  (you know what I mean).  I replaced the batteries right before, and the stupid thing died by the end of the night.  I think that is a crime.  Battery operated toys are my nemesis.

 I wish you could see my purple tights!

 "Chloe was Minnie Mouse, like every other two year girl I know." -Melissa Mortensen
And by the way, these little girl are only 3 months apart.

It was a great day.