We're Moving!!

That's it - we're outa here!! Though there are a few technological-type things to work on, our new family blog is up and running. I'm sorry to make you go from one site to another, but now you can just add the new one to your "favorites" and come see us all the time.

Hey, there's only so many times Blogger can delete my widgets and make my blogs disappear before I leave. A girl can only put up with so much, right?

Check us out at:

http://lambfam.wordpress.com/

Thanks!!!!!!!

A Bedtime Story

Strange things are happening...

Gila Man has the day shift now. It's rather nice. Nice normal hours, nice normal dinner, nice normal sleep pattern. It's just that...I'm not feeling like it's normal at all. I'm feeling a little, well, a little blue, I guess.

Daddy used to get off of work at 10 in the morning, play with us, eat a large lunch (his dinner) with us, visit with us, then we would all nap together. When Mr. B woke, I got up with him up and the evening was ours. We would run errands, color, maybe watch a movie, then get ready for bed.

Now, Daddy gets home at 6 pm, we have dinner, bath, lotion, teeth, story, prayers and bed. Except I'm not the one doing the bathing. Suddenly Mr. B wants Daddy to do it. And Daddy to brush his teeth. Daddy to put on the jammies, read a story and tuck him in.

So what am I complaining about, right? I should be reveling in this new-found evening freedom. I should take this time to take a shower, finish a book, clean up the kitchen, right? I should be jammin' out to my iPod, listening to music I would never let Mr. B hear, while dancing the way I want to dance, because it's not ring-aroung-the-rosey. Well, for some reason, I just can't seem to stay away from my son's room.

I just keep thinking about a sweet-smelling, just clean from the bath little boy, who loves to cuddle up at the end of the day, read a story and listen with rapture to the make-believe tale I fabricate about a little red-headed boy named Mr.B, soaring through the clouds on the back of a flying lion. But in my story, I'm right there with him, soaring through the clouds, hanging onto him so tight, and as I give him a little squeeze, I whisper softly into his ear,

"You are stuck forever, Mr. Bentley."

"Oh Momma," my baby boy replies, "I hope so!"

The Last Straw...

Alright, Blogger. That's it!! This is for sure, finally, and absolutely the LAST STRAW!!! I've had problems uploading my pictures, I've had my titles AND my posts disappear, and finally, YOU DELETED ALL MY SUPER-COOL WIDGETS!!! All my fav movies, music, blogger friends, youtube videos, EVERYTHING! That's just not cool.

Maybe if I was the coolest geek ever (if there is such a thing), I would just re-do everything. But I'm not, so I can't! Or I can, but it will take a long time and what if it happens again?

So, I have to say it Blogger...

It's over.

I just happen to be a super-fan of this chick, Chassy Cat (that link was deleted also), and she'll give me the down-low on how to do my OWN show. I just have to come up with a catchy name for our new site....we're the Lamb Family, we are in Southern AZ, and I need something funny and catchy.

Hey, why don't you all (yep, all three of you) give me a suggestion or two on what to start over with? Pretty Please?!?!??? I could really use the help and I'm just fried right now. Let me know in the comments box, mkay?

Need A Babysitter?

Long, long ago, in a faraway land, there was a woman who had three precious little boys. The boys names were Kyle, Lane, and Zach. They were sweet, perfect little ones who posessed the natural curiosity that all boys seem to have inherited. Except then their mother woke up from the drug-induced coma she was enjoying and realized that she was still the mother of these three busy little vermin. In desperation, the mother (oh, heck! Let's just call her Katie, for fun), um, Katie, called upon her single friend (and we'll call the friend Sarah) Sarah, to come over so Katie could run to Dairy Queen and enjoy a moment's peace and eat something all to herself, all by herself.

Was Single Sarah worried about taking on the challenge of three very busy, very mischevious little boys? Oh, no. Not Single Sarah. For in times of trouble, when things got tough, suddenly Single Sarah became....dum da da da!! (Fanfare, please!) SUPER SARAH!!! All it takes is a Dr. Pepper and a little duct tape, and Super Sarah has the situation under control!

This is what happens when little boys take off all the cabinet doors in the kitchen while Super Sarah is cleaning up the baby powder mess in the living room. It looks like little Zach is off to tell his mommy (a.k.a. Krazy Katie) what a meanie Super Sarah is....

Here we are a few months later, and we just haven't learned our lesson yet. Did we have fun today while mommy was gone? Of course. Were we good while mommy was gone? Naturally. Sarah, will you come back and watch the kids this Friday night? Sure!! Just let me run by Home Depot on my way, and we'll be in for a wild time!!!

The Best Cookbook. EVER!!

Ok, this might seem lame, but I'm gonna share a little something with you. A confession, if you will. Deep breath, and...

I don't know how to boil eggs. *Sigh* Really.

Any attempts at cooking eggs in water end up eggs that are either super-tough and rubbery, or I cut them open and the yolk is still runny in the middle. I know that it's pathetic, I know it's something I should have been born with, it SHOULD be in my genes, because my Aunt Dee Dee and my Mommy can both boil eggs to perfection. But I am a failure. Or, was a failure, rather. Because with the Christmas money my Grandad gave me last year, I went out and bought myself this book. It should be titled; The Best Cookbook EVER Even If You Can't Boil Eggs or Make Potato Salad or Don't Know How To Bake A Chicken.

Don't know which cut of beef to buy to barbeque on the grill? This book's got it. Wondering what the difference between an yam and a sweet potato is? Check. Question about pie crusts? Check. Chicken? Check. Cakes? Check. Wondering how to cook fish for your husband who never grew up with it so automatically assumes fish is digusting because it's a not "meat and potatoes" kind of meal? Triple CHECK!!! (Try the Crispy-Oven-Fried-Fish Recipe, it's fantastic).

So, it can be summed up like this:

Tilapia Fillets, $4.25

Bread Crumbs, $2.59

Eggs, $1.79

Cookbook, $20.00

Sitting around the table and eating a piece of meat other than chicken or pork chops and have everyone eat all the food on their plate and not complain about the "weird" food I try to force my husband to consume; Priceless!

What The Heck Is A Spoof?

So I'm signed up for paypal under ebay, right? Helaman can always find a great deal on ebay when we are looking for something gadget-y. While signing up, I read all the disclaimers, notes, legal blah blah blah, and such, thinking that I was so schmarty-farty pants that all that nonsence about what to do if you get a fake e-mail was just washed outa my smarty-pants brain (not that it would take much effort to wash any info out of my brain).

I mean, C'MON! Who wouldn't recognize some jerk sending out a fake e-mail asking for my password and credit card information! Sheesh, what do you think I am, some kind of idiot? Well, somebody thought I was an idiot, and I almost totally fell for it. I think I'm going to blame my thoughtlessness on a large amount of vitamin C, chicken soup, and some nasal de-congestant that I don't remember the name of...

While I was out of bed yesterday I checked my email and recieved one from "Paypal" that said I had purchased a gadget of whatchamacallitness.

The price: $149.95.

Now my husband is amazing. He's awesome, patient, kind, sweet, and loving. But there have been times during our nearly 5 years of marriage that I have called him a name or two (not that I'm proud of it).

During one of my particularly angry moments, he said something I didn't want to hear, and I lashed back. I said he was a...gulp...money nazi. Yep. I said that to my sweet Helaman. He looked at me incredulously and looked away like I had just hit him or something. It was a sad moment that I have apologized for profusely, but (as you can see) I still feel really guilty about.

What in the name of Sam Hill does any of this have to do with the Paypal purchase?Here's the thing; my hubby just wouldn't go out and spend $149.95 for no reason without talking to me - especially after feeling the bite of the After-Christmas-Spending-Sprees.

Luckily, he was able to answer his phone at work and I mentioned that I got an email about the purchase he made through paypal. He knew nothing about it. He even said, "Sarah, you know that I would never spend that kind of money on something without talking to you about it first." So I did what I thougth I needed to do: click on the "Dispute This Charge" button at the end of the email.

Then I entered my username and password.

Funny thing though, it didn't go directly to my Paypal account like normal, it directed me to a page that asked me to enter my home address, credit card info, and mother's maiden name. At the top of the page there was a statement saying that these were all the neccessary steps that needed to be taken in order to dispute charges on Paypal.

So I scrolled down and clicked on the "Contact Us" link. It refreshed the same page, stating that I had to enter the info first, then I would get the contact information I requested.

Hemmm...though I'm a little slow on the up-take, I'll get it eventually if you wave a freakin' red flag in front of my face. And this was definently a red flag.

I minimized that window, typed in http://www.paypal.com/ and got the contact # I wanted. I called the 1877 number and talked to a real person who said not to be alarmed, but I had, in fact, recieved a "spoof" email and I should foward it to them for investigation. Yikes.

I have since changed every password to every account I've ever had because I was using the same password for everything so I would have less to remember. But because I entered my username and password into the "spoof" email, I ruined everything. Sheesh, who's the idiot? Me, of course. But I've definently learned my lesson and I'm sharing my dorkiness with others in hopes that you won't fall for the same trick. Not that you would or anything, cuz' ya'll is smart, right?

Thanks for taking an active role by reporting suspicious-looking emails.

The email you forwarded to us is a phishing email, and our security team is working to disable it. What is a phishing email? Phishing emails attempt to steal your identity and will often ask you to reveal your password or other personal or financial information. PayPal will never ask for your password over the phone or in an email and will always address you by your first and last name. Take our Fight Phishing Challenge at https://www.paypal.com/fightphishing to learn 5 things you should know about phishing. You'll also see what we're doing to help fight fraud every day.

You've made a difference. Every email counts. By forwarding a suspicious-looking email to spoof@paypal.com, you've helped keep yourself and others safe from identity theft.

Thanks,

The PayPal Team

I Got It...

(Audrey, Noah, & Aly)

Well, I finally got it. That nasty cold I've been avoiding since the first of December. Sheesh...I really don't like being sick, but I don't know what's worse, being sick or seeing the plethora of chores that awaits me when I eventually DO get well. Yesterday, my every hour was spent on the sofa, trying to enjoy a Smallville marathon and keep Noah fed. I actually had a little more energy today and ventured into the spare bedroom and ploppped down in front of the computer. If I'm gonna sit, I might as well check my e-mails and post a blog, right?

The silly thing is, I really don't mind being sick right now. I mean, I've been fighting colds and washing my hands and taking tons of vitamin C and drinking lots of Airborne and praying that I wouldn't get sick duing Christmas because I had so much to do I just didn't have time to get sick. So if I'm gonna get sick, it might as well be when I don't have much going on, when I can sit in front of the computer or T.V. and veg out, ya know? It could be worse, so I'll just be sick and just get over it and go on living. Anyways...

(Noah and Aly)

Here are a few pictures of Noah and his two best friends before Christmas. Yes, I know they are girls, but he likes them anyways. Ha, ha. He gets to do stuff with them that he doesn't get to do at home - like play with a Dora the Explorer kitchen, or watch the girls put on makeup or lipstick (or watch the moms put on the lipstick, hee hee). We had some pizza and a little gift exchange and we just really enjoyed ourselves over at Karla's house. This was just one of the many things that we did before the New Year, so again - I'll take being sick now over being sick then anyday!

(Audrey, Robin, and Sarah Ann)

I think I'm pointing and laughing here because Robin can't get the package open. I know, I'm mean, aren't I?

A Time For Our Toes...

Mine are the blue ones (Suprise, suprise) Front and center, baby!

"Calgon, take me away!!"

Where the heck is that woman anyway? I'd like to ring her scrawny neck for saying that statement like she really meant it. Sure, like anyone could be magically whisked away to a marvelous paradise where the stress, the kids, the dogs, the hubby, and the chores, all magically fade into the background. As if something like that could ever happen, right? What a joke....

Now wait minute...wait a cotton-pickin' minute....Maybe I do believe that this can actually happen.

In a place called Rio Rico, inside a nail salon, sitting with my feet soaking in a warm, bubbly bath sipping a Dr. Pepper (a.k.a. Manna From Heaven in my Book), letting that fancy-schmancy massager chair have it's way with my back, talking about my Christmas with a couple of great gals while having my feet worked on by none other than "Mr. Handsome" (as he refers to himself). Ooh, doesn't that sound nice?

Do I love being a Mom? "Shoot! Does a bear crap in the woods?" (to directly quote Papa Neal). Of course I love being a Mom. Sheesh, what a silly question. Who asked that one anyways? Oh, me? Oh, um...right. Sooooo...Yes...I love being a Mom. But once in awhile, I love just being a girl too. Love to talk and laugh and giggle and talk and laugh and not have to worry about what my child is getting into during that moment of relaxation (thanks so much for taking care of Noah for me Helaman, it sure made my day. Or week or month. Pick one). So we're clear on the Mom issue, right. That I LOVE it, and it's fulfilling and fun and exciting, right?

Then perhaps you can see that though I love being a Mom, I sometimes need a little break from the grind. So I did what any savy desperate-to-get-out-of-the-house-and-carry-on-a-decent-conversation-about-something-that-doesn't-begin-with-the-word-why girl would do; I went to get a pedicure! Talk about taking me away! Did I mention that I was with two great girls who are amazing and funny and who I even like a little bit? Oh, there's that too.

Never underestimate the power of a massage chair and a little talking with your girlfriends. It could mean the difference between a happy Momma or a grumpy Momma.

Interesting Tidbits One Learns During Christmas

(Here's Noah on Saturday Morning In Rio Rico, About To Let Go Of A Rocket Balloon That Santa Left In His Stocking)

So, the Holidays (Ooooooh, better not say Christmas or anything like that), er......Christmas has come and gone, as has the beginning of the New Year, and I have yet to type even a little note in here about the goings on of one little family on the border of Arizona. I profusely apologize and ask that you be patient as I re-live the events of the last month or so (sheesh! Has it really been that long?). I'll just give you a little overview instead:



We didn't think Helaman would get any time off for Christmas because he didn't get even one day off for Thanksgiving, so we had our own little gift exchange here in Rio Rico the Saturday before Christmas so we could enjoy it together. I then traveled to Pearce to enjoy the week of Christmas with my family. We were pleasently suprised when we found out that Helaman got the two days after Christmas off so he could come out to Pearce (yipeeeee!) and have fun with all the family. By all I mean myself & Noah, my younger brother Richard and his fiance Stephanie, my youngest brother Michael and his girlfriend Stephanie (yes, they really have the same name), Aunt Dee Dee, Uncle Mel, and Jason, my Grandad, and my parents. The cute brick house was bursing at the mortar with all those guests, but we couldn't have had a better time. A few highlights would be:

* "These Boots Were Made for hum, hum. And that's just what hum, hum. Hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum boots are gonna hum all over hum." (During a wild Cranium game)

* Medusa?!?! What the heck?!?! (Again, during Cranium, cheaters!)

* Learning that it's fun to have an Oregon Ducks fan and an Arizona Wildcat fan giving gifts in the same room to the same family on Christmas morning.

* Trying to understand that no matter what the dog does, if the dog gets upset, it will ALWAYS be the child's fault.

* Giggling with glee when we see that there can never be to many presents underneath that Christmas tree.

* Coming to an understanding that each person will choose their own path in life and that it's ok to let them choose that path.

* Knowing that we should show support for each other no matter what those choices may be - because we love each other.

* Learning that it's actually against the law to pump your own gas in the state of Oregon (really, it's true!!).

* Seeing that every female member of the family can look super cute when their hair is french-braided, no matter how long (or short) their hair may be!

* Understanding that no matter what our differences may be, what life we choose to live, what mistakes we might make, or how far away any of us live, we are still connected at the heart and we are a family who loves and care for one another like nobody else can. We can understand each other when those in the world can't hear us. We have some sort of bond, and it shows when you get us all together in the same house. Even if it's a little stinkier, you can still grasp a feeling you can never duplicate or feel any other time than when you are in the company of those you love; your family.