It's been fun

But I think it's time to end it, don't you? In the beginning, whenever I saw you, my heart would beat so hard, it felt like it was coming out of my chest. But I quickly learned just how unreliable you can be. One day, you'd be there, but then you would leave at the most inopportune of times. People were continually warning me against you. Pointing out how unreliable you really were. For a long time I wouldn't listen.

But then...I was introduced to another. We took the relationship slow. I was shown what I was missing. I tried to stay loyal, but you kept screwing up. So now it's time to say goodbye.

Goodbye Blogger. I have a new home now.

To all my friends. What are you waiting for? It's time to party. Come on over and see my new digs!!!

The Talk

Hey, where are you going? Don't make me superglue your butt to this chair. If I have to suffer, so do you. If you haven't already done it yet, you KNOW you are going to have to do it soon. You know. The talk. The birds and the bees. Part A to part B, and the heavens opened up (and swallowed you so you wouldn't have to have the talk) and Jesus wept. If only Eve wouldn't have been such a bitch and ate that damn apple, maybe God would have been softer on us, enabling our children come into the world with no pain, talking, no need for diapers, and complete knowledge of that whole "how baby's are born" thing. Oh, impeccable manners and a belief in Santa Clause would be a plus. Well, maybe that would be asking for too much. Ya think???

I was over on Key's blog, I saw she had posted this very thing. Ok. That's where I got the whole idea for the post, I admit. It brought up an interesting and sometimes touchy subject that parents face during the life of their child. Go on over and take a look at the post. Let her know your opinion (leave a comment). And don't forget to tell her that Moogie said hello (in your comment)!

Body parts

Some things are better left alone, ya know?

My six year old and I were in the garage last night. She was sitting in the rocking chair, facing backwards, rolled in a ball, head resting on her knees.

SYO: Mommy, push me so I can rock!
Me: Ok
SYO: Keep doing it Mommy!
Me: Honey, why don’t you sit up, turn around and do it yourself?
SYO: I can’t.

(don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask)

Me: Why not? (I had to ask, I couldn’t stop myself)
SYO: Because my head is the heaviest part of my body and if I sit up, the rocker will tip over and my brains will fall out.

Alrighty then!

That could only mean a few things. Her head really is heavy (that would explain a lot of things) and she’s in danger of losing her brains (if she has any left). She was invaded by a body snatcher (probable), and it is now sucking up all of her excess energy (this could take a while). Or, she has a headache.

Given that I didn’t feel like cleaning up brains or battling alien creatures, I opted for the latter.

Me: Did someone put sand in your head? (Translation: Does your whole head hurt?)
SYO: Nooooooooo. I got achy eyes. (Translation: My eyes hurt and it feels like my headband is too tight)

Who says I need to learn a foreign language? I already know one now, and it’s spoken every day in my house.

You do know what the cure all for achy eyes is don’t you? Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream of course. Come on over. We’ve got plenty. Just see if it doesn’t make your achy eyes go away.

Optical Illusions

I saw this over at the Grouchy Old Cripples site. Pretty cool. If you stare at it long enough you will see a giraffe.

Veterinarian Bill - sigh

I'm beginning to wonder if it would be too expensive to get another dog/cat/animal. If the food bills aren't enough, the price of a veterinarian these days is enough to make me want to eat brussel sprouts instead of flinging them at ungrateful little mini me's running around in my house shouting "I'm gonna give you a wedgie!!!" Just read about this woman's story if you don't understand.

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she lay her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm so sorry, your pet has passed away."

The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm sure. The duck is dead," he replied. "How can you be so sure", she protested. "I mean, you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few moments later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.

The vet patted the dog and took it out and returned a few moments later with a beautiful cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed the bird from its beak to its tail and back again. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly, jumped down and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried. "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead?!!"

The vet shrugged."I'm sorry. If you'd taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20. But what with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it all adds up."

Hey....I didn't say it was a true story!!!!! Happy Thursday everyone!

Ask Me Anything - The final installment

And here is the final installment of Ask Me Anything. To all who participated, I thank you. From those of you who refrained from commenting about "40" I'll put in a good word for you with Santa. (I haven't been that age for all that long). Me and the jolly fellow...we're tight. Why are you laughing?

vegemite asks:

1) Why did you call your blog "Moogie's World?"
2) Is that your nickname that you had growing up?
3) If so, why and who gave it to you?

Answer: I'm going to lump these three together when giving my answer. When I put my oldest daughter into daycare when I went back to work, there was a little girl who could not pronounce her name. It always came out "Moogie" (with a soft 'g'). That nickname stuck with her, and is still with her to this day. When I needed a screen name, I chose that one because it seemed to fit at the time. I've just never bothered to change it, and quite frankly, I'm not sure what I'd change it to.

4) How would you describe yourself in ONE word?

Answer: Content

5) How would your family describe you in ONE word?

Answer: I would hope they would say "caring", though I would imagine it's more of a "at the time" type comment. Last night it would have been "screaming banshee."

6) How would your friends describe you?
Answer: Perfect. Next question?

7) What is your impression of "vegemite", Australia's favorite spread?

Answer: I really don't know what it is. If it has anything to do with vegetables, you won't find it touching my tongue. But now you've got me curious. I'll have to go look it up.

Gopher asks:

1) If you were to have another wondrous child, what would you prefer? Another girl or a boy.

Answer: Um. I.don't.think.so. Two is good for me thanks. BUT, if I were suddenly to go on a wild drinking binge and hook up with some intrepid fireman with a reputable hose, I would probably say boy. Only because I don't have one. But then again, I don't have to worry about playing "let's pee on the cheerio" while potty training.

2) Chocolate chip cookies or brownies?

Answer: Chocolate chip brownies. I think that about covers it.

Genuine asks:

1) What do I get my wife for Christmas?

Answer: A day at the spa (biting tongue, biting tongue)

Melonie asks:

1) How did you meet your husband?

Answer: Through a mutual friend who is no longer speaking to me. Long story, but the gist of it is, he called her to ask for my number. When he called and asked me for a date, I called her to make sure she didn't really like him. She told me he was just a friend. So I went out with him, which led to a relationship, which led to her terminating any and all further contact with me. Go figure. The funny thing is, when I first met him, I thought he was too geeky. He still is, but it sort of grows on you.

2) Did you own Shaun Cassidy's Born Late album?

Answer: You mean this one?



I actually didn't own that one, but I must confess to having had most all of his other albums, and any memorabilia I could get my hands on.

3) What branch of service are you in?

Answer: I'm a civilian (I work for a defense contractor) but work on a base. I've worked for the same company for 22 years, but it took me 15 years of that time to find my place. I'm a Financial Analyst and I love it.

That's it folks. I think I've covered all of the questions. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have. Thanks for participating!

Ask Me Anything - Part II

Kurt asks:

1) What foreign language would you like to learn, if any?

Answer: That's a really good question. When I was in high school, we were not required to learn a foreign language (that changed after I graduated) and to this day, I regret not doing it. When I lived in California, there was a heavy concentration of the Hispanic population, so back then, I guess I would have said Spanish. I suppose now I would like to learn German. I remember my grandmother teaching us prayers in German. It's part of my heritage and I would like to learn the language.

Sharon asks:

1) If you could go back and relive any one year of your life, which would it be?

Answer: This one made me think. I have a lot of fond memories, so it's hard to whittle them down to just one year. If I had to choose, I'd pick the year I turned 40. That was the year I graduated from college. My family and friends were so proud of me, but that's not the real reason I did it. I did it for myself. I did it to feel good. To feel proud. Ok, it didn't hurt the career, but that wasn't my main reason. I have been taking care of people and doing for others for half my adult life (step children, then children, husband). I decided to do something for me. It gave me a much needed boost in the a...er, self confidence, and self esteem. A lot of things happened that year, that brought me to where I am today.

Anonymous asks: (he needs a Scooby Snack)

1) If you were a cartoon character, which one would you be, and why?

Answer: I would like to be the Tazmanian Devil. Can you imagine how fast I could clean my house, run errands, etc? Besides, he's kind of cute. Or, I wouldn't mind being Tweetie Bird. I've always loved her, and besides, she's the color of my car.

2) What is the most embarrassing album in your music collection?

Answer: Um, any one of the Partridge Family albums I still have. Take your pick.

Ok, that's it for now. I've got to get back to work. I'll answer some more later on tonight. Same bat time, same bat channel!

Ask me anything answers - Part I

Here it is folks, the first installment of "Ask Me Anything." Well, the answers anyway. I'd like to thank all of those who submitted their questions. Now I just have to answer them. So, on with Part I.

Zoot asks:

1) If you could live ANYWHERE in the world, where would it be?

Answer: I would have to say here. When I made the decision to go for this job, it was because I wanted to be closer to my family. That was a big part of it but mostly I wanted an area that was good to bring up my kids in. It's not fast paced, but I can get that by driving about 30 minutes down the road. The way I figure it, I have the best of both worlds. I have semi-rural living...lots of space, safety, close knit community. But a big city very close. To top that off, the girls love it here. I think I made the right choice. If it was a different country I would have to pick, I'd say New Zealand. But that is just based on the pictures alone.

2) If you could only eat ONE food the rest of our life, what would it be?

Answer: Pizza, hands down. Next question.

Melonie asks:

1) What made you live where you live?

Answer: I think I answered that in the question above, but I want to go into more detail. Most of my family lives in the Cocoa Beach, Florida area and I wanted to be closer to them. Flying four people across country was expensive, at best, and my dad has health problems. We wanted to bring our kids up in an area where life wasn't so fast paced and the cost of living wasn't so high. I began looking for a job further east and let it be known that I was looking to move. A manager of our proposal group got word of a job opening up...the one I have now. We love the area. I have finally come to the realization, AND belief that I made the right choice.

2) Do you like to travel.

Answer: Yes, very much so, but haven't had much of a chance to do so. I have been to Canada, on my honeymoon. We plan to do more of that when the girls are older.

3) How many states have you been to?

Answer: That's a tough one. We traveled a lot (driving trips) when I was a child. There were many summers we would travel across the country for family reunions (Indiana, Florida) and my folks would take side trips. I will say though, that I've not been to any of the northeastern states. I really want to do that, especially New York and Washington, DC to name a few.

Suzanne asks:

1) Would you rather win the lottery or work with a 7 figure salary?

Answer: How about both? I wouldn't mind winning the lottery but I would have to do something. I love to work. I suspect that winning the lottery would let me do something I really wanted to do. I believe I would probably set up a literacy program. When I was in California, I volunteered for a literacy program through our local library. I loved it. It's something I believe in, strongly. It would either be that, or win the lottery and sit around watching soap operas and eating bon-bons. I wouldn't mind having the choice, though I do love my job.

2) Dog person or a cat person?

Answer: Dog person...though, now that we have the land for it, I wouldn't mind having a cat. (and what about fish????)

That's it for tonight. Stay tuned for the next set of answers. Right now, I'm headed off to the bed time routine. For the kids that is. Take care all and be sure to drop me a line by comments or email. I love to hear from you.

3 Guesses

First two don't count.

Guess who found out that snails don't do well when put through the washer and dryer cylcle in a pocket?

That would be me.



Carry on.

Glitches and other stuff

As some of you witnessed, Moogie's World suffered from some glitches this weekend, mainly when you tried to comment. First off, I'd like to apologize for the difficulties, and secondly, I would like to thank Sharon and Melonie for emailing me a few times to inform me about it. A couple of you tagged me on my DoodleBoard as well. It was much appreciated.

This is one of the reasons I am working on moving off of Blogspot in the near future. I get frustrated at the number of times that it's down, or has glitches such as this. Suffice to say, my patience level for things such as this is at a minimum.

My main problem was that I couldn't devote the time needed to sit down and analyze it. My youngest, whom you know as Meelie-No, was sick this weekend, beginning Friday night. We ended up keeping her out of school today and took her to the doctor. The diagnosis was Strep (sigh)..so she won't be able to go back to school until Wednesday. The timing on this bites, as this week is benchmark testing. Most likely I will have to go in and offer up my big toe for penance because I had the audacity to keep my child from school during this time. If things keep up the way they are, I soon will be walking on my kneecaps.

Now we have to decide which parent will go and watch my eldest, Moobear, in her Christmas concert, which is, of course, tonight. I'm not sure what I'll do about that. Inevitably, things like this (illness) seem to happen at the most critical of times.

That being said, I'll be a bit tardy on the answering all of your questions on "Ask Me Anything." I'm hoping to get to them by Tuesday.

Other Notes

Speaking of notes, have you gone over and listened to Sharon play the piano yet? Go here and here to get the latest.

Friendly reminder

Don't forget to post your questions over in Ask Me Anything. You still have time. I'll be answering them later on tonight or sometime this weekend.

Kids can be so simple sometimes

Authors note: I actually wrote this post last night, but was unable to post it until today. Blogger was having a psychotic episode I guess. That would explain the inordinate amount of posts for today. Carry on....

Mr. OWW is off visiting the neighbors right now. He works some strange hours so he eats lunch later, and is generally not hungry at dinner time. Well, I'm cooking the kids dinner tonight. They, of course are starving because they haven't eaten in the last 12 minutes. I have a serious headache (I don't do headaches...I'm fortunate, so when I have one..it really knocks me down) and I don't have the energy to fight. So I get creative.

"Ok...you guys are at a restaurant. A Mexican restaurant. Remember the one we used to go to when we were in California? Well, here are your chips and salsa. Dig in while your dinner is getting ready. "

People...they went for it. Hook, line and sinker. They sat down and are happily munching on chips and salsa while their Macaroni and Cheese is cooking. Of course, I had to add to the whole thing by giving them special cups for their drinks.

I know that macaroni and cheese can't be classified as Mexican food. But hey...we are flexible here at Chez Moogie. My kids are happy. They are not complaining which would increase the pounding in my head. This is a good thing. I believe and live by children's menus.

Of course, no dinner would be complete without raw baby carrots, served with ranch dressing, and apple sauce. We here at Chez Moogie aim to please. For the applesauce, I offer chunky or smooth. Am I awesome or what?

If you'd like to come to dinner...it's best if you make reservations. Oh..and don't forget to bring your lap. I have a couple of terrorists who would love to occupy the space.

Can you relate?

Look out for cars!!!!!! This is said when child is barreling down the driveway on her bicycle into the street.

On that same note, Get out of the middle of the street!!! There is a car behind you! Did you leave your brains in your pocket??? I can't tell you how many times I have washed brains.

Zip up your pants!!!! Good Lord almighty, if I had a dollar for every time I've said that...well, you get the picture.

Did you flush? I won't expand on this one.

This only touches a few of them. What about you? What do you find yourself repeating. I'll collect them all and made a post. It will probably be called "Why parents talk to themselves" or "The rising cost of Prosac" or something like that.

Answering Machines

Why do they call them answering machines? I mean really. Some things don't make sense, know what I mean. They all have a message on them, telling you why the occupants of the house are not picking up the phone.

"Hello, you have reached the residence of Henry Lipshitz and Wilma Throckmorton. We are unable to take your call right now because we are in the process of reading about Aussie Mama's budding romance with James the dashing fireman (gotta love a man with a hose), and her battle with battle with a Blonde Big Breasted, bet they're implants, Bimbo Whore. Please leave a message and will get back to you."

Come on people, stick with me here. It's not like the machine is telling you anything. It doesn't tell you where they are (except if you are Henry and Wilma) or when they'll be back...nothing. Nada. So how can that be classified as an answering machine?

I dunno people. What do you think would be a good name for it?

Homework

Quite often, I help the kids with their homework. Mr. OWW generally gets the honors as he is home when the kids get back from school. When I'm here, mostly on "dance" nights (one takes ballet, the other jazz), I help the girls. They get to slide on their homework until it gets dark and they can no longer play.

So, I'm helping Moobear with her homework. This time it's math. Those of you who know me, know that math is my subject. I'm a financial analyst, and I love numbers. Yes, this explains a lot. When I help Moobear with math, she loves it if I do the problems with her. So, dutiful mom that I am, have my sheet of paper and a pencil, working out the problems as she does them. Don't tell anyone, but I really enjoy this.

So, anyway, back to my point. I do get sidetracked, don't I? I was helping her do her homework and we were on this particularly dicey long division problem. "Whooops...sorry my love, it seems you have it wrong. Try it again." She does it over, and gets the same answer. I quickly review my work and discover "I" was the one that made the mistake. Sigh..I will NEVER live this down. The teacher will be informed first thing in the morning I am sure.

There is something that can be said about overtime.

***UPDATE***

I received an email from Moobear's math teacher this morning. Seems that Moobear shared this story with the entire class. The teacher was "tickled." I'm ruined. Before you know it, the entire school and PTA will know this. My career in finance is over. But that's ok. I have a back up plan.

Do you want fries with that??? Tell me, does this uniform make me look fat?

Side note: I may be away for a few days if the police find the body of Mr. OWW. I had to do it. He was laughing so hard it pissed me off. Besides....I wanted the last piece of pumkin pie.

Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy

Don't mind me. I'm just watching my youngest move through the house. She doesn't walk. She literally bounces of the walls, ceiling and floor. The game of the moment is "Where can I shoot my headband?" (it's elastic) Don't try this at home folks. Especially if you have ceiling fans.

Come to think of it. Do you know why kids can't walk anywhere? And why is it that they choose the most difficult path to get from here to there?

I was just wondering.

Blog Explosion and other stuff

First off, I want to thank all of you that have posted questions in "Ask Me Anything." Keep them coming. There are a lot of good ones so far. I'm going to try to answer them this weekend, so you still have time. I'd like to make this a regular feature, but perhaps use a different theme each time. I haven't really thought it all out yet. Do you have any suggestions?

I was reading Sharon's blog in which she told us that she had just signed up for Blog Explosion. I did that about a month or so ago, in hopes of bringing more traffic. I do get a lot of traffic, but not a lot of comments. Zoot and I were chatting about this very thing last night. We both are of the feeling that it's not about the traffic really. Yeah, you want people to read your blog, but it's even better when you get a comment. Getting feedback always makes me feel good. Even if it's negative, it can help me learn how to write better. I love to write, but am just learning how to express myself. I am hoping to get better as I go. Blogging is a good way to do that. It's also a great stress reliever for me. So if someone reads my blog, and leaves a comment, it really makes my day.

In some ways, Blog Explosion may have helped that. But mostly, it's the fact that I read a lot of different blogs, and if I read something I like, I tend to comment myself. Not just commenting for commenting sake...but a well thought out comment. Ya know what I mean? That tends to bring others to my blog. I like that.

I still tend to go over and look on BE from time to time, to see if I have been rated, or if anyone has left a comment. It feels good to be rated. It really does. But what I like the most, is hearing from folks like you. You know, the one's who take the time to read my blog, and leave a little note. And for that, I thank you. You make my day.