I think it's got to go...

I am trying to accept a sad reality - we need to return our Tempurpedic mattress. While I have been LOVING the fact that I fall asleep almost instantly, stay asleep the entire night (something that hasn't happened in years), and can get out of bed without aches and pains - I am finding that now that the weather has turned warmer, I just can't handle being so hot all night.

I'm tossing and turning like you do in a non-airconditioned room in the middle of the summer - and it's only early April. I'm sure if I ran the air conditioner to get the house down to 62 (the nighttime temp we use in the winter) I'd be sleeping wonderfully again, but I simply can't make the rest of the family suffer like that - not to mention the electric bills!

Ugh. Now we have to go through the hassle of returning the thing, and finding a new mattress. The worst part about it is that, because we prefer a California King, no local store will let us return/exchange the next one we buy. Everyone has "sleep guarantees", but they don't apply to special orders like buying a California King east of the Rockies. So, we have to be super sure about what we get next.

The pressure.

Another One Gone

After arriving home from the Pinewood Derby, Madi finally lost that pesky tooth!  It had become a ritual to beg her dad to yank it out each night before bed.  Finally, success!

Looks like the tooth fairy better find a gold dollar coin to put under someone's pillow...

Pinewood Derby

Here are some pictures from our ward's unofficial Pinewood Derby... it's unofficial because, even though Scouting rules are followed, it's open to all.  As you can see, it's a lot of fun, no matter what your age.

Gary worked a long time on his car, perfecting the aerodynamics. The other contestants declared that his engineering knowledge gave him an unfair advantage.  I think the internet has a tendency to level the playing field - just google "Pinewood Derby" and you'll see what I mean.

Madi had some ideas for her car's shape, and worked with her Dad to design it. The Pokemon theme, though, was all Madi.

Madi also served as the official launcher, pulling the lever to release the cars - except when her own car was in the race.  Here you can see her with her blue car.

Madi's car in a photo-finish.  She lost by a hair.  :(

It was very frustrating for Madi that Sarah's car - which she didn't spend much time designing, painting, or decorating - finished second in her age group.  Madi didn't place at all in her age group.

This gave me the wonderful opportunity to take Madi aside and chat about good sportsmanship. Apparently, I wasn't very inspirational.

Here's a picture of the family at the end.  Both Gary and Sarah placed second in their age groups, and all the kids received a certificate for participation. Madi is trying to look happy...

...but sometimes, the only thing that takes away the sting of defeat is a grasshopper donut from Holiday.

Tracking Stocks...?

As a helicopter parent, I monitor Madi's email account.  Imagine my surprise at the following email:

Madi (to Gary):  "I looked this up is it true your business is going down????" with an accompanying 3M stock price graph.

Madi is checking stock prices?  When did my kid grow up and start worrying about business trends?

Recipe: Blondies

We have a new favorite weekend dessert at our house - blondies.  The rest of the family seems to like them even more than their more common cousin, the brownie.  The mere mention of them makes Madi's voice drop several octaves as she growls "Blonndeeeeees" and then starts jumping around.  I love them because they are SO stinkin' easy.

Blondies

Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
1/3 c. brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1/3 c. milk
scant 1 c. butterscotch chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325.
Combine all ingredients.  Mixture will be super dense and hard to spread.  Do your best to fill a greased 13x9 pan evenly.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Try to let them cool before consuming the entire pan.

You can use whatever combination of cake mix flavor and chip type you like.  Nuts would be good, too, if you're so inclined.  Our first batch was white cake and chocolate chip.  Over time, we've found that white works better than yellow, as it doesn't overwhelm the flavor of the chips.

Autism Blue

Much to Sarah's dismay, I changed the bulbs on the front of the house to blue, in honor of Autism Awareness Day. Somewhat ironic, that they ask you to change things to support people who hate change.

House looks cool, though!

Quote of the day

To give you some idea of what I deal with on a daily basis, I submit the following quote:

"I was looking for a pencil, and I noticed that my armpit was hairy!!"

in response to the question - "Why are you standing half-naked in the hallway, when you're supposed to be doing your homework??!"

Why Madi would look for a pencil in her shirt (or, more specifically, in her armpit) I have no idea. We might just have bigger problems than I'm willing to admit.

I was alerted to the situation mentioned above when she called out "Mom, where is my razor?", which seemed a strange question for someone supposedly working on her math worksheet...

I am beginning to hate ADD even more than autism.