Vinyl Sausage

We have this slide bouncer thing. It was a gift. And a darn good gift, at that. Today it was beautiful outside. So, I asked Chloe if she wanted to play on the 'bouncy slide.' Well, of course she did. This thing is actually pretty easy to put up. Roll it out, plug in the air compressor, tap a few stakes into the ground, and you're good to go.

She had a blast bouncing around on this all afternoon. When Becca got home from school, they were invited to a neighbor's house to play for a couple of hours in their back yard. Fine. 'Me' time is good. The homework got done, and off they went. I had the house to myself.

I also had to put that thing away.

By myself.

Thank God there wasn't some stray parent with a video camera taping their child outside. I had to look absolutely ridiculous. I started very calm and focused. I made sure the air was out. I start folding this thing up. Unfortunately, the size of the folded 'bouncy slide' was about twice as big as the bag I'm supposed to put it in. I unfolded. I folded again. I straddled this damn thing, shoving it into this bag. I was laying on the grass, holding the thing on top of me.

I was a mess.

But I got it in that damn bag.

Heather - 1
Bouncy Slide - 0

Take that, Little Tikes.

Best Thing I Heard

I have a little ritual with my girls at bedtime. I talk with them. I spend some time reading with Chloe, then she completely leads the conversation. After Chloe dozes off, I do the same thing with Becca. The other night, as Becca and I were having our little conversation, the subject of penises came up. The little voice in my head told me 'OK, watch what you say. Not too much. Answer her questions. Don't scar her for life.'

The subject came up because she asked me how, when somebody is pregnant, they can tell whether it's a boy or a girl. So, I explained the whole ultrasound thing to her, and that the doctor can see whether or not the baby has a penis. I could see her searching in her brain, wheels turning, trying to remember what in the hell a penis is. So I said to her, "Remember when we changed baby Logun's diaper, and he had a penis?" Yes, she remembered. All was good. No scarring involved.

Then, she proceeded to tell me "It's way better to be a girl. Because when you're a girl, you can read a book when you go pee."

Good point, little girl. Good point.

Awesome Video!

I'm not sure where exactly this video came from. My friend Nikki sent it to me, and I absolutely love it. I have no idea who the woman singing is. I went to the website listed in the corner, but couldn't find anything. If anybody knows who I should give credit to, please let me know!!!

Happy New Year to All!

Well, 2008 was pretty good to us. I mean, life got extra crazy and there was a huge amount of uncertainty (there still is!), but it was a huge adrenaline rush. It was life changing. It was emotional. Although I love these huge events and thrive on change, I'm hoping that we can just continue to adjust to these changes in 2009. We're sort of on a schedule where we have some life changing event about every 5 years. I think that's about all we can handle. It went something like this: First house and our wedding in 1999. Second house and life with kids started in 2003. Restaurant in 2008. Let's just coast through until about 2011 or 2012.

The daily happenings of my life continue to amaze me. I never in a million years could have imagined how my life would be. Here's how my day has gone so far. We all woke up on the couch, because we fell asleep waiting for the whole ball drop thing. There was coffee, breakfast (for the kids - still none for me yet) and I did the paperwork from the restaurant last night. (It was a great night at Downey's House, btw. The wedding was great and we were super busy). Then started more motherly duties. Chloe wanted to play with her 'Cupcake Maker' that she got for Christmas. There's a story behind this thing. She had been saying that she wanted it for Christmas since October. When I went to buy it, it was located next to the Easy Bake Ovens. I would have much rather bought an Easy Bake Oven over this thing. I knew it would be a bust, but it was the ONE THING that she was consistently asking for. So, I plunked down my 25 bucks, and here's what I got:

So, I pull out this crazy thing, mix up the mix, nuke the cupcake (yeah, you're supposed to), shove the icing in the tube, and they put the machine into motion. I cut it in half for them to share (Yes, you can only make one at a time), and they each took a bite. Then they said 'Ewwwww,' and I threw the rest in the garbage and cleaned up the mess.

Then they moved onto the next project. The 'Le Cafe' that they got last year.

They got this last year from my parents (on my recommendation), and they do enjoy it. I don't really mind it so much, either. It's quite large when you assemble it, but it does break down pretty easily, and I can store it under the couch. It is, however, much easier to assemble with TWO adults. I can do it on my own, but thank God there's no hidden camera in my house (that I know of, anyway). The whole process of getting the 'covering' over the sticks of the structure involves me being inside of this floppy thing with the roof resting on my head as I try to stretch it over the frame. I come out with crooked glasses (no contacts in yet) and a big ol' static head.

So, I've told them that they got their two projects done, and now it's time for Mom to work on hers. A day in the life.....and we've only been awake for about four hours. Heading over to the SIL's today for traditional pork and sour kraut. DH is working at the restaurant tonight, and I see the return of 'normal life' on the horizon. Have a great, great New Years!!!

New shirts :)

Hi! Before I post about the new shirts I did this morning, I wanted to add a quote to my post from yesterday. I am adding the quote "Chloe, kitchen towels are NOT for boogers." There's another one I never thought I would say. I'm sure I'll come across more on a daily basis. I'll try to share.

So, I did a new Groundhog Day design. I don't know what it is about Groundhog Day for me. Just that glimmer of hope that Spring might be just around the corner. Hey, I know I'm grasping, but I really don't like winter. Anyway, here they are. One for the chickies and one that's more for the boys:

Phil BFF Groundhog Day Hooded Sweatshirt


Homeboy Groundhog Day Baseball Jersey

As always, I made more than just shirts. There are buttons, tiles, mugs, mousepads and all kinds of stuff. The above links will take you to CafePress, but I made some over at Zazzle, too. Here's a peek from over there:

Phil is My Homeboy by hdowney

Phil is my BFF by hdowney

So, now it's off to get our running around done before the Steeler game today. Just a little excited about that. And I guess I really should start doing my Christmas cards. Ugh!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, hello! I've been busy with a bunch of stuff for the restaurant, and a bunch of t-shirt stuff. But I've jumped in here for a few reasons, just to keep everybody in the loop

First, here's the scoop on Downey's House. Long story short, we put a bunch of money in escrow so that the PLCB could get tax clearance from the Dept of Revenue and the Dept of Labor and Industry. That was Tuesday. We asked if we might close on Friday (tomorrow), and we were told that Friday would be a miracle. But we're all shooting for early next week. Which would put our opening around Memorial Day.

Next, I actually did a new t shirt design. I've been updating the job/occupation store (www.cafepress.com/noshoptalk and www.zazzle.com/notworking), but I actually added a new one to Brainlint.net. So, here's the shirt (via Zazzle):

Sarcastic Comment by hdowney
Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

And here's the framed tile from CafePress:

Sarcastic Comment Framed Tile

Number 3 is a cool story:

I had Chloe (3) in the back seat of the car, and she decided to put the window down. We're driving along, enjoying the warm weather and fresh air. I was in a great state of mind. Riding high on the whole 'life is good vibe. All of the sudden, Chloe starts FREAKING OUT. I have no idea what happened. She is hysterical. I pull over and get her to calm down. Turns out, she was holding her sister's little stuffed Tigger out the window. Well, you know what happened. SO, I turn around and head back down the road (which is a 2 lane road, but pretty busy). I see it, pull over into a driveway, and try to cross the street. The whole time I'm watching cars drive over Tigger. Nobody actually ran it over---until---the big semi did. Well, I got Tigger. He's really no worse for the wear, and Chloe and I have decided to keep this a little secret.

She said that she'll never hold anything out the window again.

When we went to pick up Becca from preschool, Chloe didn't want to go. She said she didn't even want to see Becca. She sat in the car with her woobie (aka blanket) over her head. When Becca finally got in the car, Chloe totally kissed her ass. Becca was being silly, and Chloe said (in a sucking up kind of way) "Becca, you're SOOOOO funny!"

She hasn't told Becca what happened, and she probably won't find out until she learns how to read and finds this blog.

Happy Day!

Funny...Number of 5 year olds I could take in a fight?

16

Free New York Personals

A design for the divas!

OK, here's another design from my brain. I probably would not wear this shirt, but that doesn't mean I don't think it's funny!!! And, I actually know plenty of people who either a) should wear this shirt or b) would wear this shirt. So here it is. It says "I wish I could be you so I could be friends with me."

Clicking the above picture will take you to the available products on CafePress. You can also purchase it at Zazzle, which offers some different products.

On an unrelated note...the Steelers got lucky today, and pulled it out in the second half. It made me happy. And, I actually got to watch the game without TOO MANY interruptions from the kids.

I love atta boys!

Wow...two posts in one day. But both about the same design. I published it on Zazzle, and got an award. Here's the link to it on there. Not sure about the models they have on Zazzle now. But at least this guy looks like he's a little crazy :)

Team Tryptophan by hdowney
Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

So, anyway, it won a today's best award. Gotta feel good when somebody thinks you did a good job :)

More Thanksgiving Lint

Ok, another new Thanksgiving design. This one is all about being sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner. Hell, I'm sleepy as soon as I wake up. But Tryptophan will make it worse! Go and get yours so you can wear it to dinner! It says "Team Tryptophan. Serious Eating, Serious Sleeping"

I'm working on anther Thanksgiving design...maybe something more sweet, like a Thanksgiving Prayer? It's just so cute when my daughter says it. Gotta see if there's a copyright on it. OK...GO STEELERS!!! My hubby will be at the game tonight. But I'll be watching it from my warm and cozy couch.

New Thanksgiving Thoughts

OK, here's my newest design. This one has been floating around in my head for a while, and I finally got around to putting it together. It's available on lots of stuff...yard signs, coasters, magnets...you name it!

Give Thanks Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Food, Family and Football. Those are the three biggest things I think about on Thanksgiving. Well, and parades....hmmm...new shirt? Oh, and it won an award on Zazzle (today's best). Here's the link:


Thanksgiving by hdowney Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

Happy Monday!

A new contest at Zazzle

Well, Zazzle is running a new contest. It's all about fake mascots (see here). I've created an entry. Go and check it out, give it some stars, leave a comment there. You'll have to have an account with Zazzle, but it's way easy to sign up...and if you uncheck the box, they won't send you a bunch of e-mail.

Randy the Safety Raccoon
by
hdowney

Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

So, go and check it out! Check out the other contest entries, too. They are always extremely creative!

New Design that deals with my Jesus issues

OK, here's my newest design. I have serious Jesus issues...and when this idea came into my head I literally laughed out loud. I'm just a bit tired of the whole 'Jesus Loves Me' thing. Whatever. Such a terrible phrase. Anyway, there's my rant, and here's my design:

Just in case you can't read it, it says "Jesus Loves Me But I broke up with him."