Friday Favorites #3

Okay, so I'm having a rough day, but I am going to go a POSITIVE route... and write my Friday Favorites! These are the things that got me through this week!

Jumpstart Advanced Preschool World
See Drew's first computer game. See Drew play his computer game. See Drew play the game by himself. See Drew play the game all by himself while Mommy does dishes. See Mommy keep an eye on Drew playing his game while Mommy does dishes in the Kitchen/Computer room. Genius.

Lysol Antibacterial Wipes: The easiest, fastest thing to clean the counters, table, etc. I know they are not eco-friendly, but I use cloth diapers (most of the time), so I will allow myself this one extravagance.

For Favorite Posts this week, I am changing it up- These are Posts that affected me, as in Blog Traffic:
http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2009/02/not-me-monday_23.html

http://www.thesitsgirls.com/2009/02/sunday-shout-outs_22.html

I was 1st for Mr. Linky for Not Me! Monday this week and guess what? 600 Blog Hits that day. Insane. I was linked to on Sunday Shout Outs at SITS and I got 160+ comments for my Giveaway (Have you entered my Giveaway yet? Please go do so!). Craziness. I am still sifting through the madness, but there are worse problems to have, right? Thanks to the SITS girls, Heather and Tiffany and thanks to MckMama!

Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
I picked up the Album to rent at the Library (The library- in the Friday Favorites hall of fame). Love it, love it, love it. It's a winner!

Another Friday Favorite (at least for this week) is Wine. I will be partaking as soon as the kiddies are tucked in. Yeah for Fridays!

All of my readers! Seriously, you guys are so nice and kind. One reader in particular is so sweet and she was trying to get some comments on what she should blog about. Go visit Debra at Well Behaved Women Barely Make History, and give her some cool ideas. She is so friendly, you will enjoy stopping by!

My 2 boys. Yes, Drew and Jacob aren't always on my list, but they have been extra sweet and charming this week.

Jacob is saying ALL kinds of new words this week, like, "hot" and "waffle", ever since his ear infection went away. The kid has quite an expansive vocabulary for a 16 month old. Me being my children's biggest fan, is thinking that he might just be a genius! Then again, maybe not.

Drew is Mr. "I love my Mommy". When Mr. Bee and Drew went to the ice cream store, Drew told Mr. Bee that he would share his ice cream with me so I would give him lots of hugs and kisses. Mr. Bee was so touched, he had to tell me right when they walked in the door. Of course, he omitted the fact that Drew also said I would take him to Florida if he shared his ice cream with me. Yeah, that one is a little less likely.

I am so excited to spend the weekend with my cuddlebug and my genius!

Whew! I'm feeling better already. That was a nice stress reliever!

Questions for you:

What are some of the Favorite things that got you through the week?

If I put a Mr. Linky up for people to participate in Friday Favorites would you be interested?

Live Blogging my Diet

I started to write this last Friday and was going to post it on Saturday, then the Giveaway got so crazy that I wanted to leave it up, so I postponed this post. Without further adieu here is the story:

I have been meaning to start a diet for a while now, and I am one of those people who can't just eat sensibly, I need to see results immediately. (Okay, I know, who doesn't want that?) So, taking a cue from My Medical Weight Loss Diet that I followed 10 years ago, I decided to do a "cleanse" before dieting. Basically a "cleanse" means you can have no pop, coffee, or milk, just water. (This means no caffeine- gasp!) You can have eggs but no salt and/or half an orange for breakfast, and then only red meat (again, no salt allowed) and green vegetables only with Medical Weight Loss approved Salad Dressing or Apple Cider vinegar as a topping. This goes on for three days. Last time I did this I think I dropped 6 lbs. I was so successful last time, however I thought if I wrote about it, I might be more likely to stick with it. Thus I decided I would "live blog" my cleansing process. Here is my attempt at a cleansing diet:

7am: Make eggs, with no salt in caphalon pan. Pieces of my stupid POS pan end up cooking into the eggs. I end up feeding the egg pieces without chips to Mr. Calamity, who is screaming "Mo" at me and frantically reaching for the horrible things. Eat three pieces of egg, only one without chips. Pretty sure I will now develop cancer or brain damage or something from inadvertently eating metal. Throw away pan. Drink half glass of water.

8:30am: Empty Diet Coke cans on my desk at work are taunting me. Drink another glass of water.

9am: Read weight loss blogs and look at "before" and "after" pictures. Think to myself: that could be me!

9:30am: Read food blogs. Think to myself: that could be what I could eat!

10am: Co-worker comes in with a dark chocolate-covered coconut candy egg. I love dark chocolate and coconut. I resist her offer, then have a change of heart. I take it the dark chocolate covered goodness and put it in my drawer, just in case. Drink another glass of water.

10:45am: Eating lunch at 11am is acceptable right?

11am: Getting headache. This is what I recognize as caffeine withdrawal. Go to the bathroom (hey I have had 3 glasses of water so far, I can't believe I've made it THIS long).

11:11am: 11:11, Ooh make a wish! I wish for more than 2 pairs of jeans to fit me.

11:15am: Not really hungry, but my mind is. I tell my mind to shut up for a little longer.

11:15am-11:40am: Working.

11:40 am: So bored. Want to eat. I am definitely a person who eats out of boredom.

11:50 am: Do not feel great. Thinking in monosyllabic words. Oh wait no, monosyllabic is more than one syllable. So is syllable. Okay, I think I need to eat NOW. Brain is not functioning.

12:20pm: Food was gross and smelly. Don't want to talk about it. Don't want to remember it. Didn't even finish.

12:55pm: It might be the lack of caffeine talking, but I want to give up! My head hurts. I don't want to do this all weekend! Whine Whine Whine!

1:25 pm: Whose stupid idea was this anyway? Oh wait, it was mine. I'm really contemplating that coconut cream egg.

2:00 pm: The act of taking Aleve has soothed me for now...

2:15 pm: Have given up. I hurridly eat a yogurt. Hey I didn't break the cleanse that badly!

2:30 pm: Now I am eating the coconut cream egg. I might have totally ruined my diet, but I am feeling better.

2:45 pm: Feeling much better now, thankyouverymuch. Headache is gone. Must not have been caffeine-withdrawal induced as I had thought.

4:15 pm: Grrreat. Spilled Apple Cider Vinegar in the passenger seat of Bessie, my car. Now poor Bessie smells like old urine. Magnificent.

Conclusion?

~I should ease myself into dieting.
~Crash dieting is bad, Mmmkay?
~Just because it says "Medical" in front of it does not mean that it necessarily Doctor approved.
~I must never cut out caffeine ever again.
~I would NOT last long on Survivor.
~It's not much of a live-blogging post if you only make it 5 hours of the scheduled 3 days.
~Apple Cider Vinegar is one nasty beeyotch.

So I am going to try and do a much more balanced diet starting on Wednesday. One that includes Caffeine, and does NOT include Apple Cider Vinegar- gag!

Yeah, you there Apple Cider Vinegar- you aren't anything like Apple Cider! Apple cider is yummy and sweet, and you just smell like old pee. EW.

Not Me Monday!: Nak3d Time Edition

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I have NOT enjoyed my giveaway contest way too much to be considered "cool". I am NOT hoping that I get 100 (already recieved 100!!) 150 comments on it, because that would be ridiculous to care about the amount of comments I get, and I am NEVER ridiculous.

Consequently I am NOT nervous that I will disappoint my new followers. I would NEVER worry about something like that, because I am NEVER insecure!

I did NOT let Mr. Calamity run around in boots and a diaper on Sunday because that's what he wanted to wear. I do NOT let Mr. Calamity call all the shots.

My family did NOT wear Pajamas all day on Sunday. We NEVER spend all day looking disheveled.

My heart did NOT break into a million little pieces when Drew asked me to put him to bed because he loved me and I was his bestest friend.

Consequently, I did NOT promise to remind Drew when he is 18 that he told me this weekend he wanted to go to College with me because I am his bestest friend. I would NEVER embarrass my son with this story in 14 years at his open house. I am NOT that kind of Mom!

I did NOT think it was the cutest thing ever when Drew read a book to Jacob. I am NOT a Mammarazti so I did NOT run to get a camera to take a picture!

I did NOT spend $300 on groceries this week. That would be ridiculous! I am NOT worried that our children are going to eat us out of our home!

Psst! I am NOT secretly pleased that presently I am the favorite parent with both children instead of Mr. Bee. I would NEVER savor this moment for fear it might not happen again for a while!

Giveaway Updates!

Hi Everyone! Thank you SO much for all those that have participated in my giveaway. It's been really fun reading through everyone's comments (as of now... 93 of them! Wow! Or as Drew said today "Holy crap!" Even Mr. Bee is all interested... he keeps asking- how many comments now? I told him it's not that crazy!) A big extra special thank you goes to Heather and Tiffany at The Secret is in the Sauce for giving me a shout out! I tried to contact everyone who entered to let them know how many entries they had, but some people do not put a contact email in, so I could not email those of you back, but rest assured, I have counted your entries. Those new followers, I will be visiting your blog to say "Hi" this week, and I think I have followed all my new twitter pals.

Those of you that have entered the contest early, I did add an extra entry for those who asked me a question. You are welcome to go back to the Giveaway Post and leave a question for me or Mr. Bee in the comments for an extra entry.

Thanks again for making my giveaway so much fun! Without you guys... well, it would stink!

PS- The LOL cats is for you Kristy. I know how much you love it (wink, wink).

My 200th Post & Giveaway

So, 200 times I have clicked the publish post button.
200 times I have put it all out there.
200 times I thought people would want to read something I wrote.

I can't believe this is my 200th post. I wanted to do something special and do a a giveaway-I know everyone does these once in a while, but mine is very special. After all, how many giveaways feature:

A MIX CD! Contain your excitement or at least try. One of the giveaways is a Mix CD, custom mixed for your tastes (or mine, if you so shall choose). I am the master of the mix CD and I really pride myself on doing a good job so this isn't really as bad as you think. Cover art will be from none other than Drew, The Drama King himself. Okay, okay before you say I am lame cool I am, if you can believe it I am giving some other Prizes away:

25$ Giftcard to The Cheesecake Factory

25$ Giftcard to T.G.I. Fridays

Also: all winner's links (or names, if they are not a blogger) will be displayed at the bottom of my header for one week.

I will tell you how to enter:

The first step (1 entry)- Leave me a comment telling me:

• Your favorite Janana Bee post (you can look through archives or My Favorite Posts tag to get an idea if you are new to my blog)

• OR a question for me (or Mr. Bee) **Update- no one has asked me a question yet! So from now on, you get TWO entries for comments with questions! And yes you can recomment with a question for an extra entry. Seriously, don't be shy! There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers- from me!**
  

• OR your favorite Artist/Band(s) (you know, for the really cool mix CD you might win).

I will post the answers to my favorite questions and the top ten posts that are picked on March 1st as well. (PS if you are a follower and you post a comment- that's 2 entries.)

After your comment, the first entry, there are other ways to get more entries:

• 1 entry- Follow me on Twitter (button is on the right)
• 1 entry- Favorite me on Technorati (button is on the right- if you aren't familiar with technorati, go check it out- it's really useful for finding who inks to you!)
• 1 entry- Follow my blog
• 2 entries- Tweet this giveaway on twitter
• 2 entries- Link to my contest on your blog (an easy way to do this is to click the link to this button on the bottom of this post.)

**Please leave me a comment letting me know what you have done, so I can keep track.**

**The contest ends on 12 AM March 1st (Sunday).**
There will be a first, second and third name drawn. First name drawn gets first pick, second name gets second pick and third name gets my mix CD third pick.

This should be fun. Thank you for reading and being such a great support for my addiction hobby. This is my way of giving back to you!

Filler: #199

I'm glad everyone enjoyed my little exercise yesterday with removing words. I think it was cathartic to those who participated. If you are interested in participating, here is the link. I am SO tired from my 12 hour workday yesterday, and 11 hour workday the day before, along with all the coughing with this cold I cannot kick. I just kind of want to collapse at my desk. But no, must plug on, and do one filler thrilling post, this post #199, before I do my big 200th Post with Giveaway. I am so excited, I already have the post mostly written, but I said Friday and I am sticking to it! In the meantime, I want to thank my new bloggy friend The Bookkitten for the friend award.

Here's what this award is all about:

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I am going to hold onto this award and bestow it 8 people later because I am too lazy tired to do so right now. I will get back to this, after my giveaway, I promise. Speaking of giveaways....

Tomorrow.
200th post.
Giveaway fun!
Be there!

~~ That is all.
PS This is SO freaking funny. Please watch. Thanks Kristy.

Words that I want removed from My Lexicon

These words can go:
Snow
Cold
Mushy
Snot
Pediatrician
Infection
Vomit
Boots
Mittens
Medicine
February
Booger
Winter
Cough
Economy
Crisis
Work
Taxes
Alarm Clock
Supervisor
Mess
Diarrhea
Foreclosure
Dow
Cancer
Bills
Bailout
Flu
Cloudy
Must
Should
Guilt
Moist
Hatred
Ma'm
Cruel
Steal
Bigot
"Ewww, thats poop"- I know it's a phrase but Kalei is right, I don't ever want to hear those words.
Period
Mammogram

These words can stay:
Wine
Cheese
Nap
Vacation
Sleep
Summer
Smile
Healthy
Happy
Babysitter
Lollapalooza
Clean
Love
Dance
Music
Laughter
Pillows
Baby
Fondue
Dogs
Sunny
Charity
Hope
Thanks
Keppe
Chocolate
Butter
Books
Blogging
Edward Cullen- Technically 2 words, but I agree with Cammie on this one.


What words do you want removed from your Lexicon? Which would you keep? Let me know in the comments below and I will add my favorites.

The Drama King

Drew: The official Drama King.

Don't let the smile here fool you. Drew is often happy, really he is, but cross him once and you are getting a visit from The Drama King. Even at a young age, The Drama King would find ways to appear, even sometimes out of nowhere, and always after a lack of a nap or too much sugar.

The Drama King often does not appreciate the Mommaratzi. The Drama King also refers to himself in the third person, in true royal style. The Drama King has a strict diet of candy and cheese only!

The Drama King came out in full force yesterday, specifically, when Drew was denied a cheese stick 15 minutes before dinner, The Drama King came out and cried for 15 minutes straight.
Drew bit his lip earlier in the day and therefore The Drama King came out and proceeded to walk around the house with his lips pursed, talking funny with his lip jutted out. And that was just the beginning. Drew cried and carried on all afternoon yesterday... thus officially earning his crown of The Drama King.

Sometimes Mrs. Bee has to play along with The Drama King and humor him, even join him. (In fact, Mr. Bee might attest that the Duchess of Drama, Janana, does indeed come out from time to time.) Mrs. Bee will do anything to go from this face....
...to this one. The Drama king might makes the Bees work for it, but when they do get his happiness back, it is worth all the drama it took to get him back to Drew.

PS This time Mr. and Mrs. Bee did not cater to The Drama King's wishes as The Drama King was sent to his royal chambers yesterday at 7:00 pm to SLEEP IT OFF. The royal subjects Mr. and Mrs. Bee are hoping to see the return of Drew today, and the relinquishing of the crown, at least for a week or so....

PS- My 200th post is on Friday... make sure to come back!

Not Me! Monday- Law and Order Edition

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

7:45 AM SUNDAY.....NOT too Early
The scene of the Crime: Drew's "garage"

Drew is so NOT proud of his creation. He did NOT spend an enormous amount of time making the perfect garage for McQueen and his pals.

Here comes Mr. Calamity, he is so NOT 22 pounds of trouble!

Mr. Calamity is so NOT plotting a stunt right here.

Mr. Calamity would NOT destruct his brother's prized building. He is my baby and totally NOT mischievous at all.

Drew so did NOT yell "JACOB!" at the top of his lungs at this moment.

Drew also did NOT snatch the Lego out of Mr. Calamity's hand, only to have him take another piece of the building....

....so he could NOT bang it on the chair. It was NOT ear deafeningly loud, no, NOT at all!

(Also those are so NOT dirty socks on the floor. My children would NEVER constantly take off their dirty socks around the house, because that would make their mother crazy. Mr. Bee is NOT considered one of the children when I mention this, because he NEVER forgets to pick up his own dirty clothes.)

Verdict: Mr. Calamity did NOT go to time out for doing this 3x in a row.

~I did NOT decide to record this moment with the camera the third time it happened because I so did NOT think it was funny.

~I was NOT laughing because that would send the wrong message to Calamity and he would NOT continue to do this over and over again.
~Mr. Bee did NOT sleep through this entire event because he is NOT the world's heaviest sleeper!

PS- My 200th post is so NOT near. Please do NOT come back again for a fun 200th post celebration (and giveaway of some sort)!

PSS- I have NOT been a bad bloggy friend by forgetting to thank Ms. Kalei of Bloggedy Blog Blog for giving me the Honest Scrap Award, and also for randomly picking me to win a prize in her blanket donation giveaway! Go check out her blog, she is awesome. You can see the answers to the Honest Scrap Award here. Also, I'm awarding the award to all my fellow bloggers who read this because putting yourself out there on you blog is NOT easy. (And I mean that!)

Mr. Bee, My Valentine (Guest Post)

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone and especially to the beautiful Mrs. Bee. I thought, being V-day (hey, does that count as one of those cool acronyms that the kids are using these days, ie - LOL, BFF, NKOTB, etc?), it would only be fitting that I gave a little insight into the wonderful things that I see in Mrs. Bee (yes, it's a list, but I didn't want to spend the entire day writing a 3000 page book on why I love her, just know that I could have!):

1. She is very beautiful (the kind of beauty that inspires me to write lists about her)


2. She has a wonderful personality (you probably already knew this since you read her thoughts on this blog, unless you're here just for me... if so, please drop me a line, there are plenty of openings in my fan club, all are welcome including a future charter member.


3. She always lets me win at video games (and she's really good at letting me win too! Sometimes, the fake frustration she portrays seems so real, one would think she was really trying to win).


4. She has miserable taste in movies (yes this is a good thing. I wouldn't have appreciated the true classics like the Godfather, Lord of the Rings, and 4 Weddings and a Funeral without having sat through the utter garbagefest that is Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing). In fact tonight we're going to watch Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist... I could look at it like, hey this is a horrible movie and we could have been watching Transporter 2 which is much better, or I could stay positive and realize, this is really helping me focus on my Dos Equis, no distractions coming from the TV tonight.

5. She is a wonderful wife, the kind that takes the kids to school and picks them up at night. The kind that has taken our house and turned it into a home, the kind that has introduced me to so many new things (tonight will be Nick and Norah, ugghhh, well you have to take the good with the bad), and the kind who to this day I love with all my heart.

Happy Valentine's Day Mrs. Bee.

Love,

Mr. Bee

Having Issues

Hey I'm having issues with my feed. So this is a test message. Be back later with a Valentine's Day Post from Mr. Bee. Also...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you are all spending V-day with someone you love, significant other or not.

Friday Favorites #2 *Updated*

**Update: Please Tune in tomorrow for a special Guest Poster for Valentine's day. Yup, it's Mr. Bee! (I know how to work the system.)**

I'm sorry if my list seems a little sparse, it has been a tough week (sickness, power outages, work stress) but these things kept me going this week:

Sharky the fish. He is quite the laid back grandfish, even staying cool and collected when our power was out for 8 hours Wednesday night. (And I do mean cool. The temperature in the house was 59 degrees Fahrenheit when the power came back on. Scary.)


These Bibs, Handcrafted by my Cousin-in-Law, Jodi. They are big, roomy around the neck and soft and wash up so nice. Both bibs are reversible with a fluffy side and soft side with print on the other side. Jacob actually keeps this on! She only sells them to local stores, but shouldn't she sell them on Etsy?

Flameless Candles. When our power was out we left these going in the bathroom in case Drew woke up and was scared or needed to potty. Not as obnoxious as a flashlight, but safer than a candle. I'm going to pick more up soon.

These Posts (okay I just can't pick one ever):
Momo, The Red Sox, My Dad and God By Lisa @ Left Coast Cowboys
Who's The Dummy Mummy By Catherine @ Her Bad Mother

This sweater at Old Navy. Don't know why, but I got it for $10, not 20$ and I LOVE it!

Munchkin Bottle Brush Now that I don't have any bottles to clean I use it for washing dishes. It stores up right, dishwasher safe and not harmful for the dishes. It rawks.

Philedelphia Whipped Cream Cheese. So much better than regular- Yum!

What are your favorites from this week?

File Under: Conversations that make me feel like a Dork

I was twittering away one lonely Saturday night (Mr. Bee was on the potty playing Animal Crossing on my pink DS) when I got a direct message tweet from my friend S. Quick Background- S is a friend from High School and College, and he's kind of a techno nerd, and works for a company that hosts blogs. I haven't seen him in about 5 years, but we still talk often on Twitter and Facebook (FB) because, well you know, we are both Internet dorks. So this is how the conversation started, with Direct Messages on Twitter. You know it's only going to get worse from there.

S: You know you should prob. look into getting a hosted blog and throwing up some ads. And you know I do hosting .

Me: What does that even mean? How much does that cost?

S: {sees that I'm on Facebook and switches over to Facebook chat- yes I am on FB and Twitter at same time- shut up! S explains hosting and such, I still don't get it and don't have the transcript so I won't bore you} I figure if you put up some ads you could make some money. You get a lot of traffic right?

Me: No. I guess it depends on how many are "a lot". How many clicks do you get on your blog?

S: Daily? Some days are better than others, but usually about 400-800.

Me: {Jaw drops to ground.} My numbers are much lower. {Silently think: divide by 100}

S: Oh, I just thought since you post and tweet so much that you had a lot of traffic on your blog.

Me: Um, no, not really. {I'm totally embarrassed now- didn't think anyone really NOTICED my addiction} It's a labor of love really, and Mommy blogs, well there's a lot of them with much better writers, so it's hard to stand out.

S: Well, think about it. Who knows you could become a millionaire blogger and I can say I knew you when, and helped you get started.

Me: Yeah, um, don't think that would happen but it would be nice, wouldn't it? {I'm a dork, I'm a loser}

S: Haha, well I have to back to watching old movies {Slowly backs away from conversation with loserish friend}


~-~-~-~-~


My Dad tells people all the time that I have this blog and I'm such a great writer and it is really embarrassing. There are so many better writers out there, and my blog is a pithy little thing that I take very seriously, and my wonderful parents think it's so great. They have no idea all the greatness that is out there!

It reminds me of every time Mr. Bee makes a statement about how popular I was in High School, when I really was not, not at all, just a total wallflower, and he says, "Oh, all the popular girls say that." No, not lying, was not popular in High School and am NOT a millionaire blogger. (Oh, I wish right?)

So, on that note...

1. Does anyone else get 800+ clicks a day?

2. Does anyone else have family members/friends that think their blog is a much bigger deal than it is? What do your family members think of your blog? Do they know that you have one?

3. And finally... were any of you the popular kids in High School?

If the answer is yes to number 3: Really? Because I hate you now. Just kidding. Kinda.

Newest Addition to the Bee Family...

Mr. Bee and Drew went to the pet store this weekend and returned with a new family member. Don't get too excited, it's just a Fish. Drew named him "Sharky" after Mr. Bee kindly informed him that the name "Daddy" was taken. (Geez, be a little fussypants Mr. Bee.)

Drew was excited, and now is, of course, meh about it. I am quite fond of Sharky already. He seems to be fitting in with the Bee family just fine. But, honestly...

Aren't I a little young to have a grandfish?
Maybe I'll make Sharky call me "Mimi Bee" or something.

I know you all think I'm jerk for the buildup. And I'm sorry if you were disappointed. I was hoping they would come home with something more exciting too. Unfortunately you cannot purchase a Llama for 10$ (the budget).

Weekend Wrap up- a Day late and not an hour short.

Hmm, I think I will have a spoonful of anarchy this weekend,
thank you very much!

Mr. Calamity was up to his no good tricks this past weekend. These tricks involved dumping a whole bag of uncooked macaroni and plastic utensils on the floor and then trying to eat the uncooked macaroni as I cleaned it up, and spilling a whole cup of coffee on the carpet, (I know what you are thinking why did you let him get to these things? but he is fast and happened to do both things within a split second) and crying nonstop. Every time he cried he wanted only me. The first couple of times it was cute. By Sunday night... after countless crying jags and more than one incident of pounding on the bathroom door and crying for me while I tried to take care of business, it was no longer so cute.

I knew something was terribly amiss with the Jacob, so I took him to the Pediatrician on Monday. After one excruciatingly long hour of waiting, I found out he had two ear infections, AGAIN. The poor guy has had a continual ear infection pretty much since he was 8 months old. So this is his last chance. He is on extreme antibiotics, and if this doesn't work he will be referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist. I really hope it doesn't come to ear tubes... crossing fingers! We just need to make it through the winter. He's taken one dose of the Meds so far and is acting like he feels 110% better.

So today is my makeup day to him. He has been getting many kisses and hugs, one for each exasperated sigh, roll of the eyes and whining from me about his behavior. The poor little guy was SICK, and here I was annoyed with him for being grumpy.

In the running for child of the year,
as long you don't count the absence of naps...
or vegetables in his daily life.

Drew on the other hand, was wonderful. A joy to be around. This gave me a glimmer of hope that this is because of his new age (4) that he is being such a good kid. Yes, I know that this is an illusion, but let me stay in my happy place for a while, okay?

We painted on Saturday (Lookit, I got crafty! It was scary, but I muddled through!) and then took the kids to Chuckie Cheeses in Lansing. NEVER AGAIN. The place was bedlam, 1000 degrees and total pandemonium. There wasn't anywhere to even sit. I thought at one point I would pass out I was so miserable. Mr. Bee looked at me when we left and said "you're going to blog about this, aren't you?" He knows me so well. We promised to get Drew a mini dessert at Applebees (his favorite restaurant) if he would just be cooperative and let us leave the madness! At Applebees, our children were wonderful. They were both so good that I wanted somebody to come up and compliment them or congratulate us on raising such adorable wonderful kids, to which I would have said "I know, thank you" for once instead of my usual embarrassed response of "umm okay, yeah, thanks." Unfortunately no one gave me this opportunity.

I have now found the key to happiness at a restaurant: starve your children beforehand. Take 'em to another restaurant so they can see and smell food, but don't let them eat. Then drag them to another restaurant across town. Hmm, I wonder if this trick always works or is just a once-off?

There is also a new member of the Bee family I am omitting from this post, just to keep you in suspense.... I was surprised by this new member, but it is a happy addition.

And hell no, I am not pregnant. That is all I'm saying for now.

Make your own Meme Monday: Then vs. Now

The Scattered Mind of a Tattooed Minivan Mom is hosting a "make your own meme Monday". If you want to participate, you just need to make your own meme, post it and then go visit The Scattered Mind of a Minivan Mom and put your name in Mr. Linky. Go check out her blog even if you don't want to participate, it is a fun one! Please go over there and check out everyone's handmade Memes, and maybe you will want to use one or maybe at least have fun reading them. I now know firsthand how hard these things are to create, so go and visit and comment on others... they all worked very hard on them!

I'll be honest, I actually don't like most memes, so this was a challenge for me. I had so much fun with the last party she hosted, however, I had to participate. I decided to make a Meme comparing and contrasting how my life now vs. 10 years ago, and thought it might be fun to see what everyone else was up to 10 years ago! So here are the rules to my Then vs. Now Meme:

• Think back to ten years ago on this month.


• Write truthful answers and ELABORATE. This makes it more interesting!


• Tag someone else to do this meme (I won't put a number on it, but somewhere between 2 and 5 is good.)


• Please link back to me (Janna @ Janana Bee) if you decide to do the meme.


• If you don't have a scanner you may omit #14 but I think if you do you should totally do it!


• The Extra Credit Part? Totally optional.

Then- 10 years ago: February 1999

1. Age: 19 1/2 Years Old.

2. Romantic Status: Just been dumped by my boyfriend for the second time, although we were still "hanging out". Yeah, I was an idiot. I didn't really want to get back together with him, but I didn't want to be alone either.

3. Occupation: Unemployed Student at Michigan State University. I had just quit a job at a gas station due to my Dad being uncomfortable with my working at a gas station. An attendant was killed by someone that year (not at the gas station I worked at) and my Dad was all worried. I was told to quit or he would stop paying for my school. So I quit. Before you judge, just understand, I fought him on this and lost. My Dad is tough. I'm a wimp. Of course I lost this one.

4. Fun night out: Tie: Playing Euchre with my friends at a party/Trying to drink illegally at a bar. I went out 4 nights a Week. Yep. I kind of liked to party, albeit in a very low key- wallflowerish way.

5. My BFFs: Marta, Sarah, Anna, Nate & Emily.

6. I spent way too much time: Drinking! (I think this will be a reoccurring theme.

7. I spent not enough time: Contemplating my navel. Seriously, I didn't work and I had no kids or responsibilities, I had all the time in the world! Oh, I guess preparing for the future would've been a good idea instead of winging it all of the time.

8. I wanted to be when I grew up: Working in advertising and/or a photojournalist. I was an Advertising major for 2 semesters, switched to Journalism, hated Journalism, and dropped half my classes and became a Psychology major.

9. Biggest concern: Would I ever meet a nice guy who loved me? Omigod did I spend too much time worrying about this.

10. What my biggest concern should have been: What will I do after college?

11. Where did I live: In a single room in Shaw Dormitory/Sister's basement bedroom on the weekends.

12. Dumbest thing I did that year: Mom- maybe you should stop reading now! Oh gosh, too many to name them all. I got kicked out of a bar and a bowling alley for underage drinking. I became drunken crying girl too many times to mention. I also peed outside of a Quality Dairy on a main street while drunk. Um... I think there may be a pattern here?

13. If I could go back now and talk to my 19 year old self I would say: Stop hanging out with your ex-boyfriend! You know you aren't right for each other! You will meet someone great this year, stop worrying about it and have fun with your friends. Worry less about your weight (you look awesome, take lots of pictures) and your social life and more about your future career. Don't take shit from anyone, you don't need to be treated like crap.

14. Picture of 19 year old self:

I am on the far left- with my group of BFFs in 1999.

Now: February 2009

1. Age: 29 1/2 Years Old.

2. Romantic Status: Married for almost 7 years to Mr. Bee, been together for 9 1/2 years. Yup, it feels like a lifetime, in a good way!

3. Occupation: Worked 6 years in Retail (most of them as a manager) until I took a crazy step back and became a temporary Administrative Assistant. Worked out well for me: 2 1/2 years later I am a Project Coordinator at a Non-profit-ish organization. I don't like my job, but it has great benefits and decent wages and hell, I'll take what I can get.

4. Fun night out: Dinner and a Movie with Mr. Bee. 1 night every 2 months (this frequency is probably a little high of an estimate, sadly).

5. My BFFs: Mr. Bee, My Mom, My Sister, Marta, Sarah, Nate & Emily. If you think someone is suspiciously missing here, yeah, there is a reason. That is another post, one that I won't be writing anytime soon!

6. I spend way too much time: On the Internet! I think everyone knew the answer to this one!

7. I spend not enough time: Well, you name it. Cleaning, cooking, exercising? Okay, I'll say the most important one: spending time with my kids.

8. I want to be when I grow up: A writer (hey I'm still growing up!)

9. Biggest Concern: Am I raising my children well?

10. What my biggest Concern should be: I think I am right this time.

11. Where do I live: In my house that I hate, with my beautiful family. Still in East Lansing, MI.

12. Dumbest thing I have done this year: Left my tab open at a bar (forgot my credit card). Yeah, that was a nice run up bill! Forgot to bring a coffee pot to a training. (Now I have my very own coffee pot, since I had to go out and buy a new one!)

13. What I think I would say to my 29 year old self in 10 years: Love yourself and all your imperfections. Worry less about the little stuff and enjoy your children. Soon they will be older, and you will miss these times. And seriously, dude, shut up about your house. Many people have far less than you.

14. Picture of 29 year old self:

Again, on the far left with (most of) my BFFs in 2009. Can you tell who is who from the other picture?

Extra Credit:

1. What do I miss most from 1999: My figure!

2. What do I miss least from 1999: Being single!

3. What have I accomplished in 10 years that I am most proud of: creating a family and making a living.

4. What have I NOT accomplished in 10 years that I wish I had: Getting into size 4 jeans? Ha ha ha.. no seriously. I guess I wish I was doing something that I loved as a job, like writing. I had some opportunities that I lost along the way by not giving it my all. Hopefully the next ten years will be more fruitful for me, job wise. Also I wish I was more crafty, and could write posts about being crafty and making beautiful meals and eating organic, blah blah blah. I am so jealous of crafty people, but it isn't it me to be them!

Mr. Bee and Me: A Conundrum

Sometimes I wonder how Mr. Bee and I make it work. Our tastes are so different. He likes all sports, I hate most sports. He likes hunting. I hate hunting. I'm obsessed with the Internet, he won't even check his email. And so on and so forth.

But the topper is his movie taste. Mr. Bee has the worst taste in movies. From silly spoof movies to horrible action flicks, we have seen every crap movie under the sun. And oh, how he hates indie flicks. I have to watch those alone when they go on IFC. If it has a war (bonus!) and takes place in medieval times (double bonus!), we are going to see it. This has led to many poor movie choices, including In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege tale. Seriously one of the worst movies ever, with the WORST casting choices ever. I mean, Burt Reynolds as king? Seriously?!? Check it out for a laugh. One of the stranger things that Mr. Bee has a fondness for is this guy:

Mr. Bee has a secret man crush on Hugh Grant. In Mr. Bee's words, he finds him "charming". This is one of the only things we agree on, although he loves Two Weeks Notice a LITTLE too much for my liking. If that or any of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy are on, we are watching them. Screw it if it's on TBS with commercials, and we even own all those DVDs, drop what you are doing, it's Two Weeks Notice time.

I used to also think that Mr. Bee had good taste in music, maybe better than mine. He introduced me to many bands, like Bright Eyes, The Pogues, even Death Cab for Cutie (which he thought was called "Death Camp for Kitty"). Then he started to like this band this year:

I wonder why? His excuse? "I like the music/they are big in Europe." Really? Girls Aloud Mr. Bee? Mr. Bee, your music taste is slipping.

Sometimes I wonder, how can two people with such different tastes get along and live together? I think this answer is simpler than it seems. We have the same ideals, the same values. We have so many ideas of how to raise a family, where we want to vacation and what constitutes a good time (hint: involves a Movie theater, a Sports bar and NTN trivia). Sure Mr. Bee says he's a Republican, but really he has a Democrat's ideals. Sure he says he only likes action movies but he cried at the end of Knocked up and Juno and says they are sweet movies. (He's such a softie.) Sure, he likes Girls Aloud but... oh wait, no excuse for that one. Mr. Bee, what are you thinking?

Well, we can't agree on EVERYTHING. But I do know that we agree on the important things, the life altering things and that makes me content.

Update: Mr. Bee says that he now prefers Four Weddings and A Funeral to Two Weeks Notice, because of the ensemble cast.

He also says that he REALLY does like Girls Aloud music, and but does admit that he likes the music videos a little bit better. (Like we didn't all know that!)

Friday Favorites

Libraries. Seriously. Where else can you get so much free entertainment? It's amazing that I am such a dunce, I didn't even ever think about going to one before today?

Lands End @ Sears. Um... 50% off sales prices much? I got these for $12.49. And before you say, holy shit Janna, how big are those shoes? They are a size 11. Yup.

Lemon Creek Winery. If you like sweet wine, try the Silver Beach Sauterne. Yummy.

Fuzzy socks. Better than slippers. Always. And yes... I am aware- I have ginormous feet!

Blogs Posts: Tie-
Life with a little one and More and Pacing the Panic Room

Muffins From Sam's Club. Let's not discuss how many of these I ate this week. These things are damn good. So what if they are the size of my head and I prolly gained 5 pounds doing it? I'd totally do it again (they are about $6.00 for 12, in case you are wondering- awesome deal.)

Last but certainly not least- My Mom and Dad. Not because you, know they raised me and stuff and provide childcare so I don't lose it with my children. Nope (even though, yes, I give you guys mad props for that). They are on the Friday Favorite lists because they drove Lemon Creek wine over to me when I was too lazy worn out to go to the store and buy some wine. Thanks for supporting me in my quest to get tipsy relax!

Having the best day....

....maybe not as good as him!

After a breakfast of a chocolate muffin and a DVR fix, nap, a trip to a yummy Thai restaurant and the library (did you know you can borrow just about anything there for free? What the hell is wrong with me for just now using this resource?) I am having such a fantabulous day! I am also trying to stay away from doing too much blogging or reading of blogs today and staying away from housework. So sorry for the shortness but it feels so good to relax.

Hope you are all having a great day. At least it's almost the weekend! Is this where I should post the "hang in there, baby" cat poster? Okay then.

Like how I pad my crap post with cute pitures? It's pretty impressive!

Breathing, whining, Editorializing

Bee Family Updates:

Lets start with Mr. Calamity (Jacob). Poor boy has been a coughing mess the past couple of days. This fact has not stopped him from beating up on his little toddler friends at school, however. Every day he gets an incident report and more often than not, it is for being rough with the other toddlers. Yesterday we got an incident report that said (and I quote) "Jacob ran over to one of his friends and jumped on them and scratched his/her eye for no reason". Um, tell me how you really feel? We will be discussing this incident report with the director today. They don't need to editorialize in their report. I get it, he's a brute. He is also one of the youngest, littlest guys in there, and does not understand the word "gentle". I'm trying here people, but there is no reasoning with a 15 month old.

On super cute Calamity news, he has started to say Drew's name. Of course it comes out sounding like "Dew" most of the time, but it is adorable. I was more excited for this than when he started saying "Mama". Of course, maybe that's because he says it like "MAAAAAAMMMMAAAAA" in a wail when he needs me.

Drew is still, Drew. We are trying to break him of talking about himself in the third person. It's been a rough road. Eventually we are hoping he goes back to saying "I" but only time will tell. He had a great time at his birthday party, running around like a maniac. He enjoyed his gifts, including his new easel with a dry erase and chalk board. Unfortunately one night he enjoyed his dry erase marker all over his room. He tried to be good and draw on an old piece of cardboard. "Tried" being the operative word. It ended up on walls, his white shirt and his train table. A big "d'oh!" goes to Mr. Bee and me for forgetting and leaving it out.

And Mr. Bee? Sick Mr. Bee is trying to readjust to his early morning schedule and having trouble with his head cold. He keeps "resting his eyes" on the couch, and I have to drag him to bed.

As for, me, Janana, my hectic week is coming to a close, and I am starting to feel a little better, thanks in part to the winter thaw we are going to experience tomorrow. I'm sure it will throw everyone's immune systems out of whack, but what the heck, was anyone really healthy to begin with? I have extreme DVR backup (which will just increase due to the 2 hour Grey's Anatomy event tonight) which I will be fixing swiftly on my day off. Also, I will be heading down to the library to get a book so that I can finally contribute to the other blog I am supposed to be contributing to, Girls with Books. And I will also be drinking the wineage tonight. Expect some high quality tweets, twitterers. Janna likes to hear the sound her own tweets (and talk about herself in the third person as well). Also, yes I will be dropping the little Bees off at school tomorrow. I am not ashamed.

So woot for the Bee family... hopefully it will feel like spring this weekend, and we can pretend there isn't at least another 2 months to go of snow. Thanks for letting me whine a little, hopefully I am back to my regularly scheduled program.

Winter blues (REALLY bad poetry)

i have not the words to say

have had some horrible no-good days

and the snow will never go away

work slowly making me crazy

i've decided:

i'm ready to be lazy

body stiff, feels like lead

plan of action: dead ahead

go in the room with the bed

creak through the room

flop onto the bed

pull covers up over my head

grab the children, husband too

snuggle up, two by two

close our eyes

sleep all day

us bees dreaming our cares away

hibernate all through today

into tomorrow, even thursday

hopefully we wake in may

Rough week... be back with more soon. Inspired by Jenners

Not me! Monday: Snappy one liners/Superbowl Edition

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I so did not fret over Drew's 4th birthday party. I am not a worry wart so I did not worry all week only to have it turn out wonderful.

I also did not lose track of Jacob at the party and find him trying to escape out the front door. This was not the second time someone lost him and found him trying to escape. He is so not my Calamity Jake!

I also did not pass out fall asleep while watching Curious George with Drew a couple of hours later, because I was not exhausted from worrying about the Party.

I did not write the majority of this post on my iPod during the superbowl. I never would miss a moment of football.

This is so not how I feel about my job.



I was not a smartass to my sister Amber and Mr. Bee on Sunday coming up with some great one liners to their statements:

Mr. Bee: I have to start getting prepared for the Superbowl (at 11am this morning).
Me: What, are you playing in it?

Amber: I make these great chicken nachos. It's got rotisserie chicken and pepperjack cheese on them. It's my secret recipe.
Me: Secret recipe? Um... not so secret now!

I did not think about how I could blog these one liners, and so did not get really excited when I realized I could!

I was a very responsible Mom and did not let my kids eat junk and snacks all weekend. I would never compromise their health for my sanity.

Jacob is not down to his last diaper, and therefore I am not praying that he does not have a BM before school today. I would never play THAT game of russian roulette.

I did not almost address my Husband as Mr. Bee on Sunday. I would never let my blog take over my real life. :^P

I so did not just use an emoticon in my blog!