IT'S SHARK WEEK

DID YOU KNOW THAT??

Shark Week has never been a calendar worthy/freak out excited/omg it's finally here kind of week for me. (probably because the year revolves around Christmas and July 15). I mean, my dad occasionally has it on every year (HELLO, he has a Y chromosome, of course he has Shark Week on). My best friend is always like "Weee, Shark Week!!" but she's the one who is at camp with no cable and no internet this one week out of the whole summer... And now my sister has decided that she has to like Shark Week since it's the cool thing to do. You know, like having a meaningless blog (wait, what?) or being "in a relationship" with your best friend on facebook. (Does that confuse any other fabo stalkers out there??) 


Anyways so another year later, here we are. Shark Week.  Usually just another week of mindless eating and watching TLC in my life. But this year, everything has changed. Dun dun dun. 


Here's the story: it's all because I was recently at the beach and had a slight run in with a very scary shark.

Not really. (but I see a Soul Surfer Part II: Emily movie coming out...)

No, the story goes more like this: I babysit. A lot. One of the boys I babysit has recently become fascinated with sharks. When I say fascinated I mean more like fascinated to the point of obsession. Already a shark expert at the tender young age of four? You bet. I'm really glad I can finally be cool now since I've been watching Shark Week re-runs every morning.

Oh wait, I already had a blog. Guess I was already cool. 

Watching shark attack with my little shark expert is extra cool since I get all the added commentary and information about each shark. "Mako sharks?! SO COOL! They are the fastest sharks! Fast as an airplane!" ::does the little Napoleon Dynamite yesssss elbow to hip gesture:: 


On Monday at the beginning of my long week of Nanny MLEing, I picked up the remote and pressed the number for Discovery Channel. The world as that four year old cutie knew it completely changed during that instant. He had completely exhausted any and every shark related movie/show/video on Netflix instant watch. I tried my best to explain to him that this occurrence, this beautiful thing called Shark Week, meant that these shows are on all. week. long. Now that it's Thursday and we are still watching sharks sharks sharks, I think he has finally grasped the concept of an entire week of greatness. However, he still asks to watch "Shark Attack" everyday. We'll work on the proper name next year... 


Disney Channel, sorry your ratings went down this week, but did you really think you could compete with Shark (Week) Attack?

 Are you really trying to talk to me right now?

use me, baby

Sometimes I forget about my blog. I don't forget about blogpost.com or about my blog friends that I stalk ever so obsessively. No, they don't get the boot. Just my blog does. It just sits there all lonesome wanting to be used and abused. I started the blog for many reasons. One being that my fan base had become quite large and I needed a place to consolidate and please the masses. Number one was obvious to you all, I'm sure. Number two being that I'm not in school right now and I really do love writing and I miss writing and since I am not writing a paper every other day for my liberal arts degree my brain cells are quickly dying of writing starvation and...you get the picture. (I'm really good at run-on sentences.)

Well dude, I'm using you and abusing ya now.  

I had a kid free week last week so it seemed the only logical thing to do was to go to Disney. Being the logical person that I am I, of course, made the hard decision and went to Disney. 4 days of driving, little to no sleeping, walking, eating popcorn/corndog nuggets/pizza/pasta, finding hidden mickey's, being in parades, watching fireworks, watching fat men dance, riding rides/experiencing rides/riding experiences/doing experiences, seeing new additions, getting fab parking spots, not waiting in long lines, seeing old friends, and being there with the best people ( hey heyyyy MC and the Freddiefriend) (and Joseph) (and Caroline).

Hey Hey to you too, Walt.

Every time I get an "off" week, I have to talk myself into getting excited about starting a long week of sitting on babies. This is dumb. I will forever and always think children are the best and should probably write that in permanent marker on my forehead so in times of distress I can be reminded that I love them. You hear that kids? You've got some MLE lovin' coming your way. I spent the day swimming, eating froyo, going to art camp, playing hot potato, singing Disney songs, and listening to a 10 year old's favorite rap songs. Umm, what? Is this really my job right now? My tan line (and my waist line) are so happy right now. Bring on the full time mommy week. I will mommy the pants off of you. (Does that saying work? Not really... Let's pretend it does and move on.)

To my fans/stalkers/family/everyone else, enjoy reading. More than once, if you so desire. I want to see this post get some real good use out of it, understood?

I came, I saw, I learned something

• Two-a-days and three-a-days have a whole new meaning. Most people think of it as practices or rehearsals, but to me it means how many families I can babysit in a 24 hour period. Welcome to my week.
• I can survive a full-crazy-three-a-days day on 3.5/4 hours of sleep.
• You can make a homemade taser out of a disposable camera. And when I say "you", I really do mean you because I tried it and failed. I don't go around making homemade tasers, that's Sam.
• I just run so much better when JBiebs is serenading me. 
• Ann likes a turkey-ham-american-provolone-mayo-basil sandwich. Just not when I make it.
• I cannot control life. I know that is crazy and you all are shocked to learn that I do not sit in a big control tower in outer space. But, I don't and weeks like this when I am juggling lotsa kiddos and important decisions about my near future are looming around, I wish I did sit up in a big control tower in the sky. Sigh.
• The Farmer's Market is superior to everything. Not even only grocery stores, but everything. 
• Everyone in the South should invest in yellow cars so for the 6ish weeks that the pollen is terrible the cars won't look so nasty. It'd be so worth it. My car is all kinds of disgusting right now. Time for some rain dances?

My car is oozing pollen out of every pore

Also, as you can tell I'm kind of obsessed with videos of babies laughing. What can I say... But seriously, if watching those doesn't automatically cheer you up then you are a rare breed, my friend. Now, time to go get yer March Madness on. 

what's wrong with my socks? they match my underwear. a.k.a.--learn something

It's Friday/yepIlearnedsomegoodshtuffthisweek-day. Yay! Here is some of my new knowledge:

• Nap time in the sun is the best. Warms you to the bone.
• As obvious from my previous post, Scoutmob is a beautiful thing. And all you beautiful people should use it.
• March Madness is aptly named. 
• If you want St. Patrick's Day decorations, you need to shop before St. Patrick's Day. 
• St John's mascot looks like an evil Elmo.
• The Avett Brothers should be on repeat on my iPod. All. The. Time. Sing to me, bros. 
• And for some seriousness, I need to stop complaining about the small things, erm, all the time.  
• Baby G drinks more water a day than I do. (Baby G is 1 1/2). Amelia always answers with "Yes, m'am."--high five for manners. Seiler can beat me at almost every card game. Righton can meet and promptly become bff's with just about any kid at the park. Francie prefers playing with Ziploc bags to dolls. Nicholas thinks my lap is the only place to sit and it's cute. Bella loooves pot stickers and Little Miss Kindergartner Carina Li broke up with her bf because he had bad breath. And didn't tell him. For serious. Brush them teethies, guys. We've got some heart breakers out here. Basically, to sum up this point, kids are the greatest. Let's be more like them.

Time for some more learning. Go, go, go. And maybe watch some basketball, you know, if you're into that.

just because

insert inspirational (and entertaining) blog post here

I could write about what I've been doing(spending 24/7 with kids), or what I've been eating(Kashi bars and Fuzziwigs), or what I will be doing(sleeping, cooking, running/keeling over from running, and eating what will be cooked). Instead, I am going to let you use your imagination on this blog post. What is/was/will Emily (be) doing?

P.S.- Yippee is about 1/8 of the way done with its makeover. Makeovers are not fun. Makeovers are hard, frustrating, and time consuming. My 12 year old/make-up consumed/clothing obsessed self is very disappointed. Now, if I could just get it together enough to figure out how to make a killer header...

Never trust a man who doesn't take the time to watch a sunset

This has been my setting every night for the past week...

I spent the week at Cape San Blas with the lovely Rivers' kids and ever so wonderful (and wise!) Helen. No matter what we were doing (kids running around, dinner being cooked, TV on, books in hand, etc., etc.) the sunset became like a giant magnet pulling our eyes towards it. Life as we knew it paused or plaused as Righton would say and we all stood, eyes glued straight ahead and mouth possibly wide open, and watched the sun disappear.

After marveling one night one Helen turned to me and said, "Never trust a man who doesn't take the time to watch a sunset." So watch out, men of the world, I'm testing you.

On a completely different side note, I don't speak html. I chose to take Latin and French as my languages growing up which apparently was a bad choice. So, long story short, my blog really dislikes my lack of html knowledge and isn't cooperating with the big makeover changes I had in mind. In fact, it is even changing the way I originally had it, just because. This change will happen---one day. Just keep anxiously waiting on the edge of your computer chair seat but don't sit there and continually press REFRESH. Time to go learn html and computer gibberish. Or find an html-ian who is bored...

Babysitting Harry Teeth

Don't worry, not "hairy" teeth.

I've had some trouble writing a new post.  I haven't been on any other 1200 stair hikes. I haven't gone to any other football games. I haven't had any recent trips to the Farmer's Market or COSTCO..(I know, I am terribly upset about this as well.) I have been babysitting a lot. I have been re-reading the 7th Harry Potter. I have (finally) gone to the dentist. These three things are totally blog worthy. Who doesn't want to read about children, Harry, and teeth?

If you answered "I don't" to the above question, then I suggest you stop reading here.

_____________________________________

During my absence from school, I have been babysitting for several different families. I have always loved working and playing with kids, one reason I was drawn to studying Education in college. Yes, there are times when children make you want to pull your hair out (I was never that way as a child, of course). However, there are also times when other adults make you want to pull your hair out (I have never been that adult, of course). Babysitting has kind of helped keep me somewhat sane for the past several months. Every new day babysitting is like a birthday. No, not because I get lots of presents, but because the day is FILLED with surprises. You never know what the kids are going to do or say next...and I LOVE it. One girl I babysit loves talking about Ann, who also babysits her sometime. Now, some of you may not know that Ann eats Goldfish crackers like they are going out of style. She carries a big box of Goldfish around with her pretty much everywhere and nom-noms all day. As the girl and I were discussing what she was going to be for Halloween she exclaimed, "I can be Ann!" I asked her how she was going to dress up as Ann. She said, "Emmmmmily, it is easy because all I would need is a box of Goldfish to carry around." And you know what, that wasn't a half bad idea. Easy costume--she got that right.  If y'all need any ideas for next Halloween, write that one down. Next time you see Ann, be sure to ask for some Goldfish. I'm sure she'll share. The next question I asked the girl was what she wanted for dinner. "I'm not going to tellllllll you," was her response. See, SURPRISE, I bet you wouldn't expect to hear that answer from the person for whom you were making dinner. Like I said, I really do love it. Life is way more fun that way :)

I can't really say much about Harry Potter other than, OHMYGOODNESS9MOREDAYSUNTILTHEMOVIECOMESOUT. I think one reason I am so attached to Harry Potter, other than its obvious greatness, is because my generation grew up with the series. When Harry was 11, we were 11. When Harry was turning 15, we were turning 15. When Harry was graduating Hogwarts, we were graduating high school. I had forgotten how intense the last book is. Needless to say, my last year of high school was not that intense, but still...me and Harry, bffs for sure.

Still reading? Want to hear about my dentist trip? Ok, good. When I was born, two very special things happened. Actually, many special things happened, like the world became peaceful and happy, but these specific two things were different. 1) A cow licked my head and gave me the worst cowlick known to mankind. 2) Some kind of fairy sprinkled an anti-cavity shield on my teeth. Hate #1, love and am perplexed by #2. Between being at college, and this and that, and blah blah more excuses it is has been awhile since I've had my teeth cleaned. "Awhile" means lots of chocolates and candies and sugars. I was sure I would be scheduling an appointment (or 2 or 3...) to get my new cavities fixed. I was sure, so so sure. I talked about it a lot, ask anyone in my family. In fact, I just asked Ann and she agrees so, obviously I am not writing lies in this wonderful post. Before my exam, I received a text from mom: "Let me know if the dentist 1- tells you you have pretty teeth and 2-tells you you have a bajillion cavities." Now, I won't go into detail about her number 1 because I could go on and on about other issues I have with my teeth, but I know that post would REALLY bore you, whereas this post only kind of bores you. During my exam, I was told 1- I had very pretty teeth and 2-I had zero cavities. I couldn't help but laugh at both of these things. No cavities? Really? Are you sure? So, that is when I decided that Ann got my cavities in addition to her own, and the fairy gave me the anti-cavity shield at birth.  I know what you're thinking, what a nice fairy. I'm thinking the same thing. Love her.

Well, there's my week. Good times all around. I promise to do something exciting this coming week so you all can once again live vicariously through my super exciting life. Let's see what's on the agenda... a trip to Ann's school to see her dressed up as Marc Antony. Now, there's something worth waiting to read ;)

Oh  wow look, it's my teeth!

It's Blog Time

I have a confession. I have no idea what I will be blogging about. (Sorry Dad for ending the sentence with a preposition). Now, after hearing my confession some of you may be scrolling the mouse over to the big red X or typing "facebook.com" back into the address box; however, for those of you that are continuing on...reading this sentence...wondering what I'll say next...let me explain: 

Recently I have had to take some time off from school. For some people taking a break from school is like coming up for a breath of fresh air, or getting off the crazy whirly/twirly ride at the fair and finding steady ground----for me, the thought of taking a break from school was horrifying. It was like ripping off that bandaid that noone ever wants to rip off. "How is that?" you may be wondering. My bandaid (school) was wrapped so tightly around all of my cuts and scrapes (stress, anxiety, the list goes on...) that I just knew if someone were to rip it off a situation similar to the opening of Pandora's box would occur. All of my crazies would be released and I would no longer have any stability or familiarity around me. Basically, my life would be over. (Why yes, I am that dramatic). Here I am, nine months into the dreaded "break," and boy was I wrong about everything. While these nine months have been completely unnerving, frustrating, and terrifying (my family could tell some pretty good "Emily Has Gone Crazy" stories...), they have also been the most refreshing and uplifting months of my life. I have learned more than I ever would have learned during two more semesters drowning in papers, tests, homework, and meetings topped off with a bit of good ole self loathing. 

So, while I may not have some great adventure or job, or a handful of small children running around saying hilarious things to share with you all through a blog, I do have some things worth a blog. I am alive. I am breathing. I am well. I have an amazing family and group of friends. AND, occassionally I do do interesting things that some of you, or even just one of you may enjoy reading. For instance, I have been on the set of the remake of Footloose this week as an extra. Also, today I will be making a trip to COSTCO. COSTCO = heaven on earth for Emily Moore. Just wait until you read the post about that glorious experience... :)