Happy Monday!

Monday morning. Blah. Why are Mondays just so difficult? No one wants to get out of bed, it takes 2 extra cups of coffee to get moving, and everyone seems just a little cranky to be going from weekend fun to weekday grind. Even the Goombas.

This Monday morning was no different. After hitting the snooze button about 8 times, I finally dragged my sorry butt out of bed and woke up Mario. He did the usual complaining about how he didn't want to go to school, it is so boring, he hates uniforms, blah, blah, blah. The morning continued in the typical way. I had to yell at everyone to just "Sit down and eat your breakfast before I just throw it away!" And, "Where is your homework folder? No, it isn't in your backpack, where did you put it???" And, "Did you brush your teeth? Don't make me go check the toothbrush and see if it is wet!"

During all the hustle and bustle of lunch packing, breakfast eating and coffee guzzling, I heard Luigi and Peach start going at it. Not just yelling at each other, but knock-down, drag-out screaming. I do not have time for this, I thought to myself. I'm still on my first cup of coffee, I cannot deal yet! I let it go for a minute as the screams and shrieks got louder and louder. When I heard a thud, followed by a howl, I had to give in and go upstairs. What on earth they could possibly fighting about this early in the morning--I had no idea.

I trudged up the stairs with my Mean Mommy Face on, ready to drag Goombas to their rooms by their ears. I was in no way prepared for what I saw next.

I came up the stairs to find Peach crying on the floor and Luigi wearing her Deluxe Cinderella Princess Gown. The kind of princess gown that is covered in lace and sparkles with a fluffy skirt and puffed sleeves. And he was twirling around over Peach's sad little body, saying, "I am the Princess, now!!!" Ummm...seriously people. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

When I finally pulled myself together enough to ask what was going on, Peach said, "I want to wear Cinderella!!!" While Luigi yelled, "I am Cinderella because she is blue and boys are blue!!!" Ok, then. I finally appeased them both by explaining to Peach that Luigi was already Cinderella (chalk one up for the list of things I never thought I would say) and that she could be Jammins (Jasmine). Since Jammins is her favorite princess, this seemed to make her happy.

So, now, Luigi is playing with cars and watching Thomas in his beautiful blue gown. Even teasing from Mario didn't deter him from his wardrobe selection. Peach is eating her Cookie Crisp in her Jammins gown. And I am contemplating adding some Bailey's to my coffee, because I already have a feeling it is going to be one of those days.

Happy Monday, everyone!
Cheers!
~Daisy

What Happened??

I can't believe it. I'm not exactly even sure what happened. It has been more than a month since I have written or posted anything! I don't even have a good excuse, just that I have been so busy with Goombas, and school, and awards shows, and potty training, and traveling, and... Well, just lots of stuff!

So, where do I even begin? When last you heard from me, I was prepping Goombas to go back to school. And I must say, it is glorious! Mario is in 3rd grade, and Luigi is in 1/2 day preschool 4 afternoons a week. It is just Peach and I on those afternoons and we are having quite a nice time together. Teachers, I don't know how you do it, but THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for being with my kiddos for hours a day, teaching them and loving them and saving them from their demented and deranged mother.

Also on the home front... Peach turned 3 years old last week! Three years!!! It seems like only yesterday that I woke up at 1 in the morning with contractions...and made Bowser so nervous that he stayed in the bathroom for most of the 2 hours until we left for the hospital. My darling Peach, you are our little Princess and we love you. You are also the house Drama Queen, which I thought would be a tough title to win from me, but I don't stand a chance against you.

Speaking of Peach... Guess who is potty-trained??? Peach decided 2 days before her birthday that she wanted to be a panty-wearing princess. I thought it would be a struggle, but it wasn't! I mean, I don't want to brag... Ok, I do want to brag. But, I feel that since this is my blog, I am allowed to do that. It was like she knew all along how to do it! Only 2 accidents and we have been a diaper-free family for a week now! Bring out the champagne!!! Light up the fireworks!!! Sound the alarms!!! We are a diaper free family! I'm sure you can imagine my excitement, seeing as how I have been changing poopy diapers for nearly 8 years (with a small 18 month break in between Mario's potty-training and Luigi's arrival). So, good-bye Pampers! Sayonara, Huggies! Don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out, Luvs!!! We are movin' on!

More happenings here in Mario World...
I went to the Awards Show of the Millenium a couple of weeks ago. The First Ever Mother of the Year Awards! It was an awesomely good time, and totally deserves it's own post. Stay tuned for a detailed account!

Bowser and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary at the end of August. We went up to a gambling town in the mountains, while awesome Grandma Bowser watched the Goombas overnight. We had big plans... A night of gambling, drinking, and child-free fun! This is what happened... We gambled for an hour, ate too much at the buffet, crashed back in our room at 9 o'clock and fell asleep watching "Date Night" on tv. Not sure what happened to the Bowser and Daisy from 10 years ago, but I'm pretty sure they would severely mock their older selves. The next night, when we got home, I forced Bowser to get out the old VCR so we could watch our wedding video. It was awesome. Good times for sure! And Bowser, I still love ya just as much as I did back then, even if we are old farts that have to go to bed at 9 p.m.

We took a trip to visit the Zaz and the Pop for Labor Day. We stopped in a small town right off the interstate for lunch on the way there. You can't go wrong with a McDonald's play place, right? The Goombas jumped out of the van, ready to get some crazies out, while I ordered the food. Mario came out of the play place with a sad look on his face. "What happened?" I asked. "You have to wear SOCKS to play in their play place," he said. "Can you please buy some for us?" What the... First of all, it was 107 degrees outside that day. Who the heck was wearing socks??? And, honestly, every kid I know wants to play in a play place WITHOUT socks, because of course, it makes it easier to climb UP the slides. But, apparently, they enforced this rule, since my Goombas were told by an employee they couldn't play without socks. So, I went back to the counter and asked for 3 pairs. "That will be six dollars," the man replied. WHAT??? Umm, no thanks. Six dollars for 3 crappy pairs of socks? It was a conspiracy to get all of the travelers to spend even more money!! I told the Goombas to go right ahead with their little bare feet and play. The Sock-Enforcers could deal with me if they had a problem with it. We will not be stopping there again.

Wow! So, I guess that about covers it for now. I hope that everyone has had a wonderful month!!!

Cheers!
~Daisy

End of Summer Update

Well, we are almost there!!! School starts in 10 days for Mario, and 17 days for Luigi! Not that I am counting or anything, but jeez, this summer has dragged on for a while! Now, I realize that I haven't written anything for a while, so I'm here to give you an update on happenings in Mario World.

First of all, the reason I haven't been writing much is because I got a shiny new toy that I can't keep my hands off of! I love my new iPhone! It's so pretty, and smart, and full of fun things. I don't know how I lived with my "non-smart" phone for so long. Seriously. Bowser says I am a little too obsessed with it, but what does he know? Just because I carry it all over the house with me, and compulsively check my Facebook from wherever I happen to be, doesn't mean I am obsessed. A little crazed, maybe. But, not obsessed. Definitely not... Oh, look! Someone wants to play Words with Friends! Be right back...

Moving along... I struggled for the last few days with a preschool decision for Luigi. Man, I can really destroy brain cells by over-analyzing decisions. The preschool we love was just too expensive. I found another school that seemed awesome for a much more affordable price. After bombarding my friends with scrutiny of every last detail, a posting on Facebook, and crying 3 nights in a row to Bowser about how I could ruin Luigi's life with the wrong decision, I finally realized that it is just preschool. As long as I am happy with it and HE is happy with it, everything will be fine. We decided to go with the new and less expensive school and I feel good with my decision. It is a very fundamentalist church that offers the school, so as long as I don't scare them away with my ink and Green Day blasting out my windows in the mornings, I think it's gonna be great.

Peach is kind of making my crazy. My mother always said that someday I would have a daughter and my mother would get her revenge. Ok, Zaz, that day has come. Peach is well on her way to winning the Academy Award for Best Dramatic Actress. This girl can squeeze out crocodile tears at a moment's notice. And I swear she already knows how to manipulate her brothers to get whatever she wants. She is obsessed with her Paci and frankly, I haven't had the energy to take it away from her. Someday soon, the Paci Fairy is coming and I will be rid of the green oral fixation for good. When the boys are in school, we are moving on to potty training. And then, I will officially be baby-free, which is a little sad, but also incredibly exciting.
(**Quick update--last night, she gave it up! And the Paci Fairy left her a beautiful flower and some m&m's for doing such a good job! Yay!)

Mario is going to be starting third grade in just a couple of weeks! Third Grade!!! I remember third grade. I was in Ms. Morgan's class and she had this awesome pink VW Bug pencil holder/sharpener thing as a prize to whoever did the best at Math Minutes. Oh, how I wanted that car. I wanted it to sit on my desk, all shiny and pretty and MINE. Alas, I have never been a math whiz, and the car went to my friend Jellicle Cat. I'm still jealous. But, I digress... My Mario is now a third grader. I am taking him on a "date" this afternoon, just the two of us. Last night he said, "Mom, that sounds really boring to go to a restaurant and talk to each other." I had to explain that a date could mean doing lots of different things. "Ok," he replied, "But, could you PLEASE stop calling it a date? That is what boyfriends and girlfriends do when they want to kiss." Ummm... Ok... What? ...sigh...

Bowser and I are coming up on our 10 year anniversary this month. 10 years. When we look at our wedding pictures it seems like a lifetime ago. Who are those young kids, with no real responsibilities, no little people hanging off them, and with huge smiles on their faces??? That was us? Well, 10 years later, and I am happy to say that despite real responsibility hanging over us, lots of little people crawling on us at all times, and the worry lines that have sometimes replaced the smiles, I still kinda like him. I guess I'll keep him around for another 10 years, if he'll have me.

And that is about it here. We are getting close to the end of summer. I can't say I will miss this insanely hellish heat. Fall is just around the corner and it is welcome to come whenever it wants. Enjoy the last few days of break, everyone!

Cheers!
~Daisy