My blog today focuses on a topic that is often on my mind. Why in the world do we need automatic flushing toilets??? Are there people on earth that don’t know to flush the toilet after you are done using it?? Above the age of 3 that is? I have found them to be ineffective and here is why…
1. They never flush at the right moment. Let me walk you through a typical useage…
-Run upstairs, no girl toilets on my floor, go into said stall *FLUSH* (note: I have not even unzipped yet!)
-Shut the door and turn around *FLUSH*
- Pull down pants *FLUSH*
-Sit *Flush* (now girls we all know that this of course leads to the dreaded wet bum!
-Tinkle, shift to get tissue *FLUSH*
-Reach to drop said tissue *FLUSH*
-Stand and tuck shirt *Flush* pull up pants *FLUSH*
-Open door *FLUSH*
- Door Swings shut *FLUSH*
Now tell me, does this seem like a water conservative piece of equipment. I don’t know about you but sometimes I like to take my bathroom break as a small break. With all the flushing and wet hiney it is hard to relax. There is one instance in which the toilet seems to function normally. This of course is when you are in need of an extra flush…you know what I mean? The 2 ladies from the upstairs office walk in and start to sniff loudly, I can swing my arms around like a banshee, sway like I am on a ship and still that blasted thing won’t flush. It is not until the ladies walk out and I can finish, stand, and find the pen-head-size button to push that the blasted thing will finally flush. Why is this? Is it some kind of joke? Am I on a hidden video camera? What is the deal?
What do you think? Does the world need automatic flushing toilets? They scare children, waste water and worst of all get my butt wet, which spread to the undies and then I am uncomfortable until they dry which, unfortunately, is usually moments before I return to the bathroom. It is a never ending cycle I tell you!
Don’t even get me started on those blasted automatic sinks.. seriously who wants to wave their hands under invisible water trying to hit just the right radius to activate the flow…then can rinse their hands in the 3 seconds of water they give you. and if they do, I don’t want to touch the door knob after them. Tell you what…… I will flush myself and then I can use the water I saved to wash my hands for a proper amount of time!
That is my rant on “advancement” for today let me know what you think!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Kaden Rhodes Boy Genius!
Ok, Genius might be a little strong but our little guy is getting smarter by the day! Here are a few more of his accomplishments and other silly antidotes!
1. Used a spoon all by himself to eat....if you can call it that...yogurt! As you can see he had a great time!BTW...he can also say "yogurt"(will post pics soon)
2. Can climb on a jump off of the ottoman all by himself...don't worry Mama or Daddy catch him!
3. Can say please...most of the time..but still has to be prompted.
4. Says "mine" with gusto!
5. Climbs on his armchair, rides the arm like a horse and then falls onto the pile of pillows that Mommy and Daddy have lovingly places beside the chair. (don't call CPS ok, he loves it! Besides it is only a foot off the ground.
6. Will scream bloody murder when put in his high chair...that is until you hand him a spoon, for some reason this makes everything all better!
7. No longer technically eats in highchair. Tray and leg divider have been removed, seat has been lowered and pulled to the head of the table. He now eats off of his animal paper plate or suction cup bowl.
8. Favorite Foods include Nana's...don't say it if you don't got one!....yogut, coocoos (cookies), eggs, raisins...yes they come out much the way they go in but he loves them!.....milk, juice from a box with a straw..definite favorite!..waffles, french toast, hot dogs (turkey..not weird parts).... And true to his mother he enjoys PEAS...sorry Papa!
9. Likes to wrestle his way into car seat, fight the straps for a while and then gets over it.
10. Loves to be chased...he will pick up something he knows he shouldn't have just so you will chase him!
11. Every time he sees a cell phone he says..."dada" Even if Jon is sitting right there he always thinks it is him. One time when I said no not Dad he said "Sissy"...that's Meg's name
12. HATES having his diaper changed...that boys gonna be potty trained ASAP!
13. Loves to ride in a card board box!
14. Loves being upside down...still
15. Will give kisses....by smacking his lips
16. Waves bye-bye when appropriate or sometimes when he is ready to leave somewhere...it's hilarious!
17. Has gotten two molars and two coinciding ear infections..oh, joy!
18. Hates having his nose/face/hands/butt wiped......ALL BOY!
19. Can repeat most of the alphabet pretty consistently...we have it on video....I will get Jon to load it
20. Loves to tackle Molly!
21. Goes to sleep with 2 songs, a little rocking and a blanket. He is also never in the same spot when I check on him. He is moving and grooving even in his sleep!
22. He blows on his food to cool it off....even if it's not hot. He saw me do it and now does it for everything!
These are just a few fun things we have seen in the past month! He is getting so big and so much more fun everyday!
1. Used a spoon all by himself to eat....if you can call it that...yogurt! As you can see he had a great time!BTW...he can also say "yogurt"(will post pics soon)
2. Can climb on a jump off of the ottoman all by himself...don't worry Mama or Daddy catch him!
3. Can say please...most of the time..but still has to be prompted.
4. Says "mine" with gusto!
5. Climbs on his armchair, rides the arm like a horse and then falls onto the pile of pillows that Mommy and Daddy have lovingly places beside the chair. (don't call CPS ok, he loves it! Besides it is only a foot off the ground.
6. Will scream bloody murder when put in his high chair...that is until you hand him a spoon, for some reason this makes everything all better!
7. No longer technically eats in highchair. Tray and leg divider have been removed, seat has been lowered and pulled to the head of the table. He now eats off of his animal paper plate or suction cup bowl.
8. Favorite Foods include Nana's...don't say it if you don't got one!....yogut, coocoos (cookies), eggs, raisins...yes they come out much the way they go in but he loves them!.....milk, juice from a box with a straw..definite favorite!..waffles, french toast, hot dogs (turkey..not weird parts).... And true to his mother he enjoys PEAS...sorry Papa!
9. Likes to wrestle his way into car seat, fight the straps for a while and then gets over it.
10. Loves to be chased...he will pick up something he knows he shouldn't have just so you will chase him!
11. Every time he sees a cell phone he says..."dada" Even if Jon is sitting right there he always thinks it is him. One time when I said no not Dad he said "Sissy"...that's Meg's name
12. HATES having his diaper changed...that boys gonna be potty trained ASAP!
13. Loves to ride in a card board box!
14. Loves being upside down...still
15. Will give kisses....by smacking his lips
16. Waves bye-bye when appropriate or sometimes when he is ready to leave somewhere...it's hilarious!
17. Has gotten two molars and two coinciding ear infections..oh, joy!
18. Hates having his nose/face/hands/butt wiped......ALL BOY!
19. Can repeat most of the alphabet pretty consistently...we have it on video....I will get Jon to load it
20. Loves to tackle Molly!
21. Goes to sleep with 2 songs, a little rocking and a blanket. He is also never in the same spot when I check on him. He is moving and grooving even in his sleep!
22. He blows on his food to cool it off....even if it's not hot. He saw me do it and now does it for everything!
These are just a few fun things we have seen in the past month! He is getting so big and so much more fun everyday!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Feliz Navidad-Secrets Revealed
Ladies and Gents it is the moment you have all been waiting for....ok not all but humor me! The great posting of
The Rhodes family Christmas Card 2007
***Drum roll****
I would like to take a moment to go over a few things with you. We have had some questions and I wanted to clear them up.
1. We are not being racist...the guys in the movie are white...we are white...see no making fun!
2. Yes, we drew on Kaden's mustache with an eye liner...and yes we had to double team and head lock him to do it...hey it is all in the name of fun...***No babies were harmed in the making of this card***
3. Yes, Molly is still with us...and we did in fact...meaning Jon, did in fact morph her into a donkey/burro for the card...but you see there just wasn't any where to put her. So here is the pic for your enjoyment.
4. Yes, my Mustache is supposed to be crooked... At first it was a flook thing. You see we actually bought the mustaches last year but then ended up postponing the Feliz Navidad card until this year. Long story short..the stick didn't stick so we stuck on tape which didn't stick to sweat. I laughed, it slipped.... bada bing bada boom a crooked mustache. In case you were wondering when laughing my eyes shut when I laughed so my genius husband morphed my eyes from another shot to give us the pic you all are enjoying
5. Yes, Jon's mustache is on his finger...and sadly this does have a name..it is called a finger-stache...Google it I am not kidding. One of his former student actually tattooed one of these on...just to be funny. You know if you are going to do something go all the way...that''s the Rhodes' motto.... but the tattooing of a pretend facial feature on one of your digits..too much even for us! However, this does not stop Jon from thinking that it is hilarious and wanting to replicate it with Sharpie whenever possible.
6. No, Kaden's head is not the size of ours...Jon scaled it to make it fit the card...his head is very normally sized..don't be alarmed...
7. No, we do not own 3 Three Amigos costumes. (Though we do have a ridiculous extensive costume collection from college)We did in fact attempt to wear authentic sombreros straight from Mexico but the boy wasn't having it...for those of your who don't know he has an aversion to hats and/or any one wearing them..strange I know...however, hoods don't bother him so much. If you figure it out let me know? Anyway the costumes too were morphed to our bodies through the magic of photo shop.
And finally,
8. No, we didn't choose a larger size photo card this year so that ours would be the most predominant one on your fridge..though now that I think about it..not a bad plan. You see that variety of card had the most ridiculously comical Feliz Navidad effect so that everyone would know that this was all in fun and we were in no way making fun of Mexican/Hispanic traditions/heritage....for further info on this matter see #1
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Ode to the Christmas Card Photo
As you know Jon and I have a long standing tradition, ok 4 years, of sending non-traditional but highly entertaining Christmas photos. The theme gets months of planning and carrying it out takes a lot of time and effort...mostly by Jon. In the end we have a cute, funny and fabulous memento for the year. This year's card is no exception and don't worry they will be out this week. As any avid Christmas card photo taker or takee knows the most difficult part is getting your audience to cooperate. Jon and I did quite well the first 2 years, we can look at the camera and smile on cue, easy right...well add a dog and a baby boy and it all changes. Last year the event took about 50 photos. Here is the run down
1. Assemble costumes for three people....homemade Mrs. CLaus...check...elf hat..check...cute Santa suit complete with hat...check..
2. Assemble entire cast in front of the tree. Kaden is happy wearing hat...scratch that....*&$^# is across the room...
3. Get Molly's attention with a treat...she is interested...great...oh wait she is now lunging for the treat held by trusty photographer Sissy...
4. What's that smell??? diaper change needed...Molly leaves the room dropping antlers as she exits. Jon goes to the bathroom and Kaden is screaming and stinky....
5. Lure Molly and Jon back reassemble...Angie's face is turning red from being squeezed by the wig..better make it fast.
6. Choke hold Molly technique goes into effect....see below for how well that worked.
7. Kaden is hungry and screaming...bottle break..
8. Clean spit up off of cute Santa suit
9. Change up the line up Daddy takes baby , mama takes dog.....still not so great.
10. As you can see these looked totally natural and usable....not so much....
11. Photographer is getting a charlie horse and complaining about bending over for so long....whiner..
12. Baby is looking, mama an daddy are set...perfect..click shutter....the deer looked off
13. Dog..good, mama,..perfect..daddy elf-arific..baby distracted....... looks off to check out wind noise......
14. By a stroke of luck the 4 players manage to coordinate looking at the camera.
15.
After some "photo shopping" and patience from Jon, the perfect group photo was created.
In light of these issues with organizing two adults, a 14 month old and a dog we took a different approach this year. I wouldn't dare reveal this years theme but I will tell you that this year things happened differently.
1.Each person was photographed separately
2.Jon works his magic and creates and awesome card.
Sorry to say that Molly did not make the card this year...it simply didn't' work...here is an ode to her!
Please notice that when she wasn't in the group photo she sat nicely and wore the ears with pride!You decide 15 steps or 2...
For those of you who may have missed out on previous cards here is the countdown..
Last year is above..
2 years ago....
And our very first Christmas card ever....... An old fashioned Christmas
Merry Christmas and watch those mailboxes. When you receive those beautiful cards, display them on the fridge or your mantle but whatever you do don't you dare throw that away....it took a lot of effort!
Friday, December 7, 2007
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