Child recall program

.: (You really should read this first!) :.

I think they need to create a child recall program. They could easily set the qualifications for children between the ages of 12-17. There needs to be some incentive for children to behave in order to continue into adulthood. It would definately be a program for OTHER people's children, because MY children are little angels who take responsibility for their own lives and love to provide solutions to the trouble the create in their lives.

So a program for other people's children would be good. ('cause I am totally fine with counting down the days 'til they move to independence and freedom).

Teenage children have many wonderful talents. Like the ability to spend 4 hours complaining about doing a task that takes 30mins to do. Don't get me wrong, younger children are capable of prolonging the timeframe of task completion, but teens have mastered the ability to add 'pizazz' to the misery of complaint. Pizazz - now that's a word that always seems to conjure in my mind the idea of 'jazz hands' with a subtle shaking for that motion effect. Of course, next time I see a teenager who begins to complain I will have to say, "Oooo, that's good, now show me the jazz hands". You see my life is full of sarcasm and inside jokes. It helps me cope with the insanity.

That's my rant. Enjoy your day!

Crazy scam...

.: (You really should read this first!) :.

OK - so I know I haven't blogged in FOREVER!! But I wanted to blog this to make sure that no one got caught as I almost did. So I was home today - Jilly was sleeping so it was nice and quiet at my house. I sat on the couch and was flipping through the channels. I watched a commercial for US Fidelis (one we have all seen many, many times). It is a company that claims they give you insurance coverage for your car so you never have to pay for any repairs again - even over 100,000 miles. With the fact that we have 2 vehicles that fall under that description I thought I would call and get a quote for coverage. So I call and talk to the guy. After a lengthy discussion, it sounded like a pretty good deal. I got Greg on the phone to discuss whether or not we should invest in this coverage. He was much more skeptical than I was. He asked a few questions and then my cell phone coverage disappeared (divine cell phone intervention????).

In the time it took for the guy at US Fidelis to call me back, I also managed to hop online and Google the company. The following are the top links:

Class Action Filed Against U.S. Fidelis Apr 10, 2009 ... A class action lawsuit has been filed against U.S. Fidelis in Missouri, adding to the woes of a company repeatedly accused of fraudulent and .....
www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/fidelis.html

Us Fidelis: Car Warranty Racket Exposed on Today Show Apr 30, 2009... US Fidelis exposed on NBC's Today show the Today Show recently aired a terrifically entertaining expose of US Fidelis, one of the biggest....
www.consumerist.com/.../car-warranty-racket-exposed-on-today-show

Rip Off Report: US Fidelis misleads the clients into believing... US Fidelis misleads clients into believing there getting a good warranty but there not!!! They scam us! Wentzville Missouri.
www.ripoffreport,com/US-Fidelis/.../US-Fidelis-misleads-the-client-B4CX5.html

Is US Fidelis a Scam? "Is US Fidelis a scam?" A viable question right now after the Missouri-based extended warranty company took some recent heat in the media...
www.southernmaledemocrat.com/is-us-fidelis-a-scam.html



When the guy called me back, I said to him, "It looks like you have some serious issues with your credibility in the media. I Googled US Fidelis and you have some serious complaints against you." He said "What do you mean?" I said, "Well, Missouri just filed a class action lawsuit and The Today Show did an expose that your company is a scam." He proceeded to tell me that with as many policies as they hold that there are bound to be some complaints. I told him that I completely understood that but that this seemed a tad bit bigger than a few customer service issues. I said "With today's economy as it is, I am not comfortable giving my money to your company. Thank you so much for your time."

I wanted to post this because had I not taken the time to look online (which I almost didn't) we probably would have given them our money. They sounds like a great deal - Aflac for cars. The concept is a good one - but the company is not.

Summer Update

.: (You really should read this first!) :.

Well we are all back from our vacation to MN. (Pictures to come). We came back to 115 degree heat and a freezer full of rotten meat. We are making all kinds of improvements to the house (i.e. painting, hanging more stuff on the walls, rearranging the furniture, etc.) Jen is quite the busybody. The girls went to UT and even TX and NV as well. The boys will be back from MN soon and we can rearrange our schedules once again. Life is certainly interesting!

Jileighan is a ball of energy and as smiley and loving as she has always been. Thanks to Auntie Kathy she now has a new little playhouse to practice being MOM.

We are doing well and hope it cools off SOON!!!

Happy Father's Day

I love my Father!

He is my Hero, my Example, my Mentor, my Friend.

I hope he knows how much I love and appreciate him.

Thanks for being a wonderful Father!

I love you DAD!

Mother's Day

This is what happens when your well intentioned children take their little sister so mom can sleep in on Mother's day morning:

....... She eats pictures and gets the ink all over herself, of course!

Just a quick note to tell all the mom's in my life that I love you all! I am so thankful for all of the advice (good and bad) that I get. I am a better mom for having you all in my life!!

Family Photos

Hrmm.. I hope the above photo doesn't qualify as Awkward.

LOL

The perfect shirt for Jileighan.

You'll have to ask Jen to tell you the story on this one...
but I found a T-shirt that is almost perfect for the occasion.

JEN'S NOTE: The cat threw up on Kendall's bed and Jilly happened to find it before I did.
My sister's favorite text message: Jilly ate cat vomit for breakfast. Should I be worried??

He is now a 2 dog man

After much debate, I have convinced Greg that he really could be a "two dog man". A free cocker spaniel fell into our possession. My mother (who is currently addicted to the humane society - and is bringing home her fourth dog tomorrow [crazy woman!!]) came across a woman who was needing a new home for her one year old cocker. After much negotiation (and the promise of a new super computer) Callie came to live with us. So far, she has been a great dog!!

An interesting food idea.

I'm sure you could take this idea and run with it.. but take a look at this:
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/04/21/freaky-food-fun-inse.html

What do you think? Do you think the kids would like this?