Things I've Learned During The 2011 Winter Storm Well, the 2011 storm was a lot of fun--oh, wait . . . no, it sucked. On the upside, everyone in our house was healthy during the festivities, and I managed to have some wine left over when it was all said and done. Otherwise . . ... Like · · Share · February 8, 2011 at 2:21pm Elaine Dittmer, Jennifer Gibson Eager and 2 others like this. Sheila Sjolseth hahaha, well said! and amen! February 8, 2011 at 2:48pm · Like Jennifer Gibson Eager ‎18 and 19....oh yeah. February 8, 2011 at 3:25pm · Like Pamela Schultz We're bracing for the next round. How about you? February 8, 2011 at 3:26pm · Like Lesley Arora Fabulous-well said! One more...the sight of an email saying 'school is resuming tomorrow' is a reason to pop the bubbly! February 8, 2011 at 4:12pm · Like

Hahahaha! Ok, somebody asked "What did y'all think of the half-time show?" and I unabashedly piped up, "I liked it!" and sensed a hesitation in the room. In my defense, I only saw the middle minute of Vogue and the last 30 seconds of Like A Prayer. I missed all this other crazy stuff in between. It sounds like a "wardrobe malfunction" might have saved the day. Madonna and the Super Bowl halftime show: A play-by-play www.washingtonpost.com Cartwheels, cheerleaders and Cee-Lo. Yes, the three C’s were present and accounted for. Like · · Share · February 6 at 1:58pm Elaine Dittmer likes this. Elaine Dittmer I only saw bits now and again and she looked energetic and had gazillion people on stage. It was OK to me, but I guess I'm not a good judge either. February 6 at 2:12pm · Like Cindy Childress She used to be awesome, 20 yrs ago. She needs to just fade quietly into the background. LOL February 6 at 3:24pm · Like

So, apparently, I got confused when I was putting away the laundry and Andrew found some panties in his underpants drawer. His world has come to an end because his sister's clothes were in his drawer. And, her *panties* no less. (Le Sigh). Like · · February 5 at 9:58pm near El Paso Adrienne Price, Jack Taylor and 2 others like this. Patricia PA Frey Damn panties! February 5 at 10:11pm · Like · 1 Elaine Dittmer eeeeeeeek February 6 at 7:50am · Like

Andrew: Sarah, do you want to look at the Ninjago book with me? Sarah: Na. Andrew: (astonished) But, Sarah, it's the way of the Ninja! Like · · February 5 at 9:37am near El Paso Lester Lawler and Elaine Dittmer like this. Elaine Dittmer well, she'll get there! She's gonna blow way all the little girls who don't have BIG BROTHERS. February 5 at 10:36am · Like Pamela Schultz Words of a wise big brother. February 5 at 2:30pm · Like

Me: So, Andrew, what do think we should have for our special breakfast on Valentines Day morning? [sidebar: VDay is on a school day this year, so I fear I'm making an impossible promise . . . ] A: Turkey! Me: Hmm. Really? A: NO! Meatloaf!! Me: Meatloaf? A: No, no, wait . . . [pause for effect] . . . MEATBALLS!!! Me: How about a special s'mores breakfast dish? A: [thinking] Na. How 'bout chocolate chip granola bars. Me: [Whew. That's a very viable Plan B.] Like · · February 3 at 8:30pm near El Paso Micheale Thompson, Susana Borg, Elaine Dittmer and 2 others like this. Adrienne Price Ahaha!! Love it! February 3 at 8:33pm · Like Pamela Schultz Great tummys think alike. February 3 at 8:59pm · Like

Mother Of The Year Moment #17: one hour before Andrew's first swim lesson, I realize he doesn't have a swimsuit. Whirlwind trip to Target! I get points for remembering to bring a towel, right? Like · · February 2 at 4:25pm near El Paso Homer Alvarez, Patricia PA Frey, Elaine Dittmer and 3 others like this. Charlene Schultz-Miles Target had some great lil swim suits on sale here! February 2 at 4:28pm · Like Eliz Wiggins You live in El Paso! How do you not have ten suits for each of you? February 2 at 4:51pm · Like Elaine Dittmer yep you get points for everything. But I'm with Eliz on the living in El Paso and ten suits thing. February 2 at 5:34pm · Like Pamela Schultz You have a pool in the back yard. How do you not have suits? I guess they do outgrow them pretty fast. February 2 at 8:12pm · Like Pamela Schultz How did the lesson go? February 2 at 8:19pm · Like

Quote of the day: "Sarah, do you wanna eat this? It's gross." Like · · February 1 at 7:01pm near El Paso Pamela Schultz and Elaine Dittmer like this. Elaine Dittmer Like 1) that appeals to her? 2) she won't notice his second comment? who knows?????? February 1 at 7:14pm · Like

Andrew: Mom, can I tell you a joke? What does a penguin ride on to get across the water? An elephant! Hahahahaha! . . . Why did the dinosaur eat a velociraptor? Because a robot! Hahahahaha!! . . . Why did a chip cross the chip city? Because he wanted to go to a robot building. Hahahahaha!! Me: My turn! Why did the chicken cross the road? To get the other side! [me hearing crickets. Two kids with blank stares.] Andrew: you mean because he wanted to get the IGLOO! Hahahahaha!! Me: Yyyyea. That's totally what I meant. Like · · January 30 at 8:43pm near El Paso Elaine Dittmer, Melanie Palmer Mims, Kirsten Ahmann DiDonna and 2 others like this. Patricia PA Frey AHAHAHAHAHA!I totally got your joke, mom! January 30 at 9:50pm · Like Elaine Dittmer add "add fart or butt" and you'll leave em rolling in the isles. January 31 at 6:33am · Like Pamela Schultz Finally!!!! A real reasion why that chicken crossed the road. January 31 at 7:28am · Like

So I was defending my "frivolous" purchases of late with the simple, yet overgeneralized and stereotyped observation: Well, Babe, girls are . . . *embellished*. What Dave Said: Did you hear that, Andrew? Girls are embellished. That's grief for all men and you're one of us, so listen closely. What Andrew repeated: That's General Grievous for all. Always listen to the girls. Like · · January 29 at 10:04am near El Paso Jennifer Gibson Eager, Cindy Childress, Eliz Wiggins and 2 others like this. Kirsten Ahmann DiDonna Hahahaha January 29 at 10:24am · Like Susan G. Haddad That's right, Andrew! Listen to the girls! January 29 at 11:16am · Unlike · 1 Elaine Dittmer Billy, I have four words for you: "Listen to the Woman".(From White Men Can't Jump)

Hilarious and poignant for me right now, since I still cringe every time I walk by that stack of Ben 10 Thank You cards still in their wrapper--as if there's still hope that I might write and deliver them. So, again, Thank You to everyone who gave Andrew gifts for his birthday. This is probably as close to "putting it in writing" as I'll get (cue the Smallpox). And this is not meant to be a slight against my friends who always write TY notes. You rock. Lesson 30: SHARE YOUR PONY thestir.cafemom.com Manners are incredibly important in today’s society because people who don’t write thank-you notes get smallpox and die. Or at lea... Like · · Share · January 28 at 11:30am Elaine Dittmer and Jennifer Gibson Eager like this. Elaine Dittmer well, FB is way more fun. January 28 at 1:57pm · Unlike · 1 Sue Ann Andrews It most certainly is! Even if it means I end up getting Smallpox! Hahahah! January 29 at 9:24pm · Like

Andrew: Mom, when I grow up, I'm going to make robots and I'm going to make a chef robot that cooks for us! Me: Cool! I think you'll be an amazing robot maker and I'll be happy I don't need to cook anymore . . . Do you like my cooking, Andrew? Andrew: y-n-yny . . . (silence). Like · · January 28 at 3:28pm near El Paso Patricia PA Frey, Elaine Dittmer and Kirsten Ahmann DiDonna like this. Elaine Dittmer tater tots and chicken nuggets, pizza ordered in, McDonald's, what's not to like? January 28 at 4:43pm · Unlike · 1 Patricia PA Frey Too funny!!! January 28 at 6:55pm · Like

Jill Bowling I feel sick. I'm rooting for food poisoning but sadly I think that I just ate too much. I hope y'all had a fun night...it was nice running into you guys! :) Like · · See Friendship · January 28 at 9:23pm near El Paso · Sue Ann Andrews We had a great time! Hopefully your tummy feels better this morning. I ate way too much, too, so hopefully it's not food poisoning. I think they had a rogue sushi chef last night b/c 3 of our sushi rolls were made "differently" than usual. Maybe I should have just had more wine . . . It was great running into you guys, too! January 29 at 9:51am · Like

Reorganizing and cleaning out closets today :/ I think our closets are like the wardrobe that leads to Narnia. Except that they don't lead to Narnia, they lead to abandoned self-storage lockers. I swear, it's like a really boring episode of Storage Wars. Like · · January 27 at 10:39am near El Paso Elaine Dittmer likes this. Charlene Schultz-Miles Boy oh boy do I need the closet fairy to come to my house! January 27 at 11:31am · Like Pamela Schultz I've been trying to clean ours out about once every couple of months. Donate Daonate Donate! That's my new word for the year. January 27 at 12:28pm · Like Elaine Dittmer moving three times in 5 months in 2010 helped A LOT with the crap factor. However the jumbled up factor still applies, alas. January 27 at 1:04pm · Like

Andrew: Mom, remember when on Magic School Bus the bus went inside Ralphie's body when he was sick and they saw all the germs and it was on Ralphie's TV [b/c they had a video camera on the bus]? Well, can we look inside my body and watch it on the TV? Me: Yes, hon. You get to do that after you turn 40. Like · · January 25 at 8:46pm near El Paso Amy Chism Smith, Elaine Dittmer, Dennis Pabis and 5 others like this. Patricia PA Frey I am sure Dave and Andrew can build this device by next week. Add Reed in the mix and it might be done sooner. AHAHA! January 25 at 8:50pm · Unlike · 1 Elaine Dittmer Why not? January 26 at 7:27am · Like Pamela Schultz Ok, his mind is clicking. He could be a world famous inventor some day. You go my big boy. January 26 at 12:41pm · Like

So you know how, when you're talking to your obsessive science fiction friend, and you mix your Star Wars and Star Trek references and their head explodes? Well, the same thing happens when you're talking to your 5-year-old and you mix your Transformers and Ben 10 references. Yea, and don't try to cover your mistake by dismissively saying, "Whatever, same thing." (Baaad news.) Like · · January 24 at 5:14pm near El Paso LeAnne Stevenson Torzala, Jack Taylor, Susana Borg and 4 others like this. Elaine Dittmer amazing how technical and complete their information is January 24 at 5:47pm · Like

Ok, here's the deal. If you want to see pictures from Andrew's birthday party, they're in my fb photos. I simply added them to the other birthday album for him and "shared" them but they're not showing up for others to view. I'm not sure why and it's making me feel mildly annoyed that fb is thwarting my efforts. Plus I have lots of stuff to do today and I need to move on. So, if you want to seem them, go forth and seek them out. If not, that's ok, I still like you . . . maybe a little less, though. Hahahaha! Just kidding. Mostly. :P Like · · January 23 at 11:12am Elaine Dittmer, Cindy Childress and 2 others like this. Dalene Adams Gantt that happened to me too, check and make sure you make them for your "friends" to see also January 23 at 12:36pm · Like Pamela Schultz I love the pictures. The balloons in bed is cool. I really miss yall. Love you and kisses to my babies. Hey the webcam is working. January 23 at 1:55pm · Like Write a comment...

Farty-Fart-Pants

If you want to know what it's like to live in my house right now, take any sentence you utter throughout your day and add/substitute any variation of "poop" or "farty-fart-butts" anywhere in the sentence. Anywhere. Oh, and don't forget the maniacal laughter . . . Yep, welcome to my world.
LikeUnlike · · 22 hours ago near El Paso
Lester Lawler, Elaine Dittmer and 2 others like this.

Dom Nguyen Just wait until it extends into a literary adventure. Aaron is reading Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder right after finishing Huckleberry Finn. P
21 hours ago · LikeUnlikePatricia PA Frey And Reed will be there to help them out.
21 hours ago · LikeUnlike · 1Elaine Dittmer of course, and some MEN will still laugh at the word fart or poop!
21 hours ago · LikeUnlikeDiana Doss Benson it only gets worse as they get older. and i have 2 boys
18 hours ago · LikeUnlike · 1Eliz Wiggins I use "poop!" all the time, instead of sh**! It beats the alternatives. Pick your battles, there will be plenty of them ;)
4 hours ago · LikeUnlike · 1Elaine Dittmer He's gonna LOVE South Park, by the way!
2 hours ago · LikeUnlikeSue Ann Andrews Elaine, *I* still laugh at the word fart or poop! And I love South Park, although I haven't watched it in years . . .
2 seconds ago · LikeUnlike

You know your kid doesn't like what's for dinner when he chooses to eat dry lettuce instead . . . which was awesome until he started putting lettuce leaves up and down his arm. We asked him what he was doing and he said it was his Humungousaur skin. So we made him eat his skin. Like · · January 19 at 7:31pm near El Paso Eliz Wiggins, Hollie Wood Blair, Jack Taylor and 2 others like this.

I never feel good when I'm washing lettuce and I pull something unidentifiable out of the leaves and hear myself say, "I don't feel good about that . . . or that . . . but it's not moving, so . . . " Who wants salad?!! Like · · January 18 at 5:34pm near El Paso Elaine Dittmer likes this. Elaine Dittmer Washing lettuce? January 18 at 6:56pm · Like Pamela Schultz Hey, extra meat. January 19 at 11:57am · Like

The Princess and her iPhone 4s

Once upon a time (last Tuesday) there was a girl who felt like a princess because her husband bought her a new iPhone 4s. She loved her iPhone and sang to it daily while she cleaned up everyone else’s mess in her castle. She took her phone on long walks in the forest and there were birds and talking animals and dwarves and other fairy tale stuff.


Anyhoo, a mere 5 days later (yesterday), an evil fairy cursed the girl’s new iPhone, causing it to fall flat on the hard ground. The girl snatched up the phone just in time to see a series of colored, vertical lines materialize on the screen. Then it flickered and went totally blank. She repeatedly pressed the home button to no avail. The girl, having seen this sort of nefarious magic when she dropped her previous iPhone on the hard ground, exhaled sharply in fierce disbelief. An utterance of a very wicked sort sprang from her lips and her little friends covered their ears. At last, she hung her head in dismay.

And so, it was with a heavy heart that the girl connected her permanently injured iPhone to her computer to back it up, wondering where she had placed that paperwork for AppleCare. She also wondered how she should approach the next task at hand: explaining to her husband that her new iPhone 4s, having just begun its worldly journey, had met an untimely demise.

The girl, who had almost given up hope, pushed the home button of her iPhone. Alas! The screen lit up, displaying the date, time and a picture of her little family. The phone was as good as new! The girl shouted, “Booya!” and flung out many thanks to the benevolent iPhone fairy who had freed her phone from the curse. The kingdom rejoiced! They toasted with juice boxes and indulged in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crust cut off.

The girl said nary a word and her prince never knew of the iPhone’s brush with untimely replacement. That is to say, they lived happily ever. To this day, no one knows why the benevolent iPhone fairy restored the screen of the girl’s phone. But some say that the girl must have been pure of heart.

Other folks know better ;)

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Bonnie Lee Teng and Lisa Anselmo like this..

Lisa Anselmo All fairy tales have a happy ending!
Monday at 11:21am · LikeUnlike.

Cindy Childress Sounds like this princess, whoever she may be, needs a military case for her Iphone 4S. Monday at 1:06pm · LikeUnlike.

Pamela Schultz The queen hasn't even evolved into her G1 ( if there is such a thing)
Monday at 5:45pm · LikeUnlike.

The Icing Is My Favorite Part

So, I left the lid off the leftover birthday cake and when I came back into the room, Andrew was standing over it. He said, "Mom, I accidentally ate the icing off the cake." I said, "Accidentally? How did you eat it *accidentally*?" He said, "Well, because it's my favorite part of the cake." Oh, ok . . . Since the icing is my favorite part, too, no further explanation needed.


LikeUnlike · · Monday at 5:18pm near El Paso

Elaine Dittmer, Micheale Thompson, Jack Taylor and 6 others like this..

Bonnie Lee Teng So what you're saying is that he learned that line from you? :)
Monday at 8:54pm · LikeUnlike.

Elaine Dittmer Maybe he meant to say that he accidently ate ALL the icing off the cake. You know? When you start with just 'a taste' and somehow that accidently becomes 'ALL'?
Yesterday at 6:41am · LikeUnlike.

Cleaning Out The Fridge

Conversations while eating all the oldest food in the fridge:

Dave: (thrusting a chunk of Limburger cheese in my direction) Is this still good?
Me: Well it still smells nasty, so I guess so.

... Dave: (skeptically eyeballing the cheddar we're eating) Is that mold?
Me: (dismissively) I don't know. If it is, it's not enough to make you sick.
Dave: That's nice.

LikeUnlike · · January 13 at 6:12pm near El Paso

Elaine Dittmer, Eliz Wiggins and 2 others like this.

Charlene Schultz-Miles You can make stink bait for catfish fishing out of Limburger cheese! Do you eat that stuff?
January 13 at 6:21pm · LikeUnlike

Jennifer Gibson Eager Ah Friday! Dinner tonight at our place? Pb&j, chicken nuggets, apple slices and frozen pizza. Add wine and it's Tapas with Toddlers ;)
January 13 at 6:32pm · LikeUnlike · 3

Pamela Schultz Comunication is the glue to a good marriage. LOL
January 14 at 2:26pm · LikeUnlike

Trust Her

If you're doing dishes and your wife says, "Oh! This cup (pointing) REAAALLY needs to be washed by itself and then scalded in the dishwasher." . . . it's best not to ask for details. Just trust her.
LikeUnlike · · January 12 at 9:43am near El Paso

Elaine Dittmer, Claudia Holguin-Sossen and 2 others like this.

Claudia Holguin-Sossen Maybe the wife should ask herself, "Do we really need to keep that cup?" ☺☺☺
January 12 at 12:04pm · UnlikeLike · 1

Elaine Dittmer Ordinary washing will do the trick. Dip into boiling water.
January 12 at 1:43pm · LikeUnlike

I had the honor of taking pictures for my friend Patricia PA Frey when her husband returned home after a year of deployment. Many thanks to the Frey family for letting me participate in such an amazing reunion. And, many thanks for the sacrifices you've made over the last year.

Welcome Home, Daddy!!!
Thank you, Sue Ann! These are priceless! You have given us such a treasure. You are a wonderful photographer!! ♥!!
By: Patricia PA Frey
Photos: 24

LikeUnlike · · Share · January 11 at 9:37am

Vickie McDonough Anderson, Alea Pena, Cindy Childress and 8 others like this.
1 share1 share


Laura Walker Those were amazing pictures! I could feel the emotions. Great job!
January 11 at 9:50am · UnlikeLike · 1


Charlene Schultz-Miles Awesome pics SueAnn!
January 11 at 10:36am · UnlikeLike · 1


Patricia PA Frey Thank you, friend! You have given us more than you could ever know! xoxo
January 11 at 10:53am · UnlikeLike · 1


Dom Nguyen Sue Ann, these are beautiful! Thanks and gratitude to our men and women in uniform.
January 11 at 11:07am · UnlikeLike · 1


Susan G. Haddad Beautiful photos!
January 11 at 12:31pm · LikeUnlike


Sheila Sjolseth love, love, love!
January 11 at 12:49pm · UnlikeLike · 1


Susana Borg I'm speechless and need a tissue! Awesome pictures! Thanx for charing.
January 11 at 3:23pm · UnlikeLike · 2


Elaine Dittmer Two tissues, please! Brilliant, Sue Ann.
January 11 at 3:38pm · UnlikeLike · 1


Kim Shannon Inman You took really great pictures and captured it perfectly. I cried all the way through them.
January 11 at 5:02pm · UnlikeLike · 1

Sue Ann Andrews Aww, thank you guys for your compliments and kind words. I am totally blushing right now! :) I really wanted to capture the essence of how much our military families sacrifice by being apart during deployment. I'm so glad you enjoyed the pictures!
January 11 at 6:29pm · LikeUnlike


Alea Pena I'd like to take a small bit of the credit for these FANTASTIC photos, since I was your journalism teacher way back when..;-) However, I can't! These are wonderful and you have given a gift that is indeed priceless! I'm so very proud of you!
January 11 at 7:35pm · UnlikeLike · 1


Vickie McDonough Anderson Wow Sue Ann these are fabulous, great and terrific, definitly a sniffles type moment.
January 11 at 10:59pm · UnlikeLike · 1

Sue Ann Andrews ‎@Alea, you can totally take some credit. I still remember what you taught me and I use it all the time!
January 12 at 9:35am · LikeUnlike


Alea Pena Looks like you could teach me a thing or two now! Great composition and wonderful job capturing the emotion of the event. These photos definitely tell a story! You should consider entering one in the State Fair!
January 12 at 3:28pm · LikeUnlike

Ok. My rule of thumb about cooking: if you make it and it sucks, add a) bacon grease b) ketchup c) sugar and/or d) salt. . . not working tonight.
LikeUnlike · · January 5 at 5:30pm near El Paso

Elaine Dittmer, Jennifer Gibson Eager and 2 others like this.

Lester Lawler makes it a pizza night..lool
January 5 at 5:34pm · LikeUnlike

Patricia PA Frey You didn't try bbq sauce? lol
January 5 at 5:43pm · LikeUnlike

Homer Alvarez What about a) cheese, b) lard, or c) chocolate?
January 5 at 6:37pm · LikeUnlike

Jennifer Gibson Eager what did you make?
January 5 at 6:53pm · LikeUnlike

Elaine Dittmer ‎1) more butter 2) more wine 3) nuts 4) pasta
January 6 at 7:03am · LikeUnlike

Kids' first day back to school . . . I can't even come up with a snarky comment about it. I can only say that Teachers. Are. AMAZING!
LikeUnlike · · January 4 at 9:22am near El Paso
Elaine Dittmer, Jennifer Gibson Eager, Adrienne Price and 4 others like this.



Patricia PA Frey Massage day!!!
January 4 at 10:06am · UnlikeLike · 2Elaine Dittmer Yep if school didn't exist we would have to invent it.
January 4 at 11:47am · LikeUnlike

Patricia PA Frey Happy birthday, Andrew!!! Welcome to the 5 year old club! Like · · See Friendship · January 3 at 10:34am · Sue Ann Andrews Happy 5th Birthday to my Andrew! ♥ Like · · January 3 at 10:31am near El Paso Kirsten Ahmann DiDonna, Jack Taylor, Lisa Anselmo and 14 others like this. Ashley Derrington happy birthday andrew!!!!! January 3 at 12:08pm · Like Debbie Cook Happy Birthday, sweet Andrew!! We wish we could be there to share you special day!! January 3 at 7:23pm · Like

Proof that the kids have been out of school too long and this holiday season has more than worn out its welcome: Cashier at Sam's: (gazing adoringly at my offspring) Children are priceless! Me: I know. We can't seem to sell them no matter how hard we try. Like · · January 2 at 5:00pm near El Paso Misty McCune Robinson, Lester Lawler, Kirsten Ahmann DiDonna and 8 others like this. Elaine Dittmer yep, I've just had a 12 year old, a 9 year old, and a 4 year old PLUS a 7-8 month old puppy for 4 out of the last 5 nights and days. I adore them but it is lots of (fill in the blank). January 2 at 6:42pm · Like Mandy Blumenfeld BWHUAAAA! January 3 at 6:10am · Like Priti Shah HAHA!! January 4 at 2:22am · Like