The Biggest Loser (not the TV show) . . .

I AM THE BIGGEST LOSER.

Every once in a while I get my act together and seem like a really organized mom. Last night after attending Back 2 School Nite twice (once for Chris' class, once for Hannah's) I came home, thrilled about their teachers, excited for the new school year and ready to jump in!

I then spent the next two hours filling out paperwork, signing up for volunteer schedules, reading policies and procedures and making a list of things to get for the teachers/classrooms - wipes, antibacterial hand sanitzer, Kleenex, bandaids, etc.

I had everybody ready to go at 8:30 this morning so we could zip over to Target/Costco, buy all of the above items and zip over to the Open House at the school for the kids to meet their teachers. Just think how impressive I would be, having already filled out all the paperwork from last night and purchased the much needed items requested by teachers! HA!

We got to the school at 10:10 - approximately 10 minutes AFTER the Open House was over. I AM THE BIGGEST LOSER. My kids didn't get to meet their teachers, didn't get to see who's who in their class, didn't get to do the "dry run" navigating to their new rooms, didn't get to do the whole school supply thing. What's worse is I could see the disappointment on their faces, and knew that I was completely, utterly responsible. UGGGGGGGG!!!!

Where in my pea sized brain did I not register 10:00? For some reason, 11:00 sounded right to me. Now I have bags full of supplies that the kids aren't going to be able to get to school and I just really feel like a super big LOSER.

Trying to be organized isn't working for me right now. Yeah, I'm going to take a break from that.

What We Eat In Summer . . .

Here's another reason why I'm sad the summer is drawing to a close: WATERMELON! I caught three really cute freckled kids chowing down on slices on my front porch the other day.

I am a super huge fan of summertime cooking. We grill our food at least five nights a week and gorge ourselves on the summer's best fruits, like fresh berries, melons and of course peaches! We live on delicious salads, grilled meats and veggies and fruit!

It is always hard for me to prepare myself for the winter when many of these summer favorites are not available (or are astronomically priced, but available) in stores. It is so much easier for me and one particular eater in my family, to have the tried and true formula of summertime meals - that grilled protein, a steamed fresh veggie or salad, and loads and loads of chopped fruit.

Any suggestions on great meal ideas, speak up now! I'd love to know. (Please excuse strange spacing in this post . . . blogger is bugging me right now! Can't figure out what's going on.)

Supagrumpy . . .

To my five loyal readers . . . I am sorry that I have not posted in almost a week. Do not feel sad, lonely and lost without me. I know you are not worried, because none of you have called me or left comments on the blog. (Big ahem there!)

I can only blame my lack of blogability on the fact that this is the week from H*** (quick nod to the dark and evil underworld). It is the week before school starts. It is the week that baseball and softball practice begin for the wee ones. It is the week of haircuts, new shirts, new shoes and new underwear! It is the week of waking small children at unnatural hours to prepare them for the arrival of the school bus come Tuesday, and therefore it is also the week of nazi-like enforcement of the 8:00 bedtime. It is the week of resumed piano lessons (read: resumed whining, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth). It is the week of the calendar filling up again with reckless abandon, causing a pit to form in my stomach as I realize that summer is really over and we are back to -- LIFE.

Therefore, I am having a hard time falling asleep at night, my mind racing, which results in one supagrumpy, yelling mom in the morning and kids with ultra bad attitudes. THAT BUS CANNOT GET HERE SOON ENOUGH.

This is the part of summer I hate - the part where my kids and I realize that despite all of the truly great fun we've had together over the past 2 1/2 months, it is time for us to have a separation so we can like eachother again. It is the end of summer funk. And it has resulted in a Dragonfly Blog funk.

So if you want me to buck up and become my usual self, here to amuse you with witty dialogue and inspiring prose . . . leave a comment and pray I can get some sleep.

Ladies Choice!

Check out the video and my short review below! A definite must see.

Link Larkin - Ladies' Choice

The Hubby and I finally went to see Hairspray last night. What a fun movie! Seriously, my feet were tapping nearly the entire time. And if my feet weren't tapping, it was because I was too busy laughing - which is always a good thing.

I really needed a date night since I've been cooped up for four days with a sick and grumpy nine year old. A little John Travolta dressed as a woman and Zac Efron with a seriously slick hairdo just about made my night! Check out the video above for a little taste of the fun this musical included.

Major props also go to Queen Latifa as Motormouth Maybelle, Elijah Kelly as Seaweed, and James Marsden as Corny Collins - who by the way dances JUST LIKE the Hubby! :) For those who haven't seen it yet, I should warn that even though it is rated PG, it is NOT a movie that I would take children under the age of 12 to see due to adult themes and some suggestive sexual innuendos, as well as a few mild swear words.

Mundane Activities . . .

Okay, I've put it off long enough. I decided this morning that since it was rainy and overcast for the third day in a row, I wouldn't allow myself to stare at the pile of ironing, which now reaches up to my knee, any longer. No matter how hard I've tried, I cannot go the entire summer without ironing

I HATE IRONING. I'm completely envious of my friends who send all their husbands shirts to the cleaners and come home with them in slippery bags on cheap wire hangers. I want cheap wire hangers! Maybe what I really want is for the hubby to look horrible in button-down shirts - but he doesn't! In fact, he looks fabulous in them and they make up 98.8% of his shirt wardrobe.

The clean, but wrinkled shirts sit in a basket on my closet floor and taunt me every time I go in there. I obviously avoid the closet whenever possible - the exception being to go in a pile more shirts on top of other shirts. The problem is compounded by the fact that my two little men have shirts of their own that need ironing. Darn you cute boy clothes! Why do I buy you?

The guilt comes when the Hubby (who in all seriousness is THE hardest worker I know) wakes up 15 minutes earlier than 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning to iron his own shirt for his way too early church meetings. I hate myself for putting the ironing off for so long and depriving him of 15 extra minutes of sleep.

Plagued by these thoughts and the ever growing pile, I faced it head on today, and even took a picture at the HALFWAY point. Most of the Hubby's shirts are last because they are the hardest. After all was said and done, I counted 32 pieces of ironing. And that was after I decided I wouldn't touch the six table cloths, 3 sets of napkins, and a few long sleeved shirts of mine that I know I won't need for at least a month longer.

When I was finished, a quote from the Ensign came to mind that I read recently on my friend Tracie's blog. I thought it was fitting:

"Mundane activities can have a higher purpose and must not be disregarded; they give us opportunities to develop and practice character virtues and ethical behavior. By doing these everyday activities, we can learn about moral truths and practice honesty, patience, and brotherly kindness. Everyday work and recreation in the home provide rich contexts for children and adults to make choices and learn from them."

As for what I can learn from the ironing - I think it is that I can do something I don't like and feel pretty good about it because I know it is benefitting my sweet Hubby. This mundane activity also gave me a chance to have my kids sit at my feet and watch High School Musical 2 for the third time! A little dose of that deliciously cute Zac Efron made the ironing fly by in a flash! :)

Top Ten Things I "Heart" About Hershey Park . . .

10. Clever system used to determine who can ride which rides. The Hubby and I were Jolly Ranchers, Chris was a Twizzler, Hannah a Hershey Bar and Soren a Reeses. At the front of each ride is a pylon labled with the candies that can ride that ride. Awesome and so easy!

9. Combination amusement park and water park, inlcuding tube slides, lazy river, white water rapids ride (soaked) and a ride called Tidal Force, which is like Splash Mountain on steriods - bring your swimsuit - YOU WILL GET WET!!!

8. Miniature versions of grown up carnival rides - for kids only: The Scrambler, The Pirate Ship, The Tea Cups, Those Swings That Make Me Barf. I actually think there were more kids only rides than rides we could all do together! So great!

7. Instead of beautiful women dressed up as Disney princesses and short dudes in furry animal costumes, you get anonymous people dressed up as . . . CHOCOLATE! It's so much tastier! And who doesn't want to hug a giant box of Milk Duds?

6. Kiddy Swap, which enabled the Hubby and I to ride all the killer roller coasters, without waiting in line twice. We just never got to ride them together.

5. Skeeball. Also known as Christopher's sick little gambling-like obsession. He managed to plunk almost $6 in quarters into the thing (at a quarter a pop for nine balls) and won each of his siblings a stuffed puppy.

4. Free Hershey's candy. Who can resist a free Hershey bar after riding the Chocolate World tour ride? Not me! Or a free treat after you've measured yourself to determine your candy height! Genius . . . Sugar 'em up for the day.

3. Monorail at the end of the day (10:45 pm). Even though they were plum tuckered out, my kids still giggled when we whizzed past the actual Hershey Chocolate Factory, where many, many people were still working, and saw that the street lights were shaped like Hershey's Kisses.

2. Christopher on Roller Coasters. The kid has got some serious kahonas! If it weren't for the Strep Throat that kicked in halfway through the day, I think I might have convinced him to ride the Great Bear with me(see picture at top). Maybe next year. Oh, it may be a tie on this one though - Christopher's first outing on the Bumper Cars was HI-LAR-IOUS!

1. Smiley kid faces = Happy Parents = Happy Day -- and way less obsessed parents and crying children than Disneyland.

Enjoy the pictures . . . and notice there are NONE of me. (Classic case of the photographer never getting photographed.)

Fear, Thy Name Be StormRunner . . .

What am I doing? I've pulled the "restraint" over my head, locked it into place and THEN buckled the seat belt over it. I look over at my children and tell them goodbye and that I love them. The Hubby mouths "Good Luck", gives a little wink and then gets a wicked smile on his face because he's glad it's me in the chair and not him. Holy Cow my hands are sweaty! So sweaty they're sliding on the grip bars. I can't hold on tight enough to feel safe.

What am I doing? My heart is beating really fast. They strange guy next to me says in a twangy accent, "You ever been on this before?" No, I say in a voice that sounds really weird, like someone else. "Haw, haw, you're gunna love it!" he laughs. But it's kind of a creepy laugh.

What am I doing? Suddenly we're rolling slowly out of the safe little station structure that housed the line of people waiting to torture themselves in like fashion. I'm pressing my arms so hard against the restraint they hurt. I'm waiting for the "chink, chink, chink" sound that always comes at the beginning of the ascent, but I'm freaked out because in the pit of my stomach, I know that isn't how this one is going to start. This is different . . . this is just sick and wrong! WHAT AM I DOING????

All of the sudden, it happens. A disconcertingly deep voice says mockingly, "Riders, get ready to go." Wait, is my heart really beating that loud? No. It came after the voice, out of the speakers, I think. But before I can really process it, I'm shot - no, sorry, hydraulically launched - forward from zero to 72 mph in under two seconds. Seriously. Zero. To. Seventy-two. I am screaming. I am screaming very loudly. Twangy stranger next to me keeps saying, "Yeah!"

I want to get off now, but it's not time yet. Instead it's time for the "Top Hat" - that THING I've seen above all else in the park for the entire day now (see picture at right)and thought to myself, "Only a crazy sicko would invent a ride like that - and it would take someone even crazier to ride it." At some point on this 85 degree angle, 180 feet to the ground section, I feel like the car has definitely left the track. There is some definite hang time there where we are weightless and I believe I am either going to die or lose my lunch - and neither would be pretty.

The rest pretty much passed by in a blur . . . I can remember a few things - my screaming, which was hoarse and constant, twangy guy's "Yeahs!", another insanely unnatural droppy, loopy thing (second picture), an inverted barrel roll that seemed impossibly easy compared to the beginning yet still made me think I might wet myself, and seeing the monorail track coming towards me very fast and thinking we were definitely going to hit it.

Then it was over. Me and my bruised arms pulled back into the station, my heart pumping louder than that speaker at the beginning. My hair was so windblown that the Hubby and kids started laughing when they saw me. But I could see the fear in the Hubby's eyes, because now it was his turn to experience what I just had:

THE SCARIEST 30 SECOND ROLLER COASTER RIDE I'VE EVER BEEN ON.

(Thanks to Hershey Park in Hershey, PA for the pictures of StormRunner and the amazing ride . . . I'm definitely doing it again . . . maybe next year.)

Nickname Knowledge . . .

A couple of people have recently asked me why we Soren was given the nickname "Red Dog". C'mon people! Isn't it obvious?

I'm always a little stunned when people can't see the hint of red still left in his hair. Most people don't believe me when I tell them he was born with red hair. Because our other two are such blondies, Soren always gets lumped into that hair color category too - without even the courtesy "strawberry blond" mentioned!

The whole scenario makes me sad for two reasons: First, I've been dying to have a red-headed baby since the minute I married the Hubby with his stunning red hair! With Soren, I thought I'd finally gotten my wish. Second, I think it's about time one of these kids gets passed off as looking like the Hubby, instead of instantly being a Samantha clone. (BTW, doesn't anyone recognize that Hannah looks JUST LIKE Travis' family?)

So, just to put this all to rest, I'm submitting this picture - for the record - (record being the blog) - for all to see, that indeed, our little Soren at some point in his life (around 7 mos.) was a tried and true redhead . . . or as he's known to us, Red Dog! So next time you see us - give a shout out to my little carrot top, won't you? Thanks.

Tag - You're It!

So today I am going to attempt my first blog "tag". If I'm understanding this correctly, it is the blog equivalent of sending one of those annoying emails to your friends where they have to fill out a bunch of information about themselves and then pass it on to other friends. In the blogosphere however, I can just name a few of my blogging friends on MY blog, and then they have to answer the questions on THEIR blog. Fun - right? We'll see how it goes.

Thinking about myself in 3's:

3 Reasons To Love 3:
My three kids.
Three ingredients in Rice Crispy treats.
Three Vampire books from Stephenie Meyer.

3 Things I Love:
The Hubby
The Church
My kids

3 Things I Miss:
Going to the gym
Living near my friend Scharman
Alias (we're talking new episodes, people)

3 People Who Make Me Laugh:
The Hubby
Ronalin Meck
Steve Carrell

3 Things That Scare Me:
Spiders
Dark Parking Lots
Car Accidents

3 Things On My Desk:
An empty cereal bowl
A picture of me and Red Dog
A digital camera

3 Things I Still Want To Do In Life:
Travel to far and exotic places with the Hubby
Learn to sew for real
See my kids married in the temple

3 Things I Can Do:
Play piano (marginally)
Make great salads
Dabble in Graphic Design

3 Things I Can't Do:
Carry a tune in a bucket
Ever love a cat
Drive a stick shift car

3 Things I Regret:
Not having a better relationship with my grandparents.
The major I chose in college.
That I quit writing in my journal when I started having kids.

3 Favorite TV Shows From Childhood:
Cosby Show
A Team
Family Ties

3 People I Tag With This Blog:
Audrey
Tracie
Chelsea

Berry Pickin': Part Deux

Last night we hit Bob's Produce (site of early summer blueberry picking) for a Family Home Evening activity. I'm all for those "wholesome recreational activities" mentioned in the Proclamation On the Family!

This time, we had the entire family, Hubby included, and we went for blackberries and raspberries instead of blueberries. Once again, we were the only ones there. And once again, the kids had a really great time! The blackberries were humongous! (see pics) The raspberries were dainty, a purply red, and burst with tangy sweetness as we taste tested them right off the bush.

We've frozen all of our sweet treasures and already had a delicious salad tonight of mixed greens, red onions, gorgonzola cheese, candied pecans, and of course, raspberries. Tomorrow morning I'm going to devour a bowl of grape nuts with all three berries we've picked. Then next week were are going to go back and pick at least 5 more quarts and make some raspberry freezer jam.

I am sad when the raspberries come on for one reason - I know summer is coming to an end and I must send my wee ones back to school. Picking raspberries is part of our last hurrah before we must face real life again.

Kidspeak I Love . . .

I only have enough time for a super quick blog - but I had to sit down right now and write about something that's tickling my funny bone. I just love it when my kids, or any kids for that matter, say a word, but miss the actual word by just a few letters, replacing it with something that gives me the giggles.

My Hannah is the queen of this! Yesterday we were at a Primary activity at the church and she came running up to me with a picture she'd drawn at one of the stations. It had two people dressed in white and to the side was written, "Me Getting Bathtized." I didn't have the heart to correct her. Besides, I'm sure it does make perfect sense to a 7 year old that being baptized (at least in our church) is like taking a bath since you are completely immersed in the water.

Hannah also has fumbs instead of thumbs and a ton instead of a tongue. The Hubby and I usually exchange a quick humorous glance whenever she uses one of her special words. We love it and hope it doesn't change soon.

Soren surprised me today when he pointed to my face as I wiggled my eyebrows and told me I was doing the eyeBROWN wave. I asked him to point to his eyeBROWNS and sure enough his fingers landed right on his transparent eyebrows. I just nodded and confirmed, "Yes Red Dog, those are definitely your eyeBROWNS."

Little nuggets of joy, those kiddoes.

In Memorium . . .

I am saddened today by the passing of President James E. Faust, a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a genuine and humble servant of God.

I thought it would be appropriate to honor him by sharing the links to two of my favorite talks he gave in recent years. The first, entitled "The Light In Their Eyes" can be accessed here http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-559-6,00.html.

The second, given this past April in General Conference, is called "The Healing Power of Forgiveness" and can be found here http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-690-24,00.html .

As I looked back over the words of President Faust this afternoon, I realized that many of his talks are the ones that have left a deep spiritual impression on me as I originally listened to General Conference. It was very enriching to revisit his words today and once again implant them in my heart and memory.

Let me end this tribute by leaving a quote from a talk President Faust gave back in 1998. I remember listening to this talk and being overcome with emotion as he spoke of his grandmother, and through tears admitted his shortcoming in dealing with her. His humility and sincerity touched me that day, and I committed myself to trying harder to do the little things that may lighten someone else's load.

"I fear that some of our greatest sins are sins of omission. These are some of the weightier matters of the law the Savior said we should not leave undone. These are the thoughtful, caring deeds we fail to do and feel so guilty for having neglected them.
As a small boy on the farm during the searing heat of the summer, I remember my grandmother Mary Finlinson cooking our delicious meals on a hot woodstove. When the wood box next to the stove became empty, Grandmother would silently pick up the box, go out to refill it from the pile of cedar wood outside, and bring the heavily laden box back into the house. I was so insensitive and interested in the conversation in the kitchen, I sat there and let my beloved grandmother refill the kitchen wood box. I feel ashamed of myself and have regretted my omission for all of my life. I hope someday to ask for her forgiveness. "

This man will meet his Savior face to face and find a well deserved place at the right hand of his Father. I thank him for his faithfulness and his prophetic words of counsel.

Save the Fish, Lose Your Keys . . .

Since today is "Fun Friday" at our house, we decided to get up early and go help our awesome neighbor, Dr. Neely Law, with a project she's been working on to help preserve the aquatic life in the nearby Potomac River.

The project involved taking a section of a suburban neighborhood in Leesburg and placing plaques on all of the storm drains in that area, to warn people of the danger that illegal dumping of toxins can cause for the aquatic life in the Potomac, to which these drains flow. (See great sign above.)

I was the official gluer of the plaques (a very messy, sticky affair), while my children alternated cleaning off the concrete with a wire brush or carefully pressing the plaques into place. It seemed easy enough, and surprisingly, everyone was helping without complaint.

All was going well until we reached our fourth storm drain. (Yes disaster struck that early in the effort!) As I leaned over to put the plaque in place, I felt a small movement near my front jean pocket. Before I even realized what had happened, my car keys had slid out of my pocket and down the storm drain. Did they land on the lip right inside the drain? Not a chance! They went all the way down the drain and made that sound like you hear in the movies, falling, falling, then kerplunk!

I couldn't decided - should I cry or should I laugh? Instead of picking one of those options, I called The Hubby, who laughed for me and then told me to figure something out. After calling the Town of Leesburg to rescue my keys and being told that it would take some time, we set off again to save the fish of the Potomac.

My sad attempt at becoming an environmentalist had been thwarted by the very storm drains I was telling others not to dump stuff in. How's that for irony? Alas, all was not a loss - my kids had fun serving and have a great story to tell about their mom. Here are a few pictures of the kids and I doing a good thing for a dear friend and some fish we'll never meet.

Postnote: Keys were recovered four hours later. Thank goodness it didn't rain.

A Real, Actual, Paying Job . . .

I haven't mentioned yet that while we were on our trip to Utah, the Hubby (read: Super Fabulous Awesome Man of My Life) lost his job. Lest you think he was singled out and systematically fired for bad behavior or poor work ethic - you must know that his entire company went under and every single person lost their job. With no severence. And no health insurance. UGGGGG.

But his fabulousness wasn't missed by all new prospective employers, and within two days he already had another job as a consultant for Sprint/Nextel. He is doing great work and we are glad that he didn't have to go through the very humbling experience of being unemployed again.

I also got a job - for one hour of one day - but a job nevertheless and doing something I absolutely loved! I got paid to help a friend from church make decorating decisions for her kitchen remodel in her basement! The Hubby immediately jumped the gun and told me, "You could do this for a living now. You know, be an interior designer." Whoa Buddy! I wouldn't go that far. But I do have to say that it was extremely gratifying to help somebody come to a decision that they couldn't reach on their own. I think it always helps to have someone to bounce ideas off of when there is a difficult choice to make. This sweet lady felt like she had to pay me to do something I love! It was really fun and for about an hour I imagined that I was Candice Olsen of Divine Design. LOL!

I "Heart" Jane Austen . . .

Last summer I made it a goal to read and reread all of Jane Austen's novels. It was a really great summer with me and my romantic thoughts floating in the clouds. I drove the Hubby insane!

This summer, I am busy reading Harry Potter and Eclipse, the third vampire book by Stephenie Meyer . . . quite the departure from empire waisted dresses, proper etiquette and scandalous romance of the weatlthy vs. country bred British folk.

I did however pop over to the theater this weekend to see "Becoming Jane", a movie about the actual life of author Jane Austen. (Although much of the story is fictionalized, since so little is known about Jane Austen's life.) I highly recommend seeing this film. It was wonderful! Anne Hathaway does a fabulous job portraying the talented British author. Her accent is even very believable. But even more worth mentioning, in my mind, is the truly remarkable job done by James McEvoy, the Scottish gent who plays Tom LeFroy, Jane's love interest. His is one of those characters you hate in the beginning but adore in the end - and he's not bad to look at either!

So go check it out if you get a chance. It's rated PG - but I must warn you, there are some naked bums in the film - a surprise for a PG rating. Nevertheless, the Brits really know how to do these period pieces well. If you liked Pride & Predjudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma or Persuasion, you will like this movie too. Enjoy!

Uh Mom, I Need You!

I'm finding that the blog is a great way to catalog the funny kid moments that my children give me as little gifts in our day to day life. When I print this whole thing out at the end of the year and make it into some sort of journal , it will be great to look back and laugh at my hilarious kiddoes!

So, the other day I was sitting at the computer, catching up on some e-mail (who am I kidding - I get maybe three or four a day . . . if you are reading this blog, please email me so I feel a little better about this situation) and I heard this tiny voice say, "Mom?"

"What?" I answered.

"Uh Mom, I need you!."

I gave the usual reply of "Just a minute, RedDog." This usually proves effective in testing the urgency of the matter.

The next plea came just a little faster and with a tone of emergency , "But Mom, I need you now!"

This time, I jumped up from my seat and turned the corner from the office to find Soren just as you see him in the picture - stuck on the top of the bannister, arms and legs flailing, with no way to get down.

Before I could help him, I had to stop laughing and grab the camera for this quick photo op. After the rescue was complete, I asked him how he got up there, but now matter how hard we tried, he couldn't recreate the moment and get back up on that bannister. The RedDog is a pretty mellow kid - but this was one of those fabulously mischievious moments that kept a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Beachy Keen!

Enjoy a few photos from our day at the beach in Delaware while I go and rub some more aloe on my bright red tushie. As you can see, fun was truly had by all! (The Beach Cowgirl is my sis-in-law Audrey. The other chick is my Leesburg B-Fri Ronalin Meck)

A Good Old Fashion Sun Whoopin' . . .

I woke up at 5:20 a.m. this morning and drove my children 7 hours (round trip) to the beach in Delaware. The weather was gorgeous, the waves were huge, the sand was perfect for castle making and even the sea shells showed up for a little collecting. The children were giddy and frolicked in the waves like the little surf babies they were meant to me.

It was a great day - but all I have to show for it is a very sandy scalp and a back side that got a serious spanking from the sun. OUCH! (Oh, and I guess I can't forget the memories made along the way. )

We'll probably pack the whole crew up again in a few weeks and do it one more time before school gets out!

No One Sent Me The Memo . . .

Ever feel like you're out of the loop? That was me yesterday when I drove up to my own house and found a huge for sale sign in the middle of the yard. In the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Did the Hubby talk to me about this and I just don't remember? "

So I called the Hubby, who laughed hysterically and told me to call the Realty company listed on the sign and ask how much our house was going for. Before I did that, though, I had to know if this was some kind of cruel joke he was playing on me. He assured me that he'd had nothing to do with it.

Here's my conversation with Re/Max SupaRealtor (my title for realtors who have entire buses driving around town with their face and phone number plastered all over it) Sherry Wilson's office:

Me: Hi. I'm calling about a house for sale on Lawford Drive in Leesburg.

Receptionist: Oh great, we just listed that house today.

Me: Can you tell me the list price?

Receptionist: Yes, it's $475,000.

Me: Okay, now I know this is a joke because my house is worth at least $545,000.

Receptionist: I'm sorry?

Me: Well, the for sale sign is in my yard. But I'm not selling my house for that low of a price. Oh wait, did I mention I'M NOT SELLING MY HOUSE AT ALL???

Receptionist: I am so sorry maam. Blah, blah, blah. We'll have our sign people come and remove the sign right away.

That was yesterday at 2:00. I'm typing this at 9:34 the next morning - sign still in my yard. The best thing to come out of this funny little error is that all of our neighbors have called or come over in dismay because they've seen the sign in our yard. Other than that, it is getting old now because I can't mow my grass until they take the sign out.