The comments make it even better.

We went for basically two reasons: 1. pick and get a bed for the kids; 2. Look at some futons/couches. We kept some french fries from In-N-Out in the bag, thinking that would occupy the kids for a while. As much as I like walking around and looking at stuff, with two toddlers it's just impossible! Seriously, even if they behaved good the first half hour (which they didn't), then they would be all over the place later on.

We put the kids in the shopping cart and give them some juice. Right away Princess starts throwing a fit that she doesn't want to sit there. The juice didn't help. Then came the fries and she even pushed those to the side. So we go into elevator, because we want to go straight to the children's furniture, and taking the elevator was the closets and fastest way of getting there. She calmed down in the elevator. Was even pretty excited to be there.

Once on the second floor, we head straight to the bed that we were thinking about getting them, but just wanted to look at it one more time. And that's where it really all began. OMG!! That child has lungs!! As soon as we stop by the bed, she starts climbing out of the cart, screaming and not letting us to even touch her. All the people are looking at us. All of them. It was so freaking embarrassing!! I usually don't get embarrassed or even pay attention to other people if my kid is whining or crying or whatever, but this time it was just different. So I'm trying not to pay any attention to the people, I write down the number of the aisle, where we can pick up the bed.

We start walking down to where the couches are and Princess crying and whining, but not as loud. So we almost get there when an IKEA worker comes up from behind me, taps on my sholder and says:

"Mom, here are a couple free frozen yogurt coupons for your kids".

I was like oh ok, thank you! And thinking to myself that that was really really nice!

Kapitonas was behaving very well. We've already promised him a bookstore after IKEA, so he was just sitting there and waiting for us to be done. Getting a frozen yogurt was a big bonus for him!

Not sure about other IKEA's, but ours have a food court on the second floor. And then on the first floor right by the exit, they have hot dogs, pretzels, some other things and frozen yogurt. Did you get that? Frozen yogurt is downstairs. by. the. exit. You know what that means, right?!

We have to go almost all around the circle to get to the elevator, then walk pass the area where all the furniture is, then pass the registers (which means we'd have to check out) and only then get to frozen yogurt. Hmmmm, makes me wonder why that guy gave me those coupons. Yes, it was nice, but I think he had another idea behind it. To get that crying kid out of the store!

So we did, we went all the way down, picked up the bed for the kids, checked out and then got the frozen yogurt. Although when we were picking up the bed, Princess was calm, she was just standing in the cart and looking around. So we could've went back up and looked at more things, but we were all the way by the exit already. Didn't really feel like going back up.

No, we didn't get to look at the couches or futons or anything else.

But we did get the bed which the kids are loving it!

Last Sunday, Danialle and I visited Town of Maine Cemetery in Park Ridge, Illinois. This was cemetery stop number 22 of over 70 that we will be visiting in the Chicagoland area. To get the whole story, check out our Chicago Cemetery Tour page.

Thanks to the Spielmann family for providing an awesome place for a couple of cemetery enthusiasts to rest their laurels.

he sat in my seat so i sits on him

i wuz jus keepin ur seat warm

picture: Clare. lol caption: clare_3987

» Recaption This

You might have to click on the thumbnail to get a proper look at them:

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Evan has been climbing up the back of the love seat for quite some time.  I have tried moving the toys around so that he wouldn’t be able to find a purchase to climb over.  Being a clever and determined toddler, he just was able to find more unsafe ways to climb over, and I thought I might as well let him do it safely rather than risk some sort of brain trauma.  It’s not causing harm, and it was only an issue when I made it an issue.  Basically he would do it once and then stop, forgetting about the trick for days or weeks.

Sean upped the anti.  He struggled to pull himself over the top, trying to do what his older brother could do.  When Sean finally did it, he gave a shout of glee and slid down the front of the love seat and rolled onto the floor.  At first I was worried that he was hurt because he didn’t even slow down on the seat.  But he got up, laughed, and did it again.  After a few times of watching Sean have fun, Evan joins in, trying to do it faster than Sean or just trying to land on him.  I’m now a referee.  During the whole game, they are laughing so hard that I can’t bring myself to stop it, or maybe it’s because it’s seven o’clock in the evening and I have no more energy to stop non-harmful, reckless behavior.

Now when Sean climbs to the top, he throws his arms up in the air in victory or like he’s on a rollercoaster.  Then he throws himself down the front of the love seat with the tiniest of pauses before he rolls onto the floor.  With a laugh he’s running back to do it again.  Show off.

I foresee a problem.  First off, it’s just a matter of time before someone gets hurt.  It’s all fun and games until that moment; then it’s a sport.  Then we’ll have to make rules, and someone will have to referee (oh, wait; that’ll be my job).  Then my husband will feel obligated to defend their behavior to guests.  Then my mom will tell me how this will bite me on the ass when they do it in public or at someone’s house.  And I’ll say, “I know, Mom.  I’ll handle it.”  Then they WILL do it in public, and it’ll bite me on my ass.  My husband will be mortified and blame me.  Then we’ll fight because I’ll mention how he ignored the behavior as he watched reruns of classic football games, conveniently forgetting that I was right there refereeing the whole sport, but it won’t matter because he should have spoken out if he had reservations.  Then we’ll have to go back to marital counseling, and I will have to admit to my mom she was right . . . once again.

So I guess I should stop this sport before all that happens.  Of course, this is the kind of thing my brothers and I would do when we were young and unsupervised.  We would just be a LOT more physical about it, until some one bleeds or tattles.  Then we knew we were all in trouble. But we were older than my boys and would know NOT to ever, ever do it in public because our lives depended on it.  I guess I’ll add that too the rules. 

You can practice gymnastics on the couch because it’s old and worn, and we secretly hate the stupid thing any ways.  You probably were too young to remember your father trying to tear the couch to pieces because it swallowed his cell phone.  Yes, the couch does eat things.  That’s why we never left you on it unattended on the couch when you were a baby; we knew it would eat you.  That’s why we put on that cover you and your father ignore.  And because I was tired of fixing your father’s back when he threw a temper tantrum, trying to throw the couch because it ate his cell phone AGAIN as he’s alcoholic loser of a friend called the cell phone over and over and over again.  But I digress.  You can only play your couch games on THESE couches.  No one else’s.  Not Grandma’s house, not Grandma Sue’s house, not at anyone’s house or store.  Do you got that?  And if you are EVER caught doing your games on someone else’s couch, I will say I had no idea and that you will be punished severely.  Plus no landing on any person already on the couch.

They’ll understand.  Evan and Sean are smart boys at ages 3 and 1.

Naja dann mach ich jetzt mal was aktives und gehe mit einem meiner letzten verbliebenen Freunde in dieser Stadt jetzt Badminton spielen. Sonst klebe ich noch irgendwann auf dem Sofa fest (Ist tatsächlich schon mal jemandem passiert!? Beim Klodeckel bin ich mir da zumindest sicher!)

[all shots taken with 35mm minolta EXCEPT shots of ava, steph, denise, and james]

[shots of ava, steph, denise, and james taken with canon rebel xti]

This post is devoted to a letter I wrote to the hosts of Diggnation, Mr. Kevin Rose and Mr. Alex Albrecht.  To those of you who do not know, Kevin Rose runs Digg.com and is kind of a millionaire! Just the money's not actually real.  I don't get it either, it's some kind of tech thing to be loaded but have the money be make beleive.  Alex Albrecht was Kevin's buddy ages ago when they were both hosts on TechTv and is now pimping Dell HDTVs with his sweet sweet ass and cranking stuff out for Revision3.  Together they host Diggnation! a show where they get drunk on a couch with some laptops and read stuff from their website.

Basically, these are the luckiest men alive.  They're running a contest at the moment where if you register a domain name with their sponsor, you get the chance to have an episode of diggnation shot on YOUR couch.  This is, admittedly, rather pimp.  The contest is closed to Canadians, though, and as a proud resident of Canadia, I saw an opportunity to be a smartass.

Sept. 20th, 2008

Hello gentlemen!

I'm Dave, and I live in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. I've been listening to diggnation for a not inconsiderable amount of time and love nothing more than settling down of an evening with a 2-4 of Molson to watch the hosts discuss the hottest user-submitted stories from Digg.com.  So, as you can imagine, I was so very excited to hear about diggnation on your couch that I immediately registered "fuckehn-eh.ca" and put on my caribou skin jacket and my finest mukluks and harnessed the Super friends (my Dog team) and went about in the frozen wastes with my rifle to procure the necessary animal parts and snow cubes to build a couch worthy of welcoming Kevin and Alex.  I brought down a caribou, from which I fashioned armrests and bludgeoned several polar bears for major upholstery. After only a few days toil was happy to find myself with a charming loveseat next to the blubber-fuelled generator and birch bark Broadband modem I put together in '05, so that you fine gentlemen could sit comfortably and power your laptop computers while visiting me.  (Notice I used no seals in my couch production out of respect for Glen, who'se hippidom is well known)  Imagine my surprise, then,  when I discovered that the contest was closed to Canadians!  My hopes were dashed, and even the caribou-bear sausages I am enjoying as I write this are not able to curb my disappointment.

It is truly unfortunate that I, along with my countrymen, are unable to play host to our southern podcasting kin.  I understand contest regulations and, perhaps, fear of flying in rickety bush planes and renting snowmobiles to reach a shooting location restrict you from crossing the border (where, as you know, a twelve foot wall of snow impedes even the hardiest traveller).  However, I hold out hope that someday Diggnation will visit Canada, and on that day, I will be found trekking across the tundra to witness your fine, fine show and bring you some of this truly delicious sausage to sample.  I'll try to give you the links with only a little buckshot in them.

From Canada, the true home of smartassery,

Dave Atkinson

No reply.  They're very busy.  Lucky fucks.

In case you can't find me, I've been hanging out at a really cool blog lately.  Put together by a bunch of men, it's called ManTown. Over at Mantown you'll find my buddies Smoke from Smoke & Mirrors, Evyl of From Evyl with Love, and Crazy Dan talking about everything manly.
Feel free to stop on by for a spell and hangout.

I won't tell you if I've been naughty or nice, but I will tell you the thirteen things I wouldn't kick out of my Christmas stocking this year...

1. My reasons for wanting a DS are so eco-savvy that you really can't judge - no, I don't just want to play video games, I want to save unnecessary paper waste by only filling out Sudoku puzzles and crossword puzzles on my DS - I know I could use my computer, too, but a DS is portable! And I can play games on it! And the proceeds of this one go towards Breast Cancer research so I can feel all proud and charitable while I use it.
2. I know it might seem like a bit much to be asking for a Wii and a DS, but I'm considering it a one or the other deal, and a Wii has the added advantage of being kind of like an at home gym. Of course I'll be needing a Wii fit to go with this, but that's kind of a given at this point, right? Plus, everyone I know at this point seems to have a Wii, and if I don't get one soon, my grandmother will probably beat me to it. Seriously.
3. But you know with all that video game playing, I think it will be important to not get too lost in the virtual world and a new great board game would help with that. Balderdash is a classic. My best friend has it, which always makes me insanely jealous and I think it would be the perfect addition to our board game collection. We can use it to teach my two year old to lie. It would get put to good use, I swear.
4. Every night my husband and I play this game where we trick the other person into giving up the one comfortable seat in the apartment. It isn't our couch. If you bought us this couch for Christmas, maybe we could sit together like those cute couples who cuddle instead of saying things like, "Honey, could you get me a glass of water........ sucker!!!" You'd be doing a service to our marriage is what I'm saying.
5. Did you know Jack Johnson has a new CD out? I mean I think it's been out for awhile, but I don't own it, which makes it awfully new, don't you think? I just love the Jack Johnson CD that we do have, but it's rotation is permanently engraved in my mind, and I'm thinking it'd be fun to hear some of his new songs before my son starts humming "Banana Pancakes" in his sleep.
6. What? A new car isn't on your wish list? I know that the odds of someone getting me a vehicle on here are slim, but you never know if someone from Honda is out there reading people's blogs wondering, "Who can I give a free CRV to today?" Mr. Honda Guy, that would be me. My poor little Corolla needs a rest and my poor husband and I need a trunk and <---- that trunk, looks perfect.
7. If you won't get me a Wii, will you at least get me an ellipitical machine - this one by Schwinn is going for under $500 which probably makes it the deal of century, don't you think? And it features 12 workout programs with 8 computer-controlled magnetic resistance levels - which makes it awesome. If I had this, I wouldn't need to diet, because I could use it as a kitchen table and eat while using it. Revolutionary? I think so.
8. I had to put at least one book on this list and I think that book really aught to be Julie Andrew's new autobiography. I think I've mentioned it before? I bet Julie Andrews has had an amazing life and I'd much rather read about it here than in a tabloid magazine - feels less snoopy and invasive that way. Who is this woman who can be Mary Poppins and Mia Thermopalis's grandmother?
9. This Kitchen Aid Mixer is actually on sale right now, but unfortunately, even on sale I'm unlikely to get it any time soon. But I swear, if I had one, I'd make my husband his favorite chocolate chip cookies all the time, and other yummy baked goods, too. With a Kitchen Aid, I'm pretty sure nothing could stop me. What kitchen appliance would make your life easier?
10. I'd love a beautiful, everything matches dinner wear set someday and this one from IKEA looks beautiful (has anybody else noticed yet that I have a small IKEA obsession?). Isn't it pretty? I just got gorgeous new drinking glasses from BJs so I really just want some matching bowls, plates, etc. Those striped ones are a must!
11. We have the electronic version of LIFE and we love it - along with the many changes to the gameplay, the electronic "credit card" banking system is wonderful. Whenever I play Monopoly I almost always end up playing the banker, but not because I like it. It's because NOBODY likes being the banker (as far as I can tell). Doing it electronically would mean more fun for everyone - nobody would be forced to be the banker and we could all get back to doing what we do best - buying every property we can find, hoping to get Park Place before the next person does, and pretending we have a strategy.
12. Now that I've  gotten used to my husband's Nikon D40, I sometimes wish I had a gorgeous camera like that of my own, so we wouldn't have to take turns. And at the end of the day, I'm a Canon kind of girl, so I think if I were going to pick out something comparable to his D40 it would probably be this Rebel. What aspiring photographer girl doesn't want a Rebel, I ask you? And this one is purty. It kind of looks like if my own lower end Canon Power Shot grew up, it might be this Rebel someday... I could have a Canon collection. It would be awesome.
13. I saw a commercial for the iPod touch yesterday for the first time - I mean, I've maybe seen it before, but I wasn't paying attention. Anyway, yesterday I paid attention and my jaw dropped... and there might have been drool. It was love at first sight. At second sight, I saw the price, which is why it's on this imaginary wish list and not in my Amazon wishlist instead. Isn't it beautiful though?

That's all folks. For more Thursday 13 participants just click here.

At first glance, this seating arrangement seems kind of odd until you realize what you are looking at. Pouf-Man is QAYOT's homage to one of the stars of arcade videogames, back when people actually went to arcades to play them.

My latest from Unplggd...

Dane Nielsen, Orem

Chyna is such a calm kitty.  When we first got her she would sit all pretty on the couch.  She doesn't do that so much anymore since she got her scratching pole with the perch on top.

We headed down to Queensway Shopping Centre first for some Hari Raya shopping of our own too!*why? cannot? Local Production crew love to see see look look and juz buy anything that suits our style too!*

So instead of having to queue up to walk around, we decided to have a little lunching first! Although the smell of laksa was really enticing, we decided on Macdonalds.*cos it was the only place we could find seats without waiting! lazy la, holiday mood you know!*

After lunch, we decided to head out to do some window shopping!*oh yea! hi and bye auntie shirley! don't mind us, we don't know auntie shirley, it's just the name we saw on the staff's badge at macdonalds!*

Oh well, after we wasted enough time wandering around QSC*imitation JB*... we decided to go off to find a place to chill for the day!

After making our orders, we sat around and made a fool of ourselves as usual! Local Production would like to apologise to everyone that was there at the time! It was just us being our usual selves!*really la! sorry! T-T next time we dare not le! forgive us!*

Overall, we found that Coffee Club is not a bad place to chill and chat! Don't forget to try their other various dishes!*just don't create too much of a scene when you're there k? remember that we're trained professionals to handle every situation!*

Local Production offers Coffee Club a full RESPECT for having a cool place to hangout and laze around!*and also for putting up with us while we were there! once again! SORRY! XD*