And the list continues...

• All things unicorn
• CareBears
• JiffyPop
• The blue bag of Cheetos
• Miami Vice, LA Law, St. Elsewhere, Moonlighting... all 80's TV
• Razzles (it's candy - no, it's gum!)
• The Breakfast Club... okay, Brat Pak in general
• Spokey-Dokes and banana bike seats

I must say many of these were added by my friends and I often have lists running through my head... I just can't always blog them in time for you all to enjoy before they're **poof** gone!

Adding to the list...

Seeing my dear friend, Mama's, post about NKOTB made me realize I forgot to add - making mixed tapes ... from the radio... to the list of retro things our children will never really understand.

I can only dream that K never discovers NKOTB... but we'll just have to let fate takes its course on that one!

So true, so true.

What goes around, comes around. What comes around never leaves!"

This is one of my favorite quotes spoken by my husband's best friend Jason while we were in college. Its one of my favorites because, well, it just seems true.

And this week what won't leave is this nasty virus/bug-thing at our house. Yes, K woke up Friday night with a 101.5 fever and has had it with great persistence ever since. She's slowly working on the congestion and other lovelies that comes with this virus/bug, so I have no doubt it came from yours-truly. That is one thing I've learned in the Mommy-world. No matter how raw your hands are from washing, no matter how many antibacterial wipes you use, no matter how much you clean... germs get passed. And since I refuse to give up hugging, kissing, or general affection for my child... I will learn to live with it.

Now, if I could only figure out how to lysol-bomb the house, I might be able to rid us all of it.

Retro, Smetro..

So this random blog actually began in my head earlier this week when I was at Hallmark (one of my favorite stores) and saw Rainbow Brite stickers. For those of you who were young girls in the 80's you may remember these dolls/show. Anyway, it transformed into a list of things from the 80's that I'm glad have returned or I think should return for future generations. Feel free to add (or comment) to this list if there are things I forgot:

• Rainbow Brite


• Strawberry Shortcake


• Jelly shoes and bracelets


• He-Man and She-ra


• All great Saturday morning cartoons (Smurfs, Snorkes, etc.)


• Leggings


• Cabbage Patch Dolls (although they never really did disappear)


• Fisher-Price Pocket Rockers (although the MP3 player kind of negates the need for these, but they were so cool!)

Oh the list could go on... please feel free to comment on these and I will compile them into a future blog post. I can't wait to see what you miss form the 80's....

Better Living through Chemistry

Or drugs in this case, specifically antibiotics, and most importantly, my favorite: the Z-pak! Its my favorites for two (very different) reasons! 1. It works (quickly!) wonders on me 2. It was always the drug of choice when teaching physicians how to order them electronically to the pharmacy in my old PN days. Ahhh, the days when taking a sick day meant actually being able to be sick and stay in bed vs. now when a sick day means explaining for the 1001 time to the 2 year old that you are in fact sick and not up for much of anything... but I digress.

Anyway, as you might have guessed, I finally bit the bullet and went to the doctor. After 11 days of a sore throat, 3 days of no voice, and many, many doses of sudafed, Motrin, and HALLS, I just wasn't any better. I'm hoping tomorrow I can report something different.

WFMW: Grocery/Coupon Lists

This is really my first WFMW tip... but it's been working great for me. One of my "improvement areas" (notice, not resolutions) for 2008 was to better with our weekly grocery bill. And thanks to the Grocery Game, we have been doing better. But one of my biggest frustrations has always been keeping my list organized with my coupons... and remembering to dig ALL the coupons out of the bottom of my purse. But I have found a solution. I had leftover envelopes from Christmas cards this year, so I have been using the envelopes to write my grocery list and then neatly tucking the coupons right in the envelope! I figure when the envelopes run out I'll have to buy some cheap ones at the store, but if it saves $$ in the long run, I'm all for it!

Be Kind... Please Rewind.

K and I set out for the library yesterday. It was cold and ugly out and we needed something to do. I promised K that if she was good (which she was) we would get a movie from the library. So when it came time to pick something out, she picked out a Barney. As much as I am not a fan of Barney, it was what she wanted. But of course she picked out the only one that did not come on DVD, but on VHS. That really wasn't a problem... we have a DVD/VHS player in our family room... so we took it home. What I had not planned on... trying to explain to a 2 1/2 year old what "rewinding the movie" means. I forgot she only knows movies on DVD and no rewinding is ever necessary. She did find it incredibly humorous to watch the movie rewinding, she wanted them to "dance funny again!" I imagine someday I will find myself explaining other things we parents all know about... like encyclopedias, black and white movies, corded phones, record players, cooking without a microwave... feel free to add to the list, I know I must be missing somethings.

And just in case you were wondering... the movie did have a "Be Kind, Please Rewind" sticker on the cassette!

What? Did you say something????

For those of you following this "no-voice" saga... its day 2. The first hour this morning was promising... after 7.5 hours of resting my voice. There were some completely audible and understandable sentences. And then, it died again.

So today our house will be another day of quiet toys, coloring, movies (which I hate having to do....) and oodles of play-dough. Anything to help a 2 1/2 year old understand why Mom can't read countless (much less 1!) book or play any game that involves conversation. As for dear Scott... he gets another quiet day when he comes home from the office.

At a loss for words.... literally.

I have no voice. I have, on occasion, had a very hoarse voice from a cold, but I can honestly say this is my first true experience with laryngitis. The first few words this morning were audible... but only by four legged furry friends. So yeah, I was a caught a little off guard by the whole thing. I quickly learned that today was going to be a "quiet day" at our house and thus far I have said, maybe 250 words all day at any sort of audible level.

However, K and I did discover that great deals at Kohls' has absolutely nothing to do with the volume of your voice. So we did find lots of great deals on winter clearance items and a few extras. Perhaps it was luck or perhaps my sense of a good deal was heightened by my lack of verbal communication... you know lose one sense and the others are heightened!

Anyway, we (okay, maybe just me- Scott might enjoy the silence) pray that tomorrow will bring a little more relief and lot more volume to my voice.

God is Good

I especially know this today because this week He has blessed me with most well-behaved little almost 2 1/2 year old. I'm not bragging, really. But Daddy left on Monday morning only to return on Friday at dinnertime and I came down with a NASTY cold on Wednesday and have barely been functioning ever since. K has been a trooper... playing nicely with herself or quiet toys with Mom, sleeping well, and mostly just understanding that Mom is not up for 1 (much less 30-gazillion) rounds of Running or Ski Patrol, her new favorite pretend activity.

For those of you yet to experience K's new love of Ski Patrol, the game goes like this. We pretend to cross country ski around the basement. At the appropriate time, I fall down and pretend to be hurt. The "Ski Patrol" then comes and picks me up and offers me hot chocolate, which she has so graciously tested to see if its too hot. The general concept came from her favorite show The Backyardigans, but I guarantee you, she's given it her own twist!

Flash Gordon is back....

I just have to say that as much as Facebook can be very annoying (how many times have I been invited to random things...MILLIONS!) but I love the fact that I have actually found people we really care about and have reconnected! I will say it again... I'm so glad I live in the 21st century and keeping in touch with friends and loved ones is so easy.

Glad to have found you, Gordon. Flash missed you!

2008 is underway...

And so far its been good. Its been a little less crazy than the end of 2007, but hey, that's what happens during the holidays when you live no less than 8 hours away from immediate family. We did, again, make the McGregor Midwest Tour, as we like to call it... and with K's increased love of singing and dancing, it was more of a Concert Tour. Here were the cities and venues of her choice...

Dec 22- Peoria IL -- Holiday Inn Downtown
Dec 23 - Marshalltown IA -- McGregor Family Complex
Dec 27 - Decorah IA -- Country Inn and Suites and Luther College
Dec 29 - Kohler WI -- Schnettler Family Complex
Jan 2 - Springfield OH -- Homecoming Concert

For those of you wanting to buy the T-shrit... we're all out, sorry. We will be touring again soon, I'm sure and will be sure to print some extra's next time!

But seriously, we were extremely blessed to travel over 1500 miles safely, mostly in good spirits (only 1 "I WANT OUT" tantrum!) and see a majority of our family and a lot of close friends. After trips like this, I am always extremely grateful to live in the 21st century, with reliable cars and roads, flexible jobs, the ability to travel and see family and friends (and did I mention portable DVD players for 2 year olds!) I often wonder what it would be like for us if we didn't have all these fabulous things to keep us in touch. As much as I enjoy Little House on the Prairie... I was not born to live it.