Friday's Footage

I've decided to do this every friday. I've already explained my love of footage and about my collection on this blog so to start out the tradition, here is a clip of Danny off of SYTYCD season 3. In my opinion he's the best dancer that has ever been on this show and this was the best solo on the show so far.

Friday's footage will include clips of home videos, footage from my own personal collection, and my favorite clips off of you tube. It might be a little experimental at first because I might need a bigger memory card and I still have to learn how to upload my videos to you tube, or blogger so bear with me but there should be a piece of footage on my blog every friday and maybe a little ditty from me...

remember to pause my playlist

Spring Cleaning...a little late...

Well, I should have taken a before picture but it really wasn't that bad in our garage, we didn't have much stuff to clean out but the way they make these "two car" garages now a days, it felt a little cramped and unorganized. Sharrid and I bought these shelves at Home Depot a couple weeks ago and finally set them up (no tools required!) It was super easy and these are great, I recommend them. They are made out of Resin, a really sturdy plastic. It's I think a ground up plastic or something cause they are a bit textured. Anyway, I also saw these kind of shelves at Walmart last time we were there. I might get me a couple more in the future, but these took care of what we have in the garage right now. The other side of the garage is pretty much bare. Shar said he still wasn't done organizing the stuff on the shelves just how he wanted it but I snapped some pictures anyway. We do definately need to get more of these cause I have no storage space in my house, so to be able to put a few things in the garage is really nessesary.

So anyway, we're trying to get organized and also always trying to make our house a home. I still don't know when I want to tackle painting because we are starting our backyard now anyway. I don't want to do both at once I don't think, even though Sharrid will be doing most of the yard work. I will need his help with the painting but we are gradually making this place a home for us. When it's probably at it's best, we'll be moving or something...how ironic. But for now, we're still here and you just have to pretend you'll be here forever cause if you don't, you'll never put any effort into your home.

Marcelus' Potty Progress

Marcelus' Backyardigans potty insert came in the mail today and so he's sat on the potty a couple times today but has not gone, even after pushing...He continues to take his diaper off if he needs to be changed when he has no pants on. I tried to have him drink a sippy cup full while on the toilet to help but he didn't drink much of it anyway. We'll keep trying. It's great cause I'm honestly in no hurry,...I just want to put ideas in his head.

Family Night Fun

For Family Night this week we finally made the puppets we've been meaning to. The one on the right Sharrid made with Marcelus. Marce got a little glue on the body, so Shar improvised by making a grass skirt...? The one on the left was made by me and Phoenix. Phoenix didn't really help much, in fact he was pretty crabby. Under the flap ours had a big red mouth and a couple of buck teeth.

Thanks!

My sister Connie's in laws are good friends of ours and have been ever since we moved down to AZ after Peter & Connie did. They have been so welcoming and friendly, and we love it because besides Peter & Connie, neither Shar nor I have any other family down here. Peter's family is actually originally from Oceanside, right next to Carlsbad, which is where my mom's side of the family is from. So, they all know the Packard family pretty well...so we kind of all feel like family a little bit. Anyway, Lynda makes all of her grandchildren these little pillows you see in the pictures above. Connie showed me her kids' pillows a long time ago and I always thought it was cool and that they were perfect for traveling. Lynda sent me a pillow for each of my boys the other day out of the blue, along with a gift for Phoenix' birth. (and the goldfish, ha ha)

Thank You so much Mike & Lynda for thinking of us like that and sharing the cool tradition with my boys! We love you guys and your whole family, can't wait to get together next time!

Nap Time

Marcelus' Nicknames

This post is just for funny family history purposes, I don't expect anyone to actually really care about it. I just want to have these down so we don't forget them. Sharrid has called Marcelus a few things over the last couple years, and they are:

Buddy Bear
Babba Lou
Flip Flop
Kickstand
Pow Wow
Chunky Monkey

"...Too Allegro...Too Quantro..."

I think only my family, my immidiate family might know what this post would be about by reading that title. Let me just first ask a couple of questions though. Do you know who took Choir in HS or college just by listening to the congregation in church or RS?...and you really wish they hadn't. Does it seem like every note they sing rings with way too much verbrato? (Sp.?) While singing along, do you find yourself off in the clouds for a moment and then when you come around again you're startled by that person that I'm talking about? Well, I don't know about you but I answered "Yes" to all of those questions...especially this week. Don't be offended, this is not a Choir junkie bashing post. I took a year of Choir in HS and my sisters took even more, but to me there is a chance that it could all turn out wrong. There are those people who exude perfect confidence in their voice and they have no problem using the full capacity of their musically strengthened lungs to sing decibals louder than anyone else in the room. They hit every note right on the nose, they are so in control of the song that they are almost leading the piano and chorister BUT...it doesn't sound good...in fact I would rather hear anybody else. By the end of the song I am a little burned out to say the least. The fact that this person took Choir (we're assuming) and knows very well that a Choir is supposed to sound balanced, just annoys me further. Is there any point in the rest of us singing? We just get drowned out into the background, even the piano is dampered by this thunderous voice. It's almost like they are trying to prove something, like that they can sing, but it always just ruins everything. Even if their talent lies in Opera or Broadway...church is not the place to showcase that in my opinion. There's always someone isn't there, and the funny thing is I never...ever...like their voices. I guess I prefer the Choir voice that's um...a little quieter, a little more controlled,...has a great tone, a good sound...meshes well,...like my sister Connie's, or my mom's...or a lot of other people's I could name. There are millions of great voices that came from Choir classes and such. There just always seems to be one...in every ward...that somehow absolutely mutilates my idea of a good voice. I can't say too much, it's not like I'm Celine Dion, or better yet Julie Andrews or anything...but I don't try to be either....

Netflix, Doggie, & SYTYCD

A few days ago I saw a commercial for Netflix. They aren't on much but we've been doing Netflix for a long time now. The commercial was telling all about how it works and why it's great and they had people on there interviewing a bit, pretty normal commercial. I LOVE Netflix so much that at the end of the commercial I felt retarded because all DURING the commercial I was totally thinking (and probably saying) "Oh I know!", and things like "So true..." and "so worth it..." But seriously I could be on one of their commercials, whoever came up with the concept of one CHEAP monthly price for unlimited video rentals through the mail with no late fees EVER and the biggest freakin' selection under the sun is quite frankly....a genius.

So for those of you who have no idea how it works, or who rent movies any other way....I dare you to go to www.netflix.com and check it out. It's so easy and so worth it which brings me to my next topic. I just netflixed (Yes, this is a word if you have Netflix...) a sweet concert of Judy Garland's in London in 1963. It's heart breaking to know she would die 6 years later. She was so spunky and had great energy. She was so lucid and real. She talked with the audience as if they'd been friends for years...and unlike a lof of shows today, the dialogue wasn't part of the show, it wasn't planned or rehearsed....it was all just her, how refreshing that was! She would sometimes sit on the stage floor, indian style or whatever. She was very witty and actually just very funny. She was wearing these little white high water trousers and she just looked so cute. I've heard she was only 4'11"! Well, the concert was fabulous of course, she let the audience sing most of "Over the Rainbow" because she told them they could sing it better then she could anyway now a days...ha ha She at one point was sitting on the floor and said that her high notes just didn't want to come tonight...I don't know what the heck she was talking about cause every song was amazing. What a talent she was. What made it even better was that this was the first concert that she invited Liza Minelli (her daughter) on stage with her to sing. She must have been in her early 20's. She looked so huge next to Judy but I'm sure she was just average. She had a cute shoulder length hair do and big teeth but Man, she could really sing, WOW. I had no idea how good she was because I only have one clip of footage of her singing one song and that's the only time I've ever heard her sing and truthfully I thought it was horrible but I'll have to go back and listen again. She was older though on it, but this concert she was young and my goodness she could sing. The two of them together were brilliant! On the last song Judy tells Liza to dance, so she puts her mike down and starts to dance really cool like to the song they were singing called "Chicago". She can dance too, it was pretty awesome to say the least. Judy at one point yells "Yeah, dance!!" It was funny how she yelled it. The concert was only an hour long but so well worth it during the boys naps!

Marcelus brought one of his diapers to me to put on his doggie. I put it on. He then went and got the wipes and I wasn't really paying attention but he kept saying "Yucky" and I looked over and Marce is changing doggie's diaper... It's so funny how since Phoenix was born Marce has been thinking that doggie is his baby and copying the things that mommy does with Phoenix.. He puts his doggie in Phoenix' swing all the time too...

Last night was the first real show of So You Think You Can Dance that I've seen. I won't be missing any other shows though now that the NBA finals are over. I have to say that I LOVE the panel of judges that judged last night. They are all my favorites; Mia, Mary, and Nigel. I secretly want to be Mia. As far as the dancers, I have to say, and this is all based off of this one show, that I really like Matt and Thayne so far. I don't know about the girls yet. It always takes me longer to decide which girls I like. I will say that I don't think I will EVER like a dancer off of this show more than Danny of last season. He was absolutely beautiful and his dancing was perfect to me in every way possible. I'm excited for results tonight. I LOVE this show and look forward to it so much!! Yay!!

Realization

I should have posted about this below but forgot. One thing I realized as I watched the Boston/LA series is that I don't dislike Phil Jackson. I thought I pretty much hated anything affiliated with the Lakers,...but not so. Phil Jackson used to be the coach of my favorite team growing up: Chicago Bulls. Unfortunately now he coaches the Lakers. I hate the Lakers almost as much as I hate the Spurs. As I watched this series though I got a chance to see his coaching style a bit more closely as they'd show highlights of the coaches during half time or especially when they would "wire" them and let us listen to what they were telling their players and what they were saying on the sidelines. I started observing him a little closer through each game and I found that I actually still like him as a coach, even if he has to coach the Lakers...he's always calm and collected. He's got a really cool speaking voice, he never gets over excited or aggressive...even when his team makes really dumb plays or when they are down in clutch moments. He's always calm. He seemed like a good sport last night even though his team was a complete embarrassment, and ended up losing by so much. So, all in all...I like Phil Jackson...still hate his team.

I was wrong! Yay!

I'm sad it's over. Another Basketball season is over. Man, it was great while it lasted and I can't wait for next year! I am so glad I was wrong on my prediction and Boston came away with the Championship! After watching the series between them and the Lakers, you KNEW that they were definately the better team, which is saying a lot because the Lakers were great this year and had no problem cleaning up in the West. It was so awesome to see Boston easily take the first 2 games at home, almost take game 3 (neither team played well), win game 5 in LA, and win game 6 to win the whole thing. Game 6 was the best. I saw most of it. I was also trying to get dinner in the oven but there were so many steals, and the Lakers just looked dumb out there after a while as it became a 30 point lead in the 2nd half. It was a great game to win it all.

I'd like to say Congratulations to my dad. He's been a Celtics fan FOREVER! He's been patiently waiting for them to have a team that's capable of anything. He's remained a fan even through the seasons where the Celtics were the worst team in the league. So Congratulations dad! Your Celtics are back on top!

"You are a Tiger, aren't you?"

When my sister Michaela and I were teenagers watching TV together. If she had the remote and Golf was on, that's where it was. I would beg for her to change it to just about anything else. Any other sport besides Hockey and I was good pretty much, but she was relentless. Her boyfriend at the time was a golfer and she was way into it...I want to thank her for these torturous experiences now because quite frankly I've come around. There is nothing good on TV on Saturdays, except Golf...and my husband works on Saturdays. So, I watch Golf on Saturdays and am entertained while all the other families are out and about and doing Saturday things. I don't know when exactly I came around....my sister and I have never had much in common, and we both went through pretty big changes after High School I'd say,...but I like to watch Golf now a days, with of course most other sports. I've always liked to watch Baseball on TV and when people are like "How can you watch this, it's so boring?" I say that you just have to keep it on and get passed one batter. If you can do that, you can watch a game of baseball. The batter will either strike out, hit and get on base, hit a homer, or be walked but believe it or not, after a full count of pitches...something WILL happen. After it does, onto the next batter and after 3 outs, however they may come, we're on our way to another inning,...it's that easy and the game picks up and you are in the zone. It takes a little bit of patience I guess but it is wonderful, and Golf is the same way, get through one hole of golf and you're set.

I'm posting this because I have had a great weekend of Golf watch! Tiger played in the US Open this weekend and with an injured knee too...he was in pain, it was tough to watch him tee off sometimes because you knew what was coming, a lot of pain and a grimace. At some points he was practically using his clubs as canes! He wasn't doing well, then he came from behind and tied with the number 1 spot! He hit a killer put to do it, and so there was to be another full 18 hole match up Monday. I saw a couple holes of it at the Dentist but am happy to know now that Tiger won the US Open! I would say I want to root for the underdog,...but I don't. Tiger is exciting to watch! He's awesome and I know that you are thinking "How can anybody be exciting to watch in Golf?" ha ha but yes he is exciting to watch so yeah for Golf!...and thanks Michaela!

The Boys

Just a couple Randoms...

Marcelus attempted to put one of Phoenix' diapers on his doggie,...he gave up after a bit...

We occasionally call Phoenix Porky. He's so huge! He weighs a ton and it's hard to imagine he is just 3 1/2 weeks. What makes it funny is he still has no bodily/head control of course. He's still a newborn, but his weight and size would suggest otherwise! I can't wait til he can pull some weight!

The best Random is that Marcelus sat on the toilet! I was changing his diaper and I noticed he was trying to fart or push or whatever, nothing came but I asked him if he wanted to sit on the toilet and try to go and he said yes, so I took him in there and stripped his pants and diaper off. He sat on the toilet, holding himself up with both hands poor guy and we sat there for a while. I told him to push and encouraged him. He pushed (it was so cute) but nothing came...I then tried to tell him to go potty in the toilet. It was no use, he didn't have to go obviously (I had just changed his diaper) but a cool milestone for us as Marcelus is not even 2 1/2 til August! I'm going to buy him one of those inserts. I know I've seen a Backyardigans one before...I don't want to buy a little potty if he's already sitting on the big potty, no transistion needed there...

Grandma Says Goodbye

I thought it was funny anyway...

Yesterday, I sat at the end of our bed to breastfeed Phoenix. Shar was working on the computer in our room. Marcelus was holding his doggie and came to sit next to me. He then proceeded to lift his shirt and "breastfeed" his doggie. I couldn't help but laugh. Shar was a little bit concerned I guess but I explained to him something I learned in Psycology, which is that babies and toddlers don't know their sexes, or the difference between them til a certain age. I can't quite remember the age but Marcelus might not be "there" yet...at least we know he's nurturing...and I admit, his doggie is pretty much his baby doll. He sleeps with doggie, carries him all around the house, and even puts doggie down for naps. I'm glad he has his doggie. Ironically it hasn't helped him be softer or know his limits with Phoenix...

The "V" Word

The "V" word is obviously the vacuum when Shar and I have to say the word around Marcelus. You see, Marcelus is obsessed with vacuums. He calls them ba-ba. I don't know how he gets ba-ba out of vacuum but anyway, we bought a new vacuum not too long ago and I had Shar set it up. Marce had been begging to take it out of the box for 2 days. I knew Marcelus would be in on the action putting this bad boy together. He helps dad put everything together,...and...it's a VACUUM!! So, they put it together and Sharrid started to vacuum the house. Marce was trying to grab the vacuum or "help" dad push it. After a couple rooms Shar decided much to my surprise that if Marce likes the vacuum that much, we'll just put him to work with it and see how he does. Marcelus was in heaven, mind you this vacuum is heavier than my old vacuum and my old vacuum was not light! I was thinking he wouldn't last long but boy he was tough, ...just didn't want to let go. Sharrid would give him directions like "ok, go this way now" and he had Marcelus vacuum under his little table and chairs set and in his room. When it was time to put it away he did fine but then 10 minutes later he asked for it. I told him we already did it and we'd do it again in a few days. He didn't like this and got real sad but eventually stopped asking for it. Phoenix down there just snoozed the whole time on the couch which is good cause I got these pictures and some pretty priceless footage of our crazy obsessed toddler!

Brothers